Handout & Heads Down- The shift in the face and color of Washington, DC

A 2017 Washingtonian article “After Chocolate City” -Rosa Cartagena (May 2017) re-ignites a frustration I have long held, why is such a large part of the black population seemingly content with handouts and being heads down (and this can also mean looking the other way, ignoring what is in front of them).

Of note, the article is about an exhibit that was presented at the Prince George’s African -American Museum & Cultural Center in North Brentwood (September 2017). It only slightly asks the same question I ask, which is “Why are we so often bemoaning the disappearing act of the black communities and their relevance in the lives and history of our country instead of taking a real stance to ensure more than a foothold on a place that we so aptly built?” ⁽¹⁾

To be clear when I say handouts and heads down, I am not just speaking of the low income, less educated and impoverished. I am speaking of all communities of African Americans (AA), those who shake the hands of the politicians (hands out) looking for a deal while looking the other way as their communities are bought out and taken over (heads down). Those who educate themselves so much that they look pass (heads down) from whence they came.  Those that stand-up, but then sit back down when they can’t get a seat at the table (handouts).  Why are we still asking for permission, forgiveness, and pardons, vs. handling our own, taking control and doing what is best for us? Why do we even still care (and that we cared ever is another missive I must address later) if others see us as inclusive, politically correct and socially acceptable in their sight? The country elected a man to preside over our country which is neither of the above and yet there are still so many blacks in positions that still operate and function like its 1950! And even when we take a page out of the book of the misguided, corrupt, criminal-minded, we fall far short of what we as a people can do if we were to adhere to our own values, and beliefs.

The African American community has as much wealth and education as an immigrant coming to the US and builds their fortune on the backs of what we have already labored and toiled over.

Why then are we constantly asking for (handouts) and looking to other people (heads down) for help and support?  Why don’t enough of us believe that we can take care of ourselves, build and maintain our own communities, schools, businesses, etc? Why do we need or want to join in and be a part of others when we have such a wealth of opportunity and choices right in our own world? Why do we believe that wanting to have our own, create our own and live amongst ourselves is the long arm of separatism, racism, narrow-mindedness? Why do we have to be inclusive to be right, smart, correct and good people? We don’t just need to stamp out racism we need to stamp out (self) hatred. We complain about how our cities are changing, how are grandparents are being pushed out of their homes, how we don’t have control or the economic impact that we need to maintain, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Stop believing the hype, change the flavor of your kool-aid and recognize that we are like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we have ALWAYS had the power, we just didn’t believe it.

FACTS: https://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/wepeople/we-1.pdf Asian-Indian population in Northern VA has grown 750 percent since 2001 (Fairfax Times – Jan. 2016)

(DC) a city where Blacks were once the majority, in 2011 the black population slipped below 50%

Museums and art exhibits are nice, but they typically are erected to pay homage or remember something that once WAS! Let's stop creating museums that commemorate our past and create communities that improve and focuses on our future.

⁽¹⁾ Quote from the curator of the exhibit at the PGCAA Art Museum.

Performance Management - Getting it done the right way

There is a race of sorts in businesses today and HR and Training & Development professionals alike are all poised and ready to cross the finish line next with the best process, and more effective way to ….

Conduct the performance management process.

Several Fortune 500 companies have already done away with the traditional, self-assessment, 360, manager-employee conversation, consensus group/round-table discussion process.  Lilly, Adobe, Google and even GE the behemoth that started this whole thing some 30 years ago have all forgone the old, outdated, cumbersome approach; and there is a prediction that by the end of 2017 up to 50% of Fortune 500 companies will follow suit. So, what are they doing and how do you get on the band-wagon.

First you must gain a consensus that what you are doing is not working (that won’t be difficult), then according a Harvard Business Review article (“Reinventing the Performance Management Process” – April 2015 HBR) performance reviews should be in real time and should “Fuel performance in the future vs. assess it from the past.” The article discusses three objectives that companies need to ensure happens when it comes to addressing performance and making this process meaningful for the employee and profitable for the business. They include:

1. Recognizing Performance – This is typically done through a variable compensation plan. (Merit pay; bonus, etc.)
2. Seeing the performance that is desired clearly – Ask what are your future plans; plans based on the person’s current performance. What will you as the manager do in the “future” based on the skills that this person you are rating has.
3. Fuel the performance -This is simply the action steps you take to getting what you want from the employee.

Objective 3 is the real meat of what is needed to revamping and making a change that is not only meaningful but valuable to the organization. It speaks to doing away with what has become our comfort blanket while at the same time making us sick the longer we hold on to it. We no longer want to go through those arduous processes mentioned earlier in this post, yet are we willing to do what it will take to get to that next level, to actually cross the finish line.

Here’s a check list:

• Invest in a winning game plan
• Establish a consistent coaching approach
• Do it often
• Be flexible
• Be transparent

At the end of the day companies and managers should be seeking to get the best out of their employees while also openly communicating to them. They need to also allow employees to do what they do best, work to their strengths while gaining new skills. 

Draw your future - Take control of your life

You learned all you need to know in life in kindergarten, yes it's true. From saying please and thank you, to drawing and coloring, the skills and behaviors you learned as you began your educational career all were given to you when you were just 6 years old! - It took some time to polish, hone, and perfect (hence 12 - 16 more years) these skills, but if you just harken back to those days you will see a wealth of valuable opportunity that will help you be the professional you've worked so hard to become!

The moment when your boss’ decisions actually made sense….

For me it was similar to when I realized I was becoming my mother. It’s when I am in a position where I find myself having to make the same or similar decisions as a previous boss made. Clearly I was paying attention and while I may have scoffed at some of the decisions made by my superiors I could probably see the value in them even while shrugging my shoulders. I recall when I thought it was either too much, didn’t make sense or I thought to myself “why are we doing this?” I learned early on in my career (especially as an HR professional) that some decisions I just may not agree with, but as one that is required to communicate to and educate others, I need to get on board either through knowledge, acceptance or both. Knowledge helps in accepting and knowledge also helps in fully understanding the purpose; and by the way once you learn something it sort of sticks with you.  So when faced with having to “get on board” with a decision or idea that you aren’t fond of, try the following:

• Remove yourself (personally) from the final outcome
• Ask yourself what is it that (they) are trying to accomplish
• Figure out what your role is in communicating, rolling out, implementing, etc.
• What’s the learning opportunity for you
• And by all means if you have different, cost-effective, or more efficient ideas speak up respectfully, and responsibly.

How You Really Sound in Job Interviews

An age old (since 1990) discussion, that I thought I'd revisit....

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".  Romeo & Juliet – William Shakespeare.

Why am I quoting Shakespeare, well in this case because I am trying to decide if in fact ones name or the name of something has any real direct meaning, implications or relationship. According to the quote we could call a rose a rat, but it would still smell like a rose; ok but if we name our child some made up name that we thought sounded cute, was original but that no one could ever spell would that imply that the child or the parent had any less education, financial or social standing then if we selected a traditional name. (And who’s to say what a traditional name is, let’s not digress stay with me.) Would a name like Aquisha, Shaynanay, Lactation (yes that is a name on someone’s resume, stay with me its gets better) mean that this person is not appropriately equipped to hold a “professional” job one that requires a 4 year degree, and several years of progressive experience in a particular field? And what images and thoughts come to mind when you see names like the aforementioned in articles, on the TV screen and dare I say on a resume.  Well if you are me, you take the opportunity to open the resume review it because in all that I do I first must be fair and approach my job with an open-mind and leave any subjective thought out of it. (By the way that is hard to do. But I persevere.) So what has my experience been? I am happy to say that I have met a Shaniquia who had her Masters and worked at one of the big 4 accounting firms; I have interviewed a Shalonda who was articulate, yet had a “need to explain background”; I did not have the pleasure of meeting Lactation, Aquisha or Shaynanay because on each of their resumes there were spelling errors, missing information and in one case a request to make 6-figures because, “My experience has proven that I am worth every dollar you will spend.” I am not making this up I have over 20 years of data to pull from.  My reason for writing this is simply this, in all my years of experience I just would like to say to those with unusual, different, cute, combo names please do yourself a favor and proof-read, spell check, learn about the company you are applying to and by all means provide the necessary information for a person to contact you and lastly please stop providing fodder for those individuals out there that think that your names tell the story without allowing you to.  Be more than your name.

Gail

Which means, lively, headstrong, independent and somewhat self-centered: she wants to be the best at everything, also passive and dependent, indecisive at times, as well as emotional, attentive and altruistic, stepping aside to allow others to enjoy the limelight.

The Best Cover Letter that Didn't Say Anything

(A re-post from my former Blog - HR Corner Office)

Superlatives are great, when someone else is issuing them, they are adjectives or compliments in the highest form. They are fun when you are in HIGH SCHOOL (e.g. most likely to..., class best..., etc.) again when a body of people are voting, they make perfect sense; but when used (excessively) in  a resume or cover letter then I find them to be ANNOYING!. I actually suspect they are layered on because the person doesn't have any FACTS to include. And one last point in my (humble) opinion I bet a resume loaded up with superlatives is coming from someone that is LOADED with lots of AIR!....(otherwise known as a wind bag.) 

We in recruiting are like Sgt. Friday, we want “The facts ma’am or sir, just the facts.” Well maybe a little more than JUST the facts, but can a girl get 2 facts for every 1 superlative? Is that too much to ask?  In the excerpt below the paragraph taken from a cover letter reads a little like a cheeky ad campaign and in actuality delivers no results. Nowhere in the cover letter or the attached resume did this candidate provide any real tangible evidence of what they said I’d get if I hired them.  Not to mention there is a grammatical error (can you find it?). Yes recruiters (good ones) are this critical and the hiring managers are WORST.  How many times can I say this YOUR RESUME is YOUR  request to be INVITED to the “PARTY”, why not make it the best request you make?

REAL COVER LETTER EXCERPT:

“…demonstrated a record of achievements in sales, business development and marketing by creating integrated IT strategies and solutions to capture increased market share, brand/product evolution and media endorsement.  If you are looking for a individual that can come aboard and immediately add value to your sales team” 

YADDA, YADDA, YADDA, YADDA

I am not so sure this is even good ad copy. In any event it is a bad example of what this candidate could potentially do or provide for the company they are applying to.

Recommendations:

1- Lose all the fluff and tell me what you want me to really know. (What was that record of achievement you demonstrated?)

2- Tell me how you accomplished your achievements.

3- What was the impact?

4 - Ask for what you want. (An interview, a meeting, etc.)

Nowadays, recruiters, hiring managers, etc.  all seem to be in a rush, and they want to be wow'd, they know all the buzz words so you don't have to fill your cover letter and resume with them; you DO although need to include what you do, how well you've done it, and how you will make a positive impact on the company you are applying to. Facts and examples work a lot better than buzz words and superlatives!