Author Archives: Larry Janis

Leadership

 

 

 

Early in the pandemic, Bersin called it the Big Reset: “The Coronavirus is accelerating one of the biggest business transformations in decades.”

As the business landscape evolves and employees reassess their priorities, leadership is changing as well. To reset thinking on what it means to be a leader today, we asked Josh Bersin and other thought and business leaders for their perspective.

 

The most important thing leaders do is listen. If you really hear and understand what’s going on, a great leader can always help move the team in the right direction.”

– Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst, HR, business leadership, corporate L&D

 

Great Leadership is about getting the best out of your team, by allowing team members to play roles where their superpowers can enhance the work of others!

– Michael McDaniel, President, Modern Workplace DXC Technology

 

Leadership is about having the courage to change with purpose, quickly and at scale, while taking the time to care for and empower your people.

– Jeffrey Russell, President and CEO, Accenture Canada

 

The most effective leaders surround themselves with the best possible people, then listen and empower the team. They remove obstacles when possible and communicate effectively. These leaders don’t hoard information but rather use it to facilitate others success. Additionally, these leaders are true to themselves and demonstrate action consistent with their declared vision.

– Joshua Strugatz, VP, Regional Strategy & Development, Northwell Health

 

What makes a Great Leader: Authenticity, Emotional openness, Invested in Team/organization’s personal and professional development, Stable Decision Making.

– Sumit Grover, Sr VP – Media and Entertainment, Tech Mahindra

 

If you’re inspired by these perspectives on leadership today, stay tuned…there’s more to come!  And if you are interested in crafting your own contribution, please email me at janis@issg.net

 

 

 

 

Where is the office now?

 

 

by Julia Hobsbawm

We’re in a new phase of workplace evolution. Adapting to three key shifts in working practices will help people and productivity.

Picture a snow globe as the representation of office life. A century ago, it might have had a typewriter or a skyscraper amid the swirling flakes. There would have been a desk, or a filing cabinet. It wasn’t until the internet came about that these things were rendered all but obsolete. We really hadn’t taken stock of this development until the pandemic forced the knowledge worker home to work at kitchen tables and ironing boards in what turned out to be the biggest workplace experiment since the Industrial Revolution.

Today’s snow globe might contain a laptop or a smart phone, but beyond that, anything goes. The disruption of the past two years has proven that the nine-to-five physical office is out; it will be skills, not schedules and proximity, that determine who works from where, and this gives impetus to hiring across time zones and boundaries. Rather than making a daily commute, people will choose where they work—a new way of working that I call the Nowhere Office. Why nowhere? Partly because we are in a liminal space between one phase of work and another, and partly because nowhere is an anagram of “Here, now” and represents the collapse of old long-term planning. Nothing is certain, everything is moving fast. We are nowhere near where we ever were in working life and are unlikely to return to this place again.

Entirely new patterns of work are emerging. The details of hybrid work are still unclear and will continue to change, but it is already the new normal. Last year, in a survey for the Prudential Insurance Company of America of 2,000 people in the US who were working remotely, 87% of respondents said they intended to continue working at least one day a week from home after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. Globally, the world’s workers wanted to work from home significantly more post-pandemic than they were allowed to before 2020. The expectation today is that 40 to 60% of working hours will soon be spent in employer or client offices, with the remainder spent working from home (WFH). Companies compelling workers to come back to the office full time are experiencing pushback: when Goldman Sachs—whose CEO, David Solomon, famously called WFH an “aberration”—tried to do it, only 50% of employees complied. How did we get to this moment, and what trends are coming next? (more…)

How interview questions are changing in 2022

 

 

 

BY GWEN MORAN

The Great Resignation, a return to the office, and a renewed focus on DEI are shaping what you’ll be asked in your next interview.

Over the past two years, companies and employees have had to adapt to new ways of working, ranging from shifting how they serve customers, to where employees work. But now, things are changing again. Many companies are planning to welcome employees back to the office, at least part of the time.

When the pandemic hit and many knowledge workers went home to work, organizations still needed to hire new employees and shifted to remote recruiting and onboarding. Now, says Eric Sydell, executive vice president at Modern Hire, things are changing again. And companies need to be sure they have the right talent to navigate that shift.

“I think a lot of companies [before the pandemic] were pretty stable in what they were looking for. And then, moving into the pandemic, obviously, things changed,” Sydell says. “We saw other types of competencies and questions become more emphasized—things that have to do with how much work ethic you have; how conscientious you are; how comfortable you are working independently.”

Some of that will remain, but companies have new concerns and priorities, as many bring employees back to the office, and become hybrid workplaces. Here are some of the topics and questions experts say prospective hires should be prepared to answer in 2022 and beyond:

VACCINATION STATUS

As employees head back to the office, nearly two-thirds of employers are mandating vaccines, according to staffing and recruitment firm Manpower Group. So, expect questions about your vaccination status, says executive career consultant Sarah Hutchison. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance that generally allows employers to require employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated. And an August 2021 survey from Resume Builder found that roughly a third (33%) of hiring managers reported eliminating résumés that don’t include vax status. (more…)

5 ways to get out of a work slump

 

 

BY ART MARKMAN

An occasional day of malaise is normal, but if you’re regularly feeling unmotivated, it might be time to consider how to get out of your slump.

Motivation comes and goes. Chances are, you have some days where you hit the ground running, and there isn’t anything that can stop you, and other days where your thoughts come in slow motion and you spend a lot of time staring at your phone or flipping through random websites.

A day of malaise every now and again isn’t something to worry about. A decent meal, some exercise, or a good night’s sleep ought to take care of that. But, as that day stretches into the next (and the next), it might be time to think about how to snap you out of your slump.

Here are five things to consider:

REMIND YOURSELF WHY

One thing about the modern workplace is that you rarely get an end-to-end view of the work you do. The meetings you attend may influence the development of a product or service, but on most days you’re not looking at the end product or the people whose lives are affected by your work.

It can demotivating to feel like you’re just a cog in a big wheel. To reset that motivation, take a step back and think about what your organization really does. Engage with it. If you make a product, go take a look at it. If you provide a service, engage with some of the customers or clients. If you build websites, take a look at the site itself. Find a way to appreciate the way your efforts contribute to a bigger outcome.

As a university administrator, I spend a lot of time in meetings with people talking about ideas. Luckily, I can step out of my office and walk across campus and see the people we serve. Sometimes I take a midday walk just as a reminder that I am part of an organization that influences the lives of thousands of college students each year.

TAKE A CLASS

Motivation can also fail when you feel like you have stopped growing in your job. When you first start a new position, there is a ton to learn. Eventually, though, you may feel like you can handle anything that comes at you.

At that point, you might want to focus on your own personal growth. Pick a work skill you’d like to develop or improve. If your company has a lot of learning and development opportunities, select one that will address that skill. Otherwise, there are a large number of programs you can attend in-person or online to learn more. Dive in.

ADOPT A PET (PROJECT)

Some people are lucky enough to be able to drive a lot of their daily agenda. Most people’s workdays are taken up with tasks that are selected by someone else—other managers, or perhaps the needs of clients and customers. That feeling that your life is being dragged along by forces outside of your control is also demotivating.

In that case, you need to reinvigorate your sense of agency. Find something at work—even a small something—that you can drive. Having a project where you can make key decisions and move it forward allows you to engage in some enjoyable problem-solving knowing that the outcome rests on your efforts. In addition, each step of the process can give you a feeling of accomplishment that will carry over to the other tasks you’re working on.

TAKE A MENTEE

After about your first month in the workforce, you have a perspective that differs from that of everyone around you. The things you know and the skills you have are likely to be ones that other people will want to know about. So, looking for an opportunity to mentor others should be a regular part of your work to ensure that you spread your expertise around.

What may be less obvious is that serving as a mentor benefits you as well. When you teach something to someone else, you have to view the world through their eyes. Often, that exercise can connect you to the factors that motivate those other people to work. In that way, mentoring others can energize you for the work you do. On top of that, when you discover that someone else has used something you have taught them to advance a project or to achieve a goal, that feeling also provides a boost.

PHONE A FRIEND

When you’re feeling down about your work, you also start to feel isolated from your colleagues. Give one of them a call, or grab a cup of coffee or lunch. Talk a little about how you’re feeling and your lack of motivation.

There are lots of good reasons to want to discuss this with a colleague. For one, good colleagues provide a sympathetic ear. For another, it normalizes discussions of the ups and downs of work, which helps everyone to feel less guilty when they’re not energized to work. In addition, your colleague may share some suggestions they have used when feeling similarly. Finally, just by talking through your situation with someone else, you often notice things about yourself that you don’t see when you just think about it. In the course of conversing, you may discover your own path forward.
Source: Fast Company

Sales in Communications and Media and a second in Telecomm industry

 

 

 

Digital Operations Organization and Role Overview

To accelerate this growth even further, BPS is expanding into industries, service lines and markets globally.  One of DO’s strategic growth markets is the Communications, Media & Technology Markets and DO is looking for a highly-accomplished, results-driven sales executive to originate, advance, and close large sales opportunities in outsourcing.  This individual will be working with senior client executives and senior leadership to drive sales and business development in a high growth and highly autonomous environment.

 

Role – Sales in Communications and Media and a second in Telecomm industry, Digital Business Operations

Key Responsibilities

  • Market Strategy development – Drive the market strategy for Media and Entertainment industry segments including but not limited to profitable revenue growth, competitive differentiation, industry partnerships and practice investments.
  • Drive Sales origination for focus segments including Broadcasting / Mass Media, OTT platforms, Gaming and Media Advertising.
  • Develop trusted relationships with senior client executives, and partner for mutual success
  • Drive best-in-class client propositions, partnering with Solutions, Delivery, Process Excellence and Automation teams.

(more…)