HR Inside Out

Melissa is a registered health coach and an integrated health practitioner. Originally employed as a business executive in the hotel industry, getting let go when big fish bought little fish and then the reality of both daughters suffering concussions from sports injuries caused her to reassess priorities and refocus on a different journey; one that has led her to her current work. As the quote on the banner that sits behind her in her home office reminds us “Health isn’t everything but without it, everything else is nothing.” Helping others improve their health journeys has become her life’s passion and purpose. And it shows! Words like new found energy, gut health, and dealing with brain fogginess certainly caught my attention! A recent winner of the Quality Care Award, Melissa shares her wisdom through her podcast Don’t Wait for Your Wakeup Call!, her YouTube channel Your Guided Health Journey, and the programs she offers. She joins us today to share some of those invaluable health tips; tips meant to help each of us on our own health journeys.

In my conversation with Charlene, she noted that people only really get ready for a career transition when they have to and thus find the process something that really shakes them to their core. And that we need to get better at self-managing our careers. Charlene founded SmART Career Solutions (SCS) to recognize and celebrate that a significant number of professionals don’t fit into a traditional service model and that NOT ALL PROFESSIONALS wear a suit or would consider themselves an “average” job seeker. She asks “Are you an out-of-work creative professional that wants a new JOB or wants to build a creative business or both? Do you leverage your creative and artistic skills to your advantage? Are you missing out on better opportunities? Have you married the elements of ‘being creative’, finding meaningful work and generating money?” She offers Job Search Online courses and career coaching if you are ready to leverage your superpower … or at least be willing to be held accountable! And all her work is aligned with her belief that Creatives bring valuable contributions to the workplace and the world. Hope you will join us!

Negative self-talk. I suspect you are like me, especially when it comes to how we feel we are being perceived by our worlds. We all pick up on body language, changes in vocal tone, and other indicators that an individual’s words, as one example, may not be an accurate reflection of what they are truly feeling. And… yes, this provides a wonderful playground for those negative voices inside of us. Today we are going to talk about that negative chatter inside our heads. Some call it our gremlins. It’s the stuff that holds us back, erodes our self-confidence and creates havoc in our ability to present as our very best. And I have not yet met anyone who doesn’t struggle with it. In the podcast we explore identification of those gremlins and tools to use to enable a refocus when they are having their fun with us. Hope you will join me!

Julia grew tired of being an Administrative Assistant. She also hated her fingernail-biting habit. Hypnotherapy answered both of her quandaries when she decided to pursue certification with the National Guild of Hypnotherapists. That was more than a decade ago. Now a seasoned hypnotist and a Reiki Master, she helps people kick their habits, heal from past traumas, and begin loving the life of their dreams. Join us as Julia tells us about this career choice and answers all those questions you might have about hypnosis – how it works, whether it “sticks” – and for those of you worried that you might start to cluck like a chicken, she will answer the “entertainment” hypnosis questions too!

Heather’s passion is helping empower individuals with confidence in their finances and joy in their lives. Combining the left-brained, money and financial details with the right-brained, emotion, spiritual/woo to improve your life, is her specialty. Hope you will join us as Heather shares tips to make the money stuff more manageable. It is your future we are talking about here! Make it a prosperous one! We hope you will join us!

As I record this podcast it’s October and the time of celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada, so it feels appropriate to talk about being grateful – of expressing gratitude. Immediately all those individuals volunteering their time, doing nice things to make other’s lives easier… you know the ones, come to mind. So, this week’s podcast is all about gratitude and leadership. And a thank you to Stuart McNish for providing me with a copy of Pablo Casals’ A Salute to Life, a lovely reminder of all that is truly important; words that I share with you in our time together.

Meet Monique Liddle. She is the Manager of Operations at the City of North Vancouver Library. It is a place she has called “home” for over a decade and not a place that she had originally envisioned working when she graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) with her certification in Interior Design Management. Our libraries are so much more than a repository of books and information. Monique was able to use the skills and expertise she had built over the years to secure a similar and yet very different type of position within her local library. That was many years ago now. Monique has continued to grow and thrive with the library. And yes, she has even been able to use her training in interior design!

Stuart McNish, a veteran Canadian journalist, is the host of the weekly news series Conversations That Matter, where he interviews thought leaders from around the globe to dig into the issues that matter to Canadians. He is also the President of Oh Boy Productions, a company he built, in his words, from a laptop and cellphone. Stuart is a natural in this environment. With his start as a reporter with BCTV and training from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Broadcast Journalism, Stuart quickly found his niche and has never looked back. Stuart shares his journey with us, what helped him decide to venture into this career path, and some of the exciting interviews and stories he has helped bring to the world through the years of his career – including a recent interview with yours truly! Hope you decide to join us!

Lululemon stocks went up 13% in one day – apparently we are enjoying hanging out in our comfy clothes and plan to continue doing more of that. News broadcasts indicate that 50% of our workforce are considering quitting. McKinsey and Company and Harvard Business Review articles are noting that people are choosing to not return to work, even without the safety net of alternate employment. We are reassessing our priorities. We are yearning to be appreciated and recognized, to be considered and treated like more than a transaction. Companies that understand this are doing what needs to happen to change. Others are not willing to shift. Yet, resignation is not truly an option for many of us. In today’s podcast we talk about what what we can do to help create the changes we wish to see in our own lives - as individuals, within our teams and within our organizations. Hope you decide to join us!

Overwhelmed? Frustrated? Disengaged? Counting the years until you can retire? Most of us experience, at least at some point in our careers, these feelings. Are you interested in learning how to live and to work differently, to tap into the leader within you? I believe that we have what we need inside us, to do this. Using my own and others’ experiences, through the sharing of stories and encouragement of reflection, I strive to help you find your true self and potential, and to live your life’s best journey. The people in our lives are watching and learning from what we model. Get yourself a hot bevy, curl up in your most comfortable chair and enjoy a few of the lighter stories from my book, Leadership Inside Out: Effecting Change from Within in today’s podcast. I hope you decide to join me!

Stephen Hammond, lawyer turned professional speaker, helps his clients avoid the landmines that are getting so many people and workplaces in trouble. For 27 years Stephen has educated thousands of Canadians about the importance of preventing and responding to all the inappropriate stuff that goes on at work; in particular, harassment, bullying and discrimination. Despite the serious nature of the issues, Stephen is known for his humour, wit, and discussing issues that are current and relevant. Most importantly, people leave his sessions feeling more confident to prevent and address inappropriate workplace behaviour. Stephen shares the importance of dealing quickly with matters that can quickly erupt into more serious situations especially when these appear to violate individual’s ability to work in a respectful work environment or are an infringement on any of the protections provided under human rights and charter of freedom legislation. His stories are real, taken from actual cases. His lessons, using his recent book The New Norm: A manager’s guide to improving workplace behaviour … and keeping out of legal hot water are practical, outlined as: 1) A big mistake; 2) Important tip; 3) Quiz on the key points; and 4) relevant Canadian legal cases on “the big mistake”. Stephen makes a subject that could be overwhelming and mired in legalese approachable and understandable as evidenced in his keynotes “It’s Official – Everything is Offensive” and “Creating Your New Norm at Work”. Hope you will join us for lots of nuggets of great learning that could help keep you and your organization contributing to the “wow” organizations – those great ones that we love working for and with.

In this week’s podcast we talk about the importance of effective communication and what Susan Scott in her excellent book Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time, calls, “fierce conversations”. Overall, most of us could be much better communicators. Too frequently we attempt to express ourselves and find that what we had hoped to convey has been received in a manner that we had not intended or expected. With our incresased use of emails, texts, tweets and the like, I see this getting worse, not better over time. Scott asserts that the next frontier of exponential growth, the place you will find a new and sustainable competitive edge, lies in the area of human connectivity – internally with staff and externally with your marketplace. This assertion is supported by leading edge research groups such as McKinsey & Company where words like heighted connectivity, more purposeful, more human, and emphasis on employees’ need for affirmation, social chohesion, purpose and meaning are being increasingly used - all postive impacts of deep dialogue and effective communication. We have an opportunity to do things differently as we begin to emerge from the realities of the pandemic. According to Scott, “Conversation = Relationship”. Make your conversations truly great ones! Tips and insights in today’s podcast. Hope you will join me!

Malcolm White lives his passion through his work. He has always known that he loved working on the water. He was fascinated by the tugboats and the barges they were towing – the ones he would watch while working as a fishing guide in Campbell River, British Columbia. So, he attained his Deck Hand certification and the requisite sea hours. And over a career of, now forty years, he continued to take courses, build continued experience on the ocean, and for many years now, has been master of his tug, as the Captain. Malcolm shares his journey with us, including some very frightening and exhilarating experiences, a little about the tugboats used in this exciting work, and some tips if this is a career that might be of interest to you or someone you know. Ever wonder what it is like to assist those big freighters into dock? Hope you will join us!

I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to assume that, at some point in our careers we have all been party to, or impacted by, conflict-laden situations: individuals not getting along, someone not pulling their weight, colleagues not showing up on time or at all, poor behaviour, rules not followed, as only some examples. All too often, these situations get tolerated, ignored, excused, and otherwise not dealt with. I have been in situations that allowed me to address such issues, in others where I have been stymied in doing so. I have also been the avoider and the leader who didn’t act in a timely manner. I know that NOT dealing with situations that create conflict is NOT a good thing. I also know that dealing with conflict is one of the toughest responsibilities that individuals who oversee people face. We don’t teach these skills well. Many of us don’t learn effective conflict resolution in our formative years. This spills over into our work environments. The outcome is not good. Gary Harper in his excellent book The Joy of Conflict Resolution: Transforming Victims, Villains and Heroes in the Workplace and at Home encourages a different approach. I was lucky enough to learn from Gary. He reminds us that “every conflict provides the opportunity for learning, growth and enhanced relationships”. Yes - the opportunity. I just re-read The Joy of Conflict Resolution. I would like to take today’s podcast to share some of Gary’s insights – because I know they work.

When we are able to fulfill our life’s purpose, in this case helping ensure that people’s voices were heard, inequities were addressed and choice was actioned, as part of the responsibilities of what we are paid to do, we tend to infuse really positive stuff onto those we work with. I was one of the lucky ones provided the opportunity at an early point in my own career to work with such an individual – Bill Howes. Bill is someone who through every action and every word he spoke, exuded leadership, alignment with core values and passion for what he did. He knew what he was good at. He built leaders along the way. And he has continued to make a positive difference in his retirement activities. Bill spent most of his career working for and with unions, as a paid employee within those organizations. It might be something for you to consider too. Our unions need great leaders too. Hope you will join us!