BlogNotions - HR

Penn State and Paterno: Loyalty Unchecked Leads to Headaches and Heartache

sbruce — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:32:30 +0000

Legendary college football coach Joe Paterno died recently after a battle with lung cancer. But by many accounts, some people who knew him well say the 85-year-old died of a broken heart. I think Joe Paterno’s career at Penn State University is worth closer examination because there are lessons for employers and employees alike, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald.

Oswald, who is CEO of BLR, offered his thoughts on the passing of Joe Paterno in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter.

Joe Paterno spent his entire career at Penn State University, coming to the school as an assistant coach in 1950. That’s not a typo—1950. That’s 62 years ago. I’d be willing to wager that only a small minority of those reading this were working full-time in 1950. After 15 years as an assistant, Paterno was named head coach in 1966—the same year I was born. And he spent the next 46 years winning football games and impacting the lives of young men. In that span he chalked up 409 wins, more than any coach in NCAA football history.

But Paterno was also known for promoting a balance between collegiate academics and athletics. His players graduated at a rate of 74 percent—19 points above the national average. And Paterno was never accused of any NCAA rules violations. What’s more, he and his wife donated more than $4 million to the university for scholarships and to build a library on campus. In a world of college athletics where so much is wrong, Paterno was seen as a man who did things right.

That is until long-time Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged with 40 counts of child sexual abuse. The abuse allegedly took place over a 15-year period, some of it in Penn State athletic facilities. One incident in 2002, in which a football graduate assistant allegedly walked in on Sandusky assaulting a young boy in the showers of the football building, became Paterno’s undoing.

According to grand jury testimony, the graduate assistant told Paterno what he had seen. Paterno insisted that he was told only of “inappropriate behavior” and that he notified campus officials who should deal with it.

In light of the scandal involving Paterno’s former long-time assistant and believing that he had not done enough, Penn State’s Board of Regents fired the coach with a phone call. Of the entire Sandusky incident, Paterno said, “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. I wish I had done more.”

It’s a tragic story. But there are lessons about loyalty in it from which we can all learn.

Loyalty and longevity are great, but you must be aware of the potential downside. Paterno spent 61 years at one institution building a great reputation and a cult-like following. His immense popularity with Penn State alumni and fans gave him an incredible amount of power.

Paterno was that employee who is so valuable and popular that management begins to believe he is “untouchable.” In many ways, his actions go unchecked until there’s a problem and then management finds it difficult to act fearing the repercussions. Much of the problem in this situation was that Joe Paterno became bigger than Penn State, and that just can’t happen. No employee can be bigger than the institution.

Loyalty can be blind. I don’t know what Joe Paterno knew about Jerry Sandusky’s alleged actions, but it certainly appears that he knew something and didn’t do enough about it. He admitted that when he said, “I wish I had done more.” Paterno and Sandusky spent 15 years together. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that someone close to you is capable of doing bad things. Maybe it’s because you see the good they do or maybe it’s because admitting it would mean you failed to be a good judge of character, but managers must be vigilant about assessing those who work for them and not ignore the signs of problems. Paterno did, and it cost him his job and, in many ways, his reputation.

Loyalty can make for hard decisions, but you need to handle them the right way. The Penn State Board of Regents fired Joe Paterno, a decision that many thought was the right thing to do. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to make about a man who had done so much for the university. But they did it with a phone call. Sixty-one years of dedication to one institution and they don’t have the courtesy to meet with him face to face.

Again, I don’t know the facts surrounding the firing, but it appears to be a very cowardly way to end a relationship that lasted as long as this one had.

Joe Paterno dedicated his life to Penn State University, and his dedication and loyalty may have cost him his life. Less than three months after being fired by the university, Paterno died—many of those close to him said he died of a broken heart. Loyalty to an organization and loyalty to an employee are both wonderful, admirable things, but left unchecked they can lead to problems all too apparent in the relationship between Paterno, Sandusky, and Penn State University.

To share your comments, or to read more articles like this one, please visit the HR Daily Advisor.

Audacious Adaptability

tseamon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:41:46 +0000

The highly adaptable and audacious leader, one who can fearlessly ride the waves of change, is the one who will flourish in today’s world of white water change.

This topic was inspired by a question on a LinkedIn discussion group: “What do you think is the most important skill to effectively lead change?”

One response that really spoke to me was the reply by Israel-based consultant Allon Shevat who said that it’s time for leaders to have the courage to “come clean” and summon up the audacity to tell employees that change is here to stay. It’s the norm now. Change is not going away.

Audacity. There’s a word you don’t use every day. Audacity means: intrepid, bold, disregarding normal restraints. Audacity means being unafraid to step forth and “tell it like it is,” even speaking the truth when it hurts. Audacity means being a fearless agent of change.

One of my client companies has attained the number one spot in their industry. It took a tremendous multi-year effort to get there, including a fanatical focus on quality. In a series of leadership classes I am teaching there, the participants say that the number one capability they need is adaptability, the ability to rapidly and continuously change, learn (and unlearn), and adapt to never ending pressure.

In the face of unrelenting change, we must “adapt and overcome,” as the US Marine Corps teaches its members. Venerable business guru Jack Welch once said “Change before you have to.”

What do you think? What is the number one competency that people need in the face of 21st century organizational change?

Just a “Taste of College” Can Boost US Success in Talent Wars

derwin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:59:59 +0000

The need for hard-to-find talent has some of America’s best companies getting involved in high school education. A former client, now senior executive at General Mills, nailed the problem. “If we don’t build relationships at high school level, another major firm (Target or Best Buy) will steal some of our best potential talent,” she said. Business support and pushing of talent development, even at the pre-college levels, will more and more become a key strategic necessity for American companies. Talent development in K – 12 will take many different forms.

What top researchers in Minnesota have found is that just a “taste of college” can boost high school student success, providing more opportunity for building our talent base.

The program, emphasizing dual credit in high school and college, has been pushed by Joe Nathan, one of America’s most respected educationists, who specializes in inner city education. Nathan, formerly of the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, now runs research out of the Center for School Change at Macalester College. Nathan believes that if we can develop a sense of “I belong here. I understand this world,” through dual credit classes for poor and minority students, we can keep kids who might otherwise leave school. The growth through advance placement classes, International Baccalaureate programs, or dual credit classes (taught by college profs in high school), has shown surprisingly significant results in developing potential talent.

The report recommends that “dual credit” courses be available to younger and perhaps the less academically successful. It also notes that a study of New York and Florida students revealed that dual credit programs demonstrated an “ability to raise the achievement of students not traditionally seen as successful in high school”—low income and low-achieving students.

Participation increased from 17,581 in 2007-2008 to 21,184 in 2009-2010. That’s a huge change in a state will little over 60,000 public high school graduates per year.

The program offers a number of significant advantages to both students and families.

Students can earn a two-year associates degree while enrolled in high school.
The programs, paid for by the various school districts, are free.
It keeps some of the kids in school who might otherwise drop out.
Students and parents can save as much as $40,000 on a four-year degree.
Provides lower income and minority students a better understanding of school options.
Provides students with a clearer understand of life goals.
Makes for a far easier transition for students from high school to college.
Makes it possible for those who do not see themselves at college to complete relevant certificate programs.
Studies from several states show that students who take college courses in high school fare better in college.

At first glance, “dual credit” programs may sound like just another flaky educational idea, but, as the statistics above demonstrate, longitudinal research strongly supports Nathan’s ideas. If you’ve been around inner city kids, you know that it’s their attitudes that get in the way of motivation and prevent them from achieving. And what Nathan’s program does is to focus on those attitudes, and provide constructive opportunities to impact the students’ learning context.

Extensive research by Carol Dweck and her associates at Stanford has consistently shown that students with a growth mindset—a fundamental attitude–do better in school. Moreover, the research demonstrates that the growth mindset raises motivation and achievement, especially in difficult courses or across difficult school transitions. Though faculty may not label or talk about the dual credit experience as a “growth mindset,” that’s exactly what the experience can provide for students.

Though I grew up in a family with college background, I have never forgotten how important my trips to the University of Michigan with our high school choir were. Years later, I can still see myself on that magnificent campus, talking to recent grads from my own high school. I recognize that those experiences were a piece of my drive for higher education. They impacted my attitudes and served to motivate me as strongly as anything anyone could say.

Sure, I know that what works in Minnesota, Massachusetts or Michigan in the 1940s, may not work–because of resources–in Nevada, New Mexico or Alabama today. If you’ve lived and worked in several different parts of the country, you know that state cultures and state resources differ profoundly. That’s why smart thinkers in the US Department of Education are encouraging individual states to figure out what works locally, experiment with it, create a pilot program, tweak it, and when successful, celebrate and publicize the stuff. The “dual credit” program is one such successful strategy for developing talent. It’s actually quite amazing that just a “taste of college” can boost student success.

Originally Posted on Dan Erwin.

What Word Limit? The Constraint Is Your Ability To Write A Compelling Tale

lhaun — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:50:37 +0000

On the last post, I had a commenter ask if I thought my 2000 word post was well received. It’s a good question and one question I often get is about the length of blog posts. Some people say 400 words should be your goal. Some people say no more than 600 to 800 words. Supposedly, nobody reads anything over 800 words online.

Generally speaking, I keep my posts on TLNT below 800 words. I’ve dipped into 1,200 word territory on occasion but that’s pretty rare. Now, I would be interested in doing a long form series for TLNT but what has been better for online publications, at least as far as I know, has been a series approach. So let’s say I want to drop somewhere between 5,000-10,000 words on a specific subject. Instead of putting that all into a single online piece, you create a series of it for the week and, in so many words, milk the long form subject the way you put your biggest story in the back half of a magazine.

It keeps the content brief for people who want to jump in and out of the story but good for the folks who love to read longer stories.

For this blog though, there is no formal word limit. I’ve gone over 1,000 words numerous times. Especially when my blog was more popular, longer posts were the norm. When this blog sucked, sometimes the posts wouldn’t go beyond this point (you’re at the 235 word mark by the way).

The big failure in evangelizing blogging as a platform is the reduction of the discussion of blogs as the sum of their technical attributes. How long should it be? How do I SEO optimize it? Should I tag or categorize? What platform should I use? Should I allow comments? How many visitors am I getting? How much money am I making per pageview?

This is where I’m supposed to say this stuff is important but I’m not going to say that.

What people don’t spend enough time on is thinking about their writing. When you focus in on word counts rather than telling a good story, you’re destined to fail. If you focus and write a compelling story but it is too long, you have a lot of options. If you write a crappy story within your pre-destined word count, the only way to fix it is with a rewrite.

There are a lot of technically competent blogs out there. Folks who did their homework and have the technical situation down. But, let’s be real: the content can daft on some of the most fantastically constructed blogs. Because they couldn’t imagine going over 600 words, they never cover issues with any sort of weight or breadth that have a few more words allows you to do. Or that their link baited titles are so SEO optimized to the hilt that it feels formulaic, just like their self-linking in the post content itself.

There’s a legitimate alternative out there. Think a ton about what you’re writing about, read multiple takes on the subject, think about who is interested in it, think about why you’re interested in it, write something interesting, edit (for clarity, simplicity and completeness), and hit publish.

For some folks, that will be 200 words. For me, sometimes it is almost 2,000. Or 200 words. (Okay, it’s never 200 words)

Originally Posted on Lance Haun.

Managing Bosses, Be They Remarkable, Toxic or Perilous

sbruce — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:01:54 +0000

Job satisfaction begins and ends with the boss, says executive coach Dr. Karol Wasylyshyn, author of Behind the Executive Door: Unexpected Lessons for Managing Your Boss and Your Career. To make the boss/you relationship work, first determine whether you have a Remarkable, Toxic or Perilous boss.

Wasylyshyn. a licensed psychologist and executive advisor, is founder of the Leadership Development Forum, which provides practical guidance for improving your work experience.

I Have a Remarkable Boss

Remarkable bosses are well-attuned to the concerns and aspirations of others, blend both facts and people considerations in their decision-making, and have healthy egos focused on business success versus just getting their own selfish needs met, says Wasylyshyn.

To make the most of working for a high-achieving and inspirational Remarkable leader, follow these tips, she says:

Build a reciprocal relationship. Replace “What’s in it for me?” with “What’s in it for us?”
Accelerate results. Call out colleagues on the differences between being busy and getting results.
Be an enterprise player. Get out of your silo, share your knowledge and work collaboratively among departments.

I Have a Perilous Boss

Perilous bosses, despite their intelligence, are chronically critical and dissatisfied, inconsistent in their management of others, and moody. To reinforce the best behaviors with this discontented type, says Wasylyshyn:

Clothe the Emperor. Keep the boss tuned into employees’ real concerns including aberrations in his or her leadership style.
Connect head and heart. Coach him or her away from overly content-based behavior and toward an integration of objective (data) and subjective (people) factors.
Be a mirror for bold actions. Strive to be the person the boss can turn to as a litmus test or emergency brake before taking audacious action.

I Have a Toxic Boss

Toxic boss are tempestuous, have no concern about the impact of their behavior on others, and are totally ego centric. To minimize a toxic supervisor’s destructive effects, says Wasylyshyn:

Plan an escape route. Sometimes the best way to soothe the insanity is to start figuring your way out.
Believe in yourself. Stay steady in the belief that your talents, intelligence and accomplishments are yours regardless of how your boss may criticize or fail to recognize your work.
Bond with your peers. Collaborate with coworkers to preemptively resolve issues that could stand in the way of your respective successes at work.

First question: what type is your boss? And, maybe a more important question, what type of boss are you? Share in the discussion on the HR Daily Advisor website here.

Outlook for 2012—The Wage/Hour Hot Spots

sbruce — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:27:47 +0000

What’s in store as we begin 2012? Robust agencies with more aggressive tactics, says attorney Charles Plumb, but you can prepare yourself to fend off the worst of it.

Plumb, a partner with McAfee and Taft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, made his remarks at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Las Vegas. He was joined by panelists Dinita James, partner with Ford & Harrison in Phoeniz, Arizona and Stacie Caraway, of counsel with Miller & Martin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in a wide-ranging discussion of the challenges of 2012.

Wage and Hour Litigation

Look for DOL’s Wage and Hour Division to be even more aggressive in 2012, says James. Where you used to get a letter, then a phone call, and then an investigator, now you’ll get more than one approach at the same time.

Caraway noted that one of her clients is getting daily aggressive phone calls.

Where you used to be able to self-audit, DOL will now insist that the investigator make back pay determinations, says James. Where you could typically resolve complaints with full back pay, DOL will now likely want to assess civil penalties—and guess what—those dollars go back to the Wage and Hour Division to fund more investigations.

DOL is also increasingly teaming up with other agencies—state agencies, workers’ compensation, unemployment and tax agencies, all of whom have an interest in failure to pay or underpayment of employees.

Plumb notes that we may also expect in 2012:

More aggressive action by agencies
More sharing of information between agencies
Aggressive investigators that want to see every piece of paper
Increased scrutiny of wage and hour settlement agreements
The adding of state law claims to many federal claims
Continued emphasis on independent contractors
Increased activity from an increasingly more sophisticated and knowledgeable workforce
No end in sight in wage and hour litigation—the availability of attorneys’ fees make this area a lucrative one

Wage and hour advice from Caraway: “Don’t try to take these agencies on yourself; you have to have a seasoned attorney with you.”

Looking Ahead to Retention in 2012

There is substantial pent-up demand for employees to change jobs and to move to other companies, says James. Many have stayed with their company longer than they would like to because of the economy, but when the job market picks up, look out. Employers should focus on what you need to do to retain your best employees when this happens, she says.

NLRB Heating Things Up

The NLRB has become a pro-labor agency, says Caraway. One of the things they are doing is trying to shorten the amount of time before an election is held. You may think that this is fair, Caraway says, because both the company and the union would have the shorter time. But the union still gets an advantage; it can start the process months early.

Because of that, Caraway suggests that companies plan for anti-union training with supervisors in first quarter 2012. Teach them what to look for and what to say.

Beware that the new notice that all employers will have to post as of April 30 is a “roadmap for organizing,” Caraway says.

The second thing all companies should do, she adds, is to update their social media policies to eliminate any global language prohibiting negative talk or prohibiting discussing terms and conditions of employment. Such clauses will be interpreted as violating the employees’ right to engage in concerted activity.

Check out the HR Daily Advisor for more on wage and hour, social media policies, and more.

Obliterate Your Performance Appraisals in 2012

tseamon — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:45:14 +0000

In seeking some synonyms for the words destroy, kill, and annihilate, the one I liked best for this post is obliterate.

Obliterate: to destroy utterly; wipe out; to remove from existence, without leaving a trace.

For a moment, think about that definition in connection with your annual performance reviews. Go ahead: obliterate them. It just feels so good, doesn’t it?

What got me started on this rant? Derek Irvine’s excellent post on Recognize This where he suggests the same thing. But he asks a key question:

~ If you did “do away with” your performance reviews, what would you do instead?

He answers that the key is feedback. I could not agree more! Feedback, as Ken Blanchard is fond of saying, is the breakfast of champions.

Think about that. Think about the worlds’s best athletes, such as Olympians or World Cup soccer teams. These players live and breathe and thrive upon the feedback they get every day from their coaches, their teammates, and from themselves. It’s the key to their superstar status.

And this is the secret that organizations can seize upon in 2012. It can be their epiphany for the new year.

As I have been saying for many years, destroy the out-moded performance appraisal process that has weighed you down. Toss it away before it does any further damage to morale and productivity.

In its place, make a resolution to turn your company culture into a high-performance team that thrives on feedback.

15 Ideas in 15 Minutes—Attract, Engage, Retain

sbruce — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:53:37 +0000

A much-appreciated session at BLR’s recent Advanced Employment Issues Symposium was a panel presentation during which panelists offered quick, real-world-tested ideas for attracting, engaging and retaining employees.

The original talk was called “30 Ideas in 30 Minutes,” but we’ve culled the best fifteen ideas for our readers. The panelists were:

Andrew Botwin, head of Human Resources for accounting firm Rothstein Kass
Kathy Brooks, VP of Employee Experience, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Michael Burchell, Vice President, Global Business Development, The Great Place to Work Institute
Rob McElory, General Manager, Daphne Utilities
Liz Wilson McKee, Internal Communications Manager at law firm Baker, Donelson PC

How to Attract the Best People

Here are the panelists’ ideas for attracting the best people to your organization:

Burchell: Set up your whole recruiting process to insure a clear and strong culture fit. Google gets 100,000 applicants per month because they are attracted to the culture. The CEO of Dreamworks makes a personal call to applicants to whom an offer has been extended and says “I hope you’ll join us.”

Brooks: We offer a job tryout for production people, so they can see what it’s like on the line. Our hiring process is long, with four to five interviews, the last of which is with the people who would report to the applicant were he or she hired. Their voice counts, and it shows that we value collaboration and inclusion.

Botwin: We show tech applicants how they’ll have significant and immediate access to technical leaders in the industry.

McElory: We don’t slavishly follow the job description. We’re interested in people who are sober and on time.

McKee: An important tactical move is to apply for “Best Company” awards. People will start calling—“Please let me know when you have a job.”

How to Engage Your People

Burchell: We find that employees have three basic questions:

Where am I? Answering that question means giving good feedback, and maybe spot rewards. These are best when they are matched to the person’s interests, For example, sports tickets to a sports fan, or concert tickets to a music lover.
Where am I going? Employees want to know what their future may hold.
Why does it matter? One company that makes heart pacemakers brought in some of the recipients of the devices to talk to employees about how the devices changed their lives.

Brooks: Our company offers 52 hours per year of paid time off to volunteer. Many of our employees (the company is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters) go to coffee-growing countries to do their volunteer work.

Botwin: We believe that it is important for employees to feel that they have a voice, and we start that during onboarding. We also have frequent focus groups where employees can contribute their ideas. We also try to have some social interaction regularly.

McElory: We let our people say when they want time off. If you have them come to the manager and ask, “May I take Friday off?” that becomes a burden for the manager; he or she has to figure out what problems might be caused if the person is off. We trust the employee to do that thinking. We also come together as a family when someone is in trouble. Someone will drop by with a care package, maybe a ham or whatever the family might need.

McKee: Have fun!. Every office in our organization is mandated to have an event at least once a year. And we encourage people to talk, talk, talk. Face-to-face communication is important.

For more great articles, please visit the HR Daily Advisor website here.

Ben Franklin’s Two-Bird Economic Theory

derwin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:10:10 +0000

If you’re like me, a lover of roast turkey at Thanksgiving and the holidays, this is a good time to reflect on the turkey’s proud heritage. You might be surprised to know that one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, gave a lot of thought to that bird and its future role in America. He believed that the turkey, not the bald eagle, should be the national bird. He also thought that we should plaster pictures of the turkey on our coin and bills, giving the turkey place of honor.

In a recent New Yorker article by Adam Gopnik, the writer reveals some highly fascinating ideas about Franklin and the symbolism of birds, specifically the turkey and the bald eagle. The turkey, I learned from Adam Gopnik’s article, is the Meleagris gallopavo and in the 18^th century the most local of birds. Indeed, we slammed on the brakes just Wednesday before Thanksgiving to avoid plastering a wild turkey across the pavement in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

But it was a glorious moment in the 1780’s when Benjamin Franklin argued that the turkey should be the national bird, not the bald eagle. Gopnik explains that Franklin’s ideas are not a “finger-on-the-nose bit of Old Ben playfulness.” Franklin, like Warren Buffett, didn’t believe that there should be hereditary legacies in American life. And he used the turkey and the eagle to make his point.

Ben Franklin’s two-bird theory:

Franklin sorted economic philosophy between the turkey and the eagle. His economic point was that though the eagle was classy looking, it made its living by feeding on the helpless. To him, the eagle was reflective of old Europe, its class structure and its inequities.

A couple years ago while fishing with my youngest grandson, Henry, we watched the gulls grab the dead minnows we tossed out. Suddenly out of the blue sky swooped a huge bald eagle, taking the minnow from one gull while in mid-flight. My grandson had it right: “That eagle is a mean bird,” he commented. He stole from the pathetic gull—and the gull flew away in fear. (Bald eagle-lovers will claim that this libels eagles. But. . . what would you expect from eagle-lovers?)

For Franklin, Henry’s comment about the eagle is spot on. Admittedly, the turkey has an easily distracted mind and artificially swelled breast. But Franklin knew that though the turkey might be silly and vain, it shares the feed with the other birds in the yard. It’s a hard worker, disciplined and it follows the rules. And, like a lot of barnyard birds, it’s quite willing—eventually–to give hell to anyone who tries to make trouble.

In Franklin’s world of symbol-building, the national bird question was just one instance of the issues of freedom. He believed that people who work hard and play by the rules should have a fair shot at prosperity. He also rejected the notion that self-indulgence and genetics should be rewarded.

That wise Republican, David Brooks, summarizes the conflicts of the turkey and the eagle best. He asks which values will be rewarded and reinforced? The choices are effort and self-discipline. Or, bad governance and rigged systems?

It strikes me that Franklin’s thinking about the turkey and the eagle is even more relevant today than in the 18^th century.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as mine, and that you prefer turkey.

Originally Posted on Dan Erwin.

4 Ways Managers Can Build Relationship BACKbone into Employee Engagement

dzinger — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:55:13 +0000

3. Build Relationship – The Manager’s Employee Engagement Relationship BACKbone: Bids, Authenticity, Caring, and Knowledge

(Part 4 of a 10 part series on how managers can improve employee engagement)

Foundation of relationships. Obviously relationships and relationship building are a foundation of employee engagement. Linda Hill in a Harvard Business Review article on Building Effective One-on-One Relationships cited research by John Kotter that found “that one of the factors that distinguished those general managers with consistently outstanding performance records from their counterparts was their ability to develop and maintin a strong network of relationships.” Work is a relationship and engagement experience. One third of Gallup’s quintessential Q12 survey asks directly about relationships to uncover engagement at work while most of the other items are also influenced indirectly by relationship. Four of the twelve statements employees are asked to respond to are:

I have a best friend at work.
In the last seven days I have received recognition.
My supervisor or some one at work cares about me as a person.
There is someone at work who encourages my development. In the last six months someone has talked to me about my progress.

Relationship defined. A relationship is s a connection between two individuals. Interpersonal relationships usually involve some level of interdependence. People in a relationship influence each other. Because of this interdependence, most things that change or impact one member of the relationship will have some level of impact on the other member. Exercising a strong BACKbone as a manager will have an impact on other employees. This BACKbone is comprised of: bids, authenticity, caring, and knowledge.

People are people, don’t depersonalize with terms such as assets or human capital. From a distance we can view employees as assets and human capital but engagement and relationship requires closeness. Employees are human and we inadvertently dehumanize employees when we refer to employees as assets or capital. Remember, as a manager you are an employee too. One classic definition of management is getting work done through people but in an engaged workplace work is done with people. We don’t have relationships with assets or capital we have relationships with other humans. An employees locus of engagement is frequently a task while a manager’s locus of engagement is the working relationship with the employee.

Don’t go soft. Too often the human element of engagement is dismissed as a fluffy soft skill afterthought. Soft skills sound mushy and unimportant while hard skills sound like the foundation of management. I want to add some fortitiude, gumption, and moxie to relationship building in employee engagement by adding BACKbone to a manager’s work. The backbone is our central source of support and stability, it refers to fortitude and determination, and it is part of a network that connects the other networks together.

Dissecting the relationship BACKbone. BACKbone is an acronym for bids, authenticity, caring, and knowledge. John Gottman offered an excellent micro skills focus to building relationships by examining relationships through the lens of bids and the other person turning towards or turning away from that bid for connection. Authenticity is central to trust and true relationships as our brains are social and detect in-authenticity in fractions of seconds. Relationships are built on meaningful and personal connection not manipulation tactics. Caring is a fundamental engagement key and a core to both relationships and management. Knowledge creates our foundation for relationship as we learn more about each other and ensure we acknowledge the people we work with.

B is for Bids. John Gottman in The Relationship Cure outlined a very powerful practice to build better relationships in all elements of our life including work. He examined the smallest of exchanges between people that communicated a request for connection followed by one of three responses. A bid is the fundamental unit of emotional communication. It can be a question, a gesture, a look or any expression that says, “I want to be connected to you.” A bid is followed by a positive or negative response to the other person’s bid or request for emotional connection. The response can be turning towards (a positive response to a bid); turning against (a negative response); and turning away (ignoring another’s bid). In a future post we will examine how working with bids and responses can help us master moments and transform micromanagement from a creepy control mechanism to a fluid and authentic relationship builder that infuses and energizes our work and the work of the people we manage.

A is for Authenticity. Being authentic is key to trust, respect, and genuine relationships. Authentic managers demonstrate integrity, with a profound sense of purpose and willingness to live by their core values. Bill George, author of True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership believes that authentic managers genuinely desire to serve others through their management. They are interested in empowering the people they manage to make a difference; more than they are interested in power, money or prestige for themselves. They are guided equally by the heart and the mind – practicing heart-based guidance grounded in passion and compassion, as well as thoughtful management. People follow authentic managers because they are consistent, reliable and strong. When they are pushed to go beyond their beliefs and values, authentic managers will not compromise. If we want to foster full engagement we must be real or “get real.”

C is for Caring. Without caring for others and what they are trying to achieve and experience our management and relationship building is shallow and insignificant. Caring is valuing the people who report to you and focusing more on their needs than your own. Caring is not a fluffy emotion but a number of powerful behaviors demonstrated by managers. Caring can include “care-frontation” where we hold others accountable for their performance and don’t shy away from having conversations about bad behavior or variances in performance expectations. An excellent source to read on how caring is infused in conversation to create safety while building relationships and achieving results is Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Michael Kroth and Carolyn Keeler in a thoughtful article entitled, Caring as a Managerial Strategy in the Human Resource Development Review outlined a number of actions by managers that demonstrate caring:

Invites employees
Is receptive and fully available to the employee
Is emotionally accessible
Pays attention
Shows interest in the employee
Accepts the employee
Remains open to ideas, possibilities (is open minded)
Empathizes
Advances employees
Has a desire to help the employee succeed
Puts employee plans and goals ahead of his or her own
Advocates for the employee
Commits to employee success
Protects employees
Seeks opportunities for advancing employees
Builds employees capacities
Sees individual potential and helps employees grow and learn
Informs employees
Facilitates problem solving
Gives generative feedback
Encourages employees
Believes in employees
Teaches and mentors employees
Connects with employees
Shares feelings
Develops relationships of mutual trust and obligation

K is for Knowledge. Interpersonal knowledge is a key to relationships. We begin to learn more about other people and can respond in ways that create and invite more engagement based on the other person’s needs, values, beliefs, experiences, culture, personality, etc. It helps to have knowledge of how to build relationships but even more important is the knowledge we gather as we fully connect with each other. It can be very engaging to notice something is amiss for one of our employees without them saying a thing. Strong relationships are based on knowing the other person. Do we take time to “know” and do we retain that knowledge of employees’ interests, motivators, and uniqueness to further develop both the relationship and engagement at work? Interpersonal knowledge is greatly heightened by acknowledgement, as we show or express recognition or appreciation and gratitude. Notice the word now is contained in the larger work knowledge — gather and act on your knowledge now and in the moment of relationship.

Get BACK to work. When we tell people to get back to work we are usually suggesting that they get on task. We need to achieve results and we need to understand that work is also social. You can enhance engagement for your employees and yourself by putting your BACKbone into it. Make bids and respond positively to employees bids. Be fully who you are. Demonstrate the power of caring. Build your knowledge base of employees to acknowledge each employee as the unique person they already are.

Read these 5 sources to strengthen your employee engagement relationship BACKbone:

- Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter, 12: The Elements of Great Managing
- John M. Gottman, The Relationship Cure.
- Michael Kroth and Carolyn Keeler Caring as a Managerial Strategy in Human Resource Development Review.
- Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, Crucial Conversations.
- Bill George and Peter Sims, True North.

Building the pyramid of employee engagement. Review these 4 previous posts as we build the 10 block pyramid of employee engagement actions for managers:

- Introduction: The Employee Engagement Pyramid

Next post in this series: Recognition.

David Zinger built the 10 block pyramid of employee engagement to help managers bring the full power of employee engagement to their workplaces. If you would like to arrange to have this course or workshop for your organization or conference contact David today at 204 254 2130 or zingerdj@gmail.com.

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Originally Posted on David Zinger.