25 Mar

Put Your Career on the Fast Track

By admin In Career, Career Transition, Future of work, Networking, Talent Development, Wellness /   No Comments

Are you clear about what you really want to do? Life is too short to spend most of your waking hours doing something that doesn’t really matter to you.

Article Author:
Gail R. Meneley, Partner, Shields Meneley

As an executive transition coach, I’m often asked how people should plan their career. It’s an interesting question since every case is different. For example, have you been in your job for three or more years and are ready for a change? Were you just been passed over for a promotion? Do you have a new boss who is giving you mixed signals? Did a search firm reach out and stir up your curiosity about what else might be out there? Did your company just merge creating competition for all existing roles? Are you clear about what you really want to do?

I believe the last question is the most important. If you have been in a role that no longer inspires you, and you don’t make a change, you have a long, boring career ahead of you. Life is too short to spend most of your waking hours doing something that doesn’t really matter to you.

5 Critical Steps

  1. Take time to complete executive assessments to learn more about yourself. Assessments can help you identify what you are good at, what challenges you, what work brings you the most satisfaction, and what culture aligns with your values. If your feedback report indicates a need for you to develop new skills or competencies, enroll in some courses so you become a more qualified and credible candidate. You will never make a better investment in yourself and in your career.
  2. Invest in a professional writer to add appropriate weight and sizzle to your resume and LinkedIn profile. Share your new resume with your boss and with HR so they better understand what new skills you have developed and results you have achieved for the company. They will see you in a new light and perhaps put your hat in the ring for roles you might be interested in. Additionally, you will have an up-to-date resume to share with others who inquire. Review it quarterly and add additional business results.
  3. Reach out to schedule a time to sit down with your boss to talk about your future. Make it clear that this is a career discussion, not a threat to leave the company. This will ensure the conversation is focused on what you are doing now and what you would like to do. Bring your new resume to the meeting so he or she will understand exactly what roles you would like to have and why you should be considered for certain positions.
  4. Remember that networking is important throughout your career. If you have a contact database, update the information and sort it into personal and professional contacts. Then indicate who you believe the real connectors are. Establish a regular contact schedule with them by sending a note as simple as: “Hello, ____ I hope you are well. It has been too long since we have connected and I miss seeing you. Can I buy you a cup of coffee or lunch to catch up in the next few weeks (of course, this is dependent on when the coronavirus restrictions are lifted)? I’m doing well as (role) at (company) and have enclosed my updated resume. I look forward to hearing from you.”
  5. Keep your eye on your professional goal. If you want to be the chief executive officer of a company, build a plan that connects the dots as you move up the ladder. (Remember that at every step you have to excel in the current role!) Here’s an example: If you are a marketing manager today, the likely next step will be in marketing, but it could go one of several ways. You might focus on a more technical marketing role such as digital marketing, from there to a director of marketing role and then chief marketing officer. Where do you go from there? Most companies have created a succession plan of sorts. The company might want to move you into a senior role in strategy or operations to round out your background and position you for a shot at being CEO.

So there you are: a primer on career planning that should serve you well. Now’s the time to make it happen!

Gail R. Meneley is a partner at Shields Meneley. Hundreds of high-profile executives in America have chosen her as their adviser and coach to advance their work and careers. They rely on her “straight talk” to help them think through their most important leadership and career decisions. As a result, their personal and organizational goals are reached sooner and with greater impact. Meneley’s clients include Allstate, Johnson & Johnson, Heller Financial, American Red Cross, McDonald’s, Baxter, Fort James, Bristol Meyers, Fleming, Galileo, Anthem Health, GE, Motorola, Quaker, CNA, R.R. Donnelley, Anheuser Busch, and Sears. As a leadership peer, Meneley has extensive P&L, strategy development, and management experience within professional services, financial services, and nonprofit sectors. She was president, CEO, and a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Institute of Financial Education, a national financial services training organization. She also has served on the boards of public and not-for-profit corporations, including the United States League Management Services, a subsidiary of the United States League of Savings Institutions in Washington, D.C.

Link(s) to Article:
https://trainingmag.com/put-your-career-fast-track

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thewallstreetjournal
13 Feb

Considering a New Job? Beware a Culture Misfit.

By admin In Career Transition, Future of work, HR, Leadership, Talent Development /   No Comments

Considering a New Job? Beware a Culture Misfit.

Not vetting the values of a prospective employer can lead to an early exit, but there are ways to do your homework
Jan. 15, 2020


PHOTO: JAMES KACZMAN

As a new year begins, you may be tempted to switch employers in this red-hot job market.

Don’t rush. You should decode the culture of your next workplace before accepting what looks like an attractive management role, career experts say. An inadequate assessment can lead to a misfit, they caution, and you are less likely to thrive in an incompatible culture.

Simply put, corporate culture consists of the prevailing beliefs and behaviors that guide workplace interactions. “About 30% of executives taking new jobs fail to figure out the company’s culture correctly and end up leaving relatively soon,” said Peter Crist, chairman of executive-recruitment firm Crist/Kolder Associates.

In rarer instances, some who stay are thrust into a change-agent role. Amazon.com Inc. veteran Sebastian J. Gunningham joined WeWork as a vice chairman in 2018 and soon also became its chief automation officer as the then-highflying startup was growing at breakneck speed and sported one of the startup world’s biggest valuations. He said he found it harder than he expected to help WeWork develop a customer-focused culture like Amazon’s.

The office-sharing startup named Mr. Gunningham co-chief executive in September to succeed its charismatic co-founder Adam Neumann. Investors had blanched at WeWork’s steep losses and Mr. Neumann’s eccentric leadership style, and WeWork’s parent, We Co., had to scrap its public offering.

“I obviously did not do enough homework on the culture decision,” Mr. Gunningham said of his move to WeWork. His advice: “Make good cultural decisions before you move from company to company.”

“Posing the right set of questions is your best bet for getting a candid read on whether a company’s culture is open to outsiders,” said David Reimer, chief of the Americas region at Merryck & Co., a leadership-development firm.

Here are five strategies to uncover both red flags and positive signals about a corporate culture, based on advice from nearly 20 recruiters, career coaches and executives:

Identify Who and What Count

To grasp unwritten norms, discern what is acceptable behavior—especially for rainmakers, said Gail Meneley, co-founder of Shields Meneley Partners, a career-transition firm. She recommended inquiring whether sales stars operate under looser standards, such as completing deals without required internal approval.

“You may feel uncomfortable working for a business where there are different rules for different people,” she cautioned.

Small but significant gestures can offer hints about what behaviors matter. In 2017, Brad Neuenhaus became chief business officer of MindEdge Learning Inc., a provider of online education. He did so partly based on a company lunch he had attended as a customer. He recalled being impressed when a MindEdge leader exhibited respect for employees by clearing their plates.

“I wanted to be part of their organization,” Mr. Neuenhaus said. “Culture starts at the top.”

Grill Recruiters About Suitability

A recruiter who has handled placements for your target employer should know whether its culture would suit you, Mr. Crist said. He suggested asking him or her “why the five previous people you recruited (there) were successful.”

In hindsight, Julie Currie wished she had quizzed the search firm differently before joining a company’s human-resources department. “I should have asked why other individuals had left the role, and what was the leadership turnover and why?”

Ms. Currie left that company after a brief stint and now runs human resources for the biggest unit of Western Digital Corp., a memory-chip maker.

Make Sure Actions Match Promises

One media-industry executive who left her last employer after a brief tenure says that, before joining, she should have pressed that company’s board about why management had avoided changes needed for its turnaround. She realized that she and board members had different expectations about how the company could thrive.

After that experience, she says she conducted deeper cultural dives during her latest job hunt. She has just begun a new executive position in the technology industry.

Brian Newman agreed to quit PepsiCo Inc. for the top finance job at United Parcel Service Inc. in 2019 after UPS CEO David Abney “did an incredible amount of due diligence on me in a short period of time,” he recalled.

Getting hired within weeks by a shipping giant that long preferred homegrown management talent convinced Mr. Newman that Mr. Abney “was truly committed to transformation,” he added. The new CFO began in September.

Request a Temporary Consulting Gig

Businesses rarely let management candidates attend meetings and gain close looks at how key players operate. Yet tech-industry executive Tissa Richards did so by consulting for Armory, a software startup that she could see herself joining permanently. “It’s kind of like dating someone before you marry,” she said.

Armory gives staffers unusual freedom to pursue projects and access to sensitive data such as workforce compensation. After attending numerous company meetings during her 2019 projects, Ms. Richards concluded she enjoys Armory’s culture of empowered autonomy and transparency.

Walk the Halls

Some managerial applicants ask rank-and-file staffers what it is like working for their prospective employer. A former UPS executive at a logistics company regretted not doing so with administrative assistants before taking his position several years ago.

He later discovered his boss had gone through 12 assistants in the prior 14 months. The executive stayed less than a year. “I failed the most in assessing the cultural fit,” he said.

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UPS declined to comment.

While walking around corporate offices, also heed unspoken cues, advised Joelle K. Jay, an executive coach. Notice whether employees smile at you or avoid eye contact.

“Pay attention to your internal warning systems,” Ms. Jay said. “How would you feel about [working] with these people?”

 

Link(s) to Article:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/considering-a-new-job-beware-a-culture-misfit-11579084201?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2

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linkedin_post
09 Jan

Risks in a Full Employment Economy

By admin In Career, Career Transition, HR, Leadership /   No Comments

We are in the midst of one of the strongest economic expansions in history. So, why are we all so anxious? Perhaps, as my friend, Brian Hickey of Morgan Stanley cautions, “I’m always looking for the single snowflake that could cause the avalanche.”

The “noise” comes from all parts of the world – ideological battles between the president and congress, military confrontations, economic upheavals, and failures of social safety nets are 24/7 emotional and intellectual drains. As a business leader, it makes it difficult, if not impossible, to have confidence in short- or long-term strategies.

At times like this, the healthiest approach is to focus on things we can control. 

It is important to think about employment trends and employee attitudes. Having observed various economic cycles during the last 20 years, most of us are now experiencing the first “full employment economy.” Senior executives are developing an understanding of how organizations of the future will succeed.

When talent is scarce, the development of human capital is a strategic imperative. Your company faces significant risks if you aren’t factoring in the following implications:

  •  Employees who are not even looking for a new job are being plucked out of organizations by search firms and competitors
  • Targets are typically your top performers at senior leadership levels who influence short- and long-term business results
  • Company loyalty is rare among Millennials and GenX’rs unless you give them a reason to fully engage in your company’s mission and purpose 
  • Your most important role is to engage, retain and develop your people

How to Lead in a Full Economy

CEO’s are responsible not only for attracting top talent, but also in finding ways to retain them. This is no longer the job of HR leaders. The entire senior management team should be measured — and held accountable for — building an organization and a culture that makes people want to be part of it.     

Increasing employee engagement and loyalty isn’t easy. Today’s workforce is seeking more flexibility and independence. They want a sense of purpose and meaning. They want to be recognized. They want to make an impact. Taking a fresh look at policies can go a long way. Job-hopping and high turnover are typical hallmarks of leaders who are unwilling or unable to accommodate this new breed of worker.

How to Work in a Full Employment Economy

When I coach clients, they often ask questions about how best to navigate this environment. It can be tricky. Although they are perfectly happy where they are, I caution them to continue to build their networks and return calls to executive recruiters. You are in a position of strength when you have a job, but times and circumstances will change. Everyone will face a career transition sometime in the future, and these relationships will be invaluable. And that is when you should call us to be your transition partner.

Return that call from the recruiter, learn more about what he or she is looking for and consider taking the interview. Even if the role isn’t right for you, be a source and recommend someone else in your network. This simple, courteous, and thoughtful response will serve you well when you most need it. Having these important relationships in place will give you a huge leg up on competition when everyone else is scrambling to stand out with search firms when the economy turns downward.

How to Find Work in a Full Economy

Executives in the midst of a career transition actually benefit from a full employment economy but only if they are visible, engaged, informed, and relevant. Explore civic and other volunteer leadership roles. Attend workshops and seminars. Get in leadership shape. Write a LinkedIn blog to position yourself as a thought leader. We have learned that people on the sidelines have extraordinary insight into what is really happening in an industry because they are out of the day-to-day fray and can be more objective. When traditional candidates are difficult to find, companies are much more open to hiring mature, experienced executives who know what they are doing.

As an executive coach and expert in executive career transition, staying sharp and maintaining one’s edge is more than an occasional effort; it must be a disciplined lifestyle.

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linkedin_post
19 Dec

When Career Transitions Go Sideways, Keep it Cool

By admin In Career, Career Transition, Leadership, Networking /   No Comments

The social contract between employer and employee that was in place for generations has pretty much fallen by the wayside. In the past, people worked in one company for a lifetime believing that the company would “take care of them”. Today’s C-Suite needs to be prepared for a bumpy exit no matter how unlikely he or she may think it is.

Don’t believe me? Here are just a few stories of some of our clients:

A CEO of a $400M healthcare company was fired without warning. The news was leaked to the press before he could reach his family. A local television reporter called his home, his 16-year-old daughter answered, and the reporter asked, “How do you feel about your father being fired?”

If that doesn’t make your stomach turn just a bit, how about this one:

The chief operating officer of a private company had been promised that he would succeed the chief executive officer when the time came for a leadership transition. The founders called him into a previously unscheduled meeting, fired him on the spot without cause and then dared him to do something about it, saying: “We are not going to honor anything in your contract. If you don’t like it, sue us.”

These are just two of the many stories we have heard from our clients and each one makes us angry because it is avoidable.

No matter how poorly a termination is handled you must keep your cool. Take it in, control your emotions, let the person know that you need time to process what you have been told, and terminate the meeting as soon as you can. It is important to remember that every action you take while in, and after that meeting, may well determine everything that happens later.

Most of the clients who come to us are at the top of the leadership ladder – a Board Member, a CEO, a direct report to the CEO, or a Division Officer – but no matter who they are, they need a solid reference from the organization they are leaving. It is important to maintain a professional business demeanor because that is the final and lasting image that people will have of you. No one wants to help an executive who “kicks the furniture” on the way out the door.

Listen. I get it. We are all human and we’ve had situations where we let our emotions get the best of us. But don’t let this situation be one of those situations. How?

Breathe. Reach out to us. Using our confidential process, we can debrief you and help you understand what happened and examine appropriate next steps. We will ask a lot of important questions.  How was the situation presented? Who was in the room? How did they present it? What did you hear? How did you react to it? If we sense that our client took the low road, we offer solid counsel on how to regroup. Most senior executives are smart enough not to do anything rash or make idle threats, but they are justifiably upset – particularly if they didn’t see the termination coming.   But, our client has to go back to his or her former boss, apologize for the emotional response, and ask for their help to make the dissolution of the partnership as fair and equitable as possible to both sides.

Our clients have small but highly influential inner circles. When they later run into friends and colleagues, they are often asked, “What really happened?” It is our role to make sure that our clients have that answer ready to go – a truthful, carefully constructed, positive (or at least neutral) story that provides an opportunity to say good things about both the company and herself or himself.

After all, job loss is viewed as one of the top three most stressful situations in a person’s life – preceded only by the emotional disruption of a death and or divorce. That is why if you can’t rush through or repress the healing process that is required. Our team of coaches, advisers and executives have significant P&L expertise and understand the unique needs of the C-Suite. Armed with that knowledge and understanding, we help clients neutralize the emotion that can be so close to the surface when someone asks why he or she left. Once we have achieved that, clients will be ready to re-enter the marketplace with confidence.

Once that emotion is resolved, these very smart, talented and successful people begin to regain their perspective about who they are and what they have accomplished during the careers. As the process moves forward they will say, “Good grief. I’m not so bad, am I?” Or “Wow! I’ve really got a lot done, haven’t I?” They also recognize that they are in good company, because transitions are part of the risk/reward equation that is part of any top job.

Then it’s time to prepare for interviewing by developing compelling stories about the challenges they faced during different parts of their career, what actions they took to resolve them, and the results of their actions. This puts the “fire back in the belly” and they are ready to engage in finding the next opportunity.

This phase includes developing relationships by reaching out to those they know and meet, expanding their scope of influence, and interviewing for roles that are interesting and challenging. When negotiating for that that new role we are behind the scenes conducting compensation studies, recommending employment lawyers to review contracts (with appropriate severance provisions) , and developing a detailed On-Boarding Plan to ensure early success.

Signing on the bottom line to accept that new role is a moment we all relish and celebrate together. These men and women have learned from what came before, increased their self-knowledge, and developed fresh insight into what the market needs. They also know they can handle any unexpected change to their employment status with confidence.

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thewallstreetjournal
23 Apr

The Wall Street Journal Turns to Gail Meneley For Insight About CFOs Transitioning to CEOs

By admin In Career Transition, Leadership /   No Comments

Shields Meneley Partners’ co-founder and principal Gail Meneley provided her insight into what it takes for chief financial officers to make the leap to the chief executive officer role. Considering the firm’s expertise working with C-Suite executives in career transition, editors from The Wall Street Journal naturally thought to reach out to Gail.

Link(s) to Article:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/intels-new-ceo-advances-from-cfo-spot-a-second-time-11548984309

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training
02 Apr

Training Magazine Turns to Gail Meneley About How Leaders Can Recover From a Bad Hiring Decision

By admin In Leadership, Private Equity /   No Comments

In the face of such a tight labor market, today’s leadership needs to be able to quickly install employees in key positions. As a result, it is not surprising to see mistakes happen. The good new for today’s management is there are critical steps that should be taken to correct the situation, as Shields Meneley Partners’ co-founder Gail Meneley writes.

Link(s) to Article:

https://trainingmag.com/buyer%E2%80%99s-remorse-hire-steps-business-leaders-need-take-recover//

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chief-executive
26 Mar

Gail Meneley Writes About Work-Life Balance for Chief Executive Magazine

By admin In Leadership /   No Comments

Leadership continues to change dramatically in today’s business landscape with small, but important, steps showing today’s C-Suite inching closer to a more perfect balance between professional lives and personal lives. Gail Meneley wrote an article for Chief Executive magazine detailing the emerging management trend.

Link(s) to Article:

https://chiefexecutive.net/work-life-balance-myth-closer-think/

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SHRM
21 Dec

Gail Meneley Interviewed by Top HR Publication About Best Practices to Manage Your Remote Team

By admin In HR, Leadership, Work From Home /   No Comments

SHRM’s highly-respected publication HR People + Strategy turned to Gail Meneley when the editors sought insight into how leaders today can attract and retain top talent by embracing a remote workforce, while maintaining the team mindset.

Link(s) to Article:

https://blog.hrps.org/blogpost/Five-Steps-a-CHRO-Needs-to-Take-to-Manage-a-Remote-Workforce

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Working Capital Review
20 Nov

Key Leadership Trends Publication Features Gail Meneley in Article About the Keys to Mastering Communication

By admin In Leadership /   No Comments

Working Capital Review, an important workplace management news outlet, turned to Gail Meneley to explore the critical steps all leaders today need to master when it comes to connecting with employees.

 

Link(s) to Article: https://workingcapitalreview.com/2018/11/communications-tips-for-todays-leaders/

Download the PDF here: Critical Communications Tips for Today’s Leaders – WorkingCapitalReview

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