| resources, despite the function's complex activities, | | | | Presentation courses are a dime a dozen. But |
| should have a fundamentally simple mission, yet it is a | | | | leadership talks motivate people to believe in you and |
| mission that is being neglected by many HR | | | | follow you. Leaders must speak many times daily |
| professionals. I call that mission the Leadership | | | | — to individuals or groups in a variety of settings. |
| Imperative — helping the organization recruit, | | | | When you provide courses to help them learn practical |
| retain, and develop good leaders. Here is a three-step | | | | ways for delivering effective talks, to have them |
| action plan to get the HR function off the sidelines and | | | | speak better so that they can lead better, you are |
| into the thick of the game. | | | | benefitting their job performance and their careers. |
| ~~~~~ | | | | Today, in most organizations, the presentation is the |
| When we perceive the simple center in the seemingly | | | | conventional method of communication. But when you |
| complex, we can change our world in powerful new | | | | make the leadership talk the key method by instituting |
| ways. | | | | "talk" courses and monitoring and evaluation systems |
| Albert Einstein perceived the simple E=MC2 in the | | | | broadly and deeply within the organization, you will help |
| complexities of physical reality and changed the history | | | | make your company more effective and efficient. |
| of the 20th century. | | | | Link: Though such recognition is the first step in getting |
| Big Daddy Lipscomb, the Baltimore Colts 300 pound | | | | off the sidelines, it won't get you into the game. To get |
| all-pro tackle in the 1960s perceived the simple center | | | | into the center of things, you must link your activities |
| of what was perceived to be the complex game of | | | | with results. Not your results — their results. |
| football. "I just wade into players," he said, "until I come | | | | Clearly, your clients are being challenged to get results: |
| to the one with the ball. Him I keep!" — and | | | | sales' closes, operations efficiencies, productivity |
| changed the way the game was played. | | | | advances, etc. Some results are crucial. But other |
| Likewise, human resources, despite its complex | | | | results are absolutely indispensable. Your job is to help |
| activities, should have a fundamentally simple mission, | | | | your clients achieve their results, especially the |
| yet it is a mission that is being neglected by many HR | | | | indispensable results. You must be their "results |
| professionals. I call that mission the Leadership | | | | partner." Furthermore, you must help them get sizable |
| Imperative — helping the organization recruit, | | | | increases in those results. The results that they get |
| retain, and develop good leaders. | | | | with your help should be more than the results that |
| Clearly, without good leaders, few organizations can | | | | they would have gotten without your help. |
| thrive over the long run. What characterizes a good | | | | For instance, when developing company-wide |
| leader? A good leader consistently gets results | | | | objectives for leadership talks, you should not aim to |
| — in ethical and motivational ways. Because | | | | have participants win a speaking "beauty contests" but |
| they interact with all business functions and usually | | | | instead to speak so that they motivate others to get |
| provide education and training for those functions, | | | | increases in measured results. When you change the |
| human resource professionals should be focused | | | | focus of the courses from speaking appearance to |
| primarily on recruiting, retaining, and developing leaders | | | | the reality of results, you change the participants' view |
| that get results. Any other focus is a footnote. | | | | of and commitment to the courses and also their view |
| Yet working with human resource leaders in a variety | | | | of and commitment to you in providing those courses. |
| of companies for the past two decades, I find that | | | | So have the participants define their indispensable |
| many of them are stumbling. Caught up in the | | | | results and link the principles and processes they |
| tempests of downsizing, compliance demands, | | | | learned in the course to getting measured increases in |
| acquisitions, mergers, and reorganizations, they are | | | | those results. |
| engaged in activities that have little to do with their | | | | Execute: It's not enough to recognize. It's not enough to |
| central mission. Ignoring or at least giving short shrift to | | | | link. You must execute. "Execute" comes from a Latin |
| the Leadership Imperative, they are too often viewed, | | | | root exsequi meaning "to follow continuously and |
| especially by line leaders, as carrying out sideline | | | | vigorously to the end or even to ‘the grave.'" |
| endeavors. | | | | Let's capture if not the letter at least the spirit of this |
| Many HR leaders have nobody to blame for this | | | | lively root by insuring that your activities on behalf of |
| situation but themselves. By neglecting the Imperative, | | | | your clients are well "executed," that they are carried |
| they themselves have chosen to be sideline | | | | out vigorously and continuously in their daily work |
| participants. | | | | throughout their careers. If those activities are helping |
| Here is a three-step action plan to get the HR function | | | | them get results, you are truly their "results partner." |
| off the sidelines and into the thick of the game. | | | | For instance, in regard to the leadership talk courses, |
| Recognize. Link. Execute. | | | | HR professionals can lead an "initiative approach." At |
| Before I elaborate each step, let me define leadership | | | | the conclusion of the course, each participant selects |
| as it ought to be. For your misunderstanding leadership | | | | an initiative to institute back on the job. The aim of |
| will thwart you in applying the Imperative. | | | | each initiative is to get sizable increases in their |
| The word "leadership" comes from old Norse | | | | indispensable results by using the principles and |
| word-root meaning "to make go." Indeed, leadership is | | | | processes that they learned. |
| about making things go — making people go, | | | | The initiatives and their results should be concrete and |
| making organizations go. But the misunderstanding | | | | measurable, such as productivity gains, increases in |
| comes in when leaders fail to understand who actually | | | | sales, operations efficiencies, and reduced cycle times. |
| makes what go. Leaders often believe that they | | | | The participants should be challenged to get increases |
| themselves must make things go, that if people must | | | | in results above and beyond what they would have |
| go from point A to point B, let's say, that they must | | | | gotten without having taken the course. They should |
| order them to go. But order leadership founders today | | | | be challenged to get those increases within a mutually |
| in fast-changing, highly competitive markets. | | | | agreed upon time, such as quarterly reports. |
| In this environment, a new kind of leadership must be | | | | In fact, if the participants don't achieve an increase in |
| cultivated — leadership that aims not to order | | | | results that translates to at least ten times what the |
| others to go from point A to point B — but | | | | course costs, they should get their money back. |
| instead that aims to motivate them to want take the | | | | Don't stop there. Getting an increase in results is not |
| leadership in going from A to B. | | | | the end of the course, it should be the beginning |
| That "getting others to lead others" is what leadership | | | | — the beginning of a new phase of getting |
| today should be about. And it is what we should | | | | results, the stepping up phase. The more results |
| inculcate in our clients. We must challenge them to | | | | participants achieve, the more opportunities they have |
| lead, lead for results with this principle in mind, and | | | | created to achieve even more results. The leadership |
| accept nothing else from them but this leadership. | | | | talk course should have methods for instituting results' |
| Furthermore, leadership today must be universal. To | | | | step-ups. |
| compete successfully in highly competitive, fast | | | | One such method can be a quarterly leadership-talk |
| changing markets, organizations must be made up of | | | | round table. Participants who graduate from the |
| employees who are all leaders in some way. All of us | | | | course meet once a quarter to discuss the results |
| have leadership challenges thrust upon us many times | | | | they have gotten and provide best practices for |
| daily. In the very moment that we are trying to | | | | getting more. Human resources should organize, direct |
| persuade somebody to take action, we are a leader | | | | and facilitate the round tables. In this way, the results |
| — even if that person we are trying to | | | | the leaders are getting should increase quarter after |
| persuade is our boss. Persuasion is leadership. | | | | quarter. |
| Furthermore, the most effective way to succeed in | | | | When HR professionals promote such leadership talk |
| any endeavor is to take a leadership position in that | | | | courses, courses that are linked to getting increases in |
| endeavor. | | | | indispensable results and that come with the "results |
| The Imperative applies to all employees. Whatever | | | | guarantee," those professionals are truly seen as |
| activities you are being challenged to carry out, make | | | | results partners in their organizations. |
| the Imperative a lens through which you view those | | | | I have used the leadership talk as an example of how |
| activities. Have your clients recognize that your work | | | | you can greatly enhance your contributions to the |
| on the behalf of their leadership will pay large dividends | | | | company by applying the Leadership Imperative. Don't |
| toward advancing their careers. | | | | just apply the Imperative to such courses alone. Apply |
| Recognize: Recognize that recruiting, retaining, and | | | | it to whatever challenge confronts you. |
| developing good leaders ranks with earnings growth | | | | When you recognize how that challenge can be met |
| (or with nonprofit organizations: mission) in terms of | | | | through the Imperative, when you link the challenge to |
| being an organizational necessity. So most of your | | | | getting increases in measured results, and when you |
| activities must be in some way tied to the Imperative. | | | | execute for results, you can transform your function. |
| For instance: HR executive directors who want to | | | | You don't have to be as distinguished as Einstein or as |
| develop courses for enhancing the speaking abilities of | | | | awesome as Big Daddy Lipscomb, but you will in your |
| their companies' leaders often blunder in the design | | | | individual way perceive the simple, powerful center of |
| phase. Not recognizing the Leadership Imperative, they | | | | things. You'll be in the thick of the most important game |
| err by describing them as "presentation courses." | | | | your company is playing — helping change your |
| Instead, if they were guided by the Imperative, they | | | | world and the world of your clients. |
| would offer courses on "leadership talks." There is a | | | | ============================= |
| big difference between presentations and leadership | | | | 2004 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights |
| talks. Presentations communicate information. | | | | reserved. |