Usually, the days go by in a blur of meetings, tasks to do, problems to solve and decisions to make. It is easy to lose sight of what’s important when our brains are overwhelmed with daily tasks.
Yet it is essential to take regular breaks to reflect. This is necessary to look at the forest rather than the trees, and to discover how you can contribute in a remarkable way, rather than being pushed around by events.
To do this, I’d like to suggest some powerful questions to ask yourself every day. They are inspired by Michael D. Watkins’ article in the Harvard Business Review*. Here they are:
How can I create value?
If you are a member of a team, the value you bring to it is not just about your individual contribution. It’s not just about your skills, your technical expertise or your accomplishments. You have to move from “I” to “we”.
So this question is about what you need to do to ensure that you and your team are delivering value by achieving the desired results in the best way possible.
How should I behave?
Adopting a leadership frame of mind, whether you are in a position of authority or not, will have more of an effect on others than you may think. Indeed, you are constantly being observed. Your mood and behaviour are just as noticeable as your know-how. You have the power to instill bad behaviour or inspire excellence by being exemplary.. What you do to others, or what you tolerate, will be imitated by those who admire you, and probably by some of those who observe you, too.
Take a step back to observe yourself and assess the impact you are having on others. Based on your observations of yourself and those around you, what do you want to continue doing? What do you want to stop doing? What do you want to start doing?
What support do I need? From whom?
The more responsibility you have at work, the more you need others to succeed. In the past, your success may have depended mostly on you. Now it depends on your team members, your colleagues, your supervisor.
Indeed, the further you progress in your career, the greater your interdependencies with others. Success depends on your constant attention to these interdependencies, which means always assessing the impact of your decisions and behaviour on others.
What you manage at work is increasingly complex, requiring the collaboration of different people and their expertise. So creating positive, collaborative relationships is essential to your success. And that depends on the trust you inspire, and the influence you have on others.
How can I achieve success quickly?
Take a step back, and make sure you have mastered the following before answering the question:
- Your team’s strategic objectives
- Current priorities
- Your supervisor’s expectations of you and your team (short and medium term)
- The current performance of your team (in terms of the quality of its service, for example)
- The skill level of your team
- The relevance of tools and the efficiency of processes
- Your budget
What does this inspire you to do in terms of areas for improvement? What quick changes would be most valuable?
What are the essential skills for my position?
It is rare that you take on a new position with all the skills you need. However, if you have been promoted, there is confidence that you are able to develop your skills accordingly.
What are they? Based on your analysis of the elements discussed above, list the technical, managerial and soft skills to identify those that deserve your attention.
Keep in mind that “What got you here won’t get you there” to quote Marshall Goldsmith.
And if you are an experienced manager…
I suggest that you regularly reflect on the following questions, which are better suited to your situation:
- How can I create value?
- How should I behave?
- What support do I need? From whom?
- How can my team create more value for the company?
- What conditions for success does my team need to be motivated and successful?
- What are the impacts of my decisions and non-decisions?
- What risks do we face?
- What are the essential skills I need, given my level of responsibility?
Stay safe,
Ginette
*Watkins, M. D. (2019, 9 avril), 5 questions to Ask When Starting a New Job, Harvard Business Review
Food for thoughts.
- Which of the questions listed above inspire you the most? Make a habit of asking yourself these questions regularly.
- When is the best time of day to take a break and think about these issues? In my case, for example, I like to think about it when I get up and have my coffee.
- What is the best way for you to think? By typing it out on your laptop? Writing in a notebook? Talking with a colleague? Some people need to write to think, others need to talk.
- To learn more, you may want to take the training course: Rediscovering the Multiple Roles of the Manager, from which this text is taken.
- And if you are interested in developing your ability to think strategically, I invite you to take this training.