Promises, Promises. Do You Keep Yours In Business?

Contributed by Beate Chelette

You’re waiting, by the phone, for a scheduled business call or an exploratory communication about a new project. Fifteen, then 20 minutes pass, and no call. Not even a text message explaining the delay. It’s happened to me three times in the last week and it is plenty annoying. Or people RSVP for a seminar they’ve registered for but then never show up. This kind of behavior seems to be popping up everywhere more and more. Have you noticed it, too?

Business experts and sociologists confirm that manners in business are in decline, reflecting a general deterioration of etiquette that is a consequence of changing times, attitudes, and social media. Smartphones make it easier to navigate our social and professional lives, and if you are like me, your gadgets rule your business and personal life. Technology was supposed to make communication easier, but people hide behind e-mail or text messages to cancel appointments last minute or after the fact, or do things that feel uncomfortable to do in person or on the phone. We have all done it. And the result? The standards of what is acceptable for being late and when and how to cancel have been lowered.

There is even a new term for it called “digital flakiness.” But here’s the thing: if you believe that nobody notices that you have fallen into this category, think again. People you do business with will notice. Last week a potential client set up a free consultation with me and missed the first one. His excuse was that he thought the meeting was the following day. Then he contacted my executive assistant to confirm the second appointment only to never show up! This is not someone I want to do business with. This person is not at my professional level.

There are a lot of excuses out there, some genuine and others just ridiculous and they can accumulate and end up hurting your professional reputation.

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5 Ways to Bring Entrepreneurial Energy to Your Corporate Career

Contributed by Ekaterina Walter, author of Think Like Zuck

I was attending a big event for entrepreneurs. I was in the world of young founders and Facebook wannabes. At some point a guy who I was having a conversation with leaned over and asked what I did. He seemed disappointed when I told him I worked for a big brand. “Oh,” he said, “that would drive me nuts.” What he meant was that the lack of agile decision-making, high levels of bureaucracy, and the lack of opportunities for fast advancement.

Now wait just a minute! That’s just a lazy excuse, I thought to myself. I have worked in a number of large companies in my career and, even though I did see some of the shortcomings this gentleman was so afraid of, I have also seen amazing innovation happen. I don’t believe for a second that one has to be an entrepreneur to leave a mark on the world or pursue a dream.

But no matter where we are, we do need some guidance, a roadmap, to living a full life or building a successful career.

In writing my book, Think Like Zuck, I looked at what makes organizations, small and large, successful. I looked at companies like Facebook, Threadless, Dyson, 3M, Zappos, TOMS Shoes and others. And what I realized is that they have a lot of things in common. From there I created a framework and combined those things into 5 categories, 5 Ps. Today, however, I want to use this framework not to talk about the business and organizational success, but rather to talk about professional success on a personal level. And I’d like to do it from a female perspective.

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Your Strengths & Triple Chocolate Cake: When Less is More

Contributed by Sara Canaday

You know what they say about too much of a good thing… Besides triple chocolate cake, that concept also applies to our behaviors in the workplace.

Our peers and supervisors might tell us how much they appreciate our unstoppable enthusiasm. We have been rewarded for this attribute, so we crank it up. Then we discover later that our great reputation as an energetic team member has somehow morphed into a reputation as someone who drinks too many Red Bulls before 9 a.m.

Without realizing it, we have crossed the line. Our positive attribute starts having a negative impact. Even if it’s inadvertent, it can be just as devastating to our careers.

This is an example of what I call our professional blind spots – the unintentional behaviors that hold us back, even when we seem to be doing everything else right to get ahead. Sometimes we simply can’t see what’s blocking our success. It might be very subtle, but our colleagues have the advantage of an outside perspective. And they notice. Sadly, those subtle behaviors can have enormous negative impact when we are being considered for jobs, promotions, bonuses, or stock options.

While we may be able to think of people who don’t recognize the impact of their own personality quirks, this is much harder to pinpoint. Overdoing our own strengths is a seductive blind spot that can sabotage even the most promising careers. As women, we have enough challenges moving beyond the glass ceiling without undermining our own efforts with hidden blind spots. So how can we avoid this trap, allowing one of our best assets to silently become a liability?

I want to share two strategies that can help you capitalize on your strengths to accelerate your career without unknowingly dragging down your forward momentum.

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The Perfect Person: Finding, Hiring, and Training New Talent with the Human Factor

Contributed by Filippo Galluppi

How do we find people to help us?

Traditionally, hiring someone during a recession should be easier than during a time of full employment. But we are not looking for just bodies today. We are looking for someone who can be interested in what we are doing and who we want to have working for or with us and who will be easy to train (if necessary).

We may also add to the requirement (in some cases) that the candidate be innovative or teach us something without their wanting to take over our job. That leads to questions like, “Would that put them in competition with us, to the detriment of both of us?” Now what? Where to find them for the least expense or the least amount of time?

We can start with networking and putting the word out with vendors, suppliers, customers, and in some cases competitors. After trying networking, it may be possible to contact the Human Resources departments of other companies that are in a downsizing mode. This can be especially useful if you are in a position to accept an even part-time candidate on a temporary basis while conducting a wider range search. If you’re looking for experience it’s one thing, if you’re just looking for someone to train, it’s another.

However, if you remember the human factor, you can find the perfect person to hire and train – in order to meet your needs as an employer and theirs as an employee. Here’s how.

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Leadership and Authorization: Our Publisher’s 2012 Year End Review

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By Nicki Gilmour, Founder and CEO of The Glass Hammer

Last week saw a flurry of activity around women’s progress at work. It was a fitting end to a year that has been coined the Year of the Woman, due to increased female political representation here in the US and perhaps due to a few high profile appointments in the business world, such as Marissa Mayer as CEO of Yahoo and Virginia Rometty as CEO of IBM.

But before we start celebrating that our work is done here at The Glass Hammer, I would like to suggest that excessive media coverage of one or two appointments of women to top spots does not gender parity make.

Good Conversations

Last week, the 2020 Women on Boards campaign produced a series of events across the US on 12/12/12. 2020 WOB ’s mission is raising awareness to help get more women on boards – 20 percent by 2020 to be precise. I attended one of these events hosted by the Forté Foundation and Ernst & Young in New York.

I was impressed by the event’s dialogue, which recognized that corporate practices needed to change if women are to be recruited onto boards. I was encouraged by the poignant discussion around systems and policies being reviewed – such as terms limits for board members and retirement ages, which average 75 years old.

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Fast Contributors Make More Money than Fast Learners – Which One Are You?

Contributed by Melissa Llarena

Conversations with 15 executives, many who earn more in one hour than some employees make annually, revealed that progressing toward important goals commands more money than simply being a fast learner. I find that many aspiring career changers focus on their ability to quickly learning complex subjects while hiring managers unanimously say that no one cares about fast learners.

As a finance professional, you risk career suicide if you cannot prove you are a fast contributor to a hiring manager. Why? Thousands of finance professionals are being involuntarily s-q-u-e-e-z-e-d out of work. For example, the US finance sector contracted by 200K jobs in 2011, according to a Bloomberg article. Preparatory skills for a career transition matter more if you are a Gen X-er because you are on the cusp of your highest income earning years. Outstanding debts and family needs do not permit unemployment outside of your sector. Therefore, you must attract a strong job offer wherever you land.

If you have worked in finance, then being a fast learner is a given. When banks consolidated, you quickly adapted to post-merge cultures. Alternatively, to survive the finance industry’s ever-changing regulations, you figured out on-policy ways to maximize profit.

Instead, hiring managers want to know that you are a fast contributor.

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A Conversation with Young Women in Business

Contributed by John Keyser, Founder and Principal of Common Sense Leadership

I had the privilege two weeks ago of conversing with Georgetown Women in Business, a club formed by women in the MBA programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. They all had worked at least four years in the corporate world before coming back to complete their graduate studies. They are a highly global group, which is true of the university itself, as students are from countries around the world.

Among the topics we discussed was leadership without authority.

As one works her way up, she will frequently be in a position to lead without authority. It is important to recognize that leadership is helping others do the right things well. We may influence 1,000 people, or 100, or even one other person, that team member or colleague who needs inspiration or direction.

Be helpful. Be encouraging, be a friend and a coach. Help others. It’s good for everyone, and for your career!

A woman can do this so effectively by using her natural leadership skills, as the best leadership comes from the heart. These skills include:

  • asking purposeful questions
  • listening to understand, and with care
  • having meaningful conversations
  • developing important relationships
  • caring about the village – the team – not being self consumed.

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Why It Can Feel So Much More Lonely at the Top for Women

Contributed by Inge Woudstra, Founding Director of Mum & Career

Once in a leadership role, many women report feeling on their own, lonely, and lacking support. You know you are good at your job and your promotion was deserved. But how do you treat your team members who were your peers only yesterday? You wonder: “Can I still have a chat, or join in a joke?” And you can’t help noticing, but why on earth does the conversation suddenly stop at the water cooler when you approach? Can you no longer be friends?

It’s not just that. Now that you are in a leadership position you find it increasingly hard to know who to take into confidence about the issues on your desk, and especially the people-issues. You don’t want to break confidentiality, but it’s sure hard to not talk about them at all.

Your fellow leaders don’t seem an option. They seem to have turned hostile overnight, and give you a sense they are competing with you. Why do you suddenly have to compete with everyone? Surely you deserve some support?!

These are thoughts women typically have a lot more than most men when they are promoted, and it makes them feel lonely. It’s not something to be ashamed of, not at all.

But it doesn’t have to be lonely for women. You can have fun and be the top dog, and it’s not even that hard to do once you know how it works.

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Turn Your Great Ideas Into Reality: Four Manageable Steps to Execute Your Business Brilliance

BeateCheletteContributed by Beate Chelette

Isn’t it the truth that we have these great ideas but somehow they get lost in the shuffle? As time goes by, these great ideas wane from our consciousness and soon they are forgotten. But let’s look a little deeper into how you can actualize those ideas.

The Nike slogan “Just Do It” sums it up for most of us. Don’t you wish you could just do that all the time? Why is it that we tend to postpone our goals and get sidetracked? How good is your brilliant idea if you can’t just do it? I know I’m not the only one who wonders how everything can get done in time, but here’s how I handle it: I trick my mind.

In order to get everything done I have to figure out the “how” first. And that usually starts with focusing on what’s the most important… but that’s easier said than done. What is truly and honestly the most important thing for you? Is it work, health, your relationship, your children, family or money? Once you have your true priority straight, take a look at what that means for your daily routine.

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Women Who Care Too Much (About Work)

Contributed by Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster

We are frequently told by CEOs that their female employees are the best performers because they care so deeply and take such pride in their work. This is not surprising. Relational by nature, most women join companies with the desire to be part of a team, to connect with the other players, and to deliver outstanding results.

The upside of women caring at work is the seriousness with which we take our positions and our responsibilities. Gifted at relationship building, women are also skilled at forming solid connections with both colleagues and clients. Women professionals naturally “tend and befriend,” expressing interest in both the business needs and personal concerns of those around them.

The down side of the female tendency to invest so much of themselves in work could be described as “caring too much.” It can be more difficult for women to “unplug” at the end of a long workday. Interactions with coworkers, customers, and vendors tend to “stick” and replay in our minds. And women can take workplace transactions too personally – letting negative feedback or criticism take a heavy toll on their self-esteem.

  • How many women have a hard time leaving work at the office – spending evenings and weekends worrying about who they may have let down or who they need to impress?
  • How often do women reel from negative feedback, or obsess over someone’s insensitive remarks?
  • How many women become overly invested in their client relationships – responding at any hour of the day or night to sudden requests from demanding accounts?

As the number of professional women continues to grow, and women attain higher positions of responsibility and authority, it becomes increasingly important to temper the caring that is inherently female so that we can succeed in our careers without burning out. We need to find ways to care less while accomplishing more. We need skills to disentangle ourselves from the interpersonal webs that can zap our energy and cloud our focus.

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