Dear HR: Free Your Mind
The Machine is Too Strong Within You
There is a scene in the Matrix movie where Morpheus is demonstrating to Neo the limitations of the Matrix world. He implores Neo to “free his mind.”
You have to let it all go Neo. Fear. Doubt. Disbelief. Free your mind.
This enables Morpheus to leap into the air and land on the roof of the building across the street. Neo then tries to do the same. He psychs himself up. Free your mind. You can do this. He runs to the edge and leaps off…only to then plummet 90 stories to the pavement below (but it’s only a training program, so he’s fine).
But in this metaphor, who is that guy lying face down on the pavement?
From my perspective, it is you, Human Resources.
HR, I desperately want you to free your mind, because you are trapped. You are trapped in an understanding of how organizations work that is no longer serving us. You are trapped in your past, in a profession that that has not seen significant innovation in decades.
You may object to that characterization: “But we use computers. We have sophisticated assessments. We’re even dabbling in big data now!”
Yes, you are trying some new things, but you haven’t changed your basic approach. You are still embracing the basic approach to leadership and management that was invented by Frederick Taylor 100 years ago. In short, you still treat organizations like they are machines, where your job is to manage the “human” resources within those machines.
So what does that mean? It means you spend your time automating, and dictating, and controlling things so they are predictable and organized and compliant. It’s neat and orderly, just as we like our machines to be.
And deep down we all know that there is something wrong with this approach. We know that the term “human resources” is actually quite horrible (and “human capital” is no better). But if I raise this point to HR people, I get push-back. They point out that the HR field has actually been successfully branded as Human Resources, so we can’t really abandon the term. That branding is important, because it helps us get that proverbial seat at the strategy table that we have been seeking for so many decades now.
Well forgive me if my dignity is interfering with your branding effort.
I am not a TAB A that somehow fits into SLOT B. I am a human being. I have hopes, and I have dreams, and I have a destiny, and have unbelievable potential that has been routinely squashed throughout my career by leaders and HR practitioners who have been so busy filling slots in their enterprises that they failed to see the beautiful human being who stood before them, ready to give his heart and soul to the work.
I am not going to take it any more. And I have others with me. My brothers and sisters and I are planting a flag in the ground and declaring that the way you have defined “work” for us over the last 100 years is no longer acceptable. We are going out there and defining a new future of work, where human principles drive decisions, where learning and growth rule, where innovation and diversity are commonplace, where truth and authenticity are expected and celebrated.
The revolution has already begun, and if we have to leave HR behind, we will.
I see it in a company like Zappos, who can go out and embrace Holacracy, and in an instant, a billion-dollar company ejects the management structure that we all assumed was a prerequisite for success over the last several decades. I see companies like Menlo Innovations who are doing amazing things around collaboration both internally and with customers, and in creating that organization they have radically changed the way they do HR. They hire people differently, they onboard differently, and they do performance reviews differently.
HR is already being reinvented, and we are not asking your permission.
We are at an amazing cross-roads in history, where the approach to leadership and management from the last 100 years is coming to an end, and it is up to all of us to create a new approach to leadership that is going to span four generations into the future. People talk about the changes coming with the millennial generation, with their sense of entitlement and all their flip flops, but that completely misses the point (not to mention misunderstands the millennials). It’s not about the millennial generation—it’s about a millennial transition. It’s about a new millennial mindset—one that is going to be embraced by ALL generations in the workforce, both today and into the future. It is with this millennial thinking that we will create a new paradigm for leadership.
And I want HR to be on the inside of that job. I want you working with us to create this new future. But that means you need to free your mind. Let go of what you already know. Let go of your obsession about hiring managers not “getting it.” Let go of the notion that a certification entitles you to tell people what to do.
I want you to find your power. I want you to dig deep and bring some original contributions as we author this story. I don’t want you to “reinvent” HR. I want you to help create the new art, science, and practice of the discipline formerly known as Human Resources.
This is a glorious opportunity, and one that you shouldn’t miss, but the next step is yours.
I came here to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. Your’e the one who must walk through it.
