It is five years since this post came out in February 2010 and in that time, the “speak up” piece of the Respect Business continued to expand and grow. It became the most popular and requested of my presentations. In 2012 we released the Road to Respect Speak Up eGuide with tips and tools to empower you to speak up respectfully.The ability to speak up respectfully, the willingness to step into our power, to be our own advocate is the ultimate answer to ending workplace disrespect. A simple solut...
Jun 23, 2015•7 min
This post first appeared in Nov 2011. The message is even more relevant today as the explosion of social media platforms, texting and selfies continues to push the boundaries and re-establish “socially acceptable behaviour.”In my experience, the bar is getting lower, not higher, making the requirement for a proactive conversation about what constitutes “respectful, professional behaviour” in your workplace more critical than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 19, 2015•7 min
Given that Ms. Clinton announced on April 12th that she will be seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, I thought it would be fitting to share this post from 2013.In June I had the opportunity to present at the annual SHRM Conference in Chicago. One of the highlights Iof that experience was being in the audience for the opening keynote delivered by former US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton.If you’re a regular reader/listener, you will know that the topic of...
Apr 21, 2015•10 min
March 8 was International Women’s Day, first celebrated in 1911. It seems only fitting, then, that this month’s "Best of "article features the first interview for Are We There Yet? Women, Position & Power done in February 2012. The introduction to the interview highlighted the sad reality that the answer to the question Are We There Yet? was a resounding NO in 2012. I wish I could say something has shifted in the last 3 years, but the fact is that it hasn’t. Unless something radical happens,...
Mar 17, 2015•22 min
This is the full interview with Anne Kinvig Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 17, 2015•36 min
I was prompted to write this article in June 2007 when Jim Chu became the first non-white chief of police to be hired in Canada. In January 2015 Chief Chu announced he will be retiring in the spring, after 36 years as a member of the Vancouver Police Force. Oh, and if you’re curious as to who are the front runners for his position, they are 3 white guys. Plus ca change… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 17, 2015•13 min
In July 2007, my 11 year old daughter Abee and I went to San Diego where I attended a National Speakers Association event while my daughter took part in a Youth Leadership Conference. At the end of each day, my daughter was bubbling over with news about the exciting speakers she had heard.One of these presenters, Canadian motivational speaker Alvin Law, had made a huge impression on Abee. Born without arms in the early 1960’s, Alvin was one of the unfortunate group of “Thalidomide” babies. Docto...
Jan 20, 2015•18 min
One of the most gratifying things for me, and the main reason I continue to write these monthly articles, is that I always receive comments from you, my readers and listeners. A Christmukah Story, first posted in December 2007, generated a flood of feedback. We reposted it in 2009 and 2012 and again got loads of comments. The article has also been picked up and reprinted in numerous online publications. It remains my most popular post to date.As you many of you are new subscribers to Reflections...
Dec 09, 2014•15 min
Yesterday I spent a good deal of my day struggling with an article for this edition of Reflections on the Road to Respect. I had what I thought was a good idea. However, as sometimes happens, the more I wrote, the less I progressed. By about 4 pm I was feeling quite frustrated and discouraged. The fact that I burned the roof of my mouth a few days ago and have not been able to eat, something I normally quite enjoy doing, did not help my mood any. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...
Nov 13, 2014•6 min
Let’s Talk About Sex – Popular Fashion and Respectful Workplace CultureI am not a prude. Those that know me would laugh at the suggestion. However, lately I find myself on the far right when it comes to the topic of appropriate attire in the workplace. I am, in fact, now advising all of my clients to adopt and enforce a Dress Code.How come? Well, quite honestly, I often find myself in a difficult position these days. More than once, I have arrived at the corporate offices of a client with whom I...
Oct 07, 2014•12 min
The Best of EricaHope you’ve enjoyed our brief but glorious summer season. Out here on the “Left” coast we had an unusually hot and somewhat humid summer, making me exceeding grateful that I chose to install central air when I moved into my home.By the time you read this, I will be on the other coast, visiting family and friends in Montreal and Toronto after helping my daughter get settled in the room in residence that will be her home for the next few months.I officially started my sabbatical o...
Sep 09, 2014•12 min
August 2014 will mark the 16th anniversary of The Respect Business. A lot has happened in those 16 years. When I started this business in 1998 I was still “young.” “You are no longer young by the time you realize your youth is over.” I’m not sure where I heard this expression or who said it, however, it has stuck with me over the years. There can be no doubt that my youth, along with numerous other life stages, is now over. I am firmly ensconced in middle age, rushing, it feels, towards becoming...
Jun 17, 2014•14 min
In May 2012 I participated as a community leader in the Minerva Foundation’s Learning to Lead weekend. Jen Schaeffers, executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund was the Keynote speaker on Sunday morning. What struck me about this young, energetic, and at that time pregnant woman, was her willingness to talk openly about the challenges she was facing as a working mom, a particularly relevant message given that a third of the audience were Grade 11 girls.It is important to remember that this wa...
May 13, 2014•14 min
In May 2012 I participated as a community leader in the Minerva Foundation’s Learning to Lead weekend. Jen Schaeffers, executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund was the Keynote speaker on Sunday morning. What struck me about this young, energetic, and at that time pregnant woman, was her willingness to talk openly about the challenges she was facing as a working mom, a particularly relevant message given that a third of the audience were Grade 11 girls.It is important to remember that this wa...
May 13, 2014•25 min
My 17 year old daughter was thrilled when she recently started her new job. She liked the work and the people, at least everyone she met until her shift last week. She made a couple of mistakes, she told me, and was “called on them” by two supervisors.Her immediate reaction was to feel anxiety, shame, and worry. Her confidence was momentarily shaken she said. She started to feel badly about herself. She started wondering if she really liked her job as much as she had originally thought. Hosted o...
Apr 15, 2014•9 min
Are We There Yet? - Women, Power & Position - An Interview with Janet AustinJanet Austin was recommended as someone to interview for this series by a number of former participants. In addition to being the CEO of the YMCA Metro Vancouver, “one of the largest and most diversified non-profits in Metro Vancouver, if not the whole country” Ms. Austin is the incoming Chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade and serves on the Board of the Canadian Pediatric Society, Big Sisters BC and the Telus Commu...
Mar 18, 2014•16 min
Are We There Yet? - Women, Power & Position - An Interview with Janet AustinJanet Austin was recommended as someone to interview for this series by a number of former participants. In addition to being the CEO of the YMCA Metro Vancouver, “one of the largest and most diversified non-profits in Metro Vancouver, if not the whole country” Ms. Austin is the incoming Chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade and serves on the Board of the Canadian Pediatric Society, Big Sisters BC and the Telus Commu...
Mar 18, 2014•33 min
The Elephant in the RoomIn 1998 I quit my corporate job to start the Respect Business. When people asked me why I made that choice my standard response was:I want to see change in my lifetime.Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of the bestselling book Lean In, shares that interest. She is working to challenge the status quo with respect to gender inequality. Like many of us, women and men alike, she envisages a world where women can live life on their own terms.A pivotal point in her journe...
Feb 18, 2014•15 min
One of my great joys in life is reading novels. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer reading a physical book rather than an e-book. I bike to my local library, and head straight to the staff picks section where I consistently find great reads. Given the recent announcement about the phasing out of mail delivery to private homes in Canada, I no longer take the gift of a public library for granted. As I scan the barcodes I always feel grateful to have access to these wonderful books.On my last visi...
Jan 21, 2014•7 min
For many of us December means holiday preparations and celebrations. For me, it has also come to mean the rather demoralizing task of having to read story after story of disrespect and abuse Now you might be wondering, Erica: why on earth would you want to subject yourself to such a depressing task during the season of light and joy? The short answer is that I am a panel member charged with the task of ranking America’s worst leaders for the eBossWatch America’s Worst Bosses LIST.Our task as pan...
Dec 17, 2013•8 min
I noticed an older gentleman among the audience members waiting to speak to me after a recent conference presentation. When the room had cleared, he asked if I had a few extra minutes to talk with him.Turns out that the information in my presentation confirmed for him that he was being bullied at work. The perpetrator was a new hire who had become his supervisor.His was an all too familiar story. He had enjoyed a wonderful career with his current organization and was nearing retirement. He’d nev...
Nov 13, 2013•8 min
Something I learned in short order when I started my career as a Labour Relations Advisor at Canadian Airlines was that lawyer Sue Paish, and her colleagues Patricia Janzen and Lorene Novakowski at Russell and DuMoulin, as the firm was then called, were women I wanted to get to know. I heard them speak at numerous Labour, Employment and Human Rights conferences. I read the book Ms. Paish co-authored; - Act Don’t React – Dealing with Sexual Harassment in Your Organization. Hosted on Acast. See ac...
Oct 22, 2013•15 min
Something I learned in short order when I started my career as a Labour Relations Advisor at Canadian Airlines was that lawyer Sue Paish, and her colleagues Patricia Janzen and Lorene Novakowski at Russell and DuMoulin, as the firm was then called, were women I wanted to get to know. I heard them speak at numerous Labour, Employment and Human Rights conferences. I read the book Ms. Paish co-authored; - Act Don’t React – Dealing with Sexual Harassment in Your Organization. Hosted on Acast. See ac...
Oct 22, 2013•1 hr 5 min
Hilary Rodham Clinton — Leadership LessonsIn June I had the opportunity to present at the annual SHRM conference in Chicago. One of the highlights of that experience was being in the audience for the opening keynote delivered by former US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton.If you’re a regular reader/listener, you will know that the topic of Women, Position & Power is one that I have been increasingly focused on over the last couple of years. Our October post will feature Sue Paisch, fo...
Sep 10, 2013•10 min
Throughout the 3 day event, Ms. Sasevich showed us, gave us examples of, and shared ideas about what might be possible for us in our businesses. On the trip home, as I imagined all of the new products, strategies and initiatives I could develop and implement to support growth in my business, I began to appreciate how transformative it can be when one is really open to what might be possible, when one chooses to believe that a certain outcome can in fact happen. It occurred to me that Ms. Sasevic...
Jun 11, 2013•12 min
Work related stress is now the leading cause of workplace disability, costing the Canadian economy close to $5 billion a year. Doing more with less is the mantra in many of today`s workplaces. Change is the name of the game. Given those realities, the likelihood that work related stress is going to end anytime soon is slim to none.So what`s an employer to do?How about offering a weekly, 30 minute meditation class?Wendy Quan, Organizational Change Manager at Pacific Blue Cross has been leading a ...
May 14, 2013•10 min
This is the full interview with Wendy Quan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 14, 2013•32 min
Have you given much thought to the notion of behavioural accountability in your workplace?We often hear about the importance of holding employees accountable. That expression seems to imply that something, or more commonly, someone external to that employee, is responsible for ensuring that an employee lives up to her/his end of the employment contract. It expresses a cultural norm with respect to power and empowerment within an organization.I would also argue that it speaks to a reactive, rathe...
Apr 16, 2013•8 min
I had the opportunity to meet Janine North, CEO Northern Development Initiative Trust when I attended the 4th Annual Leadership Lessons from Influential Women in Business conference co-hosted by Business in Vancouver and the Professional Women’s Network on November 1, 2012. After hearing her speak as a panel member, I knew I wanted to include her in this series. I would describe Ms. North as a respectful, heart-centered leader. Her calm, focused and confident energy permeated our conversation. I...
Mar 12, 2013•41 min
One of the main reasons I chose the title Road to Respect for my book was to emphasize the journey involved in creating a values based, respectful workplace culture. This is not about a quick trip with a speedy arrival at your destination. Aligning your workplace policies, behaviours and practices to reflect the ethical value of respect can take years.That kind of organizational journey requires commitment from senior leadership. According to Issy Sharp, founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resort...
Feb 12, 2013•10 min
