black belt professional_career_accelera_tion,_2015

Black Belt Professional Career Acceleration © 2015. Six essays by retired senior career staffing specialist with 23 years of Fortune 100 corporate experience in aerospace illustrating what works effectively to drive your career to the top of the company. Reference to martial arts is a metaphor to simply show level of competence.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Essay One Kata Interview

Essay Two Reconnaissance

Essay Three Knock Out Resume

Essay Four Sparring

Essay Five Killer Cover Letter

Essay Six Survival

IntroductionBlack Belt Professional Career Acceleration © 2015 are essays based on my experience intended to help anyone climb the corporate ladder and new employees to succeed. Internalizing these essays like knowing the forms of martial arts - Kata, a detailed choreographed pattern of movements practiced either solo or in pairs is a systematic approach of self-defense, will inspire confidence to ace structure/behavioral interviews and build a bullet proof resume sensitive to electronic resume scanning systems using algorithms by major corporations.

Essay One Kata InterviewMost interviews are poorly executed and organized on the latest how to fads. These faddish techniques range from teams and panels to telephone and teleconference styles. Interviewers are reading a script and busy rating a scoring matrix1 emphasizing their process rather than focusing on the self-esteem and integrity of a prospective million dollar decision. If you sense this then candidates must be prepared to take control. Be aware of three dumb questions which are: tell usabout yourself, what are strengths or weakness and do you have any questions for us? You can redirect the questions by shifting your response to your other attributes.

Black Belt Professional Career Acceleration © 2015. Collins, Charles H., M.Ed,

1 Interviewer Scoring Matrix evaluating and summarizing candidate using structured interview.

Sample - Interview Scoring Matrix using 0 to 5 rating scale; 5.0 is highest.

Company Competency

Candidate Situation

Candidate Action

Candidate Outcome

CandidateScore

Surface Technology University Robotics Class

Algorithm Innovation

Patent Pending 2014

4.80

Organizing, Time Management

Master Thesis Research

Collect data from 1,000 people

Dashboard instruments safe

5.0

Team Building ASB President Implemented rape prevention university cell phone application.

Decreased sexual assaults by 40% in 2012

4.90

Total Work System, ISO/TQM

Reengineered undergraduate engineering application process

Compared and contrasted grades, courses and professors to student attitudes

Determined interviewing for attitude and values as a professional engineer is first priority

4.75

Know and understand the company culture’s professional code for dress and language. This should be replicated and modeled for the interview team.

Essay Two ReconnaissanceIt is not about asking for a job, but always educating and teaching others about your capacity, specific skills, credentials, certifications or your specific leadership experiences translated into positive company outcomes. A major component of career development is professional intellectual competence and interpersonal genius. Select your mentors, sponsors and coaches and model their attributable behaviors. Cultivate superb leaders and reciprocate by making champions of each in both word and deed. Professionalism is rewarded with increased responsibility and trust. Gaining trust and respect are essential for professional development. Plan to organize your professional career board of directors2 meeting with them for their advice and consultation. This is your network and you are responsible for managing your career.

Black Belt Professional Career Acceleration © 2015

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2 You, Inc., sponsors, mentors and champions of your career comprise your professional board of directors, 2015.

Reconnaissance Targets:

College & University Present & Previous Political &Professors or Mentors Positions or Jobs Government Leaders

Business Relationships You, Inc. Friends, Familywith Other Professional Career Board & Relatives

Organizational Memberships Current Job Peers, Neighbors, Church, Congregations & Vendors and Suppliers Relatives &Community Services Friends

Essay Three Knock Out ResumeResumes are not a composition of everything you have ever done at work nor are they a list of career position descriptions. They are a snapshot of your accomplishments coupled with outcomes. Write a resume in the interest of the recruiter and less about what you want. Make it easy to read and avoid any graphics which distract attention to content and confounds computer scanned systems. Scoring based on algorithms. Your job is to effectively and efficiently communicate your qualifications and competencies compared to the skill requirements. Everything in your resume should pertain to the position. Honesty is imperative. Write your own resume. The purpose is to get an interview. Getting an interview means you are qualified. You meet the basic requirements and expectations for the position. The interviewers will understand how will s/he fit into a company work team.

Essay Four SparringWhat is the difference between making a life vs making a living? How long will our lifetime last? Am I doing exactly what I want to do? How important are my values concerning my happiness? What keeps me stuck? If you intend to work until 65, subtract your present age, and that’s what is left. If you intend to live to be 100, subtract your retirement age and that’s what is left. The range of variation is estimated from 20 to 35 years. This is a substantial amount of time when you think about the real amount of time remaining. Making a living is income. Making a life is a commitment and more than income. Every person has some skilled attribute as language, spatial, interpersonal, logical, athletic or musical. What are yours? How important is it that I understand my responses and actions about what attributes matter to me the most?

Essay Five Killer Cover LetterResponding to an advertised position use this letter format to compare their requirements to your qualifications and you should exceed requirements making it obvious you should be a candidate to interview. Be concise and offer recruiter how your skills and a commitment to quality will result in profitability and productivity.

Sample - Format Content:

Company Requirements Candidate Qualifications

MSEE, 5 years experience MSEE, 10 years experience & MBA

Six Sigma, Green Belt Six Sigma, Black Belt & ISO


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Essay Six SurvivalIt is inevitable that change happens; accept it and get over it sooner than later. It reminds me of ringing a bell; it cannot be un-rung. There are eleven steps to effectively deal with change: signals of rumors, worry and concern, shock, denial, relief, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, commitment and involvement. All of these behaviors are normal. Two questions will allow you to move on – where are you? How long do you want to stay there? Find out what is keeping you stuck. Is it because something else or somebody else needs to change? Professional careers become derailed with the inability to manage change effectively.

O N E Kata Interview

Three distinct phases comprise the interview – the opening, body and close. You will know when the shifts occur by the nature of the questions. Bring a folder with a notepad of paper, a completed matrix of anticipated questions with skills listed vertically and situation, action and results listed horizontally. Just the act of preparing this matrix will help embed your answers in your mind and remind yourself of your qualifications.

Sample - Competency Based Interview Matrix

Skills Situation Action Result

Project Management Deploy Executive Development Education

Six Sigma Team, Leader

Ongoing

Strategic Planning Diversity Global Hiring University Presidents Quarterly Summit

1250 New Graduates

Conflict Management Passive Aggressive Behavior

Counsel/EAP Employee Termination

Customer Focus Employee Health Insurance Cost

Increase Employee Wellness Participation

33% in 2012 30% in 2013

Sample Question and Response Style and Content

Question: Tell us about a time when you were leading a team project and two members were disrupting the meeting arguing, constantly interrupting other members and when they talked appeared rude and confrontational. Please describe the situation, action you took and what were the outcome from your leadership to manage conflict.

Sample Response to competency question: I recall a situation when I was leading a quality improvement team to standardize course content consisting of subject matter experts with strong opinions about the content. After the first morning of brain storming solutions one member was relentless in domination during discussions. Another personally attacked their character; the action I took were to intervene immediately to insure the dignity, respect and self- esteem of all were protected by directing my communications to the attacker saying we may not all agree with Chantal; however I would like to remind us all to attack the problem and not the person please. I would like to meet briefly with Chantal and Thomas privately before lunch.


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The outcome was a corrective action meeting lasting ten minutes asking each’s comments on how to effectively work together for the next two days. Each agreed to disagree on some content and list big issues on chart paper so all could be heard and respected.

Managing Ineffective Questions

Less than effective interviews are felt by all and often are regarded as a waste of time laced with anger and frustration by the candidate toward the interview team and company. It is a losing situation. The perception by candidate – interviewer unprepared, rambles or asks dumb questions, interview team has not seen resume and they appear disinterested, too many interviewers, too busy keeping score or argue with candidate. The outcome is unprofessional.

When you detect disinterested people conducting the interview – stop, think and take over the process as best as you can re-asking assertive questions describing your attributes. For example, if asked: “tell us about yourself.” Respond promptly with – “Well, I would like to isolate my answer with a question. Would it be helpful to hear about my leadership skills serving as the senior leader of the company’s management association for four years or would you like to know more about my international experience working in Saudi Arabia translating technical manuals from English to Arabic?” Which would be more helpful for you to know in view of this position? It is up to you to anticipate, prepare for this question and provide a professional response. Otherwise, most candidates also ramble and bore already unprepared interviewers!

A second equally dumb question which people do not like and fail to answer effectively is – “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” ineffective interviewers will often use. This is how you manage this question. “Work characteristics which I am particularly effective are: team building, conflict management, systems integration thinking and strategic planning. I received one comment from my manager last year during performance review and she said: ‘I noticed that you are shy and reticent during executive briefings.’ So, I took that to heart, talked to some of my mentors and decided to join the company Toastmaster Club. I have become an active and weekly member, compete in speeches and have improved exponentially in my interaction with executives.”

The final question you will always be asked and most people completely miss is: “Do you have any questions for us?” They don’t really mean this. This question is typically designed to let you know they are done and want you excused. It is interview exit strategy; but it does not have to be and while you are center stage ask questions which again increase your stock. Questions which prompt additional interest in you are essential as you are still selling them on you. Ask the following two questions. Say, ‘First let me tell you how much I have enjoyed meeting each of you and this position interests me greatly. Would you like to see a sample of my work?’ Bring a portfolio folder with plastic sheets filled with graphs, diagrams, quantitative analysis, balanced score card and recent performance evaluations or course grades. You hand it to the primary interviewer and suggest that they keep it for a few days to fully understand your work capacity or learn in detail your skill and ability.

The second and final question is crafted like a Shakespearean sonnet forcing each interviewer to think and visualize you in the position. When people know you are interested in their problems and their interests they see you as a problem-solver less concerned about yourself. Making a champion of your new boss is essential to your career success; anything less is destructive. So, as you think about the best interest of your new boss ask: “After I have been in this position for four months, what is one thing I would have done to have been successful to assist you in meeting your 2015 performance targets or financial goals?” You probably will be asked to repeat the question since they were not really expecting a question they had to think about. This is true!


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Do you see the power of this question? Each person will pause, eyes will roll and move to the left while turning their heads or crossing their arms to think of a valid response all the while visualizing you in that job. Ask to take notes capturing essentials of each response, nodding and slightly smiling with a demure sense of confidence. After the last person’s response and starting with last person, look at each person offering a brief summary nodding all the while securing nonverbal agreement, and after your last summary put your pen down, look them all in the eye and say: “I can do that work for you.” This is powerful closing assertion that you want the job!

The interview leader will regain control of the interview usually with a polite comment or summary preparing for your exit from the room. If there is a pause or an opportunity for another comment you might ask: “Would you like to see my references now or later?” They will respond according to their company policies – some do and some do not. Your exit needs to be polite, swift and hand shake if possible. This is a very strong close followed with considerablediscussion by interview team who like your confidence or maybe decry arrogance. Either way competence prevails.

Job search strategy is always about volume and avoid becoming discouraged because that one position was the only one I wanted. Effective job search is full time work including weekends. It can be a series of endings as well as beginnings. It is, however, always a full court press, because if you are not continuously seeking new and greater challenges every day, volunteering as a team leader, continuing professional education or modeling continuous quality improvement; one risks becoming obsolete. These are some leadership qualities attributed to Black Belt. Real leaders are simply ordinary people with extraordinary determination.

T W O Reconnaissance

For sure, clarification of what this is or is not is in order due to overuse and misinterpretation. People do not like being used for their title, position, or status and people hate being asked for a job. The world of work like our family tree is a series of relationships – from the complex to simple. It is each of our responsibilities to mange them effectively with a predictable outcome. It is about our responsibility for building relationships. It almost should go without saying that you must exceed expectations where you currently work and you should be able to get support from your boss. If that relationship is broken – fix it or at least atone for the problem. It is never a good situation having a boss who lacks respect for your work. It is akin to an angry partner and must be confronted. Often, third party coaching can be very helpful to save your career. Present managers should be your advocates.

Confident your career is in tact and with the support of your boss to network, start your networking with them as a trusted member of your career development board. Your purpose in networking is to get career advice. During this advisory period, you will make favorable impressions by asking business questions by listening to their point of view and, as you are prepared, to counterpoint with other equally compelling solutions. Build sincere rapport with new network members as you see photographs, awards, certifications, family or pets to talk about as you start to build a bridge to their interests, too. Try to connect at as many levels as you can and be aware of all nonverbal messages like body language.

This means doing homework and researching who your network person is, what they do, how they do it; and offering other possibilities or solutions. A question like – “so, what are some new products, services and quality improvements your department are working on in 2015?” It is bold and they have an option to respond or not. If they chose to engage you then you can relate and describe a time where you were instrumental in establishing LEAN practices, et al. You draw them out so you, too, can describe your virtues.


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The final question to your boss is – “so, who else do you suppose I could chat with who might have interest in my competencies?” Considering how the conversation went and their impressions of you, they may or may not refer you to another person. If they are affirmative, responses as – “I know someone who or I have a friend who works at.... and let me keep your resume please.” These are positive signs; however you need to close the conversation saying: “Thanks so much and what do you see being the next steps?” This is how you intentionally build professional bridges to where you want to go. Many companies have elaborate learning centers and succession plans for identified high prospective employees who are viewed by management to be future leaders who will also know the value and importance of relationship building by finding sponsors, mentors, coaches providing them visibility.

Some folks label this whole notion as six degrees of separation literally meaning that any one of us anywhere are only six people away from you. This is to say that human networks are vast and we often fail to realize this potency. Simply stated you ask friends and relatives: “who do you know in this or that business?” The rule is that people know people and if they like you or want to help you – they will. Sadly, if they do not like you they will not assist you with a name or recommendation. Point is – move on as this is a statistical process and your self-talk is: “one down and nine to go.” Finding a position by networking is how 80% of people will be employed. It is hard work requiring 100% effort every day of the week. Another rule appears to be for every $10,000 of salary you want to make it is a month’s worth of job search. So, one could expect approximately six months of search for a $60,000 position. It is always better to come from a job than being unemployed. One should consider thinking at least one job ahead from their present position. So, assuming I take this position and do well – what, if any, are next positions being considered? This allows for professional growth and development. Be extremely proficient, competent and an effective communicator. Some communication tips include: practice active listening, listen with the interest of message sender, listen naively, capture underlying themes or feelings to grasp 100% of what is or is not being communicated and summarize as necessary for understanding. It is not good enough to be technically competent; you must also be an effective and superb communicator to reach the top of the corporate ladder.

T H R E E Knock Out Resume

There are three basic resume styles: chronological, functional and targeted. Each has a unique purpose and a strategy. Serving your professional interest is to write about your skills and abilities to interest the recruiter; however information technology scans resumes using key word search resulting in computerized selection using algorithms. So, thoughtful word / idea selection found in the position descriptions, Dictionary of Occupational Titles, or Google job title details will be to your advantage.

There is wide frustration because some companies use applicant tracking systems scanning for key words only to search and retrieve resumes for available positions. Composing an e-resume is a science since computer scanning is binary; therefore learning the techniques will dissipate your anxiety. Represent yourself accurately, use and repeat key words, avoid all graphics, explain and use abbreviations, e.g., Bachelor of Science, B.S., use synonyms like materials management equals supply chain management or logistics management and certifications like Certified Public Accountant, CPA. The goal is get a high score which will be rank-ordered by the number of key word matches. Some companies will require candidates to complete an exhaustive application process and resumes are simply an attachment for recruiters to review. Either way be prepared to research the company and position you are competing for since large corporations receive thousands or resumes daily and automated methods serve as their primary screening process.


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When you construct your resume have you thought about your basic values? Am I doing what I want to do? Is what I am proposing in this document a passion of mine? There are at least as many functional values as there are as different positions. That’s the idea. For example, are any of the following few core values important to you – adventure, creativity, financial security, knowledge, moral fulfillment, work alone, power, authority or influence? What you are or are not have equal weight. How important is it that I understand my reactions and take action about what matters to me most? Think about the personal or professional crossroads and what is my legacy? Framing your resume around your core values drives the kind of resume to develop and often will determine your profession.

How many people do you know who do not like their jobs? I would estimate that well over 66% of people at work are unhappy, dissatisfied, frustrated, angry and feel helpless. Learned helplessness is acquired causing many workers to become victims. Victim symptoms are obvious: blame others, constant complaining, undermine organization and other employees, sabotage, work habit problems are – come late, leave early. What’s always interesting is they fail to see that other’s notice about their poor performances. A hazard for management is when poor performance goes unnoticed, the far exceeds expectation employee will become frustrated, too, and will typically leave sooner than later. Who wants to work with incompetence? So, the superb employee designs an excellent resume and is off like a shot! Poor performers who want to advance in an organization must come to a realization they must perform; and this can often be done with sage opinion from a leader who will make time to care. Professional caring and effective coaching can and will drive up individual stock. The new stock will be manifest by your accomplishments which are the body and content of a functionally targeted resume.

Candidates often default to a chronological resume style listing their previous positions and job descriptions without emphasis on measured accomplishments. More effective are a list of at least five specific competencies over a ten year period highlighted with action verbs and accomplishments which the recruiter has interest in. The resume will target a position. Gone are the days of a general resume written by you extolling all of your many virtues left for recruiter to figure out how you fit. Always frame a resume to recruiter’s interest making it simple to read and enjoy. Recruiting and staffing organizations do not spend too many seconds on page one, much less read page two. There still remain too few positions for too many people. A buyer’s market prevails. What do you have to do to separate yourself professionally to get picked for an interview is the goal in this stage of effective job search process?

The functional resume’s job is to quickly advise the reader of at least five critical areas like – team building, quality improvement, communications, leadership or analysis. Topically these areas become visibly evident and easy for the reader to decide if you meet their requirements. In each category you should have at least four descriptive sentences of specific accomplishments coupled with estimated outcome, e.g. cycle time reduction of approximately 4.23 days resulting in an estimated savings of $1.2M. This resume, as mentioned, is particularly potent for applicant’s having less than the amount of desired education preferred for the position. Always think about your resume with the recruiter perspective so limit the content to what’s being asked for and avoid extraneous material; especially for the electronic resume being scanned for key words and action verbs using the past tense. Avoid using first person “I” since it assumes familiarity. Construct two resumes – a single page resume which is professionally attractive used for one to one situations and a two page version with straight text, left margin adjusted, no graphics and redundant with key words designed for computer scoring effectiveness. This is imperative.

The targeted resume is most common and very effective. There are many different looks for this type of professional presentational of your qualifications. You select your format; but two aspects of this style are essential. The first header is always Career Objective and the second is Summary


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of Qualifications. The first tells the reader what you want to do immediately and anticipates what they want. Second is a descriptive paragraph as a seasoned professional skilled at paraphrasing the position description followed by what your special professional interests are. Slip in years never to exceed fifteen since age discrimination could begin to factor in and disqualify you before you even start for their consideration. This is followed by Work History, Education, Certifications, Professional Memberships/Associations, and Publications and optional if you want to add Community or Volunteer work. A technique to increase your score is to describe your degree or certifications following each with their respective abbreviations.

Resumes are like admission to a performance; without a good one you do not get in. Study the culture of the organization or company. Be clear about the questions – is this what I want? How will I fit? What do others say? Will this company satisfy my one, three and five year professional plan? What happens if I am in the wrong position? What are my contingency and back-up plans? What did my gut tell me during the interview process? How will I know I am adding value to this company? Is there a definable succession plan? Construct a matrix of your criteria compared to time and score each cell using a five point scale and simply do the arithmetic. You can estimate a predictable outcome. Selecting a life partner, home ownership, career selection and professional or personal development are major life point decisions. How important is my career decision’s affect?

Please review a targeted functional resume on pages 9 and 10 for your consideration as you begin to develop and construct your new resume.

Sample Resume:

Charles T. Collins [email protected] 8965 42nd Avenue, Northeast http://linkedinsite Seattle, WA 98021 C (425) 919-2134 W (206) 455-8799 Professional Objective Serve as senior quality assurance project manager responsible for... use job description language to insert here; have as much as 5 to 6 lines long using action verbs capturing tone and intent of what they want. Do not cut, paste or copy. Think about this position with your values since this is what you want to do as a career professional. Special interest working with diverse talent solving complex problems across divisional boundaries.

Summary of Qualifications Seasoned professional senior staff analysis with 15 + years experience skilled at... combine elements from job description or other jobs depicting specifics skills, talents and abilities. Well-noted for team building able to develop consensus to instill trust, respect and dignity building successful corporate teams focussed on productivity and profitability.

Accomplishments by CompetencyTEAMING Led four Quality Improvement Lean Teams creating value stream map processes for enterprise improvement reducing cycle time by approximately 5.26 days first quarter of 2015 saving an estimated $2.1M.

LEANPROJECT MANAGEMENTCUSTOMER SERVICECOMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING

Work HistoryThe Boeing Company, Commercial Airplane Group, Sales & Marketing, Customer Six Sigma Quality Assurance Team, Seattle, WA


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mailto:[email protected]


http://linkedinsite

http://linkedinsite

Project Manager 11/2005 to PresentSupport 7 program areas as program quality management specialist acting as the primary interface to the business unit ensuring assigned staff are executing on tasks and provide weekly progress reports for all deliverables to always exceed customer expectations; assembled recommendations from project team concerning work scope and recovery plans. Negotiate all project changes incorporating into project control system.

Staff Analyst 01/1992 to 10/2005 EducationMaster of Business Administration, MBA, College, Town. 2011 Bachelor of Science, B.S., Business Administration, College, Town. 1992

Certifications or LicensesPatentsPublicationsProfessional Memberships and Associations Military ServiceSecurity ClearanceCommunity ServiceRecognition/Award

F O U R Sparring

Draw a seven inch horizontal line across a piece of paper with zero at the far left and 100 on the far right. Estimate the middle of the line as the Mean and write the number fifty. Place your age on the line and subtract from 85 years. This would be approximately how long you might expect to live. This is real time and not what the retirement actuarial tables predict but how long you are going to be alive. This is the corporate litmus test asking questions like are you happy at work? Do you love what you do? Can you not wait to get to work every day? With the amount time allotted for life are you doing what you want to do? For a variety of reasons many people are unhappy in their work or stuck because they enjoy income and benefits; however there are those who love their work where income is not the motivation like being a minister, school teacher, law enforcement or some medical professions.

They serve for greater good for people in the helping and human services professions as they just like people and would be unable to think about doing any other job. Also, for equally good reasons people’s careers span into well-known high paying positions because they are good in ways of business or leading governments and so forth. However pain results when people feel stuck in low or high paying jobs, often the later, where they do not like their position, yet excuse their frustration with statements like: “the benefits are too good to relinquish, I could never make that amount of money elsewhere, or I only have thirteen years until retirement.” Anyway you cut it – this seems like a long time to suffer; not to mention the suffering of others because of finger-pointing, blaming and constant victim-like behavior. It is very tiring and wears people out!

My perspective is life is precious, each day is a gift and we do not know when this life is complete; so, I for one, am unwilling to exist in a life I have to make a living or money only without the chance and opportunity to make and have a work life which is fulfilling. There are tradeoff, sacrifices, reasonable approaches and reality with this decision-making process which will test the magnitude of pain or pleasure offered for our work lives.


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The purpose here is designed to trouble you into action. How important is my career satisfaction to the success of my life? Am I doing what I really want to do during my lifetime? What are the career crossroads do I find myself at presently? How have I measured work or career success? How important is it that I create a career legacy? What am I doing to create thelegacy that I want to leave? What am I doing to get the attention of others’ about the legacy I am creating? How will I know I have been successful?

The ultimate test always is when you are several years removed by retirement from your organization enjoying the fruits of your labor – are you going to say to yourself, I wish I had just one more day at the company or equally compelling – I wish I could miss just one more grandchild’s recital or game? We have been busy and had important and responsible roles or responsibilities; but has it been at the expense of others’ lives and now mine? How can we effectively manage work-life balance and/or are we doing what we really want to do? Ask your grandparents if they had their work life to do again what would they do differently?

F I V E Killer Cover Letter March 29, 2015Mr. William Peters Global Enterprises, LLC4561 International BoulevardWashington, D.C. 20013 Dear Mr. Peters,Please accept my resume for your review and consideration for the position as Senior Quality Assurance Specialist. I have listed for your convenience the pertinent aspects of this position compared to my qualifications.

Your Requirements: My Qualifications: Master of Science, Information Systems PhD, Informatics, M.B.A., BSEE10 Years Progressive Experience 15 Years Applied ResearchConsult with Scientific Staff and Senior Senior Lead R&D OverseeingOrganization Leadership and CEO Lead 25 Teams & $12.5M Budget

I look forward to hearing from you soon to discuss how my skills and company commitment to quality would result in your business increased productivity and profitability.

Kind regards,Charles T. Collins

Cc Resume


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S I X Survival

The truth is that people do not mind change; they just mind being changed which is to say decisions about people’s careers can be made in a vacuum by management without their knowledge or they pretend to ignore the obvious demotion from an organizational restructure. Un-welcomed special assignments are devastating to the ego and vertical career growth. Another truth is life is repeatability unfair. This, sadly, is a lesson learned as one matures or one of these 40 something revelations. Being passed over, put to the side, demoted or eliminated is painful and necessary process for top performers! Mistakes happen. George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth made hundreds of strike out mistakes never giving up, keeping his eye on the ball, and thinking about the horizon goals to be the all time home run hitter at 714 is one of the better reminders of professional success.

When organizations include employees in decision-making, problem-solving and solutions which require increased efficiency resulting in professional changes the adverse affect decreases the loss of reputation capital. People feel fairly treated, their sense of self-esteem intact, and more than willing to continue to next steps. However, most times organizations for competitive reasons fail to show corporate strategy and announce reduction in force scenarios shaking the workforce and disrupting stability of economic community. If you have learned the business cycle is dynamic then you know workforce stability is vulnerable, and you, too are at risk.

Knowing that unannounced change is always a strong possibility, also know there are eleven normal and distinct elements of change that will visit upon you one way or the other and to ignore their presence will only escalate the intensity of the emotion like anger. It’s going to happen. Most people will react to an adverse change with anger. This is normal, and you should understand anger is a secondary emotion driven by fear. So, the question should be – what am I afraid of? Then ask yourself – how long do I want to be afraid or angry? Again, we all know it is unfair and maturely moving on we get unhooked from the provocation. The sooner the better. Constant anger is a career de-railer of the first order. Why?

What is the utility of any prolonged emotional state like – shock, anger, bargaining, and depression? These are human qualities designed on a short term to manage grief effectively. Anything less might suggest a person absent of normal feelings. The range of time for grief is a variable among people; however if in the workforce the grief manifests to levels of less than effective expected performance, then typically a form of progressive discipline maybe necessary.

Leaders who are accountable take control, show confidence and are responsible for their actions and their subordinates. It’s not that things will not happen on your watch – they will; it is more important to recognize how and what you do under fire that will reveal your leadership maturity. Think about great leaders present and historical as models to emulate. Ask yourself what would that person be doing, acting, saying under an adverse situation? Are they composed? How do they go about making a decision? Who were their role models? Where did they learn ethics? How important are my decisions to the success of the company? What have I learned in my career succession about the effects of my previous decisions?

Are the past effects prologue to the future? If we have not learned what past effects taught us, will the past be replicated? Think about what you want to do differently for outcome. Change is necessary for progress. What can I do to support company progress? What is my predominant role in the organization? How will I know I have been successful? Think about your positive mental attitude.


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Positive Mental Attitude

Story of the Two WolvesOne evening an older Native American told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside of people. He said: “My child there is a battle that goes on between the two wolves within us. One is evil, anger, greed, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, self-pity, guilt, lies, false pride, resentment, superiority and ego. The other is good, joy, peace, love, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, truth, faith, generosity and compassion. The child thought about it for a minute and asked his Grandfather which wolf wins? The old man replied the ‘one you feed’.”

Conclusion

An unknown writer once said: “You do not have to go where the path may lead but go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” asserting the importance to pioneer your career path like Michelangelo, Beethoven and Shakespeare who discovered their genius - you, too, are challenged with a similar responsibility of uncovering your genius. We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.

Joining a New Work Team

Pay close attention to their culture and try to avoid the temptation of telling others how another company always did it. Be first to sign up for teams. Ask about the mechanics of performance goals and objectives sooner than later. Find out what kind of communicator your boss is and how to manage a meeting when there is bad news. These are basic and essential. You can learn quickly on the job who the formal and or informal leaders are. Listen like you are sitting at night in the jungle!

_______________________________________

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