Help Me Understand

That short sentence may one of the most important sentences in your employee relations vocabulary. I recall a situation some years back when an employee was frustrated with several leadership practices and copied most of the leadership team in an email detailing a...

Why did you hire that person? Tell them!

I was recently in a meeting where an employee who had been with us for a month was asked to share some of the positive things and challenges that she found here when she started. Her first comment surprised me. She said, “One of the best things that happened to me on...

A Tale of Two Departures

It was the best of documentation. It was the worst of documentation. That’s what we experienced with two recent departures from our office. One of those leaving had received a three ring binder “bible” when she started two years previously. It clearly outlined the...

Can you discriminate?

Discrimination is a feared word in the employment world. It comes with the assumption of evil intent. In reality, the word itself is neutral to positive. A person with discriminating taste is thought to be refined and wise. That person is able to discern something...

When is a volunteer not a volunteer?

Part of being a healthy church is having volunteer labor. Ideally, that looks like people in the congregation using their varied gifts in works of service. Sometimes it’s just people getting stuff done because it needs to get done. The reality is that not that many...

Should you boast on your performance review?

A friend of mine was recently lamenting about his employer’s requirement that he provide a self-evaluation as part of his performance review process. “I’m supposed to boast about how great I am,” was his concern. That seems to be in contrast to our call to humility....