Leadership

The most important part of career success

Posted by Elisa on Jul 13, 2011

Perhaps its not surprising that I think planning is one of the most important elements – if not THE most important element – in success. A good, comprehensive plan can make the difference between a winning issue advocacy campaign and a long, painful campaign that you ultimately lose. I talk about this stuff all the time to advocates around the country and I’ve been thinking more and more of the parallels between campaign planning and career planning.

To be clear, a campaign usually has a fairly limited time horizon (months) and it definitely has a beginning, middle and clearly defined end. Your career plan likely covers a much longer time arc, but it also has a beginning, middle and end – yay, retirement! Because it may cover 20 years instead of just 9 months, you’ll need to think about the shorter-term elements that build to the whole; nonetheless, the process is the same.

So what are the elements of the plan that you need to make your career a success?

First, an honest assessment of where things are now both internally and externally. Internally: your strengths, weaknesses, contacts, skills, knowledge and resources. Externally: the job market in your particular area both in terms of number of jobs and job roles that are available, practical implications of getting to where you want to go (will you have to move or change jobs?), the allies or opponents around you, etc.

Second – and maybe most importantly – the goal. You need to know where you’re going so that you know when you actually get there. But simply having a loose goal like ‘build management experience’ is not enough. The goal must be SMART:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

Maybe your goal is ‘Get hired as the Executive Director of nonprofit X by 2015.’ Now, I can’t tell you whether that is achievable or realistic, but others you work with probably can. Part of identifying a SMART career goal is doing the assessment and getting some feedback from others who have objective opinions and can help you determine whether your goal is achievable and realistic.

Third: targets. These are the people or things that can get you what you want. It could be your boss, who can promote you up the chain of command; it could be a master’s degree program that can get you the education you need to do your job. Once you figure out who or what can get you what you want, you can move onto…

Step four: strategies, tactics and activities. These are the basic steps you use to achieve your goals – the “business plan” of your career if you will. Strategies are the broad categories of things you will do to get to your targets (your boss, grad school, etc.); tactics allow you to build up to and enact your strategies; and activities are actual, measurable tasks. Here’s an example based on the ED goal above and the assumption that your boss is one of your main targets.

In order to get that ED position, your strategy is to cultivate a mentoring relationship with your boss.

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One tactic to build that relationship is to have regular meetings with him/her to discuss your career.

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Your activities will then include scheduling those meetings once a quarter.

This seems kind of intense, but to think about in a ‘flow chart’ fashion will help you identify what activities you absolutely have to do and which can be left behind. This is a key piece: Have you ever found yourself going to a happy hour and asking yourself why you’re going? If the answer is ‘to network,’ but its not associated with any specific strategy or goal – meaning if it doesn’t get you any closer to your goal of becoming an ED by 2015 – then it is a waste of your time. Period.

The other big mistake that people make is diving into tactics/activities first. Going to that happy hour to meet potential contacts for a new job is a good tactic…but only if your goal is to get a different job or if you know someone there can help you become an ED. Regardless, you need to have a plan and a goal BEFORE you move onto those tactics.

The natural end point of all of this planning is to actually execute and to periodically review it to see if its still relevant and accurate. It’s also helpful to have an accountability partner who can check you on your goals periodically.

As you start working on your plan, I’d love to know how its going – and I’d love to help you! I can offer personal and professional coaching to get you where you want to go; if you’re interested, contact me!

What are you waiting for?!

Posted by Elisa on May 19, 2011

Last year about this time, I wrote a blog post singing the praises of YNPNdc and noting my intention to apply for a leadership position (and my application was accepted!). After a year working with YNPNdc as a member of the communications team, I can sing the organization’s praises even more loudly than I did before. In the last year, I’ve had a great time tweeting, advertising our work, editing, drafting press releases and reaching out to the media to promote our work.

Now, YNPNdc is recruiting for new leaders (yours truly will be staying on the leadership team, but others have moved on literally and figuratively) and all I can ask is: what are you waiting for?! Get over to their website and put in your application RIGHT NOW!

If you’ve ever wanted new or different leadership opportunities; if you’ve ever wondered what its like to be on the board of directors of an organization; if you enjoy working with other committed young professionals; if you are dedicated to improving the nonprofit sector in DC and beyond, then this opportunity is for you!

Here’s a bit more info from YNPNdc’s website:

YNPNdc is run by an all-volunteer team of nonprofit leaders who serve on the following operating committees:

• Professional Development: planning workshops, panels, and other skill-building events
• Member Engagement: managing our networking opportunities, diversity initiatives, and member outreach
• Communications: developing regular newsletters, events blasts, and social media
• Fundraising: develop and maintain strategic partnerships with organizations and individuals to bring in revenue
• Special Events: planning and executing our annual fall networking event and spring conference
• Technology: managing our website and online resources

So I ask again: what are you waiting for? Get over there and apply today!

Three steps to start (or improve) a relationship with anyone

Posted by Elisa on Apr 18, 2011

In my day job, I spend most of my time building and maintaining relationships. Some days that task is easy, some days it is very difficult; but at the core, it is always simple (remember that simple and easy are not the same thing). And of course, its one of the most valuable skills you can have.

Whether you’re looking for a job, trying to keep your job, networking, making friends, moving to a new place, meeting your in-laws or anything in between, you need to have and grow good relationships. After years of doing this professionally and personally, I’ve boiled the science of relationship maintenance down to three steps for you:

1. Know – If someone doesn’t recognize your name in their inbox or on their voicemail, the likelihood of them returning your email or call is minimal. Therefore, your first step is to get to know the person you need to have a relationship with and let them get to know you too. That means introducing yourself first instead of immediately asking for something from them. It also means providing basic information about yourself or your issue/problem/question instead of assuming that they know what you’re talking about.
2. Like – Once someone knows who you are, the next step is to get them to like you. You can do this by providing useful information to them, offering help before its needed and then helping them when they ask for it. You can also do this by taking them out for coffee or a meal and talking about their interests and experiences; again, do this before you ask them for anything. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, so you can win by asking about them and genuinely listening.
3. Trust – Once someone knows you and likes you, its a short step to having them trust you. If you do what you say you will on time and don’t overburden them with requests for help, they will trust you that much sooner. And once they trust you, they will step up to the plate on your behalf whether its by providing a recommendation, introducing you to the right people or going out of their way to help you.

The implicit fourth step here is to keep up with all three of the previous steps. Even if you move away or something else happens to take you out of someone’s immediate circle, you need to cultivate that relationship by staying at the top of their mind and maintaining the trust you’ve built. If you do that, you won’t have to worry about losing connection no matter what happens in your life.

Admitting my biggest mistake

Posted by Elisa on Apr 7, 2011

As usual, Rosetta Thurman is a blogger’s godsend, and has been providing regular ideas and tips over at her Blogging for Branding spot. If you don’t follow it, get over there right now and subscribe – seriously, right now.

One of her latest topic suggestions was to write about one’s biggest mistake. It’s a bold topic for sure and one that’s not easy to write about. After all, who wants to admit errors, especially if you’re blogging to get noticed professionally? But it’s an important topic nonetheless. I believe firmly that transparency is a necessary component of leadership; admitting mistakes is a big part of that.

I have to admit that thinking of my biggest mistake was difficult. No, not because I don’t have enough to choose from but because I have too many. But after some thinking I decided on one: several years ago I didn’t fire someone that deserved to be fired. That sort of sounds like it wasn’t a mistake, but it definitely was – trust me.

She was an (unpaid) intern that I had hired to help with a fairly large, long-term project. Throughout the time we worked together she had done an adequate job – not great, not horrible. But about three weeks before her internship ended, she somehow managed (accidentally I hope) to erase the better part of a huge spreadsheet that contained all the important contact information and notes about the project. What’s more, she didn’t even seem remorseful about it, nor did she attempt to fix it or try to recover the data.

So how was this my mistake? Well I didn’t have the guts to confront her head on about it as her supervisor which meant that I had to recover all that work myself. I also got dinged on my next performance review for not dealing with the problem. Plus, I was incredibly guilty and frustrated about the whole situation which affected my productivity for weeks. And because I never talked to her about it, she probably never knew that it was a major problem or how to fix it. I didn’t help her to learn and grow, which is one of the biggest mistakes a supervisor can make in my opinion.

I haven’t faced a similar situation since, but I did learn from that mistake: don’t avoid conflict, don’t miss a chance to educate someone you supervise and don’t be a coward. Lesson learned.

Here’s your chance…

Posted by Elisa on Mar 28, 2011

To put your mentoring chops to the test! I wrote a few weeks ago about how I think mentoring is a duty for nonprofit professionals. Much of that mentoring can and should happen at the workplace, but there are many, many opportunities to mentor younger folks outside of work too. And here’s a perfect one: my friend Emily works at The Fund for American Studies, which runs internship programs for college students in DC. They have a summer mentoring program that pairs students with professionals in DC for career advice, information on working in Washington, and general advice on life in the city. I’ve done it in the past and it was very rewarding.

Here’s all the info you need – sign up today!

As the summer approaches, The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) is preparing for over 400 students to attend our five academic internship programs in Washington, DC. We are looking for volunteers to serve as mentors to these students. We will hand match you with a student based on career interests and background.

HOW TO SIGN UP

To sign up, fill out our mentor survey online. Your answers will help us successfully match you with a student. The deadline to complete the survey is Wednesday, April 27.

MENTOR PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Mentor volunteers should possess a strong interest in helping a college student succeed by offering career advice, information on working in Washington, and general advice on life in D.C. Mentor requirements include:
• Commitment to serve eight weeks of program (June and July)
• Willingness to meet face-to-face with the student at least once in June and once in July
• Ability to send introductory email in May before your student arrives and keep in touch by email throughout the program
• Must live or work in the D.C. metro area
• Must be a working professional
• Must possess two or more years of full-time work experience or be an alumnus of a TFAS institute

ABOUT THE PROGRAM & STUDENTS

The TFAS mentor program is designed to help provide a well-rounded “Washington experience” for the students participating in the summer programs. Students are matched with area professionals who can offer career guidance; review their resume, share insider tips and offer general advice. Students undergo a rigorous application process before being accepted into one of our programs. Most are upperclassmen and have an average GPA of 3.5. Our students are diverse, hailing from small private colleges to large state universities. Students attend one of five summer programs that combine coursework with nearly full-time internships. Program areas include:

• Political Science/Public Policy
• Lobbying/Business
• Journalism and Communications
• Nonprofit Sector
• Legal

For additional information on our summer Institutes, please visit our website at www.DCinternships.org.

SCHEDULE

• April 27: Mentor sign up deadline
• May 6, 10, and 12: Mentor Orientation Conference Calls (One required for new mentors – sign up will be sent at a later date)
• Week of May 23: Mentor-Student matching notifications sent by e-mail
• June 5: Students arrive in Washington
• Week of June 13: Meet Your Mentor Breakfasts
• June 25: BBQ at Georgetown (optional)
• July 8: Washington Nationals baseball game (optional)
• July 29: Graduation at Georgetown University (optional)

CONTACT

If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Wright.

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Getting What You Want (at your job)

Posted by Elisa on Mar 8, 2011

If you’ve ever been at a job for more than a year (or even less), then you’ve been ready for more. More responsibility, more exciting work, more money, more whatever. If this is you, then here’s the deal: it’s time to quit bitching to your friends and get what you want. Or leave. But before you head out, here’s a quick and dirty guide to getting what you want at your job:

1. Make yourself indispensable – This really starts from Day 1, but if you haven’t done it yet then get started on it immediately. Do your job perfectly. No I’m not kidding and don’t let anyone tell you that perfection is impossible. Doing everything your job requires in the most perfect way possible is not only possible, it is achievable – it just takes lots of work and tons of preparation. If you want to move up and get more responsibility then you need to put in the time and effort to get it.
2. Once you are indispensable at your job, become indispensable at others – Once you’ve perfected your job, volunteer for others. Figure out what your organization needs and become THE person who can do it. Take on work that isn’t yours and do that perfectly too. The whole point here is make sure your boss sees you as someone that he or she CAN NOT do without. If you do everything and more amazingly well, that will go pretty far in convincing him/her.
3. Keep records – While you’re busy being amazing, you also need to be busy keeping track of everything you’re doing. Keep track of the tasks you are completing (on-time and on-budget), the projects you’re managing, the staff you’re supervising or project-managing, etc. Having evidence will be very important once you get to step 5.
4. WAIT – Admittedly, this is the hardest step; God knows I have problems with it. But remember that it takes time to get your boss to realize how amazing you are and unless you’re in a situation where you’re getting screamed at daily or where labor law violations are occurring left and right, you can afford to wait.
5. Ask for what you want – This step is the truly revolutionary one right? But the obvious can often go unnoticed. Once you’ve kicked butt at your job and others, kept good track of the work you have accomplished and then waited for your work to become visible, YOU NEED TO ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT (I recommend setting up a specific meeting with your boss to talk about it). It could be a raise, it could be a promotion, it could be a new computer or office or anything else, but you need to be clear about what you want and why you deserve it.
6. Have a backup plan – For whatever reason, your boss might not be able to give you what you want right away. If there is a legitimate reason, you need to have something else in your back pocket: if you wanted a raise, maybe you’ll take a title promotion and the promise to explore the idea of a raise later (get a date commitment); if you wanted a promotion, maybe you can take additional vacation time and a raise, etc. If the reason isn’t legitimate then you need to know what you will do after that. You don’t want to stop doing your job to the best of your ability, but you do want to think about going somewhere else where you can get the props you deserve for your hard work. But if your boss has half a brain, she or he will give you what you want and promise more so that you’ll stay and keep doing kick-ass work.

What did I miss? What have you done in the past to get what you want? Have you ever asked and then had to leave when you didn’t get what you wanted? I want to hear from you!