Stop
Being Ineffective
If you didn't listen to
our
recent cast "High C Manager - Simple Downfall" because you are not a
High C manager, there's one part we'd still like to recommend to you.
In it
we shared the fundamental truth of personal behavioral change. Many of
us who are being ineffective repeatedly fail to change. (And many of
us, after several failures, stop trying). Given this newsletter will
reach you in January, you may still be thinking New Years Resolutions.
The problem is not with
trying
to change. Of course, that's a great thing. Our problem is biting off
more than we can chew. For instance, if you've had less than effective
relationships with others at work, you may have tried to invest in
changing your relationship. You've said to yourself, there's X and Y
and Z and A and B and C and D and E and F I'm going to do differently
and I'm going to overcome this. Probably, your hoped for changes were
preceded by an epiphany of some sort. And then you tried for 3 or 6
weeks, or even a few days and you find it really hard, and you stop.
Trust us when we tell you, you are not alone.
Marshall Goldsmith
makes this
point beautifully in his book, 'What Got You Here Will Not Get You
There'. He says when you are told to stop being a jerk, stop being a
jerk. Don't try to go from jerk to hero. Once you've stopped being a
jerk THEN think about what it means to have great interpersonal skills.
Whatever you're working
on,
rather than envisaging perfection, ask yourself what it is you're doing
which is ineffective and start by saying "I'm not going to do THAT". If
you're procrastinating, don't start by putting together an 18 page
project plan as to how you are going to get back on track. Take one
item you are procrastinating on, and work on it until it is finished.
You may still have 2 or 3 or more things you are still procrastinating
on, but pick one thing and complete it.
If you are messy at
work or at
home, you don't have to clean your house or your office from top to
bottom. Just clean your desk top. Be happy about that. Open a drawer
and take a few things out. We refer to this often in casts: don't let
perfect be the enemy of good. Stop beating yourself up because you're
not perfect. Remember: Good, better, best, never let me rest, till my
good is better and my better best.
It's ok if you've been
a jerk.
That's yesterday. For today, stop yelling. Don't try to clean your
whole office: start with your desk. Don't try to reach out to 300
people in your network. Start with 10. Or one!
And because it's that
time of
year: by the mile it's a trial, by the yard it's hard and by the inch
it's a cinch. If you want to get better, stop being ineffective. You
can figure out the right stuff to do next week.
Manager
Tools Recommended Actions Calendar
One of the questions we
often
get is.. 'you tell us we have to do all
these things at different times, how am I supposed to remember it
all?'. Well, if you didn't see this on our blog, to start the new year
off on a good foot, we'd like to
announce: The Manager
Tools
Recommended Actions Calendar!
This lists
all the activities we recommend you do weekly, monthly and quarterly
and we will update it whenever we recommend something new. You can
add it to your personal calendars at work or at home following the
instructions here,
or access it on the web here.
Distribution
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of you who have
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content know that use of that content is only for that particular
member. This newsletter is not premium content, and we'd love for you
to forward it to anyone who would find it interesting and useful.
If
someone forwarded it
to you,
and you'd like your own copy in future, become a Manager Tools member here, It's free!
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