What a week.Kavanaugh. Facebook rants from friends. Republicans. Democrats. Men. Women. It’s all been holistically pretty toxic. I’ve felt the need to shower about 14 times. I think it is safe to say the nation (world?) witnessed an incredible live, on-air, case study of what real life, toxic behaviors “look” like. Also, I believe we witnessed toxic behaviors demonstrated …
The Golden Rule of the Workplace? It’s the No. 1 Way to Avoid Employment Lawsuits.
Maybe it’s me, but it seems like legal issues — or the potential for legal issues — have become a bigger and bigger concern for talent managers and Human Resource leaders today. That’s saying a lot, because “keeping my company from getting sued” has popped up at or very near the top of just about every survey that asks HR …
A Management Truism: The Very Best Lessons Usually Come From Very Bad Managers
Here’s a management truism to remember: You learn a lot more from a bad boss than you do from a good one. I was struck by this when I came across an old “Corner Office” column in The New York Times. It was a Q&A with Dawn Lepore, the now-former chairwoman and CEO of Drugstore.com, and she had a lot to …
Did I Hear Someone Say EEO?
I exited the elevator, right into… “Oh, there you are. Do you have some time later today? I’m totally unsupported. This is a hostile work environment I need to take a medical because of this place…I’m still waiting on my manager to get back to me on that. I’m a Jewish female over 40 with a disability, and I’m being …
The Ball Is In Our Court
This isn’t a post about women vs. men. Nor is it about the color of someone’s skin or ethnic background. It’s not even really about tennis. This is a post about teaching moments, and how frequently they seem to occur (and blur) in our professional and personal lives. The U.S. Open Women’s Championship match was one of those moments. As …
Guide Towards Career Fulfillment, Not a Stupid Job Title
As people professionals we often are tasked with helping guide our candidates and employees towards the right career paths. Often I find people are either chasing job titles or pushed into career development plans that they may not even be passionate about. One quick example – employees who strive for management positions when they actually don’t even like people. Many …
Smart Leaders Know That Letting People Fail Can Help Them Improve and Grow
Raising children isn’t easy. Leading people is equally as challenging. In a lot of ways, leadership is very similar to raising a child. The big goal is to build people who are self-sufficient and self-reliant, but the trick is knowing just how much help you should give along the way. Although it seems to be improving, LinkedIn has a mixed …
Tim Sackett Warns to Be Careful What You Incentivize
I’m fascinated in how we compensate and incentivize employees. Not the actual process, but the decision-making process behind the what and how we do it. In my experience, how this usually goes is a two-level process: First Level: Someone has a hunch, or it’s being done this way somewhere else. Second Level: Someone in compensation searches for data to justify …
RIP Voicemail – Goodbye, Old Friend
It’s becoming quite fashionable for people in my age bracket to attribute a whole host of world problems to the rise and influence of Millennials. The list of casualties is growing. I went to the self-appointed arbiter of all things social – Buzzfeed – to see what has fallen victim to this Millennial killing spree: Cable TV – Why check …
Coworker Using You As Their Personal Counselor? 3 Tips To Shut Them Down Constructively.
A reader of mine sent me this email: “Dawn, How do I handle it when my coworker wants me to be a sounding board for all of the office problems? This has become a terrible problem for me and has increased my anxiety at work. There are two coworkers that camp out in my office and won’t STFU about their …