CareerSherpas: Climbing the Mountain

First up, let me apologize that I haven’t been able to think of a feminine equivalent to the necktie. I’d like to say that I have a comparative item of work attire to discuss, but I’m stuck. (If anyone out there would like to suggest a similar clothing status symbol for women in the workplace please do share it in the comments!)

That out of the way, I’ve shared the following clip a few times since it first aired in 2008 and I think it has some enduring relevance. In it, Ben Stein shares his perspective of the value and presence of the necktie as well as what it represents to him.

(Ben Stein appearing on the CBS Sunday Morning show – 2008)

The tie is many things: A conservative fashion statement; a throwback to an earlier era; an imperative in (some) big businesses; a choking noose; and a personal addition to otherwise constrained traditional attire. Much as I don’t agree with many of Stein’s positions, his perspective rang surprisingly true and brought to the fore all the concrete (if mildly satiric) rationales for wearing a tie. I’ve been wearing one every day for work since.

Where do you stand on the use (and abuse) of neckties?

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

Most people don’t immediately think of their jobs, current projects or stages in their career as an adventure. In general, they’re missing out. If you miss the intrinsic value of what you do and keep the blinders on you miss so many of the possibilities spread out in front of you.

A few posts back I described the concept of the hero’s journey, so now I’d like begin to look at the first stage in the cycle: The Departure.

The Departure is made up of a collection of steps, each leading along the journey’s path. But for today I’m going to focus on the first two:

1. The Call to Adventure – Where our heroine receives a (sometimes unwelcome) call to set out on the journey. This is often followed by…
2. A Refusal of the Call – Usually characterized by “Who me?”, “Why should I risk my neck to do that?” and “I can’t do that!”

The call to adventure in life comes in so many forms it’s probably impossible to list all the possibilities. It could be an opportunity to take on a new role or learn (possibly the hard way) a new skill. It could be the pressures of a negative boss or the opportunity to slow down from a hectic pace.

Whatever the call, it’s reasonable to expect that it won’t be entirely welcome or without risk. Naturally we’re all ready to question or even downright refuse a difficult change in our lives. Why shouldn’t we? Change can be hard, scary, painful and jarring. Who wants that?

The reality is that unlike the literary or mythological varieties, the calls in our lives may not be opportunities we get to accept at a later time. Projects get assigned elsewhere, positions get filled and not recognizing the time to leave a situation can burn us out or have us removed in a more negative way than if we made the choice ourselves.

Opportunities need to be evaluated calmly, objectively and with as much information to hand as we can get. Our natural reaction may be to reject the changes out of hand, but we might need to offer ourselves a second chance by taking a pause before answering. Who knows what lies around the bend in the road?

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

I admit it. I do love psychological studies. And while the Harvard Business Review article “Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance” (subscription required) is getting a little long in the tooth (being originally published in 2001) it’s still a gem.

The whole concept of emotional intelligence and its impact in the workplace is still striking even if we’re all (somewhat) sick of hearing about it. The returns on being genuine, optimistic and empathetic are so well documented that it’s almost an immutable law of nature… but then again it probably was all along. What’s fascinating is the clear tie between the mood of leaders and the success of their groups and how pervasive that mood becomes throughout an organization.

There are a lot of really important points made by the article.

For individuals, your positive approach is infectious. Every time you are able to push the positive side with those around you, your performance and abilities and that of your peers will improve. Creating a virtuous cycle with your peers will breed everyone’s success.

For leaders, if you haven’t already started improving your attitude you’re missing out in all areas from your staff. Your staff can be significantly more engaged, dynamic, creative, innovative and productive just through improving your outlook. Without that kind of performance you are on the firing line and sooner or later it will catch up with you.

The article goes so far as to lay out a path to improving your emotional intelligence and the impact you have on those around you. The five step process is nicely balanced in the brain science and easy to work through thoughtfully.

• Defining your ideal personal state.
• Gathering information on what is holding you back and your strengths in dealing with people.
• Planning your approach and the feedback mechanisms to keep you on track.
• Experimenting with leadership approaches in a careful and thoughtful way.
• Getting help in becoming your ideal self through trusted relationships with others.

If you’d like the more in-depth version, try reading the full article or the insightful book by the same authors, “Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence”

Have you considered or worked on any of the improvement ideas suggested? What kind of success (and stumbles) have you had along the way?

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

“Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved?” – Nicollo Machiavelli, The Prince

That Machiavelli guy was onto something right? He must have been, otherwise we wouldn’t still be reading what he wrote hundreds of years later and finding new nuances in his work. From a Machiavellian point of view, fear and love are the important options to be courted while avoiding making people hate you.

A recent article by Joey Strawn called “Everybody Likes You, Too Bad You Still Suck” made me think hard about Machiavelli and offers an interesting counterpoint. In the age of the “Long Tail”, lowered barriers to starting businesses and advancing careers, and the democratization of access to pretty much everything, Strawn argues that being hated by some is actually a sign of success if a larger group love you.

We’re all human and we want to be liked. Realizing that not everybody will like you, it’s still important that those people involved in your success are positive toward you. Ideally you want them to love what you do for them. Strawn’s prescient observation that this will likely make someone hate you for it is an important reality.

There’s some truth to be had in both perspectives, but there’s a strategy decision involved that you have to make for yourself depending on circumstances. Your decision has to take into account what you’re comfortable with (can you stand some people really hating you) and who you’re responsible to (what will your boss support you on).

More and more we’re all looked at to be leaders to succeed. How are you going to lead?

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.

The Hero’s Journey is a literary concept that rings true because it parallel’s parts of life’s journey in a simplified and focused way. Originally described by Joseph Campbell more than half a century ago, it’s a plot model that’s been intentionally and unintentionally used throughout the ages of storytelling.

Besides giving rollicking adventure tales, it also gives you the opportunity to consider events from a different perspective. The Hero’s Journey offers a different lens to see life and the trials and tribulations. In addition, there’s the suggestion of the rewards to be earned along the way as well.

There are three main phases to the journey, each deserving of future posts. In summary however they are:

1. The Departure – Whence our hero (that’s you if you haven’t caught on) is invited to leave the ordinary world and embark on an epic quest! The hero contemplates, possibly rejecting the initial invitation, and ultimately follows the path set before him.
2. The Separation – The trials and tribulations of the journey itself. After facing perils and obstacles, (both internal and external) the heroine reaches her goal and attains the gift of great value.
3. The Return – After succeeding in retrieval of the gift, the hero returns (possibly with help) to bestow the blessings of the gift and their new found wisdom on the ordinary world.

Each phase has particular stages within it representing encounters or situations that a character, or person, might see at that point in their journey. While life may not entice you off to a magical quest, you are regularly invited off to an adventure of your own. Sometimes it’s useful to think of an opportunity as an invitation to an adventure. I find it easier to look at the challenges if I can think of the way-points on the journey.

Ultimately, the hero in the stories brings back a reward that benefits not only themselves but also allows them to share the benefits with others. At the very least your experience in everything you attempt allows you to help others avoid the pitfalls and traps while sharing visions of a better future.

What does the Hero’s Journey illustrate for you about yourself?

Peter Fitzgerald is the founder of CareerSherpas.com and is currently working on his first book, connecting individuals with ideas and opportunities, and attempting to learn the bagpipes.