After a cancellation because of snow, my career club launched on March 9th. But not without one more glitch–my speaker canceled because of a family emergency. I had to quickly come up with a presentation– yikes. I was pleased 18 people attended. Everyone was friendly and participated actively in the session.
I talked individually with those who would wanted to take the next step and sign up for the actual program. That first official session happened on Tuesday–8 people attended. It is a great group–lots of interaction, ideas and supporting each other.
What makes someone decide to make a leap of faith and take action–while others stop at thinking it’s a nice idea–but don’t want to put themselves through extra effort? Perhaps it’s like most other things in life, success comes to those who make the commitment and take the necessary steps forward.
I recently had a lot of reminders of how important accountability can be in achieving our success. Whenever I think about accountability, I think–report card, performance reviews and feelings of being judged quickly pop up. Accountability = something to be avoided!
One of the joys of having my own business is that I am my own boss. I no longer have anyone to report to. But now I truly get the importance of this thing called measurement. I consider myself a very determined person. I set goals for myself and have a regular To Do List. But I can’t honestly say I know where my time goes. How much time am I wasting? Am I doing the right things?
One of my goals is to complete my book in 2010. I decided to align myself with my friend, Yvonne, who lives in another state. Yvonne is also a writer and we made a commitment to get up early each morning and write on our projects. There are many times that the only thing that gets me up early is knowing that she is waiting for my morning email–“Hey, I’m up!” I’m convinced I have made much more progress having an accountability buddy than I would by myself.
I have started working with a new coach, Michelle Pippin. She has turned me on to the importance of being accountable. In one of her blogs, she made the statement of how we are good “at our word” towards other people; but we don’t honor ourselves that way. Wow, that was powerful. I remember times that if I said I would attend a meeting, boy, I would make sure I would be there. But I agree with her–I often slack off on the commitments I make to myself.
As you might know, I have become a leader with WaggleForce, a national network of local career clubs. There are many reasons that job seekers could benefit from joining a career club. One of the important ones is being accountable to each other for our commitments and progress. Accountability works!
So, what about you? Are you ready to make a commitment to yourself for an important goal this year? What experiences have you had with being accountable to someone? I’ve love to hear about your stories!
I went to the movie today to see “Up in the Air.” My friend had suggested that with my interest helping people transition, it would be a good movie to see. Well, I’m glad I went to see it. Of course, George Clooney in high definition and on the big screen was a great way to spend a few hours, but it was one of those movies that brought back some very painful moments in my life.
The movie centered around George who was hatchet man–traveling from one company to another firing people. My own experiences sitting on the “wrong side” of the desk came quickly back as I was watching the show. But what really surprised me was feeling the feelings of being the “hatchet” person myself during my human resources career. Although I did what I had to do, I could see how I buried my feelings in order to get through the many termination meetings I’ve been through in my 30 year career.
The movie came a few days after I attended a Job Fair to promote my new career club, BIZyBoomers. During that day, I met many people who have been impacted by unemployment. It was hard to hear and see the faces of so many people who have been devastated by the reality of today’s economy. But now, instead of giving people the news of such terrible news, I am helping people get back on their feet via my career club. I’m excited about the possibility of making a positive difference in people’s lives. It’s such a good feeling!
Being laid off was my wake-up call. It was the kick that got me going to follow a career I had thought about for many years, but had let my fears stop me. Although there were many scary times, the end result is knowing the difference in working at a job that pays the bills and having your passion be your work. My hope is that I can help many people facing their job loss to have their own chance to do work that builds on their old experiences and skills and makes a positive difference in the world.
Have you lost your job only to find work that you love? I would love to hear your story and what you’ve learned.
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