Strategic Advice for Job Seekers

Posted on April 26, 2012 by pdncoach

If you are involved in the non-profit world, as staff, board or other volunteer, check out the folks at goodWORKSconnect.org and their discussion group on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn group asks a “Question of the Week”, some of which are especially good and generate informative discussions. I participate regularly, and the following is my response to a set of recent questions: 

  • What advice would you offer to nonprofit job seekers? 
  • What has worked for you? 
  • What questions do you have for others about nonprofit job seeking? 

A couple of things I learned in my many years, which include a long stint as a career coach… These apply for any position from door stop to executive director, and to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations alike.

First, most people have heard to align their mission with your values. You cannot align the two unless you know the two. On the side of your own mission and values, can you REALLY articulate them? (I find very few people can) Be absolutely honest, what do you want most and why do you want it? How do you want people to think of you? How does this show up in your daily behavior, your goals, your datebook and checkbook? Have you done the heavy lifting to discover your own mission/purpose? I also teach people to develop a “Skills Language” that includes “I am…, I can…, and I know how to…” skills. Personal mission and values can make for powerful “I am…” skills.

On the organization side, the same applies. Many organizations have mission and values on the wall, but they don’t really mean anything or show up in tangible behaviors of the people of the organization. Look for tangible signs of integrity, which means wholeness – the talk and especially observable behavior that demonstrate values. Ask others, what is it like to work here?

Ask these questions in some tactful form, for example when you are interviewing for a job: Specifically, how does the position for which I am applying support the mission of the organization? (the closer the link, the more strategic the position, the better job security and fun you’ll have!) I’ve read your mission statement and I’m curious, in your own words, what are the top three goals of this organization? (Listen for certainty and articulation; watch their eyes and you’ll see if this is the first time they have thought about it in a while) What is really at stake with your Cause? (The key here is to remember that you’re not just trying to get hired – unless you are really just trying to get hired ; you are attempting to “hire” the right employer.)

Look and listen for the “Why” of organizations that interest you. Most will do a fairly good job of “What” they do; “How” they do it will be an ongoing experiment with varying degrees of controls in place (hint: is there a real strategy? Are there proven processes in place that allow for continual innovation?) 

But “Why” points toward the organizational Dream; What do the people of this organization believe in so much that, even though it may currently seem just beyond their reach, it brings Cause to their every thought and action?

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in #therightquestions, career advice, goodworksconnect, job search, Non-Profit jobs, questions | Leave a comment

Leaders are Chief Learners – Not Just Chief Learning Officers

Posted on April 23, 2012 by pdncoach

Of course, as a leadership coach I believe in leadership development. I believe in ongoing leadership development. Unfortunately, leaders often merely see themselves as Chief Learning Officers.

If you are comfortable right now with your situation and with yourself as a leader, then I predict nothing will change as a result of your having been a part of any kind of leadership development.

And if you think the people who report to you need leadership development and you do not, I predict this change: you will soon lose their respect. You may retain your leadership title, but you will have lost your chance to truly lead.

You are the leader. Everything else is a result of your leadership. This doesn’t preclude developing others any more than developing others precludes your continued need for learning and development. If you want to cultivate an environment and support work that enlists people as drivers of their own destiny and inventors of the company’s future, then lead by being the Chief Learner.

“Those who think they ‘know’ from the beginning will never, in fact, come to know anything.” – Thomas Merton

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Posted in Chief Learning Officer, development, leadership, learning, Respect | Leave a comment

Is the Problem or Solution Really "Conflict Management"?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by pdncoach

“Can you do a workshop on Conflict Management?”

How many times, over the years, have I been asked this question? Too many to count. I don’t get asked much any more because people no longer see me as merely a “trainer” by profession, and my business clients understand the shortfalls of a workshop approach, let alone one on Conflict Management, which does little to effectively address the challenges they face.  But a colleague recently posted a request for assistance in answering just that question for one of his clients, which led me to consider a few of my own basic tenets on the subject of conflict.

I’m no subject matter expert on conflict management, and I’ve not delivered a program specifically focused on Conflict Management, and I’ve never been in such a workshop that really did all that much for me, either. I do address the subject and nature of conflict in my work, however. Here are some thoughts and principles that might help you address some of the challenges you face in the grand category we call Conflict.

I love conflict. Conflict is the seed of innovation. The inner tension that exists in my own “undivided will” is the source of my own creativity, and innovation is merely the practical application of a creative idea. And the reason I love working with others so much is for the convergence of divergent ideas, viewpoints and feelings — conflict — which can lead to so many wonderful new creations.

So I never try to help anyone *eliminate* or *manage* conflict. I help them understand the nature of conflict, the source of their conflict, the effects of conflict, and how each of us handle conflict a bit differently. I help the people, especially leaders, in my client organizations appreciate conflict in a manner that allows them to create the most good from it.

Conflict: the convergence of divergent ideas, viewpoints and feelings.

The source of all conflict is unmet needs. When our needs are being met, we experience and create less conflict. As John Miller writes in his QBQ book, use the two most powerful questions to explore, resolve and make the best of conflict:

  1. How can I help?
  2. What can I do? 

It’s amazing what happens when, in the heat of an argument, someone takes a deep breath and asks one of these questions. Further, if you understand and use the Language of DISC, as well as Values Index and Attributes Index, you already know or can “read” other people well enough to be better at intentionally meeting their needs in the first place. You might use DISC as a basis for a worthwhile workshop, with this in mind. [But don’t allow yourself to be sold on “understanding your own type” as the basic value of DISC; DISC has a much greater value in helping you understand others, “read” their behaviors and, therefore, better meet their needs, which is also the ultimate application of the Golden Rule.]

Are you familiar with the Goals, Roles, Rules and Relationships model? Conflict occurs at the lowest, Relationship level of this problem-solving model. Conflict can provide productive or destructive discourse at every level. Very often, people THINK the source of conflict is “Diversity” and all it’s issues of politically correctness and personal differences. More often, peoples’ basic needs (yes, I mean Maslow) are not being met, as mentioned above. They know they aren’t “singing from the same sheet of music” (Mission/Goals), or they don’t agree on or accept one another’s Roles, or they aren’t playing by the same rules. When the group gains clarity and mutual focus on the same Mission/Goals, their Roles, the Rules everyone agrees to play by, then conflict that was win-lose or right-vs-wrong, can now become right-vs-right conflict — innovative conflict.

Sometimes, when we simply move from the attitude that “my idea is right, therefore other ideas are wrong” to “everyone has right ideas; let’s patiently choose the best right idea together”, we come to appreciate Conflict and we start asking for more productive meetings than workshops on Conflict Management!

Besides Miller’s QBQ, I also recommend Charles Feltman’s The Thin Book of Trust; An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work.

Hope this helps!

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in conflict, conflict management, creativity, goals, Hierarchy of Needs, innovation, QBQ, relationships, roles, rules, training, trust | Leave a comment