There are no stupid questions. There are only stupid people who don’t ask questions.
Today’s post is by Gary Douglas, the founder of Access Consciousness®.
People have always told me that the way I do business is different. I may indeed have a slightly different point of view about most things in life – and I’ll change my point of view on a dime. I question everything all the time.
Innovation occurs when you are willing to be in the question and to ask a question always. Whatever conclusions we come to become the limitation of what we can actually achieve and receive. Don’t assume: “We’ve got this part of the business right,” which is what Kodak did. They assumed: “We’ve got it right. There will always be film.” They didn’t get innovative. They knew about digital and electronic imaging.
Did Kodak look at that and ask: “Which is the direction we need to go? What do we need to create here?” Or did they go to the conclusion that they would always have the answer? Once you decide that you have the answer, nothing that doesn’t match your conclusion can come into your awareness. You’ve got to be willing to see what kind of awareness you could have if you were willing to question.
The purpose of a question is to gain awareness. With increased awareness, different possibilities become available to you. When you become aware of the possibilities, you can make choices. Choice creates. With each choice, you can look at: “If I choose this, what will this create?”
A great executive assistant is only half the equation. Learning how to work with him or her effectively is the real key to maximizing your productivity.
For my new book, The CEO’s Secret Weapon: How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize Productivity and Effectiveness, I interviewed the world’s #1 leadership thinker, Marshall Goldsmith and management guru Ken Blanchard, who expressed a deep appreciation for the value executive assistants bring to the lives of time-constrained executives. Business leaders Richard Branson, Donald Trump and others echoed their sentiment.
Yet, despite the ringing endorsements of assistant’s capabilities by these and other business luminaries, many executives don’t capitalize on this resource that can help smooth out their day and relieve them of untold minutiae.
By not capitalizing on the advantage assistants bring to the table, executives are cheating themselves out of an abundance of talent. While a minority of executives do this because they just can’t let go, many executives are oblivious to the expertise of their assistants because they’ve never learned how to utilize an assistant, or experienced top quality support before. But you can have this support if you consciously recruit and develop an assistant who can take on a leadership role and serve as your “right arm.”
To find your exceptional assistant, start with a candid analysis of yourself. What is your work style – big picture, or myopic? Do you prefer someone whose work habits mirror yours? Are you a micromanager? If so, you will be irritated with a self-starter who takes the ball and runs with it. If you don’t want to be bogged down with details, a self-starter will suit you just fine.
Nurturing employees to be the voice of the brand sustains an ecosystem for innovation, bridging marketing efforts and connecting them with the stakeholders.
Today’s post is by Dhanshi Kittusamy Murthi, Regional Head of US Marketing at Vuram, a global hyperautomation services company.
Organizations across industries are exploring ways to shape a sustainable work culture that enables their people to perform at their highest levels. One way to do this is by presenting people with opportunities to be recognized for their expertise: this not only nurtures outstanding results by building confidence among employees but also boosts the visibility of the brand.
Enabling employees to be the voice of the brand sustains an ecosystem for innovation and productivity, and content is the vital piece of the puzzle to achieving this. It boosts brand awareness and acts as a means through which an organization’s employees can showcase themselves.
Generating Content that Represents the Brand:
According to a 2021 Statista survey involving business-to-business (B2B) content marketing professionals, 91% of the organizations responded that creating brand awareness was one of the goals of their content marketing activities. While chalking out the marketing plan or budget for branding campaigns, marketers should factor in an essential segment that can champion the voice of the brand in the truest sense: its own people.
Every growing, successful organization is driven by passionate people and a work culture that appreciates their efforts. When the employees love what they do, they take pride in what they learn and advocate the best practices. Encouraging them to share their expertise builds a repository of trustable knowledge and content that truly represents the brand.
Building Trust-Based Stakeholder Relations:
Showcasing people as the face of the brand allows businesses to communicate authentically while having a host of benefits. Beyond making an impact in the industry, the ripple effect drives innovation and progress in society by organizations committed to making a difference. In the B2B context, the content created by people who directly work with prospects fosters a bond between the company and its clients, when the spokesperson directly interacts with customers, potential or active. This not only boosts the brand image but also uplifts the morale of the employees and builds trust-based stakeholder relations.
For instance, let’s take an organization specializing in emerging technologies; they constantly innovate and experiment to deliver cutting-edge solutions to solve the problems the customers are facing. The technology experts within the organization can talk about the technologies they are passionate about through short knowledge-sharing videos covering technologies tied to their core work or those they are passionate about. Video being a powerful form of content as it is, reaches business audiences multifold. According to a Forbes Insight report, 75% of the surveyed C-suite executives stated they “watch work-related videos on business-related websites at least weekly”. Imagine speaking to these decision makers about various technologies, in this example, how the company can help solve the crucial challenges they are facing.
The Power of Authentic Content:
People who are camera-shy or prefer writing over the visual form can write about how their core expertise can help their target audience. Coming from a valid source, such knowledge-sharing assumes more value among the audience; it helps resonate with the brand image—of innovating and experimenting—and what the company stands for. Down the line, such authentic content inspires prospects to follow the company updates and be interested in its offerings and, not to mention, form a personal brand for the spokespeople. At a company level, it attracts fresh graduates on the lookout for a learning environment and inspires new employees to conquer the steep knowledge curve and explore ways to innovate as they pursue their careers.
Representing the Brand in Their Own Way:
As organizations embrace the new normal and transition into hybrid working, content generated by experts expands into meaningful branding and visibility opportunities for employees and the organization. Within the organization, the activity instills a learning culture that nurtures future spokespeople. Hence giving people the freedom with responsibility to represent the brand and share ideas and knowledge that matter strengthens the social and professional well-being of employees in an organization.
Creating opportunities that give people exposure and recognition is vital to increase job satisfaction and happiness at work. With remote working, similar initiatives help employees to showcase their potential, initiate internal conversations, and strengthen their visibility among their colleagues. These initiatives will deepen the foundations of open communication and transparency in the workplace, motivating people to share new ideas and focus on ways to innovate.
At a time when trust and transparency are paramount for businesses, shaping a healthy brand image driven by sincere communication from its people matters a lot. Strengthening the brand message is crucial for resilience and building confidence for all stakeholders involved in the ecosystem.
About the Spokesperson
Dhanshi Kittusamy Murthi is the Regional Head of US Marketing at Vuram, a global hyperautomation services company. Her 8-year career experience spans teaching, content writing, and marketing. In her current role at Vuram, she is responsible for strategizing and executing marketing campaigns for the US region.
About Vuram
Vuram is a global hyperautomation services company specializing in low-code enterprise automation. Since its inception in 2011, Vuram has maintained 100% customer success and 100% customer references. Powered by passionate people, Vuram has successfully driven digital transformation for several happy enterprise customers across the globe.
Vuram has received several prominent recognitions, including being featured among the Inc 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States, HFS hot vendor (2020), Rising Star- Product Challenger in Australia by ISG, Fast Company – Best Workplaces for Innovators 2022, and recognized as a finalist in the Excellence in Change Communication category in the Gartner Communications Awards 2022. Vuram has consistently ranked in India’s Best Places to Work, certified by Great Place to Work® institute.
Vuram’s hyperautomation technology stack encompasses business process management (BPM), robotic process automation (RPA), optical character recognition (OCR), document processing AI, machine learning (ML), and analytics.
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“Who is mighty? That person who can control their own emotions and make, of an enemy, a friend.” – Talmud
Our 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, was one of the best when it came to turning adversaries into allies.
“…{On one occasion}, when another official sharply criticized Lincoln’s judgment, the president responded to a reporter’s interrogation by saying he had great respect for the other man, and if this official had concerns about him, there must be some truth to it. Such discretion disarmed divisiveness that was intended to draw Lincoln into side-skirmishes, it won the hearts of his friends and foes and it allowed Lincoln to maintain focus on more important issues.”
What Lincoln did was to utilize the tactic of “deflection.” This means to softly “parry” a challenge or accusation, deflecting it into another direction where it misses entirely.
This is actually a common boxing move. When one fighter throws a jab, the intended target will, very coolly, simply wait until the punch almost reaches him. He’ll then just parry it away with a very slight flick of the wrist. Harmless.
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Speaking spontaneously can be a powerful way for leaders to communicate with their teams. But such spontaneity comes with many pitfalls that can derail the speaker’s message. Beware of rambling on, using inappropriate humor, and not staying attuned to your audience.
A senior vice president I know had just joined a firm and was asked to speak at the next town hall. He was excited about the opportunity to address the company’s 3,000 employees and carefully prepared a scripted speech. But when he began to rehearse, the CEO took one look at the script, and asked,
“What’s that?”
“It’s my speech,” the new executive replied.
“Oh, we don’t give speeches here,” the CEO said. “Just talk to our employees.”
Fortunately, he had time to mentally master the thoughts he had written out, and he spoke without a text – to rave reviews.
Such spontaneous dialogue is the new normal for business leaders. No longer hidden behind podiums as their predecessors were, today’s leaders are far more likely to engage their audience in dialogue. These conversations might be interviews, town halls, elevator conversations, corridor exchanges, or brief remarks sparked by “Do you have a minute?”
As casual as these extemporaneous situations seem to be, they can be high stakes situations for leaders.
If you want to speak as a leader in impromptu situations, avoid the following pitfalls:
Pitfall #1: Not Preparing
Many leaders think of impromptu speaking as “winging it,” but doing so will lead to many stumbles – and who wants to be known for that track record?
Winston Churchill had fun with speakers who talk without thinking. He observed: “Before they get up, they do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, they do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, they do not know what they have said.”
As counterintuitive as it may seem, you can prepare to be spontaneous. There are times when you know you’ll be part of an impromptu event – a client chat, a conversation with a team member, a networking event, or a Q&A. Take whatever time you have to prepare notes, or a mental outline of what you will say. Even if you only have a few seconds, pause and decide what your message is.
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Writing a problem statement helps you define your goals, boundaries, constraints, and assumptions when faced with a challenging project.
One of my favorite critical thinking and problem solving tools is a good problem statement. You should never just take a problem and rush off in a general direction, thinking you’re going to come up with a solution that will satisfy the needs of your requester. If you don’t know the destination, you’re going to get lost. It’ll take you a long time to get there. The corollary here is with your problem solving and critical thinking. You need to know what that destination is. What is success for your problem solving?
Your problem statement defines that endpoint. Without a problem statement, you’re going to spend a lot of wasted hours, wasted work, and have excessive revisions because your recommendation won’t make sense. Nobody will know what you’re trying to solve for. When you put together a good problem statement, it becomes your charter for your critical thinking efforts. It’s going to spell out your goals. It will lay out boundaries on the problem solving space. It will define success criteria. Your problem statement should spell out the constraints you’re going to face. It should articulate your assumptions, who the stakeholders are, and any timelines that you’re going to face.
I have one client organization that didn’t spend the time laying out their problem statement. They ended up with major issues for their charter for a huge technology project. Because the team was trying to solve all different problems, they didn’t have clarity on what the ultimate goal was, what the metrics were, who the stakeholders needed to be, and what the boundaries were for the space they were trying to solve in. This led the team to write a lot of code, have multiple revisions, and multiple attempted roll-outs. They couldn’t solve the problem because they hadn’t defined what the problem was in the first place.
Take a look at a problem you’re trying to solve. Is it clear what the problem statement is? Do you know what the goals are? Do you know what the boundaries, constraints, and assumptions are? Do you know who the stakeholders are? The time you spend with this type of critical thought is going to help you be more effective in solving the problems that you face.
Want to learn more about critical thinking? How about taking an entire course on it? Go directly to the course and start learning about critical thinking. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!
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Stopping and considering decisions before you make them is only the start to critical thinking and building on those skills makes all the difference.
The importance of critical thinking
Let’s look at the importance of critical thinking. So many times when people ask us, “Can you go solve this problem,” we rush off and start solving it without stopping to think before we do.
We’re facing new demands that require extensive amounts of information before we can make a decision. There are multiple departments involved in all of your problem-solving efforts, and each department is contributing its own input. As part of your problem-solving process, there are going to be multiple stakeholders involved. This increases the complexity of trying to get to an answer.
When you do ultimately come up with a recommendation, those big decisions will involve numerous trade-offs. Not everyone is going to be happy with what you recommend. There are going to be long lag times in acquiring the required data to make your decision, and when you finally do make the call, there’s going to be high scrutiny over whether you were right or wrong. And a bad call can have both business as well as personal and professional implications. Add to this unforeseen bottlenecks in getting the process done of getting to that answer, multiply it by the number of problems you’re trying to solve every single day, and then divide by the limited amount of time you have to get to an answer.
The importance of stopping and thinking critically before you rush off and undertake all these very comprehensive efforts is very high. That critical thinking process is what’s going to differentiate you and the solutions you develop versus rushing off without any thought at all.
Distinguish causes vs. consequences
As you begin your critical thinking efforts, I’d like you to think about causes and consequences. One of the biggest challenges we’re going to face with any problem solving is that desire to rush off and get to an answer quickly because we feel like we’re being responsive to our stakeholders when we do. But think about it.
Have you ever solved a symptom only to find out there are other symptoms that arise after you solve it? Have you ever put in place a recommendation only to find out you created new problems down the road? When you’re going through this critical thinking process, first, consider causes.
Look at the symptom that is problematic. Then figure out the real reason it’s happening. And come at that possible symptom from multiple perspectives. Once you generate a recommendation, stop and think critically. What new problems can you create if you implement this recommendation? What are the new symptoms that will be caused? Think that through before you implement your recommendation.
Let me offer an example. I know a client situation where the organization was going to roll out a brand-new website that would be facing their customers. The problem was they continued to miss deadlines for rolling the website out and going live. Now let’s look at causes and consequences. What was the cause of the website not rolling out? Well, the code wasn’t ready. Yeah, but that’s a symptom. That’s a symptom of a problem. Why wasn’t the code ready? Well, the specifications weren’t done. Okay. Well, that’s also a symptom. Why weren’t the specs done? Well, because they didn’t agree on the features and functionality of the new website. But let’s not stop there. Why was that symptom happening? Well, they weren’t given clarity by leadership around one aspect that was a major strategic decision in terms of how they would roll the website out. That was the cause of all these issues and why the rollout wasn’t happening.
Now let’s think this through. Once that strategic decision is made, what are the consequences of it? So leadership finally decided to make the website a closed network. Therefore, new customers would have to call in to register instead of registering on a website. Let’s look at the consequences of that decision and the new problems that can emerge. New customers are now going to have to call a call center associate. That’s then going to flood the call center with incremental calls. The consequence of that is the staff in the call center is going to be over-worked. And then the consequence of that is current customers are going to experience service issues. They won’t get their calls answered as quickly. And then the consequence of that is we might lose current customers.
By stopping and thinking about causes first and then consequences, once you do make a recommendation, you’re going to identify the true problem that you need to solve and, hopefully, you’ll be able to avoid causing future problems. When you go out to solve a problem, think backwards about the causes and think forward about the consequences.
As you go to apply these notions to your critical thinking processes, I’d like you to think about a problem you’re working on. Look at the causes. Spend some time thinking about what’s really causing this issue. Continue to work backward until it’s clear you’re solving a problem and not a symptom. Then, once you’ve generated a recommendation, think through the consequences. What are the new problems that could emerge if you implement your recommendation? Think about a problem that you made a recommendation on where it didn’t go so well. Which of these two did you miss? Did you miss the real root cause? Did you miss possible consequences of your recommendation?
By spending this extra time thinking about these aspects and putting in the critical thought, there’s a much higher likelihood that whatever recommendation you come up with is going to solve the true problem and you’re going to account for some of the possible consequences down the road.
Want to learn more about critical thinking? How about taking an entire course on it? Go directly to the course and start learning about critical thinking. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!
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Magnetic leaders have a line of people waiting to work for them. What sets these leaders apart? Authenticity, vision, and resilience are three good first steps.
Lots of people believe it takes years for someone to become a magnetic leader. Lucky for you, I’m not one of these people. Magnetic leaders are ones who have a line of people outside their door, waiting to come work for them. That line moves slowly, as positions rarely become available.
There are seven traits of irresistible leaders. Here are three and how you can earn magnetic status almost instantaneously.
Authenticity
Magnetic leaders don’t try to be someone else, nor do they change who they are based on office politics. They are true to themselves and are honest in their dealings with others. They are not afraid to share their mistakes or shortcomings. Warren Buffet is an authentic leader who speaks openly about his $200 billion mistake buying Berkshire Hathaway.
I want you to think about how authentic you really are today. Here’s what I mean by this. Do you tell staff members you have a doctor’s appointment, when you’re really leaving work early to see your daughter’s school play? Are you being completely truthful when giving performance reviews or are you holding back because you don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings? Are you speaking up in meetings and saying what’s really on your mind or are you going along with what the boss has suggested because you’d like to remain in his favor?
A yes to any of these questions is a clear indication that you can improve your authenticity. As you can see, making some shifts in this area won’t require much in the way of skill building. However, it will require some internal shifts. If you find you are having difficulties making these modifications on your own, then consider hiring a coach, who can point out opportunities to improve in this area and will provide guidance as well.
Leaders are faced with two conflicting needs. The first is to act with a deep confidence in their abilities and the strategies they are implementing. This allows them to pursue audacious goals and persevere when faced with adversity. The second is to be aware of their vulnerabilities and the need for a healthy dose of self-doubt. This allows them to see themselves and their situations accurately — avoiding, in particular, the hazards of over-confidence and excessive optimism. Those who fail to do so run the risk of having blindspots — which are the unrecognized weaknesses or threats that have the potential to harm a leader and his or her company.
Savvy leaders understand that blindspots, while they vary in severity and are different for each individual, are not the exception — instead, they “come with the territory.” The question then becomes: How do I surface and address the blindspots that matter? One way is to ask the right questions in the right way. Here are some guidelines for identifying blindspots:
1. Avoid yes-or-no questions.Closed-end questions (those that can answered yes or no) are efficient, but don’t surface information that may be critical to understanding a potential weakness or threat. Questions are called open-ended when they allow for a variety of responses and provoke a fuller discussion. For example, a closed-end question might be, “Are you going to deliver your business plan this year?” while an open-ended question is, “Tell me about the risks you face in delivering your plan and the actions you are taking to mitigate them?”
2. Don’t lead the witness. Hard-charging leaders often push to confirm their own assumptions about what is occurring in a given situation and often want to move quickly to a plan of action. This can result in questions that are really statements, such as, “Doesn’t this mean that we don’t have a problem with compliance in this area and can move forward as planned?” These types of questions, particularly when posed by those in positions of power, often prevent contrary points of view and necessary data from surfacing.
Achieving your goals is all about taking tangible steps every day. If you change your time horizon and ask yourself six simple questions, you’ll find you’re achieving your goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible.
I met an eighty-eight-year-old man named Orville at my health club. I first noticed him one afternoon while checking in at the front desk. He was stumbling along behind me. There was no way this man, slowly shuffling along the path to the gym, was going to do any kind of meaningful workout! Orville patiently moved, inch by inch, into the weight-training area, picked up some dumbbells, and, with an audible grunt, started his routine.
One day I happened to see Orville out of the corner of my eye, stepping onto one of the treadmills. I was across the room, and he was already reaching for the start button. Too far away to help him, I just stood there and watched. As the treadmill came to life, Orville took one small step, and then another. The machine picked up speed, but miraculously, so did his legs. Within a minute, he hit full stride, running like a man half his age!
At this point the reality of the situation dawned on me. Orville’s problem was not with his legs, it was with his vision. He couldn’t see where he was going. Though Orville did nothing to cause his vision problem, it is a powerful example of how limited we are when we lack clarity and vision.
How often do leaders and employees lack clarity in their communication, and as a result, drive forward ambiguous goals?
I think 90 days is the best timeframe for most goals. A year is too long – see how few people keep New Year’s Resolutions? Twenty-one days is too short for most real change. However, in 90 days, I was able to lose 33 pounds! And I’ve seen people triple their sales in 90 days. That’s why I like the 90-Day Quick Plan. It is a strategy for clarifying how you are going to achieve your most vital goals.
Pick an area of your business or personal life that you’d like to address, and then ask six questions. Don’t wait to start because the plan should take less than thirty minutes to create. All you need to do is ask and answer these six questions:
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Today’s guest post is written by Brian Ahearn. Brian’s one of the most knowledgeable guys I know on the subject of influencing people (which is why he’s been a guest here before). Brian’s blog, Influence PEOPLE, is followed by people in more than 180 countries. You can learn more about Brian at the end of this post. Enjoy!
My wife Jane is an excellent golfer, a poster child for hard work and practice. Many years ago she said, “I’m tired of people saying I have potential. I want good scores!” She started taking lessons, practiced consistently at the driving range and saw her scores drop from 105-110 to the low 80s and occasionally a score in the high 70s! She exemplifies a truism in life – you don’t get good at something by merely learning about it. At some point you have to “do the stuff.”
Over the last few years I’ve conducted many sales workshops where people practice different skill sets. One such workshop was on active listening skills. Good listening skills are just as important for leaders as they are for salespeople.
Excellent leaders recognize the more information they have the better the solutions they can come up with. One important way leaders get their information is by actively listening. I’ll share five pointers to help you become listening “STARS.”
Listening is an active skill so you need to do several things if you want to excel. Listening skills are not things you can’t do. For example, I often tell workshop attendees I can’t dunk a basketball. Never could and it’s not likely at 48 years old, standing just 5’9 tall, that I ever will. Jumping high enough to dunk a basketball is a skill I don’t have and can’t acquire no matter how hard I work. If someone told me my career depended on dunking a basketball I’d start looking for a new career.
But that’s not the case with listening skills! Each of the five pointers I’ll share is within your power to do if you’ll just make the choice to employ them. To be listening STARS, you need to remember Stop, Tone, Ask, Restate and Scribble. Let’s look briefly at each.
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Executive presence is an element of leadership that’s easy to recognize but difficult to develop, but might be the difference in your career progressing forward.
Executive presence is an element of leadership that’s easy to recognize but difficult to develop. In fact, in a recent study by the Center for Talent Innovation, it was found that feedback on executive presence is often contradictory and confusing and that 81% of those who are instructed to improve their executive presence are unclear on how to act on it.
For instance, can you relate to any of the situations below?
You have been passed up for a promotion—even though your record demonstrates that you’re smart enough and capable enough. No one can put a finger on exactly what the issue is, but it’s enough to hold you back.
Your boss or someone higher on the food chain has mentioned to you that, “you might consider improving your executive presence.” You walk away thinking to yourself, ok, now what?
You’re a manager with a team member who you know has the capability to shine but is struggling to find their voice.
Having spent the last 20 years helping executives develop executive presence, I have found the process to be something that people (regardless of gender, industry, country, and culture) struggle to understand and develop.
