Recently, due to a Blackberry glitch, my contacts in my Outlook database started to duplicate….then the duplicates duplicated.  Of course, my handheld device shut down and had to be replaced.  In the course of repairing the damage, I had to manually go through and delete all the duplications.  A daunting and very annoying task!

As I got into a rhythm, however, I realized how much I was enjoying seeing all those names of people with whom I have had a relationship over the years.  Each entry brought back memories of intimacies shared, problems solved, relationships built and nurtured.  I found myself reminiscing about experiences long forgotten.  And, of course, I found myself reaching out and re-acquainting with people whom I had lost track of.

Occurring at year’s end, my technological snafu became a gift.  I end 2011 with the recognition of being connected to wonderful people, having contributed to others’ lives in meaningful ways, and having a support system of caring and interesting friends and relatives.

Wishing you a loving, peaceful and purposeful 2012

For many years I have been enchanted by the reactions my clients have when receiving employee survey or 360 Degree Leadership Survey or Interview results. And what really impresses me is that, once aware of the small things they do that make a big difference in terms of how they are perceived and how those perceptions affect business results, they take a very mature, focused and intense approach to fixing what does not work and building on what does.

Almost every feedback discussion focuses on that catch-all phrase: communication style. This is such an unexplored and undefined area that it is no wonder that executives and leaders are often blindsided when they learn how they are misunderstood, how much time is wasted in chatter, confusion and complaints. Once they pay attention to the impact of how and what they say, and then become as strategic in communicating to staff and colleagues as they are to customers, amazing things happen. Formally frustrated, resistant or confused folks are engaged, aligned and ready to perform. It all starts with understanding your most important audience: your people.

The best way to begin is for you to get some critical information that underlies the feedback you have received. You can use the data or themes of your recent evaluations as a basis for one-on-one conversations as follows:

1. Schedule individual meetings in a neutral and private place.
2. Clarify that the purpose of the meeting is for you to better understand more specifically what is going well and what can improve based on the feedback you have received.
3. Make sure the individual with whom you are meeting understands that this meeting is intended to benefit the whole organization and you are speaking with a number of people.
4. Ask open ended questions, focusing on “what” and “how” rather than “why” and “who”.
5. Relax and listen. If you disagree, stay open and focused on what you are being told…even if it makes you uncomfortable or defensive. Paraphrase and confirm and expand what you hear…seek to understand not argue.
6. Ask for examples to clarify broad generalizations. “Tell me more” can expand the conversation.
7. Express your appreciation and indicate that there will be follow up.
8. Then, create and execute an action plan. Verify it with those with whom you meet to make sure you are on track and enlist their support.
9. Plan to follow up at three month intervals to assure continued attention to the plan and to enlist additional information that will enhance your progress and instill trust in your attention to development.

“Every strike out brings me closer to the next home run”
–Babe Ruth

Whether you are employed, in transition or a free agent, you are at bat every minute of every day. Security is a fantasy in this marketplace. Your last home run is only a resume statistic in each new inning. Past achievement is insufficient to ensure future success.

Many very successful professionals, executives and entrepreneurs are stuck in the belief that if they only found the right position, they would be home free. There is freedom in realizing that it is no longer about finding the “right career”, the stable employer or the annuity client.

What we are seeing now is that occupational stability is being replaced by continuous churn. This shift demands an expanded workplace attitude: adaptability to replace constancy, commitment to a field of endeavor not a single employer, continuous and sincere relationship building beyond episodic “networking”, and an ability to bounce back and redirect your energies in the face of derailment or change. The word I have heard to encapsulate this new work mind set is GRIT.

In his wonderful book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes that while luck (access, generation, circumstances and even the month you were born) clearly influence success, a key component to achieving professional prominence is effort. He has figured out that star achievers like Bill Gates and The Beatles have put in at least 10,000 hours of effort, practice and resiliency before hitting the charts.

Discouraged? If you really care about what you want to do, the desire overrides the despair. At that point, you have no choice but to go to bat again….because you anticipate that potential home run coming!

Hurricane Irene has been like a personality style test:

• Some avoided thinking about it
• Some prepared and organized way in advance
• Some evacuated; some stayed put
• Some worried themselves into paralysis
• Some reached out to others offering a place to sleep, volunteering in shelters, checking on neighbors
• Some led solutions
• Some dug into work
• Some left the office early
• Some watched the news constantly
• Some wrote on Face Book
• Some planned a “hurrica-tion”

Consider the saying: “ how you do one thing is how you do everything.”

What can you learn from your reaction? Faced with something totally beyond your control, how do you respond? Is your personal style and your professional style the same? Do certain circumstances put you at your best? At your worse? Were you a leader or a follower?

In Sunday’s “Corner Office” article in the NY Times,, Andy Lansing, president and chief executive of Levy Restaurants defines a leader as the person you would go to when all hell breaks loose. He also looks for a quality he calls “nice” in hiring and evaluating his organization. In an era when it is all about results, innovation and productivity, we can often look to how influential we can be not just day to day, but when leaders are really needed to marshal optimism, collective action and civility.

So, taking these insights back to your workplace, what can you surmise  from what you saw and did over the weekend?

Today in my email box I received three small thank you notes from clients, and two from professional colleagues.

It made my day!

Got me thinking as well: How rare and the gracious a written “thank you” has become today.

When you take a few minutes to write your appreciation for a meeting, a meal, a piece of advice, or a favor you are increasing your endorphins and those of the recipient. And, you probably encourage more help, caring and attention in the future. A thank you note really does not take much time but it does require attention and discipline to execute. The more specific you can be about what was appreciated, the more effective your communication becomes.

Our hectic days can become overpowered by annoyances, little jabs to our sense of wellbeing, rushing, pressures and uncivil interactions.

What do you focus on?

If you look for opportunities to show gratitude, you will increase your perception of generosity, caring and friendship.

During a typical busy day, do you note others’ kindness?

Start a “showing appreciation” project. You may be surprised at how it makes your day!

At a recent professional organization meeting, members told stories about the most creative and meaningful way another member had supported them. I was struck by one story that illustrates how a very simple gesture can make all the difference.

The member cited a dinner party a consultant had organized at her home when she learned her client was in career transition. She invited people who could give advice, provide ideas, and brainstorm about companies that could be interested in her background. The recipient of this wonderful gift left that party feeling hope and inspiration that carried her through a tough search and eventual resolution. She will never forget the caring and support she received. Of course the by product for the consultant was increased client loyalty as well as the satisfaction that she had truly helped a business friend significantly.

Such a simple act. Nothing substitutes for personal contact!

Now magazine and product marketers are capitalizing on in person social networking. A recent article in the New York Times talks about events that are sponsored by Kiwi and Redbook magazines to nurture both readers and advertisers. These at-home parties for young mothers and “girls only” during which they sample products and receive coupons.

Reminds me of the Welcome Wagon, Avon Representative and Tupperware parties in the 1970’s! They were fun and very profitable for the host. But more than that, great friendships, cooperative babysitting arrangements, idea swapping and much needed loving support emerged from the get togethers.

Neuropsychologists tell us that the most significant factor in wellbeing is not achievement, but social support systems.

Have a party!

Many mid-career and advanced career executives and professionals are realizing that jobs as we have known them are changing, disappearing, evolving. We are in a period of career transition, even for those who are employed in the traditional sense.

What does this mean for you?

You no longer can count on succession planning, career ladders, employee benefits and advancement policies to move you along in your career. And, whether you are thinking about it now, or will in the future, “ work alternatives” will expand beyond getting, keeping or excelling in a job.
Waiting for job creation numbers to improve may not be an adequate work generation practice. Rather, many are looking for ways to continue working outside of the traditional employment model of seeking and filing positions. What we know is that there often is need even when a job does not exist on the organizational chart or on a job board.

Project work, free lancing and consulting will become increasingly attractive to employers and workers alike. The costs of adding head count have already inhibited hiring.

So, for you readers who are considering going out on their own, here are some tips to guide your thinking:

• What is your Purpose—what do you do, what value do you bring, what benefits to you offer?
• What is your Pleasure—how do you spend your time away from work? What activities do you wish you had more time for? Do you have an avocation that could convert to a product or service?
• What is your Process—for bringing your services, talent, products to your clients and customers?
• Who are your Prospects—who needs and will pay for what you are offering?
• How do you set your Priorities—how do you spend your time every day so that you can move your business along?
• What is your strategy to Pursue business—how will you go to market?
• And finally, Persistence is key to launching, managing, maintaining and growing You, Inc?

Remember, your current work position can also be a platform for designing and preparing for what’s next!

Staying “employable” goes beyond making sure you are secure in job!

Spring is the time for planting seeds.

In career management, this sowing is often the metaphor for networking.  Many networking efforts fail to bear fruit despite assiduous research, contact development and many, many cups of coffee.

As with gardening, creating and sustaining a flourishing contact base that you can nurture and that nurtures you, takes planning, thought and integrity.There are four approaches that are often mixed.  To assure that your efforts bear fruit, your intentions and requests need clarity and purpose.

Information gathering and sharing—where you are truly getting input and feedback on your career ideas, finding out who is doing interesting things, building relationships built on common interests, offering help to others and making connections. When asking for information, make sure you are specific and well prepared.  Information gathering cannot be a subterfuge for hoping you contact will hire you.

Reality Testing/Marketing plan—where you have a clear sense of the kinds of functions/industries/geographies you want to pursue and you are confirming and adding to this initiative with specific information about organizations and situations of interest.  Your intention here is to expand your self-marketing plan,get input on your resume or LinkedIn profile, better understand points of entry, gain knowledge and perspective that will inform your campaign for a new position or role.

Opportunistic Introductions– where you meet with people who are either in a position to hire or can lead you to those who can. You are meeting regardless of whether there is a currently available “job” to apply for.  The purpose of the meeting is to introduce yourself in the event that something comes up, or refresh a contact’s knowledge of your talents and goals since your last discussion.  It is also a good follow up to the previous two categories. Use this technique to expand with “now that you know what I can do and what I am looking for, I’d appreciate your directing me to others who might think of others I can introduce myself to”.  Often that request does not even have to be made as the conversation leads naturally to an introduction or idea.

Opportunity Creation (accessing the hidden job market)– Beware of the Bait and Switch mentality in which you say you want to gather information or get advice but really hope that the contact has a job for you.  If you really are sourcing for a position, then prepare for a “sales” meeting in which you have a really good sense (gathered from the research above) that your background, interests and skills dovetail with the potential employer’s immediate, current and future needs.

A model for making  a compelling pitch is to articulate your experience related to the 4M’s:

Marketing: how can you increase sales, edge out the competition, expand visibility and customers for the product or service?

Management: how can you increase productivity, stem waste, lead others to gain results?

Money: how can you make it or save it?

Manpower: how can you attract, develop, lead, collaborate with or improve people resources?

The Fertile Try/Buy:  The closer your pitch is to the employer’s burning platform, the more likely a fit will be uncovered.  Sometimes these conversations spark either a creation of a position or a re-organization based on know needs or problems that have festered.  Be open to exploring project work if your digging reveals an unmet set of needs but no immediate plan to fill a position.  Increasingly, projects delivered by non-employees in response to pent up demands that are going un-addressed, is the shoe in to a new job.

Happy Planting!

Well, you have done it: landed that terrific new position. And here is where the work begins!

A wonderful career writer, Tom Jackson, said: “ A job is something you do, not something you get.” Your job search may be over, and your on-boarding is just beginning.

And, with it, all of your self-management, relationship nurturing, thoughtful messaging and marketing skills that you honed during the interview process will be called upon even more. Just as you mapped out a search campaign, prepared for interviews, followed up, did your research, and conducted thorough due diligence while pursuing your new position, you will need to position yourself to be effective with your new boss, colleagues and reports from the very first day.
Some things to consider:

• Contract with Your Boss: Set priorities based on how s/he defines success. If you don’t know clearly what they are, ask.
• Absorb Before Acting: Understand the culture, the chain of command (formal and informal), the potential and the resistances before taking action….especially if you were brought in to be a change agent.
• Align Yourself Cautiously: Find out who the influencers, informers, historians, insiders and outsiders are before forging allies or defining adversaries.
• Ask Many, Many Questions: Learn how decisions really get made and by whom, find out whose success depends on you, discern the most immediate concerns, and whether the culture and stakeholders will support your vision/mission.
• Perform a Staff SWOT: Interview and assess key players and all of your staff members individually to better understand their expectations, needs, issues, conflicts, goals, frustrations, dreams.
• Plan a Few Early Wins: Engage in information gathering, feedback, float pilots and small projects to measure the reaction to small, incremental changes. Build on achievement and successes and acknowledge generously. Recognize and shape desired behaviors, business initiatives, and ideas.
• Attend to Style: Focus on feedback and self-awareness…adapt style to context. Balance drive with an empathy for the challenges change and transition create. Be accessible, steady and inspirational.
• Think, Plan and Act Forward: Avoid the tendency to compare your new home to the one you just left.

Magic Seven

Once it was the elevator speech.  Now it is the tweet!  Malcolm Gladwell in Blink talks about “thin slicing” and priming.  We make an impression instantaneously.

Of course, there are ways to consciously guide this impression.  What do you present to others?  Are you aware of the conclusions others draw?

Frequently, I have suggested to my clients who want to manage their image, impact and impression that they pick seven adjectives that describe how they want to be known and remembered.  We use those words to frame developmental opportunities, communication and behavioral goals and leadership and career initiatives. The “magic seven” is written down and referred to regularly to remind and review words, behaviors and attitudes.

Recently, one of my LinkedIn groups, Peter F. Drucker Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship asked members to describe what they do in exactly 7 words (pronouns and names of organizations can be excluded).  The responses were striking.  I even tried it myself.

I came up with:

“Advance executive career satisfaction, effectiveness and success.”

When you consider that you have just a brief moment of someone’s attention in a relevant and memorable way, a select seven points (the same number as a phone number) is an efficient guideline.

You are invited to comment on this blog with your “magic seven”.