I’ve been posting about how vital it is for HR to rise above these unprecedented pressures. There’s a huge opportunity to further build HR’s credibility as business leaders – and there’s also a risk of being seen as incredibly effective operationally but not strategic.
How do you find the headspace to create that opportunity to be recognised as strategic partners in building the future?
Let’s look at two key elements in creating this different kind of conversation – content and tone.
Clients tell me that they go from one Zoom to another with little time to think. They’re in catch-up mode. So, the content is operational.
Set the agenda yourself for a conversation that is strategic, eg. ‘I want us to share what we’re learning about our culture/ managers/ leaders and use it to build our future capabilities’.
Or, ‘Let’s explore what we’re learning about our customers/ sector/ market so that we build our future people capabilities around that’. Use hard data and analytics where possible.
That kind of agenda also helps us to use a tone that’s mature and insightful. We force a slower pace, take a breath, and position ourselves as strategic thinkers, and not ‘just’ do-ers. We can listen, debate, act as a sounding board and build trust.
