Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Lately, I have been challenged by a problem. The trouble with it is that it is something I really want to do and I keep running into roadblocks. When is the last time you faced something that seemed to be impossible to conquer? Do you find that you doubt yourself?

In the past, my motto has been to go with the path of least resistance. Roadblocks might be telling you to move on. The energy you expend making something work that is unworkable can very draining. Then there is the adage, nothing good in life is free, meaning you have to work at it.

A colleague encourages me to keep going. “Everyone you have talked to says this project has value. It is not the project; your problem is finding people who want to do the work.”

It is hard to believe with unemployment so high, but true.

So here is the situation: I want to launch a new website. The idea was conceived in early 2009 and it has been nine months since writing the specifications for the site. Since then, I have been through two Drupal website programmers.

The first one was probably overqualified and my site does not fit the profile of his clients. It took us about two months to figure out it was not a good match. His projects usually run $75,000 and up.

After we parted ways, I stepped back and decided to teach myself a bit of Drupal. First, it would give me a better way to communicate with the programmer and second, to gauge the kind of programmer I needed for the project.

Several months into the learning curve, I was starting to develop the test site. I fancy technology.

Knowing that I can be an overachiever, it was important to step back and let someone else do the technical parts. There is more to a website than the framework and structure and content needed to be my primary focus.

Fortunately, the first Drupal programmer and I left on good terms and he offered to refer someone who would be a better fit for the size of my project. That was about three months ago.

The new programmer and I come to terms. He begins work on 6/24 to develop the “test site” within 3 weeks; an estimate of 20-25 hours of work.

Several weeks later, I called to find out how things were progressing; I had not heard from him or seen anything. Were there any questions?

He responds that quite a bit of work is done and he’s plugging away at it.

A week goes by and I have not seen anything. I am beginning to get a bit concerned and I follow up with him.

Six and a half weeks into the project, I get to see progress on the site; development is severely handicapped.

It’s time for a conversation. He has been ill and there have been family issues over the last month. He is embarrassed that the project is not done. He offers to let me find someone else or if I want he will continue to work on it.

At this point, the thought of looking for yet another programmer is not my first option. If he will invest the time (remember this is a 20-25 hour job), I am willing push through with him.

A question nags at me though, why did he not tell me about the delays earlier?

He says he’s going to focus on the project for the next few days.

It remains dormant for the next few weeks.

Almost 60 days into the project, I call again on a Friday.

On Monday, there is an email notice from his bank sending a full refund of my deposit due to a project delay. To his credit, he did what was fair.

Perseverance is another one of my strengths. I think my colleague is right, it is not the idea. There is something about my selection process that is not working.

So now, I am in the market for an experienced Drupal programmer to get the test website in action. Some key attributes and skills: technical know-how, accountable, manages project and time efficiently, problem solver, ethical, enthusiastic, easy to work with and most importantly- a proactive communicator. Recommendations?

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

The other evening I called a friend to ask if they were attending an event. Instead of a yes or no answer, the conversation turned to his spiraling financial crisis.

This is not the first time I have heard about his issues with money. I have lent a sympathetic ear for many years. Sometimes I have asked what is he going to do, other times, I have suggested he might need to look for a job.

He has been a caregiver for many years; his father had ALS and now his mother has severe dementia.

Several years ago, his father passed away and he had to sell the house where he was living with his mother. They could not afford the mortgage payment.

He has worked sporadically – mostly from the house as a day trader or selling web hosting services. At one point, he worked in a company for a couple of weeks and he was let go.

It has been many years since he worked in a steady job and when he did it was in his family’s business.

He tells me he has $12 in his pocket. He has been living on his credit cards the past few months. All the money from the sale of the house is gone. His mother’s social security check will not arrive for another 15 days. He has no other income coming in – and that I do not understand.

Here is how the conversation ensues:

“No one wants to hire me. I went to one store and put in an application and never heard back from them. The next time I was in there, they had hired a good looking girl in her 20′s,” he says.

“How many applications have you put in?” I ask.

“It just doesn’t do any good. I can do a lot of different things. It is really rough out there. No one wants to hire someone my age (he is in his early 60′s) and because I have not worked in so many years, they think something is wrong with me.”

“So, how many applications have you put in?”

“There are no places for me to apply to. Take a look at Blockbusters – they are probably going to be closing their stores. No one is hiring right now. You just don’t understand.” (I think by now you know the answer to how many applications he has put in).

“I do understand, more than you may realize. You do not have any money. For things to change, you have to generate an income. If you are not putting in applications to businesses, how does anyone know you are looking for a job? No one will knock on your door unless you invite them to contact you. Find a place where you start at the bottom.”

“You just don’t understand – no one wants me. People who have college degrees are accepting minimum wage jobs.”

“I realize that it is hard to take rejection. There are a lot of people out of work right now. There are more people vying for a position than five years ago. However, there are thousands of businesses you can apply to in the area. Pick up the yellow pages – it is filled with businesses that need employees.

Set a goal to apply to ten places every day. Make a commitment to yourself to do that each day before you do anything else, otherwise, something else will come up. People I have spoken with have sent out over 200 resumes or applications and have not found a job. The only way to increase your odds of getting a job is to apply for one.”

“It is just not going to work. I have tried. The places I could work are not hiring.”

“Put in applications at businesses that are hiring or are not hiring. A good business will keep your application on file and if someone quits, they will go to that file first to see if someone is available to avoid paying a recruiter or incurring advertising expenses. This may give you an edge in your search efforts.”

“Let me ask you something. Are you happy with where things are at right now?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you happy with your financial situation?”

“Well no, of course not.”

“If you keep doing the same thing, I can bet you will get the same result. You have to do something different create a new outcome.”

Here’s the question – who understands what?

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes

Are Gen Yers getting a bad reputation in the workplace? There seems to be two sides of the story – as you find in most situations.

Last week, I was interviewed in the Democrat & Chronicle on how organizations should rethink feedback in the workplace with the Gen Yers. You can read the full article here. Receiving feedback on a more frequent basis has been a best practice trend for several years, why would this be a hot button.

It seems to be a straightforward request…until I went to a meeting the other night.

“You were in the Democrat & Chronicle on Sunday,” a fellow woman executive said to me.

“Yes. The article was about Gen Yers and how the traditional performance review process may not meet their need for more frequent feedback”, I said.

“Ah, yes” she says, “they need to grow up. The Gen Yers are looking for instant gratification. They are used to getting everything right away. In fact, my daughter was talking to me about it the other day. She is 32 and told me she is experiencing generational differences in the workplace! She has already had an encounter with a helicopter parent.”

As the story goes…the daughter manages a large group of people. She takes people development seriously and is spreading her time too thinly. Why, because the new hires (20′s) are requiring constant feedback or “atta girls or boys” for the slightest task performed. It is tiring, even for a 32 year old.

In one instance, one of her employees fails to meet some assignment deadlines. During the performance review, the assessment clearly outlines the lack of discipline and results reflecting a poor rating. A few days later, her daughter receives a phone call from the employee’s parent.

“You can’t give my son this review, it has to be changed” the parent says. “My son has always received the highest marks when he was in school. There must have been something wrong for him to get this kind of rating.”

“Yes, there is something wrong. Your son did not complete the project on time. He needs to step up and hold himself accountable for poor work quality. The rating is not changing,” says the daughter.

It seems there are other cases of helicopter parenting, especially in the education system. The executive tells me situations where parents call their kid’s college level professors to negotiate or influence a change in grade.  The parents do not even reside in the state, yet provide excuses why the student was unable to complete the homework or fails the test. Are we teaching the right lessons?

Now, I understand the helicopter parent – the one who hovers over their child and manages their life being protective and minimizing failures. Need more examples: click here and here and here and finally here.

Understand the consequences – if your parent intercedes in the workplace, it demonstrates your inability to be accountable for your own actions. Organizations have a relationship with you, not your parents. They expect that you can function independently and know how to learn from failure.

If you need their advice, do it privately – that is what I did.

Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!

Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes

Please stop the finger pointing. It hurts creditability. And I hate canned answers. OK – now the details.

I use LinkedIn (their blog here) to build new relationships and maintain old ones. It is one venue I use to increase visibility to be a thought provoker or leader and sometimes is in the form of a post from my blog. The Group forum is a place to share your views and to comment on other contributor’s insights, struggles and successes. People do this to build creditability and seek answers. Over the last few months, I have posted a couple of blog posts that I thought might appeal to groups I belong to, they are:

What are the Differences between a Coach, Mentor or Confident?

• Need a Coach? Do you Know What to Expect?
• Is Your Mentor Relationship Rock Solid?
• Your Confident: Trustworthy…for How Long?

Great Mentors Find the Unobvious

About a week ago, I receive an email from LinkedIn informing me that a member or manager of  the group moved my discussion to the Jobs section. If I believe this action is an error, I am to contact my group manager have it moved back.

I write to the group manager to tell her about my problem and asked her to correct it. Having direct access to people is a major benefit of the LinkedIn group membership. The only other way to contact her would be through a mutual connection or by paying for a higher level of service. I hear back from her within five minutes. I am impressed with how quickly she responds.

Unfortunately, she says she does not have control over the movement of my discussion posts. LinkedIn is supposedly doing it based on key words. This appears to be a repeat problem and asks me to contact LinkedIn. At this point, I am thinking someone at least cares, but is not able to fix it. So I am off to find the right person.

As I outline my letter once again to LinkedIn, they try to direct me to their canned Questions & Answers reiterating that my group manager is responsible for correcting post movements. Confident that I have covered this base, I hit the SEND button. I decide to modify my letter – asking them if anyone reads the posts before they move them. It is obvious I am not looking for a job nor am I looking for employees. I know, pointing out their flaws might not help me.

The letter I receive back again directs me to my group manager, again. I wonder if anyone ever reads the letters we send in -  it is obvious my questions are not answered.

Once again, I contact the group manager. No response this time.

Now I am at a stand still. No one wants to be accountable for 1) doing it or 2) correcting the situation. And we wonder why our customers or employees lose confidence in us.

Issues to discuss? Stories to Share? Post your thoughts or email me!