The CEO is HR

  • 09
    Dec 24
  • 0

The CEO is HR

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HR is an extension of you, the CEO, it’s not just a department in the company. If you believe in the power of your people, then think of the HR Department as your arm or your leg.

HR is not some “they.” You are HR. You are the (CHRO) Chief Human Resources Officer.

A CEO who excels as a “people person” demonstrates a combination of skills and behaviors that foster strong relationships, motivate teams, and build a positive organizational culture. These include:

Key Skills

  1. Active Listening
    • Fully focuses on understanding employees’ perspectives, needs, and concerns without interrupting or rushing to respond.
  2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
    • Recognizes and manages their own emotions while being attuned to others’ emotions, fostering empathy and effective interactions.
  3. Effective Communication
    • Conveys clear and transparent messages, adapts communication styles to different audiences, and ensures mutual understanding.
  4. Conflict Resolution
    • Mediates disputes fairly and constructively, ensuring issues are resolved while maintaining relationships.
  5. Coaching and Mentoring
    • Invests time in helping employees grow professionally by providing feedback, guidance, and opportunities for development.
  6. Cultural Competence
    • Understands and respects diverse perspectives, promoting inclusivity and belonging.
  7. Influence and Negotiation
    • Persuades and inspires others to align with organizational goals while maintaining trust and collaboration.

Key Behaviors

  1. Approachability
    • Creates an open-door environment where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, or feedback.
  2. Empathy and Compassion
    • Shows genuine care for employees’ well-being and personal challenges, fostering trust and loyalty.
  3. Transparency
    • Builds credibility by being honest about challenges, decisions, and organizational goals.
  4. Recognition and Appreciation
    • Regularly acknowledges employees’ contributions and celebrates achievements.
  5. Adaptability
    • Adjusts to changing circumstances and tailors leadership approaches to meet the needs of different individuals and situations.
  6. Authenticity
    • Leads with integrity and remains true to their values, creating a culture of trust and respect.
  7. Empowerment
    • Delegates effectively, trusts employees to take ownership, and supports their decisions.
  8. Patience and Resilience
    • Maintains composure under pressure and shows understanding when others face difficulties.
  9. Commitment to Learning
    • Actively seeks feedback about their leadership and continuously improves interpersonal skills.
  10. Focus on Team Success
    • Prioritizes collective goals over individual accolades and ensures credit is shared.

If you embrace these now, you’re on your way. If not, no problem. There are several resources that will help you get there (executive coaching, peer advisory groups, etc.).

Once you – the CEO – have identified yourself as the CHRO and can own that, you can establish the type of HR department that will execute all your ideas about engagement of people leading to increased profitability.

  • 02
    Dec 24
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A Tale of Two Companies

NEW EXCERPT from my forthcoming book, “Transforming Your HR Department into a Profit Center.” Here’s: A Tale of Two Companies. Learn the value of how a company’s treatment of its employees impacts performance:

I want to tell you about my GE Capital HR experience versus another company I worked for- I’ll call it Company X.

I was working in corporate HR, for GE Capital, as an HR leader. Alan Hanes, the CEO, his leadership team, and I would talk regularly. They would come to my office, or I would go to theirs to discuss different strategies around our people. They saw me and HR as a strategic department, and myself as an internal management consultant.

GE Capital’s leadership was very committed to recruiting the best and brightest, and they provided a lot of HR support for the employees. HR was powerful and equal to all other functions in the company. 

There was a companywide initiative led by HR called “workout” which empowered all line employees to make appropriate decisions because they were the closest to the customer. 

HR led training sessions for all employees to teach them how to work collaboratively, and how to make good decisions for both the company and the customer.

In essence, everyone in GE Capital was a leader and they were taught how to be one. It was very successful. 

The company I worked for next was quite different (Company X). Despite the promises made upon my hiring, the CEO did not value HR and, in turn, nor did his leadership team. He was dismissive of my ideas and pretended he valued me, but he didn’t take my input. 

He was ego-driven, arrogant, and inappropriate. He set the tone and culture of the organization, and it was not an engaged workforce. 

He had a machine where he could monitor how many voicemails all the leaders accumulated. He had a microphone in his office and would publicly announce how many voicemails each leader had in their queue- “Kim you have seven voicemails, Paul you have ten voicemails, three from two days ago that you haven’t listened to.” Obviously, this was not a good role model at all for trust and engagement. 

These companies were vastly different in how they valued and treated their employees. GE Capital unleashed the power of its people which had a direct impact on the company’s ROI. Company X did not. 

An effective HR strategy and department will lead to transformative improvements in your business approach and bottom line. It will unleash the power of your people.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Next week we’ll talk about the place of the CEO in HR.

  • 18
    Nov 24
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Can HR Really be a Profit Center?

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Last week I posted about a simple equation to transform HR into a profit center.

So, let’s start putting the equation to the test. I interviewed dozens of CEOs and asked them if HR can really be a profit center?

In my interview with Antonio Valdés, CEO of Children’s Crisis Treatment Center, I asked the same question. He replied, “I’m going to give the simple answer first. The answer is yes.”

Here’s a short video of Tony expanding on his answer.
https://lnkd.in/e5k3JV5n

Next week we will further examine the equation.

  • 11
    Nov 24
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Step 1- Understanding the Case for HR as a Profit Center.

Today I will begin the posting of thought leadership concepts based on my soon to be published new book “Transforming Your HR Department Into A Profit Center- A Step by Step Guide for CEOs and Their Leadership Teams”.

While I will be addressing the CEO throughout these posts, I am

also including in my readership of COOs, CFOs, and HR, as the book is

intended for top level leadership. There are messages and important lessons to take away for anyone in those roles.

If you are in HR, these posts will give you many best practices that you can share with your CEO and help to influence them towards the adoption of them. 

There are 6 steps in the HR transformation process. Step 1 is Understanding the Case for HR as a Profit Center.

The below equation is the underpinning of HR as a profit center. It’s actually quite simple to understand but not as easy to strategically and tactically execute. In my weekly posts I will be explaining how to turn this equation into reality.

Next week I will be discussing an interview I conducted with a CEO

who shares his views on whether HR can be a profit center. #transforminghr #rosengroup

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