The Philosopher Who Cracked the Code and Predicted the Rise of Trump

All of America’s ad agencies, with all their years of creating focus groups and analyzing trends, are waking up to the fact that they have little idea of how their consumers really feel. This piece in the Wall Street Journal, “Trump’s Win Has Ad Agencies Rethink How They Collect Data, Recruit Staff,” is reminiscent of the millions of dollars spent on how voters, customers and employees feel and behave—are still clueless. And yet, in 1998 law professor Richard Rorty broke the code—and predicted the rise of Trump. Jennifer Senior’s excellent New York Times column reveals the factors that Rorty saw even before the administration of our first African-American president. The enormous level of discontent he observed was the primary driver in the Faas Foundation’s Emotion Revolution in the Workplace initiative. We realized that business, government and media needed to gain a real understanding on how workers feel and why they feel the way they do, and to promote positive change to reduce the unnecessary stress workers feel. We must not allow the ranting of extremists to dominate the issue. Indisputable evidence and practical solutions must trump Trump, his henchmen and the neo-Nazis.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

Canada's So-Called Literary Heavyweights Like Margaret Atwood are Dangerously Wrong

Canada's former Ambassador to the United States once observed "They write well – they speak well – but they are wrong." This applies in spades to an open letter by the so-called "literary heavyweights" calling for an investigation into the handling of the Galloway case by the University of British Columbia. Galloway was fired by UBC after being accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment, bullying and other inappropriate behavior. 

This article highlights how the open letter by a group of writers, particularly Margret Atwood, backfired because they were trying to protect one of their own under the notion that the UBC handling of the scandal was not fair and transparent. Quite rightly Atwood was called out on her position to which she responded: "My position is that UBC process was flawed and failed both sides, and the rest of my position that the model of the Salem Witchcraft Trials is not a good one." 

As an expert in harassment and bullying in the workplace, I must point out that Atwood's position on this is dead wrong and dangerous. The process did not "fail both sides." 

UBC handled this scandal properly. To open this up to further inquiry will not only require that the targets of the harassment and bullying be further victimized by additional exposure and being forced to relive what they have experienced. It will also discourage others who are abused, harassed and bullied to come forward.

If Galloway feels his firing was unfair, he has every right to appeal. Given that he has signed a confidentiality agreement, this suggests that he has settled with the university. The open letter by his friends is an attempt to fight the dismissal in the court of public opinion is frighteningly wrong insomuch that if they were successful in doing this, organizations will continue to turn the victims into the villains, which is one of the biggest, if not the biggest obstacle, in encouraging targets of the predators to come forward.

Atwood is considered to be a "feminist icon." Considering the position she has taken on this and her premature defense of Jian Ghomeshi, Canada's notorious sexual predator and workplace bully, suggests that she is the opposite—an anti-feminist icon. It would be interesting to hear her weigh in on Fox's Rodger Ailes, Donald Trump and Billy Bush.

Bravo to Marsha Lederman and the Globe and Mail for calling out Canada's tight-knit literary community on this.

Photo: IBL/Rex Shutterstock

Congratulations to Canada's College System on its 50th Anniversary

Canada’s college system will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year and to mark the occasion they will present a special interest feature on “College All Stars” November 21. Since graduating from St. Clair College in 1972 I have maintained my association with the college system, serving as chair of the Board of Governors of George Brown College, Canada's largest college, and co-chair of Vision 2000, where we developed the strategic framework for Ontario's colleges and universities for the new century. Our system has proven to be world class and a model for synchronizing education with current and future jobs, partnering with industry and governments, innovation and creativity and has produced incredibly successful graduates of influence, positively impacting every segment of society. I applaud Maclean's for recognizing the college system, and am humbled to be featured with such remarkable fellow alumni. So many of them have helped me throughout my career and I’ve been the honored to develop lifelong friendships—for which I’m truly grateful.

Photo: St. Clair College SportsPlex

Have We Entered a New Age of Bullying?

More than a decade of bullying prevention in public schools is being undone by the messages spread by the American president-elect. The Southern Poverty Law Center has recorded the highest surge in reports of bullying, harassment and racist displays since 9/11. My fear is that bullies will also feel emboldened to bring this sort of behavior into the workplace. On a recent speaking tour in the Midwest, people came up to me afterward to tell stories of how employers used their “employed at will” status to remind them they could be fired at any time. This excellent article by anti-bullying author Emily Bazelon in the New York Times takes a closer look in Bullying in the Age of Trump. But it’s important to remember that one of the first steps in curbing bullying, especially in the workplace, is to find out how employees feel about their jobs and why they feel that way. This is why the Faas Foundation has partnered with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to survey working people about their complicated feelings about their work. You can participate by taking this survey, and please share it with those you know. It’s only by making our voices heard that we will be able to create the psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces we so desperately need. 

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Buddy or Bossy? Don't Oversimplify the Dynamics of Leadership

Some managers lead by dominating employees; others try to win them over. But the most effective leaders deploy the style best suited to the situation. This piece oversimplifies the dynamics of leadership, and as the title suggests a choice between being bossy vs buddy. What I advocate for all leading through respect. With respect a manager and leader can be very demanding and tough and people will positively respond. By being "bossy" people usually respond out of fear and by being "buddy" people respond only when the leader or manager is consistent with this style through good times and bad. I have witnessed a number of buddy leaders turn into barbaric monsters when times get tough. From the New York Times: Bossy vs. Buddy: Two Leadership Styles, Each with Its Place.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

How Do You Feel? Make Your Voice Be Heard

Now that we know the results of what has been the most divisive election in our lifetime we must reflect on how the political establishment, the pundits and the media totally misread how people feel and more importantly—why they feel the way they do. Emotions, good and bad, drive behaviors. The people have made their decision in a highly charged emotional environment. While we must respect the will of the people, we must work to protect the checks and balances in place so that history does not repeat itself in normalizing the abnormal, and protecting the hard won rights that may be in jeopardy. 

There is no question that most people distrust the political system and establishment. Unfortunately this has exposed the ugliness, bigotry and intolerance that have been simmering below the surface long before the election cycle started. It also appears that many of us have forgotten what we all learned in kindergarten, the ethic of reciprocity: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Organizational leaders must understand that the level of distrust extends beyond the political establishment. Rarely a day goes by when we are not exposed to the atrocities committed in every segment of our society: in politics, in government, in business, in religion, in sports, in entertainment and in media. The recent scandals at Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Fox News and Veterans Affairs have highlighted how pervasive this is. Based on research I have done on bullying and psychologically safe, healthy and fair workplaces, employees are afraid and angry. 

The election revealed a great divide that will continue to exist. It also revealed how fragile democracy is. Unless the political parties and the government totally reinvent themselves in a positive way the divide will widen and democracy will fail. The first step in this reformation is to come to grips with how people feel and more importantly why people feel the way they do. 

To come to grips with this in the workplace the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and the Faas Foundation are initiating the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace to help organizations create psychologically safe, healthy and fair workplaces. Currently, we are conducting a North American survey to determine how employees feel about the work they do, the relationships they have at work and how they feel about the organizations they work for. Most importantly, we will determine why employees feel the way they do. Our initiative will identify the unnecessary stress factors employees face and provide evidence-based solutions, unleashing the power of emotional intelligence coupled with the ethic of reciprocity. 

I encourage everyone to complete the survey and ask you to encourage everyone you know to do so as well.

Credit: Emotion Revolution in the Workplace

What We Can Learn from Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' Right Now

There’s a lot we can learn from William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies—particularly now. In this excellent New York Times article, Lois Lowry finds herself despairing about the circumstances that led the children to such a hell: Their Inner Beasts: ‘Lord of the Flies’ Six Decades Later. 

Credit: Neil Gower, Faber & Faber 2011 centenary edition

America, What Have You Become?

Some recent articles reinforced my pride in being a Canadian. In the October 29- November 4 edition of The Economist the cover story “Liberty Moves North: Canada's Example to the World” outlined how “Canada is uniquely fortunate in many ways—but its liberalism and tolerance hold lessons for other Western countries.” 

USA Today reported, “The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that a law that prohibits insulting or verbally abusing a public school employee in front of students violates the First Amendment.” This perplexing ruling makes it OK to bully and abuse employees, and—worse yet—do it in front of students during their most impressionable years.

Then there was the piece in The New York Times about Hamdi Ulukaya who employs resettled refugees in his Chobani yogurt factories. He’s now being targeted on social media by right-wing websites.

When you compound these examples with all of the bullying and hate mongering we are witnessing in the media in real time on prime time, Americans appear to want to normalize the abnormal. Again: thank God I am a Canadian!

Photo: BIGSTOCK

Tell Us How You Feel About Work

How are things at work? Millions of employees wish that someone would listen to their concerns about what happens at their workplace. Businesses, organizations and legislators don’t have an accurate barometer to determine if workplaces are psychologically healthy, safe and fair. That’s why The Faas Foundation is partnering with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence on the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace, a study to measure how feelings drive organizational behavior. This is your chance to let your voice be heard. This sample survey is completely anonymous and will add to the body of data that will help improve working conditions for everyone. Here's the Emotion Revolution in the Workplace Survey.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

Has Walmart Discovered the Key to Happier Employees and Higher Sales?

Can the answer to what ails the global economy be found in the people in blue vests at your neighborhood Walmart? When sales went down for the first time in Walmart history they tried something new—paying workers a better wage, giving them better training and more opportunities for advancement. And guess what happened? Being valued and given opportunities are part of creating a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace. Looks like Walmart is getting it! Neil Irwin reports in The New York Times: How Did Walmart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? 

Photo: Melissa Lukenbaugh for The New York Times