Do you have a boss that demands frequent and unnecessary reports or hovers over you to make sure you’re doing things “right” or requires you to wait for his approval on everything before you can move forward?
Four out of five people, managers and workers alike, stated in a recent survey that have had mciro-manger bosses. Here’s are seven tips on how you can survive and even get along with a ‘control freak” boss according to “My Way or the Highway” by Harry E. Chambers.
Work his agenda.
Determine what’s really important to him and the department. Ask if you don’t know. Then work with him, not against him. to accomplish the specific goals
Don’t wait to be asked for information. Find out what he needs to feel confident and comfortable. Then get it to him—ahead of time with a smile.
Give frequent updates. If the micro-manager doesn’t visibly see progress, they think work is not getting done. Don’t assume but rather ask how often and in what form he wants progress reports on priority projects.
Regularly review expectations. Micro-managers often change their focus and their priorities. Clarify your conversation agreements in a trail of memos and e-mails.
Take the lead on deadlines. Be the first to talk—offering a timeline for when you can do a task (not when you can’t). Reassure him by showing how you will get the tasks done on that timeline.
Play by the rules. Some micro-managers enjoy catching people in the act. Avoid being an easy target by not following policies and procedures. Just go with it unless it’s illegal or unethical.
Choose your battles. The micro-manager will go to war on every issue. Don’t try to match him. Instead, choose the battles that are most important to you.
Career Success Tip:
If you see that your micro-manager boss backs off with some people more than others, then learn from the “best practices” of others. To some this might be considered groveling; to others, it’s knowing how to get along with your boss. Also see Do You Have Boss Problems?
A reader comment on my blog post last week sparked my thoughts on creative solutions. John reminded us of the Einstein quote about needing different thinking to solve a problem than the original thinking that created the problem. John suggested that we need to imagine solutions that are not yet visible, not yet embodied. Too many times we limit our thinking based on what we’ve seen work or not work in the past, rather than make larger leaps of thinking – to envision something entirely different than what exists in the moment.
I recently became certified in the Team Advantage, a team coaching approach for team transformation and higher performance. The Team Advantage challenges teams to think in more expansive ways, thus achieving extraordinary goals. This team coaching approach augments the Appreciative Inquiry methodology to reach positive possibilities.
Leaps of Faith
To use the StarTrek idea- How do we boldly go where no one has gone before? That often requires a leap of faith. Stepping out into the void requires faith- faith that the next steps will be clear, faith that the next door will open, faith that the answers will emerge from the darkness, confusion or chaos. Perhaps it’s faith in our innate intelligence, inner wisdom, the human potential. Perhaps it’s faith that with enough silence, enough openness, enough support our Inner Wisdom or Higher Consciousness will emerge and be revealed. It certainly requires enough faith in one another to allow our best selves to step forward and be known.
How often to do you allow your best self to step forward at work? In our Team Advantage training we talked about creating safe space for people to share ideas and be vulnerable with each other. Creating that safe space is everyone’s work. It takes strength to be vulnerable. It also requires personal courage- courage to share ideas, courage to look foolish. Courage in teams means trying new behaviors to see how they work. Stepping forward to be your best self, to be fully in the game, means you have to have courage and strength. Do you have the courage to open yourself up to new ideas, courage to change your mindset or behaviors?
Faith helps us have that strength and courage. Faith in ourselves, faith in our Higher Power, faith in one another. Faith helps us share our talents, try out new ideas, grow in ways we need to grow. If we have faith in a supportive, creative Universe, we can step boldly into new unfamiliar territory.
Take a leap of faith this week. Open yourself up in a new way. Step forward to express and experience the Magnificence of Who You Are. See what new idea or outcomes emerge in your life and work.
It takes a leap of faith to go from the known to the unknown. Are you willing to take that leap?
Write back and let us know what wonderous things emerge for you as you share your gifts with the world.
Today is a good day to let your light shine brighter.
Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” available on Amazon. Her newest book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” is also now available on her website and soon to be released in paperback. Stay tuned!
As stated on her website: “Through her books and her presentations, Marci’s message has touched the hearts and rekindled the spirits of millions of people throughout the world. She is dedicated to fulfilling her life’s purpose of helping people live more empowered and joy-filled lives.” I’m one of the hearts that she’s touched throughout the world.
Her two latest books Happy For No Reason and Love For No Reason are examples of how her work has impacted me. I’ve previously written a couple of blogs that came from each of these books. Check out:
What really lifted her career is when she became the women’s face of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. The idea of having a Chicken Soup for the Soul woman series came to Marci when we went on a silent retreat for many days. She was meditating and the idea appeared to her and she knew that it was such a wonderful idea. The title for her happiness book came to her the same way.
Lovingkindness
Because of her lovingkindness concept that really touched me, it’s become a spiritual practice in my life. I mostly do this with strangers that I encounter throughout my day. Again, I remember to do this when I’m in centered and connected spiritually. Take today for example, I was at the gym after a workout relaxing in the sauna. A gentleman came in. My first thought is to silently wish him lovingkindness. Sometimes I have another thought which might be to say a prayer or wish something else like health.
Intention-Attention-No Tension
Another spiritual concept is the idea she shared that came from her mentor about the difference of intention, attention and no tension. Intention is the projecting a future vision, attention is being fully present and no tension is letting go of everything. How this has helped me is that I create my intentions for the year with my vision board; I put my attention each day to being present to what it is I’m accomplishing now; and then I work on letting go of all expectations.
Gratitude
Like most spirituality experts, Marci is a firm believer of gratitude. When she did the love summit this year, interviewing 26 experts on the topic of love, the one thing that all mentioned as critical was gratitude.
I saw a post this week with the song lyric that many of you will remember, “There’s something happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear”** The recent Occupy Wall Street movement raises complex ethical and spiritual questions regarding our global economic system. It’s not clear what needs to happen next to fix our global economic system. It is clear that many people don’t trust the system we have. I’m going to ruminate a little here, offering more questions than answers. It seems timely to examine the ramifications of our current economic system and consider spiritual principles to move forward.
Usury Fees- Time for another Examination
The prophet Muhammad forbade charging interest for trading (usury fees) because he saw the moral hazards of doing so. Though he came from the trading class himself, he understood the perils of creating uneven distributions of wealth, leaving many in poverty. He saw that usury fees could indenture many people who borrowed money just to pay for food or housing.
In Exodus (22:25) the prohibition was sweeping, no usury was allowed for lending to anyone who was poor “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.” In Deuteronomy (23:19) there were similar condemnations for charging interest to one’s family or countrymen. Martin Luther also saw the corruption of the Catholic church over its use of money and lending practices and warned against such practices. We see from the Abrahamic traditions clear prohibitions against usury fees.
Since the early Mesopotamian, Graeco-Roman, and Arab trading cultures, societies have had to deal with the quandary of establishing just and profitable trading rules. In today’s world with instantaneous global access to trading, the prohibition on charging interest seems antiquated. Most of us rely on usury fees to support our future. Pension funds and retirement savings are based on investment growth that involves credit and lending and earning interest. Who is responsible for controlling and/or establishing reasonable lending practices (and from a spiritual perspective just practices) in today’s global economy?
Money and Justice- A spiritual perspective
As anyone who has studied finance knows, money begets money when interest is compounded over time. Those who start out with wealth earn far more than those who have little. We see the moral hazard of our current financial markets resulting in gross inequality of wealth. Is it up to the corporations and political leaders to fix the economic structures? What responsibilities do we as individuals have to trade, borrow, or invest in socially responsible ways?
Many threads tie together our economic system and our spiritual principles. They intersect at living wages, executive compensation, sustainable development, payday lending, hedge fund trading, campaign finance reform, corporations’ rights as citizens, Triple Bottom Line business practices. And on and on…..
The answers will come from moral and spiritual reflection as well as economic and political analysis. If we address these issues purely from an economic perspective, we miss the mark. There is something happening here. It is an awakening that the global economic system is somehow out of balance- whether it’s out of touch with our spiritual principles or simply not meeting the needs of too many people. I’d like to encourage the discourse to include an examination of the spiritual principles needed to guide us so we can make lasting changes in how money is earned, saved, invested and borrowed.
Please share your comments and reflections here or elsewhere as you feel so moved.
Whether you’re just starting out, on the way to climbing that ladder of success or looking for a new job or opportunity, here are three trends from JobMob as well as tips to adapt so you won’t be left behind.
1. Out: The Traditional Career. In: Multiple Careers/Multiple Income Streams We no longer live in a world of the “lifetime career” and nor can one job serve as a reliable source of income. The writing has been on the wall for a long time.
I remember reading In 1994 William Bridges’ Job Shift: How to Prosper In a Workplace Without Jobs and started talking about the concept of becoming a “career entrepreneur”. In 2001, Daniel Pink followed with Free Agent Nation and in 2007 Marci Alboher reiterated this trend in her book One Person/Multiple Careers.
Career Success Tip:
SWOT yourself. First examine what you bring to the employment table. Review your Strengths (your skills and experiences that can move you from one career to another and your Weaknesses (the lack of skills and experiences that can hold you back. Then look outside your present company and industry. Review the Opportunities (where are the best place to be to further your career) and the Threats (where are the places that could hold back your career). Use this information to plan your next career moves.
2. Out: Full-time Permanent Jobs. In: Contract/Part-time/Consulting Work The new reality that is hard for most people to fully comprehend and then act o is the following: Every job is temporary and we live in a Freelance economy. You may have a great job today; you may be in career transition tomorrow. Your long term career success will depend on your attitude (your ability to accept reality as it is not as you want it to be) and your aptitude (your ability to retool and reposition your skills for the changing employment scene).
Career Success Tip:
Think portfolio. How many different skills, interests or roles can you leverage to create different careers and income sources? The sooner professionals acknowledge that work today comes in different forms (contract, full-time, part-time, consulting/entrepreneur) the easier one will be able to transition far more easily from one to the next.
3. Out: Company Manages Your Career. In: You Are the BOSS Just a generation ago, most professionals were told that getting a job with a stable company was the reliable thing to do, and the corporation would “take care of you.” In the new economy, you have been promoted, whether you like it or not, to be the boss of you. In order to do this job well you better be a good career manager, because that’s what you are now.
Career Success Tip:
Take full responsibility for your career. Yes, of course, you manager should have your best interests in mind, but your career development is not at the top of his her daily to-do list. It should be on the top of yours. That’s the only way you will not only survive but thrive in this new world of work.
FYI: I’m breaking for a bit from my A-Z case study to share with you this article by Laura Lambert that I recently came across. The idea of spiritual menu planning intrigued me as I hope it does you. I’m part of a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and this comes from another MOPS member from a different chapter.
I have a love-hate relationship with menu-planning. I love the fact that when I plan out our meals for a week I don’t have to think about what’s for dinner every night. I love that I have all the ingredients I need since our grocery shopping is structured around the chosen menus. I love that we save money when I plan ahead since we only buy what is needed for that week’s meals.
But, I hate the time it takes. Dragging out the cookbooks, thinking about what the kids will eat, thinking about what I want to eat, thinking about what my husband’s preferences are, wondering how many nights of Mexican food we can tolerate in a single week, etc. Not to mention, after narrowing it down to seven recipes, there is a shopping list to be made. That involves checking what we already have in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer, noting what ingredients we still need and (I admit this is the good part) emailing the list to my husband who shops on his way home from work once a week. (I know, I’m really lucky about that one.)
Frankly, it just seems like a lot of effort. However, when I think about the outcome of this effort, I immediately realize that it’s all worthwhile. Planning ahead ensures that my children have home-cooked, nutritious meals. It makes me feel good to know that their little bodies are well-fed. Every mom wants her children to grow up strong and healthy. And good nutrition is an essential part of that growing process.
However, I realize that it is not just my children’s bodies that require daily nourishment. Their spirits must also be fed and nurtured on a daily basis in order for them to grow into the strong, compassionate, caring, and sensitive men I hope they will someday become. While I may not actually write out a weekly menu for “spiritual meals,” I am going to try to be more intentional about feeding their spirits each day.
Some ideas for a spiritual menu-plan include:
Finding time each day to help children see the wonder of God’s creation.
Whether it is the toad living in our garage, the autumn leaf streaked with a rainbow of colors or the shiny icicle hanging from the eaves, God’s beauty is everywhere. Helping children see and discover it strengthens their connection to God.
Practicing the attitude of gratitude.
A simple prayer at mealtime and/or bedtime thanking God for all the blessings he has given can strengthen the spiritual bond between children and God.
Slowing down and spending time together.
Spirits are nourished when people connect with one another in positive ways. Though moms are never without household tasks and to-do lists, taking five or ten minutes to join children in their play, read a story or just talk can have a big spiritual impact.
Discovering the joy of giving to others.
Focusing on the needs of those around you can be a wonderful way to create spiritual joy. Writing a postcard to a far-away relative, taking homemade cookies to a shut-in neighbor or picking up trash at the local park are all easy ways for children to experience the joy that comes from helping.
What’s on your spiritual menu-plan? Maybe we can swap recipes.
Laura Lambert is a founding member of her local MOPS group, blessed mom to two beautiful sons, wife to a great guy and a Montessori preschool teacher in Iowa.
During my time as a career transition coach, a client came into my office, opened his briefcase and dumped 20 years of performance reviews and said: “Write my resume.”
Two thoughts came to my mind. The first was that I help YOU write your resume. The second was how can I make it easier for folks who haven’t written a resume for years? That’s when I came up with the idea of a “My Success Portfolio.” It’s a file where you continuously drop items documenting your accomplishments, contributions and capabilities.
What’s the Benefit?
It’s important to have a My Success Portfolio because you:
Need to prepare, update or revise your resume for job search or career change
Want to present and promote your brand in vying for a promotion or a new position
Can’t expect your boss to remember everything you’ve done for your annual performance review
Can periodically review your accomplishments to give you a boost of self confidence and encouragement.
What’s In it?
Here are some examples that I’ve seen in client’s My Success Portfolio.
1. Work Samples/Summary of Accomplishments At the end of a major project, summarize the details and work involved including obstacle that were overcome. State both the quantifiable and qualitative results. Include your role, your contribution and skills you used. At the end, for your benefit, write your lessons learned.
2. Performance Reviews Keep copies of all written evaluations of your work plus your performance improvement goals as well as stretch areas. Take notes on any conversations relating to your performance, including the date and participants. Also include documentation of specific steps you’ve taken for performance improvement as well as other things that may be important in future reviews.
3. Training and Continuing Education Save all the brochures on the educational events, workshops and webinars you attend throughout the year. This shows of your efforts to expand and hone your skills. Also keep all certificates you’ve achieved. If you’re involved in a accelerated or honors education program note that. Now turn that knowing into doing. Keep track on how you are implementing your education and the results.
4. Applause and Positive Comments Deposit all grateful or complimentary feedback including notes, letters, emails from colleagues or clients thanking you for a job well done. If you receive compliments in person or over the phone, don’t hesitate to ask whether they would put them in a letter or email to you. Don’t underestimate the good words of clients, co-workers and especially direct reports to enhance your reputation and brand. Since your portfolio is for your eyes only, drop in everything – it adds up to an impressive bio.
5. Professional and Civic Activities List organizations you’re active in and committees you’re part of. Keep track of your participation and accomplishments. Add copies of your speeches you’ve done, panels you’ve been on and articles you’ve published. Don’t underrate what you’ve done in a volunteer role. Realize that the skills and experiences ou’ve gained can be utilized in your present and future positions.
Career Success Tip:
Once you’ve created your My Success Portfolio, make it a regular task to review and capture what you have done over the past few days, weeks or — at most — month. It’s your responsibility to document your work; you can’t expect others to remember and recognize all that you do. What’s in your Success Portfolio today? What should be in it tomorrow?
Last week I attended an inspiring workshop with Byron Katie. The honesty and vulnerability of people who shared their life conditions were quite moving. I was particularly impressed with Katie’s incredible optimism and humor when dealing with disturbing and sad life stories. She spoke to the participants with such skill and love that I, as probably most in the room, got to a place of deep compassion and hope. I left the workshop feeling energized and changed.
Spiritual Innovator for the New Millennium
Doing The Work
I read Byron Katie’s book, Loving What Is, several years ago and have shared her work with clients since then. Visit her website www.thework.com or watch her in action on YouTube. She is a very gifted facilitator and joyful presence. For those of you not familiar with her work, she developed a worksheet called “Judge Your Neighbor” (available on her website for free). It is a powerful tool for uncovering deeper truths about your (perceived) life conditions. The Four Questions provide the window to your beliefs; the limited thinking you hold is evident from the narratives of your stories.
It was clear that doing The Work, answering those four questions for any and all painful, disturbing thoughts you have, was a meditative practice. Holding your thoughts out for examination, objectively viewing it apart from your ego-hold that tries to defend its position, you can shift into non-attachment. In this meditative, ‘witnessing’ way, you peel apart the ego-truth from the deeper truth of your life.
Belief in a Friendly Universe
What I found so striking in her workshop was how deeply spiritual her work is. It comes from the fundamental belief that the Universe is loving and supportive. She held passionately to the belief that our true nature is love and kindness. When we strip away all the stories, beliefs, monkey-mind chatter, and ego-defense mechanisms, we are at our core loving beings. Katie reminded us that no one wants to hurt another when they are connected to their true nature. It’s our stories, our beliefs, our mistaken ego-truths that block our true nature from coming forth. And in paying attention to our stories rather than our inner truth and true nature, we act out of fear, pain, suffering. Her work is grounded in the belief that you are always supported in your life, no matter how the circumstances may appear. Her process reminded me of the saying, “Fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real”.
When we get to that deeper core of love and kindness, we act out of our true nature. In that journey to our core, we find compassion for ourselves, for others in our life, and for our past pain. We then find forgiveness, comfort, strength and hope to face our life conditions and do what we need to do to transform our life. Her process is so powerful because it shows that anyone can find the gift in their life condition, no matter how sad, painful, challenging or disturbing it may appear.
Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” The paperback version is available on Amazon. The pdf version of Path for Greatness is available for download from her website. ALSO, Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” is now available on her website.
I understand the education versus training and experience debate, and I agree with the writer who said, “The answer is one that will keep you chasing your tail as you pursue it.”
So, why have this discussion? Most of us will not deny that the best employees have both education, training and experience, but what about being more realistic, especially in the current job market. Let’s face it, whomever we hire must be able to do the job.
In my Cave Man perspective here is an answer to the education versus training and experience debate:
the person who has the knowledge or experience is important;
the one who has both the knowledge and the ability to use it is more important;
the one who has knowledge and experience (not necessarily all of either) but can help others figure out the best mix and direct it for the good of all is head of the cave.
Are there advantages education has over experience. Sure. Experience over education. Absolutely.
If there ever was a situation that called out for individual assessment this is it. We use to revere knowledge and we generally rewarded those that had it as a ratio to the amount of education, but that was before there were so many college graduates. High school is critical, and a college essential for entry-level success in some areas, and a graduate degree to climb the ladder. In the professional world, you need a professional degree. There are lofty high-paid exceptions these days where performance and the ability to bring in income does not relate to education at all but a particular marketable skill. Super salesman come to mind; some educated, some not, but born with natural ability.
Life and death matters depend on highly skilled people (highly educated in the case of doctors); however, specialized skills matter.
It also depends on the degree of need, another business function. Life and death matters depend on highly skilled people (highly educated in the case of doctors); however, specialized skills matter.
Then, let’s not forget the sports stars, some of whom make a tremendous amount of money may have gotten their start in college sports, were recognized and life changed for awhile until they need the education to fall back on. There are, of course, movie stars that will draw people to the theaters, buy DVDs and make film makers a lot of money. To keep the “geese laying the golden eggs” we must pay them what they are worth.
But how do we know that when these exceptions aren’t the way it should be? We don’t.
Not all great athletes become sports stars just as not all actors of note become stars.
Hence, we must weigh each case carefully. Not all great athletes become sports stars just as not all actors of note become stars. Many smart people don’t go to college and have learned a lot from life’s experiences; and many dumb people make it through college, and haven’t a clue what to do with that education. Both education and experience mean something, but how you use it means more.
Education means knowledge and experience means you know what to do with that knowledge. So with both, you’re perfect. Maybe. Sort of. Depends. Education specific to the work is best. But that is not to say something close doesn’t have advantages as well. There are gray areas, which is why most job listings say degrees such as or something similar. Note the ambiguity. It’s almost like we won’t know until we see it.
What is the reality?
Corporate culture determines who fits best. If education and youth has been its cornerstone of success, you can bet that is where they will look for new employees. Chances are that they also are prepared to train to young employees the way the company likes to do things.
Another type of company may have a different culture, but it’s also based on different needs. Maybe this company needs people who have a lot of technical knowledge and plant experience, knowledge of business management without totally understanding the working environment may not be as valuable. Having someone with experience, plus education even gained later at a local, no-name college, makes for someone better equipped for the job.
Obviously there are professions that require the education before you even start, add an internship period to gain the basic experience, then a career may start. For musician or any artist, it helps to know the history and techniques of creating music or art, but it’s not necessary for success if the artist receives the necessary acclaim for performing his or her skill with unique artisty. See me chasing my tail now. We’re back with the exceptions. There are always exceptions.
Wherever the public seems to be involved as a factor to determine worth, the education doesn’t matter–only results.
It’s even the same with politicians.
It’s even the same with politicians. We may be impressed with one’s fancy education, number of degrees, and vast experience–and elect that politician to high office. Let the results show he or she is not doing the job we expected, we forget all the qualifications that brought our vote in the first place.
It really does depend on the job and the environment.
A great deal depends on the reviewer’s personal view of the validity of each. In today’s economic strife, we see attorneys vying for jobs with others less educated but qualified by experience. The grumbling is on both sides, but the economy has made it a necessity. Attorneys without jobs are not lawyers arguing cases; they are people educated with law degrees. Does that make them somehow superior to someone who has been doing the same job–let’s say something relative like writing government policy or studying regulations, which you don’t have to have a law degree to do?
Of course not, except they have the same skill set and practiced it (experience) in law school. They understand how policy and regulations are not far off from law; they are quite similar in fact. In the interview process, you want to know who can do the job you need to do. Here, it would be evaluating policy and regs for validity, writing policy and regs, and ensuring they are all-inclusive. So, here is an example where it is not so much that it is an advanced degree as much as that degree gave the individual the desired training and experience as well. The specific topics can be learned–especially by someone who is good at research and applying that research–another lawyer skill.
But now let’s turn to managers.
Can you educate a leader? Can you train one? These are pretty complicated questions themselves.
According to one of the articles listed here, “A recent Center for Creative Leadership study found that only 10 percent of the knowledge needed to become an effective manager is learned in the classroom.” The statement is little vague by itself, but I would venture a guess that the missing 90 percent had to do with leadership traits and corporate culture–some point specific to the company in question.
There’s more: “Companies emphasize training courses to build their employees’ leadership skills, yet the study concluded that the best way to acquire such skills is through experience gained by working on challenging assignments.”
We know many leaders emerge in just those situations, which begs the question: Can you educate a leader? Can you train one? These are pretty complicated questions themselves.
Suffice it to say that the statements certainly point out the need to weigh individual situations carefully.
I also suggest that a career path or career ladder be made a part of any hiring process. Some companies tend to hire for a specific job and a fit with the company culture, but they need to be aware an applicant is looking at long-term as well with the company.
Taking care of that individual by providing a road map to success can’t be a bad idea if the company is honest and consistent about applying it. Motivation to learn what they do not know is half the battle. To answer the question: Do you think on-the-job experience is more important than formal training when it comes to learning how to manage people? Depends again. Chasing that tail.
Education gave me pieces of paper; experience gave me a headache putting it down effectively in resume.
For more information on the debate, I’ve included some web sites that may be useful.
That’s it. I’m getting a bit dizzy from chasing my tail. I know I’ve only touched the surface of the debate. If you take anything away from this discussion, please take this: the terms we see on job descriptions that qualify people is the starting point. Each case is different, and people can surprise with what they know about the world–however they came by that knowledge: education or training and experience. Education gave me pieces of paper; experience gave me a headache putting it down effectively in resume. I couldn’t have succeeded without both, but we all have to start some place.
These are my words and opinions. Please feel free to disagree and comment, or contact me. If you’re interested in more of my points of view–my Cave Man way of looking at things, I have a website where you can find other items I have written. For more information on my peculiar take on training, check out my best selling The Cave Man Guide To Training and Development, and for a look at a world that truly needs a reality check, see my novel about the near future, Harry’s Reality! Meanwhile, Happy Training.
Change is constantly around us. In our daily lives, we experience change in almost every aspect. In order to adapt to the changes around us we learn. Adults are constantly learning and adapting. In HR, we must adapt to changes in business needs and priorities and to changes in resources and functions. We must also be prepared to learn new technologies and new business tools that will enable us to meet the changing demands of our organizations and the people they employ. So how do we keep in front of changes and stay alert to where our profession is headed?
We learn. How do you keep up to date? My suggestion is simple: Get out of Your Office.
Get connected to other HR pros. I just attend my first ever HRevolution. If you haven’t heard of it, do some self-directed learning and find out about it. The cool thing about it is that I was able to mingle with HR Pros that want to challenge themselves and others to do better constantly. I was challenged and in one day, I picked up enough ideas to go back and make changes that don’t cost a thing to my organization. (I will be hacking a little this week).
Read. Read. Read. Set the Google reader. Connect to cool folks on twitter, LinkedIn, Face book, Google Plus. Read what the bloggers write in HR and other business related topics. Don’t limit yourself to HR. HR is business. Learn about the rest of it and how you can apply it to what you do.
Volunteer in areas of HR that you aren’t able to do in your current role. You can’t learn by doing the same thing over and over. Stretch yourself.
Teach. The greatest way to learn is to teach others.
Mentor. Again, the greatest way to learn is to teach others.
Network. Network. Network. Find smart people who think differently than you. Build relationships with them and get challenged.
Volunteer for a project team in your organization outside of HR. What a great way to learn the business needs of your customer (internal and external).
Build Relationships with others. You are in HR. Do you remember what HR is about? Get out of your office.
Get out of your office and talk to others inside your organization. Don’t just talk about HR. Talk about the business. Enough Said.
Adults learn through experience. Adults learn through critical reflection. Adults need control in their learning.
Take control of your learning and get out of your office.
Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.
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