Michele Woodward

Powerful Coaching. Powerful Results.

Connector Strategy

No Coincidence At All

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Rolling the dice concept for business risk, chance, good luck or

Carolyn is a lot like you. Sometimes she’s not sure that she’s doing the right thing.

See, after many years with the same employer, there was a “reorganization” and Carolyn lost her job. And as a woman in her mid-50s, she was worried about her job prospects.

You might go so far as to say she was slightly panicked.

OK, more than slightly.

When you haven’t done a job search in some time, the whole deal can feel overwhelming. Do you work with a recruiter? What do recruiters do, anyway?

What happened to classified ads? How do you sort through all the websites?

Do you still even apply for jobs?

She was spinning, spinning, spinning and getting more and more panicked.

Fortunately, though, Carolyn found me. 🙂

And in our work together, she identified a company she’d long admired where she’d love to work.

Since you all know I’m all about The Connector Strategy – activating your network to help you – Carolyn got busy identifying people she knew at the Ideal Company. By going to her network with a strong ask, she actually landed a phone call with an executive there!

“Yay,” you listlessly mutter. “That’s what’s supposed to happen.” Sheesh.

But there’s more.

The day before that phone call, Carolyn went to a charity lunch and sat at one of those big round tables charity lunch organizers around the planet have agreed to use. Big tables of eight or ten with drooping tablecloths and not enough bread baskets.

You’ve got the vision in your mind, I know you have.

There our heroine Carolyn sits. Tomorrow’s the big call with the networked friend-of-a-friend! She’s running over her key points in her mind, turning them over and over…

And two people sit down at the same table.

Carolyn introduces herself.

Small talk ensues.

And guess what?

Guess where these two people work?

Guess what department one of the heads?

Yes! Carolyn finds herself sitting next to the Senior Vice President Of Exactly What Carolyn Wants To Do from the Ideal Company Carolyn would love to work for!

Can you imagine?

And the rest of the charity lunch went well and I assume there were air kisses upon departure and Carolyn was over the moon.

Three great, strong connections within Ideal Company!

Now, the doubt started. Now, Carolyn began to worry if she’d done the right thing.

Should she have had the phone call with Friend-of-Friend first? Should she not have mentioned Friend-of-Friend to the Senior Vice President? Or was that good?

How do you follow-up in the right way? Was she being too forward? Oh, gawd, what if she’d already blown it?

Fortunately, Carolyn has me.

And I write this now for all of you who begin to orbit the building in worry and anxiety when you’re not sure of the right thing to do. Here’s my advice: “Worrying is a waste of time. All you need to do is to get honest.”

If you want to say to the Senior Vice President, “It was so great to meet you. I’d love to work on your team!” – then say it.

There may not be a job there now, but leaders appreciate honest enthusiasm – especially when it’s expressed about the work the leaders do – and when an opening does come up, guess who’ll be at the top of the list?

Your old views of what’s proper may look like this: One must be reserved. One must follow protocol. One must wait to be asked.

Well, those old views – are they helping you get what you want?

If you find yourself in a happy coincidence (which some might say was No Coincidence at All) where what you want seems to show up like magic, and you ask: “What do I say now? What’s the right thing to do?”

I suggest you say, in whatever words you want to use, the equivalent of: “This is great! I’d like some more of this, please.”

Did Carolyn land a job at the Ideal Company, working in the Department Of Exactly What She Wants To Do for the Senior Vice President she met at lunch?

Don’t know yet. But what we do know is that when Carolyn stopped worrying and started getting specific about what she wanted – stuff started happening.

Which is the only thing you and I need to remember.

 

 

How To Get A Job – 3 Stories

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Three stories.  All told last week.  Three different people.  Three job opportunities.

Only one gets the position.

Read on.

Sophie went into her interview full of confidence.  Piece of cake. She was highly qualified, and met the job description perfectly. Her interviewer – an older woman.  Another piece of cake. Sophie leaned back, relaxed and prepared to ace the interview.

Then a question came – a tough question – and Sophie wasn’t prepared. She assumed this older lady was going to be an easy touch. Sophie stammered.  Sophie couldn’t find the right words. Sophie felt flummoxed.

She went from leaning back to leaning forward.  Heart racing.  Bombing it.

She did not get the job.

Janice went into her interview a little panicked.  Panic that had started two and a half years ago when she lost her job. And immediately went on a large contract that ended up getting pulled. And then tried consulting. But couldn’t generate any work. She feels like the last couple of years have been all about failure after failure. Plus, she has the kids, and then there’s her husband, and they all have their demands on her time.  She really thinks they would prefer her to stay home and take care of them all day. And, frankly, a part of her would like that, too.

But women who don’t work – who are they? And is it really reasonable to ask her husband to shoulder all the expenses? Especially in this economy.

So Janice went into the interview conflicted. And the energy she gave off to the interviewer was confusing.  Did she want the job, or not?  Because Janice asked few questions, and never really talked about her own strengths and capacity.  She mostly sat there, looking nervous.

She did not get the job.

Kate didn’t have a job interview this week, but she got a new job.

How?

Kate had explored how she could be happier in her work. She analyzed who she enjoyed working with, and what kind of work energized her. Then, she identified people and organizations she’d like to work with, and developed a pitch about how she could specifically help them – how she could do what’s not getting done, and do it efficiently.

And then at a meeting already scheduled with one of her target companies – a client of hers – she said, “What if I joined your team and took care of this for you?”  Eyes lit up.  Hands were shaken.

And she had the job.

What do these stories tell you?

They tell me that not only has the economy changed, but so has hiring.  No longer are organizations hiring warm bodies because the plan says there are six people in that department and we only have five.  Today, organizations hire because they are in pain.  Something’s not getting done.  Something important, that affects the bottom line.  And the maxed out people currently in the department are already doing the work of three people. Each.

So someone gets hired. One someone.

Someone who makes a good case for himself.  Someone who has good energy.  Someone who is not afraid to take a little risk to get what they want.

This is the way people are getting hired.  These are the new rules.

If you are looking for work, check yourself.  Are you playing by the old rules, or the new ones?

 

 

Planting Seeds

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Take a seed.

Put it in some dirt. Maybe add some compost.

Now, water it.

Then, do the hardest part: walk away.

I mean it, walk away.

Because if you worry whether the seeds are germinating, doubt whether they’re growing – pull them up to check the progress? You’ll kill the plant.

Growing things calls for patience.

Even if it’s growing your career, your business, your practice, your network. Your love life, your family, your friendships. Whatever you’re growing, you need patience, baby.

And you need to plant seeds. Every single day.

Plant plenty, because we all know that some seeds will not grow. Too much water, too much sun, not enough water, not enough sun – there are many reasons seeds don’t take root.

But you can’t take it personally. Just plant so many seeds that a few duds won’t make any difference.

Just keep planting, even in the most unlikely places.

Because some seeds can thrive in an improbable inch of dirt in a random crack in the sidewalk.

Want a new job as a lawyer? Talk to your periodontist.

Want to meet a new person? Ask the yoga instructor.

Need to meet someone at XYZ, Inc.? You’d be surprised to know that the softball coach’s younger brother is the CEO there.

Plant those seeds and water them with generosity and genuine kindness.

Let them develop roots.

Let them flourish and grow.

And when it’s time to harvest, you will have a bumper crop.

Success Breeds Success

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One of the most intriguing things I’ve learned as an executive coach is this: The more successful you are, the more successful you get.

Because when you’re successful, people see your success and your confidence, they’re drawn to it, and opportunities arise. The more opportunities you have, the greater your chance of success. And so the cycle repeats.

I like using the word Slipstream to describe this flow of success. Some might call it The Zone. Others Alignment or The Vortex. Or you literary types might call it The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Whatever it’s called, you sure know it when you’re there. It’s getting there that’s the difficulty, isn’t it?

Don’t worry – I can help with that.  Want to know the secrets of getting into the Slipstream? Lean in close, now – there are just two things you need to know:

Believe you deserve to be successful.

and

Dare to take a stand.

Let’s take those two keys one at a time.

It’s amazing to me the number of people who are not successful simply because they believe they can’t be.  They say things like, “People like me never…” and “My parents couldn’t…” and “I didn’t go to the right school so…”  They focus so much on what’s lacking that they can’t see what they’ve got.

In London’s subway system, there’s a simple message painted on the floor:  Mind The Gap.  It’s meant as a warning that there’s a space between the platform and the train which could be hazardous.  So, too, believing in yourself requires minding the gap – the gap between here and now.  The gap between can and can’t.  The gap in your idea of who you think you are and who you can be.

It’s sad to watch people get a taste of success and immediately implode because “success” is not how they see themselves.  They have a vision of themselves as: Struggling. Striving. Oppressed.  Success completely throws them off the rails, and they immediately sabotage themselves just so they can go back to what’s familiar and comfortable, which is:  Struggling. Striving. Oppressed.

However, the most successful people I know believe in their own capacity to do well.  Regardless of where they went to school, or who their parents were, or whether they’ve had cancer, or how much credit card debt they once had.  They allow themselves to be successful because they know they have a right to create what they want for themselves.

And they do.

Now, the second key:  Dare to take a stand.  The other morning I heard an interview with designer Tom Ford who said that most brilliant design is the result of a bold vision, a unique statement.  All successful design stands for something.

And he’s right. Whether you’re making art, looking for a job, starting a business or growing a career – remember this: You’ve got to take a stand. You have to be known for something.

Allow yourself to be memorable.

Why? Taking a stand is kinda risky, right? OK, you know Donald Trump? Like him or loathe him, every time Trump says, “You’re fired!”, he’s actually taking a stand. A stand which reflects his beliefs, his experience, and his vision for the future. And, subsequently, he’s known for being tough, straightforward and even more successful.

So how can you start believing in yourself? Take a stand? Create your own success? Get into the Slipstream?

Let me know what you’re thinking about this. Because I believe in your success.

That, my friend, is the stand I’m taking.

The Connector Strategy

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power cordI cannot believe I haven’t written about this before, because I talk about it all the time. In classes, in coaching sessions, in workshops, possibly even in my sleep – I hammer the importance of The Connector Strategy.

Yet, I’ve never shared it with you in writing.

Let’s remedy that right now, shall we?

The Connector Strategy is the most powerful tool you can possibly use to get what you want.

I imagine I have your attention now.

First, the backstory. In his book, The Tipping Point, writer Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of the way epidemics and fads start. Almost always, at the center of something new is a personality type called A Connector.

A Connector is the kind of person who goes to a new restaurant, comes home and emails a hundred friends with his review. And suggests what they should try. And gives them the name of the maitre d’. And the waiter whose section is the one you want to sit in.

A true Connector connects for the sheer joy of it. There’s a rush from linking people with people, people with things, people with ideas. A true Connector is not involved in any quid pro quo – she just loves doing it. It energizes her. Makes her happy. [Guess who you know who’s a Connector?]

A few years ago, I took the idea of the Connector and applied it to people looking for a job, and the success was immediate.

At one point, I had four clients who were previously-executive women looking to re-enter the workforce after long employment gaps. They had each taken time off to parent, and one had an ill spouse she had cared for. When I say “long employment gaps” I mean seven years. Nine years. Eleven years. Fourteen years. Those kind of gaps. You know, the “who-in-the-world-would-hire-me” kind of gaps.

In each of these cases, we identified strengths, skills, priorities and goals. We bucked up confidence. And we inventoried Connectors.

Because the average human being knows four Connectors. But if you’re a Connector yourself, you may have more than twenty in your contact list.

Once my clients identified their Connectors, they needed to activate them. Now, here’s where Personal Branding comes into play. I’ve written about this before, but let me sum up:

Your personal brand is what someone else would say about you if asked.

And this is important when it comes to Connectors. Your Connectors may be your kid’s friend’s parents, or your neighbor. Or they could be someone you worked for a long time ago. Or a college friend. Or your periodontist.  How you made the relationship is less important than the fact of your contact’s innate Connectorship.

You want a Connector to be able to speak to your personal brand. To your skills, your integrity, your ability to get stuff done. And if you’ve coordinated a charity event with your periodontist, she might just be a perfect advocate for you.

To activate Connectors, figure out how each likes to be contacted.  Then reach out to them, and tell them what you’re looking for. This is not the moment for the lame “have any ideas for me?”  This is the time to say, “I’m looking for a senior management position where I can turn around an under-performing team.”

That kind of statement is like throwing red meat to a tiger. A well-connected, problem-solving tiger.

When my four employment gap women used the Connector Strategy, what do you think happened?  If you imagined that each of them were quickly employed with salaries in the six figures, you’d be right.

In a regular economy, 70% of jobs are filled by personal referral – they are not posted in the classifieds or on job boards.  In this economy, it seems more like 90% of jobs are filled this way. Makes sense – if an organization can only hire one person, they want to make sure they hire a sure thing.

If you’re recommended by a Connector, you’re more likely to be considered that sure thing.

And it’s great to be a sure thing, whether you’re looking for a new position, or a new home, or a new love relationship. All you have to do is Connect.