Standing on the Sidelines

Inspiration comes from many places but I seem to get much of mine from observing beauty and talent that surrounds me when we go to the ballet or the symphony or the theatre!  I know I am extremely fortunate to live where I can take advantage of world-class performance but wherever you live, I hope you look for similar experiences –there’s nothing like having your breath taken away by watching a live performance!

I recently was inspired by a performance of Swan Lake by the American Ballet Theatre Company at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  We were fortunate to attend a performance when the amazingly talented Misty Copland performed.  Her electrifying dancing is beyond words.  Her ability, grace, and strength have earned her a role as a Principal Dancer and her engaging personality, smile, and warmth come through from the stage to everyone lucky enough to see her perform.

But, amazing as it was to see Misty perform, I wanted to write about the other talented dancers who perform with her and the other stars on stage.  There are several scenes in Swan Lake where dancers stand on the side of the stage for long periods of time.  They are part of the scene as they wait and watch the principal dancers take center stage.   They stand still.  They hold their pose in perfect symmetry. They don’t call attention to themselves but their presence adds to the scene—it wouldn’t be right without them. 

This got me thinking about the different roles we play at work.  Not everyone can be the “star” player – the one in the center of the stage with the focus on them.  Most of us play supporting roles—roles that don’t get standing ovations but roles that are critical to the success of the organization none the less.

Sometimes it’s not easy to stand and wait but I think it depends on your attitude about what you’re waiting for. If you role is, like the dancers in Swan Lake, to support your manager, your CEO, or your executive director, then the only way to play your part is to do whatever is requested of you (of course, as long as it is ethical and moral) so that it’s a win for your organization.  If, however, you’re not the star yet but think you should be and you spend your time second guessing or sabotaging the person in the center of the stage, then you’re probably not doing yourself much good in your quest to get ahead.

Difficult as it is sometimes to stand on the sidelines, use those times to learn and to observe the people or person who is center stage.  Take what you learn on the sidelines so when your chance comes, if ever, you’re prepared and can do your absolute best to shine.  Even Misty Copeland doesn’t always have the starring role—we saw her last year dance a supporting part and in doing so, she told the world she’s a member of the troupe and can support whomever has the lead role.

Can you say the same for how you work in your organization?  I hope so!

A Wooden Bowl & Dignity

Early on a Saturday evening last fall I answered a knock on the door. Standing there in his Cub Scout leader’s uniform, holding his infant son in one arm was our neighbor, Zeeshan. His 4-year old daughter was gleefully by his side. In his other hand he held out a wooden bowl. “Do you recognize this?” he asked, indicating the bowl. I didn’t. “It came from your tree,” he said.

He had crafted the bowl from a piece of wood from a dead tree we had removed this summer. "Now you can always remember your tree," he said. I was so touched by his loving gesture of kindness!

What did I know about him? He practices a religion different than mine, he was born in a different county (as were my paternal grandparents and my husband’s father), his hobby is wood crafting and carpentry (he made the cabinets when they remodeled their kitchen), he’s a loving father involved in his children’s activities, and he’s a good neighbor who cares about the community in which we all live. Our differences are not problems, they are strengths.

The forces that battled discrimination for decades won a major battle in 1964 with the signing of the Civil Rights Act. That law had eleven sections and prohibited discrimination in voting, public accommodations, public facilities, public education, federally-funded programs, and employment – the section with which I’m most familiar and engaged in the workplace. The Act was the culmination of efforts to gain protection for the basic citizenship rights of African American. In employment it prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Subsequent legislation was enacted to protect older Americans and people with disabilities.

While the Act outlawed discrimination, it didn’t eliminate it. Discrimination must be eliminated because it’s an affront to our differences and our dignity.  On January 21, 2017, both Barbara and I marched in Washington DC. The next day I found myself reflecting on one question, “Why did I march?”

Why did I march? There are many reasons why I felt it was important to be there, but most importantly I marched to defend and preserve decency and dignity which I've witnessed eroding in our society recently.

-       The dignity of women

-       The dignity of individuals with disabilities

-       The dignity of people of all religions

-       The dignity of people who immigrated to this country to seek a better way of life

-       The dignity of journalists and scientists who work in noble professions and seek the truth

-       The dignity of all human beings regardless of their various dimensions of diversity

I marched because defending our human rights and dignity is the moral thing to do. 

Dignity.  It was symbolized in that wooden bowl.

Dignity.  It’s about making people matter in our workplaces and throughout the world today.

Respectful Curiosity

As a society, do we have the ability to suspend judgment, even for a moment, and listen to and consider an opposing point of view? This is not a commentary on the current state of political affairs. I wrote this back in 2012. In fact, much of this post is adapted from something I wrote that fall.

When I conduct diversity training, one of my objectives is to have people challenge their ability to temporarily suspend their beliefs and world views in order to entertain the beliefs and world views of others in a non-judgmental way.  Most participants get it, or at least pretend to.  Some, however, can't break away from the mental models that have shaped their thinking.

Consider the following excerpt from a playbill for the show The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The play premiered on Broadway in 1978 and I saw it in September, 2012, in a local theatre.

“The story is not about sex, but about hypocrisy and how one person can generate a national controversy.  Suddenly one person becomes a group who feels they have the right to tell you what to do and how to do it.  They push agendas, opinions and mantras and make judgments.  Assumptions are made without facts and opinions are broadcast in hopes of catching others attention.  They don't want to start a conversation; they want to start a fire.” (Emphasis added.)  (Eric Schaeffer, Artistic Director of the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia)

To borrow a phrase from Sly and the Family Stone, we’re all everyday people with a vast array of differences and similarities along with hopes, dreams and problems. Learning about each other – being genuinely curious – is key to living and working together. Our differences make us unique and interesting. We’ve got to be respectfully curious and learn about each other. We’ve got to be more comfortable starting genuine conversations than setting fires.

Blinders remain on today regarding a vast number of social issues.  These issues are the basis of our current national discourse and that discourse has grown worse.  We have to be capable of taking a moment to pause, suspend judgment, and have dialogue and discussion about these issues in a calm and rational manner.

You Can't Factor Out Judgment

Dilbert:  “I need something called a decision.” 

I spent a great deal of my HR career working in employee relations.  People continue to fascinate me and I'm amazed at what I continue to learn. 

I met an HR professional who also had a strong employee relations background.  We were clearly of the same mind when it came to dealing with employee issues.  We agreed on what doesn’t work, namely an approach or “algorithm” that shows if this, than that, or as someone once asked me, “Don’t you have a three-strikes and you’re out model for dealing with performance or behavior issues?”

Managing employees is an art, not a science.  More importantly, it’s not a sport or a game. Not every situation is going to fit into the same neat, tidy package.  Consideration of all the issues and facts is a critical part of the decision making process, and judgment cannot be factored out of the process. Not all situations are the same and not all employees are the same.  Consider the following:

Two employees were caught drinking a six-pack of beer during their meal break in a van parked in the company parking lot.  The company had a clear policy regarding the consumption of alcohol on the premises.  One of the employees had a long tenure with the company along with a long history of disciplinary actions.  If discipline, which comes from the word disciple, means to teach, he hadn’t learned anything.  He did not make an attempt to change his behavior despite the company’s efforts to help.  The second employee had a shorter tenure, two to three years.  This was his first policy violation.  The first employee was terminated, but the second was suspended without pay for five days.  When the first employee cried foul, we only had to produce his record which showed that the company had tried to work with him over the years. 

During a recent round-table discussion where someone described “serial” disruptive behavior by a staff member, she went on to say that the organization wanted to make sure everything was equal. Apparently someone else had engaged in similar behavior – once. Not different from the situation described above. I pointed out that the behaviors she described did not appear equal – the first sounded like a pattern and practice of behavior which while the second appeared to be an isolated incident.

While managers can’t expect a perfect algorithm for making employee decisions, employees can’t expect to have everything spelled out for them.  They too must exercise some judgment.  Employee accountability is the second critical factor in the equation. 

Policies should be management guidelines and not “cookbooks”.   Managers need to recognize that while they must be consistent in their approach to managing people, they have a say in the decision-making process.  Their judgment matters.  Don’t expect to treat everyone “equally”, because not all situations and circumstances are equal.  You can’t expect to treat a long-tenured employee with a good record, who happens to have a few missteps, the same as you would treat someone who had been with the company a short time and managed to build a disciplinary and negative performance history quickly. 

Treat everyone with fairness and respect and most importantly, don’t factor judgment out of the process.

Cinderella and Creativity

Creativity—where does it come from—where does it go?

When I saw the announcement of what was billed as “a new take on Cinderella” I couldn’t imagine what that might be.  We all know the story—a motherless girl is confined to the kitchen where she cleans up and waits on her step mother and “ugly step-sisters”. A fairy godmother appears, dresses her in a beautiful gown and off she goes to the ball in a coach made out of a pumpkin with horses that transform from kitchen mice!  She meets the prince, drops her glass slipper and after he searches the land for the women whose foot fits the slipper, they’re reunited and all live happily ever after (well, maybe not the stepmother and sisters but…)

So, imagine my delight when attending the San Francisco Ballet Company of Cinderella at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, I noticed that Christopher Wheeldon was co-producing this ballet.  I’d seen a show about him and his amazing talents on CBS Sunday Morning  a few months ago when he brought An American in Paris to Broadway .  He’s a trained ballet dancer who now produces and choreographs shows.

This version of Cinderella was beyond magical!  Rather than starting with Cinderella in the kitchen, sweeping the floor and looking sad, it began with her and her parents before her mother died. We saw her in a totally different light while watched her mother be buried and the sad little girl cling to her father in the cemetery under a small tree.  And that tree becomes part of the story…

I remember seeing an interview with Stephen Spielberg’s mother where she was asked about what he was like growing up.  She told a story about one time young Stephen put a can of cherry pie filling in the microwave to see what would happen AND she let him!  When I heard this, I thought that most mothers would have grabbed that can out of his can before he could close the microwave door but she let it happen.  If she did that, she probably let his imagination flow at other times too and we are all the better for it.

Most children have great imaginations.  Watch them as they make up stories for their stuffed animals or while they create great battles with their toy soldiers.  How wonderful it is to just let the ideas come into your head without having to stop and think if it’s right or even makes sense!

Do you remember being told to “color inside the lines”?  This happens to most kids when they get to school—suddenly all the magic goes away.  No longer can we have imaginary playmates or make up plays and force our families to watch over and over again. No, we have to put all that away and focus on real things! I ask you…why???

Back to Cinderella…in this version of the story there was no fairy godmother, no pumpkin coach, and no clock striking midnight to end the ball.  There’s a tree that grows out of her mother’s grave which the producer says is “the deliverer of all things magic which I think is more poetic than a fairy godmother and quite beautiful.” Christopher Wheeldon’s imagination coupled with his amazing ballet talent has allowed him to create something so beautiful and memorable that I can’t stop thinking about it.

What ideas, processes, policies, or practices could you approach from a different perspective like Wheeldon did with Cinderella?  What could happen if you allowed something different to happen? How do you encourage creativity in your workplace? Maybe a better question is DO YOU encourage creativity?  Creativity has to not only be permitted, it has to be nurtured and I hope you allow your teams to bring new ideas and new ways of solving problems to your workplace!  How do you reward creativity?  Who knows what they may come up with if you just let them try!

New Year...New You!

This happens every January—we’re bombarded by ads for fitness centers, weight loss programs, diet programs, and cute outfits to exercise in.  The message comes through loud and clear that this is the right time to change how we look.  Some of the messages we hear also focus on the inside, too but I think we miss a good bet as managers if we don’t take this opportunity to evaluate our leadership skills and, if necessary, tune those up while also getting more exercise and eating better—at least, for a couple of weeks in January!

So, have you taken stock of your leadership skills lately?  Maybe your organization does an employee engagement survey and you’ve received feedback that you could do things differently. Or, maybe you’re a really strong person who asks his/her employees for feedback on how you’re doing when you do their evaluation.  Let me just say that if you aren’t asking for feedback, you’re missing a great opportunity to hear directly from your staff.  You’ll probably get some compliments but maybe you’ll hear something that will allow you to up your game as a leader!  That’s a gift and be grateful for it!

No matter what you’re doing right, most of us could be more appreciative of the work our people do for our organization.  As you go about your work in the next few weeks, be aware of opportunities to say a simple “thank you” to your employees.  Most of us get so caught up in our day to day activities that we forget how much our employees crave our thanks.  Find ways to let your staff know you recognize their good work and just say thanks. Of course, if you have other ways of acknowledging great performance, use those too but research shows that saying thanks can go a long way toward maximizing productivity.

This may sound simple but do you call your employees by name?  It is extremely important to use people’s names as often as possible so if this isn’t your pattern, maybe this would be a goal for 2017. So many people say they aren’t good with names but there are many ways to improve your skill in this area so give it a try-it will make a difference with your staff.

Make a conscious effort to evaluate your work environment. Is it as good as it could be?  I’m not suggesting you spend tons of your organization’s money to redesign your work space, but make sure what you have is conducive to people doing good work.  Does your work environment encourage collaboration?  Is there a place for people to have a confidential conversation? Are the rest rooms clean and well equipped?  You may have a nice office but what about your staff?  Do they have what they need to get the job done?

As we begin 2017, take some time to look inward at how you lead and how you manage your team. Even a small change in how you interact with your staff can have tremendous payoff this year and beyond but don’t forget to also take care of yourself physically and mentally so that you can be at the top of your game

Resolve to Network in 2017

There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not grateful for my network of colleagues and friends. Of course, this network didn’t come together overnight. It is made up of people I have worked with over the years including managers I’ve worked for, people who were my peers and many people that I had the privilege to manage or mentor. I’ve learned a great deal from this group of people and want to acknowledge how important they are to me and to any measure of success I’ve had.

And, I am constantly adding new people to my network—people I meet when speaking at various organizations, sit next to on planes, meet through my civic responsibilities…you get the picture—my network is ever expanding.—and your network should be expanding as well

LinkedIn has taken networking to a new level and it is now so easy to re-connect with people I’ve known through the years but for some reason or another, lost touch with. I use LinkedIn a lot in my work and find it to be an extremely valuable networking tool. Facebook has also had a great impact, primarily with old friends and relatives but more and more, it is becoming a business networking tool as well.

Building and maintaining a professional network is critical to business success but it is amazing to me how many people ignore it or, even more impossible to understand are the people who only think a network matters when they are looking for a new job!

I rely on my professional network for advice, information, and support. No one can know everything so I love that I have a vast network of people with different skill sets and different interests. When I work with clients, I don’t try to pretend that I have all the answers but I think I do know, almost always, whom to contact in my network who does have that answer or that expertise.

Back in the days when Margaret Lack and I started The Millennium Group International, LLC, we decided that one of our core values was that we wanted to work with nice people. We selected our consultants for their expertise but also for their attitude and positive approach to work. This made the long days of running a successful business a little easier to take! And, I’ve continued this approach with my current group of close colleagues. Believe me; writing business books with colleagues has the potential of being a bit difficult—especially since both books I’ve written had very short, publisher-imposed deadlines. But, working first with Sharon Armstrong on The Essential HR Handbook and then with Cornelia Gamlem on The Big Book of HR and The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook has reinforced my commitment to working with nice, cooperative colleagues. I am very grateful to both these outstanding women for their approach to working together with me.

As you are making your resolutions for 2017, resolve to re-connect with colleagues with whom you’ve lost touch. This can be as easy as looking for them on LinkedIn or another social media forum. Resolve to meet new people and make new connections in 2017. Maintaining and building your network will pay off both personally and professionally.