Sadly, a slew of new studies have come out showing that HR is still not thought of as a major player in the c-suite. In a Lattice Report only 27% of HR leaders said their C-suite sees a connection between HR programs and revenue growth.
A study from Accenture said 89% of CEOs think HR ought to have a central role to creating profitable growth, but only 45% say that is happening.
This is heartbreaking, but we must own it.
We have spent so many years fine honing HR our craft, learning to think strategically and understanding how energized employees drive business results. Since this does not seem to be enough, I think it’s time to figure out how to become more trusted. That doesn’t mean becoming more of an expert in HR matters, it means building the type of steadfast relationship with CEOs that will allow them to give you and your work deeper credibility.
Like Teddy Roosevelt said, “They Don’t Care What You Know till They Know That You Care”.
I know this is hard for some HR professionals to wrap their heads around the idea that we have to focus on character instead of competence because we have spent so much time trying to demonstrate that we are numerate and hard charging and understand the business. I think it’s time to balance demonstration of skill with better relationship building. Honestly, it’s a new approach for me too.
Here are a couple of articles with ideas on how to do that , but if it’s too much to read, here is the punch-line- can you answer these questions and incorporate the information to meaningfully support the CEO:
What are they like as a person?
- Do they lead with their EQ or their IQ?
- What are they worried about (personally and professionally)?
What are they like as a leader?
- Do they make the hard decisions?
- Do they look for the truth or just easy answers?
- Are they secure in their role, and do they accept accountability?
- How much do they understand about what HR does
- Do they have an interest to learn about what you do. If they are not, will they let you run on your own?
