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In this issue…

Rita B. Allen Associates offers customized career management consulting and coaching services to individuals and organizations with specialties in a variety of talent management content areas including:

  • Executive Coaching

  • Career Coaching

  • Team Coaching

  • Leadership Development

  • Management Training

  • Career Development

  • Human Resources Coaching

  • Human Resources Consulting

 

Click here
to see upcoming events where Rita is speaking.

 

Click here
to view articles published by Rita.

 

Rita's Career Corner
on the
Global Business Hub
Monthly column and blog on
Global Business Hub of Boston.com by Rita B. Allen

 

CBS Radio
Listen to an Interview with Rita by Caroline Dowd-Higgins on CBS Radio.

 

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website
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Rita B. Allen Associates


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Spring 2014

Dear Colleague,

Spring is finally here! After a long and difficult winter, seeing the mounds of snow melting away and signs of warmer temperatures, green grass and blossoming flowers is energizing. Spring is always a reminder of change and how it impacts our lives in a variety of ways - weather, time, accessibility, energy, and attitudes just to mention a few of those ways. It is also an inspiring showcase of transformation when we see the leaves begin to grow back, bright colored flowers emerging and healthy green grass sprouting. The four seasons are all explicit illustrations of change and transformation. Each season brings forth renewal in different forms and preparing us for the next season.

It is a good practice to apply this type of renewal and transformation to our own personal and professional development. Managing our careers is like a journey with many destinations to be traveled encountering peaks and valleys, along with unexpected forks in the road that can provide new opportunities. As leaders and managers, we also play an important role in supporting, coaching and mentoring talent in our organizations as they plan and manage their careers.

It's up to each individual to 'own' their career - to have a mission and vision with specific goals. Being flexible to new possibilities, keeping an open mind, and pushing out of our comfort zone will allow us to welcome and embrace change. Change is the only constant today requiring agility and flexibility to allow ourselves to transform in new ways. Owning our career includes setting personal and professional goals, having a plan and staying focused yet flexible to unexpected opportunities and possibilities.

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

~ Maya Angelou

I am excited to share some exciting developments at Rita B. Allen Associates in accomplishment of two major goals for 2014:

  • Book Release - Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself, the 3 Ps Technique as a Guide to Career Empowerment
    by Rita Balian Allen - Available June 2014

  • A New and Revised Website for Rita B. Allen Associates
    (See below)

First - it is with great pleasure I announce the completion of my first book which will be published and available this coming June titled, "Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself". It has been an incredible experience and as I get ready to launch it, I would like to share an excerpt with you..

Marketing ourselves allows us to establish our niche, our differentiators, our value-add, and the worth that we have to offer. Defining and creating our "personal brand," articulating it and then enhancing it is part of the marketing process. Marketing ourselves is a core competency that can become so effortless and second-nature that we do not even realize we are doing it.

Personal Branding

Let's begin with a vision exercise to illustrate the importance of developing the core competency of marketing ourselves.

Vision Exercise
Fast forward: it is 15 years into the future. You have been invited to speak at an industry event because of your accomplishments and contributions throughout your career. What does that vision look like for you? What do you want to be known for? Visualize what you want your "personal brand" to be in 15 years.

Give this some thought and then answer the following questions:

  • Was that difficult or easy?

  • Do you know your worth?

  • Can you define your personal brand?

  • How easily can you articulate that brand?

  • Do you actively work on enhancing your brand?

If you are like most people, you may have found this exercise a little daunting or overwhelming. Many people do not think that far in advance and try to deal with the current day, the here and now. However, the best way to arm ourselves for the career challenges we will inevitably face is to recognize our contributions and continuously work on enhancing and marketing our brand within our chosen fields. We all need to have a mission for our career and specific goals we want to accomplish. Without a plan, we do not have direction or any criteria for accountability. Creating this vision for ourselves is the beginning of creating a plan.

Now let's rewind back to the current day and take a moment to reflect on all of the demands that we face: demands that we have no control over such as the economy, competition, specialization vs. generalization, changing demographics, generational and cultural differences, leadership expectations and capabilities, as well as the globalization of our marketplace. Within the landscape of all these growing demands and challenges, have you positioned yourself for success? How ready are you to put your best foot forward if faced with a promotional opportunity, board consideration, networking event, professional association membership, project leadership, job interviews, and/or other growth potential?

Contrary to popular opinion, successful careers do not just happen. They take a lot of planning and due diligence. One of the key areas that I apply in my coaching model with clients is around goal setting - personally and professionally. In fact, a study on goal setting conducted by Gail Matthews, PhD, at Dominican University demonstrated that writing one's goals down enhances goal achievement. The study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment and writing down one's goals .

In our global marketplace there is and always will be demand for accomplished, results-driven professionals with a proven track record who can add value. Only you can manage your career. Having a solid plan for yourself with specific goals and objectives is the best way to start the process, which involves defining, identifying, creating, building, articulating and enhancing your personal brand!

The Three P's Marketing Technique:

  • Preparation - Define and Identify Brand

  • Packaging - Create and Build Brand

  • Presentation - Articulate and Enhance Brand

Many people feel overwhelmed by the activities and requirements of this process, or worse, end up avoiding it completely. It is challenging, but in the end, it truly is exhilarating! Once we achieve the discipline to create routines for ourselves, we will also establish ongoing behaviors that we are committed to maintaining, especially when we reap the rewards. It's also important to note that this process is not something to do without some formal or informal support and guidance from others. Think about it: has anything that has yielded tremendous results ever been easy? I believe the answer is no. The most challenging experiences that are most memorable and satisfying are the ones that require us to, stretch our thinking and tap into talents we might not have known we had. Managing our career is one of those experiences that is a journey with many peaks and valleys, and will require us to navigate crossroads, forks, dead ends, and new, exciting, untraveled roads. It requires us to stop along the way, reevaluate, take leaps of faith, and remind ourselves that the journey has no end. In order to know our personal brand and market ourselves, we need to walk through this process continuously and regularly.

Developing this core competency can be a rich and enlightening process. Because I know how difficult it can be, I set out to provide resources and support in this book: tips, tools, techniques and strategies for using my Three Ps Technique as a guide to career empowerment. I encourage you to use this book as a guide, manual, and workbook that you will review and revisit throughout your whole career. It is not a book that will be read from cover to cover in one sitting and then filed away. You will need time to think, reflect, and process in between sections. You will need time to complete activities, exercises and worksheets. I envision that you will end up with lots of notes, highlights, bookmarks, and Post-Its on these pages… and that you will keep it close by as a quick and handy reference. Remember, not only will you be asking yourself questions that force you to look deep within - you will also have to answer them. It may seem at times to be a trying journey, but it is also a fulfilling one that will leave you empowered to take charge of your career. Enjoy the journey!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE…COMING JUNE 2014

 

Second - I'm very excited to unveil my updated website and invite you to visit us at www.ritaballenassociates.com.

Please take a moment to review all of the pages including the SERVICES page covering executive coaching, career coaching, team coaching, leadership development, management training and career development. You may also like to see some of my recently published blogs, articles and upcoming presentations including the following:

  • My monthly blog and column, "Rita's Career Corner", in the Global Business Hub section of boston.com, with a new topic each month and an opportunity to post questions to "Ask Rita…" All of these blogs can also be found on my website. This month's topic is "Manage Your Time Before It Manages You".

  • Other published articles including, "Successfully Navigating Corporate Culture" and "Developing Your Human Resources Career and Brand" in NEHRA's eNewsletters.

  • FX Conference Webinar, Enhancing Communication Skills, May 7, 2014

  • Personal Branding Panel Discussion with a distinguished panel of senior executives which I will be moderating for MBA Women International Association, at Sherin & Lodgen, Boston, MA
    May 22, 2014 5:30 - 8:30 PM

  • FX Conference Webinar, Improving Your Presentations, June 4, 2014

  • ASTD Forum Webcast,
    Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Leadership Success
    June 14, 2014, www.astd.org/forum

As I progress into the ninth year of my business, I feel very grateful and blessed to have worked with incredible clients, enhanced long lasting relationships as well as established new ones and to be fortunate enough to do work that I love and brings me much satisfaction and fulfillment.

Many thanks for your continued support, your business and your referrals! I am appreciative for another active year and welcome the opportunity to be of assistance and continue to provide a variety of talent management consulting and coaching services. Please reach out and share some of your updates, accomplishments and challenges with me! I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,

Rita B. Allen

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Rita B. Allen Associates | 460 Totten Pond Road, Suite 110 | Waltham, MA 02451
781-890-6803 | rita@ritaballenassociates.com | www.ritaballenassociates.com