Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom: Can You Lead Without Authority?

In a business world of shrinking hierarchies and individual contributors, one of the toughest challenges for the high-achiever is learning to lead without authority.  In my years in the workforce, I’ve been responsible for several large, multi-departmental initiatives with only a few direct reports to engage.  Here’s what I’ve learned through my own experiences:

Let your passion shine through

It’s hard to be critical of someone earnest, and if you infuse your communication with a genuine sense of excitement about the challenge ahead, your colleagues will naturally want to follow your lead.  Show them – through your behavior – why you got into this field in the first place, and what your experiences (good and bad) have shown you about what needs to be done next.

Appear humble

It’s bad enough when your boss has an ego that needs some serious downsizing, but it’s even less appealing when someone without power thinks too highly of himself.  The manner and content of your communication must demonstrate that you are pursuing this approach because it’s the right thing to do for the organization, not because you will receive personal credit or rewards.

Develop deep relationships

There is no shortage of psychology and business research out there showing that people like to work with individuals they like and to whom they can relate.  Before you attempt to lead your colleagues, get to them know first.  Spend time with them outside the office and show sincere interest in their personal and professional lives.

Help them help you

Your colleagues will be more likely to come on board if you make it clear to them why your idea’s success is tangibly tied to their own.  Take steps to understand the pain your colleagues are facing (an inefficient process, etc.) and create solutions that will make everyone’s lives easier.

Don’t be overcontrolling

Since you don’t have official authority, don’t get caught up in acting like you do.  Use your expertise to guide and support your colleagues, but release the need to micromanage every aspect of a project.  If you share your ideas and then allow your co-workers to take partial ownership of their implementation, they will gradually put more trust in you and the approach.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

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5 Reasons Why You Hate Your Job - Blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

1. You are bored out of your mind

You can do your job fine and actually do it pretty well but the fact is that it just isn't interesting to you any more! There is no passion, no motivation, no inspiration in the role. Nothing new really happens and you could do it in your sleep. Perhaps it is time to move on?

2. Your boss or manager has no idea what you do

Too many times is this the case that a manager or boss has no clue what you or the other team members are actually doing or what you are capable of. You will have annual reviews in which you do not receive any decent feedback or recognition for the good work and achievements that you have done. Is your boss too busy doing their own thing to notice the great work you are doing? Do they actually care about you at all? Is this the sign of a good manager?

3. You have gone as high as you can go

Have you reached a ceiling at this company? Will it be another X (too many to wait) years before the next promotion? When you have reached a stand still it is completely understandable to be de-motivated. Without any goals within reach or forward movement there can seem to be little point in continuing. When we feel like we have reached a block career-wise, many of us try to make adjustments to clear the block – find new momentum, new opportunities, new drives and options to enable us to progress. If we do not – we can get frustrated, bored or even depressed.

4. There is no reason, meaning or point to it

Doing a job that your heart isn't in can be very unsatisfying. You might be the best person in the world at doing your job but if it isn't purposeful, meaning and aligned with what you are all about – it will feel pointless. By 'what you are all about' – I mean, what you are really passionate about, what you care about, what you value and what you will find rewarding and purposeful work-wise.

5. It stops you doing what you really want to

If you have chosen to do a job that you aren't really passionate about or interested in – there is most likely something else that you would rather be doing. This is probably something pretty different to your current role and because your current job is taking up all of your energy, effort and time – you have probably grown to resent it and hence 'hate your work'. Given that we spend so many hours of our lives 'working', if we don't enjoy our careers and we would rather be doing something completely different – we are going to feel very frustrated and annoyed at ourselves and or the world for it being this way! So – why not take control of your career and make the changes necessary to do what you actually want to do.

The above summarise just a few reasons why you may hate your job. There are of course several reasons why you may hate your job and each person will have their own distinct set of feelings and reasoning behind it. However, what you might like to take away from this is that if you are in a job that you greatly dislike – you don't need to put up with it! Yes – even in this recession – there are alternatives and better options that will work better for you if you are willing to invest the time, energy and effort in getting it. If you want the perfect or dream job handed to you on a plate then forget it. If you are willing to get clear about the type of job, industry, role that is right for you and that you would find rewarding – then you have every chance in making that career happen. It's what we do everyday with numerous individuals. The results are amazing!

Author: Nisa Chitakasem - Founder of Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

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life@work: How Strategic Attraction Can Help You Get the Job You Want

If affirmations aren't your thing, you've come to the right post.

Because even though I've used the word "attraction" in this post's title, and I'm convinced that we can do a lot to attract the kinds of people and situations we want in our lives, there are more effective ways of attracting what we want than simply repeating, "I welcome the abundance of perfect job offers" to yourself in the mirror every morning.

You need to know what value you provide to an employer, envision your ideal job and take steps to make yourself attractive to your ideal organization.

Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez's book, Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity, is one I turn to weekly as I develop and grow my own business. I have a business, and the business depends on customers. Every business owner has to figure out where those customers are going to come from. 

The tactic of running around, chasing after customers wasn't working too well for me. Imagine that. When I read this book, which was introduced to me by coach extraordinaire, Molly Gordon, I began to think about attracting perfect customers. I created something called a strategic attraction plan. And this changed my business entirely.

OK, so what does this have to do with you and your perfect job?

Everything. You can create a strategic attraction plan to attract perfect customers, a perfect job, mate, perfect vendors, business partners, or whoever. It's not magic, but is a fresh way to look at marketing or job seeking.

The book has all the details, but here are a few highlights:

• You are most attractive when you are like a lighthouse, standing still with a very focused beam of light, than when you are running up and down the beach, shining your light everywhere, trying to attract the attention of all the boats in the harbor.

This metaphor is about knowing who you are - in the case of being a job seeker, knowing your value proposition - and not trying to be what you think everyone else wants you to be. Focus is attractive, diffuseness is not.

Paring the process down quite a bit, your strategic attraction plan is the result of:

• Envisioning your perfect employer (it helps to have already worked for one that was awfully good), writing down their qualities and attributes
• Writing down what you choose your perfect employer to expect you to do
• Writing down what you need to improve to attract your perfect employer
• Working to improve what you decided you need to improve
• Reviewing the plan each day, to keep it alive

Creating a strategic attraction plan for a job search requires that you know yourself well, that you can imagine an ideal environment for you, and that you understand what you can do to make yourself more attractive to your perfect employer.

Just getting to the point of writing the plan takes a lot of thought and exploration! But it helps you become the lighthouse, someone your ideal employer will recognize as a great fit for their needs. Having a plan also positions you to recognize opportunities as they come along. Long-hoped-for synchronicity often ensues.

If you've done reading on personal branding, you recognize how closely tied the strategic attraction plan is to developing your personal brand. (Check out the 1997 Tom Peters article that started it all for more information). Dan Schawbel, among many others, is at the forefront of personal branding evangelism today.

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Use the 10/20/30 Rule to Avoid Disastrous PowerPoint Presentations [Presentations]

An oldie-but-goodie post from entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki directly addresses the kind of problems the military has with complex PowerPoint decks—boring read-throughs stuffed with too much on-screen text. His parameters for preventing audience paralysis is dubbed the 10/20/30 rule.

Photo by alice_c.

Kawasaki, who we have no doubt has sat through his share of boring pitches, suggests that most people can only appreciate about 10 explanatory slides at most, and that's only if each slide speaks directly to solving a problem or a key aspect of something to learn. The 20 is a time limit—you may have an hour, but between setup, late-coming viewers, and the very important Q&A section, you'll want to limit yourself to 20 minutes.

The 30 means 30-point fonts—a smart creative constraint, and one that directly speaks to the U.S. military's nightmare slides.

The reason people use a small font is twofold: first, that they don't know their material well enough; second, they think that more text is more convincing. Total bozosity. Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty points. I guarantee it will make your presentations better because it requires you to find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well. If "thirty points," is too dogmatic, the I offer you an algorithm: find out the age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two. That's your optimal font size.

ReadWriteWeb also points to Alexei Kapterev's manifesto Death by PowerPoint, itself a very good presentation that we've previously posted. What constraints do you put on yourself to ensure your own presentations don't turn your audience into very, very diligent email checkers?

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint [How to Change the World via ReadWriteWeb]

Send an email to Kevin Purdy, the author of this post, at kevin@lifehacker.com.

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What good does THIS contact do for me? | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

“I’m an Electrical Engineer, I go to a job networking meeting and ask for contacts at one of my target companies, and someone gives me the name and contact information for an Accountant! What good is that???”

Or…

“I already know someone at ‘XYZ Company’, I don’t need anymore contacts there.”

Leading job networking groups and teaching job search classes, I get the same kinds of questions or comments all the time.

What good does a company contact do you if it’s not the hiring manager for the kind of job you want? And, why should you pursue multiple contacts at a company you are targeting? Because the more information you gain, and the more allies you develop, the better your chances of gaining an interview and a job!

When networking for contacts in your job search, any contact can be a great asset to you. Also, pursuing multiple contacts in the organization can boost your exposure when you need it. There is a great deal of value to those introductions and names. They can each be sources of company information, help in navigating the organization, guides to help you get to the best person, and resources in helping you assess the company’s fit for you.

If you are an “Electrical Engineer”, and connect with an “Accountant” at the company you are pursuing, you can ask any of those kinds of questions. Be concise, be professional, be upbeat, and be humble. Ask them things like:

“I realize you’re not involved with the type of role I’m pursuing at ‘XYZ Company’, however, I’m hoping you might be able to point me to the best person to talk to about the ‘Electrical Engineer’ position.”

“Knowing the company as you do, however, pursuing an opportunity like I am and hoping not to get lost in the sea of other applicants going through the normal HR process, how would you recommend I get noticed or find the right person to talk to for that position?”

“As I pursue opportunities in the organization, I’m hoping you can help me get a better understanding of the corporate culture and what priorities are for the company.”

“I have an interview scheduled in the next few days, and I’m hoping you may be able to help me be better prepared. I hope to go beyond what most others would do. Is there any general advice could you provide that would help me excel?”

”Could I ask for your consideration in sharing my resume with someone in the functional area I’m pursuing?”

“Even though I have connected with the ‘Engineering Manager’, I’m hoping to gain more knowledge and understanding of the organization from others as well. Could I ask you a few questions?”

Those questions and others can provide you a great deal of insight and help from any contact within the organization… and sometimes your best information comes from the least likely sources.

In today’s job market, you generally find that most people are willing to help in some way. If you ask in a professional and unassuming way, you will often get the guidance you seek.

Don’t regard any contact as not ‘valuable’ to you, and don’t get discouraged with some ‘dry wells’.  Follow up with every contact you receive and your progress will accelerate.

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Author:

Harry Urschel has over 20 years experience as a technology recruiter in Minnesota. He currently operates as e-Executives, writes a blog for Job Seekers called The Wise Job Search, and can be found on Twitter as @eExecutives.

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Movin' On Up: What Has Your Network Done For You Lately?

When you’re looking for a job, the importance of networking cannot be emphasized enough. Having a network of contacts is vital to ensuring your job hunt success. Yes, it’s imperative to study hard while you’re in school and do well within your field of study, but the old saying holds true: It’s not what you know, it’s about who you know that counts.

Who you know could bring about some new life-changing possibilities for you – and a job opportunity could be one. That’s why you need to make sure you’re meeting as many people as possible and focusing on building quality relationships with them. And, you always need to continue building your contact base – even after you’ve been working for 30 years. Social networking is great, and it’s definitely a must, but doing a little networking in person also never hurts. So, what are some basic tips to ensure your networking works for you?

Meet in person. Regardless of what type of networking you do, there’s still no substitute for meeting a person face-to-face and shaking hands. A direct meeting helps leave more of a lasting impression of who you are.

Start going to professional meetings. There are many professional organizations within your field of interest. Usually, they have regular meetings once a month and charge a small fee to attendees. But, it’s often worth the investment! This is a great place for you to meet several people at once and gain some new knowledge, since many of these meetings bring in guest presenters to broaden your skills. If you are unsure what professional meetings are available in your city, contact your local chamber of commerce to find out which organizations can benefit you.

Be prepared at all times. To ensure you put your best foot forward and present a great first impression, always have business cards and your résumé on hand with all of your contact information. In addition, have an elevator speech prepared. Be able to identify your skills and the type of job you’re looking for. Also, don’t avoid bragging about yourself a little. This is your chance to tell why you’d be a great employee. The goal is to show your networking contact how polished and confident you are – but just be sure to not come across as too confident because that can make you look arrogant. 

Follow-up with contacts. Your networking’s not over just because the networking event ended. You have to continue building relationships with the professionals you meet. Send a quick e-mail or mail a note after the meeting to let key contacts know how glad you were to meet them. This will give potential employers a chance to respond back to you, helping open the door for more communication down the road.

Online networking. Be sure to have an online presence when it comes to networking. Create profiles on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and add the professional contacts you know. Networking is most effective when you combine both face-to-face and online options. After you meet someone in person, send them a friend request on Facebook, add them as a connection on LinkedIn, or follow them on Twitter.  Just, be aware of what your social networks reveal about you and make sure you project the same impression online that you do in person.

Networking is a great way to get your foot in the door when you’re looking for work. Building a broad range of connections is a good idea – but just remember to build relationships with those contacts! Doing so takes time, but the end result is well worth the effort because the top way that people find a job is through a referral. So, get started today! 

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4 Little Known Tools for Managing Your Brand | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

The idea of brand management is growing and gaining momentum among the corporate and professional communities.  Over the last two weeks I have given three presentations on the topic to business and HR professionals as well as job seekers, and received almost a dozen emails and phone calls.  Bottom line is that your reputation is everywhere and online is no different.

Just last week, Ad Week released a monetary dollar figure attached to Facebook Fan (now “Like”) Pages.  Based on Virtue’s research of their own clients, they determined the average value of a Fan is $3.60.  This is the first ROI evaluation I have found that places a value squarely on a personal network. Finally, your friends are worth something!

Having a strong online brand and presence is essential to your future success in the workforce.  I believe that over the next 12 months, job seekers will begin to be evaluated based on more than just their education and work experience. Social media and networking presence is really becoming that important.  Some companies are already considering social media factors in their hiring decisions, including Best Buy who requires 250 Twitter followers to be considered for their social media positions.

Since reputation and the perception by contacts, clients, co-workers, and companies are so important, your online brand should be closely monitored so that you can quickly and immediately be alerted to any negative comments or perceptions.  This will allow you to take action to clarify comments, concerns, or misrepresentations expressed or implied by others before they get out of control and permanently damage your brand.  It can be a daunting task, but these tools are here to help:

• BackType. BackType is a tool that monitors your brand and keywords of blog comments.  If you are mentioned, represented, or comment on a blog or page, you will receive an email alert.  This is a great way to make sure that your brand isn’t being misrepresented.  As a company or individual, I would also encourage signing up for alerts of company names, competitors and common mis-spellings of your name and your competitors.

• BoardTracker. BoardTracker does exactly what it says.  It tracks brand and keyword mentions on discussion boards and forum sites.  You control the keywords and when you receive alerts.  This is a great way to go beyond Google Alerts and really dive into your brand outside of what the Google web crawlers find.

• TweetBeep. TweetBeep is not necessarily a new tool, but one worth mentioning nonetheless.  It allows you to set up keyword alerts from Twitter sent to your email at regular intervals.  The basic service is free but if you are looking for instant and real time alerts, you will pay a nominal fee.

• SocialMention. SocialMention is another site that manages your social brand and keyword content across social networks and blogs.  Visitors can use the keyword search option for real time and immediate search or set up alerts.  One of the drawbacks to the site is that if you have a large presence on social media, Social Mention is difficult to navigate, but it does provide you with an all in one option.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is known as @Blogging4Jobs on Twitter, is a published author of “Tweet This! Twitter for Business” and  is a leading HR blogger and new media strategist.  Jessica is a subject matter expert and provides insights in the areas of  HR, recruiting, and new media consultancy with her company, Xceptional HR.  Her newest project isTexting4Jobs, a text based job board platform recently launched in Oklahoma.

Photo Credit Fazianbaloch.

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