Archive for February, 2012

As a highly qualified and highly capable professional, you know that you are good at what you do. Over the years I have seen many great professionals getting stuck in their quest to climb the career ladder.

So what can you do to get yourself unstuck and to get ahead in your career?

Key 1: Know Your Personal Strengths

Just like any expert or successful person in any field, you need to play to your strengths. Before you can play to your strengths you need to know what they are.

Key 2: Present What You Have To Offer Effectively

So often I see people with a CV that does nothing to entice a potential employer. Remember that, as you climb the career ladder, the number of opportunities decline so what you have to offer needs to catch the eye and stand out.

Key 3: Be Willing To Operate Outside The Boundaries Of Your Job Description

Your job description is a framework or a list of general things expected from you. If you just stick within the boundaries of your job description you are unlikely to ever grow or develop.

Key 4: Know What The End Game Is

For some it will be a top job in their profession; for others it will just be having some influence. You need to be clear where you are heading in your career in the long term.

Key 5: Get A Reputation For Reliability

There is only one thing worse than not volunteering and that is offering to do something and then not delivering.

Key 6: Find Out Who The Key Decision Makers And Influencers Are

They are the people who can make things happen for you in your organisation if you show them what you can do.

Key 7: Don’t Be Afraid To Speak Up

People can worry about speaking up because when the subject is not their area of expertise. Occasionally the most obvious questions can really move things forward as sometimes those with the expertise are too close to the issue.

The Bottom Line: Achieving career success requires work but doing some simple things well can make a big difference.

Duncan Brodie helps professional people to fulfil their career potential so that they get the rewards and recognition they desire. Sign up for his free audio masterclass at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

A question people sometimes ask and can be difficult to answer is how long should I stay in a job if I want to have a successful career.

While some will tell you that it is essential that you change jobs every two years if you want to get to the more senior levels, the reality is that there is no definitive answer.  When I reflect in my 25 years in accountancy and consultancy, some of the things that influenced my job change timing choices included:

• Whether I was continuing to grow and develop in my current role.

• Whether I was adding to my skills, attributes and experience.

• The people I was working with and whether they were encouraging and supporting my progression.

• What was going on in the organisation I was working in.  Sometimes there were special short to medium term projects that made it really worthwhile staying around.

So back to the question of how long to stay in a job.  In my experience a change every 24-36 months worked well for me.  It provided sufficient time to get some solid experience and at the same time stopped me getting bored.

I personally found that a huge part of your impact came in 6 to 18 month period.  If you think about it the first 3 months are often about finding your feet.  By the 6th month you know where you can really make a difference and can demonstrate some rapid progress and results.

However, we are all individuals and have different drivers and the key is to find what works best for you.

So what has been your experience?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people achieve more career success.  He invites you to check out his free audio masterclass at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html

Reviewing the content on a group that I belong to on one of the major social media sites recently, I came across an interesting job advert. In a nutshell the recruiter was looking for someone who stood out from the crowd, was a self-starter and a good communicator.

Now it might have raised a bit of a chuckle and ideas in my mind as to what it meant in practice and it got me thinking about the whole way we communicate.

As a leader one of the keys to success is getting results through others. However before you can get results through others you need to specify what is required.

Perhaps you are thinking that it can’t be that difficult to do. You might well be right but how often do you see:

• Job descriptions that are so vague they are almost meaningless
• Employee objectives merely being a list of actions rather than measurable results
• Two people leaving a meeting with a completely different understanding of the next steps
• People reporting back and assuming that someone else was dealing with this or that aspect of a project.

We all know that vaguely specified requirements can lead to:

• Things not being achieved
• Resources being wasted
• Additional costs being incurred when adjustments need to be made to what already has been done.

So as a leader, if you want to get even better results and achieve more success, start:

• Specifying what is to be achieved in terms of results or outcomes
• Making it crystal clear who is responsible for what
• Setting clear and unambiguous deadlines.

The Bottom Line: Sometimes it is the simple changes that yield the biggest benefits. To be more successful, start by being specific when giving direction and setting expectations.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people become great leaders and managers. Sign up for his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

Many people want to get on as far as they can in their career.  Some achieve what they want while others find it more of a struggle and some will without doubt get stuck.

So what are some of the common career barriers and what should you do about them?

Career Barrier 1: Qualifications

Whether it is fair or not there are many professions where it is pretty much impossible to go beyond a certain level unless you get qualified and gain membership of the professional body.

Solution: Either sign up to get the qualification or make a real commitment to get qualified if you have already started but are being sporadic in your studies.

Career Barrier 2: Mobility

As you get older and perhaps have family mobility or lack of it can sometimes stop you from getting access to the opportunities you would like.

Solution: Seriously consider relocating or perhaps working away from home during the week for a defined period of time to get the experience you need.

Career Barrier 3: Experience

Perhaps you are missing on some vital experience to get to the next level.

Solution: Find out precisely the experience you need and seek out opportunities to gain it.  This might be through a secondment, covering for some else or perhaps doing something voluntary outside of work to gain the experience.

Career Barrier 4: Lack of Insight

It staggers me just how few people really know themselves and their strengths.  This makes it really difficult to effectively market what you have to offer.

Solution: Take one or several of the online assessments or alternatively work with a career coach or mentor to help you unlock your hidden talents.

Career Barrier 5: Job Interview Performance

I never cease to be amazed just how poorly people perform in job interviews despite the fact that they are still among the most common ways of recruiting people.

Solution: Make sure you are making sufficient time to prepare for interviews and do some mock interviews before the real thing.  The feedback you get will greatly improve your performance.

The Bottom Line: Achieving success in your career requires commitment and effort.  The question is are you willing to put in the work to get the results you desire?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professionals to achieve more success in their career and get the rewards and recognition they deserve.  He invites you to check out his free audio masterclass at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html

Ask any successful person what helped them to be a success and you will no doubt find them talking about the host of people who helped them along the way.

At some level we all understand that if we are going to achieve to anything like our true potential we are going to have to enlist the help of others and trust them. Despite this level of understanding, we still see managers not delegating effectively or at all.

So what might be stopping you from delegating as a manager?

It Will Be Quicker To Do It Myself

Okay let’s be totally honest, at this precise moment in time you probably could do it quicker yourself and maybe also for the next few times as well. On the other hand, doing the task that could easily be done by someone other than you is eating into your ultimate limiting factor called time.

Remember that showing someone else is a one time investment of time that pays back over and over again.

They Won’t Do It As Well As Me

Again, short term you might be absolutely right. On the other hand they might actually do it even better. Take technology as an example. People of a certain age were brought up with technology and often know more shortcuts than you.

They Will Do It Better Than Me

In this situation you might worry about looking incompetent or not up to the job. Looking at it differently however, the role of the manager is to focus on what they do best and to unlock the potential in others. If they can do it better than you, give it to them. It’s called good management.

They Will Let Me Down

Ask any manager and I bet they will be able to recount a time when they delegated something that all went wrong. On reflection they generally realise that there were a whole host of factors that contributed to the failing. Giving the message, “You will let me down”, is akin to saying to someone, “I don’t trust you”. Hardly a message you want to give or one your people want to hear.

I Will Look Incompetent

It is one of the biggest myths around that to be a successful manager you need to be brilliant at everything. Look at sports as an example. Many mediocre players go on to be great coaches or managers while many who are brilliant players then struggle. The thing to remember is that what you are judged on ultimately is your ability to deliver results through others and that’s what management is all about.


The Bottom Line: The most successful managers focus on their priorities and on being great managers. Don’t let your ego or self-doubt stop you from delegating and get the results you know you can deliver.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to become highly effective managers. He invites you to sign up for his free e-course, Management Mastery, at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

If you want to be successful in your career you have to be able to market and sell yourself.  While many understand that this really matters they still can find it a struggle.  So what are some of the 7 key barriers that people have to marketing and selling themselves in the job arena?

Lack of Investment

It’s easy to believe that finding a new role is not going to require a huge amount of time and energy.  Many people simply don’t get that they are going to have to invest a lot personally to be successful.

Failing To Step Into The Recruiters Shoes

Hiring someone is a big decision for the recruiter.  They are worried about getting it wrong.  So your goal has to be to re-assure them that you can deliver if you get the role.

Lack Of Confidence

It can be difficult to market and sell yourself and sometimes people just lack confidence in themselves and their true value.  Remember everyone has doubts and the successful push on despite those doubts.

Poorly Developed Networks

Networking both on and offline is becoming more important.  Increasingly recruiters are using social media and LinkedIn in particular to source candidates.

Not Knowing How To Use Social Media

Some people think that social media like LinkedIn is complicated.  Yes it takes time to get to grips with it but there are more and more sources of support to get you up to speed quickly.

Not Being Able To Sell Transferrable Skills

Sometimes people think that because they have been in one organisation, industry or sector they are stuck.  Learn how to show how skills are transferrable.  After all 80% of what organisations do is similar.  It’s the 20% that is specific.

Underestimating What You Have To Offer

When we are good at something we often wrongly assume that everyone can do what you do and as a result you don’t actively promote what you have to offer.

The Bottom Line:  If you are going to fulfil your professional potential you have to learn how to market and sell yourself effectively in the job arena.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to fulfil their career potential.  He invites you to sign up for his free audio masterclass at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html

There are many great leadership books out there and like many I love to learn from the insights of others. At the same time there are often some harsh realities that you never discover or are perhaps skimmed over in books and training.

1. Creating a vision is actually pretty hard. For a few coming up with a clear vision which they are totally passionate about is really easy. For the majority coming up with this big aspiration is actually pretty tough.
2. People don’t neatly fall into buckets. We all like to categorise people into certain buckets or types. You know the ideas of certain professions being creative, dynamic and extroverted while others are dull or boring. Some of this is reasonable but being too rigid can actually be counter-productive.
3. Change is a lot less about process and a lot more about people. You can have the best tools, project plans and change programmes but if you can’t shift hearts and minds it is all in vain.
4. Teams don’t always work in perfect harmony. In fact in some of the best teams there is what is best described as healthy constructive interaction.
5. The figureheads or public facing leader are not doing it all single handedly. We can really easily buy into the belief that entrepreneurs and leaders like Richard Branson, Lord Sugar, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are doing it all. The reality is they are supported by great teams.
6. The best leaders are all charismatic and extroverted. The reality is that some of the best are just quiet and introverted and let others take the limelight. They have a knack for looking to attribute success to others.
7. People who are supposedly trying to achieve the same thing don’t always pull together. I noticed this a lot when I worked in the NHS where there was often a lot of silo working.
8. People put the customer first. In reality people put their own interests first and what it means for them in many cases.
9. People are great at spotting the problems but a lot less are ready to offer solutions. Anyone can find problems but not everyone can find solutions.
10. Change does not happen overnight and in fact making meaningful and sustainable change is likely to be more like a marathon than a sprint.

If you have some of your own experiences to add why not go ahead and leave a comment?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people become great leaders and managers. Sign up for his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk.

Many people have a real desire to be successful in their career.  This might be because they crave security, really want to leave a legacy or just fulfil their potential.

When the economy is a little more challenging, it can seem like it is impossible to move forward in your career.  In reality you can move forward in your career whatever the external conditions.  Here’s how.

Focus on Professional and Personal Development

There are always new things to learn or new challenges to face.  Having a real focus on your continuing professional and personal development can really make a difference.  These days there are so many options open to you like low cost digital courses to full day or even full year programmes.

Seek Opportunities To Take On New Projects To Get Extra Experience

Every organisation needs people to lead or be part of organisational projects.  Some might be change related or related to a new acquisition or new service or product.  Often external consultants are brought in and while they can offer value, you can save money for the organisation while broadening your experience.

Get Strategic On Job Search

When you have fewer roles and more people chasing them you have to be selective and strategic.  There is no point wasting valuable time and energy on going for roles that you are highly unlikely to get.

Give Your CV/Resume A Makeover

Most CV’s/Resume’s were written a while ago.  Spend a few hours going through your personal marketing materials and make sure they are selling you and your achievements.

Network More

There is a saying that goes along the lines of it’s not what you know but who you know that matters.  A lot of people find out about a role through the grapevine or through their online and offline networks.  If you are not going along to professional association networking events or being active on LinkedIn Groups you are missing opportunities to build relationships.

The Bottom Line:  You cannot control external factors but you can control how you position yourself for success in your career.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professionals achieve more career success.  Check out his free audio masterclass at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html

By Martin Haworth

On many occasions of any career, there are times where it’s vital to represent yourself fully. To make the best publicity you can for ‘yours sincerely’. And there are easy tactics you can use…

Whether you are applying for a promotion in your existing organization; looking for a new job altogether; or simply experiencing a performance review, there are steps you can take that will enhance your outcome.

Most, if not all, individuals find it hard to tweak their achievements to make the best of them. Whether this comes from naivety, modesty or simply a misjudgement of what they can pluck from their experiences, it’s hard to say.

The truth is that long hours wringing hands and fretting need not be suffered. Because in the main, all you need when being assessed is already within you. All you need to create a really effective candidate – or A+ result in your performance.

There are six key steps to making the most of your assets:

1. Start Early

Be aware. When you are in the thick of experiences and learning, always, but always, be prepared to make a note – however small – of something that you did. You don’t have to write a whole portfolio of it, that can come later (just kidding!). Just notice when things happen.

2. Link To Role

By being aware of what you might need to take careful note of before you start looking for it. Here you’re simply looking for the categories upon which you will ultimately be tested and then you can start to create a list of your personal activities (the ‘What I did’ of your evidence).

3. Keeping Up

As you create this list of your activities, you categorize them as you go and, as the evidence piles up, create a note of the gaps too. Then you can pro-actively ‘create’ the activities you need to make your offer almost irresistible. You will become rounded and thorough and then have the luxury of deciding not just that you have enough, but you have a choice of evidence you can talk about when you are being assessed.

4. “I Can’t Find Enough”

It’s vital to understand that the evidence you create does not need to move mountains. A clear action you personally took, where you can demonstrate just four simple elements – What you did; Why you did it; What the outcome was and What you learned is perfect – and keep it short and succinct. It gives them clear facts and a space to ask you more too – A perfect candidate!

5. Last Minute?

Left it too late? No problem! All you need is a kindly colleague to ask you the questions and push you for answers. It’s amazing at what we leave out or underestimate in ourselves. With focus, it’s possible to create quite comprehensive evidence if you are coached to create it in a couple of hours with a ‘coach’ friend drawing from you the actual – even where you think there are few.

6. Blagging!

Actual lying can never be condoned – least of all because you’ll get found out and, if you were successful and got something without really deserving it, likely as not it wouldn’t suit you anyway. You can – and must – embellish, by really stretching out all you do in a category and make it really sing for you. Every scrap of paper evidence; every single impressive fact and figure pile up to become much more interesting to assessors.

7. And Finally

Always but always focus on what you did. Yes, you personally. Using ‘we’ and ‘they’ won’t cut it. Be brave and strong and shout about you out loud. Use the ‘I’ word and really show what you are made of.

We all do pretty good work. We all deserve that you be recognised and in the main, we don’t shout about ourselves enough. And when you don’t, who will?

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach and Trainer. For more useful stuff check out CoachTrainLearn.com.

Let’s face it many people start out with great hopes and aspirations when it comes to their career. A few reach the very top, others make some progress and some get stuck.

So what can you do to increase your promotion prospects and achieve the career success you desire?

Determine Your Strengths and Development Needs

Before you can ever start to make any progress you need to know where you are starting from.  We might all have great intentions but let’s face it with a busy work schedule it is tough to sit down and reflect. And the reality is that until you do you are going to find it difficult to play to your strengths.

Learn What Jobs At A More Senior Level Require

Imagine you were playing golf in the fog. It would be kind of difficult to know where the hole was and in what direction to aim your shot. Knowing where you are aiming for and what you need to do to achieve success is just as important in your career. Starting finding out what really matters at the next level and level after that so you can start building for that role.

Learn How To Lead and Manage

In just about every profession the only way to progress is to take on more responsibility. Usually this includes responsibility for managing and leading people. If you don’t acquire these skills you are at a huge disadvantage and are going to find it tough to progress.

Aim For The Right Target

The more senior you become the more important it is to become strategic when it comes to seeking out opportunities. While it might be nice to work in a particular sector unless you can show you have some exposure or understanding it is going to be difficult to get the results you want.

Demonstrate Commercial Skills

Professional people are in what is often seen as a support role. With more and more advances in technology the role is changing. Take accountancy as an example. Rather than being just about running processes, increasingly it is about partnering with non financial managers to find new and innovative ways of working or achieving more success for the organisation.

Get Comfortable Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone

It’s tempting for all of us to stay doing what we are already good at. Remember though when it comes to promoting people, employers are looking for potential too. It can be tough stepping out of your comfort zone but unless you do there is always a cap on how far you can progress.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to achieve more career success and get the rewards and recognition they desire. He invites you to sign up for his free masterclass on climbing the career ladder at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/careers-main.html