Don't Expect Easy-My Top 15 Suggestions for Coping as a Professional

August 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Pushing the Rock“Easy” is not a term that should be on your mind, except when it comes to improving the experience for your customers. Outside of making life easier for your customers, there are few circumstances where “easy” shows up or where you are justified in expecting things to go that way.

If you’re at the early stage of your career, the transition from home to school to job is an interesting one.  If you are a recent graduate, chance are that you’ve already discovered that things aren’t so easy in this economy as you pound the pavement looking for a job.  While this awkward phase will pass in time, your immersion in the workforce will underscore why “easy” is a foreign term.

And of course, if you’ve been around the block a few times, you’ve already discovered that “easy” is rare indeed.

Things That Are Most Definitely Not Easy in Business:

  • Working for a difficult boss
  • Becoming a boss
  • Becoming a good boss
  • Finding great people
  • Hiring the right people
  • Undoing the process of hiring the wrong people
  • Competing in the market
  • Competing internally
  • Leading without authority
  • Creating a new strategy
  • Implementing a new strategy
  • Getting others to follow
  • Following
  • Making mistakes
  • Learning from mistakes
  • Developing as a senior contributor
  • Switching jobs
  • Switching careers
  • Continuing your education
  • Reinventing yourself
  • Balancing life and work

Guidance-My Top 15 Suggestions for Coping with “Not Easy”

  1. I’ve known a few people that seemed to have a free-pass through life’s difficulties, but for the rest of us, here are my suggestions and words of encouragement:
  2. Attitude is everything.  Make certain that yours stays positive about the challenges in front of you.
  3. There is no substitute for hard work.  Keep pushing the rock.
  4. Success is in the details.  Don’t be a 70-percenter.  Learn to finish.
  5. It’s all about learning.  Mistakes are your best teachers, just don’t make the same ones over and over again.
  6. As my former boss would say, “Man plans and god laughs.”  Interpret that to mean that things mostly don’t go as you expect them to.
  7. Hope is a crappy strategy.  See also the note on hard work.
  8. You’ll make mistakes.  Don’t wallow for more than a few minutes.  Then shrug your shoulders and move on to your next challenge.
  9. There are no guarantees.  There are no guarantees of how long any of us will be here, much less guarantees of employment and advancement.
  10. You’ll have to work for everything you get.  Get over it.
  11. Fear is the mind-killer. I love that quote from Frank Herbert.  Don’t let fear rule your life.
  12. Measure-twice and cut once.  An extra emphasis on quality will serve you well.
  13. Compensation is nice.  Ultimately enough is enough.  It’s a hollow goal to just chase the money.
  14. The joy is in the journey, not the destination.
  15. Touch people in the right way during your journey.  You go through this once.  Make it count.

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Notes from Art:

-Don’t miss the latest issue of the Management Excellence Newsletter.  Register at Building Better Leaders or Management Excellence (far right column)

-Just announced: The Management Excellence Book Series, with episode #1 featuring an interview with Bob Sutton, author of Good Boss, Bad Boss.

Filed Under: Leadership, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

How Not to Build a Better Leader!

December 8, 2009 By 4 Comments

Building Better LeadersI had a great conversation the other day with a talented twenty-something who just exudes confidence, competence and excitement about her career and her interest in professional development.  Her reviews are top flight, she has been managing a major client account to great results, and she is actively pursuing her M.B.A. degree.  This is one motivated young professional!

It’s too bad that her biggest dilemma is, “My job is fine, but I’m starting to get bored. I want some bigger challenges and I want to lead, and they keep telling me that they are working on a program for that. They also tell me that they are worried that any new projects will distract me from my main job.  But I have the time and energy to do more.”

First, let’s tackle the program issue. A program for what?  A program to figure out how to give an aggressive, capable person more responsibility?  A program to magically teach someone how to lead, when there are ample opportunities to begin learning in the workplace every day?

You don’t need a stinking program to sit down with your team members and talk about next steps and then work together to define some good developmental challenges. You as manager and leader must be interested in ensuring that people are challenged, learning and growing.  There’s no HR program in the world that replaces your responsibility to spend time challenging and coaching your team members.  You own this responsibility.

As a manager and developer of early career talent, here’s a newsflash.  Leadership and talent development is free. Your only cost is time and maybe a bit of creativity.

I like to apply Ram Charan’s “Apprenticeship” approach, where you as the manager are responsible for providing your employee with a series of increasingly ambiguous challenges. Over time as the individual confronts the challenges, they are gaining valuable and relatively risk-free experience learning to cope with the realities of more responsibility.  (Note: I guide participants through one of these programs in my course: Considering the Move to Leadership-What to Expect and How to Prepare.)

Often, the outcome of this program is that individuals begin to zero in on what they truly want to do next…manage others, manage projects or focus on developing their skills as an individual contributor.  Without the apprenticeship program to uncover interests and identify strengths and weaknesses, everyone is left guessing.

As for my conversation partner, I encouraged her to take the initiative to outline her own rough career plan and next general steps (she wants to lead) and then sit down with her managers and share this plan and ask for their help. She of course is responsible for convincing them that she is capable of executing here current role without missing a beat, and I encouraged her to position herself as someone both interested in contributing more and solving more problems as well as someone that welcomes coaching.

She will learn a lot about her managers if they continue to push her off, and she will learn a lot about herself if they appropriately support her.  Either way, it’s worth politely pushing the issue.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Finding Your Extra Performance Gear

November 12, 2009 By 10 Comments

pushingrockI know a great number of people working hard and digging deep to find that extra-something inside that will allow them to push through the almost overwhelming challenges on the path ahead.

I’ve polled a number of good colleagues that are either battling the very foreign experience of being unemployed for the first time in otherwise stellar careers or, those individuals that have given up on ever being employed (at least in the near future) and are striking out on their own.

Both groups admit that sleep is no longer something that they enjoy.  The darkness and late hours are illuminated by the blinding lights of self-doubt, second guessing and just a tinge of fear.  These emotions combine to create a nearly lethal cocktail that induces sleeplessness and feeds the stress monster.

While none of the people that I’ve spoken with in the situations described above are resting easily, to my observation, they share a stubborn commitment to persevering in spite of the fact that the road ahead seems to be unpaved, uphill and against the wind the entire way.

The survival strategies differ from person to person:

  • Relentless hours of work interspersed with bouts of extreme physical activity.  The body and mind seems to respond well to a balance of deep mental and tough physical workouts.  The combination improves the odds of gaining access to the much needed fuel of sleep.
  • Reaching out to other sharp people to compare notes, commiserate just a little bit and share ideas on getting back to success. Much of the passive networking of the past has been replaced by networking with a purpose.
  • Bouts of extreme new learning fed by a hunger for content and context on what it means to forge a new life and career from the vestiges of many years of relative comfort in environments where there was some perception of security.  They now know that the security blanket was not really there.
  • Incredible discipline in pursuit of tasks fed by a hunger borne of the knowledge that if they stop, it might not start again.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

This no longer feels like the recessions that our parents knew.  We’re into grandparent territory here, with a depression like aura surrounding this mess.  Yet in spite of the challenges, I see many people digging deep to reinvent themselves and then pushing forward, uphill, against the wind, bent on success.

If you know someone that is struggling to find this extra performance gear, the right thing to do is reach out and help.  Call, meet, listen and most of all encourage.  In some cases, a bit of tough love might be just the nudge needed to help them get it into that next gear.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career Tagged With: , , ,

Enjoy Being Part of the Gang? Better Not Lead.

August 4, 2009 By 6 Comments

One of the rude awakenings for leaders promoted from within a team is the uncomfortable recognition that the easy camaraderie of the pre-promotion days immediately gives way to an awkward distancing of relationships.

Congratulations on your promotion.  Oh, and you’re no longer part of the gang!

I’ve counseled early career leaders on this topic and one of the most difficult parts of their transition from team member to team leader is the sudden feeling of loneliness.

“I’m still the same person,” they tell me emphatically. “I can separate work from the social discussions at lunch or over a beer after work,” they add.

“Yes you are,” and “No you cannot,” I respond.

The bad news is that close “out of work” relationships (let’s stop at friendships and skip the Pandora’s box of workplace romances for now) will also change. Maybe not immediately, but at some point, you will make a decision that will upset your friend(s) and the reality of your position will become painfully visible to all parties.

The good news is that you’ll go to lunch again…with your team members and also with your new peers. However, it will never be the same. As a leader, you are no longer part of the gang. That is as it should be.

Here are a few reasons why:

  • You now have a vote…in some cases a big vote in the fortunes of your colleagues. From simple decisions on assignments and projects to large decisions on promotions and even terminations, you now have influence over the lives of your colleagues.
  • See the point above.  Everyone knows it.
  • Your new role has very explicit responsibilities and a degree of objectivity is required for successful execution of your role.
  • You must be comfortable supporting and coaching your team members, and that includes conducting tough discussions. While some might argue that this is what friends are for, let’s face it, it is remarkably awkward to have to tell your friend that her behavior is impacting her career and the output of the team and here’s how it needs to change.
  • You need to earn respect and grow your credibility as a leader. That’s not happening at the bar after work or as you sit around and join the group commiseration over the bad habits of the boss. Hey, you’re the boss!
  • You’ve taken a step in your career. Like leaving the comfort of high school and home for the foreign experience of college, you’ve embarked on a new journey for destinations unknown. Change is part of the equation.

The Bottom-Line:

I will reiterate that you can still find fun and cultivate effective professional relationships as a leader, and of course, you should. However, if this role is right for you, it’s necessary to leave behind some of the vestiges of your early career. One is being part of the gang.

As a postscript, it’s not uncommon to run into more experienced managers that still try to play the “Hey, I’m just a person here, not your boss” card, and it always smells rotten to me. Don’t believe them. I’ve known more than a few people that ended up on the wrong side of their “buddy’s” decision and wondered what hit them.

Want to command respect as a leader. Start acting like one from day one.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Decision-Making, Leadership, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

18 Ideas to Avoid Becoming a Ghost While Between Jobs

July 31, 2009 By 4 Comments

My recent post, “Ghosts of the Economy-Casualties of this Silent War” offered a sobering look at both the personal and societal impact of the economic situation. The comments from the readers were fascinating and in some cases, even more haunting than the post itself.

While the crystal ball that I use for forecasting is horribly foggy, my gut tells me that even as the economy begins to turn the corner, job growth will range somewhere between non-existent to painfully low and slow.  This bodes poorly for the millions of displaced professionals unaccustomed to being on the wrong side of the employment roll.

Real World Insights from Some Displaced Professionals:

I had a chance to chat with a number of recent and not so recent additions to the ranks of unemployed professionals, and to a person, they reported experiencing a range of emotions, most particularly, an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness, and in one case, an increasing sense of futility.

The individuals also agreed that the fight for economic and mental survival is a two-front war….taming the internal demons and turning what one described as creeping lethargy into action.

We discussed coping strategies, and here’s the list of very compelling suggestions offered up for anyone uncomfortably thrust into the role of formerly employed. If you or someone you know is dealing with this challenge, you might want to pass the ideas along. (Note: I’m not a job search advisor, so these strategies are above and beyond your nearly full-time work to find employment.)

Strategies to Avoid Becoming a Ghost

  1. Physical labor is good…but, you can only work on the house or yard for so long. Get it out of your system in the first few weeks …set a deadline and then get back to work on professional pursuits.
  2. What I Did on My Summer Vacation: sooner than later, establish a strategy that will allow you to comfortably explain what you accomplished/did/learned that showcases your capabilities. The suggestions were great.
  3. Write something and publish it: write an article, write a book, start a biz or proff’l blog, write guest blog posts.
  4. Exercise your brain…a lot: Take or teach a class
  5. Get current: update your credentials through courses and CEUs.
  6. Read everything you can get your hands on about the latest and greatest in your field.
  7. Be heard. Guest speak. Opportunities abound in classroom and association settings.
  8. Get current with technology. If you do not understand Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn and RSS, then it’s time to catch up.
  9. Volunteer. There are many that can use your help.
  10. Keep leading. Apply your management and leadership skills to a big project at a nonprofit, your church or one of the schools in your community.
  11. Stay goal driven: set goals for tangible output…i.e. two blog posts per week, one article etc.
  12. Investigate a life change. A number of people are so fed up with the risk of a corporate life that they are interested in taking their risk a different way…through franchising or by doing something entrepreneurial.
  13. Work out. Fitness supports mental health. Work out daily to burn stress and improve sleep.
  14. Coach or cheer. Take in your children’s events and feel great about being there!
  15. Thank your spouse/significant other often. Oh, and stay out of their way. No moping around the house.
  16. Network, but learn to recognize the difference between constructive and wasteful networking.
  17. Choose your coffee buddies carefully: don’t hang out too much with other unemployed professionals and when you do, keep the discussion positive and forward looking.
  18. Find a kindred spirit or two and hold each other accountable to moving forward.

The Bottom-Line

This one’s going to hurt. The days of hundreds or thousands of applicants for a typical opening are not going to end soon. A healthy frame of mind supports action and vice-versa. Remember, this too shall pass. Since none of us no how long however, waiting is not an option. Keep moving and stave off your metamorphosis into a ghost. You’ll come out of this a different, and perhaps new and improved professional.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Crisis Leadership, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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