YOUR BUSINESS
Mentor or Godfather?
I was having a conversation with Barbara Nelson, a friend and colleague about the different kinds of mentors and the different roles they play in your success. She agreed to share her point of view on how this really works by writing the lead article in this issue. Enjoy.
By Barbara Nelson, CEO Neoscale, Inc.
A good mentor/champion can make all the difference in your career. There are a lot of people who are talented and work hard, but only a few of them get the top jobs. Why?
YOUR PEOPLE
Your team: is it really working for you?
It’s no secret that having a great, high performing team is good for your success, but I think every manager at some point has had an experience where their team just isn’t working. It can be the overall structure of the team or specific individuals who are sucking the life out of the system.
It occurred to me only recently that I always had a great team -- my teams always told me, “this is the best team I’ve ever been on”, -- for a long time I took this for granted.
But when I reflected on what I did, I realized there was a set of steps that I did over an over again.
I was using a repeatable formula that works really well
...to get the right people in the right roles, and get everyone focused, aligned, and motivated to deliver.
Here’s how I have done it:
YOUR VISIBILITY
Your Secret Admirers (or detractors)
In the April 2007 issue, I talked about developing communication plans with your stakeholders, and listed the usual suspects.
Here I want to make the point that it’s important to really think broadly about who all the people are who can have an impact on your success.
Missing the boat on this can create big obstacles. Don’t leave it to chance. Here are some key groups you need to pay attention to.
YOUR LIFE
Your family: what do they think you are doing?
A big part of my approach is to find a way to integrate the energy you put in your work into your life, in a way that your life "works".
Getting desired outcomes clear with your family about what you are doing and why can have a very big impact on your success, or if it is not clear, it can be an enormous source of frustration and energy drain.
I hope you have found a few useful ideas that you can apply right away to start building value in your career and business.
Let’s keep the discussion going.
Please contact me if you have feedback, on these topics.
And please let me know I can help you with your career or business.
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About Patty
Patty Azzarello became the youngest general manager at Hewlett Packard ever at the age of 33. She ran a $1B software business at the age of 35 and was a CEO for the first time at the age of 38.
Patty Azzarello is the CEO of Azzarello Group, www.AzzarelloGroup.com a unique services organization that works with companies to develop and motivate their top performers, and with individuals to build success in their business and career, based on a systematic leadership approach she created from her personal experience.
