The Heart of Relationships

Remember Valentine’s Day 2020? You likely had dinner plans with a loved one or good friends, you brought in some candy to the office and you and your colleagues gathered at some point in the day to share Valentine’s treats in the office kitchen. It felt so good…….

The truth is that scenario was not about the anticipation of the evening ahead or the sweets at work; it was about your workplace relationships. You knew those people, you had fun together, you could rely on them, you had a common bond. Who knew that within one month you would be working from home in your pajamas and that you would be faced with what remote workers have known for years – that building and nurturing workplace relationships is hard work!

Whether you are an individual contributor or a manager of others, it is virtually impossible to succeed in your career without good relationships with your colleagues. One of the more common challenges that we as executive coaches hear from our clients is about work relationships. Clients may be struggling with solving complex problems, making important decisions or preparing for important meetings; however, underneath all of these challenges is the need to have the right kinds of relationships with others so that they are not tackling new challenges alone.

Why does nurturing relationships at work feel like so much more effort now? It’s quite clear that we have gotten out of the habit. Many workers no longer have the opportunity to gather in the office for casual chats, or at least not all on the same day. Some workers started new roles remotely and have not had an opportunity to have proper onboarding. Some have never met their co-workers in person in 2+ years. In some instances, co-workers do not have a view of what the other is doing, so they do not have common work interests to speak about. And let’s not forget, studies show that workers in the U.S. are suffering from higher levels of anxiety, and that can result in a reluctance to socialize with co-workers.

The good news is that it is not too late. You can tackle this challenge and start taking steps to rebuild strong work relationships. Consider the following:

·        Maintain a positive outlook when interacting with others.

·        Offer to help others.

·        Show appreciation to others whenever you can.

·        Mentor more junior people.

·        Take the time to complement others when warranted.

·        Make space to ask how the other person is REALLY doing, their weekend, their projects.

·        Be intentional about finding opportunities to gather in person.

·        Establish a process for ongoing communication.

·        Set a cadence for regular one-on-one meetings with internal and external stakeholders; this is especially important if you are a remote worker.

Making a practice of following these guidelines can lead to mutual trust and respect – a foundation for strong relationships. Solidifying relationships takes time. Be patient. Be deliberate. Be generous.

There is no better time than Valentine’s Day to focus on your relationships. Not only do you have a chance to make someone else’s day, but you can take an important step in enhancing your career.

Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work.  Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

© Eileen Springer, Christine Alvarez February 2023

Preparing for when you’re 64, 54 or for that matter, 44.

Preparing for when you’re 64, 54 or for that matter, 44.

Here is a story….

In 2018, being 64 I was less than one year away from that famous Beatles song When I’m 64. I had a 25-plus year Marketing career that included cross country moves (twice) in multiple industries such as Advertising, Motion Picture Studios, Publishing and Television. And then it happened - another merger, but this time I did not make the cut. In corporate speak, I was packaged out.

Entertainment is a glamorous industry, but I not sure if I wanted to push on to another Entertainment Marketing job.

Here is where paying attention to what gives you energy can be helpful. One of my favorite job responsibilities was working with the people who reported to me.  It was also in teaching and speaking, so I started doing branding/teaching seminars at my company.

I also liked the Learning/Development/Coaching. So much so, I started to pay for my own learning and taking coaching seminars. In addition, I volunteered to teach Career Strategies to students.

In 2018, the merger rumors became reality, and I needed to make some serious decisions. What interested me most – Digital Marketing, Teaching or Coaching? This is where I had to seriously look at my resources (financial, time and age). I made the decision to get very serious about Coaching and build a skill set in an area where I had a deep interest. At 64, I finished the Columbia University Coaching Certification program which opened double doors to interests, passions, people, and opportunities. It was not all magic; I still needed to figure how I fit in this new landscape.

I tried to experiment with a few roles; Career Counselor, which led me to being an Adjunct Professor teaching Career Strategies. And then pitching people and companies for coaching services - some failures, some wins. It was enough to clarify where I wanted to put a stake in the ground and start to build.

The more I put myself out there, the more wins I got. So here I am today almost four years later (you do the math) with time under my belt and continuous study in a new profession I love and am committed to. It was worth it to me to put up with the uncertainty, the changes, the uphill push to be in a place where I am once again satisfied and challenged professionally.

What is the point here? I invite you to start paying attention to your energies and interests inside and outside your work. The person you are at 44 is not the same at 54 or 64. What grabs your attention and passion can change over time.

Ask yourself along the way, what else sparks your interest? Start thinking about where you want to be at 34, 44, 54 or 64. Regularly reassessing where you are and where you want to go will make any transitions or pivots a bit easier. Knowing where you want to look and explore is half the battle. Be sure you factor in your needs. This could come in the form of skills, financial resources and/or time.

If you are unsure, this is where you can try new and different things. Don’t be afraid to take a class or volunteer to see if you like something but give yourself enough space and practice to know the difference.  Are you not satisfied because you have yet to feel comfortable with your skill level or Are you not satisfied because you simply are not that interested? Make sure you can tell the difference.

This is YOUR future to create and craft, so it deserves your attention and energy.

Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work. Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees. ©Eileen Springer and Christine Alvarez June 2022

What's Your Vision

What Would You Be Doing Now if…

This is the fourth in a series of articles for consideration when thinking about yournextnext™. The content is based on the Springer-Alvarez talent development model for Employees and Employers.

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If you woke up and found out that the profession/job you have been in for the past however many days or years no longer existed, what would you do?  What direction would you take? What would be your vision for your next next™?

In this context, vision is defined as the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom. During this time of a pandemic, many of us are contemplating our vision. What will our future world look like, and what opportunities exist for us in this new world of work?

Most of us cringe when we think about the common interview question, “Where would you like to be in three to five years?” Well, it’s honestly difficult for most people to answer this question right now because there are more unknowns now than ever before.  Certain industries such as hospitality, airlines, and retail have been decimated by this pandemic.  Big cities with high rates of infection have emptied out, with migration to the suburbs. Unemployment grew and essential workers became scarce.  These shifts and more have caused us all to pause and reassess our vision for the future. 

Executive coaches are quite busy these days helping their clients identify the best path for finding one’s vision. The coaching process typically begins with identifying activities that bring you satisfaction, skills that you want to further develop, interests that you want to further explore, and an examination of your strengths and weaknesses. While going through a self-discovery process is important when seeking out your vision, practicality cannot be ignored.  There may be arrows pointing toward careers that are becoming extinct in a post-COVID world, or your interests may line up with roles that require higher levels of education. Some opportunities require relocation and some may be so specialized that the likelihood of being hired is extremely low.  When considering your vision in this new world, an executive coach can not only guide you through this discovery; they can help you assess the pros and cons and keep the practical aspects in your line of sight.   

If you are currently working from home, feeling stuck in your career and unsure of your vision, here are three steps that you can take today on your own:

 1. Explore where you are now. What different work could you be doing in your current organization? Are there other divisions that pique your interest? With whom can you have honest and confidential conversations to investigate the possibilities? Leaving your current organization, especially if it is large and has good financial performance, should be a last resort, and only after you have thoroughly researched opportunities or decided that there is not a fit there.  Typically, employee benefits, opportunities for long-term wealth accumulation, and trust and reputation built over time, have high value for an employee. Companies almost always try to retain high potential talent and may be open to designing new roles in order to keep their valued employees.

2.  Identify what you long to do; your passion.  Some of us know what we want to do next and some of us don’t.  If you know what you want, consider whether it can be incorporated into a career.  If it requires mastery, identify how to get more experience. Whether it means volunteering or taking classes, these extra steps can help to confirm your interest and distinguish you when being evaluated for positions. Consider your network as well. Talking to others about your interests will not only help you learn more but will enable you to let others know that you are looking to pursue a new career. 

If you are still discovering your passions, give yourself a timeline for exploring options.  Start by asking yourself these questions:  Is there something you long to do but never tried? Is there a strong interest you have, that you have always wanted to pursue?  Are there classes or community service opportunities that sound appealing?  Who is in your network that you can brainstorm with and get insight into how others see you?   This is when career pivots happen – when you take the time to validate your true interests and look externally to confirm that you have a network of supporters to help make your pivot a reality.  

3. Understand where your career fits with your overall priorities in life. Ask yourself, “Do I work to live, or do I live to work? This answer may shift as you advance further along in your career and as you age. This is an important self-reflection, not to be taken lightly.  While there are many who can easily identify their passion, realities such as family obligations, illness, children’s education, and unexpected expenses can delay a plan to pursue them.  Additionally, if pursuing your next career leads you to an industry that is suffering or an expertise that is becoming obsolete, it is best to be open to seeing it and exploring adjacent spaces where you can use your talents in a role where there will be a future demand.

While most of us are at home, working and trying to stay safe, this is an ideal time for self-reflection.  Regardless of your stage of career, if you are feeling the need to pivot in the future, it is never too early to create a plan.  You have a finite number of years to work and accumulate wealth. Your prime earning years will likely be between the average ages of 35 to 55.  Depending on the many factors that can influence this average, you may or may not be in a position to act on this short-term; however, having a plan to work towards can be empowering.  Exploring your options now will provide you with future opportunities to expand your skills, know who to seek out for future support and time to get those around you on board with your plan

We will likely be working from home and having the time for contemplation about our careers for many more months ahead.  Use this time wisely and take these steps for creating your vision.  Then the next time you are asked “What is your vision for the next three to five years?,” you can comfortably respond with, “I have a vision and a plan for getting there.”

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Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work.  Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

© Copyright 2020 by Eileen Springer and Christine A. Alvarez

What Kind of Relationships Are You In?

This is third in a series of articles for consideration when thinking about yournextnext™. The content is based on the Springer-Alvarez talent development model for Employees and Employers.

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Thinking about leaving your job?  Before leaving, you may consider what you will miss most.  For one person I knew, it was the people. Their work colleagues had become like family, and not being able to see them every day was a deep personal loss. Employees often place high value on their work relationships; not only enhancing the quality of their work, but enhancing their quality of life. This is also important to employers because valued relationships at work lead to employee loyalty, employee engagement, and, employee retention.

The benefits of good working relationships can be important factors in your career success, your job satisfaction, and your own self-esteem. It can be especially beneficial if you have a great boss who coaches and guides you and supports your advancement. Relationships that help you grow and hone your career are precious and should be nurtured.

What do you need to look for when assessing your work relationships? Strong working relationships typically have four factors in common: trust, empathy, respect, and accessibility.

All strong relationships are built on a foundation of trust. It takes time to build trust, and like personal relationships, the best working relationships are often built on trust centered around some common goals. Shared experiences, communication, and respect for differences, typically lead to a trusting relationship over time. Trusting each other with sensitive information and understanding how to best support one another is often tested over a period of time before trust can be solidified. Mutual trust leads to loyalty, which is why you will often see senior executive teams bring along the same trusted colleague from job to job.

Being empathetic with your colleagues has never been more important than now. During this pandemic, employees have faced a variety of challenges – illness, unemployment, childcare issues and uncertainties that affect each individual in different ways. In these difficult times, demonstrating empathy has been key to maintaining strong relationships. When the murder of George Floyd hit the airwaves, some businesses and corporate leaders immediately stepped up to make statements in support of social justice and police reform, and to educate employees on topics related to racial bias. There were leaders who emerged with support and empathy and others who remained silent. There has never been a more important time for leaders to make an impact by displaying empathy.

When you spend 40+ hours each week with the same people, you share a lot of experiences and often grow professionally together. We would not necessarily choose our co-workers, and often we do not have much in common with them other than work. We may be of different generations, race, gender or religion. We may not even share the same values outside of work, yet you often hear of co-workers who appear to be very different from each other describe their relationship with high regard. This is the result of having established respect for one another. Without respect for the person you work with, the lower the chances of either of you achieving success at work.    

Strong relationships take time to develop. Like any friendship, work relationships take time to build and need to be nurtured over a period of time. Being accessible during the difficult times and the celebratory times are both important. Frequent connection and consistent receptiveness by both parties signal a commitment to the relationship. Knowing that your “go to” person is always accessible to you is one of the most important qualities of a strong work relationship.

Employee turnover is highest in most companies within the first two years of employment. If employees have been unable to establish relationships with these four factors early in their tenure, they are a much higher retention risk. The risk of turnover typically declines with each year of tenure after two years, and declines significantly after five years. There are many more contributing factors to employee turnover, but it is much easier to retain employees who feel like the people they work with are “like family.”

There is research about successful marriages, and one thing the researchers found is that successful marriages have a positive interaction five times more often than a negative one. Similarly, when interactions with coworkers are more positive than negative, relationships will deepen and become stronger. Like a strong marriage, strong work relationships lead to dedication and cohesiveness during the highs and the lows. There is trust that they have your back, there is empathy when you are experiencing pain, there is respect for your perseverance and results, and they are always there for you and you in-turn are there for them.  

When considering whether you should stay or go, think about the value of the relationships you have at work. Do you have work relationships that are built on a foundation of trust, empathy, respect and accessibility?  

If your answer to this question is “no”, then it’s a pretty good bet that it’s time to go…….

#executivecoaching #careerdevelopment #remoteleadership #careerpivot

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Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work. Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development, and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

© Copyright 2020 by Eileen Springer and Christine A. Alvarez

Career Wanderlust or Career Pivot?

This is a second in a series of articles for consideration when thinking about yournextnext™. The content is based on the Springer-Alvarez talent development model for Employees and Employers.

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How do you know when it’s time to make a career move? What questions or thoughts are coming up for you?  I am worth more money.  Can I get more challenging assignments? I deserve a promotion. These are all the types of feelings that will begin to dominate your thoughts and signal that it is time to think about a move.  Ideally, identifying career wanderlust early is helpful, but if you wait and hold these thoughts too long, you may start to feel dissatisfied and discontented. This can impact not only performance but your well-being.

As coaches, we often see clients who want to make a career change, but are having difficulty deciding what the change could look like and when they should take action.  Rarely is it clear at the start of a coaching engagement if the client is simply feeling stuck in their organization or current role versus wanting to pivot to a different type of career.  Pivoting to a new career can mean moving to a new functional area, a new industry, a new organization, becoming a manager or a host of other changes that significantly change the nature of one’s career. So when determining if and when to make a pivot, it is important to give yourself time and space to really think. And we mean really think. What are your goals? What is your career strategy?

Is this Career Wanderlust? Or do you really need to make a Career Pivot? Wanderlust is just that; in those moments when work is dissatisfying or stressful, thinking about another position is tempting. This is the time when having a thought partner that you can trust is critical.  Someone who can help you identify the truth.  Is the change you desire influenced by short-term factors in your role or are there bigger issues of dissatisfaction? 

This is an important distinction; wanderlust represents those moments of visualizing that the grass is greener elsewhere. Deciding to pivot, is when you realize it is time to move and the decision is supported by multiple factors. And when it comes time to pivot, it is important to have a career strategy. 

How do you create a strategy if you don’t have one? Most of us by mid-career know what we excel at, what we like, and where we get the most acknowledgement and praise; but do we look at these pieces as part of a bigger picture? 

Creating a strategy for your career will help guide you toward a pivot. Strategy in its simplest form is creating a plan and action steps; however, to create a plan you first need to understand what you have, where you would like to go, and what is needed to get there. Whether seeking a new company, title, position or something completely different, you will need to develop a vision for the future that matches your desires.

Now is the time to fully understand your abilities and skills, what you want more of, what you want less of, and where you want to stretch.  This self-knowledge is key to helping you find the right pivot direction. To quote the famous line from Hamlet, “To thine own self be true”. You have to know yourself and stay true to what brings you satisfaction and joy. Ask yourself where do your talents shine, and where do you thrive?

When facing a career pivot, there are several factors to consider.  First, consider how your leadership skills have developed and which ones distinguish you. Your decision-making ability, your leadership presence, your ability to manage conflict, your work ethic, how you influence others and many more, will manifest in good times and challenging times during your career. Consider which ones you have mastered and which are still lacking.

Second, understand your work style preferences, your strengths and weakness. There are assessments that can help you better understand your preferences, work style, thinking style, and how your strengths match career options.  A career or executive coach typically administers these assessments and can help you understand how to interpret the results.  

Third, look carefully in your own backyard. Can you create or redefine your career within your current role and / or organization? Do you have a manager that is supportive of your growth and development? Being willing to have this conversation with your boss, mentors or other leaders with influence within your organization should not be overlooked.  

So, the next time you envy your colleague who left the organization, or feel tempted to leave your job, consider whether you have wanderlust or if it’s truly time for a career pivot.  Take your time to self-reflect and enlist others to help you assess the important factors in any career decision.  Most importantly, remember, this is not a sprint to the next position, this is your marathon - this is your career. 

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Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work.  Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

© Copyright 2020 by Eileen Springer and Christine A. Alvarez

The New World of Work - Requiring MORE From You

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Flashback to 2010 when working from home sounded luxurious. You are in your pajamas, you come and go as you please, you step away from your computer every hour—this sounded like the utopia of work-life balance. This was the vision of the millennial promised land—happy productive workers in different time zones.  

And then came COVID. Such a cruel and unexpected twist for individuals and businesses. Suddenly office workers are all working from home. Children are learning from home. Front-line workers in grocery stores, hospitals, and public transportation are putting their lives at risk each day. Overnight, the world of work changed.

There is one thing that all workers are experiencing right now: in this new world of work, more is being required of you. Whether you are an office worker Zooming at home all day, or a front-line healthcare worker risking your health, you are feeling the burden of uncertainty. This uncertainty is permeating the workforce. It is changing the way we communicate with our peers and our customers.  It is changing the definition of work-life balance. It is changing the way we use technology. It is even changing the nature of many jobs. That 1990s vision of utopia simply doesn’t apply to our current circumstances.  

What does our current situation have to offer as we think about the new world of work?  What is next?  What is YOUR NEXT-NEXT? We already know that it’s unlikely to look anything like what you planned six months ago.  

Currently your remote workplace has no boundaries. To demonstrate productivity to your management and peers, you are likely to respond immediately and at all hours. Your work environment is now the place where you live, prepare meals, sleep, shower, spend time with your family, your dog, etc. day in and day out.

This world of sameness, often referred to as Groundhog Day or Blursday, is here to stay. While companies will eventually figure out which jobs can remain remote and which ones will return to an office, the world of a distributed workforce is here to stay. Your job and how you do it will be forever changed.

All of this change and uncertainty can cause stress, not only from living in a world with a pandemic, but because you may be feeling the need to be productive --- ALL.THE.TIME.

By now you are probably asking yourself what steps you can you take to stay sane and be successful in this new world of work. We have found that taking deliberate action in three areas will support you in making the mind shift required for the new world of work.

1) Manage Yourself 2) Redefine Productivity 3) Own Your Career

Manage Yourself 
Set boundaries. To the extent possible, decide on some non-negotiables.  Determine times when you are on and when you are off.  Be deliberate about when you can and cannot be interrupted.  Schedule time to be with loved ones, to think, to write, to return calls/emails, to Zoom, and to focus on self-care.  This is necessary, for yourself, your mental health, and for those you love.  

We are already seeing the rise of No Meeting Days, virtual Happy Hours, and designated time off with no online activity. In our new world of work, managers and employees alike are sorting out how to let their needs be known and acknowledge that everyone is sorting out the meaning of blended work/home life. Executives and professionals are making progress in understanding the importance of boundaries.  It is now a necessity in retaining strong talent, keeping teams engaged and motivated, and building one’s own reputation as a good leader.  

Redefine Productivity
As coaches, we have heard a common theme from clients the past few months – a sentiment that they believe they should be more productive while working from home. They do not understand why it’s so hard to focus, to find the time to complete projects and why are they so exhausted all the time.

Remote working sets the stage for multitasking because those lines between work and personal lives has become blurred. While multitasking in small amounts is not a bad thing, constantly diverting your attention from topic to topic or from project to project hampers productivity.  It is disruptive to focus, creativity, and strategic thought. Neuroscientists confirm that instead of saving time, we become less efficient and drained of energy when we constantly multitask.  

To set yourself up for success, it’s time to redefine productivity.  It requires discipline and acceptance of the fact that too much multitasking will work against you.  Deliberate actions to create a dedicated space where you will work and only do work, a schedule for each work day that includes free time and time set aside for project work, and an agreement with your family and coworkers around boundaries are all essential to success.  

Own Your Career
It is very easy to get into a deep rhythm of work, home, work, home; but remember, you have a career and a profession that requires constant nurturing. It is important that you regularly take time to assess your skill development and career. Stay connected.  Keep in touch with your network.  A phone or video call can be as intimate as an in-person meeting—with fewer distractions.  Stay current with industry practices by joining online communities, participating in webinars, e-learning, and blogging.  Follow industry leaders on social media. Be deliberate about who you network with, both internal and external to your organization. Take advantage of this time to develop new mentors and even consider becoming a mentor to others.  

Yes, this truly is the new world of work. Yes, it is uncomfortable. Yes, you now have more responsibility for yourself. There is no clear roadmap and no clear timeline; however, understanding that work now requires more from you is your first step to discovering YOUR NEXT-NEXT.

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Springer Alvarez is a team of executive coaches working with companies and professionals who are navigating the new world of work.  Their work includes insights into current trends in talent management, leadership development and preparing for a future of work that is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees.

© Copyright 2020 by Eileen Springer and Christine A. Alvarez

GOOD BOSSES

I have had, over the course of my corporate career, a multitude of bosses. Some I have worked with for a long time and others have passed through my career life rather quickly. But I am lucky: most of my bosses were those whom I am grateful and honored to have worked with and for. Then there were the few who were not so great.

The stories of bad bosses can go on forever with each story sounding more unbelievable than the next. And these bad bosses do exist. But as much as we learn from bad bosses what NOT to do, it is from the good bosses that we learn what to do and, more importantly, to practice good leadership and business skills on a daily basis.

But spotting a not-so-great boss – that is much harder. I was always taught that it is my job to make sure I make my boss look good, keep him informed so there are never any surprises. Having this attitude has helped me build trust and strong relationships with bosses. Also, you need to support your boss even when you disagree with their opinion. Being supportive and collaborative for the greater good are important qualities bosses look for in their employees.

Nothing beats a great boss. They inspire, lead, challenge, and cover your back. How do you identify great bosses? This is a difficult task. It can be a gut feeling on your part, recommendations from those you trust, or you can work hard to prove yourself and then earn their trust, which in turn leads you to begin trusting them. Great relationships take time to build. They require accountability, dependability, and trust. A great boss will almost always have a great team. 

One of my favorite stories was from a boss who was a difficult taskmaster. It was early in my career, and while there were some challenging moments, the best piece of advice this boss gave involved making decisions that were hard to call. My boss said, “Always go with your gut because even if you are wrong you will still be true to yourself.” That thought has resonated with me over the many years as I climbed the corporate ladder. It taught me two lessons:

1. Do your homework as best you can when a decision is required. Because there will come a point when the rationale/facts seem equal on both sides, and it is imperative to make a judgment call;

2. By practicing this, it helped me to develop strong and keen instincts to be able to make good judgment calls on the fly when situations demanded. 

Practice of any skills makes you better, pure and simple. Ask any musician or dancer. When they perform, it is with ease, but that ease is the result of hours of practice. In the workplace, you practice different skills as the situation and business demands, listening to a point-of-view you may disagree with, listening to listen rather than just preparing a response, keeping a positive attitude in a tough situation, or simply being grateful and kind to everyone. 

On another occasion, I had a wonderfully smart, strategic boss, and no matter what problem I brought them, they always saw something I did not see. It got to be a bit of a game with me: bring them a problem, figure out my own solve, and then see how close I came to how they saw things. This helped me develop perspective on looking at situations from every possible angle. And those times when we both saw the same thing made me feel that I was growing and learning. This experience made me realize, “I don’t know what I don’t know.” It is an odd phrase, but it means there are blind spots you may never be able to see. So tread thoughtfully, and think as completely as you can. 

In addition, the more I manage my boss, the stronger the relationship. And by manage, I mean: how do they like to receive information? Email? Weekly meetings? Are they more data-driven? Do I need more analytical information to help them understand what is happening with the business, or are they more creative? Do they need to hear concepts and see things to better understand business needs? Knowing the forms of communication your boss prefer helps you understand them and in turn they better understand you.

Identifying the not-so-great bosses? Well, if someone constantly reschedules an appointment for an interview with me, this makes me wonder: does this person have no respect for my time? Or is their schedule – and perhaps the company – so chaotic that it could be a tough place to work or even a tougher person to work for? Granted, some people are truly busy, and schedules get pushed around constantly, but if an important position is open, it is the responsibility of the boss to get a person hired. They have to make the time.

When meeting with future bosses, look at how they handle themselves in the meeting. What do they say about their teams? Can you find out what their teams say about them? Are they giving you complete attention? Do you have a good feeling about them?

Everyone will have good bosses and bad bosses, but the goal should be to have more good bosses than bad, because that is where the learning and the practice occur.

© Copyright 2017 by Christine A. Alvarez

Resilience

“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her”

-David Brinkley

Top 5 Workplace Lessons to Live By

• Education: Anything makes you smarter than you were before

• Don't Take It Personally: Work really is a commerce exchange of service and money

• Consistency: Build your reputation by doing great work always, keeping a good attitude always

• Trust Your Gut: Even if you are wrong, you will still be true to yourself

• Keep your sense of humor: It lightens the dark

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© COPYRIGHT 2018 BY MOTIVATING-FACTORS COACHING