Tag Archive for: career advice

Elevate Yourself: How to Articulate Your Value and Advance Your Career in Two Easy Steps

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Image via Shutterstock

Image via Shutterstock

What are your career aspirations? When you’re dreaming about the future, do you see yourself in a bigger role, leading your team to impressive results and having a powerful influence in your company? Then there’s good news. You are the one who can elevate yourself to reach that higher-level position.

It’s true. The leaders who are most successful are the ones who lead themselves and lead others to see them as successful high-achievers worthy of promotion.

Unfortunately, many leaders miss this opportunity. Either they don’t realize how much influence and control they have over their own careers, or they neglect to communicate their value. You can speed up your advancement by taking ownership of your career, knowing your value, and articulating your successes in a way that leads to new opportunities.

Being able to articulate your value is a key tool for success and advancement. Here are the two steps you need to take.

Know Your Value.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I know the impact of my efforts?

2. Have I defined the specific contributions that I’ve made?

3. Can I gracefully, elegantly, and clearly articulate the value that I bring?

If you have difficulty answering these questions, it could be for one of two reasons. One, it may be that you are not adding as much value or making as big a contribution as you would like. If that’s the case, it’s time to rethink your approach so you can be more impactful. Two, it may be that you’re adding plenty of value to your company and even excelling in your role, but you haven’t taken the time to clarify that value in an effective message. If that is the case, it is time to do some wordsmithing and craft the message you can easily share with others to help them see your value.

Either way, whether you are focused on improving your impact or communicating your impact to others, this is an effort that is worth your attention. By knowing and describing your value to others, you will open new doors of opportunity and advancement.

Prove Your Worth.

Once you succeed in identifying and articulating your value, the next step is to prove your worth.

Here are some more questions you can ask yourself:

1. What specific role have I played that created a positive outcome for the company?

2. What outcomes or deliverables have I achieved?

3. What are those roles, outcomes, and deliverables worth?

What you are searching for as you do this analysis are specific metrics: your concrete, measureable results. Look for numbers, percentages, dollar figures and other persuasive metrics that quantify the impact you have made. You’ll know you have proved your worth when you can effectively identify the specific benefits your company has gained as a result of your efforts and achievements.

Remember: when it comes to career advancement, you have more control than you think. Take the time to identify and communicate your value. When you do this for yourself, you’ll increase your confidence and impact. When you share it with others, you’ll elevate yourself into the positions you want.

You really do make an impact. Give yourself the opportunity to be the leader you most want to be by helping others see your value, too.

Howard J. Morgan and Joelle K. Jay, PhD, of the Leadership Research Institute (LRI) are co-authors of THE NEW ADVANTAGE: How Women in Leadership Can Create Win-Wins for Their Companies and Themselves (Praeger / 2016). For more information please visit www.TheNewAdvantageBook.com.

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Why Wanting More at Work Can Be a Good and a Bad Thing

Image via Shutterstock - Business woman/Career Advice

Image via Shutterstock

I am very guilty of living in the future and this can lead to not being 100% engaged in the present. I justify it by saying that I am a good planner who understands that companies don’t build themselves and argue that the power of an arc in anyone’s professional narrative is part of one’s brand. My executive coach (yes, I am an executive coach who has an executive coach, because I can’t say it enough, everyone can benefit from having one) and several close friends might argue that I am a malcontent. We are all right as there is a fine line between strategy and sabotage regarding your own career plans and happiness in life.

It turns out that neuroscience confirms that seeking out new situations is very much a part of what the brain is supposed to do. Neuroscientist Jaak Panskepp argues that of seven core instincts in the human brain (anger, fear, panic-grief, maternal care, pleasure/lust, play, and seeking), seeking is the most important.

Here are three reasons to live in the present:

1) You may actually have what you want professionally (and personally). Write down your ideal life in a realistic way or aspects of it and map that against your situation and you might see you are closer than you think and if not, then you at least can see where some gaps are and then you can go back to seeking, happily.

2) You may not have what you want, but you may have what you need. See above, this mapping exercise can help you see the positive aspects of your current situation. For example, if you have young kids and you want to see them more then weigh up if you really want that job that requires 80% travel.

3) There is a certainty in the present that you cannot guarantee with a future potential job. The devil you know and all that. You can also get real perspective on the situation to know if you need change or if you are forging change for the sake of it.

To be coached by Nicki Gilmour, CEO of theglasshammer and executive coach or by her coach and vetted partner Valerie Cherneski, contact Nicki today on 646 6882318 or nicki@theglasshammer.com

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Vacation Days: How to Negotiate for More PTO

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Vacation Days

Image via Shutterstock

As a smart, powerful woman, you’re used to negotiating. You’ve made your case for a higher salary equal to your peers, and gotten it. You’ve held your own against both male and female colleagues on projects, and won respect because of your fair, level-headed approach. All these reasons, and more, are why you’re on your way up the ladder.

But what about negotiating for other benefits, like vacation days? Assuming that benefits like paid time off are set in stone when you join a new company or are in a bargaining position during your yearly review is just that — an assumption.

You tend to forget about time off as a bargaining chip, but it’s a valuable asset to negotiate for. Next time the opportunity arises, think about how you can position yourself for more vacation time.

The Importance of Vacation

It’s no secret that America is way behind the rest of the world in vacation time when it comes to guaranteed, nation-wide benefits.

Although some firms have great benefits, legally, you aren’t entitled to any vacation days. Compare that to Brazil, where they’re entitled to 30 vacation days a year.

Work burnout is serious and can cause a lot of issues that can be detrimental to your health. Additionally, studies show that burnout subjects have issues managing their emotions, which could make them more vulnerable to depression. You don’t need something like that getting you down after how hard you’ve worked to make it this far.

In the long run, more paid time off could be even more valuable than a pay raise. Here’s how to get more than those guaranteed 10 days of vacation:

1. Negotiate Right Away

If you’re just starting a job, try to negotiate during the interview process. You can tell if the company really wants you and your skill set is in high demand. Use that as a bargaining chip. The more the company wants you, the more likely they’re going to give you that extra vacation —perhaps even more than you were expecting.

2. Know What You Want

Know the number you’re looking for before you go into the meeting. If you’re negotiating for more PTO instead of some sort of raise, figure out how much vacation time would equal the raise you would be getting. If you know what you want, you know you won’t stop until you get it.

3. Do Your Research

Here’s where your networking skills come in. Find out what other people in your industry have done to successfully negotiate – whether it’s a business deal or a PTO negotiation. See what other requests have been granted or denied to employees in your company. How much were they getting on average? This helps you come up with a number and also gives you insider info on how to get what you want.

It also helps to know the boss you’ll be asking for it from. If you have some trusted colleagues, start asking through the grapevine and see if there’s any timing in particular that works best or if there are certain ways to propose it. Knowing more about the boss lets you mold your presentation to be as attractive as possible.

4. Propose the Benefits of Vacation Time

In addition to the various health benefits it offers, vacation can improve your productivity. A study found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation an employee took, their performance ratings improved eight percent. If you show what a good refueling session can really do for your productivity, it’ll give incentive for both you and other employees to get the amount of vacation they need — and for your boss to grant it.

5. Make a Plan

How can your boss say no when you adequately demonstrate that no work will be left undone in your absence? Explain how you plan to work ahead and cover your work. You can even suggest a cross training program.

Cross training makes it easier for people to take vacations because other people are trained on how to do their job. Basically, as a powerful, smart woman, you get your work done before you leave, and anything that pops up while you’re gone will be covered by people you’ve trained to kick butt in your absence.

With jobs covered at any time, it’s easier for you — and other employees — to take the vacations you want. That’s just one of the benefits.

Tell them how it could lead to higher efficiency and productivity, as well as letting employees learn new skills and possibly discovering new talents in their job capabilities. Research stats to back up the benefits of cross training and create a whole presentation so it’s not just about your vacation time. Implementing this program could be beneficial to your career as well.

6. Be Prepared for a “No”

There’s a good chance your boss has a reason to say no, so don’t let it catch you off guard. You know how to prepare for this, so make sure you keep your cool when it happens. Ask if there are any circumstances that would allow more PTO to happen. Try and work together to find some sort of compromise, if there’s one to be made. Find a way to make it happen.

Show that you can get all of your work done before your vacation would even happen. You’re a powerful woman that can get everything done before you leave. If something were to come up while you’re gone, direct the boss towards the couple people you’ve trained to kick butt in your absence. Prepare ahead and make it hard for them to say no.

Time is something you can never get back. While the hassle of negotiations is never fun, this is something you want to take charge and make sure you get it.

By Sarah Landrum

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4 Steps to Put Positive Thinking Into Action for Success At Work

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happy working womenYou’ve heard about the power of positive thinking and the perils of negative thinking, but when it comes to your ability to reach goals or make dreams happen, the polarities of positive and negative thinking may matter less than getting the friction right between them.

In her HBR article, Gabrielle Oettingen, professor of psychology at NYU and University of Hamburg who has studied human motivation for twenty years, suggests that while negative thinking will never deliver you at the doorstep to your next goal, positive thinking – especially in the form of fantasizing about outcomes – hides some dangerous pitfalls that could keep you from the stairs.

Positive Outcome versus Pursuit

Achieving a goal takes some muster in walking the steps to get there. Even if they are small steps, it’s important to energize yourself towards taking them.

In their research paper, Kappes & Oettingen discuss that “positive fantasies do not lead people to anticipate having to exert cumbersome effort. Instead, positive fantasies allow people to embellish idealized paths to idealized future outcomes.”

Imagining yourself having already coasted without obstacle to your goal can be counterproductive. You mentally feel as though you’ve already arrived at your goal in the present moment, so you relax rather than energize. This can “obscure the need to invest effort in tasks that demand effort.”

Kappes & Oettingen found that fantasizing about a positive outcome can inhibit generating the energy you need to pursue it. They observed that positive fantasies about outcomes created lower physiological (systolic blood pressure) and behavioral energization than negative or neutral fantasies. The research showed “a causal relationship between positive fantasies about desired futures and low energy devoted to their realization.”

As Oettingen writes in HBR, “You’re less motivated to buck up and make the strong, persistent effort that is usually required to realize challenging but feasible wishes.”

They found, “Instead of promoting achievement, positive fantasies will sap job-seekers of the energy to pound the pavement, and drain the lovelorn of the energy to approach the one they like. Fantasies that are less positive – that question whether an ideal future can be achieved, and that depict obstacles, problems, and setbacks – should be more beneficial for mustering the energy needed to attain actual success.”

Easy versus Hard Steps

In further research, Kappes, Sharma & Oettingen found that when potential donors to charitable causes were encouraged to fantasize an ideal resolution to a current problem, they were less willing to put bigger and meaningful resources into actually helping address the problem.

When the demands for time or money were easy, or required relatively few resources, the positive thinkers were in step with the control group. But when the problem asked for more commitment from them – more time, more money, more effort – they folded. Since they’d already fantasized the ideal future as true, the effort to get there seems “overly demanding” now.

Fantasizing about the ideal outcome can mean not only failing to build up the energy to move towards it but also at some level rejecting that it should require significant energy and resources. That’s no recipe for being the agent of your dreams, wishes, or goals.

Positivity Gone Sour

As Oettingen writes in the European Review of Social Psychology, fantasies about attaining a positive future predict low effort and little success. What happens when you fantasize that a future outcome is highly accessible to you and yet your reality fails to meet it – possibly because you never harnessed the necessary drive and resolve to get there?

The opposite of positivity. The more we fail to reach the outcomes we believe should be accessible to us, the more it grinds us down. Oettingen notes, “Low effort and little success translate into more depressive symptoms over time.” This is whether it comes to an external goal (writing that book) or a personal desire (creating more healthy boundaries).

Unrealistic optimism has a habit of ending in hurt, when success doesn’t walk on over and take you by the hand to skip away into tomorrow, the way it did (kind of) in your mind.

“Mental Contrasting” – Put the Positivity into the Process

Rather than solely “indulging” in thoughts of a positive future or solely “dwelling” in the obstacles of a present reality, Oettingen has put forth both in papers and in her book Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation that the power is in “mentally contrasting” the two.

Oettingen developed the process “W-O-O-P”: “Wish-Outcome-Obstacle-Plan.” Her book applies this process to three areas: health, personal and professional relationships, and performing at work.

Step #1 Wish

First, you bring the wish you have for the future to mind, a goal or change that is challenging but possible to achieve in a certain time frame. Maybe it’s getting the lead role on a project team.

Steo #2 Outcome

Second, you let your mind run with fantasizing about the future if your wish came true – what does the best possible outcome feel like? Maybe you imagine yourself in the position and handling it brilliantly, feeling confident and strong.

Step #3 Obstacle

Then, you mentally elaborate on the current reality that stands in the way of realizing this future – what obstacles exist? Bringing up obstacles isn’t negativity – it’s taking a glance at the map so you plan your route strategically. Oettingen advises to ask yourself, “”What is it in me that stands in the way?” simply because you can’t control others. Maybe you realize you have a tendency to undermine the critical role you play in the team’s success because you focus on enabling them.

Step #4 Plan

Make a plan for how you can overcome the obstacle. When it comes to overcoming ingrained behaviors or dealing with specific obstacle scenarios, Oettingen suggests using an implementation intervention such as an “if/then” statement. For example, “If I talk about the team’s success, I’ll play up my personal approach to getting the best results from a team.”

Through Mental Contrasting, Oettingen and Schwörer argue that you are now linking the future to the reality: “It creates determined goal pursuit, reveals the critical situation (obstacle of reality), and links the reality with the instrumental action to overcome the reality (goal-directed action).”

If you have high expectations on being able to overcome the reality, this leads to increased effort, more engagement, and hence more success. The positivity comes in being able to envision yourself taking agency in overcoming the obstacles to make your wish attainable.

On the other hand, if the “WOOP” practice reveals low expectations in being able to overcome obstacles, you may want to discern to put your resources and attention elsewhere.

When we hone our positive thinking power towards our ability to take each necessary step towards our wishes – even the challenging ones that ask for our strength, humility, or perseverance- then positivity can stop being only a beacon in the distance, or a warm feeling for something we’ve yet to do, and become a guiding light that keeps us moving on the path to what we most want.

By Aimee Hansen

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Dealing with a Narcissist at work

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

No matter what the job entails task-wise (competence assumed), it is the politics and the inter-personal dynamics that will make or break you.

Image via Shutterstock - Office Politics

Image via Shutterstock

Personality, we all have one, but some people definitely make the workday easier or tougher due to their personality quirks.

The Fall 2016 edition of the HBR’s On Point magazine explores working with different types of people at work including stars who are narcissistic and detrimental to team performance, morale and culture. I think timing is everything and it is no coincidence that this season’s issue on this topic coincides with an election in the US as the articles included span 15 years of research. Other articles include a coaching the alpha male, toxic employees and sabotaging colleagues.

Teams with members who have a narcissistic personality in them often suffer the most individually and as a group, as the person in question often has no clue that the impact of their actions is hard on others.

Even if their have the best of intentions for themselves and if they think they are being benevolent, it is literally impossible for them to think out long term consequences due to the need to look good in the moment. Remind you of anyone?

These folks are often star performers, often male (although not limited to males) and therefore get away with bad behaviors due to their “numbers” or other specific skills. The trouble manifests when they are allowed to run meetings, chastise support staff and generally get an ounce of power or responsibility that they interpret as power to be use and abused.

How many times have you seen this person interrupt others or shut down team brainstorming ideas? How many staff members has he or she upset?

So, how do you deal with someone who is demeaning, demotivating and discrediting the work of others and causing a cultural issue by making bad behavior acceptable?
If you are the boss, manager or leader then you have an opportunity to ensure that the team structure focuses experts on their narrow role such as keeping narcissistic sales people selling. Role and task definition makes it easier for all people to know what they need to do and also need not to do. Conversations around behavior change absent of structural change are often wasted on this person and coaching is not impossible but not easy.

If you are not the boss, then work for companies that just do not tolerate bad behavior (rare, I know) or keeps these folks contained so that they are self-contained and do not become toxic employees or even worst, they become leaders.

If the boss is a narcissist then you may have an inspiring personality at the helm with vision or an espoused vision and often have loyal followers. These leaders expect adulation and empathy and wont return the favor. As the article by Michael Maccoby exploring the pros and cons of narcissistic leaders in the HBR roundup by states, “ Narcissists have a vision –but that is not enough. People in mental hospitals have visions.”

My opinion on the matter is that life is short, get a different job with a mentally stable boss and given the choice don’t make them leaders of your team, company or country.

If you are interested in hiring an Executive Coach to help you navigate your career then please email Nicki@theglasshammer.com to discuss further

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Can Being Slightly Narcissist Help You Become a Leader?

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female leaderIn the past couple of years, there has been great emphasis on women being more confident in order to become more leaderlike so that they can be promoted to leadership positions. The ugly side of having confidence is being overly entitled and having narcissist tendencies, and this is something that is rarely discussed while looking at leaders of both genders. Are you or is your boss a narcissist?

It turns out that in general men are more narcissistic than women, according to a meta-analysis of 475,000 participants across three decades, which generated headlines running the gamut from The Huffington Post to Science Daily to The Daily Mail, and it did. As The Washington Post responded, “This surprises no one.”

But this isn’t about a battle of the sexes. With findings in hand, researcher Emily Grijalva, PhD, from the University of Buffalo School of Management and her co-authors crack open bigger questions about how our culture shapes people, shapes leadership, shapes outcomes. And how gender-disparate outcomes – playing out in your office and perhaps your career – reinforce the gender stereotypes creating them.

What makes you a narcissist?

The study that was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, examined over 350 journal articles, dissertations, manuscripts and technical manuals and analysed gender differences in three facets of narcissism across nearly half a million people and age groups. The researchers examined responses to statements designed to identify individual levels of each of these three aspects.

  • Entitlement/Exploitation (E/E) is the most maladaptive facet, correlated with negative behaviors and outcomes such as aggression and manipulation.
  • Illustrative questions: “I insist upon getting the respect that is due to me” and “I find it easy to manipulate people.”
  • Leadership/authority (L/A) – is the most adapative facet and reflects motivation for authority and desire for power.
  • Illustrative questions: “I would prefer to be a leader” and, “I like having authority over people.”
  • Grandiosity/Exhibitionism (G/E) – is tendencies of vanity, self-absorption, exhibitionism, and superiority.
  • Illustrative questions: “I really like to be the center of attention” and “I know that I am good because everybody keeps telling me so.”

Grijalva notes that because narcissism is associated with outcomes, examining gender differences in narcissism may help to explain gender disparity when it comes to women in leadership positions in Corporate America.

A little bit of Narcissism can help you in your career

“I think it’s best characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, believing you are more important and special than other people and being less empathetic to others,” author Grijalva says of narcissism in a video interview.

While it would be widely agreed that narcissism is not an attractive aspect of the human condition – cross-cultural fables after all tend to emphasize the perils- it still nets some positive individual outcomes.In fact, healthy or adaptive narcissism – the right aspects in the “right degree” – relate to positive well-being, confidence, self-sufficiency and even parenting.

“Narcissism is associated with various interpersonal dysfunctions, including an inability to maintain healthy long-term relationships, unethical behavior and aggression,” said author Grijalva.

“At the same time, narcissism is shown to boost self-esteem, emotional stability and the tendency to emerge as a leader.” She also points out that it’s associated with making a strong first impression and being perceived as charismatic.

The study found that men, across generations and regardless of age, consistently scored measurably higher than women in the first two categories of narcissism.

The widest gender gap was in the maladaptive facet of entitlement and exploitation.

According to the researchers,on average men, but of course not every man, are more likely to feel entitled to special privileges and be willing to exploit others to advance self-interest.

This is interesting since research has demonstrated that one impact of having women present on corporate boards is higher ethical and social compliance.

The second largest gap was in leadership and authority, where the researchers assert men demonstrated greater assertiveness and desire for power (for its sake) than women.

But when it came to grandiosity and exhibitionism, or traits like vanity and self-absorption, there was no gap between genders.

Messaging from a young age and the impact on stereotypes

Pulling on previous research, the study speculates the narcissism gap may be reflective of both biological and social differences, ingrained and self-fulfilling gender stereotypes. This means narcissism could be encouraged and developed in males, or punished and suppressed in females, through gender conditioning.

The researchers suggest societal “agentic” definitions of masculinity overlap with narcissism and societal “communal” definitions of femininity exclude it.

“Individuals tend to observe and learn gender roles from a young age, and may face backlash for deviating from society’s expectations,” Grijalva says. “In particular, women often receive harsh criticism for being aggressive or authoritative, which creates pressure for women, more so than for men, to suppress displays of narcissistic behavior.”

The researchers suggest it’s more socially acceptable for men to display “agentic characteristics” such as dominance and assertiveness, which reinforces more narcissistic personality tendencies, and also means they emerge as leaders.

This gender-disparate outcome self-perpetuates: men keep emerging as leaders, leadership traits continue to be male-associated, and more women continue to suppress their “agentic” sides to conform to gender expectations and avoid cultural backlash.

Society keeps looking at its face in the mirror, and seeing the same reflection.

Interestingly, the study also looked at college students from 1990-2013 and found no evidence that neither men nor women had become more or less narcissistic with time, letting the Millennial generation off the hook in this particular study- despite the rise in “selfies”.

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Why Being a Working Mom is Good for Your Children, Not to Mention Gender Equality

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Working motherAt work, or on your way? You may be helping your daughter’s professional future (and we’re not just talking college fund) or improving gender equality in your son’s future household.

As part of their new Gender Initiative, which seeks to “change the conversation around gender and work”, Harvard Business School released a study of over 30,000 adults across 24 countries which explored how having a working mother as a child affects educational, economic, and social outcomes as an adult. A working mother was defined as a mom that ever worked (part-time, full-time, etc) outside of the house before her child (the survey participant) was 14 years old.

Across the 24 countries, daughters of working mothers grew up to be more likely to have completed more years of education, to be employed, to be in supervisory roles, and earn higher incomes than daughters of non-working mothers. Sons of working mothers grew up to spend more time on household chores and taking care of family members than sons of non-working mothers.

Particularly, daughters of working moms in the USA have half a year more education, are 36% more likely to have a supervisory role (33.4% v 24.6%), and earn 23% more ($35.5K vs $28.9K average) than daughters of non-working moms. Sons of working moms spent 7 more hours caring for family members and 15 minutes more housework compared to sons of non-working moms.

According to lead researcher Dr. Kathleen McGinn, “This is as close to a silver bullet as you can find in terms of helping reduce gender inequalities, both in the workplace and at home.”

The Impact of Alternative Parental Role Models

Exposure to role models is critical for women in the workplace, in order to be able to envision yourself in a role which otherwise might not seem accessible. The working mom effect also comes down to alternative role modeling, the opening of possibilities around roles and responsibilities.

The researchers were not concerned about the nature or intensity of a working mom’s work, whether it was full-time or part-time, but rather simply how it played out when children were exposed to “a role model who showed you that women work both inside and outside the home.”

According to McGinn, “What it’s about is modeling alternatives for your children, letting them see that there are multiple roles that women can play and multiple roles that men can play in their lives at work and lives at home.” As the study showed, experiencing alternative role models that “aren’t constrained by really tight gender stereotypes” had different impacts for daughters and sons.

“What daughters of working moms see is that it’s okay to go to work, it’s completely normal, that’s something that women do,” said McGinn. “Sons see something really different and that is everybody has to pitch in here. There’s no good way to maintain a management of a life outside of the home and a life at home unless everybody at home is working together.” Previous research has shown that sons of working moms are also more likely to be married to working women.

McGinn told the Washington Post, “…working moms are affecting their children’s gender attitudes. They’re affecting the way they think about what’s appropriate behavior. And those gender attitudes in turn are affecting outcomes.”

Underlining the point, she says, “There are very few things, that we know of, that have such a clear effect on gender inequality as being raised by a working mother.”

No One Path For Parenting

According to McGinn, “There’s very, very little research suggesting that being raised by a working mom is bad for kids. I think that’s something we harbor.” It appears we do, and it’s exactly these notions that the research hopes to dispel.

A previous Pew survey found that while 34% of working moms felt increasing numbers of working moms were good for society, an equal 34% felt it was bad, and a further 31% felt neutral about it.When you look at the total population, negativity towards working moms gets stronger (41%), showing the influence of a strong societal belief. But when asking all adults this question, respondents with a working mom were less negative than those without.

Mothers who work full-time are also likely to be hardest on themselves when rating their own parenting, only 28% rating themselves as a 9/10 (about same as dads at 26%) versus 41% of part-time workings moms and 43% of non-working moms.

As Gender Initiative director Robin Ely points out, “So much of what people think they know about gender is simply not substantiated by empirical evidence but instead is informed by gender stereotypes.” The objective of the initiative is to break the conversation from the stereotypes.

In the HBS study, working mothers actually spent equal time caring for their children.A meta-analysis has shown that children of working mothers have less depression and anxiety and recent research found that quantity of time with children between ages 3 and 11 matters less than the quality of your presence when you’re with your children.

McGinn is quick to point out that this doesn’t mean moms should work, just that there are benefits to alternative role modeling which go against societal preconceptions.

“There’s a lot of parental guilt about having both parents working outside the home,” McGinn says. “But what this research says to us is that not only are you helping your family economically—and helping yourself professionally and emotionally if you have a job you love—but you’re also helping your kids. So I think for both mothers and for fathers, working both inside and outside the home gives your kids a signal that contributions at home and at work are equally valuable, for both men and women. In short, it’s good for your kids.”

Ultimately, it’s up to every family and every woman to make their own decisions about what is right for them and not based on societal ideas of what’s right for all families, all women, or all children.

No such “right” exists.

By Aimee Hansen

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Can You See A Promotional Path At Work? Leaving To Go Up The Ladder

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Woman-on-a-ladder-searchingBy Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

This summer we have talked about the scenarios that tend to create catalysts for talented people to seek out career coaches to help them navigate the promotional pathway which sometimes means leaving your current team or firm.

When I am coaching, I often hear that my client does not see a clear promotional path and this can be due to many elements but it always involves politics and people.

Sometimes the lack of vision to what the next internal move is is simply due to rigid corporate structures and a perceived lack of places to be promoted into. The old adages “Dead Men’s Shoes” or “Not enough pie to go around” are often mentioned here. Sometimes that is true, but sometimes you need to realize that space will be made for the “right” people. (* the phrase right people could be a whole article in itself, but that is for another day later this summer on unconscious bias, keep reading this column.)

In other instances, what companies sometimes do not grasp is that ambition does vary person to person but having systemic grind due to bad organizational development creates a pebble in everyone’ shoes that simply de-motivates even the most focused players over time. Can this be addressed? Yes. Is it usually addressed in firms? No. Sadly, due to the slightly invisible nature of company and team culture, the average manager cannot start to solve these issues.

Sometimes wanting to leave is about an individual manager or team member, but proper organizational development work can eliminate many of the bad behaviors that can be practiced by less than desirable coworkers. Bad behaviors appear when survivalism is the culture so some of these same folks might be quite nice colleagues in a different environment. Lewin’s theory suggests that behavior is a function of personality PLUS environment, or in other words, the perfect storm can occur in any firm for hellish behaviors to become commonplace.

Either way, it really is about leaving to get a promotion and work in a better culture.

Culture is “how we do things around here” and that is why we coach here at the glasshammer as we think we have the secret weapon for our coachees- we focus on you the individual but we understand the organizational structures and cultural markers so that we can help you pick the right firm and the right opportunity as your next promotion is everything! Call us for 8 sessions (over 18 months) for an introductory price of $2500 and watch your career take off.

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Things to Negotiate for….Besides More Money

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Smartly dressed young women shaking hands in a business meeting at office deskYou’re no stranger to the idea of salary negotiation when it comes to career advancement, but that’s just one of the fringe benefits up for discussion at the bargaining table on your road to the C-suite. You can’t go in assuming that certain perks like maternity leave or promotions are a given. Be prepared. One of the most effective tools at your disposal is your bargaining power.

Be Bold

Sheryl Sandberg discusses many of these points in her book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.” Don’t be afraid to go to the table knowing what you want for the future of your career. Take charge, as Sheryl writes:

“Taking initiative pays off. It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.”

That doesn’t mean you should storm through the office door and make outrageous demands, expecting them to be met instantly. Approach the situation with the right information and engage in tactful and professional discussion. Not sure exactly what that means or what those negotiations should entail? Here are six topics to keep in mind, and how you should approach them.

1. Flex Time

In the modern workplace, there are actually more people than you think working outside of the office with more flexible, nontraditional schedules. In a 2013 survey by the research group Catalyst, four out of every five respondents holding graduate-level degrees said they had some kind of work flexibility with their employer – that’s a whopping 81 percent.

In order to secure that type of perk at your next position, you’ve got to go in knowing exactly what you want from the flex time – both the when and the why. Your employer is going to be more keen to accept this stipulation if you have a detailed plan heading into negotiations. Be sure that you’ve cross-referenced any existing flex-time policy with the HR department to cover all your bases.

2. Professional and Personal Development

Make sure your future employer knows about your interest in professional and personal development. Continuing to learn and grow in your chosen profession keeps your skills innovative and creative, which will enrich the working environment for those around you as well. In fact, this type of incentive is among one of the most sought-after additions to an employment package by millennials. Consider asking about family friendly programs that encourage a work/life-balance, one of the most important points for Gen Xers.

3. Promotions

If you find yourself facing your annual review, consider your promotion options. Don’t be afraid to demonstrate how you’ve added value to the company, and why you should be considered for compensation.
Of course this doesn’t just magically happen one day by telling your boss you’re a rock star and should be paid accordingly. You need to work on cultivating a relationship and proving you are a valuable member of the company – these real bosses will give it to you straight.

In fact, a study done by Accenture in 2011 found that 85 percent of employees out of the 3,400 companies it surveyed got something – whether a large increase in salary to some kind of other incentive – simply by asking for a raise.

4. Maternity/Paternity Leave

Unfortunately, this is still an issue. In all the developed nations of the world, the U.S. is currently the only one that does not offer federally mandated parent leave. In OECD’s 2014 family database document, America literally has 0s across the board. You are not guaranteed anything.

Luckily most companies that want to retain talented staff recognize the importance of maternity/paternity leave. You could piggy-back your discussion concerning flex-time as well, and increase your chances of extending time at home with your new addition.

5. Vacation Time

Other than maternity leave, vacation time is also extremely important. Again in the U.S., the average employee has less vacation time than most other advanced economies in the world. Typically, a worker is only entitled to 10 days of paid vacation and six holidays, but even these are not guaranteed – quite different than the 30 days in France or 20 in New Zealand.

As you well know, this is where your bargaining power and value to the company can come in handy to secure more than the 10 days. Use tact, and also offer solutions for the time you are requesting to be away For example, tell your boss “I’ll be out of the office, but regularly checking my emails.

It’s important that you take advantage of complete time away from the office for a recharge. You’ll be more of an asset to your company when you return re-energized and refreshed.

6. Big Project Participation

If you really want to put yourself out there and be bold, ask to swim in the deep water, rub shoulders with the executives and request to work on the interesting projects that are happening in your company. This will help you get noticed, and you can also take the opportunity to cultivate mentoring relationships at the leadership and management level.

By Sarah Landrum

Sarah Landrum is a Penn State graduate, marketing specialist, freelance writer and the career expert behind Punched Clocks.
 
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Making sure you are in the running for a promotion

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women shaking handsIf you are lucky enough to work for a really great company that has a robust, unbiased, transparent talent process then you can probably skip this post. But wait, not so fast, how can you tell if your firm is good at ensuring that the best talent regardless of any other factor gets promoted?

I can think of three ways to heighten your chances

  • Ask what the process is
  • Ask what you have to do specifically to get to the next level/beyond
  • Make sure you have sponsors to broaden and deepen your portfolio of work because women still mostly get promoted on past performance as opposed to some men truly get promoted on what others think they will be capable of growing into (future potential not fact- yes this still happens)

Here is the kicker. I have done several consulting projects with women’s networks and I even wrote a Masters thesis at Columbia University on how networks can be formally connected to the talent process (sadly, often they are not related to a direct promotional path and interestingly this if often due to the resistance of the women inside the network-which in part is often due to the reason the network exists is to provide a container for shared experiences). So, if you want your membership of a network to be part of your strategy to advance, then make sure it is doing that and ways to tangibly use it include access to senior management, find a sponsor and more that we have covered in the past 4-5 weeks in this column.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Contact nicki@theglasshammer.com if you would like to hire a coach to help you navigate your career

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