How to Love Your Job Again

You want to love your job but you just don’t. On top of that, you can’t quit—at least right now. Perhaps your job was better when you first started and the environment has changed. Or maybe you’ve changed and you’re now struggling to get motivated to do the same work. Maybe you got a new boss who you’re not that crazy about. Whatever the circumstance, not loving your job AND not feeling able to quit can leave you feeling really stuck.

This easy-to-follow worksheet was designed to help you better your immediate circumstances while keeping your eye on your long-term vision and dreams. By completing these simple lists and questions, you will identify what you like about your current job, what you don’t like, and what you can reasonably change. Do this with the intention of:

• Finding out more about yourself and what you’re looking for an
• Identifying some practical ways to bring more of those work experiences into your current role

Get Organized for Greater Productivity

Emily Johnson from Omnipapers created this clever infographic on getting organized for greater productivity.  She's focused on writing but her tips will work for all kinds of work. 

Great stuff!

Will you be happier freelancing?

Since I started freelancing (or independent consulting as it's more commonly referred to in my industry) people reach out for advice on whether or not they should do the same. I'm delighted to take these calls and talk. The question, to me, seems to boil down to this... "will I be happier freelancing or staying put?" 

I like to talk through their expectations and what they imagine post-corporate life to be like. I captured the key concepts in this quiz. Answer the questions to determine where you'll be the happiest and able to do your best work in the coming year. 

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In the comments below or in a private message, let me know if the answer surprised you or got you thinking about an alternative way of working.  I'd love to hear from you.

26 questions to kick-start your week

Reflective questions get me unstuck when I'm spinning my wheels. I posted this piece to my Inc. column last week.  If you're interested in a printable version of the questions to keep handy by your desk, click here.

count me in, mapping performance metrics to build buy-in

You have an idea and a planned approach to take to your leadership and to start the journey toward buy-in and support. If your boss is a numbers person (and they all are, right?), metrics will be helpful in making your case. 

The metrics I’m referring to are different from the data you might use to demonstrate the problem or to create a sense of urgency. Performance measures are typically implemented near the end just before launch. The idea, of course, is to understand the results or impact the change has had on our desired goal. Articulating what these metrics might be can be a compelling way to demonstrate our understanding of the problem and how tuned in we are to solving it. Giving tangible examples might also help our leadership envision a future state and begin thinking how powerful that information would be.

Yet there are many challenges with creating meaningful metrics, collecting data, and interpreting the results.

• In the beginning, setting up metrics (or even imagining which might be most useful) can be a hurdle to overcome.
• Issues may surround the cost and time associated with collecting the right data, establishing a firm baseline, and figuring out a way to credibly tie back any results you observe to the idea or action you’re proposing to take.

To overcome these challenges, I created this guide  to map existing and develop new performance metrics that align to your organization’s strategic plan. You can also read more about building buy-in with metrics in my book, Flock: Getting Leaders to Follow. Hopefully, the examples will help jump-start your thinking on what might resonate with your leaders. 

3 tips for experiential board meetings

We look forward to board meetings like we do putting gas in the car. Getting together is obviously critical in order to run but you know you're going to bump into some questionable characters and afterwards have an intense desire to wash your hands.

Who would look forward to prepping for weeks in advance to entertain an bunch of well-meaning but ultimately bored and distracted know-it-alls? In the non-profit world, boards provide strategic guidance, raise funds, and make connections. In the for-profit world, it's pretty much the same-- except that a many are actually paid to be there.  So that helps, I guess.

Either way, the issue we face when preparing for and engaging our boards is an issue of disconnected judgement. The organization's mission is clear. The board's purpose is clear. Unfortunately though, they're together so infrequently and rarely ever during a normal day that both sides lack sufficient understanding to really help each other help the organization.

What to do?

Commit to at least one experiential portion during the annual or semi-annual meeting. These sessions should be...

Hippo by Martin Pool

• At least 1/2 a day (4 hours) with a bit of time at the end to talk casually about what they did or saw
• Mimic normal day-to-day challenges to the greatest degree possible.  Obviously, most staff or patients or tourists or clients will behave differently when there is someone unfamiliar lurking about. Even so, get the board involved with whatever you develop and deliver at the most fundamental level.
• Split board members up (so that they don't just talk to each other) and pair them with your most passionate staff.  Focus on pairing board members with sparky, interesting people who embody the mission. With this approach, you might not pick your highest performers or even someone doing everything by the book. However, the benefit is that the board member will be exposed to an impassioned person who will naturally seize that opportunity to reinforce why the work is so important. They'll also see the strengths, weaknesses, and risks up close.

extreme makeover, powerpoint edition

Have you ever been in a crowded elevator at work and spent the trip down mentally giving everyone new hair? In my imagination, these busy executives are grateful for the fresh new look-- and the outfit tips I throw in just for fun.

The real reaction would surely be far from glee so, needless to say, I've never piped up. Maybe it's just wishful thinking that someday I'll luck into an elevator ride with the adorable and talented Ted Gibson and he'll forever solve the tangled, flat mess that I've been struggling with for 40 years (will fact check whether or not I had hair at birth. I can't remember). In my fantasy, Ted and I hit it off so well that he decides to move to Falls Church and swings by every morning with a latte and his hairdryer. A girl can dream.

Anyway, I love before and after pictures-- personal, home, and now PowerPoint slides. Wait, what? Yes!  Slideshare does makeovers and they're pretty clever. Click here to see one.

The "before" slides look so much like millions of decks I've created myself over the years. The "afters" are so clean and simple that it wouldn't take too much time to try it out. Part of trick is communicating why to client and getting them onboard with stuffing the detailed content into the notes section. If you're prepping for a big internal meeting, the format might throw people off for a moment... until you hit back with great, well-prepared talking points.

Give it a shot!