If he were still alive, I’m betting Ray Charles would have another hit with this little ditty, sung to the tune of “Crying Time.”

Oh it’s survey time again, we’re gonna learn who
Is the best leadership company of all.
But I can tell by the lists I see before me
That this one’s different from the one last fall.

That’s the theme song for this post.

Fortune magazine, human resources consultants Hewitt Associates and the RBLGroup have just published their list of “The World’s Best Companies for Leaders.” Less than a year ago, the Hay Group and Chief Executive magazine came out with their list of the “Best Companies for Leaders.”

Now I’m just a simple preacher’s boy, but it seems to me that two surveys by prestigious firms of the same subject ought to come up with similar lists. But they do not.

In fact there are only three companies, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, and General Electric, who make the top ten on both lists. And that illustrates why taking these lists as some kind of scientific finding could get you in trouble.

There are all kinds of “Best Company” lists with more coming out all the time. They can provide you with some ideas about where you may want to make a career, but only if you do a little analysis.

Find out how the list was put together. Some of the lists only include companies who apply. Others use different method. The method used makes a difference in the final list.

Check to see if the list rates things that matter to you. If you want to pursue a Managerial career path, then a list of great companies for leaders may give you lots of information. But if you’re an engineer who wants to pursue a Specialist career path, you may want to look at a different list.

Use the list to spark questions, not give answers. Enterprise Rent-a-Car has appeared for years on lists for “Best Places to Launch a Career,” but their entrepreneurial, start-at-the-bottom culture isn’t for everyone.

Lists like the Fortune list and the Chief Executive list are great to spark discussions. They’re great as a starting point. Use them to determine where you want to do more research.

This is part 3 of our multi-part series on the importance of figuring out your career path perspective. Click here to review part 2.The second path we will explore in depth is…

SPECIALIST/INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTOR:

This career path preference is best characterized by those interested in remaining in one career field or profession for much of their working life. Along the way, specialists are able to highly refine their technical knowledge, skills and abilities. Specialists are less interested in moving up as they are in becoming the expert and having autonomy to do things their way.

Anchors and Motives:
Typical career anchors and motives of these individuals include technical and functional competence, expertise, skill mastery, service to others, independence, affiliation and security.

Appropriate organizational rewards:
Appropriate organizational rewards for these individuals might include: job enrichment, continuing education, membership in professional associations, recognition, motivational programs, organizational benefits, sabbaticals, tenure and job security.

To Be Continued…

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