The Importance of Candor

In Jack Welch's latest book Winning, which I finally got around to listening to, a pervasive lack of candor is what Welch calls "the biggest dirty little secret in business". He goes on to say that it "basically blocks smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all they've got. It's a killer".

So what is candor? Merriam-Webster Online defines it as "unreserved, honest, or sincere expression: forthrightness". Jack Welch defines it as "giving it to you straight".

Welch attributes much of the success General Electric (GE), the company he led for many years, and his own personal success as a leader, to always being candid, both in transparency about the strategy, direction, and challenges that the company faced and in the delivery of individual and team feedback.

Many managers have a hard time with candor. It's human nature to not want to tell people things that hurt their feelings. It seems impolite. But how do you expect people to develop and grow if they think and you act like everything is a-okay? That's doing them a disservice! At my company, Triumvirate Environmental, we're in the midst of our annual performance appraisal process. We coach managers to be candid in the delivery of feedback to their employees. While giving employees direct, constructive feedback will provide them with opportunities for self-development and professional growth; leniency and avoidance of tough messages will keep them back while others get ahead.

Welch is right when he says, in his metro Boston accent, lack of candor is a "killah", it's difficult to grow your company, if you're not growing the people within.

Media Review: Living on Earth

Looking for a way to keep up-to-date on news, trends, and trivia about the environment? Living on Earth (LOE), an award-winning weekly news and information radio program is the way to go! Distributed by Public Radio International, Living on Earth (LOE) is broadcast on over 300 public radio stations throughout the country. Each week, at the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Davis Square in Somerville, MA, host Steve Curwood and his team present stories on any green topic you could conjure up. Each episode consists of a diverse mix of environmental themes, including recycling, environmental technology, regulatory changes, best practices, innovations, water resources, and wildlife. The November 28th episode, for example, consists of stories discussing the upcoming CO2 Emissions conference in Poznan, Poland; the effects of deforestation on the environment; tips for green giving for the holidays; solar panels heating water in Hawaii; Chinese innovations in industrial cleanup; a new sign in Times Square running on 100% renewable energy; and a profile of a woman that raises rare and endangered barnyard animals.

You can catch Living on Earth on many public radio stations, consult their website to find a station near you. Listen to LOE anytime by downloading and subscribing to the podcast. Just search "Living on Earth" in iTunes. You can listen to current and archived shows, get environmental resources, and subscribe to their RSS feed on their website, www.loe.org.

What I'm Thankful For...

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

With most of us getting caught up in turkey and football on Thanksgiving day, it's easy for us to forget the original purpose of the holiday...to express thanks for what we're grateful for! For the Pilgrims...it was that they actually were able to produce food to eat!

For me....I'm grateful for a lot of things....my family, my friends, my good health...but when I think about work what I'm most appreciative of us my team members. I'm surrounded by passionate, hardworking people who do what it takes to get the job done both in and outside of my department.

In my own department, I work with 7 other people that impress me on a daily basis.

So thank you for all you do: Adina, Adrian, Angela, AnnMarie, Elde, Melissa, and Sylvia! You all make coming to work an enjoyable and fun experience every day.

Moving Into Management

On November 6th, I was a member of a panel discussion hosted by the Environmental Business Council's Young Professionals committee. The topic, "Moving from Analyst, Scientist, and Engineer to Project Manager" proved a lively discussion between the panel and the more than 75 young environmental professionals and college students.

The audience was most interested in what it takes to get into management. Consensus among the panel was that while technical skills are important, it is soft skills, like motivation, drive, and emotional intelligence that matter most.

They key to moving into management is to stand out from the crowd! And how do you that? Incorporate the following in to the way you approach your work...

• Work hard...show up early, stay late, meet deadlines and crank out the work!
• Show interest...in responsibilities and projects outside the scope of your job, in the growth of your team, and in the company's values, mission, and strategy.
• Network internally...build relationships with people outisde your department, particularly company leadership.
• Get involved...join committees, attend events.
• Find a mentor...latch on to a company manager, seek their wisdom and coaching.
• Own something...find a project or task to take the lead on.
• Admit mistakes & weaknesses...own up to your mix-ups, nobody's perfect and mistakes happen. Recognize that you have things to work on...and start working on them!

So many things factor into management decisions, but making these considerations a part of the way you work will go a long way in helping you stand out to the company's leadership.

You Have Transferrable Skills!

October 18th was Massachusetts Career Day. Career Day is a statewide program drawing attention to issues surrounding jobs and careers in the state. The initiative is hosted through the Commonwealth's 32 One-Stop Career Centers. While many of the One-Stops chose to focus on careers in administrative, retail, or hospitality work, The Work Place (www.theworkplace.org), one of Boston's public career centers, chose to focuse on Green Collar Jobs and the Green Economy.

I was asked to participate in a panel discussion that addressed the state of the job market today in the environmental industry. Many questions came up from the eager audience of job seekers, but one question came out repeatedly...."if I have so much experience in _________, how the heck do I break into the environmental industry?"

It's a fair question! Many jobs out there are seeking individuals with varying amounts of experience...and understandably so. If I'm seeking to higher an environmental consultant to provide regulatory advice to a client, that person will need a certain amount of expertise to be taken seriously by the client. Other jobs are entry level, but entry level sometimes means starting over for people with several years of professional experience.

But if working in the 'green economy' is what's most important to you, you can rely on abilities you already bring to the table: TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS! Yes, those skills that are not limited to specific tasks in specific types of companies, but are sought after in all types of companies, including the Environmental industry. Qualities like technology proficiency, expertise in functions such as HR, Finance, Marketing, or Administrative Support, sales and relationship building experience, emotional intelligence, and soft skills are all in high demand by all employers!

Take a look at our online Career Center, www.triumvirate.com/careers.html, and you'll find positions available in many function areas, sales, administration, and general labor and transportation....all with no requirement for environmental experience. You don't have to be advising on environmental compliance or managing hazardous waste to be working in the environmental industry! Rely on the skills that you already have to fulfill your dreams of working in an environmentally-focused company!

Triumvirate Named Best Place to Work by Environmental Business Council

On Friday, September 19th, the Environmental Business Council of New England (http://www.ebcne.org/) named Triumvirate Environmental the BEST large environmental company to work for in New England. This is the second year in a row that the EBC has bestowed this award upon Triumvirate.

This was the second annual Best Places to Work program sponsored by the EBC. The organization issues surveys to its member organization's employees. The awards are presented based on survey results and are given to the top scoring company in four size categories: entrepreneurial, small, mid, and large size.

The EBC also recognized Triumvirate as an Outstanding Corporate Partner to the organization, whose mission is to "support and foster the development of the environmental industry" with a major goal "to enhance business and job growth of both established and emerging environmental and energy businesses".

To learn more about the EBC, check out their site http://www.ebcne.org/ or find them on Facebook.

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is a national holiday, giving American workers a day of respite from their usually busy schedules! It comes every year on the first Monday in September.

The holiday came from the American labor movement, and according to the U.S. Department of Labor it is a "national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country".

You can read more about the history of Labor Day at the U.S. Dept. of Labor's website: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm.

Enjoy your day off! You deserve it!