Powerful Inspiration

I love all the pageantry of an inauguration. There is the majesty of the Capitol Dome as a backdrop. There are the military bands playing patriotic songs. There are the former presidents seated together—not by party affiliation but by the office they held.

On January 20, 2021, if you were watching the Inauguration, you witnessed a remarkable event. Not only did a new President and Vice President take their oaths of office. Not only did Lady Gaga sing our National Anthem and Jennifer Lopez remind us that this land is ours, but a 22-year-old poet from California, the National Youth Poet Laureate, recited a poem she’d written that sent shivers down my spine. I think most of will agree that the star that rose from that day on the steps of the Capitol was this young poet from Santa Monica, CA.

Amanda Gorman at 22 years of age showed more poise than many people three times her age. She walked up to the podium, after a step was placed for her to stand on so her face would show above the microphones. Without missing a beat, she read a poem that was so powerful and so on point that it was hard to believe she’d written it. And we found out that she’d had to revise it just two weeks prior when the Capitol where she was standing to read her poem was targeted by a mob of insurgents.

Not surprising, she became an overnight sensation—adding almost a million Twitter followers in a day. However, according to those who know her, this was nothing out of the ordinary for young Amanda. She’s been inspiring people her entire life.

Her 10^th grade teacher, Alexandria Gazzaniga Padilla says she “used to save Amanda’s pages to read last so she could savor every word.” 

The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote, “The future is us: Amanda Gorman’s powerful inaugural poem inspired us to reflect on our past and rise together.”

These days, I will take inspiration where I can find it and I certainly was inspired by Ms. Gorman. Here are the closing words of her poem:

“When day comes we step out of the shadows

aflame and unafraid,

the new dawn blooms as we free it.

For there is always light

if only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

Amanda Gorman, 2021

Simply Engaging

 Engaging employees is one of the many challenges for today’s managers. This has always been true but never more so than in 2021.

Here are a couple of suggestions for you to try to increase employee engagement:

• Solving all the issues facing your team at any one time can be exhausting for any manager. Ask your employees for suggestions to improve productivity or resolve a particularly tricky issue with a customer or client. Take time at each staff meeting or in one-on-one meetings with your employees to ask for their ideas. Simply put—give them a voice.

• Consider asking your employees what processes, reports, or paperwork gets in their way. You may learn that some of what you think is motivating them isn’t and is counterproductive. You certainly don’t want to be a demotivating manager. 

• Refrain from immediately rejecting ideas. Nothing will shut down new ideas quicker than being told “that won’t work” or “we’ve tried that before.” Instead, take the time to consider or even brainstorm these ideas. You might be surprised at the results.

It may take a while for them to be comfortable making suggestions, but give it time. You may solve a problem while finding a new way to energize your staff.

You’ve probably heard that people don’t leave organizations. Rather, they leave managers. Look at the people who manage or supervise others in your organization. 

• Do they listen to their employees? 
• Do they know how to counsel employees who are underperforming? 
• Are they providing coaching to their superstars? 

If the answer is no to any of these questions, the managers and employees may need professional development.

What engagement ideas work for you? We’d love to hear your best engagement ideas so send them on, and we’ll share them in future blogs. In the meantime, you can find additional information about employee engagement in The Big Book of HR which is available on Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/ya5vheak has a chapter devoted to the subject. 

Barbara Mitchell

Servant Leadership

 In the midst of a tumultuous post-election season, we lost a humble, but impactful, national leader. Former Maryland Senator, Paul Sarbanes, best known for the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act which overhauled accounting rules for publicly held business, died on December 6, 2020 in Baltimore.

Sometimes described as a “phantom senator,” he maintained a low profile and rarely issued news releases or held news conferences. Not comfortable with the backslapping, glad-handing and grandstanding of public office, he avoided the spotlight and the social circuit in the nation’s capital. Rather, he drove home to Baltimore each night to be with his family.  

Mr. Sarbanes described himself as a “different sort of politician. I’m not always out there blowing my own trumpet. . . . You can get a lot done if you let others take some, maybe all, of the credit for it.”

Throughout his public service, he worked to promote low-income housing, environmental protection and preservation, investor protection, and consumer privacy, and helped shape legislation affecting Social Security, tax policy and campaign financing. In 1974, while serving on the House of Representatives House Judiciary Committee, he drafted the first article of impeachment of President Richard Nixon—something not widely known. 

As I read about Senator Sarbanes’ death, I thought of all of the positive leadership characteristics he possessed and displayed—characteristics discussed in The Manager’s Answer Book. It inspired me to start writing this blog. Committed to his values and principles, he never contradicted them in his actions or words. A collaborator and negotiator, he focused on important, but unglamourous work such as drafting and redrafting amendments, and working on details that drew bipartisan support. 

That other’s sought him out for advice, especially on difficult issues, is a testament to his listening skills and his reputation of being a sound and ethical advisor. He was not afraid to delegate or let other’s take credit. These actions showed that he trusted people, knew their strengths and weaknesses, and recognized what motivated them. He saw value in recognizing other’s accomplishments. 

Critical thinking skills are important in any leader. Sarbanes’ colleagues in the Senate thought of him as someone who studied hard and was meticulously prepared—a clear and thorough thinker. A courageous leader, he knew the issues that were important to the people he represented and advocated for them and for the state’s natural resources rather than grandstand and advocate for his own self interests.

One month to the day after his death, on January 6, 2021, the U. S. Capitol building was stormed by our own citizens brandishing weapons and laying siege to the seat of our government and disrupting a joint session of Congress. Later, when Congress convened, some members took the opportunity to grandstand for their own self interests. This is not leadership in any form. It  certainly is not servant leadership as exemplified by Senator Paul Sarbanes. 

It’s time to have many critical and difficult conversations in our organizations and in our nation.

We’ll leave you with the words of another servant leader we lost in 2020, Representative John Lewis: “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something.” 

Cornelia & Barbara

Tackling 2020 Challenges in 2021

 

Every new year gives leaders the opportunity to reset and look forward. What did we learn last year that will shape this new year? This year the question will be: What did the pandemic teach us, and what do we need to change?

Everyone who worked in an office went home in 2020, dramatically changing how work was accomplished. Leaders collectively realized that remote workers are productive, and the nature of the workplace and the workforce can and should change. Expect 2021 to bring more flexibility: flexible space and flexible schedules. Forget occasional telecommuting. Some fashion of remote work is here to stay.

Eliminating specific geographic places as absolute workplaces removes a barrier to talent acquisition. With location no longer a hindering factor, workers may choose to relocate elsewhere. For organizations, removing specific geographic places, much wider and diverse talent pools become available. Of course, this opens challenges in employee compensation. Should salaries be cut if employees choose to move to, or are recruited from, less expensive places? Do we provide remote employees home office allowances since they cannot take advantage of on-site perks?

Then there are the challenges of managing a workforce that is remote, whether that means people who are never in the office, or those who are in the office on a limited basis. One example of a challenge: the pandemic experience has been a very individual one for each employee. Managers will need to sharpen their listening skills to understand the needs of each team member.

The workspace, for organizations where workers will still come together regularly or occasionally, will also undergo change. A greater emphasis will be on health and safety: sanitation stations, social distancing, and personal protective equipment. Expect to see a reduced use of common areas, such as kitchens (yes, no more smelly leftovers in the communal fridge) and recreational areas, if they continue to exist at all. One thing the pandemic taught everyone is the importance of mental health, and organizations will likely assign this a greater priority. Other likely operational changes are reductions in business travel and more virtual meetings and conferences. 

If there was any winner in 2020, it was technology. Everyone struggled to learn collaborative tools and how to be effective over video platforms. Many workers struggled with unstable Internet connections, and these networks were, at times, overloaded. One challenge for leaders will be reskilling the workforce so they can work effectively with new technology. Another is managing the privacy of workers in their homes. During work-from-home pandemic restrictions, the constraints of household space and responsibilities were often in full view of coworkers. Finally, reimagining where and how work is performed requires that all workers, such as field and service workers, customer service, or general staff, have access to the technology they need.

The 2020 pandemic also brought to light many issues we face as a society—issues that impact organizations. These include the need for income stability, paid sick leave, and paid family leave, and access to affordable child care. All of these issues can’t be addressed in one newsletter or blog, but we can address them throughout the year. As we all embark on 2021, we would love to hear about the challenges your organizations are facing. 

Cornelia and Barbara

Making a Difference

It is so easy to think that we don’t matter in the bigger scheme of things, until I’m reminded by people who do make a difference. These reminders come from a variety of places, situations, and people.

One of those reminders came when the e-commerce entrepreneur, Tony Hsieh, died on November 27, 2020, at the age of 46. I’ve been fascinated by Tony’s approach to customer service and his innovative and perhaps misunderstood management tactics. No matter what you think of some of his decisions, it is hard not to be impressed with his success as the founder of the on-line shoe and clothing giant Zappos.

Tony was a recent Harvard grad when, at age 24, he and a colleague founded an online advertising business that they sold three years later to Microsoft for $265 million. He then launched a venture capital firm with his business partner and, in 1999, invested in a shoe retailer that they transformed into Zappos.

There are a lot of retailers that sell shoes but none that had the philosophy that they wanted to be a company where, as Tony told the New York Times, “… we create such a great environment, where employees get so much out of it that they would do it for free.”

His big idea was to build a corporate culture that put people first which is certainly not unique but one of their core values was to “create fun and a little weirdness.” There was one of the business practices that set Zappos apart. After an extensive training period, new employees were offered money to leave the organization. The thinking was that if someone turned down the financial incentive, they’d stick with the company and commit to the strong commitment to customer service. In fact, Hsieh used to describe Zappos as “a customer service company that sold shoes.”

Zappos was sold to Amazon in 2009, and Tony became a popular author and speaker challenging us with the question: “What would you be passionate about doing, even if you never made a dime?” Tony made people think, and he certainly approached business in a new way. He impacted the retail world and the many lives of people who either worked with him, heard him speak, or read his book, Delivering Happiness.

So back to the question, can one person make a difference? My response is yes, and Tony is such an example. He will be missed.

Barbara Mitchell