Dalai Lama said, “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” Lessons appear every day, and if you are open to receiving them, you learn and grow. My list continues to evolve with these as my constants.
Lesson 1 – It starts with accountability. Early in my professional career, I learned the value of being accountable to your leader, team, subordinates, and yourself. In college, I worked in an upscale department store. My manager, Eileen, had the highest percentage of employees who volunteered to work on inventory on Saturday. Eileen set clearly communicated goals and held us accountable for meeting them. She led by example, and we followed because she had earned our respect.
It is harder today. When someone is not fulfilling their responsibilities, it takes courage to initiate the conversation, and the result may come with a personal cost. But I have learned that the toll of silence far outweighs stepping into the arena.
Lesson 2 – Let the club do the work. My first golf coach said, “You paid a lot of money for those clubs, let them do the work.” Hire well and – here is the lesson – then get out of the way. It started with a Zoom call when I noticed my full team on the screen. I needed to delegate ownership – immediately. The result was an empowered team that sought out opportunities and owned them. The practice was fueled by their sense of pride when they understood I trusted them to flawlessly execute. We produced an exceptional amount of sales valuable content, and won accolades from our audience, validating our efforts. If you are suffering from imposter syndrome, hey it happens, get some coaching. Nothing stifles creativity and production faster than micromanagement.
Lesson 3 – Remain intellectually curious. When I have a problem or need a different perspective, I take a walk outside and let the ideas come to the surface. Listening to a podcast, reading a blog or a book, keeps me relevant and fuels my brain. Steve Watt, Co-founder ABM Summit Toronto, emphasizes the need for candidates to be passionate about lifelong learning Hiring for ABM – Look for These 5 Characteristics to get hired. I experiment with new learning and delivery methods because my audience deserves it. Keynote beats PowerPoint, Prezi and eMaze raise the bar, and beautiful.ai is a killer program for timelines. The more you stretch, the more you can reach.
Lesson 4 – Be the last to speak. When Nelson Mandela shadowed tribal meetings he observed that his father was the last to speak, Be the Last to Speak. This opens the door for innovation and sharing of ideas. One of my mentors would not provide her opinion until everyone had weighed in, and the end result was an energized and engaged team. Full disclosure – this one takes some practice.
Lesson 5 – Listen and hear. Early in my software career, I worked for a newly promoted manager. Returning from the top producers club, I realized I needed more challenging work. Whitney Johnson calls it the S Curve in her podcast, Build an A-Team. The danger zone in the S Curve occurs when top producers reach their peak and are stifled from personal and professional growth. “The result is stellar employees feeling bored or stuck in their jobs, with no clear career path before them. Employees who were once superstars either move on to greener pastures or become dead-weight and organizational innovation stalls.”
I asked him for more responsibility, not a raise or a title change or a promotion, just more work. You may want to read that sentence again. It never came, so I left the company 5 months later. The lesson – I continue to push myself and others to reach outside of the comfort zones with no regrets.
What are your life lessons? Let’s do this together and embrace the experience.
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