May 2008

Recently I asked what leaders were doing to stay on top of their game.  When I think of kickin’ it up a notch (as Emeril says), there are 2 ways to go.  You can make a list of all the things you don’t do well (trust me, we all have them) and work on those.  But if you’re like me, the things I don’t do well are the things I don’t like.  And the last thing I want to do is spend time or money trying to improve something that doesn’t interest me.

But Steve Roesler from All Things Workplace gave me an idea in his recent post Talent: How to Make Strengths Even Stronger.  What if I look at the things that I do well (and like) … and learn more about leveraging those?

Think about it…what are your strengths…what do you do well…and how can you capitalize on them even more?

I’m in the US Virgin Islands this week conducting a human resources training course.  During a break, we talked about a topic near and dear to those of us in this region…hurricanes.  We all have to swap our ‘hurricane stories’ about how long we’ve lived without power and how many cans of tuna we’ve stockpiled. 

My heart goes out to the Americans who have recently faced devastating tornados, the people in Myanmar who are still recovering from a cyclone and the people of China following their massive earthquake.  These recent disasters came without any warning.  With most hurricanes, we at least have time to prepare.  We can run to the store, stock up on supplies and batten down the hatches.  

Now take this concept to your business.  Challenges can happen at any time - it could be the key employee who leaves unexpectedly or a new law that impacts your operation.  As business leaders, what are we doing to make sure that we have the pieces in place for these surprises when they occur?  A lot of companies are great at protecting the FFE (furniture, fixtures, equipment).  But we also have to create programs that make our employees want to still come into work every day once adversity strikes. 

And what are you doing for yourself?  The knowledge economy is changing rapidly…for us to grow as leaders, we need to keep our skills fresh.  When was the last time you took inventory of the things you need to know to take your business to the next level?  

Just like stocking up on tuna will help during a hurricane, taking stock in yourself will prepare you for future workplace challenges and allow you to thrive in the face of disaster. 

I hate to talk trash about Mom, particularly right after her special day . . but, regardless of what she’s told you through the years, practice doesn’t make perfect.  More about that in a minute.

A friend recently had the pleasure of attending a presentation lead by Dr. Paul Hersey, founder of the Center for Leadership Studies and father of Situational Leadership.  Even though my friend deals with these topics every day, his head was virtually swimming with performance readiness concepts, directive and supportive behavior theory, leader response formulas . . uh, oh - I sense collective eye-glazing so I’ll move along.

We’ve all been exposed to leadership styles, performance management, and influence behaviors.  Hopefully, we practice strong leadership principles in our workplaces.  But it isn’t until you get to hear about the very fundamentals of these principles and learn firsthand where many of the more contemporary theories had their origin that everything falls into sharp focus.  I encourage you to seek out these distinguished authorities and, if possible, hear what they have to say.

And Mom?  Well, Dr. Hersey pointed out that practice doesn’t make perfect -

Perfect practice makes perfect.

Sounds simple enough but what does this mean in our workplace?  Leaders at all levels are responsible for guiding what their employees do.  Are they leading their staff to perfection in their jobs or simply reinforcing mediocre behavior?  And, if it’s the latter, do they know how to positively influence their people to do better?

We’ve all heard “Walk the Talk”… 

Vurv and the Human Capital Institute just published a survey about the impact and future of the human resources profession called “The Role of HR in the Age of Talent.”  The article discusses their research on the strategic value that HR provides in business decisions.  The report’s bottom line:  the good news is that HR is making progress but, sadly, not fast enough. 

Interesting.  I never see articles about the effectiveness of the finance profession or the marketing profession…maybe I’m not looped into the right network.  The only professionals that have articles written about their overall performance are CEOs and Human Resources professionals…hmmm… 

Kris Dunn from The HR Capitalist said it best, “When people say HR stinks, it’s simple…don’t stink.”  HR’s actions need to speak louder than their words.