How I’m “Journeous” – Dylan Gallagher, Orange Sky Adventures
A picture is worth 1,000 words. You know it, you’ve heard it, and most influentially – you’ve seen it. We saw it too when we talked to Dylan Gallagher, founder of Orange Sky Adventures.
What did we see? The spirit of ‘being Journeous’ in action.
We met Dylan at a recent event where he told us that what Journeous is all about really resonated with him. He shared a bit about his own experience ‘being Journeous’ – and we wanted to hear a bit more. So we sat down with Dylan to hear, eight years after graduating from college, how he’s been Journeous, what he’s learned along the way, and his advice for his younger self and others who are there now. Take a listen.
LinkedIn For Career Launchers with Angela Dunz
These stats should come as no surprise: more than 20,000 US organizations use LinkedIn to recruit, 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates, and there are 15 million active jobs listed on the social networking site. LinkedIn is a must when you’re actively looking for a job, when you might be looking for a job, and even when you’re not looking for a job but open to hearing what’s out there.
Career launchers have asked us a myriad of questions about LinkedIn, such as:
- How can I get seen – or better yet stand out – compared to people with way more experience?
- How do I write my profile if I don’t know what job I’m looking for?
- There’s a lot of content to fill in – what parts matter most?
- What if I don’t have any paid work experience?
- Isn’t LinkedIn just an online version of my resume?
- I’m still in school – what do I say my title is?
We talked to Angela Dunz, director of training at Vengreso, The Digital Sales Transformation Company, who’s been helping people make the most of their LinkedIn profile for more than six years, and she gave us the scoop on what career launchers need to know to make the most out of their LinkedIn profile.
Setting Your Career Up for Financial Health – Interview with Dan Koblin
So you’ve got the job — now what are the first steps you should take to get your finances on the right track?
When you’re just getting started in your career – maybe you’re finishing up college, or you’re beginning your first “grown up” job – navigating a path can be challenging. Making decisions about your career is one thing, but when you’re first starting out there’s health and car insurance to think about, apartment rentals, student loans, and so many other pieces to figure out that you may not have learned about in college or high school. Finances are a huge part of this, so we sat down with Dan Koblin, founder and partner of Continuum Consulting Group, for advice on financial first steps for young adults.
Q: When you’re planning for life after school, there are tons of decisions to make. Adding on the need to figure out a financial plan seems overwhelming – where do we start? Continue reading
Entrepreneur or Entrepreneurial?
A few weeks ago, we were talking about the holiday work schedule and my daughter asked me if I was as lucky as dad to get the week off between Christmas and New Year’s. I smiled at the nuance of her question that she was oblivious to: As an entrepreneur, I now get to make that call rather than having someone else dictate it.
I’m surrounded by budding entrepreneurs – at least partly because I live on the outer edges of Silicon Valley. “Follow your passion,” we hear. “There’s no feeling like being your own boss.” Couple that with the cool factor of Shark Tank and never ending pitch competitions, why would you want to go work for the big corporate chieftain when you could be the decision maker, dress the way you want, and do something you truly care about? Continue reading
Mentors Support You, but Sponsors Propel You
Last week as I was wrapping up a college workshop I’d facilitated, I shared what’s always a fun discussion – the mistakes I’ve made and lessons they’ve taught me over a couple of decades of work. One that always makes me smile is one of my first boss’s words of wisdom. He told me, “Success is based on three things: Luck, sponsorship and timing.”
At the time I brushed it off. I’d grown up hearing that success was about working hard, not something as uncontrollable as luck or timing. And sponsorship I chalked up as being synonymous with colleagues thinking highly of you. In retrospect I realize how naive I’d been.
Looking back, I can see how luck and timing worked both for me and against me at different times. But sponsorship was something I didn’t fully appreciate. The impact of a true sponsor is invaluable, and is different than those of mentors, which tend to get a lot more press.
There’s lots written about the power of mentors – and mentors are indeed great to have. I’ve mentored more than a hundred people in my career and while I care about their success, I’m not invested in it.
“A Mentor Will Talk With You, But A Sponsor Will Talk About You”
A sponsor, though, is different. As pointed out by Heather Foust-Cummings at Catalyst Research Center for Equity in Business Leadership, “A mentor will talk with you, but a sponsor will talk about you.” In other words, they’re the people who will be advocating for you even when you’re not in the room.
Because of this, sponsoring also means a sponsor is putting her or his reputation on the line – so sponsorship has to be earned. As Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of “Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor” puts it: “A senior person is not going to go out of their way unless you have proven your worth.” While sponsors are key in moving up the corporate ladder, Hewlett adds that “There is no way up in any career where you don’t need sponsorship,” says Hewlett. “At the end of the day, you need a powerful person to open doors for you.” So sponsors are at least as important to entrepreneurs as they are to those working their way up through big companies.
Twenty years after my boss shared his wisdom, I experienced one of the most visible examples of sponsorship I’ve benefited from in my career. My most recent sponsor, Orlando Harris, director of Career Services and Leadership Development at San Francisco State University, was one of our very early Journeous clients and exemplified what great sponsors do. He saw the connection between our solution and its ability to move the needle on key initiatives he and his team were focused on. But he recognized that his customers – SFSU students – wouldn’t get the full benefit if he implemented it in the traditional manner.
Instead of walking away, he engaged faculty partners in coming up with a shared solution. He championed getting our proposal funded and approved internally. He kept in close contact with the faculty and students who were part of Journeous to get their perspective. He proactively shared the early outcomes we were seeing with school leadership, reinforcing early support and generating interest from other faculty members.
Five Ways To Find A Sponsor
As all sponsors do, Orlando took a calculated risk. In the process, we’ve built a mutual respect and appreciation for the other’s work and a true partnership that I think he would agree has benefited us both. Not every sponsor has the vision or the commitment to create meaningful change that Orlando has. But if you want to increase your odds of finding and developing a great sponsor, here are five ways you can do so. While luck has its place, you might not want to rely on it when it comes to developing great sponsors.
Journeous and Athlete Story Talk Transition: Re-find Yourself After Sports
We recently sat down with Anja Bolbjerg of Athlete Story, a business focused on helping athletes transition from sports to new careers.
Pam was joined by former elite squash player Katherine Johnson (who we were honored to speak with at the Miami EY Women Athletes Business Network), and discussed the art of story telling and transitions: what should you do next?
It’s targeted to athletes, but has advice anyone looking to make a transition in careers can follow. Check it out!
Change. One of the Best Leadership Teachers.
I met a woman recently who happened to be part of a team I’d led years ago. Our conversation brought me back to the experience of walking into that job. I’d joined as the beloved prior leader, who had been there for many years, was moving onto a different role in the company. Within weeks of my arrival, I got a new boss who was under the gun to improve our team’s efficiency. The next two years involved an overhaul of our team’s processes, job descriptions, structure and how we measured success. Plenty of people wondered aloud – loudly – how I and all of the changes that came with me could possibly represent progress. I made plenty of mistakes.
7 Career Insights….From the Gym
I met with two good friends in the past month who were both struggling to get into a regular exercise routine. I happily offered to support them however I could – because while I’ll fully admit there are plenty of good habits I’ve yet to create, getting to the gym is one I can put in the win column. In the process, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself that applies well beyond. Continue reading
Want to turn down others’ stress levels? Ask for their help
As a newly minted entrepreneur, I’m learning a lot. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned about myself is that when under stress, I have a tendency to do rather than think about the best way to get things done. Unfortunately this is the kiss of death in my new world. The more I try to tackle, the less I get accomplished, and the worse the ultimate result. So one of my areas of growth is to reach out and get help on the things that are new to me. Continue reading
It’s Tough To Reach Your Peak Performance If You’re Not Willing To Try A New Gear
Our picture perfect day yesterday inspired me to get out for a bike ride. As I headed up the hill and downshifted, it took a few clicks for the gears to respond. I realized I was long overdue for taking my bike in for service. Were I so remiss with teeth cleaning I’m quite sure I’d have some lovely false teeth by now. Continue reading