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Davia Madariaga

Problem-solving & growing leaders are my passion

01/23/21 at 10:45PM UTC

Career

More Certifications?

I'd love some input. I have a doctorate in Transformational Educational Leadership & Organizational Design. My superpower is leading large-scale projects/programs and growing leaders from within the organization. I'm toying with the idea of getting a certification in change management. Why? I'm trying to compete in a small competitive field and although I have a lot of experience, I wonder if this might give me an edge. I'd love your thoughts and opinions. Thank you!

5 Comments

Iky

Leadership Coach, Advisor, Speaker

01/24/21 at 2AM UTC

Davia, I was exploring with getting more certifications last summer. Some questions to think about: 1. Do the people who hire you for the job or the type of work you desire require a certification? If yes, what are they looking for in a candidate with such certification? 2. If you are not doing it for your resume, would you get a certification? Why? 3. Assuming you know what your next level of success looks like, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much would a certification help you get there? (1=not at all; 10=absolutely) 4. Can you afford to pursue a certification? Last year, despite COVID, I acquired three advanced certifications for specific reasons. While pursuing the first certification (paid by my former employer), I discovered my desire to get the second and the third certifications (paid out-of-pocket). I had a lot of hands-on practices during the certification process and have generated useful insights along the way. It was worth my time and money. The experience and the credentials have helped me get to the next level I set for myself back in early and mid-2020 (I evolved my goals in the first half of 2020). I wanted to be more excellent in what I already do well and make myself more unique based on my education, credentials, and professional experience. In short, I focused more on myself (inward) than competing with others (outward). If you like to discuss further, please feel free to message me directly. Good luck with everything, Davia.

Anonymous

01/24/21 at 3:20AM UTC

Hi Davia, I speak from experience when I say that if you are going to get certified in change mgmt, you need direct experience with change and people impacted by the change, before embarking on a cert. The reason is because you will be more credible to the people involved in and impacted by the change if you have first-hand change experience. Change and leading change is not about the ability to talk about the stages of change and to create a presentation that walks people through how change works. All of the above I have experienced first-hand and it was poorly received every time. Since your super power is in large scale projs and growing leaders, then you likely already have what it takes to be a change leader. What I have found is needed in good change leaders is the ability to listen, to involve everyone early and communicate often. My org has been going through huge changes related to growth and new systems over the past 3 years and only now are senior mgmt listening and communicating. It has been a painful process but is turning a positive corner at last. Maybe start by getting feedback, a 360degree review to get insight into your talents, etc. Good luck.

Lynette Hall

217

Motivated, innovator, builds teams and systems.

01/27/21 at 12:28AM UTC

Hi Davia - certifications are a great way to "specialize" in a particular interest or skill. In my experienc, it makes a difference on the resume BUT coupled with your education and background, you will be un stoppable! Check out ecornell.com

Emily Kessler

188

Org. problem solver using design thinking

01/27/21 at 5:17PM UTC

Hi Davia, I think Iky has some good points above. If the jobs/projects you are seeking are requiring these certifications, then that answers your question. I will also share this insight: I have an M.S. in Organizational Change Management, but no certifications. An alum from my program recently got certified in PROSCI, put that up on her LinkedIn page, and now recruiters are contacting her left and right for contract assignments. That wasn't happening to her before the certification and that doesn't happen for me. On another note, someone else I know in the field has a number of certifications in Korn Ferry tools, but they keep changing and the upkeep is time consuming and costly. So choose the certifications wisely. If you believe in the product and methodology, and it's required for the kind of work you want to do in the future, then it may make sense. Hope this is helpful.

Tanya Botten

Empathetic and data driven marketing leader

01/28/21 at 5:52AM UTC

Change is inevitable and always going to happen in any organization and a good skills to have. The competitive edge comes from the experience you earn from building on these skills you learned. If you haven't executed it yet then you can talk about if you did it over again how you would have changed and incorporated X, X, X. My own experience, I did a lot of certifications in one year because I took a year off from work to do an intensive MBA program. I found out that it was my MBA that made me stand out not the certifications. More importantly if you are looking to get in a niche, look at all the players in the roles that you want and study their previous years of experience. What did they do? What kind of projects did they work on? What affiliations do they have? This will help give you some ideas for skills or certifications you may need to be relevant and competitive in your future market. Best of luck to you!