Success One Step at a TimeNote from Art: Every week, I provide a few simple (but not simplistic) ideas for you to Do/Experiment/Explore in support of your professional development. Use them in great professional health and personal gain.

Do:

“Master the context or it will master you.” –Warren Bennis

Reassess your calendar commitments for the upcoming week. Compare the amount of time you are spending on critical items such as development, feedback or brainstorming discussions with team members, contact time with customers or networking time across functions and in your industry, versus attendance at routine internal meetings. If the status and internal meetings win, you’re out of balance.

Too many people equate busyness with effectiveness and engagement. To them, a fully blocked calendar is a positive. To me, it is a warning sign suggesting that the individual has lost track of their true priorities.

The real “must do” items involve supporting the development and performance of others; working with others to solve problems and engaging with others to cultivate new relationships in search of pushing strategic initiatives forward.

Take the initiative this week to delicately and diplomatically eliminate routine and redundant status meetings and create time to focus on your true priorities.

Experiment:

“Fail faster to succeed sooner.” IDEO

Experimentation is the critical ingredient for innovation and innovation is everyone’s responsibility in an organization. The opportunities to experiment in the workplace are many, yet we often get caught up in a routine that stifles the urge to experiment. For this week, look for at least one opportunity to change something up and then do it.

Some idea prompters:

  • Shift the responsibility for leading an operations meeting to one or more of your team members. Let them control the format.
  • Have lunch every day with someone in a different function and talk about ideas to better support each other.
  • When your team members suggest an idea to improve something…reduce costs, improve service or streamline an activity, ask them to put it into action and to report back on results.
  • Instead of linking a developmental plan solely to training for a high potential on your team, define a series of unique assignments or rotation opportunities.

Explore:

“Do not go where the path may lead; go where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gain insight into the leadership and teaming perspectives of Navy Seals in Rob Roy’s excellent, The Navy Seal Art of War: Leadership Lessons from the World’s Most Elite Fighting Force. The short chapters and great content about leading and serving will keep you turning the pages and taking notes. I knocked this out in two sittings and found inspiration in each short chapter.

Explore how Evernote can become the most indispensable productivity tool in your toolkit. This fabulous application allows you to take/make/capture notes, web pages, documents, images etc. in your self-labeled notebooks. Because it syncs with all of my devices, I always have access to my content. I use the premium edition to support multiple users. This is one app that truly delights in its utility!

That’s it for this week for idea prompters around Do/Experiment/Explore. Use them in good health, great productivity and in support of your own  professional development. -Art