Kick Your Career into High Gear!

5 Tips for Accelerating Your Performance

Until next time,

Felicia

Achieving high levels of performance is critical to your overall
career success. It will require a well executed approach
and commitment to personal learning. In order for your learning to
be most effective, it will require that you continue to improve
existing skills while finding ways to build upon them as well as
learning to master new skills. With this in mind, learning needs to
be a part of your daily work, should be focused on personal and
organizational goals, should result in root-cause analysis,
knowledge-sharing and an opportunity to effect change. This article
will highlight 5 key steps that you must take to get on a
path to Performance Excellence.

***Daily Reflection - Reflection is a powerful and effective tool
for developing yourself. We often get lost in the day-to-day
shuffle and forget to take inventory of our own accomplishments and
opportunities for improvement. As the CEO of your career, you must
put a plan in place that will allow you to become laser-focused on
you and your success. Making reflection a part of your daily plan
gets you fully cemented in the process and increases your chances
for success. Give yourself a five-minute daily dose of development
through reflection.

***Create Your Own Big BANG! (Bold, Ambitious, Noble, Goal) You must
create a visionary goal that employs excellence and empowers great
performance on a grand scale. In order to successfully create and
execute a Big BANG, you must have a raw ambition that shows you are
ready to catapult your career to new heights. You must have an
internal sense of urgency about achieving results. First, you must
stop settling for less and develop a disciplined breakthrough
mindset that allows you to move out of your comfort zone and be
prepared when opportunities present themselves. Start by asking
yourself this question: What ambitious goal, circle of influence or
objective must you achieve in order to create a Big BANG? From
there, you must take decisive action to make that ambition a SMART
goal - (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound).

***Ask for and proactively seek feedback and feedforward - Feedback
and Feedforward are gifts - Use them to your advantage! While it
may be tough to ask for and accept initially, soliciting feedback
from your peers and colleagues can prove to be very rewarding.
However, you must be careful to ask for feedback from those who
truly have your best interest at heart. A speaker once
shared with me something about asking for feedback at seminars. He
cautioned me to not be complacent with the feedback that I
receive from workshop evaluations. The reason is that those in
attendance do not have a vested interest in seeing me succeed.
This translates into little to no incremental value to helping me
continue to improve my offerings. Of course, a big part of that
process is in asking the right questions but even so, it's a point
well taken.

This is so true and the same thing applies to you when
asking for feedback. Feedback typically focuses on past behaviors
and allows you to reflect and learn. However, when you pair that
with feedforward, you have a true formula for success. Feedforward
is a term that was coined by Marshall Goldsmith and he developed it
on the premise that you can not change the past but you can
certainly influence the future. Feedback helps you learn and grow
from your mistakes while feedforward helps you focus on positive
actions for future development. Get feedback and feedforward from
those who truly want to see you succeed.

***Get a Mentor/Professional Coach - Serious Goals Require Serious
Action. Put your career growth strategy into overdrive by getting a
mentor and/or professional coach. The difference between the two is
that a mentor is volunteering their time to assist you on an
informal basis while a professional coach is paid to assist you in
developing a roadmap for career success. Don't let a financial
investment in self prevent you from working with a coach who will
be committed and dedicated to seeing you reach your full potential.
Mentors are great resources as well and if you manage the
relationship and expectations properly, it could result in you
making that next career move -- whether it be within or external to
the organization.

***Own, Execute, Recalibrate and Have Fun - You've Got the Ball -
Now Move With It! Now that you are motivated and determined to take
full ownership and accountability for your success, you must
implement the plan, check for any bumps along the way by inspecting
what you expect, recalibrate where necessary and keep it moving.
But most importantly, you must fuel the process with energy,
excitement and fun. The only way to do so is to have a relentless
passion for whatever you are pursuing.

15 Mistakes that Wreak Havoc on Your Career

HOT OFF THE PRESS.....

I've just released to the public a new report that I'm excited to share with you. It's received rave reviews from the many recruiters, hiring managers and temp agencies that I've shared it with in the past.

If you'd like to get the scoop on the '15 Mistakes That Wreak Havoc on Your Career', go to www.15CareerMistakes.com

Be sure to come back to this blog and share your thoughts and insights. I'd also love to add to this list, so if you have something to share that you think we'd all be interested in, please share it on the blog.

Enjoy!

Felicia

5 Tips for Influencing Without Authority

Today I'd like to share with you five ways to influence others in
order to get what you want AND create win:win outcomes.

Leadership has taken on new meaning and greater challenges in the
last decade. Influencing is a critical skill that must be mastered
simply because we work with a multitude of people. Often times, the
people that we work with may have different goals and agendas and
in order to establish meaningful win-win outcomes, you must know
how to influence without making it feel like a power or authority
struggle. Below are five key things that you must do in order to
effectively lead and influence others.

**Know What You Want - Start with the end in mind. It sounds pretty
simplistic but sometimes it's not. You must clearly know what the
end state is and what outcome you desire. Once you have this
figured out, you have to be able to master the art of articulation
and speaking on what you want. This will be even more critical if
you know that some people will not agree with what you are
presenting. Often times, the difference between getting what you
want is knowledge and assertiveness versus none at all.

If you have a hard time stating what you want, use a three step
process to get it done:

1. State your observations. These are the facts and things that can
be
seen and heard. Observations are different from opinions. Facts are
objective and can not be argued.

2. State your thoughts and feelings about the situation. Be sure to
start each of these statements with the word "I" so that it's clear that these are your
opinions.

3. State what you want the other person to do. If you
truly want the door to be open to alternative solutions, make
statements about your needs rather than presenting solutions up
front. If you state the solution too early, it might close the door
on other possible alternatives.

**Be Proactive and Build a Power Base - Build a foundation for
influence before you need it. Having a good power base of
relationships with others will make influencing a much easier task.
Be proactive and do not wait until you need something to start
showing an interest in what others are doing. Build all around
positive relationships both vertically and horizontally. This means
that you establish rapport and build relationships with everyone
from the receptionist to people at higher levels within the
organization or community. Most importantly, act with integrity and
work to earn the trust of your colleagues.

**Inspire Cooperation to Overcome Resistance - Do your research so
that you can anticipate reactions and be prepared to address them.
If you know in advance how people are likely to respond to your
proposition or idea, you will be better prepared to deal with their
reactions or resistance. A few things that you must do are to
determine whose support you absolutely need to have and speak with
others to clearly understand what you need to do to get their
buy-in. Identify peers or others who may have some insight about
that person's purpose and values and ask for insight. Ask for
feedback from those you trust and anyone else who may be involved.
Keeping these things in mind will allow you to get meaningful
commitments.

**Go In to Win With An Agreeable Exchange - Ensure that your
position addresses the needs of others. Research, research, research is the
key here. If you go in with the goal of creating a win/win outcome,
getting the buy-in or mindshare of others will be much easier. Be
sure to think of everyone that you proposal will affect not just
the key stakeholder. Consider their concerns and how you might
address them in your proposal. Offer something of value in
exchange. It's a give and take world and knowing this up front will
increase your overall chances of success.

**Continued Skill Building - Now that you've had experience with
using this process to win someone over, continue building on your
expertise. Look for small projects where you can use your
influencing skills and create more wins for yourself. This will get
you prepared for the day that the "BIG" idea shows up. You'll now
be equipped with the skill, knowledge and confidence
that you need to tackle it with ease.

Self Assessment & Action Steps:

Think about your own career and the position that you currently
hold. Now really dig deep, be honest and ask yourself the
following questions:

I place a premium on being able to positively influence others.

___ Yes ___ No

I thoroughly do my research before any meeting where I am trying
gain the mindshare of others.

___ Yes ___ No

I work hard to build alliances throughout the organization and/or
community so that I will have the support that I need before I
actually need it.

___ Yes ___ No

I proactively seek feedback vertically and horizontally throughout
the organization on any and all influencing initiatives. When I
receive that feedback, I take what's useful and relevant and put a
plan into place to work it.

___ Yes ___ No

I have a mentor or professional coach to assist me and give me
guidance and feedback.

___ Yes ___ No

I am fully accountable for my level of success. I own it, take
action and celebrate when I win.

___ Yes ___ No

For every yes, please write specifically what you are currently
doing that makes it effective. Now look for opportunities to build
upon these engagements to help continue to grow and develop. What
will you do next?

For every no, please write one thing that you will do to implement
this into your career development strategy. Be very specific and
give yourself a deadline to get it done. Once you have it done,
celebrate your success AND come back to this email and answer
the questions to the Yes scenario above.

Until next time...

Felicia

How Do You Seal the Deal After an Interview?

Interviewing is an art that must be mastered if you expect to win. There's a whole interviewing lifecycle that many of us miss the boat on when trying to get that next dream job. Part of that life cycle is your creativity and follow-through. What are you doing to seal the deal and make yourself irresistable after the job interview? I once heard a story of a woman sending the interview team a pizza as a shameless bribe to pick her for the job. Guess what, she lost out and who won - you got it me. This is a major no-no when trying to convince someone that you are the best candidate for the job. Let your skills speak for itself and the rest will fall into place. This candidate was so anxious to try to win them over, that she resorted to what may have possibly been the difference between her or me getting that job. I'd like to share with you five quick tips to help you win big after a job interview:

1. Never, ever, ever act out of desperation. This is a major no-no that will only send your candidacy to the dumps. If you've set up a strong campaign up front and present your skills as a very compelling asset that they need to have, desperation tactics will be far from necessary.
2. Make your presence and your pitch IRRESISTABLE. Before you even get invited to the table to talk, you must have a branded resume that presents you as a hot commodity and has a few signature soundbites that makes you get goosebumps when you read it. Yep, I said it...goosebumps. It may sound fluffly but believe me when I say that I know this stuff works. I'm an HR practitioner: I see it and I use it. It works!
3. Send two thank you notes within 24 hours. I know that the thought of sending two thank you notes sounds odd but it works. You're going to send one in the form of an email and another in the form of a postcard. Wow, talk about leaving an indelible imprint on the minds of those you've touched! Even if it turns out you're not the right fit for the job, you can be bet your bottom dollar that you will not be forgotten. You may even be the first person they think of when they've identified a job that fits you like a glove.
4. Make your email thank you another sales pitch. Your email thank you note should be more like a short letter because it's another opportunity for you to demonstrate what you've got and what value proposition you offer. One sales letter that I used after an interview not only got me the offer but got me a cool $20K more in pay instantly. Believe me when I say that the sales letter approach works.
5. Talk about something in the interview that you can follow up on in email. During the interview you want to be sure that you have a brief dialogue about something that you can expand on in your follow up. This will add that additional sizzle that will set you apart from the competition.

These are just five of the things that you can do to seal the deal after the interview. If you need a helping hand in getting you geared up for that next interview, check out my month-to-to month career monitoring program. It will take you from EXILE TO EXCELLENCE and help seal the deal on your next career move. In this program, I provide actual samples of the many sales documents that are time tested and have helped me win over and over again.

Until next time...keep thinking BIG!

Felicia

Unleash the Chaos in Your Career

I've finally released my latest Career Acceleration FASTPak and guess what I'm giving it away for free. Pick up your FREE COPY of 'Hardwired for Success - Understanding Your Career DNA' by sending an email to ChaosUnleashed@prosender.com. Be sure to check your email right afterwards as I'll be sending you the link to grab your own free copy.

I'm giving it away for free but I need to ask you one small favor:

My goal is to reach at least 500 more folks who need to remove the chaos out of the career and get positioned in a job that fits them like a glove. This FASTPak will definitely get you on the right track but I need your help in getting the word out. So what I need is very simple and actually quite painless. If you could please invite your friends and colleagues to pick up their own copy by emailing ChaosUnleashed@prosender.com.

Until next time...

Felicia

New Book Release

***NEWSFLASH***
I'm putting the finishing touches on my first solo book and
new website:

Career Chaos UNLEASHED! 

I'm so excited about these two projects that I can hardly sit still. I'm inviting you to join my Career Chaos UNLEASHED! eList today. When you do, you'll receive a complimentary copy of my Career Acceleration FASTPak: Hardwired for Success: Understanding Your Career DNA.
Simply send a blank email with 'Career DNA' in the subject line to info@women-ceo.com and you'll receive my opt-in message to be added to the list. **You'll have to click the link to accept the subscription in order to officially be added to the eList.**

I'll be releasing this comprehensive FASTPak to my eList subscribers first thing Friday (7/21/06) morning.

***LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER***

As you know, my complimentary teleclass is coming up tomorrow and I wanted to give you one last chance to get in on the action.  I just looked over the material and this call is going to be 'sizzlin hot' with 5 high-impact strategies that you'll be able to put to use right away. 

Hey, even if you can't join the call, a small investment of $9.99 will get you the audio download within 24 hours of class completion. It's a deal that you can't afford to miss.

Dial-in details will be sent to all registrants later today with an opportunity to submit a question or two that you'd like me to address on the call.

To your success...

Felicia

How I Coached Star Jones on How to Maximize the Moment (next time)

Well, I guess I better come clean and tell you that I didn't actually have a live coaching conversation with Star Jones but in my dreaming room, I had one helluva chat with her. Walt Disney created what he called The Dreaming Room for his company to create breakthroughs in animation and the many masterpieces we have come to love. Michael Gerber combined what he learned about entrepreneurs with Walt Disney's Dreaming Room experience and invented a unique environment for small business owners and executives to create the impossible. So in my infamous dreaming room 'create the impossible' moment last night, I dreamed about what I would have said to Star Jones if she were my coaching client.  Before I share with you the five tips that I would have shared with her on how to maximize the moment (next time), let me provide some context around this post.

What Star Jones has experienced is no different than what many of us will experience at some point in our careers - a separation. Whether it's a result of an reorganization, merger, acquisition, downsize, rightsize or you merely left on your own terms, separation is highly likely. I wanted to share these tips with you because we can all learn something from that very ugly situation that played out in front of millions of viewers. There are some things that you have to go through in order to learn and then there are those things that you simply learn from others mistakes. So, when the time comes for you to part ways with your employer, get yourself prepared to maximize the moment by taking heed in these five tips of advice that I offered Ms. Star in our private dreaming room experience:

• You must realize that your boss is the co-creator of your brand. Although Star had a powerful presence as an attorney before she claimed her esteemed seat on The View, her affiliation with Barbara Walters helped to power up her brand exponentially. The fact that her name has been listed in the American Heritage Dictionary shows that she is a heavyweight in the entertainment/journalism space. Had Star taken a different approach to announcing her departure, Barbara could have very well have helped her broker a few other irresistable deals or at least given her a glowing reference. The references that you receive (or lack thereof) are in direct proportion to your brand. Never burn bridges as your previous managers may just be the reference that you need to get that next job.
• Never let them see you sweat! I know, I know this sounds so cliche' but it's also so true. Always stay in the zone by continuing to bring your 'A-Game' in everything that you do. Let them see you exiting with much ease, grace and confidence while leaving a few indelible imprints that they'll hate to see you leave. Once you walk out the door, release it fully and get ready for the bigger, better opportunities that will be placed in your path.
• Put your emotions and your pride to the side. If you are leaving under not so good circumstances, this is the worst time to be emotional and let your pride get you into something that will be very hard to fix if not irrepairable. I know that you probably can't wait until that dreaded last day to give it to your boss and tell them exactly how you really feel about them. You may have been passed over too many times to count for that promotion or have been treated poorly, but even in the face of an overwhelming desire to let your boss have it, do not do it. Instead, take stock in what you've learned, take what's great with you and leave the rest behind. You'll never know where and when you and that dreaded boss' paths may cross again.
• The spotlight is on you - you might as well shine. You didn't come this far in your career only to have your image tarnished by the way you conduct yourself during those final days on your way out the door. Reach out to your centers of influence within the organization, including your boss, and give thanks for the opportunity to have been a part of the team. Recount the many relationships you have formed, learning opportunities and growth initiatives that you were apart of and wish them well on their journey to continue to build upon their success. Let them know that the value of what you have learned under their stewardship, will certainly set the tone for how you move forward in your new endeavors. Keep in mind that this message must be delivered authentically and with integrity so you must craft messages that resonate well with your own personal situation.
• Operate from a position of excellence to the end. Try to wrap up all of your major assignments and set up a meeting with your boss or whoever he or she designates to do a data dump. It's very important that YOU initiate this meeting as it will speak volumes about your character. In this meeting, you'll give all the details of any open projects, turn over any files and passwords to your system. The goal is to make the transition as easy as possible but don't make commitments about the transition that you can not keep. You will have already won big by initiating the meeting in the first place, so just do what you can and move on.

While I realize that everyone's experience is not quite like Star's, I hope that you realize that there is a lesson to learn in every situation and that these tips will help prepare you for your next separation. This brings to mind a great quote from Edwin Lewis Cole..."There are two things you do in life: enter and leave. How you enter determines how you leave, and how you leave determines how you enter." Enter and leave with Excellence and Grace and you'll do just fine.

To your success!

Felicia

P.S. If you'd like to learn more about how to power up your career portfolio, join me tomorrow night as I will be the guest speaker for Dr. Beverly Tillman's teleseminar. Click here to get more details and register for this information-packed session.

Going for the Gusto: 5 Ways to Get Gutsy and Get Noticed

Are you feeling a little under appreciated or like your work isn't being valued for what it's truly worth? Are you not receiving the recognition that you deserve? If so, then it may be time for a few bold, bodacious and downright gutsy moves in order to capture the mindshare of a few key constituents within your organization. What I'm about to share with you are five strategies that will kick your credibility meter up a notch or two but I warn you that these things are not for the meek and mild. You have to be really ready to play hard but fair in order to pull this off successfully. If you're really serious about orchestrating 'legacy builder' moves, tap into these strategies to get you movin':

**Don't be afraid to strategically break a few rules. Before you run off on a tangent and do something that makes no sense, let me further explain what I mean here. The rules that you are seeking to break are those which circumvent your success and the success of the company. So, before you do break the rules, you should use a few filters to determine if it's the right time and right rule to break. Companies are in business for two reasons: to make money and save money. If breaking the rule doesn't filter through those simple criteria, you probably shouldn't do it. In other words, not breaking the rule must be to the detriment of the company or you'll be doomed for failure. The other key reason that it should pass this filter is because doing so will gain you the support you need from your boss to move forward.

**Know what you want and know how to ask for it. This is a biggie that we often take for granted. Get in the habit of asking for what you want. However, before you go to your boss with a laundry list of things that you want, make sure that you have aligned your desires to the needs of the business. Position it as a direct benefit to the business by focusing on a 'sore spot' that will only get worse without it. Do this and your chances of getting what you want will increase ten-fold - I promise.

**Use your brainpower to focus in the areas of critical mass. These are the areas that are high on the agenda of the CEO. Know what he or she wants and develop a project aligned around this vision. Get the buy in of a key center of influence (COI) within the organization, grab a few team members to help you create and execute the plan and WIN BIG! This gets you visibility. Once you win, your COI will act as your codebreaker in communicating this success up the organization to get you the recognition that you deserve. At the end of this wonderful BIG WIN project, you will have used a leapfrog strategy to increase your ROI to the company in a really big way.   

**Set things on FIRE by getting in the zone of the organizational white space. These are the areas in the business that have no place in your job description. They force you to move out of the confines of what you are tasked to do and moves you to go above and beyond the minimum expectations. Working in this unattended zone gives you a little creative carte blanche in order to develop breakthrough and impactful results in the white space.

**Leverage your power to delegate. Where are the written rules that says you have to have an assistant in order to delegate. Remember, you are focusing in the areas of critical mass so you need to dollarize your value to the business and determine what needs to be given to someone else so that your focus stays on point. Delegation can occur up, down or sideways but you have to decide which way to go. One big key to continuing to flex your delegation muscle especially if you do not have your own assistant, is showing appreciation for them supporting you in your success. Small doses of appreciation go a long way for remaining in good standing with your delegation partners.

There you have it! I told you that these moves would be bold and gutsy but certainly not out of your reach. Get your plan together and put it into action and once you've created a few wins for yourself, be sure to reach back and teach someone else how to be just as gutsy as you are!

Have you registered for my upcoming FR^EE teleclass, yet? If not, the seats are filling up fast and I'd hate for you to miss out on an opportunity to learn the code for Understanding Your Career DNA and Developing a Blueprint for Getting Your Dream Job. The teleclass is on Thursday, July 20th @ 3pm PST. If you want to get in on the action, use this link to register, http://snipurl.com/stwr. If you can't make it on July 20th, but still want to get in on the action, you can pick up a copy of the audio recording and class worksheets for only $9.99. To order and receive your downloadable mp3 and class worksheets immediately after the teleclass, use this link to order http://snipurl.com/su37.

Thanks and as always, I believe in your success.

Felicia

It's Official - FR^EE Teleclass Details

Kick Your Career Into High Gear! - Understanding Your Career DNA FR^EE Teleclass

**Please share this with a friend or colleague who may have an interest**

Date: Thursday ~ July 20, 2006

Time: 3pm PST

Register: http://snipurl.com/stwr

Dial-in Details: Will be provided to the first 20 registrants one day before the class. However, you will receive a confirmation email immediately to notify you if you are one of the first 20 to register. So grab your seat FAST!

Can't make it at this time? Use this link: http://snipurl.com/su37 to order the audio recording of this information-packed class for only $9.99. Your mp3 audio will be delivered to your email immediately after the class.

Class Overview:

Imagine what it would be like to have a fulfilling career that meets your needs and keeps you inspired, motivated and growing. Imagine being in a job that you truly enjoy because you chose it and you're having a profound impact on someone or something in some way. In this teleclass, you will understand your Desires, Needs and Assets and how you can get them met by mapping them to a strategy that defines your ideal job.

This class is for anyone looking for career direction or wanting greater fulfillment in their work but need help figuring out how to make it happen. Why settle for less when you can have a career that keeps you fulfilled and you are passionate about.

Your Session Leader Profile: 

Felicia has more than 13 years of human resource and executive coaching experience which includes working for several high profile organizations in multiple industries. Through this experience she's worked with top-level executives, frontline management as well as individual contributors. She's taken this experience and developed a first-class professional development organization where she continues to coach busy executives helping them to maximize their full potential. Her experience also includes public speaking at conferences and seminars, developing and leading workshops and adding subject-matter expertise as a writer for many online and offline communities.

COACHING PHILOSOPHY

Her coaching philosophy is focused on you providing the flexibility needed for you to be in the drivers seat on final decisions about your career. However, she provides guidance and quality tools to support your decisions. Felicia admits that she is a 'Do More:Get More' person and will push you out of your comfort zone in order to build your capabilities and strengthen your overall capacity for career success. Her unique style of coaching will cause you to move at breakneck speed, change your thinking around how much success is within your reach and put you in the position to compete flawlessly in the job market! She's personally committed to helping you execute a career marketing plan that gets you fully Top Graded and puts you in the top echelon (top 35%) of those that hiring managers seek. Working with Felicia, you will have fun while getting results!

Felicia is in the process of finalizing her first solo book Career Chaos UNLEASHED!^tmdue to be released in January 2007.

NOTE: These free teleclass sessions are an introduction to the Career Chaos UNLEASHED!^tm teleclass series to be offered in conjunction with the release of my new book. This is my group coaching program that is hard-wired to level the playing field, increase your career ROI & overall marketability and allow you to compete flawlessly in the marketplace.

I look forward to having you join me on the call.

To Your Success!

Felicia

Facts Tell; Stories Sell & Compel - Get Your Stories In Order

In the age of the proverbial behavior-based interview, it would behoove each of us to get our fact supporting stories in order. I am working with a client who is going through a career transition that asked me a very good question: "Felicia, how do I really set myself apart from the pack in the interview?" My answer to him was simple, "after you have established some camraderie --break the ice kind of dialogue, be ready and prepared to tell several fact-based stories in your discussion." Your fact-based, quantitatively-laced resume got you in the door, now you need back up those claims with real stories of how you will use your results strategy from a prior job to take their company to new horizons.

Present real, compelling stories that has your future employer actually visualizing you in the job. It's that simple.

If you need help with telling your story, contact me at felicia@women-ceo.com.

I will be doing a few FR^EE Kick Your Career Into High Gear: Understanding Your Career DNA teleclasses this month. If you're interested in getting the details, register for the Interest List here: http://snipurl.com/sphd

As soon as all of the details have been finalized, you will receive an email with the dates, times and invitation to join us on the call. Because I want these sessions to be interactive, I am limiting each teleclass to 15 people per session. So you will need to ACT FAST once you receive the invitation.

NOTE: These free teleclass sessions will be an introduction to the Career Chaos UNLEASHED! teleclass series. This is my group coaching program that is hard-wired to level the playing field, increase your career ROI & overall marketability and allow you to compete flawlessly in the marketplace.

I look forward to connecting with you and don't forget to get on the Interest List for the upcoming FR^EE teleclass: http://snipurl.com/sphd

To your continued career success!

Felicia