Note to readers: This is the third post in my new series based on questions I frequently hear about managing millennials — those ongoing management challenges that can really make or break workplace relationships. Each month I’ll tackle a question and provide some advice for managers and millennials (and millennial managers!). I hope the advice I share is helpful for all generations. Have a question you&rs...

Shifting from Manager to Leader Just because you have a management title doesn’t automatically mean you’re a great leader. But making that sometimes-subtle shift is essential for the success of your career and your organization. There’s a lot at stake. So what’s the real difference between management and leadership? Effective managers are task-focused and might be described as dependable and...

By now you have certainly heard of the landmark en banc opinion recently handed down by the Seventh Circuit in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit reversed its own precedent and became the first federal appellate court to rule that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. With this ruling, the Seventh Circuit has not only created a split with nearly every...

April 4, 2017, was Equal Pay Day. The Equal Pay Act, which requires that men and women get equal pay for equal work, was enacted in 1963, more than 50 years ago. Yet, women in the United States earn an average of 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. And the wage disparity is worse for women of color and Hispanic women. Why? To start, women need to understand how certain attitudes and behaviors may be hurting us....

The Department of Labor recently settled a nearly 25-year-old hiring discrimination case with NationsBank, which later merged with Bank of America. The settlement ends an audit the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) began on November 24, 1993. The bank agreed to pay $1 million in wages and interest to 1,027 African-American applicants for clerical, teller, and other positions. The settlement is a...

Contractors Should Note: Seventh Circuit Sets Up Sexual Orientation Split for SCOTUS Topic: EEO By now you have certainly heard of the landmark en banc opinion recently handed down by the Seventh Circuit in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit reversed its own precedent and became the first fede...

In Part 1 we examined the court’s ruling on whether or not disparate impact had occurred. We will now examine the court’s ruling on the validity of the test. Court Ruling on Test Validity: Is It Job-Related and Consistent with Business Necessity? Since disparate impact was demonstrated, the second ruling of the case was whether the 2008 test was both job-related for the position of Boston Police Department (BPD) lieut...

When giving feedback to your superstar performers, the key issue to recognize is that the “no news is good news” feedback approach is not an effective management technique for handling them. Too often we assume that these individuals know how much we value their contributions and we take the lazy approach to providing feedback: “You know you’re doing a good job.” Or worse: “Write your...

As a long-time partner of Staples and Xerox, I just traveled to New York City to spend National Small Business Week with the two organizations, learning how they’re helping small business customers and entrepreneurs be more productive with the new multi-function self-serve machines in Staples stores across the country. By 2030, more than half of American professionals will no longer go to an office every day. Gett...

Love has always been good business. No, I’m not talking about the world’s oldest profession. That’s not love. I’m talking about the kind of love that leads to wedding bells – businesses that cater to people who want to find true love or who have found it and want to celebrate it. But what can those types of love-focused businesses teach us about how we can use love as a principle that shapes...