Nipping and Yipping: A New Family Addition

Not HR related at all but here is something that can be filed under "remembering to breathe," a new addition to the family. Meet Scruffy, our new Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

So the Drama

We are in Human Resources. We are not making life or death decisions. We really do not need the drama. Drama and Emergency Medicine? Yes. Drama and Human Resources? No.

There is drama all around us. If you want drama, head out into the organization and find it. Actually, you really do not even have to leave your desk, the drama will come to you. Don't believe me? Wait just a few minutes . . . just one minute more. . . see, there it is.

Drama is out there for those who seek it. It is there just for the asking. 

Stop creating it. 

Finding Leadership Balance

Leadership is sort of a mystery. It can lift you up. It  can bring you down. One thing for certain, it will always keep you on your toes.

Leadership can be very conceptual and, at times, I find it hard to get a thought from my head into something clear that I can articulate to others.  I value it when I found others who are able to do that for me. Micheal Wade's post on leadership communications did that for me today in Finding the Leadership Balance between Filtering and Revealing. 

Personally,  the line I find the most valuable is the one I will keep in front of me always from here on out:

Wise leaders understand that there can be discreet disclosure; the type that gives a sense of the rationale behind certain policies without revealing the dirty details of management slug fests that may have prefaced the decision. These leaders disclose reasoning, not personalities.

Professionally, Micheal provided me with insight, not to mention a great discussion and coaching outline for others. Thank you Michael.

Book Review: Success For Hire

There is a new book in town and it is a good one.  Simply put, Alexandra Levitt delivers. Alexandra brings her experiences and expertise to her newly released book, Success For Hire where she provides a 9-step guide to finding and keeping outstanding employees.

From carefully analyzing your position from both a business and cultural perspective to conducting a strong interview and making a job offer, Alexandra provides a practical road map with nuggets of wisdom along the way:

• When requiring a certain number of years of experience, quantify what a person  will be able to deliver as a result of that experience (page 7) 
• Understand your own problem-solving and decision-making process to know how any new employee can complement your strengths and cover your weaknesses (page 11)
• ALL of Chapter 3, Narrow the Field of Applicants: Assess Where They've Been and Where They're Going and the  lost art of reading a resume.

Wait, there is more. Alexandra takes you through making the job offer and developing a positive first impression at new employee orientation and leaves you charged and ready for action as she dishes out retention strategies.

This is an excellent desk top reference for entry level HR professional and supervisors. If Alexandra should ever happen to convert Chapters 3 - 5 into a supervisor training module (hint, hint), I am on it.

Are you ready to put an end to "desperation hiring?" This is the book for you!

Leadership. What a Ride.

Leadership is not for the faint of heart. 

"The vast majority of learning occurs on the job; and, despite their best intentions, managers do not take advantage of 'coachable moments,' when instruction has the greatest impact."

Harvard Business Review, July-August 2008

Do you know a coachable moment when you see one?

As a leader, people will come to you to let you know when they make a mistake. In many cases, you will determine (in a split second) that this was not a mistake of carelessness. It was not a mistake of haste. It was a gap in knowledge. You will determine that learning occured and are comfortable that the same mistake will not happen again. You listen. You nod. You send them on their way.

STOP - Coachable Moment!

Did you see this coming?  I missed this recently. Although I did not see it in our 60 second conversation, I later heard how upset someone had been by a mistake they made. I did not stop what I was doing long enough to provide her the opportunity to process this with me and, in this case, that would have been very valuable to her. 

These coachable moments, they go both ways. 

Believe it or not, there is going to be a time when you discover that someone is not doing something you thought they were doing, they way you thought it was being done. You communicated your expectation, yet the follow through was not what you had in mind.  Bottom line, someone was not doing what they should (!) be doing." I will go find that person and set this straight," you say.

STOP - Coachable Moment!

Think about the reasons why a reasonable person would have done whatever it was that was done.  I did so recently. This is not the first time this type of concern has been expressed to me. A little concern raised here, a little venting there, all part of day-to-day  business in a crazy department. The concerns usually come and go and are soon replaced by other things. This time, however, this one is staying with me. 

Why? Because I may be part of the problem. Through my communications, I may be creating the space for the one thing that really bugs me , pass and drop responsibility. Yikes.

In any given moment, a person is faced with a variety of options and in the face of these options, makes a choice. I expect them to make the choice that is consistent with what we said we were going to do and how. I expect them to defer on the side of doing more vs. doing less. I expect them to follow an action through to completion.

My expectations are precise but, at times, my communications are not.  They will be.

Leadership. What a ride!

Cross posted at HRM Today

After the Termination

I posted recently about terminations. In the comments, Scott offered "...and never forget every person that is terminated has a number of friends still in the business waiting to become workplace dementors if you are not seen to be doing the right thing!"  

This started me thinking, "what happens in an organization after a termination." The employee is gone. HR puts the evidence file away, closes the personnel folder and the vacant position filled. Is that it? These may be the process actions we take, however, the effects of a termination do not end there. The terminated employee is effected. The supervisor of the terminated employee is effected. The co-workers of the terminated employee are effected. In the end, the organization may  very well be effected.

I am curious. How have terminations, or a specific termination, impacted you or your organization? Have you or your organization taken any proactive, conscious steps to mitigate potential negative effects? What have you had success with?

Let me know.

Lead. That is All I Ask.

Crossposted on HRM Today

You can tell a lot about a society by the way they take care of their children. You can tell a lot about an organization by the way they terminate their employees.

An employee receives a termination notice. This event plays itself out in different ways, on different days, in many different organizations. In your organization, is a termination notice the unfortunate, but expected, end to an ongoing conversation? Or is it a surprise?

Surprises are a huge distraction. Employee energy and focus shifts to the inequity (real or perceived) that has occurred. Customers, what customers? They will say it is unfair, they will call it an injustice. An employee has been wronged, they will say, and they are doing this for her. Or so they think. The employees have gone into self-protection mode, "if it happened to her, it can happen to me." The engagement the organization has worked so hard to enhance, measure and maintain is jeopardized. The credibility the organzitaion has worked so hard to establish is chipped away at, one surprise at a time.

Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup was quoted in Harvard Business Review  (subscription needed for full article) saying, "You can't talk your way out of something you behaved your way into. You have to behave your way out of it." Now, how absolutely perfect is that?!

Leaders, want to engage employees? Talk to them. Let them know what you think. Tell them when they are in troubled waters. Provide them with an opportunity to succeed. Lead.

Don't take your organizational credibility for granted. Protect it fiercely. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

What Really Bugs Me

Checking out 8 hours & a lunch, I saw my recent thoughts captured perfectly in a post by Deb. It really is freaky how she does that some times.

Deb writes, "people who get on our every last living nerve tend to teach us more about ourselves than those who don't.. . this, of course, depends on us paying attention to those lessons though. we've got to be aware, and think about these things before just automatically making it all about the other person."

Deb ends her post asking who is bugging us today. Well, since she asked.. . .the faces may change (and they do) but the traits below definitely get me going in the workplace:

• Careless Communication  
• Pass (and Drop) Responsibility
• Leadership without Personal Accountability

I am not sure exactly what it has been, probably a combination of time, experience, and coaching, but I know that what Deb is saying is true. You can't change other people but you can control your reactions and responses to them. You can manage your relationships, you can manage your meetings, you can manage how you permit people to interact and engage with you. But, you have got to be awake, present and willing to accept that double edged sword . . . .it really is all about you.

I know the things that get me going, I know the reasons they get to me. I know that knowing doesn't automatically make me any less crabby when I come face to face with them. I know that knowing does help me to be less reactive.Knowing helps me to create some space between me and the "offender." Knowing helps me to get the demons in check and plan my response thoughtfully.

Most of the time.

Monday Morning Humor - Senior Moment

My mind has not settled enough after vacation to begin to develop a post but I wanted to share something with you. This clip, emailed to me from a coworker, seems to fit the bill. Moral of the story: if you are going to have a senior moment. . . .  make it memorable!

Happy Monday to all!

Unposted Posts

I am back from an awesomely superb vacation.  While on vacation, ideas for posts crossed my mind and I jotted them down when I could.

I had one with a working title, "The Real Star." It was going to be about auditions for a cruise talent show that my daughter auditioned for. During auditions, there was a lady there (Brooke) who supported, cheered on and encouraged each of the participants during the rehearsals. Surely, she must be part of the organizers. I was impressed by her engagement, appreciative of her encouraging comments to my double jointed daughter as she displayed her freaky finger tricks, and very surprised when the last audition was called and Brooke walks up to the stage and sings her heart out. Awesome. 

We spent some time on a glacier with a dog sled team
and well, I lost the idea. My next idea came to me during a Ranger presentation as we cruised through Glacier Bay. The Ranger stated that he loves to engage in conversation about Glacier Bay. He hoped that those who listen to him are inspired to ask the questions that will solve an unsolved problem; if he were to leave us knowing just what he knew, we'd be in a world of hurt.

What a way to engage your audience, seek questions and set the stage for learning, sharing and growing. I am going to shamelessly steal his words and I planned to create a post around it and then, before I even had a working title, out the window it went too.

Look at it as trading one type of inspiration for another! 

      

Cruise Update - It's Not About the Silverware

We are on our second cruise. The Kid's Crew is not as engaging as the first. The food is not as unique, the service is not as impeccable, and the ship is not as over-the-top. I can't find the silverware rolled up in the napkins when I need it. This second cruise is not as spectacular as our first. 

Is it time? Is it experience? Is the second time really ever as good as the first?

It is better. The frenetic pace of the got-to-see-and-do-it-all right-now madness of the first time now makes way for the do-what-you-feel-like-so-what-if-you-miss-the-after-dinner-show calmness of the second time.

Sailing past the surrounding mountains and watching the whales play off the side of the ship as we made our way towards Juneau yesterday was superb. Watching our 7 year-old co-mush a dogsled team across a glacier was priceless.

There's a New Blog in Town

There's a new blog in town. Lance, aka Your HR Guy, has started a multiple author blog for HR professionals - HRM Today.  I clicked through quickly today (I am on vacation!) and the presentation is awesome. Content is filtering in and the contributors are starting to sign up already. Check it out

The Second Oldest Profession

Pilots. Until this week, I had not thought much about piloting. In fact, a pilot was someone who flew a plane. Get me to Seattle, safe and on-time, so we can pick up our rental and head northwest.

Our pilot this week did what he was supposed to do and we made our first visit to the Olympic Peninsula. We made our first (very long overdue visit) to friends in Port Angeles. We had our first view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the house on the hill.

The view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca is superb, even on a cloudy day. Ships and boats of all shapes and sizes are moving through here throughout the day. Some stop for a bit but almost all move on through to Seattle. Every ship has a pilot. Not an airplane pilot, a boat pilot.

Pilots. Pilots are the people who meet the ship in the harbor, via the pilot boat, board it, and guide it safely through the waters. In this area, the pilots guide the ships to Seattle. Every ship is either required to pick one up, or certify (if a US ship) that they have a trained pilot on board. Pilots have extensive maritime experience, undergo training, achieve certifications and are very well-qualified. There is a waiting list, a professional organization and a little bit of "who you know." Pilots do what they do to the tune of $300,000 - $400,000 per year. What other cool things did my guidance counselor forget to tell me about?

It is really very intriguing. We had the opportunity to ride the pilot boat out to meet a Japanese freighter. The Japanese crew dropped out a rope ladder as we approached. We pulled up alongside the ship and held the pilot boat steady while the pilot climbed the ladder. We watched until he was safely inside. This harbor has not lost a pilot off the rope ladder and into the water yet. Superb. Stopping the pilot boat on a dime and pulling a tight 360 - very cool!  

Pilots. New to me yet they have been around as long as there have been ships traveling on seas. 

Motivation From the Gym Floor

I am heading out on vacation, really.

Dedicated exercise buff that I have become (3 days per week), I figured I could (should) get some cardio in before I left. To the gym I went, thinking about how much better I would feel when I was done. To the treadmill I went, running to the news.

To the weights the lifters went, lifting to their partner's grunts, groans and motivations. Most of the time, I hear without reaction. Some of the time, I look to see what the heck is going on. This time, however, I heard something that I think will remember, draw from and share. I will remember it because it was exactly the way I was feeling as I finished up my run (and it sounds so much better than what I was thinking!). I will draw from it because it is how I find myself feeling at different times in my work day. I will share it because I think others find themselves feeling the same. 

So, without further ado. . . . . .  "let your air catch up to you."

Take a hike. Take a Cruise. Taking a Vacation.

Take a hike. Take a cruise. Take a vacation.

The family is heading northwest to Seattle and then on to Glacier Bay. The 10 day forecast is 56 degrees and chance of rain (hmm, sounds just like Minnesota) and there is a dog sled with our name on it. Have a great June and I look forward to catching up with everyone when I return. 

How Awesome of a Delegator Are You?

There is only so much time in a day. You prioritize on the fly. You dedicate time to the things that you must do. You delegate the rest. Right?

Try this. Plan a vacation. Not a long weekend. Not 5 days. Not even 7 days. Go for 14 days. Go for more. Plan a vacation long enough that forces you to identify the tasks to be delegated out during your absence. 

Identify the appropriate staff member(s) to assume responsibility and begin the hand-off a week before you leave so you are available for questions. Set up rules for email messages that can be routed to your junk folder or permanently deleted while you are out. Begin this a week or so before you leave.

Get my drift?

Go to work the week before vacation. What types of things are you doing now that you are not reviewing and recommending approval/disapproval of advanced leave, FMLA or leave without pay requests; reviewing results and adjudicating initial and final background investigations; or compiling information for the director's monthly worker's compensation report and tracking performance monitors?

There are some tasks that have been delegated directly to you and can not be delegated beyond you on a regular basis. Then, there are there others. What would happen if you did not take those back when you returned from vacation? What would happen if you provided staff the tools, training and authority to assume these responsibilities on a regular basis? What if you unsubscribed from the messages and news groups that filled up your junk folder over vacation?

How awesome of a delegator would you be then? More importantly, how much more effective could you be?

Crushing Positive Employee Relations

Distracted managers not focused on the needs and expectations of employees is a major source of dissatisfaction for employees. Kudos (and my appreciation) to those committed to maintaining positive employee relations.

There are many things a manager can do to maintain positive employee relations. One thing a manager can do is to respect, acknowledge and appreciate their employees. Another, make sure you're as nice in email as you are in person. 

• Respect the impact an email can have on an employee. When an employee sees an email from their boss, their blood pressure actually goes up, no matter what the content of the mail is. But, understandably, blood pressure went up even more when employees got angry emails from the boss, or emails from a boss they perceived to be unfair. If you get in the habit of sending little bombs throughout the day, you will create a truly deadly workplace.
• Be consistent. People read a lot into emails because the emails are devoid of the nonverbal cues we use to judge a message delivered in person. If you usually send very cordial ones, and then send a cold one, people who depend on you will spend hours analyzing it. The more consistent you are, the more people will focus on your content and stop wasting time trying to figure out subtext.

Not sexy enough, I know, but being nice in email can help you to avoid legal landmines. Email transmissions are considered "documents," and can be used against an employer in a lawsuit in the same way as any written letter or memorandum. Moreover, deleted messages do not just "go away," but remain in the company´s electronic archives.  Deleted messages can be recalled, and an improper message can come back to haunt an employer months or years after the message was first transmitted.

Ready to fire off a strongly worded email, tip the balance of power in your favor and enjoy the illusion while it lasts?  Don't. Step away from the computer.

I expect more from a leader in my organization. You should too.

How Do You Measure Committee Effectiveness?

Committees. Committees come in all shapes and sizes. Committees vary in their effectiveness. 

If I had a friend who was going to put together a tool to assess a committee's effectiveness, what would she want to include in it? Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure,  I do have a friend and she has been tasked to develop a tool, really. Here is what I have gathered so far and could use your ideas for other ways to measure the effectiveness of a committee:

AN EFFECTIVE COMMITTEE WILL understand its purpose and effectively work toward its goals • have open communication among members • listen to all points of view and make decisions that work for all • not be dominated by one leader or member • strike a balance between group productivity and personal needs • establish a process to evaluate and make changes • provide an opportunity for members to work collaboratively • have access to information they need to make recommendations.

Any and all ideas are appreciated AND an actual tool will be recognized with a super honorable mention and many, many thanks!

10 Ways To Make Your Boss Love You

Want to become your boss's favorite? Alison Green (aka Ask a Manager) U.S. News & World Report column this week suggests 10 habits that, if cultivated, will have your boss showering you with lavish praise.

I value staff who embrace #9: Speak up when you're unhappy and especially value those who use Panera Bagels with honey walnut cream cheese to express their thoughts regarding #10, If she's a good boss, tell her. Speaking of which, haven't had any bagels lately, hmmmm.

Seriously, this is one to keep at arm's length to facilitate discussions with your staff members, assist new supervisors with setting reasonable expectations for their staff and to do a soft check on yourself as you manage upward.

Book Review: Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most

The way your employees feel is the way your customers feel.

These eleven words sum up the bottom line of a newly released book by author Sybil F. Stershic, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most. A Guide to Employee-Customer Care. 

Ms. Stershic, an internal marketing expert with over 30 years experience, provides a guide to impacting two critical relationships: the relationship between employees and customers and the relationship between employees.

How does she do it? She lays out a road map and provides a audits, actions plans and numerous examples of what other successful companies are doing. One that caught my attention is the Marriott Hospitality Gold Star Program described in the chapter, "Strengthening the Internal Service Culture." In it, guests are randomly selected and asked to identify the hotel associate they found most helpful. These associates, and the guests who recognized them, are both rewarded. But the program does not stop there. Rewarded staff are then asked to identify three associates from the "heart of the house" (i.e. those behind the scenes) who were most helpful to them and these associates are rewarded too. Super!

Wondering how your employees feel about your organization, department or team? Ask them. Probe with questions such as:

• Why are you working here rather than another company?
• What would cause you to end your employment here?
• What drives you crazy about working here?

This book is a great resource for HR professionals, internal marketing managers, and supervisors who want to make a difference within their company, department or team. Regardless of your perspective or the state of your internal marketing efforts, you are sure to find a tool, tip, or golden nugget that can assist you in taking another step forward in your efforts.

This book is on tour and hitting the web. The tour started with Burns Blogs Attitude and made its way here. It will continue with a different stop around the web each day:

• On June 4th, Chris Bailey will be posting a review on his blog Bailey Work/Play: The Alchemy of Soulful Work
• On June 5th, Toby Bloomberg of the Diva Marketing blog will be posting an interview with Sybil.
• On June 6th, Becky Carroll, the blogger behind Customers Rock! will be posting a review and the results of an interview with Sybil.
• On June 9th, Paul Hebert will be posting a review on the blog Incentive Intelligence.
• On June 10, 2008, Phil Gerbyshak will be posting an interview on the blog Slacker Manager.

Check in with these hosts throughout the week. More information about this new book is available on the WME Books blog, the book page on the WME online store and at the Quality Service Marketing blog.