Insights.

It is imperative that HR professionals channel their energies into ensuring positive outcomes and behaviours, rather than paying attention on fancy programmes.

This was the key argument articulated by Dr Marshall Goldsmith, the Thinkers50 Global Management Thought-Leader, Best-Selling Author and World-renowned Leadership Coach, during an exclusive interview with HRM Asia at the sidelines of the recent HR Summit 2016.

“Like all professionals, HR professionals sometimes get lost in logic,” he said.

“For example, they think ‘this would be a good HR programme’ as opposed to saying ‘What is going to make the biggest positive difference in this company and what he or she is going to buy’.”

Dr Goldsmith revealed that one of the lessons he specifically teaches HR professionals is a “great lesson” taught to him by Peter Drucker, the late writer, professor and management consultant.

“Every decision in the world is made by a person who has the power to make the decision; make peace with that,” explained Dr Goldsmith.

“Not the best person or the right person or the clever person; it’s made by that person. If you need to influence that person to make a positive difference, they’re the customer.”

“Drucker said that our mission in life is to make a positive difference; not to prove we’re smart or right. So, if you’re the person I need to influence and if I’m the HR professional, you’re the customer. I need to treat you like a customer and I need to realise my job is to make a positive difference.”

Dr Goldsmith cited that too much focus is placed on a programme instead of the process.

“If you look at my research called Leadership Is a Contact Sport, we did huge development studies and found out that leaders who get feedback, talk to people and who follow up on a regular basis get better, while leaders who just sit in a programme and go back doing nothing unsurprisingly don’t get better,” he elaborated.

“So, we focus too much on the programme and not enough on the process.”

Dr Goldsmith also suggested that leaders get into the habit of getting confidential feedback about how they’re perceived by their direct reports, peers and managers.

“They should then pick important behaviours to improve and then develop very clear and disciplined follow-up strategies,” he said.

Dr Goldsmith shared that in his coaching, every leader gets confidential feedback and they’ll pick important behaviours to improve upon.

“They all develop a very clear and structured follow-up strategy with me and their clients and I don’t get paid if they don’t get better,” he stated.

Change is a huge challenge

Dr Goldsmith admitted that one key takeaway from his more than 30 years’ of coaching is “the true challenge of change and how difficult it is”.

In fact, he said he pays a woman to call him on the phone every day.

“She listens to me reading questions and providing answers I write every day,” he explained.

“Somebody said, ‘Why do you do this, don’t you know the theory about how to change?’”

“I wrote that theory. That’s why I do it. I know how difficult it is.”

According to Dr Goldsmith, as he’s grown older, he has realised the importance of structure, direction and help, and getting over the egotistical and macho willpower of doing everything on his own.

“One thing I’m very proud of is my book Triggers; 27 major CEOs endorsed the book. Thirty years ago, no CEO would have admitted to having any coach,” he said.

“They would have been ashamed to have a coach. Today, these very important 27 people said they have a coach and that it’s okay to have one. It’s okay to get help.”