What is keeping you

When you have made up you mind about something and still struggle to follow through, share the decision with someone.

It will help you go deeper, see your arguments from another perspective, and it will point to that part of the whole that is keeping you.

Nuanced

We are parents, candidates, friends, bosses, colleagues, direct reports, volunteers, competitors, acquaintances, organisers, participants, customers, service providers, advocates, seekers, petitioners, suckers, casualties.

And of course, we are much more.

While being aware of all the roles is great, the real point is ensuring that we can still keep them somehow separated to appreciate nuances and be able to give second (and third, and fourth, and fifth) chances.

A friend coming in for an interview is still a friend AND a candidate for a position at your company.

A boss who volunteers for the organisation you’ve been involved with for years is still a boss AND a volunteer.

Somebody you don’t get along with who walks into your shop to purchase some goods is still somebody you don’t like AND a customer.

Roles do not erase each other. They add to each other.

Infinite ways

You have to leverage your strengths.

Not someone else’s strengths. Not someone else’s desire of what your strengths might be. Not someone else’s take on the world that might make your strengths feel redundant.

There are infinite ways to be successful.

Invest time in finding your strengths and money in developing them further.

Three skills

Three skills you deeply need in every job.

  1. The capacity to manage expectations. When are things coming, why are we prioritising this over that, what is the focus for this quarter, why are we changing what we previously communicated. Do it often, be consistent, and be mindful of everyone who needs to be involved.
  2. The capacity to deliver on promises. Very much linked to number one, and arguably one of the biggest reasons why people fail at the work they do. It’s a matter of being proactive and realistic about what you can achieve, it’s about saying no and I can’t, then shifting gear towards number three.
  3. The capacity to focus. It’s impossible to set expectations or deliver on promises when continuously distracted by a new trend, a new urgency, a new need. Stick to it for long enough and build your credibility.

Start working on these today to get an insane edge in whatever role you want to master.

Connect the dots

Are the numbers you track the numbers that matter? Do they tell the story of a success, of your success, or of someone else’s success?

These days, measuring is very easy. You can track basically every progress, every little step, every achievement, every moment. But are those the numbers that take you in the direction you have chosen?

Sometimes we celebrate because we feel we are connecting the dots, but the final image was drawn by somebody else. Be mindful if that is the case.