Mychal Coleman
CHRO
Grand Valley State University
Episode 244
Unlock Strategic Supremacy: Your HR Department is the Key to Disruptive Growth
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleApril 7, 2025 · 22:56
Thesis
“The sophistication and strategic capability of an HR department directly correlate with an organization's ability to achieve strategic supremacy, world-class status, and disruptive innovation, emphasizing that compliance-only HR models hinder growth and adaptability.”
Show notes
"No organization has ever achieved strategic supremacy, obtained world-class status, or created disruptive innovation without a highly sophisticated HR department." That's not a motivational poster — it's the central thesis of Mychal Coleman's career, backed by decades of research and practice.
As CHRO at Grand Valley State University, Mychal has developed a framework for understanding HR maturity that is more diagnostic than most: four distinct business models (Compliance, Universal, Business Partner, and Change Expert) that map to an organization's strategic ambition. His sharpest observation is that most organizations dramatically overestimate where they sit. Companies label their HR generalists "business partners" and assume they're operating at the strategic tier — when in reality, they're stuck in a compliance model, wondering why HR has a bad reputation. His answer is blunt: "You can't get mad at your HR department. They're doing what you designed them to do."
Mychal brings the same directness to the question of HR integrity. The function is, he notes, the only one in an organization capable of overruling a president or executive who is violating policy. That power demands a specific kind of courage — the willingness to ask yourself every morning whether today is the day you resign over a principle. It's not dramatic posturing; it's the professional discipline that separates HR leaders from HR administrators.
What you'll learn:
- The four HR business models — and how to honestly assess which one your organization is actually operating in
- Why compliance-only HR is incapable of supporting strategic growth, innovation, or complex talent initiatives
- How sophisticated HR functions correlate with Fortune 500 ranking — with case studies from IBM, McDonald's, and Intel
- The change expert / PST model: what it looks like and which organizations can actually pull it off
- Why HR is the only function with authority to overrule executive leadership on policy violations
- The integrity test: what it means to be willing to quit for principle — and why it matters
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What you'll take away
- 1HR business models (Compliance, Universal, Business Partner, Change Expert/PST) reflect an organization's maturity and strategic ambition, directly impacting its ability to achieve organizational goals.
- 2A compliance-only HR model, while limiting legal exposure, is fundamentally incapable of supporting strategic organizational growth, disruptive innovation, or complex talent initiatives.
- 3Sophisticated HR departments are indispensable for successful change management, superior talent acquisition, and robust leadership development, especially during significant organizational shifts or competitive market demands.
- 4HR professionals must uphold unwavering integrity and be prepared to challenge leadership when policies are violated, even if it risks their position, to defend the organization's long-term interests.
- 5Organizations that invest in and empower a highly sophisticated HR department gain a critical competitive advantage, as demonstrated by companies excelling in talent management and acquisition like McDonald's and Intel.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Many organizations mistakenly label their HR generalists as 'business partners,' overestimating their HR department's strategic capabilities and falling generations behind without realizing it.
- •HR is often the only function capable of overruling a president or executive if they are violating policies, a power often underutilized or unacknowledged.
- •No organization can achieve world-class status or disruptive innovation without a highly sophisticated HR department, directly challenging the perception of HR as merely an administrative cost center.
In Mychal's words
“Being a recruiter is like choosing a Supreme Court justice. The person you choose is gonna direct this organization for the next 5 to 10 years, good or bad. You are selecting the individuals who will either make or break this organization.”
This quote profoundly elevates the strategic importance of recruiting, likening it to a decision with long-term, foundational impact on an organization.
“When you hear negative things about human resources, 9 times outta 10, my research, that HR department is in a compliance model.”
This insight connects common negative perceptions of HR directly to a limited operational model, suggesting a clear root cause for dissatisfaction.
“You can't get mad at your HR department. They're doing what you designed. They set up what you set 'em up to do. They're not capable.”
This powerful statement shifts accountability for HR's limitations from the department itself to the executive leadership that designed its structure and capabilities.
“No organization has ever achieved strategic supremacy. No organization has ever obtained world-class status or created disruptive innovation without the sophistication of a highly sophisticated HR department.”
This is a bold declaration that positions HR as an indispensable strategic driver, essential for any organization aiming for top-tier success and innovation.
“Every morning when you get up in the morning, you look in the mirror, you have to ask yourself, is today today? ... Is today the day you quit? Because the HR professional always have to have that in mind.”
This advice underscores the critical importance of integrity and courage for HR professionals, implying a readiness to sacrifice their position for ethical leadership.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Organizations struggle to achieve strategic ambitions because their HR departments are stuck in basic 'compliance' or 'universal' models, lacking the sophistication for strategic planning, change management, or advanced talent acquisition.
- •Negative perceptions of HR persist (e.g., 'HR is where no goes to die') because many departments operate purely on a binary, compliance-focused approach, unable to offer strategic guidance or innovative solutions.
- •Companies face weak bench strength and inefficiency in specialist-only HR structures, where the absence of one expert (e.g., a benefits person) can cripple an essential function.
- •Organizations undergoing significant shifts (e.g., product line changes, M&A) often fail due to an HR department incapable of designing and implementing the necessary change management, talent development, and compensation strategies.
- •Legal and financial exposure can increase (e.g., wage discrimination) if HR models are not adequately designed to limit such risks, highlighting the need for appropriate compliance structures when necessary.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
You work your way from recruiting to benefits to compensation to employee relations
How Did I Start in HR?
You've identified different HR business models that organizations can adopt
MS: The HR Business Models
The third and most sophisticated model is called a change, change expert
The Next Step: Change Management Models
Michael Miller: Human resources is much more than just recruiting
Michael Wolff on Human Resources
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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