I love Human Resources. I love almost everything about it. Many HR headaches are overwhelmingly difficult, but that gives me a mental high. Many HR solutions are common sense, and while they come with a fairly large eye roll, they also allow me take a mental holiday and still seem amazingly brilliant! Many HR issues are deeply personal or intimate but they enable me to ... Read Full Article
About susandusterhoft
If You Can’t Commit, Just Quit
I have the pleasure of owning my own business. While this comes with a heckuva lot of headaches and anxiety, it does come with some inherent bonuses: I own what I do! I am committed! I am all in! I gave a presentation a few weeks ago in which I talked about my belief that employees need to commit to their organization’s vision and values. I shared my opinion that a ... Read Full Article
KISMET (kiz-met)
Kizmet It means fate, luck, providence, chance or divine will. I give up all sweets for Lent because it is very difficult for me to do so; over half of my consumed calories on any given day come from Hot Tamales, cakes, pies, cookies, jams or frozen desserts of some kind. My Girl Scout cookie investment showed up the day after Lent began, and while this may seem like bad luck, ... Read Full Article
Fine, Be a Bigot
It's not often our parents suggest we are anything less than authentic but from time to time back in my teenage years, my mom would tell me, "Heather, you may be the devil's spawn but for God's sake, quit acting like it!" She was, of course, suggesting that I present a kinder, more gentler me. Perhaps she hoped if I acted like a nicer person, I would eventually become one. I ... Read Full Article
Inspired by Hate
Hatefulness Unprofessionalism Those are hardly inspirational words, but they inspired this post. Recently, I concluded a workplace investigation that despite all the discriminatory allegations, counter claims, and retaliation complaints thrown around, what it boiled down to was there was a lot of hatefulness (feelings) and oodles of unprofessionalism (behavior). Hatefulness ... Read Full Article
Turns Out, There Is Political Discrimination and Harassment Too
Seven or so years ago, I was asked to teach a course for a client regarding discrimination and harassment prevention. They had offices outside of Alaska so I researched EEO issues in those states in order to update my workbook materials. My research quickly revealed an addition to my list of protected classes: Political Ideology When I saw those words, I rolled my eyes. You ... Read Full Article
You’re My Favorite!
Bosses who claim they don't have favorites are lying! They're lying to you and they're lying to themselves. I don't know why they bother lying; I believe having favorites is perfectly acceptable. Please note, "having favorites" and demonstrating "favoritism" are not the same thing. Giving an employee unfair preferential treatment at the expense of another is rude and wrong, and ... Read Full Article
Heather Kinzie’s “Leadership and Letting Go”
I used to "journal." Doesn't that sound distinguished and all grown up? Just writing it should make me feel a bit better about my maturity and intelligence but alas, there is that darned "used to" in front of it. It was past tense, way back when. Obviously, I don't do it anymore, but maybe I should. This morning, I was flipping through an old journal and saw a quote from Mark ... Read Full Article