I really like to visit our clients.  They always teach me so much about how to better use the information we provide to better run their businesses.  I also really enjoy the opportunity to get to know them as people.

Sometimes the conversations in these informal meetings turn into other topics.  We talk about other business and even our personal lives.  But every now and then a conversation can take an unexpected turn.

Once a training manager of a company with over 5,000 employees told me:

"You know, Markku, I was not always respected by other executives like I am now.  In fact, I felt like I was here just to fill space, to simply exist because our competitors and others in the industry had training managers."

I was quite taken aback and not sure how to respond.  I was about to say something just to fill the silence.  At that moment, she continued.

"But in some ways I believe that they were justified to think that way.  We were doing many things in our department that were really exciting and new.  We were launching new training initiatives frequently, some really great stuff."

Now, I knew what we were talking about.  I had heard this story many times before, but never from such a personal viewpoint.  This was more real.  You may have heard a version of this story before too, the one about delivering a lot of exciting training, yet other executives seem to give no respect.  Do you know the story I am talking about?

"But we could never answer the tough questions.  The ones that they all wanted the answers to: Do we have the right people?  Are they doing the right jobs?  Do we have the right leaders?  Why are profits in this division so much lower?  Why is this branch always giving us headaches?  What is this training program doing for our bottom line?  It was all very frustrating and deflating."

This conversation, in its different forms, has eventually come up with many of our clients. Some of the criticism that training and HR executives receive is without merit.  However, there certainly is no shortage of initiatives that leave both the executives and employees with bad tastes in their mouths and with a perception that this flavor of the month program will pass too.   It is no wonder then that cynicism starts to settle in.

The good news is that it is not difficult to change this perception.  I grant that it will take some time, but the process is not complicated.

When training and HR executives proactively provide the other executives with the answers to their difficult employee questions or with the specific information to help them to find solutions to them, things change quickly.  Let me prove my point.

If you were to look at the websites of successful organizations that feature their executive team, CFOs are included almost 100 percent of the time.  Why?  Because their role is seen as crucial to running a successful company.  They provide the information to help others in the company to make better business decisions, track progress, and hold others accountable, among many things.  Others, both insiders and outsiders, cannot even imagine how an organization could effectively function without the information they provide and the role they play.

When training and HR executives provide similar information about their employees - frequently considered the organization´s most valuable asset - to the other executives, they are at the same level as the CFO.  They are then seen as critical players in creating sustained success.  And trust me; others are thirsty for the information you can provide.  For example, look at the incredibly high percentage of mergers that fail because the ´people factor´.  You could easily create a long list of other problems that involve your organization´s people.

You may doubt that this is possible.  You may even be intimidated about the prospect of offering this type of information to the other executives.  That´s OK, because you are not alone. It is natural, and everyone we have worked with felt that way at some point.

But think about this.  What would happen if you were able to?

• Help reduce employee turnover by a third?  By 50 percent?
• Show sales managers how to increase their sales by 25 percent.
• Demonstrate how the training and development programs specifically help to achieve your organization´s objectives.
• Help other executives understand why they are having challenges with their employees and guide them to solutions.
• Duplicate success in one part of the organization in other parts.

How would you be seen by the other executives?  What would your value be to the organization?  How would you feel about your contribution to the overall success of your organization?

It was time for me to leave.  She concluded: "I like playing in the same league.  I enjoy that my ideas are taken seriously.  In fact, I now expect it."

Self-respect.  Confidence.  Those were the words that I thought about as we stood up.  We walked through a long corridor to the front lobby.  I shook her hand, thanked for her continued business.  We said our ´goodbyes.´

Good for her.  She deserves to be respected. 

Markku Kauppinen is the President of Extended DISC N.A., Inc.  He helps executives to make better decisions about their employees, teams and organization. Markku may be reached at m.kauppinen@extendeddisc.co