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#BestofFSCBlog : #Leadership – 7 #LeadershipMistakes To Avoid. Great REAd!

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It’s that time of year again—time for everyone, young and old, to make resolutions to better themselves in the upcoming year. And, taking a look at the resolutions lists we write, a lot of people tend to focus on positive “dos”—actions to take or new habits to form so that their health, attitude, or workplace is better in 2016. But undertaking a new action isn’t always quite enough to net a positive change. Think of it this way: just because you’ve resolved to take the stairs every day doesn’t mean you’ll lose very much weight if you don’t ditch your afternoon Snickers bar.

So we’ve got a different take on resolutions. What if you focus on breaking old bad habits instead? We’ve compiled a list of mistakes you won’t want to make next year if being a better leader is on your list of resolutions, and we challenge you to avoid these seven leadership mishaps throughout 2016. Your team (and company) will thank you.

1. Only focusing on the big picture

It’s true—great leaders communicate the big picture vision. It’s how they inspire people to strive for goals that are far off into the future, or still somewhat vague. But the best leaders also know that it’s a rookie mistake to fail to outline small goals for their people to achieve along the way. Creating smaller milestones helps leaders measure progress and reward results as the big picture comes more into focus. Don’t make the mistake of only communicating the high-level vision. Instead, plan out a path to success so your team has a roadmap instead of just a destination.

 

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2. Not delegating the work

This one’s a classic. Everyone’s had at least one micro-managing boss who is overly absorbed in small details and too controlling to allow team members to take the reigns. Avoid this pitfall by delegating work smartly. Give team members assignments according to their interest and expertise—or, even try letting them volunteer for tasks themselves. It will communicate your trust to the team, and alleviate tensions that result from heavy-handed management.

3. Failing to applaud small wins

Every big win is an accumulation of many smaller wins. So why would you let those everyday successes slip by unnoticed? Keep a stack of cards at your desk so you can write a thank-you note when someone goes above and beyond for you. Bring in a treat for the team when you know they’ve been pulling some extra weight. Your appreciation will go a long way. In fact, research shows that timely, meaningful recognition is the no. 1 thing that empowers employees to do great work.

4. Communicating poorly

There are a lot of ways to fall in this category. Wordy emails, lack of transparency and oversight, not having an open door policy…these are all surefire ways to be a bad communicator. Work on your communication skills—from your management style to your attitude—and you’ll see a transformation happen within the team. Leaders who are good communicators inspire action and innovation, and foster the kind of teamwork and creativity that drive results.

5. Setting yourself apart

The worst leaders are the ones who believe they’re better than everyone else—and they don’t bother to hide it. To avoid giving this impression, take the time to get to know teammates. Learn about who they are, their families and passions, and what drives them. Organize team lunches and team building activities. You could even simply move out of your corner office so that you’re closer to the team in the work environment. When teams know and trust one another, great things happen. And the first step to getting there is leading by example, and showing that teamwork and camaraderie are priorities.

6. Discouraging innovation

Maybe you try to be supportive of creativity, or you encourage team members to weigh in on important decisions. You may think that you’re fostering innovation. But if you’re not giving people room to tinker, try things out, and make mistakes, then you’re not really opening the door to true innovation. Be vocal about which projects your team can take their time on and really try to innovate new solutions for—and when (not if, since occasional failure is inevitable) things don’t work out, be supportive instead of upset. Your team will see that you’ve got their backs, and they will bring their best knowing you support them.

7. Forgetting to celebrate the milestones

Given the hectic schedule of 21st century professionals, you may think it’s not a big deal to forget a birthday or work anniversary here or there. But it is. In fact, it’s inexcusable, especially given the whole suite of organizational tools and apps you can use for reminders. If you’re still not on the tech train, write the important dates on a team calendar and post it somewhere everyone can see it on a daily basis. Research shows that milestones are important occasions to celebrate and appreciate your coworkers—employees of all generations around the globe agree. Learn how to show your appreciation appropriately, and you’re well on your way to becoming a fantastic leader.

Becoming a great leader isn’t all about the resolution list of “dos”. Eliminate these “don’ts” first to see the biggest impact. You may be surprised at how effectively they boost your team’s ability to collaborate, innovate, and deliver great work throughout 2016 and beyond.

Learn more about the NYT Bestselling book Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love.

 

Forbes.com | January 8, 2016 |  David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom

#Leadership : 9 Things #Employees Hate Most about their #Bosses …. According to a Recent Poll, 91% say Communication Issues Can Hurt their Relationship With their #Boss.

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If you’re getting the sense thatyour employees secretly hate youand you’re wondering why, it could be your communication style.  If you’re getting the sense thatyour employees secretly hate youand you’re wondering why, it could be your communication style.

 

According to a recent poll of about 1,000 US workers by Harris and Interact, a communications consultancy, 91% say communication issues can hurt their relationship with their boss.

The employees surveyed voted on the top nine communication issues that bug them about their managers. We spoke with Lou Solomon, CEO of Interact, about why these behaviors are so irksome and how managers can tweak their leadership style to be more effective.

Here’s the list of troublesome leadership behaviors, in reverse order.

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9. Not asking about employees’ lives outside of work

Twenty-three percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

To illustrate how problematic this issue can be, Solomon referred to one of her clients, whose boss suggested he attend a certain professional conference. What the boss didn’t realize was that his employee was in fact one of the conference organizers. That experience is an example of leaders who only make half-hearted attempts to connect with their employees, Solomon said.

Of course, managers don’t have to know absolutely everything about their employees’ lives outside of work — but key points like the birth of children, the loss of loved ones, and certainly professional roles like being a conference organizer are important to note.

Solomon said employees might think about the situation this way: “The fact that you [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the boss] only care about my contribution at work and are oblivious to the other parts of my life — that stands out to me as a workplace that I don’t want to be a part of.”

Francois Mori/AP

8. Refusing to talk to people on the phone or in person.

Thirty-four percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

With the advent of digital technologies from email to Slack, it’s becoming increasingly possible to avoid in-person interaction entirely.

Yet Solomon strongly advised against this practice. “Face-to-face communication is still the most persuasive, influential medium that there is,” she said.

Leaders can make themselves visible by periodically showing up at meetings or on phone calls — or even by making the rounds at company-wide social functions. That way, they’ll appear more approachable and trustworthy.

“You can communicate electronically to exchange information and sustain a dialogue,” Solomon said, “but you cannot build trust electronically.”

of about 1,000 US workers by Harris and Interact, a communications consultancy, 91% say communication issues can hurt their relationship with their boss.

The employees surveyed voted on the top nine communication issues that bug them about their managers. We spoke with Lou Solomon, CEO of Interact, about why these behaviors are so irksome and how managers can tweak their leadership style to be more effective.

Here’s the list of troublesome leadership behaviors, in reverse order.

Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design/flickr

7. Not knowing employees’ names

Thirty-six percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Employees today “want a meaningful exchange with the people who are leading the company,” Solomon said. “And when they are not greeted as an individual, then it stands out as missing.”

Solomon cited instances she’s heard about, in which a CEO rides the elevator with an employee and greets him by name. “The impact of that is extraordinary,” she said.

The bottom line is that leaders need to stop pleading, “I’m not good with names,” and make it a priority to know them. “As a leader,” Solomon said, “the standard is higher.”

University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment/flickr

6. Not offering constructive criticism

Thirty-nine percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

“Great leaders let people know how they’re doing,” Solomon said, “and give them ways to constantly do better and to get themselves in position to reach their goals.”

Yet Solomon said constructive feedback is often the “missing piece” in today’s leadership, for two key reasons. One, many leaders feel they’re too busy to slow down and invest their time and energy in giving an impromptu performance review.

And two, some leaders fear offending employees or hurting their feelings if they give feedback after a negative incident.

The key to delivering helpful criticism, Solomon said, is to assess the employee’s performancewithout emotions like anger or frustration.

Francisco Osorio/Flickr

5. Taking credit for others’ ideas

Forty-seven percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Few leaders actually assert that they came up with an idea when in fact one of their employees submitted it.

Instead, Solomon said, what often happens is that, in the rush to get things done, managers neglect to give credit where it’s due.

But to employees, it can feel as though someone has just stolen credit for their contributions — and that experience can be extremely demotivating.

VFS Digital Design/Flickr

4. Refusing to talk to subordinates

Fifty-one percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

Managers who won’t associate with their reports are communicating a lack of concern for them — even if, again, it’s just a result of being distracted.

Flickr / Alan Levine

3. Not having time to meet with employees

Fifty-two percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

The reason managers might not have time to meet with their employees isn’t necessarily that they don’t care about their subordinates. Instead, it’s usually a function of distraction and having multiple responsibilities to juggle.

Still, “if you don’t have time to be easygoing and open and accessible to employees, you could be a liability” in your organization, Solomon said.

That’s because people trust and engage with leaders they genuinely like — and it’s hard to like a manager who clearly doesn’t make her relationship with you a priority.

Vancouver Film School/Flickr

2. Not giving clear directions

Fifty-seven percent of employees said this was a problem for them.

“This is such a rift that comes up more than we’d like to imagine between leaders and folks who report to them,” Solomon said. The leaders “weren’t specific on exactly what constituted a success or what the deliverable looks like in their mind.”

What typically ends up happening is that the leader gets frustrated with the employee for not producing the desired result, when in fact, “it was really the leader’s responsibility to make crystal clear exactly what they’re looking for.”

Solomon said managers should keep in mind that, while it might be easier to provide a few key points about a project and leave employees alone, it will ultimately be much more effective to outline the specific directions and exactly what they’re looking for. That way, employees won’t have to redo their work and there will be less aggravation all around.

velkr0/Flickr

1. Not recognizing employee achievements

Sixty-three percent of employees surveyed said this was a problem for them.

According to Solomon, “the human side of business is what drives the bottom line as much as the numbers.” In other words, if employees feel unappreciated, they won’t be motivated to produce their best work and the organization will suffer as a result.

The key to giving motivational feedback, Solomon said, is to make it specific andinstantaneous.

“If you tell me that you especially liked the way I was able to get collaboration from another department on a particular project I was in charge of, then I sense that you really understand my giftedness and what I bring to the table.

“However, if you just tell me that, ‘Hey, you did a good job on that project,’ then it’s less satisfying to me. Even though you said something, it was general. Anybody could say that.”

Businessinsider.com | October 27, 2015 | 

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#Leadership : The Daily Habits of 35 People at the Top of Their Game…Nearly 3 Dozen Successful Leaders Share the Rituals they Say Help them Succeed in Business & Life.

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When it Comes to Achieving Success, Actions Speak Louder than Words, Connections or Opportunities. Think about the importance of your daily habits, for example. Do you run five miles every morning because you value being fit and healthy? Or is it your regular routine to watch three hours of television every night because you feel the need to escape? Without a doubt what you achieve in life depends on your actions. Take it from 35 founders, entrepreneurs and executives who have achieved great things and credit simple daily rituals for helping them do it. Here are their quotes on what helps them get more out of business and life.

1. Hold back-to-back meetings in one location.

If I must have multiple meetings throughout a day, I often aim to set them back-to-back in one location. This way, I maintain efficiency and focus throughout the meetings, setting the pace according to the agenda and maximum time allotted [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][while] knowing we must get straight to the points at hand since the next meeting is impending. Additionally, placing these meetings back to back enables me to maintain a clear frame of mind during the times before and after the block of meetings, since I am freed from the constant self-reminders to be punctual to the next meeting.

– Tiffany Pham, founder and CEO of MOGUL, an award-winning technology platform for women.

2. Read voraciously.

My first job at Warner Bros. was preparing a daily press packet without internet. I had to read everything physically, clip pertinent articles, copy and distribute them to execs. This job taught me the power that one garners by knowing everything that’s going on in business and the world — who’s doing well and might be a candidate for a sale of a popular Warner Bros. TV series or movie and who is in trouble and might be a candidate and need a hit TV series or movie. One needs to be able to converse with other executives intelligently about their business.

–Eric Frankel, founder and CEO of AdGreetz, a cloud-based SaaS platform that empowers brands such as Intel, NBC and Toyota to deploy relevant, personalized video messages that build stronger customer relationships and increase engagement, activation and revenue.

3. Constantly triage your to-do list.

“The role of the CEO is really to keep the team focused on the most important topics, and it’s important that you do the same for yourself.”

–Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, a solar-marketplace company that recently secured a $1.5 million Series A round of funding and announced a partnership with Green America.

 

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4. Unsubscribe mercilessly.

I get a lot of unwanted email from folks who’ve subscribed me to lists that are irrelevant to me. I combat this clutter daily and find it’s a useful way of removing one distraction from my day.

–Apu Gupta, CEO of Curalate, a platform for marketing with images that works with 650 brands, reaching millions of consumers a day.

5. Block time on your calendar according to tasks.

It is so easy to fall into daily distractions, forcing you to play catch up the next day. This cycle can go on forever. Time blocking keeps me on track. I schedule a time frame where I am responding to emails, and then the next hour is blocked for meetings, etc.

–Jayna Cooke, CEO of EVENTup, an online marketplace for event venues that has listed more than 15,000 venues and attracts more than one million consumers a month.

6. Connect with your passion.

Every week I check in and participate with the product and technology teams. Even as the company has grown, I have forced myself to make time to stay connected. As an engineer, I personally enjoy participating in the technology challenges and love to learn about the solutions our team comes up with. Not only does it keep me up-to-date on latest ideas, but it also gives the team an opportunity to see the bigger picture and ask “why?” Not all startup CEO/founders are technologists, but each CEO has a passion. Staying connected with your passion will keep you engaged, even when your job evolves into bigger strategic thinking. Sometimes you have to let yourself have fun with the things you love.

–Alex Muller, CEO of GPShopper, a developer of mobile apps with a focus on the retail industry and annual revenue growth of 50 to 70 percent.

7. Limit the time spent on email every day.

It’s easy to get caught up answering emails all day and feeling like work is being done but by the end of the day realize that no progress has been made on strategically pushing the business forward. You just spent the whole day fighting fires and solving immediate problems but the to-do list remain the same as the day prior. Email can also be a bit of disruption given that it comes in in random intervals and thus can take focus away from projects and work that requires a continuous block of time and thinking. As a result, it is really important to invest blocks on time on email every day also block off times where email is not checked. I do not let email become the “default” work item because it eventually [becomes an] insidious kind of semi-procrastination.

–William Hsu, co-managing partner of Los Angeles-based VC Mucker Capital, which was ranked as the number two accelerator in the U.S. by Seed Accelerators Ranking, a joint study by MIT and Rice University.

8. Spend one hour outside every day.

As a digital-only company, almost all of my time is spent in an office in front of a computer. This is why I make it a rule to be outside for at least one hour a day. Be it walking my dog, riding my bike or just sitting at a patio with friends, I find being outside as a form of meditation. No matter if it’s broken into 20-minute chunks or late at night, the fresh air helps me relax, release any stress and restart my mind for the next challenge.

–Alex Matjanec, CEO of MyBankTracker, a Brooklyn-based personal finance and banking hub, which helps more than 1.5 million visitors a month make smarter banking decisions.

9. Use technology for Personal Relationship Management (PRM).

Every CEO has a to-do list or actions that they need to accomplish daily. While we have many strategic objectives and initiatives that we work on, one daily habit is to target relationships to accelerate or organizations progress. These include clients, partners, internal team members and board members. I weekly schedule an agenda of engagement with each of these relationships via a PRM tool, CallPlease which allows for real-time daily prioritization of these relationship interactions. I leverage the mobile CallPlease app on my iPhone and since it is a team-based system my executive admin can also support these interactions via a web console through its workflow.

–Kris Snyder, CEO of Vox Mobile, a Cleveland-based enterprise mobility solution provider with annual growth which trends above 30 percent, a recent funding round closing at $6.7 million, and consistent inclusion in Gartner’s MMS Magic Quadrant. Snyder is also the founder of the Global Enterprise Mobility Alliance (GEMA).

10. Prioritize key employee objectives.

I know that even my best employees have a range of focus and performance. In addition to motivating them through traditional recognition methods I’ve found that letting them know that their personal objectives are important to me earns their best efforts and loyalty. In the past this has included sponsoring night classes not directly related to their job and helping an employee secure a book deal with a major publisher.

–James Roche, CEO of Houseplans.com, a San Francisco-based stock home design site which has grown 25% year over year.

11. Focus on two to three things a day.

I can’t multi-task. It creates too much chaos.

–Tim Eisenhauer, president of San Diego software provider Axero Solutions, a profitable bootstrapped company with hundreds of customers playing in the crowded enterprise software market with huge venture-backed competitors.

12. Have a family dinner.

We may be co-founders, but we are also mom and dad to three daughters. No matter how hectic running a fast-growing startup is, we make sure to shut off the cell phones and have a family dinner with our girls. While many CEOs are still going strong at 6 p.m., we’re passing the green beans and focusing on what matters most to us — our family. What’s most amazing is how many of our business and marketing ideas have come from our twin 8-year-olds and our 11-year-old right at the dinner table.

–Scott and Missy Tannen, founders of Boll & Branch, a New York based company with a line of accessibly priced luxury bed linens which launched in January 2014 with first-year revenue topping $2 million and more than a $10 million run rate in its second year in business.

13. Get home on time.

I try and be religious about the time I leave my house in the morning for work and the time I get back. It helps balance things and ensures I am present, both physically and mentally, with my family.

–Jeff Braverman, CEO of snack and candy store Nuts.com which has grown revenue to $35 million, up from $1.5 million in 2002.

14. Exercise every day.

I try to run every day and science now shows a positive correlation between running and creativity. It has helped me maintain a sense of balance, it grounds me, and offers an outlet on my most stressful days, and allows me to lean into risk and uncertainty. What I find is that many people, especially executives, take the workouts off the calendar when they get busy or are dealing with a particularly stressful time in their careers or lives. It should be opposite. The more stressed out you may feel the more important it is to carve that time for workouts that nourish not only your body but your soul as well.

–Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods which has grown gross sales to $130.2 million.

15. Every morning read 20 to 30 unsolved customer support tickets.

I think proactively knowing about customer problems can really help you build a long-term intuition about the important things you need to get right when you build your company. And it helps you build empathy with the people that ultimately have to do the hard work of working through those customer problems.

–Suhail Doshi, CEO of Mixpanel, an analytics platform for mobile and web which helps companies gain insights into user activity and leverage this data to build better products. Mixpanel now tracks 50 billion actions people take in applications per month.

16. Check KPIs first thing in the morning.

As an organization grows, it’s easy to let a little distance get between the CEO and the day to day. By checking KPIs first thing in the morning, I already know the answer tohow we’ve been performing and can immediately move on to the why. I’m in a better position to ask my team important questions, and we can all work more efficiently and effectively.

–Michael Ortner, CEO of Capterra, a web service that has helped companies such as Coca-Cola, Walmart and The Home Depot find and purchase business software.

17. Be unpredictable.

Successful people predict trends but they are original and innovative. Have your own workflow, stick with it or break the rules, but try to stay ahead of others by gettting away of patterns.

–Serban Enache, CEO of global stock photo site Dreamstime.com, which has been used by more than 11 million users since its launch in 2000.

18. Always ask why.

So much of work becomes too focused on the what–the plan we’re writing, the project we’re trying to complete on time, the deadline we missed. We don’t ask “why” enough and it’s the best way to get context for the stuff we’re trying to get done. I’ve found asking it of myself is as important as asking it of the people I work with. It’s critical to staying grounded in what’s most important. I try to keep asking why until I can’t go any deeper. Then get going.

–Jay Simons, president of software company Atlassian which offers team collaboration products including JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, and HipChat which are collectively used by more than 48,000 companies worldwide.

19. Allow enough unscheduled time during the day to think, react or write.

This enables me to gets things done on the same day instead of allowing the guilt pile to build up. I keep blocks on my schedule to avoid over-scheduling each day… I am significantly more productive when I am not forced to multitask. Studies have shown that multitasking leads to inefficiency. By creating pockets of time in which I can work alone, I am able to accomplish tasks on the same day and also leave time for collaboration.

–Dr. Walter S. Scott, founder, executive vice president and chief technical officer of satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe, which provides images and geospatial content to U.S. government defense and intelligence agencies, international governments, every major online mapping platform such as Google and other commercial customers.

20. Exude positivity.

I’ve made it a habit to be a positive, enthusiastic source within my company. Even in the morning “hi” or “welcome” has huge ripple effects across the organization at scale. It seems so simple, but has the power to make employees feel valued and appreciated.

–Kris Duggan, CEO of BetterWorks, an employee-related goals platform that recently closed a $15.5 million Series A round and is more than doubling active users every quarter.

21. Prioritize a daily to-do list.

I’m a zero-inbox CEO. Occasionally I don’t get there, but each night I give it my all to power through via all available gmail shortcuts and give folks the responses they need as quickly and efficiently as possible. I hate feeling like a delay on my response might prevent Omada employees from quickly progressing their work.

–Sean Duffy, CEO of Omada Health, a digital-therapeutics company that was selected by Fast Company as one of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.”

22. Talk to people.

This is often described as “managing by wandering around” but don’t under-value it. Having random conversations with different people across the organization will really help you keep your ear to the ground on what is really happening. Be respectful and don’t interrupt people who are working but catching someone making a coffee in the kitchen, give them a big smile and learn a bit about their day in a friendly, non-creepy way. You will easily stay on top of the pulse of the organization.

–Jonathan Cogley, CEO and founder of IT security company Thycotic which ranks at the 2,671 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in 2014, up 760 spots from 2013.

23. Prepare budgets by initiatives and expected outcomes rather than by functions.

Thinking about spending this way keeps me focused on how each dollar contributes to building the company.

–Mike Zivin, cofounder and CEO of Whittl, an online appointment booking platform for neighborhood businesses, which recently raised a $3.3 million series A round with backing from GrubHub co-founder Mike Evans as well as GrubHub’s first VC, Origin Ventures in Chicago.

24. Get coached.

Olympic athletes have coaches — so should CEOs. I have had a coach for years, Ed Batista, who I work with at least biweekly to recognize and improve my weaknesses.

–Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google and now CEO of ZestFinance, a big-data startup that uses more than 100,000 data points about an individual to figure out if he or she will pay back a loan.

25. Keep a close eye on the competition.

I use the first 15 minutes of each day to read competitive web sites and any press they might be receiving. Knowing what our competition is doing or thinking is critical to our ability to both win and keep business.

–Darin LeGrange, CEO of Aldera, a company that provides health plans (insurers) with the back-office technology that handles billing, claims processing, coverages, and more.

26. Get moving.

I am a huge believer in walking, and in moving around in general. At the very least, I make sure to get up from my chair every hour, and walk the office. Not only does this get the blood flowing, it helps me see what the team is working on and helps spur the spontaneous discussions that lead to new ideas and innovations. I also love to do walking meetings. Instead of going into a conference room, we’ll walk around our neighborhood, a mix of businesses and beautiful old houses and apartment buildings. I find this brings out more natural and authentic discussions, and keeps people in the moment – you can’t mentally check out like you can if you’re sitting at a table.

–David Kalt, founder and CEO of Reverb, a marketplace for musical instruments and gear that has raised about $5 million in funding and expects to do $130 million in transactions this year, up from $40 million last year.

27. Read the news about your industry first thing in the morning.

“The first thing I do once out of bed is read 15 to 30 minutes religiously. I jot down anything interesting for rumination vis a vis healthcare [such as] Netflix’s god mode, or Jaguar’s brainwave tracker. It’s amazing how many dots you can connect by just reading.”

–Ahmed Albaiti, founder and CEO of Medullan, a digital health innovation company that works with payers, providers, and pharma on patient engagement.

28. Adjust your perspective.

Every Tuesday at noon San Francisco administrators test the emergency alarm system, which I now use as a marker for a notable time in each week. Every Tuesday at Noon, I deliberately try to “let go of all things negative, retain all things positive, and march forward to a better week, and a better you!” Though this started as a personal habit, it’s become a company-wide event, across multiple time zones.

–Neha Sampat, CEO of digital tech solutions provider Built.io, which powers innovation at the intersection of enterprise mobility and the Internet of Things (IoT) for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Sampat also co-founded KurbKarma, was named a “San Francisco Business Times 40 under 40″ honoree, as well as one of “50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley” in 2015.

29. Get to inbox zero.

“Anything that’s not actionable immediately, I get out of my inbox. This frees me up to think and focus on the tasks that I know will take up most of my time, like building a team of amazing people who are smart, thoughtful and motivated who are trying to achieve something. That is the number 1 most important thing in building a company as I truly believe a company is only as good as what is made up of. ”

–Rick Morrison, CEO of Comprehend Systems, which works with big names in the life-sciences industry, such as Boston Scientific, Astellas, and AstraZeneca, modernizing and improving the quality in their clinical process through cloud-based tech.

30. Make a daily “top three” to-do list.

As CEO, my to-do list is never ending, so it’s important for me to prioritize. Typically, I’ll make a daily list of the three most important things I need to get done that day. It really helps to make my day more manageable. As a morning person, I tend to complete those activities before noon, which then gives me time to address other urgent items that come up during the day.

–Ratmir Timashev, CEO of Veeam, a data center backup company founded in 2006 which now employs more than 1,500 employees around the world and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, with its sights on reaching $1 billion in revenue in the next five years.

31. Get up to speed with direct reports first thing.

Informally, I call each of my direct reports between 7 to 8 a.m. daily to catch up and get updates on various parts of the business.

–Michael MacDonald, CEO of nutrition and weight-loss company Medifast.

32. Plan your work and work your plan.

I think Evander Holyfield said that. But anyhow, I use [the project management app]Trello to manage my day-to-day. It’s color-coded between Hiring, Investor, Legal, Sales/Marketing/Press, Product, Admin, and JFDI. Every Sunday night, I get my week prepped by looking at my calendar and my Trello board. Then, every morning, I take a quick look at the Trello board and mentally prep myself for the day.

–Jason van den Brand, co-founder and CEO of online mortgage refinancing startupLenda, which graduated from Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups last year. Since then, the company raised its first round of funding, has been growing 40 percent month over month since December, and recently passed the $40 million mark in loans financed through the platform.

33. Keep a short to-do list.

I keep my to-do list short. Every morning I write down the three most important things I need to do that day to move the needle forward. This helps me to make sure I’m playing more offense than defense. It’s so easy to get bogged down in email and other people’s to-do lists that when you look up at the end of the day you realize you didn’t make any progress on the things that are most important. Keeping my to-do list forces me to prioritize and do just the things that are most important.

–Ethan Austin, founder of the online fundraising website Give Forward, which has raised more than $150 million and hosts 20,000 active fundraisers at any given time.

34. Take time to reflect.

As a CEO, you can’t be afraid of the decisions you make. But it’s just as dangerous to have full confidence in your decisions. Every day I reflect back on the effects of my decisions that day and how I can improve upon them in the future.

– John Yung, CEO of cloud application management platform Appcara which is used by customers including Sysorex, AIS, HP Cloud Services and Intermedia.

35. Be consistent and proactive.

I was an avid bodybuilder back in my college days and to succeed you had to be religiously consistent day after day with diet, nutrition and training. I applied the same in business. It takes time to create great products and a stable business so I’ve learned to succeed you have to remain consistent especially when you truly believe in something. It’s a two-edged sword that if not tamed can also have negative ramifications, so I also try to be proactive to know when to change angles when the need arises.

– Payman Taei, is CEO and founder of Visme a DIY online tool that has empowered over 200,000 businesses and non-profits create better presentations and infographics. He is also the founder ofHindSite Interactive an award-winning web agency that helps companies improve their online presence with effective websites.

What daily habits help you achieve more in business and life?

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
Image: Getty Images
Inc.com | July 13, 2015 | 

BY CHRISTINA DESMARAIS

Contributor, Inc.com

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#Leadership: 8 Ways To Get Your Career Unstuck…You’re Bored Out of your Mind & Can’t see an Obvious Next Step Within your Current Employer

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You’re bored out of your mind and can’t see an obvious next step within your current employer. You might be stuck behind an ungrateful boss, or perhaps you’ve just been doing the same job too long. No matter the details, that feeling of “being stuck” saps your energy and makes you feel like there is no hope for your career.

manage-irrational-employees

“THBPBPTHPT!” as they say in the cartoons. That’s sheer nonsense. You just need break out of your rut. Here’s how to get started.

1.) Practice irrational optimism. Your first challenge is to escape the negative mindset that’s enveloped you. So, whatever it takes, create brief periods of time – an hour or an afternoon – during which you are irrationally optimistic. Forget about all the things that you perceive are holding you back. Just picture yourself as an incredible success, perhaps five years from now.

Read inspirational books. Watch movies and documentaries about people who overcame huge odds. Go to see inspirational speakers. Until you foster some optimism, you’ll be blind to the many possibilities that await you.

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2.) Create your bucket list of jobs. Make the longest possible list of dream jobs. These are NOT necessarily your next job; they are jobs you would love to have, in a perfect world. Think ridiculously big. Head of the World Bank. Publisher of The Washington Post. Founder of the next Google. Author of the #1 bestselling leadership book.

You don’t have to create the list in one sitting. In fact, you’ll get the best results if you keep adding to your list over an extended period of time.
3.) Fill in the details of your bucket list. As your list grows, look for patterns. Are you drawn to certain types of challenges? Do you crave prestige? Are all of your bucket list positions in education, while you work today in pharmaceuticals? Look for clues about what excites you and makes you feel energetic again.
4.) Rethink your image. Go find a mirror, and ask yourself whether you look and act the part of the positions at the top of your list. To make it easier for others to picture you in such roles, what do you have to change? Don’t limit yourself to just your appearance; look at your social media profiles, your resume, and even the ways you interact with others. You might even want to lease a new car.
Now, start to make some improvements. Take your time, and do it right. Shift your image in a positive direction.

5.) Proactively make new contacts. Use your bucket list as a guide to the type of opportunities you desire, and use LinkedIn and personal contacts to significantly expand your network. Go far beyond the people with whom you associate today; they have the “old you” image in their heads.

In my experience, you can reach much higher and further than you think, as long as you approach people with professionalism and confidence. Use these new contacts to learn about bucket list opportunities. I don’t just mean find jobs; I mean learn what it really would be like to be president of a private school, or on the board of a leading non-profit.

6.) Make a step-by-step plan. At some point, create a short version of your bucket list. These are the positions you actually want to pursue. Using the knowledge you gain from your expanded network, create an action list for pursuing these positions. Make it as specific as possible, because little tasks are easier to execute than big ones. “Use LinkedIn to find authors who went to my college” is an actionable item. “Look for ambassador jobs” is so big it will paralyze you.

7.) Rely on weak connections. When your big break comes, the odds are it won’t come from someone you’d name if you had to list the 50 people you know best. Most opportunities come from people at the very edges of your networks, such as the new contacts you’ll be making in #5 above, or from someone you haven’t spoken to since 2004.

8.) Say what you want. By the time you’ve gotten to #8, you’ve developed optimism and have upgraded your image. You’ve dreamed big and have filled in the details of how to get from Point A to Point C (your Dream Job after your Next Job). You have a growing list of new contacts.

All that’s holding you back is you. Don’t bury your dreams. Day after day, tell people what you really, truly want to do. Share your dream with them, and one of them will make that dream come true.

Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter and speaker.

Forbes.com | April 28, 2015 | Bruce Kasanoff

Leadership: The 3 Components Of Mental Strength That Will Help You Succeed…Building Mental Strength is About Learning to Regulate your Thoughts, Manage your Emotions, & Behave Productively despite Whatever Circumstances you Find yourself In.

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Whether you aim to become an elite athlete, or you aspire to become a prosperous entrepreneur, mental strength is the key to long-term success. After all, you need fierce determination and tenacity to reach your greatest potential.

mental strength to succeed

Fotolia.com

There will always be obstacles and challenges that stand in your way. Building mental strength will help you develop resilience to those potentials hazards so you can continue on your journey to success. Mentally strong people overcome setbacks with confidence, because adversity only makes them better.

Building mental strength is about learning to regulate your thoughts, manage your emotions, and behave productively despite whatever circumstances you find yourself in. Here’s why you need all three of those components for success:

1. Mental Strength Improves Your Ability to Think Realistically

Just because you think something, doesn’t make it true. Yet, many people allow their pessimistic thoughts to prevent them from taking action. Believing things like, “I always have bad luck,” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exaggeratedly positive thoughts can be equally detrimental. Underestimating how difficult a task will be or overestimating your abilities could you leave you unprepared for the reality of the situation. It’s imperative to have a realistic inner monologue that will help you recognize danger, while also giving you hope for the future.

Building mental strength involves learning to recognize and replace thinking errors. With practice, you can train your brain to think differently. An improved ability to recognize irrational thoughts will give you a more realistic outlook. Regulating your thoughts gives you better judgement and improved insight, which equals more success.

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2. Mental Strength Helps You Control Your Emotions
The road to success is often filled with emotional turmoil. If you lack adequate skills to cope with those emotions, you’ll struggle to delay gratification and resist temptation and you’ll be less likely to face your fears and take calculated risks. Mental strength is the key to controlling your emotions, so your emotions don’t control you.
Mentally strong people don’t ignore their emotions – in fact, they’re acutely aware of their feelings. They possess confidence in their ability to behave contrary to their emotions. So even when something feels uncomfortable, they’re willing to press forward if it is for the greater good.

Success requires a certain amount of personal growth – which means stepping out of your comfort zone. Mental strength will give you the courage to face your fears and become better, because you’ll trust in your ability to deal with discomfort. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more confidence you’ll gain in your ability to manage your emotions.

3. Mental Strength Leads to More Productive Behavior

Mental strength helps you dedicate your finite resources – like time and energy – into productive activities. You won’t waste effort worrying about things you can’t control or complaining about things you can’t change. Instead, all your resources will go toward activities that will help you move toward your goal.

Developing mental strength will help you learn from mistakes so you can avoid repeating them. It’ll also help you recover from failure and overcome challenges. When you invest all of your effort into productive activities, you can accomplish incredible feats.

Mental strength ensures that you’re working smarter, not harder. Instead of becoming like a hamster running in a wheel, it helps you get rid of the counterproductive bad habits that are holding you back.

Building Mental Strength

Fortunately, everyone has the ability to build mental strength. Similar to developing physical strength, building mental strength requires hard work and exercise. But if you choose to make mental strength a priority, you’ll grow stronger and become better.

You can’t climb to the top without the strength to get there. Becoming mentally strong will separate you from the pack and help you achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.

Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, a bestselling book that is being translated into more than 20 languages.

 

Forbes.com | April 17, 2015 | Amy Morin 

Leadership: An Amazon Exec Shares 20 Mistakes Inexperienced Managers Make…The Best Way to Deliver Unpopular Decisions is at a Team Meeting where you have Ample Time to Give the Reasoning behind the Decision & take Q&A.

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Below are some mistakes I made as a new manager or have seen other new managers make.

Directions Man

Be proactive, not reactive.

Experienced managers still make some of these mistakes, though hopefully fewer:

Performance Management

1. Being slow to deal with performance issues — Smoke becomes fire. If you take note of performance issues early you can give gentle corrective feedback. If you’re too slow to notice you have to give stronger feedback, and the performance issues may be harder to reverse.

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2. Not documenting poor performance — Documenting poor performance via email helps employees understand the gravity of the situation (“This email summarizes the discussion we just had”) and it is also helpful to have on hand if it comes time to terminate the employee.

3. Not documenting good performance — Documenting good performance via email, to the employee alone or to a wider audience, is a great way to recognize their contributions to the team and company. It’s also a good habit to regularly document good performance of team members for your own purposes, so you can remember what you want to praise them for at annual review time.

Career Development

4. Not getting to know your employees — It’s great to know the names of all your employees’ kids. It’s even better to know the type of work each employee most likes to do, their particular pain points within the team or company, what their career objectives are (depth, breadth, management), or why they might be thinking about taking a different job or moving to a different company. You need to develop a rapport and level of trust with each employee before they’ll start to share these things with you.

5. Not paying attention to your high-performing employees — If you’re very satisfied with how an employee is performing you need to turn the tables and invest in making them more satisfied with their job. Find ways for them to do more of what makes them happy and less of what doesn’t.

6. Not investing in developing your employees — Every employee needs to be developed, either to support the career development (and retention) of strong performers or to improve the performance of weaker employees. Every year you should be trying to raise the level of performance of every employee.

Leadership

7. Thinking too small — A successful leader is going to create growth and opportunity for their team. A leader who thinks small is unlikely to do either. Instead of planning how to grow your business 100%, plan how to grow it 10x or 100x.

8. Not explicitly allocating resources — Explicitly managing resources means prioritizing projects, specifying how many (or which) resources will work on each, and in what order. Highly effective teams may be able to self-organize extremely well. New managers give less effective teams too much freedom to self-organize, leading to sub-optimal resource allocation.

9. Poor delivery of unpopular decisions — The difference in how employees receive unpopular decisions often depends on how those decisions are delivered. The more important, or more unpopular, the decision, the greater the need to manage its delivery. In my experience, the best way to deliver unpopular decisions is at a team meeting where you have ample time to give the reasoning behind the decision and take Q&A. Good managers explain why the decision is made. Bad managers say, “Because the boss said so.”

10. Being slow to resolve team pain points — New managers don’t pay attention to or understand their team’s pain points. Good managers are always tracking their team’s pain points, devising strategies to reduce or resolve them, and then moving on to the next pain point.

Recruiting

11. Not investing in sourcing — Good managers source candidates themselves through their personal networks and take ownership over sourcing in other ways, treating any candidates that the recruiting department sends their way as gravy. Inexperienced managers are satisfied with whatever recruiting sends them.

12. Lazy recruiting — Good managers act quickly on any recruiting activity. They review resumes as soon as they come in, make time in their schedules for phone screens, sell their positions to candidates, make quick hiring decisions, and are aggressive in getting from offer to acceptance. New managers act more slowly. They trust the recruiting department to brief candidates on the position and handle other candidate communications. Lazy recruiting loses candidates to other companies or internal teams.

13. Reactive sourcing and recruiting — Bad managers wait until they have an approved position and a job description up on the company’s website. Good managers are always sourcing and recruiting, and may be chatting up a prospective candidate today about a position they may not have open for a year or more.

Hiring

14. Not being clear on the requirements of the role — Inexperienced managers don’t spend time thinking about exactly what they need from a new hire. They hire generic candidates with generic skills. Good managers have a more narrow profile in mind, which helps them write stronger job descriptions and generate more qualified candidates.

15. Lowering the bar — Inexperienced managers have low standards, or lower their standards, in an effort to make a hire. Good managers know that they’re much better off keeping a high bar and waiting for the right candidate.

Organizational Development

16. Letting dotted lines proliferate — It sucks to have two bosses. Good managers seek to have clear lines of authority and prevent their employees from getting caught in the middle between competing bosses. Inexperienced managers let other managers carve out chunks of their resources.

17. Letting the team get swamped — Inexperienced managers keep piling more and more work on the team. Experienced managers either grow the team size to handle the increased load, or deflect the increased work. It takes an experienced manager who’s earned the trust of leadership to push back effectively, or to effectively justify why the team needs more headcount.

18. Being reactive — Inexperienced managers need their bosses to tell them when their team is over or under-resourced or unbalanced. The team might have too few or too many resources, or it might be heavy or light on a certain role (e.g. QA:SDE ratio) given the other resources on the team. Experienced managers are anticipating how the needs of the team are going to change over time and then working proactively working to adapt their organization’s size and structure.

Visibility

19. Taking the credit — New managers let themselves take credit for their team’s work. Good managers attempt to redirect kudos and credit onto their team, or ideally, individual team members.

20. Forwarding the blame — New managers pin the blame on team members. “Joe was out of the office and wasn’t able to finish this in time.” Good managers put the blame on themselves and understand that any failing within the team is a failing of the leader.

Ian McAllister is GM and product leader at Amazon. For more from Ian, follow him on Twitter.

Quora is the best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and get insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

 

Businessinsider.com | April 15, 2015 | Quora

http://qr.ae/d5Dmf#ixzz3XTOnYHsk

Strategy: 6 Verbal Tricks Bosses use to Manipulate Employees…Now it’s Your Turn. Any Deceptive (or Just Irritating) Conversation Moves You’d Like to Add to the List?

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We all notice when people overuse certain words or phrases. (I love him, but as I write this somewhere Howard Stern is saying, “In other words…”)

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I’m guilty too, having once carried on an all too public affair with, “That’s neither here nor there.” (In my defense I always thought it was neither here nor there.)

You probably have your own verbal tics too… but at least you’re trying to say what you mean. What’s worse is when people — especially leaders — use certain expressions to divert attention, hide what they really mean, or simply fail to do their jobs.

Like these all too common moves:

1. The Fake Agreement: Pretending to agree while expressing the opposite point of view.

Example: “I definitely see what you’re saying… but I don’t think we should take on that project.”

In fact you don’t really see what I’m saying because otherwise you would agree with what I’m saying. Beginning a sentence with, “I hear you…” is like a condescending pat on the head.

Don’t try to couch a different opinion inside a warm and fuzzy Fake Agreement. If you disagree, say so.

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2. The Unsupported Closure: Ending a discussion or making a decision without backup or solid justification.

Example: “At the end of the day, we’re here to sell products.”

Really? I had no idea we’re supposed to sell products!

Unsupported Closure is the go-to move for people who want something a certain way and don’t feel like — or more likely can’t — justify why. Whenever you feel an, “At the end of the day…” coming on, take a deep breath and start over; otherwise you’ll spout inane platitudes instead of objective reasons that may actually help people get behind your decision.

Quick note: A Fake Agreement combines nicely with an Unjustified Closure: “I hear what you’re saying, but at the end of the day it’s my job to make the decision.” Win-win!

3. The Double Name: Using a person’s name twice — especially your own — in the same sentence as a way to justify unusual or unacceptable behavior.

Example: “Hey, what can I say? That’s just Joe being Joe.” (Even worse, “Hey, what can I say? That’s just me being me.”)

The Double Name is just a way to excuse behavior that wouldn’t be tolerated from others. You just being you… is you just being a jerk.

(And everyone knows it.)

4. The False Uncertainty: Pretending you’re not sure when, in fact, you are.

Example: “You know, when I think about it I’m not sure shutting down that facility isn’t actually the best option.”

Oh yes, you’re sure; you’re just trying to create buy-in or a sense of inclusion by pretending you still have an open mind… or you’re planting seeds for something you know you will eventually do.

Never say you are not sure unless you truly are not — and are willing to consider other viewpoints.

5. The First Person Theoretical: Pretending to be another person in order to explore different points of view.

Example: “Let’s say I’m the average customer. I walk in your store. I want to buy a shirt…and so on.”

You can get away with this occasionally, but more than once a year is really irritating.

Think about it. Let’s say I’m the average reader and I know someone who uses the First Person Theoretical to pretend they’re putting themselves in someone else’s shoes. And let’s say I’m thinking it’s really irritating.

And let’s say I’m thinking we should just move on… and circle back to where we started:

6. The Favorite Word: Using a word so often… that word becomes the only word anyone hears.

Examples: Endless.

Not really deceptive, but still diverts attention.

For example, I had a boss who never met a sentence he couldn’t find a way to shoehorn “in other words,” “in general,” and “regarding” into. Often he could cram all three into the same sentence. I once kept track and counted thirty-seven “in other words” in four minutes. (Hey, I’m not proud.)

When you fall in love with a word or expression other people not only tire of it but they start to hear nothing else — and whatever you hoped to get across gets lost while people think, “Oh jeez. For once could he leave out the ‘that’s neither here nor there'”?

Trust me. I know.

Now it’s your turn. Any deceptive (or just irritating) conversation moves you’d like to add to the list?

 

Businessinsider.com |  March 2, 2015  |  JEFF HADEN, LINKEDIN

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-verbal-tricks-bosses-use-deceive-employees-just-jeff-haden#ixzz3To7RemCe

Strategy: 11 lessons from ‘The Art of War’ on Getting Ahead at Work…Who Survives? Those Best Able to Adapt to the Changing Circumstances

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Visualized,” cartoonist Jessica Hagy brings the ancient wisdom of Sun Tzu to a new generation.  The creator of Indexed has updated Tzu’s famous Chinese military book “The Art of War” with original illustrations to explain how to apply his advice to the modern business world.

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"The Art of War" contains more than military strategy. It's also a guide for getting ahead at work.

“The Art of War” contains more than military strategy. It’s also a guide for getting ahead at work.

Business Insider asked Hagy to annotate a few of her favorite pages from the book.

Continue reading to find out how to harness “The Art of War” in your life.

 

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Now see more life lessons:

Now see more life lessons:

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Leadership: The 3 Most Powerful Ways To Change People Who Don’t Want To Change…Dieters in the US Spend 40 Billion Dollars a Year, but 19 out of 20 lose Nothing but their Money

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Have you noticed how incredibly hard it is to change a habitual behavior, even though you know full well that it’s in your best interest to do so? Have you worked so hard over six months to lose 20 pounds, only to see it creep back in a matter of days or weeks? Or have you tried everything in your power to help your child perform better in a particular class, only to have all your efforts – and hers– fail?

As a therapist and career success coach, I’ve learned a lot about motivation, and how to help people change. In my coaching work, it’s about uncovering the root causes of their behavioral roadblocks, and helping people see these challenges differently (and stimulating new actions that are different from how they habitually operate.)

I caught up with David Maxfield and asked him what I wanted to learn about how to help people change their behavior (or change our own), in ways that will bring lasting success. David Maxfield is Vice President of Research atVitalSmarts and coauthor of the three New York Times bestsellers — Crucial Accountability, Influencer and Change Anything. For 30 years, David has been a leading social scientist for organizational change and delivered engaging keynotes at prestigious venues around the world.

Kathy Caprino: David, why, exactly is personal change so hard for so many of us?

David Maxfield: Personal change is difficult and rare. For example: dieters in the US spend forty billion dollars a year, but 19 out of twenty lose nothing but their money; two years after coronary bypass surgery to save their lives, ninety percent of patients are back to their old behaviors; and a personal favorite—two out of three people can’t even get themselves to floss!

It’s no wonder that many of us admit defeat, give up, and stop trying. Then it falls on our family members and loved ones to convince us to try again. But their pleas often come across as lectures, sermons, or rants, which undermine the relationship instead of helping us change.

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Caprino: What specifically gets in the way of our changing others’ behaviors – what are the problems and pitfalls?

Maxfield: Here are the three most important pitfalls and success factors we’ve discovered. Our research shows that these three elements can make you and your loved ones ten times more likely to succeed.

Mistake #1: We attack people with information.

We assume that, if the person only knew what we knew, they’d change. The problem is, often they already know what we know, plus more. In addition to the facts we have, they have personal information about their own successes and failures. They have usually created a personal narrative—what we call a “clever story,” that explains why they’ve failed, and explains it in a way that lets them off the hook for trying again.

For example, suppose you want your spouse to improve his or her fitness. How is he or she likely to respond to a lecture? Doesn’t he or she already know why being fit is better than being unfit? In this situation, most spouses become defensive. If you present one side of the argument, they feel compelled to present the other side. The result is you pushing for change, and them pushing against. And, since they are the ones who have to do the changing, guess who wins?

But there is a way around this dilemma.

Solution: People need to examine their own narrative.

When you’re trying to influence people who need motivation, but not information, don’t offer more information.  Instead, work to create a safe environment where they can explore motivations they already have. People need to re-examine their narrative, especially any self-defeating or clever stories they are telling themselves to justify the status quo.

Motivational Interviewing is a tried-and-true method for getting people to re-examine their stories, and it works by asking questions that allow people to explore their own motivations without feeling pushed. Below are a few examples:

“What is it that makes you even consider changing?”

“If things worked out exactly the way you want, what would be different?

“What are the pluses and minuses of changing or not changing?”

“If this change were easy, would you want to make it? What makes it hard?”

The video above demonstrates the power these influential questions can have.

Mistake #2: We fail to see why we’re stuck.

Getting someone to make a commitment to change is not the same as getting them to actually change.  The problem is that people overestimate the power of their own willpower. They fail to see the risks in front of them. So, they put their heart and soul into an effort, but it’s not enough. They are tripped up by obstacles they never anticipated.

I’ve often say to clients that, “your world is perfectly organized to create the results you are currently experiencing.” The problem is that we’re like the fish that discover water last. We are swimming in a sea of influences, and we don’t even know it. A lot of these influences are designed by sales and marketing experts or food scientists who are more interested in our money than in our well-being.

Solution: We need to educate our eyes.

We need to recognize the hidden influences around us, the influences that are keeping us stuck.Once we see them, we can deal with them. We group influences into six sources: three that motivate and three that enable. Suppose your teenager says he wants to succeed in math, but isn’t doing his math homework. What are the influences that could be keeping him stuck?

1. Personal Motivation: While his motivation to master math is sincere, it’s too vague and distant to affect his behavior. His short-term motivation is directed by videogames, social media, his girlfriend, and other more immediate motivators.

2. Social Motivation: You and your spouse go to his basketball games and concerts, but you don’t show similar encouragement for his math.

3. Structural Motivation: There are serious carrots and sticks tied to every basketball game and music lesson, but not as much for math homework. So, math becomes a lower priority.

4. Personal Ability: Your son isn’t very good at estimating how long it will take him to get his math done. He schedules an hour, just before bed, and then runs out of time.

5. Social Ability: You and your spouse coach your son on sports and music, but leave him to his own devices when it comes to math.

6. Structural Ability: Your son has several convenient distractions in his bedroom, where he does his math homework. His phone, laptop, and TV all distract him from his math.

Most stubborn problems persist because of unseen or overlooked influences that are keeping us stuck. Once we see them, we can change them. However, if we don’t change them, we’ll remain stuck.

Mistake #3: We rely on quick fixes.

We often pick the most obvious obstacle to our success, and direct all of our efforts toward overcoming it. It feels intuitive, like a quick fix. We make some progress, at least at first, but this early promise fails as unseen and unaddressed obstacles take their toll.

Another mistake is to have favorite solutions, and to use them in isolation. For example, we assume carrots and sticks will solve every problem, or that training or technology will. As a result, we create one-sided solutions that address only a few of the obstacles that are keeping us stuck.

Solution: Overwhelm the problem with all six sources of influence.

It takes solutions in all six sources to change a status quo that is held in place by all six sources. We ask people to develop at least one robust influence strategy in each of the Six Sources of Influence. Here is an example, aimed at helping your son complete his math homework.

1. Personal Motivation: Get him some direct experience, such as an internship in an organization that uses math and science. He will see for himself why math is important.

2. Social Motivation: Show your own commitment to his math. Spend as much time with him on his math as you do on his sports and music.

3. Structural Motivation: Work with him to create small rewards, based on daily and weekly progress at math.

4. Personal Ability: Increase deliberate practice, just as you would with sports or music. Make “doing your homework” the start, then add beyond.

5. Social Ability: Become your son’s math tutor. If you aren’t good at math, become good at it. Your example will speak volumes to your son.

6. Structural Ability: Create a comfortable time and space for math. Make sure it’s at a time when your son is at his best. Remove distractions. Make the place bright and cheery.

 * * * * * *

David’s tips show us that while change isn’t easy, it’s doable, when you want it and are ready, and when you address the key influences that have been keeping the behavior locked in place.  I’ve seen even the most resistant people finally experience transformation because the pain and cost of how they were previously operating in the world had become too great, and because the motivational structures and personal accountability were finally in place to facilitate growth.

For more information, visit David Maxfield, VitalSmarts and Crucial Skills.

(To build a happier, more rewarding career, visit the Amazing Career Project, and take my 6-day Amazing Career Challenge.)

Strategy: How Savvy Are You About Office Politics?…Playing Politics in the Workplace is Not about Gossip, Backstabbing, or Opportunism

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Playing politics in the workplace is not about gossip, backstabbing, or opportunism. Instead, savvy people in business know how to network and with whom. They also understand how decisions are made in their organizations, and they have learned to use these political factors to their advantage.

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Political savvy is critical for career success and the good news is that you don’t need to lose your integrity in the process. Political savvy involves developing relationships and a sensitivity to the culture of the organization. This can be accomplished over time with the use of keen observation and listening skills.

In her research on this topic, Lisa Mainierointerviewed 55 high profile executive women in the 1980s to determine the role corporate politics played in their career histories. Her article, “On Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Political Seasoning of Powerful Women Executives,” is the result of her interviews about their involvement in workplace politics. Most of the women interviewed felt that “politics” was a dirty word and did not admit to engaging in the politics.

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Mainiero stated, “A careful analysis of the career histories of these women, however, showed that they developed a sensitivity to corporate politics that belied their comments. As they recounted key developmental events in their careers, it became clear that not only were these women astute observers of their corporate cultures, but they had an ability to build alliances and partnerships that were unequaled among their peers.” In essence, they became politically savvy over time despite their lack of intention to do so.

What is involved in learning to be politically savvy?

Using Mainiero’s work as a guide, I have identified four stages for development of political savvy. In each of these stages, I have indicated specific characteristics and milestones that will help you figure out where you are in this process and where you need to go to further your savvy skills.

Stage 1: Naiveté

In Stage 1, you are completely focused on your work. In fact, you spend most of your time in your cubicle or office. You most likely work long hours and are not tuned into or even aware of the politics around you.

You are in Stage 1 if you:

Are unaware of unwritten “Rules of the Game”

Are 100 percent work focused

Learn about workplace politics through a negative or positive experience.
You can be in Stage 1 at the very beginning of your career or when you transition to a new role or company and need to learn the rules of the game all over again. Then something occurs that catches you off guard and opens your eyes to the culture and decision-making process. Maybe you were passed over for a promotion or see others less qualified than you being promoted. At this point, you begin to move toward Stage 2.

Stage 2: Great Work

You are in this stage when you:

Build a reputation for great performance

Are aware of who has the power and influence in the organization.

Understand the importance of relationships

Focus on career advancement but you do not yet have a strategic plan to move forward

Do some networking, but not strategically.

In this stage, you see the importance of developing your personal brand and creating visibility and credibility across the organization. You still work very hard, but now you see that relationships are also important for your advancement. However, you are not actively building relationships for your career or prioritizing this. You are aware of the politics but do not yet engage. You recognize that if you want to get ahead, you need to focus on your career, not just your work. You have yet to figure out how to fit this into your work schedule.

Stage 3: Career Strategy

The next stage, Stage 3, is about becoming strategic. In this stage you are:

Learning delegation/management skills

Building strategic relationships

Seeking mentors/sponsors/coach

Learning to talk about accomplishments

In this stage you are looking at where you want to go and creating a strategic plan to get there. Your plan includes building relationships with key stakeholders and influencers. You are aware that if you want to succeed, you need to delegate to and empower your team and develop your own personal influence and self-promotion skills. In this stage, you recognize the importance of working with a coach or finding a mentor and sponsor.

Many of my clients are in this third stage. They have established themselves as talented and hardworking and now realize that they need to work with their team to reach the next level of success. The work involves how to motivate and inspire the team; how to sell their ideas to their supervisors, peers, and direct reports to achieve business outcomes—in other words, how to create influence and be recognized as a talented manager.

One of my clients, Katherine, contacted me to help her create more visibility and credibility for herself in the global financial services firm in which she works. Katherine describes herself as the “go-to person”—the person who gets things done. My interviews with her peers, direct reports, and supervisors confirmed that this was Katherine’s reputation in the organization. Though her performance was exemplary, she was perceived as more of a doer than a manager. Coaching her to empower and delegate to her team has improved her executive presence and therefore leadership potential. Helping her to identify and build relationships with the power people resulted in her identifying a sponsor and getting promoted twice in 18 months.

Stage 4: Political Savvy

Using personal influence

Mentoring others

Maintaining credibility/visibility

Leading and inspiring others

In Stage 4, you have reached a leadership position by leveraging your talent and hard work along with the relationships you have built across the organization. Now at the top of your organization, you see politics as a way of maintaining your status, promoting your ideas, and helping others to move up the ladder. It’s more competitive on top and you spend much of her time and energy working the politics. You are a great role model for other women in the company and mentors other men and women to achieve their goals.

Bear in mind, as you develop your political savvy you will most likely move back and forth between stages. There are no formal rites of passage. These stages are meant to be a road map for you to track your development and progress.

Where are you in terms of your political savvy?

What stage best represents where you are right now?

What do you need to do to move to the next stage of political savvy?

If you found this article valuable, please follow me on Twitter TWTR +6.22% @selfpromote and check outmy website for more resources and interviews.