Ten Provocative Evolutions in Human Capability - The Best Is Yet Ahead - LinkedIn

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Ten Provocative
Evolutions in Human
Capability: The Best is
Yet Ahead
Dave Ulrich
Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought 182 articles Following
Partner on Human Capability (talent,…
June 28, 2022
Many thoughtful colleagues continue to evolve HR by

building on the past to create a better future. Much of this
evolution comes from responding to the changing context
of business (COVID, political toxicity, technology, ESQ,
social patterns) and is captured with emerging insights
based on innovative theory, research, and practice.
We have suggested and empirically shown (with three

recent significant research projects: HR Competence and
Capability Study (HRC2S) with 28,000 respondents,
Organization Guidance System (OGS) with a thousand
organizations, and Governance and Guidance for Growth
(G3) with 5,700 organizations) that the vast array of “HR”
related initiatives can be clustered into a “human
capability” framework with four pathways.
1. Talent (often called “human capital”) deals with

individual competence, people, workforce, and
employees.
2. Leadership focuses on individual leaders at all levels as

well as leadership capability throughout an
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ten-provocative-evolutions-human-capability-best-yet-ahead-ulrich/ 1/11
organization.
3. Organization refers to organization capability, culture,

workplace, teams, and systems.
4. Human resources (HR) defines the characteristics of the

HR department, practice, and people.
This framework itself is an evolution of “HR” thinking, which

has historically focused on talent (or human capital) as the
HR agenda. Our (and others’) work shows that organization
has far more impact on results than talent and that HR can
be the architect of creating organization capabilities.
Exciting and emerging ideas are occurring in each pathway.

Let me offer an overview of some of the evolving ideas in
each pathway, building on the superb work done by so
many.
Talent Evolutions
Talent refers to the people (individuals, employees,

workforce) in an organization and how they are continually
acquiring competence (knowledge, skills, ability) and
developing sentiment (commitment, engagement,
experience) to do their work.
1. Accessing Competence to Accomplish Work
Putting the right person in the right job at the right time
with the right skills is the legacy of talent management. This
delicate matching effort created workforce planning where
full-time employees are matched to job assignments.
Talent, or the resource to get work done, has since evolved
to include contingent employees in a workforce ecosystem
and a focus on work skills more than jobs. More recently,
worktask planning has emerged, which includes getting
work done without formal jobs but by delivering on tasks
either with people or technology.
2. Improving Employee Sentiment
Employee sentiment (attitude, perception, response to, and

so forth) about work continues to evolve, with emerging
thinking about the employee experience that deals with
emotional well-being and mental health tied to being safe,
believing, becoming, and belonging. Additionally,
organizations around the world are increasingly framing
their mission and their work in ways that makes it easier for
employees to be safe, believe, become, and belong amidst
global upheaval and challenges.
3. Sustaining Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Both in practice and in our research, DEI has become a

major agenda for business and HR. We found that HR
professionals who championed DEI were able to have a
higher business impact. We posit four phases of DEI work
that have moved from tracking affirmative action numbers,
to action, to strategy, to implementing two sustainable DEI
beliefs and actions: everyone has something to offer and
leaders use their power to empower others. Implementing
these beliefs moves DEI from an aspiration to a
commitment.
Organization Evolutions
Organizations shape how people (employees, customers,

suppliers, investors) think, act, and feel. The study of how
organizations operate has evolved both in defining the
organization form and in creating an organizational culture.
4. Reinventing Organization Form
The logic and design of organizations have evolved.

Organizations were originally conceived as bureaucracies,
with hierarchy being the dominant logic. They have evolved
to where organization is not the structure of a firm but the
capabilities, which are focused on building market value.
5. Reimagining Organization Culture
Culture is not a new concept: its beginnings focused in

anthropology and sociology. And in the organization
setting, culture is accepted as a critical factor for long-
term success. The evolution of culture goes from a focus on
internal values and behaviors to an external identity in the
marketplace made real to everyone in the workplace.
Leadership Evolutions
Leadership is one of the most studied topics in the human

capability field (google leader and you will get six billion
results; five billion for leadership). Individual leaders engage
talent (people and workforce) and create organizations
(culture and capabilities) through the competencies they
possess. Collective leadership is when a leadership brand
exists at all levels of the organization and the actions of all
leaders throughout the organization are consistent. In our
review of leadership, we identified five general leadership
competence domains that characterize what we call the
Leadership Code. This code has evolved with new
leadership competencies required for changing business
conditions.
6. Defining Skills of Effective Leaders
The five code domains are relatively constant over time and
place, but the specific skills have evolved depending on the
changing external context. Figure 8 lays out in some detail
the emerging skills given the recent business context.
HR Evolutions
In the human capability logic, for talent, leadership, and

organization to occur, HR work (the function of HR and the
people of HR) needs to be continually upgraded. Let me
highlight some of the evolutionary ideas that indicate HR’s
progress.
7. Redefining HR’s Agenda and Purpose
Why does HR exist in a company? What value does HR

create and contribute to business success? The mindset and
assumptions of HR’s agenda and purpose have evolved
from the “administrative experts” to true “business
partners” who deliver value through four waves of activity:
administrative, function, strategy, and outside-in value.
8. Improving HR Information/Analytics
When human capability issues are discussed with the

management team, what information does the HR
profession contribute as a member of the management
team? Most HR professionals are aware of the need for
analytics and evidence-based decisions, but the focus of
the information that underlies analytics has evolved. HR
often brings benchmarking (how do we compare) or best
practice (who is good that we can learn from) information

to business discussions. In our work, we have built on these
legacies to offer guidance, which prioritizes and informs
which HR initiatives will help each specific organization
deliver the results they care about.
9. Leveraging Technology for Digital HR
In every list of future trends for business in general and HR

in particular, technology is a (the) dominant agenda. At its
simplest level, technology innovations (e.g., internet of
things, machine learning, artificial intelligence, meta verse,
robotics, and so forth) provide digital information to make
better decisions. HR clearly contributes to a strategic digital
agenda for their organization, but HR should also deploy
technology for better digital information and practice in
human capability. In the four-phase model in figure 11,
most of the HR digital innovations remain in wave 2 with
thousands of new HR apps being released every year. Using
technology to access information and shape the employee
experience are likely emerging steps in the technology and
digital HR space.
10. Defining HR Competencies
Ultimately, HR services are provided (or at least designed

and facilitated) by HR professionals. The skills and quality of
HR professionals have evolved dramatically over the last 35
years, as has the profile of an effective HR professional
including the CHRO, generalists, and specialists. We have
been directly involved in eight rounds of research over 35
years to evaluate not only the competencies of HR
professionals but which competencies deliver personal
effectiveness, business results, and stakeholder value.
In the eighth round of data from over 28,000 respondents

and in partnership with 19 HR associations, we saw a
conceptual shift in defining the competencies for HR
professionals. Legacy HR competencies were about a role
described with an adjective and noun (trusted advisor,
credible activist, change agent, strategy ally). In our latest
research, we used verbs instead of nouns. Verbs denote
action and what HR does to be effective more rather than
what or where they play a role.
11. Additional Areas
I have also seen additional exciting evolutions in learning,

career management, communication, performance
management, total rewards, change/agility, HR structure,
and so forth. Add areas of evolution that you have seen in
the comments.
Summary
In our work at RBL, we are committed to building on the

past to create a better future. We know that other areas are
evolving in the human capability field. These eleven
evolutions are based on insights (theory, research, and
practice) and they are the foundation for HR’s continued
value creation. By building on the past, HR will create a
better future, and the best is yet to come.
.………
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School

of Business, University of Michigan, and a partner at The
RBL Group, a consulting firm focused on helping
organizations and leaders deliver value.
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Published by
Dave Ulrich 182 Following
Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought Partner on Human
articles
Capability (talent, leadership, organization, HR)
Published • 7mo
Many thoughtful colleagues continue to evolve HR by building on the past to create

a better future. Much of this evolution comes from responding to the changing
context of business (COVID, political toxicity, technology, ESQ, social patterns) and is
captured with emerging insights based on innovative theory, research, and practice.
Our research has found that the vast array of “HR” related initiatives can be clustered
into a “human capability” framework with four pathways - talent, leadership,
organization and Human Resources.
Exciting and emerging ideas are occurring in each pathway. This article offers an
overview of some of the evolving ideas in each pathway, building on the superb work
done by so many.
Like Comment Share 621 53 comments
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53 Comments
Most relevant
Add a comment…
Amir A Khan • 2nd 6mo (edited)

Regional Manager
Awesome work and efforts behind this insightful evolving Human

Capability. Thanks Dave for enlightening us.
Like · 2 Reply · 2 Replies
Dave Ulrich • Following 6mo

Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought Partner on Human Capability
(talent, leadership, organization, HR)
Amir A Khan Thanks for note. I use the term "human capability" not
human capital which focuses on individuals (talent, workforce,
people) while capability focuses on organizations (culture, workplace,
team)
Like · 1 Reply
Amir A Khan • 2nd 6mo

Regional Manager
Dave thanks for the explanation 🙏🏽
Like Reply
Pranob K Mishra • 2nd 5mo

There are no facts, only interpretations!!
You have extracted the elixir of HR, refined it with your own insights,
revitalized it with contemporary studies, and bottled it nicely for the
consumption of HR connoisseurs!! Very useful factsheet on HR I have seen
so far! Lucid, congruent, prescriptive, and purposive narration makes it all
the more valuable.
Like · 1 Reply · 1 Reply
Dave Ulrich • Following 5mo

Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought Partner on Human Capability
(talent, leadership, organization, HR)
Pranob K Mishra Wow, how very very very kind. I hope we can all
work together to move the HR field forward. Thanks for your
contributions.
Like · 1 Reply
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Dave Ulrich
Speaker, Author, Professor, Thought Partner on Human Capability (talent, leadership,
organization, HR)
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1/28/23, 11:55 AM (58) Ten Provocative Evolutions in Human Capability: The Best is Yet Ahead | LinkedIn

June 28, 2022

Many thoughtful colleagues continue to evolve HR by

We have suggested and empirically shown (with three

1. Talent (often called “human capital”) deals with

2. Leadership focuses on individual leaders at all levels as

3. Organization refers to organization capability, culture,

4. Human resources (HR) defines the characteristics of the

This framework itself is an evolution of “HR” thinking, which

Exciting and emerging ideas are occurring in each pathway.

Talent refers to the people (individuals, employees,

1. Accessing Competence to Accomplish Work

2. Improving Employee Sentiment

Employee sentiment (attitude, perception, response to, and

3. Sustaining Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Both in practice and in our research, DEI has become a

Organizations shape how people (employees, customers,

4. Reinventing Organization Form

The logic and design of organizations have evolved.

5. Reimagining Organization Culture

Culture is not a new concept: its beginnings focused in

Leadership is one of the most studied topics in the human

6. Defining Skills of Effective Leaders

In the human capability logic, for talent, leadership, and

7. Redefining HR’s Agenda and Purpose

Why does HR exist in a company? What value does HR

When human capability issues are discussed with the

practice (who is good that we can learn from) information

9. Leveraging Technology for Digital HR

In every list of future trends for business in general and HR

10. Defining HR Competencies

Ultimately, HR services are provided (or at least designed

In the eighth round of data from over 28,000 respondents

11. Additional Areas

I have also seen additional exciting evolutions in learning,

In our work at RBL, we are committed to building on the

Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School

Many thoughtful colleagues continue to evolve HR by building on the past to create

Like Comment Share 621 53 comments

Amir A Khan • 2nd 6mo (edited)

Awesome work and efforts behind this insightful evolving Human

Like · 2 Reply · 2 Replies

Dave Ulrich • Following 6mo

Amir A Khan • 2nd 6mo

Dave thanks for the explanation 🙏🏽

Pranob K Mishra • 2nd 5mo

Like · 1 Reply · 1 Reply

Dave Ulrich • Following 5mo

More from Dave Ulrich

To Improve Sustainable HR Implications of ChatGPT for

How to Become a Receptive

Dave Ulrich on LinkedIn

See all 182 articles

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