Workplace Eavesdropping - "What's a webinar?" - - - "Where's my IPad?"

Understanding the importance of managing workplace differences has grown to be a very important skill for all of us.  Several drivers for this phenomenon include:

• For the first time in modern history, multiple generations are represented in our workforces. 

• There are a significant number of women, minorities and non-traditional workers changing the makeup of the traditional workplace.

• Individuals interested in preserving their heritage are more aware of and supportive of cultural traditions.

• Society encourages businesses to do the right thing for workers, which at the same time should be good for business and customers.

• Legal expectations dictate regulations and compliance

Listening to the workplace today we hear statements such as:

• “I have a new rule, I will not be attending meetings after 4 because I’m in a vanpool”

• “She wants a ‘career map’!   Gee, I don’t even know if there will be a customer relations department this time next year!”

• “He asked me, ‘Do you access email?’ with a tone that shouted – you were born in the Stone Age…. Way before technology!

• “I’ve never heard of that religious holiday – is that for real?”

Whether you are looking for a new job, climbing the ladder at your current employer, improving working relationships within your team, or working with customers to grow your business, understanding the changing climate of differences in the workplace is critical for success.   My experience observing workplaces where awareness and skills are heightened through training and teambuilding demonstrates that workplace performance improves, communications are more open, relationships are stronger, organizations gain a ‘Great Place to Work’ reputation, liability and legal claims are reduced and recruitment and retention of top talent is easier.   About the only thing you could ask for is to have your windows washed…… just kidding.   It’s not a panacea to fix everything, but it certainly makes a difference. 

We all learned in a Communications 101 class way back when, that our perceptions are influenced by many things.   How we perceive what we hear, see, read, etc. can be tied back to factors such as:

• Heritage
• Family history and stories
• The old ‘nature vs nurture’ battle
• Religious and spiritual beliefs
• Values
• Opinions
• Past experiences

As you consider raising your awareness to be better prepared to work in this multi-generational/culture workplace, consider the words of George Orwell, “each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”   Are they really; or is it just a matter of perception?   Did you ever consider testing your perceptions?   Perhaps through an examination of your personal perceptions and biases you can shift your focus and take away the fuzziness around the edges of certain situations by viewing it through another set of lenses?

For example, consider the following events, music and/or heroes that have influenced and shaped generational characteristics.  These along with other factors are discussed in Ron Zemke’s book, Generations at Work.  How can we expect that individuals and co-workers impacted by the diversity of events such as these would view the world the same?   Not very likely.

1930’s/Great Depression
1940’s/Pearl Harbor
1950’s/TV in every home
1960’s/Kennedy elected/Kennedy & Martin Luther King Asassinations
1970’s/Women’s Rights Movement
1980’s/Fall of the Berlin Wall
1990’s/Desert Storm
2000’s/9/11 Attack

Is it any wonder we have different ways of looking at work, relationships, respect, trust, etc?

So what can you do to better prepare yourself to sell to, be interviewed by, or work with someone who operates with a different perception than you?  

• First, raise your awareness to your own perceptions and biases.   Explore where they came from and IF they are still valid.   If they are not still valid, let them go and replace the belief with one that is more appropriate for the world today. 

• Pay attention to your communications – not only to your words, but your tone, manners, words, and channels that you choice to use.   Adjust your style to respect others.  

• When I was growing up, we were taught to respect others like you would like to be respected.   That rule really doesn’t apply anymore.   What’s more appropriate is to respect others as they would like to be respected. 

• Take time to get to know others and what their preferences are.  The only way to respect a person like he/she would like to be respected is to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue and get to know them as a person.

As the ‘veterans’ retire out of the workplace we’ll have one less generation at the conference table, but even so, diversity in some shape or form is here to stay.   So the sooner you improve your skills for respecting differences at work, the better. 

I’m curious, how do you see this multi-generational and cultural workplace evolving?   Are you getting the information you need from your company to keep up with diversity issues and trends, or do you need to seek information and training on your own?

Maintaining Self-Motivation

It doesn’t matter what our career path looks like -- entrepreneur, part- or full-time job seeker, summer job seeker, sales person trying to grow a territory, individual looking for an internal promotion – disappointments are bound to come our way.  We’ve all heard, “you can’t win them all.”   But give me a break – how many disappointments do we have to endure before the “big win” comes along?  This is a question many have been asking over these past two years of difficult and challenging economic times.  There isn’t a crystal ball to help see what the future  holds.  We just need to continue to nourish ourselves with the faith and inner spirit that “the YES” is just around the corner from all these no’s. But that can be exhausting!

While waiting, here are a few things to do to help you remain strong, positive and hopeful, because without a good attitude and outlook, getting to a yes will be difficult.  You may have seen some of these tips before.  If you did, revisit them.  Perhaps now is a better time for you to incorporate them into your routine than earlier in your career:

1. Surround yourself with positive people.  Avoid friends, family and colleagues who have a negative attitude.  
2. Have one or two very close and trusted friends that you can really share your true feelings with.  We all need an outlet. It’s better to get those feelings out and not be burying them under a facade.  You wouldn’t want them to suddenly appear during an interview.
3. Be kind to yourself and from time-to-time treat yourself to something you normally wouldn’t do for yourself.
4. Avoid the news, for all the obvious reasons.   
5. Volunteer – you’ll feel better helping others and it will get your mind off of your job situation for a little while. Who knows, this may open a door to a new career.
6. Exercise – it’s good for you, and it too will help clear your mind and provide you with a short break from the job situation.  This may be the time to explore yoga or tai chi to help manage your stress level
7. Keep a routine – get up and get dressed everyday.  Your job is to make a sale, find a job, whatever – you can’t very well do that in your PJ’s.  
8. Be active building and staying in touch with your network.
9. Take time to meditate or renew your spiritual connection.
10. Get away for a short break – you may not be able to take a week long vacation, but perhaps you could swing a long weekend.  Giving yourself a break will help you recharge your energy.

A few other things you may want to consider, if the disappointments and rejections are mounting:

1. Make sure you ask for constructive and honest feedback after every interview.  If you didn’t get the job, what did the interviewers see as lacking, or not the right fit?  Gathering this information and creating a strategy to do something about it can be very powerful in changing your pattern of outcomes down the road.
2. Illustrate your situation to get a clearer picture of what is happening.  List the jobs you’ve applied for, along with those where you got an interview?  What helped you get to the interview stage?  What did you learn about why you didn’t get that job or sale?  Can you see the outline of a theme or a pattern?  Using the information gleamed from this exercise; make a plan to work on changing the outcome.
3. Have you reconnected with your references to ask if they noticed anything during their conversations with prospective employers/clients that would help you better align your time and energies in a more productive manner?  Perhaps your skills aren’t as strong a match as what they are looking for, or you appear overqualified?   Use their feedback to help you better position yourself on the next interview.
4. Are you “coaching” your references properly?  Yes, I said, “coaching”.  Before any prospective employer talks with your references, contact them to tell them what you learned about the job and explain to them why the job is perfect for you.  Give them a heads up about who they will be hearing from, and request that they specifically talk about certain skills, talents or experiences you have that you think will make the greatest impression on the prospective employer.  Naturally the reference can also talk about whatever else he/she wants to, but from what you have learned about this opportunity, the employer should definitely hear about the special knowledge, skills or abilities you will bring to the position that fits with what you know they are looking for.
5. In those cases when the job seeker already has a job and is trying to move up or on, the question I would ask is a delicate one – “Do you think there is anyway your current boss is sabotaging your opportunity to leave him/her?”   No, it’s not a nice thing to do, but if your work references really like the contributions you are making, they may be very motivated to have you stay.  If you have even the least bit of doubt regarding what your work references are sharing during the reference check, you might look for other credible positions within the organization to provide the reference.
6. As you consider the jobs or sales opportunities you’ve been pursuing, is there anyway you’ve slipped into the “shotgun approach”, shooting at anything that moves, rather than maintaining an approach focused on what you are most passionate about, and qualified for?  If the employer senses a tendency of desperation or an “I’ll take anything now and find what I want later” attitude, the result will most certainly be rejection.  If you find that you have slipped into this mode, especially if your search has been lengthy, take a step back and work with a coach to help you re-articulate a focused strategy and action plan.
7. Our personalities greatly influence our communication style.  Have you had any feedback that your style is too meek, or too aggressive?  Maybe you come off as too much of a know-it-all, or lacking confidence?  As appropriate, reassess your communication style paying particular attention to those pitfalls where your style can come across counterproductive to the style required for the position. If necessary, work with a career coach to assess and improve your interviewing and interpersonal skills.

Losing the sale or the job opportunity can be very disappointing.  Try not to over analyze it.   For whatever reason, it just wasn’t the right one.  Learn what you can from the experience and thank those involved for giving you the opportunity to be considered.  Something else is around the corner, and when it arrives, you need to be ready.  It’s not easy to stay motivated in the face of rejection, but perhaps if you can remember the words of the classic song Pick Yourself Up, (music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields), sung in the 1936 movie Swing Time you’ll find some motivation to keep positive.   Focus on these verses:

Nothing's impossible, I have found.
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up, dust myself off,
tart all over again.

Don't lose your confidence if you slip.
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up; dust yourself off;
Start all over again.

There is a “YES” around the corner.  Be ready with a healthy, positive attitude.