In January 2007, Dell Computers, Gap and Home Depot all bid a swift farewell to their CEO’s in order to change these companies’ respective futures.
It happens to executives and it happens to ordinary people too (with, well, some significant differences related to the size of the farewell package).
A study of 456 top executive firings over the past decade revealed what has been apparent to anyone studying workplace behaviour: Even after a thorny, non-voluntary departure from a workplace, people recover and often proceed to thrive. The study by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld & Andrew Ward (in `Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters’) found that of those execs who left on `neutral’ circumstances (i.e. not on grounds of legal or moral mishaps), 67% found jobs of equal responsibility and stature (the other 33% made a personal choice not to re-engage).
Resilience, according to one definition, is `The ability to recover quickly from setbacks’. Clearly, the execs in the study demonstrated superb resilience. The problem for most ordinary folks, however, is that they let their fear of the world `out there’ drive their actions. They fret that they may not survive if they ever lost their current position and this serves as a deterrent from taking proactive action. I have seen, in the course of my change-related workshops, many a good people staying long after they needed to leave, or fearing to speak up solely due to their horror of what may happen and their lack of trust in their own resilience.
So yes, resilience is key: nurturing our resilience, believing in it, trusting in it.

Latest UK research from the Imperial College London found that children whose mothers were stressed during pregnancy had lower IQs at 18 months. The same infants were also more likely to be anxious and fearful, and suffered higher occurrence of ADHD. Turns out that the stress hormone Cortisol can cross the placenta and flood the amniotic fluid. Stress caused by rows with or violence by a partner was particularly damaging.
Public Health officials in the UK were quick to warn that the research was based on mothers under extreme stress and that other pregnant women `should not be alarmed’ by these findings.
Really??? Should expectant mothers who are under stress not be deeply concerned? Should not each and every one of us, female or male, pregnant or not, be alarmed by the implications to our own health? This research elucidates one more piece in the unfolding puzzle that teaches us scientifically what we already intuitively know: stress exacts a heavy, often irreversible, toll.

A September 2006 poll conducted by the Association of Executive Search Consultants found that of 239 senior executives around the world, 41% stated that they are less willing to take a new job that involves heavy business travel, compared with 5 years ago. 80% of those less willing to travel cited interference with work-life balance as the main reason for wishing ot travel less. (Interestingly, 28% said they were more willing to travel compared to five years ago).
Sounds like great news, right? Well, yes and no. I am thrilled that executives worldwide are more sensitive to their own work-life balance issues – – it’s a great start. At the same time, my observations working in many, varied sectors in the Canadian marketplace indicate that this growing executive awareness has not yet trickled down into the daily hustle and bustle of the general workplace; in fact many people feel that `work’ is increasingly penetrating their personal life.
So let’s be optimistic and hope that within the next decade we will indeed see a significant shift in the right direction.

It’s Valentine’s Day! Are you joyful, stressed, or perhaps a bit of both?
In real life, Valentine’s can be quite stressful. Society norms and relentless consumer forces tell us how we should feel on certain occasions which are widely accepted as joyful life cycle events (e.g. Christmas should be nothing but merry, weddings are a romantic dream come true, mothers of newborns are the most self fulfilled persons on earth etc). But in real life, things are much more complex. Things that come in `happy packages’ can actually flood our system with unhealthy amounts of adrenaline and Cortisol (AKA “the Stress hormone”).
So where am I going with this? Well, the main point is that we need to be weary of buying too much into societal conventions and prepare for the fact that not all that we are told about these supposedly happy experiences is true. Furthermore, we need to become fierce guardians of our own resilience and protect ourselves from excessive stress wherever possible. Happy Valentine’s!

More on the topic of creating a respectful workplace….
Today I completed a day-long session with the leaders of an organization which possesses a fantabulous Harassment Policy. Unlike many other policies I’ve seen, this one is clear, lays out key criteria that form a solid foundation for any manager who may want to respond effectively to a harassment-related issue and to any employee who may be experiencing difficulty and is searching for clear guidance.
Here’s a little task to consider. Go read your own organization’s policy and see how it reads: does it give you the right tools to work with either as a manager or as an employee? Does it make it easy to act or complain?
(More on some specific desirable tools and wording will be added in future. Stay tuned!)

Over the past year I’ve had the privilege of working with organizations in various sectors on creating a respectful, harassment-free work environment. What I observed again and again is this: when it comes to dealing with harassment in all its forms (especially its subtler and more `slippery’ forms) it is crucial that the organization itself have a clear `voice’ about who it is and what is stands for.
The clearer the organization is about what it stands for vis-à-vis protecting the dignity of its people, the more its managers and employees feel supported and the more easily they can find their own personal voice in responding to harassment. If the organization is unclear, managers are left to figure things out on their own and, ultimately, they either take no action, or, if they do, they are often ineffective.
So, what does your organization stand for? Has it found its voice yet?

A friend of mine recently lamented how quality of life seems to have gone downhill for him since the latest wave of change `hit him’ at work. He’s gained weight, quit exercising and can’t sleep as well as he used to. Typical, really.
When change encroaches on our work lives, we often begin neglecting basic practices associated with wellness and resilience. We begin stealing-and-borrowing from the most defenceless victim – our own selves. We spend too many hours at our desk without a break, grab fast food, exercise less, shorten our sleep hours or spend less time with friends or hobbies. In doing so we set a vicious cycle in motion: the lack of self care leads to reduced resilience, which in turn makes us less capable of dealing with the challenges associated with the changes with the needed equanimity.
When a period of change is present at work (and. frankly, have you noticed that it seems to always be there these days?), it’s crucial to `go back to basics’. Make sure you take breaks, eat well, spend pleasure times with people at home, enjoy activities and say `no’ to things that will further stretch you. It’s the only way to make sure you don’t burn out!

I am currently spending a few quiet days in the office preparing material for an upcoming four-day leadership development retreat for a group of senior managers. One of the important issues I suggested we delve into is that of managing sensitive conversations; it is a topic crucial not only for leaders but for anyone who wishes to become more resilient and have relationships that actually work.

Have you recently had a conversation that you were not looking forward to having? Was it at home or at work? Was your stomach turning just at the thought of having to deal with the issues? Did you perhaps avoid it altogether? If you had the conversation, how well did it go?

Well, we all have these conversations and regardless of our age of maturity, my work (and, frankly, my own life!) has taught me that much of the time, we don’t do a great job at managing them.

So here’s a book I am thrilled to recommend on this topic. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. Its name is “Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most” (by D. Stone, B. Patton & S. Heen of the Harvard Negotiation Project, ISBN 0-14-028852-X). It is an absolutely brilliant, page-turning, step by step analysis of the complexities involved in any type of sensitive conversation, along with a map for successfully navigating such conversations. Enjoy!

In a great celebratory mood, I am writing this, my first blog! I am excited about the rich potential this tool offers to better serve you, my clients, colleagues and visitors.

As I reflect on the notion of `excitement’, I am reminded of one of the `human profiles’ that can typically be found – albeit in small numbers – in any organization that is introducing significant change. “The Celebrator”â„¢ is someone who tends to be delighted about the changes and who views the new direction in a highly positive light. Typically this person is able to grasp the potential inherent in the change both for their own development and for the organization as a whole.

Unfortunately, the Celebrators’ buy-in and `can do’ approach is frequently taken for granted by their superiors. Rather than supporting and rewarding them, superiors neglect their needs.

This is especially problematic given that the high-flying celebrator may over time grow deeply disappointed by the way the changes are handled; they may lose their enthusiasm and motivation, often leaving for a more promising job.

It is important for managers to support and nurture their Celebrators even in the midst of their own incredible pressures. And for the Celebrator, it is important to develop a healthy mix of enthusiasm and realism, thereby avoiding an unpleasant crash when the goin’ gets tough.

As to me, well, the year 2007 has just begun and I have just completed my first blog. Here’s to complete, full, unmitigated celebration! And a happy New Year to all!