Leadership on Speed

it's a culture thing

I was recently reading a blog post that invited companies when hiring to "Hire for Culture First, Skills Second".  While it was an interesting read, it was also a frustrating one.

Why?

Because the fact of that matter is that YOU (as the hiree) should do your best to ensure that the company fits you culturally first.  That is your responsibility and should not be left to the auspices of the company you are interviewing with.  Presumably, you are interviewing for a position because you already know that you can do the work - that's the easy part.  

What is less clear is how you will fit into the organization.

Don't let  organizations rule you out because you don't fit.  You should already know before you interview whether that company is potentially a good fit, and why. 

Failure at an organization is often less about job skills than it is about fit.  If you join a company and then find that the company ethics or way of doing business goes against everything that you stand for, your ability to succeed is greatly diminished.  If doing your job means compromising who you are, you may eventually pay the price mentally, physically and finanicially to the extent that all those compromises lead to a decline in job performance.

And it will.

So do yourself (and your career) a favor.  

Don't go for the money without buying into the company culture first.

Your career (and your sanity) depends on it...

Continue to be great!

 

keeping the pedal to the metal eventually takes its toll

The April issue of Harvard Business Review had an interesting article entitled The Acceleration Trap which highlights a challenge faced by so many of my clients (if not all) particularly in the current economic environment.  Organizations have simultaneously downsized personnel while trying to increase production which means that the associates left behind who were once operating at 80-90% production are now functioning at 125%+ on a daily basis.  Every organization goes through periods of increased productivity but The Acceleration Trap occurs when organizations rev up to 125%+ and instead of revving down after the project or mission is complete, leaders expect the employees to continually operate at the new higher level.  In other words, that higher pace becomes the new normal.

As you might imagine, the article goes on to point out the potentially negative impact of consistently operating in high gear and outlines some strategies for decelerating such as stopping the action and deciding how to make decisions but as a strategic planning consultant, it was the suggestion surrounding strategic planning that most caught my attention:

Be clear about strategy and more importantly, ask the question, "What should we stop doing?"  When working with clients, it is always one of my favorite questions and ultimately one of the most thought-provoking questions we can ask as business leaders.

No strategic planning discussion is complete without also discussing actions and activities that need to stop.  Otherwise, we're only perpetuating the trap by piling more on an already overfull plate.  But you don't need a strategic planning session to begin to notice the superflous activities that occur needlessly in your organization.  Here's an activity for you:

Pull your team together.  Get an assessment of where they spend most of their time and ask this question:  What activities are you currently engaged in that if you stopped doing would have absolutely no negative impact on accomplishing your goals?

You may be surprised by what you hear.

Continue to be great!

coaching your promotees to success

This post is inspired by Steve Tobak.  Back in July he wrote a post entitled Why That Big Promotion Can Be a Curse. Steve's post focused on failed CEO promotions in light of the BP debacle but it really got me to thinking about failed promotions at all levels of an organization and "why those little promotions can also be a curse".

In North American culture, we are taught from early ages to desire "status".  Early on (whether we as parents like it or not) society teaches our children that they are more "important" if they have it.  We get a bit more excited and proud when they are elected as team captain or president of "something".  Colleges are impressed by early demonstrations of leadership.  As we go out into the world, we are considered more successful if we move "up" into management.  We gain more money and we gain more respect.

It is what it is.  No judgment here.

The problem is that all too often, when we promote our high performers, we do nothing to ensure their continued success and when they fumble their way to failure, everyone loses. 

For the sake of clarity, we'll place promotions into two distinct buckets: managerial and non-managerial.

Non-managerial promotions tend to involve technical expertise (ie promotion from Lab Tech One to Lab Tech Two).  They may involve some implied leadership based on a greater knowledge-base but the associate is not held accountable for the leadership they take on.

This posted is directed towards those promoted into management and how organizations can help newly promoted managers and leaders be successful from the beginning:

1.  Begin to provide leadership opportunities before the promotion.  This gives the candidate an opportunity to "try on" a leadership role and decide if it's for them while giving you the chance to see them in action. It also stretches them because taking on leadership without a title requires a unique skill set that will only serve them when they are promoted.

2.  Don't assume that your newly promoted manager has the skills for his new role. Educate associates on what it means to be a manager and if possible, set-up advancement tracks that are not linked to management.  Recognize that not everyone wants to be a manager and not everyone who wants to be a manager can do so.

3.  Provide a leadership coach to newly promoted managers and new leaders in the organization.  This gives them a "partner" from the beginning and provides objective feedback to support leadership growth by an expert in the field.

4.  Assign a mentor at least two levels above the new leader.  Why two levels?  Leaders at the next level may feel threatened by up-and-coming talent. 

5.  Set-up quarterly personal development goals and assessments.  New leaders need to know what's working and what isn't working (collaborating with a leadership coach can maximize this process).  This also demonstrates that you care about their success beyond the numbers and models a process that they will adopt as they grow and promote others!

6.  CRITICAL: Rinse and repeat with every promotion.  These guidelines don't just apply to the first time manager.  They also apply when a manager is promoted to senior manager, a senior manager to a director and on and on.  Each new level brings its own new challenges and corporate leadership has a responsibility to provide the tools to offer its leaders the best opportunity to succeed.  We all know that "hope is a bad business plan" and that applies to "hoping" new leaders succeed without giving them any tools to do so.

Continue to be great!

check out this list to see if your work environment supports your core values

In our work at Leadership on Speed LLC, we often get calls from career professionals when they begin a job transition process.  One of the first exercises we do is to explore our clients core values.  Why?  Clarity surrounding values supports their ability to find work within organizations that afford the best fit both technically and professionally.  Otherwise, individuals are at risk for potentially getting a great offer but being unfulfilled in the long term.  In a society that has often measured success based on one's income, understanding one's values may lead to different choices surrounding income but greatly increase the likelihood of both work and life satisfaction.

Are you clear about your values and drivers?  If not, I highly encourage you to take time to do so.  Not sure where to start?  Try the following list.  Utilize a process of elimination to identify your top 20 and then re-order them from one to twenty.  Your top five become your core career values and any job you take should definitely include them!

My work  must involve:

• compassion and caring – helping others and/or being helped
• a supervisor who is a strong role model and mentor
• consistent guidance and clear expectations from a supervisor
• increasing aesthetics, creating beauty
• creating or building objects or systems from scratch
• mental challenges and problem-solving
• physical challenges
• flexibility in commitments and schedule to allow for balance between work life and personal life
• being considered an expert in your field
• highly structured and defined work
• a high degree of competition
• the consistent practice of integrity and ethics
• an opportunity for spiritual growth
• a reward for loyalty and dependability
• having self-respect and pride in work
• stability and security
• above average financial compensation and financial rewards
• being recognized for quality of work
• contributing to societal good
• using creativity and imagination to be innovative
• variety and change – a dynamic, progressive approach
• professional development and continuous learning and growth
• friendships and social activities
• working in teams or groups
• prestige, notoriety, social status
• routine, predictable work projects
• deadlines and time demand/pressure challenges
• clear advancement paths/opportunities for advancement
• tranquility, comfort, and avoidance of pressure
• day-to-day contact with the public or people
• using cutting edge or pioneering technologies or techniques
• opportunities for supervision, power, leadership, influence
• responsibility and accountability around making decisions
• autonomy, independence, freedom (little or no supervision)
• precision work with little tolerance for error
• adventure, excitement and risk taking

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

going through the looking glass

When it comes to your professional life, do you often feel as if you're swimming with the current or against it?  Are you sailing with the wind or fighting it?

The answers to these seemingly simple questions are critical when determining if your work is aligned with your purpose, passion and talents because when everything is aligned, progress seems to be smooth and easy, almost effortless.  When you are "in the zone",you know it.  You feel more satisfaction and you perform well - no wonder money seems to follow!  You're energized, excited and looking forward to the next day.

Compare that feeling or state of being to when things are not going well...your career can feel rough and difficult, almost like you are bearing a heavy load (because you are).  Waking up in the morning is a struggle, the clock ticks by s-l-o-w-l-y during the day and you can hardly wait for the day to end.  The weekends seem to be one of life's few blessings...

If you find yourself in the latter group, it's most likely that you are probably not doing what you were intended to do on this earth.  You are fighting against your natural gift, skills and talents.  You may have settled for less -- an easier path, a more "socially acceptable" path or the path others expected you to take.

Don't feel bad.  Like you, I've been there.  I have lived it.  Feeling stuck in work that paid the bills but left me in an uncomfortable and unnatural rut. 

And I know I wasn't alone... Many people go through life the hard way.  Suppressing true desires and trying to blend in and avoid rocking the boat....playing it safe. 

The truth in my case is that I went for the money but at the end of the day, the money was robbing me of true joy and passion.  After all, how joyful can your life be if you dread the very thing that you spend 40 or 60 or even more hours at each week?   It's tragic, really.

So, let this be your wake up call.  Let's extinguish the whole concept of "mid-life" crisis!  How about a mid-twenties crisis or a mid-thirties crisis?  The "crisis" is nothing more than the realization that you're no longer willing to live a lie in your work and in your life.  That you're ready to take more risks, have more fun and spend time on and with the things that matter most!

We all think that we have this infinite amount of time to "figure it out" but what if next week was it?

LIFE IS TOO SHORT!  Let's agree to STOP the madness!  STOP delaying your life.  STOP living by others expectations. STOP putting things off until the kids are grown.  STOP waiting for retirement to regain a sense of joy and passion.  STOP going through the motions with your current career.  STOP feeling trapped by your degree or education (or lack of). STOP telling yourself comforting stories and lies.  STOP denying yourself real passion and fulfillment.

It is NEVER too late to live on purpose and with passion.  I often ask my clients this question - If you could be given a magic potion that would absolutely prevent you from failing at one major dream or goal in life, what would it be?  Chances are you already know in your heart what you should be doing.   If you don't, begin with your childhood.  Think back to the things that enjoyed most.  Think about your life over the past few years.  What is it that brings you the most pleasure?  Is it certain aspects of your work? Hobbies? Volunteer activities?  Do you find yourself attracted to certain types of activities or groups?  Everything in your life holds clues to your passion!  If all else fails, take some classes!  We all have things "we have always wanted to do".  Start to notice what you like and what you don't. 

Not unlike Alice in Wonderland, it may also be your turn "go through the looking glass" so look upon the journey with excitement and hopefulness!

You were born to be great.

YES, you can! 

success is not forever and failure isn't fatal

We've all heard the adage "You win some. You lose some." but how often do we allow wins and losses in business to define us?  You have a big sale or close a big deal and you're the office hero. You lose a big client or blow a deal, you're the office schmuck, right?  In business (and in life) it often seems that the highs can be really high and the lows, really low.

If this resonates for you then take heed from football coaching great Don Shula when he says:

"Success is not forever and failure isn't fatal."

Coach Shula had a great rule which I think can serve anyone well.  It was called "the 24-hour rule".  He allowed himself, his coaches and his players a maximum of twenty four hours after a football game to celebrate a victory or bemoan a defeat.  That's it.  During that time they were encouraged to experience the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat as deeply as possible but once the twenty-four hours passed, they put it behind them and focused their energies on prepping for the next opponent.

Now that's a principal well worth noting AND applying.

Don't waste time getting a big head when you win or getting too down in the dumps when you lose.  Keep things in perspective. What's done is done.  Focus instead on applying the strategies, tactics and/or principals that will either give you the "win" the next time or keep the winning streak going. 

Remember success is not forever and failure isn't fatal.

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

 

thriving in incompetence

I had the privilege recently of listening to a keynote given by Julio Olalla, founder of the Newfield Network (a coaching institute) and well known in coaching circles.  He was magnificent.  He spoke about many things but something that resonated with me was this statement "When we declare a dream, the first thing we realize is that we are incompetent to get there, so many of us declare nothing at all."

 

WOW! Talk about a lightbulb moment!! I thought to myself, "How true is that?"  It resonated with me because I have done hundreds of consults in which the potential client declares a dream and then quickly discusses all the reason why they "can't" make it happen.  I have also been there at various times in my own life! I remember when I was a "young" drug rep.  I didn't have much industry experience but I had come to the industry with five years of leadership experience from another organization.  My goal at the time was to get back into management as quickly as possible but when I had the first opportunity to put my hat in the ring, I didn't go for it.  Why?  I believed at the time that I still didn't have enough "industry" experience and rather than go for it and fail (or even scarier - succeed), I chose not to play. 

 

How often have you declared a goal and decided that you didn't have what it took to get there or be successful?

 

The beauty (and comfort) of Mr. Olalla's statement was the realization that on some level, we are all incompetent!  As long as you are growing and stretching, you will always find yourself in unfamiliar territory which translates into having some degree of incompetence.  Don't fear it - welcome it!  Our ego's tell us that we should know it all - what a bunch of hogwash!  Whether it's a job or starting a company, you take the first step and then you learn what you need to learn to be successful in getting to the next.

 

When I began my coaching company, the only thing I had a handle on was coaching! I had to face the reality of all the things I DIDN'T know about running a company, how to market, how to create products, determining WHAT products my audience needed, etc.  I could easily have stopped within the first five minutes!  We have to recognize that when we choose to take a journey, the ONLY thing we may be clear about is that we want to take the journey - even the destination may be fuzzy!  We stop because we "think" we should know the route and because we don't, we decide that we're in over our heads and we quit. 

 

The journey to goal creation is no different than taking a trip from Florida to California.  Once I decide to take the trip, there are a ton of options about how to get there.  Do I drive? Fly?  Walk? Take a train? (yes, walking is an option!)  If I drive, what route do I take?  Do I want to go straight from Florida to California or are there places or people to visit along the way?  If you get overwhelmed in all the possible permutations of getting there, you may change your mind and stay in Florida but you then miss the richness of the experience of trying to get to California! 

 

Not only do we face a myriad of tactical decisions that could stop us, we face the internal dialogue that constantly plagues us: 

 

What if I fail?

What if I succeed?

What if I get "too" big?

What will others think of me?

Will others "get" it? 

What if they don't? etc, etc. 

 

As a coach, I am no different than you. I am a human being with frailties and fears.  What may distinguish me is that this time, my incompetence didn't stop me.  I found my purpose and I chose to honor it.  I joyfully live with a certain degree of incompetence because I realize that on some level, it means that I am courageous enough to declare and live my vision!  The beauty of fluidity is that my journey has taken me in so many amazing and wonderful directions that are far from what I thought it might look like when I began.  Opportunities do show up when we allow our boldness to shine.  What I have come to learn is that what I need always shows up when I need it  - NOT to be confused with what I WANT but sometimes that shows up too. :-)  I'm smart enough (most of the time) to acknowledge what it is I don't know (or that I don't know what I don't know) and try to stay open enough to see and accept the gifts that are offered to me in support of my quest and my dream. 

 

Will you join me?  Just for today live in gracious incompetence.  Choose power instead of fear.  Choose abundance instead of scarcity.  Choose gratitude instead of selfishness.  Choose joyful living instead of existing...   

 

Are you there? I would love to hear your story!

 

You were born to be great.

 

YES, you can!

reinventing yourself

You have just been laid off - possibly for the second or even third time.  You're tired of being h-e-r-e...starting over...wondering "why you" again and what to do next.

If you are in a contracting industry such as real estate, housing construction, auto manufacturing or finance, you may even be forced to reconsider what it is you want to do for a living. 

The bad news:  Losing a job can be devastating.

The good news: Finding a new career can be a really great opportunity to reinvent oneself and do work that brings even greater reward.

In order to truly reinvent your career requires a shift in thinking: The first thing you must understand is that to be truly happy, your career must serve your life.  Because of our schooling or getting "boxed in" to certain career choices over time, we lose sight of the fact that the point of working is to create a life you love living. 

Other principles for reinventing your career:

• Have a passion for your new career.  Otherwise, you might find short-term security but it's only a matter of time before the job loses it's luster and you're once again bored, tired, frustrated and at-risk for lay-off number 2,3 or 4. 
• Re-brand yourself. Who do you want to be and how do you want to show up?  What are your perceived strengths and weaknesses as seen by others around you?  What are you better at that anyone else?  Once you are clear on your personal brand you can create a resume that supports you finding the work, the job and the company that fits you perfectly. 
• Be willing to stretch. Reinventing yourself means charting new territory and expanding your horizons.  This means not only stretching yourself beyond what is comfortable but "getting comfortable with the uncomfortable."  Sometimes, the only way out is through that discomfort so get excited about what's on the other side
• Be willing to let go of your old identity.  In the North American culture, we're all used to "being" something.  Labels make us comfortable. I am wife, mom, daughter, sister, coach, author etc. If you gained "street cred" as a senior consultant at a well-known finance company, shifting to a "non-identity" may be a tough psychological transition while you're figuring out what's next but it's crucial to reinvention. 
• Listen to yourself and let go of what others think.  When I left a lucrative position in Corporate America to pursue my passion for supporting others in the career space, some of my family members (especially the older set), thought I was crazy.  It meant leaving the security of "job" for entrepreneurial insecurity but even in the lean years, I awoke with a sense of freedom and joy that I had never experienced in the Corporate world.  Only you know what's in your spirit and only you can honor that.  Not everyone will agree with your choices and you must learn to be ok with it. 
• Be willing to experiment and be flexible.  Career reinvention is a journey and you'll want to treat it as such.  you may start with one idea in mind but as you come across new information, give yourself permission to explore a new path.  The best results come when you're open to new ideas and possibilities.  You get to pick-up the pieces and parts that are most fun and exciting and leave the rest behind, creating something that is uniquely you!
• Be willing to pursue new contacts.  As you begin to discover new possibilities, don't be afraid to reach out and make contacts in that area.  You'll be surprised at how gracious most people are with sharing their experience, insights, perspectives and insider tips.
• Recognize and accept that on some level, you're starting over and that's ok.  You may no longer be the most experienced kid on the block but you get to experience the fun and excitement of learning in an environment and a space that you love.  Remember being a kid and getting exposed to a new sport or game that was fun?  You just wanted to play and the more you played and practiced, the better you got?  Welcome back to your childhood!

You were born to be great!

YES, you can!

only good work counts. or does it?

One of the biggest fallacies that some professionals hold in the corporate arena is the notion that simply doing good work will get you ahead.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

If you thought you were above "corporate politics" and your good work would speak for itself, think again.  You may not only be sabotaging an otherwise great career, you may actually be setting yourself up to be at the front of the "layoff line".

How is that possible?

You see, while a job well done may get you noticed, one of the critical components for success in the workplace is not just the work that you do, it's the relationships that you build.

We've all seen it.  That guy/gal that seems to do only average work and yet continues to get recognized and move ahead while you, sitting quietly at your desk are putting out GREAT work which seems to go unnoticed.

What's the difference?

We often want to blame such disparities on racism or sexism and while I don't deny that your environment may hold some of those challenges, the rest of the story is that while you are sitting quietly at your desk not wanting to play in the sandbox with the other kids and feeling superior, your "average" colleague is getting to know his colleagues and his bosses.  HE is having conversations that are giving him the inside scoop on what's going on in the organization and what opportunities are on the horizon.  HE is building relationships.  YOUR colleagues and YOUR leadership are getting to know his intentions. They know his goals.  They know how hard he is working.  They know his strengths and weaknesses and they are giving him feedback on that same presentation you felt you could do all by yourself.  In short, they are getting to know him.  HE is getting invited into opportunities that you know nothing about.  He is the guy that may have started off slow but will be your boss five years from now....

Meanwhile.....

....you clock in at 8:30am and are out at 5:30pm.  You get invited to lunch but because you don't want to be bothered or you don't think you'll enjoy yourself, you rarely go.  You might hang out on the periphery of the "in crowd" thinking that may be enough to get you over the top but anything that requires effort or asks you to stretch in conversation with someone you've already made up your mind you "don't like" is way too much "work".  After all, you say to yourself, "My boss always tells me my work is excellent, so I don't need to play politics."

Here's what you may not realize......

When it comes time to evaluate personnel for lay-offs or downsizings, who do you think will be at greater risk?  The person that has made friends and has gotten to know his bosses and colleagues well or you, who sits quietly at your desk?

You see, the thing we often forget is that when it comes time for lay-offs, while your boss may think you do a great work, the decisions are most likely made echelons above him.  And THEY (the decision-makers) have heard several people talk about "average guy" take a stand for his work, while the only person talking about you is your boss (by the way, the same philosophy holds true for promotions and other opportunities).  Your work may be good, but you (the person) remain an unknown quantity,

So do yourself a favor:  Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.  You are good at what you do.  You may even be great.  So GET IN THE GAME.  Get to know the folks around you.  Collect folks around you who know what you're up to and can speak for your good work when you aren't around.  You deserve to get a crack at those opportunities that only surface at the lunch table or on the golf course.

As one reformed "quiet worker" to another (hopefully), you may also find yourself pleasantly surprised by the number of good and likable people around you once you let you guard down and let others play in your sandbox too.

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

the road to lasting wealth: pursuing passion or pursuing money

If you're one of those who believes that following your passion is a pipe dream reserved only for those who "can afford it", perhaps today's post will shed a little insight on just why following your passion could be the way to go!

Whether you want to believe it or not, more millionaires than you can imagine will be created in this economy. 

Why?

Simply put: One of the fundamental components of wealth creation is doing work you love and there is nothing like a recession to force people into making part-time fun pursuits into money-making enterprises....

Yes....REALLY!

As a business and career coach, any conversation about career pursuits always seems to involve some discussion of whether one should pursue their passion or simply pursue money.  Clients initially tend to be divided as to which path provides the better probability for generating real and lasting wealth.  

If you have ever wondered the same, consider the following:

Back in the 1960's, Scrully Blotnick, Ph.D. psychologist, conducted a "wealth-creation" study of 1,500 people that lasted 20 years. He put his test subjects into two categories:

Category A said they would pursue money first and follow their passions later. A total of 1,245 people were placed in that group. They represented 83% of the people studied.

Category B was made up of only 255 people who said they would seek their passions and interests first and trust that the money would follow. They represented 17% of the people studied.

Twenty years later, there were 101 millionaires from the entire study. Interestingly, one hundred of the millionaires were from category B (pursue your passions), and only one millionaire was from category A (pursue the money).

The group that pursued their passions first and represented only 17% of the people studied, accounted for a whopping 99% of the eventual millionaires.

More recently, Thomas J. Stanley (author of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind) in his interviews of 733 self-made first generation rich millionaires who had an average of 9.1 million in net worth, came to this conclusion:

"They are ‘nichers,’ and they have little competition. ... It’s all about vocation, vocation, vocation. If you select the bedrock foundation of the ideal vocation, what then? You love the products you produce. You have affection for your customers and supplies. In addition, you know more about your niche market than anyone else and your customers don’t care if you were a C student in college - to them you are the answer to their problem."

The lessons learned?

To create real wealth, focus on your interests and passions first and the money will follow. Ironically, if you focus strictly on making money, you most likely will not have much fulfillment and may ultimately be negatively affecting your ability to create real and lasting wealth.

If you are grinding it out in a job or business you don't enjoy or lack purpose and passion for what you are currently doing, perhaps it's time to follow your heart, gut and passions.  Now you have even more "proof" that it's time to work on PLAN B!

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!