Follow NASAs Lead Team Building

Follow NASAs Lead Team Building Follow NASAs Lead Team Building Charlie Pellerin knows team-building. He was NASAs director for astrophysics and led the team that built and later repaired the Hubble Space Telescope. Now he is president of his own consulting firm and teaches innovative team-building strategies based on his own experiences with mora than 1,000 NASA project, engineering, and management teams.NASA teams, like all project teams, need two complementary abilities, says Pellerin. They generally know they must have hard-side technical knowledge and use project processes. They must also attend, perhaps equally, to the soft-side aspects of efficient teamworkwhich is not so obvious to them.In fact, this soft side can be downright uncomfortable for engineersborderline touchy-feely.Charlie Pellerin led the team that built and later repaired the Hubble Space Telecope.For this reason many engineers avoid the emotional side of team building. Pellerin insists, however, that the most i mportant determinant of team wertmiger zuwachs is managing a social or emotional force he calls team social context and that the individual abilities team members worked so hard to master are absolutely secondary.Social context drives performance 75 percent of the time, says Pellerin. Combined individual factors such as knowledge, skills, capacity, and motivation have only about a 25 percent influence on performance.Understanding Social ContextPellerin has learned that engineers are more willing to explore the social/emotional component when it can be presented using technical metaphors. For example, social context drives peoples collective behaviors as surely as bar magnets align iron filings, says Pellerin. Technical people understand coordinate ordnungsprinzips, so we use what we call the 4-D Organizing System to reveal and manage social context.To understand how social context influences behavior, consider the following scenarios Making or receiving a marriage proposal Mak ing your first briefing to top management Having dinner for the first time with the family of your spouse-to-be Being at your bachelor or bachelorette partyEach of these represents a social context. Would someone only observing your behavior easily determine which of these contexts you were experiencing? Absolutely.If your behavior is not appropriate to the context, would others sanction you? says Pellerin. Would you receive a kick under the table from your spouse-to-be if you behaved inappropriately? Context can be extremely powerful in shaping human behavior.The 4-D SystemTo manage social context and its impact on teams, Pellerin defined the four key dimensions or mindsets that high-performance teams and effective leaders must address to achieve success cultivating, including, visioning, and directing. These align with core human needs. He then identified the following eight key behaviors that occur within this coordinate system of four dimensions that can be developed to im prove team social context Express authentic appreciation Address shared interests Appropriately include others Keep all agreements Express reality-based optimism Live 100-percent committed Avoid blaming or complaining Clarify roles, accountability, and authorityThe interplay between behaviors and contexts is critical for team development. Take expressing authentic appreciation, for example. Enhancing this behavior sustains a context of mutual respect and enjoyable work, says Pellerin. People solve difficult problems more easily when they are enjoying their work. This improved context, which influences everyone who interacts with the team, makes it easier to express authentic appreciation, creating a feedback loopbehavior changes the context and modified context enhances the behavior. This can be applied to all behaviors and associated contexts.A dozen distinguished technical team leaders from NASA and industry worked with Pellerin over the past decade to opti mize the 4-D System, an integrated suite of processes that include online developmental (assessment) tools, workshops, and context-shifting worksheets. All processes are designed to enhance the same eight behaviors and are effective for both team and individual development. Team performance generally improves about 5 percent with each 15-minute online session.Managing team social context is the most powerful team and leader development method in the world because it develops everybody simultaneously, says Pellerin. Our goal is to improve peoples lives, especially during inevitable periods of change, by enhancing performance for teams worldwide.Mark Crawford is an independent writer.Social context drives team performance 75 percent of the time combined individual factors such as knowledge, skills, capacity, and motivation have only about a 25 percent influence on performance.Charlie Pellerin, author of How NASA Builds Teams

How to Find the Right Mentor to Advance Your Career

How to Find the Right Mentor to Advance Your CareerHow to Find the Right Mentor to Advance Your CareerThe right mentor can take your career to new heights. Heres how to find the right one for you.The right mentor can be a powerful tool in your career arsenal, whether youre new to the working world or already well-established in your industry. In fact, Sheila Wellington, former president of Catalyst Foundation and author of Be Your Own Mentor, believes its one of the main reasons why men tend to rise higher than women in the workplace men are mora likely to find career mentorship throughout their careers than women.Mentors can propel your career in innumerable ways. They can help shape your professional skills, teach you the ins and outs of your industry, help you navigate corporate politics, overcome adversity, and introduce you to the right people and resources to advance your career. Check out unterstellung five different types of mentorship below to find out how you can reap the benefits of professional guidance throughout your entire career.Seek a SenseiSome of you may think youve outgrown the need for a mentor, but that simply isnt true. As your career evolves, so will your requirements for a mentor. Consider what type of guidance youre looking for, given what stage you are at in your career. Do you want a veteran of your industry to help you clarify your career path, or are you looking for a leader to help you tackle the challenges you face in upper management?Look to senior executives in your company whom you admire, or well-known industry leaders who inspire you. Youll uncover a number of potential role models by getting involved in relevant professional associations. These groups provide countless development and networking opportunities for professionals of all ages and stages of their careers. Take a look at WEDDLEs Association Directory to find the right association for you.Enlist an Entrepreneur ExpertMentors arent reserved for your typical corpor ate professional. If youre an aspiring entrepreneur, there are many organizations designed with your needs in mind. From building business plans to raising capital, these groups provide mentorship opportunities to help you become a successful business owner.If you want to start your own business, get a mentor who understands your specific challenges. Check out MicroMentor, a group whichspecializes in pairing entrepreneurs with business mentors for free. Additionally, the organization Krash aims to help founders, entrepreneurs and innovators rapidly build the supportive rolleal and professional networks they need to be successful.Partner with a Peer MentorBefore you reach out to a senior colleague, consider the benefits of a peer mentor. These relationships work especially well when youre joining a new company, or if youre considering a career transition. In both cases, identify someone at the same career stage as you who knows the lay of the land and can get you up to speed quickly. Peer mentors can be especially helpful when youre looking for a job. Approach a fellow job seeker whos in the same line of work and join forces. By checking in with one another on a weekly basis and sharing information, youre automatically doubling your job-search efforts and resources. Concerned about the competition? Its unlikely that both of you will have identical goals and be perfect for the exact same job.Procure a ProtgYou dont have to be the mentee in the relationship to reap the benefits of a mentorship. If youre looking to gain management experience before your first management job, mentoring others is a great place to start. Find out if there are opportunities to mentor your organizations interns or approach a more junior colleague and show him the ropes.The perks of mentorships only grow as your career progresses. Not only do many find the experience rewarding, but chances are, youll also learn a thing or two from your mentees. These relationships come in handy later in your career, too. Should you decide to look for a new opportunity, your former apprentices are great resources for job leads and likely to be enthusiastic advocates.Tap into Non-Traditional TeachersIt takes time to find the right person to be your mentor, and even more time to build a meaningful connection with that person. But that doesnt mean you need to wait to cash in on valuable guidance There are a number of alternative ways you can get advice to advance your career. Pick up a copy of Steven Coveys book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, or one of John C. Maxwells books such as The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership , and start reading.Use your laptop or mobile device to watch a TED Talk, a session of Levo Leagues Office Hours, or one of Lean Ins online lectures to continue learning while on the go.Mentors come in all shapes and sizes, each offering different types and levels of support throughout your career. Consider the mentors in your life to be your own personal bo ard of directors, helping you learn and make the best decisions when it comes to your job search and professional development. Remember, mentorship isnt handed to you you have to ask for what you need. Dont be afraid to approach someone you meet and ask the questions you really want to know youll be amazed at what may happen

How to Handle Gaps in Your Employment History on a Resume

How to Handle Gaps in Your Employment History on a ResumeHow to Handle Gaps in Your Employment History on a ResumeHow to Handle Gaps in Your Employment HistorySmooth out a bumpy employment history with these tried-and-true resume tips.Not everyone is blessed with a picture-perfect employment history that matches their career goals. With a less-than-stellar economy over the past decade, many professionals find themselves with substantial employment gaps or a string of short-term or unrelated gigs dominating their resumes. Still, others are battling the saatkorn gaps because they took time off to raise their families, care for an ailing relative, or overcome a health condition of their own.If any of these situations apply to you, keep reading. Below are some ways you can pump up your professional resume and supplement your work experience to make a better case for your candidacy.Highlight unpaid employment historyIf you volunteered for a role or took on an unpaid internship that allowe d you to build relevant skills or gain industry experience, then these positions deserve a place on your resume employment history. Treat each opportunity as you would a paid job by describing your role and highlighting your major contributions and accomplishments on your resume.If you stayed at home to raise your children, dont discount the valuable experience you gained while managing the household and caring for your family. Take a look at this piece I wrote for Ladders that explains how you can highlight the core competencies you developed as a stay-at-home parent.If youre looking for opportunities to help fill your current employment gap, check out resources like Catchafire and Hands On Network for volunteer work and FlexJobs for flexible and telecommuting internships.Group freelance work togetherIf you freelanced for a number of different clients over a period of time, consider grouping these experiences together under one position and then combining the dates. When breaking d own the position, use the role description section to describe your expertise (i.e. the services you offered). Then, focus each bullet to highlight the work you did for a particular client and the results you achieved. This will give your resume a cleaner look and make you appear less like a job hopper and more like a committed consultant.If you held a series of temp jobs that were similar in nature, you can apply this same technique to make your resume look less cluttered.Remove a positionIn some instances, it may be best to omit full-time gigs with incredibly short tenures from your resume altogether. The general rule of thumb is to remove full-time jobs from your resume employment history if they lasted less than three months. If youre concerned about deleting the work experience entirely, you have the option to briefly mention this position in a CAREER notenzeichen at the end of your work history section. Click on the following link to learn more about using career notes on your professional resume.Invest in professional developmentIf your recent work experience has little to do with your current job goals, look for opportunities to bolster the skill sets your target employers care about. If youre unsure which of your skills need an extra boost, search your network for individuals who work in the field youre pursuing and ask them. Its amazing how many insights and resume tips you can gain over a lunch or coffee date.There are many free and low-cost training opportunities available online and in person. Take a look at SkillShare, edX, Coursera, Lynda.com, and CourseHorse, to name a few. Also, use sites like 10times.com to find conferences related to your target field. In addition to being networking goldmines, these types of events often offer certification programs onsite. If youre considering a major career change, you may need to go back to school for more extensive training.RelatedThe Top Skills Employers Are Looking ForConsider using a different resume formatIf its impossible for you to make your skills and experience shine with the standard resume format, you do have the option to use a functional resume. A functional resume is a different approach to a resume which focuses more on skills than professional experience, which can be helpful for someone who has gaps in their career history.Proceed with caution though This type of resume should only be used as a last resort. Recruiters and hiring managers generally dislike the functional resume because of the way it strays from the traditional layout. It can also give the impression that you are attempting to hide something. Perhaps most importantly, applicant tracking systems (ATS) cannot read this type of resume properly, taking you out of the running for many jobs before youve even had your chance. Though a functional resume may seem like a good option, you should only use a one when youve already circumvented the initial gatekeepers at a company.Keep your employment history cons istentA word to the wise However you decide to modify your resume, dont forget to edit your LinkedIn profile to match. 93 percent of employers will review your social media profiles before contacting you for a job interview. Make sure the person they see online matches the one they read about on your resume.Click on the following link for more resume advice.How are you handling employment gaps on your resume? Get a free resume critique to find out.Recommended ReadingAsk Amanda How Do I List Self-Employment on a Resume?Make a Great Resume With No Work ExperienceResume Tips for Freelancers