What Would People Say About You?

I started teaching another Undergrad course in Critical Thinking yesterday.  I am always excited about a new class and meeting all the students.  They are bright eyed as they begin a new course and see their own finish line approaching with each class they finish. 

As a part of my class structure everyone introduces themselves and provides a bio.   In case you didn’t already know, I teach in an online environment so I have students all over the Country and at times the world. The Bios are pretty interesting as student share where they have traveled, their past work experiences,  information about their families and information about why they are continuing their education.

As you may suspect, the majority are in school to finish a degree they may have started years ago.   Some had to leave school to take care of families, others state they weren’t ready to buckle down and do what it takes to make the grades.  Their discipline was lacking at the time.  Now that they are older and see that they can’t advance without a degree, they are back in school.

There is something to be said about being in the “real” world before continuing on with your education after High School.  For one, you are in school because it is your choice, not the choice of your parents.  Your commitment is with yourself.  The other is that you can get a feel for how business works.  Regardless of the business, there are employees, supervisors, managers, and the executive.  The impression that these people have on you is one that provides alerts for how you would like to be or not want to be.

My adult learners have all ready been in situations that provided them with either good examples of management skills or bad.  As an executive I certainly hope that my affects on people have been positive.  Based upon some of the discussions in my class, there are many managers that are giving the title of Management a bad name.  I hope that what ever level you are at in your company, you realize that someone is learning from you.  Now the question is are their learning good things or bad?

Schmidt, Google’s CEO States – “Everyone Needs a Coach”

Below is an article from CNNMoney.com  in which Fortune asked ” What is the Best Advice You Ever Got?”  Read what Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO had to say.

I must say…. I can’t agree more!

Eric Schmidt: Hire a coach

Age: 54
Chairman and CEO, Google

The advice that sticks out I got from John Doerr, who in 2001 said, “My advice to you is to have a coach.” The coach he said I should have is Bill Campbell. I initially resented the advice, because after all, I was a CEO. I was pretty experienced. Why would I need a coach? Am I doing something wrong? My argument was, How could a coach advise me if I’m the best person in the world at this? But that’s not what a coach does. The coach doesn’t have to play the sport as well as you do. They have to watch you and get you to be your best. In the business context a coach is not a repetitious coach. A coach is somebody who looks at something with another set of eyes, describes it to you in [his] words, and discusses how to approach the problem.

Once I realized I could trust him and that he could help me with perspective, I decided this was a great idea. When there is [a] business conflict you tend to get rat-holed into it. [Bill's] general advice has been to rise one step higher, above the person on the other side of the table, and to take the long view. He’ll say, “You’re letting it bother you. Don’t.”

–Interview by Adam Lashinsky

Do You Know Who Can Help You? Find An Alliance At Work!

You have a close friend or significant other to talk to about personal issues that may be bothering you, but who can you go to when you need to talk to someone at work?  When you are feeling down and uncertain of what steps to take next.  Do you have an alliance at work that will give you honest feedback and let you vent when that is all you need?  We all need to form relationships with key individuals that will offer us encouragement, push our limits, and stand by us even if we fail.  The work environment should be no different.  In fact, since this is where you make your living, it is just as important that you find your alliances.

I was meeting with a client and he stated that everyone in his group always gets along. “We are all on the same team.”  However, when I asked him who sat next to whom at meetings, who went to lunch together, who seemed to group together when a project needed to be done, his answer changed.  Of course we should all be on the same team working for the same common goal.  This is a good thing.  But, we are also human and by human nature some people just naturally migrate to one person or a group of people over another. The next question I asked was, would you go to the same people that you have lunch with to provide career advice and guidance? The answer was “probably not”.

What I am suggesting is that although you may have good friends at work make sure you also have alliances with those that can help you advance in your career.  Find yourself a mentor, coach and advocate that you trust, that you can look up to for both their knowledge and skills but also for what they are willing to share with you.  This same person does not have to have all the answers and should be willing to direct you to some one that does have the skills and knowledge in the areas where they may be lacking or not have as much strength.  No one is good at everything. Remember the saying “A jack of all trades and a master of none.”  You want to make sure that your alliance is willing to tell you when they don’t know something and then work with you to find someone that does.   One of the greatest compliments you can give is asking someone to be your mentor.  Keep your eyes open for that person or persons that can be your greatest alliance and watch yourself grow.

Who’s Job Is It?

I was giving a workshop to some young adults on conflict over the weekend.  This group of people volunteer their time once a year to spend it with children that are either infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.  The group was in an intensive two day long training program to prepare for the week ahead when the campers would be joining them.

I was sitting in on one of the sessions before I presented and the Camp Director provided a short, but powerful story to the group.  I would like to share it with you.

Who’s Job Is It?

There is a story about four people names Anybody, Somebody, Everybody and Nobody.  there was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.  Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have don it, but Nobody did it.  Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.l Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody didn’t do it.  It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Author Unknown

With all my years in the workforce I often wondered who the “They” department was.  You know when you ask someone something and they tell you “They” said this or that or “They” won’t let us …. fill in your own blanks.  I’m sure your company has a “They” department.  Perhaps now we can add Somebody, Nobody, Everybody and Anybody to their department as well.

Enjoy!

Generational Differences at Work – Are You Walking the Talk?

Sometimes it is more powerful to read the actual article.  For this reason I am supplying you with the following which is from a study performed by Right Management.  If you would like the entire study, you can contact : http://www.right.com

Northeast Employers Not Focused on Generational Issues during Recession – July 7, 2009

Most employers understand the importance of generational differences and have some awareness of how they may affect their organizations’ performance, but 78 percent are not “walking the talk” and instituting policies and procedures to address intergenerational differences in their organizations, according to new research conducted in the Northeast region of the United States by Right Management. The risk could lead to a disengaged workforce and unwanted turnover once the economy turns around. Right Management is the talent and career management arm within Manpower, a global company in employment services.

The research includes responses from 174 senior leaders and HR professionals in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, representing 143 organizations. The intent was to gain insight into the challenges and business practices that organizations are focusing on to engage multigenerational workforces.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents said their organizations were not implementing policies and procedures to address generational issues. Fifty-three percent said they had understanding “to a great extend” of the importance of these differences to their organizations, but only 58 percent said there was awareness “to some extent” that the issues even existed.

“While we found that most organizations agreed that understanding generational differences is important to their organizations, there appears to be a real lack of awareness around what generational differences are,” said Joy McGovern, Ph.D., principal consultant of talent management for the Northeast region and author of the study at Right Management. “Very few organizations are educating their workforces and implementing supporting policies and practices to aid all four of the generations in how best to work together.”

McGovern cautions that the looming talent shortage is a reality and it is only slightly masked by the current recession. “Most businesses today have four generations of employees working side by side. Each generation has widely different behaviors at every age. Each is driven by different values. Leaders need to harness the collective power of all of their talent and invest in having the generations work together for maximum contribution and productivity. Failure to recognize the unique needs of each generation may result in higher turnover once the economy rebounds and opportunities open up.”

“Without supporting generational issues with policies and practices, employers are putting themselves at risk for generational conflict and missing out on the increased productivity and creativity that can result from generational harmony,” warns McGovern. “Such discontent and misunderstandings will only intensify over the next several years as economies rebound and we feel the pain of several decades of lower birth rates, an increasingly aging population and a decrease in the available pool of working-age talent.”

The top three obstacles inhibiting the generations working successfully together were:

• Communication across the generations (22 percent).
• Differing life priorities (18 percent).
• Work style (18 percent).

Hidden Talent – Who is Your Shining Star?

Do you know where your talent lies?   When is the last time you talked individually to your employees and really asked them about their ideas for company’s success?  Just like that computer company that started out in a garage, your employees are loaded with talent that you may not know existed.  They have ideas on ways they would do their job more efficiently, more effectively if given the chance to change some of the standard “operating procedures”.

I was listening to Van Jones, White House Special Advisor as he stated that people have an idea in their minds like a Google, Yahoo, You Tube for clean energy products.   They just need the opportunity to get someone to have the trust and faith in them to try their ideas out.

We are losing more and more jobs everyday.  We have the highest unemployment rate in 26 years.  We have to do something to not only get people working again, but keep the jobs in the United States.

Our President feels that the Clean Energy Bill will produce jobs and help our environment.  I say take this premise into your job and find out where your hidden talent lies so that you can move your company ahead.   Foster a culture where employees are not afraid to share their ideas; you might just uncover the shinning star that brings new energy to your business!

Traditional Classroom vs E-Learning

If companies don’t entirely cut their Training and Development budget, they are moving toward an e-learning format.  I would much rather have the e-learning to no development opportunities for employees; however, there are drawbacks that companies should be aware of.  As with any learning, reinforcement is key to changing behaviors.

For many years companies have used e-learning modules for Compliance courses.  You know those courses that most companies have their employees take every year, Harassment, HR Policies and Procedures, etc.  If you have taken these courses in this manner, how much do you remember?  I would wager not much.  The purpose, although good in concept, is to reach as many employees in a short amount of time as possible while staying within employment law.  The trouble being that employees click through these courses in a hurry to finish them and get their name off the hit list.   The courses tend to be dry and rather boring.  Regardless of the valiant attempt by the Instructional Designers to make them interactive, they still are less then desirable to take.  A chore really.

We are seeing more and more courses moving to the same type of format.  I have seen and taken many e-Learning Courses that were well done and had learning reinforcement throughout them.  However, they didn’t leave as much of an impact on me as classroom courses. I guess I truly enjoy the interaction of the other participants and their sharing of Best Practices.  I also liked the personal touch of the trainer in gauging the understanding of the class.  If there was a concept that needed more attention, more time was given, and less in others areas to level out the time allotted. There was also the element of Adult Learning Theories noting that some people are visual, others auditory and other kinesthetic learners.  The e-learning format is able to apply these concepts when a webcam and conference call abilities are added to the course.

I also like the fact when I am facilitating that I know that I have the audiences attention and that they haven’t put me on mute and are talking to their co-workers or their boss who is giving them assignments at the time when they should be in a learning environment.

Bottom line, Training and Development is for the improvement and advancement of employees regardless of whether it is done in a traditional classroom or through e-learning formats.  I just hope companies don’t spend what little money they are allotting to T & D on programs where there is no transference of knowledge that can then be applied to the job function.