Workplace Archives |

#Leadership

By Kimberly March 6, 2013 Leadership

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off. Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It’s inevitable, if you’re honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset. Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally “nicely” regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only people you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.

- Colin Powell

10 years in your current role? You’re stale.

By Kimberly December 5, 2012 Career

And stagnant. Your resume probably reads like a job description.

When recruiters and hiring managers stop being human, they’ll stop having biases. Biases are all over the place, legal and illegal — we just don’t know about them.

My biases are centered on wanting to see candidates who have gotten bored in their roles and made the choice to move on. Not because they were laid off and had to move on. I’m looking for the folks who are hungry to do more — striving to be that rock-star with an organization. (I broke my own rule there — I hate the word “rock-star.” Sorry ’bout that.)

Now if you’ve spent 10 years with the same organization but have progressed within the company and held different roles — that’s good to see! Please read carefully:

When you don’t step out of your comfort zone, you don’t grow. Period, end of story.

When you get too comfy in a job, that’s all it is — a job. You show up for work every day, do what’s expected of you, don’t make waves and your bills get paid. It’s all good.

Or is it?

It just shows that you can do what many Americans are already doing every day. But as a prospective hiring manager I’ll take the liberty of stealing Ms. Jackson’s lyrics and ask you, “What have you done for me lately?“ Or what have you done for your current organization that you can bring to mine? Can you show what your accomplishments are? If you can, you’re on track.

You’re only as good as your last gig and the accomplishments under your belt within that gig.

Am I condoning job hopping? No. And my definition of job hopping might be different from yours. I view job hopping as folks who change jobs within a one-year period. I think people who change jobs every 2 to 3 years is a good sign.

Here’s why different job experiences are good for you:

You’re exposed to different working styles and personalities of several managers and co-workers.
This comes in handy when navigating the waters of corporate politics — which you will encounter at some point.

It’s good for your self-esteem and will keep you sharp within your industry.
When you bring your awesome talent to a new organization, you bring fresh eyes and new ideas. They’ll appreciate that and you’ll feel valued because you’ll be valued.

Varied workplace environments give you the best education — experience.
You can be in the same occupation and industry but it doesn’t mean that every company does the same thing in the same way. They don’t. Learning new ways of doing your work and being more productive is always something you can build on with a new organization. Staying at one place too long puts you in a silo and you risk being viewed as not being flexible or easily adaptable to change. It’s no secret in business that the only thing that stays the same is CHANGE.

You can decide what types of companies you like to work in.
Do you like big corporate organizations or do you prefer smaller companies? Being exposed to several organizations that have different protocols will allow you to continue learning. And while some employees never catch a glimpse of their company’s CEO, others can mosey on in to their CEO’s office and chat about the weekend. You decide which one fits you best.

This goes for CEOs too.
Just because you’re the head honcho doesn’t mean you don’t get stale. You do. You can ride on the coattails of a successful project for only so long before you’ll be looked upon to come up with the company’s next big thing. My personal bias is that CEOs should be flushed out every 5 to 7 years just for the perspective of bringing fresh eyes to the table.

Bring it.

Be credible or be quiet, please

By Kimberly September 1, 2012 Career

I came across an article on Salary.com called, 10 Things You Should Never Tell Your Boss. The first page basically said something that I do believe in — we need to be aware that whether we like it or not, our actions can impact how we’re perceived and judged by others at work.

BUT, as I started scrolling through the article, I found some of the “things” listed in the article to be completely absurd and ridiculous!

While I agree there are certain parts of our lives that can be shared too much and leave ourselves open to unnecessary judgement, managers and employees are humans and life happens around us whether we like it or not.

There are life issues we can’t control such as illness, caring for our young and old, divorce, etc. The last time I checked, there was no such thing as work-life balance and many progressive workplaces demonstrate and respect diversity and inclusion, empathy and are capable of being human with others.

Employees should not have to live under a veil of “shhh!” and fear being judged if they’re going through a serious personal issue. At the end of the day, if an employee is adding value, most reasonable managers won’t judge someone’s personal life as indicated in this post.

That’s issue #1.

As I proceeded to check out the bio of the writer, I learned that she’s a self-employed freelance writer who writes about niche topics like weddings, gaming, pets, women’s issues, technology, home decor, travel and tourism, apartment living, and personal finance. While that’s great, I’m trying to figure out how a freelance writer can be a credible source on how employees should, or should not behave in Corporate America.

That’s issue #2.

So before dropping her an email and asking about her experiences on this topic, I did something that Salary.com probably didn’t bother doing — a little due diligence. I found the writer’s profile on LinkedIn and while it seems there is some work experience in an office environment (I’m speculating based on the name of the position) she’s been a freelance writer and student for the last 9 years.

As I shared the article and my ~~objective~~ opinion about both of these issues on Facebook, a colleague of mine read it left a comment that was so golden and heartfelt that I have to share it:

Sing it Kimberly! This kind of insulting drivel might drive a little traffic to salary.com but anyone with two functional neurons can see how sick, misguided and backwards the advice is. BRING YOURSELF TO WORK!

Gotta love that — bring YOURSELF to work!

Another colleague of mine got fired up and she reached out to the folks at Salary.com asking them to justify the qualification process for their writers. This was the response she received:

We have dozens of contributors from different backgrounds. And they often disagree, because a lot of these issues are opinion-based. For instance, some of our writers advise people in job interviews to never bring up money first, while others say that can work to your advantage. Some of our resume experts advocate a 1-page resume, while others say that’s antiquated. I understand you don’t agree with a lot of the points made in this article, and that’s fine. You’re not alone. That’s why we have a comment section which often results in an illuminating and informative discussion that helps people even more.

Now that’s a generic response circumventing a direct question. There is no process.

Doesn’t credibility matter when the writers you hire may not have relevant experience on the topic? If it’s simply an opinion, say so. I found it to be especially disappointing since Salary.com is a division of Kenexa — who has been around a long time and is a respectable staple in the HR tech world.

It’s impossible to know what the day-to-day management relationship is between Kenexa and Salary.com but from the outside looking in, Salary.com must be the red-headed stepchild of Kenexa because I have no doubt that credibility matters to Kenexa.

Writers and subject matter experts are not synonymous. It doesn’t even mean they have direct experience in what they’re writing about. Do your own due diligence.

And if you’re a writer, please use credible sources; share your own experiences or state that you’re sharing your opinion.

It’s the right thing to do for readers. My colleagues and I thank you in advance.

Managers, you gotta get in “the gray!”

By Kimberly July 6, 2012 Career, Leadership

Congratulations — you’ve been promoted! You have a new title that includes the word “Manager.” Or maybe you’re fancy and have a Director or VP title. It’s gratifying that your hard work is being recognized so you can fast-track the climb of the proverbial corporate ladder.

Regardless of your title, when you step into a role with the responsibility of managing others, your job now splits into TWO jobs. You have your own position’s deadlines and accountabilities and now you’re responsible for supporting a team. Supporting a team means mentoring, assisting, disciplining and basically being a work-parent to folks who will be looking to you for guidance.

Everyone who works for you is different and by different, I don’t necessarily mean their jobs — I mean as humans. That means they’ll work differently, communicate in their own style, have different stresses and have overall needs. Just like you.

The first time you have an employee issue, provided it’s not an illegal one, please don’t run for the employee handbook. I also don’t recommend going to your HR professional unless you’re sure they’re the anti policy-police type of individual. It’s embarrassing to the profession but I’ve met my share of HR folks who aren’t capable of creative thinking and expect employees to behave like little corporate soldiers regardless of how their lives are going outside of the office.

Every single employee issue is unique and issues should be treated that way too. Take the time to listen to your team member and instead of seeing the solution as either black or white ask yourself,

“How can we reach a mutually beneficial solution and how would I want to be treated if I was the one in this situation?”

It’s not always a fast process and it may not be the easiest path but the payoff will teach you empathy, creative thinking and problem solving. Facing problems and working towards solutions related to humans are never black or white. It’s okay to get in the gray. In fact, get comfortable with the gray so that it comes naturally, as a part of your work style.

I’m not saying to embrace slackers. I’m not encouraging you jump through hoops when a situation turns into abuse. I’m saying that being able to jump into the gray areas and treat each situation as unique as it is without applying a canned solution will provide you with long-term rewards.

You’re a real problem solver. You’ll be an excellent leader. You’ll be remembered. You’ll have loyalty.

« Previous