Our Top 5 Titles Year To Date For 2010

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Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace Preview online
Is It Bias? Making Diversity Work Preview online
Managing Four Generations in the Workplace Preview online
Creating the Respect Effect: Preventing Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Preview online
Getting To Yes Preview online

The ability to spot a biased attitude is key to functioning effectively in a diverse workplace. Biases - defined here as "inflexible positive or negative, conscious or unconscious beliefs about a particular category of people" - are, after all, responsible for feelings of exclusion, reduced productivity, and the resignation of approximately 2 million professionals per year ( "Corporate Leavers Survey," Level Playing Field Institute, January 2007).

Biases come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes what seems like a bias on the surface isn't. Other times biased attitudes are disguised or submerged and, therefore, slip past us undetected. Can you figure out which category the following example falls into?

Joe, a strong advocate for diversity/inclusion in his organization, is speaking on the topic at the annual managers meeting. After expressing his concerns about the lack of women and minorities in the upper level of his organization, he seeks to explain it by saying, "I don't want to offend anyone here, but I have to be honest. The problem throughout the industry is that men just don't get it. They still feel - whether consciously or unconsciously - that women don't belong at the executive level."

Biased? Unbiased?

Before I give you the answer, let's take a closer look at what's going on with Joe. First, Joe is obviously an advocate for diversity/inclusion and it is reasonable to assume that the odds are that he is - as best as any of us can be - relatively bias-free. Also, Joe is a man and he is saying something negative about other men. You would think that he wouldn't be biased against his own group.

Well, as you may have predicted, those two elements were designed to throw you off. Joe's statement is indeed a biased one. It doesn't matter that he is denigrating his own group (other men). In fact it is not unusual for people to hold biased attitudes toward the group to which they belong. Also, sadly, even those of us who are most involved in diversity/inclusion efforts can fall prey to bias; no one is immune to this inflexible way of thinking.

The big clue here is that Joe made an inflexible statement about all men - that's where the bias comes in. Joe's attitude that "...men just don't get it. They still feel...that women don't belong at the executive level" is a statement applied to all men - every single one of them. If, on the other hand, he had said something like, "The problem throughout the industry is that some men just don't get it" he would have been off the hook. It is the implication that all men feel the same way that creates a problem for Joe.

Sondra Thiederman is a speaker and author on bias-reduction, diversity, and cross-cultural issues. Her latest book is Making Diversity Work: Seven Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace which provides practical tools for defeating bias and bias-related conflicts in the workplace. Most recently, she has completed work on the training video Is It Bias? Making Diversity Work which is available through Learning Communications ( www.learncom.com ).

Copyright 2010 Cross-Cultural Communications

20 Tips for Building Your Self Confidence by Bud Bilanich

Confidence, along with clarity of purpose and direction, commitment to personal responsibility and competence, is one of my 4 C's of Success. You cannot succeed if you are not self confident, if you don't believe in yourself.

Tweet 56 in my new book Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less says...

Self confidence must come from within. Outside reinforcement and strokes can help, but you have to build your own confidence.

I have found that inspirational quotes are helpful in building your self confidence. Below, you will find 20 of my favorite quotes on self confidence.

Quotes are helpful; and they can inspire you. However, but like Success Tweet 56 says, you have build your own self confidence. Here is how I suggest you use the following 20 quotes

• Read each quote.
• Think about it.
• Ask yourself: How does this apply to me?
• Decide how you will use the ideas in this quote to build your confidence.
• Follow through on what you decide.

Enjoy the quotes. Then get busy using them to build your self confidence.

Muhammad Ali:
It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.

Rosalyn Carter:
If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can't accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.

Ilie Nastase:
If you have confidence you have patience. If you are patient you will succeed. Confidence, then is everything.

Marcus Garvey:
If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.

Thomas Jefferson:
We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.

Hannibal:
We will either find a way, or make one.

Theodore Roethke:
What we need are more people who specialize in the impossible.

Bertrand Russell:
What we need is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out.

Brian Tracy:
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Terry Bradshaw:
What's the worst thing that can happen to a quarterback? He loses his confidence.

Stewart E. White:
Do not attempt to do a thing unless you are sure of yourself; but do not relinquish it simply because someone else is not sure of you.

Richard L. Evans:
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.

Emile Coue:
Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other people.

Norman Vincent Peale:
First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, I believe.

Archimedes:
Give me a lever long enough, and I will move the earth.

Nancy Kerrigan:
Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose. Everyone has bad stretches and real successes. Either way, you have to be careful not to lose your confidence or get too confident.

Norman Vincent Peale:
People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.

Zig Ziglar:
Put all excuses aside and remember this: YOU are capable.

Samuel Johnson:
Self confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.

Bud Bulanich is the author of Straight Talk for Success; Your Success GPS; and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. Visit his blog at www.SuccessCommonSense.com.

Are Your Employees Engaged and/or Empowered? by Kittie Watson

Many company leaders behave as if once an employee accepts a position that he or she is committed and married to the job. Unfortunately, especially in today's environment, many workers view their jobs as temporary with a trial period of testing to see if it is a good fit. In fact, many employees with both short and long tenure fail to stay in jobs long-term. Since some reports suggest that only 17-29% of employees are actively engaged in their job at any one time, most companies have room for improvement. What leaders want, according to a report in the Ivey Business Journal, is an employee who "...is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work...Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest the discretionary effort, exceeding duty call, to see that the organization succeeds."

Yet, it is estimated that 12% of all high potentials are actively searching for new jobs (September 2009, Corporate Executive Board) And, most current business publications report that as the economy recovers, 40-60% of all employees will actively seek new employment. Given these staggering statistics, employee engagement is a top priority and it is important for leaders to look for and recognize warning signs of disengagement. For example, it is common for disengaged employees to be more negative and pessimistic. In addition, leaders may notice a slowdown in productivity, low aspirations, expressions of helplessness, and passive aggressive behavior.

Leaders need to ask, "What can I do to engage our employees before it is too late?" Don Lowman, in his recently published book, Closing the Engagement Gap, asked tens of thousands of employees in six countries (including U.S., China, and India) that question. He discovered that the best way to increase employee engagement is for senior management to show interest in employees' well being. In fact, demonstrating interest is more impactful than career advancement, relationships with direct supervisors, and even higher pay.

Another method to demonstrate interest and keep employees engaged, according to the HBR article, Powerlessness Corrupts, is to invest in ongoing inclusion and empowerment strategies. Leaders can:

•  Be more transparent with information.
•  Recognize employee contributions publicly.
•  Include employees in brainstorming sessions.
•  Involve employees in decision-making processes.
•  Provide networking opportunities.
•  Invite employees to develop initiatives on their own.

At Innolect, we believe leaders have the ability to attract and retain top talent. Leaders can identify workplace practices that increase engagement and productivity. When companies focus on engaging and including talent, they find that employees feel more grounded, job satisfaction goes up, turnover goes down, and productivity improves.

Kittie Watson, a founding Principal and COO of Innolect, has more than 20 years of experience as an organizational excellence consultant. She is a nationally recognized expert on listening and communications and has been featured in national publications and broadcast programs, including: Money magazine and ABC's 20/20. www.innolectinc.com