Executive coaching is fulfilling for me because it’s almost always an opportunity to work with a supersmart person and perhaps tap some of their unrealized talent. That means I get to learn something every time too. I’m finding that several of them have what I’ve named the “HG Syndrome”.
You’ll recall that I’ve been intrigued by the Holly Graf derailment because she had it all. Navy Academy graduate (etc.) plus she had so many people who wanted to help her experience the full scope of her abilities and she ignored them all. Her superiors, subordinates, friends, enemies, family, peers, casual acquaintances, and even strangers all tried to tell her that she would never win her co-workers respect by insulting, demeaning, and humiliating them. (She allegedly even put one of them in time out). And to top it all off, she used curse words that made sailors blush!! Now that’s saying something.
But Holly was absolutely certain that everyone was either out to get her, picking on her because she’s female, lying because they were envious of her success or had some other hidden agenda for getting in the way of her success.
Yet, when you boil it all down, it was all about her choice. She could be right about all that, or she could be effective. And it was more important to her to be right about how she saw herself than it was to be the best commander the Navy ever had.
Some of my clients are doing the same thing. Absolutely brilliant people with enormous academic achievements, prominent credentials, well known for their expertise. And there are lots of people in their circle telling them that if they made a few minor adjustments, they would double their odds for success. Yet, they see themselves as the exception, the one person who nobody understands. The fact is, they’re the ones who don’t get it.I hope I can help them see it. Their companies would gain so much if the individual would just look at the information they are receiving a little differently. Sure, there may be some people who don’t wish them well and contrive to make them look bad. But that doesn’t explain why so many had a negative opinion of her.
That brings to mind an incident from my early career when I worked at One Valley Bank. Super smart woman but not good with people. HR got quite a few complaints about her. My boss could never get her to understand he was trying to help by telling her she needed to improve her people skills. She always had a reason the others were wrong. They weren’t used to people from the north, employees thought she was being snooty because she didn’t greet them with “Hey” when passing them in the hall. (I remember her saying she “absolutely deplored” hearing people say that.) -- that the people at the bank were too unsophisticated to understand when she used three syllable words.And then my boss used a phrase I’ll never forget: “I know you think these complaints aren’t valid, but ten thousand One Valley Bankers can’t be wrong”.
Too bad she never got it. She has a job now that’s about 5 levels below what she is capable of and she’s the one who made that choice. But at least she gets to tell herself that she was right.
Writing Techniques
I’ve learned a new writing technique that you might benefit from. I’ve never had much confidence in my writing skills because someone may think “boy she’s stupid” or “Who does she think she is?” And of course my fear of reaction blocks my ability to put down on paper what could be some good ideas.
And then along came Debbie.
Actually Debbie and I worked together early in our careers but once she moved away we lost touch. And then a couple of years ago I needed help on a project and she was able to make sense of a mess and make it look good. That gradually grew and now she’s an integral part of DeemHR.
She does marvelous work, and she helps bring out the best in me by being very supportive of the things I write. She’ll send me little notes – “That was funny” or “you should publish this”.
So now, when I want to share some good information, I imagine I’m writing to Debbie. The words just flow. I don’t relentlessly ponder whether something makes sense, or if I explained it well, or the odds of someone thinking I’m stupid. I just write.
Thanks, Deb.
Plan Wisely
Employee Development – Job Posting Programs
One of the best things many employers endorse is a job posting program. Too bad it can also be one of the worst. Employees who don’t get the job can become defeated, morose and moribund. What’s a company supposed to do? How can you make certain the most qualified person gets the job without making it a crushing blow for those who were declined?
Some of the problem lies in the way a program is communicated. Here are some tips you might want to endorse:
Make posting more about career development than getting promoted. Sometimes a lateral move is good for a career change or expanding one’s background for future positions.
Make clear what will and won’t be posted. Employee surveys we have done show disillusionment sets in when a posting predicatively favors a certain employee and applying would be an exercise in futility. If certain levels of jobs won’t be posted (although I don’t favor that), make that clear too.
Make sure you cover the basics like whether a person can apply for more than one posting at a time and whether you have to be in your current position for a year or so. Are outsiders considered at the same time as insiders or does being a current employee give you a leg up?
Change your turndown process to career oriented counseling. What does the person need to do or have to maybe get the job the next time?
Find a delicate way to address the “you’ll never go anywhere unless you change the way you (relate to others, have a better attendance record outside of FMLA, dress etc).
Keep a few books on hand like “What Color Is Your Parachute” so you can recommend something that really will help someone develop; another good one is “How to Be a Star at Work”.
HRNet Members:You can find DeemHR’s job posting program ready to go on BernieNet under Employee Development.Future HRNet Members contact Debbie.Varney@DeemHR.Net or go to our website for more information.
Disney Characters
How does Disney do it?
My recent trip to Disney World reminded me how impressive the employees are. (Bernie note: I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many times I’ve been there. My recent visit, however, was to help my brother and his wife with their two small children so they could get some adult time.) No matter where you go, the “cast members” are polite, helpful, and can answer questions.
I’ve attended their seminar on having great employees.
Here are some things I’ve learned:
· Disney begins with careful screening. Before you even apply, you watch a very entertaining video on what it’s like to work there. · All the good stuff is in the video, but it’s also realistic about being on your feet all day, how hot it can be, the importance of attendance – things like that.
· They include training required and how to get promoted. · Then they give you an opportunity NOT to apply. I really like that idea because if someone applies after all that they know the rules of the game and are more likely to do a good job.
· Bernie note: I’m in favor of giving them a document with the highlights from the employee handbook and a sample job description of what they will be required to do.
My basic theory is “no surprises” is a good start.
Exempt or Non-Exempt?
Classification - Exempt vs Non-Exempt
No matter if you have a full time professional HR job or have to fit your responsibilities into a few minutes here and there, there’s just no time to read the all the pieces of information you get. Imagine how lucky I am to make reading and understanding a part of my job. And that fact that I can distill long and complicated information into easy, practical reading is a personal plus.
One of those quandary areas that you never have time to get caught up on is the forever debatable classification of exempt vs. non-exempt. The source I’m citing is the Court Report published by the Society of Human Resource Management. Here’s the latest thing I learned in a nutshell :
1. The case is Young v. Cooper Cameron, 2nd Cir. No. 08-5847 2. The decision involved the criteria for determining whether a position was exempt or non-exempt. It also covered the definition of “willful violation” of the FLSA. 3. The second court found that the employer had classified a position as exempt that was almost identical in its requirements to a non-exempt position and willfully violated the FLSA so they could save on overtime. 4. To qualify for a “bona fide professional capacity” the primary duty must consist of the performance of work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study. For exempt professionals, an advanced academic degree is a standard prerequisite. 5. Quasi-professionals such as journalists, emergency medical technicians and paramedics and jobs in which one learns the professional by experience are not exempt. 6. Remember, we’re in the 4th Circuit Court, not the 2nd.
Spring is here!
Vision, mission yada, yada, yada. The important thing is that employees understand the purpose of what they do. I saw a good quote about what a purpose is -- “purpose is the definitive reason about the difference your organization wants to make in the world”.
DeemHR’s purpose is to “provide support for HR practitioners who want to be even better at what they do”.
What’s yours?
Bernie
Be careful out there!
What's An Employer To Do When Bad Weather Hits?
If you don’t have a policy for how to manage issues like whether a snowy day is an excused absence and whether people will be paid, it’s not too late to adopt one. After all, here in West Virginia we can usually count on snow in March.
Weather that makes it hard to get to work causes all sort of difficult issues. You’ll want to make sure you’ve made certain things clear: Can employees bring a child to work when school is closed? What if an employee is very late and has to leave very early to pick up a child? Here are some things I’ve learned the hard way.
1. Communicate the policy to all employees as soon as you can. It’s a good idea to include it in your handbook.
2. For most organizations, it is not OK to bring a child to work. Not only does it interfere with the parent’s work, other employees are distracted too. Where it is feasible to allow children, outline the details of how long the child may stay and what the parent is responsible for. You don’t want twin six-year-olds running about the place.
3. It’s not a good idea to require employees to come to work if the roads are in bad shape. It would be a horrible predicament if something happened to someone on the drive in. It’s better to establish a team of volunteer employees who have an easier time getting there and can be relied on to be part of a skeleton staff.
4. Most customers understand when you’re short staffed on a bad weather day, but there are certain operations that absolutely cannot be postponed. Deal with a volunteer backup for those essential positions.
5. If you’re using a PTO policy, make it clear whether those days can be used to inclement weather. They should be, but what if the employee is out of days? State clearly whether vacation or sick days can be used for this purpose.
6. It may be necessary to treat the absent employees gently which is bound to cause resentment by those who made difficult adjustments so they get to work. I’ve found it’s far more beneficial in the long run to make an issue of who is there – not who’s missing. Do something for employees who make it in. Free food during the day is one idea. A personal letter from the president thanking them is another.
7. Watch how you phrase your policy. It’s important not to deduct from an employees pay without a wage deduction authorization. (Call us if you’re not familiar with this and we’ll send you the form).
8. I worked with an organization who organized a once a year “Perfect Attendance” party. It became a coveted annual event because it usually included entertainment (I wish I could tell you who played Elvis one year, but he would kill me. He’s a Sr. VP now) and had drawings for valuable prizes such as an outdoor grill or other things that most people would like to have.
9. Regarding paying people, remember that the Fair Labor Standards Act has provisions affecting pay for both exempt and non-exempt employees. You want to consider that when writing a new policy.
I know I’m harping on this, but communication is the most important aspect. No one wants to be surprised when it comes to their job.
You hear so much about clutter clogging up your mind, and that has especially been true for me. Lauren, a new associate, is not only great on HR issues but a terrific organizer. She took the helm on a project no one would want to touch and put thousands of documents in systematic order. Now I can find things! And the real shocker is how much work I have done during my career that still holds value. If there’s something for you to learn from this, it’s that you should know that regardless of the job you are in now, there is important work that you should keep – and keep in a fashion that you can easily find it. You never know when you might want it.
A personal update on Sheri Rasberry: Sheri may not be able to return to work after her pregnancy leave. We haven’t talked about work at all because Weston has some medical problems that have usurped every bit of her time and energy, and right now it looks like that will be the case in the near future. She’s such a fun personality - we miss her.
I’m doing an assignment this week with a manufacturing group of senior managers. It’s not really a team – they don’t interact that much due to the type of business, but there are some basics that could make them more effective as individuals. I’ll let you know the result.
This week I’m also doing Unlawful Harassment training for the YWCA. I’ve volunteered there for years, and they, like every other organization, want to make sure all are aware of their “no tolerance” policy.
And in my spare time, I’ve been working with the other members of our team and am delighted at far we’ve come in a short period time. More on this later.
