A few months ago, SHRM announced that it was holding board elections. I had to laugh because an election at SHRM, a professional human resources membership association, is barely an election. They pre-select a slate of candidates to run unopposed through a very cumbersome ballot process. SHRM leadership reports that it has a quarter-million members…
It is totally possible to say no at work and in life. You have to embrace the consequences like an adult. Sometimes saying no means that people will hate you. Openly. With a passion. My boss once asked me to chip in on a project. I said no because I had perfect work-life balance. Also,…
I’m not a big fan of people who say yes to life. Those are the people who eventually throw themselves onto oncoming traffic because life said no to them. But I could say yes a little more often, especially because so many of my friends have said yes. It’s turned out well. I have two…
Many years ago, my husband and I purchased a home in the middle of the woods. The house was lovely, but the yard needed some work. We called several landscape architects and asked for bids. Redesigning our yard would cost a fortune — plus one of my kidneys. If my husband and I wanted to…
I am attending the 18th Annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition, next week. The first year that I attended this conference was fun. I traveled to Chicago and was able to connect with a bunch of internet friends who have since become colleagues and advisors. Those were simple times. We were in the middle of the…
I was getting my flu shot, the other day, and my pharmacist started complaining about her job. Her parent company is breathing down her neck. “These guys at corporate? They measure everything.” When the phone rings, and it’s a doctor, they want her to answer it in under three rings. Her average is 3.6 rings,…
I don’t hate happy people, but I hate the happiest guy in the office who makes it his life’s mission to make everybody else happy. I think that guy is pathologically sad on the inside. Exhibit A: He always turns his frown upside-down. Is the Keurig machine broken? Did you find a lump in your…
Something is in the water. Yoga is the new HR teambuilding activity. I say this because I’ve been to several human resources meetings, this year, and leaders are forcing their colleagues and direct reports to wake up early and do yoga. And I use the word “forcing” because attendance is mandatory. You wake up early,…
About a year ago, a former HR colleague called me in a panic. She was asked to help design a new office layout. Nobody would have offices or cubicle walls, not even the CEO. “We’re going to lose people,” she told me. I just checked in with her, and she did lose people. Quite a…
Leadership literature is rubbish. I know this because I’m friendly with many of those authors, and they approach the concept of leadership as an elusive, dichotomous quality: either you got it, or you don’t. Paternal Persona The first problem with the discussion around leadership is that it’s rooted in a masculine, fatherly framework. The best…
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