ISHR By-Lined Articles

Enterprising Women Magazine

Enterprising Women: Coaching Guide (PDF)

The Business Value of Staying Connected

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6 Tips for Making a Great First Impression

First published on LinkedIn (March 22, 2013):

First impressions are extremely important. Don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.

Think about it: This sets the stage! This is where we first determine what we think of the person we are meeting. First impressions just happen. We can’t stop them. Our minds just go there. We process the information that our senses acquire, and our brains automatically catalog that against our knowledge bank filled with past experiences in order to form an opinion. Some studies even show that first impressions are most impacted by our sense of sight. This means that how we look, how we present ourselves visually, can be more important initially than what we actually say.

Here are six tips for you to consider in making a first impression:

Dress for the part. If you are at a business function, don’t wear a cocktail dress. Consider what is appropriate for the message you want to send, yet still be true to your own sense of style.
Use first names. People like to know that they are important enough to you that you remembered their name.
Be positive. Don't complain about anything – be it the weather or your boss. People like to surround themselves with positive energy.
Make eye contact. People who can't look others in the eye often come across as lacking confidence, nervous or deceitful. You don’t want these labels applied to you!
Have good manners. Your mom always said it was important, and she was right. This goes for everything from table manners to how to sit, walk and talk properly.
Be authentic. Don't try to be someone you aren't. Don’t come across as arrogant or condescending. Keep it real. Make real connections, and be yourself – that is how true connections are made.

GUIDE Coaching:

The December 2012 issue of Enterprising Women Magazine contains an article written by ISHR Group Partners (Ellen Dotts, Monique Honaman, and Stacy Sollenberger) on their GUIDE Coaching model. It's all about teaching leaders to become better coaches to truly create an internal culture of coaching that drives employee engagement and alignment.

How to Engage and Align Employees

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How to Engage and Align Employees

Written by Monique Honaman

March 29, 2011

The economy is turning around. Leaders are looking at their teams and wondering how to get the most out of them. Managers are trying to do more with less, working to rebuild loyalty, aiming to develop a next generation of leaders.

How does a leader do this? Our answer lies in a process and a methodology we call Guide Coaching. Working with an executive coach or a leadership coach has traditionally been viewed as something that was suggested for employees who needed to improve performance. It was not always viewed as a positive thing.

That view evolved, and over the past decade leadership coaches have been used to help develop talent. Typically, these coaches were brought in to work with an individual within the organization to assist her in leveraging her strengths.

Today’s hottest trend is to develop coaching skills in and across the existing leadership team such that all leaders are able to provide coaching within their organizations. This creates a true culture of coaching, which builds alignment and engagement within the organization.

Our philosophy is that anyone can be a coach and that anyone can be coached. There is no requirement for any expertise on the subject area; rather there is an expectation that the coach will ask the right questions and drive the right dialogue such that the person being coached – the “coachee” – is guided toward the right decision for herself.

These decisions cover a wide range of coaching realms. These may include coaching to resolve a certain issue, coaching for personal development, or coaching for fulfillment within career or life. Coaching is not to be confused with giving feedback and/or providing mentoring, which is a different subject requiring more formal relationships or expertise. Coaching simply requires five steps. As our methodology implies, “guide” is the key word, thus:

Ground – In this step, leaders establish expectations and set boundaries with their coachees. This where the coach begins to understand what motivates the coachee in terms of her values, her vision for the future, and her goals.

Understand – In this step, the coach and coachee gain mutual clarity on their intentions and vision. They clarify those things that drive intentions and often serve to unknowingly confuse the issues and inhibit positive momentum in the workplace.

Incite – Here coaches are encouraged to foster multiple perspectives and ways to view the topic being discussed. Coaches help the coachee identify obstacles and analyze various options. The pros and cons of each opportunity can be evaluated to drive commitment.

Decide – In this step, the coach facilitates the coachee to make a conscious choice about achieving her vision by clearing the obstacles, confirming buy-in, and guiding the coachee toward the necessary next steps.

Encourage and Execute – As a final step, the coach encourages the coachee to build upon the commitments made. The coach builds confidence, provides encouragement, drives accountability, and generally acts as a champion to ensure the coaching session ends with positive momentum in place.

Leaders who follow these steps and create a culture of coaching within their organizations help build engagement and alignment.

Many employees aren’t engaged. They are bored. Their values don’t align with those of the organization. They feel disconnected. They wonder about their purpose and the value they are providing. They may want to do their best, but they just aren’t engaged or motivated. They don’t have any initiative. They are merely the good soldiers following orders. Coaching an unengaged employee can lead her to understand more fully how her values align with the needs of the organization and instill a sense of purpose and passion.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are those employees who aren’t aligned. They work hard. They have tons of energy, but that energy is misspent. These employees may spin their wheels by focusing on the wrong things and wonder why they don’t feel in sync with their company. They become the rebels without a cause. They want to do what’s right, but their energy is misdirected. Coaching an unaligned employee can lead her to understand how best to focus her energies and her passions in a directed fashion that will lead to fulfilling commitments and adding value within her organization.

Monique Honaman is the founder of ISHR Group which provides leadership assessment, development, and coaching services to Fortune 500 clients globally. This article is based upon the book, Guide Coaching: Building Alignment and Engagement in the Workplace written by Honaman, and her two business partners, Stacy Sollenberger and Ellen Dotts. The book is schedule to be published later this year.

The Leader Left Standing: The Importance of Executive Coaching Post-Recession

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Leading Your Team: It’s All About You

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For some of you, the title of this article may fly in the face of what you have read about successful leaders—that they need to have specific attributes and style to be successful, or that they create such high-performing teams that they become unnecessary.

Although there are certainly common attributes of successful leaders, we have found that they can come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. How you lead truly depends on who you are. So, the first step is really understanding who you are. Have you taken the time over the past few years to reflect back on why you’ve done what you’ve done? What you have learned over the years? What you’ve accomplished, and, more importantly what attributes have caused you to be successful? What are the common themes of feedback you’ve received over the years? These are things we typically prompt leaders to reflect upon during an extensive assessment interview to identify patterns of behavior over time.

But, now that you know yourself, to what extent does that match the perception others have of you? Are you in the habit of asking for feedback from a 360 degree view (from your managers, peers, and people who work for you)? Are you making sure it’s specific and balanced feedback (are you getting both positive and developmental feedback)? Although asking for feedback and knowing how you are perceived sounds like common sense, it is not common practice.

Although it may be uncomfortable at first, if you get in the habit of sincerely asking for feedback and then sincerely doing something about it—leveraging your strengths and trying to respond to suggestions to improve your effectiveness—people will see you as sincerely caring about their input and be more open to suggestions the next time.

Not surprisingly, the most common coaching point is “managing perception.” Like it or not, perception is reality in any organization, and you can’t determine to what extent you need to focus on changing a perception unless you know “the book on you”—what it is and how you want it to read. Having assessed and coached hundreds of global leaders, we’re often asked “what does it take” to be a successful leader? Below are our observations that we hope you find helpful and can perhaps use as a roadmap for your own development. Ours is not a “cookie cutter” approach, but one that you can achieve by stretching, but still being true to yourself.

THE BASICS

These are what we refer to as “the ticket to entry” in any discussion of leadership and the potential to assume larger roles in an organization.

Being accountable – Doing what you say you’re going to do, having a high “say-do” ratio, being dependable, delivering results, and meeting or exceeding performance objectives.
Being credible – Believable, being seen as doing the right thing versus having any hidden agenda, and having built a solid foundation of experience that you are speaking from a base of knowledge.
Being decisive – Having courage in your convictions, being able to make a decision without all the data, and knowing when to stop getting more input and “make the call.”
Being driven – Having the desire to stretch outside of your comfort zone, highly self-motivated, always seeking to “over deliver” and exceed expectations, and always doing more than asked.
Being adaptable – Having the flexibility to adapt to internal changes in the organization or external fluctuations in the marketplace, seeing change as a positive, as unearthing new possibilities versus being resistant.
Being a “Quick Study” – Not necessarily having the highest IQ, but having the resourcefulness and know-how to figure out how to get up to speed quickly in any new situation, whether it be through self-study or leveraging the knowledge of others.

THE STANDOUTS

These are attributes that we don’t see very frequently, so when we do, they stand out as unique.

Ability to Influence – This goes well beyond interpersonal skills and encompasses organizational knowledge – knowing who the key stakeholders are and being able to fl ex your communication style to see things from their perspective to get buy-in.
Genuinely Cares – Unfortunately all too often we work with leaders who see people as a “means to an end.” This characteristic stems from really caring about the people who work for and with you, and getting to know them and value them for the individuals they are.
Risk Taker – We’re not referring to harebrained ideas here, but thoughtful, creative, prudent risk taking, thinking outside of the box, challenging the sacred cows of an organization, and never being satisfied with the status quo.
Mature – This has nothing to do with age or experience, but with being self aware, knowing what your strengths and development needs are, being a life-long learner, being comfortable in your own skin, confident in the person you are, and the style you have.
Passion for the Customer – Many think this would be in the “basics” category, but we find many leaders becoming too internally focused and not being conscious of needing to stay close to the customer, and to continually drive the customer-centric view down to their teams.
Innovative – This could be creating something from scratch, inventing something new, or simply doing things differently. Or, if you’re not particularly creative, surrounding yourself with those people and creating the environment that allows new ideas to bloom.

THE MISSING PIECES

As you would expect, there are areas where even the most successful leaders continually struggle and aspire to reach.

Strategic Thinking – Although well intended, many leaders get bogged down with daily firefighting or the transactional nature of their businesses and don’t consciously carve out time to think long term and set a vision for where they want their organization to go.
Leadership Flexibility – Staying true to who you are doesn’t mean only having one style of leadership. It’s easy to lead a team of people like you, but much more difficult (and much more effective) to lead a diverse team of individuals. Their job is not to adjust to your style, but for you to understand how best to influence and motivate them as individuals and as a total team.
Communication Savviness – Most leaders communicate well in specific scenarios, but many still focus on trying to be equally effective on all fronts: with individuals, small – large groups, across all levels of an organization, in formal presentations or informal networking.
Presence – Like it or not, the way in which you present yourself goes a long way in people’s impression of you as a leader, whether it be how you dress, how you speak, or the impression you leave. Many people we coach want to prove they can be successful without this, but they end up being overlooked or misperceived because they are not “memorable.”
Ability to Build a Following – This goes beyond positional power, or people doing what you ask them to do because they work for you. When you’ve developed followers, people say “ I don’t care what the job is, I just want to work for them again.”
Proactive Career Planning – Surprisingly, the majority of the leaders we have assessed have never sat down and thought about where they wanted to go from a career perspective, and the gaps they needed to fill to get there. Most have had a sponsor who has called them and told them what job to go to next. While having sponsors is certainly important, what happens if the sponsor leaves the company? Or falls out of favor? Many realize too late that they haven’t built a broad network or have pigeon-holed themselves unintentionally by having a passive approach to their own development.

ELLEN M. DOTTS is the vice president of Leadership Assessment at ISHR Group, the new home of Incite Strategies and HR OptIn. Since 1999, Incite Strategies has provided intensely personalized leadership assessment, development and coaching services to help clients retain, develop and promote their best and brightest talent. For more information, visit www.ISHRGroup.com or call 678.513.7661.

Looking Inside… Networking Internally

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A man approached me as I finished a keynote presentation on the importance of personal networking and exposure in the workplace. He told me he was living proof that people need to spend time developing their connections inside work just as much as they develop their external connections with clients and prospective customers. It turns out that he had recently been downsized from his organization, where he was a field sales leader. He prided himself on a strong work ethic and the fact that his customers loved him, but he was a virtual unknown within the walls of his own company. When he was cut, his immediate manager told him that he just didn’t have enough top-level support or sponsorship within the organization: people didn’t know who he was!

Many books and articles have been written about the importance of external networking. We focus on building those “business card exchanging” opportunities where we have opportunity after opportunity to deliver our perfectly rehearsed elevator speech in hopes of making the ultimate connection with someone who turns out to be the next big client. I speak frequently about the importance of having all the pieces of the P.I.E. — Performance, Image and Exposure. Of course, exposure is your personal visibility and branding program that encompasses both external and internal networking.

What about the importance of networking internally? Networking not to land your next big client and close that big sale, but networking to develop your reputation and become a known entity within your own organization. I’m talking about the kind of networking that builds your brand in an organization and develops your sponsors. I’m talking about building connections with people who will go to bat for you and always give you sage advice. I’m talking about building the kinds of relationships that will create long-term opportunities and open doors that might otherwise stay closed.

We heavily focus on external networking... participating in network groups, sales groups, trade shows, associations, and the like, but are we paying so much attention to external networking to the detriment of not being networked enough internally? I challenge you to take a look at your calendar. How many times in the last month have you scheduled time to attend a lunch meeting to get to know people associated with a trade group or a networking group in which you are involved? More importantly, how much time have you dedicated to getting to know people within your own office? Are these numbers different, and if so, why?

Benefits of Building an Internal Network

Clearly, building your internal network and developing some sponsors has benefits beyond just keeping your name off a reduction-in-force list. Think about it. We all know the benefit of a referral. Whether it’s looking for a new restaurant, or going to see a movie, we typically prefer to act on someone else’s recommendation. Knowing that someone else vouches for a particular restaurant or movie makes us more likely to try that referral.

The same is true in the people game. The more people who know you, the more internally networked you are, the better chance you have of being connected into opportunities, situations and projects that you might otherwise not be aware of. The more people who know you, the better your chances of having new opportunities and experiences brought your way.

It is not simply the quantity of people with whom you are networked that is important; rather, the quality of this network is just as critical. If a large number of people know you, and they all think of you as selfish, arrogant and dishonest, then it seems obvious that your internal network will work against you. It is critical as you build your internal network — which is really building your reputation — that it is built upon a solid foundation of values.

Strategies for Building an Internal Network

Internal networking is also different from the proverbial brown-nosing. Internal networking must be altruistic. No one wants to feel they are being schmoozed for some other person’s gain. Just as with external networking, and perhaps even more importantly, internal networking has to be sincere. It has to occur with the intent to build a symbiotic relationship. No one appreciates feeling used, and that kind of approach is often easy to see through.

Internal networking is not simply an “upstream” maneuver. With rapid change as a cornerstone in the workplace today, it is smart to network yourself across all spans — up, down and across — within your own department and across functional lines. As quickly as things change in the name game, it’s important to not become known as an individual who only manages up at the detriment of building relationships across and down.

Perhaps the most important strategy for successful internal networking is to cast a wide net. In today’s turbulent economic times, it would be silly to place all of your money in a single investment. Similarly, in today’s turbulent workplace, it would be silly to rely on one or two key relationships while ignoring the nourishment and development of others. We cannot become complacent in continuing to build our network.

It’s dangerous to have the mindset of being able to coast in the challenge of internal networking simply because of a comfort level with whom you are already networked. It’s amazing how many times I have seen leaders on a fast track suddenly fall off that track, leaving their network gasping for air, and trying to figure out what just happened. Their support team is gone in an instant, and suddenly they are an unknown. Their sponsorship, their inside track, has just ended. What now?

The adage, “out of sight, out of mind” is true. We need to ensure that we make internal networking a key part of our work ethic. It is not something that just happens. To develop properly, it takes focus, a commitment of time, and the desire to build meaningful relationships.

Five Strategies for Successful Internal Networking

Both quantity and quality are important.
Be meaningful and intentional. No one likes to be used.
Networking down and across is as critical as networking up.
Cast a wide net. Don’t limit yourself to a few key relationships.
Make time for internal networking. It should be an intended action.

Your Career Advisor: Finishing the Last Piece of the PIE: Performance, Image and Exposure

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Consider the successful rising star who performs well and has the right image, but who has spent all of his time behind-the-scenes getting the work done that he has failed to devote the energy needed for personal exposure and visibility. When he is finally teed up for the big job, no one knows who he is; and he gets passed over for the position. We know performance is key to success. Books have been written about execution and delivering results. Just as important is image. In fact, image consultants are a new breed of entrepreneur hitting the streets. However, there exists a third piece of the PIE, which is equally, if not more important, than performance and image. That third piece is exposure.

Why Others Should Know You

Most successful career executives know you have to have all pieces of the PIE. But, the reality is that most executives spend their time and energy on performance and image. Arguably, the value of exposure for senior-level career advancement is the most important piece of the PIE and serves as a tremendous differentiator. Yet, time and time again, we see exposure being relegated as a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have, in the competitive world of personal development.

All too frequently when we conduct executive assessments at Fortune 50 companies around the world, we hear things like, “He always makes his numbers, and he seems to have great presence; but I just don’t know that much about him.” One example stands out. He was being considered for a significant promotion to an officer-level role in a large global conglomerate. During his executive assessment (an intense 4-step process designed to give substantial feedback to high-potential employees at promotional points in theircareer) we heard, “For having worked for this company for 13 years, Jon is probably not as well-known as he could or should be. He needs to work on gaining positive exposure with the senior-leadership team and share the successes that he has led in store operations.” We also heard, “He hasn’t gotten the level of exposure that he needs with the senior-leadership team...he’s good on his feet and has good presence, but isn’t known enough.” The end result? The promotion went to another more well-known person. Does well-known mean well-deserving? Not always.

The Work Doesn’t Always Speak for You

Oftentimes people respond to suggestions that they work on their personal visibility program by saying, “I’m not going to suck up to the boss. My contributions should speak for themselves.” Yes, perhaps. But the reality is there are ways to let people know what you do, and ways to become visible within the organization, without feeling as if you are a walking billboard advertising your accomplishments.

How to Become Visible When Virtual

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Don’t count on it. More likely: Out of sight, out of mind. The importance of exposure is magnified for employees who don’t reside within the corporate offices. Naturally, they have to make even more of an effort to be known. With the increase in field-based and high-travel jobs, many executives find making the time to become visible in a corporate office to be very difficult.

We spoke with a regional manager based in the field for a large IT services company. As sales tapered off, he was impacted by a layoff. When he asked his manager for some constructive feedback as to why he was let go, his manager told him that while he was one of the best performing managers, he had been unable to convince senior management to retain him because nobody knew who he was. It’s dangerous to count on one person to drive your visibility program. Ensure that more than one person knows who you are. There is a lot to be said for casting a wide net within the organization.

There are things a person can do to stay connected while being physically away from the offices. Consider regular phone calls or emails so that your name stays fresh in their minds. Periodic updates, presented succinctly and proactively, will remind people who you are and what you are doing. If you close a big deal in the field, send a giant cookie cake to the home offices with a note saying, “We did it.” You can bet people in the break room will ask who sent the cookie ...and why. Schedule regular visits to the office — not so frequently that people wonder why you never seem to be out working, but certainly frequently enough that you pass from acquaintance to associate and people learn who you are. For field-based employees, visibility does not apply simply at the corporate offices. Be prepared when people come to see you in the field. You must have your game face on when people from the corporate office visit on your home turf. What they see is a snapshot of you and how you run your operations. Will they remember just another boring field visit, or will they walk away having had the opportunity to observe you as a host? They will be watching. How well did you treat your visitors? Did you invest noticeable time in preparing for their visit? Do you treat those around you with respect? These important factors can all serve to increase your visibility.

Self-Promote Modestly

Exposure is more than networking. It’s about ensuring that people, specifically the decision-makers in the organization, know who you are and know what you have accomplished. It’s about being more than just a name, but rather about being a face and a personality known for certain accomplishments within the workplace. Successful career executives recognize the importance of finishing off the PIE. There exists a fine balance between positively promoting yourself and becoming visible in the organization and appearing insincere and arrogant in your quest to become known and noticed. Earning exposure the right way comes from talking only when you have something relevant to share. It comes from ensuring that you have more than one sponsor or supporter in the organization who knows your skills, your performance, your work ethic. And, it comes from taking the time to honestly get to know people, not because you think they may be able to help you in the future, but because you never know when you might be able to help them. One final note on exposure: Be prepared. Exposure can be really good, or it can be really bad! Manage it accordingly. Don’t seek exposure (when partnered with strong performance and image) if you are not prepared to deal with the inevitable consequences of increased responsibility and promotion.

Building Your Entrepreneurial Legacy: Preparing for Your Exit

The On-Ramp/Off-Ramp trend is receiving quite a bit of press lately as women leave corporate jobs in droves to seek more balance and options. Many of these women cite reasons such as a desire to spend more time with their children, care for aging parents, or simply a need for more flexibility. It is many of these women who have ‘opted out’ who form the growing number of women business owners and entrepreneurs who start their own companies after leaving their corporate assignments.

But, what about women who are currently entrepreneurs and successful business owners who decide to ‘opt out’ from their own enterprises? How and when do these women decide when they have reached the point where they are ready to sell their business and do other things? How do successful women business owners leverage their desire to exit their own businesses?

Most women business owners know how important it is to have a solid business plan when starting a new endeavor. Experienced women entrepreneurs will tell you that it is just as important to have a plan for how to end your business, whether by selling it, closing it, or handing it off to someone else in the family to run.

The RSM McGladrey 2007 Survey of Women Business Owners surveyed 650 women business owners. Interestingly, when asked about the ‘primary long-term goal’ for their business, respondents in the smallest business revenue class wanted to primarily “generate enough income to provide for a comfortable life.” However, as revenues increased, so too did the number of respondents who not only wanted to generate additional income, but furthermore also wanted to “build a business and sell it to make enough money for retirement” and “build a business to pass on to future generations.”

Clearly many women business owners are thinking beyond the idea of just ‘making money to pay the bills today,’ and instead are thinking ahead to the day they step out of running the business. Yet there exists a perception that women are not as prepared as men to formally develop and implement an aggressive exit strategy. The myth exists that women who own small businesses typically don’t focus on developing an exit strategy. Two recent studies provide perspectives on this point.
In a study underwritten by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, “Exiting your Business: Serendipity or Strategy,” researchers found that most small business owners don’t have an exit strategy in place. Statistics show that 67% of small business owners surveyed had no written sales plans, and 43% had not conducted a formal valuation of their businesses. When small business owners did consider leaving their business, they most often turned to their network of entrepreneurial associates and relied on accountants and attorneys for help.

The study conducted in-depth interviews with 9 women executives who sold their businesses which each generated at least $4M in annual revenues. These 9 women offered terrific advice for those considering the possibility of a sale in the future:

Run a business every day as if it’s for sale.
Be aware of your goals and parameters by knowing what is acceptable for you in a sale.
Don’t publicize prematurely to employees or others who could be affected that you are considering a sale. When you are ready to sell, be decisive.
Get buyers’ promises in writing and find a buyer who shares your vision. Include conditions of the business and the sale in the sales documents.
• Develop your own investment and insurance portfolio separate from your business.

In October 2006, The Center for Women’s Business Research completed a comprehensive study, “Exit Strategies of Women and Men Business Owners.” This report purported to ‘bust’ the myth that women business owners tend not to be prepared to exit their businesses. It stated that the vast majority of women business owners (83%) do have a long-term exit strategy, and like men, they rank price as the most important factor to consider when selling their business. The research suggests that women entrepreneurs prepare as well as men when deciding to exit their business. Several interesting facts emerged:

Both men and women business owners believe that price is the most important factor to consider when selling their businesses, but women were more likely to also consider personal concerns about the future of their business and the well-being of their employees.
Women business owners are more likely than men to consider the buyer’s identify, personality and background when looking to sell their business, and are more concerned about what the buyer intends to do with the business in the future.
First time women business owners are typically less prepared to sell their businesses than women who had previously owned a business.
Women business owners are nearly twice as likely as men business owners to intend to pass the business on to a daughter.

The net result? Conventional wisdom dictates that women are typically more attached to their businesses, and therefore less likely to have a clearly defined exit strategy. In fact, perhaps the opposite is true. Perhaps women business owners are demonstrating a growing maturity, a deeper understanding of this last phase of their business cycle, and are increasingly likely to have long-terms plans in place for exiting their respective companies.

Monique A. Dearth, J.D., is the Founder and President of Incite Strategies. Incite Strategies focuses on global Executive Assessment and Development for companies like GE, The Home Depot, StatOil, and Ventana Medical Systems, and through HR OptIn provides flexible HR project management solutions to mid- and large-size companies. Monique can be reached at 678.513.7661.

More information on the reports referenced above can be found through the Center for Women’s Business Research.

HR as a Strategic Business Partner: Cliché or Absolute?

This article was featured on HR Crossing.

As a practicing HR professional for the past 17 years, I believe I have experienced the value (and contribution) of HR in many different ways. I hear many companies and HR leaders talking about the "value of HR as a strategic business partner," and it is interesting to observe how this plays out in the real world of day-to-day HR work. Is HR valued as a business partner? A few observations follow.

Phase 1: I began my HR career working for a large automotive company based in none other than the Motor City, Detroit. The title I was given, personnel generalist, should have been some indication of whether or not HR was viewed as a "strategic business partner." The plant manager and his staff sat in executive offices near the front of the plant. The HR manager and the rest of us on his team were placed in offices upstairs. The role of HR was obvious. It was relegated to being a "support" function, clearly not a part of the leadership team, and planning the company picnic was one of the expected responsibilities. I learned through observation and through assignment that HR was an administrative function and nothing more. Note: I was working at this company while attending school to receive my master's degree in labor and industrial relations/human resources. Here I was learning all about the role of strategic HR, and yet I was experiencing something entirely different.

Phase 2: I interviewed with a new company that had a reputation for valuing the role of HR, but was it able and willing to put its money where its mouth was? Absolutely. Talk about HR being viewed as an integral part of the team! At this company, HR was expected to be "at the table" participating in making the big decisions, strategizing, and understanding the impact to the business. There were no company picnics being planned in upstairs offices. This was real. The golden triangle in this company was comprised of the business operating leader, the finance manager, and the HR manager. This triad worked very closely together to ensure that the business was heading in the right direction. HR was expected to understand how the business ran, how to read the company financials, and, most importantly, how the role of HR could impact both of these things.

Phase 3: I left corporate America for an opportunity to start my own gig providing HR consulting services focused on my passion for leadership assessment and development. This opened up a tremendous opportunity to witness what HR looks like in many other companies. We work with companies across the U.S. ranging from the very small to the very large and across product and service lines. What did I find? Not a whole lot has changed. It's amazing to see the differences that still exist in what businesses expect from their HR teams. Some of our clients continue to see HR as a necessary evil to pay people and keep them happy but would no more expect to see HR playing a role in the big decisions. Other companies rely on their HR teams as integral partners and won't move forward on making major decisions until HR has participated. Clearly, we engage quickly and directly with those companies who already view HR as integral. Our greatest challenge lies in helping to educate our clients who don't know how to use their HR teams to their fullest potential. This often requires upgrading the HR talent or at least providing them with a new direction in terms of what is expected. So, returning to the original question, can you, as an HR professional, execute on your role as a strategic business partner with your organization? Yes, this depends in part on the company, but don't let that be your excuse. And don't interview for an HR job using the hip buzzwords "I want to be a strategic business partner" if you aren't ready and able to execute on this.

Here is my advice for truly delivering as a strategic business partner:

Interview them. When interviewing with a company for an HR role, observe how HR is treated. Are they sitting near the rest of the executive team? Did you interview with only other HR people, or do others in the business (e.g., the business leader and finance manager) also want a say in who gets hired into the position? Ask what major business initiatives HR has been involved with recently and, more importantly, what role HR played. What is your assessment of the strategic capabilities of the HR people with whom you are interviewing? Are they able to articulate what is going on in the business?
Educate yourself. This means educating yourself on new trends in HR so that you stay current. It means educating yourself on a broader functional skill level so that you are comfortable reading a P&L statement or a balance sheet or understanding the latest technology. It means educating yourself on your business, your industry, and your competitors so that you are able to add meaningful dialogue.
Be pushy. If you find yourself in a company that doesn't value the role of HR, seek ways to add value outside of those typically expected from your role. Align yourself as a value-added partner by virtue of your contribution to the bigger picture. Ask insightful questions, make comments, and contribute on a broader level. While some people may initially brush this off as being "none of your business," this chimney-thinking will soon crumble if the result is greater contributions from someone considered "just the HR person."
Stay positive. There was a video produced recently that showed a series of young children stating things like "When I grow up, I want to be buried in bureaucracy." The entire video focused on what could be considered "typical" HR responsibilities in very non-strategic HR roles. I was in an audience of about 300 HR professionals when this was shown to the group, and the response was negative. You could just hear the buzz when the video clip ended that this did nothing to elevate the role of HR but, rather, served to further cement the "personnel generalist" view of the function. Too often, HR still receives a bad rap in organizations as simply being overhead or being the necessary evil. Staying positive, recognizing the value of your contributions, and, more importantly, being a role model for how HR should contribute are integral if the function is to truly make the shift to being accepted as a strategic business partner role—no clichés.