How does Minnesota Nice play out in the job search and first 100 days? This presentation sparked a rich discussion!

1. Minnesota Nice
for Job Seekers
Jerilyn Veldof
(with Corey Bonnema)

2. Website
Twitter
Facebook
Book

3. 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 Nice
2. Deep Dive
3. First 100 Day Scenarios
4. Tips for Job Hunters
Agenda

4. Culture is a Complex Thing
Our culture code is shaped by these things:
1. Country norms
2. Regional norms - Minnesota Nice is a regional norm
3. Organization and industry norms
4. Individual differences (ethnicity, gender, age, religion, etc.)

5. How would you define
Minnesota Nice?

6. 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 intrude
2. Understatement and a disinclination to make a fuss or stand out
3. Emotional restraint
4. An aversion to conflict and confrontation
5. Resistance to change
6. Passive-aggressive behavior

7. 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.

8. 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?

9. 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 happen
Mistake #2 - Expecting people to accept change quickly
Mistake #3 - being too direct with people

10. 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?

11. 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?

12. 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?

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

14. Passive-Aggressiveness Scenario
You’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.

15. Conflict Avoidance Scenario
In 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.

16. Change Management Scenario
You 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.

17. 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.

18. Tips for the Job Hunter
Don’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?

19. 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