Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Wed, May 16, 2012 @ 12:01 PM
Not everyone’s career path takes the same trajectory. Some employees follow a strait line from the lower levels of an organization into the top tier, but many others make lateral moves into another unit in the same company, take time off for family reasons, or shift careers entirely. One thing that can change a woman’s career path significantly is having children, especially if she is working for a business that is not family-friendly.
Statistics show that over half of the U.S. workforce is women, so it is clear that even women of childbearing age are able to find both balance and personal effectiveness. And some moms are even using their entrepreneurial spirit to make millions, even in today’s uncertain economic climate. What are their secrets?
Personal Effectiveness Tips from Moms
1. Take a Risk
Not everyone can afford to do this, but it is often the case that your big idea just can’t take off unless you can fully invest all of your time and money into it. If you are thinking of starting your own business, this could mean quitting your day job to make it happen. If you are launching a new project in your corporation, this could mean reassigning other tasks that keep you distracted from giving this new idea your full focus and attention. Maia Haag of I See Me books took the leap to resign from her marketing job and fully invest in her brainchild shortly after her maternity leave ended.
2. Be Innovative
When you are hoping to solve a problem or increase your personal effectiveness, then you are likely to have the most success if you think outside of the box. Margaret Josephs established her successful organizational products company from the ground up by thinking of a creative way to solve the clutter problem haunting her own home as a new mom. What are the nagging problems in your own life that you could effectively find an innovative solution to?
3. Rise Above Your Circumstances
Sometimes, the best professional development advice is to just do it. Rather than waiting around for the ideal time to start a business, apply for a promotion, or make a career change, sometimes the best advice is to just do it. If we all kept waiting around for the ideal timing, many innovations would never occur. Take a page from Amy Norman’s book – she established her successful company in the midst of her life falling into pieces around her.
4. Learn From Your Mistakes
If your great idea is a flop, don’t let that stop you from learning from your mistakes and trying again. After all, Thomas Edison didn’t invent the electric light in one try. Melody Hsieh learned that professional development lesson the hard way, when her company went from great success to major failure. When she was able to rethink her mistakes and rebrand her company, she found success again.
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Mon, May 14, 2012 @ 11:33 AM
This spring, a new graduating class is entering the workforce and adding its own unique perspective to the working world. As a leader who likely manages employees of different ages and backgrounds, it is important for you to pay attention to generational differences in the workplace to minimize conflict and maximize teamwork.
Adecco USA, a workforce solutions company, recently released its 2012 Graduation Survey, which offers an interesting look at the recent college graduates who are joining the professional world. Adecco surveyed 507 graduates from four-year degree programs who are between the ages of 22 and 26 years old. Of these graduates, 36 percent are working in the field in which they studied. This group of graduates has been dubbed “Generation I” because of these characteristics:
- They “have a secure understanding of who they are and what they want – and they aren’t willing to compromise.”
- “It seems to be ‘all about them’
- They are “keen to jump around” when it comes to jobs and location, and they desire frequent change
What Generation I is Looking for in a Job
1. Frequent Change
Staying in one job for an extended period of time does not seem to be a priority for the majority of recent grads. Over the next 10 years, only 3 percent said they’d expect to stay at a job for more than five years; 33 percent said they expected to stay for three years or fewer.
The vast majority of recent graduates surveyed are open to relocating -- 94 percent said they would be willing to move to a new city for some reason. The top reasons were:
- A job offer with higher pay (73 percent)
- A job offer from their dream company (59 percent)
- A job offer in their dream city (51 percent)
Another reason Generation I is likely to move on quickly is that they value their work aligning with their interests (a factor that is noteworthy for managers juggling generational differences in the workplace). Nine in 10 (91 percent) said they would only continue working at a job they didn’t like for up to a year. Twenty-one percent said they would stay for three months before leaving. Almost one-fifth (18 percent) said they would leave their current job if they were assigned work that didn’t match with their interests.
2. Salary & Benefits
When given a list of 15 job search factors, such as good company culture, benefits and prestige in the industry, more than half of the recent graduates surveyed said they expected to receive a majority of them when hired. The top expectations were:
- Good health benefits (74 percent)
- Job security (73 percent)
- Opportunities for growth and development (68 percent)
Salary also carried a lot of weight with Generation I; 67 percent said they would leave their current job if their salary was reduced.
3. Competitive Value
The majority of Generation I (70 percent) reported feeling pressure to keep up with their peers in the work world.
- 41 percent said they feel pressure when their peers make more money than they do
- 38 percent said they feel pressure when their peers are at a higher level in their career
Social media plays a role in this peer pressure: 20 percent of grads said they feel pressure when they see peers’ career-related status messages on social media sites. This is highest in the Northeast (51 percent), compared with 39 percent in the South, 38 percent in the West and 37 percent in the Midwest.
Are you surprised by any of these findings? What do you think are the biggest generational differences in the workplace?
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Wed, May 09, 2012 @ 03:45 PM
There has been a lively debate recently about why there is still a persistent lack of women in executive suites and on corporate boards in the United States. Women now make up almost half of the workforce in the US (46.7 percent in 2010) and a majority of management, professional and related positions (51.5 percent), but they are still far behind in top leadership positions. In 2011, women held only 14.1 percent of executive officer and 16.1 percent of board of director positions.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and an outspoken advocate for women business leaders fighting for gender equality in the workplace, said in her speech in January at the World Economic Forum that it is an “ambition gap” in the way boys and girls are being raised.
Sandberg said in her speech:
We don't raise our daughters to be as ambitious as our sons. Last month, there were t-shirts sold at this gymboree... that said “Smart like Daddy” for the boys and “Pretty like Mommy.” Not in 1951, last month. Little girls are called bossy... I challenge you, go find someone and watch them call a little boy bossy. Won't see it. They're not bossy, that's the natural order of things...
Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women. As a man gets more powerful and successful, he is better liked. As a woman gets more powerful and successful, she is less liked.
Sandberg argues that on a personal level, we must stop supporting gender stereotypes by not encouraging girls to be more ambitious, assertive and competitive and not encouraging boys to contribute more to child rearing and household management. She also points to the responsibility of corporate leaders to change the culture of gender equality in the workplace, citing the necessity of equal maternity and paternity leave and using the talents of the whole workforce regardless of gender.
Joe Keefe, President and Chief Executive of Pax World Management and Pax World Funds, also points to the bottom line as another reason to increase the number of women business leaders.
“When women are at the table, the discussion is richer, the decision making process is better, management is more innovative and collaborative and the organization is stronger,” Keefe said at the Women Advisors Forum in April. “It’s not just me saying this, it’s research saying this.”
Catalyst released a study in 2011 that found that from 2004 to 2008, companies with three or more women on their boards outperformed companies with no female board members by 84 percent for return on sales, 60 percent for return on invested capital and 46 percent for return on equity.
In 2008, McKinsey released a study that found that companies with more women in senior management roles had above average earnings and financial valuations.
Do you agree with Sandberg’s “ambition gap” analysis? What do you think would help increase the numbers of women in corporate leadership roles?
Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Tue, May 08, 2012 @ 06:48 PM
These days, it seems as though the ether is abuzz with discussions about how compartmentalization is harmful to everything from brain function to career development. In today’s economy, it is more important than ever to be able to frame your own experiences and accomplishments in creative ways. To be successful, it is critical to be able to see yourself outside of the box, to make yourself and your accomplishments stand out from the crowd. A recent Harvard Business Review blog post asserts that “we must remove the barriers within ourselves” in order to find success today.
If you are hoping to boost your career development in your current job, or even if you are hoping to change jobs, this open-minded thinking is likely to benefit your journey: “The crucial barriers are the ways we compartmentalize our experiences — keeping them uniquely bound to one kind of job or career. Avoid such compartmentalization. Break open those compartments and mix all of your experiences, knowledge, and skills into the precise blend that makes a new you.”
This willingness to think creatively and see yourself in new ways is certain to benefit your career development in any field.
So how do you get started?
Christopher Bowe uses the metaphor of a mixing board, a device used to combine different sounds when creating music, to explain how to re-envision your own experiences: “To use this as a template for personal innovation, visualize each of your experiences and skills in life as an instrument controlled on a sound mixing board. What if this experience were 'louder' and this skill were 'quieter'? What kinds of old experiences from divergent things could be used in new ways to change the overall 'sound' of you?”
If you are aiming for personal innovation, then one easy first step is to pull out your resume and brainstorm about the connections between your experiences, about skills and interests that you have that might not be currently used to their fullest potential. If you need a little assistance in figuring out a more creative way to envision your career path, then another important step is to invest in an online personality test. Such a test can help you to reevaluate your personal strengths and weaknesses in an affordable, objective fashion. The information you can get from an online personality test can boost your career development to the next level.
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Fri, May 04, 2012 @ 11:24 AM
How can you shift from simply trying to keep your job to rising the ranks ahead of the pack? By taking a risk and challenging the status quo with new ideas that you are confident can succeed, you have a better shot.
A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted three individuals who did just that, and then they made their innovative thinking into a reality. Indeed, according to the article, “each took a novel approach that resulted in unexpected benefits for their employers – and new, prominent roles for themselves.” So what did they do?
1. Matthew Zubiller was the mastermind behind a risky high-tech startup venture within the company he worked for, McKesson. He was confident that his idea would revolutionize the company’s operations, and he succeeded in making his vision into a reality.
2. Kori Reed extensively researched child hunger in order to transform her cause into a successful marketing tool for ConAgra.
3. Pam Rogers Klyn cut Whirlpool’s costs in innovative ways by eliminating bureaucracy, training individual employees in simple cost-cutting techniques, and tying bonuses to specific performance goals.
In order to succeed, the Wall Street Journal tells us that these employees “overcame multiple challenges. They secured funding, won support from the skeptical top brass and practiced diplomatic persistence.” All three were confident in their ability to create change successfully.
How can you go about challenging the status quo in your workplace?
1. Think outside the box.
Clear your head and approach old problems from a new direction. Let all of your ideas come out in a brainstorming session. Don’t censor yourself in this initial session – just let all of the ideas flow onto the paper or onto your computer screen, no matter how outlandish they might seem at first. Could you incorporate new technology, philanthropic thinking, or new cost-cutting measures into your solution, like these other success stories? What other directions could your innovative thinking take?
2. Think more broadly.
Don’t limit yourself to solutions that can only be found in one department or in one school of thought. Don’t limit yourself to solutions that would fit within the existing divisional framework of your company. Broad-spectrum thinking may be the ticket to challenging the status quo and thinking your way out of a stick situation. Come up with an idea, find internal and external support, and have confidence in your ability to transform your innovative thinking into reality.
How do you challenge the status quo?
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Thu, May 03, 2012 @ 11:16 AM
Whether you are a new college graduate just embarking on your business career or a seasoned veteran who just needs a little perspective, late spring is the time for commencements, a time for reflecting and beginning anew. In actual graduation ceremonies, commencement speakers often offer new graduates and their family and friends important advice that runs the spectrum from career development advice to important life lessons. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal enumerates the “10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You” and offers some helpful advice to people of all ages that can be reinterpreted to aid in career development.
1. Maintain Work-Life Balance
According to the article, one of the reasons that people struggle with work-life balance is that the only place where people are specifically evaluated in terms of performance, time investment, and the like is in the workplace, but that doesn’t mean that we should be less invested in our families, our friendships, or our lives outside of work. One of the many reasons why it is crucial that we invest in our lives and relationships beyond the office is that according to the Wall Street Journal, “research tells us that one of the most important causal factors associated with happiness and well-being is your meaningful connections with other human beings. “ So no matter how many hours you put into the office, if you aren’t making and maintaining human connections, you are not likely to be very happy in the process.
2. Take Risks
Part of being a person, part of being an adult is making mistakes and learning from them. According to the article, “interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives.” This is an important career development lesson to absorb, that most people don’t start out with the perfect plan and carry it through to fruition without any detours along the way. In order to be successful, most people do make mistakes, make new plans, and learn to respond productively to unexpected challenges at home and at work. Most people’s paths are not straight and easy. In fact, Charles Wheelan asserts that, “if you are going to do anything worthwhile, you will face periods of grinding self-doubt and failure. Be prepared to work through them.”
3. Put Things in Perspective
If you are having a hard time at home or a hard time at work, sometimes the best thing to do is to step back to try to get a little perspective. Some people just need a little time to clear their heads. Other people ask themselves whether this problem will still affect their lives in a week, in a month, in a year, in five years. Wheelan recommends the "hit by a bus" rule: “Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don't get hit by a bus?”
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Wed, May 02, 2012 @ 09:46 AM
We are only days away from the 2012 ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) International Conference & Exposition, which is hosted in EDSI’s hometown of Denver, Colorado from May 6 to 9.
Denver was recently named one of the top convention cities in the United States, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you in person.
Before you pack your bag and head to the airport, here are a few last-minute reminders for the ASTD conference and expo.
1. Plan your schedule.
There are so many interesting speakers, sessions and workshops that your only challenge will be prioritizing and organizing your schedule. Unsure of where to go or what events you should put on your calendar? Explore tools to help you customize your training and development experience and download the free conference app to stay updated on news and events while on the go.
2. Stop by the EDSI booth
We will be at Booth 305 (check out a map here) at the ASTD conference, so drop by and say “hello” and find out about the iPad we will be giving away. Ask us about our training and development courses and resources or get the inside scoop on the best places to go in Denver for food, drinks, entertainment and culture.
3. Enjoy the city of Denver.
When you're not at the conference, you can take advantage of all that Denver has to offer. Here are a few tips from our latest newsletter to get you started:
Enjoy Denver's Best Shopping Spots
Just two blocks from the convention center, you'll find the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. This promenade runs through the center of Downtown and is lined with outdoor cafes, shops, restaurants and retail stores. Take a stroll anytime, and you could run across outdoor events and music. The 16th Street Pedestrian Mall is one of the best ways to enjoy Denver!
How about Catching a Game or Seeing a Play?
Want to catch a Colorado Rockies game while you're here? The Rockies play the Braves on Sunday (May 6) at 1:00 pm. How about seeing a play or some live music? Check the schedule for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is right next door to the hotel. Hear Ring of Fire, a live concert of Johnny Cash's music, watch the play, Wicked and more.
See you at the ASTD conference next week!
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 @ 09:42 AM
In recent years, Walmart has been both praised for its corporate sustainability campaign and criticized for some questionable business practices. Most recently, Walmart operations in Mexicowere found to be corrupt, with money changing hands illegally to speed up construction efforts and cut through the red tape, actions which bring the company’s leadership development practices into question. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review ponders the affect of these most recent allegations on Walmart’s attempts to operate more sustainably.
The article praises Walmart’s efforts on the sustainability front in recent years, for challenging the status quo and going green:
Walmart listed some impressive accomplishments, from diverting 80% of waste from landfills, to doubling the amount of local food sold, to generating over 1 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy onsite (the second most of any corporation in the U.S.). These achievements, along with a 5-year record of pushing the sustainability agenda harder than almost any company, are real and demonstrate leadership in responsible business.
However, it also expresses concern over unethical corporate practices, even if those practices are not in the area of sustainability. The bottom line? The article argues that even though the good and the bad in Walmart’s practices are unrelated:
The totality of a company's actions does matter. We should demand consistent, ethical behavior and a real commitment to doing what's good for people, planet, and profit, which includes not compromising on ethics. We can expect more from companies we buy from and work with and for, especially the very large ones that show such promise and leadership.
Basically, it is great for a company to be committed to challenging the status quo in an arena such as sustainability. But to really make an impact in terms of leadership development and brand image, a company needs to clean up its act in all areas. Do you need to do the same thing in your workplace? Consider these ideas to get you started.
Challenging the Status Quo in Leadership
1. Focus on making a lower environmental impact.
2. Stick to strict ethical standards.
3. Practice your corporate values.
4. Prioritize a family-friendly workplace and excellent employee benefits.
5. Invest in innovative solutions to old problems.
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 @ 03:41 PM
No matter where you went to college or graduate school or what grades you earned, positive long-term career development demands that you continue to learn and grow in order to move ahead. This could take the form of earning a higher degree, attending professional conferences, participating in training sessions, or simply reading a professional development newsletter.
One recent free professional development newsletter from EDSI focused on the important topic of employee engagement and motivation in employee training sessions:
‘Just Say No’ to Lethargic Employees!
1. Continuously emphasize the most critical concepts.
2. Create visual keys for abstract concepts.
3. Utilize in-class activities to reinforce newly presented material.
4. Create links between concepts and information.
These simple professional development tips can help transform a typical training session from being a boring jumble of unrelated facts into being a dynamic learning experience for your employees. These tips use solid educational theories to get even the occasional snorers involved and engaged in learning and applying new ideas to their work. The multi-faceted learning strategies will also help concepts to stick.
But how can you keep that employee engagement momentum outside of employee training sessions and in day-to-day life in the office? Consult a professional development newsletter to get easy tips for creating an atmosphere of self-discipline for yourself and your employees that will keep you all motivated and on track?
Foster Self-Discipline in Yourself & Your Team
1. Provide a thorough training program.
2. Clarify expectations.
3. Fan the flame of positive behavior.
4. React positively to new ideas.
5. Keep a beat on your staff members.
By establishing this kind of supportive atmosphere of positive expectations, you will be well on your way to keeping employee engagement and motivation high, as well as increasing your own personal accountability.
Want more information?
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Posted by Sherman Updegraff on Fri, Apr 27, 2012 @ 12:44 PM
To get ahead in business, it often helps to be a planner, to be well-organized, to use strategic planning to consider your next move before you make it.
But according to a recent Harvard Business Review blog post by Leonard Schlesinger, Charles Kiefer, and Paul Brown, it can actually be dangerous to make career development plans. Basically, the authors are concerned that the standard job interview question “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and similar conversations actually encourages employees to think inside the box.
According to the article, “the question is awful. It assumes the world is going to remain constant between now and then. That is never a good idea.” Basically, engaging in such conversations is a dangerous habit, because our world is changing at such a rapid pace. Employees with the best career development plans are those employees who are flexible and resourceful, who can change course while still moving ahead.
In some fields that are more predictable, then long term strategic planning can be more straightforward, and employees may be able to rely on more standard career development guides that have stood the test of time. However, in many fields, rapid advances in technology and other major changes over short periods of time render traditional career planning unsustainable. As the article reminds us, “increasingly, the world is not this predictable. And it is in settings of high uncertainty where traditional career planning is both a waste of time and potentially dangerous. A career plan can lead you into a false sense of confidence, where you fail to see opportunities as they arise and miss taking smart steps you otherwise hadn't planned for.”
In essence, traditional career development planning leaves employees powerless to make the changes they need to make. Fortunately, there is an alternative suggested by Schlesinger, Kiefer, and Brown:
“Instead of formulating the logically perfect ending job and the optimal path to get there, begin with a direction, based on a real desire, and complement that with a strategy to discover and create opportunities consistent with that desire. In an uncertain world you can't even come close to saying what a specific job might be, but you can say what's valuable and important to you. Who are you? What matters to you? Is it working in a specific industry? Managing people or not? The answers will point you in productive directions.”
So get started today by thinking outside of the box and considering what matters most to you when you consider what your life might be like in five years.
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