The Most Important Professional Skills

By: Pete Machalek Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

In this era of technological transformation and financial upheaval, it’s easy to feel confused, lost, overwhelmed, and completely out of control. Especially if we’re between positions. Or in a company that’s struggling to land business. Or trying to run such a company.

The Most Crucial Professional Skills

The Most Important Professional Skills Are Simple, But Not Necessarily Easy

Actually, most of us are feeling this to one degree or another. It feels like we should be working on cutting-edge new skills to bring us in line with this brave new world we’re all contending with.

But the truth is, the skills that we need are the same skills that people have always needed to live well and lead a successful career. From my perspective, there are only a handful of really core, crucial skills.

Here they are, the Most Important Professional Skills that we can always rely on to help improve our situation:

  • Understanding is about knowing ourselves, and knowing who we care about.
  • Clarity is about recognizing the tangible realities of our current situation, identifying what matters, and assessing those variables accurately and objectively.
  • Vision is about looking into our future and imagining a situation that is superior to the current situation and possible to achieve, and therefore compelling to us.
  • Creativity is about coming up with ideas for actions that can lead us from the current situation to the future situation.

In my book, all of this essentially adds up to an ability to create a compelling story about our future for us to live into. It’s critical for us to have a story like this, so that we have conscious goals, direction, and a plan.

Just as critical are the skills it takes to enact that plan and to gain support around that plan:

  • Connecting is about forging a moment with another person that creates the possibility for a meaningful relationship.
  • Asking Questions and Listening are about learning what other people care about, and understanding what their situation is, and what they want.
  • Presenting is about inspiring actions that move the ball forward for them and you, using all of the communication tools at your disposal: Your words, your emotions, and your body.

So if the first list is all about recognizing your role and structuring your script, this second list is all about playing your role full-tilt and wholeheartedly — getting out of your own way, communicating powerfully and effectively, building relationships and inspiring results that other people care about.

Interestingly, these aren’t just skills that are best for you to have to pilot your own career, these are the skills employers want the most for their people to have. Employers need team members who understand themselves and human dynamics. They need people who can build relationships through networking. They need salespeople who can present the core value of the organization.  And they need leaders who can visualize and realize the future.

This is why SagePresence is designed so simply: To cultivate the core, human skills that we believe are the most important for everyone to have, not only to lead their own careers, but to contribute to their employers’ goals as well.

How about you? What do you think the most important professional skills are? What have we missed that you would consider absolutely crucial?

11 interesting opinions, add yours

Leadership Communication Skills: Building Team Engagement

By: Pete Machalek Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Building Team Engagement

Powerful communication can inspire team-wide engagement

Times have changed.

The agreements between employee and employer used to be pretty solid and implicit: The employee could generally trust that, if they followed the rules and did a good enough job, they could stay in the company for as long as they wanted. By the same token, the employer could trust that, if they took care of their people well enough, these team members would hang around for as long as the company could benefit from them.

I don’t know if this was ever totally true, but at least it’s how the relationship between employer and employee commonly felt.

But now, after years of layoffs and corporate scandals and downsizing, and technology empowering individuals to think of their careers as independent (or at least not completely dependent) of their present-day employment, the dynamic betweem employer and employee is completely different.

Now the agreements are short-term and cautious. Employers are reluctant to invest in their people, and employees are more consistently looking out for additional opportunities for themselves. Blind trust has been replaced by caution and self-protection.

Some might describe this as a healthier dynamic, or a more realistic one. I don’t pass judgment on it, I’m just describing the situation as I see it.

And as I see it, companies need to act powerfully to change this situation.

Companies need their people to like the company they work for, to like the part they play in it, and to want to do everything they can to help it. Companies need to recognize that their people are their most valuable resources. They need their team to be a team, where each team member cares about the good of the whole, and operates toward that end.

How can they get to that situation with their team members?

A great place to begin is in communicating with them honestly and directly, creating a story about the future of the organization that every engaged team member would want to realize, and about each team member’s participation in forging that future. And on top of that, communicating the value that each employee will experience for themselves out of that participation.

Imagine a troubled organization with a workforce whose engagement is in question. The CEO calls together a staff meeting, and casts his eyes with great appreciation around the room, seeing each and every person for the contribution they make to the organization.

“I know this has been a tough time for all of us,” he begins. “Business isn’t where it should be. The economy seems to be driving every decision. We’ve had to say goodbye to too many of our friends. And looking forward we just don’t know where the work is going to come from.

“But I’m here to tell you that today is the day where everything starts to change. We’re putting some actions into play starting today that’s going to create a new situation for all of us.

“And these actions are going to involve all of us. We all can play a part in moving us forward from where we are now to where we all want to be.

“This business exists for a reason. Not just to make money, like so many bottom-liners out there preach. But to serve our clients. To make a difference in the markets we work with.

“I think some of you here may not know exactly who we help, or how we help them. We’re going to put a change to that. Starting today, we’re instituting an educational program that’s going to give each and every one of you some absolutely essential core information about what this company is about. You will know who we help. You will know what problems we solve. You will know how we solve them. And you will start hearing stories about the good that we do.

“But it’s not enough for you to just have information in your head. We’re going to give you skills to use this information. We’re going to give you the ability to tell our story, so that the world out there can know what you know, so that the market understands who we are and what we do better, so that they know where they can go to get the kind of value we can provide.

“Even more importantly, we’re going to give you the ability to listen for opportunity. There are people out there who are talking about the kinds of problems that we are made to solve. I’m confident that most of you, at one time or another, has been in the room when a client, or a potential client, has complained about a situation that we could have helped with. But you couldn’t respond to it effectively, because you didn’t have the language or the tools to do so.

“That changes today. Starting today, we’re giving you the tools to listen effectively to help the people that we exist to help.

“And finally, we’re giving you what you need to build professional relationships both in and outside of this organization. Because relationships are built on communication, and business comes from high-quality communication.

“Now, we need you to understand that we’re not doing this just for the good of this company. Will it help us if you get better at building professional relationships, or listening to others, or communicating our core value more powerfully and effectively? Of course it will.

But it will also help you. The stronger we as a company are, the more confident you can be that you’re in a stable position inside of a healthy organization. And even more important, the better you are at building relationships and communicating powerfully, the better positioned you will be to move forward in your career, whether you choose to stay with us, or to move forward to a new organization.

“Why am I saying all this? Because I want you to be invested in this training we’re giving you. I don’t want you to think of this as something we’re making you do for the good of the organization, I want you to think of this as an opportunity. This is our gift to you, our wish for you to take these skills and build from them.

“Build business for the company, and build relationships for yourself. Prove yourself out there as a good listener, a source of value, an agent of change, a productive and effective professional. Prove yourself as someone the world wants to work with, and you’ll always have job security, no matter what happens with this organization.”

The CEO pauses as his words settle throughout the assembled staff like electricity.

“No business leader in their right mind these days expects their team to remain completely stable and unchanged for the life of their organization. And I am no exception. I am implementing this training knowing that some of you will one day walk out that door with the product of this investment we’re making right along with you. But I’m confident that a better investment of our resources could not be made anywhere else in this organization. Because even if you some day are no longer an official part of this team, you will know that you benefitted from this investment, you will be living proof of the good that we do, and you will continue to represent us positively and effectively wherever you go in your career.

“So I ask you now, will you take part in this plan? Will you engage in this training whole-heartedly? And will you take part in the business building process to the extent that these new skills give you, so that a year from now, we’re going to be celebrating our accomplishments and experiencing a level of success that some of us might not even allow ourselves to imagine today?”

Through a presentation like this an organization can start to rewrite its relationship with its employees, a relationship founded on candor and trust, inspiring mutual investment and support.

What do you think of this? Can you imagine this message landing?

5 interesting opinions, add yours

Communication Skills for Leaders: How To Be a Visionary (Part I)

By: Pete Machalek Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

There seems to be special respect and reverence for those people who truly earn the title of visionary. So few of us are referred to as a visionary in any way that sticks, even though we all have the capability of being visionary.

More consistently than anyone else I can think of, Steve Jobs has been described as a visionary. And he earned this distinction because he not only envisioned the future, but he also transformed that vision into reality with incredible leadership communication skills.

The world was a very different place when Steve Jobs was young. Computers were only owned by facilities, and were only operated by highly trained, highly educated scientists and technicians. The benefits of these computers were directly experienced by just a handful of people in the world.

Steve had a vision of a world where everyone was using computers without any training at all, and everyone was directly benefitting from the technology.

And now that vision is real.

So what exactly did he do? How did he do it? Because it takes more than vision, more than imagination, to change reality.

First of all, he set his sights on people outside of himself. He didn’t set out to become a billionaire, he set out to make an impact in the world of nontechnical people around him (and just happened to make himself a billionaire in the process).

Second, he identified an aspect of these people’s situation that was less than ideal, and he pictured a future situation for them that was more ideal. He got very clear on the difference in people’s lives that he wanted to make. He got so clear on it that he could measure his progress: The more people using his computers, the more benefit people experienced from his technology, the more measurably real his vision became.

Third, he identified a difference that he wanted to make that, in the making, would keep him continually engaged and excited. Leaders need to care about the difference that they make. They shouldn’t create visions about things that they’re indifferent to or feel obligated to impact, because their hearts won’t be in it. Steve Jobs wanted to make this difference for people, because he himself wanted to experience the difference. He wanted computers to be everywhere and intuitive to use, because he wanted to be able to bring them anywhere and use them right out of the box without having to learn anything first.

Fourth, he came up with an action plan, and then he started taking action. He recognized that he would have to actually do some things to change the world of technology. It started with creating the world’s first personal computer in his parent’s garage.

Fifth, he communicated. One of the most celebrated skills that Steve Jobs demonstrated was his ability to communicate. Not only did he see the future for the world, but he told stories to the world that we wanted to hear. He told us about our current situation with technology that was less than perfect, and what he told us resonated with our experience. He told us about what his company had done to create something new that would impact our situation. He told us what we could do to benefit from that. And he told us what that benefit would look like, what it would feel like. He showed us his excitement about this future, and his excitement sparked our own excitement.

And this last practice more than anything else he did is why Steve Jobs more than anyone else of our time is thought of as a visionary. He didn’t just see the future, he told it to us, so that we could see it too. And because we literally experienced his vision transforming into our experience, we consider him to be a transformative visionary.

You can be thought of as a visionary too, by following his model.

I want to invite you to take the next step in your own vision process. Ask yourself the following questions, and keep honing your answers until you feel authentic excitement when you read them:

  • Who do I want to help?
  • What problematic situation are they in right now?
  • What do I want to do to impact their situation?
  • What better situation for them will my actions create?

Put these answers together into a story, and, as soon as you can really see the better situation in the future, start telling that story out loud. Say it over and over again until you really feel your words. Once it feels solid enough, once you can say it with confidence and certainty and excitement, start telling it to other people like it’s a foregone conclusion. Let the world see your vision too.

This is only the beginning of the journey, but it’s a critical step. Only when you see your future and are excited about that future enough to say it out loud to other people with conviction will you truly have graduated from dreamer to authentic visionary.

Give this a shot and let us know what you come up with. And of course, if you need any help, please know that you can contact us at any time.

We’re excited to hear your visions!

 

4 interesting opinions, add yours

What Is Networking Anyway, And Why Should I Do It?

By: Pete Machalek

“Networking” is one of those words whose meaning has been clouded through years of misuse and abuse.

Sometimes when people use it, it sounds like chit-chat — you know, just getting to know people.

Other times it seems like selling. Like at networking events, the mandate seems to be “sell sell sell.”

When it’s “social,” it’s online (now that’s weird), and when it’s face-to-face, it’s excruciating.

Whatever it is, we know we’re supposed to be doing it, or benefitting from it somehow, but we just don’t know exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.

So let’s be very precise about what it is, so we can get clear on it and start benefitting from it.

Networking is accessing your network of connections to help other people. It’s engaging with other people, interacting with them — virtually or in person — finding out who they need or what they’re after, and connecting them with people you know who can help them.

“Wait,” you say. “What? If that’s all it is, why should I do it? What’s in it for me?”

Excellent question! You should do it because the people you help by connecting them to each other will like you for it. Because you will add them to your network. And because they will add you to their network. And, one way or another, they will give you access to their network.

It’s perfectly fine to have this last one as a goal, by the way. It’s fine to network with the idea of inspiring other people to return the favor. But don’t get stuck in it. Don’t reach out to someone only because you want them to help you back. Reach out and help. BE a person who’s only in it to help. Be the source of value that others can unconditionally appreciate, and they won’t be able to resist it — They’ll want that relationship with you. They’ll want to help you back.

For this reason, networking can sometimes feel like a leap of faith. You’ll be operating on a belief in karma — You get what you give. You unconditionally offer value, and value will come back to you. One good turn will earn another in return, either now, or somewhere down the road.

Give this a shot. Go out and start looking for opportunities to help other people by introducing them to people you know. Let us know how it goes for you!

And for a focused and organized opportunity to learn more about how to do this and make it work, join us at BE CONNECTED To Effective Networking on June 30th.

What are your thoughts about networking? What works for you, and how have you experienced this idea of offering help in this way? Post your thoughts below!

 

4 interesting opinions, add yours

Stage Fright: The Only Thing To Fear Is Fearlessness

By: Pete Machalek

Dean and I worked with a client recently who was clearly reluctant to do what she had signed up for.

For the previous 7 months, she had been working on conceptualizing and delineating a project that she wanted to lead.

We had already helped her design a compelling message about the project.

We had already talked about how to deliver the message with dynamism.

Now we were giving her an opportunity to test out the message and practice the dynamism in real time.

She didn’t want to do it, but she forced herself. And she did a fantastic job. She spoke spontaneously, but with a plan and with organization. She spoke from the heart and felt every word that came out of her mouth. She moved around the room, and sought out eye-contact with every person in the audience.

Simply put, she blew us away. Dean and I were thrilled with what she had done.

When she finished, she moved off to the side and we gushed our praise all over her, but she didn’t seem to realize how great she had done. For some reason, she seemed embarrassed.

When we asked her about it, she said, “You should feel my heart right now. I need to sit down.”

Then it hit us: She was embarrassed that she had gotten so worked up. She was embarrassed that she had so obviously put so much into it. She was embarrassed that the presentation had taken so much out of her.

Here’s the deal (and this is what we told her): A make-or-break moment is NOT like any other moment. It’s a make-or-break moment because it matters to us. We care about the results we generate. So it’s GOOD for us to put everything we’ve got into our presentation when we’re facing a make-or-break moment. It’s not only good, it optimizes our chances of success.

It’s like if we were running a race. We’re looking to beat our competitors, or at least to get to the finish line as soon as we possibly can. It’s GOOD for us to to put everything we’ve got into achieving that goal. So should we be embarrassed that people see us expend effort on the way? Should we be embarrassed that we’re breathing faster after it’s all over, or that our heart is racing? OF COURSE NOT! We should be proud, because it’s evidence that we gave it our all!

We experience stage fright for several reasons, some of which are more valid than others. One of the least valid, which I hope I can disabuse you of forever here, is the fear of being afraid. There are so many presentation stages we avoid in life because we’re afraid of being afraid.

The good news is, fear is a fuel for these moments. You’re SUPPOSED to be afraid. When stage actors look at getting on stage for a performance they’ve done a million times already, their biggest worry is that they’re NOT going to be afraid. No fear, no racing heart, no heavy breathing, no oxygenated blood, no added energy. It’s a problem to not have that fear driving your performance.

Our client HAD the fear, and she motored ahead with it (which is the SagePresence definition of “courage,” by the way). She allowed the fear to fuel an outstanding performance. Then when she was done, she felt the after-effects of that fully invested performance, and she instantly became embarrassed and apologetic.

Can you imagine an Olympic racer apologizing for being out of breath after a race?

The way to achieve our definition of success in any make-or-break moment is not nonchalance, not indifference. It’s passion and excitement which, biologically, is absolutely indistinguishable from fear.

Fear can be the driver to success. We just need to allow it to have it’s impact on us. We want to start befriending fear, appreciating the energy it brings to us, because as soon as we’ve achieved lack of fear, we show up listless and empty, utterly unable to impact our audience and make the difference we showed up to make.

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Do you have a make-or-break moment coming up?

Let us help you shape your message and deliver it with power and confidence in the May 10 session of BE DIRECTED.

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And in the meantime, we’d love to know what your response to this article is. Post your thoughts about fear and stage fright getting in the way of success in make-or-break moments below!


1 interesting opinion, add yours
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