Tag Archives: vision

Who Says You’re Not Qualified?

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“I’m not sure I’m qualified.” “I don’t have experience.” “I’m too old to try that now.”

Negative self-talk smashes dreams. We look for data to corroborate our fear.

Big Starts Small

I always wanted to run the Boston marathon. The only issue, I hadn’t yet run a 10K. I was decidedly not qualified for that dream. I wasn’t a real runner. I was busy exec and mom. I could have easily talked myself out of it. I’m sure I could have found plenty of friends to affirm my self-doubt. I didn’t ask for opinions. I started running. A few laps around the neighborhood. A 10K, a half marathon, a couple of marathons, many lonely miles in the woods with a timer. On my 40-something Birthday, I ran Boston.

Sometimes, Nike is right.

Forget Qualified, Just Start

What’s your dream? If great seems too crazy to articulate start softly. John Acuff, author of START shares 3 questions fear conveys to “every person who dares to start down the road to awesome.”

  1. Who are you to do that?
  2. You’re too late
  3. It has to be perfect.

I asked John, What is the biggest obstacle that gets in the way of starting?

“The biggest obstacle is fear. I’ve never met anyone who told me, “I’ve never had a single dream, idea or passion.” Regardless of your age or job, everyone has had a dream at some point. What gets in the way most often is fear. We hear these voices of doubt that say, “Who are you to do that?” We feel unqualified. We fear failure but also success. In moments like that we put our dreams back on the shelf for another day or another week or even another year. One day we wake up and say those five powerful words, “How did I get here?”

Start by

  1. Working at it every day
    In her research-based book Mindset, Carol Dweck offers example after example of the unremarkable beginnings of remarkable people. Darwin, Tolstoy, Beethoven, Edison, became great by believing they could, working hard, failing, and getting better day by day. Renowned blogger Seth Godin wrote his 5000th post this week. Want to feel optimistic about getting better with time? Read his early stuff.  Seth Godin got great at writing by writing.
  2. Get experience
    Volunteer.  Give work away. Take a part-time job
  3. Get help
    Ask for feedback. Find coaches and advisors. Learn from every one you can. I love it when I get feedback on my posts. This week a friend wrote, “Strong post with a weak start. You can do better than this.” And then asked some provocative questions. I fixed it with gratitude. When you’re open to learning, people will help.
  4. Avoid the “haters”
    Acuff shares, “someone is going to hate what you do.” That’s not a maybe. That’s a definite. And I don’t mean dislike. I mean hate. With energy and vitriol and a passion that surprises you. Haters are inevitable. Your response is up for grabs.” Learn to manage your trolls.
  5. What would you add?

Start your dream. It’s not too late. Start small, build to amazing.

 

Who Says You’re Not Qualified?

Posted on by | 24 Comments

“I’m not sure I’m qualified.” “I don’t have experience.” “I’m too old to try that now.”

Negative self-talk smashes dreams. We look for data to corroborate our fear.

Big Starts Small

I always wanted to run the Boston marathon. The only issue, I hadn’t yet run a 10K. I was decidedly not qualified for that dream. I wasn’t a real runner. I was busy exec and mom. I could have easily talked myself out of it. I’m sure I could have found plenty of friends to affirm my self-doubt. I didn’t ask for opinions. I started running. A few laps around the neighborhood. A 10K, a half marathon, a couple of marathons, many lonely miles in the woods with a timer. On my 40-something Birthday, I ran Boston.

Sometimes, Nike is right.

Forget Qualified, Just Start

What’s your dream? If great seems too crazy to articulate start softly. John Acuff, author of START shares 3 questions fear conveys to “every person who dares to start down the road to awesome.”

  1. Who are you to do that?
  2. You’re too late
  3. It has to be perfect.

I asked John, What is the biggest obstacle that gets in the way of starting?

“The biggest obstacle is fear. I’ve never met anyone who told me, “I’ve never had a single dream, idea or passion.” Regardless of your age or job, everyone has had a dream at some point. What gets in the way most often is fear. We hear these voices of doubt that say, “Who are you to do that?” We feel unqualified. We fear failure but also success. In moments like that we put our dreams back on the shelf for another day or another week or even another year. One day we wake up and say those five powerful words, “How did I get here?”

Start by

  1. Working at it every day
    In her research-based book Mindset, Carol Dweck offers example after example of the unremarkable beginnings of remarkable people. Darwin, Tolstoy, Beethoven, Edison, became great by believing they could, working hard, failing, and getting better day by day. Renowned blogger Seth Godin wrote his 5000th post this week. Want to feel optimistic about getting better with time? Read his early stuff.  Seth Godin got great at writing by writing.
  2. Get experience
    Volunteer.  Give work away. Take a part-time job
  3. Get help
    Ask for feedback. Find coaches and advisors. Learn from every one you can. I love it when I get feedback on my posts. This week a friend wrote, “Strong post with a weak start. You can do better than this.” And then asked some provocative questions. I fixed it with gratitude. When you’re open to learning, people will help.
  4. Avoid the “haters”
    Acuff shares, “someone is going to hate what you do.” That’s not a maybe. That’s a definite. And I don’t mean dislike. I mean hate. With energy and vitriol and a passion that surprises you. Haters are inevitable. Your response is up for grabs.” Learn to manage your trolls.
  5. What would you add?

Start your dream. It’s not too late. Start small, build to amazing.

 

Perfect Vision is Over-Rated

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You had a perfect vision. Great plans. Strong execution strategy. You worked very hard. You recruited the best talent. Game on.

Oh crap. You didn’t anticipate the change in weather. The new competitor. The newcomers with new ideas. You dig into your plan harder, someone calls you pushy. Your feelings are hurt. You keep pushing. They don’t understand how hard you’ve worked. It’s too late to change now.

Don’t lose vision in pursuit of the plan.

Blurry, But Perfect Vision

When everything appears to be “going wrong” step back. It may be going more “right” than you think.

1. Consider

  • Are the obstacles preventing my perfect vision, or changing the way we get there?
  • Is this change really bad, or just different?
  • Will changing the plan create more supporters?
  • Who’s still with me?
  • Why am I married to this specific plan?
  • Am I leading with confident humility, or just confidence?

2. Engage

  • Talk with the team, do they still believe in the vision?
  • Discuss the changes in circumstances
  • Generate ideas
  • Involve them in choices
  • Collaborate on solutions

3. Respond

  • Build the new plan
  • Garnish excitement from the obstacles
  • Overcome
  • Celebrate wins

Interviewing? 4 Ways to Set Yourself Apart

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It takes more than qualifications to get the job. Don’t count on your track record. In a close race, best prepared wins.

Two candidates were interviewing for a District Sales Manager position. Both had great backgrounds and qualifications. Both nailed the Behavior Based Interview, and we moved on to talk about their planned approach.

Joe (not his real name) came with his generic 90 day strategy. It was as if he had read Michael Watkin’s Book, The First 90 Days,* and copied the generic advice into his plan. His key actions looked like that of so many other candidates. Part of Joe’s plan was to visit every store in his territory in the first 30 days. Yawn.

*p.s I love Watkin’s book. It’s a great read when applied well.

Before her interview, Jane (not her real name), took 2 days off and visited all the stores in the new territory (across a 200 mile radius) in plain clothes. She came prepared with a list of observations, priorities, a platform for improvement, and a robust plan to begin tackling the issues in the first 30 days. She nailed the interview.

Jane’s now knocking that job out of the park.

A Deeper Approach to Interviewing

When interviewing, don’t bring generic plans. Do your homework. Go learn something deeper to discuss.

1. An Understanding of the Business

Talk to people. Arrange advanced visits if you can. Determine who is best-in-class. Understand the current priorities. Use real data to share specifics for your strategy. Come with informed questions. How far you can go with this will depend on whether you are interviewing internally or externally. However, you may be surprised how much data you can find in either circumstance. You can gain much from a solid google search.

2. A Platform

Just like a political candidate, be prepared to share your vision for this role. What is the one big thing you will accomplish? Share why you are passionate about your vision. Articulate the unique aspects of your leadership.

3. Your Angle

Describe your key skills and abilities and how they will benefit this organization. Make connections between unrelated roles. Describe how your diverse experience has built transferable skills perfect for this position.

4. Your Track Record

Come prepared with specific results and deliberate stories that highlight your leadership. Don’t just share your stack rankings(a common approach), share how you achieved them.

How Do You Inspire Passion in Others?

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What if you’re “skipping to work?,” but are having trouble igniting passion on your team? That’s more difficult, and a vital part of leadership.

Why Passion Matters

Jeremy Kingsley, author of the new book, Inspired People Produce Results shares 7 reasons passion is so important in the workplace.

Passion…

1. intensifies our focus
2. enables innovation and creativity
3. provides the drive to persevere, to avoid cutting corners and to pursue excellence
4. creates energy among colleagues that allows work to be completed more quickly
5. helps people deal with fear
6. makes employees want to stay in their jobs and contribute even when they’re not feeling at their bestv

When I spoke with Jeremy, we talked about why passion is sometimes hard to come by.

“Leaders have put so much focus on leveraging people’s strengths, that they forget about passion.”

For people to function at their very best we need to help them find the work that best leverages their strengths, AND which ignites their passion.

“If you don’t find the passion you might have a strong, miserable person.”

Jeremy suggests it begins in the hiring process. Ask people “what inspires you, what brings you joy?” And then be sure there is a close match with the job you are looking to fill. He also advocates for spending the time to really get to know your team. Talk with them about what they enjoy and their hobbies. Listen actively and see what makes their eyes light up that’s a clue to what can ignite their passion.

Jeremy’s book offers 9 other ways to “inspire people to produce results. Although Jeremy gave me this book, as you know, I am not selling, just sharing insights if fact you can read a free sample chapter.

Jeremy Kingsley is a professional speaker, best-selling author, and the President of OneLife Leadership. Since 1995 he has spoken to over 500,000 people at live events around the world. He has given over 2000 keynote speeches and his messages have reached millions through radio, television, and the internet. Jeremy holds bachelors and masters degrees from Columbia International University. He is the author of four books, his latest is titled: Inspired People Produce Results (McGraw Hill 2013)Jeremy lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his wife and two sons.

Discard and Replenish: What Will You Stop Doing in 2013?

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You had a great year, you worked hard, you achieved results, and learned along the way. Great, now what can you discard?

2013 will bring new challenges, exciting initiatives and inspiring ideas. With that will come more work, new project plans, and of course new metrics and reporting. The new initiatives will come on fast and furious, likely with sizzle and inspiration.

Your days were already full no matter how refreshed you feel, you cannot add more stuff, without discarding what has become clutter. Your team can’t either.

How can you empower them to discard?

What Can You Discard?

Before the new year excitement.

Make some room.

Ask some good questions.

Push back to others as needed.

Be sure your team is doing what matters.

What Goals No Longer Serve?

  • What was important in 2012 that no longer aligns with the evolving vision?
  • What are you pursuing because you always have?
  • What are you doing because it feels good and comfortable?

What Must Stop?

  • Revisit your team’s daily routine. Are all tasks still vital? How do they align with your 2013 goals?
  • What tasks have become less important?
  • What agendas are others still pushing which no longer align with your vision and goals?
  • What can you stop doing?
  • What???

What Metrics No Longer Serve Your Vision?

  • What reports haven’t been used in months?
  • What metrics have become less vital?
  • If you were only able to measure 3 things, what would they be? Why?
  • What other questions should you be asking????

How Must You Evolve?

  • How has your team matured?
  • Which leadership behaviors are no longer needed?
  • What do they need most from you this year?
  • What?

A new year provide opportunities for fresh starts and new challenges. Consider having a deliberate discard conversation with your team. This can also be done as a team building exercise, where each team member asks for feedback on what they should start, stop and continue doing to achieve the teams vision.

how to build a strong team vision

How To Build a Strong Team Vision

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Whenever I work with a new team, one of the first questions I ask is “What is your team vision?” Which, is usually met with a few shrugs and some staring at the floor as they (sometimes) tell me about the organization’s vision and values. That’s a great start. But not necessarily enough.  What’s frequently missing is a clear team vision of what matters most and how they’re going to get there.

Sure there are goals, but they may or may not be inspiring. To build results that last, people want a connection to something bigger. The more localized you can make the vision, the more engaged your team will be in accomplishing it.

In her post, A Big Goal is Not the Same as a Vision, Jesse Lynn Stoner shares:

“One way to distinguish between a vision and a goal is to ask, ‘What’s next?’ A vision provides clear ongoing direction—it is clear what you should do next. As you take each step, the next one becomes clear. A vision continues to act as a beacon, guiding you in setting new goals once current ones have been achieved.”

How to Build a Strong Team Vision

1. Start one-on-one.

Talk to each team member individually about the possibilities for the team at its very best.  Define the future. Imagine possibilities.

  • What would it look like if we were to do our very best?
  • What would we be known for?
  • Which accomplishments would we be most proud of?
  • How would the team be working together?
  • What will it take for us to get there?
  • As the team leader, what’s the most important way I can contribute to this future?

2. Set the stage.

Schedule some time for the team to work uninterrupted. Bring some easel paper, markers, and sticky notes

3. Begin with the company’s vision and values.

Ensure everyone understands the big picture – what does success look like for the company? The team vision must directly support the company’s overall vision and strategy.

4. Imagine it is 5 years from now. The team is being recognized for making a game-changing contribution:

  • What is the most important work we are doing?
  • How do our customers perceive us?
  • How do people feel about working on this team?
  • What is senior management saying about us?

5. Turn the ideas into a bold statement of the desired future.

For example, “We will be known for the best customer service in the nation.”

6. Determine how you will measure success.

Define specific metrics that will accurately measure your success.

7. Identify specific behaviors.

Identify behaviors that are needed from you (the leader), and each member of the team to make the vision a reality. Write them down. Create a matrix of what each key role must be doing to accomplish the vision.

8. Stakeholder.

Share your vision and key behaviors with your boss and other key players. Refine as needed to ensure your breakthrough vision is aligned with evolving strategy.

9. Get to work.

How will you link everything you do and say back to the vision?

Recognize early success. What has gone well? How and when can you acknowledge these early victories, tell the stories, and encourage momentum?

Be impatient. Support your stragglers. Teach your team to share their good work.

Winning Well: A Manager's Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your SoulHelpful Articles (and a Book) to Build and Achieve Your Team Vision

How to Encourage Your Team When Results are Disappointing

How to Help Your Team Bring You Better Ideas

Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results- Without Losing Your Soul

Give the Guy a Brake: The Power to Stop

Give The Guy a Brake: The Power to Stop

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So you’ve got everything rolling on all cylinders. The right people, all on the proverbial right bus, all moving in the right direction. Excellent. You’re a motivational leader with a strong vision, inspiring the team toward unprecedented results. This team is fired up, everyone’s with you. Fantastic? Or just about to get dangerous?

Whenever I start a new role, the first person I look for is my “brake guy.” The guy (or gal) who has a deep knowledge of the business at hand, who cares deeply about doing the right thing, and has the courage to say “stop.”

And then my plea goes something like this…

“We are starting on an incredible journey. And trust me, we are going to get the right folks on the bus, all moving in the right direction, and we are going to build momentum. It will be exciting and we’re going to go fast. We might even get folks singing along as we ride (see skipping to work). We will work hard to build an environment of empowerment and constructive dissent. And yet, when it seems just right, it’s harder to stop. You are my brake guy. I need you to be by my side and ready to pull the brake whenever I am about to drive this bus over the edge. I assure you it will happen and when it gets to that point I am counting on you. And yes, I promise I will listen.

Brake guys are invaluable. I have had some fantastic brake guys over the years. It doesn’t happen often, but every time they have used that power, they have been dead on and all I could say was thank you.

Leaders who work fast with big vision, need someone like this around them. I recognize that not every leader fits into this category. If you err on the side of caution, you might need a “push me off the cliff guy,” but that’s a subject for another time.

How Brake Guys Can Help

They…

  • remind you to pause before reacting
  • offer more data and analysis
  • hear what the team is not saying
  • provide historical context
  • remind you of the long-term implications
  • offer options you may not have considered

If you are a brake guy, thank you on behalf of all of us who need you.
And, if need one, find one, and listen well.

Please share: Have you ever had a brake guy?
How was he or she helpful?
Have you served in that capacity?