Why professional development should not be confused with ambition

Posted on June 18, 2013 | 2 Comments

ostrichA tale of two ostriches

Time to get your head out of the sand!

Esther is 45. She has worked for the same company for 15 years. She enjoys her job as a middle management customer service supervisor which is varied and demanding.  She is a wife and mother of three children  and her family are her priority.  She values her privacy,  so is not on LinkedIn, Facebook or any other social media which she considers to be “silly” and  intrusive. She has a close circle of friends who are all her peers.  The focus of her personal development is outside the office where she regularly takes classes on cookery, Italian and photography. She almost never goes to any professional networking events,  conferences or courses, either online or actual because she likes to get home  to the kids. Plus as she says, she is not “ambitious.”

Three  months ago her husband told her he wanted a divorce.  Six weeks later  her boss resigned and his replacement is implementing a re-structuring exercise. Esther’s position will disappear.

Hugues is 50. He  works as a Procurement Manager  based in the production unit of an international packaging company located within a stone’s throw of the Alps. He has 22 years service. His passion is climbing and every spare moment is devoted to trips and preparing for them. He is very active in local schools and youth groups, training young climbers about safety procedures. He is a volunteer on the local Mountain Rescue Squad.  As a long serving employee he is regarded as being solid within the organisation with a good understanding of the subtext of all the office politics and considered to be the  “go-to” person to get things done outside the system. He has turned down promotion and  the opportunity to learn English  because he doesn’t want to re-locate to the H.Q. in Paris and take on the travel commitments involved in a more senior, regional role.  The nearest mountain is also possibly three hours away. He is completely happy where he is and does not consider himself to be “ambitious.”

In January Hugues’ company was taken over (swallowed up really) and the procurement function has been centralised in Ireland.

Esther and Hugues have had their heads in the sand for a very long time.

The moral of these two stories is :

  • Complacency is not a safe place to be
  • Security does not exist.
  • Be prepared
  • Be up to date
  • Have a flight plan

What would you add?

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Posted in Career Development, Career management and transition

Portfolio careers: What are your tent-pole skills?

Posted on June 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

tent poleOne of the buzz words reverberating around the job search market is the need to identify our tent pole skill or skills. This is rooted in company jargon which according to Bruce Watson means:  ”the tent pole  is  a term that refers to a company’s most promising or prominent product. Generally, a tent pole generates most of an organization’s income, making it possible for workers to make products that may be less profitable.”    

Believe it or not there are people who are so multi-talented and have such an amazing combination of left and right hand brain competencies that they excel in every activity they turn their hand to. They have a wide range of interests, passions and skills and have built up excellent portfolio careers.  Hard to imagine that this could present difficulties – but it does.

How can these individuals make informed decisions on which skill or skills to anchor their careers, when they need or want to make a change ?

One story

Jonas has had a glittering portfolio career. Multi-lingual and multi-cultural, qualifying as a lawyer in a Magic Circle law firm, he then pursued an opportunity in corporate law where at the same time he gained an MBA from a top-tier business school.  A two-year stint in Marketing for a boutique law firm followed, where his creative marketing strategies attracted the attention of a major international player resulting in a successful acquisition. He then  decided to  launch a landscape gardening business going on to employ a team of 16. This was eventually sold to allow him to pursue his passion for film, and he succeeded in winning a much coveted international prize for corporate video production.

Now at age 45 with an expensive divorce and child care responsibilities every second week, he is looking to refocus. He is despondent about this failure to return to the workplace as a corporate employee and is somewhat baffled by the response. Jonas stated his needs briefly “Put simply  my requirements are to identify which of my skills can make me revenue rich (or richer) without making me time poor.“

Now that sounds like a  universal goal most job searchers would put at the  very top of their wish lists.  Ironically,  Jonas has gone from feeling generally unique  with high levels of recognition, to becoming simply one of the crowd.  Words which have never been applied to him  before, he now hears regularly “flight risk” and “job hopper,“   plus ” lack of long-term commitment” to name but  a few,  with a demoralising effect.

Key skills

Generally speaking the identification of  skills,  tent pole or otherwise, has to be done with a dose of realism.   Strong soft skills without up to date hard skills can be high risk currency for many organisations. A law degree acquired 20 years ago would almost certainly need some updating and would be valueless today  as a stand alone qualification. But it does tell part of Jonas’ story which needs to be re-created not just  in terms of the chronology,  but in light of his  achievements. These soft skills,  more tent poles if you like,  are also more effective and powerful in clusters. They allow the canvas of a career story to be erected across a number of poles, rather than relying on one solitary support.

Cluster skills

What Jonas does bring to the table is a strong combination of a legally trained mind, combined with analytical business skills, commercial and entrepreneurial acumen, plus leadership competencies. He has gained experience in building diverse activities into successful enterprises attractive for acquisition, and pursuing personal projects to achieve international recognition. It’s not so much the time he has spent at anything, but the result. Not forgetting of course he has always achieved excellence.

Jonas is currently in negotiation with a consulting firm which has been fully appraised of his domestic circumstances.

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Posted in Career Coaching Brussels, Portfolio careers

How to rebuild a damaged professional reputation

Posted on June 2, 2013 | 1 Comment
Fixing a damaged reputation

Fixing a damaged reputation

Why technology has made making a fresh start more difficult once we have damaged  our professional reputations.

Reputation has been a topic covered by many thought leaders and philosophers from  Shakespeare, to Socrates and more recently Warren Buffet who says  ” It  takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think  about that, you’ll do things differently.”

A  professional  gossip and rumour mill can have a very negative impact on our careers.  It can take years to build up a solid reputation, but only a few ill-considered water cooler remarks,  an imprecise email  or an unguarded conversation  to undo it all.    Modern technology means that information on everyone can be transferred, stored and retrieved within a heart beat and remain on the collective hard drive indefinitely.  A spat with a co-worker,  a sarcastic comment or confused instructions can go viral at a horrific pace.

Commentary on our patterns of behaviour and perceptions of our style, values and attitudes can follow us around from one work place to another.  Today, with the degrees of separation reduced to only four ,  we have fewer opportunities than ever to make a completely fresh start.

Difficult personality

Luke  is a strategic consultant in a tightly knit sector specialising in crisis management.  He has  just been rejected for a position for which he was ideally  qualified. Unofficial feedback from a friend in the target department was there was “no way  Luke X  would ever be hired into this organisation.”   Dead bodies and hell freezing over were cited to give an indication of probability . It seems over years Luke has developed a reputation for being uncooperative,   a poor team player and generally difficult to work with.

Luke is feeling harshly treated and rails firmly against the comments. Although upset he remains dispassionate, measured and resigned.    ”Some years ago I had a boss who was a bully and not only did I stand up to him, I filed a complaint.  Just because I defend myself  against this type of behaviour which is rampant and accepted in my sector, it is being held against me.  Now my current boss is saying the same thing and won’t give me a chance.” 

Many careers are stalled by issues linked to “personality clash” and  “poor cultural fit.”    Having our names mentioned in the same sentence as either of those phrases, especially in more than one organisation,  can be tantamount to a career death sentence.

Luke or anyone in a similar situation has a number of options.

  • Establish the root of the negative perception. Luke can’t undo what has happened in the distant past, but he can talk to his current boss and colleagues to ask for specific examples of these criticisms. If these comments have ever been referenced in an official performance review, though harsh to hear in some ways,   they are easier to address than corridor gossip.  If the review is considered biased there is usually an appeal system via H.R. or an opportunity to counter comment.   Reputations are closely linked to smoke and fires. Rumours are  more likely to be believed than otherwise.
  • Trusted feedback: talk to a neutral friend or mentor who can give some less hurtful  and constructive insights  on communication methods or style and behaviours that can be damaging. We all do and say things that are perceived differently than the way we intended,  especially anything sent by email.   Someone’s idea of defence is another’s idea of bringing out the big guns.
  • Introspection: find out what you can do and then are prepared to do to change  the dynamic. When you know where the problem could lie,  step back and make a conscious effort to behave differently when the situation recurs.
  • Apologise and  make amends:   Is there an underlying pattern to the comments you should be aware of? How much do you have to compromise to retrieve your position?   Perhaps you need to apologise, make amends or talk to one or a number of parties involved to correct the situation. Sorry is a powerful word.
  • Rebuilding the relationships:  gradually work on a different approach to colleagues, reports and bosses. Find a mentor  or an advocate, someone who will highlight your strong points as well as your weaknesses. These people will be useful contacts to provide future references.
  • Move on:   maybe the compromises are too great or the possibility to rebuild your reputation is too slim in your current organisation. Perhaps a time will come to initiate a conversation with your boss “I don’t  think this is working.” Be prepared psychologically to hear a  painful response.
  • Learn from your mistakes:  the most important thing is to analyse setbacks and make a concerted effort to address them. Even the most successful people have overcome hurdles. If  these comments have dogged you in a number of places and are starting to impact your career,  unless you recognise that change is required, you will simply be taking the problem with you if you just move on. You will continue to pollute your professional relationships and damage your reputation even further.

In the words of Henry Ford   “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”   Even in a post Facebook era that advice still stands.

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Personal interests: 10 CV dos and don’ts

Posted on May 27, 2013 | 5 Comments
Can hobbies and interests make a difference in the selection process?

Can hobbies and interests make a difference in the selection process?

There is always much conflicting advice from career experts on what to include on CVs. One of the areas  that has an opinion divide of Grand Canyon proportions,   is  whether  including your personal interests and hobbies on your resume can actually make a difference to the selection process.

Hannah Morgan Career Sherpa says ” No one really cares that you enjoy knitting, wine tasting and training for marathons. That is, unless, you are applying for a job in one of those areas. Save the space for more meaningful, work-related information. Have you included professional memberships or volunteer activities?

Stand out with your hobbies on your job search by  exhorts candidates to share their interests on their CVs. Why? “ Because who you are transfers over to how you work.”

Here’s my input but suffixed as always with the judicious ” it depends”:

Do:  Remember that what is relevant will depend on the company culture and nature of the open position.  Not all company cultures or teams look for, welcome or need the person who does a fitness boot camp at  5.00 am every day before work.

Do:  include some interests especially if they can showcase or endorse your professional skills and particularly if  you have achieved  some level of excellence or expertise

Do:  give a range of interests which showcase your  personality. I think Hannah’s example of a wine tasting,  knitter,  who runs marathons could be a potentially interesting character.

Do:  be strategic and highlight those interests which could be professionally relevant but with a balance: team and leadership roles as well as introverted and extroverted, competitive and non competitive.  Depending on the nature of the opening,  I would certainly pay attention to someone whose interests were exclusively solitary or exclusively competitive.  Generally personality traits will be identified via any type of testing or assessment process anyway.

Do:   include if you played a sport to a high level or represented your country in any activity even if it was some years previously. It demonstrates focus, discipline and energy.

Don’t :  include if you claim to be an international athlete light years before and it looks as if walking from the desk to the door will induce a coronary.

Do: be sensitive with regard to any of your interests which might be” hot” issues for others:  certain causes, or political or religious activities. It’s impossible to know the personal biases and perceptions of  the reader and interviewer unless they are in the public domain.

Do:  share if you are using that skill currently via coaching,  mentoring or volunteering.

Do: if you think  your interests will be a social ice-breaker  and professionally relevant. It is becoming increasingly easy to research interviewers and companies. If the hiring company sponsor an activity which genuinely interests you – include it. I was participating in a search recently where the company sponsored the fine arts and one of the candidates was a serious opera buff.  The panel Chair and candidate  had a brief aside on Liudmyla Monastyrska‘s  role as Aida.   It was  a clear differentiator in that particular hiring process.

Don’t: claim to have interests which are not real. If the last book you read was the Spark Notes from a university course, or the last movie you saw was Ghost  or  your idea of haute cuisine is opening a takeaway carton,   best not to mention them as interests. You could be asked.  You are not a wine taster if your  knowledge extends to white, red and pink.  I interviewed someone who said they were a “huge tennis fan“, but couldn’t comment on the 2012 Wimbledon final. (Murray lost to Federer  or Federer beat Murray depending on who you were supporting). As John McEnroe would say ” You can’t be serious“

So like any other part of your CV the interest section is an opportunity to be strategic.  So I say use it – but wisely!

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Posted in CVs, Personality testing, resumes

They’re just not that into you…Organisational red flags

Posted on May 20, 2013 | Leave a comment
Organisational red flags - do you ignore them?

Organisational red flags – do you ignore them?

“He’s just not that into you ” is the headline from  He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt , the modern girls guide to men, dating and relationships.

It is about the brutal truth to save us women from complete denial when we fail to take on board something that is glaringly obvious to everyone around us.

We  convince ourselves that our rose-coloured version of reality is the correct one,  even if all the signs scream a  totally different message . We have all been  in relationships that are  dysfunctional,  one-sided or perhaps just past their sell by date.   If he doesn’t call it’s because he lost his phone,  broken both his hands or  (poor darling…)  had to go unexpectedly to some remote wilderness and signal- less location. Despite our excuses and even defence of an indifferent or bad relationship,  the reality is we are not  important enough for them to call. GB “ If he creates expectations for you, and then doesn’t follow through on little things, he will do same for big things.”

They are just not that into us. Sound familiar?

Well, like many truisms this philosophy is transferable and can be applied to other situations,  even corporate relationships.  Many employees hang onto old jobs, roles and relationships for all the wrong reasons,  when all evidence is suggesting they should getting a Plan B and getting one fast.

Frederick,  Regional Sales Director of an international  logistics company  had been the designated deputy for the C.E.O. for 9 years and  expected to be appointed on his retirement.  He was shocked to find that the position was advertised externally. He had not been appointed or even invited to apply for the job he had been effectively doing in his boss’ absence for many years.  He pushed hard to be considered as a candidate and although he went through the  interview process with an executive search firm,  an external candidate was appointed.  The VP  H.R. claimed to be too busy to discuss this with him directly and asked a junior assistant to make the turn down call.

Message:  they aren’t that into him. If they had wanted him for the job they would have spoken to him not just for an interview,  but maybe even years before and started a development process.   There are a lot of red flags here.  GB “The word “busy” is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction…..  Remember: Men are never too busy to get what they want.”

Manuela returned from maternity leave in the banking sector and instead of slotting back into her position leading a large team , she was shunted into a solo operator functional role with no teeth. She was excluded from key meetings and responsibilities that had previously been hers were  re-allocated to employees who had previously reported to her .    She was told she needed to re-build her reputation after being in the company for five years. She is still working hard to retrieve her position,  putting in long hours despite having a small baby. She rationalizes the decisions  in terms of organisational imperatives and gender stereotyping which she hopes she can turn around.

Message:  they aren’t  that into her.  1 in 6 women experience contractual difficulties on return from maternity leave. Companies who value their female employees will honour and respect contractual obligations.  Will Manuela effect a successful turnaround of opinion?   Should she have to go through this exercise just because she’s had a baby?  These are all organisational red flags.  GB  “When it comes to men, deal with them as they are, not how you’d like them to be.”  

Simon was hired from outside the financial services sector as a C.F.O. designate,   to step into the senior role after a three-year grooming period. When the outgoing C.F.O.  left suddenly after only 18 months,  under a mysterious cloud,  the position was given to a colleague.  It was felt that Simon lacked the necessary experience  to assume a senior role and as the errant C.F.O.’s protogé, he that he might be happier elsewhere. Despite  a tough time at the height of the recession,  he finally got another job. In the meantime the new appointee isn’t working out and Simon has been approached to return as his departure has left a gap in the organisation.

Message:  they aren’t that into him.  That was a major red flag. They could not see any potential and would not invest in coaching or other onboarding programmes to guarantee success. None of the other executives were willing to support him  because appointing Simon was a risk they didn’t want to take.   GB ”Don’t be flattered that he misses you. He should miss you. You are deeply missable. However, he’s still the same person who just broke up with you”.

Organisations that value employees look after them and groom them. They treat them with integrity. They provide support for growth and development.  If they have issues they communicate them constructively so that the employee is clear and can make informed choices.

If they fail to behave correctly once,  will that be a pattern that is repeated? Are the early warning signals likely to re-occur?  Like in other relationships there is always a chance of an epiphany and the neglectful employer will reform. They are also  strong indications that forming a Plan B would be a good idea. GB “The quickest way to rectify that mistake (choosing the wrong person) is by learning from that, moving on, and choosing much more wisely in the future.”

What do you think?

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Job seekers help yourselves! 8 back to basics tips

Posted on May 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

Back to basicsI have been conducting a search for a position in a geographical region in Europe that is hard hit by recession.  I read in the press that unemployment levels are high so I anticipated being  overwhelmed by  candidates with difficult selection decisions to make.

I was wrong

To my astonishment I have found that even the most basic job search tips are not being implemented.   So as with any activity it’s sometimes  necessary to re-visit the  fundamental tenets  simply to get the basics right. Perhaps they were never there to start with, or perhaps for some they have slipped by the wayside.

Here are 8 of the most basic tips that seem so obvious that you would think that  everyone would be doing them. I can assure you they are not!

  • Be visible -   a complete online professional profile is mandatory on one of the main  international networks: LinkedIn, Viadeo, Xing – or any of the more local ones. This is especially relevant if you are unemployed.
  • Check who has viewed your profile -  if it’s a head hunter or recruiter – contact them.
  • Be easily contactable  - make yourself easily reachable with as a minimum an email address on your professional profile. If you are afraid of spammers – open up a separate account for job search. If you want to post a phone number so much the better.
  •  Check your mails  – if you are looking for a job or unemployed you should be checking your emails multiple times a day even at weekends and holidays. This applies also to your professional profile mail box.
  • Respond  promptly to contact requests.
  • Have a current CV instantly available  to send immediately to any prospective recruiter.
  • Be available for interview -  different parts  of Europe have any number of public holidays in  May. If you can’t forfeit a public holiday to engage in a job search process now,  you may find yourself taking a much longer vacation than intended and one that you can’t afford.
  • Pay it forward – if you are not interested personally share with your network. Do someone else a favour.

If you know someone who is looking for a new opportunity or unemployed, share this post with them. It might help!

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Why couples need congruent not dual career strategies

Posted on April 29, 2013 | 20 Comments
Create a congruent career strategy

Create a congruent career strategy

The traditional notion of a successful dual career couple  seems to me to be outdated.

I’ve just led a workshop at the #JUMP13 Forum in Brussels on “How to be a successful dual career couple“.  The first thing that struck me was  how confusing this very concept is:

What is successful?  One couple’s perception of success and a dream life  is another’s nightmare. We all have our own ideas of what it means to be successful.  Research carried out by LinkedIn  “What women want at work ” study”  suggests that for women the meaning of success has shifted from achieving a high salary to establishing a balance between  their professional and personal lives

The notion of career:  what does that mean  in today’s world when meteoric  linear careers are a thing of the past and portfolio careers are  more typical.

What does dual mean really?  (Definition  – Consisting of two parts, elements, or aspects)  This can cover a number of set ups:

  • two individuals within a relationship pursuing their own goals.  This is characterised  usually by the woman being caught below the glass ceiling while her partner strides purposefully to the top.
  • both members of the partnership supporting one career:  The Obamas would be a good example of this,  trailing spouses  or stay at home parents who  then have to deal with a parenting gap.
  • One career/one job:  typical of this would be the man pursuing a traditional hierarchical career and the woman compromising to accommodate family needs. This could include accepting a job below her skill set and ability,  or switching to working part-time – both common options for women.

So how can we manage the complexity of modern life coping with conflicting demands on our careers,  relationships and ourselves?

Congruent Careers

I believe we will be seeing more of what I call congruent career strategies  (meaning when careers are in harmony or alignment) , where both careers are considered  jointly and equally. Not just that there are two  separate elements. Focus might indeed switch between the two parts at different points.  The main difference is that this would always be in line with consciously stated and discussed goals and a jointly agreed  harmonious vision,  rather than a reliance on unconscious beliefs and objectives, which is what most of us tend to drift into.

This would allow the pool of educated women to reach their potential and  for there to be shared responsibility for both revenue generation and  family,  split equally between both partners. Men would be relieved of the stress of being the main breadwinners and allow them to be present rather than absent fathers and partners, leading richer and fuller lives.

We all know that our professional and personal lives are very intertwined and problems on one side invariably spill over into the other. Yet they are continued to be viewed separately with unsettling consequences posing difficulties for couples trying to create successful career strategies.

Let’s look at recent  trends

Recent complex, over lapping and discordant  trends tell us that developed economies face aging populations and declining birth rates,  presenting a worrying future for today’s governments.    We  actually need couples to have children to support future economies.  But there are some significant disconnects which indicate that trouble is on the horizon.

60% of European graduates are women and we make up 50% of the workforce,  yet occupy very low levels of senior positions in most developed economies. We carry out 80% of household chores and take 80% of parental leave.  We earn 20% on average less than our male counterparts.    We are creating a demographic that is unfulfilled, dissatisfied,  but above all under utilised.

Choosing the right partner

Sheryl Sandberg suggests that choosing the right partner is the most important career choice that women make. Yet with between  33-50% of marriages ending in divorce ,  many of us are clearly not getting it right.   Our choice of a partner is made at a time when we are least equipped to make sensible decisions:   madly in love and deeply in lust.  Very often the failure to create jointly agreed common goals and to rely on unstated unconscious beliefs  means many couples end up in relationships with people they eventually barely recognise,  let  alone would choose a second time round.   Susan found out that she and her husband had intrinsically divergent parenting values when their son was 14.  This was after more than 10 years of frustration and tension resulting in their eventual divorce.

Challenges

Faced with the challenge of coping with family and professional life causes many women to opt to work at  levels lower than their capabilities,  or to switch to part-time hours  as part of a dual career strategy  (one career/one job model).   This reduces their pensionable earnings,  leaving them financially vulnerable in  later life, another general negative trend lurking on the horizon. Yet an additional reason why a  congruent career strategy would be advantageous to the dual career models.  And of course all this begs the question that the divorce rate might be stemmed with a more conscious and joint approach to career planning in place.  In Belgium 33% of families are now run by single parents,  an increase of 26% since 1991.

Feedback

In the workshop of about 50 women,  it was clear that the burning issues were not just in the workplace.  The conversation focused on how to cope with the practical issues of:

  • corporate cultures and education systems that strongly favour the one career/one job,  or one career/two person models making it difficult for both men and women to find balance
  • the constant battle to avoid doing or managing it all.
  •  finding the time to nurture both their relationships and themselves.
  •  selling the concept to their partners

Many used  professional  language for strategies to deal with issues in their non professional lives.  Low value work  ( a.k.a. ironing), time management,  prioritising,   parent mentoring , unproductive  and lost time ( commuting) and outsourcing

The  use of online technology to make communication more effective was clearly helping:  splitting grocery lists on-line, date nights scheduled into Outlook   and a heartfelt plea for an app to manage family life,  not just those aimed at mothers!   Whoever does this will be a millionaire overnight.

Persuading men

Some alluded to the difficulty of persuading  their partners to engage in a more structured and participative approach to joint career management.   Gen Y are exhibiting a desire for a greater balance between professional and personal life than they experienced with their Boomer parents. All research suggests that married men living with their wives and more involved with their families lead richer lives.  They live longer, are healthier,  happier and  enjoy better sex lives. It should be a no-brainer easy sell!

If the notion of dual career success is changing for both men and women, what we need to see now are the same changes reflected in our work places and government policies.

If you feel your career strategy is out of alignment with your partner’s, check out my programme:  Creating a Congruent Career Strategy. This programme is offered to couples on a face to face basis  (based in Brussels)  or for busy couples  via online webinar coaching with different locations possible!

Contact: dorothy.dalton@skynet.be

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