Tag: WorkHuman

All I want for Christmas…is $10

In February 2018, I will be participating in the Hustle Up the Hancock in Chicago, IL.

This event, which raises money for an excellent cause, sees almost 7,000 participants climb 94 floors of the Hancock Building in Chicago. That’s a lot of stairs. I may not have thought this all the way through. [insert mild panic attack here]

But I’m committed to getting breathless by choice to help those who are breathless because of lung disease.

I accept your thoughts and prayers, gentle guffaws, and outright mocking for attempting something like this while being woefully out of shape. What I really need, though, is your help.


The primary goal of this event is fundraising for people who suffer from respiratory disorders – from those who struggle with quitting smoking to people whose lungs are on the brink of no longer working. I have committed to raising $1,000 for the Hustle. All donations will support the mission of Respiratory Health Association to prevent lung disease, promote clean air and help people live better through education, research, and policy change.

I know $1,000 seems like a lot. But if I can find 10 people who are willing to go to my donation page and offer a $10 donation, it would help! If 1,000 people donate $1, that would be awesome, too. (And I would not turn down 1 person offering $1,000, but let’s not get greedy).

If you can donate, I’d appreciate it. If you can’t donate, that’s cool. I’ll take those thoughts and prayers.

The important thing is raising awareness for an organization that has done some truly amazing stuff.

Thank you!

I hate your sunshine.

During a recent #Nextchat, the conversation turned to making sure current employees were honest about what life was like at the company when talking to candidates. I think I said something clever like, “Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows at any org, no matter how great it is.” Then Anne Tomkinson (a co-host of the chat) said something even MORE clever, “And you also never know what is positive or negative to someone. They might hate your sunshine.”

And while my life goal is to now have a situation in which I can turn to someone and yell, “I HATE YOUR SUNSHINE!”, I also love what Anne said. Because she’s right. Something you find fantastic at work, another person may hate.

Let’s take open floor plans.

Some people love them – they think they foster creativity, collaboration, and create a bright, open atmosphere that makes the office great to be in. And then there are normal people who just want to be able to close a door and get some damn work done every once in awhile.

See? Someone hated your sunshine.

Leadership styles aren’t immune from this, either. You may think a hands-off approach is the best way to work. All employees want a manager who stays away until needed, right? Believe it or not, there ARE employees out there who want a little more direction and guidance on their day-to-day work and wouldn’t see it as micromanaging. They’d see that as support.

Sunshine hated once again.

As leaders, we have to be careful that we aren’t forcefeeding sunshine to our employees. We have to be aware of the different preferences in our workforce. We can’t always accommodate them (sorry, you can’t really wear pajamas all day…), but we can at least stop trying to get them to love the same things we do. Be realistic, for goodness’ sake.

That whole credibility issue leadership seems to have in so many organizations can be tied to our inability to recognize how our people actually feel about things that are going on at work. It’s OKAY for you to think it’s awesome that the cafeteria is moving to healthy food only. You can even tell people that you think it’s awesome. But don’t try to persuade people who hate the idea. Just say, “I get it. It’s not for everyone.” And move on.

Sunshine is subjective. As soon as leadership recognizes that, we’ll be in a better position to build trust and credibility with our teams.

And that should bring a little sunshine to all of us.

Author’s Note: If, like me, you immediately started singing Len’s Don’t You Steal My Sunshine upon reading this article’s headline, I truly apologize. It will take you roughly 72 hours to remove it from your brain. 

 

Five Years

Five years ago today, I started this blog.

First of all…seriously?! Five freakin’ years?! Wow. I’m getting old.

Anyhoo….

This blog was created because the universe decided that Jennifer McClure and I should meet under bizarre work circumstances. Because of that meeting, Jennifer began to insist that I should really write a blog post about topics we discussed. Or that I should tweet a witty observation I made. (The witty is my descriptor, not hers.)

In short, this blog is all Jennifer’s fault.

five

It’s been an interesting 5 years. We’ve seen a lot of things happen in the world of work and the world of life. I’ve had opportunities opened because of this blog. I’ve had an outlet to post random thoughts and observations because of this blog. Because of this blog, I find myself far more engaged in what is going on in leadership and HR across all industries, which helps satisfy my natural curiosity.

I’m grateful to the online writing community for welcoming me into their ranks, even when they patently disagree with what I have to say. I’m grateful to all of you who take the time to read my posts (when I finally get around to writing them). It’s nice to know someone out there thinks something I wrote is interesting or helpful.

Most of all, I am actually grateful to Jennifer for insisting I start sharing my voice. While I call this blog her fault, it’s only because it was her belief in me that convinced me I should put myself out there.

So, thanks, Jennifer. I never would have even considered this if if hadn’t been for you (my number one balcony person).

Now go apologize to the world for what you’ve done. 🙂