Working to Be a Leader

Sunday evening—or maybe it was early Monday morning—I was browsing channels on my radio (I don’t have a TV, my PC was turned off, and audio files are  too large for my Palm Centro) and stopped when to listen to a business report on the benefits of keeping a journal in a job search.  This interested me because the reporter (whose name I thought was Steve Greenberg but am not certain) mentioned that there is research to validate this statement.  Doing a quick search on the website of WCBS NEWSRADIO and a general search of the web, I couldn’t find the audio of the report or a reference to the research.  If you know of any, please let me know.  I’ll continue to search and let you know as well.

The topic was so close to my own way of processing stressful situations, that I remember the essence of what was reported.  That is, job seekers who keep a journal are in better emotional shape for the next interview than those who do not keep a journal.  There could have been a statement that the research showed those who keep a journal are more likely to land a job offer.  That would make sense but I’m not certain about that fact.

What I do know is that journal writing is a helpful tool to process emotions.  If you are able to “debrief” an interview while being  100% candid and honest  about your strengths and challenges, chances are that the next interview will be a better one.   You’ve taken the time to reflect on what you did well and what you did not so well.  Possibly, you are more honest with yourself writing in a journal than you could have been having a conversation with a significant other or a good friend.  A journal doesn’t judge or hold accountable.  That blank piece of paper you fill up is for you and feedback is what you, not a journal, generates.

Journal writing is a tool that can aid in recording sentences that you can practice for your next interview at the same company (think positive) or for a first interview at another company.  Jotting down small talk or ice breakers (”What a great day” or “Snowing again! When is this going to stop?  Do you know it snowed in Dallas?”) or key phrases you want to include in a conversation (”I’m a multi-tasker” or “Focus is a key to productivity”) can reinforce what you want to practice when meeting someone new in their office—or when networking at a professional meeting.

What would be helpful as well is to write out what the interviewer asked you specifically and how they asked the questions.  That is, was their wording “canned” or did it seem targeted to you as a potential candidate whose resume they had read thoroughly?  Were they fully present for you or did they toss questions your way while looking at their computer screen or checking their IPhone messages?  Writing about how you could interject their activities into a positive statement can be wonderful preparation for your next encounter with a distracted interviewer.  What do I mean by a positive statement?  “You’re great at multi-tasking.  That’s a great skill and one I’m certain to learn when I am working in your area/on your team/in the company to be as efficient as possible.”  That could make the interviewer blush that he was noticed multi-tasking or that she was caught checking e-mails to confirm her next interview.

Although I will continue searching for this research, I feel comfortable posting this entry on my blog because the information is solid and helpful to those looking to ace a job interview.  My own journals date back to the time I was a junior at the University of California at Berkeley about— well, a long time ago.  Through the years, okay decades, I’ve taught journal writing to students in adult education courses and to individuals.  To this day, I still go to my journal to write about a coaching or consulting client, letting my creativity flow so that I can come up with new ideas to reduce their obstacles blocking optimum performance or break down challenges executives are facing with behavior in the organization.  If you’re interested in learning how to make the most of your journal writing during a job search or preparing to pitch a client, contact me at leigh@ltr-nyc.com  for a free half-hour consultation.

Miss me?  My last post was on December 10, 2009, around the time when I began working on another level playing field special report.  Almost finalized, it will be availabe  at the Leadership Training Room website in early February.

The report contains almost 11,000 words that I’ve crafted into a letter and six essays about the impact of the Great Recession on lives, my own included.  Great Recession (two words, 15 characters with the space) is  better to use in a 20-page report than writing out the worst economy since the Great Depression (six words and 40 characters with spaces). 

The level playing field special reports I write are based on workplace behavior and the impact of external factors on an individual’s performance.  My reports are positioned to inform, educate, and enlighten readers on topics that resonant with them and can help further their careers.  The youngest of nine children, my older siblings loved to tell me, “Children are to be seen and not heard.”  Well, I’m being heard now on an international stage like this blog and enjoying writing to be heard by you and others.

What I’ve also been doing since I last posted a blog entry is volunteering the area of human resources for organizations.  The work has included collaborating with other volunteers in the process to fill a position:  developing an accurate position description, reviewing and evaluating resumes, identifying the first and second tier candidates to be called in for interviews, and interviewing a series of professionals to filter out the one we feel has the credentials and the ‘good fit’ demeanor to be hired.

Although I’ve hired people previously, the hiring process during the Great Recession has been different.  It’s different because I’m sensing desperation by how words are strung together.  Very determined to get a job since being laid off or fearing being laid off, the tone of a candidate’s writing often gives off a feel of, “It’s all about me and you should hire me because I am so great and I really need this job!”

How do I know that?  Well, in one very long cover letter, the writer composed 12 sentences and they all focused on her.  “I am…”   “I have…”  “I worked…” “I look forward…” was what I read and thought, “What about how her skills, knowledge, and experiences apply to and can benefit our organization?”

Hers was not the only cover written that way.  Many came in with a form cover letter with obviously only the inner address and salutation changed—which is not good form from my perspective.  What I wanted to read in their sentences was that the prospective candidate had done their research:  been to our website, searched periodicals online that could provide them more background, and then could translate this information into words that created a relationship between our needs and their backgrounds.

Resumes, also, left a lot to be desired.   Proof and proof again.  Use the “Grammar Check” in Word.  Punctuate consistently in descriptions and bullets.  Be accurate with the tense:  all past or all present tense.  Etc., etc., etc.

Finally, if you want to be heard and be seriously considered to be hired for a position, use the appropriate wording to describe what you do.  We, charged with hiring an employee, need to trust that an individual expressing an interest in being a candidate and possibly ‘the one’  hired, has documented authentically what she has done and is capable of doing from the first day on the job.

Whether you are in the process of developing a cover letter or resume—or an 11,000 word paper—write so that you are heard.   Now, it’s time for me to go resume finalizing my next level playing field special report.

A leader’s position carries with it responsibility to inspire followers and use power wisely.  It also includes teaching others to jump barriers and give up their silo thinking in order to explore new possibilities.

A few years ago when I was at a friend’s apartment, I noticed that her dog, a big German Shepard that stood maybe 24” high, was confined to the living room by a piece of wood placed at each doorway.  The barrier was only 18” inches high – a height the dog could have walked or jumped over with ease.

I knew this because my dog Emelie, a mix of Border collie and Samoyed raised exploring beaches and mountain paths, easily jumped the piece of wood.  In fact, she roamed all over the house, jumping or knocking down the barrier if it got in her way.  The other dog, who only got out to a small yard three times a day, looked at Emelie, whined, and after a couple of times testing her freedom and being disciplined for doing so, was too afraid to venture forth into risking another jump.

An executive coaching client recently commented to me that she values my creative input because her staff can’t see or won’t speak up about the ‘possibilities’ of a situation.  She is a ‘roamer’ but her staff uses what I call ‘silo thinking’ – confining their perspective to a narrow column of influence.   A silo is a structure used to store materials, in this picture it is grain on a farm.

Grain silos on a farm

Silo thinking in followers means that instead of looking out to the horizon, employees see the walls of the job description, the risks of speaking up, and the fear of going out of their comfort zones to explore unknown territory.  They’ll share ideas with peers but won’t speak up at meetings or with their managers.

The influence of their corporate climate, consequences of making a mistake in front of others, and their own ‘mental training’ are just some reasons for their ‘silo’ thinking.  It could be age – never being asked before for creative ideas – or conditioning over the years by being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it instead of being empowered to individualize their work.  Or the fact that people don’t want to expand for fear of the repercussions of what new activities they might be asked to participant in or that they would have to move out of their usual role to take on leadership themselves of an initiative.

My client consistently strives to inspire, model creative thinking, and provide opportunities for staff input.  She is persistent in efforts to overcome her staff’s ‘silo thinking’ and resistance to jump barriers.  However, with each subtle shift in behavior from individuals, my client gains confidence to continue her efforts to engage her staff in barrier jumping behavior.

No matter where you are in your career, it is important to be proactive, to fill a gap, to meet unmet needs.  Here’s an example of what I mean.

At the end of the spring semester, a former student called me up and shared with me her frustration over not being able to find a job in her major of human resources—or even an unpaid internship.  She started to cry and, after reassuring her she would find something, we talked about specific ways she could move forward.

That and other phone calls from students past and present inspired me to propose teaching a class during the summer to help alumni and students in their job searches.  The Chair of the Management Department at Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College considered the idea a good one and got the needed approvals.

The class went very, very well.  Everyone was engaged, open, and willing to trust each other.  They participated in mock interviews, role playing the interviewer or potential client.  They networked with each other and honed their elevator speeches.  Resumes were reviewed as were rules of etiquette in the job search process.

What I did was fill the need for a way students could actively work on their job search.  The experience was a win-win-win:  I won because my idea for a class was supported; the students won because they learned practical career skills; and the Management Department won because they met their students’ needs.

On Saturday, October 17, the Management Dept. will once again offer “Supercharge Your Job Search.”  During one day, we will cover the topics you need to start your job search and take the next step in getting a job or positioning yourself to change careers.

Baruch alumni and students can register and pay for the class by calling Linda Moore at 646-312-3625.

Here’s a couple of comments from two who attended:

—Sharing and doing exercises pushed me to realize the important of networking and maintaining relationships.

 —After a role-playing exercise, I got instant feedback from the class members and instructor on my interviewing skills.

Remember to think about ways that you can be proactive to move forward in your career search.

Working to be a leader means that you are always seeking out information to inspire and motivate yourself and enhance your performance.

For me, working to be a leader includes reading a variety of publications such as newspapers and magazine plus e-newsletters from organizations that specialize in leadership and workplace issues.

My daily source of information is The New York Times.  Although I often print out an article, I’m most likely to tear out the piece so that I can read it again, place it in a pile on my desk so I can look up the research mentioned and use it to illustrate a point in my own compositions, file it in its appropriate folder that I’ll go to when asked to give a talk on ”cultural transformations of the workplace,” or leave it in my diary so that I am reminded to forward a link to this relevant article to a client.

This week’s clips were all from The New York Times.  Reading through the list, you might find an article that catches your interest as you, too, are working to be a leader.

Monday, May 4:  “Marilyn French, Novelist and Champion of Feminism, Dies at 79:  Gaining controversial stardom in 1977 with ‘The Women’s Room.’”  Note:  French’s book was instrumental in helping women of my age cope with a major cultural transformation as we moved from housewives to career women.

Tuesday, May 5- “Waist Deep in a Big Birthday Party,” Music Review by Jon Caramanica on the front page of the Arts Section and ”Still Singing” Appreciations by Lawrence Downes on the Editorial Page.  Note:  These two articles were used to gather specific facts for my previous blog on “Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday.”

Thursday, May 7- “Facebook Status?  In Town and Wondering What to Do: Social media offer benefits no travel agent, online tourist site or guidebook can match.” “All You Need to Know to Tweet on Twitter.”  Note:  On June 5, I’ll be co-presenting a program on social media and can use information in these articles as resources for those in attendance.

Saturday, May 9 – “At 8.9%, Unemployment Still Rises, but Pace Slows:  539,000 Jobs Were Lost in April, but Some Economists Say Worst May Be Over; ‘This isn’t recovery,’ an economist warns. ‘ It’s a slowing recession.’” ”Losing Job May Be Hazardous to Health.”  Sunday, May 10 – “More Than a Numbers Game:  Does being fired hurt any less if you’re just one of many?”  Note:  I continue to receive positive responses from  those who have read LTR’s level playing field special report, ”Temping with Tycoons,” my educational and inspirational story about how I used an investment bank as the business school I could afford in the recession of the early 1990’s.  Reading about the toll our economy is taking on individual careers reaffirms my commitment to offer my report free of charge and to continue to find ways to motivate and inspire others to stay engaged and optimistic through workshops, teleseminars, and organization-sponsored presentations.

Sunday, May 10 – “Backlash: Women Bullying Women.”  Note:  A very, very interesting article on many levels.  There is a growing awareness about the different ways that women lead.  I’ll use the information in the article in future presentations of the talk I’ve given to Women M.B.A.s and other college students on “The Fractured State of Women’s Leadership:  Why That’s a Good Thing.”

Enjoy a good week of reading and working to be a leader.

Wednesday, April 22, is Administrative Professionals Day.  Previously National Secretary’s Day, it is a time set aside to recognize the work of those who have jobs as secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists, and other administrative support professionals.

Cathleen Benko, Vice Chairman and Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte, LLP, was one of the speakers during the Women on Wall Street 2007 event.   One thing I remember about her contributions to the evening’s program was that she told the audience of 98% women that she had attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School.  Benko then went on to earn a science degree from Ramapo College and later a master of business administration from Harvard Business School.

“It’s a Foot in the Door, But to Where Else?” was the headline in Eilene Zimmerman’s “Career Couch” column in The New York Times on November 2, 2008.  I saved her column because I agreed that “Administrative assistants see the big picture at a company, and thus may earn promotions.”

Obviously, having good secretarial skills worked for Benko.  And Zimmerman’s advice to her readers is on-target.  I know that for a fact because working as a secretary was an effective “bridge” in my career.

My father preached (yes, that is the correct word) that he didn’t care about the fact that I wanted to be a teacher, I needed to learn typing and shorthand.  That way, he assured me, I could always get a job.

Now, I’ve met a few women who have told me that their fathers told them not to learn how to type and take shorthand.  Once they got a job, they fathers assured them, they would be assigned a secretary to do the work for them.

My high school typing teacher was a retired Marine and such a large presence that I forget who taught me shorthand (I later used the basics to create my own way of taking notes).

My next older sister handed me my first job as a temporary secretary when I was in college.  She was sick one day and asked me to go into the office for her.  I did.  That was it.  Yet, later in my life, working as a temporary or permanent secretary helped not just pay the bills but helped in my business education.

When I was sharing the environment with those at a university, computer company, rent-a-car company, marketing firm, investment bank, etc. I was not just answering phones or typing letters.  I was observing those around me do their jobs, trying to understand how business was being conducted, and learning as much as I could about the product being sold.

The “career” bridge worked for me.  In our current economy, being an administrative assistant might be a good investment.

Last week, I launched my latest level playing field special report with you in mind.

“Temping with Tycoons:  Reinvention Lessons for the Laid off Leader” was written to share with you my experiences 20 years ago working as a temporary secretary at the Wall Street investment bank Lazard Freres.

“Why is that relevant now?” you might be asking.

The main reason is because temping was a way that I gained knowledge to reinvent myself as a leadership coach and management consultant.  Wherever you work, you can use the workplace as a training room—a place to hone your skills for when the economy gets better.

Another reason is that leadership behaviors on Wall Street haven’t changed that much in two decades.

To download a PDF of “Temping with Tycoons,” click here.

To get a preview, continue on through the Reader’s Guide:
Working to Win   These pages put the topic of reinvention into the context of the worst economy since the Great Depression.  And what you can do to survive these difficult times.

Lesson #1:  Risking the Unknown.  Get out of your comfort zone—like I did at a company whose name I couldn’t pronounce and whose business I didn’t understand.

Lesson #2:   Managing Yourself.  Set up your own rules of acceptable behavior, especially helpful if you find yourself working in a master-servant environment.

Lesson #3:  The Young and the Entitled.  Name your workplace environment after a soap opera to summarize the behaviors of difficult people.

Lesson #4:  Organizational Behavior.  To remain detached, ask yourself questions like, “Do you need a penis to run a calculator?” When the company where you are working is considered by New York Woman one of, “The 15 Worst Places to Work,” the answer could be obvious.

Lesson #5:  Talent Development.  Educate others and teach those who are willing to learn knowing that your chances are better with lower income students at a 2-year college than they are with bankers.

Lesson #6: Executive Leadership.  Remain cool when a partner places a brown paper bag containing his morning stool sample on the corner of your desk.

Lesson #7:  Return on Investment.  See the bigger picture and be grateful for what you’ve learned.  Then reinvent yourself for the new economy.

Most importantly:  share with others what you’ve learned.

Click here to view my Recession Seminars  that give you the opportunity to learn how to develop your own reinvention initiative.

A New York Minute is a very, very short period of time.  According to Wikipedia, “The term refers to the common perception that the people in New York City are hurried and impatient.”

I write about this topic to give hope and advice to those who are looking for work.  You never know what can happen in a New York, London, Detroit, or anywhere Minute—if you have patience.  (And some New Yorkers do have patience!)

One New York Minute occurred on Thursday, August 21, 2008, while I was in my office.  When I checked my e-mail, I saw that there was a message from a professor I knew who taught in the Management Department at theZicklin School of Business within Baruch College, part of the City University of New York.

His message read something like, “Respond ASAP” and below his words was a message from one of his colleagues stating the need for an Adjunct Instructor to teach an undergraduate course on “Employee Development and Training” that started the following Thursday.

Without hesitation and maybe not in this order, I replied to my colleague to say, “Thanks,” then contacted his colleague to apply for the job.

This is the subject line of an email I wrote to my business coach a few minutes later, “Name someone you know teaching at Zicklin School of Business.”  The body of my message read, “Yes, it’s me…..Just what I was missing from my career.  WOW!!  Filing out the paperwork on Tuesday, beginning next Thursday evening.”

The rest is history.  The first semester went very well and this second class is also going well.  Most evenings, I leave class saying to myself, “I love these students.”  Teaching is my passion and I have students hungry to benefit from the expertise and experiences I share with them.

“What I was missing from my career” was a platform, a place from which I could transfer the knowledge I had gained developing, teaching, and training adults on how to improve their workplace skills and leadership capabilities to those who could benefit. 

Like every “New York Minute” this one was years in the making.  While waiting for it to happen, I was patient and involved in other activities.

The professor who sent me the initial email and I met about seven years earlier when I was designing and presenting a “Train-the-Trainer” program for instructors in the Continuing and Professional Studies at Baruch.  We kept in touch, I lectured for his classes and taught a leadership module in one of his courses, he recommended me to be the moderator for a panel at Baruch’s “Women in Business” program, etc.

I told you that I was patient.  It was a ”New York Minute” in October 1989 that took me on this path.  At that time, I was temping at an investment bank with some extremely rude executives who had M.B.A.s   I turned the anger I felt into the decision that one day I wanted to train leaders on how to be more effective and respectful.

My company Leadership Training Room evolved out of that New York Minute.  And so did being an Adjunct Instructor at the Zicklin School of Business, the nation’s most diverse campus.

Be open and ready for your own New York Minute.  And keep staying engaged in what you truly care about so that you can savor that time.

“How much blame do business schools deserve for the current economic crisis?”

Below are the answers as of 9:00 a.m., Monday, April 6, from a poll you can access by clicking on the ”HBR Debate:  How to Fix Business Schools.”  You can find it on the Harvard Business Review home page.  Click on the words HBR Debate and you’ll arrive at the Harvard Publishing site where there’s an ongoing blog with “an impressive roster of experts to lead the debate.”

My vote is counted in this breakdown of 214 responses:

Most of the blame; they’re teaching the wrong things.  17% (36 votes)

Some of the blame; they’re not teaching everything they need to.  50% (106 votes)

None of the blame; it’s not what they teach but who’s being taught.  34% (72 votes)

My vote was the middle ground. The wheels of the economy are still churning so something is working.  But business schools do deserve some of the blame.  From my experiences working with business school graduates and teaching business school students, I believe that graduates are not adequately prepared for their roles as managers and leaders. 

Briefly, the initials M.B.A. go to their heads.  They lose track of the impact of their actions on others in both the short- and the long-term.  Someone who starts business school as Bobby can graduate as Robert—and forget the lessons he learned working his way into college.

Will write more later. Wanted to post this to give you the chance to weigh in at HBR.

Here’s a sad statistic:  50% of youth under the age of 21 in an urban inner city were found to experience the sudden unexpected death of a close relative or friend. 

Last Friday, April 3, Robin Goodman, Ph.D., was the guest speaker at the Women’s Issues Committee of the New York City Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association.  When Lynda Johnson, my Co-Chair of the Committee, first heard about the work Robin does at A Caring Hand last fall, she was intent on getting Robin on our schedule of presenters.  Glad that we did.  But also sad that there is such a need for these services.  The statistic above combined with the latest news about parents shooting their children or a brother beheading his sister are troubling. 

Robin is the Director of A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation Bereavement Center.  She speaks to a wide range of audiences on the services that can help children and their families through their grief journeys.  Parents often don’t know what to tell their children after a husband, sister, or other loved one dies.

During her presentation, Robin shared with us valuable information about how children understand death and their reactions to grief.  She also shared ways to create a framework to foster positive emotional health that can last a lifetime. 

Often, a child is not able to talk about their grief.  Robin led those in attendance through a short guided visualization then invited us to use crayons, colored pencils, or water colors to draw who or what we saw.

This was a very powerful experience for me; one that brought back memories of a brother who died when I was just five-years-old.  After he died, I would ask my mother, “Where’s Johnny?”  She would tell me that he was, ”with Jesus,” or “up in Mary’s room behind the clock.”  Robin stressed the need to be direct with children and explain the loss in terms that children can understand.

A Caring Hand offers a “Child and Family Bereavement Group” free of charge.

For further information, call A Caring Hand at 212-229-2273 or email RobinGoodman@acaringhand.org