Diamonds to You

Hi,

I hope this finds you well.  I’ve just finished a bout of bad luck, starting with a flood in my garage that cost me weeks of work time; getting a mild concussion, because a small refrigerator fell on my head which kept me in bed for a few days; followed by this damn flu that’s going around – another two weeks lost. 

Yesterday was the first day in weeks that I spent the entire day and evening out and about.  After attending a lovely co-ed baby shower, I rushed home, changed clothes and met a friend for dinner and the opera.  I love the productions at San Jose Opera – and for those of you living in the area, I strongly recommend you get tickets.

Prejudice – pre-judge

I am going to be the guest blogger for the UC-Extension Project Manager blog again later this month for the week starting on February 25th on  the www.SVProjectManagement.net  blog.  Look for some more of my ideas on Project Management.

One of the first blogs I plan to write is sbout the prejudices we have and rarely recognize.

We think about age, sex, race, religion, etc., when we think about prejudice.  But what about your reaction and pre-judgments of people whose style is different from your own?  What about the person who doesn’t speak up in the meeting because in his culture it is rude to do so?  What about the woman who speaks her mind directly and to the point and is considered an aggressive b….?  What is your reaction to people who apologize frequently in their conversation?  Or the person who interrupts because they are excited to be part of the conversation?

How prejudiced are you when someone else you know tells you something negative about a person you’ve not yet met?  Are you still neutral when you meet that person – or is there already a negative mind set?

Do you need someone to agree with you politically in order to like them?  Do they have to share your religious views? 

I’m not talking about superficial or politically correct tolerance here – I am talking about how you really feel about and interact with people whose style and beliefs are different from your own. 

I am often called in to handle disputes between people from other departments in an organization.  Often it is either IT or Finance in opposition with HR or Marketing.  The conflict is almost always about a failure to communicate so that the other “side” can clearly understand you.  People from each department automatically assume that they are going to have trouble dealing with the representative from the other group, and start out closed instead of open to communication and suggestions.

I often watch Judge Judy on television and find myself wondering how she would go over as a speaker at the average Silicon Valley Women’s Networking group.  They’d hate her direct blunt New York Jewish Style.  On the other hand, how well do you think a very quiet soft-spoken apologetic diminutive Asian woman would be received in a New York lecture hall?

At the shower the other day I met a fascinating woman.  When I asked her what she did professionally she whispered behind her hands, “I’m an attorney.”  I asked her why she felt the need to hide the information and she replied that most people are automatically prejudiced against attorneys.

If you are in High Tech and you meet someone who is an artist, what’s your first thought?

Get my point?  Think about it.  What are some of your prejudices that you will now work to correct?

Whistleblower Investigations and Retaliation

On February 6th, I was part of a three person panel on a 90 minute audio conference sponsored by The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA).  Speaking with me on the IOMA Conference was Matt Everitt of the law firm White and Case, and Garry Mathiason the Senior Partner of Littler Mendelson.  The actual title of our discussion was:  How to handle a Whistleblower…Understanding HR’s role in an Internal Investigation.

Whistleblowing and retaliation are among the fastest growing of all claims. The settlements are often in the millions.  It is critically important to be careful about accusations of retaliation.  How do you avoid these problems?  Here’s what I said about that topic:

Culture

• Define it to include courtesy to all, honesty, honor and ethics
• Walk the talk – don’t just pay lip service to it, do not allow yourself or others to act in other than the most ethical manner.  Kindness and courtesy helps too.
• Take appropriate action when people violate the rules.

Training

• Teach people what they need to know – don’t assume they know it already.
• Training takes frequent repetition and reinforcement
• Regression to the mean – in other words without frequent reinforcement and rewards, people revert back to their old forms of behavior.

Open Door Policy

• Individuals should be able to go to management freely
• They should be able to cross levels both horizontally or vertically when necessary – because they need to feel safe to talk with whomever they think will be neutral and not loyal to the person about whom they are complaining.

Suggestion Box

• Have many types of tools to enable input both signed (such as e-mail) or anonymously (suggestion boxes).suggested ideas and complaints.
• Take these seriously – do not delegate the reading and responding too far down the chain of command.  (I could tell you lots of stories about this!)

Manage by Walking Around

• Let your people get to know and trust you.  Make yourself real and available.
• Casual conversation yields more pertinent data than formal meetings.
• Have informal breakfasts, lunches, etc., with small groups of randomly selected people, with no formal agenda – just a time to visit with the boss.

Listen to the “weak signals”

• Just because you didn’t notice it doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.  Some people realize things long before others do.
• On the other hand, beware the bearer of false information.

Neutral Investigations

Some investigations are internal and other external.  Internal investigations can be conducted when the accusations are minor, do not involve upper management, and HR can be considered uncompromised.  External investigations are mandatory when the allegations are serious, involve upper management, or where there is a presumption that HR can not be neutral.

In all cases:

• Never assume that the first person you speak with is telling you the whole story – it is merely their perception.
• There is a tendency to believe the accuser – this is not always correct.
• Avoid letting your sympathies and biases cloud your investigation.
• Recognize that you do have a pre-disposition to a point of view.
• Do not avoid the wider “landscape” or culture – allowing people to talk about rhe atmosphere often yields valuable information.
• Protect others – help them to be truthful rather than politically correct.
  

Of course, if you are interested in learning more about this subject, you can find it in the article that was published by BNA last month (see below) or contact me. 

One final word:  It is mandatory that all your managers be trained in how to handle complaints, conduct independent investigations, and how to take appropriate action which could include conciliation and mediation.  It is not always necessary to make one person “right” and the other “wrong.”

Mediation/Conciliation

There are several forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution.  I’ve been an arbitrator, mediator, conciliator and have taught ADR in both academic and corporate settings.

Arbitration

• Similar to a court of law, only more informal, during an arbitration hearing both sides present evidence and the arbitrator makes the final decision.

Conciliation

• Often a pre-cursor to mediation, the process of conciliation is for the conciliator to act as a go-between talking separately to each of the parties, sharing their point of view and trying to get them to come to some agreement.

Mediation

• This is my personal favorite – and in most cases the most difficult to accomplish successfully.  It is the process of bringing the protagonists together and helping them get past their anger and hurt so that together they can resolve their conflict and work out a solution that works for both sides.

• When successful, both sides feel a “win-win” and can go back to working together, living across from each other as neighbors, raising their children after they divorce, etc. 

I really thrive on your referrals to me.  Keep them coming

My Blog

www.DiamondAssociates.net/blog - Visit ME!

Speeches Coming Up

• Be Powerfully Persuasive  for the Civic Society Institute (CSI) at Santa Clara Univeristy on April 9th.

• Coaching:  Keys to Improved Results  for the German American Business Association (GABA) on March 6th.

• How to handle a Whistleblower…Understanding HR’s role in an Internal Investigation for the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), February 6th.

Prior Newsletters

Other articles in prior newsletters can be found here:
 http://diamondassociates.net/articles/Newsletters.shtml

Recent Publications

Several more of my articles have been published in dozens of e-magazines and newsletters.  These articles are being published so frequently that I can’t list all of the references.  Instead, I suggest you Google:  ArLyne Diamond.

Here are some though:

• Most hated:  HR People – Representatives strive for respect in a tech-driven valley.  In Outsourcing, February-March, 2008.
• Setting Your Performance Management Agenda, in CareerSmart Advisor, January 2008, by Marji McClure – I’m quoted extensively.

• Workforce Strategies:  Sarbanes-Oxley and Whistleblowers:  Tips for Staying Compliant And Avoiding Retaliation Claims, in BNA, (The Bureau of National Affairs), December, 2007, by Cathleen O’Connor Schoultz – I’m quoted here as well.

• Workplace Discord:  What’s creating conflict and ways to resolve it.  In Outsourcing, December 2007-January 2008.  I’m the author, although they forgot to put my name on it.

• Cultural Differences in Group Decisions, in Outsourcing, October-November, 2007

• Change Management Strategies, in Outsourcing, August-September, 2007.

• Board Service is an Honor, Echo Journal, August 2007

• Real World Solutions: Hiding Disability Facts Leads To Misunderstandings, in Thompson’s ADA Compliance Guide, August 2007, Col. 18, #8.
• Team Buidling Strategies, in Outsourcing, WORDlabs MEDIA, Kuala Lumpur., June-July 2007.
  
  
• Building Trust in Distant Teams, in Management Issues Feb. 20, 2007.

• Workplace Conflict Resolution:  What’s Creating Workplace Conflict and 9 Easy Ways to Resolve it appeared in Impact Articles:  The Business and Coaching Network on January 26, 2007   With my permission, this article will also appear in a series of newsletters created and marketed by Haley Marketing Group to their staffing industry clients.

My two published books are available at www.ProductivePublications.com.

• Training Your Board of Directors:
  A Manual for the CEOs, Board Members, Administrators and Executives of Corporations, Associations, Non-Profit and Religious Organizations
• The “Please” and “Thank You” of Fundraising for Non-Profits:
  Fifteen Essential Ingredients for Success

So, how can I help you?

Your columns were quite interesting and I agree with just
about every thing you say….Some of your underlying philosophy
of management reminds me of Robert Townsend’s Up The Organization
… probably the best book on business and management I’ve read.
David J. Estrin, Senior Editor, Garland Publishing, Inc.

“You are a bold and skilled pro.  I have enjoyed ‘Diamonds  to You’.  It is refreshing that you speak crisply on topics of political sensitivity without giving up your integrity.  Thanks.  Tom Incorvia.”

Successful process and organizational improvements require strong facilitation
and interpersonal skills.  ArLyne has the ability to listen, manage conflict
and get to the bottom line.  …resulted in positive and tangible changes to
existing processes and organization [as well as] community participation.
Connie Martinez, Vice-President Joint Venture Silicon Valley

 

Let me be your Aufin—your advisor to Kings.

 

ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D
ArLyne@DiamondAssociates.net