FRIENDS, WITH BENEFITS

Umpty-ump research studies tell us it’s good to have friends at work.  Social scientists – academic and commercial types – tick off the reasons; friends …

• Act as antidotes to declining employee engagement
• Provide relief from stress (eight out of ten of us suffer from it)
• Bond through a common sense of purpose
• Improve productivity and profitability
• Help with employee retention.

Yet few of these seers tell how, exactly, to find buddies in the 8 to 5 maelstrom.  There are some pretty obvious no-nos, like senior-senior manager with his/her staff member. 

And then there’s the matter of trust.  These days, the sharing of lives and values, somehow, seems risky.  Employment is not necessarily secure, and it feels better to carefully find those with whom to bond.  Besides, separating work and life is a good thing to do.

On the other hand, psychologists point out, we’re social animals, in social institutions.  So if leaders set the stage for appropriate camaraderie, the culture becomes that much stronger and its workforce, more resistant to outside forces. 

Puzzled?  The answer just could be part of orientation, onboarding, new hire initiation or whatever it’s called.  Right now, companies like Hyatt are assigning buddies to just arrived employees, individuals who will help with insights and questions.  That kind of match depends on (we hope) some rigorous screening and assessment, working to fit diverse peoples together for a longer-term relationship.  It sure helps when a tenured someone helps out a newbie, with no strings attached.

Now that’s what we call friends, with benefits.

A NEW KIND OF INFLUENCER

Next to the August Harvard Business Review’s cover article on influence – and how to wield it, the type of confidante-companion-influencer we’re thinking about is less dramatic.  But potent, nonetheless.

Our idea stems from the personal shopper hired, usually, by department stores, often, by high-end boutiques.  Popular in the ‘80s, image stylists’ employment waned during the 90s and ‘aughts, but now is flourishing.

The reasons are many:  To bridge the gap between on-line retailing and stores.  To offer consumers a winnowing of the humongous variety available on the Internet.  To give shoppers a one-on-one friend who will validate their choices, naysay any non-figure flatterers, and, in general, become her go-to buddy for purchases – and other paraphernalia.

That last reason is the critical one.  Sure, apps now exist that can take the place of this personal shopper, in many cases linking an actual salesperson via texts and images to a potential buyer.  There is, though, no substitute for a “live-and-in-person” friend, one who will be frank about what you’ve selected.

Why not, then, a similar live app for work? Gallup has long advocated for a best friend at work, citing it as one important employee engagement criterion.  Yet a best friend won’t always truth-tell, especially in corporate America.  Mentors, too, exist in a different sphere; their function is more coach and sponsor than confidante and companion.  The buddy system usually works during the onboarding of a new hire, left behind when that newbie finds his/her grounding in the business.  And our manager is, well, our manager.

Combine the best of personal shopper with work friend, though, is our thinking.  All of us can use an objective sounding board, an individual who also understands us and our interests.  No one we know would turn down the opportunity to spend time with an influencer, and that mutual investment of time.  An inside confidante will know the players, understand the context, and act as a trusted guide when gut and experience aren’t clicking.

Call it MyInfluencer.com – and make sure it’s real.   [PS:  Please credit us.]

THE E*D*U*C*A*T*I*O*N OF US

The jury’s still out, as they say.

Everyone, though, agrees on one fact:  The current (and sad) state of American education.  After that, there’s zip consensus, with remedies as wide ranging as our demographics, from charter schools and online curricula to the strict disciplines and draconian demands of the early to mid-20^th century. 

Our take:  No one’s right.  And no one agrees.

What bothers us most about this ongoing, never-settled argument are the implications for us, as mentors, coaches, and teachers for our professions.  A healthy debate, according to our thinking, should be about forever learning, or life-long education.  The skills and knowledge we accrue throughout our earlier business years only serves as a great foundation for continuing to feed ourselves intellectually.

Yet there’s always a but. 

All these ruminations got started when we volunteered last year as teaching assistants in an urban Midwestern elementary school.  Now we’re interacting with what might be would-be communicators and designers and marketers of tomorrow. 

It’s not pretty.  Kids can’t spell, can’t read, can’t do simple math – in spite of one-on-one work and patient repetitions and drills.    They do like to draw, and express themselves freely when asked for visual representations of concepts and numbers.  And they’re extremely voluble, looking for conversations about home and life and the world.  But not about school and education.

What does that mean for us as practitioners?  Where are the future change leaders and branding experts?  And how do we engage our staff, our teams in not only helping them learn and grow, but supporting  others in their brain- and capability-building efforts?

It’s a puzzlement.  And a very personal responsibility that begs for hearing about lessons learned – from others.

CHANGE, BROUGHT TO YOU BY ...

New to the business world-at-large is something many of us have been doing for quite some time:  Sponsoring.

In the new parlance, a sponsor is a few steps up from a mentor, or someone who actively promotes you in the workplace, helping you get to the top.  It’s not a role to be solicited.  Nor is it conferred upon the meek.  Rather, says a recent Fortune magazine article, a sponsor-executive bets on your career and your track record, expecting the same loyalty in return. 

How is sponsorship all that different than our search for executive support for a large corporate initiative?  In the latter case, the naming of a sponsor is also a critical nuance for success:  She, he, or they need to have internal credibility, external presence, and a reputation for removing barriers and getting projects done. 

Or when we as marketers identify a sports or arts event, entertainment or cause that we want to own, er, sponsor?  Similar criteria rule:    Both parties must be credible, work together on a deal or deals of mutual benefit, and provide assurance of success, all along the way.

Easy to find?  Not really.  There’s no sure thing in sponsorships, whether of the change or the collaborative or the personal variety.    Validating what an executive has done (or not) in the past will help.  Has s/he managed the situation in good and not-so-great times, with grace under a lot of pressure?  Will they stand up for the outcomes, given that the cause is the right one?  Is it possible for the sponsor to act with not only integrity, but also with a touch of humor and humility?

Acquisitions and mergers, transitions and big lumpy strategy changes (to mention just a few) tend to reveal all sorts of behaviors in managers and employees that might not have been witnessed before.  Some good, some not.  So when thinking about the specific upcoming change and about the right kind of sponsor, prepare well.   Find that star manager.  And make sure you’ve got his/her back.