Business Spotlight!
LeggUP Inc. Talent Insurance is a professional coaching and people development platform offered as an employee benefit. With access to their large network of certified coaches, science-backed assessments, hyper-relevant coaching topics, and people analytics, LeggUP Inc. helps organizations of all sizes effectively develop their leaders or managers, protect the wellbeing of their organization, and reduce turnover. We can't thank the LeggUP Inc. team enough for investing in our HIHR Team and providing amazing development initiatives that complement our services and resources so well! We are grateful to leverage this awesome coaching and training platform for ourselves and our clients! www.leggup.com
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Let’s talk about mistakes! This one was a doozy.
I’ll never forget the judge's unamused, stoic face. I was being trained as the new HR leader at our site and went to my first unemployment trial with my Trainer. My Trainer made sure I was well-prepped and ready to fairly represent our organization. What followed next, I did not see coming. We could not have been assigned to a more serious and stoic individual (and dare I say, cranky…must have been having a bad day?) to decide over our case. It was my turn. He asked for my name. Next, he asked me for my title. I responded firmly and confidently. “Mrs.”. He looked annoyed and asked the question again. I re-stated my answer, but a bit louder this time, “Mrs.”! Again, not satisfied with my answer, he asked me a third time. You think by now I would have caught-on, I was not providing the correct answer. But nope…I looked him square in the eye and raised my voice a bit louder and slowly annunciated, "Mrs. Erika Butler". At this point, there were some chuckles in the room. I’m sure my trainer was shaking his head and wanted to give me a poke with the right answer! Next, he said, ‘Your BUSINESS Title!’. “OHH!” ….and it finally clicked, and we were able to move on. Oops! Talk about embarrassing! Even the ex-employee was trying to hold back his laughter. What made it worse was the man overseeing our case didn't even crack a smile. A few days later, I came into the office with a new title that was made up on my office door “Mrs. Erika Butler”. I will never be able to live this down. My friends from this season still joke with me about this. Though I was mortified at the time, now I can’t help but laugh! I think this is a great example of what it can be like for new-in role leaders. Obviously, this should have been self-explanatory to me, but for some reason it did not initially click. It’s true that you just don’t know what you don’t know. Going off of this, many times new leaders do not realize how impactful their words and action are to those around them. What they say matters and they are many times the dinner conversation (whether it be, 'my boss gave me some great recognition today!' Or, ‘my manager threw me under the bus today'…etc…etc.). New leaders have a big job taking care of their team. They need all the support, training, development, and guidance they can get! We all make mistakes and need to give ourselves and our team members permission to be a beginner - permission to trip, fall, learn and grow! Making this clear to new-in-role leaders helps them feel supported, encouraged, and more able to thrive! Author: Erika Butler, CEO
It's the 'Aha' moments for me...experiencing them myself and getting so much joy out of observing these moments in others!
Thank you so much to Marco Blankenburgh and the KnowledgeWorkx Team for the top-notch training and resources you provide. The last year has been incredible, learning from you and working with you! Your body of knowledge and the work you do continues to positively transform the way we work, how we lead and enables amazing cultures/teams! Since my DiSC Certification Training Q1-Q2 2022, I've been happy to equip 10+ organizations (from non-profit, Fortune 500, ministries, and other businesses) with the DiSC tools, resources, and training! I've enjoyed witnessing the 'Aha' moments, recognition, accountability, and desire to take things to the next level. The programs have been very well-received. I believe DiSC is making a tangible impact for the teams invested in their continuing growth and communication. I also see it providing more enjoyable and effective collaboration across the board! I'm thankful for the KnowledgeWorkx Team's partnership in providing great certification training, resources and on-going support! It has been an incredible experience. #culturematters #culturetransformation #leadership #leadershipcoaching #leadershiptraining #businessconsulting #growthmindset #development Author: Erika Butler, CEO Taking partners for the 'hard stuff' has been a difference maker for us! We all have different gifts and strengths. Pulling in others for areas we are not as strong will always strengthen your organization - and make your 'job' easier and more fun! Understanding the best ways to explain and communicate our services to the market is important. It enables us to find the people that need our help most and find the best fits for our organization. SmartAcre has really helped us with this and we can't thank them enough. Taking it one step further, they hired our organization to do their employment handbook and they set the golden standard of handbooks. Their masterpiece has all the most important compliance elements of a handbook, but also is a dynamic read. From this foundational document, you can feel their incredible culture and genuine love and appreciation towards their team! One of our favorite parts of our day-to-day work is collaborating with like-minded organizations who are making a real positive impact in this world, like SmartAcre! www.getsmartacre.com This month, we were able to save one of our clients and their employees 50% on their benefits cost (with better coverage) through our partnership with R&B Insurance! If you're looking to save in this area, while continuing or improving your level of coverage, we can't say enough about the organization. The customized care they provide for our HIHR Team and those in our community is incredible. R&B specializes in saving employers time, money, and resources through their simple, yet customized work-site solutions. Their work-site solutions offer quality benefits at affordable prices that can increase retention, satisfaction, and peace of mind among employees. With over 75 years of combined benefits experience, R&B has become a trusted partner of ours. Let us know if you need help and we are happy to get you on a great path! www.rbinsuranceservice.com For almost 2 decades now, you could say I've been obsessed with this notion of finding ways to thrive at home and at work. Some call this life balance, work-life balance, being centered, wholeness...and the list goes on. I was so obsessed with this topic (even in my college years), that I wrote my entire master's thesis about it. I was unsure how I would have the career I wanted and be the mom I wanted to be. I truly didn't know if it would be possible or not. Given this obsession, one of the things I'm most happy with is how our team can include our kids in the business. I also love to see other organizations do this well! Here are a few fun ways we love to involve our kids:
Of course, our kids are not always in the helping mode or may not seem to care in the moment. However, the times we've been able to pull them in has overall been a positive experience. Fostering an environment across the team that is family focused brings much care, connection, and trust to the workplace! When possible, it’s great for parents to get kids involved with their work! Show them that work can be exciting, life-giving, and fun! Not that it is easy every moment or there are not hard things to do at times... but invite them in. Bring them to 'Take-Your-Child-to-Work Day!’ One of the most awesome requests we received at our Mom's Career Development event last week was to provide a space for our daughters to be exposed to these powerful conversations and learn some of this at an early age. I loved this idea and can't wait to dive into the possibilities of bringing our boys and girls along with us on this journey. It's awesome to see things continue to improve in this area, allowing families and careers to thrive! Much more to come! Author: Erika Butler, CEO In our Leadership Training Program, one of our favorite topics is about the power and importance of connection! It sounds simple enough, but not something always prioritized. One of the best examples of a leader who lived this out well is Herb Kelleher, co-founder, and CEO of Southwest Airlines. A former letter written from his employees to celebrate Herb on Boss Day says it all! When we lead like this and genuinely care about the people we are working with, it impacts them personally and professionally...and they will be on your bus to win as a team! I had the opportunity to work with someone who worked at Southwest and met Herb personally. She said, 'It's true! As a new employee he went out of his way to welcome me with a warm greeting and showed his sincere appreciation that I joined the team. In one of my first jobs, as a cashier, I'll never forget I watched the store leader walk back and forth out of the office regularly and he never stopped to speak with any of the cashiers, even once. I never met him; he never knew my name (at least I don't know how he would have). The first time I worked with a leader that made the effort to know me - what a game changer and different environment it was (for me and all the employees around me)! We have case study after case study on increased connection shifting the whole culture forward in an amazing way! No matter if you are leading thousands, one individual, or influencing indirectly, leaders have the opportunity to lead well and impact lives in a very meaningful way. When our leaders trust us, care to know us, develop us and believe in us...the sky is the limit! Author: Erika Butler, CEO This message is from my heart to the incredible ladies out there - many who play multiple roles and conquer incredible feats weekly, if not daily! I want to talk about the phrase I hear SO often - "I’m Just…" I’m here as someone who has a history of saying this, more often than I would like to admit. AND…l did it AGAIN last week! I have to confess that it was unfortunately not just about me this time. This time I was referring to a whole group of women! After I picked my kiddos up from school, I trammed over to the Novartis campus to grab them a snack (always a necessity). I also was there to check out the Pavilion space where we have an upcoming career development event, geared towards moms! I went up to the counter and introduced myself, asking for the event coordinator we booked the space with. Next, for some CRAZY reason, I introduced myself and the rock-star group of moms as “We are JUST a group of moms doing a little event here…”. After I said that, I felt an alarm go off inside and tried to course correct the intro. The group I referred to as 'just' is an ABSOLUTELY Brillant, talented, accomplished group of moms/professional women. It’s one thing to represent them in a humble way, but “We are JUST...???” Speaking candidly, they are some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Most speak more than 3 languages (some as many as 6+), global mind-set, highest degrees, incredibly driven leaders. From what I have seen, they also happen to be wonderful, humble, loving & kind mothers…who desire continued growth and to make the most of this life! The funny thing is, I actually have it written on a ‘Ground Rules’ slide for this event that we will not say “I’m just…”, or “I’m sorry…" during the session. Yet, I introduce our group this way?? I'm all for apologies, accountability, humbleness (in fact those are great leadership qualities)…but why do we have to go as far as minimize what is true in ourselves? You may hear it too.... ‘I just lead a small team.’ 'I just went to a public University.' 'I'm just a stay-at-home Mom' - (What?! Only arguably the hardest and most rewarding job in the world) 'I just... I just... I just....?!!!' Here are the main issues I see with this. Depending on the situation, when we downplay our value we:
Our words matter. They have power. They deeply impact us and those around us for amazing good ...or can take the wind out from under our wings. I don't know where I picked this "I’m just"/'We're just" habit up. I'm working hard to improve and want to model this better for my kids. I can't wait to do this event next week where we will encourage each other along the way...and hopefully with no more "I'm justs"! Author: Erika Butler, CEO Top Hacks for Impactful Performance Reviews: Many organizations are currently in their performance review season. I can tell stories of extremely impactful review sessions…and some pretty big duds! I see performance reviews as a chance to take more time with your leader to dive deeper and really focus on your development. Celebrating the year and what is going well but also have a few areas to grow. This is a two-way street so the hacks can be used by both team member and leader. Both absolutely have ownership to make this a meaningful, value-added process. I know these sometimes get a bad rap for various reasons (and I can sympathize with this). However, when done intentionally, they can add a TON of value for the leader and team member engaged in the conversation. It can be extremely motivating and fulling and help chart a fantastic course for the coming months! Top Hacks for Impactful Performance Reviews:
The biggest and best hack:
Kudos to several of our clients who have had us update and relaunch their performance review process now and over the past few years! Great job taking care of your team and providing a solid path forward! Author: Erika Butler, CEO |