4 Aces Masterclass Series

Interview with Justine Negri

Last February, John Fitzgerald wrote a blog called “4 Aces Hold the Key for the Future of Work”

which looked at the new rules to succeed in the New World of Work. It received a huge reaction

and prompted Bank of Ireland to ask how the concept could be brought to life for their employees.

In this article, Justine Negri tells us how Harmonics developed a two page blog into a Masterclass

Series which was rolled out to 1600 Bank of Ireland employees over a couple of weeks.

Q. John’s blog focused on four key criteria he believed were necessary to succeed in the Future

World of Work. Why do you think there was so much interest in this concept?

Justine: In the Masterclass, I highlight how the traditional and rather predictable career model of the

past is no longer relevant in today’s rapidly changing world of work. In the traditional model, you

graduated from college and through hard work and loyalty alone you could progress up the

corporate career ladder. But there’s a new model in town, the self-directed career management

model, which implies that the onus is now on you to proactively develop and manage your own

career.

Career development and career progression is showing up on Employee Engagement surveys

worldwide as being of huge interest to employees. The world of work is being disrupted and

organisational change is happening at an exponential rate. Because this model is relatively new,

employees want tools, tips and techniques to stay ahead and succeed in this rapidly changing world

of work.

Q. How did you go about developing the concept into a 45 minute Masterclass?

Justine: I’ve been working in the career management space for over 15 years now and I’ve been

fortunate enough to work with individuals from many different cultures and levels in an

Organisation from graduate to CEO level. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet hundreds of Bank of

Ireland employees over the past 3 years through the facilitation of the My Career Best workshop,

coaching or the implementation of the online career management portal. To make this Masterclass

as relevant and practical as possible to Bank of Ireland employees, I tuned into the pulse of emerging

themes, needs and wants that I’ve been hearing over the past 3 years so that all participants were

leaving with tangible and applicable insights and takeaways.

I introduced participants to the key ingredient that I genuinely believe, if applied correctly, can help

us all advance in our careers and that is curiosity. This formed the main component throughout the

talk and helped bind the 4 Aces - Awareness of Self, Awareness of the Environment, Adaptability and

Anticipation – in a fun, engaging and insightful way.

I also wanted to make sure that everyone left with key learnings that they could apply immediately,

so each participant received their own deck of 4 Aces career cards to take away. Each of the 4 Aces

has a deeper meaning and will serve as a navigational point to guide them at any stage in their

future career journey. The 4 Aces cards, with provocative coaching questions, offer a rich takeaway

they can keep in their side locker or wallet to help them prepare for future career planning,

performance, interview or career conversations.

Q. What kind of feedback have you received to the Masterclass Series?

Justine: The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I met approximately 1600 people across

Ireland and the UK over the past couple of weeks and the general consensus of praise has been the

practical nature of the talk. Numerous people mentioned how they could really identify with the

challenges, opportunities and expectations that this self-directed career management model

presents and how tangible the 4 Aces are in helping them to plan and prepare for their future

career. Participants also worked on live examples during the talk so they got a chance to be truly

immersed into this new concept and experience the 4 Aces for themselves.

Q. Do you expect to be delivering this Masterclass again?

Justine: Yes. At Harmonics we are constantly researching the future of work and gathering data from

the various Organisations we work with by adapting any masterclass or workshop to ensure it is

relevant for every client we work with. This is a new model and it’s here to stay for now, so it’s

important for employees to be aware of how they can take control, navigate and stay ahead in this

rapidly changing world of work.

To read the 4 Aces blogpost, you can access it on the link below:

http://www.harmonics.ie/4-aces-hold-key-future-work/

Justine Negri – Executive Career Coach / Guest Speaker

As an executive coach and facilitator, Justine has over 15 years’ international

experience, working with groups and individuals, in the areas of career

management, career transition, business performance, change management

and cross-cultural awareness. Justine brings specialist expertise and

knowledge in current thinking and trends in career management and

development, to her work with client organisations.

Justine is Lead Facilitator on the Bank of Ireland My Career Best Programme.

Sector Expertise and Clients: Justine’s speaking, coaching and facilitation experience covers a wide

range of sectors including - Financial Services, FMCG, Healthcare, Telecommunications, Pharmaceutical,

Public Sector, Education Sector with clients such as, Bank of Ireland, Central Bank of Ireland, KBC,

Permanent TSB, Diageo, Openet, Paddy Power, Kerry Group, Three Ireland, Mercer, Leo Pharma, Health

& Safety Authority, DCU Ryan Academy

Level: Senior and Middle Managers – at individual and group level, Professional Expert and Business

Owners

Coaching & Facilitation Experience: With Harmonics, Justine offers:

o Career Management Masterclasses – all levels o Change Workshops o Career Management Programmes o Understanding & Handling Change o Multinationals & Public Sector o Leading well through Change o Workshops and 1:1 Programmes o LinkedIn Training for Executives o Career Acceleration Coaching Programmes o Career Stocktake Programmes o for High Potentials o 1:1 Career Transition Programmes

o Leadership & Business Performance Coaching

Coaching Qualifications:

BSc in Psychology Transaction Analysis 101

Diploma in Executive Coaching CIPD Certified Internet Recruiter Certified Trainer

Certified Career Coach Diploma in Mindfulness Psychometric Tool: MSCEIT Ability Based

Emotional Intelligence Test

Professional Memberships:

European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC) and the Association of Coaching (AC)