Vow to be Visible!

I am back from vacation. Yes, I had a great time, thanks for asking. Having disappeared for a week or so I thought about visibility as I came back. Two blog posts by other bloggers prompted this thought, so I thought I would pass on their ideas and add a couple of my own.

The first thought comes from Alan Collins writer of Success In HR in his post Seven No B.S. HR Career Strategies Your Boss Won’t Tell You About! His fourth point is "Visibility is not an official HR competency, but it should be." Alan makes the comment "...focusing on doing what you do better than anyone else and trusting that that alone is enough, guarantees you one thing and one thing only: a long life laboring in oblivion." The implication is that you need to "toot your own horn." People within your organization need to know that you are good, not just your boss. My experience has been that you can increase your visibility by working on committees, task forces, etc. You can also increase your visibility by being a good speaker and making good company presentations. Alan also makes the comment that writing a blog can increase you visibility. I can attest, it does.

Kris Dunn, The HR Capitalist, makes the comment "Develop a professional identity outside the workplace, and you'll never be held hostage intellectually to the job you currently have." In his post How a Sucky Economy Makes A Professional Identity Outside of the Workplace More Important... he makes the point that having an identity outside the workplace is protection against the psychological impact of losing your job. I think it also makes you somewhat more resistant to losing your job. So how do you get a professional identity outside of your workplace? Well following Alan Collin's advice of writing a blog can help. But there are other ways too. Volunteer! There are many non-profits that need help, especially on their Boards of Directors. This allows you to demonstrate your leadership ability and your decisionmaking skills. It can be fulfilling, challenging and provide you a stretch. It can also position you to go to work for someone else if you lose your current postion.

So vow to be visible! It will make you a better current employee and a better future employee.

"What Should I Do With My Life Now?": A Discussion of a Po Bronson Article

Author Po Bronson (see his bio here) has an article in the current, April 2009, issue of Fast Company magazine that is the same as the title of this blog post. In this article he discusses one aspect of the the question "What do I do with my life now?" His original premise,form six years ago, was that people and companies were better off if people were doing something they really cared about. And if they did "They would work extra hard and innovate their way out of this black hole." His discussion in this article is about six major fallacies that people project onto this dilemma. These are:

Myth 1: People are the architects of their own change. "Extremely few people quit because of career ennui. (definition) Rather , most are pushed into change. They're laid off or can't make ends meet or have at-home demands or find their new , postmerger boss to be an absolute ass." Comment: My personal experience matches this. Although I voluntarily left several postions I did so not because of boredom, there was typically some other situation that was not to my liking. And of course the once I was let go in a downsizing. I would like to think that I have been the architect of my own change, but perhaps not. And most other people I know had job change happen TO them as opposed to making it happen.

Myth 2: All it takes is passion. "I call this the Modern Dream Machine Industry. Media companies have made a killing selling .... false claims that you can just dust off your fantasies and live your dream." Comment: We would all like to believe you can go and do what you love to do and the money will follow. All you have to do it do it with passion. But if you have been around for any period of time you know that is not generally true. There does have to be a market, and passion must be accompanied by planning and sacrifice

Myth 3: Your dream job has no sucky parts. "I call this the Fallacy of Intrisic Fit. There's this notion that you should love the mere act of what you do so much that just by virtue of it being Monday morning and you're at work, neurotransmitters of joy will drip on your brain all day. That is not how real people do it. All jobs have things you hate about them. But real people feel fulfilled enough by the overall purpose that the crummy parts are worth it." Comment: I know I have never had a job without some crummy parts. And I don't think I have EVER talked to someone who loved EVERY aspect of their job.

Myth 4: You'll love the job for the job. "There is an old parable about the three bricklayers..All three men have a sense of purpose (money, family, building a cathedral). Not one said, 'I just love laying bricks.' Doing something for the sheer love of it is not what real people mean when they say their work provides a sense of purpose." Comment: A common theme throughout history is 'having a purpose'. Most everyone I know has at sometime asked "Why am I here?" Having a purpose, a reason, for doing what you are doing makes doing it easier to do.

Myth 5: There is "the one." "There is no one thing each of us is meant to do on this planet. ... For each of us, there are dozens, even hundreds, of careers, any one of which could provide a sense of meaning and goodness. The biggest mistake is to be seduced by the myth that you're looking for the right answer, as if there is only one. For most people a 'calling' is not something you just know the moment you see it. It's something you grow into by having an impact on your organization and your community." Comment: I would like to think that I could, and would, do many other things in life and be as good (or bad) at them as I am at what I do currently. I do get some satisfaction out of thinking about the impact I have had on people. Ones who got jobs, ones who learned more, ones who passed tests, ones who ended up better off having gotten some guidance from me. Human resources really turns out to be a much more powerful position than people give it credit for being.

Myth 6: You don't know what you want. "Don't tell me you don't know what you want. Of course you know what you what you want: fulfillment, connection, responsibility... and some excitement. The real problem is figuring out how to get it. Which is hard. Of course it is hard. It's supposed to be hard. If it weren't hard you wouldn't learn anything along the way.... If you don't know how to make the best of a bad situation you will never get there. Comment: Excitment... I have thought that the best job in the world for me would be to be Indiana Jones, with one leg in the classroom and the other persuing 'scientific' adventure. Either that or be like Dirk Pitt from Clive Cussler's novels. Guess I will just settle for the time being of dealing with excitement of negotiating I-75 in Atlanta at 7 a.m.

Bronson ends his article with this statement: "If you are not willing to be humble and repeatedly be a beginner in new areas and learn the details faster than the next guy, you are not capable of transformation. Only by embracing these realities will you be able to answer the question "What should I do with my life now?" So to all you job seekers, to all you bored HR people, to everyone read some Bronson and reflect and decide if you can TRANSFORM.

Improve Your Voice To Improve Your Career

How many times have you been suprised by someone who "looks" like they should have a great speaking voice yet ends up having a voice that is unpleasant to the ear in one way or another? Perhaps they have a high pitched or squeeky voice, or too much of an accent or regionality in their voice. I know I have been disappointed a number of times. I expect a leader to "sound" like a leader and a president to "sound" presidential. I think the sound of McCain versus the sound of Obama made a difference in the past election. Some of you may suffer from the same malady. You may not have crediblity in your position because you don't "sound" credible.

Well did you know you can do something about that? It happens all the time. Actors have voice coaches and it works (with the exception of Kevin Costner in Robin Hood.) Hugh Laurie, the actor who portrays Dr. House, has a heavy English accent when he is himself, but he sounds 100% American when in character. Business people have discovered that having a voice coach can improve their opportunities in the workplace.

According to an article in the DallasNews.com more and more business people are using voice and speech coaches. The article, Voice Coaches' Work Strikes a Chord, states that "A great voice makes you sound more interesting, more intelligent and more trustworthy. It helps you get ahead." The article further states that "The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, meanwhile, estimates that a third of its members now work with the general public rather than sticking with actors and voiceover artists."

The training is not inexpensive at about a $100 per lesson for a minimum of 6 lessons and lots of practice. But if you feel your career is being held back it might be worth it.

And for you jobseekers, who make a recruiter cringe everytime you open your mouth, it might be worthwhile to stand out from the crowd. A great voice will not get you a job by itself (unless you are doing voice over), but it will make you noticeable and memorable. If nothing more it may help you feel better about yourself. As one person said "That gives me a level of confidence I never had before – which may be the biggest benefit."

Check it out.