I attended an awards luncheon where the nominees were asked the question, “What would you have expected to have given up by now?” Answers involved a lot of childhood sweets, biting nails and imaginary dogs (that was not mine). Slap that question on the HR profession and I have a few ideas around the answers. Some are common sense and …
Was Gladwell Wrong About Outliers? The Latest on Practice and the 10,000 Hour Rule
If you’re a high-end, progressive HR, recruiting or talent pro, you know about the 10,000 hour rule, a research area made popular by the Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers. The seed for the 10,000-hour rule was a 1993 study of violinists and pianists which found that accumulated practice time rose with musical prowess. On average, top-ranked violinists had clocked up 10,000 hours of …
“Mr. Spicoli, What’s Your Reason for Your Truancy?”
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High“. One of the all-time greatest flicks with almost as many life-affirming lines as “The Big Lebowski“. Sean Penn played the iconic Jeff Spicoli, who more than once was late for class, causing Mr. Hand great frustration. Mr. Hand: Mr. Spicoli, what’s your reason for your truancy? Jeff Spicoli: I just couldn’t make it on time. …
“I Am Not Uncertain” – Why Some Hidden Phrases Illustrate Your Culture To Perfection
“I am not uncertain.” The phrase is a workplace culture feature from the Showtime series Billions. “I am not uncertain” is what employees of the hedge fund Axe Capital featured in Billions say to their boss, Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), when they’ve got potentially incriminating inside information they are about to trade on and Axelrod asks them if they are …
Let’s Be Honest; Most HR “Diversity Programs” Are for White People
I can’t be the only person that has sat in a “diversity meeting” and thought to myself, “who is this for?” As a woman of color, I rarely, if ever felt like the content was for me. But I often felt like the content was about me, namely, how to deal with me. The focus of many diversity presentations that …
HR at Home–A Guide to Advising Friends & Family
When I chose to march down the HR career path, I didn’t anticipate I’d become the “go-to” for all HR and career-related questions from family and friends. Don’t get me wrong, it’s as a privilege to be someone that family and friends can lean on in this area. But while it’s a privilege, it can be exhausting and quite tricky …
To Squash Fears of Failure, Discipline Yourself to Keep Moving.
“Action cures fear” – Mike Kim. I am someone who needs structure. And you do to. For the last 18 months, I’ve been on my own workwise. Before you roll your eyes, this isn’t a missive on entrepreneurialism. However, going from larger corporate environments to working for an organization of one (me) has forced me to analyze every nuance of …
The Plane Isn’t Free Falling, But You Still Need to Put Your Oxygen Mask on First.
The person who gave me my start in HR also gifted me with a book, “Managing Transitions” by William Bridges. At the time I was going through a professional change and my organization was in flux–the book was much appreciated. Fast forward almost 28 years (yes, I started my career at 12) and I still revisit that book whenever I …
The 5 Qualities Needed to Be a Really Great Manager
I’ve had a lot of jobs so I’ve worked for a lot of different managers — the good, the bad, and the really ugly. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of them, it’s this: it’s rare when you find one that you would really want to work for again. In fact, when I try to count the good …
5 Ways to Tell If Your Recruiting Pro Is Giving You Self-Pity.
Complaining will do nothing but make your “time to fill” metric exceed the 58-63 day period that is currently the industry average to fill a requisition. I have sat through or led enough recruiting pipeline report meetings to learn when a recruiter is “getting after it” and when they are just making excuses. Here are a few things to watch …