The Dance Steps, Science and Feelings of Our Workplace Lifecycle with Johnny Knatt

Alloutcoach

Johnny Knatt is a long-time friend and mentor with whom every single conversation is stitched in my memory as a highlight so it was time to capture and share one more memorable lesson for all of you, Alloutcoach fans and listeners! He is currently the Chief People Whisperer at JJK Workplace, a senior executive with over 32 years of experience at Procter & Gamble (P&G) in sales, manufacturing, HR; at General Mills; as Deputy HR Director for the State of Georgia (GA) Law Enforcement Office of Public Safety Mentor; and HR Director of GA Community Supervision, GENOS certified in Emotional Intelligence, and a recognized expert in Organizational Development, Employee Relations, Diversity and Inclusion. Johnny takes us through the most critical moments in his journey across his workplace lifecycle during which he provides practical lessons that have allowed him to uncover the secrets of how things work and decisions that impact our career, performance, job engagement, and advancement are made.

3:17 Q1: What were some of the episodes or who were some of the people that determined your career path?

4:50 I was blessed throughout life to have someone always see something in me.

5:52 - Johnny had previously gone to a predominantly black school where he served as President, but during school de-segregation he had to go to a predominantly white local school where he was now a minority. He tells the story of this transition during which he no longer went to the new school but one gentleman, his first mentor, followed him throughout high school and picked him up in the mornings to force him to go to school.

9:02 - Story of his first work experience @Gen Mills as an ambitious young employee who was quickly taught a lesson of respect and human resource optimization by his management

11:54 - Why Johnny almost left Procter & Gamble (P&G) where he would spend over 32 years

16:44 - I've seen so many people leave organizations because they were not clear about what was expected of them, nor did they know how to communicate to their leaders what they wanted and needed in order to succeed.

19:16 - How do you recognize talent early to hire the right employee in the first place?

20:51 - 1. Get a broad base of good talent. 2. Behavioral interviewing - try to get the candidate to talk about themselves, their likes. Ask if they have not just the technical skills which they can learn cognitively but also the emotional intelligence skills and the resilience.

24:12 - When did you first observe that you knew how to observe and recognize people?

28:37 - Q: After you hire the right person, how do you inspire them to collaborate with each other?

34:26 - Q: How do you approach measuring performance / metrics?

45:17 - Diversity and Inclusion - In the House vs Out of the House Example. Diversity is one of the most powerful tools we have in the workplace.

46:11 - About 20% of the workplace feels like they are not included or shut down. It's not that they do not know information or do not have the skills. They have simply been invited to the dance, but nobody is asking them to dance.

48:14 - What are some stories of conflicts you have managed that have stayed in your memory?

53:26 - How important is the timing of resolving a particular conflict?

56:40 - What are the key success factors of making the right or best decision?

1:01:07 - Q: What are the best accomplishments across different environments as you moved from working in manufacturing, Sales, HR to working for the state government?

1:05:44 - My passion is helping others navigate through their workplace life cycle more easily. You go through a cycle in life that consists of three stages during which you are raw, you are cooked, or you are burned, and start all over again!

1:07:39 - What's the next project you are pursuing to reinvent yourself?