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Your #Career : 7 Reasons Why Recruiters Aren’t Calling You…Even If you Don’t Want another Job, #Recruiter Relationships are Helpful. You get Market News, #Compensation Guidelines, & the Flattery that Comes with Being Pursued.

August 8, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Recruiter Calls are a Sign That you are Marketable & Visible. You Want to Get Recruiter Calls. If you Aren’t, Which of the 7 Mistakes are you Guilty Of?

You have probably heard this lucky scenario: a gainfully employed professional is busily doing his/her job when he/she is contacted by a recruiter hiring for a great opportunity. Sometimes this results in a hire – just like that, a new job without all the job search effort. At the very least, the professional hears market news, gets a real-time snapshot of his/her market value, and gets a confidence boost that a recruiter would think to call. Has this happened to you? Are recruiters calling you? If you’re not getting these opportunistic calls, here are seven possible reasons:

You are invisible online.

So much of candidate research is done online using social media, particularly LinkedIn. In my recruiting activity, I searched LinkedIn using keywords reflecting target skills, companies or types of experience. Would your profile show up if a recruiter were searching? Does your online profile comprehensively describe your skills and experience? Don’t assume that a well-written resume is enough because you may not get approached and even have a chance to send a resume.

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You are inactive online.

Sometimes I would hear about a candidate, but not much besides a name, and I would check LinkedIn for more detail…only to find a blank profile with one connection. Not only do I have no information to move forward, but I don’t have any way to contact you even if I wanted to – the fact that you have few connections means you’re not active, and you probably wouldn’t respond to my message. Some recruiters may even take your inactivity as a sign that you’re not up to date on social media and therefore not up to date in general.
Your role doesn’t correspond to obvious keywords.

It’s true that some candidates are easier to target passively than others. If your role uses a specific skill set (e.g., programming in a certain language) or can be described very specifically (e.g., fundraising) then keywords will more easily point to you. If your role is in general management or strategy or something more generic, then it’s harder to get swept up in a keyword search. However, you can increase your odds by putting the keywords that are relevant. Your title may be a generic one (e.g., Marketing Manager) but the description of your role can include specific types of marketing (e.g., digital/online, direct mail, customer segmentation) that are searchable.

Your current employer isn’t branded, leading or trending.

Another popular search item is company names. If you work for a household name, a market leader or the hot start-up covered by lots of media, then you have an advantage because a recruiter will search on those companies and find you in the process. But even if you work for a small mom and pop, you can improve your chances by including brand names where you can. Perhaps your clients are Fortune 500 companies and you can mention a few sample names. Perhaps your company routinely beats out a brand name and you can include a mention of this when you describe your employer. Your alma mater or previous employers may also be brand names, which is another reason why a comprehensive, detailed profile is critical.

You’re not in the public domain.

Beyond social media, recruiters also search more broadly – conferences, trade publications, professional associations. If you have appeared on a conference panel, posted a guest blog or opinion letter for your industry rag, or a current member of your professional group, then your name is more likely to surface in the places recruiters typically research. The more you’re out there, the more likely you’ll be found.

You don’t come recommended.

The most relied-upon source of candidates for recruiters is word-of-mouth. In all of my searches, but especially my executive-level searches, hearing your name from other executives guarantees that you’ll hear from me. Make your name the one that your network remembers. First of all, you need to know enough people. Secondly, they need know what you do. Finally, you need to keep in touch so you stay front-of-mind if a recruiter calls them.

You didn’t respond.

Maybe you are great about managing your online profile, your public persona and your network, and recruiters do call you…but you don’t respond. Did you set your LinkedIn profile to deliver messages? Have you updated your email address on all social profiles to an address you actually check? If you get a call, do you return it in a timely fashion? Even if you aren’t looking and are too busy to bother, missing a phone call now may mean you won’t be contacted again.

Even if you don’t want another job, recruiter relationships are helpful. You get market news, compensation guidelines, and the flattery that comes with being pursued. Recruiter calls are also a sign that you are marketable and visible. You want to get recruiter calls. If you aren’t, which of the seven mistakes are you guilty of?

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart® career coaching. She has worked with executives from American Express, Citigroup, Condé Nast, Gilt, Goldman Sachs, Google, McKinsey, and other leading firms. She’s also a stand-up comic, so she’s not your typical coach. Connect with Caroline on Google+.

Forbes.com | August 1, 2015 | Caroline Ceniza-Levine

Your #Career : This #Networking Secret Is So Crazy Obvious That Most People Look Right Past It…There’s Always a Focus on Looking Upward in our Careers, The #Promotion, the #Raise, the Bigger Desk. That’s Why we #Network with People Who are Higher Up On the Ladder Than we Are.

August 7, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The Idea of Networking with your Peers—a.k.a., “Horizontal Networking”—isn’t a New One, but When I Started Discussing it with Friends, I was Surprised by How Few of them Actually Did It. Thus, I decided to do an experiment: I’d spend one week only networking with peers, who I defined as people who were within one or two years of my age and at the same level of seniority.

There’s always a focus on looking upward in our careers—the promotion, the raise, the bigger desk. That’s why we network with people who are higher up on the ladder than we are.

And while that’s (obviously) good, I recently discovered that there’s great value in looking to the people next to us as well.

The idea of networking with your peers—a.k.a., “horizontal networking”—isn’t a new one, but when I started discussing it with friends, I was surprised by how few of them actually did it. Thus, I decided to do an experiment: I’d spend one week only networking with peers, who I defined as people who were within one or two years of my age and at the same level of seniority.

Related: 3 Ways To Build Networking Into Your Daily Routine

Sure, someone your own age might not be able to offer the same flashy perks as an important older contact (or even treat you to a coffee), but that doesn’t mean they don’t come with other big benefits.

1. They Can Give You Crucial Information

One of my friends was considering a job offer from a particular media company, until she talked to several peers who had worked there—and quit because the environment was so cutthroat. These people gave her insights that upper-level employees she’d met with hadn’t, simply because of their position on the ground floor. Unsurprisingly, she ended up taking another job.
The great thing about having networking contacts on the same level as you is that they can give you valuable information that someone older or more experienced might not have a handle on anymore. During my peer networking week, I learned all kinds of insider information about the companies people worked at, the executives they worked for, and the opportunities that were coming down the pike.

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2. They Get Where You’re Coming From

Humble brag: I have mentors of all ages. It’s awesome. However, what I’ve found over time, is that there are some things my older, more experienced mentors don’t understand about the struggles I’m currently facing.

I work in media, and it’s obvious that the industry’s completely different now than it was 20, or even five, years ago. As weird as it may be, when it comes to SEO or promoting content via social media, it’s much easier for someone at my level to relate than it is for a distinguished, prize-winning journalist. While I definitely look up to my more experienced mentors, I’m glad I also have the more junior ones to turn to.

Related: What Millenials Really Need (Hint: It’s Not Facebook)

3. They Keep You Realistic

An old adage says you can’t compare your chapter one with someone else’s chapter 20. It’s intimidating—and unreasonable—to look at a person who’s a senior executive at a company (and 30 years older than you) and ask, “Why am I not there yet?”

Talking to people your own age gives you more realistic expectations of where you are and where you should be. During my week of peer networking, I felt inspired—and also relieved—seeing where people my age wanted to go. Hey, I’m doing a couple of things right, and that’s good to know!

4. They Will Be In Power Down The Line

And the most obvious reason you should network with your peers: They’re going to be in charge one day. Not all of them (unless you have the most kick-ass network ever), but enough that it’s worth getting to know them now. After all, it’s easier to get “ins” with people before they become big and important. Think of them as your own personal soon-to-be-famous celebrities—you want to be the person who knew them before they won an Oscar.

Related: What To Do When Your Co-Worker Becomes The Boss (Or You Do)

If I learned anything from my week of horizontal networking, it’s that everyone has something to bring to the table. So sit back, relax, and be open to people with fewer LinkedIn accomplishments than you.
This article was originally published on The Daily Muse.

Lily Herman is a writer, editor, and social media manager, as well as co-founder of The Prospect, the world’s largest student-run college access organization. You can follow Lily on Twitter.

The Muse | August 4, 2015 | The Muse Contributor

#Leadership : How To Make Your Company’s Culture of Innovation More Than Just A Nice Idea…In the #Workplace, Encouraging Creative Problem-solving is far easier in theory. By Taking the Needed Steps to Alleviate any Overpowering Fear of Failure, You can Steer your Team Onto the Right Path.

August 7, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Here’s what I Did to Turn our Office Culture Around & Encourage Employees to Share their Ideas Without Worrying about Rejection. – Manpreet Singh, Founder and President of TalkLocal

As a startup founder & investor, it’s not enough for me to merely value innovation and creativity: I must also manage the hazards associated with new ideas. After all, employees who routinely bring novel ideas to their colleagues are likely to experience more rejection, failure and even embarrassment than others in their career. The question is, how do you encourage your team TISI NaN% to innovate despite the risks?

Ultimately, I’ve learned that my personal values alone can’t create a robust culture of innovation. For example, at my company, a social media editor recently started noticing a persistently dismissive attitude coming from certain quarters regarding her collaborative projects. In one extreme case, she was mortified when a project (a stylized promotional video) was scrapped over what boiled down to the employee’s editing choices. Team members lambasted the video, getting it pulled without offering constructive criticism beforehand.

Imagine if that were our response to every lost sales lead or dip in quarterly performance: it would be both paralyzing and counter-productive.

In the workplace, encouraging creative problem-solving is far easier in theory. By taking the needed steps to alleviate any overpowering fear of failure, you can steer your team onto the right path. Here’s what I did to turn our office culture around and encourage employees to share their ideas without worrying about rejection.

Lead by Consensus: Put Feedback on the Meeting Agenda

My team used to email one another to get feedback. Besides being inefficient, emails offered an easy out for those who preferred to avoid confrontations. Ironically, this silence only increases the risk of failure and can still hurt feelings. To nip this communication method in the bud, we’ve placed all projects on the weekly meeting agenda to mandate those uncomfortable conversations. There are now face-to-face discussions about each project, which makes the office a safe space for critical engagement with one another. This in turn also produces shared clarity on project design and purpose while generating ideas for improvement and greater results. And with more engagement comes more shared responsibility for both successes and failures.

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Have the Last Word

Another barrier to direct critical feedback among team members was my own presence. I’m less risk-averse than most, yet my very vocal feedback made some team members too reliant upon me to catch every possible pitfall. Given my position and involvement, it was easy for team members to bring their concerns to management rather than have that possibly awkward dialogue with the project leads themselves. Now, my silence during meetings opens the door for the voices of other team members. Of course, I maintain the last word at every step of the process, but the emphasis is on last – and that makes all of the difference.

Make the Non-Starter a Conversation Starter

Most off-the-wall ideas never get implemented, so giving a constructive response to unviable suggestions early on can help your team members come up with more effective plans in the future (as opposed to shutting down their creative thinking). It’s critical that everyone has an evolving understanding of company goals, priorities and resources. At TalkLocal, we now deliver more frequent and detailed reports on our analytics, resource allocation, and where improvement is most needed. As a result, team members feel more empowered to offer informed feedback, and rather than falling silent, they are ushered towards a new way of critical thinking that allows them to produce more sophisticated and viable ideas over time.

Highlight the Anonymous Idea Box

As employees grew more seasoned, I saw fewer of those enthusiastic but naive suggestions, which was a problem in and of itself. In order to encourage new employees to not fall into a similar trap, we decided to dust off our suggestion box and encourage the team to bring up and discuss any anonymously submitted ideas. Through this process, we’re bringing new employees into our growing culture of innovation, while still helping them shape their thinking as they grow with the company.

Today, our social media editor remains creative, recently reducing our e-marketing costs while increasing click rates through better targeting, proving that one success is worth a dozen failures. Furthermore, not a day goes by that a team member doesn’t propose a way to change the company for the better — which makes us better regardless of whether the idea is implemented or not. As the inherent value of an innovation-powered workplace continues to energize and inspire our team, I’m confident that our tangible value will continue to grow as well.

Manpreet Singh is Founder and President of TalkLocal, a home services marketplace that turns online service requests into a live conversation with the right available business in minutes.

Forbes.com | August 7, 2015 | Young Entrepreneur Council

#Leadership : How to “Ripple” Your Leadership…As a #Leader Tasked with Seizing New Ground & Improving an Organization’s #Performance, Do you Start with the Systems, the People, or Yourself? Get Out the Mirror!

August 7, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Leaders Cannot be Effective If they Don’t Begin by Understanding their Own Values, Visioning their Personal Futures, & Recognizing their Unique Strengths & Weaknesses.

As a leader tasked with seizing new ground and improving an organization’s performance, do you start with the systems, the people, or yourself? Get out the mirror!

According to leadership expert, Chris Hutchinson, leaders cannot be effective if they don’t begin by understanding their own values, visioning their personal futures, and recognizing their unique strengths and weaknesses.

In his new book, Ripple: A Field Manual for Leadership That Works, Hutchinson demonstrates that true leadership is like skipping stones in a pond. With an engaging conversational tone and fun, whiteboard-style sketches, he teaches that the secret to leadership is that the power isn’t in the stone. It’s in the ripples. And stone-throwers simply can’t set robust, long-lasting ripples in motion if they’re not starting from a place of self-alignment.

To get into alignment Hutchinson recommends three steps.

Decide What Matters Most

Leaders who consciously and explicitly state their own values lead from a place of clarity and empathy. On the other hand, leaders who direct without such self-awareness tend to be defensive and oblivious to others’ motivations and values.

To reveal what matters most to you, write down your top ten values. Now underline the top three. Finally, write out your understanding of how you are living (or not) those three values, including in your role as organizational leader. Adjust your course as necessary.

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Chart Your Own Course

According to Hutchinson, the clarity of the end goal increases the clarity of the actions needed to achieve it. And nowhere is that more true than for leaders’ personal visions for their own lives.

In his workshops, Hutchinson takes participants through a guided visualization. He tells them to close their eyes and picture their own memorial services three years from now. Then he asks: Who’s attending the service? What do you want those people to remember and say about you? What do you want those people to carry on as your legacy?

Now ask yourself: How do I get from my reality of today to my hoped-for future? Start taking daily steps to get there.

Know Where You’re Awesome

Are you often surprised or disappointed when others in your organization can’t do (or see) the things you do? This is a sign that you don’t know your own strengths, says Hutchinson. “When people unthinkingly see the abilities that come easily to them as not important or valuable, they are not recognizing—or even discrediting— their own strengths,” he writes.

On the other hand, he adds, any strength overdone or used without thought can become a weakness. In other words, more is not always better.

To discover your sweet spot, Hutchinson advises making a list of things you find easy and fun. Circle or add anything that people often compliment you on. Validate by asking someone you trust to look at this list of strengths to see if they agree. Of course, third-party assessments such as DISC, Strengths Finder, and Workplace Motivators can also help you see and understand where you’re awesome.

Truly effective organizational leadership starts with self-leadership, emphasizes Hutchinson. Next comes leadership of people and last, systems. While Ripple: A Field Manual for Leadership That Workscovers all three, it makes a strong case for working on yourself first to make the biggest impact on your organization.

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Kevin Kruse is the creator of the Leading for Employee Engagement eLearning program for managers and author of the bestselling book, Employee Engagement 2.0.

Forbes.com | August 7, 2015 | Kevin Kruse

#Leadership : You Have 15 Minutes To Respond To A Crisis: A Checklist of Do’s & Don’ts…When a Crisis Hits, How you Respond in the First 15 Minutes can Make or Break your Organization – & your Reputation.

August 6, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

If you Can Do the First 15 Minutes of a Crisis Right, you Are on Your Way to Finding Solutions, Fixing the Problems, & Repairing & Recovering From the Damage. Do them Wrong, & you will be Dealing with Damage Control not Only for the Crisis, but for Your Early Mistakes, for a Long, Long Time to Come.

While we all know that crisis management training is critical for leaders and boards today, much of it still tends to be shopworn, focusing on the lessons of yesterday. The new climate of ultra urgency is rarely emphasized sufficiently.

Yet I have found that in those first 15 minutes of a crisis your response must be exactly the right message, delivered in exactly the right words, to the right audiences, in just the right way – or you will have to deal with your mistakes for days, weeks, even months to come.

Immediate response and indelible accountability – that’s a tall order for any leader.

Yesterday We Had The Luxury of Time

It used to be standard to have until the end of day to get back to a press or customer inquiry about most crises. Even if the call was from a television network or local station, you could put off any interview until mid-afternoon. Then you might be able to respond by phone, or in a well-choreographed interview, in front of a backdrop of your choosing, to be aired on the nightly news.

Even in the iconic Tylenol crisis case – still considered by corporate execs as a best practice in crisis management – it took the company three days to decide to remove all bottles of Tylenol from store shelves, after several people were killed by taking cyanide-laced capsules from unsealed bottles. And that was deemed fast work.

Today Immediacy Is Key

When news is transmitted around the globe in a nanosecond over social media, featuring real-time pictures and videos, there is little to no time to position, posture, or even understand the facts before you are pressed to make a statement.

Because, if you do not speak for yourself quickly, or if you do so poorly, someone else – antagonist, police, government, competitor, or anonymous hater – will speak for you. And in the world of public perception, the first mover has the advantage.

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What Is A Leader To Do?

Clearly the first 15 minutes after you learn of a crisis are just the beginning of what could be a very long haul. Lawyers whisper in one ear, “Say nothing, make no comment until we evaluate all the facts, and our liability.” Crisis managers like me urge swift action, to get out ahead of the problem, or at least keep apace. And at the same time, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Reddit feeds are lighting up second-by-second with photos, interviews, information and misinformation you have never seen before.

The “First 15 Minutes” Crisis Management Checklist

The critical element turns out to be how to fit a day’s worth of activity into 15 minutes.

Following is my list for leaders of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” in the first 15 minutes of any crisis – be it predictable or black swan – from the minute you hear about a problem to the moment you make your first statement. It does not cover the crisis preparedness work you should have already done (that’s another list), nor the entire arc of crisis activities you will be engaged in starting from the 16^th minute until resolution and recovery. But it’s a place for leaders to start when crisis hits:

Crisis Management Checklist

DO:

Resolve to become the trusted voice in this crisis – the person and organization that people turn to for the truth and solutions.
Stop whatever you are doing and calmly, but immediately, turn your full attention to the matter at hand. This may seem obvious, but it is surprising how many leaders cannot disengage from what they were doing when a crisis hits.
Pull the trigger on your crisis plan if you have one (these steps should all be in that plan, of course).
Alert your crisis team (assuming you have already designated one, and if not, your management team) immediately, and assemble them in person or virtually in an hour.
Assess what you must do yourself and what you can delegate in the specific situation. Begin to delegate with urgency.
Immediately designate trusted lieutenants to find out the facts – their first reports to be made in seven minutes.
Designate another trusted lieutenant to connect with law enforcement, or other critical parties involved in the situation.
Monitor in real-time what is being said on social and traditional media – sometimes Twitter tells you more in real-time than any other source. You need to know what is out there already so you can begin to set the record straight.
Try to understand the scope of the issue as you know it and the critical decisions that must be made immediately.
Draft an initial “holding statement” with the help of your head of communications, crisis manager, and/or legal counsel. This is a statement you can issue immediately. It should state what, if anything, you believe you know, with the caveat that these are early impressions that may not be totally correct. Reinforce that you are committed to finding out as much as you can immediately, and that you will stay in touch with your audiences continually, as you know more.
Think through every word: under stress you can say the wrong thing, your words may be misinterpreted, or you can say too little or too much.
Depending upon the magnitude and kind of crisis, issue your holding statement to waiting print and broadcast media, over the wire, by email, and post it on your website, intranet, and social media feeds, etc.
Match your communications to the issue: seek to neither under- nor over-communicate.
Show humanity, compassion, and concern for any human toll – and mean it. Make people your first priority.
Make sure to correct any errors of fact that are already public. Try not to speak personally to the media or hold a press conference immediately. Get some solid facts before you do.
Contact your employees, board, shareholders, and other key audiences at the same time – or just before you communicate to the media – sharing with them your public statements.
If appropriate, video a quick personal statement from the CEO or other leader that is steady, strong, compassionate, and solution-driven. It can go on your intranet, emergency communications system, and even your website.
Resolve to follow up on everything you have promised to do; revise your estimates as you get more knowledge.
Begin the process of triage, discovery, communication, solution, accountability, and recovery.

DON’T

Don’t lie – your first words will be long remembered, as will be your tone and intent. Scrutiny is at a peak in the first moments of a crisis, and your comments may go viral – among your employees, shareholders and regulators, as well as over social media.
Don’t disappear. As tempting as it might be to go underground until the storm passes, your voice, presence, and guidance are needed, especially by your workforce.
Don’t issue a denial until you have all the facts. If you issue a denial and are then proven to be wrong, your credibility is shot for the duration.
Don’t minimize the situation. Things tend to look more contained at the outset of a crisis than they do as it unfolds. Minimizing may feel like the right strategy initially, but it is not. Rather, say “We do not yet know the magnitude of the problem, but are working furiously to find out.”
Do NOT make a joke. You must be serious and respectful as a crisis unfolds. One of the biggest signs of respect you can give someone is to pay attention to their claims, upfront, even if they are later disproved.
Do not say “We are taking the matter seriously,” even though you are. No one believes this reflexive statement. In fact, it has come to mean the exact opposite. Figure out another way to phrase the sentiment.
Don’t repeat the problem or accusation when delivering your statement – make the statement proactive and put it in positive, but not Pollyanna-like language.
Don’t let your fears of liability trump your humanity. Compassion and kindness are critical.
Don’t speculate until you fully understand the situation.
Don’t get drawn into interminable series of internal meetings and think you are making progress when you are not – focus both inwardly and outwardly, simultaneously.

To Sum Up

If you can do the first 15 minutes of a crisis right, you are on your way to finding solutions, fixing the problems, and repairing and recovering from the damage. Do them wrong, and you will be dealing with damage control not only for the crisis, but for your early mistakes, for a long, long time to come.

Leadership & crisis expert Davia Temin, CEO of Temin & Co, helps create, enhance & save reputations at board & executive levels & coaches CEOs & leaders. Twitter: @DaviaTemin

Forbes.com | August 6, 2015 | Davia Temin

#Leadership : People Leave Managers, Not Companies…People say Many Things about #Managers. But There’s One Thing I’m Willing to Bet you Never Hear. You Never Hear People say #Management is an Easy Job.

August 4, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

“Here’s Something they’ll probably Never Teach you in Business School,” “The Single Biggest Decision you Make in your Job— bigger than all the rest— is Who you Name Manager. When you name the Wrong Person Manager, Nothing Fixes that Bad Decision. Not Compensation, not Benefits— Nothing.” – Gallup CEO Jim Clifton in the summary accompanying his organization’s 2013 “State of the American Workplace” Study

People say Many Things about Managers: 1- He’s too demanding. She’s too intense. 2- He’s a great motivator. Her team really likes working for her. 3- You can count on him. She gets things done. 4- He’s a terrific leader. She’s a real strategic thinker. 5- He doesn’t know what he’s doing. She doesn’t have a clue.

But There’s One Thing I’m Willing to Bet you Never Hear. You Never hear people say Management is an Easy Job.

After I retired from management in 2012, I wanted to step back and gain some perspective on what I’d been doing for the last quarter century. As I began to spend time with different organizations’ management and employee studies, trying to get a broader sense of the common issues managers were grappling with and how they compared with my own experiences, one inescapable truth struck me: Vast numbers of employees are disengaged. By “disengaged,” I mean not emotionally committed to the organizations they work for, and therefore in all likelihood not highly motivated and fully productive.

There are subtle differences in how different studies define “employee engagement,” but the commonalities among the various studies are far more important than the differences. No matter how you slice the data, in the big picture somewhere around 60 or 70 percent of employees are simply not working— say it straight— as hard as they could be. Let’s take some examples. Gallup data shows 30 percent of employees “engaged.” Towers Watson data shows 35 percent “highly engaged.” Dale Carnegie data shows 29 percent “fully engaged.” And these aren’t small studies; the Gallup survey includes more than 350,000 respondents and the Towers Watson survey includes more than 32,000. Gallup goes on to estimate an annual cost in lost U.S. productivity of more than $450 billion. This is a staggering figure. Even if it’s imprecise, it gives a sense of the magnitude of the problem.

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What high-level factors contribute to this epidemic of disengagement? To return to the title of this chapter: “People leave managers, not companies.” In short, the central relationship between manager and employee plays a critical role. Beyond that, other factors also contribute. These include belief in senior leadership, pride in one’s company, and the chronic uncertainty resulting from a steady stream of reorganizations, layoffs and pressure “to do more with less.” But no matter the precise constellation of factors, which vary according to the character and circumstances of an organization, there’s no question that a chronically high level of employee disengagement represents both a failure of management and a fundamental challenge to it: a challenge to do what is needed to keep vast numbers of individuals interested in their work, feeling good about their organizations, and working as productively as they can.

What does this high-level data mean to you as a manager? It means, first and hopefully encouragingly, that if you find the practice of management challenging, you’re not alone. It is challenging and you have a great deal of company. If 60 to 70 percent of employees are working at less than full capacity, an awful lot of you in management are dealing with motivation problems. It also means there’s a huge opportunity: an opportunity to better engage employees and improve productivity for your department and organization. To use simple numbers, if you manage ten employees and six of them are to some extent disengaged, and you can reach on average two of them to better engage and motivate them, those are immediately very significant productivity gains you’ll achieve.

Of course the challenge lies in reaching those two employees, understanding why they feel the way they do, and improving their mindsets. We’ll dissect these challenges and provide new tools to approach the old task of management in the pages ahead.

“Here’s something they’ll probably never teach you in business school,” wrote Gallup CEO Jim Clifton in the summary accompanying his organization’s 2013 “State of the American Workplace” employee engagement study. “The single biggest decision you make in your job— bigger than all the rest— is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits— nothing.”

* * *

The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World is available on many book-selling sites.

Following is an excerpt from my new book The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World, which is being published today by Prentice Hall Press. Publishers Weekly has called the book, “an excellent resource for leaders who don’t fit the mold, and for upper managers who need to fill leadership positions.” This section, from the chapter “People Leave Managers, Not Companies,” examines the fundamental importance and challenges of a manager’s role.

Forbes.com | August 4, 2015 | Victor Lipman

#Leadership : 5 Leadership Fallacies To Dispel… Fallacy #3: “My #Leadership Style Worked Here, So it’ll Probably Work There.”

August 4, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It Never Ceases to Amaze Me the Many Different Definitions of Leadership. Working in executive coaching and leadership development affords me invaluable opportunities to meet with leaders and teams to learn about their challenges, their perspectives, their rationale for decision-making.

There are as many interpretations for what constitutes an a “good leader” as there are ice-cream flavors because the value that leadership creates is so subjective. At the same time, though, we all (well, many) know good leadership when we see it.

So what causes some people to have great definitions of leadership and others not? Probably the same reason for having different opinions, influences, and personal experiences.

To help identify the “good” it’s worthwhile sometimes to understand the “bad,” otherwise how will you know what “good” is? Here are five leadership fallacies to dispel:

1. A good manager makes a good leader.

What defines effectiveness at one level will be the expectation at the next position higher, but not the responsibility. In other words, when our favorite fictitious character Joe or Sally get promoted from, say, a senior director to vice-presidential role, there’s a mental shift required to move from the tactical and operational perspective into one that is more strategic. Yet doing so isn’t easy because he or she has never been required to think strategically before. Mindy Hall, author of Leading With Intention, believes, “we still reward people for their specific expertise and then we attribute their skills to saying ‘Oh, they’ll be a great leader too.’ But just because you got great results as a marketing VP doesn’t mean you’ll get results as the a leader of an organization.”

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2. Effective leadership is unique to the industry.

Quite the opposite. Strong leadership is strong leadership no matter where it exists. Sure, tactics certainly differ according to the field in which you work but the defining principles that wield the pursuit of excellence remain the same: performance, adaptability, leadership. Here’s a quick breakdown of each (more on these elements here):

Performance: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual capacities that compose the individual, such as habits, health (i.e. stress management), focus, self-talk, emotional intelligence, decision-making, communication.
Adaptability: the skill and will to learn and unlearn, presented through self-renewal and self-organization.
Leadership: decision-making, communication, authentic self-expression that instills value in others.

It’s at the crux of these three areas where effectiveness lay:

3. “My leadership style worked here, so it’ll probably work there.”

Don’t be so myopic. The dynamics of personalities involved and the internal and external factors that influencing the circumstance vary from situation to situation. A command and control style, for instance, will work when there is significant pressure (i.e. time) or urgency to get the job done; when a decision as to be made and it has to happen now. However, try to employ dictatorial rule as an everyday leadership style and you’ll soon watch your followers follow somebody else.

4. Only leaders can make decisions.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not the role of leadership to make all the decisions. There just simply isn’t enough time in the day to do so. What their role is, however, is to set the conditions for decision-making to occur. By conditions I’m referring to the left and right boundaries that define employee decision-making space, the process of communication from top down and bottom up, meeting flow, etc…

In the military we had something called critical information requirements (CIRs) that served as a decision-making threshold. Basically, the senior leader would identify the criteria that, if triggered, would warrant a decision to be escalated to his/her level; unless those conditions were met, direct reports were free to make their own decisions based on the common purpose understood by all. Something else this CIRs served allowed was freeing up the leader to focus on the business rather than on your business.

If I could drop an expletive here I would, but we’ll have to settle for its acronym: BS. People don’t manage time they manage their priorities, so when somebody says, “I don’t have time for that” what that person is really saying is, “That’s not important to me right now.” Steve Gilliland, author of Detour, recommends leaders “decide what’s important and never take it for granted. It’s not until you’re about to die do you realize the value of 30 minutes.”

Of course, these are my interpretations of leadership fallacies. Would you agree or disagree with any? Share your comments below.

Jeff is an executive coach, author, and former Navy SEAL.

Forbes.com | Aug 2, 2015 | Jeff Boss

#Leadership: 17 #Podcasts that Will Make you Smarter…Here’s some Prime Listening Material for your Next Commute

August 3, 2015/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

We’ve Collected some of our Favorites that are Perfect for Those of Us Always Eager to Learn Something New, whether it’s about the Economy, History, or Even the Workings of Hollywood.

ira glass marc maron mike birbiglia

“This American Life” host Ira Glass, comedian and “WTF” host Marc Maron, and comedian and “This American Life” contributor Mike Birbiglia.

The massive success of last fall’s “Serial” true crime podcast and this year’s “WTF” podcast interview with President Barack Obama marked a cultural shift in podcasts going from a niche interest to a mainstream form of media.

According to a report this April from the Pew Research Center, one-third of Americans age 12 or older have listened to at least one podcast episode, up from just 9% in 2008.

There are tons of great podcasts on nearly any subject you can think of, but we’ve collected some of our favorites that are perfect for those of us always eager to learn something new, whether it’s about the economy, history, or even the workings of Hollywood.

Here’s some prime listening material for your next commute:

‘This American Life’ provides a deep look into American society.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Ira Glass, host and creator of “This American Life.”

“This American Life” has become a byword for oral storytelling.

Beyond being a place for moving and hilarious stories, “This American Life” does staggering levels of reporting; few outlets made the financial crisis as human and understandable as Ira Glass and the gang.

It lives up to the hype.

‘This American Life’ provides a deep look into American society.

‘Fresh Air’ will give you an intimate look at your favorite writers, celebrities, and journalists.

‘Freakonomics Radio’ will show you surprising connections.

‘Marketplace’ will keep you up to date with the world’s top business news.

‘Planet Money’ will simplify some of the most complex and important economic issues in the world today.

‘Masters in Business’ will give you insight into the brightest minds on Wall Street.

‘WTF’ offers unexpected revelations about success.

‘Invisibilia’ will lead you on a journey to the frontier of psychology.

‘The Tim Ferriss Show’ will help you understand the mechanics of success.

‘Startalk Radio’ will open your mind to the cosmos.

‘The Political Scene’ from the New Yorker will give you some smart takes on the biggest stories in politics.

‘Reply All’ immerses you in the weird world of the internet.

Radiolab’ will help you appreciate how mysterious science is.

‘99% Invisible’ will give you the lowdown on design.

‘Hardcore History’ teaches you the most fascinating stories in history that you never learned in school.

‘StartUp’ chronicles the glorious challenge of founding a company.

‘The Jay And Farhad Show’ gives you insight into tech.

1. Have something to look forward to.

2. Set a bedtime alarm.

3. Chug a glass of water before bed.

4. Start an enjoyable nighttime routine.

Sign up for an early-morning class, like yoga.5. Don’t sleep more than you need to.

6. Register for an early-morning activity.

7. Take on the responsibility of waking up someone else.

Sign up for an early-morning class, like yoga.
5. Don’t sleep more than you need to.