Career

Career Help is the Key to Success in Challenging Times…

by KarenTax on October 31, 2011

We are living in a time of extreme challenges where traditional thinking about career choices, career exploration and balancing work and life no longer ensures success. Moving up the career ladder, seeking more money, looking for the next hot technology or job … are these strategies leading to the fulfillment and success you want? Not according to what we’re seeing…

career help

Get The RIGHT Kind of Career Help!

Solid career help comes from leveraging information, tools and coaching that help you stop being paralyzed by uncertainty & fear and start blazing your own trail by being clear, confident, and courageous in your actions.

Strong career help supports you through online development, community and career coaches that help you make career changes that work for you. Dive into career exploration so you can answer this question: “What is the right career for me now and in the future”?

Career Help Leads to the Best Career for You

You can know for sure that the ‘right career for me’ is one that results in you being your best every day, where you are passionately engaged in your work.

The ‘right career for me’ is created by using career help that leads to deeply satisfying, meaningful, and lucrative work that also contributes to a life you love and the betterment of business and the communities around you. And you don’t have to compromise anything!

The Best Career Help Leads to Authentic Career Choices

Your best career choices come from within: authentic choices based on knowing your talents and contributing your talents in ways that lead to the creation of what you want to see happen in your life and maybe even the world.

Your worst career choices happen when you look for security and success by chasing the fickle winds of relentless change, seeking certainty in an external world of uncertainty.

The Old Way of Getting Career Help

The old way of getting career help would have you assess current job or work opportunities, pick career goals based on how your strengths match these opportunities, make a plan to achieve these goals, and then implement your plan. Once you’ve completed your plan and gotten the job you want, you can rest easy…

There are several problems with this approach:

career choices

Old Ways of Providing Career Help Cause Stress

  • Many career opportunities are obsolete before career development planning is complete.
  • Career help becomes a rare event you make when you’re stressed.
  • What you really want, your passions and interests, are not considered … or even leveraged.
  • Too often you end up sacrificing your authentic career path, for the practicalities of what others need or the sake of maintaining a steady paycheck.

With the old way you can never truly rest easy because you focus on things beyond your control. You hope for the economy to change and do nothing, when now is the perfect time to take charge and do something different!

Unless you eventually learn how to take a stand for your authentic career path, you will eventually sell your soul for the sake of that steady paycheck. At a minimum, you will end up with no idea of how to handle the crazy uncertainty and challenges of our times. And that steady paycheck is really just an illusion.

The Old Way of Getting Career Help is Reactive

The old way of getting career help and making career choices is reacting to ‘what is’ rather than ‘creating the right career for me.’ You react to an uncertain external world, expecting to create certainty.

You try to play within known variables. You play it safe. You settle. You stay in a box whose boundaries are defined by ‘what is known.’ You become attached to the status quo.

You become more and more invested in the way things have been done at a time when the rate of change is only increasing.

Ironically, in trying to create stability and certainty, you actually end up less engaged, less relevant and less safe. You become ossified: less flexible and able to move with change. Ultimately, you create more uncertainty and stress for yourself.

The New Way of Getting Career Help

Ironically, the certain uncertainty of our challenging times ensures that opportunities are abundant for getting a life, balancing work and life and creating the ‘career for me‘. The question then becomes how do you get career help and make career choices that take advantage of these opportunities as they emerge, evolve and change? How do you create certainty when everything seems so unstable?

Get Career Help that Leads to Your Happiness

The answer is to get career help and make career choices that lead you to become brilliant at emerging, evolving and changing based on the development and contribution of your talents – ongoing.

The best career help maximizes your learning and growth. So, your choices are not in reaction to events, but instead are in harmony with your authentic path of soul evolution and the needs that interest you in the workplace and the marketplace.

The key is to exercise your career choices to the fullest extent possible: to live the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To not hold back on what you want in any way.

The worst strategy is to ‘wait and see’ and react to the waves of change as they come crashing down upon you.

The best strategy is to ride atop the waves of change, taking charge of which waves you ride and how you ride them by learning, growing and evolving both personally and professionally, by relentlessly exercising your choices and freedoms to the fullest extent possible.

Career Help and Making Career Choices in the New Way are Proactive and Creative

You are the creator of the waves of change you are experiencing. Knowing this helps you actively participate in shaping your work and life in exactly the ways you want.

You’ve Got Talent

Shifting to new ways of finding career help is tricky because old ways are embedded into how most people think about work and how many corporate career development planning programs are conducted.

How many times have you heard the word ‘sacrifice’ when it comes to work? Or heard people say you must ‘pay your dues’ before you get what you want?

In traditional career development planning, people in perceived positions of power decide ‘who’s got talent.’

By thinking about work as a sacrifice, by letting others decide when you’ve got talent, you put others in charge of one of the most important aspects of yourself: your talents and how you contribute these talents to the world in the form of your work!

In most situations, this approach contributes to ‘wait and see’ career strategies because talent is ‘other determined’ not ‘self determined.’ Or you’re delaying what you really want or what you’re best at, until some later time. Too often you compromise the ways you can be at your best now, for the needs of others, rather than finding a path forward that creates synergies between both.

The result of ‘wait and see’ career strategies is a dis-empowered and passive workforce … not what is needed to foster creativity, innovation and new markets.

If you have read this far, you are likely a person who is ready to decide for yourself that you’ve got talent, you are ready to maximize your talent now, get career help, and make career choices that allow you to get on top of the waves of change.

We Provide Career Help that Empowers You

You don’t need us to tell you ‘you’ve got talent,’ but you might need some help in learning new career development planning strategies that help you focus on your talents and their ongoing evolution. We know there are not a lot of examples of ‘the new way’ out there, but that doesn’t need to stop you!

You are Essential

The secret to thriving in challenging times is to get career help and have career development planning strategies that show you how to remember your talents, the joy of giving your talents, and to exercise your career choices and freedoms to the fullest extent possible in an ongoing fashion.

Get Career Help That Shows You How To Give Your Gifts Every Day

You can start by thinking of your talents as the greatest gifts you have to give. You access them by remembering the value of your strengths, experiences and perspectives. Remembering is a process of learning, growing and healing: becoming more and more whole every day.

We like to call this gifted, growing, evolving part of you your ‘essential best’ because it’s the part of you that the world needs most – you at your best.

Your ‘essential best’ is the essence of the real you. Your soul’s purpose. Essential in the world. Nothing less.

If you do not feel essential, if you are not at your best every day, if you are not passionately engaged in your work, if you are not learning and growing, if you are tired more than energized in your work … then you are being passive in your career choices and not getting the right kind of career help.

Career Help that Empowers Results in Your Feeling Engaged – Every Day

The alternative is to get the right kind of career help that shows you how to take charge of your career and actively make career choices that keep you at the top of your game, relevant, engaged, evolving and changing – in ways that are fun and easy!

The alternative to a ‘wait-and-see’ strategy is to remember that you are essential and do whatever is needed to enjoy riding the waves of change and challenge.

Now is the Time

Yes, these are challenging times!

And now is the perfect time to get career help and to remember your essential best, to stop waiting & get back to who you really are. Now is the time to transform yourself from the person who has slowly and unknowingly settled for the status quo to being a person who loves your work and life.

Now is the time to get career help that empowers.

Now is the time to take charge and make the most of your career choices.

Now is the time to be the leader of your life … of your career.

Now is the time to rediscover the essential best of who you are.

You Get to Decide

The learning and resources that we provide within the IAM Learning Community are designed to provide career help that guides you in remembering that you are indeed essential. Talented. Gifted.

We offer a new way to experience career development planning, a way that supports you in making career choices that result in you being your best every day, in being passionately engaged in your work, that leads to creating work and life you love, for your benefit and the good of others.

If you are ready to wake up to your essential best … to learn how to create a life you love, then check out our free membership in the IAM Learning Community. Discover the extraordinary opportunities available to you in these challenging times.

We offer career help through a variety of ways.

Online Development Programs: IAM Career SMART! Group Coaching and IAM Career SMART! Online Development

Free Membership: Join and Receive our FREE Gift & our online development course, IAM Touchstones. Get connected in our Community.

Career Coaching with one of our IAM Coaches.

We invite you to tell us below what we can do to support you in getting the career help you need.

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A Big C Requires Career Development Planning

by dianecraver on July 22, 2011

career development planning

career development planning can help you know

Career Development Planning Can Give You the Results You Want

Recently I learned about Big Cs and Little Cs from my friend, John Berkley, owner of Competitive Edge, an experiential training and development company.

Here’s how it works: You have a decision to make about your career, and you’re not sure what to do. If the consequence is low (little C), use trial and error. If the consequence is high (Big C), you need to plan more.

Career Development Planning Using a Little C Approach

The way I see most people approach their careers is through trial and error. They graduate from college and are just happy to get a job. They don’t really think about their careers, and certainly their managers don’t think about helping them. They go to work every day, do a good job, and collect a paycheck.

But it isn’t long before they stagnate, get laid off, are overlooked for a promotion, feel lost, get tired of working 24/7, doing the work of 3 people, and so on. And so they try to do something about it, but it doesn’t work. And then they just settle, and wind up miserable.

What happened? They thought the consequences would be low if they didn’t invest in career development planning. Maybe they didn’t even know about career development planning!

Career Development Planning Using a Big C Approach

The clients I work with view their careers as an extension of who they are – at their best. They may not start out thinking that way because they’ve been a part of a system that encourages them to be average; but deep inside they know they want more out of their life. They want to shine brightly and shine the light on others as well.

I know for sure that the consequences are high when it comes to making decisions about your career. If you hate going to work, you likely hate your life. If you don’t have the skills, education, or experience you need for the work you want to do, your self-esteem suffers. If you are unclear about what value you create, you don’t get the support you need. If you have gifts but aren’t using them, you become resentful.

And guess what shows up in our organizations, communities and relationships? Stress symptoms such as memory problems, poor judgment, anxiety, depression, anger, chest pain, nausea, alcohol/drug abuse, loss of sleep, overeating. You become poor at balancing work and life so your family suffers. Your energy is low, and you’ve lost your creativity.

These are the things people bring to work with them every day. Is this what we want to contribute to creating? I don’t think so. At least that’s what my clients are telling me.

The consequences of having a career you love can easily shift over to the positive side by simply investing in yourself through career development planning.

Career Development Planning Requires Strategic Thinking

One thing I love about John’s Big C/Little C tool is that it gets you thinking strategically. I believe that we’re all strategic, we just may not be aware of our strategies, and sometimes we choose the wrong strategies.

Let me explain. Say you’re in a job where you’re making a good salary but you don’t fit in with the culture. Your strategy is to stay where you are because you’re getting paid “good money.” You can live with the culture and just do your job, staying away from the politics. But then a new “sheriff” comes into town – boss, CEO, whatever. And that new sheriff decides you’re just not his cup of tea, so you get pushed aside.

How’s that “good money” working for you? You’re stressed out, you feel like a failure, and your talents are being wasted. Poor strategy!

Career Development Planning Requires Courage

It takes courage to assess your strategies and redirect your course! And it really doesn’t take that much courage. All it takes is getting real with yourself. Tell the truth about what you want. And push all those thoughts inside your head that say, “It can’t happen, there are no jobs, people don’t get paid to do what they want, you should just be grateful you have a job …” [Yuck! I got nauseous just writing that.]

Have the courage to ask for help so you can create new strategies, ones that are effective and align with who you really are and what you have to offer.

Career Development Planning Requires Persistence

After courage comes the hard part – the work. What is the work? The work is knowing and taking a stand for who you really are at your best, and then creating win-win opportunities.

I’ve seen some people get really, really close to discovering a great career path only to give up on themselves and stay in what they think is a safe job, or a job others think they “should be” happy with. And then they get sick – physically, emotionally, spiritually, or mentally. You may fool everyone else with your plastic smile, but you can’t fool your body. Big, fat consequence!

From my heart to yours, I want you to know that you are worthy of a career you love in a place where you talents are valued. And it will be easy because you will make it easy. You will make it easy because you’ll be clear about what you want, why you want it, and the steps you need to take to get there. And when the winds of change shift around you, you will not be caught off guard because you’re always working your plan to get exactly what you want.

Your career is an essential part of your well being. And career development planning is abundance personified through you.

Look Ma, No Hands!

Career Development Planning is Like Riding a Bicycle

Did you have a bicycle when you were a kid? If so, think about the day when you got the hang of riding your bicycle and one day, you let go of the handle bars, and said, “Look Ma, no hands.”

It wasn’t that hard. Just a little planning & practice, courage, and perseverance, and you were sailing down the street getting a taste of success and freedom.

So, hop on your Big C bicycle, and get that career development plan going.

Enjoy the ride! It’s awesome!

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Getting a Life and Career You Love Depends on How Well You Handle Change

by dianecraver on July 10, 2011

What if getting a life you love were easy, fun, and energizing?

getting a life

Change happens! Getting a life you love is up to you.

Today I heard someone say, “Our employees need to just deal with the changes around here. Move on. Get over it. We have work to do.”

Well, twinkle, twinkle little star… if change were only that simple!

We’re all being asked to change quickly because situations outside of us are changing so fast – technology, global economies, highly connected societies. And yet, many people struggle with how to change.

  • How do you reorient yourself when your situation changes?
  • How do you redefine yourself when what you knew is different, sometimes radically?
  • What helps you with getting a life where you easily transition from one change to the other without sacrificing your true self?

Author William Bridges Explains the Difference Between Change and Transition

My go-to person for change is Dr. William Bridges, author of the book (along with many others) Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes. Bridges has made a career out of helping individuals and organizations make the most of change, especially personal change.

In the early ‘90s the company I worked for was going through layoffs. Since I was in HR, I was part of a team that had to burn the midnight oil putting together severance packages that would be passed out the next day. I still recall waves of nausea washing over me as I read the names of people I knew – people who had no idea that they would soon be getting a life they likely did not want.

Fortunately my manager had the foresight to give all of us a copy of Transitions. Reading this book helped me to process what Bridges describes as the “personal side of change called transition.”

Bridges explains that change and transition are different. Change is situational, physical. Transition is psychological, emotional. It’s important to understand the difference and then you can do something about it. Ponder these questions…

  • How do you re-create yourself in the midst of change you don’t want? Reorganizations, layoffs, new manager who doesn’t know what you do, being fired, new project assignment
  • What helps you stay productive and engaged in the midst of all the change going around you?
  • What happens when change is good (new baby, business growth, marriage, etc.) but you’re not feeling particularly energized or happy?

Author Angeles Arrien Teaches the Art of Letting Go

Another book I recommend is The Four-Fold Way, by Angeles Arrien, especially the chapter, “The Way of the Teacher.” In this chapter, Arrien suggests that we must learn the art of letting go.

Letting go doesn’t mean you stop caring or become passive. It simply means you are more open-minded and flexible, trusting yourself and your own creative abilities to make the transition. And you might just discover getting a life that’s better than you imagined.

8 Ideas to Help with Getting a Life Where Change is Easy

I’ve put together some ideas from Bridges and Arrien’s books to help you work through the changes in your life – to assist you in the transition process. Getting a life where change is easy could be closer than you think…

  • Invest in self-renewal. You don’t have to go away for months of meditation (unless you just want to and can afford it). Set time aside daily for silence, listening to what is true for you. Just be! Don’t be surprised when wisdom starts oozing out of you!
  • Don’t be reactive. Many people go into firefighting mode when they are going through a change. Essentially they focus on tasks (to-do lists) and are not thinking about the big picture. Their strategies aren’t very effective because they are trying to short cut the process. I advise my clients to enjoy the process and don’t let fear sidetrack you into getting a life that’s even more difficult.
  • It’s okay to be uncomfortable. Stress symptoms are a sign that something is changing. You don’t have to be afraid that something is wrong with you. Don’t resist either. Recently I experienced a change I did not want; my usual response is to fight the feelings of anxiety and fear, and see the bright side. This time I tried a different approach – I invited the scary feelings in. I began pruning my gardenia bush & saying out loud every fear I had about this situation. I was just about to finish my pruning when I lost my footing and fell right into that bush. Laughing out loud, I said, “Thanks for the nudge, God! I guess it’s time to move on.”
  • Don’t change too much at once. When everything around you seems to be changing so fast, look for something that’s stable. Maybe it’s a ritual of eating Mexican on Friday nights (mine), watching a favorite tv show with your whole family, or walking your dog on Sundays …
  • Talk to someone. A coach, trusted friend, or professional counselor will help you make sense of how you’re feeling. You don’t need someone to tell you what to do (although you may think you do); you need someone to help you brainstorm creative ideas for working through the transition. You need support, encouragement, and ideas for authentic action.
  • Explore your future. Bridges states, “Transitions clear the ground for new growth.” As you are working through the change you’re in right now, there are growth opportunities waiting out there for you. What skills, abilities, interests, passions need to be explored? Who can you talk with to help you answer the question, “What do I really, really want”?
  • What else do you need to learn? When things change, you’ll likely have to learn new skills and increase your knowledge about certain things. I walked away from my corporate job with a plan to use the time to figure out what I wanted to do with my career. My strategy was to explore lots of different paths and be open to what emerged. Soon I reconnected with a former colleague who said, “You should check out the coaching field. You’d be great at that.” So I did, and I knew after my first day at class that coaching was the career for me. Be a lifelong learner so that you will always be on the leading edge of change.
  • Change has a shape. This is something I wasn’t aware of until I read Bridges’ book. Something ends, next comes a season of “fertile emptiness”, and then there is something new. This is how change occurs.

Now is the Time for Getting a Life You Love 

Nourish your Transition Process

If you think about that last bullet, the “fertile emptiness,” that’s the part that most people don’t even think about. We think we can take a shortcut and just hurry through, but keep in mind that part of that term is “fertile.”

It takes time for seeds to germinate, babies to grow, and bread to rise. Getting a life and career you love requires you to nourish and tend to your transition process so that change is easy, fun, and energizing.

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Karen Uses Video/IAM Maps to Pitch Work That Fits with the Career For Me

by KarenTax on June 24, 2011

See how I used video in creating the career for me!

This spring I bought the Product Launch Formula (PLF) product from Jeff Walker. I bought it mostly because I loved the way Jeff sold it to me. I wanted to do what Jeff does!

My experience with PLF was exceptional: the content, its delivery, the Internet Alchemy customer support team…

I decided to step into my ‘superstardom’

So when I got an email this past Wednesday afternoon that said Jeff was hiring “superstars”, I thought “I want to be a part of this business.” Part time project work was an option – so I decided to create a pitch!

The process included posting a video on YouTube titled “Internet Alchemy Superstar” and filling out an application form.

I created the following video on Thursday, a day when I had 5 hours of client meetings, 1 hour with my tech guy and Diane … the entire video creation and application process took me 3 hours. By the end of my work day on Thursday I had completed my application.

Here’s the video part of my application:

I was totally pumped during the entire application process. I had fun, it felt completely aligned with the career for me, and I was also completely not attached to the outcome. I had nothing to lose!

All was not perfect

Some challenges that I had:

  • The video ended up being too long. YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes; mine was 16 minutes. I solved this problem by putting a trimmed 10 minute video on YouTube, the long video on my website, and providing links to both. If they liked the short version, they’d want to watch the long one!

    •  

  • I spelled alchemy wrong! Really! This was after I looked and looked at the word thinking something felt wrong. I spell checked it. And I still spelled it wrong. When I realized my mistake, I just went back and fixed it where I could.

Being human is perfect – somehow!

Jeff said he wanted people who take initiative – I got the sense he was not looking for perfection. Since I was also going on vacation in a couple days, I decided that ‘getting it done’ was more important than ‘getting it perfect. ‘

I also consider the spelling mistake Divine intervention. There was a reason I’m not aware of that I made that mistake. I’ve learned that my humanity is one of my greatest gifts. So I’m just trusting …

I don’t know yet if Internet ALCHEMY will actually end up as part of ‘the career for me’ (I really, really hope so – they are beyond cool!). I’ll keep you posted!

You are a superstar too

In the meantime, let’s talk about how this application process is an example of the new direction hiring is taking…

What do you think of the video? How does it compare to others on YouTube (just search for “Internet Alchemy Superstars”)?

I used both the IAM Essence Map and the IAM Energy Map in the video to talk about how I’m a ‘superstar.’ Do you see yourself as a superstar? To what extent can you talk about yourself as a superstar?

You create the ‘career for me’

How would you describe the job or work you want as part of the career you are creating?!

Post your responses in the comment section below … I’d love to know your thoughts!

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Career Help for the Conscious Creator

by KarenTax on June 22, 2011

Take an active role in transforming the way we work and live!

As Einstein so beautifully stated: “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.”

Conscious Creators will Uplift the Economy!

Given the consistent, persistent state of our languishing economy, I’m convinced that conscious creators are going to be the ones to lift us out of the economic doldrums. It’s time to think about work anew!

Are you a conscious creator?

Not sure if you are a conscious creator? Here are some indicators:

  • You take responsibility for your thoughts and behaviors
  • You understand the attractive power of your life-force energy
  • You know that positive and hopeful emotions fuel your dreams

Conscious Creation Connects All Religion and No Religion

You may be a Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Pagan… You may or may not be comfortable with the word ‘Spiritual’.

You know that how you think and act matters. You resonate with the idea that ‘we vote every day.’

And you are ready to participate in creating a new way, because you want to make a difference.

Bringing conscious creation to your career can be a challenge

We know it can be tricky to make a difference …  For example, you may have read Echart Tolle’s ‘A New Earth’ and got excited about expanding your consciousness, but are stalled in knowing how to apply these ideas to work and business.

That’s why we provide career help in the form of:

What can you do now?

In the meantime, there are steps you can take now to make a difference:

Conscious Creators Make Conscious Choices

  1. Reduce the stress in your life. It is very difficult to make conscious choices when you live in fear and drama.
  2. Imagine the world as you want it to be. Pick one or two specific things that you want to see happening. Don’t worry about all that is wrong!
  3. Decide to make conscious choices every day. Intend for your choices to contribute to creating what you want to see in the world.
  4. Include your own healing/learning. Trying to fix others is not attractive! Make choices personally relevant to keep your conscious creation ‘clean.’
  5. Know what path you are on. Have a process you can use every day to guide the transformation of your choices and the path you are on.

Building a bridge between conscious creation and business

Conscious Creators Connect the Personal and Practical

It can be difficult when you first bring the concepts of attraction or a new way of working  into the mainstream world of profit obsessed business and data focused rationalism. We know!

That’s why the framework we have created with the IAM Maps provides a link between the most personal and the very practical of the business world.

For example, the IAM Maps guide you to examine both personal and professional values. When personal and professional values are in conflict, you abdicate your ability to be a conscious creator…

We provide guidance aligning your personal and professional values, and address the personal healing and learning that may be needed to truly honor your hearts’ desires and to follow your conscious creator career path.

Learn how to talk about what matters

Conscious Creators Make Heart Connections

The IAM Maps and coaching further guide you in ways to talk about your values and work in practical ways that make sense in the rational world of business, while at the same time bringing heart and meaning to the conversation.

We honor the best of both the personal and practical!

What conscious choices are you choosing to make today?

What are the challenges you are facing being a conscious creator?

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How to Know When Getting a Life Means Quitting Your Job?

by KarenTax on June 20, 2011

It’s time to be getting a life when you are:

getting a life

It's Time to Get a Life When the Best Thing in Life is the End of the Day

  • Bored
  • Apathetic
  • Complacent
  • Blaming Others
  • Dreading work
  • Dreading home
  • Stressed or sick

In other words, getting a life is needed when you are tolerating an unhealthy home or work situation, you know it’s not good, and you’re staying there because you don’t have the guts to do something about it.

Getting a life means at home or at work!

I mention both work and home situations because you can not be your best if either domain is not optimal.

I’ll focus now on knowing when to ‘quit your job;’ know that these concepts can be used equally well at home!

Getting a life means deciding to be your best

Gone are the days when an employer had limited choice on who to hire. Your best offense in tough economic times is to be confident in being your best.

If you are waiting for affirmation from your boss that you are doing a great job, or waiting for a challenge that will take you to the next level of your best – you are in deep do-do my friend!

You must take charge of this process yourself! And it you have settled for mediocre performance for a long time, it’s time to boogie…

Getting a life might mean quitting your job

You Know When You're at a Dead End

Boogie time means quitting your job, if you know:

  • You are in a dead-end situation. For example, you work at a newspaper or your business is gradually being sold and consumed by larger markets (think telecom).
  • You are not excited about your work. For example, you’ve hung in there for a paycheck to support your family but the passion is simply, gone, gone, gone.
  • Indicators or measures are not improving. For example, you’re not getting the juicy work assignments, or new clients, or discovering new depths of passion.

If this is your situation, it’s time to plan an exit strategy. If this is the first time you’ve really taken charge of your life, then it’s probably the first time you’ve been strategic, so becoming more strategic is the first step in an exit strategy.

Quitting your job means having an exit strategy

An exit strategy for quitting your job includes:

It's Time For Brighter Horizons!

  1. Get support in becoming more strategic about your life. Be able to see a path forward.
  2. Take full responsibility for your current situation. It’s time to stop all blame.
  3. Reduce the stress in your life – immediately. Stress is the enemy of creativity.
  4. Begin to engage your creativity and imagination. See new possibilities.
  5. Tap in to whatever passion you can ignite. Engage your heart and find courage.
  6. Commit to being your authentic best – smart, talented. Stop selling yourself short.
  7. Garner the resources needed for a transition. Have money, support, further plans.

The key is to start now. Before things become dire, i.e. you are laid-off without savings wondering how all this happened.

Getting a life is the way forward

Honestly, the longer you wait the harder it gets. Getting a life is just not an option any more; it’s the only way forward to being your best.

Career help is the key to success in challenging times.  Consider what it will take for you to make real changes!

What are you ready to commit to now, on a path to getting a life?

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Career development planning secrets of brownnosers and how they could help you

by dianecraver on June 16, 2011

Career Development Planning-Tips from Brownnosers

You’ve seen them – the brown nosers, sweet talkers, bootlickers, goody two-shoes, kiss ass, suck ups, yes-men, and the like!

How can they live with themselves? How come your boss doesn’t see through them?

This morning I wondered about that very thing while my husband brought me breakfast in bed. Kidding!

Recently I had a conversation with some friends about brownnosers in their office. They talked about favoritism, stupid people getting promoted, and people getting thrown under the bus. We could all relate – been there, been burned by that.

Then just this week I found a website praising the skills of brownnosers. Yes, that’s right – praising the skills of brownnosers. That got my attention.

A Website for Brownnosers – Really?

The website, Brownnosing 101, was created by Linda Teza, corporate refugee, and currently writer and professor. Linda had an interesting perspective that I hadn’t considered: brownnosers are simply using some fundamental business skills – visibility, positioning, networking and connecting.

What is it we despise so much about brownnosers? It’s what I perceive as their motivation that bothers me: self-serving, competition, superficial, manipulation.

I certainly don’t want to imitate those types of behaviors, but I’m open-minded enough to know that I can learn from anyone – even if it’s what not to do.

Brownnosing Skill for Your Career Development Planning – Visibility

When it comes to career development planning, being skilled at visibility is critical. In my experience, it’s something almost everyone struggles with. People know they need to be visible, but they aren’t sure how to do it in a way that feels authentic and not slimy.

I’ve had many conversations with my clients about visibility. Here’s a sample of them below. How would you answer these questions?

  • How often do you meet with your manager, engaging her/him in your vision and strategies … not talking about tactics? What I hear from the executives I work with is that too many of their employees want to talk about details.

Leaders don’t need the details; they’re more interested in your ideas, vision, and strategies. You figure out the details.

  • How often do you speak up in meetings? I know some people are just naturally quiet or like to process their thoughts internally, but I continue to hear people say their managers want them to speak up in meetings.

Don’t sit there all smug saying, “Well, I would talk, but you can’t get a word in edgewise with Diane in the meeting.” Try writing down an idea, suggestion, or perspective while others are talking. Then find a way to say it – even if you have to interrupt with something like, “Pardon me, Diane. I have an idea I’d like to share with the group. May I jump in here”?

  • When you’re at a networking event, what is the quality of your conversation? Are you looking for ways of connecting to people on a personal level? Or are you just talking business, keeping the conversation superficial? Your products and services don’t differentiate you from others, who you are will.

And speaking of networking, how do you follow up with people? Something I learned in business development was to send an email or note after the meeting to recap the salient points of the meeting and thank the person for their time. That extra step is a big one.

  • How do you talk about what you do well? Whether you’re interviewing for a job/role, discussing your performance, pitching a product or service, or running for office, you have to talk about yourself.

A huge roadblock I see people struggle with is they either go on and on, or they don’t say enough. I’ve even heard people say, “Well they should know what I do well. I work 10 hours a day.” NOT!

  • Think about who is in your inner circle – people you go to lunch or dinner with, people you go to a game with, people at your church or club, people in your industry. How wide is that circle? Are you only hanging out with people like you? If you are, you’re missing out.

When it comes to your career, it’s important to be connected to a diverse group of people from all walks of life and all levels. When you do, your life is enriched, your perspective expands, and many times you get free informal mentoring.

You don’t have to get run over or pushed aside by the brownnosers in your office, group, or family (yeah, they exist in families too). You can learn these skills too and not be the one everyone wants to be run over by a bus on the way to work!

When you think about career development planning, what have you found to be helpful with visibility? What has challenged you?

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Why Traditional Career Development Planning is Obsolete

by KarenTax on June 9, 2011

Traditional career development planning re-enforces the status quo; we need ways to be more human and unique!

Traditional career development planning usually looks something like the following:

career development planning

Traditional Career Development Planning

  1. complete background information
  2. set your development goals
  3. write your action steps
  4. list obstacles and solutions
  5. identify your resources

If you’re lucky step 1 includes some sort of self assessment that encourages you to follow your interests and leverage your strengths. Usually step 1 also asks you to address ways to deal with your weaknesses because certainly you need to be fixed.

Why traditional career development planning is obsolete

Typical Linear Thinking About Career Paths

This type of process is obsolete for several reasons:

  1. The focus is to get you to fit into known career paths.
  2. The process is left brain oriented.
  3. It doesn’t guide people toward atypical or soul-nourishing opportunities.
  4. Most processes heavily favor the corporate advantage.
  5. Most managers and employees have no time to actually do career development planning.

Lest I throw the baby out with the bath water, there are some positives about the way career development planning has been done: it’s a great way to imagine the details of what a particular career path might look like and get guidance on that path.

Traditional approaches are limited

But the limitations of traditional career development are extreme, especially in these times when staying with in the confines of ‘the way things have been done’ does little to move individuals and organizations toward new and innovative ways of working.

Career development planning is designed to guide you to fit in, think logically, stay within the bounds of what is known without helping you be more authentic, human, or extraordinary.

It follows logical, linear paths that could never anticipate the myriad permutations and combinations possible if we allowed our hearts to guide our career journeys.

It typically gives lip service to equal ownership in the process, instead falling back to the paternal role of management taking care of your career opportunities like promotions and raises.

Employees get lulled into thinking someone is ‘watching out for them’ and often get blind sided by a layoff or unforeseen change, when instead they need to be taking charge of and driving their career development planning process.

We need approaches that foster being human and unique

We need to help both individuals and organizations be more remarkable and human, to be leaders internally in the business and externally in the market, by accomplishing the following goals:

Nuture People to be Originals

  • Know how to be your authentic, unique, unapologetic best
  • Handle the stress of increased demands caused by constant change
  • Learn how to be entrepreneurial and resourceful
  • Follow your passions and do what your heart wants
  • Use your imagination and dreams to discover possibilities beyond the status quo

Seth Godin beautifully summarizes these goals in his book Lynchpin, where he poses that traditional organizations reward mediocre, obedient bureaucrats when instead they should encourage artists, develop leaders and learn to solve interesting problems – in order to be remarkable in the marketplace.

Career development planning can be different

You might think that the goals I’ve proposed here for career development planning are beyond the reach of most individuals and organizations.

Think again! They are far more easily attained then you might realize! I know because I’ve worked with thousands of people to accomplish these goals, and have developed a holistic approach to career development planning that brings out the above and more using the IAM Maps and the IAM Career SMART! online learning offering.

Want to know more? Sign up as a free member to receive the IAM Manifest: a Holistic Framework to Love Your Work and Life.

a Holistic Framework to Love Your Work and Life

As you think about your own personal career path, or the career support offered by your organization, imagine what it might be like to have encouragement and guidance in being your real, authentic, passionate, whole human self …

What might be possible? How would your life be different? How could you improve the lives of others? We’d love to see your thoughts below …

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Why Everyone Needs a Career Plan

by dianecraver on May 27, 2011

career plan

Career Plan: Where Shall We Go Today?

Your Career Plan is an Investment in YOU!

I’m a planner. I like planning vacations, weekend activities, my new kitchen renovation, what I’m planting in my yard every spring and fall. And I plan my career. I always have.

Creating and adjusting your career plan throughout your life is one of the most important and useful investments of your time. It’s exciting to know where you’re heading and adjust accordingly when you’re ready.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably get there.” There meaning nowhere or anywhere or somewhere. Who wants that … especially when it comes to your career?

What is a Career Plan?

Most people approach career planning as a way to get the next promotion, fix their weaknesses, or compete against their peers. They hope they’ll somehow be noticed and rewarded for how many hours they’ve worked, courses they’ve taken, degrees they’ve earned, or projects they’ve led.

Countless organizations treat career planning as an HR process. They use words like talent development, succession planning, and key resource identification. I suspect (hope) their intentions are good, but what usually happens is you are put into little boxes that get you nowhere.

I believe there’s a better way … a way that elevates people AND the organization. A way for people to show up fully engaged and guiding their career plan and a way for organizations to genuinely maximize their talent.

career plan

Your work is your art!

I see work as your art … a creative expression of your talents, skills, abilities, experience, passions, values, perspectives … your own masterpiece. I’ve seen it over and over again whether I was a leader or a coach. It is so cool to watch people get into their groove and create some magic. And anyone can do it.

Your career plan is the process you use to create and expand your version of art.

You career plan is cyclical, strategic and evolutionary. It keeps you energized and focused on being your best and brings extraordinary value to everyone – yourself included.

What You Can Expect from a Career Plan – The IAM Way*

Imagine how your life would be different if you approached your career this way…

  • Leading Your Career. Success is rarely created by simply falling into a job, being pressured, or doing what everyone else does. Those who lead their careers based on who they are and what they want for their lives create fulfillment and success.
  • Focused on the Big Picture. When you have a vision for your career, it’s easy to focus all of your goals and strategies on getting you there. Knowing what you want helps you to make decisions about staying on your path or perhaps taking a little diversion … knowing all along that it’s the journey and the destination that creates happiness.
  • Empowered Personal and Professional Development. Your career plan isn’t a static document. It evolves as you do. Use it to build on and expand your strengths, not fix your weaknesses. Get support from others (coaches, mentors, advisors) to help you grow. Become a lifelong learner.
  • Courageous. It’s normal to be afraid at times throughout your career. Most of what I see people struggle with is “the unknown.” It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone, so you may feel some anxiety. That’s when you consult your career plan to remind you of where you’re going, confront your fears, and get back on track. Like a powerful lion…
  • Prepared. Opportunity knocks and you’ll be ready to take advantage of it. You’ll rarely be surprised by what’s going on around you because you’re consistently reviewing your career plan for alignment with what you want.
  • Focused. Most of us would be good at a thousand things, but how do you choose? Your career plan guides your decisions and curtails distractions.
  • Creative. The process of developing a career plan is very creative. Set yourself free from “what is” and imagine, dream, explore. You might be surprised at what you cook up!
  • Life of Integrity. Crafting a career that is rooted in your values means that your career is one in which what you say and what you do matches up. It will be easy to make choices that align your values to the values of others to create harmony.

*If you want to know more about The IAM Way, Karen captured it beautifully in a recent blog post.

Planning your career is easier than you think. You just need a framework that guides you along your journey.

What Happens if You Don’t Have a Career Plan?

Throughout my career and life, I’ve met scores of brilliant people, but for some reason many of them are languishing in their jobs or businesses. They seem to be stuck. And some of them are bitter.

I’ve wondered many times why these awesome people were overlooked or underutilized while other people were blowing past them? Were they missing secret powers? Were the other people just really good “brown-nosers” … or blackmailers?

Truth Time: The number one reason why these awesome people aren’t getting the results is because they don’t have a career plan … or their career plan isn’t getting them the results they want.

Here’s an example (true story but edited for confidentiality): Sara’s colleagues viewed her as the boss’s “pet.” She got the projects she wanted, was frequently seen in the boss’s office, and before long was promoted into a senior leadership position.

Sara’s colleagues were livid! “Favoritism is rampant around here. What does she have we don’t have? She’s not any smarter than we are. I work harder than she does,” they cried.

What Sara’s colleagues didn’t know is that Sara has a career plan. She shared her ideas with her boss, and they worked together to implement her plan. It wasn’t all “sunshine and roses” either. Sometimes Sara stumbled. Sometimes her boss didn’t agree with her. But eventually they came to an understanding of how to unite Sara’s goals with the organization’s goals.

When I talked with Sara’s boss, I asked, “Did any of those other people talk with you about their career plan”? Unfortunately the answer was what you might expect, “No, not one.”

Career Planning is Not for the Birds

career plan

Our career plan is to sit here & wait.

If you want a career you love, you can’t be like baby birds waiting for their mother to drop food in their mouths. That only gets you what other people think you should have.

Who wants that? I’d rather decide for myself who I am – at my very best. And then create a career plan that fits me AND creates value for everyone.

Now is the time to start (or get better at) treating your career like a savvy business owner. Today’s volatile and global economy requires you to.

Invest the time now to get clear about where you want to go, how you’ll get there, and what help you need along the way. It’s not a huge “time suck” either. Your return on investment (ROI) will be greater than you ever imagined.

So what about you? Are you ready to get started? We’ve got a phenomenal new program starting soon, IAM Career Smart! Group Coaching. In this online development program, we’ll help you create a career plan so you can love what you do and getting a life you love.

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Get Immediate Stress Relief – Move Toward the Career You Want!

by dianecraver on May 10, 2011

Who taught you how to have a great career? Likely no one … you simply fell into something, or you just started down this path and it just happened. My friend, there’s a new career game in town, and it’s time you learned how to play it so that you’re on the winning side.

Karen and I have recently seen a big influx of new clients this spring. People are realizing it’s time to invest in learning how to be smarter about their careers … and they’re getting amazing results! We received this feedback from a client survey…

“The impact on my work was almost immediate. I was able to set boundaries, get some breathing room and take an active role in determining what my job would be. From there, I was able to really evaluate what I wanted out of life and work and set longer term goals based on that. I worked toward those goals and am starting to reach them. I feel much more content and balanced now, as if I am at the rudder of my own life.”

Karen and I want to be able to help a whole lot more people get the career help they need, so we’re officially announcing that we’ll be starting a brand new program sometime in June –IAM Career SMART! Group Coaching. Exciting!

It’s the foundational stuff no one teaches you and everyone needs … before the job hunt, starting a business, or whatever career choices you’re considering – paid or even unpaid.

Our group is for people actively seeking solutions to career challenges such as:

  • Balancing work and life – one of the major causes of stress
  • Feeling irrelevant, uncertain or worried about your future
  • Wanting a career you love but not sure what to do or how to get started

CLICK HERE for more information about IAM Career SMART! Group Coaching

Our individual clients are discovering ways to be energized, hopeful, and enthusiastic about their work – finding peace in the midst of chaos. They’re making the shift from a j.o.b. that pays the bills … to work that is creative, fulfilling and PAYS what they want – sometimes even more than they thought was possible!

We expect the same results from our IAM Career SMART! Group coaching participants. This is going to be such a fun and motivating experience because we’ll be working with people personally through weekly coaching calls and online coaching.

At the end of the program, everyone will have created a personal strategic plan for their careers. They’ll be able to use this plan and tools such as the IAM Maps to guide their career choices throughout their careers, no matter what’s going on around them.

If you’re even remotely interested …

CLICK HERE for more information about IAM Career SMART! Group Coaching.

There are limited spots available, and we’ll likely only offer this program one time in 2011, so when registration opens, you’ll want to know about it.

You can’t buy anything yet. Just sign up, and we’ll tell you everything you want to know.

What questions do you have about IAM Career SMART! Group Coaching? We’re here to answer them all!

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