Ouch - that hurt!
Lana's neck had been hurting for a couple of weeks. She was new to town and did not have a doctor. She googled "neck doctor" and made her appointment. Lana went in for her examination and met Dr. Theoretical - Dr. T for short. After looking at Lana's neck, Dr. T confidently said she had a lump that he would remove. Lana suspiciously rubbed her neck, not feeling anything. A bit taken back by the quick diagnosis, Lana asked Dr. T if he had seen many neck patients. He assured her that he had seen lots of people with neck issues in books, trade magazines, and blogposts - "oh, yeah, and on Instagram," he confidently declared. Feeling a little uneasy, Lana probed further, "Have you performed many surgeries?" "Well, no, but I have watched more YouTube videos than I can even count." "So, when should we schedule the surgery," Dr. T asked. Clearly nervous, Lana asked, "Have you ever supervised an operating room of other doctors, nurses, and an anesthesiologist?" Growing a bit perturbed that his expertise was being challenged, Dr. T shared that he had observed many groups in action. "Look," he said, "once you have seen someone ride a bike - it's easy to get on your own and ride." Puzzled by whatever that answer meant, Lana slowly backed towards the door - leaving Dr. Theoretical holding his clipboard and wondering what he had said wrong.
There is so much advice out there on how to lead people, run people departments, build culture, create and live values, recruit talented people, foster an inclusive work environment, let people go with grace, allow people to bring their whole selves to work, create a shared fate, implement change, distribute compensation, move projects along in an agile manner, get a seat at the leadership table, manage multi-generations, and comply with the myriad of federal, state laws, and local laws - not to mention an organization's policy manual, and on and on and on.?
With all of the HR books, trade magazines, and blog posts out there, you would think we would all be experts now in human resources. It should be paint by numbers - right? Just follow the top ten things..., the five most important...., and number one skillset you need... Funny thing is, next year there is a whole new slate of books, trade magazine articles, and blog posts. After a while, all of the advice becomes too much. We?sometimes wonder when reading an expert's advice about human resources - how well does that expert's organization run? Do the employees in that organization thrive at a higher level than HR departments not run by published experts?
We humbly salute all those HR folks out there who have actually comforted an employee whose loved one passed away, implemented a new salary schedule, led a group of HR employees, helped a work group in strife, terminated a toxic employee, compassionately laid someone off, given a performance review, addressed office gossip, persuaded a leadership team to focus on people, created an authentic recognition program, conducted an investigation, deciphered three laws to create a policy, and moved a group of employees to remote work, and then brought them back again six months later. We know you by your scars, graying hair, and gracious smile.
For all of those Lana's out there needing help with their people issues and opportunities, we encourage you to find someone who has actually been through the issue you are having. Look for someone who has felt the pain you are currently enduring. If you find someone who has?theoretically?solved the problem your organization is having - slowly back to the door.
If we can assist, please know we have your back.
Your friends at BestDayHR