Okay, that is a huge overstatement, but did I get your attention?? My husband is the science, data king. He may as well be ‘Bill Nye The Science Guy’ from my perspective. MBA, Statistician, if there is no data to support it, he doesn’t believe it. Soooo, we have a little bit of a conflict with my chosen field. In the past Organizational Development (OD), psychology, therapy, coaching, not a whole lot of scientific data to support the efficacy of these things. We try to make it scientific, but the studies are correlation not causation. Now, he has never doubted that I don’t help people or situations, of course he does, very supportive hubs, (or at least he fakes it well enough that my BS meter isn’t flashing). BUT he would be much more apt to tout the work I do if had some stats to stand behind. ENTER THE PREDICTIVE INDEX.

In my quest to find supporting data of how OD supports organizations, beyond the Likert scale of 1-10 “How do you ‘feel’ about xyz?”, which does not fly in the conversations with my hubby, I came upon The Predictive Index. Mind blown! Millions of data points to support who are the best folks to fit certain jobs, the best way to coach and manage individuals on you team without guessing or making assumptions about them, how to build an effective team align with your strategic direction… I’m not talking all the data to support why you should care about this stuff, i.e. the average cost of one bad hire for an individual contributor role costs $3,500, and for managers even more. They have all that too. But I am talking lining up job requirements with peoples preferences and their approach to work, in really understanding and building diverse teams, congruent with needed skills. All of these answers (and more) with years of data to back it up! My first thought, was “YES, I’ve hit the jackpot”. My second thought was “is this enough for my British, inborn skeptical husband?” I showed it to him. I waited. I let him review on his own (no sales pitch). IT WAS! He was impressed, and also to be frank (not Frank), he was relieved that there was finally something his wife was doing that had solid data to back up the recommendations and direction.

In closing of this tale… data wins when it comes to discussing business with the husband. P.S. If you want to create dream teams, make good hires, equip your managers to listen, manage, and coach better, let’s chat about The Predictive Index. What I have very briefly shared barely scratches the surface.

P.P.S. No need to send me scientific journals of psychology. Disclaimer, this blog is also for entertainment purposes as well as spurring thought and dialogue.

What the heck is that??? A friend of mine called me yesterday upset because word “got out” she was sighted at the human resource offices earlier in the week. She had a flurry of people come up to her over the next few days, using the same silly phrase… “I heard a confidential rumor you were in with HR the other day”. ‘Clearly we all discussed it behind your back and came up with this silly phrase to approach you and make you uncomfortable.’

First of all, I thought HR was suppose to be a confidential place. Maybe “HR” (the mysterious figure behind the black cloak) needs to find a new office or a new way for people to engage. If the world is going to know employees are coming to see you, I suspect they wont! Not breeding too much of a speak up culture…

But what this really triggered for me is, ‘Why are some people bullies?’. Are they bullies? Are they nosey? Everyone knows HR is confidential, so why are you sniffing around for more confidential info. I might also add in this particular situation my friend is 1 female out of 30 men. A red flag I can’t even get into….If you genuinely want to help or care about what is going on with someone, why not start there? “Hey, checking in with you making sure everything is ok. ” “If you ever want to talk about something, have a thought partner, my door is always open…” Or “hey wanna grab a coffee?” Not… “I heard a rumor about you…” “Hey I know this is confidential, so I shouldn’t be talking about it, but I am going to say ‘confidential rumor’ to open up a can of worms about something I know I shouldn’t be talking about…”. What is this “high school mean girls?”

Here is my advice… have authentic conversations with people. Leverage your emotional intelligence to engage in the situation appropriately. I do genuinely believe that people come with positive intent. But when I hear things like ‘rumor’ or ‘confidential’, my cackles are raised… We have muddled knowledge and power. If I have more knowledge about what is happening within our ecosystem I am more powerful in the hierarchy. Yes, knowledge is power, so educate yourself of course, but not about others personal matters.

What’s your take? Do you think people are nosey? Do you think they genuinely care, or are wanting the information for their own purposes? Have you ever heard this phrase, ‘confidential rumor’ before, and if so, what does it mean for you?