Students who engage “tend to become more extroverted, socially engaging, and become everyday leaders.” Also, children who pushed their parents or educators to let them be involved in activities were more likely to become leaders, no matter the type of activity. Equally important was parents’ supporting children to pursue their interests by showing genuine interest.
There was “a little overlap” between having a high IQ and strong inner motivation, but the study showed those who were “motivationally gifted” were much more likely to become leaders. “We have fallen into a culture that tests and labels—and we need to be creating people who are visionaries, who are risk takers, who know how to adopt a challenge and pursue it over time,” says Carol S. Dweck, psychology professor at Stanford.
• Students who were comfortable with ambiguity and could boldly go forth, comfortably, without a map were able to negotiate new territory as young adults and successful professionals.

How can we cultivate leadership in schools and at home? Schools must become “’intentional and purposeful’ in creating opportunities for students to connect with real-world experiences, to fail and pick themselves up, and to connect with passions they can pursue and master, according to Tim Magner, executive director of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. At home, parents have to let students explore, stumble fall and get back up again.  Hold your tongue and your tension as your child asserts himself and suffers his own setbacks which will strengthen him for life’s inevitable challenges.  School and home have to promote messy, creative and open-ended learning where students have choice, take risks and discover their own inner talents and interests.

As colleges and the workforce get more selective, more people choose to become entrepreneurs, and we search for more innovators to pave the way in the 21st century, leadership will continue to be a valued skill in any field. Through the study of both historical and modern day leaders, LifeBound’s Leadership for Teenagers, helps students develop 21st century leadership skills that compliments core curricula presented in high school classrooms. Visit the LifeBound website to find out more about how you can cultivate leadership at home, in class and around the world.

Dropping out of high school doesn’t only effect the individual. While students who drop out of high school will personally have less chances of employment, make lower incomes, and are most likely just a piece in the poverty cycle, they also represent a huge drain on our economic potential. On a larger scale, high school graduates and dropouts shape our economy, define the abilities of our workforce, and set the stage for our leaders of the future in business, industry, and government.

Even though “bridging the gap” has become a familiar phrase in education reform, the attention alone won’t  solve anything: we need action. Decades of research strongly suggests that the most effective education reform starts when kids are in preschool, where they are fed and taught in small groups, get home visits by teachers and have meetings with parents, and have teachers who make higher salaries, according to the article.

Our future depends on not only more graduates, but more successful graduates who are ready to succeed in the world of work and their lives as a whole. Starting early, staying consistent, and holding the bar high as students progress will provide a society with the brain potential, talent, and follow through to negotiate and leverage the global challenges that lie ahead.

Advances in technology have always come at the price of taking jobs, and we can expect them to continue taking even more. “As they say, if horses could have voted, there never would have been cars,” writes Thomas Friedman in his article “Average Is Over.”

But that doesn’t mean everyone should worry that their job will be replaced by technology anytime soon. As history has shown us, we will adapt to new technology by gaining new skillsets, possibly lose more low-level jobs, but still have the need for a human workforce. The reality is that technology is changing this generation of workers’ role in the workforce, by delegating menial tasks to technology and requiring workers to bring something fresh to the table.

“In the past, workers with average skills, doing an average job, could earn an average lifestyle. But, today, average is officially over,” writes Friedman. What does an above average worker look like? They are unique. They bring skills and ideas to a company that computers don’t have the capacity to mimic.

Higher education is also key to being successful in this changing economy. It used to be that people could get entry-level jobs straight out of high school, have 20-year careers, and end with a retirement plan. In the last few decades, we’ve seen the average professional spend 4.4 years at each career, their education level increase to a college degree, and an expectation that they will pay for their own retirement.

In Friedman’s article he shares the BLS’s unemployment stats for Americans over 25:

• those with less than a high school degree, 13.8 percent.
• those with a high school degree and no college, 8.7 percent.
• those with some college or associate, 7.7 percent.
• those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 4.1 percent.

What we know about the future is that workers must pursue higher education and refine the skills that make them unique to be in demand. How do you identify your unique skills? How will you stay up with technology? How will you pass along the importance of higher education to your generation, or the next generation?

Collaboration. Teamwork. Brainstorm.

Anyone whose been in school or the workforce in the last few years knows these words are often attached to positive outcomes for companies and institutions, like increased productivity, creativity, and achievement. However, research shows that these group practices may be overlooking the value of solitude, according to The New York Times opinion piece, “The Rise of the New Groupthink.“

The writer of the article, Susan Cain, argues that research strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption. History also shows some of our most creative and influential thinkers and leaders have been introverts who find answers in times of solitude, like Newton, Picasso, Jesus, and Buddha.

The “New Groupthink” environment is the standard for many. Research shows:

• Virtually all American workers spend time on teams and some 70 percent inhabit open-plan offices.
• Over the last 40 years, the average office space shrank from 500 square feet to 200 square feet.
• Classrooms have been transformed to commonly use pods of desks.
• Classroom assignments in subjects like math and creative writing are often done in groups.

We all know the saying “Everything in moderation,” but there doesn’t seem to be much room left for this mode of thinking in the new team environment. Why can teamwork be an unhealthy choice? One study showed open-plan offices make for hostile, insecure, and distracted workers who are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, stress, the flu, and exhaustion. They also found workers who are interrupted make 50 percent more mistakes and take twice as long to finish a task.

In another study of more than 600 computer programmers at 92 companies, researchers found performance level wasn’t distinguishable by variables like experience or pay. Rather, the top-performing individuals were from companies that allowed their employees more privacy, personal workspace, and freedom from interruption.

Teamwork isn’t all bad, or it wouldn’t be so popular. Teamwork can be positive if it is:

• used to stimulate, exchange ideas, manage information, and build trust.
• practiced in conjunction with time for solitude.
• composed of members who have worked autonomously and come together to complete the puzzle.
• conducted virtually. Screens create a great barrier to make electronic brainstorming/teamwork extremely productive and creative.

Cain makes the point in her article that:

“….human nature remains the same. And most humans have two contradictory impulses: we love and need one another, yet we crave privacy and autonomy.”

How can you embrace both of these contradictory impulses in the classroom or the workplace? How can you plan to have meaningful, productive exchanges on your team while still maintaining boundaries for time each day to listen to your  instincts, hatch your own unique ideas, and listen to your inner muse? There is a way to strike this balance if you are mindful that both impulses are equally valuable.

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Source:

“The Rise of the New Groupthink,” by Susan Cain. 15 January 2012. The New York Times. Accessed on 16 January 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?pagewanted=3&smid=fb-nytimes

The world of work is changing, and whether it scares or excites you, one thing is for certain: you shouldn’t be surprised if your job doesn’t exist in two decades. Many people are fearful of the changing workforce because it means uncertainty, foreign technology, and possible unemployment. However, the recent Fast Company article “The Career of the Future Doesn’t Include A 20-Year Plan. It’s More Like Four,” shows change can be positive, and something you should expect more of in your career.

In the article, Anya Kamentz profiles three different kinds of professionals who have held a variety of positions, and predict more in their future. Adam Hasler, 28, has moved from taking over a coffeehouse to learning programming and applying to MIT over the last 5 years. Cheryl Edmonds, 61, received her avionics training for an Air Force reservist in 1976, was an engineer at IBM, taught English in China, and now works at a non-profit. Stacy Brown-Philpot, 36, earned her undergrad in economics, worked for Goldman Sachs, got her MBA from Stanford, worked with startups for free, and ended up at Google. All three of these workers have the same attitude about their careers: they want to keep learning and growing.

But, you might wonder, isn’t it a liability to have multiple spurts of short-term employment on your resume? Not necessarily. New employers are considering short-term employment a benefit if it falls in one of two categories, according to Judy Gilbert, director of “people operation’s” at Google’s YouTube: One, the change is due to them being promoted within the company, or two, the change shows an intention behind their leaving a job, such as they grew out of the company because they needed a challenge.

The professional of the past might have looked for a comfy position they could be in until retirement, but the new professional has the following skills to make them more movable and desirable:

• Transdisciplinary: A “T-shaped” person with both depth in one subject and breadth in another can be hirable in multiple jobs. For instance, Adam Hasler is fluent in Spanish and has strong computational skills.
• Synthesizing and collaborating: These people can take their knowledge from multiple areas and collaborate with a team to learn even more.
• Dynamic: Because the jobs of the future don’t exist yet, employers want to hire people who can adjust to new tasks.

Much of the change and uncertainty in the careers of the future will be due to technological advances, but it’s not quite the time to worry about a computer taking over your job. The advantage humans still have over computers is social intelligence, and these are the skills the employers of the future will be looking for. “[In the future,] everything that can be routinized, codified, and dissected will eventually be done by machines,” says Marina Gorbis at the Institute for the Future. “Social and emotional intelligence is what humans are uniquely good at–at least for the next decade or two.”

• How can you be an agent of change for you own interests and abilities? How can you create your own career opportunities?
• How can you be flexible and embrace work which is both difficult and personally challenging?
• How can you be an academic and career coach for others based on what you yourself have learned?

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Source:

“The Career Of the Future Doesn’t Include A 20-Year Plan. It’s More Like Four,” by Anya Kamentz. 9 January 2012. Fast Company. Accessed on 11 January 2012. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/162/average-time-spent-at-job-4-years

A new report shows unemployment rates are lower for recent college graduates than those with less education, according to a recent article by The Chronicle. The study also found, generally, the careers with the highest employment rates are going to graduates with an industry-oriented degree and those pursuing technical fields.

For example, grads with degrees in the arts have an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent and humanities and liberal arts is at 9.4 percent. Grads with a degree in health or education have unemployment rates of 5.4 percent, according to the article. However, due to the economy, some technical degrees that used to have great outlooks, now have high unemployment rates. For instance, architects and civil and mechanical engineers face higher unemployment than in the past, says the lead author of the report.

But, the study also found the unemployment rate for recent graduates is significantly lower than those who only hold a high school diploma or have dropped out. According to the study, the unemployment rates by grade-level completed is:

• 8.9 percent for recent bachelor’s-degree holders.
• 22.9 percent for recent high-school graduates.
• 31.5 percent for recent high-school dropouts.

The working world is going through many changes due to the state of the economy and advancements in technology. In this time of uncertainty, it can feel like a gamble for students and careers as they try to choose between the safest employment paths and careers that they thoroughly enjoy. This study shows there is still worth to pursuing a degree that gives you joy, a degree that prepares you for a career with a high growth rate, or a degree period. What do the results from this study mean to you?

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Source:

“Unemployment Varies by College Major, Study Finds,” by Beckie Supiano. 4 January 2012. The Chronicle. Accessed on 6 January 2012. http://chronicle.com/article/Unemployment-Varies-by-College/130212/

Has the idea of technology taking over the jobs of millions of assembly line workers ever frightened you? Or maybe technology being used to file papers, ticket speeding cars, or checkout your groceries? These are still valid concerns, but technology is now moving beyond low-level tasks and posing a threat to high-skilled jobs as well, according to a recent NPR article.

You might remember earlier this year when Watson, the Jeopardy-playing computer by IBM, became the champion after beating his human co-contestants. He was back at the podium again this week when he went against two teams from MIT and Harvard and kept his champion status.

The advancing technology that allows computers like Watson to play and win Jeopardy has created a new worry for people in higher skilled positions. For example, in legal work, computers are being used to do preliminary reading of volumes of documents that should take the reading power of 500 lawyers.

In the article, David Autor, an MIT economist, said technology had the power to eliminate jobs that were physically hard, dangerous, or monotonous. Technology has also arguably improved people’s quality of life with better health care. Humans are still better at doing a lot of low-level jobs, like janitorial work, and high-skilled jobs, like medial practitioners. However, technology is squeezing out the middle-class by being more efficient at things like depositing checks, printing boarding passes, and updating insurance plans.

What are your feelings on the technology in the workforce? Has your job been effected positively or negatively by technology?

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Source:

“How Technology Is Eliminating Higher-Skill Jobs,” by Chris Arnold. 3 November 2011. NPR. Accessed on 4 November 2011. http://www.npr.org/2011/11/03/141949820/how-technology-is-eliminating-higher-skill-jobs?sc=fb&cc=fp

Funding for college and  low-graduation rates have been hot topics as 2010 comes to an end and we prepare for the political and economic changes of 2011. But what about those students who made it to graduation day in 2010? These grads face a 9.8% national unemployment rate. The National Association of Colleges and Education reported only 24.4% of graduates in 2010 who applied for a job had one waiting for them.

The recent New York Times article, “No Jobs? Young Graduates Make Their Own,” shows us the growing world of online businesses led by young entrepreneurs. These recent graduates didn’t have the corporate jobs available to them that they had dreamt about, but instead of applying for unemployment, they took their skills to the digital world where they already ruled as experts. These new leaders are showing their ingenuity in creating niche businesses like HerCampus: a Collegiettes Guide to Life and SizzleIt a company that produces creative, short reels for advertising, websites, proposals, etc. These entrepreneurs started out in their parent’s basement, coffee shops or apartments with little knowledge of the business world but tech savvy enough to teach themselves how to design a website, hire a virtual team, and network.  Also, they have the critical thinking to negotiate any challenges they might face.

In these difficult times, many of us will be forced to be creative. Those grads who can see possibilities to be creative, follow a vision, and tap into the expansive thought process will be highly valuable working for themselves or someone else.  In many ways, this time period can be compared to post World War II America when men and women had very little, but created something out of nothing, used their ingenuity, launched businesses, and in the end, prospered despite the initial challenges and setbacks.  Today we still have many major corporations that started in the aftermath of this significant time in history as well as examples of men and women who started in the mail rooms and rose to run major companies.

- Read the New York Times article “No Jobs? Young Graduates Make Their Own at nytimes.com

Managers may call it creative thinking or divergent thinking; others refer to it simply as creativity. Whatever term you use, with today’s emphasis on innovation, the development of creative thinking is more important than ever. For instance, the CEO of Stewarts Coffee, Bob Stewart, has a sculpted light bulb hanging above his desk to represent what the bulk of his work entails—generating ideas. For the creative thinker, each thought is pregnant with possibilities.

According to cognitive experts, thinking is not something you choose to do, anymore than fish choose to live in water. To be human is to think. But while thinking may come naturally, awareness of how you think does not. The essence of critical thinking is thinking beyond the obvious. Unfortunately, sometimes we get stuck mentally. Options don’t occur to us because we’re so focused on the task at hand, that we forget to ask, “What if?” We may never shift our thinking into synthesis, a deeper mental process that involves combining ideas and information in ways that form completely new solutions, processes, uses, or products.

What about you? Are you developing your creative powers and using them on the job? Companies lament that employees aren’t more creative. Managers say that they could increase productivity and sales if every worker learned “to think outside the box.” Of course, every employee does have the potential to think creatively, but creative thinking, like other skills, must be learned and practiced.

To stimulate creativity, some organizations hire creative consultants or sponsor seminars that teach employees how to imagine. Through his books and speaking engagements, Roger von Oech, author of A Whack on the Side of the Head, presents a variety of methods for improving mental flexibility. One of his suggestions involves changing your viewpoint. So you might ask yourself, “How would someone with an opposing view to mine approach this problem?” Following are other suggestions for enhancing creativity:

• Indulge in a creative process such as drawing, or cooking something you’ve never made before.
• Get away from the office and think about a business problem in the middle of a park, or at a museum.
• Give yourself time to evaluate an idea. Rushing your thought process can be a roadblock to creativity.
• Solicit a variety of opinions on a problem you’re trying to solve. Weigh the different perspectives to help you come up with the best solution.
• Research your idea, and from that, brainstorm as many ideas as possible.
• Read about or participate in a new activity, something novel to you, so that your mind is exposed to fresh ideas.
• Let yourself play. Creative ideas often surface when we allow ourselves to engage in something frivolous, or in an activity that we truly enjoy.

Amidst the slow economic recovery, business start-ups are on the rise. Graduates facing a bleak job market as well as downsized seasoned professionals are finding fulfilling work in entrepreneurship. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that a staggering 9 out of 10 businesses fail within the first year. Following are five suggestions to help aspiring entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls on the road to business success.

1. Develop emotional intelligence. Even the smartest entrepreneurs may be unaware of their strengths and weaknesses. Yet self-awareness is key to operating a successful business. You need high levels of emotional intelligence to keep yourself—and your business—moving forward.

2. Distinguish your products or services from the competition. One of the biggest fallacies in business is obsessing over trends and in the process losing sight of what makes your business unique. Carefully assess how you differ from the competition and what you can do better.

3. Invest in yourself. Many entrepreneurs expend tremendous energy and inspiration at the start of their venture. But maintaining that same fervor becomes more difficult over time. Determine what can keep you motivated to achieve your goals. Consider hiring a career coach or a counselor to help you discover whether your passions and values are compatible with running a business.

4. Find resources. Don’t try to figure everything out yourself. Continue to network with mentors and with community and professional organizations, such as your local chamber of commerce, to help your business succeed. For instance, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides a full range of services to small business owners, from getting a loan to developing a business plan, at www.sba.gov.

5. Learn business management skills. If you aren’t experienced in business, upgrade your skills. Many colleges now offer academic majors in entrepreneurship. If you don’t have the time or money to pursue a business degree, attend business seminars or purchase a reputable business video course. With the right tools, your new business can succeed.