ABSTRACT

This chapter briefly outlines the early formation of the Human Resource Management (HRM) function as described in the literature and draw connections to the concept of leadership. It identifies some of the problems for a new and vital Human Resources (HR) leadership that this formation poses. The chapter considers the challenges that face HRM in association with the opportunities and threats that have been identified in academic analysis of HRM, leadership and organizational practice. Specifically, it draws on three domains in which HR leadership conceptualised, consisting of: the recruitment of senior HRM professionals, the development of HRM leaders through popular and professionalised HR competency frameworks, and mainstream and critical scholarly accounts of the HRM function. The shift to human resource management was positioned as a means of demonstrating the significance of humans as resources in organizations. The chapter offers one orientation to HR leadership that aims to be sustainable, ethical and contribute to the enhancement of human and organizational capability.