Mind the Gaps –Professional Skill Development During Times of Illness

Who Am I? What Do I know?

• 1980 BA in Soc-Anthropology/Clinical Psychology from Western Illinois University (after 14 majors/minors)

• 1977-2001 Volunteered in various communities with low income and unemployed individuals to help find employment and develop job skills (Worked about 42 different jobs.)

• 2002 Pfizer downsized office and I began caring for family with significant long & short term illnesses

• 2005 Graduated from SNL with MA while caring for family

• 2005-2008 Focused on skill development planning to help friends and others with illnesses – got others jobs.

• 2008- Present Part-time Job Coach / Developer for UCP in Chicago

Understanding the Gaps

A Job is….

• Doing

• Now

• Performance based

• Growing skills or learn elements of work

• Titles may differ, work remains the same

• Jobs are added or lost

A Career is….

• Become

• Over Time

• Recognized Expertise

• Teaching skills or elements to others

• Clear identity of skill field or industry

• Careers change, but never are lost

Sage Insights

• Make sure the reality of your expertise lives up to perceptions of those around you – if not, identify areas for improvement and fix NOW, not later.

– Reality shows prove that many of us think we have talents that make us stars or winners.

– Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who is the best worker? Syndrome -Performance reviews and co-worker comments are not best places to see reality for career choices.

– Remember : Jobs are the things we DO. Careers are what we BECOME. Gaps can become the garden bridge between them.

Personal Mission Statement

• Simple one sentence statement

• Easily understood by 4th grader

• Able to memorize and repeat any time / anywhere / under any life stress

• Guides both personal and professional life

• Clearly defines passion and life goal

• Simply is a life compass – States boldly “This is what I am about.”

Mind Mapping

What is mind mapping?• According to Wikipedia: A mind map is a diagram used

to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea.

• Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

• A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added.

How to use a SWOT ANALYSIS with a MIND MAP

STRENGTH WEAKNESS

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis is a popular project management tool used in business planning to determine a snapshot of where a project or team is, what it faces , and see gaps or connections not yet made.

In working with planning gaps, this method allows a quick, compact view of situations or sudden detours that might otherwise cause gaps in skill development.

I call it the opportunity maker, as you can see problems and brainstorm around them.

Family

Job (s)

Volunteer Education / Professional

Training

Volunteer

Family

Starting Point

How to Map the Gaps

Drawing a mind map:

• Start in the center of a blank page and draw or write central theme – This is the Career focus. The “Illness” is under career.

• Place sub-heading in each corner - These are areas of life such as hobbies, education, family, etc.

• Connect sub-headings/areas of life with branches/ arrows to central theme if a relationship to career or skill development opportunity can be shown

• From areas of life corners, more than one sub-heading activity can be placed.

• Consider all opportunities to learn or develop new skills and add to map with dashed lines and consider using colors.

Mind Mapping

The basic Rules:

• Use colors, pictures, images, words, symbols, etc.

• Use one word or very simple phrases

• Use both straight and curved lines or arrows for branches

• Use circles, boxes, etc to capture key sub-headings and place in corners

• Depth or focus on sub-headings should be placed on separate “focus map”

Looking for Opportunity

ILLNESS

Where & what can I teach? In my illness, What can I learn to share with others?During my recovery time, Can I add to my skills?

Charting the Gaps

• Look at the Big picture of how jobs and life fit toward career goals

• Look for Opportunities that have been over looked or never considered

• Skill knowledge or experience brushed off because not gained on a “job” or at school

• Chart skills needed for career goal and best choices of time / money use

Skill Gap Charting for Career

Burger King Fry Cook/PT

Counter help

Local Library

AM Paper Route

Timing

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Burger King Fry Cook/PT

Mapping 101

What she loved

• Teaching others

• Black /White ethical lines

• Details

• Finding errors

• Working independently

• Creating data analysis reports or spread sheets

What are her skills

• Natural gift for breaking down ideas or concepts

• Knack for editing and proofing anything

• Managing projects alone

• Maintaining ethical self

• Ability to compile data into easy to understand formats

Illness verses the Map

What Illness gave

• Time to research field and study for auditing exam

• Met many new people and made network contacts

• Opportunity to reinvent self and adjust career to illness

• Insights to personal limits

What map gave

• Clear goal path

• Assessment of skills from all areas of her life

• Refocus on life and career

• Learned what she is about –Teaching and Resource

• Targets without time limits

Minding the Gaps - Results

• Given the knowledge of illness ups and downs, Lyn could see down times as skill sharpening opportunities

• Gaps in her resume no longer are illness or job loss excuses, but have a planned purpose

• Planning for detours gave her options and control/power illness thus increasing energy

Lessons Learned

Before the Map

• Paranoia and illness caused performance to decline.

• Checked herself into an outpatient therapy.

• Illness was main focus and career/job was not on radar.

• Illness was elephant in the room, career wasn’t even IN the room.

After the Map

• Saw relationship of illness to performance issues.

• Began to focus on career skills and development.

• Illness and career co-existed and were recognized as equally important.

• Illness and career are treated like objects that move around in the same room.

Your turnIn the workbook, more details and actual breakdowns of elements.

• Define your main goal as the center topic of your map.

• Next add your primary values to your map as free-floating topics.

• Add primary topics, one representing each of the major life roles or domains in your life (i.e.: work, family, church, hobbies, etc.)

• Then add secondary topics, steps and strategies you will undertake to achieve your goal within the context of each life role. (If your map becomes too cluttered, consider creating sub-maps to expand details of each life role.)

• You can assign numeral rankings to create action steps in your plans, allowing it to be easier to know where to start or what is next.

Thank You

Paulette M. Glass