Joel Garfinkle's Blog, page 2

6 Essential Skills for Future Leaders

“Time and time again, our species has escaped existential threats by reinventing ourselves, finding new skills not coded in our genes to survive new challenges not previously encountered.” – David Grinspoon

If you’re concerned about whether you have the right skillset to navigate the business world throughout the coming years, you’re actually ahead of the pack. Facing change and uncertainty can feel scary, but your awareness of the oncoming changes will help you prepare to negotiate them with grace and skill.

Plenty of core competencies will remain essential skills for leaders in the future. Certain ones will become increasingly vital, while other skills valued in today’s workplace will diminish in importance. By developing the right mix of skills, you’ll have the confidence and assertiveness to thrive in a changing organizational environment.

Six Essential Skills for Future Leaders
1. Coaching ability.

Machines aren’t likely to begin effectively coaching employees any time in the foreseeable future, McKinsey’s research has confirmed. While AI applications can do a lot of things more efficiently than humans, like answering basic questions or guiding an employee through a self-directed training module, motivating and guiding people’s development isn’t one of them. Only people have the skills to lead others. Thus, coaching ability will be one of the most essential skills for future leaders—particularly since good coaches will help their teams successfully navigate the changes in store.

That means if you know how to mentor people, engage your team, be transparent with your staff, and guide your team through changes, you’ll be an asset in any organizational context. Practice exercising your leadership skills within challenging situations in order to hone your ability to guide your team through the rough waters of change.

2. Specialized areas of expertise.

Study a particular subfield within your area of knowledge in order to develop specialized knowledge that will make you highly marketable in that realm. For example, in the HR field, you could focus on compliance or succession planning, or if you work in finance, you could study healthcare accounting. Find something that will remain relevant and study that niche area inside and out. In the coming years, many organizational functions will shift into more of a consulting role, playing a stronger part in guiding organizational direction—which means their leaders need a specialized mix of skills.

3. Aptitude for working collaboratively.

In the future, people will work less in siloes and more across functions—again, due to the role of specialized consultant that they’ll often be playing. For example, a finance professional will have a more hands-on role in guiding the direction of the organization rather than focusing on crunching numbers. While automated reports can provide a huge amount of data and analytics, organizations still need someone to interpret all that data. Automated tools can aggregate and structure the information, but humans give it context and meaning. An expert needs to explain how it should influence decisions in a way that others can understand, in order for organizations to leverage it effectively.

Start thinking now about how you would work to shape your organization’s direction—and look for opportunities to start exerting your influence within multidisciplinary teams!

4. Emotional intelligence.

This is yet another quality that machines simply don’t have: The ability to relate to people on a personal level, build trust and rapport, and get results through the ability to motivate and inspire them. Emotional intelligence means having empathy for others in all your interactions and recognizing how they feel, as well as the ability to predict, understand, and regulate your own emotions so they don’t control you.

Knowing how to help employees grow their confidence and push themselves to tackle new hurdles will be especially vital as organizations restructure job roles and organizational functions. Emotional intelligence will play a key role in helping any leader excel.

5. Ingenuity.

A propensity for developing innovative new ideas and taking strategic risks will also differentiate leaders from the rest of the crowd. The most successful leaders of the future will have a distinct propensity for problem-solving, because they have the courage to take risks and the creativity to come up with ingenious solutions that no one else has thought of.

6. Big-picture thinking.

Finally, the most successful leaders will engage in big-picture thinking that synthesizes numerous perspectives from throughout the organization. They’ll have an aptitude for looking at a problem from all vantage points and figuring out the best possible solution, informed by those multiple perspectives. As a result, they’ll steer their organization to higher levels of success.

As you’ve probably noticed, many of these skills are interpersonal rather than technical in nature. In the future, leaders will need skills that allow them to guide and influence both people and organizational direction. These abilities will only increase in importance as machines handle many technical elements of job roles. Establish yourself as a strong leader by cultivating these key qualities, and you’ll supercharge your skillset to remain marketable in the changing organizational context.

Joel can help your organization to maximize the potential of its talent. Contact him to learn how he can coach your current and aspiring leaders to success.

The post 6 Essential Skills for Future Leaders first appeared on Career Advancement Blog.

What to Do When Someone Takes Credit for Your Work

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” – Arnold H. Glasow

Have you ever worked tirelessly to produce a report or a presentation, only to have a collaborator claim the limelight? You’re not alone.

Nothing is more demotivating than having someone take credit for your work. We all know that being recognized for our contributions is crucial to career advancement, bringing benefits like the following:

Establishing your worth and value to others.
Bringing you more rewarding projects and greater job satisfaction.
Helping you earn a promotion.

Now, we’re going to tackle how to handle a couple of tough situations involving the theft of credit, so you can move forward with grace, composure, and recognition for your work.

If your boss takes credit for your work…

You need to carefully weigh the benefits of speaking up versus the potential negative impacts of doing so. The last thing you want to do is alienate your boss. Furthermore, if your boss is genuinely supportive of you, consider whether it’s possible that she simply expanded on your idea and forgot where it originally came from. It’s also possible that your boss believes the whole team will get more recognition if her superiors think the idea came from her, as The Wall Street Journal writes in “Hey, That’s My Idea! When Your Boss Steals Your Work.” Consider whether your boss is giving you opportunities in turn, the authors suggest.

If you see a pattern of this behavior, or if your boss took credit for a high-profile project that could play a pivotal role in your career, it may be time to speak up. Tread cautiously; making your boss feel defensive is a sure form of self-sabotage. Within a larger conversation about your career, mention how much you feel you could benefit from visibility for the project, WSJ suggests. That way, you’re not directly accusing your boss of anything; rather, you’re enlisting her help as an advocate.

If a peer takes credit for your work…

Don’t act until you’ve calmed down. The last thing you want is to appear irate and unreasonable.
Send a follow-up email thanking everyone for listening to the presentation and sharing appreciation for your team, if a colleague has presented the project as his doing. That’s a subtle way of claiming ownership of the endeavor.
Ask your supporters for help. Perhaps another colleague knows that you spearheaded the project that a colleague took credit for. If she thanks you for your role in making it happen in front of your boss and other coworkers, that may help shift the narrative. You can also ask supportive colleagues to ask you questions about your project in the next meeting.
Tactfully approach the person who unfairly took credit and ask why she didn’t mention your name in the presentation. Ask her to share the visibility with you, emphasizing that you want to have a mutually supportive relationship. Give her the benefit of the doubt, acknowledging that it could have been an accident, which will make her less likely to react defensively.
If the pattern continues, consider letting your boss know about it. Keep your language neutral and stay brief, rather than ranting on in a negative tone about your colleague. Stick to the facts.

In the future, you can take measures to guard against the theft of credit. Follow these key tips starting in the early stages of project development, and you’ll be far less likely to find yourself in this situation again:

1. Claim credit for the work.

By doing so, you’re not boasting—you’re just stating the facts of what you’ve accomplished and its impact. Be straightforward and specific when describing what you’ve done—and be sure to mention the contributions of others! It’s difficult for someone else to take credit once others associate your name with the contributions that made the project a success.

2. Create a paper trail that shows your contributions.

Make it easy to prove that you spearheaded a project or came up with an idea by leaving a clear trail of evidence. Email your boss and colleagues to present your ideas in writing, perhaps CC’ing more than one person on a thread so that no one person can act as though it’s your word against theirs. Deliver written reports to your superiors to show your progress or outline the final project outcomes.

3. Avoid sharing ideas one-on-one.

Unless you really trust a colleague, don’t sit down with him for a one-on-one conversation about your next big idea. Someone can more easily take credit for your ideas and work when you don’t have another witness to establish they came from you. Instead, you might chat with two colleagues at the same time, to establish a sense of accountability.

4. Give credit to others.

You’ll establish yourself as more credible when you claim credit for an idea if you’re frequently sharing credit with others.

Once you become well-known for having particular skills and knowledge, it will become even harder for someone else to claim credit for your work. As you build your personal brand and expand your sphere of influence, others will naturally associate you with the particular kinds of contributions you make. And hopefully, as you continue to set a good example by sharing credit where it’s due in turn, they’ll take your lead!

Joel knows how important it is for you to gain visibility for your hard work. Contact him to discuss how he can help you create a personal strategy for building your visibility and influence.

The post What to Do When Someone Takes Credit for Your Work first appeared on Career Advancement Blog.

4 Tips for Improving Work/Life Balance

“We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” ~ Arianna Huffington

A hectic work schedule, increased responsibility, new technology, and the need to read and respond to a daily deluge of email and voicemail place huge demands on your work life. With all this pressure, you might feel as if your work is a prison that you can never escape. More and more keeps coming at you. Your family also needs and demands your attention—and you don’t want to miss out on extracurricular activities, helping the kids with homework, and family time. How can you manage to do it all—without burning out?

In many workplaces, employees receive assignments from multiple people. You may find yourself pulled in various directions without understanding how to cope with the expectations of multiple people. Work/life balance might seem unattainable.

According to the World Happiness Report, work/life balance plays a central role in happiness. In other words, if you’re always stressed and rushed, it’s hard to feel truly happy. And yet the U.S. ranks 30 out of 38 nations in terms of work/life balance, according to a recent study by Family Living Today and NowSourcing.

Over a five-year span, one of my clients in the biotechnology field kept moving up through the ranks, from manager to senior manager to VP. His responsibilities and the number of decisions he had to make drastically increased. While he needed to make decisions quickly, it became more and more difficult to make the best ones. To thrive in this role, he needed to develop new skills for dealing with a never-ending stream of demands. He had to determine his most important priorities, along with when to say yes and when to say no. After he took the time to pinpoint his big-picture priorities and outline the stepping stones toward those goals, he grew confident in making bold decisions that would help the company achieve its objectives.

Whether you’ve been promoted or are just trying to cope with the relentless pressures of the modern work environment, learning new ways to handle it all will help you achieve that important balance. You need to begin with yourself, changing the way you think about the demands placed on you. Below are four work-life balance tips that will help you to follow through on what’s most important while not overloading yourself.

4 Tips for Balancing Work and Life
1.Set realistic goals.

Do you set lofty goals in the belief that even if you don’t meet them, you’ll still achieve impressive results? That sets you up to feel perpetually behind and always strapped for time. Reevaluate your goals, objectives, and timeframe, making them more realistic where needed. By doing so, you’ll make your workload more manageable. Determine for yourself how you’ll measure your success, too—that way, you’re not always trying to measure yourself by others’ standards (and obsessing about what those standards might be).

2. Underpromise and overdeliver.

You’ll feel great when you send that report to your boss two days early rather than struggling to get it in by deadline. Underpromising is a key secret of those employees who always seem to finish their work on time, without struggling. If you have trouble evaluating the true amount of time a project will require, try this strategy: Take the amount of time you were tempted to promise, then add on one-third of that time to give yourself the full span of time that you need. You’ll find balance in your working life as you use this tip, and that will give you more time to relax with your family!

3. Maintain a strong support network.

Communicating often with family and close friends about your priorities—and how much you value them—will help them understand your level of availability. They’ll continue supporting you when you consistently find small ways to show that you care, like making time for a lunch date with an old friend. In turn, you’ll reap the benefits of having strong social connections even when you have limited spare time.

4. Decide on family priorities.

Talk with your family to figure out which events and parts of your daily routine should be your highest priority as family time. Do you want to make sure to eat dinner together every day, always read the kids a bedtime story, or have a date with your partner once a week? Establishing routines gives everyone family time that they can count on, showing you that you can always depend on each other.

These tips for reaching work-life balance are a real game-changer, and you’ll soon find yourself with more energy and less overwhelm. Communicate with your boss—or bosses—to let them know that you’re working to improve your work/life balance. Emphasize that you feel your efforts will make you a more effective and productive employee by allowing you to better focus and prioritize. If they’re wise, they’ll support you in this endeavor—and encourage others to do the same!

Struggling to create work-life balance? Joel can help you to get where you want to go in your career while improving your quality of life. Contact him today to get the ball rolling!

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How to Influence others at Work

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” ~ Ken Blanchard

Haleigh had been working for months to enhance others’ perception of her. She felt like she was slipping under the radar and needed to increase her visibility in her organization. After taking on several high-profile projects and solving one major problem that had been troubling her boss, she knew she had met those goals. Now she found herself at an interesting juncture in her career: She was thriving in her role, and she felt certain that new opportunities were bound to open up soon. What should she focus on, now that she’d met those goals?

Perception and visibility are the two pillars supporting influence. In other words, they’re prerequisites for cultivating influence over others at work. Now that Haleigh had developed both of them, she was ready to start exerting her influence throughout her organization.

To recap on the first two components of the PVI model, ensuring that others have a positive perception of you gives people a reason to want to follow your lead. Having visibility ensures they know about you. When you have both of these qualities, influence will follow—if you have the confidence to exert it.

Influence—the third component of the model—does not depend on formal authority. No matter what position you hold, you can start growing your influence right now.

People of influence are the ones others come to for input on their big ideas.

Leaders with influence are the key players who make decisions that guide their organization’s future. They persuade others to believe in the ideas they support, and they’re easily able to gain the necessary buy-in and resources to launch ambitious projects.They’re the ones everyone hopes will advocate for their ideas, because when they speak, people listen.

Leverage your influence fully throughout the organization.

Fully leveraging your influence means reaching all key stakeholders. To influence those above you in the hierarchy, you need to have a strong level of confidence. You need to study what they find important and thoroughly understand the vision of the organization. Make their priorities your own.

Learn how to influence the key stakeholders above you.

Look for opportunities to speak one-on-one with them, such as those couple of moments walking down the hall after a meeting. Ask your boss or an advocate for introductions. Always be prepared to connect with them and mention key projects you’ve been working on and their results. Let them know your full value by describing problems you’ve solved and successes your team has achieved together.

Learn how to influence the employees below you.

To cultivate downward influence, radiate a belief in your people’s abilities and give them a certain level of autonomy in their work. Trust their skills and expertise, checking in now and then but not micromanaging. Be the supportive coach they can come to for guidance. Remind them of how their work ties into the company’s vision, so they’ll understand how much they’re contributing.Encourage them to pursue challenging projects and to step outside of their comfort zone at work. Influencing others will happen naturally when you become a trusted mentor, and they’ll be sure to value your feedback and ideas.

Learn how to influence your peers.

Building lateral influence will give you a network of colleagues you can turn to for assistance at any time. Collaborate across functions by pitching in to help people in other departments, seeking their input, and inviting them to take part in high-profile projects. Make sure you help them as much as they help you or more. Network with them outside of work, grabbing lunch or a drink, too. In doing so, you’ll cultivate strong relationships by making them feel valued—and by giving them exciting opportunities, you’ll show you’re someone who gets things done.

Once you’ve grown your influence, people will follow you because they want to, not because they feel they have to. That’s the only way to build true buy-in and commitment to your ideas!

Applying the PVI Model in Your Career

If you’re preparing to start using the PVI model of career advancement, work on growing others’ perception of you first to ensure that others respect you and your work. Then, focus on building your visibility so people know who you are. Finally, you’re ready to expand your influence in all directions through strategies like those described above—meaning you’ve truly become a leader!

You’ll gain a strong competitive advantage by leveraging the PVI model, and that’s when your career will really take off. Others will see you as a leader, whether you’re above or below them in the hierarchy. You’ll be seen as one of the most capable employees in your organization. When executives discuss who to nominate for the next promotion, your name is sure to come up. Your confidence will continue to grow as you successfully influence others at work and pursue ambitious projects. In these ways, the PVI model will help you to soar to the top ranks of your organization, while becoming the kind of leader you’ve always aspired to be.

Contact Joel for executive coaching so you can achieve your next level of success. Advancement is all about perception, visibility, and influence. Begin leveraging the PVI model to launch the next phase of your career.

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How to Increase your Visibility at Work

“Recognition happens when you see yourself from the inside-out: as someone who can make an impact on the world instead of navigating the impact the world has on you.” ~Justine Musk

Ascher, who worked in a medical technology firm, had been making an effort to enhance how others perceived him over the past six months. He felt certain his coworkers saw him in a positive light. Those who worked most closely with him had been commenting on his strengths. His presentation skills had dramatically improved, a colleague had said after their last meeting. So had his confidence. Yes! he’d thought to himself. My plan is working!

However, Ascher wasn’t getting the same comments from his boss, or his boss’s boss. It seemed he needed to do something differently. But what?

I sat down with Ascher and quickly got to the root of the problem. He’d enhanced his perception, but he needed to take the next step: Increasing his visibility in the organization.

You’ll never get ahead at work by lurking in the shadows.

And by remaining visible only to those who work directly with you, you’re doing just that. In every career path, there’s a level at which leadership skills and visibility play a much stronger role in promotions than job skills. To advance further, you need to actively promote yourself to ensure your visibility increases throughout every level of the organizational hierarchy.

Need to take risks to increase your visibility.

For example, you could tackle a tough assignment—maybe the one no one wants to do, because they all fear they’ll fail. Find out what’s most important to your boss as well as your boss’s boss, and seek out opportunities to volunteer for those projects. Pitch a novel solution to an issue that concerns them. You’re bound to increase your visibility and gain appreciation from such endeavors—as long as people know what you’re doing and hear about the results you get. Your work will not speak for itself!

Send your boss, your boss’s boss, and other key player’s periodic updates about your progress.

They will be just as excited about it as you. They’ll have a better sense of how much you contribute as a result. They will have key project updates and talking points to share at the leadership team meetings.

Through these strategies, you won’t just get noticed; you’ll also be remembered. You’ll make a strong impression that illuminates your strengths and the outcomes you achieve, so others will fully recognize the value you bring.

Ascher made a list of the key qualities he wanted leaders in his organization to associate with him. “Resourceful” and “innovative” topped the list. He set up a meeting with his boss to talk about his boss’s most important priorities and how he could help resolve persistent challenges. Since he knew his boss had long been struggling to track the results for a particular line of projects that was her brainchild, Ascher came up with an innovative system for doing just that. His boss was floored. This would help her to score points with higher-level leaders, and in turn, she became more invested in promoting Ascher’s success.

Like Ascher, look around for the opportunities to solve problems that others may have given up on fixing. Don’t hesitate to ask, too. For example, ask your boss this question: “If you could snap your fingers and have something that has been frustrating you suddenly start working, what would it be?” Search for ways that others in your industry or outside it have tackled similar problems. Seek out high-profile projects as well, especially those that align with your boss and other leaders’ priorities. Make your boss look good by getting outstanding results, and she’ll be in your corner when it comes to advancement opportunities. Your visibility will increase dramatically when your boss becomes one of your best advocates.

Joel can provide executive coaching to help you get on the fast track to cultivating perception, visibility, and influence at work. His expertise on the promotion process through visibility will propel your career to the next level. Contact him to propel your career to the next level by leveraging the PVI model.

6 vital workplace skills you’ll need to succeed in the future

“The day you convince yourself that you’ve mastered your craft or profession or even your relationships, is the day you cease to live.” ~ Carlos Wallace

Many employees believe that if they continue doing what’s expected of them, they’ll always have a job. However, with the major changes that are already occurring across countless organizations, that’s not necessarily the case. The workplace of the future will have a high level of automation, allowing many routine tasks to be handled by computers, meaning employees will need to work hard to update their skill sets in order to remain relevant.

As AI, robotics, and machine learning take on increasingly central roles within organizations, employees will need to focus more on skills in the interpersonal and decision-making realms. You may already be considering how to upgrade your own skill set in order to stay relevant. As a manager, take action now to make sure your organization maximizes the potential of all its people, helping them develop the most vital skills for their shifting roles and functions.

The following are some of the key skills of the future workforce that employees across a broad range of organizations will need to develop. Start training people now to fulfill those roles, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

1. The ability to interpret data.

Data is more available than ever, and that trend is only going to increase in the future workforce. Skills like understanding how to make sense of data and explain it to others will become invaluable. Most people can’t understand it without having someone to translate it and make recommendations for how it should influence organizational direction. Without an interpreter, data is merely noise. Having a strong understanding of how to analyze reports will help professionals in departments from finance to HR to help steer their organization in the right direction.

2. Critical thinking ability.

Utilizing data also requires strong critical thinking abilities, which will help employees craft valuable recommendations. Of course, critical thinking brings many other benefits as well, like the ability to consider which performance management system might work best for the organization or to evaluate which potential product might appeal to a given market. Enhancing their critical thinking ability will help employees make great decisions, trust their own judgment, and gain the trust of others. Challenge employees to articulate their rationale for a decision they propose, asking for concrete evidence to back it up, to help them get in the mindset of consistently engaging in critical thinking.

3. Excellent communication abilities.

Leveraging data requires not only the ability to understand data and think strategically, but strong communication skills as well. An employee who can translate reports into compelling arguments can help the organization make data-driven decisions grounded in clear evidence. Being succinct and brief with explanations, yet able to answer questions and engage in dialogue with the team, will make such an employee invaluable to colleagues, clients, and the company as a whole.

Wherever applicable, challenge your staff members to start taking on that role. Prompt them to speak up more at meetings, sharing their input and providing insights grounded in their specialized areas of knowledge.

4. Creative thinking skills.

The workforce of the future will heavily rely on creativity as well. Successful employees will use creative thinking to solve new problems that arise as a result of major organizational shifts and new technologies. Being open-minded and embracing change will allow creativity to flourish.

To help your employees develop their creative thinking ability, challenge them to solicit a diverse range of perspectives when solving a problem. Encourage them to engage in brainstorming exercises that generate outside-of-the-box solutions, then talk through which ones might be most feasible.

5. A high emotional IQ.

The most successful employees will also possess a great deal of empathy for others and a strong understanding of their own emotions. They’ll know what triggers feelings of stress and anxiety in themselves and how to address those feelings in healthy ways. Their empathy for others will help them to blossom into effective leaders because they understand and relate to the people they work with. As a result, they’ll be able to provide people with the best possible guidance and support. Emotional intelligence will also make them more persuasive to high-level leaders, clients, and peers, expanding their sphere of influence within all of those groups.

6. Proficiency in using the latest tools of their field.

This is by far the easiest skill to develop, but it’s vital nonetheless. Prompt employees to stay up to date on the latest tools used in their organizational function, so they’re able to work and collaborate as effectively as possible. Research which tools each department needs to have access to and provide them with those resources so everyone can work efficiently and stay well-versed on current trends.

To help employees enhance their skillsets, give them consistent mentoring and other resources that can help them develop their abilities. Provide workplace trainings that help cultivate their talent. When necessary, pair them with another mentor who has a particular type of knowledge. Your employees will be thankful that you’re helping them remain relevant and marketable through the coming changes, which in turn will encourage them to stay loyal and highly productive within your organization.

Joel can provide your organization with training and coaching that will help every employee channel their inner superstar. Contact him to learn how to get started.

Leadership in Turbulent Times: 9 Ways to Embrace Change

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” – Peter Drucker

Do you feel like you’re just treading water right now, trying to keep your team afloat? To lead through challenging times, you must embrace change. Never forget that disruption gives you an opportunity to rise to the top of your field.

My executive coaching clients have been going through the same thing as the COVID-19 crisis brings dramatic changes to workplaces everywhere. No one has all the answers to how to navigate this new situation, I assure them. We’re all working to create solutions step by step. Fortunately, all of the best minds are hard at work on that task, and we’re bound to create novel solutions together.

On a daily basis, I’ve been talking through solutions with the leaders I work with so they can maintain high morale despite the extreme disruption that’s been occurring. Fortunately, many key leadership principles that apply in any crisis are incredibly valuable here. Read on for nine key ways to steer your company to success amidst the great changes in progress.

1. Spend time reflecting.

Don’t react to change instantaneously. Rather, give yourself time and space to think deeply about how to handle the evolving situation. Reflect on what your employees need most in this moment, and what has the greatest importance to you in your life and work. Think about questions like these during a designated block of time once each week. Friday afternoon is a great time to reflect on the events of the past week and how to move into the coming week. This will help you define your key priorities and create exciting new ideas. Make reflection one of your top priorities, so you can navigate the changes wisely and with consideration for everyone involved. Your reflection time will allow you to think creatively, rather than staying in a state of constant fear and reactiveness.

2. Lead team brainstorming meetings.

Fire up your outside-of-the-box thinking by convening a meeting of the minds. Call your team together for a group brainstorming session, asking them all to chime in with ideas for dealing with a specific problem. Some people will bring more valuable input if you let them know the topic of the meeting in advance. Set a strict time limit, which boosts excitement, and encourage people to voice any ideas that arise rather than second-guessing themselves. With a tool like Slack, you can continue the brainstorming exercise after the session is disbanded—good ideas might keep arising after the meeting concludes.

3. Prompt others to give feedback.

Routinely ask your team for feedback on how you and your organization are managing the changes. Listen to their input and integrate it into your practices. Ask for feedback both on how you’re supporting them and on how the organization is coping with the change overall. You can also stay in tune with how they’re feeling by soliciting anonymous feedback. A virtual suggestion box or survey is a great option. By asking for feedback regularly, you’ll be able to better track your performance over time.

4. Take strategic risks.

To navigate change successfully, you need to step outside of your comfort zone. Tell inspirational stories about how others have achieved what seemed impossible by believing in themselves and pushing their limits. Hearing about the past successes of others—whether in the business field or a completely different realm—will bolster morale and make them feel excited about taking calculated risks.

5. Think about the big picture.

Cultivate an in-depth concept of how the current ambiguity affects each function in your organization. Think about your company’s vision and mission through the lens of what’s happening in the world now. Consider the most viable strategic direction to pursue, and which decisions will align best with your vision and mission. How can you bring your organization closer to fulfilling them, in light of the current context? Create a vision of how you can keep striving to achieve your big-picture goals while working with the changes at play.

6. Work with influencers.

Get the key influencers in your organization on board with your idea before you announce it to the group. That way, they’ll be poised to help you promote it to the people they work with most directly. They might also have valuable input that will help you fine-tune the plan—and getting their feedback will help them feel more invested in your ideas.

7. Assign action steps.

Give each individual an action step to take that will bring the group closer to the solution you’re striving toward. Let them know you need their help, acknowledging the specific skills they bring to the table. Ask managers to delegate responsibilities if appropriate, or ask for volunteers for particular duties. Everyone will then feel a sense of empowerment, and your team will launch into immediate action.

8. Nurture your rising leaders.

You may notice new leaders revealing themselves amid crisis. Help them grow their abilities by praising their efforts and giving them pointers. Some may not even realize they’re leading others until you let them know they’re doing so. Work to mentor your new leaders, pairing them with advisors, resources, and feedback that will further their growth.

9. Stay connected as a group.

Especially when working remotely, it’s easy to start feeling disconnected. Maintain a sense of unity by calling everyone together once a week to share your progress as a group. You can use a platform like Zoom for this purpose when you can’t be in the same physical space together. Keep a positive tone by emphasizing your wins and sharing success stories. Humorous anecdotes can go a long way toward inspiring comradery, too. Remind your team of what you’ve accomplished together in the past, and the hurdles you overcame along the way.

Celebrate every stepping-stone toward success, even the small ones. By raising morale, you’ll keep your team fully engaged and driving toward solutions. Be sure to praise those whose work has made a major impact, too.

With these strategies, you’ll keep your team solutions-focused and unified. Your team’s morale will continue to rise as they observe their progress, and you just might find lasting solutions that place you ahead of the competition!

How to Enhance others’ Perception of you at Work

 

“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.” ~Lou Holtz

Lily, who worked in an architecture firm, felt her career was stagnating. She’d believed she was a rising star, landing promotion after promotion, until—WHAM!—she crashed into a brick wall. Even though others continued advancing in their careers, she couldn’t seem to rise above the level she was at.

What happened? she wondered.

When I met with Lily to discuss why her career has been stalling, one thing became clear:

She failed to work on her PVI—perception, visibility, and influence. These three qualities are absolutely vital to getting ahead.

When you use these three powerful attributes together, they’ll propel you to the next level of success—and then to heights you may not have thought possible. The three steps of the PVI model build upon one another, so you need to implement them in order. Here, we’ll delve into step one: honing in on the art of influencing perception at work.

Step 1: Guide how others perceive you at work.

By controlling your own actions, you can shape how others perceive you. The first step is becoming aware of your actions, so you can understand whether they are giving others positive or negative perceptions of you. Your behaviors probably hold a mixture of both positive and negative connotations. Pinpoint the negative perceptions so you can zero in on how to change them, which will help you to build a positive perception of yourself among coworkers, subordinates, leaders, and other stakeholders.

Observe the behaviors of the most successful leaders you know. How do they conduct themselves at meetings? How do they interact with the people they manage? What are their work habits? How do they challenge themselves and take risks?

You can accomplish this goal by observing—and then modeling—the behaviors exhibited by the most successful people in your organization. Consider points like these:

Do they always arrive at work early?
Do they frequently introduce innovative ideas at meetings?
Do they take calculated risks?
How do they interact with others?

Ask yourself how closely your behavior models their own, especially regarding the key traits you want people to associate with you. Work to emulate them in the ways you want to grow, and you’ll be on your way to joining their ranks.

Despite your best efforts, you probably can’t fully understand how others view you on your own. To learn how others perceive you, ask for feedback from your boss, peers, and direct reports. That’s the best way to get really clear on the behaviors that might be hindering your progress. If you give a training, for instance, ask how you did. That way, you can continuously work to improve by modeling the behaviors you want others to associate you with. If you’ve gotten a bad reputation for anything you weren’t aware of, you can start changing it immediately!

Likewise, listen to positive feedback about your strengths, so you’ll know which ones to play up and enhance. You might even learn about strengths you didn’t realize you had. Once you know what they are, you can strengthen them further and—just as importantly—make them known. That’s how to make the impression you want to create.

Lily began to realize the extent of her leadership skills after asking for feedback. She realized she had all the raw material to become a high-level leader. For instance, one of her coworkers mentioned how good at sparking discussion she was. At meetings, she didn’t talk the most, but she’d ask pointed questions that would guide the conversation in a productive direction. As a result, their brainstorming sessions led to truly innovative ideas—results they never would have gotten if not for her. The coworker seemed surprised that Lily hadn’t realized what an asset she was in meetings. That was information that Lily could leverage when discussing her progress with her boss, and when meeting with a cross-functional team on a higher-profile project she hoped to take on.

Once you work to create a perception of yourself that highlights the main qualities you want people to associate with you, you’ll find more opportunities that take you to where you want to go. Remain conscious of how people perceive you at work as you move forward, because at every level of your career, you’ll need to continue enhancing how others view you. Warren Buffett has said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Beware of thoughtless mistakes that can nullify years of effort.

In the second and third parts of this series, we’ll delve into cultivating visibility and influence. Be sure to read them all, so you’ll fully understand how to leverage the PVI model!

Joel is a master of cultivating perception, visibility, and influence. Contact him today for personalized advice on how to leverage the PVI model in your career.

7 Quick and Easy Ways to Prioritize Your Mental health & Wellbeing

“It’s up to you today to start making healthy choices. Not choices that are just healthy for your body, but healthy for your mind.” ― Steve Maraboli

The spread of COVID-19 has brought dramatic changes upon workplaces around the world. Every day, I’ve been working with my coaching clients to help illuminate the best course of action. While I’ve been sharing a lot of advice on how to lead people remotely and engage in strategic planning, I can’t emphasize the importance of prioritizing your own wellbeing enough. Amid these changing times, all you can be certain of is yourself, and your own ability to respond to the challenges you face. All you can control is how you react to the situations you’re in. And that can make all the difference.

That’s the most pivotal piece of advice I can give my clients right now. Put your wellbeing front and center, and everything else will follow. The less stressed you are, the smarter you’ll think, as a recent Forbes article says, citing David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute. You’ll make better decisions in every aspect of life, from your health to your job. By staying healthy and lowering your stress level, you’ll think more clearly and have more energy, meaning you’ll do things more efficiently, think more creatively, and come up with better solutions to the challenges you face.

Prioritize your own wellbeing and learn how to best manage high-stress situations in order to lead your people through these trying times. Here are some choices that will help you achieve optimal mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

1. Connect with loved ones, friends, and coworkers.

If you’re feeling isolated—a common theme for many of us these days—reach out to those you care about, even if you can’t visit in person. Talk by phone or video chat with relatives you haven’t seen in a long time. Stay connected with coworkers even while working remotely, talking about how you manage the challenges you’re all facing. You’ll remain a strong team by supporting each other with ideas for how to navigate the changes you’re going through.

2. Limit your news consumption.

Watch or read the news at specific times in the day, and then focus on other things. While it’s important to know what’s happening in the world, dwelling on the negative for too long can lead to feelings of hopelessness, not to mention a lot of wasted time. Set a timer, if you need to, so you don’t tune into the news (or social media) for too long.

3. Use a stress-reduction technique.

Try one or more of the following stress-reducing ideas to manage your emotions so stress doesn’t dominate them. You’re bound to experience stress, but it doesn’t have to take over.

Implement a daily meditation routine to help keep yourself emotionally centered. Be patient—it can take some time to truly quiet your mind and reap the full benefits, although you may start experiencing a calmer state of mind fairly soon.
Talk through challenges with a mentor or trusted friend. Rather than keeping your feelings bottled up, acknowledge them to someone you trust. Then, discuss how to handle them, seeking input from the other person.
Keep a journal of how you navigate tough challenges. In moments of stress, you’ll then have clear examples of how you’ve handled other difficult situations.

4. Embrace ritual.

Create a ritual that marks the end of the workday and the beginning of free time. Especially while working from home, it’s vital to stay vigilant about guarding “you” time and family time. At 5 p.m. (or whenever you’ve decided to end your workday on a daily basis), leave your desk and start your ritual, whether it’s making a cup of decaf tea or stepping into the backyard to feel the sun on your face. Your ritual will then start reminding you to leave work behind when 5 o’clock comes around.

5. Eat well.

Try out a new recipe that you’ve been wanting to test out. Have themed dinner nights where the whole family helps cook. Make sure you’re eating balanced meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to boost your immunity and overall wellbeing. Give your body the fuel it needs for optimal mental and physical functioning.

6. Get plenty of sleep.

Now may be the time to indulge in a bit more sleep than usual. If you’ve been pushing yourself to the limits and sacrificing sleep, change that now. Get a full night of sleep—maybe even a little extra now and then.

7. Get moving.

Get your body moving, and your mind and health will both benefit. Go walking or jogging, or get out and go for a hike with the family. Try out a yoga routine, setting aside time each day for it. Do aerobics in the backyard. Play sports with your kids. You’ll find you have more mental clarity and feel better physically when you maintain an active lifestyle. Take breaks during the day to move around and stretch, so you’re not just sitting at a desk for the full day.

Try these ideas out this week, and take note of how they affect your life. Keep doing the things that you know are good for you, even if it takes some discipline. Soon they’ll become habits—things you do without thinking about it. Times of great transformation can be ideal for the creation of new habits. As your world and routine are shaken up, you can introduce new ways of doing things that ultimately make you stronger as a leader, and as a team.

Balance your Workload on High-Visible Projects

“I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.” ~ Carl Jung

Gabrielle had been working to take on the types of responsibilities needed to move up the ladder for a promotion. She was striving to increase her visibility by taking on high-profile projects. About a month in, however, she felt completely overwhelmed. She’d taken on two new projects that made up nearly half of her workload. Trying to balance everything, she felt terrified of failing and leaving her boss with the impression that she just wasn’t leadership material.

If you’ve been working to take on increased responsibility, you’ve probably felt like Gabrielle at times. You’re working to increase your output and the caliber of projects you carry out, building visibility and influence while excelling in your current job. Like Gabrielle, you might find yourself asking if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

It’s time to strategize about how to balance your workload. Whether you’re still preparing to take on increased responsibilities or you’ve already taken that step, answering these questions will help you tame the chaos in your schedule.

What are your key objectives for your current job?

You definitely don’t want to sacrifice your performance in your current job to your high-profile projects. Lest you get sidetracked from the important work of your current role, list your main objectives for your job. Next, list all of the tasks you do on a regular basis. Then list each of your tasks beneath one of the objectives. Do any tasks not fit under one of the objectives? If so, ask yourself if those ones are really necessary. Post your objectives somewhere visible to help you stay on task with your current job as you delve into higher-level projects.

How can you make more time in your schedule?

It may be time to delegate some of the work that’s on your plate. After all, the only way to clear more time for the high-profile projects is to eliminate some of the lower-order ones. Consider whether you can create a more efficient process for handling certain tasks. For example, lead management becomes easier with software that streamlines the whole process. If you clarify and tighten up a process that you want to delegate to one of your subordinates, it will become that much easier to hand off, too!

Eliminating other time traps is essential as well. Don’t answer each voicemail or email the moment it comes in, and change your open-door policy to set office hours.

When will you carry out the high-profile projects?

As you reprioritize, put high-priority work first. Assign yourself larger chunks of time for project planning and execution. That will give you enough time to wrap your brain around what you’re doing, get into strategy mode, and make noticeable progress. Choose the times when you do your best thinking. Make it as consistent as possible—three afternoons a week, for instance.

How will you optimize the time you spend on high-profile projects?

Find ways to recharge with more work life balance before you launch into your high-profile project time. Take a walk as you let the creative juices start flowing. Rehydrate. Eat a healthy snack. By nourishing your brain and body, you’ll let the great ideas flow.

Transcend your limitations to engage in visionary thinking, asking yourself these questions:

“What ideas would I implement if I were CEO of this company?”
“What would have the greatest impact on our overall performance?”
“What new strategies for carrying out this project could we explore?”

Some of your ideas may feel risky, but that’s the point. Anything worthwhile breaks new ground and risks not being accepted by everyone. It also has the potential to take the organization to places most people never thought it could go. Without making your ideas heard, you’d never find out.

How will you demonstrate leadership in your high-visibility projects?

Tackling large projects alone is a surefire way to stress yourself out. It’s time to start managing projects like the leader you are. Built a cross-functional team to carry out your great idea. By this point, hopefully you’ve already been building a rapport with people across departments, so you can call upon them at moments like this. Get them excited about your project, describing how it will benefit them individually and assuring them that you’ll give credit where it’s due. Smart colleagues will want to join a winning team, knowing it will raise their visibility too!

Are you prepared to carry out all of your ideas?

To keep your workload balanced, know your limits, and unveil your ideas strategically. If you have five ideas that you’d love to pursue, you might want to pitch your best two first. Share the ones you have time and energy to implement—and the ones that could give you the broadest exposure. Otherwise, you could see coworkers carrying out one of your great ideas because you simply didn’t have time to do it all. There are certainly worse situations to be in—if others believe in your ideas, it shows you have influence. But if you become more distanced from that project, you’ll probably receive less credit for it in the long-run.

As you begin to do the job you want, rather than the job you have, you’ll find deeper fulfillment in your work. Study leadership techniques to strengthen your leadership skills and presence along the way. And remember, as people increasingly turn to you for input or assistance, say yes to only the opportunities you have time and energy for. The number one person you’re accountable to is you!

Joel loves to help his clients achieve the career advancement opportunities they deserve. In fact, he’s been doing that for 20 years. Contact him today to begin your career progression.