One in particular asks, “Job searching without success?”  The reasons given by job seekers for being overlooked and remaining un-(and under-) employed are many but a few clear themes stand out.  Here’s what they’re saying… and what to do about it… starting with your resume.

“I’m Not Getting Called for Interviews.”

IYRS… It’s your RESUME, silly.  The sole purpose of your resume is to ensure you survive the automated keyword search, make it past the HR department screeners, land on the hiring manager’s desk and have her think, “WOW… I HAVE to call this one in for the interview.”  Then, of course, the trick is to impress the hell out of ‘em in person.

If your resume reads like a job description of your current and past positions, you’re sunk.  Likely the 100s (if not 1000s) of other applicants applying for the exact same position can claim the same experience in the same tasks.  Sorry, but it’s true.  What the potential employer actually cares about is whether or not you can produce results.  Specifically results that will make or same her money.  Demonstrate the VALUE you will bring to the next job by articulating results you’ve produced in the past while a showing a bit of your personality to help them understand if you’re a good cultural fit.

[Stay tuned for a follow-up post outlining How to Avoid 3 Big Resume Mistakes.]

“I’m Too Old.”

Ageism is alive and well in this economy despite what all my HR friends are saying.  I know too many Boomer s(and older) seekers who complain about being overlooked.  So, unless the dates of your education are recent and important (you just received your PhD in Organizational Leadership, your MBA in Marketing or your BS in Information Systems), leave dates off that point to your age or a professional career that is more than 20 years old.  Same goes for certifications and awards.  List them, leave off the dates.

“I’m Overqualified.”

Position your experience as a Unique Value Proposition to the employer.  Show them that you can produce results the day you step foot in the door and connect those results to their future success.

You also do not need to give the history of your professional life back to the first job in high school, college or post-graduation.  Dedicate the precious real estate on your resume and LinkedIn profile to the MOST RELEVANT experience.  And, yes, it’s OK to tone down your past job titles.  I know many a returning-to-corporate-American entrepreneur who list themselves as “Director of Business Development” or “Operations Manager” in companies they’ve owned.

“I’ve Had Too Many Jobs.”

Job hopping is somewhat expected for Gen X- and Yers though Boomer hiring managers still roll their eyes if you haven’t managed to stay in one position for more than 2 years.  Minimize the appearance of job hopping on your resume by eliminating the months and taking out any insignificant positions you were in for only a fews months especially when that position has no relevance to the position you’re going for.

Try It And…

Report back.  If making these simple changes continue not to get you noticed, I want to know so we can delve deeper and get you The Job, not just another paycheck.  ASAP.

What Is A Brand?

A brand is so much more than your logo, your signage, your tag line. A brand is a promise… It is the promise put forth by a company, product, service or individual to key stakeholders as to what they can expect from said company, product, service or individual.  In short, it’s the sum of all experiences a “consumer” has with the entity that produces the emotional and psychological relationships between the entity and its “consumers.”

So, that said…

Do You Have a “Personal Brand?”

The answer is always yes.  Whether you have been intentional or not about creating it, you do have a brand.  You have a reputation, something or several that you are known for whether you want to be known for them or not.

The key to effective personal branding is to be intentional.  You must know who you are, what you stand for, what value you offer then demonstrate that promise to the world.

And as with company, product and service brands, your personal brand is best built on your UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION (UVP).  That is, the unique value only you bring to any situation — on the job, in volunteer capacities, at home — that no one else can offer.  What place do you own in the minds of your key “stakeholders?”  What do you want to be known for?  What promise do you make to your “consumers?”

Your UVP.

You add the most value when you are true to what you do best: your innate strengths, your natural talents, your unique instincts that make you YOU.

Once you understand these things about yourself and are ready to embrace them fully and shout your UVP from the mountain tops, the next step is to demonstrate that you are in fact already that person.

For a business owner, your UVP to your customers might be that you are easy to do business with, especially compared to your competitors.

For a leader or manager, consider creating your UVP for your employees as one who empowers your people to focus on their strengths to add the most value to bottom line results.

For an employee, your UVP ought to be that you are The One to turn to for those things you do better than anyone else on the team.

For a career changer 0r job seeker, focus your UVP on the value you will bring to a potential employer by doing what you do best naturally.  It’s just what you do and you’re really good at it!

So What?

Why care about personal branding?  In this day and age of faster-than-the-speed-of-light, reputation-demonlishing social media (did you hear about the fake BP Twitter account?), you have to own and manager your brand as fervently as you would your teenage daughter’s reputation.  Seriously.  Because if you aren’t intentional about it yourself, someone else will undoubtedly manage your personal brand for you.  Why leave it to chance?

Here are some ideas on “how to.”

10 Commandments of Personal Branding

10. Own Your Brand

• Be intentional about developing your personal brand or others will create it for you.

9. Be Consistent

• Facebook or face-to-face, send the same message.

8. Appearance Matters

• Don’t dress for the position you have. Dress for the position you strive for. Same goes online, too.

7. Stand For Something

• The most memorable brands have a point of view. What’s yours?

6. Stay Focused

• Act in alignment with your values and your ultimate vision and goals.

5. Do Unto Others

• Demonstrate how you wish to be treated and do for others what they need from you. You go first.

4. Create Brand Champions

• Equip your network to advocate for your brand.

3. Keep It Personal

• Face-time and other personal touches earn the most points and show you care.

2. Don’t Tell. Do.

• Demonstrate your brand in your words and actions. Walk the talk.

And the #1 Commandment…Authenticity. Authenticity. Authenticity.

Be true to YOU: your strengths, your values, and the value only you can add.

Eureka!  Career tips from a Disney cartoon!  (A stretch that perhaps only a mom of a 6-year-old who happens to be a career coach can finagle.)

Let me connect some dots…

“WHAT HAVE I DONE?”

We’ve all done it at one time when looking for a job.  Open the job board (or, showing my age, opening the Sunday paper looooong ago) and start with a keyword search, maybe.  Marketing, IT, sales… See something of interest (for God only knows what reason at that particular moment) and think, “I could do that.”

In a land far far away, a long long time ago it may have gone something like this…

We do the resume to fit that job perfectly and get the interview.  We tell them everything they want to hear and by week’s end we have the offer.  We start the next Monday and within the first 90  days we awake one Monday morning, sweating uncontrollably over some unnamed source of stress and suddenly it hits us, “What have I DONE?  This job isn’t ME!”  But we stick it out and promise ourselves we’ll stay two years so we don’t look like a job-hopper on our resumes.  Then…

“HOW DID I GET HERE?”

15 years later we wake up one day after chasing jobs and promotions in the same area because those are the skills we have now and say to ourselves, “How did I get HERE?  This job isn’t ME!”  Ah if we’d only trusted our gut earlier…

[Do you hear the voice of experience in this story? <ahem>]

Where did we go wrong?

CAREER REVERSE ENGINEERING

For starters, we did the job search backwards.  Sure it may be the somewhat conventional way job seekers do what they do.  But it’s certainly backwards from a job satisfaction point of view.

So I offer this:  Instead of starting with what’s out there, the most successful job-seekers-turned-happily-employed start with what’s inside themselves.

Career reverse engineering is the best way to kick off a job search that results in finding that ideal position… the role that will bring the new employee a higher measure of self-worth and <gasp> joy.  Yes, it IS ok to actually be HAPPY AT WORK.

5 STEPS & ACTION TIPS

To reverse engineer your own ideal career to jumpstart your search for the next job on that path, it starts with a close examination of YOU.  To understand “what do it do” when the it is you.

1) Pay Attention to Your Energy Level

We are each uniquely programmed, if you will, to do something (maybe several things) really well.  Those tasks that give us energy — versus deplete it — give us clues about what we are hardwired to do better than anyone else.

PUT IT INTO ACTION: Pay attention for a full week at work or think of your most recent position and it’s daily requirements.  Make a list of the energizing activities from each day.  Do you see any trends?  Categorize these tasks into 3-5 themes.  You now have a starting place for your ideal duties and responsibilities on the job.

2) Separate Strengths from Skills

You learn skills.  You’re born with certain inalienable strengths.  Ignore them at your own peril!  [Again, voice of experience here.]  Conventional development plans insist, “Work on your weaknesses to improve the things in which you do not already excel.”  Really?  “Fixing your weaknesses” or “maximizing your strengths,” that is getting better at those things at which you’re already naturally good.  Where’s the better return on investment?

PUT IT INTO ACTION: We are our own worst critics, aren’t we?  Especially when it comes to valuing what we do best.  Ask friends, family, coworkers and others in your circles to write down 5 things they appreciate about how you operate.  You may be surprised when you see the words they use.  “Really?  But that’s just what I do.”  Exactly.  Now, how do you get to do “that’s just what you do” in your job every day?

3) Stick to Your Core Values

One of the worst things that can happen in an economy such as we’re in now is that we lose sight of what’s most important to us when we get desperate for a paycheck.  Might there be compromises along the way?  I’m not so Pollyanna to think we might have to give up a few perks to make sure there’s food on the table.  But beware sacrificing the principles that are woven into the fabric of your very being.

PUT IT INTO ACTION: This article includes a list of common personal values.  Cross out the ones that are unimportant to you.  Next, try to narrow the remaining values to 10.  Now, take an even closer look.  Can you settle on the top 5?  How about 3?  If these 3-5 values are not shared or at least respected by a potential employer, is it worth taking a position knowing you’ll be compromising what you hold most dear?

4) Articulate Your “Why”

Highest job satisfaction happens when we feel that we’re making an impact, when we care about the work and its outcomes.  It’s about finding what is personally meaningful.  So, what is it that will elicit, “I get to go to work today!” when the alarm goes off each morning?

PUT IT INTO ACTION: Just for fun, imagine you’ve won the lottery.  And I mean the never-have-to-work-another-day jackpot.  You no longer need a job for financial security.  What do you have to do anyway? What do you care enough about that you will invest your time to see it through? Call it passion, cause, mission… This is your work.

5) Outline Your Success Factors

PUT IT INTO ACTION:  Think on these things that can directly impact your professional and personal career success. What do you know you need to be truly successful?  What does your physical space look like?  Who are you teammates?  What kind of leadership support do you need?  How are you managed?  How do you manage your direct reports?  What’s the ideal culture that will bring out your personal best?

OTHER RESOURCES

It’s challenging to try to uncover and articulate our own strengths.  One of my favorite resources that can help you do just this is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.  All major book stores are likely to carry it.  For about $20 you can purchase the book and take the online SF 2.0 assessment that will help you pinpoint natural talents that when practiced, developed and put to good use become true strengths.

Here’s to getting to do what you do best… every day!

MEET PHINEAS & FERB

The quickest summary: P&F, as it’s now known at the Masse home, is about step-brothers who, as a means to beat Dog Days boredom, devise outrageous activities throughout their summer vacation… like building a large-scale roller coaster throughout their hometown of “Danville,” opening a fine dining restaurant in their backyard and other mega shenanigans.  Trust me, it’s way more hilarious than I’m portraying here, I swear.

The short relevant clip is from 1:15-1:40 but by all means watch more…

DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility if you too get hooked.  Enjoy!

What Is A Brand?

A brand is so much more than your logo, your signage, your tagline. A brand is a promise… It is the promise put forth by a company, product, service or individual to key stakeholders as to what they can expect from said company, product, service or individual.  In short, it’s the sum of all experiences a “consumer” has with the entity that produces the emotional and psychological relationships between the entity and its “consumers.”

So, that said…

Do You Have a “Personal Brand?”

The answer is always yes.  Whether you have been intentional or not about creating it, you do have a brand.  You have a reputation, something or several that you are known for whether you want to be known for them or not.

The key to effective personal branding is to be intentional.  You must know who you are, what you stand for, what value you offer then demonstrate that promise to the world.

And as with company, product and service brands, your personal brand is best built on your UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION (UVP).  That is, the unique value only you bring to any situation — on the job, in volunteer capacities, at home — that no one else can offer.  What place do you own in the minds of your key “stakeholders?”  What do you want to be known for?  What promise do you make to your “consumers?”

Your UVP

You add the most value when you are true to what you do best: your innate strengths, your natural talents, your unique instincts that make you YOU.

Once you understand these things about yourself and are ready to embrace them fully and shout your UVP from the mountain tops, the next step is to demonstrate that you are in fact already that person.

For a business owner, your UVP to your customers might be that you are easy to do business with, especially compared to your competitors.

For a leader or manager, consider creating your UVP for your employees as one who empowers your people to focus on their strengths to add the most value to bottom line results.

For an employee, your UVP ought to be that you are The One to turn to for those things you do better than anyone else on the team.

For a career changer 0r job seeker, focus your UVP on the value you will bring to a potential employer by doing what you do best naturally.  It’s just what you do and you’re really good at it!

So What?

Why care about personal branding?  In this day and age of faster-than-the-speed-of-light, reputation-demonlishing social media (did you hear about the fake BP Twitter account?), you have to own and manager your brand as fervently as you would your teenage daughter’s reputation.  Seriously.  Because if you aren’t intentional about it yourself, someone else will undoubtedly manage your personal brand for you.  Why leave it to chance?

Here are some ideas on “how to.”

10 Commandments of Personal Branding

10. Own Your Brand

Be intentional about developing your personal brand or others will create it for you.

9. Be Consistent

Facebook or face-to-face, send the same message.

8. Appearance Matters

Don’t dress for the position you have. Dress for the position you strive for. Same goes online, too.

7. Stand For Something

The most memorable brands have a point of view. What’s yours?

6. Stay Focused

Act in alignment with your values and your
ultimate vision and goals.

5. Do Unto Others

Do for others that which you want them to do for you. You go first.

4. Create Brand Champions

Equip your network to advocate for your brand.

3. Keep It Personal

Face-time and other personal touches earn the most points and show you care.

2. Don’t Tell. Do.

Demonstrate your brand in your words and actions. Walk the talk.

And the #1 Commandment…Authenticity. Authenticity. Authenticity.

Be true to YOU: your strengths, your values, and the value only you can add.

And Just for Levity

And in all this, just remember not to take yourself too seriously either.  Oy.

The Job Outlook 2010  survey of employer organizations holding NACE memberships was conducted from mid-August through October 2009.

Run Your Resume Through the Filter

The Job Outlook 2010 study’s Top 5 Candidate Skills/Qualities summarize the skills employers report as essential for candidates to possess.  Does your resume demonstrate these characteristics that employers report are essential to on-the-job-success?

First, review your resume. Think it sells all you offer? Presents a compelling “hire me” story?

Now run it through the Top 5 list below as a filter.    Is your resume too focused on technical skills and industry-specific knowledge without spending enough time on these skills employers are looking for?  Have you linked these Top 5 skills to tangible results that demonstrate the value you bring to an organization?

To say that you possess “excellent [fill in the blank] skills” is not enough. To set yourself apart from the hundreds of other candidates applying for the same position, you must demonstrate your unique strengths in these Top 5 areas through real examples with successful, measurable outcomes.

When your resume answers “what’s in it for me if I hire you?” in these five areas, your resume is more likely to land at the top of the pile of candidates to call for in-person interviews.

Top 5 Candidate Skills/Qualities

The Top 5 along with a few action phrase starters as examples of how to prove your skills in these essential areas:

1.  Communication Skills

• Facilitated group discussions…
• Detailed accurate information…
• Delivered engaging presentations…
• Summarized plans concisely…

2.  Analytical Skills

• Strategically considered options…
• Interpreted data to back up…
• Surveyed target audiences…
• Validated through trend research plans to…

3.  Teamwork Skills

• Collaborated  with colleagues to…
• Fostered a culture of… in the team by…
• Participated as member of…
• Built trust within team to accomplish…

4.  Technical Skills

• Engineered new unit…
• Installed hardware…
• Programmed customized IT solution…
• Integrated systems…

5.  Strong Work Ethic

• Businesslike
• Dependable
• Flexible/adaptable
• Productive

Match Them to Your Strengths

Yes, ideally you will prove your worth to a new employer by including these Top 5 throughout your resume with strong examples of measurable results.

CAUTION: Be aware that you are always selling YOUR strengths, talents and abilities vs. simply saying what you think they want to hear.  If you’re an introvert with excellent written communication skills tout that not your “powerful public speaking presence.”  That’s not you.  If using your analytical skills means you gather information by interview and talking with members of the right audience, don’t spend time talking about your preference to be closed away for hours at a time hunkered over spreadsheets.

Well, you could do the opposite (any Seinfeld fans out there?) of what is true to you, and yes you may even get that job.  But I guarantee misery will set in right about that 90-day “probationary period” deadline.

Bottom line: Include these Top 5 while making sure they are authentic to your personal brand.

Need Help?

Don’t fret.  Doing your own resume, unless you’re a professional writer with no qualms about tooting your own horn, is one of the single most difficult documents you can develop on your own.

MPOWER can help.  If you’re getting plenty of resumes “out there” but with little response, it’s time to have another look.  Let’s work together to sell all the value you can bring to a new employer so YOUR resume is at the top of the “to interview” list.  Let’s set up a time to talk.

“Success is all about hard work.  Work hard and you’ll go as far as you want.”   Or…   “You can be anything you want to be, dear, if you only put your mind to it.”

The fact is, to be truly satisfied, engaged and content (even happy!) with your career:

• Start with YOU and your goals.
• Intentionally design The 3 Elements of Your Ideal Career your “must-haves” are less likely to fall through the cracks.
• Take your unique 3 Elements for a test-drive to make sure they fit as designed.  Tweak if not until you get it just right.
• Call on an expert career professional to help you think outside the job title box.

Reality Or…

To those parents I now say with all due respect and several years of confidence-building experience: HOGWASH.

Ballerina was never on my list of careers to pursue but it was fun when I was 4.

Growing up as a people-pleaser, comments like these did absolutely nothing to help me identify my talents, pinpoint my strengths and help me find ways to take my innate abilities for a test-drive in order to find my fit in the world of working professionals.

Quite the opposite infact: I was confused, left hanging and wondering if I was good at anything at all.  So as the people-pleaser I started to think of vocation possibilities based on what those around me did themselves or thought I should do.

Accounting! Sure.  My father was a numbers person as a financial planner.  I could do accounting, just like several of my cousins.  I loved playing on the now-considered-behemoth adding machine on his office desk.  That was it: accounting.  Until I saw my first manual cost accounting “spreadsheet.” Run!

Next: Teaching! Why didn’t I think of it before?  My mother was a preschool teacher and became a middle school and high school English teacher later.  My father had been a high school vocal music instructor prior to the financial planning shift.  My grandfather devoted his entire career to academia eventually becoming a high school principal.  Of course: teaching! It was in my blood!  Then I reached my rebellious teen years and wanted nothing to do with any career path previously cleared by my elders.

Flight Attendant! That was surely it! Oh the adventure! The glamorous lifestyle! Yet, these first thoughts of pursuing a selfish desire (to travel… as far away from not-terribly-exotic Oklahoma as possible) was also short lived.

Finding — or better yet Designing — Your Sweet Spot

It wasn’t until I truly allowed myself to focus on where I knew I excelled (or could), on what I was passionate about and on what kind of place would bring out my best that I was able to be intentional about what I really wanted in my career.

Now I know.  To be truly satisfied in a career, it must be comprised of exactly those three elements above and a somewhat selfish perspective.  Before you start looking for a new house, for example, you make a list of “must haves” and “nice to haves.” Same with a new car, yes? Treat your career plan or job search no differently.

It has to start with YOU and your goals.

Get intentional about first carefully understanding what constitutes the three key elements of your ideal role, at the intersection of which you’ll find the sweet spot: your ideal career.

3 Elements of Your Ideal Career

Whether you are a highly motivated job seeker looking for a new position or a gainfully employed professional looking for the “next opportunity” internally, consider these three elements when asking yourself, “What do I really want to do?”

3 Elements of Your Ideal Career

FUNCTION

This is the what you do piece. The tasks and activities you’re responsible for completing, the role you play, the duties and responsibilities in the job description. Marry your unique MO - how you naturally do the things you do - and your strengths with a role that needs those talents to accomplish the job most effectively and you have a match that allows you to do what you do best every day.

For example, if you are a gregarious brainstorming type who adapts every documented process to address the needs of the current situation and who thrives on experimenting with new ideas to see if they work… perhaps a role in direct marketing planning and analysis isn’t for you.  (That was me, by the way.  For the first 15+ years of my professional life.)  No, no, leave that job to a systematic planner who decides, through strategic data analysis, what is feasible to try then carefully measures the results to gauge success and gather information on how to do it better next time. (Thank goodness for me there are people out there like this!)

PASSION

The why you do what you do piece. What difference do you want to make? What impact? What will be your legacy?  What would make you excited to get out of bed every morning to work on and invest 8+ hours a day?

I’m not necessarily talking about finding the cure for cancer or saving the whales here. Unless that’s truly your thing. I’m talking about what you feel is important… what is meaningful to you. Just because your father wanted to fill the world with song doesn’t mean that’s what would make you race into the shower after turning off the alarm every morning.  When you can work toward making a difference in some area that you feel strongly about, you will apply what you do best every day to something that matters.

ENVIRONMENT

The where you do what you do best piece. What does the “place” look like that will allow you to do your best work? Bright, open shared space? Private office? Your car? Outside? What is the culture/core values of the organization? Who are your colleagues (if any) and what are their attitudes, beliefs, work ethic? What are the ideal benefits and compensation?

From the physical space to the intangibles like values and benefits, outlining the characteristics of the right environment is just as important as what you do and why you do it in order to find — or design — the exact right fit for YOU.

3 Ways to Put These Ideas Into Action

1. Look back to past (or current) roles. At work.  At home.  In volunteer capacities.  Pick one or two and list all the tasks for which you were responsible.  As many as you can think of.  From reading e-mails to project management to strategic planning.  Then rank how you felt doing them 1-4:

1=LOVE IT! I love doing this and know I’m adding value! I could do this all day!

2=Good.  I feel good about being productive and the work is essential to getting the job done.

3=Eh. A necessary evil. I could live without it but I know it has to be done.

4=HATE IT! Please don’t make me.

Those activities you ranked 1 are must-haves in your next career adventure and deal-breakers if they aren’t part of the job.  The 2s are likely keepers.  The 3s, well, we all have tasks that have to be done that may not be a favorite activity so which of these can you stand to do once in a while.  That is compared to the 4s that drain you of energy and motivation.  Are your 4s non-negotiables for your next position?

2. Ask yourself this question and write down all the answers you come up with: If I won the lottery tomorrow (and I’m talking the never-have-to-work-another-day prize), what would you do anyway?  What is important enough to you that you would continue to work at it even though your financial security was no longer at stake? Now, go volunteer in some of these capacities to see if it’s worth pursuing as a vocation.

3. Remember your values. Write down the most important ideas about how you want to live your life and what you want people know about you.  Write it down, post it where you’ll see it every day, and remind yourself that the new environment you will work in will respect and support these values.

“But I’m Stuck…!”

If your roof is blown off in a hurricane you would call a roofer to fix it, right?  If your books are complicated, you would hire a CPA wouldn’t you?  Need to build a bridge, hire an engineer to design it.  You can also avoid costly career mistakes by getting help up front. It really isn’t as easy at 1-2-3 unless you’ve known since you were 5 that you wanted to be a prosecuting attorney cleaning up the mean streets of your hometown or until you’ve invested time for serious thought on all three elements with the help of someone who can hold up the mirror for you.

MPOWER can help.  If you’re feeling stuck (either in your job search or in your current job), use me as a resource.  Let’s schedule time to talk.

Q&A with Mark Bittle, Owner, Progressive Impact

In your new book People Who Know How, Will Always Work For The People Who Know Why! you encourage small business owners to have a Human Resources Plan. What are the elements of a Human Resources Plan and how does this fit into the business’ overall strategic planning?

Human Resources is the essential stuff that makes your organization go around, and there are many elements to address when developing this type of plan:  Hiring, firing, employee development, training manuals, recognizing your employees, as well as having on file the appropriate paperwork for each person who works within your organization. The Human Resource plan is not something that business owners can afford to do without.

Developing a business through the creation of an active strategic plan must include plans for developing the people within an organization.  Aren’t the leaders, managers and employees the ones that help you to accomplish the goals of that strategic plan? Sharing the values, vision, mission, and goals with players within your organization makes it easier to find the right people, put them in the correct seat, on a bus that is going to a purposeful destination.

Having a human resources plan, employee handbook, and updated training materials has alleviated many time bombs in the organizations in which I have coached. This specific plan in and of itself helps to increase the efficiencies and productivity of everyone working “in” the business, and, when done effectively, will increase the profitability of the organization.

What would you say is the worst thing small business employers can do when hiring new employees?

That’s easy… not taking the time to screen them… not only for their skills (via the resume) and personality and attitudes (behavioral interviewing) but also for their “fit” for the job (how they make decisions, solve problems, take action… that is what they bring to the game and what they need to be successful). Small business owners are not experts in all areas. They are doing what they do best, and at some point they decided to take risks to start their own business. Hiring the wrong person is an expensive risk I encourage business owners never to make.

“The biggest fear that most managers have is
to train their employees so well that they will leave.

While my biggest fear as a leader is to
not train my staff and have them stay.”

When a business, especially a small business, hires new employees, it is much easier to train and retain those that are a good fit, than those who are put in the position as a placeholder until something better comes along. I cannot emphasis enough the importance in making sure that organizations take the time to put the right people, in the correct seats, on a bus that is going to the same destination. [Read more about the cost of a bad hire here.]

How important is management training — that is, training managers at all levels in the art of motivating direct reports to perform at their highest level — in the Human Resources Plan?

It is imperative that there is a training and development program.  For example, understanding the difference between “managers” and “leaders” is an important distinction that can be addressed with training when the right people are in the right seats.  Managers are those who are put in a position to make sure that things get done according to goals and objectives. Managers essentially work “in” the business. Leaders are the visionaries that work “on” the business to shape those goals and objectives, and are able to put together groups to move the organizations forward. A key idea of course is that “managers” can also be “leaders” when trained well.

How important would you say is the relationship between the manager and direct reports to the success of any small business?

Establishing effective group dynamics is often overlooked when hiring people, and is certainly under-appreciated within many organizations. Having positive relationships, understanding the different ways we each communicate and recognizing the value each member of a diverse team brings to the game helps to increase productivity and efficiency as well as to foster a healthier working environment. Intentionally creating an “engaged organization” will have a great effect for every business’s bottom line.

And what about professional development for employees and teams? Is this relevant in the Human Resources Plan?

Everybody wants to be national champions, but nobody wants to go to practice. Hiring a “coach” for the team’s development can often accelerate progress within an organization.  Professional development helps on so many different levels including but not limited to the following: employee retention, speed of innovation, customer satisfaction and proactive decision-making. I personally allocated up to 3% of my gross revenue towards professional development, and the results are amazing. Hiring an objective professional to come in and help to overcome personnel challenges and shortcomings is an essential tool that should be considered.

AJ & Dr. Jon who was instrumental in saving AJ's life

My son came home with a runny nose and scratchy throat on a Friday in late September. After two trips to the ER over the weekend, he was admitted to The Children’s Hospital in Denver on Monday, and by Wednesday morning he was on life support (heart-lung bypass and a ventilator) with multi-system organ failure. All from severe complications caused by H1N1. It wasn’t until we were through the worst part of the crisis that my husband and I realized (or allowed ourselves to consider) just how close we were to losing him.

Fast forward to today: AJ is a healthy, normal, funny and often schizophrenic now-6-year-old. In fact if you didn’t know our story, you would be hard-pressed to believe it when see him now.

A few simple but hopefully provoking ideas have shaped my experience over the past three plus months. I hope that what I learned through near personal tragedy provides some inspiration and offers perspective on the truly important things on which to focus in 2010.

Life Lessons from the PICU

Waiting is not your enemy. Time is your friend. Time heals. Patience is not a virtue. It must be learned, intentionally practiced and consciously applied.

Always accept support in all its forms from others. If nothing else, it relieves the helplessness they feel.  You might get something out of it, too.

Hug.  Every chance you get. A hug will soften even the most seemingly gruff personality, and those are the ones who probably need one most.  If you’re not a hugger, then at least learn to touch someone on their arm or shoulder.

Focus on the good. Of each day.  Every situation.  And always look for the good in others.

Care like no one is watching. No matter how uncomfortable you may feel in saying the words, suck it up and say “I love you” to your family and friends.  At work, give genuine praise when work is done well and be a “coach” when it’s not.

If you need a good cry, let ‘er rip. Holding it in is not good for your health, both emotional and physical.

Do what you do best. Collaborate on the rest. Delegate. Find partners. You are not and cannot be an expert on ALL things. And no one expects you to be. Rely on the strengths, knowledge, skills of others. In the end, the results will always, always, always be better than if you tried to go it alone.

Find something to laugh about every day. Especially yourself.

Give it up to a higher power. Truly when it all just seems like it’s too much to bear, give it up to God…your Creator… the Universe… Buddha… Nature… whatever you call Your Higher Power. Embrace your spiritual source and give over your worries, anxieties and fears. Believe things will work out for the best and ask everyone around you to believe it with all their hearts, minds and souls.

Believe that miracles will happen. ‘Nough said.

Wearing ‘Em Out?

You’ve seen it.  The player drops in the coins, eagerly presses START and the ball appears.  The player slowly pulls back the plunger and POW! it slams into the pinball propelling it into the game.  It ricochets wildly, bouncing off bumpers, careening into drop targets.  Lights flashing, bells ringing, music heralding points, points and more points!  A popper shoots the ball out in the direction of the middle lane, drawing it down… down… down toward the inevitable end…

One down.  Two to go.  An exhilarating game.  Unless you’re the ball.  Sure, the frenzy can be energizing… for about 5 minutes. Is your employee engagement strategy like pinball or…?

Or Leveraging Strengths?

Or is it more like… chess.  Individual contributors working together to move forward directed by a singular goal.  It’s a complex game which the player leads leveraging each piece’s unique qualities to meet the ultimate objective.

Each piece knows its role, what the player expects of it and the value it brings to the game.  Using its natural movements and relying on other pieces to fulfill their roles. Each with an important role to play. All working strategically toward the same goal.

OK, OK.  Sure the analogy’s a little silly.  But you know exactly what I’m saying. Here’s the real game-ender: Engage ‘em now or lose ‘em later.  And here’s the data to back it up.

How to Keep ‘Em

Let’s get practical.  A few key steps to keep employees engaged in tough times:

Focus on Natural Strengths vs. Proximity

You’ve downsized, rightsized and have asked employees to supersize their jobs as a result.  This as a great opportunity to actually get more done with fewer people.  Take a good hard look at the total value each employee brings to your game: their skills, instincts and natural talents.  Be open to shifting job responsibilities based on these versus simply giving assignments to the next closest cubicle-dweller to that guy you had to let go.  And by all means, ASK THEM for their input.  If their work is comprised of things they are naturally good at doing they will get more done. Again, Gallup studies show that employees who are given the opportunity to do what they do best are 6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.

Personalize Recognition

Now more than ever you need to demonstrate — genuinely, authentically — that you care about your employees as human beings.  They’re working tirelessly for you; how will you let them know you appreciate all their efforts?  Give the working mom a Friday afternoon off for pampering or extra family time.  Supply the Starbuck’s junkie with his fix for the day with a $5 gift card.  A simple thank you note may make the biggest impact. The point is: make it meaningful to each individual and make sure the appreciation is indeed genuine. One-size recognition does not fit all.

Don’t Manage.  Coach.

A favorite resource is Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance by Gregg Thompson.  It teaches how to put the needs of the other person first and coach them for exceptional performance.  Traditional managers direct tasks.  The manager coach manages for results, allowing employees some freedom and flexibility in how the work gets done.

Communicate.  Communicate.  Communicate.

Check in with employees… often.  More often than usual especially if your organization has gone through significant changes (lay-offs, reorganization, leadership change, etc.).  One-time message delivery will not stick so if you’ve told them once, tell them at least another dozen if not 100 times.  Remind them why you each come to work every morning, reiterating through words and actions that it’s all about the mission of the organization.  Deliver bad news compassionately but purposefully.  Always answer “why” and “what’s in it for me.” Ask for feedback.  Involve them in the conversation.  You never know what time-, resource-, money-saving ideas are just waiting to be discovered.

So… ready for a game of chess?