Trainers Toolchest

Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Lifetime Achievement 2012 Pinnacle Awards Honoree

2012-01-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our author-partner, Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, upon her recent receipt of the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Greater Boston Chamber Women's Network. Her work as an outstanding female professional was recognized and honored as part of the 2012 Pinnacle Awards.

We're honored to distribute Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter's classic video program A Tale of O: On Being Different. Written and narrated by Professor Kanter with Dr. Barry Stein. The animated A Tale of O clarifies and explores the personal and societal dynamic so being different. Congratulations Rosabeth!

An Author's Review of Anyone Can Be An Ally

2012-01-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

BOLD LEADERS SPEAK UP: Anyone Can Be An Ally

When gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people don’t feel safe and valued at work, productivity goes down, and organizations fail in their efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest talent. Many organizations realize this, and have created clear policies on the issues. But in order for the climate to change, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people need allies to speak up.
This is a very thoughtful, balanced resource that merits much attention… an important film on an issue so few of us understand how to address in the work environment. It is one thing to have a skill set in referencing and working with race or religion. It is quite another challenge to talk about gender and sexual orientation.
I have an obvious personal motivation to be an ally: my twin brother is a gay man. I also know two more things from knowing him. The first is that sexual orientation like gender orientation is not a “preference” or choice. The second is that my brother has been a compassionate, effective and even beloved scholar-teacher at the university where he works – but only because he has been fortunate to find the allies in his work community that have supported him in being wholly himself.
My professional motivation in commending Brian McNaught’s film is that I recognize, despite my personal commitment, I know that I have a lot to learn about how to be a skillful and effective ally. This film would be helpful to any one who wants to help create a work environment where every employee can flourish because they do not have to expend the energy trying to maintain a firewall between their family/personal lives and their professional lives. These are things that those of us who are heterosexual simply do not have to worry about.
Look at this video. Celebrate what everyone, when respected, can bring to your world.

By Eileen McDargh,

author Gifts from the Mountain - Simple Truths for Life's Complexities.

Ready for a look? View online at trainerstoolchest.com

Employee Engagement Survey

2011-11-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

In a 2010 study, James K. Harter and colleagues found that lower job satisfaction foreshadowed poorer bottom-line performance. Gallup estimates the cost of America's disengagement crisis at a staggering $300 billion in lost productivity annually. When people don't care about their jobs or their employers, they don't show up consistently, they produce less, or their work quality suffers.

Working adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else. Work should ennoble, not kill, the human spirit. Promoting workers' well-being isn't just ethical; it makes economic sense. Read full article.

Join the Production Process
Trainer's Toolchest is currently involved in a new production on employee engagement and we would like you to be a part of the process.

Take our online survey to determine which employee engagement topics interest you the most, what types of activities or training methods would interest you in a program and a few other questions to help us to create a program that will benefit your organization. It takes one minute or less. Take the survey now.

Little Frogs: Motivation and the Pygmalion Effect

2011-10-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I just reviewed the cutest and most profoundly simple approach to encouragement in the workplace. It's called LITTLE FROGS, and it's an animated show by SpiritClips that illustrates the power encouragement (real or perceived) can have on outcomes.

Little Frogs looks at the simple truth that encouragement and believing in yourself and others can inspire us to do things that we (and others) think are impossible. I won't give away the "surprise" one frog has in this short motivational film, but when certain actions are misinterpreted, incredible things happen.

View (and buy, of course) this uplifting motivating program - Little Frogs.Or, go deeper with the the Pygmalion Effect: Managing the Power of Expectations, a more serious look at the the power of the self-fulfilling prophesy, or catch the link between perceptions and performance with Jane Elliott's Eye of the Storm or Indra Lahiri's Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes: Linking Perceptions and Performance. Different approaches for the all the different Little Frogs in your organization.

Anyone Can Be An Ally

2011-10-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

The "godfather" of gay sensitivity training, Brian McNaught, is featured in the new release Anyone Can Be An Ally; Speaking Up for an LGBT Inclusive Workplace

Many organizations are in a war for talent. To attract and retain the best and brightest talents, and to secure their fair share of the marketplace (where applicable), organizations need to create a workplace in which everyone feels welcome. When gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people don't feel safe and valued at work, productivity goes down, and organizations fail in their efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest talent.

Dubbed by the NY Times as "the godfather of gay sensitivity training," Brian McNaught demonstrates how anyone can be an ally to create a respectful workplace that is inclusive of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender co-workers. Many organizations have polices in place to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual an transgender members of the workplace. But does their culture match their policies? "Policies do not change the culture, people and behaviors change the culture." It is important to note that McNaught advocates that he is not trying to change beliefs, but change inappropriate behaviors . "This is not about anyone changing his or her personal values, but rather changing inappropriate behaviors at work. We are all free to think whatever we want to about other people, but we can't impose those beliefs on our colleagues at work."

Can you teach your employees the skills they need to create an inclusive workplace? Yes, if you teach them that when you hear an inappropriate comment, say something, and say it with a confident voice. You may never fully know how much of a positive impact you've had on the lives of other people and on the workplace culture.

"In this short 14-minute video, Brian McNaught offers what we need to know, say and do as allies- in a way that is compelling, informative and actionable. If you are looking for guidance about language choices, when to speak up, and how to foster inclusion as an authentic LGBT ally, this video ( and a little courage and practice) is all you need to have the confidence and capability to make a difference," Deb Dagit, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Merck &Co.

Speaking up for respect is always the right thing to do. Allies have the power to change the culture and anyone can be an ally.

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem; Speaking Up In A Disrespectful Workplace

2011-10-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

In his book, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Branden shares the following:

A woman is at a cocktail party where she hears someone make an ugly racial slur that causes her inwardly to cringe. She wants to say, "I found that offensive." She knows that evil gathers momentum by being uncontested. But she is afraid of evoking disapproval. In embarrassment she looks away and says nothing. Later, to appease her sense of uneasiness, she tells herself, "What difference does it make? The man was a fool." But her self-esteem knows what difference it makes.

The above exchange could have easily taken place in the workplace. And the comment doesn't have to be racist to make us feel uncomfortable or to 'inwardly cringe.' When we don't speak up or allow fear of disapproval or embarrassment to stop us from speaking up, we are allowing these attitudes and behaviors to thrive.

When you hear a disrespectful comment or joke, you have a choice. Reinforce it by laughing or joining in. Tolerate it by saying nothing, which is what most people do. Or learn the skills to speak up and become an ally, the hardest thing of all.

Want to try it? Try Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts and Ouch! Your Silence Hurts. Both motivate and empower bystanders to use their voice to speak up for respect on behalf of someone else.

Women's History Month: A History Worth Knowing?

2011-03-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

"When I started working on women's history about thirty years ago, the field
did not exist. People didn't think that women had a history worth knowing."
- - Gerda Lerner, Women and History

In 1963, Gerda Lerner developed one of the first women's history courses in the nation. Throughout her career, she continued to break ground, developing and directing the first graduate program in women's history at Sarah Lawrence College and one of the first doctoral programs in women's history at the University of Wisconsin. Without knowledge of their history, Lerner believed, women could not imagine their capacity for full participation in the world.

Should we still celebrate Women's history month?
Is it necessary?

We've seen vast strides in what females accomplish: Women graduate from college in greater numbers (among Americans ages 25 to 34, 34% of women now have a bachelor's degree compared with just 27% of men ), and they have higher GPAs. As most professors tell it, they also have more confidence and drive. These strengths carry women through their 20s, when they are more likely than men to be in graduate school and making strides in the workplace. In a number of cities, they are even out-earning their brothers and boyfriends.

The White House just released a new report-Women in America which is a statistical portrait showing how women are faring in the United States today and how their lives have changed over time.

"The report serves as a reminder that the issues facing women today are not just women's issues. When women make less than men for the same work, it impacts families who then find themselves with less income and often increased challenges in making ends meet. When a job does not offer family leave, it impacts both parents and often the entire family. When there's no affordable child care, it hurts children who wind up in second-rate care or spending afternoons alone in front of the television set. And when women-owned small businesses struggle to gain federal contracts and equitable access to capital, it hinders our ability to promote a fair distribution of work.

Understanding these facts is deeply important in helping to paint a picture of the changing lives and circumstances of American women over time. But reading facts alone can never substitute for taking actions that directly address the challenges faced by women and girls of all ages and backgrounds." Source: The White House Blog: A Celebration of Women Business Owners

Interesting Women in Business Tidbits

Ernst &Young rounded up studies that show that women can make the difference between economic success and failure in the developing world, between good and bad decision-making in the industrialized world, and between profit and loss in the corporate world. Their conclusion: American companies would do well with more senior women.

Catalyst, a research firm focused on women and business, found that Fortune 500 companies with three or more women in senior management positions score higher on top measures of organizational excellence. In addition, companies with three or more women on their boards outperformed the competition on all measures by at least 40 percent.

Organizations such as Columbia University, McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, and Pepperdine University, have done research that document a clear relationship between women in senior management and corporate financial success.

Women's Issues Awareness and Workplace Implementation Resources
The Power Dead-Even Rule & Other Gender Differences In The Workplace, Revised Edition, The Fairer Sex, Navigating Gender Differences, and A Tale of O - On Being Different.

Servant Leadership: A Conscious Choice

2011-02-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

"It begins with the natural feeling that ones to service, to service first.
Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead"

In 1970, Robert Greenleaf published an essay, "The Servant as Leader," that coined the phrase "Servant-Leader" and launched the modern servant leadership movement. Shifting away from traditional autocratic and hierarchical modes of leadership and toward a model which is based upon teamwork and community; one which seeks to involve others in decision-making; one which is strong based in ethical and caring behavior; and, one which is attempting to enhance the personal growth of workers, while at the same time improving the caring and quality of an organization.

Can implementing the characteristics of a servant leader benefit you and your organization? Many organizations are utilizing the Servant leadership management philosophy with great success. They are increasing customer satisfaction and employee retention rates while controlling costs.

Servant leadership adopts a higher purpose; shifting to doing what is the best for employees, stockholders, and consumers becoming the primary objective. Servant leadership adopts a team approach helping team members to realize that they matter to the organization and add value to the overall picture. Servant leaders then shift focus from themselves to the best interests of others including employees and customers.

One-third of the Forbes list of "Top 100 Companies to Work For"

are practicing servant leadership including:

Starbucks, FedEx, Marriott International, Herman Miller, Toro Company, TDIndustries, Southwest Airlines, and Men's Wearhouse

Up for the challenge? Try these Servant Leadership awareness and implementation resources in your organization: Servant Leadership; It's A Wonderful Life: Leading Through Service;
Leadership By the Book: 12 Candid Interviews On Leadership Hosted By Ken Blanchard

February is Black History Month - Why Black History Month?

2011-01-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

Negro History Week was founded in 1926 by Carter Woodson, a Harvard trained historian, who hoped to change the way the history books portrayed people like him with the hopes of full integration. This week was later expanded and renamed Black History Month.

We take this time this month to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of black Americans who, throughout our history, have done so much to make the United States the culturally diverse and prosperous nation we are today. During Black History Month, we can gain insight into the experiences of Black Americans and the vital role this community has played throughout our nation’s history.

Black History Month continues to be also a vital month of remembrance. It also helps people remember and recognize the danger of racial and socio-economic oppression and helps everyone see the importance of human rights for all people.

How will you celebrate Black History Month?

Read more about how Black History Month has evolved. Try these resources for use in your Black History Month recognition – Complete Blue Eyed, Ethnic Notions, ABCs of Discrimination, Race: The Power of an Illusion and more.

Are Adults in Need of Social Homework?

2010-10-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

A front page article, The Social Homework, in the October 6, 2010, Chicago Tribune caught my eye. In 2004, Illinois became the first state in the nation to require all school districts to teach social and emotional skills as part of their curriculum and daily school life. They hoped that the students would achieve benchmarks such as recognizing and managing feelings, building empathy and making responsible decisions. And in doing so, schools experienced a decrease in disruptive classroom behavior and an increase in grades.

I was reminded of the Jane Elliot experiment in discrimination. In the best-selling media program, Eye of The Storm, Jane describes how our perceptions of others and how we treat others influence their ability to perform. Elliott vividly captured this effect when teaching her students a flash card math game. Students who had performed well were re-tested the next day after being told they were inadequate, slower than other children, not very bright and last in all tasks. Those same children that had performed so well the day before, failed miserably.

What messages are we sending everyday to our colleagues, our families and our students and what impact are those messages having on their ability to perform?

Preview Jane Elliot's Eye of The Storm from Trainer's Toolchest!

Are You Getting Paid What You're Worth? Apparently it Depends...

2010-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Time and time again, we've heard how it pays to be good-looking. But, could it impact your economic status? Apparently so.

According to a recent Newsweek online survey of 202 corporate hiring managers and a telephone survey of 969 members of the public, looks do matter in hiring and promotion. And factors such as weight, age, percieved attractiveness and sex appeal can matter more than
education in the hiring and promotion process. Read full report.

A good workplace practice? Probably not, if you're looking for the most-qualified, productive and best-fitting candidate. Create awareness with this hidden camera program done by ABC News - The Ugly Truth. And, educate your hiring managers on all the good reasons for looking past the surface...

Racial Milestone and Diversity Training

2010-06-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal's article entitled "U.S. Nears Racial Milestone" in its June 11, 2010 edition, detailed the demographic shift taking place in the U.S. as the white majority becomes a white minority. According to the article, as soon as 2011, could see the white majority of European descent becoming the white minority - which incidentally has already happened in anchor states such as California and Texas.

Interesting statistics from the Wall Street Journal article include:

Traditional minorities made up 35% of the U.S. population between July 2008 and July 2009, up from 31% in 2000, according to Census numbers
Hispanics accounted for 54.7% of the total population increase between July 2008 and July 2009, with two thirds of that growth coming from births
Among Hispanics, there were approximately nine births for every death, among whites it was almost a one-to-one ratio

What effect will this majority/minority shift have on politics, economics and workplace diversity training? How will we shift the emphasis we put on diversity as it relates to ethnicity? Will age, socioeconomic status, or other factors come more into play more than they have in recent iterations of diversity in the workplace? And, will affirmative action as we know it become a dead issue? Or, will voters blocks become the influencing factor in U.S politics and education? What will this mean for U.S. businesses and organizations? Only time will tell, and we'll know soon as we watch this play out here in the U.S.

Trainer's Toolchest provides a wide variety of diversity and inclusion educational and learning tools. We carry the classic A Tale of O, a program originally designed to focus on tokenism. Without ethnicity or gender specified, the "O" could easily be any group or groups of individuals in the workplace based on race, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, or political affiliation. It's a wonderful resource to enhance continued awareness on majority/minority issues. Diverse Teams at Work (based on the book by Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe) looks at the layers of diversity that make up us all. It's a timeless tool for creating a deeper understanding of the diversity that exists within us all and reminder that diversity is more than what we see on the surface.

Morris Massey And Socialization

2010-06-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

I recently rewatched the latest program by Dr. Morris Massey, entitled What You Are Is Where You Where When...Again!

Dr. Morris Massey, with a keen interest in management and human relations, has distilled and delineated three life periods during which values development takes place. According to Wikipedia, these include:

The Imprint Period
Up to the age of seven, we are like sponges, absorbing everything around us and accepting much of it as true, especially when it comes from our parents. The confusion and blind belief of this period can also lead to the early formation of trauma and other deep problems. The critical thing here is to learn a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. This is a human construction which we nevertheless often assume would exist even if we were not here (which is an indication of how deeply imprinted it has become).

The Modeling Period
Between the ages of eight and thirteen, we copy people, often our parents, but also other people. Rather than blind acceptance, we are trying on things like suit of clothes, to see how they feel.We may be much impressed with religion or our teachers. You may remember being particularly influenced by junior school teachers who seemed so knowledgeable—maybe even more so than your parents.

The Socialization Period
Between 13 and 21, we are very largely influenced by our peers. As we develop as individuals and look for ways to get away from the earlier programming, we naturally turn to people who seem more like us.Other influences at these ages include the media, especially those parts which seem to resonate with our the values of our peer groups.

The media-based training package, What You Are Is Where You Where When...Again! provides an adult learning view of Massey's work with an eye for human relations in the workplace. Many working people have not been exposed to this information in this context or format. And, yet the values development progression as provided by Massey benefits anyone looking for a better understanding of people and in the process; improve their work environment, ramp up conflict identification and resolution skills, and enhance understanding of generational values, issues and management skills in the workplace.

A Tale of O Diversity Training Video

2010-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

A Tale of O Diversity Training Video and Its Use in Male-Dominated Work Environments

2010-05-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

I recently read this at the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science blog. The blogger, Donna Milgram, is founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS), a California-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing research-based training, e-strategies, publications and technical assistance to the education system and employers nationwide to integrate women into technology and law enforcement careers.

A Tale of O, the most popular video about diversity worldwide, is unique both in style and content. It shows the striking consequences of being “different” from the others around you – being an O among Xs. The videotape illustrates dramatically how this alone powerfully affects both the Xs treatment of an O and the O’s view of itself, regardless of the nature of the difference. Whether the O differs from the Xs by gender, race, age, language, age or other factors, the effects are similar.

This differential treatment of Os, especially when the difference is highly visible or socially important, is often taken as a sign of bias or deliberate discrimination. A Tale of “O” shows to the contrary that much of this different treatment is largely a consequence of the situation. It is not necessary to blame anyone, unlike many other approaches, which may punish and blame people quite unfairly. A Tale of “O” helps everyone identify with Os since everyone has been an O at one time or another. Moreover, the video suggests whole new avenues to systemic solutions. A Tale of “O” is narrated by its originator, Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business School.

I used this video to do training for supervisors on how to integrate women into male-dominated occupations such as law enforcement and cable installation. I prefaced showing it by mentioning that the narrator has a high sing-song voice, which can be distracting. I’d recommend others do that as well if they are showing it in a predominantly male setting.

A Tale of "O" video is a classic and has found wide-spread use in sensitizing folks in a non-threatening way. It's available from Trainer's Toolchest. And, the full video can be previewed online. Take a look and see if you find the same success that Donna has in using it with her organization.

Good Looks Influence Potential Jurors, Lookism and Appearance Bias at Work

2010-05-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Cornell University released the results of its recent study on "Why Jurors Reward the Good-Looking and Penalize the Unbeautiful." Using undergraduate students as their sample base, the study found that potential jurors do bias towards those deemed socially attractive and do give longer and harsher sentences to those seemingly unattractive defendants.

These results are not surprising, as they reaffirm results found frequently in literature and other research studies. The same study (with the same results) was documented in the ABC News segment The Ugly Truth with extreme candidness. The jurors in The Ugly Truth provide the rationale and feedback for making their decisions.

The Cornell University study takes the results one step further, addressing the "why?" behind this superficial social bias.

"My Generation" by The Who..Ahead of Their Time?

2010-03-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

"My Generation" by The Who

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

This is my generation, This is my generation, baby

Was "The Who" ahead of their time with this song from 1965?

The difference between the generations, especially as it pertains to views about work, is undeniable. And it is not going away.

Today's workforce comprises distinct generations; each with its own shared history, common biases and core beliefs. This generational divide has created a multitude of issues for employees, managers and supervisors to face. Learning what makes each generation tick, and taking the time to consider communication approaches, will advance relationships and help teams during good times and through stressful situations.

Cam Marston, a leading multi-generations expert, with his thoughts on the next generation, The Millenials. Business leaders throughout the nation thought they had their work cut out for them when Generation X landed on the scene. A prevailing mindset was "If we can survive this ‐ if we can just somehow turn them into us ‐ we can get back to business as usual." Recruiting and retaining this generation began as a battle of wills and ended in willful resignation."

Xers had a different perspective on the world ‐ more cynical, more antagonistic ‐ and they weren't interested in being shaped into a mold they saw as disingenuous. They told their leaders "I'll blaze my own trail, thank you very much." And for the most part, they did. Though their approach to work and life is different, and they have a tendency to change jobs more frequently, they are generally committed to doing a job well when there. It looks different, but it is getting done and business leaders are learning to trust that that's okay.

Whew. That's over. Back to life, back to reality, right? Not so fast.

Here come the Millennials...read full generations article
Are you addressing generations in the workplace, communication, working styles and more? Peruse our complete list of training resources that can help..

Lawyers Believe Recession Could See A Spike In Sexual Harassment Claims

2009-05-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sexual Harassment on the rise? What more do beleaguered employees and employers need?

In Human Resources Magazine, Sian Ryan, an associate in the employment group at Turner Freeman Lawyers, states there can be an increase in genuine sexual harassment, with perpetrators motivated by fear. Meanwhile, some victims of sexual harassment may simply be afraid to speak up out of concern for their job in the current climate, and not wanting to "rock the boat".

Joydeep Hor, managing partner of Harmers Workplace Lawyers, added that it was likely that in a high pressure environment there will also be a spike in legitimate claims of non-sexual forms of harassment, due to managers being required to performance-manage more rigorously than they otherwise would. "That performance management can easily be interpreted as bullying and harassment by employees," he said.

Read the complete article.

Sexual harassment is more than a legal issue. It is fundamentally a behavioral problem. How do you take on the behavioral challenge? Arm your employees and managers with the information they need to prevent sexual harassment and the tools that will help them to respond when incidents occur. Need training tools to keep it on the down side? See www.trainerstoolchest.com

Susan Boyle's "Surprise" Performance - Or Is Lookism Still Alive and Well?

2009-04-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Susan Boyle recently shocked the audience of Britain's Got Talent with her moving vocal

selection from Les Miserables. What was so shocking? Was it that she could sing and do it so well? Or was it that all us, the local and the national audience, never expected that beautiful voice to come out of the plain package presented before us? Watch Susan Boyle's moving performance.

Lookism and its real world impact has been a subject of study involving impressions, costs and lost and gained opportunities. Watch John Stossel tackle this subject head on in this compelling undercover camera segment called The Ugly Truth.

Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes Exercise in Discimination Still Packs A Punch

2009-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Jane Elliott's brown eyes, blue eyes exercise is discrimination still packs a punch after all these years.

I recently came across this post in the Los Angeles Times written by a journalist who first saw Jane Elliott's exercise in discrimination as a 16-year old Korean adoptee of white parents, Jane's exercise had a transformative and lasting effect on her life.

"An Iowa teacher's 1960s classroom experiment on race changed my life. Now here I was, knocking on her door..." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-blueeyes26-2009mar26,0,4792181.story

And Ms. Elliott has refocused her mission to include recent events such as the election of the first black president. How does that fit into her message?

If you're not familiar with her original classroom exercise or subsequent adult exercise, see www.trainerstoolchest.com"An I"An Iowa teacher's 1960s classroom experiment on race changed my life. Now here I was, knocking on her door..."owa teacher's 1960s classroom experiment on race changed my life. Now here I was, knocking on her door..."