Want to succeed? Ask questions!

Ask questions! That is my one piece of advice to all new employees. Heck, start asking questions before you get the job. The traditional interview process is no longer relevant. It’s not a one-way Q&A session anymore. The Q&A goes both ways now. Ask your new employer questions that are meaningful to your decision process. This will help both you and your potential employer make a better decision about whether or not you would do well in the job, in the organization and on the team.

Once you start a job, it is just as important to continue asking questions. No one knows everything even if they tell you they do! I’ve heard all the excuses and assumptions:

  • I’m scared I’ll sound stupid.
  • I’m afraid they think I should know the answer to that already.
  • I don’t know who to ask.
  • I don’t want to bother them.
  • They’re so busy. They don’t have time to answer my questions.
  • I probably don’t really need to know that right now. I’ll ask if I ever have to know.
  • If I needed to know that, they would tell me so I don’t need to ask.
  • I’m sure someone else will ask my question.
  • I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.

Well, guess what? These are all actually very valid concerns and feelings. But, guess what else? They don’t need to stop you from asking questions and growing yourself and your career.

  • So, someone thinks you sound stupid. Who cares? You still gain something out of getting the answer. Who’s problem is it that they think you sound stupid? It’s not your problem.
  • Maybe you should know the answer but if you don’t, keeping quiet isn’t going to get you the answer.
  • If you don’t know who to ask, ask everyone until you find out who the right person is to ask.
  • If people are bothered by you asking a question, that is their burden to carry, not yours.
  • Everyone is busy, including you, I’m sure. You’ll be more productive if you ask and so will they because they know you’re getting your work done.
  • Growth is about learning as much as you can so even if you don’t need to know it, ask questions about things you want to know.
  • Never assume that someone is going to look out for you. You need to ask questions proactively rather than waiting for people to give you all the information you need to do your job.
  • Again, you’re going down a very uncertain path if you’re waiting for someone else to ask the question you have. What if they do it when you’re not there and now you don’t have the answer?
  • Maybe you will figure it out eventually but wouldn’t it be nice to get the answer and figure it out now?

I instill this in my team and in all the employees I work with every single day. The ones who ask a lot of questions have become the go-to people in the organization. They always seem to have the answers because they always ask the questions.

So, let me ask you a question: are you going to start asking questions?


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Satisfaction is overrated

Don’t get me wrong; satisfaction is great. It’s comfortable. It’s rewarding. It’s bliss, really. Satisfaction is the ultimate goal in many cases. If I’m satisfied with my meal at a restaurant, I’ll become a loyal customer and go there all the time. If I have the best doctor in the world, I’ve hit satisfaction and there’s no reason to keep looking for a new doctor.

But, what about work, if that’s what we want to call it? I don’t just mean the job we do everyday. I’m talking about our work environment, our leadership and the culture at our organizations. I challenge the notion of simply getting to satisfaction in this realm. In this case, I believe that satisfaction is way overrated.

In the past six years, I’ve changed jobs six times and departments twice. I reached satisfaction in all of my previous five roles, achieving a state of total comfort. There wasn’t much left for me to learn and almost nothing that was challenging me in my career. So, I moved on. It would have been easy for me to stay in the same role and department forever. I might have been perfectly happy but I knew that the only way to grow was to take a risk and make that next move into the scary unknown.

I wouldn’t be where I am today if I settled for satisfaction. There are plenty of reasons to be satisfied but not if someone is trying to grow their career. I hear people complain about their jobs and their situations all day, every day. Yet, I never see most of them do anything about it because even though they have complaints, they’re comfortable and satisfied to an extent. It can be terrifying to push ourselves out of our comfort zones but it is necessary in order to grow ourselves.

Some may have noticed that I didn’t say I changed organizations in the past six years. That is not necessary in order to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve been extremely fortunate that I’ve had the opportunities to challenge myself and push myself out of my comfort zone within my current organization. I’m still not satisfied or comfortable and that’s the best feeling in the world. It means I’m being challenged both personally and professionally.

To really find our passion and really make an impact in the world, we have to keep striving for better. It’s not just about a job role change. It’s about everything we do – every project we’re on, every committee we participate in and every change we’re trying to make in our organizations or maybe, in the world.

Don’t settle for satisfaction. It could possibly mean settling for less.


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Dare to be quirky at work!

I was asked to speak at a memorial recently for a coworker of mine who passed away. As I thought about what I appreciated most about her, I realized it was her quirks. I remember every day at 2:00pm, without fail, she would let out a big, loud yawn that half the office could hear. It was as if she was our human alarm clock. There is such a void for us at that time now. She also had a collection of doggie beanie babies above her desk to showcase her love for animals. She wasn’t afraid to be herself and let us all into her life even though we were at work.

So many people are afraid to be themselves at work. They’re rigid and quiet and constantly trying to be whatever their boss or their organization wants them to be. Yes, organizations need to do a better job of creating a safe environment for employees to be themselves.

Be yourself, right from the start when you apply for a job. Yes, you want to be appropriate with your resume but you don’t have to follow all the traditional guidelines. The most popular question I get from jobseekers is whether or not they can have more than one page to their resume. They are so concerned with that. It really doesn’t matter in the end. If there really are recruiters out there who will throw your resume to the side (or in the trash) if it exceeds one page, well, they’re the one with the problem, not you.  They’re probably missing out on many great candidates, including yourself. So, just be you.

Do it again in your interview. If you get that opportunity, ask questions to your recruiter or hiring manager that you really care about. Then, tell them about you. When answering interview questions, don’t think about what the other person wants to hear; just answer honestly and if there’s a funny story that shows your character, share it! I’ll give you an example. One time, I was in an interview and I was asked what my proudest accomplishment was at my previous job. I half-joked that it was convincing 100% of my team to try sushi. The recruiter and I got into a conversation about how she’s the only one in her family that likes sushi. Trust me, that’s not why I got the job but it gave people an idea of what it is really like being around me – my sense of humor, what I like to eat and my inclusion of and influence on others. It also allowed them to relate to me better and ask me better questions.

I’m always looking for quirks and unique characteristics when I interview people. I once did a group interview for a candidate. He answered every question bluntly. When asked what his biggest motivator at work is, he said money. My peers were offended and brushed him off as a potential hire right away. I loved his answer! It was honest. I am so over cliche answers during an interview. I get so bored hearing the same thing over and over again. I’m looking for someone with something new, something exciting, something to prove, something to fight for. I don’t care how many awards someone won or how many projects they completed. I want to hire someone real, someone who will think for themselves and produce new, even wild ideas! I want to hire someone who isn’t afraid to be quirky, different or silly at work. I don’t want to hire someone who hides behind a fake persona of what they think I’m looking for.

I encourage you to go on and be YOU at work. Show your personality, your character. Dare to be quirky!


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Ignite Their Passion!

I wrote a post a while ago about how passion makes our work worth doing. There was a pattern in some of the comments and emails I received that broke my heart. People asked, “What do I do if my manager doesn’t support my passion?”

There are a lot of options to answer that question and each person has to do what’s best for them at the time. My response is more so directed to all the leaders out there that these employees are referring to: start paying attention to what you’re employees’ passions are and empower them to do great things with those passions.

It all starts with simply talking to people. Formal leadership may not be for everyone. It’s for those who understand how to connect with people and push them to achieve the best possible things in work and in life. Leaders care about employees on a personal level and assume the responsibility of helping them reach far and high.

Once you know what your employees are passionate about, try to empower them to use their passions to take risks at work, try new projects and make decisions. When they succeed, fight for them to grow within the organization so that they can continue the momentum rather than let their passion and energy go stale.

Don’t diminish people’s passions and don’t let them go to waste. People who are passionate about their work are out to make you look good as much as they are out to make themselves look good. It’s a win-win situation that too many leaders miss out on because they’re afraid of failure, pushback and employees passing them up in the race to the top.

Now, level of passion and how passion shows up is going to be different for everyone and that should be respected as well.

Things are changing at lightening speed these days and there are plenty of people willing to leave a leader or organization that won’t allow them to succeed. I maintain my belief that passion makes our work worth doing but we also need great leaders who allow us to continue our passion for our work. Luckily, there’s a great way to keep our teams energized, motivated and inspired and that’s to ignite their passion and don’t let the flame burn out!


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Opportunities are the key to value-based loyalty

If you’ve been keeping up on recent studies and news, you’ll know that the world of work is changing dramatically. Once upon a time, loyalty was a mutual desire for employees and organizations. Employees wanted to just stay with their organizations until retirement, slowly working their way up the corporate ladder. Human Resources (HR) departments revolved their initiatives – recognition programs, benefits, perks, etc. – around keeping employees around for the long-run (e.g., years of service parties and gifts).

Things are picking up fast though. All over the internet, you’ll now find advice from thought leaders and career experts telling you not to stay in a job too long. The specific advice varies but experts say that most people are now staying in jobs for only two to five years. Some are only staying in their organizations for that long.

So, should the goal of leadership and organizations still be to keep people around longer? Not necessarily, but loyalty should still be a goal. Loyalty does not always equate to staying with an organization for a long period of time. Loyalty can mean that even when an employee leaves your organization, they rave about it. They send their best coworkers, friends and acquaintances to work for your organization. They recommend you with sincerity and passion. They might even return one day if the right opportunity presents itself in your organization.

Organizations need to focus on providing opportunities for people. Opportunities include much more than promotion into a management position:

  • Lateral transfers allow employees to learn new skills and do a new job.
  • Promotional opportunities don’t always have to be into management. Create senior level positions for employees who excel at what they do and want to continue doing it at a higher level.
  • Sending employees to conferences allows them to expand their knowledge and network with other professionals.
  • Sending employees back to school to get a new degree shows your investment in their future.
  • Giving employees special projects that challenge and mean something to them will help them grow and help the organization grow.
  • Providing specialized and meaningful training for employees helps them gain confidence in doing their jobs better.

These are just a few examples of how to provide opportunities within your organization to great employees. The idea is to focus on helping employees achieve their personal career goals. Leaders often fear that if they offer these opportunities, employees will leave the organization. This is totally possible but it is not what management should be focusing on. As I mentioned, it’s the new reality that employees will be switching jobs and companies more often. Your goal should not be to keep employees around longer but to grow them and gain their loyalty.

You won’t always have the right job for the right employees at the right time. They may leave but if you don’t offer them opportunities to learn and grow while they are with you, you may be closing the door on them so that they never come back. That’s where leaders and organizations fail: not maintaining an alumni network.

Some of the opportunities I mentioned allow employees to network with other professionals. Leverage the relationships they build at these events. They may be meeting amazing people who are willing and ready to take their places once they leave your organization. Make sure you give them a reason to recommend your organization and your leaders to other great professionals. As times change, we need to change our definition of loyalty from a time commitment to a value commitment. To maintain loyalty that means something more than time, we must provide employees opportunities and play a role in their professional growth and success.


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Don’t wait until you need a job to update your resume

You wouldn’t wait until you’re completely dehydrated to drink water, right? Well, if you did, you would know that it’s not the best idea and doesn’t feel very good. It’s better to stay hydrated and drink enough water every day.

The same goes for updating your resume. If you wait until you need a job, you might find that you’re in more of a panic. You can’t remember everything you’ve done and you’re likely going to write your resume from a different perspective when you’re looking for a job versus when you already have one.

Here are some suggestions of what you should be updating on your resume even when you’re not looking for a job:

  • Update your demographics and contact information – phone number, email address and education.
  • Regularly, update the details of your job. Add new projects, responsibilities and accomplishments.
  • Add new certifications or licenses you’ve received.
  • Add new memberships to professional organizations.
  • Add new skills.
  • Update your volunteer experiences.
  • Change up your layout. Giving your resume a new look and feel can go a long way to making it stand out. Take the time to do this when you’re not under pressure to find a job.

Taking these steps when you’re happily employed will pay off in the long run. Update your resume when the content is fresh in your mind. If you ever decide that it’s time to move on or if you ever fall into the unfortunate situation of having to find a new job, you’ll be ready to do so.

Additionally, an updated resume may come into handy for reasons other than finding a new job in another company:

  • If there’s another position or promotional opportunity within your organization, you’ll probably still need to submit a resume.
  • If you’re looking for volunteer opportunities, nonprofits may ask for your resume.
  • If you’re networking, you may want to share your resume.
  • If you’re ever looking to sit on a board for a nonprofit, you may also have to submit a resume.
  • If you’re ever recruiting for positions, candidates will be looking at your LinkedIn profile as much as you are looking at theirs.
  • If you ever plan to go back to school or apply for a scholarship, you may need to submit a resume.

It’s a time commitment to keep your resume updated but it’s an investment worth making for future success. It will also save you a lot of time when it matters most. Don’t wait until you need a job to update your resume!


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Want employees to step up? Make them a plate to step up to!

Why do so many leaders throw out the word “accountability” as if it’s magical and will just make people successful? Trust me, I believe 100% in holding people accountable. In fact, I write about it, talk about it and live it out every day in my work.

The wake up call, however, is that accountability is not something that just happens. We can’t just tell people what to do and then punish them if they don’t do it. “Do this, or else…” and “My way or the highway.” are threats, not forms of accountability.

Accountability is nothing without proper training, guidance, support, development, assistance, patience and leadership. Managers tend to focus so much on “what” they need to hold their staff accountable for that they often forget “how” to actually accomplish such a thing. They forget that if they want employees to step up to the plate, they need to give the employee a plate to step up to.

When I say “a plate to step up to,” I don’t necessarily mean that there needs to be a promotional opportunity or financial incentive. I mean that we need to give people a reason to step up. We need to motivate people if we want to succeed as leaders.

The years of 30, 40 and 50 year service pins are gone. Employees are going to have more choices than ever before when it comes to jobs. With an overwhelming amount of job boards at their fingertips and websites such as Glassdoor, the future of job-seeking is going to look more like job shopping. The ball is now in the jobseekers’ court, not the employers’ court.

As organizational leaders, we need to find ways to get the most out of our people and give the most back to them. Our jobs are harder than ever but if we do it right, our hard work will pay off. We need to personalize our relationships with each employee so we know what motivates them to step up to the plate and do their best work. Then, we need to create that plate for them and help them step up to it.

I used to shop at Express simply because I liked their clothes and well, that’s all it used to take to gain my business. If I liked your product, I bought it. They’ve never provided poor customer service. Their staff is as friendly as the next store but I stopped shopping there. Why? I found something better!

I went into a White House Black Market one day and who would have known but the experience changed my life…or at least my shopping experiences. Their clothes were no better than Express, in my opinion. An associate approached me, not to see if I needed any help, which is the question most store associates ask. “Do you need any help?” is a yes or no question. At White House Black Market, they asked me what I was looking for today and how they can help me get what I’m looking for. They made me think. I had to come up with the reason I was there, a goal.

I needed some new work clothes. The associate spent about five minutes walking around the store with me seeing what I picked out. She was checking out my taste in style, my size, my color choices, etc. She then said to me, “I’m going to take what you’ve picked out and start a fitting room for you. Then, while you try these on, I’m going to continue shopping for you. I’ll have more outfits ready when you’re done with what you’ve already picked out. We’ll keep trying until you have what you need.” I had a personal shopper! Coolest thing ever and it was free! Her picks were spot on with my taste!

That’s personalization, if I’ve ever seen it! Why not do the same thing with that “plate” we need our employees to step up to? Whether you like it or not and whether you believe it or not, employees are constantly shopping for jobs. Even if they are not actively seeking a job, people are dangling job postings, interview appointments and job offers in their faces constantly – LinkedIn InMail, position advertisements on every website, email alerts from Indeed, conferences and other networking events.

If we don’t personalize that “plate” that we expect our employees to step up to, we’re going to lose them and that accountability you were trying to force on them is completely irrelevant. Talk to your staff, find out what makes them tick and use that to create motivation and build accountability.

To most leaders’ surprise, employees actually appreciate accountability. They want to set goals with you and be motivated to meet them. They won’t do those things though if you’re micromanaging them, providing a negative work environment for them and giving them unrealistic expectations to work with.

What does each of your employees’ “plates” look like? Does it have money on it? Is there a career development plan on it? Does it have a learning opportunity on it? Is there some recognition or reward on it? Does it have a touching story on it? Maybe, there’s just a big smile and nice pat on the back waiting for them on the “plate,” and that might just be enough for them to step up.

Remember, though, that fair is not always equal. Motivation comes in all different shapes, sizes and methods. Either way, it has to be personal and mean something to the person you’re trying to motivate, the person you’re trying to get to step up. If that plate doesn’t have what they’re looking for, they won’t step up; they’ll step away to find a different plate to step up to.

So, are you serving up a plate of motivation?

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Fit for duty does not equal fit to lead

Just because you’re good at your job, it does not mean that you will be a good leader. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see organizations make when it comes to their human resources. While I believe strongly in succession planning and employee development, growth does not always equate to promotion into a leadership position.

To determine how to best recognize and reward your employees, speak with them about their career aspirations, build upon their strengths and move them into positions and environments where they’ll thrive. Don’t automatically assume that the next step for every star performer is management.

I’ve seen far too many organizations lose fantastic employees because they were forced into management positions they could not handle. Going from a staff position to managing a group of your peers is not an easy thing for anyone, let alone someone who does not have the right set of skills to take this on, or even the desire. Just because someone can manage a task, it does not mean they can manage people.

Here are some questions to ponder before promoting an employee(s) into a leadership position(s):

  1. Is management even what they want to do? Forget for a second if they would even be right for the job. If they have no passion for a leadership position and you force them into one, you’ve defeated the purpose of recognizing and rewarding them.
  2. Are they qualified? When I ask these questions, the response I often get is, “Well, if I don’t push them to take on a leadership position, I’ll never know if they’re a good fit or not.” However, people fail to realize that leaders often don’t carry titles. The people you should look to when filling leadership positions are those who are already leading your teams informally. You may have intelligent and hard workers on your team but who do they look to for direction, support, guidance, feedback and decisions?
  3. Is there another way to promote them? Promotion does not always mean taking on a management position and growth does not always happen through upward movement. If you have an outstanding employee who is not fit to lead, you may consider creating another promotional opportunity for that person. What about a new job with new or more responsibilities and meaningful benefits?
  4. How would the team feel if you promoted this person? It doesn’t just matter how the employee feels; don’t forget about the team you’re asking this employee to lead. I have met a lot of employees who are well-respected by their peers for their knowledge but despised for their lack of people skills. If you promote someone in this situation, you’re not just letting that person down but you’re letting the entire team down.

So, consider the implications of promoting employees into leadership positions before actually doing it.


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Your move: Leaders act as if everyone is watching

“It’s not a problem unless you get caught.”
“It’s not like she heard me.”
“He doesn’t have to know. We don’t have to tell him.”
“Those things are confidential so they can’t talk about it.”

Sound familiar? Perhaps, you’ve even said these things before without meaning any harm. These aren’t just things that our employees say. I’ve heard these exact words from organizational leaders and even Human Resources (HR) and Compliance professionals. Sometimes, it’s easier to let things go if we don’t think others will find out. It can be more convenient to take the shortcuts because we think it’ll still get us the same result without anyone noticing.

You don’t get in trouble if you don’t get caught, right? Well, the truth is you never really know. Whether we like it or not, when we are in a leadership position, we are on stage 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. We’re in the spotlight whether we’re at work, online or out on the town. We represent our work, our employees and our organizations no matter where we are or what we’re doing.

So, how do we handle such pressure of being a leader? Live by one rule: always act as if everyone is watching. If we do this, we’ll have a better chance of always doing the right thing and doing the right thing means that we don’t have to remember and keep track of all our secrets or stories.

As leaders, we’re responsible for a lot of tough decisions and difficult conversations. We’re often forced to act quickly, which sometimes leaves us little time to thoroughly evaluate our decisions and their consequences. Even in times of turmoil, leaders must remember to do the right thing even though the right thing will not always make everyone happy.

An example that I’ve seen many leaders struggle with is fair compensation. I’ve seen leaders and HR professionals engage in unfair pay distribution and defend it by convincing themselves that the employees will not talk to each other about their pay.

Even when it comes to confidential matters like pay or severance packages or employee relations concerns, leaders must act as if everyone is watching and do what they know is best. The most successful leaders I know always have ethics at the forefront of everything they do.

So, what’s your next move? Will you act as if everyone is watching?

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The power of learning to unlearn

There has been a lot of change in a small period of time in the workplace. Organizations are constantly making changes to keep up with competitors or become the next best thing. Even in industries that used to be steady and stable like healthcare and education, we’ve seen layoffs, closings and mergers in the past few years.

Through all this change, I’ve seen a vast array of struggles and coping methods. The most interesting to me, however, is watching people try to unlearn things. That’s right, unlearn. The beauty is that those who were able to do it survived some of the greatest changes in organizations.

Often times, people going through change have a hard time accepting new ideas, new work and new people and that’s to be expected. The problem I see is not so much that they cannot learn new things or that they don’t want to but more so that they have a difficult time letting go of the way things used to be – a problem with unlearning what they’ve known for years or maybe decades.

While most people struggle with change, I’ve seen a common theme in those who overcome their struggles and it’s the ability to unlearn things. They are able to make connections between what was, what is and what could or should be. They know how to evaluate the differences and determine whether a change is good or bad. Then, they unlearn what they knew previously if they think the new way is better.

The magic is in unlearning because they aren’t committed to believing that what they used to know is necessarily the right and only way. They can hear the reasons for change, understand it and thus, embrace it – if it’s a good change, of course. These are not easy things to do because it’s natural to gravitate towards the things we are comfortable with rather than unlearning them.

If we all focused on the power of learning to unlearn things when we are dealing with a lot of change, we may be able to better see the benefits of the change. How have you struggled with unlearning and how did you overcome that struggle?


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