Interview with Ahmad Ali Zia, Group CHRO & CEO, People and Business Partnering, HRSG
The 3Cs To Overcome Adversities: Courage, Character And Consistency
Posted on 03-08-2021, Read Time: 5 Min
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Q: What has your HR journey been like and what influenced you the most to have a positive impact on your career?
Ahmad Ali: My HR journey so far has been full of challenges and I am fortunate to work for the largest FMCG, the largest pharmaceutical, the largest distribution house and the largest HR service provider in Pakistan and the Middle East as the CHRO. Some great and ‘not so great’ people I got the chance to work with had the biggest influence on my career as an HR Professional.
Q: What were your challenges during the early days of your career? What are those today?
Ahmad Ali: Since I am a ‘convert’ to HR from engineering and supply chain, I had to learn HR by getting my hands dirty and learning from experiences rather than just from books and case studies. That was my biggest challenge and I had to always keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone. While it was difficult in the early days, it has now become a habit.
Q: How do you see workplace culture changing/evolving over the years/decade?
Ahmad Ali: The workplace culture has definitely evolved from being mostly ‘Process Centric’ over the last few years to becoming ‘People Centric’ more recently.
Organizations have finally come to realize that even if they have the best processes in the world, they cannot succeed without having the best people with them. This realization is only increasing and I am happy to see it happening in my current role, where I deal with a large spectrum of client organizations across multiple sectors, industries and geographies.
Organizations have finally come to realize that even if they have the best processes in the world, they cannot succeed without having the best people with them. This realization is only increasing and I am happy to see it happening in my current role, where I deal with a large spectrum of client organizations across multiple sectors, industries and geographies.
Q: Can you share your top three learnings/insights from the adversities/challenges you faced?
Ahmad Ali: My top 3 learnings from different challenges and adversities I came across, so far, are the ‘3Cs’:
- Courage: You cannot be a good HR Professional if you lack courage to speak your mind when it comes to giving feedback to senior leadership, to guide the organization in the right direction even if your point of view is different, and to correct the ‘people’ and ‘process’ issues, even if it means taking ‘unpopular’ decisions at times
- Character: You should not venture into HR if you do not have the character to establish and sustain your credibility by doing the ‘right’ things and not just doing things right as stakeholders see HR as the face and voice of the organization, which better be fair, honest and transparent
- Consistency: HR is a thankless job and unless you have the ability to be consistent in your approach despite adversity, you cannot be successful in your initiatives, and this comes automatically if you have the courage and the character
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?
Ahmad Ali: I draw my inspiration from those individuals who selflessly help others against all odds and if we look carefully, there are so many such people around us. I have many such personalities in my family, circle of friends and communities that I am part of. Such people get noticed sooner or later and I hold this as the most important trait in an HR professional. Once you are able to establish your credibility with this trait, reaching the boardroom and influencing the organization will only be a matter of time.
Q: Where do you draw the line when it comes to work-life balance?
Ahmad Ali: I take work as a part of life and not vice versa. Life to me has a bigger meaning and purpose and my work is only a means to achieve the bigger purpose. As such, I don’t find it difficult to achieve a balance, as I enjoy my work to an extent that I don’t even feel like working, rather it feels like living my life to the fullest and moving towards achieving my purpose eventually.
Q: What fundamental change(s) (in terms of culture) have you brought into your company?
Ahmad Ali: I am moving in the right direction but not fully there yet, in terms of making it more people-centric, cohesive and customer-oriented, as bringing about cultural change takes some time
Q: What are some major changes you see affecting HR within the next few years?
Ahmad Ali: They are:
- Digitization
- Automation
- Balancing the above two with the ‘human’ element
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