by Manuela Müller | Feb 2, 2019 | Career Happiness, edge journey
No matter how you define it, career growth is crucial for personal satisfaction. Being able to contribute on increasing levels and mastering new skills and situtions boost your confidence. Staying engaged and excited in your day job keeps you healthy, as well! Nobody wants to feel stuck or stagnate.
Our whole work environment is geared towards your growth
The work at edge is very varied, and we deal with very challenging questions. At any point, edge employees are involved in various projects, so you will develop your personal effectiveness skills. You will master the technical skills and knowledge it takes to deliver value to an organization, be it in recruitment, team performance or other aspects of business growth.
From Day 1, everyone here develops formal and informal influencing techniques, dealing with many different internal and external customers. Once you are confidently delivering, you could get to lead a project team.
We borrow from cutting edge methods like agile teams, holacracy, NVC and practice strength-based talent management. At edge we apply design thinking and user-centric approaches in all aspects of what we do. We have a weekly practice to evaluate our work and results. You will also sharpen your communication skills as you interact with a wide range of managers, industry experts and decision makers during projects, forums or events.
At edge, we give you the platform to be an entrepreneur, a consultant, a leader, an inventor, a business coach, and in the process, build amazing workplaces across East Africa.
We look forward to welcoming you to the team!
Our team loves the exposure, learning opportunities and feedback they gain.
We asked a few of our teammates at edge on how their growth has looked like, and hopefully, their responses will provide some insight on how you will grow and develop with us!
Reynold appreciates that a lot of care goes into understanding what you’re passionate about, what sort of tasks you struggle with, and what things you’re good at: “This has allowed me to contribute strongly in the areas I’m passionate about, and also perform better in the tasks I struggle with.”
To thrive at edge, you don’t need previous HR experience, says Denise: “When I joined edge, I had no formal work experience with HR. I’ve learned so much about the space in the time that I’ve been here. Aside from Human Resource and Recruitment knowledge and skills, I’ve also learned about business advisory, engaged with design thinking, and project management, which have also added to my skill set.”
Fabianna has been here for over two years and still learns something new every week: “The only way you improve at anything is to get feedback from the people you work with. We’ve got a strong feedback culture here, and I never feel unsure about my performance on projects I’ve worked on.”
Mwalimu enjoys the freedom to map out his own path for growth and development: “The team takes the time to understand what tasks and activities I was good at, and allowed me to build a role that not only matches my interests but also brings me closer to achieving my career goals.”
Please take a look at the open jobs on our Join Us page!
by Lionel Oduol | Feb 1, 2019 | Career Happiness, Working at edge
edge is growing! To help more businesses grow and impact more workplaces, we’re going to double our team in 2019!
Have you ever thought about working in talent acquisition, do you get excited about finding the best talent to help an organization achieve its goals and are passionate about understanding someone’s skills, mindset and potential? If your answer to these questions is yes, we are looking for you!
Moving into a new job is a big step, and we know you’ve got some questions. This article should answer most of them, but in case you’ve got any extra ones leftover, feel free to tweet us @edge_kenya and we’ll be happy to respond!
What does a typical day look like for our recruitment team?
Any day as a recruiter involves a wide variety of activities including digging yourself into a new industry, conducting interviews, LinkedIn headhunting, writing candidate reports, and meeting with clients to discuss project progress.
The team handles nearly a dozen projects at a time, and the office can get pretty (well…) chaotic! One person could be having a phone interview with a candidate in Uganda, while someone else is assessing CVs that came in via email, and another is researching new networks we can tap to identify high-potential professionals who may not be aware of the job opportunities in fast-growing businesses.
Teamwork is key in recruitment! We constantly collaborate on different aspects of the talent acquisition process such as joint brainstorming sessions to think of creative ways to find great candidates, or giving each other feedback on the tools and processes we have developed to screen applicants.
Over lunch, we usually swap stories and catch up on what everyone has been up to, both with regards to their projects, and their personal lives. It’s an opportunity for us to get know each better, provide support where needed, and even, on occasion, rate each others cooking skills.
Recruiting the right talent to solve key business challenges is all about making connections and learning about new trends and markets, and so, an explorative and inquisitive mindset is key: We constantly network with experts across industries to understand trends and realities fast, draw insights, and finally get connected to potential candidates.
At times we attend networking events to build connections with industry leaders, managers and innovators, in order to better understand the human capital challenges facing growing businesses.
And how is edge’s work environment like?
Actually, you have to come and experience it! But since you asked, here is a quick, three-word summary: Fast-paced, constant learning and flexible. Read more on this article here.
Are you the kind of person who thrives in such an environment? Please take a look at the open jobs on our Join Us page!
by Evelyn Pearson | Jul 13, 2018 | Career Happiness
There’s a new type of employer in town: Meet the high-potential fast-growing start-up business. It is not your typical SME and also not someone’s ‘biashara’.
They might be committed to finding a business answer to a social cause by finding innovative solutions for low-income populations, others make life more comfortable and fun for the growing middle and upper class. Key sectors where these innovators play include Financial Services, Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Clean Energy, Agri Innovation, Transport, among others.
There are many perks of working in this space i.e. the purposeful work, the casual dressing, and ‘room for rapid growth’, but there are important factors you should keep in mind before you send that job application. This article explores what makes start-up jobs attractive and to who, tackles some common misperceptions, and will offer food for thought as to why you may or may not want to work in this space.
Benefits to
Working in a Start-Up
- Career Growth: When working in a start-up, you can hugely contribute to the growth and the success of the company with your role. You can be a part of strategic conversations, bringing and directly handling key clients and partnerships, important decision-making, and even taking on leadership opportunities. Your position can accelerate fast in a small and growing company.
- Purpose: Start-ups are particularly attractive when you are entry-level, as you will take on a lot more responsibilities than in many other entry-level jobs in larger firms (you know, making coffee and filing papers, yawn!). This helps you build valuable skills.
- Exposure: You are likely to be in an open work environment where your boss can be your mentor. The CEO and other highly experienced individuals will be more accessible to you than if you worked for a big company. You can use this chance to learn from them and gain as much expert knowledge as you can.
- Flexibility: You work in an untraditional work environment void of hierarchy, and with fewer office rules such as dress codes; your creativity and your individuality are encouraged.
- Community: There is often a strong sense of teamwork and ‘being together in it’ in a small company that is trying to achieve ambitious targets. As you will be working with a small team, you will develop strong relationships with them.
- Entrepreneurial Journey: You will learn what it takes to build an organization from the ground up. This especially beneficial if you aspire to run your own start-up one day. You can learn from the start-up’s failures and successes and apply what you have learned in your own business one day.
What to Consider
- Most start-ups pay in a different currency than you are used to from other jobs. Do you calculate your benefits mostly in Shillings? A start-up offers benefits in currencies of exposure, fulfilment, growth and a humane culture (and possibly Employee Stock Options, but as the saying goes, 1% of zero is zero). So consider how important pension, health cover and allowances are to you.
- If you’re not used to working in a company that is constantly changing, then you may find yourself getting frustrated in a start-up. Things that might change are job titles, roles and responsibilities, product, pricing and market approach, office location, and the team itself. If you enjoy change, embrace uncertainty, can deal with chaos, and can deliver results in a space with few structures provided, then you are likely to be successful in a start-up environment.
- It will be all hands on deck in a start-up environment, and if you don’t have a ‘can do attitude’, you might be left behind. You will have to undertake tasks that you may think aren’t ‘part of your job description’. You will have to take on a range of responsibilities which are new, challenging, and sometimes mundane but you have to be willing and flexible to do them.
- In addition to the above, the work-life balance can be tenuous. You will find yourself sacrificing a lot of your personal time and you have to be willing to put the company and the clients first. This means that you will put in more hours, work from home, and put your weekends on the line. There are never enough hours in a day and you will have to be more efficient with your time, multi-task and work fast. If there’s a project deadline, for example, you will have to do all you can to make sure this deadline is met. If you prefer having time to yourself, or if you have personal projects outside of work, think twice. Start-ups have a high-stress environment where emotions run high as there’s a lot riding on the start-up’s success. If you’re worried about the state of your mental health when it comes to work pressure, then be careful and ask questions about expectations of the role before you’re on board.
- Start-up founders have brilliant ideas and secure money to start their venture. But this alone does not make them great business leaders and team mentors. In some cases, a lack of strong leadership, professionalism and management skills may affect your job security and satisfaction. If you’re able to lead yourself, manage upwards effectively and engage your peers in building an effective office culture, then you’ll thrive here.
- Assess the risks. The company can flourish and be very successful, or it can crash and burn. Think through your job security by being informed and conscious of the company’s potential future performance: Research the industry and market opportunity the company wants to tap into, ask leadership how they measure their success and ask details about their financial situation and runway. After putting in all your hard work, time, and energy you don’t want to be surprised when you longer have your job. You can’t always predict this outcome, but there are ways you can prepare so that you’re not caught off-guard when things go downhill. Be prudent about your own financial management, and start saving just in case things don’t work out and you find yourself back into job-hunting.
Want to learn more about the start-up movement?
- Events are a great way to learn more and feel the vibe of innovators and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship spaces like Nairobi Garage, Metta, iHub, The Kijiji, and others host regular meet-ups, training and experience sharing sessions by entrepreneurs
- Read up about the most promising businesses and start-ups.
- Go through websites of incubators, accelerators, start-up and venture capital funds and impact investors around East Africa, which often provide a list of companies they’ve accelerated or invested in on their website.
If you thrive in the unpredictability of a day and lack of routines, then perhaps working in a small and dynamic company is suited to your personality and working style. Even though you may not have job security and a clear career path ahead, for some people this is the only place they can imagine working!
Thinking about switching careers and aspire to a career that creates meaning in your life? Our Career Masters Program will give you the skills and the confidence to take bolder steps towards your dreams. Sign up here for more details on the program.
Has this article convinced you that a career in the start-up space is for you? Then check out our exciting Jobs with Our Clients.
by Evelyn Pearson | Jul 10, 2018 | Career Happiness, Succeeding where you are, Thoughts on Team
Why do people quit jobs? Many business leaders believe that “good people have options” or that “millennials don’t commit for long”.
To build a growing and performing organization, we need to dig deeper and understand why people leave. We asked over thirty Nairobi professionals about their experiences with bosses that made them quit. We were shocked hearing what people had to say – these are true horror stories:
The Blaming and Defensive Boss:
“I quit. It was the worst experience. My boss was a micro-manager, played the blame game, and overall there was a lack of leadership by management in the company.”
“My boss was very defensive of her actions and always blamed the other party”.
The Boss Who Held Me Back:
“She will not let me go for professional training! She has no college degree, she hates people with degrees”.
The Boss Who Expects Too Much:
“Being thrown into the deep end work with tasks that I had no knowledge of, yet my boss expected the best outcome or performance!”
“She would always delegate huge tasks last minute with important partners then would expect results without me having any experience”
“Very mean. Asked me to babysit for her autistic child with no prior idea of how.”
The “Bully” Boss (30% of the respondents’ bosses fall here!):
“Mood swings, she terrified everyone once she was having a bad day”
“I was called a ‘mental case’ after I challenged the opinion of my boss”
The ‘Sleep With Me and Get A Job’ Boss:
“I once had a boss who wanted to give me a job only if I accepted to sleep with him. I couldn’t believe it since he was a family friend”
“He asked me out and then didn’t call me for jobs after I stopped going out with him”
Dear bosses,
Are you one of the above?
Even if you’re not, it’s important for you to know what employees go through out there and to be empathetic. This means that you have to actively and consciously display the behaviours and values of a proper and humane boss. Some of your behaviours might be interpreted as abusive, even if you wouldn’t want to be called as such. So below our suggestions for being a well-meaning boss.
1) What does this mean for you as a boss when you handle job seekers?
- Always hold interviews in an office and only during the day. Make no suggestive remarks, jokes and compliments, especially towards the opposite sex. Avoid looking ‘sleezy’ at all costs and remain professional at all times. If you can’t keep it together when hiring, have a second interviewer joining you. Also, strongly consider going for counselling, as this matter is likely to affect you in how you manage people as well.
- With new hires, be very clear about certain expectations of the job that are beyond the typical work environment, for example: working hours, weekend work, travel and any specific physical and mental exposure the job brings: Is it especially hot or cold? Are there lots of failure situations based on the type of business you run? What type of pressure should they expect from clients, the team, investors and even you? New hires should be aware of this information when making their choice to accept your offer, to avoid any surprises in the future.
2) What implications does this have for relationships and culture in your office?
- Have an open door policy where people can come and ask you any questions or offer their opinions. Give coaching and advice on people’s work when they need or want it.
- Steer clear of ‘Blame Games’ and ‘Guilt Tripping’ at all costs. I repeat, don’t look for culprits and who to blame if something goes wrong, at least not in the heat of the moment. Instead, be solution-oriented, if a project went off-track put all energy (your own and the team’s) towards getting it back on track. The time for feedback and a debrief is later, when people are more calm and everyone (including yourself) is less likely to be defensive and aggressive.
3) What does it mean for your ideal management approach?
- Take care of your own physical health and mental well-being. Take time out if you feel that you are getting to the edge. Avoid anger outbursts and mood swings in the office.
- Make performance expectations clear through conversations with each individual you manage, and put them in writing.
- Give corrective feedback in private. Simply point out the behaviour you need to start or stop, but avoid passing judgement.
- Do all you can to gather honest feedback from your team. If no-one gives you feedback or honest feedback, you might have a problem. Make sure to schedule these feedback mechanisms on a regular basis to elude tensions building up in the office.
- For more tips on being an approachable boss and shaping your management approach, take a look at our blog post, “how to get your people to focus on their work”
Dear Job Seekers and Talent,
We were overwhelmed by hearing what you go through at work. In reality, many of you need the salary, so you might choose to stay even if you are truly unhappy in your job and with your manager. We encourage you to take charge of your own experience and prevent yourself from getting stuck in the victim mind-set as it can affect your performance, CV, and even your mental health.
Here are a few considerations:
- Leave when you have to. In the end, your mental and physical well-being are very important and matters more than your job.
- Know your rights when it comes to salary, sexual harassment, leave, working hours etc. Read the Employment Act and attend forums where you can learn more from seasoned HR professionals and labour lawyers. All HR policies need to be in compliance with current labour laws. If there are no HR policies in your organization, then the labour laws will prevail.
- Despite your frustrations, ensure you stay professional. Focus on bringing results and ensure that people besides your boss see your performance, attitude and skills (clients, colleagues, partners, suppliers etc.). Once you apply for new jobs, you will need recommendations, references, and a CV listing your results and achievements.
- In the same line, getting a new job might take time. As you’re in this impossible job and you feel that you are not growing professionally, remember that no interviewer will be impressed by hearing that your boss undermined you and therefore you had no results in a whole year. Think through how else you can position your profile towards potential employers. For example, you can run projects and build achievements in the volunteering space, or you can enrol onto online courses to sharpen your skills.
- How can you manage upwards and possibly turn around you and your boss’s relationship? Schedule meetings with your boss, report to him about your work and achievements, prepare and run the agenda if your manager won’t do it, clarify your role and what is expected of you. Take minutes of what was discussed and share this via email with your boss to ensure there is a track record of conversations. Communicate upwards if projects are delayed in advance to avoid an angry blow-up. We have a lot more tips on our blog post ‘Scared of approaching your boss, 5 tips to make communicating with your boss easier’ read it here.
- Always remember, you have options, you are not trapped! Stay positive, surround yourself with people with a ‘can do’ attitude. Think creatively through your options, whether it’s employment, self-employment or free-lancing. Consider how you can manage your personal budget better in order to save up money. Sometimes an extended leave can help you see your options more clearly. Think about what’s best for you not just professionally but also for your mental well-being and happiness.
If you are currently in a bad boss situation at work and you’re thinking of leaving or switching careers entirely, sign up for our Career Masters Program. This program will give you the skills and the confidence to take bolder steps towards your dreams in life.
We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about these boss horror stories. If you’ve had an experience of your own with a bad boss, please share your story with us in the comments!
by Evelyn Pearson | May 29, 2018 | Career Happiness, Succeeding where you are
Have you ever had an uncomfortable or critical situation, either work-related or personal that you needed to inform your boss about?
How do you feel about taking your boss aside and asking for something you need?
You may feel scared to approach your boss because you’re just starting out in your career and you’re not sure how to communicate what you want to them. You may wonder, my boss looks so busy, how can I get their time and make the best of that time with them. Or perhaps you have a boss who is unapproachable, lacks empathy, or is quick-tempered. Whatever the situation might be, everybody wants their boss to be on their side as they can help you grow in your career. If you can build an open and positive relationship with your boss, you’re more likely to be involved and exposed into exciting situations at work, and less likely to face negative consequences if things don’t go well.
We have worked with bosses for a few years and have learned what makes them tick. Here are our five tips to yield positive results and a resolution to your communication worries.
Be solution-oriented
- Ask yourself, is this really something I need to approach my boss about? If you can solve the issue on your own or with your colleagues’ help, then do so. Bosses are busy and if it’s an issue you can handle, don’t waste their time. Asking for your boss’s help on a matter you’re able to solve yourself can make you come across as being incompetent, and you want to avoid that.
- If it’s an issue you have to approach your boss about, then come up with a few possible solutions on your own and present them to your boss. This will make their job easier. By coming up with your own solutions, you will make a good impression as you’re portraying that you are a problem solver, you have strong ownership, and you are responsible.
Prepare what you’re going to say before you say it.
- If you’re nervous and not able articulate your thoughts coherently, your boss may get confused and will not understand your situation well. Bosses are busy, and you need to make the best of your few minutes with them. Write down what you need to say with your proposed solutions. Start with the big picture, give necessary details and end with a clear request. You should also write down their feedback to avoid any confusion later on.
- If you’re making a request that you worry your boss may not be receptive to, then think of what concerns they may have. Can you address their concerns already in your request?
Seek extra support for the unapproachable boss
- If you’re truly uncomfortable with approaching your boss, perhaps because you feel that they are not empathetic and understanding in their nature, then consider tagging someone along who you feel comfortable with. This person’s presence alone can help you gain that extra boost of confidence you need in order to approach your boss.
- Ask your colleagues about their approach when they communicate with the boss – what do they do that works? If you’re new, this is especially helpful as your colleagues have become accustomed to your boss’s nature and may have some useful tips that can help you.
Timing is everything
- Never wait until the last minute when the situation is critical. Approach your boss ahead of time with the matter to avoid surprising them and causing them unnecessary pressure and stress. Most bosses appreciate a heads-up of a potentially critical situation, especially if you tell them how you’re handling it.
- With a personal matter, you want your boss to pay attention right? Ask the boss when they’re available in advance to ensure they have time for you, and specify that it’s a personal matter and how much of their time you may need.
Just do it
- Having hard conversations at work is necessary, just muster up the courage and do it. We promise, it gets easier with time so just keep practising and hang in there!
Practising your communication skills is necessary to strengthen relationships in the workplace and make them as constructive as possible. We hope our tips will help you out, and if you try them out with your boss, let us know how it went! If you are a boss yourself, would you add anything to the list? Do you disagree with any of the tips given? Let us know!
If you want to replace worry and blame in your career with new skills and awareness to be in charge of making your dreams come true, then join our career happiness coaching programme. Email Martha at martha@edgeperformance.co.ke to find out more. Also, subscribe to our newsletter for recent updates on exciting new roles, office updates, talent trends, and to read our feature blog post.
by Manuela Müller | Jan 26, 2016 | Career Happiness, Thoughts on Team
I would like to explore with you the impact of unaddressed feelings in the workplace. If this topic is new to you, this is a great place to start. Talking about one’s feelings at work for some seems like a scary, a stupid and unwelcome thing to do. Here’s why the opposite is true and a few tips to keep in mind.
Let me start by sharing a story a good Kenyan friend of mine told me about growing up. He painted the picture for me how boys receive constant reminders from all sides that men don’t show feelings. “First your mum beats you, then when you cry she beats you again for crying. It’s not a single incident, it happens in diverse forms: neighbours, teachers, aunts etc. And now society blames men for not being in touch with their feelings”.
So how does it manifest itself when a large proportion of society grows up like this? Maybe some of this sounds familiar: “I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed, that he’s behaving like this” or “Look at that one, kila saa anacatch mafeelings”. (slang for s/he is always catching feelings). If you look at these statements, you’ll see that they’re judgemental. But mostly they’re vague and simplistic: Avoiding to explore the complex connection between a human’s inner world (what they think, feel and need) and their outer world (what they say and do).
Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. I have met men and women who explain their inner world to large groups in clear and concise language as if it was the most normal thing to do, who use lingo like “triggers”, “emotions”, “needs”, “explore”, and discuss how to use this as a powerful tool for collaboration, leadership and decision making. Coming from a science background, trained in the language of process, facts and proof, I was blown away.
I believe that many people are actually somewhere in between: We are aware of our feelings, but not sure how to talk about them (write about them on Social Media, sure… but talk?!). We believe that such expressions won’t be welcome. Unsure how to deal with the volcano of emotions inside us. Worried of repercussions of airing out how I fell. At the same time this generation doesn’t see the point anymore of being a different person during and outside working hours.
We also expect a lot from our colleagues and bosses: Be a real human, make me feel welcome and connected, be deep and credible, but don’t dare to overstep my emotional boundaries!
Two important reasons why this is relevant in the workplace:
- Feelings are the messengers about our inner world. Messengers where our needs are being fulfilled (positive feeling) or not being fulfilled (negative feeling). Ignoring these messengers or not sharing their message with those around you, will eventually impact on your behaviour and productivity and thus on project and business performance. Typical outcomes are loss of interest in the work, people choosing not to stretch in their assignments or sharing their views and knowledge, decline in collaboration, silo behaviour between departments etc. On the contrary where thoughts, feelings and needs are shared and explored in conversation, we are more likely see increased motivation and commitment, collaboration and internal innovation ability. These effects have been researched and studies show scary numbers, for example one by Gallup saying that only 1 out of 3 employees are fully engaged at work.
- You can’t bottle up negative feelings and thoughts forever. You’ll either get physically sick, turn cynic (which might get you fired) or explode in an unsuitable moment, unable to verbalize your thoughts and leaving others clueless of “what just happened”.
Instead, a healthy work environment makes space for exploring the thoughts, feelings and needs, that are hidden in each of us.
If you want to try, please have a look at these few basic principles:
- Expand your vocabulary to talk about feelings. What else is there beyond happy and sad, frustrated and excited? The more precise you can be in identifying and describing what is happening inside you, the more alive you feel and the more connected others will become to you.
- Point out positive situations and mention positive feelings at least 5 times as often as negative feelings. Most office environments need that! (In fact it’s been quoted as recipe for lasting marriages since the 1990s)
- When you mention positive feelings without context, it creates a good atmosphere, but you are not creating a lasting change. “I am happy that we are making money”. The power of mentioning to others how an external event created your internal reaction lies in them understanding you better. “When I see you negotiating hard and successfully with this client, I feel hopeful because I start imagining how you and I can work together better as a team to fulfil our financial goals”
- Mentioning negative feelings without mentioning a concrete request can be interpreted as blaming language. “Today I am very frustrated with our low sales numbers (turn back to staring at my screen or going for a smoke)”. Avoid this, especially when you are in a leadership role. Much better is “Today, I feel very frustrated with our low sales numbers. I would like to hold a spontaneous meeting tomorrow to discuss what we can do about it. If you want to join in, let me know!”
Let us know about your experiences in implementing some of these tips!
At edge we support our clients bringing in some of this powerful language and making it part of “how we work around here”. Within ninety minutes workshop time you hear a manager say: “I feel much more connected with you all than in the last months!”
From Day 1, everyone here develops formal and informal influencing techniques, dealing with many different internal and external customers. Once you are confidently delivering, you could get to lead a project team.
To thrive at edge, you don’t need previous HR experience, says Denise: “When I joined edge, I had no formal work experience with HR. I’ve learned so much about the space in the time that I’ve been here. Aside from Human Resource and Recruitment knowledge and skills, I’ve also learned about business advisory, engaged with design thinking, and project management, which have also added to my skill set.”
