Facilitating Intelligent Career

Conversations:Insights from the Bath

MBADr Svenja Tams

Lecturer, Organization

StudiesU of Bath

s.tams@bath.ac.uk

Clare StottMBA Career Dev

ManagerU of Bath

C.B.Stott@bath.ac.uk

Prof Michael ArthurCo-developer, ICCS

Suffolk UBoston, MA

marthur@suffolk.edu

Objective

To share insights about intensive MBA career development and use of the Intelligent Career Card Sort (ICCS).

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Schedule

• Background of the ‘Intelligent Career’ Svenja Tamsperspective and integration within Bath MBA

• How are students making use of Clare Stott Career Development and the Intelligent Career Card Sort?

• How could the Intelligent Career perspective Discussion (& the ICCS) contribute to your existing career development activities?

• Using the ICCS as part of online teaching Michael Arthur

• Resources

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Intelligent Career Perspective

What career investments can strengthen individuals’ career resilience in dynamic and uncertain labour markets? How can ‘intelligent career conversations’ — as a constructive process of exploring and working with what is — enable a more proactive, adaptable and meaningful engagement with one’s career?

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Interdisciplinary Career Development

Knowing How... we workJob-related

Competences, Expertise

Skills

Knowing Why… we work

Identity, Values, Meaning,

Adaptability

Knowing Whom… we work with

Social capitalNetworks

Supportive relationships

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Integrating this on the Bath MBA

Personal Leadership & Careers

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Introductory 2-day workshop

•1 day on ‘Self-directed & relational career development’ •Students develop their own learning agenda (assessed by Learning Review)

Follow up activities (1 year)

•Careers coaching & focused careers seminars (1-2 days)•Leadership development workshops (1-2 days)•ALS & peer coaching groups•Tutorials

Within organizationsKnowing How• Job-related competencies• Interpersonal effectiveness &

influence• Managing new rolesKnowing Why• Values, norms, stories & language of

the organization• What gets rewarded around hereKnowing Whom• Strategic/operational/personal

networking for resources, status & support

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Beyond organizations Knowing How• Positioning for future employment• Signaling expertise• What experiences will enhance

mobility to new projects?Knowing Why• Personal priorities, history & growth• Values, norms, stories & language of

the wider field – eg industry and occupational community

• Ability to continuously update and morph into new professional identities

Knowing Whom• Networking for social capital, project-

opportunities and collaborations.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Instead of occupational assessment, we adopt a constructivist approach to develop career meta-competences:

• MBTI • 15 statements exercise• Life-line exercise• Reuters case study• Action inquiry (Fisher, Rooke, & Torbert,

2003)• Developmental network map• Self-awareness through self-assessment• Intelligent Career Card Sort (ICCS)

Facilitating conversational learning

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Activity: In groups of 3

• To reflect on your own “intelligent career”

• To help someone else reflect on his or her “intelligent career”

• Use active listening, peer-coaching approach

Why

Whom How

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Activity: In groups of 3Speaker• 8-10 minutes to explain why he or

she has selected the seven ‘knowing why’ and ‘knowing how’ statements.

Witness• Practicing active listening• Asking questions that aim at

deepening the understanding behind the selection of these statements.

Observer• Note taking – using the speaker’s

own words. Observe patterns. • At end of debriefing, summarize key

themes that you heard emerge during the conversation.

Swap roles

Why

Whom How

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

•Evidence, from student coursework, of how students have taken on intelligent career ideas in their own work and career

•Questions raised and issues to consider

Career Learning on the Bath MBA

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Why

Whom How

Case Study One: Male, 34

“…a major factor in embarking on the course was to enhance my future career prospects…”

“…tentative and incremental adjustments over time…”

“…the start of a lifelong process of self development with the objective of unlocking and fulfilling my potential…”

“…a change in the way I operate within my organisation…”

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Case Study Two: Male, 35

“…my experience of this module has made a positive contribution to my development and my CV, in spite of a rocky start…”

“…the learning from the ICCS, MBTI, and objectives from the module from the outset, have placed more emphasis on my personal development…”

“…a long list of tools I have utilised to increase my self awareness and define actions to develop my managerial competencies…”

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Case Study Three: Female, 31

“…reflection has been essential for me to understand my career choices and ambitions…”

“…never fully grasped what the catalyst behind this belief was until I engaged in this exercise…”

“…it has made me set new career expectations of myself…it has led me to build a personal development plan based on the theories which underpin the ICCS model”

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Observations and Insights

• Influence of ICCS often implicit rather than explicit

• Provides language and vocabulary

• Complementary processes

• Horses for courses

• Different ‘entry points’

• From resistance to appreciation

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

1. How could the Intelligent Career perspective (and the ICCS) contribute to your existing career development activities?

2. Given the issues we raised, what could you do to maximise learning benefits and outcomes for students?

‘Buzz groups’ (6 min)

s.tams@bath.ac.uk - c.b.stott@bath.ac.uk - marthur@suffolk.edu

Why

Whom How

For further information …

Related to the Bath MBA: Related to the ICCS:

Dr Svenja TamsLecturer,

Organization Studies

U of Baths.tams@bath.ac.uk

Clare StottMBA Career Dev

ManagerU of Bath

C.B.Stott@bath.ac.uk

Prof Michael ArthurCo-developer, ICCS

Suffolk UBoston, MA

marthur@suffolk.edu