Simply Feedback
The word "feedback" can spark fear in people. Often our instinct is to hide or defend ourselves, but how does that open your eyes to opportunities at the present or even possible blind spots keeping you from achieving your career aspirations? Each month, join Troy Blaser, LearningBridge’s long-time software developer, as he interviews guests who are industry leaders as they share their ideas on professional growth, best practices, and the feedback lessons they learned that shaped their career today.
Simply Feedback
42. Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises - Vivian Blade
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Vivian Blade is an inclusive leadership expert and #1 best-selling author. She discusses ways to use feedback to grow and become better.
You can reach Vivian at her website, or by email at vivian@vivianblade.com. You can also listen to her podcast here.
For more info regarding feedback and how you can develop yourself or your team, email contact@learningbridge.com.
Brought to you by the LearningBridge Team
Check out the free Q&A videos that we have produced with tips to help you receive feedback graciously and act on it visibly at www.learningbridge.com/tips.
Hello. Welcome to another episode of Simply Feedback, the podcast brought to you by Learning Bridge . I'm your host, Troy Blaser, and I'm excited to introduce our guest today. She is Vivian Blade. Let me just tell you a little bit about Vivian. Vivian is recognized as one of Engagedly's Top 100 Global HR Influencers, and one of the most influential HR voices by Nestor. Vivian is a sought-after leadership expert and thought leader. After a successful 20-year corporate career with Fortune 100 companies , Humana and GE, Vivian launched her current leadership consulting practice. She works with the world's top brands to build better, more resilient workplaces, equipping leaders to solve the pressing burnout, turnover, and workplace culture challenges many companies are struggling with right now. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Louisville College of Business. Vivian is the author of a few books that we will discuss in just a bit, and she has presented conference workshops and webcasts for organizations such as SHRM and ATD. So I'm excited. Vivian Blade, welcome to Simply Feedback. It's great to have you with us today.
Vivian BladeHi, Troy. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here with you.
Troy BlaserI'm looking forward to our conversation. Maybe just to get us started, I wonder if you could tell us about a time in your life when you have received some feedback from somebody , um, it may have marked , uh, you know, a turning point in your career or just had an impact on your career or your life. Do you have a story that you could share with us to help us get to know you better?
Vivian BladeYeah, absolutely. And you know, this, this may be a little bit different than than what people usually talk about, but there were a couple of pivot points at a stage in my career where I was working on growing and moving up the corporate ladder. I worked for ge and that's what I had my site set on in my career to grow into, to the leadership roles. And I had actually been able to move into the executive level of the company. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , and the timeframe was 2008, 2009, and ge like many other companies were laying off employees because of the downturn. Yeah. And I had to lay off some of my employees and then, you know, eventually on the next round it was my turn. So I was one of several hundred employees who had been with the company for a long time, had been there for almost 13 years. And so received the feedback that I was being laid off and had to, you know, really figure out what was gonna be next for my life and, and my career. And along with that, another sort of pivot point that I'll share with you in terms of feedback, we had outplacement services Okay . Available to us mm-hmm. <affirmative> from that layoff. And so they give you an assessment, you know , that, that walks you through, you know, what are your strengths, what might you think about in terms of your career path going forward, what are you good at? And so in that assessment part of the feedback said that I would not necessarily be great at entrepreneurship, but given the timeframe that we were in, there weren't a whole lot of other jobs available mm-hmm . <affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I, I took the leap anyway , <laugh> , <laugh> , uh, I took the leap anyway, and here we are, what, 13 years later or so, and sort of still going strong as an entrepreneur, working with organizations to build better leaders and better workplaces. So, you know, tho those feedback points that they really can, in different ways, different types of feedback, but set you on a trajectory in your life that was not your goal, that you had no idea would be your future.
Troy BlaserYeah. Talk about a remarkable turning point in a career, right. To, to be part of a really, a giant global corporation, and then all of a sudden find, okay, what's next for me? And it is to start my own company and, and to strike out on my own. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> definitely a major kind of turning point, but it sounds like you've really enjoyed it and, and found a lot of fulfillment and satisfaction in this new direction that you've gone
Vivian BladeMm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. I love this work. And it's those times when you see the impact that you're making, the influence that you're having on people, that you know, that you're doing what you are called to do , um, doing my life's work and, you know, feedback is, is so important in how we give that feedback. And, and I think back to , as I think about the story of, of being laid off, how that news, how that feedback is delivered to people. Yeah. And, and how you, how you help keep people whole because there's a , there's a lot of emotion and there's a lot of, of beating yourself up wondering, why me? What did I do? What did I do wrong?
Troy BlaserIt seems like it would be easy to take it personally.
Vivian BladeIt very easy to take it personal. So, you know, you have to one on, on both sides of the , the , the aisle. One is you're giving that kind of, of feedback and that kind of news really uplift the individuals and let them know what value they added and contributed to the organization. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , I know that's also hard to do because you're, you're walking a fine line there as a leader when you're doing a reduction in force. Uh, and then on the receiving end of that, really reflecting on who I am, who does this mean, what does this mean for me? What value do I bring? Yeah. And, and really using it as a pivot point to look forward to the opportunities.
Troy BlaserYeah. Well, since that time, since that turning point in your career, I know that you've written a number of books among , uh, various other activities, but I thought maybe we could talk about some of those books , um, for just a little bit and you could share with us Sure . Some of those ideas that, that you've put into the books. Can you tell us a little bit about , uh, your first book, fuel Forward , discover Proven Practices to Fuel your career forward?
Vivian BladeYes. Fuel Forward is a book inspired around how to navigate a corporate career ahead. Organizations who were coming to me , uh, early on when I started my consulting practice mm-hmm . <affirmative> , uh, about this topic. And having gone through a couple of Fortune 100 companies, Humana and ge, I both had experience, I received a lot of, of coaching and professional development around that myself mm-hmm . <affirmative> . And so a lot of feedback along the way about, yeah . About, you know, my career and, and how to navigate that, how to grow and, and how to continue to develop myself in my career. So I took a lot of that insight as well as interviewed some people and brought a, a piece of work that could help others know how to navigate the unwritten rules in how you grow successfully in your career. And the fact that we really own that feedback is a real important part of that as well, because foundationally, there's a framework , uh, around the Fuel Forward book and , and how we navigate our career. And it begins with your execution. Okay . And our execution is what I , what is it that we, we deliver? What do we bring in terms of value to our role every day ? What are we contributing in our jobs? And knowing that that's table stakes to be able to grow and advance in your career. Yeah . Yes. And contributing to your execution are your experiences in your career and your expertise. So feedback goes into all of that, how am I developing and growing my expertise and, and what areas do I need to continue to grow? Well, that leads into the three accelerators that accelerate your career. Okay. First of those is your reputation. So your reputation is built a lot on, you know, what do I want people to, to think about me? What is it when 9:00 AM is is brought up when people are talking about talent around the table? How do I want them to think about me and how am I living and breathing that each and every day? And so we have to be able to receive feedback in order for us to know where we stand and are we living, are we working, are we collaborating? Are we connecting in ways that are congruent with our values mm-hmm. <affirmative> and with, with how we want people to, to think of us. So feedback , uh, is, is extremely important as we think about reputation. And then , then the other two variables are our reach, how we connect and reach out to other people, and the relationships that we build and mentoring and sponsorships are part of those relationships. And so again, feedback becomes an integral part of how we navigate our career successfully across all of these principles in the framework.
Troy BlaserAnd feedback is important, not only well , and both sides of feedback, giving feedback in those mentoring relationships that we're building, for example, and, and learning how to give feedback in a constructive way that will be helpful to those that you're mentoring. But then as you say, also receiving that feedback as we're looking to grow our own careers , um, over time. So there's, it's kind of both directions, really. Mm-hmm.
Vivian BladeYes, absolutely.
Troy BlaserI think of the chances that I've had to work with , uh, here in our own company, even just maybe some part-time students that come and work for us and as they're at the very beginning of their careers, even just helping with that realization that a lot, I think a lot of times people go to work for a company and they, especially early on, they don't necessarily think of their career as something that is independent of a company that's something that belongs to them. My career is my own. It's not just that I work for Learning Bridge, but I have a whole career that's separate from the time I happened to be working for the company. And so it sounds like Fuel Forward can really help someone take ownership of their own career and, and give it direction that they want it to go. Not just, well, here's what the company says I should do next, so that's what I'm going to do.
Vivian BladeThat's absolutely right. And you have to understand yourself. You know, when I was growing in my career, there was one of our HR leaders who shared with us this Venn diagram that helps us to think about what that sweet spot is for us in our career. One is what are we interested in? You know, another circle is what are we good at? And then what does the company need? And that sweet spot really is what we're looking to develop and contribute around. So, you know, what is that for you focus a lot on, you know, what, what am I interested in? What am I good at? And where do I need to continue to develop? And where does that take me along , along my career? What are my interests there for ? And you have to share that. Part of that reputation building is letting people know what you're interested in, what it is that you want to do, and having people to help you along the way with that.
Troy BlaserYeah. It makes me think, you mentioned earlier that as you left ge part of that outplacement services there , you kind of got the feedback that maybe entrepreneurship wasn't for you, and yet you still chose to go down that path. So that was maybe outside of that circle of what you're good at. Did you have to spend, did you have to spend some focus on the entrepreneurship side of that? As you said, well, I am gonna start my own business. Were there specific skills that you had to learn and, you know, skills and knowledge as well?
Vivian BladeYes, absolutely. It's been a development process really along the way, as the world is evolving, as the workplace, as , um, I'm evolving, as what I have to offer and contribute is, is evolving. Yeah. But there were professional associations, there were mentors, there were colleagues and friends who, who helped me. I remember going on a, a business trip with one of my , uh, friends who learning of my layoff said, and , and sharing with her what I wanted to do in my career. She said, come along with me. I've got some clients that I'm working with. You can see what it's like to be a consultant, and I'll have, I'll have you just do some things, some work alongside me. Okay . And so I, I had to develop, cuz some of the, I remember in particular, there was one client we were working with, and I was doing an exercise and trying to get people to, to know how to add their comments using Post-It notes this size, if you were gonna do this, this size , size or color, if you wanted to do something else, it was getting a little confusing. So she had to step in and, and help to just clarify and to simplify it just a little bit. So that was a learn , that was feedback, and we talked about that a little bit later , um, about just the simplicity for people. So it's been an evolution and a development process along the way.
Troy BlaserI, I really, I can see, you know, you think, oh, I'm gonna go into business for myself. When you say it that way, it sounds like it could be a lonely sort of thing to do, but you really were able to take advantage of some of those , um, networks, like you said, and you really weren't alone, even though you were doing your building your own business. That's right. That's
Vivian BladeMarvelous. Absolutely. Yes.
Troy BlaserWell, again, thinking about that experience of, of feeling comfortable at ge, been there for 13 years, and now all of a sudden you're, you're let go. And, and of course the whole economy is reeling from a recession at that point, I wanted to talk about your second book, resilience Ready, the Leader's Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises. I imagine you needed some resilience at that point in your career.
Vivian BladeAbsolutely, absolutely needed resilience and , and I, I was leaning a lot on my faith and my family, you know mm-hmm . <affirmative> also, you know, during that time to , uh, to help me get through it. But I learned a lot about resilience through that. And then also as we went through the pandemic too . Yeah. Yeah . We all learned a lot about resilience and just kind of being the , in the throes of, of change. And so resilience Ready really was born out of that. It was published in , um, 2021. Okay. And there's a workbook that goes along with it so that people can really work on growing this skill around resilience. And the focus is how we can learn to adapt Well, when we're going through change, when we're going through crises, when we're faced with just the unexpected. When I got into the office today and you had all these things, a new to-do list, you know, something happens and , uh, yet to the end of the day, I only got two of those things done on that list. Right . I got none of those things. Yes . There are other fires to, to put out. So it really is how we respond to those things. How do we respond to those surprises that really helps to determine the culture, the work environment that we create, especially as leaders and how we're able to move through those times. So there's also a framework around resilience ready that we can talk about too, if you'd like.
Troy BlaserSure. I would love to hear about that. I was just, I was just thinking about the subtitle there, thriving through unrelenting Crises that can describe a lot of workplaces, I think that idea of unrelenting crisis. Yeah . But please tell us about the framework that, that you explained in the book.
Vivian BladeYeah, because it, it, it goes on, there's one thing after another, right? Yeah.
Troy BlaserYeah . Unrelenting
Vivian BladeStop . So we have to be be equipped. Yeah. So, you know , thinking about feedback, one of the most important things that we have to do is recognize how these uncertainties affect us in terms of the stress, in terms of our response patterns. And so, you know, we know that surprise , we, we have an innate nature in us to try to protect ourselves. Our amygdala kicks in our primitive brain. Yes . Says if I'm facing uncertainty, if I'm facing change, if I'm facing a crisis, you know , my first response is stress and that stress hormone, and I'm going to try to protect myself. And that can cause us to respond in ways that may not serve us well. But part of that feedback process is realizing where we, where we are in that response pattern and how we can move through them . So let me give you an example. We can often, like many of us did at the beginning of the pandemic where we had no control. We felt like this has happened, everything's shut down. All of a sudden the government was shutting everything down. We, yeah . We couldn't go to work, you know, anything things out of our control, we felt like victims. And we can respond like a victim where, you know , again, I have no control of what I do going forward. There's nothing I can do. Mm-hmm.
Troy Blaser<affirmative>,
Vivian BladeThe second way we can respond is as settled. This is just kind of the , the life we're in now, you know , the way things are, I'm just gonna kind of settle in. And , and then, then number three, the third stage is to figure out how to survive. I'm gonna survive in this world , uh, and, and make it okay. I figured out just kind of how to make it work. It's not until we really take that courageous step forward to say, all right , there is something different. I do have more control. There are things I have control over that I can make some decisions around and I can move forward around. And it's when we do that, going through that courageous stage that we can get to the , to the point where we can thrive. And so that whole thriving is where we have the opportunity to see things and to move forward in new and refreshing ways. And so there are five principles related to resilience that help us to do that. Okay. Um , and the first of our is our perspective. How we see things, you know, again, how we responded and how, how do we see the opportunities we have thi uh , going forward, our purpose and meaningful purpose mm-hmm . <affirmative> and making sure that we're connected to, to meaningful work, to contributing and giving back. The third is perseverance. And a lot of what our opportunity there is setting the stage around being able to get through the, the hard times. The fourth resilience ready principle is partnership, and that is making sure that we stay connected to other people. We can , we stay connected to resources that can help us get through that time too. Yeah . And as leaders, we're reaching out and then praise, which has a lot to do with feedback. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> is the fifth resilience ready principle, and that is making sure that we are recognizing both the effort that people are putting in just to get through the chaos and the churn and the change and the progress that's being made. So we can talk more about, about any of those if you'd like.
Troy BlaserSure. Yeah. Well, it's interesting, as you were going through the first four, I'm thinking in my head, great, you know, perspective and purpose and perseverance and partnership is, they're all things that I can do as , um, you know, if I'm feeling like I need to be more resilient or learn to, to have more resilience, those are all things I could do. And then you got to number five, praise. And I thought, well, wait a minute. That would be something that I would give praise to other people. And then I thought, well, okay, but also I can stop and recognize the things that I'm doing, and so I can praise myself, so to speak, just by, by being aware of the progress that I'm making in my, on my own, in my own work. And so I can be aware of the value that I'm bringing, even if it is in the time of crisis. And, and so praise can still apply to me as someone who's trying to increase his resilience.
Vivian BladeAbsolutely. Absolutely. One of the things that I remind people of there is to give yourself some grace.
Troy BlaserYes. Because that's a good way to put it. I like that.
Vivian BladeGoing through change, going through crises, everything is not perfect. One of the leaders that are interviewed for the Resilience Ready Book, she said that we have to give ourselves permission for it to be messy. There are no perfect decisions when we are going through a crisis, when we're going through change, and we can't see, we don't have 2020 vision into the future. Right. That's, that's why we have that, that phrase , uh, that is hindsight is 2020. Right. We can look back Yes . And see things a lot more clearly than we could when we were, we were going forward through it. So we have to give ourselves some permission for that. And the other thing I'll emphasize is that resilience really begins with ourselves and, and building that skillset . But resilience Ready is also a tool and a resource that can help leaders, can help individuals grow resilience within their teams. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So how , how can we use these, these tools and resources to extend resilience more broadly through our teams and throughout our organization. So you have more resilient organizations as well.
Troy BlaserYeah. I , I think I also liked the, the first principle you talked about perspective. You know, you were talking about how we have sort of that natural primitive response when a crisis hits, where we're gonna go into fight or flight mode or freeze up potentially. And if we can prepare ourselves before that crisis comes to recognize this is how you might respond, and you can get through that initial response to get onto the more productive parts of responding to the crisis. And, and so you can help yourself have that longer term perspective. And then when the crisis comes, you can say, this part is temporary. You know, this initial fear response is temporary, and I know that there will be ways to handle it after this first wave sort of crashes through a little bit.
Vivian BladeThat's right. That's right. Because we're human, we are going to that primitive that Yeah . Fight or flight response is going to kick in. <laugh> we're , it , it's natural, it's innate to who we are. And so we have to be able to recognize that and we're gonna move through back and forth through those stages, but to work on Yeah . As you emphasize building our resilience muscle , uh, and that muscle memory. Yeah . So that we know how to come back through those stages to thriving. And I created a, a an assessment that can help people recognize where they are in terms of those stages. Oh . And look at it periodically so they can look at their response patterns mm-hmm . <affirmative> and kinda understand that. So that's a , a , a feedback opportunity for people. People.
Troy BlaserAbsolutely. Yeah. Well, Vivian, you mentioned , um, an assessment as part of the resilience ready toolbox. You know, here at Learning Bridge we're all about assessments. Tell us a little bit about the assessment that's part of this toolbox.
Vivian BladeRight, thank you. Uh , it is the resilience ready stages of Internal crisis response assessment. And so that's what it measures your response pattern. And if people want to , um, get feedback on their response pattern, I have a couple of ways that you can take advantage of that assessment. One. Okay. There's a free sort of self scoring tool that you can access@resilienceready.today. And so that's a website for the resilience ready book . And you can go there, there are a number of resources there. And then also I have , uh, more of a, of a tool that people can use through me. You can contact me and what I can do is, you know, have you access that. And that one's at a cost. The other one is free, the other is at a cost. But I've also used that the assessment with teams where you can also see your team pattern. And so that's also interesting. So you , you get some individual results and then you can also see where your team falls along that spectrum. It
Troy BlaserDoes sound interesting, and as you're kind of pointing out, there are two parts to this. One is, what is my own resilience and how am I doing personally in my, in my own career, but also if I'm leading a team, what is the resilience like of my team as a whole group? And, and those are two different areas to do work in. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I imagine. Yes,
Vivian BladeYes. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So , absolutely. Awesome .
Troy BlaserWell, I wanted to take a minute and talk about another of your book's Influence in Talent Development. I understand that this is part of at D'S soft skills series. What is, what is a concept from that book that you would share with our audience?
Vivian BladeThe main thing that I, I like to hit home around influence is that our goal is to really master the long-term game of influence. Okay . And my mantra there is influence is more about how we live than what we do. So focus on being influential is the key there. So often we are focused on, you know, today I've got a meeting, I need to make sure that I get my point across or that, that the decision goes my way, or I have a, a toddler, I think a lot about my, my grandson who is a two and a half year old and trying to influence him and use tactics to influence him to eat his dinner. Or it's time to put the dinosaurs up and go to bed. <laugh> or Gigi is tired right now. Let's play this a little bit later, <laugh> . But we are often pulling influence tactics out of our toolkit, like persuasion, like getting people to like us, like using our authority, for example, rational Persuasion two , which is using data and statistics, and we all use a lot of these and we need those tools as well. But if we really want to be influential, then we need to look at how we grow our own personal influence, how we build that reputation around being influential so that it's not just today, but we have a track record that builds on, you know, people seeing us as , and that they, they respect our word . Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , they respect our position and what we have to say. We, we have a credible voice that credibility comes to play there. Yeah. And so there's a framework also around influence, which is the scale framework and the principles there are our social capital, uhhuh , courage, authenticity, leaning in with passion and engaging a diverse and inclusive workplace community. So those are the core principles around the scale framework.
Troy BlaserI love it. It's, I really like that emphasis. It's, it's kind of like, like you said, there are a number of tactics that you can employ to increase your influence, but those will be less effective unless you go back to who are you, who you are. Right. Start with that. And as you build that, like you say, that reputation as you work with integrity so that people know they can rely on you, then when you start to employ those tactical tools around your influence, it's going to be much more effective because of who you are that you, that you did first. That's right. Does that sound right?
Vivian BladeThat sounds absolutely right. And, and even though authenticity is in the middle of the scale framework, it really is one of the very first things Yeah . That, that we do. Because our self-awareness and getting feedback really is the starting point. And how do we show up in authentic ways so that we can adapt, going back to, you know , those times when we are going through change and crises. Yeah . How do we adapt in authentic ways and, and show up and connect with people and influence in authentic ways. So there are a number of assessments. So 360 s much of the work kind of work that you all do. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> , uh, is important to, to gain, you know , things like disk , the your why , the why Discovery is another tool that I use. Okay. So that you really understand who you are first and foremost, and then influence from those center of , of values characteristics that define who you are.
Troy BlaserThat's fantastic. I know that in your work, you've spent time as a coach helping people along in, in various ways. As you think back to the interactions that you've had, I wonder if, if there's a specific experience or a time when you've seen feedback cause a point of inflection in someone else's career or someone that you've been coaching or working with, is there a time when you've seen feedback impact their career or their life, either for good or bad?
Vivian BladeYeah. You know , uh, uh, you're right. As, as a coach and working with organizations, I , I work through that a lot with people. And feedback is an an integral part of, of where we start , right? Yeah. Uh, and a coaching relationship, people have to understand a little bit more about themselves and who they are. Emotional intelligence is an , is another important, important piece of that. And I was working with a client here recently, you know, I can think of a couple of examples where we've used assessments. One was an emotional intelligence assessment. Okay . Another, we were looking at the y discovery and the DISC assessment. And when, when people have an opportunity to really read those reflections about themselves, and I, you know , have them go through and what are the things that you think really represent you? What are the things that you don't really necessarily agree with as much? And we make sure that they check in with other people on those things that, that they don't agree on as much. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And even in the room, when you have a team together, when people have the opportunity to share that feedback directly with each other and say, oh, yes, I see this in you and, and here's how I agree, or something that it they don't agree on, here is how I see that may point . Maybe show up with you. So those are really important inflections when the light bulbs go off with people.
Troy BlaserYeah, for sure. And mm-hmm . <affirmative> , that can be a very, it can be a , a , a very kind of a scary experience for someone to receive feedback like that as they go into it. They don't know what they're gonna get necessarily mm-hmm . <affirmative> . And so they can be nervous, they can be anxious about, about that.
Vivian BladeYes. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, that reminds me thinking of the , the sort of scary piece of that and , and what you do with the information. I remember early on in my career too, I had a , a leader who came from an old manufacturing sort of command and control kind of background mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, you know , the workplace has been evolving for a while. Yes . And you know, that that individual came out of manufacturing into the corporate office, but still was leading and working with their colleagues with that same kind of command and control, fear, you know, producing mm-hmm . <affirmative> type of approach, and received a lot of feedback and coaching around really changing that. So I remember working for that leader, their intention around changing and shifting the way they led and even asking us, I , I know it was really moved by how, how they asked us for feedback on how they were doing mm-hmm. <affirmative> on what their experience was with us. So that, and , and really took that to heart and began to evolve and made change. Yeah . And it continued to be extremely successful in their career from that point. But, you know, it wasn't easy and it, it really took being open. And that took a little while too, I remember. But there were many, many days I , I dreaded coming in the office and was afraid and Mm . Like many of us, and wondering what were we gonna get today? Yeah. And we don't wanna create that kind of work environment for people. That's why people leave.
Troy BlaserYes. One of the mantras that we have here at Learning Bridges to receive feedback graciously and act on it visibly. And it sounds like overall that's what this leader was trying to do with you, was to say, okay, I recognize that there's a need for some change here. It's not, maybe not always easy, but I'm, I'm attempting to make this change in my leadership style and, and was turning to you to gather some feedback on how am I doing? But then hopefully making those actions visible to you so that over time you could see that leadership style evolve and hopefully improve Yes. To, to match the, the kind of the more modern corporate environment. Right.
Vivian BladeRight. It didn't happen overnight. It took some, it took some time, but it , it , it took that intention and effort and will.
Troy BlaserYeah. Well, I understand that you're working to elevate the HR community to sort of help HR have more of a seat at the table. Can you talk to us some more about your intentions with that effort?
Vivian BladeYeah, absolutely. And you know, Troy, a lot of that comes from the type of feedback that HR often gets. Okay. And we , we see this a lot in the research as well, that HR tends to play a more administrative role in organizations helping with compliance, helping when people have a problem, helping with com , recruiting Yeah . Helping with their very, very siloed type of work function. But the effectiveness, as we've seen in some research, also shows that when it comes to corporate strategy and being involved in having a voice and affecting corporate strategy, HR hasn't played as consistent as a role and as meaningful as a role as we know they should and could. Now we saw that elevate through the pandemic because people were very focused on people, right. How do we definitely keep people healthy? How do we bring people back to work? Now is is the focus, how do we work in this hybrid workplace and work environment? But we've also seen that as the focus has gone back to inflation, supply chain challenges, a , a changing competitive and customer environment. Mm-hmm.
Troy Blaser<affirmative>
Vivian BladeFocus is shifting back toward operations. And so HR doesn't have as much of a voice as they have had in these recent years through covid . So I was really surprised when I began to speak. I have spoken at the Sherm national conference and the , the last two conferences spoke a lot about influence and, and hrs voice and having greater credibility. And there was extreme interest in that. And so that led me to think about how can I further support the HR community and helping them to elevate and uplift their voice Yeah . And their, their influence in organizations. So I am starting a retreat and a mastermind group, a council for HR leaders. So in September we'll be able to come together , uh, in this first retreat that I'm launching, to create a playbook around your seat at the table playbook, how you get it, and how you can keep it. And then the ongoing group will work on now how do we really master our influence, become more influential, grow our credibility so that we really have a credible and respected voice on an ongoing basis, no matter what the topic is that we're, there's no no table that's being seated where people are meeting and HR is not there. Yeah . That we are one of the, the first partners that people think about to make sure is , is at the table. So that's one of the key areas that I'm focused on these days.
Troy BlaserThat sounds , uh, fantastic. It sounds like something that you're very passionate about, which means it sounds exciting. And , uh, if, if someone hears about this and is interested, I, I assume there's more information at your website, is that the place that, that you would send them to for now?
Vivian BladeYes, absolutely. And can reach out to me as well. I know you'll, you'll have my email address in the show notes and , um, and, and on my website as well, so we can have a conversation about it. And I'm glad to share any additional information that people might want to, to learn about. Cool.
Troy BlaserSo, Vivian, I've really enjoyed this conversation that we've been having as we start to ramp up here. Is there anything else that you would share with our audience, some advice or some tips in your area of expertise?
Vivian BladeYou know, thank you for asking Troy, and it, it really has been great to be with you today. And , and I think in closing, one of the areas I've been focused on in writing a lot about lately too, on LinkedIn, has been our ripple effect as leaders or as individuals. And you may throw the smallest pebble into a pond mm-hmm . <affirmative> , but that's going to create a ripple . And when we give feedback, when we say something that we feel like may be inconsequential, even, it's gonna have a ripple effect. Yeah. So, I , I want us to keep in mind the influence that we have, the, the words that we say, the ways we connect with other people, our actions, our behavior is in congruent with, with who we, what our, what our values really are and speak conscientious about our opportunity. And, and as leaders, it's our role is to help elevate and lift others and just to develop others. So remember that when we are giving feedback, we wanna be constructive with that. We do need to let people know when areas may need to be developed. Yeah. That's not also the only time we wanna give feedback. Praise is one of those important resilience ready principles. We wanna make sure that we're patting people on the back, letting them know what we appreciate them for, what they're doing well, so that we can continue that. We wanna build on people's strengths. So let's build a positive ripple effect as we lead , as we connect, as we give feedback to other people.
Troy BlaserI love it. Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. If people want to know more, if they want to continue the conversation with you, how should they get in touch with you? What do you prefer?
Vivian BladeI love to connect with people. I'm always connecting and sharing information and asking questions, inviting insight on LinkedIn. So feel free to, to connect with me there. Okay . You may connect with me at , on my email, vivian vivian blade.com , and my website is also a place for information and connection, vivian blade.com . So , uh, would love to connect with people there. And then , uh, my podcast that comes out each month, the third Tuesday of each month, part of geek skiers and globalizations podcasts. It is GG g unleashed, better leaders, better workplaces, so Love , let's build better leaders and better workplaces.
Troy BlaserI love it. Fantastic. Vivian, thank you so much for joining us. I've really enjoyed our time today, and it's been just a pleasure.
Vivian BladeThank you, Troy. It's been great. And look forward to staying connected with you as well and hearing more about feedback, inspiring feedback. Thank you.