Summer Time is Personal Development Time

People think of summer as a time to leave work early, take vacations, visit the beach and read a good book. Summer is good for all those things. But it is also the perfect time of the year for evaluating your professional life and addressing areas in need of personal development.

Evaluate

The first and most important step is to evaluate where you are versus your career and professional goals. Are you on track? Falling behind? Ahead of your peers? These apply not just to titles and compensation but also experiences and responsibilities. Where to you see yourself in a year? Five years? Are you on track to meet those career goals? If not, identify, as specifically as possible, the gaps and what steps you must take to address the gaps.

Education

Education, whether a college degree, an advanced degree or a professional certification is one of the most common gaps identified during the evaluation process. Young professionals and junior executives are often too busy and put off taking on additional coursework. This is a huge mistake. If it is not done early in the career it is never done. And bosses and more senior executives not only are forgiving when the educational work is taken on by workers early in their careers, they often cut them some “slack” in terms of their day-to-day workload to off-set it. Find a program, register for it and start in September. If too late for September, register for the winter program.

Skills

Everyone has skill gaps. Whether it is technology, writing, public speaking or analytics and financials, evaluate your specific areas of skill deficit. Summer is an excellent time to take classes, do reading or on-line work to fill in those skill deficits. Summer is also a good time to practice your newly enhanced skills at the workplace.

Reading

Professional journals and books abound. Find those that are most directly related to not only where you are today but where you want to be professionally in five to ten years. Read all you can at the professional and technical level. White papers on professional topics are always good to have in your arsenal of knowledge for meetings too. Find out what the movers and shakers who are above you in the organization are reading. Read those books and journal and then read others in addition to those.

Networking

One of the biggest mistakes that employees of corporations and large organizations make is failing to network OUTSIDE of their company or organization. During the summer, make the time to find the top professional organizations in you field and geographic area. Many are less active in the summer but still look for new members. Talk to colleagues and also search on-line. Belonging to one or two top local professional organizations is a smart move by establishing yourself outside of your company or organization in additional to expanding your professional knowledge.

Mentor

Everyone needs a mentor. Whether you are in the mail room or the CEO's office. Find someone inside your company or organization who has more experience and is at least two levels above you (if you are the CEO, you already have mentors). Ideally the personal should work for the same company or organization although they may be in the same field or profession and work elsewhere. Summer is an excellent time to find and establish a mentor relationship. Be candid about your goals and objectives and what you are looking for from your mentor. Experience, candor and “chemistry” are crucial for the relationship to be productive.

Special Projects

Most businesses and organization have too much work and too few people due to vacations during the summer. It is an excellent time to volunteer for additional work outside of your area of expertise. The goal is to gain additional professional experience and exposure to more executives and other contacts. Business planning, new marketing plans or new product launches are all terrific opportunities for meeting these goals. But remember that special projects are almost always in additional to rather than in place or the normal day-to-day responsibilities and workload.

While other co-workers are relaxing on the beach or fishing at the lake, you can more effectively prepare for where you want to be in five years. Effectively use the opportunities provided by the different pace of the workplace during the summer to your professional advantage.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and President of Franks Consulting Group - a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting, leadership coaching and speaking practice. George has over 25 years of experience with businesses of all sizes globally plus non-profits and other organizations. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA) and the International Coach Federation.

He can be contacted at: gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com

Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com

The Formula for Success in Leadership

The best leaders I have met over the years have had several traits in common. Those aspiring to become leaders in business, government or other organizations would be well served to review these and take them to heart.

As quaint as it sounds, there is no substitute for hard work. The most successful leaders I have encountered worked hard at the beginning, middle and ends of their careers. They got in early. They left late. They took on additional responsibilities. They welcomed special assignments and task forces. They did not look for the easy jobs or to pass off the challenging tasks to others. Hard work is the foundation for success in leadership.

There are lots of generalists in all professions. The difference is when the generalists have built up their general knowledge of their profession as a result of being experts in whatever area they were working in at the time. Great leaders learn everything they need to know to do their current job and more. As they move on to the next job they do the same thing. They do not stay put for the most part. They build a portfolio of being expert in many areas within their profession. While it may be possible to “get by” through just knowing enough, the true leaders who are successful learn all they can in each job.

There are many egomaniacs in the world of business, government and other professions. While they may get most of the headlines and other media coverage, they are not the great leaders of our time (or any time). The greatest and most successful leaders are selfless. They approach problems for the best solutions. They do not care who gets the credit. In most cases, they direct the credit and the attention away from themselves and to others. This process serves to make teams and organizations more effective and more successful in turn.

Leaders young and not-so-young need mentors. A mentor is not just someone who can pull the leaders along by way of their coattails. It is someone who listens, provides advice, points out the “landmines” along the way and can tell the bad along with the good. Every great leader has had a mentor. Many have several mentors throughout their professional lives. The mentor a leader has at the beginning of their career may not be the mentor they have at mid-careers or as a successful senior executive or professional. The key is to find someone who one respects and who is willing to take the time to build a mentor relationship.

Everyone makes mistakes and has disappointments. Successful leaders in business, government and the professions accept their shortcomings, learn from their mistakes and move on. Those who dwell on mistakes or are so cautious as to rarely have missteps are unlikely to become great leaders.

The topic of personal balance has been overdone by the media and in professional literature. Most successful people are, at face value, hyper focused on their career goals or their profession. But once this is pealed back, most of them are people with varieties of interests. They take time to exercise and participate in sports. And their families and friends are quite important to them, even if the time they have to spend with them is limited. Those who can “have it all” are rare, but the most successful leaders to find ways to balance their professional lives with their personal interests, their health and fitness plus the role of family and friends.

The model of the successful leader is a dilemma today. Do we look to political leaders? Do we look to CEOs? The industrial titans of the past? The great leaders from military history? By reading biographies of the great people past and present, future and current leaders can gain insights into how they can become better and more successful leaders. Readers see time and again the roles played by hard work, expertise, humility, mentors, resilience from failures and balance.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA) and the International Coach Federation. George can be contacted at: gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com

Franks Consulting Group is on the web at:

http://franksconsultinggroup.com

Is It Time to Look For a New Job?

Whether working for a company or organization for a year or decades, it is always difficult to decide when to move on to another employer. There are certain signs that any individual can look for around the work place. While may of these seem like common sense, others are more subtle and are just an important, if not more so.

Time in the job

Consider how long you have been in the same job with the same title performing the same function. If it is longer than twenty-four months and a new job for the same employer is not pending, then it may be time to look for a new job. Consider changing jobs within a company or organization every eighteen to twenty-four months. Anything longer labels you as a “lifer” in the role.

Promotion

Are others around you in similar roles and organizations getting promoted and you are not. Ask yourself why. If they have similar functions, skills and background and they are getting promoted about you, it is time to move on.

Raise

Even though it is one of the last taboos, raises and bonuses are important indicators of who is valued and who is not. If others are getting raises and bonuses and you are not, it is time to change jobs. If others are getting larger raises or bonuses than you are, then it is time to move on too. Bosses make lots of excuses and reasons for disparity in pay treatment. Do not let these stories persuade you to stay in place. Follow the money as they say.

Ranking

Many organizations now rank employees within departments, divisions or other teams and work groups. If you are not ranked number one or two – then it is time to move on. The money and the promotions will always go to the top people. Being in the middle or the bottom just means you have a job – and only for the present.

Appraisal

If the six month or annual appraisal is anything but glowing, then it is time to move on. Most bosses are even more generous in performance appraisals than they are with raises and bonuses. As such, if the appraisal does not have you walking on water, then you are less than valued in your current role.

Training

Most companies, organizations and businesses have annual training budgets. If you are only getting the minimum or the mandatory training, then it is time to move on. If you are being offered extra training or special executive training, this may be a good sign when balanced with the other points raised here. Similar to ranking, extra and special training is a sign that you are valued and being developed for beyond the current job or role.

Business Trips

While business trips are often less than they are show as in movies and on television, companies and organizations usually only send the best people to meet with customers and executives. Travel is also a sign of value. If others in your department or team are traveling and you are not, ask yourself why. This too may be a sign that it is time to look for a new position.

Recognition

Beyond pay, bonuses, appraisals, travel and training, recognition is important. When was the last time you got a plaque, a certificate, a letter from one of the top leaders in the organization? If the answer is you never have or it was so long ago that you cannot remember, and then it is time to move on. If what you do is valued in your mind but is not recognized and rewarded, it is time for a new job.

Meetings

While not the sign of prestige that they once were, important meetings are an opportunity to shine in front of peers, bosses and executive leaders. Are you included in the important meetings or told not to bother to attend. If you are told to just do you work and others will attend the important meetings then it is time to look beyond your current job.

Development Programs

Most companies and organization have programs for future executives – for the “jet jobs” or “fast tracks”. If you have been with a company less than five years and you have not been asked to participate in one of these you need to know why. And if the answer is that you were not selected for it but others were, then it is time to look elsewhere.

Promotion List

Companies have “bench strength” also call leadership continuity programs. If leader A is gone then B is ready to step into her shoes. If you are not slated to slip into someone’s position by way of a succession plan after at least two years with a company or organization, then it is time to move on. Again, this is something to talk with your boss or supervisor – or her boss or supervisor – about.

The hard reality of work is some people move up the ladder. Other people stay put. And still others are the first to go when there are budget cuts and reorganizations. Take steps to make sure you are always in that first category. That will not always mean staying where you are working currently. But it will mean that you are taking care of NUMBER ONE – and that is the most important thing in any job or occupation.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA) and the International Coach Federation. Franks Consulting Group is on the web at:
http://franksconsultinggroup.com

International Business Success

There is a lot of talk today about being “global”. What does global mean? A person of the world? Every country is as different. So is every locality and city or town. The skills a business person needs to be successful in international business go beyond being global. While not comprehensive, this list based on over a dozen years of international business experience should help.

Travel

For the international business person, travel is a way of life. Long distance air travel can be especially brutal. The best advice is to arrive one day before any important meetings or conferences to adjust to any time difference. In the air, eat, sleep, work and read but do all in moderation. Air travel gluttony is common among international travelers. The on thing you cannot do is exercise on an airplane.

Lodging

Stay where your host, whether a local office or a client recommends. While cost is a consideration, so is safety, convenience to meeting locations and services provided. This is the home away from home so chose it with care.

Meals

Eat in moderation. Business travel is not the time to make up for every diet that one has ever been one. There is the temptation to eat more than usual. On the other had, when with people who live locally, whether colleagues or clients, ask what they recommend when dining together. Apart from allergies, one should be open to eating local cuisine.

Drinking

Some cultures drink more than Americans. Some drink less. And some not at all. The best advice is to drink in moderation or not at all. Similar to eating, international business travel is not the time to beat ones college drinking record. It is not healthy and it is insulting to clients and colleagues.

Dress

Most American business people, even after the business casual trend, still dress much more casually than business people internationally. Find out from local colleagues or even clients what attire is appropriate. If you do not know, dress in traditional business attire (suits for men and for women). This can always be dressed down if appropriate. Dress like you mean business but more importantly, dress appropriately. The same applies to evening dinners and functions outside of business hours.

Meetings

Be at meeting early. Do not leave until the meeting is over. Even if others leave to take calls, do not do so except at scheduled breaks. Eat in moderation if lunch is brought in. Do not drink too much coffee but bottled water is good. Clean up after yourself after the meeting. And do not sit in the meeting with your laptop and read your email. That is rude. Do make sure you bring plenty of business cards. Introduce yourself to everybody. Do not interrupt, raise your voice or swear. If you have other calls, schedule them for the evening when not meeting with the clients or your colleagues.

Recreation

In the evenings it is common to have dinner with clients or colleagues. After dinner is often a time to relax, exercise and catch up on some work before the next day. If staying over a weekend or taking a day off, visit local historical sites, museums, cultural events and also shops and restaurants. Staying in the hotel doing work is not healthy and it does not make one more internationally-minded or cultured.

Communication

Find out how your clients and colleagues prefer to communicate when not face-to-face. E-mail is common today. Conference calls are important too. Video conference calls can be very effective. Snail mail and faxes are less and less common today but are still necessary from time-to-time. Keep all communications clear, crisp and to the point. On international conference calls, listen more than talk. And do not interrupt. Ever. Take notes or minutes and make sure they are distributed within one business day of the call. Never e-mail jokes, gags, anything obscene or off-color. Do not swear or raise your voice on calls or video calls. Listening and patience are valued in most non-US cultures.

Language

While most non-US business people speak 2-4 languages most from the US speak 1 or perhaps 2 and not well. To this end, speak clearly in English. Be patient if asked to repeat or explain. This is especially true on conference calls. It is acceptable to pick up local words or phrases. Make sure they are appropriate and that they are pronounced flawlessly. Do not make a joke out of local words or phrases. This is insulting to clients and local colleagues.

While business has a lot to do with finance, technology, human resources, research and development and law, it has more to do with people than anything else. To that end, doing business internationally is about people. By traveling and working with dignity and respect for customers and local colleagues, one is taking the first step toward the extensive skills needed to be successful in international business.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute of Management Consultants (USA).
George can be contacted at: gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com
Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com
George's web log is: http://consultingandcoaching.blogspot.com

New Employees: How to Treat Them Right

One of the biggest challenges for any supervisor or manager is dealing with new employees. While new employees range from chronic underachievers to future CEOs, the essential activities for the supervisor are the same. Every good supervisor needs to focus on training, objectives, feedback coaching, more training and career development.

Training

Just because an employee has a college degree, a CPA, an MBA or other academic or professional credential does not mean they are trained to do a specific job. One of the first roles of a supervisor is to insure that the people on her team are trained. Some training is common for all employees such as general administrative practices. Others are specific to a technology such as a system or a tool. Finally, there is training that is role specific. It is the responsibility of every supervisor to insure that each employee is trained in each of these areas. It is best to set expectations before training, to follow-up after training and then to review how the training is being utilized after the employee has had an opportunity to use it in the job.

Objectives

Management by Objectives (MBO) appear to be making a strong comeback after a number of years in disfavor due to other management philosophies and motivational tools. It is up to every supervisor or manager to insure that her employees have objectives. The objectives should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. The objectives need to be reviewed with the employee by the supervisor. The employee should have an opportunity to provide input and ask questions about the objectives. Finally the employee and the supervisor should each have a copy of the objective document.

Feedback and Coaching

Timely and candid feedback is one of the most important things a supervisor or manager can provide an employee. While formal feedback on performance against assigned objectives is essential, day-to-day feedback based on work activities and actions is even more vital. The supervisor must note not only what the employee is doing wrong, but also what the employee is doing right. And in the cases where the employee is doing job functions right, it is up to the supervisor to explain how to perform even more effectively. Feedback and coaching by the supervisor should be constant and done with the goal of overall performance improvement.

More Training

Observation, feedback and coaching will always identify the need for additional training. Whether to re-train areas of weak performance or to increase skills and proficiency in areas of strength (and business need), training is a process and not an end in itself. As employees are on the job longer, their training shifts from organizational and functional basic training to more in-depth functional training. Over time, broader cross-functional and managerial training are in order. The top performers are in line for specialized programs including those designed for future leaders often called “fast track” programs and the executive educations programs offered by many of the top business schools. A key point with training beyond that offered initially is that there is no such thing as “one size fits all”.

Career Development

Last but certainly not least for the supervisor or manager of the new employee is career development. While there has been much in the business press about career self-management, this reality does not relieve the supervisor or manager of her responsibility. Formal discussion periodically – at least twice per year – should be focused on the current job, the employees desired next position, the needs of the business, skills and other requirements for the next job and where the employees sees himself in several years. By supervisors having these discussions they can be prepared to provide input into training budgets, course openings, and vacancies inside and outside of their department and leadership succession plans.

Supervisors and managers often clamor for new and talented people. Among the pool of new people can be the future leaders of the business or organization. It is up to the supervisor to launch the new people on a successful path through a combination of training, objective setting, feedback and coaching, more training and career planning. While new employees can be time consuming for the supervisor, the skill, energy and commitment they bring to the workplace are vital for growth and innovation.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and CEO of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland based management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Institute of Management Consultants (USA).
George can be reached at: gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com
Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com
George's web log is: http://consultingandcoaching.blogspot.com

The Most Critical 30 Days

A new job is always traumatic, whether just out of college, graduate school or a veteran of the working world. As traumatic as it may for the new employee, this is a period when opinions and judgements are made in the workplace. These judgments are made based on observations and the comments of others by co-workers, the immediate supervisor, the supervisor’s peers and those in senior management above the supervisor. What the new employee does – or does not do – during the first thirty days can have a huge impact on all aspects of the job well beyond that short period of time.

When to Arrive at Work

Arrive the first day at the time the supervisor or Human Resources communicate officially. After the first day, arrive earlier than you are expected. Use the time to check e-mail and get organized for the day.

What to do at Work

Do everything the supervisor expects (whether they are “to do’s” or performance objectives). If any opportunities arise to participate in a task force, special study or volunteer to assist at a work-related event, do it. The military maxim “never volunteer” does not apply in the work place. Make sure those tasks assigned are done 100%, by no later than the date assigned and that the supervisor thinks you did them effortlessly – even if you had to stay up all night or work all weekend to complete them.

Lunch

If coworkers go to lunch in a cafeteria, join them. Conversation there will be more enlightening about work and the company than any meeting or conference. If coworkers go out to eat together, join them if money is not a concern. If money is a consideration, join them at least once per week. It is OK to bring lunch, just do not eat it by yourself at your desk. East with those who are at your level in the workplace or above (I know this sounds awful and snobbish but follow it anyway).

Attire

Many articles have been written about what to work – including several by this author. Dress professionally. Look to those of the same gender one or two management levels above you. Do not dress to fit in with your peers. See who is admired and viewed as being on the fast track. Dress similarly but not identically to them.

Conversations

Everyone is going to what to know everything about your personal life: your spouse, kids, boy or girl friend, hobbies, college, etc. The less you tell about yourself the better. You have a clean slate. Use that clean slate to build a great story about you as a business professional on the way up.

Work Space

Whether assigned a desk on the floor, a cubicle or an office, the work space speaks volumes about the worker. Keep it clear of clutter, neat and professional. Nothing cute. Nothing that evokes bad habits or wilder days in the past. Keep that for home. The office should tell everyone that you are efficient, serious and at the office to work.

Fitness Center

If the office has a fitness center, use it. Similar to the cafeteria, there is some great networking about the office in the fitness center. Ideally you want to go before working hours or after working hours – and not during lunch. People of all levels are friendlier and let their guards down while working out and in the locker room.

Professional Organizations

Find out what the most popular and powerful professional organizations are for your function at your company. Ideally the organization will not be overpopulated with people from your company. The goal is to expand professionally beyond your company but within your geographic area.

Out of Hours Activities

Out of hours activities range from softball to bowling to drinking at a local watering hole. Similar to attire, see what those one to two levels of management up get involved in. Also see what those identified as “on the fast track” do after hours. In all likelihood these people work later at the office rather than engage in any of these above noted after hours activities. Unlike lunch and the fitness center, these activities are usually of limited value in the work place.

Days Off

Even in the unlikely event that you are allowed vacation days during the first thirty days, do not take them. No matter what. Do not take any sick days either. Become a fixture at the office from day one.

The End of the Work Day
Observe when others leave. Consider their responsibilities and management levels. No matter what, stay a little later than your peers. First of all, your supervisor may need something. Everyone else will be gone and she will know she can count on you. Secondly, there is a tendency of more senior business leaders to observe who leaves when. Staying later than others puts your face in the category of those who “are committed”. Make sure they quickly tie that face with a name. Do not pull all nighters. If you need to pull all nighters just to get on board with a new job, your supervisor will question what you will need to do when a real crisis hits and extra hours a required to deliver the big project.

Reading

Outside of the office, read everything you can find about: the company, the leadership, the market, the competition, the products and anything else in professional journals to keep you at least one step ahead of your peers in the office. You will quickly be viewed as an indispensable expert.

New jobs are a challenge to anyone whether young or older, experienced or freshly minted MBA. What one does in the new office environment during the first thirty days sets the tone for the entire time in that office and with that company. While there is no easy road to success, following these points will go a long way to creating the image that supervisors and senior executives look for to identify those on the “fast track” to promotion, more responsibility and increased compensation.

George F. Franks, III is the founder and President of Franks Consulting Group, a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. He is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (USA) and the International Coach Federation.
George can be contacted at: gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com
Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: http://franksconsultinggroup.com/