Celebrating Collaboration

Divisiveness. Acrimony. Partisanship. Unfortunately, these are terms that describe the state of our government. Can these issues be overcome? Is there room in Washington for collaboration? We may not be able to answer these questions or solve these issues, but there are things you can do to assure your organization isn’t described in these terms and instead is celebrating collaboration. 

Before our writing partnership began, Barbara and I had worked together on smaller projects.  We recognized we worked differently and at different paces. If we were to succeed, we had to stay out of each other’s way. We had to trust and respect each other’s knowledge, expertise and work styles. We knew that we had to build on each other’s strengths. We were a team and collaboration was a key component our writing process.

Are teams in your organization collaborating?  The key to collaboration is being inclusive, getting rid of the noise, and being mindful, thoughtful and purposeful. What are the signs that teams are collaborating? Inclusive teams:

• Have structured opportunities for sharing
• Have opportunities to teach each other
• Are flexible regarding differing needs and preferences
• Eliminate barriers to communication 
• Establish ground rules
• Explain unwritten rules to new members
• Value differences
• Work toward mutually satisfying resolutions to conflict
• Honor time limits
• Assure that everyone participates and no one dominates
• Listen as allies
• Celebrate small successes
• Are considerate and respect time and each other

Writing a book is a major endeavor and after we finished our first, The Big Book of HR, we were both excited at how it all came together. We were not only proud of our end result, but we gained a renewed appreciation for the other.  We genuinely enjoyed working with each other, even during the stressful points in the process. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we went on to write more books together:

The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook

The Big Book of HR – Revised & Expanded Edition – coming in May 2017

The Conflict Resolution Phrase Book – coming in the fall of 2017 

Considering that we write in Northern Virginia, right outside “the Beltway” that surrounds Washington, DC, we often think how wonderful it would be if we could instill in our good friends “inside the Beltway ”the importance of collaboration as a key component in the process of governing!

Dancing and Leading in the Dark

In traditional ballroom dancing when couples pair up, the man is the leader. I know that statement has some inherent flaws in 2017. For example, what if a same-sex couple is dancing, then who leads? Who made the rule that men always lead in a dance anyway? These are valid objections, but for the moment, let’s stay with the “tradition” – right or wrong.

Last year my husband and I were invited to a dance party sponsored by a local dance studio. The evening included a dance lesson for the attendees – all happened to be traditional, heterosexual couples. The lesson began with the couples lining up – men in one line and women in the other. After practicing basic moves with the partner you arrived with, the men were asked to switch to the next woman in the line for the next set – just as my husband and I were getting into a rhythm. This switching continued every five or ten minutes. 

It was interesting practicing with different partners and it took some serious concentration. Not every partner was as comfortable as the last, and one was particularly challenging for me. He towered over my five-foot frame and danced with a bravado and gusto that matched his over six-foot frame. He’d twirl me out at arm’s length– his arm’s length, not mine – causing me to almost twist my knee on a number of occasions. I noticed that his wife was much taller than me – almost equal in height to him – so these moves must have worked well for them. They certainly didn’t for me. He was making no effort to adjust to a new partner.

Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey based their situational leadership model on the theory that instead of using just one style, successful leaders change their leadership styles based on factors such as the situation, the details of the task, and their relationships with the people they are leading. This means that a good leader will take a different approach to fit the situation or task or when they are working with different individuals. I wished that my challenging dance partner had applied this theory when he danced with me. While the task (dancing) didn’t change, his partner (me) and the situation (my height versus his wife’s height) did and he didn’t take the opportunity to assess these changes nor adjust his style. I graciously excused myself before the set was over. In a business setting, this might not have been possible. 

Recently we attended an event entitled “Dancing in the Dark” to support The Foundation for Blindness.  After dinner, attendees were invited to a group dance lesson where they danced while blindfolded. While I appreciate the challenges that the visually impaired face, after my last experience with a group dance lesson, I was skeptical about dancing in the dark with a stranger – especially when neither of us can assess the situation and make adjustments. I’d like the opportunity to introduce myself to each new partner and provide some details about my physical characteristics. This would certainly provide the opportunity to assess the new situation and the individual involved. 

While dancing in the dark may be an interesting experiment to educate the sighted world about the reality in which the visually impaired live, leaders can’t be “in the dark” when they lead. They have to be informed of the facts and aware of the situations and the people around them if they want to be effective. They have to know who and what they are leading!

Leaders can’t make assumptions without the facts. I admit, I was guilty of this when I assumed I’d have to dance in the dark with strangers. It turns out that I danced with my husband while, like everyone else dancing, bumping into other couples on the dance floor. And the experience was “eye-opening!”

Follow Your Dreams

Did you see the recent story of the seven-year-old Chloe Bridgewater from the UK who sent a handwritten letter to the "Google Boss"? She said she wanted to work at Google but also in a chocolate factory and "do swimming in the Olympics." She shared that she's good with computers and is "very good in class and good at spelling and reading and my sums." She thanked him for reading her letter and said the only other letter she'd ever sent was to Father Christmas!

Her letter was amazing for a seven-year-old, but that's not the best part of this story!

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, answered her letter, saying in part, "I think if you keep working hard and following your dreams, you can accomplish everything you set your mind to do-from working at Google to swimming at the Olympics." He said he looked forward to receiving her application to work at Google when she's finished with school. How wonderful that Mr. Pichai took the time to encourage this child when he told her "follow your dreams."

This story made me think about the importance of encouraging people, including kids, to dream big. I know a lot of people who had big dreams as children and some who still hold on to those dreams. But what happens to most of our childhood dreams? Reality sets in and we make decisions that take us farther and farther from our dreams.

What if we could do better as a society and help our kids, like Chloe, reach their dreams? What if we not only encouraged our kids to dream big but our grown-up employees as well?

If you haven't seen the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, please see it! I'm delighted that schools across the US are taking kids to see it as a field trip. It is the "incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains of one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit." The movie brings to life the story told beautifully by Margot Lee Shetterly in her book Hidden Figures. These women certainly followed their dreams and helped change the world, and look what they accomplished without a lot of support from people around them.

Who works for you or who do you know who could use a word of encouragement today to follow their dreams? Maybe there's something you've always wanted to do yourself, so here's a word of encouragement from me to you! Go for it and let us know what happens!

You Can't Factor Out Judgment

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.  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.

Managing employees is an art, not a science.  More importantly, it’s not a sport or a game.  What doesn’t work is an approach or “algorithm” that shows if this happens, than that is the action you have to take, 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?”

Not every situation is going to fit into the same neat, tidy package.  It is critical to consider of all the issues and facts before making a decision and judgment cannot be factored out of the decision-making process. Not all situations are the same and not all employees are the same. 

While managers can’t expect a perfect algorithm for making employee decisions, employees can’t expect to have everything spelled out for them – like the employee who once said during a disciplinary meeting, “No one ever told me I couldn’t do that.”  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.

Boomerangs and Prodigals

Whenever there is a high-profile termination in the news, the question that tends to arise is:   “Should an organization consider someone rehiring a terminated employee?”  Clearly, there can be both good and bad experiences rehiring someone has left the organization. 

If someone has left voluntarily, it may appear to be an easy decision.  Or is it?  Employees who have left the organization under good terms and were valued for their contributions clearly have an advantage.  Employees who were laid off because their jobs were eliminated are another example.  They know the company and more importantly, the employer knows them, their skills and their work ethics.  The Big Book of HR talks about companies that stay in touch with former employees.  Maintaining such a relationship is a great recruitment strategy. 

Corporate alumni networks can make it easier for former employees to become future employees.  Alumni networks and systems provide a vehicle to recruit former employees or get referrals for other talent, as former staffers can view job openings on the site and share links with contacts via social networking sites.  Former employees are attractive for several reasons:

·       they are more productive than completely new hires

·       they are easier to re-integrate into the firm 

·       they are cheaper to recruit and hire (no external recruiters nor extended resume reviews)

·       they tend to have better retention rates because they have seen other less-attractive options.

On the other hand, there will be employees who resigned yet may not have left on the best of terms or been highly valued.  There are also employees who have been asked to leave because of conduct or performance issues.  In these circumstances, an organization should proceed with care.

If you are trying to decide to rehire an employee from this second group, first consider what the circumstances were that led to the termination? Rehiring might make sense if the employee had personal issues that have been resolved, was fired for poor performance but since has acquired new skills, or is applying for a position that suits them better.

It’s not necessarily having that short [organizational] memory but looking at a new situation and the facts that exist now when the decision is being made and not the facts that led to a prior decision.  As with the employee who left in good standing, the advantage is that the employer is gaining someone who knows the organization and its culture.  The learning curve may not be as steep as bringing in someone who is brand new.

Other questions she says HR should consider:

• Was the termination challenged?

• Was there an equal employment opportunity charge?

• How would the rehire affect other employees?

• Did the behavior that prompted the termination, such as chronic lateness, hurt co-workers?

• Has the former employee maintained a good reputation within the community?  In other words, he or she has not been bad-mouthing the employer.

• Is the former employee returning to the same department or working in a different part of the company, where the employee’s history is unknown?

• What kind of message are you sending if you rehire a fired employee?  Could it be a morale booster because the employer is being perceived as fair, giving people an opportunity to recover from past mistakes?

Other considerations for the employer include:

·       Do you brief managers on how to respond to some of the employee questions that might arise about rehiring the fired employee so they do not say anything that breeches confidentiality or violates company policy?

·       Do you have some kind of communication guide so that everybody is saying the same thing if it is questioned, even if it’s to note that we’re not going to talk about an employee’s past history? 

You may want to get some legal advice before entertaining bringing the person back in certain situations. 

While the learning curve may be short, don’t attempt to shortcut the hiring process if there is some negative history.   Consider all qualified candidates.  Review these former employees as you would any new (unknown) hire.  If there was a pattern of poor behavior in the past, can you determine if the pattern has been broken?  If performance was the issue, is there evidence that the employee has gathered new skills or developed a better record with subsequent employers?  Check recent references and gather as much information as you can so you can make an informed decision.

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.