Why People Change Careers

According to CareerBuilder.com’s 2008 Job Forecast conducted by Harris Interactive of more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals:

I was really surprised to see salary and “bigger paychecks” ranked so high on the list.  And of course as someone who works in the talent management and performance consulting fields, I loved seeing that a little over 50% of respondents stated that a company’s ability to offer career advancement was more important than salary. 

We discussed both of these points on our Insight on Coaching show dedicated to coaching for personal reinvention.

Pamela Mitchell of The Reinvention Institute highlighted a nice contrast to the CareerBuilder data on salary.  Pamela emphasized in her experience, for many people looking to reinvent their careers, once they hit a certain point in their careers it’s no longer about getting a higher salary.  

If it’s not about salary, than what is it about?  

According to Pamela – it’s more about acquiring knowledge and increased job satisfaction.

Pamela added in a survey of 350 professionals (70% of whom had successfully reinvented their careers) led by The Reinvention Institute, her team found that people who put money as their top reason for wanting to make a change were actually less successful in making these types of career shifts and changes than those who were seeking other things like more satisfaction, knowledge and passion.

Another phrase she used that I liked?  

“Reinvention is the new form of job security – for example we now have industries that come and disappear within a 15-year span for example.”

What does this mean for you?

Well from my perspective as a management consultant, it means it’s important to:

Michael Arthur also brought up some additional great points around CareerBuilder’s data on the importance of flexible work arrangements, and the importance of both adaptability and flexibility as overall skills for people as well.  

In his own words “The world belongs to people who are ready to learn, ready to adapt, ready to go with the flow and benefit from the flow rather than those that want to hold onto the same kind of work they were doing a few years ago.”

I think that summed it up well Michael!

Want to hear more?

Tune into the podcast version of the Insight on Coaching show dedicated to coaching for personal reinvention to hear our guests discuss what personal reinvention is, how coaches are working with people to reinvent themselves, and most importantly how you can find a career that truly makes you happy.

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting
Specializing in Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for Reinvention

There is so much great stuff to share from the last segment of our Coaching for a Promotion show that it would be impossible to do it one entry!

We started out with some great information from Management Issues Magazine. We then moved into a conversation about coaching from two perspectives – as a skill newly promoted managers can use when coaching employees, and also as guidance that external coaches are providing to help people land promotions.

<

As a skill, we talked about the impact of coaching on attitude. Anne Loehr, author of A Manager’s Guide to Coaching: Simple and Effective Ways to Get the Best out of Your Employees,” discussed a model she uses with managers known as the 3-A model (Aptitude, Attitude, and Available Resources.)

Anne defined attitude as drive and focus, and stressed the importance of having newly promoted managers engage employees – even if it’s just via a series of five minute conversations – to generate excitement and ensure alignment. She emphasized that it’s about having effective coaching conversations with employees that focus on the drive, the know-how, and commitment of their team.

As far as the work external coaches are doing, I felt Jane Cranston was “right on” with many of her comments as well. We discussed the role of an external coach as a facilitator, helping newly promoted individuals increase self awareness, continue growing, and providing a sounding board to them in their new role – which can often involve helping someone navigate outside his or her comfort zone.

A lot can change once you a land new role, and being uncomfortable is natural.

Make sure to check out the Insight on Coaching podcast for more tips and tricks about how to manage and prepare for your next promotion!

All the best,

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting 
Specializing in Management Consulting, Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

In the second segment of our show we talked about some of the challenges that can occur after getting a promotion, ranging from organizational politics to time management.

I brought up one common scenario I’ve both experienced and heard about from colleagues, and that’s the scenario where a newly promoted manager finds himself or herself managing former coworkers or team members with whom they shared a really good relationship when working at the same level.

From spreading gossip to offering flat out resistance to new ideas or direction, our guests shared examples of how situations like this can prove challenging for newly promoted managers.

Susan Whitcomb recommended viewing the situation as a leadership challenge, and keeping focused on what the team needs to accomplish.

Having direct conversations with people saying things like “This is where we are going. This is the vision and this is what it’s going to take to get there.” And certainly recognizing that at some point, the manager is going to need to have a courageous conversation with the individual at the root of the problem.

We also discussed the politics that can arise with new peers at the same level as the newly promoted manager.

While reaching out proactively to schedule a “get to know you” lunch may seem like a good idea to many people, Jane Cranston wisely emphasized the importance of taking a seat back and observing for awhile.

I also liked how she reinforced that it’s important to make sure your own team is rallied behind you and aligned with you first, before beginning to reach out to the next level. It seemed to “work” for both scenarios.

Share your stories with us!

• For our managers out there, have you experienced challenges in managing former coworkers? How did you address situations like this? Any lessons learned?
• Is organizational politics something you’ve experienced as you’ve moved up the corporate ladder?
• For our coaches, tell us how would you help new managers navigate these scenarios.

Your host,

Tom Floyd
CEO
IEC: Insight Educational Consulting 
Specializing in Management Consulting, Change Management, Workforce Performance, and Employee Development

Coaching for a Promotion: