A Critical Quality You Want in Your Employees? It’s Inquisitiveness

“I want to buy a flip phone; I do not want one of those new phones. I do not text because it gives you carpel tunnel syndrome. I can’t be bothered to use that GPS system [even though he gets lost every day]. I do not do online banking.”

One of the main competencies that any company today should look for in any new employee is inquisitiveness. If you are looking to build a stable of expat-eligible employees, do yourself a favor and move inquisitive to the top of the list.

As I talk to executives across the globe, I have zeroed in on that and, like a pit bull, I will not let it go.

The drive to figure things out

Always Be Looking? Good Advice, But Better to Have a Good Network

“How long were you in the job? Twenty-nine years was the reply.”

Things were good; he was at the top of his game. Headhunters were always calling with opportunities, and he would politely decline. He usually said something about “not being really interested,” and that “things are good here.”

And then, that day came along that we all have seen — he was “ambushed” and he was out. He took a package, as they say.

“We were brainstorming ways to expand my brand and she suggested that I connect with you.”

That statement was from a CLO at a major company looking to expand beyond the corporate role and create a brand around her. She was at the top within her organization and had unfettered access to senior leadership. However, she was eager to become known outside of the organizational cocoon.

Two calls from opposite ends of the spectrum

The Importance of Eliminating Bad Behavior That Damages Your Culture

“Ron, you know someone needs to talk to XXX because he does not know how to talk to people. He is so rude.”

The other gentleman in my office said, “you have to realize that he has worked here for seven years in HR under XXX.” That statement changed the conversation immediately.

Everyone knew that the person he mentioned was beyond difficult to work for. It was like he had a vendetta against anyone that walked through the door. So as the saying goes, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

We have all run into these type bosses in our career. If you have not, my father has a favorite saying for you — “Just keep on living.”

Learning from a bad boss

An Interview: Employee engagement built around helping employees take charge of their careers

I was honored to be interviewed by softgarden, the Germany based e-recruiting software company on employee engagement.  Below is the interview that went live today.

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This week we caught up with Industry Expert Ronald Thomas to see what he had to say on the topic of employee engagement. In his previous Senior role at Martha Stewart Living, Ron developed a program to help employees take charge of their careers and essentially develop their own engagement by choosing the right path. We got in touch to find out more.

SOFTGARDEN:
In your recent article on TLNT you discuss how businesses can help employees develop their own engagement, do you think this is a tactic that other, smaller businesses can adopt? Is there is a danger that it could potentially harm staff retention?

Cultural Translations: HR and Life Lessons After 6 Months in the Mideast

“The logic you have based your decisions on over your lifetime is not usable here.”

Everyone sitting around the office basically agreed. But then again, we were all expatriates. The conversation was centered on the processes and procedures that we had built our career on.

We were used to making snap decision and were also proud of the fact that we were decisive. We were used to digging for root cause and trying to fix things so that the problem would not happen again. We were used to analyzing process and determine where the bottlenecks were, and then fix them.

A great deal of the time, however, that does not translate across cultures.

Cultural translation does not always translate

A Game-Changing Conversation: Why You Really Need to Return That Call

“I heard from XXXX last week. Yes, I talked to him last week also, and he told me you did not return his call.”

Like a lot of you, I have friends who are still clawing back from the near economic collapse. During that era, I was in the publishing business which was (and still is) being decimated by the digital era.

Business disruptors have this effect on industry. A lot of people get thrown overboard as companies try to find the rudder to steady the ship.

And those people are our friends, families and co-workers. Some of us, on the other hand, were a bit more nimble and able to hang on, and like an acrobat, landed at the right spot at the right time. We could also have been among the ones that faltered, but we were able to brush ourselves off and get back on track.

Life is a two-way street

This post is dedicated to both. Last week was a tough one for me. One of my dear friends from my days at Martha Stewart died