Carlyne Ervin - Chrysalis

Matt talks to Carlyne Erivin, VP of HR at Chrysalis, an organization focused on transitioning people from poverty to self-sufficiency.

Topics range from how to start your career in HR to the magic of Queen Bey; craziest termination stories, to Matt demonstrating how NOT to behave if you want to keep your job.

EPISODE #4

EPISODE #5

MATT: 

I would love to know somebody that made it real hard--you were like take the wheel, Jesus-- Real hard to find the good in that person.

CARLYNE:

Oh my gosh. Okay. I'm not going to use names.

MATT:

No, you can't use names. Although I have, and I'm going to get sued. It's going to happen; just letting you know.

CARLYNE:

Oh, this was about five years ago and I worked with this young lady, and she reported to me. Super smart, but I did not like her as a person. There was just something about her that I did not like. And no one else liked her either.

MATT:

I know those people.

CARLYNE:

You know those people, your listeners, I'm sure everybody knows at least one or two, maybe five to 10 people in your life that you've encountered, or still have to encounter, that you just hate. And so, what I tried to do is I had to say, "I have to work with this person, and I have to get things from this person, and she can't possibly know that I hate her. I would never like go to happy hour with her or invite her to dinner, but I have to work with this person, so let me find some common ground with this individual." And every weekly check-in I tried to check on my direct report as a person first, before we get into the work. And every week I would just ask her, "How are you doing? How's your personal life? What's going on in your life? Did you do something fun this weekend?"

And I found out that we both enjoy the same recording artist. And so that was my finding good in her. And when she knew that it was Beyonce--that should be everybody's favorite recording artist--but we would have a Beyonce chat before work, and that broke down that wall in me …

And so, I always try to find the good in people. And I think that's almost a prerequisite being an HR professional, you got to kind of look past people's faults and their funk, like you are funky right now. We have to look past that.

MATT:

No, I am funky right now. I just smelled. Just in case anybody wants to know.

CARLYNE:

Wait. I hope I'm not. But we have to just see the good in people so that we can work with them and get the best out of them. I think a true HR person that loves the profession does that.

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