Organizational Courage

A little too much authenticity = Big Brother? Or great bio-feedback?

This simply falls into the "creepy" category: Microsoft has filed a patent for a software that wirelessly transmits information regarding an employee's stress level (indicated by heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, etc.).

Sure, it could be used for bio-feedback. You could have a whole new source of information regarding your work's impact on your health. The Wild Divine project has had their game out there for years.

The difference is that this tool is designed (according to a Microsoft spokesperson) to let your manager know when you need help. In other words, it's not information for the employee but a tool for monitoring.

Makes me a little nervous, frankly. You?

OUCH!

Did everyone have fun frolicking in this weekend's snow? Yeah, me too. Until I broke my ankle.

OK, that wouldn't have been so bad. No fun, but I've broken stuff before. But then I realized I couldn't drive. And I might need surgery. And it flippin' hurt to move. And my husband was scheduled to leave town for a week. Uh oh.

He asked me (with naked fear on his face) whether I wanted him to cancel the business trip. I said 'no thanks'. I have friends. There are taxis. It'd work out.  And after all, if I were in his shoes, I'd do the same. (Offer, mean it, hope like hell he said 'no thanks'.) And I really meant it. It was fine. Yes, it would be great if he were going to be around, but it wasn't a tragedy that he had to travel. (My husband is fairly involved in an acquisition, trying to make the transition go smoothly for his team and his company. They're under tight deadlines. A lot of people are counting on him.) Hell, I'm a big girl.

But as I tried to explain this to a long-distance buddy of mine this morning, it was a little confusing. A little less clear. My buddy is a fire fighter. If he needs time off for family, he takes it. The department finds someone from another team to take his place for that shift (or 'hitch' as I understand they call it). That level of clarity seems so....soothing. As I tried to explain 'corporate america' to him, I faltered. What seemed so obvious to me over the weekend seemed suddenly less distinct.

None of this is intended to throw my husband under the bus marked "judgment". My point is that I would have had the same wish to meet both obligations to family and work. I assumed he would get on that plane (he did). What's painful - perhaps even more painful than my ankle - is the realization that I would have too. 

Between Boyfriends

I’m in the middle of a guilty pleasure – a trashy book called The Between Boyfriends Book by Cindy Chupak, one of the Sex in the City writers. (By the way, it’s pretty funny, even though I’ve been happily married for eleven years.)

Throughout the book Ms. Chupak constantly refers to ‘perfect’ blind dates: those guys who are perfect on paper but who just, well, aren’t in real life. Her point being, so much of dating is sheer chemistry.

To me, it’s sort of like job hunting. How are you supposed to get married (i.e., pledge your troth, take the job) after only three to four ‘dates’ (i.e., interviews)? How are you supposed to know what that company is really like – do they fight fair? Will they hog the covers? Will they get along with your friends? Let’s face it: anyone can behave for three or four dates.

I propose a whole new system of interviewing: you get to spend at least a full day with no-holds-barred access up and down the ladder. You get to ask anything. You get to see people in their actual, messy cubicles.  While you’re at it, make it a full 12 hours: stay 7AM until 6 or 7 at night. How full is the parking lot? How about over the weekend?

Sure, it might not give you your every answer about this new place. But at least you’re less likely to be surprised when someone leaves the toilet seat up.

Oh Goody! Performance Appraisal Time!

Now there's a phrase you don't hear every day. And with good reason. I almost stood up and applauded when I read International Society for Performance Improvement author Wally Hauck's article "Why Performance Appraisals are Worthless". Mr. Hauck points out that appraisals are invariably deficit-based, are rarely just-in-time feedback, and their main function is to support salary allocations.

Consulting guru Peter Block also hates performance appraisals. He particularly finds the "parent / child" power dynamic (his words, not mine) distasteful. I've heard him lecture that you wouldn't come home and tell your spouse (who presumably has equal power in the relationship) "honey, it's time for your annual appraisal". Well, he's right, that probably wouldn't fly in my house. I'm not sure I agree that the feedback to employees should be abolished, however I DO think the feedback should go both ways, as it would in any equal relationship. Why shouldn't employees get to offer feedback to their bosses? And I don't mean employee surveys, which take the general organizational temperature. I mean full-on, "here's what I need in a boss, here's what's working for me, and here's what I'd like to see different" feedback. Why not?   

Which brings me (as it usually does) full circle back to frank, which is all about candid, transparent conversations -- a very rare phenomenon in many organizations. The only way to ensure organizational courage is to live organizational courage. To have those squirmy conversations - feedback and otherwise - immediately, urgently, and constantly. Eliminate the need for a once-a-year conversation by making time consistently and often for more casual one-off conversations.

So just for fun, stick a rubber band on your wrist for 24 hours. Every time you look at it, stop and take inventory: how frank (honest, straightforward, respectful) are you being at that very moment? Even with yourself? You might just be surprised.

@#$% - stress!!!

Another item from the "I knew that, and now there's a survey to back it up" category. NFI Research  has released a study indicating "The majority of senior executives and managers are stressed at work. Eighty percent of senior executives and managers are stressed at work, with a third saying they are highly stressed." Chief Learning Officer cites the study and its conclusions that the 40-hour work week is a "myth" in current day management. Sigh. Sound familiar?

So where do we go from here? En masse revolt? 60's style checking out of society? Or revising lifestyle to exit the rat race that perpetuates this need? Without action, it's not going to get any better. What's your personal commitment to your self and your sanity?