With over 15 years of Human Resources experience, I currently lead as the Head of HR at Independent Food Company, leveraging CIPD credentials and an MBA to deliver transformative HR strategies. My expertise spans talent management, performance systems, and employee engagement, helping shape an inclusive, high-performing workplace aligned with organizational goals.  

I oversee strategic HR initiatives, including enhancing recruitment processes, implementing innovative sourcing tools, and designing talent development programs. Passionate about data-driven solutions, I collaborate with leadership to drive sustainable growth, foster operational excellence, and empower teams to unlock their full potential.

Ahmad Al Cheikh Hassan

Stop rewarding the loudest person in the room.


Not all productivity is loud.
Not all value is visible.

We’ve created a corporate culture that mistakes "presence" for "performance."
• Some people promote the work.
• Others actually move the business forward.

Strong organizations learn to measure impact — not noise.

Strong leaders learn to recognize silent performers before they disengage.
Real growth is built quietly… by consistent delivery.

If you can’t see the value of your quietest employee, you aren't looking hard enough.

#hr #humanresources #employeeexperience #performance #goals #rewards #people #culture #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

Head of HR | CIPD & MBA | 15 Years Driving HR Innovation | Strategic Leader in Human Capital Excellence, Business Integration & Organizational Transformation

Most companies say they want great talent.


But many reject it… in the first 6 seconds of looking at a CV.

Because the candidate has:

• An employment gap
• No university degree
• Is over 45 years old
• Was once fired
• Changed careers
• Or simply doesn’t fit the traditional mold

And just like that… potential is filtered out.

But here is something I have learned during my years in HR:

Some of the most loyal, resilient, and high-performing employees are the ones who were once overlooked.

The candidate with an employment gap may have faced life challenges that built resilience.

The professional without a degree may have spent years mastering their craft through real experience.

The person who is 45 years old may bring wisdom, leadership, and stability that younger teams deeply need.

The employee who was once fired may have learned the most valuable lessons about accountability, growth, and performance.

Talent doesn’t always come wrapped in a perfect resume.

Sometimes it comes with:

• struggle
• determination
• self-learning
• persistence
• humility
• hunger to prove themselves

And those qualities often create extraordinary employees.

As leaders, recruiters, and decision makers, we must ask ourselves a difficult question:

Are we truly hiring the best talent… or just the safest profiles?

Because when we judge people only by credentials, titles, or perfect timelines…

We risk missing the people who could transform our teams, culture, and organizations.

Behind many “non-traditional” profiles are individuals with incredible stories, untapped potential, and a drive that cannot be taught.

And sometimes…

The person everyone else rejected
Becomes the person who changes everything.

So maybe it’s time to rethink how we define talent.

Maybe it’s time to give people a fair shot.

Because the real talent is often the one we almost overlooked.

#hr #humanresources #hrstrategy #employeeexperiences #talents #business #management #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

The most dangerous HR professional in any company is the “Yes sir” HR.


Not the inexperienced one.
Not the overly strict one.

The one who never disagrees with leadership.

If HR’s only role is to defend every executive decision, even the poor ones, then let’s stop pretending it’s a people function.

That’s not strategic HR.
That’s executive PR.

Real HR leadership means having the backbone to say:

• “This termination exposes us.”
• “This policy will damage morale.”
• “We are about to lose good people if we do this.”

Alignment does not mean obedience.

If your HR leader has never pushed back on you, that’s not loyalty. That’s a red flag.

Because when employees say, “HR is for management, not for us,”
that perception didn’t come from nowhere.

HR should protect the business, yes.
But protecting the business sometimes means protecting it from its own leaders.


#hr #humanresources #strategy #people #culture #leaders #leadership #mamangement #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

Many people love ideas.


Brainstorming.
Innovation sessions.
Whiteboards full of possibilities.

It feels exciting.

But here is the uncomfortable truth:

A lot of “idea people” are addicted to the excitement of starting, not the discipline of finishing.

Because execution is very different.

Execution is not glamorous.

Execution is:
• repetitive
• demanding
• structured
• uncomfortable

Execution exposes your weaknesses, gaps, and blind spots.

It forces you to move from talking about success to actually earning it.

And that’s the part many people quietly avoid.

The reality is this:

Organizations rarely fail because they lack vision.

Most companies already have:
• strategies
• roadmaps
• presentations
• ambitious plans

What they often lack is something far more difficult.

Operational courage.

The courage to:
• stay disciplined when the excitement fades
• hold teams accountable
• repeat the fundamentals every single day
• finish what was started

Ideas create momentum.

But execution creates results.

And in the end, organizations are not defined by the ideas they discuss…

They are defined by the work they actually finish.

#leaders #leadership #management #people #hr #goals #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

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I’m #hiring for an open role. Know anyone who would be a good fit?

Micromanagement is the quickest way to kill a high-performer’s spirit.


I’ve seen it firsthand:

When people feel monitored, they switch to survival mode. They do just enough to stay off the radar. They stop taking risks. 

They stop thinking.

But when you replace surveillance with trust? Everything shifts.

• Survival becomes Ownership.
• Compliance becomes Commitment.
• "Not my job" becomes "I’ve got this."

People don’t fail because they lack skill; they fail because they lack the autonomy to use it. You cannot demand "best efforts" while holding a leash.

People will always rise (or fall) to the level of trust they are given.

Agree?

#people #culture #leaders #leadership #hr #hrstrategy #strategy #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

I’m #hiring for an open role ( Project Coordinator, FFE technical) Know anyone who would be a good fit?

LinkedIn Top Voice | Head of HR | CIPD & MBA | 15 Years Driving HR Innovation | Strategic Leader in Human Capital Excellence, Business Integration & Organizational Transformation

Stop treating HR like a to-do list. 


Hiring, policies, training, and performance reviews are activities.

Building the muscle to win? That is strategy.

The confusion starts because most organizations only value what they can see. They see the interview, but they don’t see the systemic capability that ensures we’re hiring for the future, not just filling a seat today.

The Reality:
HR strategy is not a list of programs. It is the operating system that turns "having employees" into "having a competitive advantage."

If you want to know if HR is working strategically, ask these four questions:

• Can we build leaders faster than our competitors?
• Can we adapt our culture when the strategy shifts?
• Can we sustain performance under pressure?
• Can we mobilize talent when new opportunities emerge?

If the answer is Yes, you have a strategy.
If the answer is "We're still processing the paperwork," you are just operating at the activity level.

The Shift:
Administrative HR protects the organization.
Strategic HR dictates where the organization goes.
The best HR leaders don’t choose one—they master the altitude shift between both. Because in the end, strategy isn't built in slide decks; it’s built in people systems.

#hr #strategy #hrstrategy #people #culture #employeeexperience #humancapital #business #partner #leaders #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

HR is the corporate scapegoat, and it’s time we stopped playing the role.


HR is frequently blamed for problems it has absolutely no control over.

When a manager avoids a tough performance conversation…

When leadership pivots strategy every single quarter…

When toxic culture has been quietly festering for years…

The expectation is always the same: “HR, go fix it.”

But let’s be clear about the reality:

• HR cannot hold every manager’s hand through every difficult conversation.
• HR cannot magically repair trust that leadership continues to break.
• HR cannot build a healthy culture in a vacuum.

The best HR teams are architects. They build the systems, the training, and the feedback loops. But architects don’t live in the house, the employees and managers do.

Ultimately, leadership has to lead. 

We are expected to intervene. But the truth is, HR builds the systems, but leadership has to build the culture.

#culture #people #hr #humaneesources #strategy #employeeexperience #leaders #leadership #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

I used to think high-performing teams were about talent.


(I couldn't be more wrong)

I used to think it was all about:
• Hiring smart people.
• Setting ambitious goals.
• Staying out of their way.

That sounds logical. It’s also incomplete.

Most underperforming teams I’ve seen were full of smart people. What they lacked wasn’t intelligence. It was discipline in how they operated.

If you zoom out, team failure usually follows the same pattern:

1. No trust
• People hide mistakes.
• Updates are polished, never raw.
• Real problems surface too late.

2. No healthy conflict
• Meetings feel “smooth” but nothing real is debated.
• Disagreements happen in private.
• Silence gets mistaken for alignment.

3. Weak commitment
• Decisions get reopened.
• Strategy drifts.
• People execute halfway.

4. Soft accountability
• Deadlines slip.
• Ownership is unclear.
• Standards quietly drop.

5. Poor results
• Targets are missed.
• Energy drops.
• Top performers leave first.

Most leaders try to fix #5. More KPIs. More dashboards. More pressure.
But performance problems usually start at #1.

If you want to rebuild:

1. Build trust
• Model vulnerability first.
• Admit your own mistakes publicly.
• Reward honesty over polish.

2. Enable healthy conflict
• Time-box debates.
• Assign a devil’s advocate.
• Close every discussion with a clear decision.

3. Lock in commitment
• Recap decisions in writing.
• Define success clearly.
• Assign one owner per outcome.

4. Enforce accountability
• Review progress weekly.
• Make standards visible.
• Address slippage immediately.

Performance problems often look like execution issues. But they’re usually trust issues wearing a productivity mask.

#leadership #leaders #management #goals #trust #performance #people #hr #strategy #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

Stop "Managing" Your People. 


We have a fundamental problem with the term "Human Resources."

Think about it: A "resource" is an inanimate asset—like capital, software, or office furniture. You manage these things for maximum efficiency and output.

"You LEAD PEOPLE and you MANAGE THINGS."

When we treat our team members like "resources" or "units of production," we fall into the trap of managing them as if they are machines or systems.

The reality?
❌ People are not projects.
❌ People are not inanimate objects.
❌ People are not incapable of thought and emotion.

The moment a leader loses sight of the human element is the moment they begin to underachieve. You can’t "optimize" a human being with a spreadsheet. You inspire them through trust, empathy, and clear vision.

The shift is simple but profound:
1. Manage your systems, operations, and budgets with precision.
2. Lead your people with heart and humanity.

Don't just manage the resource. Lead the people.

I’d love to hear your thoughts: When was the last time a leader actually led you instead of just managing you? What did they do differently? 

#leadership #leaders #management #people #hr #culture #leadbyexample #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

You don’t have a "trust issue." You have a "control habit."


Most leaders micromanage because they fear the "how" won't match their own, but when you dictate every step, you kill the initiative, you stall your team’s growth, and you keep yourself chained to the details.

If you want to scale, you have to stop being the instruction manual and start being the architect of outcomes.

Try this the next time you delegate—especially for tasks outside someone’s usual job description:

1. Define the Goal: Make the objective crystal clear.
2. Define the Budget: Set the resources they have to work with.
3. Step Back: Give them the space to own the "how."

Your job isn't to oversee the process, your job is to be the resource they come to if they hit a wall.

By focusing on the What instead of the How, you transform your team from "instruction-followers" into "problem-solvers."

If they need help, they’ll ask. If they don't, you just bought yourself hours of time—and they just gained the confidence to own a new skill.

Stop being the GPS. Start being the North Star.

#Leadership #productivity #management #delegation #growth #Mindset #goal #hr #humanresources #people #culture #performance #linkedin #linkedinconnections #aach

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Ahmad Al Cheikh Hassan

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