Feedback. Negotiations. Tough conversations. Leadership. Change management. Hiring. Firing. Promotions.

According to the experts, each seems to be able to be reduced to a simple, 3-step process.

If only it were that easy!

Next to dealing with humans, even calculus seems easy… because once you figure out how to solve a math problem, that problem remains solved forever… whereas people are dynamic, ever-changing, and stubbornly beyond resolution.

What I can’t figure out then, is why our field is so fascinated with the idea of treating people-problems as things that can be solved by clever, but static, 4×4 matrices?

If HR really wants to be taken seriously as a strategic player at the executive table, we’re going to have to own up to the one fundamental truth: people, unlike numbers, are beyond absolutes. Soft issues are dynamic, making them understandable in the abstract through statistics and probabilities, but notoriously difficult to get right in the moment. The human element is gray.

Most HR departments I work with are masters of the black-and-white aspects of HR. They are excellent comptrollers of human capital, managing the comings and goings of people the way the finance department manages the ins and outs of financial capital. But “compensation” is not the human element. “Benefits” is not the human element. “Union negotiations,” “salary bands,” and “FMLA” are not the human element. Not surprisingly, when HR departments accustomed to administration take over strategic HR functions like selection, management training, or development, they tend to do so with a decidedly administrative bent. They turn complex, multi-faceted issues into oversimplified, four-letter combinations… as if the answer to all the CEO’s problems were spelled “INTJ.”

One wouldn’t expect a comptroller’s tools to be sufficient to answer the more nuanced questions asked of a CFO, yet many companies rely on tactical HR tools to answer C-level people issues. As a result, companies have a tendency to miss the underlying nuance and stay too focused on the intellectualized aspect of human capital… which does little good in a situation that requires emotional intelligence, interpersonal savvy, or political astuteness!

Good news, though: I am seeing companies taking important steps to address the need for strategic HR, and in many cases, I’m seeing HR answer the call… At the top, the best HR execs (and consultants) seem to share the following traits:

1. They know the business. I love having an MBA given what I do. In fact, I’m not sure how one can be successful in this field without one. An HR leader who can prioritize HR issues within the broader business context—without help from others—is a more valuable strategic advisor than one who can speak only within the confines of the discipline.
2. They focus on the “so what” factor. When it comes to developing people at the top of the organization, it’s not about typing. Executives generally know who they are—even if only intuitively—and if they have blind spots, they have strengths that are strong enough to have allowed them to succeed in spite of those blind spots! Development is critical at the top, and that means going beyond the assessment and the tendencies to the “so what” factor. As in, “What does this mean for my relationship with Charlie?” “So what are our options if we buy Company X?” and “So what if I promote her?” More than that, solid HR leaders know how to communicate the responses to these queries without triggering defensiveness… because unlike at lower levels, where people have no choice if they don’t like your message, executives at the top generally do have the power to shoot messenger if they so desire.
3. They know which model to use. There are a number of ways to slice and dice interpersonal and team and organizational dynamics. But which predictive model should you use… what will be the primary drivers in a given situation? Should you look at the situation as a negotiation? a conflict resolution? a sale? a team development opportunity? a function of organizational structure or even market forces? Great HR folks tend to have experience with a variety of models and can assess a situation from multiple perspectives and find themes in what the various models predict.
4. They are politically astute. They’re not game players, but they understand the game, watch it being played (often by people who don’t understand what’s going on), can predict next moves with some accuracy, and can help others stay above board.
5. They take risks to achieve concrete goals, rather than take concrete steps to achieve less risk. As a staff function, it can be very easy for HR to fall into the trap of focusing on cost savings, which happens when companies fall in love with concrete steps that lead to “guaranteed” reductions in costs and risk. Ultimately, however, companies grow because they expand the top line, and the best top HR people never forget this. They allow for ambiguity in the process in order to achieve goals that require the occasional bet.

I know: easier said than done. But I do see a lot of little shifts occurring within my clients and within the industry as a whole, and that makes me very happy indeed.

Posted under Coaching & Consulting, Leadership, Current Trends