How to Nurture Independent Employees (Who Still Stand by You)

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Independent Female Boss

Image via Shutterstock

Guest contributed by Lisa Messenger

Ten years ago, you rarely heard the term ‘intrapreneur’ – the buzzword used to describe an employee who has an entrepreneurial spirit. But these days, it’s front and centre of every work place as we all do our best to engage and develop those working within our ranks who could easily run their own. Perhaps you have one (or you are one) – the staff member who follows their initiative, turns an idea into reality and works with passion and purpose. Basically, the ideal employee – or are they? The downside of giving your staff total autonomy in the office is their independence might backfire on leaders, if you’re not careful. Driven, ambitious and determined, an intrapreneur can follow their dreams right out the door, if a company doesn’t give them a reason to be loyal.

And while they can be hard to handle at times, there is great value in having an intrapreneur as part of your team, or company.

I am particularly aware of this when nurturing my staff. Our entire magazine is built on an ‘anything is possible’ premise; our pages filled with the inspiring stories of professionals, creatives, thought-leaders and artists who work without limits, take chances and aren’t afraid of risky decisions. I encourage my team to think independently, freely and rebelliously but every day, I still need them to come into the office and commit to my company.

I’ve happy to say my core team has been with me since the start of Collective Hub, helping the magazine to expand to a global publication sold in 37 countries and the online platforms to go even further. It’s been an amazing journey and I couldn’t have done it without both their commitment and self-sufficiency.

But intrapreneurs have their challenges. It’s an interesting contradiction but one that leaders of the future have to master. How can you nurture independent employees who think like renegades but are as loyal as family? Here are my top tips:

Create a Safe Space. I’m not talking about installing smoke alarms and ensuring there’s no loose floorboards. It’s important to create a culture where employees feel like they can make their ideas heard, without feeling judged, overpowered or ignored. Be aware that different people communicate differently. Forcing everyone to pitch ideas at a weekly meeting may be a nightmare for introverts. Instead start a ‘cyber comments box’ – it could be a shared Google document where employees can suggest ideas, either under their name or anonymously.

Act Like an Owner. This is one of the employee principles at LinkedIn. As one former intern explained in a blog post, “For some [this] means making wise financial decisions on your budget, others it is turning off the lights as you leave a room, or picking up trash that someone left behind.” This mindset is vital for employee loyalty – encouraging people to look past their job description and feel responsible for the 360-degree outcome of a company. It only takes small changes. Research has found that an employee’s sense of ‘psychological ownership’ can be boosted simply by personalising their office with family photos or allowing them to choose their own job title.

Get Out of the Office. On a hot summer’s afternoon, when you’re sitting at a desk behind a window, the freelance life can seem very tempting. That’s why I encourage my team to escape into the outside world, whether that means scheduling a meeting at a pavement café, taking a micro-break in the park or hosting a brainstorming afternoon beside a hotel pool (yes, we’ve done this). Airbnb applies its brand motto – ‘You belong anywhere’ – to its employees, who can roam between different workspaces in their global offices, inside and out.

Money does Matter. There’s sometimes a misconception, especially in the startup, that loving your job is enough to make up for an appallingly low salary. Studies do show that wages are less important to Gen-Y than baby boomers but it’s still important for a worker to feel financially valued. As a leader, this may mean thinking creatively, especially if an accounts department is watching you carefully. If a junior staff member has an idea for a new platform or product, can you offer them a percentage of the profit in exchange for overseeing it? It’s a morale boosting gesture, plus we’re all more likely to give a project our all if it could potentially fill our pockets.

Explain Your No-Moments. At some point even your star employee will have to deal with one of their key ideas being rejected. This can lead to a dejected worker scouring job boards for vacancies, which is why it’s so important to explain your reasons using hard facts and data. Why isn’t the concept commercially-viable right now, could it be explored in the future or could you evolve the idea to make it more do-able? Always remind employees that not every idea can be implemented. As Steve Jobs said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on… It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.”

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

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8 Cover Letter Writing Mistakes You Should Avoid

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Guest contributed by Gloria Kopp

letter writing

Image via Shutterstock

Even seasoned professional women who have years of experience working on Wall Street can make mistakes when writing cover letters and trying to get promotions or change jobs. These mistakes can really derail a promising career, and stall your professional development by several years. Fortunately, this resource for professional women can help you avoid making mistakes that can hold you back and instead you can really thrive as you soar up the career ladder.

1.  Sending the Same Generic Letter to Every Application

While it may be a hassle, the truth is that you need to personalize every letter to the specific job you are applying for, you can’t send anything generic out, or all you will receive is a very generic rejection.

2.  Making It All about You

Your cover letter should highlight all of the reasons that the job and the company can benefit from you, not all of the reasons you want to job. You need to state the benefits that the company will receive from hiring you, not vice versa.

3.  Update Your Details

Make sure you have a mature and professional email address, so you may need to update the Hotmail you’ve had since you were a teenager. You need to make sure that every piece of information you provide is accurate, and that your LinkedIn, phone number, and address, are all up to date, and easy to reach you on.

4.  Not Using Basic File Types

If you make it difficult to open or view your application, for example by using unusual file types when you send your documents, the HR manager is very unlikely to go to the trouble of figuring out how they open them. More likely, you will simply end up being sent to the trash pile, as there are plenty of people with easy to access resume and cover letters.

5.  Not Focusing on Your Introduction

Your introduction needs to really grab the attention of the reader, and you absolutely must make sure it is catchy, and shows you as smart, capable, and apart from the crowd. Many people brush over the introduction to try and get into the content which they consider more important. By doing this, you may lose the interest of the HR manager before you’ve even been able to sell yourself.

6.  Failing to Back Up Your Claims

When you write about certain skills or qualifications that you have gained in your career, you need to explicitly exhibit where you gained them and how you used them.

7.  Just Repeating Your Resume

Your cover letter should significantly expand on the information in your resume, not just repeat it in a different format.

8.  Failing to Edit and Proofread Properly

Many competent women simply assume that they haven’t made mistakes when they’re writing, simply because they don’t tend to make mistakes. The truth is that these small errors can happen to anyone, anywhere, and failing to check over your work out of pride, arrogance, or even ignorance that there could be anything wrong. The following online tools can make your life a lot easier and ensure that every part of your application is flawless:

  • Ginger Software – this is a comprehensive grammar checker that can be used on multiple devices to double check your work while you’re on the go, or at your desk. There’s also a dictionary, and you’re offered notes on your structure, language and can even translate your work.
  • Paper Fellows – there’s plenty of writing advice in the forums on this website, and you can also hire experts to review or help with your work.
  • Big Assignments – sometimes you can’t see the errors in your own work, so it can really pay off to have an expert editor or proof reader check your work for mistakes and offer advice.
  • Readable – when you’re applying for a job, you need to make sure that you’re writing at an appropriate level, and that you’re language isn’t too sophisticated or too simple for the job you’re applying for.
  • Ukwritings – you can’t always trust friends or family to be critical or honest when it comes to reviewing your work, however a professional editor or proof reader that you hire here will be completely honest and provide invaluable feedback.
  • Resumention – when you’re writing a cover letter, you absolutely should follow the tips and tricks that are available on this website as it is entirely tailored towards helping you succeed in your career.
  • Academized – if the job you’re applying for requires a certain level of professionalism or academia, then it is well worth checking out the amazing guides and courses here before you start writing.

By avoiding the mistakes above, you can make sure you are doing everything you can to fast-track your career.

 

Gloria Kopp is a digital marketer and an elearning consultant from Manville city. Now she works as a content manager at Boomessays company. Besides, she is a regular contributor to such websites as Engadget, Huffingtonpost, Essayroo, etc. Read her Studydemic posts.

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

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Expert Tips on Giving a Presentation

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Guest contributed by Sarah Brown

presentation

Image via Shutterstock

Whether you are a student, a lecturer, a motivational speaker, a budding entrepreneur or a C-suit, when presenting on stage in front of an audience, engaging them and communicating your message can be a daunting task for more reasons than you can imagine. I would be trying to incorporate some of the most important ways to help you in writing a great presentation, become a better presenter and also how to best utilize props.

Although the first few words that come out of your mouth would be about introducing yourself, but you can make it more interesting by sharing your passion about your topic. It is not always about what you say, as a confident presenter with a good sense of humor can be more engaging than someone with equally good content but for instance has fear of public speaking.The first few sentences of your presentation should be able to grab undivided attention from your audience, arouse their curiosity about your topic so that they are completely sold on listening to what is coming next.

An hour’s presentation cannot be written in an hour or even in a day. The time you spend on research and finding the figures, and statistics to support your message is directly proportional to the success of the presentation. Have a rough draft of your presentation speech and the slides ready as early as possible so that you have time to revise it a couple of times. This allows you more time to add, delete, or restructure the content and will also help you convey your message more efficiently. If you write the presentation in the last minute, you might miss on adding important details and also might stray away from the real subject at hand. If you are ready with the final version a few days ahead of time, you can test it out on family and friends for practice. You can also record your presentation and watch it to weed out the obvious errors and flaws. You must carry a small cue card of 3 to 5 things that you feel must be mentioned and should not be left out at any cost and read it just seconds before going on the stage.

Using slides, video or any other media is quite imperative to a presentation. Slides or other media are supposed to carry minimal information and should be used to create relevance or generate specific emotions in the audience. One of the worst things you can do while presenting is reading out text from your slides, word to word. Not only do you look unprofessional and unprepared, you also waste the most resourceful element of presentation, and it drastically makes the presentation boring.

There are a few things that a presenter must keep in mind to avoid distracting the audience from the presentation. First off, one must dress up in a modest manner. Wearing bold colors might take the audience’s attention off the slides. Everyone should be proud of their fashion sense and body but do not forget that the center of attention needs to be the presentation and not the presenter. This might not be an unpopular opinion and might attract some controversy but let me assure you that this comes from some of the most respected male and female public speakers and is not just my personal opinion. Also, you must wear something that you can be comfortable in while looking dressed up. Wearing something you picked up a day before the presentation might not be the best choice as you never know how you can distract the audience while adjusting it. Ladies, if you are not comfortable in wearing high heels, ditch them now.

Watch the tone, speed and volume of your speech. You should not be going too slowly or too fast and also you should not be speaking too loud or too low. Find the right balance. Frequent usage of ‘um’ or ‘like’ should be avoided and replaced with quick pauses instead. Check out this amazing infographic from WalkerStone on Dos and Don’ts of presenting.

It is highly recommended that you test your presentation slides on the hardware available and also have a backup flash drive. At times things do not go as planned, be confident and do not get anxious on stage. If possible, have a contingency plan if your slides don’t work.

Best of luck.

Presenting

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If You Think You Can, You Can!

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 By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational PsychologistNicki Gilmour

Recently as part of a paper I was writing, I was examining the elements that increase self-efficacy and improve goal setting for executives.

What makes some people believe that they can do it when others have such doubt?  Competence assumed, what are the necessary things to be in place for a professional to achieve their goal? It seems that self-reflection, forethought, intentionality and self-reactiveness are the researched pre-requisites to have to succeed. This makes sense as you need to think about what you want and plan to go for it, with the ability to reflect and act during the course of the task or job (also closely tied to adult learning theories).

So, what stops us from believing that all we have to do is set a goal and put a plan in place to achieve it? In my experience, it seems that it is our inner gremlins that stop us, the nagging self-talk that plays as part of our constant inner theater. We have thoughts and whether they are then implicit (unconscious) or explicit beliefs, they lurk in our minds with emotions and fears attached to them, telling us that we will fail, or look stupid or disappoint someone.

I realized a while ago that I am in the business of killing gremlins because you do not have to be held hostage by the paradigms that have formed or those that have been given to you by your upbringing (family or societal messaging). You literally do not have to believe all that you think to be true. Take the assumptions and put them on the table to understand what is really going on, so you can address what is getting in your way, unpack it emotionally and move on in your life and at work.

Easier said than done? Think about a goal for a second. Mine is running a 5k race and getting fit as I am aware that I want to stay alive for my family and enter middle age in good shape. The problem is I do not really run very often. This behavior is not matching up with the goal and in any normal advice column I would tell the person, in this case myself, to make a plan and stick to it. Sounds simple, right? Wrong, it is not that simple.

Why do rational people who really want to achieve a goal and have a history of knocking the ball out of the park on everything they do, get stuck on small but important goals? Well, like everyone else, I tell myself things to justify what I do or don’t do. Specifically in this case that I do not have time to run more than I do and that working is what I need to do.  That is my hidden competing agenda. The gremlin is lurking because it is really my fear of failure that is telling me I do not have time, not anything else. See how this works? To reframe and get on with it, you have to kill the gremlin.

If you would like to have me as your coach (or one of my associates) to kill those gremlins together, then book a free exploratory chat  or email me at nicki@theglasshammer.com as we are taking on Fall/ Winter clients -places are limited.

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Self-promotion v. corporate branding: a dilemma for women CEOs? Do women CEO’s do enough to promote their brands?

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Image via Shutterstock

Image via Shutterstock

Guest Contributed By Patricia Harden, President and CEO of Harden Communications Partners

In today’s media-saturated business world, a company’s image is inextricably linked to the reputation of the CEO. Wall Street analysts, marketers and corporate communicators understand the importance of a CEO’s personal brand and how it affects demand for a company’s products or services and its market value.

The “personal brand” of Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com or Tesla’s Elon Musk is an extension of the company. And there are any number of other high-profile male CEOs, who are recognized as industry leaders. How many similarly high-profile women CEOs are there? After HP’s Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, who both ran for public office, and a handful of others, it is hard to come up with names. Granted, unfortunately there are simply not as many women as men in the C-suite. However, perhaps the lack of women CEOs with well-defined personal brands is an issue that goes deeper than their respective numbers.

During my 25 years in corporate communications, I have observed many women CEOs that do not eagerly embrace communications tools and strategies to build a powerful personal brand. They are often more reluctant to express their personal values, beliefs and business philosophy than their male counterparts, and frequently, I see successful women leaders who want to stay on “safe” ground, sticking to unassailable fact-based positions.

What’s behind their reticence? I have a theory: On the way up, women CEOs worked incredibly hard just to prove they were as competent (and more so) as men. They had to show they were good team players in order to win the support of colleagues. Advocating a point of view, stretching the boundaries and sharing a bigger “vision” are leadership traits that are subjective, individual and highly visible. Given history, it’s not surprising that women CEOs may err on the side of staying low profile for fear of being criticized as “self-promotional” or grandstanding.

For example, we see women leaders who are press-shy, avoiding media engagement except in the most controlled situations. They seem reluctant to step outside what they see as the confines of their professional roles. One client refused to discuss her accomplishments in building a major data business from the ground up: “I’ll only talk about our product, not myself.” I call this “The Hillary Problem”: Feeling more secure in the role of competent project manager instead of inspirational, but potentially controversial, leader.

While the term personal brand may sound ego-centric, developing an authentic personal brand can add tremendous value to your organization. As a woman leader, what is your personal brand? I believe it is all about becoming known for what you stand for in addition to what you do in your job. Your brand is the “why” behind decisions, choices and results. Inevitably, the “why” involves some subjectivity – and this is where I see women reluctant to capitalize on the credibility that they have earned as CEOS and leaders. Yet I argue that it is absolutely mission critical: It might well be an essential, if unwritten, part of your job description.

Where to start developing a personal brand and leveraging it for the greater good of your company? By working closely with your in-house communications team and public relations advisors, you can develop a strategic plan that will establish and grow your personal brand. It’s not necessary to undergo a personality transplant and become a “celebrity” CEO or another Sheryl Sandberg. Rather, with the right advice and collaboration with professionals, select the issues, forums and communications channels that mesh with your core values and support your organization’s agenda.

“Leaning in” to build and maintain your personal CEO brand isn’t about self-promotion: it’s about advancing your own agenda and that of your company—to step out of your personal comfort zone for the greater good.

About Pat Harden

Patricia (Pat) Harden founded Harden Partners to help companies be heard, known and valued. Pat brings clients the benefits of a lifelong passion for communication and the desire to help organizations take their game to new levels.

Under her leadership, Harden Partners has grown steadily from a one-person consultancy to an award-winning, mid-sized agency, serving the financial, healthcare and professional services sectors.

An avid reader, theater-goer and traveler, Pat serves on the board of Theatre Bay Area and she and her husband enjoy making Pinot Noir from their home-based vineyard.
This is a Guest Contribution. The views and opinions of the Guest Contributor are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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What Happens When it Is Not Your Skill Level Holding You Back in Your Career?

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational PyschologistNicki Gilmour

Let’s be honest. What happens when you are a highly qualified professional but people just find you hard to work with or work for? This can be a real career staller and can create headaches of having to replace staff who leave you as a manager.

Your behaviors define you. How you show up is what people notice much more than your impressive list of qualifications or even your true competence level. There are many forms of behavior that can derail you, as no matter how nice you are it doesn’t matter if you are confusing people with any of the following traits- control freak, a perfectionist or an unclear communicator.

I pick these three as development points since they assume that you mean well and your intent is good, however your impact on the other person leaves them wondering just how to meet your standards and expectations. They may have tried several ways and are at a loss for words.

How do you find out if you are doing this to your team or direct reports? Well, a feedback tool such as a 360 rater survey is always a good way to see how people perceive you against how you see yourself. As a coach, we use these tools, as do many companies to help you get to stuff that a direct question might not work for. But, if you do have good relationships with peers, it cannot hurt to buy them a coffee and ask what they think your strengths and weaknesses are. If this feels too confrontational or you are not ready to hear it in this format, there are alternative ways to ask for feedback. Here are three ideas

1. Do an “after action review” on a project, unpacking what went well and what could have been done differently. This way the topic is the project but with a little deep questioning around how ideally you could have taken up your formal role, you can harvest gems.

2. Ask your colleague what he or she likes about your work style and what they feel they would like to see more of? Be brave and follow up with a last question along the lines of “what would you like to see less of?”

3. Think about how you show up and list any patterns in jobs or projects of how you think you acted or interacted and then talk it over with a coach to see what felt right and what felt a little odd to you. You will know as you build you EQ and SQ muscles around the accuracy of how people perceive you. However, on this note, we all have our baggage which creates lenses and views which can then distort how we do analyze our interactions. This stuff is crucial to unpack with someone who understands developmental coaching psychology as all executive coaches are not created equal on this front and 100% of the time.

When in doubt, put yourself in other people’s shoes and think about how it would feel to be on the receiving end of certain behaviors. We all have different pet peeves and likes and dislikes but this is still a good place to start!

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Breaking the Planning Fallacy: The How and Why of Being on Time

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Guest contributed by Katie McBeth

time

Image via Shutterstock

There are two types of people in this world:

“Punctuality is the politeness of kings.” – King Louis XVIII of France

“Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.” – Author Evelyn Waugh

Yet, no matter where your personal opinion may lie on the spectrum, the business world has fully embraced the former of the two; be on time, no exceptions. Our world is dependent on schedules and time. Punctuality is a must, even if it’s personally impossible to achieve.

And there are genuinely good reasons why our culture has fully embraced punctuality. For one, showing up late is often seen as a sign of lack of dependability. It also wastes the time of those we are planning to meet up with. By being punctual we are also being respectful. Of course, much of this is cultural, and there are many legitimate reasons why people may often be late.

However, in a more business sense, being on time can be a real chore. Still, there are ways to trick yourself into staying on schedule. Timeliness is a necessity in relationships or business, and to really succeed it’s vital to get to grips with the importance of being on time.

If you struggle with punctuality, here’s how to fix it.

The Planning Fallacy  

Punctuality has been closely tied to human behavior, and psychologists have been studying time habits in humans for quite some time. In the late 1970’s, one psychologist was able to experience it first hand, and even gave it a name: the planning fallacy.

If you are someone that is perpetually late – no matter how hard you try to not be tardy – it could be that you are suffering from this common mental state of mind. As psychologists with the University of Southern California describe, our personal concept of time is biased, and can often skew our understanding of how long a task will take to complete. In reality, it can be easy to overcome, once we master the bias.

Researchers with USC state: “Individuals consistently assume their own tasks will get done sooner and be easier than they actually do or are. This is an optimism bias. On the other hand, a third-party observer assessing how long a task will take for another person will consistently provide a “low-ball” figure representing a pessimism bias – believing the task will take longer.”

Besides appearing disrespectful, the planning fallacy can also hurt financially. For large companies, it can cost hundreds of additional hours in labor as well as potentially far overshoot any budgets.

One giant example of this is the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. It took an extra ten years to complete the project, and had an estimated cost of about eight million dollars. The final cost? Over 102 million dollars.

Overcoming the Planning Fallacy  

Time management was created as the core solution to combating the planning fallacy. Whether traveling from point A to point B, or simply getting up in the morning, time management plays a role in all of it. Delegate your time wisely, and you’ll be able to work your way out of the fallacy.

For example, if you’re perpetually procrastinating on projects or homework, create an agenda and set exact start times for your projects. Find a way to minimize outside distractions, and simply buckle down. The sooner you start, the sooner you finish.

However, it’s also important to consider the amount of work needed to complete the task. If you’re researching a topic, then you might need a few more hours of time than if you’re, say, writing an article on the benefits of dog walking.

This is where time delegation can really help. View the task pessimistically, and set up exact times dedicated to researching, compiling notes, and writing your project. Don’t wait for your superior to tell you what to do and when to do it. Instead, show your ability as a self-starter and work to build up your personal confidence and time management skills.

Another important part to breaking the fallacy is to avoid multitasking. Although many feel like they function better when multitasking, the truth is it can end up wasting more time simply by switching mindsets between projects. Zeroing in on the project at hand can help you complete a task on time.

If you’re a perpetually late person – as in physically always late to work or meet ups with friends – then you need to take a different approach. Don’t allow yourself to get sucked into tasks when you know you need to be somewhere else, and instead try to get into a routine. Especially for non-morning people: set yourself up for success by creating and cultivating a strong morning routine. You will rarely be late to work if you’re already alert and awake within an hour or so of you needing to leave.

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Breaking the planning fallacy can be difficult. It will take time to teach yourself how to manage time. However, once you’ve mastered it, you’ll have a whole new confidence in your ability to get work done, and you’ll be able to easily impress those that are relying on you.

Punctuality may be mandatory in our society, but it certainly has its benefits. Don’t let time and tardiness get the better of you.

Katie McBeth is a researcher and writer out of Boise, ID, with experience in marketing for small businesses and management. Her favorite subject of study is millennials, and she has been featured on Fortune Magazine, Glassdoor, and the Quiet Revolution. You can follow her writing adventures on Instagram or Twitter: @ktmcbeth.

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

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5 Questions to Ask At Every Networking Event

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Guest contributed by Jessica Thiefels

networking

Image via Shutterstock

People love talking about themselves, and this is key to making the most of your next networking event. Instead of talking about yourself, ask questions and listen intently. If you can get someone talking about their work, business and goals, that’s half the battle—and it makes you look good because it shows that you’re not in a hurry to ask for something.

Keep these questions in your back pocket for your next networking event.

How Did You Hear About This Event?

This may seem like a cliché icebreaker, but the arbitrary question gives you, and whoever you’re talking to, a jumping off point. After you’ve made your initial introductions, ask your fellow attendee how they know the host or heard about the event.

If he or she knows the host personally, they may be able to share an anecdote or give you some additional insight about the person or organization. If they learned about the event from a peer or social network, you can see if you’re in any of the same online groups or talk about common professional interests. “The hardest part is breaking the ice,” according to Loraine Burger from Smart Meetings. “Conversation will, for the most part, flow naturally after that first painstaking ‘hello.’”

What do you love about what you do?

This is a more open-ended version and a better conversation starter than the usual, “So, what do you do?” When you ask someone what he or she loves about their job or role, it gives them the opportunity to talk about their passions and talents. If you’re trying to transition into a new field or a similar line of work, you’ll get an interesting perspective on the work. If you already work in a similar field, it gives you new insight into what someone else loves about the profession.

You may find some common ground or you may discover a new perspective. Either way, this question will excite the person more than simply asking their title or role.

Did you always know you wanted to get into this field?

Everyone has their own unique story about how they came to be in their current position. This question gives you insight into the path this individual took to get where they are now. Maybe they always knew they wanted to be in business or marketing, or maybe they started in a different field and transitioned into their current role because of a colleague or mentor.

Whatever their story, the questions allows you to learn from someone else’s experience. “This gives your new contact a chance to tell a story and people love telling stories, especially when the story is about themselves,” advises Thomas Camarda, networking expert.

Listen to what he or she says, they may tell you about mistakes they made that lead to a career change or resources they used to improve job-related skills. You may be able to relate or you may get some fresh ideas you can use in your own career. Not everyone has a straight career trajectory, and you can learn from steps others have taken.

What did you do to set yourself apart from other candidates?

It’s no secret that the job market is competitive. With so many applicants for any given position, you either need to do something special to stand out or know someone who can help you. Whether you’re talking to someone in a similar position or someone more advanced in their career (where you’d like to be), this question can help you learn what tactics have worked for other people and what it takes to get ahead. If you’re lucky, you’ll learn strategies that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.

What can I do for you?

Finally, rather than asking for a favor, provide your new connection with the opportunity for your help as the conversation is ending. “When first meeting someone you think could be helpful, offer your services first,” says Ted Rollins, global ecopreneur recognized by Inc. 500.

Rollins continues,

“Ask: What do you need help with right now? What do you see yourself needing the most support with in the future? Being authentic with connections. Always trying to provide greater value makes them more likely to do the same for you. This sets the foundation for a strong network that is instrumental for everyone involved.”

If you know, based on their answers to your questions that you can help in a specific way, offer that. I.E. “I’d love to introduce you to John Smith, he was just promoted to CFO at Business Emporium; I bet he’d have a lot of great insight for you.” This shows you listened to them, heard what they need, and are willing to provide a solution or help.

Whether you’re talking to a peer or someone in a higher position, remember to be sincere. Don’t come right out and ask for a job or favor. You’re building relationships that may be able to help you in the future, but your goal shouldn’t be personal gain at your initial meeting. In many cases, the most valuable advantages you can gain from a networking relationship are insight and knowledge. Try these questions at your next event. You may find that they help the conversation flow more freely and make it easier to develop lasting professional relationships.

BIO: Jessica Thiefels has been writing for more than 10 years and is currently a full-time writer, content marketing consultant and business owner. She’s been featured in Forbes and Business Insider and has written for Manta, LeadPages, Salesforce and more. Follow her on Twitter @Jlsander07 and connect LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of the glasshammer.com

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The “New Rules” and You: How to Thrive in the Organization of the Future

By Lisa Iarkowski

Image via Shutterstock

The digital age is upon us, for better and for worse. As anyone with a smart phone can attest, technology is advancing faster than ever. At the touch of a button, we skype with family overseas, share information with coworkers, check in with our kids, and track our daily steps. As individuals, we are adapting relatively quickly but many businesses are having a hard time keeping up with the rapid pace of technology and are struggling to redesign their organizations to remain competitive. Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report suggests businesses around the globe are ill-prepared to build the organization of the future. In their survey of 10,000 organizations across 140 countries in a broad cross section of industries, Deloitte reports that 88% of businesses say that building the organization of the future is important or very important, but only 11% of businesses say they are prepared to do so. Deloitte shares trends and “new rules” organizations need to follow to redesign their organizations for the future.

The New Rules

Organization 21—Designed with You in Mind

The organization built for the future will be organized for learning, innovation, and customer impact. What can we expect?

Employee experience at the center. Successful organizations will prioritize and reshape the employee experience by creating a more holistic, work-life balanced, end-to-end recruitment-to-retirement experience that their employees are seeking. Employees can expect more help with balancing personal and professional demands, compensation, financial and nonfinancial benefits (such as meals, leaves, vacation, fitness, wellness programs), and rewards and recognition designed to make people’s lives better.

How we work together. The traditional hierarchical structures will give way to agile networks and small, project teams empowered by team leaders and fueled by collaboration and knowledge sharing. Employees will have greater support for risk-taking, creativity, and innovation. There will be more opportunities for greater input, influence, and leadership. In the future organization, leadership is a role anyone can play.

Who we work with and the skills we need. Teams will be more diverse. The traditional workforce will continue to be augmented with contingent workers, contractors, and crowds. Essential human skills will be augmented by technology (robotics, artificial intelligence) to perform nonessential tasks. Research by Deloitte in the United Kingdom finds that the future workforce will require a “balance of technical skills and more general purpose skills such as problem solving skills, creativity, social skills, and emotional intelligence.”

How leaders lead. Still crucial, leadership will align with the future organization’s focus on learning, innovation, and customer impact. Effective leaders of the future are agile, collaborative and team-based. A leader’s success will be measured less by their expertise or judgement in a given area, and more by their agility and creativity, their ability to build and lead teams, and to utilize resources such as client teams and crowds to solve new business challenges.

How we grow our careers. Careers for employees and leaders will be built on advancement through many assignments and diverse, multi-functional experiences, as opposed to a linear, hierarchical progression up the ranks. Employees will see growth opportunities through increased training and support on the job, continuous feedback on goals and performance, and more access to continuous learning through flexible, mobile, on demand content.

Get Ready for the Future – Now

How can we survive the shift and prepare ourselves to thrive in the future organization? Here are some suggestions:

Build your change muscles. You can get more comfortable with change. In fact, your happiness at work depends on it, as change is not going away, ever. Knowledge is your super power here. The more information you have, the more you understand the change, why it’s happening, and what it means to you personally, the easier change is to roll with. If you find yourself feeling resistant, ask yourself “what else do I need to know about this?” Armed with information, ask yourself “where’s my opportunity?” Focus on your opportunity. Of course, if a change still seems like a bad idea, then bring forward the risks and provide alternative solutions. Super Power Booster: Step it up a notch and become a change leader in your organization. Volunteer to be part of a team or lead on a change that is meaningful to you. Offer to mentor others struggling to adapt, or offer to mentor a senior leader who needs to know how changes are affecting employees.

Take small bites, chew thoroughly. Change can feel overwhelming because there is just so much of it. It can help to break down changes into smaller pieces and do one of thing at a time. Multitasking is not your friend here. While it feels like you are doing more, you end up more stressed and not as productive as when you focus on one thing at a time. This approach can also help you build capacity to try new things and take risks (which are both future organization skills you’ll need). Super Power Booster: Work with your team to select one change you want to make on a project—just one. Pilot that change, set two milestones to assess how it’s going, and make changes as needed. Set the expectations upfront that the team should expect to tweak how things are working based on their feedback.

Make Friends with Tech

Admit it, often we’re drowning in email, tweets, texts, and meetings. As teams become increasingly global and augmented, we need help simplifying and organizing how we communicate, share information, and meet. Collaboration tools like Workplace, Slack, Basecamp, Asana, Trello, and Workboard may be options. Investigate tools your organization uses now or is planning to implement. As your organization continues to bring new technology solutions online, be open to training and learning. Super Power Booster: Experiment or pilot one collaboration tool to simplify how your team communicates and works together on one project. Assess how it’s working.

Build Your Essential Skillset, Continuously

More and more, essential human skills will be augmented by technology to perform nonessential tasks. Essential human skills for the future workforce include project management, listening, and moral and ethical decision making, empathy, communication, persuasion, personal service, and strategic decision making. Managers who can coach and develop staff will be in demand, as will leaders who demonstrate agility, collaboration, resilience, and systems thinking. Invest in your own training and learning in these essential skills. Leverage your organization’s training programs or create your own through external resources like Udacity, Udemy, Coursera, NovoEd, and edX which offer accessible, low-no cost high quality-learning. Deloitte reports that skills are becoming obsolete at an accelerating rate, with learned skills having a half-life of only 5 years. Expect that keeping your skills fresh will be an ongoing process of growth that will help you stay competitive. Adopt a continuous learning mindset, where your learning is “always on.”. Power Booster: Create a learning plan with milestones to grow and practice your skills in areas that are crucial to your continued development and success. To increase your knowledge about other functional areas, reach out to colleagues or consider asking to work on a short-term project in another functional group.

Own Your Career

More career development help is a promise of the future organization. But no one cares more about your career more than you, and this is a good time to revisit or create your career development plan. As organizations shift into matrix or lateral structures, how you can advance within the organization will change. Your plan should consider how organizations of the future will create advancement opportunities, and can include assessing what is meaningful to you, your professional and personal goals, and how you want to invest in your own learning and training, as well as how you can balance your personal and professional demands. Check with your HR rep: your organization may already have career development tools that they use or recommend. Another thing to keep in mind is that talent recruiters are relying more on social media beyond just LinkedIn, with Twitter, Facebook, Glassdoor, Pinterest, and Quora. Consider pushing your professional presence beyond LinkedIn; get active on social media to create a dynamic professional presence. Super Power Booster: Work with a career or executive coach to help you create a career development plan. Find a mentor or sponsor in your organization who can guide and promote you in creating advancement opportunities to grow your career.

Many of you are already doing these habits and actions. You are the future!

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