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resources for success
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Six Degrees of Separation: Separate Yourself from the Pack Your professional advancement depends on your management team's recognition of your achievements. No matter how solid those achievements may be, if you blend into the corporate background that recognition isn't going to come. Communicate often with the leader of your team. When there is an appropriate opportunity, communicate with the leader of your company as well. This isn't being "pushy". Management is always looking for the next generation of leaders; you're helping them recognize that you are such a person. That adds value to your company; that's what you're supposed to be doing. Communicate effectively. Leaders listen to people who speak succinctly, deliberately and with confidence. Lost sales are most often the result of two things: the salesperson never closed the sale or they closed the sale then kept on talking. Make your point, then stop. What this means is simply this: one of your primary responsibilities as a valuable member of your management team is to separate yourself from the pack. How should you do this? Communicate the vision. Don't "build your case," then explain what it is. Speak first about the results, not the details of the task. Look at it this way: Do you want your assistant to tell you why and how she does her work or do you want her to tell you the outcome? Speak in headlines. Think of your communication as a newspaper: begin with the headline. Deliver three "must-make" points. All the information in the world isn't going to be of value unless your audience is motivated to absorb it, remember it and act on it. Convey your message in a way that gives your audience three vital motivating pieces of information: 1) Why they should listen. 2) What's in it for them. And 3) What you want them to do about it. Create witnesses. An outcome without a witness is not an outcome—it's just a completed task. The company needs to know that the job was done well, strategically and by a leader. People who are dedicated, talented, highly-skilled professionals are often the best-kept secrets of their departments. How do you let that secret out? When someone says you're an important part of their success story, ask them to put it in writing; ask them to pass the message on up the food chain. Accept the part and stop auditioning for it. Leaders don't ask for permission. You've been hired to do a job; make it clear that you have and that you're ready for a bigger role. Embody your message. Everything about you is a part of your communication: your personal presence, your contemporary style and the power behind it. You know you have what it takes. Does your image communicate that? Executive Success Principles®
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