Prepare the ground for your team to shine.
Ask them. Even better, listen to them. Watch them and understand them. Then, set out to do what leaders are responsible for.
Your success is measured by the success of those that call you boss.
Category: culture
With intent
Good job! is not feedback.
I like how you handled the situation is not feedback.
We are hiring somebody to support you is not feedback.
Performance reviews are not feedback.
The truth is, we rarely get feedback we can work with. And part of the reason is that we probably don’t like it.
We need to be asking for feedback regularly and with intent. What do you want to know? What could help you on your path? What do you feel is important to you at this stage?
Feedback is not going to happen otherwise.
Before the holidays
Few advises for your last day before the holidays.
- Take care of the emails early in the day. You don’t want to send out an important message while you are rushing out of the office.
- Find the courage to say no to last minute requests. In fact, plan your day (even your week) in advance, and stick to the plan.
- Keep the day free of meetings, and let everybody know in advance.
- Allocate half an hour to draft a schedule for your first day back. It’s going to make your last days of vacation feel more relaxing.
- Update your calendar for once you are back. Mark down personal commitments to avoid double bookings, send out invites for things you need to follow up with, allocate time for breaks.
- Remove work related apps from the phone.
- Log off 5 minutes earlier.
I promise you, when you are back, everything is still going to be there.
Enjoy the summer!
A break
Breaks should not be a privilege, a sign of laziness, something you are embarassed to ask.
Breaks are important for two reasons.
They help to take distance from what you regularly do. And in doing so, you get the chance to reinforce your dedication and find new ways to approach old problems.
They also promote the idea that no matter who you are, no matter how important the work you are doing, the world is not going to end if you pause.
Take frequent breaks, and take some long ones too throughout the year. Give them all of your attention and dedication. Make them real.
You should be proud of it.
Praiseworthy
When you do something praiseworthy, you will get approval.
The feedback you get is going to make you feel good, and possibly you will set out to do some other things that will be worth the praise of your peers and audience.
Are you in it for the doing or for the approval?
That is a silly question to ask, because most likely you have mixed motives.
The question to ask, instead, is: would you do it anyway if there was no approval?
That’s how you define passion.
You've got this 