After 11 years of development career as an individual contributor in some large companies, and team lead for start-up teams, I recently landed in a team-lead position in a company filled with hot political issues, backstabbing, favouritism, tremendous timeline pressures for modernization with little business benefit, executive/director level leaders who have no knowledge of internal working of the system, all experienced folks leaving after change in said execs/director, eccentricity at some levels, and so on. It is such a classic case of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon for me that threads like [1] and [2] resonate a great deal.<p>I do not want to turn away from this ecosystem for now mostly because I want to learn how to survive in such a political environment, and partly because if this modernization project gets delivered whenever it is, it will be a very good learning experience for me.<p>While official and unofficial mentorship is an option from inside the companies, I am not sure if I can cover softer issues like dealing with certain individuals in the mentorship session.<p>So, I wanted to ask you guys how can I find and approach an effective career coach or a mentor (potentially outside of my company). Any suggestions are more than welcome.<p>Thanks.<p>1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17511850
2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17510670
I would start with LinkedIn. They have a section called 'ProFinder' which has a huge number of listings for career coaches of all sorts.<p>I have been working with several people found here this year (for very different reasons than yours), and I have found some great help here.<p>That being said, as with everything on the Internet, you need to do some filtering. There is a fair amount of noise in this system, LinkedIn does a pretty good job of filtering out the scams and crooks, but you still need to make sure you find the person who is right for you.<p>Most of these people offer free 30 minute consultations. Get on Skype with them and ask them questions. Be honest with yourself about what you need and what they are saying. But also push back a little and challenge them. These people are selling a service and they will try to persuade you, but their talents and areas of expertise differ greatly.<p>I found one coach who was great at helping me rewrite my resume and LI profile, but really awful at helping me with active communications.<p>I suspect you will find many coaches who will tell you to quit and tell you how to find a new job (for a fee). But if you search, I think you will find someone who can help.<p>Good luck.
>I do not want to turn away from this ecosystem for now mostly because I want to learn how to survive in such a political environment, and partly because if this modernization project gets delivered whenever it is, it will be a very good learning experience for me.<p>Why do you want to learn how to survive in that type of environment? Do you plan on being in those types of environments for long afterward?<p>As for the modernization, is that an experience you could get by reading some books or by doing a side project?<p>Sorry that I have no advice to your actual question. It just seems like you are trying to adapt to a bad situation that maybe you don't need to actually deal with. You could go elsewhere. A career coach is a good option if you really want to climb the ladder at this company, and maybe if you want to get really down and dirty with the office politics. But to me it doesn't sound like that was your plan. It sounds like you're interested in the tech and you stumbled into an absolute mess of a company. Anyways I've heard Stealing the Corner Office is a good book on office politics.
Not an answer to your question, but these two books contain information about (1) delivering outcomes that are valued by your bosses etc., and (2) dealing with sub-optimal situations.<p>Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life <a href="https://g.co/kgs/XgaeZa" rel="nofollow">https://g.co/kgs/XgaeZa</a><p>Stealing the Corner Office: The Winning Career Strategies They'll Never Teach You in Business School <a href="https://g.co/kgs/Z1AGwB" rel="nofollow">https://g.co/kgs/Z1AGwB</a>
Any coach or therapist should be well versed in conflict resolution and would be able to explore why this environment triggers you.<p>Individually, I can recommend Nonviolent Communication. It's a great book that can help you communicate effectively. If the environment is this dysfunctional, then acquiring and using these skills might help you stand out and win the attention of other people who might be as tired of the games as you are.<p>And of course, you can always look for a new job that better suits you.
I’ve encountered many different organisations that have the same issues. Similar to yourself, I’ve challenged myself not only to survive but to thrive in this type of environment.<p>What really help was reading about human psychology, chanting and generally discussing this with other folk who have been or are in similar environments. Buddhist philosophy has also aided me tremendously in seeing things from a different perspective far deeper than the surface. In general, though the environment may be toxic, fundamentally we are all human beings with different goals, motivations and aspirations.<p>Happy to discuss with if you’d like.
I think it is time for you to take
Massive Action to improve your political, persuasion, speech, conflict negotiation skills. I’ll
Make some recommendations below after this monologue.<p>I worked in some very awful environments. My solution was historically to participate in what was going on and the ultimately become very upset and leave. Generally speaking, conflict is present everywhere but far worse in some environments and not possible to save.<p>You can either (a)attempt to clean the mess and make your new environment habitable or (b) keep your head down, ship your project and leave.<p>Your intent to do (a) is admirable and rare. If the culture has become toxic, attempting to survive is kind of like being a fish in a dirty fish tank. You can gasp for air and breathe your own poop in for some period of time but you are ultimately poisoning yourself by staying and the point of doing this isn’t clear.<p>The economy is currently at full employment. In this situation I would most advice getting out. You are never going to have an easier time finding a better paying job someplace else. Chances are we are headed into some sort of financial meltdown due to China, trade war, China retaliating against the United States tech sector, one or more countries leaving the Euro and the final deflation of our current bubble due to lack of interest rates.<p>If you don’t like where you are, it may become much harder to find a better job in the next year in which case - You get to breathe in your own poop for several years for no real gain to your own mental health.<p>If you are really sticking to it and mastering communication, psychology, politics and persuasion I recommend:<p>Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson<p>Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss<p>The Political Brain by Drew Weston<p>Influence by Robert Cialdini<p>Words That Work by Frank Luntz<p>Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini<p>Win Bigly by Scott Adams<p>Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton<p>I just bought this book but haven’t yet read it -<p>Radical Candor by Kim Scott<p>My recommendation to you is not to take the route of dishonesty, back stabbing, lying, deceit.<p>Do. Not. Participate.<p>Be the person who is ridiculously truthful. Draw clear barriers and IMMEDIATELY and POLITELY call out transgressions you see.<p>Awful behavior within the organization is like weeds growing in your yard. You must not tolerate a single weed. When you see someone doing or saying something (especially if they are being deceitful and you see through what they are doing), Call Them On It.<p>Nothing will suppress bullshit like pointing it out and making it clear that you see what is going on and would prefer it otherwise.<p>That is my lesson in my life. When I ultimately decided to be truthful it created this halo around me which melted all bullshit, zapped it like a bug zapper.<p>And don’t engage in shit talking other people.<p>Engaging in shitty behavior within a company is like farting in a submarine. There is no escape, no one is going anywhere, everyone is exposed to the toxic stink including you. There can be zero farting in the submarine before the culture can be fixed.<p>Godspeed.
If you're looking for a career coach I recommend Andi Fenster: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andifenster/" rel="nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/in/andifenster/</a>
I work with a leadership coach who works from the framework of DiSC (one of the personality tests). We meet every other week, set goals, work through problems, etc.<p>I hired her when I was in a similar situation and had friends recommend her.
You can read some articles on psychopathy, e.g. in Harpers magazine, but this kind of knowledge comes with a hefty price of professional deformation. Please don't adjust.