Career Stalled? Spiff Up Your Skills!

Whether you are currently employed or among the many who are “between opportunities,” keeping your skills and knowledge current and relevant can mean the difference between moving ahead and lagging behind.

What’s next for you? Is there a promotion you’ve set your sights on, or a job that’s just slightly out of reach? Now is the time to “get real” and put a plan in place to increase your skills and knowledge, improve your marketability, and build your confidence. Here’s a 5-Step Plan to get you going.

1. Take inventory.  Get a piece of paper and make a list of your strengths and your development areas. Think about what you want to do next. Do some research to determine the skills and knowledge required to get you there. Is there anything you’re currently lacking?  Add it to the list. Is there a certification or license required that you haven’t earned yet? Add it to the list.
2. Create a personal development plan. Determine which of the skills/knowledge you’ve identified in step one will most contribute to you successfully attaining your next career goal. Select one or two you will focus on in the next three months.  Seek out resources that will help you develop in those areas – classes, a coach, book learning, volunteer opportunities. Create specific development actions for each skill/knowledge area.  Commit to paper a plan that includes:
   1. Skill/knowledge to develop/enhance
   2. Resource
   3. Target completion date
3. Execute the plan. Post your plan somewhere visible – your calendar, your desk, your refrigerator. Stay focused! Concentrate on the one or two areas you’ve prioritized – don’t get distracted by the other areas on your inventory list. Take a “melting pot” approach. Keep your eyes and ears open for articles, blogs by experts, presentations, webinars, etc., related to your focus areas. Learning comes in many forms, from many places. Capture it! Be accountable and/or enlist someone’s help to keep you accountable. Reward yourself for completing your development goals.
4. Update your resume/personal “infomercial.” When you’ve gained proficiency in the skill/knowledge area, add it to your resume, if appropriate. Practice incorporating your new knowledge/skill into your interview discussions. Blend it into the evolving “you.”
5. Review, revisit and revise the plan. How did your plan work? Did you set reasonable goals? Were the resources worthwhile? Did you find additional or alternate ones you’ll use next time? Revisit your inventory. What are the skills/knowledge areas you’re going to work on next? Create and execute a revised personal development plan that reflects your new focus areas and goals.

Too often when we’ve “got the job” we become complacent and/or too busy to think about what’s next and prepare for it.  Putting a plan in place to continually add to your abilities and knowledge will keep your market value on an upward trend.

And remember: Don’t stop believing!!

Till next time,

Karen

There’s a Reason It’s Not Called a Workation. Time to Unplug!!

Imagine this: sitting on the beach, feet in the sand, watching the ocean waves.  There are surfers, and kids playing, and swimmers riding the waves.  Laughter is all around. You cannot believe you are lucky enough to be surrounded by so much beauty.  Oh my…you are actually relaxing…NOT!!!

Suddenly your PDA rings and texts start flying in…there’s another crisis at the office…they need you…and just for a 15-minute call. They promise.  Only one, 15-minute call.  And…we all know what happens next.  You are walking back to the cottage, turning on your laptop and logging in. You tell the family, “I promise, I’ll be back in less than an hour!”  They all nod knowingly…there ain’t no chance that will be happening. Three hours later you are back at the beach.  Clouds have rolled in, the ocean is roaring, and the lifeguards have called all swimmers out of the water.  The decision is made…might as well leave the beach now…it’s too cold to stay. That split-second of relaxation has passed.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and I just know I’ll be able to recapture that “state of bliss.”

Does this sound familiar?  Of course it does.  We’ve all been there.  And we swear to anyone who will listen that the next vacation will be different.  But the words are so empty you don’t even believe them yourself anymore.

Exhausting, isn’t it?

In fact, I’m exhausted just writing this.  We all work hard, no matter what our line of work.  And for those who are not in the work world right now, you are working probably harder than anyone else just trying to find your next opportunity.  Everyone I speak to is just “tired.”  It’s as simple as that…and…

We need to get back to basics: we have vacations for a reason.

Let’s compare our bodies and human spirit to a car. We all know that if we don’t properly maintain our car – adequate fuel, regular oil changes, periodic service checks, etc. – it’s going to stop operating effectively.  The same can be said for us. Yet how often do we work through lunch, put in the long hours, check emails/voicemails on weekends, put off vacation…in essence, go WAY beyond the recommended mileage for our body/spirit “service checks”? With our car there’s a little light that comes on when it’s time for service or you’re low on gas. Maybe that’s what we need as humans, a yellow light that comes on when it’s time for maintenance: Impending danger ahead if you don’t stop and take care and nurture your body and spirit.

I have a novel idea…how about taking a vacation and actually taking a vacation.  Go to the beach or to the mountains or to whatever place makes you happy.  Unplug…and enjoy the beauty Mother Nature has provided us.  When was the last time you sat long enough to just enjoy nature?  How could you possibly do that, you ask? Print out this list:

• Put your PDA in a drawer. If it has a lock, even better.
• Tell work you are unavailable. If you have to stretch the truth a bit and say you’ll be in an area with NO cell service, do it. You are NOT available.
• Wherever you go, ENJOY! Play a bit, sit still, don’t sit still, climb a mountain, don’t climb a mountain…who cares…just breathe.
• Be ON VACATION.  There’s a reason it’s not called a WORKATION!
• Return recharged, reinvigorated and ready to be “more than just your work.”

Remember what we already know: at the end of our time here on earth, not one of us will be wishing we had worked more and played less. Go on vacation and be on vacation. I promise you, your work will be there when you get back.

Till next time,

Karen

5 Tips for Building a High-Performing Team

Building and leading effective teams is a key leadership competency. But how do you create that special magic that results in not just an effective team but a high-performing team?  Consider these 5 tips as your magic wand…

1. Establish a clear purpose and specific goals. By definition, a team is a group of individuals with a common purpose.  That purpose and the milestones to achieve that purpose need to be clearly communicated and understood by every individual on the team.  For high-performing teams, it’s not just understanding the destination, but also – as team members – being able to help define the means to get there.  This ability to co-create results gives them a deeper commitment to the team purpose and improves performance.
2. Identify and include individuals with complementary skills.  These skills go beyond just the technical and functional skills required to achieve the purpose. Also consider decision making skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and other “soft skills” that are necessary to succeed. Be sure that each individual – and the rest of the team – understands how their role aligns with the team purpose, and how their expertise contributes to team success.
3. Value diversity. Someone once said, “We only have harmony when we sing different notes.”  Include people on your team who are different than you and who represent different personality types.   Diverse teams perform better.  They perform better because they bring multiple perspectives, experiences and approaches to the table, which results in increased innovation, better problem solving and overall improved results.
4. Create a sense of mutual accountability. Be sure everyone clearly understands expectations. Challenge your team to set higher performance goals and establish an environment where they hold themselves – and each other – accountable for results.  Include regular progress reports, open sharing of mistakes made and lessons learned, and team discussions on moving through roadblocks.
5. Encourage open communication and constructive feedback. Perhaps the most important tip in creating a high-performing team is ongoing communication. You to the team, the team to you, the team among themselves. It is the overarching element of all these tips. Communicate the purpose and goals. Communicate to individuals and the team how they contribute. Communicate the value of diversity. Communicate expectations to create mutual accountability. Talk about things. Even the hard things.  And provide consistent and constructive feedback.

People often ask, “How do you know when you have a high-performing team?” If they have to ask…they do not.  Think of a time when you were on a high-performing team. It’s one of those things you just know. The team gels, team members have each other’s backs, the ultimate outcome(s) are for the team, not individuals. There’s fun, hard work and camaraderie. Ya just know.

Is your team a high-performing team?  If not, what’s stopping you from getting there?

Till next time,

Karen

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Valuing Diversity to Improve Team Performance

Someone once said, “If both of us think exactly alike, one of us is unnecessary.”

We all know that any given project, or product development effort, requires a variety of skills sets and experience – behold the cross functional team.  But beyond that, our inclination is to put people together who have similar personalities; who seem to “click.”  We think that their natural alignment will provide harmony and accelerate productivity.  But harmony doesn’t always guarantee the best results. In fact, recent studies have shown that teams made up of diverse personalities are more innovative, better at solving complex problems, and are higher performing overall.

Diverse teams perform better because they bring multiple perspectives, experiences and approaches to the table.  These varying approaches and thought processes create a dynamic that is better equipped to deal with complex problems and challenges. Additionally, diverse personality traits within a team offset one another and build on each other for synergy and innovation.  A diverse team is much less likely to fall into “groupthink” which can actually impede performance.

Every team goes through a four-stage development process – forming, storming, norming and performing (Bruce W. Tuckman).  As part of the forming process, leaders should become aware of their own work and communication style, and strive to identify and understand the styles of those on the team. Create some discussion around individual work style preferences, communication styles and perceptions of the team goal.  Communicate the value that each style can bring to the achievement of that goal. Set up standards that provide for clear communication and sensitivity to the different styles.  Establish a process for dealing with conflict.

Learn from those whose style is different from yours. They can teach you to improve in your weak areas, and you can coach them to improve their skills in areas where you’re strong.   As the team continues to move through the development stages, continue to recognize and value their diversity.

Let them know, loud and clear, that ALL of them are necessary.

Until next time,

Karen