Learn What Mindy Honcoop’s, Chief People Officer, TCP Software, Journey In HR Has Been Like
Posted on 07-27-2021, Read Time: 8 Min
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Where do HR leaders draw inspiration from? What are their worst nightmares? How did they stand the test of the changing times?
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Mindy Honcoop is Chief People Officer at TCP Software. Mindy was previously the Executive Director of People & Talent at Spiceworks. As an executive HR leader, Mindy has built and led the overall vision, designed and implemented change and transition strategies to enable global business growth, and coached and influenced senior executives. Mindy also is a co-founder of the Austin Women in Agile meetup and is passionate about helping others realize their full potential while achieving their desired goals. In an exclusive interaction with HR.com, talks about her journey to the top, including her challenges, learnings, inspirations, and more. |
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What has your HR journey been like, and what influenced you the most to have a positive impact on your career?
Mindy: My HR journey has been an incredible 20+ years-long one. It’s been influenced by my passion for driving significant change in our world by creating workplaces in which people can thrive. My hope is that because of this, employees will bring greater energy into their personal lives, driving positive change into their local communities, friendships and families. In summary, I hope that there is a ripple effect that ultimately impacts greater society in creating healthy workplaces.
My mentors, managers, peers, direct reports and connections have influenced me and this philosophy along the way. Their journeys and meaningful input have shaped my career. These influential people created opportunities for me, believed in me and opened doors to places that I didn’t even think were possible.
Other influences include my self-belief, curiosity to learn and willingness to remain open-minded. These have enabled me to lean into challenges personally, take risks, grow and refine, have difficult conversations, and challenge my mindset constantly.
My mentors, managers, peers, direct reports and connections have influenced me and this philosophy along the way. Their journeys and meaningful input have shaped my career. These influential people created opportunities for me, believed in me and opened doors to places that I didn’t even think were possible.
Other influences include my self-belief, curiosity to learn and willingness to remain open-minded. These have enabled me to lean into challenges personally, take risks, grow and refine, have difficult conversations, and challenge my mindset constantly.
Q: What were your challenges during the early days of your career? What are those today?
Mindy: Imposter syndrome! I get in my own way by caring about what others think and the impact my decisions will have. I needed to learn to trust my capabilities, take risks and be open to failure and the learning journey. This has allowed me to embrace feedback to iterate, improve and build stronger teams. As a people leader, understanding my weaknesses helps me grow stronger teams—to create a diversity of thought leadership around me and hire those that will add unique value. I love what I do, but my biggest challenge still is self-care—being mindful and prioritizing myself to maintain the marathon race of life and intentionally be aware of the daily moments that make up the journey to the destination.
Up and Close Name: Mindy Honcoop Designation: Chief People Officer Company: TCP Software Total number of employees: 412 When did you join the current company?: May 2020 Total number of experience in HR industry: 20 years Hobbies: Dancing, reading, hiking, rowing, lifting weights, hanging out with my furry babes (3 Kerry Blue Terriers), traveling, learning languages (French and Greek) and learning about wine (Level 1 Wine Sommelier via the Guild) What book are you reading currently?: Humor, Seriously, Checklist Manifesto; just finished Crucial Conversations |
Q: How do you see workplace culture evolving over the years/decade?
Mindy: Workplace culture is becoming more automated and creating significant opportunities for people to use their cognitive thinking and creativity. As computers and software automate the mundane aspects of work, this will eliminate wasted human hours and empower employees to think more creatively.
Q: Can you share the top three learnings from the adversities you faced?
Mindy:
- It’s not about getting it right or perfect. It’s about chipping away at what you believe is the right thing to do at the right time to deliver slices of value to your end customer, get their feedback, then start iterating again and delivering toward that value.
- You will never make everyone happy, nor should you try. Life is tough, and we all need help. There will always be negative thinkers around us, but you need to forge a path that makes you happy at the end of the day and delivers the most significant change or value.
- Slow down to go faster. Ask why five times—what is the actual root cause of the challenge? Be curious, and it will save you time later.
Q: Where do you draw inspiration from? What do you have to say to those who are still struggling to find a place in the boardroom?
Mindy: I get inspiration through the lives and stories of other people. I watch documentaries, listen to podcasts and read books about people I admire. I also get inspiration through mentoring others.
For those still struggling—the struggle never stops, but it’s part of the journey! You never stop learning, falling, leaning in and refining. The moment you are not struggling, you have stopped learning and become comfortable with the obsolete. Growth is not comfortable, and it is challenging work. Be sure to enjoy the journey and not just focus on the destination. To do this, be clear on what your narrative is and strengthen your storytelling skills.
Another great place to get inspired is by sitting on a board. If you’re unsure of where to start, take a look at non-profit board opportunities to gain experience.
Lastly, do you have mentors or a life/executive coach? If not, get one. You cannot excel on your own; it takes a team.
For those still struggling—the struggle never stops, but it’s part of the journey! You never stop learning, falling, leaning in and refining. The moment you are not struggling, you have stopped learning and become comfortable with the obsolete. Growth is not comfortable, and it is challenging work. Be sure to enjoy the journey and not just focus on the destination. To do this, be clear on what your narrative is and strengthen your storytelling skills.
Another great place to get inspired is by sitting on a board. If you’re unsure of where to start, take a look at non-profit board opportunities to gain experience.
Lastly, do you have mentors or a life/executive coach? If not, get one. You cannot excel on your own; it takes a team.
Q: Where do you draw the line when it comes to work-life balance?
Mindy: There is no work-life balance. There is only integration. I love Steve Covey’s “rocks in a jar with sand” analogy: first, you must decide what is most important to you. Those are your rocks. Put them in your life jar first. Then pour in the sand—that’s the work. It will fill in around the rocks in your life jar.
That is the ultimate work-life balance. Unfortunately, most people don’t think about their primary focus areas—what areas in life give you the most meaning or the most joy? What reenergizes your batteries?
Once you figure that out, act as if your calendar is the jar. First, fill your calendar with your primary rocks. Then, pour the sand in-between and don’t move it—rocks should be heavier than the sand!
That is the ultimate work-life balance. Unfortunately, most people don’t think about their primary focus areas—what areas in life give you the most meaning or the most joy? What reenergizes your batteries?
Once you figure that out, act as if your calendar is the jar. First, fill your calendar with your primary rocks. Then, pour the sand in-between and don’t move it—rocks should be heavier than the sand!
Q: What fundamental change(s) (in terms of culture) have you brought into your company?
Mindy: First, we worked towards transforming the culture from one of command and control to one of trust. Instead of focusing on hourly tasks, we changed our mindset to help employees recognize how their individual actions connect to our customers and end users. This mindset helped us identify and refresh TCP Software’s values, and helped us redesign our internal People Team systems and processes. We rewrote our employee handbook, re-aligned our benefit packages, built a tiered recognition program, tied it to key competencies that show up in our recruiting process and in one-on-ones, and launched HR systems that give employees access to data they didn’t have before, such as pay, 401k investments, benefit options and internal job opportunities.
We clarified how success was defined and put trust at the center of conversations—and ensured that these conversations are happening at the right time—to meet objective key results.
We clarified how success was defined and put trust at the center of conversations—and ensured that these conversations are happening at the right time—to meet objective key results.
Q: What are some major changes you see affecting HR within the next few years?
Mindy:
- A re-invention of HR technology to be employee-focused first. HR teams should think about how they can create employee habit loops that get them up in the morning and re-subscribing to join a company’s workforce each day
- An increase in living wages and the cost of talent
- Boards that reflect the changing needs of the workplace and the future of work. Companies are evolving faster than their board members, and they need to redesign how boards function and work to truly unlock the full capacity of workplaces
- Data, data, data! Where to store it, how to tell its story and what is influencing it? Computers can generate data, but people need to do the creative thinking tied to the narrative and context of the data to use it in a meaningful and impactful way
- Creating inclusive and trusted workplaces where all voices can thrive and mirror a company’s end customer/consumer audience in a hybrid/virtual global world
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