Your #Career : 5 Signs That You’re Meant to Be a Manager…Do you Feel Destined for the Big Time? Have Middle-Management Written All Over You? Or Perhaps just Want your Underlings to Lovingly Refer to you as Mr. Manager? If so, you Might be Ready for Management, or a Leadership Position in your Company or Organization.

/in /by

While we all take the occasional shot at our leaders or managers — just look at the way we discuss our political leaders, or many CEOs and business leaders, for example — it takes considerable effort to make it to the top of a big organization. Often, we only think of our bosses or superiors as incompetent buffoons or narcissists who were born to make our lives a living hell. But it’s important to realize that they’re there for a reason, and in most cases, they’ve worked very hard and demonstrated that they are capable of handling the responsibilities of a management role.

question mark signs painted on a asphalt road surface

Perhaps you feel that you are too? The question is, how can you tell that you’re ready for management or a leadership position?

There are some sure-fire signs: you can do your job with incredible ease, for example. Or, maybe you’ve already assumed a role as a leader, and now want a better title and salary to go along with it? It’s never really a bad time to fight for more recognition and compensation, but you want to be sure you’re ready for more responsibility before gunning for the top.

Here are five signs you’re destined for management.

1. You demonstrate management and leadership skills

As previously mentioned, perhaps you’ve already assumed the role as a natural leader in your company. Your co-workers respect and like you, and you’re able to take charge when things need to get done. You step up and volunteer for tough assignments, and aren’t afraid to engage directly with managers and company leadership. This shows that you’re one of them — and are ready to take the next step up the company ladder.

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

2. You take ownership

When you start thinking in different terms — as in, “mine” becomes “ours,” for example — it’s a sign that you’re invested in your company or organization, and ready to take the next step. If you actually feel that your success is, in turn, a success for your team or company, then you’re starting to think like a manager. You take responsibility for your co-workers or subordinates and make it your personal mission to make sure they succeed.

3. You crush expectations

This probably should be step number one on the ladder to management: You need to make sure you’re not only accomplishing the tasks that are set out for you (whatever those may be), but that you’re crushing expectations. Whether you’re an account executive or a dishwasher, you should strive to be the best there is, and always look for ways to improve, make your process more efficient, and lift your equals up along with you. Take charge, but start with your immediate responsibilities.

4. You’re proactive

A manager or leader sees problems coming down the pipe before they arrive, and takes the necessary steps to curb the impacts. Being proactive can mean any number of things — be it showing up early to prepare for a big meeting, or trying out new software programs that can help save your team time and money. The point is, you’re starting to think like a chess player: three moves ahead. You see the big picture and are planning well in advance of encroaching problems.

5. You foster respect

We’ve touched on this a couple of times, but one of the most important things a manager or leader can do is to foster respect between employees. That means that you not only respect those who you work with (including those under you), but that they respect you, and listen to and take you seriously. It’s also about finding common ground and making sure your employees respect each other, and are able to accomplish their tasks efficiently.

Find a way to create a respectful work culture, and you’ll be well on your way to the C-suite in no time.

Follow Sam on Facebook and Twitter @SliceOfGinger

CheatSheet.com | May 18, 2016 | Sam Elliott

#Leadership : How A 25-Year-Old CEO Leads A Workplace Full Of 20-Somethings…It’s Less about Age & More about Years of Experience in a Relevant Role. There are Some people Brand New to their Role [at WayUp] but have 4 Years of Experience in another Job, but I’m Going to Treat them Exactly the Same as someone who Just Graduated from College & Started Here.

/in /by

What can actually keep millennials at their jobs, with so many leaving within a year or two? Wessel says that’s the number one question she gets from businesses. Here’s why they want to move on in the first place: “One, they feel like they were promised something they didn’t get with the role. And two, they didn’t have the right information or transparency into the company regarding what they were going to be doing.”

workaholics-2

“I say to people, in the beginning, you definitely have to gain trust of your manager. I don’t want you going off and doing things on your own. Once you gain their trust, then do cool things.”

Picture this: College pennants cover the walls, there’s a fridge full of Red Bull , a poster of John Belushi in “Animal House,” and paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Think you’re in college dorm room? Think again. Welcome to WayUp, a two-year-old startup that connects college students with internships and entry-level jobs, located in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.

At the helm is 25-year-old Liz Wessel, WayUp’s cofounder and CEO. She oversees business operations and manages a team of nearly 40, most of who are fresh out of college themselves. Now running her third startup, she knows a thing or two about being the boss. But, unlike other leaders who ask themselves “How can I best manage my team?” or “How can I best work with millennials?” Wessel must ask both: “How can I best manage people my own age?”

Besides a few more senior staff members, almost everyone at WayUp is under 30; the average age is 24. How does Wessel, a millennial herself, manage people the same age? She says, “It’s less about age and more about years of experience in a relevant role. There are some people brand new to their role [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][at WayUp] but have four years of experience in another job, but I’m going to treat them exactly the same as someone who just graduated from college and started here.”

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

Before launching WayUp with cofounder JJ Fliegelman, Wessel worked atGoogle GOOGL +0.41%, where she observed different managerial styles and, from that experience, determined how to shape her own leadership. She says one takeaway was how to build trust with new employees, especially those that are just starting out. “I say to people, in the beginning, you definitely have to gain trust of your manager. I don’t want you going off and doing things on your own. Once you gain their trust, then do cool things.”

What does Wessel wish she knew? “Turnover and firing is normal. Don’t take it personally and don’t [be afraid to] fire someone because of X, Y or Z excuses. It’s for the best.”

This time a year ago, Wessel had six or seven employees. She forecasts ending 2016 with around 50. With an ever-expanding team, Wessel says what she enjoys most as its leader is learning alongside her employees and figuring out complicated issues. What she finds frustrating is when a team member doesn’t understand something that comes naturally to her. “Sometimes when someone can’t figure something out and it’s so obvious to me…it gets frustrating,” she says. “It’s one of those situations where we’re the same exact age, I know this, you should know this, we have the same kind of experience. I just think overall I have to remind myself that I have two years more of experience at this specific company doing this kind of job than they do.”

On her personal leadership style, Wessel puzzles for a moment, “Maybe empowering? I’m a little more tough love than nurturing. I just want them to learn and figure it out.” Wessel, a 2016 30 Under 30 In Enterprise Technology, can relate to her industrious employees because she wants the same things out of her career. “The positives [of managing millennials] are that they aspire to do so many things, they want to achieve, and by ‘they’ I mean me, too. They want to achieve a ton, they want to learn, they want to grow, they always want to prove that they can accomplish great things.” Their enterprising nature, however, is also one of the largest downsides of managing them. “It’s definitely harder to retain millennials because they want to try out so many things.” Wessel explains that losing great employees to other companies is hard for her because she’s missing out on great talent, but she also personally understands why they want to try out new opportunities.

What can actually keep millennials at their jobs, with so many leaving within a year or two? Wessel says that’s the number one question she gets from businesses. Here’s why they want to move on in the first place: “One, they feel like they were promised something they didn’t get with the role. And two, they didn’t have the right information or transparency into the company regarding what they were going to be doing.”

She says the fixes are getting content out there about what specific roles entail and having internal mobility opportunities so employees can know where they’re headed. “That’s how they’ll know their way up (no pun intended) and get promoted,” she says. She also explains that giving feedback is imperative. Drawing on her own experiences as an employee, she’s implemented several layers of feedback for employees so they have a sense for how they’re doing and what they can improve on.

What does Wessel wish she knew? “Turnover and firing is normal. Don’t take it personally and don’t [be afraid to] fire someone because of X, Y or Z excuses. It’s for the best.”

But it’s not all business all the time at WayUp. Young employees enjoy a number of perks that keep them happy, like free lunch on Wednesdays, outings in the city, beer on Fridays, and quarterly “Thirsty Thursdays,” where they invite friends and turn the office into a frat house. Even so, in Wessel’s opinion, “The number one perk is that we’re always going to push you to learn more.”

 

Forbes.com | May 18, 2016 | Natalie Sportelli

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Your #Career : 10 Job Skills That Will Get You Hired in 2016…You Might be More than Ready for a Career Change, but Do You Have the Skills it Takes to Get Noticed by Recruiters?

/in /by

If you’re in the market for a new job, you’re not alone. More than 20% of workers are thinking about jumping shipthis year, up 5% from last year, according to a survey by job search website CareerBuilder.

Free- Door to Building

You might be more than ready for a career change, but do you have the skills it takes to get noticed by recruiters? LinkedIn recently combed through its database to find out which skills employers were most interested in, both in the United States and around the world. They found you’re in good shape if your talents lie in software development or statistics, while other job hunters might have to work a bit harder to catch the eye of hiring managers.

 To develop lists of the top 25 in-demand job skills, the professional networking site looked at trends in hiring and recruiting in 2015. Because companies were recruiting in the last months of 2015 for jobs where these skills were required, LinkedIn predicts they’ll also be in high demand in the first part of this year.

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

“[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][If you have one or more of these skills, you’re likely to continue getting interest from recruiters in the new year,” LinkedIn’s Sohan Murthy explained in a blog post.

Worldwide, employers were most interested in candidates with skills in cloud and distributed computing. People with experience in data mining (which took first place in last year’s list of hot skills) also continue to be a highly sought after.

“We still live in an increasingly data-driven world, and businesses are still aggressively hiring experts in data storage, retrieval and analysis,” Murthy wrote. Not only are businesses looking for people who can manage and interpret huge quantities of data, but wages in this field are high, in part because there’s a dearth of qualified applicants.

Here are the top 10 most wanted job skills of 2016 in the United States, according to LinkedIn.

  1. Cloud and distributed computing
  2. Statistical analysis and data mining
  3. Mobile development
  4. Network and information security
  5. Middleware and integration software
  6. Storage systems and management
  7. User interface design
  8. Algorithm design
  9. Java development
  10. Web architecture and development frameworks

Technical skills were clearly in high demand, but they weren’t the only talents companies were looking for. In the U.S., there was also significant interest in people with experience in marketing campaign management (#12), economics (#20), foreign language translation (#21), and business intelligence (#23). Worldwide, companies were looking for people with skills as diverse as SEO marketing and electronic and electrical engineering, while corporate law and governance snuck into the top 10 in the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and Australia.

Eager job hunters with these skills should consider highlighting them on their LinkedIn profile so it is easier for recruiters to find them, while those hoping to make their profile more attractive to potential employers might want to complete training in a high-demand skill. Site like Lynda, Coursera, and Alison offer online courses (sometimes free), or you can earn certificates through a local university or community college. Whatever you do, be sure to add your new skills to your profile.

“Recruiters know what they’re looking for in a position and if your profile or work history doesn’t have the specific keywords associated with your field, it makes it harder for them to figure out if you’re the right fit,” LinkedIn expert Donna Serdula wrote in a blog post.

Meanwhile, demand for some skills dropped off slightly in the last year, according to LinkedIn. Game development fell out of the global top 25, as did digital and online marketing and recruiting. Still, if your specialty is in one of these areas, don’t fret.

“Employers are still looking for these skills,” Murthy reassured job hunters. “[J]ust not as much as last year.”

Follow Megan on Facebook and Twitter

 

CheatSheet.com

| May 17, 2016 | Megan Elliott

[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

#Leadership : 7 Ways To Use Email To Build Your Brand And Create A Better Customer Experience…Yes, email is more powerful than ever, but it must be used the right way. And even with all of the great uses of email, the customer has the ultimate control.

/in /by

Email is a powerful business tool. We’ve become dependent on it for communicating with customers and coworkers, using it as a marketing tool and a customer service channel, and more.

Elegant business partners holding blank papers on green background

We can’t live without email, although there are some things we might like to change about it, such as spam messages, unintentional group emails, and so on. The reality is that even with all of its flaws, email makes sense. I did a little research and came up with seven effective ways we can use email to enhance our communication with customers and employees, promote our brand and improve customer relations.

Nate Skinner, Chief Customer Officer of Campaign Monitor, a company that specializes in email marketing, had this to say: “When it comes to sales, marketing and customer service, it’s important to think of email as a channel that can accelerate the customer journey.”

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

In other words, email provides a fast connection to your customers. Think about the many ways email can be used. Skinner shared a few ideas about the effective use of email, and I’ve added a few more, along with some commentary. Here are seven ways to effectively use email to build your brand and create a better customer experience:

  1. Create awareness through newsletters and special offers. This is a common use for email. Just be careful you don’t send too frequently. You can ask your customers how often they want to hear from you. Today’s technology will allow you to customize your contact based on their preferences.
  2. Customers can give you feedback. Email provides a great way to survey your customers. An important consideration, however, is to respect your customer’s time. I stay at the same hotel several times a year. The first time they sent me an email survey, I answered it. It took almost 15 minutes. Three weeks later I stayed at the same hotel and, you guessed it, they sent me the same survey. I didn’t take it. Be smarter than that. Respect your customer’s time. Don’t send repetitive appeals for feedback – or other too-frequent requests.
  3. –Use automated systems to re-engage with customers who haven’t had contact with you or your brand for a certain amount of time. Technology has given us some gifts, and this is one of them. It can track our customers’ buying patterns and frequency … or lack of frequency. When it spots a break in a customer’s buying pattern, it can jump in with are-engagement email
  4. –Share value-added information, such as tips on how other customers are using your products and services. Customers love to get tips, tricks and helpful hints on how to best use the product they’ve purchased. And, they really love to hear how other customers are using it. It not only validates their purchase, but also gives them ideas on how to gain more use and enjoyment from the product.
  5. Use email as a tool for onboarding new customers. Amazon.com AMZN -1.06% does an amazing job of this with its Echo, one of the coolest inventions ever. The Echo sits on a table and can best be described as a cylindrical object with a microphone and speakers. You ask it questions and it answers. It can play the music you request, give you a weather report, order a pizza, and much more. Amazon sends weekly emails introducing customers to the amazing things that the Echo can do. I look forward to those weekly emails, as do many other Amazon customers.
  6. –Use email for internal messages to employees and coworkers. This isn’t about individual messages from one employee to another. Similar to the way you use content marketing to deliver value-added ideas to customers, you can communicate with your team. At its most basic level, an employee newsletter can be sent via email. The nice thing about creating and sending email through an internal communication program is that you don’t have to worry about anyone unsubscribing!
  7. –Analyze your customers’ buying habits and use the data to create targeted, personalized email experiences. One of the great opportunities of data collection is tracking an individual customer’s buying patterns. Smart companies are using this information to create a customized, personalized experience. Emailing content that the customer sees as 100 percent relevant to him/her will create a stronger connection that can lead to trust, and ultimately, more business.

Skinner says, “To successfully use email marketing, you need to be aware of what the customer journey looks like for your business and use email strategically to directly impact team or company goals. It’s surprising how many people think ‘email is a good idea’ without stepping back and thinking about how it can work in tandem with other channels, or actually deliver value.”

Yes, email is more powerful than ever, but it must be used the right way. And even with all of the great uses of email, the customer has the ultimate control. If you have been given permission to interact with the customer on this channel, don’t abuse it. All a customer has to do is delete the email, or worse, unsubscribe from being connected to you.

So relish email, but respect it. And most of all, prosper from it!

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, keynote speaker and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

 
 Forbes.com  |  May 14, 2016  | Shep Hyken

Your #Career : Millennials, This Is Why You Haven’t Been Promoted…Maybe we’re Entitled & Delusional. But, If you’re Ambitious but Stuck on Level 1, Below are 6 Possible Reasons. (Warning, Tough Love ahead.)

/in /by

According to a recent millennial leadership survey from The Hartford, 80% of millennials see themselves as leaders today. Yet only 12% of Gen Y held management roles in 2013; and less than a third of The Hartford’s sample reported that they’re currently business leaders.

Free- Man with Two Fingers

Maybe we’re entitled and delusional. Or maybe, explained millennial expert and author of Becoming the Boss, Lindsey Pollak, we have a progressive understanding of what it means to be a leader. “Millennials believe they can lead from whatever position they’re in,” she said. We know we don’t need an official title to impact our organization.

But if millennials really are leading from behind, why aren’t we getting promoted?  If you’re ambitious but stuck on Level 1, below are six possible reasons. (Warning, tough love ahead.)

1. You overwork.

Slade Sundar, COO of Forte Interactive, Inc., observed that working 60-80 workweeks actually “devalues the work an employee does, because it shifts the measurement from results and quality to time and quantity.” When an employee’s work is measured simply by how much time she puts in, she seems cheaper and more expendable—“someone who is willing to do twice the work for half the salary.” Promoting her would thus ironically oppose the best interests of the company. As a result, over-dedicated employees are “rewarded” not with a promotion but with more work at the same pay.

On the other hand, one survey revealed that 71% of managers didn’t promote employees because they were unwilling to take on additional responsibilities. Jennifer Dulski, president and COO of Change.org, speculated that employees who volunteer to do work outside the scope of their roles are “the most likely to be promoted.”

When you’re considering how to balance managing your time with new responsibilities, ask yourself where you’ll be most able to demonstrate leadership and problem solving abilities. Sundar explained, “We don’t hire people to create widgets anymore, we hire people to solve problems. Widget Makers are expendable, Problem Solvers are not.” To get promoted, wrote Sundar, “you’ll need to prove you’re more than just a nose-to-the-grindstone type.”

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

2. You’re incurious.

The least attractive quality in an employee—or anyone, really—is thinking you know everything.

If you’re prone to being a know-it-all, start asking questions. Famed Silicon Valley executive Guy Kawasaki blogged that the key to great schmoozing is to “Ask good questions, then shut up.” If you get others to talk instead, “Ironically, you’ll be remembered as an interesting person.”

Then do your homework—over and over again. Leadership is the “10,000 hours thing,” said Pollak. It requires “wanting to read and learn and be curious about the topic, loving what you’re talking about.” If you don’t know where to start, Pollak suggests, “Learn from watching people who are good at it. Take classes, learn public speaking, observe difficult conversations.” Curiosity is, at its core, a product of engagement.

If you start to feel bored by your investigation, that’s a sign you should pick another reign.

3. You’re agreeable.

I once had a boss whose confrontational communication style led several employees to leave the company. Noticing that these employees tended to be soft-spoken and acquiescent, I resolved to stand my ground in my new role. My boss admired that I (respectfully) challenged him, and he quickly identified me as “leadership potential”.

Statistics support my story: Researchers at the University of Notre Dame found that less agreeable employees earned an average of 18% more annuallythan their agreeable coworkers. Those who demonstrated more agreeable traits, by contrast, were less likely to receive promotions. Research also showsthat we tend to think agreeable men will make worse leaders.

Why?

Art Markman, Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at Austin, explains that “While some managers may want to surround themselves with people who obediently agree, most want those who will find the flaws in a plan before it is implemented.” Less agreeable people offer this needed skepticism.

If you tend toward people pleasing, Markman suggests considering potential flaws in ideas that come your way at work. Or internalize this: always agreeing doesn’t make you a good employee, or a good person for that matter.

4. You’re untrained.

Many millennials fail to advance because we don’t know what skills we lack. In The Hartford’s study, millennials least desired written and oral communications training—but employers consistently rank these skills as the ones millennials most need.

Determine what skills you need for the leadership role you seek. Then find a way to acquire them. David Goldin, the founder and CEO of Capify, toldBusiness Insider that millennials who want to be promoted should proactively seek assistance. “Show that you want to learn.”

Of course, employers also play a critical role in training their workforce. Markman said, “The most successful organizations are ones that promote learning throughout a career.” If you repeatedly request training and your organization doesn’t deliver, it may be time to let them go.

5. You’re clingy.

Employees often think that checking in with their supervisors constantly is conscientious (a skill paramount to success). In fact, it’s a sign of neuroticism, which is associated with compromised career success, emotional instabilityand lack of leadership potential. More immediately, incessantly checking in reflects insecurity and lack of self-sufficiency.

Some anxious employees, one study noted, use work to satisfy “unmet needs for love”. Managers can, in turn, find this clinginess “aversive and seek to distance themselves from the instigator.” In short, it’s the last thing you should do if you want to be promoted.

You might recognize this scenario: your boss hates when you don’t check in—“touch and go”, as some call it—but then complains that you can’t think for yourself. The solution is to outline exactly what you’re going to do. This requires preparation. Even if it’s a small task, think of it as a presentation. Schedule one meeting with your managers, present how you’re going to tackle this specific project/assignment, and get their approval on every bullet. Follow up explicitly confirming that you’ll do xyz. Then here’s the key part: don’t check in again until it’s done the way you agreed.

6. You’re alone.

If you’re not dying for your boss’s attention, you may suffer from the opposite problem. As an introvert, I convinced myself for years that I could manage my entire career alone. I eventually learned that lone wolfing isn’t sustainable. As Markman explained, “we are a fundamentally social species. We succeed primarily because of our ability to learn from others.”

I hesitated to get outside help because I was intimidated by the elusive “mentor” concept. I didn’t know how to get one, and I felt like I couldn’t request mentorship outright without spending money.

Pollak conceded that having one mentor is often unrealistic. “I think it’s too much pressure to ask someone to be my mentor,” she said. Markman, likewise, is wary of assigned mentors. “Mentorship is much more effective when it grows organically.”

Instead, Pollak prefers having a board of advisors and a collection of people who inspire her. “There are so many options to connect with people,” Pollak said. Markman advised, “Find time to go out for coffee… Ask questions. Find out what books they are reading. Get advice on how to handle difficult situations.” Many people can act as mentors without even knowing they serve that purpose for you.

Put concisely, here are some immediate actions you can take to advance your career:

  • Seek to understand and master your field and your role.
  • Stop punching the clock and start solving problems.
  • Evaluate the facts and defend your informed opinion.
  • Seek guidance and then demonstrate self-sufficiency.
  • Surround yourself with and learn from inspiring people.

“Believing you’re a leader is one thing,” said Pollak. “Acting like a leader is another.”

Ready to develop the daily habits you need to succeed? Sign up for my newsletter.

 

Forbes.com | May 13, 2016 | Caroline Beaton

 

Your #Career : The Top 10 Skills that Will Be in Demand by all Employers by 2020…In Fewer than 4 Years, Employers will Seek Employees with Very Different Skill Sets than They do Today. In Fact, on Average More than One Third of the Desired Skill Sets of Most Occupations Will be Comprised of Skills That are Not yet Considered Important to the Job Today

/in /by

In few The report, called “The Future of Jobs,” surveyed executives from more than 350 employers across nine industries in 15 of the world’s largest economies to come up with predictions about how technological advancements will force the labor markets to evolve.

Free- Iphone with Gadgets

Over than four years, employers will seek employees with very different skill sets than they do today. In fact, on average more than one third of the desired skill sets of most occupations will be comprised of skills that are not yet considered important to the job today, according to a recent report from the World Economic Forum.

The report, called “The Future of Jobs,” surveyed executives from more than 350 employers across nine industries in 15 of the world’s largest economies to come up with predictions about how technological advancements will force the labor markets to evolve.

Here’s a look at the top 10 skill sets respondents said will be most in demand by 2020.

 

10. Cognitive flexibility will continue to be an important skill.

Cognitive flexibility is the ability of being able to think about multiple concepts simultaneously.

It wasn’t even a skill in demand in 2015, but will become more important during the next four years.

According to the report, respondents said that a wide range of jobs will require a higher level of cognitive abilities—which include creativity, logical reasoning, and problem sensitivity—as part of the core skill set.

 

9. Negotiation skills will still be in demand.

In general, social skills are going to become ever more important in the workforce. This makes sense because social skills are still something that, at least for the time being, are uniquely human.

By 2020, negotiation skills will particularly be in high demand in computer and mathematical jobs, such as data analysts and software developers, according to the report.

It will also be key skill in the arts and design job category, which includes commercial and industrial designers.

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

8. Service orientation skills will be important.

Service orientation is defined in the report as actively looking for ways to help others and it also falls under the social skills umbrella.

According to recent research paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research,strong social skills will continue to become more important as robots and automation take more jobs.

“The reason is that computers are still very poor at simulating human interaction. Reading the minds of others and reacting is an unconscious process, and skill in social settings has evolved in humans over thousands of years. Human interaction in the workplace involves team production, with workers playing off of each other’s strengths and adapting flexibly to changing circumstances. Such nonroutine interaction is at the heart of the human advantage over machines,” the paper states.

 

7. Judgment and decision making will become a highly desired skill.

Judgment and decision making was ranked as the 8th most in demand skill in 2015, but it will move up to the 7th spot by 2020.

This particular skill set is considered a “system skill,” which is the ability to analyze data to be able to make decisions.

As organization increasingly collect more data, there will be a greater need for employees who have the ability to analyze data and use it to make decisions.

 

6. Emotional intelligence is another social skill that will be in demand.

Robots may be able to do a lot of jobs, but they still can’t read people the way other humans can, at least not yet.

That is why it will become more important for employees to have a higher level of emotional intelligence. The ability to be able to be able to be aware of others’ reactions and to understand why they react certain ways will become a necessary skill for workers by 2020.

5. Coordinating with others is another thing robots haven’t perfected yet.

Again, this one also falls under the social skill umbrella and entails the ability of being able to adjust actions in relation to others and to collaborate.

4. People management is an ability that will be sought after.

People management entails being able to motivate people, develop employees, and identify the best people for the job.

The report notes that this skill set will be especially in demand for managers in the energy and media industries.

3. Creativity will become a huge quality employers look for.

Creativity will move from the 10th spot in 2015 to the top three skills employers are seeking in 2020.

With the onslaught of new technologies, creative people will be in demand to figure out ways to apply the new technology and create new products and services.

 

2. Critical thinking is a basic skill that will remain in high demand.

Being able to use logic and reasoning to identify strengths and weaknesses of different solutions and approaches is a skill that will still be needed even though automation is becoming more prevalent.

1. Complex problem solving continues to be the top skill employers will seek.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks after unveiling the Dragon V2 spacecraft in Hawthorne, California May 29, 2014

Even with the increase in data to help make decisions, people will still need the basic skill of being able to solve complex problems.

Respondents to the survey ranked this skill as the most in demand in 2015 and it will remain the number one most desired skill in 2020.

In fact, 36% of all jobs across all industries are expected to require complex problem-solving abilities as a core skill by 2020, according to the report.

 

Businessinsider.com | January 21, 2016 | Cadie Thompson, Tech Insider

 

 

 

Your #Career : 6 Ways the Recession Inflicted Scars on Millions of Unemployed Americans…Damage from a Layoff Can Include Smaller Paychecks for Decades, Lower Rates of Homeownership, Psychological Issues & Perhaps Even Shorter Lifespans

/in /by

The recession ended nearly seven years ago. But for millions of Americans, the damage will endure for decades to come.  An estimated one in six U.S. workers lost a job between 2007 and 2009. The labor market’s post recession recovery was painfully slow and halting. The full toll won’t be known for decades, but it already is clear that years of widespread, persistent unemployment and underemployment have had serious consequences for individual workers and the nation as a whole.

Free- Lighthouse on Cloudy Weather

Here are some of the scars inflicted on American workers by the 2007-2009 recession, based on decades of academic research into the effects of job loss.

Taking a Pay Cut
A layoff means the loss of a paycheck. But even when unemployed workers find new jobs, they usually earn less than did before – especially during recessions, when it is more difficult to find a well-paying job. For workers who were displaced in 2007-2009 and re-employed by early 2010, the average drop in inflation-adjusted weekly earnings was 17.5%, according to an analysis of Labor Department.  Many others were unable to find work at all. Historically, only about one in four displaced workers gets back to their pre-layoff earnings after five years.

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

Smaller Paychecks for Decades
Even years later, workers who were laid off tend to earn smaller paychecks compared with workers who kept their jobs. The estimated scale of the loss can vary from study to study. A 2011 paper said earnings losses of 15% to 20% after 10 to 20 years for people displaced during recessions, and even people displaced during economic expansions saw long-term losses of about 10%. A 2015 paper found a long-term wage hit of more than 10%, with more severe losses after a second or third displacement. Long-term unemployment can be especially damaging, with workers who were unemployed longer than six months earning 32% less after 10 years versus a 9% loss for those with a shorter spell of joblessness, according to a 2014 working paper. A February working paper said that comparing displaced workers with a control group of continuously employed workers may overstate the damage to earnings; an alternative approach found a loss of 5% after 10 years, instead of 25%.

Homeownership Gap
The Boston Fed’s analysis found workers who have been unemployed also were less likely to own a home. “This homeownership gap closes over time … as more years elapse since an individual’s last unemployment spell,” Boston Fed economist Daniel Cooper wrote. “Indeed, the gap is roughly halved after 10 years and is nonexistent after 20 years.” But for workers who were unemployed longer than six months, he found, the homeownership gap did not close even after 20 years.

Psychological Problems
The cost of job loss isn’t limited to money. Studies have found unemployment generates feelings of anxiety and shame and is linked with higher rates of depression, according to a review by University of California, Los Angeles sociologist Jennie Brand. But there may be a silver lining: Ms. Brand said the psychological effects may be less severe when people are displaced during a severe recession like the 2007-2009 downturn, when so many other people are in similar situations. “When you lose a job and it’s a big recession and people are coming to expect it’s a possibility, it’s less likely you think, ‘There’s something wrong with me, and I lost my job because I’m not a great worker,’” she said in an interview.

Shorter Lifespans
The evidence is somewhat mixed on how unemployment affects physical health. Some studies have found health actually improves during recessions as, for instance, people smoke and drink less. But other research points to negative effects, including a 2009 study that found a spike in mortality for Pennsylvania men who were laid off in the early 1980s. Economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have found that the death rate for middle-aged whites in the U.S. has been rising as a result of suicides, substance abuse and liver diseases, all possibly the result of economic distress. And a working paper this year found “strong evidence that economic downturns lead to increases in substance-use disorders involving hallucinogens and prescription pain relievers.”

The Next Generation
The pain of a layoff can spread beyond the person who loses his or her job. A number of studies have found that children of displaced workers also suffer consequences. Students are more likely to repeat a grade after a parent is laid off, and a father’s layoff leads toincreased rates of anxiety and depression in children. A 2008 study found that annual earnings of men whose fathers had been laid off were about 9% lower than the earnings of otherwise similar children whose fathers stayed employed. “The results suggest that the long-term consequences of unexpected job loss extend beyond the effect on one’s own income to the eventual labor market outcomes of one’s children,” the researchers wrote

 

WSJ.com | May 10, 2016 | BEN LEUBSDORF

#Leadership : Leading Horizontally Could Take You to The Top…To Advance to a More Senior Management Position, the Ability to “Play Well” With your Peers is Vitally Important –Meeting your Targets is Not Enough.

/in /by

In this article, we will suggest three keys ways to work more effectively with your colleagues and perhaps, change the types of relationships you are having in the workplace.

business people shaking hands make deal and sign contract

Effectively leading horizontally is likely to increase your sphere of influence within your organization, enhance your productivity, better the organization, and it may just result in you experiencing more job satisfaction.

Over the years, scholars and business journalists have written several articles and books on how to “manage up” in the context of organizations – specifically how to manage relationships with supervisors. For example, see Karl’s recent blog post . Our bosses naturally want to work with us since we help them, solve their problems, and in our more lucid moments, accomplish seemingly unattainable feats.   It goes without saying that our first responsibility as a manager is to the people that work for us. There are also countless books and articles about how leaders within organizations can mobilize employees to fulfill a vision. Each of these situations requires individuals to manage a vertical relationship.

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

The thing is that you don’t have legitimate power or a superior title over your peers, and they may not even work in your division; nonetheless, you depend on them to successfully complete your job and demonstrate you’re ready for middle and senior management. One could frame the question in the following manner: “How should one lead horizontally?” By leading horizontally, we refer to the ability of individuals to exercise their power of personal influence with people of equal or similar status within their organization.

There are three things to keep in mind when attempting to lead horizontally:

1) Identify precisely what the other person needs from you;

2) Identify ways that the other person can benefit from helping you;

3) Identify ways that you can create a client-server relationship with that person, rather than just a peer, or colleague-relationship of equal status. Underlying these ideas is the notion of trust. To have a healthy and influential working relationship, you will have to cultivate trust by being open and honest with your colleagues.

What does he or she need from you?

Power in any relationship is based on the relative needs interdependent people have for one another. In the workplace, your colleagues need you to fulfill particular tasks at particular times, in particular ways. You probably know the parameters of those tasks, but are you fully aware of how much the other person depends on you? Are you perfectly clear about what it feels like to them when you do your job at the highest level of proficiency rather than the lowest prong of mediocrity? Some people don’t take the time to consider this, but it’s one of the keys to increasing your influence in this relationship.

Generally, people tend to want to return a favor to someone who does something helpful for them. You may not like your colleague, or you may think they are not worthy of your extra effort. Nevertheless, everyone benefits when everyone is working for the betterment of the company. You are also more likely to be viewed as a team player by many of your co-workers, particularly your superiors. This is particularly true if your manager knows that you and the other person don’t necessarily get along very well.

Further to this point, the question you want to answer in relation to your counterpart is the following: “What might I do to make your job easier?” We are suggesting you ask this very question. They will often be surprised, perhaps even pleasantly surprised because they have never heard it before. This approach will provide you a much better understanding (not just base knowledge) of your colleague’s task, and his or her perspective on your role in the larger scheme of the work that needs to be done. In many instances you’ll find that people will reciprocate, the consequence of which is that your job becomes easier by making someone else’s job easier. The concept is basic, but without knowing the strengths, weaknesses, systems, and needs of certain colleagues and your organization, you might as well be playing proverbial “battleship”.

How might he or she benefit from helping you?

It goes without saying that people are motivated mostly by self-interest. The crucial question on this point is: “how might this person benefit from helping me?” Now, this may require some creative thinking on your part, but it could be very much worth the effort. In some ways this is the opposite side of the same coin discussed above. In this instance, it’s not you helping them directly – it’s you convincing that person that cooperating with you will inure to the benefit of their job, or overall responsibility. An example might be as simple as telling your supervisor that an individual was instrumental to your completion of a project and you would like to make sure he or she is commended appropriately. Not only might this help that person receive a better job evaluation, but in taking such steps, you could generate good will between the two of you, your supervisors, and your departments.

 

How can I create a server-client relationship?

Finally, begin to view your colleagues as “internal customers or clients.” This requires a major shift for most people. Have you heard the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt”? The more familiar and comfortable we are with people, the more we tend to take them for granted. This may manifest itself through having a more careless attitude, procrastinating on routine projects, paying less attention to detail, etc. The behaviors one typically exhibits to an authority or “bill payer” in the corporate context is often, and naturally, very different than the behavior exhibited to the person in the office next door. The natural impulse to treat internal people with less care should be resisted, and instead, treat them more like you would a client.

When you actively choose to view your colleagues as clients with their own needs, goals, and idiosyncrasies, you are likely to become more tolerant of their behaviors. This doesn’t mean that you have to simply accept their behaviors, but it is more productive if you accept that you must find a way to work peacefully with this person. It is unproductive to allow communication channels to become blocked and otherwise ineffective. This will do nothing more than increase strife in your organization while simultaneously decreasing collegiality, effectiveness, and work efficiency.

Effectively leading horizontally is likely to increase your sphere of influence within your organization, enhance your productivity, better the organization, and it may just result in you experiencing more job satisfaction.

Karl Moore, Ph.D. is associate professor at Desautels Faculty of Management and associate fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford University.

 

Forbes.com |  May 10, 2016 |  Karl Moore CONTRIBUTOR

Your #Career : 7 Mistakes For Rookie Job Seekers To Avoid… Mistake #1. If you Have Spent the Last 8 Hours Posting for Jobs Online, you Have Wasted 7 Hours & 50 Minutes.

/in /by

A job search is like a marathon. You can’t cut corners on the preparation and expect to cross the finish line in record time. Everyone who is in a job search wants the silver bullet. There isn’t one. Job searching, even under the best of circumstances, is a lot of work. Be prepared for a lot of rejection, but also for a lot of kindness and support along the way.

Free- Door to Building

I meet many job seekers who have never had to conduct a formal job search. After coaching over a thousand clients at every professional level and across practically every industry, I’ve found that most make the same rookie mistakes.

If you’re looking for a new job, below are some tips for starting off your search on the right foot:

1. If you have spent the last eight hours posting for jobs online, you have wasted seven hours and 50 minutes. It can be tempting to apply to jobs online. So many positions are listed, and so many appear to be a fit. But while you are hitting the send button, so are 500+ other people. Job postings represent the open market; the jobs everyone gets to see. Most people source their jobs through the hidden job market, the ones where opportunities are shared through close contacts and conversations. Shift your strategy and spend most of your time networking for job leads, and limit your time applying to jobs online.

 

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

2. Just because you did it doesn’t mean it belongs on your resume.Many people’s resumes read like a laundry list of everything they’ve ever done. A resume should be targeted to the needs of an employer and prove where you can add value. The employee recognition award you received for a Y2K conversion back in 1999 probably isn’t going to cut it with an employer in 2016. Instead, tell stories of initiatives you are involved in today that are helping to move your company, industry or profession forward.

3. Don’t tell me about the things you were expected to do; write about the things you did that no one ever dreamed possible. Most resumes describe tasks that hundreds of others perform in their jobs every day. What catches the hiring manager’s attention is the value you brought to that job task. For example, if you are an operations executive, don’t just write that you ran a call center. Instead, explain how you transformed its performance, implemented metrics to improve accountability and the customer experience, or saved money or time.

4. If no one returns your calls requesting a networking meeting, you are leaving the wrong message. Many people approach their contacts by saying something like, “If you know anyone who is hiring, please let me know.” It’s highly unlikely that your contact knows someone who is hiring for a position with your skill set right now. A better message would be to say, “I’m in a career transition and I would love to pick your brain to learn more about your company, the industry and trends in the profession. I wanted to reach out to you because I trust your opinion and value your advice.” By asking for information rather than a job, you are more likely to get a response and initiate a conversation. Many will be flattered that you asked and will reciprocate with whatever help they can offer.

5. People who don’t think online networking is relevant to their job search will become irrelevant to the hiring managers who think it is. Many job seekers are still reluctant to create an online digital footprint. But it’s becoming more difficult to substantiate being an expert in your profession when there is no online proof of your thought leadership. LinkedIn will be the social media tool of choice for many professionals — but don’t just create a shell of a profile. Optimize your professional image with proof of your accomplishments via strong stories of success, keywords, the LinkedIn publishing platform, and even case studies and videos if appropriate.

6. People think they should talk in general terms about career successes, but you build trust with interviewers by talking about specifics. The goal of the interview is to build trust and engagement. This is best done by showcasing stories about business problems you have solved that are relevant to the organization, not by focusing on the typical personality clichés. Telling the interviewer how you influenced the entire senior management team to fund a multimillion-dollar technology upgrade that in turn protected them from a cyber-security breach will be much more memorable than simply telling him you are a good communicator.

7. When hiring managers ask you in an interview what your weakness is, they already know. The goal is to figure out what they believe is the gap in your candidacy and address it head on. Perhaps you lack experience in a particular industry or don’t have the MBA they say is preferred. Show that while you don’t have a certain qualification, you have other skills that are more relevant and transferable. For example, an HR professional who doesn’t have hospital experience and is interviewing for a role in a hospital can focus on the similarities within the HR function that transcend industries. The candidate who lacks an MBA can show how they’ve solved business problems that are frequently solved by candidates who have the degree.

A job search is like a marathon. You can’t cut corners on the preparation and expect to cross the finish line in record time. Everyone who is in a job search wants the silver bullet. There isn’t one. Job searching, even under the best of circumstances, is a lot of work. Be prepared for a lot of rejection, but also for a lot of kindness and support along the way.

 

Forbes.com | May 10, 2016 | Forbes Coaches Council 

#Leadership : 5 Critical Choices You Must Make Every Day At Work…The Workplace is Evolving & your Success is Highly Dependent upon the Choices you Make to Influence its Future – & Equally your Own.

/in /by

 As the marketplace changes faster than ever before, organizations and their brands are attempting to reinvent themselves to stay relevant – before their competitors pass them by. The speed of change also makes you more accountable for the choices you make to survive and thrive in a workplace that is testing your overall contributions every day – made all the more difficult asthe playbook for success and eventual significance is constantly being reconfigured and redefined.

Group of happy young business people in a meeting at office

Don’t wait; Seize the opportunity and be courageous enough to take action. Regardless of the outcome, you are earning respect and learning along the way. If failure is not an option, you are working for the wrong employer.

Every day at work you are faced with choices – not always easy whenpolitically charged with the hidden agendas of others. Let’s face it, you are trying to figure out how to best fit in and get discovered. You realize that to advance in your career, how others perceive you must be in alignment with the expectations you can be counted upon to consistently deliver.

To stay in control of what others are saying about you, you must always reflect the identity you seek to establish for yourself within the organization you serve. This means that you must be ever mindful of your unique differences and perspectives and how they can be best leveraged by the leaders and colleagues throughout your organization. In the new world of work – where everyone is attempting to establish themselves at a time when people are more uncertain about the future – you must take accountability for yourself.

To ensure you stay on track towards building the momentum you seek to achieve success in your career, here are five choices you must make every day at work – that can make or break your future.

1. Do You Consistently Over Deliver?

It’s no longer enough to do your job – that is, using your job description as the basis for your responsibilities and deliverables. In today’s workplace, you must overdeliver and define new standards and metrics for success. Overdelivering is not just about performing your primary job duties/functions, but abouthelping others do theirs too – well beyond the obvious. Overdelivering means being active and visible well beyond the job – by participating in corporate social responsibility, community outreach goals, etc.

If you are only doing what you believe others expect from you – challenge yourself to find new ways to do things better. Never be predictable. Consistently overdeliver and keep others on their toes. Allow your influence to propel others to equally over deliver.

Like this Article ?  Share It !    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing  Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

FSC LinkedIn Network: (Over 15K+ Members & Growing !)   www.linkedin.com/in/frankfsc/en

Facebook: (over 12K)   http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Sun-Consulting-LLC-Outplacement-Services/213542315355343?sk=wall

educate/collaborate/network….Look forward to your Participation !

Continue of article:

 

2. Do You Hold Your Boss Accountable?

I am not referring to what many people call “managing up.” Holding your boss accountable in this case is more about making sure that he or she is pushing you and providing you the guidance to ensure you reach your full potential. This is what a leader or boss is ultimately responsible to do. Unfortunately, not many leaders are good at this – if they are more interested in themselves rather than advancing themselves by serving others.

In an assessment by my organization, we asked leaders if they are vulnerable with their employees and/or colleagues; 69% of leaders said that they were vulnerable only “sometimes.” The question is intended to reveal if leaders actually know that it is in their best interest to be vulnerable if they are going to make others feel safe to speak-up; to share their ideas and ideals. Unfortunately, vulnerability has been associated for much too long as a weakness or as exposing one’s limitations.

Truth be told that in today’s workplace, everyone is in search of answers – new, fresh ways of doing things – and if we can’t be vulnerable, how can we solve for problems together; if we are not aware of our opportunity gaps, how can we be more efficient and effective. This is how we will eventually be able to discover the full potential in one another – and the business we serve.

3. Do You Strive To Be More Inclusive?

Being inclusive means that you must be more open-minded to fresh perspectives, new approaches and opinions. Make the smart choice of getting out of your comfort zone, be more curious and make room for diversity of thought. It’s no longer about what you know, but what you do with what you know. We live in a wisdom-based economy and your ability to bring the right people into the right conversations – to see beyond one’s job title and job description – is an absolute must.

In the previously mentioned assessment, we also asked leaders if they embrace diversity of thought and utilize one’s individual strengths. When 72% of respondents said – “always” – I became conflicted with the validity of this answer, especially when 69% of these same respondents said that they were “sometimes” vulnerable with their employees.

If your leaders are not leading by example – don’t wait – activate yourself to do what is required given that the workplace is more diverse than ever before. Give yourself the room to welcome differences in thought and accept this one important fact: we all desire similar things – we just have unique options; pathways to choose from.Never minimize the thinking of others – embrace it and learn to get more comfortable being more inclusive.

4. Do You Establish Your Identity?

Take ownership of your identity and don’t allow others to define it for you. Stop battling the gulf between assimilation and authenticity. Forget about what others want you to be and establish your own identity at work; don’t ask permission to be your most authentic self. Everyone has distinction and this is what allows you to be original. But distinction is hard when you feel that you need to be someone that you are not. This is why originality is hard to find. People spend too much time mimicking others. Be courageous enough to live your identity – and equally encourage others to do the same.

Leaders are looking for people that are comfortable in their own skin – and are easily turned off by those that act differently depending upon the environment.Live your identity consistently and responsibly – and don’t ever stop shining the stoplight of accountability on yourself to be yourself. Don’t fall into the trap of an identity crisis – because when this happens your self-trust begins to wane and any momentum that you are trying to create will be lost.

5. Do You Close Opportunity Gaps?

It’s easy to point fingers at others when problems rise to the surface that you are ultimately responsible for handling. Unfortunately, too many people complain when problems arise rather than try to find alternative solutions. These are the people that don’t commit to the aforementioned four points.

When you see (identify) opportunity gaps, immediately find ways to seize (close) them. As a responsible employee, your gut tells you to take action when faced with adversity. But unfortunately, more often than not, you don’t;instead you wait for those around you to take the calculated risks that you were hesitant to take yourself.

Don’t wait; seize the opportunity and be courageous enough to take action. Regardless of the outcome, you are earning respect and learning along the way. If failure is not an option, you are working for the wrong employer. You must be given room to fail during a time when no one has all the answers. We are all experiencing on the job training. Don’t forget that risk is created for the organization that allows opportunity gaps to widen. Close the gaps before circumstances force your hand. And when that happens – everyone loses – including yourself.

Leaders want employees that take ownership; that are proactive and recognize the importance of working smart for the betterment of a healthy whole. Make these five critical choices and live them every day at work, as a first step to taking ownership and accountability for your success, that of others, and the organization you serve. Don’t let the rapidly changing marketplace pass you by because you didn’t see and seize the opportunity to evolve with it.

Follow me @GlennLlopis. Join our LinkedIn group here.

 

Forbes.com | May 9, 2016 | Glenn Llopis