Conformity vs. Professionalism

Why does Professionalism matter? People want to feel comfortable at work. Why should they change their style at work? Aren’t we supposed to be accepting of people’s “true self” in the workplace.

Although we will be focusing on these concepts in business and the workplace, they reach much further and deeper into our country’s culture. The common misconception is that societal standards are debilitating and hinder freedom. The fact is that the more laws that are made, the more law-breakers there will be. Certain standards must be held by all the individuals involved in order for freedom to thrive. When individuals stop or refuse to hold certain standards by themselves (without being told through a rule), a law must be created and enforced. This changes the culture and impedes advancement.

For example, corporate credit cards are issued with mountains of paperwork spelling out what can and cannot be done with the card. This is necessary because of abuses in the past. But it wasn’t everyone who abused the cards, it was those lacking the standard of honesty in themselves. This example is very black and white, obvious in its implications. Now apply that concept to the way we dress, the way we speak, the way we drive, the way we live. This is why we feel drowned in legislation and paperwork and why you probably broke fifty laws this week.

We must maintain an individually-driven set of standards as a culture. Having standards instilled at a young age is crucial to ensure the stability of a healthy society. If we encourage children to do whatever they want, the boundaries we know to be healthy and necessary will not be developed. They must be taught to consider the perspectives and feelings of others because interacting with people will always be a part of life. When someone is too easily offended or demands certain actions from strangers, it is a form of selfishness that ignores the perspectives of others, focusing only on the individual’s feelings instead of the whole situation. This leads to more rules and laws for more people to break.

Without the ability to see ourselves as a part of a whole in society, we are led to selfish behaviors and a refusal to be a productive part of society whether this is conscious or unconscious. If societal standards break down, the ability to have a free-market, growing businesses, and healthy workplace culture is killed.

Conformity is the forced alignment to a rigid set of standards enforced by a set of rules. Professionalism is an unspoken, culturally derived set of self-driven standards for how to act in business situations.

There can be some confusion, and we need to be careful not to confuse Professionalism with Conformity. Younger people come into their fields with new ideas and fresh outlooks, and this can be great, if not life-saving, for businesses and business culture. Wise businesses do not ask for conformity, they ask for uniformity and organization, a base standard of professionalism, not a million rules. Your baristas may have 10 different hair colors and the entire spectrum of heights and weights, but they are all expected to be wearing the same clothes, following the same cleaning protocols, and making each drink by a specific recipe. These company standards have to do with quality, branding, and work-culture, but they allow for non-conformity in the space around them. Letting someone come to work in sleep attire, ignore cleaning standards, or make and serve whatever they want is silly. Your business would shut down quickly and you’d invite fines and lawsuits.

Every business is not the same, but every industry has a threshold of standards. The food industry has different standards than the transportation industry, but each is a professional environment. When everyone is able to hold themselves to a certain standard, there do not have to be as many rules because people will do the right thing by their own motivation. This is professionalism at work in the individual. When people do not hold themselves to professional standards, they cause conformity to be forced in the workplace. For example, OSHA was created because some businesses refused to hold themselves to an acceptable, even obvious, standard of workplace safety. This was not all businesses, but we have thousands of rules and laws now because of the refusal of a few individuals to respect and look out for the well-being of those around them.

One of your roles as a manager is to protect the Professional work culture from turning Conformist. You may be tempted to hold yourself to a different standard in the workplace because your role is different, such as not being in the public eye or not working in quite the same environment. Perhaps you don’t feel that you need the same protective equipment because you’re just walking through. While some people can handle this difference and exception-making, it would take everyone being of the same mindset, and when have you ever known ALL the people you work with to be of the same mindset?

Hold yourself to a higher standard. Be cognizant of the effect your actions have on your coworkers. Express yourself within those boundaries, and patiently correct others when they threaten the professional environment. This will help to create and maintain an environment of Professionalism and thus, freedom. It will help prevent turning yourself or others around you into the workplace police. It will avoid the forced hand of Conformity.

Communication – The ABCs

Every Managerial position will have situations arise that force us to decide how much of the information that we possess should be shared with others, either our managers, peers or our subordinates. This is something that happens on a daily basis whether we are aware of it or not, and it is a critical part of our reputation in the workplace. As managers, and as our positions increase in responsibility, we must be more and more aware of how the information we share affects the people and business around us.

So many different aspects bleed into communication, your mood, your knowledge base, your opinion, your professional and personal experience, your religion or spiritual beliefs, your endorphin levels, and the list goes on. Our words tell others what is in our mind and heart. The more careful we are with words, the better chance we have of the most people having a favorable opinion of us. This is not to say we should hide bad news and negative information, but the way we present it will portray our comprehension and tact concerning its communication.

Much of the tone of our communication also stems from our opinion of the person we’re addressing. If we’re talking with the office gossip, we may be more shielded with our words and topics. If we’re talking with a close friend, we may say more than we really should.

As your responsibilities grow, so must your active decision to evaluate the information that you’re sharing with those around you. There are a vast number of topics and situations that arise in business, but all of the decisions you have to make about communication can be boiled down to these ABCs: Appropriate, Beneficial, Consistent.

On a corporate level, you can see these ABCs in the decisions made in all situations. Decisions that are made usually have to travel through different channels and departments answering these questions: Is the change or idea being proposed Appropriate under the law and ethical standards of the company? Does it Benefit the company and/or employees? Is it Consistent with the direction of the company and other decisions that have been made? These questions are a good foundation and framework to be aware of as you formulate your own ideas while navigating corporate mandates, directives, and higher-level interactions.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, we answer these same questions on a smaller scale as we work every day. When we are confronted with a challenge, we develop a solution, and at some point we are, or we should be, distinctly aware of addressing each of these concepts.

Appropriate
We all have a general sense of what is legal and ethical. This is evidenced in the simple fact that our society has laws. We all know that there are right and wrong ways of doing things, and if we’re unsure, we should ask. So when you begin formulating a solution or response to a work situation, you are sending the decision formulation through your internal filter of what you believe falls within legal and ethical boundaries. Or you may consider something that falls outside of those boundaries, in which case your conscience is supposed to inform you that it’s wrong.
The basic questions you may find it helpful to ask are: Is what I’m proposing legally allowed? Can what I want to say be legally disclosed? Has what I’m contemplating been expressly forbidden by upper management or company policy? Is my communication suitable for the work environment?

Beneficial
This is the most familiar of the ABCs, though it can still be tricky to answer. This concept can be seen in every arena of communication in life. These same questions cross our minds when talking to friends and family, doctors, mechanics, law officers, etc. Is the information I’m sharing going to make the situation better or more bearable? Will my sharing this information have an effect on the end result of this situation? Do I want to communicate this for the benefit of others or just because I want to talk about it? Could the information that I want to share change again soon? Does the effect of the information encourage or discourage the hearer? How much will it impact the hearer on an emotional level?
These questions are crucial in maintaining healthy work morale. By being thorough in evaluating the benefits, we can more decisively choose the best time and amount of information to share. Our goal is not to hide bad news, but to always be truthful and not keep our employees guessing. Telling an employee, “Don’t worry about it,” or “Just get it done,” conveys secrecy and objectifies the employee. It leads to a poor work culture and lower productivity. There are times when the beneficial information is, “I don’t know,” or, “I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” These statements communicate truth, openness, and the fact that you’re willing, and even have a desire, to keep the employee updated.

Consistent
This is where emotional control and self-reflection are critical. We sometimes segregate information based on who we’re talking to. It’s understandable when talking to different departments, but if we share something with one subordinate and not another, we may be showing favoritism. Likewise, when similar situations arise, do we handle them based on how we’re feeling that day, or are we handling things consistently? Those whom our decisions affect notice our inconsistencies and this can affect the work environment and morale.
These are some of the questions to ask to evaluate your consistency. Is the information that I share going to be shared the same across all the affected employees? Am I able to treat this situation the same way next time it arises? Is what I’m divulging consistent with what I have divulged in the past? If I share this information, will I be expected to give more information next time? Am I able to deliver on what I say in the future? Will what I say be seen as gossiping? Am I giving everyone the same information?

Your ability to discern whether or not your communication is Appropriate, Beneficial, and Consistent will have a profound effect on how you are perceived by upper-management. The more successful decisions you make by yourself, the more valuable and favorable you become to the people around you. There will surely come times when you need guidance, but navigating those times will be made easier by asking questions grounded in these ABCs.

Communication – Face to Face

Something that helps to get a healthy perspective on professional communication is to realize that personal motivation DOES NOT MATTER. Period. The level of motivated you are and how strongly you feel about something does not matter one bit if you cannot communicate effectively. “But I am passionate about it!” Great, get in line. Being passionate about a perspective can be good for speeches and speaking with friends and family, but in the workplace, social media, and other public arenas, it can be detrimental.

The purpose of professional communication is to convey ideas and come to an understanding with those to whom you are speaking. Much of our conversational communication in professional environments is either discussing a concept that we have not yet come to a full grasp and perspective on, or we are trying to convince someone else that our perspective is the correct one. Talking to others should be welcomed in order to broaden our perspective, and also by doing so, we might be able to gage the waters before introducing an idea.

When trying to get someone else to come to your perspective, keeping your feelings out of it is the best way to continue a discussion and get as close to your desired outcome as possible. Being able to speak and communicate with reasons, evidence, and grounded logic will produce the best outcomes in the workplace. Speaking louder than the other person or name calling doesn’t make you right, it makes your argument appear weaker, and it makes you look ignorant and rude on a personal level.

Face to face communication in the workplace must be maintained as a safe thing to do. If the culture of the workplace discourages speaking with others because of the “personalities” therein, then your company will stagnate and turn-over will increase. It must be safe to speak and share ideas. In order to maintain a safe speaking environment, you must take it upon yourself to be the example of effective communication.

Effective workplace communication has four key elements throughout the conversation. The first element is your readiness to present and discuss you opinion. Any time you are presenting information, your integrity is on display. Have you done your research? Are you presenting your statistics in the way they should be interpreted or manipulating them to better fit your goal? Did you consider as many perspectives as possible when formulating your opinion? Is your proposal relevant and inclusive to the issue at hand? Good managers do research before forming an opinion. Then they add that perspective to their decision making in applicable situations.

This preparation is also where the “Why?” is answered. You must be able to answer the “Why?” before entering into discussions about your idea. We always have someone to answer to. Entry level answers to Management, Management answers to Upper Management, Upper Management answers to the President or CEO who in turn answer to the Stock Holders, and everyone answers to the Law. Imagine that at every level you are being asked why your idea is a good one. If you cannot answer the “Why?” all the way up the chain, then your idea may not be a good one, or your ability to communicate your idea should be reconsidered. This far-reaching preparation doesn’t guarantee a yes, but considering it helps to broaden perspective and consider things from the positions you are working toward. This is the reason that personal motivation and passion do not matter in professional communication. Your feelings are irrelevant to the “Why” in the workplace. Your ability to discuss, persuade, and understand different perspectives in an educated manner will show your passion and drive well enough.

The second element is choosing a time to communicate. Do you just pop-in and surprise your boss with a new idea? I hope not. By surprising someone with a discussion, you are probably diminishing your chances of being thoughtfully listened to and considered. Making someone stop what they’re doing and make them switch gears to what you want to talk about is not only absolutely frustrating, but it demonstrates selfishness on your part. By surprising someone with unplanned and uninvited conversation, it communicates that you think whatever you have to say is more important than what the other person was working on. Obviously there are circumstances that demand attention, but notice how the ones that come to mind tend to be emergency and fact driven, not opinion driven. Your best option to be heard thoroughly is to ask for a scheduled time for discussion. This conveys forethought on your part and respect for your boss and coworkers.

Perhaps the most important part of face to face communication is the third element: Self-presentation. This includes body language, mannerisms, language, and demeanor during the meeting. Did you leave your ego at the door? Is your posture conveying apathy or aggression? Is your speaking tone becoming harsh when the discussion doesn’t go your way? Are you using work-appropriate words in the discussion? Judgement of your proposal begins with how you look. You are further judged when you open your mouth. People will become more open and engaged in a discussion when they feel that they are being listened to, so during discussion, your ability to be polite and patient are critical. There is never an excuse for a raised voice or insult in the workplace. You must be willing to maintain control of your feelings for the duration of any interaction. You may find that you were not as well prepared as you thought, and the emotions of anger and disappointment will bubble-up and make it difficult to maintain composure, but you must accept that answer for the time being.

This brings us to the final element: Feedback. This is the ability to listen and digest other perspectives that may be contrary to yours. Don’t let your anger cloud your ears or damage your chances of trying again later. If your idea is rejected, you must be willing to seek out answers to overcome the opposition. Without truly listening, you will not be able to accomplish this. If there will be further discussion of your idea, then you need to listen to figure out what concepts to rethink or present differently. If things went your way and your idea is implemented, you will still have feedback from others affected by your proposal. Feedback, whether positive, constructive, or negative, should be considered.

We are never too good to improve. Never let yourself have a perspective of having “won” in the workplace. That opens the door to ignorant pride. You had an idea which turned into a proposal which was implemented, and there are others out there with ideas, so just like your manager who listened to you, make sure that you are open to the feedback and ideas of others.

Ideas and improvement are most readily accomplished because of face to face communication. This is part of the reason important meetings are preferred in-person. Your ability to come prepared, be respectful of scheduling, present yourself appropriately, and digest feedback will set the stage for better success in the workplace. Don’t leave your passion at home, but focus it in research in the workplace and action in your personal life. Be prepared to respectfully explain the “Why?” and hopefully you’ll see your passion live in the workplace.

Communication – Introduction

Communication is a broad, every-day, universally used group of concepts, yet it is so important that there are university majors dedicated to its study. The ability to convey ideas across platforms and different mediums effectively and appropriately is a skill that becomes more important as your career advances.

When writing an email, you don’t write the same way that you speak in the break room, or maybe you do, and you are wondering why you’re not being looked at for promotion. On a more technical level, when you speak publicly, you use different words and sentence structure than you would when writing an article or an email. These are just a couple of examples of the practical application of learning better communication skills.

Communication is at the heart of life. Every day, even if we don’t see another human or pick-up a phone, we are still communicating. Communication goes beyond words into thought and action. It starts in the morning when you hit the snooze button. You have just communicated to yourself that you don’t want to get up. The motivation might vary. Maybe you’re tired, you are already stressed, you don’t want the day to start yet. I do it because I don’t want to deal with the dog whining for breakfast at the bedroom door.

In all circumstances, there is a communicator and a hearer. Now I say “hearer” because many people hear but do not listen. This is an unfortunate norm in the western society. When you present a thought in any medium, there is always a hearer. When you speak, when you write, when you sketch on a napkin, there is communication being made, and there are two sides of the expression.

When you hit the snooze button this morning, you communicated to yourself that you didn’t want to get up, and your body and mind listened. When you sketched on the napkin at lunch, you looked at it and considered both its meaning and its worth.

All communication has meaning and worth, even if they are miniscule. You get the weekly email from your Human Resources department about a healthcare perk. You looked at the first few when you got hired, but now they are one of a hundred emails from the last two hours, and you ignore it, delete it, or move it to a folder with the rest of them. Whether you realize it or not, you have just communicated. The email was the communication, and your split second consideration gave the response “I don’t care.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not vilifying this action. There are a ton of emails that I delete without a second thought. But I’m driving home the point that when we consider this a type of communication, we can better frame response and be cognizant of our actions.

Communication is not just about expression, it is always a conversation. Movies are made to convey a story or get a point across. The masses tell the makers how they feel with box office revenue and the way it affects media and retail. All social media creators put their selves out there for the world to see, though some just post so that the world can pay attention to them. Many do this without considering that they are entering into a conversation where they might not like their conversation partners. They will get trolls and negative feedback and feel insulted, but people are free to leave their feedback just like the creator was free to hit that post button. Many online creators have struggled with handling critical feedback, but this is the potential for putting ideas and self in front of the world. Communication is always two-directional.

In the workplace, you may think you’re just putting information or feelings out there, or “sharing” something, but there is always a response. Even if you can’t see the receiver consider your message or push the delete button, they communicated with your expression. Also, whether you meant to or not, you have communicated peripheral information about yourself. You have communicated what you think is appropriate workplace content and who you think needs to know this information. You have communicated what you believe is important. You have communicated your ability to make decisions about communication, use grammar, and perhaps the depth of your lexicon.

As managers, we want our world of communication to be as small as possible. There is a time and place for public expression, but it is rare and should be considered special. Even newscasters have a script and should keep their opinions out if it. The less we communicate about personal things in the workplace, the better it is for business and office culture. I’m not saying don’t have close friends in the workplace, but over the partition, or at your desk within earshot of others is not the place to have personal conversations. The office doesn’t need to know about the one-nighter you had last weekend. Limiting your personal information in the workplace will help guard against bias, conscious or unconscious. Without personal background, decisions are better driven by merit and professional potential.

Communication is what allows the world to work and thrive. Managers should be the example of effective and appropriate communication in the workplace. Over the next few months, we will look at the differences in communication mediums and what to consider when using them.

Over-Explaining

Have you ever not quite caught all the words someone said, and when you ask, “What?” they start explaining the entire concept from scratch, trying to break it down because they thought you didn’t understand? All you wanted was a simple repeating of the single sentence they spoke. This simple misunderstanding can cause frustration and wasted time. I know I’ve done this to people, and I’m sure that most managers have.

This behavior is motivated by several factors. The first, and perhaps most innocent, factor is stress. When your brain is going a million miles an hour, and you give someone a direction, you are concerned that you weren’t clear enough because you acknowledge that your thoughts are scattered. So instead of simply repeating the direction, you launch into the thoughts that brought you to asking them to do the task. This indicates a non-present state of mind. Presence of mind is one of the foundational concepts of a healthy mental-emotional state. If you notice yourself talking too much or over-explaining, take a moment, and collect yourself.

Secondly, we are often at the mercy of our experiences. I worked with Autistic children when I was in college. I hadn’t worked with children much, and these interactions shaped part of my expectations for two to five-year-olds. When my nieces and nephews were getting to these ages, I was blown away by their cognition, and my perception of them was inflated because my expectations of their actions were based on children with challenges. It was difficult for me to adapt my thinking to treat them at their level and redefine normal interaction. The same thing happens in the workplace. We can get used to treating someone a certain way and then treating the people around that person the same way. We must be very present and consistent whenever we interact.

If we are not aware as we speak, we create a chance of belittling the intelligence of the listener. I know I can sometimes break things down too much to the point of insult to the listener. I am a teacher at heart and tend to start explanations at square one despite the listener’s experience. A coworker was kind enough to point this out to me one day and expressed that sometimes he felt like I was speaking down to him. It was a wonderful learning moment for me and uncovered an unconscious bias. I apologized and asked that he point it out to me if it ever happens again.

When we speak to anyone in such a way that, by our tone of voice or word choice, we are trying to lower the comprehension level, we are assuming superior intelligence over that person. This can create animosity and avoidance in the workplace. It is a prideful, unconscious bias that says we are the only ones that understand the current situation and therefore must help the simpletons around us come up to our grand mindset and understanding. Of course we don’t really believe that! The truth is though, that people get their impressions of us through how we say things. We may not mean it, but it comes out in our words. It’s not even the words we use most of the time. I’m sure you’ve heard the statistics on this. (If not, let me know.) It’s the way in which we are saying things that communicate our heart.

The way in which we speak to people is the most consistent indicator that our colleagues have to know how we feel about them. When we over-explain, we are communicating that we believe our listener to be under-intelligent. When explaining anything, be straight-forward and concise. Then ask if people have questions, and then only address the issue in the question. If someone says they can’t find the email screen on the printer, don’t start helping them from how to turn it on. If someone asks for step three in the procedure, don’t start at step one.

Give people the respect of listening to their question and answering it. If they ask, “What?” ask them whether they want you to repeat or explain. This helps with clarity, and encourages the other person to be more specific when asking questions. Trust them that they are only asking the questions they need answered.

Be present when speaking, never assume ignorance, control your tone, and trust the intelligence of your listener. This will enhance peoples’ impression of you, and it will help you to have confidence in the people with whom you work.

Commanding vs. Demanding

One of the companies I worked for was very particular about making sure that the employees were referred to as “Co-workers.” This terminology was to encourage and reinforce the concept of equality and comradery in the workplace. I really like that concept, and, in general, that company is a great one to work for.

There is a similar concept that I have come to embrace as a goal for myself as a manager. It is the difference between seeing those around you as comrades with whom you try to reach a goal together and seeing them as pawns to reach your own goals. It is the difference between having Co-workers and just workers. It is the difference between being Commanding and Demanding. The way I think about these words is a result of my experience and desire for cohesion in the workplace. I break the words down to Co-Mand and De-Mand in an effort to keep my bearings on how I’m treating others. This is not an etymological study, just a clever little mental reminder.

According to abaconnect.com, “The Mand is verbal behavior where a speaker asks for something that he or she wants.” It is a term that’s used when working with and training children and adults with learning difficulties. I learned the term while working with Autistic children as a therapist. To “Mand” is to ask for something. This concept jumped out at me as I contemplated my behaviors as a manager and observed attitudes and actions in my workplaces. I came to ask myself, “As a manager, am I Co-Manding, or am I De-Manding?”

“Co-“ is a prefix that signifies together-with or mutually. Some examples are coexist, comradery, and cooperate. My old company was really onto something in the way they wanted their Co-workers to think. It encouraged a spirit of togetherness. On the other side of the spectrum, “De-“ is a prefix that implies the undoing or lessening of something. Some examples are demean, dehumanize, deter, and degrade.

Let these two prefixes be on your mind as you delegate and work with people. How do you get things done? Are you a Co-Mander or a De-Mander? Do you understand what you’re asking someone to do? Will you accept feedback?

When you are De-Manding, you are not accepting any input but your own. Your perspective is the only one that matters. Since you can’t see what is making things difficult or delaying the results you expect from your team, then they have failed you. You will push for results, but the levels of support and trust with your subordinates suffer greatly.

When you are Co-Manding, you are practicing empathy. You seek to understand the possible issues that may arise with what you’re asking others to do. You seek to make it easier for your subordinates to complete the task you’ve assigned them. There will be times to push, but the pressure will be seen as necessary and universal instead of dictatorial and threatening.

Which would you rather be? Which do you think would be a better boss to work for? The team atmosphere that comes with a Co-Manding manager is a much healthier place to work. No one wants to work for a De-Manding dictator.

Strive to be a Co-Mander who comes alongside people and encourages the best in the people around them.

Setting Expectations 3 – Changes

Most managers who have been around a while know what their duties are. And if they don’t… well, it’s either your fault or there’s something wrong with the management above. The seasoned managers will already know the systems and procedures around them. They are comfortable with what is being expected of them. So when change happens, it’s important to introduce the change properly.

When change is imposed, or even welcomed, the process of that change needs to be taken seriously and nurtured into success. You are taking/forcing the employee from expectations that they comfortably understand to a state where the employee might unconsciously feel that they may fail because of the new expectations. Often times, there is pushback. It can be from any level. There may be some legitimate concerns for reconsideration, but very often, it just sounds like whining. This is really the employee asking “Why are we changing? I can’t see benefits.” The “Why” should be proactively and preemptively presented when introducing your team to anything new. Make sure to have a meeting in which you describe the new process or system, and explain why the decision to change was made.

Explaining the “Why” will do three things. It will silence, or at least present the case as to nay-sayers. The description of the change should start with the problem that is being solved. You should let your people know that they were being listened to or that there was room for improvement, so the new system will fix the things that were wrong or increase efficiencies. Then move on to the functionality and improvements.

The “Why” will also make the change real to the affected employees. It will present the fact that there is corporate momentum behind the change. In other words, it gets the point across that this is how things are going to be whether they like it or not. This has been decided and the expectations come from a higher level.

Finally, the “Why” shows the employees that they are being included. In some cases, the change may show that those specific employees are being listened to. By taking the time to have a meeting for training and new expectations, you are showing your employees that you care about their success in the change. It ensures that they are being given the respect of attention during this transition.

That meeting should include fielding questions and writing down questions that cannot be answered right away. There should be follow-up and attention given right away to confusion, bugs, and glitches. If the program or process is showing too many problems or really isn’t working correctly after a reasonable amount of time, swallow your pride and repeal it. Don’t make people work harder because of the inability to admit fault.

The more respect, attention, and information you give your employees when changing what you expect from them, the smoother the transition will go. Be honest, be helpful, and be humble.

Setting Expectations 2 – New to Role

In my first blog about expectations, I described my stories of promotion and onboarding and the inadequacies therein. I want to get into role introduction and training a little more with this one. Taking on new roles is a wonderful bundle of emotions. There is excitement, nervousness, pride, humility, eagerness, hesitation, fear, and confidence all at once. There is an energy that that new person is bringing to the role. That’s part of the reason they were chosen, right? If that person sees that you aren’t ready for them, or if they feel lost or neglected, that energy might diminish.

Along with that energy, their view of you and your company may be tarnished also. There’s a reason there’s a saying about first impressions. They last, and they play a major role in how that individual will approach things with your company in the future. The training and onboarding processes are so crucial to instilling and maintaining a healthy environment and culture of your company.

There are some dangers when it comes to onboarding and training. It is a dangerous thing to have people who are not natural teachers, or are not used to training people do role training. The process will take longer. There may be some hurt feelings. The employee who has suddenly been forced to train someone may be resentful or impatient with the newbie. The newbie may feel pawned-off and burdensome.

I know that many companies have gone to online training “modules.” While this is time saving for the would-be trainers, please, for the sake of new employees everywhere, break it up! Sprinkle in interactions with people. Do not stick your new-hire in a room by themselves for three to five days straight. This suffocates their drive and energy to be in the role.

Another danger is entrenched routine. Managers who only train every so often and even seasoned Human Resource personnel can eventually become ineffective in their onboarding of new employees because of routine. The further removed someone is from being new and being able to empathizing with the newbie, the harder it is to be effective. The “trainer” may be able to do these processes in their sleep. They tend to blow through processes that they do twenty times a day and leave the newbie at square one.

There are some remedies to these issues. The first, and maybe most basic (yet overlooked), is to have a simple checklist of the duties and expectations of the training. This should be developed with the people who actually do the duties on the checklist. Yes, I’m talking to you corporate managers. Don’t let upper management make a checklist for anything they don’t actually do. Consult regularly with the people who do the job to update the training checklist.

I have found that, often, the best trainers are actually those who are also newer to the role, especially those with a natural ability to teach. “But wait, Phil, isn’t that ‘pawning-off’ the newbie like you just said not to?” No. It is not. This may seem a bit sneaky, but the newer employee (not the newbie), will take this expectation as two different messages. One: This is normal. Two: I’m doing well enough to be entrusted with this. You want this to be normal in your company. You want your employees to share training and help each other! Also, you aren’t going to give this responsibility to the employees that are not showing some promise and potential, so it will be a boost for those who are doing well. It also helps to raise questions. The newer employee may realize that they don’t know something they need to, and when you answer their questions, you are training two people instead of one at a time, saving you time in the process.

Starting a new role should be an exciting time. Allow the new person to blossom and grow by your preparedness, honesty, and attentiveness. Whenever you’re training, or asking someone to be a trainer, have clear expectations and a checklist.

Try to remember your roots, and start from square one, even if that’s turning on the machine.

Choosing Managers

In case I hadn’t said this before, I hate interviews. I understand their necessity in today’s corporate culture, but I don’t like them. Maybe I should be more specific. I hate being interviewed. When I worked for a global retailer as a young man, the interview questions for their management positions focused on the interviewee dictating stories of how they saved the day or handled a difficult situation. I’m sorry. I don’t keep a reserve of stories about how awesome I am. I try to leave work at work when I go home.

It was actually said to me one time, “I know you’d be best for the position, but you need to interview better.” Let’s dissect this logic. An individual is known to have the best matching skills and demeanor that fit the position. The upper management know this, but despite this, they base a decision on the ability to tell stories that inflate oneself during a thirty minute time period. Please tell me you see the disconnect here!

I know that interviewing has come a long way in the last few decades and has led to these formats. But as interviewers, we must remember to look at the whole person and situation. Bigger corporations have made interviewing templates to help ensure fair treatment and avoid favoritism. This has helped in the cultural pursuit of fair and equal treatment. Where it falls short is that it favors a skill of the interviewee that may have absolutely nothing to do with the position for which they are interviewing. These corporate templates are geared toward people who can tell stories well and may not care if everything they are saying is true.

We humans have a tendency to default to truth. There have been studies on this. We assume that what we are being presented with is the truth. This is why sociopaths and criminals and media outlets can operate so easily until someone finally finds the bodies in the basement. We often ignore small tells or tendencies because we want to believe that everyone is basically good and truthful. This is the same for interviewing.

There was a newer guy at the warehouse who started loading a trailer without asking. He ended up putting holes in it with his forklift. He blamed his peer who let him load the trailer, his trainer for not preparing him, and even me for not putting him through more training when he was the one who did something without asking. Everyone was at fault but himself. Then he was impatient about the discipline. I would never want this guy in any management position, but he was great at interviewing. If someone interviews for a position and tells a great story about their accolades, don’t be swept away. Prideful people and sociopaths tend to ignore or deny fault for anything. If you’re interviewing someone and all of their stories are about them being better than the people around them, then is that person capable of learning and growing? Do you want someone who always thinks they’re right and shifts blame? Be mindful of the candidate’s way of thinking in terms of the ability to take responsibility.

We also cannot ignore the fact that our impressions start when an interviewee walks into the room. A person’s attire is a reflection of both their desire for the job and their impression of it. I had a girl come to an interview one time in Uggs and sweatpants. Um, no. I was nice and conducted the interview, but what she said through her attire was that she though it was appropriate for work and this event was not worth getting dressed up for.

Choosing managers should be an involved process that goes beyond them answering the questions well. Call the references. Ask questions about failures and consider the candidate’s ability to take correction and grow. If you know that someone should get the position because they genuinely are a good fit, give it to them. Engage with the other candidates. Let it be a good experience for them. Ultimately though, you should be looking for the best fit, not the person who’s best at interviewing.

Reward the potential that you know to be there. This will make your good people the good managers you need.

Maps and Roads

I lived in an area where the lines on the map were very squiggly. It was sometimes a gamble when choosing a route to explore. In the mountains, your map may say there’s a road there, but it might be gated private property. It might be a fire access road that hasn’t been maintained. It might be a glorified ATV trail. You might find yourself driving forty-five minutes to get to the road you chose on the map only to find out that you can’t take that road. You turn around furious that you wasted time and gas, and swear never to try something new again. Been there, done that. I don’t trust rural maps unless I’ve been there OR someone who has been there before tells me about the area.

It is the same concept for any business field. When you go through schooling, you are learning the map. You have a good outline of the area, and sometimes you get descriptions of specific areas from your professor. You are preparing to go see what’s on those roads and travel the path you’ve chosen. Then you get out in the field and discover that things look different. You struggle with certain areas you didn’t think you would. You find locked gates and construction and road blocks where the map said it was clear. You talk to your friends and it seems like their on the highway cruising along while you are out in BFE.

Don’t worry, this feeling is common. We want to have a clear vision and plenty of gas in the car as we travel life like we see other people have in the world around us. But let me tell you a truth that social media constantly lies about: everybody has problems. The people you think are on the highway might feel like they’re the ones in the wilderness and you’re the one on the highway.

Why the big maps allegory? As managers we must take all these concepts and let them help us to become better. We should seek out learning and studying the map. Then we should seek out people who are familiar with the area we’re headed to. Schooling and scholastic training are good, but experience can be even more valuable. Listen to those who have traveled the roads. Have respect for the people who didn’t have the map, who didn’t have schooling but went out exploring and now know the area better than any professor.

We may find ourselves at a gate that says “Private Property.” Don’t try to break the lock or hop the fence. That gets you into trouble. Just be confident now that you know the area a little better, and go find a different route. Failure and road blocks are what grow us and give us valuable knowledge that we can pass on to others. This is the attitude we should have as managers.

We must strive to maintain a healthy perspective. The planning we do on the map will rarely look the same as travelling on the roads. As long as we remember that fact, we will be better prepared for change and have a healthier attitude as we explore our chosen route. Never compare routes unless you’re collaborating with someone. If you start looking at others, you may begin to lose faith in your path. Never let yourself be jealous that someone else is doing “better” than you. That is a perspective that helps you zero. If you think the richest, most “successful” people on earth don’t have problems, take your poor-me glasses off and understand that money only solves a few problems. There are always plenty more problems to be had. Some people get luckier than others when choosing their route. Don’t worry about it. Don’t complain about it. Just keep striving for excellence.

Managers are in a position where they can and will influence other people’s maps and route choices. Let this humble you and encourage you to freely share your knowledge. Focus on your path. Admit when you need to turn around. Openness about failure will help others to make better choices that may make your job easier and the work environment better.

The best thing that you can do is to be the best version of yourself that you can be as you travel your road. This will lead you to better contentment, life satisfaction, business and social interactions, and overall life fulfillment.