Joel Garfinkle's Blog, page 19

“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don...

“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”

~Daniel Goleman ~

Henry is in high level management of a dominant retail company.  Because it spreads nationally with global products, Henry deals with leaders on all levels.

“We’ve learned that intelligence, determination, and vision alone, will not guarantee a successful leader,” Henry says. “When we can accelerate cognitive development, we have a better chance at creating successful managers and executives.”

Henry explains that they like promoting from within. The more they can understand and accelerate the abilities of their team to grow these leadership skills, the more successful their leaders become.

“Cognitive development is a way of thinking differently,” Henry says. “How do they interact, motivate, and regulate themselves?  How do they think about themselves and to what degree are they concerned about others?”

Henry feels these five specific skills give them a higher probability of becoming successful leaders.

1. Realistic Self-Confidence.  Good leaders understand who they are.  They recognize their moods, emotions, and what drives them.   They know that their moods affect those around them.  Their excitement is contagious.  Their displeasure can be motivating or discouraging depending on how they use it.

People with cognitive awareness of their strengths and weaknesses tend to not take themselves too seriously.  They can laugh at themselves as they build up others.

2. Self Control.  Powerful leaders learn not to react immediately to problems or situations.  They have the ability to suspend judgment and to think before acting.  This gives them time to consider alternatives and options, to step back and evaluate more thoroughly.  They can be open to change.

Self control also helps leaders avoid leading with negative emotions.  When they master themselves, it’s easier to act with integrity and to be trustworthy.

3. Motivation.  Every leader must be a self-starter.  Sometimes it seems leadership is swimming upstream.  It takes that inner motivation to move forward and influence your organization to produce.

Leaders need a passion beyond money to motivate them to want to work.  Even beyond status.  “This is one of the traits we discover,” Henry says. “If the leader we are grooming doesn’t have this motivation, there’s not much we can do.”

You’ll see evidence of a manager’s motivation through his team’s commitment to succeed and his or her strong desire to achieve. 

4. Understanding People.  Leaders need to know what makes people tick.  What emotions cause them to work hard?  What concerns reduce efficiency?  Good leaders are adept at seeing things from someone else’s point of view. Then, the master leader uses that knowledge to help each person be their best.

Leaders develop cognitive awareness of the people around them.  This accelerates their leadership expertise as they build trust and retain talent.  They exhibit more cross-cultural sensitivity and give better service to customers and clients because they have empathy.

5. Relationship Management. “We find our successful leaders understand how to build networks,” Henry said.  “They listen.  They respond.  And the employees respond to them. It can’t be a manipulative kind of thing. It has to be genuine.”

Leaders use social skills to find common ground, build rapport, and persuade. This is essential in team building.  The majority of our communications are non-verbal. A raised eye-brow. A nod. A pat on the back.  Leaders with great social skills connect with their organization.

As Henry works with his succession plan, he tries to develop these cognitive leadership traits and increase their strength in each prospective leader. “When we do this, we find it accelerates or amplifies all their other virtues of intelligence, skill sets, and experience,” Henry says. “We are pleased with our results.”

Are you looking for a way to ramp up the effective cognitive development of your leadership? Contact Joel to help you expand on these traits.

Talkback:  In your experience, how essential are these cognitive traits for successful leadership?

Image courtesy of kbuntu / Fotolia.com

The post appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once m...

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

~Peter F. Drucker~

Being a business leader in today’s climate means more than managing the day to day operations of your unit or enterprise, it means understanding how to get the most out your human capital while acknowledging your limited resources. This means taking on the responsibility of looking out for your team and owning up to them when you need their help. Doing this is harder than it may seem, as people do not automatically trust and respect their leaders, but instead need to build a trust and rapport that allows them to understand why you may be turning to them on an issue. The more you do it, though, the better the results.

Many managers (but few leaders) believe that making quick binding decisions is the essence of being a successful leader. This is of course not true. It is imperative for the leader to be able to assess situations quickly, know whether they have adequate information, and make a decision. The key of course in that statement is knowing whether they have enough information.

Team Decision Making

The key considerations in decision making are assessing the time available to make the decision, reviewing the information that has been provided and determining if you are the best person to make a decision. In considering the last point many managers want to push the decision up to their executive team but few consider looking back to the expertise of their own staff.

There are many benefits to taking decisions back to your team. Some of the key benefits include increased engagement of staff, consensus decisions that when implemented already have buy-in from the staff that do the work, and finally and most importantly: better decisions.

If your work unit has been tasked with developing a new marketing strategy, you can ask staff to provide you with all the reports and data and you can make a decision about what you think is the best way to market the business or product. On the other hand you can gather everyone together that provided the information and make a decision together. Often leaders find that while a data set may show information that would lead you to make one decision, a conversation among staff about the decision may provide new insight that will move you in a different direction.

Using the marketing strategy for a product as an example, sales data may show that there is increasing demand for the type of product you are selling. However, you may have a separate staff person that has looked at demographics and they may show positive growth in the age range of the target market but notice that the geographic target of the marketing campaign may be directed at an area that does not match the demographics.

This is not a universal solution for all decisions and a good leader can assess which decisions can be done by consensus, which require a group discussion with the leader making the final decision, and which must be made by the leader alone. A further thought on this is that as stated the leader must take the timelines of a decision into consideration. Consensus decision-making may make better decisions some of the time but they take longer as people must be informed on the issue and then come together to discuss it.

Team Dynamics and Engagement

A leader that is new to a work unit or team cannot start making consensus decisions immediately. The cement that lets it work is trust. The leader has to trust that their team is capable of working together to create a better decision than the leader would have on their own. Conversely the team needs to trust the leader and their workmates enough that they feel that they can express their opinion without retribution or condescension.

The situation that this presents is a little bit like the chicken and the egg but the new leader can foster the environment and inform themselves of issues as they begin to work in this way. Start out with easy decisions that have smaller impact and move up from there. Reward people that speak their mind (so long as they have evidence to back it up) and discourage those that try and close down a conversation if they disagree. A good tactic here is when someone disagrees, ask them to lay out their key concerns and tell why they are relevant to the discussions. This brings them into the discussion and makes those that want to express themselves feel supported by the leader.

Generally, the end result of continuous use of this form of decision making is increased engagement in work and increased trust both within the unit and more importantly between staff and the leader. As most leaders know, with an engaged workforce that trusts their leadership, productivity will increase and staff turnover will decrease. Not bad outcomes for just making room for a little conversation. 

Author: Georgina Stamp works in the interim management industry for Marble Hill Partners. Georgina understands that business leaders have important decisions to make and harnessing the knowledge of your team is part of the role.

Image courtesy of Monkey Business / Fotolia.com

The post appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

Team Decision Making: Tips for Better Career Decisions

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

~Peter F. Drucker~

Being a business leader in today’s climate means more than managing the day to day operations of your unit or enterprise, it means understanding how to get the most out your human capital while acknowledging your limited resources. This means taking on the responsibility of looking out for your team and owning up to them when you need their help. Doing this is harder than it may seem, as people do not automatically trust and respect their leaders, but instead need to build a trust and rapport that allows them to understand why you may be turning to them on an issue. The more you do it, though, the better the results.

Many managers (but few leaders) believe that making quick binding decisions is the essence of being a successful leader. This is of course not true. It is imperative for the leader to be able to assess situations quickly, know whether they have adequate information, and make a decision. The key of course in that statement is knowing whether they have enough information.

Team Decision Making

The key considerations in decision making are assessing the time available to make the decision, reviewing the information that has been provided and determining if you are the best person to make a decision. In considering the last point many managers want to push the decision up to their executive team but few consider looking back to the expertise of their own staff.

There are many benefits to taking decisions back to your team. Some of the key benefits include increased engagement of staff, consensus decisions that when implemented already have buy-in from the staff that do the work, and finally and most importantly: better decisions.

If your work unit has been tasked with developing a new marketing strategy, you can ask staff to provide you with all the reports and data and you can make a decision about what you think is the best way to market the business or product. On the other hand you can gather everyone together that provided the information and make a decision together. Often leaders find that while a data set may show information that would lead you to make one decision, a conversation among staff about the decision may provide new insight that will move you in a different direction.

Using the marketing strategy for a product as an example, sales data may show that there is increasing demand for the type of product you are selling. However, you may have a separate staff person that has looked at demographics and they may show positive growth in the age range of the target market but notice that the geographic target of the marketing campaign may be directed at an area that does not match the demographics.

This is not a universal solution for all decisions and a good leader can assess which decisions can be done by consensus, which require a group discussion with the leader making the final decision, and which must be made by the leader alone. A further thought on this is that as stated the leader must take the timelines of a decision into consideration. Consensus decision-making may make better decisions some of the time but they take longer as people must be informed on the issue and then come together to discuss it.

Team Dynamics and Engagement

A leader that is new to a work unit or team cannot start making consensus decisions immediately. The cement that lets it work is trust. The leader has to trust that their team is capable of working together to create a better decision than the leader would have on their own. Conversely the team needs to trust the leader and their workmates enough that they feel that they can express their opinion without retribution or condescension.

The situation that this presents is a little bit like the chicken and the egg but the new leader can foster the environment and inform themselves of issues as they begin to work in this way. Start out with easy decisions that have smaller impact and move up from there. Reward people that speak their mind (so long as they have evidence to back it up) and discourage those that try and close down a conversation if they disagree. A good tactic here is when someone disagrees, ask them to lay out their key concerns and tell why they are relevant to the discussions. This brings them into the discussion and makes those that want to express themselves feel supported by the leader.

Generally, the end result of continuous use of this form of decision making is increased engagement in work and increased trust both within the unit and more importantly between staff and the leader. As most leaders know, with an engaged workforce that trusts their leadership, productivity will increase and staff turnover will decrease. Not bad outcomes for just making room for a little conversation. 

Author: Georgina Stamp works in the interim management industry for Marble Hill Partners . Georgina understands that business leaders have important decisions to make and harnessing the knowledge of your team is part of the role.

Image courtesy of Monkey Business / Fotolia.com

Tips for Better Career Decisions appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

“If you pick the right people and give them the opportu...

“If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don’t have to manage them.”

~Jack Welch~

Client Mindy Asks: Our tech company is growing and expanding.  We’ve hired some managers in the past, and it hasn’t worked out the way we expected it to.  How can we recruit and retain the kind of managerial talent that stays with us and produces the results we’re looking for?

Coach Joel Answers: Mindy, you’ve hit on two key points.  When you recruit well, the second one—retention—becomes much easier. So let’s focus first on effective recruitment.

1. Determine your needs.  First, it’s absolutely critical you have a thorough understanding of what you expect from your manager.  You need to know not only the duties he or she will perform, but the intangibles—emotional intelligence.  Even if your new hire comes with great technical skills, if they don’t have people skills, vision, and motivation, it will be difficult for them to manage.

So look at your corporate climate.  What social, communication, and team building skills do they need as well? Enthusiasm and motivation can go a long way to ensure the success of the new manager.

2. Advertise broadly.  Your ideal manager may be working within your company.  Or they may be working for your competitor.  Make sure your open position is made known to a wide range of prospects.  Can it be filled by someone just out of college?  Is the market so tight you need to look to pull someone out of retirement?  Don’t lose your best talent by limiting your scope.

3. Sell yourself.  What does your company offer to attract the kind of managers you want to hire?  In order for this new hire to work out, you need to be transparent in the kind of company you are.  A mismatch results in your managers not hanging around long.

What is there in your brand that will resonate with the recruit? Are you eco-friendly? Consensus building?  Highlight your cross training or the value your company places on its employees.

4. Show them it’s true.  What is there in your recruitment process that illustrates the strengths of the company you’re selling to your new hires?  If you tell them your company values employees, will your prospects find a helpful HR office?  Will they find your online presence reflects your promises to them?  Is the application process easy and straightforward, or convoluted and full of hoops to jump through?

5. Offer sufficient training.  Once you have your new managers in place you want to keep them.  Keep them happy.  Keep them fulfilled.  Keep them engaged in and with your company.

One way to ensure you retain your managers is by ensuring they have a full range of training to orient them properly. Have a mentor to help them understand the company culture.  Offer frequent feedback where your manager can feel confident he or she is on the right track and he or she feels free to ask questions. Work together to create realistic milestones for integration and achievement.

Recruiting and maintaining managerial talent are closely linked together.  When you know how to attract your ideal hire, you increase the probability you will keep your manager for a long time.  However it’s important to continue training, support, and open communication on an ongoing basis.

Are you looking for ways your company can recruit and keep excellent managers? Contact Joel for insights you might be missing.

Talkback:  What has been one of the most important factors you’ve seen as you recruit and retain your top talent?

Image courtesy of singkham / Fotolia.com

The post appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

5 Tips on Recruiting & Retaining Managerial Talent

“If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings—and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don’t have to manage them.”

~Jack Welch~

Client Mindy Asks: Our tech company is growing and expanding.  We’ve hired some managers in the past, and it hasn’t worked out the way we expected it to.  How can we recruit and retain the kind of managerial talent that stays with us and produces the results we’re looking for?

Coach Joel Answers: Mindy, you’ve hit on two key points.  When you recruit well, the second one—retention—becomes much easier. So let’s focus first on effective recruitment.

1. Determine your needs.  First, it’s absolutely critical you have a thorough understanding of what you expect from your manager.  You need to know not only the duties he or she will perform, but the intangibles—emotional intelligence.  Even if your new hire comes with great technical skills, if they don’t have people skills, vision, and motivation, it will be difficult for them to manage.

So look at your corporate climate.  What social, communication, and team building skills do they need as well? Enthusiasm and motivation can go a long way to ensure the success of the new manager.

2. Advertise broadly.  Your ideal manager may be working within your company.  Or they may be working for your competitor.  Make sure your open position is made known to a wide range of prospects.  Can it be filled by someone just out of college?  Is the market so tight you need to look to pull someone out of retirement?  Don’t lose your best talent by limiting your scope.

3. Sell yourself.  What does your company offer to attract the kind of managers you want to hire?  In order for this new hire to work out, you need to be transparent in the kind of company you are.  A mismatch results in your managers not hanging around long.

What is there in your brand that will resonate with the recruit? Are you eco-friendly? Consensus building?  Highlight your cross training or the value your company places on its employees.

4. Show them it’s true.  What is there in your recruitment process that illustrates the strengths of the company you’re selling to your new hires?  If you tell them your company values employees, will your prospects find a helpful HR office?  Will they find your online presence reflects your promises to them?  Is the application process easy and straightforward, or convoluted and full of hoops to jump through?

5. Offer sufficient training.  Once you have your new managers in place you want to keep them.  Keep them happy.  Keep them fulfilled.  Keep them engaged in and with your company.

One way to ensure you retain your managers is by ensuring they have a full range of training to orient them properly. Have a mentor to help them understand the company culture.  Offer frequent feedback where your manager can feel confident he or she is on the right track and he or she feels free to ask questions. Work together to create realistic milestones for integration and achievement.

Recruiting and maintaining managerial talent are closely linked together.  When you know how to attract your ideal hire, you increase the probability you will keep your manager for a long time.  However it’s important to continue training, support, and open communication on an ongoing basis.

Are you looking for ways your company can recruit and keep excellent managers? Contact Joel for insights you might be missing.

Talkback:  What has been one of the most important factors you’ve seen as you recruit and retain your top talent?

Image courtesy of singkham / Fotolia.com

The post 5 Tips on Recruiting & Retaining Managerial Talent appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

“I want to look back on my career and be proud of the w...

“I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything.”

~Jon Stewart~

Client Tony Asks: In today’s environment, it seems so many careers get derailed.  Things start out promising, then bam! You’re taking a nose dive. What can I do to accelerate my career smoothly—without interruptions?

Coach Joel Answers: We live in a roller-coaster society with booms and busts. But there are ways to safeguard your career and make it much more likely you can keep it accelerating on an upward trend.

Take a look at these seven critical areas of business expertise.  As you increase your skills in these areas, you become more valuable to your employer—or any employer.

These skills can super-charge your career to ensure you give more and more value, and in turn, are appropriately compensated.

1. Become an Expert. Look at the work you currently do—or what you want to do. Find ways to become more skilled and more effective in this field. Research, implement, get mentored. Do what you need to do increase your expertise until you become the person everyone naturally turns to for answers.

2. Communicate Well. Businesses run on clear communication. Mistakes and mis-communication can sink careers. So to keep yours moving forward successfully, master good communication skills. Choose methods that work best for you—in person, email, text, reports.  Ask for responses so you can be sure your messages have gotten through as you intended.

3. Invite Feedback. You need to know the quality of your work. When you ask for feedback you can be assured you’re working to the expectations of your boss and others. When you invite frequent assessments, you can stop potential problem in the beginning.

4. Align Your Vision. Make sure you are focusing on what your boss or the company sees as most important. It’s terribly frustrating to work hard and produce excellent results—only to discover what you’re doing isn’t part of the core competencies of the company. It isn’t valued as you expected.

5. Team Work. Every job is part of a team effort to create the products of the business. Your ego needs to be neither too big nor too small to work effectively as a team member.  Support others.  Give credit. Be generous.  People enjoy being around and want to work with those who are likeable and produce results.

6. Ensure Ethics. When you compromise your integrity you run a deep risk of placing your career in recession. Choose a company that matches your ethics. Then monitor your actions to make sure they fit that standard. One of the most important reasons people give for their decision making is trust. Ensure you are trustworthy.

7. Customer Service. Even if you are not dealing with the public, you can give great customer service to those around you. Make sure you are giving good value for what you are earning. Think of the management and your peers as your customers and serve them appropriately.

Stephen R. Covey says leadership is not a position, it’s an action.  Regardless of your position in a company, you can practice leadership skills. You can make yourself responsible, forward thinking, and you can empower others.

As you do this, you accelerate your career—without any interruption or slow-down—and you reach the goals that define your success.

If your career is not on the upward path you’d envisioned for yourself, contact Joel for the strategy and skills necessary to accomplish your dreams.

Talkback:  What steps have you taken to move your career off a plateau? Is there a particular trait or event that boosted your career?

Image courtesy of style-photography.de / Fotolia.com

The post appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

Accelerate Your Career Without Interrupting – Seven Career Skills

“I want to look back on my career and be proud of the work, and be proud that I tried everything.”

~Jon Stewart~

Client Tony Asks: In today’s environment, it seems so many careers get derailed.  Things start out promising, then bam! You’re taking a nose dive. What can I do to accelerate my career smoothly—without interruptions?

Coach Joel Answers: We live in a roller-coaster society with booms and busts. But there are ways to safeguard your career and make it much more likely you can keep it accelerating on an upward trend.

Take a look at these seven critical areas of business expertise.  As you increase your skills in these areas, you become more valuable to your employer—or any employer.

These skills can super-charge your career to ensure you give more and more value, and in turn, are appropriately compensated.

1. Become an Expert. Look at the work you currently do—or what you want to do. Find ways to become more skilled and more effective in this field. Research, implement, get mentored. Do what you need to do increase your expertise until you become the person everyone naturally turns to for answers.

2. Communicate Well. Businesses run on clear communication. Mistakes and mis-communication can sink careers. So to keep yours moving forward successfully, master good communication skills. Choose methods that work best for you—in person, email, text, reports.  Ask for responses so you can be sure your messages have gotten through as you intended.

3. Invite Feedback. You need to know the quality of your work. When you ask for feedback you can be assured you’re working to the expectations of your boss and others. When you invite frequent assessments, you can stop potential problem in the beginning.

4. Align Your Vision. Make sure you are focusing on what your boss or the company sees as most important. It’s terribly frustrating to work hard and produce excellent results—only to discover what you’re doing isn’t part of the core competencies of the company. It isn’t valued as you expected.

5. Team Work. Every job is part of a team effort to create the products of the business. Your ego needs to be neither too big nor too small to work effectively as a team member.  Support others.  Give credit. Be generous.  People enjoy being around and want to work with those who are likeable and produce results.

6. Ensure Ethics. When you compromise your integrity you run a deep risk of placing your career in recession. Choose a company that matches your ethics. Then monitor your actions to make sure they fit that standard. One of the most important reasons people give for their decision making is trust. Ensure you are trustworthy.

7. Customer Service. Even if you are not dealing with the public, you can give great customer service to those around you. Make sure you are giving good value for what you are earning. Think of the management and your peers as your customers and serve them appropriately.

Stephen R. Covey says leadership is not a position, it’s an action.  Regardless of your position in a company, you can practice leadership skills. You can make yourself responsible, forward thinking, and you can empower others.

As you do this, you accelerate your career—without any interruption or slow-down—and you reach the goals that define your success.

If your career is not on the upward path you’d envisioned for yourself, contact Joel for the strategy and skills necessary to accomplish your dreams.

Talkback:  What steps have you taken to move your career off a plateau? Is there a particular trait or event that boosted your career?

Image courtesy of style-photography.de / Fotolia.com

– Seven Career Skills appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

“Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the w...

 

“Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. If this requires public speaking or networking or other activities that make you uncomfortable, do them anyway. But accept that they’re difficult, get the training you need to make them easier, and reward yourself when you’re done.”

~Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking~

Kevin works as a compliance officer for an insurance company. “I have always been an introvert,” Kevin said.  “I really enjoy quiet, alone time.”

He looked for careers that would be suitable to his introverted personality. “They say that engineers, scientists, accounting are all great jobs for introverts.  But I hated math,” he said.

Sophia Dembling, author of The Introvert’s Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World says, “What careers are good for introverts?  Whatever interests them.”

Kevin realized he couldn’t be in tech fields, because they just didn’t interest him.  Rather, he chose a field he loved and then figured out how to adjust to it.

Every job has a mix of skills that require both quiet time and time with others. Introverts can adjust and balance those times.

Use Your Strengths

Introverts are good listeners.  They can be quiet and give others the opportunity to share.  They can think and ponder.

“When I talk with others on compliance issues, I find they are much more amenable to doing things the necessary way after I’ve given them a chance to talk and explain their position,” Kevin said. “Sometimes they bring up valid points.  But in any case, they feel like they’ve been heard and understood. It makes my job easier.”

Introverts can use quiet time efficiently.

“I have a program or a pattern I use that works for me,” Kevin says. “When I get to my office, and it’s quiet, I accomplish a lot.”

Structure Your Work to Suit You

There are times when things get very busy and Kevin needs to interact with people… sometimes with high emotional content.  He organizes and balances his work time to regenerate.

1. Take a Break. There may be times introverts just need to step out and take a break.  Lunch time may be taken in the car, at a quiet park or even in the library.

You may schedule breaks to take a rest from the din.  You know your capacity. You know your work location.  Find quiet spots to restore your equilibrium.

2. Turn it off.  When Kevin comes back to the office after stressful meetings, he turns off the phone.  He hangs a sign on the door that says, “Focusing. If you’re not dead or dying, please don’t disturb.”

He has trained his colleagues to respect his time for silence and thought.

“It’s not just introverts that need quiet to focus,” Kevin said.  “In our office many others have taken to scheduling blocks of time for focused work.  They tell me they are amazed at how much they accomplish.”

Kevin said he’s learned that as he understands and takes care of himself, he’s more successful. “Introverts can succeed at any job,” Kevin says. “Who’s to label these jobs introvert jobs and those extrovert jobs?  Steve Martin, the actor, is an introvert. Warren Buffet’s an introvert.  People in sales can be introverts and still be very successful.”

Kevin’s advice:  Choose the job you love and you’ll figure out how to make it work for you.

Need help figuring out how to adjust your job to your introvert tendencies?  Contact Joel for individualized assistance.

Talkback:   How have you adjusted or arranged your job to support you as an introvert?

Image courtesy of maxmitzu / Fotolia.com

The post appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

Ideal Jobs for Introverts – Careers for Introverts

 

“Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. If this requires public speaking or networking or other activities that make you uncomfortable, do them anyway. But accept that they’re difficult, get the training you need to make them easier, and reward yourself when you’re done.”

~Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking~

Kevin works as a compliance officer for an insurance company. “I have always been an introvert,” Kevin said.  “I really enjoy quiet, alone time.”

He looked for careers that would be suitable to his introverted personality. “They say that engineers, scientists, accounting are all great jobs for introverts.  But I hated math,” he said.

Sophia Dembling, author of The Introvert’s Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World says, “What careers are good for introverts?  Whatever interests them.”

Kevin realized he couldn’t be in tech fields, because they just didn’t interest him.  Rather, he chose a field he loved and then figured out how to adjust to it.

Every job has a mix of skills that require both quiet time and time with others. Introverts can adjust and balance those times.

Use Your Strengths

Introverts are good listeners.  They can be quiet and give others the opportunity to share.  They can think and ponder.

“When I talk with others on compliance issues, I find they are much more amenable to doing things the necessary way after I’ve given them a chance to talk and explain their position,” Kevin said. “Sometimes they bring up valid points.  But in any case, they feel like they’ve been heard and understood. It makes my job easier.”

Introverts can use quiet time efficiently.

“I have a program or a pattern I use that works for me,” Kevin says. “When I get to my office, and it’s quiet, I accomplish a lot.”

Structure Your Work to Suit You

There are times when things get very busy and Kevin needs to interact with people… sometimes with high emotional content.  He organizes and balances his work time to regenerate.

1. Take a Break. There may be times introverts just need to step out and take a break.  Lunch time may be taken in the car, at a quiet park or even in the library.

You may schedule breaks to take a rest from the din.  You know your capacity. You know your work location.  Find quiet spots to restore your equilibrium.

2. Turn it off.  When Kevin comes back to the office after stressful meetings, he turns off the phone.  He hangs a sign on the door that says, “Focusing. If you’re not dead or dying, please don’t disturb.”

He has trained his colleagues to respect his time for silence and thought.

“It’s not just introverts that need quiet to focus,” Kevin said.  “In our office many others have taken to scheduling blocks of time for focused work.  They tell me they are amazed at how much they accomplish.”

Kevin said he’s learned that as he understands and takes care of himself, he’s more successful. “Introverts can succeed at any job,” Kevin says. “Who’s to label these jobs introvert jobs and those extrovert jobs?  Steve Martin, the actor, is an introvert. Warren Buffet’s an introvert.  People in sales can be introverts and still be very successful.”

Kevin’s advice:  Choose the job you love and you’ll figure out how to make it work for you.

Need help figuring out how to adjust your job to your introvert tendencies?  Contact Joel for individualized assistance.

Talkback:   How have you adjusted or arranged your job to support you as an introvert?

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– Careers for Introverts appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.

Management Succession Planning with Personality Assessments

 

“In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two.”

~Lee Iacocca~

Fidel was assigned to manage the succession planning in his company. Little had been done and he needed to identify key management positions and ideal replacement personnel within the ranks.

In the past he’d seen people promoted who didn’t succeed even though they had the proper training and skill sets.  Fidel felt there was a key missing ingredient.

He turned to personality assessments. He looked at Myers-Briggs, the Color Code, Fascination, and other methods to understand the way personality influenced success.

Fidel understood that personality type was only part of the equation in management succession planning, but it was still important.  “The company needs all of the personality types to function optimally,” Fidel said. “I realized part of my job was to create an atmosphere of respect for each personality type, so they felt free to bring their strengths to the table.”

Detail oriented personalities. Some people naturally attend to the details.  They make sure the reports are done on time, they meet deadlines, and assist others at being responsible and timely.  “I looked at the jobs that required this kind of close attention to detail,” Fidel said. “Then I made sure the person we put in our succession planning program had those qualities.”


Team building personalities. “There are some people that are natural team builders,” Fidel said.  They are good at creating enthusiasm, gathering consensus, and helping the team get along.  Fidel made sure these personality types were matched with the jobs that especially needed that group leadership.  He recognized, however, that this personality type would not excel at the detailed follow-through that might be needed.


Analyzing and processing personalities. Some people naturally follow critical thinking skills.  They work well in positions that require analyzing information.  They are gifted in sorting through massive information and understanding that it means and how to use it to their advantage.


Think-outside-the box personalities. These intuitive thinkers are great for getting projects started. They are creative, inventive and vital for brainstorming.  Fidel understood they should not be placed in management succession for a position calling for analyzing and processing.  They would serve the company best in places where their creative thinking was welcomed and essential. 


The excellent personality.  Some people just want the best—for themselves and their company.  Excellent is barely good enough. They are effective at driving others to be the best.  Fidel wanted this personality for succession planning for top talent that encourages the company forward. 


Nurturing personalities.  When people know others care for them they respond better and perform better.  They can be more effective sales people.  They can see a need and fill it.  In difficult situations, the nurturing personality can keep things running smoothly.  Fidel assessed the key jobs that needed someone who could be supportive under pressure.  Then he evaluated potential successors for these attributes. 

“People looked at me a little strangely, when I first required them to take these personality assessments,” Fidel said. “I even got a little push back from HR when I incorporated personality types into the management succession planning.  But it’s worked out beautifully.”

In the three instances where Fidel’s chosen successor moved into the new job, they have performed exceptionally well.  “I feel vindicated,” Fidel said.  “It’s doing everything I hoped it would.” 

Do you have concerns about your company’s management succession planning? Contact Joel and he can help you with this and other options to insure you have key players in place when you need them.

Talkback:  How does your company work its succession planning?  What are key factors to consider?

Image courtesy of Blog.llb / Blog.llb

with Personality Assessments appeared first on Career Advancement Blog.