Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential
Issue 5.44 - November 3, 2008 - ISSN: 1551-6571

In Kevin's Own Words

How to Prepare For Your Next Leadership Job Now

It happens all the time. People get promoted, get excited about their new job, and then realize they have a lot to learn. Organizations often promote people based on their performance in their current job, and of course expect them to succeed in the next role too. And because of habit, and those best hopes; often training for you in your new job - especially if it is a leadership role - is often delayed for far too long (if training happens at all).

While all of these things are often true, they don't have to be true for you. You might not be able to change when (or if) you get training or other learning opportunities from your employer, but you have complete control over how you prepare now to lead more effectively in your next role.

Note - These suggestions focus on moving to a role of leadership, whether you are in a leadership role now or not. These suggestions will work regardless of the role you currently are in or the role you are seeking, but they're especially important in a leadership role.

Five Ways to Prepare Today

Here are five practical, though maybe not conventional, ways to prepare today for greater success tomorrow:

• Choose to Believe. The single, most fundamental choice you must make is the choice to believe that you are both capable and worthy of the role you aspire to. Just because you can't do it all, or even know what is involved today, doesn't mean you can't. Just because you may not think you will ever be as good a leader as your role models, doesn't mean you can't be successful (and perhaps in different ways, even more effective than your role model).

Until you truly believe you won't take the other steps below, or you will take them half way. You were born with amazing potential. It matters not how much of that potential you have realized to this point, how old you are or what others believe. The truth is that you have the innate tools to soar. Choose to believe this completely.

• Identify (and Live) Your Values. The source of your strength, consistency and credibility as a leader comes from your values. It is more effective and appropriate to spend time working on your values now, so that the clarity that comes from that will be your guide and aid forevermore. Spend time in reflection and thought about your most important values. Write them down, prioritize them and keep the list relatively short. Carry them with you and use them to guide your behavior and decision making more consciously than perhaps you have in the past. If you would like a list of values to help you in your identification process, go to http://RLBonus.com and use the keyword "values."

• Assess Your Skills. In order to know which skills you want to develop, you must determine which skills are gaps and which skills are strengths. You can do this by self-assessment, by asking close colleagues or your boss for some face to face feedback, or you can use a 360 assessment process where you receive anonymous feedback from your boss, your peers and colleagues and those who work for you. Whichever approach you take your assessment goal is to determine both your greatest strengths and skill gaps so you can work on both (focusing on your strengths will help you improve at least as much as working on weaknesses will).

• Ask for Help. Once you understand your strengths and weaknesses, build an action plan. While that plan might include books or training, consider having a coach or mentor help you as well. When identifying a coach or mentor, look for people who are strong in your areas of weakness, or are even stronger in your strength areas than you are. In either case, that coach or mentor will be able to provide credibility and insights that you need on your improvement path. How do you get mentors to work with you? Ask them. When you ask people for help, and explain why you specifically want their help, the odds of getting that help are drastically in your favor.

• Stick to It. Preparing for your next job proactively isn't a short term project. Reading one book might help, but it won't do it all. The best way to prepare for the challenges of your future roles is by being a continual learner today. As you build the habit of learning continually, not only will you build your skills, but you will be seen as a more attractive candidate for the job you are preparing for. What more reasons do you need that that?

These steps might not be what you expected. Some are more reflective while some others seem more immediately practical. Don't be fooled by these appearances. All of these steps work together to provide you base for learning and preparing for your next job, and the one after that.

I commend you for considering these steps, but will applaud you when you are doing them. My applause won't matter though, because as you proactively prepare for your next job, you will succeed and make a bigger difference for your organization, yourself and the lives of others -that's recognition far better than my applause could ever be!

Potential Pointer:  It is in your control to continue to learn and prepare for the jobs or roles you want in the future. The best way to get and be successful in those roles is to begin preparation now. Focus on yourself, your skills, and build a plan to improve them with an eye towards your goal. Starting with yourself is the best place to begin - and you can begin right now.

Kevin's Recommends

Tribes - We Need You to Lead Us
by Seth Godin

I've been a fan of Seth Godin's writing, both in blog and book for a long time. See my recommendations of Free Prize Inside, and The Big Moo as just two examples.

I've been looking forward to this book for several months because it shifts from his normal marketing focus to a focus on leadership. I agree with his basic premises for the book (in my words):

1. We can all be leaders.
2. Leaders can change the world.
3. Leading can be exciting.
4. Leading isn't always easy.

I've written about, and will continue to write about, these ideas for a long time. For these reasons, and because I like Seth's approach, I heartily recommend this book. I do not, however, believe it is his best book. While he shares many great ideas, and uses great examples to get his points across, the book feels at times a bit disjointed, and I found myself wanting more context and detail on many of his examples.

Even so, I recommend you pick up and read this book. It's small and short; and it won't take long to read. (The ideas may bounce in your head for much longer). And if you like what you read, consider reading more of his wonderful, thought-provoking work.

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