Managing Yourself
Now is the time to clarify and refine your leadership vision. This requires both articulating your values and reexamining your goals for the future.
Start by identifying the four or five most important episodes in your life—moments that defined who you are today. For each episode, articulate how it shaped your values.
Then draft a statement of your personal leadership vision. This is a compelling image of an achievable future. Describe the kind of leader you want to become and the major contributions you want to make to the world between now and 2025. What will you be doing in 2025, and what impact do you hope to be making?
Your mind is often your greatest tool, but as anyone who has been taken over by fear, frustration, or worry knows, it can also be your greatest enemy. Whether you’re concerned that you don’t have the respect of your peers or that a customer isn’t calling you back because she’s gone to a competitor, overthinking the issue only serves to compound the worry. Instead, pretend you have what you want. Act as if your peers respect you or as if the customer is loyal. These may be fantasies, but what you’re worrying about may be as well. It’s better to stop the worry and act confidently; chances are better that you’ll get what you want.
Autonomy, influence, and a sense of meaning are all associated with lower stress. If you need to find more joy, take on a new project that will improve your job, team, or workplace. While you may not have the same degree of freedom that an entrepreneur does, you can find ways to set the agenda and claim ownership of tasks and projects. This ownership will likely improve your job satisfaction while adding an important accomplishment to your résumé.
Responsibility for your professional development lies squarely on your shoulders. No matter your situation, use these tips to keep sharp:
Don’t let your ego get in the way of your desire to learn. Successful leaders keep their minds open to new things because they know that no matter how high their level of mastery, there is always more to discover. If you’ve become an expert in one field, seek out other fields where you can transfer and apply your expertise. When facing challenges, even ones you’ve faced many times before, adopt a learner’s approach—ask questions or find new ways to solve the problem.
Many of us wait until we’re sick to see a doctor. However, preventive medical assessments have been shown to improve health, save lives, and reduce medical costs. Prevention can be beneficial to leadership assessments too. Often people are asked to see a coach or participate in a 360-degree assessment when troubles surface. Yet, time and money (not to mention headaches) could be saved if leaders underwent thorough assessments before problems arose. Ask the people around you for feedback about what’s working and what’s not. Be sure you understand their expectations and where you may not be meeting them, or are unnecessarily exceeding them. Having a complete understanding of where you are as a leader gives you a greater sense of control and power to shape your future.
When you’re particularly good at something, it’s easy to rely on that strength. For example, if your forehand is your stronger stroke, you’ll position yourself to use it much more often. But turning weaknesses into strengths will give you a competitive edge and make you a more effective leader. Focus energy on improving your weak points. Think about your last performance review or ask your peers what one capability you really need to succeed in the current environment. There’s no better way to impress than to reveal a killer backhand when everyone’s expecting your forehand.
One of the worst habits a leader can have is excusing his behavior with claims like, “That’s just the way I am!” Stop clinging to bad behaviors because you believe they are essential to who you are. Instead of insisting that you can’t change, think about how these behaviors may be impeding the success of those around you. Don’t think of these behaviors as character traits, but as possibilities for improvement. You’ll be surprised how easily you can change when it helps you succeed.
Constructive criticism is essential for creativity, innovation, and problem solving. Since leadership requires all three, leaders need to be sure not only that they are open to criticism, but that they actively seek it out. Don’t simply ask for general feedback but ask people—direct reports, peers, customers—to poke holes in your ideas and approaches. Critique can be a useful approach to test ideas and keep people and teams accountable.
For years, leadership experts have been encouraging managers to improve their listening skills. Good listening isn’t just about making the speaker feel respected and heard; it’s also about making sure you understand what’s truly said. Here are three tips for better listening:
As we continue venturing into uncharted economic waters, how can you keep your job on track and deliver your best? Schedule a weekly meeting with yourself. That’s right: no matter how busy you are, this is not a luxury. It’s essential.
Every week, take a quiet hour to reflect on recent critical events—conflicts, failures, opportunities you exploited, observations of others’ behavior, feedback from others. Consider how you responded, what went well, what didn’t, and what might be more effective in the future.
Never cancel this meeting—it’s crucial.
As organizations demand more and more from their people, time-pressed employees have to scramble to keep up. You may not be able to make the day any longer, but you can replenish your energy. Use these four simple ways to help you work smarter and prevent burnout:
How often do you hear someone ask, “What did we do before cellphones?” One of the many answers is: we relied on our memories. Studies have shown that using our memories improves reasoning and creativity. Yet, because of our increased reliance on technology, few of us can even recall phone numbers or appointments. Try remembering and entering numbers by hand or picturing your weekly calendar in your mind. This will not only help you use your mind in a healthy way, but may save you when the inevitable happens and your BlackBerry or iPhone goes down.
Don’t rely on your memory or BlackBerry to record and capitalize on good ideas. Go old-school with a stack of 3 x 5 index cards. Carry them with you and, when you hear a good idea, write it down. The physicality of the cards forces you to reflect on them at the end of the day, and the act of writing down the ideas helps you remember and process them. Having the blank cards in your pocket is also a useful reminder to be looking for new ideas and, most importantly, to listen.
In academia, critical thinking is the norm, and asking questions is required. On most campuses, questioning ideas is the first step, and the second is questioning the question. As a result, academia has a reputation for being too open-ended and sluggish. In industry, we prefer to set a deadline, get things done, focus on execution. We worry that thinking about an idea could hold up progress. Combine the two approaches to be sure you are both thinking creatively and getting results. Ask lots of questions but don’t let the questions impede movement. The questions should drive you toward a clear, defensible outcome.
Studies have shown that an idle brain is more likely to come up with a new idea. Yet, we often feel that we need more focus. Try taking mental breaks from e-mail and deadlines and let your mind wander. These breaks can be critical to remaining creative and open to fresh ideas. You can take a short break during a hectic day or you can opt for a longer, creative sabbatical over a week, month, or year. Regardless of the duration, be sure you are giving your mind needed space to think for the long term and big picture.
Whether you believe in making decisions swiftly and decisively or with more caution and deliberation, try these three tips to help you reach better conclusions and avoid decision traps:
Yes, knowledge is power, but too much knowledge can take away your power. When solving problems, many leaders gather an abundance of information and conduct in-depth analyses to give them what they hope are the right answers. This can lead to analysis paralysis or to data-driven, but illogical, answers. Often the best answers are educated guesses informed by your past experiences coupled with new information and insight. Don’t put too much faith in information analysis alone, and don’t disregard your decision-making skills. Remember to always check answers with your gut feelings before acting.
Crises and special events force us to find extra time in our day for crucial tasks. In an ordinary week, however, those hours are buried in unnecessary meetings, interruptions, and inefficiency. Don’t wait for the next emergency. Here are two ways to regain wasted time:
Do you strive to be a good manager or mentor, but feel you do not have the time to do it well? Don’t get trapped into thinking that leadership is an extra commitment on top of your day job. How you lead, not how much, is what counts. Here are three ways to maximize your management in minimum time:
We live in a demanding and distracting world. Being productive can sometimes feel like an impossible feat. Here are three ways to get more done without burning out:
Self-discipline is hard. Try these three tips to make your work more efficient every day:
Research has shown that multitasking results in mediocre outcomes. By putting too little attention on too many things, you fail to do anything well. However, the answer isn’t single-tasking either. Single-tasking is far too slow to help you succeed in today’s fast-paced world. Instead, identify the tasks that will create the most value and focus on those. By prioritizing value over volume and sharpening your focus on tasks that truly matter, you’ll increase the quality of your work and, ultimately, the value you provide. What to do with all those tasks that didn’t make the high-value list? Put them on a “do later” list. If they continually fail to make it to the high-value list, ask yourself: why do them at all?
We spend a lot of time and energy at work trying not to fail. However, most people describe their failures as an important part of learning and growing. Adapt a growth mind-set and accept that failure is part of the process of skill development. People with a growth mind-set feel smart when they’re learning, not just when they’re succeeding. Don’t limit yourself to doing things that you know you can do—you won’t grow that way. Instead, try things that are above your ability and set high goals that you aren’t sure you can reach. You might surprise yourself and succeed, and if you don’t, you’ll learn something new.
Development efforts often focus on how you can achieve your career goals over the long term. Short-term successes, however, are critical to making your next move and preparing for those long-term aspirations. Here are three immediate ways to build your career options:
Leaders who micromanage do a disservice to their company, their employees, and themselves; worse yet, they are often preventing their companies from growing. If you are struggling to grow your company or unit, one of the smartest things you can do is give up control. Here’s how:
Training yourself to avoid micromanaging others is one thing, but handling tendencies to control your own work can be even harder. Here are three ways to keep the micromanager in you from impeding your work:
Falling prey to burnout is easy. This condition—marked by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy—stems from information overload, perpetual “busyness,” and a relentless race against the clock.
One tactic for preventing burnout is to seek out ways to use available resources more wisely. For instance, delegate responsibilities to staff members eager to develop new skills. And resist the urge to grapple with urgent but unimportant tasks (such as responding to e-mails). Instead, schedule set times during the day for checking and replying to e-mails and phone calls.
We’ve been told over and over about the harmful effects of stress, but how can we handle stress if its source doesn’t go away? Figure out what your reaction to stress is. If you respond to stress by doing something productive—like cleaning your house or checking in more frequently with your team—consider yourself lucky. In the more likely case that your stress reaction is unhealthy, take notice. Some common reactions to stress are micromanaging, making heavy-handed suggestions, and second-guessing decisions. If you find yourself doing these things, pause and take a breath. Paying careful attention to your behavior can help you stop the reaction before it has harmful effects.
You don’t have to retire early to stop working. You just need to take the “work” out of work. Make work fun by doing these two things:
We all need a break. However, in the current environment, taking time off for a vacation may not be best for your company (or your bank account). Find ways to carve out smaller chunks of time to rest and recuperate. Here are three things you can do in one hour or less.
Many of the qualities responsible for getting us where we are today can also hold us back. Watch out for these three double-edged traits:
Developing yourself as a leader is not easy: behavioral change is hard, time consuming, and frustrating. However, removing the five most common roadblocks to change can make your path to self-improvement better:
Management shake-ups, though disruptive, can be good for a company. They bring in fresh perspectives and require that leaders take a hard look at their own performance. Do not wait for your company to get in trouble. Instead, fire yourself. Think about what you would do in your position if you were to start anew. What would you do differently if this were your first day on the job? Taking this step back can help you evaluate the strategies and approaches you are currently using, see things that are too difficult to see when you are entrenched, and reenergize yourself for the challenges ahead.
Studies have shown that a good memory helps you better navigate the future. And in business, the ability to anticipate and negotiate future demands is an asset. A proactive brain uses details from past experiences to make analogies with your current surroundings. It then helps you determine where you are and envision future possibilities. We are all born with proactive brains, but these three things can help improve brain performance:
Success in business is not about having the most brilliant answer. It’s about having a workable solution, and that requires developing an understanding of the unwritten rules of the organization. To become more persuasive and effective, figure out who and what really matters. Ask successful people at your company what approaches and relationships helped them most. Be curious about the ways people get things done, and observe the inner workings of projects and initiatives you aren’t part of by building relationships with influential people. All of the information you gather can contribute to your own future success.
Questioning whether you have made the right decision can be a useful way to make sure you are on the right track. But if you second-guess yourself at the wrong time, you may feel tempted to give up on important commitments. Don’t question yourself when you are most vulnerable. Instead, schedule a time to review your decision when you are in the right frame of mind. For example, don’t wonder whether you should abandon a plan to talk more during meetings when you are walking into the conference room. Rather, tell yourself that you will question the decision ten minutes into the meeting, once you’ve had time to get used to the idea. Setting a time will also help you second-guess once rather than nagging yourself with doubts.
One of the keys to effective decision making is confidence. Even if you only have temporary convictions, act on them. If you doubt your decision while making it, trust in your leadership may erode. Strong opinions signal confidence and provide others with the guidance they need. But resist the urge to cling to your decisions. Have the humility to realize that you might be wrong if better information comes along. And be prepared to change your mind and correct your course if that happens.
While most people accept that mistakes are inevitable, no one likes to make them. The good news is that even large slipups don’t have to be career-enders if they are handled well. Next time you make a blunder, follow these three steps to recover gracefully:
All of us have at least one disruptive skill—an ability that sets us apart from others. You may have been honing yours for years, or you may be so innately good at it that you don’t even notice it. Here are three ways to identify your unique skill:
Everyone has a personal brand these days. But if you want to move ahead, you need to be more than the “finance guy who understands the business.” Distinguish yourself as someone with a truly unique perspective respected inside and outside the organization. Here are three ways to do that:
When selling yourself in the talent marketplace, focusing on hard-won strengths required for the job in question can be all too easy. These skills are often the ones that many other people have too. Your most outstanding talent is probably something you do without even thinking. Ask colleagues or friends what strengths you might be undervaluing. Lead with these exceptional skills instead. Articulate to prospective employers, or to the boss who’s considering your raise, your unique value proposition as an employee. Employers don’t just want someone slightly better than everyone else; they are looking for someone with a truly distinctive skill set.
If you have your sights set on the top job at your company, organizational barriers are likely standing in your way. This may be especially true if you are a woman. However, the mental barriers holding you back may be just as strong, if not stronger. To get what you want, you need to ask for it and, in some cases, push for it. Never assume that you are going to be treated fairly or justly rewarded. You must define what you want and present the case for why the company should give it to you. Organizational bias is real, but don’t let your own timidity or fear of self-promotion make you lose out on what you deserve.
Are whispers about layoffs in your company growing louder? If so, advertising the value you deliver to the organization is more important than ever. But selling yourself is a delicate art. Overdo it or take the wrong approach and you may look like a grandstander.
Sell yourself effectively by describing your contributions to your boss and linking them to important organizational goals. For example, “I put a lot of advance work into that new customer database, so it’s really rewarding to see it pay off in greater customer loyalty and profits,” or “I worked hard to organize the launch meeting because I really want to see us start major projects off on the right foot.”
A personal thirty-second story is not just for job seekers. Being able to talk about yourself and your unique talents is a useful skill for building relationships and projecting confidence. Here are three tips for perfecting what to say about yourself:
A leadership brand tells people what is distinctive about you as a leader and communicates what you have to offer. Summarizing your brand in a statement is a useful and often enlightening task. First, answer two important questions:
Take these two answers and put them into the following statement: I want to be known for ______ so that I can deliver ______. Once you have your statement, be sure that you are living up to it. Ask others for input on whether you are achieving your goals and whether they see your leadership brand in the same way you do.
Not engaged and motivated by your job? You may have the power to change it. Begin by identifying your motives, strengths, and passions to help you better understand which aspects of your job will keep you engaged and inspire higher performance. Then, create a diagram of your current job, including your job tasks, noting which you do most often. Next, create a diagram of your preferred job, indicating which things you want to do more or less of and which tasks you want to add. This chart can help you articulate what you want to do differently. Be sure to engage your supervisor in this process; assure her that you won’t let your current tasks slide and that any new tasks you propose are central to the company.
Asking for a salary increase can be a nerve-racking task. Here are three tips for making the request go smoothly and increasing your chances of getting the raise:
A promotion can feel both rewarding and stressful. After you’ve accepted all the congratulations, it’s time to deal with all of the new expectations. Here are three tips to address the anxiety that most people feel when stepping into a new role:
What qualities and responsibilities will define the most effective leaders of tomorrow? And what skills and knowledge should you attain to become one of those leaders?