​Aree Bly is an alignment coach for analytical minds, having spent much of her career as a health insurance consulting actuary in the United States. She has a great love for the outdoors – spending time in nature, and she lived for a few years in Brazil! These days, Aree is a regular podcast guest and speaker (including a TEDx talk in New York City, where she spoke about resetting in a new direction). She helps individuals and teams to identify and navigate their values, strengths and skills to create the success they really desire. In this article, ‘alignment ally’ Aree describes her ‘alignment landscape’ model, drawing on her own analytical experiences: 

"I have both said and heard 'I am too analytical to fully follow the voice within'. Sometimes it comes out as 'I am too analytical to clearly hear the voice within'. In either case, there is another way to navigate into and through a successful career. One in which the success you create is also sustainable. 

Navigating your own career and the challenges that you meet along the way implies that there is a map that you can follow. That map is called your alignment landscape. 

Alignment, Learning, Proficiency & more
You operate best and contribute most effectively when your work is aligned with both your current skills and your values. In your alignment zone, with everything falling into place, you can perform every time.

When you know that you have the skills and talents at hand to tackle an upcoming project or solve the problem that a client is facing, you can approach the job confidently. All you need to do is reach into your toolbox and - voila - a hammer in hand ready for the nail. You don’t even need to think about it. The skills are there, honed and ready to be used. Read more to continue exploring the features of the alignment landscape with me, including this map’s particular orientation and contours.

To say I was surprised by the general sentiment in a poll I ran on LinkedIn and Twitter about company-allocated mentors is putting it mildly. Especially given the incredibly positive perspective I get from talking with HR departments, including Learning & Development managers, in companies themselves. A strong reminder to me that different stakeholders can have very different perspectives on the same topic!

​So, given I’ve written about other company initiatives like rotation programmes and career returner programmes before, why not write an article on mentorship programmes too? 

Read more to learn what the poll results were, plus some suggestions on how to enhance company mentorship initiatives, ending with thoughts on other programmes such as those run by non-profit organisations or professional bodies.

This month we’ve been having some fun… 

Longstanding readers may recall our previous Halloween-themed post (way back in 2017!) on slashers, asking: ‘what type of professional slasher are you?’ This year, however, we’ve gone too far – our social media followers on LinkedIn and Twitter will have seen us posting over recent weeks about terrifying creatures known as dementees and tormentors, both horrible in their own right.

You’ve probably come across (or even been!) a dementee at some point over your career so far, and not necessarily during late October. On the positive side, they’re super-eager for career support. But, beware: they indiscriminately reach out far and wide for anyone and everyone who can help them achieve what they want, and can be aggressive in the pursuit of their goals. The relationship is unbalanced though, and woe betide anyone who is unfortunate enough to be cornered by a dementee. We summarise these tricksters with this handy mnemonic: 

• Demanding 
• Entertain-Me Mindset 
• Moaner 
• Expects Freebies 
• Not Prepared 
• Tardy 
• Erratic 
• Entitled 

Instead, to avoid becoming a DEMENTEE in your passionate pursuit of your career goals, we suggest, when interacting with more experienced professionals, looking for guidance, support and career direction from them, aspire to be a PROTEGE: 

• Proactive
• Respectful
• Open to Learn
• Truly Invests in Growth
• Evolves & Develops
• Goal-driven & Committed
• Engaged & Professional

And just before you get the idea that experienced professional mentors escaped the bloodbath this Halloween, please note that we also drew attention to their dark side: tormentors. The ones whose advice is so cutting that it keeps you awake for months, shocking you to your core and perhaps triggering waves of depression. Other characteristics of tormentors listed by followers Greg and David are: talking and instructing without asking nor understanding the protege, or only having time available to meet on Friday 13th… and then rescheduling! It’s very definitely not recommended practice to interact with tormentors.

On a final gloomy note, perhaps JK Rowling was onto something when she invented dementors…
Are these dark, soulless creatures, ‘draining peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them’, born of the worst of dementees and tormentors?! 

Happy Halloween to all our

• followers,
• monthly subscribers,
• proteges and
• mentors!