How to Make Remote Teams Work

More and more people expect freedom in the way they work and want to get away from the limitations of a 9 to 5 job. They want to live a lifestyle that is better suited to them, their family circumstances and hobbies they are passionate about. Thus, remote teams, including freelancers, consultants, and even full-time employees, have become much more common, especially among the new generation of companies founded in the last decade or two.

Of course, a new style of working poses new challenges. Trust, culture, reporting lines and project ownership all have to be even clearer. New ways and tools to communicate effectively in these environments have to be cultivated.

The Case for Remote Work

While employee engagement is often cited as a reason to keep people in offices, the experience that remote-first companies have, interestingly enough, is that engagement – and as a result, productivity – is actually improved in well-run remote teams.

Some great examples of companies that work with remote (or distributed) teams across the globe are Basecamp, Zapier, and Buffer. These companies are regarded as some of the pioneers of the remote-first model, giving their team members the choice to work from wherever they are located, independent of a time zone.

In his TEDxMidwest talk, Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals (the company behind the productivity app Basecamp), made a very good point that work is like sleep: We have to go through several phases to get to deep work, just like we have to go through several phases to get to deep sleep. If we are interrupted during the early phases, we can’t just pick up where we left off. We have to go back to the beginning and start all over again in order to eventually reach a deeper level.

We Need Student Organizers, not just Student Voters

That is why, he argues, office environments are not ideal for getting things done, because we are constantly interrupted. Tasks that are complex or creative in nature especially require us to have long stretches of uninterrupted work time, so we can enter into the fully focused deep work state.

Working remotely allows employees to turn off any potential distractions and just get deep into their work, to create and problem-solve in a way that isn't possible when constantly interrupted.

How to Make Remote Work Work

Since freedom and flexibility are becoming increasingly important to employees, companies that offer remote positions can make an offer that many can’t resist. Employees can work when and where they want to work. Working hours are often flexible, independent of time zones and office hours. In some companies, management goes as far as encouraging people to take time off. After all, healthy, balanced employees are more productive.

In the past, workers had to decide between living where they want to live or living where they could have a great career. Thanks to remote job opportunities, many now have the option to have their dream home in a quiet location and work in a dynamic and challenging environment at the same time.

Some companies even pay for standing desks and tech equipment for their employees’ home offices to ensure they have an ideal work environment.

The money companies save on real estate can even be used to cover travel expenses. Since remote-first companies look to hire employees with an entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic, their employees tend to be more adventurous. Hiring teams from around the globe adds another level to the diversity companies need. A wider range of needs and perspectives are taken into account.

Exchange and collaboration are facilitated by a multitude of tools that make it easy to work together across the globe and time zones. An added benefit of this is that someone is always working in any given time zone, so the company is always "on."

Of course, it is vital to clearly communicate what sort of response times are acceptable and how employees are supposed to communicate when working remotely.

On the one hand, employees should have uninterrupted work time as often as possible, which means asynchronous communication should be used often and effectively to keep everyone in the loop regardless of which time zone they are in.

On the other hand, more personal forms of communication are also important to build rapport with co-workers. This can be achieved by using more informal platforms like Slack as well as through personal connections via video conferencing. Especially when dealing with emotional subjects, written communication is very limited and limiting, as all the subtext that is so vital in human connection is missing. We need to hear the voice and see the facial expressions to get all the extra information that words alone won’t give us.

Similarly, it is vital for everyone to have a clearly assigned point person for human resources matters, a point person for each project they are working on, etc. While remote teams might not want to work within traditional hierarchies, it has to be clear to the individual employee how much ownership and decision-making power they have and whom to ask if they have questions or are in need of a decision that is outside of their area of responsibility.

In order to form deeper connections and open the channels for better communication, team retreats or away-days can really boost morale and motivation. Batchbook has a weekly all-company meeting, where remote employees join in via Skype. These events also help to deepen the connection to the company culture and values that guide decision-making. Even remote rapport is usually improved after a retreat, as people have a better sense of how to communicate with a colleague. Allow time in video conferences to do a little socializing, so people get to know each other on a more personal level as well.

This article was first published on Forbes.

In This Time of Crisis, Here's How to Find Your Rhythm

We are surrounded by uncertainty. We don't know what is going to happen next. We may feel unsettled and somewhat paralyzed by the chaos around us. It’s time to take control. It’s time to change your situation for the better – and maybe help a few other people too.

Right now, there is chaos, but with each passing day, we are going to settle into a new normal. It won't be normal we were used to before, but we will get into a new rhythm, a new lifestyle.

We do this every day of our life, especially as entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs; we adjust, we find jugaad, we deal with chaos. This current change is very big, but years of learning to manage change will help us get through. We are resilient. Everything is changing, but a new normal will eventually arise.

Finding a New Rhythm

If you are hearing conflicting versions of what is going on, it is simply because this has happened so quickly that there is no clear prognosis yet. It will take time. Give it time.

I think the key question here is, how quickly can we adapt to the present situation? How can we get into a rhythm for now? What can we do to work toward establishing a new rhythm for ourselves? In my experience, rhythm has to work at three levels.

Getting Yourself Into a Rhythm

It is only natural to worry about our health and the health of those we care about. However, if we take the worry to an extreme, it may affect us adversely. Some people may have difficulty sleeping. Their existing ailments may get worse. This is natural and expected. Some of us may look to sleeping pills, cigarettes or alcohol to manage this anxiety, but there are healthier ways. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you:

• Take breaks from watching, reading or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals; exercise regularly; get plenty of sleep; and avoid alcohol and drugs.

• Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

Slowly you will start to find your new rhythm.

Getting Others Into a Rhythm

Some of us are more resilient than others. When we see someone who is struggling to deal with the situation, our first reaction might be, “Why are you behaving like this? Get your act together.”

While this is understandable since we are all struggling right now, try to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Maybe they are not as experienced at dealing with uncertainty and change as you are. Maybe the tightly-woven rug of security has just been pulled out from under their feet. So, if you can, help others and guide them. When you guide them, you will also get the strength to guide yourself.

I remember the 1971 war in my country. I lived in a small township at the time. There was a complete curfew, no lights were allowed and all windows were covered with newspaper, so the aircraft would not drop bombs on the town. What I remember most about those days is people sharing food, grandparents sharing stories and everyone playing games together in the night.

During the day, kids studied in groups and fathers would go to the factory to make the steel required to feed the war machinery. All of this was our way of keeping things normal, helping each other. There were no counselors in those days, most problems were solved with a hug and an offer of food.

If others around you are not in rhythm, how will you be? So, if you can, step in and help them get into a rhythm, too.

Getting the World Into a Rhythm

With all that is going on, it is easy to get overwhelmed. There are many aspects we cannot control. There are larger forces — larger players — taking care of that. Now is the time to remember our sphere of influence. What changes are in our power to make? How can we use them to serve the greater good?

What can you do? You can help in some way. We are all here for a purpose. We have an important role to play. If you stay focused on being productive, many things can happen. Normalcy will return more quickly, your mind will be occupied with something useful and you will make a meaningful contribution.

Many people are now working from home for the first time. If you have never done that before, you may experience some teething problems. The internet might be slow, VPN may be slow, there may be interruptions from others in the house. We can handle this two ways. We can moan and complain or we can get creative and find solutions. We are resilient. We can make this work. We can do our part.

Do what you can. There are people giving free coaching. There are people serving tea to the guards securing our residences. There are artists performing free online concerts to help people relax. What can you do? How can you use your skills and talents to help?

What We Should Avoid

Some of us have gotten so used to the chaos that we have developed a “I don’t care” attitude. That is dangerous and something we need to change. Some people may say, “Everything is chaotic, so I will simply give up.” That’s not going to help. In a couple of weeks, in a month, how will you feel if you handled this time badly and wasted it? If you don’t have a laptop and cannot work, learn something new using your phone. Go on Coursera, or help someone else learn something new. Be useful; don’t waste this time. Find your rhythm.

This article was first published on Forbes.

Three Crucial Steps for Customer Support to Address Expectations

There are various triggers for the sea-change in customer expectations, but in my opinion a large part of it has been because of the move to the cloud.

Earlier customers would buy an application or a piece of hardware, and when they had a problem, they would raise a ticket. Then we, the customer support team would respond. But now the hardware, software, and data - Everything is integrated into our data center. It's our own product, and it's typically on a SaaS platform, so the expectation is that it will work 24/7.

With the cloud, customers also have a lot more options. That means, they are no longer obligated to stay with you and your product offering for life. This also means that customer support has to deliver on every single transaction, or else they face the very real challenge of customers exiting indiscriminately.

This might seem merely like a paradigm shift in technology, however, what is unseen is that it needs to be accompanied by a paradigm shift in perspective. How customer-support teams can truly leverage such large-scale tech developments, is to train people to keep up with the changes. This does not just involve L&D programs centered around tools and techniques. This also requires leaders and their teams to be more sensitive and empathetic to customer needs and sensibilities. If everyone has the requisite technology, then how can you as an organization achieve an edge? The answer is simple – By having more than the requisite humane capabilities.

Here are three practical steps to successfully address rising customer expectations. While these form the fundamentals, it is advisable to get a coach or consultant on board to truly instill these aspects into an organization’s culture. And what better way to do this than top-down, starting with the leadership?

Step 1: Reduce Overdependency on Metrics

Metrics can only measure so much. They cannot measure the tone of your reply, your sense of ownership, your team’s service orientation, or anything that may be important from a customer’s perspective. To put it simply, metrics do not always ensure customer delight.

One important reason why this perspective change requires true culture building and leadership coaching is that some common methods are so deeply ingrained, that an external voice is needed to guide the change.

For example, I think the word “average” is one of the most counter-productive terms in the context of customer support. People say, “My average response time is great,” while their 7-day backlog is at 5%. Isn’t there a clear contradiction in these metrics? Ultimately, the customer is not concerned with what your company’s average resolution time is across hundreds of service requests. They are more interested in what you and your customer support team deliver for them individually, every single time they have an issue. Every interaction counts. Every customer counts.

Step 2: Understand Your Customer’s Business

I remember a situation when a Telecom Operator’s Network was down due to an issues with a suppliers Hardware & Software solution. We need to understand that for a Telecome operator, each second of downtime means lost revenue opportunity, which can never be recovered. Because of this they were applying tremendous pressure on their suppliers. A short-term Network outage in a normal office may cause delays in working, but not actual loss of 1000’s of dollars every second. Unless the support professional have the business context of their customer, they would not realize the urgency. This is an issue across all backend support functions. Without understanding customer’s business, customer-service-prioritization would be faulty. After all, if you do not understand your customer’s business, then how will you effectively service them? How will you improve Service orientation in the organization.

Step 3: Improve Teams Knowledge About Product Functionality

What does this mean? Simply put, this involves the creation of empathy towards a customer’s needs. Once you have understood the product, learn to understand what the customer wants from the product. Most teams will spend a large portion of their time learning the underlying technology of the Product. But how many leaders understand what their core target group is looking for? This would involve actually simulating problem scenarios, testing the product functionality, and reading up about how the customer uses the product. Until this is achieved, the ability to think from the customer’s angle will not develop.

These steps are the prerogative of leaders and decision-makers. You can make a change in your company, with your customer support team, only if you initiate the process of designing training modules that mirror real-world situations. It would be unreasonable for the customer-facing teams to divert time from firefighting and learn such methods individually. Coach your leadership to think like their junior-most customer service executive, and in turn like their end customer. A true leader learns from the challenges of their customers before she/he can even begin to teach the people.

Why Influence in Leadership is Better

The role of the senior leader is very complex.  They must know how to effectively produce results amidst dynamic economic and political environments, successfully manage others in complex organizational structures, and in the case of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), there is also the added role of managing a board of directors.  First, when it comes to producing results for the organization senior leaders are usually confronted with two situations which require an adept ability at using authority and influence to effectively produce results:

1. Leading an area of the business where parts of the deliverables include other leaders who are not direct reports

2. Leading an area of the business with direct reports but who also in directly are responsible for the agendas of other senior leaders.

Secondly, in the case of a CEO, the responsibility of managing a board of directors comes with the added responsibility of meeting their information and relationship needs in order to firm up their support of the direction of the organization.  The challenge in either of these situations is ensuring that the relationships are in place and that the network that one is connected to is supportive of the goals and objectives and will support that agenda.  Although senior leaders may have the benefit of formal authority to compel other leaders and direct report managers to conform to their goals and objectives, this use of ‘might’ should not be a leader’s only source of power and authority within an organization. 

A growing body of research is showing that all leaders should begin to tap into their use of ‘influence’ within the organization to navigate and successfully manage in their organization.  While ‘might’ was considered to be the go-to approach for meeting organizational goals and objectives, evidence shows that leaders who use a command-and-control approach to compel conformity may achieve public compliance, but will likely lose the private commitment and support.  This is true regardless of whether the recipient is a peer, a direct report, or another stakeholder within the organization.  Consequently, when given the opportunity, these leaders and managers could undermine efforts of the domineering leader or simply chose to ignore the senior leader’s agenda and support the agendas of those leaders with whom they feel connected.  Therefore, it is this absence of true commitment that makes the command-and-control approach undesirable as it oftentimes will yield less optimal results.    

Progression from Manager to Business Leader

Managers rely on invention and leaders are eager to reinvent. For many managers, a career move necessitates progression to a Business Leader, but the shift should be self-initiated - a mental upgrade and the role change will follow.

Requires Mindset Change

The Manager role tends to be more tactical, focused on delivery, execution, managing team productivity, retention etc. The shift to a business leader role involves learning new skills, cultivating new mindsets, and changes in leadership focus.

Create a Transition Plan

Nothing happens without a plan, especially a change which requires shift at multiple levels. Ensure everything on the plan is connected back to the goals and has a direct business purpose, anything added which does not connect back to a goal tends to eventually fall off the list.

Key Mindset & Skill Transitions

1. Implement to Enable: Shift focus from just your team’s performance results and growth – to what would benefit your company – solve complex organization problems.

2. Tactical to Strategic: Transcend from just focusing on how to implement organization strategy which impacts your function. Look at the larger picture, but maintain the ability to smoothly dive into the details.

3. Internal to External: From inward and downward focus to outward and upward focus. Engage your key stakeholders and customers.

4. Command to Influence: Transition from managing by building circles of power to creating circles of influence. Inspire and mobilize others towards a shared goal.

5. Arrange to Structure: Finally, the transition from the alignment of roles and responsibilities to Systems, Structure, Models and Design thinking - steps for a business leader to draw the future map.

Constantly expand your horizon to understand your company’s purpose, direction, key drivers, be conversant with all aspects of the business, ensure results, keeping a long-range perspective.

The Crucial First 30 Days at a New Job!

The first few weeks in a new job can be intimidating in some ways, easy in others. The initial month is a short time to seed in and make a lasting impression. You need to make the most and hit the ground running. One advantage is that since you are starting new, you won’t know much to take on heavy workload. Utilise this time to learn, make contacts and understand the industry you work for. Making the right impression can be a challenging experience, but the positive implications of this are manifold. To help you work successfully, here are few ways you can maximise your first month on the new job.

Be a Leader

A leader is someone who demonstrates what is possible. Take this opportunity of starting new and take initiative. If you are one amongst the group, your efforts will simply be overlooked. Instead, take initiatives and challenges upon you and make things happen. A leader is always a step ahead. This means you reach your work place before your boss and leave after him. This shows your dedication and punctuality which leaves a positive impact on everyone.

Ask Questions, Many Questions

During the first month, you can learn a lot about the company. You need to pay attention to the details like business objective, the organizational makeup of the company and its method to succession. Learning new things lead to queries. Keep asking questions if you have a doubt. With this, not only will your learning become quicker but you will have a better understanding of the functionality of your job. This way you will show your intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm. Managers appreciate and love to see these traits in everyone at a company, from entry-level employees to executives.

Don’t Let ‘Experienced’ People Hold You Back

Your workplace is your arena to excel. You face challenges and strive to resolve them for good. However, a workplace consists of competitors and /or people who might want to ‘show you how it’s done and how that their way is the only way’. These are possibly the ones who want to hold you back from growing. Do not get derailed!

Go Beyond the Deliverables

Your job requires you to accomplish and meet deliverables. The first month is always a crucial one as you are under scrutiny to see if you can keep up with the organisation. The first step is to avoid making mistakes. This draws unnecessary negative attention. You need to work persistently and meet the timely targets. But what makes you stand out from the rest of them? Meeting deliverables is need of the hour. You need to take a step ahead, contribute new ideas and be proactive about your onboarding. An ambitious employee is always an inspiration to everyone.

Seek Inspiration from Your Boss

A high potential employee is someone who delivers strong results, masters new types of expertise, contains a catalytic learning capability and is an enterprising spirit. What a high potential employee also does is seeks inspiration from her boss. According to a research, a boss adds about 1.75 times as much output as the average worker. The findings of the study are applicable to a growing swath of the economy. A high potential employee understands the importance of this growth. She derives the working demeanour of her boss to inculcate the positive habits for perpetual growth of the company. If you are a new employee seeking to be a high potential employee, converse with your boss at every opportunity to expand 360-degree knowledge about the company.

Seek Constant Feedback

As a new hire, you are oblivious to the historical context about why a policy or a process may not need fixing. Tread lightly and seek constant feedback. Set up meeting(s) with your managers to check in on how you’re progressing, the process to speed work, clarify expectations and how to manage them proactively- especially in a matrix organisation where you report to more than one person. Create a 90-day success and learning plan to come up to full productivity with a compatible speed and sense-check with your manager(s). Focus relentlessly on making progress on your objectives via these feedbacks.

Build Multi-Level Relations

Getting to know your colleagues inside and outside of your team is priceless. Lunch with employees from different departments, at different levels and learn their day-to-day role and what they like and dislike about the company. Probe for general advice to understand how things work in a firm and develop important relationships overall. Take time to get to know your boss. Find out what business matters worry her and seek ways to help her. Be willing to make suggestions and initiate discussions, but be careful not to come in guns blazing, as she has more experience with the company than you do.

Don’t Reject Company Culture

Get intimate with the company culture and establish yourself as a strong contributor. Understand the norms and cordially abide by the policies. Take notes on how different people at varied levels communicate with each other and what the topic of discussion is. Incorporate the company culture while you stay true to your values and principles. Being polite leaves a lasting impression too. Express gratitude when needed and establish an emotional connection with everyone. With this not only will everyone like you but you will be remembered for a long time.

Maybe all these will require extra time and efforts on your part but by asking the right questions, establishing the right relationships, constantly learning the ins and outs of the business and keeping a positive attitude will help you earn credibility and give you the opportunity to grow and add value to your organization faster. 

10 Steps to a Trusting Culture That Fosters Superior Performance

Leaders who inspire trust to enhance their ability to deliver extraordinary results on a sustained basis. The cornerstone of effective leadership is building trust – with one’s team, customers, suppliers, shareholders, community and all other stakeholders. Stephen R. Covey puts in the value of trust very effectively in these lines, “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

In today’s discussion, I have put together a few basic principles of building trust. Putting these into action in our daily lives can help us create trust with our leaders and our team members. 

Building Trust with Your Leadership & Critical Stakeholders

1.  Demonstrate Integrity: Abraham Lincoln said “Great leadership is a product of great character. And that is why character matters.” Acting with integrity in thoughts and actions is necessary. A person who is honest, accepting and forthcoming with mistakes (should there be any) such that their leaders are not blindsided is entrusted with higher and critical responsibilities. People who stand by their word have an impeccable reputation that holds them good in trying times as stakeholders trust them to navigate the organisation through any crisis. Self-promotion or rumour mongering are detrimental to this cause.

2.  Express Freely: Leaders value people giving an honest, thought through and unbiased opinion to them that is for organisational good. Taking a firm stand based on logic helps build our credibility. Being pragmatic and ceding ground should a better approach be proposed is also essential.

3.  Build Credibility: While it can take years to build credibility it can be lost in a matter of minutes by refusal to take responsibility. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz’s initial refusal to take ownership of the infamous passenger dragging incident at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in April 2017 led to widespread criticism and erosion of brand value that will be hard to recover from, apart from the loss of the opportunity of elevation to the position of Chairman for Munoz himself. Leaders who are self-driven, reliable, take initiative, strive to over deliver but definitely deliver what is committed and demonstrate ownership in the overall organisational interest, are ones who are valued by their stakeholders.

4.  Alignment of Interest: Despite a bitter fight in the primaries to secure the Democratic Presidential nomination for the 2008 US elections, former President Barack Obama roped in his former rival Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State during his first term in office and the overall alignment of values, goals and mission allowed the two of them to forge a successful working relationship.

It is necessary for own and organisational interest that one aligns with its goals and gets to know their leaders and understands their thought process. Once aligned, it is easier to give it your all to achieve the mission. A dissonance is detrimental to self and organisation and it would bode well to move on in such circumstances. However, disagreements of the past can be set aside to forge mutually beneficial relationships which can be in the interest of the organisation as the Obama-Clinton partnership demonstrates.

5.  Solution Orientation: Stephen R. Covey in his book The 7 habits of Highly Effective People mentions about ‘solution-selling’ being a key paradigm to business success. Leaders value people who are proactive and find solutions rather than point out problems. An individual with a problem-solving approach who is willing to provide multiple solutions with pros and cons thought through is valued as it helps leaders take quick decisions. It shows action orientation and leaders develop trust in our capability.

Building Trust with Your Team

1.  Being Humble and Empowering Team: Being a leader is not an entitlement but an opportunity to empower our people without building an ego. The most well-respected and effective leaders are ones who are humble and treat people fairly. Warren Buffet, the most successful investor in the world, is known to lead a fairly simple life without the trappings of luxury and has pledged 99% of his wealth to charity. Lazlo Bock, SVP – People Operations, Google espouses humility as one key trait sought in new hires as it helps create space for others to contribute while at the same time shows the leader’s willingness to learn.

2.  Listening: Abraham Lincoln, arguably one of the greatest leaders in modern history, was noted for his patient listening of others’ perspectives. Listening to multiple viewpoints helps us improve our knowledge of a situation thereby aiding better decision making besides gaining trust and respect from the team as they feel heard. Richard Branson says in a 2014 interview to Entrepreneur India, “If you want to stand out as a leader, a good place to begin is by listening. Great listeners are often terrific at uncovering and putting in place strategies and plans that have a big impact.”

3.  Support and Help: Steve Jobs was known to be a leader who surrounded himself with people whom he called ‘A’ players. Helping others succeed by sharing our knowledge, skills and ideas ultimately help us succeed. People smarter than ourselves are not a threat but an asset to our teams and our own success. A leader’s impact is enhanced when their decisions and actions are complemented by the superior competence of others in their team.

4.  Build Credibility: “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower. In his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill wrote: “Without a sense of fairness and justice, no leader can command and retain the respect of his followers."

Doing the right thing in any situation even if it may be detrimental is essential; in the long term, it will be beneficial. Leaders who are willing to share stories of their failures for others to learn from are more trusted by their team members than ones who only share success stories.

5.  Model Behaviour: As a leader, it is critical to lead by example. Such leaders truly inspire and make people go the extra mile. Leaders who are willing to get their hands dirty are seen as inspiring. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the World.” As a leader, we are in glass houses and our behaviours are being observed keenly by our team and others. We need to model behaviours that we expect of others.

Action Takeaway

There is no denying the positive impact of building trust in our relationships. Are you modeling these behaviours and how can these benefit you? Here is one thing you can try out.

Identify from your personal or professional life 1-2 key relationships that have been difficult to manage. Critically analyse how you can use any or all of the above principles to build trust. Create a scratchpad where you can note a couple of key incidents on a daily basis where you applied some of the above principles and how the nature of relationship changed on sustained use of trust-building behaviours. I would love to hear your experiences. 

Lessons Managers Can Learn from Marathon Runners

To prepare for a marathon, it takes years of practice, perseverance and motivation. Managers in many ways are like marathon runners. Managerial skills often coincide with the athletic mind-set of the runners. There are a few qualities of marathon learners that can take mangers a long way. It helps them build their career skills and lead the team head-strong.

Mindset Is Everything

Your mindset is the X-factor that determines the degree of success or failure. It is a reflection of who you truly are and the reality you perceive is the end product of this mindset. In order to make the most out of your career, every manger needs to adopt the mindset of successful athletes. These include qualities like persistence to endure till the end, positive realism to overcome short-term failures, humility to keep improving at every given step, vulnerability to strengthen and resolve because you cannot grow until you acknowledge your weakness.

Ask yourself ‘Have I done everything I could to achieve my goals?’ Just like marathons, career days are not infinite and you have to make every opportunity count. Do everything you are willing to do to achieve your goal right now. Adapt the above qualities and living a life with no regrets becomes your second nature.

Set Small Goals

Small goals are required to achieve a long term success. Observe marathon runners, they plan their targets on a weekly basis for a run which is six months away. They set their aim for each run and persistently work towards it. Real motivation calls for an on-going feedback and intermediate goals. If you are leading a project, it helps you and your team to understand the necessity of achieving short term goals which gives more clarity for the long run. Also, constant feedback on the performance helps you and team to prepare for the better.  

Much Needed Recovery

Recovery is as important as running the marathon. This is something that most runners take seriously. They don’t incessantly train flat out every day without the inclusion of rest days in their training schedule. Unfortunately, in business, this is generally not the case. Recovery and renewal are often ignored despite the fact that research shows how working for long hours over a prolonged period reduces overall effectiveness.

Unlike marathon runners, this exhaustion for managers is more of a mental well-being than a physical well-being. As a manager, your job profile requires you to be proactive at most times. Avoiding the burnout can lead to stress and frustration piling up. When you are exhausted, all your troubles feel magnified and this leads to additional stress. Hence, slow down, take a break, and prepare better for the next day. 

Peer Support and Scope for Improvement

Runners usually train alone. However, the ones who strive for better performance usually have a training partner who pushes them to do better. By pushing each other to surpass their limits, both achieve greater level of performance. This is important for managers too. While managers need to be independent and resilient to lead a team, having a peer support is vital for them to perform better. Having such a peer who can give you an honest feedback and challenge you to perform better is a huge benefit as it will bring out the best out of you.

Embrace Obstacles

Preparation for a marathon is filled with obstacles. Sometimes, the training doesn’t go the way you planned it. Setbacks and obstacles like injuries are a part and parcel of this process and they should be looked as challenges and not barriers. The key is to learn how to plan for and manage them. If faced with a business difficulty, accept and embrace it. Set a preliminary schedule with a clear agenda so you can track the progress. In business, downfall is a common occurrence that can easily make you lose interest. True discipline requires you to be emotionally committed to keep going despite external factors. A consistent effort always pays off, and in the end it benefits you overall. 

Preparing for a marathon is a long term process. You encounter obstacles, setbacks and often get drained out in the process. Business life is not any different, especially the role adorned by managers. Just like marathon runners, managers too need to adapt to an athletic mind-set and train dedicatedly. In the end, though a long journey, there is a definite success awaiting you. Train like a marathon runner and watch yourself making a difference.

Taking Risks: The Secret Weapon of the Successful

 “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take”

One often finds two kinds of players in the career playground- those who “play it safe” and those who are “risk takers”. The safe players are known to live in a zone of mediocrity. These players maybe average performers who colour inside the lines and always play by the rules. Such people fear the unknown and rarely venture outside the boundaries.

On the contrary, risk-takers live in a realm of possibility and greatness. They dare to go beyond their comfort zone and colour outside the lines. Risk-takers acknowledge failure as another aspect of life and not the end of it. For them failure is an experiment that didn’t work! Risk takers are all about challenging the status quo. They hone their decision making skills to take the right kind of risks and are able to reach great places with it.

They Negate the Negativity

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” -Mark Zuckerberg

We live in a world filled with uncertainties. These uncertainties are more prominent in the career domain. For example, there are many instances where you are required to make a decision. Every decision including the decision to do nothing carries an element of risk with it. The problem occurs when you tend to exaggerate the consequences of the risk of certain moves, overlooking the opportunities, hence giving rise to assumptions.

While risk is an unavoidable constant of life, instead of contemplating on the consequences of a risk you’ve never attempted, try evaluating the entire scenario, including the potential hazards. You excel further when you avoid shying away from taking risks, and instead focus on taking the right kind of risks that offer the opportunities. How often do you ask yourself ‘Is this risk worth taking? Does this risk impart a more perilous circumstance or a benefitting one? Which risk would pay off more in the long run?’

Comfort Zone- Not So Beautiful After All

By definition, a comfort zone is a place where one feels safe or at ease. Though it is a beautiful place, nothing ever grows there. Hence it is necessary for one to break out of it, especially when you want to take risks.

To implement this habit, you can start with doing everyday things differently; for example, taking a different road to work.  Whether the changes you make are big or small, make a change in the way you do your daily activities. Look for perspectives that come from these changes, even if they are negative. Slowly, take bigger steps. Identify your fears and face them with determination. This pushes you out of your comfort zone and prepares you to take risks. Though it can be hard to break out of your routine, if you really challenge yourself you can end up with fruitful results.

They are Okay with Failure

 “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work.” - Thomas Edison

Risk-takers are essentially people who learn from failure and use those learnings to their advantage. They know that practicing the art of taking risks may one day increase the outcome of success, but it also carries a cost of failure. Sometimes these costs are the ones that define you at work.  More often than not they are largely imagined. However, risk takers know that too.

Michael Gervais, a renowned psychologist explains that the limbic system in our brain has evolved to experience a physical and emotional danger in the same part of the brain. To not misunderstand one pain for another, we have got to work beforehand. This happens with learning to accept and be okay with failure, with viewing short term failures as a part of long-term achievements. In other words, if you want to take risks, you shouldn’t judge yourself on whether you succeed but rather on whether you have the guts to risk failure in the first place.

They Take Initiatives and Express Opinions

One initiative can change the world. Taking initiatives and expressing your opinion can contribute to constant development at workplace. To hone the skills of taking initiative, do more than what is required of you. Do you have brilliant ideas? Then go ahead and let them out. A million ideas didn’t mean anything to the world, only because they were untold. When you take initiative without being asked, you solve problems using your intellect, which helps you realise your potential and earmark progress. Taking initiative also means you have the courage to take more responsibilities, preparing you further to take risks.

Failures are a part of risk-taking; they are merely experiments that didn’t work. Failures teach you to have a clearer understanding of consequences which help you grow and prepare you to take the right kind of risks. Life is too short to play it safe, because people who don’t play safe are the ones who truly embrace success.

The Art of Managing Your Manager

Not all skills to be exhibited at your workplace are mentioned in your job description. Some are acquired and when practiced makes you stand out from the crowd. One such skill is learning how to manage your manager, supervisor, or as some would call it- upward management. What is that? In simple terms, managing upwards is about managing your immediate manager. This is a fundamental aspect of your job if you want to do well career-wise. Managing upwards essentially requires subordinates to take certain actions and practice them diligently to effectively manage their professional relationship with their managers. This helps to establish a bond with reporting managers and shape their perception of your work.

Irrespective of how long you have been working with them, it is never too late to take the first step towards building a bridge of communication with your reporting manager. This opens work productivity and trust factor. Having said this, not all bosses are alike. Some are compassionate while some are the exact opposite. It is important to invest time and understand your manager as a person. After all, they might be the ones you look up to.

Here are few strategies to effectively to implement upward management at your workplace.  

Actively Communicate Your Progress

How often do you substantially communicate with your boss? Do you know how often do they want an update with work and to what extent? While some supervisors prefer daily updates and like to micromanage every aspect of every project, some are okay with being brushed through the touch-points periodically. Find out which category does your boss fall into. Also, gauge the mode of communication they are comfortable with to get work updates. You can also be a step ahead of them on these updates. Imagine a situation wherein your managers are the ones who come forward to ask for an update. This is something you do not want to encounter. Instead, every time he wonders about the progress, a status email should already be in his inbox, or you should’ve previously scheduled a status meeting for that week. Proactively implementing this practice by providing timely work updates instills confidence and trust in your stakeholders about you and your work. This helps you in the long run to get bigger and better projects.

Adapt Yourself to Your Boss’s Working Style

Often it is said that it is small things matter the most. Getting to know the little things that matter to your boss can help you manifold. You can start with understanding their pet peeves. For example, if one of their pet peeves is not being open to staying late or being interrupted while talking, the act of indulging in the same can cause unnecessary misunderstandings and strain the relationship. To avoid this pitfall, find a way to ask your boss about his or her preferred work style.

Ask Questions and Clarify Your Doubts – It does not make you stupid!

Supervisors deal with layers of information and multiple people at the same time. More often than not they tend to leave out the details while delegating or assume that their team members know the nitty-gritty. In such cases, it is better to ask questions and clarify any doubts about the work assigned and your responsibilities. This not only helps you as a subordinate to work better but also keeps all the concerned parties away from unwarranted complexities.  

Don’t Wait Too Long to Wave the Red Flag

More often than not, when things go wrong, our first instinct is to fix it. If it cannot be fixed, we tend to hide it. This is a wrong professional decision. Why? Because either way your boss is going to discover the situation. This backfires if he is caught off-guard by his seniors. It is in your best interest to inform your supervisor whenever you foresee a terrible situation and come up with a constructive solution. Better to be safe than sorry.

What Motivates Your Manager?

Every stakeholder and a team lead have a set agenda they wish to achieve. This list defines their work objectives.  They keep certain motivational triggers to keep them going. It is imperative that you as an aspiring professional identify these trigger points that keep your reporting manager motivated. Understand what your manager’s goals and challenges are. Try to the best of your capacity to resolve these problems. If necessary take your colleagues in confidence and discuss the issues at hand with them.  This encourages team-spirit, and the entire team stays motivated to achieve a single objective.

All the above upward management tactics in totality talk about how actively you can show your boss your managerial skills, your dedication to work and professionalism by keeping him informed about everything and playing a motivator on bad days. These skills are successful because your boss is someone you aspire to become. He or she molds you to become a better team player and a top performing team member who is reliable to work with. You being supportive of your manager encourage them to achieve profit objectives for the organization as a whole. This is beneficial for both you and the team in the long run. 

Developing the Power of Instincts

“Trusting your gut is trusting the collection of all your subconscious experiences.”

According to psychologists, the world is made up of two parts- the outside and inside. Outside world is what you come across every day- family, friends, colleagues etc. With an engaging world, you often spend your time in the outside world usually at work, interacting and coordinating with your teammates and clients. Seldom do you find time to reflect on your inner world, which consists of your instincts. Instincts play a major role in making right decisions and shaping your life. 

 The Human Instinct and Psychology 

What is instinct? An Instinct is a thought from your subconscious mind which helps you make informed decisions. Instincts at the workplace are extremely helpful when it comes to forming relationships and making perceptions. You come across a variety of people at the workplace, some you connect with and some you don’t. This happens because people give off certain behavioural cues based on which you form opinions about them. This is due to your instincts acting up.

 Art of Developing Your Instinct  

The art of developing and activating your instincts helps in making perpetually right decisions-which lie in-between the outside and inside world. For this, it is imperative for you to spend time alone and reflect on your thoughts. You have to create space to pay attention to what your gut says. That’s why people say they get their best ideas in the shower. Acquiring this time to reflect on your thoughts helps segregate your emotions aside and make unbiased decisions. 

 Instincts in the Workplace  

People often confuse with being instinctive to being judgemental. Instincts are different from forming a judgment. They tell you what is wrong from right whereas making judgments lets you form opinions about someone based on certain situations. To make the most at a workplace, listen to what your instincts say to make grounded decisions and form relationships which last lifelong. 

Similarly, when you have to deal with problems and issues, instincts play a major role. How often have you heard your boss say “Go with your gut!” Your instincts are formed due to past experiences or similar bygone situations. Often, the mind is boggled with redundant thoughts, which cloud your thinking capacity making it difficult for you to pay attention to your instincts.  

Relationship Between Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Communication 

Intrapersonal communication is the communication you have with yourself. Your thought cloud gains more clarity which leads you to make more grounded decisions. The intrapersonal communication makes your interpersonal communication better because it is the experiences on which our perception relies and our perception influences our interaction with people. A strong connection with your inner world makes you aware of your feelings making it a foundation for the right environment. And a right environment makes your work life and everyday situations easier to tackle. 

It is said, pay attention to smaller things, that’s where the big answers lie. Developing and paying attention to your instincts molds your thought process and helps make better decisions in the workplace. This in-turn enhances your relationships with your colleagues and forms a positive environment to work in. A louder instinct leads to a better life. 

Why Great Leaders Admit Their Mistakes

Adorning the role of a leader is more often a team-play than a one-man army. However, many leaders allow their egos and hidden agendas maneuver the steering of leadership. This not only hampers organizational growth but also stands in the way of doing what is best for people who serve the organization. Such leaders also believe that they are always accountable for being right.  Conversely, a true leader is responsible to see that every problem has a solution or an opportunity to it which keeps the momentum going.

Making mistakes is a part of a leadership journey. This doesn’t mean being a reckless leader. It means being responsible for why things didn’t work out in your favor and in what way could you have approached a problem. A responsible leader also knows the subject-matter experts in the team and empowers them during the crisis so that no unpredicted situation befalls the organization.

 To be a great leader is an ongoing process and to make sure you are developing as one, here are some reasons why admitting to your mistakes is essential.

Vulnerability Fortifies the Team

The vulnerability is a sign of strong leadership, yet many leaders hide behind their title and are hesitant towards being vulnerable to the fear of being perceived as weak. They believe that vulnerability will undermine their executive presence and lower their authoritative pedestal. Unknowingly, this creates a rift between leaders and their teams. Team members often want to relate to their leaders as individuals and want to know that they too have experienced similar obstacles to get to where they are today.  A leader who admits to their mistakes bridges this gap and elevates a deeper sense of accountability that can be shared with the team. This not only strengthens the core of the team, but everyone understands the value of having each other’s back.

Leads to Earning Respect

As a leader, your team doesn’t expect you to be perfect. They solely require your undivided attention and provide them the trust to be reliable on you. When leaders are honest about their shortcomings and learn from their mistakes, they earn the respect of the team and create a much-needed environment of transparency.

Respected leaders are not afraid to challenge the status quo and take bold initiatives. Yes, they fear the consequences of a decision going wrong. But playing it supremely safe can never earn anybody’s respect. Trust and respect are theirs who adorn the role of a real leader and tackle difficult situations to achieve success. They know how to seize opportunities, anticipate changes and take actions courageously.

Elevates Employee Engagement

Taking up difficult challenges and situations is a sign of leadership strength. Great leaders don’t shy away from taking risks. What others might often see as a leap of faith, leaders orchestrate opportunities out of it. They readily take on the responsibility to face obstacles, admit their mistakes if they fail and learn from their experiences. Such leaders lead by examples. They encourage their employees to make decisions regardless the fear of making a wrong one. This elevates employee engagement and empowers them to take more initiatives with the fact they might not always be right.

Establish a Culture of Trust

Leaders who admit to their errors, learn from it, earn the respect of their team members and lead by example, ultimately create a culture of trust. This culture-type promotes clarity of thoughts, greater workforce alignment, allows employees to live with an entrepreneurial attitude, and stimulates innovation and growth. People no longer like surprises at the workplace. With every decision and relationship made, they want to operate in an environment which creates a safety net and encourages truth and transparency. This means, leaders are not only required to share the downfalls and agendas of the company but are trusted to safeguard its ongoing legacy too.

Mistakes are often learnings in disguise. Learning from your mistakes means widening your knowledge horizon and creating new opportunities. New opportunities lead to experiences which makes it easier to identify problems. This process glorifies a leader’s career growth and advances the capacity of their team members and the organisation they serve.

4 Powerful Ways to Turn Failure Into Success

5 Steps to Improve Strategic Thinking Skills

Everybody, at some point in their career, must have come across feedback saying, ‘Improve your strategic thinking’. To add on, this feedback does not come with concrete guidance on what or how to implement it. Today’s business scenario that you dwell with is fast-paced which puts you under the grinder as a leader to think more holistically on how to streamline process and leverage opportunities to be the very best in your sector and contribute to the success of your organization. 

That said, at the core of every successful venture is a strong vision. It is the ultimate goal that benchmarks success while defining the purpose and value of the company to all its stakeholders. While this vision continues to stay constant, the means of achieving it varies. Entrepreneurs and leaders work towards turning this vision into reality through well-crafted plans, tactical initiatives, and a determined workforce. It is crucial to be aware of the frequently changing external factors, to have the foresight to change the game plan as per need and to think beyond the near future.

To do this successfully, it is essential to inculcate the ways and habits that promote strategic thinking in our daily lives. The ability to devise strategies to address the current work climate while keeping an eye on the future is an invaluable asset for a leader. Over a period of the time, this critical cognitive ability can become second nature by using these tips and turning them into habits.

Question your Questioning Skills!

An essential part of strategic thinking can question the status quo. Challenging existing information and current trends in the industry will help you develop a critical outlook. While industry trends are many, they may not always be relevant to your own company and its vision. Questioning opens venues for innovation and improvement. Proactively investing effort in asking tough questions leads to better communication amongst your peers and employees. Reevaluating the logic may not always lead you to change your strategy or point of view, but it will continually reaffirm your belief in your decisions.

To hone your questioning skills, objectively see ideas and think critically about it. Take time to question something where you look at a scope for improvement. An effective method is the periscope technique. Understand the ongoing trends and ask tough questions until you are through with your knowledge. Be more proactive towards your peers to understand their observation and perspective of the marketplace. If you want to learn more, try open-ended questions while seeking information. This not only widens your gaze but also teaches one think about a topic from multiple perspectives.  

 All Perspectives Matter

Unlike tactical thinking, strategic thinking demands that you evaluate and analyze the problems without jumping to solutions. Enough thought and effort must be devoted to addressing the core issue. For example, startups are promoted and demoted all the time. One day, you are the emerging star and the next day you become a has-been. While it is easy to conclude that half-baked plans, lack of long-term thinking, inexperience and other such factors contribute to their failure, one must also look at other influential aspects. Lack of proper mentors and guidance, economic instability and fierce competition, could also be the reason for their failure. A strategic thinker will consider all these before concluding, while a tactical thinker will determine the cause only at face value.

 Each of us looks at things from our unique perspectives. A person who thinks strategically will take into consideration all point of views, different perspectives, and all possible angles. Strategic thinkers always keep in mind that there could be another way to approach a situation. As a strategic thinking business leader, you must consider various aspects and their effects before taking any decision. Reflect on business growth, customer needs, stakeholder expectations, implementation and execution challenges and other external factors. Leaving out even one aspect can have enormous long-term consequences.

Leaving Biases Behind

Developing awareness of your thoughts and circumstances can help in achieving an objective state of mind which is critical in taking business decisions. Take a moment to ask yourself if your point of view is indeed objective. Does it reflect the facts at hand? What does your perspective imply? Is your response in sync with your current circumstances? These are some of the few questions that you can ask yourself to ensure that no past bias or prejudice affects your decision making and strategic skills.

 Park your emotions aside as personal biases can influence your objectivity. This holds even greater importance as you deal with personnel. In situations that directly involve other individuals, it is possible that your decisions will be impacted by those affected, their role, their importance and relationships with you as a leader. It is crucial to be conscious of your personal biases and point of views in these situations to take impartial decisions.

Plan Progress

 The world we live in is expeditiously growing. This growth has led to packed schedules, continues weeks of travel and never-ending meetings. As much as attention is given to your present, it is just as necessary to take time out and proactively plan the future. As future needs to be thoroughly formulated in the present, it requires time and attention. Prioritize your tasks, determine what can be put a hold for a while and make time to introspect. Delve into the past for learnings and define the path for future progress. Use this time to reflect on ongoing development and set new goals which will help you stay true to your vision.  

While you plan for the long term, consider immediate challenges. Execute your short-term strategies quickly. A combination of strategic thinking for the future and agility in the present will help you achieve your predetermined goals much more efficiently. A plan is no longer spending weeks in a boardroom, it is thinking action, evolving quickly while staying true to your long-term agenda.

 Knowledge is Power!

 Lastly, there is no substitute for knowledge and guidance. In your quest to develop strategic thinking skills, it is essential to stay updated with new information and patterns. These external factors affect your game plan directly. Gather as much information as you can and continuously communicate with those around you. Moreover, while doing so, ensure that you have a sounding board, a mentor to share ideas with and get constructive feedback always.

 Invest time in documenting your plans. When we write something, we soak in more of it and can verbally execute better with others. Writing down thoughts and documenting progress helps in structuring your thought process. This process will assist you to keep track of your goals and evaluate the progression that you have made towards them. This habit, over a period, adds structure to your written and verbal communication.

 At the very core, strategic thinking is built on the foundation of human connections and actively listening to others. When you take the time to listen to your peers, managers, leaders, and customers, they feel validated. This sense of validation strengths the foundation on which you build your relationship. Strategic thinking, once acquired can help guide each other towards success. In its true essence, developing this skill and helping our peers is what motivates us to do what we do as leaders.

Gaining a Broader Perspective

Our view of the world is influenced by many things. In a professional context, few things that affect it is our education, experiences, learnings, views of our peers and mentors, and our personal beliefs. As each one of these elements is unique to all of us, our worldviews are unique too. Our approach to life, career, and relationships is just as distinctive to us as our personalities. Our perspective is the way we see the world individually. Is it the same as reality? Maybe not. It is affected by our own experiences, the current state of mind etc. Your perspective may not be the same as another individual in the exact same situation. When we exchange perspectives, we find new ways to look at a particular situation or a problem.

Why?

The ability to accept and understand perspectives of another person is important to any leader. Accepting different perspectives helps us react to situations in an unbiased way. It not only reduces our ignorance, but it also ensures that we are always exposed to new ideas and creates space for innovation. While dealing with clients, being open and receptive to their way of thinking gives us the ability to understand their needs and problems better, making it easier for us to provide a solution.

Openness and Patience

One of the first steps towards being receptive to others’ perspectives is to be open and patient. If you are in a leadership position, this becomes slightly more difficult as your employees may feel intimidated to share contradictory views. Here is when patience, openness and willingness to listen comes into play. Creating a culture that encourages these traits is vital. Listening to others’ perspective to enhance decision-making abilities and strategize effectively is a long-term plan. As everyone has a different perspective on a situation, being able to express it freely without any fear will only help the company and its employees grow.

Inclusiveness

Be inclusive in your approach while sharing perspectives. There will be those with similar views, there will also be those who have the opposite views. Exchanging perspectives isn’t about right or wrong, it is about finding out a different way of evaluating a situation and devising an appropriate approach which can be an amalgamation of different perspectives. Each perspective will have a weakness and strength, be receptive to both without passing judgment.

Interaction

While understanding a different perspective requires us to listen intently, it is just as important to interact with each other. Listening, imagining, putting yourself in other's shoes, are key techniques, but also ask questions. Engaging in interactions with mutual respect and trust helps in collaborating better. It builds the element of trust and aids us when we are dealing with a view we do not agree with. Through interaction, you can communicate your receptiveness and respect while discussing contrasting opinions.

The Crucial Balance

In a professional environment, it is crucial to remember that exchanging perspective involves both subjectivity and objectivity. Connecting to someone else’s point of view requires subjectivity and emotion. Taking a decision after evaluating multiple perspectives requires objectivity and detachment. Strike a balance between the two to take informed decisions.

There is no perspective that is completely right or wrong. A perspective is an individualistic opinion based on life experiences, beliefs, and values amongst other things. These perspectives influence the way we react and behave in a situation. Finding common ground by the exchange of perspectives is the most effective way to find a mutually agreeable solution in any situation. 

Stand Out Among Other Leaders, Develop Your Executive Presence

Standing Out Amongst other Leaders

Some people have an aura. Some people command a room’s attention effortlessly. Some people speak in a manner that inspires all those around them. They seem to have something special, a skill that was honed over the years or an inherited talent. In his black turtlenecks and blue jeans, Steve Jobs commanded every floor and dais that he graced.  The chances are that you have a mentor who shares the same quality and it attracted you towards them.

Understanding Executive Presence

Known by many terms, this quality is called an executive presence. Sometimes, it is built consciously by leaders over a period, but many times come from the experience of leading people. An executive presence is an innate ability of a leader to command attention, inspire people, engage them in meaningful dialogue and move them to act.

As a new leader, one might wonder how does one develop this skill. Leadership can be equal parts exciting and be intimidating at times. It comes with the responsibility of motivating people and making it seem effortless. Positively influencing people as a leader can be difficult initially but it is possible to develop an executive presence over a period by inculcating some new ways and habits. These changes will help you join the ranks of leaders who are revered and remembered by many.

 Being Self-Aware

Self-awareness will help you come to terms with yourself. It will help you understand your leadership style, your strengths. By knowing yourself, you will have a better understanding of what needs to change and why.  Self-awareness while making these changes to your personality ensures that when you make these changes, you do it with conviction and belief. As you change, your presence and self-confidence will increase. 

 Self Confidence

Real presence cannot be achieved without self-confidence. Your lack of confidence will radiate in the room, the same way confidence does, in many ways, such as body language. Body language and mannerisms subconsciously affect others perception of you. Being a leader, projecting confidence through your body language and mannerism is an essential part of having an executive presence. Our personalities manifest through many small characteristics. A few essentials changes should be made while developing an executive presence as these affect other’s perception of you. An easy way to exude confidence and authority is by maintaining a calm presence along with eye contact with your audience. Be comfortable in silence as it denotes self-assurance.

 Clarity, Calmness, and Composure    

Showcase clarity of thought and composure by being concise in your communication. As you move up the ladder, your team will look up to you for guidance and inspiration. A crucial part of having an executive presence is showing your competence by communicating appropriately with confidence. While speaking, think of the big picture, talk about strategic plans and always add something of value to the conversation. Avoid phrases that suggest uncertainty and doubt maintain a positive appearance.

 Avoid Over Speak

This may sound counter-intuitive, given that many leaders would feel the need to speak up, and be heard, always! Hold that urge to provide inputs or your perspective, depending on the situation. Our urge to appear to know more always can erode our presence. There are situations where understanding and silence show presence, and the only reason to speak would be to seek more clarity. 

 Create Connections

Beyond the content and the clarity of your thoughts, a strong executive presence needs to be able to connect with those around them. The foundation of connecting with people effectively is listening to people intently, ensuring that everyone gets a chance to speak and paying attention when they talk.

In meetings and boardrooms, there will always be volatile situations where you, as a leader, will have to intervene. Be calm and composed in these moments of volatility and temper. A leader with an executive presence has to be trustworthy, impartial and receptive. In such moments, strike the vital balance between logic and emotion.

 Get Feedback

To grow as a leader and a person, it is essential to get feedback. Getting authentic feedback as a leader can be difficult. But without constructive criticism, it is impossible to improve your executive presence and leadership style. At such a time, it is vital to approach your mentors and peers to enlist their opinion. Be open to what they have to say and move forward without assumptions. From their word, get the training and coaching to hone your skills.

 Be Authentic

While the mentioned points will contribute significantly to your executive presence, it is important to remember that none of this can be successful without your touch. Without authenticity, it is impossible to create a bond of honesty and trust with your employees. Use these pointers to accentuate your ability, skills, vision, and authenticity.  Adapt them to your unique personality and devise a leadership style that works the best for you.

Overcoming the Fear of Failure

All of us have been in this situation. Fear of failing at a task has stopped us dead in our tracks. Whether it was the first time you rode a bike or the time you decided to start your company. Fear of failure is a state that is present to some degree whenever we decide to something new or significant. Although a commonality between us all, overcoming this fear becomes a priority when you take on leadership roles in an organization. Overcoming it is not only necessary for personal growth, but it is also crucial to realizing your full potential and lead your venture successfully.

Fear of failure can be paralyzing. It leads to inaction, self-doubt, and lack of self-confidence, hampering your decision-making and leadership skills. Considering the high impact, the next question that comes to mind is how does one get over the fear of failure?  These next few steps and some willpower are the key ingredients to get past this fear.

 Identify

Fear of failure can stem from a variety of sources. Introspect as to what exactly is causing it. Often, it isn’t the failure that stops us from taking risks, it is the other negative outcomes or our beliefs. Whether it is something as tangible as financial loss or something as emotional as embarrassment, based on our past experiences, we assume the worst and focus on the negative till it seems more plausible than the positive outcome.  Take some time to introspect on the real reason behind your fear before moving on to the next step.

 Rationalize

Counter your negative beliefs with facts. Sometimes, enormity and complexity of certain situations can make them seem more daunting. Break down the problem at hand into simplified chunks of tasks. By doing this, you will get more clarity about the feasibility and risk potential of the situation. Simplified tasks are easier to manage. Visualize the future obstacles that you may encounter and think of possible solutions.

Counter your fear with contingencies plans and learnings. Having backup solutions is a practical way to deal with the fear of failure. A rather abstract but more beneficial way to deal with the possible fear of failure is to look at it as a learning opportunity and consider the potential lessons that could come your way. 

 Realize

While failure is one possibility in any situation, the other possibility is always success. If the fear of failure seems to be taking over, spend some time considering the positive outcomes if your endeavor succeeds. Understand the importance of taking this risk and think of the results of not taking any action at all.

There cannot be success without the possibility of failure. To make any progress there needs to be action. Failure is where the real lessons lie. If the fear of failure seems to be stopping you from taking the next step, consider the repercussion of not making any effort at all. Staying in your comfort zone and seeking safety hardly ever leads progress or growth.

Defining Your Communication Style

“Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.” Richard Branson

Communication and leadership are strongly linked to each other. Leadership requires effective communication with your people and speaking with confidence in public is a key part of that. For leaders it is a vital tool to connect, motivate and inspire people. If you look back at your university days, there was always a professor who would put the students to sleep simply because of his poor communication skills. The professor may be intelligent but he just couldn’t communicate. The same reasoning applies to leadership. Leadership is directly associated with speaking fluently and getting your ideas to the listeners.

A good leader is someone who balances on the seesaw of organizational conflicts and sways it with ease. Leadership is about getting your people to respond effectively and communication will help you achieve it. And, the ability to articulate ideas confidently in speech is what sets a good leader apart.

Also, not every leader is confident enough to speak in front of a large audience. As per Huff Post, 19% of the world’s population fears public speaking- every 3 out of 4 people face speech anxiety. But one needs to remember that communication is a skill. A skill is not something you are born with, it is something you learn. It is similar to riding a bicycle, learning to drive or swim. If you as a leader are willing to improve your communication skills, you can rapidly move up the ladder by working on it.

Finding Your Communication Style

Every leader has his own communication style depending on his leadership style. Analytical, intuitive, functional and personal are four types of communication style.

As a leader, if you believe in knowing the nitty-gritty of the work done then you possess analytical communication style. For instance, if your employee informs that, “Sales are positive”, you would require the exact data rather than just 'positive'. The bright side of this style is that you look at issues logically. But sometimes you may come across as a leader with very little patience for emotional words in communication.

Then there are leaders who always look at the big picture, for example, instead of explaining A, B, C the leader will directly jump to the most important part. This style is known as an intuitive style and the communication is quick and precise. The leader does not require too many details and is comfortable with big ideas and out of box thinking. The drawback is that the leader may not always have enough patience in a situation where every small details matter.

If you like process, detail, timelines, and well-though-out-plans than you are a functional communicator. The positive side of this style is that you pay attention to all the details and nothing gets missed. At the same time, you may risk losing the attention of your audience, especially when you speaking to people with little patience.

As a leader, if you give importance to emotional language and are a good listener, you possess personal communication style. A leader with this style is a diplomat and can smooth over conflicts with ease. This style allows leaders to connect well with their people and build deep personal relationships. But the downside is that people may find you uncomfortable, for example, people are precise while communication may not appreciate personal communication.

Additionally, there isn’t one style better than the other. Firstly, understand your own communication style and then match it to your audience. While speaking to your employees, in a meeting or to a crowd, figure which communication style will help you sell better, inspire people and boost your career.

Practical Ways to Better Your Articulation Skills

 As per research, people remember less than 10 percent of the actual words one uses. Instead, individuals absorb more meaning from the way a person uses their tone and body language. Add these elements while speaking to your people and articulate your ideas, effectively.

Always Be Present

As a leader, you usually have days with numerous meetings to conference calls leaving you with little time to clear your head and get ready for the next agenda.  While communicating with your team members or leading a company meeting, always be present.

Listening Is an Art

With time and age, effective listening is a rare gift. When your people speak to you always indulge in active listening. Because leadership goes beyond standing up and speaking, it is more about listening to people and absorbing what is spoken.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is about being self-aware, empathetic, disciplined and staying calm despite the ups and downs. It is a quality that can be developed over time with constant efforts and understanding.

Often leaders are surrounded by tremendous pressure, always remember that the people who count on you need you on your feet. So, don’t carry your emotions, walk with confidence.  Because, effective communication is just 7% the words we utter while the rest is about body language; the way we listen, speak and react.

Elements That Make Your Communication Effective

When your people commit to a particular task, trust them. If you ever feel unsure, be open and honest about the same. Similarly, respect is another element which will help you build bonds with your employees. No matter what the situation, as a leader, always communicate your opinion to the person with respect. One of the best ways to show respect is to give undivided attention while talking to someone.

Empathy is another element you should add to your communication style. Make efforts to relate to your people on an emotional level. Sometimes you need to place yourself in their situation and understand why they performed in a particular way.

 Additionally, an effective leader should have the ability to end a communication with a concrete discussion. Here, integrity is vital; if you know what you believe in, you will be able to clearly communicate these thoughts and your actions will convey that. People follow leaders who possess integrity.

The Bottom-line

Make effective communication a part of your journey of becoming a respected and revered leader.

A Structured & Methodical Way to Success

A carefully arranged, spotless desk. A laptop with a logical filing system. An alphabetically organized cabinet. The above all sound like the signs of an organized person, don't they? While they do provide a basis, there is much more to being organized and methodical. These attributes go beyond a person's habits and everyday quirks, they become deeply ingrained, a part of the personality, thinking process and style of work. Small changes in your environment and becoming more organized can help you save time, work with greater speed, and with a clearer mind. However, to truly be structured and methodical, we have to delve deeper.

There are many tools and techniques that can help you become more methodical. Being methodical adds structure and focus while empowering you to manage your time and resources better for the future. But does this mean following a set of rules that work for everyone? Absolutely not. The concept of being ‘methodical’ is fraught with preconceived notions which aren't always true.

While we imagine spotless desks and clutter free desktops, adding structure to your work life should be done in a way that works for you, personally. So the focus should be on finding ways to streamline your work habits and thought processes to save time and energy.

As you contemplate which changes will work for you, here are some guidelines to get you started.

Prioritize – Being in a leadership role translates to an often overwhelming number of commitments, tasks and meetings. Organizing and allotting time in the order of priorities lets you focus on the important matters and give them sufficient attention. This is the time to delegate, evaluate and realign tasks to ensure they stay on track. Remember to review your plan as the day progresses as changes are inevitable.

Seek simplicity – Becoming methodical is a long-term process. To add structure to your work life, do not use complicated tools or methods. Increasing the complexity of the process means that long-term usage becomes difficult and cumbersome. Find ways that work for you and will continue to work for you, even if they seem old-school or technology-dependent to others.

Focus on maintenance – Once you work towards adding structure to your daily life, ensure that it becomes a way of life by periodically cutting out any clutter that may have accumulated. Whether it is a file on your desk or an unresolved tasks, it is best to deal with it as soon as possible to keep things from accumulating. Reevaluate your priorities and change your procedures as time passes to ensure that you make the necessary modifications resulting from changes in your role, technology, etc.

The Next Step

Making these changes is just the first step to becoming methodical and organized. Extend the same logic to the way you approach your tasks and projects. Adding a framework or structure ensures that you start with a macro view of the tasks, identifying requirements and bottlenecks at the beginning. A plan with clear milestones and goals, detailing the process of completion guides you through the steps and keeps you on track. It will save you from constant changes in the scope of work and delay in completion.

Apart from this when you start with a broader perspective and structured approach, it is easier to set realistic expectations and keep the whole team on the same page. Begin with determining the ultimate objective and periodic milestones. Chart your journey as you add requirements and tasks to be completed to reach each milestone and ultimately the overall objective.

Integrating a methodical and structured approach into your life and work is a long-term commitment. While it may seem like a daunting change, gradual steps will help you reach your goal of a more systematic way of functioning. The key is to find out the changes that seem feasible and embracing them with an open mind. The correlation between being methodical and lasting success is undeniable. To be able to revisit and reevaluate past strategies without wasting resources, planning future efforts in an organized, sustainable manner is a strength and a rare key to success. Start with a small change to begin your step-by-step journey to success.  

*Ear Drum Roll* - People Hearing Without Listening?

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” – Stephen Richards Covey.

Listening and responding are two important aspects of effective communication.  Listening should be an active process. Part of active listening is understanding what is being said and formulating appropriate responses to it.  These responses are a mix of verbal and non-verbal cues. Smiling, posture, eye contact, and mirroring are some of the non-verbal cues that will be exhibited as a means of response. Verbal cues include responding through questions, comments, answers and remembering the content of the conversation.

In every exchange, communication is a two-way street. It requires an active speaker and an active listener. An active speaker should express clearly, and an active listener should make it a point to listen and contribute productively to the discussion.

The successful implementation of any idea begins with articulate exchange of ideas and information between two parties (the speaker and the listener). When does a disruption in execution of a project or a plan of action occur? When there are gaps in communication. These occur due to several reasons such as:

1. Ego

Ego can act as the biggest barrier and create gaps in communication. An egotistical person will always find a chance to turn every conversation into an argument. Why do certain individuals do this? They choose to focus on their point of view and perceive situations and people only from a certain perspective, which is often favourable to their cause or based on their bias.

2. Multi-Tasking

The first rule to effective listening is being actively busy with the conversational speaker.

While receiving and decoding information, there is a possibility of maximum distraction. It can take place as the listener may be suffering through physical (too many sources of sound around), physiological (a condition of tinnitus) or psychological noise (decoding of the message depends on the mental framework of the receiver at that moment in time).

Imagine yourself at the receiving stage where you are trying to absorb what the other person is saying whilst you are also focussing on typing out an email reply to a client, or are distracted by the thoughts in your head, or trying to figure an apt reply to the message being communicated to you. This results in you losing out on vital information that is being communicated to you by the speaker.

Well, ‘multitasking while listening and listening while multitasking’ is an integral part of your professional and personal space, thanks to our fast-paced lifestyle. How can you master the skill of listening whilst attending to your work too?

‘Timeout’ and focus on the ‘now’. Take a few minutes off your work and focus only on what the speaker has to say. Train your mind to be in the present and concentrate on every word that is being said to you. This will subconsciously compel you to work on the task at hand and finish it within the set deadline.

3. Insecurity

Insecurities can get the better of you and impact the process of listening and decoding the message. A troubled state of mind due to anxiety, lack of confidence, or a shy and timid nature can block information inflow. This keeps you away from being open to newer possibilities and opportunities.

Insecurities are a consequence of fostering negative feelings. These feelings could be a result of low self-esteem.  This can have a disastrous impact on your listening as you might end up being defensive or sensitive on the slightest remark about your performance. While it could be constructive and beneficial for your own development.

Taking the focus on the ‘now’ as a step further, consciously emphasize on the positive aspects of the situation. Say for example, you have received constructive feedback on an ongoing project. Consider it to be strictly professional and for your own betterment. Focus on improving your working style to contribute fruitfully to the said project.

Do not mull over the feedback for too long but act on it. You will realise that over a period you are becoming receptive (listening, receiving and decoding) to feedback (positive and negative) that comes your way.

Listening if mastered meticulously, is a wonderful skill that has the potential to let you unleash and use your capacity to the best possible extent to explore numerous openings on the career front.

As a leader applying effective listening skills allows you to observe the other person’s body posture, and mannerisms. This helps a leader to truly comprehend multiple aspects to a given scenario and results in problem-solving at various levels internally in the organization.

So listen hard and listen well!