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10 Mistakes New Managers Make At Work



Landing a management job is a big deal. You're moving up in your career and getting recognized for all of your hard work and accomplishments. But it takes more to be a good manager than just experience and an impressive resume.

We've all had managers at different points in our careers, and let's be honest: a few, if not the majority of them, were not good managers. And that's okay. Not everyone is cut out for a management position. But if you recently landed a job as a manager at your company, you probably want to be the best manager you can be.

Here are 10 mistakes new managers make at work that you should try to avoid:

1. Acting Too Quickly


New manager leads a meeting

New managers frequently believe that they need to change everything. They place the stamp of their own ideas on every policy, procedure, and rule. And if there are no policies and rules, they're eager to create new ones.

They act on poor performance appraisal data. They immediately favor co-worker friends for key assignments, schedules, and so on. They want to create their "own team" as quickly as possible.

2. Acting Too Slowly


New manager talks in a meeting

Other new managers act too slowly—buying into the "we've always done it that way" mindset. This can be particularly true of new managers with no management experience or very little experience with the company (e.g., a new manager hired from outside the organization).

Managers report that they intended to "wait a year or so" to learn how things work in the organization so "my employees can get to know me."

3. Failing To Assess Properly


New manager compares notes with a colleague

This mistake holds the solution to the paradox of the first two mistakes—the "just right" solution. A new manager must assess the situation of the organization, the expectations given by senior management, and the strengths and weaknesses of the department and each employee (hopefully, more focused on strengths).

Typically, a new manager is charged with solving some specific problems. Ignoring them is fatal. Not meeting with each subordinate to get to know them personally, get to know their strengths, and get their input is equally fatal.

4. Acting On Old Performance Appraisal Data


New manager discusses an issue with two employees during a meeting

Performance appraisal data is fundamentally flawed by rater bias. The appraisal data reflects more on the performance of the previous manager than it does on the employees being rated. Spending hours reviewing old performance ratings on subordinates is a waste of time.

If the previous manager was promoted because of his or her successful management of your new team, ask that manager some simple questions about each member of your new team. For example, ask: "Would you always pick (or rehire) this person for your team?"

If you're replacing a manager who was not successful, see the mistake below.

5. Focusing On Weaknesses, Not Strengths


New manager leads a business meeting

Solving key problems may be a top priority (e.g., poor customer service). But solving problems is less likely to be successful if the focus is on weaknesses instead of strengths.

If you can't objectively measure the strengths of the team using an assessment like CliftonStrengths Assessment then interview members about their strengths. Ask each one of them how they see themselves best contributing.

6. Failing To Communicate


New manager communicates with an employee during a meeting

Yes, it's a classic movie line, but it could be number one on this list. Too often, new managers lock into a learning mode to read policies and procedures. They want to "understand things" before saying anything to their new team.

The solution is simple: communicate now and communicate often. Give your team the opportunity to learn about you as you learn about them. Let them learn your communication style as you learn their styles.

7. Failing To Ask Questions


New manager on laptop thinks about her mistakes

"If I ask questions, it shows I don't know what to do." That's scary, but it's not unusual.

Too many new managers fail because of both inaction and action driven by the failure to ask. Some of the most successful managers I've known were the most curious—asking questions of their bosses, other managers, and members of their team. They had a two-year-old's curiosity and loved the "why?"

8. Treating Everyone The Same


New manager calls a team meeting

The biggest mistake all managers make, not just new managers, is trying to motivate all team members the same way—or assuming they're motivated by what you think "motivates everyone."

Motivation has some common elements known to anyone who really studies performance and it has some myths that managers routinely follow by mistake. The solution is to understand your team members' strengths. That way, you'll know more about how to best motivate each person on your team.

9. Having A 'My Way Or The Highway' Attitude


New manager complains on the phone

New managers often believe they must be the know-it-all decision maker for the team, failing to realize the job is coaching people to be top performers and NOT being the "I can do it myself" manager.

In today's multiple-skilled workforce, a manager is likely to be the least knowledgeable regarding specific job/technical knowledge. The solutions are communicating, asking, and listening!

10. Being Afraid To Fire


New manager fires an employee during a meeting

New managers are often challenged by Red Scott's "hire smart, or manage tough" dilemma with a situation created by themselves or the previous manager. Managers must know when and how to firmly make decisions (legally) that someone does not want to meet performance objectives.

A common refrain: "I know I should have terminated him/her a long time ago."

A favorite management quote: "Management is now where the medical profession was when it was decided that working in a drug store was not sufficient training to become a doctor." —Lawrence Appley

The ultimate solution to these 10 mistakes new managers make is adequate training! We wish you the best of luck in your management position and hope you receive the training you need in order to be the best manager you can be.

Need more help with your career?

Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.


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10 Mistakes New Managers Make At Work

Executive Spotlight: How To Recover From A Failure At Work



Although we shoot for perfection and success at work, we all experience failure at some point in our careers. Failure can be difficult to handle in a professional setting. Executives and other leaders in the workplace—our mentors, the ones we look up to at work—have all failed. Not only that, but they've recovered from failure and found success in the process.

We recently asked our successful executives how they recover from a failure at work.

Here are their responses...

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive


When I worked at The Disney Channel, one of my jobs was to proof ads. I was the last sign-off before the ad went to press. It was an exciting time as we launched a new campaign in support of a new series. It was quickly dampened when I learned that the ad, which had gone live that morning, had a glaring error I’d missed.

The most forward-thinking companies embrace risk-taking and the possibility of failure. What's wonderful about failure is the learning you receive from it. You learn substantially more from failures than successes. Failures should push you to bounce back and work harder to achieve your goals, making you stronger. Here are three things you should model as a leader within your organization:

1. Lead by Example: Management should share past examples of company failures, suggest new solutions that might work, and receive ideas from others without judgment.

2. Provide a Solution: While failing is okay, managers need to encourage employees to provide solutions to problems and propose an action plan for the next steps. Managers can then review and provide guidance on how best to proceed.

3. Don't Repeat Failures: The key here is to learn from your mistakes, document the learning, establish a process that ensures these failures won't happen again, and share these learnings throughout the organization.

The best advice I received is that failure is a success if we learn from it.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development


Woman stressed about a failure/mistake on the job

As a lover of the outdoors and living within driving distance of Oregon’s Mt. Hood, I was drawn to skiing. I volunteered as a cross-country instructor for an alpine club, then taught for a ski resort, secretly motivated by free lift tickets so I could get better at skiing downhill. Initially, I was afraid of failure and intimidated so when venturing onto harder runs it was natural to lean into the mountain. Yet I quickly learned that when I leaned out, though counterintuitive, I fell less, and I became a better skier.

As an executive, I see leaning out as risking to attempt something new and being aggressive to grow, learn, and accomplish greater things, knowing that along the way I will probably break some stuff. In my mind, as long as I learn from it and bring future success out of it, it has value.

After I launched my first company, leaning out manifested a failure as I negotiated a supply chain partnership to source products globally vs. just domestically. It represented a huge opportunity for my business, but in doing so, I failed to dig deeply into the relationship, the financial chain of custody, and the quality assurance process with each of the individual factories. As a result, my orders experienced missed lead times and material defects that were costly and embarrassing, and I later learned there was another party between my contractual partner and the factories who failed to perform.

This taught me to take full ownership of every aspect of my business and prompted me to implement a four-point policy that helped me select, negotiate, and manage all future partnerships successfully.

Here are some of my learnings about failing in business, recovering from it, and using it to propel our careers:

  • The most accomplished and celebrated leaders and entrepreneurs in history failed many times before they were a success.
  • Always fail while risking to accomplish something great.
  • Always take full ownership of failure to preserve credibility, integrity, and reputation.
  • Root out and take from a failure every available ounce of growth and wisdom into the next goal and keep striving.
  • Read the speech “Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt to remember to tune out the naysayers, haters, and critics who keep us from attaining greatness.
Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist


Failure, success concept

When I think about recovering from a failure at work, I always have to ask/think about the context of the culture and psychological safety of the team, the business segment, and the organization where the failure happens.

As leaders or people managers, we play a critical role in how our team members perceive and react to failure when it happens; creating the necessary psychological safety and culture of learning is key to this.

Promoting a growth mindset for our people calibrates how they interpret failure in a completely different way than people with a fixed mindset. Folks with a growth mindset see failure as a signal that they need to put in more effort, try different strategies, or seek feedback and guidance. They use failure as a motivation to improve and grow, rather than as a reason to give up or feel ashamed.

Some examples of how people with a growth mindset view failure include:

  • Failure is only failure if we fail to learn from it
  • Failure is an opportunity to enhance our skills and knowledge
  • Failure is a challenge that pushes us out of our comfort zone

However, having/exercising a growth mindset is not always easy or simple. It requires practice, persistence, and support from your leader/manager.

Bouncing back from failure at work can be hard, but it’s not impossible. There are some steps we can all take to recover from a setback and move forward with confidence.

Some of the steps you/we can take are:

  • Being honest with your superiors and admitting your mistake
  • Don't make excuses or blame others for your failure
  • Find the silver lining (and there's always one!)
  • Learn from your failure

Using failure as an opportunity to improve your skill set and potentially become a better leader.

These steps can help you bounce back from failure at work and show that you are resilient, adaptable, and committed to your goals.

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the "red thread."

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager


Businesspeople in a meeting upset about a failure at work

Successful executives get used to failure because it provides so much growth and opportunity to learn. Creating a culture of celebrating failure is important and that starts with humility in the workplace.

While I worked for Spotify, Dawn Ostroff, a C-suite executive at Spotify, would share failures, break them down, and celebrate in our town halls (in front of 3000 employees) where we could learn as a team from the mistakes. I remember seeing the title for her presentation and I was so intrigued and teams across the company were inspired. We took notes on how to not repeat those mistakes, lean into them, and forward progression for new strategies.

When a failure occurs:

  1. Accept it with humility
  2. Gather all the facts
  3. Review how we could improve moving forward
  4. Come to the table with a mindset of failures = possibilities

I believe developing your skills in the practice of losing and accepting is a huge educational opportunity, so your skill set includes being put in uncomfortable positions, so that you can get good at rejection. I believe that people are too addicted to positive reinforcement and we could all grow from learning how not to repeat the failure where the next project benefits from the previous failure.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Michael Willis, Sports Business Operations Executive


Man on laptop shocked, stressed about a failure at work

No one begins a journey with failure as part of their plan. Caution might lurk, but turning back is not an option.

As executives and leaders, we know that failure is part of success. The real work for leaders begins when you must figure out what works and what doesn’t.

The first step is to own the failure. Don’t blame anyone or anything else. Take full responsibility for the failure and the action needed to correct it.

Find the fix, and understand what went wrong.

Test the solution from beginning to end to ensure everything works as planned.

Meet with your team to outline what failed. Inform everyone what was done to solve the problem. And share with the team the new protocols going forward.

In summary, everyone on the team must communicate a breakdown or failed system. Leaders can’t effectively lead with missing information. Leaders need to lead teams that are invested in the end product.

Michael Willis has 18+ years of experience working with accounting & sports organizations and has managed P&Ls of $10M - $125M+ with budgets of $3M-$50M+. He worked for the NFL for 22 1/2 years, mainly with the game officials working on the financial/accounting side of the business.

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive


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​I like to conduct after-action reviews—or AARs—after failures on the job.

The AAR process is as follows:

  1. What was supposed to happen?
  2. What actually happened?
  3. Why did it happen?
  4. What are we going to do next time?

What I like about the AAR process is that it is not just about identifying a problem but highlighting solutions/next steps which hold me (and others) accountable for change. This works for project-based failures.

When it comes to leadership failures that are often surfaced in 360-degree/other performance reviews, I like to find mentors/resources in that area and discern what is and what is not in my power to address/change.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

John Hoffman, Creative Producer


Video production/film team work through a failure

Being a creative producer in the film and live experiential event industry requires handling setbacks, challenges, and adverse conditions. Therefore, the skill of dealing with failure, or redefining it as setbacks on the job, is crucial for success.

To excel as a creative producer, it's essential to understand the primary responsibility of bringing a TV or live event concept to life:

  • Overseeing every aspect of the project
  • Generating ideas to collaborate with production partners and artists
  • Coordinating with all teams involved in all phases of the production process

Maintaining a positive attitude and staying focused on finding solutions is essential, and identifying pitfalls and solving problems is a superpower honed from years of experience. Setbacks can be turned into opportunities for growth and success, but this requires clear communication of expectations to stakeholders and realistic goals.

Instead, by approaching setbacks as opportunities for growth and focusing on finding solutions, creative producers can overcome challenges and succeed in bringing innovative and creative concepts to life.

With experience and agility, you learn to expect the unexpected because failure is not an option for a creative producer.

John Hoffman has 15+ years of leadership experience creating and producing video content, branded entertainment, PR stunts, and experiential and live events. At his core, he's a storyteller who has mastered the creative map and can scale logistical mountains.

How do you recover from a failure at work? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.

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5 Tips For Building Your Personal Brand In The Workplace



Even at work, you have a personal brand. What are people saying about you when you're not in the room? Are you giving off the right vibe to your colleagues and conveying the brand you want to convey at work?

Developing your personal brand is essential for the advancement of your career. It is what makes you special, and how you'll become more valuable to an organization.

Here are a few tips on how to develop your personal brand:

1. Get Clear On Your Unique Value Proposition


To become respected in your company or industry, you need to be very clear on what unique value you provide and how to connect that to your company's mission.

Most people—and I see it all the time with my interview coaching clients—are not that clear on what makes them different from others. This is the reason they don't get the jobs or promotions they are after!

Your brand should be authentic to you so notice your emotions when performing certain tasks and activities. If it is something you have passion and energy for, it should become part of your personal brand.

Spend some time thinking about what makes you different from your peers—your strengths, your passions, and your goals.

2. Ask For Feedback


Professionals talk about their personal brands during a work meeting

What do you want others to experience about you?

You might want to write down 3-5 things you'd want others to experience when interacting with you and then ask a close friend or a trusted colleague to do the same. Are the answers similar? If so, well done. If not—you have some work to do in terms of branding yourself the right way.

It is important to understand how others perceive you as this will enable you to start sending the right messages to your audience. And having a personal brand is definitely a requirement for leadership positions and will enable you to create more impact.

3. Be Consistent


Woman on phone builds her personal brand on social media

Everything you do or post on social media ultimately contributes to your personal brand. Once you're clear on your personal brand, make sure that the way you dress, the emails you write, your body language, and so on are consistent with your brand message.

4. Use Social Media Effectively


Man on laptop builds his personal brand on social media

Platforms like WordPress make it easier than ever to promote yourself to your target audience. I blog weekly, and I'd recommend that you post a couple of times a week on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter on topics that your audience will find educational (and will also highlight your experience).

Here is a quick guide on how you can position yourself as an expert so that you get the best opportunities in your business or career.

5. Promote Your Brand In Person


Man promotes his personal brand at work during a meeting

Utilizing social media to build your personal brand is great, but make sure you promote your brand in person, too. Whether it is participating in industry groups, giving talks, or offering to lead a project that highlights your talents, what can you do to promote your brand offline?

If you want to be successful, creating a personal brand isn't just an option; it's a necessity. Whether you aspire to get that promotion or land your dream job, creating a compelling and consistent brand will help you meet your goals.

Need more help building your personal brand?

Join our community to learn how to create a personal brand and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!

This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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4 Phrases Your Boss LOVES To Hear



If you want to put yourself in a position to build a strong professional relationship with your boss, while growing your career and managing up, you have to prove yourself as a reliable employee. Taking the right kind of initiative can go a long way toward strengthening your relationship with your boss.

It's important to keep in mind that managers are not only responsible for your role and responsibilities and to a degree your career; they're also responsible for their duties as well.

If you really want to prove yourself to your boss, think of ways to work these four phrases into your work vocabulary:

"Here's A Potential Solution"


A boss listens while his employee shares an idea with him during a work meeting

Bosses hear A LOT of problems. And more often than not, they are expected to come up with a solution. The thing is, if it isn't their problem, they are not going to actively seek out solutions. Therefore, when you come to the boss with a problem, immediately follow it up with a proposed solution.

This accomplishes two things. First, it shows your manager that you are solution-oriented. You took the time to examine the problem and think about ways to address it. Second, your solutions are essentially saving the boss time and energy and those are both gifts to your manager. This approach is a huge win for you and the boss.

"Here's An Idea"


Two co-workers go over some ideas with their boss during a meeting

You should be a student of your company. You should be very familiar with the company's goals, mission, and vision. You should also have a very good understanding of the company's challenges. When you know these challenges, you should spend some time each week working on ideas to solve those challenges that the company faces.

When you go to your manager to say you have an idea that will positively impact the company's bottom line, everyone wins. Bosses should love to hear ideas on how to make things more efficient and profitable. Look for these ideas whenever you have downtime at work.

"Let Me Show You"


An employee graphs out an idea in front of his boss during a work meeting

On time-strapped days, it is so much easier to show someone something than it is to tell them. When pitching something to a boss or sharing an idea or even solving a problem, show him/her what you are talking about. Sketch it out, give them a flow chart, or show them anything visual and talk them through it. If you can, make a quick prototype. It is so much easier than using just your words when the chances are good that the boss is distracted.

Think about it. When you show people what you are saying, you have captured two of their senses: hearing and seeing. If you give them something to hold—even better (three senses). This gets their attention and allows them to truly evaluate what you are trying to do for the boss or the company.

Always try to show people what you are talking about. It allows them to react to your idea in a more connected way.

"I Could Use A Little Mentoring"


Bosses are not solely responsible for your career. This is your responsibility.

If you need new challenges or want new opportunities, it is up to you to scope those out and present them to your boss. If you don't know how to do something or think that you could develop your skills even further, it is up to you to ask for mentorship.

As the protégé, you must take an active role in carving out time for the relationship. When you seek mentorship from your boss, know that it may not be the boss who becomes your mentor. Your boss may not even be the right mentor. However, they can be the one who facilitates an introduction. When you ask for this type of guidance, your boss knows that you own your experience and will work to support you.

Building a solid relationship with your boss is the key to getting where you want to go in your career. These relationships will follow you throughout your career. These bosses will likely one day be the person you call on to be a reference. And when it comes time to be a reference for you, you want them to say that you were solution-oriented, respectful of their time, and full of an entrepreneurial spirit.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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4 Phrases Your Boss LOVES To Hear

Executive Spotlight: How To Handle Working With Difficult Customers



You don't have to work in customer service to work with difficult customers. In the business world, a customer is anyone (an individual or business) that purchases your goods or services. Some might be your "clients," but no matter what you call them, they have the potential to give you headaches on the job. Fortunately, there are many strategies and philosophies you can use to handle those difficult customers.

We recently asked our leading executives how they handle working with difficult customers.

Here are their responses...

John Schembari, Senior Education Executive


Customers come in all shapes and sizes and what may be a difficult relationship for one executive might be in the charm zone for another. However, as a consultant, I sometimes struggle with clients who come to me because they have a problem that they could not solve but then do not give me the autonomy to solve it if this means that new strategies/systems proposed run counter to how the client had tried to solve their pain point in the past (and was unsuccessful).

This is an issue of control that often comes down to fear. So, to ease my client's fears, I will communicate much more often and during each step of the process/service being provided—i.e., the creation of the initial work plan, ongoing impact/milestone reports, and a checklist of next steps/desired impact based on interim milestones/results of our work together. Some folks just like to have the road map out while they are driving down the road.

John Schembari is a current K-12 teacher/school leader academic improvement coach and former school building and district administrator. He loves to draw, travel, swing dance, and read nonfiction.

Lynn Holland, VP Sales & Business Development


Woman talks to a customer/client during a meeting

In our pressurized world, frustration and raw emotion can lurk beneath the surface. When triggered by unmet expectations, these are eight tips I've used to disarm and preserve goodwill throughout the buyer journey:

1. Seek to understand by interpreting their words and body language then reflecting back the thoughts and feelings heard.

2. Remember the affect heuristic mental shortcut that influences decisions and judgments based on views or past experience vs. the actual situation.

3. Begin with an “I don’t know” mindset vs. prejudging them or their situation.

4. Focus on listening, understanding, and discerning the next steps vs. forcing an insta-solution.

5. Break a big problem into bits to solve one at a time.

6. Expect anger, don’t personalize it, and realize they're merely feeling misunderstood or undervalued and attempting to gain control.

7. Give them calm as an emotional signal to mirror.

8. Leverage available resources like a strategic pause to de-escalate, a screenshot to better explain, or a colleague’s confirmation about the solution.

Lynn Holland is a business development executive with 18+ years of experience taking operational, IoT & retail technologies, products, & consumer engagement to market with a focus in petroleum & convenience retail.

Mark Taylor, Product & Operations Executive


Serious man talks to a customer/client during a meeting

​I am currently being a difficult customer with a professional services company.

I’m a “reasonable person.” They have driven me to being difficult by losing my trust. I now question whether they are addressing my needs and doing their work correctly.

Firstly, they are unable to proactively and clearly communicate that the work is being done in a timely, accurate, and complete manner.

Secondly, I’ve had to chase them up over 1) not hearing from them as deadlines approach, 2) finding simple errors in their submissions, and 3) not having a crystal clear sense that they have considered “everything.”

So, to answer the original question:

Win and keep the customer’s trust by doing the work. Make sure it is timely, accurate, and complete.

Most importantly, PROACTIVELY communicate this timeliness, accuracy, and completeness in a crystal-clear manner. Rinse and repeat on a regular basis and in a consistent format.

Mark Taylor has 20+ years of risk, technology, and product management experience working in global and regional financial services firms in the UK and the U.S. He's managed teams of 40+, successfully addressed 100+ regulatory issues, and has saved companies $15M+.

Kathryn Marshburn, Music Program Manager


Random act of kindness concept

​One of the amazing benefits of working for a marquee music artist is you get to travel on tour and see shows (like at Wembley Stadium - Summertime Ball) from a different perspective. I’ll never forget watching Flo Rida perform for HP and their top sales achievers meeting at a small awards dinner in Anaheim, California at the House of Blues. Flo Rida is known amongst booking agents as a professional, warm act that performs at a very high level for small and large branded events for C-Suite executives. Pure acts of kindness are always a part of his show, including jumping into the crowd. People touch him and hug him. (He holds toddlers too.) Most artists never engage like this; they pick up their check, perform, and fly out.

Flo Rida takes the time to learn the CEO's name of the company or brand, prepares and repeats the product name in his mouth several times before he goes on stage, and includes the C-Suite spouses on stage to dance with him for his hit "Low." If there are kids in the room he always brings them on stage and takes off his $20,000 diamond solitaire necklace and puts it on the child to make them feel special. (One show at a state fair someone accidentally walked off with it.)

I think I’ve watched the show 50 times and I am almost in tears every single time because it’s so good he’s such a great entertainer.

His mindset for customer service could and should be very arrogant based on his huge catalog of number one hits and gold records that he’s developed over his 30 years in the business, but he’s not. He doesn’t operate that way. His mindset is always humble, and to not only meet but exceed his customers' expectations, and to do that he makes his show very personal. His mindset is to make sure that he connects with the audience and with the VIPs in the room and recognizes the brand in his performance, by name, in his shoutouts. He extends random acts of kindness in this way, giving his fans, new corporate friends, and others a really close visibility into who he is, almost as though he provides a show that no one expected. He thinks through who would be in the audience, what would make an impression, and how could he make sure to re-book.

To me dealing with difficult customers starts with the mindset of including daily random acts of kindness and personalization in your daily routine as part of great customer service. Providing a personalized style of connecting with difficult customers in a different way and recognizing their personal interests. For example, for the customer that is upset over late shipping could a personal call or handwritten note with an extra product change the dynamic? Could a quick search on social media provide that the customer is located in Florida and loves football and, in addition to an apology and correction of the mistake, you try connecting with them by sending a custom Bucs flag from eBay? These random acts of kindness can offer a surprising result and create a snowball effect into other positive results beyond great customer service. Those word-of-mouth stories about receiving something personal are the key to managing difficult customers.

Kathryn Marshburn has spent 12+ years in the music and gaming industries guiding teams on identifying targeted goals with an agile approach resulting in driving revenue and reducing risk.

Ana Smith, Talent Architect & Global Learning Strategist


Woman talks to her boss about difficult customers/clients

Having difficult customers is really harsh, right?

It's not all doom and gloom, though. Taking prompt steps to turn difficult customers into ideal ones does not involve changing their personalities or getting them to see things only from your point of view.

It just takes a little bit of empathy and knowing how to approach the situation. Here's what has helped me in the past:

1. Find the common ground

The first step is to determine what you and your difficult customer have in common. What are their goals? What do they want out of this situation? Once you've identified that, it will be easier for both of you to come up with solutions that will satisfy everyone involved.

2. Communicate effectively

Next up, make sure that everyone knows exactly where they stand. If there are any miscommunication issues or unclear expectations, it's important to address these problems ASAP and make sure everyone understands the situation before moving forward with any plan or solution development process (or else we risk falling back into those same old patterns!).

3. Be flexible but firm

Once everything has been clearly communicated and agreed upon by all parties involved (and make sure that if/as needed things are in black and white).

The bottom line, I think it all comes down to communication. Let's not forget that in addition, in this day and age, we have:

  • Global clients who also come from different cultures, backgrounds, and languages
  • Clients from four different generations at the same time

If we can communicate effectively and openly with our customers, we can figure out what their needs are and how we can meet them. If there is any misalignment or misunderstanding between us and our customers, this is where it will occur. If there's no clear understanding of what they need from us and why they're buying from us (or not), then we'll have trouble getting through to them. We need to be able to answer questions like:

  • What are their goals?
  • What problems are they trying to solve?
  • How do they currently solve those problems?
  • Why aren't they happy with their current solution?
  • How would they prefer solving these problems moving forward?

Ana Smith helps people & organizations achieve their full talent potential by developing and co-creating people strategies and customized solutions, and turning them into impactful outcomes and collaborative relationships, using coaching as the "red thread."

Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive


Man talks to difficult customers/clients on the phone

As a content creator and also doing sales and marketing, it's important to know how to handle difficult customers.

I do want my customers to be happy and satisfied with the product or service that I provide. But, when that doesn't happen, I need to know what steps to take next.

Here are some tips for dealing with those tough customer conversations:

1. Stay Calm: During a difficult conversation, it's important to keep my cool and not get too emotional. If I can remain calm during the exchange and remain professional, then I’m more likely to find a resolution that is agreeable to both parties.

2. Listen Carefully: Difficult customers are often the ones who are the most vocal. Instead of trying to talk over them, I take a step back and really listen to what they are saying. This gives me an opportunity to understand their point of view and come up with a solution that works for both parties.

3. Be Proactive: If I can anticipate the customer's needs, then it's easier to provide resolution or possible solutions. I try to communicate as much as possible and offer solutions before my customers have a chance to bring this up, as this shows that I’m on top of the situation and willing to work together to find a suitable solution.

4. Be Understanding: No one wants their problem to go unresolved and customers are no different. If there is a problem with the way the content is shot or lit, or something else, I show understanding and empathizing with their situation will help them feel like they're not alone in their struggle.

5. Follow Up: After the conversation is over, I feel it's important to follow up with the customer and make sure that their issue was resolved correctly. This will help build trust and show them that you value their business this also adds repeat customers.

By following these tips, I can ensure that my customers are happy and that their issues are taken care of in a timely manner. Handling difficult customers can be tough. It does take practice and a lot of empathy, but with the right approach, I can ensure every party is happy.

Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.

Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive


Woman talks to a difficult customer/client on a video call

We can all relate to dealing with a difficult customer at some point. As a brand marketer, I don’t interact with the typical customer. My direct customer interaction tends to be with internal customers, influencers, and strategic partners. Some of my most difficult customer interactions have been dealing with an internal customer who doesn’t respect my team or me, which results in the challenge of getting anything done. Here are several tips on effectively handling working with a difficult internal customer:

  1. Remain Calm: It’s important to remain calm, professional, and composed, even if the customer is aggressive and disrespectful. Maintain a positive attitude. Try not to take it personally (this is really hard to do).
  2. Active Listening: Try to understand their concerns, ask open-ended questions, repeat back to them what you heard to ensure alignment, and find a solution that works for both parties.
  3. Empathize: Show empathy for their situation. This can help to de-escalate the situation and build rapport with the customer.
  4. Offer Solutions: Work with the customer to find a solution that meets their needs and expectations. Offer several options and be flexible in finding a solution that works for both parties.
  5. Escalate When Necessary: If the situation is escalating and you feel threatened or unable to handle the situation, it’s important to escalate the issue to a manager or someone with more authority to handle the situation.
  6. Documentation: Document the situation and solutions offered, and ensure they are satisfied with the outcome. This will help avoid similar situations in the future, help maintain a positive relationship, and build trust.

Remember that dealing with difficult customers is difficult, but it's important to remain professional and not take their behavior personally. By remaining calm and working with the customer to find a solution, you can turn a difficult situation into a positive experience.

Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.

How do you handle working with difficult customers? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.

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Executive Spotlight: How To Handle Working With …

6 Ways To Make Your Boss Love You



Has your relationship with your boss suddenly changed (and you're not sure why)? It's smart of you to notice, and even smarter of you to do something about it.

So many of us settle for an unhealthy relationship with our manager, hoping that it will eventually blow over. The truth is, relationships are a lot like icebergs—what you see above the water is usually rooted in something much bigger happening beneath the surface. What you may experience as a pattern of sharp feedback or increased micromanaging might be rooted in something bigger. Even if it's not, sweeping these concerns under the rug will likely put you on edge and make you more likely to make mistakes or assume the worst.

If you're serious about improving your relationship with your manager, you'll have to be willing to take 100% responsibility for making the relationship a success. In a dream world, your manager may see what you're doing and want to meet you halfway, but you can't bank on that. If trust has been broken, it will take a while to rebuild. If your competence is in question, you may need several successes before you chip away at their false perception of you. No matter what the root cause of the breach is, you must be willing to stay the course and be consistent until the relationship turns around.

To improve your relationship with your manager, you must convince them that you can and will help them be successful. This convincing isn't about apologies or persuasive words; it's about consistently communicating through your language, work products, loyalty, and warmth that you care about your company, your boss, and your team—and that you have the skills to get your job done well.

So, how do you do that? It's easier than you think.

Here are six ways to make your boss love you:

1. Find Reasons To Like And Respect Your Manager


Human beings aren't stupid. We are biologically programmed to know when someone is faking admiration for us. Our gut tells us not to trust them, and our suspicion goes into high gear. Your manager is no different. You won't be able to build a relationship with your manager if, deep down, you don't respect them. Unfortunately, respecting them isn't something we can pretend our way into.

To like or respect someone, you have to find things about them you want to emulate. The good news is, even if your manager is Mr. Hyde on steroids, chances are there are things about them worth admiring. Take a minute to decide what those things are and keep them top of mind. One way to do this is to create a sincere one-sentence response to the question, "What do you admire most about your manager?" Have that response handy, and find a way to use it when asked about them and their skills. You'll find that telling others what you like about them makes you believe it more.

As a bonus, if your manager hears that you've been spreading praise about them, it can't hurt your relationship!

2. Be Meticulous About Keeping Your Word


Woman improves relationship with her boss during a work meeting

If you say you'll be at work at 8:30 am, do it. If you promise a deliverable by a deadline, keep that deadline. Don't lie or exaggerate, even if it will save you a headache. If you make a mistake or miss a deadline, acknowledge it before they do. Lastly, keep what they tell you in confidence private. If you've been inconsistent in the past where your word is concerned, admit it. Share what you're working on to make it better. By being transparent about your intentions, and then keeping those intentions, you prove you're worth trusting.

3. Set Sustainable Boundaries And Occasionally Say No


Man sets boundaries with his manager at work during a meeting

Seasoned bosses respect people who tell them the truth—even when the truth is "no." By setting manageable (but realistic) boundaries and expectations with your boss, you protect yourself from burnout and ensure you can deliver for them long term. Sometimes these boundaries need to be stretched in particularly busy seasons, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth setting.

By setting boundaries before they're needed, you ensure that you won't become bitter or resentful about work patterns you've inadvertently agreed to (working late or on weekends, checking your email on vacation, etc.). Similarly, by negotiating project context and deadlines on the front end, you prove that you take delivering on deadlines seriously. It's much better to underpromise and delight your boss by overdelivering than to verbally assent to something you know won't happen.

4. Prioritize What Matters (To Them)


Woman talks to her boss at work

Chances are there are a handful of projects your boss cares about the most. Ensure that these projects are front and center on your to-do list. When you hit a major milestone with these projects, keep your boss in the loop.

When you burn the midnight oil, ensure they know that you're prioritizing this task because it's important AND because it's important to them. Share some of the praise for the project's successes by heralding them as a champion of the project. Arm them with stats, sound bites, and other information to share with their boss and peers about what you've accomplished together.

5. Show Them You Take Their Feedback Seriously


Man talks to his boss at work

When your boss pulls you aside with some corrective feedback, show them you prize their feedback by:

  • Writing it down and repeating their points to them to ensure you captured the feedback correctly.
  • Following up the conversation with an email (or a note at your next check-in) thanking them for the feedback and telling them what you plan to do differently.
  • Building systems or habits to remind yourself of the feedback and integrate the change they suggested.
  • Picking a few moments over the next few months to remind them of the feedback they gave and what you've done to internalize it. If there has been a positive impact as a result of implementing their feedback, be sure to share it.

6. Be Loyal When They're Not Around


Happy manager talks with her colleagues during a work meeting

Trust is the frailest component of your relationship with your manager; breaking it can be fatal to your relationship. Don't say anything about them publicly, or even behind closed doors, that you wouldn't say to their face. Don't give feedback about them to their manager if you haven't voiced it to them first. Work as hard when they're home sick as you would if they were with you in the office. Don't conspire against them, period—even if they deserve it. By keeping your loyalty to your manager, you mark yourself as a person who can be trusted and with high ethical standards. This makes you extremely rare and worth keeping around.

Repairing a broken relationship with your manager takes work, but yields dividends in your immediate job and later in your career. By taking the time to build trust and demonstrate your loyalty and competence, you not only save your job—you win a friend and mentor for life.

Need more help improving your relationship with your boss?

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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6 Ways To Make Your Boss Love …

There’s More To Life Than PowerPoint!



PowerPoint – the “stirrups” of presentations

Some people say that stirrups took the skill out of horse riding. Stirrups made it too easy for riders to stay on their horses.

PowerPoint is thought to have done the same for presentations. By organizing your ideas, thoughts, and information in a series of slides, meetings start to look the same.

PowerPoint is so ubiquitous that a meeting is almost not a meeting without some slides. Is there another way to communicate, or are we all doomed to experience “death by PowerPoint”?

There Are Alternatives


Professionals watch a PowerPoint presentation at work

PowerPoint was invented less than a hundred years ago. Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Martin Luther, and Einstein didn’t let their lack of PowerPoint stop them! Perhaps it’s worth looking at some alternatives.

“Live & unplugged”

If your message is straightforward and doesn’t involve too many facts and figures, why not just stand up and say it?

This was how Cicero, Demosthenes, and Churchill spoke most of the time.

To make it work, you will need to prepare your message carefully. It will force you to boil it down to the basics and concentrate on what really matters.

If you’re going to answer questions, you’ll need to know your subject well enough to be able to think on your feet. You may want to “red team” possible questions and prepare your answers to them. See “further reading” for more details!

If someone asks you to share your content electronically, you can either have a document ready with speaker’s notes or get someone to film your conversation and share the recording.

Flipcharts

Flipcharts are an effective way to share “low-density” information visually.

They are also very useful for “co-creation,” where your presentation is more of a discussion and the output is something that you have created with your audience.

Paul Ardern, the Saatchi and Saatchi advertising legend, recommended making pitches for advertising campaign stories in this way. It allows customers to get involved in the creation process right from the start. It also demonstrates how willing you are to listen to your customers.

Sharing the results electronically is fairly easy. Simply take pictures of each completed page by phone and share them by email.

Word documents

Many people present PowerPoint slides with densely written text and diagrams.

Data projectors display whatever is on the screen, so if you have already written a Word document and you know which pages you want to show, why duplicate effort by copying text onto a PowerPoint file?

If the document is a draft, it’s also possible to get peoples’ input and edit it on the fly.

It adds a touch of authenticity to the meeting. You are showing the actual document. It makes sharing the information easier and more credible since what your audience sees during the presentation is what they get.

Spreadsheets

If you’re presenting numbers, such as an ROI or a set of cost estimates or accounts, you could just show your audience the spreadsheet with the calculations on it.

The advantage of this is, once again, you can discuss with the customer how accurate your estimations are and then make adjustments on the fly. This involves the customer in the creative process which will build trust.

Some salespeople have been known to deliberately make estimated costs that might be saved, such as salaries, lower than they really are. They then let their customers correct their figures, and so the final ROI figure goes up, and it looks like the customer discovered this for themselves.

Make a video

You may expect your audience to passively consume your message, or to ask questions later.

Why not just make a video, share it electronically, and give your audience a deadline by which they must submit questions?

Video editing software is readily available and not too difficult to learn. You can use it to mix media of different formats including audio, written text, and moving images.

Once the video is complete, it’s not too difficult to share it electronically.

Do you need a presentation at all?

If you are planning to read what is on the PowerPoint to your audience and then follow up with a question-and-answer session, why not just send them the text to read before the meeting?

This will give your audience more time to “digest” the information and they can prepare questions independently without worrying about the social aspect of asking questions in front of the group.

Let’s get in touch!

Are you planning a presentation? Would you like to brainstorm alternative delivery methods? Let’s talk and see what we can put together!

Further reading...

Here are some more articles on the topic of presentations:

Red Teaming – Defining Objection Handling Strategies & More

Sell The Hole, Not The Drill! How To Make A Successful Sales Presentation

How To Run A Brainstorming Session




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There’s More To Life Than PowerPoint!

My Experiences As A Professional With Autism & Why I #WorkItDaily



We recently launched a social media campaign on TikTok asking users to share their stories about why they "#workitdaily." This week, we heard from Robert Rosen, a Work It Daily member who wrote about his experiences as a professional with autism.

We wanted to share Robert's story with you to spread awareness about the unique challenges autistic individuals face in the workplace and to reassure other professionals who are also on the autism spectrum that they aren't alone.

Robert's Story


Robert Rosen

I have read multiple stories and reports saying that the unemployment/underemployment rate of people on the autism spectrum is through the roof. This source says that the unemployment rate alone is between 76% and 90% (although it may not distinguish between “high-functioning”—those perfectly capable of living independently without assistance—and “low-functioning” individuals).

I estimate that I have spent something on the order of 20 years either unemployed or underemployed (much of that time making less than a living wage), translating into maybe as much as a million dollars in lost income compared to if I had been fully employed at the level of my academic and professional peers.

My situation could be perhaps best described by how a therapist from my high school years described it: “A in intellectual, F in social.” One reason for my attachment to the dogs that appear on my Facebook profile is that I never have to worry about starting or maintaining a conversation with them, or their getting angry with me if I say or do the wrong thing.

When I first heard that getting a job was “all about networking,” I thought that it would be like for a paraplegic to hear that it was all about running. To say that my social network is small might be putting it mildly. That’s been pretty much the case for my entire life. And I see more evidence of it on Facebook. Virtually all of my relatives, former high school classmates, and such friends as I have with Facebook accounts who are currently active on it—and many who are not—have hundreds of Facebook friends. My older sister has over a thousand. I have about 40. And even that doesn’t tell the whole story, because in probably at least 80% of those cases I have had to be the one to make the friend request; I can hardly even remember the last time I received one unless you count a couple of people I didn’t know at all who were probably not making such request for any legitimate purpose.

I grew up basically before there was awareness of autism, and although it manifested itself far more starkly in my younger childhood days, my parents only found a regular psychiatrist to take me to, who apparently was not aware of it either because he eventually told them that he couldn’t help me. So I didn’t receive any sort of diagnosis of it until after the age of 40. (It was diagnosed as “atypical,” meaning that I didn’t show any mannerisms common with autistics, just social awkwardness.) There is some compensation in that I am not been saddled with the horrendous costs of housing and college education that younger people have experienced, which in combination with family trust and inheritance money and a relatively frugal lifestyle and low expenses have made the lack of income more bearable. (Although I did go back to college later in life to change careers, tuition was paid for with family trust money.)

One thing that the interviewer at the autism center said about me that puzzled me for a long time was that my communication style was almost entirely verbal. I do think I use gestures, but now I don’t think that’s what she was referring to, but rather that I tend to not pick up on nonverbal signals sent by others, which I can believe. My mother sometimes remarked how I had trouble looking people in the eye (a frequent autism symptom). Much later, I read that in an interview if you have trouble looking the interviewer in the eye, they will think that you are lying—certainly not true in my case. So reading that sent a signal to me of “Don’t trust nonverbal communication.”

My work career was reasonably stable for about my first decade in the professional workforce until I was laid off from a software engineer job at Boeing in the summer of 1993. Then it all went to pieces. Following the advice given in the book What Color Is Your Parachute, I focused my search on smaller companies, working largely from a book listing high-tech companies in the region. I did get some interviews, but offers were few and far between. And a pattern started that would repeat itself multiple times over the next several years: when I did get a job, I would lose it in a matter of weeks or sometimes even days. It was over two years before I got any job with any measure of stability, and starting another pattern it was one where I was badly underpaid compared to other jobs of that type (programming), and for a time in terrible working conditions to boot. After about three years there, I was laid off, and the pattern of lengthy unemployment and lost jobs began anew. After one last job in the field where I was laid off yet again after a little over a year and confronted at the time with a hiring slump in the tech field, I decided then to go back to college and try to change careers. It would be nine years before I would finally complete that (with a couple more very poor-paying programming jobs in the interim, including one project that I ended up never being paid for at all).

I ended up with a double degree in accounting and environmental science (in 2010), and despite a GPA that earned my admission into a national business honor society, I graduated right back into unemployment. At that point, a friend told me about the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Things seemed to hit bottom at one point, though, when a DVR person told me that all they would be able to help me get would be an unpaid internship or a warehouse job.

If there is any job-finding resource that gives me the willies, it’s the free-form networking event. In situations like that, where people tend to separate themselves into groups, I have frequently ended up in what I jokingly call a “group of one” and as a result, I have ended up leaving more than one of these early. But one did have a payoff. I met a Boeing accounting director there and, eventually, my DVR counselor was able to set up a meeting between the three of us (and some other Boeing personnel). And although their answer to the question of whether I had the background that they might hire me for was “no,” I did get a call from the director a short time later about a temp job there. And it would lead, eventually, to four more temp jobs at Boeing. But no permanent ones. And the employment timeline after graduation was fifteen months unemployed, followed by four months of employment, followed by eight more months unemployed (other than part-time work at one of those very poor-paying jobs), followed by ten months of employment, followed by four more months unemployed before work became somewhat more steady. But the temp jobs came with very few benefits—I didn’t get a single day of paid vacation the whole time, for example—and they didn’t give me any career progression.

Finally, after one more job paying virtually nothing, I landed a job that seemed to promise the end of my troubles, as an auditor with the federal government. By then it had been nearly a quarter century since that layoff from Boeing. And for the first couple of years, that promise did seem to be a reality. The high-water mark came when, because of a conflict-of-interest issue with a pension, I was temporarily transferred out of the office that audited Boeing to one that audited many companies in the area. The supervisor at the second office had doubts about me because the Boeing office progressed new employees much more slowly than theirs. But I won him over, so much so that he suggested I put in for a permanent transfer. But I didn’t end up doing so first because my supervisor at the Boeing office said that my chances for approval wouldn’t be good because of low seniority, and second because that second supervisor was soon rotated to work for the headquarters office.

But as seemed to inevitably happen, me and job security were soon separated again. After several months the conflict of interest was resolved and I was sent back to the Boeing office. Then a few months later, my supervisor there retired, and for the first time in over 20 years, I found myself under a supervisor with a short temper. But worse was yet to come. After several more months, I found myself put under a newly transferred supervisor with an even worse temper, and one who also would lose her temper for just about any reason at all. That is twice now that I have found myself under a supervisor like that, and both ended badly for me. All the more depressing after reading an article saying that federal jobs are as secure as they come, with only 4,000 losing their jobs out of 1.6 million over a period of several years. (My work group did seem to be an exception, as another person under the same supervisor was terminated just a few months later. But she succeeded in getting another federal job even before the termination date, while I remain unemployed.)

My newest cycle of unemployment is at 3 ½ months and counting. So far, every interview I have had has resulted in failure—if an initial interview, no second interview. If there is only one interview required, then no offer.

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10 Ways Employees Can Be More Proactive At Work



Proactivity, as defined by organizational behavior, is “anticipatory, change-oriented, and self-initiated behavior in situations, rather than just reacting." When a person is proactive, they are acting in advance of a future event. Proactive employees typically don't need to be asked to do something, and will usually require less-detailed instructions.

Proactive behavior is applicable to either one's own role or to "extra role" responsibilities. Within one's own role, for example, a person may find a more efficient way to complete one or more of their responsibilities. Extra role responsibilities (i.e., those tasks outside of your stated job description) speak to an employee's organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The proactive employee would, for example, initiate an offer to help their co-workers before they are asked to assist by either their colleagues or their manager.

The steps you can take to become more proactive at work apply to both your formal role and your part of the scope of the OCB within your team, your department, and your overall organization.

There are variations on the theme; however, the following behaviors are a common foundation for proactivity within all of the theories:

Organize | Take Stock | Be Positive


Proactive employee helps coworkers

Proactivity requires that you be organized. That includes your mindset, your space, and, of course, your schedule! Organizing your time helps you approach tasks more efficiently and allows you to be more open to opportunities. This scheduling needs to include "downtime" for those activities that keep your life in balance.

A positive attitude is right up there on any list. Approaching tasks from a positive perspective encourages you to look for the best in every situation. It helps you become the employee who is "ready, willing, and able," who can always be counted on. A team player who is reliable and available will become the go-to person, the problem solver.

Take stock of your current responsibilities:

  • What are your tasks?
  • What are the priorities?
  • What can be consolidated, eliminated, or shortened?
  • What can you do to stay ahead of less urgent tasks?
  • How do you solve problems?
  • Can you prevent problems by planning ahead and developing alternative processes in anticipation?
  • What are the things you still need to know?
  • Can you automate any of your tasks to make them more effective and less time-consuming?

Communicate | Connect | Network


Proactive employees lead a meeting at work

Find a role model by observing the leaders in your company. When possible, spend time with them to gain insight from their behaviors. Try out their techniques. Some will work for you, others will not. You'll need to fine-tune what you acquire so that you are able to build your own repertoire.

Let others know that you want to be more involved. You'll need to create your own opportunities. Don't wait to be asked—present your ideas to your management team.

Goals | Persistence | Excellence


Proactive employees work on a project together

Set goals for yourself. Write them down! List everything that you want to accomplish. Set deadlines! Once you have the end in mind, you can achieve your desired outcome. A series of small goals leading up to the completion of a large goal keeps tasks from becoming insurmountable.

Stay the course on how you want to accomplish your goals. This may require overcoming your fears and rising above obstacles or setbacks. You'll need to step outside of your comfort zone and become increasingly resilient.

Strive for excellence from start to finish. Commit yourself to always presenting your best work—your completed project with no loose ends. Be passionate about what you do. Give it your all. No matter what role you are assigned, you will be more effective when you put your full energy and effort into it.

Celebrate! | Be Flexible!


Proactive employees celebrate their success during a work meeting

Celebrate your successes, big and small, as you move along your path to becoming more proactive!

Be flexible! You can't plan for every outcome, so being able to react to the unexpected is an important trait for the proactive person. It is about the awareness of the existence of choices, regardless of the situation or the context.

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How To Expand Your Network For Job Search Success



Networking is vital to job search success. Networking can lead to referrals, identifying jobs that aren't yet posted, and securing informational interviews. They can also lead to future professional references.

These results can give you a competitive advantage and help you progress toward your career goal. Networking platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are tools that can help you effectively expand your network. Here's how...

Building Your Social Network


Online or offline, the goal of networking is to build relationships. Every social networking platform offers some means of connecting with new people. Interact with others and share posts that are thoughtful and relevant to your field. Engage your audience by seeking input and sharing your thoughts or review of industry-related topics.

Share these topics and post information on your own profile for your audience, but also get involved in groups on LinkedIn or chats on Twitter. There are thousands of chats and groups for a wide variety of industries, specialties, or job searching in general. Do some exploring and request to join the group or start following the Twitter chat.

In my experience, people are very receptive to newcomers on these interactive forums. These forums can be a great way to meet new people. After participating, you can begin to follow or request a connection with individual contributors. Depending on your location, there may be the possibility of meeting your connections in person. The social network is a platform to build these relationships and make that in-person connection.

It Takes Time To Build A Network


Woman builds professional network at a business networking event

Patience...patience...patience! All good things take time.

Maintain a positive attitude and be flexible. Those two skills can save you from many future career headaches. Not everyone will be willing to connect. Remember that networking is a two-way street. Prioritize your connections based on who has a job you'd love to do, or who works for one of your target employers, and focus your efforts strategically.

Always personalize connection messages to new people on sites like LinkedIn to let the potential contact know you're not arbitrarily clicking every "Connect" button in your suggested contacts. Keep connection messages brief and to the point. I'd recommend not going into personal detail this early on or putting potential connections on the spot; just invite them to be a connection or offer your email address as a point of contact.

You can say something as simple as, "Hi Jane, I've enjoyed following your contributions to XYZ Group and agreed with your review of the Acme Co article you posted. I am also a (insert job title here) and would like to connect with you. Please let me know if I can be of any help. Thanks."

A short and simple message with a personal reference and offer to help shows that you are trying to form a mutually beneficial relationship.

Gaining Credibility


Man on phone builds his professional network

By building relationships you can become a resource on certain topics for your network. Gaining credibility takes time, but let the process happen naturally. Conduct research, search for best practices, gain more experience, and get in contact with people that share their experience.

This is where actively participating in Twitter chats or LinkedIn groups can help build your knowledge. Sharing ideas with others that are passionate about their field can keep you motivated and engaged in your line of work. After developing these relationships, opportunities can arise off-screen as well—assisting in a volunteer effort that was coordinated online or attending a networking event, speaking event, or job club that was promoted online. Read the information about the events your network is posting and try to commit to going when your schedule permits.

Impress Hiring Managers That May Google You


A recruiter on her computer does research on a potential job candidate

A hiring manager may look you up on Google at some point in the job search process. If you actively network across platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter, or attend events in person, your Google search results page may show these stories and profiles.

Any site you join for professional networking purposes should serve as a complement to your resume. That means whether you post blogs, tweets, or share information on LinkedIn, all your content should be professional and error-free. These can validate your candidacy and make you stand out among the competition.

As you start networking, you'll learn more about your field, gain skills, and build confidence. Build relationships and help others in your search. Use social networking for job search success and foster relationships that can help you discover your next opportunity.

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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6 Tips To Make Sure Your Ego At Work, Works (Even In Uncertainty!)



Work is important to a lot of us. And we all have egos. The trick is to balance our own view of work and success so that the ego remains a helpful source of support and not a tyrannical master. One is the road to relative contentment, the other to continued misery. Have you struck the balance?

We particularly need to know we have the balance as close to right (for us and others at work—everywhere!) especially given the likely turmoil and stress employees, colleagues, leadership, and ourselves may feel because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding us right now.

Why do I even write about ego and why should any of us in business care about it?

To understand the influence of our own ego at work, let's first get a working definition of what ego is. Oxford Languages defines ego as, among other things, ‘the part of the mind that …is responsible for reality testing.’

So, what does reality testing look like on the ground? How do we implement reality testing at work for us?

Our Internal Rule Book


Man smiles while working

Through a rule book. Our own internal rule book. An individual set of rules we each carry around inside our heads for how we deal with the world including at work.

Everyone has their own internal rule book. Your job is to make sure that your internal rule book continues to support and serve for the benefit of all including your stakeholders, your colleagues, your team, your company, and yourself at work.

We all have this internal rule book for all parts of our lives. So, our internal rule book pervades our waking moments including at work.

Almost from birth we acquire, adopt, and develop our own set of rules which drive what we expect and therefore what we impose on others and ourselves as a way to decide what is going on—that is we are reality testing.

For instance, simple rules picked up through experience like if you pay a baker for a bread roll you expect them to hand over a bread roll. If they don’t hand over a bread roll then you start reality testing. In this example, where the baker didn’t hand over the bread roll as you expected (rule about exchange) you might immediately reality test the situation by asking ‘Did I hand over the money to the baker’ or ‘Did he hear my order correctly?’

You see how the rule book works—it's reality testing what you expected. You expected a bread roll after handing over the money (a rule about exchange), yet the baker didn’t hand over a bread roll. So, you try to understand what happened given your rule explains there ‘should’ have been an exchange. You could call this sort of rule a ‘standard rule’ as many people follow it. In this scenario, the rule of exchange is a standard rule because it is widely followed and understood.

So, applying the rule book to work, if you delegate to someone and then they don’t meet your expectations...here is where things can get interesting. Remember our internal rule book guides and drives our expectations.

Your rule book is active 24 hours, 7 days a week in your subconscious, whether you’re at work or not, and whether you are always aware or not. The application of our rules often happens on ‘autopilot.’ Remaining mindful of how you apply your rules will increase your likelihood of successful interactions and activities at work and in general.

Why?

Because being mindful means you are in that very moment, live, and you are adjusting to the actual, live situation and the interaction or person in that very moment. Rather than applying the rule when it may have first formed for you.

Remember, right now, people may be in a heightened state of stress for other reasons than the immediate interaction with you. So make sure your rule is the best possible fit, in the moment, to that situation and people.

This mindful assessment of the ‘best fit’ of your rule in the moment will lead to better, healthier, more successful interactions and outcomes the more you can do it.

Remember: a negative emotion you may feel during the day at work, with others or during an activity you are doing—e.g., reading a work email, for instance (anger, frustration, annoyance)—is a pretty good indicator that someone or something has tripped over one of your rules.

This is then a split-second opportunity for you to grab hold of how you are feeling, and then recognize that it’s actually because of a rule you have in play. You then have the immediate opportunity to do something potentially different to how you would ‘normally’ react.

This can lead to a different (and possibly) better outcome for you and the person or situation than might otherwise have been the case.

Let’s continue with the example mentioned of delegating work to someone. You have more choices in this latter example scenario of delegating work to someone which is of course more complex than a simple transaction of buying a bread roll—obvious right?

What may be less obvious is that you and the person you delegated to don’t just have standard rules (i.e., widely followed and understood what is expected). We all have non-standard or individual internal rules as well. In other words, everyone has a standard set of rules that are widely followed and understood by others and non-standard rules where expectations between people might vary.

It’s also worth thinking about how you apply your rule book in say, difficult work situations like distressed projects and teams (see "6-Point Checklist For Taking Over A ‘Distressed’ Project Or Team" for more on this).

Let’s say in our delegation example you explained to your colleague that she keeps you in the communication loop on the progress of work you delegated to her. Let’s say she doesn’t copy you in on an update email and you find out from a colleague instead how the work is progressing.

This is the second time you have found out indirectly rather than directly from the person you delegated to. Do you apply a rule that says this colleague cannot be trusted or is slack or absent-minded? Or could it be that your rule instead interprets your colleague’s behaviour as they are purposely leaving you out of the loop.

What if her behaviour of leaving you off the update email is actually because she is continuously overworked and doing her very best and slips up sometimes because of how busy she is?

Take your pick of how you respond in this scenario.

Your response is driven by your internal rule about what you expect—in this scenario, what you expected when you delegate work to someone. So, when your expectation wasn’t met, your internal rule book kicks in (to reality test) and then reacts by judging the situation (and the person).

Remember that our rule book is built over time and evolves through observation, our own experiences, as well as our beliefs—a topic for another (many!) blog series.

How much you check, question, and validate your own internal rules that you use and apply to a given situation, such as the example above, will potentially influence your attitude and behaviour towards this person as well as similar scenarios in the future.

Tips To Make Sure Your Rulebook Is A Healthy, Balanced One:


Woman on laptop looks for a new job

Ask yourself, ‘Do my rules...

  1. Serve me in regards to my work?’
  2. Serve my stakeholders including my team, direct reports, sponsor, and colleagues?’
  3. Place onerous hurdles that serve little purpose except to continually reassure me?’
  4. Need to be removed in some areas?’
  5. Hinder or support fast progress at work?’
  6. Need streamlining, changing, revision, updating, editing, or deleting?’

Final Word


Happy coworkers at work

I’ve barely mentioned ego throughout this blog yet that’s where we started. We could spend a lot more than my 1200-word limit allows. So instead, I focused on a practical example of what is driven by our ego—the internal rule book.

At its most basic, our internal rule book is there to protect us and reassure us that we are in control as we deal with and decide what is going on around us at work (and beyond).

It’s important you place as much effort as you can muster into making sure, especially in today’s uncertain work environment, that the application of your rule book (i.e., in situations with stakeholders like colleagues, employees, or leadership) remains as balanced and unemotional as possible, no matter what is going on for you and your stress levels. Not an easy ask I realize—but I know you can do it!

The tips I provided aim to help you recognise and understand your own internal rule book, the one you apply at work especially, and help you ensure it remains supportive rather than one that drives unhelpful behaviours that can make things worse for you and those around you.

Remember the ultimate aim of our internal rules is to help not hinder.

Would love to hear about your internal rule books and how they serve you or how you review your rules regularly to make sure they continue to support you.

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How To Recover From Career PTSD After COVID-19



We're seeing a rise in cases of "career PTSD" since the COVID-19 pandemic. If you don't know what this is, it's when you're feeling anxiety and stress related to work. You feel in a funk. You feel like you can't find the right career or job for you.

Maybe you quit during the Great Resignation and haven't been able to find the right job. Or maybe you're really out of it at work and you want to fix it. But you've got depression. You've got anxiety. Work stresses you out.

Why do you feel this way?

Well, during the pandemic, we all had to juggle so much. Mental safety, physical safety, our health, our family, our friends, our work. And now, as we're trying to come back to some normalcy, our body's sort of catching up with us, and it's giving us a hard time.

So, what can you do to recover from this career-related post-traumatic stress?

Microlearning! 


@j.t.odonnell Do you have COVID Career PTSD? #careertok #jobtok #jobs #careers ♬ original sound - J.T. O'Donnell

The solution lies in something called microlearning.

Microlearning occurs when you stop and take a minute or two to learn something. You're curious and that changes you. It's firing some synapses in your brain and you're getting little dopamine hits. You don't need to (and shouldn't) do hours and hours of learning every day. Just a few minutes would be a great start because your brain is going to get more curious. You're going to see more and you're going to want to learn more. And you'll actually get to a point where you're ready to learn. Then you'll ask yourself, "What's something I need to learn?"

This is where the choice becomes paramount because the secret to getting back to health is feeling a sense of control and the way we feel control is through choice. If you choose to engage in microlearning today, you'll eventually get more curious, but you'll choose what you want to learn and you'll be able to feel that sense of control again.

Microlearning is the secret to regaining that sense of control that you lost during COVID-19 and reigniting your motivation in your career. Trust me, I've been doing this for 20 years. I know it works. This is what my company has been helping people with.

With Work It Daily's Event Subscription, you can choose what you want to learn. It's an affordable resource that you can use to try the microlearning process and get your sense of control back. There are thousands of people in there right now, all talking to one another, learning together, and getting their mojo back. I hope you decide to join them. Your future professional self will thank you.

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How To Recover From Career PTSD After …