Are You an HR Survivor or an HR Leader?

Are you a survivor or a leader? The most successful human resources professionals are learning to be both.

It’s human nature to resist change, but change is inevitable and happening at a faster pace than ever before. John F. Kennedy said, “The one unchangeable certainty in life is that nothing is unchangeable or certain.”

This is not news to HR professionals, who are increasingly challenged to find ways to lead change, quickly and effectively, within their organizations. When change is in the air, you need leadership tools and techniques at your fingertips.

Be aware of the things that can sabotage your organization's change initiative. In order to survive change, you need to prepare yourself and others for the inevitable, avoid falling into these traps:

1. Lack of clear process for translating a change vision into action at all levels.
2. Failure to clarify ambiguous goals or clearly define priorities during the transition.
3. Inaccurate assessment of the gap between critical organizational competencies and individual and teams skills.
4. Not enabling people to succeed in the transformed organization.
5. Lack of integration of change expectations into HR management systems.

If you want to be a leader, you need to help management and employees adapt to change and
facilitate alignment between the organization’s culture and ever-changing strategic goals.

Key techniques you can use to help adapt the culture to change include:

❒ Challenge assumptions.
❒ Challenge beliefs.
❒ Look for two or three things that will have the biggest impact on the organization in the future.
❒ Evaluate the implications of the trends on the organization.
❒ Confirm the mission is still valid.
❒ Get rid of the old hierarchy in favor of a fresh approach.
❒ Question the usefulness of past policies, practices, procedures, and attitudes.
❒ Use three or four compelling messages (rather than 50) to communicate mission statements,
goals, and values.
❒ Expand leadership responsibilities to include more individuals.

Ways to align culture with changing strategic goals include:

❒ Identifying the business realities and trends that will affect the organization’s future success.
❒ Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the existing culture opposite future goals.
❒ Exploring all opportunities to facilitate change.

GOOD LUCK ... GO FORTH AND LEAD ! ! !