In 1500 words or less, each post will give you something you can use TODAY to build yourself, your people and your organization whether your organization is a "for-profit" or a "not-for-profit."
We are conditioned by society not to stand out, we all suffer to one extent or another because of the education system and by human nature. Fortunately “blending in” is a learned behavior that can be “unlearned.” The journey to success is helped by learning to stand out, to always provide value and it doesn’t matter if it is for yourself, personally, or for your organization; and it is something you can do, you can even start today.
Finding a new job for anyone can be very difficult. We all face barriers to employment, living in a small or medium-sized community can add some surprising additional barriers. People in this situation, need our help, they need my help and they need your help. Lend me five minutes of your time for a brief introduction to learning about the barriers and what we can do to overcome them.
What is leadership? Does it come automatically when you are a supervisor or a manager? Or is it the cumulative effect of dozens of small actions that sometimes seem invisible unless you are looking for them? Someone who is a manager or supervisor doesn’t automatically become a leader, especially not a servant leader; although anyone who is a servant leader would always make a great supervisor or manager.
I work assisting people who are experiencing barriers to employment overcome them and find jobs that either accomplish their goals or take them to the next step on their individual journeys.
My role as a coach and mentor constantly reminds me of the lessons shared with me during my career, this post is the next chapter on “lessons learned” from my November 24th post.
Have you ever considered how biased our hiring practices are toward people who do not experience barriers to employment. How difficult it is for people who are from outside the “colonial bubble” most of us never even notice?
When you start to see and think about those barriers you can see the intrinsic discrimination that happens every day.
I have been here. Painfully unaware that I was teetering on the precipice. I was lucky, I had good mentors, I had key people who took a chance and told me what I needed to do and gave me the space to change. It wasn’t always smooth but I listened, I learned, and I became better.
As managers and supervisors, we will all eventually find ourselves in this position; how we react determines if we can step back or if we will plunge into the abyss.
What follows is what I was taught, what I learned, and what I continue to use. I hope it helps you.
There is a special group of people who are making a difference to help people help themselves. I would like to dedicate this post to them, what they have taught me, to the people they help, and to the employers who work with them.
Organizations experience major and minor ailments just like people do. Many are the result of external pressures; however, some like “Meeting Narcolepsy” are internally generated. Left undiagnosed and/or untreated these ailments can limit growth, cause decline, and even cause the organization to “die.”
This past week I attended a meeting where some people were lamenting that their new hires didn’t have a good work ethic and they seemed not to know how to function. Their comments inspired this post because “work ethic” is a learned skill and knowing what and how “to work” is also something that organizations should teach rather than assume.
Your people are your greatest resource.
Facilitating great meetings will encourage them, teach them, provide them with opportunities and the tools they need. You need to listen to them, inspire them, and train them. Running good meetings is a “learned” skill that few of us every master completely. Done well, your meetings will create the conditions for growth and efficiencies, regardless of the type of organization you are part of.
This is a place to begin.