....Will You Be Home?

By Julie Adamen

In my business I have the pleasure of helping others achieve their goals – or providing stepping-stones for them to reach their goals. There is nothing more satisfying for me than working with candidates and employers who see and understand opportunity when it presents itself, act upon it with intelligence and prudence, and move forward towards their ultimate professional goals. These people, as you can imagine, generally move up professionally with humor and grace, are the ones others turn to for counseling and advice, become Vice Presidents, business owners or large-scale on site managers.

Unfortunately, many people I talk to are antithesis of the above: They just can’t get there from here. They cannot see, for the life of them, opportunity staring them in the face. It’s frustrating for the candidate, who doesn’t understand why they can’t move up or on in the business. The myopia makes me want to pull my hair out! And all this made me think: What exactly is it that sets the “High Achievers” apart from the herd? And here it is: The Achievers are able to recognize and act upon opportunity as it presents itself.

There are many reasons why some people are unable to see and understand opportunity. Often times these people are “overwhelmed by the now,” i.e., so caught up in the day-to-day emergencies that rule their lives they are unable to see beyond them. These are the people who look wistfully at others saying, “Gee, I wish I could have done that! What a lucky break they must have received!” In reality, luck has very, very little to do with professional success. Professional success is predicated upon a person being able to recognize and act upon opportunity when it presents itself.  This crucial ability does not come from out of the blue, but requires that a person be professionally and personally prepared to recognize a given set of circumstances, evaluate them fairly quickly and comprehensively, and, if the opportunity is positive, make a move towards that opportunity.

Do You Hear the Knocking?

From my experience I have learned that the tools for recognizing opportunity and making that opportunity reality are comprised of certain elements, these are:

• Professional Development
• Professional Fortitude
• Personal Fortitude
• Flexibility
• Attitude
• Family Support

All of these elements are crucial for any person to recognize an opportunity as it presents itself and turn that opportunity in to reality. You will notice each of these elements is intricately entwined with the others. One leads to another, which leads to another, which directly affects an aspect of all of them, which circles back to the beginning. If opportunity is presented to a person who is missing any one of the critical elements, no matter how attractive or beneficial the opportunity actually is, it will be passed by. In our business, we cannot let one, let alone more than one, opportunity pass.  The world is very competitive place, and those opportunities are few and far between. Let’s look at the elements, or building blocks, in detail and how and why they help us achieve our ultimate professional goals by opportunity recognition.

The Building Blocks Necessary to Recognize and Act on Opportunity

Professional Development.

As with any job you have to do, you know you feel a lot better about the results if you are prepared for the job by having the right tools. Ongoing Professional Development leads to professional competence, which in turn leads to personal and professional self-confidence.

Education. I cannot stress enough how important professional education, in all its forms, is as the foundation of the ability to recognize opportunity. If you are skating by, just taking the minimal courses to remain “certified” or, worse yet, whining because you can’t get your employer or association to pay for your education (and I hear that a lot) you are being myopic. Yes, yes, I know that the classes can be boring, that you may already know all that stuff, that it’s real inconvenient to take a day off and go to a class, or, worse yet, climb out of your bubble of comfort and travel somewhere to take a class or attend a seminar – but your failure to do so hurts no one but you. Education builds not only your professional self confidence, but helps to build the higher skills necessary for you to carve out the job you do obtain in to what you want it to be.

Experience. Think back to when you were a child – and you had your very first sleepover at someone else’s house. It was scary to be aware from your folks for the first time all night. But once you did it, it wasn’t so bad. After a few years, you could go to summer camp for weeks at a time and be ok, and then off to college. Even though each of these is a different experience, they are all based on the fact that you were confident in your ability to be ok without your parents there, even if you didn’t know exactly what to expect with each situation. The same is true in your professional life. Experience teaches us, more than anything else that we can handle what is thrown at us, because 99% of the time each problem is a variation on a very familiar theme.  Through these experiences, we develop a professional ease and confidence that allows us to see problems as challenges.  So, although it’s very comfortable to stay in our little trenches, digging away, looking at the same dirt, all day long, year in and year out – let’s look up every now and then and see if maybe we’d like to drive the earth mover for awhile – just for the view – and the experience. 

Contacts. Making, establishing and keeping open contacts is the third leg of Professional Development. You make those contacts at classes, trade shows, industry functions, etc. You keep those contacts – by continually attending those events – and others - continually widening your circle of professional affiliations. Over a period of time, you will, just by attending functions, know far more people in the business than you would otherwise – thus casting your professional net ever wider. That wider net will continually feed you information about your industry: What others have as professional duties, what they are compensated for services, how their compensation package is either above or below what you would expect, where they are going professionally, where they heard great opportunity might be developing, and where you may see a great opportunity no one else does. Professional Development does not come in a vacuum. Contacts = Information. Information is the most powerful tool in recognizing opportunity. 

Fortitude.

“The strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage.”[1]

Professional Fortitude. When you have professional fortitude and are presented with an opportunity, you don’t have a long and unproductive inner dialogue about what could go wrong and how because you do not fear the challenge. You don’t worry about whether or not you’ll be able to handle the new situations the opportunity comes with, you don’t worry that it will be an unfamiliar Board, unfamiliar co-workers and other “people I don’t know.” Professional fortitude – having come forth through continuing professional development – allows you confidence in dealing with “new” situations.  Of course, those with professional fortitude know that there really aren’t many “new” situations. In fact, they are much like others they have dealt with in the past, with just a couple of little twists. And those little twists are what keep your job interesting and challenging.

Professional fortitude, maybe better described as professional courage, put quite simply, means you have an innate understanding of, and confidence in, your abilities and you use those abilities to your advantage in whatever situation you are thrust. Thus – opportunity is never shunned out of fear. Professional fortitude allows you to be confident enough in your professional abilities to act on any given opportunity.

Personal Fortitude.  In our experience, personal fortitude is a major stumbling block for the average person who may recognize opportunity, yet is unable to act upon it because of personal issues.  These people are so untrusting of themselves and their judgment, and fearful of the unknown, they are crushed under the weight having to make even the smallest change in their personal lives because they are paralyzed by “what ifs?” 

Most times, in recognizing and then acting upon opportunity, you are faced with making a life altering decision – one that may or will affect your income, living arrangements and family arrangements. You will probably hurt someone’s feelings, step on some toes (real or imagined), find yourself out of the box that others have carefully placed you in, and generally out of sync with what you and others thought you were, at least for awhile. This can and must be ok with you. Because you know that new friends will be there for the meeting, new homes waiting to be lived in and new locales to be explored.   There is no doubt that the ability to knowingly and willingly make a life altering decision, allowing you access to an opportunity, takes a certain strength and personal fortitude.

Personal fortitude is forged through personal peace of mind, by putting your personal life in order.

Flexibility: The quality of being adaptable or variable.[2]

Professional Flexibility.

How flexible are you professionally? This quick test will give you a starting point in evaluating yourself.

• 
  Do you see yourself as a “free agent,” i.e., a stand-alone professional, as opposed to an employee?
• When you consider a new position, do you see that position as what it could and would be with you in it?
• Do you view titles as relatively unimportant?
• Have you upgraded your employment status in the past five years?
• Have you ever considered, or taken, a position that was a cut in pay, but offered more potential than your current position?
• Do you see professional diversity as career building? 

If you answered yes to these questions you are relatively flexible. If you answered no to any of them you will need to work on your flexibility if you want to get ahead. Now, answer the questions below:

• Do you have a rigid idea about what positions you would “consider?”
• Do you only want an on site position (and you are not currently an on site manager)? 
• Do you only want positions in a very specific geographic location?
• Will you accept “X” amount of dollars and not a penny less? 
• Will you ONLY work for an association directly, on site or off site? 
• Will you ONLY work for a management company, on site or portfolio?

The list can be any single item or any combination but it just goes on. If you find yourself answering yes to the majority of these questions (or similar ones) you are most likely without Professional Flexibility. And you will find that self-imposed restrictions based on limited perceptions of opportunity have a tendency to create serious professional frustration.   We also see that the state of one’s Professional Flexibility is also a mindset for professional development.

“…self-imposed restrictions based on limited perceptions of opportunity have a tendency to create serious professional frustration…”

The free-agent concept. People who are flexible professionally usually have the view that they are their own most valuable asset – first to themselves then to their employer. These people eschew the notion that they are married to any one job, position or company and view continuing development and professional change as a good thing. These professionals see themselves as capable of doing any number of things in their profession and are willing to explore many options because they haven’t placed themselves in a carefully drawn box. People who have this way of thinking never feel guilty about leaving a particular position or company to better themselves professionally. They know that the more experience they have, the more valuable they become to themselves, potential employers and the industry as a whole. Generally, these folks will rise to the top of the compensation curve. Free-agent means free to make choices because of professional confidence.

It can be all you want it to be.  Well, any job that is. People who are flexible look at differing options, and see themselves in those options. Using all of their available knowledge and resources, they can often project, with relative certainty and comfort, where an option will take them in 2, 3 or even 5 years. They are able to see down that road because they know what their abilities are and what they can do to make “it” happen. These are on site managers who take a position paying below their skill-set and the job requirement, but know the game well enough to be confident that they will more than make up for that initial financial hit in two years or less. These are managers who go in to marketing for a vendor for a low starting salary and a piece of the action because they are confident in their ability and the product (i.e., they know what they bring to the table and have done their homework). These are portfolio managers who will take the leap to on site management or company management. The Professionally Flexible see themselves as a successes in new ventures or positions based on their professional self-confidence.

When you have Professional Flexibility, you know that nothing is written in stone and thus everything is negotiable. Picture this: You are at an industry event. You happen to hear about a position available. The person telling you about the job is not the employer, just a colleague passing on information. At first, the job sounds right up your alley, and then to your mind, there is the deal breaker: One of the job requirements is to be in that office every day at 9:00 a.m., regardless of night meetings, kid schedules, or what have you. Immediately, you shut your mind off to that opportunity.

If this scenario sounds like you, you are not alone, and in fact are with the majority of people out there.  But for those with flexibility in their thinking, this type of thing does not deter them from pursuing the opportunity. Why? Because they realize there are many points of negotiation in any opportunity and one negative is not going to stop them from pursuing the positives of that opportunity. Their professional development, and their personal and professional fortitude, combined with viewing themselves as a free-agent puts them in a far better position to negotiate terms of employment than the average person. For example, if you have a PCAM, have been successful manager at more than one venue or position, know that you can handle about anything thrown at you, know that you do not have to take any one, or the first, job offered you because you have the flexibility to adapt yourself to more than one set of career circumstances – well, you are in a position that others only dream about. You are in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiating what you want.

Personal Flexibility.

Family and Relationship Issues. In order to act upon opportunities as they present themselves, personal flexibility is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, when it comes to our personal lives there are circumstances beyond our control that affect our ability to act on those opportunities. You may have elderly parents whom you need to be near. Your spouse may have better opportunities awaiting him/her in their job than you. Your child may be in a special needs school. These types of issues are ones that we all face at some time in our lives. We deal with them, and we move on to when we may be more personally flexible.

Financial Flexibility. Are you in the trap of the expensive car, big screen TV, kids with $150 tennis shoes, Prada bags, large home and mortgage to match, or, upside down mortgage, credit cards where only the interest is paid, living check to check - or less?  If all or part of the above sounds like you, you are not financially flexible. In fact, you are likely so strapped to your current position that it is doubtful you are able to make any change unless it walks in, sits in your lap and just takes over. In this financial position you are able only to look at what is in a job, (pay and benefit package) now, not what a job or business opportunity can be. This type of Financial Inflexibility will keep you from the vast majority of opportunities out there. Opportunity demands that we are willing to meet it halfway by looking out for it. And when you have these types of (oh-so-common) issues, you are unable to look up, let alone look out.

Obtain and Maintain Financial Flexibility. If you want to be one of those who are more able to recognize and act upon professional opportunity as it presents itself, you must get your financial ducks in order. There are plenty of self-help books out there that are very instructional on how to get yourself out of debt and/or manage your money well. How well you manage your finances can and should lead to Financial Flexibility, which means you are able, financially, to adapt your finances to a new opportunity. In a nutshell, if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Have some sort of savings plan. And remember, if you can’t sell it or liquidate it relatively quickly and easily, you may be able to recognize an opportunity, but you probably aren’t financially flexible enough to act on that opportunity.

Flexibility: Overall, it’s your choice. If are seeking professional upward mobility, you must be able to recognize and act upon opportunity as it presents itself. Part of the ability to do so has to do with your professional and personal flexibility. You can’t be rigid in how you perceive yourself professionally, or how you perceive professional opportunity.  You must also be personally prepared for that opportunity by understanding how your family obligations and personal finances can and will affect your flexibility. 

Maximum flexibility does not happen by accident; rather it is a calculated state of being procured through carefully made decisions in your personal and professional lives. These decisions are seldom easy. But ultimately, Flexibility is about being prepared to act when opportunity presents itself.

Attitude: A state of mind or a feeling; disposition: had a positive attitude about work. [3]

Attitude and Recognizing Opportunity. How do you perceive the world around you? Frightening? Overwhelming? Awful? From bad to worse? You gotta raw deal? No one appreciates you? Nobody loves you?  Well, Charlie Brown, if that’s the case, you really ARE a blockhead. Because not only are you missing out on a lot of what life has to give in generally, you are missing out on opportunities right and left. 

It goes without saying that a positive attitude is required to truly succeed and find satisfaction in your career. This doesn’t mean walking around with a big silly grin on your face, thinking everything is fabulous at all times, that all events are great and that you will never be unhappy or depressed. That’s plain unrealistic. People who have a positive outlook understand there are bumps in the road, but they focus on what’s right and what’s good and continually move forward.   To use an old cliché, they choose to see the glass as half full. Here are some of their most endearing (and effective) traits:

Positive People Have a Sense of Discovery. Think about being a kid again. There was a whole laundry list of things you just couldn’t wait for. Things like Christmas, the end of school, the beginning of school, ski season, Halloween, going camping, boating, for the fair to start, to go to Disneyland or Six Flags. Remember that sense of anticipation? How you could hardly sleep at night?

As adults, we have a tendency stop looking forward to each event, each day, each challenge, (!!) especially in our jobs. Soon we find ourselves looking only forward to cocktail time, bedtime, or retirement (and not necessarily in that order).   But if you look around you, the most successful and fulfilled people you find are ones who don’t dread their jobs, who actually like the work they do, enjoy the people they meet and look forward to what’s coming next. To many people, that is just about impossible to fathom! But if you always want to see what is around the corner – what’s coming next, who’s going to walk in, or what’s the next big thing, you still have maintained that sense of discovery. Without that positive outlook, that sense of discovery attitude, how can you possibly see an opportunity?

Positive People Have a “Service” State of Mind.    “How can I help?” That’s the service attitude. Positive people help when and where they can. They become mentors and trainers, they answer questions from colleagues, share ideas and worked towards a larger good. They don’t keep their employees or staff from attending industry events. They understand that money is well spent on education, whether it’s their own or someone else’s. Positive people see that the more experiences they have, the better they are. They see that the more they give to their profession, the more they get back and the more they give back, the more opportunity will come their way.

Positive People are usually the first ones to recognize opportunity, because they see possibility where others see problems. They see possibility because they have focused on all the things that go right, not the few that go wrong. They maintain a sense of discovery, and are always waiting for the next thing coming down the road with anticipation, as opposed to a sense of dread. And people with a positive outlook are always giving back to their profession in one way or another, because they understand that the more they give, the more opportunity comes their way. And guess what? They have a blast doing it. For these reasons, positive people are able to spy opportunity in lots of places.  People who are able to recognize and act upon opportunity are almost always Positive People.

Family Support.

You know when you have Family Support, and you know it when you don’t. You know that when your spouse or kids or friends cheer you on, you feel better, work better, perform better.  You are lifted up.

Unfortunately, many people have less than ideal family situations and find themselves with little positive support and input from their families or friends. I’m not going to speak in depth to this complicated subject, that’s for Dr. Phil and legions of others. But I am going to say that if your family situation is less than ideal, you must either fix the situation (if you are able) by seeking professional help or recognize that it will limit your ability to recognize, and especially act upon, opportunity.  Family Support, and the support of your friends, is more than the icing on the cake when it comes to being professionally upwardly mobile.  It’s the icing and the glass (half full!) of ice-cold milk. And it’s double-double chocolate icing. That’s how good family support and the support of your friends is when it comes to being able to recognize, and especially act upon, opportunity. 

 The Wrap Up. 

In my experience, I have noted it takes certain key building blocks to be in place in order to recognize and act upon opportunity. These building blocks are:

• Professional Development
• Professional Fortitude
• Personal Fortitude
• Flexibility
• Attitude
• Family Support

Procuring and maintaining these five crucial elements are not some stroke of timing and luck that are bestowed upon a fortunate few. They are achieved, many times over years, through a lot of hard work and determination. You may ask yourself, is it worth it? Is it worth it to spend so much thought and energy to achieve success in an industry which for the most part seems to turn a blind eye to the hard work and sacrifice of it’s professional administrators?  My answer to that is a resounding YES, because this industry abounds with opportunity. Our industry is one of the few that is not ageist, racist or sexist. You can have street smarts or an MBA and do just as well as long as you have the basic skill set required (people skills being the top priority). You can stay in management, or you can work for one of our diverse cache of service providers. You can develop your entrepreneurial streak and start your own business.  You can make $30,000 per year – or $130,000 per year – your choice. But only if you are able to recognize and act upon opportunity as it presents itself.

This article was originally published in 2004 as a series.