Lone Eagles Soaring in the Clouds

"Lone eagles, soaring in the clouds, fly with silent, peaceful poise, While turkeys, in their earth-bound crowds, fill the atmosphere with noise."

Those words of scholar William Arthur Ward succinctly capture the different characteristics of two kinds of birds. But Ward is talking about more than just birds. He is telling us that we should admire and emulate the eagle, and that too many of us fit in too well among the "earth-bound crowds."

Nothing against turkeys, but Ward has a point. Yes, turkeys are the icons of a well-set Holiday table, but consider what that means: They get eaten, especially this time of year. So why not soar with the eagles? That's a good goal for both individuals and organizations, and it fits well with recognizing incompetence on the managerial team and doing something about it.

If you know you have some work to do with your Managers, here are some ideas for proceeding:

• Before you make your next managerial hire or promotion, make sure the person you are considering for a position of responsibility is management material. Some people can grow into the role, and some cannot. Scientific assessments such as ProfileXT and Profiles Performance Indicator provide insight that helps improve selection and team performance. Our clients have used one or both tools successfully, depending on their needs. Either way, these assessments work. They offer more validity than just guessing or following your instincts.

• If you already know you have managers who are not performing to your standards, take action sooner rather than later. Planning a course of action is good, but only if you execute the plan in a timely manner. If the person in charge of execution puts off corrective action week after week because he or the plan "is not ready," you have just discovered another ineffective leader in your organization. Leading often means going outside one's comfort zone to do what needs doing, and some managers need training to do this. Demonstrate to subordinates what action looks like. Show them that taking action is essential. Letting a poorly performing manager squeak by for an extended period can damage your organization.

• If you determine a manager cannot fit the role of leading others, you owe it to him or her, and to yourself, to find out how he can best serve. Look at what he was doing before management. What aspects of his previous performance prompted his promotion? Was he a strong salesman? An expert technician? Superb at customer service? If he showed strength in a prior position, your next step is to move him to the place he performs best with the message that you want both him and the company to succeed. If this employee adds value to the organization, you do not want to imply that he failed. Some people are just not management material, and chances are that your worker knows that as well as you do.

• Use your high performers as models for both current and future employees. Smart recruiters use PXT on the front end to make sure they are hiring people that look like the organization's top-performers. Creative workplaces find methods of spreading high performance around. Leaders put their high performers in teams to train others. They give them the responsibility of an important project and let them detail to the rest of the organization how they executed it. Show off anyone who does the job the right way. Remember: Praise in public, correct in private. Get to the point where you praise more than correct, and your job will be more enjoyable and certainly easier.

These ideas will put your organization on the flight path of soaring eagles. May their numbers increase.

Article written by: Profiles International, published with permission.

HR Recession Lessons

2009 will go down as a year to remember but for many businesses the memories may be painful ones. As we move from depths of the recession into the glimmer of a recovery we have an opportunity to reflect on valuable HR lessons learned and use those lessons to become more resilient, to survive and thrive despite the inevitable ups and downs of a complex global economy.

The most recent economic downturn is still too fresh for us to have the full benefit of 20/20 hindsight but this is the perfect moment to start to analyze what worked, what got us into trouble and how we can more effectively manage, train and deploy our human capital resources.

Some companies gain market share during a recession and even during the Great Depression Kellog, Proctor & Gamble and Chevrolet all managed to grow. Google and Amazon showed it could happen during the 2000-2001 recession and continue to be resilient and successful even in the current troubled economy. These large companies are not alone. Many small and midsize businesses also have demonstrated a winning business strategy can work even in the midst of a raging economic storm and a major key to success is a focused, efficient and engaged workforce

So what are some of the "first glance" HR lessons from the current recession?

• Head in the sand is not a winning strategy. Employees have powerful antennae that tell them when there is trouble in the company so don't let the elephant in the room go unacknowledged.


• Rumors and fear are costly distractions and will eat time and resources if not addressed. The truth is seldom as awful as the collective imaginations of your employees who hear doom and gloom on the nightly news and project it into the workplace.


• Cutting your payroll too deeply can leave you without the talent necessary to respond to changing market conditions. If cuts are inevitable make them as strategically as possible because talent is expensive to acquire and train.


• Outsourcing can maintain the key HR functions while controlling costs and minimizing risks. HR related complaints and lawsuits rise in seemingly direct correlation to worsening economic conditions.


• Even in a tight job market talented employees have other options. If you cannot offer raises or other incentives to your superstars get creative about what you can offer. Your human capital investment may be your most valuable business asset when times are tough.


• Focus on the positive and encourage innovation. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team and your talent in the trenches may have the fresh ideas or vision your company needs to succeed in challenging economic times.


• The job market will improve sooner or later and employees will remember how they were treated during the difficult times. In many companies cutbacks were so extreme that the survivors are exhausted and unhappy. If your employees have been pushed to the breaking point and are poised to bolt at the first opportunity now is the time to begin rebuilding relationships.


• Employees will want to be rewarded for their efforts as the economy gets better. Employers should plan to evaluate compensation and benefits as the economy improves in order to remain competitive when the job market opens up again but not at the expense of rebuilding capital reserves.


• HR expertise is invaluable when addressing a complex and challenging employment landscape and bringing HR into the strategic process early can help avoid costly mistakes.
  
  HR will play a vital role in the transition from recession to recovery, especially in companies where the economic crisis has been severe and survival mode has meant putting out HR fires but left little time or attention to strategic HR. A good look back gives us an opportunity to assess and reevaluate as we formulate new strategies that incorporate the lessons learned.