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Mistake Mastery (Because Your Professional Life Does Not Come with a Magic Eraser)

April 26, 2017 No Comments

An executive who I do leadership coaching with recently shared that a member of her team made a colossal, astronomical-amount-of-money, public relations nightmare mistake. She values the employee, and understands that mistakes happen, but the employee did not own up to the mistake, which only made it worse.

We have all been there. Making a mistake sucks. BIG TIME. And it can cost you – your job, relationships, reputation, credibility, monetary fines, and more. What can you do when you make a major misstep on the job?

Own up to it. I have seen this done well, and I have seen people try to assign blame to others when it was clearly their own wrongdoing. Being honest – and doing so quickly – is always the gracious way to own up to a mistake.
Be part of the solution. My first manager out of college used to tell the team “Do not come to me with a problem unless you also have a solution”, which made telling her that I had erroneously withdrawn $1,000,000, not the desired $10,000, from a client’s mutual fund account and was on my way to the mailroom to search high and low before it was mailed a bit easier to swallow. Oops. Have at least the framework of a solution so that steps can be taken quickly to work towards resolution so that you are remembered as much for being part of the positive outcome as you are for the source of the issue.
Apologize, and really mean it. Sounds obvious, right? Shocking, but there are many for whom saying the words “I am sorry” or “I was wrong” is a foreign concept. Humility and grace will get you far in life. And do it face-to-face, if possible. Just do not say it multiple times, or you run the risk of looking like you cannot handle the mistake.
Say thank you. To clean up the mess, several people may need to get involved. Thank each and every one for doing the extra work to help fix your mess.
What did you learn? The difference between a mistake and an epic failure is figuring out what the key takeaways are. Analyze what happened and use that knowledge to improve.
Document it. It will come up in your review if it was significant, so when the dust settles, write an accurate and unemotional as possible overview of the problem, what you did to correct it, could prevent in the future, and what you learned from it. That way, you leave nothing out and if and when it comes up again, you have the information at the ready. As a bonus, putting it in writing may help you to see holes in the process or workflow, which provides the opportunity to be more innovative.
Do not let it define you. Even if the outcome of this mistake is that you lose your job (and I’m sorry if this is the outcome), remember that mistakes are not labels. You are you and the mistake is the mistake. It is an opportunity to learn and grow. If you let it define you, you run the risk of operating out of fear, which will only result in being risk-averse and complacent.
Be kind to you. If someone came to you and told you that they had made a major error, you would likely show them compassion and understanding. Extend this same kindness to yourself.

Life does not come with a magic eraser, so there is no do-over, but everyone, even the most successful legends out there, has a mistake or two (or more!) in their professional history. How you handle the mix-up and how smoothly you move forward is what will leave a lasting impression.

Hire the best! With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides retained executive search services and human resources consulting for exceptional non-profits and socially responsible for-profit firms. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on the national level. To learn more about how Pillar can assist with your hiring and human resources needs, please contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

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What Career Changes Would You Make if You Won the Lottery?

January 30, 2017 No Comments

There is an old saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” Too often, however, people are trapped in a certain lifestyle by the belief that if you make the money, loving your career will follow.

Recently, I was working with an executive client who admitted that while his job was extremely rewarding financially, he was feeling uninspired and trapped. I asked what would prevent him from making a major change, and he said that he feels locked into his high paying job because he has two homes, an expensive country club membership, two adult children still “on the payroll,” and supports his father’s care.

I posed the question, “What would you do if you won the lottery?” At that point, the jackpot was over $150 million. Instantly, his demeanor and energy changed as he excitedly shared that his dream was to open a sailing center where he could rent out boats and offer lessons. This clearly is a dream that he has given extensive thought to, as he already knew where he would open this business, what the name would be, how he would attract customers, and that he would offer sailing camps to area nonprofits that work with children, such as Big Brother Big Sister and Boys and Girls Clubs.

Let’s be honest: the chance of winning the lottery or finding out that you have some unknown Daddy Warbucks relative who has left it all to you is pretty slim, but his answer and obvious passion made me wonder what others would do. In an unofficial study (okay, I surveyed friends and colleagues!), the majority reported that if they no longer had to think about money at all, they would travel for a year or two. Some would return to their current job full-time, as they believe in the company that they work for, and their work is interesting and enjoyable. Others would volunteer, take classes, or join the gig economy by consulting for organizations on a project basis so that they could have greater flexibility over the scope and intensity of their work. Surprisingly, only two said that they would make relaxation their full-time endeavor!

The other interesting responses from my entirely unscientific study were:

I would work, but in a much different way. I would speak more frankly and have less fear for losing my job based on my actions. I still love what I do. That’s why I do it.
Keep living life as is, until I thought of some way to use that money to start something that makes me happy and benefitted others. I think people need a purpose, so without working, or a goal, you would spend all the money on “things” to fill that need and run out of the money!
Now that I am doing something I actually like, I would keep doing it (this individual left a corporate job of over 12 years recently to run a family business)
I would keep working, but I would focus more on the aspects of my jobs that I love and outsource/reduce the things that I do not love. I would focus on creating. I would also devote time to the causes I love.
I would absolutely “work” but not doing what I do now. I would start a non-profit focused on something with girls in leadership both in the U.S. and internationally, or write a book about raising our next generation to eliminate the unconscious societal bias. And, of course, I would do all of this while traveling around the world with my family and friends, drinking delicious wine everywhere!
I would work, but would use my skills to help empower underprivileged women to create better lives for themselves and/or donate my time to nonprofits that support things that I am passionate about.
I would quit my current job to start a business focused on my hobby (some responses were to open a bakery, a cigar bar, and a dog walking business).
I started my own business a few years and love it so much that it feels like I already won the lottery!

In the case of my client, he is not ready to make the leap just yet, so we discussed how to find time to do what he loves while staying in his current role. We found a sailing center in Boston that offers lessons to disadvantaged children, and he is going to volunteer with them one evening a week, which will give him an opportunity to sail on a regular basis and gain the experience of teaching sailing to children. He and his wife have decided to start downsizing slowly in hopes of starting his dream business in the next 5-10 years. At the end of our meeting, we went to the convenience store around the corner to purchase lottery tickets. Fingers crossed!

If money were no longer an issue, what would you do differently in YOUR career?

Cindy Joyce is the CEO of Pillar Search & HR Consulting. Pillar provides national executive search services for exceptional non-profits and foundations and socially responsible for-profit firms desiring top talent who want an occupassion, not just an occupation. In addition, Pillar offers human resources consulting services, which was born of clients requesting help on projects beyond executive search, and includes leadership coaching, human resources audits, handbooks, assessing organizational design, training, team building, and employee communications. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on both the local and national level. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com or email Cindy at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

career advice, executive coach boston, human resources boston, human resources consultant boston, human resources consulting boston

How to Deal With the Karen Walker Employee

June 14, 2016 No Comments

Remember the fabulous show Will & Grace? For those who were not privy to it, the show ran from the late 1990’s through 2005. Based in New York, it followed the lives of best friends. Grace Adler, a woman who ran her own interior design firm had an assistant, Karen Walker, a very rich, oft-drunk socialite. Karen made no bones about the job being a hobby for her, which resulted in some very funny moments. My personal favorite Karen-ism?

Grace Adler: Karen, I don’t want a check. I want assistance. I’m the boss. I give you checks.

Karen Walker: Yes, you do, honey, and I love them. I do. You know, I keep them all right here in this box.

While TV can show the hilarity of treating a job like a hobby, in real life it’s anything but. I’ve worked with two clients this year alone who were struggling with how to work with an employee who treated their job with a nonchalant, devil-may-care, laisez-faire attitude.

While I understand that everyone has a different tolerance for stress and some can make everything seem like a breeze, the Karen Walker employee is toxic because they do the bare minimum and seemingly flaunt it in the face of their boss and colleagues. They skim that line of acceptable performance, but seem to pull far enough away from underperforming at the last minute that it keeps them employed for far too long.

The cost you expect? Other employees. The Wills and Graces of the organization, the ones with actual passion for their job and a strong sense of work ethic. While underperformers can harm morale, the Karens pour gasoline on the culture you have tried so hard to build, and then slowly burn it.

The cost that may surprise you? It takes a huge toll on your brand and worth as a leader. People will wonder if you are either aware of their bad behavior and lack the guts to do anything about it, or if you are too clueless to notice.

Nip it in the bud. In the case of my two clients, they hired me to do coaching with each of their Karen Walker employees. The first? In Karen’s words, “Oh honey no, just no.” No amount of coaching, attempts at getting the employee to modify their behavior, recognize the impact on their colleagues, or gaining better understanding the company culture worked. Thankfully, the other person responded well to the coaching and was able to make modifications to their behavior and attitude and is now thriving. If only Grace Adler had hired Pillar Search & HR Consulting!