Starting the HR year as we mean to go on

Welcome to the new feature for Human Resources UK, Discuss HR.  Discuss HR will be published every Thursday and is written by a range of different HR professionals which should fully reflect the diverse nature of HR in the UK.  Bravely launching Discuss HR is Leadership Coach Dorothy Nesbit and I am sure you will find the following to be most interesting. (Ed Scrivener)

Starting the HR year as we mean to go on

January, 2011.  Traditionally, the New Year is a time of new beginnings.  At the same time, New Year’s resolutions have long since fallen into disrepute – even as we make our resolutions we often know we don’t intend to keep them.  This is the land of “should” and “ought tos”.

As I reflect on the year ahead, I wonder how much HR suffers from the same ebb and flow of new beginnings, rich with promise, that fizzle out with a quiet ignominy:  the change project that starts with a big fanfare and support from the Board and which, by the time it fails to deliver, has somehow become the sole responsibility of HR;  the leadership development programme that holds such hope yet never bears the fruits of clarity about the leadership aspirations of the organisation – let alone the development of a cadre of leaders who are skilled in the organisation’s chosen approach.  I’ve yet to meet an HR director who complains that s/he has too many skilled leaders.

Is it possible that the HR profession is – at times - its own worst enemy?  Sometimes I am shocked by what HR professionals will buy and from whom:  products and services that are not designed to deliver the outcomes required by the business or, when they are, from people who have little skill and experience in delivering.  Fundamental tenets of leadership are touched on in courses with no sense that there will be any follow through.  Competency models are designed by people who have not conducted any research into what makes the difference between effective and outstanding performance in a given role or organisation.  And how many HR professionals, when they deserve due credit, expect the accolades to come walking down the corridor to find them in their office - and then wonder why they never arrive?

So, at the start of 2011, I wonder what changes in the way we do “HR” would make the biggest and most positive difference, both in the impact HR has on the business and in the reputation of the HR profession in the organisations we serve.  Reflecting on my own experience – as a trainer, consultant and coach – I have my own favourite.  I wonder what would be different in our work-places if our work were rooted in a deep understanding and full acceptance of what is – what some call a phenomenological approach.  This implies understanding the implications of widely available and deep research and committing to apply this understanding when we embark on new initiatives.

What might we do differently with a full commitment to such an approach?  Here are just three ideas – my starter for ten:

1. On the road to making changes we would give up a “pass or fail” approach and measure success by the way we negotiate setbacks and adapt our approach to secure progress towards key goals.  Recognising that there’s no failure, only feedback, any signs that a project isn’t working would be taken as a sign that adjustment is needed to the way we move towards our goals;
2. Before embarking on new initiatives we would get clear and strong conceptual agreement for projects at the most senior levels and these would include a process of exploring the implications for senior leaders of sponsoring initiatives – what this would require of them – and reaching clear agreements ahead of time;
3. And because we are human and the leaders we serve are human I would want to see us make the mother of all our investments in learning how to hold what I call “real conversations”.  This would require an examination of the beliefs that underpin our chosen approach to communication and a commitment to replace a unilateral (“domination”) approach with an approach which is rooted in acceptance and aspires to mutual learning.  This third suggestion is my favourite of all and a big topic in its own right.  If you want to learn more, look out for my next posting (3^rd March) on the Discuss HR blog.

I wonder, what favourite changes would you propose for 2011 in the way we do HR?

About the author:

Dorothy Nesbit, Leadership Coach, unleashes innate leadership potential through powerful, compassionate and authentic relationships.
Blog | Website

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Discuss HR is the blog for Human Resources UK, the leading LinkedIn group for those involved with HR in the UK.  Next week’s Discuss HR will be published on Thursday 13^th January and will see the debut of John Hepworth, HR Consultant.