RITA GUNTHER MCGRATH: Companies should insist that nobody gets to have an important job in HR unless they have actually run a P&L, developed a strategy or executed against a major organizational change.

    The big problem with many HR departments is that they are staffed by career HR people who may be very capable but whose knowledge of actual leadership activities is purely theoretical. The best HR people I’ve worked with don’t just echo the eternal HR whine “we want to be business partners and have a seat at the table.” The best HR people know how to see opportunities for improving the organization, know how to tailor incentive and development plans to foster the engagement and retention of critical people, and don’t wait to be invited to the table, they earn their spot there.
    To give two examples: One European client came to Columbia to design an executive leadership program for people who had achieved positions of importance primarily because of technical expertise. The main driver of the program–housed, temporarily, in the HR department–had found resources for the needs assessment, benchmarked best practices, persuaded senior leadership that this was really important, and played a pivotal role in what became a highly regarded three-year intervention whose effects have been lasting.

    In a second example, for a major conglomerate making an acquisition, it was the HR team that went through the talent of the target company, identified the “must keeps” and put together a pitch for the CEO to make a personal phone call outlining the post-acquisition role for the desirable person, vastly increasing the chance that they would remain with the merged company. Now that’s driving effectiveness and truly strategic outcomes.

    Oh, and one more thing. Having respected line managers serve a stint in HR would do a lot for its reputation as a career backwater.

    Rita Gunther McGrath (@rgmcgrath) is an associate professor at Columbia Business School and author of the recent book “The End of Competitive Advantage: How to Keep Your Strategy Moving as Fast as Your Business.”

    Read the latest Leadership Report.