All the Hype on Equal Pay. My Short Opinion.

The US Women’s Soccer Team. Some controversy over Taylor Swift’s contract. It’s all in the name of fighting for equal pay for women. Equal pay is a noble cause and one I support. But who owns fixing this?  Maybe we all do, but women own taking the actions to fix it for themselves.  And we all own helping teach the skills to do so. Publicity and activism help.  But teaching women: To know their value Know how to advocate for their value And walk if they don’t get what they are worth is the true way to fix this problem

10 Quotes on Brave Leadership from Brene Brown at #SHRM19

“Leadership isn’t about having all the right answers. It’s about having all the right questions.” “You cannot opt out of fear and feelings. Determine what fears and feelings are leading to behaviors. Don’t play whack a mole with bad behaviors. Address fears and feelings directly.” My Favorite: “If you cannot have hard conversations because they are making you uncomfortable you won’t be leading in the next five years.  And it’s not the responsibility of the target of the conversation to prompt it.  It is your job as a leader.”  “Courage is teachable, observable, and measurable. Fear is the biggest barrier to it.” “Vulnerability

4 Main Sources to Get Wage Data

I hope to see you at #SHRM19 next week!  If you are attending, stop by and see me at 10:45 am on Tuesday in Westgate Ballroom A for my session – “Do You Need to Raise Your Wages:  A Step-by-Step Guide for Evaluating Your Wage Practices”.   If you can’t make it, one of the most important steps in this process is to get good market data.  Where do you find this?  First: Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and/or Economic Development Entity and see if they do a local or regional wage survey that you can participate in and/or purchase.  Most communities do

Five Quick Teambuilding Activities

I once put on about 30 articles of clothing in a matter of a couple of minutes. My team won. I once had to build a wooden tower while blindfolded and being instructed by others what to do. My team lost. I did these things (and many more) at a previous employer where we had morning meetings and every Friday was Fun Friday. We’d forego the regular meeting content of financials, project updates, and announcements every Friday morning to have fifteen minutes of fun. It was the weekly meeting everyone looked forward to and usually, we all walked away laughing

Create Insights Instead of Giving Feedback

“….But the most helpful advice is not a painting. It is instead a box of paints and a set of brushes. Here, the best team leaders seem to say, take these paints, those brushes, and see what you think you can do with them. What do you see, from your vantage point? What picture can you paint?” from Nine Lies About Work A few weeks ago, we talked about how neuro research shows us that for learning to happen, insights have to be created. We talk a lot about giving and receiving feedback in the workplace and how necessary it