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?