Four Most Valuable Career-Driving Skills (Part 1)

27 Aug 2016 Four Most Valuable Career-Driving Skills (Part 1)

The Eight Most Valuable Career-Driving Skills I’ve Learned From My Executive Coaching Clients

A couple of months ago, one of my executive coaching clients asked me: “Uri, over the past eight years you’ve helped many executives and senior managers get ready for their next career move. Why don’t you put everything you’ve learned about Leadership Development into a program which you can share with a much wider group of professionals?”

“That’s a great idea,” I replied and went immediately to work. I put together an Advisory Team of senior professionals and started developing the framework and content for the program.

In this Execu-Post, I will share with you the top four skills and behaviors my executive clients asked me to help them develop in preparation for their promotion to the next level. The remaining four leadership traits will be described in my next Execu-Post.

20% Insight and 80% Practice

This is the motto of Dr. Shirzad Chamine of Stanford University, to which I subscribe 100%. Acquiring new skills and habitualizing new behaviors is not easy. They require repetitive and sometimes painful practice over months and years. Without this practice, you will not be able to break out of your comfort zone and ascend to the next level.

My advice is that you select one or two qualities which are most important for your individual career development, and single-mindedly focus on practicing only these.

Career Mastery Program

In three months I will launch the Career Mastery Program. It will be a three-month webinar-based program. In this program, you will learn and practice the top career-boosting qualities that will place you on a strong foundation and prepare you for your next promotion.

The program is based on research from leadership luminaries, such as Warren Bennis and John C. Maxwell, on what I have learned from my executive clients, and on observations, I made during my 30-year career as a senior consulting leader.

The Career Mastery Program will be the most powerful and cost-effective career training course you have ever attended. Please stay tuned for more information.

1. Communicate With Impact

This is the skill which virtually all of my executive coaching clients stated as the most important to their career. And this includes CEO’s, Senior VPs, Directors, and Managers.

Communicating with impact applies to each and every communication encounter you face. From your status presentation to the executive committee, to your one-on-one meetings with your boss, your peer, or your team member.

Developing Your Communication Skills

Below are some important steps you can take to improve your communication skills.

1. Start with the outcome in mind. What message and impression do you want your audience to leave with and what action (if any) do you want them to take?

2. Then understand the expectations and mindset of your audience. Some may be detail-oriented, while others may have a very short attention span. Some may be action-oriented, while others may leave the action plan for you to figure out.

3. Deliver your message clearly, succinctly, and with great confidence.

4. Practice your presentations several times before you deliver them, and get someone to critique you before important presentations.

2. Project A Powerful Executive Presence

A survey of CIOs conducted by the research firm Gartner¹ revealed that Executive Presence was the second most important leadership quality mentioned by the CIOs.

Executive Presence may seem to apply to high-level executives only, but it really applies to everyone: individual contributors, managers, directors, VPs – everyone.

Executive Presence is difficult to define. Jun Medalla of Business Insider² defines it as having: Charisma, Confidence, Credibility, Clarity, and Conciseness. In short, having a strong impact on your audience.

Developing Your Executive Presence

This powerful presence comes natural to some people, while others have to work hard to build this quality. To cultivate your Executive Presence you have to do three things:

1. Understand the meaning of Executive Presence and how to develop it;
2. Develop self-awareness of your Executive Presence; and
3. Practice deliberately and continuously.

A specific technique which I highly recommend is the Power Pose described by Dr. Amy Cuddy is one of the most viewed TED Talks ever³ (over 25 million views).

3. Navigating the Political Landscape

One of my executive coaching clients, a VP with a large US-based company, once told me: “I have been here for three years and I can still not figure out the politics of this place”. “Why is that important to you,” I asked. “Oh,” he said, “If I am unable to navigate the political landscape of this company, I will never be able to become the next Division President.”

Navigating the political landscape means increasing your sphere of influence within the organization. Your ability to navigate the political waters of your company will help you:

1. Survive in turbulent times, such as reorganizations and lay-offs;
2. Be promoted in competitive situations; and
3. Successfully negotiate whatever you need to deliver your work (i.e. resources, budget, timeline, scope, etc.)

Building your Political Skills

Building your position of influence does not just happen. To be a master political navigator you have to practice these skills throughout your entire career. Some of the techniques I recommend include:

1. Develop alliances with those who matter
2. Earn the trust and respect of as many people as you can
3. Develop your knowledge base and credibility
4. Develop your popularity and become a “go-to” person

4. Think Strategically and Critically

I was speaking to the Senior VP of a very successful pharmaceutical company about coaching one of his Senior Directors, ahead of his promotion to VP. “What do you think Joe (the Sr. Director) needs to work on to be ready for his promotion?” I asked. The SVP thought for a moment and said: “Joe just does not think as I do.” His reply caught me off guard. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Oh.” He said. “Every time Joe comes to me with an idea, I probe a little deeper and ask him different questions about it. And in most cases, it looks like he has not thought about these questions. His thinking is not strategic, broad, and critical enough.” “OK,” I said. “Now I get your drift.”

When reflecting on this encounter I concluded that many of my up-and-coming coaching clients face the same challenge.

Thinking and communicating with a balanced broad and deep analytical and tactical perspective is a pre-requisite for all aspiring leaders, irrespective of where they stand on the career ladder.

Developing Your Strategic Thinking Skill

Here are a few tips for developing your strategic and critical thinking:

1. 1. Identify a few leaders whom you respect and listen to them critically. Try to identify the strategic and tactical aspects of their presentations. What broad and / or deep aspects of the topic did they cover? What questions did they ask themselves?
   2. Write your own script for that same topic and try to expand on their thinking.
   3. Ask your mentor to critique you on your strategic and critical thinking. Ask him or her for detailed and actionable input.
   4. Prepare and practice a great deal for every presentation you make. Ask yourself what are the strategic and tactical aspects of this topic? What critical issues have I not thought about?

You Are Invited to the Career Mastery Program

I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to be one of the first participants in our Career Mastery Program.

If you are unhappy about your recent career progress, if you want to break out of “being stuck at your mid-career level”, and if you are prepared to take charge of your career, you are the right candidate for the program.

Please contact me at Uri@thewilltochange.com to be added to the exclusive list of candidates. I will keep you posted on the details of the program as they emerge so that you can consider if it is right for you when we launch later this year.

References:

1. Gartner. CIO Leadership Survey. Mentioned in http://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-traits-of-executive-presence-2013-9
2. Jun Medalla, Business Insider, September 24, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-traits-of-executive-presence-2013-9
3. Amy Cuddy, Harvard Business School. “Your Body Language Shares Who You Are” TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are