So, HR is not typically considered to be a “sexy” department in the way that marketing or sales is. Fuddy duddy, motherly, nice – these were some descriptions that came up in an informal survey about the current perception of HR among my friends. One “respondent” wondered: “Actually, what is their value-add?”
Do HR professionals need to look “hot” before getting the attention they believe they deserve?
We know all know that sex sells, but what exactly do I mean by being “sexy” in an HR practitioner’s context? Certainly not the kind you see in men’s magazine FHM, but no less scintillating. By sexy, I mean:
• Compelling, so as to garner attention
• Engaging, so as to sustain interest
• Persuasive, so as to inspire action
I first came across the term as a rookie reporter in the newsroom. My editor would describe stories as “sexy” when
they were sure to make eyeballs pop because they were controversial. They could potentially affect people’s lives in a
big way, or maybe just make readers look at the world in a different light.
So in this new year, how about upping the sex quotient of HR? It just might help you become more successful in gaining top-management support, or selling the company to top-notch job candidates.
Remember Al Gore?
US politician-turned-environmental activist Al Gore looks dignified, but by no stretch of the imagination would you describe him as sexy. Yet, since his controversial defeat by George W. Bush in the US presidential election of 2000, Gore has developed an astonishing presence.
In the highly acclaimed 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, for example, he is authoritative, passionate, credible and yet unassuming all at once.
The movie won an Oscar, Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize and he is without doubt one of the key figures behind the global green movement.
The Gore of today is far removed from the angsty, slightly desperate Democratic presidential candidate we saw in 2000. He commands attention, obtains buy-in and inspires action. In my parlance, he got “sexier”.
So what happened?
When Gore stopped campaigning, he started communicating. At the heart of inspirational leadership, there is just that – communication. If HR wants to up its sex appeal and gain a seat at the business table, it has to start communicating at that level. The goals, ultimately, are to be compelling, engaging and persuasive.
To tell or not to tell
One useful business communication tool that can help you achieve all three goals is storytelling. Most dyed-in-the-wool corporate types raise their eyebrows when they hear this, and understandably so.
It flies in the face of what we have been taught: analytical is good, anecdotal is bad. Hence, in presenting reasons for change, we sometimes apologetically qualify our examples as “merely anecdotal”.
Let me humbly suggest that not only is
there nothing wrong with telling stories in the corporate world, but doing so can help you:
• Get attention
• Engage the audience
• Help focus on the core issue or value
• Give meaning to a mountain of data and disconnected facts
In his first public comments after being controversially awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, US President Barack Obama told the story of, well, a seemingly mundane exchange with his two girls: “This is not how I expected to wake up this morning. After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, ‘Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize and it is Bo’s birthday.’ And then Sasha added, ‘Plus we have a three-day weekend coming up.’”
As you began wondering where his story was going, he continued: “So it’s good to have kids to keep things in perspective.”
By starting his speech with this little story, Obama achieved several things:
• He got attention
• He set the tone
• He showed humility
Imagine how much less effective it would have been if he had started by saying, “I am surprised and humbled”.
Obama is a great storyteller whose journey to the White House was filled with stories that moved the Americans. He (and his speech-writers) achieved this through an emotional and intellectual connection with the audience.
According to business communication expert Stephen Denning, leaders need to appeal to the heart, as well as the mind, if they want to obtain enthusiastic buy-in. “The audience has to want to change. To be effective, a leader needs to establish an emotional connection and stimulate desire for a different future,” Denning said.
As HR practitioners, I believe you need to master many stories – your company’s, your business unit’s, your own story, and those of management and every single employee. Only when you think of your people in terms of stories will you truly humanise them, truly do what is right by them.
So start thinking in terms of stories and tap into the power of “sexy”. Your stakeholders will thank you for it.
Diana Ser
Managing director
Diana Ser Communications
www.dianaser.com
