How to Disrupt HR, And What's Size Got to Do With It

It's time to Disrupt HR! Tune into this video of my recent presentation at DisruptHR New York (it's only 5 minutes long).

Don't Leave Culture To Chance | Colette Ellis | DisruptHR Talks from DisruptHR on Vimeo.

I shared my Don't Leave Culture to Chance presentation in May of this year at the Design a Happy + Healthy Company Conference. For this Ignite talk, I was challenged to share a disruptive idea related to company culture and talent management.

My disruptive idea is a bit cheeky (yes, a reference to size was made); yet I believe completely relevant to the discussion of how (and when) do leaders need to "worry about" defining company culture. Take a peek and let me know what you think.

Also, if for no other reason, you can watch me #fail at making the Vulcan salute!

Is Your Company Happy & Healthy? Learn 3 Ways to Measure on May 20

You're invited to the Happy & Healthy Company Conference | Presented by CMYK Ventures

Join me on May 20 from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm to discover new strategies and partners to help you design a happy and healthy company. Enjoy a healthy breakfast and lunch, watch inspiring talks, and meet over 50 founders and leaders who manage Talent, Culture, People, and Recruiting programs at leading NYC companies including Industry Standard, Luminary Labs, and ustwo. 

I'm excited to be one of the Keynote Speakers, sharing strategies to define a culture that engages and inspires employees even as your company grows.

Learn strategies for improving internal communication, collaboration, happiness, and wellness. Meet business vendors to explore services that cater to workplace happiness. Participate in discussions and workshops on themes related to organizational design, including:

• Human Company Design
• Planning for Change
• Common Play
• Diversity & Inclusivity 

Get help to manage HR, recruiting, operations, snacks, perks, interior design + more! Register now to join us on May 20th -- see you there!

Do You Know What You Don't Know?

Five years ago when I began writing this blog, I told you why I believed focusing on your competent advantage TM was a great way to build and sustain your career. I've since learned that my "attraction" to competence may have something to do with me being a Type 3 according to Enneagram ... but more on that another time.

My fascination with competent advantage TM also comes from my work in Human Resources / Training & Development, observing how managers have used competencies to determine:

• Who gets hired
• Who gets fired
• Who gets promoted
• Who gets training - and on what skills/topics

In today's New Normal, I think there are benefits to "going back to basics" to revisit this theme of competence. One framework about how we learn that has always intrigued me was proposed by renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow - known as the Four Stages of Learning. I've listed the stages below with some insights to help you consider each stage, and how it might relate to your learning and achieving your goals in light of recent challenges/changes:

1. Unconscious Incompetence: "I don't know what I don't know." You don't even recognize that you need to learn how to do something.
2. Conscious Incompetence: "DING! Lightbulb goes on!" Now, you've just realized that you need to learn how to do something.
3. Conscious Competence: "I know that I'm doing it." You've just started to learn how to do it, and you're very aware as you keep practicing to get better at doing it.
4. Unconscious Competence: "It's a no-brainer!" You don't even think about it anymore -- you do it automatically whenever needed.

In today's New Normal, I believe it can be very helpful to use this framework to prepare yourself for new experiences, and figure out the best (and, perhaps, the quickest) ways to learn new things or enter new industries and markets. Here's a brief activity to help you:

Think about one skill or talent -- something that you do very well. Then, ask yourself four questions below to help you recall the four stages (insert your skill/talent in the spaces):

1. How did you realize that you needed to learn how to _____________________?
2. How did you find out what you needed to know/learn about _______________?
3. How did you practice and improve your ability to ___________________?
4. How do you _______________ now -- in ways that you don't even think about?

When I begin a new project, if I feel any anxiety about it, I ask myself similar questions to recall other times that I've been successful doing it. This not only boosts my confidence, but helps me think of tips, techniques and methods that worked before that I may be able to use again. Does this make sense to you?

So, do you know what you don't know? How will you figure out how to learn it? Share your comments, thoughts and reactions here -- or tweet me on Twitter.

NEW Podcast: Need Answers for Tough Interview Questions?

The team at InStep Consulting continues to offer timely information via our NEW podcast series called InSide the HR Studio. This special series features senior corporate HR leaders who provide an insiders perspective on career transition and success.

Our current guest is Mary Crisafulli, Chief Talent Officer with ClearVision Optical. Her charge is to retain, develop and grow a "leading team" within the company. She and her team manage all training efforts, including management and technical training, and the content for the company's national sales meetings. In addition, Mary leads the more "traditional" HR initiatives including payroll, benefits, and employee events.

Most relevant to this podcast, Mary also spearheads Recruiting for ClearVision; bringing in talented people, "onboarding" them and helping them to develop via formal training and "on-the-job" learning activities.

In this podcast, Mary and I discuss how you can prepare for and best respond to Behavioral Interview Questions. You know ... the questions that often begin with "Tell me about a time when you ..." Tune in for suggestions on how you can actually use these questions to your advantage.

Mary also shares the recruiter's perspective on other "tough" interview questions -- why she asks them, and what she's really hoping to hear. Are you a "job hopper"? Gain some ideas on how to position your previous experience in an honest, but compelling way.

After listening to the podcast, let me know your thoughts and reactions. What interviewing do's or don'ts would you like to share?

Interested in learning more about job opportunities at ClearVision? Visit their Careers page.

Job-Hopper or Re-Careerist: How Often Should You Switch?

Thanks, Ram, for sharing your thoughts. It's cool to know that this NY-based blog can "ping" people in India!

Your comments about people with "high competencies and knowledge" who "want to venture in life, try new ideas, bring creative thoughts, [and] implement them" with different employers made me think. I can remember back-in-the-day when HR folks used to label people who changed jobs frequently as job-hoppers.

This typically didn't convey a positive image -- the connotation was: "This person doesn't have the ability or stick-to-it-ive-ness to hold down a job." Job-hoppers often were pre-judged to have been the cause of their own "demise" -- be it an attitude problem (didn't get along with the boss), a skill-deficiency (couldn't do the work) or a work-ethic issue (didn't get to work on-time).

Not to belittle the importance of the career success factors I just mentioned, I believe the hypothesis about people with high competencies and knowledge [like readers of this blog!] may be correct. Perhaps you've changed jobs to find the right "fit" (with your manager, team or company). Or, maybe you've made lateral moves to gain a cross-section of experience within a company.

These thoughts made me recall an MSN article I read last year about re-careerists. It didn't offer an exact definition, but suggested that re-careerists "challeng[e] established ideas about education, jobs, and careers, and [find] new opportunities for personal and financial growth in the changing job market." That's what Competent Advantage TM is all about -- people who are proactive about building their strengths to secure positions that enable them to achieve great things.

I figure I'm in my 9th "job" (not counting my teaching or independent consulting gigs while working for other employers) in my career. How about YOU?