by kgettelfinger | Jun 24, 2009 | Career management
The most insidious glass ceiling is the one we impose upon ourselves. It is created quietly as we are going through life and it lives in our unconscious mind. It comes from all of the beliefs we have gathered up over the years and taken in without regard for their validity. Beliefs that tell us we are limited, not good enough, not smart enough. I don’t mean to say that external glass ceilings don’t exist but much of the power they hold is fortified by our own beliefs. I think the proof of this is in the examples of people who break through the public ceilings. How did they do it? What was special about them? And why can’t everyone do it? I think the thing they had going for them was determination and will (and occasionally some dumb luck bursting through their own barriers). Every time I have been frustrated by someone else’s behavior that seems to limit me, when I really examine what is happening I can see my role in creating this result. Experience has shown me that every time I have taken a shot and reached beyond where I have been before I have gotten great results.
by kgettelfinger | May 1, 2009 | Career management
Yes, and…
Thanks to an early introduction to improvisation techniques (Mom, I told you that theater degree would be valuable) I was exposed to a rule that I now extend well beyond the stage and into the rest of my life, especially my professional life. That is the rule of “Yes, and….” In the world of improvisational theater saying yes, and building upon is critical to keeping a scene going. It is all about going with things that are already happening and building upon it, sometimes turning it gently in a new direction but without killing the scene.
Every work day is an exercise in improv. It seems to me there are 4 personalities in this business improv. I run in to them every where I go. And each of them impacts the business in their own special way. I’ll go in order of least productive to most productive. First is the “No, but…” person, she or he responds to every idea task, need with a “no, but that just won’t work.” (Sometimes the “but: may be left out verbally, though it hangs in the air). Even when they will ultimately get the task done or be brought around to the idea (proving them wrong) they will hunt for every opportunity to say no, no, no. Second is the “No, and…” person. I think this person may be trying to transition to being a more positive team member, they’ve found a way to move forward with an “and we could do this” however, they are just as deadly as a “No, but’er.” Frequently their and becomes yet another reason why nothing can move forward. Next we have the “Yes, but…” likely a well intentioned person and certainly can be helped to move forward and their devil’s advocate method can help find pitfalls, you just have to watch out that their yes is real and not just the passive aggressive form of no. The final type and my personal favorite are the “Yes and…” person. This person can hear an idea, take what’s great about it and use it to move forward. They can see the downsides and rather than make them showstoppers fix them and get a project moving. It’s not about being a blind Pollyanna that isn’t a true “Yes, and…” person. It is about understanding the goal and driving to it in a smart fashion bringing positive energy to the experience for everyone. Better, faster results.
So let’s all practice it together… Yes and…
by kgettelfinger | Mar 23, 2009 | Career management, Job Transition
If you think its difficult to be looking for you next job right now as an experienced professional (especially as a Workforce Nomad) spend some time listening to the folks who have recently emerged from college. Imagine if you haven’t been building up a network in the professional world aside from family and neighbors the only people you know are your friends and they are in the same boat as you! It can be intimidating showing up at networking events even with a great background but I imagine if you are green and don’t feel confident in telling your story and everyone seems older than you, it must really be difficult. If you even know how to find networking opportunities
So you are left with internet ads for entry level sales positions. Even I’ve been tapped by some of these silly things. Door to door sales of financial products or some equally unlikely prospect, but they go anyway and hope that this one will be different. Herded into rooms for sales presentations in sketchy locations. Taken for all day “interviews” out to remote neighborhoods where they have to actually sell as part of the interview. And today I heard a really good story. One particular young man entered the room of a sketchy downtown building with others like him only to be told “this will be a no talking interview.” They proceeded to show a presentation of the company which said young man did not stay to witness as he had seen it before or something much like it anyway. I would leave too. The absurdity of the job search really is at its height when you find yourself in a no talking interview.
The only thing I can say is networking, networking, networking….Its the only way.
by kgettelfinger | Mar 9, 2009 | Career management, Job Transition
Here is an interesting concept that I was discussing with someone last week. How do you tell your story? You’ve heard it put a few different ways I imagine. What’s your pitch? What’s your elevator speech? etc… The overriding point is that people want to know in 30 seconds or less who you are or were or will be or all of the above. Now I could go on about what it says about our society that one must be able to tell their story in 30 seconds or less but I leave that for another day. Besides, why have an argument with reality? The fact of the matter is you need to be able to give people the nugget of who you are and what you do so that they want to hear more. It’s like hooking them to a movie. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back (that fits about a thousand movies but people seem to love it). There is an article entitled “What’s Your Story?” (Ibarra and Lineback, HBR January 2005) which speaks to this issue. I won’t regurgitate it for you since your library can feed you a copy that you may digest in your own way but I will share what it and countless other promoters of the story say about how to formulate yours. First you need your key elements;
- A protagonist (your prospective customer or employer- people love being the center of a story)
- A catalyst (your passion or skill which would engage you to help the protagonist)
- Trial and Tribulation (a problem hurting the protagonist)
- Turning Point (enter our hero with her passion and skill)
- A resolution (happy protagonist thanks to our hero)
With these elements you craft a sentence that relays your story, good to have a short version and then be able to elaborate with a long version of juicy detail because the hero will be so compelling they will want to hear more.
Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our story we can’t really distill it ourselves. This is where it is helpful to talk with colleagues about what you do and have them explain it back to you. It’s particularly helpful if your friend or colleague has marketing or some other story telling experience but that isn’t a requirement, it just makes it go faster. I had coffee with a marketing guru and after babbling for a bit about what I do and care about he came back at me with the following:
Helping businesses accelerate success and growth by realizing the value of
individual contributors and teams through the successful implementation and integration
of systems and processes.
This is pretty good. It has a business (protagonist) in peril of not realizing value (read lost money) and it has a hero (me) coming in to help them successfully implement and integrate solutions. Certainly it is enough to warrant further response, perhaps “Really, and how do you do that…” or something along those lines. It gives me a chance to explain why I think most software and process change fails (80+% failure rates) and how my skills and talents have made a difference.
As with all great stories revision and change will happen but it’s important to have a start to work with so your are ready for the inevitable question of “What’s your story?”
by kgettelfinger | Mar 2, 2009 | Career management, Job Transition
It doesn’t exist. Sorry for the tease, I know how you feel. I’ve been on a quest for it myself. How many versions of your resume do you have? I’m getting close to a dozen. That can’t be right! First you start out trying to describe your past and fit it all onto two pages. Then you realize that your resume might need to get past a search algorithm first so you try to fit in every necessary buzz word to make sure that you get considered for the right roles. Then you need to make it look pretty. Large enough font, enough white space (dang three pages) now reduce. Then you realize that recruiters are giving each resume approximately 14 secconds of scan time which means the first 1/3 of the first page is all that human eyes will look at before you even make a cut. Even for a person like me who enjoys simplyfying things to their core this is a really painful process. How do I explain what value I can bring to a company in 1/3 of a page? Thank goodness for networking and informational interviewing so I can meet with many people and get great ideas and opinions. The only downside is that each person has a different approach and perspective on what the resume should do and how. How do I distill all these very valid ideas into one cohesive piece?
For today I’ve settled on a format which meets as much of the above mentioned critera as possible that I can use as a template and swap around bullet points depending on the audience. It just isn’t possible for a person with broad experience to sell their value with one resume. This is why 80% of jobs are secured through networking, even employers are frustrated with resumes. I’m sure that tomorrow will bring a new set of ideas and a new template for I think for tonight I will pretend I’ve solved the problem so I can move on to world peace.
by kgettelfinger | Feb 23, 2009 | Career management, WFN Defined
What happened to the X Generation? Maybe I should be asking Douglas Copeland this question? These days its all Boomers and Millennials. I attended a meeting of leaders from various organizations and heard the most disturbing comment. A woman was mentioning that she was heading an important summit for the government to discuss current/impending issues of environment, economics etc. She was very proudly stating that she planned to make sure to include good representation from Generation Y, but not Xer’s “who cares about them, okay well maybe I’ll include the Xer’s.” This brought an uncomfortable laugh from the group and the tag line probably was added as she realized her major faux pas. As an Xer, I was offended. Maybe because the marginalization of my generation has become the norm. I have seen countless articles on generational differences and every association has made this the topic of at least one gathering in the past year. In each of these the conversation is about dealing with Boomers and Millennials. An entire generation is being overlooked and I think it’s a mistake.
The X Generation is the group that will bridge the two larger generations and sure the bridge isn’t as exciting as what has happened on one side or might happen on the other but your Generation X employee’s will likely make or break your companies ability to transition. They have drive and independence. And they have a lot they can teach to both the Boomers and Millennials. They are now or will be soon running your company. If you jump too soon to the next generation you miss out on a lot of knowledge and a lot of great energy for organizational change. In these times we can’t afford to marginalize any particular group or we risk missing opportunities for positive change. Generation X will be your facilitators of change. Don’t forget to include us in the conversation.
