Cheryl Richardson, a renowned life coach, inspired the topic for this post. Recently, on her website, Cheryl wrote, "I quickly made a list of ten things to say yes to, ten things to say no to, and then things that contribute to a great life, overall" (http://www.cherylrichardson.com/newsletters/week-41-spontaneous-wisdom-101010-lists-that-make-life-better/). Her top ten list of tips to help you have a great life got me thinking...
It’s human nature to say ‘yes’ when you mean ‘no’ especially when saying ‘no’ would require a tough conversation. Unfortunately, conceding to unfavorable requests can create problems, putting you in a situation that requires you do something that you don’t want to do and, ultimately, is not good for you.
We rarely take time to create a list of our important workplace ‘no’s’ and ‘yes’s’. So, how do we know how to respond to others’ requests? ‘No’s’ should be given to those situations or circumstances that are not supportive for you or smart to do. The critical ‘yes’ should be reserved for situations that help to engender a positive working environment, create more value for your company and clients, bring increased profitability and productivity or simply give you more energy.
My experience in partnering with the best leaders within international media and entertainment organizations has led me to develop my own top twelve list of the best practices of when to say ‘yes’ and when to run for the hills:
Twelve things to say YES to:
1. Giving greater value to your organization
2. Getting to know what’s most important to your colleagues
3. Asking questions for understanding
4. Mentoring others
5. Connecting people
6. Building relationships instead of networks
7. Creating opportunities to learn
8. Knowing your audience before you communicate
9. Building and leveraging your brand
10. Taking breaks in the day
11. Developing your boss
12. Stepping up to opportunities that stretch you
Twelve things to say NO to:
1. Neglecting yourself and your people
2. Running on emergencies (yours and others)
3. Implementing change without a twelve-month communication strategy to generate employee buy in
4. Pushing yourself when you are exhausted
5. Launching into a tough conversation without preparation
6. Delaying swift action with a non-performer
7. Holding a meeting without preparation
8. Blaming and resenting others
9. Creating goals without an understanding of how they fit into the broader organizational actions, plans and priorities
10. Harboring negative thoughts
11. Refusing to ask for feedback
12. Delaying implementing a development plan that betters YOU
Create your own top ten lists and begin putting your words and intentions into action. These steps will give you more power to showcase your leadership and set you up for success!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
How to Instantly Influence
One of the key qualities of leadership is the ability to influence others with your words as well as your actions. It’s true that “actions speak louder than words,” however words are what triggers movement and momentum. Words are vital to mobilizing people and instilling confidence in them. How can you ensure your words have more meaning and power?
Below is a three-step formula you can use to become an influential communicator:
1) Know thyself
Do you get up every day, gaze at yourself in the mirror, grin and say, “good morning, fabulous!”? Whether or not you begin your morning with a shout out to your greatness, you should take time each day to refine your image and make an effort to get to know yourself. Learning what makes you tick is what will allow you to deepen your communication with others.
Each of us has particular behaviors and values that drive us. Learning what your behaviors and values are keys to powerful communication. Consider this…
Behavior = How you express your attitude
Values = What drives you
Behaviors + Values = Communicating with impact
Which behavior style do you exhibit? Are you more Assertive or Persuasive or Stable or Analytical? We all possess each of these styles, however we always lead with one. How do you know which one you favor? Think about how you behave when you get stressed. Understanding all the behavior styles and moving effectively between them will allow you to communicate more effectively with other people, by communicating from their perspective.
What are your top two values? Your top two values drive everything you do and must be present to ensure your happiness and productivity. Are you driven by the need for knowledge, return on investment, harmony and balance, power and control, giving back/volunteering/being of service or by a codebook of a systematic way of living?
If you have trouble identifying your behaviors and values, ask your Human Resource team to provide an assessment to help give you greater definition and understanding.
2) Know your value
Everyone can stand out. You already do, you just don’t know it yet. Starting right now, you must begin thinking of yourself as a walking brand. Your value extends beyond your job title, function or description. You are a brand, so you must sell yourself by showcasing your value to others.
If you look at the logos of Starbucks, Gap, Lakers and Hershey’s, their associated images and words will evoke in you a feeling or an emotion. It works the same for you - your brand is your name and image. If I called three of your colleagues and said your name, they would all have a picture in their mind of who you are and what you stand for. You are a walking brand. Most of us are clueless about how our brand appears to others. Why remain in the dark? Turn on the light and take a look at yourself!
3) Know your audience
Who are your internal and external customers? Who are the people you serve? In order to best serve her clients, my dear and trusted peer, Debra Valle, asks them to supply her with a list of information, including: age, education, title, department, location, challenge, life stage/style, hobbies and interests. Salespeople do the same because they are aware that the more you understand about your audience, the more you can tailor your “pitch.” The better you know your audience, the greater power you will have to build relatability and relationship.
Only when you know the people you serve can you begin to truly serve them. Once you know who you are and what your brand is you can serve your audience in a far more meaningful way.
How will you put this three-step formula to work for you this month? Practice, practice, practice. Consider the Los Angeles Lakers. The players practice basketball every week even though they already know how to play basketball. Why should professionals practice weekly? To improve their game and increase the chances of making winning plays when the pressure and stakes are high. Practice makes you more proficient. How can you practice being a proficient communicator?
Below is a three-step formula you can use to become an influential communicator:
1) Know thyself
Do you get up every day, gaze at yourself in the mirror, grin and say, “good morning, fabulous!”? Whether or not you begin your morning with a shout out to your greatness, you should take time each day to refine your image and make an effort to get to know yourself. Learning what makes you tick is what will allow you to deepen your communication with others.
Each of us has particular behaviors and values that drive us. Learning what your behaviors and values are keys to powerful communication. Consider this…
Behavior = How you express your attitude
Values = What drives you
Behaviors + Values = Communicating with impact
Which behavior style do you exhibit? Are you more Assertive or Persuasive or Stable or Analytical? We all possess each of these styles, however we always lead with one. How do you know which one you favor? Think about how you behave when you get stressed. Understanding all the behavior styles and moving effectively between them will allow you to communicate more effectively with other people, by communicating from their perspective.
What are your top two values? Your top two values drive everything you do and must be present to ensure your happiness and productivity. Are you driven by the need for knowledge, return on investment, harmony and balance, power and control, giving back/volunteering/being of service or by a codebook of a systematic way of living?
If you have trouble identifying your behaviors and values, ask your Human Resource team to provide an assessment to help give you greater definition and understanding.
2) Know your value
Everyone can stand out. You already do, you just don’t know it yet. Starting right now, you must begin thinking of yourself as a walking brand. Your value extends beyond your job title, function or description. You are a brand, so you must sell yourself by showcasing your value to others.
If you look at the logos of Starbucks, Gap, Lakers and Hershey’s, their associated images and words will evoke in you a feeling or an emotion. It works the same for you - your brand is your name and image. If I called three of your colleagues and said your name, they would all have a picture in their mind of who you are and what you stand for. You are a walking brand. Most of us are clueless about how our brand appears to others. Why remain in the dark? Turn on the light and take a look at yourself!
3) Know your audience
Who are your internal and external customers? Who are the people you serve? In order to best serve her clients, my dear and trusted peer, Debra Valle, asks them to supply her with a list of information, including: age, education, title, department, location, challenge, life stage/style, hobbies and interests. Salespeople do the same because they are aware that the more you understand about your audience, the more you can tailor your “pitch.” The better you know your audience, the greater power you will have to build relatability and relationship.
Only when you know the people you serve can you begin to truly serve them. Once you know who you are and what your brand is you can serve your audience in a far more meaningful way.
How will you put this three-step formula to work for you this month? Practice, practice, practice. Consider the Los Angeles Lakers. The players practice basketball every week even though they already know how to play basketball. Why should professionals practice weekly? To improve their game and increase the chances of making winning plays when the pressure and stakes are high. Practice makes you more proficient. How can you practice being a proficient communicator?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Innovation from the Experts
I love INC Magazine. The articles they feature are right on target and thought provoking. Most of all, you actually want to read the articles and not just scan briefly through them. John Warrillow, an angel investor in a number of start-up companies wrote an article recently about getting inspiration from great innovators of our time.
If you are stuck and seeking to find answers just ask yourself...what would Richard Branson do? What would Steve Jobs do? The theory is by putting yourself in the mindset of renowned innovators, you will begin thinking like one. A small Finnish company called Pomarfin put themselves in the space of wild innovation. They were manufacturing shoes in Estonia to lower costs, however they were competing with companies in Asia who would manufacture the shoes at a much lower cost. What's a family owned business to do? Expand their innovation quotient.
Clearly Pomarfin could do what many companies have done in recent years, manufacture overseas for much less cost or look for another way to keep their production in Europe. Pomarfin's decision speaks to the essence of a risk taking innovator - they decided to niche aggressively by selling a new product with a new target...made-to-measure shoes for high net worth men who hate shopping.
This new brand entitled "LeftFoot" was a clever idea from Pomarfin. They thought they would install a foot scanner in all retail stores that sold its shoes. Easy...a well to do man comes knocking, the retail clerk scans the man's left foot with a LeftFoot machine, the image uploads to a server in Pomarfin's manufacturing plant that would create and ship these unique pair of shoes customized to the man's feet. When he wanted to order another, all he would do is go online. Easy! Not so much...
Pomarfin needed retailers who would want to install a scanner in their stores and scan customer's feet. May not be the most pleasant experience for a retail clerk, however the idea is worse for the retailer who would lose the customer to an online store.
LeftFoot started building their own retail stores and still needed traditional retailers to fully cover the market. As my dear mentor always tells me...you know you will be successful because others before have done it and can light the way. LeftFoot only had to look no further than to the music and publishing business for a model. They would pay a royalty for life fee for every new pair of LeftFoot shoes a customer purchased when referred by the retailer.
Can you imagine if all you had to do was take one action and then you would get paid for life with no effort? That's how the retailer's looked at the offer. The retailer referred the customer, got payments for life and didn't even need to stock inventory or pay for more support staff. Retailers signed on without hesitation. Now LeftFoot has retailers set up throughout most of Europe and Asia.
Very innovative, yes? They key to LeftFoot's success was their willingness to be highly innovative and to think differently about their delivery and customers.
Thinking differently is an easy phrase to say and more challenging to do. And still...is it better to sit idle, or to model those who have come before us - the great innovators - who look at a challenge as simply another opportunity. Where can you think differently? Where is your opportunity to pioneer, to innovate and to become the next Bill Gates of our time?
If you are stuck and seeking to find answers just ask yourself...what would Richard Branson do? What would Steve Jobs do? The theory is by putting yourself in the mindset of renowned innovators, you will begin thinking like one. A small Finnish company called Pomarfin put themselves in the space of wild innovation. They were manufacturing shoes in Estonia to lower costs, however they were competing with companies in Asia who would manufacture the shoes at a much lower cost. What's a family owned business to do? Expand their innovation quotient.
Clearly Pomarfin could do what many companies have done in recent years, manufacture overseas for much less cost or look for another way to keep their production in Europe. Pomarfin's decision speaks to the essence of a risk taking innovator - they decided to niche aggressively by selling a new product with a new target...made-to-measure shoes for high net worth men who hate shopping.
This new brand entitled "LeftFoot" was a clever idea from Pomarfin. They thought they would install a foot scanner in all retail stores that sold its shoes. Easy...a well to do man comes knocking, the retail clerk scans the man's left foot with a LeftFoot machine, the image uploads to a server in Pomarfin's manufacturing plant that would create and ship these unique pair of shoes customized to the man's feet. When he wanted to order another, all he would do is go online. Easy! Not so much...
Pomarfin needed retailers who would want to install a scanner in their stores and scan customer's feet. May not be the most pleasant experience for a retail clerk, however the idea is worse for the retailer who would lose the customer to an online store.
LeftFoot started building their own retail stores and still needed traditional retailers to fully cover the market. As my dear mentor always tells me...you know you will be successful because others before have done it and can light the way. LeftFoot only had to look no further than to the music and publishing business for a model. They would pay a royalty for life fee for every new pair of LeftFoot shoes a customer purchased when referred by the retailer.
Can you imagine if all you had to do was take one action and then you would get paid for life with no effort? That's how the retailer's looked at the offer. The retailer referred the customer, got payments for life and didn't even need to stock inventory or pay for more support staff. Retailers signed on without hesitation. Now LeftFoot has retailers set up throughout most of Europe and Asia.
Very innovative, yes? They key to LeftFoot's success was their willingness to be highly innovative and to think differently about their delivery and customers.
Thinking differently is an easy phrase to say and more challenging to do. And still...is it better to sit idle, or to model those who have come before us - the great innovators - who look at a challenge as simply another opportunity. Where can you think differently? Where is your opportunity to pioneer, to innovate and to become the next Bill Gates of our time?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A Life Preserver When Work Piles Up
While at a charity dinner last week, I heard several executives discussing how one of the greatest opportunities they face today is managing getting things done. As work piles up, expectations grow despite the decline in available resources. It’s a tough situation with no clear solution. One executive illustrated the dilemma well, telling how when he went to his boss to get help, his boss simply replied, “Get it done.”
Hmmm…. Is this kind of response helpful? Not really. Although we accept the reality of budget cuts, we don’t adjust our expectations accordingly. Instead, demands continue to soar and expectations to meet and exceed organizational goals continue to exist. Bottom line, what do you do in such a situation?
The book “Execution: The Art of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan helps to provide some insight. Although not a new book, the text is still highly relevant and something that should be required reading for every leader who wants to get things done.
The authors explain how to “get it done” by describing execution as a “systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. It includes making assumptions about the business environment, assessing the organization’s capabilities, linking strategy to operations and the people who are going to implement the strategy, synchronizing those people and their various disciplines, and linking rewards to outcomes.”
I define execution as “getting things done, systematically and with swift action with people.” The key words here are swift and with people. Getting things done is not simply about speed; it’s first and foremost about leveraging your people and including them in the process thoughtfully. After all, they are the ones who will need to execute your plan. Ultimately, execution is about a new way of thinking and acting, which can be accomplished by the following:
1. Connect what is most meaningful to organizational priorities – not everything is important. You must figure out what is and what isn’t. Avoid the tendency to make every new thing the emergency of the day and leave the really important things to the last minute. Plan it, prioritize it and then act on it.
2. Toss out the lingo – jargon gets in the way of getting things done. Every organization has its own unique style of language, and not everyone speaks this unique slang. For example, I had a client who didn’t understand what the words “big picture” meant because everyone around him used the phrase differently. You’ll save time by making sure you define everything clearly and universally from the start.
3. Right people in the right jobs rely on your right words and right actions – it’s not enough to have the right people doing the right jobs. It is your responsibility to align what you say with what you do. It’s challenging to believe someone who does not align their words with their actions.
4. Responsibility first, blame last – take responsibility for everything -- period. Doing so will make you a better leader and, more importantly, a better human being.
5. Advocate, pursue and mobilize change – change can be a dreaded term because people don’t like when the boat is rocked. Go ahead and shake it! The more dynamic the workspace, the more the organization can grow. Stagnancy only hinders the growth and output of people and the organization.
6. Impeccable coordination – as Fred Kofman notes in his book “Conscious Business”, coordinating well and with those inside and outside the company will define you as a leader. The better you coordinate, the stronger your rise to the top in your career will be and the more sound your organization’s output will be.
7. Act quickly with those who don’t perform – not everyone is competent enough to be in their current positions. Although it’s good to offer people opportunities and coaching, if someone is not performing, you must move them out and do so quickly. If you don’t move fast, you only hurt you, your employee and the organization. And if you are afraid to hurt your employee, remember a job someone can thrive in is better than one to just survive in.
8. Link strategy, people and operations – as Charan and Bossidy state eloquently in their book, you cannot have a thriving organization without these three things being critically tied together. Each one functions with the others. Focus on all three with equal measure.
A final thought -- you probably put a lot of time and energy into developing your strategy and operations, and that doesn’t mean that you are putting the same effort into developing your people. Your people are your greatest asset. Unless you leverage, nurture and care for them deeply, with responsibility and accountability, you may lose your strongest competitive leverage point.
Hmmm…. Is this kind of response helpful? Not really. Although we accept the reality of budget cuts, we don’t adjust our expectations accordingly. Instead, demands continue to soar and expectations to meet and exceed organizational goals continue to exist. Bottom line, what do you do in such a situation?
The book “Execution: The Art of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan helps to provide some insight. Although not a new book, the text is still highly relevant and something that should be required reading for every leader who wants to get things done.
The authors explain how to “get it done” by describing execution as a “systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. It includes making assumptions about the business environment, assessing the organization’s capabilities, linking strategy to operations and the people who are going to implement the strategy, synchronizing those people and their various disciplines, and linking rewards to outcomes.”
I define execution as “getting things done, systematically and with swift action with people.” The key words here are swift and with people. Getting things done is not simply about speed; it’s first and foremost about leveraging your people and including them in the process thoughtfully. After all, they are the ones who will need to execute your plan. Ultimately, execution is about a new way of thinking and acting, which can be accomplished by the following:
1. Connect what is most meaningful to organizational priorities – not everything is important. You must figure out what is and what isn’t. Avoid the tendency to make every new thing the emergency of the day and leave the really important things to the last minute. Plan it, prioritize it and then act on it.
2. Toss out the lingo – jargon gets in the way of getting things done. Every organization has its own unique style of language, and not everyone speaks this unique slang. For example, I had a client who didn’t understand what the words “big picture” meant because everyone around him used the phrase differently. You’ll save time by making sure you define everything clearly and universally from the start.
3. Right people in the right jobs rely on your right words and right actions – it’s not enough to have the right people doing the right jobs. It is your responsibility to align what you say with what you do. It’s challenging to believe someone who does not align their words with their actions.
4. Responsibility first, blame last – take responsibility for everything -- period. Doing so will make you a better leader and, more importantly, a better human being.
5. Advocate, pursue and mobilize change – change can be a dreaded term because people don’t like when the boat is rocked. Go ahead and shake it! The more dynamic the workspace, the more the organization can grow. Stagnancy only hinders the growth and output of people and the organization.
6. Impeccable coordination – as Fred Kofman notes in his book “Conscious Business”, coordinating well and with those inside and outside the company will define you as a leader. The better you coordinate, the stronger your rise to the top in your career will be and the more sound your organization’s output will be.
7. Act quickly with those who don’t perform – not everyone is competent enough to be in their current positions. Although it’s good to offer people opportunities and coaching, if someone is not performing, you must move them out and do so quickly. If you don’t move fast, you only hurt you, your employee and the organization. And if you are afraid to hurt your employee, remember a job someone can thrive in is better than one to just survive in.
8. Link strategy, people and operations – as Charan and Bossidy state eloquently in their book, you cannot have a thriving organization without these three things being critically tied together. Each one functions with the others. Focus on all three with equal measure.
A final thought -- you probably put a lot of time and energy into developing your strategy and operations, and that doesn’t mean that you are putting the same effort into developing your people. Your people are your greatest asset. Unless you leverage, nurture and care for them deeply, with responsibility and accountability, you may lose your strongest competitive leverage point.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Don’t Be Passed Over and Pissed Off: Learn to Lead
Recently diversity was celebrated as part of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's events and conferences for 2010, including the annual meetings for such cable diversity groups as Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the Walter Kaitz Foundation . What’s most interesting about all of these gathering was the one theme that stood out - “leadership.”
The question of concern, which is applicable to all industries today, was: how will you develop and hone your leadership to guide your people through this ever-changing business landscape? Spanning such diverse topics as mentoring, developing leadership and the bottom line, being strategic, producing multi-ethnic content and programming, developing multi-ethnic high potentials and more, diversity really boils down to one thing – people. In the words of Eric Hawkins of Discovery Networks International, “Who makes organizations run? People. Who ensures a culture is innovative? People. Who continues to keep us competitive? People.”
Well said by Eric. After all, even if you are talking about programming, marketing, digital, or any field of business, it’s all about leadership. Leaders are the ones that spearhead organizations, make decisions that affect what goes on cable/television and the Internet, and create an environment for employees to be creative, to innovate and to feel valued and motivated to do their best.
During the WICT conference, I was on a panel entitled, “Leadership and the Bottom Line”, and all of my fellow panelists – Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks; Margaret Lazo, Executive Vice President in Human Resources at NBC Universal Television; Jill Smart, Chief Human Resource Officer at Accenture – all encouraged the participants to grow, nurture and cultivate leadership skills in order to become the most relevant and essential element of their organization.
Easy to say, and not so easy to do. However investing in yourself and your leadership ensures that you avoid what Jacqueline Welch of Turner Broadcasting, Inc. called, “POPO – ‘passed over and pissed off.’”
To avoid being POPO, here is a top ten list of some of the most useful and relevant tips for advancing your leadership:
1. Go international - Take a short-term or long-term international assignment to understand the international marketplace. After all, if your organization makes money globally and your employee pool is global, wouldn’t it help if you had global experience and understood this landscape well?
2. Seek and enlist a champion – Ask someone inside the organization to be your “champion.” This person can advocate on your behalf, give you advice and promote you consistently. Whoever you ask needs to be trained to understand what opportunities you are seeking (aka, what is your “sweet spot”) and what to say about you. A champion may be someone who emerges from working jointly on projects or who takes notice of the good work you are doing or simply someone you ask for help. In any case, get one!
3. Business strategy – Understand the business you are in and the company you have joined. Be sure to listen and participate on earnings calls, join affinity groups and become a well-rounded student of your organization and business.
4. Applied formal and informal learning - Being a life long learner is critical to advancement. This enables you to have an open mind and learn different disciplines and points of view. Naturally, learning makes you smarter, and applied learning will effectively make you stand out.
5. Professional presence – At Diversity Week, Dr. Tonya Cornelius from ESPN emphasized the need for leaders to know and leverage their brand. Know what people “see” in you when you walk in a room and how others think of you. Hone, develop and manage your brand.
6. Scrappy wins - Become a “scrappy” leader. Be resourceful and do what you need to do to get the job done, e.g. devise innovative ideas, enlist departments, which never worked together before, hire people with non-traditional experience.
7. Stand out – Win people over with your ideas, performance, goals and mission. Allow people to see all parts of who you are.
8. Measure your success – Learning how to use and devise metrics will set you apart from the rest. Consider how it sounds to say, “the campaign was a success” versus “78% of our clients voted this campaign as being the key driver of their business, increasing revenue by over 50%.” Which one impresses more?
9. Pay it forward – Mentor, look for places to champion others, give constantly with a clear consciousness wanting and asking for nothing in return.
10. Know who you are – Great leaders are self-aware, drive with authenticity, know when to ask for help and are always true to themselves.
Pick one of the top ten and go for it full force. Take your leadership and your career into your own hands, because if you don’t, no one else will.
The question of concern, which is applicable to all industries today, was: how will you develop and hone your leadership to guide your people through this ever-changing business landscape? Spanning such diverse topics as mentoring, developing leadership and the bottom line, being strategic, producing multi-ethnic content and programming, developing multi-ethnic high potentials and more, diversity really boils down to one thing – people. In the words of Eric Hawkins of Discovery Networks International, “Who makes organizations run? People. Who ensures a culture is innovative? People. Who continues to keep us competitive? People.”
Well said by Eric. After all, even if you are talking about programming, marketing, digital, or any field of business, it’s all about leadership. Leaders are the ones that spearhead organizations, make decisions that affect what goes on cable/television and the Internet, and create an environment for employees to be creative, to innovate and to feel valued and motivated to do their best.
During the WICT conference, I was on a panel entitled, “Leadership and the Bottom Line”, and all of my fellow panelists – Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks; Margaret Lazo, Executive Vice President in Human Resources at NBC Universal Television; Jill Smart, Chief Human Resource Officer at Accenture – all encouraged the participants to grow, nurture and cultivate leadership skills in order to become the most relevant and essential element of their organization.
Easy to say, and not so easy to do. However investing in yourself and your leadership ensures that you avoid what Jacqueline Welch of Turner Broadcasting, Inc. called, “POPO – ‘passed over and pissed off.’”
To avoid being POPO, here is a top ten list of some of the most useful and relevant tips for advancing your leadership:
1. Go international - Take a short-term or long-term international assignment to understand the international marketplace. After all, if your organization makes money globally and your employee pool is global, wouldn’t it help if you had global experience and understood this landscape well?
2. Seek and enlist a champion – Ask someone inside the organization to be your “champion.” This person can advocate on your behalf, give you advice and promote you consistently. Whoever you ask needs to be trained to understand what opportunities you are seeking (aka, what is your “sweet spot”) and what to say about you. A champion may be someone who emerges from working jointly on projects or who takes notice of the good work you are doing or simply someone you ask for help. In any case, get one!
3. Business strategy – Understand the business you are in and the company you have joined. Be sure to listen and participate on earnings calls, join affinity groups and become a well-rounded student of your organization and business.
4. Applied formal and informal learning - Being a life long learner is critical to advancement. This enables you to have an open mind and learn different disciplines and points of view. Naturally, learning makes you smarter, and applied learning will effectively make you stand out.
5. Professional presence – At Diversity Week, Dr. Tonya Cornelius from ESPN emphasized the need for leaders to know and leverage their brand. Know what people “see” in you when you walk in a room and how others think of you. Hone, develop and manage your brand.
6. Scrappy wins - Become a “scrappy” leader. Be resourceful and do what you need to do to get the job done, e.g. devise innovative ideas, enlist departments, which never worked together before, hire people with non-traditional experience.
7. Stand out – Win people over with your ideas, performance, goals and mission. Allow people to see all parts of who you are.
8. Measure your success – Learning how to use and devise metrics will set you apart from the rest. Consider how it sounds to say, “the campaign was a success” versus “78% of our clients voted this campaign as being the key driver of their business, increasing revenue by over 50%.” Which one impresses more?
9. Pay it forward – Mentor, look for places to champion others, give constantly with a clear consciousness wanting and asking for nothing in return.
10. Know who you are – Great leaders are self-aware, drive with authenticity, know when to ask for help and are always true to themselves.
Pick one of the top ten and go for it full force. Take your leadership and your career into your own hands, because if you don’t, no one else will.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Secrets to Managing UP
Managing up is critical to thriving inside of organizations. Although not spoken about regularly, if you don’t manage up well you simply will not rise through the ranks. Managing up is an art, a science and a skill.
It’s important for all managers and leaders to be managed. One of the hidden agreements an organization provides you is this…you’ll be managed and led AND you have the responsibility to also lead and manage those who report to you as well as those above you. Just as your boss invests in you, so too must you invest in your boss’ success.
Investing in your boss means, as the book “Managing UP!" by Michael Singer Dobson, Deborah Singer Dobson states, “being listened to and having your ideas respected. Getting your decisions in a timely fashion. Having the kind of influence that helps get your job and your mission accomplish…. it also means helping compensate for your boss’s weak points. Everyone has them.”
Tis true…we all do have faults and sometimes expecting your boss to be all things to everyone is as big of a mistake as expecting the same of our spouse.
Consider some of the most common mistakes that effects managing up and how you can remedy them:
1) When my boss doesn’t agree with me, I know this causes a rift between us.
Truth: You don’t have to like or agree with your boss in every situation. You are both on a team and are paid for the execution of the goals of the organization. You may have similar and opposing views in how to accomplish these goals, and that does not mean your career is in jeopardy. This just means you are two different people.
Word from the coach: When you have a differing opinion, you may not have all the information your boss does to make decisions. That’s fine. It’s time to read between the lines, ask deeper questions and come to an understanding of what is needed.
2) I know my boss and consider him/her a friend. Therefore, I know what kind of support my boss needs.
Truth: Most people don’t know how to manage up and can only make assumptions about their bosses’ needs. Eradicate speculation and start communicating.
Word from the coach: Ask your boss how he/she wants you to communicate with him/her. What materials does he/she need to see from you? Schedule meaningful one-on-ones with clear agendas and expectations. Ensure your meetings handle core issues clearly and honestly. Meeting just to meet is never beneficial for anyone. Make sure you create agreements that outline how you will communicate in times of bliss and crisis (know that the crisis times are the ones that will test your relationship).
3) Not keeping your boss in the loop.
Truth: We think we are good at keeping our bosses updated but our bosses probably need to know way more information than we think they do. “Sheltering” them only keeps them in the dark – now it’s time to turn on the lights.
Word from the coach: A former boss of mine, Ellen Cooper (a communications expert), once told me, “‘Closing the loop’ is one of the most important assets of any great communicator.” Ask yourself, is there a piece of information I have that my boss needs? Anticipate your boss’s needs by always offering updates, even if you believe the information is trivial. Nothing is trivial and should something ever become unimportant, you can count on your boss to tell you (you can make this an agreement between you both).
4) Being reluctant to ask for feedback
Truth: Hardly anyone likes to hear brutally honest - hit you over the head - feedback. Although we often say we want to grow, it’s tough to hear the real truth. Unless we ask for it and are willing to listen to honest feedback, we won’t know where we have room to grow and develop ourselves. Keep in mind, it’s not always easy for our bosses to give us feedback and they have to take feedback from their own bosses, too.
Word from the coach: Ask and ye shall receive. Lose the fear. Growth requires some degree of discomfort. Showing a willingness to become uncomfortable, hear the truth and act swiftly on it will be what differentiates the good from the great.
5) Bringing problems and no solutions
Truth: Problems or “issues” brought to your boss without solutions simply look like complaints. It’s never good to be perceived as a complainer.
Word from the coach: Whenever there’s a problem, try to consider at least three alternative solutions. If you get stuck, ask for help from your peers. If you still find yourself completely void of ideas, be transparent. State upfront to your boss that there’s an issue that requires his/her attention and that you have done your best to consider all possible solutions but haven’t found the best answer. Lay out the issue and brainstorm together.
6) Not managing your boss’s perceptions
Truth: All bosses have inherent perceptions about how work should be done. Some of these perceptions may be from their own past work experience and even performance reviews. Examples include things such as: getting your work done quickly shows you can work well under stress; coming in early and staying late shows commitment; coming in on the weekend to finish a project demonstrates diligence.
Word from the coach: Most of these perceptions are not spoken but rather implied. Managing these perceptions is critical to your success, so get them out in the open, talk about them and negotiate them. Supervisors would rather you get a project done well rather than finish it in two minutes. Sharing with your boss the process and progress of your work product helps to eradicate unspoken of perceptions.
7) Avoiding conflict
Truth: Experiencing conflict is not a sin. Conflict brings growth, fosters development and airs misperceptions. Yet, I found in a group session that I facilitated with advertising executives, most saw conflict as negative and something that should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a difference between confrontation and conflict. Confrontation involves hostility, whereas conflict merely arises from a difference of opinions.
Word from the coach: Before you say something that may be in opposition to what your boss thinks, set your intention. If your intention is to provide maximum value to the organization at all times, then the words you speak will echo this sentiment. If your intention is to “set your boss straight”, then be prepared for a harsh exchange of words. It’s up to you to determine the starting point…
Managing up is one of the greatest skills a manager or leader can possess. Dedicate yourself to excelling at this skill and your reputation and value to the company will be recognized -- guaranteed. Until next month!
It’s important for all managers and leaders to be managed. One of the hidden agreements an organization provides you is this…you’ll be managed and led AND you have the responsibility to also lead and manage those who report to you as well as those above you. Just as your boss invests in you, so too must you invest in your boss’ success.
Investing in your boss means, as the book “Managing UP!" by Michael Singer Dobson, Deborah Singer Dobson states, “being listened to and having your ideas respected. Getting your decisions in a timely fashion. Having the kind of influence that helps get your job and your mission accomplish…. it also means helping compensate for your boss’s weak points. Everyone has them.”
Tis true…we all do have faults and sometimes expecting your boss to be all things to everyone is as big of a mistake as expecting the same of our spouse.
Consider some of the most common mistakes that effects managing up and how you can remedy them:
1) When my boss doesn’t agree with me, I know this causes a rift between us.
Truth: You don’t have to like or agree with your boss in every situation. You are both on a team and are paid for the execution of the goals of the organization. You may have similar and opposing views in how to accomplish these goals, and that does not mean your career is in jeopardy. This just means you are two different people.
Word from the coach: When you have a differing opinion, you may not have all the information your boss does to make decisions. That’s fine. It’s time to read between the lines, ask deeper questions and come to an understanding of what is needed.
2) I know my boss and consider him/her a friend. Therefore, I know what kind of support my boss needs.
Truth: Most people don’t know how to manage up and can only make assumptions about their bosses’ needs. Eradicate speculation and start communicating.
Word from the coach: Ask your boss how he/she wants you to communicate with him/her. What materials does he/she need to see from you? Schedule meaningful one-on-ones with clear agendas and expectations. Ensure your meetings handle core issues clearly and honestly. Meeting just to meet is never beneficial for anyone. Make sure you create agreements that outline how you will communicate in times of bliss and crisis (know that the crisis times are the ones that will test your relationship).
3) Not keeping your boss in the loop.
Truth: We think we are good at keeping our bosses updated but our bosses probably need to know way more information than we think they do. “Sheltering” them only keeps them in the dark – now it’s time to turn on the lights.
Word from the coach: A former boss of mine, Ellen Cooper (a communications expert), once told me, “‘Closing the loop’ is one of the most important assets of any great communicator.” Ask yourself, is there a piece of information I have that my boss needs? Anticipate your boss’s needs by always offering updates, even if you believe the information is trivial. Nothing is trivial and should something ever become unimportant, you can count on your boss to tell you (you can make this an agreement between you both).
4) Being reluctant to ask for feedback
Truth: Hardly anyone likes to hear brutally honest - hit you over the head - feedback. Although we often say we want to grow, it’s tough to hear the real truth. Unless we ask for it and are willing to listen to honest feedback, we won’t know where we have room to grow and develop ourselves. Keep in mind, it’s not always easy for our bosses to give us feedback and they have to take feedback from their own bosses, too.
Word from the coach: Ask and ye shall receive. Lose the fear. Growth requires some degree of discomfort. Showing a willingness to become uncomfortable, hear the truth and act swiftly on it will be what differentiates the good from the great.
5) Bringing problems and no solutions
Truth: Problems or “issues” brought to your boss without solutions simply look like complaints. It’s never good to be perceived as a complainer.
Word from the coach: Whenever there’s a problem, try to consider at least three alternative solutions. If you get stuck, ask for help from your peers. If you still find yourself completely void of ideas, be transparent. State upfront to your boss that there’s an issue that requires his/her attention and that you have done your best to consider all possible solutions but haven’t found the best answer. Lay out the issue and brainstorm together.
6) Not managing your boss’s perceptions
Truth: All bosses have inherent perceptions about how work should be done. Some of these perceptions may be from their own past work experience and even performance reviews. Examples include things such as: getting your work done quickly shows you can work well under stress; coming in early and staying late shows commitment; coming in on the weekend to finish a project demonstrates diligence.
Word from the coach: Most of these perceptions are not spoken but rather implied. Managing these perceptions is critical to your success, so get them out in the open, talk about them and negotiate them. Supervisors would rather you get a project done well rather than finish it in two minutes. Sharing with your boss the process and progress of your work product helps to eradicate unspoken of perceptions.
7) Avoiding conflict
Truth: Experiencing conflict is not a sin. Conflict brings growth, fosters development and airs misperceptions. Yet, I found in a group session that I facilitated with advertising executives, most saw conflict as negative and something that should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a difference between confrontation and conflict. Confrontation involves hostility, whereas conflict merely arises from a difference of opinions.
Word from the coach: Before you say something that may be in opposition to what your boss thinks, set your intention. If your intention is to provide maximum value to the organization at all times, then the words you speak will echo this sentiment. If your intention is to “set your boss straight”, then be prepared for a harsh exchange of words. It’s up to you to determine the starting point…
Managing up is one of the greatest skills a manager or leader can possess. Dedicate yourself to excelling at this skill and your reputation and value to the company will be recognized -- guaranteed. Until next month!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Keeping Your Clothes On Ain't Easy
It's easy to lose your cool as a leader with so much going on, so much to juggle, so many people to be responsible for, so much information to keep present...it can be challenging to keep your composure, to know what to do next and to operate with the team in mind. Don't you just want to give yourself permission sometimes to go screaming out of the building?
Do we talk that much about losing your cool and the daily grind leading can be? Not so much because no one wants to hear it and it's not the most uplifting conversation. Betty Davis in "All About Eve" said the famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," and such is true about leading. Every day leaders are running faster than the speed of light and we wonder why motivation is one of the most critical elements for reinvigorating teams when we may need some reinvigoration ourselves.
Here's what you do when you just want to lose your cool, run out of the building or shout from the rooftops:
-It's never too late - if you read trade magazines, they are full of stories of people who have made come backs from the lowest of places. America is full of icons that continue to come back when they are beaten down the most. Have a vision and follow it and know if all seems to be going awry, turn to your mentors, to those who believe in you, they will help you to see what you are blocked from in this moment.
-Be in a place of exploration - investigate what's really happening. Sometimes our vision is clouded by our own need to fix things without the help of others.
-Don't quit on your dream - it's taken a long time to realize what you want to achieve in this life. You are experiencing a bump in the road and treat it as such, not as the end of what you desire profoundly.
-Take a stand for you - getting upset is not pretty. Oftentimes you can beat yourself up, compromise valued dialogue and make those around you wrong. Take a stand for helping yourself to know the truth of the situation you are in. Beating yourself up only does one thing...prolong the guilt.
-Do an inventory - just as you would with a warehouse full of product, take an inventory of the current situation, your strengths, the strengths of those on your team and evaluate if what you are experiencing is really the end of the world or a call to shift how you do what you do.
We may not be able to change the situation we are in, however we can shift our perception and management of ourselves and those around us. Stepping up to be a leader means you've signed up for continuous self-examination and careful mindfulness of those around you. Let's celebrate all you have done rather than go screaming from the building. There's always some measure of good in what's going on, we are required as leaders to help lift the fog to find the truth, move out of anger/frustration/resentment and take decisive action with compassion.
Do we talk that much about losing your cool and the daily grind leading can be? Not so much because no one wants to hear it and it's not the most uplifting conversation. Betty Davis in "All About Eve" said the famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," and such is true about leading. Every day leaders are running faster than the speed of light and we wonder why motivation is one of the most critical elements for reinvigorating teams when we may need some reinvigoration ourselves.
Here's what you do when you just want to lose your cool, run out of the building or shout from the rooftops:
-It's never too late - if you read trade magazines, they are full of stories of people who have made come backs from the lowest of places. America is full of icons that continue to come back when they are beaten down the most. Have a vision and follow it and know if all seems to be going awry, turn to your mentors, to those who believe in you, they will help you to see what you are blocked from in this moment.
-Be in a place of exploration - investigate what's really happening. Sometimes our vision is clouded by our own need to fix things without the help of others.
-Don't quit on your dream - it's taken a long time to realize what you want to achieve in this life. You are experiencing a bump in the road and treat it as such, not as the end of what you desire profoundly.
-Take a stand for you - getting upset is not pretty. Oftentimes you can beat yourself up, compromise valued dialogue and make those around you wrong. Take a stand for helping yourself to know the truth of the situation you are in. Beating yourself up only does one thing...prolong the guilt.
-Do an inventory - just as you would with a warehouse full of product, take an inventory of the current situation, your strengths, the strengths of those on your team and evaluate if what you are experiencing is really the end of the world or a call to shift how you do what you do.
We may not be able to change the situation we are in, however we can shift our perception and management of ourselves and those around us. Stepping up to be a leader means you've signed up for continuous self-examination and careful mindfulness of those around you. Let's celebrate all you have done rather than go screaming from the building. There's always some measure of good in what's going on, we are required as leaders to help lift the fog to find the truth, move out of anger/frustration/resentment and take decisive action with compassion.
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