Angela Crangle – Page 16 – Pinnacle HR Solutions

The Power of Starting Small

Chances are if you’ve been working at your company long enough, you’ve developed some fantastic ideas for growth and improvement. No matter what department you’re in, there is always room for growth, and inevitably there are those big beautiful dreams that get talked about wistfully but with no real commitment.

You know what I’m talking about: those pipe-dream projects, ideas that would be amazing if only there were *fill in the blank* to make it happen.

Every company has at least one of these projects. Take a moment to think about your company. What projects has everyone agreed would be fantastic if only there were…

enough time
enough human resources
someone with the experience
add excuse here

…to make it happen.

You might be feeling a little defensive thinking, “Those aren’t excuses if they are real issues getting in our way.”

Let me tell you something. There will always be real issues that stand in the way of getting a project successfully implemented. What makes them excuses is the switch from seeing them as challenges to reasons not to proceed.

Reframe the problem

While there may be plenty of challenges created by a big project that has halted it in its tracks, those problems often stem from one source. Not enough time, not enough people, not enough experience, are all results of looking at a project from a macro point of view.

What. What? How is a lack of time connected to my point of view? And why would my point of view affect my resources?

When you dream up a big project—improving your customer experience, for instance—you see every aspect that needs work. You see the processes to be developed, templates, emails, updated web pages, and follow-up campaigns. You see new training for the sales team and the audit of what you already have.

What you see is a birds-eye-view of the entire project—all the work, all at once. Who has time and energy to do all that? No one.

Now let’s experiment. Pick one aspect of that project—we’ll use customer follow-up for this example. To get the ball rolling, write one follow-up email for customers who’ve tried a specific product, taken a quiz, or attended a webinar. Easy enough, right? You have time in your day to write one email.

Now save that email to use repeatedly.

And just like that, you see the problem. It isn’t that you don’t have the time or the workforce; it’s that you’ve been looking at the project from a wide-angle point of view.

Small steps

Whether you’re a one-person company or have 100 people on your team, this process can be applied almost every time. Start by creating your big picture. Write down all the beautiful things you want to complete—don’t be stingy. Include your goals for each part of the project. What are you trying to accomplish?

Now step back. Take a nice long look at the whole thing and pick one aspect to start. The trick is to break it up into bite-sized pieces and spread it out over a reasonable amount of time.

You don’t have to do everything all at once. In fact, you really can’t. So don’t try. Set small, achievable goals.

Use each small step as a brick in the tower of your dreams. Don’t allow yourself to become bogged down by the greatness of what you imagine. Every great accomplishment is built out of a thousand small achievements.

So go ahead, dream big. Just do yourself a favor and start small.

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Photo by Yuliya Rosher

Four Things to Do Before You Write That Retort

We’ve all been there. A coworker, a client, a manager, an employee, a parent, a friend, a colleague has done something that really ticked you off. They forgot an important deadline, messed with your project, or ignored your request.

And now you’ve got a huge email written out that might contain some words in all caps, a few exclamation points, and maybe a couple ultimatums. Or maybe, if you’re a little quieter, you left out your usual happy exclamation points, word softeners, and cheery salutations. Your finger is hovering over send, but before you jump down the rabbit hole, there are a few things you should do first.

1. Take a breath

It may be obvious, but that doesn’t make it easy. When we’re angry, it’s easy to react in one of two ways: passive aggression and open aggression. Passive aggression usually comes from those who don’t like or fear confrontation. We’re all familiar with the one-word response to a long email: the dreaded “Ok” devoid of punctuation and supporting language.

Open aggression is a result of anger unleashed without restraint in an attempt to hurt or halt someone else. Open aggression often comes in the form of sarcasm, blaming, shouting, or name-calling.

While they may be satisfying in the moment, neither of those responses will help you in the long run. What you want to be aiming for is assertion, not aggression. A message that is clear, thought out, direct, measured, and open-minded.

2. Decide on a goal

If you want your response to make a difference, then you need to clarify what you’re hoping to get out of it. Do you want the person to change their behavior, or just understand and appreciate why you’re frustrated? Do you want to change how things are going forward? Do you want an apology or an explanation?

Define your goal and then integrate that intention into your response. This will help you identify what you want and guide you in finding a solution. It will also create an opportunity for closure. Once your defined need/goal is met or addressed, you’ll have an easier time moving on. No one likes to hold grudges. Or at least they shouldn’t.

3. Look at the bigger picture

Sometimes widening your perspective can be the best thing for a relationship. Take the time to ask yourself these questions:

Is there something going on with them in their personal life that might be affecting their behavior at work?
How might they see this conflict? What has your role been in their eyes?
How do they seem to prefer to communicate?

Maybe they have a personal issue stopping them from following through or communicating effectively. Maybe they are dealing with other problems at work that are drawing their attention and energy. Maybe they don’t feel understood by you or feel you’re not holding up your end of the bargain.

Remember, everyone brings their whole lives to each conversation, fight, and relationship. More often than not, people react to you based on their perceptions and internal stories rather than your actions. So trying to understand the other person’s actions from their point of view can be invaluable in helping you see the situation more clearly and find a solution. It may also highlight areas where you had misconceptions about them and their situation.

Finally, if you’re able to meet the other person where they are most comfortable communicating, you’ll be more likely to make headway. Maybe this isn’t a conversation for email. It might be more effective to have it in person, or over the phone, or with a moderator.

4. Come up with actionable follow-ups

To prevent this sort of thing from happening again, it can be useful to come up with a few clear steps you can take to avoid future conflicts.

Once you’ve settled your disagreement, set up a follow-up meeting in a couple of days to talk about how things are going. Meeting after you’ve both had a chance to process feelings may allow you to come together with less volatility to talk about what worked/didn’t work and what changes you can make for future interactions.
Define how you could have improved your end of the conflict. What can you do better next time? What did you learn from this?

Go forward, but with caution

You may be angry and rightly so. But if you let your anger speak for you, you’ll end up regretting it. Stop. Breathe. Reflect. Do yourself a favor and step back before responding.

You’ll thank yourself in the long run. Especially as we are all navigating the difficulties of self-isolation, working from home, and communicating remotely, it’s more important than ever to deal with conflict productively and thoughtfully. Just make sure that you do respond eventually. Hanging on to anger builds grudges, communication gaps, and lowers morale for everyone. Be proactive. Be patient. Be kind. You’ve got this.

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Photo by SHOTPRIME STUDIO

Nurturing an Inclusive Workplace

Your employees are your greatest resource. Your biggest asset. Your power. Your drive. Your agility and foundation! You’ve created a great team–you’re sure of it. But when was the last time you checked to make sure you’ve got the diversity of talent your company needs?

Are you sure you have everything you need in your proverbial toolbox? Having one full of just hammers is going to be useless unless you’ve got nails. And screws, and levels, and safety glasses, and saws, and…you get it. When you hire a bunch of people with the same skills, the same backgrounds, and the same experiences, you’re selling yourself short and weakening your potential. The more diversity of thought, experiences, strengths you have on your team, the more successful your business will be.

Ensure you’re putting an emphasis on protecting and nurturing diversity within your workplace by consistently and objectively assessing where your company is falling short and where it’s excelling. The following are some key areas of operations to consider.

Inclusive language

Every business has a voice. It comes across in every communication aspect of your company, from external marketing to internal communications. The atmosphere of your business to your employee handbooks, internal surveys, data collection, and emails are all opportunities for communication. Consider how you use language that can apply to the broadest range of people. Some example to consider:

Disabled vs. person with disabilities
Deaf vs. hearing impaired
Spouse vs. wife/husband
Salesman vs. salesperson

Learning to identify language differences can feel subtle and takes practice. In the past, you may have unknowingly assumed gender, forced someone to choose an incorrect personal identification, or otherwise left out or incorrectly referenced a marginalized group of people. Don’t dwell on the past, look ahead, and persistently ask yourselves and your team how you can improve.

Accessibility

Identify areas where you can improve your company’s accessibility to people experiencing different forms of disability.

How accessible is your workplace to people using wheelchairs?
Is your office equipment (printers, copy machines) accessible from a seated position?
Do you offer accessible employee desk space?
Does your office space have ramps and elevators?
Does your company offer alternatives to phone calls for people with hearing impairments?
Do the signs in your office have brail and raised lettering?

To make working at your company more accessible, consider offering remote working positions. You may be surprised that remote employees tend to be more productive and engaged than those working from an office. Whatever you do to improve accessibility to your office, know that solutions are evolving and developing, so what might have been unattainable five years ago may be possible for your company now.

Representation

Chances are, your company has a website and social media presence. Take a look at what demographic your online presence represents. Do all your photos depict the same type of person? Are the only photos representing people with disabilities directly related to content about disabilities? That’s problematic in itself.

The key is to choose photos and language that speak to the broadest range of people and not just to who you might think your customer is. Use your messaging to help build connection and understanding, reaching a greater variety of people and giving a voice and representation to traditionally marginalized groups.

The more people your brand speaks to, the more comprehensive the range of prospective job candidates and customers you’ll attract. Seeing is believing. The more diversity you use in representations of customers, employees, and leadership, the easier it will be for people to see themselves in those roles.

Hiring process

Creating an unbiased hiring process can be a difficult task. Everyone’s got biases, and it’s a challenge to remove it from any process where humans have to choose other humans. So how do you go about minimizing bias from your hiring process? There’s a crazy amount of information on this topic, but here are four of the most common points.

Educate your hiring managers about bias. Give them opportunities to learn how to identify their own and other’s prejudices.
Review your job description. Consider how you can eliminate adjectives that are associated with one gender, ethnicity, or body type.
Standardize, standardize, standardize! Make sure you’re approaching each interview with the same set of questions and expectations.
Consider using blind recruitment strategies. Try removing identifying characteristics from the hiring process such as names, age, education, etc.
Internal assessment. Constantly ask questions to stay on top of your game.

Are my employees trained to identify their own biases?
Do we require qualifications that might not be necessary?
Is our ideal candidate defined? If so, what are the qualities that might be based on bias?

Leading with inclusivity is a constant learning process and not a one-and-done check on your to-do list. Prioritizing diversity within your hiring process takes regular evaluation and improvement.

Leadership

Take a look at your company: how many people in leadership positions are the same sex and ethnicity? Hiring and promoting based on sex or ethnicity is obviously unethical. But the demographics of your leadership team could give valuable insight into your promoting and hiring practices. Take pains to make sure that people with the same titles are paid the same amount. Take a critical eye to your company hierarchy.

Make your moves

When you’re evaluating where you can improve, the best thing you can do is be honest with yourself and your employees. Understand you can never learn too much. Set an example as a leader who is always willing and devoted to nurturing a diverse and accessible workplace. The better you become at it, the higher the potential of your workforce will become. Your culture will thrive with varying experiences, strengths, and points of view, and your company will follow.

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Photo by Leigh Prather

Giving and Receiving During A Crisis

As COVID-19 continues to strain the world’s resources, there has never been a better time for organizations to lend their support to those in need. Organizations that partake in charitable giving and community efforts have an opportunity to impact more than just those who are receiving the charity, though that in itself is enough to make it worth the effort.

Whether your employees have seen their jobs change, or watched their family members get laid off or furloughed, or been unable to visit their loved ones and friends, everyone has been affected. There is no shortage of people suffering, which means that no matter how small, every gesture of giving matters.

Adding value for everyone

There are plenty of articles breaking down the numbers that demonstrate how corporate giving can positively impact employee engagement and loyalty. Still, the real value is clearly seen with common sense.

People want to be a part of something important. They want to feel like they’re giving back and making a difference. It’s easy to see value in giving to those in need. When your organization offers ways for its employees to give back, you are demonstrating your values and providing an opportunity for your internal community to connect with them in an authentic way. Plus, giving simply makes people happier.

Although obvious, it’s also critical to mention that the world needs all the help it can get right now. This isn’t just about your employees or your company values. It’s about doing what you can, when you can, because you should.

Purpose, on purpose

When we become an active participant in finding a solution, we gain a sense of control. This is true across the board for problems big and small.

In a time when so much of our daily lives feel threatened, finding purpose and value in your actions can make a huge difference. By providing an opportunity for your employees to engage in becoming part of the solution, you’re giving them that precious sense of control and purpose they’re missing.

It comes back around

There is something wonderfully karmic about being a company that gives back. People remember it when they see you stepping up . It allows them to feel connected to your values and recognize your willingness to take action.

Your company can inspire people! The community that you affect will remember you. You have an opportunity to speak out and encourage others to follow in your footsteps—to become a leader in your community.

You don’t have to have a bunch of money sitting around to help out. Whether you’re a huge company or a small business, there are endless ways you can make a difference. Take the opportunity to step up and become a source of purpose and value to your employees and your surrounding community. It’s worth it.

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Photo by kieferpix

When in Doubt, Organize

When things are chaotic, whether at home, or work, or throughout the world, it’s easy to feel like letting things slide. And honestly, sometimes that’s totally fine. When we’re in a position where we have to handle a lot at once (even if it’s just a busy morning of meetings), we have to decide what’s critical and what can be put aside for another time. Sometimes there’s no way around it.

You simply can’t do everything all of the time. Though unfortunately, it’s human nature for us to try anyway. And what happens when we try to accomplish everything at once while we’re also navigating a challenging time?

Regular, simple tasks start to feel un-doable
We become more and more frazzled and stressed
We start to beat ourselves up for not functioning like normal
Our quality of work drops
Our exhaustion rises
We can’t keep track of things
Our team at work (or home) begin to feel the effects of our state
No one is happy

While it’s true there will always be times when you have to put aside certain things to continue to function well, there is one thing that isn’t dispensable: organization.

It’s a lifesaver

Cities that are built by flood zones have canals constructed into them to drain the excess water away from the population. When life is chaotic, doing what you can to get yourself organized will work like those canals, helping remove the chaos from your life. While a flood can still damage a city even with canals, the damage would be exponentially worse if the water had nowhere to go. It’s the same with chaos.

If you are in a position where you have to prioritize your duties and put certain things aside, you’ve got to get yourself organized enough to see everything clearly. This is true on the individual level up through an entire organization.

Think about how your company, or your boss, or just you, handled the chaos of adjusting to stay at home orders and changing customer priorities. Was it handled smoothly? Are you still struggling to communicate with your team or your clients? Are there entire parts of your company you’ve put on hold (your marketing, for instance?). Do you have a constant feeling that you’re forgetting something?

Don’t cut corners

In a turbulent time, often our first instinct is to attack whatever is right in front of us. But without first sitting down and evaluating all the components, our efforts are more likely to be ineffective, inefficient, and draining.

If you want clean results, then start with a clean slate.

Evaluate all of your duties
Take stock of the immediate damage, challenge, or roadblocks
Look ahead to what might be affected later down the road
Break it down into tiers of importance
Clarify goals and their corresponding tasks

It’s up to you

No one can organize your life for you. It takes consistent effort for organizations and individuals alike. It’s incredible how much a little organization can change your ability to navigate chaos and challenges. The simple act of writing out a to-do list and getting your tasks organized each morning can make or break the productivity (and experience) of your day. The same goes for getting your team and your organization on the same page with clarified goals, responsibilities, and tasks.

If you’re struggling to get things done, feeling the pressure of a hectic and demanding schedule, and frustrated by a lack of productivity, ask yourself if you’ve spent the time to get organized. If you haven’t, then it’s your responsibility to do so. Whether or not you’re struggling to deal with the chaos of the pandemic, or just the usual chaos of your life, getting organized may be the greatest gift you can give yourself. Either way, it’s up to you.

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Photo by New Africa