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Patricia A. Crew
Master Career Counselor MA, LCPC, NBCC
Patricia has almost 30 years of experience helping individuals pursue, change, manage and advance their careers. As well as a Masters degree in counseling from Catholic University, Patricia has completed numerous post-graduate classes in counseling and career development at Johns Hopkins University.
Patricia previously worked as the Career Development Manager for the Montgomery County Government and as a career counselor for the Montgomery County Commission for Women.
She continues to be a featured speaker with recent presentations topics that include: Secrets to Predicting Career Success That Only You Know, Get Out of Your Own Way To Get What You Want in Your Career and Winning Strategies to Enhance Your Worth at Work.
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COMPREHENSIVE CAREER COUNSELING CAN HELP YOU TO: |
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~ Gain a clear understanding of your core strengths. ~ Do a thorough career exploration. ~ Manage a career change. ~ Improve your work performance. ~ Remove artificial, organizational barriers to success. ~ Navigate thorny management issues. ~ Prevent derailment by building strategic alliances.
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| CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
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"I came to Trisha with little more than faith that I would eventually figure out
what I wanted to do with my life. Having never worked with a career counselor
before, I was a bit skeptical before our first meeting. After all, if I still
hadn't figured out the right career after all my different work experiences, how
was she going to be able to help me now?
I'm so glad I took a chance.
Trisha helped me put words to my skills and experiences, which remarkably,
I'd never been able to do with any accuracy. Once empowered with this clarified
vision of myself, she helped me turn vague aspirations into very real, very
achievable goals. I was so impressed with her ability to 'zero in' on what
matters most to me.
She is creative, deeply knowledgeable about careers, and most important to
me, caring.
Making career decisions deserves a lot of attention - and that's exactly
what I got from with working with Trisha."
- J.B.
Master's Student at Johns Hopkins University
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Volume 9: Fall 2009 Greetings!
Welcome to the ninth edition of
the Comprehensive Career Counseling newsletter. As mentioned in my last newsletter, I am taking these next few issues in
a new direction in order to address some of the problems and opportunities
facing many of us in the current turbulent times.
I'm planning to spend some time
addressing the topic of building relationships in the workplace while we watch
for the job market to become more robust. In this issue, I address the all-important topic of building your relationship with 'The Boss'.
Look for news of my spring
workshops in the next newsletter. Also, be
sure to take a look at the "Recommendations" section below for information
about No One Path: Perspectives on
Leadership..., which was just
published by Women in Technology. I helped write two of the chapters of Betty Arbuckle's book Good Leaders Jump In, Nurture Talent, and Dede Haskin's book Busting Myths, Dreaming Big - so I've watched this book grow from idea to
reality.
In the meantime, my wish for all
of you for the coming New Year is that you'll be able to move from a state of
confusion or lack of direction, to clarity and setting out achievable goals. I
hope that you will find your passion and feel empowered enough to explore the
new opportunities that 2010 is certain to provide.
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The Boss: A Critical Relationship (Especially Right Now)
So, you've decided to hunker down and stay the course in your present job. You believe that leaving is not an option for now, considering all of the unpleasant trends in the current economy. You may find yourself coping with the aftermath of layoffs and trying to avoid getting the ax. Or, you may find yourself in the midst of a merger/acquisition (again). Or, you may have simply plateaued for the time being. This is the ideal time to improve your work place relationships, starting with 'The Boss'.
A strong, positive relationship with your immediate supervisor is essential to a successful career. To many people, it's even more important than the perks of the job. As a recent article in the Washington Post noted, "When it comes to sizing up the quality of their workplaces...workers value strong leadership [and] straight answers from their bosses more than pay and benefits."
That's 'The Boss' we all want. Unfortunately, many of my clients tell me that's not 'The Boss' they have. Instead, as one client put it, "My boss is unrealistically demanding of me...I never have time for friends and least of all staying in touch with my professional contacts. I use to enjoy my job but now I am so overwhelmed, all I want to do is leave and find a new job."
So, you're stuck with a not-so-great leader for the time being. What can you do to turn this situation around to your benefit? What strategies can you employ to improve the relationship?
1. Make a conceptual mind shift. Instead of focusing only on advancing yourself, commit to helping the boss succeed. Maybe, for a fleeting moment, you forgot why you were hired - to help accomplish the department's objectives. Making your boss look good makes you look good to 'The Boss', so here are some options to consider:
- Consistently go beyond your fundamental job description.
- Accept "out of the box" assignments which gain visibility for your boss - and you.
- Perform well on critical tasks connected to the bottom line.
2. Get into your boss's head. Are you flying blind in your job because you don't have a basic understanding of your manager's goals, objectives, problems and concerns?
- Take the time to interact with your boss to gather this information.
- Review your own job description, responsibilities, and objectives.
- Make sure the two are aligned.
3. Ask yourself how can you best complement your boss. Study her or his weaknesses and strengths. What management style does your boss prefer? What's the best way to communicate with this important person?
One of my clients reported that her boss totally ignored her emails and as a result, she felt he was ignoring her. She sent many emails in which she included everything relevant to what they were working on, but he refused to respond. And then I saw the e-mails. They were exceedingly long and detailed for this particular method of communication.
I suggested that instead, she get on 'The Boss's' calendar and meet face-to-face. In that meeting, she would need to boil all of her key points and questions down to a set of bullet-points in order to be able to talk in a concise, focused manner and make best use of 'The Boss's' time.
Don't get me wrong; some people prefer to communicate by e-mail. The key is to know your manager well enough to understand the best way and time to communicate with him or her. Complement your manager's preferred communication style by adjusting your communications to fit that style.
4. Follow the advice of Socrates - Know Thyself. Studying your own behavior and knowing how you impact others is key to your relationship with 'The Boss'. How does your behavior work to enhance your relationship? What aspects of your personality distract from the relationship? You can't, and shouldn't, try to make a dramatic personality shift, but consider what works best under which circumstances. If you are aware of what works, and what doesn't, you will know how to proceed to make the relationship more effective.
5. Strive for validation. Even if you don't always agree with 'The Boss', make it your objective to understand your boss's point of view. When you make the effort to listen, clarify, and convey your understanding, you create trust and a safe place for communication to flow. Trust is accomplished through understanding and without trust, a good relationship is impossible.
You don't have to like 'The Boss', but you do have to work with him/her - at least for now. And when all is said and done, 'The Boss' is the person who evaluates your work performance, helps make decisions about your salary and bonus, recommends you for promotion and special assignments and even provides recommendations when you are able to move on to the next phase of your career.
6. Disassociate yourself from toxic personalities. If your boss has a "toxic" personality, unfortunately, there may be nothing you can do to improve your relationship. If you continue trying to make the relationship work, it simply results in a dysfunctional relationship. If that's the case you find yourself in, the best thing to do is to mentally detach yourself.
Continue performing your job as best you can while you start thinking about how to move away. Try to make a lateral move within the same company or position yourself for a completely new situation when the time is right. The best way to prepare the way for a career move is to begin working on your relationships with others who might be able to help you with that move. That will be the topic of another newsletter.
This is an especially important time to be working on improving your relationships and communications. Make them work for you!
Resources:
"Avoiding the Ax: Where the Jobs Are." Sarah E. Needleman, Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2008.
"Money's Nice, but a Good Boss is Better," Steve Vogel, Washington Post, May 20, 2009.
"Managing Your Boss, "John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review, January 1, 2005.
Winning Office Politics, Andrew J. DuBrin, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1990.
Working Scared: Achieving Success in Trying Times, Kenneth N. Wexley and Stanley B. Silverman, San Francisco, 1993. |
RECOMMENDATIONS
No One Path: Perspectives in Leadership from a Decade of Women in Technology Award Winners Published by: Women in Technology (WIT),
with a foreword by Maureen Bunyan (2009). This is about women who have worked hard in
technical industries and defined success for themselves. "It's a wonderful guide
to learning practical insights, techniques, and wisdom for up-and-coming women
in technology." Rebecca Shambaugh (www.shambaughleadership.com)
WIT
offers bulk discounts for orders of ten copies or more, and a portion of the
proceeds of the sale of each book will be used to support the work of the Women
in Technology Education Foundation. I helped with the writing of this book, and
this is a great group. Be sure to take a look-especially if you're a woman in a
technological career or working for a technology organization. Learn more about ordering this book.
Jean Stafford, executive coach of Executive Coaching for Women Inc., specializes in the unique demands made on executive women. If you're in need of help in overcoming traditional barriers, identifying new business opportunities, and achieving new levels of both personal and professional satisfaction, I highly recommend that you contact Jean at 703-759-4862 or go to www.jeanstafford.com.
- Ready to Work
First Tuesday of the month, 6:00 pm
- Transition Roundtable - TelecomHUB
Second Tuesday of
the month, 4:00 pm
- CFO Support Group Second Thursday of the month, 4:00 pm For more information, contact ardell.fleeson@cbre.com. |
PARTNERS CORNER
Marva Goldsmith
Most people
have a vision of what they want to achieve but don't understand that their
words, actions and image may be holding them back. Marva Goldsmith, a Certified
Image Professional, delivers image and branding services through workshops,
workbooks, consulting and branded collateral development that helps her clients
market their best self. Preview her new website at urbanbuzzblog.com. |
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| As always, I look forward to your feedback.
Sincerely,
Patricia Crew
Comprehensive Career Counseling
trishacrew@aol.com
301-838-9456
www.crewcounseling.com
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