talentliberator

Hope is not a strategy

November 8, 2014 By // by DigitalJenIPC

The world of work is changing fast. Are you ready for it?

Here are 6 trends from a digest of a MPF trends seminar I attended recently by Rohit Talwar of Fast Future. @fastfuture

• Old style businesses could become extinct: There is a big ‘clash’ between the old and new worlds. This is magnified for traditional businesses and where technology is changing fast/creating disruption

• Change and uncertainty is certain: Accelerated speed of change with uncertainty the new ‘normal’

• Quality thinking a must: To succeed, firms and businesses need to create time and a structure for thinking

• Danger of stress inhibiting clarity of thought: Stress of downturn pressures has created fatigue – can affect clarity of thought/decision making when quality thinking is becoming more vital

• Plans with 3 timeframes: Three different timeframes need to be considered for businesses to stay ahead; longer term ‘radar’ (4-10 years), medium term vision (3 years), short term – clear goals for 12 months

• Diverse minds needed in tandem: Different individuals and mind/skill sets are needed to be responsible for these 3 different timeframes and issues

How will these trends affect you?

What’s your first step to reflect on this?

To follow Fast Future on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/fastfuture

For more insights and tips to help you liberate ALL of your talent, follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/talentliberator

How are you creating some sunshine in August?

August 11, 2014 By // by DigitalJenIPC

August is a great time to catch up with yourself!

Stephen Covey who wrote the classic book ‘The 7 habits of highly effective people’ talks about the importance of blocking out time in your diary for ‘important not urgent’ tasks.

He defines important not urgent tasks as:

• Preparation
• Prevention
• Planning
• Relationship building
• Empowerment
• Self-awareness, learning, exploration & development
• Learning new skills
• Creative thinking
• Networking
• Prioritisation
• Training & development
• Exercise

People are naturally better at some of these and less so at others.

What are your goals for each of these areas? Do you block out time in your diary for these things? Most people don’t. They spend most of their time reacting, fire fighting and chasing their tail!

Why not choose August to create some new habits?

Ask yourself these questions and score yourself out of 100% for these key effective habits:

1. How good am I at managing time well and prioritising tasks for maximum results?
2. How good am I at marketing myself in a relevant, consistent and targeted way?
3. How good am I creating better systems, healthy habits and behaviours?
4. How good am I at developing my skills/knowledge to stay one step ahead?
5. How good am I at reflecting, planning, refocusing and follow up?
6. How good am I at setting compelling goals with plans to achieve them?
7. How good am I at creating and building key relationships to help me grow personally and professionally?

If your total core is less than 400, coaching would be very beneficial indeed to protect your current work position and ensure you are planning your future with more competition. If your score is 400-650, coaching would help you to achieve excellent results faster than you can do alone.

The world of work is changing REALLY fast at the moment and there is less time to do these things but they are becoming more important to create a secure long term future for yourself.

Important not urgent things to do in August:

5 tasks I am focusing on this month are:

• Catching up on sleep and de-weeding the allotment
• Reducing the paper mountain that has built up over a few months of writing and doing events
• Identifying and removing the cause of annoying ‘niggles’
• Reviewing my technology
• Mapping key systems and processes to streamline them

Here are 6 more ideas for creating some sunshine in August:

1. Reflect on your achievements and learnings from the last 3 months
2. Review your career strategy
3. Tag your LinkedIn connections
4. Update your CV
5. Follow more followers on Twitter
6. Research networking and training events for the Autumn

Review our client testimonials:
http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/energise-client-testimonials/

View our LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent

Get in touch if you are ready to explore coaching with us. Thanks!

18 reasons why people stay doing a job they hate

March 15, 2014 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Spring is a time of growth and new shoots. It can also be a great time to change your work, but many don’t.

Here are 18 reasons why people stay put doing a job they hate:

1. Inertia
2. Fear of change
3. Like staying in comfort zone
4. It is easier NOT to make a decision
5. Lack time
6. Laziness
7. Want to get redundancy pay off
8. Financial commitments e.g. large mortgage
9. Dependents e.g. children going through University
10. Anxious about career change
11. Planning to have a child and want to take maternity leave
12. Worried about losing employment law rights if they move companies
13. Don’t know what else they want to do
14. Lack time to think/plan
15. Not sure what their transferable skills are and what they would be useful for
16. Find it hard to get a job elsewhere – common for over 50’s
17. Want to build pension for retirement
18. Self-employment feels too scary

What would you add?

For more insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/talentliberator

If no 15 resonated with you, why not download our free PDF to identify what your transferable skills are? Click on this link: http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/

What are the legal implications of job change? Part 2.

September 14, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

This is a guest blog – part 2 of 2 by Michael Scutt who is an employment lawyer. It explores garden leave, restrictive covenants and bonuses.

Garden leave
Another option open to employers is to place the departing employee on garden leave. This means that the employee remains just that, an employee for the duration of the notice period. The only difference is that they remain at home and will not be doing any work. Whilst on garden leave, the employee is entitled to continue to receive all salary and benefits but they must not compete against the employer or work for anyone else. A garden leave clause can be a most effective way of keeping an employee out of the job market and is likely to be more enforceable than a restrictive covenant.

Restrictive covenants
Restrictive covenants come in various forms. Basically it is a type of clause that seeks to prevent the departing employee from undermining the business after they have left. Common restrictive covenants include non-solicitation of clients or prospective customers, non-poaching of colleagues and non-competition clauses. They can be for varying periods of time, such as one, three or six months, but the longer the duration, the more unlikely it is that clause would be enforceable, particularly with a non-compete clause which seeks to prevent an employee from working in the same business. This is a very complex area and close scrutiny needs to be given to such clauses if you are the employee seeking to leave. Traditionally the courts have been reluctant to enforce restrictive covenants and will only do so if they protect a legitimate business interest of the employer. In other words, a non-compete or non-solicitation clause against a senior salesman is likely to be more enforceable than against a receptionist or back office administrator with no client contact.

Discretionary bonus
Don’t forget about any bonus that may be due. Many contracts of employment will contain a provision that the employee is paid an (often discretionary) bonus provided they remain in employment or are not under notice at the time the payment is made. Consequently, before handing in your notice you need to check to make sure that you will not be forfeiting that bonus if you leave at that time. In some cases it may be possible to negotiate for your new employer to pay you the bonus you are otherwise forfeiting in joining them, but that is a rare situation.

Finally, in some employment contracts you will find a provision that states you will bring the existence of restrictive covenants in it to the attention of your new employer. If there is subsequently a dispute and you fail to notify the new employer of the relevant clauses in the contract, it could lead to you being sued by the old employer, who will probably also take action against your new employer.

In summary then, when considering changing jobs it is worth checking your existing contract of employment and, if necessary, take advice from an employment lawyer. At the same time you could also take advice on the terms of the new contract you are being asked to enter into so that you are forewarned for any future issues that may arise when you finally move on from that employment.

Second careers for lawyers

June 16, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

We help many different professionals and executives to change career, and especially we work with a lot of lawyers. Can you imagine a job where you have to account for every minute of your time? Stressful!

In her book. ‘The Shift – the future of work is already here’, Lynda Gratton writes that is important to have deep mastery of a sector and we have written 2 books and over 18 articles in the legal profession.

Lawyers are bright, challenging, independent critical thinkers and keep us on our toes! Their profession is going through huge challenge and change – it is becoming a market.

Lawyers’ training and job mean that they can find career change hard and are risk averse by nature, so change is especially daunting.

Here is a list of 19 reasons why lawyers can find career change hard:

1. Conformist by nature;
2. Trained to follow precedent, not go the opposite way;
3. Risk averse in character;
4. Parental pride in offspring being a lawyer;
5. Fear of people thinking failed in second career;
6. Avoidance of showing weakness;
7. Difficulty of letting go of perceived status ‘”Oh, you are a lawyer!”;
8. Linear thinking does not help to identify new career options/jobs;
9. Picking holes/reductive thinking & identifying counter arguments is likely to magnify the possible barriers to change out of proportion; and
10. Leaving clear career milestones of legal profession for no milestones can feel like stepping off into a void;
11. Anxiety – worry that you will make a mistake/make the wrong decision;
12. Deep specialism of law makes it feel like you have more to lose by giving it up;
13. High cost of training to be a lawyer feels like wasted investment/money down the drain;
14. Black and white thinking – ‘no going back’ if new career doesn’t work and with so many lawyers seeking work, will never get a job again;
15. Lawyers pride themselves on knowledge and being an expert, so leaving this for no knowledge and starting at the bottom of the ladder feels very risky;
16. Trained to look for downsides, so a career change can feel dangerous;
17. Dislike of marketing yourself/negative associations with self-promotion;
18. Having to convince others of your expertise in a new area with little/no experience can make you feel like a ‘fraudster’; and
19. Lawyers learn by experience, and so embarking on a new career can make you feel very uncomfortable, inauthentic and exposed.

What points would you add?

Second careers for lawyers are important. There are less partner places to go around, they are used to a career with clear milestones, it is an ‘up or out’ career model, inflexible for working mothers and it is a profession where success is very much public, published tables in Chambers and Legal 500.

As a career expert and someone with in-depth knowledge of the legal profession, we are in a great position to help lawyers find a second career that suits them. We were the career coach to the managing partner of Clifford Chance, now on their second career after law. Another client is now lecturing, another is a company secretary.

Next week – 14 reasons why lawyers are well equipped to make a career change a success.

Our web site for the legal profession is www.energiselegal.com

To follow us on Twitter:

Legal profession:

https://twitter.com/EnergiseLegal

Careers:

https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Are you a silly sausage?

November 24, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I had a bit of a panic this week.

You know those times when you have a fast worried inner rant with yourself?

I had gone to an excellent talk about career change where the presenter had shared about the process of career change and how people become stuck, going round and round in circles. Oh no, I thought to myself! No-one will actually pay for support if they know how to do it themselves and they can buy a book, download a free e book from the web or get help from a friend/relative.

There are a lot more competitors on the market now, which is the same for many people, so it is harder to create awareness. I was doubting my own uniqueness, something which I tell my clients not to do. Doh!

Yes, you silly sausage, there is lots of free stuff out there, but it cannot do what a good career coach brings to the process.

Below are general things that any career coach brings:

Time in the diary in a busy world to focus on creating change
A witness of the client’s expression of the desire to change
A step by process which helps make it happen
Sharing the blocks to progress which often clients cannot see as they are too close to their situation
Skill at listening, questioning and reflecting back key themes
Exercises to create awareness and clarity
Objectivity which someone close cannot give, because they have their own agenda and fears
Introduction to new contacts
Help marketing yourself

The presenter at the talk shared the key blocks to successful career change:

Ping ponging away from avoidance of fear and anxiety about change and making a mistake and towards the desire for something compelling and back again
Short term focus
Linear thinking
Choice overload of ideas creating overwhelm and inaction

Can you relate to these?

I felt so much better then. Rachel, you silly sausage, remember this next time you have a panic:

Courage to embrace uncertainty – how many people take 6 months out unpaid to look at market trends to ensure their business is on track, develop skill in a new area from a standing start (talent management) and read as many research reports as you do?
Long term focus – how many people buy a house with a bus stop in their 40’s thinking ahead to when they are in their 80’s and may not have a car?
Non-linear mind – how many people have your energising connecting mind, that is unique in its ability to spot insights, make connections and come up with ideas that people simply cannot see themselves? (21 in a session is my record so far)
Focus – how many people have a laser focus and tools to work through and narrow down options as much as you do?

Oh yes. Fair point. And don’t forget about your 900+ quality connections on LinkedIn and huge toolbox of tools and tips. Oh yes, Forgot about that. Panic over.

So don’t doubt yourself. You are unique. Competition is increasing but you can develop your skills to build your competitive advantage and make your career change happen successfully, even in a downturn.

For more useful tips, follow us on Twitter @talentliberator

What’s your personal brand?

October 28, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

It is important to have a niche to build your personal brand, but how do you know what niche to choose so that it motivates you and there is enough of a market for you to get your teeth into? Many people worry about narrowing down what they offer, fearful that they will limit themselves or say no to opportunities and regret it. Trying to appeal to everybody means that you end up appealing to nobody.

The internet means that the whole world is your potential market, so having too broad an offer of services or target customers can mean that you waste time and marketing budgets and achieve little, and do not build your personal brand.

Here are 10 questions for you to think about your personal brand:

What words do people who know you well use to describe you?
What are you really good at that you take for granted?
What kind of problems do you really enjoy solving?
What specific group of people do you feel most passionately about helping?
What challenge have you personally overcome that you can now help others with?
What type of project, if you could only choose one, would you love to tackle?
What would be your dream role and why?
Imagine getting to the end of your life and looking back. What would you like to be remembered for?
What themes consistently come up in performance appraisals/client testimonials about you?
What 2 words best sum up the gift you give to others?

What questions would you add to help to help build your personal brand?

Everything is changing fast, so plan time at least every three months to review and update your personal brand.

To follow our tweets on Twitter, follow us: talentliberator https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Success at work?

October 13, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I had a lovely e mail from a client this week who had left their job because they couldn’t stand it anymore, and were loving their new role, working 3 days a week in a culture conducive to their values and feeling they were making a difference and living life ‘on purpose’. To quote their words:

“I earn less than I did in my first job out of university but at the moment all the other things more than compensate.”

Their e mail made me think. What is this obsession we have with a bigger, better job title, house, car etc. when often, from the work I do with people, I see that it makes them miserable, endure lots of stress, have no time to see their kids, and exist in environments that do not fit their values?

It reminded me of a brilliant book I read a while back, ‘Enough’ by John Naish – really recommend it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Enough-Breaking-free-world-more/dp/0340935901

In a week of news about rising fuel costs and food prices, in a world where people choose to bet on food prices, from which they could get rich but cause people in poor countries to starve, it got me thinking about success.

The dictionary definition of success is: ‘The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.’

What does success at work mean to you?

Getting to Board level – the ‘C’ suite
Work that honours your values
Flexible working
Minimising stress and politics
A role that plays to your strengths
Freedom & autonomy
Winning an award
Being able to be yourself at work
A culture/company that matches your values
Being acknowledged for your unique contribution at work
Having a job in the downturn

What does ‘success at work’ mean to you and are you getting it?

If not, what are you going to do about it?