Women who are attractive and feminine are most prone to getting sexually harassed in the workplace, right? Wrong!
In a recent article published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, University of Toronto management professor Jennifer L. Berdahl describes three studies she conducted, in which she found the following: women who have more “masculine” personality traits experience the most sex-based harassment. These women, who are higher on stereotypical characteristics like assertiveness, independence and dominance (regardless of whether or not they also demonstrated more `feminine’ qualities), are 1.5 more likely to be harassed based on their gender.
In one interview, Dr. Berdahl commented that this types of sex-based harassment is “really a mechanism for making people who have crossed a line go back on the other side,” she explains. In a way, women are in a double bind: if you’re very feminine and attractive, you may be subject to unwelcome advances. If you’re `like the boys’, you’ll be subject to sexual comments, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion.
Fascinating stuff. As to you, in your own workplace, what difference does this information make?
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Women Who Get Harassed
Your Proactive Resilience
Many of us neglect our work-related `Proactive Resilience’. Proactive Resilience (or Prosilience) is a term I use to describe the vital skill of change-proofing our career. It covers all the actions we can take in order to increase our change resilience long before we encounter a specific change in the organization we work for.
I had a glaring example of this phenomenon this week. Recently a very large public sector body booked me for a series of training sessions focused on providing change-resilience tools for the employees of one of its units. This unit (several hundred people) is about to undergo a drastic change in its way of operation, which will result in most of its staff needing to apply for other jobs within the organization, possible relocation, potential change in salaries and more. The unit’s leadership, in partnership with the union, decided to provide people with preparatory skills for the change which will commence in approximately eight months.
The irony? The sessions had to be cancelled due to lack of sufficient enrolment. Clearly people do not see the `writing on the wall’. They do not realize that the more proactive they will be, the less they will experience shock, upset, dismay and negativity when he change actually hits.
And you, my reader, what are YOU doing to make sure you are change-proofing yourself? How’s your own Prosilience these days?
Ownership @ Work
Today I had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on a television talk show. By the time I had spent 10 minutes in the station’s building I was struck by the fact that four separate people had gone out of their way to provide me with extra help on the premises.
First was a man who let me in through the back door with his personal entry card, then walked me all the way to reception and ensured that the security guard was taking over from there (I later learned this kind man was an anchorman on one of the shows).
The security guard signed me in, then physically walked me right to the elevator.
In the elevator, a man with a coffee cup in his hand told me he’d take me right to where I needed to go, which he did, compete with taking me to the coffee machine in the kitchen and seating me down. Then someone else happened to stroll into the kitchen to pick up their food and made sure to ask if I needed anything.
None of these people knew who I was or why I was there. They simply behaved as if their work environment was their very own, their own territory where every guest should feel oriented and comfortable.
If I came to visit YOUR organization, and you didn’t know who I was, and I happened to bump into you, what kind of welcome would you extend to me? And if you’re a leader… do your people have a strong enough sense of ownership, such that you can trust that they’d treat an unknown guest in the way that I was treated today?
Preventing Bullying
Bullying is more pervasive than many think. It is a behaviour that is repeated, and shapes another person’s behaviour. (In some countries, the behaviour needs to be intentional in order to be formally considered ‘bullying). Bullying affects not only its subject; it can impact on a team environment, customer service, performance and results.
How can organizations decrease the occurrence of bullying? Here are some simple, industrial strength tips:
- Create a strong harassment policy. Bullying should be well defined in the policy. I recommend including a specific stipulation that refers to bullying as a behaviour “based on the misuse of power in human relationships”.
- Ownership. Make sure that absolutely everyone knows the policy. All those in leadership positions should feel personal ownership of it. Use training and coaching as a means to ensure that people truly integrate what the policy means.
- Read the signs. Because bullying is often done specifically so that it will `fly under the radar’, organizations and their managers need to be acutely aware of the symptoms a bullied employee may display even if no complaint was lodged. Without such awareness, many bullying situations will go unnoticed.
- Complaints. Deal with all complaints seriously, promptly and fairly. I’ve seen cases where a bullying situation was clearly present yet management classified it as `two employees not getting along’. Doing so not only fails the bullied employee, but also exposes the organization to tremendous legal risks.
- Provide a living example. Leaders from the top down need to demonstrate that they are respectful at all times.
Marketing Yourself @ Work
I contacted George Torok, one of Canada’s most respected marketing experts and writer of several excellent blogs (see http://georgetorok.blogspot.com), and asked him for words of wisdom for those of you who wish to market themselves effectively on-the-job. Here’s George’s advice:
“Marketing oneself should be an integral part of every employee’s career development plan. Sometimes it is not for career development but only job sustainability.
The purpose of your internal marketing is to demonstrate your value and your efforts to increase your value. Here are a few ideas:
Volunteer to train staff.
Volunteer to be part of testing or implementing new technology.
When you read a good business book, recommend it to your boss and colleagues.
When you complete a course or seminar send a copy of the certificate to your boss.
Interview the CEO for an article in the corporate newsletter.
Take leadership roles in your professional association and give the boss a copy of your association newsletter.
Stop gripping and avoid the whiners and complainers. (You are who you associate with.)
At least once a month go above and beyond the call of duty”
Great, simple ideas that can be implemented by anyone, beginning right now!
Blackberry Breakdown
A few days ago, the Blackberry network was incapacitated for several hours. Millions of users, including the White House and US senate, were left stranded. The papers were filled with reports of people discovering that they actually had an existence outside the Blackberry screen, some even surprised to find that their lives contained such things as kids, spouses, parents and neighbours!
The Blackberry has become the ultimate addictive device, rightfully earning its `crackberry’ nickname. Indeed, several years ago Stephen Covey’s coined the term `Urgency Addiction’ to describe the series of symptoms manifested by a growing majority in society. Under the influence of this addiction, we increasingly depend on a sense of urgency in order to feel meaningful; we have to do everything now and feel empty without the constant secretion of adrenaline into our bodies.
If you were to pause for a minute and remain still just long enough to reflect on your life – – if you were to turn off the Blackberry-computer-cell-phone-TV temporarily, what would YOU discover about your life?
Job Interview Stress
Recently I donated a keynote speech to a networking organization dedicated to supporting executives in job transition periods. My session focused on managing one’s Fight-or-Flight Stress Response before and during an interview; this is the response that, when overly active, may cause our hearts to race, our palms to sweat and our mind to blank when it should not.
One of the most effective ways for preventing the Fight-or-Flight Response from getting triggered too easily is to use the simplest of tools, which is available to us at all times: our breath.
Of the many existing breathing techniques, I have found that most people take readily to the one called Alternate Nostril Breathing. (See an excellent description of this at http://www.holisticonline.com/Yoga/hol_yoga_breathing-ex-nadisodh.htm)
I recommend practicing this breathing sequence 5 minutes a day – it will do wonders to your overall stress resilience. Separately or in addition to regular practice, this breathing can be used anytime you’re faced with a potentially stressful situation, such as a job interview, an important presentation etc.
A few short minutes of alternate nostril breathing will have a significantly grounding effect. Try it!
Exercise and the Brain
In a recent Newsweek Magazine article, Mary Carmichael describes a hot-off-the-press comparative study conducted by Charles Hillman of the University of Illinois, showing that 4th and 5th grade kids with the fittest bodies had the fittest brains compared to their peers, even when factors such as socioeconomic status were taken into account.
This study, asserts Carmichael, is “part of a recent and rapidly growing movement in science showing that exercise can make people smarter. Last week, in a landmark paper, researchers announced that they had coaxed the human brain into growing new nerve cells, a process that for decades had been thought impossible, simply by putting subjects on a three-month aerobic-workout regimen. Other scientists have found that vigorous exercise can cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently… no matter your age, it seems, a strong, active body is crucial for building a strong, active mind.”
Wow! Isn’t that wonderful news?
So here’s a thought: what are YOU doing to keep booth your body brain in shape? Are you doing what you need to do?
Org Culture Change
This week I’ll be visiting Budapest, Hungary for the first time. As I prepare for the trip I find myself reflecting on the enormous culture shift that occurred as Hungary emerged from behind the iron curtain and back into the world of open ideas and culture. I cannot begin imagining what it was like living under oppression and what it feels like to step back into the light.
One of the most accessible definitions of `workplace culture’ is simply “the way we do things around here”. Recently a manager described to me the very poisonous work environment he was given to manage. In this unit, the culture was such that the majority of the unit’s employees were feeling oppressed by the actions and behaviours of a small number of their colleagues, who were consistently negative, blaming of the manager-of-the-day and making life uncomfortable for anyone who contributed an ounce more of what was required `by the book’. Not unlike those living behind the iron curtain, this silent majority felt no freedom to express themselves as able, trusting, joyful human beings; their spirit was crushed.
The manager who shared this with me was determined not to let this continue. He’s determined to change the culture and help his good people walk back into the light.
What’s the culture in your organization? Are you happy with the way `you do things around there’?
High Performance Teams
Recently I worked quite intensively with the leadership team of a certain organization. Like any team, this team struggled with its own unique challenges, interpersonal relationship and implicit dynamics. As we explored the terrain, together we discovered a perennial truth: if a team is not clear on its purpose and on the role that each member plays within that purpose, the team and its members will find it hard to find its way.
As I see it, good teams fall somewhere on the continuum between `Well Functioning Team’ and `High Performance Team’. A well functioning team is one with solid performance, good relationships within the team and with stakeholders, effective communication, respect for diversity etc. a High Performance Team is the team that reaches far beyond; it’s the spectacular team that exceeds its goals, demonstrates high creativity, uses both mistakes and conflict as learning opportunities, leverages its members’ diversity and more.
A team with an unclear purpose will, at best, reach the level of `well functioning’ and possibly not even that. It has no hope of becoming a High Performance Team.
Where’s your team? Does it know its purpose? Are its members crystal clear about their individual roles within this picture? Are you striving to be a well-performing team or a High Performance team? And what are you personally doing to make a difference?
