As recommended in my previous post, consultants should steer completely away from these issues.  Consultants do not have turf to defend, raise the issue to your manager and ask for direction.  If you engage as a consultant you will lose, period.

What should you do when you are involved in a Power Struggle against your will? Take the scenario where you have certain responsibilities explicitly assigned to you, and someone else it trying to take control and take credit for what is clearly your job.

You have a couple of choices here, but ignoring the situation is not one of them. You always need to be adding value to the organization and you need to own your responsibilities.  Allowing someone else to push you out of the way is not helping your career and you will be perceived as worthless if someone else is doing your job.

Why does this situation occur?

The individual taking control believes that they are right and justified in their actions.  If you have read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” as highly recommended in a previous post then you would know that everyone always believes that their actions are right and appropriate.  Their perception of the issue is probably that they are just trying to get things done, whereas you are not getting it done.  And as such they feel as though they are doing the right thing for the company by taking it from you. 

Your Options:

Option 1

Stand up and engage in the conflict, hold your ground and defend your turf.  This approach is sometimes required, but there are consequences. If you opt to engage, it must be done in a very professional and respectable way.  For better or worse you will demonstrate to the organization that you are willing to defend your space, you have to decide if this is a good message for your situation.   If you opt for this option, there will be residual emotions between you and the other party as a result of the conflict.

• In both public and private interactions with the other person you must make it well known that you are going to protect your jurisdiction.
• Use Job Descriptions or Project Charters to define the boundaries
• Your goal is to agree on boundaries and rules of engagement for future interactions
• Take the matter to a higher authority for resolution if required
• Never raise your voice.
• Never lose your temper
• Never be insulting
• Be Professional at all times
• And most importantly, if you choose this route do not waiver.

You must pick your battles wisely, but always win the ones you pick!

Option 2

Sometimes Option 1 could cause enough disruption to put all of your objectives at risk.  So your alternative is to negotiate around the issue without engaging and still keeping your credibility intact.  This is harder to do, but is absolutely possible.  This is the Dale Carnegie approach, and a successful outcome can build better relationships while achieving the goals.

With the other person

• The goal is the same to agree on boundaries and rules of engagement for future interactions
• With this approach you have to make it clearly visible that you are capable, competent, and interested in handling your responsibilities.
• You have to work with the other party to come to agreement.  Private sit down discussions are best.
• You want to cast the new approach as a better partnership for the good of the company
• You have to be sincere in trying to find a collective solution. 
• Understand that the other person believes that they are doing the right thing, so the resolution has to be a win-win
• Focus the dialog on the tasks or objectives as much as possible
• Do not allow discussions to escalate into an argument. 
• Acknowledge that the lines of responsibility are unclear and with clarity will come better effectiveness

With your manager

• Make sure that your direct manager is involved and understands what is happening and how you are choosing to handle it.
• He or she may have good advice for you, and they will definitely respect you for choosing the high road.
• The key to success is to make it very clear to your manager that you recognize a power play is underway and that you are “managing” the situation as you might manage any other problem or risk.
• Make it known that your objective is to achieve the best outcome for the project or company.

For those of you that really hate office politics, don’t kid yourself into thinking that if you don’t play the game then you won’t get run over. It doesn’t work that way. You could be pulled in whether you want to be or not, if you are not paying attention. It takes active management to stay out of many political situations. Consultants have the best chance of minimizing involvement, but you are still at risk of getting hurt.

These are dangerous waters, and as a consultant you are vulnerable. The outcome for a mistake usually results in you getting fired, which sucks, especially when you had no business being involved in the conflict to begin with.

The situation that seems to blindside the most consultants is the “Power Struggle.” Your direct manager is engaged in a battle with a competing manager. Whose turf, Whose project, Whose fault, whatever… you end up involved and it is sometimes hard to see coming.

You are in the game simply because of who you report to.

You need to get out of the way of this battle, and do it quickly. You want to be viewed as loyal to the project and to the company, but clearly not interested in the power structure. Even if you were to “pick a side” and your side wins, you will still lose in the long run.

These power struggles leave marks that last a long time; well into future projects, jobs and contracts.

Your objective is to stay as neutral as possible and just do a great job. I find a way to talk to each of the people involved privately, acknowledge that there appears to be some conflict, and I clearly state that my goal is to not be involved and to help the company by adding as much value as I can. “I have no horse in this race.”

I do not recommend trying to negotiate the peace or the solution. You will not be able to fix a battle of wills.

If you get aligned with one side or the other it will bite you in the long run. If you can stay productive and well respected as a high performer, simply focused on the work in the middle of the power struggle, you will be seen as a peacemaker and your reputation as a professional will improve. You will in fact be a consultant that can work in a very political environment without making enemies and still get the job done. This is a good objective.

How have you handled these situations?

Mark

The feedback about the book so far has been great.  I am glad that people like it.

One piece of advice was so direct and insightful that I had to react to it immediately.   I want to send out a very sincere thank you to all of those that are giving me feedback and helping me make this blog better.  I am clearly new to blogging and I am learning a great deal about the process and technologies.

I know how to get people jobs, not necessarily how to blog well.  (yet)

So, this can be a two way street.  I will tell you what I know about finding, getting and keeping a good job, and you can help me with the stuff that I am new at.

This subscriber’s comment was that the purpose and intent of my blog was unclear when they first discovered my site.  Hmm.  I hadn’t really given that a lot of thought.  I figured out how to install WordPress (with a little help) and then I just started writing.

So, after careful consideration and pestering everyone that I know for their opinions, I have decided to rename this Blog.

I want it to be immediately clear as to what I am trying to do so the new blog title will be

I have also changed the domain name to AspireInspireAchieve.com

This new site is up and active now and I will be redirecting this domain shortly.  I promise I won’t change it again so, if you could change your bookmarks and RSS subsciptions we should be good to go from here.

I have to say that I am really digging this whole blog thing and I hope that you like it too.  That is it for now.

The next topic that I wanted to discuss is Surviving Office Politics.  I am going to run a 3 part series from the perspectives of Consultant, Employee and Senior Manager.  If you have a particular situation or question that would make a good case study, please send it to me email@mark-malone.com

What is your biggest Office Politics problem?

Have a great weekend.

-Mark

Sorry that I have been slow on getting this post out, but I have been very busy finishing up my first eBook.  As I promised when I started this blog.  I am going to do everything that I possibly can to help you.  So, I asked a number of readers what their biggest concern was when looking for a new job, and almost all of the answers that I got had to do with preparing for the job interview.

This prompted me to write an eBook titled “Interview Aftermath.”

If you have ever felt the sting of not getting a job that you were perfect for, even though you thought that you interviewed well; you should read “Interview Aftermath.”  If you are looking for a new job or consulting contract and you want some guidance on preparing for the interview; you should download and read my book.

In this text, I will tell you like it is and explain how the process really works.  I will explain what hiring managers are really looking for.  I will tell you how candidates are selected and what you can do to improve your chances of success.

During an Interview you are evaluated on:

• Your ability to do the job = 40%
• How the manager feels about you = 60%

Interview Questions

Interviewing can be a stressful process, as you prepare for the interview questions and technical evaluation. I will help you with this important part of the process and I even include a worksheet.  The worksheet is designed to help you collect the information you need ahead of time.  With a solid understanding of the company, job and hiring manager you will have all the data you need to nail the interview.

The 60% that actually gets you hired

In addition to interview questions that you should have ready, the core content of this book is focused on the other skills that you need to have sharp and be able to demonstrate.  You only have a very short amount of time to impress upon the interviewer that you are the right candidate, and the competition from other qualified candidates is strong.  I want you to tilt the odds in your favor.

I have helped hundreds of people get hired over the years and I know what it takes to present yourself well and to build and maintain good professional credibility.

“Interview Aftermath” is my thank you to you for reading this blog and allowing me to help.

Click here to Get it Now!

“Does trying to make people like me, if I really don’t like them make it a lie?”

I can certainly understand this question and concern, I do not advocate anything less than being genuine and honest.  I hold integrity as a very high personal virtue.  How then do I reconcile this seemingly incongruent actively of striving to be likable in the company of people who may not be my first choice for personal friendships?

I find it congruent and true to treat other people as if I like them because in actuality I do like them.  I like the vast majority of people, or at least some aspects of them. There are very few people that I have met that I have found to be completely disagreeable.  For me, it is a matter of understanding people from their perspective and in the correct context.  I have found that there are admirable and likable qualities in all people. 

The trick is in finding the things that you do like about a person and that can make all the difference, even if they are small things or personal interests from outside of the office.  For some, you will like more things than others and there is nothing wrong with that.

All relationships fall on a spectrum of how much you “like” someone.  This could be evaluated on a scale, 1 for a mortal enemy and 10 for your closest loved ones.  Most relationships would fall somewhere in the middle.  You could be happy that to have coffee or lunch with some people, but you would never consider taking a vacation with them.

It is the same way in the workplace, you don’t have to be best friends with everyone in the office but being likable and finding something that you can like or respect in everyone else will help you to create and maintain a positive and productive work environment where you can get along and share ideas.

The person you think that you cannot get along with as a co-worker, might be a very likable and agreeable person as a next door neighbor.

I believe that at heart, everyone wants to do a good job, get along and be well respected.  People do the best that they can in the manner that they know how.  Try to put yourself in the other person’s position and see the situation from their perspective.  Pretend that you are that other person and that you are in the exact same circumstances with the same information, education and background that they have.  Chances are that you would probably make many of the same decisions.

I know that you think that you would act differently or make different decisions, but would you really?

If you were taught that a certain management style was the way to be a successful manager, then why would you do it differently?  If you had come from a military background where authority was not to be questioned or disobeyed, would you expect it from those that reported to you?

Model yourself after the world’s diplomats who must be respected and likable while striving to see the world from another’s point of view to find agreement, and maybe we can do the same over the cubicle walls.

Questions, Comments and Concerns always welcome email@mark-malone.com

-Mark

I knew that I would get this post out of the way early because it is a topic that I talk about all of the time.

Other people can make you hate your Job

Dealing with difficult people can make even the best job a nightmare.  Human interaction can actually be the hardest part of some jobs.  Challenges can run from inconsiderate co-workers who don’t make the next pot of coffee to bullies, saboteurs, credit stealers and manipulative bosses, the list goes on forever.

The fact that you need to get along well with other people at work to be successful seems like such a common sense topic.  We all want to get along, do our best, and succeed.  We also want people to think rationally, be respectful, considerate and helpful.  So, let’s be realistic and face the fact that some people and situations can very be difficult to deal with.

There have been tons of articles and posts on this topic, so I don’t want to cover old ground, but the fact of the matter is that most people don’t actually know how to deal with these types of situations.

I will tell you here and now the best plan for dealing with all of these problems can come down to a single strategy.

Ready? …

… Make people like you!

People tend to not act like jerks to people that they like.

No kidding, you say??  Maybe I don’t want to be friends with the office bully!  I am not suggesting that you should, but if they like you, your life will be infinitely more enjoyable.

The great thing is that there is a time tested and proven way to make people like you.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

I want you to get a copy of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.  It will be without a doubt one of the most important books that you ever read.  The last time I checked it was $11.78 in paperback from Amazon.

In high school I was an awkward teenager that didn’t really fit in, I found all the answers that worked for me in a book written in 1936 and of all the personal development materials that I have studied since, I have not yet found a more relevant or useful book.

I believe that every single person should be required to read Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.  I have personally bought this book and handed it out to dozens of people.  I re-read it at least once a year to remind myself of the principles.

This is Not Manipulation

I have gotten varying responses from people when I recommend this book or hand it to them.  Most people are turned off by the title, thinking that it is a book about manipulation or salesmanship.  This book could easily have been titled “How to deal with difficult people” or “How to actually BE a good person”

Do not dismiss this as an instruction book on how to be a fake person.  I do not believe in insincerity and this book does not promote it.  The simple truth is that to be more successful, the best place to start is by becoming a better person.  This book is about what everyone was supposed to learn in grade school.  You have nothing to lose but the time to read it.

It can change your Life

I would say that this one book has so shaped my life and my personality that it is the foundation of my career, of how I approach life and even the intent and content of this blog.  From reflection on this one book I have established in myself the core belief that if I always put other people first, be sincere and help everyone that I can whether I get paid for it or not, then everything will work out for me.

I am not pushing this book because I want you to buy it from me.  In fact, I am intentionally not putting up an affiliate link or selling the book directly.

What is it all about?

The book is broken into four parts addressing

Part 1: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

• More Appropriate Title: (How to deal with difficult and rude people effectively)

Part 2: Ways to Make People Like You

• More Appropriate Title: (Ways to be a better person)

Part 3: How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

• More Appropriate Title: (How to communicate more effectively)

Part 4: Be a Leader

• More Appropriate Title: (How to grow and succeed in Life)

I do not want to do a full review of the book that has been done well on other sites.  Here is the best review that I found.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/06/10/review-how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people/

In order to be a Consulting Super Star you must be committed to continuing education and “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is the most important textbook that you will ever own.

Please let me know what you think.  If you read this book and think that it is a waste of your time I will be shocked.

What do you Think?

Have you read it?  What is the most effective idea or most important principle to you?

-Mark

To paraphrase the question, a very skilled Business Analyst working as a consultant asked:

When talking to a potential new client how much information can I share or talk about from previous clients without violating confidentiality agreements?

This is a great question and always a hard one to answer, because as a business analyst one of your primary functions is to analyze and understand complex business processes and author documents detailing how these processes work or the plans for improvement.  This is obviously critical information for your client and highly confidential.

How then can you demonstrate to a new client that you as the consultant have the skills that you say you have, without showing them other clients’ confidential information?

The answer is of course that you have to and you can’t.

You have to prove that you can deliver the goods and you can’t violate the trust of prior clients.  When asked to see samples, and everything that you have written is confidential, you certainly have a challenge to deal with.  But if handled properly your potential clients will be satisfied that you have the skills and will respect you for keeping your word on confidentiality.

I have done some significant Business Analyst work in the past and have generated some high quality documents during those projects.  I believe that I have already explained my role with Extolutions.  You can check out my background on LinkedIn.  I am a partner in the firm and I try to stay as hands on as possible.  I manage some client relationships, recruit new consultants, and bill directly to clients working alongside of our consultants.

I have been very proud of my work, and of course wanted to use it to help me get the next job by showing the quality of my work.  So how have I overcome this challenge?

As a rule, a company will not want you to share any information that you have produced for them.  Here is what I have done in the past to help with building a portfolio and a provable track record.

• I do not keep electronic copies of the work that I have done for a client after the engagement has finished.  I turn everything over.  If I have done any work off site, I delete the electronic copies that I had.
• If you are working as an truly independent consultant for a fixed price or fee for a deliverable then you can specify before beginning your engagement that you want to retain the right to use certain documents as part of your resume portfolio.  Most often this is not the case.

Permission

The key to doing this right is to get permission from you client while you are still engaged.

• There may be some documents that you have written that are not sensitive at all.  If that is the case then ask for permission to add them to your professional portfolio.
• After completing a deliverable that I was exceptionally proud of, I would (on my own time) strip all of the company detail and confidential information out of the document.  Replacing all references to anything identifiable within the organization with a generic term such as “Large Pharmaceutical Company”
• I would then submit this document to my manager requesting permission to add the document to my personal portfolio.
• If explained properly most managers will be very agreeable once they understand your objective.  Particularly if you had shown them similar documents to get your current position.
• I would not do this for more than 1 document with a particular client.   You never want to create work for your client if you can help it.
• Reinforce that you are not looking for a new job, just keeping your portfolio up-to-date as a professional consultant.
• You should be proud of your work and want to show others.
• If they say No do not press the issue at all.  Just thank them for considering it and let it drop.  But if they do say no then your manager may be more inclined to give you a recommendation.

Recommendations

• I actively ask for references and recommendations of all my clients, both hard copy letters and via LinkedIn.
• When asking for a recommendation your timing is critically important.  The best time to ask is after you have delivered something or just after you have some level of praise or positive feedback.
• Kindly ask if they would mind giving you a recommendation.  Offer to write it for them and submit to them for approval and signature.
• I always print these out and include them with my resume when interviewing for a new job.
• I want to show all potential future clients that I am good at what I do and that they will be satisfied if they hire me.
• When interviewing I offer to setup a reference call with a previous client if they would like.

If you have done a good job and you are not overbearing in asking for assistance, I have not encountered any resistance.  If you are good at what you do I have found that most people are willing to help you build your professional credibility, you only need to ask.

I hope this helps.  Please let me know what you think and please ask any questions that you might have.  I have probably answered most questions dozens of times over the last 15 years.  But if I don’t have the answer I will find it out for you.  My entire goal with this blog is to help.

-Mark

Professionalism is all about taking your job seriously and doing what you are supposed to do in an appropriate manner. Typically consultants make a lot of money and clients expect a higher level of professionalism from them than the average employee.

If I am lucky enough to hear about a consultant’s unacceptable behavior early enough, I try to coach them into a correct course of action before the ax falls. I typically do this with one of my many Gene Malone speeches.

You see it took me a long time to understand just how wise my father actually is, probably because of the riddles with which advice is often delivered, but upon reflection, good advice is good advice and I have been preaching it ever since.

My old man has a unique ability to succinctly boil down complex problems into pithy moral statements and 3 element lists. I always thought, “But Dad, life is just not that simple.” … Turns out that it is. Frankly, there are usually only 2 ways to do things, the right way and the wrong way, the trick is to find the line and be on the right side of it.

Long ago when I graduated from college with a completely useless degree, Geno gave me his 3 Rules of Business. I have never forgotten them and I have passed them on many times. Now pay attention, these rules are the foundation that everything else builds upon, the 3 rules that you must never ever forget in order to have a successful career in any profession.

1. Never ever steal a nickle, it is too easy to make an honest buck.
2. Never ever burn bridges, the world is much smaller than you think.
3. And absolutely, always do what you said that you would do.

I know, earth shattering huh? But look around at the office tomorrow and you will see how often these rules are broken. The first rule should not even require a comment, but it happens. People take things that belong to the company, steal time and bill for it, lie about what they are doing when surfing the internet. My advice to those, stop being stupid before you fired if not arrested.

Rule number 2 is probably the most useful of the three, and it’s infraction has the most far reaching consequences. I quoted it as I received it, but you should read further into it. It really means don’t speak so freely, don’t ever tell someone what you think about them when you are unhappy.

Think whatever you want and keep your mouth shut. Chances are very high that one of a couple of things will happen in the future. You may turn out to be wrong in whatever your opinion was at the time. You may have not had all the facts at that moment. You may change your mind or your opinion on the facts. Most likely, you will need to work with this person again in the future and you will wish that you had kept your mouth shut. Complain to your spouse or friends if you must, but hold your tongue.

Lastly, be dependable. If you say that you will have something done on Tuesday, get it done by Tuesday. If you will not be able to get it done, don’t say that you will. Never give your word that you will accomplish something and fail to do it. The most frequent complaint that I have heard over the years is that “We like the guy a lot and he does great work, but his stuff is always late and he is constantly making excuses.” Stop making excuses and start giving real estimates. Once you say you will do something, do it even if it kills you.

-Mark

To me this means conducting yourself everyday with honor, integrety and honesty.

But, today’s blog is about value and how you better deliver some today before you get fired. 

Please, do not ever forget that you are a consultant, a hired gun brought in to solve a very specific problem.  You have been selected for this particular job, because your client believes that you and you alone are the best person for this job.  Their trust and faith in you has been backed up with a significant investment, I am sure that you are aware that you make more money than you would in a full time role.

Your objective should always be to get the job at hand completed, as quickly, efficiently and cost effectively as possible.  I never worry about working myself out of a job, my objective is to always finish what I was hired to do.  I know and trust that, IF I can do that well, then I will always be working.   For those of us that take each and every day seriously our income is not a fact to be shy about, we make more money because we earn it! 

This is what today’s topic is really about, a reminder of the fundamental truth when we accept a contract position, the key word in that phase is contract.  You have entered into a contract for a deliverable.  You have  accepted a responsibility and you should feel obligated morally bound to deliver the highest possible value to your client every single day without exception.  There is no room for half hearted effort, slacking off or anything short of your best.

I can probably stop with this blog right here because this might be my best piece of advice, take your job seriously and treat everyday like it was your first day.

But, since it ties nicely into my next topic of how Professionalism will get your further than Technical knowledge, you may hear from me next week.  Please subscribe, you will get the blog delivered to your inbox and I have some great stuff planned for subscribers only.

Questions, comments or concerns?

-Mark

Hello, this is Mark Malone breaking into 2010 with my own blog.  I am pretty excited about this and I hope that I have something of interest to say. 

Just to tell you a little about me: for the last 17 years I have been a professional consultant and salesman.  I am a managing partner of a top notch Technology Staffing firm in Philadelphia, and I have been very fortunate in my career to have worked with some exceptional individuals in this industry.  I have picked up a few bits of wisdom over the years that I want to share about consulting, professionalism and what it takes to be successful in this business. 

If you are a consultant you know what I am taking about when I refer to the A Players.  The consultants that are full of energy, working on the cool projects, always well respected and most importantly always busy and billing at top dollar.

I like to think of myself in this regard, and whether I deserve to be classified as an A Player or not I have certainly recognized enough common traits among those that I know to pass them on.

I believe that there is a science to becoming a successful consultant and hopefully I can share an insight or observation that helps you increase your marketablity and individual success.

I hope you like what I have to say, if you have a question, comment or concern please let me know.

Thanks for reading this far.

-Mark