Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Personal Development

We all need a little personal development mixed in with our professional and career development. Read blogs in this category for stories and best practices for personal wellness and wellbeing, skills improvement, and  more.

  • Does Your Team Talk in Metaphors?

    Does Your Team Talk in Metaphors?

    One of my favorite things to do for companies is to help them understand what distinguishes high performers from average and/or low performers in their organization. The purpose of this could be for a variety of reasons, but oftentimes, it is to help companies create a profile and tools to select the right talent.

    We ask the clients to provide us with the opportunity to talk to high, mid and low performers.  We ask them a series of job analysis questions and watch them work for a bit.  While we watch them work, we ask them questions about what they are doing, why they are doing it and ask them to explain what is going on in their head to understand what mental processes they are engaging in to complete their work.

    Recently, we’ve been working on this type of project for a client.  And we’ve uncovered one of the most interesting things I think I’ve seen so far in doing this kind of work.

    Overwhelmingly, the high performers talk in metaphors.  They explain things, often complex things, through metaphors instead of direct or literal language.

    For example: “So, when we do this, it is like we are headed out on a trip from here to Nashville, and we decide half way through that we need to change our tires and our oil.”  This was used to explain how poor planning hurts the company.

    Another way this came out was high performers using song lyrics to describe what they were doing, how they were doing it, or why.

    In this particular example as well as in other workplaces, people who talk in metaphors seem to be better teachers. (Think Jesus, arguably, regardless of your religion, one of the best teachers ever.  How did he usually talk to his followers?  In parables, which is simply another word for metaphor.)

    Metaphors help us:

    1. Make more than one point with less language. There is often the points and THE POINT that can only be expressed through metaphors instead of specific or descriptive dialogue.
    2. Describe often complex things in simple terms.
    3. Commit things to memory. We remember the song lyrices or the analogy more than we remember the work instructions.

    In this instance, the behavior of talking in metaphors will be related to the overall competency of teaching.  Teaching will be one of three to four competencies we will design selection criteria and assessment around for this client.  The ability to teach in order share knowledge across employees is a critical competitive advantage for this organization.

    So how can we assess for teaching ability?  Well one way is to see if candidates talk in metaphors. Do candidates engage in the behavior that the high performers use?

    To do this we will train hiring managers to pay attention to these things:

    1. In interviews, using “tell me about a time” questions, does the candidate explain things or answer the questions and use metaphors to describe?
    2. In interviews, ask them to explain the last time they described how to solve a problem to someone. Ask them to actually walk through the description.  Are metaphors or analogies present?
    3. In a work sample, we will ask candidates to teach someone how to do something. We will score this work sample, among other things, to see whether using metaphors was present.

    Another way to look at metaphors is to more broadly see if people tell stories to explain things instead of simply describing what is.   Assess if storytelling is present in your candidates.

    Is your workplace full of metaphors?  If so, your organization may be better at teaching than others.

     

     

     

  • Bullying Doesn’t Just Happen at School: Workplace Bullying

    Bullying Doesn’t Just Happen at School: Workplace Bullying

    I recently saw an article about a nine year old boy in Denver who took his own life after being bullied during his first four days of school. My youngest son is eight and I can’t imagine him ever feeling like his only choice is suicide.

    When my oldest was in elementary school he was bullied by another child at his daycare. While he has always been a very headstrong child, the bullying continued to the point where he had put up with enough. Together we sat down with his martial arts instructor, who is phenomenal at working with children to tackle such hard issues, and he helped us to formulate a game plan on how to handle it. With his help, my son was able to show his bully that his words weren’t having the effect he was aiming for, and eventually the two actually became friends.

    Bullying isn’t limited to children. A survey sponsored by the Workplace Bullying Institute in 2017 showed that a staggering number of U.S. workers experienced bullying in the workplace.

    • 5 million U.S. workers reported experiencing bullying in the workplace
    • Women experience bullying, from both women and men, at a much higher rate with 65% of male bullies targeting women and 67% of female bullies targeting women
    • 61% reported that they were bullied by a boss
    • 25% reported that their employer did nothing while 46% reported that their employer conducted a “sham” investigation

    Bullying in the workplace has an impact on the organization as well, including increased turnover, loss of valuable talent, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and even the risk of litigation. So how can employers minimize these risks?

    1. Have a well-defined Harassment Policy. Workplace bullying is a form of harassment. While most bullying may not be illegal, that doesn’t make it okay. Make sure your Harassment Policy includes workplace bullying. Train your leadership on what bullying is, how to conduct themselves to set the example, and how to handle it if an employee reports bullying. Review your Harassment Policy with all new hires, and annually with all staff.
    2. Have and follow a formal investigation process. Your policy should include information on how reports will be handled. Determine who will conduct the investigation, how it will be conducted, and make sure your findings are well documented. Do not ignore reports of bullying and do not put off investigating those reports.
    3. Take proper action to eliminate the behavior. Once you have completed a thorough investigation, determine what action needs to be taken to make the bullying behavior cease. That could be anything from a documented verbal conversation with the accused up to termination. If the accused is not terminated, monitor the situation to ensure that the actions have in fact ceased. Do not assume that it has and let it go.
    4. Promote a workplace that welcomes diversity, inclusion, and a difference of opinions. Work hard to promote an organization that encourages teamwork, uniqueness, and freedom to communicate- even when what an employee has to say may go against the grain. Pay attention to where there may be breakdowns in this and work to build them up. Host company functions that encourage employees to get to know each other. Provide new employees with mentors who can help guide them and integrate them into the organization. And have an open door, where employees feel comfortable voicing concerns or issues. And again, take those concerns or issues seriously because not doing so leads to a breakdown of trust.
    5. When needed, provide employees with outside resources to help them cope. I’m a huge proponent of Employee Assistance Programs. If you have one, make sure both the accused and the accuser are provided with that resource. If you don’t have an EAP, there are other resources available to employees that may help them. You never really know why someone bullies, or what is going on in the mind of someone who is being bullied. Sometimes it takes a trained professional to assist them.

    60.5 million is a staggering and unacceptable number. Bullying is not an inherent trait, it is a learned behavior. Just as I aim to teach my children acceptance and kindness, employers can aim to promote those values in throughout their organization as well.

    Below are some additional resources on bullying:

    www.stopbullying.gov

    https://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/special-topics/workplace-bullying

    https://www.employmentattorneyla.com/blog/2016/05/workplace-bullying-online-anti-bullying-resources-for-employees.shtml

  • Forget the 401K Plan, Does Benefit Package Address Getting Rid of Debt?

    Forget the 401K Plan, Does Benefit Package Address Getting Rid of Debt?

    “According to Make Lemonade, there are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. alone. The average student in the Class of 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt,” sites a June 2018 Forbes article.

    Furthermore, check out the consumer debt picture (this is separate from student loan debt) in America from Business Insider:

    The debt issue is a problem on so many levels, but for employers, it is impacting thoughts and decisions about what a desirable benefits package looks like in order to recruit and retain employees.

    Is the savings piece of your benefits plan, most likely in the form of a 401K, even desirable anymore?  Can your employees even think about saving if they don’t ever see a way out of debt?

    In addition, the financial stress your employees face is costing you money.   According to Forbes:,   “Across all generations — Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers — financial matters were the top cause of stress. Forty-six percent of workers spend three hours or more during the work week thinking about or dealing with financial issues, and 47 percent said their finance-related stress has increased over the last 12 months. And according to a new survey from Bankrate, which interviewed 1,003 adults earlier this year, 57 percent of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a $500 expense.”

    So what should you do?  There are three routes/benefits I would suggest you consider to address the debt equation in your overall benefit plan:

    1. Student Loan Repayment.   Offer your employees the benefit of paying off their student loans. Some companies do this as a simple benefit with no strings attached, but most require some length of service requirement in order to be eligible to receive this benefit.

    Here is a list of some companies that are doing it and how they are doing it: Nerd Wallet.

    A company that facilitates this benefit for employers and that I have heard good things about is gradifi.

     

    2. Acting a money lender/payday advance.   Companies are cropping up that help employers act as lenders to their employees through payroll advances and other arrangements.  Some arrangements charge the employee a flat fee while others charge an interest rate on the money borrowed.

    Wal-Mart is advancing employee’s wages in this way through a company called PayActiv.

    More on this subject from the Wall Street Journal can be found here.

     

    3. Offering Financial Wellbeing Training.  While the first two options are designed to offer access to capital to pay off debt, many employers are focusing on training employees to be better managers of their finances in order to reduce and eliminate debt.  This seeks to solve the problem in the long run by changing behavior instead of putting a band-aid on it.

    If this interests you, check with banks and/or credit unions in your area. Many offer free classes. In addition many employers offer the popular Dave Ramsey Financial Peace training to their employees at no charge.

     

    How can you improve your benefit offerings to address the debt issue?

  • Take a Lunch Break

    Take a Lunch Break

    “You want me to pick you up a biscuit for breakfast?”  One colleague asked another on his way into the office one morning.

    “No, Mary Ila is coming today.”

    “Gotcha.” he replied back.

    The HR Manager I work with regularly was the one refusing the biscuit because she knew if I’m there for the day, I am going to take her (make her go) to lunch.   This is such a given that now her collogues know when I’m there not to count on her to be there at lunch time.  Her friend/co-worker with the biscuit didn’t need any further explanation as to why she didn’t want a big breakfast.  Mary Ila here = a good lunch.  He’s gotten in on the lunch breaks with us at least once before too.

    The lunches started out, in her view I think, as me just trying to be nice.  And of course, I am taking her to lunch to be nice, but also because I’ve got to eat too.

    But she’s come to realize that I have bigger reasons for taking her to lunch.  She needs to get OUT of the office for a bit.   The lunches help us both recharge, have more casual, but still work-related conversations.  I can visibly see her relax a little once we get in the car and we are headed to what is most often our favorite-Mexican- meal.

    I had a purpose for the lunch breaks with her because intuitively I know she needs it.  Little did I know that there is a lot of science to back up lunch (not breakfast- see she didn’t need that biscuit!) as the most important meal of the day.

    In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink,  Pink writes:

    “For example, a 2016 study looked at more than eight hundred workers (mostly in information technology, education, and media from eleven different organizations, some of whom regularly took lunch breaks away from their desks and some of whom did not.  The non-desk lunchers were better able to contend with workplace stress and showed less exhaustion and greater vigor not just during the remainder of the day but also one full year later.

    ‘Lunch breaks,’ the researchers say, ‘offer an important recovery setting to promote occupational health and well-being’- particularly for employees in cognitively or emotionally demanding jobs,’”

    Pink goes on to describe two things that need to be present for lunch breaks to have this positive outcome:

    1. Autonomy- Exercising how, when and whom you do it with.
    2. Detachment- Being both psychologically and physically detached from the work place (and the phone, etc. that may connect you to it).

    I do make her go to lunch and go with me, so I’m not sure how much autonomy I’ve given her in this.  However, we do practice detachment.

    I hope that the value she sees in the lunch breaks will help her be more autonomous in taking them.  Also by engaging others in the practice of breaking for lunch, she can model the way to detach from the workplace and work activities at some point during the day to recharge and refocus.

    Do you regularly take a lunch break?  If not, what would help make you start?  Call me- I’m always up for lunch if you need an accountability partner.

     

  • 3 Things to Do When You’re NOT Looking to Make a Career Move

    3 Things to Do When You’re NOT Looking to Make a Career Move

    HR professionals know the War for Talent is real. So, what does that mean for individuals who are comfortable in their current jobs? It’s simple; don’t get too comfortable.

    I received a call from a colleague once who said a hiring manager had reached out to her about me. Apparently, she had seen our connection on LinkedIn and asked if she thought I might be interested in a job. I wasn’t even looking, but was offered an opportunity that turned out to be enjoyable contract work and nice supplemental income.

    Now more than ever, recruiters and hiring managers are seeking out passive candidates. Even if you love your job, you never want to become complacent. Always strive to be the passive candidate companies are looking for.

    Here are 3 things to consider:

    1. Grow and foster your connections – reach out to at least one potential or current contact per week to touch base. This can be as simple as a call, text or email. Check out: 7 Networking Do’s and Don’ts.
    2. Keep your LinkedIn profile current. If you don’t have one, check out 3 Steps to Get Your LinkedIn Profile Job Search Ready.
    3. Be a lifelong learner. For ideas, read this article via HR bartender: How to Plan Time for Self- Learning.

    Are you ready to be an amazing, passive candidate?