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VIEWPOINT: Seven Great Ways to Create a Really Inclusive Workplace
In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, Elisabeth Kelan writes about “gender fatigue,” which she describes as the phenomenon of people acknowledging that gender inequality exists in general, but not in their workplace. Lots of people, it seems, are all for gender equity, inclusion, and a diverse workforce. Yet, it is just not happening. It reminded […]
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In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, Elisabeth Kelan writes about “gender fatigue,” which she describes as the phenomenon of people acknowledging that gender inequality exists in general, but not in their workplace.
Lots of people, it seems, are all for gender equity, inclusion, and a diverse workforce. Yet, it is just not happening.
It reminded me about the work we do to help them change gender relationships in organizations. We are corporate anthropologists who specialize in helping organizations, and the people within them, do what they really hate to do — namely, change. Fatigue is a great word to capture the challenges that people have when it is time for them to change. They can tell you what must change, who has to change, and even by when they should change. Watch carefully as the time arrives and little is changed. There is a great quote about this: “I am all for change, just don’t change me!”
This is going to have to change if we are going to bring a diverse workforce together. That inclusive and equitable workforce is essential for our organizations if we are going to capitalize on the power of cognitive and gender diversity. It is urgently needed to benefit from the talent brought to organizations by women from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
We better make it easier for them to do what their brain protects them from doing, scrapping the well-honed habits and “truths” of yesterday and creating new ways to see, feel, think, and do for tomorrow.
This is not easy. The brain hates change. So, let’s begin.
First, you must begin to manage your mind. Understand that the brain hates change. Change is literally painful for our brains. Your amygdala protects you by rejecting the unfamiliar and that means you flee, fear, appease, or fight the new and the unknown. If you understand how your brain fights the changes coming, you realize that you have to begin to collaborate with your mind to open it up to new ways of seeing. Understand that you will have to manage your mind and the story it believes to be true.
Second, to change how we see things, we will have to change that story. We begin our work with clients by assessing the stories in their heads today about what is “normal.” You can do this as well. Have your teams write or draw stories about how you do things today. Have them tell you these stories. They will capture their perceptions of their realities as they are today. You will see how they each have a different story, as they almost always do. And those stories are anchoring them in the way their worlds were and limiting their abilities to see what it could become.
Third, what do you “see” for your story tomorrow? Have the team members visualize how they imagine a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization will become in the future. Have them write those visualizations as stories of their futures. Share them. Gather together people at every level of the organization. They must create this shared visualization of a diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) organization and help all individuals say what they are going to do, not someday but the next day. See, believe, act is what we preach.
Fourth, by when will you be living this new story? Once you have those stories with their granular list of actions that you are going to take to get to your visualized future, put a date on them. By when will you have this organization living what you believe to be the future reality you want to create? If you cannot see it, it will not happen. Talk about actual steps you will take.
Fifth, set up small wins. We learn by making the unfamiliar into a familiar new habit. That will only happen if we do something. There must be experiential learning for change to stick. Those small wins are like practice swings. You are going to hit some out of the ballpark. Others are going to fall backwards into what you used to do. You are now in the change zone. You have two choices — accept the failures and fall backwards or rethink your actions and set up another small win. Keep moving forward.
Sixth, change your celebrations. For your imagined reality to come to life requires sharing your stories, rewriting them, celebrating them, and pushing forward again. Make sure you have that visualization of the future everywhere — in pictures, in the new meaning you give your symbols, in videos and in your celebrations. You might even hold a funeral for things you never want to see happen again.
Seventh, pick your heroes carefully. Make your stars people who others want to emulate. Get the right “voices” telling the story you want to hear and listen to them tell those to others at lunch, in the coffee room, and everywhere. Help them lead. They are learning new skills. Get them the coaching they need to sustain your momentum. No need to do it alone.
Like your golf swing, it is a slow process with a lot of practice. Slowly, the change fatigue will turn into the “way we do it here.” You won’t ever arrive. You will have to rethink your on-boarding processes. And look carefully at your recruiters and those who are doing the hiring. All too often, the pool of candidates is fine but those doing the hiring are selecting people who match themselves and are opposed to that diversity that you might be advocating elsewhere in your organization.
Whatever you do, don’t let your brain hijack your vision of a new and better future. It would much rather rest and let the habits and beliefs of the past drive daily life. It is so much easier not to change than to see, feel, and think in new ways so you can do what you and your organization need for a vital, vibrant diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce of the future.
Andi Simon, Ph.D. (www.andisimon.com), author of “Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business,” is a corporate anthropologist and founder of Simon Associates Management Consultants (www.simonassociates.net).
VIEWPOINT: The Work-From-Home Vs. Return-To-Office Debate
What employees, bosses should consider Many Americans have been working from home full time for a year now since COVID-19 hit the U.S. And many prefer that arrangement to a traditional office. In a survey, 65 percent said they want to work remotely full time after the pandemic. That could pose a problem for them and their
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What employees, bosses should consider
Many Americans have been working from home full time for a year now since COVID-19 hit the U.S. And many prefer that arrangement to a traditional office. In a survey, 65 percent said they want to work remotely full time after the pandemic.
That could pose a problem for them and their employers.
Given the availability of vaccines, many companies are planning to ask their employees to return to the office. But a sizable number of workers might balk — or even walk. In a survey by LiveCareer, 29 percent of working professionals said they would quit if they couldn’t continue working remotely.
The reality is that some jobs just don’t work remotely and some people don’t work well remotely. Companies have time to plan for both — and so do employees.
Many employees now expect to be able to work flexibly. Some companies will use a hybrid approach, and others will go back to full time in the office. But if employees are not given the choice to work from home, some will look for other employers that do offer that. Businesses need to assess which jobs are best done remotely and evaluate their employees to understand which ones benefit the company most by either working from home or returning to the office.
Here are some thoughts for workers, business owners, and managers to consider in the work-from-home (WFH) vs. return-to-office debate:
• The WFH type. At this point, it should be relatively easy to assess who is thriving and who is miserable in a WFH setting. What we have found is, regardless if you’re an introvert or an extrovert, the perfect WFH employees are people who embrace life and who have passions and interests outside of work. They work efficiently and are strong performers because they see work as a means to fund their life.
• The traditional office type. I draw a stark contrast between people who thrive working from home and those who are much happier commuting to a traditional brick-and-mortar office environment. These individuals have strong social relationships through work and require the camaraderie that an in-office environment provides. For many, especially those focused on the corner office, work is their life. These are the ones who pull down 80-hour weeks to move up the ladder. They stay glued to their boss, and likely are the ones who just won’t function well at home. Sadly, they are also likely your VP.
• Weigh how your company thinks of you. Although we all like to think that companies care about employees, the harsh reality is that workers are a unit of production and companies will migrate to the setup that senior executives mandate. Do you really want to work for a company that isn’t prepared to accommodate what makes you most productive and happy? Better sharpen that résumé and get ready. Plan now and work your networks.
• Management realities. For many companies, even with the environmental, health and productivity advantages that remote work brings, some simply aren’t going to embrace WFH as an opportunity to streamline operations. They are going to want to return to the “old normal.” A good number of senior management people didn’t do well with the WFH environment because they view WFH through a lens of slacking-off employees, lower productivity, and lower ROI. So it’s likely these companies are not going to make the investments in training, home-based bandwidth, VPNs, and tools to make it work.
There’s coming tension in many companies between what will work best for management and what will work best for the employees. We may see a big migration in workers going to fully virtual companies.
Cynthia Watson (formerly Cynthia Spraggs) is author of “How To Work From Home And Actually Get SH*T Done: 50 Tips for Leaders and Professionals to Work Remotely and Outperform the Office.” She is CEO of Virtira (www.virtira.com), a completely virtual company that focuses on remote team performance.
OPINION: As New York Slips Further into Unrest, Democrats do Nothing to Make Streets Safer
New York State’s criminal-justice system has deteriorated to dangerous levels. At the direction of Democrats in the state legislature and New York City, we have seen drastic changes to parole and bail policies that have undermined police officers and put the public in harm’s way. Misguided policies have coincided with a drastic increase in violent crime, creating
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New York State’s criminal-justice system has deteriorated to dangerous levels. At the direction of Democrats in the state legislature and New York City, we have seen drastic changes to parole and bail policies that have undermined police officers and put the public in harm’s way. Misguided policies have coincided with a drastic increase in violent crime, creating a situation where bad actors are enabled to commit crimes with little fear of repercussions.
New York is in the middle of an emerging crisis. Crime is skyrocketing and, recently, much of it has been directed at Asian-Americans. Just days ago, a man was caught on video repeatedly kicking a 65-year-old Asian-American woman outside an apartment building in Manhattan. The suspect, Brandon Elliot, was recently released on lifetime parole in 2019 after killing his own mother. Earlier this week, a Hasidic couple, visiting from Belgium, was walking through lower Manhattan with their baby when all three were attacked at knifepoint by a man on parole for attempted murder; he had been out of prison for less than two months.
As part of the Democrats’ criminal-justice agenda, local governments were given a now-passed deadline to reconfigure their policing policies to align more closely with those being pushed by New York City progressives or risk losing their state funding. What we have seen in recent months has been an outrage. Clearly, the most recently enacted criminal-justice policies aren’t working; the bedlam we have seen in recent months should be evidence enough.
And yet while some Democrats have acknowledged the issue, most seem resolved not to do anything about it. After they reworked the state’s bail laws — an overwhelming number of offenses now no longer come with bail requirements — and failed to address parole policies that have greatly contributed to this problem, we have slipped further and further into disorder.
Last September, New York inexplicably paroled and released Samuel Ayala after being convicted of raping and murdering two Westchester mothers while their children were present. Additionally, Herman Bell, who was convicted in 1971 of killing two police officers, was let out of prison by the parole board two years prior to that. And convicted cop-killer Anthony Bottom, who was imprisoned for that same murder, was granted parole shortly after Ayala. To the victims and their families, this flies in the face of justice.
In response, I have sponsored a bill (A.5737) to strengthen legislative oversight of the 19-member parole board, including the following provisions:
• Allowing members of the state parole board to be removed by a majority vote of the Senate and Assembly, in addition to removal by the governor;
• Requiring a minimum of three (currently two) members of the 19-member parole board to interview inmates seeking parole; and
• Requiring a unanimous vote of the three members for each determination on parole (currently only a majority is required).
As violent crime continues to worsen, these proposals are more relevant now than ever. Government’s first responsibility to the people it represents is to provide a safe place to live. Right now, those in charge are failing to protect New Yorkers across the state.
William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly Minority Leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact Barclay at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us.
OPINION: U.S.-China Relationship is Essential, Challenging
The relationship between the United States and China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. When it goes smoothly, global tensions are low. When the relationship hits the rocks, tensions rise — not only between the U.S. and China but also throughout the world. For many years, the relationship seemed to be improving. After
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The relationship between the United States and China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. When it goes smoothly, global tensions are low. When the relationship hits the rocks, tensions rise — not only between the U.S. and China but also throughout the world.
For many years, the relationship seemed to be improving. After President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972, the longtime antipathy between the two countries began to fade. Diplomatic ties were established in 1979 and trade was normalized in 2000.
Following the death of Chairman Mao Zedong, there was a sense that China’s leaders were people with whom we could work. It was tempting to think our economic interdependence and growing contacts would enable us to get along, regardless of fundamental differences. President Barack Obama undertook a “pivot” toward Asia, betting that cooperation with Asian allies would check China’s regional and global ambitions.
Under President Donald Trump, trade wars and tariffs took center stage. Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, harshly criticized China, suggested the Chinese Communist Party would lose its grip on power and blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s policy toward the United States, meanwhile, has become more confrontational. Since President Xi Jinping gained power in 2012, China has been increasingly assertive. Xi has promoted China’s system of autocratic government and state control of the economy as an alternative to an international order based on freedom and democracy.
China has cracked down on dissent, solidified its control of Hong Kong, threatened Taiwan, and oppressed the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province. It reacts angrily to criticism of its human-rights record and points to America’s failure to manage the coronavirus pandemic, our deep political divisions, and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol as evidence of flaws in the U.S. system.
China has pressed claims in the South China Sea, antagonizing us and our allies. It has used its Belt and Road Initiative to gain influence in Asia and Africa and seems intent on using its economic power to rewrite the rules of the international order to its benefit. All this challenges U.S. global leadership.
President Joe Biden insists the U.S. will face up to China’s threats to our security and values and confront its human-rights abuses and its attacks on intellectual property and global governance. Some observers expected Biden to take a conciliatory approach to China, but that’s not happening. At a recent meeting with their Chinese counterparts, top U.S. diplomats called out China’s behavior in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and Chinese leaders reacted defensively. Soon afterward, the U.S. and several allies imposed sanctions on Chinese officials over treatment of the Uyghurs.
With Xi showing no signs that China will change its behavior, standing up to China is necessary. It’s also crucial that Biden wants to work with allies, not go it alone. At the same time, Biden says the U.S. will work with China when it’s in our interest to do so, and it often is in our best interest.
To improve the relationship, we must look for commonalities — areas of mutual interest like climate change, arms control, cybersecurity, and trade. This is a key challenge for official diplomacy, but it’s broader than that. Interactions between American and Chinese businesses, artists, athletes, scholars, scientists, students, and ordinary citizens can foster understanding and create common ground.
In the end, this is a relationship that will take serious and sustained work. It is essential that we get it right, not just for the United States and China, but for the world.
Lee Hamilton, 89, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south central Indiana.
LESTER BURT recently joined Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC as a senior manager in the firm’s audit and accounting department. He has more than 11 years of experience in public accounting. Burt’s areas of practice include commercial, manufacturing, not-for-profit, and retirement plans. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Oswego and is
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LESTER BURT recently joined Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC as a senior manager in the firm’s audit and accounting department. He has more than 11 years of experience in public accounting. Burt’s areas of practice include commercial, manufacturing, not-for-profit, and retirement plans. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from SUNY Oswego and is a CPA.
JENNIFER BRILLANTE has been named partner at C & D Advertising. She has been with the firm for 10 years as VP of business development. Brillante has been instrumental in generating significant growth for the 25-year-old firm, which is based in Utica and has a new office location expected to open shortly in Rome. She
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JENNIFER BRILLANTE has been named partner at C & D Advertising. She has been with the firm for 10 years as VP of business development. Brillante has been instrumental in generating significant growth for the 25-year-old firm, which is based in Utica and has a new office location expected to open shortly in Rome. She received several awards including CNYBJ’s 40 under Forty award, Genesis Group Striving for Success, plus four National Telly Awards for excellence in video creativity. Brillante also graduated from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders Program.
BLAKE PENN recently joined Colgate University as its first chief information security officer (CISO) and director of information security. He previously served as information security policy and compliance manager for cybersecurity at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As CISO, Penn will provide operational oversight on issues of data privacy and information security, including data compliance,
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BLAKE PENN recently joined Colgate University as its first chief information security officer (CISO) and director of information security. He previously served as information security policy and compliance manager for cybersecurity at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As CISO, Penn will provide operational oversight on issues of data privacy and information security, including data compliance, business continuity, user awareness, incident response, operational security, and more. He will also provide leadership in developing information-security policies and best practices. Penn’s career in cybersecurity spans nearly two decades, with duties ranging from engineering to executive management. Prior to joining the Georgia Institute of Technology, he served as director of information security at the CPA firm KirkpatrickPrice. Penn spent eight years as a principal consultant at cybersecurity company Trustwave and has also served as CISO at University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Currently completing his doctorate in public administration at Valdosta State University, Penn holds a bachelor’s degree in applied biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in computer science from Columbus State University.
Tioga Downs has appointed DALE JAGER as its new senior regional director of food & beverage for the resort’s culinary team. A certified executive chef, he joins the Tioga Downs Casino Resort team after nearly 40 years of experience in the culinary industry. A founding member of the Chefs de Cuisine organization in Montana, Jager
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Tioga Downs has appointed DALE JAGER as its new senior regional director of food & beverage for the resort’s culinary team. A certified executive chef, he joins the Tioga Downs Casino Resort team after nearly 40 years of experience in the culinary industry. A founding member of the Chefs de Cuisine organization in Montana, Jager began his career with an apprenticeship set up through the American Culinary Federation. He later worked at a few Las Vegas casinos, including the Mirage and Excalibur. He also was an adjunct professor in the food and beverage department at UNLV, made weekly television appearances on his own cooking show, and chaired the Nevada VICA Skills USA Culinary Competition. In 2002, Jager accepted a position in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Cherokee Nation Enterprises as corporate executive chef, where he was responsible for overseeing the entire culinary operation, including 140 cooks. During his tenure at the Cherokee Casino Resort, Jager was responsible for the development of new restaurants and the addition of more than 20 new food and beverage outlets across several corporate properties. In 2011, he brought his skills to the Ford McDowell Casino Resort in Arizona, where he served as director of food & beverage and executive chef, opening additional food outlets and bars at the property while improving profitability and inter-department efficiencies. From there, Jager served as director of food & beverage at the Seven Feathers Casino in Oregon, and then ultimately the Silver Sevens Casino in Las Vegas. Jager earned his associate degree in business management and, in 2020, graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York has hired JOSEPH BARCLAY COLE as senior VP, chief actuary. He will be responsible for providing senior leadership for the company’s actuarial and reinsurance functions. Cole has extensive leadership, actuarial, and life-insurance product-development experience. Prior to joining Security Mutual, he worked at Mass Mutual as a member
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Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York has hired JOSEPH BARCLAY COLE as senior VP, chief actuary. He will be responsible for providing senior leadership for the company’s actuarial and reinsurance functions. Cole has extensive leadership, actuarial, and life-insurance product-development experience. Prior to joining Security Mutual, he worked at Mass Mutual as a member of the product senior leadership team and as head of development for life and protection products designed for people in the workplace. His experience also includes serving as chief actuary for Texas Life Insurance Company. Cole holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
CLARA CHOI was appointed multimedia graphic designer and communications coordinator at WCNY, Central New York’s public broadcaster. She brings nine years of experience. Prior to joining WCNY, Choi was visiting professor, at SUNY-ESF. She earned a bachelor’s degree in visual communication from Duksung University in South Korea and a master’s degree in graphic design from
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CLARA CHOI was appointed multimedia graphic designer and communications coordinator at WCNY, Central New York’s public broadcaster. She brings nine years of experience. Prior to joining WCNY, Choi was visiting professor, at SUNY-ESF. She earned a bachelor’s degree in visual communication from Duksung University in South Korea and a master’s degree in graphic design from University of Florida.
LAUREN EASTON has been appointed events specialist at WCNY. She has five years of experience. Prior to joining WCNY, Easton served as the banquet sales manager at Pascale Companies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies from Syracuse University.
BRUCE FRITZEN was appointed IT & systems support specialist at WCNY. He brings 15 years of experience to WCNY. Prior to joining, Fritzen was a data specialist & client administrator at PatronManager and global product specialist at Tickets.com.
HALEY DUBNOFF was promoted to senior director, marketing, communications, and creative services. She joined WCNY in 2013. Prior to joining, she held communications and public-relations positions at the United Way of Central New York and Loretto. Dubnoff earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
DOUGLAS MOREAU was promoted to senior director, TV production. He joined WCNY in 2006. Prior to that, Moreau was a producer/director at WTVI, Charlotte’s public television station and a director at the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from SUNY Cortland.
TANNER PECHIN was promoted to senior studio supervisor. He joined WCNY in 2014. Prior to joining, Pechin was a production assistant at Otto Media. He earned a bachelor’s degree in cinema studies with a minor in screenwriting from SUNY Purchase.
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