Archive for Uncategorized
What You Dont Know Can Hurt You
Posted by: | CommentsMany times when working with organizations on strategies to increase gender diversity in the leadership ranks the leaders will say ” lets just get all the women together and ask them what they want”. While this is noble and certainly talking with the women in the organization to understand how they experience the culture is critical it is not “the answer” . One of the most serious issues women face when attempting to advance in male dominated cultures is lack of access. Lack of access to senior leadership, opportunities, information, and organizational knowledge. As a result of this lack of access women “dont know what they dont know”. This also is a driving force in the phenomenon of women rejecting efforts to start any type of program or initiative aimed at advancing women. It is common to hear some of the women who may have be closest to breaking through to levels where women have not been represented say that they are not role models and do not want anything to do with any programs related to women or women’s advancement. This also represents the fact that women “dont know what they dont know”. Best practice programs aimed at helping women to advance are all about business and all about evening a playing field that is not providing equal career development opportunities for all. The uneven field is not something most people can see without awareness raising activity. The women in the organization are in fact often the individuals who most cannot see what is happening and “what you dont know can hurt you”. There are a long list of things that an individual needs to know about an organization in order to increase their value proposition to that organization. The most common method of learning these key lessons is access. Access to senior leaders, opportunities, experiences, assignments, and organizational learning. Without this information our careers are like a journey we take without a map. Most of our male counterparts more naturally gain this very important access due to ease of networking that very naturally takes place between people who identify with each other. Therefore our male counterparts have a map which is a very real and tangible advantage. We may think the road to our destination is straightforward and with steady hard work we will arrive. Little do we know that there are side trips and short cuts we need to know about that we cannot see without access to organizational knowledge. When we hear the lament of male leadership teams ” we would hire women if only we could find any qualified to do the job” they are not always making excuses. Because women are very often taking a less than focused journey without a map- they may not be as qualified as their male counterparts because they have not had the assignments and experiences that they need to be prepared to be the best candidate for a job. In addition, research has shown us that women are very often evaluated on experience while males are evaluated on potential which multiplies this problem dramatically. SO what is the answer to this very significant dilemma? Learn how to build access. Stay tuned for my next posting on this very topic!!
The Ugly Truth
Posted by: | CommentsIn the business world, and more so in politics, ugly is the only word I can use to describe the nasty things people so badly want you to hear about their opponent. I call it the “ugly truth” because it is no more related to facts than the monsters under the bed. It does not seem to matter anymore whether these nasty things are based on fact.
With the advent of social networking, blogging and do-it-yourself website-creation people can say whatever they like; true or false. Many believe that if it’s on Facebook, Google or worse yet, YouTube, it must be true. Thus begins the familiarity with the ugly truth of renegade journalism and activist rhetoric and some of the clowns who speak merely to hear the sound of their own voice. It’s unfortunate. I’d like to think the viewing audiences are smart enough to realize their own truths, but sadly in large part they are not. And as Jack Nicholson so eloquently stated in A Few Good Men, they probably “couldn’t handle the truth!”
You can’t do it alone
Posted by: | CommentsLast Thursday, I jumped in the car and took a road trip to Atlanta with three of my favorite, and most inspirational, female entrepreneurs to attend a seminar on mindset.
While the seminar was amazing, it was the three-hour car ride that still resonates with me. We each took turns talking about “stuff” we are facing. It helps so much to have a strong support system, especially if you work from home in isolation.
The concept of a mastermind group is still pretty new to me. I managed to read about a fifth of “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill last fall. I never really put much stock into it, but the more I keep running into the same challenges, the more I realize I can’t do it alone.
Having a strong support system is an invaluable tool for any business. Just as every new venture needs a plan, every entrepreneur needs a group of honest, caring, bold colleagues to hold your hand while simultaneously kicking your butt.
We are not meant to be solitary creatures. And that goes for your business, as well. To be successful in any industry, you can’t do it alone.
Running your business with soul
Posted by: | CommentsI recently met a life coach that I had admired for many years. She wanted to talk about ways we might be able to work together. I was honored and excited about the possibilities.
She is one of those people I could just listen to for hours. So wise, authentic and passionate.
She said one thing that has really stuck with me and is making me rethink how I run my business.
“Life is too magical and mystical to do something you don’t love.”
Wow. Imagine only taking on clients that you love. Imagine only working on projects that you love. How would that transform how your run your business?
If you made every decision based on what you love and what your soul is telling you is right, how would your business look?
Several times throughout our conversation, she said her heart was telling her to go in a certain direction. She just felt it was the right move. She runs her business with her heart and soul, allowing her intuition to guide her.
I’ve heard a lot of business coaches preach this idea, but I’ve never met anyone that actually runs their business with soul.
The Business Case for Building Flexible Work Cultures- Series Part II
Posted by: | CommentsIn the Part I of this series we talked about the opportunity to support our need for flexible work cultures with a solid business case. We outlined the fact that the majority of our employees require flexibility at some point in their careers. Research increasingly points to flexibility as one of the most important career considerations of staff, emerging leaders and even our seasoned leaders. If we do not offer this flexibility in our organizations we will lose productivity in our top talent pool and we may lose this top talent completely to our competitors. In addition to flexibility as a requirement for top talent, consider the possibility that flexibility can actually improve your organizational results.
We also outlined four key business strategies that can be supported by flexibility in the organization. These are:
1-Employee Attraction and Retention
2-Improved Productivity
3- Improved Customer Service and Satisfaction
4- Effective Operational Management
This second posting will cover the first two strategies. Why are these strategies key to a business case for building a flexible work culture?…….or said another way…… How will flexible work cultures actually help to accomplish these business strategies?
Employee Attraction & Retention
Four questions about core values and your business
Posted by: | CommentsValue is defined as something intrinsically valuable or desirable (human rather than material). The word can also be used to rate usefulness, importance or general worth.
Values in business often relate to the business strategy of a large company and usually describe its commitment to shareholders, customers and employees.
For example, Zappos lists their core values on their website as:
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, business values are personal values. Your personal core values define who you are and what you believe in, align your business with your true self, make it easier to identify your ideal clients, establish a powerful voice and provide a clear path for the tough decisions every entrepreneur faces.
The Business Case for Building a Flexible Work Culture- Series Part I
Posted by: | CommentsWhy do organizations offer flexibility? Business - Business- Business. Successful accomplishment of business strategy is the primary reason for building a flexible work culture.
The majority of our employees require flexibility at some point in their careers. Research increasingly points to flexibility as one of the most important career considerations of staff, emerging leaders and even our seasoned leaders. If we do not offer this flexibility in our organizations we will lose productivity in our top talent pool and we may lose this top talent completely to our competitors. In addition to flexibility as a requirement for top talent, consider the possibility that flexibility can actually improve your organizational results.
There are many definitions of flexibility. For the purposes of this discussion we are talking about any type of flexibility that allows team members to depart from the standard schedule of an early morning start time to an early evening departure, with all hours served as face time, either at a client/customer site or at the office location. There are many articles and books written regarding the types of flexible work arrangements available. This posting will not focus on the mechanics of the arrangements but the business case behind them.
Can You Be Too Independent?
Posted by: | CommentsI have received comments over the years from family and friends who say to me that I’m independent to a fault. Is there such a thing as being too independent?
After a 20 year career in corporate America, I left about six years ago to start my coaching business and I’ve never looked back. Sure, there have been challenges; plenty of challenges. I would be dishonest if I said running my own business is a piece of cake. It’s not. It can be stressful and even scary at times. Why? Because YOU are the business and though you can occasionally take time off (as difficult as that is for me personally), at the end of the day, it’s YOU who makes all the decisions and charts the course for the direction of your business.
In the beginning, I would stress over every decision. It seemed to me at the time that every decision was a monumental one. What should I name my company? What should my website look like and say? What is my niche? I have to say now I make my decisions quickly and they are often based on my intuition. Sometimes I make good decisions; some aren’t so great, but I’ve come to realize that this is all part of the evolutionary process of becoming an entrepreneur. I celebrate the fact that I have the ability to make these decisions and chart my own course; to make some mistakes and hopefully learn from them and move forward. That’s what is means to be independent after all.
