Money Instructor – Page 63 – Articles and Informational Resources: Money, Personal Finance, Business, Careers, Lifestyle

How to be an Effective Mentor

Maybe this is your first time as a mentor, or perhaps you are a pro. Maybe you are mentoring as part of an outreach program to adolescents, or perhaps you are assigned as a mentor in the workplace. Whatever the circumstances, there are some planning and organizational tasks you can consider to make your mentoring project more successful.

Use these tips to design and implement your own program. Remember that your goal is to be a successful mentor. That means helping your ‘mentee’ figure out what they want to accomplish and establishing a plan to get them there. It does NOT mean molding the individual in your image or forcing your own perspective or personal goals on them. Remain objective and remember that your focus is on the mentee achievements not on making yourself feel important – a common trap for mentors!

If your company or organization has structured mentor training, or if you can arrange for outside mentor training, I would recommend taking a course. These relationships seem simple and the goals seem clear, but you can make many mistakes if you don’t have a complete picture of what you are supposed to accomplish. Here are some tips that will help you organize a plan and consider the critical factors:

To be an effective mentor, you must first establish a bond of trust between you and the mentee. If your mentee does not trust you, he is not likely to be honest or cooperative. So, you need to keep it friendly and sociable in the beginning and find out about the person. The more you know about the mentee, his personal goals and interests, the better mentor you will be.
If you are mentoring a young person, ALWAYS get written permission from the parents. Sit down with them, go over the goals of the program, and ask them to approve their child’s participation in writing.
Consider the environment. Not everyone is comfortable at first in a one-on-one session. You may be able to hold group meetings to encourage discussion among mentees and mentors, and then break off into private sessions after you get the discussion going.
Set aside or confirm the availability of a budget with the mentee’s manager or the person in authority. You may need funds for training, books or other things you think will help your mentee grow.
Get the permission of your mentee to talk to associates, friends and managers. Another outlook is helpful in identifying problems or issues that the mentee may not see or that he does not initially wish to admit.
Clearly define the ground rules of the relationship. It is important that you and your mentee understand what is appropriate to discuss in your sessions, and how much advice you will provide on which topics. Some mentees will think you are going to give them a magic bullet to achieve success, but much of the mentor/mentee relationship is based on the need to help the mentee identify (on his own) his issues and goals and not to lead him to conclusions.
It should be clear whether you are going to discuss personal issues and relationships. Depending on the nature of your mentor role, it may be appropriate to do so but remember that you are not a psychologist or a therapist. You should never discuss or advise a mentee in areas you do not have the skills to assess. Refer them to the appropriate professionals and be firm in your refusal to provide advice in these areas or you may face legal action or, at the very least, endure awkward questioning by your management.
At ALL TIMES protect the privacy and sanctity of the mentor/mentee relationship. Do NOT discuss these sessions with anyone else except in the case you are expected to report on progress to parents or managers. Even then, the sessions should be summarized, with no details of personal discussions included – or you will violate the trust of your mentee!
How long will this program last? A mentoring program should last between 6 and 12 months if it is going to be effective and establish long-lasting behaviors or break old habits. It is unrealistic to think that most long-term goals established between the mentor and mentee can be achieved in less than 6 months.
Establish a termination policy to outline how and when the mentor and mentee may agree to terminate the relationship, if it is not working, or if it has come to its logical conclusion. Be sure parents and managers agree to this policy.
Establish a regularly scheduled meeting time and place and stick to that schedule.
Establish a method of contact between the mentor and the mentee in between meetings. Is it OK for them to call you, email you or stop by to see you if they have a question or problem?
Create a template for the mentee to use to capture thoughts, ideas, and questions in between sessions and to take notes on progress and problems.
You MUST have documented goals. What do you want to accomplish? Make the goals specific and measurable. Concepts like “I want to get better at making presentations” are too vague. Instead you should get a baseline evaluation of the person’s presentation skills and then establish a goal to improve their 45% effective rating to an overall 70% rating.
- How do you plan to accomplish each goal?
- When will you accomplish each goal?
- What are the benefits of accomplishing each goal?
Then test your assumptions by asking these questions:
- Is it realistic to achieve these goals within this timeframe – or AT ALL?
- Are the goals clear and concise? Are they measurable?
- Do these goals reflect the values of the mentee?
- Are you as a mentor comfortable with these goals – nothing illegal or immoral included?
- Are the goals compelling? Is the benefit worth the effort?
- If these goals were achieved, would you be proud to report them to parents and managers?
Meet often with your management to bring them up to date on progress and document all sessions to protect yourself from legal action or questions about inappropriate behavior.

If you approach the mentoring process with a well-conceived plan, I believe you will find the mentoring relationship rewarding for both parties.

Managing People, Uncategorized
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Diversity at Work

Is “diversity” just one more buzz word to work into your conversations at work? Those who think so are really on the wrong track. Perhaps they are thinking of “diversity” as a black/white issue or a male/female issue. It is far more than that, and well-informed companies are embracing true diversity as a savvy business strategy.

Think for a moment about who your customers are. I’m betting that they are all not exactly like you—not the same age, gender, educational background, race, or even national heritage. It is a rare business today which is not serving international customers at some level. Next time you are in WalMart, take a look at the specialty food aisles. They may vary slightly from community to community, but they are there. Why is a retail giant like WalMart interested in this customer base? Because it exists.

Now let’s consider your suppliers. You are an unusual organization if all of your providers of goods, supplies, raw materials, and other vendors from which you buy are U.S. based only. Even if headquarters are U.S. based, significant segments of your suppliers’ businesses may well be conducted outside our country. The truth is that we are genuinely a global economy today.

So what does this have to do with diversity? There’s an old story about a car manufacturer who will remain unnamed. Their designers created a wonderful little car sold in the U.S. under a particular name. It was extremely popular and sold quite well in this country. But when the Company attempted to market the same vehicle in Spanish-speaking countries, its sales were flat. Why? Maybe because the English name for this vehicle in Spanish roughly translates to “No go!” A diversity issue raised its ugly head. A popular U.S. based soft-drink had a slogan in this country which began, “Come alive….” When the Company attempted to sell this product in Asian markets, they of course had their winning slogan translated. Unfortunately, the translation was something like, “Your dead ancestors will come back to life….” Again, a failure to expend some elbow grease and consider diversity implications.

Think for a moment of how the outcome would have been different if the car company had an Hispanic representative on the sales team. How about an Asian team member on the team attempting to sell in the far East? Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it; yet inclusion of diverse employees has been less than a mandate in U.S. companies in the past. Perhaps our country is so big that we just don’t recognize the existence of different markets. Perhaps many of us are so isolated within our own borders that we just fail to see the opportunities outside our own experiences. It does not begin and end with national borders, however.

What other differences constitute “diversity?” Pretty much anything that makes one person different from another. Diversity can be reflected in life-style, sexual orientation, economic strata, religion, national origin, gender, age, or any one of a myriad of differentiating characteristics. It would be foolish to think that every company could have an advisory board which is comprised of every conceivable diverse demographic group. But to be successful, you’d better have at least some! What if your business is strictly U.S. based? Well, your customers are still not all of one background. This is true because U.S. residents vary so widely. Consider soliciting the opinions of a younger person. And a woman. And a person of color. And someone for whom English is not their native language. If you are not aware of the diversity of your customers, you simply are not making the best business decisions you could.

Let’s think for a moment about the workforce in which you function every day. Imagine for a moment that those around you regarded you as strange, or abnormal. Imagine that they were agonizingly polite and stiff in their interactions with you. Further, it’s pretty clear that they are uncomfortable around you because you are never invited to any after-work functions, and the break room seems to quiet right down when you arrive. You even notice some glances exchanged. Honestly, could you do your best work in this environment? Of course not. Yet we may be subjecting our diverse office mates to this kind of treatment on a daily basis.

If you, a part of the majority, are uncomfortable with this diverse person, I invite you to get over it! Ask him to join you. Ask him how his society of origin would perceive all of you. Ask him how your product would come across in that environment. I guarantee that you will, at the least, learn something. And you have a real opportunity to engage someone you really do need to be successful! If this person is representative of a customer or supplier group, you are truly missing the boat if you don’t tap into their experience and observations. Talk about a secret weapon!

Think again about yourself in the isolated role described in the last paragraph. It’s not only true that your potential contributions will be ignored; it’s also true that the basic, every-day work you could contribute could be regarded as somewhat suspect. And what happens to you, the worker, if your company flounders? Right. Downsizing, layoffs, even closure could be in your future. So get out there! Enlist every opinion you can. Gather all the diverse views held by your customers and suppliers. In short, honor the differences that do exist. You have nothing to lose—and everything to gain.

Managing People
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Managing a Diverse Workforce

If you manage or own a business today, you are bound to run into people from other countries and cultures when you interview prospective staff. Our workforce today is a rich mixture of ethnic and cultural groups working in every kind of company from car dealerships to telephone customer support, to software design and research firms, to name a few.

Depending on the size of your company, you may or may not have a human resource or personnel department to handle the hiring process. Nevertheless, one thing is for certain, you and your staff will most certainly have to learn to work with the new global business environment if you are to be successful. You can make life easier for you, your staff and your new global workforce.

If you have a Human Resource or Personnel Department, instruct them to find appropriate training courses on managing for diversity and be sure they take the course. Then have all of your managers take the course – and don’t forget you need to take the course too! Then have the rest of your staff take a course on diversity. These courses do not solve all problems, but they do point out subtle differences in cultures and make your team more sensitive to the things they may say or do that another culture might find offensive.

Hold weekly or monthly staff meetings and set aside time for discussion of team interaction. Encourage everyone to talk about how things are going and to ask questions. Remember that not everyone on your team will feel comfortable talking in public. Plan to hold periodic meetings with individuals or, if you have team managers, be sure the mangers have these individual meetings and talk about how things are going.

At least once a year (preferably more often) send out written evaluations of the environment and ask your employees questions about how comfortable they are working with you and the their team members.

If it is appropriate within your business, and your team is large enough, there is one great idea for team bonding in a diverse environment: You can ask a person from another country or culture to talk about their country and their culture. Give them 10 minutes in a staff meeting and suggest a topic for them to discuss. People love to talk about themselves and to share information. This will get others curious and with any luck, the staff will approach that person afterwards and ask other questions. Don’t forget to ask the people on your team from Ohio and Michigan to do the same thing. If your company is in New York or California, these discussions can be just as interesting and can point out to those from other countries that even people from our own country and culture can have differences in the way they live and the things they do for recreation, etc.

Lastly, keep the lines of communication open. Help the people from other cultures adjust to our country. If they are struggling with written or spoken communication with your customers or clients, help them find a night class if they want to learn more about our language. Talk to them and ask them how you can help. Are there people on your staff who can mentor them as they adjust? If they’ve been in this country awhile, or perhaps even gone to school here, be sure you don’t insult them by offering help they may no longer need. Team luncheons and after hours events like picnics and softball games can also help your staff to bond, and can make the global worker feel like he or she is part of the team. Don’t force anyone to attend these events.

If you focus on building a well-integrated multicultural team, you will find other ideas to make the team work well together. All it takes is some thought. Above all, you need to know that you don’t understand all the ethnic and cultural differences that may exist from one country to another. Most people will forgive mistakes and missteps if they know you are trying hard to learn and understand. Don’t expect that everyone will bend to you.

You can think of your multicultural workforce in one of two ways:

This staff achieves goals, in spite of their differences
This staff achieves a richer, more successful solution, because each person lends a different perspective

If you and your team work together, and learn from one another, you will discover the real synergy of bringing your collective knowledge and skill together to achieve a goal, and your company environment will be better for the effort. Welcome to the global economy!

Managing People
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Effective Time Management

Effective time management is an essential tool for busy people. When you have that sense of being overwhelmed with tasks, it is time to take a look at whether you making the best use of the time available to you. Very often it is the people with the biggest workload who achieve the most. This is not because they are super-humans, but because they know how to organize their time in order to achieve the best results.

To make your time work in your favor, you have to know why you are doing what you do, how to be able to prioritize your activities, how to do only what is necessary, and how to eliminate time-wasting.

What are you doing and why?

To start the process of organizing your time, you need to be aware of how you use your time and why. There is no need to confine time management to just one area of your life such as work. You can apply the principles to all areas of your life in order to achieve a better balance of activity all around. First, start a record of one day’s activities. The headings you need are:

Time started Activity Time finished Reasons for doing

List what you do and the time you spend doing each activity. When you have a complete day mapped out, you can start to analyze the results.

First group the activities according to the different roles you have to play:

employer/manager/employee/student
family member
friend
yourself as an individual

Add up the hours you spend on each role and decide if the time spent in each area of your life matches the way you want to divide your time. If you are spending too much time on work roles and bringing work home in the evening, then this is the area that you need to put most effort into reorganizing.

Choose the areas that are out of balance and examine your activities and your reasons for doing them. If you find that you are spending time on trivial jobs or jobs that have no obvious purpose, then you can start to eliminate these one by one to see how much time you can free up. Look also at when you are doing certain jobs. Are you, for example, making unplanned telephone calls throughout the day? If so, start to manage your outgoing calls by grouping them together and setting a time for them. When it comes to activities you do in your home, you need to check to see that everyone is pulling their weight. Don’t do things for other family members that they could do for themselves; it doesn’t help them to be responsible individuals if they can call on you to do their chores for them.

The next thing you need to do is look at those areas where you really do want more time to devote to that particular role. Say you are neglecting your friends. Start to think about which evenings you can free up to spend with them.

Planning a new schedule

When you have analyzed your existing patterns of using time and have decided where the adjustments are needed, plan a new day using the same headings as before but this time the activities and timings will become targets to aim for. There should be no activities that you cannot give clear reasons for. As you implement your new schedule, mark your progress on the log to give you an idea of how accurate your forecast was. At the end of the day you will be able to analyze the results and set the process off again with finer tuning for day after.

Priorities

As you come to fine tune your timetable, start to prioritize your activities. Most of us have busy periods interspersed with slacker times. Sift out the less important activities on your to-do list and schedule them for the slacker periods so as to leave more time for the top-of-list tasks. Keep a mental balance sheet in which you weigh up the amount of time you devote to each task and the ensuing results from the time spent. If you find some tasks take up a disproportionate amount of time in relation the results they produce, then cut the time and allocate it to an area where the results will be better for the time invested. The principle is exactly the same as ensuring the best interest for money invested.

Remember also to make a balanced lifestyle a top priority. The time management schedule will still be unsatisfactory if you have sacrificed the time you need for physical fitness or adequate rest. Don’t neglect your personal needs. One way of fitting them in might be to combine them with activities you have planned with friends or family. Going swimming every Saturday morning with the kids or friends, for example, kills two birds with one stone.

Personal organization

Effective time managers understand the value of good organization. If you don’t know where you have put a document, if your desk is a heap of coffee-stained papers, if your telephone numbers are on scraps of paper and post-its, if your computer files are all in a jumble, then you will inevitably waste time looking for things before you can complete a task. Build into your plan periods each day for setting your desk and files in order. The same goes for orderliness in your home. You don’t have to have everything neatly folded and put away, but you should have a place for everything so that you can find it when you need it.

Eliminating time-wasting

By following the steps above, you should be well on the way to using your time more productively. The next step is to fine tune yet again by looking for where you waste time:

Think about incoming calls: do you accept them even when it is not convenient? If so, take control. Leave a message on your answering service saying you will get back to callers later; tell switchboard operators or secretaries that you will not accept calls during meetings.
Tell callers who trespass on your time that you are not able to speak at the moment but will call them back.
Look for areas where other people can help you. This might be by delegating specific tasks.
When you sift through your in-tray each day, make sure you retain only those items that really need your personal attention. Everything else can be given to other people in the office to handle.
Overcome that attitude that tells you “I am the only person I can rely on to do things properly”.
Before you commit yourself to any meeting, ask if it is really necessary. Your input to a meeting might be just as useful by means of a memo, or a written, or a telephone call before the meeting takes place.
Another common way of wasting time is to go on to a new task before the first one is finished. Try to make it a rule that you deal with each item only once. Of course complex projects will not permit this so what you can do is break the bigger task into different stages and complete each one before moving on to the next.

Forming good habits

The planning, analyzing, and re-planning cycle is essential for developing your time management awareness. However, it is also laying the foundation for a good habit. Making a daily plan will allow you to keep control over your time; you become proactive instead of reactive. You will be the one who sets your agenda, rather than always trying to fit into others’ plans.

For a teaching lesson plan for this lesson see:
Effective Time Management Lesson Plan

Time Management
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Working from Home: Time Management

With more and more companies transitioning to a telecommuting workforce, it will become increasingly important that those working from home learn effective time management skills in order to be productive. Laundry, house chores, paying bills, working in the yard, even swimming at the pool or playing a round of golf might beckon the one who is unable to focus on the tasks at hand.

To practice more effective time management skills as you embark on your telecommuting journey, try the following ideas:

Set “office hours”. The most important thing you can do in organizing yourself to work from home is to set your office hours. If you plan to work from 7:30am to 5:30pm Monday through Thursday, make sure you develop a schedule that fits within those hours. If you plan to work from 7am-12 noon Monday through Friday, again, schedule your time so that you are in your office, working, during those hours.

Develop a set schedule to accomplish tasks effectively. It is important to do your most important work when you are at the best in your day. For example, if you are a “morning” person, you will want to schedule your calls and most difficult tasks in the morning, because you will be at the top of your performance matrix.

Schedule your administrative and more mundane tasks for the end of the day when you are winding down and preparing for the next day. This is also a good time to designate as your planning time and follow up time. Determine your schedule according to when you are at your best, and set out to work accordingly.

Set goals for what you wish to accomplish. Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually-put together a simple benchmark that you can follow to accomplish your short and long-term goals. Keep your goals posted close to your desk or on your computer so that you do not lose sight of what you are striving toward.

Focus on completing one thing at a time. If you have 15 different things you need to accomplish, keep 14 of them put away, and keep only one item on your desk at a time. Once you have finished the first item, move on to the next. If your desk is too cluttered with too many things, your brain will naturally shut down and you will feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do. Focusing on one thing at a time will help you keep from being overwhelmed and not accomplishing all that you need to.

Designate a room in your home as “your office”. It is critical to your success as a telecommuter that you designate a room in your home as your own office. Buy a desk, set up your computer, fax machine, printer, and phone so that they enable you to be productive while you work. Designating a room in your home as the office will help you to leave the rest of your “home” priorities behind and focus on the priorities that will help you generate income. If possible, shut the door to your office so as to close off the rest of the house (thus, closing off your other priorities until later in the evening or at a time that is not designated as work time).

Set work-related priorities. At the end of every week, spend an hour or so preparing for the upcoming week. Schedule priorities according to the tasks you need to accomplish, and keep a list close at hand from which to refer as you go through your week. Every time you accomplish a task, mark it off the list in a way that you will recognize that the task is complete.

Focus on work while working. To avoid losing your train of thought and other possible distractions, keep your mind on your work. Don’t answer your home phone or the door (unless you are expecting a package that is work related). Avoid doing laundry or paying bills while you are working as well-this is just another distraction that can keep you from your work.

Take breaks. Every hour, stand up and take a 5-10 minute break. Go outside and walk around the block, check the news, play with your dog-whatever it takes to clear your mind and keep yourself alert and ready to get back to work. Especially since you work from home, it is really important to get away from your computer or your desk every hour for a few minutes to clear your mind. You will find that you welcome the breaks to enable you to focus more clearly as you get back to work.

Working from home can be quite beneficial for many people. Instituting some of the above mentioned tips will help make the telecommuting experience more productive and less stressful!

Time Management
advice, tips
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Getting the Raise

How to get a Pay Raise

If you are reading this, you probably think you deserve a raise, and perhaps you are long overdue. You may be wondering why your boss has not recognized your value or why he or she is not rewarding you with more money. Perhaps your boss does recognize your value and she doesn’t have the money to give you a raise. Or, perhaps she is oblivious to your value! Either way, if you want that raise, you’ll need to convince her that this is the right thing to do!

So, are you ready to start? Good! Grab a pencil and paper because you have to do some homework before you approach your boss. Be prepared with facts and figures that are irrefutable and, at all times, approach the discussion objectively. Don’t just go into her office and say “I want – NO – I DESERVE a raise.” That will get you nowhere fast!

Prepare your case carefully. Look back over the past year, or longer if you haven’t had a recent raise. If you got a paltry raise the last time, you may justify a larger one this time by going farther back in time. Make sure your information is factual and compelling. Include the project or task name and the hard results you achieved. I’ve completed the table below with examples to get you started. Remember, don’t be tedious and list all the activities and tasks! Stick to the outcome – just list the results you achieved at the end of the project.

Project or Task	Accomplishment/Achievement
Software Assessment and Installation Project	Saved one million dollars in customization and installation fees, delivered project 30 days early, resulting in 95% customer satisfaction
Training Project	Saved $250,000 in outside consulting fees by internal development and delivery of training course. We used the money we saved to buy critical conflict resolution training for our team.

Expand the list to include as many items as you can recall. But be sure they are verifiable and objective. If your performance appraisals are fact-based you might be able to use them to remind you of what you’ve done in the past year or more, and how it has helped the department, the company or your boss.

Your list should ONLY include MEASURABLE, QUANTIFIABLE results, like the following:

Dollars YOU Saved on a project by your techniques, skills, scheduling.
On Time, On Budget projects that allowed the team to get more business or to move on to another critical project earlier.
Projects Delivered ahead of schedule because of your work.
Reallocation of work force to another project to be completed more effectively or quickly – be sure to include results from this project in time or dollars saved.
Increased customer satisfaction because of what you did (give customer satisfaction scores or quotes – remember you have to quantify the results in some measurable way.
Overall annual savings, schedule or productivity improvements using your techniques or skills.

When you complete your list, I’m going to ask you to do one more thing. Pare that list down to the 2 or 3 most impressive accomplishments. Remember, you are not likely to have much time to make your case with your boss, and as soon as you say the word ‘raise’, your boss is likely to tune out. Be fast, accurate and unemotional. Now that you have that all-important list of achievements, let’s talk about the raise.

You should have SOME idea of what you think is reasonable in case your boss asks what you had in mind. Research past raises and find out what the average salary is today for a job like yours. Your incremental salary growth may be below the industry standard. Take your company results and the economy into consideration – don’t ask for a lot of money when money is tight. Have you got your number? Good!

Now you are ready to plan for the meeting the itself. When you schedule time with your boss, don’t say “I want to talk to you about a raise”. Your boss may put off the meeting or prepare her strategy to turn you down before she hears your reasoning. Instead, you’ll ask for time to talk about projects and career concerns. If she asks for more detail, don’t say you want to know what’s in it for you in the future, or that you are looking for a promotion, just tell her that you are looking ahead and you want to be in sync with her on your plans for the future. Ask for at least 30 minutes on her calendar, so you’ll have plenty of time to position your request.

Don’t obsess over what you will say. If you are well-prepared, you can let it go and do your work. You want to have a calm demeanor when you are talking about something this important! At the appointed time, walk into the office with your notes (or better yet, memorize the results so you don’t need your notes). Talk first about the projects you are working on. Discuss achievements and keep the description positive. Then talk about your goals for the year or career plans or goals if you haven’t done that lately. But, Allow at least half of the allotted meeting time to talk about that raise.

When you are ready to bring up your raise, tell your boss about your review of your achievements and accomplishments in terms of hard dollars, dates or value to the company. Don’t say “I did a really good job on Project A”. Say “I was looking at the results for Project A – doing some computations. I gathered the project requirements and started team planning at the same time, and I saved one month of time, so when the development department got into trouble, we were still able to deliver on time, because we were 30 days ahead”, or “My advance criteria for department software and review of all choices against the criteria saved us one million dollars in installation fees and customization expenses – and we’ll be saving over $100,000 a year in service fees.”

Finish your pitch with these hard facts and results and then tell your boss that you feel you are ready for a raise. If you have not had a raise in a long time, remind her of your last raise date and the percentage you got, and ask if she is willing to explore the possibility of a raise with you. Don’t demand! And, don’t expect that she will be ready to give you a raise on the spot without talking to her manager or the human resource staff.

That’s the plan! You may not get the raise you want, even with all that preparation. There are times when there is just no money in the budget, or you happen to be working for an unappreciative boss. But, at least you gave it your best shot. You can move on to explore other job opportunities if you feel that is best for you, or choose to stay where you are and try again in six months. But you will have learned an important skill: How to objectively and professionally ask for a raise.

Job Survival
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Our Company is about to be Sold! Career Advice

We’re Being Sold!

If you have been in the workforce from the 1990s on, you may well have heard this statement in your own workplace. And if you have not yet heard it, chances are you will. Why is this situation the reality in business today? Competition in all business sectors is stronger than ever before. Consumers are more well-informed than ever before. The small mom and pop businesses you may have grown up with are increasingly unusual in today’s marketplace. All of these facts add up to turmoil and change in the business world, to include more sales and mergers of businesses than ever before.

What does the sale of the business you work for mean to you? It can mean any number of things. Some businesses are sold to financial buyers who plan to capitalize on the businesses’ strengths and re-sell the business, either intact or in parts. Some businesses are sold to strategic buyers who need the new business to complete their portfolio of services and products available to customers.

Again, what does this mean to you? If a business buys your employer to round out their portfolio of services or strengths, it is likely your business will survive pretty much intact. Your organization will fit like a puzzle piece into the larger picture of the total business profile of the purchasing company. In this case, you may well not see a great deal of disruption in your business life. But this is not always the case.

In many purchases, the acquiring business has staff who duplicate staff in the acquired company. This is pretty nerve-wracking to the staff of the acquired company! In some cases, the purchasing company may elect to simply keep their own people and release those in the acquired company whose skill sets are redundant. But in many cases, acquiring companies take a hard look at their own people as well as those of the business they are acquiring. Those left standing are the people who populate the new, merged company. This can be a challenge for everyone.

Two large competitors merge. They used to be market-place competitors, but are now sort of uncomfortable bed-fellows. One company name survives, and the other disappears. The acquiring company keeps some sectors, some departments of the acquired company virtually intact. Let’s call the buyer “Company A” and the bought company “Company B.” I was hired by the newly created Company A. During my orientation, I signed paperwork with Company A on the letterhead. And I signed paperwork with Company B on the letterhead. At one point, I timidly raised my hand and asked the obvious question. Who do I work for? The people doing the orientation explained that the two companies had just merged, and that the newly formed company was using documents and processes from both original companies!

Well, my new employer was Company A. The department I worked for was populated largely by people who came from Company B. I did not have the baggage that my co-workers had, since I had just joined the newly merged company. But the baggage certainly impacted me. My department had responsibility for providing vital services to employees of the merged company. Since we were dealing with two quite different systems, we had to ask employees who came to us for assistance which company their employment originated with.

Those who originally worked for Company A were convinced that this questioning had to do with the level of service our department would provide! These were well-educated, professional people. Yet they believed that they would be treated poorly by our department since our department was populated by people who were formerly competitors. This is just a sample of the often irrational thought processes which abound during and around divestiture or sale processes.

So how do you, the employee, deal with sale or divestiture of your employer? The answer is pretty straight-forward. Educate yourself. You have some decisions to make, and you need some credible information to make those decisions. First, find out if your company is being courted by financial or strategic buyers. Secondly, determine what portable skills you possess. In many cases, your company may freeze the ability of employees to apply for jobs in divisions which are not being divested. Their thinking is that they want the division to be sold intact, with human capital as well as physical capital available for transfer. Difficult to accept, right? You are frozen in place!

Well, think about what advantages this could afford to you. Are you the only person who knows what you know about a particular aspect of your business? If so, this may be an opportunity for you to leverage your knowledge and experience. While you are prohibited from bidding on internal job opportunities, you could certainly jump ship altogether and go elsewhere. Savvy companies know how important it is to keep a winning team together. They are actually likely to incent key players to stay in place until the sale is complete.

Secondly, make sure you let your current employer know what your thoughts are. You may be willing to move anywhere, or you may be tied to your current community by family obligations. Make sure your company profile is current, and that your resume is up to date. The acquiring company has a real interest in keeping productive employees. It’s your job to make sure you are regarded as this kind of asset.

Finally, let’s think about the realities of this situation. You may well be identified as redundant by the new company. Their direction may not mesh with what you have to offer. You may elect not to move. Do not take this personally! Don’t slow yourself down by indulging in non-productive reactions and behaviors. If it’s clear to you that this new company configuration may well not include you, be proactive in seeking your options. Take advantage of outplacement services. Talk to everyone available. Do your homework. And move on. This merger or acquisition had nothing to do with you. Be sure you react that way.

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Planning to be Away from Work

Many employers have policies or programs to accommodate the needs of employees who need to be away from work for one reason or another. The Family and Medical Leave Act may apply to your situation. FMLA leave is available to employees who have worked for a company for a year or more, and who have logged a certain number of hours worked. The employer must have 50 or more employees in your location, or in locations near your site.

FMLA leave is available to you for several circumstances. It is available for your serious medical condition, for the serious medical condition of an immediate family member, or for the birth or adoption of a child. FMLA leave is unpaid leave. Up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave may be available to you for a qualifying condition. Companies have several options as to how they count the 12 weeks. Contact your company to inquire as to how they count FMLA leave.

In addition to FMLA leave, your employer may offer an additional disability leave program, paid or unpaid. Often, this benefit is related to how long you have worked for the employer. For example, if you have worked for the employer for several years, you may be eligible for a paid medical leave for a certain number of weeks based on your length of service. Most companies will count this paid leave as concurrent with unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act Leave.

Once you have determined that you will take leave, and how your employer will handle that leave, you have some additional considerations to entertain. How will you prepare for being away from work? What do you have to get ready for? What plans do you have to make? How do you structure your absence to make sure you don’t leave others hanging? Finally, how do you make sure you have something to come back to? Pretty difficult questions. Some are pretty self-evident. You will need to identify what needs to be done while you are gone. What due dates are ahead of you? What do you need to make sure is covered in your absence? These are the questions about what will happen while you are gone. Perhaps even more significant are the questions about what will happen when you return.

Understandably, employers must cover the required work while you are gone. How do you make sure you are not replaced permanently? A couple of options are available to you. First, look at your responsibilities. There are certain things you do which are quite critical or important to your employer. Identify those, and make sure your employer knows what they are. If there are specific steps you take to assure that these tasks are accomplished seamlessly, document these. Meet with your manager, and lay out the instructions you have prepared for your temporary replacement. I’m betting you have some pretty serious questions about this approach! Why would you facilitate your own replacement? Well, there are some really good reasons to do this.

Your manager is probably anxious about your absence, and about covering the work while you are gone. You demonstrate your value, your work ethic, your sense of responsibility and reliability by approaching your absence this way. You and your manager are collaborating to solve a problem which could be a very, very, difficult time for your manager if it were not handled well. In short, you actually demonstrate your value with this approach!

Now let’s think about your return to work. If your physician can support it, think about coming back to work gradually. It’s often difficult to go from not working at all to a full work schedule. Talk this over with your manager, even before you leave. Let’s say you are having a major surgical procedure. For the first four weeks or so, you are not going to be up to much of anything but recovery at home. But on weeks 5 and 6, perhaps you could schedule a short conference call a couple of times a week to begin catching up. Then, on week 7, (or even week 6!) you may be able to work 15-20 hours a week. Finally, your physician will release you to a full work schedule.

This approach is so much easier on both you and your manager. Think about it. In the weeks you are working part time, you get your feet wet again, you contribute your expertise, AND you go home and get the appropriate rest needed for your recovery. When you do come back to work full-time, you will be more rested, will be up to speed on what has been going on in your absence, and will be far more likely to avoid a dangerous relapse. This approach will likely be much less of a concern to your manager, too! If he or she knows you will be out of pocket completely for 8 weeks, that’s a different situation to manage than your 4-week absence and gradual re-entry to the work place.

In short, you will communicate your conscientious attitude about your job if you approach a needed leave proactively. You can’t NOT take such a leave. But, with some thoughtful advance planning, you can probably make it easier on you, your co-workers and your management.

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Sexual Harassment at Work

What a difficult topic to consider! Everyone has an opinion on sexual harassment. These vary from, “It’s about time it was addressed!” to “What’s the big deal?” As with most extreme positions, the reality is probably some where in the middle for most of us. But the fact that makes this such a difficult topic is that there are people at those far ends of the spectrum as well as on the more common middle ground.

What spectrum? Does this mean we can’t define “sexual harassment” because everyone thinks of it at some different place on the spectrum? Not exactly. Sort of. Sexual harassment exists in the eye of the beholder. This is actually easier to understand than it initially sounds. If I am a 50 year-old woman who has always lived in a small town in the South, who attends church regularly, and who has been married for 30 years to my high-school sweet-heart, there will be a range of behaviors, language, jokes, web sites, and other forms of human interaction which genuinely offend me. And there will be others that do not. If I am a 30-year old woman who went to college in New York City or California or Chicago, who is single, who is a runner, and who has a long-term live in partner, I will almost certainly react differently to the SAME exposures as my 50-year-old co-worker. So who is right? Which standards prevail? Help! (By the way, how does the dynamic change if the “partner” is another woman?)

The generally accepted definition of what constitutes sexual harassment is exposure which would make the average person in the community feel uncomfortable or feel offended. If our 50-year old lady is NOT average, does that mean she has to put up with off-color jokes that the rest of the office enjoys? It does not. The “community” is much bigger than your department. Regardless of whether “everyone” seems to be appreciative of the jokes, there may well be a person who is uncomfortable, but is also uncomfortable saying so. So the standard is basically, when in doubt, don’t say it, and don’t do it!

What about the classic situation men bring up about a woman with an impressive command of very colorful language? Doesn’t matter. She may well be offending someone, even if not you. Don’t participate in the inappropriate language or behavior with her, even if you see it as harmless. It isn’t harmless to someone around you—I can almost guarantee it.

What if you are in an office or work environment with only your own gender? Be careful here! I know an older man who is profoundly offended by any off-color language and genuinely embarrassed and uncomfortable around such conversation. The same is true with women. Simply being in a single-gender environment does not excuse inconsiderate behavior.

There are many, many people who express privately (and some express publicly!) that they think this whole “harassment” issue is over-blown. Consider for a moment who you work around, and who is in and out of your office as customers or suppliers. If the statistics are to believed, one in 10 of those people may be gay or lesbian. Several may have gay or lesbian family members. Some may have been victims of violent crimes. Some may have children who have been victimized. Now think about how painfully uncomfortable these people will be listening to the “harmless” jokes told about gays, about sexual behavior in general. And they may be simply unable to handle the “harmless” touching or leering that goes on in some work places.

Let’s assume that there are people in your workplace who have issues of the kind mentioned above. How do you imagine their work performance could be impacted by having to put up with behaviors, jokes, actions, and attitudes which make them so profoundly uncomfortable? Obviously, they cannot contribute fully when they are embarrassed, scared, feeling intimidated, or threatened. If your workplace is anything like the norm, you have downsized at least once during your tenure there. This very common business trend makes it even more critical that EVERY person in the workplace can contribute at the top of his or her potential, every day.

No wonder business has taken such a serious interest in sexual harassment and in diversity issues in general. There is simply not time to put up with behaviors which adversely impact business performance. And don’t kid yourself. These kinds of behaviors do impact business performance. They are disrespectful. They are time-consuming. They are illegal. They are wrong.

So take a look at yourself and your workplace. If you are uncomfortable with what’s going on around you, what should you do? As difficult as it sounds at first, stand up for yourself. If the language around you makes you cringe, your co-workers need to know it. Respectfully and directly ask at least one other person to help you tone it down because you find that it makes you uncomfortable. If that doesn’t work, please go to your management or to Human Resources with the issue. Virtually every work place will take this very seriously. Frankly, no business wants the distraction and dysfunction that comes with this behavior. They don’t want the law-suits, either. Many, many times, those who are perpetuating this behavior really are not aware of the impact it has on others. This really is true! You may be quite surprised at the respectful cooperation you may well receive after expressing your discomfort.

But what if this does not work? I have two grown daughters, both of whom have dealt with inappropriate behavior at work, as I have. I have to say that they are both far more comfortable with confronting it than I am! I guess the point I’m trying to make is that you actually contribute to the problem if you say nothing. The more people who speak up, the less stigmatizing speaking up will become. Once you realize this, it does make that initial sweaty-palm confrontation a lot easier. Don’t put it off. You deserve to work in a place in which you are comfortable — and so do the people you work with.

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Adjusting to Change at Work

You’ve probably heard the old saying about the inevitability of d–th and taxes. In the workplace, there is at least one more inevitable factor to consider. Some form of change will impact you at work at some point. There are some pretty obvious reasons for this to be the case today. We are becoming a truly global economy with the competitive pressures that brings. With pressure from more competition, every business is faced with doing more with less, innovating, streamlining, and generally becoming more efficient.

In addition, consumers are better educated and more demanding than ever before. People check web-sites and read research, particularly for high dollar items. So competition for whatever your business deals in is more challenging than ever before. No wonder there is ongoing change in virtually every work place today.

How do people react to change? Would it surprise you to know that it’s usually not positively at first? Most people like “the way we’ve always done it,” even when that way is actually problematic and inefficient. Some people may even be aware of the inefficiencies, but aren’t motivated to change because change would mean more work for them, something new to learn, or even elimination of their own roles. In some cases, people actually react to large-scale changes with the same kinds of stages that accompany a d–th! Consider for a moment that an announcement has been made that the company you work for is replacing the very popular head of your division. The range of reactions could be something like this:

I can’t believe they are doing this! What can they be thinking? It must be a mistake.
I’m going to write that board of directors a letter and give them a piece of my mind! How dare they do this to us! This site has been the backbone of their success!
Well, maybe if we do really, really well next quarter they won’t replace him.
I guess it’s inevitable. I don’t know what I’m going to do when he’s gone. I’ve never worked for anyone else. I don’t know what to do.
You know, this could be a good thing. I’ll get to try some new things. I’ve heard the new boss is really interested in new ideas and developing his people. It might just work out fine.

How could sensible people react so differently to the same event? Not only will different people react in all these different ways, the same person can bounce around between all of the above attitudes and feelings. No wonder change is disruptive!

When you consider how disruptive change (even good change) can be, it makes sense to meet change head on in an attempt to mitigate the damage the upheaval may cause. Sometimes, leaders believe that they should keep the details to themselves. They reason that talking about the coming changes will distract people and even cause unrest. Nothing could be further from the truth. What actually is true is that people will make up the information you don’t give them. This doesn’t mean that they will consciously plot to create gossip. It just means that there will be many, many water-cooler conversations speculating on what might be going on.

Leaders should take control of the communication around the change. They should communicate often, frankly, and evenhandedly about the reason for the change and the impacts expected. How often is right? At first, people are nervous and even anxious about the announcement of change, so the communication should be often, even daily. Once the initial furor has died down, weekly updates may be fine, and then even bi-monthly. Just don’t stop communicating!

Many business changes involve confidential information. Even so, the leaders should communicate what they can, when they can. They should also explain if they are bound by confidentiality constraints, and that they won’t be able to communicate some things right away. The idea is to build trust, not suspicion, in the workforce. People do accept that some information can’t be shared. What they don’t readily accept is silence. They also won’t accept half-answers or soft-pedaling of unpalatable parts of the change. If some jobs will be lost, say so. If some groups of people are targeted for outsourcing of their jobs, say so. In any event, be thoroughly prepared to answer the “What will happen to me?” questions from each group of employees.

Pay some attention to the way you communicate about change. Some people really like the personal touch, and group meetings with leaders are the way they prefer to be kept informed. Others prefer email. Still others like a weekly update posting. Many of the same questions will occur to more than one person. Consider developing a Questions and Answers communication of some kind. It’s important to offer different methods of communication around change so that you will meet the needs of the majority of the impacted population.

What about retaining talent during significant workplace change? Many large businesses have a sort of template identifying the kinds of considerations to address during a change. Much like a disaster plan, they have identified key people, key customers, and key suppliers and developed strategies for assuring them, or even created incentive programs for them to stay through the change. If the change is really a closing of the business, the business still needs to operate until the doors are closed. So it only makes sense to respectfully support employees who are losing their jobs. Your state may have re-training programs for displaced workers. There may be other industries or companies in your area that need workers with comparable skills. Most state departments of labor have excellent services to help with wholesale job change. If your company is looking at losing a significant part of the workforce by the time the change is done, you have a far better chance of retaining them as long as you can if they see that the company is doing all it can to assist them in moving on with their careers.

The days when people started and ended their careers at one company are pretty much in the past. Even the identity of the companies themselves may not be long-term in this environment. Mergers and buy-outs are the norm today. The only thing you can really be sure of is that change in the workplace will continue to happen. So it makes sense for you to continually update and refresh your skills so you are prepared for whatever change is right around the corner. Because you can be sure there is one more coming!

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My Boss Doesn’t Like Me: Workplace Survival Skills

Many of us can say we’ve experienced this unsettling feeling. Sometimes it’s just that—a feeling. But there are times when employees have some real cause for concern about how the boss regards them. Let’s think about what indications you might see that could lead you to believe there may be a problem, and what steps you can take to address the issues.

There are meetings you are not invited to. There is information you don’t seem to receive. Decisions are made without your input. If these are meetings you used to attend, or data you used to be copied on, or decisions you used to have input to, you may well have cause for concern. Your immediate reaction may be to feel defensive, hurt, or angry. Probably the last thing you want to do is discuss what appears to be your slip in status. But that’s exactly what you have to do.

Make a formal appointment with your manager for at least an hour block of time. Don’t take no for an answer on this one. Insist on a meeting. If your manager asks what the purpose of the meeting is to be, your response should be something like, “to discuss my contribution to your goals,” or “to update you on my activities and make sure I’m on the right track,” or simply, “to address some concerns I have about work-place issues.”

Your next step, once a meeting is scheduled, is to do your homework. Assemble factual information which supports your concerns, and be sure you can explain the issues clearly. Keep your presentation simple, keep it factual, and make every attempt to keep it stated in such a way that will not put your audience on the defensive. Consider the difference in these two approaches:

1. I’ve noticed that I am no longer invited to our Wednesday status meetings. I am concerned that this may mean my contributions may have been inappropriate or sub-standard. Could you explain why I am no longer invited to these meetings?

2. You don’t invite me to the Wednesday status meetings any more, and I want to know why.

The first approach is stated in such a way that the problem or the challenge belongs to the employee, not the manager. Yet it does get to the point and let the manager know that the employee has work-related concerns about this turn of events. The second approach is not a very well concealed attack upon the manager. You can almost hear, “How dare you exclude me!” in the background. If you were the manager, which approach would likely elicit a constructive response from you? In the first instance, you give your manager the opening to say, “Well, John decided that we should limit the number of people attending to only the department heads. I know I’ll still need your input on the issues that arise. We should discuss these in staff meeting each week.” The second approach certainly won’t give the manager room to respond this way, even if this is the actual explanation.

The explanation for what you are feeling or experiencing is not always as simple as the previous example. There may actually be some perceived short-fall in your performance. Your initial approach should be the same. You should factually and unemotionally state what you have observed, and ask about it. You may find that your management actually is displeased with your performance. Now you have a decision to make. The relationship between an employee and his manager is extremely complicated. The manager may not actually know what he wants. The employee may not know what the manager wants. The employee may not have the skill-sets the manager thought he had. The employee may simply not fit into the culture of the workplace in questions. So how do you sort all this out?

If there is a perceived performance shortfall, you need to think about why there is a performance shortfall. First, would you agree that most people want to do a good job at work? With limited exceptions, this is probably true. So if someone is NOT doing a good job, there are some concrete reasons why. First possibility, the employee has the skills, but does not understand the expectations of the job. Secondly, the employee understands the expectations, but simply does not possess the skill sets required to do the job. And he may or may not be aware of this shortfall in his skills! Finally, you may occasionally encounter employees who have the skill sets, but simply refuse to do what’s expected of them. Fortunately, the first two conditions are far more common than the last one.

As an employee whose contributions are being questioned, do some honest soul-searching. Do you possess the skill-sets needed? Are you sure? Do you understand what’s expected? Are you sure? If you are in the last category, where you have the skills but simply refuse to do the work, you are in the wrong place. Do you and your employer a favor and quit your job! It’s simply the wrong place for you. Leave on good terms, and find a place you belong.

Now, let’s go back to the first two conditions. Again, these are:

You have the skills, but no clear direction as to what to do.
You understand what you are expected to do, but are not sure you have the skills to meet the challenges of your assignments.

Think for a moment from the other side of the fence. If you were the manager, and you had an employee who, for some reason, was not meeting expectations, it would cause you some considerable concern. You have work that needs to be done. You hate the idea of re-training a new hire, not to mention the difficult prospect of terminating someone. Can you see that your manager may well welcome your request for a frank meeting? Of course he will! He wants this problem to go away at least as much as you do.

If you present the situation as being one of the two conditions above, you and your manager have a solid place to start. He may be genuinely unaware that you don’t understand his expectations, and he will be greatly relieved to clear them up for you. He may also not know that you need a little more direction, some skill polishing, or some other assistance. Just think how relieved you both will be to see your way forward! So don’t put off this discussion as difficult. Consider it for what it is—-an essential.

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Managing Up: Boss Relationships

The term, “managing up” may be new to you, but if you are successful in your career, you may already be a master at this skill. Managing up refers to an employee being astute enough to understand and respond to the demands facing his boss and even his bosses’ boss.

Often, administrative assistants are masters at managing up. That’s why it is not uncommon to see strong working relationships between senior level managers and their assistants. These administrators have learned to anticipate and react to demands facing their managers sometimes even before the managers are aware of the demands themselves.

Don’t assume that this indicates a subservient or somehow dysfunctional relationship. It does not. Successful employees at all levels of an organization can be skilled at managing up. Further, don’t assume that managing up is a form of manipulation. It’s not. It’s just good business. If you are aware of the demands placed on your management, you can anticipate how your work can support meeting those demands, and you can focus your energies on the most important work.

You may wonder why you should spend time and energy making your bosses’ life easier. Think about it. If you are regarded as the person who knows what’s going on, who can be counted on in a crunch, and who is loyal to your management, you can expect to be valued for these characteristics as well as for your ability to master the nuts and bolts of your job. If, on the other hand, you are the source of problems, disconnects and issues for your manager, even if you are technically competent, you will be a less valued employee.

Another component of managing up has to do with excellent communication skills. A person good at managing up knows when to inform the boss and when not to bother him with details. What you don’t want is for your boss to be blind-sided by an issue you should have told him about. Generally, these issues are those with legal implications or potential for repercussions outside your department or area. Conversely, if you over-communicate with your boss, he will become sort of immune to your messages, not unlike the old “boy who cried wolf” story. Unless your workplace norm is to report every interaction you have, limit your reporting to the boss to what he needs to know to be reasonably informed about significant issues or problems.

So how do you gain this skill if you are not currently good at it? There are certainly no schools or classes to learn how to manage up. But you can observe those in your work place who are clearly masters at doing this and even discuss it with them. You can ask a colleague talented in this area what she does to make sure she’s on top of not only her work load, but the work load of her management. You can ask to attend meetings you don’t currently get involved with. You can educate yourself about tasks and requirements outside your area of expertise. And perhaps most important, you can make sure you understand the needs and challenges your business is facing in general. If there’s a competitor on the horizon, learn about their business. If new regulations or laws are threatening how you do business, become conversant with them. You get the idea.

If it has occurred to you that these actions make you more valuable to your business, you are right. If you have asked yourself why you should provide your business with a more valuable employee, you are on the right track. Downsizing, right-sizing, reorganization, and even corporate sales are here to stay. I would guess that you want to be here to stay as well. By learning your business, not just your job, you become capable of managing up. But you also make yourself a more valuable employee and one who will be more likely to survive the upsets which we all are likely to experience in our work lives today.

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