Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Disagree with Your Team

Imagine that your manager has called a team meeting to discuss an issue that is critical to the future of the group.  You walk into the conference room with hesitation.  You know by talking to other people that your opinion on how to proceed diverges considerably from that of the majority.  You don’t want to make waves unnecessarily, but you also feel strongly about your point of view.  What should you do?

First, don't assume you have to capitulate.  The fact that your co-workers are agreeing on a decision doesn’t make it the correct one.  Actually, blind group think is one of the worst things about collaborative work environments.  Although it may be uncomfortable to do so, sharing an enlightened alternative is your responsibility as someone who has the best interests of the organization at heart.

How else can you extricate yourself diplomatically?  For more suggestions, have a look at the full post on the Fast Track blog.

 

Do I Need "Reverse Mentoring?"

I first started talking about reverse mentoring in 2007, when I did a presentation to Campbell Soup global leadership about the Millennial generation.  The company went on to develop a so-termed “bridge network” to connect promising young professionals with entrenched Baby Boomer executives.

Reverse mentoring is loosely defined as the process of a less experienced employee offering guidance to a more experienced one.  It often includes a relationship that works both ways: seasoned employees can offer advice on how to build a successful career, while newbies can provide a fresh perspective on organizational processes and innovation – especially where it involves evolving technology.

Although currently gaining steam, this is not a new concept.  According to the Wall Street Journal, it was initially championed by Jack Welch in the late 90s when he was CEO of General Electric.  He ordered 500 top-level executives to reach out to people below them to learn how to use the Internet. In return, the younger professionals achieved greater visibility in the company.

If reverse mentoring sounds intriguing to you but there isn’t an established program in your company, check out my post on the Fast Track blog for advice on how to implement it.

 

A Good Negotiation Means Pushing Back

I am not a good negotiator.  At all.  I have half-heartedly tried to improve over the years, but I admit it – what I need is a real kick in the pants.  That’s why I was so glad to read Selena Rezvani’s new book Pushback, which offers a solid four-step model of negotiation that’s easy to employ in our everyday work lives.

The first step is to prepare psychologically.  Understanding our own feelings, disposition, strengths, weaknesses, and style is an often overlooked or de-emphasized part of the negotiation process but self-understanding can help you better regulate your demeanor during an actual negotiation, among other benefits. If negotiations feel confrontational or uncomfortable to you, understanding the roots of your discomfort with negotiating and pushing back can clear the fog and allow for forward movement. Having a good picture of your existing strengths and style can help you identify different strengths to build up and new styles to try on, adding to your repertoire of skills.

For the rest of Selena's steps, please check out the full post at the Fast Track blog.

5 Steps to a Better Culture

Company culture is defined as the values, attitudes and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. It's otherwise known as the “way things get done around here.”

Although culture is in vogue right now, its status as a major player in organizational success goes back decades. In the 1990s, Harvard Business School researchers James Heskett and John Kotter examined the corporate cultures of 200 companies. They assessed how each company’s culture affected its long-term economic performance.

They found that strong corporate cultures that facilitated adaptation to a changing world were associated with better financial results—up to 900 percent appreciation in equity value.

But how can you foster a strong company culture?  In my recent AMEX OPEN Forum column, I share five simple steps I think can help.

 

Should You Tell Your Boss About an Unbalanced Co-Worker?

My colleagues and I at Fast Track recently received this e-mail from a reader:

I started my first real job about a year ago and have a good rapport with my coworkers (as is necessary when working in a collaborative work environment). However, there is one, we’ll call him “Fred,” who is causing me some stress. Fred will frequently slam his keyboard into his desk, loudly curse, and generally disrupt the workplace environment. I never feel personally threatened, but it is disruptive and unprofessional. Fred and another coworker started dating last year, which led to a good amount of office drama, and their subsequent breakup (police were involved), led to more office drama that I cannot even begin to recount while keeping this brief.

Fred has been reported to HR several times, but most recently he was sent home because of a fight with his ex-girlfriend/coworker. This led to a meeting with HR and he may or may not be back tomorrow, depending on their decision. In the meantime, our boss has told us that if at any time we feel that our work environment is not safe, secure, professional, or positive, we are more than welcome to go talk to him and voice our concerns. My main question now is, in the event that Fred returns to the office, what is the difference between complaining about Fred’s workplace habits (again, I never feel threatened) and keeping our boss informed about the workplace environment? Where is that line drawn? I worry that if I go talk to our boss about him (or any other concerns I may have), that I will be seen as a complainer and a tattler. Can you help me figure out that line?

What would you do in this scenario?  For our advice, head over to Fast Track.

Find a Job in Two Hours

I recently had the opportunity to meet a talented career consultant, Steve Dalton, at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.  Steve has written a new book called The 2-Hour Job Search.  I know what you’re thinking: is he trying to become Tim Ferriss 2.0?  Well, there are certainly worse goals.

I mention Steve because he has a refreshing view of the job search that applies to most if not all of us fully employed folks.  Steve says that because we are so busy, we need a job search plan that allows us to move our goals forward without devoting 40 hours a week.  For Steve’s top tips for cutting the time you spend on your job search way down, have a read of my post over at the Fast Track blog.

 

Are Women Catching Up To Men? Not Exactly.

Unfortunately, research demonstrates that there is still a large disparity in the number of high-paying positions held by women and men; and women haven’t made tremendous progress in the last six years in closing that gap.

According to the 2011 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Board Directors, Executive Officers and Top Earners and prior Catalyst Censuses, women have made no significant gains in the last year and are no further along the corporate ladder than they were six years ago:

• Women held 16 percent of board seats in 2011, compared to 15.7 percent in 2010.
• Less than one-fifth of companies had 25 percent or more women board directors.
• About one in ten companies had no women serving on their boards.
• Women held 14.1 percent of Executive Officer positions in 2011, compared to 14.4 percent in 2010.
• Women held only 7.5 percent of Executive Officer top-earner positions in 2011, while men accounted for 92.5 percent of top earners.
• Less than one in five companies had 25 percent or more women Executive Officers and more than one-quarter had zero.

This is not good news for companies that are hoping to remain competitive. Catalyst research also showed that gender diversity in the boardroom correlates with better corporate performance – by a huge margin.  Companies with three or more women board directors in four of five years, on average, outperformed companies with zero women board directors by 84 percent return on sales, 60 percent return on invested capital, and 46 percent return on equity. Whoa.

But how can companies with a dearth of female talent turn things around?  Have a look at my advice.

 

How to Give a Negative Review

It’s the part of being a manager that everyone dreads.  A less than stellar employee’s review is coming up, and you have to be the bearer of bad news.

Ideally, the feedback you are about to deliver shouldn’t be a surprise.  Good managers address negative performance as specific examples come up and immediately work with the employee to improve. 

But in the real-world, this may not always happen, and even if it has, the annual or semi-annual review is the time to re-address past issues.  For a few suggestions to help you through what may be an uncomfortable task, head over to my post on the Fast Track blog.

Is Your Co-Worker Blowing You Off?

Here's another reader e-mail I thought I'd share with you all:

Hi Alexandra, my co-worker and I really seem to get along.  I like spending time with her at lunch and when we travel.  I thought it would be fun for her and her husband to get together with my boyfriend and me outside the office, so I asked her a few times if they wanted to grab dinner, a movie, etc.  But every time, she’s come up with some excuse as to why she can’t do it, and some of them are pretty lame.  Why is she rejecting me like this?  My feelings are hurt.

 

I felt this reader's pain.  Really.  I experienced the same situation several years ago when I was working at a PR firm in New York City.  I ended up calling my co-worker on it and she said to me quite bluntly:  “Alex, just because we work together doesn’t mean we’re going to be friends in real life.”  Ouch.

The reader's co-worker might feel the same way for a variety of reasons but isn’t comfortable saying something along these lines.  Maybe she wants to keep her personal and professional lives totally separate.  Maybe she is swamped with commitments and genuinely too busy to schedule a date.  Maybe she’s having issues with her relationship and neither wants to explain, nor expose them to the reader.

For more of the advice I provided to this reader, check out the full response on the Fast Track blog.