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A peaceful 2012?

Carl — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:39 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

A peaceful 2012?

This is the beginning of the International Hour for Peace. I don’t know how widespread this is – Google is surprisingly unhelpful – but it’s a good time to think about how we’re each helping to bring peace into the world.

We all agree: There’s too much conflict in the world, too much jockeying for position, too much greed and corruption.

But here’s the thing: Humans are made to strive. Each of us has ambitions to become more, to achieve, to develop, to grow. It seems to be that instinct which causes us to want to get more at the expense of others. It’s a win-lose game, ultimately ending up as lose-lose when those others start reacting to what I’ve done to them.

In my mind, this is one of the basic challenges we’ve been given in this life. We’re meant to learn how to grow and achieve while helping others to do the same.

Easy? No. But life is not easy.

I find it interesting, too, that generally other people will respond in kind. When I help others to achieve, they’ll help me – often more generously than I ever would have expected. Call it karma if you like; it doesn’t really matter.

So here’s the challenge I give you, and myself, for 2012: Let’s work on how to learn, grow, and achieve, while helping others to do the same. Never at the expense of others, but in aid of others.

I don’t generally make New Year’s Resolutions – I find it a bit artificial and pointless. Instead, let’s work together to make 2012 a year where we at least can bring peace and collaboration to our little corners of the planet.

It’s hard to know how to bring peace to 7 billion people in the world. But to the fifty people I’ll affect most this next year? I’ll give it a shot.

Do you want to help?

Carl Dierschow is a Certified Small Fish Business Coach and author of the career management guide, Mondays Stink! 23 Secrets to Rediscover Delight and Fulfillment in Your Work. He is a career coach for those going through interesting transitions, and works with small business owners who need to create breakthroughs in achieving their business goals. Find out more at www.Dierschow.com and www.SmallFish.us.

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Time for a reboot?

Carl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:37:00 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

Time for a reboot?

It’s the end of the year. I’m not a big fan of new year’s resolutions, really – I don’t see much reason to make up arbitrary goals with the realization that they won’t even last a month.

But…

There is a reason to use this time to think about your larger goals. First, for many, this is a bit of a slow time – perhaps you’re even taking some vacation. You can take some time to reflect about the course of your career, how you’re dealing with the normal stresses and strains of your job.

Second, typically at this time of year, you’ll be spending some time with family. Perhaps you’ll be exploring your spirituality a little deeper than normal. So it’s a time where you might be a bit more balanced, recognizing that it might be more important to spend time with your kids than to work another three hours on that report.

The challenge – one that I deal with as well – is how to do this without getting depressed. When you realize that you haven’t spent enough time with your family, that your career hasn’t advanced much this year, it can be a bit of a downer.

So counterbalance that with your achievements and bright spots. You had that great vacation with the family last summer. You’ve put some new accomplishments on your résumé or CV. Heck, even being gainfully employed for another year can be noteworthy these days. Or, if you’ve gone through some turmoil, at least you’ve survived and have a working computer to read this on.

My wife gives me a hard time because I always seem to respond to any of her computer hassles with, “Did you reboot?” It seems that with Windows PCs, this is the universal answer that magically fixes 90% of the problems.

Your job, of course, isn’t that simple. A complete “reboot” would mean going back to school, restarting as a newbie, being at the bottom of the ladder.

But we can use this time to “reboot” energy. Here’s some good questions:

What is it that gives you energy?
Why did you get into this career originally?
What makes your work worthwhile – to other people AND to you?

Use some slow-time here at the end of the year to see if you can recapture the energy and inspiration that you used to have. It may just help you enter 2012 with a bit of freshness.

Is it politically incorrect to wish you a Merry Christmas? Well, there it is anyway. Each of us is free to celebrate our spiritual rebirth however we wish, and that’s mine.

Talk to you in January!

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Pulling vs. pushing

Carl — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:35:40 +0000

What’s the next step in your career?

The way you answer this question says a lot about how you relate to your work – whether it’s pulling you or pushing you.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

How gratitude makes your job better

Carl — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:15:30 +0000

Some years ago, I ran across a person who asked me, “How’s it going?”. I issued the standard answer, “fine,” thinking nothing of it. End of conversation, nothing interesting said.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

The power of accountability

Carl — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:04:18 +0000

Most people resist the word “accountability.” This poor term has been so beaten and battered over the last 20 years that nobody wants to talk about it anymore – much less be held accountable for something.

But I’m going to take this head-on.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»

When others bail out

Carl — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:58:10 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

When others bail out

My client this morning was feeling some doubt and uncertainty because other folks in his situation are bailing out of their jobs. It made him wonder whether he’s just the last person to notice that there’s something bad going on.

Should he leave? It’s not at all clear.

I’ve been in this situation before, and it’s a tough call. But the place to start is by stepping back and having a bit of a deep think.

First, realize that others’ decisions may well have nothing to do with your own situation. Perhaps it was even quite random – three people made their independent decisions, and it just happened that they occurred in a short time span.

Or it could be more serious, yes. So it’s time to gather a bit of data. Find out what’s going on, what events happened, what might have changed, what the trend is.

Then come to you own conclusion, based on YOUR priorities and needs. Perhaps this will even provide an opportunity for advancement and growth, moving into those others’ roles.

Look for the best-case scenario. Three others have left. This will give an opportunity to hire some fresh people, maybe shake up some of the bad patterns that you’ve fallen into. You could make some new friends, and be seen as knowledgeable mentor relative to the new folks.

Then look at the worst-case scenario. Yes, those people left, and it may well put more pressure on you. Maybe there’s something going on behind the scenes that you’ll find worrisome. But life will continue on. Even if you happen to lose your job, that’s not the end of the world.

The purpose of exploring these two scenarios is to help you think through the range of possibilities, how you might react, and to realize that you have knowledge and resources which can help. Don’t get too emotionally attached to either, as most likely the outcome will be somewhere in between.

What action you choose to take will make a great difference toward either the best case or worst case. So think through it and take some action – even if the action is to wait things out and gather more information.

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Laboring for a purpose

Carl — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:27:42 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

Laboring for a purpose

It’s Labor Day here in the US, a holiday when we remember those who have fought to create a work environment where people can earn a fair living for doing fair work. Ironic, I suppose, that we celebrate work by … taking the day off.

It’s bittersweet for those millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed, who are unconvinced of that this is the Great Land Of Opportunity that we once thought.

It’s important to realize that there’s different ways to look at work. Many people think of their job as the necessary stuff they have to do in order to have a life. Others have a broader view, seeing their work as a way to BE their life. And of course, those workaholics just take it to the extreme, getting so involved in their work that they really don’t do anything else.

In fact, that workaholism model can work quite well for some people. Despite pressure from older generations, some people are so engaged in their work that they’re just fine treating it as the end in itself. People in religious vocations sometimes fit this model.

And if you want to treat your job as a necessary evil, go ahead. Realize that what you’re doing, though, is spending 40+ hours a week in misery, developing a bad attitude, and infecting those around you.

For me, I prefer finding value through my work. For ten years I was able to explore business and career coaching while I was working for a large employer, because I worked hard to gain the support of every boss and deliver value for the company. Even before that, though, I was constantly looking to expand my contribution, to affect more people, to help the company grow and prosper.

It ended up being a career of 31 years in that company, which isn’t bad by any measure. When the economy finally caught up with me and I got laid off, I could remember a deep sense of satisfaction for what I was able to do over the decades, and what the company gave me in return. I had a chance to work with some truly great people.

That doesn’t make work EASY, by the way. Work can still be hard and frustrating even when you’re getting great value. Rather like having a family, actually: Sometimes they’ll drive you nuts, but overall you wouldn’t trade them for the world.

That’s the attitude we should be nurturing and celebrating on this Labor Day!

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Accountability

Carl — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:44:41 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

Accountability

I’m glad you’re still reading this. Many people find the word “accountability” so threatening that they don’t even want to think about it.

Let’s start with the basic concept. When somebody says they’re going to do something, if their word is worth anything, they should follow through to the best of their ability. The fact that you’re expecting this means that you’re holding them accountable. If they disappoint you, you’re going to lower your level of trust. If they meet or exceed the expectations they set, your level of trust will increase.

The reason some of us shy away from “accountability” is that the word has been used in reference to expectations you haven’t intentionally set. Your boss tells you that an assignment is due Friday, but perhaps there’s no discussion around that deadline. He holds you accountable for meeting that deadline, but not because you said you could do it – just because that was the stated requirement.

Worse yet, sometimes the requirements aren’t actually stated. Your boss says she needs the TPS report “ASAP”. Perhaps her expectation is that it will be done in an hour, while your interpretation is that it needs to be done in a day.

Clearly we have a recipe for disaster.

There’s a reasonably straightforward way to restore the balance in this situation: Simply state how you are interpreting the requirement, and how you plan to meet it. Up front.

“Sure, I’ll have that done by Friday.”
“I’ll try hard to get it done by Friday, but I can’t guarantee it. It depends on some information that hasn’t been given to me yet.”
“Do you mean you need that by the end of the day?”
“Is tomorrow OK?”

Each response opens up the possibility for a constructive dialog. If there’s misunderstanding, you’ll probably find out quickly. If you need help in certain areas, this is the time to ask.

Of course, it’s quite possible you’ll be given an impossible requirement. In that case, you’ll need to use your best negotiation skills to attempt to arrive at an acceptable compromise.

If you can’t find a compromise, well, at least you know a bit sooner. If you need to work an all-nighter, you’ll know while you still have a chance to do some adjustment and damage control.

These examples happen to highlight accountability for timing and deadlines, but the same principles apply to any other aspect of your work – quality, thoroughness, depth and breadth. When there’s room for interpretation, it’s good to give your response in advance of doing the work.

There’s another benefit to giving a timely response, which is that the other person’s anxiety will be reduced. If I give an assignment to a subordinate, getting no timely response is actually the worst response. I wonder if the message was received. I suspect there may be an attempt to avoid the work. I worry that the assignment may have been misunderstood.

On a related topic, I have had questions about how coaches use the word “accountability.” Part of the value that a coach can add to the relationship is to hold you accountable to following through on actions you’ve created and decisions you’ve made.

If you think about it, though, it’s a little backward. You’re paying the coach, so he or she doesn’t really have any leverage over you. It’s not like there’s a big stick that will beat you up if you fail to follow through.

This is how accountability to a coach works: When you say you’re going to do something, to someone you have a relationship with, and you know that the person is likely to ask you about it in the future, then you hold yourself more accountable. It’s really a tool to help you build integrity with yourself, and that you’re making progress in a direction that’s truly useful.

It’s amazing how well it works. And all based on not wanting to disappoint somebody.

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Seize the day!

Carl — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:27:30 +0000

The Career You’ll Love

Sponsored by Carl Dierschow’s career blog at www.Dierschow.com

Welcome to my career tips newsletter! I encourage you to pass this to anyone who might have an interest in revitalizing their career – instructions for subscribing are at the bottom.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”

- John Lennon

I continually run into people who are very future-focused, so much that they can’t appreciate what it means to live in the moment.

Don’t get me wrong; goals are wonderful. Having a vision is inspiring and powerful. But if these just sit there on the shelf, they can actually turn UNinspiring after a while.

Joseph has grand plans. He’s written a 30-year career plan (really!) which ends up with him leading an organization of thousands of employees before he retires. Joseph’s problem was that this vision was so grand that he didn’t know how to get started. He didn’t know what he should be doing today, and felt as if his current job was largely pointless.

I worked with him over the course of several coaching sessions, to bring that vision down to some current steps:

Building experience in managing people
Understanding what it means to manage a business, not just manage a team
Developing some key relationships to help his advancement into management

Without these steps, he’d still be in that strange gap, doing daily activities that didn’t seem to advance toward his goal.

I’d also like to point out that life never goes according to plan. It’s great to have worked out where you’d like to be in a year or two, and to be taking steps toward that, but then things happen. Both barriers and opportunities, and some events which seem to be a barrier might be a blessing in disguise.

The way to make decisions in this uncertain and changing environment is to have a set of values, principles, and goals. When your situation changes, go back to the basics and make a new plan.

It’s your life, so you get to change your plan. In small or large ways.

Carpe Diem!

P.S. I’ve seen a t-shirt that said that “Carpe Diem” means “seize the carp” but I suspect that may not be true.

P.P.S. That’s a joke!

If you are interested in individual career coaching, group coaching, or other resources which might help you with difficult choices, please contact Carl at carl@dierschow.com.

Connect with Carl on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get timely updates and connections to a broader range of professionals.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail to newsletter@Dierschow.com

Tips on how to simplify your life

Carl — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:08:45 +0000

There’s a lot of complexity that we deal with in our lives. Work. Spouse. Kids. Parents. Friends. Social groups. Facebook.

It never ends.

Read more on my Workbloom blog»