2 More Years of High Unemployment

Yes, you read the title correctly. The Federal Reserve expects unemployment will stay high for the next two years. It is said to be due to recession-scarred Americans remaining cautious, making for a moderate-paced economic recovery. I say it is because there aren’t a lot of jobs out there, especially when a lot of businesses are either closing or laying off majority of their staff.

The Fed also stated that the unemployment rate could hover between 9.5% and 9.7 percent, and then drop to between 8.2% and 8.5%. By 2012, the jobless rate will decrease again to around 6.6%. This may be possible, but I wonder how this will happen when the economy is basically one big giant circle or loop. Businesses need people to spend money so that they can make money and create more jobs. However, people do not have the money to spend to even think about supplementing the environment!

I remember a couple years ago when the government attempted to save the economy by issuing stimulus funds to tax payers. I received my stimulus check, but I sure didn’t supplement the economy with it by going out on a shopping spree. I paid off a few bills that were a couple months behind. In my personal opinion, I think they need to do a lot more than passing out $300-$800 to taxpayers, hoping that they go out and splurge.

Fed policymakers also stated that it would take some time for the economy and the job market to get back to normal. They didn’t say how long it would be, but have previously said it could take 5-6 years. What startled me was that a “sizable minority” thinks that it could take a lot more than those 5-6 years for everything to be back to normal. I must agree with those “sizable minorities” because as we all know, being a lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered woman isn’t ranked as highly as we’d like.

In a heterosexual male dominated world, 5 years to normalcy doesn’t sound so realistic. As a result, I’ve seen many become overnight entrepreneurs so that they have complete control over their financial success, while others are remaining complacent, waiting for the waves to settle. For me, I can’t sit too long; my butt becomes numb. I have to do something. Whether it is applying for every marketing job I see that I know I could perform, getting out and socializing/networking, or promote myself and my own services hoping that one day I can say “goodbye” to the “employee” role. Either way, I must do something. Not for the sake of my bank account and lifestyle, but for the sake of my sanity. Michigan is ranked as one of the top states for the highest unemployment rate. EVERYONE is looking for a job, from all educational backgrounds and professional experiences. It certainly takes a strong-minded and determined individual to make it. Like they say in NY, if you can make it here in MI during this economic hardship, you can make it anywhere.

Are you unemployed? How has the current state of the economy affect you? As a LGBT member, do you think the Fed’s forecast is accurate?

SOUND OFF!

Source

What It Takes To Be A Leader

Robin Roberts sat down with Mrs. Michelle Obama to discuss the President’s first year and our country’s constant struggle. As you all may know, we do not focus on the political debates too much around here, but this video was definitely something I wanted to share. Not because of the struggle that citizens are facing, the unemployment rate, or other’s personal political opinion on President Obama. I wanted to share this video with you because of the message that can easily be overlooked due to one’s political or personal opinion towards the Obama Administration.

“Change ain’t easy. And it doesn’t happen overnight. And it certainly doesn’t happen in a year. With that comes faith, consistency, and persistance. Preseverance. All of that tough stuff. And we have that in this country.”

Many want change, even if they don’t realize it. However, they are too impatient to work towards change. I use to be this way with a lot of things. In fact, I blame my own personal weaknesses and lack of consistency and preseverance to a lot of aspects within my life. There are a lot of things that I want to accomplish and have failed because I wanted things to happen overnight. Rather than speeding up the process, the process was severely delayed. Sure, we may have all of these “tough” qualities in our country, but I challenge each individual to ask if they have those qualities within themselves.

As Mrs. President stated, “change ain’t easy”, and as I stated yesterday in my video blog, in order to achieve the level of success one desires, they must change by stepping outside of their comfort zone. If no one else have faith in us, then we must have faith within ourselves in order to succeed. I never thought I would attend college, not to mention earning a MBA. I had faith in myself that anything was possible if I continued to believe in myself.

Another aspect of this video I loved was her list of leadership qualities that she stated Mr. President had, which resulted in him having, in her opinion, a phenomonal year. Those qualities consisted of the following:

• Staying on course
• Looking critics in the eye
• Coming up with clear solutions

Let’s briefly examine each quality and see how they can be applied to our own lives.

STAYING ON COURSE

We all know what the President has on his plate. I mean, the man is running an entire country for God’s sake. It is imperative for him to stay on course, rather than changing his agenda every time someone comes at him with an opposing position. In our own personal lives, there will always be someone who has their own agenda for OUR lives. Your parents may want you to become a nurse or an accountant, whereas you may want to become an entrepreneur. Your friends may want you to go out with them for drinks on the weekend, whereas you may want to stop by the gym and get in a good workout that evening. Here’s a good one; family and friends want you to settle down with someone of the opposite sex and pop out a ton of babies, whereas you’re happy in your relationship with someone of the same sex and would rather wait to have children. In order to be a leader, you must stand your ground, despite what others may think.

LOOKING CRITICS IN THE EYE

Those people who have suggestions on how YOU should live YOUR life, they are your critics. Rather than giving in to them, or looking away, look them straight in the eye at all times. Maintaining strong eye contact shows that you’re confident and are standing strong in your position. By looking your critics in the eye, you’re telling them that you are in charge.

COMING UP WITH CLEAR SOLUTIONS

Are you one of those people who complain all the time but never offer any solutions? If so, then we’re going to work on those together. Not only are you staying on course and looking your critics in the eye, you must always come up with clear solutions. That way, you will not be seen as someone who complains all the time, but rather a person who cares and is willing to assist in solving the problem as oppose to adding to it.

With that, she stated that the President wakes up serious, focused, and committed to pushing things through. How many times have you awaken serious, focused, and committed to your task, as oppose to waking up dreading the commute to work in the snow, or complaining about the knuckleheads you may encounter throughout your work day? As of this year, I have been waking up this way every day (give or take a day or two…I’m human). There are days I dread going to the gym, there are days where I crave Ben & Jerry’s and some pizza. But I decided to remain focused on my goal and I’ve been committed to pushing through. Every morning, I wake up focused on LTWO; checking my emails, checking my social networks, reading some good online content, and then writing my own. I’m focused on staying on course. And if I run into any critics, which I have both online and offline, I look them straight in the eye. Any problems I face, I may complain for about 1 minute, but then a light bulb goes off and there goes a clear solution.

As stated, change is definitely not easy. But over time, you will see that the “tough” stuff was worth it.

What are you doing or have done to become a Leader?

Is Corporate America Ready?

An employee’s decision to “come out” or not to come out lays the foundation for the level of success that employee will have within that organization. Some may believe that a person’s sexual orientation should be kept private. However, what happens when an employee engages in a casual conversation with their co-worker regarding their weekend or their family? What these people fail to understand is that it requires a large amount of time and effort for someone to lie about their personal lives, which tends to result in depression, exhaustion, avoiding certain people and events, and staying home from work. “When employees are free to focus on their jobs, and not on changing pronouns or hiding a part of themselves, they are better able to advance professionally,” comments Selisse Berry, founder and executive director of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a nonprofit organization based that advocates for safe and equal workplaces for LGBTs.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Speaking from personal experiences, this is something that continues to haunt many professional individuals who are ambitious and striving for that upward mobility within their organization. While it may haunt many who are seeking approval within their personal and professional lives, there are a select few who are aware of such professional obstacles and barriers and refused to let it stop them from successfully achieving their goals. In the November 2009 issue of Black Enterprise, an executive for Campbell Soup Co. in Camden, New Jersey, Rosalyn Taylor O’Neael, was featured as a woman who has never denied her sexual orientation, but admitted that it has cost her some jobs and consulting contracts. O’Neale believes who she is as an individual is in itself a great asset to her company. Recognizing your own strengths and the values you are able to add to your organization is what matters most.

DIVERSITY TRAINING MAY NOT BE ENOUGH

The question still remains, “Is corporate America ready for the LGBT community?” Even with many companies revising and implementing diversity training to include the LGBT community, there continues to be no federal laws in place to protect against discrimination or termination because of sexual orientation or gender identity. Pro-LGBT and civil rights organizations are rallying for the passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (EDNA), a bill that will prohibit an employee from being fired, kept from being hired, or denied a promotion based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. An Act of this nature would also prevent an employee from being fired just because they are perceived to be a member of the LGBT community.

LET THE WORK SPEAK FOR ITSELF

With bills, laws and acts passed, the question will always remain, “Is corporate America ready for the LGBT community?”. Sure, the government can force an organization to abide by the law, but there will always be someone within that organization who will be against it and have negative feelings towards the LGBT community. So, what do we do? Rather than letting the personality speak for one’s self, let the productivity and the ability to perform the duties in such a manner that demands recognition. The more a person focuses on their sexuality, the organization will focus more on it as well. On a daily basis, LGBT employees face exclusion from general or specific networking opportunities, and/or other company events, restriction in their contact with clients or customers, and a lack of LGBT role models or leaders. There will be actions and scenarios that a person will be in that encourages isolation and loneliness within a professional environment. The goal is to not let your sexuality define who you are and to not let it stop you from pursuing success. Show the world that you are able to accomplish whatever you set your mind to and/or including adding to an organization’s bottom line, despite the gender of the person you love.

Reference:
Hutson, B. (2009, November). The “coming out” challenge. Black Enterprise, 55-56.

Set An Example

People often mistake leadership for management or the ability to order people around to do things that they require them to do so that they can receive that yearly bonus they’ve been anticipated. Sure, some may have a few household tasks that they’d like to complete, a new vehicle model that has been catching their attention, as well as a vacation spot that’s been calling their name. Some of these people will receive these items; however, it was not because of their leadership skills.

Managing a team may get the results you desire, but you soon question how long it will last. Soon enough, the team will become restless because they’re not seeing the fruit of their labor because you’re seeing it, team productivity decreases, and then we all know where this ends up. Either the team member is let go or the entire team suffers because the quality of work is not what it was in the beginning.

In tough economic times when employees are worried about their salaries and benefits and companies are struggling to keep their doors open, team members need reassurance that their interests are valued. There is nothing like working for a company or boss that values your dedication. They see you as an asset rather than a liability. Rather than delegating and instructing team members to perform duties that you feel are beneath you, a true leader will not only perform those same duties, but they will do them to set a standard of excellence that inspires others to achieve.

A leader motivates, encourages, develops and inspires with a high level of truthfulness and respect. Most importantly, a leader is consistent. In tough times, the motivation does not fall short of the level of intensity that occurred when times were bright. I once worked for a company where the manager would either cry or show his anger when performance was low, then would be jolly, happy, and playful when performance was high.  One must think how this inconsistent behavior may have affected the team emotionally which would cause varied productivity levels.

Being a leader, it is imperative that the person is ready to lead. Not manage, but to lead by setting a positive and motivating example that encourages the team to give their best and to be their best. These ideals are not only relevant to the business world, it can also be applied to the LGBT community. How can one wish for a better community that is not filled with so much racial tension and bigotry when that person is engaging in such behavior. How can one person wish that the community was not sexually motivated when they are participating in sexually motivated activities.

As Ghandi once stated, “Be the change you wish to see in the World.”  Even if a person is standing alone, the message that person would be sending is one that exudes leadership and the ability to set an example. Many need to realize that it is okay to set your own lane, your own path; whether it is through teaching, mentoring, entrepreneurship, becoming a member of corporate America, or becoming more political aware. By setting your own lane, you are setting an example. Soon enough, a good team will follow.