Burn HR Down Or Build It Better?
When it comes to Real HR, action matters
This is a different sort of newsletter. When friends write books, we read them. When they are as good as what Robin Schooling has put together in Real HR: What It Is, What It Can Be, and How to Get There, we talk about them on Work Leader Weekly.
It clocks in under 100 pages according to Kindle’s somewhat-accurate estimate and it took me less than 90 minutes to read through it.
Here’s what I liked: Schooling doesn’t sugar‑coat the profession. She opens with field stories that feel too familiar: leaders defer tough calls, HR receives the fallout, budgets evaporate when people work turns expensive. The book’s through‑line is simple: stop defending a system that keeps you powerless.
She positions HR as the place where risk collects and credit evaporates. Practitioners juggle compliance, coaching, and cleanup while authority sits elsewhere. Her diagnosis lands because she details the mechanics, not the drama. When finance trims the head‑count plan or operations bypasses policy to hit a deadline, HR starts behind the curve and pays interest on the decision for months.
“You’re more than an HR policy manual with legs.”
That sentence arrives early and sets the tone for the book. Schooling urges every HR professional to write a personal manifesto. The exercise isn’t therapy or self-aggrandizing. It forces clarity about personal purpose and limits. Without that line in the sand, HR absorbs every overdue task and owns failures it never controlled.
The middle chapters dissect culture theatre. Cupcake days, branded hoodies, emoji‑heavy Slack channels — none of it matters if managers reward toxic behavior or dodge feedback. Engagement lives in daily choices, and Schooling calls out leadership teams that praise values at town halls while ignoring the obvious mismatch on the floor.
“Best practices are a conduit to conformity.”
Schooling’s swipe at copy‑paste playbooks is well-timed, especially in an era of AI moving everyone to the mean. HR loves a template, yet she shows how imported frameworks become straightjackets. Context wins over fashion. When a process creates friction, strip it back. When a metric distracts from results, drop it. The book treats simplification as a strategic act, not a weekend tidy‑up.
Technology gets the sharpest critique. Vendors promise that AI will predict turnover, write job ads, and coach managers in real time. Automation can clear repetitive tasks, but it cannot rebuild trust or teach courage. Schooling reminds readers that data reveals trends, but people still choose whether to act. If leaders ignore red flags today, a prettier dashboard tomorrow changes nothing.
“You don’t fix broken trust with branded hoodies.”
That line doubles as a verdict on the entire quick‑fix mindset. Cosmetic perks, chatbots, and endless pulse surveys distract from the hard work of clear expectations, consistent feedback, and fair decisions. Fix the system before you ask employees to rate it.
Schooling keeps circling back to the only point that matters:
“HR’s purpose is to connect the capabilities of individuals to organizational success.”
With that anchor, every tool, policy, and conversation turns practical. If a process speeds alignment, keep it. If a rule blocks performance, rewrite it. If a technology buries judgment beneath scores and categories, walk away.
By the final chapter, Schooling offers no redemption arc, only responsibility. HR will gain influence the same way every function gains influence: by demonstrating value that leaders can’t ignore. That means framing problems in business terms, forecasting consequences, and refusing to carry risk that belongs elsewhere.
The takeaway for practitioners is brutal but freeing. Stop waiting for validation. Claim authority by drawing boundaries, applying evidence, and speaking in the language of outcomes. When AI hype rolls in, test it, but measure it against purpose. When leadership asks for a quick morale boost, show them the cost of ignoring root causes. When someone forwards a “best practice,” ask whether it solves the problem in front of you.
Real HR is a short book, but the ideas stretch beyond the pages. They demand daily vigilance: how much of your schedule is reaction, how much is influence? Which metrics inform decisions, which merely decorate slide decks? Whose priorities shape your workload tomorrow?
Schooling never promises ease because that magical world doesn’t exist. If you believe work can be profitable, fair, and sustainable, the text gives you language to press the point. It strips away comforts, clichés, and hero narratives until one challenge remains: do the work or keep polishing the mask.
That challenge is the book’s worth. HR doesn’t need another inspirational slogan. In an age where AI is coming for HR, clarity and challenge are what we need more than ever. Grab the book from Amazon today.