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JWI 522 (1192) Page 1 of 5
JWI 522
Strategic Partnering with the C-Suite
Week Ten Lecture Notes
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JWI 522 (1192) Page 2 of 5
THE ROAD AHEAD: STRENGTHENING THE PARTNERSHIP
What It Means
Earning a seat at the table is not a “one and done” undertaking. HR leaders must continuously
develop themselves and their partnership with business unit leaders in ways that add value to
keep the company competitive.
Why It Matters
• Because whatever has happened over the last ten years to shape your industry and your
profession is unlikely to be the same as what happens over the next ten years.
• Creating a learning organization focused on finding a better way every day is the only
path to building a sustainable competitive advantage.
• The best leaders are never satisfied with good enough.
”If you’re going to win, and keep on winning, you have to recognize
that change is continuous and is never done.”
Jack Welch
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JWI 522 (1192) Page 3 of 5
FIND A BETTER WAY … EVERY DAY
Building a powerful workforce of smart, talented and engaged people is a never-ending journey. You
don’t get to sit back (at least not for long) and bask in the glory of what you have done.
Two of Jack’s most important guiding principles are to find a better way every day and to get every brain
in the game. We often talk about these in terms of addressing operational challenges, but what does it
mean for talent development? How should HR leaders leverage these principles to build a stronger
organization? The answer, we suggest, comes in two parts:
• The first part is to recognize that, with every improvement in products or processes, there is a
potential impact on the hiring, retention and development of employees. Are tasks becoming
more technical or less technical and more automated? What kinds of skillsets and compensation
models do you need to be focused on developing? You can’t allow your workforce development
practices to fall behind the changes that are coming.
• The second part has to do with how talent management is handled in your organization. What’s
new in best practices? What’s coming down the road? What organizational structures make the
most sense? Should L&D be part of HR? Should the administrative tasks be separated from the
talent strategy function? What could be changed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
the HR team and its impact on the organization?
Improvement is a never-ending pursuit and, if you don’t do it first, your advantage is going to be eroded
by a competitor who does it better, faster or cheaper than you do.
ONGOING HR INNOVATION
We remind you of one of our foundational themes, that innovation and agility – like most things that are
critical in elevating the role of HR – are not solo activities. They just don’t work when only a few people
do them, and they don’t work by creating a “department of innovation.” They have to be built into the
fabric of the organization, and they have to be talked about constantly.
“The job of communicating is never done. It’s not an annual or quarterly or even monthly or
weekly function. A steady stream of communication is the lifeblood of competitive
advantage.”
Powerful, P. 29
As an HR leader, you and your team have a critical role to play in developing this culture. You can work
with business-unit leaders to help them set up Work-Out sessions to find better ways to get things done.
You can work with Finance departments to find better ways to reward people who deliver cost saving and
revenue increasing wins. You can help other leaders improve their communication skills. You can help
all managers and leaders deliver more effective performance feedback and talent development to their
teams.
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be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 4 of 5
THE ROAD AHEAD FOR HR
Just as the CEO must predict where things are going over the long term, so too must the CHRO. If talent
development is going to be a strategic driver of the organization’s success, it has to be looking far ahead
of what’s unfolding today – probably 5 to 10 years down the road.
We began the course by addressing the concern that HR has become an “order taker”. We are only
going to change that if we continue to be the eyes and ears of the organization in looking ahead at talent
development trends and demographic shifts, and, as Conaty and Charan advocate, if we can build a
learning organization by “Turning leaders into teachers.” (The Talent Masters, P.280)
There will always be things we can’t foresee with 100% certainty. We can’t know exactly where our
competitors will be or what every latest trend will be over the next decade. Depending on our industry,
some of these can be highly volatile. But we have to be looking ahead.
For HR to earn and retain a seat at the table, you must:
• Work hard to build a culture that isn’t afraid of change
• Keep up with your education and professional network and your reading
• Partner with colleges and universities to develop programs to prepare the workforce of the future
• Create incentives within your organization for people to develop new skills
• Be realistic about what sorts of retention numbers are right for your organization
• Stay involved with Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and other professional
associations
• Look for new ideas and best practices everywhere
Whether employees stay with your organization for decades or only a couple of years, you have an
opportunity and a responsibility to make a lasting difference. We close with some great advice from Patty
McCord:
“The single best way in which companies can ensure that people who leave are able to find great
opportunities elsewhere is to make the company one that is known to be intensely driven to hire
top talent.”
Powerful, P. 93
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JWI 522 (1192) Page 5 of 5
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes
for the week:
• Discuss the importance of continuous improvement in building a winning organization
Change is never done. The surest way to become obsolete is to dwell in the glow of past glory.
The competitive landscape is constantly evolving, and the team with the best players is the one
that is going to win. Getting those best players is not just about hiring raw talent, it is about what
you do with that talent to develop and deploy it to the best possible end.
• Identify ways to promote a culture of HR innovation in your organization
If HR innovation is only coming from the HR department, then you are missing out on all the great
ideas from brilliant people around you. Talent development is everyone’s responsibility. HR has
a special role to play in this, but it is not a solo performance. Real change only takes place when
the culture is changed. When everyone gets it and wants to be a part of continuous innovation.
What can you do? Host brainstorming sessions. Share ideas. Make finding a better way every
day a value that gets promoted, assessed and rewarded.
• Predict trends impacting HR leadership and talent development over the next 5 to 10 years
CEOs are expected to be visionaries. They must be able to look far out at the horizon and create
a vision of the future. Then they need to be able to mobilize the forces required to bring that
vision to life. HR leaders need to have those same skills. There are all sorts of smart people
writing about what’s coming. Some of these will be HR people, but many of them won’t. They
will be economists, futurists, business leaders, political leaders. Some will get it right. Many will
get it wrong. But you have to stay on top of what’s happening in the world. Not only for your own
career, but to bring new ideas to your fellow leaders and the CEO. Keep the discussion going.
Don’t get blindsided. Be someone who is seen as a thinker and as a doer.
