Joelle K. Jay

goals

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3 Common Events That Can Make Or Break Your Career Growth

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

 

We have many coaches in our lives. Teachers, sports coaches, mentors, and even our friends and families can become coaches to us in certain ways. In an article earlier this month I talked about the six signs to look out for that indicate that you could benefit from an executive coach, someone from outside of your organization who can guide you through career twists and turns.

But when is it time to pull the trigger? How do you know which twists or turns might become insurmountable and require outside help?

The following three scenarios are situations we inevitably run into at one point or another in our careers, sometimes multiple times. They’re situations in which a coach can step in and help you make the choices that are right for you.

 

You have an aspiration. The question I like to ask people is, what opportunities are you excited to take advantage of over the next year? Some possibilities:

  • New responsibilities. Is there a new project you’d like to take on, a team you’d like to lead, or an expanded role you’d like to take?
  • New business ventures. Do you have a new product to create–or to launch? Do you have some new potential partners?
  • Higher revenue goals. Is this the year you finally clear six figures? Or maybe seven? Does your team have the opportunity to be the best-in-class?

It’s so exciting to be able to see the very real possibilities ahead of you. But don’t let those ideas merely stir you creativity–make sure they light a fire under you so you actually get going and achieve the vision.

So many people don’t. They lose track of their goals, lose steam, or give up in defeat. That’s when to call a coach. Your coach will be sure the vision and goals stay first and foremost in your mind, so even when you’re busy, stress, overwhelmed, distracted, or not making progress, someone is there not only rooting for you but urging you to keep moving forward. A coach can help accelerate your advancement to get you over the finish line.

 

You’re looking for a career change. Whether you’re getting a promotion into a new role or looking to move companies altogether, coaching can help you shape your vision and get some clarity about what the next steps would be.

A client of mine was in a job at a company that went through a reorganization process, and the tasks he ended up being responsible for after the shift were tasks he wasn’t happy with and didn’t challenge him. As a coach I helped him by stepping in and providing clarity on what he does want and the steps he can take to get there, and we came up with action items that re-aligned him with his goals and interests. He was able to articulate a new plan for his career–one that had him developing a new niche in his old company. He found a renewed sense of purpose and meaning, and others saw him as confident, capable, and succeeding during a time of challenge and change

 

You’ve reached a plateau and want feedback. If you can feel yourself starting to lose motivation, if you’re frustrated with your boss and are losing respect for your company’s leadership, or if you are feeling that the feedback you’ve gotten from your boss isn’t aligned with you, then a coach can step in and provide the feedback you’re looking for to help you progress and grow.

The most successful businessmen and women I know are voracious about getting feedback. They crave the truth; they want to know where they can improve. They want to know their strengths and weaknesses. Without that kind of feedback loop, it’s hard for them to know how they’re doing. The sense of “plateauing” can be demotivating, because you don’t know how to move onward and upward. If your boss isn’t helping you improve, or if don’t respect or agree with the feedback you do get, you can find yourself stuck in “park.”

The good news about feedback is it’s always available, and you can access it yourself with the help of your coach. Your coach can choose self-assessments that will get you good information about your personality, strengths, and tendencies. He or she can help design a 360 for you, so you can get lots of feedback from all around. Your coach can even help you process the feedback you do have, differently. Seen from another angle, there might be some real hidden gems–messages that you do need to hear, and may be able to view in a different light with the perspective of your coach to add new insight.

Because your coach is someone in your court–without ulterior motives- he or she can give you a clearer picture of the next steps you should make to achieve the goal or position you want.

 

The Leadership Research Institute released a statistic that said the number one predictor of leadership effectiveness is a commitment to self-improvement. What that means is that what makes people see you as a more effective leader, and what makes you a better leader, is being open to learning. If you find yourself in any of the above situations, then learning is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your professional growth.

 

Related: 6 Signs You Need a Coach

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Latest Inc Column: 3 Powerful Ways to End 2014 on a High Note

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

 

 

Lately I’ve been noticing the tremendous churn happening within businesses today. New business models, big transformations, high expectations and turnover are all keeping businesspeople hopping. Keeping up with fast-paced change makes it hard to find or make time to reflect, and it’s hard to get anything done. How do you find focus, and, more importantly, be able to maintain it, in an environment of constant change?

Define your goal. It sounds simple enough, but many entrepreneurs skip this step. Decide whether it’s a big goal for the year of 2015, like doubling your revenue, or whether it’s more specific goal, like winning a proposal you’re writing today. It may be a professional goal for a work project, or even a personal goal regarding the upcoming holidays. Defining your goal will help to clear the excess noise and make it go away. Take a brief statement of what your goal or vision is, then choose a set of 3-5 priorities that can get you there. This short list will become your area of focus.

 

Clear space. People feel scattered and have trouble focusing because there’s a lot going on all at once. On top of ongoing changes that your business is undergoing naturally, those day-to-day interruptions just won’t go away. Your phone and your computer are next to you, biding for your attention, not to mention your clients, customers, coworkers, and family. Take control and make space. How much time do you need to finish a project? When can you make that time? What will that look like? How will you put that in the calendar? Asking yourself these questions allows you to clear out space to tackle your goal, and is crucial to clearing out the noise.

 

Make your calendar a part of your daily plan. In terms of maintaining your focus, you can gain traction by following those same two steps–defining your goal and clearing space–more consciously and in bigger ways, more and more often.

 

For example, consider the reality of a busy entrepreneur struggling to make it successfully through the end of the year. One such business owner I recently coached on this topic is a woman we’ll call Kim. Kim’s business has been thriving; she’s listed in the Inc 500 and wants this year to be her best year yet. But Kim is also a woman who travels for work, has two small children and is hosting her family holiday reunion this year. Pile on top of that her commitment to make sure Santa Claus comes for her kids and to book a family getaway for New Years. You may be wondering, is it even possible to get all that done? It is, and if anyone can do it, it’s Kim. But, in order to pull it off (and to also enjoy the ride–it is, after all, the holiday season), she will need to get focused. On a daily basis she will need to get out her calendar and organize tasks, not just at work, but for all the family events and the holiday chaos. She’ll have to ask herself: Where does shopping and Thanksgiving dinner come in? When do I book the vacation? How will I be sure my business gets the big finish I have in mind? She will need to get those tasks out of her mind into her planner. That is, she will have to clearly define her goal and make space to focus on achieving what she wants to achieve, and leading the live she wants to live.

You can do the same. Have no fear: you’ll have a pleasant Thanksgiving dinner. You’ll enjoy the holidays. You’ll make your year-end goal. But you don’t need to think about it all at once.

Take a moment now to define your present goal. What’s the goal you want to focus on right now? How can you clear space to devote your attention to that goal right now? Where else can you clear some space to work toward it and meet your goal? Repeat the questions at different times and for different goals, and you will find that scattered, unfocused feeling goes away. You’ll be left feeling clear and confident about your ability to enjoy–and meet your goals–throughout the end of the year.

 

Related: The 5 Steps to Strategic Thinking That Really Matter

 

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My Q&A As “Superstar of the Week” On Business Superstar

The following is my interview with Business Superstar, where I am featured as this week’s “Superstar of the Week!” Read on as I speak with Phil about all things leadership, The Inner Edge, and more. You can see the original interview here.

 

Joelle K. Jay, Ph.D., is an executive coach specializing in leadership development. In addition to working with presidents, vice presidents, and C-level executives in Fortune 500 companies, she also authored The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership. Dr. Jay spoke with us about the distinctive characteristics that define a leader.

Q: What inspired you to write The Inner Edge? And what were your goals in creating this book?

Joelle Jay: What inspired me to write The Inner Edge was my own experience. There was a time in my life that I found myself becoming successful in my career as defined by external measures, but I wasn’t happy. All I could see was years of dissatisfaction ahead of me.

So I sat myself down, determined to redefine my course in the direction of happiness. I spent a year on this practice, applying a lot of the coaching techniques I applied to others to myself. After a year I didn’t want to go back to feeling unsatisfied, I wanted to honor the steps toward change I had made, so I wrote out the steps, the 10 practices of personal leadership, and The Inner Edge was born.

Q: In your professional opinion, what are the basic characteristics of a great business leader?

Joelle Jay: In addition to some of the more traditional characteristics, like being a visionary, a strategist, and having great people skills, I would add that great business leaders are extremely thoughtful people who are cognizant of who they are reaching and why. They create business structures not only to foster a successful business, but also to make employees happier and more engaged. A great business leader is a master of personal leadership both individually and applied to the whole organization.

Q: Do you believe that business leadership skills can be taught in schools? Or is it a trait that is part of a person’s existence?

Joelle Jay: Certainly there are people who are gifted with natural leadership abilities, who are compelling and visionary and inherently charismatic – the Martin Luther King Jr.’s of the World. But just as people can learn to be compassionate, thoughtful, and hardworking, they can learn to be leaders and practice the skills of leadership.

Q: Do you believe it is possible to create a new business in a rough economy (like the one we have today)?

Joelle Jay: Yes! The evidence is all around us. There are rising, thriving businesses, some of which would even question whether we truly live in a rough economy today. The success of a business isn’t solely dependent upon the market, but the vision of the leader and the capability of the leader to be creative in finding a way to serve their clients, customers, the general public, and employees.

When times are tough, the business landscape might look different, having the mindset that the economy will either make or break your business is a failure from the start. A better mindset would be a commitment to succeeding no matter what the economic outlook.

Q: What advice would you give to those who are eager to be their own boss, but don’t know how to achieve that goal?

Joelle Jay: You can use the 10 practices of personal leadership to figure out how to become your own boss, just like I did! First, learn to see yourself as the leader of your own life, as a leader creating a life for yourself. That small shift in perspective is the first test. Then, get clarity and find your vision for the career in which you are your own boss.

Next, find focus and identify the priorities to need to push to the forefront to make it happen. Then take action, go out and tackle your prioritized action items instead of just dreaming about it. You may be doing this while you’re still a fulltime employee at your current company, so you can take it one practice at a time. There are other practices of personal leadership: maximize your time, see the possibilities.

The next practices include: tapping into your brilliance and personal strengths, learning to truly feel fulfillment, maximizing your time, building your team, continuing to learn and grow, seeing possibility, and finally being able to balance all of it at once. Those are the practices I outline in The Inner Edge, and those are the practices I teach top executives.

 

 

To see the full interview, please visit Business-Superstar.com.

Related: My Leadership Q&A With Brian Null On BusinessInterviews.com

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You & Improved

Do you have an ideal vision of yourself – the “you” you would like to be if only you could find the time…or had the right opportunities…or were given the right information…or made the right decisions? What would it be like to finally live that life? There’s actually a strategy you can use to help bring that vision into reality. I call it simply envisioning the future. Like a daydream, with meaning. In your mind, you see yourself succeeding: you…and improved.

Envisioning is not fantasizing; quite the opposite, it’s a practical, efficient technique to get clarity instantly by tapping into these rich stores of knowledge that sometimes get obscured in the chaos of daily life.

To envision your future, close your eyes and imagine yourself exactly where you want to be as a leader and in your life. Here are the steps.

Prepare. Set the context. What, specifically, do you want to envision?

Relax. Envisioning always works best when you are relaxed. Before you rush off to envision your future, slow down. Breathe.

Envision. Now imagine yourself at the time and place of your choosing – whatever and whenever it was you said you wanted to envision – and really see yourself there. Take it all in, using all of your senses and emotions, observing what it’s like to be you…then. Now take yourself on a tour. As if you were walking the scenes of a movie set, you move from one image to another. Your work. Your career. Your home life. You see it all while you’re there, visiting your future.

That’s it! Easy. When you’ve “looked around” this future vision of yourself, take time to debrief and interpret what you saw.

  • What surprised you?
  • Was there anything missing?
  • How did it feel?

Questions like these help you anchor the images while they’re fresh in your mind.

You can get additional insight by interpreting the images you saw. Recall the details and think about what they might mean.

Finally, to find out how this process has clarified your ideas about what you want, write down the answer to this final question: “When you have achieved what you want to achieve…when you have become who you want to be…when you have done what you want to do…what will be true for you?” Keep what you write. This is your vision.

Would you like to try this exercise in more depth? I’ve put up a FREE audio recording in my own voice that you can use to do this visualization the “real” way, with your eyes closed and a coach walking you through the process slowly. You will find it at www.TheInnerEdge.com and clicking on Worksheets and Audios (on the left). Look for the You and Improved Visualization Audio. Enjoy the process!

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The Catalyst

What is the one thing you could do that would have the greatest impact on your vision? The answer is your catalyst. In the sciences, a catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process. For you, a catalyst is an action that dramatically increases the rate at which you achieve your vision, without consuming you.

To take effective action, you can get the potency of a catalyst by using an action plan appropriately called the CATA List. The CATA List is a chart divided into four categories:

  1. Catalysts
  2. Achievements
  3. Tasks
  4. Avoidances.

These categories help you sort interminable lists of To Dos to find the ones that pack the biggest punch. Then you trim away the rest.

“C” is for Catalysts
To find your catalysts, ask yourself, “What is the one thing you could do that would have the greatest impact on your vision?”

Any item you call a “catalyst” must be an action that drives all the rest, either because it causes the rest of the actions to happen; it frees you to put your time where you want it; or it unlocks a barrier to action. The main criterion for your catalyst is that you know this one piece will do more than any other to advance you in the direction of your vision. If you’re writing a speech, a catalyst might be to stand up and practice. If you’re leading a company, a catalyst might be to communicate the strategic direction. If you’re trying to lose fifty pounds, a catalyst might be to go running or give up sugar. Looking at these examples, you can see how easily catalysts get crowded out by more pressing issues. Indeed, even though your catalysts have the most value, if you’re not careful they can easily get pushed aside.

To find your catalysts, think about what action you would take if you could find uninterrupted quality time because you know it would make the biggest difference in your ability to attain your vision.

“A” is for Achievements
The next category includes actions you classify as important. Really important. They may not have the transformational effect of your catalysts, but they are the kinds of achievements that matter on a day to day basis. These achievements typically take center stage in your life. They tend to be:
• daily actions
• key relationships
• priority projects
• deadlines.
As a rule, working on achievements makes for a very productive day.

“T” is for Tasks
You use the “tasks” category for the actions you’d like to take but can’t justify as truly critical. Yes, they are things that may have to get done, but they don’t have nearly the impact as your catalysts and achievements.

Tasks are big time consumers. Long meetings. Some networking. Obsessive perfecting of non-essential details. You might feel a little twinge when you admit these tasks are less-than-important, because you may want to do them. And you may get to. But only after the more valuable things are done.

“A” is for Avoidances
Many leaders find the “avoidances” category the hardest to fill. The items in this category take more energy than they deserve. When you’re trying to rid your action plan of excess, cut the fat by forcing yourself to put at least 25 percent of your To Dos onto this list. To find actions avoid, look for the ones that take a lot of time with little return. The “avoidances” list is a place to throw off extra baggage. Letting some actions go – undone – lets you to be lighter, more nimble, and available for the things that really matter.

As a whole, the CATA List takes the commitments that emerge from your focus areas and marries them in a single-page, concrete list of actions that ultimately lead to your vision for living and leading well.

When you create a CATA List, you have a quick categorization of everything you need to do, organized in order of value. As you think about all the actions on your To Do list now, can you see how categorizing your tasks in order of value might help you make room for working on your goals? Suddenly the most important thing you need to do isn’t just the most pressing; it’s the one that fits with your focus and leads to your vision.

To create your own CATA List, use the free worksheet available at www.TheInnerEdge.com. Go to the Worksheets & Audios page and scroll down to find the worksheet called The CATA List.

Please join us for The Inner Edge Book Club! This month we will be using the CATA List to break through to greater, more effective action. For more information, click here or email info@theinneredge.com.

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Turn Before You See the Island

If you truly mean to attain the vision you have set for yourself and your organization, you can’t just be organized. You’ve got to be strategic.

It’s the Second Practice of Personal Leadership: Find Focus.

Joe Pinto, Senior Vice President–Technical Support Systems at Cisco, explains.

“It’s important that leaders sit back and plan. My leadership team and I get together every three to four months. We sit down, and we have a couple of key stakeholders sit down with us, and we plan out where we’re going. We spend probably one fourth of the time looking back over the last three or four months, and three-quarters of the time looking forward to what decisions we’re making to run the business. [Our organization] is such a big engine that if we decide to turn the ship when we see the island, it’s too late.”

Planning ahead like this is critical, whether it’s for work (like when you’re planning your team’s direction), professional goals (like your own career advancement strategy), or a personal desire (like the way you want to experience the new year). It’s a commitment. It’s a sacrifice. It’s also a leadership “best practice.” So if you want to be a great leader, you’d best practice.

Again, here’s Joe’s three-part formula for finding focus:

1. Every three or four months, schedule a planning session.
2. Look back over the previous quarter.
3. Look forward to the decisions ahead.

I’ve created a guide that you can use every time you use this process. It’s called the Focus Areas Planning Guide, and it’s available (completely free!) at www.TheInnerEdge.com. Just click here.

Did you enjoy this profile? You may be interested in the eCourse, Getting an Edge: 21 Ways World Class Leaders Share Their Secrets for Leading and Living Well. The eCourse includes a set of brief leadership practices illustrated with the words and experience of a real business leader who exemplifies the practice. Each of 21 profiles just like this one comes in a separate email – once a day for 21 days. Email joelle@pillar-consulting.com now for more information.

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SMART Goals vs. WISE Goals

In the business world, we’ve been trained to set SMART goals. But are SMART goals always WISE?

SMART Goals are:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Action-Oriented
• Realistic and
• Time-Bound.
There’s value in that. “SMART” goals have helped many people move from vague unattainable goals to clear, specific action, leading to the attainment of powerful goals.

The problem with SMART thinking is that it has a tendency to limit instead of inspire.

SMART goals can work against you.
• They can work against you if you neglect to write them and keep them fresh.
• They can work against you if they’re isolated from other important parts of your life.
• They can work against you if they conflict or compete.
• They can work against you if they lack spirit and conviction.
To avoid these pitfalls, make sure your goals are both SMART and WISE.

‘WISE’ stands for:
• Written,
• Integrated,
• Synergistic, and
• Expansive.
WISE goals supplement the clear, specific action of SMART goals by connecting them to a grander vision of who you are and who you aspire to be.

Here’s an overview to guide you in setting WISE goals.

Written

The “W” in “WISE” stands for “written.” Writing your goals is a critical step – and one many people miss. Writing forces you to be clear in your thinking. It allows you to look at your plans with objectivity. It instills commitment and puts your thoughts in a durable form you can revisit again and again.

Integrated

The “I” in “WISE” stands for “integrated.” Integrating your ideas means bringing them together in the same place so you can look at them all at once. Allow your personal and professional lives to intermingle. It’s okay if right under “increase profit share” you have “get a kitten.” They both improve your quality of life. They both contribute to your definition of success. You get to have it all. There are no rules. You make it up.

Synergistic

The “S” in “WISE” means “synergistic.” Whereas integrating your goals means bringing them together, synergizing means making them work together. Synergy happens when one idea advances another. Keeping a vision of what you want in mind when you think about your goals will help create that synergy. You really lose something when you decouple your goals from your vision; they become just another prioritized list.

The most powerful and peaceful way to think about your efforts is to see how they can coalesce into one complete vision for your life.

Expansive

The “E” in WISE stands for “Expansive.” Think big. Your goals should inspire you to stay on the path to your dreams, not lock you into a pattern of ticking off bite-sized action items from here to retirement.

This may be the biggest differentiator between SMART and WISE thinking. Spending too much time and energy boxing your objectives into a hard and fast formula can squeeze the life right out of them. Some examples:

SMART GOAL– Schedule team-building and strategic planning off-site by end of January
WISE GOAL –Transform my staff into a team of inspired, empowered partners

SMART GOAL – Leave work by 6:00 p.m. three times a week, organize my office and work with my assistant to find new planning system within one month from today
WISE GOAL – Feel in control of my life

SMART GOAL – Go on a date with my wife at least twice a month and tell her why I appreciate her at least once a day starting August 3rd
WISE GOAL – Fall in love again

The best goals are both “smart” and “wise.” SMART thinking gives your goals specificity. WISE thinking gives them heart.

To summarize, although SMART goals make sense, your goals must also be WISE. In the words of Abraham Maslow, “When we free ourselves from the constraints of ordinary goals and uninformed scoffers we will find ourselves ‘roaring off the face of the earth.”

In The Inner Edge: The Extension, you’ll find a complete review of SMART and WISE goals, along with a worksheet to transform your current goals into powerful commitments. Click here to see a preview or to purchase The Extension. Or, go to www.TheInnerEdge.com and click on The Extension.

Please join us for The Inner Edge Book Club! This month we will be working with SMART and WISE goals so that you will approach your life and leadership with better focus – and better results. For more information, click here or email info@TheInnerEdge.com.