The Reiki of Referrals and Reputation

My husband Joel, like many people, is agnostic about Reiki:  he does not believe or disbelieve.

Whether you believe in the healing power of Reiki or not, a key attribute of Reiki has a universal resonance for me:  that as a by-product of acting as a channel to direct healing energy to a client, a Reiki practitioner also benefits from the healing energy of the client session.

For me,  the act of referring business and candidates benefits me, the networking practitioner, in a similar way.

Now, it's not linear, or Newtonian.  That is:  for every referral action, there is not an equal and opposite referral action back to me.  And it's seldom from the same person receiving the referral.

It's more organic and wonderful than just quid pro quo.  (And while I network and refer for business reasons, I also enjoy it immensely.)

Sometimes, the energy of a referral is paid forward, benefiting another referral that I do not know - yet.

Other times, the referral investment comes back to me through another referral, seemingly unrelated by time and my network.

The pro bono work I do for folks who are between gigs and who are about to discover their next vocational adventure is both a karmic and reputation investment whose seed was planted early in my career by one of my mentors.  My friend Lisa, who is a life coach, makes the same investment with similar positive dividends.

Today, I experienced the rewarding give-and-take of this energy in one day.  This morning, I shared some of my templates with a group of talented friends / colleagues, two of whom are about to launch successful consulting practices (they both already have customers lined up!).  This afternoon, I receive a windfall of wonderful new templates from a completely different friend / colleague, which will absolutely enhance my own practice and work.

May we all continue to invest our energy in each other towards both our personal and mutual prosperity.

Who Am I, Anyway? Am I My Resume'?

When I was a freshman in high school, our Social Studies teacher, Mr. Treacey, and his wife (who also taught at the high school), took us to see A Chorus Line at the Schubert Theater in New York City.  (What that field trip had to do with Social Studies, I don't know, but it was great and cemented my love of the theater.)

That's where I first heard the word "resume'," in the opening song, I Hope I Get It,

Here are the lyrics:

Who am I, anyway?
Am I my resume'?
That is a picture of a person I don't know.

What does he want from me?
What should I try to be?
So many faces all around, and here we go.
I need this job, oh God, I need this show.

I always found those lyrics poignant and haunting on a visceral level.  Now, as an adult, I have the perspective and the language to say why.

For me, whatever side of the interview table I sit on, candidate or hiring authority, it's all about authenticity.

I can't dance.  Not at all. I have no talent for it.   So, I would never put myself - or the decision-maker -  through the rigor / torture of a dance audition.  In A Chorus Line, however, some of the characters can't really dance either, but audition anyway because they're passionate about dancing.  And they subsequently, one by one, don't get selected.  Don't get me wrong:  my heart breaks a little every time one of them doesn't make the cut.  However, the kid from Queens inside of me wonders what the hell they were doing there in the first place.  I know, it's just a play.  I'm just sayin'.

Passion without talent, or talent without passion, is the same:  inauthentic.  And inauthentic doesn't make the cut.

For that reason, I mentor those who seek career guidance from me to first and foremost identify the authentic intersection(s) between their talent and their passion.  And for most people, including me, there are several potential talent / passion intersections to discover and/or confirm.  With the assistance of a mentor, an independent assessment, or any combination thereof.

Without consciously and thoroughly determining those talent / passion intersections, any resume' - or proposal - will ring hollow with potential decision-makers, employers and customers.  But most importantly, with the candidate themselves, undermining confidence and bottom-line authenticity.

For example:  I love to sing; and I'm a good singer.  I know it, and others have confirmed it:  they let me stay in the church choir.

What are your authentic talent / passion intersections? Have you validated those intersections with a knowledgeable and equally authentic third party?  Are those intersections clearly outlined on your resume'?  

And most importantly, are you ready to win the audition?

HR Amateur Hour

I was in Drome Sound purchasing a piano primer for my son Noah on New Year's Eve, and some funky purple guitar picks caught my eye.  As he added the guitar picks to my purchase, the owner asked if I performed locally.  I chuckled briefly.  "No.  But if you count Amateur Open-Mike Night at Folk City at midnight when I was a senior in college, I did perform once in New York City."

In the spirit of leading the examined vocational life (and walking my own talk thereof), I possess enough self-knowledge at this writing to understand where I am a subject-matter expert (SME), and where I am not (Amateur).

As you've already surmised, I'm a Human Resources (HR) SME, among other subjects.  I am not an Accounting SME, among other subjects, and therefore an Amateur.  In an odd and decidedly fleeting savant moment today however, I found the root cause of the low water level in the upstairs toilet tank and unkinked the rubber hose blocking the inbound water flow.  Although his preceding toilet troubleshooting did not identify the root cause issue, my husband Joel continues to be the house maintenance SME, so no worries:  I will not be usurping his role anytime soon, as I don't even rise to the level of Amateur in that area of expertise.

On the subject of Human Resources, I have witnessed many performances of HR Amateur Hour over the years. Particularly by organizations who don't have HR SME resources internally or even available on an outsourced basis, and who figure they'll just wing it to save some money on the front end, and hope for the best. ("Hey," they think to themselves:  "I'm great with people, how hard can HR work be?")

Gentle colleagues:  hope doesn't pay for the compliance violation fines / judgments on the back end.

Here is a small sampling of HR Amateur Hour performances (a.k.a. Compliance Juggling or Reputation Roulette) for your edification and education:

• Deleting earned yet unapproved overtime pay to save money;
• Failure to investigate and discipline ass-grabbing managers;
• Failure to respond and intervene on sexual harassment or other compliance complaints;
• No sexual harassment awareness training to teach managers not to grab asses in the workplace;
• No employee handbook or policies;
• No documentation in the personnel files;
• No personnel files;
• No performance goals or feedback;
• No compensation strategy or structure;
• Firing an employee on Worker's Compensation leave without cause or documentation;
• Failure to file and post required OSHA reporting;
• Failure to display required state and Federal labor posters;
• Asking for applicants' Social Security Number (SSN) on employment applications;
• Firing employees via the phone, email, etc. - a la Juan Williams abrupt termination from NPR; 
• No progressive discipline process (see previous item, above);
• No established and documented due process for employees to bring up issues or concerns;
• Asking job applicants:
• How old they are;
• If they're married or have children.

Employers aren't the only performers during HR Amateur Hour:  prospective, current and former employees get into the act, too - here are a few examples:

• Falsifying your C.V. / job application, e.g. college degrees you haven't earned, etc.;
• Filing false Sexual Harassment or other compliance complaints;
• Stealing your organization's time, money or goods;
• Filing Worker's Compensation claims when you haven't injured yourself at work, in order to get a financial settlement;
• Filing for Unemployment Insurance when you've resigned or you've been terminated for cause.

When our 1959 upstairs toilet finally gives up the ghost, we'll turn to a plumbing SME, like my friend Andrea's company. However, we have another toilet downstairs, so we have our backup plan.

What's your HR backup plan?  In-house, or outsourced:  an ounce of HR SME advice on the front end is worth and saves you (and your organization) potentially thousands of dollars that would otherwise be lost on the back end through compliance fines and judgments, lost reputation and turnover.

HR work is not an Amateur's stage.  If you don't have an HR SME as a strategic and compliance resource, please get one.

HR Leadership: Counselor; Consigliere; CEO

At this point in his life, it's easier to explain to my 9 year-old son Noah one of my concurrent vocational paths: Human Resources, or HR.  Noah gets that I've often performed many of the functions of his elementary school principal:  hiring, promotion / recognition / reward, intervention, mediation, discipline.  And while his principal has not fired anyone during Noah's tenure, he knows what that is, too.

It's the adults who often don't understand the role an HR leader can play in positively contributing to an organization's success, particularly in a more progressive organization.  It's more than just hiring, firing and processing paperwork.  I'm not going to bore you with the history of the human resources function.  If you're interested in that information, here's a resource (and for some, a sleep aid).  Since the HR function basically originated in the Finance / Accounting function, you'll generally find HR reporting to the CFO in more traditional organizations.  In more progressive organizations, HR reports directly to the CEO / President.  The proverbial and coveted "seat at the table."

I have as a general practice used the following two popular cultural references to explain with more depth and texture the value-added organizational role an HR leader can play.

For Trekkers:

In the Star Trek universe, Counselor Troi is the HR Leader for Star Trek, Next Generation.  Here's the Star Trek.com take on her leadership role (Note: just for the record, I do not at all resemble this physical depiction, nor would I show this much cleavage at work):

Although actually of mixed human and Betazoid heritage, Troi is one of many from her planet active in the Starfleet counselor corps and was ship's counselor for the U.S.S. Enterprise throughout its service life and now aboard its successor namesake. Troi's race is known for its inter-species telepathy and its emotional empathy with most other species whether on board the ship, in a ship at close proximity or on the planet below. While such a capacity has heightened her counseling skills, they have also aided her captain's command mission decisions on several occasions, including hostile encounters, negotiations, and first-contact missions.

Also for the record:  I am not an empath and I was born in Queens, NY, very much of this earth (although there are some who have a different opinion, I have the floor in this blog).  However, the last part of the excerpt:   they have also aided her captain's command mission decisions on several occasions, including hostile encounters, negotiations, and first-contact missions -- is spot on.

Whatever organization I've worked in, I thankfully was taught to become as much of a subject-matter expert as my client leaders, so that I could provide the best advice and counsel.  In the more traditional organizations / leadership teams, I give my best advice and professionally accept the fact that the decision is ultimately up to the operations leader I serve.  (E.g. Troi's service to Captain Picard.)

However, on the more progressive leadership teams I've served, the work of running the organization has been shared and collaborative, cross-trained and therefore seamless:  any one of us on the leadership team, including me, the HR geek, could take the helm and run the ship.  Those have been the best, most fulfilling and most educational leadership experiences, and I strive to recreate that collaborative cross-functional leadership spirit wherever I serve.

For the mainstream audience:  

The HR Leader is the Consigliere, as represented by Tom Hagen in The Godfather.  Here's Wikipedia's take on the role of Consigliere in the leadership structure:

In the movies The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, the consigliere to Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), and later Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), is Tom Hagen (played by Robert Duvall). Hagen is the adopted son of Don Vito Corleone, and a lawyer for the family. At the end of The Godfather, Don Vito's successor and son, Michael Corleone, temporarily demotes Hagen within the organization, moving him to Las Vegas, saying "things are going to get rough, and I need a wartime consigliere." (In an earlier scene, Santino 'Sonny' Corleone, Michael's older brother and acting Don after Vito Corleone's attempted assassination, similarly criticizes Hagen.) Vito Corleone, Michael's father, replaces Hagen at Michael's side until his death. After killing the heads of the five families, Michael reinstates Tom.
 
In Italian, consigliere means "advisor" or "counselor." It is derived from Latin consiliarius (advisor) and consilium (advice). The terminology of the U.S. Mafia is taken from that of the Sicilian Mafia and suggests that an analogy is intended to imitate the court of a medieval Italian principality. For example, Venice was led by a doge (duke) and a consigliere ducale (advisor to the doge). An underboss will normally move up to boss when the position becomes vacant, so his position is equivalent to that of heir to the throne. Consigliere, meanwhile, is analogous to chief minister or chancellor. (Oddly, in the novel The Godfather, the word is spelled consigliori; in the films, it is clearly pronounced consigliere.) In Joe Bonanno's book (A Man Of Honor) he explains that a consigliere is more of the voice or rep for the soldiers of the family, and may help solve and mediate disputes for the lower echelon of the family. 

The consigliere role is also spot on. I have conducted some my best career work behind the scenes; for example,  mediating disputes that would otherwise undermine the organization, with little fanfare. And when I started my HR career, my dress code was the female version of Tom Hagen's standard 1950's business attire.

However, the ultimate HR leadership cultural reference is Xerox's former CEO Anne Mulcahy, 2008 Chief Executive of the Year, as described in Chief Executive Magazine:

The choice for the 2008 Chief Executive of the Year marks several firsts. By her own admission Anne Mulcahy did not set out to become a chief executive. Nor was she groomed to become one. Neither did she bargain to face what some have called the turnaround of the century when her predecessor, Paul Allaire, called her into his office one day in 2001 to say that the top job was hers. Allaire himself returned to the company at the request of the board when Xerox dumped Allaire's chosen successor Rick Thoman. Fortune dubbed her "The Accidental CEO." One might add "Improbable Turnaround CEO," since everyone knows turnaround bosses tend to come from the outside. (Former Lee Iacocca point man "Steve" Miller is the archetype.) Mulcahy had worked for Xerox for 24 years at the time of her appointment; she spent 16 of those years in sales and the rest heading HR. The company was so much in her blood she bled copier toner.  

Oh yes, Mulcahy is also the first woman CEO to be chosen by her peers for the honor of Chief Executive of the Year. 

 Mulcahy joined Xerox as a field sales representative in 1976 and rose through the ranks. From 1992-1995, Mulcahy was vice president for human resources, responsible for compensation, benefits, human resource strategy, labor relations, management development and employee training. Mulcahy became chief staff officer in 1997 and corporate senior vice president in 1998. Prior to that, she served as vice president and staff officer for Customer Operations, covering South America and Central America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and China. 

Forget about being granted a seat at the leadership table:  Mulcahy built her own seat, and more importantly, used her discretionary power to make even more room at the leadership table. Crowning her career as CEO at Xerox, Mulcahy broke new ground in naming her successor, also courtesy of Wikipedia: 

Ursula M. Burns (born September 20, 1958) serves as chairwoman and CEO of Xerox. She is the first African-American woman CEO to head a S&P 100 company. She is also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a S&P 100 company. In 2009, Forbes rated her the 14th most powerful woman.^[1] 

From Customer Service to  HR to CEO:  now that's what I'm talking about in terms of cross-functional and seamless leadership, and development thereof.

What role does HR play in your organization: clerk, Counselor, Consigliere, or CEO?  Is your HR Leader bench ready to be CEO? 

Talented Mentee For Hire! (Pass It On!)

I'd like to introduce you to Hilda, one of my talented mentees. I hired Hilda 6 years ago to be the site Human Resources Manager for our West Coast Distribution Center in California. So Hilda was there when we acquired the site, and she was part of the team that closed down the DC this month as part of ongoing consolidations caused by industry and economic changes.

I'd hire Hilda again in a heartbeat.

If you're looking for a talented HR Manager based about 15 miles south of LAX, you can find Hilda's profile here, on LinkedIn.

And if for some reason you are not on LinkedIn, send me an email and I'll forward you Hilda's contact information. Here's the unsolicited recommendation I posted on Hilda's LinkedIn profile:

"I personally recruited and hired Hilda in 2004 as the site Human Resources Manager for our West Coast distribution center and merchandising branch office, and I would not hesitate to hire Hilda again. She is a highly skilled HR professional with the ability to remain calm, empathetic and firm regardless of the situation or issue. Because of her skills and demeanor, she was very much respected by her colleagues and her internal customers during her 6-year tenure: critical for the success of any seasoned HR practitioner. Both the Vice President of Logistics and I considered Hilda to be a key member of the site leadership team, and in fact, we both considered her as potential bench for the site General Manager position: that's how strong a business partner she is.

Hilda's strong knowledge of California labor law and compliance was invaluable as we ramped up our operations in 2004, and her strong recruiting skills ensured that the DC was always properly staffed. Hilda is only on the market as a result of the closing of West Coast operation this past year (which she also helped facilitate), and that availability will greatly benefit the next organization lucky enough to hire Hilda into her next career position."

I'm proud to personally and professionally vouch for Hilda, and to do so in a proactive and public manner. There are a few motivating reasons, and the first and most important reason is to support Hilda in expeditiously securing her next job.

Secondly, to share as a best practice.  I've used a variation of this method for another talented mentee before: Laurie. She came to me shortly after returning from maternity leave, and asked for my help: the combination of the childcare and the commute wasn't working out, and she needed an HR job closer to home. I was touched by her authenticity and yet was not surprised by it at all, knowing full well how talented she is. I helped her get her C.V. ready, and in an out-of-the-box move (an updated variation of the networking theme that my first manager Nan started with me), I sent it via an email singing her praises to all of the heads of HR (about 38 of them) within a 10-mile radius of Laurie's home. One of them responded immediately (and wisely), hiring Laurie within the week into a position that had not yet been advertised. We then negotiated a transition until Laurie and I could hire her replacement. Laurie was subsequently promoted to the AVP of HR for her new organization.  Your basic win-win.

Aside from championing Hilda to her next position, I also want to encourage all of you, my fellow hiring-authorities and decision-makers, to use your discretionary power to champion the jewels of talent you know and/or mentor, and who have been arbitrarily and capriciously cast out onto the market of an economy that none of us ever imagined.

Proactively "pre-recommend" these available talent jewels by sending their information to other hiring-authorities and decision-makers. (And if this has been your practice especially during this last recession, please share your success stories here and elsewhere and spread the best practice so it can expand and grow!)

The economically impacted (the laid-off) do not need to become the next marginalized class. Those of us who have sat on both sides of the layoff table and who are currently in hiring-authority and decision-maker positions (there but for the grace of God go we!) absolutely have the power to shift that now-outdated paradigm: that if someone has been laid off, they must be inferior human capital. It is, more often than not, in these economic times, a false assessment, and I can personally prove it.  Hilda is just one of a number of shining examples to that passe' paradigm's contrary.

Years ago, in diversity training, we learned that if we were in one of the real / perceived power groups (male, Caucasian etc.), that we had a choice: that we could each personally shift the paradigm by using our discretionary power, and be inclusive of folks in more marginalized groups, rather than exclude them by default, ignorance or fear. Today, no one is more potentially marginalized than the laid-off and the unemployed. Thankfully, we have a choice: we can see them for the jewels of talent they are, and we, the employed hiring-authorities and decision-makers, can use our discretionary power and stand up personally, professionally, and publicly for them, and ultimately, for each other.

Or as my 9 year-old son learned in Sunday school:

"He drew a circle that shut me out— Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in!" 

-- Edwin Markham

Thank You Fer Teh Job Oppertunity

Gentle reader:  whether you are looking for a new job, or you're looking to be retained and/or promoted in your current organization, I beseech you, I beg you, I implore you.  Please proof what you send to hiring authorities and decision-makers.  Emails, documents, etc.  It's so sad and tragic when you don't.  Repeatedly.  

Seriously, stop it.  You need a job.

Speaking of which:  I'm not going to repeat verbatim in today's blog post my blog post from last August, Write Your Life, Write Your Career.  Read my advice as a hiring authority and a decision-maker to you there.  Not learning to write and proof to minimal business standards is, at the very least, a career-killer.

Those of you who don't proof your work and are subsequently not hearing back from the job applications you submit:  I'm going to give you some brief yet poignant examples as to why:

• state university of ny, albany ny

(Hint: it's not proper grammar, and since I know for a fact that e.e. cummings is dead, you're definitely not hearing back from me);

• Shift Manger, Ruby Tuesday's

(I love mangers, especially at this time of the year:  what does this have to do with your management experience?);

• Sent From My Verizon Wireless mobile phone

(Not as impressive as it was a few years ago; now it's definitely just lazy.  Not a real signature.  You can change this default signature yourself, just check the Verizon Wireless website or ask Tech Support at your local Verizon Wireless store);

•  Subject:  Your Career Oppertunity

(Big ouch.  You misspelled the email subject line.  I don't even open up your email, I just move it from my email Inbox to the Candidate Regret folder); 

 

• Education:  Saratoga Springs High School        

(I know font formatting in emails can get messed up in web transit; that's why you should attach your C.V. as well as cut and paste your C.V. into the body of the email.  Otherwise, it's like receiving an anonymous ransom note from a serial killer with a lack of attention to detail);

•  Hi:  I'm interested in teh job.

 (Hi.  You don't know me, therefore "Hi" is inappropriately too familiar for a cover letter salutation.  And you misspelled "the."   As the hiring authority, two strikes against you as the candidate.  We won't be familiar any time soon).

Note: please consider any typos you find in this blog post as a pop quiz.

Happy education; happy hunting; and happy holidays to you and yours!      

Be Part of the Solution at Work

Early in my career, I (thankfully) was taught that when raising an issue or a problem to my manager, I should also be prepared to present at least one viable solution ready for implementation to solve the issue or problem, if not more.  It has served me well in my career, and I coach my mentees accordingly. 

Among other services, working in the Human Resources function is the internal Customer Service function for most organizations, a.k.a., some days, Complaint Central. (Actually, in the more progressive organizations, we all work in Internal Customer Service.)

Not that I mind that function.  I take it as an opportunity to share the wealth and coach Complainants on how they can be part of the solution to the problems they raise (or cause).  Work, especially these days, can be stressful, and folks need opportunities to vent.   Most take the coaching.  Some just don't get it.

Those who don't get it will eventually lose their jobs.  Bottom line. Bitter and blotchy, as my friend Nan coined.  Always complaining and gossiping to anyone who will listen.  And, amazingly, it happens at all organizational levels, from clerk to executive, and regardless of age and/or experience.   If you don't think constantly pissing in the organization's soup is also pissing in your own soup, you're kidding yourself, or you're impaired, or perhaps both.

The one thing we can control in tough work situations, real or imagined (the imagined involves personal baggage that should be resolved via the appropriate therapy, not where you earn your livelihood and your reputation), is how we act and react.  Partner with an objective coach and/or mentor outside of your workplace.  Lay out the situation factually.  Ask for honest feedback and most importantly, listen to it and incorporate it.  Not only will it be career-changing, it may well change the rest of your life, for the better.

A poignant and real-life illustration was the new hire who was fired at the end of their initial orientation period for constantly complaining to their peers and playing up sweetly to their superiors.  "They did a great job technically, the customers loved them," their manager related.  "But they drove the rest of the employees crazy with their complaining.  It was disrupting everyone's productivity, including mine!" Amen.

Let there be peace at work, and let it begin with you.