CAREERS ADVICE FOR MIDMARKET CIOS
Managing your career in an economic downturn
Jean Fuller, Contributor
02.14.2008
Rating: -4.75- (out of 5)
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Economic cycles are inevitable. And chances are good that you've already been through at least one downturn. If so, you either navigated rough waters with the wind in your hair and met the challenge, or you set yourself on the wrong path and found yourself on the ground with your feet up in the air.
But are you ready for another economic recession? Follow these tried-and-true tips for managing your career through a downturn.
Step one: Plan
These are business steps first, but they're critical to career survival and may hold the keys to even increasing your value and relationship capital with the executive team and board.
Step two: Negotiate
There are always negotiations in times of budget cuts. Be proactive. If you're not good at saying no, negotiating or changing course, consider the following guidelines for your executive toolkit:
Step three: Evolve
Define what you want to be known for. If you need to take on more work and your headcount and budget are cut, be cautious that you are prioritizing what is most valuable to the company and you. Most CIOs used to be brilliant
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individual contributor technologists, and it's easy to slip back into the doing-the-tasks part. Getting something done with a simple deliverable is often seductive, and can lead to even some micromanaging vs. coaching your team to prioritize, work on changing initiatives and say no to prior tasks.
Step four: Network
Do you look back on the last several years and wish that you had spent more time building a network for the tough times?
Now is the time to start, with modest -- but ruthlessly scheduled -- time set aside for networking both inside and outside the company. For example, plan one night a week and five phone calls a week to build deeper alliances. Yes, Virginia, this requires saying no to something else, but you will have slim to no regrets if you start doing this.
Step five: Be resilient
Jean Fuller is CEO of Fuller Coaching, an executive coaching firm working with technology companies in Silicon Valley. She helps senior executives drive their career success inside their current company and plan transitions that meet their success objectives. Write to her at jean@fullercoaching.com.
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