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Welcome to the Summer edition of Coach’s Corner! As we head into the summer months, we have a lot for which to be thankful. The Iraqi war is over, although now the States is dealing with the backlash of the invasion, including the daily challenges troops encounter as they encourage, push, or prod a nation to accept and support change. What can we as managers/supervisors and leaders learn as we watch others grapple with change? For one thing, we get to see in others what we probably possess in ourselves--our own reluctance or fear of change even when the change is for the better. We do want things to stay the same. Finding a way to maintain balance in the midst of constant flux is challenging, to say the least. One of the ways to balance ourselves as we navigate change is to know our assets and liabilities. From there we can begin evaluating whether our actions and results are moving us in the direction of what we have declared important. As you will read in my article, I am gearing more of my training programs to focus on strengthening the individual’s skill to “know thyself”. It is really hard to change our course when we are oblivious to our own nature. Summer is a great time to tend your fields, weed your garden of excesses and begin ruminating about what is worth doing/accomplishing in life. Summer provides the license to dream big especially as we laze around the pool or along the banks of a river. Rejoice in what you have learned, let bygones be bygone, and imagine what is possible. Whether you are chasing fireflies with grandkids or making big wishes with your favorite person, summer is the best time to connect to who we are, connect to others and to life itself!
Happy Trails, |
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In last month’s
newsletter, JFK asked for help
regarding conducting “winning” interviews.
Several readers shared their insights, and
lessons learned on this topic. In fact, as a
result of receiving these emails, I was able
to provide some great resources to my
executive coaching client who is in the
throes of hiring a new deputy. Thanks
readers for taking the time to share your
ideas with us. Dear Rhona, Explain the situation? What did you do? How did they respond? What obstacles did you encounter and how did you handle them? What was the outcome? These questions can
be quite revealing. When someone has to
provide a specific real-life work example
and explain how they handled it, the
interviewer can get a really good idea of
how they would respond to a similar
situation that might occur in the job they
are filling.
Hope this helps! JFK focused on the
fact that some people who may do well in an
interview are not always the best performers
once hired for a job, and in fact, made that
statement several times in the letter.
These types of individuals are "salesmen."
They have a talent for convincing people of
just about anything. And no, they are not
always the best employees. I have a few
recommendations: |
GREETINGS! Rhona, |
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Fifteen years ago when I started providing training and coaching programs to federal agencies, most of the employees I encountered felt pretty comfortable if not rooted in their jobs. As the French say, the more things change, the more things remain the same. Although I was self- employed and knew the vicissitudes of living a life without a safety net in terms of earnings, or financial stability, I appreciated the federal employee’s commitment to values of public service, with its old fashioned virtues of reliability, continuity, and dependability. Once you got your foot in the door of a federal agency, you were pretty much guaranteed a future, as well as a retirement pension. Life in most federal agencies including our military installations is changing. The security blanket that once draped the federal employee, either union or non-union, is being pulled and in some instances, yanked off the bed. Whether the blanket is removed due to outsourcing, restructuring, downsizing, buyouts, etc., employees are realizing that just because they made a commitment to a long term federal relationship, does not mean that their agency or Congress will continue to honor the terms of the relationship. Employees don’t have to like the changes that are occurring; they don’t even have to support them, but if organizations are going to survive the changes in pay structure, employee recruitment, and retention, each individual has to develop the skill to market his/her assets and results on paper and in person. If the current administration continues to hone the federal employment system, employees will have to learn to effectively manage their careers not simply perform their jobs. What Did You Do Today To Earn Your Money? Historically, the hiring and promotional model used in government focused more on the jobs held, not on the individual results obtained. The formal 171 Process is indicative of a promotional system that was geared to defining job details, not job outcomes. I don’t know what came first, the chicken or the egg, but the 171 system provided the context for how employees were recruited, and promoted. Over time, this system became institutionalized, and although it is no longer in use, the system has influenced how employees speak about their careers. Rarely, can an employee see both how his/her work contributes to the bottom line, and can successfully communicate this information on paper or in person. Unfortunately, most employers, both internal to the organization or external, are less interested in the processes you used to complete tasks and more interested in how the projects or services you provided benefited the agency or its customers. The A76 Process, for example, forces employees not only to define the work they do, but put a price tag on its value and benefits to the agency. Can you identify your strengths? Link your strengths to your work and link your work to specific organizational outcomes? It is challenging, if not downright hazardous, for employees, unskilled in the conversation for results to play to win in the game of competitive outsourcing. American taxpayers are demanding accountability from government employees who are not versed in the conversation for results. This is neither good nor bad, it only means most federal employees are operating with a handicap, which may limit your ability to keep your position, market your assets for greater responsibility and pay, or save your employees from being re-structured, removed or re-zoned to other departments. How Can You Win? The best way to win in the changing government marketplace, is to know the rules of employment or promotion game, learn your job as well as you can, continuously practice the skills needed to win, and keep apprised of how the business environment outside your agency talks about specific business results. Consumers pay attention to the value and benefits of a product or service, not its description. If you cannot succinctly communicate the specific results your work, you are actually hampering your promotional opportunities. Learning how to engage and hold your own in a results conversation facilitates your ability to move up the ladder in the workplace, out of the workplace entirely and plan for your future. How well you fare in the marketplace inside your agency or outside in the private or non- profit sectors, depends on how well you can relate your work contribution to the organizational mission—on paper and in person. The better attuned you are to how your projects or services positively impact your agency, the better you will feel about yourself. Knowing and being able to communicate your strengths is empowering. Learning how to speak your results is a project with a beginning, middle and end. Once you learn how to frame your specific results, developing your ease speaking your results powerfully and succinctly is the next step. How often have you noticed that the person who confidently “owns” and “sells” his/her accomplishments usually gets the juicier assignments, the supervisor’s ear and/or the upcoming promotion! Learn How To Play To Win: For the next four months, I’m combining two powerful career management courses into one two-day crash course for those employees who are ready to market their results. The Getting Your Career Together class teaches you to define your strengths and accomplishments, and link those strengths to the specific outcomes you’ve provided. As a result of participating in this two-day class you will be more effective communicating your unique benefits and value(s) to any prospective employer. To host the Getting Your Career Together two-day program at your agency, call 202-484-4747 to register. Or, enroll now in my Getting Your Career Together classes held in Washington, DC:
July 22nd and 23rd
Dupont Circle Washington DC
August 12th and 13th
Dupont Circle Washington DC
September 16th and 17th
Dupont Circle Washington DC Enroll early! Space is limited to 15-20 people per class. Individual attention guaranteed! Visa/MasterCard accepted. |
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Copyright © 2002-2003 Rhona Post, Post and Associates, 292 M St. SW, DC 20024
