
titled, Things 20-Year-Olds Don’t Get. He makes some very good points, but I don’t think it applies just to 20-year-olds. I think there are nuggets in the article that apply to everyone. I posted portions of the article previously. (Check the archives) Here is some more of the article along with some of my comments:
“Speak Up, Not Out – We’re raising a generation of sh-t
talkers. In your workplace this is a cancer. If you have issues with management, culture or your role & responsibilities, SPEAK UP. Don’t take those complaints and trash-talk the company or co-workers on lunch breaks and
anonymous chat boards. If you can effectively communicate what needs to be improved, you have the ability to shape your surroundings and professional destiny.”
I wrote about challenging the process (not the leadership) of an organization in my e-book, Leadership for New Managers: Book Two. It is available at http://smashwords.com/b/300090. Here is what I wrote:
“To improve the organization, leaders/managers need to challenge the process. Leader/managers cannot be afraid to challenge how they and their organizations operate. Unless
leader/managers are willing to question how things operate now, no one will know what is possible. An upbeat climate encourages individuals to recognize the need for organizational change and supports a willing attitude of learning to work with change.”
We old-timers would say, “If you work for the man, don’t badmouth him.”
You HAVE to Build Your Technical Chops – Adding “Proficient in Microsoft Office” at the bottom of your resume under Skills, is not going to cut it anymore. (http://clicktotweet.com/b305aI) I immediately give preference to candidates who are ninjas in: Photoshop, HTML/CSS, iOS, WordPress, Adwords, MySQL, Balsamiq, advanced Excel, Final Cut Pro – regardless of their job position. If you plan to stay gainfully employed, you better complement that humanities degree with some applicable technical chops.
I felt bad when I read this. I am good at Excel, MS Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and a few other software, but , I must confess, I do not know anything about half of the software on Jason
Nazar’s list. I better get my act together. I wrote about self-development in my e-book. Here is what I wrote:
“Education is an important part of self-development. Leader/managers seek out education and
training opportunities beyond required schooling. To achieve success in increasingly complex environments, leader/managers need to expand professional knowledge and develop a keen sense of self-awareness. Leader/managers prepare themselves for greater responsibilities through lifelong learning and broadening experiences. Lifelong learning involves study and reflection to acquire new knowledge and to learn how to apply it when needed.
“Education and training opportunities, assignments, and experiences provide exposure outside the leader’s functional area competencies. This allows development of a wider range of knowledge and skills, promotes practical application of language training, or increases cross-cultural exposure and expands awareness of other organizations, or environments. Good learners focus on how to use new
information as it relates to other information. To solidify new knowledge, leader/managers apply it and experience what it means.”