104 50 TOPEXECUTIVECOACHES
sense ofdirection, and they need to make decisions about the future. Even
those who are happy with their organizations are often dissatisfied with the
ef fect of work on their personal lives.
With career-planning programs, organizations need to be sensitive to the
nuanced differences of individual needs, motivations, talents, and values.
When people find themselves in work situations where they feel valued, and
in which their work speaks not only to their personal values but also to their
strengths, their satisfaction, authenticity, and performance levels are all
much higher. They certainly know a good thing when they see it, and tend to
stay or jump ship accordingly.
When I work with HR or line managers, the vehicle I often use is their own
personal career planning. Everyone is eager to do it. After all, who doesn’t
recognize and enjoy the benefits of thinking more deeply about themselves in
relation to their own career and future plans? But more importantly, receiv-
ing such counseling prov ides managers with a greater understanding of work-
place trends and a deeper appreciation for individual differences, which will
assist them in coaching their own staff.
Human Resources practitioners and line managers should not play clini-
cian/counselor. Few are equipped or inclined; and fewer still have the time.
That’s where my tools come in. My Career Planning Workbookser ves as the
counselor by extracting information about desires, needs, skills, and aspira-
tions. The manager builds on that data to promote career activism in the
staff. In other words, the manager is not abdicating responsibility to the
tools; rather the manager ’s role focuses on dialogue and action steps. This
makes the manager more efficient and effective because their career plan-
ning duties can take place within a well-structured context.
The impact of this approach is often anecdotal but always clear. People
call me up and say that employees were “really demoralized but now they’re
buzzing.” “The teams are working more effectively together.” Managers re-
late that although they are dedicating less time to career coaching, that time
is “much more engaging and effective.” Employees themselves have a feeling
ofgreater self-reliance in managing their own careers, even as they have
connected in a more satisfying way with their managers. A typical reaction
from manager and employee alike would be: “I just had the most productive
career discussion I’ve ever experienced.”
There are degrees to which organizations make this enthusiasm come alive.
For those that bring career activism to its full potential, it becomes part of the
fundamental employment contract. It’s an aspect, in other words, of their per-
formance management system; it helps in recruitment and retention; and it
creates a basis for work-life balance and health and wellness programming.