Minnesota Nicefor Job Seekers

Jerilyn Veldof(with Corey Bonnema)

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Goal In this program you will learn what Minnesota Nice is, where it comes from, and explore how MN Nice plays out in job seeking and the first 100 days..

1. What is MN Nice2. Deep Dive 3. First 100 Day

Scenarios4. Tips for Job Hunters

Agenda

Culture is a Complex ThingOur culture code is shaped by these things:

1. Country norms2. Regional norms - Minnesota Nice is a regional norm3. Organization and industry norms4. Individual differences (ethnicity, gender, age, religion, etc.)

How would you define Minnesota

Nice?

Minnesota Nice is...… a slang term for a unique set of behavioral characteristics of native born Minnesotans.

Includes:1. Polite friendliness and an inclination not to intrude2. Understatement and a disinclination to make a fuss or stand out3. Emotional restraint4. An aversion to conflict and confrontation5. Resistance to change6. Passive-aggressive behavior

Where Does All This Come From?▪ Strong Swedish and German cultural norms followed immigrants to

Minnesota. ▪ Minnesotans do not tend to leave because of our strong economy,

high quality of life…▪ Scandinavian cultural norm is to form small groups of friends at

young age and value importance of keeping them through life.▪ German cultural norm of differentiating friendships by level.▪ Law of Juunte – concept from Scandinavia that says, “You’re not to

think you are anything special, are better than us, are smarter than us, or know more than us.”

▪ The “Big Five” personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. MN rants 6th of all states on agreeableness.

Conflict Avoidance▪ Pattern of jumping to surface agreement rather than dealing with

conflicting and divergent ideas. ▪ Can play out in a strong aversion or reluctance to give or ask for

feedback that might cause problems.

How might this show up in an interview?

Resistance to Change▪ No one really likes change. ▪ For Minnesotans the messenger is often cause of the

resistance Mistake #1 - Not explaining “why” the change needs to happenMistake #2 - Expecting people to accept change quicklyMistake #3 - being too direct with people

Resistance to Change▪ Minnesotans haven't had to change a lot compared to people in

other places (we stay here for great quality of life) ▪ We tend to be suspicious of new things (people, food, etc.)▪ People who are asked to lead changes tend to be “drivers” or are

candid and we don't like that.

How might this show up in an interview?

Passive-Aggressive Behavior▪ Pattern of indirectly expressing negative feelings instead of openly

addressing them. ▪ What shows on surface does not necessarily reflect what is going on

beneath the surface▪ It’s not usually a malicious thing.

How might this show up in an interview?

Polite Friendliness▪ Minnesotans are generous, helpful, and politely friendly but it is very

difficult to establish deeper relationships with them▪ Minnesotans prefer to keep specific boundaries around relationships

with coworkers or neighbors. ▪ Minnesotans don’t like to intrude on personal matters because they

have strong values respecting privacy.

How might this show up in an interview?

How Best Deal With These Characteristics (In the First 100 Days)

Passive-Aggressiveness ScenarioYou’ve been working with Bob on a project since you started at this company a month ago. In the last meeting you discussed a way to address one of the thorny issues you’ve bumped into and decided on a course of action, which Bob needs to implement.

It’s been a week though and he hasn’t done a thing.

You’ve reminded him, but still… no progress. It’s odd because Bob is usually very on top of things.

Conflict Avoidance ScenarioIn your new job you’re assigned to be a project manager on a new project.

You’ve been at it for about a month and have just completed phase 1 and would like some feedback on how the work is going so you can make adjustments.

You want to approach the sponsor and ask them how they think phase 1 of the project went.

Change Management ScenarioYou just started in a unit on a college campus that employs 100’s of student workers, all of whom have to complete a paper or punch-card time sheet that needs to be submitted by over 20 student supervisors to a specific office every other Monday morning. You are a project manager who has a reputation for making things happen and you were asked to lead this process online. This will save thousands of dollars each payroll period. But the person responsible for processing the payroll timesheets has been working here for about 30 years and is happy with the existing paper-based process. You were sure to include this person on the project team, but she is blocking the project team at every step.

Resistance to Change Scenario▪ Plan for some resistance and accept that it's a normal reaction.▪ Don’t be too candid. ▪ Explain “why.” Build the case for why change was needed.▪ Identify what's in it for them to make the change. ▪ Listen to concerns. ▪ Never minimize a person's response to even the most simple

change. ▪ Empower individuals to contribute if you can.

Tips for the Job HunterDon’t expect things to happen quickly.

Be patient and polite

Don’t be too direct.

Look beneath the surface.Get good at reading passive-aggressive “communication.”

Others?

Wrap-Up Look at our website (http://thriveMNnice.com)

Join our Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/

ThriveMNnice/)

Join our email list (from website)

Read our book(Find it at Amazon.com)

Breakout