logo                   
 Diamonds to You  
       Helping you get the best out of yourself and others.                    

408-554-0110                                           
Vol 11, Issue #2, Feb. 2016
Publisher - Author
Managers Encouraging The Best
Hiring the Best
ProMatch Workshops
University Courses Taught
Books Published
Rewards and Recognitions
Publisher, Editor, Author-
 ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.
For YouTube:   

ArLyne Diamond

 

 

 


Like us on Facebook View our profile on LinkedIn

I really thrive on your referrals to me. 
Keep them coming!  
Please forward copies of
my newsletters to
your friends and colleagues.

Thanks.

Hi and Happy Sadie Hawkins Day
 
February is a very short month - even with its extra day this year.  So, I am a little bit tardy on sending you this newsletter.
 
It's also been a month of holidays - so Happy Valentine's Day and President's weekend. 
 
For me, and many of us in Silicon Valley, we've also had the festivities around Super Bowl - and we here in Santa Clara feel very blessed to have fabulous staff in the City's Parks and Recreation Dept. who were the prime organizers of our local events - and of course the Police and Fire Depts. Who kept us safe.  We were also protected by the FBI, Home Land Security and other organizations.  There were a lot of young ,healthy and handsome (mostly) men moving around our city for the weeks before and the day of Super Bowl. 
 
Cooperation from many agencies made the entire process run smoothly and safely.  

Finally, finally, finally, my newly revised website is up and available for you to see at www.DiamondAssociates.net.  


 Proformative has many courses that might be of interest to you - and your company.  Check them out @  Proformative.com.

I am continuing to create and deliver on-line courses (Webcams) for Proformative.  In addition to those for CFOs and other upper-management, I have started a series of courses for HR professionals. 
 
You can access my courses by using the link below - and if you use the code you will receive a 10% discount.
 
Your Bitly links and discount codes are:
 
 
 
10% Discount code to all of your courses is: Diamond10
Managers Encouraging The Best
 


Years ago my Kung Fu Sensei told me "It takes level to see level."   It's certainly true and most obvious in something like martial arts.  For example, if you are new student - a white belt - all upper belts seem equally powerful and adept.  If, on the other hand you are a fourth degree black belt, you can easily see the subtle differences in skill of those whose belts are lower than yours.
 
Sadly, it takes level to see level in the business world as well.  Which, I suppose is why most often managers hire people whose intelligence and abilities are slightly less than their own.  It might also be the reason that "tall nails get hammered down."
 
All too often it is the outstanding member of the department that gets the most negative feedback.  "Talks too much," "isn't a team player,"  "a loose cannon," and other pejorative terms. 
 
We all say we want brilliance and creativity - but all too often we hammer it down.   I recall that most of the CEOs I interviewed during my managing for creativity research shared their concerns that it was their managers that were fearful and knocked down any creativity - and creative people.
 
So, I wonder - is it OK for only a small handful of people to be the brains in the organization with everyone else just following along passively?  Can a company flourish that way?  Or, do we really do better when most of our people are the best we can find. 
Yes, of course we want "B" players who do the detail and routine work - A players would get bored to easily.  BUT, what's the right ratio?
 
It seems to me that part of the problem is the range of responsibilities we place on managers.  These demands might be the primary reason they need to hire people who are less knowledgeable and skilled than they are - after all these managers need to justify their jobs.
 
It is said that managers need to be able to teach, train, coach, delegate, maintain quality control, oversee and of course hold their people accountable for deliverables.  Managers are also in the position of being in the middle of the sandwich - having to fulfill demands from above and maintain relationships and goodwill with those they manage.
 
It must be scarey then to have to manage people much smarter and more creative than you!

Hiring the Best - the A Player

There are many hiring schemas available to management from standardized tests to behavioral questions, to technical skill tests and even to weird questions designed just to find out how a person thinks.

There is dispute as to whether a group of people sitting together should be the hiring team, or whether individual interviews are better.  Should the decision be made by many people or should they only have input and one person makes the final decisions?
 
Too, how can you judge people whose intelligence and skills are much greater than your own?  How can you take the risk and hire someone who you fear will show you up and take your job?
 
And, perhaps you also need to consider what you write in the job description.

ProMatch Workshops I've Offered.

 

  • Jump Start Your Job Search:       
  • Marketing (Branding) Yourself:   
  • Strategies and Tactics for your Job Hunt
  • Self-Assessment Seminar 
  • Who are You?  Part I & Part II  
  • Negotiation Skills for Women:     
  • Getting Your Mojo Back 
  • Enhancing Your Professional Image:  Your Unique Brand
  • Enhancing Your Professional Image:  Your Unique Brand - again
  • Business Planning Seminar
  • Negotiation Strategies and Tactics
  • Individual coaching interviewing, negotiating, resumes, cover letters, etc.

 

University Courses Taught


DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management
 
Career DecisionsConsumer Behavior

Leadership & Organizational Behavior

Quality and Performance Excellence  

International Business

Business Planning (Capstone MBA class) 

Psychology 110

Employment Law  (Compliance Issues )

The Legal, Political and Ethical Dimensions of Business

Change Management

Human Resource Planning (Capstone MBA class)

Negotiation Skills


 

Lincoln Law School:  The Psychology of Practicing Law
  

Stanford University, Continuing Education: Conflict in the Workplace

 Books - Published  

Leading and Managing in a Global Economy -                   Super Star Press 

Conflict in the Workplace:  Causes and Cures                  Robertson Publishing Co.

 

The following books can be ordered directly: www.ProductivePublications.com  


Training Your Board of Directors:  A Manual for the CEOs, Board Members, Administrators and Executives of Corporations, Associations, Non-Profit and Religious Organizations.  

 

The "Please" and "Thank You" of  Fundraising for Non-Profits:  Fifteen Essential Ingredients for Success.


 

Proformative Courses you can Upload and Purchase

 

Change:  The People Side

Effective Workplace Negotiation.

Ethics and Attitude in the Workplace.

Interviewing:  The Art & Science

Investigating a Complaint in the Workplace

Rewards and Recognitions that get you what you want to achieve.

 

Rewards and Recognitions


Success is not final, failure is not fatal. 
It is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill
 
I am in the process of recording my course on Rewards and Recognitions for Proformative and want to offer you some tips from the course - that are in keeping with the article above.
  • Recognize the extraordinary and unusual.
  • Do not offer recognitions to those not deserving just to be "fair" or to avoid hurting feelings.
  • Reward and reinforce those behaviors that actually matter to you.  For example, if you reward quantity of calls handled by call center agents, you are forcing them to give up quality (defined as actually satisfying the caller-customer) so that they can make their numbers.
  • Create small measurable successes - don't wait until the whole new design is built - people need to be calibrated frequently.
  • Set the right goals and show how they fit into the overall company goals.
  • Treat people as individuals - learn what motivates them and reward accordingly.
  • Remember:  ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.
 
Let me be your AUFIN - Adviser to Kings

Excerpts from a client's letter of reference.
... I found her work to be very professional and effective....impressed by her overall skill included intelligent, intuitive (deep understanding of people and their issues) and articulate.  Work included creating and facilitating a number of very helpful and effective workshops... with groups within VTA that had great conflict with each other.  ArLyne provided helpful suggestions about how to encourage communication from others in meetings, thereby creating a spirit of teamwork among different groups that had been working as silso.

As ArLyne is natural and engaging, I found her style made it very easy for others to open up and share their concerns with her.... She coached several of my staff ...her counseling was extremely helpful to them.

She partnered with me for results, helped me understand the people I was managing and how best to lead them.  a self-starter, she planned her own interventions, was reliable and trustworthy.   
Signed:  Greg Pustelnik, Chief Purchasing Officer, Procurement, Contracts and Material Management - VTA (Valley Transportation Authority.)

Thank You from a Satisfied Client
Hi ArLyne
It was a pleasure meeting with you after nearly 4 years to avail your services in negotiating a better compensation package for a direct employment at a well established health care company in the bay area...

You understood the offer and my situation thoroughly and compiled a response that provoked thought in the recruiter and hiring manager minds that [showed them] I was the perfect candidate and they can't afford to lose me.  Your ability to articulate and present a counter-offer helped me get an additional 20K, which is close to 15% higher than the original base salary offered.  I am glad to have called you.  Your 1 hour consulting fees helped me gain $20K and I thank you for your time and exceptional service.

I look forward to availing more of your services in the future.  Especially, developing my negotiation and leading skills.... Once again thank you very much.   Signed:  Sasi Poruri

ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D                                               .[email protected]   
Diamond Associates   3567 Benton St., #315, Santa Clara, CA 95051    408-554-0110