Generational Differences and Training Opportunities
April 20, 2011
I am taking tennis lessons from a Master Professional Coach who is known for developing future tennis talent. My goal for taking lessons from him was to learn tennis from the “best”, which is how he was recommended to me. Eight months into taking lessons he suggested I play a match against one of his junior players. I agreed and a match was scheduled. The day before the match I inquired as to the age of this junior player and was informed that she was 10 years old. I spent the next 24 hours reflecting on what might have motivated him to suggest the match, knowing there was such a significant age difference.
The following day after playing the match, or should I say partial match since we did not play a full second set before the hour was up, I found myself once again questioning the purpose of our playing together. Though I can proudly say I stayed in the match for an hour the final score was 1-6 1-4; I could not shake the disturbing thought that my competition was truly bored by the experience. I then began wondering once again the purpose of our playing together. Was my coach just providing an opportunity for both of us to get playing time? Was he thinking we could learn from each other? Was he expecting we would push each other? These were the questions rolling around in my mind.
Fast forward to today’s lesson where my tennis coach was having me practice volleys at the net. As we practiced and he observed what I was doing incorrectly, he decided to call over the same 10 year old junior player, who was playing on the next court, to show me how to do it correctly. This occurred two different times during my lesson. I observed how easily she demonstrated the volley without hesitation.
Driving away from my lesson I began to think about how challenging it can be in organizations today when a “younger” employee is asked to show an “older” employee how to perform a task such as the use of the new technology; or a younger employee gets promoted over an older employee with more years of experience; or a younger employee who is now in charge of a long term employee. How open are both individuals to learning from each other? What might come easily to one employee (i.e. the use of technology) might not be easily learned by the older employee? Is there a willingness to teach and a willingness to learn from one another without judgment? Can we accept the generational differences and appreciate what each can contribute to each other and to the organization?
In what ways do we contain ourselves?
April 6, 2011
Last weekend, I was playing soccer at the center mid-field position, my favorite position. Much to my surpri
se and disappointment, I was playing against the same person I had played against the prior two weekends. The disappointment was due to the fact that this player is the fastest and most skilled player in the league. Playing against her meant I would be primarily playing a defensive game, focusing on containing her and preventing her from passing and scoring. What I enjoy most about the center mid-field position is the opportunity to play both offense and defense, creating new plays for our team offensively. Playing against her 3 weeks in a row meant I was finding myself playing more like a defender versus a midfielder, limiting my strategies to create scoring opportunities. The end result was a level of frustration and disappointment.
How often do we find ourselves in similar positions in organizations today with a slowing economy, budget cuts or growing competition? Instead of moving forward with creative ideas and strategies in delivering services to our customers, are we instead containing the limited resources we have in fear we might lose them? Are we hunkering down in fear of being taking over by our competition? How often do we protect our own departments/divisions out of concern that our resources might be reallocated to others? Are we containing our efforts and energies out of fear of failure or looking bad? Can we admit to the new reality of resources and honestly assess our competition and move forward with energy, insight and creativity utilizing the strengths and talents at our disposal?
4.11.11 Susan Curtin speaks at Tech Coast Angels
April 1, 2011
“Collaboration – How to do More with Less.” Learn the basic’s of Collaboration in the business world. Presented by Susan Curtin at Tech Coast Angels on April 11th 2011.
This presentation uses Vokle, a powerful collaboration tool for virtual communities.
register here: http://www.techcoastangels.com/liveonlineevent
5.10.11 – Leadership workshop for SPBT
March 31, 2011
“DM as Coach: Lofty Vision or Pipe Dream?” at the SPBT conference on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 from 10:00 – 11:00 AM in the St. John’s Room in Orlando, FL
For more details on the workshop…
4.12.11 – Susan Curtin speaks – Mentoring Panel
March 31, 2011
“Mentoring – Making it work for you” is a presentation by Susan Curtin at ISPI Orange County on April 12th 2011.
Register here for an insightful panel focused on mentorning results
Is Sexism/Gender bias still an issue in the workplace today?
March 10, 2011
I worked in the City of San Diego’s Diversity Commitment back in the mid-late 90’s where I learned the behaviors associated with sexism and gender bias. I learned about what I had been experiencing but now had a name for it. At that time examples of Sexism and Gender bias were frequent, especially in specific occupations and some City departments.
Fast forward to the present and I find myself faced with the same behaviors I experienced back in the 80’s and 90’s. The situation involves a project my business partner and I are working on in collaboration with a subcontractor. My business partner is very respectful and includes me equally in decisions and acknowledges me for my contributions. Unfortunately the same can not be said for the subcontractor. Initially the subcontractor was respectful and friendly but over time his true colors were displayed. I went from being an equal on the project to a contributor who was secondary to my business partner. This subtle pattern began with e-mails sent to the subcontractor; mine were not responded to whereas my business partners were answered immediately with answers to his questions or a commitment on when the subcontractor would get back to him. That was followed by the subcontractor attributing credit to my business partner for work that I had performed.
This pattern evolved over time and has left me feeling disrespected and questioning if this is once again an experience of sexism or gender bias. The reason why I question it was my belief that the younger generations are less sexist due to the time they grew up and the exposure to females in the workplace in a range of positions and occupations. I pose the question to others; is sexism and/or gender bias still an issue in the workplace today? Have you experienced similar challenges and if so how have you chosen to handle the situation?
4.5.2011 – Susan Curtin speaks – Executive Network
January 31, 2011
Susan Curtin is scheduled to present to executives at Executive Network on the topic of “Collaboration Demystified” on April 5th 2011.
More information here: Collaboration Demystified – Consultants Link Executive Network
Coaching for Organizational Excellence
January 29, 2011
Hello all,
In November of 2010, I4R’s Susan Curtin spent an afternoon with Dr. Sheryl Gee of InnoVisions to speak on the topic of Coaching for Organizational Excellence. Listen to the podcast on Leadership Matters with Dr. Gee (download here).
In this episode, Susan and Dr. Gee converse about:
- The impact of coaching in organizations.
- What effective coaching is.
- How coaching is used in organizations.
- The impact of coaching on individuals.
- What organizations should look for in an effective executive coach.
How does your organization measure the impact of executive coaching?