Category Archives: Transitions

Diversity, bias and the points system.

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One of the reasons I left Brazil to work in London were the new guidelines defined by the Group CEO. He wanted representatives from the countries where the company operated working in the Head Office. What a great idea, isn’t it? Interviews were conducted and a few ‘foreigners’ were selected to join the central team. The principle, broadly accepted, was that a more diverse workforce would promote understanding of the various perspectives, increase integration of the global teams and, in turn, generate more profit to the business. It made sense to do it. Well, at least, in theory.

In practice, things happened to be a little bit more complex. Even though I was excited with the possibility of ‘exchanging views & sharing experiences’, I quickly noticed that ‘getting to know my culture‘ and benefiting from my ‘diverse perspective‘  were not things most people were particularly interested in. It was also surprising to see that some members of the local team nurtured stereotypical ideas about who I was and how I behaved. It was the first time in my life/career that I had to clarify things such as:  “Yes, I am very punctual” or “No, I am not happy all the time and I definitely don’t dance Salsa!”.

There was a lot of talk about embracing global diversity in the Head Office, but as the organisational culture was predominantly local, the day-to-day attitudes frequently conflicted with the ‘talk’. There was a subtle pressure for standardisation. And the standard, of course, was the culture of the majority. The sooner the ‘different’ started to behave as ‘a local’ the better.  It felt like an orchestra where everybody had to play the same instrument. With so many different ‘tunes‘ available, it felt like a complete waste. When getting updates on the initiative, the CEO would certainly see an increase in the percentage of ‘diverse people’ in the Head Office, but in practice, very little was changing.

As I was not yet known by the group, I was in a constant ‘battle’ to get people to pay attention to what I had to say. I knew my inputs were relevant so I concluded that the issue was of a different kind. After having my observations politely ignored  whilst some other perspectives were applauded (even when they were less than coherent), I imagined that bias should be fuelling a kind of invisible ‘points system‘. It goes like this: when a person arrived in a meeting, the other participants would use their (conscious or unconscious) bias in relation to gender, cultural background, hierarchy etc. to award points. Depending on the amount of positive or negative ‘points’ granted to a person it would be more (or less) likely that s/he would get own inputs considered or accepted by the group. i.e. ideas coming from people with many negative points would be discarded in no time. As for me, it felt I was losing two points for being a woman and other two for being Latin American. At least I knew I had to fight four times harder to be heard! I shared the concept of the ‘points system’ with other expats and many of them reported having experienced something similar. One thing to mention is that the literature on unconscious/conscious gender bias is vast but not much have been written about cultural bias. My view is that this is a big area of opportunity.

On time (and with the help of a coach) I managed to understand and adapt to my new environment, created good relationships and felt more included. I definitely learned a lot. Later on I met amazing people who showed me that with good leadership bias can be managed and that merit and competence are the only criteria to ‘award points’ to professionals. It was also in this period that I started to get interested on cross-cultural relationships and the factors that contribute (or block) the adaptation of expatriates. Today I am convinced that the expat adaptation can be optimised with the previous preparation, not only of expats, but also of the local teams. Having open conversations about stereotypes and ‘unconscious bias’ is a good starting point. There are many initiatives addressing the issue nowadays and a good example is a course on Unconscious Bias recently delivered to Facebook employees.  I found it very pragmatic, dynamic and informative, although with a lot more focus on gender bias.  I recommend it to anyone interested on the topic. Here you go the link : https://managingbias.fb.com

And…if you want to know more about how the work with a Transition Partner can support the adaptation of expats, do get in touch.

Have a great week! See you next Tuesday.

The Potential of the Neutral Zone

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Professional transitions many times happen as a result of our own choices, but they can also be provoked by external factors, things out of our control. In this last category, one of the changes that are more traumatic and difficult to grasp, is the one that happens as a result of a  dismissal.  A few months ago, I started a partnership with an executive who had his (10 year) career in a multinational company, abruptly interrupted. He had a very practical objective for our sessions: he wanted to start a brand new career, build a new professional identity and define a clear plan on how to ‘get there’. When we started exploring the present moment, it was evident that there were some important ‘internal obstacles’ for the change. The pain for ‘the loss’ had not yet been processed and there was a great risk that these emotions could sabotage the objectives he was trying to achieve.

I proposed that we explored the situation with a broader perspective, that we looked at the ‘big picture’. To do that, one of the tools that I find really useful is the Bridges Model of Change (image below). The concept it presents is simple, almost obvious, and perhaps for this reason, it triggers valuable reflections for people going through such transitions.

Transition-Model

The yellow area in the image above represents the ‘Ending Phase‘, that is that period in which  we disengage from the old identity and ways of working and acknowledge what was or will be lost. There is always something that gets lost, isn’t it? It was exactly this phase that my client was trying to avoid. He wanted to rapidly jump into the ‘New Beginning‘ (blue area) and was hesitating to face his emotions, believing that if he ignored them, they would disappear. Actually, he didn’t allow himself to feel ‘the feelings’, he thought it was a sign of weakness.

With the help of this model, we alternated the ‘practical’ discussions (i.e. review actions and plans for the future) with conversations about the emotions that had been generated by the job loss. We talked about how these feelings were impacting his capacity to move confidently towards his ‘New Beginning’ and how to deal with these emotions. An important part of our work was to spend time exploring the ‘Neutral Zone‘ (the green area in the centre) that is the period when we are not yet totally ‘disengaged’ from the past and the new is yet to be fully known and/or implemented. It is really beneficial to understand that this is a necessary phase and that is natural to feel a bit disoriented and without a clear sense of direction.

The work of a Transition Partner is, among other things, to point out to the opportunities that arise when one crosses the Neutral Zone. Yes, this is a moment to plan and deal with the practical aspects that will lead people to the future. But is it also a moment for reflection. It is a time to celebrate the past victories, to accept the losses and to explore with greater awareness the alternatives for the ‘New Beginning’. This is the moment to ‘create’ this new future in a way that is totally aligned with own values and purpose.

To help transform the potential discomfort and confusion of the Neutral Zone into a period of discoveries and alignment with personal values is one of the good things of my work as a Transition Partner. It is rewarding to see that my client is now more aware of the things that were holding him back and due to this awareness, he has the control to make better choices. He is now moving steadily towards his new career, his new beginning.

Click here to know more about My Services and how I can help professionals to make the best of their transition. I wish a great and productive week to all!

Latin Americans in the World

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Moving to a new country is one of the most ‘intense’ and full of opportunities (and risks) transitions. To become an expat is the goal of many profissionals who see in this experience the opportunity of widening horizons, ‘supercharge’ their development and multicultural skills. I know about this subject well, as I am an expat myself and have been in this path for the last 10 years. In the page About Me, you will find more information about my career outside my ‘motherland’.

Since the first months of my life abroad I became intrigued about the multicultural dynamics  in the workplace and started to observe and analyse the elements that supported (or blocked) the professional success of expats. My work as a Transition Partner is one of the outcomes of this study. My experience and observations enable me to support other expats in making sense of their new context, manage emotions and behaviours and ‘make the best’ of the experience. Besides, of course, increasing the chances of achieving success in the international arena.

To complement my observations and readings about the subject, I started a research with other expatriate (mainly Latin Americans) to register their experiences and the ‘lessons learned’. As sharing knowledge is fundamental, today I am going to share with you 5 tips of a Brazilian , Beatriz is her name, who lived a very enriching experience when she went through a professional transition, from Brazil to London six years ago. Today Beatriz is perfectly adapted and has a senior role in a multinational based in Asia.

Tip 1 – Dealing with the ‘cultural shock’ – let’s talk about it  – Exchange ideas and openly talk about your experiences with people who may be living similar events can be of great help. All expats are aware of that.

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Tip 2 – Empathy and preparation – breaking the new code. Besides maintaining relationships with people from a cultural background similar to yours, it is important to make friends with people born in the new country. Among other things they may help you understand the perspective of ‘the other side’. Building empathy, know what I mean?

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Tip 3 – Adjusting expectations and dealing with unexpected emotions – Beatriz tells us that in all her career, back in Brazil, her performance had always been assessed as above average. The feeling of not being ‘competent enough’ was a great surprise for her. It is important to be aware of this possibility and deal with these emotions openly.

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Tip 4 – About the intensity of the change – even if you don’t change companies, the organisational culture may be completely different from the one you were used to. It’s very important to understand the dynamics and position yourself appropriately in the new context.

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Tip 5 – The adaptation has to happen on both sides – I think there are two lessons here: 1. You may have to adapt to a new management style. That’s a fact. 2. For me, the key message here is for the organisations that send executives to live & work abroad. The preparation of leaders/managers that will host expats is fundamental. The right levels of ‘stress’ and ‘support’  must be found to ensure that all parts (organisation, manager and expat) benefit and grow with the experience.

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The experiences of the expats may be very different, depending on the organisation, country and the personal characteristics of the professional. Getting to know about and reflect upon experiences similar to ours is, almost always, a good investment of time and energy. I wish you a great week and do send me a note to know more about how a Transition Partner can help you (who is an expat) or your expat employees. I will be back next week!

Tapping into Football’s Wisdom

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One of the most exciting things in life is the fact that inspiration and learning opportunities can be found everywhere. This morning, I was watching on TV the ‘big party’ organised to celebrate the victory of Leicester City in the Football Premier League. Winning the Premier League is reason enough to rejoice, but in Leicester’s case there are even more reasons to ‘have  a ball’. Firstly: the result was completely unexpected. Last season, the team had almost been relegated from the League. Unlike other teams, they did not have any ‘star’ player or a millionaire budget. They were true underdogs. To top it all up, it is the first time in their 132 years of history, that they won the championship. I was intrigued: What happened? What drove Leicester to achieve such fantastic results? That’s when I watched an interview with the team coach, an Italian guy called Claudio Ranieri, and understood it all.

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After watching his interview, I decided to dig a bit deeper, acknowledging that when it comes to professional transitions, football coaches have more ‘experience’ than the average person. As we all know, constantly contracting and dismissing is a routine in their world. There must be very few other professions where there is so much change, so much ‘starting all over again’. In this context (of frequent transition) there must be an ‘ocean of wisdom’ about the skills and attitudes that one has to adopt to be successful (or fail) in moments of change. And this is something that I was keen to discover.

Firstly, I checked Claudio’s professional history and, as one would expect, he has worked in dozens of football clubs. His CV confirms that he has a career of constant ‘restarting’. I get very interested in knowing how he deals with this ‘mutant’ reality.  Which strategy does he apply to quickly adapt to a new team? How does he keep his balance whilst experiencing the constant ‘rotation’ between hire and dismissal, between winning and losing? What keeps him so full of energy and always fighting for the next victory?

Unfortunately I haven’t found any articles that explore the topic of professional transitions in the lives of football coaches ( I could, perhaps, conduct such a research in the future). I did find though, a good amount of information about ‘Ranieri’s leadership style’ and thought that it would be useful to share some highlights here. Here you go:

  1. Authenticity – One can see that Ranieri has a very ‘unique’ style. He has great sense of humour, speaks calmly (but energetically) and his statements sound very truthful. He says he is always positive and I read that his ‘warm leadership style’ helped inspire each player to give their best.
  2.  Responsibility – In many interviews, the coach says that ‘destiny is in the hands of our team’. He focuses his efforts on the things that are ‘under control’. He is clearly a Player, never a Victim (watch a video on this topic). His belief is that winning or losing is not what matters the most, what it is important is to keep fighting up to the end.
  3. Collaboration – To build a ‘team spirit’ is something that it’s clearly on the ‘core’ of Ranieri’s work. Celebrate victory, he says, is fundamental. The ‘pizza parties’ that he organised every time the group reached targets were considered key to the team’s success.
  4. Vision – Ranieri state his objectives very clearly and acknowledges the importance of communicating these to the group. He knows where he ‘is going’ and inspires the players to ‘get there’.
  5. Sensibility – A very important feature of a leader is to understand the ‘context’ where he operates. When asked about what he felt when he arrived at Leicester City, he replied: “There was a positive electricity around.” He quickly understood the potential that was available and made the best of it.

Being clear about own style and unique features, about the context and the culture where they operate, is fundamental for leaders to be successful. More so, the ones who are going through a career transition. Through the work I do as a Transition Partner, my personal motivation is to support professionals in finding clarity and understanding in such moments of change. Do get in touch if you want to know more.

I wish you all a good & inspired week!

 

The distance between A and B

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Yesterday, I was talking about behavioural change to one of my clients and he , a Spanish national, used a very interesting expression to describe the challenge. He said: “Del dicho al hecho, hay un trecho”. The saying in its original version has the obvious advantage of the rhyme but its meaning still applies. In a free translation to English it says: There is a distance between what you say (you will do) and what you actually do.

From point A to point B

I really like the messages conveyed by popular sayings. They normally offer precise and condensed wisdom that points out to the essence of the ‘problem’. When I heard the Spanish proverb, it occurred to me that, very often, the work we do (me and my clients) is exactly to travel this ‘distance’ between the talking and the doing. In many instances, the clients identify clearly the behaviours that will bring better results to their personal and professional lives. The real challenge is to implement the change. i.e. To move from the point A to the point B.

And how do we do this in our Transition Sessions? Well, we can spend some time exploring the source of these behaviours and the obstacles for the change, the focus, however, is always the ‘way forward‘. That is, to explore the drivers for change that a) are under your control b) can be implemented in the ‘here and now’ to achieve your desired outcome. Each person knows which are the most efficient approaches for his/her own style and circumstances. Sometimes, however, people may resist to move away from their ‘comfort zone’ and change old habits. That’s when the Transition Partner may have to give a ‘little push’ to provoke a change in perspective. This is done through reflection exercises (during the sessions), by recommending selected readings and also by applying the Personality Tests, that are efficient tools for self-knowledge and identification of development priorities.

To travel this distance between the ‘wanting to do something‘ and ‘actually doing it‘, a lot of discipline and determination are needed. My experience has shown that people must be prepared to face some discomfort along the way. The actions implemented (by the clients) in between sessions are, without any doubt, the major force that drives them ahead. Persistence is required but a good support network and celebrating the small (and big) victories fuels them with energy to keep going. I have also learned that each individual has his/her own pace and that the most important thing is not to quickly reach the destination. What is key is to keep moving ahead and learning along the way. That is, to travel the ‘distance‘ mentioned in the Spanish proverb can be enjoyable and a source of great discoveries and personal development. Let’s keep walking then!

Reading Tip: The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

On Coaching & Transitions

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A frequent question people ask is: how can coaching help me? There are many possible answers to this question, but it is my belief that the work with a coach can be particularly helpful in moments of professional transitions. Some people may say that ‘change’ is a non-stop event, not only at work but in life as a whole. They are obviously correct. There are , however, moments of professional change that for their complexity and extreme pressure, have the potential to generate a greater impact in individuals and organisations. Depending on how well (or badly) they are managed, they may create learning and growth that is transformational or confusion and chaos that is highly destructive.

UnknownAnyone who has started a job in a new company, has been promoted to a role as a manager for the first time or, as it happened with me, has been assigned to work in a foreign country knows what I am talking about. When I was transferred from Brazil to London, ten years ago, training on ‘habits of English people’ was provided as part of my expat preparation. The issue was: I was ‘left to my own devices‘ when it came to make sense of the new organisational environment and working culture. The high emotional pressure plus the unexpected cultural clash almost caused me to have a ‘nervous breakdown’and I had been close to quitting my job (more than once). Fortunately, I survived! With the support of an ex- boss/mentor, my own persistence and the help of a coach (that I hired and paid for), I was able to re-organise my thoughts and emotions, get my self confidence back, learn a few new things and enjoy an exciting and rewarding corporate career in the following years.

Corporations normally provide training for  professionals in transition. These initiatives, although useful, do not take into account specific needs of each individual and normally concentrate in ‘cognitive’ aspects of the change. They normally cover the theoretical side and provide practical advices. i.e. the focus is on  ‘what needs to be done‘ and not so much on ‘what are the most effective ways of being‘. Because coaching provides focused attention on individual experiences (and needs) and balances reflection & action, it can be a very effective complement for training interventions.

Coaching sessions are structured one-to-one conversations, where the Transition Partner (aka myself) will ask questions, share concepts and propose exercises, to give the professional in change a chance to step back from the day-to-day pressure, understand the new context and reflect aboutUnknown ‘what is really going on‘.  Together, the we will explore values, identity, thoughts, feelings and the actions to be taken so that the personal and professional goals can be achieved. By becoming more aware of own thoughts and feelings people can make more informed decisions on which (skills, behaviours etc.) should be taken to the ‘new world’. Paraphrasing the title of a famous book, when it comes to career changes: “what brought you here, most certainly won’t  take you there“. Among other things, a Transition Partner can help you identify what you should take with you and what should be left behind in this

In the next posts, I will share stories and examples on how coaching can help professionals succeed when going through these powerful and transformational moments: The Professional Transitions.