Tag Archive for: Guest Contribution

Why We Must Bring Mindfulness To Leadership

thought-leadership

By Aimee Hansen

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

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

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

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

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

Leadership Begins in the Mind, and With You

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

But most leaders don’t feel that way.

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

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

Three Steps to Start Your Own Mindfulness Practice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Leaders Need to Watch Their Ego

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mindfulness Cultivates Presence and Self-Care

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

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

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

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

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

“Presence Pays”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lone Leadership Ideal Is Dead

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

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

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

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

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Woman-on-a-ladder-searching

Guest Contributed by Deepa Ramaraj

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. What do I love about this job?

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

4. Is now the time to change?

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

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

About the author

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

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

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The Multitasking Way of Life

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office

Image via Pixabay

 

Guest contributed by Terri R. Kurtzberg and Jennifer L. Gibbs

There’s an old joke that says that if a man wants to know what a woman’s mind feels like, he should imagine having a browser with 2,857 tabs open ALL THE TIME. Indeed, we do, as a society, promote the image of women as multitaskers—balancing the needs not only of our families alongside our careers but also serving in caretaking roles as well as more content-filled ones, even in the workplace. In addition, many have noted of late that women are predominantly the ones who are expected to keep track of information—across domains—in their heads. While there may be some real truth to the fact that expectations for women’s roles and knowledge do cross boundaries more often (in the big picture sense as well as in the minutes-of-the-day sense), there’s also a great fallacy in this line of thought.

Unfortunately, the truth (as we know it from cognitive science research) is that human brains, of any gender, are poorer at multitasking than is generally thought to be the case*. Our brains just weren’t meant to do the amount of parallel-processing that we so often attempt in today’s world. So, for example, trying to answer a text message while still holding onto the thread of a conversation or meeting already in progress is generally not fully successful. It may be successful enough—that is, it may be possible to string together enough of the information in the conversation or presentation even though there are gaps in what you heard or could process while you attended to something else—but there are two problems with this. First, there are indeed gaps, since our brains in fact cannot process two language-based tasks at once, and so we don’t always know what it is that we missed and whether it would have been important to our overall understanding of the topic.** Second, there is the issue of burn-out.*** Simply put, it is exhausting to have multiple streams of unfinished business (or “open tabs”) ongoing in the mind. Most people, but perhaps women especially, underestimate the toll that this takes. We assume that through sheer force of will, we can be successful at keeping all the balls in the air.

Thus, while research on distraction and multitasking has not yielded strong differences in the way it plays out for men and women, there certainly are important lessons for women aiming to make strides into higher positions. These fall into three categories:

  1. Know thyself: Understand that we are doing ourselves a disservice by constantly trying to keep track of too many things simultaneously. Then, do an “audit” for yourself by watching your behaviors and your incoming messages for a week. How many of them actually needed your attention immediately? Find the worst offenders, and make changes. Turn off notifications for blocks of time, set expectations by letting people know (perhaps through an outgoing email note) that you will respond to messages at the end of each day and not continuously, but to do X in case of truly time-sensitive needs, and remove your phone from your line of vision whenever possible.
  2. Know that you are being watched: People see you on the phone when you are in front of them. They can even reliably tell when you’re not listening with your full attention even if you’re not visible (say, on a conference call or one-on-one phone call). And yes, they absolutely do think differently of you for this lack of focus.**** Give the gift of your full attention. If you do need to pull your attention away, own up to it by explaining why to those engaging with you.
  3. Know the power of setting the tone from the top: Leaders have an opportunity to step in and make decisions to help rein in the problems stemming from the over-use of mobile devices. For one thing, there is a strong “monkey see, monkey do” effect that happens with respect to use in the professional setting. This problem is exacerbated since communication technologies have only existed for a tiny sliver of time, relative to human development, and continue to change so rapidly. Therefore, the “rules” are still being established for when and where it is appropriate to be engaged with technology instead of with the surrounding people. Being the social animals that we are, we are thus very tuned in to watching how other people are using their mobile devices, and tend to follow suit. For example, it is common to see one person bring a laptop to a meeting one week, followed by a whole crowd of people with their laptops open the next week. Similarly, seeing your colleagues answer emails at all hours of the night and on weekends put tremendous pressure on you to follow suit—a pattern that results in both lower productivity and higher turnover. These slippery slopes can be avoided by a wise manager attuned to the dangers of too much connection, and who makes explicit policies to the contrary.

Women are indeed pulled in many directions at once, and do keep track of many, many different “open tabs” each and every day, especially as they rise to higher levels at work. However, it is important to understand the natural limitations on human cognition as new technologies stretch the amount we ask of ourselves and our minds. Only then can you best out of yourself and those who count on your leadership.

 

*Ophir, E., Nass, C., and Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 106, 15583-15587.

**Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M., and Gendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54, 927-931.

***Wajcman, J., & Rose, E. (2011). Constant connectivity: Rethinking interruptions at work. Organization Studies, 32, 941-961.

****Kurtzberg, T.R, Naquin, C. E., and Krishnan, A. (2014). The curse of the blackberry: Multitasking and negotiation success. Negotiation Journal, 30.

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Personal Branding Strategy: Why Strong Careers Begin Here

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Guest contributed by LIz Harr, Partner, Hinge

brand

Image via Shutterstock

You know them. Executives who secure all the media mentions, deliver keynotes at top conferences and attract the best clients. Interestingly, most of these experts aren’t much different from the rest of us. In fact, many of them admit that they aren’t the smartest or most knowledgeable people in their fields. They weren’t born writers. They weren’t born orators.

Instead, they climbed to success by developing personal branding strategy with a very specific set of tools, trying and discarding a host of techniques along the way. My firm has produced some powerful research around what helped these individuals reach their respective levels of success and I’d like to share with you what really works – and what doesn’t – so you don’t have to endure the experimentation others have had to.

What Is a Personal Branding Strategy?

At the heart of their success is a strategy. A personal branding strategy. This is essentially a plan to take your reputation and career from relative obscurity to high visibility. It describes where you stand today and what level of visibility you want to achieve in the future. It lays out the tactics, tools and skills you will need to attain your goal, including the daily content calendar you will follow.

The Five Levels of Visibility

In our research on how personal brands can catapult a professional to higher levels of visibility – and career success – we identified five progressively more visible levels of expertise:

Level 1: Resident Experts. These experts are well respected within their firms and by their clients, but they have little visibility outside of those audiences. Most Visible Experts start their journey here.

Level 2: Local Heroes. These individuals are beginning to become known outside of their firms. They are more active in their local business communities, often speaking at business functions and blogging. They may even bring a little new business to their firm.

Level 3: Rising Stars. These experts have developed a regional reputation. They are fairly well known among peers in their area, and they speak and write frequently on their area of expertise. Rising Stars tend to bring in higher-quality business and higher fees.

Level 4: Industry Rock Stars. These names are well known across the nation for their niche areas of expertise. They attract premium clients and fees. As a result, they become significant assets to their firms.

Level 5: Global Superstars. The world’s elite experts, Global Superstars have broken out of their niches and household names. They command the highest fees, and firms around the world want to be associated with them.

Your first job is to figure out which of these levels describes you today. Then you need to decide what level of expertise you would like to achieve. 

 

 The Benefits of a Strong Personal Brand

As you’ll see in a moment when I go over specific tools for building a strong personal brand, it’s not for the faint of heart. But there are some very tangible benefits that these experts have realized. For starters, their earnings are higher. The chart below shows the relative billing rates for each Visible Expert level.

Figure 1. Relative Hourly Rates Buyers Will Pay, By Visible Expert Level

  

Our research showed that buyers are willing to pay over 13 times more for a Global Superstar than an average professional. But even Level 1 experts hold a significant advantage over their undistinguished brethren.

The reason? Buyers are willing to pay a premium for the confidence that a Visible Expert will solve their problem more quickly and with greater precision. Higher billing rates aren’t the only benefit. Here are a few others:

  • Highly visible experts attract more media attention. When a reporter needs an authoritative quote, they reach out to the experts most closely associated with the issue at hand.
  • Well-branded experts also are able to secure valuable partnerships more easily, and with more desirable organizations.
  • They attract better quality clients. In some cases, clients will seek out an expert — cutting out the competitive proposal process entirely.
  • Experts with strong personal brands also benefit their firms. Their strong reputation often spills over to the organization she works for, which in turn can have a very real effects on a firm’s brand and business development prospects. According to our research, about two-thirds of Visible Experts on average have this remarkable effect on their firms.

The 7 Critical Tools for Personal Branding

One of the most important things we learned from our research was which marketing tools have the greatest impact on an individual’s personal brand. Here are the top tools from our study, rated on a 1 (least impactful) to 10 (most impactful) scale:

Figure 2. Total Impact of Tools

I recommend you prioritize around these seven as you build your personal brand:

  1. A book. Whether you do it yourself or enlist a ghostwriter, you will need to produce a book that addresses your area of expertise. A book is a critical credibility builder and can be traditionally published or self-published. A book can be a heavy lift, so don’t feel like you have to tackle it right away.
  2. Speaking engagements. Public speaking is an important platform for building your reputation and personal brand. Audiences are predisposed to trusting anyone who stands at a podium, so just getting there is half the battle.
  3. A website. If you are part of a firm, you’ll want to focus at first on your bio page. It should present sufficient credentials to convince people that you really know your stuff.
  4. A blog platform. Every expert should be blogging. It’s the most accessible way to demonstrate your expertise. It’s also one of the easiest ways to start building a loyal following.
  5. Email marketing service. Email marketing is how you turn people into loyal followers — even raving fans. Using offers to download valuable educational (never promotional) content such as guides and whitepapers, you can entice a certain percentage of your blog readers to opt into your mailing list.
  6. Search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the tool that connects you to the people who are intensely interested in the problems you solve. And you would never meet 99% of them without it.
  7. A media kit. Experts get requests for bios, credentials and photos all the time. So it makes sense to have those things ready to go at a moment’s notice. Even better, put them up on your website bio page where interested parties can find them without asking.

This list, of course, just scratches the surface. There are dozens of tools that you can use to engage your audience. Webinars can be used as a different take on public speaking for example.

One last tip. Our research showed a clear correlation between specialized expertise and length of time it takes to groom yourself as a visible expert. Specialization eliminates the clutter like nothing else, and allows you to forge ahead without the noise that generalized knowledge brings to the table.

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

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What Microsoft’s New Ad Should Be Teaching Leaders and HR Professionals

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Guest contributed by Karyn Mullins
Microsoft

Image via Shutterstock

Microsoft recently released a new ‘Make What’s Next’ ad campaign showing young girls excited about the future of science in STEM careers. The ad opens with the diverse group of girls expressing their deepest dreams to save the climate or find a cure for breast cancer.
 
With virtual reality glasses, they’re given a glimpse into the amazing technological advancements that could make their dreams come true. But the ad takes a surprising turn when they share “the bad news” with the girls. The giant screen reads:
 
“Odds aren’t you won’t solve any of these problems. Only 6.7 percent of women graduate with STEM degrees.”
 
For any diversity and inclusion efforts, these negative odds are not where executives should leave the conversation. Inspiring the future for women and other minorities is crucial for the success of every organization.
 In fact, a 2015 McKinsey report on 366 public companies found those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean. There is no doubt the ad has very inspiring moments to it but translating that into real action in any firm is always a challenge.
 
If your HR team is wondering what’s next for diversity and inclusion, here’s what they should really learn from Microsoft’s campaign:
 
#1 Don’t just say diversity and inclusion is important, know why it is important.
 Every HR pro has been trained on the importance of diversity and inclusion, but unfortunately, many have never fully experienced the benefits of having a diverse group of employees. Without this deep understanding, their task of understanding why it’s a crucial aspect of employee and company success is nearly impossible.
 Often, we achieve success through different perspectives, creativity, and viewpoints. An undiversified environment lessens the ability for companies to leverage ideas or opinions and come up with creative, innovative solutions.
 
#2 Challenge your entire team to start addressing situations with multiple perspectives in mind. Put yourselves in the shoes of someone with a different ethnicity, backstory, and career path. The best way to do this is to set up team brainstorming meetings once a week. Allowing open communication during these meetings will help employees retrieve differing feedback that will push projects and sales to the next level.
 
# 3 Start recruiting by widening the potential pool of talent early
 If we don’t teach kids they can grow up to be anything they want to be and they can make the world a better place however they see fit, we are limiting our ability to have a real impact on our world.
 
The girls in the Microsoft campaign felt unstoppable, even after seeing the negative statistics about their futures. But not everyone will have this same amount of confidence. Worst of all, they’ll run into many people who have little confidence in them.
 
We often limit our recruits by only speaking to juniors and seniors at colleges. Getting to them right before they enter the workforce with an internship or full-time position.What if we reached out earlier?
 Inspire your recruitment team to build the generation of the future up by encouraging freshmen and sophomores in college — or even high schoolers. Let students know your company believes all genders and races can accomplish amazing feats with your team. Bring in experts from multiple departments to share their career stories and show how determination can accomplish great feats.
 
Stop stepping on your own efforts
 
Culture Amp’s 2017 Diversity & Inclusion Report found concepts of diversity and inclusion are experienced differently among people of different backgrounds. The balancing act for organizations as they become more diverse is a great responsibility as people from varying cultures have different values and beliefs.
 
Too often we let the diversity and inclusion conversations in our companies develop negative stigmas. If it already has one, we need to continue developing the conversation until our teams feel comfortable openly discussing and brainstorming ways to better our efforts to include everyone’s voice at the table for the best potential team performance.
 
About the author:
Karyn Mullins, Executive Vice President and General Manager MedReps.com, a job board which gives members access to the most sought after medical sales jobs and pharmaceutical sales jobs on the Web.

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

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Are You Dying to Get to the Top?

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Guest contributed by Laleh Hancock

top

Image via Shutterstock

Yes, the pun is intended! It’s well documented that executives who ignore the warning signs from their body put themselves at risk of serious illness and injury, if not death.
I am not about to give you a list of do’s and don’ts. You’re smart. You’re talented. You’ve read it all and you know what’s required. You’re a leader and an executive, and yet you are reading this for some reason.
 
Maybe you have started to notice some of those warning signs, such as being tired all the time? Maybe you’re being distracted by your busyness and you just need some assistance with implementation? Maybe, even though you have it all – the job and the life that everyone wants – you are not as happy as you thought you would be, and you feel like there has to be more to life?
 
You can have, be, and do it all. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.
 
Best of all, you don’t have to give anything up. In fact, you need to include more! You need to include YOU and your body!
 
It is not about ‘balance.’ It’s about mindfulness; remaining aware of everything, no matter what is going on, and taking effective action, which includes making YOU and your wellness a priority.
 
It’s easy to ignore all those whispers from the body when you are busy – “Sure, I need to go to the bathroom, but I’ve only got one hour to get this done. I can wait.” But can you really afford to? The more whispers you ignore, the more likely your ‘glass hammer’ is going to turn into a ‘sledge hammer’ to the back of the head! It starts with whispers, but if you don’t pay attention, it ends up shouting at you with debilitating illnesses or injuries that force you to take a break.
 
Three things can turn it around for you:
 
1. Breathe – Focusing on your breath reconnects you with your body. Try taking a breath up from under your feet, to the top of your head, then release it back down to your feet; reconnecting you to the contributing energies of the Earth. This has a calming effect, adds oxygen to your body, allows you to refocus your attention and energies on the thoughts and actions that will create your desired outcome with greater ease.
 
2. Ask questions. The point of a question is to gain additional information and awareness, not rely on answers we’ve already concluded. Questions are expansive, and they put what you desire out into the ether, so the universe can contribute back to you and your body. 
 
Start with, “What would it take?” questions. Ask them often, and expand your sense of the possibilities available to you that you may have not considered.
 
For example: You’re on a tight deadline, but your body wants to move. Ask, “What would it take to move my body and meet the deadline?” Really wonder about it. Then continue with your activities and see what ideas shows up. Asking the question without a conclusion in mind makes you more receptive to possibilities that you may not have considered before. Ideas might come to you that enable you to do both, such as taking your phone to record ideas while you walk around the block. You can have a planning and creativity session with yourself on more effective solutions, and still give your body the contribution it was asking for.
 
3. Expand Your Zone of Awareness. It’s so easy to become myopic when you are busy, yet this is so contractive and counter-productive to the creativity required for success.
 
Throughout the day, stop and ask, “Where is my focus?” and expand it. All you have to do is ask, and it will automatically expand.
 
Also ask, “Is anything required of me?” and follow any ideas you might have. You may find a particular project pulling on your attention, or you might hear a whisper from your body.
 
The more you include your body in your goals, the more your body will have your back. It’s a two-way street!
Like most of us with ambitious goals, Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock tried to do it all. Climb the corporate ladder, be a great spouse, and the perfect mother. She would self-sacrifice, eat at her desk, stay late, and still manage the household. Both her family and her work were priorities. The only one who wasn’t was herself. Now, Laleh is a management consultant, Joy of Business facilitator and the CEO of Belapemo and Global Wellness For All. With nearly 30 years of experience in operational excellence, change management, and organizational wellness, Laleh has inspired and empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals, including Fortune 500 executives, to seek greater success, happiness and wellness.
 
 
Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock is a management consultant, Joy of Business facilitator, and founder and CEO of Belapemo and Global Wellness for All. A passionate change-agent, Laleh has empowered thousands of individuals including Fortune 500 executives, government agencies, not-for–profit organizations, athletes and veterans to achieve optimal growth.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com
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Women in Tech: Climbing the Ladder

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Woman-on-a-ladder-searchingGuest Contributed by Evan Fraser

Working in the tech industry can be incredibly exciting. It is a fast-paced industry with seemingly unlimited potential. Technology also has one of the smallest income gender gaps, high work schedule flexibility and generous pay in many positions. While that draws many women down this career path it is still a male dominated industry which makes climbing the corporate ladder a challenging task. These 6 tips will help you navigate your way to the top.

1. Be Assertive.

The best way to learn in the tech field is to jump in and build things. As a woman you will often have to fight for that right. Moving up the ranks will not come naturally, you need to be assertive and make your own place within the company. Being a dominant and assertive woman in technology can be a struggle as it is often interpreted as bossy or aggressive by male colleagues. Don’t let that deter you from taking the lead. Sheryl Sandberg has had incredible success in her life and has dealt with this issue throughout her career. She addressed this issue in a interview by saying “Every woman I know, particularly the senior ones, has been called too aggressive at work. We know in gender blind studies that men are more aggressive in their offices than women. We know that. Yet we’re busy telling all the women that they’re too aggressive. That’s the issue.”

2. Don’t be intimidated.

There will always be people that know more than you. This is a good thing as it will help you learn and grow. Don’t be intimidated by those with more experience or lots of technical know-how. It’s very easy to feel out of place in a boardroom, especially within a big technology company. Never be afraid to ask questions if you have problems understanding, you will not be the only one in the room.

3. Choose your employers well.

Lots of companies in Silicone Valley are progressive and forward thinking. Many aim to create environments that encourage creativity and efficiency but there are still major differences in how these companies are run. Be sure to do your research on the companies you apply to. Your environment will be a big factor to your personal success so look for progressive and diverse leadership teams with a product that you are passionate about. This will allow your career to flourish and grow.

4. Don’t create your own glass ceiling.

The term ‘glass ceiling’ is often used in regards to outside factors creating boundaries for women in business. This is a difficult issue women have had to deal with for generations. Therefore, it is important to avoid constructing any additional, self-restricting boundaries. Sometimes the boundaries we create for ourselves are easily overlooked and often more harmful than external factors. Believe in your talents and skills. Avoid creating your own boundaries by limited thinking and be sure to set smart goals. Do not consider yourself ineligible for any role within a company, think big and make your strengths work for you.

5. Learn to negotiate.

Negotiating is a part of business. Women and men in management positions expect it when dealing with employees, clients or partners. You need to go in ready to negotiate and prepared to articulate what you want. Avoiding a negotiation will leave you with less than you deserve. Be assertive, but also listen to understand. Being able to listen to the wants and ideas of the person you are negotiating with will make them more willing to meet your needs. Be concise and reasonable in your negotiation but do not be afraid to ask.

Also, keep in mind that negotiation is a skill that needs to be learned. It will help you in many aspects of your life so make the effort to learn about the subject as much as you can. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher is a great read on the skill of negotiating.

6. Find a mentor.

This piece of advice will apply to you whether you are 20 years old starting out your career or 55 and looking to retire. Mentorship is something anybody can benefit from. People that have gone down a path you wish to follow can give you valuable advice and help nudge you in the right direction when you reach a crossroads. Finding an experienced woman in technology would be ideal as they will be able to share tips on how to deal with the struggles women face in the industry. Once you have gained experience, help out younger women by sharing your knowledge. Being a mentor can teach you as much as having a mentor.

Find a mentor in your area.

women in tech infographic

Evan Fraser is a writer and advertising expert with over 10 years of experience in Marketing. He is passionate about tech and loves traveling the world to taste international foods. When he is not writing you can catch him playing sports or listening to some 50’s Blues.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of Guest Contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer

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11 Ways Mentors Can Help You Succeed – And How To Get Their Help

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11 Ways MentorsMost successful women will tell you that mentors made a big difference in their careers. Their mentorship may not always translate into breaking through the glass ceiling, but mentors can help your work performance, help you achieve success in a company and also help you be more fulfilled in your work.

Here are 11 ways a mentor can help you during 4 general stages of your career:

Stage 1: Newbie: Your Mentors Help You Acclimate to a New Job or Work Environment:

1. Find Your Way and Learn the Rules: Bonnie Marcus, author of The Politics of Promotion, says, “The mentor can offer advice on how to best navigate in the new work environment and give information about the people and politics.” A mentor within your company can help you understand corporate expectations—both spoken and unspoken rules. They can point out mistakes if they see you in action. Your mentor can help you feel comfortable operating within that environment.

2. Identify your skill set and anything missing that you need to work on. In my second job out of business school, a mentor suggested I attend trainings in time management and organization, which helped me be more effective in my job.

3. Model what works: Ask your mentors to share their stories of what’s worked in their careers and what hasn’t. Learn from your mentors’ experience. Beth B. Kennedy, a Leadership Coach who has taught many Leaders how to begin a successful mentoring relationship, shares the success of a client whose mentor taught her “excellent delegation and time management strategies” that led to the client’s success and promotion.

Stage 2: Strategic: Your Mentors Help You Plan Where you are Going for a More Successful and Fulfilling Career:

4. Create a Vision: A mentor can help you think about where you want to go in the long run and what can help you get there. This type of mentor can be someone in your workplace, someone in your field, or more of a general business coach, perhaps even someone you hire.

5. Look for Resonance: A mentor or coach can help you assess how well your current environment fits your values, skills and interests. You will be happier with a job and environment that resonates.

6. Help you define success: Long term success is not only about what a company or environment defines as success. Says Amy Beilharz, former corporate executive turned serial entrepreneur and business coach shares that as women, group goals, our relationships and contribution to a larger cause are all important to feeling fulfilled in our careers.

Stage 3: Mobile: Your Mentors Help You At Key Decision Points

7. Solve Problems: You can turn to your mentors for feedback on any challenges you are experiencing, offering possible solutions to problems, as well as general strategies that have worked for them in similar situations.

8. Evaluate Job Offers: You may be offered a job within your own department, another part of your company or even your own company. Sometimes it’s hard to see all the ramifications of taking a particular job—both for short-term fit and also for its long term strategic value. A mentor can help you see all angles and evaluate the fit.

Stage 4: Successful: Your Mentors Help You Get Where You Want to Go:

9. Help You Network: Marcus says mentors can introduce mentees “to potential allies and champions.”

10. Get You Noticed: Beth B. Kennedy, a Leadership Coach who has taught many Leaders how to begin a successful mentoring relationship notes, “A current client of mine learned strategies from her mentor that led to her promotion. Her mentor taught her ways to raise her visibility in an authentic way.

11. Your Mentors Can Serve as Sponsors: Marcus points out that at the upper echelons, it’s not just about mentoring. To get promoted, women need sponsors who are willing to introduce their mentees to the right people and suggest them for promotion.

12. Look Outside Your Company: External mentors in your field can help you look beyond your company for opportunities. They may help you decide what you are looking for, introduce you to contacts of theirs, or even help you get into their own organizations.

Where to Find a Mentor? Cultivate mentors within your company and outside of it. Kennedy offers the possibility of someone “from a different department to add a more systemic and strategic perspective.” Your boss can also be a good mentor, depending on the person.

How to get mentored? Kennedy says that, “The best mentoring relationships take place when they’re not forced mentoring programs. A proactive way to get a mentor is to begin the process in a more unofficial way.”

How?

a) Identify someone who has been successful in your organization or field in a way that resonates with you or that has certain skills and relationships you’d like to emulate.

b) Get to know them. Kennedy suggests you ask for a brief meeting or coffee, nothing fancy.

c) Kennedy says, “Asses the synergy.” What does your gut tell you about the mentor? “Does the possible mentor have the time and energy to mentor?”

d) After a few casual meetings, Kennedy says you can then ask the person if they would be your mentor. “Share your expectations. Some of the best mentoring relationships my clients have shared with me are the relationships that meet once a month and the mentee brings questions and an agenda. The mentee needs to be proactive and discuss their needs.” It’s also a good idea to share articles on mentoring and “other best practices with your mentor.”

e) At some point you want to evaluate the effectiveness. Kennedy suggests an assessment six months or a year down the road. If it’s not working, you can thank your mentor and move on to someone new.

Don’t wait for someone to offer to mentor you. Start to think now about specific ways you want a mentor to help you and list people who might be of help. You can have more than one mentor at a time, too. Ask other women about their mentoring experiences, as well. And if your company has a mentoring program, find out how one gets chosen to participate. No one goes it along in the corporate world. The support of your mentors can be one of the most important determinants in your success.

Guest contribution by Lisa Tener

Lisa Tener is an author, trainer and four-time Stevie Award winner, including the Silver Stevie Award for Mentor/Coach of the Year 2014. Lisa serves on faculty at Harvard Medical School’s CME publishing course  and blogs on topics like how to choose a literary agent. You can also find her posts on the Huffington Post. Follow Lisa on twitter @LisaTener and Facebook.

Guest advice and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Develop Yourself

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People around a laptopIf you wait for your employer, you might be waiting a long time.

Recently, over glasses of wine, it came up that many of my friends felt like they weren’t being developed by their companies.

“They think we don’t care about career development because they think we don’t care about our careers because we’re millennials. Millennials…such an HR term,” complained one of my friends, who is a consultant.

“At least if they decided to develop you, you’d be getting applicable skills,” said another friend, who leads corporate training programs and is questioning her career. “I want to change my career and I’m not sure how.”

“The only kind of development we get is access to a series of boring webinars that we have to watch in the HR conference room,” said another friend in a tech company. “I fell asleep during the last one.”

Why are companies not developing their employees?
  • Maybe they think you don’t care.
  • Maybe they don’t care.
  • Maybe they think they are developing you, but don’t know how.
  • Maybe they’re too busy.
  • Maybe they’re only focused on developing their favorite star employees, and don’t have time for everyone else.
  • Maybe someone in the HR department or in management doesn’t like you.
  • Maybe they only develop men, and not women (in which case, you might have a lawsuit on your hands, or need to look for a new job).

It sucks to stay at a job and not be developed. If you are at a job for a number of years, you should need to update resume every six months with new skills, projects, tasks, and reports. If you don’t find yourself doing that, well, you have an issue. I find myself regularly logging into LinkedIn to post my latest presentations, updated skills, and reports.

So you’re not being developed. Or maybe you want a new career, and don’t want to bother focusing on being developed in your current organization/role. Here are some tips on how you can develop yourself. Ultimately, you’re the one who cares most about your career, so you should be the one taking charge of it.

  1. Look at your career in the long term. Where can you go? Where do you want to go? Where could you possibly go? If you really need help, contact a career counselor. Your alumni or career services office of your former university might be able to assist you with resume revision, career counseling, and networking opportunities.
  2. Do you want to/Are you willing to live someplace else? This might open up or limit your options, depending. If you need to or want to move, voice this to your organization to see how this may change your career. Affiliate yourself with local professional organizations (even if it’s just online) to connect and network.
  3. Don’t get bogged down by negativity. Yes, maybe you hate your job, or your career, or your boss, or your HR department. But stop complaining about them and wishing they would all just quit or go away won’t help you. Accept that things are the way they are. Try to change them – by looking for a new job, and until that happens, focus on developing yourself.
  4. Are there any industry/professional associations you could be affiliated with? Join them. Even if opportunities are lacking in your organization, externally you could find mentors, training programs, networking opportunities, conferences, grants, and workshops crucial to developing your skills and career. See how you could be involved – volunteer for events, offer to give presentations, see how you can contribute and be a part of growing your skills and your career.
  5. How can you further your education? Whether it’s getting a master’s degree, enrolling in a certificate program, or taking a weekend course that could develop your skills and career further, never stop learning. Check in with your HR department for reimbursement policies and any class recommendations they have.
  6. Ask for more at work –from new people. Maybe you’re limited in how you can develop in your department. Talk to your colleagues from other departments, and see if you can help them with any projects, and develop new skills. Maybe HR has some ideas about how you can assist with staffing gaps. Offer to do presentations – public speaking skills are very important (even if you hate it!).
  7. Improve your people management skills. Schedule one-on-ones with direct reports to check in and see how you can help them more. Ask if there are ways you can improve and help them. If you don’t have anyone to manage, ask if you can. If there are no opportunities, create an internship program to give you much-needed people management skills. When working across teams and when managing projects, show off your skills and leadership talent.
  8. Work on general development skills. Maybe you’re a solo librarian at a large law firm, and they’re not interested in funding classes for you on improving search strategy or copyright updates. See if they will stand behind you as you take classes on managing staff, time management, productivity, budgeting, and career management. It’s always a good idea to have a few ideas of your own picked out, but check in to see if your managers and/or HR department have any ideas of your own.
  9. Are there language skills you can develop?Learning a new language is always a great thing to do – it challenges your mind, it’s fun, it’s a great connect with people, it helps when you travel, and it’s a great thing to add to your resume. Check out if your job will pay for it, and/or if they will let you take classes on company time. I initially began studying Spanish because of my own personal interests, and have since read reports/articles in Spanish for work, answered information requests in Spanish, and fact-checked a report in Spanish. Check out reviews of local language schools, or your local colleges, and join Meetup groups as a way to practice further.
  10. Start an Internship/Volunteer. If you really want a new career, don’t jump ship before experiencing it for yourself. I will never thank my mother enough for forcing me to be a candystriper when I was in high school after I said I wanted to be a physical therapist. Working at a hospital quickly made me realize that while I loved helping people, I didn’t want a career in the medical field. I volunteered another six years, and loved it, but knew it wasn’t a lifelong career for me. Bonus for internships: you might make some great connections for a future career.
  11. Find mentors, inside and out. The most unlikely person in your organization can turn out to be a great mentor, and maybe even ultimately, a sponsor to help advance your career internally. Mentors can give you great advice on how to take your career going forward, which new skills to focus on, how to build new skills, organizations to join, opportunities to pursue, how to navigate career politics, and just serve as a sounding board. Can’t find a mentor? Be your own!
  12. Don’t just find a mentor – be a mentor. Mentor someone just starting out their career, or even a student in the field. Former mentees of mine still email me for advice, years later. It makes me feel good that I’ve made a difference in their careers.
  13. Update your resume and LinkedIn page all the time. Even if you’re not looking for a job, you should be always be regularly updating. A friend who unexpectedly lost her job when her company shut down their North American headquarters office told me, “The worst thing is that now I’m trying to remember everything I did for the last six years.” Also, should you suddenly decide to update everything on your LinkedIn profile at once, this could be a bit suspicious to your coworkers/managers. I use LinkedIn as a place to find and promote my speaking engagements and articles, so I constantly update my profile.
  14. Actually use LinkedIn. A biologist friend recently confided in me, “I don’t really see the purpose of LinkedIn.” Use it to see if any of your friends have connections at your dream companies; use it to stay connected to former classmates and those in your field. Join relevant groups; they’re great for asking questions and getting a fresh outsider response.
  15. Connect with recruiters. If you’re looking for work, connect with a recruiter. Make sure they know exactly what you are looking for so they can make the most of their time and your time. They should also be aware of your latest skills.
  16. Even if you don’t want to leave, check out other jobs in your field. What are the required skills and experience? What can you work on? What should you focus on developing? Where are your gaps? During a check-in with your manager, ask to fill in some of those gaps.
  17. Network with a purpose. Most of us find networking awkward – standing there, clumsily unsure of how to start conversations. Ahead of time, create goals: think about what you want to accomplish at a networking event. Create an elevator pitch. I like to go into networking events with some questions. “What’s new in your office?” “How do you handle stress with your job?” “What’s your favorite thing about your job?” You can talk about what you do, and mention what kind of opportunities you are seeking. I was offered a speaking engagement after updating an acquaintance about the speaking I had been doing.

Really, when it comes down to it, developing your career is your responsibility. It would be great if your employer would help you, and really, any good employer will, but if it’s not happening, you need to make it happen. Develop yourself: it’s the best thing you can do for your career.

Writers bio:
Cheryl Yanek is a writer currently traveling around India, where she is also studying yoga. She regularly writes on career issues, ultrarunning, feminism, pregnancy, yoga, food, and wine. She has been published in many places including Skirt Collective, Trail Runner, The Huffington Post,  Ultrarunning, Manifest-Station, Thought Catalog, and New York Wine Events. She is also the Race Director of the Burning Man Ultramarathon.

 

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Female CTOs: You Can Make a Difference

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Female executives can leverage a data driven approach to make an impact in business

Sixty-three percent of IT leaders say their IT budget is increasing, according to the 2015 Society for Information Management (SIM) IT Trends Study. More than 1,000 senior IT leaders and CIOs responded, and based on the results, one trend is clear: IT budgets are growing not only in scale, but importance as well.

diverse women in the boardroomThis equals power for executives who take data seriously enough to grasp its effect on the bottom line. Understanding a notoriously costly IT asset portfolio can influence business and budget decisions, for both IT and the entire company. For example, an organization may uncover that the human resources department uses 15 unique enterpris applications, which cost $1.3 million annually in subscriptions. What they do not see is the cost of maintenance and risk, the infrastructure it sits on, the IT support, and the human capital and headcount associated with those assets.

Imagine that a female executive leverages the company’s IT asset portfolio through data analytics to discover it can save millions by culling valueless applications. She has now played an instrumental role in bolstering the budget, and her strategy is rock solid because she has based it on numbers. In most cases, numbers do not lie. She has asserted her value to the organization and made a significant impact.

Women in technology leadership roles seem to understand IT’s impact on business. Gartner reported that in the fourth quarter of 2013, female CIOs expected to increase their IT budgets 2.5 percent in 2014, whereas male CIOs reported an average increase of 0.2 percent.

Awareness is especially critical now, as the business landscape shifts in terms of budgeting strategies. Just as a CEO would evaluate cost centers and money pits, eradicating those that don’t drive business value, CIOs need to evaluate their own operation and eliminate valueless IT assets. For example, while software represents 34 percent of enterprise technology spending, CIOs spend 55 percent of the applications budget on maintenance and support, according to Forrester Research’s most recent “State Of Enterprise Software And Emerging Trends” report.

Studies show, however, technology leaders are failing to cull wasteful applications, as leadership in other departments has a tendency to regard it as an intense and long-term effort. As a result, CIOs feel pressured to allocate talent to keep IT running rather than transform it.

But armed with numbers, a female executive could step in and make the case for more thorough asset portfolio analysis. After all, it does not matter who has the loudest voice in the room when millions of dollars are at stake. Money talks, regardless of gender.

Plus, executives who enter the data analytics fray are making a positive impact on operations in several ways. In 2011, Gartner predicted that by 2015, at least 50 percent of organizations would be “regularly assessing business value relative to application costs and risks as a part of the IT budget process.” This process would provide great value, revealing which applications were worth the expense, which they should phase out, and which IT assets would benefit from extra security precautions.

“Sadly,” Gartner writes in the latest report on the topic from 2014, “most organizations don’t have an application strategy, and, because APM (application portfolio management) is one of the poorest-scoring disciplines in our ITScore assessment, we can assume that most organizations don’t have APM, either.”

The risks that come with not having an application strategy could also spell trouble as cyber security concerns rise. Respondents to PwC’s 2015 Global Information Security Survey reported the total number of detected security incidents in 2014 exceeded 42.8 million, a 48 percent increase over 2013. Moreover, the survey found security-breach-related financial losses to be 34 percent higher than the year prior.

So this female executive would not only contribute to budget health, she would also play a role in facilitating more efficient processes and tighter cyber security.

Identifying applications and their associated business functions enterprise-wide reveal redundancies, as well as applications that do not justify the high overall costs. These valueless IT assets perpetuate the idea that IT is only “keeping the lights on,” consistently maintaining status quo projects rather than introducing new digital capabilities.

Forrester Research experts surveyed more than 3,700 IT leaders in late 2013, and respondents estimated that an average of 72 percent of the money in their budgets was being spent “keeping the lights on,” meaning supporting ongoing operations. Only 28 percent went toward spending on new projects. This is a recipe for business growth stagnation.

Identifying and removing valueless assets can help the entire organization achieve a more balanced split of innovation to maintenance. When female executives step up to the plate with a data driven approach, they can transform IT into a business driver that pushes the bottom line company-wide, and make a name for themselves in the process.

Guest Contributed by Lindsay Bather, Business Operations Manager, KillerIT

KillerIT, a division of Forsythe Technology, Inc., is a Gartner-recognized IT program and portfolio management (PPM) software suite that provides a data-driven roadmap to optimize IT and accelerate digital business. In 2014, Gartner named KillerIT both a “Cool Vendor in Program and Portfolio Management” and in the Visionaries Quadrant of its “Magic Quadrant for Integrated IT Portfolio Analysis Applications.”

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