Career Management for the Evolving Workplace

Career Management for the Evolving Workplace Sylvia Piggott Bologna, August 18, 2009 Spiggott@sympatico.ca

FORMAT FOR HOUR • THE CONTEXT • THE WORKPLACE • COMPETENCIES • MANAGING YOUR CAREER • THE FUTURE Spiggott@sympatico.ca

The Context • Continuous renewal of skills and competencies • Continuous learning throughout career • Rapidly changing work environment • Four generations in the workplace Spiggott@sympatico.ca

The Workplace Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Ultimate Workforce Requirement • The world will require talented people • With a suite of job appropriate competencies • Flexibility and nimbleness to move with the times • Succeed in a knowledge based enterprise. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

The Workplace -2 • Flatter with less emphasis on hierarchy • Employees who can continuously adapt and grow • Strong interpersonal skills • Soft skills such as ethics, energy, motivation, innovation, seeing possibilities • Continuous lifelong learning will be essential Spiggott@sympatico.ca

New Workplace • Organizational culture must encourage questioning,especially of decision-makers’ assumptions &propositions • Must tolerate a certain amount of risk-taking and failure Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Demographic Mix • Veterans born between 1920 – 1945 • Baby Boomers born between 1946-1964 • Generation X –those born between 1965-1980 • Generation Y (Milennials)- those born post 1981 Spiggott@sympatico.ca

The Demographic Context • Veterans are mostly retired or part-time • The ‘near retired’ generation is very large and inhabited largely by Boomers • Gen X is in the later worklife years and are planning for retirement • The largest generation, the Millennials, are dominating the workforce and consumer market segment Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Born Post 1981 - the Milennials • Net generation • Grew up in the digital age -the collaboration generation who grew up interacting via the internet • Spend time searching, reading, scrutinizing, authenticating, collaborating, organizing…. • They are active not passive • Will dominate the 21st century Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Socialization of Milennials • Feels entitled, invincible, superior • Product of uber parenting – solve their problems for them… • Culture of no loosers, everybody is a winner • Be anything, do anything without starting at the bottom • Nurtured on ego and narcissim • Private life is an illusion Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Milennials Characteristics - 1 • They are skeptical of authority • Have greater self-confidence but worried about their future - see the outside world as lacking opportunity • Value individual rights to express views • Oppose censorship by parents and governments • Strong sense of the common good, social and civic responsibility Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Milennials Characteristics - 2 • Knowledgeable about investments and benefits • Greater respect and celebration of diversity • High expectation of self and employer • Techno-Savvy group that questions everything • Strong need for supervision and structure with constant feedback • Desire flexibility and fun work environment • Learning and self-improvement more important than money Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Milennial Characteristics - 3 • A greater desire for a balanced life • Politically this group tends to be non-aligned and often describe themselves as independents • Their learning styles are more diverse - experiential, auditory, physical, and graphical learners • They are adaptive and flexible while preferring team and collaboration modes in their work. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Working with Milennials • They are smart, talented and resourceful. A successful strategy is to build on their strengths and provide learning opportunities to hone skills and competencies that they will need to be successful in the world they inhabitor will inhabit Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Milennial Influence • Will vote on library and education issues, influence library strategies, control budgets, and dominate the consumer space • They are critical to the future of libraries and, indeed, the future itself • Thinking they are the same as other users is folly. • Waiting for them to “get it” or self-correct is foolish. • Ignoring the changes taking place is professional suicide Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Milennial Brain Development • MRI research verify that their IQ’s, their raw ability to access and use their intelligence has grown markedly and at a level of statistical significance. • Recent research shows that their physical abilities to read and their eye-movement patterns are different, not in a negative way. • Have better team skills, speaking and articulation skills, as well as problem-solving and process management skills. • Alternatively, they have weak general knowledge and fact skills. But facts decay rapidly today, e.g. , the number of planets has changed; the maps of nations mutate on a seemingly daily basis; most knowledge is quite malleable in context today • So, access to facts and information on demand is a better solution in a complex world. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Analytical Logical Precise Repetitive Organized Scientific Detached Literal Sequential Creative Imaginative General Intuitive Conceptual Big picture Heuristic Empathetic Figurative Irregular Left Brain Right Brain Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Some Ideas for Fostering Innovation • I want to provide service A to Client B • There is no budget for this programme • Create an innovative service for this client using current resources Spiggott@sympatico.ca

COMPETENCIES Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Skills • Personal and Interpersonal Communication • Creative and Innovative Thinking • Stress Management • Negotiating and Persuading • Service Orientation • Teamwork, Coaching and Working with Others Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Skills • Strategic Thinking and Visioning • Change Management • Business Analysis and Cognitive Capacity • TECHNOLOGY – SOCIAL AND BUSINESS Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Soft skills • Integrity, Ethics and Values • Insight and Judgment • Developing Self and Others Spiggott@sympatico.ca

MANAGING YOUR CAREER Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Warning:You are Naked on the Digital Highway • Facebook • Blogs – some prospective employers ask for access • Linkedin – should describe your skills well • Plaxo • Search the web for yourself – see what your digital footprint looks like and ensure you like it (Flicker, Google images, etc) Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Career Planning Questions • How ambitious you are and what you want from your professional life? • How you are going to get there? • What are your skill sets? • Whom do you want to work for and where? • What kind of lifestyleand what is your passion? Spiggott@sympatico.ca

When Career Planning is not going well - ask • Am I doing the right things? • Am I networking properly? • Do I have the right skills? • Has the market changed since I made my plan? • Am I with the right employer? • Has my employer’s mission or culture changed? Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Selling Yourself in One Minute • Practice your self-pitch many times before you need it. • Describe your impact in previous jobs and what you hope to accomplish next - not your resume. • Be prepared to toot your own horn, gracefully – brag gracefully • Speak at a pace that shows your calm and confidence – not babbling Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Key Learnings • Must trust and engage with staff - combine team building with strategic and business planning • Know what the boss and colleagues expect • Align with strategy and direction of organization • Egotism and reluctance to relinquish control can be fatal to career • Look over the horizon to spot what lies ahead Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Humility is a Virtue • On your way up pay attention to your strengths, they will be your weakness on your way down • Learn to pay attention to your strengths and your weaknesses, depending on the circumstances you find yourself in they can be the same thing Spiggott@sympatico.ca

THE FUTURE Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Technology, Technology, Technology, aaaaaah! • Nomadic and Multi-taskers using Mobile SmartPhones, PCs or location aware GIS/GPS services, wireless cloud based software unfettered from the ties that bound previous generations • Cloud technology –Zoho, Google Docs, Mash-ups • This generation is growing up in a very noisy and media driven world clamoring for their attention. Learning young how to filter and choose what to pay attention to is a critical skill Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Workplace Now and the near Future - • A significantly more mobile workforce. • A workforce that is promoted more quickly into managerial work • A workforce that is truly global and works regularly with people around the world. • A workforce that is significantly more diverse. • A workplace where multilingualism is valued. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Workplace Now and the near Future - 2 • An organizational ethic where creativity and innovation are valued. • A world where collaboration skills are measured and rewarded. • A world where job mobility is quite extreme and some workers are employed by multiple employers Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Workplace Now and the Near Future 3 • Embedded InfoPros. - At-the-table, on rounds at hospitals, visit the Labs, and attend major unit and departmental meetings • Design intranets that mirror each team’s needs but offer personalized service customized to each team member. • Aligned with the organization’s major goals as well as being key professional resources • Contribute to the quality of decision making through excellent understanding of and development of the enterprise systems like intranets. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Involving Milennials • How would you segment the client population? • How would you deliver services to the various segments? • What kind of growth ideas do you have for the information center? • How could your ideas be sourced if we cannot get additional funds? • Kinds of processes are needed to foster innovation? Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Involving Millenials • What are some library uses of Facebook? • What are some library uses of cloud technology? • What are some uses of other social software? Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Library use for Facebook • Connect with specific workgroups • Promote events to clients from the Library Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Cloud Technology - Zoho uses in Library • Document management • On-line presentations • Web conferencing Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Learning Points • Ignore the side show – keep your eye on the centre ring • Fix the problem, forget the blame • Play hardball when necessary • Vent outside the tent • Adjust to the moment • Lead with humility Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Wrap - up Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Conclusions • “Bosses” going to have to start focusing more on coaching rather than bossing • Age of command and obey are no longer accommodated • Traditional managers may have to move out of the management positions if they cannot adjust • The continuum of learning and developmentis responsibility of individual Spiggott@sympatico.ca

CONCERNS • Will our professions and institutions’ adapt to these changes quickly enough. • Is the new professional prepared to build a new information and knowledge-based global economy. • Are the expectations of our users increasing faster than our ability to adapt? Spiggott@sympatico.ca

A Winning Formula • People are driven by achievement, affiliation, and power • Be sure all of your employees are working on something meaningful and challenging • Give them opportunities to work together and interact with others • Ask for their input on how things should be done and give them the power to influence outcomes Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Facts to consider • Web 2.0 and Information 3.0 are conversations • We can all participate and influence the development of this next generation of the web. • It is worth following and is one the most important conversations of our age and one whose impacts can be truly transformational on a global scale. • Some of us will influence the building of this world – especially those who can see how things should be, see the outcome • Gen M will reside there for most of their lives. Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Something to remember • The dinosaurs didn’t go extinct because the climate changed. They disappeared because they couldn’t adapt to the changes happening around them! Spiggott@sympatico.ca

FINALLY • “When you find yourself in a hole,the best thing you can do is stopdigging.” Warren Buffet Spiggott@sympatico.ca

GOOD LUCK – YOU HAVE CHOSEN AN EXCITING PROFESSIONGO FORTH AND ENJOYTHANKS Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Bibliography • Competency Based Training: A Special Library Association (SLA) Strategic Professional Development Tool for the 21st century by Sylvia E.A. Piggott, Oslo, IFLA 2005 • The "Millennials" Are Coming: Morley Safer On The New Generation Of American Workers : (CBS) This story was originally broadcast on Nov. 11, 2007. It was updated on May 23, 2008. • Motivating the "What's In It For Me" Workforce: Manage Across the Generational Divide and Increase Profits by Cam Marston (Hardcover - May 18, 2007) Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Bibliography - 2 • Connecting Generations: The Sourcebook for a New Workplace by Claire Raines, Crisp Publications, 2003 • Managing the Generation Mix: From Collision to Collaboration by Carolyn A. Matin and Burce Tulgan (Paperback - Jan 2002) Spiggott@sympatico.ca

Career Management for the Evolving Workplace