“Each person holds so much power within themselves that needs to be let out. Sometimes they just need a little nudge, a little direction, a little support, a little coaching, and the greatest things can happen.”
– Pete Carroll
Career Coaching
As you all know, yesterday was the close of the first round of selecting your career coach. I’ve had conversations with many of you and there seems to be a mix of enthusiasm and some concern. With any new system, there are going to be lessons learned and some unintended consequences. The first period is only four months, after which each of you will be given the opportunity to stay in place or select a new career coach if they have an opening. What is at stake here is a novel way to ensure that everyone in the company is receiving the coaching they deserve and enjoying the freedom to learn about different parts of the business.
I have been speaking regularly on the importance of agility for 21st-century companies. Agility is a derivative of focus and decision making. We have to work in an interdisciplinary model for which the definition of success is a happy client. While each of us will bring expertise to the account, we have to work together collaboratively and understand all the disciplines that are being brought to bear within an account. For example, it makes sense to me that the project management model for strategy work, creative design work, and technical build work will all operate slightly differently. If the goal is a happy client, then the handoffs between team members are critical.
The language used by the various practice areas needs to be consistent and well understood across the company. When a team shares a common understanding and a common language then decision making is accelerated. Bespoke consulting for Fortune 500 companies is hard. Our clients have large bureaucracies and shifting power structures that need to be attenuated. The only way we can successfully navigate within a large account is to have great team communication and to speak with one voice to the client. Every account team in the company should be talking about and striving to improve communication, collaboration, and decision making. The career coaching model should provide more exposure across disciplines, and hopefully breakdown some silos and improve our common language.
One of our company values is “we hire interesting people who are interested in change”. It is my hope that this new system sparks a wellspring of knowledge sharing within Tahzoo. That each of you has a chance to thoughtfully consider the coaching and experience that will advance your career. Be intentional about your career, don’t just let it happen to you. Think about where you’d like to be in 5 years or 10 years and ask yourself what experiences, what knowledge do you need to acquire? Where do you have a curiosity that should be explored? Finding a good mentor is about the most important thing that someone can do to advance their career. I trust that this new model will give each of you the opportunity to strengthen relationships, explore new areas of the business, and enrich your Tahzoo experience.
Let’s go be great!
Brad