My colleague on the senior management team seemed surprised even shocked. “Do you mean to say you talk about me and members of my team in your meetings? As if this was slightly improper, probably unprofessional and possibly indiscrete. “Of course we talk about you and individuals in your team. Don't tell me you don't about us". I don't mean gossiping or moaning but talking tactics. If you’re responsible for support services like HR, Finance, IT, or Policy then you are a corporate messenger trying not to get shot. You are asking people to do things they don't want to do like provide information (form filling) adopt fairer recruitment practises (further delays in filling posts) attend Health and Safety courses (wast of time) do their own data entry (what’s admin for?) respond to a press enquiry or complaint (justify their decision). At which point someone always says “Well how many staff do they have in HR and what do the policy group do any way and if we need to save money why not start with this lot? So yes we talk tactics. Who is the most vocal and why? How do we convince them that this is worth the effort? How can we make them more aware of what we do? What should we do different so that they appreciate us more? Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future published by Russell House.
