Successful Business Leadership

This posting is the final in a 4-part series to start the New Year. With an economic slowdown or a recession, it is natural to be concerned about the potential impact on your career development or a job search. The premise of this article is that, whether or not we are in a recession, the most important thing is to understand the long term trends and shifts in the job markets and then make your plans accordingly. This article is not about how to find a job, but instead looks at three trends and shifts in the job markets for you to think about as you pursue your career.

That being said, let’s first take a look at some recent short term indicators:

“Despite the financial sector’s record 153,105 job cuts, 2007 ended with the fewest number of announced layoffs since 2001. With recession worries rising, many analysts will watch the job market for major job cuts such as those announced by Citigroup, Sprint Nextel and IndyMac in January. However, the job market can be a lagging indicator. In five of the last seven recessions, employers continued to add workers a month or more after the official start of the recession. The most recent recessions (1990/91 and 2001) saw job losses correspond with the start of the recession.” (Challenger, Gray and Christmas Weekly Alert – 1/23/08). Just for your reference, in 2001 there were almost 2 million announced job cuts and in 2007 there were 768,000.

Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported “Both nonfarm payroll employment, at 138.1 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.9%, were essentially unchanged in January. The small January movement in nonfarm payroll employment (-17,000) reflected declines in construction and manufacturing, and job growth in health care. The number of unemployed persons (7.6 million) and the unemployment rate were essentially unchanged in January. Over the month, the unemployment rates for all major worker groups–adult men (4.4%), adult women (4.2%), teenagers (18.0%), whites (4.4%), blacks (9.2%), and Hispanics (6.3%)–showed little or no change.”

Regardless of the above news (not necessarily bad) remember what John Wooden says about poise in his Pyramid of Success – “Be yourself, don’t be thrown off by events whether good or bad.” So don’t worry about what the news headlines speculate about the potential meaning of the latest data. Instead, focus on developing and positioning your career by understanding the job markets and how they are changing due to the economic, social, and global macro trends.So what do the experts say about the changes in the job markets that affect your career and how you position yourself in the 2008 job market and beyond?First, remember that the nature of work has changed, but many organizations have not fully adapted to these changes. The relationship between employer and employee has changed as follows:

From: Job security, downsizing avoided when possible but used if necessary, wages increased with job seniority, and employees are loyal to their employers.

Now (to): Stability in employment can no longer be assumed, downsizing is smaller but more frequent to adjust to market conditions and increase employer flexibility, an increased reliance on temporary and offshore employees, wages are determined by market forces, and employers/employees are committed to each other based more on a challenging project or the work to be accomplished. An illustration of this new relationship is provided in the Towers Perrin (an HR consulting firm) report stating salaries are expected to increase 3.9% in 2008 matching the 2007 increase and equivalent to inflation in 2007. Wages are set and adjusted by the market. In addition, Hewitt Associates (another HR consulting firm) reports that 90% of employers now offer “variable pay” or compensation based on business, team, and/or individual performance.

Second, there is a war going on between businesses to find and retain “talent” – you. A McKinsey and Company study states that in “The War for Talent…in hot economic times and cool, talent management is critical to every company’s success…(the authors) looked for evidence that better HR processes distinguished the high-performing companies from the average-performers, but it just wasn’t there. What made the most difference was a pervasive talent mindset – a deeply held belief shared by leaders throughout the company that competitive advantage comes from having superior talent and that it is their job to manage talent effectively… on average, companies that did a better job of attracting, developing, and retaining highly talented managers earned 22% higher return to shareholders.” Look at how Google creates and develops talent.

As the Macro Trends in the economy and from increased competition, globalization, and technology impact society, businesses ability to attract and retain talented people has become increasingly important. Therefore, all workers, regardless of position, will need to continually learn and improve their talents. As an employee, you develop your career by looking for opportunities that are challenging. In a job search, you have to demonstrate your skills and how they led to targeted business results. So how do prospective employers define the talent they seek, in general it is for employees to be:

• Creative and imaginative

• Humble and confident

• Excellent communicators

• Knowledgeable, able to learn

• High energy and positive

• Willing and able to take the initiative and manage projects

• Problem solvers capable of seeing the big picture and identify alternatives

• A team player who can share credit with the rest of the team

• Able to grow and develop your own personal skills

• Able to understand financial statements and positively affect them

• Able to understand a marketplace plus technology trends

Third, to develop your career or job search, look for both the hot jobs and the businesses that are leaders in successfully creating the new employee/employer relationship. I’ve tried to identify some of the best companies to work at for your consideration on this blog. Generally speaking these companies deliberately create a culture for employees to thrive. They can be described as companies that:

• Define jobs that enable all employees to pursue personal interests as part of what they do

• Demonstrate a high level of commitment to people (even more than to the organization)

• Provide a work/life balance

• Make training and development options available

• Routinely discuss career options and advancement with employees

• Provide mentoring and recognition regularly

• Pay market wages

• And provide difficult but clear goals on specific projects (they seek people who are motivated by challenge).

So what are the “hot jobs” in 2008 and beyond? Here’s a summary:

• According to the article New Year New Professional Plan, great career opportunities exist in health services, education, professional and business services, information services (not just technical), leisure and hospitality, financial activities, and government.

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent Quarterly Occupational Outlook for 2006 thru 2016, there are 15 million people working in management, business, and financial occupations today (about 10% of the workforce) and these types of jobs are expected to grow at a healthy 10% (third highest of all job categories) during the next decade. About two-thirds of the job openings during the next decade are expected to be replacements as the baby-boomers retire.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics points out that 11 of the 20 occupations with the most growth that require a bachelor’s or graduate degree plus work experience are in business related occupations. These consist of management analysts, financial analysts, training and development specialists, sales managers, administrative services managers, general and operations managers, marketing managers, public relations managers, chief executive officers, and compensation/benefits managers.

If you are pursuing a business career, there should be plenty of job opportunities, and there is lots of competition. You have to continually develop your talent.