Why can't you just let it go?

We all have baggage. Somewhere along the way as we’ve moved through the journey of our lives, we’ve had ‘stuff’ happen that we hang-on to that perhaps we shouldn’t. 

Some of this affects our working lives – sometimes becoming a performance issue. Often this baggage is about other people – an interaction, an experience, a perception of treatment, or something someone said. Sometimes, it’s professional feedback, an outcome of a restructuring. Sometimes, it’s happened to you; other times it's something that happened to someone else. Most of the time, it’s not productive or even useful. Dare I say it, even HR practitioners carry around some baggage – and it’s not serving their practice, which results in a lower quality service to the business. 

At the risk of sounding like a successful animated film character, HR Catalysts have a crucial ability to do something that other HR professionals never seem to master – the ability to let it go; to recognise what’s holding them back and actively work to remove that impediment. This doesn’t mean forget; more like recognising it has been part of the reason you are who you are but that it might not be the best thing to take forward into your future. Some HR Catalyst simply move on – like using the release valve on a brass instrument to clear the yuck; others use that baggage as if it’s the chemical reaction that occurs when you open a fizzy drink (or beer, champers – you choose).

So yes, the second Dimension of the Catalyst5 HR? model is LETTING GO and comprises three key elements, being an HR practitioner’s:

1. Knowledge of what matters -
2. Ability to triage the Important versus Urgent
3. Ability to quickly move on

At the most basic level, this dimension is about knowing what needs doing, how to prioritise those things over others, and to let-go of whatever is holding you back from being a better HR practitioner.

In both my public and in-house Catalyst5 HR programmes, there is always (read ALWAYS) a profound AHA! moment as participants reflect on what it is within and around them that is holding them back. Sometimes, it's baggage like past feedback they haven’t reconciled. Other times, it’s about attitude and mindset. Sometimes, it’s about life experiences far outside the realm of HR that need to be acknowledged and in time, accepted for what they are before moving on. Regardless of what it is, the sense of relief, excitement and anticipation for a clearer future is always the result.

So, when you next get your team together, how about posing these questions to discuss:

1. What’s holding your own HR practice back?
2. What’s behind that and what’s the impact on your practice?
3. What are the emotions, attitudes and behaviours you can attribute to that ‘thing’?
4. What might a future where you’ve moved on look like?

No need to judge. Just notice and perhaps reflect on what the future could hold for you.

Go well!

Callum

Callum is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and mentor to leaders, teams & HR practitioners across New Zealand and Australia. He helps leaders deepen their connection with staff for greater influence, and helps staff at all levels of organisations grow their connection with the work they do, and develops HR professionals to be catalysts in their organisations. 

Check out callummckirdy.com for more on what Callum does, who he works with, and why you might want to connect with Callum in 2018 and get your team humming. He writes an irregular Tuesletter packed with insights into the work he's currently sinking his teeth into. You can read past editions here. Sign-up to be part of the mailing list at callummckirdy.com.