Today, I spoke to Mike “Dr. Woody” Woodward, who is the author of The YOU Plan: A 5-Step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy, a coach and consultant. In this interview, Dr. Woody talks about career development in a bad economy, how to create your own opportunities, why passion can be both good and bad, and more.
How has the recession changed the employment landscape?
As a nation we got fat and happy. Companies became overstaffed and overconfident. As the labor market became more globalized, companies looked off-shore to cut labor costs, their largest expense. Keep in mind, a lot of the inflated earnings being reported are the direct result of cutting staff, not improved performance! So, as a result of this the American worker got left behind. Unemployment is higher now than it was a year ago, which does not bode well for the job seeker. The fact is, it’s no longer about chasing opportunities, it’s about creating opportunities!
What are some ways to create your own opportunities?
We as Americans, particularly in the business world, are so obsessed with forward motion, that we loose sight of where we are actually going. It’s more about beating the guy next to you at a particular moment in time than actually getting across the finish line. The reason I chose the title “The YOU Plan” for my book is because I believe in running your own race on your own time! Creating opportunities starts with stepping back and taking stock of who you are and what you have to offer. The introspective process is about building self-awareness, which is critical to developing the vision necessary to see the potential in all that lies in front of you. It may sound a bit esoteric, but you have to know yourself and approach the world with an open mind in order to create opportunities.
How do you define your passion and a solid career roadmap?
Watch out! Because passion can be both good and bad. We are all familiar with “crimes of passion” or passionate “activists” who wreak havoc in the streets. When it comes to aligning your passions with your career aspirations I always recommend stepping back and exploring what really brings out your positive energy! Ask yourself what is it that gets you bounding out of bed in the morning? Be sure not to get too mired in specific activities or tasks. Look for underlying themes across those activities and identify the essence of what really elicits your passion. Passion is a very personal thing, so take the time to really explore your mind because only you have the answer!
What does it take to stand out in the crowded marketplace today?
As you know, it’s all about the brand! You can be the greatest in the world at what you do, but if no one knows it doesn’t matter. Developing a personal brand is a process. As I previously mentioned, it starts with self-awareness. Your brand should be a true reflection of who you are, which means you have to know yourself first. When it comes to standing out from the crowd, you have to think about what it is that sets you apart and find a way to emphasize that! You also have to show you can deliver. At the end of the day, a brand is a promise and you have to be willing and able to keep that promise.
What are the obstacles to making money doing what you love?
Passion is an interesting thing. It’s rare that your passions and career activities will always be perfectly aligned. Not everything you are passionate about is necessarily going to be a potential revenue generating activity. Some passions are better left as hobbies or community service as opposed to a vocation. My goal with “The YOU Plan” is to show people how to draw out their passions and learn to apply them positively in all that they do. The last thing you want is to go through life being a robot. My advice is to spend your time thinking about what really excites you and explore the various avenues you can pursue that will allow you to draw on your passion.
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Mike “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified professional coach trained in the field of organizational psychology. He is the author of The YOU Plan: A 5-Step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy. As a coach and consultant, Dr. Woody works with both private and corporate clients on career development and building management/leadership capacity. Dr. Woody focuses on the psychology of communication, leadership, and career re-engagement. Dr. Woody is the founder and president of Miami-based consulting firm Human Capital Integrated (HCI). The firm focuses on management and leadership development. In conjunction with founding and running HCI, Dr. Woody is also the founder of DrWoody.com a dynamic media site dedicated to work-life issues and career entrepreneurialism in the new economy. Dr. Woody also serves on the Academic Advisory Board for the Florida International University Center for Leadership. Prior to founding the consulting firm HCI in 2005, Dr. Woody served as a management and human resources consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (PwC) and as a project manager for IBM Business Consulting Services in Washington DC.
