Business Leaders interview: Chloe Foster

Tell us a little about yourself and your business.

Since being a little girl, I have loved people, and this love, fascination and appreciation of people grew when I travelled during my 20's and met a variety of people from different culture and backgrounds. Little did I know that this would shape me into becoming a HR professional, and as many have commented on previously, a unique HR Professional as I actually am a real people person.

For many years I have worked within HR, for SME to FTSE 50 businesses, for a variety of industries, but for the past 7 years as a HR Director within the Health and Social Care sector.

I recognised that my style of work is more project based, problem solving, crisis management rather than the BAU, so after much thought, I have recently launched my own HR Consultancy to support organisations with strategic HR Management and Organisational Design with the outcome of aligning people to the business strategy.

What motivates you in your work and what do you find most fulfilling about being a business leader?

After years of finding my feet in the corporate world in London I moved to the North West where I found my niche, supporting entrepreneurial businesses who are looking to grow, develop, mature or stabilise, or an organisation that is at a stale mate and needs a boost and a people strategy to reignite their vision. Being able to support an organisation to improve and to have long term sustainability motivates me.

As a business leader I am also motivated by helping others grow and develop around me. Helping people see their value in the organisation and understand how they individually play a part to achieve the organisational strategy, mission and vision. 

How did you develop your leadership skills and how would you define your leadership style?

As I've said before, I love people, so I watched, asked questions and I learnt. The truth is, I learnt a lot of what not to do by observing, but when I found someone I respected and liked their style I was brave (or maybe cheeky) enough to ask them to help and mentor me so I could watch, listen and learn.  

I define my leadership style as inclusive yet decisive. Once we are clear what the outcome needs to be I don't mind how someone gets there, as long as they do. I am happy to provide as much support and resource for someone to deliver, yet when the time is right I give confidence to those around me by making decisions and seeing them through.

Innovating is crucial in our very diverse industry. How do you stay ahead of trends and incorporate them into your global strategy?

Every day is a school day, so it's important to read, network, attend webinars and events to keep up to date. 

Data is also very valuable, often organisations see an annual cycle, so reviewing historic data can show trends and enable plans and resource to be put in place when and where necessary.

What do you consider to be the key component(s) of effective business operational development?

Three things are key for an OD plan, the right structure, the right processes and the right systems to make an organisation more effective and efficient to achieve the strategic objectives. 

Where do you think the most promising investments should be focusing on and/or made on?

People and systems... yes, it's that simple. Attracting and retaining the right people and investing in their development will ensure the right skills and culture for an organisation. The right systems will reduce the administrative burden and increase performance with people being able to focus and have thinking time to ensure they are working smart and not just hard.

What is or are your biggest career achievement(s)?

From a commercial perspective I am very proud to have supported a little North West organisation sell to a FTSE 5 company and see the opportunities that has given to the people involved.

From a people perspective I take great delight in watching those who have previously reported into me growing and developing to become Heads of People and Senior HR professionals themselves.

Now the opportunity to "go it alone" ad s a consultant will hopefully be a career high.

Do you have examples where your leadership made a difference? If so, what were they?

One that stands out to me is when I designed and led a Leadership Course - the course was split into different sections, 2 of which were Successfully Managing a Team and The Difference between being a Manager and a Leader. I had a fantastic manager on the course who was very shy and quiet. During the course there were moments of self-reflection and feedback, this enabled me to really dig into the reasons why this manager was so quiet... I continued to coach this manager and when I left the company, they emailed me with their thanks advising that I had helped them secure a promotion and give them the confidence to self-develop and lead a successful team.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

To lead by example, delegate and involve those around you- more brains are better than just one!

How did you identify and seize opportunities for advancement in your career?

Stepping out of my comfort zone has been my biggest learning curve, offering to lead/manage something that I may not have done before but also accepting and learning from my mistakes.

Have you achieved everything you wanted in your career so far?

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I have had, I have never been one for status, so I am happy with what I have achieved, but as always, I am happy to learn and take on new opportunities 

How important is personal development to your success, and how do you approach it?

There is no success to me without personal development. I am passionate about being an empowering, open, person-centric person and truly believe that although there are processes to follow, I trust and am led by my moral compass. Especially in HR, I always ensure that whatever decision I make, even the difficult ones, I can put my head on my pillow at night knowing I did the right moral thing  

How do you prioritise tasks when everything feels like a priority?

I ask myself, how is this affecting people and how will this impact the business objectives. Often you realise not everything is a priority, but a nice to have, or a not for right now.

What was the hardest decision you have taken as a leader?

The hardest decisions are those that impact people. I have had to make difficult decisions about people's employment, but with honesty and constructive feedback the decisions have always been understood and accepted. 

But by far the hardest decision I have ever made is a choice to leave a job many years ago as I did not agree with the values and honesty of the business. I left without a job to go to but knew I had to stick to my personal values. The result was the business ended up in the press for fraud, so it reassured me to stick to my gut instinct. The CEO also rang me years later to ask me to work with her again as she realised what an honest person I was with true integrity. I decided not to work with her again, but it made me really trust my moral compass. 

What steps do you take to measure your own performance?

Two main things- the success and development of others, and the achievement of the HR KPIs 

What does success mean for you as a business leader?

To have the respect and trust of my employees, this to me is real success.