Honors English

There are lots of everyday work processes and methods that prove very helpful on the home front, particularly operational improvement tools (i.e. workplans). Other examples range from using team management techniques on family members to time management to mail merge for holiday cards.

This week, though, the ‘helpful’ went the other way—a learning on the home front that informed the work front. Setting: Late summer air, a forlorn sense of loss, anxiety and just a touch of excitement from my kids about going back to school. (As you likely know, getting everyone ready to go back to school is a work task worthy of an implementation plan in and of itself!)

However, this year, my son and I also had a discussion on a new back-to-school topic—Honors English. Going into the eighth grade, this is the first year that there is an honors track at his school. The question on the table: Should he shoot for the higher hurdle of the honors class or more comfortably continue on the non-honors track. The swiftness of his analysis took me back a bit. (Remember, there’s no such thing as a long conversation with this newly thirteen-year-old boy.) The upside: An A in honors English would look better on his high school application; the downside is that it’s harder to get an A.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? Yep. It worked for me. But then I realized how his simple thinking could make a profound difference on the work front. One of the things we were grappling with was what it really means to “dial up careers.” Greater responsibilities and ‘stretch’ assignments are criteria for dialed up careers—a hallmark of mass career customization. 

However, what if someone dialed up but then didn’t deliver at that level? Would his or her performance rating be impacted or would she still get a rating of someone at the same level who had not stepped forward requesting to accelerate her growth? Was it equitable to have a different hurdle level for folks who were really ‘hungry’ for taking on more? On the other hand, was it justified not to have a higher hurdle? We had been going back and forth on this—until the Honors English discussion. And then it became clearer; it’s just another example of the risk-reward profile. 

In this instance, bringing life into work helped solidify a work decision. Hmmmm. My guess is that this is a much more common occurrence than I’ve ever thought about before. What do you think? Do you have any examples where life informed your work?

Cathy

By blogger Cathy Benko, Deloitte LLP

Comments

[Kevin in St. Louis]

Honors English - Women's Initiative Blog
August 23, 2007

There are lots of everyday work processes and methods that prove very helpful on the home front, particularly operational improvement tools (i.e. workplans). Other examples range from using team management techniques on family members to time management to mail merge for holiday cards.

This week, though, the ‘helpful’ went the other way—a learning on the home front that informed the work front. Setting: Late summer air, a forlorn sense of loss, anxiety and just a touch of excitement from my kids about going back to school. (As you likely know, getting everyone ready to go back to school is a work task worthy of an implementation plan in and of itself!)

However, this year, my son and I also had a discussion on a new back-to-school topic—Honors English. Going into the eighth grade, this is the first year that there is an honors track at his school. The question on the table: Should he shoot for the higher hurdle of the honors class or more comfortably continue on the non-honors track. The swiftness of his analysis took me back a bit. (Remember, there’s no such thing as a long conversation with this newly 13-year-old boy.) The upside: An A in honors English would look better on his high school application; the downside is that it’s harder to get an A.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? Yep. It worked for me. But then I realized how his simple thinking could make a profound difference on the work front. One of the things we were grappling with was what it really means to “dial up careers.” Greater responsibilities and ‘stretch’ assignments are criteria for dialed up careers—a hallmark of mass career customization.

However, what if someone dialed up but then didn’t deliver at that level? Would his or her performance rating be impacted or would she still get a rating of someone at the same level who had not stepped forward requesting to accelerate her growth? Was it equitable to have a different hurdle level for folks who were really ‘hungry’ for taking on more? On the other hand, was it justified not to have a higher hurdle? We had been going back and forth on this—until the Honors English discussion. And then it became clearer; it’s just another example of the risk-reward profile.

In this instance, bringing life into work helped solidify a work decision. Hmmmm. My guess is that this is a much more common occurrence than I’ve ever thought about before. What do you think? Do you have any examples where life informed your work?

Cathy

By blogger Cathy Benko, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:25 p.m. EDT
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Comments to Honors English

Kevin in St. Louis wrote:
My wife (then girlfriend) and I were staying with a buddy of mine (Charlie) from college. After getting up one morning, Charlie offered (somewhat enthusiastically) to make us some pancakes. Not being much of a breakfast guy, I said I didn't want any, and didn't think another thing about it. My wife/gf pulled me aside and told me that I *really* should have some pancakes. I didn't get it, at all. Why? I had just saved him the effort of all that work, right? No. I had completely missed the point. Charlie wasn't just making food. He *wanted* to spend time with us, and provide for us as a good host.

That event was something of a small epiphany for me. The professional lesson, and I see it every single day, is that sometimes what we do is not solely about efficiency and effectiveness. *People have feelings*, and when we understand them properly, we are all more well rewarded.

Incidentally, Charlie makes a handsome pancake.

[Jim in Chicago]

My younger daughter, Katie, was in the Marian Catholic High School Band for four years. It influenced her a lot. I learned how great that influence was on a return trip from a college admissions interview. In response to my inquiries about the questions she was asked, she said that one question was "What did you learn in band?" Katie said, "I told her I could think of two things I learned in band. First, you don't need to like people to be able to work with them. Second, you don't have to take criticism personally - it's just business."What she had learned by age 17, some of us have yet to learn.

[Pat in Berkeley]

10 things I have learned from elderly parents and friends:(1) Do it now. You won't always be able to do things you now take for granted. (2) Develop a wide range of interests, some active and some sedentary, so you will always have something to look forward to. (3) Make friends with younger people. (4) Slow down and notice beautiful little things around you. (5) Travel light -- throw and give things away. No one is going to build a museum in your honor. (6) Think about what you can do, not what you can't. (7) Don't worry about impressing people. They are not paying as much attention to you as you think. (8) Be curious. The more you learn, the more questions you will have. (9) Take care of your health. It will make a big difference in your quality of life. (10) Be positive.

[Michaela in Columbus]

Recently, my eight year old told me that he didn't like change, it was too scary. He went onto say it was much safer for things to stay same. As we talked I was able to share with him how change gave us the opportunity to try new and different things and that it was the only way to find new things that we liked. It made me reflect on how often at work that same feeling arises. I feel very safe with what I know and am comfortable with, but if I don't push myself to try new and different things I am denying myself the opportunity to explore and find new things I enjoy. For me it was a bit of "practice what you preach".

[Lis in Houston]

My son goes to college tomorrow and with that comes the thought to make sure you communicate your thoughts clearly to those you work with, live with and admire...there is no time than the present. on another note 18 years passes way too quickly.

[Elana in Wilton]

Cathy, I think it's interesting that the Honors English posting is immediately following the "Moving Outside Our Comfort Zone" posting -- they are really very closely related topics. In other words, isn't taking Honors English all about whether your son is ready to move outside his Comfort Zone? And then, the parallel to the work world goes back to exactly what Sharon was talking about -- pushing yourself to new jobs, even if you are tempted to stay in an old job and continue to do it as well as you have been, without pushing yourself beyond your Comfort Zone. The key is to knowing what the edges of your personal Comfort Zone are, and how far you're willing to push yourself past those edges for a greater reward.