Loving Yourself and Everyone Else

As Black History Month comes to a close, I want to remind you that, no matter who you are or what your background is, love yourself and don’t be afraid of others. Fear leads to hate and hate leads to evil. You can love yourself and your heritage without hating others. When I say “black power,” there is no history of hate behind that. The problem black and brown people have with those shouting “white power” is the history behind that saying. But what if we could all, regardless of race, could love our own culture and truly not look down at others? Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I challenge you, on this, the twenty-eighth day of the second month of 2017, to ask yourself “Why do I cross the road when I see a person who looks like this?” Or “What made me feel unsettled when so-and-so walked into the room? Was it his size? His race? His age? His dress? A combination of the three?” You see, all these things are about our levels of comfort and, though you crossing the street doesn’t directly impact anyone, it spills over into the people you hire and choose to promote. There is statistical evidence that managers are more likely to hire people they would be comfortable hanging out with outside of work. If you cross the street when you see a black man or you snicker when you hear a Latina in the grocery store speaking in her native tongue or you happen to feel a pang of terror when you get on a plane with a Middle Eastern man who says “As-salamu alaykum” as he hangs up the phone with his wife, it is safe to say you wouldn’t be comfortable hiring them, ultimately preventing them from being the best human being (or American if that’s more important to you) that they can be. So start questioning yourself. And, after you ask those questions, seek out opportunities to make the changes that need to be made. Because, after reading this, you can clearly see that your cultural incompetency can have a negative impact on the lives of those who just want to make this world a better place.

 

Make cultural competency a priority.

The World Isn’t Yours

People aren’t going to think the way you want them to think because you want them to think that way. Your employees aren’t going to learn like you do because you want them to learn that way. Some people love structure. Some people love freedom. The more we learn about human nature, the more we should be willing to adapt to the differences of humans but half of America isn’t ready for that type of adjustment. The powers that be still want everyone to aspire to the cookie cutter go to college, get an 8-5, get married, have kids mold that has been standard for the past couple hundred years. Those who don’t fit that standard are often forced into undesirable positions, given little money and even less control over the outcomes of their lives. But, truth be told is, we don’t have to go to college or work at an office or even have a defined amount of money coming in every month. And we don’t have to all work at the hours that best suits our supervisors to make them comfortable. We do it because we are conditioned that way. But what if that way is not the most productive way? What if that works well for some and others could do better working from 8 PM until 3 AM three days a week and meeting with the team for a couple hours a week than they would working 8-5 and watching the clock for the last two hours of every day? And then you have others, like me, who like to have the option of one or the other.

Like it or not, a shift is coming. Trying to hold that shift off until a certain generation ages out is not only delaying the inevitable; it is hindering us from making the progress we need. Leading is about knowing your team and how they can best help you reach your goals. Managing is about fitting them into your mold. But what if, God forbid, they have more material than your mold can hold? Then you’re losing them to another employer at best and cutting off some very useful parts of their personality at worst.

Change the way you lead and trust your employees to make the best decisions they can to make your organization the best it can be. At the end of the day, I’m sure of many things for young professionals: 1) we want to succeed and 2) with the size of the national student loan debt, we certainly cannot afford to lose our jobs.

Question the power structure and don’t be afraid if they decide you don’t fit their culture. If they decide that, they’re right but that means it’s up to you to either find or create your next move.

 

Make professional development a priority.

Managing ’96 Jordan

Good morning. I have a scenario for you.

If you’re the General Manager of the 1996 Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan says he wants to be paid a reasonable amount more, you have a decision to make. You could a) Pay the man who is taking your team to the championship, or b) Try to fit Scottie Pippen into his role when he leaves.

The thing is, investing in MJ will bring your organization millions of dollars over the next 50 years. Not doing so gives another team those millions. So, as a smart manager, you do the smart thing and pay MJ, let Scottie play the role he’s been playing, and you get another ring. Or, as a less than smart manager, you wait until 2003 for LeBron (closest thing to MJ) to come along and hope you can draft him. (But, as history proves you don’t get him either.)

We all know what happens if you don’t fire Mike. But, if you choose the latter, you’re stuck with a team that is NBA playoff worthy but isn’t ever going to live up to what the 1996 Bulls actually did all b/c you didn’t want to pay a few more dollars that you’d get back 10 fold.

Thankfully that didn’t happen in real life but it happens daily in corporate America. Great employees leave b/c they’re undervalued. It costs a lot less to retain someone than it does to replace them. Remember that.

Pay MJ what he’s worth because you may never get his caliber of employee again.
Make professional development a priority.

Manage Expectations

One thing I learned at the CASE District III conference is that you really have to manage expectations.  I’m telling you, in 66% of the sessions I went to, they said that higher education professionals have to manage expectations and I agree whole heatedly.  But I’ll take it one step further and say that all professionals, especially young professionals, must work to effectively manage expectations.  People think that, because many of us are 40 and younger, we’re in a position to work ourselves into the ground.  And I refuse to do that.  I believe in having a strong work ethic but I don’t believe in doing eight things halfheartedly.  I believe in doing a few things and doing them exceptionally well.  So, when asked by upper management to take on additional responsibilities, do one of two things – say “Let me look at my workload and get back to you on that,” (and actually do both of those things) or say “I can put that on my plate but I’m going to need you to let me know how high this is on your priority list and what I need to shift down because my plate is full now.”  If you fail to manage expectations, people will expect you to have everything done at once and that is illogical.  You’re one person, not five.  Make sure your leadership remembers that.

 

Make professional development a priority.

Let People Do Their Jobs

Managers, you hired John to do jobs x, y, and z, right?  So why is he doing jobs c, b, and a?  I use those letters because they are at completely different ends of the spectrum.  Now, I understand that sometimes, wrenches get thrown in plans and the slack has to be picked up.  But if you have the resources to not take someone away from the job they’re supposed to be doing, don’t take them away.  And especially not to do something that has nothing to do with their skill set.  Just because Ray Kroc has the ability to flip Big Macs doesn’t mean he’s supposed to waste his time doing that, right?  That would be a waste of his amazing business mind, right?  And I can almost guarantee that John could be using the time that you’ve taken from him to do what you’ve hired him to do.  And, even more likely, when he doesn’t get what you wanted him to get done in the time frame which you desire, you’ll be chastising him about his inability to finish a project.  But let’s look at the reasoning behind why he didn’t get it done.

The hiring department is called “Human Resources” for a reason: because these people you hire are resources that should help you run your department effectively.  But many of you managers are misusing these resources on the wrong things.  Do better.

Get to Know Their Strengths

Congrats! You’ve newly been appointed the supervisor of a team of people. Or you’ve acquired a new team member. Either way, every person you work with has a set of skills that they bring to the team. But, by introducing someone new to your team (be it a new manager or new employee), more work must be done and it is the manager’s responsibility to complete this task: Get to know their strengths.

As a leader, though you ought to be working as hard as your staff, much of that work comes by way of strategic delegation. But, guess what? If you don’t know who is on your team and what they excel at, you cannot effectively use their skill set to make your organization better. Or, worse, if you misuse/underuse their ability, you will have a disengaged employee who will resent you, as their leader/manager, and who will eventually leave your organization for one that empowers them to be better.

So take some time to, at worst, survey your team and, at best, invite them to your office for a conversation and coffee. It will do two things: make them feel more valued and, secondly, it will allow you to get to know what it is they are interested in. The interview was them trying to get the job. Now your job is trying to get them to stay and maximize their potential.

Healthier Leadership

“You even need to tell your supervisor ‘I don’t do well with fear.  You need to build an environment of encouragement.  Help me grow.'” — Arlee Griffith, Jr.

This past Sunday, one of my pastors talked about fear.  He briefly touched on leading with fear and how that has no place in a healthy relationship or environment.  It’s not all about religion, though.  A workplace ruled by fear is not good for anyone.  I, as an employee, won’t give 100% to a supervisor who is always holding a write-up or termination over my head.  In that case, what I will give 100% to is my job search because I will always be looking to get out of there.  And, even if the employer/supervisor isn’t threatening my job directly, if I see him/her ruling others with fear, I know that, the moment (s)he is dissatisfied with my work, I will be next on the list.

In addition to the effect that fear-based leadership has on a team, I have a theory about leaders who rule with fear: They, themselves are afraid.  They are so focused on keeping the power that they fail to lead to the best of their capabilities.  Stop being so concerned with losing your position of power that you don’t build better leaders.  Managers who hire incompetent people just so that their positions are never challenged are the worst kind of leaders ever.  By dumbing down their staffs, they are ultimately not growing themselves.

So, managers/supervisors/bosses, try to empower your team instead of scaring them.  You’ll get better results.  I can guarantee it.  Yes, a time may come when you have to discipline someone.  But learn the difference between disciplining someone and scaring them into submission.

Are You Leading or Bossing?

You all aren’t dumb.  There is a difference between a manager/boss and a leader.  A leader puts in the effort.  A boss tells you to put in the effort while they kick their feet up.  As a leader, you should never ask your staff to do something that you could do as easily with Siri or Google.  “Google John Doe’s number for me” is not legitimate delegation.  “Get this report written for me so that I can present it” is. Truth be told, no one wants to do meaningless work, but a lot of bosses go on power trips and ask people to complete idiotic tasks just because they want folks to know who is “in charge.”  Well, if you act like that, how long do you think you’ll be in charge?  These days, a worthwhile employee’s loyalty is only given to those who appreciate it.  If you don’t appreciate me, you won’t have me around for long.  So, leaders, think about how you can take some of the unnecessary slack off your team.  Know the difference between delegating and just being plain lazy.  Maybe it means getting your hands a bit dirty too by doing some real work but hey, are you above doing that?  If you think so, maybe you need to reevaluate what it really means to lead.

Address the Responsible Party

How many times have you received an email that has absolutely nothing to do with you(r behavior)? “Don’t come to work late.” “Don’t wear leggings to work.” “Please realize that at Doe, Doe and Doe, LLP coming to work sober is a must.”  After reading these emails, which are never as short as my simple statements above but, instead, unnecessarily riddled with HR-appropriate, politically-correct jargon that leaves you wondering what happened to that 3 minutes of your day, you are left asking one rhetorical question in the break room “Why didn’t the manager just call John (generic culprit’s name) into his ****ing office?”

Why are we, as adults, so afraid to pull someone to the side and say “Hey, Jane, that skirt doesn’t meet the standard of professionalism we have here at Doe, Doe & Doe. It’s OK. You didn’t know today but if you could dress more like Shawnda from now on, that would be great.” The problem is, we don’t want to offend anyone because we live in such a litigious society but guess what? We have to eventually step up to the plate and say “This is unacceptable.”

In addition, sending an email to everyone is not going to help because, usually these emails are addressing things that many of us would consider common sense. If I’m John and don’t have any common sense before the email was sent, what in the world makes you think that an email that doesn’t explicitly state my name is going to resonate with me?  In short, common sense is not common but, it can be assumed that everyone under the manager’s scope can understand directions.

So, upper management, I ask one thing of you: When there is a problem in your store or department or organization, have the courage to address the source of the problem and not just hope that the email does the job. The person really may not know that it is a problem and fix it immediately. But, if you let it linger, you’re putting their livelihood at risk and running the risk of having to spend the funds needed to hire and train someone else.

Why Not You?

“Obviously they have some experienced guys who have been here before but why not us this year?” — Stephen Curry

Last night, after watching the Western Conference Finals, NBA MVP Stephen Curry was interviewed by an ESPN reporter and was asked if the Warriors are ready to take on LeBron and the Cavaliers (paraphrased).  Now, Curry has spent all season proving that he can stand up to any test and he came out of the regular season being recognized as the nation’s (possibly the world’s) premier basketball player.  So why are they asking him if he’s ready for LeBron?  Shouldn’t they be redirecting that question?  Why?  Because, in our society, experience speaks to likelihood of success.  But no successful person believes that in the beginning because it only takes that one opportunity to build a tradition of achievement.

So why not you?  Why don’t you take the initiative in the office to read more articles that will spark your mind?  Why don’t you bring new ideas to the table that may change the path of your company forever?  What makes someone who has been there for 23 years better than you?  True, they have wisdom and the power of wisdom is invaluable so I will never discount that.  But know that you know what you know.  You’ve studied your field.  You’ve done the research.  You have innovative ideas but you are afraid to share them.  Of course, there is a proper way to share those ideas but make sure they are heard by those who have the power to have them implemented.  If you don’t, you’ll miss your opportunity and those guys with experience will continue to be seen as leading authorities in the field.  But what if this is your year to be seen as the new authority and you miss it because you’re afraid of going head to head with experience?  Then you, my friend, lost before you even tried.  So open the door for numerous other first timers who just want their ideas heard.  Make people remember that it’s ok to bet on the underdog.  Sometimes it’s the hunger for victory that allows him/her to come out on top against his/her behemothic opponent.

Do you need help strategizing the most effective way to communicate your thoughts to top management?  Whether you need some assistance with crafting an email or developing talking points for your meeting with the decision makers, I’m here to make sure that you walk into the meeting with the (humble) mindset of “Why not me this year?”

Make professional development a priority.