Lately I have been thinking about what makes organizations and people successful – my own company, girls soccer teams, boards, communities, etc.  As some one who spent a number of years in Human Resources, and is helping shape the direction of SHRM-Atlanta – I wonder what role HR leaders play in today’s new environment:

I believe it ultimately comes down to a straight forward equation:

Better HR leaders and efforts create great leaders, great leaders create better companies, great companies create great communities in which to live and work.

So, how does HR get there?

A few suggestions/questions:

Be a student and expert in your business/area of expertise

• allocate time to read about your organization, its category, how money/success is made, competitors – do you truly have time blocked on your calendar?

Be a killer business person

• Know the P&L better than the CFO, track the equities markets, track competitors, visit operations of your organization and those of competitors – does your time allocation reflect being a killer business person?

Engage in the development of the HR discipline

• SHRM (national and local), HRLF, conferences, follow experts – are you regularly involved with your discipline?

Coach, mentor, develop

• There are mentoring organizations everywhere – they are always looking for mentors – are you a member, do you allocate time every month to offer advice, counsel, provide real feedback, a supportive comment?

Many HR leaders manage the largest budget items in any organizations P&L – what are you doing to drive different results with those budgets?

• Salaries, benefits, training dollars, and other budgets often represent the largest set of investment/expense dollars for any organization – are you bringing innovation and new ways to invest and drive results?

Accept that the rules have changed forever

• HR is not about programs and processes anymore (yes, there will be recruiting, compensation, benefits, talent management, etc.) – it is about driving sustainable business results that matter – you must be able to answer the question „we are doing xxxx in order to drive yyyy results“
• and, I am convinced the decades long practices of driving engagement through compensation, rewards, talent practices have changed – it is simply not a given or assumed anymore that salary increases, affordable benefits, great training and other efforts are part of the employment deal – do you have a point of view and a business agenda you are advancing at your organization in the context of today’s new realities?

Are you nourishing your own soul, spirit, health?

• I truly believe each of us must flourish as an individual before we can help an organization be healthy
• Are you making time for health, for learning, for love, for culture, for laughter?  Are you a more fulfilled person today than last year?  Are having the life you planned?

Offer your point of view and thoughts – its an interesting and challenging world we find ourselves operating in every day.  The HR discipline must develop its own great leaders so we can drive the results required.

So, what do you think?  Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Mike for this thoughtful post.  Mike is a senior change, strategy, and operations executive focused on driving business results through organizational capabilities and by building processes and operations that matter. Serving in a variety of executive and management roles, Mike has a history of leading change management and process improvement initiatives that drive sustainable business results.  As EVP, Chief Administrative Officer at 22squared, he leads Finance, IT, Human Resources, Office Services, Campaign Management, Real Estate, Media Buying and is helping shape the agencies Digital strategy.

Previously he lead his own change and leadership consultancy, and was a 16 year executive of The Coca-Cola Company holding a variety of executive roles focused on building organizational capabilities and driving talent management initiatives. Prior to Coca-Cola, Mike held positions of increasing responsibility with Citigroup and Federated Department Stores, respectively.

and Quality Care for Children.

You can find Mike at:

Twitter @mgrindell

www.22squared.com

It’s exciting to see leaders in the HR space like Gretchen Alarcon, Meg Bear and Steve Boese working on exciting projects to help revolutionize the way HR works.  Be sure to check out Oracle Fusion. 

Customers Adopt Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management to Help Maximize Valuable Assets and Achieve Business Goals

Oracle Continues Its Leadership in HR Applications With Next Generation Oracle Fusion HCM

Engagement is not something the company can “do” to the employee, it is a set of behaviors an employee must embrace in order to make the connections that will be lasting.

As I look at the list this morning, I notice it is a summary of ways we can be a better team member, a way to make a department better and even a way to address problems when you are not properly aligned with the expectations of a leader.

Ways to foster your own engagement

• Volunteer to do more
• Be more active (in the group, the topic, etc.)
• Look for ways to improve, then implement them
• Take ownership for what goes well and where you need to improve
• Get “fired up” and use your passion
• Be loyal
• Build trusting relationships

The take away for me, and maybe for you, is that many of the things we can do to foster our own engagement in a workplace or some other activity we pursue are the very things that will help us build relationships and work better with people.

What do you think?  What would you add to the list?

Today, I’m thinking about not just the words I use, but the WAY I use those words.  Am I being direct?  Am I passive?  It all boils down to whether or not I use more denotative or connotative language.  As we know, denotative language is the more literal interpretation of words.  It takes the emotion out of it.  Connotative language is using words where the emotion actually determines the definition of the word.

Take the following sentence:  The man was a good friend.  By subsittuting synomyms for the word good, it can change the tone.

The man was an able friend.

The man was a proper friend.

The man was a suitable friend.

Each one’s connotation can significantly change the meaning of the sentence even though all those words are synonyms for the word good.

Business Application

When you think about your role as a leader and the tone and word choice you use, the impact can be tremendous.  Think for a moment about a situation with a team member who has let you down on an important project.  Do you say:

• I am angry that you did not complete the project on time and on budget.
• I am disappointed that you did not complete the project on time and on budget.
• I’m concerned that you did not complete the project on time and on budget.
• The project was not completed on time and on budget.  What happened?  What were the barriers?
• You dropped the ball once again and the project was not complete on time or on budget.

Each of the statements address the project completion but the tone of each makes the employee aware that their is either a boss willing to work with them on this or not.

When you think about your team, do you tend to speak with them using more denotative or connotative language?   It does make a difference.

What I like about the show is it highlights stories from the week in a news magazine style.  I learn about a wide array of things, many of which I would never had known about.  Back in 2009, I attempted my version by sharing business stories that had caught my attention.  Here are a few that I spent time reading this week:

• Sorry I’m Late Boss, My Cat Had the Hiccups-  We’ve all heard excuses for being late to work and over 1/3 of managers say they have terminated an employee for being late.  These excuses are funny and highly creative.
• The Real Organizational Chart-  This article from one of my “must read” blogs caught my eye because every box on the org chart is YOU.  If you want to learn how to work as a team and not individuals, this one is for you.
• Ten Rules for Leaders-  Look, we all need a good psychologist now and then.  I get my fix by reading Incblot blog by Dr. Daniel Crosby.  This  guest article by Jeff Barnett is just pure good.  And he’s a Marine.  Share it.
• After 70 Years, Right-to-Work Issue Remains A Hot Potato-  What is a week without a little NLRB, unions and right-to-work conversation?  Well, this article has all those components so I guess we hit the trifecta!

What did you read this week?  Share in the comments so we can all benefit!