Amplify Digest: Getting High(brid)
Subscribe to the Amplify Digest: a weekly newsletter designed to help modern HR operators stay on top of the latest news, trends, and resources in all things people.
Welcome to the Amplify Digest. Every week, I break down five articles in five minutes; discussing the top people news, stories, and resources that are worth your time. Scroll down for links to the articles covered in the video (and more), a helpful thread from the Amplify Accelerator Community, and curated jobs from the Amplify Job Board.
This week’s digest is episode explores the Amplify Accelerator Echo Cohort guest instructors, hybrid work models, leading distributed teams, Bain’s take on the working future, and more.
New Amplify Jobs: check out postings for jobs at Verily, Ladder, Nextdoor, and more.
Hiring? Post your jobs on the Amplify Job Board to reach members of the Amplify community.
Greetings from Dublin! I’m on the road again this week for Talent Summit where I’ll be presenting at a CPO symposium later today and a fireside chat on the new world of work at the conference tomorrow. If you’d like to watch the live stream of Thursday’s conference you can do so here.
In the before times I used to create vlogs of conferences to give an inside look at the event, speakers, and experience. My video skills are rusty (as you can see by the dialog sync issues below), but you can check out the day one installment of AmpliFiles below.
I’ll be back with the regular Amplify Digest recap next week. If you want to catch more of the AmpliFiles from this trip be sure to connect on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter at @Lars.
Sponsor
The Amplify Digest is sponsored by Greenhouse. As modern HR leaders and professionals, you know that your company’s ability to hire great talent is as important as ever. Whether you need to scale your team quickly, or improve your hiring process, Greenhouse gives you the right technology, know-how, and support to take on what’s next.
Articles discussed in this week's Digest (and more)
As Offices Open and Mask Mandates Drop, Some Anxieties Set In (The New York Times)
What Great Hybrid Cultures Do Differently (Harvard Business Review)
How To Lead Teams Effectively In A Distributed Work Environment (Forbes)
The future of work is hybrid, seamless and inclusive (The Seattle Times)
The Next In-Demand Job Title: Head Of The Future Of Work (Forbes)
Sponsored Post, by Greenhouse
Ready for better data-driven recruiting? Follow these tips from talent leaders
Amplify Accelerator Echo Cohort (April 21-May 20)
The Amplify Accelerator is a new approach to building readiness for modern HR and people operators through cohorts (peer-based learning). Designed to build capability and connections, the Amplify cohorts help modern people leaders build the necessary skills and network equity for the new world of work.
Accelerate your HR career and become a more confident people leader, armed with a new global peer community and a toolkit full of actionable advice, resources, templates, and more.
The Echo Cohort runs April 21 - May 20, with live sessions Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:00 - 2:30pm ET.
“The only thing better than the resource library and the world-class speakers is the community, an engaged group of vetted peers from whom I can learn and with whom I can collaborate.” — Claire Kennedy, Axios VP of People Operations
NEW: ✨ Amplify Community Wisdom ✨
The Amplify Accelerator Community was specifically designed to help modern people operators expand their networks, thinking, and connections. Each week, I'll spotlight a helpful thread from the Community to help Amplify Digest subscribers learn from the discussions.
[Question] I’m interested in hearing any book or article recommendations that provided an ‘aha’ moment for white male leaders as it relates to DEI. While I don’t have super stodgy execs, I have ones that don’t seem to truly empathize with the struggles of those that are not white/male. Their exposure to difference is limited. As a white woman, I tend to think what resonates with me, might not with them. Any recs?
A1: I haven't been able to get any of the ones who seem to need it to read a book. Have they stated openness to even read an article? If they are already feeling closed and you ask them to read something, my guess is likely they enter the reading in a critical mood and nothing will work. What has somewhat worked on some of them that I work with is hearing directly from some employees about how important DEI issues are to them, seeing employee engagement survey data about the topic, hearing some rough stats on how many candidates ask us about it. This all drives more buy-in to importance than true empathy, but one step at a time...
A2: Thanks, they’d be open to articles for sure--- I’m coming in to consult so I have some leverage to show them what a big miss this is ---ie they are in a semi-listening stance. They lack the ‘why it REALLY matters’ and how to change their biased-brains. The hearing from employees piece is in the works so that’s good to know that we’re headed in right direction on that front. Thanks!
A3: I probably don't know the perfect one but one I really like for part of the issue is this classic from Pat Wadors, especially because they may see themselves when she says "I realized that D&I grabs my intellect — it’s an organizational challenge that must be addressed — but not my heart." https://hbr.org/2016/08/diversity-efforts-fall-short-unless-employees-feel-that-they-belong
A4: If anyone wants a book where they can really get a sense for what Black Americans feel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_the_World_and_Me
A5: I’ll be honest and say that books/articles have only really made an impact for those who are already open to better understanding this space. The most impactful thing for us has been a recent curriculum we launched where a lot of the topics are group discussions and leaders hearing stories directly from people they have worked with. Similar concept is we often have ‘fireside chats’ on different topics and we’ve been lucky that our employees have been extremely vulnerable and open which has made these extremely impactful.
A6: Makes total sense, and thanks for sharing --- if only we could all be open to understanding, right? I love the hearing from employees.
A7: Agree. I flip it and find provocative ways to expose them to others' actual stories/experiences, which is the most data-driven catalyst for developing empathy.
You can learn more about the Amplify Accelerator Community in this post or by clicking the button below.