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A Leadership Development and Life Coach Blog by Barry Zweibel, MBA, MCC, GottaGettaCoach!, Inc.

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Category: Acronyms

2010q3 GGCI Newsletter

The 2010q3 edition of the GottaGettaCoach! newsletter is now on-line at: http://www.ggci.com/newsletter/GGCI-2010q3.pdf.

  • The Botany of Self-Doubt • Topic: Fear and Courageousness •  Subject: What to do when self-doubt strikes and how to manage it more effectively.
  • The ABCs of Good Employees…& Bad Bosses • Topic: Leadership Development •  Subject: Why “A-players hire A-players; B-players hire C-players” is misguided, at best, and downright inflammatory, at worst.
  • What Job Would Make You Happy? • Topic: Career Development •  Subject: Time for a change? Try this visualization exercise to figure out where you should go next with your career.
  • A Noun Called ‘Happiness’ • Topic: Personal Fulfillment •  Subject: A simple way to ‘tune in’ to more happiness.
  • On Being Fully Present • Topic: Personal Development •  Subject: A quick set of five tweets about the concept of being Fully Present.
  • It’s “Nuts” Trying to Get Your Unmet Needs Met at Work • Topic: Personal/Professional Development •  Subject: It really is. So here’s how to get those unmet needs met elsewhere.
  • LeadershipHaiku • Topic: Leadership Development • Subject: More // Leadership coaching / in seventeen syllables / for busy bosses. //
  • Clean Hands Clear Conscience • Topic: Personal/Professional Development •  Subject: Researchers report some interesting new findings about the benefits of washing one’s hands.

As always, questions, comments – and suggestions – are welcomed.

Enjoy~ – bz

P.S. If you’re interested in learning how coaching might help you or your staff, phone (847-291-9735) or email (info@ggci.com) to schedule an exploratory phone conversation.

P. P.S.  The GGCI Newsletter Archives are at: www.ggci.com/newsletter.

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Related posts:

  1. 2010q2 GGCI Newsletter
  2. 2010q1 GGCI Newsletter
  3. The ABCs of Good Employees … and Bad Bosses
  4. LeadershipHaiku
So what do YOU think? by Barry Zweibel on July 20, 2010
filed in Acronyms, Coaching, GottaGettaCoach!, Job-Search, Just for Fun, Leadership Development, Life, Networking, Oddly Curious, Success at Work, Twitter

The R.I.G.H.T. Job for You?

In its July 1, 2010 newsletter, TheLadders published my latest article, titled, 3 Steps to Rate Every Job Offer …

It’s a good news/bad news dilemma: Yes, they’ve finally given you that job offer you were hoping for; but, no, you’re really not sure if you should take it. Parts of the offer seem excellent, but not everything – definitely not everything.

Deciding whether to walk away from a bona fide job offer, though, is something that requires serious consideration and meaningful analysis. Fortunately, the “R.I.G.H.T. Job” assessment can help with that.

Use the chart below to capture your sentiments about the five key elements of the job offer: Responsibilities, Income, Growth, Happiness and Team:

Step 1 – Record

As you see, the basis of this assessment is that any job that’s R.I.G.H.T. for you will grade well across the five key elements identified above. Use the following questions as prompts, list your impressions, pro and con, in the boxes provided. Reflect on and record any other realizations you may have about each aspect of your assessment:

  • Responsibilities: How do the responsibilities match your skills and interests? Does the position offer sufficient span of control to manage those responsibilities effectively? What factors might expand or contract those responsibilities over time?
  • Income: How satisfied are you with the overall compensation package? Does it meet your needs? Exceed them? What, if anything, is missing?
  • Growth: What is the organization’s commitment to your ongoing growth and development? What opportunities are likely for you in this regard? How soon before you “max out” learning-wise?
  • Happiness: How happy do you see yourself in this job? Is the work sufficiently meaningful to you? Do you feel it’s a fitting end to your job search?
  • Team: What were your impressions of the people with whom you’d be working up, down and across the organization? How influential do you envision yourself to be with them? What did you notice about the company culture?

The next step in the “R.I.G.H.T. Job” assessment is to take a break! Yes, step away from your thoughts and go do something outside for a while. Do whatever you do to clear your mind and relax your psyche so you can just “be” for while.

Find out how to score your assessment by reading the rest of the article, via the link above or at: http://www.ggci.com/Articles/TheLadders-2010-07-01.htm!

And for other articles I’ve written for TheLadders: http://theladders.com/career-search?contentSearchKeyword=zweibel&fromSearch=true.


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Related posts:

  1. Four Ways to Manage Conflict
  2. What Job Would Make You Happy?
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  4. Job Search Resources
So what do YOU think? by Barry Zweibel on July 6, 2010
filed in Acronyms, Coaching, GottaGettaCoach!, Information Technology, Job-Search

The Botany of Self-Doubt


Doubt. Self-doubt, that is. Feelings of uncertainty — sometimes focused and gripping; sometimes vague and disquieting. But amazingly able to distract, concern, and undermine one’s confidence, morale, and excellence. At a moment’s notice. What is it about self-doubt that make us so … self-doubting?
  • D as in DANGER – Simply enough, self-doubt engenders feels of impending doom. Not always, but often surely often enough. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of shame.  Fear of … fear, mon cherie.
  • O as in  OVER-MATCHED – All of this “Fear of” is one heavy-duty opponent. So no surprise that when self-doubt sets in, it can make us feel very small, UN-resourceful, UN-capable.
  • U as in UBIQUITOUS – Not unlike computer spyware, when self-doubt pops up … it POPS UP!! And very quickly, it’s soon everywhere you DON’T want it to be.
  • B as in BREAKABLE – Of course the worry beneath all of our self-doubt fears is the frightening possibility that we’re not be nearly as resilient as we think we were — as we hope we were — that, as we’ve always suspected, we’re fatally flawed and we’re about to become undone. Sure, we’ve avoided numerous “close calls” in the past, but is this time THE time? Is this straw about to break the camel’s back once and for all?
  • T as in TIMIDITY – So it’s no surprise that when self-doubt strikes we turn dramatically inward, hoping “this too shall pass” while trying to create as little notice as possible. Hardly a Recipe for Success. Even for the smartest and most capable of people, it can be bad. If not worse.

So what can we do when self-doubt strikes? Is there a way to re-frame our self-doubt in a way that let’s us better deal with it? That helps us actually manage  it more effectively?

It takes some work, but I’m thinking we can:

  • D as in DEFER – You know that “moment in time” that happens right when our self-doubt get triggered? Well, with practice, we can start recognizing that moment and using it as a springboard to stop, pause, breathe, and defer our immediate self-defeating reaction so that we can respond more self-supportingly and assuredly, thus teaching ourselves how to not get triggered (so much) in the first place.
  • O as in  OBJECTIFY- The key, here, is to de-personalize the situation. Sure it FEELS personal, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Even just considering the possibility that it’s really NOT about you is a great start. Fans of the Matrix movie trilogy might envision this as a “slowing down the bullets.”  TV sports enthusiasts fans might relate more to it being more like a  stop-action “freeze frame” replay. Regardless, the goal is to focus less on what you feel, and more about what you simply see or hear, without a premature interpretation or judgement.
  • U as in  UN-BUNDLE – “Un-bundling” is a process for considering other, less emotionally charged, explanations for what’s happening around you:
    • You know those people  asking you those challenging questions? Well maybe they’re NOT challenging you OR your competency — maybe they’re  just be trying garner some additional information about a  topic near-and-dear to them, one that they’ve got some sort of vested interest in.
    • You know that confrontational tone you’re hearing from you-know-who? Well maybe it’s NOT about you — maybe it’s  just his/her getting triggered and reacting defensively to any and all persons within shouting distance.
    • You know that  really uncomfortable new situation you’re finding yourself in? Well maybe it’s NOT about you and any of your shortcomings — maybe it’s just a legitimately unfamiliar,  new, or complex scenario that needs some figuring  out.
    • And you know that stretch assignment you’ve been given that’s making you feels so incredibly incompetent? Well maybe it’s NOT designed to expose your “fatal flaws” — maybe you were given it because you were the most qualified person to handle it … or because you just happened to be there.
  • B as in  BELIEVE – So the key to all of this is believing that the world is NOT out to get you, that all that mental baggage that you find yourself carrying around is NOT always the best filter to view things through. Freeing yourself from such encumbrances is as much about believing you can as anything else. It’s about realizing that, “You know what? If things DO go terribly wrong or off-plan, I bet I CAN figure out what to do and salvage things by just trying my best and acting responsibly.” And this Botany of Self-Assuredness, as it might be called, flows increasingly cleanly when you’ve Deferred, Objectified, and Un-Bundled beforehand. Which leads us to the whole point of this blog post:
  • T as in TRY – Trying really DOES yield better results. Not always. But often. It’s just that some times — oftentimes — in order TO try, we first have to figure out how to get past our self-doubt and out of our own way!

I hope this has helped you do precisely that.

—–
Image Source: http://www.harrybliss.com/
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Related posts:

  1. 2010q3 GGCI Newsletter
  2. 2010q2 GGCI Newsletter
  3. What Job Would Make You Happy?
  4. Post-Outage Evaluations
Read Comments by Barry Zweibel on June 30, 2010
filed in Acronyms, Coaching, Life

Framing Success with P-A-R

I’m often asked, “How can I be sure to put my best foot forward in a job interview? What’s the best way to share Success Stories?”

My answer: Frame them with P-A-R:

  • P — Start by stating a PROBLEM you’ve dealt with that is relevant to one that your prospective employer might have and/or want you to be able to address.
  • A — Next, explain the APPROACH you took to meaningfully, if not eloquently, resolve the problem.
  • R — Then share how the RESULTS you achieved not only solved the immediate problem, but enabled additional downstream benefits as well.

Information Technology Example:

“Tell me about an experience you had with handling a major system outage.”

Sure, I’d be happy to. The problem was this: All calls into our facility were being improperly rerouted by the phone company to a ‘this number is no longer in service’ recording.

Obviously, this was unacceptable. So, I took the following approach: Through a series of conversations, I was able to quickly learn the name and number of the specific person responsible for assigning technicians to fix such problems. Unfortunately, she was less than cooperative, at first, to put it mildly! But we didn’t have time to go in circles, so I said, “Look, this is a real mess so I need to know: Is it that you don’t want to help me, or you don’t know how to help me. Now, which is it?”

That turned the tide and in a very short period of time she had her top technicians working to restore our service – which they did in record time. So that was good, but the added bonus was that I now had some new key inside contacts who could be excellent resources for helping us address future outages. And you can be sure that those results have paid multiple dividends since.

Human Resources Example:

“Tell me about your experience with implementing changes to the benefits administration process for a unionized workforce.”

Sure, I’d be happy to. The problem we faced was that the benefits staff was spending a whole lot of time checking on the status of pending insurance claims for employees and not getting to other important matters.

So, I took the following approach: I researched, proposed, and got approval to install a web-based claims management system where employees could check on their claims themselves - without HR’s assistance. Of course, the biggest key to making something like that work effectively was getting union buy-in, which I was able to do by demonstrating how employees could check status from their home computers anytime, day or night. (Too, I agreed to install several shop-floor terminals for employees who didn’t have home computers.)

The results were pretty good: Not only did we save the company tens of thousand of dollars each year in the benefits management area, but we were also able to improve efficiencies in other benefits-related work - andimprove union relations, as well. We hit the trifecta on this one!

Everyone has Success Stories to share. Try sharing a few of yours in your next job interview by framing them with the P-A-R model.

See if it doesn’t make them that much more compelling and engaging stories to tell.

—–
Original Source: www.ggci.com/blog
Image Source: http://i.ehow.com

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  1. The Path of Success
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So what do YOU think? by Barry Zweibel on June 17, 2010
filed in Acronyms, Information Technology, Job-Search

The ABCs of Good Employees … and Bad Bosses

Many leaders attempt to upgrade an organization’s hiring practices by reciting their ABCs: “A-players hire A-players. B-players hire C-players.”  But my view is that this admittedly clever phraseology is misguided, at best, and downright inflammatory, at worst. Here’s why:

  1. Many A-players don’t know HOW to hire A-Players. Let’s face it, many A-players are A-players simply because their skills and talents happen to be particularly well-aligned with the key functional responsibilities of their current job. But, one’s ability to interview and select others is rarely considered one of those key functional responsibilities–it’s typically just “something else” they’re also responsible for. So when asked to actually interview applicants,  A-players often don’t know how to do it. You see, anyone who DOES know how, knows it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to learn how to accurately identify people who truly CAN bring fresh ideas, new ways, diversified perspectives, stellar capabilities, and more, just from asking a job applicant a handful of interview questions. And it’s probably fair to say that many A-players never took the time (or had ample opportunity) to learn the ins and outs of effective hiring and selection because they were so busy being … A-players! But as such, A-players often DON’T hire A-players, even if you want to think that they do.
  2. Some A-players do hire A-players, but not all jobs require A-players in them. You see many (most?) A-players want (need?) a steady stream of new challenges and opportunities to continue to learn and grow, advance, thrive, and maybe to show off a bit. But some jobs are more about one’s mastery of responsibilities than the expansion of them. So putting an A-player into a job that requires mastery, but not fast-track expansion, creates a mis-match that neither benefits the individual, nor the organization – not to mention the negative impact it can have on the person’s co-workers.
  3. It is ridiculously arrogant to categorize B-players  and C-players as being somehow “Less Than.” B-players and C-players are typically not overpaid (as so many A-players are); not as political (as so many A-players are); and not as needy (as so many A-players are). They also tend to be very nice, honest, caring, human beings who are more than willing to give you an honest day’s work, too. “Less Than?!” I don’t think so.
  4. B-players and C-players routinely do exceptional work, every day. B-players and C-players can–and do–make important, and lasting, contributions to the success of countless organizations. Ever wonder why A-players get to work on so many cool, new, high-profile, initiatives? It’s due, in large part, because the B-players and C-players are taking care of the “ongoing” part of the business so the A-players don’t have to. It’s good to remember that, actually.

I think the thing that bugs me the most about the whole A-, B-, and C-player thing, though, is how disingenuous it often is: Far too often a boss will blame B- and C-players to hide his/her own inability to: strategize; prioritize; communicate effectively; say ‘no’ to unrealistic pressures from above, when necessary; make tough decisions; share credit; take responsibility; and generally be the type of boss people WANT to work for.

Yes, it’s far easier to blame others–it’s certainly easier than looking in the mirror and seeing someone who really isn’t as much of an A-player as he or she would like to believe, eh?!

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Related posts:

  1. 2010q3 GGCI Newsletter
  2. LeadershipHaiku
  3. Post-Outage Evaluations
  4. Building Resilience Between Jobs
Read Comments by Barry Zweibel on April 29, 2010
filed in Acronyms, Leadership Development, Success at Work
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