Blinded By Me You Can't See A Thing

I'm finding it hard to write lately. So many conflicting thoughts. An endless stream of "news" that has become intolerable. New norms for work and community that aren't normal in any way. 

I've wondered if there are blind spots in all of this that are holding me back? Is there something bigger happening that I'm simply not noticing because of...well...everything?

What do you think? How are you finding your way through the new, temporary, but maybe beginning of a whole new way of life?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Developing Internal Blogging Teams

So, you've finally decided to execute on a robust employer brand strategy. Your career site is actually a real site, not just a job list, you're pushing content several times a week and distributing it across multiple dedicated HR social channels.

Well done!

But you're still missing out on a great recruitment, retention and recognition opportunity.

Our People...Our Most Important Asset
So many leaders talk about how important their people are, yet I rarely see those same "important" people writing about their experiences at work. 

We tell stories about them, that is a cornerstone of any good plan. However, when was the last time you saw the actual employees telling their own story?

It's not as risky as you might think

Plan...then Execute

There are several basic steps that will serve as the foundation of your internal blogging team structure.

1 - Identify several employees who have an interest in building their brand, supporting the organization, and aren't shy! Align the team members with your organizational needs (recruitment, expansion, growth.)

How do you find them? Ask!

2 - Meet with the employees and describe your goals, do's and don'ts, and reinforce that they are not uploading content, formatting, or publishing. HR handles all of those pieces. They simply need to send an email "post" to you each month.

How do I support them? Stay connected, meet for coffee, and talk through their challenges!

3 - Make sure your bloggers have up to date LinkedIn profiles, twitter accounts, and hopefully, Instagram accounts as well. If you're going to be a blogger...you need to be in the social media space!

How do I make sure this happens? Meet with them and get them set up on the spot!

How About You

I've had tremendous success using this strategy, and you can too! It doesn't matter if you're a blogger or not. The goal is to differentiate your organization from the competition. Additional benefits include helping you to create a culture that truly recognizes and showcases your employees! Now, what are you waiting for?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Going Social Transformed My #HealthcareHR Career

I didn't get into social media tools because I thought they were cool. Quite honestly, it was out of desperation. My hospital at the time had far too many vacant positions, and the traditional #HealthcareHR tactics simply failed.

Just as they still do today.

Bold Leaders Are the Only Leaders
I literally had to make a bold move or risk compromising the quality of care provided to the patients at my hospital. That was the way I looked at it. I may not have been a direct care giver, but HR plays a vital role in the patient care process. If someone tries to tell you something different, fire them.

That's right. For those HR leaders that still believe they can use approaches from ten years ago and actually make a dent in the challenges they face, they are kidding themselves...

...and are losing the respect of their "team" (if they still actually have a team.)

The Truth Hurts
Am I being critical today? Actually, no. I'm begging you to lift your head up from the comfort of your policy manual and the noise from your over-priced ad agency and make a change.

Change yourself. Change your HR culture. Change your organization for the better.

How About You
You have the power...today...to radically transform your company. Yes, you. Start by allowing yourself the freedom to explore and learn new tools. Release yourself of the burden of anything traditional, and embrace growth, performance and success.

You can do it.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.
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Finding Your Voice

Have you heard this phrase? ....finding your voice...

It's often associated with writing. It's intended to make the connection between what you think and believe as a person, and your ability to express those thoughts and beliefs in a blog post, article, or book. It can also apply to speaking as well. 

Have you found your voice?

Step One: Who Are You

I think the most overlooked part of the "voice" strategy is stopping to define who we really are as people. It doesn't matter if we are in formal leadership roles or not; but for those of us who lead others it is a requirement.

Yes, requirement.

What is important to us?

What do we stand for?

What is so reprehensible that we will immediately address it regardless of the situation?

What do we want to achieve in our lives?

Who is most important to us?

How do we think about work?

What role do employees play in our prioritization process?

How comfortable are we taking risks?

There are many more questions, but without answers to these questions at the outset, it will be impossible to define "who you are" and thus express your voice.

Step Two: Start

Fear is a terrible demon in the world of leadership. Fear stops us from doing the right thing. It stops us from holding people accountable. It forces us to give people one more chance (for the 10th time) simply because we do not have what it takes to lead effectively.

Fear destroys.

However, once you begin on your path of expressing your voice something very powerful happens. Fear disappears. It's as if you have taken control of your entire world. You now make the decisions, and take risks, and hold people accountable. 

The anxiety about political repercussions no longer matter. Why? Because the other weak leaders around you are watching real leadership in action, and they simply can not challenge it.

Your voice does all of these things.

How About You

Today is a good day to answer the questions outlined above. Tomorrow is shaping up to be the perfect day to start expressing your voice. Don't you think?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses. 

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The Power of Internal Blogging Teams

For those HR leaders that have jumped into 2016, one of the common problems they face is the non stop need for original content to support their corporate recruitment marketing strategy.

Content, Content, Content
As I survey the #HealthcareHR landscape, it is quite obvious that formal recruitment marketing approaches are still...well...nonexistent. The handful of organizations that embrace this concept are typically the ones that outmaneuver their competition in a big way.

One of the most effective ways to generate original content is through the use of internal blogging teams.

Consider this example:

"I asked a brand new nurse to blog about her experiences for a year. The exciting stuff, the boring stuff, the scary stuff, all of it. I helped her with each post, but it was her voice and message. She was an instant success, and her posts had thousands of views on our HR blog."

It can be done. The blogging site was free. Repurposing the posts across multiple social media channels was free. The results were phenomenal.

Building Your Team

As you think about who should be part of your team, focus on your high priority hiring areas, as well as any other part of the organization that is part of your core business. Even if you are not blogging about a particular department or function, you will still differentiate yourself from the competition in a positive way.

Let's face it...most organizations do not trust their employees to tell their story. They rely on ultra-polished messages from traditional sources. Instead, use your employees to paint your employer brand picture and leverage the skills of the team to ensure confidentiality and professionalism.

How About You

Are you ready to jump out of the 1980s and launch a robust recruitment marketing strategy that both recruits and retains the talent you need? If the idea scares you I can help. I can tell you one thing is certain...your competition is hoping you don't change a thing.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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500 Miles An Hour

"Direction is more important than speed. We are so busy looking at our speedometers that we forget the milestones."

- Author Unknown

This is the 500th post on NoExcusesHR. I can hardly believe it. I can still feel the moment when I published my first post...a combination of excitement and fear. I wasn't a writer (that is still true today) but I knew I had a passion for leadership that had to find a release. This blog seemed to be the perfect outlet. I still feel that way four years later.
 
Staying True
As I revisited some of my early posts I realized the same passion, energy, and focus on leadership accountability that I had back then is stronger than ever now. 

While this site is never going to be anything extra special, it has become for me, a safe place to share my feelings with you. 

That may sound odd that a public website feels safe, but you have made me feel that way...

...and I am grateful...

Taking A Stand
Over the years my confidence has grown. Not so much in my ability to write, but rather what I feel I need to write about. Issues around human rights, discrimination and racism are evident throughout my posts. 

At first it seemed a bit awkward to address some of these issues, but those feelings quickly dissipated as I recognized the need for a leadership voice in my role to take a stand publicly.

For me, taking a stand is a requirement of leadership, not a preference.

500 More 
As I think about the next 500 posts I don't feel intimidated or worried; in fact I'm quite energized! Consider this...has the leadership void been filled? Are all employees being treated fairly? Is the scourge of bigotry wiped clean off the Earth?

Alas, no...so I'm guessing that between my constant failings, and the struggles of those around us all, I will be able to find the proper inspiration going forward.

How About You
When you reach your next "milestone" whatever that may mean for you, think about what it really represents. Is it just another candle on a cake or turn of the page on the calendar? Or, do milestones represent something much more powerful in our lives?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Hey Leader...Grab A Towel!

I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking, speaking, and writing about effective leadership. It's been such a big part of my professional and personal life for so long that I don't really know anything else. Sometimes I'm convinced I've figured out the key pieces of being a leader...and at other times I feel like I'm just getting started.

...and that's where the trouble begins...

Title and Being Right
For many leaders having a fancy job title equates with their opinion always being the correct one. This is a colossal failure, and sadly happens regularly to those who find themselves with new authority or power.

Let's pause for a moment to remember what leaders are supposed to do. Our task is to guide, inspire, support and harness the power of the bright people around us. Our job is not to be an idea factory that squashes the creative genius of our teams.

Are you with me? It's not about us...it's about us leading our colleagues!

Title and Vision
Here's where thing get a little tricky. Leaders need to have a vision of how the team, department, organization or industry can be in the future. Their needs to be an inner drive to move toward that vision that gets the people around you fired up. 

However, the path to achieving that vision needs to be a shared process. When leaders who are unaccustomed to new found power, combine their enthusiasm with "their vision" we quickly find ourselves with a disengaged team and embarrassing credibility issues for the leader.

Remember the Emperor with no clothes? Well...you get my point.

How About You
Think about the leaders you work with...and think about your own leadership style. Is the combination of power and vision compromising your ability to inspire, support and leverage the team's creativity? 

If so, it might be time to reach for a towel and cover up.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Blogging, Work and Choosing Not to Suck at Leadership

When I started this blog my goal was to speak to one person --> me. My questions at the end of each post are mostly a challenge back to myself to react to what I've written. Sure, I love the many comments that have been added to the site over the years. But in reality, I'm the target audience.

For the most part that strategy has worked well. I've found that writing not only serves as a release, but also as a vehicle for me to process the challenges I face in my professional life. I also take advantage of the platform sometimes and discuss issues I feel strongly about (crappy meetings, racism, equal rights for our LGBT colleagues, etc..)

Work Is Hard
I love my job. But sometimes my job is hard. Maybe that is because I'm not doing well enough, maybe I have a lot more to learn, or maybe sometimes our jobs are supposed to be hard. I'm guessing it's a combination of all three factors. Blogging really helps in these instances.

Maybe you should try it?

Writing doesn't solve your problems, or help you identify a radical new approach that helps your company hit the quarterly earnings target. 

However, it does help organize what is happening in your world. Even if it's just a little problem that is stuck in your head. That alone may be a good enough reason to start writing through your problems, instead of just thinking through them.

Don't Suck
One of the unexpected outcomes of blogging, at least so far, is that once you publish your perspective on things, there is an unwritten sense of responsibility to live up to what has been put out on the web for all to see (or at least the small-but-mighty group of No Excuses readers!)

I don't want to suck at leadership...it's just too important. So I have to live by what I've written, and that is hard to do sometimes.

How About You
What strategies do you use to deal with the pressure of your work life? Have you ever considered writing down your challenges; or, perhaps even starting your own blog? For me, it has moved from being a project I was intrigued about doing, to something that I have to do...

...just for me.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Front Burners

I've been busy lately. I know, you have too...we all are busy. But for me, I've been busy, as in "I can't keep up with everything I want to do in life" busy. I don't like it. I particularly don't like it when it impacts my life here in the blogosphere. (Does anyone still use that word?...I have been away too long.) 

Priorities

One of the main reasons I'm all cranked up about my recent situation is actually good. My job is more demanding than ever; the assignments I'm working on are more challenging than ever, and the possibilities to do good work are everwhere. That's a pretty good reason to take a short hiatus from the blog...at least this blog.

There's No Place Like A Blog

Although it's been quiet here lately, that doesn't mean I've been able to stay quiet overall. I mean, seriously people! Me? Quiet? No way!

I've been blessed recently with the opportunity to participate on several terrific blogging sites including ceVoke, Jobsite, Performance I Create and HR Tact. (You might even see a rare guest post soon right here.) These are fanatastic projects, and it looks like one more is on the way. Maybe it's all too much? Or, maybe I'm not organized enough to embrace every single opportunity life brings my way. So what, I'm going for it anyway.

Work Is Like A Stove

My organization is going through a period of rapid and exciting change.  The result as I mentioned has been a little time away from the blog...but that time has passed.

I like to think about my organizational priorities this way...

"Imagine a huge stove with only front burners. That is how I need to prioritize all of my work right now. Everything is a front burner issue."

That approach may not be the healthiest. Nor is it what the so called experts claim is the best way to organize and rank the work you need to accomplish. Really, 3 to 5 items on my task list each day? Get real!

Guess what? Sometimes everything is a priority and you need to find a way to get it done!

How About You

What does the stove look like where you work? Is it an apartment sized hot plate? Or, do you look far to the left and far to the right and only see that one row of front burners too?

I'ts good to be back.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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300

I'm  a big fan of milestones. They don't really do anything, nor do they last for more than a brief moment in time. But milestones represent important things in life. Sometimes they are a major accomplishment such as years of service with the same employer. Other times they are reached when college degrees, professional certifications, or a promotion comes through.

And sometimes they sneak up on you.

300...and Counting

This post is number 300 for NoExcusesHR. You have all been incredibly generous with your time to take a glance at these posts, and pass them along. I am very humbled by those actions and want to say a heartfelt thank you.

How About You
Many of you who read these posts are bloggers too. Others of you may be thinking about it but haven't quite taken that first step. I say Go For It! Just think, before you know it you'll be writing number three-hundred too.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.




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