A Guide to Transferable Credentials--and a Certification Decoder--for Trainers

From Training magazine online:

Thinking about certifying as a training and development professional? You certainly have many choices. U.S.-based professionals can choose among the CPLP, CPT, and CTT and those living in Canada have national certifications.

In addition to spelling out those acronyms, this article identifies the certifications available to training and development professionals. But first, it places certification within the broader scope of external credentials, and describes the role of transferable credentials in attesting to the qualifications of training and development professionals.

Check out the entire article at http://tinyurl.com/4z9tdw7

Employment Issues and Keith Olberman's Firing.

I'll start by admitting--although I recognize that Keith Olberman's departure from MSNBC has stirred great passion among his supporters on the left and detractors on the left, as someone who never really got into his show, I don't really care about any of that. 

Rather, I am more interested in the relationship between Olberman and his employer, his motivation to work, his work ethic, and its broader implications for others, starting with my students, many of whom are just starting in their careers. 

An article in the New York Times, Monday, January 24, sheds light on what really happened.  According to the report (which you can find at  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/business/media/24olbermann.html?hp), Olberman had a pattern of enthusiastically starting a job, then becoming disillusioned.  In the process, he would often do something he shouldn't (like threatening to appear on a competitive network without permission) and exacerbate an increasingly fractured relationship with his bosses.  

Reading between the lines, it also sounds like he might have been a bit of a perfectionist and the workload needed to maintain perfectionism in any given job would ultimately get the best of him each time.  As what seems like burnout increased, so did the difficult behavior.  

That's not a recipe for long-term success. 

Some lessons that I'm taking away from this situation: 

For managers:  Watch out for superstar employees who seem to be going way above and beyond to impress.  At some point, they might crash and burn.  

That said, in some cases, the employee might not be "coach-able," that is, open to the constructive feedback that could save them from themselves.  Certainly the star system at networks doesn't help that process; it only feeds the ego.  

For workers:  Watch out for perfectionism and doing a lot of unnecessary additional work.  In the short run, it might impress someone.  But in the long-run, it will burn you out and turn you into a crabby person.  That crabby person will impress people as much as the superstar did--and will be as significant for your reputation as when you were a superstar.  

 

    

Can Bosses Be Friends?

Even above board relationships in the work place can be tricky. (Yes, I watch too many B-shows and movies.)

The next couple of posts offer some sound advice for navigating this territory from articles I recently read.

Can Bosses Be Friends?
The first, Be the boss, not a friend, published at Fortune/CNNMoney.com, is an excerpt from Linda Hill and Kent Lineback's book, Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback and suggests why seeking friendship from workers, or simply trying to be liked, isn't in the best interests of a productive work relationship.

Noting that the relationship between boss and worker "exists to accomplish work," they offer several reasons why seeking friendship with workers is a bad idea. All of the reasons come down to the basic issue: managers are responsible for achieving certain results. If those results are not achieved, managers need to counsel workers, put them on probation, and possibly even lay them off. But that's not easy if the manager and the worker are friends.

They also note that, if managers are friends with their staff, they're likely to be closer friends with some workers than others, only adding to tensions in the workplace.

To be honest, this article reminded me of one of my favorite topics from the old Ricki Lake show, "You used to be my friend, now you're my boss," which explored the transition from friends to manager and worker (albeit in a purposefully combative way).

Hill and Linebeck conclude that:

In a word, the boss–subordinate relationship is another paradox, one of the most profound you will encounter as a boss. It's a paradox because it must be genuinely human and caring—even close.

Check out the article at http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/18/be-the-boss-not-a-friend/.

Professional Memberships--Fees Worth Paying

As part of its series, "Beat the Fees," Toronto Star reporter Chris Carter identifies 10 that are actually worth paying.

Among them:

10. Professional fees

Paying an annual fee to belong to a professional organization in your career field can provide valuable networking, educational or information-sharing opportunities. It also looks good as a résumé item.

See the entire list of fees worth paying at http://www.moneyville.ca/article/888723--10-fees-worth-paying

Is Education Stepping Up to Problem Performance?

Teacher performance is a hot issue throughout formal education. Washington DC's superintendent, who instituted a new evaluation system (which seems intended to better reflect actual work performance) recently canned 241 teachers who received the lowest ratings (indicating unsatisfactory job performance). That's over 2.5 times more than were let go last year. Tamar Lewin recently filed a report on the situation: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/education/24teachers.html?hpw

The issue is also being addressed at the university level. According to University Affairs, the Faculty Senate at the University of British Columbia, which sets educational policy, had voted to actively use student evaluations of teaching in making personnel decisions, like promotion and tenure. The faculty association (union) challenged it, saying that it violated the union contract, and took the university to court. An appeals judge sided with the Senate. Léo Charbonneau's report primarily focuses on the legal issues involved, but the personnel issues are no less compelling. Check out the report at http://www.universityaffairs.ca/senate-decision-vs-bog.aspx.

More Ups and Downs for Facebook

For those with an interest in social media, check out Susan Feinstein's recent article about a new use for Facebook: telling teachers how much they meant to us. Visit the article at Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/nyregion/14facebook.html?pagewanted=all.

And speaking of Facebook, a recent news analysis of the company explores the view by Facebook officials that it is a "utility," and what that means to the way that public officials should approach that company--especially in relation to the company's flawed privacy policies. As one expert cited in the article notes, getting the metaphor right plays a central role in getting the relationship right.

Among the interesting tidbits in that article--Americans are more satisfied filing their taxes online than using Facebook, and the choice of 'metaphors" like ut for

Check it out at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/weekinreview/25brustein.html?ref=weekinreview.

Bad News on the Salary Front

According to Ruth Mantell's June 5, 2010 report in the Wall Street Journal, "The job market may be recovering, but some salary offers are still a few years behind," and employers are "lowballing" salaries for new hires. Check out the details, as well as see some strategies for dealing with the situation at

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB127570395821401453.html?mod=rss_careers.