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GL wrote:
Hi Marquis,
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us Sunday night and tonight. It was an awesome experience […]. The biggest points I got out of the discussion were how important it is to build your network, anchor your confidence, and help others in the business world.
I asked you a question of how you motivate your teams, but I really wanted to ask what are some ways that we can motivate our teams? On [my organization’s] leadership team, a couple of leaders have extremely demanding schedules and are not investing all that they are capable of in the [organization] for their position. What can I do as a leader to motivate them without becoming demanding or seeming bossy? I am extremely passionate about the [organization] and doing my job to the best of my ability, and it’s challenging to get others on the same page.
My second question is how do you know when it is the right time to change jobs or to pursue an additional degree? I feel that companies are changing how they take care of their employees, and it seems that switching companies allows you to build your resume and make yourself more valuable as a brand.
Lastly, how did you know when you were in the point of your career where you were happy doing your job? I am a forward thinker, and I took the Keirsey Personality Assessment and was labeled an Idealist. I am always thinking about post-graduation and my career. I love the thought of a fantastic career and being successful, but I want to be doing something in which I know I am in the right place.
It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to see you around in Chicago.
Sincerely,
GL
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My response:
GL,
Thanks for sending this email and for making the time to attend both sessions while I was in town. It was great to meet you and hear that my message had some kind of impact on you.
You’ve asked a good set of questions, so I wanted to make sure that I hit you with some thorough responses. So, here goes…
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I asked you a question of how you motivate your teams, but I really wanted to ask what are some ways that we can motivate our teams? On [my organization’s] leadership team, a couple of leaders have extremely demanding schedules and are not investing all that they are capable of in the [organization] for their position. What can I do as a leader to motivate them without becoming demanding or seeming bossy? I am extremely passionate about the [organization] and doing my job to the best of my ability, and it’s challenging to get others on the same page.
This is a good question to be asking, but I want to challenge your initial premise for the question. You’ve stated that your leadership team members “are not investing all that they are capable of in the [organization] for their position”…but who are you to make a statement about what each individual is actually capable of based on everything on their plates. It sounds like they may not be meeting your expectations for contributions, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t giving their all in the roles that they’re playing for you. One note of feedback for you is that, while you are extremely passionate about the organization and are bending over backwards to do your job, others may not be able to express their own passions about the organization in the same way.
Remember when [one of his classmates] asked me the question about how to find balance among all of the priorities that a student faces in college? My response to him was that it is up to each person to determine what he/she wants out of the college experience and then to prioritize his/her activities according to those priorities. We only get one chance to do college and it is on us to make sure that we get everything that we came to college to experience. So, the issue that you’re facing may not be one of motivation. Rather, it may be an issue about the individual priorities of your leadership team members. If you look at the situation in this way, you may not only end up with a different question, but also with a different answer.
Now, let’s get to my advice. I’d recommend that you meet with each of your leaders individually and talk to them about everything that they currently have on their plates. Top-of-mind items include coursework, other leadership activities, and social priorities. Then, dive into the topic of where their role fits into the mix of everything else that they are trying to juggle. Next, share your thoughts on what you were expecting of them in serving their roles for the organization. Don’t necessarily tell them that they aren’t meeting your expectations, but make sure that you communicate what your expectations actually are. Based on what you hear during the exchange, try to engage each leader in a discussion on how to meet a happy medium between where their priorities and your expectations lie.
I think this will be a much more effective approach to possibly affect change than to attempt to solve an issue of motivation that may not even be about motivation at all.
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My second question is how do you know when it is the right time to change jobs or to pursue an additional degree? I feel that companies are changing how they take care of their employees, and it seems that switching companies allows you to build your resume and make yourself more valuable as a brand.
There are tons of situations that would indicate that the time is right to change jobs or pursue a graduate degree…so many that I can’t really list them all. Here are a few instances that immediately come to mind for me:
- When making a change will be additive to your profile –> As you progress toward your career goals, you’ll find that there are certain milestones in terms of roles, titles, educations/degrees, and companies that will be crucial steps along the way. Oftentimes, there are somewhat prescribed timings when those milestones should be met in order to stay on track toward meeting those goals. Those timings can be learned from research, observing others, and based on input from advisors. As you approach those key milestones, you’ll understand that it is time to start planning for a change of some kind.
- When you are unhappy and feel strongly that there is little chance for improvement of your current situation –> Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of my blog and I wrote a section of the commemorative post about this idea. Go to https://marquisparker.com/2013/10/its-amazing-what-one-can-learn-in-10-years/ and look for Lesson #6. I went really deep-dive on this one.
- When the proverbial “opportunity that you can’t refuse” comes along –> This one is self-explanatory. Sometimes, you may be a in a great situation and then another one comes along that is just plain perfect for you. Maybe it presents a brand new challenge or development opportunity. Maybe the opportunity presents a huge increase in compensation. In some cases, it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to say ‘no’ to an alternative path and leads a person to make a jump.
- When you simply feel that a change or a fresh start is in order –> Sometimes, people feel the need for a change for no other reason than to experience something different and that’s totally alright. Maybe he/she has been at a company so long that going to work isn’t exciting anymore. Perhaps, his/her job has become routine. Or, maybe he/she just wants a chance to prove that his/her success can be repeated in a new environment. Whatever the reason, some people just choose to walk away just to do something new. [Think Michael Jordan’s first retirement to go play baseball]
The key point with all of the items above is that the person is drawn to make a move when the timing feels right to him/her, no matter what the reason might be.
As you think about how this might play out for you, remember that you are responsible for charting out your own path for success and then taking the steps to follow that path. If the time feels right for you to move toward a change, you’ll definitely know it. Just don’t ignore that feeling if you really feel that there’s something better waiting if you’re willing to take a step away from your current situation.
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Lastly, how did you know when you were in the point of your career where you were happy doing your job? I am a forward thinker, and I took the Keirsey Personality Assessment and was labeled an Idealist. I am always thinking about post-graduation and my career. I love the thought of a fantastic career and being successful, but I want to be doing something in which I know I am in the right place.
Great question here! Thinking back, I realized that I had arrived at the “happy point” in my career when I saw a convergence between me having built a strong professional/educational track record in my background, hitting on all cylinders in executing on my current job (and being recognized for it), and seeing a great path ahead for me career-wise based on what I’d done and was doing at the time. In other words, I felt comfortable with the past, present, and future of my career, which was incredibly important for me because there were different times in my life and career where I’d had concerns about one or more of these items.
You’ll notice that my answer had several parts and not just a single one…that’s purposeful. Most people would have answered your question by referring you to a single moment in time, after which everything would seem rosy and full of smiles, candy, and cash. I tend to look at things different. For me, the point at which one finds contentment in his/her job is more of a moving target and has several moving parts. In my view, the key to happiness in one’s career is all about making the right moves up to a given point, absolutely killing it in whatever he/she is doing now, and know that there’s a solid path for further success ahead. A person can move into and out of that position several times over the course of one’s career, which is why I say that it isn’t really a single point in time.
So what does this mean for you? As you move forward, I’d recommend staying focused on ensuring that you’re comfortable with the past, present, and future of your own career. Each step of the way, be thoughtful about the educational and career decisions that you make, with a mind toward ensuring that you’re building the best background that you can as a foundation for the rest of your career. When you are in a given job/role, stay focused and double-down on execution to ensure that you’re knocking it out of the park on all of your responsibilities. Finally, try to think a few steps ahead on your career planning to ensure that what you’re currently doing will set you up well for what you want to do in the future…if you see some possible misalignment, when make changes in the near-term to ensure that you’ll be able to follow your desired future path.
Once you master the task of juggling these three perspectives on your career, you’ll find yourself being much more relaxed and able to recognize that you’re on the right track. You’d be amazed at how that will feed into your confidence and your perceptions of your overall performance.
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I hope these responses provide the information that you were seeking. if I missed the mark in some way, let me know and I’ll try to get a little more targeted in a follow-up.
Marquis
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