Infogrinder Blog

It’s fun to dress up at Halloween and pretend to be someone that we’re not! But in our everyday and professional lives, it’s important to take off the masks and acknowledge who we really are and what we really want.

Understanding yourself is a powerful lever. Before you can lead and manage other people effectively, you need to be able to manage yourself. Acknowledge reality. Be honest with yourself and decide to learn the truth.

Understand your own values, beliefs, attitudes and perceptions.
The lens through which you view the world determines your reality and drives your behaviour. We don’t even realize how much we’re shaped by our experiences, and we forget that we don’t all view the world the same way.

When you understand yourself, you’ll better understand why you respond to people, events and things the way you do. You’ll start to recognize when your judgment is being clouded by your biases, or when your behaviour is being driven by emotion. You’ll become more aware of your reactions so that you can adjust your behaviour and make better decisions.

Decide what you really want.
Not what you think you ‘should’ or ‘ought to’ want, or what you think your friends, family, partner, or parents expect from you. Or even what you ‘expect’ from yourself. What do you truly want? Take some time to answer this question — it’s that important.

Knowing your own priorities puts you in the driver’s seat so you are running your life, and your life is not running you. You have a basis for prioritizing and assessing how you spend your time. Does this take me closer to my goals? What value does this provide to me? Does my current work-life balance give me what I want?

Tony Robbins contrasted the science of fulfillment with the art of achievement. He said we often set goals to achieve certain things, but once we’ve reached those goals we’re still not happy. What we really want is to achieve a state or feeling. That’s what brings fulfillment.

For example, I’ve always said I want to own a cottage by the lake. But do I really want a cottage, or do I want to be able to spend a few weeks in the summer on the water with my family enjoying time together? If the latter, there are many more ways to achieve that goal without buying a cottage.

Make a commitment to own the goal.
Write down the goal. Look at it every day. Acknowledge the reality of what will be necessary to achieve the goal and the value that it will provide to you.

Even if at this stage you don’t have a clue how to get there, drive and determination to succeed will overcome many obstacles and roadblocks. When you’re focused on a goal and committed to it, you start to notice opportunities you hadn’t seen before. You start to change things little by little to align with your goal. What can I put in place now that will help me get what I want later?

Take off your mask.
Acknowledge who you are and what you really want. It’s not always easy, and can take some time, but there’s a huge sense of relief that comes from finally taking off the mask. You’ll have less stress and internal dissonance.

So take that first action. One step at a time. And you’ll be well on your way to leading yourself – and others – more effectively!

Find out more by reading BETTER: Elevate Your Thinking and Lead for Success.

Recently promoted to a management position? New managers often feel excited, ready to take on new responsibility, but a little overwhelmed. One comment I hear often is “How do I balance everything?”

When you were an independent contributor, you had only your own work to complete. As a manager, though, your job is to get work done through others. Now you are accountable for ensuring your subordinates’ work gets done, as well as your own. Here are some tips to help you gain leverage and get the right things done.

1 – Understand the value you’re expected to deliver.
You’ve been put in charge for a reason. Talk to your manager to ensure you understand the results he or she expects from you. Be specific. Ask questions. Don’t assume you know already. What you think is best for the company may not be what your boss wants from you. In the end, it will be your manager who determines whether or not you’ve delivered value.

2-Focus on the work that adds most value.
The 80-20 rule says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the work; 80% of the profit from 20% of the customers. In other words, you gain leverage, and multiply the results of your efforts, when you focus on the 20% that provide the most value. Use this rule to help you prioritize. Focus your group’s efforts on the work that delivers the most value.

3-Delegate.
You may have been promoted because you were very good at your old job. If you are a ‘doer’, it can be tough to let go and trust other people to get the work done. You may think you can get it done faster or better by doing it yourself. But delegation is the key to getting more done, and provides an opportunity for your people to develop their skills. You gain leverage when you delegate the work that can be done effectively by someone else.

Start by clearly communicating the desired outcome. Once again be specific. Don’t make your employees guess what you want. Otherwise they may guess wrong.

I once asked my partner to prepare a home-cooked meal. In my mind, this means a meat, starch, green vegetables and a salad. So what did he do? Pop a frozen pizza in the oven. In his mind, that WAS a home-cooked meal.

Identify any special requirements, deadlines, and how often you want them to report progress. Then let the employee figure out how to do the work, and come back to you with a plan. They’ll be more engaged, and more likely to take ownership.

I’ll write more about the delegation process in another blog.

4 – Relax and enjoy!
Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve worked hard to earn this promotion, so don’t expect you’ll know everything right away!

Which manager are you? Would your people agree?

When deadlines loom and workload increases, stress levels rise and people tend to start snapping at each other, and, as my grandmother used to say, running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

What simple thing can you do as a leader to help your team deliver under pressure?

When you’re able to stay calm and think clearly, you reduce the stress and enable the team to stay focused on the goal and work together more effectively.

You influence others. Your employees and colleagues are aware of how you conduct yourself, how you interact with your employees and with people in other parts of the organization. They watch what you do and listen to what you say about your managers, your stakeholders, your customers and your suppliers. As a leader you have enormous impact.

You set the tone for what’s acceptable. If you condone or tolerate behaviour that creates conflict and stress, you encourage a dysfunctional workplace culture. Bad behaviour can be deep-seated throughout the organization and require more to fix it than making a few personnel changes.

Gain leverage by being nice. Being nice does NOT mean being soft, passive, or a pushover. It does NOT mean trying to please everyone or get everyone to like you. Being nice means being firm, tough, and holding people accountable, yet still treating them with courtesy and respect. Being nice means getting them to do what you want without being nagging, intimidating or rude. Being nice means providing clear, direct communication that lets people know what’s expected and where they stand.

Model and encourage behaviours that foster a collaborative environment with less stress and conflict. People will communicate, cooperate and work together more effectively to deliver value.

And after all, as a leader, your job is to deliver more and more value over time, for less and less effort. You’re already good at what you do. Now Be BETTER.

Carol B. Martin is the author of “BETTER: Elevate Your Thinking and Lead for Success.” Get your copy on Amazon. Become a better leader, build stronger teams, and get more results with less effort. #BeBETTER

I was 15, and had just received my driver’s learner’s permit. My mom took me out in our 1970 Chrysler New Yorker, a huge boat of a car. While I drove, she sat in the passenger seat, giving instructions, and nervously gripping the arm rest. Every so often, if I didn’t react fast enough for her, I’d hear a hissing intake of breath or her feet stomping on an imaginary brake pedal.

There was so much to pay attention to! First the mechanics of driving. How to steer and turn. How to apply just enough pressure to the brake pedal to come a complete stop without giving us whiplash. Add road signs, traffic lights, other traffic, and pedestrians to the mix and it quickly became mind boggling.

In time, I mastered the mechanics and could focus more on anticipating other drivers’ movements. This is where my mom’s experience and guidance proved invaluable. She taught me how to anticipate trouble and how to avoid it. How did this help me at work?

1 -I’ve learned to pay attention when a driver in front of me is changing lanes frequently because he’s likely to make more sudden moves.

At work: Your new hire has changed jobs frequently in the last five years. Although you want to overlook these as isolated occurrences, they could be a pattern. Watch for changes in behaviour that may indicate he’s job searching: longer lunches or dressing up more than usual; leaving work early or coming in late. Be prepared. Keep a pipeline of talent, and cross-train a backup so you’re not left in the lurch if he makes a sudden move.

2 -I’ve learned to slow down when I see salt trucks on the highway because this means the roads are becoming icy and dangerous.

At work: Your manager is spending much more time in closed door meetings. Something is up. You may not know what’s happening, but now is probably not a good time to slack off.

3 -I’ve learned to anticipate that pedestrians glued to their cell phones might not look to see if cars are coming when they cross the street.

At work: The last time you worked with this client, she was very busy and hard to reach. Don’t expect things to miraculously change this time. Take time to discuss what you expect of each other, when and how best to communicate. Schedule meetings well in advance. Put buffer in your schedule to allow for delays.

Pay attention. Be vigilant. Watch out for predictable problems. Nip them in the bud, before they can affect your work.

Why? So that you are not surprised as badly. Because you will be surprised.

Thanks, Mom, for that lesson and so many others that have made such a difference in my life.
Happy Mother’s Day.

Learn more in BETTER, now available on Amazon in the US or in Canada.