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20 Ways to Advance Your Career

Guest Column by Cecile Peterkin

To survive and thrive in today's competitive environment, it is not just what you know. You also need to be competent. You must stand out from the crowd - be memorable, impressive, credible, trusted and liked.

"Success is never a destination - it is a journey." - Maya Sullivan

1. Exceed expectations; deliver results on a or head of time.

2. Manage your time effectively.

3. Create a career plan with goals and training requirements.

4. Move away from day-to-day operations.

5. Develop strong rapport with colleagues, senior managers/executives.

6. Get a mentor, accept guidance in your career.

7. Know your organization's goals vision, values, business strategies.

8. Create opportunites to further own/business goals.

9. Solicit feedback and assess the decision for purposes of continuous improvement.

10. Communicate effectively to people at all levels of your organization.

11. Build and maintain relationships with individuals who might impact your work.

12. Plan, prioritize and organize your work.

13. Manage own emotions and reactions.

14. Balance the demands of your personal and professional life.

15. Give yourself quarterly reviews, identify your accomplishments.

16. Become your own sales team, market your abilities.

17. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.

18. Be decisive and action oriented.

19. Commit to excellence and professionalism.

20. Be self-disciplined.

Cecile Peterkin is a trained Career/Life Coach and speaker whose work centers primarily on middle managers and their various challenges. She also works with individuals who are ready to move forward, take action, achieve goals and experience overall life improvement, both in personal and in career.

Managing a Toxic Employee

Guest Column by Matt Krumrie, Monster Contributing Writer

Today's workplace is full of horror stories about employees who work for toxic bosses, but what happens when a manager is in charge of a toxic employee? While termination seems like the simple solution, it's not always that easy. Learn what makes a toxic employee tick and how to take control of the situation.

What Toxic Workers Do and Why
In his 25 years as a senior administrative law judge for the state of California, Jim Tamm dealt exclusively with employment disputes. Now a senior consultant with Business Consultants Network and author of Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships, Tamm says the bully is fearful about his own significance, competence, likeability or helplessness.

"They don't want to feel that way, so they behave in ways to let them avoid those feelings," says Tamm. "For example, a way of avoiding your own feelings of incompetence or insignificance is to become very critical of others, flood others with information to prove you are right, or jump to conclusions and personalize everything, hold a grudge, get hostile, think obsessively or any number of other inappropriate behaviors."

Bullies put out aggressive signals, often scaring the meeker party into submission, says Judith Glaser, CEO of Benchmark Communications and author of Creating We and The DNA of Leadership.

"If we want to mitigate against the bully, we need to teach leaders how to read the early signs of aggression and to counter them with a conscious request for 'respect,' thereby turning the bully into an equal partner," Glaser says.

Other workers are often afraid to tattle on the bully. A manager must remain in control and demonstrate leadership. If not, "the bully's boundaries and ego expand, and they impact more people than just the initial targets," says Glaser. "Speaking up is vital and sends a signal to the rest of the organization that they don't need to tolerate, accept or support bullying."

Tame Your Toxic Worker
Those who manage toxic but highly competent employees are in a tough spot, says Dr. Janet Scarborough, psychologist and career coach with Bridgeway Career Development. Managers need their employees to succeed in order to keep themselves looking good.

"The manager needs to find a way to motivate the bully to be different," says Scarborough. "There are two possibilities for how to do this -- either offer a reward of something valued by the bullying employee or create a negative consequence for the bully if he/she continues to be abusive. The manager just has to find out what would motivate the bully to change his or her ways, and since everyone is motivated by something, there is always a way."

To put the toxic employee in line, start with a tough talk. "Sit the employee down, and be crystal clear about the behaviors that must stop immediately and those that must start," says Sharon Jordan-Evans, president of the Jordan Evans Group and coauthor of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay and Love It, Don't Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work. "Statements such as ‘you must stop spreading negative gossip about your coworkers' or ‘you must start helping your colleagues more in tight deadline situations' should be brought to their attention."

Jordan-Evans says you can ensure the employee is clear about expected behavior changes by asking him to paraphrase or repeat those changes. Provide a timeline within which you expect to see lasting change as well as consequences for noncompliance. She recommends saying: "We'll meet again in one month to discuss how you're doing on these changes. I'll expect by then that you're 90 percent on target. Six months from now, I'll expect 100 percent success regarding these changes. Your performance review will reflect this process, and your pay will be impacted accordingly."

This means no pay increase or bonus for failure to change, while success translates into a pay increase and/or bonus, Jordan-Evans adds.

Overall, the manager has an important role in taming a toxic worker. "The toxic person is making others' lives miserable," says Glaser, "The manager needs to take the high road -- bring the team together and reestablish a common goal the team can shoot for -- then to help each person see the role they can play in achieving it."

Internal Customer Service Tips

Internal Customer Service Tips
by Carole Nicolaides

Customer service is the foundation on which businesses are created. Unless you understand your customers and treat them with respect, you will go out of business. That is a well-known fact. However, too often leaders fail to see that creating high quality products, or delivering excellent services is dependant on people, not corporations. Individuals within your firm must be treated well and managers must be instilled with a caring attitude toward others in order for your business to function at its maximum potential. How can we expect our people to give customers good service if they are not given that from us – their leaders?

Superior internal customer service has a far-reaching arm. It extends to morale, productivity, profitability, external customer service, and every other area of your business. Those who receive excellent internal customer service exhibit pride, are quick to voluntarily offer assistance to others, and to identify and head of problems.

I have seen this phenomenon work every type of business imaginable. Companies that create a collaborative environment have a drastic reduction in employee and external customer service issues. Companies that suffer in internal customer service usually face more challenges.

Consider this real-life tale. A friend’s husband works for a corporation that recently merged with a former competitor. The previous organization continually took a proactive role in internal customer service; offering bonuses, recognition, surprises, support and a variety of other “perks” to employees. Sick days were taken only when needed, employees were pleased to wear clothing adorned with the company’s logo, they constantly volunteered to assist co-workers and proudly offered external customers their full attention when problem solving.

However, shortly after the merger, the new organization abruptly ended all of these internal customer service programs. Employee attitudes have drastically changed for the worse. Sick days are taken whenever employees would like to have an additional day off. The overall outlook of team members now is that there is no team. They have reverted back to the stone-age viewpoint of the company vs. the employee.

So what can you – as a progressive leader - take from the above example? Below are few tips that can help you out on building excellent relationships with your employees and making sure that they will want to give all they can.

1. Consider your employees as your customers. Too often employers forget this. Without them you are not going to succeed. This is your first step: to acknowledge them as the most valuable members of the team.

2. Be available and present for them. You would always make yourself available to your clients… do the same for your employees. They need to know that you are there for them, and that everyone is playing on one team.

3. Be willing to share the company’s goodies. Does your office purchase holiday gifts? Purchase additional items for your employees. If you – as a manger – receive a gift from a vendor, share it with your team. It is not the actual item that has so much value but your willingness to treat your internal customers with kindness and respect.

4. Exceed your employees’ expectations. You can create great relationships if you focus on this. Do more for them than it is expected. Take them out for dinner or lunch once a month just as a gesture of team spirit. Offer unexpected theater tickets or restaurant gift certificates for those who have few or no sick days within a period of time. Host a company “play day” at a local park. The possibilities are wide open… the results are long-lasting.

5. Communicate the company’s direction. Keeping employees informed offers them a feeling of empowerment. It cements the fact that they ARE part of the team. It also helps with aligning individual goals with those of the organization. Take time to provide detailed information about the business’s future and your internal customer’s place in it.

6. Follow-up and ask for their feedback. Just as you ask for feedback from and follow up with your external customers, be sure implement open communications between you and your team. When you involve employees in the daily activities of the organization, they participate more, volunteer more and they take ownership more quickly.

7. Say thank you. Can you imagine a transaction that takes place with an external customer where ‘thank you’ is never said? You simply wouldn’t tolerate that for long. The same applies to internal customers. When a project is finished… when a report is completed… at every opportunity, say thank you.

While internal customer service programs may take additional time and money, the company-wide results will far surpass the expenses. You will soon find yourself surrounded by those who are willing – and, yes, even excited – to work for your firm.

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Carole is President and Executive Coach of Progressive Leadership, offering executive coaching, organizational development consulting and leadership development training.

"Boom-boom goodbye" communication

From The HR Cafe: "'Boom-boom-goodbye' communication

This post will take you less than 60 seconds to read. And you'll be reminded of what's arguably the most important thing about effective communication.

All thanks to my insurance agent. For years I’ve met with my insurance agent once a year for half an hour. In these meetings he’s revealed all sorts of things about his family, hobbies and travels – and asked me about mine. But what I remember most about him is that when he calls me on the phone he rarely spends more 15 seconds.

“Did you get the form I e-mailed you? Great. Send it along. See ya.”

I know this is calculated on his part. He’s a great salesman because he’s developed a relationship with me, but he never, ever abuses it. He respects my time. Every communication is fast and efficient. And guess what? No matter how busy I am I always take his calls.

In HR, communication is critical. But I think many employees feel HR bombards them with information. Next time you communicate with your people, try to adopt the 'boom, boom, goodbye' communication style of my insurance agent. I think your message might get through more effectively, and your employees might be more eager to listen to what you have to say next time you reach out to them.

Remember: 'Less is more.' Goodbye.

Stephen Meyer
B21 Publisher and author of The HR Cafe

Weird ideas that work!

"A weird idea works because it trips discomfort. The idea is to flip from autopilot to mindful creation." -- Robert Sutton

"I'm not happy unless I'm uncomfortable. "
-- Jay Chiat

The one thing that you can safely say about innovation, change, and new ideas in business is that they make people uncomfortable. They're threatening. They seem weird. They don't belong "here."

People who are in touch with their creative resources understand - and even welcome - this discomfort, as Jay Chiat does.

In Robert Sutton's book, Weird Ideas That Work, he explores the connections between "weird" ideas, innovation, and business success.

Here are some of his weird ideas on getting the right people on board to make innovation happen in order to move your business forward:

Weird Idea #1: Hire people with a special kind of stupidity or stubbornness - who avoid, ignore, or reject how things are "supposed to be done around here."

Weird Idea #1½: Hire people who make you uncomfortable - even those whom you dislike. Then take extra care to listen to their ideas.

Weird Idea #2: Hire people whom you (probably) don't need. Interview and occasionally hire interesting or strange people with skills you don't need at the moment - and might
never need.

Ask them how they can help you. You might be surprised.

Weird Idea #3: Use job interviews to get new ideas, not just to screen candidates.

Give job candidates problems that you can't solve.

Listen as much as you can. Talk as little as you can.

Weird Idea #4: Encourage people to ignore superiors and peers. Hire defiant outsiders.

Rather than teaching newcomers about company history or procedure, have the newcomers teach the old-timers how to think and act.

Encourage people to drive you crazy by doing what they think is right rather than what they are told.

Weird Idea #5: Find happy people, and let them fight. If you want innovation, you need upbeat people who know the right way to battle.

Avoid conflict during the earliest stages of the creative process, but encourage people to productively "fight" over ideas in the intermediate stages.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. "
-- Hunter S. Thompson

Forget about retention - I'm outta here!!

Research shows that while employees can live indefinitely without a corner office, perks, or even assigned parking, the one thing they can't go without for long is recognition. In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) statistics show that 79 percent of people who leave their jobs cite lack of appreciation as one of the key reasons. That's not a few nuts, but 8 out of every 10 people who walk out the door are saying they didn't feel acknowledged by their boss.

For leaders, that puts turnover in a whole new light. It makes it personal. Employees aren't always leaving for more money. They often leave in search of a supervisor who recognizes their achievements.

Dr. John Sullivan, a researcher on employee motivation, has tracked the difference in salary between what former employees were paid at their old jobs and what they earned at their new firms. Says John, "The average salary differential was a little more than five percent."

Five percent! With taxes, that's maybe two more trips to Starbucks a month. And for the tall not the grande.

Few people will leave a great workplace for that kind of increase. But people do leave for good managers who provide them with challenges, opportunities and (most importantly) confirmation that they make a difference, supported by recognition and rewards. We love a quote by one of our heroes, Mary Kay Ash, the founder of the cosmetics giant. She said, "There are two things employees want more than sex and money: recognition and praise."

Do Your Clients Trust You?

Do Your Clients Trust You?
Guest column by Jennifer Wessman

Successful salespeople are adept at gaining their clients' trust, though they might be hard-pressed to explain precisely how trust influences people's buying decisions. Research has shown that in product sales, clients often trust the reputation of the product itself as much as they trust the salesperson. But when you're dealing with a service sale involving intangible elements, trust becomes the buyer's primary motivator.

Because of this, many professional, trustworthy people don't always come across as such. This concept intrigued Neil Rackham, founder of Huthwaite. As a result, Huthwaite conducted a study of professional services clients to define their perception of trust. After interviewing almost 1,000 people, Huthwaite found that trust has three essential components:

1. Candor
Clients value honesty when dealing with a service company. They want a salesperson to be straight about what will work and what won't. And most importantly, they value a salesperson's willingness to say "I may not have the right answer right now, but I'll find it for you."

2. Competence
Clients want to be sure you know exactly what you are doing. They need to feel a low level of risk when working with you. Because they can't see and touch the product, your ability to solve their problem becomes the focal point. In a real sense, your competence is the product.

3. Concern
Clients want to know that you feel their pain and that you are concerned about them and their business issues beyond the lip service it takes to land a sale.

The three C's of trust -- candor, competence and concern -- are all essential. The absence of any one can cost you a major sale. But are salespeople equally good at demonstrating each of these three C's? The answer is a resounding no.

In both the professional services study and in parallel studies Huthwaite conducted with product sales forces, the most frequently missing element of trust was concern. Put simply, clients felt that while most salespeople were competent and candid, when it came to concern they were sorely lacking. As a result, clients didn't trust them.

So why is it that clients see salespeople as unconcerned? There are a few reasons:

• We listen for the things we can solve rather than the things that are important to our clients.
• We're often too anxious to get to solutions, so we don't listen to the problem.
• We don't get on the client's side of the table.

As a result, while clients may see us as candid and competent, they don't feel that we show concern for them or their issues. Is this really important? The answer is yes. Unfortunately, concern is the one dimension of trust where you'd want to score an "A." Not only is concern most important to clients, it is the one area where they can make a valid judgment that minimizes the perceived risk involved in buying from you.

Rackham recounted a story told by John Wilson, his former colleague. Wilson had taken his child with a high fever to a new doctor. Like most parents in an emergency, he was apprehensive about the child's well-being. Unfortunately, the doctor showed no concern for either child or parent. He performed a clinical examination and wrote out a prescription. "I just didn't trust him," Wilson said after the incident, "and I thought he was incompetent. I later found he was a top professional in his field, but that's not what came across. His lack of concern had me suspicious of his competence.

We wonder how often clients draw the same conclusions.

The 10 Truths of 'Real' Guerrilla Marketers

This just came across my desk from Marketing Profs - especially relevant for same-o lame-o banks and professional services firms!!

The 10 Truths of 'Real' Guerrilla Marketers

If you look up the definition, "Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing promotional activities on a very low budget." While this is accurate, I'm not buying.

The great guerrillas like Che or Mao had something more going for them than being "unconventional and cheap." Their battles became legend because they were thinking beyond the next quarter.

That's why here I'm going in search of that "something more." As usual, I'm not claiming wisdom, so if you find omissions or flaws in my mini Sun Tzu on the Art of Guerrilla Marketing, don't hesitate to hit me.

And if all this macho talk of warfare is getting a bit too masculine for your taste, just remember that Wang Cong'er (Mulan, only without the happy ending) was one of the fiercest guerrillas of them all.

Here we go...

1. Set out to change the world

In the spirit of Guy Kawasaki: Don't launch a business unless you're prepared to change the world. No one ever freed a nation with features and benefits. People will get excited about your initiatives only if you clearly articulate how your proposition will liberate your customers in a way none of your competitors can. That is the true cause and banner of your guerrilla campaign. And if you can't come up with it, don't bother with the rest of this list.

2. It's not about the battle, it's about the war

If successfully waged, guerrilla campaigns cause "death by a thousand bee-stings." Yet, all too often, marketing initiatives that claim to be guerrilla in nature are planned without regard for the 999 stings to come. This leaves successful campaigns without follow-up or even budget. While in war there may be merit in merely irritating your enemy, in business it's simply a waste of money.

3. Power to the people

No guerrilla movement or revolution can succeed without popular support. Guerrilla campaigns are a great opportunity to involve your most loyal customers and staff. Consider community marketing, consumer-generated media (CGM), and co-creation programs to get them in the loop. Not to make money, but to help achieve the change you described in point 1. People love to improve the world. Invite them to your cause and treat them well.

4. Deploy mercenaries wisely

While agencies can be great allies by having extra resources to deploy, they also know that there will be a time that you will abandon them (come on, be honest). That is why they will offer you the same loyalty of any mercenary: as long as the money's good. The moment a budgetary glitch reduces budgets or margins, they will leave you to your own devices.

That is why you should involve agencies whenever you need the extra firepower, yet avoid relying on them for the long run. That, you can only do on your own, with your own staff and customers (as long as you treat them well).

5. Think small, but spectacular

Guerrilla campaigns are high on brainpower and low on budget. They use creativity, speed, and adaptability to capitalize on high-profile opportunities. Foster this attitude by combining tight budgets with high-to-impossible expectations from your marketing team or agency. And when they get lost in opportunities, focus their attention on the one thing that will really blow the market's mind.

6. Keep them guessing

Guerrilla campaigns always capitalize on the element of surprise. Not once, yet over and over again. If you have something that works, change it before your competitors can respond. If you focus on one geographic region in one month, move somewhere completely different (or not...).

If you can create a rhythm of surprise, yet stay true to your cause, your competitors won't see your next move coming, while your popular support keeps growing.

7. Get the gold and get out

Guerrilla campaigns are executed with laser precision. This means they get clear, quantifiable business objectives. Once these are achieved, you get out. Prolonging your initiative only leads to wasted resources, plus it gives your competition time to react.

Similarly, if it looks like a new tactic you try isn't working, get out fast. Don't let your pride get in the way and run to fight another day.

8. Lead the charge

Every cause needs a leader who's drive cannot be captured in a PowerPoint presentation. Love it or hate it, but this leader is you. And if you don't have the time to be with your troops when they need you, find someone who cares enough about your cause to do it in your place. Leaders should be where the action is, and in your case that's among your community, customers, and staff.

9. Don't forget propaganda

These days it's probably called word-of-mouth (WOM), yet in the old days, whenever the Partisans in Italy blew up another stronghold, the country knew about it in an instant. If one of your guerrilla marketing campaigns hits a homerun, get yourself a megaphone and shout it from the rooftops. You have taken another step to change the world. And don't take the credit yourself, but celebrate your heroes (customers, staff, and others), for they will be your biggest source of WOM.

10. Don't get killed by friendly fire

Guerrilla campaigns are by definition unorthodox, daring, visible, accountable, and prone to failure. This means that if you're in a large organization, people can get nervous about them. Prepare the ground by selling your bosses on your cause and the path you intend to walk. Demonstrate the benefits of involving your customer community and focusing your staff on "one goal." And if it looks like you really won't get any air cover, don't go it alone. Dead soldiers can't win wars.

Happy fighting!

Translate business strategies into clear objectives and tactics

Most managers acknowledge the importance of planning and goal setting. Sometimes, however, time pressures get in the way. Setting aside time to identify and develop your business goals and strategies is the first step in improving your ability to plan and manage effectively.

In order to develop successful plans, it is necessary for managers both to understand their organization's strategic vision and to incorporate that vision into their plans and day-to-day operations. To clarify and increase your understanding in this area, ask yourself questions such as:

• What is the organization's strategic vision?
• What does that mean for me and my unit?
• What are the future opportunities?
• What talents and resources will I need to accomplish my part?

Once you have developed business strategies, translate them into clear objectives and tactics. Consider the following suggestions:

• Once you and your people have developed your vision and mission, work with them to formulate strategies, specific objectives, and tactics to accomplish the objectives.
• Review your department’s strategies, objectives, and tactics for compatibility with the organization’s strategic plans.
• Identify colleagues who appear to have well-defined strategic plans. Ask what process they used to develop objectives and tactics.
• Ask your direct reports to submit an annual work plan for your review and then use their ideas to construct an operational plan for the department.
• Plan an off-site retreat with your direct reports to brainstorm and choose the most viable tactics for reaching objectives.
• Communicate your department’s business strategies and objectives to peers in other departments. Seek input on objectives and tactics that might affect them.