This morning I had some great discussion with the young couple I referred to last night. We met them for brunch, and we had fun getting better acquainted.
A fair amount of discussion I had with them on a more individual level throughout the morning centered on human resources, hiring, jobs, and leadership. Alisson, who is in management in human resources for a huge global company, has a great take on hiring. Jonathon, too, who has been in leadership positions in business, reinforced the concepts as applied to leadership. I have thought frequently over the past few months about addressing human resources and hiring through the lens and philosophy of Heart-centered energy. Over the seventeen years I was in public education, I saw the consequences of extremely poor hiring practices, principles of good formats and formulas either unknown or foolishly ignored. I want to interject a thought here about one of those oft-quoted realities: it’s not what you know but who you know. The idea that people get hired because they know someone or because a favor is owed, maybe most especially in a school district, reeks of stupidity, insincerity, and wastefulness. It happened in the district where I worked way more times than I even know over the course of seventeen years. It might be a reality, but that needs to change. People who hire others like that should be fired themselves if they are untrainable. Hell, I couldn’t believe how I was hired. I was really good, and I was older when I was certified by the state. I went in for my “interview,” one which I had prepared for and had focused on educational philosophy, because how could anyone think of hiring me if my beliefs about kids and delivery of instruction didn’t match theirs? They really didn’t care. I had a cooperating teacher who was part of the accepted district society, and she took me into central office and introduced me to the assistant superintendent of secondary education. We talked about the same high school we both had attended. He literally yelled across the office to the superintendent after about an hour and a half and asked why I hadn’t been given a contract yet. The superintendent yelled back to send me over. He shook my hand, took down all the information he needed for the contract, and said I was hired. They had no idea how radical and progressive my ideas were about education. I was recognized for my teaching and leadership, even though what I did was many times antithetical to the district’s desires, but my point is that I should probably never have been hired the way I was. They were clueless. And that happened dozens of times; in fact, they ended up with legal difficulties because of such stupidity. That is not the way to hire. Back to my regularly scheduled post! My new friend spoke of how hiring the right people poses a real challenge in a large, global organization. Her company has done some great work, adapting and developing their own strategies; it’s not some casual thought about someone “seeming” like they would be good. There are formats and formulas they follow. However the process is done, I think the only acceptable candidates who I would hire would be those with intrinsic motivation to engage in a job. If they cannot see what personal value beyond salary they would gain from the job, I wouldn’t hire them. If they could not make me see and understand the value they have to offer, I wouldn’t hire them. Who would I hire? People with a Heart-centered life. Ego-driven folks would quickly discover the exit doors; they wouldn’t stay inside without Heart-related purpose. I would want a prospective employee who has awakened to Self and has a true sense of self-identity. Consequently, they would have developed a purpose. Could a hiring manager always know if a candidate was living in Heart or Ego energy? No. However, systems of questions, such as exist now with savvy HR people, could help, and at the very least people would be hired who see and desire intrinsic dynamics. Such people can be developed. I would want to know how they see, even in a minor way, how the job is related to their identity and purpose. This, then, is something that supervisors need to know, encourage, and develop to help new employees develop towards their purpose and towards becoming leaders themselves. This is solid. Why do I care about this, because I am not an HR person? Because I care about people and the state of society, I would desire to encounter happy, professional people at any level of job. I would love to see people know why they are doing what they are doing and what their aspirations are. I would love to be able to engage in the fellowship of the Heart with many more people on a daily basis. (By the way, coming out of this weekend I am thankful for being able to share time with Alisson, Jonathon, and Yael in just that way!). Blessings as you begin the work week!
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Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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