the skills needed for career success - inside out image · 2020-03-11 · the nine neglected skills...

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The Nine Neglected Skills needed for career success


I’m Joanna Gaudoin of Inside Out Image.

I have created this Booklet to help you master the skills needed to achieve your professional goals.

There are Nine Skills that I find people neglect to master. These skills are essential for your long-term, continued career success.

As well as helping you understand these neglected skills better, I have also given you suggested actions to take. A skill can only be learnt by practising it.

Enjoy reading, learning, applying, and seeing your career progress.

Best regards,


Hello,

SKILL 9:Be Prepared to Get Your Next Role

SKILL 8Networking to Get Results

SKILL 7Managing a Team Effectively

SKILL 6Meeting Effectiveness

SKILL 5Moving on from Negative Feedback

SKILL 4Building Relationships with Clients and Prospects

SKILL 3Managing ‘Office Politics’ Positively

SKILL 2Managing Senior Relationships

SKILL 1Positive Personal Impact


CONTENTS


Essentials:Even if you aren’t actively looking for your next role, it’s important to master this skill now. You don’t want to wait until you are ready to move on – it will delay how quickly you can get into the job market and you’ll end up preparing in a hurry. Prepare now for finding your next role – or for it to find you.

Further considerations:There are three activities you must do regularly to make sure you’re prepared to get your next role:

1. Weekly – connect on LinkedIn with people you have met that week, and take 30 minutes to like and comment on other people’s content. LinkedIn is an easy way to update and maintain your network, so when you’re ready for your next role you already have a network in place to go to (and aren’t frantically trying to build one). If you aren’t attending any external networking events, now is the time to start – see Skill 8.

2. Quarterly – set aside time to update your CV and LinkedIn profile. Recruiters will trawl LinkedIn to see who they can head hunt or approach. Your LinkedIn profile needs to be up-to-date and your CV ready to send off.

3. Long-term investment – ensure you’ve mastered all elements of Skill 1 – Positive Personal Impact, so you’re ready to make the right impression at an interview, even if it’s at the last minute.



SKILL 9

Be Prepared to Get Your Next Role

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Do your CV and LinkedIn profile

accurately reflect who you are, your experience and your career aspirations? Make any necessary changes/updates to your CV and LinkedIn profile now.

• Look at Skill 1 – Positive Personal Impact and make sure you know what first impression you want to create in an interview. How can your Appearance, Body Language and Voice help convey that impression?

• Work on your job search strategy – what are you looking for in a role and how will you go to market? You need a clear focused plan, especially if you’re still in a role.

• Think about what your key skills are. How can you best illustrate them at an interview?

• To find out more about what’s involved in getting a new role and to learn some key skill tips, register for the recording of my free webinar Get That Job here.

• Has an opportunity come up and you want to know how to make the most of it? Contact me to arrange your free 30 minute Career Booster discussion.

TOP TIP TO REMEMBER:

You need to be ready to look for and respond to new opportunities at any time. Regular activity is key to this. Book that time in your calendar and stick to it, so you don’t miss out on your next role.


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Essentials:Having the skills and confidence to network effectively is essential for you and your organisation. Using these networking skills on a regular basis is crucial.

So, why network? Firstly, you never know when you might want or need a role change. Your contacts may know about job vacancies, be able to introduce you to people in their network, or give you an insight into the roles and companies you’re interested in.

Secondly, while in your current role, networking is a way to get to know team members, clients, potential clients and referrers.

Further considerations:It’s essential to have a strategy for networking and adjust it to each networking occasion.

For example, at a large internal event, your strategy may be to meet as many new people as possible to get yourself more widely known. At an outside networking event, your strategy could be to connect with others in your sector to get yourself known for your expertise.

Successful networking is about being able to build rapport with others in a genuine way through body language and conversation. Revisit Skill 1 – Positive Personal Impact; consider the impact you want to create when networking and how you can do this. We can all spot someone who is faking or ruthlessly using us – make sure you cultivate honest warmth and a desire to connect.

Finally, have a plan of what happens after you have attended the conference, drinks event or seminar. Book the time in to connect with everyone on LinkedIn or follow up via email or a phone call. After all, if you do nothing it was a waste of your time!



SKILL 8

Networking to Get Results

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Consider whether you have

networking objectives and a strategy and if it’s effective.

• Reflect on what you think your own networking strengths and weaknesses are.

• Find two networking events to go to (or organise your own – a department wide drink after work counts!), decide what your networking strategy is, how you are going to approach it and what you want to get from it.

• Come up with opening questions and statements for when you first meet someone when networking, to break the ice and create the Personal Impact you want. I ban my clients from asking someone what they do as an opener – it implies you’re only interested in them for what they could do for you and as everyone asks that it makes you less memorable.


You can't build a network when you need one, so make time for building it now and commit to nurturing and maintaining it.




SKILL 7

Managing a Team Effectively

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• You are a role model for your team;

are you present enough? And when you are present, what are you actually role modelling for them? Note down your thoughts.

• Where can you make some quick improvements in what you role model and how often?

• Identify the key development areas of your team members and make a plan for supporting them with those development points.

• Consider how you can start to give key team members more responsibility – think bite-size chunks – and create a plan to put this into action.

• Contact me to arrange your free 30 minute Career Booster discussion to find out how you can improve your effectiveness as a leader.


Keep in mind that investing in your team can be short-term pain for long-term gain. Invest the time now and you will: have people who work more effectively; be able to delegate more; retain good individuals for longer. All of this enhances your career and professional status.

Essentials:The more senior you get, the more you will be expected to manage a team to achieve rather than do it all yourself. This skill can be learnt and practised (even if you aren’t yet managing a team).

Your team can be your biggest asset or biggest challenge. For many of my clients, issues within the team they’re managing can bring them down – emotionally, mentally and even physically. While the personality of your team depends on the individuals in it, your management/leadership style will really affect them; positively or negatively.

When your team has clear responsibilities, is motivated and equipped with the right skills, the burden on you lessens and overall more is achieved as a team.

Further considerations:Teams need time investment to get them to be an asset. This can be difficult when there’s so much to do. Effective managers of teams make sure:

• Their team is clear on what the overall objective is and their individual part in it.

• The relative skill sets of different team members are known as well as how each person needs to be managed/communicated with.

• Their own leadership/management style contributes to positive team relationships.

• They set aside the time to develop their team. Your team members develop through role modelling in real work situations and having you, as a role model, spending time with them working on specific skills and abilities.



Essentials:Meetings. We spend so many of our working hours sitting in them. At best, they’re a great way to discuss important topics and agree a way forward. At worst, they’re long, drawn out, with disengaged people and no tangible outcome.

Your effectiveness in meetings has a huge impact on how others view you. Clients, prospects, colleagues or others you work with will pass judgement on how well you handle and perform in meetings. Therefore, how you come across in meetings can have a real effect on your career.

Further considerations:I always advise my clients to consider three core aspects about how to be effective in meetings:

1. Running a meeting well The basics you need to achieve are: ensuring that all the people that need to input do so; an outcome is reached; the meeting finishes at the agreed time. You don’t want people to leave wondering why they had been there, what had been achieved, and frustrated it had overrun.

2. Participating in a meeting Contribute as needed and communicate what you have to say in an appropriate way, with the right impact. Weigh up how much information you need to give now and how much can be shared outside of the meeting room with the right people.

3. Presenting information effectivelyMany people restrict their career by avoiding presenting information, whether formally or informally. Presenting showcases your expertise and you as a person, as well as being a key part of the day job in many roles. You need to be able to do it engagingly and effectively. This is a large area, so I tackle this separately with my clients. Contact me to find out more.



SKILL 6

Meeting Effectiveness

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Consider what you find challenging

about running and participating in meetings. Note these down along with any behaviours you notice yourself repeating that might be less than positive. Consider what you might replace those behaviours with.

• In your next meeting, when you want to speak, make sure your body language makes this clear. One way to do this is to sit forward in your chair.

• If you already present, do you usually get good engagement and the outcome you want? Consider how you might improve your presenting style. If you don't present often, how could you start?

• When you next run a meeting, make sure only people who need to be there are invited and that they are clear on their role in that meeting.

• When you’re speaking, look at everyone present, not just the person you’re speaking to.


Take opportunities to run meetings, contribute and present. You can't have an impact on people and be remembered if you don't participate positively in different situations.



Essentials:You’re going to receive negative feedback in your career. How you deal with it is crucial. If you don’t deal with it properly it can impact your beliefs, and then your behaviours, for months later.

Feedback can feel negative and hit you hard when: something is a surprise to you; you feel it’s unjustified; it’s about a quality or skill you believe you are good at; it’s badly delivered.

Not moving on from negative feedback impacts how you perform and engage with others, particularly those who were the source of the feedback.

Further considerations:Master the three steps to dealing with and moving on from negative feedback:

1. Reflect on it rather than ignore it.

2. Consider necessary action – depending on whom it is from and the validity of it, taking it on board is the next step and adjusting your behaviour(s) or attitude.

3. Move on – failure to move on will trap you in a negative loop, as illustrated in The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy concept (shown here). Break the loop. Change your beliefs. Adapt your behaviour.



SKILL 5

Moving on from Negative Feedback

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Reflect on any negative feedback

you have received that still impacts how you interact at work. Jot down what it was and the impact it’s still having.

• Think about how you can move on from it. What do you need to do? Take some direct action? Focus on your positive attributes? Change a belief?

• To be able to act on feedback, you need to understand it fully. To help understand any future negative feedback, practise clarifying questions, such as: “Can I just confirm that you feel xyz about me because I did abc?” Practise until your tone is calm, assertive and considering.

• Build your strategies for moving on from negative feedback. Understand why negative feedback really gets to you. It could be you have an underlying issue that requires coaching or counselling.

• Contact me to arrange your free 30 minute Career Booster discussion about how to handle and move on from negative feedback.


Like many things in life, unresolved conversations and topics can have an ongoing negative effect. Focus on dealing with what you need to, rather than ignoring it or getting frustrated or annoyed.

My Beliefs

WhichInfluences

ShapeWhich

Reinforces

My Behaviour

Other People’s Behaviour



Essentials:Being able to manage your clients and prospective clients well is essential. The more senior you are, your 'day job' is more likely to be about winning new business and leading client relationships. In a service business, where the 'product' is less tangible, companies offering the same service are often hard to choose between – the people make the real difference.

Standing out and delivering great work for clients is about the what and the how. I’ll assume what you deliver is to the expected standard. So, combine it with mastery of the how and it’ll lead to more repeat work and new clients. It also contributes to increased internal recognition.

Further considerations:This is about how your clients think of you, or to be challenging, how they feel about you.

Emotions are key to any relationship – it’s exactly the same in business relationships. Too many of my clients think that because it’s a professional relationship, people can somehow bypass human psychology and switch off their emotional reactions.

Empathy is essential here. Think about your clients (they could be internal). How do you come across to them? How do you deal with them in different situations? Are they happy to speak to you or is it always challenging? Build up a picture of you from their perspective.

Of course, you must also consider: your Personal Impact; how you manage your clients' work; communicate with them; and how you behave, particularly in more challenging situations.



SKILL 4

Building Relationships with Clients and Prospects

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Write a list of your top clients. How

do they prefer you to communicate with them? Email? Calls? Text? What time of day? Long and detailed content or short and to the point?

• Consider if you meet their communication needs.

• What do you value in people that you buy services from? The last time you picked a professional adviser, what did you look for that wasn't about the 'product' or price? List these qualities.

• What do you think your clients value about working with you beyond your ability to deliver the service they require to the standard they require? How do you make them feel? Think about their body language and how they reacted to you last time you engaged with them.

• Consider whether you have clients who stay with you. Think about how you could engage with them better to build rapport, so they feel loyal and want to help you by recommending your organisation to others.


Never underestimate the role of a great relationship with your clients, they are often far more forgiving of an error or delay if the relationship is strong. A great relationship is essential to keep them coming back and talking positively about you and your organisation.


Essentials:‘Office Politics’ occurs in most organisations. Where there are different people with different values, assumptions, motivations and behaviours, it happens. ‘Office Politics’ is universally viewed as a negative thing and managing it can be seen as manipulative.

Misinterpretation, poor communication, and lack of empathy are often at the heart of ‘Office Politics’, making them negative.

Understanding how to be positively politically intelligent (not just doing whatever we want, to get what we want) is essential for individuals to progress at work. Those that lack positive political intelligence or 'opt out' are unlikely to progress their careers.

Positive ‘Office Politics’ is understanding your own motivations and reasons; and helping others to understand where you are coming from. Then you have to work on truly ‘getting’ where they are coming from. Once this empathy is built, most ‘Office Politics’ become manageable.

You have a choice about whether you manage ‘Office Politics’ negatively or positively.

Further considerations:Most of the time, when individuals tell me they are working in a negatively political environment, they say others are being political, but they themselves are not. There are of course degrees, but in some sense everyone is political. It’s important to understand how you could be being perceived and how your behaviours could be impacting others’ behaviours.



SKILL 3

Managing ‘Office Politics’ Positively

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Do you think you handle ‘Office

Politics’ negatively or positively? Jot down why you have given that answer.

• Ask a (very trusted) colleague what they think your motivations are at work e.g. why you come to work, how you regard and treat your colleagues, how ambitious you are. Do their answers match how you think you come across?

• Register and listen to my free webinar, Getting to Grips with ‘Office Politics’. Consider your working environment in light of what you learn.

• If you are in a negative ‘Office Politics’ situation and want to turn it around, contact me.


Improve your political intelligence through self-reflection. Before putting the blame elsewhere in difficult situations, always try to think about how someone could have perceived your behaviour differently to your intention and how that, in turn, affected their behaviour.


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Essentials:What more senior people in your organisation think of you is crucially important to your career. They make decisions about:

• the projects you work on

• the clients you work with

• the promotions you receive.

PIE Theory looks at the key contributing factors to positive career development. The PIE chart shows that, whilst how you perform at work does matter, it’s a small part. Essentially most people do a 'good enough' job. It is the 'people bit' that makes the difference.

Do people know who you are and if they do, what do they think of you?

You could be doing the best job but if nobody knows about it and/or doesn't see your credibility, then that’s a huge barrier to your progression. Managing Senior Relationships is essential to your everyday and long-term career success.

Further considerations:Think about which senior people you need to know and build relationships with. Your direct line manager is obvious but there are others. Then, as this is about both new relationships and existing ones, consider what is working well, what is working less well?

Once you have this, you are then ready to build your strategic relationships map and plan.



SKILL 2

Managing Senior Relationships

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Write down who you need to know

internally at a senior level – people who can make your day to day work easier and those who impact your career progression.

• Mark those who you currently don’t know/have limited contact with.

• Jot down ideas for how to increase exposure to them – in a positive and genuine way.

• Create a strategy and plan for how to get in front of senior people and what you are going to do once you are there. Aim for at least once a fortnight to begin with – and remember to include time for any follow up or additional contact.

• Contact me to arrange your free 30 minute Career Booster discussion to help you improve how you manage senior relationships.


Make time for building these relationships. It’s easy to keep putting it off or not finding time. Block out 30 minutes in your diary every couple of weeks.

60%

30%

10%

Exposure

Performance

Image



Essentials:Our Personal Impact is a combination of how we come across and how people perceive us. The impact we make on others affects the relationships we build with them. Creating and maintaining good relationships are key to career success. We can influence how people perceive us, adapting our Personal Impact according to the situation.

Further considerations:There are three tools to master when it comes to creating the Personal Impact you want: Appearance, Body Language and Voice.

Appearance – Your appearance is a short cut to people figuring out what type of person you are. Determine how you want to come across and ensure your appearance reflects that.

• An inappropriate appearance can be distracting, so people don't focus on what you’re saying.

• The right level of dress code (not too smart or too casual) can show that you have read a situation well and know how to fit in – or how to stand out and make an impact.

• Clothes not fitting well or not suiting your physical features can make you look uncomfortable or, again, be distracting.

Body language – This is everything you communicate with your body that doesn't involve words; emotions/feelings. You’re continually communicating with your body language. Manage it so that you convey what you want – rather than inadvertently broadcasting other messages.

Voice – People need to be able to hear what we say and understand it so they can engage with us. Speed, volume, clarity of enunciation are all voice essentials to consider.



SKILL 1

Positive Personal Impact

YOUR TURN…

…actions to take:• Consider carefully how you want to

come across (thinking of it as three words often helps). This needs to be genuine and achievable for you.

• Sit in front of a mirror (or get someone to film you) and speak as if you are in a meeting – observe what your body is doing (e.g. slouching, tense, eyes steady and calm) and the impression that conveys.

• Sign up and watch my free webinar to learn more about Personal Impact and get even more in-depth tips.


Your personal impact needs to be consistent. People need to know what to expect from you. If you behave very differently at different times, people's trust in you will decline, as they are not sure what to make of you or what to expect.


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“I hadn’t realised how much there was to successful networking. However, Joanna led me clearly and humorously through what’s involved and made it all seem much more doable and worthwhile.”

“Joanna has completely transformed my thinking in the level of roles I should be going for and made sure my CV, LinkedIn profile and approach to recruiters/companies all reflect my experience and expertise in a positively memorable way.”

“I have had four political intelligence and personal impact sessions, coached and guided by Joanna, and I learned so much. Joanna provided practical examples and advice on how to tackle some key relationships with my work colleagues and key stakeholders. I have started implementing my agreed actions with Joanna and have experienced some positive results. I immensely enjoyed the sessions, and would thoroughly recommend Joanna if anyone would like to develop or improve on building key relationships or on personal brand and impact.”

“Joanna guided and advised me on how to have the best impact when I made my business case for Partner – it worked.

I am now one of the very few people to, on their first go, make Partner in our Top 10 Accountancy firm. Joanna worked with me on everything from how I entered the room, delivered the content, managed questions through to how I left the room.”

Testimonials




Further help & adviceThe good news about all of these Nine Skills is that while they are often neglected they can still be learnt. I hope the testimonials from my clients have encouraged you. These were all people who were prepared to learn, practise, and master new skills then saw the results.

If you feel that you need some tailored advice, plan of action and support, then contact me. We'll begin with a free, no obligation, 30 minute Career Booster discussion. Be prepared - even in this short conversation I will give you a couple of recommended actions to take so that you can immediately start to address your neglected career boosting skills. If you want practical, realistic advice that works, I look forward to speaking with you.

Warm wishes,

Joanna

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Check out the Resources section on my website for links to blog posts, free webinars, free videos and more.

Book your free 30 minute Career Booster discussion to start tackling a specific area – or to figure out what you need to work on first.

Contact me to discuss us working together to help you master these skills and have the career you want.

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the skills needed for career success - inside out image · 2020-03-11 · the nine neglected skills...

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