The good folks at Great Leadership by Dan have posted their third installment of the Leadership Development Carnival.  And the theme?  

“This month’s edition takes a political flavor. Recently, a new vice-president candidate has emerged out of nowhere, Sarah Palin, from “the great state of Alaska”. She’s taken a lot of media criticism for her lack of leadership experience, so I thought I’d dedicate this carnival to her, as a way to help get her ramped up for her new potential leadership role.”

Like most things political, morbid curiosity will cause you to click through.  Don’t be shy…but before you leave I have some homework for you.  Come up with an HR related comparison that ends in the punch-line ”Lipstick!”.  Here are a few to get you warmed up:

• What’s the difference between a qualified corporate climber and a cross-dressing high performer?
• If your HR strategy plan were a pig, what would it be missing?

Let’s keep the conversation going and hockey mom anger under control.

I’ve had fourteen days respite from the cacophony of noise which swirls about the heads of our glorious HR market.  I haven’t picked up a trade magazine, attended a conference or drawn obvious human resources correlations using metaphorical hurricanes, presidential candidates or Michael Phelps.  No press interviews.  No white papers.  No self-important statements predicting the rise and fall of Vendor X or Strategy Y.  No table and no seat.  

Like a windsurfer who can’t turn, I drifted further from the shores of the obsessive, multi-media, real-time update world of industry analysis.  It wasn’t a conscious choice, but the wind kept blowing and the horizon seemed endless.  This wasn’t the product of a vacation or a woodsy retreat with only pocket knife and compass.  It was purely accidental.  I was busy dealing with the complexities of life, work and everything that comes with it.

I share this because it was during this time of contemplation that I remembered something important.  We are in the people business.  Not some fluffy, eye-roll inducing, feel-good/do-good version of HR, but the true business of people.  And whether we like to admit it or not, lives are impacted by the daily decisions we make as human resource professionals.  Often in the throws of impersonal analysis and macro strategies, we forget the champagne of a job well done and the tears of a career suddenly ended.  

I’ve heard a lot in the past few weeks by simply listening.  In coffee shops, the airport, the grocery store and the conference room.  Often, the sound is that of living life around work… sometimes, in spite of work.  A quiet desperation where “Keep your head down” and “Stay off the radar” rue the day.  This troubles me and makes me wonder whether we’re actually hearing what employees are saying, what keeps them up at night, what impacts their ability and willingness to do more than the minimum amount to get by day after day.

Don’t worry though, my natural tendency toward sarcasm will return.  I’ll get back on the horse and ride around with big consultant speak and peer again into the crystal ball.  But to survive in such a challenging industry as ours, it sometimes helps to pause, take stock of our collective purpose and recharge the batteries.  We’re a constant dichotomy between cynicism and hope, but our collective success will require fresh eyes and a clean lens.  If not for the temptation of actually making a difference, why would we torture ourselves by working in HR?  Let’s keep the conversation going. 

It’s an inevitable and sometimes uncomfortable situation.  You’re in a meeting or on a conference call and not everyone has arrived, requiring you to banter with the client/boss/partner mano y mano.  How do you engage in small talk and build rapport?  If you get nervous and start to stammer, what do you do?  Do people even care about small talk in today’s fast-paced business world?

Whether we like it or not, small talk is a necessary skill for corporate survival.  But there is a distinct difference between thoughtful engagement and outright BS (believe me, I’ve done both).  There are endless sources available on this topic but here are my four tips for leaving a positive impression:

1. Do Your Homework.  If you arrive empty handed to the situation, you are likely to stumble.  Gather nominal information on the person’s location, interests, family situation, etc.  The goal is to find something relevant to discuss.  Did they just take a vacation or are they planning one?  Did some major news/weather event just occur in their geography?  Are they an aficionado of writing?…sports?…movies?…dogs?  A little legwork can go a long way.
2. Make It About Them.  The temptation to bring the conversation back to you is often irresistible.  The goal here is not to demonstrate your Renaissance-like expertise but instead to show genuine interest in the other party.  This is done through a series of open ended questions (i.e., not ”yes”/”no”) that get them engaged in a topic they are experts in - themselves and their lives.  
3. Be Genuine.  This is the easiest for me to write and often the most difficult to execute.  Just remember that people can be absolutely fascinating, so pay attention, maintain eye contact (if in person), provide verbal reinforcement and repeat a portion of what they conveyed as you segue into the next question.  Pretend you had to write an essay about this person’s life and you really want to figure out what makes them tick.
4. Know When to Put the Shovel Down.  If you are digging a hole and things go south, stop the small talk immediately.  As desperation and anxiety build, the smell of BS tends to get stronger.  Immediately cut to something related to the meeting or, if necessary, excuse yourself for a moment to grab a cup of coffee or ask where the restrooms are located.  They will appreciate your level of situational awareness and you will want a small window to regroup.

My colleagues who read this blog all have an example of where I’ve failed miserably in this area.  In fact, most have seen me crash and burn with seemingly endless stories and outright humiliating behavior.  If the strongest lessons in life come from failure, I am an expert on small talk.  

One quick example is the time a new executive was moving into his office and I examined a framed portrait on his desk.  ”Great picture of you and your brother Jim!”, I proclaimed with a smile.  ”That’s my wife.” said Jim morosely, snatching the picture from my hands.  I backed out of his office slowly.  For some reason Jim and I never got along from that point forward.

Let’s keep the conversation small talk going.   

A female friend of mine was having a conversation with her female colleague the other day and they were discussing the etiquette and courtesy associated with men holding doors for women.  The colleague saw clear and distinct geographical differences in the answer to this question, with Southern men trained as automatic door holders while Northern (particularly Northeastern) men seemed less inclined to notice or care.  Both agreed that this was a polite gesture, particularly if one’s hands were full, and were irritated with those men who did not have the slightest inclination to help.

Cut to a conversation with a male colleague who went to a university heralded for it’s human resources program.  The professor of one HR course went so far as to convey that it is sexist and inappropriate for a man to hold a door for a woman, and that in the workplace, one needs to be overtly aware of how such actions can cause offense.  The conclusion?  Avoid door-holding at all costs.

In her book The Etiquette Edge, Beverly Langford posed the following question to test your courtesy quotient.  Which answers would you choose?

When you reach the doorway at the same time as a person of the opposite sex, the following rules apply: (pg. 13)

(a) Whoever arrives first should open it and hold it for those who are following.
(b) Men should still open doors for women.
(c) Women should open doors for men to prove they are no longer oppressed.
(d) Always open and hold the door for someone of either sex if that person has his or her hands full.

According to Landford, the answer is both (a) and (d), and I tend to agree.  

That’s right - I say with pride that I am an unabashed door holder.  As for geography, I was mostly raised in the Midwest, went to school in the South, lived in the West and now live in the East.  I have never had anyone of either sex scoff at the idea of me holding the door.  (If anything, I tend to get a little pissy with people who don’t say thank you, but that’s for another post.)  For me, holding doors is just polite, regardless of ones sex.  And sometimes, in today’s busy and impersonal world, one simple gesture can go a long way.  Let’s keep the conversation (and door holding) going.

In watching coverage of the games last evening, my wife and I were discussing the overwhelming complexity involved in managing and deploying the Olympics.  With so many nations each carrying such unique agendas and goals, what overarching principles are applied to such a multifaceted assembly?  What procedures are in place to ensure proper philosophical governance of an event with such global implications?  

After a simple search, I came upon the site of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a place teeming with information and history.  What caught my eye was not the obvious data on site selection, symbolism or management, but instead the Olympic Charter.  The Charter is 104 pages in length and contains every conceivable rule and regulation associated with the Olympics.  

What stopped me in my tracks were The Fundamental Principles of Olympism (pg. 11).  I read these through and immediate wished that employers could convey such a simple set of ideals to their employees.  In replacing the word “sport” with “work”, I think you’ll see my point:

Since Monday’s post entitled, “Outsourcers - Let’s Get Ready to Rumble“, much has occurred in the great debate surrounding those who list and rank the best in the industry.  One particular development has caused me tremendous concern.  

As many of you are aware, Phil Fersht of AMR Research had posted a simple survey asking buyers, providers and influencers to “rate the raters”.  This morning, Phil announced that the findings of the survey were tainted by false respondents claiming to be Fortune 500 organizations.  Per Phil’s Horses for Sources blog:

“Unfortunately, I received a very large number of suspicious survey responses from a host of “FORTUNE 500 buyers”, whose IP addresses - for some reason - all seemed to emanate from the couple of locations. I received a very large number of these survey submissions clustered within a short time-frame, and they had no names or email addresses attached. They also all had selected one particular list-maker as “highly credible”, while simultaneously describing the same 2 others as having “poor credibility”.”

As someone who has been in this industry for some time now, I am terribly saddened and disappointed to see such a simple attempt at an open information capture to be fraudulently tainted.  Unfortunately, this type of behavior simply perpetuates an area of the industry wrought with increasing distrust.  It seems to me that once again things will have to get worse before they get better.  

Let’s keep the conversation going and our integrity intact.  

We’ve all been there at one time or another - the logical conversation that suddenly turns emotional.  The irrational leader’s flame consumes everything in its path, the spoken word oxygen that feeds the fire into a frenzied tempest of damage and destruction.  Dramatic enough for you?  You get the point.  And whether it involves negotiating a raise, a project, what you’re having for dinner, a movie choice or a business relationship, it helps to have a few pointers to help you get through those unexpectedly difficult times.

The Latz Negotiation Institute wrote a piece in December of 2000 entitled, Dealing With the Irrational, Real or Posed, Is Tough.  The article argues that one of the most critical (and difficult) pieces to assess is whether the other party is truly irrational or simply trying to appear irrational.  So how does one diagnose truth versus fiction?

“First, take a deep breath. This is not your garden-variety negotiation and it will require you to dig deeper than usual into your negotiation toolbox…. Then closely observe and evaluate the sincerity of your counter-party’s allegedly irrational actions. Listen carefully to what that person is telling you - verbally and nonverbally.  Are their actions consistently irrational, or is their irrational behavior limited to certain instances or episodic in nature? The more limited and inconsistent the irrational behavior, the more likely it’s a ploy.”

 And if they are faking their irrationality?

“Our natural response? Give him whatever he wants. He’s crazy, and he’s got his finger on the nuclear trigger. We can’t take the chance that he’ll push it, so we better concede. [Instead] find an opportunity to openly point out our knowledge of their acting talents. Then treat them like any other rational but tricky negotiation opponent.”

But what if they are truly irrational?

“Explore the reasons underlying their irrational behavior. Find out why they’re so consumed with anger that they can’t listen to reason. Perhaps it’s a personality conflict. Or perhaps an unrelated event has put them into this temporary state of mind… If it’s an emotional outburst or related to a recent traumatic event, take a break. Given sufficient time, individuals often will become more reasoned and reasonable.

And if none of this works, re-evaluate your leverage and your alternative to this agreement. How much do you really need or want an agreement with an irrational individual? After all, terminating the negotiation may be your only rational course of action.”

All excellent guidance.  Beyond Latz’ advice, look to organizations such as Vantage Partners to help with your most complex, global negotiations.  Keep your cool, and let’s keep the conversation going.

The challenge to many HR executives is formidable - place an increased emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) while ensuring a connection to business results.  This is simple enough to state, but reasonable questions are often raised when preparing to execute a holistic CSR strategy.  Should HR lead by example or policy?  Is CSR participation optional or mandatory?  Does “good” CSR positively impact recruiting, retention and referrals, and if so, how?  What are the hard and soft benefits of a properly aligned CSR strategy?

As you can likely surmise, this is a broad topic with numerous implications.  In an attempt to narrow the conversation, I’ve captured three distinct perspectives for your consideration.

1) Linking CSR to MBA Recruiting: 

The Stanford Graduate School of Business reported on a recent study which found that, “the future business leaders rank corporate social responsibility high on their list of values, and they are willing to sacrifice a significant part of their salaries to find an employer whose thinking is in synch with their own”.  When asked to quantify their commitment to CSR, respondents said, “they would sacrifice an average of $14,902 a year, or 14.4 percent of their expected salary” for those organizations which embody caring for employees, caring for stakeholders, environmental sustainability, and ethical business conduct.   

2) Sourcing CSR via Incentives and Employee Engagement:

Elizabeth Seeger, Project Manager with the Corporate Partnerships Program of the Environmental Defense Fund, finds innovative organizations sourcing concepts from employees and linking compensation to CSR performance:

“In my conversations with companies, a lot of them are finding that their best CSR ideas and most of the motivation for CSR related activities are coming from their employees.  Many companies have set up hotlines or some way to get ideas from employees to management.

Also from the HR perspective, companies are starting to tie environmental (and perhaps) social performance to compensation.  I met with a company doing this the other day and they’ve been able to drive significant performance improvements and reduce costs through better efficiency.  This will become increasingly common, I think, as we enter a carbon-constrained world and start dealing with water scarcity and waste issues” 

3) CSR’s Impact on Brand and Brand Equity:

For those of you just getting started, consider purchasing Kellie A. McElhaney’s Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand.  As Executive Director and Adjunct Assistant Professor of the Center for Responsible Business at Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, McElhaney emphasizes seven principles for building CSR into your brand, with two HR-centric examples below:  

“Get a Good Fit: It’s tough to select just one social or environmental cause to champion when every one is worthy, needed and critical. Your job is simple: Pick a social or environmental challenge for which you own part of the solution (or helped to cause it). For example, tackling homelessness and partnering with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that builds houses, is a perfect fit for appliance-maker Whirlpool. It behooves Whirlpool to have as many homes as possible buying their home appliances. 

Work from the Inside Out: To employees who are educated about it, CSR is like a drug: Give them a little, and they’ll want a whole lot more. Start by educating your employees about your CSR strategy. Your employees are not only your biggest (and most efficient) brand ambassadors; eventually, they may come to you with better CSR ideas and strategies.”

Regardless of your current level of CSR competency, current and future employees will place increasing demands upon HR for answers.  Prepare yourself, study the literature, seek assistance from your peers and open up communication channels from within.  If done well, CSR can prove to be one of the most rewarding endeavors of your human resources career. 

Let’s keep the conversation (and CSR) going.

Cupcakes.  Georgetown Cupcakes, to be precise.  The story was on the Today Show, chronicling how people were willing to stand in long lines for their favorite foodstuffs.  In this case, a choice of 20 frosting-laden varieties that may cost you an hour or more of your life.  And with the economy causing some to reassess their financial futures, perhaps we should not be surprised to find a burgeoning job market in “line standing”. 

The ad could read - “Are you either too lazy or self-important to support your own body weight?  If yes, operators are standing by with comfortable shoes and a waterproof parka.”  

Take this story from last fall’s Washington Post.  It seems that lobbyists have been hiring hourly workers to secure them the choicest seats in congressional hearing rooms.  Said the article:

“Washington has a lot of bizarre practices, and it often takes an outsider to recognize them. Line-standing has been around for 15 years, and by now people on the Hill hardly see it anymore — hardly see the people with folding chairs and blankets waiting outside congressional office buildings in the middle of the night, then lining up to shuffle into the building in the mornings, and setting up camp again outside hearing rooms, where they nap and talk (sometimes to themselves) and wait for their clients to arrive. And when the clients come, perky and caffeinated, having slept all night in real beds, they relieve the line-standers and nab seats in the hearing rooms — the closer to the dais of power, the better.”

But it’s not limited to our nation’s capitol.  We saw examples with the release of the iPhone last summer, an entrepreneur cashing on at the Vancouver passport office and even Comcast’s hiring of the homeless for a net neutrality hearing.  Heck, if you live in San Diego and are “reliable”, you can still earn $150 helping out a Comic Con fanatic who needs his beauty sleep.   

Not to deprive those in need of job opportunities, but in a time of war, a housing crisis and the rising costs of basic goods and services, it’s hard to believe that we citizens can afford to pour our hard-earned money into the simplest of activities - the line.  But don’t worry about my seemingly nonsensical rant…I’m not a cutter.

Let’s keep the conversation going (in an orderly fashion). 

The other day over dinner, a friend of mine was describing a problem she was having at the office.  It seems that every time someone she worked with did or said something stupid, her left eyebrow would rise like a hockey stick.  It was completely involuntary, and based on some unusual feedback she had received questioning her professionalism in the office, she was worried that her well-coifed little friend was causing her some real problems.  She then posed a reasonable question:

 ”So how do I stop my ****ing eyebrow from moving??”

In his 1991 bestseller Body Language in the Workplace, author Julius Fast describes this problem as subtext:

“In any exchange between two people or within a group, messages are communicated not only through what is said, but also through the underlying dynamics of what is not said: the subtext.  Subtext is the kind of covert language that may add to the spoken text, reinforcing it or strengthening it; or may contradict the text, canceling out any promises or agreements.” (pg. 12)

Most of us know what subtext means and that body language is a critical component to conveying a proper message, but what I liked about Fast’s definition was the bit about “canceling out any promises or agreements”.  This betrayal of the spoken word occurs all around us, when one parting glance quickly dismisses an hour’s worth of seemingly progressive discussions.  It occurs when that positive performance review is tainted by an ill-timed smirk, a glance downward, a dour looking mouth or a meaningless at-a-boy pat on the back.  

I cannot quantify the amount of time that is spent by employees diagnosing and analyzing the intent behind each of the 5,000+ facial expressions conveyed by those around them, but I do know that intensive interpretation occurs among fellow workers during the executive brown bag lunch, the internal product launch, the corporate event and thousands of other interactions that occur every single day.  I can also tell you this - it matters to people.  It matters a great deal and sometimes we wish it didn’t matter at all.  

Back to my friend with the eyebrows.  A colleague quipped that Botox might do the trick, but then we have the problem of the expressionless face, perhaps causing another set of contextual misunderstandings.  Even Google failed me on searching for a proper eyebrow control training system, focusing more on fashion than functional control.  Alas, we may find ourselves in front of the mirror trying to use Pavlovian techniques or age old parlor tricks to stop our bodies from doing any number of things that cause us harm in the workplace, no subtext intended.

Let’s keep the (nonverbal) conversation going.