Wednesday, March 10, 2010

"Angry and Scared"

"That's how our people feel," a high tech executive told me this week. After almost two years of reorganizations, layoffs, and changes in corporate direction, that's pretty typical of a lot of places people work today.

An angry and scared workforce won't make your company competitive in the recovering economy. And if you yourself are angry and scared, your career will stagnate.

Both individuals and organizations need to be more proactiive and look for the oportunities. Focusing on careers is the most effective way companies have to reconnect with their employees. On-site career coaching for individuals can go a long way toward retaining and remotivating them. So can career development processes or career ladders.

If you are an individual who is angry and scared, it's time to take charge of your career. That doesn't automatically mean putting yourself on the job market. How about looking for opportunities where you are now - opportunities to take on more responsibility, gain new skills, or work in a new department? If you make those changes now, you will be more valuable if later you decide to look for a new employer.

A client this week hadn't gotten a raise in five years. How did he decide to make sure he got a raise? He came up with a profitable new business idea, wrote a business plan, and took it to his employer. If his employer doesn't go for it, he has a line on a competitor who will.

That's looking for the opportunities. That's taking charge of your career.