As it happened, my grandpa only played one match for them before injury put paid to his rugby career. That was in 1921, but he wore this affiliation like a badge of honor right up until his death at the age of 99.  

The All Blacks were revered a hundred years ago, and they still are. This makes them a perfect case study for Professor Alex Hill, co-founder and director of the Centre for High Performance, a collaboration between Kingston University London, Duke University, London Business School, and the University of Oxford. 

Building Centennial Organizations

For more than a decade, he’s researched organizations that have outperformed their peers for over 100 years. In addition to the New Zealand All Blacks, he’s studied NASA, Eton College and the Royal Shakespeare Company, among other household names. 

Hill has identified 12 habits they share, looking at how they analyze success and failure, recruit great talent, and create new products and ideas. He lays these out in his new book, “Centennials,” and offers advice for others who aspire to such longevity today. 

In this clip from our Expert Interview, Hill reflects on how corporate behavior can embed itself from generation to generation. (You can stream the audio clip below or read a transcript here.)

The How and Why of Centennial Organizations

Hill acknowledges that not all organizations are in it for the long haul. Some don’t want to last 100 years, so for them, a focus on short-term returns is appropriate. 

“A lot of management thinking comes from business, and actually those principles and ideas are great if you want to burn bright, but then disappear,” he says. “But if you don’t want to do that and you want to build something that’s going to last, then you have to think in a very different way.” 

And this is a worthy goal, he believes, as “centennial” organizations deliver benefits for communities and society as a whole, as well as for themselves. 

“They help us solve bigger, more complex questions, things like climate change or poverty or health or education, where actually you’re building a collective knowledge in an institution that is growing over time. And you’re solving a problem which can’t just be solved quickly, where actually it might take many decades or many generations to actually work out how to fix it,” he explains. 

The 12 habits in Hill’s book provide a framework for organizations with such ambitions. The first six help to build a stable core, identifying a strong purpose for the work, developing stewardship, and fostering an open attitude toward the world. The last six focus on what he calls the “disruptive edge.” These habits encourage new ideas that propel organizations forward. 

The Power of Performing in Public

I was particularly struck by habit five, “perform in public,” about harnessing the power of strangers. Within an organization, it’s hard to see what you’re doing well – or not so well. Whereas, if you perform to a trusted stranger, you can learn a lot from their feedback, which may include fresh ideas from the outside, too. And of course, when we’re being watched, we almost always raise our game. 

“They’ve done lots of different studies around this, [and] they found that if you have a stranger present in a group, the group feels that they need to perform better,” says Hill. “So they will often be more rigorous in their discussion or their debates, they will explain things more clearly, they make [fewer] mistakes, and they often perform at a higher level because of that.”  

As a freelance producer, I’ve seen this firsthand. Often, I’m the stranger, going into organizations to record a podcast or interview employees. In these situations, I’ve noticed that people do tend to make an effort to act as professionally as they can. 

A few years ago, I produced a series of educational podcasts for a U.K.-based university. Each episode consisted of a roundtable discussion between academics teaching on a particular degree course. As soon as the microphones were set up, all the participants switched into “performance” mode. 

They listened attentively to one another, articulated their views with clarity and verve, and sometimes asked to redo something if they felt it could have been expressed better. If I hadn’t been there, the discussion may have been a bit more relaxed. But it might not have been as useful for the audience of students. 

Outside Observation Brings Centennial Results

Hill says he’s seen performance work in all sorts of situations. 

“You start to realize that every high-performing organization has a performance, and sometimes it happens very naturally, like an Olympic Games or a World Cup or a moon landing – this moment where they have to really perform,” he says.  

“But other organizations where it doesn’t happen naturally will artificially create it. So, like the Royal College of Art has open studios, where strangers can walk through, or they’ll get students to do shows where people can come.” 

It’s an effective way for organizations to practice the mindset they need to last for 100 years. 

The post The Centennial Mindset: My Expert Interview With Alex Hill appeared first on Mind Tools.

Mental health issues make people feel uncomfortable. I'm not talking about people who suffer from them – I mean the people who don't. When you don't have any personal experience of poor mental health, it can be – excuse the pun – difficult to get your head around.

If you meet a friend or co-worker hobbling along on crutches, you can immediately sympathize and empathize. You notice and process the clues easily, because you recognize what you see, and understand its likely consequences. And it's possible that you've suffered a similar injury yourself in the past, and almost literally "feel their pain."

But the clues that someone has a mental health issue can be far more difficult to identify and react to.

Chances are, someone with such a condition is doing their best to hide it. They'll forego the opportunity to receive any of that same sympathy and empathy because it's risky. Having anything less than 100 percent good mental health holds a stigma. So it can be tricky to know what to say if someone does confide in you, or if you find out some other way.

Mental Health Is a Battle on Two Fronts

Social awkwardness is unfortunate, but the shame and fear it can lead to can create lasting damage.

People can be extremely reluctant to reveal their mental struggles because of the potential impact on their careers and relationships. And so they fight on two fronts – managing the condition itself and trying to present a "normal" façade to the rest of the world.

I described my own, mercifully short, battle with post-traumatic stress after a serious motorcycle accident in this Mind Tools blog. I still recall the fear I had of talking to anyone – family, friend or work colleague – about that consequence of the crash.

The isolation and sense of worthlessness that many people experience as a result of mental health issues can be devastating, as highlighted by the World Health Organization. The 2022 WHO report reveals that even when help is available, it's not taken up. The authors said, "People will often choose to suffer mental distress without relief rather than risk the discrimination and ostracization that comes with accessing mental health services."

Wellbeing in the Workplace

I like to think that, as individuals, we can overcome our initial awkwardness and confusion at learning that a colleague is facing a health challenge, and that we will be supportive and accepting. After all, isn't this what we need ourselves whenever we're having a tough time?

But can organizations do more to help us all to succeed and thrive at work?

Managers have to balance their responsibilities to their team members and to their organization. And, when it comes to health, these responsibilities need not conflict.

A workplace that's safe, both physically and mentally, and that enables its people to look after themselves and one another, will likely suffer less absenteeism and presenteeism. It will support more honest conversations, and engender more loyalty and trust. And all of these attributes can surely only help the bottom line.

This Mind Tools video explores six ways that organizations, leaders, and managers can support their people's mental health.

Points to Ponder: What Are Your Experiences of Mental Health at Work?

If you've managed someone facing a mental health issue, what strategies did you use? And if you've ever discussed your own mental health with your manager or co-workers, what reaction did you get? What approach does your organization take to mental health, and why?

If you would like to explore Mind Tools resources on mental health, here's a list for further reading:

Personal Financial Stress and Wellbeing
Hurry Sickness
How to Deal With Anxiety
Managing Stress
Managing Post-Traumatic Growth

About the Author:

Keith is a managing editor at Mind Tools and has been part of the content team since 2015. He's an experienced editor, writer and manager, with a long history of working in the e-learning and media industries.

The post Mental Health – Let's Get Our Heads Around It appeared first on Mind Tools.

I was recently out for a social occasion with some former teammates from my days in publishing. We were colleagues for nearly a decade. We've been through a lot together, and we're pretty close. Inevitably, we reminisced.

After a few laughs, someone said, "Oh, and what about Michael?" The mood changed instantly. Eyes were rolled. Heads were shaken. Words were used which had no place in a friendly gathering. The contempt and loathing were unanimous.

When Middle Managers Go Bad

Michael – not his real name, for obvious reasons – had been our manager. What you'd call a "middle manager." Neither C-suiter nor grunt, he was responsible for presenting the numbers to the next managerial layer up. And responsible for us.

Seen from above, I've no doubt that Michael was a model of competence. He hit targets and trimmed costs. He smoothed any potential turbulence, shielding his own superiors from the serious organizational problems being faced by team members.

From below, he was a nightmare. Untrustworthy, evasive and weak, he would go weeks without speaking to any of us outside formal meetings. As a close-knit group working on outlier projects, we probably weren't the easiest bunch to manage. But Michael didn't try.

The Stretched Middle

Michael's brand of "managing up" is just one reason why middle managers get a bad rap. And yet it's easy to see why it happens. Middle managers are often forced to flip between directing their teams and deferring to their superiors. They end up working on behalf of their reports and appeasing bosses who aren't interested in their problems, as long as the numbers look good.

It's no wonder some of them take the easy option. Others try to face both ways at the same time, fall short, and suffer stress or even burnout.

This is the situation the book "Power to the Middle" addresses. Written by three McKinsey consultants with substantial experience of middle management, the book acknowledges that middle managers are in the midst of a crisis. But it doesn't have to be that way.

A Better Way for Middle Managers?

Back to the social gathering. Also present was the manager who had set up the team in the first place. Let's call her Kate. Before being made redundant – a frequent fate for middle managers – Kate had recruited us, built our skills and invested time in us.

She had also shielded us from the politics and maneuvering of the layer above her. And she was with us that evening as a friend, not a former manager.

The authors of "Power to the Middle" would approve of Kate. She's their kind of middle manager. But she could only truly have flourished in an enlightened organization. Enlightened enough to see her potential as a developer of people. To free her from micro-reporting and infighting. Our employer wasn't that organization. Kate went, and we got Michael.

Freedom From Above

Typically, Kate is diplomatic about Michael. She understands the pressures that make him what he is. But she's also certain that her way of doing things is the right way. Her reports would agree. Her own bosses might have seen the point too, if they could've looked away from a culture based on the short-term fix. It's a big ask. But doesn't a culture in which people are free to develop their own skills and their teams' sound like a healthier option?

The authors of "Power to the Middle" think so. They place revitalized middle managers at the very heart of healthy organization, empowered by an enlightened C-suite. And isn't that where they ought to be?

Listen to Our "Power to the Middle" Book Insight

We review the best new business books and the tested classics in our monthly Book Insights, available as text or as 15-minute audio downloads.

So, if you're a Mind Tools Club member or corporate user, download or stream the "Power to the Middle" Book Insight now!

If you haven't already signed up, join the Mind Tools Club and gain access to our 2,400+ resources, including 390+ Book Insights. For corporate licensing, ask for a demo with one of our team.

About the Author

Simon has been researching, writing and editing non-fiction for over 30 years. In that time he’s worked on educational courses, scientific journals, and mass-market trade books about everything from popular psychology to buying houses in Bulgaria. In the last 20 years he’s specialized in simplifying complex subjects, and helping readers to learn new skills. Away from work he listens to good music, watches bad football, and is fascinated by medieval history.

The post Why Middle Managers Need Better Managing appeared first on Mind Tools.

I haven't seen the inside of an office for a year. I haven't seen most of my colleagues for over a year – at least not face-to-face. Some of them I've never even met IRL (in real life). And, as a result, the relationships that I have with them and, in particular, with my manager, have changed irrevocably.

Are Our Relationships With Managers Stronger or Weaker?

In some ways, I feel closer to my co-workers and manager than I did before. After all, we've lived through a pandemic together.

Some of them have even caught COVID – luckily, they've been fine. Some of us have had to juggle work with homeschooling or caregiving responsibilities. Many of us have found the last year a serious mental and emotional strain.

At other times, I feel like my work relationships have become weaker. Sometimes now, if I do have an issue, I simply don't bring it up. It seems silly or bothersome to have to book in a Teams meeting just to chat about the small things – like not knowing how to start a new blog!

I know that my manager wouldn't mind if I did call him up. And yet, going through that rigmarole seems so much more cumbersome than, say, tapping him on the shoulder for a quick catch-up, which is what I used to do when we worked in the office together.

What Do You Want From Your Managers?

As employees, we've had a whole new set of problems to contend with. So have the managers we look to for guidance.

Challenges range from the practical, day-to-day issues of, "My internet is down, so I can't log in for our call," to the more difficult and emotional – such as, "I'm struggling to homeschool and work at the same time," or, "I'm feeling really isolated because I've been shielding for months."

We wanted to hear what you're looking for from your manager in 2021 – and how your needs have changed over the past year. So we asked our friends and followers on social media to give us their top tips.

Stronger Leadership

Interestingly, many people flagged the need for stronger leadership from managers. Facebook friend Ricardo Guereca put it simply: "Authoritative!"

Ruth-Ann Soodeen echoed this sentiment in our Career Community Facebook group, revealing that she wanted a manager "who leads rather than manages." And Twitter follower Arif Maghrib said he needed one who "... can keep us smiling, if not laughing, among worldwide increases in cases of coronavirus."

These comments suggest that it's no longer enough for managers to simply do the basics – organizing and delegating work. They also need to be a motivational and positive force that drives people forward. Something that has no doubt been incredibly difficult to achieve – but more important than ever – over the past year.

More Flexibility

Although lots of businesses have been quick to get on board with flexible and virtual working, many are still struggling.

As Janice Mason, who belongs to our Career Community group on Facebook, hinted: "I need my manager to understand the benefits of home working!"

LinkedIn follower Tracy (Guzman) Price echoed this, but explained that being flexible isn't always about the practical elements of work. It's also about providing emotional support to people living through an unpredictable and often scary time.

Tracy wrote: "2020 is gone, and 2021 is hot on its heels! I feel the manager I need right now sees me as a whole person. [Even if you] put politics and racial unrest aside, the pandemic by itself has placed an incredible amount of stress on people. It has changed the way we do business, whether you've gone virtual or remained open and had to wear PPE and stand behind plexiglass... it's different.

"Add in having to deal with customers and clients who have become sad, scared and angry – even the nicest of employees can become frustrated, fed up and exhausted. It's just hard.

"Managers have to be flexible in their style and meet the employees where they are at. That may be different from day-to-day or moment-to-moment."

What do you need from your managers, and how have your needs changed since last year? Are you getting the right support or leadership? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section, below.

The post What You Need From Managers in 2021 – Your Tips appeared first on Mind Tools.

A grandfather and his grandson are talking. The old man tells his grandson, "Inside each of us, two wolves are fighting. One is evil, harsh and vicious, the other is good, honest and noble." The grandson asks, "Which one wins, grandfather?" The grandfather answers, "The wolf you feed."

I enjoy this story, and I am reminded of it when I think about recent developments in the tech world. I have a feeling that this world  has "gone dark" over the last few years.

If you look back to 2011, everything was exciting. Ride-hailing apps were bright, shiny new services bringing freedom, convenience and quality to personal mobility. Social media gave us great new ways to connect with one another.

Clever new devices were appearing regularly, and they promised an exciting future. And repressive governments around the world were reeling as people worked out how to talk honestly with one another, bypassing state controls.

Since then, we've seen the dark side of all of this. We're all aware of online bullying, technology addiction, and abusive or sexist cultures within internet companies. Also, we're witnessing disruption of democratic elections, and the horrific polarization of political thought that has led to so much vicious, intolerant discourse.

Humanity seems to be going through a grim process of learning how to use – and avoid the gut-wrenching misuse of – these powerful new tools.

Humanity vs. Algorithmic Management

Part of this is about regulators around the world working to tame the worst excesses of Silicon Valley. (And yes, this has its own problems, particularly around free speech.)

However, it's also about us learning to avoid the platforms that, by their nature, strip away people's humanity, and that manage people – with all of our hopes, dreams, passions, enthusiasm, and energy – as if we're machines.

I'm reading "New Power: How It's Changing the 21st Century – And Why You Need to Know," by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms. This book gives a great overview of how internet models are reshaping the world. It's worth reading for that reason alone.

However, it also zooms in on the relationship between "platform owners" (the tech companies themselves), "super-participants" (many of whom make part of their living using the platform) and "participants" (people like you and me who use their services).

Platform owners bend over backward to give an amazing service to participants, and we all love this. But what about the experience of super-participants, such as gig-economy workers? What about the many drivers, delivery cyclists, accommodation providers, and so on, particularly those who are managed algorithmically – in other words, by the platform's software, and not by human beings?

Yes, the platforms give them a convenient income, but what happens when hard-working people fall ill, or things go wrong in some other way?

In the traditional workplace, right-thinking managers know who's putting in the effort, and they will look after these people. More than this, they know their people, support them, help them grow, and provide a social environment in which they can thrive and achieve incredible things.

Should We Be Managing People Through Technology?

Just as importantly, people in decent, "normal" jobs can learn and grow, get promoted, and get ahead. They can work hard, use their initiative, give more benefit to their organizations – and get better compensated as a result. In short, they can "live the American Dream."

How many super-participants, instead, live a psychologically unhealthy life without security, without mercy, without personal growth, without colleagues, and without someone looking after them and encouraging them?

And how many work in situations where, as they use their initiative and work out how to get ahead, the algorithm adjusts, and floods in more capacity, stopping them getting the benefit of their initiative?

I remember visiting one of my favorite cities, San Francisco, in spring 2017, and seeing the start of a revolt against this, as users rejected "uncool" platforms that treated their super-participants poorly.

We can all support this sort of movement. When we see poor behavior from a platform provider, we can delete that app from our smartphones and find alternative platform providers who look after their people better. Sure, this may cause us a few moments of inconvenience. But we all need to think about the type of world we want to live in, and act accordingly.

Ultimately, these platforms need to work for us and enhance our lives. They need to respect the quality of life of super-participants who work hard and well, and not crush them, or hold them down. This will only happen if enough of us delete apps from companies that treat people badly.

Which wolf do you feed when you use your smartphone?

The post Humanity Or Technology: Which Wolf Do You Feed? appeared first on Mind Tools.

"One of our values is that you should be looking out for each other. Everyone should try to make the lives of everyone else who works here a little bit simpler."
– Stewart Butterfield, Canadian entrepreneur (co-founder, Flickr and Slack)

Hot, Buttered Toast

It was very early in the morning, and my first time facilitating training at a well-known international press company. A plush elevator with marble floors whisked me up to their South African HQ. I expected old-world-style decor, people talking in hushed voices, and thick, sound-deadening carpets.

Instead, the elevator door opened on to a bright, modern and vibrant reception area. It was the exact opposite of what I had expected. Not only did it look different, but it smelled different too. It smelled like hot, buttered toast!

One of the directors escorted me to the boardroom where I was going to work for the next three days. It was 45 minutes before the training was scheduled to start, yet almost everyone was already there. And they were eating hot, buttered toast!

I soon learned that it was part of the company culture that team members start their day with a cup of coffee and toast.

It wasn't compulsory, and it took place before the official start of the day, but team members told me they hated missing that part of the day. They said it set the tone for their workday and it influenced their productivity.

What was especially interesting was that they didn't "talk shop" at the "toast meetings" (as they called them). They just touched base with one another in a completely informal way, and everybody chatted to everybody.

Few Rules and Flexible Time

Over the course of the next few days, I had the privilege to observe a functioning, productive and winning culture. Although these people worked in a high-pressure environment where they had to keep track of the news cycle, financial market responses, financial indicators, market indices, and so on, things just seemed to flow.

They had almost no rules. Apart from the six busiest hours of the day (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) they didn't even have official working hours. It was common to see people sitting around coffee machines on beanbags while tapping away on their laptops or tablets.

Everybody was free to talk to everybody else regardless of their position, which meant that an intern could share her ideas with a director. And the head of operations thought nothing of refilling the team sugar bowl or washing someone else's cup for them.

Building a Winning Culture

Described like this, it sounds extremely laid-back. Yet it's one of the most productive workplaces I've ever seen.

Team members all helped a new person to fit in and showed them the ropes. They also gave a new person "toast duty" within his or her first few days, with an old hand helping out. It soon helped them to feel that they belonged, and that they were part of the "toast club."

Needless to say, the organization has very low staff turnover. People are engaged and know that their workplace is a safe space. They treat visitors like one of their own and, overall, it's just a happy place to be.

We discussed building a winning culture during our Twitter chat last Friday. Here are the questions we asked and some of the responses:

Q1. What does a "winning culture" mean? Who wins?

@LifeSpeak A winning culture is one in which everyone feels supported, encouraged, and appreciated. Employees who feel positively about their workplace and their colleagues are more engaged and perform better, so they win, their employer wins, and so do their customers.

@TheCraigKaye I feel a winning culture could be seen as the opposite of a "tick box culture." One is set up to meet targets, and the other is set up to thrive.

Q2. What does a failing culture look like?

It's not difficult to identify a failing culture, but different people saw different things:

@J_Stephens_CPA A failing culture is one of fear and inconsistent behavior.

@PG_pmp A failing culture might be one where people do not feel responsible, they take no ownership of any task, and so-called "leaders" create confusion in the environment.

@LernChance Everybody is just focusing on himself/herself. Every single individual is looking only for a personal win.

Q3. How do leaders or managers know whether their organization or team has a winning culture?

Somehow, Mondays often seem to play in a role in gauging how we feel about work…

@s_narmadhaa People will be excited about Mondays.

@Limha75 I think you know when people can independently define why you do what you do.

@ThiruHR: A team doesn't mean working together. It's all about trusting each other, and that reflects a winning culture.

Q4. What is it like for employees who work in a winning culture?

@TwisterKW Energizing! Working with comfort and ease; willing to try new things; reach new heights; feel confident, esteemed, and valued; wanting to come to work.

@CareerGoals360 Oh, when you work in a winning culture, you'll know it! Employees will be able to better relate to their jobs, will have lower stress levels, and show up not because they have to, but because they want to contribute and add value and make a difference.

Q5. Is an organization's true culture (winning or failing) visible to outsiders?

How satisfied your customers are is often a reflection of how happy your employees are. As we know, culture plays a huge role in how employees feel about their workplace.

@sittingpretty61 This leads me to think of companies with super customer service: when you get that representative who goes above and beyond what is necessary and they follow up on your concern. I think Verizon's CX was excellent.

@SanabriaJav Yes, an organization's reputation as an employer will be known within its industry, especially with mediums like Glassdoor around nowadays. People talk.

Q6. What effect does knowing about an organization's culture have on outsiders, and how much does this matter?

We can spread a message to the whole world within hours through social media, so organizations should be mindful of the message they send about their culture.

@MissionHired I think it matters more to people who fall outside the "norm." Underrepresented folks want to know as much about an organization as they can before they get in there. They want to know what they are potentially getting into, and how much of their true selves they can bring.

@idnorwood It depends on the outsider. a) Customers will change their purchasing behaviour. b) Suppliers alter willingness to trade with you. And c) the quality of potential employees changes.

Q7. What examples of a winning culture can you share with us, and what did you learn from them?

@BrainBlenderTec One of the best examples I've seen is Aria. They are through and through equal, from hiring wages to washrooms. There is absolutely no gender and it seeps into the outside lives and those around.

@Ganesh_Sabari One of my employers was not particular on employees' time of entry/exit, they provided the freedom to make mistakes, but ensure not to repeat; and they were process driven. Result: if an employee is in office, one is engaged and committed.

Q8. How can you contribute to creating a winning culture?

The group feeling was that we should lead from where we are, and consciously create a positive atmosphere through our behavior.

@MicheleDD_MT Express appreciation for employee's contributions, ideas, creativity, and extra effort.

@SaifuRizvi By creating culture of cooperation, respect and trust!

@NurseDee3 The contribution of authenticity and transparency is immeasurable.

Q9. What needs to be in place to maintain a winning culture?

@And0142 Executive-level commitment, regular team health check-ups, honest conversations, and embedded feedback channels.

@Yolande_MT Character and integrity of individuals and the organization at large. It's difficult to build a winning culture on a corrupt or "corruptible" foundation.

Q10. What behaviors can a manager encourage and support to embody a winning culture in his or her team ?

@Singh_Vandana Communicating regularly and transparently is crucial. Where every person is a team member and has an important function to fulfill. Mutual respect and a culture of learning.

@Midgie_MT Showing positive support and regular feedback, getting team to reflect on how they are working, asking questions, encouraging innovation.

To read all the tweets, have a look at the Wakelet collection of this chat, here.

Coming Up

A company's culture has a huge influence on who gets promoted and who doesn't. In a culture where alignment of values is important, a very competent person whose values are not in alignment with those of the company might be overlooked. Or, in a company where office politics play a big role, the boss's buddy gets the promotion rather than the person who deserves it.

Have you ever been unfairly overlooked for a promotion? In our Twitter poll this week, we'd like to know why you think you were overlooked (regardless of what HR or your manager told you). Click here to see all the options and to cast your vote.

Resources

In the meantime, here are some resources relating to building a winning culture.

• David Rock's SCARF Model
• Developing Your Team
• Deal and Kennedy's Cultural Model
• The Competing Values Framework
• How to Build a Culture of Trust
• Understanding Workplace Values
• The Psychological Contract
• Helping People Flourish at Work
• Team Charters
• Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Change
• Handy's Four Types of Culture

The post Building a Winning Culture –#MTtalk Roundup appeared first on Mind Tools.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
– Desmond Tutu (1931- ), South African cleric and human rights activist

Two years ago, I was asked by an association for professional trainers and facilitators to speak about the challenges I had experienced as a female training professional.

I racked my brains for an example of a time or incident where I felt that I was treated differently or discriminated against because I'm a woman.

At first, I couldn't really remember anything, although I could give plenty of examples outside the workplace (and some of those made my blood boil). Maybe it's because of the market I work in. Maybe I hadn't picked up on occasions when I had been treated unequally.

I also felt a little under-qualified to talk about the challenges female trainers face, because I didn't face some of the typical challenges other women might have to deal with.

Also, I don't have children, and my husband often works abroad, so I only have myself to look after. I don't have any of the health or family carer issues faced by many working women.

"It's Just a Joke"

So, I decided to collect the opinions and experiences of other women in my line of work. I asked this question on social media: "What are some of the challenges you experience as a female training professional?"

Here are some of the responses I got, and that I used in my speech:

• I don't get paid the same as a male counterpart.
• When double heading with a man, participants assume that the man is the lead face.
• Are men also called "darl," "doll" and "darling," or named by their hair color?
• When working with a male audience, they test my credibility.
• Men make jokes about easy women and easy sex; they call women's bodies "racks" and talk about our "eyes" when they mean something else. What do they think we are? And men reading this will probably think, "She's oversensitive. It's just a joke."
• Being a woman is one thing, being black and a woman is quite another.
• Alpha males feeling threatened and wanting to dominate you into submission.
• Gender and race are not concepts that society has transcended yet.

I was the first speaker and scheduled to deliver my speech right after the opening address. Would you believe what happened?

During his opening remarks, the chairperson told an off-color joke about a "loose woman" and some of her "assets." Most of the men in the audience seemed to think it was hilarious. To make it worse, the deputy chairperson (also a man) chirped a sexist comment from his seat in the audience.

I was in disbelief. Had I heard right? Had the chairperson told a sexist, dirty joke to open an event to promote the equal treatment of women? I felt humiliated and disrespected, and I saw that some of my female participants were just as shocked.

Challenging Sexism

The way I saw the sexism in the workplace when I stood up to speak, was different from the way I saw it when I walked in the door.

I had just experienced first-hand how "professional" men, who loudly proclaimed their commitment to equality, didn't even realize that the way they spoke about women demonstrated blatant sexism.

Silence fell upon the room as I started by saying, "What bothers me isn't how men speak to me, but how they speak about women - whether we're present or not."

You could have heard a pin drop as I shared with the audience the responses I got from women in our industry.

During the networking event afterwards, the chairperson and his deputy actively avoided me. At one point though, when the chairperson turned around I was standing right behind him.

Facing him directly I asked, "Didn't you have anything more meaningful to open the meeting with, or did you choose not to use something more meaningful?" He's a learned man, and both of us knew the answer. It was a choice. After all, it was only a joke, right?

Tackling Sexism at Work

The chairperson was misguided and wrong in this instance, but I also consider him a generally good guy. He grew up in, worked in, and was part of a patriarchal society for so long that he didn't realize how deeply ingrained his sexist attitude was. Unfortunately, his behavior didn't stand out, because sexism and patriarchy in my part of the world are systemic and, sadly, acceptable.

During our #MTtalk Twitter chat last week, we talked about tackling sexism at work. Here are the questions we asked and some of the responses:

Q1. What does sexism look like?

@PG_pmp: When a group of people are gender biased and they underestimate the opposite gender for any task or activities.

@Dwyka_Consult: When you voice your opinion strongly, and a man asks you if it's "that time of the month." Or they say it behind your back after you've left the room. Sexism is ugly.

Q2. Why does sexism matter?

@SaifuRizvi: Sexism matters because it leads to emotional, financial, mental, and physical loss for one gender.

@TheCraigKaye: If any -ism is accepted in a workplace it becomes corrosive! With sexism, its acceptance over decades has resulted in male-dominated executive boards who hire male senior figures to work in their businesses!

Q3. What impact does sexism have in the workplace?

People suffer, but organizations also have much to lose if they allow sexism to carry on.

@eng_kyat: Any type of injustice in the workplace will have negative effects on its employees.

@Mphete_Kwetli: It doesn't consider everybody's best interests, and it doesn't have a place in workplace. It kills the morale of the team, hampers collaboration between dynamic minds. Not enough new ideas.

Q4. How do experiences of sexism differ between genders, ethnicities, ages, and levels of seniority, and what impact does this have day to day?

@MicheleDD_MT: Sexism is about power... who has it, and who has less. Who dictates what is right and appropriate, who has a voice, who is included, and who gets the rewards. Sexism exists in layers and intersects across differences.

@MissionHired: The list is exhausting! The differences tend to end up including those listed, gender + age, gender + ethnicity, etc. That impacts us because we are terrible at acknowledging intersectionality, which ends up dividing us when it should be bringing us together.

Q5. How have attitudes to sexism changed in your workplace/sector during your career, and how is that helpful/unhelpful to you or your people?

@Pineapple_Poll: Attitudes to sexism have improved as there is, to be fair, more awareness and I now feel empowered to speak up on behalf of myself or others. Unfortunately we are also seeing evidence of a backlash against those who speak up.

@Yolande_MT: Unfortunately, some women exploit sexism. They blame sexism for not being promoted when it's really about being incompetent. These instances make the battle against sexism harder because it taints women's credibility.

Q6. What support mechanisms are in the workplace to tackle incidents of sexism?

@KobusNeethInst: The company culture should be such that it's not conducive to sexism or any kind of discrimination. All staff should also be properly sensitised to what sexism looks and sounds like.

@JKatzaman: Zero-tolerance policies against sexism must be clear, well-publicized and be enforced.

Q7. What can you do if policies and values that talk about tackling sexism aren't followed through to action?

Many people commented on companies having policies, but that they're often not enforced to the extent that they should be.

@Midgie_MT: I would encourage people to speak out. Speak to their manager and HR about the inconsistencies to see how things might be addressed.

@BrainBlenderTec: You can complain but there is a slippery slope: AI HR systems can find and link anonymous posts and check accounts on platforms which will be checked against for future employment.

Q8 (for women). With the topic of tackling sexism in mind, please complete the following sentence: If I were a man, I would...

@JoynicoleM: If I were a man, I’d teach my children to honor humanity and individuality; to respect people and view them beyond their clothing, makeup, gender, size, race, or role. I’d treat people the way I want to be treated, even if I was not honored in that manner in the past.

Q8 (for men). With the topic of tackling sexism in mind, please complete the following sentence: If I were a woman, I would...

@KobusNeethInst: If I were a woman, I would want men to stand up against other men who make sexist comments.

Q9. How do you manage a team whose values and beliefs about sexism differ widely?

@carriemaslen: All employees need to understand and follow the acceptable code of conduct, no matter their personal beliefs.

@MicheleDD_MT: Address comments as they arise. Don't ignore them. Ignoring behavior is condoning it. Use individual instances as an opportunity to educate.

Q10. What behaviors could leaders model to their team members, to help to eliminate sexism?

@sittingpretty61: Language which is gender neutral and policies about paid leave that welcome people to be accountable for time off but recognize everyone needs to attend to family issues sooner or later. Provide opportunities of inclusion and make use of innovative working practices!

@align_talent: Practicing empathy is so hard for some, but we must keep trying to encourage it. It may be our only hope.

To read all of the tweets, have a look at the Wakelet collection of this chat, here.

Coming Up

An ideal workplace is one that meets our mental and emotional needs, as well as our physical needs. Your office might be fine, but is it a space that you love? In our poll this week, we'd like to know what you'd most like to have if you could design your own office. Privacy? Sunlight? Click here to see all the options and to cast your vote.

Resources

In the meantime, here are some resources that will help you to learn more about tackling sexism at work:

The Five Factors Holding Women Back at Work
Dealing With Discrimination
How to Be Assertive
Beyond Bias
Managing Your Emotions at Work
Avoiding Unconscious Bias at Work
The Foursquare Protocol
Bad Behavior at Work

Members of the Mind Tools Club can also access the full versions of the following articles:

Creating a Healthy Workplace
Managing Over-Confident People
Avoiding Discrimination
Making the Most of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Managing Arrogant People
Egos at Work
Why the Rules Are There

The post Tackling Sexism at Work – #MTtalk appeared first on Mind Tools.

What does training mean in your organization? You may think, "Well, training is training."

I might have given a simple answer, too, before I talked to Josh Seibert, veteran trainer and the CEO and president of Sandler Training in North Carolina, for our Expert Interview podcast. He believes that the term "training" is "overused and abused."

"Oftentimes, training is a disciplinary tool," he points out. "If you aren’t performing, then we’ll send you to training. Therefore, if you don’t perform later, we’re protected. We can fire you – inappropriately."

In addition, Seibert says, training is used "for onboarding, to bring someone up to speed." And sometimes it's a "reward." Being sent to an exotic overseas location for a training session, all expenses paid, can be a real treat.

But, if we look beyond those checkboxes, what should training really be?

Training Is a Step on a Staircase

"In my world, training should be viewed as a step on a staircase we call 'development,' to get to that next level that we want to get to," Seibert says, in our Expert Interview podcast. "But training itself won’t get us there without a development strategy that it fits into. So, think of training as a tactical step in the development strategy, and learning happens along the way."

As we talk, I discover that "learning" is another misunderstood term.

"In the corporate environment, we oversimplify the adult learning process," Seibert explains. "'All you’ve got to do' – I hear that all the time. 'All you’ve got to do is read this book.' 'All you’ve got to do is recite this for 30 days and you’ll be fixed.'

"Adults don’t learn just by being exposed to newfound knowledge. We have to take that knowledge and we have to figure out how to adapt it and apply it appropriately in every given situation.

"As we do that, we become skilled at that application, so that it’s more automatic. Hence we own that skill. As we gain courage from that skill building, we develop habits, and those habits are the behaviors necessary to get the new result. That’s how adults learn."

From Knowing to Owning

This idea of going "from knowing to owning" is one of the principles explored in Seibert’s book, "Winning From Failing: Build and Lead a Corporate Learning Culture for High Performance."

The book’s title reminds us that we need to embrace failure as part of learning.

"We learn to ride a bicycle as a youngster by losing our balance and falling off. That’s part of the process, and unless we’re allowed to do those things, we’ll never really grow," Seibert says.

In the book, Seibert identifies four roles that all managers should adopt to help their people learn: supervisor, trainer, coach, and mentor. The trouble is, most new managers don’t know how to perform any of those roles.

"Organizations often find their next manager by looking at people who are performing well in the technical role that they’re doing," Seibert says. He uses sales as an example. "A high-performing salesperson is looked at as a possible next manager. Yet the core competencies of management are completely different than the competencies to effectively sell."

Return on Investment

So, training managers in those four leadership roles is key. Only when they have "owned" those skills will they be ready to support their team members in their learning.

"Without that development, [managers] will tend to fall back upon their strengths," Seibert says. "If they were a good salesperson, then they’ll be a super salesperson. If they were a technician, then they’ll become a super technician. They won’t get results through people but with people, and that causes burnout and failure."

Training managers, training team members – all of this takes resources. And eventually someone, somewhere in the organization will ask about the return on investment (ROI). In this audio clip from our Expert Interview, Seibert offers his advice for handling this important aspect of training.

Listen to the full 30-minute interview in the Mind Tools Club.

Do you agree with Josh Seibert’s definitions of training and learning? Join the discussion below.

The post What's Your Definition of Training and Development? appeared first on Mind Tools.

It's easy to appreciate the attractions of a remote workforce. Employers can access skills and expertise from around the world, and it can reduce the costs of office space. Employees may enjoy considerable savings in time and money by not having to travel to work. They may also have a better work-life balance, which has the knock-on effects of reduced stress and increased job satisfaction.

But there are downsides to managing or working in virtual teams. Team members can feel disconnected from one another and from their organizations, and managers may struggle to keep track of projects that may involve people working in different cities, countries, continents, and time zones.

Communication is Critical

So we asked you, our friends, followers and contacts on social media, "What are your top tips for working in a virtual team?"

One word dominated your replies: communication.

Neil Canham (@NeilCanham), from Surrey in the U.K., creates collaboration spaces for virtual teams. He said, "Virtual teams need significantly better, more disciplined communication and routine than co-located teams."

HR expert Piyush Govil (@PG_pmp), responding from India, has more than 15 years' experience of working with virtual teams. He said that managing them effectively required "communication and team bonding."

Facebook friend Midgie Thompson, a life coach based in the south of France, added, "Communication is obviously critical so that the team knows what they are doing and what is going on in the overall company. Yet, what is also important are the non-business connections and chats. Much like you would chat with your colleague about what they are up to or what they did on the weekend, this is also important for virtual workers."

Gamification consultant Ioana Popa, from Perth, Australia, said, "Great question! As someone who's been working in a virtual team for a while now, I'd say the most important aspect is to communicate on regular basis with your team or supervisor."

Include Virtual Team Members in Decisions

Ioana added, "Working in a virtual team means that most likely the person in question is working on their own and that could lead to isolation, loss of motivation, and performance severely reduced.

"Also, include all team members in taking those decisions that would affect the entire team's performance. One of the risks of excluding them in such cases is to make them feel 'abandoned' and this, in the long run, will seriously impact negatively their self-esteem and their trust in their own abilities."

Michele Mryick warned people that, because they may not work normal office hours, they should beware spending too much time at their desks. She said, "Top tip for working on a virtual team - account for your time, since your desk is virtual it can become very easy to work for free!"

Thank you to everyone who responded to our question, and apologies to those people whose replies did not get a mention this time - we really appreciate the time and effort it takes to join the discussion.

If you have any other tips or advice that you'd like to share, please use the box, below!

The post Your Top Tips for Working in a Virtual Team appeared first on Mind Tools.

To grasp how difficult it is to precisely define leadership, just consider the title of a recent article from Business News Daily: "33 Ways to Define Leadership."

In this blog post, we'll attempt to whittle down these definitions, distill the true meaning of "leadership," and use it to answer the following questions:

• Can I be a leader?
• How?
• And if not, what should I do?

Leadership Means Having "Vision"

A common thread that runs through all discussions about leadership is the ability to have a "vision." For some people, this vision might be a private one, such as getting a promotion, finding a significant other, buying a dream house, or taking an exotic vacation.

But, while all of these are legitimate goals, true leadership requires a broader vision that inspires others and motivates them to act on and achieve it.

Darcy Eikenberg, founder of leadership development and executive coaching firm Red Cape Revolution, adds that a leader "has the clarity to know the right things to do, the confidence to know when she's wrong, and the courage to do the right things even when they're hard."

Ultimately, by accomplishing the goals set out for them, a better reality is meant to be achieved for those who follow their leader.

It Might Not be as Hard as it Sounds!

The ability to develop a vision that both inspires and motivates others to achieve it might seem like a tremendous task. But, in reality, a vision can be pretty simple.

For instance, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the company's purpose in very basic terms in an interview with Fortune.com back in 2009: "We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that's not changing." Simple, yes, but sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can be the most inspirational. Just think of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream..." speech, which will likely continue to inspire generations for years to come.

Like me, you’ve probably met people in the past with leadership titles who did not have vision, nor did they inspire. But most of them had the management capacity to surround themselves with a team that did. Conversely, I've also met plenty of people who lead without the title.

It's Not for Everyone... But That's OK

So, the question is, "Can anyone lead?"

Carolina Billings, CEO of The Hive Consulting Group, expresses a belief held by myself and many others, namely that leadership is intertwined with personality: "You see leaders, true leaders, do not have a choice but to lead. It is such a core value that most of the time you are not even aware you are doing it."

By "core values," she means having aspirations beyond your personal wellbeing, enthusiastically engaging other interested parties, and effectively communicating how their actions can advance the cause. And, yes, you must also have confidence and courage.

Much more complex than offering a compelling vision are the management skills required to convert enthusiasm into action. If you have the personality to lead and can create a compelling vision, you'll likely have good leadership skills too. But beware – leadership can be a risky business!

Sure, some people might have the capability to lead, but they might also be reticent about the scrutiny that they're likely to come under as a leader. Others might find that their own personal vision does not align with the mission and culture of their organization. If this is the case, it's likely that they won't last long in the company.

Or they might be all for the mission, but then fail to achieve it. In which case, they risk being judged a failure.

Are You Really Up to the Task?

Before actively seeking a leadership role, make sure you are ready for the consequences. Ask yourself: "Do I have the time and energy to take the plunge at this time? Do I have the resources to withstand a job loss? Do I think that my personality is suited to a leadership role?"

If the answer to any of these questions is a "no," then maybe it's time to think about a different career strategy.

Alternatively, you could explore more about what it takes to become a leader by shadowing an existing leader in need of competent management help. Doing this will help you to earn trust and respect, and provide insight into the current leadership landscape. But, be sure that you truly believe in your chosen leader’s vision, because aligning yourself with it will become part of your personal brand.

Finally, if you're ready to work on the skills required to be a leader then, have no fear, you are in exactly the right place. Mind Tools has a whopping 59 articles on Leadership Skills alone! So jump in, be diligent and persevere!

The post The Difficulties of Defining Leadership appeared first on Mind Tools.