Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Can You Lead Without Authority?

In a business world of shrinking hierarchies and individual contributors, one of the toughest challenges for the high-achiever is learning to lead without authority.  In my years in the workforce, I’ve been responsible for several large, multi-departmental initiatives with only a few direct reports to engage.  Here’s what I’ve learned through my own experiences:

Let your passion shine through

It’s hard to be critical of someone earnest, and if you infuse your communication with a genuine sense of excitement about the challenge ahead, your colleagues will naturally want to follow your lead.  Show them – through your behavior – why you got into this field in the first place, and what your experiences (good and bad) have shown you about what needs to be done next.

Appear humble

It’s bad enough when your boss has an ego that needs some serious downsizing, but it’s even less appealing when someone without power thinks too highly of himself.  The manner and content of your communication must demonstrate that you are pursuing this approach because it’s the right thing to do for the organization, not because you will receive personal credit or rewards.

Develop deep relationships

There is no shortage of psychology and business research out there showing that people like to work with individuals they like and to whom they can relate.  Before you attempt to lead your colleagues, get to them know first.  Spend time with them outside the office and show sincere interest in their personal and professional lives.

Help them help you

Your colleagues will be more likely to come on board if you make it clear to them why your idea’s success is tangibly tied to their own.  Take steps to understand the pain your colleagues are facing (an inefficient process, etc.) and create solutions that will make everyone’s lives easier.

Don’t be overcontrolling

Since you don’t have official authority, don’t get caught up in acting like you do.  Use your expertise to guide and support your colleagues, but release the need to micromanage every aspect of a project.  If you share your ideas and then allow your co-workers to take partial ownership of their implementation, they will gradually put more trust in you and the approach.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Help, I'm Bored to Death!

Did you know that people get physically tired because of emotional factors such as boredom, frustration, and anxiety? True intellectual stimulation, on the other hand, doesn’t exhaust us at all. The first time I heard this, a lightbulb went off. It occurred to me that I could write nonstop for 8 hours and then run a 5K immediately afterwards, yet after spending a few hours at my corporate job I could barely drag myself to the train station.

Let’s get real, though.  In today’s business world, compelling work is sometimes in short supply.  But if there’s one thing to take away from this column, it’s that you can choose your response to your environment, and you have more control than you think.  If your work is getting you down, look for ways to expand your skills and responsibilities and communicate actively with your managers about how and where you can lend your expertise.  This might include volunteering for a cross-functional task force or devising a new process or product that will allow your organization to run more efficiently. Also, consider signing up for any personal development or leadership courses your company offers so that your mind gets exercised outside of your cube.

On days when you’re feeling particularly ornery, you might try this strategy: pretend it’s your first day of a new job, and imagine approaching every task with confidence, eagerness, and enthusiasm. You are full of ideas and you feel that you are making a genuine contribution.  In many cases, the simple act of changing your energy and your way of thinking about your job can actually shape your situation for the better.

How to be an Intrapreneur

Many employees are entrepreneurs at heart and believe they have to leave the corporate world in order to fulfill their dreams.  This is not necessarily so.  If you’re lucky, your organization is one that supports intrapreneurship – or the practice of entrepreneurial skills and approaches by or within an established organization. Employees, perhaps engaged in a special project within a larger firm, are encouraged to behave like entrepreneurs even though they have the resources and capabilities of the larger firm to draw upon.  Intrapreneurs focus on innovation and creativity and transform good ideas into profitable ventures.

Seek sponsors for your idea

If this sounds interesting to you, your first step is to identify a good idea for a new or improved process or product.  Then, seek a network of peers and sponsors to help you evaluate it and get it off the ground.  You might approach a more senior manager who can open doors or someone with technical expertise who has know-how and credibility.

Do your homework

Before you pitch your idea to a wider audience,  prepare a business plan.  Address your audience and speak in terms they understand.  Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and know when to let go.  Even if you’re convinced your idea will make the company billions, if you can’t sell it, move on to something else.

Take your time

Starting an intrapreneurial project out of thin air is going to be more challenging than joining an existing committee whose job it is to generate fresh product ideas.  You should wait until you’ve been around a while and have proven yourself as a smart, capable employee, and even then it takes guts, because there will always be some higher-up whose mission is to preserve the status quo.  Your best bet is to put together a bulletproof case that clearly demonstrates how your concept will benefit the company, and to share it subtly and modestly, one person at a time, until you have enough supporters to counter the naysayers.

This post originally appeared on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Service Helps You Control Your Online Identity

Microsoft released a study in January that showed 70% of HR recruiters in the U.S. use online profiles and social networks to determine employment, while only 7% of U.S. consumers thought this was true. This discrepancy is significant -- and points to the clear fact that in order to be successful job seekers have to recognize the importance of their online reputations and the impact this information can have on their careers. 

I came across a great service that was developed expressly for this purpose.  ReputationDefender helps people take control of their identities and reputations online.  The service scours the deep web recursively to ensure you know not only what is being said about you online, but who is saying it.  If it finds content you deem to be false or negative, or perhaps just irrelevant, Reputation Defender can help you make it become less prominent in searches, and in some cases, disappear. The service protects your privacy by removing personally identifiable information from databases that sell your information.

I thought ReputationDefender would be great for organizations but prohibitively expensive for individuals, but the packages actually start at just $9.99/month.  And no, I'm not a spokesperson for the company.  I just think it's useful and cool and am thinking about signing up myself.  Seems a lot more thorough then doing my periodic Google scans.

The Perfect First Job Doesn’t Exist

 

I will never forget how lost I felt the summer after my graduation from college, and in the years since, I've spoken to countless 20-somethings who feel pressured to find their true calling immediately and build a successful career in a particular field before their 25th birthdays. 

If there’s one piece of advice I have on this topic, it’s that your career is a journey, not a destination.  The perfect first job doesn’t exist, so look at your first post-college positions as temporary stops on your career path instead of permanent ones.  There is no way you can reasonably predict how you will develop as a person and a professional in the next 10 or 20 years – why try? 

A sensible approach is to insist on a single, intelligent first step and look for a job that will allow you to acquire as many transferable skills (project management, sales, marketing, client relations, etc.) as possible so that you will be well-prepared for any career you decide to pursue in the future.

Also, don't be in such a rush to be promoted in that first job -- you have a long career life ahead of you to shoulder the heavy burden of being on top and thus responsible for employees’ livelihoods and the company’s bottom line.  Enjoy this time in which you don’t have to worry about anyone but yourself and are getting paid to learn everything you can.  Explore any and all opportunities that interest you and make an effort to meet people from all walks of life, and eventually you’ll hit upon something that feels right.

Day in the Life - How to Manage 4 Jobs

You may have heard the phrase, “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” In my experience, this is true.  For instance, try eating at two restaurants – one crowded and one empty – and notice the speed of the service at each one.  I guarantee that the crowded restaurant will be faster every time.

The busier you are, the more quickly you learn how to work efficiently, and you can get more tasks done in less time.

In addition to raising a two year old son and spending one day a week with him, I currently hold four jobs that I am paid for:

• Wall Street Journal columnist: My nationally syndicated career advice column, Reinvent, appears online and in print on Sundays. The column features interviews on topics and trends related to career change and reinvigoration.
• Blogger: I post on job hunting, careers, and productivity twice a week at my home blog, Water Cooler Wisdom, and weekly at the QuickBase blog and a few others. As an active participant in the blogosphere, I also read and comment on many other blogs.
• Author: For the last four years, I have written at least one business book a year. The publication of each book requires substantial promotional efforts at launch and ongoing publicity and social media engagement post-launch.
• Workplace speaker and consultant: Some organizations approach me regarding how they can help their employees succeed in their careers, and work more effectively with colleagues in other generations. I speak about these issues in house as well as at conferences and universities.

I am responsible for completing all of the responsibilities associated with these four jobs in the space of a 45 hour work week.  When I worked one job in the marketing communications field, I put in about as many hours – more at times – and certainly had less work product to show for it.  I’ve been able to do it through a process that has evolved over many years.

Here are some of my strategies:

Assign jobs to specific days

I have four days in which I’ve reserved the entire day to work.  In order to avoid getting overwhelmed, I create a monthly schedule in which I am slated to work at just one job per day.  For instance, on Monday I am responsible for writing my Wall Street Journal column and weekly blog posts.

Leave two hours per day for last minute tasks

I make sure I only schedule enough work for six hours of each day.  This way, I have two hours to devote to unexpected tasks like networking calls, media interviews, and website edits.  Because I don’t have a full-time assistant, I often need to complete administrative tasks related to my business during this time. 

Schedule “bulky” tasks three months out

Bulky tasks are ones that require a huge chunk of time, such as attending a conference or traveling out of town for a speaking engagement.  As a general rule, I plan assignments that will take me out of my regular routine for at least 24 hours several months in advance.  This advance planning allows me to avoid overscheduling a particular timeframe.  It also means that I occasionally have to turn out bulky opportunities that appear at the last minute.  Unless they are extremely lucrative, they’re generally not worth the stress.

Adhere to generous deadlines

I am only able to write a book a year because in the contract with my publisher, I give myself the entire year.  If I were to spend all my working hours researching and writing the book, I would probably be able to finish it in a few months.  But because I have four jobs, this isn’t possible.  Allowing myself the cushion of a year means that I only have to work on the book 1.5 days a week.  Each 60,000 word manuscript develops more slowly but is also much more manageable.

Say no or go online

Getting four jobs done in 45 hours means that I sometimes have to say no to people who want me to help them with a particular task or event.  I try to do one pro bono event and three informational interviews per quarter, and if a request falls outside that scope, I’ll usually say no.  I might offer people the option of moving an in person event online so that I can participate that way, and when people want to network with me over lunch, I will almost always try for a phone call first.

Repurpose content

As a result of writing five books and publishing hundreds of blog posts and articles over the last few years, I have generated a substantial body of content.  I keep my writing in folders organized by subject that I can readily access when the time comes.  I try to retain all rights to my content so that even if a particular organization has first publication rights to it, I can re-use it after a period of time.  Therefore, the work that I perform might very well be applicable to two or more of my jobs.

Prevent fall-behind by making up lost hours immediately

There are times when an unexpected doctor’s appointment, sick child, or visiting friend threaten to wreck havoc on my work schedule.  When this happens, it is very easy to fall behind on the work that was supposed to be completed on that day, and this is where self-discipline comes in.  Even if I’d rather watch Lost, I make up the missed time by working that evening after my son is in bed, or on a weekend afternoon I had planned to have off.

It may seem like I get a lot done in 45 hours, but I think I use every minute much better than the average corporate employee.  During scheduled work time, I don’t surf the Internet, I don’t chit chat with colleagues in the kitchen, and I don’t go for Starbucks runs.  Rather than just showing up in the office and letting the chips fall where they may, I plan what is to be accomplished each day very strategically.

Those of you who who work on a variety of tasks at once – how do you maximize your efficiency?

This post originally appeared on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

Gone in 60 Seconds

Whether they have jobs they like or not, I tell all professionals to put themselves in a position to meet new people at least once a week.  Attending a networking event, join an association and go to the meetings, visit the department down the hall.

Unfortunately, even in situations where the sheer purpose of the gathering is to “network,” no one has time to stand there and listen to your entire life story and career history.  You have to make it quick.  You have to have what’s known in the sales world as an elevator pitch.

I’ve seen all types of complex formulas for how you can come up with an elevator pitch that will pique your listeners’ interest, but I’m going to suggest something simple.  Your elevator pitch should communicate what you do (or are trying to do), and why people should care. 

For example, when I first meet someone and they ask what I do, I do not say, “I’m a career writer.”  Instead, I reply:  “I help people find meaningful jobs – quickly and easily – and to succeed in those jobs once they get them.”

No one cares that I’m a career writer, but everyone cares about finding work they’re passionate about and/or getting ahead in the career they’re currently in.  I find that because this statement applies to most people, usually they are tempted to learn more.

Then, I have about 20 seconds to provide a high-level overview of my services, and why I am credible to provide them.  Here, you want to be as specific as possible while keeping your language at a level that someone not educated in your industry can understand. 

Although your pitch should come across conversational, ironically you should rehearse it with friends or family members first.  You may want to come up with several versions of your pitch that you can use with different audiences so that the person you’re talking to can envision you having the perfect solution for them!

How to Make a Difficult Decision

There’s no denying that some decisions are easier than others, and some people have more trouble making decisions than others.  If you have to make a choice and you’re stuck, here’s a process I like to use:

• Define the situation in concrete terms: As if you are telling a story, write out the particulars.  What do you have to make a decision about, and what led up to this point?   Who are the people involved?  What is the deadline for making the decision?
• Generate as many alternatives as you can: Write down everything that comes to mind, and then look at your list carefully.  Are any of your options totally unrealistic?  If so, cross these off.
• Evaluate each choice: List the positive and negative consequences – or pros and cons – associated with each option. When considering pros and cons, think about your most important personal values (i.e. how will you feel about yourself if you take a certain action?), and how the decision will affect your life and the people in it.
• Select and implement the best alternative: Create an action plan in which you marshal the appropriate resources and set a timeline in motion.  Communicate your decision clearly to the people involved.
• Assess the outcome: If your decision turns out to be the right one, think about what worked and why.  If you were wrong, don’t be too hard on yourself.  Just chalk it up to a learning experience and try a different approach next time.

Did you like this post?  Check out the other content I'm writing on Intuit's QuickBase blog.