Career Opportunities with Douglas E. Welch

When talking with Career Opportunities readers and listeners, I regularly hear stories of how a particular company does, or does not, provide the basic necessities for success. Some workers are left without an office or even a cubicle to call their own. Companies refuse to buy needed hardware or software and yet workers are still required to hold the infrastructure of the company together or risk bad performance reviews or worse. Training is poor, erratic or non-existent. The fact is, each of these issues, and countless others, clearly indicates how much your company and your management respects and values your work. Lack of respect for your work isn't just business as usual, it is a fundamental flaw that effects everything you do. Listen to this Podcast Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory       Books by Douglas E. Welch    How does this lack of respect manifest itself in the average company? There are many ways. • Does your company help you to accomplish your work or are they constantly placing roadblocks in your path? You would think that most companies want you to succeed in your work, but their actions often prove otherwise. Out of ignorance, political infighting or mis-management, you might feel that you are struggling against everyone, even those in your own company. Of course, this is counter-productive and hurts everyone involved, but some people seem intent on pushing their own agenda at the expense of the company as a whole. It is almost impossible for you to succeed in such an environment. Productivity is difficult enough without fighting against those that should be helping. Companies that respect your work and your abilities will have no tolerance for situations such as this. • Is your position seen as a "necessary evil" or an important part of the company's structure? This problem is especially prevalent among IT workers. Too often, computer professionals bring out the worst in other employees and managers. They are seen as a drain on resources, a liability to be minimized and not an asset to be used to allow greater productivity for the entire company. IT workers often feel tolerated, rather than respected. Every request of hardware or software is faced with a suspicious eye and a reluctant checkbook. IT workers are seen as dispensable, interchangeable, and unworthy of raises or promotions. • Does your company refuse to reward you for your work, even when you go above and beyond the call of duty? A company's lack of respect can become very clear in this situation. If you aren't recognized and rewarded for your exceptional efforts, chances are your common, everyday productivity is valued even less. Exceptional work should be recognized with exceptional rewards. If your company sees your efforts as simply part of the job, they are saying, through their actions, that your work was "no big deal." To be dismissed in this fashion is sure to curb the efforts of any worker. When it happens repeatedly, companies are sowing the seeds of their own failure. • Does your company plead poverty at performance review time? We have all experienced it. We receive a glowing review (which shows a certain respect for our work), but then we are offered only a small raise in pay, or none at all. Companies that respect your work will reward you in more than words. Frankly, the fact that a company didn't have a good quarter is not really your problem. Your work is not worth less simply because the company did not have a successful quarter. In fact, it may have been your work that made the quarter as successful as it was. Again, if your work was exceptional, it should be rewarded. Pleading poverty, especially in this era of outrageous executive salaries, is simply ridiculous. If your company won't reward exceptional work, then find one that will. Some of you might be thinking, "What is the big deal if a company doesn't respect your work, as long as they pay you?" The fact is,

In the typical corporation, you will find many people whose main role is that of "The Enforcer." Project managers who enforce project timelines, human resource staffers who enforce work policies, union representatives who enforce labor agreements and even IT workers who enforce company standards, approved hardware, software and password policies. While, in most cases, all of these items need policing and enforcing, playing the role of the enforcer could be damaging to your career as a whole. Listen to this Podcast Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory       Books by Douglas E. Welch    It is a sad truth that workers in any sort of enforcement role are almost universally disliked by co-workers beyond their own department. Security staff may respect each other, but the general populous of the company might find them officious or difficult. This is often an unfair characterization, but perception can be as important as reality. If people perceive you as a problem or an impediment, they will treat you as one. You can easily see that if you are placed in the role of enforcer, in any regard, you run the risk of becoming disliked, and eventually, unwanted at your company. Furthermore, once you start down this path, it is very difficult to reverse. One of the largest problems with the enforcer role is that there is often substantial disagreement between policies and the operational reality of a company. Being responsible for enforcing unrealistic goals and procedures makes enemies of both those above and below you. Workers will see you as enforcing policies they cannot abide and management will constantly question why its policies aren't being enforced. Meanwhile, you spend your lunchtimes in lonely thoughts about why everyone hates you. Being the enforcer has concrete effects on your career, too. As the person in-between, you will be the focus of complaints from above and below. People will actively try to circumvent your enforcement and keep you "out of the loop" on important decisions until it is too late to change them. Finally, being an enforcer leaves you open to the threat of downsizing, layoffs and termination. Face it, if both staff and management are displeased with your work, who are they going to mark for layoff -- you or their best friend and co-worker? You have almost nowhere to turn for support. No matter how much you might believe in the importance of your work, if others do not share that view, you are doomed. So, how do you protect yourself from this unenviable position? First, don't seek out or accept jobs with a major enforcement role, if at all possible. Once you are in such a position, for even a short period of time, co-workers opinions will quickly form. This is especially true if you are being called in to "clean up" an already bad situation. You cannot imagine the animosity that will face you as you begin. If you must take on an enforcement role, you must have the complete and unwavering support of your management. They must truly believe in their stated goals, and be willing to deal with conflict, complaints and crises that will result. If not, you will quickly be offered up as a scapegoat to quell the complaints and anger arising from your enforcement actions. If I were faced with taking on a role like this, I would do everything in my power to include a contractual agreement, which allows me a set amount of time to accomplish the stated goals. This would also include a large bonus, payable on my termination, should management decide to abandon their initiative. Management must support enforcement roles and not be given an easy way out when the complaints begin to flood their email. No matter how important the role of enforcer might be, for the average worker it is a career minefield. Without continued support from management and understanding from co-workers, enforcers are doomed to be either ineffectual, or too often, unemployed.

The explosion of educational MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) seems to indicate a large, renewed interest in nontraditional educational opportunities. People are looking for new opportunities to learn when and where they can. While there are a treme...

One of the most important parts of any job, whether you are an employee, manager or executive is communication. Without regular communication among all the parts of your company, projects will fail, tasks will go incomplete and business will suffer. Furthermore, as an employee, if you are not communicating with your manager enough to know that you are doing the most critical work of the moment, you risk your job, as well. Have you talked with your manager today? Managers? Have you talked with your employees today? Does everyone know the critical path through this day, this week , the month? If not, why not? Listen to this Podcast Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory     Books by Douglas E. Welch    Two different paths One of the most common problems in any department, whether high-tech IT or traditional accounting, is employees who don't know what work they should be doing. If the goals of management are not being adequately communicated to the staffers, then there is almost no hope of accomplishing those goals. Yet, I see this nearly every day in every type of company. So, what is an employee to do. First, talk to your manager. Talk to them until you have a clear idea what they expect, what goals they need to accomplish and even how they might like to see them accomplished. In some cases, you might have to help your manager put these goals into words. Not every manager is the best communicator, even though they might be very good at their job in other ways. You don't want to harass your manager, but you do need to make it clear that without direction from them, you might not be focusing on the most critical work of the department. External pressures from other departments, clients and upper-level executives can easily distract you without a clear mandate from your immediate manager. Confusion from above Of course, in some cases, your manager might not understand the goals of her position, let alone yours. I am sure you have seen this in departments that seem to drift from one crisis to another, never sure what is most important from day to day. This could be the fault of your immediate manager, but blame can often be laid at the foot of upper management, as well. Just as you need to communicate with your manager, executives need to communicate with their CEO and vice versa. Miscommunication at the top simply filters downward, growing more confused from level to level. If you are stuck in a company such as this, you might consider starting a new job search. While companies can often blunder along for years without clearly communicated goals, they will eventually fail in some way. Worse still, your work will become much more difficult, since you are always searching for clarity among the fog of management instead of simply doing the work that most needs done. What to do? Let us assume that you are blessed with a good manager who clearly understands the task at hand. Set up a meeting with him or her specifically to discuss the goals of the department. Hammer out the top 3 goals and then communicate them to everyone else in the department. Sure, there will be other on-going work that conflicts with these goals, but that simply must be done. You will be able to do them and return to working on the goals again. Once you have established your most important goals, you have somewhere to return your focus, once the crisis has passed, instead of simply moving onto the next crisis. Most importantly, if either you, you co-coworkers or your manager feel that goals have changed, either due to information from above or a change in circumstances, it is time to meet again and re-evaluate the top 3 goals immediately. You don't want to be working towards a goal that has been rendered unnecessary. Don't simply continue out of inertia. Stop, re-evaluate and then go back to work on the important tasks, as you now see them. Communication,

Looking back over my own long career, and the careers of family, friends and Career Opportunities listeners and readers, I have struck upon 7 Skills that can help to insure a successful career for any careerist, regardless of their work industry, their...

Almost everyone is familiar with Google, Inc.'s famous motto, "Don't be evil". That said, how do you feel about the company where you work? Are they being evil or just stupid? Sometimes it can be very difficult to know exactly, but the answer can mean very different results for your career. First, whenever I am evaluating the actions of any company, or any person for that matter, I always apply the following wisdom from Napoleon, "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." What may look evil initially might just be an example of extreme stupidity or, even more likely, extreme ignorance. While it might seem evil to you, and you can imagine all sorts of evil machinations, it is important to notice the difference. Your response to each of these scenarios is quite different and responding inappropriately could mean more difficulties in your career at the time when you are trying to simplify it. Listen to this Podcast Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory     Books by Douglas E. Welch    The most basic difference between evil and stupid is that I believe it is possible, and easier, to fix stupidity than evil. Even the stupidest companies have the ability to learn and move from stupidity to productivity. It might not be an easy path, but there is a hint of hope there. If you see your company doing something stupid, you can take some small action to correct it, no matter how low your position. You can effect change on stupidity from the ground up. Again, it will be a slow process, but hopefully one that will gain momentum as it grows. Evil, on the other hand, is pernicious, corrupting and corrosive. One executive, one manager, one co-worker who is engaged in evil, whether that is an individual taking advantage of the company or an entire company taking advantage of its customers, will go to extreme lengths to both hide its evilness and perpetuate it. Whereas stupidity can often lead to illogical thinking, evil can lead companies and people to go completely non-linear. This is what leads to companies like HP believing it is ok to spy on their own employees and attempt to discredit them. Evil eats up a company from the inside and you either join the evil or run from it. There is no way to stay pure while in contact with it. So, how does this effect your work and your career. Well, it should be fairly obvious. If your company is stupid, there is still hope. You can make changes in even the stupidest companies, if you really believe in their product, service or message. Your decision to remain with the company is based on your belief that you can continue to do good work there, even if there are some problems. Of course, if your company is evil, then you are also evil...or, at least, on your way to evilness. Every time you reinforce an abusive policy, overcharge a customer, engage in "bait and switch" tactics or whatever other evil behaviors your company exhibits, you, personally are becoming more and more evil. The evil starts to wrap you up in its web. You might think, "Oh, well, its only one customer," but the proverbial slippery slope is there, waiting to take you into its embrace. It is nearly impossible to avoid the evil when it is all around you. In most cases, the evil stems from the very top of the organization. As the saying goes, "The fish rots from the head down." If senior executives are engaged in evil behavior then everyone else feels the sting. Ask the employees of Enron how much evil from above can effect their careers and I am sure you will get an earful. So, in most cases, the best way, and perhaps the only way, of avoiding becoming evil yourself, is to avoid it at all costs. Do all you can to see if your company is evil or stupid, but once you decide it falls on the evil side of the equation, get out. Otherwise, your work and career will suffer. It might not happen today or tomorrow,

I am not a big player of video games, but my teenage son has introduced me to a few in the last several years. Even if I don’t play the games themselves, I do often watch videos of the game play to stay informed of the state of the art and also to enjoy the stories. Although video games are often dismissed as time-wasters and corrupters of youth (and adults), I find that there are a number of career lessons that can be gained from them. Like everything in your life -- your family, your hobbies, the books you read -- videogames can yield some interesting lessons if you take the time to think beyond the actual gameplay itself. Listen to this Podcast One-To-One Career Consulting Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners. Click for more information and pricing The first night is always the hardest In nearly every video game, regardless of genre, the first night, the first level, the first enemy is always the hardest. The same could be said for your career. You have a lot to learn in your first job -- who to follow, what to learn, what to do -- and video games teach us this each time. When I first took up playing Minecraft, one of the few video games I play -- I was having so much trouble with my first night that my son recommended “How to survive your first night in Minecraft”, a video series by Paul Soares, Jr. It helped immensely and allowed me to continue in the game without dying too often. You, too, need to find your guides to get you through your “first nights” in your career. Seek out people, books, blogs and videos that allow you to improve your career every day. I can guarantee that these guides are out there, even if you need to spend some time looking. Look to your best co-workers for advice and guidance and use your less than stellar, co-workers are bad examples from whom you can still learn some important lessons. All of these sources can help you get through each “first night” you experience in your career -- and there will be many of them -- so find your guides, learn early, learn well, learn quickly. Ominous Music Portends Danger Wouldn’t it be great if our lives and careers came with an ominous soundtrack whenever danger was near? Play any game, like Skyrim or Bioshock Infinite, and you know when danger is near. The ominous music rolls in and you immediately start looking for enemies. I would pay a lot of money to have this in my own life, for sure, and I am betting you would, too. That said, there is something similar in the real world. We can often sense red flags in our lives and careers, if we only took the time to notice it. Instead, we ignore the signs -- the ominous music -- and walk directly into danger without the slightest notice. Are your being excluded from meetings? Are executives departing your company with vague or lame excuses? Are support complaints rolling in faster than you can deal with them? The red flags might be different from industry to industry and office to office, but they are there, if you only listen. If you wouldn’t ignore the “danger theme” when climbing to the “Throat of World” in Tamriel, don’t ignore the ominous “music” that appears in your own work and life. Your actions have quick and definite consequences Many games today have both good and bad endings and your in-game actions have direct effect on the ending you play out. In Dishonored, your actions -- and the amount of chaos they cause -- directly effects the game play. One dishonorable action forces another and another until you are faced with a tragic ending. Of course, while our own lives and careers will hopefully never have the amount of tragedy faced in the game, it is an important reminder that our actions -- all our actions -- have both good and bad consequences. We can’t escape our actions. Sure we can apologize and make what amends we can, but we can never truly erase them from the memories of those around us.

Would you read a story or novel where, at the end, nothing has changed? Would you feel anything for a character who has learned nothing over the course of the book? Would you read the next book in the series? I think not. That fact is, change is what makes a great story. We want characters who learn new things and change over time. We want to know more about them. We want to understand their decisions based on past behavior. The same goes for your career. If you aren't changing, both personally and professionally, why should anyone care about your career? Listen to this Podcast Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory     Books by Douglas E. Welch    We have all seen them -- people who got their first job right out of high school and never left. They are doing the same work today that they started doing 10, 15, 20 years ago. This isn't to say that they are bad people or bad workers, only that the failure to change, for whatever reason, can trap us in our lives and our work. If you want to insure a more successful, and varied, career you need to embrace change and communicate that change to those around you. In the past, I have talked extensively about developing career stories that can be used to explain your work, and your career desires, to those around you. "Change stories" are one particular type of these stories. In my experience, communicating your career change is as important as change itself. Without it, you may have changed dramatically, but unless others know it, it makes no difference. So, how do you share the changes in your life with those around you? It is often as simple as opening your mouth. Do you discuss the new books you are reading with others? How about new software, computers and gadgets? What magazines or web sites have you discovered recently? Do you let your friends know when you enjoy one of their recommendations? If not, make a point to start sharing your changes today. Recommend that great book on management to someone who might find it useful. Forward a particularly good, and appropriate, web article to your boss or co-workers. Let those around you know how your knowledge and thoughts are changing over time. I consider change communication to be one of the most important aspects of my writing, both here and in my blogs. I love sharing neat, new information with people, but it also gives me a chance to show how my thoughts and knowledge are changing over time. This is especially true when I have some form of epiphany that changes something fundamental about my work or life. Perhaps I have stopped recommending a particular piece of software or discovered a new type of cuisine. This makes my life more interesting, both to me and, hopefully, to my readers, friends and family. It is an important aspect of giving my life, and my life story, some excitement. Just like a character in a great novel, it makes people want to know more about me. To bring this back to the work world, what changes are you communicating to your managers and coworkers? Have you been reading management books lately? Which ones? Did you enjoy them? What lessons did you learn? If you aspire to management, the simple act of sharing your thoughts on these books is enough to plant that idea in your managers mind. "Hmm, we need a new manager for this department. You know, I was talking about the latest Tom Peter's book with Douglas the other day and he really seemed to know his stuff. Maybe we should ask him." While this is an idealized scenario, you can clearly see how communicating the changes in your life can plant the seed that could grow into something much bigger. Want to be a programmer? Start talking programming with your co-workers. Want to move into advertising, or graphics, or anything else, start sharing your thoughts, reading and learning with those around you. Tell your story frequently and well to all who will listen.

Douglas talks with Andrea McClain, owner and operator of M Street Coffee, an independent coffee bar in Studio City, California now entering its 6th year of business. I first interviewed Andrea during her first year of business, so in this interview we discuss lessons learned, challenges faced and the future of M Street Coffee. Part of the Dog Days of Podcasting 30 Day Podcasting Challenge Watch my original interview with Andrea McClain from 2009 M Street Coffee Web Site M Street Coffee on Twitter Find more career interviews at the Career Opportunities blog and podcast Follow Douglas on Twitter Follow Career Opportunities on Twitter Like Career Opportunities on Facebook Circle Career Opportunities on Google+

I have spent the last 30 years helping people to learn about technology in a number of ways and there has always been one, constant theme to this process -- people hate to “feel stupid”about technology -- or anything, for that matter. I think “feeling ...

"Just kidding!" We hear this on the playground as children and in the office as an adult. Usually it is followed by "Geez, don't you have a sense of humor?" Over the years, though, I have learned that "just kidding" is one of those phrases that means exactly the opposite of what it says. The speaker wasn't kidding at all, but only using the phrase to deflect how incredibly insensitive and rude they are actually behaving. Listen to this Podcast  Review Career Opportunities in the iTunes Podcast Directory   Books by Douglas E. Welch    I know this might sound like an over-reaction, but years of work experience have shown me that people who use the "just kidding" (JK) gambit are troublesome to everyone around them. In their wake they leave a path of anger and hurt and can sow the seeds of their own career destruction, if they don't learn to modify their behavior. Say you are talking with a group of friends or co-workers and make some sort of statement. It matters little the substance of the statement because a JK person often needs little impetus to inject their response. Out of the blue you will hear, "Well, that's the stupidest things I've ever heard" or maybe even uproarious laughter. Then, when you show your disapproval with a look or your words, you will hear, "just kidding." They weren't kidding, though, and everyone knows it. What this person is trying to do is deflect the focus from their rude behavior and somehow make it your problem. They are insulting you and then trying to pretend that that wasn't their goal in the first place. It is a childish attempt at control and manipulation and anyone who exhibits the behavior should be confronted and reprimanded. In fact, I consider JK behavior to be the primary indicator of someone who is lacking in the social skills so necessary to work and life. If I see someone exhibiting this behavior, I would serious questions working for them or with them in any environment. Life is simply too short to spend your time with ill-mannered, and I would say in some cases, out of control, personalities. So, do you see yourself or any of your co-workers in this description? I know that I was not always the most socially skilled member of society when I was younger. Even when older, we all have the ability to make social faux pas, but these occurrences should be rare. Take a long hard look at your own behaviors. Do you often find yourself saying "just kidding" or exhibiting the equally annoying "exasperated sigh" as I did at one point in my career. (See The Exasperated Sigh, June 3, 2005) If you do, you need to start banishing this behavior from your life immediately. Do whatever it takes. Snap a rubber band on your wrist whenever you feel inclined, or fine yourself every time you do it. Whatever it takes. If you don't, the consequences to your career could be dramatic and drastic. Why ban this behavior? Simply, you are insulting, and perhaps even angering, everyone who is on the receiving end of this behavior. Regardless of how you might try to justify the behavior, you are making enemies at every turn. You are creating a group of people who don't want to work with you, for you or even around you. You are creating a group of people who won't care, and perhaps even rejoice when you are fired or marked for layoff. "Just Kidding" might seem such a small issue, but it effects everyone and everything around you. Furthermore, if you think the effects in the office are bad, you can only imagine the damage such behavior does to your relationships with friends and family. "Just kidding" behavior can arise from a number of points. We can do it when we feel insecure or frightened. It can creep in when our guard is down due to illness or fatigue. Regardless, though, if you want to insure yourself a happier life and a more productive and successful career, you need to banish the phrase "just kidding", and it s surrogates, from your vocabulary today. If not,

Douglas talks with George Krueger and Mary-Lynn Foster of Bigg Success.com about building success on your terms. Part of the Dog Days of Podcasting 30 Day Podcasting Challenge  Listen to this show   Bigg Success Web Site Bigg Success on Twitter From the Bigg Success Web Site... "BIGG Success is an e-learning, coaching and small business consulting firm. We provide educational resources to entrepreneurs, professionals and the organizations that serve them, like Chambers of Commerce and community banks. It's your place for entreprenurturing™ -- a learning community built around winning in life and business. We help you fight the fears and frustrations we all face on the way to finding freedom and fulfillment. That's BIGG success!"     Follow Douglas on TwitterFollow Career Opportunities on TwitterLike Career Opportunities on FacebookCircle Career Opportunities on Google+

Douglas talks with George Krueger and Mary-Lynn Foster of Bigg Success.com about building success on your terms. Part of the Dog Days of Podcasting 30 Day Podcasting Challenge Bigg Success Web Site Bigg Success on Twitter From the Bigg Success Web Site... "BIGG Success is an e-learning, coaching and small business consulting firm. We provide educational resources to entrepreneurs, professionals and the organizations that serve them, like Chambers of Commerce and community banks. It's your place for entreprenurturing™ -- a learning community built around winning in life and business. We help you fight the fears and frustrations we all face on the way to finding freedom and fulfillment. That's BIGG success!"   Follow Douglas on TwitterFollow Career Opportunities on TwitterLike Career Opportunities on FacebookCircle Career Opportunities on Google+

There is a great difference between Failure (with a capital F) and failure with a lowercase “f”, but sometimes it can be hard to see that. While it is part of the human condition to fail on occasion, and despite what we might learn from those failures, failure is never, ever, easy. Given enough failures, in fact, and you might start feeling like a complete Failure. This is a dangerous place to tread, though and can lead to greater problems down the road if you don’t come to some sort of understanding with yourself, your life and your career. Don’t let failure stop you in your career tracks. Face it, deal with it and then move forward. Listen to this Podcast One-To-One Career Consulting   Now available exclusively to Career Opportunities readers and Listeners. Click for more information and pricing How do I know so much about failure? Like all of us, there have been times when life and work weren’t going the way I planned or hoped. Failure after failure piled up until I felt I was carrying a burden far too heavy for my mind to handle. When I was in the midst of it, it felt like I would never dig myself out. Thankfully, one way I deal with failure is much like the character of Dory in Finding Nemo -- “just keep swimming!” Except in the most dire cases, there is always a new day coming, a new world that is opening up to you. Sometimes it can take a lot of “swimming” to get there, though, but I find that that is often the only way through a crisis of failure, no matter how large. I have been thinking about failure a lot lately, as I have been having one of those periods in my own life and career. There are several reasons for my failure thoughts. First, I am about to turn 50 years old, which is a point when many people start to take stock in their life -- and in some cases -- find it wanting. What you desired when you were 25 is almost nothing like what you desire when you are 50. Even the most successful people can look back and wonder if it was all worth it and what exactly they have accomplished. Second, I am almost a year into my own career transition from day-to-day computer support to a role more focused on new media, social, media, podcasting and video production. As is almost always the case, income from your previous position often stops before income from your new position starts to come in. This leads to worries about money and makes you doubt your choice to transition and if the new position will ever be successful. Self-doubt is an insidious drain on your energy and your emotional outlook. After a few slow months it can wear you down to the point where it seems that Failure, with a capital F is catching up with you. Hopefully it will help you to know that even in my darkest hour, I know that my life and career will get better. I know that doom and gloom is just part of the game we all play and eventually my transition will start to pick up speed and direction. While my worries might manifest themselves in the dark of night, when day comes and I can focus on new work, new goals and new challenges those worries do recede. It is important for me, and you as well, to not give overriding authority to those worries that crop up. Know that morning will come again and give you a new opportunity to move forward. Don’t let life pin the badge of Failure to your chest. Everyone, even the most successful people, struggle on occasion and, I know it is true for myself, we all tend to judge ourselves more harshly than others when it comes to life and career success. I can guarantee that there are those around you that don’t consider you a Failure at all. They see someone striving to make their life and career better, even if it can be a bit difficult. It is only when we stop trying that we truly become a Failure. Giving up, while certainly one option, insures that you will never move beyond failure or even just the crisis of the moment. It may seem easier to simply give up in the face of adversity and failure,

Despite the fact that I often talk about attaining raises and promotions in your career, I don't often discuss their ramifications to both your work and your personal life. The fact is, when you move into an expanded role, especially a managerial role, the expectations of those around you are going to rise. Each new position brings about a new level of control and commitment. If you ignore this, your transition into the new role can be more difficult than it should be. Listen to this Podcast  Books by Douglas E. Welch    New Expectations It is important to remember that when you receive a promotion or a raise in pay, you are accepting new roles and new commitments. You might not think it at first, but your manager is going to expect something more in response to your new status. Promotions and raises aren't so much a reward for past service, but more an incentive for future services. Managers are going to expect you to "step up to the plate" and take a more active role in projects and day-to-day issues. Unfortunately, though, they often don't take the time to explain exactly what their new expectations are. Too often, they simply assume that you will know how to take on the new role, even though it hasn't been well defined or, perhaps, even described to you. In order to keep your career on track, you need to take the initiative to clearly define any increased expectations. This can range from the simple realities of new meetings you should be attending to the specifics of who you should be supervising and mentoring within your group. Have this important conversation with your manager as soon as possible after your new promotion is announced. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a sort of limbo between positions. I am sure you have seen newly minted supervisors who spend their first few weeks wandering around in a daze, trying to figure out their new place in the organization and the expectations of those around them. You want to insure that your transition is as smooth as possible, though, so you can start being effective in your new role from the very first day. Subtleties Beyond your official work role, there are more subtle expectations that can effect your work life. These can be even more troublesome than the issues above, as there are fewer guidelines available to you and they can have an insidious effect on your work life if they are ignored. First, there are expectations about who you will associate with in your new role. I am sure you have heard stories about rank-and-file workers suddenly elevated to a supervisor or manager role. Suddenly you are no longer one of "us", you are now one of "them". This can be a crushing blow for some people, as it removes the work support structure carefully built over the years. Worse still, this happens before you have built any sort of support structure in your new role. You can feel adrift as you try to navigate the passage between the two. That said, you need to understand the unique culture of your company. In some cases, there won't be a problem with you continuing to lunch with your former peers. In other companies, this will be seen as a social faux pas of the highest degree. Second, the subtle cues of work attire are almost sure to be an issue. Jeans and polo shirts might have been appropriate in your past position, but now, suddenly you are elevated into the world of suits and ties. Again, it depends on your individual company, but you are well advised to be aware of these expectations, as well. While I personally detest the affectations of business dress codes (perhaps this is one reason I work for myself), you ignore them at your peril. Finally, not only will expectations rise in your new role, but you should also expect them to rise. It only makes sense that new positions will bring more and different responsibilities. Any attempt to ignore this fact will hamper your transition into your new role and could derail your career entirely.