business leadership

August 13, 2015 by sereynolds

The Post-It Note Approach to Time Management

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

In addition to the shortcuts I discussed in my last column, I want to introduce a new strategy that you can start putting into place at any time. This is a strategy I learned from coach Kevin Lawrence, and it has helped many leaders establish a new relationship with time.

The 5 D’s are: “Do it, delete it, delegate it, decide on it, and date it.”

The “it” in these cases usually refers to some small task or action item–every time you have to get through a stack of email, voice mail messages, or a stack of paperwork, the 5 D’s are crucial. You will drastically cut the time you need to get through the stack.

To elaborate, here are the 5 D’s and how you can use them to maximize your time:

Do it means do it now. Use this for any task that takes fifteen minutes or less.

Delete it means there are some things that do not require your response. Just because someone sent you the message/document/suggestion doesn’t mean you have to reply. If an item doesn’t advance a relationship or achieve an important goal, get rid of it.

Delegate it means pass it on to someone else who can handle the job. They don’t have to do it better than you; they don’t even have to do it as well or as fast. They probably won’t. But unless it’s a top priority or specific result that you and only you can deliver, you’re not the right person. Pass it on. Don’t abdicate the responsibility; you still need to be sure the task gets done. This is not a game of hot potato. It’s a way of reorganizing work so the right people do the appropriate jobs for maximum efficiency and results.

Decide on it means no more moving items from one stack to another, telling yourself, “I’ll get back to that.” Will you attend the meeting or won’t you? Will you agree to that request or won’t you? Make a decision. Move on.

Date it means that you get to choose when you will give big-ticket items your undivided time and attention. Figure out how much time you need and block it out in your schedule. You can forget about it until then.

To put this into practice, trying writing a mini-version of the 5 Ds on a sticky note and put it near a stack of papers, projects, emails or administrative tasks. Set aside some time to tackle the tasks using the 5 Ds. Notice how they cut down the time it takes to finish the tasks. Set aside some time to tackle the tasks using the 5 Ds. Notice how the 5s cut down the time it takes to finish the tasks.

July 30, 2015 by sereynolds

5 Quick Steps You Can Take To Find Your Focus

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

There is a quote by Stephen Covey that I love: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Essentially what he’s saying is that we, as entrepreneurs, need focus.

In order to get where you want, in order to be who you want to be, in order to live the kind of life you want to live and lead the way you want to lead, you need to be strategic and find that focus that will make it all possible.

My book, The Inner Edge, outlines many practices that can help you zero in your focus, so that when you’re leaving your office each day you can confidently say you were “productive,” not just “busy.” And how to gauge the difference.

Below are five quick steps you can take to take back your focus, and set yourself up for success instead of burnout:

Step 1: survey the scene. The question here is, “What do you want?” Briefly review your vision so your focus will be aimed in the right direction. In other words, take a step back and take in the panoramic view of your life. Remind yourself of the long-term vision, but zoom in on the near-term vision. Write down your answer to the question in one sentence, and keep it where you can see it often.

Step 2: choose your focus. The question to ask is, “What areas do you want to focus on to achieve your vision?” Name 3-5 specific areas that need your attention if you’re going to successfully attain your vision, and write those down under your statement of what you want. Identify the aspects of that vision that deserve your time, energy and attention right now.

Step 3: study the subject. Ask, “Where are you now? Where do you want to be? How will you know when you get there?” Get specific about what each focus area means. The answers to these questions can be a big reality check–for example if you have to get to California, it helps to know if you’re starting in New Zealand or New York. The same is true for your focus area. If you know where you are now in relation to what you want, you increase your chances of getting there quickly.

Step 4: sharpen your focus. The question here is, “What will you do and when will you do it?” Make a commitment. For example, let’s say you have a focus area called “financial growth.” Right now you are in debt, and you want to be making money. You’ll know you’re successful when you’ve got 12 consecutive reports showing your company to be in the black. The question, “What will you do?” forces you to consider how you’ll get there. Will you eliminate debt? Make an acquisition? Your answer is your commitment.

Step 5: take a snapshot. Ask, “What do I want to remember?” When you’ve gone through all of the steps above, write down your focus areas. Keep them where they can serve as a reminder of what’s important to you now.

Is anything missing from your focus areas? That’s an absolutely critical question to ask, and one many people overlook. Make a conscious effort to step back and think about the bigger picture of your life, and all of your focus areas logically will be designed to lead you to that end.

July 7, 2015 by sereynolds

Do You Need A “Workover?” 3 Steps To Starting A New Career

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

If you follow this column, recently you read about my new series on your “workover.” If you missed it, a workover is a work-makeover–a transformation into a new and improved “you” that will lead to more confidence, a better reaction from others, and better success. You can find the entire article here.

The idea came from an experience I had with a recent client. This business owner had been a successful entrepreneur for decades, but with two new grandkids and a wife who was retiring, he was ready to do something different. Less intense. More rewarding. He decided he wanted to sell his business and get himself hired as an internal consultant in other people’s companies. He had the qualifications, and he had the idea, but he was missing several critical ingredients that would make it all work.

It seemed to me that he needed a work makeover. Just as TV personalities often pluck people off the streets and whisk them away for a head-to-toe transformation, I wanted to pull him into a conference room, work on the pieces that were getting out of date or were somehow not communicating the excitement and attraction he wanted, and return him to the marketplace as this year’s must-have new model. So we did that. We called it his workover.

The following are the three steps I shared with him, and that you can also use for a DIY workover.

Define your criteria. Before you do anything else, identify in a bulleted list the things that matter most to you in the next phase of your work life. What are you looking for now? What do you want?

For instance, if you’re looking for a new job, do you prefer the company is stable, or fresh and contemporary? Would you prefer to have flexibility to work from home, or is an office space important to you? Are you looking to give up your commute completely, or move to a new area? How important is mobility? Do you prefer to work independently, or with a team?

Think of your long-term vision, and describe it.

If you’re more of a visual person, the written list might not be your go-to method of defining your criteria. Instead, you might prefer to visualize what you want in your next job. I often walk through a “you and improved” vision with my clients, asking them to close their eyes and let their mind work out their vision, the audio of which I offer on my site here. Following the audio will help you get a more intuitive feel for what you want.

Rrank your criteria. Writing down your criteria for your perfect job is just the first step. But a workover isn’t about perpetuating the status quo–it’s about elevating yourself. Take the opportunity to rank your critieria so you not only know what’s important to you, you’ll know what’s most important. Doing this will ensure you don’t settle for second best.

For example, a client of mine (a marketing executive) was searching for a new position. She told me that this time, she only wanted to do things she loved to do. But her list of what that might be was very long and contained everything from “working with people” to “being creative” and “developing strategy.” Prompted to rank her criteria, she identified that of these criteria, what she really wanted was to find a truly creative and innovative environment. That one decision greatly narrowed her job search and led to an exciting new opportunity. She never would have found that if she had just told hiring managers she was a marketing expert. When you lump all of your skillsets together under one title like that, you lose the richness of what you do within your job that makes you happy. No, she had to tell hiring managers that she was a marketing expert interested in using her creativity in an innovative environment to open new markets. That level of specificity and the enthusiasm that came with identifying her number one criteria made her an extremely attractive as a candidate.

Refine what you would like to focus on. Now that we’re getting specific about what you want in your new job–in priority order – It’s time to get serious about what you want your day-to-day routine to look like. Get the clear picture of what it would be like to work in your favorite activities day after day. This is the internal part of your workover, and it will show up as confidence that you are a person who really knows what you’re after. You will have seen it in your mind, and now you can go out and pull it off in real life.

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur looking toward your next move, or an executive looking to explore a new field, taking steps toward a workover don’t have to be daunting. When successfully managed, your workover can improve your quality of life, and leave you feeling generally more fulfilled. This is the second part of a three-part series. Next time we will focus on identifying topics and themes that will make your next job the best you’ve ever had.

July 2, 2015 by sereynolds

Do You Need A “Workover?” 5 Questions To Ask Yourself

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Do you need a “workover?”

You’ll know a “workover” is right for you if:

You want to spruce up your reputation with clients and co-workers.
You want to improve the value you provide.
You’re looking for a new job, a new position, or a new company.

You’ll know you need a makeover if you love the idea of reinventing yourself or elevating yourself to a whole new level. Showing up differently. Stronger. More compelling. You…. only better.

So what, exactly is a workover? It’s a new take on the old model of you. Think of it as a work makeover. A positive calling-out of your very best traits to show you in your very best light. And who knows what can happen from there! New opportunities, new challenges, new successes.

Everyone needs a workover eventually. No one wants to be caught in last years’ shoes or a hairstyle from their high school days. But it happens anyway. You get settled in a routine and become satisfied with the status quo. Don’t let that happen – you’ve got to keep current.

If you’re in the market for a new job altogether, as many people are, the workover is absolutely essential, and the time is now.

Once you’ve had your workover, you’ll discover how much more is possible for you at work–a sense of fulfillment, the opportunity to do what you’re passionate about, and the ability to rise above the fray to land (or create) the job of your dreams–not just the job you’re most qualified, or whatever job come along first.

It’s a win-win situation for many entrepreneurs: you’re jumping out of your comfort zone to face boundless growth, and at the same time you’re aligning yourself with your passion.

In my workover series, I’m looking forward to helping you to discover–and follow–your passion, and turning that passion into your next career move! Later, in an upcoming column, I will be walking you through the process of giving yourself a workover, but for today, let me start you off with an assignment to get you thinking.

Try these five questions to decide if a workover is right for you:

Are you ready to refresh your reputation with clients, co-workers, the market or your bosss?
If yes, what specifically appeals to you about a workover?
What will change for you when you have overhauled your professional “look and feel?”
What, specifically, do you want to change or improve?
What would you want to retain and not change–the part of your work and work ‘presence’ you already love?

Anthony Smith, author of The Taboos of Leadership: The 10 Secrets No One Will Tell You About Leaders and What They Really Think, calls this his 3 C’s model: What can you celebrate? What would you like to change? And where are you coping with what you’ve got? Gaining this level of clarity will focus your workover and position you to quickly become the new model of success you have in mine. Get ready for a professional transformation.

This is the first part of a three-part series. Next time we will focus on the three things you must do to shed the old you and come back, new and improved.

June 26, 2015 by sereynolds

The Mirage of Success and the 3 Stages of Feeling Fulfillment

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

You’re successful. You’ve read tons of books, read a ton of “best practice tips” articles online. You’ve scoured tradeshows and networking events. And all that time has finally paid off–your business is thriving, your clients are happy, and the future is bright.

But do you feel fulfilled?

The sideffect of success isn’t always happiness. Sometimes it’s anxiety, existential apathy, or even a sense of isolation.

I worked with a corporate vice president in the banking industry, and, on paper, she had it all: the salary, stock options, and security. Yet she felt vaguely dissatisfied, even bored, wondering if something better was out there. This is a fairly common occurrence for successful entrepreneurs and leaders.

Here are the three stages of finding fulfillment–the next time you feel deflated or discontent, despite the green numbers on the spreadsheet, do the following:

Stage 1: Mining for values. Mine your experience to find values; values are the cornerstone of fulfillment. Living in alignment with your values is crucial for harmony and fulfillment. Values include principles, standards, and qualities. They don’t include material goods or people.

Revisit good memories, dream up ideal scenarios, or recreate the imagery you saw when you envisioned a you-and-improved future. Go back to a time that was “just right.” Take notes, explore what it was about that time and those experience that make it a peak experience. Write all the elements, and reexamine the bigger picture.

Stage two: Defining your values. After you have your list of potential values, define them. Choose your top 5-10 values and describe what each one means–the significance they have for you, and how it looks and sounds in your life. Defining your values moves them from platitudes to personal priorities.

Write a sentence or two about each top priority means to you. Defining your values gives them specificity and clarity.

Stage three: Refining your values. After you’ve defined your values, refine them with a process of prioritization. It’s revealing to understand which “top” values truly matter the most.

Imagine you are starting over in a brand-new work environment. Looking at your draft list of values, as yourself: If you could only be certain of having one value honored, which one would it be? Test it. If you had to live a life where you could count only on this one value, could you survive? Would you want to? And if you could have two values? Three? Continue ranking your values in this manner until you’re satisfied you have them in priority order.

Ultimately, once you’ve completed these three stages you have collected the raw materials of a golden life. It’s up to you to build a life with them. By looking at the role your values play in helping you achieve fulfillment, you are already beginning to live your values, as coaches say. In living your goals, you’re connecting with yourself, truly allowing yourself to feel fulfilled, and opening yourself up for more success to come.

June 4, 2015 by sereynolds

Breaking Down Your Roadblocks: The 4 People You Need To Help

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

When it comes to facing roadblocks, or any obstacle in the way of your success in business, popular speaker Kingsley Grant said:

“You overcome roadblocks by first identifying the roadblock. Assess the situation, the roadblock, and then look at your options to bypass it. Focusing on overcoming the roadblock can consume so much energy that you are depleted in finding ways around it. Roadblocks can lead to very creative solutions that you would not have thought about had it not been there.”

So how do we get to that action step, allowing us to bypass that roadblock? It all comes back to the people we surround ourselves with that keep our learning at a higher level, which I discussed in my last column where I shared some of Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s strategies.

Essentially, there are four different types of partners you need in your life to keep you learning at a higher level. The way you improve your learning is to work with others who know more than you in various areas, to help you expand your field of knowledge. Having partners in learning can help remove roadblocks that you can’t always remove yourself.

For example, I recently worked with an entrepreneur who came to me seeking a coach because she was facing a major roadblock–namely, a Strategic Plan. She knew she needed a better strategic plan, but she didn’t know how to create one. Having wasted many hours trying to find the right approach, template or system for strategic planning, she became overwhelmed. It dawned on her that trying to eliminate this roadblock on her own would be an enormous time sink–and frankly, she wasn’t sure she could do it on top of everything else in her business, especially since she would be relying on a frustrating process of trial and error to try to figure it out.

I helped her to understand that tackling this goal, which would ultimately help her to grow her business, would be greatly eased by looking for partners to help her move the roadblock.

Whether you’re looking for a new Strategic Plan, trying to reorganize your business, tackle a major challenge, or to stretch into an exciting new goal, there are four main types of people you can look to for help.

Advocates. Advocates cheer you on as you move roadblocks for yourself. Surrounding yourself with advocates is important to help remind you of your commitment to your goal and the importance it holds for you.

To follow from our earlier example, if the entrepreneur above decided to tackle that strategic plan in a Do-It-Yourself spirit, she could minimize the frustration and overwhelm by getting the support of her advocates. In this case, it might be her work team, who would understand the importance of the task and encourage her to complete it, with reminders of how helpful it would be to the business.

Running a business is hard work. A little support and encouragement can help.

Mentors. Mentors play a different role than advocates. Whereas your advocates cheer you on as you move the roadblocks, your mentors actually show you how to move it. They’ve been there. They’ve done it. They can show you how they moved their own roadblocks. As your “older and wiser” counterparts,–they’ve been where you are, and can coach you by using their own experience. They can tell you how they got over a roadblock, and how they were bale to navigate the unexpected along the way.

For our entrepreneur creating a strategic plan, getting a mentor would shorten the learning curve and eliminate the time-consuming task of starting from scratch. There’s nothing like a great example to get you on the right path, and a mentor can be that example for you.

Sponsors. Sponsors move roadblocks for you. Unlike mentors, sponsors have a responsibility for you being successful. A sponsor might be someone like your boss, who has a vested interest in your success. Or it might be an angel investor, whose success is tied with yours financially. In addition to the motivation provided by your advocates and the role modeling provided by your mentors, your sponsor actually gives you help. Your sponsor will open the door for you and get you the next job, or make an introduction, or in some other way move you forward in a way you can’t do for yourself.

If you want to move further, faster, you need a sponsor.

Imagine what would change for our entrepreneur who needs the strategic plan if she not only had the plan, but also a well-connected investor who was committed to helping her achieve her goals. Now she’s playing at a whole new level. Even the assistance of a sponsor, however, does not complete the set of partners she will need to be successful. It will still be up to her, ultimately, to do the work, and two more partners will help.

Coaches. Coaches help you move your roadblocks alongside you. Even with the best of partners to help you with the roadblocks, the ownership for moving forward past the roadblocks stays with you. A sponsor may be able to get you opportunities…but you have to take those opportunities and make sure you excel. This is where your coaches come in. Your coach will roll up her sleeves and help you do the heavy lifting related to taking action, overcoming new barriers, defining the process and the plan, and so on. She will help you implement the plan help you make the decisions that are right for you.

For the entrepreneur who wanted the strategic plan, coaching involved designing the specific plan that would lead to her ideal future – keeping her unique vision in mind and allowing her to lead her business, her way while still striving toward the end result.

Succeeding in business–especially when you’re the leader, responsible for defining vision, strategy, goals, plans, actions and all the rest–is no easy task. Let’s not make it harder than it has to be by trying to do it all yourself. Keep your eyes open for the roadblocks, and when you find them, don’t spend your time and effort insisting on moving them all single-handedly. You can move them more easily, faster and more effectively–with the help of your partners: your advocates, your mentors, your sponsors, and of course, your coach.

May 19, 2015 by sereynolds

Never Stop Learning: 3 Things We Can Learn From Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer

What stops growth in your business? Is it a down economy? Difficulty in recruiting top talent?

For many leaders, both in corporate settings and for entrepreneurs, what puts the brakes on growth isn’t an external factor or some new reality in the market. It’s the temptation to slow down and stop learning.

It’s may seem natural to slow down once you’ve gotten some experience under your belt. It’s tempting to rest on your laurels and enjoy the benefits of having arrived at a certain level of success. You know what you’re doing now. You know what works and what doesn’t. You can coast. That would be fine except for the fact that business growth and future success come from continuing to learn.

Recently I was sitting in a caf waiting to meet a consultant who wanted to help me with a business matter, and as I waited I read a new business book. The consultant found me and sat down, looked at the title and said, “Is that book any good? I used to read all those kinds of books.” The implication was that he doesn’t any more. His opportunity to work with me vanished before it had begun. Why would I want to work with someone who thought he knew it all and didn’t need to learn anything new?

So no matter how successful you may become, it’s important to keep on learning. What may change, however, is how you learn as you become more and more established in your career. The more advanced you get in your career, the more advanced your learning needs to be. Your old ways of learning don’t make as much sense as they used to. The leadership development programs you’ve taken no longer meet your needs, perhaps. The off-sites and self-study courses aren’t practical.

But just because your old ways of learning don’t fit you as well as they once did doesn’t mean you give up learning altogether–no matter how high up the ladder of success you climb. You need learning that’s innovative, forward-looking, extremely relevant, and usually in context. You need ways of learning that help you be effective in the moment and within a varied environment. That’s one reason executive coaching is so effective for successful leaders, and in fact is often why they seek out my help. What are some other ways top leaders keep up their learning? To find out, we can simply ask them.

A few years ago I interviewed Marissa Mayer, who echoed the same concern, and offered: learn from the people that inspire you. When I spoke with her, Mayer was still at Google, now she’s the president and CEO of Yahoo! and has been for nearly three years. She is also well-respected as one of Fortune‘s 50 Most Powerful Women. She is a perfect example of a CEO who continues to reflect, learn and evolve.

Mayer told me: “One of the most interesting and best parts for me in my role is [that] I learn new things in every meeting. I’m always learning about my leadership style and about new domains. You have to always be learning. Having a position that has a purpose and is one of constant learning.”

By continuing to pursue new ways of learning, Mayer stays on the cutting edge, avoids becoming outdated, and is always aware of newly emerging trends.

So how can we follow Mayer’s lead and keep learning?

Learn from the people who inspire you. When I spoke with her, Mayer told me excitedly about people she’s met, read about, studied and admired, and even worked with–women from fashion designers Tory Birch and Diana Von Furstenberg to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to editor of Cosmo, Kate White, to fellow high-tech executive Sheryl Sandberg, the COO at Facebook. They’re still learning but they’re learning from their peers and people they admire. Find people who are relevant and current, but still inspire you even when you have achieved a high level of leadership yourself.

Executive coaching. The thing about coaching that makes it so valuable for senior-level leaders is that it’s entirely customized. It’s intended to help you be effective moment-to-moment, working toward your vision and capitalizing on your strengths. If you don’t have time to take an online course or attend a retreat, coaches are always available and give you the one-on-one time that is crucial for designing personal strategies to apply learning into your working environment.

Learn from your mistakes. Mayer said she learned from launching new programs and innovations that still had bugs, such as the initial launch of Google news, which allowed her to perfect the program through re-invention and making small tweaks. Mayer said that many of Google’s most successful features were done this way, to “get the product out there and have the users tell us where it was most important to spend our time.” That allowed her and her team at Google to learn from mistakes and ultimately make the product better through trial and error. You can take the same approach. Try things out, allow yourself to make mistakes, but remember to seek the feedback on your efforts, and reflect on what you hear. Take the time to process and dissect the root cause of the problem that led to the mistake, look at the consequences and understand the situation well enough to both formulate strategies to avoid it for the future and lay a better groundwork in place. Find the balance of awareness and action. Reflection and results.

Once you’ve done the above three strategies, take a page out of Mayer’s book and reach out to your senior-level leader peer network. Ask: what are you reading right now? What ought you to be reading every day? How can you learn more about your leadership style be watching others? What can you learn from them? We can all learn from Mayer and her three strategies for growth at any level.

May 1, 2015 by sereynolds

5 Signs of Burnout, and Tricks to Break Free

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Feeling burned out? Think you may have hit a low point? You’re in good company. The pace of change these days is exhausting, and it’s not uncommon to hit a lull when the stress finally takes its toll.

Knowing the signs of burnout can help you get your groove back. With just a little proactive self-assessment, you can turn things around and get back to your happy place, where you’re more motivated and enthusiastic about your work.

Recently I spent several months coaching a leader at a highly ambitious company–one where expectations are high, and failure is not an option. The intensity, long hours, pressure, and accountability all make this hard-charging, highly visible company a challenging place to work. They’re doing exciting work and people want to be a part of it, but it’s hard to sustain the energy that such a culture demands.

This particular leader, whom we’ll call Evan Stevens, was a director in IT. Within 10 minutes of our very first coaching session, tears were springing to his eyes. Finally given the opportunity to speak about his working life, he opened up about his discouragement and fatigue. Evan was working 13-14 hours a day, as well as receiving phone calls from work at night. He was starting to worry about his family life. Evan was completely burned out. He was seen as a high performer, a high producer, well respected leader, well regarded contributor, and he got lots of positive feedback for his work. Yet he felt discouraged, defeated, unappreciated and undervalued from the company around him.

You may or may not be in a situation as extreme as Evan’s, but many people I have met over the years are very close.

How do you recognize the signs of burnout? How do know if you’re just going through a phase, or if it’s time for a more serious change?

For many people, the best case scenario is to find a way to stay at your current company, while finding a way back to meaning and fulfilment. It is possible–I’ve seen it many times. Even if you’re burned out now, you may find it possible to work happily at your company, giving your best, enjoying yourself, putting in extra hours if you need to, while also finding a way to be fulfilled, appreciated, valued and enjoying your work. Now that’s a good life.

So what are the signs of burnout? The following signs came out of my work with Evan:

You give up easily. Evan said, “I feel like I am giving up.” He noticed in himself a sense of defeat. That sense of defeat can show up even before tackling a project. You feel like giving up, because you don’t have the motivation to follow through with initiatives. They suddenly seem daunting.

You blame others. The blame could be in regards to the atmosphere of the work place, or the quality of work being done. If you catch yourself blaming others, ask yourself where the basis for the blame is really coming from. If it’s from a place of exhaustion or doubt, you might be facing burnout.

Time passes slowly, even when you have a lot to do. “I can tell that I am burning out when the day seems long and dragging and I can’t wait to get home,” Evan told me. Burnout feels slow and slogging.

Your confidence is down. You’ll know you may be burning out if you used to tackle projects with excitement and focus, but now you question your abilities to finish the task at hand and finish it well. You notice may hesitate to get involved even in projects or discussions where you have something to add.

It’s hard to define success. Burnout can make it hard to see hope. Evan told me: “I’ve stopped seeing my own successes. Other people are not seeing my successes, and I am not seeing my successes either.”

Compared to those signs of burnout, after Evan was able to break free from this phase, he told me: “I accomplish more, I see my successes, I am contributing, I know I am a valuable part of the organization. Even if I am not getting the recognition that I want from my managers or my senior management, I look other places for my own value. I look to my team and how am I responding for them. I care more about what my manager says, but it’s also true that her approval is not where I get my self-worth from. I find ways to cheer myself up.”

How do you get from the signs and symptoms of burnout to a better place as Evan did?

First, take a step back and refocus. Get away. That means getting away from work without the phone, without the email, without feeling guilty, and just having to trust that you won’t be letting coworkers down if you take a few hours (or days) to collect your thoughts. Then reflect on the situation with a fresh perspective. Ask yourself: What can I do to turn this around? What can I control, and what can I not control, and how do I move forward?

It may seem impossible to get away and clear your thoughts, especially if it’s overwork or overwhelm that’s causing the burnout. Do it anyway. A clear mind is essential to finding solutions. After you’ve had some think time, treat yourself to a little extra time to rest, recover, catch up with the home stuff, clear the space and come back to work refreshed.

Second, think about how to redesign your work life so you can sustain that sense of stability longer term. For example, Evan did take a two week rest-recover-and-reflect vacation, but he also made a commitment when he came back to reducing his schedule to reliable10-hour days. He made plans to get away with his family at least one evening or weekend day a week and left the phone behind.

Third, reinforce your commitments by booking activities that refresh you and you know you won’t skip. Evan made a promise to his daughters that he would read them a story every single night–a promise that meant he couldn’t hole up in his office late at night.

Life in business today can be extremely intense and busy, and burnout is an issue (if not an epidemic). You are far too valuable to be swept away by stress and overwhelm. Become aware of the signs and symptoms, and acknowledge when you’re starting to feel burnt out, so you can take control and make a positive change.

April 21, 2015 by sereynolds

5 Ways to Lead in Challenging Times

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

What do leaders do when their stock price has dropped 75 percent and it’s their job to get it back up? What should leaders think when the thrilling vision they had for the future has been clouded by economic uncertainty? How do leaders get inspired when their employees are dejected, worried, and distracted–and let’s face it, on some level so are they?

Wait–don’t answer that. You can’t.

Because no matter how much you know about leadership, regardless of what the research says or what best practice implies, there’s only one way to find the right answers to these questions. Leaders need to find them for themselves.

In a time of unprecedented challenge, leaders don’t just need to lead their companies. They also need to lead themselves. They need strategies for improving their effectiveness while sustaining a sense of professional well-being. Every one of us has an internal source of strength and stability. Without care and consideration these renewable resources are seriously at risk.

In order to survive and thrive, leaders can’t just go about business as usual. Business isn’t “usual” anymore. It’s undergoing a seismic shift. Leaders need to get their footing in a shaky reality and learn to embrace the possibilities ahead.

So how does a leader actually practice personal leadership? What do they need to do? It looks like this:

Take time to think. Leaders need to step out of the daily rush and think about what they’re doing and why. Doing so, they will find the clarity and focus they need to get back into the action in the most effective way.

Look inside. Instead of being driven by the demanding urgencies, leaders can discover their inner resources–their strengths, their values, and their aspirations. Take for example, the leadership practice of visioning. Visioning is so vital that it is practically the prerequisite Chapter One in any book on the subject of leadership. Leaders of all kinds must have a clear vision to succeed. They need to know where their organization is going and why, and they need to communicate that vision clearly at all levels inside the organization and out.

But on a more personal level, leaders must also have a vision for themselves. At the level of the leader, visioning becomes something different than that longstanding vision that has to stand the test of time. It becomes something more fluid, more intuitive, and more flexible. It is a vision that changes as they change, but with consistent themes over time. The goal is not for a leader to establish one clear and permanent vision but to learn the skill of getting clarity about their vision again and again. For example, take an operations executive in a global medical equipment firm who had gotten overwhelmed by the pace of change in his company, which was growing exponentially, and his personal life, in which he was supporting aging parents. He had begun to be plagued with the big existential questions, like, “What am I doing?” and “What’s it all for?” By using visioning techniques as a way of finding clarity, he was able to discern what he wanted for himself as a leader, a son, an aspirational executive, and a person. As his circumstances continued to change, he learned to reconnect with clarity about his own personal vision–one that helped him to both be a better leader and lead a better life.

Rethink time and teams. The efficiencies of personal leadership come from a paradigm of abundance. Leaders need to recognize the wealth of resources available to them when they maximize their time and use the supportive people in their lives to help them achieve.

Work with a coach or mentor. Personal leadership is supported by a partner who can pose thoughtful questions, make observations, and help leaders learn to see new possibilities.

Look for ways to align and integrate one’s life. We are who we are wherever we are. The closer leaders can tie their true selves to their leadership roles, and in turn their leadership roles and their lives, the happier and healthier they will be–on all fronts.

Is it easy? Not necessarily. Introspection can be hard work. Is it worth it? Ask yourself: What would change for leaders if they had an inner resource to help them maintain stability and security within themselves when the world outside seems so unsound?

Successful leaders know that answer. Here are a few words from leaders who value the personal side of leadership:

“Leadership is personal. Management is personal. There’s something very powerful about bringing your whole self to work.” -Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook

“If you can get your talents and passions to align with the organizational need, you’re really in a position when you can maximize contribution to company and achieve your career best.” -David Kilby, Director of Intel University, Intel

“As leaders it’s time to dig deep personally. There are a lot of people out there that are frozen. It’s a time to create a new future, and we can’t do it if we can’t think clearly.” -Lisa Weber, President, Individual Business, MetLife

When you practice personal leadership, you can take the practices of leadership more generally and apply them to oneself. As a result, both you and your team will flourish, even in challenging times.

March 31, 2015 by sereynolds

Separators, Integrators and Cyclers: 3 Ways to Balance Your Life

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

“I don’t believe in work-life balance.” Speaking with business leaders about how they think about their time, I’ve heard that same sentence three times in the last week.

At first I was tempted to debate with them. I do believe in work-life balance. Regardless of how you frame it–some people prefer to call it “work-life choices” or simply “life”–I believe you have the opportunity to live a life where you have plenty of time to do the things you need to do in the office or at home.

Apparently, that’s arguable. Questions I’ve seen in media headlines on the topic challenge the concept.

“Is work-life balance possible?”

“Does an expectation of balance put undue pressure on people?”

“Shouldn’t we all just learn to integrate our lives in this 24/7 world?”

A healthy debate like this can help us see different angles on this challenge we all face. Yet, sometimes the debate over how we “should” organize our time spirals into a more negative version–the “I’m right/you’re wrong” kind of confrontation that leaves everyone feeling attacked.

The real problem isn’t that we have different perspectives on work-life balance. The problem arises when we try to impose our views on others.

A client of mine recently complained when his boss overloaded him with extra projects that would stretch him past capacity. When my client dared to point out the obvious–that with so much work at once, he couldn’t possibly do a quality job–his boss snapped at him for “not pulling his weight.” For the record, this client was one of the highest-performing leaders in the division, and not one who could fairly be seen as a slacker. The underlying problem was that his boss thought working 24/7 was acceptable at any cost. My client did not.

In another interaction I witnessed, one manager berated another for “working so hard you never see your kids.” Again, this was an unfair judgment. I knew both managers to be extremely family oriented and perfectly healthy time managers. The problem arose because they simply worked differently–and judging each other only caused animosity.

Frustrated by the pattern I was witnessing, I wanted to find a way to help people out of the struggle and into a more productive point of view.

Then I met Ellen Kossek, who offered a solution.

Ellen Kossek is a Professor of Management at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management, Research Director of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence, and author of CEO of Me: Creating a Life that Works in the Flexible Job Age. She has a theory about approaches to work-life balance and, along with her colleagues, has developed a work-life assessment to help individuals understand their styles. She calls the three types of approaches separators, integrators and cyclers.

Rather than continue to wrestle with the issues of work-life balance (and whether it’s even possible) you might consider which of these approaches work best for you.

Separators. Separators compartmentalize. During the weekdays and the workday, separators focus on their work and the task at hand. When the weekend hits, the separators put the phone down, reclaim their freedom and enjoy their down time.

An example of a separator is a client of mine who is a CEO of a start up firm. She has several children, and between her family and her job, she could easily choose to work all day, everyday. Instead, she consciously chose specific hours for work and specific hours for home, and she made an agreement with both her firm and her family to adhere to the schedule. She made sure everyone was taken care of–including herself–and from them on, she felt free. Both her clients and her family knew what to expect, and everyone became accustomed to her schedule. She knew that separating was the way she worked best.

Integrators. Integrators blend the different parts of their lives all together.

An example of a great integrator I know is a small business owner. Dramatically successful and with a fast rise into seven figures, she loves to work. She also loves her life. This entrepreneur chooses to work wherever she is, whenever she wants to–or not. She has her phone, laptop and car at her disposal at all times. She does what she wants to do and goes where she has to go and gets it all handled along the way. She can be found taking a business call on the treadmill or sitting with her kids in the office conference room having coloring time. She might leave work at three in the afternoon to pick up her kids, but then after everyone is situated at home she’ll sit at the kitchen table with her laptop and join an evening conference call.

Integrators allow work and home life to blend together. As long as they make sure they have time for themselves and their work, and as long as everyone’s needs are met, it all seems to come together and everything gets accomplished.

Cyclers. Cyclers follow what might be seen as a more traditional model: work hard and play hard, each in their own time.

If you’re a cycler, you go through phases that are all about the work. Your hours might be long, and you work really hard, allowing yourself to stay focused and reach important milestones and outcomes.

Then you go on vacation. You completely unplug. You sleep and swim and play. You feel restored and happy, and when the vacation’s over, you put away your beach towel and head back to work.

This model seems to work well for a lot of people. Parents, especially, seem to benefit from aligning their work schedule to their kids’ school calendars, which tend to operate with this “cycling” approach. They can work while the kids are in school and then take off the breaks that their children get, whether it’s two weeks at the holidays, a long weekend here and there, or even those long summer vacations. Entrepreneurs, executives, and inventors I’ve known have all appreciated the ability to immerse themselves in their work for awhile, and then reward themselves with some good, quality time off.

Let’s revisit the scenarios I posed earlier in this article. The manager who wanted my client to work 24/7 was a cycler; his style bumped up against the values of his direct report, who was a separator. The manager who scoffed another manager’s workaholic-seeming style was a separator also; but she misread and misinterpreted her colleagues’ integrator way of life. With Kossek’s lens on work-life balance, none of these people were “wrong” in their way to managing their time. But they were wrong to judge other people for managing their time differently. Many different styles can accomplish the same goal. The real way to judge the effectiveness is to gauge whether the work gets done in a way that supports a healthy quality of life–however you define it.

As you consider these three models, ask yourself a few questions.

What model appeals to you most?
What model are you living with now?
Is there any way to bring the two closer together?

Once you choose your way of making your life work, you can more easily accept other’s choices and go about focusing on your own.