Behavior change is widely recognized as one of the hardest things to do.  Just look at our obesity crisis, for example.  We have educated people that fast food is bad, that too much soda pop is bad, and that sweets are bad, but most people are still making poor food choices.  Until a person decides to take active steps to change existing behaviors, in most cases, they will continue to struggle with weight and health challenges.    

Same with our work lives.  The attainment of important business goals often suffers when change initiatives don't take hold.  Status quo lives on.  It's easy to see why people don't stop eating fast food - because it's actually quite tasty!  But why do we resist changes in the workplace?  According to a recent Harvard Business Review blog by Rosabeth Moss Kanter,  there are quite a few reasons:   

• Change may feel like a loss of control.  If change is coming from "the top", people may feel they've just lost a stake in the game.  Smart leaders involve employees in the planning and decision making process before the change is even implemented.
• Loss of face.  People associated with the thing that is being superseded are likely to feel defensive.  Especially when change involves a big shift in strategic direction, the people responsible for the prior direction dread the perception that they must have been wrong.   Smart leaders celebrate elements of the past that are worth honoring, making it clear that the world has changed...such the need for a new direction. 
  
• More work.   Yes, actually, change does require more work, more persistence and more diligence, but smart leaders create a clear vision of the new direction and why the extra effort is worth it.

Sometimes all the planning and effort to ease the process of change cannot offset real pain.  This would be the case, for example, of a need to cut staff.  The approach that Ms. Kanter advises is to be honest, fast and fair.  Tell the truth, do it methodically, but quickly, and be fair to everyone involved.  


 

Reviewing a recent article in Inc. magazine, I was once again struck by how many critical business factors were related to people.  When CEOs were asked which factors most contribute to the organization's ability to innovate, THE top answers were retaining and recruiting great talent.  They added that innovation works best when there is collaboration with that great talent.  And the best suggestion for management - learn how to delegate.
It's not rocket science, although many leaders fail to focus on the key factors that will enable their business to achieve maximum success.  In essence:

• Hire the right people.  
  
• Once you get the right people in the door, train them, inspire them and show them the value they create for your organization.
• If they are managers and supervisors, train them how to lead people toward maximum effectiveness...and this includes the RIGHT way to delegate work to them!       

As an HR leader, I have heard fellow colleagues complain that they don't have a seat at "the table".  This is actually a pretty regular topic of conversation in many HR circles.  Of course they are concerned that they are not a part of critical business impacting  conversations being had by their executives and members of the Board of Directors as business.  Problem is that a seat at the table is earned by the value you bring to the table! 

HR is evolving as a business partner, but a good number of professionals focus on providing service that is more transactional in nature - HR Administration, Legal Compliance and Benefits Services.  While these are certainly a value to the organization, a seat at the table is earned by figuring out the "why" of the services...why are we offering X benefit program, why are we recruiting for X position, etc. - it all goes into the strategic alignment of the business goals with the talent pool in the organization. 

A recent article from CFO.com, "Promote HR Leader and Reap Profits", hones in on the point that IF HR becomes focused on the business goals, they CAN significantly impact the bottom line.  The folks at SuccessFactors seemed to prove that with their recent study of the 2012 annual reports of all Fortune 500 companies.  They found that the minority of companies that did not list an HR executive as an officer of the company had an average 21 percent lower net profit margin than did their industry-peer companies.  

Karie Willyerd, vice president of learning and social adoption for SuccessFactors adds, “We think what that says, based on this analysis and some other studies we’ve done, is that a chief human resources officer can drive an agenda within the executive board about aligning people to goals, and they can insure that performance appraisals are done.”  Obviously, one of the key ways to drive alignment of people with goals is to tie them with the annual review!

So the easy secret to getting a seat at the table is bringing your own special sauce that is the key element of the gathering.  Soon the executives will say, "That's what's been missing all along"!