Surviving Change

The photo of Michelle Obama holding a sign that says "An immigrant is taking my job” has made it to my LinkedIn feed. Although fake and inappropriate, it certainly sparks a discussion about immigration. As an immigrant, I am grateful for the incredible opportunity to build a new life in the land of the free and the home of the brave. As an experienced business professional striving to stay on top of industry and business trends, I feel I can confidently state that most economists tend to agree that immigration is good for the economy. As a human resources professional, it was my duty to ensure compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act and verify and document the identification of employees using the Employment Eligibility Form I-9. However, for me, more than anything, this photo made me think about change management and managing change we didn’t ask for.

Change has always been an inevitable part of life. In our work life, major changes are all too common from any new business initiatives to reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, and changes in leadership. Such times create a lot of uncertainty about job security, work duties and priorities, corporate culture, and new reporting structures. When the game of corporate musical chairs is under way, we need to plan ahead to avoid being lost in the shuffle. To weather any professional storms and ride out the rocky waves of transition, we need a plan to make the most of every opportunity. The following 3 principles offer an effective strategy for coping with organizational change:

#1: Keep Calm & Become a Beacon of Positivity

We’ve all formed coping strategies and habits over the years. But we can make a decision to choose different engagement styles and aspire to be more like those people who keep a positive attitude and the smile on their face through difficult times.

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Embrace change and stay open to the possibilities and opportunities. Attitude is contagious. Approaching situations with a positive attitude is a gift to yourself and to the people around you.

#2: Stay Plugged-in

When organizational changes occur, those who are willing to work harder or longer may have an advantage. Responsiveness is often associated with high performance. However, it is just as important to stay abreast of the most up-to-date information to identify any organizational needs. Stay in tune with others and look at change at all levels across the organization and outside the company. Get involved by joining a committee, a project, or extra-curricular activities. Proactively ask constructive questions to get informed.

“You can’t stand in your corner of the forest, waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”  ~ Winnie the Pooh

Keep informed. Get involved. Network effectively to exchange information with those who would be able to help you professionally.

#3: Re-engage

Make meaningful contributions. Ask yourself whether you are performing to your potential and if others would consider you as a valuable player. Be a part of the solution and look for ways to bring value.

“When you’re engaged in what you love to do, it’s like driving in the fast lane. Time flies by and more roads open up to you, alternate routes you may not have known existed. ~ T. Harv Eker

Change happens. The only effective strategy is to embrace it, or get flattened as it rolls over us. Once you've successfully survived organizational change, avoid the trap of becoming complacent. Always be prepared for future changes. Keep developing your skills and enhancing your value to the company. Become your own career coach and act as if you are in business for yourself.  

An Attitude of Gratitude Year Round

The Thanksgiving decorations are packed away, and the house is clean and quiet. As I am enjoying the calm after the holiday weekend storm, I can’t help but think of the precious time spent with family and friends and all the things to be thankful for.  And experiencing a heightened sense of well-being strengthens my belief that expressing gratitude should not be reserved only to Thanksgiving and special occasions. Being grateful and giving thanks should be top of mind and an ongoing practice all year long. Turning up at work with a holiday mindset can cause problems, except when it is a Thanksgiving mindset of giving thanks. Let’s extend the Thanksgiving Spirit and cultivate an attitude of gratitude all year round.

Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at UC Davis and a gratitude researcher, defines gratitude as being thankful for the things we receive. It is a habit that enhances joy: https://vimeo.com/95882583. 

In our daily life, we are often focused on achievement and getting more: more opportunities, more prestige, more money, and more “stuff.” Gratitude provides clarity about the good things in our life that we want to maintain and have more of in the future. It also provides clarity about what we don’t really need and the things we wish to have less of in the future.

As a career success strategy, an attitude of gratitude requires the following two practices:

1. Acknowledging what we are grateful for & expressing gratitude
2.  Identifying where we can improve

It is important to recognize room for improvement; otherwise, gratitude and acceptance may result in complacency and stagnation.

Here’s a practical tool to express gratitude as well as cultivate a growth mindset:

First, take the time between now and the New Year to write down 100 things for which you are grateful.

As you review your list of things you are grateful for…. 

• Think of 3 things you could do better in 2017 and act on them.

• Identify 3 areas where you could raise the bar and set stretch goals for yourself.
• Commit to learning and trying something new every month in the coming year.

May the feeling of gratitude live in our hearts all year round and may we always remain motivated to learn, grow and develop in our personal life and as professionals.

The Five-hour Rule

I've had the good fortune to work alongside amazing people in my career and be in the fortunate position of learning something new every day. A client, a successful executive, shared the following quote which was on his LinkedIn feed today:
   
“Edison's electric light did not come about from the continuous improvement of the candle.”
~ Oren Harari
   
He then told me he has applied the 5-hour rule as a career success strategy. He went on to explain that Benjamin Franklin is known (not previously to me) to have dedicated an hour every week day to learning. Thus he could rise from being a lowly apprentice at his brother’s print shop to become a writer, an inventor, a scientist, a businessman, and great political leader with no formal education.

Coaching is a relationship that provides the space to focus on professional or personal challenges. Deliberate learning in the cornerstone. In our fast-paced and ever-changing business world, continuous learning is indeed an essential strategy for career success. As my client said: “I make sure I keep my brain freshly stocked.” When we live the value of continuous learning and work on our professional development, we become better at what we do and bring more value to the organizations we serve. And thus we are likely to see more success in our career and get more personal satisfaction from our jobs.

Deliberate learning is a mindset, a commitment to learn and share the knowledge. A thirst for knowledge and earnest curiosity drive innovation.  New innovations take place when creating something that wasn’t there before: a new business model, a new product, a new value proposition, etc. Continuous learning also drives continuous improvement in capabilities and processes. Both are crucial business strategies. These are also leadership qualities pertaining to every professional. Everyone is the CEO of their own career, a leader in their own domain. In a global knowledge driven economy, knowledge is a key resource, and the most sough-after commodity.

Here are a few ideas to implementing a deliberate learning strategy to keep professional development continuous:

1.    Be an avid reader

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” ~Joseph Addison.
Whatever your chosen profession is, make sure you learn at least one thing a week by reading professional literature.
 
2.    Invest in skills training
 
“The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of learning new skills. Everything else will become obsolete.” ~ Peter Drucker.
Develop skills that are needed.
 
3.    Keep Practicing
 
“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.” ~ Lao Tzu
Knowing is not enough, we need to apply it on the job. We earn our trophies at practice. Continue to hone your professional skills until you reach mastery and then some. Excellence is a never ending quest.
 
4.    Share your knowledge
 
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn. “ ~Phil Collins.
The more you share your knowledge, the more you learn and expand it.
 
5.    Find a mentor
 
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” ~ John C. Crosby.
A mentor can share the wisdom of his or her experience and guide you and help nurture your professional growth and career success.

Now go read, reflect, and experiment. Happy deliberate learning!

The Donut Hole

A new client started our session saying that she feels like a donut, solid on the outside and hollow on the inside. She continued to share that she’d always been jealous of her friends who seem to love their jobs. She hasn’t, yet, found satisfaction in that area despite having tried different jobs and careers over the years. All her jobs to date were just means to an end leaving her uninspired and with a nagging feeling that whatever it was she was doing was not what she was meant to be doing, that there was something better out there. I keep hearing this sentiment that “job satisfaction has eluded me” and feeling “stuck in my life.” 

Assuming we accept the donut metaphor, we can definitely change the size of the hole, or how we handle it. The first step to take when feeling something is missing in our life is to reconnect with the joy, passion, and fun in our life, going back to the early dreams and joys of our youthful hearts. This conversation reminded me of a book about the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico I read a few years ago. In Born to Run, Christopher McDougall writes about running and the world’s greatest distance runners. What I remember about the book is the concept of doing something for the pure joy of doing it. The Tarahumaras run for the joy of running. And for those of us seeing life as a journey, the essence of it should be joy, not grinding our teeth powering through. When we don’t obsess over the small things such as speed, time and mileage, we can gain our footing, set our pace, and enjoy the experience. Allow yourself to ask and answer the following 2 questions: “what makes me joyful?” And “how can I have more of it in my life?”

The second step to take when feeling something is missing in our life is to find meaning and purpose. Another book that comes to mind is “Finding Calcutta” by Mary Poplin. While Mother Teresa is certainly an example of Christian love and charity, her teachings are relevant to everyone. We can all recognize and honor Mother Theresa for her humanitarian work and aspire to find our own Calcutta, our calling, our own meaningful work. We needn’t seek to necessarily do great things, but rather strive to do small things with great joy. Where can you find your Calcutta? Where do you feel you could be making the biggest impact?

If you have a dream of changing the path of your life, every minute you spend dreaming is a minute spent not actively pursuing it. When I coach people who feel stuck, I encourage them to first look inward to develop insight. Finding fulfillment is connecting with our purpose, our own mission of being. It means tapping into what gives us joy and finding a way of doing it in the world. For some, this secret dream is buried way down deep inside. Marcus Buckingham says “Now, Discover Your Strengths.” I say, first discover your dreams.

Second, hop on the train to the Land of Hopes and Dreams: recognize, seize and create opportunities to pursue and experience your dreams more fully. Research, evaluate, set targets, and create a plan to live out your dreams. But remember that there may bumps in the road, and things don’t always turn the way we expect them to. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone and be willing to keep trying new things. Listen to your inner voice or inner urge guiding you toward your true calling. And always push yourself beyond your comfort zone. As Steve Jobs said in the Stanford Commencement in 2005: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” 

What are your dreams? What is one small step you could take to move forward?