HR eats first

First, I love Simon Sinek and I am well aware of the mindset and philosophy behind the phrase (and best-selling book title) "leaders eat last"and all that it covers. And second, I don't necessarily disagree with it either. The book was a great read and most leaders out there needed to hear what it had to preach: take care of those in your charge.

There are more than a few of these kinds of leadership phrases & quotes aren't there? Culture eats strategy for breakfast (my favorite, of course). Leaders eat last. A leader is a dealer in hope. A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, shows the way. Leadership is action, not position. Walk the talk. I could keep going here - after all, I love quotes! But what is a good quote, a good mindset without some substance to it. Leaders should have substance, and the work they do should have substance before serving it up on a plate, that is put on a table, ready to be served. And before anyone gets to the table, someone should be paying attention to what is being served. Who is in the kitchen cooking? What does the menu look like and who is creating the recipe? Trust me, the answer to all of those questions leads me to this: HR should not be eating last, HR should eat first.

 (Besides good quotes, I also love good analogies and comparisons, and for this blog post I am going to compare cooking food with crafting culture.)

After twenty-five years of working in, and leading, the discipline of human resources I must bring up the fact that most of us in HR don't even eat last, we starve! As HR, I have been expected to or asked to eat last, eat later, eat tomorrow, take my plate to go, eat before, eat a smaller meal, eat a big breakfast instead, eat from the vending machine...and well, you get the idea. I would like to suggest a different "meal plan" entirely. Eat first.

Selfish? Greedy? Maybe. But I don't think so. Let's think about what in fact we are asking everyone to eat. Leaders may be eating last but what's on the table? Is it something employees even want to digest? Does it taste good? What's it made of? Is it going to sustain them throughout the day or until the end of their shift? Would they go back for seconds? The best way to take care of those in leadership's charge is to make sure that what is being served is: first, edible; second, nutritious; third, pleasant. Or maybe even a feast to be savored! HR needs to be involved in creating the menu, shopping for the ingredients, and ultimately taste testing to make sure it's palatable, pleasant, and ultimately, feast-worthy. The only way to do that is to taste it first, be first. Eat first.

Don't the best chefs taste first what they ultimately send out to be eaten? The answer is of course yes. Would a chef even think about sending out an entire meal or menu without eating it first? The answer is of course no.

Like meals and menus, work cultures can be difficult chemistry, requiring lots of things to be in place before one can even think of eating. In the same way that restaurants have the right design, working kitchens, tools, pantries, daily deliveries, etc. leadership at the highest level should be providing all of the things that organizations need: purpose, vision, mission, capital, strategy, goals, etc. Once all of those are built, great culture - like a great recipe - needs a chef. HR should be that chef.

HR should be eating first. Eating first all of the things that it will be serving up. HR should be crafting, measuring, testing, making sure that the culture is just right before it stays on the menu. And even great chefs can't live without a team, a theme and a purpose, a great restaurant is a business after all. Chefs work together with ownership, management, and support staff in order to ensure that what they serve actually serves the purpose of the restaurant. HR should be doing the same with the business and HR should be doing that first. Walking the talk, eating first. (I totally just mixed two of those phrases mentioned above - and I think it works!)

Gone are the days of HR eating last. Gone are the days of HR not being at the table, or not being in the kitchen. Gone are the days of HR creating recipes that only look good on paper. No in this made-up kitchen of mine, HR is leading the way. HR should have a seat at the strategic table, aligning with business goals and then crafting culture accordingly. HR needs to ensure that what employees get served actually provides sustenance - and then some. HR can only do that if it knows what it's serving and HR can only do that if it eats first.

Who's hungry?

"First we eat, then we do everything else."

~M.F.K. Fisher