Platinum Jubilee

The Queen is an underrated leader. 70 years of constancy. Quiet, humble, gracious, resilient, impactful and influential - without authority! That is great leadership. Today all of Great Britain unites, honors and celebrates - history and tradition. Even US television is airing the Platinum Jubilee live. That is Influence and Impact. Honestly, a welcome escape from the daily headlines of more violence, tragedy and divisiveness. Perhaps our elected leaders should take note. And instead of being loud, angry, and divisive, tearing down our statues, institutions and history - we can rally around and take pride in all that is good here and how far we've come. A little national pride goes a long way. And speaking of Pride - June being Pride Month - we should be proud that nowhere in the world is the LGBTQ+ community more respected, more welcomed, with more allies. There is still a long way to go...but for now lets celebrate how far we've grown as a nation and community as a beacon of freedom and hope. There is a reason why so many millions of people across the globe still try to make a new life here...
#leadership
#leaders
#platinumjubilee
#pridemonth

Failure of Leadership

FAILURE of Leadership. We all talk a lot about leadership on this platform - the impact of good and bad leadership. However, we rarely talk about the failure of leadership in our government - which is the largest employer in the country. Our elected officials from both parties can unite overnight to provide $40 Billion of military aid to help fight a war against Russian aggression - which we should - but they can't agree on sensible gun laws here in the US?! This is an outrage. This is embarrassing. This is a failure of leadership. Both parties. Doesn't matter which party holds the White House. Doesn't matter which party controls Congress. Epic fail by everyone - each administration. Leaders don't blame. Leaders get things done. Different times call for different types of leadership styles: Consultative and Collaborative isn't working. This is not the time for humble leadership either. Where is the hero leader who can act and demonstrate AUTHORITATIVE leadership? If we can agree to send TENS of BILLIONS of dollars to help protect and save innocent people around the world...AND WE SHOULD...at the very least we should also be able to agree on how to save and protect our children at home in school. Let's just start there. It would cost a fraction of the financial aid we provide to protect people abroad - to secure every school in the US. And not by arming teachers...that is nonsense so stop it. Roughly half of schools already have professionally trained armed guards. We need to fund the other half...and provide protocols for security cameras and securing school environments. We don't need tactical teams in military gear standing guard like at airports and military bases scaring children - which some opponents say is the reason not to have armed security. That is nonsense too. My daughter's school has lovely, warm, plain clothes professional security - who carry concealed weapons - and secure access and egress. Everyone knows it. Students aren't scared. They feel safe. We don't have to have a 2nd Amendment debate now. But if you aren't old enough to buy a beer or a pack of cigarettes then you aren't old enough to buy a gun. I now have to wait up to six months for my TSA pre-check to renew - but I don't have to wait for a background check to buy a gun in many states? Insane. You need to take tests to get a license to drive a car but not buy and operate an assault weapon? Disgraceful. Get this done. Hold a press conference every single day and name and shame every politician from each party that won't cooperate. Bring massive pressure on the lobbyists and threaten to bring the full force of the US government on them. Issue an executive order and let the courts decide but in the meantime our kids will be safe. Just get it done. Secure the schools. Save our children. Do your job.

Texas school shooting victims identified (statesman.com)

Boomerang

I see MUCH more reward than risk in hiring boomerang employees! Major life disruption is a primary catalyst for career reflection. And companies throwing money and perks around like they are free contributed to the Great Resignation too. That is understandable. But while market forces and influences may change, fundamentals for sustained engagement and fulfillment do not: Culture and Purpose win. If it takes leaving for perspective - that will only make employees even more committed and engaged if you welcome them back! At Ellucian, we are not only a destination for new hires, but for boomerangs too…Welcome back!

Hiring Great Resignation ‘boomerang employees’ (fastcompany.com)

eLive2022

What a tremendous week at #eLive2022! I served as emcee for three exciting days of activities and had the honor of interviewing Aaron Sorkin — one of the greatest storytellers of our time. My sincere thanks to the Ellucian team and our extended production staff, all of the speakers, and the many thousands of educators who attended in-person and virtually. It was truly an event to remember! #ellucianlife

Lessons in Leadership

Lessons in Leadership! Imagine this...at your next company celebration...the person giving remarks makes a joke that an executive doesn't like and he walks up to the stage and assaults the person and calmly walks back to his seat...and then shouts obscenities in front of everyone. What would happen? What would you do? Would you then give that person Employee of the Year Award 15 minutes later and applaud because he cries and says he is defending his family and apologizes to everyone except the person he assaulted? I have loved Will Smith from the Fresh Prince through every major film - but last night he committed a criminal act and assaulted Chris Rock on international television because he didn't like a joke - and then calmly walked back to his seat and screamed obscenities. And no one does anything about it...and thats ok?! Why wasn't he escorted out of the arena in handcuffs? Why wasn't he disqualified from receiving the award...where was the Academy leadership? And because the actor cries and says he is defending his family and trying to "be the light" and do what "God put him there to do" but doesn't apologize to the viewers, parents, children or Chris Rock...doesn't express remorse - instead justifies his actions?!?! Great leadership! All around! Where is the outrage? Then he is filmed partying afterwards with great joy -- not even demonstrating an ounce of remorse or humility afterwards!? Shameful. We need to make sure that our children know that actors are not role models...they are just actors...we pay them to entertain us. We register our opinion by choosing to pay and watch them or not. Unfortunately our society too often fawns over celebrity and kids follow the wrong "role models." Millions of young adult men who idolize Will Smith now think it is ok to assault someone if they don't like their words. I for one am done supporting anything Will Smith does unless he pays some price like anyone else would...and he expresses genuine remorse, asks for forgiveness, and somehow makes this right for the millions of parents and their children who admire him.
#willsmith
#leadership
#lessonsinleadership
#boycottwillsmith

March Musings

I haven't posted here in a month...It has been a month of introspection...so there is a lot on my mind.
I guess we're done with Covid...? Masks? Boosters?
Amazon announced they are closing their Seattle office because of crime...
Someone gets attacked every day in my hometown of NYC...on the streets...or in the subway...or now in a museum...
And then of course there are the horrors of Ukraine...the sites my daughter and I visited weeks before the invasion...now obliterated...friends in hiding and leaving their country...I am riveted to the television...I can't believe what we all are watching...and that it is 2022 and it is happening...
And Human Rights Watch chronicles the violations and atrocities that occur every day around the world...

So I just didn't feel like posting something banal about the "Great Resignation" - because everyone in media is now an expert - and they have finally "cracked the code" on the reasons why people are unhappy at work and leaving their jobs...the truth is there is nothing new here...if that was a mystery to you...if you think what people want is "new" - then you either haven't been paying attention or you are new to this - but this is not new...according to every survey most people have always been unhappy at work; because of feckless, self-important managers; work without meaning; the struggles balancing personal and professional needs...to make ends meet...and then when you add that we've all experienced a two-year global existential crisis...well...more people have more opportunity now to finally say "Take This Job and Shove It"...which was written nearly 50 years ago...just sayin'.

Which leads me to Spring Break - an annual ritual that is also not new - but one I have a new appreciation for this year...
With spring break season officially underway in the US - now more than ever I understand the excessive, uninhibited partying...the need to let loose and escape...when you consider the insanity of the reality in which our youth have had to live these past two years...and with everything going on today...so I get it this year more than ever!

But PLEASE...remind everyone to "spring break" responsibly...carefully...safely. We already have 6 West Point Cadets "spring breaking" in the hospital ODing on Fentynol laced cocaine...and tens of thousands of the next generation dying each year of similar overdoses...

You can let loose without being reckless. Take care of each other...not advantage of each other. You can have fun, be respectful, responsible...and stay alive...all at the same time...

Finally...
Happy National Women's History Month everyone. When I think about the positive influences in my life -- they have mostly been women. Thank you. I would not be here without you.
I'm not looking for "likes" - just pay it forward. Thanks.
#payitforward
#bethelight
#supportukraine
#standwithukraine
#happyinternationalwomensday2022
#nationalwomenshistorymonth
#humanrightswatch

Sunday Scaries

No matter how enjoyable Friday and Saturday were, according to a LinkedIn Survey, 80 percent of professionals say they experience the Sunday Scaries - workplace stress flooding the mind with worries in anticipation of the week ahead. Not me…at least not today…not with this view that I woke up to! 😉. End your weekly time off on a high note otherwise you are cheating yourself and not bringing your best self to work on Monday.

Happy Sunday!

What Do We Want? Flexibility!

“When it comes to promotions, the company plans to focus more on the quality of people’s work and minimize the significance of things like networking dinners.”
— The Wall Street Journal

WHAT?! You mean to tell me that one's job performance is now more important than how they perform at networking dinners?! Radical. Next they'll be saying that flexibility is important to employees too?! I guess I have to rethink my whole approach to being a Chief People Officer!

We seem to overcomplicate everything. Basic human needs haven't changed. More employers are waking up to them more now that they have to as a result of the pandemic. If I can't take my kids to school because I have to start my commute to get to the office by a certain time because of a routine that was established 100 years ago by manufacturing companies - how does that make sense for the typical corporate office worker today? If one has the flexibility to have breakfast with their kids and see them off to school - and without stressing about the nanny showing up, (assuming that one can even afford a nanny) - that person will be a much happier and engaged employee. And happiness and engagement are directly related to performance. It's not complicated. We don't need any more surveys. We know about basic human needs and we need to stop pretending that employees don't have whole lives they have to manage in order to be productive employees. Whether its kids, pets, elders, partners, health issues, or freaking plumbing leaks as you're walking out the door, whatever - we all want and need a little more flexibility in and control of our whole lives. Otherwise, managing it all is a constant grind with daily stressful tradeoffs and it wears you down over time. The more flexibility we have without fear of sacrificing our career opportunities - the better off we all are. Employers who get that will win the talent war.

Can Companies Have a Hybrid Workplace—and Keep Things Fair? - WSJ

fair workplace.PNG

20 Years Later

Millions of people have their personal stories of “where were you” on this day - many of them tragic of course. I remember every detail as I was able to see the towers from just outside my apartment. I had many friends who lived downtown who escaped uptown covered in ash. I remember calmly walking into my son’s school and pulling him out of Kindegarten class shortly after drop off - minutes after the first plane hit - and the teacher being surprised when I told her that classes were likely going to be canceled today. I didn’t know why at the time - just a journalist’s sense something bigger was unfolding. When my son and I walked out of school - the second plane hit...and the school scrambled to begin the process of canceling school and arranging for parents to pick up their children while they sheltered in place until they could do so.

Having spent a lifetime in Journalism and HR - I was in awe that the Wall Street Journal - whose newsroom was right across the street - was able to publish on time the next day. And I have never felt more humbled in my career than when I was asked to lead HR and Comms for the Wall Street Journal seven years later - and meet and befriend many of the journalists who reported and published on that day. One was Jim Pensiero - who stepped up and led the newsroom on 9/11 when they thought the editor in Chief was dead - as commemorated and outlined in this piece. Jim is a remarkably strong and humble leader.

Many companies and consultants speak about “resilience”, “commitment”, and “dedication” - but unless you have professionals who are inspired by their own source of meaning and value - like these journalists - and countless others who place themselves in harms way because they can’t imagine not doing so to get to the story that must be told - then these words are just platitudes and companies will always be disappointed by “employee engagement.”

How The Wall Street Journal Published on 9/11

Holograms...in the Office?

You know it is only a matter of time. But I don’t think Holograms are the answer to Zoom fatigue. I fear that our society is forgetting that humans are genetically wired for social interaction and live experiences. Which is why the mad rush back from the pandemic to convene at parks, restaurants, concerts, sporting events, etc...We are energized by in-person interaction and experiences. I can’t wait for Broadway to come back - with real actors on stage and the shared experience with other audience members. And I can’t wait to get back into the office - even if only part time - to be in person with colleagues. I don’t see Holograms becoming adopted in mainstream work applications - do you?

Tech Companies Want to Make Holograms Part of Routine Office Life

hologram.jpg

Office Gossip

The subhed of this article about remote work and the impact on Office Gossip is: "As long as it’s practiced with kindness and tact, breaking down office rumors with colleagues can actually be healthy for workers". Really?! How much "office gossip" is practiced with "kindness and tact?" Which source has a definition of "gossip" that is remotely positive? Weren't we always trying to eradicate office gossip when we were working in the office together? About the only positive thing to come from everyone working remotely was less ability to gossip and more focus on connecting with colleagues - not talking about them - and getting work accomplished.

Working From Home Has Created a Hole That Office Gossip Used to Fill

office gossip.jpg

Spread the Dream

Today is MLK Jr. Day in the United States but it is a day that has global relevance. The messages in one of the most moving and essential speeches in history - "I Have A Dream" are about civil rights, freedom, and justice - in other words, humanity. I first heard the speech as a young child after his death. I remember vividly how moved I was watching a replay on television and imagined what it must have been like to be there in that moment. That speech had a profound influence on me and contributed to my pursuit of studying journalism and communications. And they are an integral part of who I am and how I try to lead as a Chief People Officer. It is impossible to lift one passage from the speech as my favorite - so I will share my favorite quote from MLK Jr's other writings.

MLK.jpg

Commanding a Zoom Isn't the Same as Commanding a Room

We live in a world in which everyone must have on-camera skills (and perhaps some professional lighting to make our home offices look better). Body language and a "powerful presence" aren't enough for virtual meetings. Check out this Wall Street Journal article for a full how-to.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/do-you-have-e-charisma-on-zoom-heres-how-to-get-it-11606651200

STAY SAFE. STAY STRONG. STAY POSITIVE.

Career & Learning Resources Updated 11/11/20

FREELANCE RESOURCES

Upwork offers something for every type of freelancer. It accommodates both short- and long-term projects, hourly or per-project work and expert-level and entry-level engagements. Regardless of where you are in your career, Upwork is likely to have something for you.

Toptal is for seasoned, talented freelancers. Passing Toptal's screening process gives you access to meaningful projects with great clients (JPMorgan, Zendesk, Airbnb, etc.) and fair compensation (no low-bid contests). You’ll also be able to join the Toptal community for frequent meetups and tech events.

Craigslist is not just a platform for buying and selling miscellaneous things, it’s actually a great source of freelance jobs. You can easily browse for local offerings if you prefer something in-office, or you can search by major cities if you prefer working remotely.

peopleperhour is a great platform focusing on freelancing for web projects. If you’re a designer, web developer, SEO specialist, etc., definitely worth checking out.

Fiverr is a platform for creative types, including writers, filmmakers, producers, photographers and more. List your services for a price of your choosing, and business in need of content connect with you. It's super simple and connects over 42 million employers and freelancers globally.  Through this marketplace, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software development, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering, the sciences, sales and marketing, accounting and legal services.

ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORMS

My friends - if you are out of work - or expect to be looking for a job soon - now is not the time to focus on the negative.  Things will turn around - but you have to remain positive and put yourself in the best position possible to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.  So turn off the news and the constant drumbeat of negativity - and spend some time online to learn new skills.  There are numerous online platforms that offer robust programs with a variety of courses - and many are free.   You can find a Youtube training video on just about anything.  If you would like a little more structure and sophistication - and you already have a LinkedIn account they offer numerous learning videos https://www.linkedin.com.

Two other learning platforms I highly recommend that you peruse are:

https://www.khanacademy.org

https://www.coursera.org

Remaining active and productive by refresh existing skills or learn new ones will not only help you in your job search - it will be good for your overall wellness.  Take good care my friends and I will be back with more information soon!

Creativity in Times of Covid

Creative work has been historically undervalued. Think of the starving [insert creative type here; actor, artist, musician, writer]. But companies all over the world have realized that their creative employees are among the most valuable. As people turn to social media and digital sources for their day-to-day needs, brands and content have become more important than ever. Creative thinking and problem-solving are a critical need, not just a nice-to-have during the Covid-19 crisis. Learn about how to identify creative needs and opportunities here:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/355668

STAY SAFE. STAY STRONG. STAY POSITIVE.

Stop Trying to Be Productive During a Pandemic!

You thought working from home would help you finally finish that book you were writing while training for that marathon you'll run *someday*. Now you're feeling guilty that even going for a walk, or doing your dishes after a day full of Zoom calls feels challenging. You're not alone! This article from the Times helped me contextualize the productivity struggle that we're all facing:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/style/productivity-coronavirus.html

STAY SAFE. STAY STRONG. STAY POSITIVE.