It’s likely working from home is here to stay—for some workers, at least. But this “new normal” will have long-term implications for the relationship between employers and employees—from tax, to employment law, to physical and mental health.
Read more of our coverage on business : https://econ.st/3weF8t0
Listen to our podcast “Homework: the future of the office”: https://econ.st/3ddJo3u
How pandemic is affecting working mums: https://econ.st/39tCOVr
How Africa is adapting to remote working: https://econ.st/2PaOshd
Can working remotely boost productivity? https://econ.st/3u953Ro
Why are remote workers spending more on housing? https://econ.st/3fnWUUU
How remote work is affecting teamwork: https://econ.st/3w6i8wx
Can companies adjust salaries for remote workers? https://econ.st/3dp6cNY
How bright is the future of the office? https://econ.st/2QIoRMM
What does the future of work look like after the pandemic? https://econ.st/2QS9Vfe
How can offices survive? https://econ.st/3u7tIWa
What was home working like in the 18th century? https://econ.st/3ddNecU
Can working in the office ever be the same? https://econ.st/3wdOmWI
Discussing #FutureOfData & Growth with Jeff Kavanaugh. Jeff discussed the importance and tenets of a live evolving organizations. He shared some tips and tricks that businesses could do to ensure they are evolving for faster and agile growth through the age of transformation.
Jeff Kavanaugh is global head for the Infosys Knowledge Institute, the research and thought leadership arm of Infosys, a leader in digital services and consulting. Jeff is also an adjunct professor at the business school at the University of Texas at Dallas. He authored the best-selling book Consulting Essentials and serves on boards of the Institute of Business Analytics at Indiana University, and the Marketing Analytics Advisory Board at the University of Texas at Dallas. Jeff earned an MBA from the University of North Texas.
Jeff’s Book:
The Live Enterprise: Create a Continuously Evolving and Learning Organization https://amzn.to/3pYJFMd
Jeff’s Recommendations:
Contact https://amzn.to/37LvGmB
The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild https://amzn.to/37J3PTM
Longitude https://amzn.to/3buTEDC
Endurance https://amzn.to/3by5hK1
Discussion Timeline:
TIMELINE
Some questions we covered:
1. Starter: Give your starter pitch 1-2 points/key takeaways that this book points to:
2. Vishal briefly introduce the guest and kicks off the session
3. What is the state of organizations today?
4. How to steer an organization when external forces influence your internals [pandemic etc.]
5. What are some good habits you surfaced for a constantly evolving organization
6. What are some signs that you are steering in the wrong direction?
7. Explain your journey to your current role?
8. Could you share something about your current role?
9. What does your company do?
10. Explain your journey to this book?
11. Why write this book?
12. What are key takeaways in Live Enterprise
13. What are some role model companies pursuing the Live Enterprise model
14. What are the key drivers of a live enterprise
15. How to get started on this journey of making your organization live and adapting?
16. What are some misconceptions your want to un-surface?
17. What are 1-3 best practices that you think are the key to success in your journey?
18. Do you have any favorite read?
19. As a closing remark, what would you like to tell our audience?
About TAO.ai[Sponsor]:
TAO is building the World’s largest and AI-powered Skills Universe and Community powering career development platform empowering some of the World’s largest communities/organizations. Learn more at https://TAO.ai
About FutureOfData:
FutureOfData takes you on the journey with leaders, experts, academics, authors, and change-makers designing the future of data, analytics, and insights.
About AnalyticsWeek.com
FutureOfData is managed by AnalyticsWeek.com, a #FutureOfData Leadership community of Organization architects and leaders.
Understanding the mindset of fearless girls and addressing their challenges is crucial to understanding successful women leaders’ fabric. To achieve that, our team asked successful women leaders to step up and frame a question that their younger self would ask their present self. Understanding the present leader’s perspective is our greatest shot in understanding the definitive success indicators that have helped some successful women leaders find success through all the odds. Many courageous and successful leaders jumped in and helped us understand their perspective and outcome, a wonderful collage of crucial insights for aspiring leaders to understand and seek answers of. Then women leaders took an extra step and answered those foundational questions seeking insights from their life’s journey. We hope you all like it.
From: Anne Robie, Chief People Officer at Turnitin Q: What is the secret to success and happiness? A: The secret is….there is no secret. There is just each moment, and the collection of moments lead to your every day, and all those days lead to your life. Live for every single moment.
From: Deeksha Joshi, Head of Strategy, GRS Liberty Mutual Q: How did you find success through so many insecurities and struggles? A: Insecurities and struggles are an essential part of growing up. We don’t work against our fears and struggles but work with them. One key ingredient that helps through darkness is faith. The faith that if you spread light, you will be bound to enjoy some of it. So, life is a journey to find and spread light. Always remember that gratitude is your weapon of choice to acknowledge all those kind souls that stepped in front and helped you find light in the darkness. Life is not a bed of roses, but it is a lot simple and fun if you are the reason for someone else’s success.
From: Phidelia Johnson, Chief Human Resources Officer at PAC-J Services Q: Why didn’t you pursue your dream of becoming a lawyer? A: Though becoming a lawyer is still on my bucket list, life seldom happens the way we planned. Don’t stress over which career you will end up with, but keep your eyes and mind open to recognize career opportunities even in uncharted areas. I had never considered management as a career choice, yet I loved it and made a success of it. Follow the path that life leads you to, regardless of the opinions of others. Life will sometimes throw you a curveball, but don’t let that stop you from pursuing your dreams no matter how long it takes. NEVER diminish small beginnings because life is about exploration and self-discovery. It’s a journey, not a destination.
From: Zaina Orbai, Chief People Officer at The RealReal Q: How did you create a successful life for yourself despite your early life struggles? A: I would answer the same as the advice I would give to my younger self. Believe in yourself AND surround yourself with others who believe in you, especially choosing a spouse who will lift you up when you have self-doubt and help you become the best version of yourself. Leave behind those who are nay-sayers in your life, they are only holding you back from creating your own version of a happy life.
From: Melissa Rose, CEO at Melissa Rose Consulting Q: How do you juggle a full-time career and a family of 5 children? A: Progress over perfection. If you choose to juggle it all, accept that you are going to drop balls along the way. It’s par for the course. Focus on what you’ve accomplished not on what you haven’t.
From: Jeanette Winters, Talent Doc at Winters Advisory Group Q: If I weren’t afraid of failing, what would I try? A: I would have pressed myself harder in the sciences area. It was necessarily hard – just completely unknown to me. I could never take a chance of failing because my grades were the very ticket allowing me to be at the University. I needed to give myself the opportunity to fail “outside the system” to grow even more.
From: Fabienne Smolinski, Chief People and CSR Officer at Arbonne Q: How did you get to where you are while balancing family? A: Balancing is a myth. The minute you put that out of your head and know there are times where you family won’t come first and where your work won’t come first. It’s more about aligning yourself to cultures, people and organizations that support you. If you’re in an environment that doesn’t value family and understanding the struggle of trying to “balance” it all then you are making your life harder. Make bold decisions that are aligned to your value system and you’ll always win with family and with work.
From: Pam Stampen, Chief People Officer at TASC Q: What is possible? A: Anything you set your mind to and they are willing to back up with the work needed to achieve it.
From: Christie Marzari, CLO State of MS at Aflac Q: Is everything going to be okay? A: Absolutely. Have faith in yourself. Don’t ever sell yourself short and believe you can do anything you put your mind to.
We understand it takes courage to use your platform, show your vulnerable side, and showcase insights that has helped you achieve the success that most find an inspirational feat. On behalf of team Work2.0 and TAO.ai, we want to thank all the leaders who are working tirelessly to contribute to the ecosystem and imparting change that is lifting the entire ecosystem to be a place of equity and fairness. While it’s a job too big for any single person, it requires a consistent dialogue/leaning-in and pushing the bar forward, and we salute all the women leaders for working tirelessly to achieve that. I hope all the readers will spread the word about this blog and extend the conversation within their community.
Good leaders all have one thing in common: They create a thriving ecosystem around them and ensure to seek/provide help. While the world is moving progressively in ensuring giving women leaders the equity they deserve, it is not even close. To celebrate Women History Month, our team has asked some successful women leaders to impart wisdom/knowledge by means of life lessons, that has helped these leaders keep raising the glass ceiling. We kept our ask to seek feedback from leaders on one foundational question: “What advice would you give to your younger self?”. The outcome is a beautiful ensemble of great insights and life lessons that are crucial and foundational for the new generation. We are thankful to the contributing leaders that helped us put together these golden nuggets of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it. Please email us at info [at] work2 [dot] org if you are a women leader and want to contribute to the topic.
Let’s read what leaders have to answer: “What advice would you give to your younger self?”
Embrace your whole self
Oh, sweet girl – you are full of love and life – don’t play small for anyone or anything – embrace your whole, beautiful, messy self and squeeze as much joy out of this crazy life as possible! – Anne Robie, Chief People Officer at Turnitin
Earn success and pay it forward
We all share the earth with so many great and inspirational people. Enjoy every bit of interaction as you get surfing through life. You will often be perceived differently, or many times your insecurities will try to take the worst of you. While they will certainly bother you, never let them define you. Whenever you feel discouraged, always remember that you are amongst the privileged ones and don’t give up. Let me give you one powerful thought that always works for me. The world is wonderful, and your energy, love, kindness, and empathy will keep it wonderful, so keep on spreading love and always trust yourself. I know you will grow up to be a wonderful person. – Deeksha Joshi, Head of Strategy, GRS Liberty Mutual
Celebrate your uniqueness
Don’t be afraid of your background. It’s not a life sentence. Yes, life will get tough, but press on. But don’t be afraid, because there will always be cheerleaders along the way rooting for your success. Find them and be a cheerleader yourself. Celebrate your uniqueness and values unapologetically. Find your voice in every situation, and don’t shy away from your strengths. – Phidelia Johnson, Chief Human Resources Officer at PAC-J Services
Don’t be afraid to take risks, make mistakes
Believe in yourself and dream bigger than what you can see around you and what you are told, as that advice is a result of the past not the future. When you start living in a world of what can be, you may very well surprise yourself on how capable you truly are. So don’t be afraid to take risks, make mistakes, learn, grow and realize what you can become. – Zaina Orbai, Chief People Officer at The RealReal
Listen to those who support your dreams and aspirations
Don’t let other people’s fears and insecurities hold you back. Listen to those who support your dreams and aspirations. – Melissa Rose, CEO at Melissa Rose Consulting
Be fanatical about where you invest your energy, heart, and mind
Be very careful on how you invest each moment – time is neither an ally or asset. It’s a real use it or lose it precious commodity. Be fanatical about where you invest your energy, heart, and mind. – Jeanette Winters, Talent Doc at Winters Advisory Group
Go work for an employer who will pay you in equity
If I were to give my younger self any sort of professional advice, it would be: Go work for an employer who will pay you in equity. And by the way, encourage the women in your life to do the same—because owning equity in a successful company can make a material impact on our ability to grow wealth, and to ultimately close the wealth gap. – Suzy Walther, Chief People Officer at Carta
Trust yourself and be authentic
Trust yourself and be authentic. Show up as you, not how you think others want you to be or what you think is the “norm”. – Fabienne Smolinski, Chief People and CSR Officer at Arbonne
You can do anything
That you can do anything you can dream of. – Christie Marzari, CLO State of MS at Aflac
Don’t be afraid to be persistent
The advice I recently gave one of my daughters would have been great for me when I was younger. This advice is to not be afraid to be persistent. Persistence is not a bad trait but instead shows that you are tenacious and passionate. Most people will not look negatively at someone who is so determined that they continue to reach out and follow up in a professional manner. – Trish Keller, Chief Technology Officer at Citizen Watch America
Create a space for success for many through your example
Life and work are not a zero-sum game. Be confident, have a plan for success, and work that plan harder than you would have ever thought possible to achieve those things that are important to you; but also remember that for you to win at work and at life, does not mean someone else has to lose. Create a space for success for many through your example. Lend a hand to others as they strive for success and celebrate their achievements as well. Know that not everyone will repay your kindness with kindness. These people do not define you. Getting to a destination, knowing you have done your best and that you have helped others find the best in themselves, is the definition of a career and life well-lived. – Pam Stampen, Chief People Officer at TASC
We understand it takes courage to show your vulnerable side, and showcase insights that have helped you achieve the success that most find an inspirational feat. On behalf of team Work2.0 and TAO.ai, we want to thank all the leaders who are working tirelessly to contribute to society and imparting change that is lifting the entire ecosystem to be a place of equity and fairness. While it’s a job too big for any single person, it requires a consistent dialogue/leaning-in and pushing the bar forward, and we salute all the women leaders for helping to achieve that. I hope all the readers will spread the word about this blog and extend the conversation within their community.
Discussing Data, Innovation, and Creativity with Josh Linkner talks about using little creativity spurts to use for disruption. He sheds light on how organizations could embrace creativity and use little creative innovation to help stir for big breakthroughs. She shared lots of examples of big little breakthroughs.
Bio:
He has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming, and The Road to Reinvention.
This guy just loves starting and building companies. He’s the founding partner of Detroit Venture Partners and has been involved in the launch of over 100 startups.
Today, Josh serves as Chairman and co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is a recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession for greasy pizza
Josh’s Book:
Big Little Breakthroughs https://amzn.to/3usFCLm
Josh’s Recommendations:
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day https://amzn.to/3bzvyYh
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World https://amzn.to/37K4PqW
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know https://amzn.to/37MepcR
Discussion Timeline:
TIMELINE
Some questions we covered:
1. Starter: Give your starter pitch 1 point that Big Little Breakthroughs points to:
2. Vishal briefly introduce Josh
3. What are you seeing the role of innovation in the middle of firefight[pandemic]
4. What is the state of enterprise investments to promote innovation?
5. What are some easy to fix bottlenecks to get enterprises to keep on innovating
6. What are some misconceptions about innovation and its adoption
7. Explain your journey to your current role?
8. Could you share something about your current role?
9. What does your company do?
10. Explain your journey to this book?
11. Why write this book?
12. Why are you so passionate about helping everyday people become everyday innovators?
13. What’s the most misunderstood thing around human creativity?
14. What’s your favorite brainstorming technique?
15. From doing the research for your new book, Big Little Breakthroughs, what surprised you the most?
16. What are 1-3 best practices that you think are the key to success in your journey?
17. Do you have any favorite read?
18. As a closing remark, what would you like to tell our audience?
About TAO.ai[Sponsor]:
TAO is building the World’s largest and AI-powered Skills Universe and Community powering career development platform empowering some of the World’s largest communities/organizations. Learn more at https://TAO.ai
About FutureOfData:
FutureOfData takes you on the journey with leaders, experts, academics, authors, and change-makers designing the future of data, analytics, and insights.
About AnalyticsWeek.com
FutureOfData is managed by AnalyticsWeek.com, a #FutureOfData Leadership community of Organization architects and leaders.
Not everyone loves university. For some, it is hard work.
In the below post, I’m going to through some of the things you can do if you hate your degree:
Talk to your lecturers/tutors
Speak to ex graduates
Explore the option of switching degrees
Make a list of things you like and don’t like
List out your options, costs and consequences
Talk to some final year students
Make a study group
Ask yourself if you are enjoying university itself
Don’t compare yourself to other people
Don’t be afraid of dropping out
I Hate My Degree –1)Talk To Your Lecturers/Tutors
Don’t just suffer alone.
Instead of talking to your friends or your parents, speak to your lecturers/tutors and heads of year.
They will have helped so many people who are in exactly the same boat as you over the years.
Lots of people in your university every year will ‘hate’ their course, lots of people every year will drop out, switch courses, and switch universities.
Tap into how people have overcome the exact same problem before you. Find out what their solutions were.
I Hate My Degree –2) Talk To Ex Graduates
I think many students think that what they do for their degree will form the basis of what they do for their careers.
This is absolutely not true.
People with science degrees can end up as investment bankers, or start up CEO’s. Artists can end up as marketing directors.
You may hate your degree right now, but what it is just a stepping stone to something else?
Search for your degree and your university on LinkedIn, then find some alumni who did the same degree as you, but are working in a very different field now.
Send them a message and say you are struggling with degree and can you ask them about their career path and how much they have used their degree in their careers.
If you have a chat with 3-5 of these people, I think you will quickly see that your degree becomes not that important once you get out into the working world.
They will also be able to tell you the varied career paths of some of their friends from their course, and how their job now is so very different to what they studied at university.
I Hate My Degree –3) Explore Option Of Switching To A Different Degree
My sister started a computer science degree and absolutely hated it. At the end of the first year she transferred to Philosophy and loved the final two years of her course.
It will be different depending on the individual case and university. However, if you can show you have explored every other option and still are having a really rough time with your course, then hopefully the university could accommodate a request to change courses.
If you are trying to transfer into a course with the capacity to take on students, and you get your request in early hopefully you should be ok.
Transferring to a very competitive course like medicine may be a different story.
Sit down with a pen and paper and write down all the things you like and don’t like about the course.
Be absolutely honest with yourself. Don’t try and game your list and make the cons side much longer than the pros side.
If there are things, i.e. people, subjects, practical time, that you like about your course put them down.
Once you have your list, for each item you have noted down as a ‘con’, ask yourself what could you do to make it better.
For example, if you hate one of your modules:
Could you ask for help from one of the tutors
Form a study group with some of your friends who are good at that module
Tell the lecturer exactly what is giving you difficulty and ask their advice
Take an online course that will give you a broader knowledge of the subject
Ask a student in the year ahead of you for their advice
For each con, brainstorm a list of possible things you could do to turn the negatives things on your list into a positive.
Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice. Tell them your problem and see if they have any advice that is different from possible solutions you have come up with.
Make sure to ask for a few people’s advice.
If you only get one person’s advice it might be bad. You need to ask several people for advice, the people who give you good advice will often say the same thing.
I Hate My Degree –5) Make A List Of Your Options, Costs And Consequences
Some people can be afraid to make a decision because it looks bad in the short term or they are worried about what people will think.
List out all your possible options on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, then make two columns beside them. One detailing the ‘cost’, and the second detailing the ‘consequences’
For example, let’s say you hate your degree and you have four possible options.
Continue with course
Drop out
Switch degrees
Take a year out
Put down the associated costs and consequences related to each option.
For example:
Continuing with your course might cost you no money right now, but what if you continue and want to drop out at the end of your second year, you may have wasted more money and time.
Dropping out may mean you have to incur more costs in the short term, but maybe you could work for a year to save up again for university, be much happier in that year, and start afresh in a course you really love? Or maybe university isn’t for you and you do an apprenticeship?
Try to think with the end in mind.
What do you want in 3 or 5 years? If you keep doing what you’re doing right now are you on track to achieve it? If not, then maybe you are better off in the short term making a change, even if it’s an uncomfortable decision.
Don’t just take the easy way out. Sometimes you need short term pain for long term gain.
Ever wonder how long it takes to get fully qualified in the most popular professions? It can be a lot longer than you think! Check out my How Long Does It Take To Become A…
I Hate My Degree –6) Talk To Some Final Year Students
In the first few years of university, what you are doing can seem pointless and boring. You have to go to lectures and do assignments that you think are a waste of time.
The final year of university courses are often very different to first and second year. There is more practical and real world application of the material you are learning.
People who work in the field come and talk to you about jobs and career prospects. In some industries final year students will apply for internships and graduate programmes.
If you hate your degree, ask your lecturers, class reps, or students union if there are any final year students you could talk to? Ask them about their job applications, career plans, etc.
They will be able to give you a fresh perspective on what is important and not important in your current year. They can also guide you on interesting internships and companies to work for.
I did an internship and a graduate programme and both could not have been more different to what I studied in my degree.
Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in short term thinking and feel you hate a class, module, year, etc. Fresh perspective from final year students will help you see how it is merely a small part in a much much bigger journey.
I Hate My Degree –7) Make A Study Group
If you have issues with a particular subject / module, then try to get some help from your fellow students.
Ask your lecturers if there is anyone particularly strong in a subject that would be willing to form a little study group.
I had a little group in university of 3-4 students who were way smarter than me who I asked questions of all the time. I tried to provide them with value in return by giving them tips I got from other students.
If you can get a little mastermind group going, it can make your life so much easier. Sometimes you can think you are no good at a subject or topic, but you are just going about it the wrong way.
I Hate My Degree –8) Are You Enjoying University In General?
If you are commuting long hours every day to and from university, you may be missing out on some of the university experience.
If it just like a job to you, with lots of work, long hours and stress but none of the social fun aspect of university then this can be a big factor in your hating your course.
Try to join some societies and clubs to take your mind off your studies and give you time to relax and enjoy yourself instead of worrying about your course.
I Hate My Degree –9) Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
Your friends might say they love their courses, but they might just be saying that. Also, they might actually love the friends they made in their courses and not the material itself.
Some people might say they are getting on fine, but are actually struggling and won’t admit it. Others might say they fine the course material easy, but are sinking lots of hours into understanding it every day.
You never know what is really going on with someone, you just have your perspective, so don’t pay any attention to anyone else, just focus on you.
I Hate My Degree –10) Don’t Be Afraid Of Dropping Out
One of my best friends dropped out of civil engineering after one week. He then went home and worked in a bar for a year while we were all having a great time in our 1st year of university.
I remember everyone being quite surprised he dropped out and that he did it so early on. The next year he started a 3-year business degree in the same university and he is now the CFO of a major property company.
Don’t think that you are a ‘failure’ by dropping out and starting over again, plenty of the most successful people in the world have also done the exact same thing.
If you don’t want to drop out, really ask yourself what is the reason behind this?
To do this, use the 5 Why’s exercise – ask yourself ‘why’ for each reason you give behind not wanting to drop out.
For example:
I don’t want to drop out….
Why?
Because I don’t know what else to do….
Why?
Because I haven’t researched any of my options…
Why?
Because I scared to drop out
Why?
Because I’m worried what my friends and family might think
Why?
I don’t want to be seen as a failure
Asking yourself ‘Why’ five times is a really powerful way of finding the real reason behind an issue.
Dropping out is absolutely not the end of the world, it might be the best thing you ever did.
Lots of famous people dropped out of college/university:
Michael Dell (Dell)
Steve Jobs (Apple)
Bill Gates (Microsoft)
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)
Evan Williams (Twitter)
Larry Ellison (Oracle)
Jan Koum (Whatsapp)
Travis Kalanick (Uber)
Daniel Ek (Spotify)
Matt Mullenweg (WordPress)
Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox)
Ellen Degeneres
Brad Pitt
Oprah Winfrey
Jon Snow
George Clooney
Hope you found this ‘I hate my degree’ post helpful!
How To Progress Your Career – there are many things you can do.
Some people work longer hours, or take on more work but does it really get them anywhere?
The below are smart ways to progress your career:
Constantly work on your people skills
Figure out what is important to senior management
Get a sponsor
Learn how to simplify complex info
Don’t get stuck in the detail
Feedback
Use the 80/20 rule
Make lots of contacts
Get experience in many different types of roles
How To Progress Your Career – 1) Constantly Work On Your People Skills
Some people don’t have great interpersonal skills. Many people don’t put any work into improving their soft skills either!
These people will be left behind in more junior roles. Their peers who can communicate well, have high emotional intelligence, and are good at managing people meanwhile progress to Senior Management.
Don’t underestimate the value of personality/soft skills in advancing your career. As you get older into your 30’s, technical skills will become less important and the people with the best soft skills will rise to the top.
You’ll often find that the people at the top of organisations are very good at reading people, and influencing them to get what they want.
How To Progress Your Career –2) Figure Out What Is Important To Senior Management
Try to put yourself in more senior people’s shoes.
What are they concerned with? What are they getting a hard time about from their bosses? What is keeping them up at night?
If you can ascertain what is important to senior management, and give them good insight into that topic/area then you will get noticed, and progress very quickly.
Some good ways to get notices by senior management:
Volunteer for projects that no one wants to do
Present at a town hall or big meeting
Challenge old ways of working and come up with better solutions
Build relationships with many people at every level of the organisation
Make your bosses’ boss life a little easier by doing a piece of work that helps them out
Put your hand up to sit on internal committees
Partner with other departments on fixing an issue or improving a process
A sponsor is almost always a senior level executive or someone with big influence inside of your company.
When a special project or a great new role comes up, they will advocate for you behind closed doors.
They also put use their influence and reputation to move your career forward.
You can’t just walk up to someone and ask them to be a sponsor, sponsorship grows out of mutual respect and a strong relationship, so how can you get one?
With sponsorship, it’s not a case of who you know but who knows you.
The below are ways of improving your chances of getting a sponsor:
Always go above and beyond in your role, do more than is expected of you
Know who good sponsors are, listen out for senior leaders who back younger employees
Look for special projects where you can interact with senior leaders
If you meet a potential sponsor and are making small talk, don’t be afraid to tell them about a recent achievement or some good value add work you are doing
Make sure senior leaders know your career goals; if they don’t know what you want to do how can they be expected to help you along the way?
How To Progress Your Career –4) Be Good At Simplifying Complex Info
If you can take a complex area/topic and make it easy for anyone to understand then you will go far.
Again, think about senior management, all they want is the general story of what is driving sales, and the costs of the business.
They don’t want complicated explanations of how a small part of the company is performing. So if you can be on top of your area, and tell them simply what is going on then you will look very good.
It’s all about simplifying data so that management can use this data to make key decisions about the companies’ future.
A good way to keep messaging simple to senior management is by using ‘the rule of 3’
*The rule of 3 is a public speaking tool to ensure the audience remembers the key points you are trying to get across.
Some examples of the rule of 3 in action:
If you make a mistake, defend your actions in three points.
When sharing facts and figures, just communicate the three most pertinant points.
If you are putting together a slide for a presentation, try to use three bullet points to get your point across.
When writing an executive summary for a presentation, ask yourself what are the three key messages you want senior management to takeaway from your material.
How To Progress Your Career –5) Don’t Get Stuck In The Detail
Some people are very detail orientated and have difficulty seeing the bigger picture (the complete opposite of Directors and Senior Management).
These people will struggle to progress to higher positions as they cannot disseminate simple messages from the detail and communicate them to senior management.
How To Progress Your Career – 6) Feedback
The most successful people thrive on feedback. The everyday person doesn’t want to hear it!
If one person tells you that you need to work on your initiative, then that could be just that persons’opinion or perspective.
However, if you get same message from several people then you know there is some truth in it.
Solicit as much feedback as you possibly can from different colleagues and levels of your company.
Don’t wait until a formal year end review, ask for informal feedback on a task you did.
How did I do there? How could I have done that better of more efficiently?
The more info you can get from others on how you could have worked better, the better your work will become.
Senior executives in companies I have worked for pay external companies thousands of pounds to collate anonymous feedback on their working style and performance.
Armed with this feedback, they refine and improve how they work until they are very polished performers.
The top performers do this, if you want to progress your career you should too.
How To Progress Your Career –7) Use The 80:20 rule
It’s all about managing your time.
You can be an analyst that works very well with some of your junior stakeholders and does a good job on answering emails and digging into detail, but Senior Managers will have no idea what you do.
One of my favourite quotes is:
‘If you do something well, doesn’t mean it’s important’!!!
Whereas if you can apply the 80:20 rule to your work by spending your time on things that will have the biggest impact to senior management, then your job will be easier and you will stand out from your peers.
How To Progress Your Career –8) Make LOTS of contacts
Try to find someone in the business that is going places and latch onto them, and they will bring you up through the ranks with them.
Try to build your network as much as possible in your 20’s, ask people who are more senior to you in the business for coffees and advice, they will be more than willing to help.
You might be like ‘Hmmm I don’t want to do this….’ but try as it will really save you lots of time and hard work. A few seemingly innocent coffees can lead to 1, 2, 3 promotions trust me!
Some ways to expand your network:
i) Maximise your own and other networks
Do your parents know anyone useful you could talk to? Do their friends? Who do your brother, sisters, teachers, sports coaches know?
Networking is also about making the most of your existing relationships. Who does your network know? If you want to become a Finance Director, do your parents have Finance Director friends that you could ask for advice?
Sports clubs are full of successful people that you reach out to and express your interest in a type of work or a career path.
If you know people socially outside of work, and they like you, this gives you a huge advantage when looking for opportunities.
They might give you a job, offer you advice, or put you in touch with other good contacts.
Lots of other people I knew growing up got good jobs through people in their local golf club!
iii) LinkedIn
If you are wondering how to progress your career – LinkedIn is gold!
Type in a job title that interests you and look at 20 or so roles, then compare the similarities:
Have they got the same qualification?
Have they worked for a similar companies?
What type of roles have they had?
What skills do they have?
Have they got international experience?
If I was a grad or in my 20’s, I would do this exercise repeatedly with roles I think I might like to be doing in 5 years time. Then if something peaks your interest, try and talk to some people in these roles.
iv) Networking events
You’d be surprised how many networking events that are happening that you don’t even know about. Google ‘Networking Events’ and your industry, Uni Alumni, etc. and there will be loads to pick from.
Recruitment companies that specialise in a particular industry will also host networking evenings that are good for meeting people and recruiters.
You might think these events can be painful, but if you get good contacts or opportunities out of it, they can be well worthwhile.
Some Networking event tips:
– Make sure you make a good first impression
– Try to be confident, up-front, positive and sociable.
– A good trick to get people to remember you is when leaving go up to them, call them by their name, and say it was nice to meet them.
– Dress like the people you want to impress. People will turn up after work looking scruffy, or wearing casual clothes, make sure you look good.
– After talking to people ask them ‘Is there anyone you think I should talk to’, this is a great trick to open up the room for you.
– People will be trying to impress, do the opposite, be curious. Ask people about themselves, their job, their interests outside of work. This will really open up the conversation.
– Don’t be dismissive of anyone, you never know who you are talking to at these types of events. Treat people the way you would want to be treated regardless of their position/seniority.
v) Uni Alumni
Don’t be afraid to utilise your university network.
Email the alumni association saying you are interested in a particular career and see can they put you in touch with anyone useful.
These avenues are underused by graduates as they see universities as support while you are there. However, they can help even when you are out in the working world.
How To Progress Your Career – 9) Get Experience In Many Different Types of Roles
The more varied types of roles you do, the better.
People who do a variety of different roles are much more able to think outside the box when it new ways of working or finding solutions to issues.
Some people will get repeated promotions in their team or department and become specialists or experts in that specific area.
However, these people won’t have the length and breadth of knowledge of someone who has worked in different roles across the company.
Also, the more varied your roles are the bigger your network will become which can result in more opportunities for you.
It’s better to try and get this varied experience when you are in your 20’s as it gets harder to move roles when you get more experienced.
(Hiring managers might question why you are jumping in and out of roles in your 30’s, and you start to get older and have more committments i.e. mortgage, kids, etc)
Hope you found this post on how to progress your career helpful!
Almost 90% of all workplaces have some form of employee recognition process in place. But at the same time, employee satisfaction and employee engagement are decreasing. How can these two trends happen simultaneously?
Watch this video to understand why many employees view recognition programs cynically, and what to do to help staff members feel genuinely appreciated.
#DrPaulWhite #AppreciationAtWork #EmployeeRecognition
____________________________
Dr. Paul White is the co-author of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace along with #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” helps profit & nonprofit organizations effectively communicate appreciation to co-workers that has shown to lead to higher levels of job satisfaction, healthier relationships, and decreased burnout.
Dr. White is a psychologist, author, speaker, and consultant, who makes work relationships work. For the past 20 years, Dr. White has improved numerous businesses, medical practices, government agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations by helping them:
*Create positive workplace relationships and environments
* Reduce negativity and staff turnover
* Build healthy teams, even with remote employees.
Having sold over 500,000 books, had over 250,000 individuals take their online assessment, and having 900+ Certified Facilitators in 27 countries, Dr. White and his team has impacted hundreds of thousands of leaders, employees and workplaces.
CONNECT with Dr. Paul White:
➤ http://www.drpaulwhite.com/
➤ https://twitter.com/drpaulwhite
➤ https://www.facebook.com/DrPaulWhite/
APPRECIATION AT WORK:
➤ https://www.appreciationatwork.com/
➤ https://www.facebook.com/appreciationatwork
➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/5-languages-of-appreciation-in-the-workplace/
MBA INVENTORY
➤ https://mbainventory.com/
➤ https://www.facebook.com/mbainventory
➤ https://twitter.com/MBAinventory
In today’s world, change is a constant. Organizational change management has always been one of the most important success factors for transformation – if not the single most important factor. More than ever, your employees and overall organization need an effective change management strategy and leadership.
This video outlines the top change management strategies that you should be deploying as part of your digital transformation, business transformation, ERP/HCM/CRM implementation, or any other change initiative.
How to Get Alignment Within Your Organization:
GUIDE TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT:
http://resource.thirdstage-consulting.com/the-definitive-guide-to-erp-hcm-organizational-change-management
DOWNLOAD THE 2021 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION REPORT:
http://resource.thirdstage-consulting.com/2021-digital-transformation-report
We all have blinders. We can only see things from our own perspective. But when we come together with a common cause or a shared vision, our view broadens and we’re able to recognize things that we never could’ve seen on our own. That’s why the best companies are diverse: they have diverse thinking.
+ + +
Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.
Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.
Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.
Simon’s books:
The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in…
Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-…
Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-y…
Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader…
Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth…
Despite considerable progress in disability rights, the workplace remains a challenging environment for many physically challenged individuals. Current workplace accessibility often lingers at the...
