"Seat at the Table" isn't a four letter word

Something has been bothering me but I couldn't lay my finger on why until this week.  It has become increasingly popular for HR pundits and bloggers to skewer anyone in HR who talks about or writes about having a "seat at the table."  The argument seems to be that they are tired of hearing about it and perhaps there is no "seat" at the table to be had.  They mock when someone uses it.  They make people who use the phrase feel as if they've just uttered a profanity.  

And it's kind of starting to piss me off.  Because there IS a seat at the table to be had for HR, and in most cases, we aren't claiming it and aren't sure we know how.  Do we overuse this phrase?  Maybe.  But, it seems that this movement to ban the phrase implies that if we stop staying it, the reality that human resources is not living up to it's strategic promise will somehow vanish. 

I, for one, think it's great that so many around the HR profession are struggling, striving and desiring a "seat at the table."  I think they should talk about it.  It proves that they are at least awake and aware that they don't currently have one.  The seat at the table represents an arrival in most people's minds--a corporate knighthood of sorts.  It's not really a seat, of course, but rather a position of influence and power that is participating in leading the business into the future.  Why wouldn't you want that as a goal?

So, can we please stop this silliness of banning phrases and making people feel foolish for using them?  This particular phrase means a lot to some people and I applaud those who have the courage to have the conversation about their own quest for "the seat."  We don't have an issue of language.  We do have issues of strategy, leadership, courage, and execution in HR.  But, those are issues we can tackle and conquer, so long as we have the right goal.  In my opinion, a seat at the table is a pretty good one.  

A New Chapter Begins

Two of my wise friends, Jason Seiden and Roger Fransecky, have both taught me to think of life as a story that is written in chapters as we live it.  Today, I begin writing a new chapter in my life as I leave one job and begin the process of finding my way to what’s next.

Three years ago, a very successful regional bank decided that they wanted their human resources function to contribute in a different way to their organization.  They knew they needed an HR team that was more proactive and strategic in order to succeed in the future.  To make this happen, they went to market and hired a strategic change agent to not only lead the HR organization, but also to join their executive team to participate in leading the company.   I’m grateful to have been given this opportunity.  It’s been a busy couple of years learning, growing and making things happen.

At the bank, I had the opportunity to work for an organization that truly cares about people to its very core.  This experience has restored my faith in the idea of loyalty in business.  Turns out, if you truly care for your employees and show it consistently over time, people will stick around, work hard for you and defend the organization.  Loyalty may be rare, but it is alive and well.  

I had the privilege to lead their HR organization through a transformation.   In my time there, we recruited some great new talent to the HR team and we transformed what HR means and does within the organization.  I leave a team I was proud to lead.  I can’t wait to see what great things they do in the future.    

My transition out of the bank was a mutual decision.  It was the kind of grown up decision that is hard to make, but that many of us face at key points during our lives.  The bank is a great organization and I’m proud of all we accomplished together.  But, it had become increasingly clear that we just weren’t compatible enough to go on a long term journey together.  So, rather than ignore this truth at the expense of both parties, the right decision was to resign and move on.  I wish the bank nothing but great success in the future.  

As I turn the page on this new chapter of my career, I now face the both daunting and exciting question, what’s next?

Any time I begin a new chapter in my life, I turn to some self-examination and discovery work.  I’ve spent the past 8 years of my career in corporate Human Resources leadership roles.  I love the work of HR.  At its foundation, the work of HR for me is about setting talent free within organizations to drive success and growth.  I do this by helping organizations and individuals find truth about themselves, their people, their leadership and their culture.  I also help organizations find the courage to examine if these truths align to their intentions and goals.   If there is a gap, I help design the path to close it.

I continue to run around poking status quo in the eye as half of the Talent Anarchy team.  For those who don’t know about Talent Anarchy, it’s the name Joe Gerstandt and I have given to our collaborative work together in our writing and speaking.  We will be keynoting at a couple awesome state SHRM conferences in the upcoming year and, more immediately, will be doing our thing at the SHRM national conference in Vegas next week.  We are also in the process of finding a publisher for a book we’ve written (tentatively titled “When Talent isn't’ Enough) about how the relationships in our lives are the key to unleashing talent.

I have also been very fortunate to find some consulting work since leaving the bank.  My consulting projects to date are using my breadth of HR experience combined with my innovator’s mind.  I’m helping an HR consultancy design new products for their clients.  I’m also helping some peer consultants where they need a different perspective and new ideas for a project.  In addition, I’m helping an organization determine how to implement more strategic HR.  I’m thankful to have these assignments so quickly after leaving the bank.  

As I look to the future, I see tremendous opportunity and challenge.  Talent has never been so important to business and yet, we seem to be as confused as ever relative to how to find, keep and develop it.  We sometimes struggle even to answer the question, “what is talent?”   This is where I feel that I can help organizations make great progress.

My instincts are telling me to return to my consulting and entrepreneurial roots, to join forces with a company who helps other organizations to unleash talent and make work better.  It seems that my passion, skill and talent are pointing me in this direction.  The fact that several consulting projects found their way to me within days of leaving the bank may also be a good sign to follow this path.

So, I begin my search for my next professional adventure in earnest today.  I am looking for an organization in the talent business who will challenge me to bring all of my abilities to bear to help them do exception work for their clients.  I want to find a organization with big dreams and big ambitions where I can help them achieve them.  Selfishly, I am looking to spend as much time as possible doing what I love and what I do best. 

• I am an innovator, a catalyst, and a visionary.
• I help leaders envision a better future and how to create it.
• I am a relationship builder.
• I design and build people solutions that drive change.
• I challenge individuals and leaders to find the courage to unleash their talent and the talent of those around them.
• I dig big ideas.
• I am an influencer. 
• I love tackling a problem that others don’t think can be solved.
• I speak and write about ideas in a way that engages and makes people think differently (and maybe even act differently).
• I crush the status quo.

I’m ready for a big, hairy, audacious opportunity.  My next chapter is yet to be written and I look forward to living the story to see how it turns out.  

The Power of Paying Attention

I find myself in awe of my 21 month old son, Colton, almost daily as I watch him growing and learning to navigate the world around him.  Each moment, it seems, he's finding something new to try, to learn.

The thing that strikes me most about Colt are the things that he's learned that no one has taught him.  He knows how to turn on and off the television.  He had recently learned how to climb up on the tall kitchen chairs.  He can eject a DVD from the player.  He has learned how to drag the training potty contraption in front of the bathroom vanity so that he can climb up on top of it to find all of the treasurers there that he can't reach otherwise (like toothbrushes and water glasses).

We didn't teach him any of this for obvious reasons.  He learned through the power of focused observation.

You see, he's a sneaky little dude.  If I (or his sister or brother or mom) are doing something he's interested in doing, he watches our actions with intense focus.  Then, as soon as we are done, he takes what he learned and puts it into immediate practice as he tries to replicate our result.  It's pretty impressive how quickly he picks things up.  I suspect that most children at the same age have this same ability.

So, what is it that makes him such a quick study?

1.  He's highly motivated to learn.  At that age, children are learning machines.  They are hardwired for learning.  As adults, being this highly motivated to learn is a conscious choice.  Without this motivation, we stop observing.  We even stop paying attention in most cases.  Think about how motivated you are early in any romantic relationship to learn about your partner and how that leads to paying a great deal of attention to your partner.  As time wanes on, you become less motivated to learn as you grow more familiar and comfortable in the relationship.  What happens as a result?  You pay less attention.

2.  He's intensely focused.  When Colt watches me do something, he's transfixed on whatever I'm doing as he tries to really absorb the details.  It is as if the world disappears for him for a few moments so he can take everything in.  Focus seems to be in shorter and shorter supply these days.  With iPads and smartphones constantly with us, it seems that 75% passes for full attention these days.  We rarely seem to find the same kind of focus that Colt displays when he's trying to figure out a new activity.

3.  He sees no limitations.  In his little world, Colt believes he can do anything if he can just figure out how to do it.  He doesn't judge.  He doesn't self-limit.  He's nearly fearless when it comes to trying new things.  Does he get hurt once in a while?  Sure he does, but it's all part of his learning process.  Because he knows no limits and very little fear, his pace of learning is incredibly fast.  He doesn't suffer from the same limitations that we place on ourselves.  He doesn't predetermine if something is possible or within his scope of capabilities.  He just does it.

The more I have thought about this, the more convinced I am that we can use this model to enhance our own learning and growth.  What would happen for you if you got intensely motivated on learning, really focused on what you wanted to learn, and then you approached applying your learning as if nothing was impossible?  I suspect that you'd be transformed.

Just like Colton seems to be, every day.

Calling the Question

Earlier this week, I read a post by Charlie Judy on his always thought provoking blog, HR Fishbowl, titled "Stop Playing Nice if it Doesn't Advance the Ball."  The post overall is about how we have come to be crippled in business by the desire for majority rule or consensus in business decisions.  Charlie outlines how the compulsion towards unanimous support is causing us to become progressively more inefficient and ineffective.  

There was one section in particular that stuck out to me in the post: 

Rarely have I been to a meeting where the leader actually opens it by saying something like, “I’ve gathered you here today to gain your perspective on a decision we’re trying to make. Once we’ve heard from you we’ll be making our decision based primarily on what we believe is best for the organization; that decision may or may not directly reflect your input.” 

He's right.  This is rare.  Having your voice heard and your opinion counted has seemingly become an entitlement in our organizations.  And, at the risk of sounding sacrilegious, this isn't a good thing.     Yes, it is good to hear out employee opinions when and where appropriate, but there are times when not all opinions count.  But, this isn't the real issue that jumped out at me.

The bigger issue and the reason we have this problem is a lack of leadership.  Charlie implies that many of us are driving towards majority rule.  I'm not even sure that this is true.  I think, particularly as leaders within HR, we are held at times to a standard that every major decision we make requires unanimous support.  But, even if we assume that majority rule would be sufficient, there's a leadership moment within any debate/discussion where it's clear that unanimous support will not be attained so it's time to call the question.  Calling the question is a concept within parliamentary procedure that is essentially a formal motion to end debate immediately and take a vote on the issue at hand.  Calling the question in a practical sense requires you, as a leader, to have some courage to know when it's time to stop debating and to make a decision.  It also means moving forward with a decision, even if close to half the people don't agree with the it.

But, even if you can muster up the courage to call the question as a leader, that's just the beginning.  The reality of leadership is that while you generally want the opinions and input of others in decision making, it's rarely left up to a vote.  You are ultimately the decision maker so it's your call.  So, calling the question really comes down to you being willing to end the discussion, and have the guts to make a decision--popular or not.

One of my mentors and the CEO of a company I worked for in the past was great at this.  When the organization was facing a big decision, he would gather his team together.  They would be briefed on all of the important information related to the decision.  Then, they would have a period of spirited discussion and debate on the topic.  Sometimes, they would come to a unanimous decision and the decision was made.  Other times, the opinions in the room were split.  My mentor would listen to and participate in the discussion as it happened.  But, then when he felt the debate had made the issues clear enough for him, he would end the discussion.  At that point, he would either declare what decision he had made and that he expected everyone to support it or he'd thank the group for the discussion and adjourn to contemplate the decision more fully before making his decision.  Either way, he was a master at calling the question and making decisions.

This approach was powerful for two reasons.  First, he had a great process for gathering and hearing people's input.  He listened to and considered input from the people who had relevant perspectives on the topic at hand.  So, people felt both heard and involved in the decision making process.  Second, he moved swiftly through debate to decision.  This meant that we didn't linger in the "not knowing" for very long.  We knew that a decision would be made.  We also knew that either we needed to come swiftly to a group decision or that he would make it for us.  This created purposeful debate and focused effort towards making decisions.

As a closing thought, I think that using the script that I included from Charlie's post is a great model to use as a leader who has to move groups through major decisions as a group.  However, I would add one more sentence to the end of that script:

"Once the decision is made, regardless of your personal feelings related to this decision, I expect you to support and execute it fully and enthusiastically."  

To effectively call the question as a leader, the group needs to know that once the debate ends and the decision is made, it's time to make the transition from discussion to execution.  Agree with the decision or not, our job is to make it work.  Period.