Big Shoes, Little Feet
Ralph Hargrow’s vision for human resources leadership was enhanced by an epiphany he had one day in 2000 while working in his home office. It happened when his then five-year-old son Collin, came running into Ralph’s office, clomping loudly and sloppily against the wood floor in a pair of Ralph’s shoes. Ralph could see by the expression on Collin’s face that he wanted to play and be chased, so Ralph took off in pursuit. In full sprint, Collin tripped and fell hard on the wood floor. “I thought he was injured, but when I got to him I saw that he was laughing hysterically, having a great time,” remembers Ralph. “Then, he got up and began running faster than ever, still laughing.”
It occurred to Ralph that this was the perfect metaphor for a challenging and engaging work environment, and indeed, one he’d experienced several years earlier at Xerox Corporation. “The little feet were relatively new, energetic professionals and the big shoes were big roles and big opportunities. We were given the freedom to run, to contribute and add value beyond our experience, to make mistakes and learn from them – and therefore we grew professionally at an accelerated pace,” Ralph notes. “That culture was what made the company tremendously successful.”
Now, as Chief People Officer for Molson Coors, Ralph’s mission is to influence and assist Molson Coors people to seek those “big shoes” individually and collectively. “I see forward motion as the defining characteristic of human beings. We have to be continually growing, expanding to remain truly alive,” says Ralph.
Ralph knows that organizations have the best chance of competing and thriving when they instill a deep sense of ownership among their people, where all employees know that the success of the company is dependent upon their own best efforts. He brings this mindset with him everyday, and is proud to see it expressed in the workings not only of the human resources function, but throughout the company.
In the People Function, Ralph and his team use several tools to help the various Molson Coors business units achieve this type of winning culture. The Talent Management Review process, which takes place twice a year, reviews the current performance and future potential of all management employees throughout the company. The process ensures that a consistent, global method is used to get the right people with the right skills in the right roles, at the right time. It’s closely aligned with both the Molson Coors Values and Performance Management System, using these frameworks to assess talent, potential and performance. In addition, as a means to identify and develop current and future general managers for Molson Coors businesses, the People Function oversees the annual Global General Management Development Program, where a number of mid-management candidates are nominated from each business unit to go through a year-long rotation, development and evaluation program.
As for the future prospects of Molson Coors, Ralph is enthusiastically optimistic. He observes that the Molson-Coors merger is still fairly recent. Consequently, he considers the current MCBC to be rather young. “As an enterprise, we’re little feet,” says Ralph, “and the competitive, consolidating markets in which we operate represent a pair of big shoes. The challenge for our Company, similar to our employees, is to develop our ability to sprint and have great fun winning.” We know that Ralph wouldn’t have it any other way.