Do You Want to Create Extraordinary Leading HR Value Every Day?

Last week our journey to the edge of HR ended on a cliff hanger. You did not even need to leave your chair.We ended that leg of our trip with two humdingers - RELEVANCE and FRICTIONLESS FLOW.Pop back to last weeks post and quickly discover how they can help you Recharge Your HR and Increase Your Contribution Value.Come right back. There is no time to shilly-shally there; nor dilly-dally here.We must press on to the edge of HR.

Do You Want to Create Extraordinary HR Value Every Day? Do you want to lead your HR with gravitas and flow?

YES?Fantastic. Let’s dance.

Dancing on the edge is all about balance  - knowing when to be a REBEL and when to rebel.

To create extraordinary HR and lead with gravitas and flow you will need to harness the power of saying "No".

With a well-placed "No" you can become the voice of dissention reason amid the lemming-like worship of not rocking the boat, not causing offence, not embracing divergent thinking, not doing something different,not………………………………………………………………………………….,[insert your example]not………………………………………………………………………………...,[insert your example]not…………………………………………………………………………………[insert your example]Saying "No" in the right context is so blue-moon rare that it may cause people to gawp in slack-jawed amazement.Saying "No" at the right time is so brutally fresh that it might just make those on the receiving end of it flinch (in a good and bad way).When you combine asking “Why?” with saying “No”; it's like turning up the heat under a pot of simmering stew.This post will help you choose WHEN and HOW to say "No". It is your smart and practical guide to navigate your way to doing work that has meaning and makes a difference.

Know When and How to Say No

Saying “YES” when you want to say “No”. When you stop making an active choice to decide, your behaviour becomes automatic. When your behaviour becomes stuck on autopilot, it eventually becomes a compulsive habit. You can’t eliminate a habit, but you can override it with a new routine. Here are 3 ways to say “No” to escape the trap of low value work and free yourself to create extraordinary HR value.1. Peril of Prestige: Imagine this. You are proud and excited about your new role as the HR lead in the company. In your first meeting with the head of division you are welcomed with these words. “So glad you have started with us. You are just in time to organise the staff party – it’s the Owner’s pet project for HR every year. Make this your top priority.”The trap has been set.Can you spot the trap and the bait?Paul Graham, Y Combinator Founder shines a light on how this trap works in his irreverent and honest article “How To Do What You Love.”

“Prestige is especially dangerous to the ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige […] It might be a good rule simply to avoid any prestigious task. If it didn’t suck, they wouldn’t have had to make it prestigious.”

Saying an outright “No” at this stage of the game will likely mean the end before you start. Political and career suicide is not helpful here. HR needs you.

Here’s what you can do. Say “YES” but with an unspoken “No”.“YES” to organising the staff party.“NO” to allowing your HR mojo to be stifled and limiting your HR work to fluffy employee relations.

Re-frame the staff party as one tiny piece of a wider employee engagement / culture building strategy. Locate the existing strategy and see what other supporting high value activities you can do at the same time, or in the short term.

If no strategy exists; create one and execute. Raise your game by delivering the staff party AND the organisation’s employee engagement/culture building strategy.

2. Rebel in the system: Say “No” to energy draining and pointless meetings. The kind that distract you from doing work that matters. Avoid them at all costs.

In the event that your clone is unavailable and you have to attend in person; here are some strategies and tactical manoeuvres from Sarah Cooper to help you survive those meetings.9 Nodding Strategies for Your Next Meeting.10 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings.

When it is your turn, take the lead and ensure that HR-led meetings are jam-packed with value and usefulness.

Cut the fat. Be sure to involve only those individuals who actually need to be present.

3. Matter of Principle: Say a courageous “NO!” to any behaviour that breaks a law or compromises your ethics or the positive values of your organisation.

Speaking up or standing out takes you way out there on the edge. This is the edge on which blind compliance to the status quo and courage to change duke it out.

HR leaders are first in line to defend the organisation from the infection of behaviours and values which do not serve employees, customers and by extension the business.

HR is the guardian of the organisation’s values and positive work culture.

Let’s not have a repeat of “The silence of the Box-Ticking herbivores.” This quote accompanies the cartoon in Patrick Hosking’s article, “More of the same is no answer” in The Times UK edition (20 January 2014).

In it he exposed the ineffectiveness of Compliance Officers in the most recent scandals rocking the international Financial Services sector. My stomach felt queasy when I read it. It could easily be HR in the frame.

Perhaps HR was not silent. Maybe, the leadership-sanctioned willingness to take huge risks to rake in eye-watering sums of money trumped ethics and good sense.

Q: Will you model the right values and behaviours in good times and in bad?It is not an easy path but as the saying goes, “Nothing good comes easy.”

Remember HR is what you do; not what you are. Think, I do HR not I am HR. If you don't make this distinction, it can paralyse your judgment.

Disconnect your identity from what you do – specifically obsessing about what success and failure will mean for you personally.

This is the first step in creating the critical distance necessary to build mind muscle and the strength to do the right thing every time.

Some Effects of Saying "No"

Observe Pay close attention to the guardians of conventional wisdom and defenders of the status quo around you. You know who they are.Watch their existential crisis unfold as they feel you slipping from their clutches as you “No” your way to an alternate reality. In this future of immense possibilities where you do things differently, you are creating a reality that does not necessarily include them in the grand design.Notice when they refuse to relinquish control. Who can blame them. Sitting at the top table is seductively sweet and often addictive.I say don’t wait for the invitation to THAT top table. It’s not coming – neither by snail mail nor email.Serve and Lead.Get crafty and build your own table. Invite different-minded individuals to join you and serve lashings of difference and value.Be unwavering in your pursuit of doing worthy stuff and get down to doing work that matters.It is about (re)connecting to what actually matters to people (employees, wider community) and the business. Higher order, extraordinary HR connects people to the organisation and creates value through and for people. After all doesn’t the heart, mind and soul of an organisation flow from its human community?So friends, saying "NO" is not a highway to hell but rather the road to redemption.It is the uncomfortable and occasionally scary path; but it is also a route to freedom from feeling underwhelmed, over committed, burdened by obligation and bogged down with 'busy work'.You do not need to travel solo, if you don’t want to. Your tribe is already on the road. You are invited to join the movement to Create Extraordinary Leading HR Value.So, try these 3 ways to say “No” and clear your path to doing work that matters.Share the ways you are creating real value by saying “No” in the comments. I would love to read them. You may inspire someone too.Enjoyed this article? Found it useful?Use the share buttons to help other readers enjoy it too.This week’s article from The HR Rabbit Hole is inspired by 3 brainpokes.1. When I checked out this slide share - The Power of NO: 12 Things to Say “No” to Today - adapted from the book "The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness" by James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher.2. When I read a homage to saying "No" in this blog post.3. When I read this book by Seth Godin; “What To Do When It’s Your Turn [and it’s always your turn]”. Let Seth tell you about the book himself and why it’s your turn. Here. I encourage you to check them out for yourself.Until we meet again next week down the HR Rabbit Hole…