I want to comment on is how HARD
it is to be a leader right now…

…AND the fact that because everything
is crappy (customers aren’t spending,
everyone is struggling, budgets are
shrinking and decisions are frozen) –

Real Leadership, right now, is more
important than ever. 

One of the big aha’s in my own career
was to realize just how much of doing
your job as a leader has nothing to do with what you are supposed to deliver. 

Don’t get me wrong, you still need to deliver, but dealing with all the crap that gets in the way of doing what you are supposed to deliver is what your job actually is, and where leadership really kicks in.

Let me give you an example:

You are multi-level manager in a corporation.  Your goals include keeping the current business going, while taking on new initiatives which are either transformational or to enable new revenue streams (or both) — without sacrificing short term revenue.

You had a plan.  It was approved.  You were going to re-organize a little, hire some new people, and brilliantly execute on both the current and new initiatives. 

Then the world changed. 

Now hiring is frozen, your budget is frozen, and in fact you are facing the need to downsize.  You are waiting for decisions to be made from above, which will hopefully unfreeze things…

But no real relief has been given on the schedules or the goals in the mean time, and you don’t know how long you will be waiting for answers.  Everyone is worried, motivation is waning, and progress has stalled. 

In this situation it can be tempting to wait for clarity, and wait for the roadblocks to be cleared so you can then “get back to doing your job”. 

But as a leader you need to realize that proactively dealing with this lousy situation IS your job: 

• Coping…not getting paralyzed, making decisions without all the information.
• Still finding a way to focus precious few resources on new initiatives.
• Implementing cutbacks in a way that you can still execute on the current business. 
• Not to mention communicating, motivating, and selling your plan along the way…
• And going the extra mile to re-engage the team and retain your top performers. 

Whew!

Here is what I do in this type of situation:

1. Victim time:  First, I find someone I can complain to.  Really.  Don’t skip this step.    No one is a superhero.  It’s important to get it out of your system, if for no other reason to know the difference between what complaining and doing feels like.  Your spouse will get sick of this, and you can’t use your team, so it’s good to find a peer, or a coach, or a mentor.

 I give myself a allotted amount of time to complain about how hard everything is.  (~1-2 hours once/ 1-2month(s)).

I go on about how I am being prevented from doing my job, how if I could control my own budget I could be creating value, how I am losing ground against the competition because I am by being blocked.  Basically everything that is other people’s fault!

It IS hard and it IS crappy.  So give yourself some victim time.  But time-limit it, and then move on briskly.

2. Get to the Doing: A big part of overcoming paralysis and discouragement is taking action that results in forward progress.  Even if it’s not your grand plan, make sure that everyone wakes up in the morning with something to DO. 

Leaving people wondering about what they should be doing is one of the biggest demotivators and invites extra-negativity.  Even if the end goal is no longer clear, pick an intermediate outcome that is useful, and get people working on it. 

Even if you have to throw away some work later, it’s still better than just waiting and worrying – and if you really think about it, you will find at least some stuff to do that will create value in any outcome.

3. Re-Plan:  In absence of answers, and with a growing reality that you are not going to get more money – build your new plan.  Here’s a rough cut:  Focus 20% of your resources on the new initiatives.  Now.  Then implement a 20% budget cut on the existing business to pay for it.

Even in good times, it’s your job as a leader to take cost out of doing the same things you did last year. (see also Better with Less.)  But in times like this it is vital or you will get stuck. 

And just think, if you get more money after all, you will be 20% more efficient and can apply the extra resources to winning vs. maintaining existing infrastructure.

Real leadership in ugly situations is hard and it’s lonely. 

If it doesn’t feel hard, you may be reacting to conditions and working on tactical things instead of leading.  If it doesn’t feel lonely you are probably not owning the decisions you need to make.

The uglier the situation, the more Leadership helps.

Just keep in mind that creating positive outcomes in bad environments will benefit your team and your business greatly.  And it will add significant career capital to your resume.  It’s so much easier to say, this is what I DID in this very difficult time, vs. note how I was present when the whole company grew fast.

I built my career on several turn-arounds, and I found the ugly experiences to be the most compelling and the most useful to my own leadership, even applied to growing businesses.

So, remember – It may feel lonely, (especially if you are doing it right!) but remember, you are making a big difference if you choose to be positive and to lead through this difficult time, and this IS the job.  Hang on, and focus on driving positive, specific actions.  Lead – it’s really worth it!

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Other recent posts:

An Interview with Jack Mollen

This week I had the opportunity to interview
Jack Mollen, Executive VP of HR for EMC,
on the topic of Preserving Your Value,
for my Azzarello Group monthly member call. 
It was a great session!

Download a Podcast of this Interview

                                       TOP 10 IDEAS 
                            JACK MOLLEN SHARED WITH US

YOU Own Your Career Development  

1.  Your career development is up to YOU.   You should never get surprised about how much you or your role is valued.   It is up to you to get feedback, stay informed, understand the business and technology, and continuously develop and upgrade your skills.

Add Value to the Business

2.   Delivering excellent results is entry stakes – there is no way around that.  You need to understand what drives the business and add real value.

3.  The best leaders are not distracted by noise and activity.  They have an ability to relentlessly focus on the few critical priorities which have the biggest impact on the business.

Communicate

4.  The best leaders are able to motivate the team and communicate the business strategy and the critical priorities in a way people can relate to.  They do this through speeches, informal discussions, meetings, blogs, and most importantly listening.  Communicating well is a big deal.

Think Global

5.  It’s important to realize that we are in a global economy.  It’s not just your company that is global.  YOU are part of a global community.  Embrace this. Understand how to get value from, and add value as an individual, on a global scale.

6.  Companies are optimizing their workforces to take advantage of talent globally. Global expansion is not just about cost reduction — it’s about optimizing talent. 

Embrace Technology

7.   You need to understand technology.  You need to know the difference between being a high value knowledge worker vs. doing a task that can be replaced by technology. 

8. You need to upgrade your skills, and specifically get involved in Web 2.0 social networking. Learn about it, use it. Get involved.  This is critical to preserving and increasing your value.  Jack realy emphasized this point.

Connect and Share Knowledge

9 .  Value is created by sharing knowledge.  Visibility is created by sharing knowledge.  Informal leaders are emerging by creating thought leadership online through Web 2.0 blogs and social networks. 

10.  Do not underestimate the value of this and the need to jump in. Think globally.  Share information.  Build your network.  Much of the best thinking (and the most valuable people)  in the organization is being found in online discussions and networks.  

Thank you again to Jack Mollen for a great session!

Download a Podcast of this session.

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Whether you are looking for a
better job or to protect the one you have…

You need to take control of your career,
and make sure you are not getting stuck
on these common career hazards.

#1.  YOU ARE TOO BUSY

Working too hard can get you stuck. 

If you are consistently working really hard and delivering great results, but consume all of your time doing it, you will not stand out as a top performer. You will be seen as a “workhorse”.

One of the biggest factors in increasing your value is that you are able to get out of “workhorse mode” and show that you can get on top of the workload, lead, think strategically, and take on more.
(and you’ll enjoy your life more too.)

Two realities:

• No one other than YOU has any motivation to make you less busy.

Your boss, your company, your peers, your team, only benefit from your tireless output. Why would they want to help you stop giving them the benefit of your hard work?

• Successful people were not the ones who were less busy along the way – they were the ones who figured out how to deal with it.

You have to find a way to not get fully consumed by the activities of your job, but still deliver results really well, AND make room for more.   No one will do this for you, it’s up to you.

#2. THE DECISION MAKERS DON’T KNOW YOU

People often fail to get recognized by the decision makers in their own company. Whey they are ready for a promotion, they feel like the need to go to a new company to get it.   When there are layoffs, they feel very exposed because they are invisible to upper management.
 
There’s a simple reason. At a new company you are given an opportunity to sell yourself to the decision makers. The trick is to create that same opportunity in your current environment.

Building credibility and positive visibility is critical.  But it’s not about politics either.  That can backfire. 

You need to understand who all of your stakeholders and influencers are and create appropriate connections with them. 

You need to build a strong Personal Brand through excellent work and consistent behaviors.  You need to establish positive, constructive communications and relationships in a non-political and non-annoying way.  You need to do your work in a manner that creates positive visibility for yourself and your team. 

The more visible you are, and the more credibility you have built, the more valuable you are to your team and your company. 

#3 NOT ON “THE LIST”

This is related to #2 but there is more to it.

If you are targeting a top spot there is only one way to get it — You need to be on the short list of people who are considered for the job.
 
There is always a List. If you’re not on it, no amount of hard work and results are going to get you that opportunity.

You need to find out how this works in your environment, and get yourself on the List of people who are being considered for what you want to go after. 

#4. AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

Many people are afraid to ask for help because they think they will be viewed as less competent. 

If you are advancing your career, by definition, you will be in over your head from time.  All successful people have moments when they don’t know what they are doing. If your career is growing and you feel terrified, you are doing it right!  — as long as you get help.

Asking for help can actually signal high competence if you do it in a productive way. The last thing a manager wants is to have you suffer and struggle, and not get the job done.

Asking for help builds trust, and getting the job done well builds value and confidence.  Suffering alone and failing breeds disappointment.

I have seen people who’s egos prevent them from getting help when they are struggling.  It’s not pretty.  It often signals the end of their career growth, and either gets them on the unfortunate, don’t consider-List, or on top tier for the layoff list.

Never fail alone. 

Get as many mentors as possible. It makes an enormous difference.

#5.  NOT GETTING THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE 

Don’t leave this to chance. 

It’s very important that you don’t expect your current job to provide all the experience you will need for your next one.  

You can burn a lot of time in the same job failing to get new experiences.   A friend of mine once put it – make sure you are getting six years of experience in six years, not 3 years of experience twice!  

The most common mistake people make is to get experience in all the stuff that your target job manages – this wastes a lot of time and means you are getting experience in everything BUT the job you want.  You need to develop opportunities to get experience in the actual job you want before you have it!

This is another reason why it important to make room in your current job, and not be continually overwhelmed by the activity of it.  You need to nail your current job, but do it in less time, so that you can spend the extra time building your experience base for your future role.

#6 MISSING THE REAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIGGER JOBS

Many people make the mistake of thinking that excelling in their current job will qualify them for a bigger one, or that talking about past successes alone will impress people.

It’s important to understand that relying on your current and past success is not enough.

You need to show how you will lead differently in a new role with a bigger scope, which requires a completely different leadership strategy to succeed.

What you value, how you lead, and what you measure, all need to change.

This is why #5 is so important – you need to get experience in the job you want before you go after it, even if you don’t have the title yet. That way you’ll learn all the things that are actually involved in doing the bigger job well, and be ready to talk about it, and win it, when the opportunity comes along.

WANT SOME HELP WITH ALL OF THIS?

If you want to a better job, or to protect the one you have, I invite you to attend one of my Career Building Workshops. 

The next ones are in Feb and March, and there is a discount if you register by Feb 1.

You’ll get to spend a day with me, and network with peers from other companies, and most importantly, learn what you need to do to build your own plan for your career success.  

I hope you’ll join me.

Patty

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Are you visible?

How can you  show yourself at the head of the pack?

If you are invisible you are in danger,
so you need to create positive visibility
for yourself.

If you are visible you are being judged,
so you need to manage how you are perceived.

Here’s an example:

When you give a presentation to upper management, you probably spend a bunch of time on the content.

You make sure you have your story together — that there are no holes.  You plan your strategy for what you are asking for, and you make sure it’s supported by the data.  You stay up all night working on your slides…

But as much as you plan and craft your content, it is only a fraction of what your audience is paying attention to.

Probably half or more of their brainpower is going into a fairly harsh judgment of YOU.  And that judgment is this:

Out?  Ignore?  Or Promote?

It really is that clear cut.  It’s kind of like the Gong Show – remember, the act comes on and after a few seconds of performing they either get to proceed because they are doing OK, or they get “Gong’ed” off the stage.

Out: If you do not capture your audience in a strongly positive way, part of their brain will be tolerating your content but the other part will be thinking, We should ultimately move this person out to free up a headcount for someone better.

Ignore: If your presentation is fine, dull, clear, but un-compelling, part of their brain will be thinking, OK this makes sense, but you will remain lost in a sea of workers, unremarkable and easy to ignore, vs. a leader that stands out.

Promote: If your presentation is excellent, in both content and delivery, you will register as someone to watch, to pay attention to – someone to promote.

Even if you are not looking for a promotion, it’s important to strive for that last judgment. It’s more important that they want to promote you than for you to want a promotion.  There is no category in the mind of upper management for “great, but standing still”.

What counts:

The quality of the content counts, but other things count too — A LOT.  Things such as your ability to:

• Communicate your ideas in a clear, compelling way, make it relevant
• Get to the point, not be boring, not go on and on about details
• Show personal gravitas, strong personal presence
• Show confidence vs. defensiveness
• Deal with hecklers, don’t get drawn off track

.
If you’re naturally good at these things, you are a step ahead of the game.

If you are not naturally good at this there are things you can and need to do.

You really need to put as much thought into HOW you will deliver your presentation as you do about what is IN your presentation.

Here are some ideas to scale up your delivery skills:

1) Plan and practice your opening line.  Think about your audience and what they care most about.  Make sure that you have an opening line that connects with what they specifically care about, and rehearse it.

2) Don’t bury the lead:  what is most interesting, exciting or important?  The brilliant archaeology of how you got there doesn’t matter — put it in the backup.

3) If you have slides, rehease and opening line and a closing line for each slide – actually write them and build a practice version of your presentation with slides that precede and follow each slide with your key point on them. Step through the presentation making only the key, take-away points.

4) Give them very clear choices, and make it really easy for them to do what you need them to do.

5) Be Memorable. Find a funny story or a personal relatable hook to your audience.  This can be at the beginning, middle or end,  as it suits your desired outcome and content.

Related Resources:

• Standing Out (Podcast)
• Executive Presence
• Your Personal Brand (Podcast)
• Preserving Your Value (Podcast)

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