I don’t do politics blogging well anymore and I am a big proponent of sticking with what you do best. That being said, being an ex-politics junkie means old habits break very slowly. And by slowly, I mean not at all. So when I thought of a great parallel in both the political and HR world, I had to run with it.
The Obama/Palin Factor In Politics
There is no denying to me that both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are incredibly interesting politicians and that Joe Biden and John McCain are the complete opposite. As I was driving home from work, I thought of why this was. And what is sure to be obvious to some people, my feeling is that both of these candidates represent the idealist in ourselves. Unmolested by the politics of Washington DC, we feel like we can rest hope on these people. They don’t have to bend to the rules. They can have strong opinions without having to worry about the record.
While Obama and Palin embrace the idealist side of politics, Biden and McCain represent the realist in us all. They’ve been doing the same thing for over 20 years. They have long records with nuanced political positions. They have votes that, given the circumstances at the time, made sense but now are hard to look back and defend. You can pick their thousands of votes apart. They’ve come to realize that playing within the system is the only way you can make any progress. Their records show they’ve had to game the system at times to push forward their agenda.
What Does This Have To Do With HR?
As we have been in the process of doing a search for a HR manager, there seems to be quite a few HR people with an idealist view of the HR world. They talk about eliciting positive change in the workplace through proactive communication. They talk about diversity initiatives working. They talk about strategic HR. They talk about creating a learning culture.
Nobody wants to sell you a Joe Biden or John McCain. Everyone wants to be Barack Obama or Sarah Palin. They want to show that they are an idealist and they don’t have to bend to the rules everyone else does. They want to be sexy. And really, can you blame them? Being an idealist is cool.
When you have seven to ten years in HR though, how can you sell that optimism and idealism honestly though? The people I have encountered seem genuine in their beliefs. Certainly though, a seven to ten year veteran in HR has to be more like Biden or McCain than Obama or Palin. They know what a layoff looks like. They’ve seen people hurt by company policies. They’ve seen under-trained managers wreak havoc on unwitting departments.
What Companies Want To Hear Versus What They Need
They aren’t selling that experience though. Nobody wants to talk about the DOL audit they weathered or the employee that was wrongly fired (that you vowed to never let happen again). People want to talk about matching people with great careers. While I am all for idealism, I think it has to be tempered with appropriate expectations and a good dose of reality. Because while being an idealist in HR, I’ve found:
- A supervisor who undermined my policies while acting like he was being open with me
- A manager who made it an unwritten rule to not hire Hispanics
- A senior leadership team that undermined HR
- An organization that paid a lot of lip service to being pro-training but never bucked up
That’s the reality HR people face every day. It is a road block to idealism. It turns us into Joe Biden’s and John McCain’s. It makes us doubt the idealism that the Barack Obama’s and Sarah Palin’s bring to the table. We work to find dings in their armor. And when they fail to break the status quo (and they almost all do), we sit back and say “What did you expect?”
No matter who is elected, most will be disappointed that their selected person will not be able to break the barriers they had hoped for and if you choose the idealist for HR, you are no doubt going to be disappointed that they will not be able to break down those same barriers. That’s why I’m clamoring for a Biden or McCain. Someone who has proven they know how to push the right buttons to get the change. At the most critical times, that’s what you really need too–no matter how much you are looking for that idealist to come in and change the world.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a refreshing and interesting take on the political side of things, Lance.
When it comes to the HR side, I’m surprised so many HR Manager candidates are blowing the interview process. Well, actually, I’m not. But I *am* aghast that any candidate would wear their “You’re ok, I’m ok, let’s all hug” hat to an interview.
If I can’t be “real” in an interview, I’m doing the company that potentially wants to hire me (or not) a disservice. But mostly? I’m doing a disservice to myself.
Keep it real, yo. That’s mantra #4 for me.
From one kevlar coated realist to another, great post.
Great post. Sounds like my wife wrote it, a former Director of HR!
Had to share your article with my readership, and connect the dots to Software Development:
http://jobhacking.typepad.com/job_hacking/2008/09/and-how-does-this-apply-to-hiring-developers.html
More exposure to good HR thought – great!
My mantra is hope for the best, prepare for the worst. While an incredibly thoughtful and well written post I believe you are creating a false comparison with your catagories. I think that there are plenty of “middle ground” spots between idealist and realist. In business as in politics there are plenty of examples of people using realistic methods to achieve idealistic goals. I don’t think you need to be one or the other only. If you go for the realist every time, where are your new ideas going to come from? Who wants to hang out, talk to, work with a bitter/jaded HR pro? There are SOME personalities out there that are excellent at shaking up the system to achieve big goals and not compromising on their values. Not saying anything about the politicians, but I think business wise we need an infusion of idealistic blood every now and again or nothing will ever change.
Awesome post Lance!
Like Dan, I’m a “hope for the best, prepare for the worst” type of person. Although I’ve seen my fair share of “realism”, I guess I’m still forever an optimist when it comes to most things.
Ultimately, someone (often the idealist) has to initiate the change rather than the realist who often says: “This is how it’s always been done [and that's reality].”
@Jenn – I agree. Bizarre.
@Lisa – Saw your post here. What a great compliment.
@Dave – Thanks for the exposure to a different audience
@Dan – I did that on purpose obviously. While there may be this proverbial middle ground, I believe that people ultimately come down on one side or another. That means that a realist can avoid bitterness and be a change agent while a idealist can be cynical and resist change. In the end, you are more willing to err on the side of one or the other and I know what my preference is.
@Ian – See, I disagree. I think realists can see possibility for change and know the most realistic routes to go about it. They know how to work the system for change. Idealists ask the wrong people, take the wrong tactics and have pie in the sky expectations about it.
I think we need both types of people. We need a visionary person like Obama to provide the audacious goals that we want to achieve. On the other hand, we need someone like Biden to execute…to realize our goals, to bring our vision to life.