Zero Signature

I've seen them in every organization I've worked. You have too. Leaders who have been around a long time, or not so long, but appear to accomplish next to nothing. Sure, they come in each day, and plod to and from the standing meetings with their standing agendas that pass as regularly as the seasons.

What do these people stand for? Anything? Beyond the standard corporate line of "being committed" and "willing to do whatever is necessary" I'm not seeing any tangible end result. Are you?

These people have a zero signature.

The Other Zero
I've seen them in every organization I've worked. You have too. Leaders who have been around a long time, or not so long, but appear to accomplish so much without leaving a trail of destruction in their path.

They hit all of the meetings just like I do, but they end up being so productive that you can't tell the systems and processes have been touched, but suddenly they're working so much better.

They just work so well. How do they do it?

These people have a zero signature too.

How About You
Think about your own leadership practice. What is the quality of the work you produce? Can anybody tell? Which zero signature do you leave?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Jam Session...HR Style

When I was younger…much younger…I played in several rock bands. We were okay (that's a bit of a stretch), but it was certainly fun. Singing and playing for several dozen to several hundred people was a thrill. As I reflect back now I can see that even if the quality of our music was not going to land us a record deal, we created a tremendous amount of energy simply by being focused on the same goal. Through hours of rehearsals and live performances we were able to get people, and ourselves, fired up.

Why can’t that same jam session feel carry over into the workplace? Specifically, why can’t HR have its own jam session of sorts to create some energy around the employment experience?

Well my friends, I'm here to tell you it can.

That's Too Touchy-Feely

It seems to me that when old school leaders are faced with the reality that they must connect with their teams in a meaningful way (read here => they have no idea how to do it) they default to criticizing those skills as being soft and mushy. In reality the only thing soft and mushy is...well...them.

Getting out and connecting with people, greeting them with a smile and a loud hello, remembering their names, and stopping to chat if the moment is right are all hallmarks of a confident leader that can be trusted. The leader who is simply too busy to make eye contact and come out of their office to show their human side becomes a mystery to the employees. Hence the term "empty suit."

"How in the world are employees expected to trust, follow, and help to implement changes if they've never met or even seen the leaders who are driving the change agenda?"

How About You
As an HR leader do you show your enthusiasm for your work? Can your staff tell? How about the employees that don't report to you, but are part of the larger organization? You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be real.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Work, I'm Gonna Leave You

How do you feel about your job? Does it make you want to get up in the morning and make an impact; or, does it make you want to hit that snooze button so hard it breaks off your alarm? What concerns me the most about these two ends of the spectrum are those employees, particularly in leadership, who are caught in between.

They're working...but they've checked out.

Expectations Matter

One of the lessons I've learned as I get, ahem, more mature in my years on the job, is that I'm not going to have fun doing everything at work. There are parts of my job that I really dislike. There are other parts that get me absolutely fired up. What has helped me get through the challenging parts is the way I set my own expectations about work.

If I expect every day to be filled with energy, creative new strategies and great results then I'm going to be bitterly disappointed. However, when I build into my expectations that I will have to power through some boring, mundane, and sometimes difficult work but I know it won't last forever, I'm much more satisfied.

Don't Leave
When expectations and the reality of our jobs are not aligned, nothing good happens. We become less interested and committed. Typically work product suffers and relationships that might have been strong at one point now become fodder for office gossip. Worst of all, the impact on our teams is obvious and immediate.

"When we lose the confidence of our team, we have nothing as leaders."

How About You
Have you already checked out? Have you noticed a colleague that has become disengaged or seems to be somewhat distant? It's time to step in and be a resource. Being a resource is still part of Human Resources, right?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Do Nothing

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

Have you seen anything that troubles you lately? An employee being treated unfairly by a powerful leader? Maybe you overheard an innuendo that you know makes an employee uncomfortable? What about a colleague being overwhelmed with their workload and you realize you can step in and help with your team?

Did you do anything about it; or, was it easier to just keep your head down and stay quiet?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Speed Demon

I hate waiting. I hate slow decision-makers. And I loathe analysis-paralysis. My work life is moving so fast (just like yours is) and I don't want to waste time waiting for decisions to be made so I can get the results I want so badly.

I want it all. I want it all now.

And I absolutely can not stand it when I'm the reason decisions aren't being made.

Speed Kills
In sport speed is the ultimate conqueror. Whether you're the fastest skater on a hockey club, fastest base runner in baseball, or fastest car in qualifying; if no one can catch you, then you're simply unstoppable.

At work, if you're able to be the most productive, and most thorough, and most efficient and also be willing to take calculated risks then you're probably unstoppable too. Unless you go too fast.

There is another meaning to the term speed kills. It has to do with going so fast that even though you've convinced yourself that you're doing the right thing, you've actually overestimated your own skill set and are now heading for disaster. That could be in a car, or during a game, or at work.

How About You
How do you balance the need for timely decision-making and avoiding unnecessary risks? Have you embraced such a risk-averse approach that no one looks to you for leadership; or, are you seen as someone who can understand the dynamics of a situation quickly and actually decide to move through it?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.




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It's Not Enough

It's not enough...

• to whine
• to complain
• to deflect ownership
• to point fingers
• to "take under review"
• to avoid risk
• to watch others
• to do nothing
• to expect someone else to step up
• to be ordinary
• to simply hope
• to ignore difference
• to make excuses
• to keep doing what I've been doing

You and I were meant to do more. Start today.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Pinterest: The New Diversity Battleground?

I've only recently started using Pinterest. There was so much buzz about it, and since I try to stay reasonably current I did what any smart person would do...I called Craig Fisher to learn the real story. He was gracious with his time and shared some insights that I'll be putting into practice shortly from a recruitment perspective.

So off I went to learn, experiment, and play with this new fangled tool...and a discussion of sorts started playing out on one of my Pinterest boards. Apparently the threat of treating all people with respect has spilled over onto this new social site.

People Are People, Right?

Maybe it's just me, but if the people who are so threatened by our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends, coworkers and neighbors would just put that same energy into helping people verus attacking people, imagine what our world would look like?

How About You

Are you as surprised as I am that the threat of treating all people equally has now spilled over onto Pinterest? What do you do when confronted with this type of narrow-minded bigotry?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.




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