Mark Hirschfeld

But Red is at the Buxton wall.

… but Rick didn’t make the flight.

… but I’ve lost the way.

Asserting your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom. It’s adolescence.

… but in the middle of the punch line I keep nodding off.

For those of you in the U.S., I hope you had a nice holiday!

Friends, as we go into the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, I want to express my gratitude to you. Over the past seven months since I’ve leaned into this platform I’ve learned a lot, developed some great new relationships, caught up with some former associates, and have been inspired by many of your posts.

I’ve posted this a number of times, but my employer has a free web site where you can send a message of thanks to someone. Seems worth sharing again. Use it as much as you like,

Wishing you peace and health and safety. I’ll return to social media next Monday.

In gratitude, Mark

Go to: https://appreciate.biworldwide.com/

Friends, I’ve posted this before, but given the increase in COVID cases I thought it worth sharing again:

There was an article in the newspaper about a woman who was recently invited for an in-person job interview. She thought it went well, but didn’t get a call back.

She followed up and found the position had been filled. When she asked why they hired someone else, they said: “When you came in for an interview you wore your mask the entire time. We thought you might be one of those people who will complain about every safety issue.”

Each of us will need to make a decision about what kind of work environment for which we will feel comfortable. In the case above, the woman was actually relieved she found out that their values regarding safety weren’t the same as hers, and went onto her next career opportunity.

I used to work for a utility that highly valued safety, and I never felt unsafe when I worked there. That was important to me, so in that case my values and the values of my employer were aligned.

Use online resources to understand the safety culture of a prospective employer. Additionally, you can use networking skills to gain additional insights.

Do your homework. Find a job that is right for you in an environment and culture that fits what is important to you.

All my daily posts at http://www.markhirschfeld.com

Donald O. Clifton, the grandfather of positive psychology, offered a simple formula for establishing meaningful, productive relationships:

“It’s when A does something for B for B’s own good, with no expectation of return.”

He continued: “When you expect a return, there’s a catch that impacts the relationship. Having said that, when you do invest without any expectation of return you almost always get a return.”

In the research from my friend and colleague @bradshuck, we find this principle applies to being an effective leader today.

We must invest.

We need to have a return, to be sure.

But if our relationships with our team is such that we expect them to give back to us to the exact degree we invest we’re not going to get anywhere.

With new employees, we invest more, at least in the short term.

With an employee who is considering an internal move, we invest in helping the associate find ways they can continue to grow and achieve their goals, even though that may impact our team productivity for a time.

In this challenging world, investing in our people in a way that meets this spirit of Dr. Clifton’s definition is the leadership approach we sorely need.

#leadership #engagement #compassionateleadership

Back in the day I spent time working in the United Kingdom. When someone loses their job because of a downsizing or merger, there is a term they use:

Redundant.

They say: “you have been made redundant.”

Although accurate, it’s terribly hurtful. Demeaning.

When you’re unemployed, you’re going to hear words, like redundant, said about you.

Those words aren’t you.

They’re words that a broken, inhumane society says, but they’re not you.

You, rather, have talents.

You have skills.

You have goals.

You have ways you can contribute.

Never, ever, forget that have been made to do work, to add value, and to find satisfaction in helping a group achieve something meaningful.

The last thing you are is redundant.

Stay in the game.

Do your homework.

Tell your story.

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community and a handout. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources

You can find all the posts at http://www.markhirschfeld.com 

#career #careercoach #jobhuntingtips #jobhunting #careers #jobsearch #jobsearchtips

 #jobsearchcoach #jobsearchhelp #jobsearchstrategies

Have you heard of the Johari Window? According to Wikipedia, it “is a technique that helps people better understand their relationship with themselves and others.”

According to the model, each of us has BLIND SPOTS. We can reduce blind spots by asking for feedback. For your job search you might ask former co-workers, bosses or customers to give you feedback about your career and how you could improve.

Each of also put on a FAÇADE and don’t reveal our true self. We may need to keep some things close, but there are also likely things we can share that would reveal more of our true self and, in doing so, may create more interest to prospective employers. This would require us to self-reveal, which isn’t always easy. Often a close friend/coach can be a place to start that process.

Using these techniques will not only help your career search, but can be useful in all parts of our life.

(More about Johari Window: https://tinyurl.com/zm3ubkf)

There are training videos on the web site of my faith community. This content is free: https://www.thetablempls.com/jobresources  All posts at www.markhirschfeld.com

#career #careercoach #jobhuntingtips #jobhunting #careers #jobsearch #jobsearchtips