Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

  • No Rules, Just Shoes for Sensitivity Training

    No Rules, Just Shoes for Sensitivity Training

    One of our favorite clients requested that we come in and conduct “sensitivity training” for employees.   According to Wikipedia, sensitivity training “is a form of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own prejudices and more sensitive to others.”  The client wanted to make sure that employees understood how to conduct themselves around each other and customers and to understand the legal standards around discrimination.

    Of course, we at Horizon Point aren’t very good at conducting your standard, run-of-the-mill employee training that revolves around an instructor standing at the front of the room telling you what you should and shouldn’t do.  Number one, that’s just plain boring, and number two, this kind of training doesn’t lead to changed and improved behavior on the job.

    So we shook it up a bit, and after getting groups in the class to research and explain with examples what legislation such as Title VII of Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Sexual Harassment Law, and The Age in Employment Discrimination Act, our theme for the training became:

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    When it comes to knowing how to interact with others in the workplace, the legislation that surrounds this dynamic can become overwhelming.  Overwhelming to the point that it inhibits your ability to accomplish anything for fear of doing something wrong.

    The challenge of our “Beyond Talent” approach to “Sensitivity Training” is to simplify it.    And quite simply, you simplify how to interact with others by taking a walk around in their shoes before saying or doing something.  Throw the law or rule books out the window and challenge people to get to know people who are different than they are and try their “shoes” on for size.   By doing this, nine times out of ten you’ll act in a way that won’t ever get you in legal hot water, but more importantly, this way will build more engaged and productive workplaces because people are treated with respect and valued for who they are and what they contribute to the team.

    Have you ever been thorough a sensitivity training?  What was the best take away?

  • 3 Extraverted Leaders and the Lesson we Can Learn From Them

    3 Extraverted Leaders and the Lesson we Can Learn From Them

    Last month, we focused on introverted leaders and the characteristics they naturally exhibit that all leaders, introverted or extraverted, should strive to emulate.

    If you recall, extraversion and introversion can be defined as:

    Orientation of energy

    E     EXTRAVERSION

    Energized when you are with people

    Talk out your ideas

    First you live it – then you understand it

    Enjoy the interaction

    Breadth of interest

    		 and direction of focus

      INTROVERSION    I

    Energized when you are alone

    Reflect on your ideas before vocalizing

    First you understand – then you live it

    Enjoy the concentration

    Depth of interest

    The interesting thing about the three introverted leaders we highlighted (Moses, Stephen Wonziak of Apple and Rosa Parks) is that all had extraverted counterparts that helped drive the results that made both the extravert and the introvert of the partnership successful.

    These three extravert leaders are:

    1. Aaron:  Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the voice of Moses.  He was the one who spoke to the Israelites inspiring their action and movement towards the Promised Land when necessary.  There were a lot of times when the people were ornery at best, combative and worst, and it was Aaron’s motivating words that helped lead them to their eventual destination.
    2. Steve Jobs:  The personality of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and driver of so many of the innovations that have changed the way we think about and use a computer, a phone and listen to music, seems to be larger than life.  In his biography, many people describe his “reality distortion field” coupled with his sales ability to get people to do things and think differently.  Many of the innovations we find commonplace today would not have been possible without this extraverted leader’s ability to get people on board and get work done through others.
    3. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  The voice and face of the Civil Rights Movement had a way with words and a way with people that led to successful and much needed change.   His words still ring true today when we think about what it means to be human and to interact with others.

    Extraverted leadership trait seen in these three leaders that is needed for today’s leader:  The words to inspire action to move the crowd.

    Know or work for an extraverted leader?  How has he or she moved you?

  • Best Advice for College Freshman: Go to Class!

    Best Advice for College Freshman: Go to Class!

    I remember my first two weeks of college.  As a freshman at The University of Alabama, known when I was there as the number two party school in the nation (unlike the rank in college football which has risen significantly since I’ve been there, I think the rank in partying has gone down), I went out every night for the first two weeks. There was always a party going on.

    I realized rather quickly after classes started that there was no way I was going to be able to maintain the party schedule and make it.    I’m glad I came to this realization sooner rather than later, but I wish someone had given me some tips on how to survive college before I left.

    Here are some tips I wish I had been given:

    1. GO TO CLASS.  This is really the only tried and true tip I have.  If you are committed to going to class, the other tips will be easy because you will need to do them to make sure you go to class.   Going to class will make college a lot easier.   You are there to get an education and the primary way to do this is through attending your classes.   You’ll find that if you go to class and listen, you won’t need to study near as much, your grades will be much better than those of your peers who skip, and you’ll be able to keep your priorities in line.
    2. Get enough sleep.   If you are committed to going to class, then you’ll have to get enough sleep to maintain this commitment.  That means partying till 2 am on a Wednesday night when you have a morning class on Thursday won’t be an option you’ll have to consider if you’re committed to going to class.
    3. Enjoy the extracurricular things that college has to offer.  Yes, that means parties and social activities. It also means getting involved in things you enjoy whether it be sports, student government, on and off campus organizations and even work that can help pay for college and give you practical experience to make you more marketable when you graduate.   And if you go to class, you hopefully won’t have to spend as much time studying to learn the material that you should have learned about in class, giving you time to enjoy the things that make college a learning and enjoyable experience outside of the classroom.

    College should be a practice in balance, just like all periods of life.  Taking an all or nothing approach to studying or partying/social activities isn’t necessary.  You can do both and learn from both.

    What tips do you have for college success?

  • Get a best friend at work and other tips on work and life wellbeing

    At the recommendation of the Alabama Society of Human Resource Management’s Wellness Director, I downloaded a copy of Wellbeing:  The Five Essential Elements by Tom Rath and Jim Harter. The book describes the five essential elements of wellbeing (in order of importance) to be: 

    Career

    Social

    Financial

    Physical

    Community

    The authors emphasize how each element is intricately interwoven with each other.

    Here are some tips for maximizing work wellbeing by seeing wellbeing from a holistic perspective:

    Don’t be a workaholic.  “While you might think that people with high career wellbeing spend too much time working, they actually take more time to enjoy life, have better relationships, and don’t take things for granted.  They love what they do each day.”

    Get a work best friend.  “Our research revealed that just 30% of employees have a best friend at work.  Those who do are seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better at engaging customers, produce higher quality work, have higher wellbeing and are less likely to get injured on the job.” 

    Salary matters, but it isn’t everything.  “Generally, those who have a lot of money can do what they want when they want to do it.  Money can increase short-term happiness by giving us more control over how we spend our time, whether that means a shorter commute, more time at home with family or additional social time with friends.”   And “What we found was that financial security- the perception that you have more than enough money to do what you want to do- has three times the impact of your income alone over overall wellbeing. Further, the lack of worry about money has more than double the impact of income over wellbeing.” 

    Being engaged in your work leads to giving back to the greater community.  “In one organization we studied, workers who were the most engaged in their jobs donated 2.6 times more than those who were not engaged in their careers.”  We agree.  Read more at Passion + Productivity = Give Back 

    How does your work wellbeing impact other areas of your wellbeing?

  • Throwing compensation structure out the window

    I’m going to contradict myself (again). I seem to do this a lot, outlining a way to be process oriented by designing a traditional talent management program.  We’ve done this over the last couple of weeks by describing how to do job analysis, job descriptions and design a compensation plan. 

    But the key to knowing how to design any talent management program is to know yourself, or rather know your company. For mid to large companies, having job descriptions and a wage structure to define how you compensate people is more than likely completely necessary. It keeps things consistent, fair and easier to administer. 

    However, in a world where jobs are constantly changing and therefore the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to define jobs are also constantly changing, defining a job based on hard and fast definitions and then trying to recruit and retain employees based on these hard a fasts may be a tremendous challenge.

    Another approach

    Instead of defining a job and recruiting to that description, find the superstars, those who know how to constantly learn and adapt in a fast-paced world, and hire them, then define the job around them. Pay them what they demand (the superstars know how much they are worth) and then temper their demands with a structure that incentivizes results your company needs them to achieve. 

    Notice this doesn’t mean ever defining the job, but it does mean that you may do it after you make the hire. We’re pretty adamant about defining the job through the behaviors you want people to exhibit and the results you want them to achieve in order to measure and reward performance. 

    We’re in the process as a small company of doing this now. A compensation structure is not what we need to recruit and retain people at this time. What we need is a superstar or two that understands the core of what we do (career development and talent management) and has experience in it, reflects our company values, and is motivated by achieving the results we need achieved.

    One day we may need a defined compensation structure, but right now it isn’t what we need, so we aren’t going to try to cram ourselves into a traditional process that may inhibit our ability to recruit and retain talent. Your company, on the other hand, may need to structure in order to recruit and retain talent. Realizing the outcome we all want is great talent that stays doesn’t mean we all get to that end result the same way.  

    What processes (or unprocesses) do you have in place to make sure you get the talent you need?