Angels and Emails

It is an early Sunday morning…the air is brisk and the sky is clear, a perfect day to center oneself at  morning yoga to bring balance to the corporate workweek that is guaranteed to challenge every cell within your being to stay “connected.” The first 40 min of class fly by as the instructor brings the class through one final sun salutation. You take a deep breath in, holding breath longingly with the hope this inner peace will carry you through the week. Chaturanga dandasana to bhujangasana, cobra pose – through to adho mukha svanasana, downward facing dog….who the…what the..hell?!

You pause, stunned in a downward inversion – it is HER. She is inverted on the yoga mat behind you, and even though almost a decade has passed since the daily emotional trauma of calling her ”BOSS,” you can still feel the memories in the pit of your gut. One of the most toxic work environments that you can remember, converting an awesome career opportunity into a daily nightmare of eggshell walking and condescending verbal warfare. It was HER, and only HER, that forced you out of a job and a family-friendly company that you intended to stay with long-term.

Did your BOSS push you “out” – or were they the vehicle purposefully put in your life to help you move “on?”

Everything happens for a reason…even if that reason is beyond your understanding of why a situation is happening. Consider shifting the lens through which you explain every experience, postive and negative, personally and professionally. Think of your BOSS as the catalyst, the universal instrument that redirects the wind to steer your ship towards an opportunity that you may not have otherwise ventured to on your own. The universal law of attraction will always prevail – if there is an opportunity in your future designed for you to experience, life will force you in that direction, at your will or indirectly against it. However,  in the interim, between now and the great opportunity that lies ahead, here are 3 Key Steps to Mitigate the Impact of the Nasty Boss.

 1. Be a testament to your own greatness – Become indifferent to negative feedback, filter through constructive criticism to decipher what can be of benefit to you, and aspire to personal excellence every minute, of every day.

2. Alter the recurring dialogue of your BOSS in your mind - Just as they may be the catalyst for you, consider you may also be an instrument put in their lives for some reason. “Nasty” is a mode of operating in business and management that is learned, often times due to the lack of alternatives in practice and modeling in the current environment. Be the change you want to see in your office, even if you don’t have an example to follow.

3. Pay attention – If your working environment has become intolerable, it’s because YOU have grown beyond the boundaries of your current position. Take advantgage of every opportunity to set intention for the future within the parameters provided by your company (workplace performance criteria, tuition reimbursement programs, job training, etc.) Create a transition plan that incorporates active “connecting” through prayer, meditation, or stillness – and then be patient for the future to shift in the path ahead.

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You have been checking your blackberry all day, waiting for the offer that is sure to be headed your way. Although the delay of their response is beyond your explanation, (can it really take three weeks to get the offer approved internally) you are sure to have clarity in the next few days upon the acceptance of a new position within their institution.

But then, it comes. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with us about this opportunity, but after careful consideration, we have decided to pursue another candidate.” Signed, your ex-future employer. 

Huh?! Although the power to answer “yes” or “no” was not in the cards for the series of next-step options, the ball is still in play and in your court. The choice is yours;  

1. The Moper – Life is over, the world hates you, and you are unemployable. You don’t respond, and become toxic in the office for everyone within a 25 sq ft area of your energy. 

2. The Victim – The recruiting process wasn’t fair and the interviewer secretly hated your poly-cotton suit. You choose not to respond via virtual channels, but tell everyone you can about the injustice you’ve experienced. 

3. The Archer – Aimed the arrow, drew the bow, and missed your target. Graciously accept defeat by acknowledging the time committed for those involved and honor that this round was not yours to win.

 If you can not prove that how you respond doesn’t make a difference, than why not consider the possibility it does. 

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4:54…4:55…4:56…4 minutes until the clock strikes 5pm. Another day over, another 2 inches of documentation added to the “to do” pile. As you enter the hallway and leap towards the elevator, your mind starts to wander…5 years ago when you graduated with a BA in Human Resource Management you did so under the expectation the future would be based on people, the feeling center of your future employer.

The reality however has manifested quite differently…Your job, a HR call center representative, requires the employee under distress to be reminded of the harsh reality of their numeric existance prior to reaching a human on the other end that cares.

Human capital has replaced the individual, and who they are and what they care about has been lost to world of controlled existance. From the swipe of a badge in the morning to the ‘log-off user’ at workdays’ end, a workplace of surnames and addresses has been buried beneath a world of employee numbers, performance rankings, and UserIDs. Policy, procedure, and process has become the job of the people we hired to take care of the “life” needs of today’s workforce, manifesting and perpectuating mediocrity as the performance standard in today’s cubicles. 

Shift the HR experience by establishing 3 “human” principles into practice.

1. Design corporate policy, company culture, and employee expectations around what is right vs. what is fair. If the foundation for processes and controls within your organization is based on being fair to all, you are trying to harness a tornado of opinion-based benchmarks and interpretations for how fairness is applied in the workplace. If you foster and encourage performance-based cultures and create static measures that are applied consistently across the organization, then what is right becomes black and white in application to manage and reinforce.

2. Outsource process, insource people. If ever faced with the strategic dilemma of outsourcing, find the balance to keep internal team members that are familiar with internal company culture, workplace policy, and have personal relationships with staff members for the “life” support and personal issues. Outsource time intensive and/or systematic processes.

3. No matter the discussion topic - acknowledge all individuals at the table as “humans” first. Make eye contact whenever possible, and initiate all discussions with “How are you today?” and wait for the response.

Be revoluntionary and bring “human” back to the workplace. Whether you are a senior manager or a front-line HR generalist – you are empowered and have the contact with the employees to make a difference in your organization.

Are you an influential leader or an opinionated jerk? 

THE TRUTH – the “big mouth” self assessment 

1. When faced with interpersonal conflict at the office are you typically the  wagon (being pulled), ox (pulling), or the reins (steering)?
2. When faced with a project where you have to collaborate amongst your peers to accomplish a goal are you the score keeper (give someone else credit for success), the sprinter (you get the credit for success) or the coach (doesn’t care who gets credit as long as the goal is accomplished)?
3. In a departmental meeting are you the complainer (demotivate, accomplish nothing), coffee pot (motivate, accomplish nothing) or facilitator (motivate and lead action)?
4. Do your boss and/or co-workers trust you enough to follow your lead?

Beware of bad career advice that encourage collaboration through round-table discussions of opinions, at the end of the day the only objective that gets accomplished is that of the influential leader that left the table first, and the rest who followed behind. 

THE REALITY 

No one cares what you think, unless you influence them to feel the same way. 

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 GOOD ADVICE 

Are you the complaining score keeping wagon? You always ensure things are fair, with a lot to say but accomplish very little. Even though you are liked, you are probably a nightmare to manage. 

Are you the sprinting ox coffee pot? You possess a path full of accomplishments but chances are you are resented by your peers. The boss loves you because you get things done, but you face peaks and valleys of success and failure, because you are totally alone when faced with defeat. 

Be the facilitating coach with the reins. Influence those around you by getting to know them personally and engaging them through a message that resonates with them. Lead from the back and push others into the spotlight, but never lose hold of the reins to steer the outcome in your desired direction.

Our governments, religious institutions, corporate environments, and our social expectations have been founded upon fear based consequences; obey the law or you will go to jail, pray or you will go to hell, work or you will get fired, lose weight or no one will accept you. We all strive in one form or another to avoid our addictions and vices yet so many external influential factors are continually encouraging us to fail. These institutions and those who lead them categorize populations collectively; however insist human beings individually remain obedient, humble, and respectful of these structures out of fear.

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Our world is in the mist of a transition, a battle between those who currently possess authority and individuals fighting to regain and retain their own personal powers. Eventually all institutions must learn to accommodate a much more independent, confident, and opinionated society.  People are not just opening their eyes to the injustices around the world; but people are engaging within themselves, allowing sensations of passion and purpose to help them stand for a cause and find someone or something to believe in.

What do you believe in?

Issue Definition 

The validity of a clear mission in today’s world, encompassing and collaborating the purpose, plan, and direction for an organization, will lead to the success or demise of individual lives, corporations, governments, and communities. 

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Now, more than ever, human beings are hungry for purpose, willing to die for what they believe to be true, and willing to sacrifice the luxuries of life to fulfill a certain destiny. Throughout history, boundaries between countries were realigned, laws redefined, and lives changed forever based on the influential power that one individual was able to obtain by having a clear goal in mind before, throughout, and upon the completion of a conquest. These conquests, or missions, are not just the core purpose behind numerous influential leaders and managers; they are also the foundations of many corporations, governmental entities, and community organizations. If utilized properly missions can be the sole key used to unlock the human spirit, directly affecting productivity levels, company moral, and the lifespan of corporations. In a world of hungry individuals desperate for direction, missions must be prioritized in order to provide the masses of society purpose, plan, and direction for their daily activities. 

Free copies of The Validity of  Defining a Mission are available by request. Please email amanda.svedarsky@angelsandemails.com with your name, contact information, and a statement of purpose and intent for document use.

Does a true LEADER, a representative of the people, have a “side?”

We are amidst the perfect storm of economic chaos and individual reawakening. The world as we knew it, businesses built upon the manpower of “unthinking” individuals, will never be the same. People are reinventing themselves as a result of unexpected layoffs and life transition.

The days of mass exploitation are over – and the dawn of the extraordinary individual has begun.

For the self-employed: who you are and what you care about doesn’t fall into a compartmentalized job description so you started up a business in order to “own” your future, but the effects of the mess around you are hard to miss. Your best clients 5 years ago are scraping pennies to feed their kids, and many of your friends are now beyond recognition from the dark place to which they have fallen from the circle of lost job, lost benefits, no home.

For the employed: you have a despise/hate relationship with your boss, you are carrying the load of five employees that were laid-off five months ago, and the only ray of sunshine in your day is clinging to the hope that someday, you will be free of this chaos.

For the unemployed: in the past month you have submitted 123 applications into the black abyss of the electronic application process, have received zero phone calls, and are 60 days away from foreclosing on your home due to the overnight blow of a reduction in income.

No matter which of the above categories describe you, there is hope. We are being forced into reflection, and for the first time ever we are pondering questions we have never before asked ourselves. If reinvention of “self” is inevitable, than why not be happier at the opposite end of the horizon?