To thrive during periods of upheaval, HR practitioners need to model a curious mindset, anchor teams with stability and move beyond managing, to leading their organisations through change, says learning and change expert Richard Gerver.
In a world of constant disruption, HR leaders are being asked to help people build the mindsets needed to navigate change.
In the latest episode of AHRI’s podcast Let’s Take This Offline, host Tani Jacobi CPHR speaks with leadership expert Richard Gerver — a former award-winning principal turned advisor to global organisations like Google and Deloitte — on how HR can lead with curiosity, create psychological safety and offer stability during times of uncertainty.
This conversation offers a taste of what Richard will expand on at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in Sydney this August.
Below, HRM has outlined an edited excerpt from the conversation.
Managing versus leading change
Tani Jacobi CPHR: In my career, I’ve heard the terms ‘managing change’ and ‘leading change’ used interchangeably. What do you see as the difference between the two?
Richard Gerver: Both terms are important, but I’m more drawn to leadership because leadership fascinates me.
I want to make clear that I’m not using these terms disparagingly, but, for me, management is about compliance. If you’re managing change, your job is to make sure people are complying to the new systems, structures, methodologies, vision and/or values.
For example, if a business has just been taken over by another organisation, we often see a profound culture clash, where the leadership in the takeover company wants the new people to comply with their methodology and ways of working. Are people doing what we’ve told them to do, or the change we’ve asked them to adhere to?
Leadership is far more about empowerment. Leading change is about explaining the change within a context that people can relate to. They understand why we need to change. And then they might even be inclined to pitch in with their own ideas.
Years ago when I was working with Google, I heard a story from one of the creatives who mentioned that they used to have pitch parties. Somebody would say, ‘I’m gonna share an idea, come along if you’re interested, no matter who you are’. And she pitched the idea, ‘Wouldn’t it be brilliant if you could get people to visit anywhere on the planet, from their laptop or desktop computers?’ And in that room, you had techies, production, marketing, you had the whole litany. And what they then created was Google Earth.
That is leading change. We don’t just present the new strategy for the problem; we present the problem and encourage people to be involved in the development of the solution.
That’s not to say one is more important than the other, because once you’ve created that solution, you need to have people managing the process. But I think the two things are different points in the narrative.
Tani Jacobi CPHR: Where do you think HR plays? Are we one side of that equation, or do we play in both?
Richard Gerver: This is where the uniqueness of HR comes in. HR is the fork in the road, often between management and leadership. On one hand, you’re radiating out and saying to leadership in other areas of the business, ‘Tell us what the challenges are.’ And then you make sure that’s radiated out to people in the business, and can be the catalyst to harvest the ideas.
Hear more from Richard Gerver at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in Sydney on 19-21 August. Secure your ticket today.
Change at scale
Tani Jacobi CPHR: Given that HR has a one-to-many impact – we’re often working with multiple portfolios and remits – how can we help drive change within the various teams we support at scale and at pace?
Richard Gerver: A lot of it is about contagion. It’s about modeling behaviours. It’s about creating a structure and then finding people in the organisation who resonate with that.
While you may be responsible for hundreds of, sometimes even thousands of, people, you don’t have to be directly impactful on those people. But how you model your behaviours, draw on people around you, build a collaborative network who then go out and become the contagion in the organisation, is actually how meaningful change happens.
Too often we believe we have to create a plan at the top level, apply it across every sphere of influence within an organisation and expect 100 per cent compliance. That never, ever works. It’s also why people become so sceptical around change.
I think in a culture where we’re looking at the human evolution of our people, we have to understand it takes time and create that culture of contagion.
Supporting disenfranchised teams
Tani Jacobi CPHR: HR has a unique broad radar across the business. What do you think we should be tuning into to give us an indication of whether steadiness is present?
Richard Gerver: That helicopter view is a rare gift for anyone in an organisation. More than anything else, the one question I would be asking if I was in HR at a senior level, is: do people feel they can be proactive?
So much of the stress in our professional environments comes from the fact that people feel they are victims of things happening to them.
Because some people are raised into a business community where the expectation is that my manager will tell me how to solve this problem. Of course, the frustration I see is the number of middle managers that often say to me, ‘Richard, I am so busy clearing up the problems of the people who work for me that I never have time to actually do my own job.’
The ultimate question is to look from above and ask, ‘How many people feel disenfranchised?’ How many people feel like they are simply victims to the circumstance of what’s happening above them strategically? And then the question needs to be, ‘How do we help you to feel more in control?’
What’s really important, particularly for senior HR leaders, is to not just have those conversations with the people who are working in teams, but having those conversations with team leaders and senior directors as well. What’s important is for them to understand their role in supporting and helping people feel more proactive.
This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Listen to the full episode here
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Show notes
Learning opportunities:
- Get your ticket to AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition to hear more from Richard: https://bit.ly/4dUw42M
- Sign up to AHRI’s short course to learn how to identify the change lifecycle steps required to effectively manage change using effective change management model and frameworks: https://bit.ly/3Ti5mHY
- Explore Richard’s books: Change, Learn to Love it, Learn to Lead it; Simple Thinking; Education: a Manifesto for Change; and Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today.
Connect:
- Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3FR2YF0
- Connect with AHRI on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4kAaLWJ
- AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn lounge, exclusive to AHRI members to discuss some of the themes explored in this episode with their HR peers and access bonus content. Become a member today: https://bit.ly/41tcOFu