Bravo, Katie!

Now, what about you?

We, as professionals, come to similar realizations throughout our career. Many do not admit that they have reached their end of shelf life at their job, as they get growingly comfortable in their own situation. A job becomes stale, a career becomes stalled, or one fails to see beyond the next promotion to where their career is headed. It is easy to be seduced by the “security” of your job, the ongoing increases in salary, and even an occasional promise of a promotion to keep your nose to the grindstone. Over the past decade, the job market has become increasingly volatile and jobs are getting re-defined, Banglored, and even eliminated resulting in an increasingly nervous job market. So, what is one to do to keep their career momentum on track and to keep themselves productively employed?

The following prescription may help those who are determined to keep their career on track and their job engagement fresh:

1. Look back in your current job and see how you have grown in the past two or so years. If you are not getting a new perspective and are not learning something new every day, then you are not fresh in your job anymore; you have reached the end of your shelf life.
2. Do not confuse the annual reviews and the raises you get with the learning and growth that you derive from your job. If you do what is assigned to you with your eyes closed, then your company is obviously impressed by your performance. So, merely getting high marks on your annual review does not mean that you are deriving the personal and professional growth that is critical to your ongoing marketability.
3. Look around and see what opportunities your company is missing out on and identify how you can re-scope your job or even re-define it, by sitting down with your manager and making it work for you. If your manager is not willing to give you that latitude, find other areas in your company that can use your initiative and skills to make a better name for itself in the marketplace. In such endeavors, having a first-hand customer input can be a selling point.
4. Look at the job openings in your industry and see how your competitors are filling similar positions. If comparable jobs require skills that you do not have, then you must learn those skills in your current job and make yourself more marketable.
5. Write your resume to address the skills that are required at other companies and then seek assignments that make those entries a reality. This is a proactive approach to career management.
6. Once you have identified the work that you want to be doing to continue your growth at your own company, it can take several months to realize that assignment. Each passing month makes you that much more stale in your current job. So, do not wait.
7. If you are gutsy, go ahead and position yourself beyond what is logically feasible. So, if you are manager in your job with enough savvy, but not the required experience, to fill a director-level position, go ahead and apply to where such an opportunity exists. Even if you do not meet all the requirements, neutralize the objections by presenting in your cover letter, forward-looking job skills that you bring to the position and ace that opportunity.

   In one example, my client, a senior IT professional, who was not quite “ready” for a CIO’s job, sent her resume with a cover letter addressing how the emerging trend of Software As a Service (SaaS) was going to change IT’s role in the next two years. She was able to articulate how IT’s role was going to shift with this change and how the company needed to prepare itself to empower the line and business managers to deal with this reality. She got invited to the interviews and the selection process is currently underway. Without such a message in the cover letter, she may have been passed over for the selection process because she lacked the number of years required at the executive position.

8. Do not let your “friends” undermine you in your pursuits. If you believe that you have the abilities to claim a job that is a step up from where you are now, go ahead and claim the job. You’d be surprised how, having a single-minded focus and determination can conspire to deliver the outcomes that you desire.
9. The only limit to how far you can go is your own limiting beliefs. So, if you are feeling stuck in your current position, check your limiting beliefs.
10. Do not be afraid to fail or get a setback. This is a good sign; it means that you have discovered when you have gone too far. As Emerson said, “Your reach should be greater than your grasp.” Do not confuse a setback with an obstacle; a setback can be a stepping stone. Only when you give up trying after a setback it becomes a failure.

Managing your own career today is mostly in your hands and you must proactively look for opportunities that may not be apparent to many around you. You must act as an entrepreneur in today’s environment and realize what others are missing.

Katie Couric’s evening news is not doing very well these days, after the initial fanfare wore off. Yet, she continues to re-invent how the evening news can be presented to the audience, with a soupcon of raillery and entertainment. Is she going to bounce back in her ratings? No one knows, but Katie is having the time of her life. And, so can you!

]]> http://blog.dilipsaraf.com/2009/06/katie-couric-and-your-job%e2%80%99s-shelf-life/feed/ 0 http://blog.dilipsaraf.com/2009/03/managing-upward-managing-your-boss/ http://blog.dilipsaraf.com/2009/03/managing-upward-managing-your-boss/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:54:00 +0000 Dilip Saraf http://blog.dilipsaraf.com/?p=88

“If you do not manage your boss, she cannot manage you!”—Anonymous

Managing your boss appears like an irony! Why? Most assume that it is the boss’s responsibility to manage you. Yet, Dilbert is the most widely syndicated cartoon strip that almost anyone who has worked in the corporate jungle can relate to in how they deal with their boss.

Why, then, is managing your boss such an important part of a job? One reason is that today’s role the boss plays is very different from the one they played during our parents’ time. With telecommuting and departments dispersed around the world your boss’s responsibilities are now very different as are their priorities. Under these conditions it is easy to fall victim to the “Out of sight, out of mind” syndrome!

If you feel that you are maundering through your job, getting no where, especially with your own boss, then you must become aware of how to manage your boss. Worse yet, if your boss is undermining your efforts and you are at the risk of losing your job, not because of what you did or did not do, but because of what your boss did, then you must awaken to a new reality.

Before taking for granted what your boss is going to do for you, or if you feel unappreciated, frustrated, dumped on, or set up for a fall, ask yourself these questions:

• What is my goal with this particular job or assignment?
• What is my superiors’ agenda and what is their style of managing?
• How will they know the real contribution I have made in advancing their agenda?
• What must I do to work within their framework so that I can be viewed as a valuable contributor without compromising my values?
• What can I do to rise above my colleagues to make a positive impression on my chain of command?
• If I stay and commit myself to the current job, what can I do to help myself and to help my boss to succeed?
• If I decided to move on how can I prevent getting into a similar situation—or even worse—with my next boss?
• Can I change my boss? (Ha! No one has changed anybody)

The following list is provided to help those who wonder about the process of managing their boss:

1. Have an initial meeting with your boss as you come on board (or if you get a new boss midstream).
2. If you have not had such a meeting to begin with, it is never too late to have one.
3. In this meeting clearly lay out roles, responsibilities, expectations, measurements, rewards, and deliverable. Boss’s role and responsibilities must also be made clear in this meeting.
4. If you are in a matrix organization with two (or more) bosses, make sure that you keep them in the loop. Have individual meetings regularly. If you do not agree with the way things are going with the project boss (the one to whom you are assigned) meet with your functional boss (the one who writes your reviews and manages your salary) and get their support.
5. Agree on a scheduled reporting structure and the method of reporting. A weekly summary of progress and issues can be sent to the boss by email every Friday afternoon. If any items need attention or help, they must be at the top of this short message that is more in a bulletized form than as a long narrative. Also, it should be presented as an exception report than as a status report.
6. Under promise and over deliver. Move from managing expectations to managing excellence.
7. Periodically meet (or you can also have a cyber meeting) with your boss and ask for their ongoing agenda and how they are driving it. Ask how you can help in their success and show how you have been helping them already. Do not assume that because you work for them that they already know this.
8. It is not unusual that your boss will act so busy that there is never time to get together. In that case send an email and calendar a meeting. If the boss ignores it call and leave a voice mail and, failing a response, write a follow-up note. Check with your peers to see if they are having a similar experience. If the boss continues to ignore, inform your boss that you are going to get in touch with HR and the boss’s boss. Wait a few days and then “meet” with them to show them your notes. Better yet, let the HR representative take care of this. By choosing to take this route, however, you have compromised your relationship with your boss.
9. Without getting personally close to the boss, develop a relationship of trust and respect. The ideal relationship is when the boss comes to you asking for help in shepherding their agenda or just comes and chats with you when they are having a difficult day.
10. Every quarter schedule to have a substantial meeting (1-2 hours) with your boss. Going out to lunch is a good way to conduct such a meeting. Treat your boss to a nice lunch.
11. If you get a chance to spontaneously compliment your boss for something that they have done well, bring it in a meeting with their superiors and comment on that achievement. Nothing is more gratifying to a boss than when a subordinate conveys to their superiors their great work! Such occasions can quickly change your boss’s view of your relationship with them in a very positive way. Just make sure that the compliment is genuine.
12. Figure out your manager’s blind spots or weaknesses. Collaborate with them to neutralize those weaknesses so that your boss looks good to their chain of command.
13. If you do not agree with your boss’s stand or views on an issue, do not contradict them in a public meeting, especially when superiors are present. Even if they are not, someone in the meeting will rat on you to elevate themselves.
14. Volunteer to take on jobs that your boss avoids.
15. Request a formal acknowledgement of your contribution from those who benefited from it, especially when they volunteered that information as a compliment. Ask those who can influence your chain of command with inputs about you that can set the tone of your future course of work at the employer. Asking for something in writing to be sent to your chain of command is never a bad idea. It is how you ask that sets the tone of how people respond to it. Also, acknowledging someone, whom you want, in turn, to acknowledge you, can work wonders, both ways.
16. Engage in “straight talk” with those who are undermining your efforts to make things better.
17. Keep your boss informed about what you know is happening around your own circle of awareness. Do not assume that your boss knows what you know. Although gossiping or spreading rumors should not be what you have to resort to, if there is some trouble brewing that affects your boss, keeping your eyes open and then communicating what is happening to your boss can only help your relationship.
18. Focus on the organization and place its agenda ahead of yours or your boss’s. Always keep the big picture in mind in every action you take.
19. If you are expecting a child or are pregnant wait until a few months before the child is due to announce it to your boss. If possible do this in person.
20. If a task or the job itself does not work out, do not personalize the failure. May be changing the place of work is your best option. Find ways to put the best face on what you have done and honestly discuss with your boss what might be done better. Move on with a positive outlook, without blaming anyone, especially your boss.
21. If your boss sees you as a threat because, perhaps, you are an overachiever or that you have more to offer, slow down and see if you can collaborate with others, including your boss, to improve the situation. If this does not work move on.
22. If your boss is like Dilbert’s they are riddled with insecurities and self doubts. Do not openly challenge them or threaten them, this makes their insecurities worse. Because of the power they hold they can make you pay for your criticism.
23. Always show respect for your manager’s position, if not for them personally. Remember, they are the manager and hold the power of employment over you!
24. In today’s world, every employee is expected to do more. Always be on the look out for learning something new and increasing your value to your boss and the organization.
25. Avoid going around your boss to their superiors. If you must or that if it happens because the superiors initiate it, make sure that your boss is immediately apprised of this and the circumstances. When this happens do not get ahead of yourself by undermining your boss.
26. Find out what your boss does for fun, charity, or hobby. If you can connect that way, it is always a plus.
27. It is a good idea to explore your boss’s Type by directly asking and then looking at how you can manage your interaction. For example if your boss is ISTP and you, an ENTJ, then make sure that when you present an idea, go with data (she is an “S”), do not force a decision (she is a “P” and you a “J”). Such strategies generally work well to increase your “compatibility.”
28. Remember: An ounce of loyalty is worth more than a pound of cleverness!
29. Act positively and smile often. People often wonder about those who smile and it annoys other enough to make it worth your while.
30. If all of this sounds basic, it is. But, how many do not follow this simple prescription and suddenly get surprised by a “Notice of Concern” or a sudden and unexpected termination or a layoff?

“How you leave a job can say more about you than all the work you ever did–particularly if leave badly.”–A CTO

Few people realize that there comes a time in their job when work is no longer fun, but a drag. Sometimes, this happens suddenly, when they get a new boss who does not like them, or that working conditions suddenly change due to a variety of reasons. In most cases, though, reaching this state of no fun happens over time for most and that is why most even do not recognize it. Their pent-up stress eventually become unbearable.

The following list of warning signs is a good check to assess if you are ready to make a transition to a different job (inside or out):

1. You do not get energized to go to work on Mondays. Mondays are good barometers of how much you like your job. If you dread going to work on Mondays this is a good sign that you have run the course with your job and that you must move on or make a change. Yet another symptom: once the week gets going, you cannot wait for the weekend and you start planning for that from the first day of the week. Mondays, especially seem to drag on, right from the first hour on the job. For some, this feeling is not just limited to Mondays but every day that they have to go to work. Many seek respite by frequent visits to the restroom, reading material in their hands! Some even take up smoking so that they get to go out to have a puff or two, away from their desk.
2. You have a lot on your mind, just not work. The work doesn’t challenge you and time hangs. In meetings you day dream and do not participate. You dread going to meetings to which you are invited and wonder about those where you are not.
3. In meetings your inputs get ignored. This is another sign that you are no longer an important part of the team. Even if you suggest something great, it is looked upon with furrowed brow, ignored, or worse, attributed to someone else for credit a bit later.
4. You do not get important memos/emails. This is yet another sign that you are on your way out—or should be—and that your existence is tantamount to that of a “parasite.”
5. You get no-win assignments. If you see yourself being set up for a series of no-win assignments, then you can assume that your boss is setting you up for a “special review” that documents how you have flubbed a series of assignments in a row.
6. Nearly completed assignments get yanked. You are about to complete an important project. The project is a bit late for no fault of yours and your boss knows that. Just before you are about to put the final piece of the puzzle in place to complete the project, your boss yanks you from the project and gives it to someone else, who then finishes “on schedule,” taking full credit for it.
7. Someone more junior acts as the boss’s proxy. Someone you regarded as your junior will bring a message from the boss telling you to do something on their behalf.
8. Things change, not to your advantage. The boss you got along with so well leaves, or worse, takes on a new favorite employee. Eventually, that person gets layered in above you on the corporate ladder, intercepting your access to the boss, taking over plum projects and moving you out of the decision-making loop. The change is subtle at first, but your loss of status compounds over time.Yet another unmistakable sign that you are superfluous is that when your company merges or acquires other companies, those less experienced than you, come to your organization with titles higher than yours.
9. Your boss takes you for granted. You do something well and you get pigeonholed as the company expert in that area. Or you’re no longer seen as having potential for new projects. Or, just as bad, you’re known as the good corporate citizen who’ll do whatever you’re asked – including relocating multiple times. Another unmistakable sign of your redundancy is that your boss does not include you on a committee that is set up to review something in your area of expertise. When you confront them, a typical rationalization is “I did not want to distract you from what you were doing.”
10. You pigeonhole yourself. Some top performers stay at their jobs because they don’t believe they could succeed elsewhere. The longer you’re at a place, the more you think that success depends on your environment, or you lose confidence that you can do anything else. This is particularly true of senior professionals in their mid 40s who are otherwise ready for a promotion (Director, VP)
11. Your mood ranges from angry to angrier. No matter how well-regarded your work is, or once was, if you develop a reputation as a querulous crank, colleagues will distance themselves. And that isolation can make you more vulnerable in a layoff.
12. You feel like hell. Unhappiness can undermine your health. Early signs of excess stress: stomachaches, headaches and insomnia.
13. Everyone looks like they’re having fun. You sulk and isolate yourself because no one comes to you for advice.

Hiring may be sparse in your field. You may be supporting a family and need the money—to say nothing of the health insurance. You only have a few years before fully vesting in your stock options. Or you’re retiring in less than 15 years and want to maximize the pension you get.

If that’s the case and you plan to stay, do more than just sucking it up.

Don’t see yourself as a wage slave. See your job as a funding source for what you want to do next. Do what’s required and do it as quickly as you can, then network with those who can give you the growth you need for the next job.

And try to develop new skills that will serve you well when you do leave.

Because the trouble with waiting–to vest, to retire, to get promoted–is that it doesn’t always pay off. There’s nothing stopping employers from letting you go five minutes before you reach your goal. And the terms of your exit will be theirs, not yours.

Sticky Wickets

In any working environment it is not uncommon to encounter situations where important relationships are compromised and you become vulnerable. Your dream job becomes your nightmare and you are suddenly exposed to the threat of termination or that you can no longer perform effectively or in a dignified manner. Let’s look at some typical circumstances where such a possibility can arise:

1. The CEO or someone in the chain of command assigns their family member (child, wife, brother/sister) to work under you; the person does not deliver and they do their own thing.
2. An important customer inveigles the CEO to hire one of their family members reporting to you
3. Your boss hits on you
4. Your colleagues/associates hit on you
5. Your colleagues/associates make ongoing attempts to hijack your project
6. Your initiative that has helped the company in a major way is hijacked away from you; you are “reassigned.”
7. Your colleagues treat you in a demeaning way
8. You have a fleeting affair with your boss or someone in the direct chain of command
9. You catch a higher-up in a compromising situation (fraud, sexual encounter)
10. You see shenanigans going on that is hurting the company
11. Your boss (or someone higher up) is engaged in a repugnant–even illegal–activity

Although this is not an inclusive list of misfortunes that can cross your career path or even derail your plans, if not your career, they are representative of today’s workplace. They, actually, go back to prehistoric times as their existence stems from the basic human condition. The incidence of aberrant behaviors in the corporate world is no different than what you’d see in the world as a whole. If you are morally centered and have a good sense of balance between “right” and “wrong,” you will be outraged by such encounters. Somehow, people think that inside the walls of the corporate world, you should be insulated from anything aberrant. But, when you see this within the confines of the hallowed walls of your own company, all your enthusiasm about your work and about making a difference will be sucked out from you and you may find it difficult getting up and going to work.

This, however, is an emotional reaction to what is happening and the best strategy is to drain the emotion and to deal with it rationally–a very difficult thing to do when you are in the middle of an experience. The following suggestions my help in moving ahead:

1. Do not react in ways that can put you at a disadvantage as far as how others perceive you in your reaction to what has happened to you. You have witnessed what happened to you first hand, but others are merely a party to your reaction to it. Your emotional reaction alone may vitiate the injustice and the outrage you feel. You must keep it bottled up and deal with it in a coolly calculated and rational way. An indignant or even hysterical response may seem appropriate, but it can diminish your power to pursue the correct course of action. Often, as time passes, people merely remember only the affect of your hysteria; the event that triggered it may by undermined by it.
2. Before going to someone within your own organization and giving them an earful, be mindful that everyone has their own agenda. Someone may use this opportunity to further their own agenda by making your situation worse for you. Even if they act with an altruistic motive to help, you do not know how they are going to do it and how that is going to affect your situation. In an emotionally charged situation what is said and what is communicated are often in disagreement.
3. Talk it over immediately with someone you trust–preferably from the outside–so that you can get an objective assessment of what is happening. Be truthful so that you can get an honest assessment of what is happening. Do not embellish or hide parts of what you did if they were less than honorable.
4. If you are going to react to an episode in a continuing saga, pick your battles and use your judgment to take appropriate action. Do not cry wolf!
5. If the person causing you grief is a peer or is at a level below you, dealing with them is easier. Either go to them directly, their immediate superior, or to the HR representative.
6. Some companies have ombudsman function that is assigned to a high-level executive, often off-site. If you trust this process, make an appointment. It is not uncommon, though, to not have the kind of secrecy or even privacy you expect from such meetings. After all, everyone is somehow connected in a company.
7. If you assess that you are fighting an uphill battle, chose a path that allows you to stay for a while, but make your résumé and start looking outside.
8. While you are there, placate those who can help you — especially if they happen to be your boss or superior — and pretend like nothing is wrong, even if you are seething with outrage from within. Interestingly, those who are morally corrupt, expect others to be like them!
9. Get out at the first chance and do not raise a stink.
10. Just in case the entire matter suddenly takes on a legal turn, keep all your ‘evidence” in a safe and accessible place (not the company computer) and write your own notes to document what is happening. If you maintain a calendar make entries of appointments with peoples’ names and topics of the meeting.
11. Do not threaten legal action unless you have an attorney first. Assay the merits of the case first with your attorney.

Some Exit Strategies

Nearly everyone goes through phases in their jobs and careers where they doubt their future and value to their organization. If this feeling becomes chronic there is a time to reflect and act. Of course, your response to what is happening to you depends on the level at which you participate. For example a fresh graduate receiving an occasional heave-ho from their teammates or even their boss every now and then may not be a cause of concern. But, if a senior manager receives a series of signals, despite their ongoing and great contributions, must weigh their situation against the options and act on them with some studied reflection.

The following list is provided as a preparation to getting ready when a combination of circumstances, outlined in the 13 warning signs presented previously, become everyday part of your job:

1. Always have your résumé up to date. Find what assignments you can get in your current job that will enhance your résumé if you were to move on. On an ongoing basis look for such assignments and ask your boss before anyone else gets them.
2. Go above and beyond what is expected: provide the exceptional! This will give you a great avenue to write your leadership stories in the résumé and make you marketable on an ongoing basis.
3. Work quietly and stay in the background. Visible employees tend to get into trouble when things shift. Always focus on your work and not on your politics.
4. Do not speak ill of anyone. In an organization rumor mill is the main means of communication. Do not become a part of rumormongers.
5. Always stay positive. Even if you do not agree with a decision, carry out the assignment without complaining and to the best of your abilities.
6. Always make yourself dispensable by sharing what you do with others and leaving a trail of “what to do in case of…,” so that the organization does not suffer because you become unavailable. Share this with others so they know where to find the trail. Acting this way shows confidence in your own worth. Those who keep secrets about how they do things often get booted out, contrary to what they expect.
7. Always stay positive and optimistic, smiling often. It may not make you successful and let you get what you want, but how it annoys others might alone make it worthwhile to act this way!
8. If someone is undermining your efforts, observe carefully and then confront the person. Practice straight talk and see if you can understand their motives. Do not reciprocate by doing the same to them. Always be in your element. If undermining others and engaging in subterfuge is not your game, do not learn it just to survive in the changed circumstances; you will do poorly and get exposed.
9. If you do not believe in your boss’s leadership you must answer the question: can I live with this person as my manager? As we discussed in Chapter-3 leadership and being a manger are two entirely different relationships. Leaders inspire and make you forget that you are working. Instead they create an environment where their followers spontaneously do their best in ways they cannot explain. True leadership is a magical force. Is this happening in your everyday existence? If the answer is no, then you must ask yourself the next obvious question of being able to tolerate your manager.
10. The best way to really understand the relationship you have with your boss is to have a heart-to-heart talk where you discuss the deeper issues of your relationship with them in a non-confrontational way. Having a “straight talk” and seeking responses to your issues is the best way to understand the relationship between you and your boss. After all, leadership is about relationship, inspiration, and trust. If you do not see a flow of that energy then your boss is not a leader. It is difficult to sustain and be creative in such an environment. You must decide what your real options are from then on. Going in denial over what is happening merely prolongs the agony.
11. In some cases, a boss will sense your unhappiness after such a meeting (# 10 above) and may try to placate you by giving you a “promotion” and a title to go with it. But, in terms of real authority you may have little or none. Once the allure of the fancy title is vitiated by the lack of commensurate authority and power, you may start feeling worse than you did before your change of status. Now, if you are sidelined, you gradually lose your career momentum and paint yourself in a corner, with no place to go. The best strategy in such cases is to confront such situations early and keep your career momentum by either looking for other opportunities inside or going out aggressively after what you really want.
12. If the CEO or someone at or near the top ostracizes you because of a personal grudge and that you cannot repair that damage, do not expect even your most loyal colleagues to go to bat for you. They may feign that loyalty, but their own loyalty is to their job. Do not be misled by a misplaced sense of false loyalty.
13. If the source of the wrath is from really high place (s), but your boss likes you and your work, see if they will shield you and let you continue in a diminished role.
14. If, in spite of your good work and behavior, you start seeing the 13 warning signs listed at the beginning of this Appendix, prepare to leave.
15. Leave with dignity and grace.

Leaving with Dignity

Regardless of what prompts your departure you must remain unemotional about the whole process of leaving your employer (see Emotional Intelligence in Appendix-IV). The following tips are offered to make your departure not a liability on your career balance sheet:

1. Meet with your boss and state that you need to move on. Do not complain do not explain.
2. If you have something in hand already lined up that is great. If not do not lie. It is always a good idea to look for a job when you have one. Looking for a job when out of work often puts you at a disadvantage, but sometimes this becomes an inevitable reality. In such a case see if you can work out an arrangement with your boss, so that you can “park” yourself looking for work, inside or out, and get reassigned for a reasonable period.
3. Make oral presentation of your departure plans, the status of projects, etc. and explain that you plan to provide details when you present your letter of resignation. This is generally done in a day or so after the initial meeting.
4. Give at least two weeks’ notice
5. Ask whom you should brief on your pending assignments so that they can continue as you leave your job.
6. Give details of how your boss may be able to reach you in case something crops up after you depart. Set the parameters of your availability.
7. Thank your boss for the opportunities and their support. This may be difficult if the situation is causing a forced departure. Mention that for the most part you enjoyed working at the place. Do not let your immediate experience taint your entire tenure at the company.
8. Do not take parting shots at any one or any thing.
9. Do not expect a bon voyage party.
10. Do not loan your items to anyone with the excuse of coming back to visit and retrieving them once you leave. Most loaned items ¾ especially books ¾ are usually never returned.

Take all your personal files, belongings, and items with you on your way out. Do not expect them to be available later for you to retrieve.