When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
—Anonymous
According to this Harvard Business Review article, the most successful managers are redundant in their communications to staff utilizing multiple communication methods.
“The finding: To get employees to do something, managers need to ask them at least twice. We know that the effective managers repeated themselves at least once, and we often observed managers who sent three or four redundant communications.”
Here’s another incredibly valuable method of increasing communication success…get better at delegating. Remember, always delegate tasks that someone else can do for you, thus allowing you to focus on the things only you can do. This is a key to leveraging your resource of time. Also, be sure to set your team up for success by making sure the person being delegated to has demonstrated the appropriate level of competence to complete the task as expected. When delegating, first get verbal agreement that both parties agree on the specific task, exact quality, deadline, etc. of the responsibility being delegated. Second, have the person put it in writing to you, once again confirming these points and helping to ensure there are absolutely no misunderstandings. Finally, agree on a progress update schedule. Unless you want to possibly miss your deadline, it is important to inspect what you expect along the way. That is, check up on the project to make sure things are progressing as expected and that your team member has all of the necessary resources to complete the task on time, on specification and on budget!
According to Bill Bonnstetter of TTI, the #1 skill for peak performers and great leaders is PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. Bonnstetter points out, “My research into superior performers has shown that 100% of the time, these are people who have a strong sense of personal accountability.”
They recognize, that just as famed pastor, Robert Schuller once remarked, “If it is to be, it is up to me!” So, instead of choosing to blame others for their misfortunes or make excuses for why they did or didn’t do something, they face situations head on and take responsibility for their part. No, I’m not suggesting only viewing life’s challenges through rose-colored glasses or with a pollyanna-ish outlook, but today, probably more than ever, many want to blame their problems on someone or something else…other people, the competition, the economy, etc., etc., etc. That’s why in executive coaching, we strive to stay focused on our side of the street. What do I have control over in impacting my success? What is it in me or my company that is holding me back?
In his book, FocalPoint, Brian Tracy says that “fully 80% of our constraints are within us, our company, etc. and that only 20% are outside of us.” He continues that, “When you want to accomplish great things, you always start with yourself and work out from there.”
Further, psychologists say that you will feel good about yourself to the degree to which you feel that you are in control of your own life. They call this your “locus of control.” And, people with an “internal locus of control”, those who feel that they are behind the wheels of their own lives, tend to be low-stress, high performance individuals (i.e. Leaders and Victors).
In conclusion, while pursuing your own PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, you might find it helpful to recall the words Reinhold Niebuhr offered in his Serenity Prayer:
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
This is a portion of an article written by Ron McNutt for the December 2010 issue of The Fordyce Letter. The Fordyce Letter is published monthly for the employment, search, recruiting and personnel placement professional by ERE Media, Inc.
The former off-Broadway musical, Rent, opens by posing this question: “525,600 minutes…how do you measure a year?” As 2010 draws to a close, I have some questions for you. Have you invested your past 525,600 minutes the way you had planned as you watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve in 2009? One year ago, what were you envisioning for your future? Did you plan to be more healthy and happy…to have better and richer relationships…to have a more successful business and greater financial independence? How’d you do?
Like you, my minutes of the past year have been both up and down. On one end of the spectrum, I’ve experienced the awesome highs of watching my two year old son grow, travelling with my family and seeing most of my clients return to more prosperous times. At the opposite end, I’ve personally endured the ebb and flow of our economy and the deaths of two relatives. But, I wind down 2010 feeling good overall and looking hopefully to an awesome next year. Yes, it will certainly be filled with ups and downs too, but I’m confident I will have the strength and support to endure and surmount any challenges that come my way.
With the New Year just days away, the coming days and weeks are a perfect time to take stock of the past year and make plans for 2011. Make a decision today that, when the clock strikes midnight on the eve of December 31, 2011 you will be able to look back at this moment as the turning point for the planned-for success, health, wealth and happiness you will be enjoying!
Here are six simple questions to assist your review and planning for your life, career, and business:
- What’s working?
- What’s not working?
- What should you do more of in 2011?
- What should you do less of in 2011?
- What should you start doing in 2011?
- What should you stop doing in 2011?
I’m not always politically correct. For instance, during hiring workshops, I used to call the portion where I talk about regularly reviewing your talent, “Take Out the Garbage,” referring to culling underperformers. Fortunately a great business leader I worked with expanded on my comments during one of my workshops by stressing to his managers the importance of periodically re-hiring their respective employees.
I really like that idea…not only a talent review, but a re-commitment to why you hired the employee in the first place. That’s really the essence of this “Zero Based Thinking” question: If I had not hired this person, knowing what I now know, would I hire them back again today?
Further, during that workshop, we began work on refining both their employee scorecards and method of grading employees. Working on an ABC scale, they decided to call an (A) employee someone who meets the requirements of the scorecard 90% of the time or more. A (B) employee is someone who meets the scorecard requirements at least 80% of the time. And a (C) employee, any employee who does not meet the scorecard requirements at least 80% of the time. Obviously, all employees will be coached to improve and succeed, but (C) employees will be given the opportunity to grow into (B) or (A) employees or they will probably find their careers re-directed.
How about you, do you regularly assess your talent and have you re-hired your team lately?
