Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Leadership Development

Beyond Leadership is Horizon Point’s line of resources for managers of people. Managing ourselves is a distinct set of behaviors from managers the work of others, and we are here to help. Read stories in this category if you are ready to take the next step in your own leadership development (or if you’re looking for resources for someone else).

  • Take the Negative out of No

    Take the Negative out of No

    This past weekend the pastor from my former church in Virginia stepped down from his position due to health issues. As I watched the Indoctrination Ceremony to install the new pastor online, I was overwhelmed by my pastor’s grace and gratitude. I was inspired by his authenticity regarding his circumstances.

    As he spoke of his need to step down, he also spoke of his calling to step up into a supporting role for the new pastor, someone that has been a part of the church and supported him for many years. He spoke of saying “no”, so that he could say “yes” to God’s new calling for him.

    We are taught at a very young age that no carries a negative meaning and has negative results. But as William Ury outlines in his book The Power of the Positive No, if done right, saying no can have a positive impact and is necessary in order to get to the right yes.

    So how can you create a positive no?

    • Explain your reason for saying no. Perhaps you don’t have time or what is being asked is outside of your expertise.
    • Offer up an alternative. Offer to help find someone who can say yes or provide an alternative solution to the problem.
    • Don’t be afraid to say “I need time to think about it.” If you’re not sure if you can help, think about it and get back to them within a reasonable amount of time.
    • Confirm that you think the idea is a great one and apologize for not being able to help. Provide positive feedback to reinforce their efforts and let them know that you wish you could help to see it through.

    By taking the negative out of no, you keep the door open for a future yes.

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    Saying “No” to Something is Saying “Yes” to Something Else
  • #MeToo and the Onslaught of Sexual Harassment Training Requests

    #MeToo and the Onslaught of Sexual Harassment Training Requests

    Long about mid-December when you couldn’t turn on the news without hearing about the next case of pervasive sexual harassment in every facet of the working world, our phone and inbox started blowing up with requests for sexual harassment training and training resources.

    Almost every HR leader was given direction from the C-Suite and/or self-directed to try to take the bull by the horns and “train” people on sexual harassment before they got hit with a claim in their workplace.

    Whereas I think driving a culture through behavioral actions is the best way to keep sexual harassment or any other form of harassment at bay (and training is just one part of this equation), there are some rules of thumb for “good” sexual harassment (or any form of harassment) training.

    1. Help people understand the laws behind sexual harassment to include the why and how of them.  Note:  Whereas you need to explain this so people can make sense of the precedent and legal ramifications, the more important issue is helping people understand and know when things are just plain wrong and inappropriate because they are wrong and inappropriate ways to treat people not because you might get sued.
    2. Help people understand the two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo (“this for that”) and hostile work environments.  Most people have an easier time understanding and identifying quid pro quo, but most of the challenges today fall in the category of hostile work environments. Help people understand the factors that create a hostile work environment including actions that are unwanted, repeated, intimidating, hostile and offensive.  This should also include a discussion about the reasonable person standard and intent.  More on intent in a later post, but basically just because someone didn’t “intend” to be intimidating, hostile or offensive doesn’t mean they are not guilty of violating the law.
    3. Help people know what should be done if they feel they have been or are being harassed or have witnessed harassment.
    4. Help leaders know how behave if harassment is brought to their attention. This includes how to conduct an investigation.
    5. Understand and implement company policies and procedures related to harassment (number 3 and 4 should be interwoven with this).
    6. Apply learning with a case study in a small group format.

    I have found that the case study portion of the training we do to be the most valuable.  This is because most instances we deal with in the workplace aren’t Harvey Weinstein blatant.  They are shades of gray, and it takes thoughtful discernment and investigation by people driven leaders to understand and then solve the problems.  The case study gets people thinking and talking in a way that leads to better discernment and application of the principles learned.

    If you are in need of free resources related to sexual harassment training, here are some good videos to watch:

    Video 1

    Video 2

    Also helpful, from HR Magazine: How to Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations.

     

    How have you handled the need to educate people on sexual harassment in your workplace?

     

     

     

  • Leaders, Does Your Attitude Speak Gratitude?

    Leaders, Does Your Attitude Speak Gratitude?

    If you missed my “Authenticity, Gratitude and Leadership” blog, check it out here.

    Forbes published an article titled:  Great Leaders have an Attitude of Gratitude – Do You?

    Here is an exert that resonates with our theme:

    Gratitude Practice

    Close your eyes. Focus on a blessing in your life… something you are thankful for. See an image of this blessing in your mind’s eye. Offer a silent “thank you” to the person or object of your blessing.

    Relax into the feeling of gratitude. Take a deep breath. Feel more gratitude.

    The latest brain research shows that six doses of feeling 30 seconds of gratitude daily (a whopping three minutes!) will enable your neurons to fire together and wire together around gratitude within a mere two weeks.

    This means you’ll more easily and frequently access the feeling of gratitude.

    Heck, we’re grateful for that!

    Doing Good Feels Good

    When leaders engage in this practice on a regular basis, they are able to generate gratitude from within, which allows them to show gratitude to others. This practice also reinforces a feeling of gratitude as second nature because it reinforces myelination. All of these amazing results occur in under 60-seconds. We all have 60-seconds per day to devote to gratitude.

     

    Check out the full article here.

    Are you showing gratitude as a leader?

    #authenticity

  • “There’s no bathroom for me here…” Finding Your Voice

    “There’s no bathroom for me here…” Finding Your Voice

    I sat down to watch a movie a week or so ago with my husband.  I average getting through about one full movie a year (apart from the Disney movies that are constantly playing at my house…. “Let it go, Let it go…. Oh, I digress….) so I’m ahead of schedule this year.

    It was a movie I asked my husband to get, Hidden Figures, and after three months of it sitting in its Netflix case he told me it was time to watch it or he was simply going to send it back.

    So we watched it. I thought I’d fall asleep in the middle of it, but talk about a powerful film. If you haven’t seen it, see it.

    It’s the story of three brilliant black women working for NASA as the USA sought to get a person into space.

    Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, is assigned to an important job and of course is the only African American female in the department. Her boss, played by Ken Costner realizes how smart she is and begins to rely heavily on her skills.

    Subscribers click through to view

     

    To be authentic, we have to find our voice.  We can’t shy away from it.  But, as we see from this scene, there are some important things to consider in finding and expressing our voice.

    1. For our voice to have power, we can’t force in on people. Katherine didn’t come right out and complain immediately about the bathroom situation. She worked to handle it the best she could.
    2. Sometimes our voice has to be solicited to be heard. And our voice is solicited when we demonstrate our competency and commitment. Katherine expressed her voice when her boss solicited it. Not before.  Because she was solicited it was heard.  I’m not saying this is at all right or fair.  Everyone should have a voice, especially when injustices exist, but to be heard we need to consider these first two points.
    3. Expressing our voice often allows us to address the big picture issues not just the current situation. This scene shows that Katherine not only addresses the specific issue of the bathroom, but she also addresses pay inequities and overall injustices and prejudices.
    4. Expressing our voice in an authentic way causes other people to act. You don’t see it in this clip, but if you’ve seen the movie you know the boss played by Kevin Costner addresses the inequities Katherine exposes through her voice.  He tears down the bathroom sign that doesn’t allow “coloreds” to use it.  He doesn’t let it go, and he doesn’t address it through his voice.  He addresses it through action.
    5. Which shows us, often our voice is loudest through our actions not our words. As the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.”  Especially when you’re a leader like the boss in this film.   He was setting an example and precedent to show others what acceptable (and unacceptable) behavior in the organization looks like.

     

    When has the power of your voice led others to act?

     

     

     

  • Living Life Gratefully is Living Life Authentically

    Living Life Gratefully is Living Life Authentically

    My great-grandmother taught me the art of gratitude. She lived a very hard life, but through it all she was grateful. She always found the positive in everything and helped others see the positive in their lives as well. As we explore how to be authentic, I find myself thinking of her and what she taught me a lot. This quote from best-selling author Sarah Ban Breathnach is the perfect illustration of what effect gratitude can have on you.

    “You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: The more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given to you.”

    As Josie Robinson, author of The Gratitude Jar: A Simple Guide to Creating Miracles, said, “Focusing on what you have to be grateful for forces you to not only become a more positive person – but to attract more positive situations into your life because they become self-fulfilling prophecies of the thoughts you’re putting out into the world.”

    For suggestions on how to live a grateful life, visit www.josierobinson.com.

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    The Essence of Authenticity