The Shift: Take the Reins of Your Career

The companies are fighting an uphill battle at getting employees in when they are most needed (Just-In-Time Hiring) and keeping them motivated and engaged:

A global Gallup survey found that at the average big firm only 33% of employees describe themselves as fully engaged in their work, 49% say they are not engaged and 18% say they are “actively disengaged”.

Yet, I am not totally convinced that it is solely the organization that should bear the burden of fostering engagement. The employees are just as responsible for making their jobs exciting and meaningful.

Last month The Economist published a special report My Big Fat Career where the key ideas are

• The workplace is changing; information on employers and employees is balancing off; and you need to learn how to play the information battles

• Invest in your own development

• Stick with the right people

No question about this: workers have to take responsibility for their own future. For many the mantra will be "continuous learning, continuous learning, continuous learning". However, educational institutions from nursery schools up to universities are doing a poor job at instilling the idea of life-long learning. Most educational systems are built on two theories:

• The Pickle Theory: a cucumber put in marinade has no other choice but to pickle, and
• The Squirrel Theory: you should get your mushrooms and nuts now (get the knowledge!), maybe you will need in later in winter (when the crisis comes).

 So how do we prepare ourselves? If nobody really cares about our long-term career success either because of ignorance, powerlessness or lack of interest, it is you personally against the dragons. Fortunately, there are many who would help - help is often given to those who seek and those who deserve.

There is one thinker, author, professor and inspirational speaker that I would like to mention in this regard. In her book “The Shift: The Future of Work is Already Here”  Lynda Gratton of the London Business School talks about the changes that we need to make in ourselves to create value-add jobs that we will enjoy.

According to Ms Gratton, people will also have to invest more in their personal “social capital”, which will involve three elements:

1. First, build yourself a “posse”, a small group of up to 15 people they can turn to when the going gets rough. They should have some expertise in common, have built up trust in each other and be able to work effectively together.

2. Second, you need a “big-ideas crowd” who can keep you mentally fresh. This echoes the discussion of “managed serendipity” in last year’s business bestseller, “The Power of Pull”, in which John Hagel and John Seely Brown argued that the successful worker of the future will live in clusters of talented, open-minded people and spend a lot of time going to thought-provoking conferences.

3. Third, you need a “regenerative community” to maintain your emotional capital, meaning family and friends in the real world “with whom you laugh, share a meal, tell stories and relax”.

Listen to Lynda talking about her new book and get inspired. Stop whining a-la "they don't appreciate me" and start paving your own road to happiness.

Dare to Be Happy!

I am not a great believer in signs and omens, but today has been about happiness for me. Maybe it is selective attention to blame, but within a range of three hours I received three messages about happiness from three different sources (I also read an article about the number 3 as well today):

1. An article in The Economist I Dream of Gini, where connections between wealth, inequality and happiness are under close scrutiny. People can be absolutely happy in countries where equality leaves much to be desired (e.g. Brazil) and that seems to baffle the learned minds: http://econ.st/nyO7qg.

HIV/AIDS: You HAVE TO Love Your Job

I went for an HIV test last Monday. This is a normal practice for me: I try to do a regular STD check-up even if I may be 100% sure that nothing is wrong. Peace of mind is one invaluable thing. Anyway, it turned out to be one of the most exciting mornings of my life!

If you are in Madrid, I would recommend you to go there just for the experience. Centro Sandoval is situated close to the Bilbao metro station in c/Sandoval, 7. So yesterday early in the morning - really, it's tough getting up at 7.45 AM when you are on vacation - I directed my steps to that center. It was a beautiful sunny morning, just like any other in Madrid in summer, and my spirits were high. They sagged a little when I walked in, though. If you have ever been to a public medical institution, you would know what I am talking about: shabby walls, narrow corridors, lines to get an appointment ticket, lack of any information readily available for patients, etc. Got ticket #3; "Not bad", thought to myself. Joy was short-lived. Even though the working hours are indicated as 8.45 AM - 12 PM, the lady in charge did not appear before 9.30 AM. She finished off the first two patients rather quickly - in a matter of 10-15 minutes - and then it was my turn. If only I had known what I was getting myself into…

 The session lasted for an hour, but maybe that was one of the most exciting medical encounters in my life. The lady, called María Ángeles, belongs to that kind of people, whom you cannot fail to like. She has

• 24 years of experience as a psychiatric nurse;
• Charisma larger than the consulting room we were in;
• Ability to talk without stopping using vivid imagery and real life examples;
• Lack of fear to call a spade a spade and no-nonsense attitude;

I was mesmerized, like a rabbit in front of a snake, listening to her. She was chatting away about her patients and colleagues and the dangers of unprotected sex and medical research and stupidity of the human nature and all those things that normally you try not to think about. Her confidence was contagious and her personality strong as a magnet. When, after an hour, she finally decided that it was enough, she gave me a kiss on each cheek and a big hug. I was having one of the best mornings of my life.

 

Why does it always so happen that you do not people like that at private hospitals? Yes, surely, you see medical personnel there who are professional in every way, but I have never received such treatment ever before (and normally I would go to a private clinic). Why wouldn't María Ángeles go and work at a private institution? I guess because she would not have this opportunity to connect on a much deeper personal level. After all, patients pay per visit and not for the amount of time you spend with them. It is really about love for your profession and passion for what you are doing. It is a tough job. It's a rewarding job. It's a job that few appreciate and many look down upon. It's one of those jobs that you must love!

Spanish Youth and Cucumbers

My dear friend Gary Stewart published his new blog post today, titled Indignant Fellows, Spanish Mothers and Tupperware. In his article he blames overprotective Spanish mothers for lack of ambition and passiveness of the Gen Y (or generación Ni-Ni, as he refers to them), which in the long run affects the economy, political and social setup of the country. While Gary's standpoint might be accused of extreme generalization (and is slightly aggressive), I cannot but agree that his article has resonated with my personal experiences here in Spain.

Yes, the younger generation in Spain has been taken for a ride and even now most companies and governmental agencies are trying to take advantage of the vulnerable position of the (especially younger) workforce, as I have already mentioned in my Offensive Job Offers post. I would not be too hasty to jump at conclusions that the Gen Y is a victim and everyone else is just a money-grabbing bastard not giving a damn about anything but personal profit. Over the course of the past year, I've met enough young Spaniards to notice certain trends in their economic behavior and I don't think that I will be too far off if I broadly categorize them into three groups:

1. The disillusioned. They have a pretty good understanding of what is going on but no motivation to change anything, either because they tried and failed or merely because they know exactly what it will take from their personal lives, peace of mind and vocal cords to make a tiny difference. So they are looking at moving to greener pastures where meritocracy has a louder toll. London and Germany are normally the most popular European destinations.
2. The revolutionary. Dolores Ibárruri would be proud of this group of her compatriots. They pray by May 15 and enjoy living in tents on Plaza del Sol. They believe that if they shout loudly enough, the jobs, money and public admiration will descend from above not unlike the manna people once received from heaven. History proves over and over again that forced redistribution of wealth has never led to anything but suffering and greater disbalance.
3. The complacent. Life sucks and we are cool with it. An acquaintance of mine (26) wants to work as a waiter (he's in his last year at university working towards a degree in Geology). Not a research assistant, event coordinator, twitter feed manager or something else having a bigger value add, but a waiter. I respect the waiting profession. I want to try it out on Saturday nights as well. Being a waiter at 18 is cute. At 26 it's sort of embarassing.

Whatever group those youngsters (and I am talking about 18-30 years old here) belong, their low level of motivation is truly shocking. They would rather be demonstrating for a month than join a vocation school to learn Excel or English. Surely, I have not been talking about quite a large proportion of the Spanish youth who do have ambition and challenging targets in their lives, but I am trying to paint a general picture here and unfortunately it does look that bleak.

You would ask me what cucumbers have to do with this discussion. As usual, it's a metaphor. Perception is reality and your mental models define who you are and determine how you behave. In the midst of the Spanish cucumber scandal a few weeks ago, all Spanirds were adamant about the quality and taste of their cucumbers. In the end, the bacillum was located in Germany and Spain was cleared of all accusations but... their cucumbers are not that great, really.

The Morning Glory

The mother of the protagonist in The Morning Glory says,

At 28 having a dream is officially embarrassing. You need to stop until it's heart-breaking.

Crude as it may sound but that is exactly the message that the society is sending to us. This movie (no matter how flaky and Hollywood it might be) deals with two important topics related to motivation: dream jobs and spillovers.

The character of Harrison Ford has had it all. He's reported from a burning jeep in Kosovo, interviewed Mother Teresa and Dick Cheney, and generations of American grew up watching his broadcasts. Television has been his life and emptiness was what followed once he had been let go. His work spilled over into his personal life to such an extent that it nudged out everything else that was there - interests, friends, family... He grew into an old grumpy bitter ghost of a someone who used to be famous.

A young hardworking executive producer (played by Rachel McAdams) has the same spillover issues but she is on the uphill road and genuinely believes in what she is doing. She is passionate, committed and cutely naive. The drama starts unfolding when the two collide in the makings of a morning show, and neither will budge. Luckily for both (it's a Hollywood story after all - a happy ending is guaranteed), he finds meaning in his new job and she learns some important lessons:

• get a boyfriend (a cute one)
• keep your blackberry in the fridge (not Vitamin C type)
• do not tolerate non-professionalism (fire the bastards!)
• know the difference between the sexy job and the dream job

If you have not seen the movie yet, check out the trailer and maybe it will whet your appetite:

Advice that never goes old

Celebrate the job you have

Cannot but share this message I received from a friend today

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The year has barely just begun and already many people are probably feeling depressed about their current job. This is probably because you carried all the stress and regret from the previous year into the new one. The festive season allowed you to relax and forget about it all but now its back to reality. But instead of moping around all day why don’t you do something?

With the current economic recession many of us are feeling the financial crunch and think finding a better job is the best thing especially considering that you might hate your current one. But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and finding another job won’t be easy during this time. People are being retrenched or put off left right and centre because many businesses are making huge losses. So instead of looking for greener pastures why not make the most of the job you already have?

Build Relationships: Considering that you spend at least eight hours with your colleagues it might be a good idea to build better friendships. Yes they might sometimes be a pain but if you have someone to talk to at work it will make your time there much more pleasurable. If you aren’t friendly at work people won’t have a problem back stabbing you, something that often happens at the work place.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: A lot of people feel they aren’t getting paid enough for what they do or are remunerated properly for what their skills are worth. Be grateful that you even have the opportunity to earn a living because many people have to beg and borrow to support their families. If you think you are worth more than what you are getting, go the extra mile and give 110 % to show your employer that that if they lost you there would be a big gap in the company. This might encourage them to increase your salary and appreciate you much more. Hard work pays off.

You’re up to date: Most employers give their employees training and other skills to improve their performance. In most cases you don’t pay for this training because it is for the company’s benefit. When new technology comes along you learn new things that some people might only get to try in a few months.

Be Passionate: Don’t do things in an “I hate my job” attitude. This is what could be holding you back from finding out where you fit in the company. If you are passionate in what you do you will always give your best and appreciate the end result. Slap dash work is obvious and it is probably the thing that will end up getting you fired.

Assess your skills: Whenever you feel down and worthless remind yourself of all the skills you have. Think about how the skills or service you provide, helps get to the end product. This will give you some sort of satisfaction.

Go Back to the Beginning: Ask yourself why you took the job in the first place. This might help renew your determination to do what needs to be done. If you saw yourself further up in the ladder than where you are set goals to get the position in the company you want. The closer you get the more drive you will have every morning when you get to work.

Change your Attitude: Instead of waking up in the morning sad and depressed and going to work with the same attitude try a different approach. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself that you will have a great day at work. It’s all to do with the laws of attraction. If you say and do positive things then you will attract that positive energy into your life.

There is no such thing as the perfect job. It’s the passion you have for that job and the way that you commit yourself is what sets you apart from the miserable faces you probably see every day.

Dare!

A few days ago someone asked me what coaching was about. I gave an explanation through the hackneyed metaphor of the mirror that we as coaches are holding in front of the coachee, which is true and highly accurate. One aspect that it is lacking is the courage it takes to look into the mirror and face your fears.

This video is an EXCELLENT demonstration of the powerful effect coaching can have on your self-growth and motivation:

Business for the Greater Good

According to the video above, productivity goes up by 40% when employees have the feeling they work for something greater than financial results. This study, done by the Notre Dame University, corroborates the idea that financial motivation is sometimes not the most essential part of the package. I would argue that in the majority of cases it is not. No doubt, money is important and there are many, who are primarily driven by the financial gain: a vivid illustration to that would be the recent financial crisis, a Shell reserves overstatement scandal, Parmalat or Enron fairy tales. It is not surprising that the human greed dripping from the top surprisingly quickly permeates the very essence of the companies.

Still, according to research, financial motivation increases employee performance for the period up to 6 months. What then? Then comes the non-tangible part of the rewards package, such as the corporate culture, or access to development opportunities, or the employer image, or an ability to do something that will make this world a better place.

No matter how much money British-American Tobacco are going to put in their employer brand campaign, it will forever bear the stamp of "smoking kills" over its shiny corporate logo. I am not sure how people working for them feel, but I know for sure that I would not enjoy contributing to the success of a company that is (indirectly) responsible for lungs cancer of thousands of people. Conversely, working for a "green" company, for instance, would make me want to achieve more, make an effort, go an extra mile... Call me an incorrigible romantic or a fool, but pay goes beyond the dollar.

I love my job!

What can be done to improve employee engagement? Many pieces of advice can be given, but if we analyze the research and literature on the topic, it comes down to the following basic recommendations:

• show employees the light at the end of the tunnel (i.e. vision and its implications on a personal level)
• make work second home (i.e. increase "embeddedness". it's a fancy term that has become particularly fashionable lately. so it is no longer enough for the employees to be engaged, they need to be embedded as well)
• clear up the mud (i.e. make processes and procedures transparent and understandable, improve communications and ensure employees understand company decisions. even when those decisions are hard and tough but easy for everyone to grasp, you will get much more respect and buy-in).

If you are slacking on those, you might get an employee, whose daily mantras would be something like:

Anyone who has not felt like that - raise your hands! Jokes aside, there are serious economic implications of employee disengagement. The figure below shows the correlation between the level of employee engagement and the company profitability:

Sticks and carrots

An amazing animated presentation on motivation that defies economic postulates of more money -> better performance. Can't agree more!