Does your heart know that you are supposed to be somewhere else?

A man I know followed his heart to his current job. It’s a place where sadness and reality and love and fear and kindness and illness and strength and peace all mix together.

Genuinely Engaged

He doesn’t have to be in the trenches of this industry every day; he doesn’t have to immerse himself with the ground zero responders and with the people the organization serves, but he goes in anyway because he followed his heart there. He could stay in the ivory tower, away from the painful reality of the services his company provides. But, no, that’s not him.

Walking by a man who was sitting alone at lunch, my client was compelled to join him. He spent the hour with this customer/patient – human being – who benefits from the services of his organization. The man said to my client, “People see how you float above the daily problems…and they want to know you. They wonder, ‘What’s his secret’?” (Meaning, we know there’s a lot to deal with here, but you don’t seem to let it affect your attitude or the way you treat others.)

After a soulful conversation, a communion of sorts with this man, my client, humbled and grateful, got up to leave from lunch. The man said, “It is good that you followed your heart here. You make a difference.”

You Can Just Tell

When you are where you’re supposed to be, people notice. When you are not, people notice.

I think if you asked my client, “What is your secret, anyway?” he would say:

“The secret is following your heart until you find yourself exactly where you belong.”

Where is your heart pulling you? Listen to the whispers to really know.

What happens when you follow your heart to work? You will not only be helping yourself, I promise. Genuine engagement is hard to ignore; it has a way of making the people around you feel good even when you don’t realize it. It’s the secret to doing your best and most meaningful work.

If you’ve followed your heart to work, I’d love to hear your story (and your struggles) while making it happen. Leave a comment below or contact me.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who have found that beautiful spot where work and heart collide. And Happy Thanksgiving to those who are still seeking – never give up!

Image courtesy of Pexels.com

by Barbara Berger

Employee Engagement, Mid Life Professionals

Active Questions to Energize Your Career

November 8, 2016

What does it mean for an employee to do “their part ” when it comes to finding career fulfillment?

I read Marshall Goldsmith’s book, Triggers, and the conversation he had with his daughter, Dr. Kelly Goldsmith, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, about active questions resonated with me. It affected me so much that Coach Goldsmith and I had a phone conversation about it over the summer.

The concept of ownership is at the very core of my career coaching practice. Meaning, I work with clients who no longer want to sit on the sidelines while work happens to them. Instead, they want to take responsibility for their own career development. They are done handing that control over to someone else while hoping for the best.

Coach Goldsmith and I share the frustration with employee engagement conversations that, until now, have been almost entirely one-sided. Consultants and thought leaders focused on helping companies build engaged workplaces continue to focus squarely on the employer side, and regularly preach about what employers should do to improve their employees’ desire to engage while at work. But there is an entire half of the conversation that is missing here. My purpose, as a coach, is to motivate and inspire employees to do their part to balance the scales. It is entirely possible to be truly engaged in your job without depending on your employer to get you there. Much of it depends upon your outlook.

So we come back to the question: What does it mean for an employee to do “their part ” when it comes to finding career fulfillment? That’s where active questions come in. Questions like Goldsmith shares in his book puts the onus on the employee. Questions like:

Did I do my best to find meaning today?
Did I do my best to be happy today?
Did I do my best to build positive relationships today?
Did I do my best to be fully engaged today?

Employees cannot sit with a victim mindset when asking themselves these questions. When I find that a client cannot shift out of victim mode, I know that coaching isn’t what they want; they want someone to hand them answers. People who are truly looking for career wellness, achieving the optimal state of work wellbeing at any given time, must decide to figure out how to use their strengths and skills in a meaningful way. To succeed on this journey, you must have goals but not a fixed expectation of the outcome. You must be open to experimenting. The employees who have this exploration mindset are the ones who will step up their level of engagement for your company while they’re sorting things out for themselves. They will hold themselves accountable – not rely on you for all of the answers.

To get there, they must be actively seeking. Actively questioning. Actively engaged for their own reasons.

Want more great insights championing the employee side of employee engagement? Want to spark your own career fulfillment fire? Sign up to get posts delivered directly to your email.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

by Barbara Berger

Uncategorized

Employees – Step Up Your Game!

October 13, 2016

Game On!

You may be one of the really lucky people who can say you work for a company that offers all kinds of employee engagement opportunities and flexible work schedules. Maybe you can say that your company has worked hard to create a culture where you are invited to explore different aspects of your strengths and skills. However, it’s probably more likely that you are rolling your eyes, thinking, “My company doesn’t even get it; they’re still in the dark ages.”

It doesn’t matter which of those categories your current work situation falls into, or if it falls somewhere in between, what matters is that you become aware that nobody is in charge of your career wellness but you.

A healthy career has no room for victims.

Some of you may not be employed at the moment for many different reasons. Some of you may be employed, but miserable. Regardless of your situation, the first step is always the same step. Awareness. Self-awareness plus career awareness equals career wellness. It is the truth about how career fulfillment works.

But what does career awareness mean?

What we’re really talking about here is an awareness that your career happiness is up to you – all of it. Awareness and ownership are the first steps to career fulfillment. The good things that happen, the not-so-good things that happen, the victories and the setbacks. When I talk with clients about awareness as step number one, I definitely mean awareness of values, of interests, of natural behavioral style, skills, and strengths. I also mean awareness that you can’t be a bystander and hope that it all works out like you want.

How do you achieve awareness?

If you want to be aware, you’re going to need to get down-and-dirty honest about all of it. You will need to take responsibility, be bold, brave, decide to take risks (or not) and get very clear with yourself about whether you want to participate in this constantly evolving thing which is your career. You will need to pay attention to the signals your body is giving you and to the things you are curious about. You will need to tune in to what your intuition is telling you.

Stop Shying Away from the Touchy-Feely

One of the biggest challenges employees and employers face when trying to transform their careers, or supporting the career development of their employees, is dealing with the reality of awareness. The language itself can border on therapy-like words. You’ll need to deal with that, or find your own words that make you less squeamish. Part of the courage needed to self-actualize your career is moving past your own judgment about how you get to awareness.

If you don’t, you’ll be handing that power over. You’ll be allowing some company or whatever current circumstances you’re in, decide for you.

Awareness means never giving your power away.

Want more great insights championing the employee side of employee engagement? Want to spark your own career fulfillment fire? Sign up to get career wellness posts delivered directly to your email.

Image courtesy of Pexels.com.

by Barbara Berger

Change Careers, Mid Life Professionals

When You Fall Out of Love with Your Job

September 29, 2016

There are lucky souls on this earth who find their calling early. Many of us envy them, but some people find it in their early years. They may be 22 and on their way through medical school knowing that they were put on this earth to heal someone. It doesn’t mean they’ve peaked of course, but it does mean they’re lucky.

Some people find their calling early and then fall out of love with it. Things happen in life that change us, change our jobs, or change our industries. Companies change and responsibilities evolve. Sometimes we are promoted out of a job that was the perfect fit for us, or we outgrow the perfect job.

The Challenges for Older Employees

When you’re young and looking for your calling life appears filled with opportunities, and most of the time you’re living on less than you elders. Perhaps you rent an apartment and live in a city. You probably don’t have dependents. Of course, I realize there are things like student debt and individual challenges, but hear me out.

As you climb your career ladder, you get used to certain things. Apart from a larger paycheck than your early career years, you probably have earned a certain level of responsibility and respect within your company and industry. Maybe even a title that reflects that. You also probably have a mortgage, more luxuries in your life that you don’t want to give up, and children who depend on you. Leaving the job you used to love for a new one you’re passionate about may mean giving up a lot. It’s frightening, but so is the idea of spending the rest of your work life in a job that drains you.

First Steps Focus: Your Mindset

Like almost everything we try to accomplish in life, fear is the primary obstacle to our success. Fear of losing our material belongings, status, and security are especially difficult when we look to alter our career. And of course, the demon of all fears – fear of failure – overshadows it all. There is no easy answer; tackling fear can be a show-stopper if we let it. So my one piece of advice, the only way I know to get past it, is to accept it. Know and accept that you will be scared, and get comfortable with that fear.

But understand this, it won’t always be scary. You will actually, despite what you think now, get used to the idea of change and it will become less scary. And you don’t have to QUIT your job. You can do the work on yourself and your career without giving up your job, you just have to commit to it and remain focused, and disciplined, on walking down that path.

Next Steps

If any of what I described above resonates with you, and you desperately want to love your job again, there is help out there. This is what career coaches do. You don’t have to work with me; I’m not trying to hard-sell you, but trust me, working with a professional can make this journey far less scary, and far less frustrating.

Need some inspiration? Check out this post about how four people in different stages of their careers successfully made a shift happen.

photo credit: Alfonsina Blyde » I will try fix you via photopin (license)

by Barbara Berger

Employee Engagement

What Employees Need To Know About Employee Engagement

September 22, 2016

There’s a lot of talk about employee engagement out there, but as an employee, remember these things:

No matter what your company does, it’s all up to you.

It’s your company’s job to set the stage for engagement and to create a culture that pushes all of the engagement hot buttons: relevance, a sense of autonomy, growth, meaning, etc. That’s their job. They can set it all up, but you have to want it for yourself.

Companies can lead an employee to engagement but….

They can’t make you drink their Kool-Aid, right? Why would you want to anyway? Your job is to make a recipe for your own Kool-Aid and contribute to the company you’re with while tweaking your own ingredients. Instead of disengaging because you’re not feeling the vibe where you are, engage for the purpose of finding out where you should be instead.

Become your own career coach.

Use the opportunities the company gives you for your personal career development plan. You may have other goals than staying where you are. That’s fine – but don’t be a victim while you’re there. Make every company-sponsored perk an opportunity to analyze your strengths and interests. Take advantage of any assessments your company offers. Consider it free coaching! Only you have to know why you’re engaging. Instead of being skeptical about their manipulative tactics to get you to perform, perform for your own benefit. The company still wins, but you win too. Take what you learn to move within your existing organization if you can or on to your ideal role somewhere else. Just don’t sit on the sidelines and complain.

Yes, it’s all about their bottom line.

What about your bottom line? The company is doing their job. What are you doing? If you are sitting around waiting for the right perk to make you happy, you’re part of the problem. Companies have poured years of research and time and money into figuring out why engagement numbers aren’t what they want. What have you done for yourself to take accountability for your career wellness? Engagement is good for all, so be the manager of your own career and make your bottom line just as valuable. Think employee engagement is only for managers and executives? It’s really about you. You just haven’t been informed of how to use it yet. Keep reading to learn more. photo credit: Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY via photopin (license)

by Barbara Berger

Employee Engagement

The BIG Mistake Companies Are Making in Employee Engagement Programs

September 8, 2016

Many business decision makers have intentionally stuck their head in the sand when it comes to employee engagement. They have been talking about it for years now. Engagement equals higher productivity and blah, blah, blah. Yes, those numbers are real, and Gallup gives us the evidence:

“Work units in the top quartile in employee engagement outperformed bottom-quartile units by 10% on customer ratings, 22% in profitability, and 21% in productivity. Work units in the top quartile also saw significantly lower turnover (25% in high-turnover organizations, 65% in low-turnover organizations), shrinkage (28%), and absenteeism (37%) and fewer safety incidents (48%), patient safety incidents (41%), and quality defects (41%).”

But what isn’t being talked about is the reason so many companies fail in building engaged workforces.

Companies looking to improve employee engagement numbers won’t get the figures they want until the employee side of the conversation opens up. Not until we tackle the other part of the equation will the numbers reflect what the company side is hoping to achieve. Companies need to dip their toes in the soft and scary side of this issue. “It reeks of counseling or therapy,” an executive said to me. Yeah, you betcha, it does. So what? If your goal is to make your company workforce more effective, more productive, and more profitable, are you going to shy away from doing what works because it’s too touchy-feely?

I’m being paid by employees all over the country to help them figure out why they aren’t happy in companies where, by all appearances, they should be. We have to reach the employees who think that something external is the answer.

By the way, helping them sort out their internal career clutter doesn’t always mean they’ll leave. Accepting personal responsibility for career wellness creates freedom for employees at all levels to engage for reasons they haven’t before. Millennials are already sparking change in the way we think about career coaching as reported in this article and this one. Newsflash, it’s not only millennials who need it.

For anyone leading a company that cares about culture and understands how vital it is to success, the next step is opening up to the “soft” side. Coach the employee side, the personal side, of employee engagement, complete the equation and who knows, companies just may begin to see the ROI they’ve been trying to see for the past 30 years.

Photo credit: Ben Franklin Quote – Failing 100 Ways via photopin (license).

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Women in Transition

Why Trust Career Serendipity?

May 24, 2016

Look back over your career. How did you land where you are? Chances are you’ll be able to identify a random meeting, an unplanned collaboration, or chance event that represents a critical moment that helped you on your way to where you are right now.

Pooneh Mohajer, founder of Hard Candy and two other startups, talks about career serendipity:

It’s funny, we have these plans for ourselves, these well-laid plans, and then you meet someone or are influenced by something or exposed to something; and we end up going in another direction, which is great.

Read the full Inc.com article here.

Notice serendipitous events. Be mindful enough to sense your gut reaction to them. Be brave enough to act on them. That’s how to create a brilliantly fulfilling career.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

What Do These Four Successful Career Shifters Have in Common?

April 9, 2016

SHIFT HAPPENS!

It may not happen as fast as you want it to happen. It may not be easy. But it does happen.

Take a look at the following examples:
Recent Grad: Executed shift from retail to professional role in logistics/distribution
(Networking & Recruiter)
Early Career: PhD transitioned to new field and landed industry dream job
(Networking & Job Board)
Middle Career: Finance professional successfully re-entered workforce (Networking)
Late Career: Seasoned sales professional refused to take company restructure as an off-ramp to retirement – landed major sales position in high-volume market (Networking)

What do they have in common?
1. Yes, they are all recent clients, but the next two points are where I want you to pay attention.
2. They all incorporated some form of networking, some way of making new connections, into their job search strategy. (Note that only one in four landed their new gig by applying on a job board – supporting the popular job search statistic that 80% of positions are filled though networking.) Use job boards. Definitely. But not as your only approach.
3. All of these shifters took ownership of their career wellness. They created their next steps. They didn’t lead with fear. They worked hard. They didn’t listen to the naysayers. They had the guts to take action and the stamina to keep going when they felt like quitting.

From creating a strong brand on LinkedIn to attract the attention of recruiters, to learning the art of the informational interview, these shifters made it happen.

Kudos to them for showing the rest of us how to do it right.

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page, job search anxiety, Mid Life Professionals, Women in Transition

Can’t Find Your One True Calling?

March 30, 2016

A client just shared this TED Talk with me. If you have 12 minutes and have experienced anxiety with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” you must watch this video. I’m now an official bSI6ImhvbWUtZmVlZDpkZXNrdG9wIiwibiI6IjAifQ
” data-miniprofile-element-key=”eyJzIjoiT1JHQU5JQyIsInUiOiJ1cm46bGk6bWVtYmVyIiwiZyI6Ik9USEVSIn0
” data-trk=”member-mention-name” data-li-miniprofile-id=”LI-9859263″ rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Emilie Wapnick fan. Enjoy!

by Barbara Berger

Blog Page

DISC Assessment for Career Transition

March 20, 2016

After my first exposure to the DISC behavioral assessment 20 years ago, and having the good fortune of working in environments that supported the tool and validated its worth for many years, I am now a certified administrator of the assessment.

I’ve partnered with TTI Success Insights® and completed the required hours of training, education, and practical application of the DISC model using TTI’s validated, research-based instruments.

My company, Career Wellness Partners, provides boutique career transition services to the Lehigh Valley and beyond. As a certified career coach, I can’t express how valuable the understanding of your natural behavioral style is during a career transition. A DISC assessment helps you increase self-awareness, understand success or struggle in past positions, and make career decisions that are aligned with your natural style.

Contact me at barbara@CareerWellnessPartners.com for more information about how DISC can help with your career decisions.

by Barbara Berger

What Happens When You Follow Your Heart to Work?

Genuinely Engaged

You Can Just Tell

Active Questions to Energize Your Career

Employees – Step Up Your Game!

Game On!

But what does career awareness mean?

How do you achieve awareness?

Stop Shying Away from the Touchy-Feely

When You Fall Out of Love with Your Job

The Challenges for Older Employees

First Steps Focus: Your Mindset

Next Steps

What Employees Need To Know About Employee Engagement

No matter what your company does, it’s all up to you.

Companies can lead an employee to engagement but….

Become your own career coach.

Yes, it’s all about their bottom line.

The BIG Mistake Companies Are Making in Employee Engagement Programs

Why Trust Career Serendipity?

What Do These Four Successful Career Shifters Have in Common?

Can’t Find Your One True Calling?

DISC Assessment for Career Transition

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