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EXECUTIVE MBA IN PRODUCT LEADERSHIP

PM 101
Career path Planning
Prof. Vishy
15
th
April
LS 106-S1 & S2
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Course Topic Outline
2
Defining Careers
Career & Self Concept
Career Stages
Career Coaching Process
Personality Preferences
Career Anchors
Personalized Career Anchor Report
Career Values
Career Interviews for Feedback
Career Vision
Career Transitions Model


3
3
Knowing yourself
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What is a Career ?
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary simply defines it as:
a persons path or progress through life

From an Occupational perspective, it is a persons
chosen occupation craft or profession
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Career and Self Concept
As a career evolves, the person develops a self concept that includes
answers to some of the following questions:

What are my talent skills and areas of competence? What
are my strengths and weaknesses?
What are my motives, needs, drives and goals in life?
What are my values, the main criteria with which I judge
what I am doing? How proud or ashamed am I about my
work and career?
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Evolution of Careers
Issue Traditional Career Protean Career
Whos in charge? Organization Person
Core values Advancement Freedom and growth
Work-life integration
Degree of mobility Lower High
Key attitudes Commitment to
organization
Commitment to
profession
Work satisfaction
Work to live not live to
work
Success criteria Position level / title
Salary
Psychological success
Meaningful work
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This framework was developed by Edgar Schein
Career Stages
Retirement
Disengagement
Maintaining Momentum or
leveling off
Midcareer crisis/Reassessment
Gaining Tenure / Permanent
Membership
Gaining of membership
Basic Training and socialization
Entry into the world of work
Education and training
Growth fantasy and exploration
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Career Progress
Career
Progress
Movement in
Influence
and Power
Hierarchical
movement
Cross
functional
Horizontal
movement
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Career Development Plan
Personality
Preferences
Career
Anchors
Personal Values
Skills &
Ambition
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Career Coaching Process
Autobiography and Peak
Experiences (high points)
Personality Preferences
Career Anchors
Career Values Assessment
Interview with Others (skills)
10 Years Out (personal vision)
Career Development Plan
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The Personality preferences test
Please score the questionnaire handed
to you
There are no right or wrong answers
Choose the answer which comes most
easily to you dont over analyze
Take a feet on the table approach
what would you like to do if you had no
pressures and could do what you wished
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The Peak Experience Exercise
(When were you in flow ?)
Reflect on experiences that have been
highlights in your work or non-work life
List the top 6-8 peak experiences
Provide description of event,
activity, or accomplishment
Describe what makes it a
peak experience
Reflects your passions, skills and
values
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The Peak Experience Exercise
(When were you in flow ?)
Description of the
Experience
What was the
nature of
challenge?
What skills did you
deploy?
What did you value
most about the
experience?
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Values: Career Values Inventory
Determine relative strength of possible values
For those that are always valued column,
prioritize and select top 5
In small groups, share:
Highest values
Surprises in sorting values
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What is a Career Anchor?
The theory was proposed by Edgar Schein, after
conducting a longitudinal study at MIT starting in the
1960s.

Career Anchor indicates an area of such paramount
importance to the person that he or she will not give it up

The anchor begins to define the self image of the person
and therefore career choices over the long run are
consistent with this anchor
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Career Anchors Model
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This framework was developed by Edgar Schein
Types of Career Anchors
Technical/ Functional Competence
General Managerial Competence
Autonomy /Independence
Security/Stability
Entrepreneurial Creativity
Service Dedication to a cause
Pure Challenge
Lifestyle
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Technical Functional Competence
Type of work
In the area of their Expertise / Specialization
Technical challenges are a motivator
Interested in intrinsic content
Like autonomy in how they do things
tolerate the administrators/ managers
Recognition and Benefits
Looks for external equity
Prefers professional peer recognition to managerial
Prefer absolute pay to stock options / golden hand cuffs
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Technical Functional Competence
Motivators and Values
Self image and esteem tied up with competence
Challenging work in functional area
Professional Membership
Mentoring and Passing on skills

Typical Jobs/ Roles
Research Scientist
Security Specialist
Functional Specialist
Domain Consultant
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General Managerial Competence
Type of work
Cross functional integrative and varied work
View specialization as a trap
Typically possess interpersonal and emotional competence
High level of responsibility is important
Job must directly co relate to organizational success
Recognition and Benefits
Looks for internal equity
Promotions / Rank / Title /increase in responsibility are
motivators
Prefer stock options / golden hand cuffs etc.
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General Managerial Competence
Motivators and Values
Motivating others
Emotional and Interpersonal competence (stimulated by
crisis)
Solving problems analytical competence
Taking touch decisions
Achieving Success
Typical Jobs / Roles
P & L leader
CEO
Business Head
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Autonomy / Independence
Type of work
Dont like being bound by rules/ procedures/ dress codes
Prefers clearly delineated, time bound work in expertise area
Contract / project / part time work are welcome
Cannot stand close supervision
Wants autonomy on how work gets done
Recognition and Benefits
Immediate payoffs with no stings attached
Cafeteria style benefits within an organization
Medals, testimonials, Letters of commendation mean more

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Autonomy
Motivators and Values
Flexible employment patterns
Working independently
Being free from constraints
Work that is time bound and clearly delineated
Self motivated

Typical Jobs / Roles
Freelance Trainers
Consultants
Part time workers

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Security / Stability
Type of work
Prefer jobs which provide job tenure and are known to be
stable
Jobs which need steady performance
Predictable environment
Provides financial security

Recognition and Benefits
Steady increments
Published Grade and rank system
Good retirement plans and benefit programs

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Security and Stability
Motivators and Values
Predictable future
Loyalty
Job security
Adaptable
Conformity

Typical Jobs / Roles
Government Jobs
Public Sector Banking roles
Accounting

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Entrepreneurial Creativity
Type of work
Create new businesses of their own offering products and
services
Obsessed with need to create and get bored easily
Constantly require creative challenges
Typically gets expressed early in life

Recognition and Benefits
Making money is a measure of success
High personal visibility and public recognition are important
Ownership of the enterprise is the most crucial issue
Building Size and / or Fortune are key drivers
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Entrepreneurial Creativity
Motivators and Values
Creating new ways of working
Working on new ideas
Variety and change
High levels of energy
Open minded employers

Typical Jobs / Roles
Startup founders
Enterprise heads
Product creators

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Service/Dedication to a Cause
Type of work
Desire to improve the world in some way
Work must be aligned to ones values
Desire to serve is usually high
Talent and competencies are not seen as important

Recognition and Benefits
Money is usually not central to them
Shared values with the context is most important
Fair pay for effort is the principle
Promotion usually would mean more autonomy

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Service/Dedication to a Cause
Motivators and Values
Living ones values
Strong Minded
Meaning at work
Helping
Openness
Typical Jobs / Roles
Product Evangelist
Tech Support
NGOs / Social work
Teaching / Mentoring
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Pure Challenge
Type of work
Continuing challenge not necessarily in area of expertise
warriors who see work as a competitive space
Constant need to Self test ones competence
Overcoming the impossible, Solving the unsolvable

Recognition and Benefits
All forms of pay, benefits and recognition are subordinate to
the challenge in the work they do

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Pure Challenge
Motivators and Values
Winning
Competition
Working on Complex and difficult problems
Testing their abilities
Variety

Typical Jobs / Roles
High end Strategy Consultants
Management Consulting

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Lifestyle
Type of work
Work must be organized around their lifestyle
Career is seen as an integration of Individual, Family and the
career
Flexibility is the key principle
Recognition and Benefits
Flexible working options
Family needs are respected by the organization
Geographical movements only when desired by the
individual
Other options like sabbaticals, paternity leave, part time
work etc
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Lifestyle
Motivators and Values
Flexibility in work patterns
Work life balance
Sensitivity to personal needs
Career is a means to a lifestyle

Typical Jobs / Roles
Flexible work profiles

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EXECUTIVE MBA IN PRODUCT LEADERSHIP
PM 101
Career path Planning
Prof. Vishy
May 10
th
, 2014
LS 106-S3
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Skills: Interview with Significant
Others
Get feedback on your skills and
competencies from those who know you well
Provides you the gift of external perspective
You can conduct many interviews with
different people but should include at least:
One personal - someone who
knows you well
One professional someone
you have worked closely with
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Life Goals: The 10 Years Out
Exercise
Intended to give you greater insight into
what your career and work are leading you
to
This is your personal vision
Articulating this will provide a clearer sense
of whats important professionally and
personally and why
Creating mental image of life
10 (or 5) years from today
All questions answered as if it
is 5 or 10 years from today
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Career Plan
What does success look like? What do you see ?
Hear ? Feel?

Primary Career Portfolio / Choice

Long term professional position you are in and type
of company?

18 month milestones starting now
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1. Managing Managers globally
2. Delivering an important business objective without
formal authority
3. Managing a merger or acquisition or a key
partnership alliance
4. Leading an organization wide change initiative


5. Creating product or business strategy
6. Leading a cross functional team
7. Leading a turnaround
8. Handling a P & L


Experience Category I : Exposure to Challenging
Situations
Experience Category II : Leading a business

9. Accountable to stakeholders with competing
Interests
10. Building solid relationships with external
customers or accounts
11. Working with CEO / Executive Committee/
Members of the Board
12. Recruiting, Selecting and Retaining a Senior
Executive team

Experience Category III : Leading Internal and
External Constituents
13. New Product Design and Development
14. Product Management
15. Marketing and Business development
16. Retail / Channel Management



Experience Category IV : Key Functional
Experiences
Critical Experiences Inventory
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Career Plan
What functional and leadership skills, knowledge
experiences do you need to reach the first
milestone? (Know How)

What networks and alliances do you need? (Know
Who)

What are the actions you need to take for each of
the above starting today?
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The Career Transitions Model
Crafting Experiments: Trying out new
activities and professional roles on a small
scale before making a major commitment to a
different path
Working identity is
defined by what we do
and activities that
engage us
Shifting Connections: Developing contacts
who can open doors to new worlds. Finding
role models and new peer groups to guide and
benchmark our progress.
Working Identity is
defined by the
company we keep
Making sense: Finding or creating catalysts
and triggers that allow us to rework our stories
and continually refine it to find meaning
Working identity is
defined by the stories
of who we have been
and who we will
become
Working identity Strategies for Reworking
identity
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Strategies for Career Transitions
Act yourself into a new way of thinking and being
Focus of which of your possible selves you want to test or know
about
Allow yourself a transition period in which it is okay to oscillate
between holding on and letting go
Use a strategy of small wins in which incremental gains will lead you
to profound changes. Accept the crooked path
Identify projects that give you a feel for the new line of work.
Committed Flirtation
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Strategies for Career Transitions
Dont just work. Find people who are what you want to be and
who can provide support for the transitions. You wont find them
in your existing social circles
Dont wait for truth to be revealed to you. Use everyday
occurrences to find meaning and practice telling and retelling
your story. Typical transitions take 3 to 5 years
Step Back. But not for too long.
Change happens in bursts and starts. There are times when you
are open to big changes. Sometimes not.
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Key Transition Challenges
The Promotion Challenge
The Leading your Peers Challenge
The Corporate Diplomacy Challenge
The On-boarding challenge
The International Move Challenge
The Turn around Challenge
The Realignment challenge
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Steps to Transition - Watkins
1. Organize to learn. Figure out what you most need to learn, from
whom, and how you can best learn it. Focus on the right mix of
technical, cultural, and political learning.

2. Establish A-list priorities. Identify a few vital goals and pursue
them relentlessly. Think early about what you need to accomplish
by the end of year one in the new position.

3. Define strategic intent. Develop and communicate a compelling
mission and vision for what the organization will become. Outline a
clear strategy for achieving the mission and realizing the vision.
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4. Build the leadership team. Define your assessment criteria and
evaluate the team you inherited. Move deftly to make the
necessary changes; find the optimal balance between bringing in
outside talent and promoting high-potential leaders within the
organization.

5. Lay the organizational foundation for success. Identify the most
important supporting changes you need to make in the structure,
processes, and key talent bases of the organization. Put a plan in
place for addressing the most pressing organizational weaknesses.
Steps to Transition - Watkins
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6. Secure early wins. Build personal credibility and energize people
by identifying centers of gravity where you can get some early
successes. Organize the right set of initiatives to secure early wins.

7. Create supportive alliances. Identify how the organization really
works and who has influence. Understand who needs to champion
your success and create key alliances in support of your initiatives.
Steps to Transition - Watkins
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Political Missteps
Dependence on one single sponsor
Reliance on narrow skill set
Not learning from experiences
Personal Characteristics Arrogance, Insensitivity
Career De-railers : Watch Outs
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Summary
Understand your anchors,
assets/strengths
Augment yourself with as many
Accelerators as feasible
Benchmark success in your organization
Develop deeper expertise
Create the right networks
For PMs with technology background its
important to become a generalist

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Resources for further exploration
Self Assessment:
MBTI Career Report
Career Leader: http://www.careerleader.com/
Learning Styles: http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/

Books
Working Identity : Herminia Ibarra
Now, Discover your Strengths: Marcus Buckingham
The start up of you: Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
Mass Career Customization: Anne Weisberg, Cathy Benko