A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed up the pitfalls of either pigeonholing or being pigeonholed. This happens when a manager stereotypes or typecasts a person and their skills and abilities. Although the practice is efficient in the short run (dependability of job function), the practice can waste talent and cause a retention problem if a pigeonholed employee finds another position that allows them to grow. Also a former “star” may have lost his or her shine and still be perceived as being a high performer.

If you are managing down, be sure to re-assess your reports from time to time. A 360 evaluation is the gold standard but a break from everyday routine to ask in depth questions and gather data from employees can also be valuable.

If you are managing up, a good way to market yourself out of a pigeonhole is to re-visit your resume. A supercharged resume allows you to get comfortable defining who you are and what you can do in a matter-of-fact way. The exercises I use with my clients to supercharge their resumes can help you charge you way out of an unwanted pigeonhole. Plus, you never know when you may need the resume.

If you are managing down or up, a Career Architect ® key skills analysis can also be helpful. This relatively brief process can help identify definable “competencies” that are critical (depending on position) to today’s business world. For more information about the Career Architect ®expert system see my web site.

If you have an interest in or would like more information about either of these options, please call me. But whatever you do, be aware of the pigeonhole!