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?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
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?
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?
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?
Monday, December 12, 2011
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?
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?
Saturday, December 3, 2011
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?
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?
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