Why Most Leaders Get HR Wrong (and How to Fix it)

Plus, what DEI is and what it isn't

Author

Sean Patton
September 08, 2025

This week’s episode of No Limit Leadership with Celeste Warren, global HR and DEI leader, unpacks two of the most misunderstood parts of modern business leadership: Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. When leaders get these wrong, they stunt growth and weaken culture. But when done right, both become competitive advantages that drive performance, engagement, and long-term success.

Turning HR into a Force Multiplier

"As a manager and as a leader, your job is to manage and lead. That is your job. My job in HR is to provide resources, policies, and coaching to help you be a better manager and leader of your people. Full stop."

Celeste Warren

The Problem
Too often HR gets boxed into the role of compliance police, seen as an extension of legal counsel tasked with protecting the company rather than enabling its people. Add to that the second mistake: operational leaders offloading all leadership development, training, and coaching to HR. Both mindsets are a recipe for mediocrity. When HR is treated this way, leaders abdicate their responsibility to grow their teams, and HR is left managing rules instead of driving results.

The Solution
HR must be positioned as a strategic partner, just as critical as sales, operations, or finance. Their role is to bring business acumen through the lens of people: optimizing talent, enabling culture, and removing obstacles that hold teams back. But leaders must own the responsibility of developing their people. HR’s job is to equip, guide, and support them in doing it well. When HR is fully integrated into strategic decisions and trusted as a partner, they become a force multiplier for organizational performance.

Action Steps

  1. Be sure HR’s is positioned as a business function on equal footing with sales, operations, and finance.

  2. Retain ownership of development and take direct responsibility for growing your people.

  3. Build trust and credibility by inviting HR leaders into strategic conversations and treating them as advisors.

  4. Equip managers to know their role in talent development and give them the resources to succeed.

The Truth About Equity

"These are not robots. These are individuals who have different needs, come from different life experiences, come from different cultures. As a leader you have to meet them where they are and provide what they need to be better performers. That is diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Celeste Warren

The Moment We’re In
We are at a transitional time for DEI. The term has become politicized and, in many circles, dismissed as a buzzword. In some cases, it is even misused: reduced to quotas, preferential treatment, or performative statements that erode trust instead of building it.

What It Really Is
At its core, equity is not politics. It is leadership. It is the practice of understanding the individuality of your people and giving them what they need to perform at their best.

  • Diversity is the reality of different perspectives.

  • Inclusion is creating an environment where those perspectives are empowered.

  • Equity is the act of ensuring each individual has what they need to contribute fully.

Together, this is not “feel-good HR.” It is a leadership and business strategy.

The Business Case
Organizations that get this right outperform their peers. They understand customers better, innovate faster, and retain top talent longer. When leaders embrace DEI authentically, they create cultures where individuals feel valued, trusted, and empowered, and that translates directly into performance and growth.

Action Steps

  1. Debunk the myths by educating teams on what DEI is not.

  2. Anchor equity in leadership by treating it as a core leadership discipline.

  3. Connect DEI to business outcomes like customer insights, innovation, and performance.

Becoming a No Limit Leader

When HR is reduced to compliance and DEI is treated as a checkbox, leaders create weak cultures that erode trust, stifle innovation, and drive talent out the door.

But when HR is embraced as a strategic partner and equity is understood as the essence of great leadership, everything changes. You build a culture that attracts and retains top talent, empowers people to perform at their best, and turns your people team into a true competitive advantage. That is the path to creating thriving organizations in today’s world, and the leaders who get this right will own the future.

Challenge Limits. Develop Leaders. Fuel Greatness.
— Sean

PS: Executive Coach. Leadership Workshops. Keynote Speaking.

I help leaders unlock new levels of performance for themselves and teams. Ready to see what you’re truly capable of?

Let’s talk: nolimitleaders.com
Or book me to speak: seanpattonspeaks.com

Prefer the Podcast?

Catch the full conversation with Celeste Warren here:
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