Stay in Your Lane?

I am frequently on a road where I see a sign that says, “Stay in Lane”.  The area is under construction so there’s lots of equipment entering the road so I kind of understand why they have that sign but seeing it reminded me of an executive I worked with some years ago.

We’d be in a staff meeting and ideas were being exchanged and suddenly someone would offer up suggestion outside their sphere of influence.  For example, the discussion would be on sales and if I, the HR executive, would chime in with a thought, he would say, “Stay in your lane.” This happened all the time until we all stopped participating in these discussions.  I would only speak if the issue pertained to me.

Did this work?  Not at all!  Business slowed down and slowly but surely, each of the executive team found other jobs. Last I heard they were acquired by a larger firm and no one I worked with there survived—especially the leader who wanted us to stay in our lane!

What savvy executives try to do is to not put their people or their functions in lanes but encourage staffers to learn and support the business as a whole and to collaborate to find the best possible solutions.  This is especially true for those of us in human resources—the more we know and understand the entire business, the greater our impact is on the organization.

In our book, The Big Book of HR, I share the story of the” late Pam Farr, the brilliant and strategic HR executive at Marriott International who used to tell the story that she would time herself in senior leadership meetings…and wait at least 20 minutes before bringing up a HR related issue. All the while, she would be actively engaged in the marketing or finance discussions.  This positioned her as a valued partner to other executives who saw her first as a business colleague and then as the HR leader she was.”

What if she’d “stayed in her lane?”  Would she have been as successful as she was but more importantly, would the company have been as successful as it is without her input?

My advice to you is to cross lanes when you can. Learn as much as you can about the business you’re in and speak up. Add your voice to any discussion and see where it takes you!

It’s Cloudy Out There

I entered a local eatery recently and approached the station for placing orders. A gentleman was standing in front of me, but off to the side, so I inquired if he was in line. He said he was, and then apologized for standing there slouching. “My mother always told me not to slouch,” he said. This led us to a conversations about things our mothers told us not to do, and other words of wisdom our generation learned from an older generations.

His turn came, he went to place his order. As the next cashier became available, a young woman walked past me and usurped my rightful turn.  The cashier, who knows me by name and witnessed what happened quickly apologized as I signaled her to go ahead with that order. She later rewarded my patience with a free cookie – but that’s not my point.

The young woman who took my place in line was so engrossed in her smartphone that she oblivious to her surroundings. Not only that, she was not a witness to her own behavior. Fortunately, she only walked in front of me rather than in front of a car that someone was driving. Her behavior shouted to me because of two different events I’d attended the day before. As I ate my lunch, I couldn’t help but ponder it further.

The morning event was a discussion about the importance of self-awareness for leaders. This quickly evolved into the role it plays in all our lives – the depth and breadth of your awareness and importance of being present. The topic of peripheral vision somehow emerged and one participant shared the difficultly he had teaching his children to drive. He commented that he came to realize that since they were so used to being focused on electronic devices, they had not developed the ability to view their surroundings with a wide-angle lens. 

The evening event was a discussion about civility in America. One of the topics that was explored by the panel, who included Lizzy Post – a millennial member of THE Post family – was entitlement versus empathy. They talked of entitlement in terms of individuals feeling entitled to be comfortable – to dress, talk, act the way that’s comfortable for them. If empathy is lacking – more precisely, the ability the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation:the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation:the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation:the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation:the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation:the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situationto share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it  like would be like to be in that person’s situation – incivility can quickly follow.

Millennials often are regarded as, or worse labeled as, “self-absorbed.” I don’t like labels because they imply stereotypes and stereotypes lead to bias. However, thinking about this young woman who took my place in line, it became evident why this notion of a self-absorbed generation originated. It’s the result of observed behavior. Behavior such as hers demonstrates a lack of awareness – not being present in the moment – which gets interpreted as a lack of consideration for others.

My mother always said that actions speak louder than words. She had a great deal of wise words.

My words of wisdom for this week to folks from any generation is to get you head out of The Cloud. Get grounded – not by spending your time looking down but by gaining more awareness of what’s happening around you. 

Workplace Bullying—It’s a Bottom Line Issue!

Bullies are all around us—even at work!  According to a recent study by The Workplace Bullying Institute, nearly 30% of us have been bullied at work.  Bullying can have serious implications for both the victim but also on the organization as a whole. 

Bullying left unchecked can impact morale and increase turnover if employees who are not being bullied see that their leadership isn’t dealing with the bully and decide that they’d rather work elsewhere.  So, bullying can impact productivity and the bottom line.  Bullying can also have a ripple effect—bullies breed other bullies!

What is Workplace Bullying?

Workplace bullying is defined as the repeated infliction of international, malicious, and abusive behavior that interferes with a person’s ability to do his/her work and is substantial enough to cause physical and/or psychological harm that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive.

Workplace bullying can take many forms including:

·       Shouting or screaming at a co-worker

·       Singling out a co-worker for unjustified criticism or blame

·       Excluding a co-worker from work activities or social events

·       Ignoring work contributions

·       Using language that embarrasses or humiliates a co-worker

·       Making jokes that repeatedly target the same person

The bad news is that bullies can be anyone in the organization—including managers and leaders.  I knew of a CEO who seemed to enjoy picking one person a week to bully.  In staff meetings he would verbally attack the selected individual and go at them until the rest of the leadership team was ready to bolt from the room or climb under the table.  Not only were they incredibly sorry for their colleague, they knew their turn was coming.

I’ve seen employees bully their boss and others bully a peer.  So, organizations must realize that, if anyone can be a bully and anyone can be bullied, having a policy against bullying is their first defense.  Policies can be helpful but to really have an impact, the policy has to be enforced and the subject of bullying discussed so that everyone knows the organization has zero tolerance for bullies.

Elements of a Workplace Bullying Policy

A workplace bullying policy should include:

·       Purpose or objective of the policy

·       Who it covers (all employees, managers, executives,)

·       Definition of workplace bullying*

·       Examples of behaviors that will not be tolerated

·       How to report workplace bullying

·       Investigation process

·       Consequences of workplace bullying

Communication Process

Once you have your policy developed, this is a great time for a communication blitz on the topic of workplace bullying.  Train managers on how to spot bullying and how to report it and on how your policy works.  Hold meetings with all employees to discuss the policy and the consequences of workplace bullying.

Let everyone know that each person has a responsibility to keep bullying out of your organization. This is another place where “if you see it, say it” applies.  Everyone should be aware of what constitutes bullying behavior and what to do if it happens to them or if they see it happening around them.  Silence validates bullying behaviors and, since we know bullying can have a negative effect on the organization as a whole, each employee should be expected to monitor the behaviors around them.

Employees need to know that if they are the victim of bullying behavior, the first step should be to let the bully know that they are not going to accept it.  Then, they should let their manager or HR know it happened.  If their physical well-being is threatened, they should leave the room or building and call in for help.  Most bullying in the workplace is verbal so this may not be an issue but it certainly should be discussed.

Bottom Line

Most of us want to work for organizations where we feel productive and where our contributions to be valued.  Workplace bullying can impact our organization’s productivity and therefore, our bottom line.  Organizations today can’t afford to be silent on this issue—it’s too important to be overlooked.

This article was originally published on HR.BLR.com on October 12, 2015

With This Ring – Employee Engagement

How engaged or entangled are you at home or at work? A related question is “How committed are you to living your life as fully as possible wherever you are?” Both questions are important to seriously ponder. Your answers make a difference and determine your productivity regarding anything you are doing, your physical and mental health, and your enjoyment of life. Engagement, entanglement and commitment are indicators of your level of intention to proactively manage your life and/or business.

The Big Book of HR gives these statistics from The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) that employees fall into three categories:

·       17% -- Are actively disengaged, busy acting out their unhappiness and undermining what the organization is trying to accomplish.

·       54% -- Are disengaged, “sleepwalking” through their day and putting time, not passion, into work.

·       29% -- Are engaged, working with passion and feeling a real connection to the organization.

-                     

Disengagement costs the U.S. economy approximately $300 billion in lost productivity annually.

I expect these percentages can be similar to what we would find in how people in general live their lives. And I am very sad to say, the percentages would be much worse regarding our current political world and government. So, what can you and I do?  Here are some areas to place your intentional attention:

Communication: This is not a new topic. Many of my articles include statements of the importance of communication. We cannot overemphasize, at work or at home, that open, direct, truthful and timely communication is an absolute must, in personal and professional relationships. If we want to be fully engaged and entangled, we must pay attention to communication. This means no hiding, no holding back, no lies and being totally open to the good, beautiful, challenging and ugly. You and I need to learn to communicate to the utmost depth of our ability! Speak the truth about what is really going on, no matter what. Truth sets us free.

Involvement: Awareness and involvement go hand in hand to get people interested and excited about belonging. From there pride, passion and ownership can be cultivated and created. Involvement happens at deeper levels within person- to-person sharing of questions, making decisions and working as a team.

Having fun: Humor, laughter and playfulness are great catalytic elements of engagement and entanglement. Often we get stuck in seriousness with a frown on our face. Smiles and giggles are great additions to even the most challenging of topics. Consider the word entangle. It is a fun word. Remember the game Twister? It’s a good image of entanglement. Entanglement can include difficulties and challenging situations. And in those involvements there typically is both conflict and humor where we recognize a larger spectrum of being human with each other.

Gatherings: Team events to include learning, celebrations and sports can tremendously enhance engagement.

This is only a start regarding ways to build employee or family engagement. Check out chapter fourteen of the Mitchell and Gamlem – “The Big Book of HR.” You will find many more ideas and insights.

Bernie Linnartz, of Empowerment Experts,

Consultant, coach & facilitator

This article was first published in the Taos News on April 14, 2016