IF your CAREER WILL pay WHATEVER you ASK of it...
HOW can you KNOW you are asking the questions you SHOULD be ASKING?
IS THIS REALLY your CAREER
All BLURRED, FUZZY, and in FREEFALL?
STOP THE FREE FALLit MAY not be too late
Yes it IS alarmist... because FORTUNATELY we CAN DO something about our Contracting Career... at ANY time...
UNFORTUNATELY why must it always take a downturn to wake us up...
PERHAPS we could give THANKS to our downturns for breaking us out of our gell and see them for the opportunity they really are.. CALL'S to ACTION...
Getting Disturbed
Why getting disturbed is a good thing
FIRST.. because 'getting' 'disturbed'
RAISES within us a 'q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n'
Questions POINT us to WHERE we need to LOOK.
A Contracting Career WITHOUT a QUESTION is a career
going nowhere because it has NO idea where to look.
we agreed when DL said to me
DL could have buried, suppressed, denied, deluded by pretending everything was okay when it wasn't. Yes he was grateful for the areas that WERE doing okay but was not going to let that cloud his sensory acuity on how things are.
Positive thinking done mindlessly incorrectly as pushed by media is often dangerous.
Disturbed in the way DL was disturbed IS thinking positive in that DL didn't lie to himself instead DL listened to his quite inner voice and admitted his adversity. He pointed to his 'cloud'.
HE THEN did what most omit to do.. He asked for and got the 'SILVER LINING' in his cloud that he could now POINT to. He saw his OPPORTUNITY. He saw the truth and how to make it better.
FIRST.. because 'getting' 'disturbed'
RAISES within us a 'q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n'
Questions POINT us to WHERE we need to LOOK.
A Contracting Career WITHOUT a QUESTION is a career
going nowhere because it has NO idea where to look.
we agreed when DL said to me
"... money aside, life is great.... i just hate being financially poor... its been like that for 5 years now. All of my friends have been promoted to much higher salaries and I am struggling to make even what fresh grads from community colleges are making. But in time, i will be able to show people, convincingly, that i am good and that they are making the right choice with me.
DL could have buried, suppressed, denied, deluded by pretending everything was okay when it wasn't. Yes he was grateful for the areas that WERE doing okay but was not going to let that cloud his sensory acuity on how things are.
Positive thinking done mindlessly incorrectly as pushed by media is often dangerous.
Disturbed in the way DL was disturbed IS thinking positive in that DL didn't lie to himself instead DL listened to his quite inner voice and admitted his adversity. He pointed to his 'cloud'.
HE THEN did what most omit to do.. He asked for and got the 'SILVER LINING' in his cloud that he could now POINT to. He saw his OPPORTUNITY. He saw the truth and how to make it better.
Managing Your Career
Few disagree that the pace is FAST and ESCALATING faster with so many amazing OPTIONS faster still it becomes overwhelmingly bewildering... that is causing people to lose their sense of self RATHER than BETTER help DEFINE it.
Many live in the 'hope' they made the right choice their current certification is taking them...
but deep down the unmistakable churn in the body tells them something different.
Hoping IS a valid choice but most agree not an effective choice... even those addicted to hopium are finding it difficult to maintain the 'dosage'.
Most know that 'Managing' future uncertainty around their career is a far more effective choice.
So this blog segment deals with the question
To what extent is having a clear and current CAREER STATEMENT for managing uncertainty around your career important?
Many live in the 'hope' they made the right choice their current certification is taking them...
but deep down the unmistakable churn in the body tells them something different.
Hoping IS a valid choice but most agree not an effective choice... even those addicted to hopium are finding it difficult to maintain the 'dosage'.
Most know that 'Managing' future uncertainty around their career is a far more effective choice.
So this blog segment deals with the question
To what extent is having a clear and current CAREER STATEMENT for managing uncertainty around your career important?
TEAM LEAD: DO people RUN when they hear your name?
IF SO... is it TOWARD you... OR.. is it AWAY from you?
If its the latter then perhaps its NOT you but them?
It IS possible that what you are offering has NOTHING in it for them
and that is fine. That says nothing about you. It just says something about them.
It just says something about their wants, their needs, their frustrations.
So may I ask if you have sat down to look at some carefully chosen questions such as the following
If its the latter then perhaps its NOT you but them?
It IS possible that what you are offering has NOTHING in it for them
and that is fine. That says nothing about you. It just says something about them.
It just says something about their wants, their needs, their frustrations.
So may I ask if you have sat down to look at some carefully chosen questions such as the following
How will your team experience your leadership?
What opportunities will open up for THEM participating in YOUR 'game' ?
What will THEY get out of working for YOUR team over and above a paycheck?
Most IT Team Leads don’t give satisfaction enough attention, yet team satisfaction is an essential key strategic indicator that is highlighted in every team lead's strategic objective for their position.Your team needs to have a CLEAR sense of where THEY can FIT in your IMMEDIATE plan, and they need to know the big idea behind your ULTIMATE VISION. That allows them to DECIDE if they want to back you as part of something they can believe in and benefit from and devote themselves to fully. Your leadership strategy should include communicating your vision to key people in your team that you intend to move forward with. as much as possible, which is something they will truly appreciate. In many ways, that’s what every person is looking for in their working environment and what so many Team Leads lack.
We all KNOW that members of a team WANT to hitch their wagon behind a leader.. ESPECIALLY a leader who they see is clearly going somewhere. They want to come in close and contribute in ways that deepens the pull of the leaders draft. They will only do that if there is something clearly in it for them.
UNFORTUNATELY Team Leads often don't communicate this as effectively as they should.
TO what EXTENT is having people RUN... the instant they hear your name... IMPORTANT?.
PROTECTING your CAREER
COULD it be there is an invisible enemy nibbling away at one of your dearest friends... that is your Career.
IF your career is just a job then I guess it doesn't matter... HOWEVER ask yourself the ONE thing almost ALL successful people have in common. They LOVE what they do. Their career is like their BEST friend...
I am assuming you are successful.. IF so I recommend asking
Whom you're protecting?
Your self, your family, your client
What you're protecting?
Your Skill, Your Value, Your Reputation, Your Trade Secrets, Your Lifestyle, Your Choices
Where do you have to protect it?
Your thoughts, Your perceptions, Your Beliefs, Your Reactions, Your Self Esteem, In leading, In participation, In delivering Promise... In Your Vision, Purpose, Health
When do you have to protect it?
Perhaps the BEST time to actively protect is between contracts. This is a great time to emerse into every aspect of review and repositioning. ITS WORTH remembering that GAPS in contracts are seen as a RED FLAG by some... it implies lesser quality... and that would be valid IF the contractor just sat there emoting by the phone INSTEAD of embracing it as a wonderful opportunity to immerse and reinvent that is denied the permanent employee. A permanent employee does NOT get access to the power of breaking away... stepping back... reevaluating... repositioning that a contractor has. Unfortunately that is also a time when pressure MOUNTS and feel MOST VULNERABLE.
Why you have to protect it and HOW does it Threaten?
Actually this part is perhaps the most simple yet most easily MISSED. The world is changing so rapidly odds are that you will make a mistake and get it wrong more often than not. Its just the way it is. There will be times when your skills become obsolete and no longer worth a dime. There will be times your skills become saturated in the market and reduce your income dramatically. There will be times when you get blocked from accessing leading edge that will breathe new life into your attractiveness. There will be times when the economy dives and you are stuck for extended periods on the bench. YES we SAY we accept that we can get it WRONG. YET each time we get it wrong stealth silently, unnoticeably pulls another support out from under us... QUIETLY, steadily, surely wearing away at our esteem, our certainty.
MAY I ASK
TO what EXTENT is implementing policies, procedures, training and awareness, and technology to reduce your risk of exposing your best friend that is your career to this quiet threat IMPORTANT? or is your career not that big a friend?
IF your career is just a job then I guess it doesn't matter... HOWEVER ask yourself the ONE thing almost ALL successful people have in common. They LOVE what they do. Their career is like their BEST friend...
I am assuming you are successful.. IF so I recommend asking
Whom you're protecting?
Your self, your family, your client
What you're protecting?
Your Skill, Your Value, Your Reputation, Your Trade Secrets, Your Lifestyle, Your Choices
Where do you have to protect it?
Your thoughts, Your perceptions, Your Beliefs, Your Reactions, Your Self Esteem, In leading, In participation, In delivering Promise... In Your Vision, Purpose, Health
When do you have to protect it?
Perhaps the BEST time to actively protect is between contracts. This is a great time to emerse into every aspect of review and repositioning. ITS WORTH remembering that GAPS in contracts are seen as a RED FLAG by some... it implies lesser quality... and that would be valid IF the contractor just sat there emoting by the phone INSTEAD of embracing it as a wonderful opportunity to immerse and reinvent that is denied the permanent employee. A permanent employee does NOT get access to the power of breaking away... stepping back... reevaluating... repositioning that a contractor has. Unfortunately that is also a time when pressure MOUNTS and feel MOST VULNERABLE.
Why you have to protect it and HOW does it Threaten?
Actually this part is perhaps the most simple yet most easily MISSED. The world is changing so rapidly odds are that you will make a mistake and get it wrong more often than not. Its just the way it is. There will be times when your skills become obsolete and no longer worth a dime. There will be times your skills become saturated in the market and reduce your income dramatically. There will be times when you get blocked from accessing leading edge that will breathe new life into your attractiveness. There will be times when the economy dives and you are stuck for extended periods on the bench. YES we SAY we accept that we can get it WRONG. YET each time we get it wrong stealth silently, unnoticeably pulls another support out from under us... QUIETLY, steadily, surely wearing away at our esteem, our certainty.
MAY I ASK
TO what EXTENT is implementing policies, procedures, training and awareness, and technology to reduce your risk of exposing your best friend that is your career to this quiet threat IMPORTANT? or is your career not that big a friend?
Getting Locked Out
Have you ever heard an Actor confide how much they fear being "TYPE CAST" as being able to perform ONLY in certain way.. in a certain part, in a certain genre, in a certain role.. by the big movie conglomerates?
AND how that DRAMATICALLY and FOREVER chokes them off FROM GROWING in the very thing they have dedicated their life to?
IMAGINE being TOLD by 'someone else' that THIS is the part you will spend the rest of your life playing.... WHEN its NOT their art but YOURS... WHEN its NOT their passion but YOURS.
JUST think back... and see if you know of anyone who has experienced the SAME as an IT Contractor at one time?
To what EXTENT in your opinion can this be a problem... WHAT issues are most often faced trying to overcome it?
Is NOW a good TIME to BREAK the CAST.. just 15 minutes away
AND how that DRAMATICALLY and FOREVER chokes them off FROM GROWING in the very thing they have dedicated their life to?
IMAGINE being TOLD by 'someone else' that THIS is the part you will spend the rest of your life playing.... WHEN its NOT their art but YOURS... WHEN its NOT their passion but YOURS.
JUST think back... and see if you know of anyone who has experienced the SAME as an IT Contractor at one time?
To what EXTENT in your opinion can this be a problem... WHAT issues are most often faced trying to overcome it?
Is NOW a good TIME to BREAK the CAST.. just 15 minutes away
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