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Lessons Learned in the USA
I just got back from New York. It’s my favourite city and some day I hope you’ll be getting this email from my loft in midtown Manhattan (I can dream). In the mean time, I can still remember this trip and other trips to the Big Apple. In my travels, I’ve been taking along a video camera and recording some of the fascinating sights and speaking about their relevance to the areas of human rights. If you’re interested you can watch a few of them.
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Seeing the Disaster Coming
Every once in a while I get behind on my reading of the paper. If I'm lucky, it's because I'm playing too much golf. Not so lucky, work. I finally get to the business section of last Friday's Globe and Mail to find the headline "HE SAW THE DISASTER COMING."
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Where Were You... And What Can You Learn About Leadership?
I'm here in a hotel room in Calgary. Where were you when you heard Barack Obama would become the 44th President of the United States?
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When Colour of Skin Matters
For the last couple days I couldn’t help but feel there’s some significance in the fact that the two most powerful people in Canada and the United States are black.
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Some Pain Lots of Gain
Some of the “bad” behaviours, such as inappropriate jokes and comments, are not intentional at all, and once explained that they’re out of line, people will stop the bad stuff. Second, even when people do know what they’re doing is inappropriate, a simple comment from you can and will make a world of difference.
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Back to Basics... Training
With the 2006 census telling us 21% of Canada’s population is foreign born, and that in the previous 5 years 84% of immigrants came from non-European countries, it’s time to find ways of accommodating differences
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Hearing Without Listening
For a guy who’s written not one, but two books about human rights, you’d think I’d follow the advice I give to others.
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Does Canada Need the Rooney Rule?
Does Canada Need the Rooney Rule? Are we in need of our own “Rooney Rules” up here in Canada? While there clearly have been some significant strides made, we still have a long way to go and there’s more need for our own Rooney Rules than one would think
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Put A Sock in It
Can one word make a difference? How about changing the entire political landscape of a country? When U.S. Democratic Senators take control of the Senate in January, 2007, it will be thanks to one racial slur by soon to be ex-Virginia Senator George Allen. He was ahead in the polls by 24% until he was caught on tape making a racist slur, and then he ended up losing the election by a mere 9,000 votes. Stephen Hammond chronicles other disasters in business and government and gives advice so you can avoid a similar fate...
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Back to School, Back to Work, Back to Fitting In?
Back to School, Back to Work, Back to Fitting In? Workplaces are being caught off guard with formal complaints brought against them because they have not done their homework to comply with workplace human rights. They get these complaints when employees are required to “go along to get along”
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What Are You Doing About It
July 19, 2006 marks the anniversary of an event that changed W. Mitchell's life 35 years ago when an accident left 65% of his body burned. A few years after that, a plane crash left him paralysed. Stephen Hammond describes how, with wit and humour, W. Mitchell and another speaker he listened to recently emphasize that “Comfort never produced greatness”. Stephen explains that when something goes wrong with human rights in a workplace situtation, we have choices and, he says,
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Can White Men be Trusted?
When Chuck Guité was found guilty of defrauding Canadian taxpayers for his role in the infamous sponsorship scandal, Stephen Hammond (a white guy) got to thinking, “Can white men be trusted?” All you have to do is look at the track record of white guys and you start to wonder. In this lesson, Stephen uncovers the track record of several white men and explains that we can take a very few examples of negative behaviours from people with common characteristics and then create a stereotype in our mind that has no basis in fact. Yet, because of those very few examples, people will swear on various religious symbols that their stereotype is true because they’ve seen it with their own eyes. For all the barriers people face at work, the greatest barrier comes from the thoughts in our mind. We can all help to reduce those barriers by acknowledging our stereotypes, recognizing they don’t apply to everyone, (or even most people) and making sure we don’t act on them.
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Women Misbehaving
In the political arena, examples abound of how men and women are treated differently. We don’t have to wait for International Women’s Day to take on the double standards that face women. If men and women hear similar comments at work, or elsewhere, Stephen Hammond’s advice is to speak up – even if it means getting attention you don’t like.
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Weight Loss Guide to Managing Human Rights at Work
While we’d like a special pill or some easy way to do it, the only effective way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise. That’s it. No other secret and no easier way. There are obvious similarities between trying to lose excess weight and managing the human rights process at work. In this lesson, Stephen Hammond provides nine analogies that will help you tackle workplace human rights.
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Christmas – Dumbing Down or Smartening Up?
The debate on the social and political correctness of expressing ‘Merry Christmas’ is an ongoing debate in and out of the workplace in Canada. Canadians can’t ignore that our demographics are changing, but does it mean that we have to stifle expressing our heartfelt sentiments about a day that is very important to more than 75% of Canadians? Stephen Hammond's advice is to raise the bar and stop dumbing-down on Christmas and start smartening-up on other celebrations.
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Getting Our Own House in Order
Recently, the head of the world’s largest human rights group, Amnesty International, was in Alberta encouraging Canadians to speak up, and loudly, about human rights. Aboriginal Canadians have lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, more years living with disabilities, a suicide rate six times that of other Canadians, and the list goes on. And yet, if we think about it, the stereotypes we all hold about Aboriginal people are likely the biggest impediments for opportunities. Stephen Hammond suggests that employers should get active to hire more Aboriginal people. Read more about his three tips on this topic: 1) Create the environment. 2) Reach out. 3) Do better than “revolving door” employment equity.
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Reluctant Heroes
Two individuals took on an injustice that seemed insurmountable, they stayed for the long haul, and they ended up victorious. In the first instance, a quiet and shy seamstress was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a White man on the Montgomery Bus Company in Alabama. In the second case, On October 20, 2005, Canada’s Supreme Court put an end to a long-fought battle against Harassment and discrimination at a North Vancouver school. Read more about these reluctant heroes…
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How Far Will You Go?
All too often, we see injustices in our communities and in our work. Instead of finding excuses, we might want to find simple ways that will make a real difference. Simon Wiesenthal spent more than five decades tracking down Nazis and attempting to bring them to justice. With very little support to start, he was responsible for some 1,100 Nazis being brought to justice. Terry Fox started out with very little fan fare. Despite this, he carried on. After he died, thousands carried on in his name to raise almost $400 million to find a cure for cancer. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas was willing to shame her own country to get discriminatory laws changed. Despite what must have seemed like insurmountable odds, these three people persevered to make a difference when most of us would have given up.
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Dealing with Negative People
When you’re working with someone who is negative, or who isn’t very nice on a daily basis, or who is in fact an outright bully, what do you do? Stephen Hammond gives us some options:
1) put up with the status quo;
2) make positive change; or
3) quit.
He also has some suggestions: Be firm. Be direct. Use your workplace policies. Go formal fast. Read Stephen’s article and find out how to avoid long workdays around bullies and negative people because, in Stephen’s words, “Life’s too short. It’s not just business, it’s personal.”
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Golf - Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden
Whether you play golf or not, there are parallels that can be found with behaviour on the course and at work. This article explores how sexist blunders and comments during a golf game like his “purse got in the way” and “take your pants down” reveal attitudes about women. Learn from the article that words, on or off the golf course, make a huge difference and we can do a lot for human rights just by challenging simple, daily comments that people make.
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Going from Stereotypes to Racial Profiling
When people hear racial profiling, they tend to think of a person deliberately treating someone negatively due to race, colour of skin or ethnicity. Our stereotypes have such an impact on us that we need to make sure we take deliberate action to ensure we don’t treat certain people negatively.
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Political Correctness Has a Whole New Meaning
While Canadian politicians thought their “immunity” extended to most forms of legislation, they were wrong. According to a just-in-time ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada, employees of the House of Commons in Ottawa are, in fact, protected by Canadian human rights legislation.
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Speak Up Even Against the “Big Guys”
Saskatchewan provincial court judge Marty Irwin is expected to deliver his verdict on June 10th, deciding whether Ahenakew is guilty of inciting hatred against an identifiable group, in this case Jews. Regardless of the outcome of Ahenakew’s criminal trial, the lessons for the workplace are important ones.
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Deal with Discomfort and Differences
Despite all of the progress of integration within Canada, the majority of people still befriend, marry and partner with people who look and act like they do. Whether it’s differences in language, culture or physical ability, Stephen Hammond explains how employers need to ensure that discomfort doesn’t get in the way of hiring good people.
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Never Too Late for a Fresh Start
Unkind comments are tough to correct. Check your words and see what needs to be changed or updated. Learn something new. Take the time to find out about one or more celebrations or observations of the people you work with or whom you do business. Use these and some of the other suggestions from Stephen Hammond in this article to improve your place of work.
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Getting Rid of the Fear
Stephen Hammond’s work takes him to the work places of mid-sized and large organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors where the boss is a tyrant, harasser or bully. Collective agreements and workplace policies are in place to spell out legal protections. So why do employees fear talking about Harassment? Stephen Hammond lays them out in three succinct points and suggests what managers can do to create a productive, enjoyable workplace.
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Whatever Happened to Merit
If you want your workplace to get the best person based on merit, then you better make sure you’re not excluding the best people due to old practices, stereotypes and outright discrimination. Draw from a wider pool of candidates, back up those who are chosen for their abilities and make sure that when they arrive your workplace is free of Harassment. These tips and more are found in this lesson “Whatever Happened to Merit?”
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What to do With Our Stereotypes
Building an inclusive workplace where people notice, value and learn from differences is not easy. We don’t have to act on our stereotypes. The truly most effective way to break down barriers and attract the best and most productive workers is to acknowledge our prejudices and then try to overcome them.
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Harassment is More Than Just "Gimme a Smooch"
Sexual Harassment is broadly defined as unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that detrimentally affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for the victims of the Harassment. It is an abuse of power that attacks the dignity and self-respect of the victim both as an employee and as a human being. Stephen Hammond provides suggestions for those who are sexually harassed or who know of another person being sexually harassed.
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Employees Understanding Accommodation
You can’t discriminate against people in the workplace if there is a way to accommodate them in some way. How far do you have to go in accommodating people for their religion, their disability or something else? Over time, more employees will understand this issue better.
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Watch Your Mouth
Human rights problems usually arise from careless comments or holding onto outdated language that can be changed quite simply. If you listen to the words people use and change your language accordingly, you’ll make a big difference in your workplace. People can handle differences and even controversies, but they shouldn’t have to put up with words that offend. Words are often our first means to connect. Make sure you’re making the right connections.
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For more information please contact Stephen.
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