With the arrival of the holiday shopping season, the analysis of a particular work email account serves as a cautionary tale to employers.

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Barbara Bowes honoured with The Communication and Leadership Award

Barbara Bowes, President of the Legacy Bowes Group was honoured Saturday November 17, 2012 for her outstanding contributions to the community through communication and leadership. The Communication and Leadership Award is the highest Toastmasters award available for presentation to a non-Toastmaster.

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Congratulations to Barbara Bowes, who is the recipient of HRMAM's Visionary Leader award. The award is given to an HRMAM member who who has clearly and measurably demonstrated through a key initiative, program, or project that the linkage between Human Resources and organizational objectives can have an exceptional and profound impact on organizational results.  A few photos from the event are included.

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A recent study by the society for Human Resource Management, a leading American HR organization, identified that the top key issue facing organizations in the next ten years is the attraction, recruitment and selection of top talent, and the ability to retain, reward and invest in this top talent once they are on board. This is a phenomenon that is not limited to the United States but will also be a key issue for Canadian organizations as well.

First of all, the market will be an “employee’s” market as new entry candidates and seasoned candidates will be in short supply. Secondly, today’s employees want a different work environment, and if organizations don’t adapt to these needs, they will not be attractive and will not be successful in meeting their recruitment needs.

So, what do employees want? It has been long said that the new generations have different needs but I can safely say as a leading executive recruitment professional, that most candidates I’ve met over the past few years, no matter what age, have very similar personal desires and needs.

Most importantly, candidates want to have some flexibility to balance their life and work. Older candidates for instance are often dealing with older parent issues, others are dealing with teenager and university student issues, while younger workers simply want more flexibility to live, work and play.

Candidates in the next ten years will be demanding an organizational culture where there is open communication, trust, transparency and fairness demonstrated by leaders at all levels of the organization. They will want to know how their work contributes to the overall goals of their organization and they want to be part of the achievement. They want more of a role in decision making, they want to be able to innovate as well as take and be rewarded for calculated risks.

Even more importantly, these employees want to become continuous learners with opportunities to gain new skills, stretch their capabilities and try out new roles and responsibilities. They aren’t worried about titles but they certainly want to be provided with fair market compensation and benefit package. Organizations will also have to keep up with the latest technology because these folks are computer savvy and want the latest tools in order to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness.

And as the environmental issues grow in importance, you will also find candidates who will assess your organization for its commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. Candidates want to work for organizations that have a sense of responsibility for the environment around them. Creative and innovative opportunities for employees to volunteer on environmental causes will be one of the attractions for your candidates.

Finally, although it can be difficult at times, employees want to be respected and appreciated for their individualism, for their own personal skills, capabilities, interests and gifts. They want clear direction and clear roles and responsibilities so that they know where they fit in an organization. They want to be led by leaders who are passionate about their work, who can assist people to get excited about where the organization and/or the industry is going, and how each can contribute to success.

While the candidates may be hard to find, they are indeed out there. The challenge today’s organizations face is creating an organizational culture that is attractive to these candidates and this is indeed hard to do. It means letting go of the old style top-down leadership and it means developing processes for more employee consultation, employee independence and creativity. Failure to do so creates the impression of an old fashioned, stodgy organization that is locked in stifling ways of doing things. Yes, you can polish up the marketing image, brighten up your company brochures and put emphasis on being “the best place to work” but you won’t fool anyone. Unless you change the way you do things, your turnover will be high while your reputation will flounder.
Although the challenges of attracting new staff are forecasted for the next ten years, in my view, the challenge is NOW!

Research and review by Candace Weselowski, Legacy Bowes Group.

Paul Croteau is Managing Partner of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba’s leading Talent Management Solution. He can be reached at paul@legacybowes.com.

Have you ever been in a position where you've applied for an internal promotion but didn't get the job? Have you yearned for a high-profile assignment but failed to achieve this goal? Or have you been disappointed because you didn't receive your expected bonus at work?

Are just plain unhappy and don't know why?

If these questions are familiar, I'll bet you're also fighting mad with anger and blaming others for your situation. In fact, you're probably blaming your boss for not seeing you in the same bright light as you see yourself. After all, believing you are a star contributor, you assume management sees this trait as well.

You're probably also focusing blame on your co-workers. Perhaps you believe that someone stabbed you in the back with vicious gossip that tainted your boss's view. But no matter what, you're also having a great deal of difficulty hiding your disappointment.

I could suggest the problem is one of a greatly inflated ego, but I truly believe the real issue is that some employees sabotage themselves without realizing it. These individuals simply don't understand how their behaviour damages important interpersonal relationships and therefore their career.

I've listed several of the most common and well recognized behaviours that result in career self-sabotage. If you recognize yourself in any of these behaviours, take note. Develop an action plan to change as quickly and quietly as you can. Otherwise, believe me; you'll always be unpromotable, you'll miss those prized assignments and you'll be stalled in your present position.

Immaturity -- Immature individuals don't understand their own personal needs and thus frequently act out in inappropriate ways. They're the ones who engage in gossip, manipulate fellow employees and "stir things up" at work. Yet, they don't take responsibility for their behaviour or actions. Their decisions are self-centred and emotional, accompanied by unexpected outbursts.

Constant negative attitude -- Negative people view all life and work through negative blinders -- in other words, something is always wrong and nothing is right. This also creates a personal self-esteem issue. Their negativity shows in everything they do. This type of person is exhausting to have around and soon the supervisors and people avoid them at all costs.

Singular group clique -- While every workplace has natural groups of people who see eye to eye with each other, isolating yourself with a single group of folks can easily sabotage your career. This creates a clique of favourites, cuts out others and prevents employees from making a broader set of relationships. Strong, positive and trusting relationships are what you need to support career growth.

Undermining decisions -- While you may not fully understand the rationale behind a management decision, your job as an employee is to follow directions and to support the mission and vision of your organization. Challenging decisions in an appropriate manner and/or sabotaging decisions and resisting change are a sure death knell to your career with that employer.

Avoiding challenging risks -- Career sabotaging employees rarely take opportunities to learn and grow. They lack initiative or spunk. They simply wait for their supervisor to tell them what to do and then they limit their actions to those specific directions. They are reluctant followers at best, not leaders even of themselves.

Failing to add value -- You can't expect to be promoted if you aren't dedicated or productive in your current job or if you fail to meet deadlines and always have an excuse. And if you are the type of person who begins to pack up for home well before closing time or if you lazily return from your lunch break several minutes late, then you are sabotaging your own career.

"Not my job" syndrome -- Failing to help your colleagues and/or to undertake a task that is not your usual assignment creates the well-known not-my-job syndrome. Because of their narrow view, they rarely take the initiative to learn about other jobs around them or to lend a hand, and then are surprised when the opportunity to move into a new job passes them by. This attitude is a real career killer. Organizations favour team players.

Personal rigidity -- Some employees are so systematic in their work processes that they become rigid and stuck in doing things the same old way. This also applies to how they manage their work station. They are the kind of person whose coffee cup must be in the same place in the cupboard every time or they will get upset. Any sign of disorder will send them into a rage. Who needs it?

Dependency -- Individuals who won't undertake any task without being told and who require an inordinate amount of encouragement and/or feedback from a supervisor, suffer from a sense of dependency that is definitely a career blocker. Dependent people put a lot of stress on management as they can't work for long without some sort of supervision, guidance, advice or simple praise.

Sporadic attendance -- Individuals who are not committed to their job and frequently fail to attend and/or arrive just in the nick of time are at risk of blocking their career. They are also the individuals who at the slightest thought of an illness, book off work and use up all of their annual sick leave. These individuals see their job as a "have to" rather than a "want to" event in their life and that is exactly the message they give their employer.

Stubbornness -- Stubborn employees often make decisions too quickly without much thinking and then stick to their views or the results of their actions. They have a difficult time admitting to mistakes because they see this as failure rather than a learning experience. They are often referred to as people who won't listen or who don't hear what is being said to them. Stubbornness is indeed a sure career killer.

It's true that high-profile senior executives typically have high-profile career derailers, yet there are also many subtle career derailers that are just as dangerous for any employee at any level in an organization. These derailer behaviours represent negative and inappropriate personal actions on the part of an employee and it poisons the perception people have of them. As you can imagine, a poisoned view will ruin any chance of career success. However, the sad thing is that many employees do it to themselves. They literally self-sabotage. Too bad!


Barbara J. Bowes, F.CHRP, M.Ed, is president of Legacy Bowes Group. She can be reached at barb@legacybowes.com.

By: Barbara Bowes
Date: October 9, 2010
The Winnipeg Free Press

Fall weather is around us every day now and we can definitely feel the shift toward the cold winter season. While some people take this seasonal change in stride, still others mumble and grumble and literally make them­selves feel miserable. I don’t understand it: Why do people make such an effort to feel mis­erable?

There are employees in the workplace who are constantly miserable whether the sun shines bright or not. These toxic co-workers are constant complainers and whiners. They are simply not happy with anything or anyone. They appear to live their lives with a ton of cement chained around their necks and a "woe is me" attitude.

I am certain that each employee has had a turn trying to cheer up the toxic person. For instance, colleagues will reach out and offer solutions to the problems their colleague is apparently facing. They'll attempt to present a positive perspective on happenings at work, only to be "shot down" and discounted. Thus, as you can expect, after a time an employee with a toxic attitude simply wears people out. People stop trying to help and avoid their colleague like the plague.

The old saying, "one rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch" certainly applies here. In other words, one miserable employee in the workplace can create a lot more organizational dysfunction than one might think. More than likely, there are more problems that haven't even been uncovered. For instance, employee turnover or transfers could well be connected to the problem employee. Errors in production or service or an increase in customer complaints can also be the result of a disgruntled, unhappy employee. Check out the potential of employee theft.

However, one might also say that people typically aren't "purposefully" miserable. More than likely, the individual is experiencing some sort of mental-health issue or has a personality disorder that is beyond the ability of an organization to understand. And keep in mind, neither the employee nor the employer is expected to be a psychiatrist, so don't spend any time trying to diagnose the individual. Stick to diagnosing and dealing with the resulting problems being created in the workplace. Here are some basic guidelines to help address the situation.

-- Document, document, document -- Typically you will note that a dysfunctional individual will demonstrate behaviour that creates a repetitive pattern. Usually the first time you see this behaviour, you might simply think of it as strange and simply go on your way or you'll avoid the individual. However, the pattern of behaviour will soon be problematic. Document the behaviour for a period of time. It is the pattern of behaviour that must be dealt with rather than the individual.

-- Take action -- If you try to suffer in silence, you will only be adding to your own stress. Not only that, I believe every employee has a responsibility to both their colleagues and the employer to raise issues that concern productivity and the organizational culture. Every person needs to play a role in building a harmonious workplace and this means raising difficult issues when they arise.

-- Present issues, not just complaints -- Many people don't know how to discuss issues. They get so bogged down in details that the listener will miss the point altogether. In this case, the problem might look like a personality conflict. However, if you discover and document patterns of behaviour and can identify the impact of behaviour on others and the organization, then you will present concrete, objective evidence that can be acted upon.

-- Don't take things personally -- When we feel personally attacked and/or exhausted by another's behaviour, we often take this action personally. We blame ourselves for not being able to rectify the situation. The caution here is not to take things personally. Your colleague's behavior is not a reflection of you and it is not your responsibility to fix him/her or the situation, for that matter. Be careful to keep things in perspective.

-- Be professional -- As an employee, you need to be careful that you don't get caught up in the negativity by gossiping or "bad-mouthing" your colleague. Continue to treat the dysfunctional person with respect. Agree to disagree, avoid arguments and confrontations. Be sure to hold your temper. You don't want to be seen as part of the problem.

-- Park your thoughts -- Most people find it hard to leave work issues at work. They bring their problems home and dwell on them all night. They toss and turn and fail to get a good night's rest, resulting in increased anxiety and stress and a reduced ability to cope. Take time to seek out stress relieving activities and free your mind from the workplace issues. However, if you are indeed dwelling on the issue all the time, then review the concrete steps you need to take and then take action.

-- Find a trusted adviser -- While family members can often provide advice, the best advice comes from a professional who can see things from objectively. Discuss coping mechanisms to deal with your stress and strategies for dealing with your dysfunctional colleague. Discuss strategies for presenting your issues to management and alternatives, should no solutions be found.

-- Focus on you -- My motto has always been that you and only you are in charge of your career. This means that if you cannot change or influence the dysfunction in your workplace, then you need to make a decision for yourself. What can you do to make yourself happy? Where is the best environment for you and how can you get there? Take your time to think about this issue because if you aren't careful, changing jobs may simply mean going from the frying pan to the fire.

As I suggested, I don't understand why people make such an effort to feel miserable, Yet, I do know that their negative attitude plays a significant role in creating a dysfunctional workplace. I also know that a dysfunctional workplace is difficult to repair. Part of the challenge for employees, then, is to become good "self managers" so that they don't also become part of the problem.

Barbara J. Bowes is president of Legacy Bowes Group. She can be reached at barb@legacybowes.com.

It is a well known fact that a new chief executive officer (CEO) in any organization typically has about 18 months to develop trust and to demonstrate change and progress toward stated objectives.  When this doesn’t happen, these senior executives are often sent on their way. In fact, approximately 25% of executives are shown the door due to poor performance. Others see the writing on the wall and willingly resign and fade quietly into the sunset.

Unfortunately, in many cases the situation is really one of the wrong skills at the wrong time. In other words, the individual just wasn’t right for the job in the first place yet somehow got through the recruitment and selection process. And the damage created by hiring the wrong person can be tremendous. Not only can a termination such as this cost the organization three to five times the position salary, it will also negatively impact many other areas of the organization.

The potential of CEO turnover also then raises the important issue of how to select the right executive search firm to conduct your next search assignment. Whereas anybody can hang out a shingle and call themselves an executive recruiter, or link themselves to an affiliate to make themselves look “global”, it is important to fully evaluate the capabilities and experience of the search firms before assigning the search project.

The following guideline provides you with assessment elements that should be considered.

Consulting team – be careful to ensure you know and trust the consultant who will be working on your behalf. Learn as much as you can about their professionalism.  Inquire if they personally have a reputation for being successful or whether their own career consists of disjointed moves.

Check the track record – don’t let the list of clients on a website fool you. Check to determine if positions were actually filled or whether another consulting firm had to be called in to finish the job. Ask for client references, especially for those assignments that were particularly difficult.

Confirm the sourcing process – finding the right CEO for an organization requires in-depth research and marketing of the opportunity. Determine if the search firm has research capabilities so that hidden candidates can be approached with the opportunity.

Confirm the interview process – if your search professional is meeting the candidate face to face for the first time in front of your client interview panel, then the search process is flawed. Every potential candidate needs to be thoroughly interviewed, not simply by telephone but in person, face-to-face prior to being recommended to the client.

Insist on client partnership – search consultants who work as lone wolves and who resist client involvement typically have preset views of your candidate qualifications and salary requirements. They rarely listen to client needs.

Watch for hidden costs – some search consultants charge an hourly rate for candidate research over and above their consulting fee. Look for an all inclusive rate. Know what you are buying so that there are no surprises.

Seek local market rates – don’t let a big firm perception lull you into paying bigger fees than you need to. Search has in fact become a commodity and so prices are quite standard. Check out the cost with all your potential search firms; ask for a definition and rationale for each expense.

Build a relationship – the most effective way to utilize the services of an executive search firm is to build a long term relationship. You need to trust the search professional that your interests are being served and that conflict of interest is nowhere to be seen.  Help the search professional to fully understand your organization so that he/she can help build your teams, rather than simply focusing on a singular appointment.


Research and review by Candace Weselowski, Legacy Bowes Group.

Paul Croteau is Managing Partner of Legacy Bowes Group, Manitoba’s leading Talent Management Solution. He can be reached at paul@legacybowes.com.