In speaking with a client recently, I noticed his frustration as he commented about a situation he felt hammered by and unable to change.   His vision was so clear to him and yet unattainable in the moment due to perceived roadblocks. 

He is not alone in feeling this way, in fact, I think most people have high negative emotions when you want change but are unable to impact the situation to get your desired result.

I have learned to see that change is the only constant in life and situations that seem tough can quickly turn into something good or vice versa in the flip of dime. I love to play poker, so this analogy really works for me because it is all about the odds, unpredictability and trust.

Your perception about the situation is what really matters. You can see it as a challenge or as an opportunity. Since life proves over an over that it can change quickly, why not proceed as a solution seeker for a new opportunity. As Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

How do you flip out of your thinking mind? 

Through MINDFULNESS and tapping into your imagination for greater creative thoughts you can change your thinking.  Mindfulness is being aware of your thoughts and feelings without judgement to create a feeling of calm.  Mindfulness is simply giving your thinking brain a 5 to 10 min break to shift your focus away from your problem to your breath or a sound.

This practice can help release the negative emotional pull you felt by the problem and allow ease and clarity back in, so you can play in your imagination where there are endless possibilities and creative solutions. Yes, Albert Einstein took mental breaks to allow his brilliance to shine through and so can you.

I have created a Mindfulness at Work lunch and learn program to Reduce Stress and Increase Creativity. Please share a comment on how you creatively solved a problem by stepping away from it or click on the link schedule a call to learn more about Mindfulness at Work: www.talentconscious.com/contact.html.

What does engagement mean to an organization that's growing?

The Oxford dictionary defines engagement as the agreement to do something for a fixed time AND as the act of being engaged. So, when we think about engagement at work there's 2 things to focus on:

1. 1. The employee and employer have both agreed that the employee will execute on activities at work in exchange for compensation.
   


2. 2. The employee will be engaged in his/her tasks if there is something to occupy or attract his attention.
   

When an organization is growing quickly, it can be very easy to focus on the bottom line and how quickly you can hire the talent to deliver profitable results. But I would argue that the CULTURE inherently will be focused on the bottom line if that is the sole focus of leadership. 

While the bottom line is important, a culture driven by it can lead to poor behavior by:

• Rewarding results that focus on profit even if the manager is driving the staff with excessive and consistent overtime to meet a deadline. People leave Managers.
• Creating high turnover
• Employees no longer feeling engaged by their work at the sole focus of profit.
• Not having values of meaning to the employees nor a mission that is a higher vision of good that employees will want to rally around.

By shifting the perspective to a company Mission and Values statement that have meaning and rewarding behavior that supports them, creates a winning value proposition for the employee to stay engaged. Engaged employees are more productive & creative and this has a direct impact on the growth of the company.

For example, Millennial's value work- life balance and meaningful work over career progression as noted in Forbes.com. It is not enough to simply create Mission and Values; Leadership and managers need to walk the talk of both to demonstrate their importance, so others will follow and be inspired to action individually.

By building the spirit of collaboration that aligns with the Mission and Values, a winning Culture of Engagement that ultimately leads to growth within a company will begin to emerge. It is no longer a question of why bother, but rather a question how fast can we create this.

Leave a comment to share your feedback or schedule a call with Christine Bedalow to learn more at www.talentconscious.com/contact.html.

#cultureofengagement, #collaboration, #

I had the privilege of attending #SHRM18 conference last week and heard #AdamGrant talk about his book, “Originals, How Non-Conformists Move the World”. Admittedly, I was unaware of Adam’s ground-breaking work prior to this moment and I was sweep off my chair, so to speak.

Aside from Adam’s clever antics and humor, he did a great job of articulating why Culture needs to change all the time. As he introduced this concept, I built a story in my head that Culture is pivotal to the company brand and the talent working there and shifting Culture is like a ship with no sail or direction. I had worked in companies that were siloed and had multiple subcultures by department or business unit which felt disjointed and seemed to take away from the brand. So, the idea of a shifting culture brought up some resistance to the idea. I was ready for him to challenge my belief which he did with guns a blazing.

According to Adam’s research, primary to a shifting Culture is that people you hire most succeed when they have a good cultural fit and embody the Mission and Values of the company. This was based on his study of successful startups that survived for 15 years or more.  However, what he noticed was that post IPO, the success started to wane because there was less diversity of hire and challenge to the status quo.  Meaning the Culture became stagnant, individuals were less engaged and not pushing innovative ideas.  Sound familiar???


What I found refreshing about Adam’s speech was the concept of someone being a cultural contributor. Someone who is willing to be a non-conformist and challenge the status quo by speaking up about what is broken and sharing new ideas in an environment that is built on trust and respect.

I could feel my resistance melt away with a profound shift and excitement begin to build because I resonated with this level of non-conformity. If companies are going to have sustainable growth and remain competitive, change is necessary, and innovation is key. As a Talent Acquisition Strategist, I could not agree more that for innovation to flow, disruption to culture and status quo is necessary.

I encourage you all to join me in reading Adam Grant’s book and to chime in with your opinion on how your organization hires top talent while fostering the cultural contributor mindset.

Christine Bedalow is the Founder of Talent Conscious, a company focused on creating strategies to attract, hire and retain top talent for small to mid-size companies. To schedule a call or to learn more  reach out at www.talentconscious.com/contact.html.

My all time favorite MVP (Most Valuable Player) is Michael Jordan.  Growing up in a family with basketball athletes made me a fan early on. Michael was exceptionally fun to watch as he poured his heart into the game and made some amazing shots. 

In my opinion, Michael Jordan could arguably be the best basketball player in the history of the sport. I'm biased living in Chicago.

The Bulls won six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two 3-Peats (Consecutive Championships) never losing a NBA final series. They are the only team in the history of the NBA to achieve that.
 
So, what does this have to do with recruiting?

Hiring MVP players on your team requires a vision toward an EVP (Employee Value Proposition).  In this example, Phil Jackson, the coach of the Bulls during those historic seasons, brought that EVP vision to life along with the leadership of the Bulls. Phil went on to win 11 championships in his career.

His focus was on the team as noted in his quote, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”  But even more than that, Phil had a brand, a philosophy that he followed and I quote, “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” He managed the talent with direction, focus and an aim for them to be more together than the individual parts, and they were all in.

In the competitive market of today, an organization must set themselves apart from the competition and the EVP does just that.  The term “employee value proposition” puts the burden on the company to develop a proposition of value to the top talent it needs to hire and retain.

The EVP should be represent the culture and why someone would want to work at your company, putting forth their best work and stay? It is targeted to a specific market of talent the company wants to hire and keep but never is it a generic message.

 So how much time and thought have you put into the vision for your next hire?

 At Talent Conscious, our success has revolved around creating the Talent Strategy and the EVP. We ask some challenging questions to better understand what drives your organization.

1. Are we Transparent as Leaders with our employees?
2. Is this a Cool place to work and why?
3. What is the reputation in the market?
4. Are the employees happy?
5. Are we asking workers to make trade offs between work and personal life?

We look to the employees to find out what they want, what keeps them happy and why they choose to show up everyday and deliver 110% results, just like an MVP.

So who will be your next hire and will they deliver like a MVP? The future of the company depends on it.

Leave a comment to share your feedback or schedule a call to learn more at www.talentconscious.com/contact.html.

In this fast-paced environment, it is easy to get caught up in mindless activities that are not adding value to you or your life.  While you may not even be aware or conscious to this way of living, just check in with your friends or family and get their opinion of how present you are in daily interactions. What about at work, are you engaged in creating new ideas or racing to get out the door feeling unsatisfied while your to-do list piles up every day? The scenario I am speaking of is barely surviving. 

When our life becomes one giant REPEAT button, we have stopped truly engaging in life affirming activities. You may ask yourself, how did I get here…. and have no clue because you stopped paying attention a while back.  Over time, a slow or maybe fast dissatisfaction will begin to pull on you, whispering in your ear that something is not quite right. Now what???

You are not alone.  Stress is all around us, circling our bodies. We are in a constant fight or flight response while we try to numb our way back to calm.  We have learned to live with stress and it is causing a negative impact on our body, mind and emotional response leading to chronic conditions, increased healthcare costs, lost time at work and many unproductive days.

While I do not have any easy fix, I can suggest a new perspective, called Mindfulness. The Cambridge Dictionary defines mindfulness as “The practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, to create a feeling of calm." Mindfulness is about observing yourself without criticism while being compassionate with yourself.

In my one-hour program, I explore a Mindfulness Meditation technique to:

• remain calm during high stress situations
• promote a more positive way of being
• cultivate joyful living in the present moment

 
I am bringing this program to corporations with the intention of positively impacting culture, employee engagement and overall productivity through a lunch and learn setting. Leave a comment or schedule a call to learn more at 630-408-1041.

Music Moment:  Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IsSpAOD6K8