Beyond the Glass Ceiling

Overcoming Fear

2011-04-29T06:33:58-07:00

Kristin Noelle at Trust Tending has a great post up with interviews she conducted with 8 life coaches on advice for overcoming fear at the start of new things. This is something I've written about before and Kristin's collection of coaches offers some great advice.

Some of the best nuggets:

Bridget Pilloud says to realize that fear at the outset of a new project or experience is normal and that it's better to just experience the fear without trying to fix it.

Britt Bravo suggests finding a buddy. This has definitely worked well for me in those instances where I've been able to connect with other people who are going through a similar transition.

Chris Zydel points out that waiting for the fear to go away before you get started means you probably will never start. "Fear is always related to taking action. It’s usually not too scary to spend time fantasizing about your project or making endless plans. But the fear arises when the rubber is about to meet the road." So true.

Jamie Ridler reminds us that fear is just the sign that an adventure is beginning--kind of like the heart-pounding feeling you get when you ride a roller coaster.

Kate Swoboda suggests that it's fear of failure that can get us in its grip. I think this is true--and also unfortunate. We have so little tolerance for "failure" in our society, but I've found that it's my failures that have actually provided me with the greatest opportunities for growth and learning.

Kendra Thornbury reminds us to not believe in the fear. It's just a passing thought to which we should not give our energies.

Tara Gentile says to not get so hung up on the "how" of our desires. Instead, we should pay attention to the "what" and "why."

Tara Sophia Mohr points out that action will get us past the fear--"action absorbs anxiety."

Great stuff on fear and well worth a read.

For me, fear is something that goes with the territory when I start a new project, especially if it's something that is going to test my skills or that I know is going to play to the areas where I need to stretch. One of the best strategies I've found for dealing with fear is to write about it, acknowledging the feelings and trying to dive down into what information they are providing me about how I need to proceed. Often my fears are excellent clues to the areas where I may need to pay greater attention--for example when I know that I'm anxious about trying out a new technique with a client, this is a reminder that I should be sure to do my homework and to let the client know that I'm experimenting with something different.

I'd love to hear how you deal with fear when heading into a new project or transition in your life. What works well for you?

Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women

2011-04-28T07:58:35-07:00

An interesting article in the Harvard Business Review on The Center for Work Life Policy report, The Sponsor Effect, breaking Through the Last Glass Ceiling. It points to one of the key reasons why men still get more promotions than women, even when women are participating in special mentoring programs:

All mentoring is not created equal, we discovered. There is a special kind of relationship—called sponsorship—in which the mentor goes beyond giving feedback and advice and uses his or her influence with senior executives to advocate for the mentee. Our interviews and surveys alike suggest that high-potential women are overmentored and undersponsored relative to their male peers—and that they are not advancing in their organizations. Furthermore, without sponsorship, women not only are less likely than men to be appointed to top roles but may also be more reluctant to go for them.

What Is a Sponsor?

Sylvia Ann Hewitt, author of the study says a sponsor is "someone who advocates for my next promotion and speaks of your strengths and makes the case for your advancement in your absence. . . "Where a mentor might help you envision your next position, a sponsor will lever open that position for you. A sponsor doesn’t just believe in you; a sponsor believes in you more than you believe in yourself."

So while a mentor may offer you day-to-day career advice and support, a sponsor is someone who is actively advocating on your behalf, looking for ways for you to increase your experience and advance into different positions. A mentor is a sounding board while a sponsor is an advocate--two very different roles, although both could be played by the same person.

Why Don't Women Have Sponsors?

According to Kerrie Peraino, Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer with American Express, most women they surveyed at American Express had only one sponsor, while the men tended to have 3 or 4. This is a finding that held true across other companies in the Center for Work Life Policy Report, suggesting that women have some work to do in this area.

One reason for the lack of sponsors for women may be that women underestimate the power of the sponsor effect, which, according to the report, confers a statistical benefit of up to 30% in terms of more stretch assignments, promotions and pay raises.

Women also tend to seek out friendships at work, rather than emulating men, who seek out connections that will help them advance. This is one of the 5 major pitfalls that, according to the report, continue to undermine women at work.

Women are also more likely to believe that hard work alone will help them get ahead. Over 77% of women reported that hard work and long hours, not connections, are the keys to professional advancement.

Another issue is that women tend to conflate sponsorship and mentorship, thinking that they are essentially the same thing. This makes them less likely to push for the more active advocacy of a sponsorship relationship.

The study also found that 64% of senior male executives avoided developing professional relationships with junior females for fear of speculation of an affair. This has a profound impact, since older males are often the ones in the best position to provide the most effective sponsorship.

Finally, the recession has made it even more difficult for both genders to find sponsors. The pressures on senior management have pushed professional development and mentoring/sponsorship of all types lower on the list of priorities.

How to Find a Sponsor

One of the best ways to find a sponsor is for women to become much clearer about the differences between mentoring and sponsorship. While a mentor may act as an advice giver and sounding board, a sponsor is actively advocating for you to participate in key projects and opportunities and will promote you for consideration to various leadership positions.

Pfizer's Chief Diversity Officer Edward Gadsden says that:

"It has been clear for a long time that when people were asking for coaches and mentors; they were really looking for sponsors. This term—sponsor—will help make it a visible discussion, compelling us to look at our people programs and align our definitions accordingly. For us, this is a huge opportunity. "

So the first step in obtaining a sponsor lies in understanding that you are seeking someone who will play this more active advocacy role with you.

Finding someone who is both respected and influential in your organization and who is willing to speak up on your behalf is key. This may be a person who is already mentoring you. You may just need to have a conversation about changing expectations and specific sponsorship actions your current mentor may be able to make on your behalf.

You may also need to seek someone out who is in a better position to provide sponsorship--someone with the influence within the organization that can help connect you to more opportunities. Look at ways to establish a relationship with this person, perhaps by volunteering for assignments that will bring you into contact with your potential sponsor.

If you're serious about obtaining a sponsor, the Center for Work Life Policy is offering a Virtual Master Class on May 3, 2011 from 12:30 to 1:45. The cost is $250 and according to the CWLP, the class "will unpack the dynamics of the sponsor-protégé relationships that are critical for professional success in any field or at any level. In addition to sharing our cutting-edge research, the 75-minute session will include an interactive Q&A with Dr. Hewlett."

Do you have a sponsor? If so, how have you developed and managed that relationship? What tips can you share?

A 4-Step Process for Learning When Your Organization Isn't Into It

2011-04-13T12:40:35-07:00

(Another post from The Bamboo Project that I wanted to share here)

I know from experience that while there are many companies and organzations (usually the larger ones) that take learning pretty seriously, reality is that most workers cannot count on their employer as the primary avenue for improving their skills. They may get some training to learn how to use proprietary systems or processes, but the kinds of skill-building that make people effective and marketable are just not going to happen.

So how do you engage in professional development when you can't count on your organization to provide it? A few thoughts. . .

1. Recognize that YOU will have to be the primary source of professional development.

They say that the first step to addressing a problem is recognizing that you have it. I think a lot of people are still stuck in a world where they believe that their organization OWES them professional development. If they aren't going to get it at work, then it's the employer's problem.

I would argue, however, that this is cutting off your nose to spite your face. A few years ago I wrote a post, "Who's in Charge of Learning?" in which I made the case that we, as individuals, have to take responsibility for our own learning as it's our primary means for remaining competitive in the marketplace. Given the current state of the economy and the huge numbers of layoffs we've experienced, I think there's an even stronger reason to believe that it's up to individuals to pay attention to keeping their skills updated if they want to not only be effective now, but be ready to go to another job if and when the situation arises.

2. Know what skills and competencies are in demand for your particular occupation--or for occupations you'd eventually like to get into.

Once you recognize the need to take charge of your own professional development, the next thing you need to do is get a grip on the skills, knowledge, tools, etc. that are cutting edge in your profession. This is going to mean getting outside your organization, because if they aren't into training, then they probably aren't into being on top of competencies either. I actually think that engaging with other professionals through social media can be one of your most powerful opportunities for learning about the most "in-demand" skills because the professionals I know who are on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, etc. take their learning very seriously. Connecting with professional and industry organizations is another good strategy.

3. Seek out learning opportunities.

This could be an entire post of its own, but here are a few ideas:

Find smart people online, on Twitter, on LinkedIn and who blog. Pay attention to what they talk about. Check out their links, participate in their conversations.

Volunteer for "stretch assignments."

Design Personal Learning Experiments. Beth Kanter is really good at them.

Engage in reflective practice.

Run a web search for skills you want to learn. You'd be amazed at the number of free videos, tutorials, slideshows, and "how-to" posts that will turn up!

Connect to professional organizations. They can point you to the people, classes, certifications and skills that will help you continue to develop as a professional.

Consider joining or starting your own community of practice. Do Lunch & Learns with colleagues. Form a Facebook Group. Participate in a Twitter chat. Find other professionals and engage with them in the learning process.

4. Rinse and Repeat

Learning is an ongoing thing. Skill needs change and if the recession has proven anything, it's that we need to keep our skills fresh. I know that for myself, if I slack off for even a few months, I start to feel stale and behind the times. It's one of the many reasons to be as active as possible in social media, I think, because there's always learning going on there, even if you can't take advantage of each opportunity. Learning can also help combat the dreaded burnout. It gives you a sense that you're accomplishing things and keeps your mind active.

What are your thoughts? Have you worked for a company or organization where you had to take professional development into your own hands? What did you do to keep on learning?

Stand Still When the Hippos Charge

2011-04-13T12:36:15-07:00

(I recently posted this on my other blog, The Bamboo Project, and thought it might be a good thing to share here as well.)

Yesterday I read a wonderful Change This Manifesto on The Zen of Business: 7 Habits of the Highly Creative by Matthew May. I'm currently in what I'm referring to as "creative recovery" (otherwise known as AA for creatives) so these habits really struck a chord with me.

One of my favorites on the list is the habit of "Seijaku" or stillness, solitude, quietude. It is the habit of learning to quiet your mind, designating a place and time for creative solitude. In other words, "stand still when the hippos charge," advice from National Geographic journalist Boyd Matson.

As luck would have it, when I opened up Typepad to start this post, I saw that someone had visited a post I wrote a few years ago about The Tyranny of Now. In it, I lamented the fact that I was responding to the "nowness" set for me by my email and my ringing phone and the clamor of unread items in my feed reader. In other words, the hippos were charging around me and I was running for my life.

This is an issue that has plagued me off and on for awhile now, so lately I've been trying to create for myself moments of creative solitude.

I start my day with Morning Pages, a practice of writing 3 pages of stream of consciousness, just to empty your brain. What I've found is that each morning, as soon as I open my eyes, I'm flooded with the things I didn't complete the day before and the things I MUST do today. By emptying my brain of these worries, I create in myself a stillness that allows me to get to my "to do's" with less anxiety and more focus.

I have also designated another room in my house--NOT my home office--as the place to go when I need to get some space from my work. This quite literally changes the dynamic for me as it is a room that's off limits to my laptop and phone. When I enter it, it says that I'm setting a boundary between me and technology that I will not violate while I'm in there. It's helped tremendously in getting my brain to shift from the Tyranny of Now when I need it to.

The other practice I'm working on happens to be one that is in May's Manifesto--the idea of "Datsuzoku" or taking a break from routine. May points out that our bodies and brains work in 90-minute "pulses" or rhythms:

When we're awake, we move from higher to lower alertness every 90 minutes. And here's the thing: our bodies clearly signal that rhythm in the form of restlessness, hunger, drowsiness and loss of focus. Generally we either ignore or overrride these signals, because we have a lot to do and many ways to artificially pump up our energy with various supplements. The problem is that after working at high intensity for more than 90 minutes, our brains begin to shut down. We become more reactive and less capable of thinking clearly, creatively and reflectively or seeing the big picture.

I've most definitely noticed this in myself and have been trying to pay closer attention to the signals my brain and body give me that it's time for a break. This isn't always easy--I have to fight with myself to NOT keep going. There's something that says I'm being "weak" or "unproductive" if I don't push through. But in reality when I honor what my brain and body are telling me, I'm actually MORE productive. It's funny what can happen if we just stop and listen.

So what do you do when the hippos charge? Do you stand still? And how do you do that?

Taking Time Off to Have Kids Won't Hurt Your Career

2008-01-28T18:32:53-08:00

Penelope Trunk has a pretty interesting post on how taking time off to have kids actually won't hurt your career prospects, contrary to popular opinion. Her primary point is that the looming worker shortage is going to make access to skilled employees a bigger issue than anything, but I also think she makes a good case for how changes in how we define career have an impact, too.

I have to say that in the end, my own three years out of the workforce with a few more years of being under-employed actually helped me as the mommy track job I held actually launched me into my consulting career. For that matter, being a mommy contributed as well--there was something about those astronomical childcare bills that made me think working for myself might actually be a better option.