Title: What is the title of this lecture?Speaker: Amit DhingraCreated by: (remove if same as speaker)

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Title: Managing Your CareerSpeaker: Desmond O’Rourke

MBIOS 583:MANAGING YOUR CAREER

The Key to Long-term Success

in your chosen profession

RECOGNIZE YOUR DUAL ROLES

In school, authority figures set your agenda.

In the rest of your life, you have to take charge.

FACTORS IN MANAGING YOUR CAREER

This presentation discusses the influence of:

Your own capabilities.

The type of company you work for. The role of its board and CEO.

Dealing with bosses and subordinates.

Working across company units.

Working with external partners.

Role of meetings as career builder.

CAREFULLY SELECT THE COMPANY YOU WANT TO WORK FOR

There are horses for courses (Some like hard surfaces, some springy turf, some mud).

Different types of people flourish in different types of companies and organizations.

Vital to have a good fit between you and the company you choose.

START WITH KNOWING YOURSELF How do you handle stress?

Do you prefer high-risk or low-risk activities?

Are you action-oriented or contemplative?

Do you prefer to work alone or in groups?

Where do you want to be in your career ten years hence?

Useful to take Myers-Briggs personality test or have a professional career assessment.

UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION

What are company’s stated vision, goals or strategies?

Are these real, or just window-dressing?

Are company’s ambitions local, regional, national or international? Might it require you to relocate, perhaps overseas?

What is the stance of the company’s board? Are they aggressive risk-takers, or do they play it safe.

Vital to do your homework by reading annual reports, stories from financial or business analysts, reports of litigation, etc., before you are hired.

UNDERSTAND YOUR CEO

CEO

Production Finance Marketing

Domestic/ international

Many companies are still organized like military.

CEO often acts like a general. His/her philosophy permeates the company.

It affects how much responsibility each executive gets, what decisions can be delegated, and who will be held accountable.

WHAT IS YOUR CEO’S MODE OF OPERATION?Is He/she in:

1. Survival mode: Just keeping ship from sinking.

2. Maintenance mode: Keeping same ship on same course.

3. Growth mode: Willing to change course and/or re-engineer the ship.

MANAGE BOTH UP AND DOWN

Subordinates

You

Bosses

Most employees know they must manage subordinates.

However, it is equally important to manage your bosses.

Bosses come in all shapes and sizes. Some delegate, some micromanage. They communicate differently. Some want regular reports, some don’t. But, their preferences are often unstated. Need to know this.

MANAGING SUBORDINATES Who’s really pushing? Learn to

distinguish the productive employees from those who just look busy.

Give clear assignments, clear metrics for successful completion.

Use failures as part of the educational process.

Encourage feedback. You can learn a lot from your subordinates.

MANAGING YOUR SUBORDINATES The better your subordinates, the

greater your productivity will be.

There is a fine balance between freeing them to be creative and keeping them on mission.

Give them credit for their achievements.

But, act quickly when you see efforts being misdirected.

MANAGING YOUR SUBORDINATES

If you are a forceful manager, your subordinates will be inclined to leave decisions to you.

However, subordinates who interact directly with customers or suppliers may see problems and opportunities from a different perspective.

Encourage subordinates to meet in your absence.

Give them responsibility for improving the company’s operations.

MANAGING BOSSES Peter Principle says, “Managers

tend to get promoted to their level of incompetence.”.. that is, beyond their capabilities.

All managers need careful handling. Incompetents need special treatment. Most tricky are those who deny their incompetence.

GOLDEN RULE OF MANAGEMENT

A key rule in managing both subordinates and bosses is:

Never catch them by surprise.

If something unpleasant is looming (e.g. a product recall, an angry customer, a financial setback, new competition) let them know as soon as possible.

They will not want to catch their bosses or subordinates by surprise either.

SECRETARY AS GATEKEEPER It is vital to keep good relations

with key executive secretaries and personal assistants.

They can alert you to meetings, new issues, opportunities within the company, availability of their bosses, etc.

Some have great influence.

MANAGING YOUR CAREER ACROSS THE COMPANY Sizable companies have many

units/divisions that differ in functions and characteristics.

Pecking order of units varies by company, CEO’s biases.

Many activities and projects involve personnel from different units.

Need to build working and social relationship across the company.

Networking is critical to managing your career.

JOB ASSIGNMENTS AFFECT PERSPECTIVES Production/ Engineering:

Make things. Tend to be analytical.

Research/Development:Enjoy the search. Often, not time sensitive.

Accounting:They see costs of activities. Tend to be introverted, analytical, cautious.

Marketing/ Public relations: They sell the company’s image and products. Tend to be extrovert, emotional, flexible, risk-takers.

Human Resources: Tend to be bureaucratic, sticklers for routine.

Occasionally, you will find nonconformists.

JOB LOCATION AFFECTS PERSPECTIVES Some employees have been in the same environment all their lives. Have not been forced to make adjustments.

Other employees have been transplanted to new environments,

Forced into a new way of life

MANAGING YOUR CAREER WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS

External Partners include:

1. Suppliers.

2. Customers.

3. Related sales channel partners.

4. Service agencies for advertising, auditing, legal work, etc.

5. Government regulators, inspectors (federal, state, local).

It is important to get to know key external partners, build trusting relationships.

Separate those who always say “You can’t do that” from those whose approach is “How might that be done?”

INFORMAL MEETINGS

Most quick decisions are made at informal meetings.

These may involve bosses, subordinates, external partners or any mix of these.

You need to be prepared to explain what you are doing, why you are doing it, and the state of progress without much prior warning.

You need to be prepared to justify yourself and your team, something you are rarely called on to do in academe.

FORMAL MEETINGS: THE GLUE THAT HOLDS A COMPANY TOGETHER

In person meetings still dominant.

But more and more meetings are conducted by video conferencing, teleconferencing, through the internet, or from mobile sites.

Each method demands adaptations to manage effectively.

MANAGING MEETINGS IS CRUCIAL TO MANAGING YOUR CAREER

Follow a few key rules:

1. Study the meeting agenda beforehand.

2. Come prepared to make your points, with documentation.

3. Express disagreements calmly and politely.

4. Accept decisions with courtesy.

5. Follow up promptly on agreed assignments.

ORGANIZING AN EFFECTIVE MEETINGA few key pointers:

1. Set start and stop times and stick to them.

2. Set time limits for agenda items.

3. Cut off discussion when it becomes repetitive.

4. Invite quieter participants to comment.

5. Summarize alternative paths forward.

6. Get a show of hands on decisions, if possible.

7. Set follow-up assignments.

8. Set time and place for next meeting, if needed.

ORGANIZING AN EFFECTIVE MEETINGWhat to avoid:

1. Wasting your colleagues time.

2. Focusing on trivia while ignoring big issues.

3. Repetition that frustrates participants.

4. Control those who like to hear themselves talk. Quieter members have much to contribute.

5. Discussion should be directed towards a solution, towards action.

6. Good intentions in a meeting can come to nothing if there is not specific follow-up.

7. Further meetings should have a clear purpose.

CONTINUE TO LEARN

Managing your own career and that of others will be a continuing challenge.

Human nature will always continue to surprise, and technology will keep changing.

There are many excellent books on management techniques, and new ones keep appearing every year.

Remember that YOU are in charge of your career. Think and act accordingly.

ENJOY THE EXCITING CORPORATE WORLD It is fast moving and crowded.

You need to pay attention at all times. Be ready to compensate for other people’s errors.

You need to know your destination, and the best route.

You need to know when to stay in line, when to change lanes.

You need to know what to do in an emergency.

The good news. Most people reach their intended destination.