What’s in a name? Or should I say headline - find out what yours is and make it positive!

Promotable and Fireproof

Your source for quick, actionable advice on maximizing your potential in the age of

fast change, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and uncertainty.

Read time: 3 min.

Steve Degnan here, Advisor Board Member

and former Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Relationships, Reputation and Results

are what I see as the driving forces in becoming

Promotable and Fireproof.

Let’s dig in to some quick take advice to make this real.

I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go!

Learn more on SteveDegnan.com

Relationships: Don't underestimate the power a personal impact can make.

Days ago I got an email from a person I’d had a short interaction with all the way back in 2009. I’d offered some encouragement to the person after they did a presentation to a large audience at our company. Candidly the memory is there, but a bit faded for me. It was a lot bigger for that person who found me on the internet and engaged me these many years later.

Of course this was wonderful but also a reminder that every day we all can impact someone else, sometimes profoundly. If you are moved to speak, moved to encourage, moved to say something but you feel a little awkward, take the risk. You can make the daily work experience so much more enjoyable for others that way.

Reputation: What is your headline?

Everyone has a headline whether they know it or not, or even several headlines. Do you know yours?

I had several over the years that I was aware of – “doesn’t smile”, “hard ass”, etc. – sometimes as the head of HR you don’t want to know what they are. An executive I worked with liked the term “velvet hammer” to describe leaders who could hold people accountable without crushing them in the process.

If you are in an organization more than six months, you will get a blinking headline over your head – find out what it is and make efforts to make it positive, i.e., “knows their stuff”, “always on time” or “get’s sh-t done” as opposed to “knucklehead” or “hard to find when something is wrong”.

Results: Email and AI.

A friend recently let me know their use of AI to summarize long strings of emails that dozens of people had responded to. Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool was asked not only to summarize the overall message stream, but to single out the issues my friend needed to respond to. Co-pilot did exactly that.

Many of you may be doing these kinds of things already, but research indicates adoption is not broad at this point, with roughly 30% reporting they use AI in their work once per week.

Regardless, this is exactly the kind of productivity gain you should be looking for with AI tools: simplification, time savings, and reduction of non-value added work. In this case, reading dozens of ‘blah blah blah’ messages written by drone-like bureaucrats. Just make sure you do some quality checks on that AI tool every so often.

Your Quick Take Clip!

It’s time to chill. But really, are you quick to react to certain situations, do you let your emotional reaction dictate your workplace reputation? Don’t fall victim to this - become one who takes a moment to “chill.”

When faced with different situations in the workplace gather yourself first. Remember that taking that moment to “chill” may allow you to react in a way that wouldn’t ruin your personal “headline” and that might actually allow you to make a positive, personal impact on those around you. And just like that, the daily work experience may become more enjoyable.

Chill out!

#ThatsWhatSteveSaid

“Employee leaves for medical reasons are moments of truth for employers. Don’t let your managers, HR pros or outsourced leave management providers practice any hostility. Administer with compassion.”

Steve offers his perspective in this article on effective ways of training HR teams on the “algebra” of compliance. Even with strong policies in place, organizations can still face risk if HR professionals and managers do not understand how to apply them consistently. By practicing consistency and empathy organizations are better positioned to resolve disputes before they escalate.