3 Steps to Analyzing your role in the Gig Economy

We are entering into the age of the Gig Economy. By 2020, 40% of you will be working on contract instead of full-time. As technology changes at a rapid pace, the way this world works changes too. That said, you will likely have changed careers and expertise by then as well. Most career playing fields would have changed by 2020. For many of you, this is already happening. Are you prepared to shift as the world shifts?

In previous generations career paths were straight and narrow like the game of checkers. One could stay in a single career their entire lifetime. Now career paths are as complex as a game of chess. The strategies and directions one could go in are endless. It could take years to master and some never will.

Building your career path takes time and it's an iterative process. In our last blog 3 steps to uncover your polymath DNA we talked about looking inward and discovering your skills and capabilities.

Now look outward. You have a myriad of directions you can go in and the thought of this is overwhelming. Let’s first follow these steps to analyzing the possible environments around you and the potential paths that can be taken.

LOOK OUTWARD

Look at the current trends in your field. Create a doc and start plotting your own data.

1. New Values

What's becoming valuable in your industry/specialty as well as in tangent spaces?

List what you see as valuable and why.

How do you see these changes happening in your space vs in tangent spaces?

2. New Players

Who is disrupting these industries and how?

What companies do you see changing the landscape and what are they doing?

Are they new players in the industry or existing companies shifting direction?

How would you profile these companies?

3. New Skills

Look into the future, what new skills in these industries are becoming popular?

List and analyze the new skills that are surfacing. What does it take to acquire them?

After spending time exploring it's time to take action and look for patterns. In our next blog 3 Steps to Uncover your Polymath DNA, you will use this information to marry your inner abilities and outward potentials.

There are always other possibilities out there for everyone. You just have to take the time to look for answers within yourself. Find out what's relevant to you. 

What are you willing to learn and develop? 

How do your skills fit in the emerging industries and specialties? 

What skills are you missing or need to work on?

At Yeh IDeology we have developed a methodology that will make your dream job a reality. If you are looking to identify the opportunities you are missing, you need to schedule a Strategy Call with Angela Yeh.

How to Help Your Employees Move On, Gracefully

Today, I was referred to a fascinating question on Focus.com, a great business resource, by Caty Kobe, the Community Manager at Focus. The question, as posed by Alicia Jones, is as follows:

"How would you handle an employee who is eager for growth, but there are no opportunities in the Co.? You have expanded their role as much as possible, given them special projects, etc., but they want more. What do you do when they have simply outgrown the company?"

My answer:

Today, more and more employees are increasingly conscious of their growth and development needs, and they are more likely to move once there are no longer any growth opportunities to explore at their current place of employment.

Realistically, employers have to realize that talent will come and go, but you hope that the ones that fit your company stay longer. Partnerships come in all durations and not all are made to last. Some are meant to be lessons to learn from; others are meant to help the company evolve.

Do your best to be mindful of your employees’ growth objectives within your company, while reminding them that they are responsible for the tasks that your company requires of them. Once you have mutually realized that it's time for them to move on, acknowledge that they need to start to look elsewhere, and do what you can to support them as they explore their next options. Meanwhile, ask the employee to help you find their replacement before they move on, and have them train the replacement or other staff so that there is as little legacy lost as possible.

Talent talks. Employees who leave in a mutually respectful way and others that witness it will tell others of this experience. Your openness to their leaving, which is a natural course of events, will be one of the best ways to build a strong reputation for your company.

Most of our ex-employees still reach out to us to keep in touch. They have become stewards of our company within our industry, and they refer talent and business to us still. This is the best brand recognition you can develop.

________________________________

To learn more about Focus, you can visit their website here. To see the original post, click here.