Gerard Penning, executive VP of HR at Shell, on why Googling dogs is more useful than reading a business plan
Reaching the top of the HR tree and securing the respect of your organisation boils down to three simple things, Gerard Penning, executive VP of HR at Shell’s Downstream division, told delegates at the HR360 European Summit yesterday. “Know your business. Know your leader. Know yourself,” said the 27-year Shell veteran.
Knowing your business is about far more than reading the business plan, said Penning. “They are always slightly disconnected from reality. You need to know where you compete, the trends driving your business, where the disruptors are coming from. I read the newspaper every day to find out what is affecting my business.
“As a business leader, the only thing I’m concerned about is: can I find the people to help us beat the competition.”
Once an HR professional understands the skills and capabilities that differentiate their organisation, “you start to think about learning differently; it’s no longer about intervention and bullshit jargon, it’s about what skills will create a lasting competitive advantage for your company”.
All too often, “[HR] forgets CEOs are people too – they have passions”, said Penning. “If someone loves their labrador and I don’t give a shit about dogs, and I spend an afternoon Googling [dogs], it will work wonders.
“If someone is a data freak and I don’t connect with that, I will never build that bridge,” he added. “You have to meet people where you are; you cannot be a leader in our function if you aren’t curious about what makes people tick. Relationships are not built through datasets and graphs; you must know your leader and connect with their hopes and fears. Every conversation should start with some talk about where that person is, even if they don’t like it. Get in their face; if they say they are fine, and they look like they haven’t slept for three days, ask them about it.”
Lastly, and mostly importantly, HR professionals need to know themselves to be successful leaders, Penning said. “When I stepped up to the EVP role, I had to deal with my fear that I might do something wrong and get fired. The very simple way of doing that is to look it in the eye. Do I have the courage to park my fear and do the right thing?
“We spend a lot of time educating people on their strengths and weaknesses, but how much time do we spend working on our own?”
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