Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/213549
I n most business disciplines, people can choose from one of two streams: specialist or generalist. HR is no different. Many students entering the profession will ask: "Which stream is most likely to take me to senior leadership positions in human resources?" The path to leadership depends on a variety of factors. Some are beyond the control of the individual, such as organizational needs and goals, internal structures and rewards systems. But others are personal, such as individual goals, knowledge, skills and abilities. Chances are that, as far as the organization's decision-makers are concerned, the most important issue is leaders in HR be good business people. They need to understand the "business of business." To effectively develop and implement policies and procedures that add value, HR must be able to build business cases based on cost/benefit analysis, and leaders must understand the various markets where the organization competes. Ed Lawler III, a professor at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, says the path to HR leadership "depends on a person's business savvy. A generalist needs to be… a business person with a good background in strategy, finance and marketing." Further to this point, Lawler acknowledges there is a trend for the most senior HR managers to not have any background in human resources. This demonstrates the importance for HR leaders to be good business managers first, and then to be good HR managers. Generalists typically have a broad background obtained through a combination of education and on-the-job experiences gained through servicing an internal operational client group. They are the consultants to line managers on matters of job analysis, employee relations, job design and compensation. It would be very expensive and time-consuming for a generalist to acquire various skills through apprenticeships in functional areas of expertise. Also, functional specialists have their own educational and certification processes. Specialists develop systems and policies — generalists administer and manage the systems and policies. If a line manager has an issue with the internal compensation system, she would first contact her generalist/ consultant. The generalist is the first line of contact. If the generalist can't answer the question, she would seek out the expertise of the compensation specialist. An analogy would be that you need to go to a general practitioner in medicine before you go see a specialist. There are several distinguishing factors that may contribute to the selection of generalists as leaders over specialists. According to Gary Latham, a professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, generalists have a strategic mindset. They tend to develop and implement strategies that get people to internalize the business strategy to achieve business goals and they must be a business partner. HR specialists, on the other hand, have "functional expertise to develop systems and practices that achieve the above." The analogy used by management guru Peter Drucker is that of an orchestra conductor. The conductor may not have expertise in playing instruments, but he can focus the team of musicians (specialists) on the task of co-ordinating their efforts towards the overall goal of the group. Drucker goes on to say that a business "needs a view of the whole and a focus on the whole to be shared among its professional specialists." Focusing on the whole may best be served by generalists. canadian hr profession hrreporter.com HRP.indd 21 21 12-03-28 3:18 PM