Many business leaders think belonging is squishy, but it is really structural and necessary. What It’s Not: - Pizza parties - Matching T-shirts - “We’re like family here” What It Is: 👉 I feel seen. 👉 My voice matters. 👉 My manager has my back. 👉 I know where I stand. 👉 I’m included in decisions that impact my work. When belonging is weak, people get quiet, high performers disengage, conflict is avoided, and people leave. Most leaders think they have belonging because they’re “nice.” But belonging is built through consistent leadership behaviors: - Clear expectations - Fair treatment - Follow-through - Recognition - Growth conversations 👉 Question for you: Where in your organization does belonging break down most often? - New hires? - Frontline managers? - High performers? - Remote employees? - Something else? Drop your thoughts below. Let’s unpack it together. Also: Check out yesterday's post on time management and share your thoughts.

As an HR department of one, none or few, your time is at a premium. Here’s a mistake many of us make: We manage our calendars. But we don’t manage our focus. If everything feels urgent, here’s a simple reset: 🕧The 3–Block Rule Every week, identify three blocks of time (60–90 minutes each) that are protected for work that actually moves the needle (not email, meetings, or reacting). Examples: - Preparing for a tough accountability conversation - Reviewing performance trends - Building a hiring or onboarding plan - Creating structure for better 1:1s - Thinking (yes, thinking counts) Put those blocks on your calendar first and treat them like a client meeting you would never cancel. Small, consistent blocks of focused time prevent big, messy issues later. 👉 Question: What would qualify as a “needle mover” for you this week? Drop one below.

Monday after the Super Bowl is basically an HR case study each year. UKG projected an unprecedented number of people will be out: 🏈 13.1 million taking a pre-approved day off 🔄 6.5 million swapping shifts 🤒 3.3 million calling out “sick” 👻 1.6 million “ghosting” their job Wondering about your experience today. How was attendance? Where most absences planned or unplanned?

Good morning, all you Badasses! Hope you are surviving the weather - I guess depending on where you are located. We are expecting more inclement weather in NC this weekend. 👋Please share your weekly wins below! It's important to focus on what we are doing right to maintain a positive mindset. Check out the activity from earlier this week, including a micro training on 'Performance Management Needs a Renovation.' Coming up: ✅2/13 from 10 to 11 a.m. ET - Join for the Monthly Roundtable with the topic of Employee Appreciation. Head over to the calendar and put it on your calendar. ✅New resources in the classroom include Workplace Investigations and forms for various HR functions.

I would like your feedback on the term ‘performance management’. The processes that many use are outdated, as well as the term in my opinion. As context, performance management is defined as how leaders help people do their best work, stay aligned, and grow—while ensuring the organization gets the results it needs. It’s a continuous process, not just once a year, and includes feedback, coaching, goal setting, corrective action, accountability, and performance reviews (or whatever you choose to call them). My thoughts on terms are Performance Enablement and People Success System. I need to land on a new term, as one of the solutions I offer is ‘Performance Management Redesign.’ What would you name it?