Are we that shallow? I guess we are that shallow and maybe I do that too. To be honest, when I used to recruit for our company, the way an applicant looked probably did affect my first impression of him or her. But did it determine whether they got the opportunity for the second round of interviews.  I really hope not and I don’t believe so. But,  I guess the question is, knowing what we know  now about the beauty bias for both men and women, what are we personally going to do about it? Well I know that I am going to be more conscious about it. I want to ask myself the question bravely at the right time- is this person’s looks affecting my judgement? I am sure if we ask ourselves this one simple question whether it is about the men or women we date, or whether it is about colleagues that we work with or whether we are recruiting, we can then address this issue upfront. I mean, enough is enough. The world is being ruled by superficial values – how we look, how much money we have, what car do we drive, who do we know. Let’s go back and simplify. Let’s jump out of this shallow cloud and dive back down to Earth. That’s where the soul of humanity is anyway.  Do we have a deal?

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Attainable

R: Relevant

T: Time Bound

And here is the new addition!

E: Evaluate

R: Reevaluate

I love the ER, I really do!

Today’s post is really about two issues:

A. Does Management by Objectives really work?

B. Why I love the -ER!

A. Does Management by Objectives really work from your experience?

From my experience, I see that managing by objectives can only work if:

1.appraisal managers know how to set SMART objectives which is often not the case

2. managers clearly communicate the SMART objectives to the employees and the employees really understand them and what achieving them means for them, for the team and for the organization as a whole

3. the organization has a transparent culture where people are held accountable. Managers should be held accountable if they don’t  take this process seriously.

Notice the word managers in bold over and over again! By managers, I don’t just mean executive managers, but direct report managers, supervisors,  line managers or team leaders. I usually find the bottleneck is with them; maybe they aren’t sold on the idea. Maybe the appraisal system used is not user-friendly or maybe they hate doing ‘admin’ work. Somehow, they need to believe in the system and be trained to use it to their advantage and for the development of their employees. That should be the aim of any company that claims it is managed by objectives. Get your  managers on board or get them out! If they don’t believe in the system, it may be a sign that they do not share the same organizational values; employees, especially managers, with different values become toxic to the organization eventually.

B. Why I love the -ER!

I love the E – Evaluate and the R – Reevaluate because if managers sit with their team members and discuss and review their objectives on a regular basis, the performance management system may work a lot better.  Constant yet more ‘formal’ communication will allow employees to freely discuss where they are with their objectives and if they will be able to meet them; if not, managers and their subordinates can discuss what can be done so they can meet them or even change them before it is too late. Best practice states that managers should meet with their employees 4 times – 2 informal meetings, 1 semi-formal and the actual appraisal interview. This of course is the minimum.

So, I hope that if you are a manager, you realize that you have a huge role to play to develop your team and to move your agency forward. Objectives are not to be taken lightly.  I have a lot to say about performance management in general, but I will leave that to future blog posts.

So what can YOU do to be the MVP of your team at work? Well, I found this simplified checklist by Robert Half International on careerbuilder that I thought could give you a good start.  I recommend you check out the article for details, but for now, I will just share the checklist headlines..just to wet your appetite:

1. Have a winning mind-set

2. Don’t be afraid to change plays

3. Develop the ability to make tough calls

4. Practice good sportsmanship

5. Offer to pinch hit

6. Build an enthusiastic fan base

Listing the above doesn’t give the article justice. It is worth you checking it out. Good luck and let’s play ball.

^{The term recognizes that learning is not confined to childhood or the classroom, but takes place throughout life and in a range of situations. During the last fifty years, constant scientific and technological innovation and change has had a profound effect on learning needs and styles. Learning can no longer be divided into a place and time to acquire knowledge (school) and a place and time to apply the knowledge acquired (the workplace).[3]}

Instead, learning can be seen as something that takes place on an on-going basis from our daily interactions with others and with the world around us.”

I found this really neat website created by The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County where Lori Reed, Training Specialist PLCMC,  takes you through a tutorial on how to be a lifelong learner. Lori  discusses the basic concept of what learning is. Many employees I interact with think that learning has to be through workshops and they are so disappointment if the workshop doesn’t meet their expectations. They also think that learning has to be done by their line manager. These are just some avenues for acquiring knowledge, but they can learn a lot more if they change their mindset. What they don’t realize is that learning is an ongoing process as mentioned above and it is constant. You can learn from talking to strangers, from reading a book and especially from  watching and listening to others.

I am not an expert, but maybe you should ask yourself these 3 questions and see if you are a lifelong learner.

1. Are you in control of your own learning?

2. Are you curious – not just in a classroom setting, but at anytime?

3. Are you someone who wants to learn more and is open to new ideas, irrespective of the circumstances around you?

After you have answered the above and whether you find you are a lifelong learner or not, you may find the list below helpful to start becoming one!

The 7 1/2 habits to be a lifelong learner : (I have taken this list verbatim and do not claim any of this to be mine.)

1. Begin with the end in mind

2. Accept responsibility for your own learning

3. View problems as challenges

4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.

5. Create your own learning toolbox.

6. Use technology to your advantage.

7. Teach, mentor others.

7 1/2.  PLAY! Be curious and read!

So get started! I know I have some work to do myself!

Our discussion started off with ‘what are the challenges women face in the workplace in Dubai, specifically in the communications industry?’ In my opinion, women in Dubai face three major obstacles from the start:

1. Life in Dubai in specific is very hectic. I remember reading a book about the McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer back when I was in university, and thinking that this only applies to the U.S; however, I realize that this applies globally as well and in particular, to Dubai. The communications industry in Dubai is McDonaldized. Hectic and long working hours, poor work-life balance, and being at the mercy of your clients night and day are just some of the factors that lead to stressful experiences in the workplace.

2. UAE laws, like some other countries around the world, do not cater to retaining women in the workplace. I can swear that the UAE maternity law is written by a man because 45 days off for maternity is not enough for a new mother (or father) to connect with their newborn. I guess the U.S. is pretty bad too when it comes to maternity. The UAE law obviously needs to change.

3. At a micro level, companies in the MENA region are often managed by men and therefore, have not catered to retaining women in the workplace. What for? Women work until they have families and then they leave;  you know what, that is ok! Is it? The number of women working in the communications industry in Dubai is increasing dramatically so it is time for all organizations to start thinking about how to keep us in the workforce and at the same time, save money by not having to replace us!

Coaching women and mothers on how to handle all the constraints that the above three obstacles imposes on them is actually a very good idea, but will this lead to any concrete change? Will less women quit because they will learn how to better integrate their work with there personal life regardless of the environmental  and social pressures they face? I personally feel that there needs to be more concrete changes at the micro level when it comes to the culture of a company and how they plan to retain women. Changing laws is a different ball game, but changing a culture may be in our control. I actually believe that it is not the women that need coaching (only), but the men that run organizations do too. By changing their mindset, we can then push for flex hours, part-time opportunities, nurseries at the workplace and longer maternity. I find it ironic that companies in this region strive to be like the top 100 companies in the world, but brush the retention of mothers under the carpet.

What does your company do to retain women and mothers in the workforce?

Our Core Values- www.gonabit.com

1. Do things that matter
2. Be the CEO of something
3. Race like a pro – fast and smart
4. Leave happiness in your wake
5. No one wins unless everyone wins
6. Be remarkable daily

Lovin’ it!

But as I was reading Guy Kawasaki’s blog on bnet.com, I remembered that I never quite worked on that ‘describe yourself in one sentence’ or ‘what is your mantra’?

Well, my mantra is actually quite clear. ‘I get things done’. Yes. That’s it! So, what is your mantra? Don’t be complicated. Simplify.

Then we started talking about our fathers and how different they are from our husbands or brothers – not in a bad way, just different. But hey! Guess what?! We are different from our mothers too. So, I guess we need to sit and really think of what is expected from our partners and make our expectations realistic.  Understanding that we, as women, are different too will help put things in perspective; maybe it’s time to find joy in the differences – biological or other- that make our partnership unique.