Your Questions Answered

Your Questions Answered “What's the biggest challenge in your career right now?” I recently asked that question and many people responded with their challenges and questions. So, last week, I addressed what to do when you have competing priorities, what to do when your skills and interests do not align with your job, how to manage a difficult team member, should you stay or leave when you can’t see where your role is going, and how to supplement your income. See my answers to those challenges here. Today, I'm answering these questions: How to network when you live in a small city Should you get an additional Master's degree? Should you stay or leave for more money and less risk? How to land a new role in a more senior position and in a different industry How to improve your executive presence, communication skills and ability to read a room How to Network When You Live in a Small City QUESTION: “How do I network when I live in a small city of less than 100,000 people where the networking opportunities aren't abundant and they're usually with the same people?” ANSWER: This is a great question because we don't all live in a major city. I'd say the following. You can network from anywhere First, you asked, “Can I network anywhere?” The answer is, absolutely, yes. I know that you're doing some really great things already, like attending alumni events, and volunteering at two different organizations. Keep up the great work! What I'd ask you to do is think about how you could amp that up. How can you leverage those situations, maybe look for different leads by asking, “who else could I talk to?” Get them to introduce you to other people. And see if you can discuss how they network from being in a small city, because they have the same problems as you. Offer to represent your company at local events The second thing is, you asked, “Can I ask my employer to represent the company at local community events, and could that be a way to connect?” The answer is, absolutely! In fact, I would say don't ask but rather offer because it's really valuable for your company to connect locally. Go and put together an offer and say, “I have this idea for participating in this local event. I'd love to represent the company, and I think it could generate more leads for us” or something similar. Make the business case and they'll probably even fund you to go do those things. It could even become something you get recognized for. And while you're looking at connecting the business with the local community, you might want to check out your local chamber of commerce. Often, they've got a lot of events going on that you can get involved in. Attend events elsewhere The third thing is, I would suggest that you see how you can go beyond the borders of your small city and see if you can attend some events elsewhere. Maybe there are conferences in your line of business. Maybe there are some training programs. I remember back in the day, I saw this great women’s leadership program that was offered by Harvard Business School. I said to my boss, “I think this could be a really great thing for development.” He looked at it and said, “Great idea. Not only that, why don't we send these two other women as well.” So, the three of us went. Look and see how you can get beyond your borders and get the company to sponsor you for that. You never know. Form your own network The fourth thing is, think about how you could form a network. I bet you're not the only person with this issue. Lots of people live in smaller cities and work in smaller cities, so maybe see if you can start a mastermind group, which I talk about in another blog post, which is a group of people who come together in a safe space to talk about an interest that they have in common or an issue that they're looking to address. In this case, it could be something about networking when you're living in a small city or it could be about some aspect of the business. Maybe you're in marketing, so form a group of people that are interested in marketing in the sector you want to get into. Or, form a group around a particular interest. Then, when you're going around in your local events, and conferences and trainings that you set up for yourself outside of your small city, see if you can start collecting some people that you'd really like to hang out with. You could meet virtually and learn from each other. I hope that helps. I'd love to hear what you decide to do and how it turns out. Leave a comment and let me know. Should You Get an Additional Master's Degree? QUESTION: “Should I go back and get an additional Master's degree, or can I form a network of the right people to get where I want to get to instead?” ANSWER: So, a little background. This is a question from an older individual who's currently about to finish a Master's in Health Innovation, and they're wanting to set up a non-profit or work for a non-profit somewhere internationally, and wondering if having that management mindset and understanding those nuances is going to help them be more successful in what they want to do. This is a great question because so many of us are thinking about whether to retool, or get an additional degree after we've been working for a while. Four reasons to get a Master’s degree In my view, there are four reasons to go back and get a Master's degree. First is the credential. Sometimes we need to have a credential. It's almost like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval in order to get into that new role. It can also be a great way to credentialize yourself so that you can make a smoother transition from where you are to where you want to get, especially if you're making a career change. And sometimes you even need that credential just to be considered. Then the second consideration for getting a Master's is the connections. That's the network you're going to gain access to, which has a lot to do with the specific program, school or university where you get your Master's. So, choose carefully, choose wisely. Because it's not just the people that you're going through the courses with but also the alumni of that organization. Then the third thing to think about is the content because you go to a Master's to learn. Make sure that the content is something you want to learn. And the other question is, can you easily replicate that content somewhere else? These days there's so much great free content on the Internet. But you’ve got to be really dedicated and put together the whole syllabus for yourself. Personally, I find this hard to do. And then the fourth thing is confidence. Sometimes, having this additional degree just gives you confidence that, “Yes, I have gone through the whole process and I have come out the other end knowing more, being more credible, and feeling more confident”. So, figure out how you fit into those four categories. Two reasons not to get a Master’s degree You also want to consider the other side. So, what are the reason's not to get a Master's? From my experience, there are two main ones. The first is time. It just takes time. What else could you be doing with that time? The second one is money. We're really talking about the opportunity cost of your time, and the opportunity cost of money. And money is two things. There is the cold hard cash you're going to shell out for the program, plus the lost earnings from not working during that time, especially if you're going to school full-time. Then you've got to offset that, or weigh it up against, the future earnings that you think you might gain as a result of having gone through the program. Do some experiments Those are the considerations for the Master's, and in this specific case, I would wonder whether you could do some experiments. Experiments are small steps to explore and get information without committing completely. So, I wonder if you could do two things to experiment. One is to think about whether or not this is the right time to get that Master's degree. Can you start off on the path of working with global health nonprofits without doing the degree, explore a little bit, and then make an informed decision? Essentially, that’s making it a timing thing where you do some experiments first, and then you can always go back and get the other Master's. Then the second thing you can do is start talking to people who are in the field you want to get into. And that’s useful anyway. Ask them, or even observe, whether or not they've gotten this kind of masters. Is it needed? What do they recommend? And maybe some of these people would even become part of the network that you might form of people who can help you with understanding these management nuances. Or they could direct you to others who could form a group around you. I hope that helps. I'd love to hear what you decide to do and how things turn out. Should You Stay or Leave for More Money and Less Risk? QUESTION: “How should a seasoned professional decide whether to stay or to leave for more money and less risk?” ANSWER: Well first let me say congratulations. You are experiencing some very high-class problems! And you're also hearing from somebody who left as a senior professional for less money and more risk. So, proceed with caution here. But, all joking aside, I just want to say that there are five things that I would think about in your shoes. And this applies to all of us who are in an organization, in a role, doing something for some time. Your aspirations and opportunities The first thing is to think about how the two situations â€" the one you’re in versus the one you might go to â€" and assess how they fit with your aspirations. Who do you really want to be when you grow up? What kind of opportunity set is there? Is there more headroom where you are right now? In terms of the other situation, I don't know what less risk really means, but does less risk mean less opportunity in the future? So, think about your aspirations and your opportunities. Alignment with your values The second thing to think about is alignment. It's so important to find a place where you feel like your values are aligned with the organization's values, where there's a great cultural fit. I always tell people you want to think about what kind of soil is your best soil if we were plants, or flowers, or trees. You want to make sure you're in that best soil because not all soil is created equal. As an example, one of the people that worked on my team was going to resign to go to another bank for a bigger role, but ultimately decided to stay. When we asked him why, he said, “Well, my wife told me that I am a much better person when I'm working here with you all. So, I think I'm going to stay.” Lovely. Continued learning and growing The third consideration is, are you still learning and growing? Because if you're not learning and growing, then you're stagnating and you're going to fall behind and you're not going to be very happy. So, make sure you're still learning and growing. Enjoyment The fourth aspect is enjoyment. How do you feel every day when you get up and go into work, or think about going into work? Life is short. We've got to make sure that we're enjoying the journey. The 100-year-old test Then the fifth thing is what I call the hundred-year-old test. When you're a hundred years old, looking back on your life, are you going to feel really happy with the decision that you just made? Again, a very personal kind of thing, but you want to live a life of no regrets. Decision-making filter Then, from a tactical standpoint, you might think about the decision-making filter. Once you've set up your criteria, you can set up a decision-making filter, which I talk about in another blog post. So, I hope this helps. I can't wait to hear what you decide to do, and how it turns out. Leave a comment or let me know. How to Land a New Role in a More Senior Position and in a Different Industry QUESTION: “What should I do to land a new role, ideally in a more senior position and in a different industry? I have 14 years of international experience and recently parted ways with my employer because they just couldn't find a job in alignment with my seniority.” ANSWER: First, I like how you're thinking. You want to improve on all fronts! Second, more and more of us are going to experience this. So, the advice I'm about to give applies to all of us, whether you're in a job now and want to have more options, or looking for something new and trying to figure out how to accelerate that process. There are three things you want to do. Brand yourself First is you want to brand yourself as a thought leader and an expert. This means publishing, putting yourself out there. The easiest way to do this is to start publishing articles on LinkedIn. You can even just start sharing articles and add a little bit of your views on things. Don't just share because then you're just passing the article along without demonstrating any expertise. By the way, this means that you're going to want to have more connections rather than fewer because more people would then be reading your work. Soon you'll start to get followers. And don’t worry if you’re starting at zero â€" that's where we all start. It’s great to start with zero because then you can only go up. You can also start speaking. There are lots of conferences where they want experts. You can speak at local chamber of commerce or the equivalent. You could also get quoted by the press. Again, if you don't have a job right now, it’s a huge advantage because you're not restricted by what your company's policies are on what you can say and who you can say it to. Leverage your connections The second thing to do is to leverage your connections. That means having a lot of conversations. When you're having those conversations, do two things. One is you want to convey the value you bring, the results you've achieved, how you've helped the people you've helped, and what kinds of people you want to help. Then the other thing is you want to ask and receive. What you want to ask for is “who else should I be talking to?” You always want to be expanding your network of connections because that's how you find the truly great opportunities that you are uniquely qualified to take on. Create your own role Then the third thing is to create a role for yourself while you're looking. What I mean by that is you go and find a project. Maybe it's for your prior employer, maybe it's for a former client (of course, it has to be one that's not in conflict with your former employer and any legal agreements that you've signed). Or maybe it's some new kind of organization or a non-profit, but find yourself a project to do that's related to your field where you can continue to build expertise. You could also consult. There are some firms who collect a group of people who are demonstrated experts and connect them with people who need that expertise. There's one called GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group), which is a consulting firm, not the hedge fund. You even get paid while you're doing that. Isn't that great? There might be other consulting firms that have this kind of model where you don't have to go and be an employee, but they put together SWAT teams to help solve problems. You could also be a mentor in the new sector that you want to get into. Let's say you're a marketing expert in the consumer products sector and you want to get into finance or FinTech. Well, then you can start just being a mentor to people in that new sector on the topic where you are an expert. You could also be an interim marketing director for a smaller company maybe, or maybe it's a bigger company. There are recruiters who specialise in hiring interim directors and interim managers. Finally, recognize that your ideal role might require some interim steps, so don't be afraid to take those opportunities. Whatever you do, keep going. I'm rooting for you! I hope this helps. I can't wait to hear what you decide to do and how it turns out. How to Improve Your Executive Presence, Communication Skills and Ability to Read a Room QUESTION: “What have you found to be effective in improving your executive presence, communication skills, and ability to read a room? These EQ and soft skills are hard to improve and increasingly critical to be successful and promoted where I am.” ANSWER: Well, first, this is such a great point. These are exactly the kinds of skills that are going to differentiate you, especially as you move up in your career. Here are five things you can do. Become a student First is, you want to become a student, both informally and formally. What I mean by informally is to just start noticing. Start observing others as well as yourself. What works well, what doesn't work so well. Then formally, go get some training. There's a lot of great training. Your organization's probably offering some, and if they don't, then you can sign up for something like Toastmasters. I think they're international, and it's not very expensive to join. Once you've gotten the training, you might want to continue and get some coaching, which can help you reinforce what you’ve learned and get into the nuances. Practice The second thing you can do is practice. You can do lots of different experiments as you practice. For example, practice the way you show up when you walk into a room. Practice the way that you make points in a meeting. Practise sizing up the situation when you walk into a room â€" what are the things that you notice about how the politics of the situation, and how does the room feel? Get feedback Then the third thing is, once you practice, you want to get feedback. The best kind of feedback is real-time feedback. Maybe you can find somebody who's safe for you to talk to, somebody who's a friend or your mentor. Maybe you're in the same meeting with them and can say, “I'm working on my executive presence. Can you share with me afterwards how I came across?” The more specific you can be, the better. For example, “I’m trying to speak more in meetings, and I’m trying to make my points more powerfully. Can you let me know how I'm doing and just pay attention to those things?” Incorporate and refine Once you've gotten the feedback, you want to incorporate that feedback and keep refining. That way, you're always creating this learning loop so that you can keep improving. That helps you gain confidence in what really works for you. You develop your own style, because you don't want to sound like anybody else. Frankly, that doesn't work very well. Be other-conscious Then the fifth thing is, you want to start becoming what I think of as other-conscious as opposed to self-conscious. Instead of thinking about, “How should I behave and act,” maybe spend some time thinking about, “What does the other person need and expect from me,” and then, “What version of myself do I want to bring to the forefront in this particular situation to really make an impact and give that person what they're wanting and expecting from me?” Those are five things you can do. I hope they help you. I'd love to hear how you decide to move forward and what happens next, so leave me a comment and let me know. Your Questions Answered “What's the biggest challenge in your career right now?” I recently asked that question and many people responded with their challenges and questions. In the first of this Q&A series, I addressed these issues: What to do when you have competing priorities What to do when your skills and interests do not align with your job How to manage a difficult team member Should you stay or leave when you can’t see where your role is going How to supplement your income In the second of this Q&A series, I gave my answers to: How to network when you live in a small city Should you get an additional master’s degree Should you stay or leave for more money and less risk How to land a new role in a more senior position and in a different industry How to improve your executive presence, communication skills and ability to read a room Today, in this final Q&A session, I'm answering these questions: How to make a shift from where you are to where you want to be How to know when to pivot career or to stay put How to overcome ageism to find a higher paying job The one thing to do to make a transition into a new industry How to Make a Shift From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be QUESTION: “How do I transition from being a salesperson to being a investment manager within an asset management company?” ANSWER: So that means going from marketing the investment strategies to designing and implementing those strategies. Well, this is a great question because more and more of us are going to be looking at making a shift from where we are to where we want to be just because the world is changing so fast. Three Areas to Consider When you're making that kind of a move I like to think about three specific areas: Skill set Mindset Outreach They all work together and they mutually reinforce each other. Skill Set The first thing you want to think about is what kind of skill set is needed to be successful in that new role, and what kind of skill sets do you already have? When you're looking at the skill set you have, remember to look for the skills and the strengths that you have in your current role that you could leverage into that new role so you're not starting from zero. In this case, you're already really knowledgeable about the investment strategies that you're marketing so that's a huge advantage. Mindset Recognize that the mindset that you have in your current role may be different than the kind of mindset that you need to have to be successful in the new role. It's useful to understand what's different and see whether you'd be happy to adapt, or maybe you're more suited for that new role's mindset to begin with. For example, in your case it's the difference between thinking on behalf of the client, having a marketing mindset and also a client service mindset, and shifting that to one about generating investment returns. Outreach Outreach is super important because when you go and approach other people and talk to them, that's a great way to find out more about skill set and mindset. It's also important as a way to discover the set of pathways to get from where you are to where you want to go. Reaching out to people is how you're going to make connections, and connections are the main way that we find new roles and new opportunities these days. Finally, your outreach efforts are a great way for you to learn how best to package your message. You want to package your set of skills and strengths in a way that makes it easy for people to see that you could be credible in this new area and that you're low risk. In fact, maybe you have huge potential in this new area. So, think about your skill set, your mindset, and your outreach. I hope this helps. I'd love to hear what you decide to do and how things turn out so come back and leave a comment and let me know. How to Know When to Pivot Career or Stay Put QUESTION: “How do you know when it's time for a career pivot and when it's time to just stay put for a while?” ANSWER: Excellent question, because we're all going to have many, many jobs over the course of a career. After all, we're living longer and that probably means we have to work longer. And hopefully, those are both happy things for you! Plus, the world is changing very quickly, including technology and all other sorts of world events. Make Conscious Decisions Over Three Time Horizons The fact that you're asking this question tells me that you probably have some really good instincts about your own career. And frankly, most of us do have good instincts, but we're also busy that we forget to listen to ourselves. That's why it's really important to take time out to check in with yourself and assess your career situation from the following three time horizons. After all, it’s important to be making conscious decisions about our career moves. Near Term â€" Enjoyment and Flow The first time horizon is the very near term, as in, “in the moment” and day-to-day. This one is about enjoyment and flow. Are you enjoying the journey? That's the most important thing in the very near term. And you want to make sure you're doing something where you find yourself in a flow state. Not all the time, of course, but on some reasonable basis, and that you're liking what you do. Medium Term â€" Learning and Growing Then the second piece is about the medium term. This is about learning and growing. So the question is, how is the world changing around you and how are you evolving along with that? Are you learning, are you growing? Do you have more head room? Long Term â€" Achieving Success as You Define It Then the third piece of it is looking at the longer term. This is about achieving success. When I talk about success, I mean success as you define it, not anybody else. How is what you're doing giving you the opportunity to achieve your longer term goals? Are you still on track, given how the world has changed and how you want to show up in that world? And maybe you're changing, too. Check in Regularly So you always want to be going through those three time horizons and doing a self-check on your career situation. And if you do that regularly, you'll be so well in touch with yourself that your instincts and your intuition are going to be able to give you some really good answers about whether it's time for a career pivot, or whether you should stay put for the time being. I also think some of the answers that I gave in last week’s Q&A might help you. I hope this helps and I can't wait to hear what you decide to do and how things turn out. So come back, leave a comment, and let me know. How to Overcome Ageism to Find a Higher Paying Job QUESTION: “I'm in a job I enjoy, it gives me flexibility to work remotely so that I can manage my home and my thee busy children. However, I don't think I'm getting paid sufficiently for my skills and experience. I'm afraid ageism will keep me from finding a higher paying job elsewhere and I don't know if my company is going to promote me or move me into a decision making role. What should I do?” ANSWER: First I want to say congratulations for having a job that you enjoy and that also gives you flexibility. That's terrific and I'm really excited to hear that you want to improve on your situation. When We Lack Information, We Make Assumptions I'm also hearing that there are two things that may be happening. One is that you lack some key information, and two is that you may be making some assumptions. I'll bet your employer is making some assumptions as well. There are three things that I'd recommend that you consider. Have Conversations First is having some conversations. It's really important to let people know, let your boss and your reporting line know that you've got aspirations. Then find out what it takes for those aspirations to become a reality. Then of course, you also want to start building relationships with some of these key people who can be your sponsors and advocates as you seek to move forward and improve on your position. Gather Data The second thing I'd recommend is that you get some data externally. There is salary and compensation data in lots of different places on the internet (start with Google), and talk to some recruiters. Then, take a look externally and see what kind of other jobs are out there. Once you start to get some data, you'll feel more informed and less worried about things. Then see if you can find some groups, trusted peers, or other people around who you can talk to and share information with. You’ll appreciate building out your network in this regard. Negotiate for What You Want The third thing is to negotiate. It sounds like you're respected there, and so yes, it's fine for you to negotiate. I don't mean being confrontational. Think of negotiation as just having a series of conversations. You could be sharing with them the things that you've done, the value you bring, and the potential you have to contribute even more. Then, find out from them what kind of compensation levels reflect that value in this organization. How to Address Ageism As for ageism, here's my thought. Yes, ageism is out there. We never know when we're going to run into it. Sometimes we expect in and we don't run into it, who knows. We can be penalized for being too young, being too old, or for being too much in the middle. It's like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears â€" “just right” is in the eyes of the beholder. The key thing is your age is not something that you can control. So, I would suggest that that's not something to worry about. Instead, stay current, always be positioning your age as experience and wisdom, and focus on the companies, organizations, and teams where that's going to be valued. I hope that helps. I look forward to hearing what you do and how things turn out. So, come back and leave me a comment. I would love to know. The One Thing to Do to Make a Transition Into a New Industry QUESTION: What is the number one preparation in order to make a mid-career transition into a completely new industry?” ANSWER: What a great question and there are so many options to choose from. Build Your Network If I had to select just one, it would be to build your network. That's because in order to find this opportunity and then to succeed in it, you’re going to need a robust network. One that you can leverage. And, of course, you're also going to need to find additional people to add into your network. Your Network Accelerates Your Progress Your network will also help you determine things like how to package up your skills to be credible in that new sector, who you need to know, what you need to know, where you need to show up, what questions to ask, and what is the latest cutting edge. Then, once you get in the seat, there will be all kinds of experiences and nuances that you might not already know about. Having your network to rely on can accelerate your pace of progress. Be Proactive and Strategic One thing that I'd suggest you to do is to start proactively building up your network before you need it. Part of that preparation includes making sure your LinkedIn profile is totally up to date and reflects that new area that you want to go into. It also includes looking through your entire contact list and seeing who could lead you to other people, provide references for you or give you testimonials on your LinkedIn profile. So, just start to think that way. Also, consider what events you should be attending to get up to speed, meet more people and learn more about what you're about to get into and who's who in the sector. Then you could also start changing your habits in terms of reading in order to be helpful to your network. What kind of articles can you find and email to people on your contact list or the people that you want to get in touch with? Be very thoughtful and very tailored. Another proactive thing you can do is to start inviting people out to coffees. The point is to take proactive steps to build up those connections before you need them. Give First The most important thing as you're doing all this network building is the following: You want to start giving right away. Start giving before you need to make an ask. I hope this helps you. I'd love to hear how things go. So, leave me a comment and let me know. I can't wait to hear. Your Questions Answered “What's the biggest challenge in your career right now?” I recently asked that question and many people responded with their challenges and questions. So, today I'm kicking off a series of Q&A sessions with these challenges: What to do when you have competing priorities What to do when your skills and interests do not align with your job How to manage a difficult team member Should you stay or leave when you can’t see where your role is going How to supplement your income What to Do When You Have Competing Priorities QUESTION: “I’m dealing with a very demanding job as a senior executive while also trying to meet very challenging family and social commitments. What do I do when I have competing priorities?” ANSWER: In this case, the person has family member with depression. Focus on where you have impact The first thing to do when you have competing priorities, all of which are really important to you, is to figure out where within those priority areas you are going to have impact. You don’t need to be all things to all people at all times, and you can get help. The key is to focus your energies on those few areas where you are going to make the biggest impact. Define what success looks like Within each of those impact areas you've chosen, you need to define what success looks, feels, and sounds like. Instead of having perfection as your goal in each of these areas, try for “good enough”. As a recovering perfectionist, I know good enough sounds terrible. It seems like a very low bar to those of us who want to do everything we can. But good enough is sometimes the optimal, because then you then still have time and energy left to satisfy some of those other impact areas. So, figure out what success â€" or good enough â€" looks, feels, and sounds like in those impact areas. Refrain from guilty feelings Now that you’ve identified your impact areas and what success looks like, you can let the chips fall where they may. This is all about refraining from guilty feelings, because guilt is contagious. Thinking back to when my kids were little, if I had said to them, “Oh, Mommy's so sorry Mommy has to go to work and leave you here. I feel so sad.”, they're going to play on that guilt. And that guilt will infect everybody. The same thing could happen at work if I said, “I’m so sorry I can't stay and help everybody, but I have to go to my daughter’s basketball game.” People are more likely to get swept along by that guilt-based framing and feel resentful. Instead, I could position it as, “Hey, I’ve done x, y, and z. I will work my part later, but right now I’m going to go cheer my kids on in their basketball game. It means so much to them.” And everybody else is more likely to get pulled in by the positive framing and say, “Wow, good for you.” So, refrain from the guilty feelings and move forward positively, which then brings me to the fourth point. Create a support network Make sure you surround yourself with people who are going to be your support network. And most importantly, people who are going to advocate for you. You are most likely to be busy helping everybody else whether at work or at home when in reality you also need to take care of yourself. That’s why you need to have at least one person, and preferably a group of people, around you who are going to advocate for you. What to Do When Your Skills and Interests Do Not Align with Your Job QUESTION: “I'm trained as an economist, but in my country the only jobs available are in insurance sales, and I'm struggling to close any deals. What should I do?” ANSWER: Well it's always tough when your skills and interests are not in alignment with your job. The best thing to do is to look for ways to align those two things. Go beyond the label In this case, the first thing I would do is go beyond the label of the training that you've had. Go beyond the title of economist. Based on what you’ve said, people aren't looking to hire economists. No one's going around going, Hmm, I wish I had an economist. I wonder where I could find one? If that’s the case, then let's look at the skills and strengths that your training has given you. Maybe it's about being strategic. Maybe it's about analyzing lots and lots of data and making sense of it. Maybe it's about extracting themes from the data and advising on policy issues, or on where insurance salespeople should be targeting their efforts. It might even be in the very organization that you're in, but in a different role and using the underlying skills that you've developed as an economist. You have to focus on what those underlying skills and strengths are. The ones that you have and really want to use and will shine at. Market yourself Once you've done that, the second thing is to start to market yourself. Not as an economist, which is just a label, but as someone who solves the kinds of problem using the kinds of skill sets that you have. There'll be lots of different industries and types of companies that could use skills like strategic analysis, trend identification, policy recommendations, and so forth. It could be in government, it could be in non-profits, it could be in financial institutions, it could be in consumer products goods as part of their marketing analytics team. So, start to market yourself in that way. Build and leverage your network Then the third is to really focus on your network and building out that network of relationships, because that's how people find jobs and new opportunities these days. And the initial job could be a stepping stone into that perfect or ideal job in the future. So, focus on building that network and getting the word around in terms of what your skill set really is, the kinds of problems you solve, and the kinds of industries you might want to apply that in. Create your own projects Then the fourth thing is, while you're doing that, it's always helpful to create your own projects. Maybe you could do some consulting projects on the side. Maybe it's even for the university that you graduated from with your economics degree. Do some research, publish some articles, and start creating a platform for yourself as somebody who's using those skills that you really want to deploy, those skills that you learned as an economist. How to Manage a Difficult Team Member QUESTION: “I have a team member that challenges me in public. I had a serious talk with the person six months ago and they really withdrew and hardly said a word. Then we talked some more and they said, ‘Well, I'm just very emotional. You should ignore it.’ But the problem continues to persist. This person is very talented and is my right-hand person. What should I do?” ANSWER: In this situation, I have three thoughts. Are they worth it? The first one is, is this person really worth it? Because sometimes people can be really great performers in one sense, in terms of the results they achieve, but they can also be a lot of hard work, so a negative drain on your energy. They could also be negative in terms of their influence on the rest of the team. When you net those two things, you got to figure out whether the person comes out negative or are they still in the positive range. Think about whether or not this person’s really worth it. Link behavior change to aspirations The second thing is if you really want to help the person change, then the bad news is people don’t change unless they want to change. And people don’t want to change until they see that there’s either something really bad that happens if they don't change or something really great that happens if they do. In this sense, I would invite them to share with you what their longer-term aspirations are. If they say something like, “I’d like to be a very senior manager in this organization” or “I'd like to be the CEO one day” that’s great because then you can tie the need for behavior change to that higher aspiration. You can rightfully say, “Well, for someone to make it to that level requires that they not only are self-aware, but they also can self-manage in the moment.” That could be the impetus they need to say, “Yeah, I better change this behavior or else I’m not going to get that future role I want. Then, in addition, you could further offer the help of a coach. You could offer to hire them a coach to help them make this change. But I wouldn’t offer the coach unless your team member wants to change and wants to be coached. How might you be contributing? Then, the third thing is to take a real hard look at how you may be contributing to their behavior. When we are really great leaders, then that means that we are both consistent in our behavior towards others and we’re timely in the way that we flag things that people need to do differently or flag things that they’ve done really well. As leaders, we get the behavior we accept. Frankly, it’s true in all of life. It’s true with our family members, it’s true with our colleagues. Hey, it’s even true with my dog! So, take a hard look at how consistent, and timely, and constructive you are being. Be constructive and direct You also asked whether you should take the soft approach or the hardball approach. Well, the truth is, it’s very dependent on the individual that you’re working with. Often, it’s really something in the middle, which I call being constructive and direct. And make sure you’re consistent and timely in the areas you’re going to help them with. Should You Stay or Leave When You Can’t See Where Your Role is Going QUESTION: “I’m in a senior but internal leadership role at a professional services firm. I have a good role in a good firm, and I’m doing well, but I can’t see where it’s going. I don’t want to plateau either in terms of development or in terms of earnings. They don’t give development opportunities unless you’re a partner, and I’m wondering, should I stay or should I leave?” ANSWER: I have five thoughts for you. Ask The first one is, when you're not sure where things stand or where you stand, then the best thing to do is just ask. I'd start to have a series of conversations. You can make them really positive and constructive. I'd start with your boss, and then figure out who else you might want to talk to, maybe some of your sponsors, some of your mentors. It could go something like this: “I really love the firm. I love what I’m doing, yet I want to make sure that I’m doing everything I need to do in order to advance.” Then share with them your aspirations. Get clear on what your aspirations are and let them know. People aren’t mind readers. Maybe they don’t realize that you have those aspirations. Talk about the desire for development and see what happens from there. The first thing is to have those conversations. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t be left wondering. The implications of being in a line vs staff role Then, the second thing is, you want to think about the difference between your internally facing role, and the client, frontline facing role of the fee earners that you mentioned. The role you have now sounds like what I would call a staff role versus the job of the fee earner, which is a line role. The line roles are the ones that represent the core of what the company does â€" in your case, it’s the ones that are client facing. The staff roles are the ones that support the people in line roles as they go about making the money or talking to the clients or the customers. When you’re in a staff role, you’re right, that’s a different kind of platform than when you’re in a frontline role. You just have to be comfortable with it and recognize both the positives and the negatives that come with each one, and figure out where you want to be. You can always go back and be that fee earner if you really want to, but it’s a different kind of job. Watch out for golden handcuffs Then, the third thing is, on the stay or go front, one of the things that I would pay close attention to is the concept of golden handcuffs. That's when everything’s really comfortable. You’re doing well. You’re getting paid well. You can do your job with one hand tied behind your back, or you’ve got the job in a box. It’s something that you have under control. That’s exactly the time that, when you linger too long in those kinds of roles and enjoy the nice warm water, that you might discover that a year from now you’re living with regret of not having gone for that next step when it was time to go for that next step. There’s nothing wrong with staying in the comfortable warm water, but just be conscious as to whether or not those are actually golden handcuffs you’re going to regret not unlocking a few years down the line. Keep investing in yourself The fourth thing is you mentioned that you’re investing in your own development by paying for it, and also seeking out projects outside the firm, of a volunteer type. I would encourage you to keep doing that. Every investment you make in yourself is worth it because you will always get the benefit. It’s portable. It travels with you wherever you go. So, keep investing in yourself and see if the firm will reimburse you for some of the investments. Maybe you can make a case and be the exception. Try to make it work on your terms Finally, back to the stay versus go point, I will give you the advice that I was given many years ago, which has been the best advice I’ve ever gotten: You are not allowed to leave until you have tried to make it work on your own terms and discovered that you can’t. How to Supplement Your Income QUESTION: “My job is satisfying to me except for the paycheck. I work in academia so I’m not alone. I need $25K more per year. How do I tease out what’s best in the options that I have? I can afford to go three or four months without income and need healthcare insurance coverage.” ANSWER: Then this person listed five options, two of which involve leaving the university, and three of which involve staying at the university and adding something on the side. Focus on your sweet spot When you’re looking at these options, I always think that it’s so important to focus on doing things that you’re great at doing and that you love to do. When you’re looking for that new role or that side hustle, you want to still make sure you’re doing things that are really in your sweet spot. With that said, I think the decision-making filter that I use with my clients might be just the thing to help you here. Use a decision-making filter The way I work with my clients is that I ask them to do some thinking and some research. Some thinking about, what are the really important things for them. The criteria that will be important to be true once they’ve taken on this new role or new package of roles. And then to list those criteria on a decision filter. In this first column, you’d write down what criteria are important to you. For example, “must help me make $25K more”, “must have health insurance”, and maybe there are some other things, like “no commute”, or “uses my analytical ability”. Whatever the criteria might be. Then, you want to figure out how important each criterion is to you on a scale of one to ten, ten being highest, one being lowest. That way, you can do a weighting for each of the criteria. Then you lay out your five options, or how ever many you have, and assess each of the options according to the criteria. Again, rating it on a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest. Then you can do a score at the bottom. In fact, if you’re an academic, you’re probably going to do a weighted average score. And when you get the score for each option, you can compare them. You can also decide if there’s a minimum score that must be met in order for the option to even be considered further. That’s one way for you to decide which of those options really makes the most sense to continue along with. Do experiments Now, once you do this analysis, then I urge you to do what I call experiments. So, if it turns out that setting yourself up to be an independent consultant and leaving the university all together turns out to be the best option on paper, you don’t want to just make this complete switch from A to Z all at once. Make sure you try it out a little bit and make sure you’re right about some of the assumptions that you’re making. Maybe you’ll love it, maybe you’ll hate it. But, it’s hard to know without trying it. See if you can do what I call the small experiments, which is the smallest action that you can take that still gives you relevant information about whether or not you’re on the track with that option. So, go do some experiments before you go jump in and dive in at the deep end.