Rise Quotes

“Here’s how to advise your executive and negotiate the workload: Keep a list of everything your boss asks for. Keep a list of the top strategic priorities you are working on. Have regular meetings with your boss where you take out these lists. Make recommendations about what to prioritize, based on the context of business and the content of these two lists. When you show your boss these lists, several things happen: He gets embarrassed, as he hadn’t realized he had asked for so many things. When he sees it spelled out right there in front of him, he can see it’s unreasonable. You win lots of credibility for keeping the list, catching everything, and not dropping anything. You make him comfortable that you’ve got it covered. He trusts you. You can ask him “Is this still important?” You will find he has forgotten about several of the requests and has decided that others don’t matter anymore. You will realize that you are not beholden to everything on the list! You will be able to negotiate time lines and suggest priorities.”
― Patty Azzarello, Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life

“it’s not about doing the work, or even worrying so much about the content of the work anymore. It’s about growing an organization beneath you that can get the work done even better than you could do it.”
― Patty Azzarello, Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life

“Trying to do everything may avoid some conflict and arguments in the short term but sets you up for failure in the long term.”
― Patty Azzarello, Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life

“Why is delegating so hard? Usually, it’s because you don’t trust the person to deliver as well as you can. Or you don’t want to lose control of how it’s done. Or you think it will take too much time to show someone else how to do it. Get over it. You will never add enough value to the business if you get stuck doing work for your team. It might be easier in the short term, but it’s less effective in the long term, and it’s unsustainable. That way of working will kill you. Effective delegating is a must.”
― Patty Azzarello, Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life

“No one cares how hard you work. It’s about results. Not taking vacations is not something to be proud of nor is it a precursor to great success. This is really only a sign of being so out of control at work that you are demonstrating you are someone who can’t plan and prepare enough to take a week off.”
― Patty Azzarello, Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader, and Liking Your Life