#HR #RRHH Making love and making personal #branding #leadership

In the July/August issue of HBR, Ram Charan argues that the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) role should be eliminated, with HR responsibilities funneled in two separate directions — administration, led by traditional HR-types, reporting to the CFO; and talent strategy, led by high-potential line managers, reporting to the corner office. While my colleague and I vehemently agree that HR’s status quo is an inhibitor to growth, it is with the same fervor that we disagree with Ram’s proposed solution.

Really? Break up a strategic function in response to underperformance in the wake of severe market disruptions? Put the most strategic pieces into the hands of up-and-comers passing through the leadership-development revolving door? What would the capital markets look like today if a similar tack had been taken when the CFO role was ripe for transformation?

Corporate culture is not static; it grows and changes with the people in it. As a business owner, I like to think that the business has a lot to do with me, but I have realized it has just as much to do with the people who work with me and how they feel about the business.

We spend a lot of time before we hire getting to know prospective employees and making sure they fit the team. I also do employee surveys once a year to gauge where things are. I am far from being the perfect manager, so I am grateful to my employees who have taught me how to improve.

I ask employees what they like about their jobs, what they hate about their jobs, and what they think we should be doing differently. Many of my innovations come from employees' suggestions. But be careful not to ask a question that may yield an answer you will not be ready for.

These are Daley's tips for creating a collaborative culture.

1. Play musical chairs. When 4moms started, marketers, engineers, supply-chain managers, and industrial designers sat in their respective departments. But soon they began to rearrange themselves into project-focused, cross-functional teams. Rather than send them all back to their offices, Daley says, the company embraced the idea, because it brought conversations about product form and appearance into the process earlier, a "big part of making a product successful. We're tripling our lab space because this is the way people like to work."