Hi, I’m Colleen
I make complicated things make more sense.
I’m Colleen J. McDonald, SPHR—an HR professional and published author with more than 20 years of experience helping people make sense of complicated workplace situations.
My career spans recruiting and HR business partnership, including supporting leaders through reorganization, organizational change, employee concerns, and difficult decisions. For the past six years, I’ve focused on accommodations and accessibility, helping connect individual needs with the work a business needs people to do.
I notice the thing underneath the thing—and, unfortunately for confusing processes everywhere, I cannot unsee it.
Experience behind the advice
Being an HR business partner means understanding what leaders are trying to accomplish and helping them think through how to get there. Who will be affected? What might we be missing? Can the manager explain the decision, follow through, and support the people involved?
I bring curiosity, candor, and practical judgment to those conversations. Sometimes that means helping a leader navigate change. Sometimes it means identifying a barrier, challenging an assumption, or slowing down a decision long enough to understand its consequences.
Much of HR is persuading without authority. Credibility comes from understanding the business, building relationships, and offering advice people can use. I want leaders to know I’m on their side—and that being on their side includes telling them something they may need to reconsider.
Support that helps people move forward
I love helping people who help other people. Coaching, mentoring, training, and development are where I find my job joy.
If someone doesn’t know how to approach a difficult conversation, we can write it down, rehearse it, and work through what might happen next. I want them to leave feeling more confident and prepared to take responsibility.
I believe empathy and accountability belong at the same table. We can understand what someone is experiencing, offer meaningful support, and be clear about expectations.
I also expect to learn from the people I support. More than 20 years of experience hasn’t eliminated the need to ask questions—or occasionally take my own advice.
Another way I share what I know
My books bring together my HR experience, curiosity, and sense of humor. Writing gives me another way to explore the things we encounter at work: confusing decisions, difficult conversations, human behavior, and the occasional situation you could not possibly have made up.
I want readers to recognize something familiar, consider a different perspective, and leave with something they can use. A little laughter along the way certainly helps.
Follow through—and leave room for laughter
There’s no shame in saying, “I don’t know. Let me find out, and I’ll circle back so we both know.”
The important part is actually circling back.
I take commitments seriously. I want people to know their time matters, their questions deserve attention, and they can count on me to do what I said I would do.
And yes, there is room for humor. Some of this work is difficult. Warmth and a little laughter help people feel comfortable enough to ask the next question, consider another perspective, and keep going.
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Honest stories, useful ideas, and the occasional thing I probably could have kept to myself.
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