Here's an interesting snippet from a conversation I had recently.
My Friend: "Wanted to get your take about the following. I've heard people say that if you are not willing to be fired as an HR Leader for what you believe in, you're probably not doing your job. Thoughts?"
Wow. That's loaded. First up, having courage to say what you believe in, point out what's wrong and walk if you don't get your way isn't a bad thing. I get it. It's good to say and if laws are being broken, it could certainly be someone's reality.
But... A big part of me believes if it comes to that, you may have been lax in your ability to build your influence in the organization across time. Do you simply say what's wrong and demand change? What about the 1000 other gray-area things that came up with your business partners over the last couple of months? Did you find a way to be flexible and get their needs taken care of without being a bureaucrat? If you would done more of that over the last year, wouldn't you have the influence necessary to leverage those in question to get change without threatening to quit?
Good to say you'll quit when things look wrong. Sadly, you've got some responsibility in the lead up to that inflexion point.
It's never that simple. I'm out.
Truth. Quick story.
I once worked with an EHS manager who had the most know-it-all, self-righteous personality I've ever seen. I should have known it was going to be trouble when I walked into her temporary new-hire office and saw EHS books literally from floor to ceiling. On all four walls.
She alienated every single person she came into contact with, even when she was right and they agreed. This was an honest company with a very good safety record and commitment. She quit several months in after refusing to sign our annual OSHA log, because she wasn't there the whole year.
I think she teaches safety at a university level now, which is probably a much better fit.
No - I had NOTHING to do with her hire. But I can still only picture her wagging her finger at me, whether or not she ever actually did.
Credibility is partly about what you know. Only partly.
Posted by: Frannyo | January 18, 2012 at 01:56 PM
Last year I took a new job out of state after being at my previous job for 20 years. After four months I quit on the spot when they wanted me to terminate a pregnant woman. Leading up to that the supervisor made many statements about how inconvenient it was for her to have a baby, etc. There was no doubt in my mind he was deliberately discriminating. Four months is not a lot of time to build up credibility in an organization; however, the legal counsel had just told the owners that I was the real deal and knew what I was doing and they should let me do what they hired me to do. But when it came down to it, they didn't care about my opinion or recommendations. Come to find out they had previously termed another pregnant woman and then they just let another one go a couple of months ago. All in the same department. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Posted by: Leah Railey | January 18, 2012 at 04:17 PM
I love that you take a stand - it's one reason I read your blog - and I want to agree with you. However, I don't believe this question has a heads or tails answer. As with every situation that involves the human factor, the coin has more than 2 sides. At my very recent role, I built the relationship with my CEO and got moved to a new CFO. Built the relationship with the CFO and a new CEO took over - told me "you may report to the CFO, but that means you also report to me." OK, I'm game! Except he started tearing apart what I had spent 2 years building as the HR leader. Here is one example: he told me to slash vacation time. I respectfully explained why I didn't consider it a good move. He said I was too much an advocate for the employees. At an IT start-up with non-billable staff, when employees are on-call 24x7 and working during vacations anyway, I called my opinion balanced. He called me a populist. Speaking up got me fired but I have no regrets. I'm out. Literally.
Posted by: Jessie | January 18, 2012 at 05:10 PM
When I was a young HR pup learning the ropes my boss gave me some great advice. Know where the line is. Don't let it sneak up on you. Not every battle is worth fighting to the death (separation) but you always know what is. He recommended I spend a day each year reflecting on accomplishments and revisiting where that line is for me. I've taken that advice to heart and have never regretted it. I know what issues I'm willing to go down for and so does my company. So far it has never come to that, partly because of the relationships I've built. But if it does, it won't surprise me. I'll be prepared.
Posted by: Michelle | January 19, 2012 at 10:38 AM
I believe that you should be willing to walk away only if it has to do something with ethics or moral values.
Posted by: Elle | January 19, 2012 at 01:30 PM
Michelle you had one heck of a mentor during your young HR pup time. I shall follow the same guidelines. Thank you! Kim
Posted by: Kimberly Mule | January 28, 2012 at 09:17 PM