Halloween Special: Cast of Characters That I’ve Known

In honor of Halloween, I thought I might keep things on the lighter side and walk down “memory lane” a bit, recalling notable “characters” from my years in the working world — or at least situations in which our “best and brightest” thinking didn’t exactly shine through.  Have you known characters or situations like these?  Please share your stories … and we’ll enjoy a (kind-hearted) laugh or two together (all in good fun, of course)!

Characters

. . . Mr. Plant, I Presume: the sales executive who spotted his boss airport and, because he owed him some data that he didn’t have, decided to “hide” … behind a potted plant (yes, this is almost too cliched to be true — but it is)

. . . Just Doing My Nails: the HR person who was so relaxed, she regularly did her nails in team meetings — complete with bag of manicure supplies spread on the table, cotton balls between each finger, etc., etc., etc.

Leading Without Saying a Word

I’ve been reading and thinking a lot lately about authentic leadership and servant-leaders.  It strikes me that much of this good and thoughtful writing gets down to simple but vital lessons learned at your parents’ knee: be sincere, kind, and thoughtful; take people and their concerns seriously; listen and support; do as much as you can to help – in essence, an elongated version of the golden rule. Understanding that one doesn’t need to be a CEO to “lead,” here is a small contribution from my own experience of a former colleague and “leader by example.”

A True Gentleman

I met Scott several years ago when I was responsible for managing the HR side of mergers and acquisitions for our company.  He was the VP of Human Resources for a mid-sized business unit that we were acquiring.  It came to pass that due to redundancies, although Scott was clearly an exemplary HR leader, he and his small team would only be with us on a transitional (9-month) basis. (I know – not exactly visionary staff planning on our part, but that is a story for another day).  Over those nine months, I had the chance to work closely with Scott and his team and found them all to be very fine people, taking their cues in the best sense of the word from Scott, who was admired as a true gentleman (and, not incidentally, a highly-skilled HR and OD leader, as well).

What Nurses Can Teach Us About HR (Courage and Compassion)

From the title, you might expect this to be a post about service to others (i.e., what nurses do), as an analogy for HR’s service to employees and managers.  While there are any number of comparisons between nursing and HR (perhaps fodder for future posts), my focus today is on another aspect of HR, actually: hiring the right people (and letting go of the wrong ones).

Minor Surgery, Major Comfort

I had the occasion to have a short stay in a hospital recently for minor surgery (everything went very well; thank you kindly).  As it was (fortunately) my first overnight spent in a hospital, I was keenly aware of the type of care I received.  I was struck by the fact that, to a person, everyone I came into contact with seemed incredibly “at peace” with what they were doing — i.e., caring for patients, controlling pain, prepping for surgery, etc.  I’m sure that each of the nurses, technicians, doctors, etc., had their own personal struggles and hardships that they carried into the hospital that day.  Yet, once the “lights went on” and they were interacting with patients (in this case, me), all of those struggles vanished, as they made me feel like I was their only patient, and all of their efforts were going toward meeting my needs.

It was quite a humbling experience, to be candid — i.e., to see a team of people working together, in this case to prepare for, carry out, and help me recover from, surgery.  They each seemed to go about their jobs with a certain 

For Execs, Does Firing Guarantee Future Success?

Hewlett Packard

I’ve been wondering …. why is it that once someone reaches a certain level in an organization, it seems that even if they “fail” repeatedly and get fired (sometimes several times), they seem to re-surface months later in a similar (or better) job at another organization?  And what does this say about Boards, CEO’s, and other senior managers that they often put their faith in “re-treads” instead of taking a chance on talented, high-potential (but non-pedigreed) “new blood”?

Case In Point

Last week, Hewlett Packard hired Leo Apotheker as its new CEO — seven months after Mr. Apotheker had been forced out of rival SAP after only seven months at the helm.  While a number of publications have published harsh assessments of Apotheker’s tenure at SAP (and of his chances of succeeding at HP), my purpose isn’t to evaluate his prior performance per se (I don’t know Mr. Apotheker nor do I work in the hi-tech field or have direct insight into it).  Rather, my purpose is to ponder the implications of a very public “failure” leading, only months later to a new and more prestigious role.

Difficult Qualities for New HR Professionals To Grasp

A recent post on another blog contemplated “Qualities To Look For In Hiring an HR Professional.”  This set me to pondering a few qualities that often are most difficult for new HR professionals to grasp as part of their role.

Two qualities that come to mind most immediately are:

1.  Ability to balance the needs of the organization (management) and employees

2.  Ability to influence without authority

Balancing the needs of the organization and employees

In a sense, HR’s toughest job may be finding ways to counter the wise admonition, “No man can serve two masters.”  An effective HR person needs to walk a fine line, being a valued part of the management team — while at the same time, being a trusted “ear” for employees. 

The Value of Checking References: Light-Hearted Tales

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As the summer comes to a close and hiring season traditionally picks up again (or, let’s hope so, anyway, given the economy and all), I thought it might be nice to ease back into the swing of things with a light-hearted anecdote or two about checking references.  My HR career didn’t exactly start off on an auspicious note in this regard; I learned the value of checking references right away.  We “live and learn,” as they say . . . and gaining a story or two along the way is never a bad thing, right?!?

Ignoring All The Evidence (Really, She Can’t Cook At All?)
My first “HR” assignment came in my senior year of college.  I was the catering manager at our fraternity house that year, responsible for getting 50 guys fed three meals a day, five days a week.  Unfortunately, our stalwart cook (a carbon copy of the Marlboro Man, but that’s a story for another day) had retired, so we were scrambling to find a full-time cook that summer.  The economy was strong at the time, and despite weeks of advertising, we were only able to come up with two real candidates: a 40-year old man who had to ask his mother for permission to come to the interview, and Hilda.

Gut Feel: Taking a Flyer on a Diamond in the Rough

I spend a lot of time training managers on hiring practices — preaching the “gospel” of identifying the job’s key skills, experience, and characteristics, and then designing the interview and selection process to systematically address these issues.  It’s all very good advice — except when it’s not.  This story is about one of those times.

Standing Out

In conducting  training for a client recently, one of their managers (Devon, an African-American man in his early 30’s*) stood out over the course of the two day session.  As I was chatting with the client’s senior manager after the training wrapped up, I said commented about the young manager that ” he’s someone I would hire on gut reaction.”

“It’s funny you should say that,” the client replied.  Then, he went on to tell me Devon’s story.  Here it is  (n.b., names and minor facts changed to protect privacy). 

It’s The Little Things: People (Not Programs)

As HR people, we’re often asked to find “solutions” that are “scaleable.”  Translating these popular buzzwords into plain English, this management request often means, “Can’t you roll-out a one-size-fits-all program to thousands of people so that I don’t get bogged down having to deal with my employees day by day?”  (OK, maybe that’s a little cynical — but it feels like that’s what’s being asked sometimes, doesn’t it?).

I’ve always believed that the simple but correct answer to this question is, “No.”

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not against “programs” (i.e., recognition programs, service longevity programs, wellness programs, employee assistance programs, etc.).  Well-designed programs can add wonderful elements of supportiveness to an organization’s culture.  But . . .

Programs Support People, Not Vice-Versa

. . . Programs can only be effective if they are an outgrowth of a caring culture — not a replacement for it.  If they are not, they will be seen/felt more as a discordant note (not aligned with company culture) than anything else.  And, the “culture of caring” starts in all the small ways that we relate to as individuals — personal kindness, respect, dignity, etc..