What Are You Doing to Reinvent Your Professional Self?
Filed under: Career, Life and Business, Marketing, Middle Management, Product Management, Professional Growth, Project Management, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
A fact of life in our world is that you will inevitably face the prospect of having to reinvent your professional self. For many this is a daunting task that gets put off along with getting in shape, painting the house and writing a book. The dream is nice, but the lack of action keeps it firmly out there somewhere in a hoped-for future.
By now, we all know people that have been adversely impacted by the current economic circumstances and are in the midst of looking for their next job and even their next career. We also know others that are hunkered down behind walls hoping to survive.
In both cases, it is critical for the individuals to think clearly about and act on the need to reinvent themselves as professionals.
Some thoughts for the audiences that I engage with regularly:
- Marketers, most everything has changed. If you cut your teeth on marketing in the 90’s or earlier, and have not stayed on the painful and bleeding edge of what is going on, you are in deep trouble. While core notions of identifying vexing problems and solving them in great ways will never go out of fashion, the way people buy, how they communicate, what they respond to, where they look for information and how they respond and react to marketing tactics is no longer recognizable.
- Mid-level managers, you are in danger of extinction. You had best find a way to standout and develop as a senior contributor or you will go the way of the Dodo bird.
- Product Managers, your role is critical, but you face an uphill battle in gaining a “seat at the table” of senior leadership, in spite of your very customer and market focused existence and your strategic perspectives.
- Technical Professionals, the skills and knowledge that helped reach this point are insufficient to take you forward. Grow your technical skills or recognize the need to grow your professional skills as leaders and businesspeople, but do something!
- Project Managers, what are you doing to improve your ability to lead laterally, integrate strategy with projects and improve your batting average in developing high-performance project teams? Your process expertise is not enough to earn you a future seat at the table.
As for those of you in other roles inside or outside of corporations, if moving into an entrepreneurial role is a dream, are you planning and acting on the steps that will move your dream closer to reality?
And finally, for those of you that have hit the panic button after realizing that the job you’ve trained for and worked is no longer out there, well, since you didn’t have a plan, it’s time to get going.
Suggestions:
- Recognize that only you own your career, not your company. Do not wait for your company to retrain you and help you develop skills for the new world. Invest wisely in yourself for the type of training and development that will help you move forward or that will at least keep you employable.
- Take time now to begin investing in developing the knowledge, skills and credentials that you will need for the next step. If you want to be a teacher someday, start taking classes now.
- Develop great habits. Read something related to your professional development for 30 minutes a day. Use the DVR to tape your show and watch it later, but read.
- Start building your brand now, not after you are out in the street following a round of lay-offs. Speak, publish and lead somewhere in your industry or your community.
- If you have entrepreneurial dreams in the future, start researching, planning and saving now. Can you find a job that will get you one step closer to your entrepreneurial self?
- Work through your ideas with your significant other. They are a critical part of whatever you do, and particularly if your vision involves risk, I cannot over-emphasize the need to balance your dreams with your partner’s ability to tolerate ambiguity and risk.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
There’s no doubt that many of us identify closely with our jobs and titles, and the loss of job or title can stimulate a real personal crisis. Strive to view yourself as something other than your job and recognize that you can succeed and be happy in many different environments. Then take action. Just do something to move forward and your activity will beget energy and more activity. It’s a great day to take control.
A Rant on Social Networking Etiquette or, When did Rude Become Acceptable OnLine?
Filed under: Life and Business, Marketing Yourself, Social Commentary
Call me old-fashioned, but just because so many of us are interacting from behind a screen doesn’t mean that the rules of etiquette and common courtesy have been suspended.
In case you didn’t get the memo on the importance of professional courtesy in an on-line world, this is it.
I am increasingly fascinated and horrified by the way people conduct themselves through sites like Linkedin and for networking introductions provided via e-mail.
I’ve compared notes with a number of my colleagues and have found that I’m not alone with my observations and annoyances.
Invitations to Connect on Linkedin:
Let’s tackle Linkedin first. This popular and powerful business networking tool is an ideal way to catch up with colleagues from firms long-ago as well as to facilitate introductions for these seeking to connect. I like it…it merits a few minutes a day of maintenance, it is a good resource for learning something about people you might be meeting or interviewing with, and the forums and discussion groups have some merit for like-minded professionals.
What irks my about people’s behavior on LI is the way some people seek to reconnect. I won’t name names, but more than a few colleagues from a life two decades ago have found me on Linkedin and sent along the following boilerplate message:
“So and So has identified you as someone they trust and would like to add you to their network.”
That’s it. No “Hello!” no “How are you?” or even a “Hey, great to see that you are still breathing.” Heck, an ”I didn’t like you 20 years ago, but now that it looks like you can help me, I want to be your friend,” message would be better than nothing. At least it is personal and honest.
Most people offer nothing. Silence. Nada. Zero. Zip.
What’s wrong with you people?!
Can you imagine bumping into a colleague on the street after many, many years and not offering a smile, a polite greeting and some questions about what they are up to? I can’t.
Proper Etiquette: Use the message function of Linkedin and send a polite greeting. After the connection is made, exchange notes and engage. The goal is to create quality connections and to find ways to support each other should the occasion arise. Start engaging…not just linking.
e-Introductions:
I love this one and again, my colleagues report the same. Someone goes to the trouble of sending a nice note out suggesting that two people might share interests and might benefit from connecting, and then one or both parties ignore the introduction.
I make it a habit to always send a nice greeting to the person that I was introduced to and offer my contact information and encouragement for a chance to connect via a brief phone call. It is amazing how many people never respond.
Was it my courtesy? My enthusiasm for meeting great new people?
The lack of response speaks volumes about the person.
Proper Etiquette: Always, always, always take the next step after an e-introduction. Be the better person and extend the opportunity to connect. You may decide after 60 seconds of phone time that there is no fit. Or better yet, you may find a valuable new relationship, a kindred spirit on a professional topic of interest or someone who turns into a valuable network partner.
If you don’t follow-up, all that you tell everyone is that you are a jerk.
The Bottom-Line on this Rant for Now:
We all have a remarkable number of ways to interact and while we are all busy, YOU are never too busy that skimping on courtesy is acceptable. Bring Etiquette Back!
Improving Your Odds of Success in Driving Change
Filed under: Leadership, Leadership Skills, Leading Change, Organizational Transformation, Strategy
There is a fascinating article on Change Management in a recent issue (Issue 2/2009) of the McKinsey Quarterly (subscription required) by Carolyn Aiken and Scott Keller, entitled: “The Irrational Side of Change Management.”
And while much has been written over the years on this important and vexing topic, the authors offer some insights and ideas that they describe as counter-intuitive, but potentially helpful in improving your odds of success with these initiatives. This article alone was for me worth the hefty annual subscription price.
On a depressing, but not surprising note, the article cites a 2008 study of over 3,000 executives that found that 1 in 3 change-management initiatives fail. These low success rates have been well documented by Kotter as well as other researchers in the field of change management.
Art’s Observations on the Failure Rate: We all know that most change management initiatives fail miserably. Recall your own reaction to the latest program or makeover handed down from on high. The majority are met with emotions ranging from curiosity to outright cynicism. On the other hand, think of the rare initiative that stuck. Why did this one work? My unscientific guess is that the leaders worked hard to create an environment ripe for change.
The authors cite the 4 basic conditions necessary for change according to the theories around the psychology of change management:
- A compelling story-employees must see the point and agree
- Role modeling-employees must see management and other colleagues behaving in the new way.
- Reinforcing mechanisms-systems, processes and incentives must be in line with the new behavior
- Capability building-employees must have the skills required to make desired changes
Their thoughts on how these 4 conditions are applied: “The prescription is right, but rational managers who attempt to put the four conditions in place by applying common sense typically misdirect time and energy, create messages that miss the mark, and experience frustrating and unintended consequences from their efforts to influence change.”
The authors go on to share nine insights into application of the 4 conditions that explain why change initiatives might fail and how to improve the odds. My focus in this post is on two of the insights related to the “compelling story” condition for change.
First: “What motivates you doesn’t motivate most of your employees.”
While we tend to focus on telling stories about what has changed and why we have to change in kind, or what we want to accomplish, research shows that people respond best to stories that address five forms of impact:
- Impact on society
- Impact on the customer
- Impact on the company
- Impact on the working team (environment)
- Impact on “me”
The money quote here: “This finding has profound implications for leaders. What the leader cares about (and typically bases at least 80 percent of his or her message to others on) does not tap into roughly 80 percent of the workforce’s primary motivators for putting extra energy into the change program. Change leaders need to be able to tell a change story that covers all five things that motivate employees.”
Second: “You’re better off letting them write their own story.”
We as executives and leaders go to great lengths to tell our change stories. We call special meetings, conduct town halls, run webinars, write blog posts and often walk away feeling like we’ve done our job. We’ve spoken, the message is clear and everyone must agree or we’ll single them out as resistors.
The authors suggest that while the stories about the need to change (told in ways that address the five forms of impact) have to get out there, we would be better off listening more and telling less.
“This reveals something about human nature: when we choose for ourselves, we are far more committed to the outcome (almost by a factor of five to one). Conventional approaches to change management underestimate this impact. The rational thinker sees it as a waste of time to let others discover for themselves what he or she already knows—why not just tell them and be done with it? Unfortunately this approach steals from others the energy needed to drive change that comes through a sense of ownership of the answer.”
Art’s Observations: While there is much more to the article than I am highlighting here, just the lessons from the first two points alone are worth the price of admission. My robust translation of these points includes:
- Leaders, you’re going to have to recognize that just because you say that we need to change doesn’t make it so. Frankly, there are a lot of reasons why people will distrust or ignore your calls for change. If you don’t carry leadership credibility (beyond the title), you are likely spewing hot air.
- I love linking the 5 Impact points to the story-telling process on why change is needed. Several of these are very personal and as the authors highlight, those things that we choose and value for ourselves are much more powerful than those given to us.
- Last and not least, the idea of setting the stage and then shutting up and letting people ferret out for themselves why change is needed and what it means is something you can put in place today. Quit talking, start listening and if you do have to talk, mind your Questions to Comments ratio.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Like so many things in leading and managing, there are no silver bullets for success. A lot of really smart people try and drive change and fail. Those that succeed seem to have intuited that change is intensely personal and that their role is to create an environment where the need for change can be processed and where individuals can take control of defining the terms of change. While it seems that just when the leader thinks that he/she should be hands on, is precisely the time when he/she should step back and let go.
More soon on this compelling topic.
Leadership Caffeine for the New Week: Are You Mentor Potential?
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Leadership Skills, Leading the Generations, Management Education, Middle Management, Organizational Transformation, Professional Growth, Surviving Lousy Leaders, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
It’s a stormy spring morning here in the greater Chicago-area and I confess to brewing my second pot of a dark Guatemalan roast to help spur some energy.
This week’s topic focuses on the plight of the first time leader and a call to action for experienced leaders everywhere to step up and do a better job mentoring and coaching.
For the past three years, I’ve been formally and informally polling leaders at all levels and in all industries on their first-time leadership experiences. The feedback is frightening.
- A majority of individuals indicate that they became a leader for the first time by accident not by design. There was a gap, someone left and the manager at the time made a battlefield promotion.
- A majority of the individuals that I’ve spoken with indicate that as a first-time leader they received little support or mentoring from their immediate manager. Many indicated that their best support and source of feedback came from a peer or another manager, but not from the person that they directly reported to.
- A surprising number of those that lived through this ad hoc promotion to leadership report engaging in the same practices of promoting upon need and leaving people to sink or swim. While no one comes out and says this directly, I get the impression that it is almost a rite of passage. “Hey, no one helped me out and I did OK.”
With practices like those described above, it’s no surprise that a fair number of first-time leaders fail and end up leaving their organizations. Imagine the collateral damage that they create in the process of failing.
As my teenager might say, “This is messed up.”
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Take Initiative-Don’t Wait for Senior Management to Figure this Out:
Instead of the traditional path of attack that I take on this issue—start at the top, convince management that creating a culture of leadership development will pay dividends for years to come etc., my suggestion is for those of us that have gained some experience in this experience-driven profession make the time to help out an early career leader.
While we’re all waiting for the message to sink in with top management, there are ample opportunities to make a difference now.
Become a mentor. Some suggestions and feel free to add your own:
- If there are new leaders on your own team, focus here first. Break the “sink or swim” cycle on your own team and focus on engaging with, observing and providing feedback to these first time leaders.
- Depending upon your organization’s dynamics, approach HR and ask for their help If you are working around an old-school HR function, you might get shot done, but I’m willing to bet that in the majority of the cases, you will find someone that would love to support this idea and even get involved.
- Some inexpensive but effective programs for first time leaders can include Book Clubs, moderated round tables and other forms of peer networking. If you/HR are taking a semi-formal role in the process, provide support for improvement ideas and suggestions emanating from the first-time leaders.
- If HR is not much help, talk with your peers and see if they are open to the idea of an informal mentoring program. Identify those in need and assign them to someone other than their manager to gain a slightly more objective view and level of support.
After a period of time, the individuals that once were first-timers become experienced. Introduce them into the mentoring process by having them take leadership roles in the various programs. Instead of perpetuating “sink or swim,” you perpetuate good practices in developing others.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
More often than not, we have the power and ability to solve many of the problems that we complain about. It’s time to step-up, reconfigure your calendar just a bit and put some effort forth in developing the next generation of leaders in your workplace.
If you don’t, chances are no one will. Start a mentoring revolution today!
Nine Power Techniques for Building Your Leadership Credibility
Filed under: Career, Leadership, Leadership Skills, Life and Business, Making Decisions, Management Education, Middle Management, Product Management, Professional Growth, Project Management, Talent Management, Your Professional Development "To Do" List
Whether you are a first-time leader, an experienced manager taking over a new team or an informal leader such as a project or product manager, you will be as successful as you are credible. Your credibility is your professional bedrock. Build on it carefully and constantly.
In my book as co-author with Rich Petro, Practical Lessons in Leadership, I compare credibility to a bank account. Credibility deposits are hard earned and the balance builds slowly over time as you prove yourself to be an effective, honest leader focused on developing and supporting your team and organization.
Most leaders (including informal leaders) are unaware of the fact that they are being watched and judged constantly. People naturally look for clues to a leader’s character. They compare words and actions and if those two don’t match, the verdict is fast and fair: not credible. They look for signs of hidden agendas, favoritism and gamesmanship.
For even the craftiest of politicians, people are perceptive and will base their commitment and support based on “blink” assessments.
You are on trial every day. Don’t forget it.
Nine Power Techniques to Help Build Leadership Credibility:
1. Serve & Support. While it sounds like the logo on the side of a police cruiser, the effective leader understands that he/she is working for his/her team and constantly reinforces this philosophy in both words and actions.
2. Create a Positive Working Environment. This includes working with team members to set behavioral expectations for performance, accountability, decision-making and resolving problems and then reinforcing those values and behaviors with consistent actions.
3. Teach. The best leaders are aware that their ultimate goal is to help develop others. They are teachers that use developmental opportunities and feedback as their primary educational tools.
4. Insulate & Showcase. These seemingly conflicting actions are part of the leader’s balancing act. The leader must learn how to insulate the team members from destructive interference while ensuring that they receive the visibility and support that they require. In particular, ensuring the right visibility for teams and members is a powerful motivational tool.
5. Facilitate & Make Decisions. More conflicting issues. As a teacher, the leader must learn to facilitate solution development and idea generation. However, when conditions require, he/she has no qualms about making and communicating decisions.
6. Communicate at Just the Right Volume. It’s easy to whiff on this one. Bombard your team with low-value communiques and you are a distraction. Offer too little and you’ll be accused of everything including the Lindbergh kidnapping. The best leaders work with teams and members to define needs and evaluate and improve communications effectiveness.
7. Anchor Communications in Goals. Just like a CEO works to constantly integrate strategies and actions in pursuit of creating value for customers, the leader ensures that team and individual goals are front and center and linked to the firm’s goals.
8. Dispense Accountability Fairly. Play favorites or let under-performers slide and not only will you destroy the team environment, you’ll eviscerate your own credibility as a leader. Remember, everyone is watching.
9. Live by the Coach’s Credo. If the team succeeds, it is because of the team. If it fails, it is because of the coach. Seriously, effective leaders don’t look for scapegoats.
Without credibility, your effectiveness is nil. Most people and most leaders are woefully ignorant of their perceived credibility. Walk in the door everyday with the goal of strengthening yours. Remember, you are being watched. Closely.
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