confessions of a former chief hr officer

Secrets & Recipes for Success of a former CHRO

My Interesting Challenges

Personnel Director International Operations HR Director UK Group HR Director CHRO

My journey

What I thought I knew

What I learned along the way

What worked

What did not work

Memorable moments

The Bali Revelation

Building a Cultural Bridge

• Assume you don’t know everything

• Acknowledge your perceptions are limited

• Tell your story and listen to theirs

• Understand intent but share impact

Building a Cultural Bridge

• Learn about the other party’s culture

• Monitor and be sensitive to perceptions of power and respect

• Build trust

• See your own culture

The more you know about the past, the better

prepared you are for the future . Theodore Roosevelt

Timeline – Building on our past experience

What do we want to bring with us ?

What do we want to leave behind ?

“Do we have to pay extra ? My husband has a lot of emotional baggage “

Definition Traits/Hallmarks

Self-Awareness

The ability to recognise and understand your own moods, emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others

Self confidence

Realistic self-assessment

Self-deprecating sense of humour

Self-Regulation

The ability to control moods or redirect disruptive influences and moods

The propensity to suspend judgement – to think before acting

Trustworthiness and integrity

Comfortable with ambiguity

Openness to change

The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work

Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence

Definition Traits/Hallmarks

Motivation A passion for work for reasons that go beyond money or status

A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence

Strong drive to achieve

Optimism , even in the face of adversity

Organisational commitment

Empathy The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people

Skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions

Expertise in building and retaining talent

Cross-cultural sensitivity

Service to customers

The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work

Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence

Definition Traits/Hallmarks

Social Skill Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks

An ability to find common ground and build rapport

Effectiveness in leading change

Persuasive

Expertise in building and leading teams

The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work

Daniel Goleman – Emotional Intelligence

“If you want the co-operation of humans around you , you must make them feel that they are important and

you do that by being genuine and humble”

How good are the cross functional relationships in your senior team today ?

Are they good enough to : To show a genuine willingness

to subordinate individual functional interests to the needs

of the overall business plan To embrace a consultative

approach To commit to open vertical

communication To link budgets to strategy

The tale of Bob* and the chocolate * Name changed to protect the small minded

Stephen Covey *

EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT *

Statement

Personal Account with my colleagues

In credit or overdrawn ?

What do I need from you to

be able to do my job to

the best of my ability?

What can I do to improve

this relationship?

What do I need from you to

be able to improve this

relationship?

Improving Working Relationships

Understand the Value of Compromise

It’s all about Communication

“I am afraid you misunderstood. I said I would like a mango “

Some basic principles • Everyone is accountable for communication

• Procedures are good – understanding their purpose is better • Use the skill base of the business – people commit more if

they are involved

• All leaders need to brief their people in a timely , consistent and efficient manner to ensure people are in the picture and know what it is going on and how they can contribute to the success of the business

Some basic principles

• Devote as much face to face time as possible

• Don’t assume silence means that people understand – you need to check that they do • It’s only really working when many people start to say –

“You have already told us that“

• You need an annual communications plan to help drive engagement in the right direction

2 x + 1 = Success

Build the Bigger Team

Set some clear rules of behaviour

All effective teams develop

rules of conduct at the

outset to help them

achieve their purpose and

performance goals

Katzenbach and Smith – The Discipline of Teams - Building Team Performance

Do you have Team Rules of Engagement?

OPEN MINDED & HONEST CONSTRUCTIVE & HELPFUL SILENCE DOES NOT SIGNIFY AGREEMENT TIMELY/PUNCTUAL ACTIVE LISTENING WITHOUT INTERRUPTION EQUALITY FUN TRUST RESPECT AND BE APPRECIATIVE OF EACH OTHER SOLUTION ORIENTED NO CYNICISM NO MOBILES/NO BLACKBERRYS IN MEETINGS

Constructive Confrontation

When teams engage in constructive

confrontation in an environment of mutual

respect , they develop better ideas and

perform better.

The No Asshole Rule – Robert Sutton

The Acid Test

Expressed values and priorities are consistent with behaviours

How do people see you ?

What do you stand for ?

“Have you ever considered that perhaps it’s your negative attitude that makes this place so miserable ?”

“If you don’t have any natural empathy for

people – you should not be in a leadership

role in HR “

Helping people find meaning

When does a job feel meaningful?

Whenever it allows us to generate delight or

reduce suffering in others Alain de Botton

Your “Culture” is your Strategy Profit is a Derivative not a Strategy in its own right Tom Peters – HR Summit 2013

How do you manage trust ?

A

I don’t trust anyone until they have proved

themselves worthy of my trust

B

I trust everyone until I am disappointed

Give people clear direction and allow them the autonomy within that to do the job, use their creativity and get a sense of achievement

Manage the corporate politic going forward so it does not pollute our

potential for success

The Force and Danger of Habit

“When things become a habit – you tend to stop

thinking about them and just do them again….and

again. They could be good or bad habits ”

Edward the retired lawyer

How am I doing ?

Where am I on my

journey ?

The Value of Reflection

Vision & Priorities

How often do I communicate a vision for my area of responsibility ? Have I identified and communicated 3 to 5 key priorities to achieve that vision ? If asked, would my associates be able to articulate the vision and priorities ?

Adapted from Looking in the Mirror by Carmen Noble HBR July 2011

Customer Feedback and Review

Understanding where we are from

our customers’ perceptions.

What does it tell us ?

What do we do well ?

What do we need to do differently ?

Don’t be afraid to try to do things differently

Larson – The Far Side

Managing Time

How am I spending my time ? Is it matching my key priorities ? How are my colleagues spending their time ? Does that match the key priorities of their departments and the business ?

The Importance of Feedback

Feedback

Do I give people timely ,helpful and clear feedback that they can act on ? Do I have 2 or 3 team members who will tell me things I may not want to hear but need to hear ?

Coaching and Succession Planning

Have I identified one or more potential successors ? Am I coaching them and giving them challenging assignments ? Am I delegating sufficiently ? Have I become a decision making bottleneck ?

Leading under Pressure

What types of events create pressure for me ? How do I behave under pressure ? What signals am I sending my colleagues ? Are these helpful or could they undermine the success of what we are trying to achieve ?

“I started as just another yes-man but eventually

my talents were recognised and I

became a fully fledged sycophant”

Staying true to yourself

Am I comfortable with my leadership style ? Does it reflect who I truly am ? Do I assert myself sufficiently or have I become too cautious ? Am I too politically correct ? Does worrying about my next promotion or bonus cause me to pull my punches or hesitate to express my views ?

Stand up, Speak up for what is

important to you

Be clear in your message and expectation

What is your Communication Strategy ?

“I agree with much of what you’re saying , mostly the brief silent parts between the words “

What is your communication strategy ?

First to know versus last to hear

Who needs to know what and when

I have had a chance to have my say I have been heard

Calendar, Status Reporting and Review

Sharing what we will be doing with the business How should this be done ? Medium,content ,timescale, frequency, audience

The Power of Stories: Mrs Schmidt’s Beach Bed

Celebrate

The F Word according to Billy Connolly – FUN

Our journey so far…

“Whilst it often seems like an unaffordable luxury –

one should regularly take the opportunity – to step

back & away from the - at times all consuming

hurly burly of everyday life and reflect on where

you have come from. Take the best forward and

leave the negatives behind.”

Tim Savage – amateur philosopher