Is global warming likely to shrink the (skills) iceberg on which you havebased your career?

Rob LivingstonePrincipal

Payroll News Conference 27th May 2011, Melbourne, Australia

Copyright Rob Livingstone Advisory Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agenda

1. Discuss some similarities between payroll and IT

2. Recognising change in the business environment, before it impacts your career

3. Generating influence

4. Transactional skills vs. Transformational skills: What’s your mix?

5. What’s got you this far may not work for you in the future.

6. Seek objective, trusted opinions to help steer you towards an outcome that YOU want..

7. Who is responsible for your career?

8. Can mentoring drive sustainable transformational change?

9. The multiplier effect of effective mentoring: Change one, benefit many

10. Wrap-up and Q&A

1. Some similarities between Payroll / HR and IT

Factor IT Payroll / HR

Service function to entire organisation Enterprise Division / BU / Business

Time critical service / deadline driven Absolutely Next pay cycle

You stop & business stops Immediate Next pay cycle

‘Isolated’ from the real world of customers, etc Largely Very much

Mostly treated as a cost centre Mostly Very much

Have to operate with strict statutory / governance frameworks

Depends Absolutely

Expected to just work all the time Absolutely Absolutely

Dependency on Technology Absolute Critical

Not always clearly understood by business Largely Largely

Requires specialised skills and training Absolutely Absolutely

2. Recognising changes in the business environment, before it impacts your career

• Gain knowledge outside of your core area of expertise • Read widely in your industry, watch for technology and

business trends• Sort the dross from respected sources for opinions,

thoughts• Subscribe to relevant eNewsletters, feeds• Become informed about world events, read trusted

business commentaries• Develop a strong peer network OUTSIDE of your

employer, or current network • Self confidence and personal resilience will grow with

knowledge, exposure ,etc • Get out of your foxhole, to use the military analogy

3. Generating influence: Can you promote an idea to non HR/Payroll stakeholders?

ie: How can you influence others in your business where you do not have authority?

• Influence is key to being able to deliver positive change in your organisation, and in doing so, build your career as well

• Promote ideas, concepts and desired outcomes without compromising your own integrity.

• Focus on the contribution to the overall organisation• Do not waste emotional or intellectual energy on trivial points.• Don’t push the idea too hard.• Present a realistic cost / benefit for all ideas, or the costs will

be presented to you.• Objection handling and managing implied criticism: Never

speak or send emails when angry or out of control!• Display self confidence. Practice public speaking …

• If you do your job really well at the transactional level, it may one day just be outsourced to the lowest cost provider, as you’re not ‘adding a lot of value’.

• Efficiency = lowest cost , or highest output for lowest input is where you don’t want to be (for too long).

• Each career professional should be continually re-investing in their supplemental skills, but NOT just reinforcing skills in their area of specialty. • Exceptions to this may be a fire-fighter, medical specialist or

airline pilot where continual ‘deep-dive’ skill refresh on a regular basis is critical.

• Successful outcomes often depend more on relationships between people than pure process or technology.

4. Can you differentiate Transactional skills vs. Transformational skills: What’s your mix?

5. What’s got you this far may not work for you in the future.

• Repeated past behaviours that have historically worked, are often the reason you are where you are.

• Just repeating these behaviours are no guarantee of future success

• Working hard and achieving results will (or should) automatically result in recognition. Myth??

• Achieve visibility - Be responsible for your own marketing? Some career professionals are uncomfortable about displaying their own strengths in a positive way. Not innate to some individuals

• Adaptability and ‘having valued and well considered options’ are crucial to your continued success in your career of your choice, not someone else’s

6. Seek objective, trusted opinions to help steer you towards an outcome that YOU want.

• At some key points in your career, seek out a truly independent person who has preceded you in your chosen or targeted area of expertise, or at least have a solid understanding of your skills in the context of organisations.

• If they don’t, then it’s all theory – just like someone sitting in the lodge describing how you can climb the mountain having never done it themselves.

• Follow the experienced mountaineer as you climb the mountain, is what I’m trying to say.

7. Who is responsible for your career?

The good news is you are!• Lifetime employment is a thing of the past• Your life and career is more important that that of the

organisation• Consciously take some time to actively set your own

goals, then • put some time and effort into managing your career. • Realise the power of ‘personal branding’ – after all

you ‘run your own business’, that is …..

‘your business is deciding who you wish to work for!’

8. Can mentoring drive sustainable transformational change?

Modern thriving and vibrant organisations require confident, competent, high performing career professionals and managers in their core service support functions……

Imagine for a moment your working environment where people still ‘did their job’, however also demonstrated effective skills in areas such as:• being able to see both their jobs and their own contribution from other’s

perspectives;• more able to professionally handle objections from non Payroll/HR

stakeholders• confidence and capacity to thrive in stressful situations; • improved ability to cope in ambiguous or uncertain environments;• being able to work more collaboratively with stakeholders outside their own

area of expertise ;• being able to communicate more effectively in a range of unfamiliar

situations; as well as• Being able to communicate complexity effectively, to non-Payroll/HR

stakeholders

9. The multiplier effect of effective mentoring: Change one, benefit many

• Focussed and effective mentoring of important staff and managers that sit at the intersections of different teams, departments and functions can have a positive multiplier effect through the organisation.

• Each time such people interact with others across the organisation (including customers and external stakeholders); there is the potential to either have a positive or negative impact.

• Successful, thriving organisations have an abundance of effective interpersonal skills in key people

• Where these professionals lack specific supplemental soft-skills, effective and appropriate mentoring, coaching and training can have a very positive impact.

10. Wrap-up, Q&A

Contact: Rob Livingstone, Principal

Phone: +61 2 8005 1972 Mobile: +61 419 632 673 Fax: +61 2 9879 5004 Email: rob@rob-livingstone.com Website: www.rob-livingstone.com Address: PO Box 842, Gladesville, NSW 1675Twitter: rladvisory Skype: rladvisory

Thankyou