Susan Wright

Susan Wright

Career Check-up

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By Lorraine Clemes, TCP Associate

Careers are organic things that need tending. Often we get so busy in our lives that the years fly by and we forget that we started our careers with dreams or goals in mind. How long has it been since you asked yourself, “Is my career on track?” If it’s been awhile, this new decade may be the excuse you need to get going.

Steps to consider

Careers are personal expressions of our skills, values, interests and personality in the context of our organizations and society. You may have set out on a career that made sense at the time, but that doesn’t fit with the life-stage you’re in now or what’s happening in organizations these days. Factors such as the impact of technology have changed many careers. We owe it to ourselves to be aware of how much personal and professional satisfaction we are, or aren’t, getting from our careers, and to continue reaching for our goals. That’s a win-win for us, the organizations we work for and the people who share our lives.

A check-up requires us to look at both ourselves and the bigger trends around us. It’s often a relief to be honest about how we feel and to put specific action steps in place if they are needed. That’s one way to keep motivation and passion in our lives. Consider the following questions.

Micro/Personal level

Regardless of your past dreams, from your vantage point today, ask yourself:
Do you like what you do?
What are you most proud of in your career?
Where did you expect you would be in your career and life now?
What causes you to get stuck or procrastinate?
What is the most important career goal you have left to achieve?
What is one step you could take to get closer to that goal?

Macro/Societal level

Often we resist accepting changing realities and can end up being left behind or somewhere that doesn’t work for us. Consider:
How might technology, demographics, new laws or another factors change the trajectory of your career?
What has changed in your field since you started your career?
Are you up- to-date with how your career field fits within the larger picture?
Are there actions you could take to be closer to the leading edge or to be a leader in the emerging trends?

Next steps

If it’s time to make your career healthier, here are some suggestions:

  • Join or become more active in a relevant association
  • Ensure your certifications are up to date
  • Research emerging trends
  • Network – which is just good mutual communication in action
  • Hire a coach to dig deeper into your situation and assist you with making the best decisions and getting an action plan started
  • Set time aside for honest reflection on your 3 to 5 year goals and then consider what you need to do to get there
  • If you’re a leader, ensure that you are tracking your team members’ and high potentials’ career aspirations so you can provide the most relevant feedback and suitable assignments possible.

Over my twenty years as a career/leadership coach I’ve observed that most successful people are intentional about their life and career goals.  That doesn’t mean we need to plan everything and expect it all to happen – surprises and serendipity occur continuously. But it does mean that in the midst of our activity, we can benefit from setting time aside to check in, reflect and tune up the direction of our careers. If you’re aware of what’s important to you and how you’d like to engage in your career, then you will be ready to recognize, seize or proactively seek your best opportunities.

Reflections on a Career

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By Sue Griggs, TCP Associate

Ten years ago, my husband asked me when I was going to retire. He became quite frustrated and a bit annoyed when I said that I had absolutely no idea when I was going to ‘retire’. I also mentioned that I hated the whole concept of retirement and that I couldn’t possibly plan that far ahead.

To put this question into a context, it is perhaps worth mentioning that I was slightly ahead of the Boomer population so I always had the pick of any particular job I wanted. I was able to satisfy my eclectic interests as I moved from country to country, job to job, full-time to part-time, in-house employee, freelance consultant, corporate to non-profit and back again. I did well at whatever I tackled and loved everything I did. I was lucky – I worked where I wanted to for most of my life. Over the years, I have achieved several degrees along with a couple of diplomas. I have been an early childhood educator, a researcher, a course developer, an organizational effectiveness consultant, a psychotherapist and an executive coach. Of course, the basic theme throughout my work career has been my passion to create an environment for people from ages two to eighty so that they could learn and grow.

Back to the question, “When am I going to retire?”, I preserved family harmony by describing a pie – a pie with eight wedge shaped pieces of different sizes. At that time, I described the wedges as: work, family, my own learning, recreation, travel, volunteer activities, cultural activities and the unknown. I drew a visual picture of my pie and talked about how each ‘wedge’ would change over the years. Ten years later, the design of my life has indeed changed; however the pie analogy still fits. Most of the same wedges are in place, although they may not look the same, and they seem to be more interwoven than ever.

The family wedge has changed dramatically as we have been involved in caring for elderly parents until their deaths, and more recently making a commitment to be involved in the lives of our granddaughters. Of course dealing with health issues and complications of aging bodies has taken a bigger piece of the family pie than previously. The work wedge has also changed although it hasn’t lessened that dramatically. The financial compensation has diminished considerably as we do more and more pro bono work and I use my skills in a number of non-profit ventures around the world. For the most part, work and volunteering have become one and take up a very important part of the pie. Travel has increased somewhat, although more and more of the travel is tied up with non-profit work, volunteering and family as well. Learning and being involved in new things hasn’t stopped. Designing and building a house and attempting to learn a new language have taken considerable time and energy. The wedge involved with the unknown is flexible – holding a space for possibilities and for the unexpected, both of which seem to pop up.  Living a life with meaning and purpose is not always easy; however it is the goal that provides stability to a career – a career, a life and a path which is continuing.

Am I retired? Are we retired? In the traditional sense, mostly. However, when considering the bigger picture, I have not retired from life. Is my ‘career’ over? I feel that as usual, a new chapter and a new career has already started and the journey will continue.

Developing Others

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By Susan Wright, TCP President

It is a perfect time of year to think about developing others, how we pass along the gifts given to us so that others can benefit.  When we become Leader Coaches, we make a fundamental transition from looking after ourselves to looking beyond ourselves to serve others, appreciating their unique strengths and development edges, and providing the support and challenge necessary for their continued growth.

We do this at work, of course, as we build high-engagement teams in the organization.  And we do it outside of work as well, in our families and communities in a variety of ways.  It is exciting and rewarding to see others learn and grow.  As Leader Coaches, we often find the more we give, the more we receive in terms of finding meaning and life satisfaction.

As we mature, we tend to extend our perspective on developing others beyond our immediate circle to include those whose growth we can serve in the broader environment, those who are disadvantaged or excluded within our wider communities or people who are struggling in other parts of the globe.  By sharing our gifts more expansively, we take a longer-term perspective on development, making an investment in the future of those we support, their families and communities, and the world in general.   We have seen this natural progression from self to others to the world in many Leader Coaches.  It seems a natural process of development in us that is the by-product of reaching out to develop others.

The Coaching Project and our Associates are involved in many of these efforts locally and internationally.  While they all speak to developing others, one clear example is SchoolBOX (www.schoolbox.ca), a small charitable organization dedicated to providing primary school education in Nicaragua, the poorest nation in the Americas, where less than half of all children complete Grade 5.  SchoolBOX was begun in 2006 by one young Canadian in search of a way to contribute.  One day he gave a little girl a pencil and notebook, and realized he had changed her life because she could now go to school.  With vision, dedicated leadership and single-minded persistence, the organization has grown to support 7,000 students in 30 communities around the country with new and renovated school buildings, dental hygiene and sports equipment, as well as those critical school supplies.

As SchoolBOX President Tom Affleck says, “It is so much more than educational supplies; it is instilling hope in children and their communities to have faith in themselves and a brighter future.”  And by using North American students as interns and project volunteers to build schools and raise funds to furnish and equip them, SchoolBOX also develops these young people as leaders with an awareness of the incredible difference they can make, working alongside members of the local community while learning about their country, culture, and language.

As a Leader Coach, how do you develop others?  In what ways do you contribute to the growth of your team, your organization, your family and your community?   How have you felt this pull toward the deep meaning and satisfaction that come from sharing your gifts more broadly in the world?  During this season of joy and connection, let’s take a moment to reflect on our many gifts and how we might use them in developing others.

Well-Being: The Ultimate Cross-Training

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By Susan Wright, TCP President

Well-Being is not something that just happens for most of us. It takes a conscious intention and persistent effort, like most things that bring us joy and reward in life. Well-Being is not complicated.  It emerges simply from intentionally performing a set of integrated practices consisting of disciplined action, repeated custom or regular exercise. It is cross-training in life. By exercising the body, mind, heart and spirit routinely, we get tremendous synergistic benefits.

To begin, think about your current activities on the following dimensions:

Physical: healthy diet, cardiovascular and anabolic exercise, sleep, supplements, massage, chiropractic. The benefits of physical Well-Being are agility, coordination, flexibility, strength and speed. How would you rate your current physical Well-Being on a scale, say, of 1 to 10?

Mental: reading, critical reflection, perspective taking, creative writing, drawing, hobbies. The benefits of mental Well-Being are problem solving, information processing, critical thinking, and the ability to take multiple perspectives. How would you rate your current mental Well-Being on a scale of 1 to 10?

Emotional: relaxation, stretching, reflective dialogue, journaling, yoga, Tai Chi, therapy. The benefits of emotional Well-Being are composure, patience, the development of presence, the deepening of relationships, and learning to deal effectively with stress. How would you rate your current emotional Well-Being on a scale of 1 to 10?

Spiritual: meditation, contemplation, spending time in nature, devotions, centering, prayer. The benefits of spiritual Well-Being are calm strength, stronger connection to self and others and the world, deeper awareness, and moving beyond ego. How would you rate your current level of spiritual Well-Being on a scale of 1 to 10?

These are only a few examples of the thousands of practices that you can tailor to your unique Well-Being plan. The idea is to choose at least one practice in each of the four domains and practice them concurrently. Being dedicated to a few practices will create greater Well-Being than half-heartedly practicing more. Notice, too, that many practices benefit multiple domains, such as yoga or Tai Chi.

Before creating your Well-Being plan, there is one other assessment required. In order to achieve Well-Being, we need to engage in practices in three ways: alone, with others, and out in the world. So, for example, you might choose to read and reflect on your own but begin to attend a meditation group with an instructor. Or you might join a book club and set up a meditation area in your home. You might choose to visit the cathedrals of Europe and learn their history on your own or plan to act as tour guide for family or friends. How would you rate your current practices in relation to these three ways of practicing? For many of us, finding time alone where we can be intentional about practice is a challenge.

Designing your Well-Being Plan

There are five steps involved in designing a Well-Being plan. The first you’ve already done: assessing your current practices. If you practice intentionally in each of the four domains in a variety of ways, and you gave yourself a 7 or more out of a possible 10,  congratulations! You may want to tinker for motivational purposes but you have the essence of Well-Being. If you missed one of the domains or ways of practicing, or gave yourself a lower score, read on. You can create or revitalize your practice with great benefits to your Well-Being.

Step #1:  Assess current Practice
What is your honest appraisal of your current practice status? Do you regularly touch base with all the domains and ways of engaging with your own Being? How effective is the connection with Well-Being?

Step #2: Identify Gaps
Once you have a sense of where you are, it is important to decide where you want to go. What does Well-Being look like to you? What is the quality of Being you are seeking? Think of a word or short phrase that would symbolize the quality of Well-Being that is ideal for you. Perhaps you would like to increase the quality of your Presence or Connection or Energy. What would that quality look like on your rating scale? Would some domains be a 10? Would others not change? Think about the size of the gap on each of the domains and in each of the ways of engaging in practice.

Step #3: Evaluate Commitment
Before moving into choosing practices, take a second look at the commitment you are making. Is it doable? Is it sustainable, at least for a period of time you choose, say 3 months as a start? It is better to commit to a realistic plan you will be successful in practicing than to reach too far or expect too much and fail. If your commitment is unrealistic, scale it back so you feel comfortable that you will be successful.

Step #4: Choose Practices
You probably already have some ideas about the practices you will choose in each domain and how you will engage with them. Some may be practices you have been routinely carrying out for years. For these, you may want to add some new cross-training element. For example, you may add a deep breathing practice to your stretching during your workout. Some practices may be new to you. For these, you may want to join a group to benefit from an instructor and the motivation of practicing in a community.

Step #5: Practice Diligently
Once you have your Well-Being cross-training plan in place, choose a period of time during which you commit to fully practicing all of the elements concurrently. It need not be long – a few weeks or months will reward you with observable change in the quality of Well-Being you have chosen. Feel free to make minor design changes as you practice. As long as you are intentional about your plan, you can adapt your practices to your life circumstances.

Good luck, and let me know how you’re doing!

Employee Engagement Today

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By Susan Wright, TCP President

We all read and talk about engagement but what does it really involve?  It is known by many names – flow, motivation, involvement, effort, satisfaction.  It is a business imperative, resulting in improvements in profitability, quality, productivity, revenue, customer satisfaction, innovation, and retention.  It has been defined countless ways, among my favourites the following from Lominger Ltd:

Employee engagement is a mind-set in which individuals take personal responsibility for the success of the organization and apply discretionary efforts aligned with its goals.

This definition highlights the twin criteria for engagement: both desire to contribute to the organization’s success and personal satisfaction in the work role.  Blessing & White in their 2008 study of engagement say engaged employees are “enthused and in gear, using their talents and discretionary effort to make a difference in their employer’s quest for sustainable business success.”   However, their research indicates that less than one-third (29%) of employees are fully engaged and 19% are actually disengaged.  This data was generated over a year ago.  What do you think these figures look like today?  How would your organization compare?  Where would you place yourself in terms of your own engagement?

In an economic downturn, there are particular challenges with employee engagement.  One is the level of uncertainty – how are employees to take personal responsibility for the success of the organization when that success seems so far removed from their control?  And what motivates employees to spend discretionary effort in their work if they’re not sure they will have a job tomorrow?  One of the must-haves for engagement is trust.  Consistency, clarity, predictability – these are the characteristics of a high trust environment.  How do we create that trust in turbulent times?

In virtually every study of engagement, results show that the key relationship is that between the manager and the team.  Managers define the job, represent the culture, set expectations, provide recognition and feedback. In other words, they build the basic trust relationship and through it, create consistency, clarity and predictability for team members. Managers don’t necessarily have the answers and can’t control the broader circumstances, but they can communicate openly and honestly and often, be clear about what they know and don’t know, and give employees as much control over their choices as possible. In other words, they can be Leader Coaches.

Never has there been a better time to be a Leader Coach for your team, your peers, your boss, your colleagues.  The foundation of Leader Coaching is Building Trust, making the appreciative connection with others in every interaction, listening and clarifying using Unconditional Positive Regard, showing up with personal authenticity and vulnerability.  As a Leader Coach, you are a role model for others – your own ability to deal with ambiguity will be mirrored by your team. It’s OK to be nervous; everybody is.  What’s not OK is cutting yourself off from others because you don’t have the answers, or taking your anxiety out on others.  As a Leader Coach, here are five things you can do right now to build trust and engagement in your workplace.

1. Have an individual meeting with each of your team members to find out how they’re feeling, what they need to know, and how you can coach them about their engagement.  Use the three stages in the Leader Coach process for these conversations.

2. Do an assessment of your own level of engagement at the moment.  How personally responsible do you feel about the success of your organization?  How much discretionary effort are you bringing to your work?  What kind of an engagement role model are you for your staff?  If you’re not fully engaged, what is one thing you could do?  For example, who do you trust that you might you get some coaching from to develop an action plan?

3. At your next team meeting, engage your team in their own engagement.  Use an open space or dialogue or world café approach to get your team talking about engagement and creating a list of actions that you can work on together.

4. As Catherine the Great said, “Praise loudly; criticize softly.”  Everyone wants to know what they’re doing well and to be recognized for their efforts. Tough times are an opportunity to dial up the praise, recognize discretionary effort, show compassion and caring.  Take every opportunity to celebrate, and get senior management involved whenever appropriate.

5. Encourage peer coaching.  Peers are powerful coaches for each other – they provide buffers from stress and uncertainty, and create bonds that support both individuals in performing, learning and changing.  Be a matchmaker to help peers connect and support each other.

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.

George Bernard Shaw

Engagement During Turbulent Times: A Case Study

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By Gillian Buergin, VP Operations & HR, Algonquin Automotive

“You look great!  Just one last set! You can do this!” As a part time fitness instructor I am passionate about coaching my group exercise participants to set and achieve their personal goals.  During each class I know it is my job to lead the group safely through the journey we will take together and to do it in a way that recognizes individual needs while presenting strong, confident leadership to the entire room.   Being a successful instructor means I must fully commit myself to continuous learning and to mirroring the essence of my program.  More than that, to serve my participants well, I must strike a balance between a highly energizing session and one in which meaningful connections can be formed.  I know that community is retention glue and when my participants feel connected to each other, they are more likely to return week after week, stay motivated and ultimately achieve their fitness goals.

What began as a way to relieve workday stress and improve overall health has grown into an essential adjunct to my life.  Being a present leader, fostering a motivating environment, facilitating the formation of a community; these are lessons that I take from the gym to my role as the executive Operations and Human Resource leader for an automotive accessory manufacturer.

Over the past two years world economic events have converged to create the Perfect Storm for the North American automotive industry.  Having faced a number of downward cycles during my career in this dynamic industry, I felt that I was prepared to weather the storm.  But this time has proven to be very different.  With a weakening Canadian dollar, budget cuts, a tightening credit market and a  consumer shift towards more fuel efficient vehicles, our organization has experienced unprecedented hardship and I have personally faced the most challenging period of my career.

The journey has been arduous and today, our organization is still confronting difficult days as the automotive industry struggles to regain its footing.  Our future still holds great uncertainty but reflecting on this difficult journey I have learned some very valuable lessons.   First, an empowered team is an absolute joy to lead (from behind).  Second, it is possible to engage and motivate an entire workforce to achieve amazing results against incredible odds.  Third, when the number of things beyond your control dramatically outnumber those within it, focusing on process and co-creating SMART goals will bring clarity and confidence.

Is it possible for a Leader Coach to stand in the paradox of creating a motivating environment for personal growth against the backdrop of a declining industry and uncertain future?  To answer, I will share the words of commitment put forth by my management team as they worked to create their Operational goals:

We are the warriors in the battle against waste and apathy

We rely on our team members and trust each other

We honour our core values and remember our past

We keep ourselves focused on the path ahead

We fight for the realization of our vision

We respond to factual feedback

We create an environment in which confidence and expertise can build

We strive to be top performers and remain team players

By inspiring positive change we can take on the world!

Whether I am in the gym or the office, creating the conditions in which an energized, connected team can form is my top responsibility and passion.   I feel privileged to play a part in the successful achievement of so many personal and organizational goals and I know that all that I have learned to this point is simply the precursor to greater experiences.  As a Leader Coach, my journey continues and as for my management team and their direct reports…well…they are ready to take on the world!