Building capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system

8th Annual NW Diversity Learning Series (2006)

Session Five: September 28, 2006:
Asking for and giving directions: Using coaching, mentoring and ownership as a strategy to guide you toward opportunities and growth.

Career Ownership Key No. 3: Develop and Manage Relationships

Developing and Managing Relationships was identified as one of the most challenging of the Critical Keys to Owning Your Career Development.

In this exercise, participants were asked to explore four topics regarding the Relationship Key. Participants recorded their answers.

Making your work and results more visible

Explanation: Doing great work alone is essential but not sufficient when it comes to getting recognition and visibility around the organization. A key ingredient to success is also making sure you are getting visibility for the work you do.

Sponsorship

Definition: Those individuals and stakeholders who will speak to others about you and your value to the organization and are positioned to do so at the right time.

Successful career discussions

Explanation: Having career-related discussions with your manager, mentor, coach or other career stakeholder is known to be a career necessity bit can often be painful or ineffective.

Internal and external barriers

Explanation: The obstacles and barriers that we create (internal) or those created by the organizations or others (external) that can impede career progress (e.g., frequent manager changes, time to do it).

Topic 1 - Making your work and results more visible

Question 1: Provide a list of what you do and how you make yourself and your work more visible.

Common responses include:

• Volunteer to sit in for boss at meetings
• Ask for and accept different kinds of assignments, including unpopular ones
• Facilitate meetings for higher level managers, giving access to people and awareness of critical topics
• Ask co-workers to provide feedback regarding self and work
• Get involved with others at work/networking

Question 2: Provide a list of situations that may provide opportunities to get recognition for your work and results (e.g. performance reviews).

Common responses include:

• Status meetings/one-on-one sessions/group meetings to report on actions and results
• Sharing success via reports/e-mail "shout-outs"
• Manager takes opportunities to acknowledge outstanding work
• Writing an article for mass publication about a team you served on
• Look for assignments that can showcase talents/skills

Question 3: Provide a list of behaviors to avoid or NOT do when creating visibility (e.g. taking credit for others' work)

Common responses include:

• Being autonomous
• Avoid self-promotion that doesn't promote team effort
• Critical bashing of others to promote yourself
• Exaggerate results or be arrogant about them
• Recognize when it is not in your best interest to "beat a dead horse" - know which battles to pick
• Don't micromanage or try to do other's work
• Use "our" rather than "my" to encompass everyone rather than create a competitive environment

Topic 2 - Sponsorship

Question 1: Provide a list of the types of individuals (e.g. manager) who may play "sponsor" role AND the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Common responses include:

Type	Advantages	Disadvantages
Direct Manger	Knows your work, motivation to promote	Busy, may not have a full understanding of you or have motivation to keep you, doesn't want to show favoritism
Upper Management	Increased influence, better and broader visibility	Not aligned with direct manager
Peers	Can provide good feedback	May be in competition with you, may not be as influential as they imply
Customers	Know your results	Not much clout

Question 2: Provide a list of obstacles/challenges (e.g. uncomfortable asking for support) one might experience in gaining sponsorship AND suggestions for overcoming these obstacles/challenges.

Common responses include:

Challenge	Suggestions
Self-promotion	Development program, know the culture of the organization and have engagement, set goals you can achieve and "brag" about
No one knows you	Identify affinity groups that fit you, introduce yourself to people and take advantage of networking opportunities, build a rapport with someone you have selected as a hopeful sponsor

Topic 3 - Successful Career Discussions

Question 1: Provide a list of things you might discuss (e.g. topics, actions requested) during a career discussion.

Common responses include:

• My interests/skill sets
• A realistic picture of the organizational culture
• Review performance status and results
• Ask for feedback on strengths
• Identify experiences, assignments, knowledge, skills needed to get the desired objectives
• Perceived obstacles
• Sharing with manager/self where you want to go with career
• What I need to be proficient in my current role

Question 2: Provide a list of the things YOU can do to ensure your conversations are (a) career-related and (b) beneficial to you and the other individual in the conversation (e.g., identify clear goals for the conversation).

Common responses include:

• Provide an outline of the agenda upfront with a time-frame
• Make clear that the point of your discussion is your career
• Ask for what you want that person to do or share/ask them to prepare for meeting as well
• Keep conversation on track/be assertive
• Come with a list of accomplishments/know your own worth
• Request 360 or feedback from other person
• Have a follow-up meeting

Question 3: For both lists select the 3 most critical to career success and why they are most critical.

Common responses include:

• Preparing desired outcomes and objectives/practice talking
• Getting feedback
• Ask for what you need
• Come out with an established action plan

Topic 4: Internal and External Barriers

Question 1: Brainstorm a list of Internal and External Barriers commonly encountered in your work environment and the potential impact for each.

Common responses include:

• Internal:
• Time management, workload
• Confidence levels, risk aversion
• Organizational "savvy," how to develop a career path or model
• Lack of communication with mentor/sponsor as it relates to career goals/paths
• External:
• Unwillingness to give/receive feedback
• Lack of training for management/lack of management accountability
• Budget
• Constantly changing assignments/environment
• Organizational politics

Question 2: Select the 3-4 that your group believes are most critical to career success and identify methods for overcoming each.

Common responses include:

• Workload and time - Schedule time to ask manager to help prioritize, more frequent communication regarding expectations, learn how to say no to too much multi-tasking
• Budget - Get creative about what you can do within time constraints,
• Fear of change, new responsibilities - "Baby steps" methodical approach, get backing (support and coaching), get help navigating career
• Lack of actionable goals - Focus on short-term wins, determine goals and feedback of each plan

Kay Iwata, President of K. Iwata Associates, Inc., and Greg Clark, Principle, CoachCentric, LLC were the facilitators of this session on coaching, mentoring and career ownership.

The 2006 NW Diversity Learning Series (now in its 9th year) focused on the theme, Building Capacity: Navigating organizational opportunities as if they were a subway system.

Using the metaphor of a subway system, each of the six-bi-monthly morning seminars explored some of the ways that access to organizational opportunities and career development are hidden and therefore more difficult for women and people of color, as well as people who speak English as a second language, to utilize. The purpose of this Series was for everyone to become more aware of organizational culture and how it impacts building people's capacity, and for everyone, managers and employees, to become better at navigating these cultural obstacles along career paths.

For more information about the NW Diversity Learning Series, please visit the Series section of our website.

2006 Series Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsor:

Bronze Sponsor:

Supporting Sponsors: