Roebuck has written widely on leadership both in articles and books. His book on hands-on leadership, based on his experience as an army officer and line manager, was translated into 11 languages. He has lectured on leadership and has visiting appointments at Ashridge, CASS Business School, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, National School of Government and other institutions.
As an introduction to his monthly musings, HR magazine asked him about his ideas on HR.
Why did you go into HR?
I never really intended to go into HR. Having been in the Army for a few years I realised how great leadership could galvanise a group of individuals into a totally engaged and aligned team. This could deliver amazing results even in the most challenging situations. I wanted to help civilian organisations achieve similar results. I think of myself as an organisational leadership and performance facilitator not just an HR person. But I joined HR to understand the mechanics of commercial organisations and then focus on helping them get great performance through great leadership, and that's what I have tried to do ever since.
You have made the transition from practitioner to thinker. Is that a difficult transition and what from your perspective are the main differences between the two?
Both practitioners and thinkers want the same thing - world-class HR - and both play a key role. The practitioner translates the theory into day-to-day reality but as they are focused on delivering operational objectives they have little time to develop new concepts. After all, they aren't being paid for that. The thinker can take the experiences of practitioners, establish key success factors and develop new guidance for them. It's much easier to be a thinker after being a practitioner than the other way round. Real world business experience helps you match your ideas to business reality to ensure they actually work in practice.
Having spent four years as an army officer do you think civilian organisations can learn anything from the services?
Definitely, and vice versa. The services develop leadership very effectively. Civilian organisations must do the same to maximise discretionary effort. The secret to the services' success is that they develop excellent management skills before they add the leadership. They take months to ensure everyone can develop a clear objective, consider options, build a viable plan, brief the team and execute it in changing circumstances. They break everything down into simple practical steps so you always get it right. It's only when you can manage excellently that you can then add the inspirational leadership. Civilian organisations repeatedly make the mistake of trying to develop leadership when there is no supporting foundation of management skills, so it fails - no matter how much money you throw at it.
Having held a global role at UBS you have an overview of HR across the world, how do you think we are doing in the UK?
We assume we are as good as everyone else; sadly that's not quite right. For example, in some of the top European or global awards for best HR practice, often there are no UK organisations in the top five or even top 10. From my experience, the attitude to HR in the US is more business-focused to drive performance while in Europe and Asia it is more socially focused to encourage it. We fall between those two drivers rather than being better by using both. Geographically, the UK is ideally-placed to bridge the divide between US and Asia, and indeed does so through HR functions in organisations with a global business footprint. UK-based organisations could learn some lessons from their global counterparts.
Last year you launched an initiative in Denmark for the Danish Age Association, on employers and Government on getting a better return from older workers. Do you think it is relevant here?
Yes absolutely. We are starting to see the same demographic time bomb going off here as well. In the UK in 2012 the number of people in the 45-plus age group will be more than 40% greater than those in the 20-45 age group. Older workers must not be neglected as: (1) In the future many organisations will need to keep them longer just to keep running; (2) They perform just as well as younger workers and generally better in the areas CEOs think add most value; (3) They have the ability to leverage the intellectual capital you have invested in them and deliver competitive advantage by transferring their skills and knowledge to younger workers; (4) They reflect a high percentage of your customer base and using them to service those customers is key to success - especially as the peak of household income occurs between the age of 55 and 74 in most cases.
You often talk about the importance of the line manager. Why are they so critical and what are the key issues that organisations face to get them to perform better?
The line manager is the key to how good the organisation is. No matter what the CEO says, no matter what HR does, it's the line manger that influences the performance of every member of staff. People join organisations and leave line managers. The main problem is there is a lack of clarity about responsibilities for the leadership, management and development of people in most organisations. This means most line managers don't really know what they are supposed to do with their people in relation to the role of HR other than deliver short-term operational objectives. Furthermore, many of them aren't given the basic skills to be able to do what is required. Unless these two issues are addressed, the organisation will never deliver best value for investors, customers or staff. The solution is to be clear about responsibilities and developing basic management and leadership skills. This can be done simply, quickly and at minimal cost. There are no excuses for not doing it.
You have written for the American CFO magazine about CFOs and the HR agenda - is there really a link?
Yes. Apart from people, the CFO is responsible for all the other assets of the organisation. The CFO and HRD must work together to align all the elements that influence outstanding organisational performance. This is an approach we must use more. Furthermore, the CFO can often help HR, for example, by providing statistical experts who can HR improve data gathering. The CFO is also a leader. In many cases they need to have their leadership skills enhanced to fulfil this role and HR is there to help them do this.
What do most CEOs think of HR and do they understand what we are trying to do?
Recent research, confirmed by many conversations I have had, show that CEOs are more aware of the value of HR - especially the importance of talent and leadership - than in the last downturn. In fact, the more forward-looking ones are increasing spend on this even now.
The issue is that very few of them have experienced world-class HR, so they really have no idea what is possible. As a result they probably can't even ask the right questions or know what they should expect from HR. The onus is on HR to educate the CEO on what we can really do, but do so in a way that delivers solutions to business needs, not just a set of HR products.
I think if we in HR spent as much time educating CEOs about what we could do as we do debating what a business partner is which the CEO doesn't care about anyway - then it would make our own lives substantially easier and more rewarding.
When do you think the upturn will come and what does HR need to do then?
There are signs that we are starting the upturn, but the probability is that there will be some form of double dip, although not as bad as the one we have just experienced. The depth will depend on the speed of the expansion of credit to get the economy moving again. HR needs to examine and research this as much as the CFO. There is a danger of business decisions being made on the basis of the projection of the first upturn trend into the future, which would cause more casualties when the expected second smaller downturn happens. HR needs to ensure the initiatives are in place now to retain key talent so that when the upturn comes that talent does not leave at the first opportunity.
What you say to those just starting on an HR career to help them become leaders of the future?
I would say forget you are an HR person. Concentrate on the idea that you are there to drive organisational performance by creating an environment where people give their best. Try to spend some time in a line management role so you understand how line managers think - or at least shadow them. Always think about how the other person will perceive what you are saying. Research your own organisation in depth so you understand it well - its objectives and challenges. Always deliver what you say on time, every time and to a good quality level. Never try to deliver ‘HR best practice'; always deliver the best solution for the business need. Think long-term and deliver short-term. Step-by-step increments are often better then a big bang. Cultivate your networks. Constantly seek ways to do things better by looking outside your organisation and brainstorming with your clients. Always act with integrity and professionalism and never accept second best. You are the guardian of the organisation's values so live them day-to-day. Have confidence in your own professionalism when working with line managers. Never view yourself as second class to them. Never be afraid to ask for advice.
Where do you think HR should be going in the future?
Being a reactive business partner is no longer enough. HR has to become the catalyst for enabling outstanding performance from everyone. We have to stop thinking of HR from our perspective either in terms of product or service but from the perspective of the end user. They don't see HR; they see the environment in which they work and that determines whether they are engaged or not, which determines performance levels. We can influence, if not control, many of the factors that determine engagement; we are the ones who see the holistic picture, therefore we are the ones that can make the difference. As a profession we have to step up to this responsibility and show that we really can help transform our organisations and make them world- class through excellent transactional and transformational HR.
Chris will be one of the speakers at HR magazine's People Strategy Forum in September. Find out more
