Right Attitudes

Ideas for Impact

Job Transitions

The #1 Tip for New Managers to Succeed

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New managers are under pressure. Most managers are underprepared for the transition into new roles—and undersupported during them. In fact, the revolving door is turning more swiftly as companies are seeking quick results. New managers must immediately tackle challenges and demonstrate their competencies instead of having a grace period to find their footing and mull changes.

When taking on a new management position, adaptability to the unique culture and ways of doing things is the key to success. You must quickly throw yourself into the work and learn who’s who, who does what, and how your company operates.

Idea for Impact: Balance the pressure to show results quickly, understanding what significant changes are needed. First, talk to your constituencies (internal and external customers, competitors, leaders, employees) and lay out a road plan for the next three months, one year, and three years. Manage expectations and don’t overcommit.

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New Job Anxiety is Normal

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When you step into a new position, you’ll feel you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. Many responsibilities of the job will be out of your comfort zone. Feeling confident in performing your duties may take several months. You’ll sense you have more work than ever, which will be overwhelming. Feeling like an impostor and regretting leaving your former position is natural.

Sure, the brutal reality is that new hires have less time than ever to prove their worth, and you’ll be expected to show results almost from day one. Be patient with yourself and transparent with others while you’re still finding your feet. You’ll go through four stages of progression in a new role:

  1. Unconscious Incompetence: You won’t know what you don’t know, and you’ll feel functionally useless
  2. Conscious Incompetence: You’ll know what you don’t know and what you’ll learn
  3. Conscious Competence: You’ll know your job but have to work hard at doing it correctly
  4. Unconscious Competence: You’ll know your job and can do it on autopilot.

Changing any job, even within a company, is a slow process. Keep a low profile, spend most of your time listening, building a network, cultivating essential relationships, and strategizing your case for change. Work out who within the company is respected and who knows what they’re talking about as quickly as you can—they’re the ones you’ll learn from. Identify where you fall short and who can fill the gaps.

Idea for Impact: Don’t try to do everything right away. As you develop a roadmap for your organization, focus on building the connections to help you thrive. Understanding who must be won over to your point of view is vital for managing the change process.

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  2. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This
  3. Who’s Responsible for Your Career
  4. Manage Your Own Career—No One Else Will
  5. Don’t Use Personality Assessments to Sort the Talented from the Less Talented

Manage Your Own Career—No One Else Will

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In 2014, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was rightfully condemned for casually asserting that women shouldn’t bother asking for raises and instead rely on “good karma” and trust that the system will eventually reward their work.

Despite what “they” may say, no one else will manage your career for you—not the fine folks at human resources, not your boss, or some mentoring system. No one will chart out a career path for you or tell you what experience you should obtain, let alone assist you in getting it.

Don’t subscribe to the notion that someone is looking out for your best interests. You’ve got to look after yourself. Don’t expect to be promoted because you deserve it—no one is likely keeping track. Be proactive and ask for what you want.

Idea for Impact: Take active control of your career because nobody will manage it for you. Own it and challenge yourself.

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  3. It’s Not Just a Job … It’s a Career
  4. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This
  5. Don’t Use Personality Assessments to Sort the Talented from the Less Talented

What Every Manager Should Know Why Generation Y Quits

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Millennials, or the Generation Y or Gen Y cohort, are much better educated. They’re tech-savvy, more achievement-oriented, and better problem-solvers than preceding generations.

Millennials also tend to be restless with their career progression, demanding salary and job flexibility. They’re quick to move on if something better beckons. Millennials aren’t interested in the financial success that inspired the Boomers or the independence that characterizes the Gen Xers, but in personalized career paths.

Employers often gripe that millennials seem entitled and overly ambitious. And even if they’re high-maintenance, they’re hungry and willing to do what it takes to prove themselves.

To prevent Gen Y retention problems, create an environment where they have room to make an impact and give them the autonomy, support, and training to get there.

Idea for Impact: Millennials become disengaged quickly in the workplace—they’re impatient with things that do not lead to learning or advancement. They never stop questioning the status quo; they don’t want to be told they must do their time and wait in line. Give them a way to move up promptly, with fun and challenges along the way.

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‘Tis the Most Wonderful Time of the Year … to Job-Search

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The holidays are around the corner, and this is an excellent time to job-search, especially since most jobs come from networking and referrals.

As you spread the holiday cheer, use greetings as a pretext to catch up with friends, reach out to LinkedIn contacts, and network with people in your industry. Take the opportunity of Christmas and New Year parties to socialize with new people that can help you.

Some workplaces have use-it-or-lose-it money and headcount in the current year’s financial plan that they’d like to commit before year’s end. Other workplaces that have the upcoming year’s plans approved may be eager to jumpstart hiring.

The holiday spirit and the season of giving make hiring managers even more likely to treat you favorably. Moreover, with work winding down for the holiday season, decision-makers are less likely to be in long meetings and business trips, and, therefore, more likely to be at their desks to be contacted.

And you’ll face less competition since few people bother with job-searching at this time of the year.

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  3. How to … Know When it’s Time to Quit Your Job
  4. Being Underestimated Can Be a Great Thing
  5. Stop Trying to Prove Yourself to the World

How to … Know When it’s Time to Quit Your Job

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If there’s an acid test for how to know when it’s time to stop and do something different, it’s this.

When you come home from work, and pretty much all you want to do is slouch on the sofa, order takeout, and watch silly videos on TikTok, it’s time to find something else that meshes with your interests and aspirations more closely.

For many people, the central challenge of work-life should be, “How do I bring more of myself to my work?” Your job should make you sweat a little bit, in a good way.

So, when you start to believe you can’t do better, when you start to feel pretty indifferent about what you’re doing, and it’s sapping you of all energy, it’s time to evaluate whether you have the right job at the right company and whether you’re doing the right thing.

Idea for Impact: Above all, whatever you do, work should add energy to your life, not sift it away. Work at a personal plan, and periodically follow up with those who may be able to open doors for you.

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  3. Some Lessons Can Only Be Learned in the School of Life
  4. The #1 Cost of Overwork is Personal Relationships
  5. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This

It’s Not Just a Job … It’s a Career

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Your job belongs to your employer. It’s a specific purpose in the system. Jobs are the fundamental building blocks of the organization. If you don’t do the job, somebody else will.

Your career, on the other hand, belongs to you. It’s your life’s work—your path, your dream. Your career is something you build towards and work upon every day.

You’ll have many jobs throughout your career, even with one employer.

Idea for Impact: Don’t get lost in your job; it isn’t an end in itself. Every job is a means to an end; every job is an element of your career. Do each job well, but look beyond. Learn to expand and market your skills. Strategize how each could lead you to the next job on your career trajectory.

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  2. Some Lessons Can Only Be Learned in the School of Life
  3. Manage Your Own Career—No One Else Will
  4. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This
  5. Don’t Use Personality Assessments to Sort the Talented from the Less Talented

The Great Resignation, The Great Awakening

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The Great Resignation hasn’t been just about burnout. It’s about a “Great Awakening,” notably for many folks in middle management.

Obliged to stay in their homes during COVID, they’ve reevaluated their lives while cherishing the extra time with their families and engaging in other interests. Discussions of work-life balance came into renewed focus.

As part of this great rethink, people are unwilling to sacrifice as much for a work-life balance. Some middle managers are increasingly disinclined to take the next step in their careers because “onward and upward” isn’t as appealing as it used to be, and the price to climb the corporate ladder is too high. These people are keener on setting career paths based on their own values and definitions of success.

Not that their ambitions have changed, though. But they aren’t driving for the same things they were driving for ten years ago. But they’re reconsidering how they can keep contributing to their organizations—on their own terms. They’re willing to come to terms with “career plateauing,” unhooking from the pressure to pursue an upward path someone else has set.

They may still derive a certain sense of identity from their jobs, but they’re seeking other ways to seek a more fulfilling life. They’re no longer pushing for the more prestigious title, the broader responsibility, the bigger raise, and a larger team. Instead, they’re taking energy that had been directed primarily on goals defined by the employer and focusing it elsewhere.

Idea for Impact: As part of this great rethink, reassess your options. Set clear boundaries on your willingness to sacrifice to strike a better work-life balance. Think strategically not only about the work you enjoy but also about the life you want to lead.

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  5. The Truth About Work-Life Balance

Don’t Quit Your Job Until

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Before you quit your job, give your employer a chance to address your issues.

Thoughtfully identify what the real concerns are. Is the problem your current job, your supervisor, a coworker, the processes, the whole company? If the job is the problem, consider making a move within your company before you decide to leave.

Time your concerns appropriately. Use your best insight into how and when to talk to your supervisor based on her temperament.

If you don’t tell your supervisor, she can’t fix it. Who knows what’s feasible—a different job description, team, department, schedule? You may just be surprised at how enriched your experience can be once the key issues are addressed.

Don’t jump ship in frustration if you’re likely to run into the same problems with your next employer. It’s easier to tackle frustrations in a familiar environment at your current employer than at a new company, where you’ll be under pressure to learn the ropes and quickly produce results.

Indeed, your supervisor may not be able to fix your issues even if she knows what they are. But unless you give her a chance, you’ll never know. If you can’t work it out, don’t get hung up on whose “fault” it is.

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  1. How to Improve Your Career Prospects During the COVID-19 Crisis
  2. How to … Know When it’s Time to Quit Your Job
  3. The Great Resignation, The Great Awakening
  4. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This
  5. Don’t Use Personality Assessments to Sort the Talented from the Less Talented

Why You Should Interview For a Job Even if You Don’t Want It

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When you’re uncertain about a position or the company that’s invited you, attend the interview anyway. Do your best. At the very least, it’s an excellent opportunity to practice your interviewing skills.

It’s good to endure the uneasiness—or panic—leading up to interviews. The more interview styles and settings, and the variety of interviewer personalities you’re exposed to, the more prepared you’ll be when you land that dream job interview. Presenting your best self in an interview is a rehearsed performance.

Better yet, any interview could open doors. You may discover details of a position, team, or company that you may end up liking. Job descriptions tend to be nondescript, and you don’t get a real sense of a role or a company until you’ve had a face-to-face or telephone conversation. Too, if you make a positive impression, the interviewer may refer you to another job opening that’s a better fit.

If the interview is definitely not what you were going for or if you have an attractive job offer lined up already, don’t waste your time—and the interviewer’s time.

Idea for Impact: Every interview could be worth your time, even if you don’t want the job.

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  4. Before Jumping Ship, Consider This
  5. Don’t Use Personality Assessments to Sort the Talented from the Less Talented