[Ailist] Appreciative Human Resources Policy & Procedure

[Gary Lear]

Doug,

I believe that it was in his book "Custer Died for Your Sins" that Vine Deloria,
Jr. (Lakota), a prominent American Indian leader of the mid-20th Century, shared
a concept that rules should tell people what they can achieve, not what they
can't do.  I believe that this sits well with an appreciative approach to HR
policies.  One of the things that I advocate in my book is that rules should be
very few, if any, and those few should take the approach that Deloria suggested;
to encourage what should be done, not what shouldn't be done.

I have a friend who works in HR in a fairly large and successful high tech firm.
She shared with me that when they were struggling with survival several years
ago that they took a new approach to working with their employees.  Part of that
approach included ditching their HR policy and procedure manual.  Their
guidelines are the values of the company, which they live on a daily basis.
This approach was part of what turned the organization around.

Since you are working with First Nations, then I would suggest that you return
to the Medicine Wheel for some inspiration.  I have found that the Medicine
Wheel is still valuable for helping us run organizations today, and it is
supported by the research that I spent 3 years reviewing.  

Use the Vision of the organization to create the focus for your HR efforts.  The
Vision resides in the East of the Medicine Wheel, and is comprised of the
Purpose, Values, and Goals of the organization.  Purpose gives employees reason
for doing what they are doing; Goals provide us specifics of what we are going
to accomplish; and Values provide us with the boundaries on how we are going to
act on a daily basis.  The Vision, coupled with the processes that you create
for running the organization (from the North), give you all the control that you
need.  You don't need a complicated HR policy and procedure manual.

BTW, across the Medicine Wheel in the West is where we focus on Strengths and
Accentuate the Positive.  As you noticed, taking a positive approach is very
much a part of most indigenous American cultures.  Remember, just because
something is across the Medicine Wheel does not mean that it is in opposition.
We need a Balance of all, not a preponderance of one.  So we should use our
Strengths as we are being Positive to help us develop and live the Vision.  

Don't forget that the Leaders of the organization must put People at the Center,
while they continually create Emotional Connections between their employees and
the Vision of the organization.  This is the work of the South.  Finally, the
Leaders must also create a culture of Trust (Mother Earth) and Personal
Responsibility (Father Sky).  If you have these Seven Elements then you don't
need a whole lot of HR policies and procedures.

Instead of being a policy and procedure arm of the organization, HR now becomes
a steward of the culture, helping the organization insure that everyone is
focused on the Vision while creating a foundation of Trust and Personal
Responsibility.  The biggest part of what they are doing is to insure that the
leadership of the organization has the skills that it needs to make this all
happen.  

It takes a different mindset and a different approach.  But one of the most
important things that I discovered in my research is that the best organizations
don't just do things differently; they do different things.  

Feel free to contact me off list to discuss some of this in more detail, if
you'd like.  

Make a Great Day!
 
Gary Lear, President & CEO
Author of the soon to be released
Leadership Lessons From the Medicine Wheel: The Seven Elements of High
Performance 

Resource Development Systems LLC
Managing the Human Side of Business (sm)  
 
gelear at rds-net.com   www.ResourceDevelopmentSystems.com

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