Self Employment Offers Great Rewards

Posted on May 1, 2013 by John G. Self

In the 1980s, when my long-time job as a Senior Vice President with a health system ended, I faced a tough career management transition.

People did not want the skills I offered, nor did I have the all-important master’s degree – it was a double whammy in a tight job market. I went from being incredibly successful to the depths of despair, trying to figure out how to pay my bills. I never thought this would happen to me.

In the ensuing 25 years I have had just one “employed” tenure with a regional health system in the town where I grew up. It was a great experience. I ran a home infusion pharmacy, then the state’s largest EMS system and, finally, their international recruiting company. Little did I know at the time that this last “employed” gig would provide me with the experience – some of it painful – the skills, the courage, and the determination to launch my own corporate brand, JohnGSelf Associates, Inc.

It was a tough slog at first, and there have been more than a few bumps along the way, including a disastrous failed business partnership, but today, looking back, I know I made the right decision to trust my own instincts and abilities. In the end, it proved to be a home run.

I have had a great career – from working as a crime writer and investigative reporter for a major Texas newspaper, to being the first director of Hermann Hospital’s famed Life Flight program and then serving as national marketing manager for their aircraft company consulting with hospitals across the nation.

Now, working as an executive recruiter, advising candidates and clients in seven countries on four continents, the rewards of managing my own brand are enormous.

There are many in this land who cannot be an independent contractor because they have built a career comfort zone surrounded by reinforced steel bar concrete. Intellectually they may want to touch the third rail of career exploration, but they have no clue how to overcome their fears to take the leap of faith, so they don’t, and that is probably the right choice.

There are others who need to break free, should break free and join the free agent nation, but they cannot see a way forward because they cannot overcome their fears and reluctance to do those things that will ensure incredible success.

Somehow I overcame all of those barriers and found a pathway to success. It was painful at times. I had to battle my fears of rejection and my reluctance to put my name, my brand on the line. Being a salary-man is secure but you are always depending on someone or something else. But being a successful entrepreneur is one of the most satisfying accomplishments in the world because where danger lurks, you, and only you, have the power to do something about it.

Can We Talk?

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John G. Self

Let’s talk candidly about career management.

More than likely the professionals who should read this probably won’t read this.

I talk to a lot of people at conferences, airports and on the telephone. Executives, especially those in healthcare, are troubled by tough economic times with less than robust job creation, continued high rates of unemployment and, in the case of healthcare, a daunting transformation as the federal government is forced to reduce payments to hospitals, doctors and other providers in order to reduce the escalating deficit and debt. They are concerned with the instability.

Here is my candid advice for seasoned executives as well as early careerists and the people they supervise:

Be flexible
Get outside your comfort zone
Think outside of the box

Be flexible – Geographically. Candidates must be willing to go where the jobs are. If you want to be a senior leader, four to five job changes may be required. Executives who limit themselves geographically – regardless of the reason – must be willing to accept the career consequences.

Get outside your comfort zone – Every executive, every employee, every candidate has strengths and weaknesses. We all have things we like and things we don’t like to do. We try to avoid those “don’t likes” at all costs. However, in a tough, competitive market you have to deliver results, even when this means you have to do those things you would rather not do. You cannot ignore something that is integral to meeting performance deliverables. Get out of your comfort zone and do what has to be done before your boss asks you to leave and you fall into the unemployment pit.

Think outside the box – One of the challenges posed by the new economy is that fewer employees are asked to do more work. Productivity is required. Smart companies are looking for employees who are flexible, who are not afraid of change, and who welcome challenges with an eye for innovation. This is especially true in the healthcare industry. Executives and employees who can think outside the box and who relish change and innovation are becoming increasingly valuable for companies.

Here are some phrases and workplace behaviors to avoid:

It’s not my job
We have always done it this way
I don’t like change (non-union)
I am not going to change (union)
I need a job so I can be a good provider but my family refuses to relocate
My boss is totally unrealistic
My boss is an idiot
I am not going to sacrifice time with my friends and/or family for my job
I am a nurse and I have worked here a long time, they can’t fire me
Some of the people I work with work too hard. They are making the rest of us look bad
That patient doesn’t have insurance so it is OK to make them wait
I am tired. There are things I’d rather do so I am not going to see any more patients today

If you are someone who gets it, feel free to share this blog with someone who doesn’t.

The Big Three: Confidence, Courage & Experience

Posted on April 15, 2013 by John G. Self

In the realm of leadership, executives must successfully manage their departments, their divisions or their companies. At the same time they must apply these same leadership principles to their own career management.

That said, for the Baby Boomer and older Gen X leaders, experience counts. It is an important brand equity that distinguishes them from those who are on their way up.

As leaders “mature” – which I find to be a nice word for age – two things happen. They get better at what they do based on applied experience, and they begin to glance over their shoulder to check on the up and comers – the competition. For most, the latter is not an all-consuming fact of life, but there is almost always some curiosity. That curiosity is healthy as long as it does not become more than a passing interest.

Applied experience is also in play when it comes to career management. Leaders become more aware –and honest with themselves – regarding their strengths and their weaknesses. Smart leaders have the confidence and the know-how to maximize and leverage their strengths. Their honesty regarding their weaknesses typically keeps them from making the most serious of the missteps.

There are two more words that apply: confidence and courage.

As the provider segment of the healthcare industry undergoes major transformation over the next five to seven years, leaders from the Baby Boom era and Generation Xers will face some challenging career management tests. This transformation will require confidence, courage, applied experience and lessons learned to avoid pitfalls – terminations, layoffs and possibly long periods of unemployment.

Over the last several months I have heard from a number of executives in their late 40s to mid-50s who see this transformative period as a real threat to what they thought would be a stable career with a smooth path to retirement. They see the Affordable Care Act and deficit reduction as two very large and daunting threats to their plans. With good reason.

The biggest career management threat I see is not legislative or business reform but a loss of confidence and waning courage. True, successfully navigating these career pitfalls will be challenging – more for some than others, but these hurdles are not the end of the world as we know it. Here are some thoughts to consider:

Don’t blink – There are no guarantees in life, but being afraid of losing your job can easily become a self-fulfilling prophesy as hospitals look for a way to reduce their costs below Medicare. Leaders must continually prove they can deliver the necessary results
Be confident – People follow confident leaders
Remember – You have experience. Don’t sell yourself short. Draw on your past experience, the political and operational insights that the up and comers have yet to master. Use this knowledge and experience to deliver killer results
Have courage – Just as fear of losing a job can drain energy and distract focus, having courage is part and parcel of having confidence. Leaders who lack the courage of their convictions in themselves or in their decisions are of little use to anyone, especially their employer
Your competitors – Look but do not stare and obsess. The current conventional wisdom is that the hard charging younger Gen Xers and Millennials will take over the world, and your job sooner rather than later, is just wrong, as long as you deliver exceptional results and value

One more thing, the conventional wisdom also says that these Millennials and the younger end of the Gen X generation are dominating in the number of start-up companies is also wrong. The average age of entrepreneurs who have the appetite and the confidence and courage for the risk is rising.