The development of people's careers in the post-industrial era has been strongly related to the different University Graduates under various professions.
What characterizes each of these professions is the fact that - upon finishing university studies and receiving the Diploma - graduate professionals are characterized by joining organizations where they are part of the personnel list. In an ever smaller number are people who exercise their respective professions, since a great majority of them are then located within business and organizational spheres.
This phenomenon reaches both Public Accountants and Engineers in their different specialties (mechanics, electronics, among others), Graduates in Administration, Lawyers, Graduates in Communication Sciences, Graduates in Public Relations and many others. more professions. Perhaps the profession that almost no one could anticipate that would end up closely linked to an organization - such as that of the Physician - today practically an immense majority of them do it by providing services in a pre-paid financial organization or Hospital, or both to the time.
However, most of these Professionals have NOT received training, training and education regarding how to link with “others” within an organization and many times their careers within organizations are delayed, limited and even truncated due to not having the knowledge that allows you to sustain and grow within the organization. Furthermore, there is evidence that many professionals, for excelling in their professions, engage in actions within these organizations for which at some critical moment they are expelled or if not, eventually they are expelled (Eric Gaynor Butterfield: “Professional Development and Organizational Development”; The Organization Development Institute International, Latinamerica - 2005). This phenomenon was originally baptized by Dr. Donald W.Cole who has defined it as a dilemma under the name of "Professional Suicide or Organizational Murder" (Donald Cole: "Professional Suicide or Organizational Murder"; McGraw-Hill - 1981).
It seems that professionals when entering organizations do not take into account that they enter a "region" where they can make contributions above their respective Professions. Paul Vidal de la Blache (“Tableau de la geographie de la France” - 1903) highlights the importance of people and the enormous capacity we have for the development of the “region”, which in our case is the organization: “A region is a reservoir of energy whose origin lies in nature but whose development depends upon man. It is man, who, by holding the land to his own purposes, brings out its individuality. I have establishes a connection between its separate features. He substitutes for the incoherent effect of local circumstances a systematic concourse of forces.It is thus that a region defines and differentiates itself and becomes as it were a medal struck off in the effigy of a people. ”
The professional expertise that accompanies Graduates in Universities does not always assist them in the development of their careers. Many of them tend to respond more to those of their profession and to act with the Profession codes more in mind than the organization's policies and procedures, for which they ultimately pay a very high price in the development of their careers.
C. Hymowitz ("Five main reasons why managers fail"; Wall Street Journal - 1988) cites five main reasons why executives and managers fail in their jobs, as a result of work done by the "Center for Creative Leadership". It is interesting to note that the findings of this study show that the failure of these professionals was not related to their performance but to other reasons. Are they:
- their inability to "get along with others" as is the case of those who "do not listen to what is necessary" and lack interpersonal skills. In general, these people do not accept the criticism and the work context that they create makes many of their subordinates prefer to belong to other units of the same company. The inability to adapt to change and new situations, which usually manifests itself when the company is threatened from the context or is being subjected to a restructuring process as in the case of "Acquisitions & Mergers". the "yo-yo" syndrome, for example when managers and executives want to claim the success of the Department or business unit that he manages above other members.This type of selfish behavior can lead to subordinates engaging in alienating behaviors, which is usually the case with people who made significant contributions and may even include some who compete with themselves for promotions. These are “narcissistic” managers. The fear or fear to act that many is due to the fact that they are oriented to avoid failures. This fear prevents them from acting in line with the needs confronting the organization, the inability to "resurface" or "rebound." It is common that the daily actions of managers and executives are not 100% efficient and that, in these situations of temporary failure, they adopt defensive positions and a type of behavior of "blaming others" prevails in them. Unlike these,Successful executives and professionals are characterized by handling temporary failures in a constructive way.
This Workshop is mainly oriented towards university students enrolled in a Profession and for professionals, managers, and executives who work in organizations, institutions, and companies. Of course we also have to satisfy some extremely important concerns of those who have the responsibility within the organization to take care of the career development of the Professionals, something that generally is deposited in the hands of the Human Resources Management and the areas training, training and coaching.
The German psychologist Eric H. Erikson (“Life Cycle” - 1950) provides us with an understanding of what happens in the different transitions that people live through our lives. He has identified some 8 stages of development which he calls "life cycles" where each of the main stages has to do with "critical" steps where each of them involves a decisive component with both a positive and negative orientation; They are:
- Childhood where basic trust or mistrust prevail; Early childhood where the dilemma arises between autonomy versus doubt or shame; Age of play where we find initiative versus guilt; School age where industriousness versus inferiority prevails; Adolescence where the opposing orientations are towards Identity or Confusion; Young Adulthood where Intimacy contrasts with Isolation; Adulthood that is oriented towards Generativity or Stagnation; Final adulthood where Integrity or Despair can prevail.
In each of these critical stages, people find ourselves with an important decision to make where it can lead us toward progress or backward movement (regression), towards integrating with others or slowing us down.
People also have different needs and preferences that change throughout our lives. This makes the issue of career development even more complex since in this case we must learn about the "higher need" that individuals have for which the model of Abraham Maslow ("Motivation and Personality" - 1954) can be useful.
One of the questions that is most frequently asked by the participants in this type of Workshop is related to: What is a career? There is quite a coincidence in the matter; Both D. Feldman & H. Arnold ("Managing individual and group behavior in organizations"; McGraw Hill - 1983) and DT Hall ("Careers in Organizations"; Goodyear Publishing Co. - 1976) emphasize that a career is a series of attitudes and behaviors that are perceived by the individual and that are associated with experiences and activities related to a person's work throughout her life.
Henry Tosi, John R. Rizzo & Stephen J. Carroll (“Managing organizational behavior”; Blackwell Business - 1995) point out that the definition presented in the previous paragraph implies a series of aspects:
A career has to do with different jobs that a person does during his life;
The processes and activities that prepare a person to do a job are part of a career;
Attitudes, values and beliefs that are related to a job are one aspect of the career;
How a person's own identity is linked to their work is one dimension of their career.
Manuel London & Stephen A. Stumpf (“Managing Careers”; Addison-Wesley - 1982) point out that a “career is a sequence of job-related positions that a person occupies in the course of his life.” They make a series of additional definitions such as:
- Career Management implies that people manage their careers as a result of the decisions they make in the search to accept and reject various opportunities for various roles at work. In turn, career management for the organization has to do with the opportunities that the organization selectively creates and makes available to some of its members in particular. Career Planning is the process of generating “action steps for people progress in light of different alternative paths they have within labor systems. ” The authors also point out that in order for career planning to be effective, the planning of organizational human resources must be integrated with the needs, capacities and aspirations of people,which requires the active participation of both the individual and the organization. ”Progress in the Career has to do with changes in the individual's work roles that provide a balance both psychologically positive and with the results of their work. Career progress can include different aspects, being one or several of the following: “a better job, a better career, and life satisfaction; feelings of psychological success and self-esteem; feelings of competence, mastery, and achievement; and achievement of organizational rewards such as money, power, prestige and status ”.Career progress can include different aspects, being one or several of the following: “a better job, a better career, and life satisfaction; feelings of psychological success and self-esteem; feelings of competence, mastery, and achievement; and achievement of organizational rewards such as money, power, prestige and status ”.Career progress can include different aspects, being one or several of the following: “a better job, a better career, and life satisfaction; feelings of psychological success and self-esteem; feelings of competence, mastery, and achievement; and achievement of organizational rewards such as money, power, prestige and status ”.
On the other hand there are also the "Career Attitudes" that people assume. According to Henry Tosi & Others (already mentioned) "career attitudes" are those specific individual attitudes "that are related to work. They are attitudes that have to do directly with tasks, the workplace, the level of achievement, and the relationship between work and other parts of the person's life. Career attitudes begin to develop early in a person's life, later the person has a job, and continue to shape throughout the rest of the work phase as a result of work experiences. ”
We can also talk about "Career performance" that can be evaluated from the point of view of objective success or taking into account psychological success (see Henry Tosi et al. - already quoted).
Identity regarding the career is important to keep in mind. Henry Tosi points out that Identity with respect to a person's career is "a unique way in which a person believes that he belongs to the world of work". And finally we also have the concept of “Adaptability in the career” that is related to the capacity and desire that people have to change their career and have different occupations or different organizations where they have to work in order to be able to maintain their own standards. of career progress.
Austrian sociologist Peter M. Blau ("Social Exchange" - 1968 and "Parameters of social structure" - 1974) emphasizes the exchange processes that occur between individuals within organizations where the former seek to obtain rewards for throughout their careers through different social associations. For James March and Herbert Simon (“Organizations”; Wiley & Sons - 1958) there is a balance between inductions and rewards between the different units of analysis that make up the organization, implying the importance of the development of the careers of the organizational participants..
There are different theories related to Career Development and we can suggest that they are in turn grouped according to their main orientation.
Theories linked to personality and vocation.
The works of L. Small ("Personality determinants of vocational choice"; Psychological Monographs - 1953), R. Schaffer ("Job satisfaction as related to need satisfaction in work"; Psychological monographs - 1953), A. Roe ("Early determinants of vocational choice ”, Journal of Counseling Psychology - 1957), R. Hoppock:“ Occupational information ”; McGraw-Hill - 1957) and JL Holland (“A theory of vocational choice”; Journal of counseling psychology - 1959) among others, can be included under this category.
Anne Roe's theory - which draws heavily on her experiences with artists - suggests that people have a tendency to channel and expend energies in a particular way and this innate predisposition to employ psychic energy which is in turn combined with the experiences of these people in the stage of their childhood, has shaped a general style that the same individual develops to satisfy his own needs. And it is this style that has strong implications for the behavior of individuals in the course of their careers. The sum of genetic factors with experiences during childhood plus vocational behavior must determine the career plan.
Some of the implications of Anne Roe's conceptual framework suggest that people who work in service organizations are mainly people-oriented and most likely come from homes where there is a loving and protective context, while scientists tend not to be people and come from homes with a colder atmosphere where the type of guidelines based on rejection and “ignoring the child” (avoidance) predominate. Therefore we can summarize highlighting the importance of paying special consideration to evaluate the person's childhood and the perception that the child has of her own parents along with the skills of the incumbent.
The aspect of psychic energy that prevails in Roe's frame comes from Gardner Murphy ("Personality: a bio-social approach to origins and structure"; Harper & Row - 1947). Roe also privileges the importance of the theory of "needs" (Maslow - already quoted).
Holland's work has been based on grouping different occupations within a set of six work contexts (JL Holland: “Making vocational choices: A theory of careers”; Prentice-Hall - 1973). The main categories according to the work context within which they operate are:
- Realistic as in the case of a military man, an electrician, printer, or farmer Investigative as in the case of mathematicians, teachers, chemists, and social biologists Such as the social worker, the arbitrator, the conventional domestic economist that includes Accountants, telephone operators, and cashiers Entrepreneurial Banks where it includes vendors, politicians and Artistic lawyers such as musicians, plastic artists, and sculptors.
JL Holland defined a series of characteristics for these 6 main categories regarding the orientation based on the individual's personality.
For example, realists tend to be aggressive (strong initiative), prefer activities that require skills and coordination, and are concrete (they move away from the abstract).
Researchers focus on thinking, prefer action and avoid personal contact
Socialists tend to seek close personal contact, and avoid solving intellectual problems
Conventionals are comfortable with well-defined situations, where they are under control, and like to comply with the rules and regulations
Entrepreneurs, in turn, are people who are oriented towards power and status, and make use of verbal and interpersonal skills in order to dominate third parties.
Finally, artists are those who have a high "self-expression", under self-control, do not like the structure, and like to express their feelings.
Theories linked to personal characteristics
These theories are probably the first in terms of chronology and are based on the fact that the compatibility of a person's abilities and interests with the vocational opportunities that exist in the context can be effectively achieved and once this is possible, the problems related to the vocational choice of the incumbent.
We can include different experts in the field such as F. Parsons ("Choosing a vocation"; Houghton - Mifflin - 1909), CL Hull ("Aptitude Testing"; World - 1928) and HD Kitson ("The psychology of vocational adjustmente ”; Lippincott - 1925).
Sociological theories
There are some authors' positions that link career development with what is “outside” of people, that is, mainly with what happens in the context (day-to-day realities and some accidental incidents).
Therefore, one of the main working hypotheses of this approach is that individuals must be assisted in the development of techniques, tools and methodologies that allow them to deal efficiently with the context.
The interested reader can turn to the contributions of authors such as J. Sweet ("Women in the labor force"; Seminar Press - 1973) and WH Sewell & R. Hauser ("Education, occupation and earnings"; Academia Press - 1975).
Theories related to the development of people
These theories work under the assumption that the self-concept that one has of oneself and the image that one has of the world with respect to one's own self-concept, are the factors that have to gravitate mainly in his career choice.
Carl Rogers (“Client-centered theraphy; Houghton-Mifflin - 1951) is one of the main exponents of these theories based on the development of people. We also find pioneers such as the case of C. Buehler (1933) and the important work of D. Super ("The psychology of careers"; Harper & Row -1957). Other important contributions within this conceptual framework correspond to J. Samler (“Toward a theoretical base for vocational counseling”; Personnel and Guidance Journal - 1953) E. Ginzberg et. to the. ("Occupational choice: an approach to a general theory"; Columbia University Press - 1951), GA Dudley & DV Tiederman ("Career development: exploration and commitment"; Accelerated development Co. - 1977).
Theories related to the Behavior of the People
The social learning-based approach to decision-making in career development is taken by Thoresen & Ewart (1978) and also by AM Mitchell, G. Jones & JD Krumboltz as editors in (“Social learning and career decision making ”; Carroll Press - 1979).
These theories have to do with the extent to which events that occur in the context of individuals shape and shape the decisions that people make regarding their careers.
Those who apply within this category assume that variables such as race, sex, among others, the contexts within which people's behaviors take place, such as union rules, labor laws, policies regarding At retirement in companies, etc., learning stories plus job skills are decisive in career choice.
One of the biggest difficulties in behavioral science has to do with the difficulty of conducting longitudinal research papers. It is not easy to be able to “keep under control the different variables that are at stake” for a long time. This is possibly one of the reasons why so many controversial theories and practices are found by different authors, academics, researchers and practitioners.
The stage of life in which a person is at a given moment greatly influences their career as highlighted by various notable authors, such as: H. Levinson ("On being a middle aged manager"; Harvard Business Review -1969); D. Super, J. Crites, R. Hummel, H. Moser, P. Overstreet, & C. Warnath (“Vocational development: A framework for research”; Teachers College Press - 1957); DE Super (“” A life-span, life-space approach to career development ”; Journal of vocational behavior”; 1980).
During the first years of their careers, people tend to explore the different possibilities that are available, but when they are around 25 years old, they seek to “position themselves within an area that they have chosen”. Halfway through their careers - around the age of 40 - they show other interests that have to do with the changes they have undergone in their personal capacity and place greater emphasis on processes that are oriented towards greater stability as suggested by DT Hall ("Careers in organizations"; Goodyear - 1976).
The main “Stages of career development” can be related to the work that Levinson (already cited) carried out and that Henry Tosi & others (already cited) includes under four main categories:
Exploration stage
The "Novice" stage
The "Maintenance / Establishment" stage
The final stage
These four main stages have critical points that have to do with transitional processes. As noted by D. Levinson, CH Barrow, EB Klein, and MH Levinson ("Season's of a man life"; Ballantine books - 1978) "it is common that times of crisis - which occur in transitional periods - are of deep internal conflict, where one feels as if in a state of suspended animation ”.
The first stage of exploration extends from the birth of people to around 22 or 25 years, which is characterized by the fact that both the attitudes, values and beliefs that are developed must be somehow imprinted on the person for the rest of his life. B. Staw, NE Bell & JA Clausen (“The dispositional approach to job attitudes: a lifetime longitudinal test”; ASQ - 1986) shows how people's attitudes towards work are correlated with their attitudes in the first stage of their lives.
In this phase people have to learn about how to separate from their immediate family and also from their most important friends as a way to take first steps towards autonomy and independence. Some tentative steps are made in terms of jobs and available options, and they generally tend to commit - both formally and informally - to some particular type of knowledge and learning.
The next stage - that of “novitiate” - goes from 17 to 33 years old (Henry Tosi & Others - already quoted) and during it the roles regarding people's jobs tend to change as well as the main tasks of the person in this life.
In the previous stage the person focused on family and friends, but now he has to focus on his own life, on the choice of a career and an organization in which to work, although this is done only as a novice, apprentice or beginner. For this they dedicate energy to achieve the competences, knowledge and skills that are necessary to perform the tasks, something that is not easy since it can take several years and only after a long time the person makes real contributions to the organization (many speak of about 10 years: HA Simon in “Solving problems and expertise” - 1982).
It is quite common that before the third decade begins, people begin to question whether they have made the best decisions regarding the options they have selected for the development of their own careers. It seems that the commitment to the organization plays an important role at the moment (A. Cohen: “Career stage as a moderator of the relationships between organizational commitment and its outcomes: a meta-analysis”; Journal of occupational psychology - 1991).
The next phase has more to do with positioning stability and consolidation and generally covers the 1930s. The person feels the need to move forward and grow in different aspects of work and life.
It is understood that during this phase, the person as a result of their chosen career option, tends to want to consolidate in it. Evidence has also been found in the sense that having a coach, guide, mentor or tutor has to be very useful to you and that it has also helped you regarding your promotions in the organization and regarding your level of satisfaction with the compensatory system to which it is subject (W. Whitely, TW Daugherty, G.Dreher: “Relationship of career mentoring and socioeconomic origin to managers 'and professionals' early career progress; Academy of Management Journal - 1991 and G. Dreher, R. Ash: "A comparative study of mentoring among men and women in managerial, professional and technical positions"; Journal of Applied Psychology - 1990).
This is a more competitive stage and they can appear aggressive and challenging in the eyes of many of their peers. Some involved very strongly in making progress closer to the top may transfer these anxieties to other orders of life that may affect their family environment. The man begins to perceive that "he is no longer with his family, nor with his friends, nor with his fellow students… now he is on his own and cannot try to delegate his problems". The accusing finger, which was usually characterized by pointing at third parties, can now sometimes be viewed as pointing at itself.
And between the ages of 35 and 45, one enters what is known as the “midlife” or “midcareer” crisis, and is possibly one of the most critical stages in the total career development process. It is linked to the questioning people make about their lives, their careers, their families and also where they are going. Begins to become familiar - albeit subconsciously or unconsciously with the phrase from Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll): "When you don't know where any path is going, it's good." The person at this stage of her life is in a position to know if she is progressing, she is stagnant, her possibilities of progress for the long term and immediate future.
In this maintenance phase, the individual perceives that they have to have reached some acceptable level of status with which they feel comfortable. People tend to make evaluations and appreciations of themselves, their possibilities of progress and it is also important how they perceive the context within which they operate. A perception of "difficulties" can lead the person to adopt behaviors very different from those that would take under a perception of a full world of brilliant options that lie ahead.
The final stage of his career extends from the age of 45 until his retirement from work. If it is linked within an organization, success is rather linked to having reached positions at the top, which differ from managerial roles as well as technical or specialist roles.
Many people fail in organizations due to the fact that they do not take into account that companies require "different skills at different times". If professional experts or subject matter specialists do not learn the need to incorporate skills, abilities and knowledge at the management level, their growth options within organizations must be limited. And it is very likely that they will increase their resentment towards managers and executives, especially when they have a very large expertise in some particular areas (Eric Gaynor Butterfield: Workshop "Promotions and Growth within Organizations"; February 2003 - organized by The Organization Development Institute International).
It is quite common for organizations - especially since the financial globalization that emerged strongly from the last decade of the last century - to give little consideration to many individuals who are within the company during the last stage of their career. Some 40 years ago, it was quite common for people who had occupied relevant positions in the organization to spend the last years of their work in staff positions (such as in Organization and Method Departments) working as coaches, tutors, mentors or guides for new "high potential" entry-level professionals.
It is unfortunate that this practice has been discontinued, which is complemented by a practice that seems to have been consolidated lately in large corporations; that of firing personnel before reaching the age of 50 and sometimes even much younger. And it is even more unfortunate that usually the best Universities and the best Research Centers do not teach us how to be effective in independent activities as freelancers nor with respect to how we can retire with "internal health".
Las empresas han estado reclutando durante la etapa de la globalización financiera servicios de consultoría para “atender” esta importante necesidad de personas que durante muchos años han estado comprometidas con los intereses, necesidades y objetivos de la organización, para finalmente encontrarse “sin trabajo”. Ese servicio de terceros ha sido denominado “out-placement” como para dejar bien en claro a estas personas comprometidas con su organización, que “lo que tienen que hacer de aquí en más, lo deben hacer fuera de la empresa”. Eric Gaynor Butterfield hace referencia a la decepción de un alto ejecutivo de una firma filial de multinacional que se “sintió usado por su propia empresa” y por la empresa consultora haciéndolo adelgazar y cambiar su forma de vestirse para finalmente presentarlo ante potenciales Clientes que “nunca lo contrataron” (“Seminario sobre Carrera Laboral” organizado por The Organization Development Institute – 1999).
The process of disassociation of people in organizations should be as relevant as the process of selection and entry into them. The evidence shows that the separation processes produce pain in many of the executives, managers and professionals, of which often only a few manage to recover. The negative consequences that are present in the face of this type of negative separation must also be taken into account since those organizational members who still continue to belong to the company continue to work within a space where the skeletons of many of their colleagues still remain.
It is suggested to the interested reader to go to the book by Dr. Donald W. Cole and Eric Gaynor Butterfield entitled "Professional Suicide or Organizational Murder" published by The Organization Development Institute International, Latinamerica - 2003 where it talks about this process where young, efficient and Committed to their organization, their job careers deteriorate and they face a dilemma: either they leave the organization (which is called Professional Suicide, or they are fired, which is called Organizational Murder). This process is developed through different stages whose initial phase is associated with a "honeymoon".
Later is the stage where the organizational participant does not find what they live congruent with what is spoken.
And in an attempt to resolve this conflict, the professional / executive tries to find a resolution to the problem through a superior… who is very commonly not interested in paying attention to that particular type of problem (especially since they know that those who stood in a similar position having being expelled or self-expelled from the organization).
Given the impossibility of resolving the situation with the superior, the person tries to do it through the peers, who of course have many interests in conflict with the person in question.
As a last resort, the participant only has access to the “ear” of the subordinates who may have - eventually - the time to listen to it… but they have to do little or nothing to resolve it. Moreover, at this point it is possible that the "ear" that subordinates have to lend you has more to do with "finding out" than with providing genuine help. The behavior of these last people is similar to that of many motorists who, in an accident on the highway, who, in the event of an accident, like to “observe what has happened as a result of the accident” almost stopping their car, but when required to get in the injured person in his own car escapes at full speed.
The aforementioned book in Spanish has been made possible thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Dr. Donald W. Cole - President of The Organization Development Institute, and to his willingness to serve and share his knowledge and experiences. I extend to Dr. Donald Cole my enormous appreciation for this.
Manuel London & Stephen A. Stumpf (“Managing Careers” - Addison - Wesley - 1982) highlight that the factors that influence the career progression of people are varied. Between them:
- Previous experiences at work Person, interests and values of the person Socio-economic position Expectations at work Preferences of roles at work Self-knowledge Objectives in his career Career plans Actions taken by the person in development Career stage Organizational realities
In "Managing Careers" (1982), Manuel London & Stephen A. Stumpf also refer to four main phases which are called: exploration and testing; Consolidating the positioning and Growth; in the middle of the race; Unlinking.
What usually happens during the first phase of exploration and testing people look for "prospect" employers and are also recruited by them as highlighted by DP Schwab ("Recruiting and organizational participation" in Human Resource Management -1982); S. Stumpf, SM Colarelli & K. Hartman ("Development of the career exploration survey"; New York University - 1981), S. Stumpf & SM Colarelli: "Career exploration: development of dimensions and some preliminary findings"; Psychological reports - 1980).
London & Stumpf highlight that the experiences that are important during this first stage and that are related to subsequent success have to do with:
- the challenge at work (DD Bowen & DT Hall: Career planning for employee development: A primer for managers ”; California Management Review - 1977) developing feelings of psychological success (Hall:“ Careers in Organizations ”; Goodyear - 1976; SA Stumpf & others: “Clustering rater policies in evaluating candidates for promotion”; Academy of management Journal - 1981 modeling the role (A. Bandura: “Psychological modeling: Conflicting theories”; Lieber - Atherton - 1971 and A. Brief & R. Aldag: “ The self in work organizations: A conceptual review ”; The academy of management review - 1981). Establishing objectives and goals (G. Latham & G. Yukl: A review of research on the application of goal setting in organizations”; Academy of Management Journal - 1975) feedback (DA Nadler: “Feedback and organization development:using data-based methods ”; Addison-Wesley - 1977).
During the second phase of “Consolidating Positioning and Growth” it is common for growth potential to be perceived during the first years at work (A. Howard & DW Bray: “Today's young managers: they can do it, but will they? - 1981).
In the third phase, which is called “mid-career”, the questioning activities answering how far they had gone can produce contrasting results: the person may think that by not having reached their pre-established objectives, they may reach not to be successful in the future, or on the contrary you can strive to establish new objectives, clearer, more precise and realistic that are accompanied by better methods.
Organizations need not think that people are only interested in promotions and salary increases. Through lateral transfers, roles where tasks have been enriched and some assignments "by project" can represent new motivating impulses.
It is good to take into account some of the recommendations of London and Stumpf (already cited) which are repeated verbatim and in English: “Some individuals FACE decline during mid-career. A demotion, being labeled surplus, or simple feeling obsolete are signs of decline. This is often accompanied by a sense of failure, insecurity and crisis. Early retirement may be necessary, but planning for retirement may be particularly difficult. The individual mentally, if not physically, disengages from work activities and possible nonwork activities as well. ”
The de-involvement phase is practically common to all people who have belonged to an organization, and it occurs gradually for some and abruptly for others. The consequences of both are different for both organizational participants and the company itself.
There are different characteristics for each of the various activities to be developed in Career Planning and all of them make different contributions to people's success (D. Bowen & DT Hall: “Career planning for employee development: a primer for managers”; University of California - 1977). They may have to do with:
Individual activities that can be carried out through self-help materials that have the advantage that their cost is relatively low and it is also applicable to people with a strong motivating force. It has a disadvantage that is linked to the need that we all have to receive inter-personal feedback.
Activities through a counselor that are usually accompanied through the use of tests of vocational and aptitude interests, providing feedback to the Client. The counselor must emphasize exploring the Client's needs. In general, this methodology is not economic but rather expensive, and it also presents the difficulty that it is not common to find people who have to receive information - about themselves - that is different from what prevailed in them. The counselor can also combine a clinical approach with tests.
Activities that take place where the Chief or Superior acts as a counselor or coach, characterized by the fact that the superior periodically evaluates the performance of the coachee and provides feedback, at the same time accompanying some suggestions regarding the career opportunities that he has. the "subordinate". This method has a series of advantages where one of them is that the superior has a large number of situations to observe the behavioral changes of the subordinate. In addition, the superior is aware of many of the career opportunities within the same organization and can also “expand” to some extent the subordinate's work, little by little, giving him more challenging tasks but accompanying him quite closely.
This method also offers some disadvantages in that the superior may operate in a threatening (or perceived as threatening) manner which tends to place the subordinate in a defensive and cautious position. In addition, the subordinate always takes into account - with rare exceptions - that the interests of the superior are not so focused on the subordinate but on the company.
Group-type activities such as "assessment centers" that have some important advantages such as the enormous amount of information that can be obtained; the evaluations of different people who act as judges or evaluators; and they have a relatively moderate cost. However, some people within the organization may perceive that they are compared to others and that the evaluation may be negative; The main emphasis of this approach is not about setting personal goals; and interpersonal feedback is often not the primary goal.
A Life Planning Workshop that can be carried out both within the company and outside. Both have different advantages and disadvantages.
In his book “Theories of career development” (Prentice-Hall - 1983), Samuel H. Osipow points out that Super's (already cited) career development model seems to be the most highly developed and advanced. However, and for the benefit of the reader, taking into account the countless particular situations to be confronted, it also includes a summary of the main theories together with their authors and the key variables that they take into account. We list them below:
Roe's work seems applicable to the highest levels of the organization and is quite difficult to operationalize as there are several complex "builders". For Anne Roe the key variables are two: the family and the experiences lived by the incumbent.
Holland's work is rather descriptive and has a fairly wide degree of application, which is accompanied by the advantage of being relatively simple in its conception. For Holland, the “key” variables are as follows: people's interests; occupational stereotypes; information you have about yourself and about careers; and what it knows and lives regarding the context in which it operates.
Super's work is based on a very large number of studies and experiments where positive results have been found. It is of general application and has multiple practical applications. The key variables on which Super focuses his attention are: self-concept; stages of development and tasks.
Ginzberg and others developed a model that is primarily descriptive that is more process-oriented than product-oriented. Its applicability is quite narrow and it is not very practical. The key variables are stages of development and social variables.
Lofquist - Davis have chosen a deductive model that is quite broad in scope and oriented to the context of work. It has some practical implications and its main key variables are: people's needs and characteristics; level of satisfaction and seniority at work.
Tiedeman has a very abstract and very broad descriptive model which makes it quite complex. It is extremely difficult to operationalize and has as key variables: the "I"; the stages of development.
On the other hand, the psychoanalytic school aims to predict the process but not the product. Its design is wide enough but its applicability is narrow. It has overly complex "constructs" that are therefore difficult to operationalize. The key variables are: sublimation; ego; and mastery in relation to "identification".
The approach based on the “characteristics” of people is practical in terms of “personnel selection”. The key variables are: aptitudes, needs and personal characteristics.
The proposal that finds its foundation in the "needs" of people is very broad in terms of its scope but it is not very practical. The key variables have to do with: hierarchy of needs and the level of satisfaction that people have in relation with your needs.
The approach called "Values" is also quite broad in terms of scope and its key variable is "values"
The proposal that takes into account "the social system" is mainly descriptive, it is process oriented and it is very broad in scope. Some of its main key variables are: the social class to which one belongs; family, sex; age; the race; cultural degree and economic position.
There is also a theory based on social learning that is quite simple in terms of its concept and can be operationalized. The key variables are: the person, the context, and the reinforcements.
London & Stumpf in “Managing Careers” offer a series of guidelines that act as a guide for both the organizational participant and the company itself. We will reproduce them verbatim and in English:
“Guidelines for individuals to follow in managing their careers include the following:
- Develop a clear and accurate understanding of your skills, interests and goals.Seek accurate and timely information through both formal and informal systems as a basis for career planning and decision making.Share preferences and goals with relevant supervisors and seek feedback on effectiveness and the feasibility of attaining career goals.Remain flexible to unforeseen opportunities.Reassess career plans and goals as a function of the developmental experiences undertaken and feedback on performance appraisal.Integrate individual and organizational goals whenever possible.
In turn, the authors detail some guidelines for organizations that are included as suggestions to keep in mind, also literally and in English:
“Guidelines for organizations to follow include the following:
- Establish career paths to provide direction and guidance for career planning. Provide regular and specific feedback to employees on their performance and potential, and communicate career management activities, programs, paths, and support systems clearly and routinely. Design information systems which provide objective, accurate, and realistic information for use in staffing decisions.Delineate individual and organizational responsibilities in the career management process.Maintain continuity and flexibility in human resource programs.Integrate the human resource functions and programs offered as part of a total career management program.
At The Organization Development Institute International we have developed some specific aspects with the process of systematizing, to the extent possible, the task of assisting in the career development of professionals, executives and managers. We believe that the important list of notable experts in the field that we have previously made available should be useful to all those who are interested in having an extended, profitable and successful career.
In any case, we must alert all those young and brilliant professionals that the “organizations” do not have the monolithic strength with which they were perceived many years ago.
Most of the top 500 companies that were listed in Fortune just over 40 years ago no longer exist within that category, and a significant majority within them have ceased to exist. Financial concentration has made many organizations that have had an old and successful existence “disposable”. Just as the products gain in their frequency of introduction, they are also more varied, they are also characterized by being terminal much earlier than they were before, which helps to rush the organization towards its Terminal phase.
This makes it necessary for young professionals and executives to keep in mind that only by continually investing in themselves can they have some security to protect themselves from the moment when "organizations have already found those to replace them".
In the book by Dr. Donald Cole and Eric Gaynor Butterfield (“Professional Suicide or Organizational Murder”; already quoted) a series of recommendations and suggestions have been included - under the name of antidote - that can assist executives, professionals and managers that operate within the corporate and organizational world to have a successful and continuous career, and in the event that it is interrupted, it includes aspects that if followed, that interruption should not result in serious dysfunctional consequences for people.
See you very early tomorrow; There we have to explore what are the “learnings” that executives, professionals and managers must take into account and what they can do to develop them. May they finish this day very well and start it even better tomorrow.
Thank you very much for sharing.
