RADIO SHOW/AUDIO PODCAST
Solutions...with Courtney Anderson! (SwCA)
Episode 175 -
Originally aired 8/25/2014 9:00 AM -
COURTNEY! I AM CURIOUS series -
“What Does It Mean That You Are ‘The Workplace Relationship Expert’?”
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TALK SHOW EPISODE NOTESThis is our COURTNEY! I AM CURIOUS™ series wherein you ask and I answer! Specifically, this is a series for questions about my personal experiences, perspectives and life lessons.
I coined the term the “Workplace Relationship Expert” by 1999 and have been using it in my professional materials since that time! The reason is that I research and write about workplace interpersonal relationships that impact organizational outcomes (between management and staff, between peers, etc.). Definition of Workplace: “a place (as a shop or factory) where work is done” Workplace. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workplace Definition of Relationship: “: the way in which two or more people, groups, countries, etc., talk to, behave toward, and deal with each other : a romantic or sexual friendship between two people : the way in which two or more people or things are connected” Relationship. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relationship What happens at work is not isolated to work process and goals. It is largely impacted by the internal relationship motives people have not addressed (which results in harassment, bullying abuse, illegal employment decisions, etc.). My job is to address that reality and provide consequence and clarity of the individual choices that team members decide to make. What led to my identification as 'The Workplace Relationship Expert'? 1) I started dealing with workplace legal issues (wrongful termination, etc.) as an attorney at my law firm (which I opened in 1998). 2) I had numerous clients that I helped with cases where their employer had allegedly not complied with the law (hiring, evaluations, discipline, termination, etc.). 3) I was shocked to observe well known and successful organizations that had individual staff members engage in inappropriate and potentially illegal behavior. 4) I therefore started my corporate education, training and consulting practice specifically to be part of a proactive solution for employers to prevent (or mitigate) potentially illegal employment action. I have had the pleasure of traveling around the world and working with a wide variety of firms (size, age, industry, etc.) to address issues regarding hiring, evaluation, engaging, retaining, rewarded and separating from employees (the employee life cycle). The intent was to ensure legal compliance while creating unique practices that fit the culture and needs of individual organizations. In my heaviest travel years I was on the road over 250 days visiting my clients and conducting education, training and consulting for them regarding employee life cycle issues. I concluded that there were some minor issues (easily rectified) in disseminating accurate educational and training content to all of the staff (not just managers). The more significant issue that was motivating inappropriate and potentially illegal behavior was the interpersonal relationship residue and ramifications. It was more often the cause of an illegal termination of an employee that jealousy, insecurity, rejection and other relationship based emotional and psychological factors were primary motives. Lack of knowledge of the law (and/or policy) was secondary. The challenge was that even if staff members were educated and trained on their local laws (generally) and their organizational policies and procedures people would still choose to engage in acts that they were aware were prohibited. The drive for them to address the relationship factors trumped their professional responsibilities. I then shifted the focus on my practice for my organizational clients to address the root causes of behavior (the relationship aspects) intertwined with the external requirements. My programs are generally structured: A) Focus on the choice that individuals make to be part of the organization. B) Integrate bright line content of the reason for the law and / or policy topic (no harassment, documentation for discipline, etc.). C) Respect the reality of the power of the relationship issues (jealousy, not ‘liking’ each other, ‘liking each other too much, etc.). D) Discuss specific applied examples of case study examples (what to do in different scenarios, etc.) E) Focus on consequences of choices to engage in prohibited behavior. I am candid with clients regarding the desperate need for authentic leadership. An unqualified person in a leadership position will diminish the ability of the organization (or unit) to continue. An unqualified manager may diminish the ability of the organization (or unit) to continue. In many instances qualified subordinate staff will create work around situations to compensate for an unqualified manager. Due to the increased power of a leader, the work arounds will not be able to sustain the weak organization (hence the endless stream of public media stores of high ranking corporate, educational, military, non-profit, etc., leaders who were eventually and embarrassingly brought their punishment). A subordinate is not able to save a superior from themselves (although many do try do to so for long periods of time). I have the base of my academic and theoretical expertise of business and legal issues via my Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) and my Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD). I also have a substantial amount of human resources management, white collar crime and industrial-organizational psychology via my interdisciplinary Master’s degree in Science (MS). I have applied expertise in business as an entrepreneur and small business owner. I have additional expertise as a scholar on the faculty of universities teaching business courses (undergraduate and graduate). The point of the moniker workplace relationship expert is that I integrate and resolve workplace issues from both the external framework (legal, business policies and procedures and organizational culture) in addition to the very powerful internal motives based on relationships (between peer staff, supervisors and subordinates and all other categories of workplace actors). |
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