What's It Gonna Be In '07?

I’ll go ahead and spit it out right now… I HATE New Year’s Resolutions! I always have. Even as a kid, I thought they were silly. I’ve always believed (and also known) that the likelihood of success is about 0%. So year after year after year I sit at the NYE dinner table and listen with venomous contempt as my friends and family make their profound intentional declarations for the upcoming year. Maybe it does work for them, but it’s never worked for me. Like most everyone else, by February 1st, I’ve forgotten what my resolutions were.

Enough venting; I’m now climbing off of my soapbox…

Here’s what I do know, however -- Having a vision of where you’re going increases the chances of you achieving your goals. I’ve said it over and over again: Knowing the “What” helps us figure out the “How!” So maybe there is something to the New Year’s Resolution shenanigans?

I have a young, very successful friend who keeps his New Year’s intentions (both personal and professional) taped to his bedroom mirror. This strategy works for him and allows him to continually and casually revisit his annual goals. He does not share these with anyone (other than those lucky few who get to visit the inner sanctum of his bedroom), and he has a better sense of where he’s going than anyone else I know.

So maybe they do work? Let's throw out those prior misconceptions and try something new this year.

Here’s the challenge I’m giving myself and I’ll also give you, Gentle Reader:

What’s ONE thing you want to accomplish in 2007?

There it is… Simple. Clean. Achievable. I like it. It's only one thing, and there's no reason why it cannot be accomplished, right?

So, here goes...

For me, it will be launching my new website and virtual learning community for federal employees by July 1, 2007!

Wow! I can't believe I came out and made that public declaration! But the cat's outta da bag, and I guess I now have an obligation to keep you updated!

What’s yours going to be? Post a comment below and let us know what it is. And we’ll keep tabs on you, if you’d like! Or not!

Happy New Year!

Know anyone like this?

The Career Vision, aka Packing for the Trip

How much sense would it make if you starting packing for your vacation without ANY idea of your destination? Imagine a suitcase full of swimwear for a ski trip? Or your best “Sex and the City” Gotham City finery for a trip to the West Virginia cabin (yup, got me one of them last week, but more on that later)? In reality, this problem rarely confronts any of us, and most adults I know are pretty adept at successfully packing their bags for their trips away from home. But I offer you this metaphor as a lesson for your own career-management strategies.

I often get the call from the panicked, potential job switcher saying “I’ve heard from a friend (or a recruiter) that there’s this excellent position in the such-and-such department over at blank. Can you, Coach Jeff, please help me prepare for my interview?”

“Whoa Nelly!!” says Coach Jeff, “Since when did such-and-such department over at blank ever factor into your vision of your career?” And our discussion begins…

Having a longer-term vision of your career, and where it’s headed, is like knowing where you’re going on vacation when you’re packing your suitcase. For example, if you know without a doubt, that your next career step is to get supervisory experience, then why would you ever consider taking on another individual contributor position? That’s like packing your snorkel for a trip to Aspen!

With a crystal-clear vision of both the longer-term and immediate career goals, you have an easy litmus test to know if even going for an interview is worthwhile. And you can seriously prevent those dreaded career mis-steps. Always testing the immediate opportunities against the vision of where you’re headed can significantly reduce the amount of anxiety and stress in managing your career.

Now, some of you are saying, “easier said than done,” so we’ll be talking for a while in this medium about having a vision for your career.

For me, always knowing what's next for Northward Leadership and my own career prevents me from taking on work that does not support my vision. And with that, I’m off to go build a fire in my new fireplace, while wearing the comfy slippers I remembered to pack before I left the city yesterday!

Love What You Do!

Great! So Donald Trump tells us to love what we do, but that seems a bit easier when you’re worth a gazillion dollars. What about the rest of us who have a slightly-lower earning power? Or who have a net worth in the 4 or 5 digit range, as opposed to 7 or 8? Or what about those of us who work for large employers like the federal government or a large technology contractor?

I’ve been very lucky to have always had careers that I’ve loved. From the high-tech world of Germany in the 80s, to the high-flying AAirline industry of the 90s, to the new millennium leadership-development gigs of the present, I’ve ALWAYS loved going to work. From time to time, people have mentioned that they are envious of my career, in that I actually love getting out of bed in the morning and going to work.

When asked what my secret is, I’ve not been too sure. So I’ve been ruminating about this for a couple of weeks, and I think it boils down to a couple of strategies. The primary one, however, is that I’m unabashed in asking for what I want .

Now, what does this mean?

Those of you, who know me, recognize that I can be a pretty extroverted, verbal dude (plus, having a mom who’s a therapist probably helps). What I've realized during this period of rumination is that I'm pretty darn good at asking for what I want. This might be using a trusted advisor as a mentor, going for a developmental assignment in a different, high-profile area, or simply asking to be part of multi-disciplinary, special-assignment work team. I've never been one to sit on the sidelines and wait for others to approach me with new opportunities. I've always been the one to take the initiative and be clear about my intentions and desires.

Now, I'm not advocating whining or playing Machiavellian games. What I'm talking about is including others in my dialogue about the career. You can’t manage your career in a vacuum, so by including others in articulating your desires and growth goals, you multiply the number of eyes and ears who will be working on your behalf.

If others are clear about your interests and intentions, they will be able to steer you into more interesting, more enlightening directions. And as you navigate into different areas, the boredom factor diminishes and you’ll have greater career satisfaction.

So, come out of the career closet and start engaging your inner circle. As you begin the process of, say, “Hey, I’d like to learn more about working in that department,” the chances of it happening are significantly greater, AND, this is what leads to mucho-greater career satisfaction!

Jeff here, writing from his Southwest Airlines flight from Palm Beach, back up to Baltimore. My head is spinning with ideas from spending the past weekend with James and Ken Burgin, two brilliant Australian brothers who are the best idea guys and marketers I know. We attended a web marketing conference in West Palm Beach, and our every waking minute was spent discussing fun ideas and concepts. The Burgin Boys’ insight into leadership and branding got me thinking about our own personal “brands” and how we can strategically use this branding in our professional lives.

James has co-written, along with Donald Trump and Jon Ward (no relation to me), a lot of the content for Trump University DVD and e-book series. He kindly gave some copies of the work and I found myself drawn to the content of The Donald’s “How the Rich Get Rich” series. Now, many of you know that I’m not a huge fan of the King-of-the-Combover, but there are some terrific concepts in here. The headings of the 4 primary sections speak SO clearly to the work that Karen and I have done with many of you.

Love What You Do

Build Your Vision First

If You’re Going to Think… Think Big!

Never Give Up

Since these brilliant concepts come up all the time when Karen and I are coaching, we will give you our opinions on these 4 topics in our next few blogs. We promise to offer you what we think is fresh insight, as opposed to recycled personal-development crap.

So thanks for joining us, and check back here very soon for some more cool ideas!

Leadership Insights and Answers from Jeff and the Team

Welcome to the first ever posting on the Northward Leadership blog! Karen and I are excited to set up this forum to provide insight and discussion around leadership topics that face our clients and friends in both the federal government and the private sector.

Please let us know what you'd like to see us talk about by using the "comments" down below!