“I’m very laid back. I only care about two things: 1) everyone on earth and their opinion of me, and 2) the crushing psychological weight of being alive.” –author unknown ______________________________ Let’s say you’re a hiring manager trying to fill a key position. You think you might want to know how well someone can take feedback? Of course you do. …
Lessons On Leadership from My Bad Boss(es)
Need a conversation prompt? Just say, “I hate my boss.” Add a swear for emphasis, some name-calling if that makes you feel better. That phrase usually starts an echo around a table or at a bar. A lot of “me too” and “oh, you should meet mine.” Then everyone starts to recite all of the oh-so-obvious ways that their managers …
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 …
Communicating Through Organizational Change
I recently delivered a presentation to my organization that will have a huge impact on the lives of our team members. I believe that the impact will be a very positive one. Regardless of this, change is change. Which is to say that change is hard. But why? Why is it so hard to have successful organizational change, and how …
A Lesson on Letting Go
Sometimes I learn things from my personal life and can apply that learning to situations I encounter in my work life. Sometimes it’s the other way around. I’ve personally never been able to keep my home life separate from my work life. I’m a continuous learner on both fronts. And I’m just not wired that way. One such lesson that …
Employee Improvement Plans: Should They Always Be Viewed as a Death Sentence?
Did I miss the memo? When did the venerable Performance Improvement Plan — a managerial non sequitur that often has little to do with performance OR improvement — morph into the more concise but equally Orwellian “Corrective Action?” I bumped into this new terminology for what most managers lovingly refer to as a “PIP” a couple of weeks ago when …
It’s Okay for You to Fail
It’s time to discuss improving employee engagement. Or is it employee experience? Who knows anymore? All I know is we continue to work our butts off to find that secret sauce that will ensure employees connect with the company and pledge their eternal soul to you in HR, the department they work in, and the organization as a whole–yet nothing …
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 …
Five HR MindShifts We All Need To Make
Let me first start by saying I love being an HR professional. I love the insight that the profession gives you into a company and its employees. But as HR people know, this insight can often be a double-edged sword. Instead of being coaches, we often become referees, and instead of ambassadors of our organization, we become law enforcement to …
Are You a Mentor or Mommie Dearest?
Hey manager Mommie Dearest–could your mentoring do more harm than good? I am a fan of mentorships. I like to mentor people. And, if I am trying to develop my employees, I always recommend they pick a mentor besides me, since in theory, I mentor them every day. Mentoring can be an easy way to develop a variety of skills …