Don't spread negativity

No workplace is without its share of negative people; people who not only wallow in negativity but also spread it by complaining, whining, criticising or gossiping. However, one sure way of becoming valued is if you become a person who focuses on the positive. Here’s how to make the switch is you are tired of being negative.

KNOW THE IMPACT OF NEGATIVITY: No workplace is without its share of negative people; people who not only wallow in negativity but also spread it by complaining, whining, criticising or gossiping. Negativity has been proven to poison the work environment, stresses colleagues and breeds pessimism.. Don’t be someone who exhausts everyone around by being chronically angry, indignant or focussing on doom.

COMMIT TO BECOMING PART OF THE SOLUTION: When you make this commitment you must stop the complaining, finger pointing and blaming and contribute to finding solutions; you don’t stand back and constantly talk about the problem and expect someone else to do something about it. Don’t dwell on the negative things or exaggerate issues you are facing or make things look worse than they really are.

MAKE A CLEAN BREAK WITH NEGATIVITY: Negative people tend to gravitate towards each other and often form cliques. When you commit to not being negative, you have to stay away from your former fellow complainers. This may not always be possible as you need to work with them. The alternative is to find someone to hold you accountable by drawing your attention to when you default to complaining and whinging. If a negative person comes to you wanting you to lend them an ear listen the first time but make sure not to join to reinforce the negatively. If they come to you again draw a line and disengage.

MAKE POSITIVE SUGGESTIONS: As a member of your workplace it is automatically your responsibility to help improve things; not assume it’s the job of only the managers. Bring your commitment to being positive to life by making some specific practical suggestions especially related to something you are concerned about and which you would have complained about but now have the chance to address more positively. Even if it’s someone’s responsibility specifically to fix something, if it impacts you, it’s always useful to see how you can help rather than criticise others from the sidelines.

ZIP YOUR LIPS: If you can’t come up with a positive doable suggestion or are not sure that you can say something positive then simply keep quiet. Negativity can be contagious and can negatively impact productivity. So do your workplace a favour by not saying anything if you can’t trust yourself to say something positive. Being in conversation with a negative person is extremely draining so don’t be that kind of person.

FACE THE OBSTACLES: Becomng positive is not a simple ‘sitting by the fireplace experience or process’. It takes guts to hang in there and stick to your commitment. Don’t revert to complaining at the first sign of down times or a situation that you cannot be positive about. When feeling this way avoid people who are likely to reinforce your negativity or make you feel justified to air your grievances.

Now take action: Reduce interaction with negative people in your workplace.

What to do differently as you rise higher

A common mistake people make is that when they get promoted they expect to and indeed continue to do the work they were doing in their previous job but at a slightly higher level. This is a mistake. Contrary to general belief, you don’t get promoted necessarily because you are doing a fantastic job in a particular role. You get promoted because you demonstrated by your current performance that you have potential and capacity to do a much bigger job. This is what needs to be different when you move up.

HOW YOU THINK: When you move up, you gain more responsibility and most likely start to manage other people. You’re now being paid for your brains rather than the actual tasks you do; so show that you are thinking differently. You need to become a high performing contributor to the organisation in ways that extend beyond your job. You must figure out which priorities to drive forward, what new work you should be doing, and how to sharpen your reasoning and sense of judgment because making critical choices increase the higher up you go.

WHAT YOU DO: You can’t just do more of what you were previously doing. You have to optimise processes, understand how to maximise people’s strengths and to learn skills and access support that help you make better business decisions. Work on the right things and move away from the tactical detail. Know enough about what is going on and in particular what your team is working on so that you can provide the oversight needed to achieve the right results. Shape your job focus so that you can lead, perform the managerial duties such as delegating and do what you should.

WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT: You show you care at a higher level by figuring out how to do it better and developing any individuals under your charge to do so too. You need to understand what being good at your job takes; look for opportunities to further the impact of your work and to build support for the work that you are doing. You need to build your personal and professional credibility with several people not just the person you report too.

THE VALUES YOU DEMONSTRATE: As you rise being a role model becomes part of your remit. Values expected of you include; excellence, fairness, dependability and accountability, integrity and forward thinking and ability to take risks and chart a way forward. Treat people with dignity, earn and share leadership. Handle yourself with maturity; communicate clearly what you stand for. Be above board in everything you do.

WHAT YOU MEASURE: The higher you go the more it becomes about your effectiveness rather than just doing a job. It’s no longer about how hard or even smart you work but the outcomes you deliver, how well you perform and how you enable others to do the same. So invest your energy in the right things that you should be focussing on and delegate other things in a timely manner. There will always be grey areas to work through but don’t get stuck there. Ask for help and make progress rather than leaving things unresolved.

Now take action: What values should you demonstrate more?

S.W.I.T.C.H on!

Getting ahead in your career takes more than doing a decent job or holding steady in whatever role you have. If you want to advance you'll have to do better than just be a safe pair of hands. Here are some tips for stepping up;


SPEED: You must demonstrate speed, in getting results, in learning what you need to, in transitioning to new roles or settling into bigger responsibilities. Be self-directed, disciplined and always thinking ahead.


WISDOM: Wisdom isn't cleverness or even intelligence. It's the thoughtful analysis of knowledge and information and deciding a way forward. Enhance your capacity to make decisions even when you don't have all details you require. Don't operate on the basis of assumptions, speculation or your own biased opinions.


INITIATIVE: Seize opportunities, stay ahead of problems, follow through with what you take on. Show you are dependable and that you can step up. Think beyond your day to day work and gets things done without anyone standing over your shoulder. Rise to the occasion and always prepared.


TALENT: The mark of a good professional is one who brings something concrete to a role but also has room to grow. Don't be limited by the boundaries of job specifications. Bring not just your skills, but your energy, passion, your common sense and a relentless quest for excellence.


CHARACTER: Performance alone is not enough; integrity are key. Don't do anything that will undermine your credibility. Face difficulties and challenges squarely and be gracious to your colleagues. Be reasonable in your interactions with others and by all means be transparent. Operate on principles not emotions.


HEART: You can never really do your best unless you care about what you are doing and the difference it will make. Working with heart means you go the extra mile because your take pride in your work; by being committed and doing your best, you'll become smarter and smarter.


Now take action: Where in your career do you need to go one gear up?

TEAM your best everyday

If you work in a team you are more than one member of a collection of individuals. You have a responsibility to make the team strong, be dependable and work towards achieving objectives. You must ‘TEAM’ everyday; he’s how to do so;

TAP YOUR TOP TALENT: You know yourself best and should tap into your top skills. Take joint responsibility for creating the kind of environment you like to work in, where you feel confident to draw on your skill sets and opportunities to use those skills. As a team member, make efforts to know the talents of your team and how yours complements theirs to deliver team objectives.

ENGAGE FOR EXCELLENCE: Don’t get so focussed on doing the day job that you don’t make time to reflect on whether you are doing your best as opposed to just ticking off items on your ‘to do’ list? How do you tell if you are doing your best, what does your standard of excellence look like? How does that compare with what the team together is trying to achieve?

ACCOUNT FOR CONTRIBUTION: There are two parts to your job, the first is to do it and do it well and the second is to make sure what you are doing is productive enough to demonstrate tangible results. If you had to define your contribution to team goals without referring to the tasks you do, what would you say? What would your team lose if you did not do your best work day in day out?.

MOTIVATE FOR DISCRETIONARY EFFORT: Make what you know you are capable of the yardstick for your performance not the Job description. Find your own triggers and incentives to drive your higher performance. That includes putting yourself in the best frame of mind to work well and knowing how to pick yourself up on the days you feel lousy.
Now take action: What is the one thing your team can always count on you for?

Will you pass the 3 way test?

Most people only care about what their boss thinks. But for long term career progress you’ll want to take interest in what others think too. Your work is judged every day by several people. Here are 3 groups whose views should matter to you.

YOUR PEERS: Your peers are probably the ones you work most closely with and who have direct experience of your work. What they think is important because their direct feedback can be available to you day to day and that feedback can help you improve your work as you do it. If your peers think highly of your work, you are on the right track.

YOUR SUPERIORS: These are more than your direct manager. They are people above you in the hierarchy, the ones who make decisions about your future. And that’s not the only reason why you should take their opinions seriously; you should because they operate at a higher level and have a broader view of how your work contributes at an organisational level. Such views are critical as they demonstrate the extended value of your contribution beyond your team.

YOUR COLLEAGUES: These are those who are neither peers in terms of rank nor your bosses. And many people make the mistake of ignoring the people less senior to them. Often because they feel they don’t need these colleagues. They may not have a direct say on your career prospects but their suggestions can help you lead well. If you aim to become a better leader you can’t do that without listening to a range of views. Also, although you may not manage these colleagues, you have a responsibility to set a good example, be the leader they want to look up to.

Now take action: What would you like your peers to say about your work?

Pick up the pace on how your career develops

To advance your career you need to do certain things including a regular stock-taking to assess what you are achieving, where to get back on track if you’ve strayed and where to raise your game. Here are some others;

START A BRAG-LOG: Brag-logs are short pithy statements of information about who you are and what you’ve done, positive things you can say about your work which together show what you are capable of. If you don’t have one already, create a journal in which you keep track of your achievements with a small note explaining why they are important; even better if you can show where possible how your achievement helped your company or made a difference on a broader level.

SHORE UP YOUR CONSISTENCY: You will hardly get your ‘’big break’’ from a one off brilliance. You need to be seen as a safe pair of hands delivering the required top standards day in day out, that you come through when it really matters even if you drop the ball occasionally. Check in with yourself from time to time how you’re doing, how you’ve addressed any obstacles in order to keep doing your best work.

ATTRACT INFLUENTIAL SPONSOR: Solo success is near impossible. A sponsor is someone who knows your work, your potential and your work ethic and therefore willingly vouches for you sometimes even without your knowledge. Sponsors are not friends in high places who may put in a word for you as a favour but people who are prepared to stick their neck out for you because of your track record. Where such a sponsor is well regarded, their word on your behalf is likely to carry a lot of weight.

GET MORE RIGHT EXPERIENCE: Long experience alone will not open doors, it has to be enough of the right experience. That’s why it’s important that you clarify your career aspirations early on, have some concrete goals and develop experience that fits those goals. Based on your goals you must work out the experience you need to transition quickly to the next stage of your working life. Get others to tell you strengths that you might be taking for granted so that you can use them more and develop them further.

Now take action: Based on your goals how can you get more ‘right’ experience’

Don't be a one trick pony

One tip to doing well in your career is demonstrating over and over than you are a safe pair of hands and can deliver time and time again. How do you get to that place where you are consistently reliable? Here are some ‘one off’s to overcome;

ONLY ONE SKILL YOU ARE GOOD AT: What would you say is your top skill? What’s your next best skill? The workplace these days requires several skill combinations from one individual; agility and versatility. These competencies could be regular technical skills as well as others like teamworking or less traditional ones like the ability to simplify the complex, to build trust or to work well in a diverse team.

ONLY ONE PERSON THINKS YOU ARE GREAT: This is a good starting point but it helps to have a few more think so too. The more people who can say good things about your performance the better. If someone spoke to a couple of people that you work with, how many would sing your praises, vouch for your competence or even want you on their team. Find opportunities to work outside of your team so that others can be exposed to what you can do.

ONLY IONE FLASH OF BRILLIANCE: This does indicate that you are capable of distinction, but if this happened once and has become the point of reference many years later of your excellence, it may be time to show that was not a flash in the pan. You need recent accomplishments to demonstrate you are still effective. Reflect on how you executed that one flash of brilliance. What were you working on? How supportive was the environment? What support was most helpful? What factors enabled you to do your best? And try and do it again.

ONLY WORKED IN ONE TYPE OF TEAM: Especially, when the team is of like-minded people. The point here is to have experience of a variety of teams and working with different types of people. Variety that will challenge your way of thinking, enable you to work in different roles and identify your forte. Teams don’t have to be only the ones where you work, but those outside are perfectly useful too.

Now take action: Identify one team who have a project you can participate in

Five 'musts' if you are in charge

If you are in a leadership role, your job is never done!.. and depending on your context your responsibilities can span a whole range of activities. But I want to focus here on five core duties that I believe are fundamental to a leader’s job day to day; that is to;

GROW LEADERS:. As you work with people your guidance and direction must leave them more capable and confident than they were before working with you. When they are struggling, find a way to pull them up, when they are excelling give them opportunity to challenge themselves even further. Whatever you do, check that they are growing and not just ‘doing work’.

BUILD TRUST: This is one of the most difficult things to achieve but trust is critical to leadership. Where this seems ‘impossible’’ for whatever reason, aim to get to a place where you can at least earn the benefit of the doubt from those who have responsibility over. Trust building is a process so never give up working on it. Some common trust-busting behaviours include transparency, listening and empathy.

CREATE CLARITY: Set your team in a position to succeed by giving proper instruction and assistance where needed. Take a regular reality check that you’re being understood, that your expectations are clearly communicated, that you’re addressing in a positive way whatever is undermining performance. Don’t expect coherence and smart working if the objectives to which people are expected to deliver are not made clear by you.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE: Role modelling comes with the territory of ‘being in charge’. Often ask yourself; what behaviours are you demanding of others that you are not demonstrating yourself? What are your actions saying about your values? What lines will you not cross? Are you delivering the high performance you demand of others? Remember, your moral authority is as important as your positional power.

CONTROL YOUR DAY: When you are in charge, being organised is essential. You’re busy and probably no two days are ever the same. But you must find a way to bring some order especially if others’ work for the day derives from yours. A ‘priority to do list’ may not work 100% but can be useful basic step to reining things in.

Now take action: How are you developing those under your charge?

Evolve into a collaborator

Becoming a collaborator helps you achieve more than you could do on your own. It also helps you support others and earn some good quality goodwill and loyalty that could come in handy. How do you become a collaborator?

PREPARE TO LEAD AND TO FOLLOW: Good collaborators can adapt well and become what the situation needs them to become, changing behaviours as necessary to keep moving forward To collaborate well, you must engage others early, focus on achieving a ‘win win’ result for everyone. You must also be comfortable with lining up behind others best placed to lead in any given circumstance.

BE AWARE OF OTHERS’S NEEDS: So that you can agree mutually beneficial goals. Emphasise what you have in common with others, how you can give your best and get the best from others. Understand yourself, where your ‘rough edges’ are so that you don’t rub people the wrong way. Appeal to others by showing that you can adapt to their needs and interests meet them half way.

FIND OUT WHAT MAY NOT BE OBVIOUS: To be a true collaborator, you must learn to read between the lines, connect the dots and find a way to work out what your counterpart may want that might not be immediately obvious. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in order to establish what’s important to them. Move with purpose but pay attention to your intuition tells you.

BE COMFORTABLE WITH GETTING SOMETHING TOO: Collaboration isn’t just about helping someone else achieve their goals, interests etc. You don’t have to give up your goals. Be prepared to get your ideas across in a decisive way provided you don’t expect others to give up their goals for yours. Develop high expectations of yourself and others. Be clear what support you need from others and ask for it.

SHOW YOU CAN BE TRUSTED: Collaboration is a partnership and so you must be earn the confidence of others, show that you are committed to their interests and willing to put your energies in. Make everyone involved feels they have a stake in what’s being pursued

Now take action: Where would your biggest strength be as a collaborator?

Head the red, amber, green lights

The traffic light symbol is increasingly been used outside of the field of road traffic, for example to assess status of projects. This symbol can also be a useful guide for managing your career as follows;

RED: This means red-flag; warning signs that could have negative consequences if ignored. Red-flags include putting your career advancement in someone else’s hands, not investing in yourself, fighting with your boss, confusing your job with your career, not updating your skills etc or even ‘thrashing’ your employer to others. Red can also mean ‘stop’. Some ‘stops’ to consider are making money the most important factor in career decisions, making choices for benefits you can get ‘now’; sticking with what’s familiar instead of creating new paths for yourself or always pursuing others’ definition of success.

AMBER: Amber is being in a constant state of preparation; the time to get ready and stay ready for the big breaks or even setting new goals for yourself. Amber time is when you do what you need to improve where you don’t measure up, learn what you need to learn to increase your success and identify where you need to persist. Amber time is also when to ask yourself some hard questions like; is where I am headed really where I wish to go? Is my current job taking me in a positive career direction? Am I deploying my strongest skills in what I am doing now? What are the calculated risks I need to take to open up more opportunities for myself?

GREEN: Green is cruising time; when you are in roles that you enjoy and draw on your strongest skills. But just as the traffic lights don’t stay green forever, you never know when you are going to hit a bump or a red sign. So use the green period to increase your momentum, grow important professional relationships and be recognised for what you can do. Also remember that whether you can cruise or not when the lights go green depends on the condition of your ‘career car’ which include a strong skills set, a positive mind-set and attitude, a good reputation and lot of good will from others.

Now take action: Do a traffic lights assessment of the status of your career now.

Don't be a L.O.U.S.Y manager

Being a manager especially of people is a difficult job that requires a lot of learning day to day. That said to be effective, every manager must get some basic tasks right and that demands that you avoid the following;

LEAVING YOUR TEAM TO THEIR OWN DEVICES: As manager, you must provide direction to your team and guide them daily in a way that is helpful to each individual. Sometimes, managers can shirk this responsibility for fear of coming across as micro-managing. A good approach is to understand the needs of individuals and coach accordingly as one person may need close guidance whilst another may not.

OVERLY CONCERNED WITH YOUR OWN WORK: Sometimes in addition to coaching your team to be highly productive, you most likely have other assignments unrelated to this role. But don’t get so engrossed in this other work that you ignore supporting your team. By being an attentive manager you can understand how your team is doing, what help they need and how best to provide it.

UNDERMINING EFFORTS OF THE TEAM: Make sure that as manager there is fundamental trust and respect between you and your team and you demonstrate integrity in all your actions. Don’t operate by rumours, hearsay or favoritism. Work with your team to create an environment where everyone feels they can do their best. Don’t take credit for their ideas and accomplishments.

SCARING THEM BY BARKING ORDERS: Some managers see this as a way to show their authority and ostensibly to get things done. But we all know that hardly achieves anything except to make others feel unappreciated and disrespected. If the team fails, you fail so it’s in your interest to work WITH them rather treat them as people who work FOR you.

YEARNING FOR PERSONAL RECOGNITION: To the extent that you for example pay more attention to doing the things that you feel will benefit you personally like pleasing your own boss at the expense of your team. Your team wants to know how they are doing, so give them feedback that they need to keep delivering results, to improve and to get the recognition they deserve from decision makers.

Now take action: Identify one way you can be a better manager to your team.

Speak up responsibly

Whether you speak up in your organisation depends in most cases on whether you feel able to do so. However, the advantages of doing so outweigh the disadvantages so it’s worth taking a chance. How is some advice on how to go about it.

BE A BALANCED VOICE: Balance your voice by thinking about and through what exactly you want to say, why you want to say it and what purpose you want it to serve. Say what you want in a way that shows you have reflected on the issues. If others have expressed opinions about the same issue, make sure you are presenting a fresh angle on things.

SHOW LEADERSHIP: Know when to speak; think about how and where is best to speak up. An open forum may not always the place to speak especially if what you have to say can put someone on the spot. Don’t address in an public forum an issue that should be dealt with one on one. Speaking up is not easy for many people; therefore when you do you are setting an example, so make sure it’s a good one.

DON’T BE AN ECHO: There’s nothing wrong with endorsing the view of another. Infact it is a good way of promoting consensus. However, being an echo is being loud, saying nothing new or insisting on just your opinions rather than hearing what others have to say or their response to your contributions. Whatever you want to say even if it’s a question, make sure it really adds value to the goals of the conversation.

SET A TONE FOR YOURSELF: Be calm and consistent, aim not to respond in the heat of the moment. When you feel agitated, give yourself time to cool down. Hold yourself responsible for getting a good result (as far as is within your control) for what you want to contribute. It’s your job not only to say what you have to say respectfully to improve the chances that you’ll be heard.

Now take action: What do you need to do to gather the courage to speak up more?

Don't play lottery with your career

There are a lot of things to that you can do to put your career on the right track such as developing new skills, working for good organizations or having a mentor. But there are many things than can insidiously eat away at your career prospects. Here are a few of those to avoid.

DON’T BURN YOUR BRIDGES: People burn bridges when they get too emotionally consumed about an issue or especially if they feel they have been wronged. The most challenging of these is remaining sane when in your boss’ eyes you can do no right. If that happens and you know for sure there’s little you can do to rescue the situation, look to go work elsewhere but depart in a decent way, no tantrums, no name calling.

DON’T WORK ‘UNCONSCIOUSLY’: Showing up at your job day to day and going through the motions isn’t exactly a career building exercise. At a minimum, appreciate what you need to do to make the job satisfying or fulfilling. You may be mostly interested in the pay cheque but that kind of attitude to work is unlikely to guarantee you a job for long or to offer you any real chance of advancement.

DON’T REJECT OPPORTUNITY: Sounds crazy? But we do that all the time without realizing it. For example, do you sometimes find yourself saying or even thinking ‘it’s not my job’ or ‘I am not paid to do this’ when you are asked to extra work? Of course it may be within your rights to decline but will it be in the interest of your career development? You can take on more work than you think but don’t overwhelm yourself. Think twice before you reject opportunities that are ‘clothed’ as extra work.

DON’T KEEP RECYCLING YOURSELF: If your organization were looking for a bunch of forward thinking, hardworking, problem solving, good team players to work on an assignment the rewards of which may could include promotion, bonuses or an enhanced reputation, would you be selected?. My point is are you ever ready to take on new challenges or are you satisfied doing the ‘same old, same old’?

Now take action: In what ways are you gambling with the future of your career?

Start that new job 'on the run'

You have the new job you wanted or you’ve just been handed the assignment you were eyeing. Now it’s time to get going. How do you give yourself the best chance of success? Here are some ideas.

BUILD CREDIBILITY QUICKLY: Learn the background of key people in the organisation or on the assignment team in order to establish rapport quickly. Aim to form your own opinion about things and people from a variety of sources. Observe the culture, how different it may be from how you like to work and work out how best to adjust and make your mark.

USE MEETINGS TO LEARN FAST: Good meetings are a great way to mine information. Attend these prepared with questions you’re seeking answers to. Identify the power players; not just those with senior positions but the informal ones as well who may be looked up to because of their unique expertise or their capacity to influence others.

OPERATE FROM THE BROADER PICTURE: Don’t quickly zero in on the job; understand the context. This includes identifying the different constituencies, the nature of the office politics, multiple perspectives on key issues, your boss’s take on the organisation’s strategic direction and how you’ll contribute to that.

KNOW HOW YOU'LL BE ASSESSED: Don’t get into deep work without knowing how your performance will be judged. For each of your major responsibilities agree with your manager the success criteria and make sure you have the authority you need to get your job done. Keep a performance log to capture your progress.

DO THE JOB: Learning quickly how an organisation works and starting the actual job you were hired to do can be overwhelming. Don’t feel you need to be a ‘genius’. Ask for help where you need it and get some quick wins in order to gain confidence in yourself and from others.

Now take action: How do you ensure a good start on any new assignment?

Itching to cross the 'i's and 't's?

If you are manager micromanaging is something you must avoid at all costs. You can frustrate your team and their work if you see your role as telling them what to do and checking up on them every minute. How do you know if you are a micro-manager.

Here are some signs;

GETTING TOO MUCH INTO THE DETAILS: An eye for detail is important to be effective and knowing the critical detail enables you to support your team. But when you are obsessed with knowing EVERYTHING, you are micromanaging. Know how your team members prefer to work so that you can give them space to those who require it and coach those who need it. Focus on the key things, the expected results and ignore inconsequential bits.

NEEDING TO CONTROL EVERYTHING: Sometimes your issue might not be interest in the all the detail; rather a need to have everyone to do things a particular way. When you do that you undermine the team’s confidence and deny them opportunity to bring fresh and new insights to work at hand. Fostering team work should be a priority. When you push everyone around you disempower them; they stop thinking or leave.

SIDELINING THOSE YOU CONSIDER SMART: This is usually a sign that you feel threatened by them: If you have colleagues with exceptional ability don’t mess it up with nitpicking or ‘putting them on the bench’. Get work done using assets you have which includes such people. Facilitate their performance.. Don’t compete with them; rather lead them to accomplish work that everyone takes pride in.

Now you know what micromanaging looks like ; how do you stop it?

LET THE FREE SPIRITS BE: Suppress the need to constantly intervene. Set up those around you to succeed, help them take responsibility for their work and give them authority where appropriate to make their own decisions. Don’t hoard opportunities that will make them shine; a disempowered employee cannot be effective.

ACTIVELY SEEK CONTRIBUTION: Vow to ask for views and encourage other ways of doing things as long as they deliver results. If you have some creative people with huge potential, delegate big pieces of work to them. Know what keeps everyone engaged and what their strengths are so that you can tap into those.

WORK ON YOUR DELEGATION SKILLS: It can take time to learn to let go. Encourage them to take initiative and then trust them to deliver. If you are brave you might even be honest with them about your need to get better at not micro-managing so that they can respectfully hold you to account

MAKE EVERYONE'S GROWTH YOUR GOAL: If no one grows on the team including yourself you won’t be delivering much; so find a way to develop yourself and others. Promise yourself that no longer will only your view matter. Hone your coaching skills so that you can support the team. Regularly track how team members are growing.

Now take action: Are you micromanaging? Identify this week ways to help you stop.

Tackling credit snatching

There are few things that ferment deflates morale more than credit snatching; claiming the credit that is due others. Most people expect to get the credit when they do a good job. So what can you do if you come up against a credit snatcher? Here are some suggestions;

UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ARE WIRED: Some people couldn’t care less if they get credit or not, others need recognition for every little thing they contribute. If you are the latter make your team appreciate that getting recognition for what you do is important to you; not so that you can demand it or have an excuse to sulk when you don’t get it but so that colleagues realise what motivates you. Don’t pretend you don’t care about receiving praise if you do; otherwise your resentment will show up soon enough; when you hardly expect it.

ASK IF IT'S WORTH FIGHTING FOR: Sometimes a job well done is its own reward. And you can go overboard with needy validation all the time. Learn to leave some of the credit on the ‘house’. Even occasionally allow others take it and don’t go saying ‘you did it but decided to let so and so get the credit’. For your own peace of mind, know what your contribution was but don’t insist on being singled out especially if it was a team activity .

WHAT IS YOURS IS YOURS: There are times when the credit is squarely yours. But if you don’t get it, self promote if you must but don’t be vociferous or obnoxious about it. A better way would actually be to have the ‘credit’ put on your performance record rather then publicly acknowledged. Better still keep your own achievement file so that you can encourage and cheer your self up with regularly. You can also draw examples from that file for example during job interviews.

LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY: Yes bosses can take the credit if they choose to knowing fully well they risk ending up with a disgruntled team member. If you honestly feel the boss has stolen your spotlight, best to let it go. Note your contributions though and during performance reviews. In the confines of your meeting he or she is unlikely to dispute that as long as you state these clearly and do not make any veiled reference to your view that he or she stole your thunder.

PUT THE HORSE BEFORE THE CART: If recognition is your vital motivator, have a plan that will ensure regular supply. Volunteer for high profile activities, work on the pet projects of your superiors, use a skill that is highly valued in your organisation, find the solution for a critical problem, Acknowledge your boss for the praise he or she cares to give you. You could say something like ‘Thanks for letting me lead on that piece of work. I did my best and much appreciated the credit you gave me’ for it.

Now take action: Give some long overdue praise to 3 people this week.

Are you bullying without knowing?

What comes to mind when you hear the word bullying? Threats?, insults?, disrespect.? harassment; sure but bullying takes other seemingly ‘benign’ forms. Here’s how to tell when you are ‘bullying’ and what to do about them.

CHASTISING: Especially publicly. Do you feel the need to stamp your authority by correcting people publicly and angrily? People will make mistakes but nothing justifies ‘dressing them down’ in public. It humiliates them and makes you look unkind and out of control, not the sort of image you want to present especially in public. Tame your emotions so that you can correct with a clear head and to be heard. Better yet, do any corrections face to face and in private. That way it becomes a learning experience for the person rather than ‘the day the boss got MAD because of me’

TARGETING: This is when you decide for whatever reason that a particular person can do no right. They become your fall guy; when things don’t go well in the team, they’re the first person you feel is responsible; when they do a good job, you assume someone helped them. Whilst you might have some basis for your attitude, reminder your job is to be constructive and professional at all times; and that includes not judging negatively without basis or letting your personal feelings rule your management style. Teach and nurture, not crush the spirits of those who look up to you for guidance.

PATRONIZING: This can and often takes the form of ‘harmless’ jokes. When you patronize others you’re saying ‘I am superior to you’ my opinions are more important than yours. Of course depending on the context, if you have authority your opinions may count more than others’ but don’t trash those who care to share their views even if you don’t end up taking them on board. Your approach might be to make the case for the merits of your decision rather than on the basis that other views are no good.

LORDING : This is a tricky one because a boss’ legitimate action or response to a situation can be construed as ‘lording’ over people. The problem comes in when you feel the need to let people know that ‘you are the boss’. For example you may creating the impression that every thing you do for them is a favour you’re doing them. Wielding power this way is a weakness not a strength. Reflect on why you feel the need to act this way and what you stand to lose by leading this way?

BELITTLING: Some call it ‘cutting someone to size’. When you are okay with or even enjoy making others feel uncomfortable, you might belittle others without calling it by that name. For example when you totally ignore someone’s contribution in a meeting, you belittle them. Acknowledging people and what they have to say even if you don’t agree is the proper thing to do.

Now take action :Showing bullying behaviour? What will you do about it?

You can disagree with the boss

What do you do when you don’t quite agree with what someone is saying especially if that someone is your superior? Keep quiet? Complain to others? Challenging your boss is daunting but when properly done and supported by good points will be appreciated. Here are some tips to get you going.

RESPECT IS NON-NEGOTIABLE: In some organisations, when you challenge you may be seen as stirring conflict and labelled ‘troublesome’ A boss might even feel undermined, disrespected or take the challenge as an affront to his or her authority if the challenge is not handled properly. Even if your boss encourages you to challenge it does not make it any less uncomfortable for them when it happens so challenge with respect.

IDENTIFY THE SPECIFICS: Before you challenge identify the specific issue you want to explore. If it’s the whole ‘thing’ which is unlikely take care to explain your thinking and be able to support your position on the matter; what’s the main point you want to make? Is that the real issue or a symptom of a deeper one? What alternative suggestion do you propose? Paraphrase back what your boss is saying so that they know you understand what’s being said.

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES: You don’t need to speak up about every little thing you disagree with. Challenging is an opportunity to shape things for the better so make sure your point adds value. Bide your time and don’t ‘jump in’ just because you feel like it. Know when to bite your tongue especially in high pressure situations. If the boss has to make a quick decision, that’s not the time to give a speech!. Your aim should be to contribute not undermine or make a point just for the sake of it.

USE COLLABORATIVE LANGUAGE:. You may have a right to challenge but don’t be reckless in doing so. Be honest with your views by communicating them firmly but nicely. Disagreement does not have to turn into conflict. Build on what’s good and explain why you think other issues might be problematic. Avoid ‘rigid’ phrases like ‘this won’t work’ or ‘I don’t like this’. Don’t challenge when you are feeling emotional or unclear about the point you want to make.

DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS: Challenge with the right motives. Not to ridicule, not to demonstrate how smart you are. Remember to challenge what’s being said, the issue- not the person. And challenge willingly because you believe in what you have to say not and because you want not to impress anyone. Be discreet and do any challenging of your boss in private as far as is possible.
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EEXERCISE RESTRAINT: To challenge takes courage. Sometimes you get your ‘fingers’ burnt.. But please don’t ‘retire’ from challenging again because one experience went wrong. It’s normal to feel afraid but if you feel you have something valuable to say, say so……with respect.

Now take action : Pick an issue; practice with a colleague how to challenge

Ditch the drama

Every organisation has its share of ‘drama’; office politics, managers with big egos, constantly complaining staff; fact is we each occasionally contribute to this ‘drama’. But to be seen consistently as a drama queen or trouble maker can hurt your career. Here are some typical ‘drama’ behaviours to avoid.

TOO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED: Engage with your organisation, your job and the ongoing priorities and important projects. When you are too invested, you take things too personally. Emotion is important to keep the workplace ‘human’ but so are logic and commonsense. Operate with a good balance of ‘head and heart’ so that you don’t you don’t feel let down or think the ‘system’ is being too hard hearted. Also to check that you are being over sensitive.

TOO FOCUSSED ON SELF: Whether you work alone or as part of a team aim to work well with others and consider the needs of others alongside your own. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself; and that’s fine especially if there are circumstances concerning you personally that you need redress for but as rule of thumb, make team work a priority.

QUICK TO BLAME OTHERS: When you point fingers for what’s going on( or not going on) with you, you create unnecessary tension. ‘Blamers’ often assign motives to what others do and often judge these motives negatively. You demonstrate your ‘drama’ when you feel you act like you are on the receiving end. Start looking at things objectively. It can be hard, commit to it, it’ll pay off.

INFLEXIBLE IN THE FACE OF SURPRISES: Unpleasant and inconvenient surprises come up all the time. The speed of change these days is such that to expect that your work day will go according to the way you have planned it is to set your self up to be frustrated. Learn to adapt and expect that up to some of what you set out to do on any given day might to be overtaken by other work. Being open to the unplanned makes it easier deal with it.

BEING A PROBLEM MONGER: Such people don’t seek to find solutions but can’t seem to help telling others about problems that exist including their own. There might not be anything inherently wrong with letting people know about problems if the intention is to generate answers. Otherwise, it raises stress levels unnecessarily. Discuss problems with those involved with the solutions or with friends( not everyone in the corridor) if your aim is to let off steam.

NOT TAMING THE EGO: The ego in full bloom wants approval, attention, applause, validation. And where these are not forthcoming, they sulk and are unhappy when others get attention. A healthy workplace would normally give appropriate praise and recognition where due but when you constantly seeks it you become ‘emotionally expensive’ for your employer; as peace loving colleagues spend time feeding that ego instead of getting work done.

Now take action: What negative or excessive behaviours do you need to drop?

Getting into a rut?

‘Comfortable’ and ‘stable’ can be good but when you enjoy it too much you start to stagnate and eventually ‘you get stuck in a rut’ sometimes without even realising it. What are the signs that you are ‘in a ‘dry place’?

YOU ARE TOO COMFORTABLE AND ON AUTO-PILOT: This is ‘comfortable’ that does not do you any good. You feel you’re in your comfort zone, you feel settled to the point that you starting to get rusty and have no desire for a higher level achievement. You repeat behaviours unconsciously day in day out.

THINGS ARE FAMILIAR AND UNDEMANDING: When you are in a rut you don’t want any ‘hustle’; you are afraid to go into unchartered waters or try new things, you may even find opportunities that could change things for the better for you rather risky. When you have the chance to stretch you dodge it because you think it’ll be too taxing on you.

EVERYTHING IS UNINTERESTING AND A BOTHER: This can result from doing the same thing for so long so much so that you’re not even sure how to begin to try something else. You feel unfulfilled but lethargic and in no mood to shake things or to find ways to put your talents to use. Enthusiasm escapes you

YOU FEEL YOU HAVE 'ARRIVED’ : Success at a certain level has become your end point. You are motivated and even have a positive mental attitude but you are not channelling this energy towards doing more, reaching out more. Success has become a self gratification rather than of wider benefit to others..

So how do you get out of the rut?

UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE STUCK: When did you start feeling ‘trapped’?. What aspirations have ‘disappeared’ and what events can you remember that led to this. How are you able to tell that this is contrary to what you’d like to be? What purpose do you feel is being aborted by your lack of intentional

AVOID A LINEAR APPROACH: Learn to draw some order out of chaos, make connections between seemingly unconnected things, experiment with the unfamiliar. Wake up your brain by growing your mind so that it serves you well, helps you analyse, explore logic, inspire inspiration and keep you sane.

HAVE A VISION FOR YOUR DEVELOPMENT: Plan your growth upwards and laterally; find alternative routes to developing your career so that you don’t feel helpless when you hit a ‘roadblock’ or things falter. A plan helps you think ahead and can pre-empt some of the things that can derail your progress.

GET PURPOSELY CREATIVE : Don’t wait for ‘inspiration from above’ to find solutions to your situation. Think of ways you can expand your expertise in different situations. For example as an accountant, you can work as such, teach accountancy in an institution, provide private tuition. Be proactive,

Now take action: Where are you stagnating in your career? What will you do about it?