Got promoted? 7 Tips When Choosing a Successor

Smartly dressed young women shaking hands in a business meeting at office desk

Guest Contribution

As you get promoted, you may be asked to help to select the right person to take over when you leave.

If legacy is important to you, you’ll probably want to have time to train your successor to handle their new role just as expertly as you do now.

Here are seven ways to make the process better for everyone.

1. Make Development the Focus

All too often, leaders make the mistake of scouting out employees with the same traits and skill sets and spend less time on what potentially a successor could do. A smooth transition includes not only figuring out who can do the job as well as you but it’s also about giving them the tools they need far in advance of the time they’ll have to use them.

So, as you begin to think about finding your successor, keep in mind that their confidence and hard work aren’t enough to ready them for your role. Development training should be part of the plan, too. Many companies have made this mistake, promoting someone into a position that they certainly have earned from successes as an individual contributor or even as a manager in another team, but for which they don’t particularly have the right skill set for this next role.

So, make sure development is at the heart of your succession plan. It’s not just workplace mentoring or shadowing, although those are important methods, too. Development is all about learning leadership skills that will make the promotion into a starring role more natural. Conferences or workshops can provide training, also, and reinvigorate leaders-in-training in their current positions.

2. Choose the Right Person

The first step in the process is to find the right candidate to take over for you. You might know exactly who that person is already, and it might be someone who works closely with you or someone who is excelling in a role that’s tied closely to yours. Consider the person’s skill set and make sure they’re already knowledgeable in some of the areas you deal with on a day-to-day basis. For extra padding, you could select more than one potential successor and, through training, see who is the best fit.

3. Consider the Logistics – And Revisit Regularly

When is it a good time to start succession planning? There is not one answer here, and it is depends on how senior you are and what is talent process is. Thomas Collura, partner at Hodgson Russ, says that the biggest mistake is failure to properly plan for succession early and neglecting to revisit those plans. As the business changes, so should your plans. Be open with your successor as well so that any changes can be considered well in advance.

4. Look to the Future

You shouldn’t make your succession plan with just the present taken into consideration. Instead, it’s vital that you have a broader outlook as you sit down to determine who’s right for the role. In the short term, someone just like you could be the solution, but, in the long run, you might make a mistake. Every company’s plans and forecasts are different, but you should know the trajectory of your role before you choose the replacement person.

5. Avoid Any Bias

Whether we like it or not, there are unconscious biases that come with the hiring process. They’re deemed to be unconscious because they’re not something we do purposefully, but these tendencies can stifle workplace diversity.

Taking certain precautions can prevent yourself from falling into this trap. Some hiring managers look at resumes without considering the candidate’s names so that gender bias can’t come into play. This practice could rule out any race-related biases, too.Of course, choosing a successor might mean you’re selecting candidates you already know. In this case, practice staying open to picking a new leader who’s not exactly like you.

6. Be a Mentor

Once you’ve narrowed in on the person or people who have the potential to take over in your absence, you should provide on-the-job training as well as the leadership development mentioned above. A great way to teach someone how to do your job is to show them first-hand, and a mentoring program would allow you to do that with ease. There are more benefits to mentoring than just training a successor. It makes all employees more skilled in their roles, and it makes them feel more satisfied with the workplace because it provides them opportunities to learn and grow. So, offer the program on a broader scale, but ensure your mentees are those who you’ve earmarked as potential leaders. That way, they can learn directly from you.

7. Write It All Down

Finally, as you wind down your role and prepare to hand over the reins to your successor, do one last thing to make it all simpler — provide them with a written set of instructions. Yes, it’s old school, but it’s also extremely helpful. All of your in-person training was great, but there are always going to be critical pieces of information that are worth repeating — write those down.
Not only will this make the succession plan easier for your replacement and your company, but it will make you feel at ease about everything, too. If you’re devising the right strategy for easing the transition, you care — and you can walk away knowing that you handled it well, chose the right person and prepared them as best you could. And there’s no better feeling to have when moving forward than that.

Disclaimer: The opinion and views of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Is Being Liked an Important Element for Public Speaking?

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Women Speaking

Guest contributed by Beate Nimskly

What are the obstacles that keep you from presenting on stage or in a business meeting joyfully?

And what would change in your life if nothing could stop you from delivering your message to the crowd?

We in some way confuse the issue that the speech has nothing to do with the person itself but the way she is able to connect with the audience. Don’t wish to be liked, rather place the focus on wanting to influence so strongly that most of the public will really get what you have to gift and remember you as inspiring and energetic.

Be aware that no matter what you do some will like you and some will dislike you. People have the tendency to compare. This is especially true for women in business – women will be compared with other women and men too.

You are not comparable because you have something to deliver that no one else could. Concentrate on that. You are different than others and that is what counts.

Content is King

The content you are looking for is how your message fits into the reality of your audience. What are they able to hear? What is their problem? What do they want to change and could not until now because they had no idea, no sense that other things are possible? What are they willing to receive?

You could do a story around the topic with one of your customer who was struggling with a similar situation your audience has. Explain his difficulties, how he suffered, that he wanted to give up and then what possibilities opened up when he was willing to do something different. Make your customer the hero not yourself. Be so precise in how your customer or colleague or your friend changed and what he did exactly to overcome the complexity of the situation that there is no doubt at all that you have been the one who accompanied him – without mentioning that.

The Difference in Preparation

Who are the participants in your meeting, in your audience? Where do they come from? What background do they have? What position in business do they have? What is it your audience wants to get from you?

No matter who they are they want to be inspired. Find out which words they use so you can talk to them in their language. Prepare yourself in the way that they have the sense you speak with them on their level like a private one on one conversation.

The Difference in Questions

Know what you want them to do after they have left the meeting, the presentation or the event.

And ask them a lot of question during your speech like:

  • What are you going to do different when you are back in your office?
  • What one thing you could change back home that if you changed it, it would make your life much easier?
  • When you leave this event, what question would you like to ask me that you could write on a piece of paper with your e-mail address attached so I can answer it for you?

As well include questions like:

  • What would your life be in five years from now if you could and would change it?
  • What would our business tell us if we would ask the business itself what is needed right now?
  • How would we define success in ten years from now?

These questions keep your audience in a constant search for new possibilities. It makes them feel alive, more connected to themselves and pro-active.

Energy is the Key

Your energy is the key to success. Why? Every word you say has energy behind it. And not only the spoken word influences the audience. It´s more the tone and the body language that counts.

So, ask yourself questions like this:

  • What energy, space and consciousness can I be to have total ease and fun on stage?
  • If I would not judge myself, control myself and try to mimic others what brilliant speaker could I be?
  • What can I be or do different to allow myself to step up into the brilliance I truly be?
Space and Consciousness

Space within yourself allows you to connect with others on another level. You can do breathing exercises to experience space within yourself. You could do Yoga or meditation to experience space. If you are the space, you have no resistance to whatever people are asking or are talking about you. You just let it go through yourself with no attachment at all.

And no matter what people say you could say to yourself: “Interesting point of view that they have this point of view.” With this you free yourself from your own judgment about them and as well from their judgment about you. If you practice “interesting point of view” all day long in your normal daily life you will experience more freedom with everything. This is the space of all possibilities.

You are now able to act and react with ease and flexibility in the given situation. That inner freedom gives you access to consciousness. Consciousness includes everything and judges nothing. Everything you do, everything you experience is a way to more awareness. There is no right or wrong. There is always awareness and the choice to be or do something different the next time.

You don´t like me? Interesting point of view.

Beate Nimsky is an inspirational catalyst for change, who works with CEOs, business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders in companies developing their leading abilities. She has been a pioneer in consulting and implementing value driven cultures in companies for more than 25 years. Her new book Ask – And Create Your Life will be published in summer of 2018.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Why We Must Bring Mindfulness To Leadership

thought-leadership

By Aimee Hansen

Leadership today is not crying out for people who are destined to be great. It’s crying out for people who are dedicated to being present.

We don’t need bigger beacons to admire at the top, but human beings who can connect and be here now.

According to Gallup, 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work. Forbes found that more employees (65%) would rather see their bosses fired than receive a raise. Research reveals a massive chasm between leaders’ self-perception and how their employees see them. One McKinsey study found that 86% of leaders rated themselves as inspiring, but a Gallup survey found 82% of employees see their leaders as uninspiring.

“Around three years ago, we started to see more and more leaders today being overwhelmed, being always on, not being able to keep up,” says Jacqueline Carter, partner and North American Director of Potential Project and co-author of “The Mind of the Leader – How to Lead Yourself, Your People and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results.

“This is equally evidenced by research that shows what we’re calling ‘a real crisis in leadership,” says Carter. In partnership with HBR press, her organization conducted interviews with 250 C-suite executive interviews, assessed 35,000 leaders and reviewed previous studies.

Leadership Begins in the Mind, and With You

“An unmindful leader is someone who is distracted all the time, who has a hard time getting things done, probably not very calm, maybe stressed,” says Carter. Mindfulness develops the ability to say: “Okay, no matter how chaotic it is out there in the external reality, I can maintain a sense of focus and of discipline and of calm in my internal reality.”

But most leaders don’t feel that way.

“The Mind of the Leader” research found that 73% of leaders feel unmindful most of the time and 67% of leaders feel their minds are simply cluttered. Attention itself has been touted as the world’s scarcest resource in the book, “The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business.”

“If we don’t have the ability to understand and lead our own mind, we’re certainly not able to be effective for ourselves,” notes Carter, let alone able to understand our people or the “collective minds of the organization” so that we may lead effectively.

Three Steps to Start Your Own Mindfulness Practice

1) Start a 10 minute guided practice with this app: Research shows that after 14 days, 10 minutes a day, you can actually see the impact of feeling a little more focused, more calm, more clear-minded.

2) Take stock of distractions: Carter advises to take stock of what keeps you from being focused (eg phone on in meetings). Minimize the amount of habits that distract you and create scattered feelings, tension or stress to increase your focus.

3) Stop the multi-tasking: According to Carter, multi-tasking is a myth (the brain conclusively shows we can’t give real attention to two things at once, we just flit between). We can reduce our stress levels by not scattering our attention.

When it Comes to Effectiveness, Mindfulness is a No-Brainer

Mindfulness practice cultivates self-awareness, which is a foundation of good leadership. Mindfulness has been associated with benefits such as enhanced focus and better task performance, enhanced work-life balance, more creativity and innovation, better decision making and problem-solving, more ethical decision making, increased job satisfaction, fewer sick days and more retention.

On a personal level, mindfulness can bring better sleep, enhanced attention, decreased stress, reduced cellular aging, increased emotional intelligence, and also benefits for the immune system, brain, heart and blood pressure.

What is also required, according to Carter, “is not letting our egoistic tendencies drive our behaviors” while “bringing more compassion and kindness into our work places, for strategic reasons, not just because it sounds like a nice idea.”

Why Leaders Need to Watch Their Ego

The research found that when we rise in leadership, it’s incredibly difficult not to develop a big ego. Leaders are listened to, surrounding with people who praise them, paid more and maybe have the fancy corner office.

“There’s all these subtle things that tell the brain, basically, you’re important,” says Carter. “And ego naturally grows.” So, rising into leadership has a tendency towards corrupting our behavior to be ego-driven.

For example, Carter points out, “One of the things about having a big ego is that we’re more susceptible to confirmation bias. We want to see things through the lens of the way we want to see things.”

Mindfulness practice is a way of training your mind to break unconscious biases, to affect how you relate and respond – to stay open, fluid and and respond rather than react.

“We know that we are emotional beings as opposed to rational beings. Too many programs that focus on unconscious bias appeal to our rational approach: ‘Okay, I understand diversity is good’. But we also understand that doesn’t change our behaviors,” asserts Carter. “If we all knew the right thing to do and that enabled us to do it, we’d all be exercising, we’d all be eating well.”

“It’s the same thing with unconscious bias,” says Carter. “The motivation needs to be there, which is the awareness piece, but we also need to train ourselves to be able to overcome those biases that are so unconscious they’re much more difficult to tap into.”

Mindfulness Cultivates Presence and Self-Care

“When somebody is more centered and more grounded (not about being arrogant) but has a strong sense of themselves, you feel that, and you respect them more,” says Carter. “It’s easier for people to listen to those people, because they draw people in.”

The more we cultivate presence, according to Carter, the more we can overcome the cultural addiction to action. More presence means less hustle.

“Being more mindful enables you to set more boundaries, and that was true for all the leaders we spoke to, but certainly the female senior leaders…” says Carter. “It’s a combination of being able to be mindful about what you can do and what you can’t do, and be okay with the fact that you may let people down, but you need to be able to take care of yourself.”

Presence helps us discern what is necessary, what we can put our focus on effectively, and what we can accept and release from our control.

“In our research, it was amazing to see how basically the higher you got in an organization, the higher the level of the executives, they all took time to exercise, they slept well, even despite ridiculous travel schedules and ridiculous scopes of jobs,” says Carter. “It was really clear that if you don’t start taking good care of yourself and setting good boundaries and saying no at an earlier level of your leadership journey, you’re gonna burn out.”

“Presence Pays”

Research shows a direct correlation between a leaders’ mindfulness and the well-being and performance of their people.

“Human beings know when people aren’t present with us,” says Carter. It’s un-motivating, inefficient and costly.

“When you look at how distracted people are, at turnover rates, lack of engagement, you can make a pretty strong business case that being present with people, being kind to people, being about others not about ourselves, it’s not just nice to have,” said Carter. “It’s pretty critical to be successful in business today…we look at it as ‘presence pays’.”

“What we’ve found in our experience of training people to be more present is it actually saves time because if I know that I’m heard, I’ll stop talking. My message got across,” says Carter. When we don’t feel heard, we’ll keep trying to be – we’ll keep on talking.

Presence can be as simple as sticking around for a real answer to “how are you?”. On the contrary, “if you go to a meeting, and half the people are on their devices, you should just get up and leave. Seriously,” says Carter. “You’re wasting your time because of lack of presence.”

Presence, paired with compassion, creates a sense of meaningfulness and connection, and that matters when in inspiring others and earning their trust. Research has shown that a lack of trust ultimately erodes performance and the bottom line.

“We are wired to want to fit in and want to feel valued. And when feel heard, when we feel like we matter, and when we then are able to connect with other human beings, it enables collaboration, it enables the right conversations to happen, including tough conversations,” says Carter. “If I give you feedback and I’m distracted, that’s gonna be horrible for you. But if I give you feedback because I really care about you and I really want you to get this didn’t work out well, you can completely receive that. It’s the power of presence to be able to have both tough conversations as well as nice, engaging moments of meeting effectiveness.”

The Lone Leadership Ideal Is Dead

“What has been an iconic idea for a long time of a single, solitary leader – the great leader theory – is really dead.” says Carter. “The pace of change that all of us are experiencing regardless of what industry we’re in – the disruption, the distraction, the pressure – is just too complex and too much for any one individual to have all the answers.”

Nobody, and especially Millennials, want “some great person (often some ‘great man’) on a pedestal they don’t connect with,” said Carter.

Meaning, purpose and connection is what most of us want.

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How to Optimize Your Retirement Savings When Changing Jobs

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Guest contributed by Sarah Landrum

You consider many factors when transitioning from one position to the next.

How quickly will you adjust and pick up new duties? Do you fully understand your benefits? How do you take your old accounts with you?

Reconciling new benefit offerings with old accounts from previous employment, such as an existing retirement, gets confusing when you’re taking in too much information all at once.

The good news: That money you worked so hard to save for retirement belongs to you, wherever you go. Here’s what to do with it.

Look at Your Retirement Goal Status First

Before you consider what to do with your money, now is the time to look at where you are with your retirement goals. Are you working toward a secure retirement? Look at your total retirement goal and potential withdrawals every year and play with projections for your current contributions and new employer matching contributions while weighing your circumstances.

For example, say your current retirement savings is $100,000, and you expect an income increase of 2 percent. You can factor this into your retirement plan along with Social Security benefits and other income to stay on track with your goal. Don’t forget to factor in if you’re married, since adding a spouse affects your Social Security benefits.

Options for Your Existing 401(k)

Here’s where it gets tricky. Your old 401(k) account belongs to the prior employer, but the money belongs to you. Here are the four options you have for what to do with your existing 401(k), as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each avenue.

1. Keep Your Old 401(k)

Look at your existing balance and reread the terms. You may have to move your money since the account belongs to the employer. Otherwise, the old 401(k) usually sits there without contributions from you or the employer. Different rules exist for different employers regarding what’s done with the money, with some automatically cashing out your funds to you or transferring the amount to a new IRA for you. If a check is made out to you, the company automatically cuts out a 20 percent portion to cover taxes. Check with your prior employer and reread the terms.

2. Transfer the Money to the New 401(k)

When your new company offers a 401(k) or other retirement option, consider transferring the money from your old account to the new one. Ask: does the new plan terms accept transfers from prior 401(k) accounts? What fees apply?

Sticking with a 401(k) option over an IRA has its advantages. Money must come out as of age 70.5, but if you’re still working, you can delay distributions with your current employer 401(k) plan until your actual retirement date and maximize your earnings. In the case of bankruptcy, your 401(k) remains protected, but IRA exemption stops after $1,283,025. At age 55, you can also take cash penalty-free from your 401(k) if you leave your position.

3. Move It to an IRA or Roth IRA

Skip thoughts of 401(k) confusion and transfer your balance to an existing IRA if you have one — or open a new IRA. A perk of a traditional IRA is the avoidance of taxes by transferring the money to this type of retirement account, but a Roth 401(k) must be transferred to a Roth IRA. You must look carefully at terms and fees when rolling over to an IRA. Otherwise, you may pay more than transferring to the new employer 401(k). Companies are required to provide reviews of annual investment costs and disclose administrative fees.

Younger baby boomers change jobs about 12 times over the course of their careers, and leaving 401(k) plans behind overlaps multiple funds that may exceed your risk tolerance and age. If you’ve left more than one plan behind, consider rolling retirement accounts into an IRA. Many IRA plans contain lower investment costs and options to invest in exchange-trade funds (ETFs) to reduce costs and risk.

However, mutual funds and ETFs come with expense ratios, which vary whether that’s an IRA or 401(k) — look closely at costs, talk with your broker or ask for the disclosure of fees and ratios yourself. Slowly decreasing your stock investment amounts in your portfolio reduces your risk as you and your portfolio age.

4. Withdraw the Balance

It’s best to wait until you reach age 59.5 to withdrawal your retirement balance, or you face paying on the withdrawal as taxable income. Plus, you experience the joy of the 10 percent penalty due to the withdrawal of your balance and your funds won’t grow.

Most advise against withdrawing retirement balances unless you’re facing an emergency you need to pay a significant amount of money toward quickly. What you consider an emergency may not be worth it in the end, such as buying a house, paying credit card debt or helping your kids offset unplanned college costs. For example, it’s better to take an approved IRA distribution for college costs than to face the 10 percent tax penalty for withdrawal. You can slowly replace the distribution over the years but paying thousands in a tax penalty hurts your take-home income and drastically reduces your retirement earning benefits.

In the end, you selected the retirement strategy that best-suited your long-term goals but changing jobs and emergency life situations arise that prompt you to take another look at your approach. Multiple accounts are difficult to manage and rolling over everything into a single account or Roth IRA outside of your 401k may reduce fees and boost your earnings in the long-term. You’ve come this far and likely know what you want to invest in. Go with the plan that best meets those needs, and if that means transferring funds to the new employer’s 401(k) — do it. If you have or are taking on significant debt, go with a plan that protects your assets and reconsider any emergency needs. Then, update your retirement plan with a strategy that optimizes your savings.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer

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8 Tips to Get Success in Your First Interview

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People waiting for an interview

Guest contributed by Susan Saurel

First round interviews help employers select a smaller pool of most qualified candidates for their open job positions.

For this reason, they’re typically less thorough than the second or third interview rounds. Still, your job of preparing for the first interview isn’t any easier. Your goal is always to make a terrific impression and to perfectly convey why you are the best fit for the job they’re trying to fill. Good, solid preparation is key to success, so here are our tips on how to make sure you always bring your A-game:

1. Do Your Homework. Know Who You Talk to

Not knowing enough about the company you’re interviewing for is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in a job interview. Company research is a critical part of the preparation process.

Start with the company’s website; study their About page, their mission and top executives; get to know their products and services; and read current press releases to stay up to date with what’s going on in the company now. You can also “google” the company, check their blogs, social media, and read reviews from clients, current and former employees to get a feel of “who” the company is and how you can embody a similar personality during the interview.

2. Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses for this Particular Role

Take time to analyze the job posting, the in-depth position description, the required set of skills, knowledge, professional and personal qualities that the employer considers critical for success at the workplace. Then, do your best to answer the question “Why am I the perfect fit for this job?”. Identify the unique qualities about you, including your expertise, relevant certificates and professional qualifications, as well as specific examples for when you’ve gone above and beyond to solve a problem, or accomplish what no one else has managed to do.

3. Google Yourself

Great resumes and cover letters are at the tip of your fingers with the help of essay writing help. But that’s not enough these days. Employers are also interested in your online personal brand.

Find out ahead what Google says about you, and make sure to manage and optimize your appearance online so it won’t hold you back from that dream job you want. If there’s anything negative about you that you cannot fix, you’ll be able to have a ready response that clarifies employers’ concerns. Try not to get too defensive though, but simply respond and move on to the next question.

4. Prepare Answers to The Most Common Interview Questions

Industry giants like Google, Bain & Co., and Amazon, are known for surprising their applicants with unusual and confusing interview questions. However, most of the other companies will generally stick to their lists of common questions, like the dreading “Can you tell me a little about yourself?”, “What do you consider to be your greatest strength, and weakness?”, and “Why do you think you will be a good fit for this position?”.

Prepare good answers to a list of most likely questions. The “tell me about yourself” part is just a warm-up, so don’t waste your best points on it; just briefly cover your early years, education, work history, and most recent career experience. When you talk about your weaknesses you want to have a positive twist to it. Mention something you struggle with but work on improving, like taking on leadership roles to tackle the fear of public speaking.

5. Write Down a Few Smart Questions to Ask at The End of the Interview

Interviews are two-way conversations. By the end of it you’ll get a chance to ask your own questions, and gain better understanding of the company you’re about to join and your particular role in it. This is a great opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation and show your interviewer that you care about the position.

Write down two or three thoughtful, open-ended questions, to make sure you end the interview strong and differentiate yourself from the rest of the candidates. Some great examples include:

  • What do you like best about your job and working for this company?
  • How would you describe the work culture at the office?
  • What is the typical career path for someone in this role?
6. Practice Makes It Perfect!

Now that you have your questions and answers ready, it’s time to practice them to perfection. This doesn’t mean learning them by heart, but rather keeping in mind the important bullet points so you can stay calm and not scrambling for an answer while in the hot interview seat.

Do mock interviews with a friend, colleague, or a career coach, and practice speaking clearly and concisely, listing your most relevant skills, experiences and achievements. Answering the question “What can you bring to this position?” will be a lot easier if practiced then when doing it the first time.

7. Dress for Success!

First impression can make or break a business, and your outside appearance is a large portion of it. Prepare a professional looking wardrobe that fits the culture of the organization. For men the dress code is usually pretty straightforward; a suit and a tie is always a sure thing. Women can wear a dress, a skirt and a blouse, or some elegant pants with a shirt. Keep accessories, jewelry and make-up to a minimum. Make sure your outfit is clean and ironed, your hair is tidy, and your shoes are shinning.

When you look your best you also feel your best, and feeling good about yourself helps boost your confidence, which is crucial for nailing an interview.

8. Arrive Ready and On Time, Get Comfortable, and Stay Positive

Prepare extra copies of your resume, samples of previous quality work, a reference list, and some paper and pens to jot down notes. Make sure to always arrive on time, or at least 15 minutes before the interview to allow yourself some time to settle, and possibly observe the dynamics of the workplace you’re about to join.

Practice calming your nerves and getting relaxed before the interview, as this will improve your confidence in the eyes of the hiring manager. Remind yourself that not getting the job is the worst thing that can happen.

Oftentimes the first interview will not be your last interview. After the first round companies will follow up with a second or even a third interview round to get to their best candidate. Stick to these basics, prepare well, and you can be sure that all your interviews are a success.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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6 Important Things New Project Managers Need to Know

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By Andrej Kovacevik

Corporate demand for project managers is growing at a rapid rate of pace.

Talented people will be needed to fill the numerous project management positions that are becoming available; and industry insiders expect to see women stepping up to fill a significant percentage of these roles.

The Association for Project Management reports that female project managers tend to be younger and less experienced than their male counterparts. For the new female executives who are entering the field, we offer this list of 6 important things female project managers need to be aware of:

1. The Scope of Your Projects Might Change

Often, an executive or group of executives from your hiring organization will set parameters for the scope of the project you’ve been selected to manage. In a perfect world, you’d work within the scope of those parameters to complete your project. But according to Elizabeth Harrin at A Girl’s Guide to Project Management, you can’t always count on things to work out so neatly. She points out that most projects evolve through 4 formal versions of scope before their conclusion. Be flexible in your anticipation of this reality.

2. Managing Expectations Is an Essential Part of the Job

Whatever project you’re managing could potentially bring huge changes for a whole bunch of stakeholders in your hiring organization. Does everyone fully understand the implications of what’s coming? Probably not. As the project unfolds, do your best to help your colleagues get a handle on what the new normal is going to look like going forward. Be proactive about making any dramatic transitions as painless as possible for all stakeholders involved. How you handle this can make a massive difference in whether your leadership is perceived as a success or a failure by the end of the project.

3. It’s Crucial to Share Big-Picture Goals With Other Stakeholders

It’s easy for colleagues to succumb to tunnel vision and entirely miss what the main objectives for a project might be. Creating a mindmap can help to explain what’s going on and to get everyone else on board. It’s a big win if you can get all the relevant stakeholders involved in your project to understand the big-picture goals and buy in from the beginning.

If there are people who aren’t buying in, it is helpful to identify them early on and figure out the reasons for their opposition. Perhaps they even have valid reasons that should be addressed. Don’t ignore the naysayers. It’s better to work with them towards a resolution.

Obviously, you’ll first have to understand your project’s big-picture goals in order to communicate them effectively to your team. This shouldn’t be a problem — but for many project managers, it is. You might be surprised to learn that 80 percent of all project managers don’t fully understand the subtleties of how their projects support their hiring organizations’ business strategies, according to capterra.com. So if you don’t have a clear understanding of the primary motivators, you’ll have to do your homework so you can effectively educate both yourself and your team.

4. There’s a Whole Bunch of Jargon You’ll Need to Decipher

If you haven’t already earned a Master of Project Management degree, you might not be thoroughly educated about all the PM terminology that you’ll encounter as you work your way through your projects. Smartsheet.com offers a helpful glossary of project management terms you’ll want to be sure to familiarize yourself with.

5. The Role of Project Manager Is Changing in Ways That Favor Women’s Skills

According to experts at the international association of project managers, the vocation has evolved significantly over the course of the last several decades. They explain that, 20 years ago, the job of project manager was perceived as macho. Currently, in contrast, emotional intelligence is one of the foremost qualifications that top executives seek in a project manager. Today’s project managers need to excel in diplomacy, resourcefulness and creativity — a skillset that comes as naturally to women as it does to men. The pressure to be macho is now out of the picture. And, accordingly, the numbers of female project managers has been growing and is expected to grow more in the future.

6. You’ll Need to Cultivate a Professional Network

Elise Stevens, writing on behalf of the Project Manager website, explains that women will find better opportunities in the long term if they establish and nurture their own professional networks. In her opinion, one main advantage of networking is having the opportunity to better understand what leaders desire in managers and project leaders. Her network has also opened up new opportunities that would not have become available to her otherwise.

As a management professional, you cannot expect to succeed if you’re isolated on your own island. You’ll constantly need to turn to others to solve problems, find needed resources, delegate tasks and seek input. When you’ve cultivated a network, it’s much easier to accomplish all these things.

Of course, these are not the only things female project managers urgently need to know; but these are some of top things that tend to take women by surprise when they are new to project management. The sooner you wrap your head around these 6 things, the better the outcome will be for the projects you’ll manage in the course of your career.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Important Conversations at Work: Improving Communication Across Differences

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Guest contributed by Katherine Giscombe

At this contentious time in the United States, the rights of all women are under fire.

In spite of movements against sexual harassment that are gaining in popularity and support, such as #MeToo and TimesUp, there are factions within the country including lawmakers who actively oppose equal, fair and just treatment for women. And there has been an uptick in violence and harassment directed against racial minority groups, which have been condoned, and even spurred, by those in high political offices.

Boundaries between our work and personal lives continue to blur given the increasingly 24-hour a day expectations of employers, greater levels of virtual work, and increased workloads across industries. It becomes more difficult, over time, to not bring concerns about our lives outside of work into the workplace. The context of our lives affects our well-being and experiences at work, as shown in Catalyst’s research on the Emotional Tax, which demonstrates that a majority of women and men across racial/ethnic minority groups report feeling vigilant or on guard in the workplace, constantly preparing for the potential to deal with bias, discrimination, or exclusion.

It is vital for employees and associates to be able to engage with each other in a healthy manner, and develop mutual understanding even when they do not share similar backgrounds or experiences. Further, in the workplace, as research on career progression has shown, it is essential to develop relationships with allies and potential sponsors who can help progress one’s career. But doing so can be difficult among those from different backgrounds.

Catalyst has developed methods for reaching across differences to form meaningful connections at a personal level. It starts with understanding how communication among employees and associates can improve, and providing tactics to do so. In summary, reluctance to engaging across differences can fall into three major themes:

  • There isn’t a problem (attitudes about whether issues of gender, race, and ethnicity warrant concern)
  • There’s no benefit to talking (judgments about whether it’s worth the effort to discuss these issues)
  • There will be negative consequences to my actions (experiences that influence whether someone speaks up or remains silent).

Those who feel that there is not a problem may assume that race or gender differences don’t matter, because they believe they view women and men equally, and have no racial prejudice. A way to move beyond these beliefs is to ask one’s colleagues (of a diversity of genders and race/ethnicity groups) if they have ever experienced or witnessed biased behavior, and probe on what it looked like, what was verbally communicated. Further, they can ask whether colleagues of a different racial, ethnic, or cultural background feel that the workplace respects their identity and experiences.

Those who believe there is no benefit in talking may feel that race and ethnicity are not relevant in certain places, or that talking about our differences can only further divide us. Catalyst recommends asking colleagues a number of questions, including identifying times when discussing any type of difference has led to a positive outcome. Another suggestion is to identify “off-limits” issues— then discuss how not talking about these issues can derail inclusion.

Finally, the fear that there will be negative consequences to my actions is sometimes grounded in the fear of being labeled as overly sensitive, or the belief that it is not safe to speak up in the workplace. In these cases, Catalyst recommends that an employee ask a colleague for help in providing honest, constructive feedback, especially in cases where the employee uses words that are hurtful or offensive. Other advice includes asking a team member who has been silent during a meeting if he or she would like to contribute a different perspective.

In Catalyst’s workshops and consulting engagements, we sometimes use “ice breaker” exercises that build rapport across differences. One such example is a “pair share” in which each member of the pair names three identity groups he or she belongs to, including two visible elements of difference, and one invisible. Each person then takes turns sharing aspects of their identities. When sharing one’s identities, the speaker practices demonstrating vulnerability and self-disclosure. The listener, in turn, practices suspending judgment and inquiring across difference.

Going beyond building interpersonal connections at work, employees and associates can also co-create structures at work that encourage inclusion. This might entail forming an employee or associate resource group (ERG) for all women in the organization, that focuses on the many needs encompassed by women. In working with Catalyst’s supporter organizations, we sometimes see that women of color prefer to join an ERG that represents their racial/ethnic group, rather than the women’s groups. A good way to form alliances to get more done for all women would be for a women’s ERG to ensure that its officers represent a diversity of women within the company, and also represent the interests of a diversity of women.

Reaching across differences to form meaningful and robust working relationships can enhance our personal and professional lives, and provide a fortification of support during fraught times.

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Dare to Dream! What Job Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executve Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Upon winning the lottery, some people might stop working.

Others would take the opportunity to work in their dream job. What is your dream job? If you do not know the answer, let us have some fun while summer is still here to dare to dream because you might just find some answers for real life by letting your mind run wild.

Let’s start with 3 questions to stimulate the process:

1. What makes you tick? ( there are many tests to take- for example, the Hogan personality instrument helps you understand you behaviors based on your personality and work environment, Myers Briggs, Firo-B etc). Do you need recognition? Is it about power for you? How high is your altruism markers? Are you hedonistic and want to have ping pong and happy hours? How social are you? Do you need to achieve at all costs?

2. How do you prefer to learn? if you are going to do a new thing, how would you like to approach it? Will you jump in and learn by doing? Or would you prefer to have time to studying?

3. What are your absolute bottom lines and how did you get to them? If you had teams of support people, would you choose to outsource child care or would you outsource work? How do you want to spend your time?

Have some fun here. Write it down, draw pictures, do a vision board, whatever works for you!

What comes out of this simple exercise for you?

If you want to work with an executive coach on this and and then the advanced exercises that will take you to the next level at work or even your next job, contact nicki@theglasshammer.com

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4 ways to know it’s time to ask for more from your job

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Woman-on-a-ladder-searching

Guest Contributed by Deepa Ramaraj

According to a recent US census, only 19% of women executives reach the highest ranks of business.

The same census showed that the fastest growing demographic of business owners in the USA today are women-owned businesses.

Before you leave your corporate job, ask yourself questions about your aptitudes, aspirations and what really drives you to succeed? The below questions may help you to be better equipped to know if now is the time to ask for more from your job and may give you more clarity about what direction you could consider taking.

1. What will my life be like in 5 years if I keep this job?

If you were promoted, what is the level of responsibility and what are the daily tasks of this new position? Is this something that you are willing to take on? Is the level of salary increase over the next 5 years in this position something that you are excited about receiving or is it lacklustre? According to 2018 forecasts, most executive positions can only expect a 3% salary increase, barely keeping up with cost of living. Is working in this job creating difficulties in any other area of your life? Personally? Physically? Relationships? Health? Mental Health? Note down what impressions that you have about keeping this job in all of these factors.

2. What will my life be like in 5 years if I don’t keep this job?

What if you could decide for yourself what your life will be like if you don’t keep this current job? What are the other opportunities for employment? What marketplace demand is there for your skills and what salaries are being offered to seasoned entrants? What is your value proposition as a candidate, how will you shine? Could you choose to take time off right now or choose a different path?

3. What do I love about this job?

Challenge yourself to write 25 things that you actually love about the job that you are in. The 80/20 rule could be applied to your work. If 80% of your job is taken up with things that you enjoy and feel masterful about and only 20% of your job is not, then you are probably in a sustainable career for you. If it is the opposite, it may be time to consider a change. What else is possible for you to love about this job that isn’t obvious at the moment? Sometimes we get bogged down and don’t actually ask for the job to be enjoyable.

4. Is now the time to change?

Jumping back to fantasizing about winning a lottery or having an astonishing inheritance come in so you can retire from working altogether, which of course would be wonderful, realistically is now the time to actually ask for more from your job? What are you aware of politically from the company structure? Could you be promoted? Could you ask for more responsibility and get a pay raise or more benefits that would add to your life?

What if it’s possible to ignite a fire under your current job and develop it into something more profitable, something that you are excited to arrive at every morning? Asking and answering the above questions will start to point at possible changes that you can make to your job and your life, to increase the level of satisfaction and joy. Yes, it is possible to have both satisfaction and joy at work and settling for anything less is just that.

About the author

Deepa Ramaraj is a Computer Science Engineer turned Health and Wealth Educator, as well as a Right Riches for You facilitator, a specialty program from Access Consciousness. Deepa facilitates workshops for corporate companies to boost sales, to dissolve interpersonal or inter-departmental challenges and to transform the way business is done. These workshops are totally unconventional in approach. She also conducts workshops for individuals about how to receive more money, reduce stress, have better relationships, improve health and upskill as a parent.

Disclaimer: The opinions and advice of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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3 Easy Ways to Know What Job You Want to Do Next

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Staying in the job, after the love has gone?

We have all done it, we have all stayed in a position at work that just did not excite us anymore on any level. The reasons that keep us there can vary but more often than not, it is a combination of wanting the security/ money and not believing that there is a better situation out there for us. Confidence, or lack of it for people who have never had a confidence issue before, can be very daunting.

It is normal to ask yourself, ‘But what would i do?’

The answer to that question is very personal and individual but in broad strokes my bet is that you could do a range of things inside or outside of your current firm and even industry.

Isn’t it time to do what you want to do? I mean, you probably have more skills than you give yourself credit for and probably most of them are entirely transferable.

Here are 3 steps to get closer to your ideal job.

1. Make a list of what you like doing
2. Then make a list of what you do not like doing
3. Make a list of the tasks you would be doing in a more ideal situation 12 months from now.

I am mentioning tasks, because often we talk about roles or responsibilities instead of tasks. Roles like, I want to manage people doesn’t actually define what is your task or the tasks they are doing that you will be responsible for, so go granular in this exercise.

What comes out of this simple exercise for you?

If you want to work with an executive coach on this and and then the advanced exercises that will take you to your next job, contact nicki@theglasshammer.com

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