I wasn’t a huge fan of high school. I didn’t hate it—I just always felt my time was not the four years of high school, or at least I hoped it wasn’t! As you can imagine, being 5’7″, with above average intelligence and red hair isn’t normally the recipe for high popularity in an American high school environment. I wasn’t great …
Wanna Be Taken Seriously? Quit Being A Wingman, Damn It.
To be taken seriously, looked at as credible, to feel valued, to be your CEO/COO/CFO’s confidant, of course, having a seat the table. HR, you really want it? Quit putzing around. Quit sabotaging yourself. Quit whining. Most importantly have a little self-respect. How? Quit being everybody’s “Wingman.” Remember Top Gun (“I feel the need, the need for speed”)? Heck yeah, …
The Strategic Evolution of HR
Anyone else feel like they’ve lived through 2 years in the last 4 months? Are you apprehensive about the next 6 months? You are normal if you answered “yes” to the above. You work in HR if you answered “HELL yes” while raising your beverage of choice in hand. HR leaders I know, and others who I’ve had the opportunity …
HR’s Greatest Opportunity to Support Gender Diversity
As a mom of a young daughter, I’m paying more attention to the gender diversity push than ever before. I personally never felt passed over for roles or promotions due to my gender – nor afforded them because of my gender either. That said, until the last half of my career, I worked in corporate HR where a lot of …
The Data Behind Being a Highly Selective Employer
We all think it, don’t we? We all want to believe in this notion that we only hire the best and brightest. We only hire quality. We are “highly” selective. We’ll show our executives really cool data that shows how “highly” selective we are. Number of applicants per hire—25,000 people applied for this position and we only took the best …
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 …
Your Organization’s Commitment To LGBT Pride Month Beyond Just The Rainbow
Growing up, my parents shared many stories of the struggle, perseverance, and the marginalization of black people. My father frequently closed with, “There’s no shame in being black, it just ain’t easy at times.” He wasn’t kidding! I grew up in a society located smack dab in the middle of the land of the free, and home of the brave …
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 …
Recruiting & What Never Changes: Hiring Managers
I inadvertently took a trip down memory lane when telling a colleague how I got into recruiting and what it was like just 10 years prior. When I first got into recruiting, the country was in the midst of a comeback following the great recession and, luckily, the organization I was with was growing rapidly. To be honest, I was …
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 …