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Packaging Horizons
GENERATION X
A Closet Full of Skills
The organizational talents you've learned at home may have big pay-offs in the workplace.
By Sandra Livermon
I've often thought a good interviewing tactic would be to have the applicant tackle cleaning out a teenager's closet. If the interviewee finished the job to both the teen's and the mom's satisfaction, it would surely indicate a high degree of organizational skills, not to mention, excellent negotiating and presentation skills.
Women are, and always have been, constant students of organization and coordination. Maybe it's because we practice this skill so many ways, all the time, without even being aware we are doing so. Think about it. Whether it is coordinating events, wardrobes, children's activities, seating arrangements, a business meeting, sales promotion or corporate takeover, women are adapt at organizing.
Every generation has thought their living and business environment was the most complex, the most difficult to manage and the most diverse. But, without argument, Generation X lives in a day and time like no other. Never have the skills of organization and coordination been more needed and more valued. Being a good coordinator and organizer requires practice. In living out traditional roles and lifestyles, many women get to perfect and refine their skills in these two important areas from early childhood. This is not to be taken lightly. Although roles and responsibilities are blending and merging, women, certainly those of Generation X, have an unprecedented need and opportunity to bring these skills to work.
Today's workforce no longer expects to sit at the same desk, do the same job, do the job the same way, work with the same people or even the same company for their professional lifetime. Generation X must not only work across departments and companies but with other industries, municipalities and cultures, and perhaps across geographical lines. Time pressure and time management are daily facts of life. Therefore, any skill that can simplify the pressures we encounter is of tremendous value in the workplace.
Prioritizing is of major importance as demands on time increase. Women do this well. Ask any woman about the need to be flexible and adaptable in setting and adjusting her schedule to accommodate her work, family, and outside responsibilities. Ask her about changing priorities--both hers and those for which she is responsible. These are transferrable skills. Wife, mother, daughter, friend, business woman, community leader, volunteer, the list goes on. We wear many hats, yet we seem to be able to organize them all to fit at the proper time. What women practice without notice or applause can, on the corporate and business level, save valuable time--and that means money.
The Generation X woman is poised, confident, prepared and willing. Even so, the challenges and opportunities that face her can at times seem overwhelming. At times her youth, energy and enthusiasm may seem less than enough to meet the challenge. If the pace threatens to be too hectic, the demands unreasonable and the expectations unrealistic, I suggest a simple remedy. Throw everything in a mental closet and stand back and think, "I've cleaned up bigger messes than this before." Start pulling everything out, piece by piece. Examine, decide, replace, discard, and continue. Pretty soon you've got the closet cleaned, organized, and coordinated. The job wasn't as big, as bad, or as complicated as we feared.
We all know that time is money, especially in the business world. Organization and coordination, more than any other two skills, increase this valuable commodity called time. The corporate dictate to "get organized" is a woman's call to arms. I bet you never thought that cleaning out a closet could aid you on your career path.
Good coordination and organization can mean a meeting that runs smoothly, a customer that is serviced efficiently, or a workload that is accomplished successfully instead of being shuttled, funneled, or overlooked. Need to brush up on these skills? I've got the perfect closet! Would you like to practice at my house?
Sandra Livermon, an award-winning contractor, uses her business background, humor, and real-life experiences in nationally presented keynotes and seminars to corporations, businesses, and associations. She can be reached on line at: noexcuse@3rddoor.com.
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