This past week I attended a gathering of HR professionals who came together to network and trade strategies for building better teams. Our keynote speaker—a former elite athlete—hit the heart of the matter: talent alone isn’t enough. To win at the highest level, teams need more than skill. They need the right conditions, culture, and commitment to maximize that talent. And who creates those conditions, sets the culture, and models commitment? In sports, it’s the coach. In the workplace, it’s the manager.
The speaker offered a clever analogy: HR is like the position coach in sports. Yet too often HR isn’t seen as the driver of performance, but as the compliance police. No one I met at the conference wanted to be the “Toby” of their workplace. Every leader there carried a real passion for helping their people grow. So how did HR get stuck in the compliance box instead of being known for building championship teams?
I think it comes down to incentives.
Most HR, People, and L&D leaders care deeply about a few things:
- Creating great places to work.
- Reducing the costs of turnover.
- Proving ROI for every dollar spent on people.
But beneath those priorities lies something deeper: the desire not to be scapegoated when managers fail and teams fracture. The truth is, many HR leaders are working with one hand tied behind their back. They want budget to invest in people, but too often the organization confuses compliance management with talent development. One keeps you out of legal trouble. The other builds winning teams.
That’s exactly why we do what we do at ManagerEQ.
When I first started managing, I’ll admit—I didn’t see HR as an ally. I saw them as blockers, standing in the way of my best ideas (and, to be fair, protecting me from my worst). Over time, though, I began to work with talent leaders who saw the full picture: HR as a lever for culture, performance, and engagement. That’s when I realized the untapped potential here.
The future belongs to organizations that see HR and People leaders not as compliance enforcers, but as the vanguard of redefining how we work in ways that work for everyone. These are the teams that will thrive in the age of AI, shrinking labor markets, and global instability.
Because talent doesn’t always win. Not when barriers, burnout, and bad managers get in the way. The difference maker? Leaders—HR, L&D, and managers themselves—who put the right systems and habits in place to unlock the talent they already have.
That’s how you build championship teams.
Want to see it in action?
If you’re an L&D leader ready to multiply the effect of your managers, invite a few of them to join our upcoming 21 Day Challenge. It’s a low-lift, high-impact way to give your managers clarity, confidence, and habits that stick—so you can prove what’s possible in just three weeks.
