The Inspirational Carnival of HR is up!

Steve Geraghty-Harrison over at HR whY has posted HR Carnival: Be Inspired. Steve has assembled over 25 contributed posts on a huge range of HR topics and written a helpful, brief intro to each, so check it out.

Some notable posts include:

• Cathy Missildine-Martin’s It’s Not My Problem! Oh, Really?
• Laura Schroeder’s Are Your Managers Ready?
• Mark Stelzner’s Why Twitter Matters.
• Tanmay Vora’s 11 Ideas on Treating  Your “Prospective Internal Customers” Well.
• Jacob Flanagin’s Managing People Effectively – Are You Mismanaging Talent?
  

This Carnival of HR offers a terrific opportunity for you to get a great sample of a variety of perspectives, thinking, and just plain good writing. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a great blog you never heard of before.

More thoughts on networking

Figured it was time to give another update on my voyage of discovery as it relates to networking.

Some time ago, Amy arranged an opportunity to meet Jason Seiden during his stop over  through SFO.    Being the hanger-on that I am I asked her if I could meet him too.  As the logistics unfolded, it worked out that I would meet him for drinks and Amy would meet him for dinner.

When Jason arrived early, he sent me a message saying that he would meet me in the bar where he’d be making friends.  When I got there, that was exactly what he was doing!

There Jason was, chatting it up with some random guy, as if they were long lost buddies.  I made a comment that the whole ice breaking thing was very hard for me, and I couldn’t imagine doing that myself.

His reply really stuck with me.  He said “I used to have trouble with it, until I realized I was just being an A**hole“.

To this I responded [with what I considered a witty retort]  “I don’t think I’m an A**hole…. but maybe I’m wrong.”

and then the conversation moved on

As I have done more thinking about this, I realize there is a lot of truth to the idea that to effectively network you have to get over yourself. Making it the responsibility of the other person to break the ice is inherently arrogant.

This led me to the belief that, we need to get over our idea that we are center of the universe to make progress professionally.

Networking just happens to be one example.

What we are feeling inside is that we are not important or interesting enough to step outside our comfort zone and connect with others.

but

what we are really doing is suggesting that we are too important to bother taking the risk.

Having an honest intention, is really not the point.  The results are what matter and in this case, my results were a raft of missed opportunities.

Scary, powerful and actionable.

I am doing my best to learn that, moving forward professionally requires taking risks and challenging my perspective.    While I would not call myself an expert by any stretch, I can honestly say I’m making progress.

I no longer listen to that voice inside that tells me I have nothing of interest to say.  Instead, I listen to Jason’s voice in my head, that says quit being an A**hole Meg!

If nothing else it makes me smile, and since that is another goal I figure I’m ahead.

Celebrating Mothers Day and giving back

I have just got home from celebrating Mothers Day in a special way.  I’ve been undertaking conservation volunteering at a local urban bushcare site in Sydney.  As I was walking to the site this morning  I suddenly realized what a great gift and privilege it was not just to send love to my own Mother, Grandmothers and Mothers of the world (both alive and deceased) but to be able to give back to Mother Earth who continually provides for us all.  I’ve been volunteering at this particular site for nearly one and half years and work with an extremely wise and knowledgeable supervisor who gives of his own time, unpaid, to create a wonderful place for the local community and a vital oasis in the local urban area for plants and wildlife.

I’ve had the wonderful fortune of being able to undertake volunteering both as a personal interest but also within the corporate setting as I’ve travelled for work over the past twelve months.  I’ve had many memorable experiences ranging from conservation and organic farming projects in Australia, UK, Iceland and California, packaging food for the poor in Oakland, Northern California;   to attending schools for under privileged and HIV positive children in India.

A common thread that I observe coming through in all these experiences is that as volunteers we are able to fulfil an innate need that we all have to give back to others and to feel that we have a purpose and are able to make a positive contribution.  In volunteering we give back with no expectation of material gain and this is in itself is very uplifting.  Through participating we do something for others and we look outside of ourselves.

In the corporate context volunteering provides an opportunity for team members to step out of their normal job function and to pursue new skills and roles.  It is also a chance for us to learn about our teams and peers in a different way outside of the usual hierarchy at work.  Personally I’ve discovered many wonderful things about work colleagues when I’ve seen them operating in a volunteer context.  Knowing these things has changed the way that we now interact in a work setting.

I also find that participating in volunteering gives many valuable lessons on leadership and interacting in a group context.  For example observing:  how the leader interacts with volunteers and motivates them to engage in the project;  the approach the leader might take to responding to obstacles or signficiant challenges;  ways that are taken to impart knowledge and wisdom to the broader community;  the communication  style of the leader and other volunteers;  the leader and team’s commitment to making a difference;  and humility as there is so much that we don’t know and once you start volunteering you start to have a little appreciation of this.

I find that all the learnings that I gain through the volunteering can in turn be taken back to enrich other parts of my personal and professional life.

It can happen to you…

There’s a story behind this week’s opening of “Shrek Forever After” that speaks to all of us in the Talent space.

It turns out that the guy whose regular job is to coordinate the writers and the animators on the “Shrek” franchise got the nod to be the voice for the central character of Rumpelstiltskin. How that happened and what he faced carries excellent lessons about Talent.

Walt Dohrn is the “head of story” and his job is to make sure that what the animators are doing lines up with the script so that the whole story holds together. He has to have the “big picture” in mind and convey it in practical terms to the folks who actually execute.

This role prepared him well for what came next. When the big name actors come in and read their lines, they do what they call, “scratch tracks” and Dohrn filled in for the part of Rumpelstiltskin. This “stretch assignment” of sorts gave Dohrn the opportunity to take what he had already built in his mind the Rumpelstiltskin character would be like, and he went for it. All out. They loved it and they gave him the job. Not some “big star”; they gave it to the “head of story” dude.

Of course, once they told him of his new job, his response was classic Talent Growth and Development:

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to really step outside my skill set and I have to step outside my dark little room and really put myself out there.”

So there you go, even if the skeptical feel it’s a bit too “Fairy tales can come true.” It still lays it all out for looking at our own internal talent which is so often passed over for the “big star”:

• There are folks in various roles who have developed insights and vision for your business that are unique and valuable. Find them.
• If you give them the chance, they might blow you away with what they have to offer. Listen to them.
• Even when they do blow you away and you do change their role, they will often be quite anxious. Help them know that’s normal.

…and we’re back! Top 25 FOT/HRCapitalist Blogs.

So after being absent from the list last quarter, we’re back on the Fistful of Talent Top 25 Blogs! We’re happy and humbled to be recognized and we appreciate the work our friends at Fistful of Talent have done to calculate and assemble these rankings.

Make sure to check out the rankings as you will likely find a blog you didn’t know about before, and now you have a recommendation that it has “…data/news/opinion/reflections with substance to improve the life of an average Talent Management Manager/Director/VP…”!

We’re really happy to be seen as a valuable source in that regard – that’s our mission. It also apparently helps that we don’t put lots of political humor or language in our posts

Thank you again to Jessica Lee and the rest of the judges!

Some thoughts on blogging

I was recently asked about blogging and   I decided to blog about it.

My first observation is that if you are even asking about the topic of blogging, you should be blogging.

Really.

I can say with certainty, that you will learn a lot as a result of blogging, and this learning is something I wish for you.

I am not going to suggest it’s easy.  In fact, it’s a big leap of faith.  It is also  powerful and rewarding.

So, how to start?

First read these

• Penelope Trunk gives a wealth of useful information, the only thing I would add, would be to consider WordPress, in addition to TypePad and Blogger, to host your blog.  Her suggestions don’t stress about typos and focus on writing are key.
• Laurie gives excellent practical advice including topics that I think are important like voice [yours] and post size [short].
• Here is a great post about where to get ideas.

Once you are convinced you are ready to take the plunge, I recommend you focus on the following:

• Get your online profile in order.  Update your LinkedIn summary to make you seem human.  Write a decent About page that gives people a sense of you and your blog.  Use a consistent photo online that looks like you.  People like to read blogs from real people.  Making sure that you attract readers that connect with you is more important than getting a lot of readers who are just random.  Giving them a sense of who you are and why you are blogging helps make this connection.

• You have to give to get.  Start reading other Bloggers work and commenting.  Comments are very important.  They help make a blog a conversation.  Don’t just say “great blog”,  add feedback that enriches their conversation.  This is not just important in the general karmic sense, it helps you become a better blogger yourself.

• Write first, advertise second. Make sure you have at least 4-6 blog posts written before you start looking to get readers.  You want to make sure that when people do find you that they come back.

• Don’t be needy about readers, just focus on what you are trying to say.  Getting readers takes time.  Lots of time.  You will find yourself amazed that readers will find your content long after you have forgotten you wrote it.

• Set a realistic goal for on blog frequency and stick to it.  I recommend you push yourself to blog at least once a week for the first few months.  After that you can tune your frequency to your readership.

• Get support - consider a group blog to help enrich the conversation and take the pressure off.  Get people on your team to read your posts, recommend you to their friends and to help encourage you on to success.

• Give yourself a break – Interestingly, after two years of blogging the most consistent feedback I hear from my blogger friends, is that they have a hard time posting due to concern about how others will view the work.   My advice for this is to not take yourself so seriously.  The reality is that not many people will be reading initially, so it really doesn’t matter.  The purpose of blogging is to start a conversation, not set yourself up on a pedestal.  If you are worried about what others think you are missing the point entirely [and you are forgetting my advice about being needy].

A few more tips from Mark

• Authenticity and passion are key and you can’t really have one without the other. In other words, blog about what truly gets you excited and energized; don’t try to blog on something just because you think you “should” or that it’s “smart.”

• Be abundantly welcoming to readers’ input.  If you can make readers feel comfortable about asking questions or adding their contribution, they will build a long term relationship with your blog and likely refer others.

And lastly

Let us know you’ve started.  We love to learn of new blogs and Bloggers and are anxious to be on your team.

Passionate employees

Our own Amy Wilson writes an interesting comment to Mark’s post and I think we should investigate this more.

For those keeping score at home, yes I am writing a post, about Amy’s comment to Mark’s post.

People wonder how I write so many blogs, and all I can say is it’s a gift.

Amy Wilson said

May 16, 2010 at 11:45 pm I was really intrigued by “the John’s” assertion that employee satisfaction is a useless metric – that what you really want is passion. This got me thinking about how passion compares with engagement. It seems that passionate employees are a subset of engaged and actively disengaged employees … and that engagement is a circular continuum rather than a linear one (much like politics) – that there is a fine line between the most actively engaged employees and the most actively disengaged ones. The question is: are you harnessing your passion for good or evil in your company?

In fact, the point that struck me on this topic was the comment made that the most passionate people are often not the happiest.

Their passion can often lead to dissatisfaction when they see progress stalling.  I know that to be true in my own past experiences.  If I do not channel my passion constructively, it can eat away at me in a very destructive way.

Notice my choice of words here

I have to be accountable and mindful of  my passionate personality.

I need to make sure that I put that passion to good use.

The same is true for those of us who have the benefit of leading passionate people, it becomes our job to put that passion to work for the benefit of the company.  If we don’t, it’s not only an engagement problem, it can become a morale killer for the entire team.

With great gifts comes great responsibility. 

Finding and focusing your passion is the key to unlocking your own greatness, or the source of your own downfall.

You decide.

Another great Shelter Network story

I got this great story in email and received permission to post it.    I have a very soft spot in my heart for hard working nine year old girls.  TalentedApps would like to congratulate Ashley on her well deserved new bike.

enjoy.

_____________

Here at Shelter Network, we are witness to men, women and children persevering to overcome adversity on a daily basis. And we are regularly inspired by their successes – large and small. One of the recent successes involved Ashley, an extraordinary nine-year-old girl living at our family shelter in Redwood City. We thought you would enjoy the story..

As you can imagine, it’s not easy to maintain a good grade point average in school, win first prize in a design contest and remain positive and hopeful when your world is falling apart. But that’s just what Ashley has done.

Ashley’s family was living in East Palo Alto when her mom, a victim of domestic violence, lost her job and eventually the family’s home. Turning to Shelter Network, Ashley, her mother and brother were able to move temporarily into our Redwood Family House facility, where Ashley absolutely thrived.

An all A and B student in school, Ashley participates in Shelter Network’s Children’s Program, through which she receives weekly counseling sessions with her brother, attends Homework Club four days per week, and receives tutoring from a Shelter Network volunteer.

Ashley’s engaging personality helps her get along well with the other children in the program and she is always ready to jump into almost any activity. In fact, she recently completed a poster for Volunteer Appreciation Month. Another of Ashley’s favorite pastimes is the Children’s Reading Club, where she and the other kids select a book to read, summarize and trade in for prizes. Ashley has already read four books over the past few weeks.

And if these activities weren’t enough to keep her busy, Ashley recently entered the 2010 Census poster contest and won first prize – a brand new bike!

With her ever-positive view to the future, Ashley looks forward to playing soccer and mastering the piano.

Ashley’s spirit is an inspiration to all of us. She may be homeless for a short time, but with her can-do attitude and the assistance of Shelter Network’s services for children and their families, Ashley never has been and never will be hopeless.

Below is a picture of Ashley on her new bike and with her winning poster.

Your support continues to make a difference. Thank you!

What was the middle thing?

I also really enjoyed the Churchill Club event on the Power of Pull.  In addition to Mark’s remarks about passion, I found myself really taken by a comment made near the end.

The comment was about the idea that companies spend their energy attempting to attract-develop-retain talent.

In fact, that is typically how a Talent Management lifecycle is described.

When you look at what companies say vs. what they actually do, you quickly notice that more energy is spent on attracting and retention of talent vs. development and in some sense this is a bit bass-ackward.

If, however,  you focus more energy on developing people, the rest will get a lot easier.

If you are a manager this is even more applicable to your situation.  When you focus your efforts on developing your team to be more effective and better able to leverage their own strengths, yours will be a team that others want to join.

I would also note, that a great way to help your own team develop is to lead by example.

Yes, I said it — if you are working to grow your own abilities and impact for the company, you are helping your team follow your lead, and thus supporting your company’s Talent initiatives.

Good, huh?  This is why I make the big bucks.

Safra’s Top 10

Several of us from Oracle attended the 21st Annual Professional BusinessWomen of California conference today in San Francisco along with about 3,000 other business women.  While I knew Safra Catz, President of Oracle, was a keynote speaker, it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the day.  I now not only feel like I know Safra better, I have new insight into Oracle’s DNA based on her Top 10 things she wished someone had told her at the beginning of her career.  They really give you a sense of what Oracle is all about. 

#1 – You can never be #1 by chasing #1

• You cannot run fast enough
• You must do something different and think differently
• Change lanes and make them react to you
• You’re an idiot until you’re a genius

#2 – Scale matters

• The more customers you have, the more you can spread your costs out
• Scale is the key, not just size

#3 – Focus on what your real business is

• Bigger is not better when it doesn’t add to your core business

#4 – If it doesn’t make sense… it doesn’t make sense

• Don’t just sit back and believe that because it’s in a pretty powerpoint it must be true
• Ask questions

#5 – Don’t stand still

• You can’t beat the competition without moving
• No motion — no progress
• Make decisions and take actions
• Even if you make a few mistakes along the way

#6 – Don’t chase fashion

• While not standing still, don’t just change your strategy
• Stick to your core competencies
• You’ll become fashionable when you’re right

#7 – If you don’t ask, you don’t get

#8 – Just because everything can be put online doesn’t mean it should be

#9 – Integrity is key

• You can recover from being stupid
• You cannot recover from being a liar

#10 – Difference between her standing up on the podium and all of us in the audience is luck

• Business is a team sport
• And while often times the team is made up of mostly men…
• Get in there!!!

Thanks Safra.