Career Runnings

Three years ago I started my January 2010 blog, “I’ve never been much of a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.”  Still not. But my holiday break and family vacation prompted this year’s resolution, “I’m too blessed to be stressed about the little things I can’t control, so I resolve not to be.”

I stole the phrase from our Tuff E Nuff tour guide on a trip to see Belizean Mayan ruins on the day after the end of the Mayan calendar (and a San Pedro, Belize all-night end of the world party).  Our guide, Andre, is Belizean and has great knowledge of Belize, its history, culture and politics.  He is passionate about his country and its future.  Yet, he is also quite easy going and a man of faith (he’s Rastafari), so one of his philosophies that he shared with us:  “too blessed to be stressed.” 

Stuck with me all week.

I’ve blogged in the past about the Corporate Athlete Course from the Human Performance Institute.  One of the exercises we ask people to do in the course is to take one minute everyday and write a list of what you are grateful for. I spent some quality running and yoga time on vacation doing just that.  Conclusion:  I’m just too blessed to be stressed.  My wife, my family, my faith, my friends, my job, my town, my country, my health, my opportunities, my leaders, my co-workers, my abilities…

The list goes on.

Author Dan Pink, in his new book, To Sell is Human, talks about three fundamental human qualities for selling:  one is buoyancy, defined as the capacity to stay afloat on what one salesman calls “an ocean of rejections.”  He sites the work of Barbara Fredrickson of the University of North Carolina on “positivity.”  Professor Fredrickson’s book is Positivity.  In her research, she “discovered that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads people to a tipping point beyond which they naturally become more resilient to adversity and effortlessly achieve what they once could only imagine.”  She has a quiz to help you you determine your positivity ratio.  My first time, I scored 2.5—a ratio of my positive emotions to my negative ones.  (She advocates taking it for 14 days straight to get your “real” score.)  I want to be a 3.0.  Take the quiz.  What’s your positivity ratio?

I should be a 3.0—I’m too blessed to be stressed.

I just started another Clayton Christiansen book, How Will You Measure Your Life?  I think I’m going to like it, though I do have trouble getting through non-fiction, business books (as opposed to fiction business books?).  Chapter two is entitled “What Makes Us Tick?”  Wow, heavy.  I enjoy considering ideas of job satisfaction, personal calling, and passion around what you do.  Clayton distinguishes between hygiene factors at work (siting work done by Frederick Herzberg)—things like status, compensation, job security, work conditions, company polices and supervisory practices—and motivation factors—things like challenging work, recognition, responsibility, and personal growth.  Fixing hygiene items doesn’t necessarily lead to job satisfaction, but fixing those does lead to the lack of job dissatisfaction.  Herzberg argued that motivation is not about these external factors, but “much more about what’s inside of you, and inside of your work.” 

Okay, so you can read the book, too.  But let me personalize it.  I think about the times in my career when I was challenged, valued and making a huge contribution.  During those times I have been most satisfied.  The hygiene issues just weren’t so important.  I was in the zone because I was truly motivated by my work.  And the opposite has been true as well—I have had times when I felt undervalued, directionless, not growing.  At those times I complain about pay, and working conditions, and who’s not doing what.  I really don’t like those latter times and cherish the former.

My colleague Jim Clawson talks about asking yourself the question:  how do you want to feel (see Powered by Feel, by James G. Clawson)?  Well, I personally want to feel like I am building, creating, connecting and energizing. (I think Jim might say that’s close—those aren’t really feel words, but I’m trying, okay?) 

So, the advice section:  take charge of the way you (I) want to feel.  When you are looking for a job, make sure you are looking at it for motivation factors, not hygiene ones.  This concept is so hard for the newly minted MBA.  With a large debt load and peer pressure, one generally looks at compensation as the most important factor in choosing a job.  And when you reach those crossroads in your career, when the wrong issues (hygiene ones) start becoming overly important, examine why.  Are you still motivated?  If not, figure out why, seek answers, make a change.  I remember at one really low point in my career, a very close and insightful colleague said to me:  “you need to leave, this place is changing you, not in a good way.”  Like a 2X4 across the head.  And I made a change four months later.

Don’t wait for the 2X4. 

I was recently asked the question:  what would be your vision of cutting-edge, comprehensive career services.  What a great question!  The question comes when I’ve also been spending a great deal of mental energy on on-line education.  See my recent blog post.  So the two concepts are really coming together in my mind.  This weekend I read much of The Innovative University:  Changing the DNA of Higher Education by Clayton Christensen and Henry Eyring.  I believe career development is one such item on which schools should be innovating.

Behind the flurry of on-line education is the concept of the “flipped classroom.”  Much has been written about this idea (J. Wesley Baker, "The classroom flip: using web course management tools to become the guide by the side" 2000, 11th International conference on College Teaching and Learning). The flipped classroom is essentially using technology to deliver the “lecture” component of learning, so that classroom time can be spend doing more interactive learning (essentially the homework component, hence the term, flipped). (Visual from http://www.tidesinc.org/resources/flipped-classroom-resources/)

My vision of a cutting-edge, comprehensive approach to career services is one of a “flipped career services” approach: compelling, high quality, entertaining yet rigorous, evaluative, on-line synchronous and asynchronous learning of career fundamentals supplemented by both in-person counseling/mentoring (employing faculty, graduate students and career services staff) and project-based and/or practical experiences learning of skills. All three components—on-line, mentoring, and experiences—are critical to the success of the program. The online learning takes advantage of this generation’s (and gen Z’s) natural tendencies to want to work at their own pace while socially connected. The in-person counseling component will require cross school involvement and creative use of resources in order for every student to be served, but this component caters to the generation’s need for customized advice. Finally, the project-based/practical learning experiences (probably more than one or two during the four years as an undergraduate, or built into the fabric of the two-year MBA program) will allow students to translate their academic learning into practical application, building a repertoire of experiences that will allow them to first understand what they want to do and then differentiate themselves during the job search process. This component will tap into Gen Y/Z’s desire for authentic, meaningful interactions with the real world and will also help them develop their natural entrepreneurial tendencies. My vision is that many of these experiences will involve faculty.

A key enabler of this vision is that every student has a Personal Career Plan (PCP), supported by a faculty member, an external mentor and career advisor (and perhaps even a parent). Like any “business” plan, the PCP includes a thorough situation analysis (self assessment and research on careers), a career objective, and action plans including development of marketing materials (resume, cover letters, interview preparation, etc). The mentor component is extremely important—this triumvirate approach will provide a personal “board of directors” for each students’ guidance and accountability.

Some schools are putting career development at the forefront of their strategic initiatives.  Andy Chan at Wake Forest is at the forefront and recently led a conference where career management was central to the theme, Rethinking Success:  From Liberal Arts to Careers in the 21st Century.  I believe that schools who put this on their agenda will have a competitive edge as the higher education landscape changes.

I love watching leaders lead, and learning from their actions.  What a ;few week this has been at UVA for watching leaders lead!  If you haven’t been reading the stories, start here and maybe track the events at the Daily Progress.  In a nutshell, UVA President Sullivan was asked by the UVA Board of Visitors to resign.  She did.  People were shocked, questioned the process, blah, blah, blah.  Even more interesting was “the Darden angle,” a conspiracy theorist version that Darden alumni were behind the coup.  Read that take in The Hook and an update.  You get the picture.  The story plays out.  The community freaks out, faculty protest, class cancellations are threatened.  The governor weighs in and edicts resolution.  The board meets again and votes unanimously to reinstate.  Back to normalcy?  We’ll see.

So how did the various leaders lead?  History will judge.  My observations:

UVA President Teresa Sullivan was relatively absent from the dialogue.  But my colleague Erika James has an insightful look at President Sullivan’s take on the events.  Read here.  President Sullivan’s leadership right now can be summed up by a Bible verse she quoted on Sunday morning (after she had resigned) while delivering a sermon to Mount Zion First African Baptist Church in Charlottesville:  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.”   Her leadership:  introspective, patient.

UVA Board President Helen Dragas also stayed very quiet.  Until she could no longer.  Then I felt she spoke with facts—at least her version of reality.  She shied away from media—she tried to make this not about her, or President Sullivan, but about the University.  As the facts have played out, perhaps she did not have quite the backing she thought, but my take is that she led boldly and acted decisively—not a trait that runs rampant in University towns.  Additionally, she changed her mind and admitted her mistakes.  Politicians never change their minds—they aren’t allowed to by the media.  But Helen stepped up and said, okay, I’ve got further insight, and I think President Sullivan can lead this University to where it needs to go. 

Darden Dean Bob Bruner was dragged reluctantly into the fray.  He, as he always does, led thoughtfully and transparently, and with heart.  He communicated openly and honestly with his constituencies.  When Darden was implicated, he boldly denied and provided facts.  When he was misquoted in the WSJ, he reacted positively with anger.  I like to see that.  Most of all, he LED constantly throughout the turmoil—leading his team, his brand/institution, his reputation, his peers and the community.  In situations like this, leaders need to lead—Bob did.

The UVA Board—actually my most disappointing constituency.  At least some part of the Board led the ouster of President Sullivan, for apparently some good reasons.  Yet two weeks later, not one would stand by their original decision.  Yes, perhaps they all changed their minds based on new facts and input, but I wish just one had had the courage to stand by their original decision.

So, in summary, good leadership in the past few weeks was:  quiet, reflectively, bold, fact-based, transparent, from the heart.  If we could have combined all those traits into the various leaders from the beginning, then perhaps this mess could have been avoided.  Ah, it’s so easy to be a monday morning quarterback.

Well, everything I know about career consulting.  My friend and colleague Fred Drake died today of cancer.  So much will be said about what an incredible person Fred was:  how he cared so much for others, what a loving and caring husband he was, and what a great father he was.  So I won’t elaborate here.  I worked with Fred for nine years here at Darden.  When I joined the team with Fred, I was the rookie.  While I thought I knew everything, he patiently showed me that I didn’t.  Here’s what I learned from Fred, not just about being a great career consultant, but about being a great colleague.

Be patient.  Fred took the long term view of his students’ success. And he did the same with relationships.  He hung in there with me when I was new, standing up for students and lobbying for colleagues.  He challenged my challenges, and argued my arguments.  Yet, he did it with grace and charm, so that I always was compelled to listen and consider his point of view.

Be tireless.  Fred worked incessantly for his students.  He took their success personally.  We would be playing poker on a Tuesday night at 10pm, and Fred would be talking to me about a student’s interview with Danaher, and what he might have done differently to help her.

Be genuine.  If you knew Fred, you always knew where you stood.  He gave you feedback:  as a career consultant, as a colleague, as an employer, as a friend.  He had no agenda.  Just to be true to his calling.

Be a friend.  More than anything Fred was a friend.  He cared.  He showed it.  He had the team to his home for many beautiful lunches.  He brought vegetables from his garden to share.  He organized the poker group.  He came to every extra-curricular event, when he wasn’t required to attend.  And I always got the sense that Fred truly cared about me and my success.  He was genuine, tireless and patient.

I learned a lot from Fred.