HR's role in building competitive edge leaders

HR’SROLEINBUILDINGCOMPETITIVEEDGELEADERSMichaelM.LombardoandRobertW.EichingerWeakleadershipcancrippleanorganization’seffectiveness,whilepeoplewiththerightstuffcanaddtoitdramatically.InVOICESTM,our3608evalua-tionandfeed-backsystem,eachraterisaskedtoratetheimportanceofeachof67competenciesaswellasprovideskillevaluationsofeachforeachlearner.IntroductionWhenwewereinvitedtopresentourmusingsonHR’sroleinthefutureforthisvolume,wewereinthemidstofanalyzingournew3608databaseof60001ratersassessing770exec-utives,managers,andafewseniorindividualcontributors.Whynot,wethought,usethisfreshdatabasetoposeanswerstoseveralques-tionsaboutanessentialandsureaspectofthefutureofHR—acquiringandgrowingthenec-essarytalenttocreateacompetitiveedgefortheorganization?Weakleadershipcancrippleanorganiza-tion’seffectiveness,whilepeoplewiththerightstuffcanaddtoitdramatically.Weusedourdatabasetolookatwhatratersthinktherightstuffcurrentlyisandhowcurrentman-agementisdoingagainstthosestandards.Basedonanycurrentgapsbetweenwhat’sim-portantandwhatpeopleareproficientat,wewantedtoknowwhatHRwillhavetodotobuildbetterleadersnowandloadtheleader-shipbenchforthefuture?What’sImportantandHowArePeopleDoingatIt?InVOICESTM,our3608evaluationandfeed-backsystem,eachraterisaskedtoratetheim-portanceofeachof67competenciesaswellasprovideskillevaluationsofeachforeachlearner.Wecomparedcurrentimportanceandcurrentskillbydividingthe67competenciesintothirds(22highs,22lows,and23inthemiddle),usingthetopthirdinimportance/topthirdinskillasthealignedcurrentstrengthsandthetopthirdinimportance/lowestthirdinskillasthegapweaknesses.TheresultsarelistedinTablesIandII.FeedbackIfwewerepresentingtheseresultsasnarra-tivefeedbacktoamanager,whatwouldwesaytheresultsmean?TheGoodNewsYouaregoodatrunningatacticalbusinessanddealingwithtoday’sproblems:Youxhavestrongbusinesssavvyxareatake-chargekindofpersonxarebright;canhandlecomplexmentalproblemsxareresourceful;getresultsquickly;ac-tionorientedxmanageupwellxgetthingsdoneforcustomersxsetandhavehighstandardsxputtechnicalexpertisetopracticalusexreallygoafteraproblemuntilit’ssolvedxhavestrongcharacter;trustedbyothersxareviewedasapersonwhomakessoundbusinessdecisionsHumanResourceManagement,Spring1997,Vol.36,No.1,Pp.141–146Q1997byJohnWiley&Sons,Inc.CCC0090-4848/97/010141-06WD5787.141-1464/14/971:58PMPage141TheBadNewsOntheotherhand,youareleastlikelytobeadeptat:xbeingateambuilderorplayerxcelebratingsuccessandsharingcreditwithothersxcommunicatingeffectivelydownorside-waysxdevelopingdirectreportsxmotivatingothersindividuallyxnegotiatingwin–windealsxpickingtherightpeopleYoumaygetyourselfintroubleby:xbeingrigidinthefaceofchangexbeingseenasexcessivelyfocusedonselftobuildowncareerxbeingtootactical;notbeingstrategicenoughxdoingtoomuchyourself;aloner;notempoweringothersxleavingothersbehindwithnotenoughinformationxbeingnarrowinperspectivextryingtooverwhelmotherswithintelli-genceandlogicratherthanlisteningxproducingpoormoraleandpossiblyhighturnoverAPictureofToday’sManagement?Thetotal67competenciesclusterinto11sta-tisticalfactors.Wehavefurtherclusteredthem(A–Ebelow)forpresentationhere.Lookingatthecurrentstrengthsandweak-nessesoftheseexecutivesandmanagersagainstthoseclusterscreatesafullerpicture.A.GettingtheWorkOutThereisapparentlynoshortageofskilledpeo-plewhoknowtheirtradeandcansolvetoday’sproblemsbythemselves.Theycanovercomeobstacles,takechargeofaproblem,andgetthingsdone(10to12competenciesinthisclusterareratedhighinskill;noneisratedlow).B.GettingtheWorkDoneWithandThroughOthersProblemsarisewhentheseskilledpeoplemanagetheworkofothers,andsituationsofconflictinevitablyarise.Theyhaveproblemsdealingwitheverythingfromconfronting,totellingpeoplewhattheyneedtoknow,tode-velopingothers,todealingwithambiguoussit-uationsthatdon’tcomewrappedincleanpackages(9to12competenciesinthisclusterareratedlow;noneisratedhigh).C.ManagingVisionandPurposeTheydowelltechnicallyandtactically.Theyaregenerallytrusted,knowtheircustomersandthetacticalbusiness,havehighqualitystandards,andcanproducegoodannual142•HUMANRESOURCEMANAGEMENT,Spring1997Problemsarisewhentheseskilledpeoplemanagetheworkofothers,andsituationsofcon-flictinevitablyarise.TopThirdImportantforSuccessandTopThirdSkillLevel(it’simportantandpeopledoitwellnow)ListedAlphabetically.ActionOrientedBusinessAcumenComfortAroundTopManagementDecisionQualityEthicsandValuesFunctional/TechnicalSkillsIntegrityandTrustIntellectualHorsepowerOrganizingWorkProblemSolvingResultsTABLEITopThirdImportantforSuccessandBottomThirdSkillLevel(it’simpor-tantandpeopledon’tdoitwell)ListedAlphabetically.BuildingTeamSpiritDealingwithAmbiguityDevelopingDirectReportsDirectingOthersHiringandStaffingInformingMotivatingOthersNegotiatingStrategicAgilityTABLEIIWD5787.141-1464/14/971:58PMPage142plans.Anythinglongerterm—strategy,inno-vation,vision—andtheskillratingsarelower(4tacticalskillsratedhigh;4strategicskillsratedlow).D.ManagingPeopleTheydowellincloseorperhapsonthebasics.Theycare,areapproachable,andsurprisingtous,scoredhighinmanagingdiversity.Any-thingdeeper,suchaswhatreallymo