I Fought the Law

Try to watch “Law and Order” as if you’ve never seen an episode before.  Pretend like those two Bum-Bumps are the first time you’ve heard them.  It’s fascinating to watch the entire hour and see how the two detectives process the investigation which typically leads to the court case.  I used to watch the original “Law and Order” religiously.  Yes, I know that there are SVU, CI, SUV and hybrid versions, but I was a fan of the original.  The course of action taken by the detectives is methodical, a bit stale and thorough, but it works.

For the employee who comes to the HR department with a complaint, inquiry or charge, there is an expectation for answers and investigation.  HR loves the answers, but perhaps to a fault.  Our ability to provide solution to the complaint may not really handle the issue at hand.  The employee can feel his/her issue has been minimized as he/she leaves your office (or cubicle area or working table or Segway mobile office).  Are we satisfied with just an “answer” or do we need to spend time trying to understand where this issue comes from?

Honestly, there are times that a simple answer is all that is needed.  Let’s not make a mountain out of molehill.  If someone comes to complain about not being off for Arbor Day, that may be a very quick conversation.  Something like, “I’m sorry that you’d like the company to be closed for Arbor Day, but if you have PTO available to you, perhaps you could plan on using some in order to spend time planting trees to honor the day.”  Smile sincerely and usher them out.  Close the door and reflect on why you’ve chosen the career you have.  After a few minutes, you’ll be back at it!

But what about the ones that take a bit more?  If an employee asks about hours not paid on a paycheck, then perhaps a quick look at the time system, finding where the data was corrupt or not transferred into payroll will prevent the occurrence in the future.  Perhaps there is a bit of management training needed.  Perhaps the employee needs a reminder on the time clock.  Perhaps it’s a one-time Gremlin in the system.  All it would take is a little bit of research mixed with a little bit of conversation and/or training.

And then, there are the ultimate investigations, such as harassment, discrimination or theft.  A process for this investigation should be in place.  What will it take for the company to handle the claims presented?  Is there a path to follow?  No? 

There are components of good investigation that are universal.  Try to work within a flow of process in those components in order to gather the information needed.  An investigation is serious and it does require professionalism in approach.  If you are the HR person who would lead or conduct the investigation, have you established yourself in the company as someone capable of such work?  If you’ve been relegated or allowed yourself to be relegated to the party-planning HR person or the gossip-laden HR person, then it’s not likely that you’ll gather all of the data necessary in your investigation.

Staff may not be able to draw a line between the “Buddy HR” person and the “Detective HR” person you’re trying to be.  That is a tall order.  As such, determine whether outside help might be needed.  Does your process allow for this possibility?  Between the HR role played, the characters in the investigation and the subject matter involved, an outside expert might be the most beneficial for the organization.  Be okay with letting someone in.  It’s not about dirty laundry but about ascertaining the truth and finding solution, however difficult that may be.

Be clear, too, in the fact that you will need to speak with others.  When an employee starts his/her complaint to you with “Please don’t say anything, but…”, you can be sure that you’re likely going to need to say something to someone else.  A true investigation will need facts and accounts from all parties named and involved.  Keeping this between us is not possible, let alone the matter of law that may be in play.  Disclosure may be required.  Consult your counsel if you have questions in any of these areas.  Likely an attorney will tell you that you cannot promise to keep what’s shared only between you two.

There are great resources available to you to help with investigation.  Take the time to research and develop a plan prior to needing a plan.  You will be able to approach plan development with less stress and with more clarity of thought.  Talk to your senior team, your counsel, your HR colleagues in other companies, your SHRM group…anyone who has been through developing a process.  Learn from their victories and hiccups.

And while it may not be the wisest to wear a badge around the office as if you’re the cop on duty, you should establish yourself as being an integral part of the investigative process at your company.  Just pin the badge on the inside of your suit coat or sweater.  You can know it’s there.  Bum-Bump.

Apologize

Simple: When you do something wrong, say you’re sorry.  Whether that action was purposeful or accidental, a sincere apology should be offered to those affected by the action(s).  It’s very simple.  Yet, the truth is that it’s hard to do. 

We love to watch others mess up, though, don’t we?  We are outraged at public figures who make mistakes – small and large – and then have to apologize in public ways.  Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, Michael Phelps, Ariana Grande, Charlie Sheen, Kanye West, Hope Solo, Mel Gibson, Michael Vick, etc. have all had to do it.  We hunker down to watch TMZ show us all of the dirt that lead to the apology and then listen to interviews of “professionals” who diagnose the apologies offered.  We are sick people.

On an individual basis, we don’t like being wrong.  Usually, it’s because we really don’t think we’re wrong.  We choose to put our efforts into defending our position, outlining the course of events that lead to the repercussions and to bringing up the twelve previous wrongs of the “offended” party.  We’d rather keep the truth of our wrongdoing to ourselves.

Consider this: How many people do you think do wrong things daily?  Even if 75% of those doing wrong do so on purpose, there are still 25% of those who’ve done wrong without intention.  Why should it be hard for 25% of the population to apologize when a mistake is made?  FYI – that would be about 1.75 billion people.  There would be media coverage and interviews due to the buzz of apology.

In our businesses, why is the act of apology disproportionate?  Specifically, why is it difficult to have senior leadership own their shortcomings?  News flash: There are qualified individuals in senior leadership roles who make mistakes.  Think about the first time you held a new position.  Not just with a new company, but the position itself was new to you.  You’d never been a manager before.  A director, a VP, or a CEO before.  It had to be the first time at some point.  Why would anyone think that someone in a new role would get it all right all of the time?  Apologies should be expected to come.

And pride?  Please.  You’re going to make mistakes.  Own them.  Your pride can handle it, and if you think it can’t, you shouldn’t be working where you work, or in the role you have…or with people.  Own it and say you’re sorry.  You cannot really think that you are the first to make an error, do you?  You think because you’re a CEO, you will damage your reputation or status as a leader by owning mistakes?  Think about what you’re doing to your reputation by not owning the mistakes you’ve made.  Everyone knows already; your screw-ups aren’t a secret.

The other side of the coin is not right either.  Don’t you know someone who often begins sentences with, “I’m sorry”?  Stop apologizing for so much.  When you say you’re sorry all of the time, it’s like crying wolf.  It loses its punch and sincerity.  What about when you really need to apologize?  Won’t it seem like every other sentence?

Offering the apology is appropriate when something was done wrong.  Offering the apology is appropriate when something was received wrongly.  Of course your intention is important, but it may not overshadow the way others took what you said/did.  The apology, too, does not negate the consequence that may come from your actions.  It does, however, set the tone for the consequence and it just might allow others to support you more willingly as you travel that road.

You may have noticed that the apology is one-sided.  Offering it does not mean the response you’d like will come.  You may apologize and that offended party may not forgive you.  That is not something you can fix.  The other party may need time, may need to work things out, may never come around.  That’s not your responsibility.  Yours is to genuinely say you’re sorry. 

Our staff and leadership need to know they can make mistakes, offer an apology, correct the errors and choose differently moving forward.  If the same errors keep happening, even though apologies are offered, it might not be the best role for the person.  Repetition is a great teacher both for the individual and the community.  Giving people room to learn means mistakes.  Giving people room to consistently repeat the same mistakes is foolishness. 

Again, saying your sorry is tough.  It’s uncomfortable and awkward.  It’s dynamically opposed to our natural inclination.  It’s a reminder to us that we’re not perfect.  Just remember that we’re all in the same boat.  That will help us to offer the apology from a right frame of reference…and maybe to receive it rightly, too. 

Problem

Healing.  It’s a gift.  In my life, I have experienced mercy and grace which has allowed healing to take place, mostly in myself and in relationship to others.  The ability to offer such a gift to others has no monetary price tag, but I know it comes at a cost.

When I have given a road for healing to others, it’s not always what I might want to do.  I defer to being bitter, angry, vindictive or self-righteous.  It’s my nature, and I don’t think I am alone in that.  I have a right to be hurt.  That person was callous, egotistical or just plain wrong.  And now, the relationship is damaged.  This damaged relationship is now impacting situations, workflow or other relationships.  The impact of this problem is tension, a rift or brokenness and it is far-reaching and, for businesses, costly.

As the week’s events between SHRM and HRCI have unfolded, I kept coming back to this idea of healing.  HR professionals know that we are often (if not always) called upon to mend relationship and change the course of brokenness in the workplace.  We converse with the injured parties; we bring our affirming communicative skills to bear on the situation; we coach the parties to seek resolution.  We recognize that there really can be someone in the wrong, but that does not have to be where the situation ends.  Now that error is seen, what are we doing to mend it?  We push for repair and then growth to learn how to deal with similar facts in the future.

SHRM and HRCI feel a little like Mom and Dad fighting.  This week, I have felt like the kid from the marriage watching, listening and being heart-broken.  I love both of my parents.  I have demonstrated allegiance to both sides and expressed love equally.  Just as in most divorce situations, Mom and Dad’s individual needs and wants have evolved for some time.  Both sides are looking back and trying to pinpoint when the complimentary paths diverged.  And regardless of fault or blame, they are now dealing with the gap that has widened between them and their expectations of each other.

The kids in a divorce situation want to help.  They want things to go back to how they were.  They want healing.  For us, as HR professionals, we must not choose sides but appreciate each side independently of the other.  It’s not our job to fix their relationship; these two sides consist of big girls and boys who can and should find their way to common ground for the sake of the professionals they serve.  Just as kids often cannot fix mom and dad’s relationship, we find ourselves heartsick observers. 

What we can choose to do is be a conduit for healing as opportunity strikes.  Share with each side how we feel.  Maintain the integrity of our roles as HR professionals.  Continue to be proud of the growth and accomplishments we’ve achieved that both sides have afforded, whether PHR/SPHR/GPHR certification or volunteer leadership positions in SHRM.  We have been cared for by both organizations.  Let’s return that care back to the two sides that are in need now.

Again, healing is a gift.  It’s not a wussy, feel good sentiment, but a willful decision with measurable results.  That kind of decision ought to be the type that we’re already used to making as HR professionals.  Listen up, Kids! There's a problem. Mom and Dad need us now. 

Waiting on the World to Change

Discipline.  Love it.  In the context of achieving a goal, it's fantastically needed.  To endeavor to lose weight, for example, requires discipline.  It requires commitment, determination and resolve.  I've been exercising forever.  My mom says that when I was a toddler, I used to watch a show, "Exercise with Gloria," on our local Philadelphia station and would imitate the aerobic and stretching moves.  I was committed to doing what she did - stance by stance, stretch by stretch.  As adults, when we watch someone exercise discipline towards such a health-related goal, we are inspired.

So why does the use of the word "discipline" have to change when applied to correction?  When I discipline one of my kids, which I hardly ever have to do because they rock (truth be told, they usually have to provide correction for their dad), I'd like to think I offer it as an encouragement towards excellence and validation of my commitment to their well-being.  Of course, the relational aspect helps to bridge these intentions.

In the workplace, can we provide a similar position in how we administer discipline?  Think about the goal of discipline at the workplace - it's to change behavior.  Let's do Psych 101, shall we?  Behavior modification is best achieved through a few steps at the workplace:

1. Define the problem for the employee and allow the employee to ask questions for understanding
2. Discuss practical ways to address the issue and allow for collaboration, when prudent, from the employee
3. Ensure the active behavior changes are both initiative and reactive in usage (What will I do differently? - initiative; How will I respond differently in the next similar situation? - reactive)
4. Hold the employee accountable for the agreed upon changes

Very simple and straight-forward, right?  Well, the list may be, but the implementation will take more effort.  For some of you, your companies already engage in this type of positive discipline, but for many, this represents a counter-culture method to the argumentative, vindictive or stoic nature of discipline currently in place.  We know that long-term behavioral changes come with deeper connectivity to the issue at hand and to the solutions that will affect the desired change.  Whether it's lateness or a problem with productivity, if we can provide discipline that outlines clearly the issue, the solution and the method to achieve it with collaborative understanding from the employee, it's a home run.

We get to be the ones who enact such change in approach to employee discipline.  Don't wait for your boss, your managers or the world, for that matter, to change first.  From a scientific and measurable way, we can show that approaching employee discipline from this angle will bring a marked difference.  Discipline is not a scary word or activity.  Now, strap on your Thigh Master while at work and get to it!  Get motivated to change employee discipline!

Tell Me Something Good

Performance reviews always make me smile.  All of the preparation put into it by managers and supervisors is overwhelming.  The stress level is high.  The loathing of the review by the preparer sets in deeply.  Resentment over spending a weekend or two to get them done overflows into a negative reaction concerning other components of the job.  And let’s not forget the anxiety of the recipient of the review.  They hope for a good appraisal so that the raise they expect/deserve happens.

Isn’t it a great cycle?  Every year, six months or maybe even quarterly, a manager and a subordinate sit together to review that subordinate’s performance.  The process can be draining.  I was just asked to review a particular company’s performance review plan.  The actual review was six pages to complete (Yikes!).  One manager has 20 employees that report to him.  Wow!  No wonder his response is to hate these reviews.  They take an incredible amount of time.

And what about those reviews, especially if they are annual, that connect directly to compensation.  If you hit a 3.4 average, you get a 3% raise, but if you hit a 3.3 average, you only get a 1.5% raise.  How many managers have to alter scores so that the employee gets the raise?  Is that a real review of performance or just documentation to file so that a raise can be given? 

Part of the basis of philosophy on performance reviews has to be considered.  Why are they being done?  To justify a raise? To merely say they are being done?  Why?  If the reason is to actually honestly review the performance of the employee, then we’ve got it right. 

So many managers struggle to be honest about performance.  They know that a certain employee will flip his/her lid and make things really difficult moving forward.  Really?  That’s a reason to curtail a review?  It sounds like this person should be encouraged out of the organization.  I mean, who’s in charge?  If performance standards are not being met and the recipient is belligerent about it, then I don’t see why we’d waste time coaching someone who does not feel he/she needs it.  Move on.

The review is not only a time to tell someone what’s wrong, but also what’s been really good.  It’s more than okay to tell them something good.  Be honest about it, though.  Don’t make up stuff.  And don’t try to compare an innocuous “good” thing to a really bad performance reality.  For instance:

“Jim, thanks so much for being great during the holiday food drive.  You brought in more canned goods than anyone else.  Fantastic.  But you know, the financial analysis work you’re doing seems to be missing a few components each time and it has not improved.  We’ve talked about this before and I am not seeing much improvement.”

Are we really going to compare the holiday food drive participation (non-work essential) to a core job function (directly work essential)?  The employees we speak with are not stupid (I know, there are exceptions) and can see that there isn’t much good you have to share if the best you can come up with is that he brought more cans of creamed corn in than anyone else.  Let’s think critically on our part and provide dignity on the part of the employee.  If the best we got is creamed corn, then shouldn’t we try to move this person out of the organization or at least to a different area where his skills would better align?

Reviews are to be just that – reviews.  There should not be anything discussed in the formality of the sit-down that someone hasn’t heard previously.  Using the example above, the supervisor reminds Jim that they had discussed his missteps with financial analysis before – perfect.  Now, the review provides an opportunity to right the ship, if it’s not already happened.  Develop a plan and a range of results expected with the employee.  Use the sit-down to establish parameters. 

The busyness of the daily workload can be prohibitive to formal objectives, but the review provides a dedicated time to develop those goals and objectives.  The employee should have a voice in the development of those goals, so use part of that time to do so.  It takes some of the pressure off of the manager if he/she can get participation in success.

I know that in one blog article, we can’t solve the world’s problems with performance reviews, but we can start.  Think through what you and your company are doing.  Is it working?  If not, what has to change?  Are you seeking help, if needed, to restructure?  If it’s working, why?  Keep those core truths close and make decisions that support them.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The first performance review I received had all 5’s on it and one 3.  The three was for employee communications – how I spoke to other employees.  Two things, even in my early 20’s, struck me with this.  One, I knew I wasn’t a 5 in everything.  No way.  And the second, for me to get a 3 in one area that had never been spoken about to me previously, must mean that I really stink at it.  I was dejected that this was a reality that no one shared with me.  I would have addressed it in myself.  I was a little bitter towards the manager.  I was unhappy with this bomb (in my estimation) being dropped.  Oh, and by the way, I got my raise.  Effective?  Hmmmmmm…

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

Tear in my eye for another end to another summer.  Kids are heading back to school, traffic increases again, school supplies will cost me $10,000 (OK, I exaggerate but pretzels, tissues and disinfectant wipes...really?).  Weekends will be full of soccer, baseball and football games.  And of course, we move into Pumpkin Spice season where everything produced now must have that flavor for two months.  There's no way around the transition; we've got to embrace that time marches on.

Within our organizations, we should find such transitions.  Business has a life to it.  There's an ebb and flow.  It doesn't mean, necessarily, just in terms of profits, but also in terms of talent, creativity, ingenuity, design and development.  We have watched great talent come and go.  We have had peaks of incredible and energetic design and then valleys of "writer's block."  Those of us in the trenches have witnessed these seasons, especially the longer we've been with a company.

What we may have also witnessed is denial.  Denial that this can occur.  Denial that the company needs to change and to evolve in order to keep up with the changing seasons, let alone lead the charge in the change.  Some of us have experienced our companies putting their shades on and hoping for the best.  Hope is a valuable commodity and it sets a tone, but hope does not pay the bills.  Action is needed and a plan must be developed.

Avoiding a reality does not make it go away.  As people, we may struggle with this.  Our personal lives may contain areas that we don't like; instead of addressing the problem and creating a solution, we may stick our heads in the sand and hope it goes away.  How's that plan been working for ya?

Companies are no different.  They are run by people.  People who in their personal lives may use avoidance as a coping mechanism.  Those people then use similar techniques as they lead organizations or manage departments and teams.  They do what they are used to doing.  Someone has to jolt those people back to true reality.

When companies like Singer, Brother and Kodak kept their heads in the sand too long, they missed the boat.  Technology and business development moved on without them.  How sad would it be for Samsung, Apple or Google to find themselves in similar straits in ten to twenty years?  I know that seems unlikely, but I am sure those admirers of Singer, Brother and Kodak would have felt the same.

HR professionals should be able to have the honest conversation with their leadership.  If you cannot, then you might want to start with that dialogue.  How can I represent the company effectively in managing talent without having an outlet to debrief, discuss and correct?  You've got to have a voice.  If you've got that voice, then your company needs you to use it.  Examine what can be done better, differently.  Look to see what the competition is doing, what the market is doing.  Look to see where those things are going.  Study your piece of the pie and the pie as a whole.

Avoiding the necessary changes and the seasons of development will not set you or your company up for success.  Wearing sunglasses at night will not change reality once the glasses are removed and the lights are turned on.  Speak with passionate intensity around where the company is to go.  Have a plan, not a complaint list.  Have data, not just a feeling.  Have solutions, not just problems.

And if wearing sunglasses for those conversations makes you feel a little bit cooler, tougher and stronger, then go for it.  I have my Wayfarers on right now...

Blurred Lines

You had to know that I would want to use this song for a blog.  I mean, it's the song of the summer.  It's all about having a great time dancing and trying to get a woman.  You know, even though she's a good girl, it's a man's goal to get her to know "she wants it."  Healthy stuff.

Where is Alan Thicke to counsel his son, Robin?  He did such a great job as a psychiatrist on Growing Pains...didn't he pick up some skills to use at home?  Respect for women is not shown by having them prance naked while you sing, "you wanna hug me? What rhymes with hug me?"  And we pay money for this?  I lived this in middle school fantasies.  Is this our adult audience now?

While the beat is dig-able, for sure, the lyrics/message, not so much.  I am no prude, but maybe it's due to how aware I am of what HR gets to deal with on a regular basis.  Sexual harassment is not a once in a while thing for many industries.  I have worked and do work with companies in the restaurant/hospitality, distribution, manufacturing and banking/finance industries.  Ridiculous amounts of sexually-laced communication occur.  And the majority of it is assumed to be welcome and conversant, so therefore okay.

Really? Guess what happens when one of the two participants in "just" inappropriate dialogue gets upset with the company for an unrelated issue?  I hope you guessed!  Everything that once was jovial and understood to be kidding is now represented as unwelcome and forced.  Yes, even language - jokes, innuendos, "you knows."  The liability is great to the company and the risk for the employee's professional future is off the charts.

Again, it's not about being a "stick in the mud" HR person.  I cannot tell you how many holiday parties or summer barbecues I've walked into and saw shoulders slump down upon seeing me.  You know, "Uh oh, here comes the HR cop."  Typically, to throw them off, I ask the DJ to play "Hot in Herre" by Nelly and stand in the middle of the dance floor to see who will join me (it's really funny).  

HR professionals have to keep the company's best interests at heart and in mind.  We have to do that, even when we have to protect the company from the CEO or other C-Suite folks.  If we have to engage with employees to keep them from proliferating sexist language or stereotyping, then that's what we do.  What's the alternative?  To allow it to go on and wait for the company to be sued out of existence?  How does that help?  

I know that some of you reading this are thinking, "Seriously, John? Everyone is just too sensitive."  While I might not disagree with a bit of that sentiment, I do know that something that often helps people to re-focus is to replace the subject of their crudeness or inappropriate language to someone they care for.  I have counseled many men to talk to me about how they would feel if another man were speaking of their wife or daughter in the way they had been speaking about a female co-worker.  Simple, yes, but often really eye-opening.  Many men will tell me that they would not appreciate another man referring to a daughter's body, for example.  Well, guess what?  Every woman is someone's daughter.  Further, they could be someone's wife or mother.  The perspective gets real when this is challenged...the lines are not as blurry.

And I know that women are sometimes the offenders, not the offendees.  I realize this, but I am also aware that the statistics point to us guys more as being the ones committing the infractions.  We can proliferate the stereotypes of women merely being objects rather than equals.

Look at recent events in San Diego or one of a thousand other places.  And while we can joke about the blurred lines, we know they really aren't.  If you have to look around before you're going to share what you are about to share, just shut up.  Don't say it.  That's your conscience telling you not to open your mouth.  Obey it.

If you are a married man, think about the conversation you'll have to have with your wife to explain why you've been fired.  Imagine sitting at the kitchen table sharing that while you and a couple of buddies thought it was really funny to try to get "Susan" to bend over often, it didn't end up funny after she proved harassment.  You lost your job and she is now suing you in civil court.  Makes you re-think things a little bit, right?

Don't fear, HR.  Be the "Stick in the Mud!"  You're not, but own it if it falls to you.  Our lives are not music videos and we are not pop stars.  We work in the real world, with real people and real feelings...and real lawsuits.  Protect the company and protect the people in the company.  Respect is more productive than disrespect.  There's nothing blurry about it.

Desperately Wanting

Professionalism is not passe.  I am not sure who started this rumor, but that person is wrong.  The business community still regards appropriate engagement in conversation and the written word to matter. 

For instance:

• If you're applying for a job and the phone number you put on your resume is not the right number, please correct.  How do you expect to be reached?  Just via email?  Sometimes that's not enough.  Update your resume to reflect how you want to be contacted and remove any information that is wrong.
• When you work for an organization, it's not smart to share with others why you hate your boss.  It's not smart to do that at work and it's really not smart to do that online.  Facebook and Twitter do not need to know that your boss's bad habit of biting his/her nails is leading you to look for another job.  They don't care if you're working 60 hours a week but only being paid for 40.  They don't care that Swedish Fish have been replaced in the vending machine with low-fat Fig Newtons.  Burning a bridge is never a wise, professional decision, especially one that's now in annals of the Internet for all of eternity.
• A meeting time is just that - a time.  When you say that you will meet someone at 3:00, that does not mean 3:15.  It actually means 2:50.  And don't laugh it off once you arrive.  Apologize.  The occasional traffic issue will happen and is completely understandable; that's the exception, not the rule.  Professionally, look to show your appointment you care by respecting their time.
• If you use your own cell phone number for work purposes or as you search for a new role, please get rid of the "please enjoy the music while your party is being reached" feature.  Let the phone just ring, for Pete's sake.  I don't want to hear a scene from Scarface, music from Tupac as you voice-over a declaration that you know he's still alive or your child saying "Wait for Daddy" over and over again.  This is your business line; treat it as such.

This is not a rant (alright, maybe a little) but rather a reminder to respect yourself enough to know how to engage and behave as a professional.  I went to college a while ago.  I did not have a class that taught me how to be professional when I left college.  I was the guy who wore PJ's to class on occasion, challenged classmates to name the full cast of Love Boat (both character and real names) while instruction was going on and left a drool ring on most of the notebooks I had for class.  I needed to be more professional than that once I left college, and I knew it!

Do we know that today?  This is not about age.  It's about consideration.  Entitlement has swept through our culture like wildfire.  We expect others to acquiesce to us.  "This is how I am" is a mantra of freedom that we embrace.  The problem is that when you have to collaborate with others and rely on others, you cannot always just be who you are. 

It may be your right to answer a phone saying "'Sup," but is that the way you want to be known?  Is that the way you want your company to be known?  Let me say that the answer may be yes.  But what I do know is that we don't ask first how what we do will reflect the company; we hope that it won't be a big deal as we think about it afterwards.  Professionalism takes forethought.

The workplace is not home.  You have to think about how what you do will impact others and what message it will give about the organization.  And if you are not working, your potential employer is thinking about how you will fit within the culture.  Your entitled perspective, though your right, might keep you from being hired.  Humility is a lost art in the workplace and it's one we should display.

Think about your demeanor.  Think about your understanding of professionalism.  What do you know versus what do you show?  Are they the same?

Our companies are desperately wanting those who will set the tone for engagement.  It is about skill sets.  It is about education.  It is about abilities.  It is, also, about professionalism.  We can present all of what the company has and knows in a broader way if we know how to appeal to a broader audience.  Professionalism takes knowledge, thought and practice.  It's just like how I worked on knowing the full cast (both character and real names) for Eight is Enough.  Ah, college...