Being a well known blogger, resume writer and career coach I’m constantly offered books in the career services genre to read and review. I accept a few in hopes they contain information that can advance my career and yours; and sad to say most fall short of expectations.
Not so with “The Career Lattice” authored by Joanne Cleaver. It immediately caught my attention; it delivers a clear and meaningful message for employees and employers in the current global economy. It is a must read for anyone looking to begin, advance or change their career, and for those who are engaged in talent acquisition, retention and development.
When I started out in the career services field the road to success in business was just like it is in the TV show Mad Men. You jumped on the Corporate Ladder at the bottom rung and steadily endeavored to claw your way upwards as high and as fast as humanly possible; and this was done with myopic eyes focused dead straight ahead and with a mindset that did not allow for the slightest deviation in purpose or path.
Joanne Cleaver recognizes that this is no longer the case, and she artfully articulates what I myself have espoused for the past number of years, that getting ahead and developing talent via the Career Ladder is passé.
In her book Joanne explores the changes in the business world in this millennium and how instead of following the 20th century path of predetermined corporate hierarchies, employees & employers need to explore and implement more flexible career paths. She calls this new paradigm The Career Lattice and it involves both employees and their employers adding new skills to current abilities – while discarding or lessening the importance of things which no longer have relevance or are slowly but surely approaching extinction.
She offers a new and refreshing perspective on how to research and plan a career, on the topic of education and training in the workplace, on networking, and among others on two topics that are critical for career longevity and growth.
The title The Career Lattice expresses the need to replace the narrow vertical career ladder, which places someone above and below most employees at all times, with something new. Especially since nowadays the ladder can often be log jammed with limited or no opportunity for advancement unless an employee changes jobs. Joanne proposes, and rightfully so, in replacing the ladder approach with a lattice that allows employees to move up, down or laterally at any time without losing respect or career momentum.
Another important topic Joanne delves into is replacing the animalistic instinct for self preservation with advocacy.
A few weeks ago I was asked by a friend, a corporate training professional at P&G, to help her write a speech she was delivering at her farewell party upon leaving the company after 16 years.
In her speech there was one line that struck a chord in me as I read this book. She came to P&G through a merger and thus wrote, “I was still travelling the Americas like crazy. Then one day about seven months after the merger {my new manager} caught me in the hallway and asked me “what is it that you do?" Slowly but surely I learned the importance of advocacy since it was a key part of the OGSM.”
Advocacy on both sides of the ledger is something we need to instill in our business DNA if we desire a long and productive business life.
The Career Lattice is filled with useful information, career advice, tools, charts and best practices that we all need to learn about and apply if we want a successful career and productive employees. I recommend it quite highly.
PS: OGSM (Objective/Goals/Strategies/Measures) is a corporate strategic planning tool used by many companies.
About Perry Newman:
Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.
Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.
For a no cost/no obligation critique of your resume and Linked-In page you are invited to email your resume to perry@perrynewman.com
About Perry Newman:
Perry Newman CPC/CSMS is a nationally recognized career services professional – an executive resume writer and career transition coach, certified social media strategist, AIPC certified recruiter, and an original member of the Career Rocketeer team.
Perry is passionate about all things related to career management and is dedicated to helping people get hired and back to work ASAP in today’s marketplace where the average job search lasts 285 days.
For a no cost/no obligation critique of your resume and Linked-In page you are invited to email your resume to perry@perrynewman.com
No comments:
Post a Comment