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Mondays: Lemons or Lemonade

    No Comments January 15, 2013

     

    by: Kyle Jones

    Monday Lemons

    It has happened to all of us and it will certainly happen again.  There's no doubt that it can and it will.  Every Human Resource professional, regardless of your role, has had one of these days and it goes as follows.

    Have you ever walked into your place of work on a Monday morning ready to start the day off right only to find out within 15-minutes that Susie has quit without giving a notice?  Almost immediately after that you find out that  John called in sick again on a Monday so his supervisor is at your door wanting to fire him. Your trying to keep it together and your smartphone continues to buzz.  It's your supervisor texting you with messages that she forgot to tell you that the deadline for getting the report she needed ASAP...was last Friday??

    LemonsOn top of that, you have two other supervisors wanting to talk to you and you’ve still not had a chance to check your email, go through your mail, or even check your voicemail.  Forget about your morning coffee because the day has started and it is up to YOU to resolve all the issues!!

    You think something like “if only I had the assistant I  had to fire last Wednesday!”

    The Question

    From the scenario above it is clear that this person’s Monday has probably started like many we’ve all seen over the years.  It is the way of Human Resources - we put out fires.  But, never fear, because HR professionals have a choice.  Yes, if each issue were a lemon then you would have a basket full of them!  Who could stomach eating just lemons??

    The question is:  What do you do with the lemons?  Do you make lemonade or do you sit and stare at them giving them the power over you? 

    The Choice

    We have a choice in how we are going to respond.  While it is sometimes easier to become disgruntled or even discouraged it is ultimately more rewarding to take those situations and make them into a positive or – if nothing else – resolve them to the best of our ability and move on.  Perhaps the fact that Susie quit was blessing in disguise because of repeated disciplinary issues?  Perhaps the fact that John called in sick is the catalyst that causes the discovery of John’s issue (fill in the blank).   You send John to EAP/counseling/etc. and John becomes the best employee ever! Lemonade Example at Kylemjones.com

    The key to the above is acknowledging that we are often looked upon to resolve situations and, after a while, it is easy to let negativity take root.  So, take a lemon the next time you have a bad day and turn that lemon into lemonade!  It’s YOUR decision . . . YOU decide!

    How do you deal with the Lemon/Lemonade Mondays?

    About the Author

     

    Kyle Jones serves as the Social Media Director for Mississippi SHRM. He is the Human Resources Manager at MegaGate Broadband, Inc. and has been with the company since 1996. Kyle was the recipient of the 2012 Spirit of HR Award at the 17th Annual Mississippi Human Resource Conference & Expo. He is an avid fan of Doctor Who and is active across various social networks. To find out more, visit his blog, HR to WHO, at http://kylemjones.com.

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