Tag Archive for: financial institutions

4 minute read – Imagine you have begun climbing Mount Everest, you reach 24,000 feet and realize you didn’t bring enough oxygen.  Without oxygen, it is nearly impossible to complete the climb.  Do you take it as a failure?  Or do you acknowledge your disappointment and take it as an opportunity to reflect and assess how you can come better prepared next time?  Growing in your personal life and career might not be quite as dangerous as climbing Mount Everest, but we can only achieve our goals when we have the necessary tools.  So, what stops us from being the most successful version of ourselves?  Many of us haven’t taken the time for the introspection required in the process of continual optimization of self to even know what we need. 

Here are 4 steps to help you cultivate your toolbox for achievement: 

• Have some honest conversations with yourself.  Dig into the root of your situation.  It can be uncomfortable to hold ourselves accountable in moments of disappointment or frustration.  Placing blame externally or identifying surface level fixes might be easier but ultimately leave you worse off because deeper needs are at play.  Make a habit of performing self-assessment:  What are your strengths?  How are you utilizing those strengths in your role?  What are the gaps between your strengths and the demands of your role?  Setting goals around self-accountability or developing a routine check-in process with yourself can help you focus your energies more effectively.  
• Pinpoint your motivations and articulate your goals.  What are your absolutes and where can you be flexible or compromise in achieving your end goals?  How do you want to show up in your brand?  Clarifying goals and your metrics of success creates opportunity to hold yourself accountable.  Similar to having those sometimes difficult conversations with yourself, this needs to be a continual process, regularly revisiting and adjusting your goals and measures of success as you grow. 

• Be present and be direct.  A key element to climbing Mount Everest is being ready for the unexpected, and while you might not face a snowstorm inside the office, being open to uncertainty can keep you better prepared to be flexible in situations.  Practice being present.  As humans, we are often thinking about our response to others or the next task on our to-do list rather than being present in the moment, leaving us unable to adapt in moments of the unexpected.  Additionally, practice being direct.  Cutting out filler words, extraneous information, and over explanation when making requests of others can promote more succinct, clearer communication, making sure you get what you need in an effective, timely manner.  
• Fuel your tank.  Whether it is a quick walk outside between meetings or a week-long vacation to the Maldives, making time to step away from your duties can give you renewed clarity, increased concentration, and revived energy, leaving you feeling ready for the next leg of your climb.  Like the climb itself, creating opportunities for refueling may require some planning – delegating tasks and knowing when to negotiate requests outside your capacity can help you find balance.  In the fast-paced, connected world we live in, it can be tempting to push yourself to physical and mental limits, but growth requires respite from the grind.  

Many of us have gotten to this point in our careers because we get things done, grinding through situations and potentially wearing ourselves out; some of us even fall into that dangerous mentality of “I’ll just do it myself” rather than pause, reflect, and ask for help.   Pushing through can only get you so far; even the most experienced climbers can only get so far without oxygen – 26,000 feet to be exact.  Eventually, we must be willing to let our guard down and ask for our needs to be met, embracing each small step in the longer effort toward becoming our best selves. 

4 minute read – The following blog post was written by c. myers and originally published by CUES on December 21, 2022.

As leaders, we know that engaged employees are good for morale, which is good for business.  It is also personally rewarding to help grow talent and deepen their connections and contributions to a higher purpose.   

Most people like to feel a sense of accomplishment, so they strive to be productive every day.  At the end of the day, they like to look back and say “I got these things done today” or “I made great strides…”  Part of a leader’s role is to guide in getting the right things or best things done, most of the time.   

In light of this, many leaders prioritize consistently communicating the organization’s strategy to all team members.  The hope is that it will result in employees who spend their time working on the right things and who connect what they’re doing with greater organizational objectives.  However, leaders are often unhappy with the outcome because top-down communication is only one component of what needs to be done.   

Following are 5 practical ways to enhance employee strategic understanding, connection, and engagement.   

1. Reverse the communication.  Have employees all across the organization tell their story of how what they “got done today” helped move the organization toward achieving its higher purpose.  It is so enlightening to see how employees are connecting what they do with the organization’s strategy.  You may be surprised in how they are making the connection and if their story is not on the right path, it is a great opportunity to have a gentle course correction.  Either way, you will have a better understanding of gaps.    

2. Focus on the middle of your organization because things get lost in translation.  Often, senior leaders grasp the bigger picture, and it is easier for them to make the appropriate decisions as to how they are spending their time relative to the impact the organization needs.  Unfortunately, many senior leaders assume the mid-level leadership and managers will also have a strategic mindset as they decide how to spend their time.  Remember, mid-level leaders are often deep in tactics so it can be hard for them to rewire their thinking, and view tactics from a strategic perspective.  Also, in many organizations, the mid-level leadership has more direct contact with most employees.  If you bring them along it can be a huge boost for the entire organization. 

3. Practice using strategy as a filter when discussing the big stuff.  As departments are having their meetings, ask them to practice using the strategy as a filter for prioritization of resources and projects.  When they are making recommendations ask them to link their recommendations to strategy.  Practice on the big stuff first.  Once they become more comfortable with this process on high-impact decisions, it is easier to make it a habit of thinking from this perspective on the little stuff.  

4. Cultivate emerging talent.  Identify those who show interest or capability and include them in bigger picture strategic discussions rather than limiting those discussions to existing leaders.  In addition to asking them for their thoughts during those discussions, ask for their recommendations and their rationale.  Some great question are: 

• If you had to make the decision today, what would you decide, and why?   
• What other information would you need or want to make a decision? 
• If we don’t do X now, what could be the implications 1 year from now, 3 years from now, etc.?  
• If we decided to do X, what might we have to forego and why? 

5. Don’t give up.  It takes focus, effort, and patience to incorporate this type of thinking organization-wide.  Remember, every 1% improvement matters.  Also, most people want to learn and relate to a higher purpose.   Get their ideas of what drives their engagement and connection, and take some risks to let them test some of their ideas.  

Taking steps to instill strategic understanding and thinking deeper into the organization is worth the additional thought and effort.  When your strategy becomes the guiding light for all employees, not just board members and executives, more of the impactful things will get done and more of your people will be inspired to be a part of it.