Mass Career Customization

Cathy Benko and Anne Weisberg are the authors of Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today's Nontraditional Workforce, that will be published by Harvard Business School Press this fall. Cathy and Anne led an initiative at Deloitte, currently in a pilot program, to address changing availability of the labor pool for knowledge workers (particularly in the US), changing family structure, and changing job expectations. In entering into this project, they found that these issues were no longer limited to "women's issues", rather they extend across many new families, lives and the younger generations.

They argue that with these changes, the workplace needs to change to match the new workforce in order to attract and retain talent. Careers used to be "climb the corporate ladder"; rather they are that careers now often follow a lattice. In fact, careers go through ebbs and flows particularly in relationship to the speed of advancement, the workload demands, location and schedule flexibility, and nature of the work (management / individual contributor).

Deloitte is implementing systems that allow people the fluidity to manage their careers with respect their personal needs. What is interesting in listening to the results at Deloitte, rather than encountering a situation where a difficult percentage of the organization wanted to dial back. Rather, people were pleased to know that the option was available to them as needed in the future. In fact, evaluating work against these dimensions allowed people to highlight their interest in dialing up, rather than dialing down.

Reinventing Office Politics

I've posted a number of times on Organizational Politics, and watch closely for new information on the topic. Gill Corkindale recently posted Reinventing Office Politics on the Harvard Business Online. She reiterates the position that negative (manipulative, self-serving) politics is to be avoided. Positive politics (understanding other's motivations, influencing with integrity) are an integral part of succeeding at senior levels of most organizations.

She highlights the following tips for employing positive politics:

• Learn the system and work around it
• Cultivate relationships with the right people
• Understand individual agendas
• Act in a principled way
• Develop a network of information sources
• Avoid making enemies
• Build support for constructive ideas
• Build a personal reputation
• Treat everyone fairly
• Influence rather than using direct authority
• Learn how to steer meetings
• Negotiate in tough situations
• Manage conflict

For more on this topic, see some of my earlier postings:

• Office Politics: Playing the Game
• Avoids Political Behavior
• Political Awareness: Alliance-Building or Turf-Protection
• Silos, Politics and Turf Wars
  

From Coaching to Retention

On October 31, 2007 in Shanghai, I will be presenting a one-day workshop: From Coaching to Retention for Global Talent Development Center. See coaching in action, add coaching skills to your management repertoire in the workplace, and explore you can enhance retention through coaching. The day will conclude with a small panel discussing how coaching has worked for them.


Price and Payment:

Early-Bird Price: RMB 3,500 available through Oct 19, 2007
Regular Price: RMB 3,800 effective on and after Oct 19, 2007
(Course fees including lunch and materials)

How do I register?

Email Registration form to info@gtdedu.com or Tel: 021-52199558 Mr.Li ;Ms.Wang

Registration Form:

Course Name: From Coaching to Retention
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The GTDC difference – The right courses, led by the right business executives, bringing you the right results.

Additional information available through:
Global Talent Development Center
Office: +86 (0)21 64726778
Fax: +86 (0)21 5219 9558