Monthly Archives: February 2015

13. Be brave. Stand up for your position.

It’s easy to avoid antagonism, arguments, aggressive people. It’s much easier to conform and be politically correct. But if you want to learn, lead, and innovate, you have to be brave.

Being brave is always about two things: 1) speaking up and 2) taking the unpopular, but what you believe to be right position.

This is an interesting article by Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal, among other achievements. He talks about how great companies succeed, not by competing with each other, but by being so good at what they do, no one can provide a substitute.  I think this is also how people succeed: not because they compete with each other, but because they are great at what they do, and because not many others do the work necessary to come close.

He also talks about the problem of conformity “We never really push the envelope; we never really ask the tough questions.”  I love the last line of his article:  “And remember, we live in a world in which courage is in far shorter supply than genius.”

So don’t let the moment pass by being silent. Speak up. Be brave.

Mobility

I am a big believer in mobility because I like variability. In college, I liked the electives better than my core courses. I like the sides better than the main course. I like accessories better than the outfit.

A lot of people ask me about mobility: how I did it. It happened two ways for me.

1. Someone told me I was moving. Now at the time, I was often not happy about it. I felt like I had just gotten the hang of things, and they were moving me already? Looking back, those moves were the best opportunities of my career. I learned how to adapt to change, how to get the lay of the land quickly, how to assess people, and how to build relationships and teams. Every time I moved, I had to do all of these things all over again. So it was great practice because those skills are important in managing your career. Others saw in me potential I didn’t see in myself.

2. I raised my hand. There were times when I felt that I had “overstayed” my welcome. That the job was pretty much business-as-usual, and that there wasn’t anything that was going to surprise me. My gut would tell me it was time to move…to try something else, to challenge myself, and keep learning.  In those situations, I would have a conversation with my manager about possible next steps.

Regardless of which way mobility happens, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Stay in your job long enough to have contributed. Jumping from one role to the next isn’t a sign of progress, it’s a sign of someone who’s chasing the next thing. And jumping for the money alone isn’t a good enough reason.

2. Be patient about your next move. Good moves take time (great jobs don’t tend to stay open long). Sometimes it’s about timing.

3. Don’t lose focus on the job you’re in today. You still have to perform. Don’t neglect your day job.

4. Educate yourself: talk to people in different roles. Ask them what they like about their job. Ask them what they don’t like. A peer is likely to be a lot more honest with you than a manager who’s selling you a role. I always spoke to someone who worked for the manager who was interviewing me.

5. Be picky. I have turned down roles I didn’t think were right. I’ve never looked back and thought : “Wow, I really should have taken that role.”  I have thought: “Gee, I should have stayed longer.”

 

 

Don’t be an order taker

This is a big pet peeve of mine. When someone acts like “an order taker.”

What do I mean by that? You get a request or a task which is dependent on inputs from someone else, and you just pass it through. You copy and paste into your document and pass it on. You accept the requirements. You don’t question. You just fill the order.

Does it take a lot more work to ask questions and ask for clarification? You bet. But if it passes through your hands, it’s now yours. You’ve taken their inputs and incorporated it into your output: whether it’s a report, a system enhancement, a change request.  So if you had no idea what they were talking about, it doesn’t put you in the best position to defend what you did. And “that’s what they said” isn’t a great explanation.

Ask the questions. Make sure you understand what they’re trying to convey. They may get irritated, but explain why you’re asking… because you want the best possible outcome. And don’t constantly send it back with lots of little comments or questions. Set up a meeting, walk through it, and if need be, take the pen. Everyone will be better off.