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Welcome to the Green Career Tip of the Week
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Online Version of this Issue Green Career Tips Archive
We are excited to announce a New Green Job Listings Section that has been added to GreenCareerCentral.com. This addition is as a result of your responses to our recent surveys.
We've also added three new water-related job boards for your review!
In this week's tip, I explain about how collaboration is a key component of the green economy and finding a solution to climate control. Read on to learn more about why it is so important, how it works and some examples of green career collaboration.
Did you get a f.r.e.e month on the Green Career Central site this week? Scroll down to see if the beginning of your email is next to the treasure chest. We do this every week!
NEW Job Listings Section Added!
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From the survey responses we have recently received we learned you want more job listings!
For now, we'll list jobs that cross our path. When we begin doing company profiles, we will invite those companies to list their openings here as well. This job listing section is available to all GreenCareerCentral.com members!
If you aren’t yet a member ==> sign up for a free 14 day trial!
Our job listings will be growing as we begin adding company profiles to our site in the coming weeks.
YOU can contribute to this job listings forum. If, as you surf the Web, you see a job opening that isn’t a fit for you, add it to the job listing forum. Who knows, your action may be the answer to someone else’s prayer.
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Tip of the Week:
The Green Economy Is All About Collaboration
Last week in my article about Sustainability I told you about a new sustainability leadership model that’s based on nurturing a collaborative effort of those within a community or an organization.
Collaboration is a key component of the green economy and finding solutions to climate change. Anyone who desires to be in a green career must become comfortable with this way of working.
The Definition
Collaboration means to work or act together or jointly for a common purpose or benefit.
(Dictionary.com)
Why Collaboration Is So Important
As a global community, we are facing economic and environmental problems that defy traditional solutions. We must get beyond our typical thought patterns to find solutions. This takes interacting with others who have a different perspective than we do. It takes working together to blend possible solutions to find the one that has the best chance of working.
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
--Albert Einstein
How Does Collaboration Work?
A year ago I became involved with a green community group that was based on a very collaborative model. Over a nine-month period over 100 people participated in researching and writing a report to provide our city and community with carbon cutting ideas. Although there was a coordinating group, there was no chair or leader. Everything that transpired happened through collaboration. It was an amazing process to be a part of. We all learned a lot about collaboration, working as a team, and ourselves.
Collaboration is hard to describe because it is an experience. To help you gain an appreciation for what collaboration is and is not, I’ve created the comparison chart below. Granted this chart shows the very extreme ends of the spectrum from traditional problem solving to collaborative problem solving. In reality, each group or organization is going to fall somewhere along this continuum.
Traditional |
Collaborative |
| Typically groups are comprised of people from the same profession, function, or organization. |
Typically groups are comprised of a very diverse group from different professions, fields, interests, and organizations. |
| Closed – certain people are invited to participate. |
Inclusive – anyone can join and participate in the group. |
| Communications tend to be private and held in-house. |
Communications are transparent. Anyone who is interested can learn what’s happening within the group. |
| The group assigned to solve the problem focuses in on the solution as quickly as possible. Although they may talk to a limited number of stakeholders, they typically use their own knowledge base as the starting point for their discussions. |
The definition of the problem or goal may evolve and morph in the early stages as different stakeholders share their perspective on the situation at hand. |
| The team members act on the chosen solution in a way that is in accordance with company traditions. |
The goals and solutions may evolve as more and more is known about the problem or situation. |
| Decisions are typically made top-down. Those highest in the organization will make the decisions. |
Decisions are made through group consensus. |
| The leader generally has a firm grasp on the problem and the likely solution. The leader is likely to tell the group what actions to take to implement the solution. |
If there is a leader, their focus is on listening to everyone’s input, paying attention to the larger picture, and providing guidance to the group as a whole. |
| Members perform the tasks they are assigned. |
Members take on the tasks they are best suited to perform. |
| Individuals must be willing to follow the leader’s assignments. |
Individuals must be able to keep an open mind, listen, be creative, ask questions, and honor the thoughts of other participants.
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| There’s a map to follow that shows you all the steps that will be taken from start to finish. |
There’s no map at the beginning of the project. If a map is created it’s likely that it will morph as the project unfolds. |
Examples of Green Collaboration:
- Different Associations Come Together for a Common Cause
- The United Steel Workers and the Sierra Club came together to host a conference entitled Good Jobs, Green Jobs to explore ways to use green collar jobs to bring employment to union workers and help the environment at the same time.
Read more here…
- Professionals from Different Fields Solve Design Problems
- Janine Benyus, through a research nonprofit called Biomimicry Institute and a for-profit consulting firm called the Biomimicry Guild, brings interdisciplinary groups of biologists, engineers, and designers together to uncover natural phenomenon that can be replicated in corporate and commercial applications.
- Companies in the Same Market Come Together to Strengthen the Market For Product
- The Organic Coffee Collaboration is made up of Organic Trade Association members who are part of the organic coffee supply chain. They decided they wanted to coordinate their efforts to promote the benefits of organic coffee with the goal of expanding the market for the product.
- Companies and Industry Associations Tackle Supply Chain Issues Together
- Future Supply Chain 2016 looks toward a future where companies share warehouses, transportation, and information to help reduce carbon footprints and cut costs. Although this model requires rethinking competition, current circumstances from climate change, costs, security, and fuel costs require new thinking and new collaboration on supply chain infrastructure. The impressive list of companies taking part in this project include names such as Black & Decker, Colgate-Palmolive, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, L’Oreal, Nestle, Sara Lee International, Wal-Mart Stores and others
- Companies Come Together to Create Innovative New Product
- Hydrogen fuel cell developer, Intelligent Energy, Lotus Engineering Ltd, LTI (London Taxis International) Ltd and TRW Conekt are collaborating to produce a fleet of classic London cabs fitted out with hydrogen fuel cell power systems. The goal is to have them on the streets in time for the 2012 Olympics.
How Do I Gain These Skills?
With collaboration, practice is key. You’ll learn best by being in a collaborative situation with others who are interested in working within that model.
One of the best places to practice is a local green organization. Scan your area for local non-profits, community groups, or action clubs. Becoming active will give you an opportunity to experiment and learn. Then the next time you are in a collaborative environment you won’t have to make the mistakes you may make the first time around.
If you want more formal training, you might watch for a class in your area. I found a course listed in the UC Berkeley Extension catalog for Creative Collaboration for Sustainable Planning, Design and Development. Unfortunately this class just started last week, but just reading the course description gives you a bit of the flavor (the highs and the lows) of working collaboratively.
Furthermore, some MBA programs such as Green MBA are structured on a collaborative model.
Copyright © 2008 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
"GCC's process was incredibly helpful in getting me started in a new career direction. The worksheets and brainstorming exercises in the What's Your Green Niche ebook helped me realize I already had the skills to launch a new green career. Today, less that four months later, I have a terrific salary doing business development for energy and environmental projects. Thanks to Green Career Central, my dream of merging my personal conviction with professional life came true."
-- Kelly Fergusson
Menlo Park Councilmember (Mayor, 2007) turned Business Development Manager of Energy & Environmental Solutions
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Are You Searching for Your Green Niche?
You know you want a green career, but do you know what you want to do in the green economy?
The key to discovering your green niche is pinpointing how to leverage your skills, passions, talents and experience to plug into the green economy.
When you know what part of the economy you want to target, you’ll have an entirely new level of clarity. With that new clarity, your current level of overwhelm and confusion will decrease.
The What’s Your Green Niche eBook eBook takes you through a step-by-step process to determine your green niche. Here's a list of some of the things you'll gain as you work through this eBook. You'll:
- Create your personal definition of success.
- Discover how you know what you are drawn to.
- Develop a list of your 40 favorite skills and interests with the help of checklists.
- Brainstorm over 40 career ideas based on your favorite skills and interests in an hour or so.
- Narrow your career ideas to your top two ideas.
- Develop a plan to achieve your green career goals whether you want to return to school, launch your job search, or start your business.
Members - Download (part of membership)
Non-Members - $55.00
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Green Career Central Blog:
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The discussion forum topic, audios, ebook, and articles listed below are available to members of GreenCareerCentral.com as a part of their membership. If you're not a member and would like to have immediate access, we'd love to have you join us now!
Green Career Central is a membership site with a comprehensive set of easy-to-use programs, resources, and events to help people achieve their green career dreams whether they want to find a green job, start a green business, or get a green education.
  
"This is likely the only site of its kind on the Internet. A lot of thought and care have been put into it. Thanks to the exercises in Step 1, I'm finally able to articulate what I'm passionate about and how I want to use my passion in the world. Thank you so much." -AM, California
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This Week's Drawing for a
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What's New at GreenCareerCentral.com
New Job Boards
This week we've added three job boards that have to do with jobs for hydrogeology, wetlands, and oceanography. Take a look at the job boards.
Cool Green Career Interviews
One of the best ways to learn what's possible in the Green Economy is to hear from people who have green careers.
Listen to interviews with our Green Career Experts
Articles
Thinking of owning your own green business or greening a business you already own?
Check out the articles to help you Go Green!
Did You Know...
...if you missed a Tip of the Week, you can read the archived publications?
Green Career Tips Archive
About Us
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Green Career CentralTM is a membership site for people who want to transform their passion for the environment into a prosperous green career.
Carol McClelland, PhD, founder and managing editor of this site, has helped thousands of people discover their dream career through her book Your Dream Career For Dummies and her work with individuals, groups, and students. Together with her team of experts, researchers and writers, Carol has pulled together sixteen years of experience into a broad collection of how-to articles, resources, support, and teleclasses to help you find your way to make a difference and prosper.
Why not have the green career you've been dreaming of? You can struggle on your own or gain support throughout your journey. The decision is obvious ... Join Us Now! |
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