Career Management is Online Brand Management

Star headhunter and author of Work It! How to Get Ahead, Save Your Ass and Land a Job in Any Economy! Allison Hemming recently walked Relationship Masters Academy members through the steps to make their brand scream "hire me!" Chief among her advice was to pay attention to what you communicate through social media. Here's her top six rules to avoid a bad social media hangover.

1. Online Reputation Management is your responsibility, so learn the rules.
2. Nab your handles and domains, ideally with your real name for transparency, professionalism, and clarity.
3. Decide which social network you will use for friends and which you will use for professional purposes, and stick to it.
4. Think before you tweet or status update: If your client, CEO, or potential HR rep would be mortified, dial it back.
5. Most companies do background checks and delve deep into social networks to dig up dirt. Set your privacy rules accordingly.
6. If you feel like you need an outlet, use a handle other than the name you use for professional purposes.

Source: Keith Ferrazzi - Founder Relationship Academy

Habits of Execution vs. the Illusion of Being Busy

Category: Time Management, Productivity, Getting Results

It’s all about habits…

Habits of execution vs. the illusion of being busy

Are you in the “habit” of getting things done….getting the right things done at the right time? One of the marks of an effective professional is the ability to get things done.

At the end of last year, USA Today surveyed several freshman senators and house members to find out what piece of advice they would give incoming colleagues.  Interestingly, over half of those whose advice was recorded in the article addressed the issue of time management, scheduling, etc.

In working with time management, here are two important words to consider – efficient and effective.  In fact…

1. You can be efficient and not necessarily be effective.

2. Effective is getting the right things done at the right time.  For example, you can get a lot done in a week and still have critical activity fall through the cracks.

3. Being effective means one has to take the time to PLAN and determine what’s most important what’s critical or ABSOLUTE.

The conclusion?...they are equally important. So, BE KNOWN as someone who gets things done and how do you do that?...by creating the needed habits.

So ask yourself, what new habits do I want to create to manage my time and life better?

Also, recognize that a habit takes at least 21-30 days to create. That’s the shortest period only if you are consistent in the attempt.  It will take longer if you are not consistent.

Remember, a true habit is one in which the behavior is done automatically without even having to think about it.

Habit – Your Constant Companion

“I am your constant companion; I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.  I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.  I’m completely at your command. 

Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.  I am easily managed.  You must merely be firm with me. 

Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great men and alas of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great.  Those of you who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine although I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a man.  You may run me for profit or run me for ruin.  It makes no difference to me.  Take me, train me, be firm with me and I’ll put the world at your feet.  Be easy with me and I will destroy you.  Who am I?  I am HABIT!”

How Effective Are You?

Category: Personal Productivity, Time Management, Success Tip

In the realm of time management, the word effective is used quite often.  In fact, there is usually a comparison made between effective vs. efficient and of course, both are needed for professional success.

As a reminder, a common definition of effective is doing the right things at the right time to get the best results. However, in this post, I’d like to expand our thinking around the concept of being effective.

I believe increasing our “effectiveness” is more important than ever in creating and maintaining value to our organizations. It’s a must have and do career strategy.

An Expanded View
Consider effectiveness to not only be getting the right things done at the right time, but additionally identifying and  addressing needs, identifying potential solutions, and getting high-impact results.  In essence, effectiveness is beyond just executing tasks.

If this expanded view of being effective is to be realized, then what’s needed in order for this new version to occur?
Consider the following:
1.    Broader knowledge of the players involved in key situations, their roles, their strengths and weaknesses.
2.    A clear understanding of the core needs of the company.
3.    Identification and laser focus on the core needs of internal and external customers and how your role (and that of your team or department) addresses and impacts those core needs.
4.    How does the specifics of your job description contribute to the above.

Compiling the information to the above will craft a bigger picture from which to work to develop and increase your effectiveness. In fact, you may need to volunteer to tweak your job description.  There are a lot of job descriptions out there that are not “value based” job descriptions (meaning they are more about being busy than get high-impact results).

From this big picture access how you go about your work week, what you do with your time and how the tangible results of the day impact this big picture.  If you’re a manager, do the same with your team.

Then ask yourself this question, “Am I getting things done or am I getting things done that also impact the bigger picture.”   Getting things done that impact the greater picture are high impact results.

The irony of productivity is we can go a full work week, get things done and yet have little to no activity that significantly address the big picture.

Coaching Tip: Plan and work with the big picture in mind. Make sure to track and language your performance with this in mind. This is a beneficial strategy in performance reviews.  You can communicate and show how you’ve demonstrated results with more value.

Career Management Bonus Tip: This is also a great strategy for how to communicate your experience in a job interview.

Special Announcement - New Book Release - The 1% Edge

The 1% Edge - Power Strategies to Increase Your Management Effectiveness
Authored by JoAnn R. Corley

Buy here: https://www.createspace.com/3467099

In the years that I've conducted seminars across the country, I've come to this conclusion: relevant knowledge can come in small packages. It could be one quote, one principle that when applied can gain significant results.

I once coached a derailing executive where it was determined that the most essential action to turning around his performance was taking the time to plan.

You mean it was something as simple as applying one principle - taking the time to plan was the initial targeting solution? Believe it or not - yes! The simple act of planning his week and in that mapping in his schedule the most critical, non-negotiable actions got immediate, necessary results. In fact, within a few weeks, his direct report saw a complete turn around in his performance.

Awh....there's the formula - one simple principle applied generated a significant, meaningful, intended result.

There in lies the premise of this book. I've taken many of my "small package" simple tips, principles, and how-tos and laid them out in a compact book format for your consideration. This is targeted learning for busy people. Targeted learning is getting at the meat or essence of something quickly...so it can be used just as quickly.

Also this book is compact enough you can carry it with you. Consider this your portable coach!

The tips are broken up into categories; areas that you may want to target for development. Each is what I consider a "high-impact" area. High-impact means if there is growth in that area, there will be a greater measure of satisfying results.

This book is also designed for self-coaching. There is space on each page for notes, a draft action plan, and a names of those with whom you'll want to share the information. When you share information with others, it's reinforced within yourself.

The mantra of this book? Learn, plan, act, and pass it on.

If you'd like to participate in an ongoing dialogue for how to get and maintain your 1% for your management and/or career success go to the 1% blog: www.the1percentedge.com

Or join the newly forming community on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/JoAnn-Corley-The-1-Edge/121451387909734

A Great Question For You

Can You Believe It's the End of the Year?
December 2009 E-coach - thought-filled challenges to stir and inspire for your professional success.

Working Wisdom
Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.” -Margaret Thatcher

Coaching Moment
Coaching Question – What is it that you really want?

The Power of Wanting
When you contemplate this question consider it carefully.
The question is not…
what should I want
what do I sort of want
what an I suppose to want
but…
what do I REALLY want

Wanting is a powerful resource. Wanting is motivating, authentic; you don’t need help with it. It’s present and undeniable.

Ask this of yourself in all the contexts of your life that really matter and take the time to listen to yourself with no judgment. Give yourself permission to be brutally honest. Give yourself a moment for clear, resounding perfect truth. Make sure to capture it on paper.

The next question…what will you do with it? We’ll address that in 2010.

For now do this with yourself….use this with your team, giving it a context that you feel would be useful to your unique company / team situation. Allow answers with no judgment and see what surfaces.

Remember the power of wanting can address many personal and professional challenges.

How will you use yours and others?

Year–End Round Up
The end of the year typically lends itself to focused reflection and planning for the upcoming year. If this is not a personal practice, I highly encourage you to do so.

3 Recommendations…that can be used personally and professionally:

1. Professional Assessment - on a professional level I recommend you use as assessment resource I recently posted on my blog.
Assessment Tool - It re-frames the phrase strengths and weakness as assets and liabilities.

2. Ask yourself - What did I learn this year? Ask this of each team member...

3. Did I get – reach the outcomes I wanted – why and why not?

Many of us learn from, books, tapes, seminars etc. Don't miss the opportunity to learn from life and teach the people you lead and love to do so the same.

Final Thoughts....
It's been quite a year for me personally and professionally with many highs and lows. I am very grateful for my life, the wonderful experiences I've had, and the great people I've met along the way.

For those of you who have subscribed for quite a while, thank you. For those of you who are new, welcome!

My commitment?...to continue to pass on valuable information to enhance your personal and professional life; to contribute to your success however you define it. I count it a privilege to have been a part of your life.

Look for some exciting initiatives I'll be rolling out in 2010.

New Projects You Might Find of Interest
Tweet My Quote - I love quotes - here's a place to share yours - and where you can get "coached" with a quote
Bite-size Podcasting - Seminar in a Bite
My main site: www.joanncorley.com

To your happiness and success and to a great 2010!
JoAnn
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Speaking & Training
Looking for a speaker in 2010 or bringing training to your company? I've recently added one of the most in demand topics Emotional Intelligence to my Topics Portfolio.

One attendee remarked, "Every person in every company should go through this."?

Another, "If I'd only known this stuff when I was younger, it would have made such a difference."

Career & Performance Coaching
Contemplating a job or career change? Consider coaching - click here to learn more
Need advice? Use the Work Life 911 page of my site

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The Key To Professional Success - Be People Wise

This blog is underwritten by Management-in-Minutes, a portable learning resource for the busy professional that uses "laser learning" to accelerate building a knowledge base. The lessons are short (usually 2-4 minutes) and on each lesson page there is an audio clip with it's text version and an mp3 download link for portability.

Every so often a lesson will be posted in this blog for you to sample. This lesson is in the Sample Library, which you can access here: Sample Lessons

The Lesson: How People Operate
Would you like one of the best professional success tips? A key to success that will transcend any generation? Learn how and why people operate the way they do. The easiest way to lay a foundation for that knowledge is through the use of personality or temperament profiles....read on.

 

How People Operate

Audio Lesson –  Duration: 3 mins. 20 secs.

1. Double click arrow to LISTEN NOW! 

2.  Read along with the transcript below or print and read for later.

3.  Right click the MP3 FILE link MP3 to download and "save as"

     to your hard drive for continuous listening or to transfer to your mobile device.

4.  For additional lessons use the Search Box (top left) or the Download Library (top right).

 

---

 

 Transcript 

How People Operate

WC: 408

Read time: 1-2 mins.

 

I remember when I got a new car several years ago and it had many new gadgets and functions I was not familiar with. For the first time in my adult life, I actually pulled out an owner’s manual for a car. I needed to learn how to operate every aspect of this vehicle to experience its full potential.

 

You know that really is the same when it comes to managers and their teams. I wish that when someone was promoted to management, they received a book entitled – How People Operate 101. Because in reality, that’s what managers are doing - operating people in the context of a process to obtain an outcome that results in profit for a company.

 

Yet, the majority of newly promoted managers receive little to no training and are thrown out to fin for themselves…(kinda like those parents who want to teach their kids how to swim and just throw them in the water and say, “Now…swim!”)

 

Knowing how people operate: what makes them tick, how they are wired, what motivates them, what skills they possess and how to engage them is essential to the effectiveness of a manager. That effectiveness directly impacts the bottom line of a company and this is where there seems to be what I call – THE BIG DISCONNECT….the very thing that impacts the profits of a company is the very thing companies spend very little time and money investing in.

 

So for those of you managers, who already feeling the pain of resulting from a lack of knowledge in this area, here’s what I recommend. Step 1 in how people operate 101 is to use a temperament or personality profile. There are great tools on the market that are easy to use.   Theses profiles provide a very useful framework to understanding people in the ways I listed above.

 

Here are some recommended resources:

Dr. Keirsey – book: Please Understand Me

The DISC Profile

Tony Alessandra - book: People Smart

Both books can be obtained at Barnes & Noble, Amazon…etc.

 

I believe having a working intimated knowledge of a personality profile is essential to a manager’s knowledge base.

 

You know many people talk about diversity training in our work cultures. I believe that in that context the single most important diversity issue today is not necessarily race or ethnicity…it is personality differences, of which employees get the least amount of training. Managers, let’s start with you!

  

 

 

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Google Success - A Reflection of Authentic Leadership

This article continues to affirm the reason I'm in the work that I am of management and leadership development...specializing in the "human side of enterprise." As I read through the article it's clear that what has made Google successful are the qualities and behaviors of it's founders....passion, focus, vision, and the way they treat those in their organization. These are qualities of the heart, mind and spirit. These qualities are not calculated on a balance sheet, but greatly effect one.

The bottom line? A successful business enterprise must have authentic leadership and is about behavior, human potential, motivation, values, judgement combined with a product or service that adequately meets the needs of their customers.

This article is a must read for those who are serious about their professional success! You can read the entire article here: Google Article