Connect Authentically During Workplace Investigations
I first learned how to investigate workplace misconduct when I worked for Target. I remember after I completed my first investigation, I conducted the interview, got to the truth, they wrote a statement, management terminated them, and police made the arrest. As they were leaving with police, the person turned to me and thanked me. I was confused. I didn’t know what to say. So I went with what my…
Telling An Emotionally True Story Can Stop An Escalating Conflict
The next time you are preparing for a workplace investigation or a difficult conversation, remember that human emotions are universal. Human Resources professionals are typically brought into the conversation when feelings are at their most intense. If a team member is accused of sexual harassment, all parties have emotional responses whether the accusation proves to be true or false. Coworkers may have shared details about their salaries and heated arguments…
Sit Up, Stand Up and Engage in Whole Body Empathy
When an interviewer’s physicality becomes in tune with those they are interviewing an honest, authentic dialogue ensues. The Empathic Investigation utilizes both verbal and non-verbal communication skills to effectively create a connection between an investigator, accusers and those accused. This is what we call whole body empathy. The traditional concept of empathy has a number of cliche meanings. The one that stands out is when another individual is telling us…
How an empathic culture gets built
Workplace Culture is built in everyday moments and tested during the difficult moments. Difficult moments test us at work too and can be determining factors on how we are perceived at doing our jobs. If your job is a field goal kicker and you miss a game winning field goal during playoffs, people are going to judge. Difficult moments also challenge our workplace culture. Culture is tested when someone messes…
Pushed off the entrepreneurial cliff
Angela Nino found her dream job in the midst of a toxic work environment, was pushed off the entrepreneurial cliff, and with the help of Improv built her own company. Click below to watch the video.
Untrained Heart: What If No One Cared I Work Hard, Hate My Job or Have Great Ideas
I know people that say the following on a regular basis. Save the judgements for a moment and just listen to their rants. No one cares how hard I work. I can show up before everyone else. I can leave after everyone else. I can write longer emails. I can express more opinions in meetings. But, there will be no recognition of my efforts because they are not important. No…
Conversation stalled? Use a mirror or lay a brick
There is a profound moment I experience when I am talking with a work colleague and I suddenly have nothing to say. The topic of conversation might be about the weather. Or, the dialogue may be an important discussion related to a decision that affects both of us, and the company. What happens in that pause, in that space where another person is waiting on my response and I have…
Leaders Building Empathic Workplaces Turn to Strength Training
87% percent of CEOs today believe that their company’s financial success is directly tied to the level of empathy within their workforce. 79% of HR professionals agree. They recognize that empathy throughout an organization influences ease of hiring, retention rates, productivity, how customers are treated and overall business health. On top of that, the State of Workplace Empathy Study found that employees are happy to work longer hours when they’re working…
How Improv Can Help Law Enforcement Think On Their Feet
Certain skills in law enforcement aren’t easy to learn. It can take years. And not knowing them early on in the job can strongly influence our long-term success or failure in a law enforcement role. It can even put ourselves or our colleagues in danger. Thinking on our feet is one of these valuable skills. And improv is the safe, effective and fun way to hone this priceless job skill….
Empathy in Law Enforcement
For the police, the motto of “Protect and Serve” is a noble ambition. Officers, departments and administration prove time and again that they’re committed to these principles at their very core. But on a daily basis, officers face horrors, dangers, despair and scrutiny most of us could never imagine. In these high-stress jobs, compassion, patience and understanding can “run dry”. We struggle to maintain the empathy needed to “protect, serve,…
Problem Solving – It’s is all About Creativity
Problem solving is perhaps one of the most sought-after traits during the employment interview process, but try as we might as recruiters and hiring managers, we’ve always struggled to develop interview questions that truly capture someone’s problem solving ability. In turn, we may hire someone who thinks they’re a problem solver but struggles to think in a non-linear way, impacting their ability to grow in the company. When it comes down…
Protecting your health is no laughing matter (or is it?)
According to the CDC, absenteeism costs employers over $225 billion each year. “Presenteeism”, employees coming to work sick but not being fully productive, accounts for two-thirds of the total cost incurred by employees, according to Harvard Business Review. Employee wellness matters at work not only because you care about your employees; it affects the bottom line. Could something as seemingly “unimportant” or even “distracting” as laughter offer a solution to what Harvard researchers call…