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Recently I was asked to give career advice. This reply can be used by anyone in any career, or any manager tasked with measuring the value of their investment.
The career question was: What area of study is better for a career in industrial/organizational psychology? (e.g., clinical psychology, cognition, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, perception, personality psychology, or social psychology.)
My reply: Get nerdy. I strongly recommend that you conduct one of the following two research studies.
(a) Start with the leading professional associations such as division 14 in the American Psychological Association described at https://www.apa.org/about/division/div14. Or Division 13 at https://www.apa.org/about/division/div13. Then study the data at SIOP. Request their whitepapers and industry trend data on recommended career paths. Synthesize key points from each document so that you can reference them later if required.
(b) After collecting data on the professional associations that interest you, define 4-5 research questions (RQs) that interest you. I think that the problem you want to solve is something like, “What specialty is better for me and why?” Examples of RQs include: 1. What specialty makes more money? 2. What specialty enables me to work with the kinds of clients I desire to serve? 3. What specialty is affordable and attainable within 5 years? 4. What specialty will enable me to shift career interests every 10 years if desired?
( c ) Analyze your results. Your RQs will drive the data. Create a 2-4 page summary analysis based on each RQ and your findings to date.
(d) Share the data and your summary analysis with 3-4 older people who are honest and capable of providing direct feedback. Avoid your loved ones. Have a conversation with them about how you have analyzed the data and discuss how they interpret the data.
2. Take a qualitative approach.
(a) Select a large sample (n = 100+) of representative practitioners with self-declared expertise in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Start with sample searches in open digital communities such as LinkedIn or Quora. Then collect practitioners from professional associations such as SIOP or https://www.apa.org/about/division/div13. Create a spreadsheet with names, email, digital link, contact requests, contact notes. Add me to your list if useful. Then add any of my first level connections or followers.
(b) Define 4-5 research questions that you would like to ask. Sample RQs may include: 1. What were significant milestones in your graduate education? 2. How are you implementing your graduate education into your daily work today? 3. What advice do you have for me if I were to adopt a career path like yours? 4. What skills do you use daily in your consulting practice that can be learned in graduate school?
( c ) With permission from the participants, record the conversations. Take notes on themes and categories that emerge. For research protocols study textbooks such as Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd ed. (Creswell & Plano, 2011). To be clear, your study can be simple. If you can have 10 conversations with 10 representatives of where you would like to be in 10 years, then your qualitative study should have tremendous value.
(d) Analyze your results. I suspect that you will be able to define what your sample population recommends after 5-6 conversations. I hope that data will inform you to conduct additional research in your career.
A closing thought: If you are not inclined to conduct a simple research study like the ones described above, then you are not likely to be successful in I/O psychology…
Researchers collect data and analyze results.
Consultants assess and recommend.
I certainly hope that you conduct the research you need, sooner rather than later, so that you can serve thousands of clients.
Here is an invitation: If I can be a resource at any time, then I invite you to contact me at Executive Coaching | Action Learning Associates LLC | (615) 236 – 9845
All the best! Doug
Remote work and remote teams are “here to stay.” I have been working remotely since 2004.
As you know, humans have always adapted to aversive stimuli, such as a global virus, in one of two ways: Fear and Resilience.
If you are paralyzed by fear, then I encourage you to ONLY read social media once a day. In the morning. For no more than 10 minutes. Instead, read the facts from 2-3 sources that represent public interests, such as public safety, and ways to practice new patterns of communication. See the links below. Fear prevents clear thinking.
2. RESILIENCE
Resilience is defined as our ability to respond to an aversive stimuli and return to a previous state, or a better state. Resilience is dynamic. Resilience can be taught and developed. Here are some examples.
For those small business leaders and managers seeking answers from the Small Business Association, go to https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options
For those seeking information in financial security, speak to your advisor, accountant or go to https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/news/business-guide-coronavirus-pandemic/
We are all in this together. And we always have been. Today those facts are more evident than ever.
The rate of change will be faster tomorrow than it is today. So, I encourage you to practice resilience and use these resources today.
Here’s to you, at your best, Doug
In a word: Regularly.
In two words: Regularly and Repeatedly.
The fact is that OKRs are a feedback process that requires regular practice.
Objectives are WHAT is to be achieved. They are qualitative, subjective, and significant. For instance, “increase revenue” or “decrease undesired turnover.”
Key Results (KRs) are numbers. They are 3-5 quantitative measures that verify the status of any objective. For instance, “increase recurring client sales revenue from $500k/month to $525K/month by the end of Q3” or “increase 1:1 performance reviews by 8% at all warehouses within 30 days.” ALL good business leaders use numbers to drive change.
I coined the phrase “OKR Leadership” because clients asked, “what really works?” OKR Leadership is defined as a process for managers and leaders to practice what matters.
Why do attorneys get to “practice” law, and physicians get to “practice” medicine, when leaders NEED to practice leadership?
Too many leaders are not effective. That’s not their fault. They have never been taught how to influence others toward a better future. They have not practiced public optimism. Those skills are complex. And they need to be practiced regularly.
For details on HOW to measure OKRs, WHY measure them, and WHAT you can do to practice OKR Leadership, read my new book Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to Apply Silicon Valley’s Secret Sauce to Your Career, Team or Organization (2019) or download a free excerpt from https://okrleadership.com/
Let’s keep it simple.
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Distributed Ownership Tips for Family Businesses
By: Doug Gray, Ph.D., The Family Business Consulting Group
Many family business leaders describe ownership as a linchpin of their enterprise. Some, fearing family conflict and business indecision, seek ways to limit the distribution of ownership among their heirs. But a focused ownership strategy (e.g. assigning majority control to one heir) can lead to family disputes over fairness or a lack of social capital left in the business. When ownership is clearly defined with mutually acceptable values (e.g. stewardship, service, loyalty, integrity), then distribution is more likely to be successful. But what happens when ownership is not clearly distributed?
This article addresses two questions: 1) what is distributed ownership? and 2) how do business-owning families successfully manage distributed ownership?
1. What is distributed ownership?
Answers from my FBCG colleagues ranged from “that good feeling when the family business is in good hands” to “an endless series of scenes like in those Matrix movies.” Distributed ownership can be defined descriptively as “when multiple owners have different percentage levels of shares, or types of shares (e.g. voting, non-voting).” Distributions from generation 1 (G1) to G2 are typically from one or two founders to two or more owners, and that complexity increases with each distribution over time. The goal of distributed ownership is to move from now to next, from coexisting to maximizing your competitive advantage. In this article, distributed ownership can be defined as “how you co-design your flourishing family enterprise.”
Any functional definition needs to focus on “what works now” and “what may work until the next redistribution.” Consider the threats we know now. Amid COVID, globalization, political and social polarization, technological and security threats, decision-making for family business leadership has never been more
challenging. However, family business leaders have a resilient history. Flourishing family business leaders have many strategic advantages that can inform ownership discussions. Owners may make values-based decisions over longer terms (versus quarterly returns); owners can quickly access resources; and owners can invest or withhold resources quickly when required. The result is that family-owned businesses may have a competitive advantage over many publicly held companies.1
Distributed ownership can be defined as “how you co- design your flourishing family enterprise.”
The next few blog articles will describe 4 TIPS for what NOT to do, then 5 tips for WHAT TO DO in your Family Business.
For more details contact Doug Gray at
2. or at the Family Business Collaboration
3. or contact us TODAY for the full article.
Let’s get started!
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