In today’s show, Mike Wood chats with Tamara Rasberry, one of the Humans of HR, about improving diversity and inclusion at work. Tamara has been an HR practitioner for almost 20 years, primarily in the nonprofit sector. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion, diversity and overall good experiences in the workplace.

The Most Pressing IssueThe most pressing issue in regards to diversity and inclusion in the workplace is to get the leadership team to understand the difference between diversity and inclusion, and that a diverse workforce goes beyond race and gender. Tamara says that leaders must be intentional about creating an inclusive environment for their people. 

How to Ensure an Inclusive WorkplaceCompanies should value everything that every person brings to the table. We all come to the workplace with a unique mix of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to contribute. Therefore, companies should utilize inclusive behavior at various different touch points throughout the organization, such as in recruitment, onboarding, and in staff meetings. Everyone should feel valued and have the opportunity to make a contribution. Tamara suggests several things organizations can do to make every voice be heard. Once feedback is given, the highlighted issues should be worked on. 

Communication is KeyMike remarks that communication is one of the biggest ways to address any problem in an organization. If you talk to people, and give them a chance to speak up about their issues without repercussions, you can improve a lot of things.

Measuring Diversity and InclusionMike asks, beyond recruitment metrics, how can companies measure the effectiveness of their diversity and inclusion programs? Tamara responds that their promotions and professional development opportunities can be a good measuring stick. Once employees are in the door, do they have the same opportunities to get promoted or to have training and development? She remarks that not everything is going to be numerically quantifiable. However, you can see the progress you’re making based on feedback and people's actual experience in the company. 

The Present Situation in the CountryMike and Tamara share their thoughts on the current state of race relations in the country. Tamara feels that people are more comfortable expressing their biases and racism today. Racism is fundamentally about power dynamics, so change to ingrained institutions and policies that favor one people over others, must start at the top. The most individuals can do is change their own behavior and mindset. Mike comments that if we just talk to each other, we can dispel the fear: more communication and less division will help. We need to be open to learning about other people and cultures to break down the barriers, Tamara says.

Resources:Tamara Rasberry on Twitter: @tmrasberry

Sr. Director of Demand Generation at Workhuman, Jill Crawford, joins Mike Wood on WorkHuman Radio for this week’s episode of Humans of Workhuman. They chat about company culture, her Frenchies and homebrewing.

Jill’s Tenure at WorkhumanJill joined the company almost two years ago after responding to a job post for Director of Global Programs on LinkedIn. She felt that she could do the job and interviewed for the position. She was even more impressed with the company since a friend who worked there only had good things to say. When she was subsequently hired, she fit right in and fell in love with the company culture right away.

Take Care of YourselfMike tells Jill that he admires her sense of humor, because just like him, she cracks a joke whenever there is tension in the room. Jill agrees that humor is needed and how great it is that their company advocates bringing your whole self to work. The official company policy is to take care of yourself: do what is best for yourself and your family. Both Mike and Jill share stories of how their managers insisted that they take care of themselves during difficult family situations. They felt supported and cared for by the company in those stressful times, and Mike can’t wait to get back to work.

Fun With FrenchiesMike asks Jill about her French bulldogs. She shares funny stories about their antics and many ailments. She agrees with John Mulaney of SNL that having a Frenchie is like having a toddler that’s in your grandmother’s body. Her dogs are her children: she tells Mike about celebrating Fugsy’s 4th birthday party and having movie nights with her husband and their 4 dogs.

An Award-Winning HomebrewerMike congratulates Jill on brewing this year’s Workhuman beer. He asks her about her homebrewing hobby. Jill is President of New Hampshire’s oldest homebrew club, Brew Free or Die. She relates the fun they have brewing, going on field trips and hosting competitions. She and her husband even constructed a replica of Old Man in the Mountain and added a mechanical arm so that he appears to be sipping a homebrew. Jill is also an award-winning homebrewer. She Brew is a competition for female amateur brewers. She entered with her own recipe 11 years ago, and won the category. She continues to enter each year, and continues to refine her recipe each time.

WorkHuman LiveMike reminds listeners to join them at WorkHuman Live next May.

ResourcesJill Crawford on LinkedIn | Workhuman Live | Brew Free or Die

Joe Whittinghill is the Corporate VP of Talent, Learning and Insights at Microsoft, and one of the creators of Microsoft’s Leadership Principles. He joins hosts Todd Schnick and Mike Wood to talk about leadership and change management at Microsoft in this episode of WorkHuman Radio.

Microsoft's 3 Leadership Principles

The Microsoft model of leadership is aligned with neuroscience. The most important things leaders need to do to drive the company forward, are distilled into three simple and memorable principles. These are:Create clarityGenerate energyDeliver successDelivering Success

To deliver success, Joe points out that it is key to give leaders proper guidance. This is because they are very busy and may confuse activity with results. It’s necessary therefore to be very clear on your expectations of them. He goes on to share two practices under the Deliver Success principle.

Translating Microsoft Globally

Mike asks Joe how Microsoft successfully rolls out a policy across the world, with different cultures and different people. Joe jokes about the ‘98052 bubble’ and then explains how the company makes sure that what is good in Redmond works all over the world.

Creating Clarity

It's very hard to create clarity but it's one of the most essential skills leaders need to have. Joe describes creating clarity as the ability to synthesize the complex and to ensure shared understanding across cultures. You must make sure that all members of the team have the same understanding and share the same goal. Mike adds that team members must also trust that their leader is not setting them up to fail.

Generating Energy

Todd asks Joe how Microsoft brings humanity to such a large and global workforce. Joe explains that Microsoft's mission statement is about helping everyone else win.Generating energy speaks to the mission statement because it is about building organizations that are stronger tomorrow than they are today. He shares an interesting example of how the company deals with failure but admits that they have even more work to do in this regard.

Working Human at Microsoft

In response to Mike’s question about what working human means to Microsoft, Joe explains that he believes the modern workplace is not a place anymore, but a change in mindset. How organizations support creativity of growth will determine how successful they are in the future. If you help your workers to find their personal purpose and align it with the organization's mission, you allow them to bring their full authentic self to work. 

Managing Change

Humans are averse to change; however, effective change management happens with empathy and inclusion. We need to realize that people are in different positions and we must be more careful of how we help them to learn and grow through change. Giving examples of how the other side of change can result in a better life, may help others to embrace change. Mike adds that showing them that even if things don't work out for the better, that they are still ok and moving on. Viewing things this way can also help them to fear change less.

Resources

You can find Joe on LinkedIn.

In another episode recorded live during this year’s Work Human Conference, Todd Schnick and Mike Wood are joined by Mary Faulkner, a senior advisor at IA HR and Matthew Stollak from St. Norbert's College, for a fun and fascinating conversation about pop culture, the impact of technology on modern workplaces and whether or not there really is something different about Millenials. 

What does Pop Culture have to teach us?Because Mike loves Twitter, and because Mary and Matthew are both very active on the platform, they start with a discussion of one of social media’s favorite topics: pop culture. Mary talks about the movie Office Space, and how she wants all of her teams to see how ridiculous it is to be using jargon, to be letting policy and procedure take the place of human interaction and that not too many people really care about Hawaiian-shirt day. She goes on to say that the idea of one person walking into a company and saving everyone from bad management just isn’t realistic. 

Has Technology Changed Us?Matthew works at a college and has plenty of access to the next generation of new employees. He talks about the impact technology has on how we interact with each other, bringing up the all-too-familiar example of a phone on the table when you’re talking to someone. Mike shares an example about long meeting days, and how people need to work while they’re in meetings to get everything done, and Mary questions the management decisions that lead to that kind of behavior. Matthew brings things back to reality telling us that there has always been new technology, and people have always worried about the impact it has on workplaces and relationships. 

Does Generation Make a Difference?Matthew points out that in a classroom of 18 to 22-year-olds, you’re going to see a diversity of outlook, interest, dedication, priorities, and motivations - just like you would in any group of people who have nothing in common other than the year they’re born in. Mary talks about what this means in terms of recruiting and creating benefits packages that will appeal to different people - making assumptions about what someone wants or needs based on their birth year isn’t practical - the real differentiating factor is where people are in their lives and what they want for themselves.

Having a Shared PurposeTo build a strong company culture, you have to have a shared purpose, and the people working for an organization need to have aligned values. It’s that, more than anything else that will dictate how successful a company is. Mary shares an example of a water utility company she once worked at, and adds that over time, people and companies change - what was once a great fit may not always be. You don’t need a perfect value alignment - but you should be aware of what level of deviance from your own values you can tolerate. 

What Should Employers Be Doing?Todd asks Mary and Matthew what is the one thing that employers, managers, and owners should be doing to make work human?Matthew says they should be listening to people and fostering a culture of respect and authenticity. Mary agrees and adds that if you’re going to be asking for feedback - you need to act on it, or genuinely explain why you can’t. Otherwise, it seems like just so much fluff. 

ResourcesConnect with Matthew Stollak on Twitter @AkaBruno or by emailConnect with Mary Faulkner on Twitter at @MFaulkner43 or by email

Feedback is often seen as punitive rather than joyful. Today’s guest on WorkHuman Radio, Joe Hirsch, Author of The Feedback Fix joins Todd Schnick and Mike Wood to talk about how to change how your whole organization views feedback.

The Problem with Performance ReviewsMost people hate performance reviews because everything being discussed is in the past - it’s over, there’s nothing they can do about it anymore. Any criticism is too late to really be useful, and that causes discomfort and fear. It removes the psychological safety you need to be your best. So why do we expect our team members to remember and be able to respond to things that happened weeks or even months ago? We don’t have great recall for what we decided, thought or felt that long ago, so basing all of our feedback on things that happened so long ago doesn’t actually do what we want it to.

Feed ForwardJoe talks about how managers don’t usually feel great about the feedback they’re giving - both the delivery of the feedback and how people receive it. There’s a tension between supporting and encourage people while also meeting business goals. Feed Forward is a new approach to thinking about performance. Instead of looking at the past that can’t change - look at the future that you can still do something about. It comes down to engagement, and that is often much more about what employees do for themselves than what managers or leadership does for them. 

We are Not Empty VesselsPeople are suited to be agents of their own change and improvement - they just need time and space. Mike talks about one of the tools developed by WorkHuman that is designed to give immediate, real-time feedback. Joe talks about how this kind of real-time engagement can sound impossible to a lot of managers - giving feedback all the time. Joe points out that you can either spend the time now or spend a lot more time later. He goes on to talk about how critical empathy is to the process and how it can be learned. Empathy is the foundation of trust, and trust is what makes feedback actually work. 

Building on a Foundation of Trust Many workplaces are reporting a serious lack of trust, and fixing that isn’t easy, but there are proven strategies that allow the trust factor to be raised. Joe goes through some of these, like changing your mindset to being focused on learning rather than knowing, helping managers feel comfortable with being vulnerable and focusing on strengths instead of deficits. It’s much easier to talk about things that are wrong - but dealing with strengths is ultimately more effective. Joe shares an example of the kind of discussion, and the three key topics (Peak, Trek and Scale) that lead to deep insight into what helps people work well. 

The Critical ElementsEngagement, transparency and trust are critical for organizations who want to improve the way feedback works - and ultimately enhance the performance of their teams. When employees can be open and transparent with their managers and leadership, there is more total presence and brainpower on every issue - this can make a huge difference in engagement. That engagement between colleagues and between different levels of the organization. To be your best, you often need someone to hold up a mirror for you and show you how others perceive what you’re doing.  These can be challenging conversations, but hugely beneficial ones. Joe talks about when this happened for him - and what the outcome of it was. 

ResourcesJoeHirsch.me

In this episode of WorkHuman Radio Todd Schnick and Mike Wood talk to Liane Davey, the Principal and founder of 3 Coze, and three-time author who helps people create productivity when there’s messy people stuff in the way. They get into what conflict means in an organization, why it’s important, and how to manage it successfully.

Embracing ConflictHow does bringing your best self to work align with embracing conflict? Liane thinks that being your best self means being willing to fight for things you believe in, whether it’s your customer, a different decision, difficult relationship or situation. When we avoid things that are difficult, like conflict, we don’t feel good about ourselves.

Productive Conflict  Liane talks about how trying to keep everything happy and harmonious when the reality just isn’t, means you don’t have the ability to actually deal with situations that will inevitably arise. Avoiding conflict builds stress levels. Productive conflict is healthy, it gets us talking about issues and moving beyond them. It happens when there is a problem to be figured out, and you actually get somewhere. Contrast that to an unproductive conflict which is often personal and sometimes vicious.

Validating Emotions - a Simple FormulaTodd mentions that where there are humans, there is conflict. Liane agrees, and laughs at the idea of “keeping emotions out of things.” We just can’t do that. People have feelings, feelings are part of conflict, and we need to understand that and think about practical ways to be effective while being emotional. Liane talks about how to create outlets for emotions to minimize their impact on decision making or conflict resolution. When people feel validated for their feelings, they’re much more likely to be invested in finding a solution. Liane provides a simple formula you can use in conflict conversations.

Changing MindsetsOften executives shy away from the word conflict - but they shouldn’t. Liane talks about a strategy to help identify the different areas of interest and concerns amongst different members of a leadership team. By understanding what other people care about or have to pay the most attention to, leaders are much more understanding of why people are the way they are, and where conflict is likely to be coming from. Many roles are supposed to be in tension with one another - it’s necessary for growth.

Todd mentions that the words in this conversation are scary - conflict, tension and so on - but they’re valuable and necessary. Mike compares it to playing music - the build-up, then the resolution of tension. Liane explains how this ties back to feeling tension about being your best self and also having conflict - just like in music, when tension builds and is resolved, it’s satisfying - and beautiful!

Conflict Debt There are so many conflicts we haven’t resolved - they build up and weigh people down. When conflict doesn’t get resolved, we fight, and we end up spreading everything - money, time, and people - too thin. Then we don’t get ROI, the culture suffers, and projects flounder. This is usually attributed to failure to prioritize, but what it really is is conflict debt.

Liane tells how, at the end of the day, we all basically want the same things, and we all want work to be a better contribution to people’s lives. Work and humans can add so much to each other.

Resources:The Good Fight | LianeDavey.com/WorkHuman  | 3 Coze

Today, Mike Wood is joined by Lauren Brown and together, they’ll be interviewing Sally Thornton, the founder of Forshay, who is an entrepreneur trying to make work better. Not every entrepreneur has the self-awareness to understand that they’re part of the problem - but when Sally started her company, she knew she was guilty of overworking and prioritizing work above all else. She designed her company to be different and today she shares the critical areas in which they do that.

Work-Life Balance is the Wrong TermThe traditional model in the western world is to grow up, get educated, get a job, work really hard, then retire. But a much better model is to learn for your whole life and work for your whole life, and critically - take care of yourself and have leisure time for your whole life, too. When we call that work-life balance, we get the wrong idea - work and life shouldn't be competing forces at all.

Advice for a Recovering WorkaholicSo many people are working too much - but more and more people want to learn how to step back a little. Getting enough sleep is something we could all do a little better. Sally talks about how most of us are tired because we’re not getting the sleep we need. No one would drive drunk - but driving tired is almost as dangerous! She has an interesting tip you can use to get in the habit of getting to bed on time! We also need to exercise more - but it doesn’t have to be a dedicated workout session - getting in little bits of activity throughout the day can do wonders for your mood and energy levels. If you’ve got 7 minutes - you’ve got the time to get a little movement in.

Mike shares a story about how challenging it can be to have time for yourself and your own self-care when you live with an exceptionally energetic 3-year old in the house. Sally talks about how to combine your different activities to accomplish more of your goals at one time, like community service with friendly hangouts, or exercise and hanging out with your kids.

We’re Communicating MoreSally talks about how important it is to communicate and express our desires about what we want in our lives. She thinks millennials are particularly good at doing so - but it’s something that’s valuable for everyone. No one really wants to be nothing but the perfect worker - so why do we talk about work as if it were true?

There are some generational differences in terms of practicing good self-care, and the perceived need to be constantly productive. Dealing with ageism in the workplace is an issue as well. We have norms and beliefs in our culture that will tell you all sorts of things about age and gender that bear no real resemblance to reality. By taking the human approach - that people want interesting work and to feel valued - has informed the growth of Forshay. Sally mentions that keeping a learning mindset helps you stay current as you get older. Take the time to explore your interests, the more you learn, the more it will spill into the other areas of your life.If you take anything away from this episode - keep learning, and keep finding ways to do more of the things you want to do each day, as well as the things you need to do.

Resources:

Forshay | Multipliers by Liz Wiseman | Sally on LinkedIn | And on Twitter

In the last couple of years, you’ve probably been hearing more about the trans community than you ever have before. More and more trans people are coming out at work, and elsewhere in their lives, and many people are wondering how they can best learn about the trans experience and support their colleagues, friends, and families. Natalie Egan (pronouns: she / her / hers), CEO and founder of Translator is championing diversity and inclusion through technology at scale.

How can HR support the trans community?4-5% of the population is somewhere on the trans spectrum - and when you think about them and their families, it’s a huge segment of the population. The first thing HR departments should do is get educated on the specific needs of the trans community. Often the first person who comes out as trans at work has to take on the burden of educating the rest of the workforce - so HR departments can take on the work of being proactive with inclusive and supportive policies.

Getting quality informationThe movable middle is composed of people who are open and interested, but unsure about where to get good quality information about the trans experience. Most information comes from the media - and that’s not always the best thing. You need to be intentional about seeking out information, and you shouldn’t be making assumptions about their lifestyle or intentions. Because trans people ARE in your community.

Being an ally is an ongoing jobBeing an ally is way different than being a fan - allyship is active. It means being consistent, and doing the work of being an ally whether or not the trans person is in the room or not. It’s not hard to support someone who is transitioning, although it can feel awkward - there’s one simple thing you can say when someone tells you they are trans, or that they’re using another name or different pronouns: congratulations! You can also ask if there are any ways you can support your colleague, friend or family member. Although you may be tempted - it is *not* the time to ask a lot of detailed questions. If you’re curious - research! Treat your trans colleagues as humans - and have a little humility about the situation.

Being self-aware is the first stepThe first step in real empathy is self-awareness, and understanding why we are the way we are, and how we got to where we are. Natalie talks about how growing up in a bubble of white male privilege meant they were disconnected from other people, and how lived experiences are different for everyone. Assimilation and homogenous culture is a liability. Diversity hedges risk - it’s true in investing and it’s true in communities - work-based or otherwise.

Resources

www.translator.company@NatalieJEgan

National Center for Transgender Equality https://transequality.orgTrans Toolkit for Employers https://www.hrc.org/campaigns/trans-toolkit

If you give your employees more freedom, that means you lose control, right? Wrong. In today’s WorkHuman Radio, we talk with Gary Hamel, professor at the London Business School, about the revolutionary way of looking at modern work that allows control and freedom to co-exist, and more importantly, innovation to thrive.

Workhuman CEO Eric Mosley joins us at the 5th Workhuman Live to talk the history of Workhuman, what we’re working on next, and crowdsourcing innovation in this special edition of Workhuman Radio!