There’s a common percentage division that says that the jobs and positions listed on job boards, be it online, or on paper, represents about 30% of the jobs that are actually available. That means that there’s a whooping 70% jobs and positions that you won’t get to if you focus your search on listed positions only. The exact percentage varies, but if we work from the 30/70 frame of reference, that alone tells you that for every three jobs you find, there’s another 7. What if the three you’ve found aren’t really what you truly want, and your dream job is somewhere among the “hidden” seven?

So how do you find the remaining 70%?

Answer: Do research on companies, network with people, and ask straight up questions like “are you considering hiring someone with my expertise?”. If you’re the right person, a company may create a position for you, they may realize that they need your competence. With more or less all companies having an online presence, this research is easy. Just as it is in many situations in life, if you want something, ask!

There’s no big magic trick to this. Keep your computer, or pen and paper, available, make notes as you do your research, make contact, ask questions, make notes during conversations, ask follow-up questions when you need to. Simply, be interested.

Also, keep networking. If you investigate your network, you’ll realize that you already have many contacts that can help you get in touch with people and opportunities. Never underestimate the opportunities in your network. You never what they may know, or who they know that they can put you in contact with.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable

This entails specifically to those out of a job. Suddenly having the label “unemployed” all over you yourself can be difficult, if not down right embarrassing. Most people don’t want to identify with being unemployed. Therefore allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and putting it out there that “I am looking for a job” can be a hard sell. However, today, with social media putting you in direct contact with a large network, who in turn can connect you to an even larger one, exposing your status is important. Who knows, maybe there’s someone out there looking for you, and who needs right now. Being able to start in a new job right away has its advantages. Being found, and finding professional people is the purpose of LinkedIn, and there many cases of people that have landed jobs after reaching out on facebook and twitter.

Consider of it this way: What’s the worst that can happen if you let your network know you’re looking for a job? And what’s the best that can happen?

In short: Network Network Network.

Related posts:

• Career development, part I – Productive job search
• Career development, part II – Searching and applying for jobs

Why is it important?

While a problem focus can provide a clear picture of the situation at hand, the solution focus is necessary in order to propose hypotheses for dealing with the problem, as well as testing them. Furthermore, testing hypotheses also provides to valuable outcomes. In the best case scenario we come upon a solution that resolves the situation and the problem is no more. In scenario two we don’t find a solution, but we will uncover more information regarding the problem because we have now discovered one way to not resolve the situation. We have more information, and we know of one strategy, possibly more, that we no longer need to consider.

Next is a suggestion for problem solving based on applying the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule is based on the idea that we tend to focus more on the problem than the solution, and that by focusing on the solution at least 80% of the time we are more likely to resolve the situation at hand successfully.

Example: 1 hour

The idea in this exercise is to spend no more than 20% focusing on the problem, and the remainding 80% in a solution focused state of mind.

How it can be done?

Decide on a problem, challenge, or situation that needs to be resolved. Before starting the exercise it can be fruitful to identify which result you want to achieve, as well as identifying why you want this specific result. Next up will be an actual plan of action for a solution, and that will be the focus of the exercise.

Take 1 hour to work on the problem and do the following:

• Take 12 minutes to work on the problem. That’s 20%
• Take 48 minutes to work on the solution. That’s 80%

Additionally you might want to have a reminder every once in a while to make sure you’re working on the solution during the 48 minute session. Use your computer, cell phone, or have a team coordinator help out if you’re doing this exercise with a team. That way you’ll condition yourself to stay in “solution mode” as much as possible during the 48 minutes. Without reminders it’s easy to fall back into problem focus, which is why I describe this as a conditioning process. The more you do it, the better you become.

A while back I was at a party and found myself in a conversation that turned into the area of leadership and the lack of follow-through on decisions and decision making. It actually started out as a discussion on social media and the availability of information, and my friend felt that part of the problem was that there’s simply too much information. Though I see his point, I’m not sure I agree, but that may of course be because of my interest in social media.

My friend described a scenario where the same issues that were debated four years ago was still being debated today, with the same arguments. In other words, not much of a discussion because of the new information or development and progress, just simply the same old situation.

This got me thinking about the lack of following through on decision making, but I found myself thinking also that the root of the situation has more to do with indecision that decision making. If you make a decision, at least you have the opportunity to measure the result, and if it’s not what you want, set a different course after your evaluation. With indecision, no one’s made responsible for a further course of action… and so nothing happens.

The Blame Game

The conversation I just mentioned came back to me a few days ago when I saw a couple of clips from the climate meeting in Copenhagen, especially with regards to decision making, or the lack of it depending on how you view the agreement they finally reached.

The first clip was of John Kerry talking about how China will be the biggest contributor to the climate problem in the years to come, and therefore should make major changes to their policies. The second clip was of Hugo Chavez telling all rich countries in general that if the climate crisis was a bank, it would be saved right away (I believe he also mentioned how he got this from one of the signs from the activists).

Now, both of them are probably correct, so I’m not going to pick sides here. China is going to be a major contributor to the problem, and I can’t believe anything else than that rich countries in the world could do (and should do) more to amend what is happening to the climate. However, is this really the right time to play the Blame Game? Put differently:

What’s going to happen if we are more focused on pointing fingers, than actually doing something about what’s happening?

Make A Decision, Take Action

There are lot of voices on both sides of the climate issue, but it seems to me that we’re at a point where something needs be done. In light of this it’s quite interesting, and I guess sad, that even world leaders from across the globe fall into the same patterns as the leaders at my friend’s workplace. What do you do when no one wants to take responsibility themselves. Are we looking at a “climate cold war”? I think it’s a strong image of just how little we trust each other.

Of course, these were just a few news clips, so the accuracy may not be that spot on, but I still think it’s telling that everyone was trying to push their wishes on everybody else, rather than do something about the situation themselves. This was one of those times in history where it was time to lead by example. Imagine what could have been if this had been the case.

Avoid The Crysis, Or The Need For Immediacy

In the game Crysis the US and North Korea find themselves fighting together against an alien enemy. They are thrown into a situation that requires other conflicts to take a backseat. A common threat puts a higher value on what we have, and what we stand to lose unless we take action NOW!

Typical in fantasy and science fiction literature, movies and games are the encounter of races with a lifespan far longer than that of human beings. This length of life beyond what humans are used to give these races a different perspective on what we do to each other and the way we live. I wonder of this is the case with the climate challenge. As fast as it is moving, it’s still too slow for the world to actually join forces and take action. We’re still waiting for everyone else to make a decision.

Why is it everyone else’s responsibility to take action?

Or, how about: how could we make that responsibility our own, take action, lead by example, and share our progress and innovative thinking with everyone else in order to create a better environment?

Share your thoughts.

And on that note, to all of you stumbling onto my blog, I wish you Merry X-mas

I’ve been doing some writing on the self-help area lately (post on the subject coming up), and one of the topics typically covered are time management. It’s a popular topic no doubt, and there’s probably a reason why people say things like “there’s only 24 hours in a day“, “wish I had more time” or “I don’t have the time” and so on. To a certain extent I understand this very well. I’m a project manager, and at the moment I’m working on building a new course from more or less the ground up, and believe me, If I could have a few weeks extra before launch, I wouldn’t say no.

The Time Mangement Process

Whatever you choose to call your approach to time management, it usually covers a few standard points:

• Categorize where you spend your time
• Define areas in a matrix, continuum or similar ranging from “highly urgent and important” to “not important at all”
• Prioritizing your areas and actions that need to be done
• Create a to do list
• Do the most important action item, cross oit ff the list, go to the next one etc.

Some of the more advanced ones (which I like) go a step further (or before), focusing on your outcomes, purposes, and then planning (where many of the other programs start). If you’ve ever heard of NLP or Tony Robbins, this might be familiar ground.

However, this post is not about how to manage your time. There are probably more than enough resources online for this.

What’s Your Mindset Like?

There is a group in the population that has a very different approach to time and the amount of it that we have available: Kids. Remember when you were a kid and you were waiting on, say your favorite TV show (when I grew up in Norway we had one channel, and about half an hour devoted to kids at 6 pm) and it wasn’t on until an hour later? When you’re a kid an hour lasts five billion minutes if you’re waiting for something (consider waiting to unwrap presents when it’s Christmas). A kid will find a hundred things to do for an hour. There are trees to climb, action figures to play with, that lego car you’re going to build, run around with the family dog, say hello the kid next door… you know what I mean, right.

What are grown-ups like? “hmm…, well, I doubt I have the time right now. I’ve got a meeting in one hour. How about later?”

So the idea I have here is that maybe we (at least us adults) should adopt kids’ mindsets every now and then when it comes to time and time management. How much could you do in an hour if you thought of time the way kids do, rather than what you do as an adult?

What’s your take on it?

You know the scene in the movies where the main characters are about to finally get on with that kiss that you’ve foreseen since before you even started watching, and just as their lips are about to touch, the phone rings and destroyes the moment. This of course, has been used to the point of complete cliché, but what always ticks me off here is, why the hell do they bother with the phone? You’re right there with some superbabe or superhunk, things are getting really interesting and …you’d rather answer the phone?

The worst part about this scenario is that phone behavior today is frighteningly similar to this. A lot of people seem incapable of not answering their phone.

Cell Phone Addiction In Real Life Settings

Want to improve your meetings?
Want to get more out casual conversations with friends or colleagues?
Want to relax without interruptions?

Turn off your cell phone, or at least put it on mute.

Among the things I do, I work as a career advisor. Because of the economy, a lot of people in Norway, as the rest of the planet, are out of work. Some of the people I meet have little experience with work, some have lot, and they come from many walks of life. One frequent similarity, though, is their cell phone addiction. Whether in the middle of a presentation, a great discussion, or even moments of breakthrough for people struggling with self-confidence, I experience people grabbing on to their phones to answer calls or text messages.

This lack of social competence is strange to me. Is it really that hard to wait for a break or a moment where making phone calls or writing text messages are more appropriate?

The Need To Feel Connected

The times when I really become aware of this addiction in myself is when I forget my phone, and wonder what in the world I’m going to do without it. As if it’s a huge problem. I’m left with only e-mail, facebook, twitter, friendfeed, etc … Getting in touch isn’t really that difficult. On the other hand, one difference I notice in myself is that I don’t absolutely have to answer the phone when it rings. I have a cell phone. I can see who’s calling. I can call back if I don’t know the number, or check it online. If it’s an unlisted number it’s usually one of two people, and they can call back.  Or, it’s someone I’m not interested in talking to anyway.

It’s not a problem!

The Cell Phone Challenge

So, here’s the challenge (and this is one I’ll work even more at myself): When your phone rings from now on, consider taking just a second to ask yourself whether or not you want to, or need to answer it. If you’re in a meeting, or having a great conversation or discussion, do you really want risk destroying that great state or atmosphere just because of a phone call? Is what you’re doing right now more important, or the phone call (or text message for that matter) when you don’t even know who’s calling.

Consider this: What if that great meeting or conversation doesn’t get back on track? The moment’s ruined. And all because of a cold call from someone trying to sell you on subscription deal with a new phone company?

Would it be worth it?

In my last three posts I’ve focused on the way we handle conflicts at work, and especially on the way conflicts at work can be productive. Based on those posts, here are 7 strategies that can help facilitate conflict mastery at work.

#1 Have A Plan
Like any project, having a plan for reaching your outcomes is key in facilitating and achieving conflict mastery. Define reasons for why this is an outcome you want for your team and/or organization. When the motivation is in place, create your plan. Ask important questions. How far are you willing to go? When are conflicts becoming destructive? Why are you going to keep disagreements constructive? When should you take steps to change conflict behavior? At what point is it getting too intense?

#2 Define A Mutual Outcome
When starting up a project, meeting, negotiation, etc, be sure to state common outcome at first. Common, or mutual outcome means one that everyone partaking in the endeavor have been a part of setting. That way one can always remind one another of the higher goal in the process if things take a destructive turn. Also, by having mutual focus point, everyone is working with the same end in mind the whole time. This focus from everyone can help make it easier to work together.

#2 Create A Physical Space For Conflicts
Have a room designated for constructive conflicts. Similar to the idea of using different thinking hats, being in a room specified for constructive conflict can help team members or meeting participants adopt the right mindset. With time a conflict mastery approach can be automatically conditioned in such a setting.

#3 Intelligent Team Composition
Said differently, put the people that need to be on the team on the team. Smart conflict management with a goal in conflict mastery have no room, or need, for allergies and safe-teaming in the team composition process. In other words, if someone comes to you and asks specifically to not be put on a team with a certain other person, get to the bottom of it and move on. Losing out on great solutions and possibilities simply because people don’t want to sit down and work things out isn’t a good solution.

#4 Create Real Teams
If possible, make arrangements to have compositions of real teams when teamwork is involved. Real teams, or real groups, is a term coined by Hackman (1987) referring to teams where all members bring unique competence to the table. Besides saving resources by not having unnecessary people on the team, real teams foster trust among the team members because they all bring their own skills to the project, and are dependent on the other team members at the same time.

#5 Define Roles For Conflict Situations
Share responsibilities to ensure that the constructive conflict processes work as planned. Divide important roles to people in the team/meeting. Who will take charge and break in when the situation seems to turn destructive? Who will play the devil’s advocate and prevent group think, as well as making sure all questions and issues have been raised. Who will make sure that there is progress? What are the boundaries for the project manager?

#6 Choose A Neutral Seating Arrangement
It may seem like trivial point to make, but by making sure all participants are seated in a way that puts everyone on an equal basis (i.e. by using a round or even sided table), no one is put in an immediate “boss position”. That way equal participation in the discussion is encouraged. This can be especially important when brainstorming.

#7 Express Your Understanding Of Situations, Statements And Actions
As Stephen Covey says, “seek first to understand, then to be understood”. Ask questions regarding what is said, and make sure to use the first person when you do this. As I understand this…, have I understood you correctly if what you mean is…, I experienced that remark as if you were trying to… is this correct, or have have I mistaken you? By focusing on the first person form you avoid putting words in someone else’s mouth. Also, you are the only one who can know how you feel, and therefore other participants in a conflict situation will have to take your word for it.

Hope you find some of these strategies useful.

Got additional ideas? Put them in comments and let people know.

Related posts:

• Productive Conflict At Work – Constructive Conflicts, Part 1
• Productive Conflict At Work, Part 2 – LinkedIn Responses
• Productive Conflict At Work, Part 3 – Thesis Results & Reflection

References:
Hackman, J. R. (1987). The design of work teams. In J. W. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior (pp. 315-342). London: Prentice-Hall.

Thesis Scope

The area of study for the thesis came as a result of interest in the subject, and was fueled by findings in the Healthy Change Processes project at NTNU showing that an openness to constructive conflicts seems to be an important factor when leveraging organizational change.
My focus was on how teams approach conflict situations, with a goal in identifying whether constructive conflicts are actively used, as well as identifying how teams manage to work with conflict productively when they are in disagreement. The teams that were focused on were from the area of consulting and advertising.

Findings From The Study

“We don’t have conflicts”

This is one line that came up in many interviews. This could be for the simple fact that having conflicts at work may feel as a taboo for many businesses. Challenges are fine, and companies love to take them on and solve them, but conflicts don’t exist. The reason for this answer, however, and this may be a Norwegian thing, is that the word conflict is negatively charged. The idea that conflicts can be constructive didn’t seem to come natural for the people that were interviewed. When asked how they would define “constructive conflicts” on the other hand, almost everyone gave a similar explanation: A situation where people are in disagreement, but where they are focused on the outcome of the project, and therefore don’t resort to personal attacks against the other team members. However, there were other views as well, such as the following answer from one person, “Constructive conflict… well, to begin with that sounds like a contradiction. I probably make a distinction between discussions and disagreements and conflicts”.

In essence, the people I interviewed saw conflict as something very different from any form of collaboration. Something worse, wrong, and definitely not constructive.

Conflict Management Approaches In Consulting Teams

One of the most interesting sides to the study was the difference in approach from the consulting teams and the advertising teams. The consulting teams were far more likely to choose what I’ve called “choosing your battles” and “quick-fixing” when there was a potential for a conflict situation. In choosing ones battles I got the impression that whether or not you engaged yourself in a conflict depended on whether there was the chance that your way would be the preferred strategy. It became a question of whether it was worth the argument or not (in ones personal opinion). Inherent in this approach is also a certain amount of disclaiming ones responsibility. What if raising your point of view would have resulted in a better solution? What would that mean in the eyes of your customers?

Quick-fixing a situation relates to a strategy where upper management is called in to solve the situation. Though necessary in some instances, I got the feeling that this was an all to easy solution for “getting rid of the trouble maker”. What if that “trouble maker” was the element that would have led to the best possible result on your project? In other instances of quick-fixing team members would also resort to strategies where they either dropped out (mentally), or took control of the project and did it all by themselves, leaving the rest of the team with insignificant tasks.

The Value Of Diverse Compentence In Advertising Teams

Interestingly, teams working in the advertising industry had a very different approach to teamwork. In the consulting teams they had the team structure in order to share the work load, though most team members could do all the of the work. In the advertising industry the common response was “we have to work in teams. It’s the only way”, as well as statements like “without my team doing their tasks, it’s impossible for me to do mine properly. I’m absolutely dependent on the team”. The simple reason for this difference is that the work areas in the advertising industry are so diverse that no one team member is able to properly do all tasks. In other words, they have to work together.

The strategies I found to be employed by the advertising teams I’ve Facilitating Ideas, and Killing Your Darlings. The first relates to the process of getting all the ideas on the table to make sure the best ones would be up for discussion. As one person said “everything has to get out, right. If you think of something that might be too stupid, at least you get it out of your head and it no longer blocks other ideas”. Another very important reason for this facilitating of ideas is that one thought, good or Also, in the advertising teams the ability to let go of your own ideas, even if you’d gotten attached to them, was a clear strategy. You have to be able to kill your darlings. With the amount of ideas coming up during brainstorming sessions, the majority are bound to go nowhere. This mindset in the advertising teams seemed to help them achieve what
constructive conflicts, even though this term was unknown to most of the people I talked to. It’s simply their way of working.

The Danger of Allergies And Safe-Teaming

Earlier I mentioned how many of the team members I talked stated that they really didn’t encounter conflicts. For the most part this came from the consulting teams. Based on this study, I found two reasons that might explain this. I call these allergies and safe-teaming. The latter refers the process of always teaming up with the same “safe” people, or having a team coordinator that always puts the the same people on a team. Sort of like a winning team. As explained by one person “You always know what you’re going get, but then again, you never get any surprises”. The chance that a conflict, productive or not, will occur, is minimal.

Allergies refers to what happens when team members are in conflict, and don’t know how to deal with the situation. What I found was that these situations often lead to an “instant allergy” toward the other person. The result is that the two are rarely put on a team together again. I was told that in many instances people will go the their managers and ask specifically to not be put on a team with a person they have developed an allergy against.

Conflict Management Or Conflict Mastery?

Looking back at the results of my thesis, I believe there’s a difference between conflict management and conflict mastery. I see conflict management as the process of creating the best possible environment for conflicts to occur, as well as solving conflict situations that have become destructive. Conflict mastery, on the other hand, I see as the ability to take any conflict situation and either keep it constructive, or take it from a destructive to a constructive path. I also believe that conflict mastery is achieved through proper conflict management, though this means there needs to be a focus on training and willingness to take the time needed to get there. Not taking the time for this seems to easily lead to “allergic” situations where organizations lose flexibility unnecessarily, as well as the need edge to find new solutions be safe-teaming, rather than exploring new “team territory”.

Got some thoughts on the matter? Share them with me.

Related Posts

• Productive Conflict At Work – Constructive Conflicts, Part 1
• Productive Conflict At Work, Part 2 – LinkedIn Responses
• 7 Strategies For Facilitating Conflict Mastery

Since last weeks post on productive conflict at work, the linkedin answers to whether conflict at work can be productive have gone up from 118 to 121. With the quick overview of some of the theoretical positions on conflict presented in part 1, this post will focus on the point of view from the many linkedin professionals that have provided answers based on their own experiences and knowledgde. I thought the quote above from one of the responses captured their point of view well.

On The Definitions Of Conflict

How conflict is defined from a theoretical point of view is one thing, how people actually define it may be another. When is it appropriate to call a conflict productive? was one question that was raised. Since conflict is considered a negatively charged word for many people, keeping this in mind can be a smart tactic when dealing with conflicts. Other people may not share your point of view.

Another two interesting approaches are to distinguish between conflict and criticism, and, as one respondent said, there is no such thing as productive conflict.

Conflict as Beneficial

From the responses it is very clear that the majority finds that conflict can be productive at work. A large amount of the respondents even feel that it is essential to have conflicts for the organization to stay ahead of, or on par, with its competitors.

 The main benefits of conflicts mentioned are:

• Increased creativity and innovation
• Better openness at work, and better ability to listen without prejudice
• Increasing maturity as a result of every conflict that is solved constructively

Conflicts are seen as learning processes that are necessary for organizational growth and development. In line with research in the field, this compares to the idea of constructive (C-type, positive or task) conflict found when disagreement stays on target (i.e. the work tasks)

Conflict Management Strategies

Seeing that the majority see conflicts as assets, how do you manage to create and keep them constructive? I found the following interesting:

• Take time-outs in order to regain composure
• Keep the emotions out of the discussion
• Cultivate the conflicts. Make people better at handling them.

The first two might easily come off as givens when working productively with conflicts. The third point, in my opinion, acknowledges the essence of conflict management strategies. By moving beyond the fear of conflicts, and seeing it as a learning experience rather than an obstacle, a solution oriented perspective on conflict is chosen.

I like the following quote, and I think it encapsulates the perspective on conflict as a productive asset well. “Conflict is beautiful at work. It means that the ideal has yet to be achieved”

Work With A Mutual Outcome In Mind

Having a mutual outcome was mentioned several times as necessary for work conflicts to have the chance at being productive. In the light of theory, this also makes sense. When conflicts turn destructive, focus is one of the first factors to fall. Rather than targeting the assignment with the aim of a solution, the guns are pointed towards your colleagues. Without a strong conviction from the other parties of the conflict, the road to the downward spiral is short. Remember, as one of the LinkedIn professionals said it, “It’s not personal, just business”.

On a related note, conflict (re)solution approaches mentioned were to
:

• Take the conflict off-site when a situation is sliding toward the destructive path
• Have a plan: Stick to the facts (do not make assumptions), state how something made you feel (stick to your own experiences and emotions)
• Listen (seek to understand). Realize what the purpose is (to reach an outstanding solution to a situation)

And as one respondent stated: “Treat people with dignity”.

The Knowledge Of A Professional Network

Along with a focus on the productive side of conflicts in work situations, I hope this post shows you how you can use the questions & answers feature on LinkedIn as a source of first hand knowledge from professionals. If you’re not already taking advantage of this side of LinkedIn, I suggest you take some time to check it out.

Related post

• Productive Conflict At Work – Constructive Conflicts, Part 1
• Productive Conflict At Work, Part 3 – Thesis Results & Reflection
• 7 Strategies For Facilitating Conflict Mastery