National Career Development Month

It may be news to you but November is National Career Development Month in the United States. Although we don’t have the same special day here in Canada, it’s a great opportunity to bring attention to the growing need for career development activities and promote them throughout an individual’s lifespan. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your career and focus on developing it.

Many associations and educational institutions throughout the United States are celebrating through fun and informative activities, contests, workshops, and/or featured resources. If you’re interested in celebrating check out these resources for suggestions on activities that might be of interest:

• Creative Ways to Celebrate
  
• NCDA Poetry and Poster Contest
  
• National Career Development Month: A Celebration of Work
  

The Benefits (and Risks)

of Friendships at Work

Most employees working in a non-virtual environment spend a great deal of time with their co-workers and are likely to develop friendships over time. While friendships in the workplace can increase job satisfaction and make going to work more fun there are also other benefits. Co-workers that become friends can provide rich feedback on work-related matters and encourage you to do better; providing that extra push to further yourself at work.1

However, not all researchers/authors have agreed that workplace friendships are beneficial. If your workplace friendship is beyond casual where you are also friends outside of the workplace this can cause potential problems. Spending time together outside of work enables you to see another side of your friend’s personality and vice versa. Some friends may become more accustomed to the “outside of work personality” and lose professional courtesy when engaging with one another at work. Another potential risk is if a personal friendship is tainted outside of the workplace. A fight or disagreement could potentially lead to poor communication and a lack of productivity. 2

What to do? I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Having a source of support and encouragement at work is healthy. However, I do believe that a balance of professionalism and friendship is needed. One suggestion is to leave strong friendships outside of work and keep to more casual friendships with your co-workers.

1. http://www.lhj.com/relationships/work/worklife-balance/at-work-friendships/
2. http://careercoaching.suite101.com/article.cfm/friendships_at_work

The Green Age

Social responsibility and “going green” are new trends of the new Millennium amongst the general public and within the business world. There are many ways to pledge your commitment to the sustainability of the global environment all while getting fellow colleagues and employees excited and engaged in this beneficial endeavour.

As a new member at Life Strategies, I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of our newly initiated “green committee.” There are a number of ways in which Life Strategies has been a “green” business since its beginning, but the goals of this newly instated “green committee” are to ensure that these green practices are maintained, others are adopted, and others are promoted in a manner that encourages other businesses to contribute to the sustainability of the environment.

At Life Strategies we:
• Work from remote offices which reduces the amount of fuel emissions
• The majority of our work is produced in digital format; significantly reducing the amount of paper used
• Print on the reverse side of previously printed on paper when we print for internal purposes
• Conduct bi-monthly staff meetings online, also reducing emissions
• Have an in-house recycling program where we recycle paper products and drinking containers
• Provide educational services online with the majority of learning resources in digital format resulting in the reduction of printed paper products
• Provide publications on flash drives; not just printed versions

Do you recognize the impact your efforts can make? How are you and your workplace going green?

Book Review: The Age of Speed

Title: The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World
Authors: Vince Poscente
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Available Online at http://books.google.ca/books?id=YVpwIst_uNMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Age+of+Speed:+Learning+to+Thrive+in+a+More-Faster-Now+World#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Building from a simplistic children’s story, the tortoise and the hare, Poscente takes readers on a journey exploring the notion of speed in today’s society and breaks down myths about speed. He begins by examining the concept of “time” and how we have traditionally define/organize our time. Poscente opts for a new notion of time, building on values rather than the traditional work-home-leisure paradigm.

The take home message is that one should develop efficient and fast ways to deal with the mundane tasks in order to allot more time to fun, creative tasks and family. Poscente does concede that that speed isn’t necessary for success in all circumstances and utilizes a metaphor to expand on this:

• Those who resist speed and succeed nonetheless are referred to as Balloons (e.g., speciality shops)
• Those who embrace speed but accelerate out of control with no clear plan or direction for how to utilize their speed are referred to as Bottle Rockets (e.g., Dell Computers)
• Those who require speed but resist it are referred to as Zepplins (e.g., Kodak)
• Those who embrace speed with a clear direction/plan are referred to as Jets and serve as a exemplar for business strategy in today’s society (e.g., Google)

Like
I liked how the book was structured with small but insightful chapters. The use of metaphors and case study analysis in this book was also well executed and facilitated understanding. The practical tips and strategies for embracing speed presented to the reader provided excellent advice on how to become a “Jet.”

Dislike
I found some parts of the book, although insightful, were repetitive. Considering the topic, I would have appreciated greater directness and conciseness.

Applications & Lesson Learned
This book has great applications in the workforce. By examining your circumstances and the nature of your work, you can determine how best to use speed to your advantage and succeed. It is also important to keep in mind that speed and direction need to come from not only at the individual level but also the organizational level.

“If we truly want to soar, we have to understand our authentic purpose, be nimble and open to opportunities, be free of clutter and drag that can limit our potential, and seek our speed in unique and innovative ways” (p. 209)

Book Review: Crucial Conversations

Book Review

Title: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High
Authors: Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Available Online [1]
For more than 25 years, Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler researched people in the workplace. These authors found that what makes someone an effective colleague is the way they manage their conversations. The authors studied these conversations and took detailed notes when they were having crucial conversations.
The authors offer some basic steps for how to manage crucial conversations. First is to identify when a conversation is turning crucial. One way to do this is by your own physical signals (e.g., Is your stomach getting tight? Are you eyes drying up?).

Once a crucial conversation is recognized the authors suggest to “start with heart.” What this means is to dig deep down inside and figure out the message you’re truly trying to get across. Often in a crucial conversation you can become defensive and your message may get lost or never get sent because the focus turns to defending. If you can recognize that a conversation has turned crucial and stay focussed, then you can learn to avoid being defensive and stay focussed on the message you’re really trying to get across. If your conversation partner begins to get defensive, this is one way to recognize that they do not feel safe in the conversation. When someone is feeling unsafe, they are likely not hearing your purpose. To return to a safe conversation, the effective conversationist has to guide the conversation back to a mutual purpose; if both parties can agree on one goal, it makes the conversation safer, with both parties more likely to hear what one another has to say.

Like

One of the best things about this book is the use of examples for various situations. This book is not just useful in a work setting, but also applies to conversations with spouses, family members, and friends.

Dislike

The authors did a very good job of getting the point across in the first few chapters, however after that the advice seemed a bit repetitive.

Lesson Learned

Practice makes perfect. Just as trying to remember to sit with good posture may take a conscious effort so too does staying in tune to your emotions during conversations when they turn crucial. It’s easy to prepare yourself for a crucial conversation when you are expecting one, but as conversation escalates and emotions get stronger, it is easy for conscious effort to control your emotions to fade. Just as you may sit down extend your back, put your shoulders back, and focus on good posture, once you begin working on something you may realize a few minutes later your back is slouched and your shoulders are forward. If you are in the middle of a crucial conversation and you suddenly become aware that your emotions have taken over, take a few minutes to regain your composure, take some deep breaths, and start back into the conversation. Over time, forming some of the habits in this book should become natural just as good posture is more natural for someone that practices at it, such as a ballet dancer or physiotherapist.

[1] http://books.google.ca/books?id=Gzjj9mSPAGEC&dq=crucial+conversations+tools+for+talking+when+stakes+are+high&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=Aj8gIPH8II&sig=oq_qTIeUhEF9MyKeOjy3grtvEB8&hl=en&ei=RvOWSo_cG4ySsgPhocXFDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#

Re-Engaging after Summer Vacation

If you’re anything like me, you look forward to the warm, sunny days of summer. It’s a great time to plan that special holiday and leave all your worries behind. Upon returning to work I feel refreshed, reenergized, and ready to get back to my work duties. Sometimes getting back into the swing of things can take some time, but I always focus on re-engaging in my work.

So, just how can you re-engage yourself? Be sure to ease your holiday-to-work transition by following some of the tips included below (adapted from Helium.com):

• Give yourself time to settle back into your “normal” routine. If you’ve traveled to an exotic destination, give yourself a day or two to get your land legs and overcome any jet lag.
  
• Reflect on your positive holiday experiences and achievements.
  
• Stay positive about your work and reflect on the things that you enjoy doing.
  
• Avoid in-box overload. If you can, consider looking through your emails the night before returning to work or have a colleague respond to urgent items while you are away.
  
• Try to stick to your regular sleep schedule at least a few days before returning to work
  

I’d also suggest the following

• Give yourself time to settle back into the groove of things.
  
• Be sure to review any meeting notes, memos, or other updates
  
• Organize yourself by creating a checklist. This will give you a sense of accomplishment getting through all the smaller tasks.
  
• Take what you’ve learned/experienced during your holidays and apply it to your work.
  

How to Maximize Your Talents at Work

Maximizing your talents and showing your employer your diverse set of skills can help to put you and your career in the spotlight. To maximize your talents you must recognize your own strengths. If you’re not sure what your strengths are, try asking friends and family “What do you think I’m good at?” You may also want to reflect on skills that you been complimented on. Next transfer the skills you identified to the realm of work.

Once you have identified your strengths and how they are applicable to work, it’s time to put these talents into action. Start by volunteering for projects or take initiative to help others when needed. Don’t be afraid to talk about your accomplishments with others in a non-boastful way. At staff meetings you could mention how much you enjoyed working on a certain aspect of a project. Or when offering to assist with certain projects, make note of your skills “I’m great at__________, and could really help with_________.”[1]

The potential benefits of maximizing your talents could result in focusing more on projects and job duties that are a better fit for you, in turn making work more enjoyable. Your willingness to volunteer for projects may be noted by your employer, who in turn may begin sending you the work you enjoy more often.

[1] http://www.playtoyourstrengths.com/resources/faiths-articles/maximize-your-talents