Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Human Resources

We know HR. Read our Human Resources blog archives for stories and best practices from our work with real clients and personal experiences in the world of HR.

  • The Best Place to Begin a New Year

    The Best Place to Begin a New Year

    Resolutions, Goals, Plans, and Turning Over A New Leaf.  This is the stuff that New Years are made of.  For individuals and organizations, the new year is always a natural place to think big and aim high.  And there is nothing wrong with this. 

    As 2023 came to a close, a theme we saw over and over again was the challenge many people were having in leading well. They were aiming high, but totally missing the mark. They had lost the people they were leading as well as themselves in the process, chasing some ideal they couldn’t even name. 

    So many of the conversations and client engagements we found ourselves in were due to this struggle. As we examined it closer, we realized that the key and consistent challenge was that people had lost touch with who they were, what their organizations stood for and how to get back to these things. 

    They had lost sight of their values, if they had ever even named any, and it had taken them to a place of shooting at a bullseye that was meaningless and also miserable. 

    So, as 2024 opens and you’re aiming high, I’d encourage you to name or rename your values.  What I mean by the word “value” are not moral values in a universal right or wrong sense, but values in what leads to your competitive advantage as an organization or a human being.  What makes you unique, and therefore something of worth? 

    As you think about this, two resources I’d encourage you to explore are:

    1. Brene Brown’s work in Dare to Lead.  Read or listen to Part 2: “Living Into Our Values” and use her pdf list of values found on her website to help think through your core values.  I would highly encourage you to listen to her words in an audio book format before using the pdf to begin action. 
    1. Based on Dr. Henry Cloud’s work, found in Boundaries for Leaders on team trust and defining operating values, create and examine two past case studies of your organization or personal practices: one that went exceptionally well and one that went horribly wrong.  What consistencies do you see in the good and the bad?  You can use this tool we’ve created based on this work to help you develop your case studies.

    What we typically see is that the bad reflects the opposite of what creates uniqueness.  It is what you are most ashamed to be or do because it is so opposed to your values.  The exceptional is what makes you feel most alive and yourself when you are living into them- the value creates value. For organizations, it is what makes people want to “purchase” from you instead of a competitor. 

    As we begin a new year aiming high, let us first reflect on if it is where we want to aim to begin with. Once we’ve done so, we can steer our behaviors towards the right bullseye. 

    What are your values and how will you aim for them in 2024?

  • The Point Blog’s Top 10 in 2023

    The Point Blog’s Top 10 in 2023

    From our Team to yours, we hope that you are enjoying the Holidays with your loved ones near and far. If you’ve had a little too much excitement, step back and do some light reading. We hope that you gain some space and perspective from The Point Blog’s most viewed posts of 2023. 

    10. 5 Steps to Help Determine the Essential Functions of a Job

    9. 3 Steps for Leading through Pressure & Change

    8. The Speak Out Act-Is More to Come?

    7. By his and His hands

    6. 4 Lessons in Personality from Hamilton

    5. Who’s on First? Solving the Talent Development Puzzle

    4. Caring About Someone You Can’t See-Empathy in Leadership

    3. What’s Relationshipping, and How Do I Do It?

    2. Create Bigger Impact by Alignment Your Interests with Your Work

    1. SPECIAL FEATURE: July Leadership Development Carnival

  • Flu Space

    Flu Space

    Ahhh, the Holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or is it? It can also be a pretty stressful time of the year with work, end of the year class celebrations, Church Christmas plays, basketball practice, moving the elf, wrapping gifts, extra cooking, Christmas parties, new family dynamics ad infinitum. With all the hustle and bustle, it never seems like there is quite enough time or space to pack it all in. Our 2023 Theme: An Abundance of Space feels out of reach some days depending on my perspective.  

    Enter the flu… God knows exactly what you need when you need it, although I am not always ready and willing to accept the circumstance. My bouncy little boy was down for the count last week, and it gave me some “space” to slow down and really settle into my body. All the Holiday stress that I had been shoving down was able to rise to the surface and instead of distracting myself with busyness, I had to actually feel what I had been numbing with all the activities.  

    It turns out that when I slow down, there is more room for creative energy and thoughts to flow. I got married in October, and we want to start new traditions for our family. Being trapped (did I say trapped?) in the house for a week gave me the abundance of space that I needed to think about what some of those traditions might become. We have decided that this year we are going to have a Birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve instead of opening any gifts and really lean into our reason for the season.

    I am also learning to take up space and say no to things that don’t support my values. When I say yes to something, I am saying no to something else. Being the people pleaser that I am, this is easier said than done, but nonetheless I am practicing and there is growth occurring. Since joining the Horizon Point Team, the ladies have helped me to learn that it is essential for your well-being to create room for the people and things that matter the most.

    How will you create space to enjoy the Holidays?

    Read more at The Point Blog:

    Does Scarcity or Abundance Rule You?

    Top 10 List on Space & Abundance

    Space to Focus

    Make Space to be Mindful

  • A Few of Our Favorite Things

    A Few of Our Favorite Things

    At Horizon Point we are big on giving. We give throughout the year to causes that are near and dear to our hearts, we give our clients a Book of the Year at the holidays, we adopt a family for Christmas, and we give to each other – our time, our gratitude, and of course, gifts. Some of our favorite gifts have come from each other, and we always try to personalize our gifts, both for the occasion and the individual. One way we are able to do this is through the help of a Favorite Things questionnaire that we have each completed. 

    Jillian

    Gifts are not my love language. Or at least…they weren’t. I’ve always been a Quality Time and Words of Affirmation girl, both in my personal and professional lives. When our team studied the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, I was also dating a big Gift guy. I had one of those Aha! moments when you realize it’s not all about you; that people show appreciation or love in ways that are meaningful to them, and that’s the part that matters. I’ve grown to truly appreciate Gifts because of what they mean to the giver. I’ve also been so fortunate that the Gift givers in my life are so thoughtful and intentional when they consider the type of Gift that I would appreciate – often gifting experiences like a gift card to a bakery I’ve been wanting to try, or a bag of locally roasted coffee they thought I’d like. Just today, I received a beautiful piece of art by one of my favorite Alabama artists, and I could just burst with the warm-and-fuzzies. So…are Gifts my love language now?! I married that Gift guy, so as the magic 8-ball says, “signs point to yes”! 

    Taylor

    Finding a gift for a friend or family member is one of my favorite things to do. I love to find something that “fits” the person I’m gifting. I have a lovely aunt who has always been the best gift giver because she shops with the mission of finding something that is just right for whoever she is shopping for. As a little girl, I remember getting a glitter baton and a manicure set from her. For me personally, it truly is about the thought. With that being said, the top of my list of gifts I’ve received includes anything thoughtful. Recently at Christmas lunch with friends, I received earrings that were perfect & my sweet friend said she thought of me when she saw them. She also included a massage gift certificate; she knows me well.

    Lorrie

    Growing up my dad would save his change all year in one of those big water jugs and each December he would give it to me and my brother to buy gifts for our family members. We would spend hours rolling it and my mom would take us to the bank to cash it in and go shopping. We would spend all day looking for the perfect gift for each person on our list. It was a tradition that we kept well into our late teens. Through that tradition, I gained an appreciation not just for the gifts I receive, but for the thought that I know must have gone into each one. Each year for Christmas my dad buys me tools…yep, tools! And I’m not sure who is more excited, me to get them or him to give them to me. You see I grew up helping my dad build and remodel houses and now I enjoy restoring old furniture. Today at lunch with friends, I was surprised with another great gift – a book on how to build tiny houses and a gift card for Airbnb. This year I decided that I want to design and build a tiny house with my dad in the next few years and so I’ve started researching ideas. Part of that research is finding tiny homes on Airbnb and making weekend trips out of going and checking them out. My friend knows how important this goal is to me and her gift was perfect. Not only because it was given with thought and caring, but also because it was a sign to me that she believes in my ability to make this goal a reality.    

    As we head into the holiday season, how can you personalize your gift giving? 

  • Creating a Work Space that Brings People Together

    Creating a Work Space that Brings People Together

    Her name was Ima, Ima Fish. She was a Betta that I got when my son was four months old and I decided being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t for me. So, when my old boss called me and asked me if I wanted to come back part-time, I jumped at the chance. I bought Ima to put on my desk at the office. I had that little fish on that desk for five years! And everyone in the office knew Ima. If I was out of the office, I knew someone else was taking care of it, I didn’t even have to ask. Coworkers would stop by my desk daily to see how Ima was, even before they’d check to see how I was. Ima became the office fish. 

    Employees spend a large portion of their time at work, away from their families. Coworkers often become a second family. So how can employers create a work space that helps to bring people together? 

    1. It starts at the top. Leadership can help create an environment that brings people together by making connections with those who work for them. Get to know your employees, what makes them tick outside of work. Do they have families? What are their hobbies? Where do they see themselves in the future? When you check in with employees, don’t jump straight into work, ask them how their weekend was, if they have plans for the holidays, just take a few minutes to chat and get to know more about them. By doing this, you not only build a better connection with your team members but you are encouraging them to do the same with each other. 
    1. A lot of work and a little play. Allow for some down time at work. You’d be surprised at how that may actually improve productivity and it will definitely boost morale. Early in my career I worked for a company that had an office breakfast EVERY Friday. And it was employee provided. There was a sign-up sheet each quarter for those who wanted to participate and a schedule was made of what Friday you had to provide breakfast. It was great, people loved to participate and every Friday the entire office of about 50 employees came through the breakroom to grab breakfast. You could bring whatever you wanted and there was always an abundance of food. Good food! We even had one employee who when it was his turn, would bring his griddle from home and make made-to-order breakfast sandwiches. And while you were waiting on your sandwich, you’d get to have the best conversations with him. 
    1. Create welcoming spaces for connection and collaboration. One of the worst feelings for me is walking into a sterile work space, devoid of color, personalization, and warmth. It’s not inviting. Create spaces where employees want to be, that inspires them. A little décor can go a long way. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. Add a few pictures, some fake or real plants, some color. Take that bright white break room and turn it into a space employees want to sit and enjoy lunch or a quick break. A little paint can go a long way to making a space more welcoming, so get rid of that bright white! And while you’re at it, take away the clutter too. It creates stress and don’t we all have enough of that these days? 

    What can you do to make your work space bring people together?