Within my first week as a Portfolio Project Management Assistant for the Office of Human Resources (OHR), I discovered how many university initiatives quietly rely on HR to move forward. Since then, I have continued to meet and collaborate with project leaders from a wide range of functional areas and have seen how deeply HR is woven into the success of their work. Watching these projects unfold showed me that HR is not simply an administrative function. It is a strategic connector that helps people, programs, and systems move forward.
HR truly is at the heart of organizational strategy and far more operational than many people realize. It touches nearly every department and influences areas such as talent management, employee wellbeing, compensation, onboarding, training, and organizational effectiveness. Through the meetings I attended and the people I worked with, I gained a deeper understanding of how HR supports the university’s mission by enabling people and systems to work together in intentional and meaningful ways.
As I supported HR projects throughout the semester, several lessons emerged that continue to shape how I think about HR work and how I hope to show up as an HR professional.
Lesson 1: Organization and Communication Are Essential
Meeting with project leaders reinforced how important clear communication and well-defined expectations are. Projects often involve people from different departments with competing priorities, so strong communication is what keeps them aligned. Through structured documentation, timely updates, and project tracking tools, I could clearly understand progress and share information in a way that helped others feel supported and informed. A personal lesson I learned was how to clarify expectations without overwhelming others. I began by asking every stakeholder detailed questions about their preferences, which unintentionally created confusion and decision fatigue. Over time, I learned to enter meetings with a recommended structure, then ask for feedback. This approach reduced stress, created smoother conversations, and helped us reach decisions more efficiently. In HR, communication is not just about process. It is about building alignment and trust among people who work in different parts of the organization.
Lesson 2: Lead with Confidence and Curiosity
I also learned the value of leading with both confidence and curiosity. This mindset was especially important when meeting project leads for the first time and learning about their goals, challenges, and progress. Approaching conversations with confidence in my project management abilities allowed me to guide discussions and ask the questions that needed to be asked, even when I was new to the work.
At the same time, showing genuine curiosity opened the door for deeper insights. I was able to ask clarifying questions, build context behind decisions, and see the passion individuals brought to their projects. Curiosity helps HR professionals understand the real needs of employees and leaders, while confidence helps move conversations forward. Balancing these two qualities made my interactions more productive and helped me build strong working relationships.
Lesson 3: Understand Systems and How Groups Interact
Throughout this assistantship, I saw how HR projects ripple across the entire institution. A change in one process or system often influences onboarding workflows, financial approvals, training requirements, or access to technology. Because HR touches so many areas, decisions made in one project can affect the employee experience in more than just the immediate team. This taught me the importance of systems thinking. By taking time to understand how departments interact, how information flows, and where potential challenges may arise, I could better anticipate impacts and support project outcomes. In HR, understanding the broader organizational landscape is essential because people rely on consistent and well-integrated systems to do their best work.
Lesson 4: Identify and Learn From Subject Matter Experts
Every project relies on subject matter experts (SMEs) whose knowledge is essential for making informed decisions. As someone new to the landscape, I learned how important it is to understand who the experts are and when to involve them. I often depended on others’ knowledge of their teammates’ strengths and expertise, and those insights were invaluable. Once the right experts were identified, I focused on asking thoughtful questions and translating their input into actionable next steps. My manager played an important role in this process. His guidance, experience, and support helped me understand the complexities of project management in HR work and reinforced how critical mentorship is for developing strong HR leaders. SMEs shape policies, processes, and tools that impact employees every day, and learning from them is a key part of being effective in the HR field.
Throughout this assistantship, I have strengthened my interest in HR operations and organizational effectiveness. I have improved my communication and collaboration skills, gained confidence in facilitating meetings, and developed a better understanding of organizational dynamics. Most importantly, this experience helped me see how strategic HR and project management intersect. HR is not only about supporting people, but also about creating the systems, structures, and processes that allow people to thrive.
Being an HR project manager requires organization, collaboration, structure, and an understanding of both people and systems. It also requires curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from the professionals in OHR and am excited to continue building the skills I developed throughout this experience. This assistantship deepened my understanding of HR’s strategic impact and confirmed to me the importance of finding roles that bring systems thinking and people-centered leadership together.