Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Respectful Workplace, Part II
1June 2010
RespectfulWorkplace published the second part of my interview. Here are a couple of excerpts:
RW: In your book, you mention creating a “humanized workplace.” Could you please describe for our readers what that would look like?
LT: In today’s high-tech environment, sometimes “humanity” can be forgotten. A humanized workplace is a collaborative work environment in which everyone puts the larger good of the company first. It is the reverse of a corporate playground rampant with TOTs. It’s a workplace that has a family feeling to it, where fun and humor are not just tolerated, but encouraged. Where teams are inspired by their leaders to innovate and work toward a common goal. It’s a place where people want to work, not a corporate playground.
RW: Why is it so important to tame these TOTs? How are they wreaking havoc on the workplace?
LT: When TOTs run the workplace, workers don’t stay around for very long. Motivation, productivity and the company’s reputation drops along with profits. In fact, a survey commissioned by my company Lynn Taylor Consulting found that U.S. employees spend 19.2 hours a week (13 hours during the work week and 6.2 hours on the weekend) worrying about “what a boss says or does.”
The study illustrates the tremendous drain that a manager’s words and actions have on employees. Absenteeism, turnover, retraining and poor word of mouth, are just some of the ramifications. It reduces the opportunity to find and keep the best talent, not to mention the impact on customer acquisition and retention.
Read the whole interview at RespectfulWorkplace.com
Respectful Workplace
10May 2010
Last year I started guest-blogging at RespectfulWorkplace.com – a website whose mission is very close to my heart. Devoted to “fostering awareness and providing resources for creating more respect in the workplace,” RespectfulWorkplace.com is a collaborative project between Edge Learning Institute of Ohio (EdgeOhio) and Edge Learning Institute, a global provider of leadership and staff development services that help companies and non-profits improve management competencies, enhance customer service and improve employee engagement. The website’s goal is “to create an online community of people interested in creating and nurturing workplace environments where diversity and inclusiveness are not only recognized, but appreciated and celebrated.”
Respectful Workplace provides a rich variety of resources such as speakers, publications and articles that further this commitment. Identifying “flexibility and respect as core competencies for success,” they offer interactive educational programs, workshops, and seminars that help organizations improve their workplace culture. They welcome outside contributors and invite like-minded people to share their thoughts.
Respectful Workplace blog, to which I’m proud to be a contributor, is a great source of ideas and insights coming from both RW team and guest bloggers. Recently I’ve been interviewed by Respectful Workplace about my book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant – TOT (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Here is a short exerpt:
RW: How is your book beneficial to bosses who want to TOT-proof their company?
LT: TOT-proofing a business can be compared to childproofing a home. Childproofing a home makes it safe for your children to run about freely, explore and learn. TOT-proofing a company creates a corporate environment that is safe for success. It allows workers to be innovative and at their best, which leads to a better balance sheet. One study found that 90% of employees are more motivated when managers are willing to change course after receiving feedback. This prompts employees to feel that they can take risks and innovate.
The book is beneficial because it shows employees how to manage the relationship better (bosses often don’t have the time or necessarily want to spend the time to make it so.) This is a wide-open and empowering opportunity for the employee. The book also speaks directly to management about the role they can play to mitigate “TOT” behavior in their ranks.
Read the rest of the interview (with the 2nd part coming next week) on the Respectful Workplace blog.
Tempreneur: A New Breed of Free Agent
26March 2010
Whatever pundits say about the economic recovery prospects, one thing is clear: this recession will leave a few changes in its wake in the way companies organize their workforce.
The last decade saw a series of turbulent employment times and produced a gradual sea change on both the employer and employee front, sped up by the current recession. This year seems to underscore the shift: a need for more flexible or contingent workers as a permanent business solution.
Forced by economic uncertainty and trying to avoid rounds of layoffs, employers are making contingent workers integral to their strategic workforce planning. All the usual elements are there: temporary workers, from agencies, independent contractors or freelancers; outsourced employees; part-timers; and consultants. But a new phenomenon is coming into play, different from all those: the free agent with a new mindset and career goal; what I call the tempreneur.
How is it new and different? Because it is not driven by a necessity to make ends meet between full-time jobs; rather, it’s a personal career choice. Temporary workers go from project to project, usually onsite. Entrepreneurs have made a career decision to work for themselves, usually off-site. Tempreneurs constitute a sort of hybrid between the two.
Similar, Yet Different
While they are unique by comparison to most workers of prior decades, there is still some overlap. For example, tempreneurs must collaborate and work on a mutual agreeable schedule with the client, much as consultants do, but there are important differences:
- Tempreneurs are more senior than the average temporary
- Most temporaries require much more supervision than tempreneurs
- On the flip side, oftentimes consultants are more senior than tempreneurs, and they leave much of the execution to the client
- Since tempreneurs are not as senior as consultants, they fill much of the massive middle ground in meeting workload demands
A New Breed of Free Agent
Many high level employees have lost faith in “job security” as they once knew it. For tempreneurs, independence is more important than that old mirage, and mid- to high-level stints allow them to keep their freedom. They may even have a sole proprietorship of their own and/or even be a high level temporary at an agency at times during the year. They may work in such widely ranging fields as marketing, accounting, information technology, health care or legal.
A tempreneur has real talent, experience and professionalism — and choices. They are not seeking full-time positions. In the coming decade, they are more likely to be more wooed by employers to join their full-time ranks – with all the associated “perks.” But those bennies now come with a heavy price, such as lack of freedom and job insecurity, for many. Employers unfamiliar with the potential contributions of tempreneurs will have to realize that they are a force to reckon with in the decade ahead and beyond; a new brand of employee – not a “temp.”
Of course, regular, full time employees will never vanish. Companies need the stability and consistency of a core staff. But entrepreneurship is on the rise (as this Entrepreneur article) and at the same time, many realize the start up costs involved with a full-fledged business – which nudges a lot of talented and motivated people towards joining the tempreneur ranks.
A Longer Road from Temp to Perm
A recent Associated Press article talks about the boost in temporary hiring as usually signaling a recovery – yet this period has been protracted, with no rebound. It’s clear that for 2010 and beyond employers are adopting a variety of strategies to organize and manage contingent workers and have them work into existing system.
Staffing Industry Review Magazine reported in January 2010 that Bill Yoh, Chairman of staffing agency Yoh, believes many companies will use 2010 as an opportunity to begin projects they had put on the back burner for the past couple of years. He said, “As this happens, there will be an increase in the demand for contingent workers.” He added, “Most HR executives are now charged with a responsibility for comprehensive workforce strategies, and contingent labor will be a key part of this going forward.”
HR also needs to be aware of the liabilities and legal concerns:
- Training and retraining is required: Regardless of the level of seniority or experience, tempreneurs must be trained or retrained if they are to be most effective.
- Legal concerns: Every contingent employee should be made aware of their status is, especially what benefits are available to them in relation to full-time employees. Also be clear that there is no guarantee they will be hired full-time.
- Full-time versus part-time perceptions: Part-time employees may be working alongside full-timers for longer than anticipated, without the same benefits. Prevent sinking of tempreneurs’ morale by treating them with the same respect as you would your permanent staff.
Know the differences; understand the benefits and pitfalls of “co-employment,” as explained in the February 2010 issue of HR Magazine.
Building a Smarter, Agile Workforce
A varied, flexible workforce of highly skilled professionals will help with cost-containment and competitiveness. You should become well-honed in your strategic use of every type of contingent worker and combine a team from top to bottom with your full-time workers. In that context, the tempreneur phenonmenon is one that cannot be overlooked in the years ahead.
Be There for Your Team
16March 2010
As a manager—a leader—you have to be there for every person on your team when they need your input— always open to communication. A recent MSNBC article reviews several authors tackling the problem of an “absentee boss”—one who, for whatever reason, appears to be “difficult to get”.
Unfortunately, even the most conscientious manager may sometimes appear to his team as unaccessible. In your zeal to get things done you may get carried away and forget to “pencil in” your employees’ needs. But no matter how important that pending presentation to corporate might be, your team’s ship won’t sail far without a captain.
- Your challenge is to carefully map out your day and use your time with maximum efficiency. While focusing on the task at hand, keep around some reminders of your team’s current projects— be it an iPlanner note or just a post-it on your screen.
- You can, actually, get your team to help you help them. Ask your employees, instead of chasing you around whenever they have a question, to plan meetings according to their projected need for your input. The meetings should be regular (say, once a week), brief and with a clear agenda. You can even ask them to remind you of a scheduled meeting a few hours ahead of time.
- During meetings, steer the conversation to keep it on target. Don’t let it veer into a gabfest—unless you feel an irresistible need to unwind. That in itself could be a reminder to take a short break, crack a few jokes. An occasional momentary change of pace can help you maintain efficiency thoughout the day—like a pit-stop during a marathon.
Bottom line: while striving to get things done, don’t loose sight of your long-term, ever-present responsibility—your team. That’s what your job is about, and that, in the long run, is the basis of your success.
Gen U™: The Discussion Continues
18February 2010
The Generation Unretired phenomenon is growing, and there is new data to support that. A study conducted by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit in Kansas City, MO, shows that with job market in decline more and more older Americans are becoming entrepreneurs.
During the last decade people ages 55-to-64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than fresh out of college youngsters and people in their 30s.
Many of these older entrepreneurs are targeting their own demographic as customers. Based on their experience, they better understand the needs of their own age group and are often able to successfully meet those needs.
Even the most active of Gen U business owners sometimes meet with problems. Banks, for example, are often reluctant to lend money to older people. The society needs to put aside age-related assumptions and embrace the phenomenon that will only continue to grow.
Other Gen U workers are still returning to more traditional jobs. To read more on this overall trend, please see the links below:
- Noozhawk
Something To Remind Us …
15February 2010
I recently wrote this piece for Psychology Today that reminds us as managers that we have to take responsibility for our own self worth in the office. Since that’s an essential ingredient in work as in life, no matter where you sit on the organizational chart, take a moment to think how you can give your team a deserved boost for a job well done.
Be Your Own Valentine
With Valentine’s Day approaching this weekend, it’s another reminder that many couples may not feel very festive — or romantic — given their job situation these days. In fact, in many conversations these days, I hear workplace and job concerns becoming all-consuming in people’s lives.
Thirteen hours in a five-day workweek are spent worrying about one’s job fate, and similar studies are in my earlier blogs. Even when people are employed, many of them feel tenuous in their jobs due to uncertain economic times and often challenging bosses.
Maybe you’ve tried counseling your special someone, reviewing a resume, role playing an interview or trying to empathize about an unreasonable manager. Time for a romantic toast anyone?
Perhaps this year, you can let cupid’s arrow hit YOUR OWN world, specifically your career and job.
Maybe this year, you can be your own Valentine, even if for a moment. Love yourself enough to be proud of your skills that no one can take away from you; your accomplishments; and the incredible ability you have in the future to achieve great things.
For starters, you can take control, rather than letting your career or job control you. Here are some simple empowering reminders that can make your life – and perhaps your Valentine’s day more fulfilling:
1) Remember that you’re a free agent. Yes, unemployment is high, but you have a skills set that is unique and if you’re currently looking, all you need is one job. The best jobs are not always advertised. Often they’re found through networking, especially with the availability of social media tools, such as Linkedin.
2) Think about how your skills can contribute to the bottom line. Then share it and get the nod to pursue it. Are there weak links in your existing company or a prospective company that could mean greater profits? Many jobs have been created for people who can bring in revenue or reduce costs.
3) Use your interpersonal intelligence with bad boss behavior (or Terrible Office Tyrants – TOTs) to understand what’s really behind the blustering. Usually there’s a lot more beyond what meets the eye. Once you crack the code, you’ll see events through a new lens, helping you focus and thrive.
4) Try to resist the natural temptation to allow others’ tension devour you. Realize that you can take specific steps to manage relationships on your terms. Your leverage is your daily contributions and unique skills. That’s your focus. Your own success is the best revenge, but remember, revenge is usually an unsustainable motivator.
Happy Valentine’s Day …to YOU.
In Case You Missed
Just in case you missed these articles in the last few weeks, please take a look; they offer some helpful input on trends, surveys and maybe a few laughs:
- Contingent Workforce Strategies
- Glamour
- Orange County Register
- AOL WalletPop
What The Survey Results Are Telling You
26January 2010
A recent survey commissioned by Lynn Taylor Consulting presents ample food for thought.
“It’s all in the packaging” applies to more than the latest irresistible gift you bought. It also has a lot to do with how you package your actions and verbal communications at work. Case in point: an independent study we released recently showed that employees spend 19.2 hours in a seven-day week (13 hours during the work week and 6.2 hours on the weekend) worrying about what their boss said or did!
“What could it lead to? What should I do? How should I present myself, what words and actions could help me advance in my job, or at least make sure it is still mine tomorrow?” This survey’s respondents ask themselves those questions, as well as many of my readers who want to learn to “manage up” – a skill that comes in very handy if one has to deal with a difficult boss, especially in difficult times. If one works for such a boss – a TOT (Terrible Office Tyrant) – it is very important to develop an approach that will allow to defuse difficult situations, keep balance in the workplace, and make sure productivity doesn’t suffer.
While the latter part of the study – verbatim responses from U.S. employees – is more lighthearted, it does speak eloquently about the unfortunate morale-dampening atmosphere of many offices today that resemble a corporate playpen, rather than productive work environment. It certainly shows that there’s room for improvement. But let’s first take a look at what people need to save their current jobs.
In a national independent study of 586 employees commissioned by Lynn Taylor Consulting, we asked, “What techniques do you believe work for employees who must ‘manage up’ with childish bosses?” Here’s how their answers ranked:
1. Strong listening and communications skills
2. Demonstrating calm under pressure
3. Being a good role model for leadership and respect
4. Proactive problem solving
5. Working around a boss’s strength’s and weaknesses
6. Using humor
7. Showing empathy
Analysis of this research lead me to my favorite acronym which is a formula not only for saving your job – which certainly helps during a period of 10 percent unemployment – but also for thriving in it. It’s called “CALM” – Communicate (openly, honestly and frequently); Anticipate (be aware of potential problems and stop them from escalating by offering proactive solutions); Laugh (use levity to diffuse tension and create a bonding atmosphere; and Manage (manage up, or “parent” without patronizing, by using positive and negative reinforcement with certain behaviors, e.g., by setting limits to poor behavior).
How to Lose Your Job
Those who consider themselves mavericks, need that extra push to become self-reliant entrepreneurs, or always wanted to know what it’s like to burn the bridges – those can follow the lead of what some employees dream of saying at work! In a related study, we asked employees to state what they would say to bosses who slip into “TOTdom” (childish behavior), if there was no reprisal.
This is not to say that all employees or support teams aren’t capable of behaving like TOTs themselves! If you subscribe to the theory that we all share the same basic human instincts, needs and fears, then it stands to reason that TOTs run across the org chart, whether we’re two or 52. With that caveat in mind, here’s what employees would say (in their dreams) to TOTs, in order of priority:
1. Why don’t we compromise? (P.S. This is the only phraseology that does work with both children and managers!)
2. I can’t hear you when you shout!
3. Stop whining!
4. That’s not allowed!
5. I’m leaving!
6. You’re cranky; do you need a nap?
7. Go to your room; you’re getting a time out!
8. If you ask one more time, you’ll never get that!
9. Are you teething or do you just need a cookie?
For now, suppressing that “maverick” impulse and saving one’s job might be a better choice for most people, though many of them may be just buying time and looking for greener pastures. Humor surely helps you get through the day, and these nine phrases gave our respondents at least some temporary solace. But there is a serious side to it, and a sobering reality behind it: we all – managers and employees alike – can occasionally fall into TOTishness and unwittingly throw a wrench into what is supposed to be a smooth-running machine. So we all need to be aware of this potential pitfall and have the wherewithal to deal with it.
TOT Boss Draws Interest on Boss Day in Santa Monica
19October 2009
Here’s a glimpse of last Friday’s event for National Boss Day on the famed 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA, October 16, 2009. Scores of people told their personal anecdotes of good and bad boss behavior on tape. Many talked about the way they manage, and some even ran family businesses - with team members going at it on-camera (good naturedly, of course!) They agreed with the premise of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How To Manage Childish Bosses & Thrive in Your Job
In other words, most bosses at some point have these episodic TOT moments, and you can usually be the “parent” and manage up. They realized the most common culprit is the “TOT,” not tyrant… the terrible two, grown child often acting out of fear or spurts of unwieldy power.
I reminded the TOT boss that this anniversary was a good time to start behaving like an adult, for the sake of humanity and office productivity. But he looked away. Videos to come.
Tell Your Work Tales: National Boss Day Event in L.A.
13October 2009
For National Boss Day, I’ll be conducting person-on-the-street interviews with employees at all levels in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15th and Friday, October 16th, on the busy Third Street Promenade at the corner of Wilshire and 3rd in Santa Monica. If you live in the Southland, please join us and share your insights, good and bad, on bosses, employees and work.
Videos of these testimonials, along with the backdrop of our famed TOT: a tall, life-size TOT-boss icon from Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™, will be posted online at various sites, including www.TameYourTOT.com.
On National Boss Day, each October 16th, millions of employees thank their bosses for their leadership and bigheartedness. Due to the current recession and tough job market, this year provides a unique opportunity for workers and managers to have a useful dialog about more productive interpersonal relations in the office during uncertain times.
The current environment has exacerbated bad boss behaviors, turning normally even-tempered bosses into Terrible Office Tyrants™, or TOTs. As you may know, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT); How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons), talks about “parenting” unruly managers who resemble tots in their “Terrible Twos.” For senior managers, it addresses how to create a “safe for success, humanized workplace,” that is TOT-free.
TOT Boss Icon to Make Premier Public Debut
On both days, a 6’ 5” Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) featured on the book cover will be present. The overgrown tyke, angry yet fearful with a large pacifier in his mouth - is designed to illustrate that behind the tough exterior of many bosses is often a toddler who has trouble modulating power. That’s because TOT episodes can be a human condition if not kept in check, whether we’re two or 52.
Event Coincides with New Boss Research
The on-the-street interviews on National Boss Day coincide with the release of Lynn Taylor Consulting’s (LTC’s) new national study on bad and childish boss behavior. Conducted by an independent global research firm and commissioned by LTC, the national five-year comparative study of boss behaviors found at TameYourTOT.com under “Survey Findings,” revealed increases of up to 50% in such childish traits as self-oriented, impulsiveness and stubbornness. Not a good sign for productivity or profits.
Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT) represents seven years of research, interviews and my insights on dealing with frustrating managerial and workplace situations while thriving in one’s job. It covers 20 of the most common behaviors by chapter, from the “bratty” to “little lost lamb” traits – including overly demanding, stubborn, tantrum-throwing, to moody, fickle and whiny behavior, to name a few – featuring true anecdotes and tips. There is also a special section for CEOs who want to mitigate harmful Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT) behavior, and throughout the book, bosses gain insight on what not to do with their teams.
Managing up requires awareness of core human instincts, while at the same time setting limits as you would with a child, minus the patronizing. While this is a serious subject, I strongly believe that humor is the shortest pipeline to the memory banks.
If I don’t see you later this week, I hope you have a GOOD Boss Day.
Is Your Office “Safe for Success”?
10July 2009
You have undoubtedly noticed that job fears are back on the front burner these days. Due to rising unemployment figures, a worse than expected June job loss report and the fluctuating stock market, the workplace’s emotional roller coaster continues its wild gyrations.
Unfortunately, this ongoing climate of uncertainty can create its own cycle of counterproductive, negative momentum. The sad truth is that when people are fearful they often do nothing.
One of my goals in writing Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job (John Wiley & Sons, June 31, 2009), is to help management make their organizations “safe for success.” That means cultivating a supportive, not punitive environment. It requires CEOs and department heads to communicate that creativity and thoughtful risk taking is welcomed. In short, I’m describing a workplace in which big thinkers and high fliers can reach for the stars without worrying that a more senior manager will clip their wings.
When encouraged through rewards rather than challenged by fear or uncertainty, we all are at our best. Avoiding the spread of a “bad boss mentality” requires replacing “what’s in it for me?” thinking with “what’s in it for us?” Simply put, it’s a recipe for a productive, loyal workforce.
Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT) an excellent management tool for knowing what not to do (being the notorious fly on the wall, but with the “how-to’s”!). But it also offer specific tips on how CEOs can create a collaborative workplace – resulting in increased profits. Watch for it in bookstores and online in the next couple weeks!
