Ostriches Can't Fly

Technically, ostriches can’t fly because they are not graced with a working pair of wings.  But I love the metaphor, because few things will facilitate your professional demise more certainly than keeping your head buried in the proverbial sand.

As a professional leadership coach, I have had the experience of helping countless professionals navigate and recover from what can only be described as professional upheavals. These misfortunes are often described as complete “blindsides”, coming unexpectedly “out of left field”. And yet, upon reflection, most people look back on the period of time immediately prior to the misfortune and say things like, “I should have seen it coming” or I can see now that “this was going on for a while”.

The challenge for all of us is to stay present enough to focus on the changing political tides that are shifting all the time in our professional lives, without becoming too distracted, preoccupied, or downright paranoid in the process. When I speak to professionals about participating in office politics the reaction is always the same: utter disdain, closely followed by an indignant proclamation that “I don’t engage in all that”.  As if the suggestion of exercising their professional influence deliberately is something smarmy, akin to a selling of thier soul. Whether you work in large company, a small family business or even as an independent professional serving customers, your ability to read the proverbial “writing on the wall” may be the difference between work-related success and failure. 

So what exactly can you do to prevent yourself from falling victim to the lost customer, the missed promotion, the organizational restructure that leaves you with a lousy outcome?  The best answer: stay engaged and present.

For most of us, the first reaction when things get uncertain in our work life is to “hunker down”. We stay “under the radar”, trusting that our good work will speak for itself and that things will ultimately work out for the best. This approach is risky. Whether you are serving a customer, satisfying a new boss, or trying to change a reputation issue, actively influencing your outcomes is much wiser. Here's how:

Pay Attention

Observe the relationships of others. Who seems to be in the know? What leaders seem to be losing traction, involved in less announcements, less visible in decisions, presentations? This could give you a sense of where the organization is headed. If it’s a customer you are working with, who is the true decision maker?  Make sure you are getting in front of the right people.

Trust Your Gut

We are all blessed with an instinctive “brain” that lives in our belly. It allows us to sense when things may not be quite right. Allowing your gut instinct to ruminate into worry and fear will not do you any good. If you can, instead, practice staying tuned-in to those instincts and moving that “feeling” to the rational brain for further analysis, you can capitalize on the natural foreshadowing tool that it is.  

Stay Connected

Be visible. Make sure others are always aware of what you “do all day”. This doesn’t have to be an 8-hour commercial for your personal brand. But copying others on important emails (selectively), and mentioning your daily activities in casual conversation, will allow others to stay aware of your contributions. Ask to be involved in key meetings. Ask questions and demonstrate interest, informally and often.

Listen to Influencers

Within every organization there are those whose power and influence extends far beyond the hierarchal position or pay grade. Stay familiar with those folks. Pay attention to where they are focusing their energies. Don’t ever mistake the office gossip for an influencer. If you do, you will be doing nothing but wasting your time. And when the conversation turns to conspiracy theories, it’s time to get back to work.

Embrace Change

Stay open and be on the flexible side. Changes may not be favorable but if they are already set in stone, resisting them will only alienate you. If you have legitimate concerns, make your best attempt to share them constructively and then follow orders. Time has a way of exposing flawed decision- making. You don’t have to be the one to do that if there is a resistance to rethinking an established direction. 

Volunteer

Stay positive and involved. Look for ways to make yourself indispensable. This will keep you “in the know” when new directions materialize. Helpful people simply do better when it comes to forming strong professional connections.

Address Tension

When you feel that a bridge may be burning, approach the tension with an open mind and seek to understand the source of the friction. Remember perceptions are never “wrong”. They represent the other person’s “real and accurate” experience of a situation. Share information and educate, rather than becoming defensive. Stay away from blame; it will never change the past anyway. Always bring a future mindset and a goal of having things go more smoothly in the future.

There is no single strategy that will keep your career moving in a positive direction and no advice that will protect you from the suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from time to time. But at least for me, there is nothing worse than being caught unprepared. "Predict-ability" is the one skill that will give you an advantage no matter what your future holds. 

imagecredit:clivebates.com

The Young and the Restless

Last week, I had the privilege of assisting a colleague in an assignment at Cornell University.  The assignment was to provide mock interview training to Master’s degree students at the Johnson School of Business.  The M.B.A. program at Cornell remains one of the highest ranked M.B.A. programs in the world, so it is quite an honor to participate in preparing these young leaders for their professional futures. As I walked the campus, that felt like a country estate with all the beautiful architecture and hallowed halls, I felt lucky to be there.

I have been quite interested in the mindset and cultural differences that exist among different generations in the workforce.  It was fascinating for me to spend time in conversation with these Millennials as I asked them to describe their perspectives, their ambitions and their challenges in the format of mock job interviews. 

After conducting 35 interviews I noticed some interesting themes.

Entitled

I’ve read so much about the “entitlement mindset” of this generation. I have had my share of coaching conversations with leaders of the Baby Boomer generation who simply scratch their heads describing a generation of lazy, impatient and misguided young professionals.  I see this differently after my time at Cornell.  These young professionals are anything but lazy.  Their accomplishments and hunger for achievement is quite the opposite.  I think the difference is their motivation.  They are keenly interested in having an emotional connection to their work and their career.  They describe what interests them and what they want in response to questions about their career choices.  I found myself having to remind them to discuss the needs and wants of the interviewer selecting them for the job.  Although a bit upside down, I think their deep emotional connection to their strengths and aspirations will drive their commitment to the directions they choose.

Relationship-Driven

I was consistently reminded of their desire for relationship.  When I posed questions about the challenges of persuading others, or bringing cross-functional teams together, or dealing with difficult people they consistently described forming a personal relationship as their “go-to” plan “A” strategy.   Leaders of past generations would likely have described more strategic, political or competitive tactics in response to these questions.

Culturally Agile

The group I worked with was comprised of young professionals from many different cultural backgrounds and about a third of them had had some International experience in their educational employment/internship background.  It was interesting that for them, this was no big deal.  It often did not even occur to them to mention the global experience as a “plus” in advancing their brand story.  It’s exciting to imagine a world that is becoming smaller and smaller. So small, in fact, that our cultural differences often escape notice.

Altruistic

They have a deep commitment to participating in work that “matters”.  It is very clear that extracurricular service experiences they bring are more than resume builders.  And their desire to have a personal, value-based connection to their work and the companies they will likely join seemed a top priority for most. 

Impatient

Lastly, there is the impatience.  I would begin the interview by asking what they would like pursue and often the answer was “General Management” with a top technology or Consumer Product Goods company, or “Strategy Consulting” with one of the top four Global Management Consulting Firms.  I found it amusing (in an endearing way) because those goals are more than a few years out for these talented high potentials.  It was inspiring to see their confidence and belief in themselves.  Of course they will have a lot to learn, but I found them to be incredibly open and “coachable” and really respectful when confronted with the feedback I gave them.  I trust their self-awareness, confidence and optimism will carry them as they hit the inevitable set-backs and roadblocks we all encounter in our careers.

In the coming weeks, many of the most prestigious and well-regarded Consumer Product, Technology, Consulting and Financial Institutions in the world will descend on Cornell in the hopes of finding the next best and brightest leaders. I came away with a feeling the future is in good hands.

image credit: score.org

Re-inventing the To-do List

I am a big to-do lister.  I have always been disciplined about focusing my attention and I love the feeling of crossing things off. Sometimes, I confess, I even add items I have done to the list that weren’t there just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off.

The Problem with the To-do List...

The problem with the “to-do” list is that is typically focuses us on the mundane tasks of the day, leaving us little time to address other areas of our lives that may need our attention.  Although we may get an instant gratification from the accomplishments, it does little to nourish our desire for true momentum in our lives.  I realize that when I become more disciplined with my to-do listing, my life can become out of balance.  Although I may be getting a lot “done”, I am likely neglecting important things like my health or my relationships. For example, I am a runner and each time I have trained for a big race I have had a strict training plan.  My single-minded focus can deliver a great result, but also keeps me from attending to the important relationships in my life because all my free time goes to training. The pleasure of that accomplishment is then tainted by the realization of those neglected priorities.  Work can do that to us as well if we are not diligent about balance.

The New Angle…

I came up with a technique that addresses this balance issue for me. I recently shared this with a friend who was out of work. She found it particularly useful for maintaining her sanity while she went through that long and difficult time.  The thing about a job search is that although you need to stay focused and diligent in pursuing your network and potential opportunities, it’s just not a full-time job.  There is a lot of waiting.  Anyone who has been through that will tell you that you will spend a lot of your time without visible results.  Feeling productive is the only way you will maintain the stamina you will need to stay confident and motivated.  Loss of a professional identity is painful, and financial well-being is an important aspect of our lives.  However, spending too much mental energy on what you don’t have at the moment is a sure-fire way to drain your battery.  So I offer this strategy, particularly to my job-seeking friends. 

Here is the Strategy…

1. Each week begin with a blank piece of paper
2. Draw a cross on the page +, creating four quadrants
3. At the top of each quadrant, name an aspect of your life. For me it's usually; Work/Professional, Relationships, Spiritual/Self-Development, Health/Wellness.
4. Then, identify a few key tasks for the week in each area. Maybe it's reading a chapter of a book, connecting with a friend you haven't seen, getting to the gym 2-3 times, as well as the day's "must-dos".

The categories can change each week.  Sometimes there is Financial heading, for example, last week I needed to put together my taxes.  Sometimes, I have an Organize heading if my environment feels chaotic.  I find this exercise of listing of a broader range of priorities in one place, on one page allows my focus to be divided appropriately.  I am not overly ambitious, just a few things in each category, but I find it really helps me maintain balance.  This gives me the sense of “whole life” accomplishment that I need to feel healthy and productive.

I will leave you with some words from poet and philosopher David Whyte who says… Start with a new to-do list each day, the one you wrote yesterday was written by the person you were yesterday. Start fresh with a beautiful blank piece of paper!

image credit: collegemonster.com