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Category: Coaching (page 4 of 5)

Feeling Stuck In The “Middle”? Life In Middle Management…

August 11, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Middle managers are a very interesting group for study in any organization.  From various conversations and experiences, I’ve observed multiple challenges and frustrations faced by this group.  They seem to hold a lot of power, influence and operational responsibility in the organization but there are frustrations from different directions.

Many experts in recent years have called for a radical rethink of how organizations are structured, doing away with traditional corporate hierarchies and suggest that middle management is not helping and holding organizations back.  Some have even advocated doing away with middle management.  During many reorganizations or restructuring programs in organizations, ‘delayering’ the organization is one of the top principles adopted.

There have been discussions on “Is It Time To Abolish Middle Management?”, “Are Middle Managers Becoming Obsolete?”, and “The End of Middle Managers”.  In India, there have been concerns about creation of a mid-level that don’t possess the required competencies because of lack of experience, improper skill-building and almost negligible grooming by seniors.  A 2014 report by the Australian Institute of Management indicated that middle managers are underperforming and organizations have promoted technical specialists to middle management ranks without investing sufficiently in developing the leadership and management skills.  An Accenture post earlier this year stated that If IT has displaced middle managers in the information flow, digital obliterates the hierarchy they call home.  According to them, there is a silent crisis in most organizations – too many administrators and not enough real managers.  In short, middle managers are in the limelight and their activities and value to organizations are under the microscope.

A 2010 Boston Consulting Group & World Federation of People Management Associations paper reported that middle managers are critical to improving overall employee engagement and corporate performance.  They act as a bridge between top managers and team members.  Though they see the vision at the top of the organization and the pain at the bottom, they frequently do not have the support of senior management or effective levers to do their jobs and provide assistance to their employees.

Who are middle managers?
A logical way of defining middle managers is to identify the group between senior and front-line managers in the organisational hierarchy.  Middleness can have several dimensions: middle of a command hierarchy; middle in terms of time-scale and scope of decision between strategic and routine supervision; middle in terms of organizational impact.

How could we address some of these issues, at the individual and organizational level?

At the organizational level:

The BCG/WFPM study advocated:

  •  Delayering the organization and creating larger exciting roles for middle managers, in order to remove the barriers that frustrate them and encourage initiative.
  • Empowering managers to act by giving them levers and authority to succeed, but making sure they understand what is required of them.
  • Accelerating leadership skill development.

Managing time and priorities are normally the most difficult aspects for this group.  As a result of round the clock operational and team responsibilities, they find very little time for their own development which holds valuable impact for their stakeholders.

Becoming a middle manager often involves a significant shift in mindset from personal achievement to gauging success based on the accomplishments of a team (Refer recent post on “Transitions“).  Experts have suggested that the biggest leadership training impact may come from blending experiential on-the-job learning, coaching and feedback with formal classroom training.  This group could benefit a lot from coaching and mentoring – due to the thinking space that is normally hard to come by due to constant operational pressures, multiple topics that they may feel insecure or uncertain to discuss with their leaders and high stress in juggling multiple responsibilities professionally and personally.  The need for active dialogue, support and empowerment from senior leadership is high.  Senior leaders can also help build clarity in expectations.  HR teams can also play a key role in facilitating development and communication channels.

Mastering the art and science of managing talent needs to include a combination of multiple structured learning/development modes and cycles.  One may say this is not rocket science.  I heard a rocket scientist remark recently that rocket science was easier compared to managing people.  It is extremely important to not underestimate this aspect.

At the individual level:

If you’re a middle manager, you have to take the responsibility for your own development and success.

In between all these discussions of streamlining, restructuring and even doing away with middle managers, it is quite obvious that middle managers hold the potential to add a lot of value to organizations.  Even Google found with the help of analytics that middle managers do matter.

What could be some development targets, irrespective of the organization or technical nature of one’s role?

It is advisable to start working on developing one’s own leadership skills, mindset and behaviors in the early stages, utilizing multiple avenues.  The earlier one can build self awareness and emotional intelligence capabilities, the better.  The journey to leadership maturity has to start early (Check out References- video of Dr. Dave Ulrich defining the Leadership Code).  Getting selected to a leadership position would be excellent but an unprepared and immature leader can create a lot of damage to his or her reputation, an organization, careers and lives of many capable individuals.

The BCG/WFPM paper states that middle managers must be effective communicators, implementors and trust builders.  They will focus on outcomes, not overmanaging.  Middle managers need to be able to understand the corporate vision and strategy.  They must know how to develop and motivate their staff.  Related skills that seem to stand out are communication skills, ability to build trust, credibility, empowerment, execution/implementation, high performing teams and organizations.

Lynn Isabella, an associate professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business writes that the role of translator is a new leadership paradigm for middle managers. Being a translator means being an interpreter.  A huge advantage of being a middle manager is access to those in the organizational trenches.  They need to speak the language of top management as well as that of others lower down in the company. They need to understand strategic thinking and the language of finance, accounting, marketing, operations and human resources.

Periodic conversations with individuals from various backgrounds and different stakeholders will help a lot.  How many middle managers do we normally see so busy and caught up with their work, that they have no time for any conversation outside their own delivery? Building a diverse network could also result in a healthy support group.

According to Accenture, a middle manager of the future will know how the company wins at a conceptual and customer level. Making money is one thing, knowing how and why you make money gives you the ability to make even more. There will be recognition regarding the difference between critical and commodity capabilities.

Prioritizing and right judgment/decision making become very important skills to develop.  Middle managers play an important role in developing future talent, leadership and in determining the quality of the work environment through their behaviors and practices.  How would you want to feel during most of your time awake in life – at work with your colleagues or stakeholders?

It may also be a time in the career when comfort zones may look very attractive and there is a reluctance to take on risks or different assignments.  In today’s changing world, if you are not taking on challenges of different nature and complexity levels, the risk of becoming a ‘sitting duck’ for future reorganization/restructuring efforts is high.  Worse still, would be to look back and think where or how my uneventful last ten years of life went?

The writing on the wall seems to be clear.  There will be fewer middle managers in the future and they will have more challenging requirements, competencies and responsibilities.  Some organizations may experiment successfully with none, which may depend on factors like size, scope, type of work, industry etc.

Hopefully, reading this will trigger ideas on focus areas for your development as a middle manager.

I wish you meaningful growth and success.

References:

  • The contingent role of management and leadership development for middle managers, Patrick McGurk, London School of Economics – http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/277/1/McGurk_The%20contingent%20role%20of%20.pdf
  • Is It Time To Abolish Middle Management? – http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201403/is-it-time-abolish-middle-management
  • Are Middle Managers Becoming Obsolete? – http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/09/are-middle-managers-becoming-obsolete/?__federated=1
  • The End of Middle Managers – http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2012/07/10/the-end-of-middle-managers-and-why-theyll-never-be-missed/
  • How the middle management became India Inc’s biggest headache…. – http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-04-12/news/38464091_1_ms-unnikrishnan-skill-gap-india-inc
  • Middle Managers – Evaluating Australia’s Biggest Management Resource – http://www.aim.com.au/sites/default/files/AIM_MiddleManagementSurveyReport.pdf
  • Creating A New Deal For Middle Managers – BCG/WFPMA – http://www.bcgindia.com/documents/file52425.pdf
  • Redefining middle management in a digital world – http://www.accenture.com/us-en/blogs/digital-business/archive/2014/02/11/redefining-middle-management-digital-world.aspx
  • 5 Ways To Save Your Middle Managers From Burnout – http://www.fastcompany.com/3028674/leadership-now/5-ways-to-save-your-middle-managers-from-burnout
  • The Happiness Machine – How Google Became Such A Great Place To Work – http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/01/google_people_operations_the_secrets_of_the_world_s_most_scientific_human.single.html
  • Video – Dave Ulrich – Defining the Leadership Code – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC6p9yXdOjE
  • For Middle Managers, The Power Is In Translation – http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/for-middle-managers-the-power-is-in-translation/2014/01/10/53bde1b6-610b-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html

 

Personal Resilience in Tough Times – Finding One’s Way Back

June 16, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Dedicated to my mother, Aleyamma Eapen.
I started thinking about writing on this topic as my mother passed away last week.

According to ‘Merriam-Webster’, ‘resilience‘ can be defined as the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.

Everyone inevitably goes through difficult personal scenarios at some point in life. These may include passing away of or losing dear ones, losing  jobs or security, personal relationships, illness or disease and unforeseen disappointments. They may also  result in instances where one questions and tries to find the meaning of one’s existence and life.  A whole host of issues and challenges seem to emerge in these situations. Sometimes, people around can act in ways that could be surprising, confusing and disappointing. One may encounter loneliness, lack of social support and various other social and personal challenges.

How can we build personal resilience?

Most times, we go along happily with our lives until one of these scenarios hits us badly and takes us by surprise. Even though we may not be able to prevent some things from happening, it helps to be aware and also respectful of others going through similar stages in life. A bit of empathy and support can go a long way and also helps with the recovery process for the person involved.

Every individual has her or his own way of coping with challenges, pain and finding the way back. Solutions may be unique and relevant to one’s own preferences. That said, it does help to learn and understand tried and tested methods of finding a way back to normalcy.  In tough times, it is not easy to think with a clear head.

I wanted to share few actions that I found helpful. If you have experienced some of these, please do share for the benefit of others around. There may be more people around than you think, working through life challenges.

  1. When everything around seems to whirl out of control, it helps to find one’s space of calm and peaceful reflection through prayers, meditation, breathing exercises and focus on one’s core belief systems. Having a spiritual belief system helped me find meaning and peace in difficulty. It’s still important to acknowledge that there will be an up and down process.
  2. For those going through the loss of a dear one, allowing for grieving time and finding the path towards acceptance is an important process with varying timelines. Understanding the stages of loss and grief, and allowing oneself adequate time to progress through these stages is important. Being compassionate and forgiving to oneself during the recovery process is also valuable.
  3. Focusing on the positives helps shift the mind to a healthier direction. A lot of thoughts go through one’s head during difficult times and it is easy to get stuck in a negative pool. If one can be conscious of this and find few things to be grateful and thankful for (redefine the “bad” in terms of potential “goods”), in spite of the difficulties, they help make a difference. The mindset can be important. Research from Carol Dweck of Stanford emphasizes the importance of having a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset.
  4. Having a helpful social support group, in the form of close friends, relatives, colleagues, professionals or individuals with a high emotional and spiritual quotient can make a huge difference. It helps for the closest support group to be available and present, sometimes just to be present with a listening ear or a hug (even virtually).
  5. Getting some momentum towards core areas of interest and meaningful impact is helpful.  It helps to move forward with a purpose, even in baby steps, whatever engages one’s mind with positive action. For me currently, focusing on completing this blog post, working with a friend on transitioning to a new blog page, helped to take my mind off difficult thoughts and focus on something meaningful for me.

These notes of course do not replace the need for professional support when needed and it is important to recognize when one feels the need, and act accordingly.

If we can reflect, learn and find our meaning from difficult life scenarios, we can grow stronger mentally, wiser, more compassionate towards ourselves and others in difficult environments.

Personal resilience is extremely important during difficult times.

How can you help build personal resilience and help individuals around you?

Life is precious. It helps to count our blessings and make a meaningful difference.  Wish you the best.

I also take this opportunity to thank the beautiful, generous souls near and far who have and are supporting me through difficult times. Thank you very much….

Suggested additional reading:
Life After Loss: Conquering Grief and Finding Hope by Raymond Moody and Dianne Arcangel (Book)

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. – Schindler’s List

Fundamental Question to Ask Yourself in Any Interaction

May 30, 2014 / / 0 Comments

We have all sensed, acted or reacted based on this and would think it makes sense, even if it may be unconscious during our interactions.  Most expert communicators and socially intelligent people have inherently known and used this approach.  Thanks to neuroscience research, the findings provide a solid reason to understand this.The fundamental question to ask yourself in any interaction:

AM I CREATING A “TOWARD” (APPROACH) STATE OR “AWAY” (AVOID) STATE IN MY INTERACTIONS?

This applies to any interaction in our world of work and personal relationships.

According to neuroscience studies:

  • Our brains are more tuned to picking up threats in the environment and the threat response is easily triggered.
  • It is easier to cause aggravation than it is to help other think rationally and creatively.
  • In the threat state, our brain is disengaged due to related activity and ‘noise’, resulting in reduced cognitive performance. There is also a high possibility of an “emotional hijack”. We also know that emotions are contagious and can spread.
  • The organizing, overarching principle of the brain is to minimize danger (threat state) and maximize rewards (towards state).
  • If a stimulus is associated with positive emotions, it will most likely lead to an approach response; if it is associated with negative emotions, it will lead to an avoid response.  From our experiences, we know that we naturally try to avoid uncomfortable interactions, situations or difficult people.
  • An approach response is synonymous with the idea of engagement and closely linked to positive emotions.

So next time you think about starting a conversation in person, over the phone or virtually, ask yourself: Do I want to create a “towards” (approach) state or an “away” (avoid) state? How can I create a “towards” state?

In the world around you, what percentage of “towards” state interactions vs. “away” state interactions do you notice?

Reference, Recommended Reading:
SCARF…, David Rock: http://www.your-brain-at-work.com/files/NLJ_SCARFUS.pdf

How Much of You Is Your Job Title or Position? Importance of Humility & Wisdom

May 23, 2014 / / 4 Comments

To my dear friends, colleagues and readers,

Here are some questions for you:

If you were to lose your important position, title or social status today,

  1. What would happen to you?
  2. How would you feel, behave?
  3. How would your existing relationships shift? How would they respond?

Many people in today’s world seem to lose touch with their authentic selves once they get used to the trappings of an important corporate job, title and perceived power. Humility goes down. Arrogance creeps in. Ego grows rapidly. Respect factor goes down. A feeling of invincibility kicks in.

One starts believing or over relying on one’s belief, status of positions and unconsciously start feeling that these will last forever.

Why does one need to reflect and be aware of the line between confidence and over confidence/arrogance?

Like most things in life, nothing lasts forever.  Life involves ups and downs, successes and challenges, pleasures and pains. Sometimes, unexpected shifts in one’s life can cause lots of pain, be humbling and bring one to reality that we are  all in fact mortal. They may come forth in the form of unexpected job challenges, health issues with self or loved ones, losing someone close, personal issues etc.

If most of your relationships are formed and defined around your perceived social status and not your authentic selves, it may be helpful to be prepared for surprises and pains when life starts to present difficult moments.

It is helpful to be in touch with one’s own authentic self and values.  When the rough times appear, this prepares one more to maneuver through, similar to an anchor that holds a ship stable in rough waters. In today’s socially networked world, corporate or social hierarchy does not necessarily indicate level of influence or impact. Therefore, it’s helpful to be aware of arrogant behavior and where that may or may not lead one to.

Letting go of the trappings even for a bit can be a refreshing experience and reality check for oneself and the world of relationships.

I think most of us go through similar scenarios as we progress in our careers and lives.  What is important is to build awareness, consciousness, learning and wisdom. This will help to navigate rough waters whenever they come next.

According to Professor Ursula Staudinger, a life span psychologist and professor at Columbia University, true personal wisdom involves five elements. They are self-insight; the ability to demonstrate personal growth; self-awareness in terms of your historical era and your family history; understanding that priorities and values, including your own, are not absolute; and an awareness of life’s ambiguities.

Wishing you humility, wisdom and true success in your journey.

Additional Suggested Reading: Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

A Decade of Cross Cultural Experiences in Four Fundamental Practices

February 24, 2014 / / 0 Comments

After spending over a decade of my life in Finland/Europe and the U.S., and having had the great opportunity to interact and work with talented individuals and leaders from various cultural backgrounds and journeys, I wanted to synthesize and share some of my key experiences and lessons in cross-cultural experiences.

Working and living across countries/cultures may present great opportunities and at the same time, they hold numerous challenges. The ability to work effectively with, lead and manage across cultures are competencies that are becoming very important in a world that continues to get smaller and closer, due to rapid advances in technology and social media. As glamorous as it may seem from a distance, adapting to and succeeding in a very different culture are not at all easy. Those who choose to be ignorant of this topic will lose great opportunities for personal and professional growth.

There’re numerous studies and research articles on this topic and some of my thinking has been influenced by them.

If you come to another’s turf with empathy, sensitivity and open ears – what the Zen masters call ‘beginner’s mind’ – you’re halfway home.
– Tom Peters

1. Respect
Being aware, sensitive to and noticing some of the key themes, norms and behaviors in a new environment constitute an important starting point. This can help one to understand how things work, life patterns flow and what is valued in that setting. Many of the norms would be very different from one’s own conditioning and would seem strange initially. Being respectful to individuals and cultural norms helps to adapt faster to any new environment. One would also need to be respectful of the differences and try to understand the background without being judgmental. There is a possibility of feeling disrespected or ignored, in some instances. Chances are that, not everyone in a different culture is aware of the nuances of your culture and interaction styles. Irrespective of how you feel initially, your mature approach and respectful presence can increase your acceptance, credibility and prevent you from getting stuck in a frustration zone.

2. Openness To New Experiences Without Judging
This is vital for making progress in a different cultural setting. Stephen Covey’s teaching, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” is a very useful advice to keep in mind while interacting with people from a different culture. It is useful to be aware of our own biases and that our biases and environmental conditioning may easily lead us into the questioning, judging, confusing and eventually distrusting zone.  Individuals from different backgrounds can look at the same scenario and perceive it very differently.  Categorizing something in your mind as superior or inferior, right or wrong, good or bad etc. will impact your own thinking ability and responses to situations and people.  Open communication with authenticity is fundamental to avoiding misunderstandings. During initial stages of interactions, it’s useful to explain the reason behind doing or asking for something that impacts others, and clarifying the same with others without creating a ‘threat’ state, when there are questions in your mind. This avoids confusion, especially in the initial stages of relationship building.

3. Flexibility
As mentioned earlier, I realized that my own way of seeing a topic was very different from how others from a different background related to the same topic.  Being flexible relates to building self-awareness and using that awareness effectively to understand and manage through various scenarios.  This would also mean shifting/stretching ways of thinking and adjusting/ changing one’s own approaches.  Taking the responsibility to tackle an unpleasant situation with maturity and emotional intelligence requires a lot of flexibility, to flex one’s own thinking frames. It’s very useful to have a positive ‘forgiving’ and ‘forgetful/let go’ attitude with unpleasant experiences, while being aware of one’s own learning.  Very seldom does anyone win an argument of being right or wrong.  ‘Co-regulation’ beyond ‘self-regulation’ is very helpful.  Vicious responses only result in cycles of vicious interactions and stress, which take the relationships further into the red zone.  On the other hand, not engaging in a proactive, positive conversation results in increasing distance.

4. Coping with the unknown and fear of failure
There’re a lot of unknowns in a new environment. Finding information through formal and informal channels and making personal connections are very helpful to put one at ease initially. One has to also find relevant ways to accept, understand and cope with stress related to uncertainties of the new environment. It generally will take a certain amount of time before adjusting and feeling comfortable in a different cultural environment.  Patience is fundamental to work through times of frustration, disappointment and negativity.  It may not be uncharacteristic to go through a feeling of ‘being lost’ at times.  It is really important to find one’s own support from ‘comfort zones’, secure bases and ‘connections’ in those situations.

It is helpful to be prepared for mistakes and misunderstandings along the way. Fear of failure can inhibit people from experimenting or experiencing new things, which reduce the impact of the cultural experience, knowledge and personal development. The normal tendency might be to stay within one’s own comfort zones most of the time.

According to a leading expert in this field Fons Trompenaars,

“We need a certain amount of humility and a sense of humor to discover cultures other than our own; a readiness to enter a room in the dark and stumble over unfamiliar furniture until the pain in our shins reminds us of where things are.”

Your willingness and openness to step into the new world can take you to a totally new dimension of personal growth, deep connections and confidence.  Enjoy the journey.  Best wishes…

Please share your valuable learning and experiences!

Note:  The topic of ‘culture’ can be reviewed at different levels or frames.  I’ve tried to focus on the country culture aspect here.  Some of these practices can be useful in working through other aspects, like organizational culture differences.

Few Notes of Wisdom for Reflection from ‘How Will You Measure Your Life?’ (Book by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon)

September 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

  • Solving the challenges in your life requires a deep understanding of what causes what to happen.
  • “The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  Don’t settle.  As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
  • Too many of us who start down the path of compromise will never make it back.
  • What’s most important to you in your career?
  • Problem is that what we think matters most in our jobs often doesn’t align with what will really make us happy.
  • Good intentions are not enough…spend your resources consistent with your intentions.
  • The opposite of job dissatisfaction isn’t job satisfaction, but rather an absence of job dissatisfaction.

Notes from the book ‘Life Strategies’ by Phillip McGraw

December 31, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Recently completed reading “Life Strategies” by Phillip McGraw. Sharing some of my notes.

  • Ask yourself: Do you really have a strategy in your life, or are you just reactively going from day to day, taking what comes?
  • Problems and challenges almost never resolve themselves; they don’t get better with inattention.
  • Forget about being right or winning the argument about who is right. If what you’re doing is not working, change it.
  • Sometimes, the hardest part in learning something new is unlearning the old way of doing it.
  • You are accountable for your life…If you don’t accept accountability, you will misdiagnose every problem you have…By convincing yourself that you are a victim, you are guaranteed to have no progress, no healing and no victory.
  • Bottom line: You are not a victim. You are creating the situations you are in; you are creating the emotions that flow from those situations…You must be willing to move your position, and, however difficult or unusual it may seem, embrace the fact that you own the problem.
  • It is at the very core of human nature to blame other people; it is fundamental self preservation to try to escape accountability.
  • The bad news is that the burden is on you. The good news is that the choice is yours.
  • Abstract thoughts have the power to produce tangible and dramatic physiological events…Your physiology determines your energy and action level.
  • Our most active and consistent dialogue is the conversation we have with ourselves.
    The principle of reciprocity simply says that “you get what you give.” The manner, style and level you use to engage people will determine how they respond to you.
  • Break out of your habitual doldrums. Climb out of that rut and look around…The longer you have been trapped in an irrational and painful lifestyle, the harder it is to create a new one.
  • Knowing what you need to know and knowing how to do it are two very different things.
  • If you won’t take ownership of your role in a situation-then you cannot and will not change it.
  • Denial, is what kills dreams. It kills hope.
  • You can know a hundredfold today than you knew a week ago, but if you don’t do anything about it, you aren’t any more effective than you were last week, in your unenlightened state..Life rewards action.
  • Lives move by trends and momentum…If you begin to do different things,..your actions will gain momentum.
  • Choose to give yourself the chance. It’s normal to be anxious and afraid, but you can’t be dominated by the fear.
  • Identify the filters through which you view the world. Acknowledge your history without being controlled by it..If you continue to view the world through a filter created by past events, then you are allowing your past to control and dictate both your present and your future…You are undeniably accountable for how you react to it ‘now’.
  • Get to know your limiting beliefs so well that if one begins to show even a hint of its presence, alarms will go off and you will counteract it.
  • Simply put, never in your life are you without problems and challenges.
  • Long established fact of psychological functioning is that it is not so much the particular circumstance that upsets the person involved, as it is the violation of his or her expectations.
  • You shape the behavior of those with whom you interact.
  • Don’t give in to your negative momentum. Require more of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and behaviorally.
  • You are your number one worldly resource. Manage it and manage it well.

Best wishes for a happy 2011.

Important Common Truths from ‘Life Strategies’

December 4, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I’m currently reading the book Life Strategies by Dr. Phil McGraw. Thought this would be useful food for thought:

“The ten most significant common characteristics fundamental to human functioning I have identified are:

  1. The number-one fear among all people is rejection.
  2. The number-one need among all people is acceptance.
  3. To manage people effectively, you must do it in a way that protects or enhances their self-esteem.
  4. Everybody approaches every situation with at least some concern about “What’s in it for me?”
  5. Everybody prefers to talk about things that are important to them personally.
  6. People hear and incorporate only what they understand.
  7. People like trust, and believe those who like them.
  8. People often do things for other than the apparent reasons.
  9. Even people of quality, can be, and often are, petty and small.
  10. Everybody wears a social mask. You must look beyond the mask to see the person.”

Changing Jobs?

February 21, 2010 / / 6 Comments

Almost everyone you speak with nowadays mentions some major change and related initiative happening within the industry or organisation.

Individuals are moving through different jobs with increasing frequency. The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer in the U.S. was 4.1 years in January 2008.(1)

It therefore becomes critical that an individual understands the key elements for quick and effective transition across jobs and organisations, and develops the ability to learn and unlearn in shorter cycles.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the ability to learn from experience is what differentiates successful executives from unsuccessful ones. Successful executives have strong and active learning patterns from key job assignments. They learn faster, not because they are more intelligent, but because they have more effective learning skills and strategies.(2)

Peter Drucker wrote, “Knowledge becomes obsolete incredibly fast.”

Almost all jobs have the following core learning components that are critical for effective delivery. I believe that strong awareness and mastery over these elements provide us with the agility to transition and succeed across jobs and organisations quickly.

* SUBJECT MATTER/BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
Every job involves some specific and core subject matter areas. These could most effectively be acquired and applied through a combination of on-the-job experiences and academic learnings.

* PROCESSES
Every organisation has a set of processes for most functional areas. Most of the work nowadays is defined through process flows. Building a good understanding of the organisational process flows allow us to determine what we need to do and how it impacts stakeholders.

* TOOLS/TECHNOLOGY
All organisations and jobs have specific tools and technologies that support work. Having a good understanding of how they work and are applied could substantially increase overall efficiency.

* PERSONAL NETWORKS
In my opinion, this is one of the most important elements. It includes both internal and external networks of personal relationships that allows us to function with a high degree of effectiveness. In many instances, the personal networks are critical for achieving the ‘extra mile’ of success and to managing crises. In most instances, people go beyond the specified requirements of a process if there is a strong existing relationship with the specific individual. These relationships are also critical links to tacit knowledge that’re often unavailable on formal knowledge management systems or databases. Treating people with respect and empathy normally will get you valuable help and inputs on the organisational culture, especially during the tough transition phase. It also helps us to build our network quicker.

* USING EXPERIENCE/WISDOM
This is gained through the application of knowledge in a variety of situations and learning/adjusting from successes and failures (what has worked/not worked?) over time. This is very relevant and important for managers and leaders as a lot of judgment is involved in making important decisions. Many of those decisions would not have defined or single answers.

Understanding and focusing on the core elements of work transitions have a big impact on our effectiveness.

The elements mentioned above clearly relate to the concept of ‘Learning Agility’ (Eichinger & Lombardo), measured through four key facets: (a) Mental Agility (b) People Agility (c) Change Agility and (d) Results Agility.(3)

Please share your experiences and observations. This is a very useful and relevant topic for many individuals.

References:
(1) Bureau of Labor Statistics, Friday, September 26, 2008, EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2008

(2)(3) The Korn/Ferry Insititute: Using Learning Agility to Identify High Potentials around the World by Kenneth P. De Meuse, Guangrong Dai, George S. Hallenbeck, King Yii Tang

Learnings From My Cross-Cultural Experiences

October 18, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Working and living across countries/cultures may present great opportunities but at the same time, they hold numerous challenges. Ability to manage across cultures is a competence that is becoming really important as the world gets flatter and more companies decide to go global. Adapting and succeeding in a very different culture are not easy. Some people choose to be oblivious of this topic and that impacts personal and professional growth. Though there’re numerous studies and research articles on this topic, I would like to share some of my key learnings, personal experiences and observations. This list is neither comprehensive nor listed in the order of importance.

1. Respect
Being sensitive to and noticing some of the key threads in norms and behaviors in the new environment within and outside office is an important starting point. This helps to understand how things work and what’s respected in the new setting. Many of the norms would be very different and may seem strange initially. The global professional needs to be respectful of the differences and try to understand the background with reasoning. Respecting individuals and cultural norms is a critical factor in adapting to any new culture.

Communication is key to avoiding misunderstandings. Many times during initial stages of interactions, it’s useful to explain the reason behind doing or asking for something that impacts others. This avoids confusion and helps to build trust especially in the initial stages of relationship building.

2. Flexibility/Openness
This is vital for success in a different cultural setting. There is a possibility that one may feel insulted or not respected in some instances. Chances are that everyone may not be aware of the nuances about other cultures and interaction styles. Stephen Covey’s teaching, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” is a very useful advice to keep in mind while interacting with people from a different culture. In other cases, someone may just not be respectful or culturally intelligent. This could lead to frustrations. Being flexible and open helps to build a working relationship and trust. In my opinion, the burden of responsibility falls on the global professional to tackle an unpleasant situation with emotional maturity and intelligence. It’s very useful to have a positive ‘forgiving’ and ‘forgetful’ (unpleasant events) attitude – easier said than done.

3. Coping with the unknown,fear of failure and patience
There’re a lot of unknowns in a new environment. I’m not sure if anyone is perfectly comfortable facing unknowns. Finding information through formal and informal channels is very helpful to put one at ease. One has to also find appropriate ways to cope with stress related to uncertainties and the new environment. There may be different approaches for different people. Hobbies and avenues for entertainment provide useful options. People generally do take a certain period of time to adjust and feel comfortable in a new environment.

Even if one has good competencies, there will be mistakes along the way. On the other hand, fear of failure can inhibit people from trying out or getting exposed to new things. The normal tendency may be to stay within one’s comfort zones. There will be misunderstandings. Having lots of patience to understand, learn from mistakes, adjust and work one’s way through multiple and varied scenarios is important.

One of the leading experts in this field Fons Trompenaars advises, “We need a certain amount of humility and a sense of humor to discover cultures other than our own; a readiness to enter a room in the dark and stumble over unfamiliar furniture until the pain in our shins reminds us of where things are.” Management guru Tom Peters writes, “If you come to another’s turf with empathy, sensitivity and open ears – what the Zen masters call ‘beginner’s mind’ – you’re halfway home”.

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