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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
A comprehensive guide to success in the changing HR leadership role THREE is the definitive guidebook for thriving in the ever-changing role of HR leadership. Itis written for high potential HR emerging executives who want to accelerate their effectiveness and business impact, and for the bosses, peers, colleagues, friends, coaches, mentors, and teachers who want to assist them in doing so. Centered around three critical and complementary aspects of the role, this book explores leadership philosophy, HR's evolving role in today's organizations, and the future of HR and effective organizations to help emerging HR leaders find and establish their place in the field. The interplay between leadership and HR competencies is clearly laid out, and lessons learned from CHROs and other HR leaders, as well as academic thought leaders, form the basis of authoritative coverage of crucial components of effective HR leadership, now and in the future. The discussion simplifies the relationship between business strategy and human capital strategy; balances the "what," "who," and "when" of HR leader development, and explores the themes, trends, and implications emerging in the HR field. You'll learn how to lead change, master the art of the question, build leadership and talent, create a performance culture, understand Boardroom dynamics, and learn tips and techniques from over one hundred of the very best HR leaders. The book begins with a comprehensive self-assessment, and each chapter ends with a self-assessment specific to that chapter. Also, a wealth of tools and checklists are included to help you start immediately applying what you've learned. HR leaders are under more pressure than ever to deliver high quality people-related solutions quickly and effectively, but they often don't have the broad foundational experience and perspective to effectively do so. This book provides the solution in the form of comprehensive examination and practical implementation of the critical components of the HR leadership role. * Develop a personal leadership philosophy, and behaviors for success * Embody the changing HR role to make people and organizations more effective * Ask the right questions and effectively engage other leaders * Create a performance-driven culture and anticipate critical resistance points * Anticipate and prepare for the future of work, organizations, and HR to ensure you remain relevant Today's organizations demand a broader array of cross-functional and cross-organizational perspectives to address complex multi-dimensional challenges and orchestrate practical solutions. THREE is the emerging HR leader's guide to acquiring the mindset and skillset required for success.
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Seitenzahl: 364
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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“Ziskin provides a highly readable and engaging look at the roadmap to excellence for aspiring Human Resources executives. The advice is focused and actionable, clear and highly relevant. If you want to be a great HR executive, this is a must read place to start. When combined with curiosity, courage, flexibility, and hard work it is a very powerful formula for success.”
William Allen Chief Human Resources Officer Macy's Inc.
“Ian's book provides a comprehensive framework for any aspiring HR executive who wants to maximize their career potential by driving organizational performance.”
Joseph A. Bosch Executive Vice President, Human Resources DirecTV
“If you could be coached by an HR leader who epitomizes unique HR insight and wisdom – forged by working with leaders and employees at all levels, across multiple industries, organizations, and business challenges – Ian Ziskin is that HR leader. In THREE, Ian has distilled his insight and wisdom into a game-changing, highly practical, and forward-thinking tool that raises the bar on HR capability by addressing the what, who, when, where, why, and how of great HR leadership.”
John W. Boudreau Professor and Research Director Center for Effective Organizations USC Marshall School of Business
“Ian has always had the unique ability to take HR from the theoretical to the practical and make it ‘real'. In today's business environment, the organizations that differentiate talent and human capital management for competitive advantage and value creation will be the ones that break out of the pack, and this book offers a ‘real world' approach to achieve just that.”
Aris Chicles Executive Vice President and President, Industrial Process ITT Corporation
“Increasingly, business success hinges on effective leadership and management of human capital. Ziskin's passion for the HR profession is captured in THREE as he generously shares insights based on his own experiences and thoughtfully takes us through the critical components of being a successful business leader. This book provides great practical guidance for both current and future leaders.”
Lisa Connell Executive Director HR People + Strategy
“In this wonderful book for rising HR executives, Ian combines personal experiences as a leader and consultant with top organizations to help rising high performers reach their potential. This truly unique book goes beyond, and offers a range of tools and frameworks that can aid one's journey.”
Robert Cross Associate Professor of Commerce McIntire School of Commerce University of Virginia
“Ian is a guiding light in the world of HR, and THREE is a fantastic integration of the major trends in business and how human capital (or people) management must respond to drive business value. THREE is a must read for anyone who's interested in the creation and management of high-performance organizations.”
Mike Dulworth President & CEO Executive Networks, Inc.
“THREE is a primer in the world of the human resources executive, written by one who has BEEN THERE and DONE IT. Ian Ziskin knows his subject matter thoroughly, as he has lived it. We are privileged that he has taken the time to share it.”
James Ellis Dean of the Marshall School of Business Robert R. Dockson Dean's Chair in Business Administration, and Professor of Clinical Marketing USC Marshall School of Business
“As a former CHRO and as a parent to two emerging HR leaders, I know what book I will be recommending they read. Ian has done us all a great service by providing an engaging vehicle for current and prospective HR leaders to contemplate their personal development and to learn from proven leaders in the HR profession.”
Debra Engel Board Member, Institute for the Future Former Chief Human Resources Officer, 3COM
“One of the most important jobs we have as CHROs is to develop the next generation of HR leaders who will take the function to a higher level…Ian's book will help all of us to make that happen.”
Rich Floersch Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer McDonald's
“THREE provides sound, practical and actionable ideas, as well as practices and tools for any aspiring (or current) CHRO. Ian has brought his 30 plus years of HR leadership to bear in providing a resource to the profession that is infinitely readable and more importantly do-able.”
Curt Gray Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration BAE Systems
“The more the business strategy and the people strategy are integrated….the bigger the wins. Ian has created a very practical guide to help HR leaders get laser focused on the right questions to drive to the right solutions and outcomes for the business. Great HR leaders are the ultimate portfolio managers, not just managing processes, tools and frameworks, but ruthlessly prioritizing where to invest in the right people to accelerate value for the firm.”
Monique Herena Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer BNY Mellon
“Ian has done a masterful job of distilling the art and science of HR into a practical and compelling guide. A must read for any aspiring HR leader.”
Ravin Jesuthasan Managing Director Towers Watson
“At heart, great HR leaders are great business leaders. THREE delivers a dynamic mix of thought-provoking insights and practical tools for HR professionals to continue their own growth and help the function achieve its full potential. Ziskin does an amazing job of challenging HR leaders to lift up their heads, look around, and develop themselves in a way that connects with both the function and the business overall.”
Lacey Leone McLaughlin Director, Executive Education Center for Effective Organizations USC Marshall School of Business
“THREE offers a thorough, balanced and actionable framework for CHROs and senior HR executives seeking to define and sustain HR functional excellence within their organization. Ziskin has advanced the HR profession considerably with an operative model firmly grounded in a critical analysis of the function, augmented by years of insights across a wide range of industries and organizational settings.”
Alan May Executive Vice President, Human Resources Hewlett Packard Enterprise
“Ian Ziskin has been able to crystalize over three decades of impressive HR experience into a compelling, thought provoking, and ‘must read' book for everyone who seeks to be a great leader in HR and a great leader overall. Most compelling for me is Ian's vision of exemplary HR leaders as “Orchestra Maestros” with the responsibility and opportunity to ‘lead, follow, or get out of the way—to reach out beyond the boundaries and traditional disciplines of HR to bring together expertise and capabilities from multiple functions.' Ian's vision for excellence, combined with practical advice, should be on everyone's reading list!”
Eva Sage-Gavin Vice Chair, Aspen Institute's Skills for America's Future Advisory Board Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group Former Chief Human Resources Officer, Gap Inc.
“THREE is packed with future vision as well as practical ideas. Learn how great leaders are like orchestra conductors managing human capital black holes and white spaces. Ian provides an insight into future trends that will impact us all, but he gives us the opportunity to influence our future.”
William A. Schiemann Principal Metrus Group
“Ian provides a must read for aspiring and current CHRO's alike. His bold, transparent and constructive insight merges the paths of leadership and HR to forge the type of strategic leaders CEOs demand in today's competitive and ever changing environment.”
Jeffrey S. Shuman Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer Quest Diagnostics
“Ian Ziskin has created an engaging and delightfully readable work. But make no mistake—his experience, insight, and thoughtful advice are right on the money for any aspiring future CHRO.”
Ronald Sugar Former Chairman and CEO Northrop Grumman Corporation Member, Boards of Directors of Chevron, Amgen, and Apple
“Ian has a knack for observing good HR work and offering practical advice for the emerging HR professional. His work transfers his insights and experiences into actions aspiring HR professionals can quickly adopt.”
Dave Ulrich Rensis Likert Professor of Business, University of Michigan Partner, The RBL Group
“Lots of books exist extolling what great HR looks like, how to build great HR functions, and how to align HR with the business. However, all of these efforts require leaders…HR executives who have developed their own leadership styles, values and goals. Ian Ziskin's THREE is one of the few books that focus on how individual HR professionals can emerge to become true leaders. It is a must read for those that aspire to rise to the highest levels of the organization, and from there to have a positive impact.”
Patrick M. Wright Thomas C. Vandiver Bicentennial Chair in Business Director, Center for Executive Succession Department of Management Darla Moore School of Business University of South Carolina
This book is dedicated to my family and friends for making me want to be a better person, and to my clients and colleagues for making me want to be a better professional.
THREE
The Human Resources Emerging Executive
Ian Ziskin
Cover design: Wiley
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright © 2015 by Ian Ziskin. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Ziskin, Ian. Three : the human resources emerging executive / Ian Ziskin. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-119-05710-9 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-119-05714-7 ISBN 978-1-119-05717-8 (epub)
1. Personnel management. 2. Personnel directors. I. Title. HF5549.Z56 2015 658.3–dc23
2015020147
CONTENTS
Introduction
THREE
PulseCheck (Before)
CHAPTER 1 Act Like It’s Personal
Personal Leadership Philosophy
CHAPTER 2 Balance the Triangle
What? Who? When? Development
CHAPTER 3 Follow the Money
Business/Human Capital Strategy
CHAPTER 4 Think from What to What
Change Leadership
CHAPTER 5 Master the Art of the Question
Business Partnership
CHAPTER 6 Build the Talenterprise™
Leadership and Talent Development
CHAPTER 7 Find Your WillBe
™
High Potential Acceleration
CHAPTER 8 Navigate the Crossroads
Performance Culture
CHAPTER 9 Get on Board
Boardroom Dynamics
CHAPTER 10 Conduct the Orchestra
The Future of HR
Six Future of HR Themes
Nine Future of HR Trends: A Deeper Dive
HR’s Reach Exceeds Its Grasp
HR as Orchestra Conductor
CHAPTER 11 Pursue Insight
New Ways of Thinking about HR
The “Art of the Question” Trumps “the Answer”
Environmental Scanning: A Pivotal Competency for All HR Executives
References
Boardroom Presence: The Most Important Capability That HR Executives Can Possess
References
What HR Executives Need to Know
References
The Development of Leadership Capability in Modern Organizations: The Role of the HR Executive
Becoming an HR Professional
Notes and References
The HR Executive’s Most Crucial Capability? A Strategic Leadership Mindset
References
The Story of HR Courage
CHAPTER 12 Honor HR HeRoes
Lessons Learned on the Playing Field
Top Themes
1. Business Acumen to Advise and Influence
THREE
PulseCheck (After)
Epilogue
Appendix 1 Personal Leadership Profile
Appendix 2 Human Capital Strategy Framework
Appendix 3 Performance Culture Assessment
Appendix 4 ZTRON Technologies, Inc. Mini-Case Study
References
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Contributors
Index
EULA
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1
The Four Cs
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1
HR Leadership Development Checklist
Figure 2.2
HR Leader Development Triangle
Figure 2.3
Lessons Learned About Gaps
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1
Human Capital Strategy Framework
Figure 3.2
Human Capital Strategy Questions
Figure 3.3
Implications for Human Capital Strategy
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1
Leading Change Framework
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1
The Art of the Question
Figure 5.2
Ten Inflection Points of Coaching
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1
Four Key Areas of Contribution
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1
Thirteen Characteristics of WillBe’s
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1
Business Performance Drivers
Figure 8.2
Performance Culture Framework
Figure 8.3
Cultural Crossroads
Chapter 9
Figure 9.1
The Board’s Role
Figure 9.2
Evolving CHRO Role with the Board
Figure 9.3
Executive Compensation Priorities
Figure 9.4
Talent and Organization Priorities
Figure 9.5
Key Metrics
Figure 9.6
Advice and Engagement
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1
Workforce/Workplace Challenges
Figure 10.2
Black Holes and White Spaces
Figure 10.3
Future of HR Themes
Figure 10.4
Nine Deeper-Dive Future of HR Themes
Figure 10.5
Importance of HR Trends
Figure 10.6
Role of HR in the Future
Figure 10.7
HR as Orchestra Conductor
Chapter 11
Figure 11.1
Leadership: An Integrated Perspective
Appendix 2
Figure A2.1
Human Capital Strategy Framework
Figure A2.2
Human Capital Strategy Dimensions
Figure A2.3
Human Capital Strategy Implications
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
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Introduction
In 1987, I was sitting in my HR boss's office having a feedback discussion related to the recently conducted company succession planning process. It was one of those meetings that turned out to be life-changing on a few levels.
First, the fact that my company, TRW, had a succession planning process was in and of itself more uncommon than I understood at the time. I believed all companies had a real succession planning process. Crazy, right?
Second, I actually thought it was quite common to receive candid feedback from the succession planning process. I believed all companies gave their leaders feedback about their strengths, development needs, and career potential. Crazier still?
Finally, the most remarkable thing of all was receiving the following feedback. My HR boss told me that the senior HR leaders of the company believed I had the potential to someday be the executive vice president of human resources for TRW—what many of us call “chief human resources officer” these days. I was twenty-nine years old and will never forget the first thing that popped out of my mouth, even before I could express gratitude, excitement, disagreement, or fear. Half-shocked, I simply blurted out, “WHY?????”
Some people to whom I have told this story over the years have suggested that, if I were smarter, I would have asked “WHEN?” rather than “WHY?” Trust me, I am just not that smart.
It wasn't that I was questioning the motives or wisdom of the HR leadership. I was instead literally dumbfounded and wondering what they saw in me that I didn't yet see in myself.
My boss did provide me very helpful feedback that day about “WHY?”—some flattering, some developmental, and some downright intimidating. It was great to know someone thought I was a high potential, and frightening to think about the responsibilities and implications of such an endorsement—especially at such an early stage in my career.
But this story is not about the details of the feedback I received, nor is it an ego trip related to being told I was a high potential. The point is that this one discussion embedded an indelible image in my mind about the importance of real feedback—good or bad—and the implications and responsibilities of great development that must accompany the feedback in order to make it meaningful. That one meeting changed my life.
Ever since that day, stimulated by my own experience, I have been obsessed with better understanding how to identify, develop, and prepare leaders for leadership roles. As a career-long HR leader, I have a particular passion for working with and enabling other HR people to figure out what makes for great HR, and for great HR leadership. Therefore, think of this book as a compilation of thirty-three years of many mistakes and a few smart moves made, challenges won and lost, and lessons learned and lessons I should have learned based on my own experiences. It is also a nod to the experiences of hundreds of HR and non-HR leaders—friends and colleagues whom I have had the pleasure to work with and learn from.
THREE is written for high potential HR emerging executives who want to accelerate their effectiveness and business impact, and for the bosses, peers, colleagues, friends, coaches, mentors, and teachers who want to assist them in doing so. There is even something in here for line leaders who are looking for ways to get the most out of their HR people—leaders who want to raise the bar on everyone's expectations of HR, including their own.
Chapters 1 and 2 will make you think about yourself—what you want to be known for as a leader and how well or poorly you are controlling your own destiny by managing your own development. These self-management elements are a crucial foundation to enable HR people to be better leaders themselves, and to therefore bring out the best in others.
Chapters 3 through 10 explore what the very best emerging and experienced HR leaders know and do. These chapters will cause you to consider whether you are focusing on the right capabilities, competencies, and content that will make the biggest difference to your effectiveness as an HR leader—now and in the future.
Chapters 11 and 12 illustrate the importance of learning from others. We will benefit from the unvarnished perspectives of eight academic thought leaders who study and work with HR executives and organizations all over the world, and we will also learn from input provided by over 100 highly experienced and up-and-coming HR colleagues, all of whom have a lot to say about what it takes to be successful as an HR executive.
I am fortunate to be in a profession I love, surrounded by incredible colleagues who make people and organizations more effective. Thanks to them, and to you, for making a difference—every day!
Ian Ziskin
June 2015
Sag Harbor, New York
CHAPTER 1Act Like It’s Personal
Personal Leadership Philosophy
In his book, Leadership Is an Art, Max DePree defined leadership as follows: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant” (DePree, 1989, 11). I can’t think of a more appropriate way for HR people to think about themselves as leaders.
Our job as HR executives is to cause people and organizations to be more effective and to address reality with brutal optimism. We help others to see challenges for what they really are, confront them, and resolve them. It is also our job to serve others—not to be subservient, but to serve the needs of people and the organizations in which they work. Serve them by making them better and more effective. Serve them by helping them seek the truth, obtain real feedback, and deal with change. Serve them by enabling them to develop their talents and be their best. Serve them by giving them the confidence, courage, and capabilities they need to make important things happen and deliver results. Serve, not be subservient.
Despite the criticality of the HR executive’s role in helping other people be better and more effective leaders, I find that most HR leaders do a terrible job of figuring out who they themselves are as leaders. Like the cobbler’s children, I think we spend so much time worrying about how to develop others that we give precious little thought to who we are and what we want to be known for. While you might believe that there is a noble unselfishness in this approach, it is also a sure path to leadership mediocrity.
Personal Leadership Profile
It is virtually impossible to invest in and build capable leaders without first investing in and developing ourselves as HR leaders. The very best HR executives I know have a point of view about themselves—what they believe in, what they want to be known for, how they want others to see them, how they hold themselves accountable, what their leadership brand is—they have a personal leadership philosophy. And, once they have a clear point of view, they actually tell other people what it is. Not in an arrogant way, but in a clear and confident way: “Here is what I stand for, and here is what I expect of you and others.”
The personal leadership philosophy can take many forms and may be shared with others in many ways. But there are two things common to all good personal leadership philosophies I have seen and heard. First, they are short enough to articulate and remember. And second, they are not a secret.
While the importance of having a personal leadership philosophy applies not only to HR leaders, but to all leaders, wouldn’t it be great if you were better at it than anyone else and could put yourself in the position of teaching others how to create such a philosophy? There is no better way to be perceived as a credible leader than to teach other leaders how to be more capable and credible leaders.
The personal leadership profile (see Appendix 1 for the full version) is a tool I use to work with all kinds of leaders in crafting their personal leadership philosophies. It’s a process for working through your beliefs and priorities about leadership and what you want to be known for by others. So ask yourself the following questions and see where you stand:
Role Model: What leader has served as an inspiration to me, and why?
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Bringing Out the Best: When have I been at my best as a leader, particularly in bringing out the best in other people?
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What Is Important to Me: What people, things, philosophies, values, beliefs, and/or experiences are most important to me?
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What I Value in Others: What are the behaviors, attributes, and/or characteristics I value most highly in others?
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My “Hot Buttons”: What things might people do—or fail to do—that drive me crazy, upset me, or keep me from being my best?
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My Personal Leadership Philosophy: What are the principles for which I want to be known?
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Once you have spent time working on your personal leadership profile and begin crafting your personal leadership philosophy, put it down for a while. Then come back to it every few days to review, rethink, and refine it. After you have had a chance to get comfortable with it and begin to believe it sounds like you, take the next step. Share your personal leadership philosophy with someone. Tell him or her what you want to be known for. Check for reactions. Ask the person for feedback and suggestions. Have the person ask questions about what you are trying to say and why these particular things are important to you. Tweak your personal leadership philosophy based on the input. Then share your profile again, with the same person or with someone else. After that, share it with your team and others with whom you work. Try it.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
After practice and refinement, you will find your personal leadership philosophy becomes more natural to you and a useful tool to articulate who you are as a leader and a person. Then, when you are working with others to develop them as leaders, be a teacher and a coach. Help others better describe who they are as leaders by showing them how to create and communicate their own personal leadership philosophies. What a great way to serve others while taking a leadership role in so doing!
Whenever I work with leaders on their personal leadership philosophies, the discussion almost invariably turns to me at some point. They ask me about my personal leadership philosophy. Often, they don’t have to ask. After all, if I am going to convince them about the benefits of having and sharing a personal leadership philosophy, I should be practicing what I preach and sharing it with them, right?
So here it goes, with one important caveat. I share my personal leadership philosophy with you here as an example, to help you think through what yours might look and sound like. I do not share it to suggest that your personal leadership philosophy should be the same as mine, nor that the principles upon which it is based are appropriate for you. If there is something in here that works for you, feel free to steal shamelessly. If not, create your own. There are only two important things I want you to remember about your personal leadership philosophy. First, have one. Second, tell people who are important to you what it is.
The 4 Cs
I have used one version or another of my personal leadership philosophy for more than twenty years. I call it “The 4 Cs,” shown in Figure 1.1. It’s about Credibility, Collaboration, Courage, and Competence.
Figure 1.1 The Four Cs
Credibility involves doing what you say you will do and keeping confidential information confidential. I can’t tell you how many smart and experienced HR people I have seen implode because they couldn’t deliver on their commitments, and/or because they failed to keep their mouths shut about important and confidential things. Once people figure out that they can’t trust you to deliver and that they can’t rely on you to keep confidential things to yourself, you are done as an HR leader. Period.
There is always a fine line between being truthful and transparent, and keeping confidences. The best way I know to strike the right balance in this dichotomy is to accept that the truth has a time and place. The truth is always important, it is paramount. But, it doesn’t always have to be shared in this precise moment in this particular setting, in front of these particular people. Think about context. Think about the audience. Think about the information that needs to be shared. Think about the person who shared it with you and whose confidence you promised to keep. And then use common sense and your best judgment.
Share what needs to be shared, when it needs to be shared, with whom it needs to be shared—without violating the confidentiality expected by the person who is relying on your good judgment and without violating the commitment you may have made to keep what he or she told you in confidence.
Collaboration entails sharing resources, information, and talent—especially when it is not convenient to do so. It also implies an understanding of a counterintuitive fact about collaboration—that it does not occur without a healthy respect for constructive conflict and debate.
Collaboration is nearly impossible to promote if you are unwilling and unable to accept divergent points of view that enable the real issues to be surfaced and highlighted for discussion. As Edwin Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera and film and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, once said, “Politeness is the poison of collaboration.”
Courage relies on the willingness to push back on things that don’t make sense—and to push forward on things that do make sense. Do you have the guts to stand up against things that are illegal, immoral, unethical, just plain dumb, and/or bad business? Likewise, do you have the conviction to fight for ideas, ideals, and people you believe in, even—and especially—when they are unpopular or defy conventional wisdom? I am not talking about being a perpetual contrarian. I am talking about picking your spots and standing up for or against something important.
Competence implies taking responsibility for your own development, knowing what you don’t know, and surrounding yourself with the very best people who are better than you at important things. It’s about updating and sharpening the tools in your personal tool kit and being confident and comfortable enough to ask for help from others who know more about, or are better at, certain things than you are.
I want to be known for Credibility, Collaboration, Courage, and Competence. These are the components of my personal leadership philosophy that are most important to me. They are not all-encompassing. They are not the only things. But they are the most important things to me. What is most important to you?
THREE Self-Assessment: Chapter 1
Strength
Weakness
Not Sure
1. Do I know what I want to be known for as a leader?
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2. Do I have a clear personal leadership philosophy?
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3. Do I communicate my personal leadership philosophy to others?
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4. What one or two actions will I take to build on a strength, address a weakness, or learn more about myself?
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CHAPTER 2Balance the Triangle
What? Who? When? Development
One of my favorite sayings is from Lily Tomlin, the actress and comedienne: “I’ve always wanted to be somebody, but now I see I should have been more specific.” HR leaders have been fighting to “be somebody” for as long as I can remember, but the specifics have been all over the place and somewhat out of balance. We talk about having a seat at the table, being business partners, and becoming more strategic and less transactional. At various points along the way, perspectives from “Why We Hate HR” in Fast Company magazine (Fast Company Staff, 2005) to “It’s Time to Split HR,” by Ram Charan in Harvard Business Review (Charan, 2014) have suggested why we should hate, eliminate, split, or otherwise restructure HR to somehow fix it.
Some people think it is fashionable to bash HR as a means of making the case that it can and should be better as a profession. We already know and accept that it can be better. But we don’t need to bash the function. We need to simultaneously love and improve it.
HR doesn’t need to be fixed any more than Finance or Marketing do. Just like most other professions, HR is an amalgamation of great people and practices, along with those we would just as soon forget. Are there areas where we can improve? Absolutely. Do we need to be apologetic for bringing humanity and sanity to organizations that are badly in need of both these days? Absolutely not. Don’t play second fiddle to anyone or feel sorry for yourself; you are better than that. Collectively, we are better than that. And HR leaders are better than Finance, Marketing, or others at making people and organizations more effective. That’s what we do.
You can also make sure you take responsibility for developing yourself to be ready and relevant for what organizations most need from HR leaders—strong business acumen, a broad base of experience, an ability to capitalize on relationships and networks that span organizational boundaries, and a keen awareness of how to take full advantage of your own developmental inflection points in the moment they are happening. Oh, and you need to be able to accomplish things and deliver results that have a profound impact on business performance. If you cannot or do not want to do these things, you may deserve the criticism that HR people sometimes receive. Or perhaps you should find another profession. If you are already doing them, thanks! Now, let’s work together to help others get better at them, too.
HR Competency Models
My biggest concern is not that HR people need to be fixed; it’s that the way we have been trying to fix them is out of balance. The vast majority of efforts to improve the capability of HR people have focused on competency models—a laundry list of what HR people need to know and do in order to be effective. These competency models come in all shapes and sizes, and there are some great ones out there. A couple of my favorites include ongoing work by my colleague Dave Ulrich as well as the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM’s) HR competency model initiative.
These HR competency models all tell a valuable story about the knowledge base HR leaders need to have to be effective, so I do not mean to criticize them in any way. What I do criticize is that most companies devote virtually all of their HR development resources to teaching content, assessing capabilities, and hiring or promoting HR talent based almost exclusively on these kinds of competency models. They are an important piece of the puzzle, but they do not portray the entire picture.
Furthermore, many HR people in organizations large and small will never see or be affected by these competency models, because they are complex and can be expensive to implement. Hundreds of thousands of HR people are being skipped over, without any access to these models as developmental tools, because they don’t have the time or money to utilize them.
Having reviewed a fair number of HR competency models over the years, a couple of years ago I decided to create what I like to think of as the “poor person’s” version of the much more comprehensive competency models that are available. I call it the HR Leadership Development Checklist (Figure 2.1), and it represents a summary of the key things I see the very best HR leaders knowing and doing, with a very simple approach to asking whether each capability represents a strength or a gap, or a place where the HR person’s knowledge and experience base are solid. While this one-page approach is probably not as sexy and comprehensive as some others I have seen, it is faster, cheaper, and more accessible than most. So feel free to use it if you find it helpful, and if your budget does not afford you the opportunity to use something more sophisticated.
Figure 2.1 HR Leadership Development Checklist
As you think about your own capabilities and knowledge base, or those of your team, let’s dive a little more deeply into each dimension to ensure understanding. Before reading Chapter 1, you completed the THREE PulseCheck that helped you better understand and assess what parts of this book might be most relevant and useful for you. We are going to address each element in subsequent chapters of this book, but a short summary here will help set the stage.
What the Best HR Leaders Know and Do
Human Capital Strategy refers to the degree to which you and your team understand how to integrate business strategy and human capital strategy and how to focus on a few priorities that matter most to the business. You demonstrate that people priorities must be derived first and foremost from understanding the value chain by which your business makes money and how human capital challenges must be overcome, and actions taken, to maximize the value chain and drive business results.
Leadership and Talent Development
