Colour My World

Know your audience.  I can’t tell you how many times that advice has come out of my mouth.  Very often, people get too comfortable too fast.  Quick rapport development is an appealing quality, to be sure, but not at the sacrifice of the demeanor of the formation.

Lots of locker room talk consideration over the past couple of weeks in light of the Donald Trump hot mic bus recordings being released.  He and Billy Bush quickly established a “buddy” relationship.  And while, the majority of response has been to condemn the words along with sentiment and systemic treatment of women, it would be unwise to consider it in such a small context.  Trump’s words have been repeated in locker rooms since I was old enough to change for gym class right up through board rooms since I was experienced enough to have an executive role. 

Period movies and television shows from the 50’s and early 60’s show the dichotomy of family life and business life.  The male character is a member of the 1^st Baptist or Presbyterian church in town with his wife and kids; they raise their kids to be good Americans, respectful students and to be seen and not heard.  At work, that same male may participate in an affair with his secretary, in shady business dealings to undercut another within the company, and in drinks at 3PM to discuss work and women with his boss.  Very stereotypical, I know, but much of the content and context in those period dramas.

Our audience is no longer known by look alone.  White boys chatting it up about a woman’s anatomy and ability to score isn’t an inclusive strategy for corporate culture.  You cannot make a decision just based upon look as our workplace is no longer a homogeneous pool.  And further, those who do look the same as you aren’t necessarily coming from the same background as you.  It’s a whole new world.  And whether it’s Donald Trump on a bus or Bill Clinton on a golf course, any commentary based upon those assumptions is more than unwise; it’s deadly to our culture.

In the small kingdoms we manage in our workplaces, we may not be able to change the world, but we can influence one sphere.  Of course, the liability around harassment is evident.  It’s not okay to allow language that demeans and cheapens another, whether based on sex, race, religion, medical history, orientation or age, to permeate a workplace.  It’s illegal, if not federally, then likely on a state level.  You have a responsibility to protect the company you represent.  Work for change to minimize such liability.

And yet, as people we may have a deeper responsibility than merely the law.  What are we telling the future about us?  Our ability to engage at this level is just what a role in management and in human resources should be focused upon.  Process improvement, sales objectives and growth planning are necessary and the core duty for some of you.  Don’t disregard those needs.  Yet, those strategies and duties can be offered in a better context. 

The drum beating for employee engagement is loud.  To what are we asking them to engage?  Our company?  OK.  So, what is our company like?  Do you really want them to be engaged in and to it?  Think of it as you might a romantic relationship.  As things progress, your love interest gets to see your quirks about washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.  This person, also, experiences you more fully, warts and all.  That relationship will likely require you to change some things – maybe you need to make the bed, to put your dishes in the dishwasher instead of the sink, to throw out your porn.  Whatever you need to do, you may do to make the environment for your relationship bloom and grow more. 

Those same considerations at the workplace should occur (If you have porn at the workplace…yikes.  Let’s talk offline).  What is the willingness of the executive team to sacrifice to allow the relationship of the company and its employees to bloom and grow?  If it’s locker room talk that needs to be addressed, then let it go.  Don’t make excuses for it.  Uncover biases and systemic limiters, and then remove them.  Inclusivity is a popular term, and a respectable one, but to what are we including people?  Once they see it, they may not want to be included.  What a sad possibility.  But it’s correctable.

It’s important to remember that this is not about politics.  That may have been the most recent context we’re seeing, but it’s not the only environment where such a lack of care about people is evident.  Our workplaces may be run by locker room talking, “real housewives” attitude-mongering, bulldozing leaders.  Confront it.  Categorizing people or a person in an unhealthy or demeaning manner is unacceptable.  Act upon it and work for change.

My life is full of strong women, Christians, disabled individuals, gay men, multi-cultural heritages and races.  I like them each individually.  And though I may look like you, please don’t come to me to share in a negative view or a demeaning approach regarding any of them or what they “represent.”  It’s not funny.  

Piece By Piece

Recognition has become a discipline within HR.  It is the art of providing or delivering attention to someone for a particular accomplishment.  It could be about the achievement of a specific goal or to mark a milestone within the organization.  It is valuable and provides proof that the company sees what its employees are doing and, sometimes, for the way in which those actions benefit the organization.

Of course, if someone works on a project for six months and it turns out great, it's very nice to be recognized for having finished the work well.  There is a benefit to those who see how the achievement of their work matters.  Connectivity is very important and it allows the performer to see how action produces real results, per person, piece by piece.  All of the cogs on the wheel are fantastically connected.  It's a great picture and the recognition factor drives it home.

Is that it?  

Long are the conversations regarding felt needs and reward.  Do we merely offer a plaque, a gift card, a weekend away and check off the box of recognition?  When dealing with real people with real baggage and real emotion living real lives, providing inauthentic trinkets may not pack the punch hoped for by the organization.  And what can often happen is that companies become bitter towards recognition because they sense an ungrateful response by employees.  What was meant to be a motivator becomes an open sore of tension pushing division.

As practical as we ought to be in HR (don't get me started on the value of business acumen and metrics, people!), we cannot swing the pendulum so far that we forget the people we are trying to serve.  Consider the concept of restorative recognition.  This is the kind of recognition that knows where people are, what makes them tick, what their circumstances are and then rewards them in the context of a real situation.  The deficiencies in their lives may not all be met, but we're providing appropriate levels of engaged recognition that we know will touch upon it.

The Make a Wish Foundation is magical because for years it has provided terminally ill children with the opportunity to have their greatest wish granted.  From going to a prom to meeting the President to being Batman for a day, the stories have touched the hearts of those precious children, of their parents and families and of the millions who watch the stories unfold.  It affects the heart.  

An employee who is struggling to pay for a child's college education is a real need.  We can know that.  Handing that employee a gift card for Macy's as a reward for an achieved goal or milestone is not going to solve the need of paying for college.  Nor is the point to give them $5000 as the reward in order to meet that need.  Think.  Be creative.  What would it mean to that employee to be recognized for the work he/she did that met the criteria for reward by handing him/her proof of monies being deposited into his/her child's college campus account for textbook purchases or towards the meal plan?  It's thoughtful.  It's given in light of knowing your employees.  It's an absolute way of endearing employees to the organization even more.

Think I'm crazy?  Get in line.  The point is that we can know these things about our staff and make a choice to recognize in restorative ways.  People carry around burdens and dreams.  Practically, we can't grant wishes all day, nor do we have the budget to do so.  Yet, we can use our imaginations and creativity to do something more than rummaging through a drawer in our office to find an Amazon gift card for a giveaway.

How many of your staff didn't get to go on a honeymoon?  How many haven't been able to take their spouse out due to a lack of affordable child care?  How many dreamed to be a professional baseball player?  How many trained as a dancer all throughout their childhood and have no opportunity to fit it into life now?  Now, be creative.  Work with a vendor partner to secure a weekend or an overnight to a bed and breakfast.  Work with a local certified and approved child care service provider for one night of child care (and throw an Uber and dinner in).  Get tickets to a baseball game and work with the event staff to throw some confetti on the employee to celebrate the Home Run Hitter he/she is at work.  Provide a six-week dance class to the employee that can happen after work in an open space right in the building.

These aren't all of the solutions.  They may be none in your particular case, but the point is that restorative recognition goes a long way to show that our involvement is thoughtful and done as a result of knowing our people.  As said earlier, connectivity is very important and it allows the performer to see how action produces real results, per person, piece by piece.  By doing this in a tailored manner, we cut to the soul of our people as well as of ourselves.  As a blubberer myself, I can tell you that when we're this thoughtful, people are moved and the tears flow.  

Get those creative juices flowing and know that people need more than a crystal pyramid with their name engraved.  That isn't likely to hit them deeply, but tickets to a concert of the one performer they've never had the chance to see before will.  Because you took the time to know them.  Because the company is invested in its employees.  Because we're building community.

Comic Book Heroes

By +Victorio Milian 

Growing up, I was a big comic book geek. Whatever money I had I would spend at the comic book shop, buying a variety of titles. And I come by it honestly--my mother enjoyed them as well. She would tell me about how when she was young, her mother made her throw out her collection. She had great titles, such as The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and others, that are now worth loads of money. I was horrified by my grandmother's treatment of these treasures. As a result I've done my best to preserve many of the comics I've purchased over the years.

Eventually, my interest in purchasing comic books waned. There was a variety of reasons for it. For one, as I got older other interests took over. For another, I got jaded as the comic book market became more focused on driving sales over quality storytelling. Lastly, as any geek will tell you, the social pull to put aside "childish" pursuits got to be too much. But, remembering my mother's horror stories of potentially valuable art disposed of, I put my comics in storage.

Fast forward to the present and the success of Marvel and DC comics across a variety of entertainment mediums has reawakened my love of comic books. Over the past several weeks I've gone into my storage space and gathered a few titles to read, as well as share with my kids.

Having them out has done a few things for me. It's sparked curiosity and creativity, not only in my kids but within me as well. We've had great discussions on character motivation, morality in comics, as well as different ways in which artists interpret certain iconic characters. This has prompted them, along with myself, to create our own comic inspired art.

As a Human Resources Consultant, revisiting my comic book collection has helped me to draw connections between art and work.

• HR and its perception as the villain. HR practitioners are often viewed as the "bad guys" within organizations. And some of us (unfortunately) are deserving of the label! Oftentimes, like the X-Men, we're just misunderstood.

• Villains and ethical behavior. Continuing with villains... great heroes are defined by the enemies they face. Batman vs. Joker. Captain America vs. the Red Skull. Many of the most well known heroes faced tremendous adversity. Most of the time they've been able to outwit their opponents. The critical difference is that the hero finds a way to succeed without sacrificing their morals. While it might be easy to view a disliked colleague as your enemy it's disruptive to business if you deal with them in an unethical manner. Remember, "with great power comes great responsibility".  
• To be successful it helps to have an ego. Think about it--why would anyone run around in tights? On a more realistic level, think about some of your career goals and what it'll take to achieve them. Whether it's to bring criminals to justice or getting promoted, achieving your objectives sometimes means ignoring what others may think of you (and your wardrobe choices). It means believing in yourself and your abilities, especially when it seems you're the only one that does.
• Teamwork. Even singular legends, such as Superman, Batman, and the Hulk, can't always solve issues alone. All are actively part of, or have partnered with, groups through which they've tackled problems beyond their capabilities. For us normal folks, think about which organizations or groups you're a part of (or should be). Can they help get you to the next level? Will its members challenge and encourage your unique combination of abilities?
• Persistence. Comic books were considered cheap entertainment (literally and figuratively) when they were first introduced. Now they constitute multi-billion dollar properties. Doggedly pursuing your goals even when the general public may not appreciate your work is a great characteristic to possess.
• Diversity and the lack thereof. There are no shortage of comic book characters. Look beneath the surface and you may notice that they tend to look alike. Quick-name three superheroes of color? That are gay? And there's much to be said about its portrayal of female characters. Unfortunately, comics mirror society in this respect. While the situation is improving (for example, with the launch of the Black Panther movie, as well as the introduction of the Falcon character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), there's still a lot of work to be done.

Comics have been more than cheap entertainment for me. It's served as a creative metaphor for my work as a Human Resources practitioner, and how to be successful as one.

What's inspired you to be great at what you do?