How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss

978-0-9807399-0-9

9 7 8 0 9 8 0 7 3 9 9 0 9

A&A Book Publishingwww.aampersanda.com

BossHelen Burton,Vicki Webster& Alison Lees

Six simple steps to actively

manage your career

YourgMurder n

AheadHow to Get

Without

Ho

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Ge

t Ah

ea

dM

urd

erin

g Y

ou

r Bo

ss

Wit

ho

ut

Bu

rton

, We

bs

ter &

Le

es

Helen Burton and Vicki Webster have coached over 3000 individuals

through career transitions. They have over 25 years of combined experience

leading career coaching teams and delivering career and organizational

development programs.

Alison Lees is the author of a number of

published short stories and the self-help

book for

practitioners in private practice.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

Chosen the wrong career path? Feel like you have

more to offer? Resent how your work controls your

life? Hate your boss?

More than ninety percent of people indicate a lack of control over

their careers, yet only five percent feel able to do something about it.

shows you how to take

responsibility for your career, whether that means keeping the job

that you love, making a career change or simply learning new skills to

increase your employability.

This book will help you gain clarity on the best career options for you

and show you how to actively manage your career.

, explained through a fictional murder mystery, is

a practical and results-driven methodology that merges the best

features of traditional career development theories with a new focus

on action learning.

How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss

The SEEFAR career

management model

Non Fiction/Business/Careers

Helen Burton, Vicki Webster

and Alison Lees

Six simple steps to actively manage your career

A&A Book [email protected]

www.aampersanda.com

First published 2010Text © 2010 Helen Burton, Vicki Webster and Alison Lees

This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968and subsequent amendments, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or transmitted by any means or process whatsoever without the prior

written permission of the publishers.

Cover design, text design, illustrations and typesetting by David Andor / Wave Source Design

www.wavesource.com.au

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Author: Burton, Helen.Title: How to get ahead without murdering your boss:

six simple steps to actively manage your career /Helen Burton, Vicki Webster, Alison Lees.

ISBN: 9780980739909 (pbk.) Notes: Includes index.Subjects: Career development.

Success.Self-actualization (Psychology).

Other Authors/Contributors:Webster, Vicki.Lees, Alison.

Dewey Number: 650.14

This book is dedicated to our patient families, who supported us overthe long, long life of this project, and to all the individuals we havecareer coached who got us started by asking for a career book thatwas contemporary, user friendly, practical and fun.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part OneWalking Close to the Edge A Corporate Murder Mystery 7

Meet the characters and their career issues. Five work colleaguesare stuck at a corporate retreat in a cyclone. The CEO disappears— he’s had influence on each employee’s career. Is he dead, andif so, who killed him?

Part Two SEEFAR Career Management Workbook 129

Use this section to apply the SEEFAR career managementmethodology to your personal situation. Complete all or someof the exercises that form part of the SEEFAR career managementmethodology. Learn how to review and develop your career tomaintain or improve job satisfaction and employability.

Part Three SEEFAR in Action 171

The SEEFAR career management methodology in action. Thecharacters in Walking Close to the Edge use the SEEFAR careermanagement methodology to make decisions about their owncareers. Read all or some of the stories.

AppendixTheory and Practice for Career Coaches 211

1

Most of us can think of a time when we experienced strongfeelings of dissatisfaction with our role or work environment,resenting work’s influence over our life. Fortunately, we don’tneed to resort to murder to attempt to solve the problem! Onthe other hand, many people can feel powerless or unmotivatedto manage their career and life.

It’s our experience that up to ninety percent of peopleindicate feeling a lack of control over their careers, yet only fivepercent feel able or motivated to do something about it. Thisbegs the question: why?

It could be that it’s a lot easier to stay in our comfort zone andnot think about it too much. Maybe we’re scared that if we dosomething, we might fail, or we’re not even sure what the firststep is. After all, it’s a lot more fun, and a whole lot lessconfronting, to watch the latest reality or crime show on TV,enjoy sport, surf the net or even clean out the kitchencupboards, rather than explore other work options.

Like anything in life, effectively managing our own careertakes some time — but not as much as you might think — effortand continuous learning to explore options, identify

Introduction

HOW TO GET AHEAD WITHOUT MURDERING YOUR BOSS

2

opportunities, make decisions and ultimately achieve ourdesired outcomes.

Personally, we believe in the power of taking responsibilityfor our own careers, whether that means keeping a job that welove, making a career change or simply learning new skills toincrease our employability. This is equally important in buoyantmarkets or in harsh economic times with large scale job losses.We also believe that career management can be fun!

With this philosophy in mind, read on to learn how easy it isto develop and implement your own actionable career strategy.

SEEFAR: A quick overview of bestpractice career management

SEEFAR is a practical and results-driven process that merges thebest features of the traditional plan-and-implement approachto career development with a new focus on having our ownnarrative and using action learning to gain clarity on what thebest career opportunities are for us in order to feel successfuland fulfilled.

S = Self-understanding and identity

The first step in an effective career management process is toensure you have a clear understanding of yourself and the thingsthat make you who you are — the things that drive you and yourmotivations and values. Once you understand what makes youhappy and satisfied at work — the things that come naturally toyou — you can build these factors into your career decisionmaking. For this part of the process, we will ask you to assess yourskills, major competencies, interests, values, personality traits, styleand family career history through assessment instruments andexercises. The assessment activities are amalgamated to developa ‘self-portrait’, or identity, that links to possible career options.

3

E = External imageOnce you have a clear understanding of yourself, the next stepis to understand how others perceive you. This is important toensure the career options you consider are realistic and inlinewith your reputation. By examining your external image, yourecognise that others often determine your access toopportunities and your selection for new positions or projects,so it is essential that you understand what impression you makeon other people as this is how you create your reputation.

E = Environment

Career management needs to be practical to providemeaningful outcomes. Understanding the marketplace is a vitalpart of career decision making. Activities in this part of theprocess assist you to explore opportunities and build businessrelationships to access them.

F = Financial objectives

The best career plans can fall apart if they are not aligned to yourfinancial goals. For example, taking time off work to completefull-time study or taking a reduction in salary to move to a newdepartment/unit will not be sustainable if it doesn’t meet yourfinancial needs. This part of the process focuses on identifyingyour financial goals and ensuring compatibility with your careergoals.

A = Action and reflection

The chaotic nature of careers means that opportunities can ariseunexpectedly. Without a robust career management process toassess the viability of each option, you run the risk of choosinga direction that you may regret. Additionally, the best way todetermine whether something is right of you is to try it out first,

INTRODUCTION


4

especially where you are considering a significant careertransition. This phase facilitates a detailed exploration of optionsthrough crafted experiments, for example secondments andspecial projects. This action-and-reflection model is linked to theneed to take responsibility for your career direction.

R = Results

“It is a new day.” The rules of work have changed, and you aremore accountable for your own career management. All theanalysis, reflection and planning will amount to nothing if youdon’t take action. A well developed, specific action plan withmeasurable short-term goals, mid-term direction and long-termaspirations will enable you to take control of your career,without having to murder your boss!

How to apply the SEEFAR model in your career isexplained in Parts 2 and 3 of this book. Now sit back, relaxand take some time to enjoy seeing the model in actionin the story in Part 1.

The SEEFAR Model

Part One

Walking Close to the Edge

A Corporate Murder Mystery

9

The cushions in the lounge shifted slightly and Paul opened oneeye. He glanced at the person creating the disturbance andgrunted.

“Sorry about that,” said the young man who was even nowpushing his back into the well-padded lounge and joylessly re-arranging a briefcase and papers around him.

Paul nodded and pretended to resume his nap but kept oneeye open, watching the performance unfolding in front of them.His neighbour was a magician the way a series of briefcases andfolders just seemed to multiply and empty into each other untilthe lounge, footstool and coffee table in front of them werelayered in sheets of impressive looking documents. Some ofthem even had flowcharts and graphs. Unable to contain hisfascination any longer Paul sat up slowly, uncrossing his armsand stretching his legs out so that the tops of his boots couldbarely be seen under the hem of his heavily worn jeans. He ranhis hands through his curls, shook his head and glanced up atthe arrivals and departures information. “Bugger.”

1


His new companion glanced at him, took one look at theleather bomber jacket and rucksack and deliberately turnedaway. Paul ignored this slight. “My flight’s another couple ofhours away. How about you mate? Where you off to?”

“Sydney.”The reply was crisp and polite and had “do not disturb”

written all over it, but Paul wasn’t so easily put off.“You coming from New York?”“Yes.” The head was permitted a bob and there was a slight,

superficial smile, but the young man’s focus was quickly back tothe pages in front of him.

Paul leaned back and put his hands behind his head, staringup at the fluoro lights that were unrelenting in their starkness.“Yeah, the wife and I are just coming back from the States too.Interesting place to visit. Wouldn’t want to live there. Too manyweirdos running around. And some yanks don’t seem to havemuch of a sense of humour.”

“Hmmmmm.”Paul looked around the transit lounge at the other stranded

passengers, contorted into various reclining positions on theirseats, struggling to try and get comfortable, like somepurgatorial karma sutra.

He bent forward and took a moment or two to make sure hecaught the eye of his neighbour, who was rapidly regretting hischoice of seat. “I thought you business guys did everything ona computer the size of a matchbox. You know, paperless worldand all that.” Leaning even further forward, Paul was makinghimself impossible to ignore. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t knowmuch about business — that’s the missus’ department. I’m asparky myself. She’s the one who’s written the business bookand been on Oprah.”

Finally a spark of interest. The well-gelled hair turned towards

10

PART ONE — WALKING CLOSE TO THE EDGE

11

him. “Your wife has written a business book?”Paul nodded. “Yep, that’s why we were in the States. A few

of those big publishers were fighting over it — and the sequel.Like a pack of buzzards on a carcass they were. Crazy whatmoney you can get.”

Paul had his neighbour’s full attention now. “So it’s been published in the U.S?”“Yeah, and first run has already nearly sold out.” Paul sat back,

confident he now had someone to chat to. “Fancy a beer?”“What?” The young man fumbled. “No… Well yes, maybe a

soft drink.”“Not if I’m buying mate.” Paul signaled to the attendant

hovering nearby. “We should get something for our businesslounge membership, shouldn’t we?”

The young man nodded assent, looked down at hispaperwork, weighed up the next couple of hours, and shut thelid of his laptop.

Paul noticed. “Good man. Now, what’ll you have?”

By the time they were on their second round, Paul haddiscovered that the young man, David Young, was a salesexecutive for a telecommunications company that covered theglobe and that he last had a holiday five years ago. David hadfinally loosened his tie a little and was leaning back into theleather cushions like he was carrying the weight of the world onhis shoulders. Paul guessed he was only in his early thirties, buthe looked closer to forty. He waited until David had sipped hisway down the third bottle before piecing the facts together.

“So you’re a very little fish in a very big pond?”David opened his mouth to protest and then decided he


12

didn’t have the energy to deny the truth. He stared down themouth of his bottle. “A very big pond. A global pond. And inNew York they make polite noises about taking Sydney intoconsideration when they make their decisions, but it’s all…, ”

He took another gulp. “So the reality is if I want to get aheadI’m going to have to either move to the US or one of the otheroverseas offices, or work even more hours in Sydney to getnoticed and, well” he glanced at Paul, “I’m already on tablets forstress and not sleeping and my girlfriend is complaining thatshe never sees me. Well, did complain. I think she dumped melast night.” He took another gulp. “By text.”

Paul let out a low whistle. “Christ mate you are in a bad way.Sounds like you’re better off without her anyway. Text, eh?” Paulsmiled and shook his head. “Hazards of working intelecommunications.”

David started to laugh a bit too loudly. Paul threw him acautious look. Having a drink was one thing but he hadn’tmeant to open a can of worms. He looked around and checkedthat no one was staring. “Hey mate, listen. I have a story to tellyou that might make you feel better.”

David didn’t respond. “No, really mate, it’s what my wife’sbook is about.” Paul kept talking. “She’s written this self-helpbook for people just like you.”

“What? People who don’t have any say in their careerdecisions and don’t have the guts to do anything about it?” Hisvoice was full of bitterness.

Paul paused and was on the cusp of agreeing and thenreconsidered. “No, mate. Just people who need a push in theright direction, to show them how to take control back.”

“What’s it called?”“How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss.” Paul

deadpanned.David rubbed his face before sitting back and taking a long

gulp of his beer. He stared at Paul for a moment. “I think weneed another round then.” He signaled to the waiter. “With awhiskey chaser.”

Paul thought for a fraction of an instant how much troublehe was already likely to be in, calculated the risks, and was justabout to say no to a drink for the first time in his life when heglanced up at the departures screen.

He nodded to David. “Right then. You’re on.”

13

PART ONE — WALKING CLOSE TO THE EDGE

Helen Burton leads the Queensland division of a globalcareer management practice. She has a Bachelor ofCommerce and commenced her career as an accountantbefore completing an MBA and transitioning to her “dreamjob” in management consulting, working on large scaleorganisational and leadership development projects andtravelling extensively. An interest in career decision makingdriven by her need to combine work and family life ultimatelylead to a specialisation in career consulting. She hasdeveloped and successfully used the SEEFAR model to assistindividuals from all walks of life take control of their careersand achieve job satisfaction.

She regularly presents on a variety of career and developmentrelated topics for professional groups and conferences andled a career segment on ABC radio.

Helen lives in Brisbane Australia with her Engineer husbandand two children.

Vicki Webster is an organisational psychologist with over 10years experience in managing consulting teams. Havingexperienced three career transitions herself to date, sheknows the value of taking responsibility for maintaining herown job satisfaction and employability. After her role as aCourt Reporter with the state government was maderedundant she took on a HR and training role, while studyingpsychology part time as a mature age student. Sincebecoming a registered psychologist she has been consultingin career management, leadership development andexecutive and transition coaching. She is currently completinga part-time research PhD on leadership.

She lives in Brisbane with her partner, John, who runs his ownbuilding business. They maintain work life balance byescaping to the coast on the weekend.

Helen and Vicki co-authored the chapter “Creating the RightImpression” for Practicing Excellence in Australian CareerPractice edited by Mary McMahon and Wendy Patton.

Alison Lees has had enough careers for ten people, havingstarted as a secondary school Teacher and subsequentlyworked as a Counsellor, a tertiary ESL Teacher, a businessadviser and trainer with the Queensland government, run herown business, lectured in communication and small businessmanagement, and worked as a Development Manager in theArts industry. Alison has also recently qualified as a marriagecelebrant. All the while she has been happily scribbling in thebackground writing short stories and working on a novelmanuscript. She has self-published The AccidentalEntrepreneur, a self-help book for counsellors and naturaltherapists running their own private practice.

Alison currently works from home which allows her theflexibility to enjoy her expanding young family. Her husbandPaul is an Engineer with Queensland Health — and was theinspiration for Paul Handy!

978-0-9807399-0-9

9 7 8 0 9 8 0 7 3 9 9 0 9

A&A Book Publishingwww.aampersanda.com

BossHelen Burton,Vicki Webster& Alison Lees

Six simple steps to actively

manage your career

YourgMurder n

AheadHow to Get

Without

Ho

w to

Ge

t Ah

ea

dM

urd

erin

g Y

ou

r Bo

ss

Wit

ho

ut

Bu

rton

, We

bs

ter &

Le

es

Helen Burton and Vicki Webster have coached over 3000 individuals

through career transitions. They have over 25 years of combined experience

leading career coaching teams and delivering career and organizational

development programs.

Alison Lees is the author of a number of

published short stories and the self-help

book for

practitioners in private practice.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

Chosen the wrong career path? Feel like you have

more to offer? Resent how your work controls your

life? Hate your boss?

More than ninety percent of people indicate a lack of control over

their careers, yet only five percent feel able to do something about it.

shows you how to take

responsibility for your career, whether that means keeping the job

that you love, making a career change or simply learning new skills to

increase your employability.

This book will help you gain clarity on the best career options for you

and show you how to actively manage your career.

, explained through a fictional murder mystery, is

a practical and results-driven methodology that merges the best

features of traditional career development theories with a new focus

on action learning.

How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss

The SEEFAR career

management model

Non Fiction/Business/Careers

Documents

How to Get Ahead Without Murdering Your Boss