Achievement In Spite Of

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Today I’m posting over at Performance I Create sharing a story that truly inspired me. It’s a story about a young lady who is definitely achieving against all odds. Here’s a sample:

When looking at teams and evaluating performance and success, we oftentimes overlook the unsung and unlikely heroes and heroines that may not be the biggest, fastest or strongest.

There are employees that are expected to succeed and sometimes fall short because the expectations are set too high. There are others…..

Please click HERE to view the rest of the post and please share.

ROI Begets Passion

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Have you ever encountered a leader that had so much passion for the business that they lacked compassion for their people? Management expecting employees to bust through the door on day one willing to die for the organization? Seen execs that frowned upon employees for not happily and voluntarily putting in 60+ hours a week and weekends? Had tenured co-workers look at you funny for not jumping up and down excited during staff meetings? Ever had your calm demeanor mistaken for being nonchalant and lacking passion?

I think that we all have at some point. And I believe that those at the receiving end of those types of expectations know that employees have to grow into that level of passion for a company. And in order to justify the sacrifices, they have to feel and see the Return On Investment (ROI) for their efforts. Dangling carrots disguised as promotion and advancement no longer cut it. Employees, just like employers, are seeking ROI to determine if the relationship will be beneficial sooner rather than later…and that ROI will create the passion they’re looking for.

True passion is built through demonstrated trust, respect and flexibility. It is created by ensuring resources, access and reward. While it is very beneficial to have employees that share the same level of commitment and excitement as management, leaders have to be heavily involved by teaching and developing employees to get there. Leaders and peers have to be a part of getting new and old employees to that level of excitement, not by forcing one’s own passion down their throats, but by acclimating them and demonstrating why it’s worth the long hours. Why its worth missing a child’s field day at school. Why its worth calling a spouse and saying I’ll be home later…we’ll have to change our plans. Not just expecting it because “that’s what leaders do.”

When one’s passion is forced on employees, it creates a disdain and disengagement because they are more concerned about how they are being perceived rather than how much they’re producing. People stop idolizing the work ethic of leaders and start looking at them like they’re crazy. They stop admiring the sacrifices made to start and grow a business, and began to wonder if they’ve joined a cult.

photo (3)So don’t give employees 150% of that over-the-top passion right off the bat. Don’t floor it; go 0 to 150 gradually so the engine doesn’t get worn out too soon. They’re not ready for all of that at once, nor will that inspire them to do their best, giving you the return that you want. Show enough of it that they’re not weirded out by you. Show enough to give glimpses of something to look forward to. Show enough to encourage fighting through communication failures and confusion. Show enough to keep them from watching the clock and wanting to rush through life to the weekend. Give it in stages so that employees want to buy in to the organizational philosophy and not feel as if drinking the Kool-Aid is the only way to get management approval. Just be real, and in turn you’ll get employees that will grow into being passionate about your company and not just those that act like it to impress the brass.

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Embrace That Social Media Thing!

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Bloggers, Social Media experts and HR professionals alike constantly discuss the importance of Social Media and how it ties into the present and future of Human Resources.  It has given voice to the voiceless, opinions to the indifferent and confidence to those that oftentimes felt irrelevant. Social Media, in its many forms, has definitely been and will continue to be a game changer for employee and employers.

social-mediaWho isn’t making it to the Social Media #SoMe mountaintop and witnessing all of it’s glory? Those practitioners that refuse to adapt. Those old-school thinking leaders that believe there’s only one way to communicate and only one way of learning.  Those leaders that feel as if we should keep doing things the way they have been done for 35 years. I mean, really?!? Who needs that Facespace, +Google, Mybook and Twit stuff anyway? #keepupwiththetimes

In my humble opinion #IMHO, I believe that #HR practitioners should not only keep up with how the world, industries and work-forces are changing through Social Media, but use it to keep their fingers on the pulse of their company’s employees. With 500 million worldwide twitter users, 1 billion worldwide Facebook users, 200 million worldwide LinkedIn users, etc., etc., (all according to Wikipedia) chances are that you have employees utilizing this new information superhighway…and they’re probably talking about you for not being on board!

Do you know what’s happening?

I know that people are trying to escape your company because I see their networking efforts and resumes online…all while you’re passing out surveys about #retention and trying to rate engagement. I’ll tell you a secret, they’re not gonna turn it in and if they do, they’ve lied on it.

Nothing beats the #unfiltered rants that employees post on Facebook around 5:30 pm every day at quittin’ time. While it’s iffy what specific action can be taken based on a frustration-filled status update, it’s still good to know:

  • What mumblings and grumblings are coming from employees
  • That some of your managers are ticking people off on a consistent basis
  • That employees have strong opinions about processes and policies that have been implemented

If we don’t know how to navigate the channels that our employees are using, what messages are in the channels and who is being reached in each, how can we ensure that our policies and messages are reaching our intended audience?

Paper doesn’t update itself

There is so much information and so much knowledge to be gained by venturing out and discovering new media. Card catalogs and those old leather bound volumes in our offices (while they do look cool on the shelf) will not keep us equipped to reach the new age employee. We must meet our #workforce where they are, at the point of their needs and at their level of understanding. As laws change and as new information is gained on relevant topics, those that need it (HR practitioners) must be seeking it out and connecting with those that are in the know for deeper insight and for practical application.

Just imagine how valuable and effective HR practitioners would be if we were consistently able to combine and use for the power of good:

  • the latest technology, networks and resources
  • forward thought processes and best practices
  • the ability to relate to and reach our employees AND
  • all of those years of experience

Companies could no longer deny or question our value to their organizations.

Managing and advising in vacuums and bubbles will not yield the results we desire and need. Working while fearing the elements of the outside world and Social Media are a sure way of being left behind in any industry, especially in Human Resources. Old and traditional methods of communication and learning will yield old and traditional results. Employees are becoming more technologically savvy and know how to get more and more information, oftentimes running straight to the stuff that we’re reading. So be sure to get to it first!

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Cultivating Potential

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Today I’m posting over at Performance I Create, touching on the importance of promoting internal growth. Here is a sample…..

We all want our organizations to be successful. In our perfect worlds, employees are happy, money is coming in, our reputations in the community are in tact and we are leaving legacies.  But in the real word, we make inconsistent decisions on the fly. We play favorites depending on who’s involved and what can be gained.

Click HERE for the full article.  Enjoy and share!

Check out my post and those of my fellow contributors all year long for relevant, in-your-face, performance altering insight!

Success Without Succession? Not Happenin’

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At a Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) event recently, I sat through a wonderful presentation about succession planning on steroids. The company had developed and successfully implemented a Mentoring Program that trained and groomed their future C-Suite. It was mentioned that over 80% of their C-Suite employees came from this wildly successful and competitive program. So competitive that the acceptance to application ratio was 1 to 150. They said that in comparison, Harvard University’s was 1 to 115.

While the session was practical, informative and everyone seemed to enjoy it, everyone in the room had to be thinking, “Man! Our company sucks! We have someone leave and we’re up the creek. And why don’t I have a mentor in my workplace?”

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We already know that organizations should clearly map out succession. We already know how the lifeblood of an organization is the development of its people and how training is critical to its sustained organizational success. So why don’t more organizations have these types of systems and programs in place?

You couldn’t show me that if you tried

Everyone can’t teach. Even those that are the best in their industries have issues showing others how to be successful. You know why the best employees don’t always make the best leaders…because their techniques are their techniques and they might not work for the next person. They know how to execute with what they have and how to focus while minimizing outside distractions. You know what the outside distraction is now that they’re a manager? You!

Job security ain’t just the dude in the uniform and fake badge

With the job market as funny as it is, people are doing whatever they can to hold on to their jobs, and they should. But from a business stand point, we need those tenured members of our workforce to share the history and knowledge of our companies if we’re going to carry on. If you’re the only one that knows:

  • how a certain process works
  • who to contact in case of this or that
  • where all of the skeletons are buried

what are we to do when you become the next skeleton. While you’re dying, you’re killin’ us!! Stop being stingy and selfish and show us how to run the frickin’ reports! Being counted on as the only “Go-to” is only cool until you retire and the department has to scramble and start from scratch.

Hot air rises

I can B.S. with the best of ‘em, but when it comes to our employees and their professional futures, we cannot afford to simply give them lip service and empty promises when it relates to their development. Because of our smoothness, we coaxed them into to joining our “movement”, jumping on this train to nowhere by selling them on the idea that they’d go with us every step of the way, learning how to wheel, deal and conquer just like us. Unfortunately, because we are so busy making moves, we just do without taking to time to tutor. We assume that they will learn how to be like us through osmosis and from just being in our presence. One of the quickest ways to disengage and loose (mentally and literally) your “stars” is to sell them lofty visions and then leave them to fend for themselves.

Before we can start planning for succession, we have to ensure that our leadership are actually committed to the idea of grooming, mentoring and developing. If there is not going to be any real time invested into our future leaders, the old should just plan on never retiring. The commitment level of those spear-heading the programs will directly effect how engaged the men-tees will be. If they are unengaged and not being challenged, they’ll become impatient thinking that they can take over now before they’re ready or they’ll just leave. Finally, leadership’s buy-in will dictate how relevant the information is that’s being shared and ultimately how sturdy the foundation is of the organization going forward. Now we just need to decide how long we want this place to last and actually do something about it.