Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Enact Change in a Bureaucracy

Have you ever tried to drive in Los Angeles?

For those of us who have, changes to the notoriously frustrating transportation infrastructure have been a long time coming, but how do you enact change in a government entity that seems like the very definition of bureaucracy?

Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough and her firm, KH Consulting Group, recently worked with Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel to review the city’s transportation structures and recommend reforms. The ultimate goal was to reduce congestion by building highways, promoting alternative transportation, implementing traffic management technology and facilitating the use of bicycles.

For all of the details on how Gayla's team navigated the bureaucratic waters of LADOT and how you can enact change in your own bureaucracy, check out my Culture Beat column at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

How to Spot and Fight Age Discrimination

Jack Gross’ case set a precedent. The insurance manager sued—and won—for age discrimination in Iowa after he was demoted in 2003. But later, the Supreme Court reversed the decision, stating that Gross now had to cite substantial evidence that his age was the decisive factor in his demotion. The Court’s ruling made it much harder for Gross, and everyone else, to prove a case of age discrimination in the workplace.

That’s too bad, because if you talk to any employee over the age of 55, you will hear that discrimination is alive and well.  For tips on how to spot and fight it in your workplace, head over to my column at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

How Not to Get Fired Like the Yahoo! CEO

Last week, Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson was called to step down from his position following a scandal involving his credentials.  An investor recently discovered that on Thompson’s resume, the ex-CEO claims he graduated with a computer science degree from Stonehill College, when in fact he finished with an accounting degree.  A computer science degree did not even exist at the school at the time.

When the truth came out, Thompson blamed a headhunting firm for misrepresenting his education when he was in the process of being hired by eBay in the mid-2000s.  It didn’t work.  The firm fought back by providing Yahoo! with a copy of Thompson’s original resume – fake degree and all.

A while back, I talked about how to cope productively in the wake of scandal.  And cope productively Thompson did not.  For all of the details about what he did wrong and how you can avoid it, check out my recent post on the Quickbase blog.

Could a Good Culture Save Your Life?

If you have to get rushed to the hospital, you’d better hope it’s one where everyone is smiling, because according to 2011 research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, hospitals with strong cultures consistently report better patient outcomes.

I thought that care for heart attack victims was pretty standard in this country, but it turns out that’s not the case.  Patient death rates vary considerably, as much as twofold between the highest- and lowest-performing hospitals, and you’re more likely to survive in a hospital that has great team spirit.

For more on the life-saving benefits of good culture, check out my post at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

How to Be an Effective Spy

Increasingly, managers and recruiters are being encouraged to assess cultural fit during the hiring process in order to ensure that candidates will assimilate well.

If you’re a job seeker, though, there are things you can do to determine whether you are a good match and help the company out. After all, it's just as important for you as it is for them; you will not be satisfied or productive in an environment that doesn’t support your values and vice versa.

The best way to do this is to spy...but how?  Check out my post at the AMEX OPEN Forum for the particulars.

What Happened to Hierarchy?

I recently got two reader e-mails. One was from a 20-something marketing professional who was frustrated by the lack of an organized chain of command at her company.

The other was from a 45-year-old who was thrilled that after more than 20 years in corporate America, he was at last working in a so-called “open environment.” No more offices, no more cubicles.

These messages really got me thinking: Are hierarchies dead?  Check out the full discussion in my post over at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

Being an Introvert in an Extrovert's World

Sherrie Haynie, a consultant with CPP, Inc., the publisher of the Myers-Briggs assessment, had this to say regarding introverts:

“Often, introverts describe how they interact with the outside world as a performance, and acting is work.  Similar to professional actors, introverts may appear enthusiastic, lively and entertaining.  However, many describe the experience as being ‘on stage’ – for an introvert to spend a significant amount of their day using non-preferred characteristics requires a great deal of energy.”

Wow.  I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I am, in fact, one of those introverts.

Eva Rykrsmith wrote a great piece on how introverts can be more effective at work.  For some other thoughts on how introverts can manage the stress of a role that requires extroverted behaviors, have a look at my post on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

What Will Young Workers in 2030 Be Like?

Did you know that there’s another baby boom on?  Since the mid 2000s, the fertility rate in the U.S. has been at its highest since 1971, meaning that the generation preliminarily known as Generation Z is actually larger than its predecessor, the mammoth Generation Y. 

The new boom is thought to be caused by a confluence of factors including a greater number of procreating immigrants and a high population of childbearing-age women – including those who have put off having children until their 40s.

Generational expert Neil Howe coined the term “Homelanders” to describe today’s children, stating that they are growing up in a time of “greater public urgency and emergency, both at home and around the world.”

For more about the Homelanders and what they'll be like as workers in 2030, check out my post on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

A Manager's Guide to Mentoring

I swear by mentoring as one of the best ways to teach your team members what they need to know to be productive and send the message that you think they’re important and care about their growth. Obviously, an official mentoring program is great to have, but what if your company hasn’t gone down this road before? 

The Mentoring Group says that before implementing a formal initiative, you should consider how much support mentoring has from executives and employees, the time and resources people have to spend, and the overall health of the organization.

For other preparation and execution musts, check out my post on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

How to Survive a Scandal

While writing my recent book Blind Spots, I had the opportunity to meet Patrick Rodgers.  Patrick was a lawyer who had been a notable member of his community since he was young, participating in the Kiwanis Club and his local Chamber of Commerce.  But one year, when Patrick’s brothers both passed away from cancer, Patrick neglected some important client paperwork and was disbarred.

It took him four hard years to regain his credibility and return to public service.  Patrick can’t change what happened in the past, but he now strives to remember his mistakes and incorporate the values of honesty and trustworthiness into his job as a mediator every day.  At the end of the day, Patrick is a survivor.

At some point in your career, you may find yourself embroiled in a scandal.  This is obviously not a great thing to have happen, but if it does, all is not lost.  Check out my post on Intuit's Quickbase blog for how to cope productively and come out on top in this situation.