I’m not quite sure if blogs need to be sequential, or does one just write about something that is front of mind?  Before I start really going for it, it may help to explain a bit about my wiring…

I don’t really class myself as an HR Director. Which is a bit strange as I’ve had the honour of leading a large HR team for Australia’s most iconic sports retailer and now I’m global HRD for an amazing entrepreneurial business that is HR’s third arm in over 1200 companies on three continents. With three quite impressive (although I say it myself!) HRD gigs under my belt you’d think that I would have settled into the mould by now.  But no, I always have this feeling that someone might work out one day that I’m an imposter and I think it’s because I don’t fit into the mould. 

So what makes me different? Lots of things, which I’ll get to over time and probably I’ll realise that lots of other HR people think the same way and I’m not different at all!

Marcus Buckingham’s “First Break All the Rules” is my comfort blanket. I read it years ago and the penny dropped that it was ok to be different, to not conform to the straight up and down, do as I say because I’m your manager and I know better. I worked out that irrespective of where people were in the hierarchical ladder (which is something I’ll also take issue with another time!) many people could think of a better way of doing most things than me.  I might generally think I’m right (that’s definitely a poor trait), but on reflection (which is a learnt behaviour!) I’m frequently wrong, or if not wrong, then not quite right!

I’ve always believed that it was the right thing to do to treat people as they want to be treated – not as you want to be treated. So the bible was wrong with “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (that’s opened a can of worms I’m sure – don’t bother replying or commenting on my views on religion as I won’t read them – live and let live and each to their own and all that – I’ll keep my religious views to a minimum – let’s just say I sleep hanging upside down!!)

I was introduced to John Whitmore – of GROW model fame (Google it!) who taught me the mantra “ask don’t tell” so I’m obsessive about people finding their own solutions and ownership, accountability and responsibility. I then went on a journey to find a great tool for enabling people to learn about themselves, became accredited to do lots of complicated personality stuff that no-one could remember and then joy of joys found Insights and the Lothian’s easiest way in the world of people getting in touch with themselves and co-workers and partners understanding the vagaries of their loved (and unloved!) ones!

I then realised that all this stuff hung together and gave some theory to my pragmatist approach that we’re all intelligent human beings, we’re all different, on the whole we mean well and want to do the right thing and we’re all capable of using our common sense. (that last bit may have a flaw…)

Let’s start with RULES.

I’ve always been allergic to rules. I can’t work out why I’ve always thought that having lots of rules was wrong – was it because I am lazy and couldn’t make myself write loads of rule books or have I always been too lazy to read the rule books that I’ve always been given?

As the eternal optimist, I’m motivated by what I can do rather than what I can’t. Nature or nurture? I’m interested in personality traits and the gifts of difference but I’m not sure that’s to do with personality. My current boss calls me belligerent and my mentor John Whitmore, once invited lowly me to a global change conference at Windsor Castle with several magnates of Industry because I could “argue with a stick” I think both of those observations might give you an idea about my personality!

Back to rules – why do we spend such a lot of time telling people what they can’t do. Actually, I don’t see the need to tell people a huge list of what they can do either.  What happened to common sense?  This ties into the question – What happened to HR? Us HR folk could do worse than get rid of all the things that disable intelligent human beings and enable them to actually exercise some common sense.

Where did all the rule books come from?  Is it because of fear? When there’s two or three people or even fifteen or twenty that all know each other it’s easy to communicate and everyone sort of “knows” what’s acceptable.  Companies get bigger, things get complicated and before you know it there’s a huge HR team writing tomes of policies.  Our expenses policy was twenty odd pages long (I concede I didn’t read it all as it was dull – I skimmed it and felt like a thief as it told me all the things I couldn’t do!)  I may write a whole lot more on that later as it may be a great example of my rule paranoia. 

The amazing thing about working for Glenn Elliott is that he’s a great enabler. He’s a down to earth, extraordinarily gifted entrepreneur who loves people and is a great leader. A not so benign dictator (where is this going?) who favours those who are bright, push the boundaries, work hard and have great ideas.  He’s taught me that it’s ok to be different and to take leaps into the unknown and have a go – there’s a caveat – be intelligent and put some thought and common sense into it!  So after years in HR of conforming to the “rules”  writing policies that no-one reads, I’m on the path to getting rid of as many rules as possible. With the blessing, actually with the mandate, from Glenn – who always broke the rules anyway!

So what happened to HR? We seem to have created a career out of telling people what they can’t do.  I don’t think we do it on purpose, which sounds a bit odd.  I don’t think we go out of our way to ‘disable’ folk.  With the world becoming ever more litigious we got scared and wrote “cover your back” policies so we wouldn’t get into hot water.

Now before you arc up and say “hold on a minute”  of course we’ve got to do the statutory stuff – even I’m not that stupid.  We need to stay safe and be inside the law of whatever land we’re practising in.  We just need to isolate the legislative stuff in HR and write common sense, easy to read guidelines and then enable people to use their common sense with the rest.

The problem is that common sense isn’t actually that common! Some people have either been hit by the thick stick and just don’t make great decisions or want to take advantage of whatever is available and quite frankly take the piss. I think that’s where “rules” came from.  Instead of managing the few we fetter the masses. 

So that’s where HR should be operating. We should be enabling the gifted to flourish and  get on with what they do best and helping the not so bright, who actually could be gifted in some things and appalling at others, to be sensible and use their best judgement!  I’m not sure there’s a course on common sense and good judgement – although I’m sure if I looked hard enough someone will be making thousands of dollars out of one!  Through great coaching and support HR folk should be enabling managers to nurture their teams to use great judgement or providing them tools for their “good judgement and sensible decision making” toolbox. It’s called Leadership – big L!