Happy Father’s Day to all fathers, especially His Excellency, President Williams, who is a father to me. May the Lord continue to Bless you richly with wisdom, patience, love, peace and love as you shape the lives of your children positively.
This week, I am in Chicago attending the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 65th Annual Conference and Exposition. This conference is for me a “must-attend” as part of my continuing education program. This is the fifth year a delegation from Dominica is attending. This year seven of us are in Chicago and this is the biggest delegation so far. I have been aiming for a minimum of ten however this goal has not yet been met. Hopefully next year, this goal will be met and exceeded as we revive the HR Professional Association of Dominica. We are also aiming to become a SHRM Forum Partner. We need a minimum of twenty-five HR Professionals as registered SHRM members. We have secured a reduced rate to encourage membership. This year, more than 15,000 HR professionals from 86 countries around the world have converged to be part of this event, to learn about the new trends in HR, share and network with others. I love the energy of the conference and I always leave renewed, reinvigorated, more enlightened and inspired.
In previous articles, I have spoken about the importance of continued education and the need to network. This is important in whatever discipline one belongs, and I want to encourage you to make a commitment to this, even if you have to pay for yourself. I tell you, investment in yourself is one investment that cannot go wrong. The returns are more than any other investment you will ever make and it is always positive.
This year, Hilary Clinton, former US Secretary of State and US Presidential Candidate and Fareed Zakaria, Editor at Large for Time Magazine and host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” were the featured speakers at the Opening. Zakaria’s message was one of hope. Zakaria reminded us that there is always recovery though it is difficult to see when one is in the middle of hard times going through difficult, challenging times. He argued that three forces, political stability, economic convergence and technological connectivity have shaped and changed the world we live in, and the “rise of the rest of the world” is what will shape the world. This is because the West is no longer leading GDP growth. The IMF predicts that in the next ten years, only the US from the West will be in the top ten growth nations and by 2018, the emerging nations will account for 56% of worldwide growth.
He stated that every period of recession, the lag between GDP recovery and jobs recovery lengthens, and that the current timeframe is 65 months (five and a half years). This is because companies are able to do more with less people and have greater access to resources worldwide. The great challenge for the western world and in general the world is the harnessing and unlocking of human capital. Learning, he opines is a lifelong occupation and the twenty-first century is going to be the “age of human capital.” He concluded that we are living in extra-ordinary times, challenging times but we would not and should not want to change these times. Truly a message of hope that even in these times opportunities exist. We have to be present, to be open and willing to see and grasp the opportunities that exist.
Hilary Clinton spoke about the five lessons learnt in problem solving and leadership while serving as US Secretary of State. They are:
1. Good decisions are based on evidence not ideology. She said that if one does not make decisions based on the facts, one goes off-track. This resonated for one of the things I say often and I tell leaders and managers is to get the facts, verify the facts are accurate and then make your decision. The chances of error are slimmer and even if it turns out later to not be the best decision, one can go back to show that at the time, without the benefit of hindsight, and given the facts this was the best decision.
2. Leadership is a team sport, where the good of the organisation has to come above personal and self-interest. She said many people ask her about her decision to serve as Secretary of State in President Obama’s cabinet when they were such bitter rivals on the presidential electoral campaign. She explained that it was their commitment to what was in the best interest of the US rather than their person interests that led the President to ask her to serve as Secretary of State and her decision to agree. She told us that this decision led her to realise that she loves the President, and he said it best when in describing their partnership he said, “we went from a team of rivals to an unrivalled team.” Such political maturity. Interestingly, the morning of her speech, my niece-in-law, Juana Williams and I, were discussing that decision, and wondered what made her accept. We both thought that she should not have accepted and Juana felt that if she truly wanted to run for President in 2016, she should have not and used the time to prepare.
3. You can’t win, if you don’t show up. This is what I have advocated. You have to lead by example. She says it is not always easy but one has to keep showing up. This she says was what was behind her visit to 112 countries, during her tenure, the most travelled US Secretary of State to date.
4. A whisper may be more effective than a shout. This is tantamount to the proverb that “a soft word turneth away wrath.” She says the focus has to be on building and strengthening relationships as this is the real way of building change. Sometimes, we have to allow people to walk away with dignity, “saving face”.
5. Follow the trendline and not the headline. Focus on the long-term goals and interests/needs of the organisation and not the short-term. This is where the importance of values are highlighted for this will be the ultimate decision-maker. The deal breaker are our values.
She gave three other lessons in decision-making:
1. Dare to compete and be willing to take risks
2. Take criticisms seriously but not personally
3. Learn and understand different cultural cues.
She was awesome. As the Americans would say, “she rocked!”
This is your roving reporter, Valda Frederica Henry, reporting from the SHRM 65th Annual Conference and Exposition at the McCormick Place, in Chicago!!!!!!!!
Until we meet again, May God Continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands.
Valda Frederica Henry, VF Inc.’s CEO and Principal Trainer is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), Certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner, holds a PhD in Industrial Relations & Business, a Masters in Business Administration and a BSc Management Studies. VF Inc. is a Human Resource & Finance Consultancy firm with a Training and Recruitment arm, and the producer and host of a live TV program “The Cutting Edge of Business”.
Very impressed. There’s so much to learn.