Gear up to become a better you

A new start is always an opportunity to become and act more wisely. As you start to pin down your new year commitments may I suggest that you consider adopting the following to guide you and your career and give you a strong start in 2012

BE AN IMPROVER: There’s always room for improvement? True. There are a lot things we do routinely without really thinking, nothing wrong with that. But what’s not a good idea is to keep doing things as we always have without considering if there’s a better way. An attitude of improvement will push you to do what you do with thought, with interest and determination to make it a little better every time.

BE A SOLUTION FINDER: Don’t dwell on the problem. Of course you need to understand the problem in order to find a solution; but don’t let the problem fester. In finding solutions don’t always reinvent the wheel; find out if there are already solutions that help you and adapt them as appropriate.

BE A LIFTER UP: This may include for example choosing not to react in a volatile situation, saying a kind word when you are tempted to utter a sharp one, not passing judgement just because you can or indeed putting in a good word for someone who might not deserve it.

BE GENEROUS: Especially with what you know. I believe knowledge only becomes positive power when we share it so that others benefit from it and use it to do something useful. When you hold onto what you have, it does not grow so my advice? freely share knowledge and contribute skills.

BE STABLE: Don’t wear your emotions on your sleeve. Keep any bad moods in check. Don’t stress over every provocation and slight annoyances. Maturely handle negative feedback. Don’t react when others try to rub their frustrations on you. Probably tough to do but well worth the effort.

Now take action: What good lessons from 2011 will you take into 2012?

Take charge of your work load

When you have a lot of work to do, you may not be as helpless as you think. You could keep your head down, work long hours and hope that ‘someday’ you will get through it all. Or you could take some of the suggestions below.

REDEFINE THE WORK: Think of your job as delivering a result instead of doing every single thing that hits your desk. Take charge of what you really need to work on based on your awareness of priorities in your team or office and then renegotiate the deadlines for any others. When you do this you avoid the trap of a never-ending cycle of busy-ness that eats up hours instead of delivering good value.

FIGURE OUT WHAT COUNTS: Things that make a difference and not what you enjoy doing. This does not mean the other stuff is not important. It just means you have to be ruthless with what you spend you time. If you focus on the real priorities you’ll not be distracted worrying about the 100 other tasks that need doing but which you’ve had to reschedule.

GIVE TIME FOR EMERGENCIES: Building some slack in your schedule: Sounds counter-intuitive when you have loads to do. Doing this is recognising that emergencies happens. So if you assign only 90% of your hours on the tasks for the day, you can deal with that emergency when it comes. But be realistic about how much time emergencies happen and how much time they take so that you can handle then without feeling becoming unnecessarily stressed.

DELEGATE QUICKLY AND THOUGHTFULLY: Think of delegation not just as passing on work that you do not have the time to do yourself but as an opportunity to get the best job done. Even if you are the best person to do it but have other pressing priorities then pass it on and quickly to someone who can. And please give the credit to whoever does the work on your behalf.

Now take action: How can you prioritise your work load better?

Make your self introduction count

We meet new people all the time; so introduce ourselves often so much so that we do not give much thought to it. But if you are looking to create opportunities for yourself, learning to put your best foot forward via how you introduce yourself to new contacts is important. Here are your options;

BY TITLE: This is by far the most common way and works if you’re meeting someone familiar with your industry or organisation and can tell just by your title what your job entails or your level of responsibility. What it doesn’t do is to allow you to give some idea of what exactly the value you bring to that role so effectively becomes just a label.

BY FUNCTION: This is where rather than mention you title only, you explain the function. For example instead of saying ‘I am the sales manager’ you may say ‘I am responsible for ensuring achieving over xxxx in sales per annum’. This is more helpful because it qualifies the title by communicating what you are capable of or at least entrusted with.

BY IMPACT: This explains what your job achieves. So again as sales manager, you would say something like ‘My job is to increase the profitability of keep my organisation by increasing sales by xxx per annum. In a few seconds it says who you are, what you do and achieve. Of course some jobs are easier to explain ‘by impact’ than others but whatever you do, ensure you are able to explain what you job achieves.

BY YOUR STRENGTHS: This is ideal where your day job does not reflect your range of skills. For examples if you are the junior officer at work but chair an important committee in your community or are involved in other influential activities, you can introduce yourself with that.

The Bottom line is your self introduction can do what your business card can’t and that is by communicating more than your title and organisation.

Now take action: How can you improve the way you introduce yourself?

Compete with yourself

Competition is part of career life. We compete often with others for jobs, for awards, etc. But the one competition that should be on-going is to compete with yourself. Because it helps you to improve your self awareness, to raise your standards and to bring out the best in yourself.

ENVISION YOUR IDEAL SELF: Whether you are stating from a ‘low base’ or from stardom, there’s more you can achieve and become. So competing against yourself should not be permission to go live in a ‘bubble’ and assume that whatever you do is ok. Your ideal self is working towards your full potential. If you don’t yet have a success circle, create one and let them help you.

GO FOR THE HIGHEST STANDARD: If you’re looking to become successful ‘good enough’ is not good enough. Too many excuses will hold you back. Put the vision of your ‘ideal self’ and the highest standards side by side and work out a plan for how you’ll get from where you are to attaining those high standards. It’ll require great discipline and diligence from you. But of you can do it.

ALWAYS STAY PREPARED: There’s a lot one can plan for but opportunity can show up early or unannounced and it helps to be prepared. That job you want suddenly becomes available, or a new exciting project comes up that needs a leader?. You can’t prepare for every thing so know what you are aspiring for so that you can map your preparedness plan and compete well.

FOCUS ON YOUR NATURAL STRENGTHS: The best you can be in an area you are not strong in is ‘average’, So focus on your strengths, honing them, leveraging them and using them to propel yourself forward. When you succeed with your strengths you know you can do even better and with less effort. So if you don’t know yet what you’re good out, figure it out quickly.

Now take action: What is your key strength? How are you honing it further?

It's OK to dig your heels in on somethings

Nobody wants to work with a control freak who micromanages and makes you feel like if nothing is good enough. But the following are some non-negotiables that in my view you must give yourself permission to be a ‘control freak’ on. Demand these of yourself and from others- no excuses!

PURSUING EXCELLENCE: Excellence isn’t about being perfect. It’s being your best, raising the bar by setting and achieving new levels of performance. Understanding your areas of great competence and working to excel in it. Excellence isn’t spending too much time trying to fix your weaknesses unless they are critical for your current job or the next one. Practice continuous improvement and find someone you trust to give you meaningful feedback on how you fare.

HOLDING YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE: The essence of accountability is integrity, taking ownership of what you are responsible for and persevering to produce the best possible results even in the face of any twists and hurdles you encounter. Being accountable means you give up your right to make excuses. You face your choices and the repercussions that come with it, own up to your mistakes and be a person of your word always.

HAVING HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS: This isn’t only about following accepted rules of conduct but also being your own person so that you are not swayed here and there. Ethical standards include doing the right thing especially when its hard, not having ‘multiple personalities’ so that people know who they are dealing with when interacting with you, are clear about what you stand for and can be trusted to do the proper thing every time.

NOT PLAYING VICTIM: When you do this you assume the world is fair and spend time wondering why something happened to you. Reflect on that if you must but don’t remain there. Can you stop that thing from happening again? What could you have controlled and what not?. The longer you stay in the ‘why me’ zone the more difficult it’ll be to get out.

Now take action: What are your non-negotiables?

Be an empowering manager

I hear a lot about ‘we want to empower xxx’ but what does empowerment look like? Empowerment means different things to different people. Here’s my take; when you empower you;

EXPLORE: Talk to your team, find our what engages them, which part of their jobs do they enjoy?, which parts don’t they?; what can you do to support them do better?, what new things can you give them opportunity to try?

MOTIVATE: True motivation rarely comes from outside. But when you understand how your people are wired you can ‘motivate their motivation’, help them understand what ‘drives’ them so that they can use that to benefit the organisation and their own careers.

PERSEVERE: Not every one will be raring to go because you gave them a ‘pep’ talk or encouraged them. Give it time and help them work through what’s stopping them from wanting to them step outside their comfort zone.

OPTIMISE: Don’t focus only on their job description. What more can they do or are willing to do based on their skill sets and their interests?. What do they do really well that even you can learn from or get them to teach others?

WAIVE: When your team start doing more, reaching higher etc give up what you may think is your right to take credit for what your staff are doing. Give them the ‘thumbs up, keep them spotlight on them for doing more and making you look good. They’ve earned it.

ENGAGE: Empowerment is not a ‘start and end point’ process. It is ongoing process to help your team step away from any preconceived ideas of what they feel they are or not capable of. So ensure you are available to them.

REGULATE: Some people’s desire to be more empowered might be high but acting on that desire can take more time. So don’t go piling work on them because they said they want more. Use your judgement to pace things.

Now take action: What barriers might you be unconsciously putting in your team’s way?

What will you stop doing?

When we think about our goals or how to become better, we often think about what more we will do to get us there. We never really consider what we will stop doing. Stopping the things that weigh you down is important too. Here’s where to start;

CREATE A STOP DOING LIST: What have you been doing ‘forever’ that is no longer relevant or does not serve your goals? Poor habits like procrastination, or even ‘just passing’ time. Focus on what matters, what has long term relevance and leave out things you have been doing ‘just for the sake of it’

CUT OUT WHAT DISTRACTS YOU: What are the things that ‘eat’ up your time with nothing in return? What friendships keep you stagnant in the same place year in year out? What routine things that look ‘harmless’ are undermining your ability to focus? Do an inventory; track how you spend your time and be honest about not only about what is a poor use of time but also what does not add any value to you.

DITCH SMALL MINDED CONVERSATIONS: The mind is a powerful thing. If you feed it good information it’ll serve you well. If not, you’ll see the fruits of that too same out. Small conversations are the ones that have no purpose to them, focus on complaining or don’t challenge your thinking in any way. Of course you’ll have chat chats here and there but if these are your main conversations; you might want to consider including in your network people who will engage you in some agenda setting stimulating discussions.

AVOID SITUATIONS THAT KEEP YOU STAGNATED: You gamble with your career when you keep yourself in situations that diminish your potential, where you are no longer learning anything new or where future opportunities very scarce. If you must remain in such situations make sure you have other creative outlets to keep your career prospects positive.

Now take action: Decide this week one thing you will stop doing

Know what your job 'takes'

In every job, there is the skills part and the attitude part. The latter can be challenging but when you get it right chances are you’ll be more effective. Here’s my take on some good attitudes to develop;

TAKE CARE: Be supportive, behave in a way that builds others up and help them to engage. Also take care of yourself so that you are comfortable to be around and do not send everyone taking cover when you are stressed and end up throwing fits. Do not over commit and then dump work on others when you can’t cope. You ensure that your behaviours are a good example for others particularly those you lead.

TAKE CHARGE: This isn’t about being bossy or expecting everyone to do your every bidding. When you take charge, you solve problems, you influence for positive change, you inspire the people around you to do their best because they feel positively challenged to be better. You become an example of what you expect or demand from others. Focus on behaviours that drive your own success, that of your team and the organisation.

TAKE ON: Be willing to assume additional responsibilities where you can. You make the effort not to be focussed only on what your job description says but seek to be part of teams and offer to apply your skills in other ways. If you manage people don’t be afraid to ‘take on’ and challenge bad behaviour from colleagues and encourage attitudes and habits that enhance their capability.

TAKE UP: Take up the challenge of doing something different, new, better, getting out of your comfort zone to rise to a new level. Raise your personal standards and not routinely do something the way you did it yesterday. Welcome the opportunity to learn new things especially from others and operate from your potential and asking more of yourself.

Now take action: What one change can you make to become more effective?

Choose your battles

There will always be things every now and then in the workplace that tick you off or even make you unhappy. Before you go looking for a fight, think about;

WHY DO YOU CARE? What’s the issue that bothers you and why do you need to pursue it? Sometimes thinking things over will show that you are probably just upset for some minor reason but nothing concrete. There may be an issue, but if your emotion is clouding your judgement, give your self time to calm down so that you can pursue the matter in a level headed manner.

WHO IS YOUR 'OPPONENT'? Focus any battles on issues not personalities. However, the reality is that whether you succeed in your case or not depends on who are dealing with. Show respect and raise your issues with the intension of finding a solution. Avoid ‘no nos’ such as name calling, drawing hasty conclusions or second guessing the noble intentions of another.

WHAT'S YOUR ALTERNATIVE? Is there another way round the issue? If you think not, what risks are you prepared to take?. What is the likely fall out for you if things don’t go as smoothly as you’d like in seeking to resolve your issue? On the other hand might it all be worthwhile? Point is know where you want to go with this; do your homework and have a plan.

AND WHEN THE FIGHT COMES TO YOU?. Sometimes you don’t choose the battle but someone picks a fight with you. Don’t respond in reflex mode by hitting back even before you know what the issue is. You do have the right to expect decent behaviour from others in the work place so don’t allow yourself to be disrespected. If the person has a genuine grievance against you, especially if you are their manager, try not to ignore it.

Now take action: How can you respond better when you feel aggrieved?

Start that job 'on the run'

You have the new job you wanted or you’ve just been handed the assignment you were eyeing. Now it’s time to get going. How do you give yourself the best chance of success? Here are some ideas.

BUILD CREDIBILITY QUICKLY: Learn the background of key people in the organisation or on the assignment team in order to establish rapport quickly. Aim to form your own opinion about things and people from a variety of sources. Observe the culture, how different it may be from how you like to work and work out how best to adjust and make your mark.

USE MEETINGS TO LEARN FAST: Good meetings are a great way to mine information. Attend these prepared with questions you’re seeking answers to. Identify the power players; not just those with senior positions but the informal ones as well who may be looked up to because of their unique expertise or their capacity to influence others.

OPERATE FROM THE BROADER PICTURE: Don’t quickly zero in on the job; understand the context. This includes identifying the different constituencies, the nature of the office politics, multiple perspectives on key issues, your boss’s take on the organisation’s strategic direction and how you’ll contribute to that.

KNOW HOW YOU'LL BE ASSESSED: Don’t get into deep work without knowing how your performance will be judged. For each of your major responsibilities agree with your manager the success criteria and make sure you have the authority you need to get your job done. Keep a performance log to capture your progress.

DO THE JOB: Learning quickly how an organisation works and starting the actual job you were hired to do can be overwhelming. Don’t feel you need to be a ‘genius’. Ask for help where you need it and get some quick wins in order to gain confidence in yourself and from others.

Now take action: How do you ensure a good start on any new assignment?

Defeat your inner critic

I bet you are expecting the critic I am referring to be someone else like your colleagues, your boss or even occasionally your friends. No doubt these people do criticise us from time to time but your biggest critic is guess who? Yes you, How so? Read on.

WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT YOURSELF: Silently, most people beat yourself up, feel inferior to others and feel that to think well of themselves is to be boastful. I’ve heard statements like ‘Who am I?’ ‘This is for the educated ones’ etc No doubt some people are better than in specific ways but there is something you know you are good at. Acknowledge it, be proud it and let it give you confidence and motivation.

WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN OR CANNOT DO: You are more focussed on what you can’t do and why rather than at least try. How do you know you can’t if you have not tried? Or what’s the worst thing that could happen if you tried and did not succeed? Your career cannot get any better than where you are unless you are willing to set some stretching goals and find the support you need to pursue them. Be willing to take a chance on yourself, because no one is more concerned about your success than you.

WHY YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO WANT BETTER: For some people wanting more, better or something more fulfilling makes them feel ungrateful for what they currently have. Stepping out is not that you want to necessarily walk away from what you are doing now. It means you acknowledge you have greater potential and want to explore it. Don’t put this potential under lock and key; appreciate what you have but don’t sit on the ‘more’ you can do and become.

Now take action: How can you build your self belief and capacity to do more?

Rise from your mistakes

Every now and then everyone makes some mistake or experiences failure of some kind. Bouncing back quickly is important to keeping you and your career on track. Here are some tips on how to recover from mistakes

DON'T HOLD YOURSELF TO RANSOM: Don’t focus on the mistake or fall into the trap of making that failure the reference point of what you can achieve or not. And don’t give anyone permission to hold it over your head either. If you boss can’t seem to get over it, let them know you have learnt from your mistakes and discuss what you need to do to for both of you to put it behind you.

DO THE PRE-NATAL ASSESSMENT: We know about post-mortem to find out what went wrong. That’s always a good idea. I would suggest that you focus on the pre-natal so that you avoid mistakes altogether in future: Identify what triggers, conditions or other factors such as poor judgment, let to the mistakes so that you can avoid these factors or minimise their influence. Remove anything that holds you back habits, associations, circumstances or fears.

DEVELOP COPING STRATEGIES: You may not make the same mistake twice, but you’re likely to make other mistakes. Know what makes you feel lousy and what cheers you up. Don’t let emotions and delusion derail you. Some coping strategies may include keeping a tough friend on side to stop you from wallowing in self pity, being solution focussed, reframing your attitude.

SET SOME RECOVERY GOALS: You’ll obviously learn your own lessons but you can learn from mistakes of others too. Avoid those who might keep happing on your mistake. If your self confidence has taken a hit, find a way to build it back up by applying yourself with discipline and focus.


Now take action: How do you ensure that you learn from your mistakes?

Climb a corporate tree not a ladder

Wanting to climb the corporate ladder is a very worthy goal. But perhaps developing your career ‘climbing a tree’ rather than a ‘ladder’ might serve you better? Here’s why. A tree;

HAS STRONG ROOTS: Think about what keeps you grounded in your career. Qualifications, experience, awards are important but what is critical and move you forward are having a ‘can do and will do’ attitude, being solution oriented, being prepared to stretch outside of your comfort zone and taking personality responsibility for how your career develops.

CAN BE PRUNED: You can do this by shedding habits, attitudes, and toxic associations that pull you in the wrong direction. Take time regularly to reflect on what is unhealthy to your career. Pruning isn’t just about removing dead wood but also preventing overcrowding; removing distractions so that you focus on what matters. Also know your strengths and figure out ways to develop them further.

HAS BRANCHES: These give you options unlike a ladder which offers only one direction. A successful career isn’t necessary one that ends you at the top. Rather one that makes you better as a person and helps you make a significant contribution. So don’t waste time sitting still waiting to climb the ladder. Don’t just look up. Branch out by taking on big assignments, interesting projects that create more value and flexibility for yourself.

IS A LIVING THING: This means you watch out for any stagnation or any risks that might stall your career. You identify actions and decisions that will increase opportunities, raise your chances of bearing fruit which may manifest in the form of promotions, increased profile or recognition or the gaining of well sought after skills.

Now take action: Where ‘dead’ things do you need to prune from your career?

Raise your sights

Time is the most perishable asset we have so we must use it well. Here are four lenses through which you can redeem the benefits of time.

HINDSIGHT: Hindsight offers lessons for now and the future. To benefit from what’s gone past ask yourself questions such as; what new did I learn that I did not know before? How is this new knowledge helpful today? What would I do differently faced with a similar situation? Analyse hindsight in the context of new circumstances so that it’s relevant to current goals.

INSIGHT: Insight can come from the past or present. When you get insight, you understand more about an issue than may be immediately obvious. Insight is not facts, it’s the new meanings you get for example from additional information or the connections you can make between seemingly unconnected facts. Gaining insights requires open mindedness and a willingness to see things from new angles.

FORESIGHT: Foresight is trying to understand changes that are likely to happen in future and preparing for it. For example what changes are likely to occur in your profession? How is your industry likely to develop, what additional competencies would you need to remain competitive?. Don’t just react to trends, try to anticipate them and respond. Keep your eye open to emerging changes so that you are not overtaken by events.

OVERSIGHT: When you exercise oversight over your self you take accountability for ensuring that your career flourishes. You keep track of your goals, you keep your skills fresh and your networks solid, you check that you are growing as a person in the level of responsibility you can handle, the challenges you can face and surmount and the amount of success you can enjoy and still remain grounded. Now take action: How can you prepare for changes that might affect your career?

Is your career on track?

A good career should not be stagnant and that’s why a progress assessment from time to time is helps to ensure that you are not sitting on your laurels or selling yourself short. Here are some standard questions to ask yourself.

WHERE DID YOU WANT TO BE BY NOW?: This ought to be as clear cut as possible ‘I want to be a boss someday’ is too woolly to be measured. Boss of a team? An organisation? If so what type of organisation?. Did you want a role that allowed you to apply more of what you are naturally good at? How can that guide the next stage of your career?

WHAT'S THE REALITY OF YOUR CAREER NOW?: How far is where you are now from where you wanted to be? What would it take for you to get on the right track? What are the potential opportunities that you can anticipate or could create for yourself. What personal growth could you achieve? How big should your goals be? What sacrifices are you prepared to make to achieve these goals ?

HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE?: For the future to hold more, you need to understand how you’ve operated. Did you proactively follow a plan that brought you here or did you just land where you are by chance? Either way, what gave you most satisfaction along the way? What was your least favourite activity and why? What could have been better?

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?: The better future you won’t just happen, you have to increase the chances of that happening. What better choices can you make? What bad habits must you drop? What sensible risks might you be willing to take? What support do you need to move forward?.

Now take action: Do a career status check

Empathise how you lead

Leading people is well is up there on any manager’s list and one of the most challenging of responsibilities. To make that job a bit easier here are some tips to bear in mind.

YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE SEEN AS 'ORDERS': As manager, your words are often not taken at face value. And most people will not risk disregarding your ideas, at least without good reason; so couch your suggestions in a way that makes it easier for your people to decide whether and how to use it.

DON'T ADD TOO MUCH VALUE: Sounds counterintuitive but ‘too much value’ takes the form of wanting a say in everything, or having the last word. This can take away ownership. Give direction but stop short of telling people exactly what to do. Help out, but know when to step back and encourage.

LET PEOPLE FEEL LED AND HEARD: People want to be led and heard too. Be the boss, but behave like a peer especially when you want people to be comfortable with saying what people they think. Don’t flaunt your authority. Or you’ll lose opportunity to really connect with your staff.

SHOW TRUST AT ALL LEVELS: Express confidence in line managers by making them a key source of information. But don’t block yourself from the layers below. Find a way to interact with across the board so that you can get a broader understanding of the issues that matter to people.

KNOW WHAT MAKES THEM FEEL SUCCESSFUL: Don’t make assumptions about what’s important to people or what motivates them. Of course your job is to help them do what they were hired to do. But knowing what people find meaningful enables you to understand how to tap even if occasionally into what makes them tick.

Now take action: Pick one person on your team. Find out what motivates them

Step it UP

Career growth isn’t just about big things like promotions but also small things done diligently day in day out . These prepare one for the ‘big moments’. Here are a couple;

SHOW UP: This is about being consistent in your actions; especially doing your best when that’s hard. For example demonstrating the right attitude in difficult circumstances. Such consistency helps you keep focused and grounded.

SKILL UP: Invest in building skills that grow you personally and professionally. Listening, dealing well with conflict, giving feedback are all skills that are transferable and can stand you in good stead in several environments.

CHALLENGE UP: This is not about fighting or undermining your superiors. It’s building the capacity to think at a higher level so that you can add value to the boss’ ideas or play the devil’s advocate respectfully.

INFLUENCE UP: Develop your ability to present and sell your ideas to those responsible for decisions in any situation. You’ll get more traction that way than expecting others to automatically ‘buy’ your suggestions.

Now take action: What small steps can you take to influence better?

Make that interview a little easier

Not many people look forward to job interviews so it helps to take all the help you can get. One way is to be observant and pay attention to clues that may guide you along

DON'T IGNORE BODY LANGUAGE: Having the right body language is important but so is that of the people interviewing you because that gives you clues as to whether your answers are making sense or not. Some interview panel members choose not to give anything away by keeping an ‘expressionless demeanor’. Otherwise most people’s expressions will give you clues- nods, a slight frown, ‘mindlessly’ shuffling their papers -often a sign he or she is losing interest. You’d be wise to heed these signals.

PAY ATTENTION TO PROBING: Some questions in an interview carry more weight than others; therefore an interviewer may probe further on the “big” questions if your initial answers are not adequate. So if you realize this, don’t just repeat your response ‘in other words’, add new information, include an example to communicate your points better. Ask for a question to be repeated if you are not clear rather than risk go round in circles or fudging your answers.

DON'T DOWNGRADE YOURSELF: Don’t belittle your achievements in an effort to appear humble. Be proud of your achievements and mention them with as many examples as you can. You don’t want to sound arrogant but showcasing your capabilities is the most important thing for you to do in an interview. The more recent the achievements, the better. Don’t mess that chance by ‘playing little’

NO MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES PLEASE: Sometimes a candidate looks great on paper but their interview performance is the exact opposite. Treat your job search as a ‘process’ and connect the different bits. Go into the interview expecting to be asked about the contents of your application so read the application and make sure you have good examples to back up what you have written.

Now take action:
Write down your top achievement in the past 12 months

Tips for tricky interview questions

No matter how prepared you think you are most people come out of interviews wondering why you mumbled through what with hindsight seemed like simple questions. Here are some tips on how to tackle common questions that can ‘trip’ you up.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: Don’t dwell on demographic details or get into a chronological account of your professional history. Focus on highlighting your most marketable characteristics and successes. Keep it brief. You could talk about professional goals especially those related to the job; your strong work habits such as being highly organized and self motivated or working well with people. Even better use a real life example to demonstrate how you apply these abilities in actual situations.

WHY DO YOU WANT THIS JOB? Don’t give responses that are too ‘me’ focused. Be straightforward because this is not a trick question. Feel free to share your career aspirations but make sure you also say something about how the organization will benefit if they hired you. Avoid mentioning money or benefits at this stage. You will have a chance to discuss such details later when you are offered the job.

WHY SHOULD WE HIRE YOU? Don’t ever go into an interview without researching the organization. Show that you understand the wider mission of the organization and the requirements of the as indicated in the job advert. Tell them some positive things about the organization if you can and show how your strengths would be an asset. Share relevant achievements from previous jobs. If your qualifications are your biggest assets explain how those qualifications will enhance your capacity to do the job.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR CURRENT JOB? Don’t ‘bash’ your former employers, your managers or offload your negative experiences from other organizations. For example if the reason you are leaving is because your boss does not give you room grow, let your answer focus on your desire for the growth you hope the new job will afford you. It’s easy to complain about your last employer but it’s not professional and could make you lose out no matter how great you were in other parts of the interview.

WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES? Sometimes this question is asked to assess where you’ll need help if you were hired. It may also be used to test your sense of honesty and humility. What you should not say in reply is ‘I don’t know’ or ‘’I can’t think of anything.” This only makes you come across as arrogant or lacking self awareness neither of which is flattering in a potential new employee. A good strategy is to mention a past weakness, explain how you identified it and how you are improving it.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? Don’t go straight to asking about the remuneration package or say “I don’t have any question’ Think about at least one thoughtful question you could ask about the organization to show you are genuinely interested. This also helps you to make a good final impression.

Now take action: Practice answers to questions you would struggle with in an interview.

Be professionally elastic

What I call professional elasticity is when you can stretch beyond your comfort zone, function well in a variety of situations and able to bounce back quickly from mistakes. Here are common ways your ‘elasticity’ can be tested and what you can do about it.

WORKING WITH A NEW BOSS: This usually brings anxiety because a new boss comes with their approaches, new priorities, different ways of working with people. It’s a time to study a new person all over again, to quickly adapt to new ways of doing things. But the arrival of a new boss could also be a time of opportunity. It might bring uncertainty but keep an open mind, be adaptable to change and as supportive as you can.

JOB DESCRIPTION KEEPS EVOLVING: Many job descriptions have a tagline ‘and any other duties that may be assigned from time to time’. A sweeping statement no doubt but the reality is your job is unlikely to stay the same for long. So don’t be so attached to your job description that you reject opportunities to step out and handle new assignments. Embrace any chance to have enriching experiences so that you’ll be ready to handle any tasks. The more versatile you are, the more stable your career will be.

PLACED WITH A TEAM OF HIGH ACHIEVERS: This can be daunting. Chances are that you have some unique skills to offer the team; be confident and use them. Also honestly and quickly assess where your gaps are and develop them. Don’t pretend to know what you do not know. Have a teachable attitude. Find a mentor if you feel you need one because it’s important to demonstrate that you intend to learn what you need to in order to do your best. Be upfront with your manager about help you need rather than wait for him or her to intervene due to underperformance.

HANDLING UNEXPECTED PROMOTION: Promotion is a good thing but can leave you on the back foot if you not well placed to make a success of it. If you have promotion thrust on you especially earlier than you were prepared for, first realize that you’ll probably be expected to work in a different way from what were doing so don’t expect to do more of the same at a higher level. Secondly, quickly develop a strategy to rapidly build higher level competencies. Thirdly focus on the right priorities, do work that matters in order to affirm the confidence placed in you.

LINE MANAGING SMART PEOPLE: Don’t panic thinking they will outshine you. Profit from their brilliance. Smart people are usually self motivated and need no hand holding. Don’t cramp their style by insisting on managing them if they don’t need it. Engage them in helping solve problems and doing what they are great at. Don’t let ego get in the way; you don’t have to be necessarily smarter than your people, but you definitely need to be a better manager of people and results.

Now take action: Identify three ways you can start to develop your versatility.

Manage your manager

Whether your boss is a tiger or a real sweetheart knowing how to manage them is a career saver. When you learn to understand how your boss operates, your life becomes easier. Here’s some thoughts on how to do this.

UNDERSTAND THEIR WORKING STYLE: To work well with your manager, you need to be on the same page with them. Know how your boss handles pressure, or behaves when their head is on the block. That’s when he or she’s most unforgiving. If you know they don’t cope well in certain circumstances, offer to help. Not all may be willing to accept help; offer it anyway. When the boss is moody or touchy or grouchy, try not to aggravate them.

DON'T TRY TO CHANGE HIM OR HER: It is tempting to try changing the way your boss works; such as tidying the desk of someone who prefers ‘organised’ chaos!. Be familiar with their management style, personal preferences, habits, and agendas so that you don’t get on their wrong side. Your number one priority is to support them by doing your job well, showing them respect and not undermining them. Develop an effective working relationship is what matters. So don’t get caught in trying to fix the little things that they do that bothers you but not them.

DON'T DELEGATE UP: When you do this you’re saying you can’t do the task- instead ask for guidance. If you’re too busy to do it, ask for more time . Don’t simply toss it up to the boss. Your job is to deliver solutions. Build confidence in your ability to do the job and to job when it should be done, not when you are ready. And if you’re the manager refuse to take it over even if it’ll be quicker to do it yourself than to wait much longer for someone else to do it.

MAKE THEM SHINE: This is easy to do when the boss is generally a fairly reasonable person. And if they are chronically hostile, guess what? the professional response is to still support them. Don’t upstage them bosses do not like to play second fiddle especially if their boss is around. What is your boss really good at? Help them become even better. Even better, if you have a strength that makes up for a weakness of theirs, roll it into action.

DON'T BE HIGH MAINTENANCE: The high maintenance person drains the manager’s energy and takes more than their fare share of his or her time. They often create so many problems and distractions for the boss to deal with such. Examples of such behaviour is when you take issue with too many of the boss’ decisions or are clueless about the politics surrounding an issue. A big ‘no no’ is going behind the boss back to further your own personal agenda. That you might not be able to live down so just don’t do it. Keep the boss informed but don’t go to them for every little decision.

Beware self sabotage

There are many ways we sabotage ourselves without realising it. Here are some of the ways we shoot ourselves in the foot.

LACK OF SELF AWARENESS: When you are not self aware you are unable to play to your strengths, make up for your weak areas or show your best side. Worse, you might be oblivious to the negative impact you may be having on other people. Self awareness enables you to head in the right direction and to avoid making the same mistakes. People who know who they are, are better able to manage interactions and professional relationships more effectively.

NOT KEEPING SKILLS CURENT: When was the last time you read a book, a professional magazine?. What new knowledge have you gathered since your school days? Self learning is a quick, smart way to grow; don’t leave your personal and professional development to your employer. Be prepared to fund training you know will help you. To advance yourself don’t only depend only on the learning that happens ‘organically’. Read good material, shadow someone with the skills you need, volunteer to work on a project that will give you new experiences; that’s fast track learning at minimum cost.

IGNORING MENTORING MOMENTS: Everybody regardless of their status can learn something new. When you are not open to being mentored, you lose a first rate opportunity to develop some practical skills. Learn from whoever and wherever you can. Mentoring doesn’t have to be over a period. It can take a moment. For example observing how that person makes a presentation fun, the way a colleague turns a potentially volatile situation around; joining the team of that high achiever to stretch yourself are all mentoring moments that will teach you a lot. Look out for such opportunities.

UNDERESTIMATING YOURSELF: Why do people do this? lack of confidence, low self esteem? Perhaps. There’s always more that you can do or become. Don’t take yourself for granted. Time to upgrade! List a few areas where you have been truly successful in the past; retrace your steps and identify how you can apply what worked in the past. Do you still have the ‘knack’? you probably do. Let that give you confidence. Where your success is concerned, jump in with both feet. If you put a small value on yourself, no-one else is unlikely to lift you higher.

STAYING TOO LONG IN THE COMFORT ZONE: It’s nice to be doing something you love, are good at and comfortable with. But riding this wave too long could stall your career. If you are good at something, take it to the next level; for example by pulling together a ‘how to’, checklist, a short course on how to do that activity and teach it to others; that way you move from ‘doer’ to a teacher or coach. Choose to swim in bigger waters even if you have to swim against the tide occasionally!

Now take action: Reflect and write down 3 things you are really good at.

10 commandments for a manager

Leading a team can be difficult, but can be easier if you focus on treating your team right. Here are my 10 commandments on how to get people on board.

MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE PARTNERS: You are the boss but do not need to ‘play boss’. Express trust and confidence in your team. Give them honest feedback; give them a voice and chance to lead so that they feel they have a stake in what’s going on.

ENCOURAGE THEM TO ASPIRE: Widen their horizons and help they see a whole new world. For example, take junior colleagues to ‘big’ meetings where they get to meet people they would normally not meet. This will be good for their careers and for building their confidence.

DON'T BE A MICROSCOPE: By this I mean, don’t blow things up, escalate things or make them worse than they actually are. When people make mistakes, they usually know it; help them learn from them instead of rubbing it in their face.

JUDGE THEM ON POTENTIAL: Don’t be too busy to assess and nurture potential. Ask the right questions, challenge them to do more and to keep pushing toward their full potential. Give people opportunity and don’t run such a tight ship that there’s no room for genuine mistakes.

DON'T FIT ANYONE INTO A MOULD: You can only do this well if you genuinely listen to people and what they need. Give autonomy to those who can handle it and hold them accountable. For those who require supervision, give them that support.

MAKE REWARDS MEANINGFUL: Not all rewards have to cost money. For example, A colleague who completes a complex project successfully might appreciate being given a day or two off ‘on the house’. It adds weight to the ‘thank you’ you’d normally give.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO APOLOGISE: You won’t always get it right. But learning to apologise almost always makes it right. Admitting the mistake could earn you more respect rather than taking a ‘can do no wrong’ approach.

STABILISE THE MOOD SWINGS: Unfortunately, a lot of time wasting happens as employees try to manage their boss’ moods. When the secretary can’t enter your office because you are ‘mad’ about something, work gets delayed. When you leave your bad moods at the gate, everyone will be better off.

DON'T PASS THE BUCK: Don’t blame your team to your boss when things don’t work as planned; it says you’re stabbing the team in the back. And don’t tell your team your boss is the reason you’re not able do your job well. I call it being in the ‘wilderness’- manage it.

HAVE A CAREER GOAL: Please don’t create the impression that it’s a sin for others to aspire to be where you are. If you do your job well, you will move on to bigger things. However, if you intend to stay in your role for a long time, steer your bright sparks in new but interesting directions so that they don’t get bored.

Now take action: Think about 3 ways to make help your team feel like partners?

Productive or just busy?

Personal productivity in its basic form is the value or result you get from the effort you put into doing something. How much of your day would you say is productive? Not sure? Here are some tips on how to be more productive

PUT A VALUE ON YOUR TIME: We think of time as free but actually it’s the most expensive commodity and its perishable. So don’t just do task after task whether considering whether it’s worth your time, or needs doing at a particular time or can be postponed. Don’t be reactive, When you stop seeing time as free, you’ll invest it on the right things. So stop doing something!

TAKE A HELICOPTER VIEW: When you have a lot to do, don’t immediately put your head down and plough away. Take a few minutes first to assess the scope of work before you; what can you bundle together to save time; what you can delegate; what are the ‘must dos’ what will make the difference. Don’t just do, be purposeful, think and plan before you do. When you operate in a chaotic reactive mode, you waste a lot of time.

HAVE A 'PRIORITY' FILTER : I bet there are things you ‘routine’ things that you can shave off your schedule; You’ll be surprised how much that frees your mind to reflect on the things that are profitable. Ditch the ‘irrelevances’ or they will hamper your thinking. Don’t be tempted to stick with something because you’ve been doing it from time immemorial. Create systems and approaches so that you can work in more predictable ways. Be always finding ways to streamline your work.

THINK ABOUT THE END USER: Whatever work you do is not for your own use or benefit. Ask yourself; Who are the ‘consumers’ of each piece of work that I do? What are the specific needs of these people? Can you deliver what might be more useful or relevant to them? Is there a way to make your work more efficient? Own improving the outcomes of your work causes, not just delivering the work.

STOP SEEKING PERFECTION: Perfection is wanting everything to be 100% but that’s not effective use of time unless that’s the only thing you have on your plate. Even then you’re better off using the time to think. Rule of thumb is it is better to get 5 things done 80-90% well than 2 done 100%. However, Not needing to do 100% shouldn’t be excuse to do mediocre work. Perfection is worthy but getting more done of reasonable quality is even more impressive.

AVOID ‘INCOMPLETIONS’ There’s a cycle of completion for everything to get the required results. Sometimes we don’t complete things because we are not sure of the way forward, something else is more pressing or we just don’t feel we have the energy to deal with that difficult next phase. Do your best not to leave things hanging; if it’s important, make the time to complete it.

Now take action: If you had 10 hours a day (not 24) what would you prioritise?

Build a success circle

Achieving and maintaining success is not a one man show. Yes, you must be firmly in the driving seat but need a team to cheer you on. Here are some suggestions of people to enlist onto your team.

GOALS HELPER: Your goals helper should be someone who can and will ask you powerful questions to help you clarify what is most important, how big your goals could be and what investments you should be prepared to make. They might also help you realise what your future might look like if you continued on your current path. He or she will help you stay strong and focused and think more strategically. They should enable you look ahead to were you could be one year, five years and to set stretching goals.

LEARNING BUDDY: This is a person possibly on a similar path to yours, someone who believes in life long learning and willing to share resources with you, be available to brainstorm solutions with you, encourage you when you are facing challenges facing you. Choose someone who will not compete with you or envy you but will help you learn things that move you forward and pushes you to learn what will help you achieve your goals and keep rising.

PERFORMANCE COACH ; Will help you stay the course, build stamina and remain resilient when the going gets tough. They can help you identify what factors make the real difference to your performance and help you focus on those. They’ll help celebrate your wins, talk through any losses and broken commitments and challenges and how to bounce back from any steps that you take backwards. Make sure this person can provide an unbiased perspective be tough with you if necessary and provide you with the guidance and motivation to forge ahead.

ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER: When you set your goals, of course you have every intention of achieving them. But sometimes things come up, other priorities emerge and things get overwhelming. It’s good to pre-empt this by having someone who can help you avoid any traps, stay committed and eliminate excuses. Whoever you elect to this role must be someone who can help you reflect on your choices, even help you understand yourself better and how you handle situations; someone you respect and can’t afford to short change. The Accountability partner will also help you to avoid over commitment so that you can focus on key success areas.

ACCELERATION ALLY : This person takes you the extra mile, to the higher league; helps you re-define your talent so that you are able to leverage it more and to stop the things that slow you down or add no value. Helps you not to plateau and guides you on how best to channel your energies for maximum effect. This person helps you realize your full potential by offering practical guidance, thoughtful insights and useful advice. They enable you draw on all your qualities, values, passions and interests to excel and to navigate the stressful times.

Now take action: List potential success circle team members. Contact them.

Tackle time and energy stealers

Time waits for no one. Solution? Find a way to use your time and energy on important tasks and eliminate time stealers. We all know the common time wasters. Here are a few less obvious ones and what to do about them.

JUST GOING WITH THE FLOW: If you don’t plan your day in some way that works for you might ending doing just the things you enjoy rather than the important things. Think through tasks on any given day and prioritize them. Start with the most difficult tasks when your energy is strongest. For big jobs, don’t just list it, break it down into specifics so that you don’t miss key steps or overlook something critical. When you have an end result in mind you are motivated to manage your priorities, time, and resources better.

NOT MANAGING DISTRACTIONS: Distractions come in all forms and you need to know how to minimise distractions effectively if your day is to be productive. For instance, turn off your Instant messenger off, put your phone on silent when you need to focus, or politely let people know if they're distracting you. Sometimes the distraction comes from your inability to concentrate because of mental clutter. In that case you may wish to switch to sometime less taxing mentally or low-energy work

PUTTING THINGS OFF: When you keep putting something off, its often because you find it difficult, not a priority or plain boring. In my experience, the more you procrastinate, the more you come to dread the tasks; eventually, everything piles up, overwhelms you and you end up with a huge backlog. One way round big tasks is not to assume that you need to complete it from start to finish. It’s okay to break it into manageable steps, so that you can complete it small portions at a time.

THRIVING ON 'BUSYNESS': Being busy is normal for most people. Getting into a habit of busyness, that is needing to be busy all the time is not. Rolling over deadlines, joining every team, endless emails, running frantically to never ending meetings gradually undermine ability to focus or to make time to think. Bottom line is unless you are supernaturally gifted your "addiction to busyness" will eventually lead to shoddy work in some cases as you juggle to stay on top of a ‘million’ things. Know your productivity and energy thresholds so that you can manage them.

ACTING ON IMPULSE: This includes for example responding to every email as soon as it comes in, or doing those things that can drain your energy for example having the difficult conversation when you are at a low ebb, reacting immediately to that not so positive feedback when you are still in a foul mood. You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and routine tasks like returning phone calls, checking email during your "down" time.

Now take action: What can you do to get more out of each day?

How S.M.A.R.T are you?

Knowing your strong points and leveraging them is a winning strategy for a great career. Fact is you are more likely to succeed if you operate from a position of strength rather than trying to fix your weaknesses. Here’s my SMART matrix to help you identify your strengths profile and use it well.

SUBSTANCE: These are your strengths that can be multiplied or maximised. . What ‘substantial’ strengths do you have? What do you do better than anyone else? What do others say you are good at? Which of these strengths are you aware of, and which haven’t you considered strengths because they come naturally to you? Write up your identified strengths and put them into themes, for example, people skills, financial skills and use this profile to guide future actions, choices, and to push up your confidence during tough times.

MOTIVATIONS: Knowing what motivates and engages you helps you manage the peaks and troughs of your career. Motivations can be wanting to making difference, or successful or the best lawyer etc. Know what drives you so that you can keep yourself going in difficult times? How do you pick yourself up when you fall, how to accelerate your success to ready yourself for that next promotion? Knowing what motivates you helps you to be self-directed, to assess and focus what’s important to you, to try new pathways and opportunities?. Positive motivations enable you do the hard work necessary to shine so take the time to pin down your motivations.

ASSETS: Assets are usually not resources that are natural or intrinsic. What external resources can you access? These can be membership of a high profile network, connections with influential people; references of highly respected people, strategic mentors that give you advice and wisdom? What good habits do you have? Assets are valuable because they allow you to take some calculated risks knowing that should you fail, they will cushion you - such as a good education, expertise and other qualifications.

RESONANCE: Resonance is the extent to which your work benefits others beyond yourself. For example what barriers in your job are you breaking through in order to increase your output? Good performance doesn’t always stand on its own; so think beyond your own success as the ultimate goal. Connect the dots of your performance to the big picture goals. What tasks are critical to your resonance do you need to pay more attention to such as perhaps strengthening your internal networks? What additional roles could you play that will moves the organisation forward?.

TALENTS: What are your ‘stand out’ our personal characteristics; where do you consistently outperform others? What transferable skills do you have that makes it easy for you to participate in more than one strategic areas of your organisation or industry? What separates you from your peers? How are you expanding your talents? Where can you differentiate yourself from what is common? What unexpected extra do your talents allow you to offer?

Now take action: Put together your unique profile using the SMART matrix,

Itching to cross the 'i's and 't's?

If you are manager micromanaging is something you must avoid at all costs. You can frustrate your team and their work if you see your role as telling them what to do and checking up on them every minute. How do you know if you are a micro-manager.

Here are some signs;

GETTING TOO MUCH INTO THE DETAILS: An eye for detail is important to be effective and knowing the critical detail enables you to support your team. But when you are obsessed with knowing EVERYTHING, you are micromanaging. Know how your team members prefer to work so that you can give them space to those who require it and coach those who need it. Focus on the key things, the expected results and ignore inconsequential bits.

NEEDING TO CONTROL EVERYTHING: Sometimes your issue might not be interest in the all the detail; rather a need to have everyone to do things a particular way. When you do that you undermine the team’s confidence and deny them opportunity to bring fresh and new insights to work at hand. Fostering team work should be a priority. When you push everyone around you disempower them; they stop thinking or leave.

SIDELINING THOSE YOU CONSIDER SMART: This is usually a sign that you feel threatened by them: If you have colleagues with exceptional ability don’t mess it up with nitpicking or ‘putting them on the bench’. Get work done using assets you have which includes such people. Facilitate their performance.. Don’t compete with them; rather lead them to accomplish work that everyone takes pride in.

Now you know what micromanaging looks like ; how do you stop it?

LET THE FREE SPIRITS BE: Suppress the need to constantly intervene. Set up those around you to succeed, help them take responsibility for their work and give them authority where appropriate to make their own decisions. Don’t hoard opportunities that will make them shine; a disempowered employee cannot be effective.

ACTIVELY SEEK CONTRIBUTION: Vow to ask for views and encourage other ways of doing things as long as they deliver results. If you have some creative people with huge potential, delegate big pieces of work to them. Know what keeps everyone engaged and what their strengths are so that you can tap into those.

WORK ON YOUR DELEGATION SKILLS: It can take time to learn to let go. Encourage them to take initiative and then trust them to deliver. If you are brave you might even be honest with them about your need to get better at not micro-managing so that they can respectfully hold you to account

MAKE EVERYONE'S GROWTH YOUR GOAL: If no one grows on the team including yourself you won’t be delivering much; so find a way to develop yourself and others. Promise yourself that no longer will only your view matter. Hone your coaching skills so that you can support the team. Regularly track how team members are growing.

Now take action: Are you micromanaging? Identify this week ways to help you stop.

Take even the half chances

Opportunity. We look out for it all the time. But sometimes we get so fixed on what opportunity looks like that we miss the half chances that can give us a foot in the door. Here’s my list of half chances I urge you not to throw away.

AN ACTING POSITION: An acting position often is a higher position than your own and can get you scared or lacking confidence. But believe you were given the responsibility because you were deemed capable. Don’t go in there afraid to ‘touch’ anything because you are ‘only acting’. You are accountable for what happens during your stint so find out quickly what you need to do, identify a helping hand or short term mentor and DO THE JOB.

A TEMPORARY JOB: For many people, a temp job is not appealing. Don’t shun a temp job because it can bring benefits like helping you get industry knowledge and new skills quickly; keep your CV current if you are in between permanent jobs, provide more flexibility and a chance to sample different organisations and tasks. A permanent job brings stability but before you say no to that temp assignment think about how it can enrich you and your work experience.

TEACHING A NEWBIE: Working with someone who is learning their first steps in a role can feel frustrating but embrace it especially if it’s your first shot at supervising someone. It offers you the unique chance to learn and practice coaching, mentoring and line management skills. So rather than be grouchy, think about what you can teach this person, find out what they would like to learn and work out what the best way to teach. As you pass on skills you strengthen your own.

THROWN IN ON THE DEEP END: Ever been given a big task which set your head spinning? Sometimes superiors do this deliberately to see how well you can cope in a difficult situation where you have to hit the ground running. If this happens, first take a deep breath, don’t be afraid to ask questions to clarify what’s expected in terms of results, break down the task into manageable bits and look for help. When you succeed it could become a very long fluffy feather in your cap that serves you well. If you unfortunately flop learn from it.

WORKING WITH A TASKMASTER: This can be tough because task masters tend to be workaholics who expect the same of others. If you end up with one don’t spend your time ‘wishing him or her away’ or spend time resenting them for destroying your work life balance. Work out a way to negotiate less stringent working hours and impossible deadlines. Give quick honest feedback if you feel you are being treated like a workhouse. But also think about what you could gain such as developing resilience, capacity to work under pressure and with a difficult boss as well as ability to think on your feet.

Now take action: What half chances could you proactively look for in your job?

Is your organisation good for your career?

A good organisation can be a springboard for career success depending on several factors; your strengths, how you like to work; your career goals. So what kind of organisation ’empowers’ you professionally? Here’s my view;, a good workplace;

TREATS PEOPLE RIGHT :An organisation that treasures people creates a environment that allows staff to try new things, take healthy risks, and unearth their potential. The progressive organisation’s philosophy is to have fulfilled employees who in turn commit to achieving the bottom line. Go with a workplace that appreciates your aspirations and offers an culture in which you can flourish.

DOES NOT PUT YOU IN A BOX: Don’t join an organisation just to go do as job! Show you want to do more and support the wider success of the company. Don’t leave it to the organisation to guess what your needs are so learn to speak up; A good company will listen and enable you to make a contribution and in return you get to develop yourself, your skills, hopefully chalk some achievements and enhance your career prospects.. A good organisation goes even further to helps you become more ambitious and to be open about such ambition

GIVES YOU INFLUENCE: Some organisations are like an heirloom. Working for them gives you ‘authority’, opens doors to opportunities you normally wouldn’t have and gives you influence in the market place because they are known and respected. That’s not to say you are on the back foot if your organisation is less known. My point is as far as is possible aim to be as strategic about the organisation you choose to work for as you would the job you go after.

IS CONSISTENTLY EVOLVING: And you get to evolve right alongside it because its always one step ahead, not stuck in maintaining the status quo. It gives people incentive to stay, takes personal development and feedback seriously and does not play power games with employees; It strikes a good balance between keeping its high achievers appreciated and helping those who are struggling to improve. Good organisations don’t expect staff to work round the clock to prove they are committed

ENCOURAGES HEALTHY COMPETITION: So that people feel energised to apply their skills, learn new ones and operate at a higher level. People are encouraged to be honest with themselves, to learn from others, celebrate when colleagues succeed and be a standard bearer. In such organizations you get to be open about your mistakes and not be afraid to analyse your shortcomings in order to plan how to improve.

HAS A CULTURE OF ACHIEVEMENT: An achieving organisation has a strong senor team that sets a clear direction and frees people to make it happen guided by agreed values. People know the organizations success is their success. There’s open communication and teams rally together. Pull him/her down syndrome is not entertained and group success treasured as much as individual achievement.


Now take action: How can you piggyback on your organisation’s ‘greatness’?

Take a vow of integrity

Integrity is non-negotiable; it’s what earns trust from others, strengthens your credibility and gives you leverage beyond skill and talent. When you commit to integrity, you conduct yourself in an honest, trustworthy and ethical manner at all times. You ;

HONOUR YOUR OBLIGATIONS : Integrity is not a matter of convenience, it’s a contract first with yourself and with others. Obligations are agreements, keep them whether they are small like promising to return a phone call or big such as being loyal to your team. If something prevents you from keeping any agreements, communicate this as far as possible in advance. Walking the talk makes you a good role model

WALK AWAY FROM TOXIC ENVIRONMENTS : When you are in danger of becoming someone you don’t like you are definitely in the wrong place. You run the risk of sabotaging your chances of becoming better and being respected. Toxic environments can be any thing that brings out the worst in you or makes you party to unhealthy manoeuvrings and keeps you always in negative mode.

HAVE A STRONG WORK ETHIC: Develop a performance bond with yourself to always do your best. Don’t work on the basis of how much you are paid, neither withdraw your commitment when things don’t seem to be going your way. As a person of integrity you don’t settle for mediocrity; you don’t throw tantrums when you feel you are being treated unfairly- you talk about it. You don’t look for an excuse to be sloppy in your work but find whatever help you can get to do the best in the circumstances.

DON'T UNDERMINE OTHERS: There are many ways we undermine others. without realising that our integrity takes a knock;. badmouthing the boss, trashing other people’s ideas without reason, going above your boss without their knowledge; being obnoxiously competitive, telling on your colleagues; and setting a person up for failure Wanting something badly is no excuse to do any of these. Be above board, Know the unspoken rules and boundaries in your organisation you shouldn’t cross. It helps you stay on the right side.

DON'T JUMP SHIP IN TOUGH TIMES : A team or organisation needs to be able to count on the loyalty of its members. Don’t commit only when it’s convenient. Be professional and consistent and don’t duck at the first sign of challenging times. Pace yourself if you need to but don’t bail out completely. Try not to deal with several stressful issues at once. Stay constructive and don’t give reason to believe that you can’t be relied on.

AVOID SELF-SERVING BEHAVIOUR: Office politics takes many forms and allows people to justify all sorts of unacceptable behaviour in order to get ahead. Being excellent in your job and being a team player is by far the most effective method of achieving success ‘honourably’. It may take longer but is a more rooted, more transparent and easier to sustain for the long term.

Now take action: How can you demonstrate greater integrity in life and work?

Don't be career lazy

When you say you want a successful career, what are you doing to make that happen? What are you taking charge of and what are you looking to others to help you with? Here are some suggestions to keep your career moving.

DEFINE YOUR SUCCESS: The people who contribute to your success will be many but only you must define what constitutes success. Is it a well paying job? a role where you get to do what interests you even if the pay is not great? Determine how you will measure success so that you can know how well you are doing.

FIRM UP CREDIBILITY EARLY: Successful careers are not built on fluff or one day wonders. It’s about creating confidence in your ability to do a job and actually doing it to the level required. It’s also about your character and your sense of integrity, how you handle difficult times and how consistent you are in producing great results.

DOCUMENT ACHIEVEMENTS: Most people only think of achievements when they are looking for a job; dig up their CV and frantically try to remember all their successes. Learn to write down your achievements as they happen so that you can leverage them. When you document your victories no matter how small, you show you are a person who has focus and demanding of yourself.

UPGRADE COMPETENCIES: When was the last time you read a book, took a course or identified a way to improve your abilities?. Improving yourself is primarily your responsibility. Your employer might help you develop some skills but not everything you need to succeed in your career. Determine the skills you need for the long term and make the necessary investments. Keep a training log to map your progress.

DEMONSTRATE VALUE: Guess what? A career is not a string of all the jobs you have held. It’s how they add up to give you profile, a track record that you can leverage further. Don’t just plod in the same job forever or hop from job to job in the hope something will turn out well. Seek to positively influence others with your Inspiration, wisdom, enthusiasm and creativity.

TAKE PRESSURE ON THE CHIN: Pressure comes in all forms and sooner than you think so be ever ready. You’ll have to prove your worth long before you get that big job, you may have to do a two week assignment in half the time or deliver that programme on a tight budget. Handle pressure by prioritising and focussing on finding solutions with what you resources you have.

HOLD SOMEONE'S HAND: As you rise you’ll get to be in charge of others and it no longer becomes about you only. Your performance starts being judged by what you’re enabling others to achieve. Even if you are not directly in charge of others, you can positively influence others with your Inspiration, wisdom, enthusiasm, Creativity. Learn to step back sometimes from centre stage and let others shine.

Now take action: Identify 3 steps you can you take to manage your career better

Tackling credit snatching

There are few things that ferment deflates morale more than credit snatching; claiming the credit that is due others. Most people expect to get the credit when they do a good job. So what can you do if you come up against a credit snatcher? Here are some suggestions;

UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ARE WIRED: Some people couldn’t care less if they get credit or not, others need recognition for every little thing they contribute. If you are the latter make your team appreciate that getting recognition for what you do is important to you; not so that you can demand it or have an excuse to sulk when you don’t get it but so that colleagues realise what motivates you. Don’t pretend you don’t care about receiving praise if you do; otherwise your resentment will show up soon enough; when you hardly expect it.

ASK IF IT'S WORTH FIGHTING FOR: Sometimes a job well done is its own reward. And you can go overboard with needy validation all the time. Learn to leave some of the credit on the ‘house’. Even occasionally allow others take it and don’t go saying ‘you did it but decided to let so and so get the credit’. For your own peace of mind, know what your contribution was but don’t insist on being singled out especially if it was a team activity .

WHAT IS YOURS IS YOURS: There are times when the credit is squarely yours. But if you don’t get it, self promote if you must but don’t be vociferous or obnoxious about it. A better way would actually be to have the ‘credit’ put on your performance record rather then publicly acknowledged. Better still keep your own achievement file so that you can encourage and cheer your self up with regularly. You can also draw examples from that file for example during job interviews.

LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY: Yes bosses can take the credit if they choose to knowing fully well they risk ending up with a disgruntled team member. If you honestly feel the boss has stolen your spotlight, best to let it go. Note your contributions though and during performance reviews. In the confines of your meeting he or she is unlikely to dispute that as long as you state these clearly and do not make any veiled reference to your view that he or she stole your thunder.

PUT THE HORSE BEFORE THE CART: If recognition is your vital motivator, have a plan that will ensure regular supply. Volunteer for high profile activities, work on the pet projects of your superiors, use a skill that is highly valued in your organisation, find the solution for a critical problem, Acknowledge your boss for the praise he or she cares to give you. You could say something like ‘Thanks for letting me lead on that piece of work. I did my best and much appreciated the credit you gave me’ for it.

Now take action: Give some long overdue praise to 3 people this week.

Would you hire you?

Ever asked yourself that question? Putting yourself in the shoes of your employer might just be the perspective you need to raise your game. Here are some thoughts on attributes that gets you noticed and feeds your potential. A valued employee is;

RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE: When you are responsible you do not limit your thinking or role to what your job description is. You think about the company as a whole and what you can contribute to make it succeed. You demonstrate a sense of purpose and mission and aim to do your best. Your sense of accountability makes you see an assignments through to the end.

MORE THAN COMPETENT: Technical skills might get you the job but keeping it and becoming valuable takes more- the right attitude, ability to lead, a strong sense of collaboration, a desire to do more than is required, taking initiative Think about ways to become versatile and functional in more than one role. For example, if you are accountant but have facilitation skills, you can offer these during team building.

DO NO HARM : ‘Harm’ that an employee can inflict in the workplace includes demonstrating obnoxious behaviours such as back stabbing, stealing credit from others, spreading negative rumours, bullying people into getting what you want and undermining others including your boss or throwing tantrums. These attitudes poison the environment and make you highly dispensable.

HAS OBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVE : Being objective is being open-minded, learning to think past yourself, hearing other people out and not becoming saturated in your own opinion. You can learn to develop objectivity by getting away from your usual environment from time to time, collaborating with people who think differently from you and putting yourself in situations where your opinions are positively challenged.

SHOWS PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE: This means don’t theorise or try to show yourself as the ‘smartest in the room’ This is about asking questions, exploring ideas, learning from experiences and using them to improve work through practical application and common sense. Plug yourself into different situations and learn to function well. Come up with workable solutions you don’t easily become irrelevant.

IS AN AGENT OF CHANGE: A valued employee is not content to do the same thing day in day out with the same level of result. He or she is not happy to remain in their comfort zone but steps out to do more and better. They think about new idea, translate them into practical ideas, assemble who they need to execute and remain persistent in order to get results.

DOESN'T OPERATE ON TITLE ALONE: The committed employee is not status conscious or interested in getting a title before doing more They live by values and don’t reserve their best performance for when they become ‘boss’ They are proactive, lead by example and step up when things need doing or the tough decisions made. They act just lead and guess what, the title soon catches up with them




Now take action: Name 3 ways in which you give more value at work from now on.

Are you bullying without knowing?

What comes to mind when you hear the word bullying? Threats?, insults?, disrespect.? harassment; sure but bullying takes other seemingly ‘benign’ forms. Here’s how to tell when you are ‘bullying’ and what to do about them.

CHASTISING: Especially publicly. Do you feel the need to stamp your authority by correcting people publicly and angrily? People will make mistakes but nothing justifies ‘dressing them down’ in public. It humiliates them and makes you look unkind and out of control, not the sort of image you want to present especially in public. Tame your emotions so that you can correct with a clear head and to be heard. Better yet, do any corrections face to face and in private. That way it becomes a learning experience for the person rather than ‘the day the boss got MAD because of me’

TARGETING: This is when you decide for whatever reason that a particular person can do no right. They become your fall guy; when things don’t go well in the team, they’re the first person you feel is responsible; when they do a good job, you assume someone helped them. Whilst you might have some basis for your attitude, reminder your job is to be constructive and professional at all times; and that includes not judging negatively without basis or letting your personal feelings rule your management style. Teach and nurture, not crush the spirits of those who look up to you for guidance.

PATRONIZING: This can and often takes the form of ‘harmless’ jokes. When you patronize others you’re saying ‘I am superior to you’ my opinions are more important than yours. Of course depending on the context, if you have authority your opinions may count more than others’ but don’t trash those who care to share their views even if you don’t end up taking them on board. Your approach might be to make the case for the merits of your decision rather than on the basis that other views are no good.

LORDING : This is a tricky one because a boss’ legitimate action or response to a situation can be construed as ‘lording’ over people. The problem comes in when you feel the need to let people know that ‘you are the boss’. For example you may creating the impression that every thing you do for them is a favour you’re doing them. Wielding power this way is a weakness not a strength. Reflect on why you feel the need to act this way and what you stand to lose by leading this way?

BELITTLING: Some call it ‘cutting someone to size’. When you are okay with or even enjoy making others feel uncomfortable, you might belittle others without calling it by that name. For example when you totally ignore someone’s contribution in a meeting, you belittle them. Acknowledging people and what they have to say even if you don’t agree is the proper thing to do.

Now take action :Showing bullying behaviour? What will you do about it?

Who is rooting for you?

We are familiar with mentors and how they can help us. Advocates do more, they proactively promote you and increase your career prospects. They can be outside your organisation but preferably inside. Here’s what an advocate can do for you.

PUT YOU ON THE RADAR: It takes more than talent, hard work and skills to rise in an organisation. An advocate brings you to the attention of decision makers because they believe in you and your potential they speak on your behalf and even promote you to senior people in an organisation who are unlikely to see your work for themselves. You’ll need to be open to your advocate about your aspirations and professional goals so that s/he can help you achieve them.

NEGOTIATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU : An advocate does more than put you on the radar of the people who matter. They can create opportunities that would normally not exist. These give you the chance to prove yourself and back up any claims that your advocate has made about your potential for higher level roles. Since such opportunities are aimed at proving something to the bosses, they are likely to be top level assignments with access to the top brass

SHARES THE INSIDE SCOOP: When you know what’s important to the movers and shakers in your organisation or sector, you align your efforts and achievements accordingly. Your advocate normally has insider knowledge, good connections and will alert you to what you need to know without breaking any confidences. They may even steer you off certain things back onto the path that has potential to take you places.

LENDS YOU WISDOM: Change is common in organisations these days and there are times when even your advocate will not know for sure where ‘the dice will fall’. But they can guide your scenario planning in terms of what options might be available. If a post he or she was lobbying for you is disappearing, he or she will work with you to review your strategy for repositioning yourself.

SHOWS YOU THE FAST TRACK: The view from the top is often can different from the bottom up. From below you look at climbing rank by rank. From above, the boss knows you can do the ‘long jump’ if you can give enough evidence to show you can do the bigger job. Your advocate will give you suggestions on you need to ‘leap frog’ and support you to develop the highly competitive skills sets required. You must assure them that you are prepared to pay your dues.

WANTS TO DO IT RIGHT : A credible advocate will not want to be seen to be skipping the rules or playing favourites. So don’t be blinded by your ambition to cut corners. Make sure your advocate is well respected and trusted and don’t create the impression that your advocate is doing something underhand by helping you. Don’t get boastful or misrepresent any of them actions.

Now take action: Identify 3 people who can will make good advocates

Do you know how to ask a question?

Questions are a great tool for learning. When properly crafted and used, questions generate rich ideas, bring clarity and produce new knowledge. So developing your art of questioning is a skill worth developing. Here’s some guidance. A skilful question;

DOES NOT DO MULTIPLE CHOICE: These are questions asked and immediately followed by ‘Do you think it’s because of XXX or YYY’. This might be an attempt to clarify the question further but often undermines what might have been an interesting or even profound response. ‘Multiple choice’ questions might be useful where there’s little time to get a full response or where when all you need is a short one. Otherwise, keep them open-ended and allow that to open up the conversation.

IS NOT A SPEECH IN DISGUISE: A person might ask a question and without waiting for an answer launch into a little speech about what they themselves think about the question they have asked. For example they would say ‘What do you XXX? My view is YYY’. Courteous practice is to get a response first and then share your opinion. After all you asked the question because you wanted to know more. If the question gets thrown back at you back as sometimes happens then of course, you may oblige. However, plan A must be to ask, stop and listen.

DOES NOT INTERROGATE: Most people are put of by questions that make feel interrogated or where they sense a hidden agenda. Avoid coming across as interrogating by not using a negative or aggressive tone. An example sounds like this- ‘Why are you not XXX? ‘ ‘Your earlier point didn’t make sense but…..’ rather than ‘I was a little confused by your earlier point, could you…..’ As a rule of thumb aim to use your questions to move ideas forward, enrich conversations and generate learning.

IS NOT AMBIGUOUS: A question need not be longwinded. Unfortunately some go are so long and in so many directions that in the end it’s unclear what the key question is. Make it easy for your question to be understood by being straightforward. Take a second to think about your question before you ask it so that it is not unnecessarily wordy or complicated. If it’s say 3 questions in one, ask them separately or state clearly that they three. For example, ‘I have 3 questions, the first is XXX…’ That way the person will not need to work this out themselves.

TRIGGERS REFLECTIVE CONVERSATION: Skilfil questions are thought provoking. They are not based on any pre-conceived assumptions and often generate new insights. Ask questions that are you can reasonably expect the person in question to be able to answer. And when you ask, show genuine interest in the responses. Ask questions that you believe in and not one that someone has asked you to put forward. This way if you are asked to clarify your question you can.

Now take action: Practice 5 questions this week with a friend in a role play.

create a personal board of directors

We all know how important a board of directors or trustees is to an organisation. They provide strategic direction and ensure good governance and management. You can benefit from a board too- a personal one to guide you, advice you, challenge you and support you. Here’s how to set up one

WHO TO INVITE – Make a list of about 12 names of potential candidates; people you admire and respect. Think about what you admire about them and what they could teach you. They need not be only people you personally Have the courage to include people who you consider ‘big league’ Ask people to suggest names and find out more about those who match your needs.

NARROW THE LIST DOWN: Select about 5-6 people representing a diversity of experience, skills sets and perspectives. Clarify what you will need from each of them and how their support together will give the total learning that you need . Don’t only go with people higher than you; for example if you want to emulate how someone brings values, standards and integrity to their work, candidates could come from any level.

INVITE THEM INDIVIDUALLY: Contact them and invite them indicating what you would like from them. Don’t just say ‘I want you to support me’. Explain broadly what you would like from them; follow up with a phone call to explain the specifics. Some of the support you could ask for is to be able to turn to them when you have difficult choices to make or dealing with ethical dilemmas

MEET ON SPECIFICS: Meet to work out details of how you’ll work together. You might need to be clear with them that you’d like to learn from their experience, perspectives, help you pick yourself when you ‘fail’, or make some bad judgement calls. Discuss how they would like you to contact them, when and how often, how to handle situations such as when you urgently need to consult with them at short notice.

KEEP IT GOING : Agree a structure of what you’ll regularly discuss- for example what’s been successful, some of your challenges, difficulties you have been able to overcome, opportunities coming your way. Always come prepared with some thoughts on the issues you want to discuss. Share your thoughts first before asking for their views

COMMIT TO STOCK TAKING : Report your progress to them regularly. At a minimum commit to producing a personal annual report to share with them. Your report can cover personal and professional goals with concrete examples of success. Report against any goals you set.

FIND OUT HOW TO RECIPROCATE- Make it worth their time; if you have contacts, networks that they might benefit from share them. You might offer to mentor someone else to pass on what you learn. Take an interest in what they do so that you can identify where you can help them.

Now take action: Create your Personal Board of directors in the next 4 weeks

You can disagree with the boss

What do you do when you don’t quite agree with what someone is saying especially if that someone is your superior? Keep quiet? Complain to others? Challenging your boss is daunting but when properly done and supported by good points will be appreciated. Here are some tips to get you going.

RESPECT IS NON-NEGOTIABLE: In some organisations, when you challenge you may be seen as stirring conflict and labelled ‘troublesome’ A boss might even feel undermined, disrespected or take the challenge as an affront to his or her authority if the challenge is not handled properly. Even if your boss encourages you to challenge it does not make it any less uncomfortable for them when it happens so challenge with respect.

IDENTIFY THE SPECIFICS: Before you challenge identify the specific issue you want to explore. If it’s the whole ‘thing’ which is unlikely take care to explain your thinking and be able to support your position on the matter; what’s the main point you want to make? Is that the real issue or a symptom of a deeper one? What alternative suggestion do you propose? Paraphrase back what your boss is saying so that they know you understand what’s being said.

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES: You don’t need to speak up about every little thing you disagree with. Challenging is an opportunity to shape things for the better so make sure your point adds value. Bide your time and don’t ‘jump in’ just because you feel like it. Know when to bite your tongue especially in high pressure situations. If the boss has to make a quick decision, that’s not the time to give a speech!. Your aim should be to contribute not undermine or make a point just for the sake of it.

USE COLLABORATIVE LANGUAGE:. You may have a right to challenge but don’t be reckless in doing so. Be honest with your views by communicating them firmly but nicely. Disagreement does not have to turn into conflict. Build on what’s good and explain why you think other issues might be problematic. Avoid ‘rigid’ phrases like ‘this won’t work’ or ‘I don’t like this’. Don’t challenge when you are feeling emotional or unclear about the point you want to make.

DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS: Challenge with the right motives. Not to ridicule, not to demonstrate how smart you are. Remember to challenge what’s being said, the issue- not the person. And challenge willingly because you believe in what you have to say not and because you want not to impress anyone. Be discreet and do any challenging of your boss in private as far as is possible.
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EEXERCISE RESTRAINT: To challenge takes courage. Sometimes you get your ‘fingers’ burnt.. But please don’t ‘retire’ from challenging again because one experience went wrong. It’s normal to feel afraid but if you feel you have something valuable to say, say so……with respect.

Now take action : Pick an issue; practice with a colleague how to challenge

Ditch the drama

Every organisation has its share of ‘drama’; office politics, managers with big egos, constantly complaining staff; fact is we each occasionally contribute to this ‘drama’. But to be seen consistently as a drama queen or trouble maker can hurt your career. Here are some typical ‘drama’ behaviours to avoid.

TOO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED: Engage with your organisation, your job and the ongoing priorities and important projects. When you are too invested, you take things too personally. Emotion is important to keep the workplace ‘human’ but so are logic and commonsense. Operate with a good balance of ‘head and heart’ so that you don’t you don’t feel let down or think the ‘system’ is being too hard hearted. Also to check that you are being over sensitive.

TOO FOCUSSED ON SELF: Whether you work alone or as part of a team aim to work well with others and consider the needs of others alongside your own. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself; and that’s fine especially if there are circumstances concerning you personally that you need redress for but as rule of thumb, make team work a priority.

QUICK TO BLAME OTHERS: When you point fingers for what’s going on( or not going on) with you, you create unnecessary tension. ‘Blamers’ often assign motives to what others do and often judge these motives negatively. You demonstrate your ‘drama’ when you feel you act like you are on the receiving end. Start looking at things objectively. It can be hard, commit to it, it’ll pay off.

INFLEXIBLE IN THE FACE OF SURPRISES: Unpleasant and inconvenient surprises come up all the time. The speed of change these days is such that to expect that your work day will go according to the way you have planned it is to set your self up to be frustrated. Learn to adapt and expect that up to some of what you set out to do on any given day might to be overtaken by other work. Being open to the unplanned makes it easier deal with it.

BEING A PROBLEM MONGER: Such people don’t seek to find solutions but can’t seem to help telling others about problems that exist including their own. There might not be anything inherently wrong with letting people know about problems if the intention is to generate answers. Otherwise, it raises stress levels unnecessarily. Discuss problems with those involved with the solutions or with friends( not everyone in the corridor) if your aim is to let off steam.

NOT TAMING THE EGO: The ego in full bloom wants approval, attention, applause, validation. And where these are not forthcoming, they sulk and are unhappy when others get attention. A healthy workplace would normally give appropriate praise and recognition where due but when you constantly seeks it you become ‘emotionally expensive’ for your employer; as peace loving colleagues spend time feeding that ego instead of getting work done.

Now take action: What negative or excessive behaviours do you need to drop?

Getting into a rut?

‘Comfortable’ and ‘stable’ can be good but when you enjoy it too much you start to stagnate and eventually ‘you get stuck in a rut’ sometimes without even realising it. What are the signs that you are ‘in a ‘dry place’?

YOU ARE TOO COMFORTABLE AND ON AUTO-PILOT: This is ‘comfortable’ that does not do you any good. You feel you’re in your comfort zone, you feel settled to the point that you starting to get rusty and have no desire for a higher level achievement. You repeat behaviours unconsciously day in day out.

THINGS ARE FAMILIAR AND UNDEMANDING: When you are in a rut you don’t want any ‘hustle’; you are afraid to go into unchartered waters or try new things, you may even find opportunities that could change things for the better for you rather risky. When you have the chance to stretch you dodge it because you think it’ll be too taxing on you.

EVERYTHING IS UNINTERESTING AND A BOTHER: This can result from doing the same thing for so long so much so that you’re not even sure how to begin to try something else. You feel unfulfilled but lethargic and in no mood to shake things or to find ways to put your talents to use. Enthusiasm escapes you

YOU FEEL YOU HAVE 'ARRIVED’ : Success at a certain level has become your end point. You are motivated and even have a positive mental attitude but you are not channelling this energy towards doing more, reaching out more. Success has become a self gratification rather than of wider benefit to others..

So how do you get out of the rut?

UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE STUCK: When did you start feeling ‘trapped’?. What aspirations have ‘disappeared’ and what events can you remember that led to this. How are you able to tell that this is contrary to what you’d like to be? What purpose do you feel is being aborted by your lack of intentional

AVOID A LINEAR APPROACH: Learn to draw some order out of chaos, make connections between seemingly unconnected things, experiment with the unfamiliar. Wake up your brain by growing your mind so that it serves you well, helps you analyse, explore logic, inspire inspiration and keep you sane.

HAVE A VISION FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT: Plan your growth upwards and laterally; find alternative routes to developing your career so that you don’t feel helpless when you hit a ‘roadblock’ or things falter. A plan helps you think ahead and can pre-empt some of the things that can derail your progress.

GET PURPOSELY CREATIVE : Don’t wait for ‘inspiration from above’ to find solutions to your situation. Think of ways you can expand your expertise in different situations. For example as an accountant, you can work as such, teach accountancy in an institution, provide private tuition. Be proactive,

Now take action: Where are you stagnating in your career? What will you do about it?