I used to be terrible at communicating what I wanted at work and it really hurt my career. I left a good job when I was younger because I didn’t realize that I could talk to my supervisor and share my goals and suggestions. Now I understand if you don’t speak up, nobody will know if you have any great ideas.

As I coach – I encourage my clients to go for the stretch – push yourself further than you ever have before. Yes, it can be frightening, but it can be done – as long as you believe in yourself.

Thanks for the input!

The first is that one of my early mentors (a female) gave me valuable advice when taking on a new role; advice that I still follow to this day. She advised me to take all my new direct reports personnel files and put them in a drawer without looking at them. And then schedule a one-on-one with each to get to know them; let them tell you their past accomplishments, areas they want to develop, etc. She told me to let them know that I haven’t looked at their file nor would I for at least 30-60 days because I wanted to form my own opinion. That the only way I would peak before then is if their was a glaring performance issue. This approach did 2 things; 1st it gave those who thought they were being held back from past perceptions a chance to show the new person who they really were and 2nd for those that did have a performance issue, another validation that their performance needed to change.

The second experience was a real-life example of the 1st. I was leading a sales team and one of my Regional Managers was fantastic. He was knowledgeable, he shared best practices with the teams, he was a strong negotiator, his accounts repected him and his sales numbers were off the charts. When I was reviewing my performance evaluations with the SVP of Sales he challenged my rating of this gentlemen. I then reviewed the KPIs that were set by the company for the sales team and presented the data that showed how he far exceeded each of the quantifiable indicators and showed supporting evidence (feedback from his accounts and peers) for the qualitative inidcators. The head of sales responded with a big BUT and gave examples of things that happened over 5 years prior. I looked him in the eye and calmly said, “but I don’t know that individual, here (pointing to the data, the feedback) is the individual that I know and evaluated. I then shared my leadership approach and he sat back (this leader was known to be a screamer and harbor grudges) took a reflective sigh and said, “your right, thank you”.

I’ve used this tactic every time I’ve taken on a new role and in addition to the benefits cited above; it also establishes respect between you and your direct reports.
Again, thanks for sharing your article! @JaymePorkolab follow me on twitter