This is a reprint of a post I wrote in 2009.  I’m presently working with a client on a development program for its manufacturing team leads and it struck me once again just how critical EQ and social connectedness are to leadership excellence and effectiveness.  Just using those mirror neurons…

You know, as the HR Whisperer, I’m really enamored with the whole idea of creating top performing organizations through positive behavior change. One of my favorite mentors, Cesar Millan, says, “A dog that doesn’t trust its human to be a good pack leader becomes unbalanced and often exhibits unwanted or antisocial behaviors.” It struck me that the same is true for people in organizations. We need to have strong leadership because in many cases our very business survival depends on a stable, organized and motivated team. Business survival instinct is perhaps one of our greatest natural motivators in the workplace and if a person is not guided well, it can not only result in unwanted behavior but total chaos in the long run.

So, I’m digging this concept and working it through in my brain as to how this relates to human capital and wouldn’t you know, I web-stumbled across an article published by Harvard Business Review in 2008. Written by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis, “Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership” discusses new studies of the brain that show that business leaders can improve team performance by understanding not the psychology, but the biology of social intelligence. How cool. It struck me that scientists have discovered a biological underpinning to what makes a good leader great, which could toss more fuel on the fire in the “leaders are born, not made” camp. (Which I don’t subscribe to, by the way. I believe that anyone, given time and effort can change their behavior – even interpersonally. That’s why I’m in the business I’m in.)

More on the biology of leadership from Harvard Business Review:

“The salient discovery is that certain things leaders do—specifically, exhibit empathy and become attuned to others’ moods—literally affect both their own brain chemistry and that of their followers. Indeed, researchers have found that the leader-follower dynamic is not a case of two (or more) independent brains reacting consciously or unconsciously to each other. Rather, the individual minds become, in a sense, fused into a single system. We believe that great leaders are those whose behavior powerfully leverages the system of brain interconnectedness…If we are correct, it follows that a potent way of becoming a better leader is to find authentic contexts in which to learn the kinds of social behavior that reinforce the brain’s social circuitry. Leading effectively is, in other words, less about mastering situations or even social skill sets—than about developing a genuine interest in and talent for fostering positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support you need.”

Wow. The idea that leaders need good interpersonal as well as functional skills has certainly been around for quite some time. As a matter of fact, Goleman coined the phrase, “social intelligence” to discuss this very thing. But what he and Boyatzis are talking about here is different – they’re saying that we have these things in our brains called mirror neurons that mimic what another person does. As social beings, when we “consciously or unconsciously detect someone else’s emotions through their actions, our brain’s mirror neurons reproduce those emotions and allow us to instantly share that experience.” Ever notice when two people are deep in discussion they tend to hold their arms the same way or cross their legs at the same time? That’s the mirror neurons in action.

So, how can leaders take advantage of this brain interconnectedness? If it stands to reason that followers will create a social connection with their leader, it also stands to reason that they will emotionally feel whatever it is the leader is feeling and behave accordingly. If leaders are emotionless, don’t smile or otherwise engage their followers, they will not activate the mirror neutrons in a positive way, leading to distressed and nonperforming followers, and thus the potential for business chaos. Body language plays a great part also. If a leader’s body language doesn’t jibe with what is being said, the follower will go with the body language. Bodies don’t tell lies, mouths do.

The bottom line is that when people feel good about what they are doing, when they have a social connection with their leaders, when they feel part of something that is bigger than them, those mirror neurons come in handy. Reinforce the brain’s social circuitry — if you want to motivate those around you, create a positive atmosphere. If you want higher performance or enhanced creativity, be in a good mood and show you care.

Biology of the Pack Leader is a post from: The HR Whisperer

IT’S A RECORD BREAKER.

Let me say that again: IT’S A RECORD BREAKER! I don’t know about you, but I’m getting ready to join over 1,700 people at the 2011 HR Florida State Conference & Expo in Orlando, which starts Monday, August 29th. If you want to join the fun, head over to www.hrflorida.org to register. State conference director Dana Chatelain (@DanaChatel) has worked hard to ensure a stupendous, crowd pleasing event.

Here’s just a snippet of what to expect. There’s going to be:

An At-Large Member Reception for SHRM members who are interested in joining a local chapter. Learn more about the benefits of chapter membership in a low-key, casual atmosphere, led by immediate past president Kitty Fields, SPHR and membersip director Kay Wilson, SPHR.

“The VOICE of HR” Student Reception for students majoring in HR. Join veteran networkers and long-time members of the HR community in a fun, social networking event based on the TV show, The Voice, led by college relations director Jim Gallo, SPHR and president Joan Ciferri, SPHR, CPC of David Wood Personnel.

Keynotes from Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, noted author and TV newswoman Lisa Ling and the author of the bestseller on motivation, Drive, Daniel Pink.

Over 100 concurrent sessions to choose from, including five Master’s Series sessions.

Social media coverage by a noted panel of bloggers, including:

• Mike VanDervort (@MikeVandervort) from the Human Race Horses
• Ben Eubanks (@beneubanks) from UpstartHR
• Franny Oxford (@Frannyo from Do the Work: Memos to the Universe
• Victorio Milian (@Victorio_M) from Victorio Milian – My Thoughts on Trying to Live a Life of Quality
• Bryan Wempen (@bryanwempen) from DriveThruHR
• Joni Thomas Doolin (@luckypenny) from People Report Blog, and
• Kris Dunn (@kris_dunn) from the HR Capitalist

These professionals will not only share their unique perspectives on conference sessions and events, but will also be discussing social media and its global impact.

And, there is so much more happening that I can’t even begin to list here.

Yes, this is a SHAMELESS plug for HR Florida and it’s outstanding annual conference, but I want you to attend and when you do, make the most of your experience there.  This is an unprecedented opportunity to be at the leading edge of HR. So…

Engage in the dialogue that will be taking place throughout the conference. Listen to what HR practitioners of all functions, levels, specialties, etc. have to say about what’s happening now and what needs to happen in the future. Push back when something said doesn’t seem right. Ask questions; seek answers. Get some new ideas and bring them back.

Be a true HR hero – join us in becoming energetic, educated and engaged HR pros who have an influence on our field and the organizations we serve. That’s what I plan to do.

See you at the conference!

Florida Style HR – State Conferencing At Its Best! is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I received this gem of a poem from one of my clients.  We’ve been working together on an intervention to help his department and collective organization get employees more engaged.  Tough thing to do, given folks don’t get recognition or even raises, really and job satisfaction is very high.  Just the fact that he sent this to me though, screams volumes in where his head is at, what he’s all about, and what he wants to do.  I’m proud and excited to be helping this fine organization; they’ve got leaders, positional and personal, who want to do the right thing.  Bravo.

I’ve since found out that these “rules to lead by” are called The Paradoxical Commandments.   Written by Kent Keith in 1968 when he was a sophomore at Harvard College, the commandments were part of The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, his first booklet for high school student leaders.

Kent was 19 when he wrote this.  A babe.  What a great way to think – and act – when living a life.  I’m inspired and I hope you are, too.

So, here they are in the spirit of our forefathers who also wanted to do the right thing – and succeeded.  My best to you and Happy 4th of July, everyone!

The Commandments of Leadership

If you do good, people will accuse you of ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

Honesty will make you vulnerable.
Be honest anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down
by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.      
Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.    
Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you’ve got, knowing you may get kicked in the teeth.        
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Leadership Commandments…Personal or Otherwise is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Why are Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees required for jobs?  That was the question I was asked the other night by one of the students in my graduate class on human resources management.  At first blush I thought it had to do with cognitive ability (and I was right), but when I don’t know something to be empirically true, my nerd hat comes on and I have to go look it up.

You’d think it would be easy to find – nope.  I spent over an hour on the web searching for any kind of information regarding the relationship between holding a college degree and job performance.  I must tell you that the Internet and I are great friends and have been since forever.  The firm I worked for at the time was a tech company and supported all employees in becoming early adopters of any kind of technology – and I thank them for that to this day.

But I digress.

Anyway, I ended up at the Department of Labor website.  In its Uniform Guidelines for Selection, the DOL says:

The degree of relationship between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should be examined and computed, using professionally acceptable statistical procedures. Generally, a selection procedure is considered related to the criterion, for the purposes of these guidelines, when the relationship between performance on the procedure and performance on the criterion measure is statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance, which means that it is sufficiently high as to have a probability of no more than one (1) in twenty (20) to have occurred by chance….

In plain terms, what the DOL is stating is that if you want to use any kind of criteria, such as need for a college degree to determine whether or not a person is qualified for a job, that criteria must have some statistically significant positive relationship between it and successful performance on the job. 

This really didn’t tell me why a college degree is required, but it was a start.  So, I did more research and ended up finding two articles that provided my answer.

The first article from The American Economic Review  entitled, “Academic Achievement and Job Performance,” reports research conducted in the early 1970s by Harvard University assistant professor David Wise on whether or not students who get good grades in college increase their earning potential over the course of their career.  They do.  But he also stated that:

The relation[ship] between college quality and grades on the one hand and job performance on the other is not only statistically significant, but is quantitatively important…it appears that the criteria used for selection [into college] is positively associated with an individual’s ability to perform job-related tasks.  The findings of the study suggest that this relationship is not simply due to non-cognitive attributes such as motivation or IQ, which may underlie academic success, but that academic achievement is an important determinant of job performance.

But, Wise also goes on to say that nonacademic attributes are just as important as academic achievement in determining job performance.

The other article I found was from 2009, published in Applied Psychology and entitled,  “Ability and Trait Complex Predictors of Academic and Job Performance: A Person–Situation Approach.”  Kanfer, Wolf and company from Georgia Institute of Technology did a study of 105 college students enrolled in a cooperative school-work program, using a bunch of different cognitive ability, knowledge, and non-ability (personality, motivation, thinking styles, decision making strategies, etc.) tests.

They found that:

Both ability and non-ability trait composites were significant predictors of academic performance, but only the non-ability trait composites predicted job performance…Specifically, non-ability trait composite measures provided incremental predictive validities for all measures of job performance, beyond that of cognitive abilities, knowledge, and grade point average.

The end result is that Wise as well as Kanfer and company say that nonacademic is just as important as academic in determining job performance.  You shouldn’t use the one without the other.

So my friends, requiring a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree for a job is only half of the picture – it demonstrates that the job needs a high level of ability in cognition – thinking, learning and processing information.

Now, what would you use to determine the other half?  Yep, you guessed it.  Once again, it’s all about behavior.

Bachelors – And No, Not The Reality Show is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Every so often I come across articles on the web that spark some kind of interest but I don’t have time to read them, so I bookmark them for later.  I had this particular article bookmarked for a while (okay, since February), and when I finally got the chance to read it, it struck me that healthcare companies are moving in the right direction and I hope more organizations follow their lead.  What am I talking about?  Shifting the ban from smoking in the workplace to banning smokers, period.

I know sounds harsh, doesn’t it.

The article in question is from the New York Times.  Author A. G. Sulzberger reports that…

“More hospitals and medical businesses in many states are adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants, saying they want to increase worker productivity, reduce health care costs and encourage healthier living.  The policies reflect a frustration that softer efforts — like banning smoking on company grounds, offering cessation programs and increasing health care premiums for smokers — have not been powerful-enough incentives to quit…the new rules essentially treat cigarettes like an illegal narcotic.”

If you want to get a job in one of these organizations, you have to submit to a drug test.  And if you get caught smoking, just as with a Drug Free Workplace, you can face termination.

There are a lot of states that have laws that prevent bans on smokers (not Florida).  Here, with the Florida Clean Air Act passed in 2003, smoking is prohibited at most places of employment, but smokers can smoke in designated areas determined by the employer.  Smokers can also smoke in bars, private establishments or other public places where smoking is not banned, such as a tobacco shop.

I’m sure one of the main reasons employers are banning smoking is economic, evidenced by the skyrocketing medical costs associated with smoking and the sick leave or unproductive time that comes along with it.  But as the article states, there are other good reasons to do so, such as encouraging a healthier way of life.  Healthcare providers also want to ensure that their employment policies and practices are congruent with their mission to promote overall health and well-being.  It’s in their best interests to do so, from an economic, consumer and employee perspective.

Steven Bjelich, chief executive of St. Francis Medical Center in Missouri said that his organization “felt it was unfair for employees who maintained a healthy lifestyle to have to subsidize those who do not.”

I can’t help but agree with that sentiment.

Let me say that I’m not a smoker – but was one in my early 20s, when I was really stupid – so I guess I’m one of those rabid anti-smoking people that smokers love to hate.  Especially after having two children who had asthma, losing a mom to smoking-related lung cancer, and now dealing with an aging dad with smoking-related COPD.  Smokers aren’t going to get any sympathy from me.

But where do we draw the line?

One thing we must consider, is what health or other related behaviors are we going to ban next in our workplaces and is it right that we do so.  Are we going to ban employees from engaging in high-risk sports, such as hang gliding, motorcross, or even snow skiing?  Are we going to ban employees from drinking alcohol in the privacy of  their own homes?  Are we going to ban employees who have a BMI over 25?

As HR pros, we need to understand the hows and whys of developing health or behavior-related policies and ensure that those policies not only meet the needs of our organizations, but truly take into account the rights of the individual outside of the workplace.

Is it discrimination?  You decide.

Are You Willing to Smoke Out Your Job? is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Just read a delightful Sunday post from our favorite HR Capitalist, and I can’t agree more with his assertion that we all should hire people who honestly never seem to have a bad day and bring so much more to our organization than just their skill set.  I believe I’m one of those hiring managers myself — especially when it comes to those rather furry hires, the young ones where you’re not sure what you’re getting in the beginning, but are willing to take a risk on a hire that you believe has potential.

And I must say that from the hiring perspective, VVI has done pretty well in that department.  So much so, that I’ve recently been lobbying the other half of Vogel & Vogel, Inc. to support a staff increase in our Wellness Department.  Sadly, we did recently lose one of the staffers Sam Vogel, to an unexpected departure, but we do have the budget for a replacement hire.

The problem is convincing the Chief Operating Officer that we NEED to hire a replacement.  He doesn’t want to spend the $$ as he doesn’t believe an additional staff member is warranted.  Says it will cost too much in the long run.  He’s looking for the ROI. 

Granted, the current three staffers, Scout Vogel, Saki Vogel and Sushi Vogel, tend to sleep on the job – a lot.  But, they’ve been with VVI for over 12 and 15 years respectively, have won numerous awards for their outstanding dedication and commitment, and provide some much needed diversity in the organization.   

So,  how am I going to convince the COO that an additional staff member is needed in the Wellness Department?  Show him the data.  I’m planning on doing an indepth analysis of wellness program costs relative to associated reductions in health benefit costs.

Sometimes, More Staff Can Be A Good Thing. is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I don’t know about you, but the past year has brought about a rash of harassment cases to my attention and subsequent action.  I’m frequently asked by clients to do an intervention for an individual or group that requires education regarding what is acceptable – and what’s not acceptable – behavior in the workplace.

In fact, the EEOC received 99,920 individual charges in 2010; a 7% increase over 2009 and close to a 33% increase in the last five years.  Of those 2010 charges, 29% were for sex (16% of which were males, a figure that has been steadily increasing over the past 13 years).

Total outlay of money for all resolutions in 2010?  Over $319.4 million, which doesn’t include monetary benefits obtained through litigation.

Since I’m having fun with numbers, that calculates out to $2.28 for each of the current 139,854,000  employees in the U.S. labor force.

That’s a lot of moola to spend on something that can be preventable.

Harassment is prohibited through Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and includes all behavior that has the effect of humiliating, intimidating, or coercing another person.  We define behavior in this case as anything one person says or does to another person that is unwelcome and causes embarrassment, discomfort and emotional distress.  It’s not important  if the first person thinks she’s just being funny; all that really matters is the impact of that behavior on the other person or the work environment.

Harassment is not going leave the workplace.  My contention is that if you have two or more people in a room (or a person and a computer), regardless of gender, race, etc., there is an opportunity for harassment.  Based on my experience, I also believe a lot of it has to do with cultural differences and just plain ignorance.

Which leads me to this question:  where are you in your harassment prevention initiative?

Savvy HR pros know that if they want to protect their employers and employees alike, they should:

• Have a no tolerance policy prohibiting harassment, sexual or otherwise, and instruct employees on what harassment is and is not.
• Communicate the policy continuously through new hire orientations, annual refreshers, and other educational opportunities.
• Train supervisors in their particular responsibilities and obligations as an agent of the employer.
• Employ a robust complaint procedure, one that is investigative, objective, and thorough.
• Take prompt, effective action, once harassment has been reported.

I don’t know about you, but if I could protect my employees and save my organization $2.28 a person, I would have a very happy employer, indeed.

And that makes good sense, business and otherwise, doesn’t it.

Once Again, It’s All About Behavior is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Fear of public speaking is a social phobia. Scientists and behaviorists call it social anxiety disorder.  The medical  term is glossophobia; from the Greek words glossa (tongue) and phobos (fear).  Believe it or not, the fear of speaking in front of other people is #1 on the top ten list of social phobias, higher than death even.  Which means that most people would rather die than do a presentation.

Some facts regarding public speaking:

• Three out of four people suffer from anxiety about public speaking.
• Doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, although some stats shows that women tend to be more afraid of public speaking than men.
• The fear often begins with shyness in childhood and progresses from there.
• People develop specific phobias as a result of learning.  This has been studied in psychology as fear conditioning.  But fears can also be unlearned as well.

Let me tell you; I was that shy kid.  It took me YEARS before I was comfortable in front of an audience.  I had to suffer through several public speaking courses, a tour through Dale Carnegie sales training courtesy of a previous employer (which I detested, BTW – the training, not the employer), and lots of practice.  I  knew my career would go nowhere unless I could deliver effective presentations.  Now, I’m at the point where I don’t even lose sleep, never mind my lunch, anymore.

If I can get this way, so can you.

The first thing to remember is that the presentation is about your audience, not YOU.  The easiest way to undermine your presentation is to communicate your nervousness to the audience.  They’re going to spend so much time feeling bad for you they won’t be able to focus on what you’ve got to say.  Just because you feel nervous doesn’t mean you have to look nervous.  Here’s some tips to help you get through the phobia.

Have something to say.

Think about the goal of your communication.  What is the main purpose of the presentation?  What do you hope to achieve with this audience?  Focusing on what you’re going to do and say, rather than what you are feeling is a great distraction.  Plan what you are going to say and then practice it – and practice out loud.  This way your mouth will know what to do when you’re nervous.  Take deep breaths to slow your heart and help you calm down.

Know your stuff, but don’t memorize.

Knowing your material will help you decide what information is important and what can be left out.  You don’t want to memorize it  though, as reciting by rote will sap the energy out of the presentation and you.  And you’ll lose your audience to boredom, which will make it more stressful for you.

Focus on making everyone else comfortable. 

Your job is to focus on the needs of the audience and facilitate their experience.  Remember, it’s not about you.  If you focus on making the audience feel comfortable, you’ll worry less about yourself.  Think about this question: How can I phrase my presentation so that it is focused on my audience needs, not mine?

Wear the right clothes.

Yes, wear the right clothes.  You don’t want people wondering if your belly ring is going to hook on your pants.  You don’t want people staring at your cleavage.  You don’t want people wondering where you got that I’d Rather Be Fishing t-shirt and why you chose to wear it today.  No matter what your age or gender, conservative clothes are best. Remember, you want the focus on your presentation, not on you. 

Use the appropriate tools.

There are a lot of different tools you can use to help the audience.  Pick things that will help you keep the presentation moving along.  PowerPoint is always a biggie and we talked in my last blog about how you need to make sure that the PP is crisp, clean, and not loaded with words.  Handouts are good as they help the audience move with you through the presentation and keep them focused on the content.  I also like to use other “show and tells,” such as books or other things to pass through the audience.  When people answer a question I’ve asked, I sometimes will walk over and give that person a small prize.  It encourages participation and the more participation you have, the less you have to do the speaking.  I also like to use a remote, so that I don’t have to keep hanging by the computer to click “next” when I’m using PowerPoint.

Keep your face to the audience.

Nobody wants to see the back of the presenter.  It also can give the appearance that you don’t care and would just rather read the PowerPoint than deal with the audience.  You need the eye contact and it’s easier for people to hear you when you are facing them.  Use notes to help you stay forward facing.  I like to hold my notes so that I can glance down when I need to, to help keep me on track.  I also walk around when I make a presentation.  Some people may find this distracting, but I do it to get rid of excess nervous energy and to get down into the audience for that personal touch.  You don’t have to do it though, if it makes you feel uncomfortable.  It’s a personal choice.

Practice – and then practice some more.

The old saying practice makes perfect is true.  Not only does practice ensure you know your material (and thus are not reading off your PP), but it also will help you not be so nervous because you know your stuff.

Now, go get ‘em, tiger!

Deal with the Fear, or You Won’t Progress in Your Career is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I don’t watch television much, but I do try to make time for  American Idol.  Have done so for years. Wow, 10 years. Can’t believe the show has been on that long.  Just for fun, let’s see if I can name the nine winners so far without cheating…

1. Kelly Clarkson
2. Ruben Studdard
3. Fantasia
4. Taylor Hicks
5. Carrie Underwood
6. Jordan  Sparks
7. David  Cook
8.  …
9. Lee DeWyze
10. ????

Don’t know if I have them in the right order, but how’s that for a memory, huh!  Just looked it up – I missed Kris Allen.  Oh that’s too bad; somewhat telling though…talented, yes, but a good cultural fit, i.e., memorable? 

As I said, I’ve been watching this show for years and it struck me that these talent-type shows are the best examples of behavioral-based job interviews I’ve ever seen.  Same thing for my real first fave, Project Runway.  I like that they focus on talent, a person has to produce to demonstrate that “past behavior is a predictor of future behavior” and there are a several people involved in the decision making.  And as in real life, sometimes the hiring managers (judges) are polite and encouraging and at other times, just total insensitive jerks.

The judges and/or voters don’t always get it right, in my opinion, but they do stick to the job description.  Like when they voted off Chris Daughtry.  He is the ultimate (like my other fav Bon Jovi) but they probably did him a favor as he “culturally” wouldn’t have fit the job.

Here’s the official  “job requirements:” for American Idol:

• Must be 15 years of age and no older than 28 years in the year of the audition.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must be able to work full-time.
• Must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, if younger than 18 years of age.
• Must be willing to sign a release form.
• Must demonstrate to producers that the person does not have talent representation, a music recording, acting or modeling contract, merchandising agreement, or any other contractual arrangement that would prevent the person from entering into a management contract.
• Must not have progressed to the top 30 in any of the previous seasons.

Here’s some of what I believe are the competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and aptitude) for the position:

• Ability to maintain an even tone and pitch.
• Ability to multitask (look at the camera, sing, move, and smile at the same time).
• Ability to work hard at all times.
• Demonstrate flexibility.
• Willingness to openly accept critical feedback and act on it.
• Willingness to learn and engage.
• Possesses good oral communication skills.
• Ability to make sound decisions, e.g., song choice.
• Ability to display a charming persona on screen – strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to maintain a “look”, (i.e., appearance,) that demonstrates AI’s young, hip brand.

Now, I have a couple of questions for you: 

If you were a hiring manager on AI, what would you be looking for –  being able to do the job – or having the raw talent, and so being able  to be taught how to do the job?  Would you look for cultural fit – or just go for the ability to produce?

The Ultimate Job Interview is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Photo courtesy of Carol McDaniel

I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Daytona 500 NASCAR race on Sunday courtesy of OrlandoJobs.com. It truly was a lifetime, bucket list experience that I’ll never forget. OMG, it was fun – and LOUD.

Being ever the Whisperer though, I couldn’t help but watch everything that was happening around me and how people behaved. The audience, I guess was pretty typical. Never having been to a car race of this type before, I rather expected that fans would be mostly young men. Not true. Yes, a ton of guys (which made the lines incredibly long for the restroom, which I thought was hilarious, BTW, as it’s usually the other way around!), but really most of the audience were middle-aged couples who were out for the day. Lots of what I call trick-or-treating too, at all of the booths in the exhibit area leading to the track. I was amazed at how long the line was to get free snack-size boxes of cereal. Who knew?

But what really struck me was during the race itself. I don’t know if you follow NASCAR or watched the race, but the cars are traveling in excess of 220 miles per hour and literally stack up one against the other for drafting purposes. Well, this strategy often ends up in one car losing control and crashing either into another car or the wall. That’s a lot of what makes NASCAR so exciting. Fortunately, most of the time no one gets hurt, but the car gets trashed. These cars then limp off to the pit where miraculously they are put back together in mere seconds and then tossed back into the race.

Know what the team uses to put the car panels and bumpers back together?

You guessed it. Duct tape.

Which got me thinking about how HR is really the duct tape of an organization.

Consider. We are the essential element in making the organization “stick” together. Yes, pun intended.

More and more we see HR moving from the transactional, compliance-focused function to a strategic partner with expertise in people and human behavior. Without a good understanding of people and how they behave, especially in situations of constant change, NO organization will be successful.

Good HR is about observation and analysis behind the scenes, compiling data and then creating the processes to create or maintain organizational integrity, coherence and congruence. We use processes to inform, influence and define behavior and culture.

Essentially, any other organizational resource depends on the human resource.

So, HR keeps things together. Just like duct tape.

HR and Duct Tape is a post from: The HR Whisperer