Category Archives: Career Tips & Strategies

Is It Important or Just Urgent?

This question has been a powerful guide for me for years.  You’ll recognize it from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steve Covey.  It cuts to the chase of what depletes our energy, saps our motivation and distracts us daily if we allow it.  And this question is equally important for us in both our personal and professional lives.  In your leadership role at work, at home or in your community you know that it is easy to get pulled away into the small, urgent tasks that still may need to be addressed but often overwhelm people’s time and energy.  This is particularly true during organizational change when everyone feels stretched and often stressed. 

So What’s the Difference?

As a corporate trainer in Norway, I included Covey’s Urgent & Important concept in many workshops.  People got it . . . it makes sense and is a great way to start to reduce the feeling of being pulled in multiple directions.  When we can honestly (and quickly) identify when a task is truly important to our long-term goals or when the task is simply something that is urgent pressing for our time and energy we are way ahead of the game. 

So here’s my way of telling the difference.  An urgent task is one that presses for our time and energy, it’s often generated by someone else and it often comes about because of lack of planning (sometimes by me!).  Now some urgent tasks are unavoidable – the car battery goes out, kids get sick, doctor appointments etc.  But many really can be minimized by planning ahead. 

Now an important task is one that contributes to my long-term goals, takes initiative on my part and is often done over time.  Examples could include going to the gym for life-long health; signing up for a class to support a love of learning; making time each day to nurture relationships etc.  Those are the tasks that are often easy to set aside in the busyness of everyday life. 

Challenge to You

So my challenge to you is to ask yourself this week if some of what pulls on your time and energy is actually really important or is it just urgent.  Be honest and then see what you decide to do.  That urgent task may still need you but maybe next time it won’t . . . and that would feel really good!

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5 Generations at Work is Challenging!

It’s a challenge – working with people of all ages both in my regular training and coaching roles but also in my community volunteer work.  Each age group is really quite different – disconnects and miscommunication happen all the time.  We often don’t even realize that it’s a “generational thing”.  But it actually all makes sense if we take the time to understand & appreciate the differences (and gifts) that each generation brings to the workplace.

All Ages Volunteering at the Red Cross

I’ve had the great opportunity to design and deliver a leadership training course to the American Red Cross, Northern Nevada Chapter both in 2010 and again this year.  Tomorrow night’s materials will be fun – it’s all about how to work with volunteers of all five generations – common for the Red Cross.  Each generation has its own motivations for wanting to work with the Red Cross and each generation brings its own talents, strengths and gifts to their volunteer work.  But for new leaders it can be a stretch to know how to engage and motivate individuals who often are younger or older than themselves. 

A Great Book & Resource

Here is where I would start . . . pick up this brand new book written by a father-daughter team in a lively conversational style.  Generations, INC: From Boomers to Linksters – Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work, 2010, is packed with facts, historical research and practical, concrete suggestions for how to manage and work with each of the five generations.  It’s current and relevant to today’s work world and our families as well.  And it goes beyond just describing the generational differences (although I found that fasinating) to really teaching us as leaders how to bring out the best in this amazing diverse workforce.

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Going Through Change “Backwards”

It might surprise you but we usually go through transitions in our lives “backwards”.  As I told you in my last blog “a change” and “a transition” are very different.  A change is an external event and a transition is the internal psychological adjustment to the change.  So the challenge is not the change but rather the emotional transition and that varies greatly depending on the timing, intensity, impact and duration of the change.  So what do I mean by going through this process by backwards? 

3 Phases of Transition

William Bridges, author of numerous books on transitions, explains that there are three phases of a psychological transition.  These are:

  • The Ending
  • The Neutral Zone
  • The New Beginning

We don’t start with embracing the new beginning as many would think.  It’s perfectly normal (and healthy) to recognize and deal with the losses of what is ending first before being able to move on to that Neutral Zone and then finally into the New Beginning.  Think about changes you’ve had in the past.  Maybe a new job, a move to a new community or maybe a new relationship.  It’s critical to “let go” of that all identity, routine and comforts before being able to move on to that new beginning.

The Whirlwind of the Neutral Zone

The middle phase is one of great turmoil but also of opportunity.  The old ways are gone but in its place is the chance for new growth.  This is the phase that we see that entrepreneur spirit – the creation of new and exciting ventures.  Think of yourself and also of your business in times of change.  I bet you were far more willing to try something new during this whirlwind of the middle phase.  It’s an opportunity – embrace it!

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Change & Transition: Knowing the Difference

Being notified that you are being laid off is a big change in your life.  And it’s even a bigger psychological adjustment if you weren’t planning on a forced vacation quite yet.  I just came back from giving a workshop on “Career Transitions” for staff in higher education facing layoffs.  I always start with helping folks understand the difference between change & transition and then the three phases of transition.  That foundation seems to be very reassuring because it shows people the path through their feelings of anxiety and uncertainty.   

Change is a Challenge

Managing the many changes in our lives is an ongoing challenge.  Hopefully, we get better at it as we get older.  We’ve been around the block a few times and we know that yes, things do work out with a bit of patience and proactive effort.  But it’s also important to recognize why sometimes a change (like a new job or a move to a new house) is relatively easy but then when the exact same change happens a couple of years later it is much harder.  Why?

The Difference Between Change & Transition

William Bridges, author of Transitions,  has written extensively on change and  transition. I love his material and have used it in every workshop I give on change management.  Bridges first explains that a “change” is an external event.  Examples are: a move, new job, new baby, getting married, going to college, a death etc.  And we may experience the same change  several times throughout our lives. 

That’s not the hard part.  The challenge is the psychological adjustment to the change.  That is the internal “transition”.  And the psychological adjustment to the exact same change may vary greatly at different times in our lives.

Why Is It So Hard Sometimes?

Several factors make the difference.  The timing of the change – is it “on-time” or “off-time”?  Was the change expected or did it come “out-of-the-blue”?  Does the change impact many areas of your life?  Is it a temporary or permanent change?  Do you have control over the change or not?  These are some of the factors that directly affect how we psychologically adjust to a change in our lives. 

Think about this for yourself.  Look at several changes that you have recently experienced.  How did you adjust to them? What seemed to make the difference?  In my next blog I’ll tell you about the three phases of transition – it might surprise you how we often go through transitions “backwards”.

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Layoffs: The Stress of Waiting

Over the last few days, I’ve talked to several people waiting to hear about possible layoffs.  It’s the end of the fiscal year and either they will be laid off  July 1st or not.  The waiting is the hardest.  Even for the most resilient and optimistic people this suspenseful time of not knowing is very difficult.

Employment changes are always challenging.  The “What Ifs” take over and you can find yourself imagining and worrying about all kinds of scenarios.  “What if I can’t find another job?”  “What if I have to move?”  “What if I can’t pay my mortgage?”  These may be very realistic concerns and the worry can quickly escalate especially in the middle of the night.

Taking Control of the Uncontrollable

The stress of the unknown is really all about control.  When you or your spouse is facing a layoff it’s easy to feel that you have little control over your future.  And that may be true as it relates to your paid employment.  But what about the rest of your life?  You (and only you) have control over that and once you take back that control there is a ripple effect on your paid work as well.  Here are three steps to get you started.

First, what isn’t changing in your life? List out the  main areas of your life (health, family &, friends, employment, hobbies, community etc.) that you spend time and energy.  I like to use the image of the 5 Olympic Circles because they connect creating synergy between the circles. And it keeps it simple with the 5 main areas of my “whole” life.

Second, have a realistic talk with yourself.  Are these other areas really changing significantly? Sometimes yes, but many times they are staying relatively the same.  Life goes on with many of the same routines and traditions – that’s actually quite reassuring.

Third, make a Plan B and a Plan C.  Have backup plans if you are laid off.  Know your options. Get an accurate picture of your financial situation.  You may be pleasantly surprised that it’s better than you had imagined.

Taking Control is Empowering

This is a new life chapter which you can design for yourself.  In my work as a career coach, I’m seeing people take this opportunity to create new career paths that they previously never thought possible.  Yes, a forced change such as a layoff is unsettling and disruptive.  But remember, that in the midst of chaos is the opportunity for incredible growth and possibilities.  It’s exciting and the sense of taking back control is incredibly empowering.

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