HR should be the “high priest” of culture and talent within organisations and actively drive leaders to set the example, develop and retain talent and build a culture of high performance, according to global leadership expert Manfred Kets de Vries.
HR – The high priest of culture.
I always say the soft skills are the hardest skills to develop, so if a company is truly serious about improving individual and collective leadership capability, then this has to be part of its culture,” he said.
“When you think about the role of leaders, this is really about talent and culture management. To get the best out of people leaders really have to set the example from the top and create a different culture.
“And HR, as the high priest of culture and talent, should have a strong voice in talent management and the strategy a company uses around its talent.”
Kets de Vries, who serves as distinguished clinical professor of leadership development and organisational change at INSEAD, also said many companies use leadership development programs as a band aid for getting around real leadership development.
“Often companies are too busy ‘strategising’, which I think is a rubbish excuse,” he said.
Instead, real leadership development comes down to internal practices such as coaching, action learning, shadowing, role modelling and mentoring, and Kets de Vries said HR should actively try and engender these into an organisation’s DNA.
“Often companies are too busy ‘strategising’, which I think is a rubbish excuse”
“There is always room for improvement and helping people to grown and learn, and HR directors play an important leadership role in getting the best out of people,” he said.
Kets de Vries also said that it is a “no brainer” that the head of HR should be on the executive leadership team and report to the CEO, however, many companies sideline HR for a variety of reasons.
“Depending on the way a company operates, they may make the team as small as possible to help make the process of decision making quicker. In some cases companies will consolidate the HR function and park it under the VP administration or VP finance, for example,” he said.
“Companies that do this don’t take HR seriously. HR should be part of the executive team and I think the CEO should keep the HR function under them, because in the end, they have to make certain difficult personnel decisions.
“The most important thing in the HR/CEO relationship is to develop a sense of trust, and a HR director should actively work at building good relationships with the key executive players and understand what makes them tick.”
For the full interview with Manfred Kets de Vries, see the next issue of Inside HR magazine.
