fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
GitOps
By: Nicolas De Loof
Tags: Continuous Delivery, Jenkins X, Gitops

One of the feature provided by Jenkins X is to rely exclusively on GitOps to manage environments. Let’s talk about this practice. As promised, I’ll illustrate this blog with my own drawings.

Developers and Ops used to be considered a separate group of people based on distinct mindset. Developers always want to change everything for latest hype technology, while Ops pamper production and reject any unproven change. This is a terrible cliché, but reflect a reality in the way work is managed.

“classic” Ops

Both Developers and Ops have to track their work. They rely on a task/issue tracker for this purpose, managing priorities, assignments, dependencies and estimates. A major difference on Developer side of the universe is that those have been using Source Code Managers (i.e Git) to manage changes, providing audit and reversibility on projects’ code base.

Ops work has heavily evolved within recent years, and Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentally changed the way Ops do manage production. With automation of infrastructure management and application deployment, the whole system can be controlled by plain config files, stored in Git.

GitOps is an extension of this approach. It enforce any change to configuration has been validated by Ops rules. A typical implementation, as provided by Jenkins X, is to have dedicated Git repositories to manage environments configuration, and to rely on a validation pipeline for proposed changes. Just like a developer uses a pull-request to propose changes on the code, and get the project built, tested, checked by various QA tools, environments configuration managed in a GitOps repository will be updated using pull-requests. Associated pipeline will then validate the configuration is consistent and match governance rules. When PR get merged, another pipeline will apply the configuration to the target environment.

This workflow has many benefits

Changes to configuration is guaranteed to respect all governance rules establish by Ops team. Those can for sample require artifacts being deployed on production to be signed and checked by security tools. Like developers would configure Git repository so that push to master require a successful pull-request CI build, GitOps repository permission can be configured so that only a validated pull-request can be merged.
Continuous Testing with Android Emulator Containers
By: Michael Hazard
Tags: Android Emulator, Docker, Continuous Delivery, Android Development, Continuous Integration

Setting up and running the Android Emulator on continuous integration (CI) or deployment (CD) is now easier than ever before with our pre-built Android Emulator Containers. These containers allow you to find and run the right version of the Emulator without the headache of dependency management, which makes it easy to scale automated tests as part of a CI/CD system without the upkeep cost of a physical device farm.

Earlier this year, we released Android Emulator download and Docker image generator scripts to help developers deploy and debug remote emulators. These scripts made it easier to find the right system image, manage system dependencies, and run the Android Emulator.

We are now taking this one step further and experimentally providing pre-built Android Emulator Containers for each major Emulator release. These containers remove the need to manually run the generator yourself, saving time and complexity. Don’t worry, the pre-built containers still support all of the features offered by those built with the Docker scripts, like adb and web access.

Linux KVM is required to run these containers and can be enabled by running on bare metal or on a virtual machine with nested virtualization. The correct option depends on your cloud provider, so read our documentation for recommendations.

The script below is an illustration of how you can integrate an Android Emulator Container into your system and use it to run tests.

Sample script to pull, run, and port forward an Android Emulator Container

Check out our general README for further information on getting started and taking advantage of the Android Emulator Containers. This is our first time offering pre-built Emulator Containers, so please report any problems or feature requests on our issue tracker.
Building and Deploying Laravel with Github Actions
By: Dries Vints
Tags: Github Actions, Laravel, Github, Continuous Delivery, Continuous Integration

I recently set up Github Actions for Laravel.io so I thought I’d share what it takes to set up a Continuous Delivery pipeline with Github Actions. First, before we continue, I suggest you read this excellent blog post by my buddy Freek Van der Herten where he already explains Github Actions in great detail. A lot of my setup will already be explained there so we’ll focus on the most important and different bits and pieces here.

Let’s look at the Github Actions workflow yaml file:

name: CI on:

push:

pull_request: jobs:

tests:

runs-on: ubuntu-latest

name: Tests

steps:

- name: Checkout code

uses: actions/checkout@v2 - name: Cache dependencies

uses: actions/cache@v1

with:

path: ~/.composer/cache/files

key: dependencies-composer-${{ hashFiles('composer.json') }} - name: Setup PHP

uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2

with:

php-version: 7.3

extensions: dom, curl, libxml, mbstring, zip, pcntl, pdo, sqlite, pdo_sqlite

coverage: none - name: Install Composer dependencies

run: composer install --prefer-dist --no-interaction --no-suggest - name: Install NPM dependencies

run: npm install - name: Compile assets

run: npm run production - name: Execute tests

run: vendor/bin/phpunit --verbose - name: Deploy

if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'

run: curl ${{ secrets.ENVOYER_HOOK }}?sha=${{ github.sha }}

The main difference with a package setup is that we don’t do matrix builds. We only test with the specific setup from our production environment. Laravel.io still runs on PHP 7.3 so we only need to run that one.

As you can also see, it’s all pretty straight forward. We setup our build environment, install our dependencies, compile our assets (you can skip these two steps if you commit your assets), run tests and deploy the app.

Deploying the app

- name: Deploy

if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'

run: curl ${{ secrets.ENVOYER_HOOK }}?sha=${{ github.sha }}

This step will only run if the build is successful and when the build has run on master. We’ll use an ENVOYER_HOOK secret env variable to trigger the Envoyer deployment url, pass in the specific commit we want to deploy.

As soon as the Envoyer url is triggered, it’ll start deploying the specific commit. We’ll need to define four steps after running the “Install Composer Dependencies” hook.

First we need to re-cache our routes and config:

cd {{release}} php artisan route:cache

php artisan config:cache

Then we’ll install the front-end assets:

cd {{release}} npm install

And compile them:

cd {{release}} npm run production

And eventually we’ll run the migrations at the end:

cd {{release}} php artisan migrate --force

After these steps Envoyer will activate the new release.

Conclusion

That’s it! Pretty simple, right? Hope this helps you with your own app.
Becoming the GOAT in Your Workplace
By: Mikhail Alfon
Tags: Workplace Culture, Career Advice, Professional Development

Becoming the GOAT in Your Workplace

While building Blue Light over the last 7 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a ton of incredible people both within our walls and externally. And through that, I’ve seen some fantastic professionals and ones I’ve felt that maybe haven’t grown into their job title yet. So I wanted to share some of the qualities of the people that have been the most successful within the walls of our agency, and what I’ve observed outside of our offices as well.

Effective planning is an understated skillset and an essential aspect of leadership and management. Excellent presentation skills (now very important with Zooms all day) are almost a requirement in most jobs that require any type of collaboration. Those who attempt to “figure it out” before asking for help are greatly valued in fast-paced environments — and let’s be honest, everything is fast-paced these days. Having a plan to overcome a challenge when you present it, even if it’s not fully fleshed out, helps everyone work more effectively. The ability to understand someone else’s needs and adequately address them is crucial. This is empathy — and it’s the driving force behind successful/effective teammates and leaders. The ability to anticipate someone else’s needs and address them before it becomes a problem (read that again if it seemed similar to number 5). Loyalty. I’m not talking about getting your year in so you can add it to your résumé, I’m talking about sticking it out with a team through thick and thin. We live in a culture that’s so “me” focused, we forget how impactful loyal tribes are to our growth and wellbeing. Have a creative eye and an analytical mind. There are so much data and content flying past us we have to be able to understand what works and why it works. Be able to work effectively in teams. Encouraging and facilitating collaboration is a crucial quality to any workplace GOAT since company culture has become more important to founders and leaders. Have an optimistic and nurturing attitude. Your attitude will get you a lot further than your skillset can. The ability to execute on ideas. I’ll be nice and say that there can never be enough idea people — although they are really easy to find these days. However, those who are able to bring those ideas to life are the ones that will stand out.

I strongly believe that how you interact with other people is far more important than hard skills. From my lens workplaces are focusing more on culture, and workers are gravitating to companies that promote happy and healthy lifestyles. With that in mind, it’s important to reflect on some of your intangible strengths, and see how they can make an impact in your own career.

Hope you found this helpful. If you want content like this sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to the Monday Standard here.
Australian Workplace Culture
By: Bessel Raj Varghese
Tags: Workplace, Team Collaboration, Workplace Culture, Teamwork, Leadership

Australia being a land of variety, has developed its own way of doing things and because of that it has come up with her own way of doing things, which includes workplace etiquette. Although there are many aspects in it, I think the most important ones are how they value punctuality, how they go about hierarchy and how people are often free to speak their mind even if they are lower down the power ladder. Punctuality is especially valued here and I can say that from my part-time work experiences here. Managers and pretty much everyone at a workplace likes a person who is on time. Another aspect in workplace culture is their view of hierarchy. Although there are many positions and roles in Australian business hierarchy, the employees tend to receive the same treatment and a great emphasis is placed on the team rather than a high-ranking officer. This is especially good to bring out a sense of relaxation among the employees while boosting morale and promoting hard work. Moreover, this supports the Australian way of speaking their mind directly and straightforward, without having to worry about any superior officers, as they themselves ask the employees to speak their mind out.

This contrasts with what has been observed in other countries to some degree especially the aspect of speaking your mind and punctuality. Punctuality is sometimes a bit bend, where people, especially those working in smaller companies, may bring up excuses for being late at the workplace. This is not something that should be entertained in a workplace at all to be a successful organisation. Similarly, the speaking their mind is not also promoted, as it needs to be, as it is considered to be kind of ‘rude’ to contradict your superior in the hierarchy in public.

I think the main challenge that international students when going into a new workplace is that time period where you need to integrate your culture into the Australian culture which is a mix of different cultures (of different people from different backgrounds and that formed what is now the Australian culture).

To overcome this social integration is very important where you need to interact with your colleagues to understand what are the common factors that everyone enjoys and find a way to relate those common factors to similar things in his/her culture.

This way international students can find ways to appreciate what Australians enjoy while nurturing and strengthening a sense of camaraderie.
Three ways to celebrate International Women’s Day in the office.
By: Kat Hills
Tags: Company Culture, International Womens Day, Employee Engagement, Women In Tech, Workplace Culture

March 8th is International Women’s Day and while we think showing support for all women every day is important, today is special. On this day, we celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of inspiring women who span many generations. We celebrate the economic, cultural, and political efforts around the world, while still acknowledging that we have a lot of work to do for needed change.

Originating as an intimate gathering in Copenhagen in 1911, International Women’s Day and the movement it has inspired have helped secure women the right to vote, participate in the workforce, and hold public office.

Today, International Women’s Day has grown into a globally recognized holiday, and as a wonderful result, companies and organizations have increased their interest and advocacy surrounding the day. It’s no secret that the number of women represented in the workforce since the first International Women’s Day gathering in 1911 has changed for the better, however, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done for women’s equality and empowerment at work.

If your company is doing something to acknowledge International Women’s Day, that’s awesome! If not, you can still contribute on a personal level. Here are three ways you can personally spread awareness and encouragement throughout your office:

1. Give praise to female colleagues.

This one should be easy. Is there a woman in your office who has recently inspired you? Or have you noticed someone who hit a professional milestone? Use today to give these women a shoutout. Whether in person, sent via email, even shared on Honey, we’re sure it’ll be appreciated and noticed.

International Women’s Day is also the perfect opportunity to reach out to someone who you may not otherwise interact with. Use the subject of the day as an email intro to anyone you’ve been interested in getting to know. Let them know how much they inspire you — or offer to take them out to coffee to tell them in person!
Thriving through life’s changes
By: People At Siemens
Tags: Travel, Working Abroad, Workplace Culture, Graduate School, Work Life Balance

Today, Henrike Diers is a Director in Supply Chain Management for Mobility and is a member of the Management Team in the UK. But her Siemens journey began in Berlin Schaltwerk, where she worked as an intern while earning her degree in Industrial Engineering and Management.

Talking about her career journey through Europe with her husband and children she says: “The strength is to face new situations boldly and to master them with already obtained experiences.”

One of the experiences that she still seeks inspiration from today was the Siemens Graduate Program (SGP), which saw Henrike work in Lisbon, Portugal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. “I was ambitious to go to different countries and understand different cultures and branches of our company,” she says.

An interest in experiencing different business functions is what led her to the SGP and she was excited to embark on three job rotations within a span of two years. “It is exciting to see the diverse expertise of this enormous organization in products, industries, and network — and this was all within two years.”

Cross-cultural experiences

“Usually, participants in the program are placed back in the office where you started the program, but luckily my Portuguese placement offered me the opportunity to come back into its supply chain management, which was my first experience as a leader,” Henrike says.

Her husband joined her in Portugal shortly after. “It is great to have your partner with you on a delegation,” she says.

But when the couple returned to Germany following the birth of their first son, Henrike was surprised by the effect of reverse culture shock. Everyone expects that they will need to get acclimatized to a new cultural environment, but they might feel surprised at the contrast they encounter when they return.
Supreme Court Rules LGBTQ Protected from Job Discrimination
By: Matthew Fenton
Tags: Workplace Culture, LGBT Rights

Millions of LGBTQ people will have new civil rights following a decision by the Supreme Court that found employers cannot discriminate on the basis of workers being transgender or gay. On Monday, June 15, the Supreme Court ruled that it breaks federal law for employers to discriminate against people because of sexual orientation or gender identity. Federal law mandates that an employer cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, race, national origin, or religion, through the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII.

This new case was Gerald Lynn Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. The question was whether the prohibition against sex-based discrimination covered LGBTQ employees.

The court’s four liberal justices were joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in their 6–3 majority, determining that LGBTQ workers are protected. Gender identity and sexual orientation are included within the federal prohibition of workplace sex discrimination, said the court.

This law is expected to have sweeping consequences. Anti-discrimination laws on the books with more than half of US states omit mention of gender identity and sexual orientation. According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, most of the 8 million LGBTQ employees in the US live in those states that lack coverage. The Supreme Court has established legal protection for the LGBTQ community in the workplace.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE LGBTQ JOB DISCRIMINATION

Take these four steps if you experience gender identity or sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace:

Get legal assistance Get documentation Report the discrimination Take legal action

FINDING THE RIGHT WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION ATTORNEY

It is important to know that the attorney who is representing you is both highly engaged and highly skilled in this area of law. At Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, PA, we have earned a strong reputation directly focusing on employment law and sex discrimination cases. Request a free consultation today.
Munch much?
By: Vivian Lefei Zhou
Tags: Workplace, Snacks, Workplace Culture, Munchies, Food

It’s no secret that company wide lunches do pretty good—munching our way through breaks with co-workers allows us to bond and expand our palates.

Yet it’s one thing to share stories over a cheese sandwich, another thing to reach a state of epiphany over that same sandwich, much like a modern day Dali on LSD.

Fine, you’re facing ramblings of a self-proclaimed foodie here, but seriously— munchies are a startup’s best friend.

I’ve come to learn that people have a surprisingly sound opinion on what goes into their tummies at all times.

I’ve encountered moments when brainstorm sessions turned into fiery debates on gummy bears and protein bars (how these two would ever complement each other in any way, remains a mystery). And there were moments when Slack threads escalated into heated throw-downs between league “chunky” and league “smooth” (peanut butter, that is).

If you wonder how much your PB&J sandwich is capable of igniting enlightenment behind the desk—there’s a feast of food-inspired tech out there that’s brilliant to say the least…

So while you’re making the world a better place, unleash your inner cookie monster once in a while: you might be able to think out of that (bento)box, and make a friend or two.
I am looking for advice on how to approach a situation at work in which someone believes that I am…
By: Mud Hut
Tags: Relationships, Gaslighting, Workplace Culture, Psychology, Workplace Conflicts

I am looking for advice on how to approach a situation at work in which someone believes that I am gaslighting them, but I am certain that I am not. I realize that anyone reading this can’t take that on faith just because I say so, and that I may even be narcissistic enough to be convincing myself that I’m not doing it. I can only say in good faith that this is what I believe, and I am trying to figure out how to show up in a way that takes the experience the other person is having seriously, without having to either admit they are right or prove them wrong.

This came up in a conflict resolution session between me and this person following an inflammatory email from that person to me. The session included two other people from our workplace as mediators who I think we both trust.

It was actually me who recognized that this is what was happening, and I asked the person if they felt I was gaslighting them and they said yes. At that point I realized that this is the crux of the situation that needs to be resolved, more than the original matter. If someone is feeling that deeply mistreated or manipulated and is feeling that unsafe, it doesn’t matter what the original subject was.

I went into this meeting already familiar with the concept of gaslighting, and I did not have a problem understanding that this person was experiencing me in that way. What I’m trying to figure out now is how do I show up to address and heal this in a way that respects the other person’s experience without agreeing with their portrayal. I know that going in with a paper trail that proves that I’m not gaslighting them is not the way to go, even if that is the case. Everything I found online on the subject, understandably, is geared towards helping people recognize gaslighting, whether they may be victims or perpetrators of it, and how to extricate from that. I haven’t found everything that says what do you do when someone thinks you’re gaslighting them and you really aren’t, and you want to resolve it in a mature and healthy way.

In this meeting, as well as a few instances before it, things have come up that indicate that this person may have had some experience in an abusive relationship, and I have a strong feeling that whatever is happening between us is triggering some of that. It’s obviously a much heavier issue than a misunderstanding about the process of creating a proposal together to bring to a meeting.

As I am writing this, thinking about the situation and getting advice from people in the last couple of days, I can see how my most well-intentioned efforts could also be seen as gaslighting (a wild in sheep’s clothing…), so I feel very cautious about moving forward in a way that’s moving towards a safe and healthy resolution.

Any leads or advice would be very much appreciated.
The # 1 Culture Killer by Steven Morris
By: Breakfast Leadership
Tags: Fear, Leadership, Workplace Culture, Bad Management

Photo by Melanie Wasser

This is a post from Steven Morris on the # 1 Culture Killer. Steven is 100% spot on with this. I’m seeing too many organizations with sh*tty managers running organizations with fear. It needs to stop.

Knowing what ails your culture and brand is the first step in identifying a possible remedies. From my experience in working with more than 250 companies, one of the biggest threats to a healthy business is a culture of fear.

We all know the feeling. It’s when you are in an environment where you’re afraid to make mistakes, afraid to speak out, afraid to share the idea, afraid to challenge the thinking of others, afraid to hold others accountable, afraid to be ourselves.

A culture of fear is an outcome of an unexamined past as an imagined future.

When we don’t examine why things went the way they did — good, bad or otherwise — we don’t have the data-driven insight to understand why something worked or didn’t, and what to do about it today, and tomorrow.

Fear is a killer — of trust, of collaboration, of innovation.

Fear in your culture usually comes from conversations that didn’t happen about events that transpired which effected someone’s morale, engagement, commitment, and/or trust. When trust has diminished the ability to be collaborative, connective, creative, and confront what needs to be confronted is stifled. This also kills holding each other, and ourselves, accountable. All of this, of course, kills outcomes and results. Fear can also inhibit us from seeing what’s truly taking place in front of us. The cost of fear is immeasurable.

For brands, a culture of fear will effect how the outside world experiences you. Just like animals that can sense fear, your customers sniff it out, too. Fear in your customer service team can show up as defensiveness and lack of accountability. Fear in new product development can show up in your inhibitions to take innovative leaps. Fear in your marketing communication can up in tendencies to follow or over-react to what competitors are doing — instead of crafting and staying your strategic course.

All cultures need to be examined so the mistakes, missteps, misunderstandings and missed opportunities of the past don’t dictate your future.

The remedy to fear in a culture begins with understanding where it comes from. The antidote comes from addressing these issues head-on and doubling down on your beliefs, assuming you know them. From this stance, you can be armed with the wisdom to change, adapt and evolve, then dictate your own remarkable future.

Insight (aka the deep reflection that comes from data) also gives you the courage to evolve to your fullest potential as a team, as a brand, and as a business.

Steven helps organizations build and implement custom remedies from a culture of fear and reclaim control of your future by employing culture bench-marking and values mining processes. It’s all part of your brand’s evolution.

Learn more about Steven’s awesome work at http://themthdegree.com/
Connecting Authentically in Remote Meetings
By: Sarah Howard
Tags: Workplace Culture, Communication, Connection, Meetings

Crisis puts distance between us, with or without physical distancing. A lot of us cope by withdrawing and isolating ourselves. Validating the story we tell ourselves that we are the only ones feeling overwhelming emotions like grief, sadness, depression, anxiety etc.

Connection helps us to…

Realize we aren’t alone and establish a “same team” dynamic Celebrate our humanity, including the vulnerable bits Cultivate safety and ease (engaging our parasympathetic nervous systems) Be in a creative, open mindset

Hint: These are all great ways to start effective meetings!

The Ripple Effect

In hopes to maintain respect from others we hide our struggle, mistaking vulnerability for weakness. This is where inauthentic connection multiplies. For example, one-upping or general performative comments that expose status. When you put your mask on, most others do too. And the one’s who can’t relate, and/or value integrity and realness, are left feeling othered and frustrated.

Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness but the key to connection…

…and connection helps navigate and process times of uncertainty. This is the ripple effect we need right now!

Welcoming the Full Human Experience

But how can we engage in connection in a way that welcomes the full human experience, normalizing the light and the dark, the good and the bad? After all, we have the capacity to experience pleasure alongside grief- dichotomies live within us all the time.

Below are a few questions to use in your next team meeting or 1:1 that are sure to give us a better snapshot of someone’s full experience and create authentic connection. (Ideally these answers are not work related.)

Prompts for Connection

What’s something you’re celebrating and something you are grieving right now? (*Grief is the feeling of the loss of something, not just a person- we are all learning about how to process this emotions these days.)

What’s one obstacle and one opportunity you are facing right now?

What’s something that is bringing you life and joy right now and what’s something that’s sucking your energy away?

What’s something you’re letting go of and what’s something you’re birthing or creating right now?

Vulnerability Begets Vulnerability

If you are considering bringing these prompts to your team, consider going first to set the standard once you’ve introduced that you want to try something new. And if you notice someone isn’t climbing the vulnerability ladder with you, don’t jump off, just step down one rung and try to relate in a way that feels comfortable for them.

Thank you for your brave and courageous acts to authentically connect with others. It is a huge step in creating a more inclusive, psychologically safe, and thriving workplace culture. If you or your team is struggling with your current team dynamics, I am currently accepting new clients. If you or your team wants to improve upon your current interpersonal or team dynamics, I am currently accepting new clients.
Inclusion is Necessary for Diversity To Succeed
By: Raafi-Karim Alidina
Tags: Gender Equality, Inclusion, Workplace Culture, Diversity, Organizational Culture

Inclusion is Necessary for Diversity To Succeed

What does inclusive leadership look like? Often people focus on extrinsic factors such as recruitment or additional initiatives that they can undertake. But these miss the point somewhat. It’s not about extracurricular activities done off the side of your desk. That’s rather like relying on foreign aid instead of changing the terms of trade. It’s about giving due consideration to applying an inclusive lens to your day job.

When you have a diverse workforce, it can be difficult for those different people to find common ground and work together. Often, diversity can cause friction in a team, and when that team isn’t managed the team isn’t able to work well together. In these cases, diversity likely will not lead to the incredible benefits it could bring because it will make people feel more guarded and instead stifle their ability to bring their whole selves to work.

Inclusive leadership helps manage that friction. When people bring their whole selves to work, they are able to leverage every aspect of their perspectives as they approach problems, leading to more creativity and innovation. If we use the analogy of trying to cross a river, one side of the riverbank is diversity, the other side is positive work outcomes, and the river itself is the friction that difference can bring. The bridge then that you as a leader must build is inclusion.

Let’s take an example: men and gender pay parity. The gender pay gap is predominantly seen as a female issue. In many cases, women are only paid 80 percent of what men are paid. However, how could a man lead on this issue and frame it as a problem for men too? Men seeing a gain for women as a loss for men is the zero-sum arm wrestle example playing out in real life.

In 2017, 45 female stars, led by Jane Garvey, wrote to the BBC Director General, Tony Hall, to complain about pay inequity. But where were the men? Where were the male signatories? The principle is about all of us, the men and the women, for all staff, not just the ‘stars’. The principle is not a female principle. It is a human principle. It is one of fairness and merit assured through transparency. Inefficient and unfair markets hurt us all. This pay injustice is morally repugnant for many of us, but it is inefficient for all of us.

All of us, whether directly or indirectly, are dependent on women being paid fairly. All of us suffer when a labor market becomes distorted and paid not on the basis of merit but on the basis of bias and favor. All of us suffer from market failure when we don’t ensure checks and balances on the best succeeding. Diversity is the enemy of mediocrity. And transparency is its facilitator.

The preceding is adapted from Building An Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the power of a diverse workforce by Stephen Frost and Raafi-Karim Alidina ©2019 and published with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/reinventing-the-product
This concept or notion that corporations or businesses are combating or giving the appearance that…
Tags: Racism, Workplace Culture, Life Lessons, Business, Diversity

This concept or notion that corporations or businesses are combating or giving the appearance that racism is intolerable is merely a charade. There is money on the line here and they are very fine people on both sides that serve capitalism in this vein. The president has exposed this ignorance for what it is in many aspects of absurdity. Racialization is a cultural phenomena here and it is embedded in the psyche of all its citizenry as part of the assimilation process of being an American, it is impossible to wish it away or in the workplace deny its plausibility.

The actions of the Assistant General Manager is the corporation’s plausible deniability. The fact that there are people of various races working there serves as plausible deniability. The fact that they responded to you Marley K. serves as plausible deniability, and unfortunately those who will read your article (written by a Black woman stereotypically known to be angry) will silently express plausible deniability of your claims based on the persistence and thus plausibility of racialization.

This does not diminish your claim nor your reaction to the affront you faced during your stay at this establishment. But it does make a scapegoat out of racism on the part of the corporate entity making it unactionable legally as well as mentally because they have done the bare minimum to denounce and evade culpability.

This is where we come to the psuedo profoundly lame excuse you find mostly coming out of sophists, apologists, and the vanity and insanity of those who benefit. They call it the human condition. This specious reasoning or excuse is meant to leave you hopeless in your resistant to or fight against inequality and racism. It is very effective especially when it comes down to the “money over everything” concept, you will find widespread collusion with combatting it or even just calling it out. This is where I identify with your concept of colleagues of racism.

But there is always hope and it culminates over time. Sherry Kappel has highlighted many portions of your article as she may identify, become enlightened, or just relate to many instances and or concepts gleaned from your articulation of events. I have opined on them. This is hope. It is also an illustration of an overstanding of the issue, not just an understanding of them.

It is important not to look forward to some victory in this fight, it would not be logical nor will it or should it feel like one because we have lost so much in terms of lives and time. We can only look forward to this phenomena being a regrettable thing of the past. As you can see we are so far from making that a reality.
Satanic Nails and Afro Tales
By: Bethany L. Studenic
Tags: Natural Hair, Inclusion, Workplace Culture, Discrimination, Diversity

I have actually started going to counseling about this matter. Just yesterday Scott walked up to my desk yelling

My coworker Ashley tells me I have a strong case for a hostile work environment because I stay at my desk all day, not going out of my way to interact with anyone and whenever one of them come in our area they do something to embarrass me or make me feel badly about myself.

I have worked at this privately owned, 85 person downtown sound equipment manufacturing company for almost 3 years. I am the youngest, African American, female with a desk job in the whole company. There is only one other and she is my direct supervisor, Shukrea. The CEO and VP are both older white men and they constantly make comments about my appearance.

pointing at my nails which I have worn this way for 2 months now.

Tom walked up to my desk when I wore my hair in a natural Afro and yelled “WOAH you gotta warn me if you’re going to wear your hair like that. I wasn’t expecting all that. [Co-worker] I know will have her short red hair but you I don’t expect that.”

[Co-worker] came out of her office and rolled her eyes at him but said nothing. That’s how loud he was.

There are other instances and [Co-worker] did email Scott after he yelled at me in a meeting for no reason and he just ignored her message.

I constantly walk on eggshells worrying about what they will say about me and trying to not react so that I don’t get in trouble for being an “angry, black woman”. I use to come home from work constantly crying but now I’m just trying to keep my head down until my wedding so we can move away from all this.
Your Co-Worker Wants To Talk About Mental Health. What Could Go Right?
By: Spencer Hyde
Tags: Workplace, Ocd, Workplace Culture, Mental Health, Work Life Balance

Photo by Bethany Legg via Unsplash.com

OCD consumed my life for years, and it still does. Every. Single. Day. I used to wash my hands over a hundred times a day, and rituals consumed my thoughts for hours. I put dish soap on my tongue when I thought of the word “Death,” and if I thought of an illness — cancer, malaria, polio — I feared for my family’s life. The key to saving them was to wash my hands even more often.

I now allow myself to tap the walls at work three times on the left side of the hallway, and I don’t fear any sidelong looks. My boss is fully aware of my OCD, to the point that he comments on it in a sensitive, even humorous, way. And why can’t we talk about these things at work? It is more socially acceptable to tell your boss you need a break for your diabetes, because your blood sugar is low and you’re feeling weak, than it is to tell your boss that your OCD or anxiety is hyperactive and you need a break to wash your hands or step outside. But why is that the case? Isn’t a brain in need of help the same as a pancreas in need of help? Why don’t we comment on mental health? What are we missing by maintaining stigmas and taboos in the workplace?

Think of it this way. Three centuries ago, Antonio Stradivari crafted violins in the town of Cremona, Italy. Those violins are now worth upwards of $45 million apiece. But I’m not interested in the cost.

Right now, in Cremona, Italy, sound technicians are recording every possible, unique note from each violin so the extraordinary sounds of a Stradivarius will never be forgotten. The mayor even asked the town of 70,000 people for silence from January to February — a full month of silence to preserve the music of a master luthier.

Now, consider the individual notes and melodies of the people in our lives. What songs might we never hear because we are too afraid to push against social stigmas? What concertos are lost because those suffering with OCD and anxiety and depression were not allowed to talk about their problems openly with coworkers, with friends?

I guarantee you work with someone who is struggling with mental health. So tell those around you to take a moment and listen to someone dealing with an issue they might be afraid to discuss for fear of rejection. You may not be the mayor, but you can still ask for respect and understanding — then see if you can pick up on the right notes.

This gesture won’t come with $45 million, but it will mean the emotional equivalent of that kind of money to the person struggling.
“I’m going to challenge you on that…”
By: Jeff Salanco
Tags: Workplace Culture, Startup

“I’m going to challenge you on that…” Seems like I am hearing this phrase more often lately at the office…and I kind of don’t like it so much…

It goes something like this… I say something someone doesn’t like at all and they feel the need to say “I am going to challenge you on that...” prior to stating an argument that has no chance of standing…

When this happens…it feels like like a bad corporate version of Karate Kid fight lead in…or maybe start of a Monty Python skit…

I immediately become disinterested…

“I’m going to challenge you” … Does this mean things are going to get physical? Maybe…not really sure…

Don’t get me wrong…I love healthy conflict in the workplace. I find myself “pressure testing” others’ ideas or leaning in to “explore alternate options”…I just don’t find it perfectly helpful to throw down the “I’m going to challenge you on that…” gauntlet to do it.

Is “I’m going to challenge you on that…” some kind of psychological warfare technique? Is it meant to throw me off my game…like a 5th year defense back running his mouth off to a rookie wide receiver?

It’s ok, and important, to disagree about important matters in the office…maybe we can just find a better phrase to kick off the debate?

Something like, “Have you thought of…” or “Perhaps this could me an alternative approach…” or as my team would point out as a favorite of mine … “Can you walk me through your thoughts on that one…”

So how do I play a part in fixing this impending epidemic? How should I respond next time someone blurts out “I am going to challenge you on that…”

The most obvious solution might be to state “Challenge Accepted!” in a stoic Traveler accent a la Brad Pitt in Snatch… return fire in the workplace game of psychological warfare…

But perhaps instead, I should simply inform the offender of how ridiculous “I am going to challenge you on that” sounds… my little part in helping to curb a building crisis of workplace etiquette.
Becoming psychologically safe
By: Jason Bay
Tags: Psychological Safety, Vulnerability, Workplace Culture, Leadership, Life

Becoming Psychologically Safe

Photo: @barackobama/Instagram

The Obamas are in town!

In a conversation before a sellout audience this past weekend, I listened to Michelle Obama reflect on why she wrote the book, Becoming. She spoke about dealing with chronic self-doubt, about overcoming marital issues with Barack, parenting issues with Sasha and Malia, having to go for IVF to have children, and dealing with abuse on the political stage. It was candid, it was connecting, and it was so utterly human.

“It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.” (Michelle Obama)

An Evening with Michelle Obama, hosted by The Growth Faculty, 14 December 2019

Michelle said that it was important for leaders today to talk about the imperfect reality of their lives. We all have our own demons to fight, but that is what the human condition is about. She found that sharing the less glamorous and sometimes distressing parts of her journey of becoming had been incredibly empowering for people around her.

She also said that being vulnerable and sharing her story with different groups of people also made her more powerful and confident in her own voice and message. Vulnerability. That message resonated with that of Brené Brown, a research professor specializing in vulnerability—a voice I heard for the first time during my postgraduate sabbatical.

All my life, I had thought of vulnerability as being synonymous with weakness. And, throughout my career, I had constantly sought to present an image of competence, to always know the right answer. Even when my then-boss counselled me about complementing my professional qualities with the ability to build stronger connections with my colleagues, I thought success lay in projecting competence ahead of warmth.

It was only when I watched and read Brené for some of my “soft skills” classes, and reflected on some of the emotional scars I carried from unpleasant episodes in my life, that I realized how I had gotten it back to front. Vulnerability and self-compassion were necessary for empathy, compassion and stronger connections with people; you cannot motivate through competence without warmth and connection.
Feeling Like An Imposter Shouldn’t Be A Syndrome
Tags: Startup Lessons, Behavior, Startup Life, Workplace Culture, Imposter Syndrome

Feeling Like An Imposter Shouldn’t Be A Syndrome leap.club Follow Apr 7 · 2 min read

Written By Neha Reddy Kuthuru

Imposter Syndrome is a term that gets discussed about a lot (unfortunately) in women’s circles. To break it down, imposter syndrome is defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. In a nutshell, you are successful at work but you feel like a fraud. But it is surprising why it has been called a ‘syndrome’ when the word syndrome suggests something medicalised. We should perhaps call it imposter feeling(s) instead.

People with imposter syndrome feelings are found to have a tough time internalising their accomplishments, however successful they are in their field. And women are more susceptible to these feelings because of unconscious biases around gender and leadership.

Feeling like an imposter is as real (and normal) as it gets and can hit women in any stage of their career. We think we aren’t qualified for a job, a promotion, a raise (and the list goes on..) but the thing is no one actually is and you’re definitely not alone. Most people are riding heavily on ‘fake it till you make it’ and that’s the big secret. You are, however, more qualified than anyone else to do the things that make you unique and that you can add value to.

At leap.club, we hosted a masterclass last month with Megha Chawla, Partner, Bain & Company, to talk all things about feeling like an imposter at the workplace. And here are some of our learnings from the session -

Acknowledging is the opening gambit. Track your thoughts to understand what they are and when do they emerge.

Rewire your thoughts. And make confidence boosting thoughts more natural.

Learning > Performing. A learning centric mindset will help deal with failure better by making it a part of the learning curve.

Focus on subtle (yet effective) ways of self promotion — share your experiences with a colleague/s who you trust, take active pauses to celebrate milestones.

Dear women, don’t let imposter feelings stop you from leading your best possible professional life. It’s time to fix the game, not the players.

Take charge of your professional growth now.

Join our waitlist at www.leap.club.