One Trifling Exception

 “It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.”  John Andrew Holmes  

By appreciating employees, we help them understand how what they do adds value to their organization.  This one act helps people see beyond themselves – that isn’t a throw away line – seeing beyond one’s own self is critical to an organizations success.  When people see beyond themselves, they appreciate one another, and they are more willing to trust, collaborate, and work together.  It is this focus on others that differentiates you from the competition and specifically how your programs help create real value for your clients.

Albert Einstein made a great observation regarding human behavior when he said:

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He (or she) experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

As Einstein suggested, “nobody is able to achieve this completely,” but our work encourages people to be “other focused” in a world that is anything but.  Headlines shout about the abuses in organizations worldwide.  The Wall Street Journal’s front page recently declared, “Companies Tap Pension Plans to Fund Executive Benefits.”  Executives that secure big pay packages for themselves and then lay off thousands of employees don’t inspire much loyalty or confidence.  Yet Delta Airlines was recently highlighted for just such an example.  Why are we surprised when employees don’t feel like doing their best for the organization?

 

Goodwill is given and patience extended as people realize that their work is appreciated.  As this happens, self-worth increases, confidence is built, and people start to look outwards instead of constantly worrying about personal attacks.  Trust is nurtured and the culture encourages performance rather than creating fear and disengagement.

 

Let us heed Einstein’s invitation to “free ourselves from this [delusional] prison by widening our circle” and becoming Other Focused! 

 

Since, as John Holmes reminds us, “the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.”

Politics and Our Responses

It hasn’t even been seven days since President-Elect Obama was voted into the biggest leadership position in the United States, he hasn’t taken the job yet, and already he is being criticized!  Isn’t it interesting how we respond?  We want the best people in office, yet regardless of whom we elect, we beat them down . . . even demonize them . . . why? 

 

Okay, I realize I’ve already created some tension just by bringing up politics, but I want to challenge assumptions today by inviting you to consider a new response.  Regardless of your political persuasion, I would invite you to learn the arguments of the other side.  Instead of blindly criticizing someone, learn why they feel the way they do.  This doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion or passion towards one side or the other, it just means that you are capable of learning another’s perspective as well.  There is tremendous strength in acquiring this skill.

 

While growing up, my own conservative background led me to feeling critical about all Democrats – feelings that were taught by all of those around me.  Then, in June of 1998 (while Sally & I were living in Shanghai) I was asked to be Chelsea Clinton’s control officer during the Clinton tour to Shanghai.  I spent three days with Chelsea and on multiple occasions we spent time with her parents as well.  You may recall that the summer of 1998 was when there was a “little” DNA test being done on a certain blue dress, so her parents weren’t doing events together.  Instead, we would bounce from an event with her Mom in the morning, and then go to one with her Dad in the afternoon.

 

After an amazing three days, I learned that these were good people (seriously, I have some wonderful stories about each of them)!  Before leaving Shanghai, they invited us to the White House and we gladly accepted.  One month later, we spent four days touring Washington D.C. and attending several White House functions and even having lunch in the private West Wing dining room.  I even had President Clinton’s personal doctor work on a huge blister that had formed on my foot since my newly purchased dress shoes were killing me. 

 

Needless to say, I learned a great deal through the whole experience.  Here are just a few:

 

1. At times, we make very unfair assumptions about people without ever trying to understand them.
2. We are better together then we are tearing each other down.
3. When we do demonize others, it is usually because of some inadequacy we harbor against ourselves.

 

Again, I’m not suggesting that we cannot be passionate about our own beliefs and opinions.  Indeed, that is part of who we are!  However, we can be better!

 

So, quit tearing down Bush and Obama.  Quit tearing down the family member or neighbor.  Quit tearing down your colleagues.  Quit complaining about the client.  Quit complaining about the system or process. 

 

Today, start to create solutions and understand the other side.  Examine your own style and consider your complicity in a problem.  Reflect on what you can do to be part of the positive change rather than the painful blister.  Will it make everything perfect?  NO.  However, it will certainly be a start in the right direction.

 

I’m not claiming perfection here.  Honestly, I’m trying to get better by building my own skills in appreciation.  Here are some questions I ask myself that may be of some help to you when considering your own blind spots:

 

1. Do you find yourself always needing to be the center of attention?
2. Do you “one up” others after hearing their story to show how your story is better?
3. Can you be content just listening to others?
4. Do you work to develop people or do you simply use them to your advantage?
5. Can you sincerely celebrate another’s success? 

 

After 9/11, President Bush stood at Ground Zero in NY and inspired people to reunite.  Unfortunately, the momentum of that day went away for a number of reasons (yes, he did make some mistakes), but it was incredible how quickly people vilified him for everything – just as people did with President Clinton before him.  President-Elect Obama has reignited many people in a new hope – let’s try to help him succeed for all of our sakes.

Engaging & Retaining the Younger Generation

In October of 2004, after finishing a teambuilding event with a client in Inner Mongolia, I was walking the hot and dusty streets of a city called Yinchuan before my flight back to Shanghai. Unexpectedly, a little girl excitedly engaged me in conversation, and I sat right on the ground to chat with her a while. It was a wonderful dialogue about places around the world, and just before leaving I asked if she would ever want to go see some other parts of the world. Without any hesitation she simply asked, “Why would I want to go anywhere else when I’m so happy right here?”

In Chinese, the word “happiness” is made up of the two characters “open” and “heart.” Interestingly, much like their peers in the West, the younger generation in China is blowing the doors wide open in their own search for the “open heart” elixir. What does this mean for employers in their search for talent? Much the same as it is in other countries. People want to know that what they do matters, that there is meaning in their work, and purpose in their lives.

Unfortunately, many employers in China are mistakenly under the impression that highest dollar always wins. Admittedly, retaining a well educated employee in China is no easy task. Many people have done extremely well by gaining experience and training in one place and then jumping to the next job while doubling their wages with each move. Still, while the cost of labor has skyrocketed, command-and-control leaders dominate the work environment without a clear understanding of why people are leaving.

The truth: It isn’t always about the money. In fact, more often than not, it is about the way we treat, engage, and lift people at work. If we know that they are seeking happiness, how can we help them find it at work?

Consider the following questions:

1. Are you honestly concerned about the success of those around you? The moment you are sincerely interested in helping them be more successful, they will be more interested in your success as well. Real Leaders are proud when others succeed, while ego-driven managers fear they will lose status.
2. Do you recognize and appreciate great performances regularly? If you are waiting for the holiday party before saying something nice to people you have missed the point. Real Leaders express appreciation regularly and they know that people are working hard so they recognize them accordingly.
3. Does the cost of recognition programs prevent you from doing more? How much does turnover cost? What is the cost of disengagement? Most importantly, consider the return on investment as trust improves, people spend more time doing their work instead of watching their backs, and productivity increases as people begin to care more about the quality of their work.

The bottom line is this: People are no longer satisfied waiting until retirement before they find happiness. They aren’t afraid of honest work either. They simply want to work at a place where they can open their hearts and fully engage. You see, for many of this younger generation, happiness is no longer a fairy tale destination in a far away land. Indeed, like I learned on the hot and dusty streets of Yinchuan, happiness is what keeps us right here.

The question isn’t whether recognition and appreciation work — they do.

The research, statistics, analysis, reports, and case studies demonstrate over and over again that recognition and appreciation play a huge role in creating a great work place.  Despite this, many recognition programs still fall flat.  Why?  Let me offer three reasons:

1) Leaders really aren’t comfortable giving recognition.  Often unintentionally, a leader will attempt to offer praise or recognition that simply comes out wrong.  Indeed, the effort is deemed a waste by both giver & recipient (though neither one will share that with the other).

2) Some managers intentionally use recognition as a weapon — treating those they favor with special awards (particularly to attack other high performers that they may not like as much).  Such bosses are ego-driven and demand deference without much regard for others . . . unless those others are all about making them, the boss, look better.

3) Many awards are given without any presentation or link to the effort and work accomplished in order to receive it.  While recognition is an amazing tool to connect with others, it is only as effective as we make it.  If we aren’t connecting with people, than neither is the award that simply shows up on the recipient’s desk.

We must remember that in our effort to make recognition convenient and easy to do that it is still a human experience.  What are some other reasons you believe recognition still falls flat, and what would you suggest to improve the situation?

Unnecessary Accusations of Inaccuracy

I appreciate Dawn Westerberg’s blog on healthy & unhealthy behavior in the workplace. She wrote it after reading a tweet I posted the other day that said this:

REAL leaders celebrate when others on the team succeed . . . ego-driven managers fear they will lose status.

Interestingly, I wrote this based on my own past experience with managers that were very threatened by the success of anyone else on their team. They reluctantly praised people, but you could feel their hesitancy, and worse, they talked down the team accomplishments while searching for as much praise and recognition as they could find for themselves.

The problem with this is that managers that lack self-esteem often try to cover it up with ego that does even more harm. According to Wikipedia, healthy narcissism is often required to overcome a sense of insignificance. However, an unhealthy narcissism quickly leads to magical thinking where the person thinks they are perfect and they distort the truth to dump on others instead. It is a major cause of bullying, arrogance, and envy — all of which destroy workplace morale.

We all want to feel good about ourselves. Indeed, a healthy dose of confidence is critical to healthy relationships where people can appreciate one another and celebrate when others do well. The danger comes when one feels compelled to distort the truth to protect their own perceived status of importance. Indeed, to use Dawn’s words, unhealthy behavior results in “unnecessary accusations of inaccuracy.”

My Favorite Tweets this Week

When used properly, social media can be an amazing tool and a vast land of learning. Here are some favorite tweets from people this week:

• “Nothing stunts a leader’s growth like an overdeveloped ego.” (via @tedcoine)
• “The greatest thing a generation can do is lay a few stepping stones for the next generation.” Charles Kettering (via @johncmaxwell)
• “Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” Mary D. Poole (via @thehrgoddess)
• “The bridges you cross before you come to them are over rivers that aren’t there.” Gene Brown (via @salespowertips)
• “Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these, society will face tremendous difficulties.” The Dalai Lama (via @UpayaChaplains)
• “Ask for help not because you are weak, but because you want to remain strong.” Les Brown (via @ReadyTOFeedback @czaucha @BillyCoxLive)
• “Employee recognition is powerful when you understand the principles and practices behind it — Make it more than a gimmick! (via @smaxbrown — me)

The Measure of a Man or Woman

In his book titled, “Making Your Company Human: Inspiring Others to Reach Their Potential,” Le Herron suggests that CEOs should be paid based on how fairly they serve their customers, their employees, and the shareholders. What is their reward? His answer was simple, yet important to repeat: “When you achieve the intangible result of helping people to open up and contribute their best efforts, it makes the tangible results, like revenue growth and market share, better and more likely.”

He went on to say that for the “leader who tries to live in accord with the priciples of fairness and serving others,” there is a greater reward. Le then shared the story of the day he retired and all of the associates at his company came together to present him with this poem titled, “The Measure of a Man”:

A man’s no bigger than the way he treats his fellow man.
This standard has his measure been since time itself began.
He’s measured not by tithes or creed, high-sounding though they be;
Nor by the gold that’s put aside, nor by his sanctity.
He’s measured not by social rank, when character’s the test.
Nor by his earthly pomp or show, displaying wealth possessed.
He’s measured by his justice, right; his fairness at his play;
His squareness in all dealings made; his honest, upright way.
These are his measures, ever near to serve him when they can,
For a man’s no bigger than the way he treats his fellow man.

Author Unknown

How do you measure success? Is it the way you treat others?

A Sign of Being Human

The need for appreciation isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather it is a sign of being human. 

 

How can you better validate and appreciate the people in your life?  I challenged my audience at Duke University to consider this question, and then I took it one step further saying, “Identify someone that you don’t think would actually want the recognition and tell them specifically (and sincerely) what you appreciate about them.”  One month later, I followed-up with the audience members to find out what they had done.

 

An executive raised her hand to tell me that she had reluctantly recognized a long-time employee.  “He was always doing great work, and yet I had never said anything in the past because I didn’t think he would want to hear it,” she said.  “However, after your challenge I decided to take a chance,” pausing for a moment, she then said, “After recognizing him for his amazing work over so many years he came into my office and said that in NINETEEN years of working for the organization he had never had anyone acknowledge his work.”  She humbly concluded saying, “He told me thank you for noticing and then he walked out . . . I had no idea.”

 

The simplicity, the influence, and the power of genuine appreciation should not be taken for granted.  Please consider the benefits of communicating in a positive way that builds trust, creates hope, and inspires confidence.  How can you better validate and appreciate the people in your life?

 

The need for appreciation is not a sign of weakness . . . it is a sign of being human.

The Power of Milestones: Cadence, Receptivity, & Audience Impact

Over the past few months, I’ve heard one comment pop up over and over again from people all around North America:

“I’m not sure what we are getting for the money we spend on service awards.”

Before you throw them out, let me share three reasons why celebrating milestones (including your service awards) can be one of the best opportunities you have to declare your company values and motivate employees. One disclaimer: Like most things, in order to be meaningful, recognition needs to be done well (something I’ll discuss in a later post). Unfortunately, service awards have taken a hard hit in recent years because people forget how to make them meaningful to recipients. Hopefully, these three things can get you back on track:

1. Cadence. Milestones trigger reasons to celebrate. Unlike performance awards that may only touch a small percentage of employees at uneven intervals, service awards acknowledge every human being in the organization for the contribution they have made over the years. This timely, and regular, reminder to celebrate with the team member who has a five-year anniversary coming up is a great way for managers to reconnect with the people they work with. The cadence of a milestone helps to remind us that while the daily work demands can consume us, we need to stop every once in a while to celebrate our people.
2. Receptivity. Milestones are objective. They are transparent and they get rid of the “dark side” of recognition. Performance awards on the other hand are subject to perceptions of fairness — not a show stopper, but it is something to be aware of nonetheless. The problem is when you rely entirely on performance awards to recognize employees three things will likely occur: a) some achievements will be overlooked; b) people will question the validity of the award; and c) managers will begin recognizing people privately. Milestone awards are much different. People are more open and willing to listen during a service anniversary celebration. Isn’t this your primary objective in the first place? To get an opportunity to communicate with all of your employees when they are more receptive to the message? A receptive audience is more likely to hear what you have to say and you are able to communicate it in a positive way.
3. Audience. Milestones are big events that usually involve lots of people. A well prepared celebration doesn’t require a lot of time or money, but you should think about it in advance. What would I like to communicate to this individual today? How has their contribution made us a better company? Is there anything I want to emphasize so that others will hopefully get the point as well? Remember, your message isn’t just for the award recipient. So, what you say to the individual should be relevant to those listening as well. Ask a few of the employee’s colleagues to participate in advance, and remind them to focus their comments on how the person’s contributions have made the company better. Afterwards, invite the manager to say a few words linking the behaviors of the individual with the corporate values. The result: A message given to the whole audience, which celebrates the individual and lifts everyone.

Remember, recognition is about communicating the positive things we do at work (and we need at least 3 -5 positives for every negative). Done properly, recognition builds trust, it lifts people up, and it prepares them for the multiple tasks that lie ahead. Why would you want to take one of the most effective and most positive ways to communicate away?

HR’s Opportunity to Create Meaning, Live Values, & Humanize Work

Allan Collins, President & CEO of SuccessInHR.com, recently asked this question on LinkedIn:  “What is the single biggest opportunity HR professionals need to prepare for in the next 1-2 years?”

My response comes in THREE overlapping parts and I’ll explain why I think these are all so important:

1) To create meaning:

HR has the biggest opportunity to create MEANING in the workplace.  People want to be part of a cause and science proves engagement increases when we are doing things we’re passionate about.  Understanding the business objectives is not enough!  HR needs to be part of the team that FORMS the business objectives to ensure alignment and to create meaningful work.

 2) To live the values:

The BOOMERS made the $$$.  They are the last generation to know what a pension is, and they have saved some cash (okay, I know there are a few endangered company pensions out there, but ultimately, they will only exist in government jobs and history books).  This younger generation has to figure out how to survive on a 401K, increasing premiums, and no insurance after retirement.  Why do they want more now?  Why not?  They don’t see a lot of hope for making it to retirement if they aren’t aggressive. 

Companies have proven over and over again that shareholders are more important than employees (with the exception of a few executives that make hundreds of millions of dollars).  The younger generation has witnessed all of the corporate GREED . . . so why are we surprised that they don’t feel loyal in return?  The CEO of GE just recently talked about the sins of his generation of leaders . . . it is sad and true.

The challenge for HR:  Demonstrating ethics, proving that the values are lived not just printed, and engaging this workforce in purposeful work.

3) Humanize the workplace:

HR needs to seize the opportunity to demonstrate how the company of tomorrow will quickly replace old styles of abusing employees.  The best places to work will demonstrate a passion for HUMANIZING the work experience again.  They will be faster and more flexible then the competition, and ultimately, they will reap the rewards.  HR must DRIVE this conversation rather than just going with the flow.

Should we still call it Human “Resources”?

Should we still call it Human Resources?  Or is there a better way to describe what HR professionals do?  If people are to be viewed as more than assets, then maybe we need to change the title of Human “Resources” to reflect the changes as well.  To be credible, we should get beyond administration of paperwork to consider what we could be doing:  humanizing the workplace. 

In my opinion, the HR professionals of the future have an opportunity to change the workplace so dramatically that they will no longer like the term “resources” as it no longer describes what they really do (I’ll explain when you see my answer to the next question).

Allan Collins, President & CEO of SuccessInHR.com, recently asked this question on LinkedIn:  “What is the single biggest opportunity HR professionals need to prepare for in the next 1-2 years?”

My response is this:  To create meaning, live the values, and HUMANIZE the workplace for employees.  I’ll lay out my case for this in my next post.

How would you answer Allan’s question?  What do you think is the single biggest opportunity for HR professionals?  Assuming they should even still be called human “resource” professionals . . . what do you think?

Desperate Need to Humanize the Workplace

Organizations have long sought to reduce variables and increase efficiences, but at what cost?  Have we dehumanized the workplace too much?  We want (and expect) results yet sometimes we forget that humans come with their own ideas, values, priorities, hopes and dreams.  How do we align business results with human behavior?  Many organizations rely on punitive measures and threats, but research has proven that these popular motivational techniques prove mostly ineffective. 

So what else can we do to encourage results?  Don’t take employee recognition for granted.  Real recognition humanizes the workplace by acknowledging our uniqueness, our stories, our challenges, and our dreams.  Once you’ve tapped into this, people willingly offer their best work, and not just the mandatory routines for a paycheck.  In fact, over and over again, research from Towers Perrin, Gallup, and others has said that the number ONE driver of employee engagement is senior management’s concern and care for their people.

Do you really want to thrive in 2010?  Humanize your workplace and you’ll rediscover talent and untapped potential throughout your organization.