Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited

Return to career-consulting-limited.com
Managing
People
Managing Your Career
CV Examples
Coaching
Cover Letter Examples
Pre-Employment Tests


Find Those People


"The Emperor's New Clothes" was a favorite childhood story of mine. It made me laugh. I couldn't believe that all those adults were standing around, watching the emperor make a fool of himself and not telling him the truth. When I grew up and went to work, I discovered it wasn't that easy.

In twenty years in management, I noticed the majority of people operating like the Emperor's ministers. I saw people more concerned with personally looking foolish, than venturing feedback; more concerned with what they thought they should say, than saying what needed to be said; and more concerned with figuring out what they thought the boss wanted to hear, than offering their point of view. Luckily, there were exceptions. If you want to be winning at working, find some of them.

In order to succeed, I needed people to stop me from being like the emperor in the children's fable. I needed people willing to state the truth, at least the truth as they saw it; people willing to push back, challenge, and tell me things I may not have wanted, but needed, to hear. Now that I'm a columnist, writer and speaker, my criterion remains the same. I need people to tell me the truth when the truth needs telling, whether I ask or not.

I may not always like what they have to say, but I'm glad they said it. I may not always take their advice, but I appreciate they offered it. And I may not always agree with them, but I know to listen deeply and consider it. I've been saved from countless mistakes, errors in judgments and blind spots by these exceptional people offering their truth-telling gift. They've helped me keep my balance, gain perspective and make decisions.

"Your idea is way off-base," she ventured. "It's not going to connect with people." Words from a trusted colleague cautioned me to rethink an important launch. In the end, she was right. It wasn't a good idea. Her words saved me more than the certain embarrassment of a failed initiative. Money, resources, and time were at stake, too.

If you want to be winning at working, look for people like this to help you. You'll know them from their candor. They're the ones not working a personal agenda who have your best interests at heart; the ones able to see the big picture who are comfortable offering their no-strings attached perspectives. They're the ones telling you the truth as they see it, who are willing to pull you back from the edge or push you out of a do-loop. I'm indebted to these people in my career.

My advice? Realize you need all the help you can get. Find a few truth-telling people you can trust. I look for people who have courage and forthrightness, like the child in Hans Christian Andersen's, "The Emperor's New Clothes." You see, if I'm out there without my clothes on, it's a sure bet I want someone to tell me.

(c) 2005 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

Sign up to receive Nan's free biweekly eColumn at http://www.winningatworking.com. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and instructor. Visit http://www.nanrussell.com or contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com.


MORE RESOURCES:
Careers at Prairie View A&M University  Prairie View A&M University

Corporate  Lowe's





Careers  Baxter


Commonwealth Job Fair  Governor Tom Wolf







Careers  ontarioca.gov





Careers | Home  USDA.gov



Employment opportunities  Department of Taxation and Finance

Jobs  City of Rochester (.gov)


Store Hourly Job Areas  Target Corporate


Careers at TWU  Texas Woman's University

Work at Butler  Butler University








Careers and Jobs at CRS  Catholic Relief Services

Work With Us  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Work for the City of St. Louis  City of St. Louis



Careers  BASF

Career Opportunities  Gilead Sciences



Job Seekers  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


Careers  Washington State University

IOM career gateways  International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Careers  West Virginia Department of Education










UF Health Careers  UF Health - University of Florida Health

Student Employment  St John's University News

Careers  CrowdStrike





Job Opportunities  Bellevue School District

Current opportunities  Turner & Townsend

Careers  KPMG







Careers  S&P Global


Recorded Video Interviews  Target Corporate



Explore BCG locations around the world  Boston Consulting Group

WORK AT LVMH  LVMH





Work with us  JPMorgan Chase

Internship Opportunities | BCG  Boston Consulting Group

Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024  University of North Dakota

Careers in  A&O Shearman


Students and graduates  JPMorgan Chase

Careers at Discovery Education  Discovery Education

Careers  Turner & Townsend

Careers at Sinai Health  Sinai Health


Employment Opportunities  Unity Health Toronto



Need More Information?
Site Home | Site Map | Links | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
© Career Consulting Limited.com 2011

tumblr visit counter