Recognizing the work of PADV

It's hard for me to believe that men really hit women.  I know it shouldn't be hard to believe - I've know too many victims, read too many stories, seen too many ugly results.  But still, at my core -- I find it hard to believe.

But it's true.  And sometimes women hit men.  And sometimes they - men and women - do much more.  And sometimes the threat, the psychological beating is just as effective as the kick or the punch.

I'm an HR leader -- by work and by passion.  And in all my years of work, safety has been a critical part of my role.  I've thought of the workplace as "my place" - where I was responsible for the well being of every one of my employees.  And that is what connected me to PADV -- Partners Against Domestic Violence.  Their vision is to create a community free of domestic violence.

I wanted - and still do - a workplace free of violence and the threat of violence.  And often that threat comes from home and into work.

Today I'm working with PADV and SHRM Atlanta to equip HR folks in the metro area with the knowledge, the tools and the support to make sure the team at "their place" is safe and secure.  I want HR to know the signs and the steps; I want co-workers know how to offer meaningful support; I want victims know where to get help; I want supervisors to be informed; I want businesses to have a game plan.  I want us to realize that just because we want to believe "oh, it doesn't happen here", that we know that it does happen here.  Every day.

It's about building a web of trust, about having a plan and a response.  But more importantly it's about knowing the reality.

Every year approximately 18,700 violent workplace events are committed by an intimate of the victim at the workplace.

Every year.  As an HR leaders I would sometimes wake in the night, playing over in my head a conversation, a concern -- wondering if I had missed a signal that meant employees were in danger.

It's time to be informed.  It's time to be involved.  If you are HR in metro Atlanta, check out www.padv.org.

And if you are HR anywhere, join the conversation and the expectation that HR has an important role to play.  According to the CDC, one in four women are - at least once in their life - a victim of domestic violence.  Violent domestic violence. 

And a great Peachtree Roadrace it was!

The first year Marc ran the Peachtree Road Race was 1980.  I was two days away from giving birth to our second son, Tom and my dad drove Marc down the start of the race - stopping first to get a box of donuts and a cup of coffee.  My dad then drove to Piedmont Park, walked over to the finish line with his chair, read the AJC, drinking his coffee and eating a couple donuts until Marc finished the race.  Marc's picture shows him as a young man in a heavy cotton t-shirt with the faded letters COACH on the front (from our first son's Lamaze birth experience).  Every year, including this year, as Marc and I now walk the Peachtree and Tom waits at the finish line (having run the race himself), we tell that story.  We talk about my dad - gone now for over 25 years- we talk about my years at Grady when I "worked" the race, we talk about the great leadership that has made the Road Race what it is, we talk about the wheelchair racers (and the year I stood by a woman who was sobbing as her friend wheeled by - the first time in three years that he wasn't picked up by the wheelchair bus for being "too slow.")  We talk about the first year the boys ran, the friends who joined us, the great bands.  We talk about donuts and the AJC and finishing in the park.  Like many, the Peachtree Road Race is a 4th of July tradition for us - a wonderful time for remembering how fortunate we are to be in the great city of Atlanta, to be blessed with a loving family, and even in challenging times, to know we are living a grand and wonderful life here in Atlanta. 

SHRM Volunteers and the National Conference

I've shared with many of you that the title of this little blog comes from my personal affection for the Walt Disney story of Johnny Appleseed (and now my deep appreciation for the "real" guy) and my late night, under the covers with a flashlight childhood reading of Nancy Drew.  The Disney story of Johnny is about a "little" guy who wanted to do "big" things and while he didn't have the means to buy a covered wagon and load up and head West, he did have good boots and a sack of apple seeds.  And so he walked the West and plants apple orchards across this country.  And Nancy Drew - well, she was "just a girl" whose curiosity, friendliness, tenacity and sense of justice kept her on track to "do the right thing."  Plus, she had that really cute little convertible...

This week I have been honored to serve with the SHRM Atlanta volunteers during the SHRM National Conference here in Atlanta.  Leaders have been at the job of creating the volunteer army for over a year - and special thanks to Mary Lynn Miller, Teela Jackson and Maureen Whatley for creating a strategy and structure to ensure folks were where they needed to be - every time!  And volunteers showed up - in droves - to fill conference bags, to direct 16,000 attendees to the right places on time, to host sessions, to serve in the bookstore, and the list goes on.

SHRM Atlanta demonstrates all that is good about the HR profession and all that is good about a well run service organization.  At SHRM Atlanta we "get" business, we "get" HR, and we "get" hospitality.  We solved a lot of problems this week for attendees and we were Drew like in our friendliness and tenacity.  And we certainly planted a lot of seeds -- good thoughts and ideas -- for conference attendees which we hope will bear fruit throughout our profession.

It's a really great team - I'm glad to be a member!

sometimes a geographic cure works!

So much of life and learning is about seeking solutions....and on good days it's about realizing that problems that seemed without a solution - are actually easy to solve! We've all learned that "geographic cures" -- moving (or running away) instead of solving a problem seldom works. But the other day, I realized that moving and changing our perspective is sometimes the perfect answer.

A friend from high school was visiting me (she's been taking a CTI coaching class here in Atlanta and I've enjoyed her company periodically while she finishes her certification). I was complaining about habits that are hard to break, including my inability to hang up my clothes at night. Inability, unwillingness - whatever the issue, on Sunday, the chair is filled with clothes. My friend looked at me and without pause said "get changed in your closet." That simple. Of course, I realized I walked by the closet and past my night clothes to get the chair where I piled everything. Moving to the closet - closer to my night clothes, not to mention closer to hangers has made all the difference.

I share this story because it reminds me that more often than not, solutions are simple and finidng simple requires a new set of eyes. Many of us "manage change" and for me this was a flash of obvious....changing my "place" made changing my behavior simple.

With more complex problems to solve, I find myself asking....is there a solution that is that simple and if there was a simple solution, what would it look like...

Living in Community

Thoughts about community have been on my mind of late. SHRM-Atlanta is actively pursuing ways to Build a Better Atlanta for Business and Careers. A terrific coach I know is feeling a strong call to community build. The "Great Recession" has caused most of to reflect about connections and community and the things that really matter.

A house guest recently shared a story about her grandfather. They lived in a small town, more of a crossroads really, near New Orleans. He was a farmer and it was the depression. He flooded a field and grew rice for his neighbors. No one went hungry in that little town. Those that came to harvest, in turn, helped someone else in ways that were needed.

My dad used to share that during those same hard times, he would often come home from school to find some "new neighbor" invited to dinner - someone passing by who had stopped by the church. My mother's family lived on "Main Street", near the railroad track. There was always something simmering on the stove top for those who came to the back door on their way someplace.

Community. Simply acts of kindness. Most of us have those stories in our families. We're fortunate that way. In this time in history, we're learning to form communities a bit differently and sometimes we don't quite know how. But we're learning. Because we know building community is some of the best work there is.

I am sure you have a community story to share. I'd love to hear it.

Leadership is an Affair of the Heart

I've been reading Kouzes and Posner's new book - The Truth About Leadership. In the book, they lay out 10 truths about leadership. Truth Number 10 is that Leadership is an Affair of the Heart. Here's a quote "There's no integrity and honor without heart. There's no commitment and conviction without heart. There's no hope and faith without heart. There's no trust and support without heart. There's no learning and risk taking without heart. Nothing important ever gets done without heart."

It has certainly been my experience and I bet yours as well, that what I remember most about great bosses, up and coming new leaders and wonderful teammates is that they had heart. It's what made us connect. It's what made us accomplish more than we thought was possible. It's what made us reach.

Today I am grateful for those co-workers and leaders who lent their heart to the work and to the development of others. They were - and are - terrific role models.

Do you remember in the movie "You Got Mail" when everyone was saying - "It's not personal, it's business" and Meg Ryan says "What do they mean by that? I mean, shouldn't it be personal?"

Kouzes and Posner end this chapter with "Leaders put their hearts into their businesses and their business in their hearts. They love what they're doing and they stay in love with leading. (they stay in love with leading - I think that bears repeating), with the people who do the work, with what their organization's produce, and with those who honor them by using their products and services."

Being a Leader with Heart...it's the only way to go!

The week of April 26th, Bob Littell, with the help of his friends, is launching Atlanta's Pay It Forward Week. This is an opportunity for all of us to connect some folks that we know ought to be connected. The basic principle behind Netweaving and Pay It Forward is that whenever we are in a conversation, discussing an opportunity or a problem, we should be thinking, "Do I know someone who can help?" And if the answer is "Yes, I do", then the next question is "How will I get them connected?" Bob would suggest the best way is to personally host a meeting to bring folks together. Bringing folks together for their gain, not yours - that's the Netweaving part. And the Pay It Forward piece is asking those folks who you connected to do the same for someone else. It's a pretty simple concept that seems to be catching on.

Obviously connecting people is something we should be doing all year long, and the idea behind this inaugural week long event is to "teach the skill." We all want to be helpful, we all want to plants seeds like Johnny did and to solve problems, like Nancy did, but it takes time and it takes intentionality.

We're looking forward to lots of connections taking place that will create energy, creativity and solutions. And perhaps, along with that, a good number of new friendships. Given our busy lives, it's not to early to start planning our hosting opportunities for the week of the 26th. I'm thinking about 3 or 4 people I know who ought to be connected and now I need to get the time scheduled to bring them together. It will be fun and I bet it will prove helpful. I'd love to hear if you plan to participate, if you are fan of Netweaving, and if you have skills, ideas, and/or experiences to share.

Thanks Bob for getting us focused on an idea that will make all of our networks stronger!