I've had many invaluable lessons imparted to me.
Typically these pearls of wisdom were shared during a conversation that started with, "Something I did wrong was...."
These stories helped me avoid pitfalls that I otherwise would have made. It's actually what inspires me to share so much of my work and person life with you today.
So, in the spirit of stolen moments and creating more meaningful time in your life I want to share my own missteps.
After reading this you can use the time you would have spent making these mistakes for more productive endeavors.
No one is fighting for you
This may sound harsh but when I started out in my career at 20 I sincerely believed anyone I worked for was thinking about ways to grow and teach me. I also thought salary was something they would fight for on my behalf. WRONG!
When I became a manager I realized the daily life of most executives is spent in survival mode. They start the day with problems and end the day on little sleep and a to do list longer than the day before. That leaves very little time for employee growth planning.
Tip: Fight for yourself. If you see your manager struggling with projects ask to help. Start small and slowly your manager will entrust you with more responsibility. Soon you will condition this same person to naturally think of you when they are overwhelmed. You will also begin doing work outside of your scope, giving you great talking points when a new opportunity opens up. I would also recommend bringing some market research on salaries when the new promotion is up for grabs. Nothing speaks louder than cold hard facts.
Be Patient
I remember rushing through a project with half-cocked ideas and theories that I didn't take the time to explore. In a meeting with my boss and several vice presidents I firmly stated that I knew X to be true. My boss then asked for any numbers that backed this up, of which I had none. I was laughed at in front of the entire room of power players.
My theory was right but because I didn't take the time to research and put hard facts behind my feeling I looked like an idiot.
Tip: Take a moment to think of your proposal as a brand new thought, doesn't it sound slightly crazy? What are three questions someone may ask to challenge it? Do the research and get your facts straight on those questions and you'll come out insightful instead of hair-brained.
3 more lessons learned
I've made even more mistakes but instead of having you read a small novel, I created a 3 part series of videos sharing the biggest takeaways in my leadership career.
The entire series is less than 15 minutes. It will be sent to you over the course of a few days, giving you time to apply each lesson to your current work life.
If you'd like to receive the training simply click here or on the image below.
