Question 1
Too Frequent Job Moves
Dear Frankie,
In the last 10 years, I have changed 4 jobs. While there have been salary increases, I do not seem to be rising up the corporate ladder. In my current company, there are even peers whom I have to report to. It has been a frustrating journey as I have difficulty building strong working relationships at work. What can I do?
Regards,
Frustrated
Question 2
Unknown outside of company
I have been in this company for the last 10 years and in this industry for about 20 years now. I am already in my late 40s and holding a senior management position in the current company. Problem is this is a sunset industry and the company has been shrinking in size because of the availability of cheaper options elsewhere. I have spent more of my time at work and had not really built a strong professional network outside. What can I do to be visible to others?
Regards,
Executive
Question 3
Disempowering Value
Dear Frankie,
Many of my friends and colleagues see me as a helpful person and truth is I am always ready to help. Problem is while the recognition is great, my promotions have been slow and few in between. On the other hand, my peers who started out with me are already appointed as Directors. I am still a Regional Manager. Can you share some insights on what I could do better?
Regards,
Stuck
Answer 1
Dear Frustrated,
I hear your frustrations and I know it has not been easy for you. Building a successful career requires patience, commitment and a well thought of plan to executive. A career is managed like a business. There are the assets and liabilities to consider. Assets like your motivated skills, your core and career values, your personal and leadership attributes and your long term goals form part of the asset side of your balance sheet while liabilities like disempowering value system could derail your career success. Changing your working environment too often prevents you from developing productive, trusting and sincere relationships with your colleagues, clients and management. We all want to work in an empowering, emotionally safe and stable environment and often, it is the people in your team that could meet those needs. I would suggest that you take a serious evaluation of what is important to you and develop a longer term strategy to achieving it. Pay increases are just part of the considerations for a career move.
What was inconceivable yesterday; is possible today and will be a reality tomorrow.
Warmest regards,
Frankie Mao
Answer 2
Dear Executive,
Your loyalty is to be respected especially in this age of much job hopping. Certainly, what you have achieved and accomplished over last 20 years in the industry is an asset and not a liability. Your experiences, knowledge and expertise would have positioned you as a thought leader in this area.
Because of your serious commitment, professionalism and integrity in giving your all to the company, you had not thought about building a second “lifeline” outside of your work. That is commendable. Moving forward, these are the key few steps that you can work on:
a. Join a relevant professional network where you can support others as well as contribute your thought leadership. Share freely and help others to achieve their goals. You did not mention what industry you are in but I suppose as someone who is in senior management, your coaching and leadership development skills would be useful in helping the junior members. Demonstrate your positive attributes to build sincere and genuine relationships with others. Give first before asking. Show interest in others before promoting yourself. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
b. Think about connecting with fellow professionals like yourself in the LinkedIn network. Identify those people that you want to connect with, join similar groups they are in and send your own customized message which is compelling and attractive (be sincere) to connect with them. There should not be any mention of job search. Secondly, connect with reputable and credible headhunters and executive recruiters to sound them out of job search. Lastly, develop a compelling LinkedIn profile which highlights your unique differentiations as an individual and as a professional. Do not upload your complete resume onto the profile. Given the thousands of executives who share similar titles, positions and expertise, think about how your profile should stand out from the rest. Visit http://jorgensundberg.net/content/best to find out more.
c. Start a blog and write about your thought leadership and share your expertise (ensure that the information does not infringe on company’s confidentiality and privacy guidelines. Include in the blog; your biography with a professional headshot (highlight your extraordinary accomplishments, awards and things that would get people to notice you), area of expertise (your ideas, thoughts), books and journals you read and talk about your passions, interests, sports. The objective of the blog is to reveal your personal side to connect with others.
d. Attend seminars, courses and workshops and be proactive in initiating exchanging of name cards. Follow up with a thank you note through email and invite them to connect through LinkedIn or visit your blog (if sufficient information is uploaded). e. Finally, time to invite your old friends, associates, ex-classmates and course mates for a meal or drink.
Authenticity brings out the human side of a person. People like to help those that they like. Be sincere, genuine and trustworthy.
Answer 3
Dear Stuck,
It is awesome to have a colleague who is as helpful as you. But sometimes, the perception to others is you are the Samaritan to go to when one is in trouble. It is one thing to offer help without expecting anything in return and it’s another to work and collaborate togather on projects. Rendering of personal help deepens friendships but formally collaborating on work assignments demonstrates your performance capabilities. You want to communicate and express a professional impression of your worth in the organization. Initiate breakthrough projects, lead business development strategies, expand clientele base are just some of the worthwhile value propositions that you could focus on. As a management executive, you are expected to motivate, inspire and lead others by vision. Don’t be caught up in dong the small things at work. Build your rapport with key stakeholders of the organization and learn to speak the lingo and interact with the inner circle. Spending too much time with your employees at the expense of time with management would convey an impression that you lack the critical attributes to lead teams or organization.
