The moment someone sets eyes on you they begin forming strong and broad-based opinions about who you are. It happens in seconds. And more, they’ll likely spend the rest of their time with you confirming their first impression.

The truth is humans are prolific rationalization machines. It’s normal for us to jump to opinions and selectively reinforce our first impressions.

Psychologists, Behaviorists, Anthropologists all tell us we each communicate through highly evolved body-language which is a part of our personalized repertoire of nonverbal behavior. Also, there is an inherent need for us to evaluate and assess new people quickly. After all, we are a very successful part of the animal kingdom and so possess great, innate survival instincts!

In a social setting, we perhaps sometimes get a slightly better break when people first assess us. Maybe those new contacts are more relaxed, have more time, or are even fundamentally more open in their evaluations. However, in the work environment introductions often happen quickly and inaccurate judgments can easily have undesirable consequences.

Let’s say someone walks into a room or lobby and you are waiting to meet them for the first time. Whether you like it or not you are immediately inundating them with signals and they are drinking them in.

With a glance lasting only moments and following a brief initial introduction, this person will instinctively assess your:

Appearance

                  Facial Expressions

                  Stance

                  Posture

                  Movements

                  Voice

                  Dress

                  Behavior

                  Support of cultural norms

It would be better if the image we present really represents who we are. Certainly it takes an awful lot to undo this first impression.

Given this knowledge we can actively make a choice to either accurately reveal who we are, or even conceal things we don’t want to expose.

So, with general awareness of this reality, it comes as no surprise that much has been published about Dressing for Success, following Greeting Protocols and Conveying a Positive Body Image (etc.) in the workplace.

On first reflection this whole situation seems unbelievably superficial. After all, we are complex creatures, possessing:

Diverse Talents and Skills

Unique Qualifications and Experience

Values

Strengths

Weaknesses

Beliefs                 

Personalized Motivations and Circumstances

Etc.

Yet people will normally lock in on their first, instant impressions. All your subsequent messages (conscious, unconscious, verbal or physical) may be ignored or accepted depending on the recipient’s flexibility, expertise, curiosity and even available time.

These are tough facts to swallow if you’re on a date, in an interview, being evaluated or even investigated in some way.

I remember when I played sports (rugby in my case) as a young man. Certainly I prided myself on being able to glance at an opponent and assess his skills in seconds; even recognizing diverse tendencies for exceptional movement, speed or strength. I knew what to watch out for and it served me well. Was my excellent observation nothing more than the universally obvious, anyway? Hard to know, but I still stubbornly believe in my great talents in making these reads, even today!

It can be easy to view this form of communication as somewhat unimportant. Yet this could not be more untrue. If we want to convey who we are, what we think and our ideas, then body language is crucial. Our smallest movements and actions instill mental states and reactions in others.

High profile personalities, actors and politicians all recognize this opportunity and manipulate their bodies to convey their messages.

If you’re up for an important meeting, why wouldn’t you pay the same attention to these details? Practicing gestures and the body language you want, you can more readily convey the information and impression you desire. Even more, by installing such body language as part of your repertoire you can actually move towards becoming that person you portray and want to be.

It is said that within the first 3-7 seconds (apparently, even these reported, very short times can vary!) you can tell how someone feels about themselves. Their facial expressions, stance and the way they move offer messages about mood, feelings, attitudes, emotions and much more.

It is better to control such powerful communication the way we choose. Why send a set of misleading (perhaps even damaging) messages to someone you meet that don’t accurately reflect who you are or what you believe? Don’t we all often make this very mistake?

Do you have an important meeting on the horizon where you want to instantly convey the best image of yourself? If you do, then better you spend a little time thinking about that moment of initial contact; those first few seconds really do count!

FOOTNOTE: There are 5 Articles linked from within the body of this BLOG, above. Each LINK provides you excellent guidance regarding actions you can take to present the most positive body-language possible in many different “first impression” situations you might encounter.

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

A few days ago I received a call from a concerned young marketer with a problem. It was not an uncommon issue; he was having trouble gathering the necessary support from across the organization to execute a project he’d been assigned. Many professionals experience similar problems, particularly early in their careers.

Knowing the individual fairly well and having specific knowledge of his company, it was easy to see there are a few elements in play:

• Power to control and influence
• Cultural Norms in the organization.

The power aspect is well understood. To freely influence and involve others cross-functionally in your projects you either need Positional Power, or Personal Power. The former is what is given to you and implied simply by your job title, whereas the latter is a function of the respect and influence you command. Positional Power gives you certain rights to control and indeed is often ultimately earned as a result of thePersonal Power you wield.

Generally, highly effective leaders always possess strong Personal Power. The prevailing consensus wisdom is that such leaders:

• Are bold
• Articulate clearly, communicate well and
• Possess a vision.

Clearly, such characteristics are formidable. However, the marketer in question carries no management title, nor has he yet clearly established himself with any significant personal power, or recognition as a leader. Nevertheless, he still has a couple of options (which could be equally applied to any similar situation):

1. Have his boss visibility endorse both he and his a project and notify all appropriate parties; this leverages his boss’s power and sets the employee up to proceed. Or,
2. Personally promote (by the most appropriately effective means) the business case for the project directly with both the key influencers and those participants involved; this gets buy-in from those who will help and their bosses, when required.

Clearly option “1” can be implemented very quickly. The boss should be approached with a strong and thoughtful request, rather than a seemingly weak call for help. A little diplomacy is required, as let’s face it, in this case the marketer’s boss had clearly done a poor job of setting him up to succeed. Or, option “2” could be executed in a series of one-on-ones and/or a single meeting where participants (and perhaps their bosses) are courted in a call-for-action. Even if option”2” takes a little longer, it certainly will build our young professional’s leadership image and Personal Power along the way!

Lastly, in this case we need to consider the unique Cultural Norms of the company involved. Most companies establish unwritten functional hierarchies across the organization. For example, in some cultures Sales rules the roost, yet in others sales professionals might be viewed as somewhat scatterbrained, perhaps even disorganized and having questionable ethics! Similarly, there is sometimes a true reverence for Engineering, while simultaneously engineering staff might still be considered naïve regarding business practices and customer needs. And, so it goes.

Now, in the case of the particular company involved in this discussion, there is a known strong engineering bias and an accompanying lack of understanding or empathy for the Marketing role. So, in this situation our marketer should be doubly motivated to present that solid business case that will win over willing participants and so ensure success for the project.

It seems our young professional liked the advice presented above! It will be interesting to see how his situation evolves. If you have similar concerns or questions you can reach me at Ian@mthamilton.net

Reprinted from pickthebrain.com

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

A couple of weeks ago I was at lunch with a good friend who is a serial entrepreneur. He’s been a pretty successful high-tech player for a number of years, is Ivy League (PhD.) educated and articulate with a confident air.

Let’s cut this long story short. My friend is raising start-up money and in his case there are three likely sources he should approach.

Good entrepreneurs all know they must solve problems, find the best approach quickly and eliminate leads which are poor options swiftly (i.e. fail fast).

After quick assessments of the most likely viable sources my friend seemed to want my opinion regarding who to approach and how. So, I began offering suggestions of organizations with names of people to contact and to suggest generally viable approach-styles for each situation; all designed to fail fast, or make a quick connection.

Something just didn’t seem right. Yes, I have lots of connections, but this guy surely knows as many people as myself and is more than able to construct an appropriate approach. Why was he having me ramble on about targets, calls to make and how? Why did he even need my expertise at all?

Then, my light bulb went on. He just wasn’t making those calls he could already have begun. At first I didn’t believe my read of the situation, after all, he’s held senior roles in startups for a few decades. Finally I bluntly asked, “Are you just nervous about making these cold calls?” And, there we had it.

He was fundamentally uncomfortable and actually inhibited from approaching senior professionals. Pretty devastating if you’re an entrepreneur and want to raise money!

My tip to the problem was that I went through a similar realization about myself more than 20 years earlier. We can be comfortable with others and outwardly very confident, but beneath our veneers swirl those insecurities.

I was personally able to recognize and manage that specific liability in short order. Since procrastination for me is generally signaled by as short as a 24-hour delay in my taking action, I was soon analyzing what-the-heck was wrong and quickly jumped all over the issue.

But I was lucky. Yet, being paralyzed from making cold approaches (or, even those made through secondhand introductions) seems intuitively likely to be a very common problem. And, what a career-limiting block to suffer!

A quick Internet search confirms this fatal behavior is pretty common and has many other forms. I’ve often heard it said that, “all bad (and/or weak) behavior is based in insecurity.” Certainly doubting your own self-worth (or, capabilities) must be truly a debilitating insecurity to carry into the workplace. After all, success in most areas of life and business is at least in part based on an individual’s perceived level of self-confidence.

Humans are creatures seemingly littered with insecurities and peculiarities of lesser or greater significance. Yet, if Insecurity paralyzes or changes what would be your normal behavior, then for all practical purposes it’s essentially elevated to the impact level of an actual addiction, isn’t it?

How do you defeat these problems? Or at least, how do you establish a level of control whereby you can function and accomplish those things you must?

There are some simple pointers I can offer. These follow, below. Certainly my colleague (mentioned above) must overcome his demons, or the path to success is currently barred to him; his personal approaches to those cold contacts are essential.

The basic plan-of-action to overcome just this particular problem is straightforward, though execution will be easier (or, tougher) depending on your level of insecurity. The solution is to:

• Recognize it

You have to recognize you’re avoiding the meeting/call. If you know how to reach the person and you’re not doing it, figure out why. Look into yourself: what is the root reason you’re not contacting that person, right now? Sometimes this can be easier to say than fully analyze.

• Plan to Meet People

Set a deadline to making the contact and the preferred date for actual F2F meeting/call. Figure out what you want to say, your approach and even practice as you must. Remember: most people will take your calls; just be confident, professional, polite and persistent.

• Set up the Meeting/Make the Call

Make the approach and set up the meeting as required. Push (politely) to get the meeting when you need it and avoid any brushoff. Work through second party (referral/admin) if you must, but get the meeting.

• Do the Meet

Arrive on time, establish rapport but get to the point. Normally, work to build a friendship and contact for the future. Approach and present with an air of professionalism and expectation of success; be confident. You deserve to be there and your cause is worthy!

• Repeat

Stay on the horse. Repeat 2 through 4, above, for each of the different people with whom you need closure. Keep pushing for the progress you need and the results you deserve.

Things really can be as simple as just shown. Either make this work and move on, OR figure out how to get more profound help in order to execute.

I’m sure we all recognize most people have some level of the insecurity discussed above. I believe many people can overcome this problem adequately, or even completely. And unfortunately, I also realize a good number of people might fail to overcome this challenge at all.

Whatever your situation be sure to recognize and accept if you have such a problem. Just recognizing insecurity gives you some measure of power in managing its impact.

Not everyone can make cold calls. Similarly, not everyone has a regular and compelling need to do so.

And just for the record, the friend I mentioned above quickly concluded his own insecurity and inability to approach senior execs was based in childhood experiences. He said his parents, “did a number on him” regarding his self-worth relative to others. As he discovered this within only 5 min. of discussion, I suspect he will overcome!

Have you ever caught yourself not reaching out to people you must contact? Do people’s Positions, Ranks, Education, Experience, Image or Status freeze you into inaction? Respect these things, yes, but do not be put off or devalue your own self-worth as a result. Take a look at the way you approach others and consider any underlying issues that might inhibit your confidence or delay action.

Remember, overcoming such an obstacle can only enhance your career opportunities!

In both life and business people don’t always tell us the truth. There can be many reasons for this; perhaps they want to save face or protect our feelings. Perhaps they want to outsmart us or avoid negative consequences?

When we’re in the driver seat (i.e. say as a parent, or manager) we can usually ask a few probing questions that clarify a situation. But, what if we are not in this position?

What can we do when we are culturally obliged to accept an input on face value and it just doesn’t ring true? Perhaps you’re in a job interview, or your boss is providing you important news? Maybe a customer is providing you feedback?

Well, if you can read people you’re at an advantage. However, if you are naturally trusting and can’t make the read, you could be easily victimized.

So, how do you read the signs that you’re not getting the truth?

Most of us instinctively know how to recognize body language that betrays a liar. It’s in the facial expressions (eyes, nose, mouth and brow) and body movement (hands, posture and stance). We’ll review this, below.

The biggest problem is our proficiency. Despite the huge exposure we receive to facial expressions and body language we observe each day, we mostly only scratch the surface in using what is presented.

We’ll recognize when someone’s happy, sad or troubled and we instinctively confirm appropriate facial and other body-language signs. So, to learn more precisely what’s going on, we need only practice and enhance our existing skills of observation.

Learning to listen by improving our observation of expressions is an interesting skill, indeed. Almost anyone can develop themselves this way and enhance their understanding of others, while growing personal awareness.

So what are the physical giveaways when someone’s not telling the truth? The signs are firstly in the face. They may be both fleeting and barely noticeable, but they are usually readily discernible:

• From the Mouth

Deceitful words are often hidden in throat clearing or feigned coughs. Many variations of hands or fingers on or near the mouth suggest a desire to cover words and hide deception. Fake smiles are often used to deceive; real smiles involve the entire face, eyes, brow, etc. Fake smiles arrive and depart quickly, regardless of how long they’re held.

• In the Eyes

Darting glances and poor eye contact are often tells, but bold liars can sometimes even stare directly into your eyes. Vigorous rubbing or even gentle touching below the eye is indication of deception as are muscular twitches and changes in the size of pupils.

• On the Nose

Oddly, when we lie we release chemicals that swell nose tissue and cause an itch. If someone touches, pulls or rubs their nose, chances are there’s a lie progress. President Bill Clinton’s nose-touching displays during the interview regarding the Monica Lewinsky affair are notorious.

• Absent in the Face

Slight sweating is a sign of pressure. However, someone offering a poker-face, with little or no emotion may often be hiding something more. If there is tension in the jaw and forehead, and/or eyes are narrowed, then potential giveaways are being actively suppressed.

• Upon the Brow

The brow and eyebrows should match the overall expression upon the face. A true smile should raise eyebrows in the center and furrow the brow. Inconsistencies in expressions and tension in the brow are signs of stress and often more.

And, secondly there are signs in the body:

• In the Stance

Often movement might seem more controlled but more frequent crossing of legs, twitching and foot shuffles are giveaways. The lower body provides strong indications of deception, as does the avoidance of bodily contact.

• Within Posture

Crossed arms and legs present a closed posture, often signifying something (emotion, facts, etc.) are being withheld.

• With the Hands

During deception hand movements are often suppressed and their motion restricted; this is even truer for men. However, women tend to increase hand movement in this situation. When presented, a palms-up motion is often a major indication of untruth.

And, of course, fiddling with or touching the nose, ears, or neck areas are often signs that something is not right.

It’s easier to read these signs in someone you know, as norms of expression and movement are already well-established.

Sometimes these tells (as listed above) can be checked by innocuous conversational questions being asked so simple norms can be checked/re-established. Then following this, a more pressured inquiry can be made to recheck a particular response. Lots of tricks, maneuvers and expertise have been developed to both use and detect these behaviors. Indeed, a well-practiced liar might have a better-than-average (never total) control of the involuntary responses listed above.

Do you have a real and personal need for improving your awareness and observation of these behaviors? Perhaps your skills and sensitivity should be improved a little?

When you catch someone telling you a whopper it’s generally important that you know this to be the case. I’d hope that most people wouldn’t routinely need such awareness, but if you do, develop your skill carefully. After all, you don’t want to overanalyze everything and simply feed your own paranoia! And, at the same time, can you afford to be as unaware as you might now be?

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

Everyone Delegates. Delegation is a routine part of everyone’s life. Every day, in countless human interactions we share information, results and work. You do this and I’ll do that. We routinely collaborate and so responsibilities are moved from one person to another.

Parents delegate to their children and vice versa. Students that are old enough might take on their own school transportation responsibilities; in return parents could maintain and insure them a vehicle. There are both written and unwritten contracts and expectations in play.

It’s the same in the workplace. Whether you’re collaborating on a brief two-person project or managing a large team of professionals, responsibilities are being assigned and expectations of required results are established.

So, what is delegating, other than sharing responsibilities and achieving results through others? There are certainly some universal principles we can consider that will send us in the right direction.

The traditional pointers seen every day in the workplace (where a manager delegates work to employees) are typically very relevant in all the diverse instances mentioned above. And, these are:

Delegate or Die

Start by recognizing the need to Delegate or Die.  And, in doing so, be sure you trust people. Rely on your experiences with them or insights provided by others. Leverage employees’ strengths and avoid their weaknesses; above all, set folks up to succeed and give them sufficient rope to do so, but not enough to hang themselves! Select the best people available for the job and ensure they have time for the work entailed.

Effective Delegation Retains Control

Maintain only the level of control required to keep things on track; basic reviews and scheduling might be appropriate. Use triggers to highlight warning signs of problems and if personnel weaknesses emerge, install support mechanisms and/or corrective actions to get back and stay on track.

A Team Should Generally Accomplish More Than You Alone

A Team should have better collective insight and move more productively than you alone. Empower team/project leaders and clearly define goals and desired results. Be sure all essential resources are allocated: time, materials, manpower etc.

Invest in the Kickoff

Before the action begins, invest in a suitably motivating kickoff event. This is essential to set positive expectation, provide guidance, insight and advise of available resources. Commission the team (or individual) and make clear your own availability for troubleshooting and guidance so good momentum will be maintained.

Establishing Commitment

Be sure individuals and teams clearly confirm (and play back) their understanding of goals and agreed results before activity is underway. These are commitments and should be unambiguous; once serious action begins, it’s tough to make course corrections.

Extending Your Reach

Well delegated and deftly monitored work accentuates your influence and the results you can accomplish. At the same time this frees you to take on more challenging objectives and lets you further magnify accomplishments for yourself and organization.

Empowering Others Grows Your Organization

This point it speaks for itself and is another benefit of Delegating. Success breeds success and teams (or individuals) who get results are available for expanded challenges. Welcome their success and enjoy how it reflects on you, too! Empowered teams with well-managed responsibilities are motivated to accomplish even more.

Almost Everything Can Be Delegated

This is a principal to be embraced by every wise Manager/Delegator. Keep only, “must do” work assignments or politically sensitive projects for yourself. Allow projects and assignments to grow and develop individuals and teams.

Failure to Delegate Is Career Limiting

Consider this a warning to the insecure or inhibited Delegator. Not sharing/delegating can be a demotivation for key employees and simultaneously limit your own credentials for promotion. The better you work through others the more profound the results you obtain and impressive your personal case for promotion.

Celebrating Successes

When goals are achieved, celebrate!  Ensure that personal acknowledgments occur and rewards are plentiful and appropriate to those involved. Be sure all affected groups and people are informed of any resulting new tools, practices and/or procedures that affect workflows and interactions elsewhere.

When Delegating Goes Wrong

Sometimes things don’t work out. Avoid blame; take personal responsibility for your assignees and teams. Keep errors small and detect them early by having simple triggers or reviews that are not burdensome to work activity. If the problem was your own oversight/management, then accept, learn, correct and move on.

These pointers should work for you, regardless of the environment in which you delegate, collaborate or share. So, are you delegating enough? Should you delegate and share more responsibilities? Can you improve the way you share and delegate? Certainly there are lots of benefits to delegating effectively.

Consider the ways you interact and work with others. Maybe it’s time to sharpen your skills!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

I’ve personally noticed that interest in Mentoring has been taking on a new life in the last few years. Likely, this is a result of the tough economic climate driving businesses to run lean and best leverage their top people; human assets, which can be readily further shared throughout the organization.

At the same time, in many professional fields having a personal Mentor is a desirable, basic expectation of Mentees seeking strong alliances and rapid personal career growth.

The truth is, whether an organization is being driven to leverage its valued employees to the max, or just professionally offers Mentoring as a career growth norm, the benefits are real and it’s worth any Company’s time and investment to establish a meaningful Mentoring program.

The benefits and advantages to Mentors are great, as well:

• Improves organizational insight
• Enhances personal value/reputation
• Extends personal reach
• Establishes personal relationships
• etc.

And, the organization secures its predictable rewards, too:

• Fast-tracks promising candidates
• Unifies thoughts/approach and drives culture
• Develops organization’s knowledge-base
• Promotes vertical and horizontal awareness
• Opens communication channels
• Motivates key personnel
• etc.

Interesting discussions are made elsewhere about Reverse Mentoring and challenges in Mentoring Millennials, but my focus here is on regular, Senior Mentor/more Junior Mentee arrangements.

Here are a few Key Pointers for Mentors to consider:

Basics of Mentoring

Programs may be company-sponsored or individually driven, inside your own company or without. Inside is generally preferred and Mentees should be outside of your direct management chain. Be sure you know real value you can offer and are at least one level up from the Mentee; two levels often magnifies advantages and is preferred. And, before you begin, secure permission(s)!

Finding the Right Mentee

Look for those with good promise and obvious upward-mobility potential. Candidates should understand and want the relationship; they should have good communication skills and demonstrate the ability to listen and follow-up.

Terms and Conditions (T&C’s) of Mentoring

This is a relationship with a typically, unwritten contract. Make sure appointments and availabilities are understood and respected on both sides. As it’s essential to build trust, informal meetings (over coffee or lunch, etc.) are invaluable. Be sure inputs and suggestions are offered quickly and that any delays made to check facts or possibilities are brief. Privacy is implicit, but Mentors can take on multiple Mentees if sufficient value is brought and adequate time is available.

What’s Provided during Mentoring?

First and foremost bring insights into the Formal and Informal Organization, sprinkled with practical help and guidance. Teach how to get things done, highlight alternatives with pros and cons. Offering career-path suggestions is a cornerstone of Mentoring, but always highlight risks and rewards. Mentors traditionally offer their own personal contacts to accelerate Mentee’s awareness, growth and development.

Ending the Mentoring When it’s Done

Lastly, you need to recognize and accept as unproductive any Mentoring situations that just aren’t working. Above all, gracefully and finally end the Mentoring when its usefulness is over. Some arrangements last forever and some just run a course. Circumstances can move a Mentor and Mentee apart either physically or intellectually, or needs are sometimes just outgrown. In any event, when you end the arrangement you must be sure this is done on a positive note, accepting the gains and celebrating achievements.

There is no doubt that Mentoring is a rewarding and beneficial experience.

So, take a look at your own situation. Can you bring such help to others? Would your standing and value in the organization benefit as a result?

Think about your career goals and how you want to be viewed. Perhaps now is the time to take on the challenge (and opportunity) to be a Mentor!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

If you look around your workplace it’s often very easy to assess who you consider proactive and who’s not. Perhaps you sometimes see those you deem to be proactive as a little obsessive, maybe even a little paranoid? Maybe you’re just aware of their ability to get results?

The truth is we’re all proactive, to a degree. We take out the garbage when collections are due, normally schedule annual health check-ups before problems arise, etc. So, in the workplace the important questions become:

• How much proactivity is enough?
• How do we demonstrate and leverage proactivity to our advantage?

Proactivity is about anticipating needs/problems/opportunities/issues and then initiating appropriate, beneficial change. There’re lots of good characteristics suggested here for making great life choices both in and out of the workplace. Certainly, those proactive characteristics are the very ones companies need to be present in most managers, regardless of their level of seniority.

An important observation to make is that proactive people generally tend to build (or, leverage existing) infrastructure. They might even sometimes claim to trust their guts, have a nose for problems or it’s said they are just operating from extensive experience. Nevertheless, they commonly like solid infrastructure that protects them from liabilities and positions them for improvements. And, it’s their proactive urge and the building of infrastructure that brings them those beneficial results.

Truly proactive people like to put systems in place; indeed, proactivity can sometimes permeate their lives. And, good managers who are proactive often:

• Measure and Monitor performance
• Value Problem Solving
• Know how to Make Decisions
• Interact and Communicate well with others
• Delegate responsibly
• Motivate others
• Plan
• Are personally Organized and encourage this behavior
• Control workflow and their environment
• Create, Overhaul and Upgrade Systems
• Are good Team Players
• Lead effectively
• Mentor and develop others
• etc.

It could be argued that just having some of these skills is what makes you proactive. Or, perhaps being naturally proactive drives you to develop such skills, simply out of need? Either way, it’s a chicken-and-egg argument and ultimately does not matter, here. In the end, these are all great skills to possess and behaviors to demonstrate.

Again, if you are anticipating needs/problems/opportunities/issues, you will need several of these behaviors to realize any beneficial change. So, unless you already possess and exhibit some of these essential behaviors, it will be hard to be seen as that proactive leader.

Having the ability to head-off problems and anticipate needs is a winning recipe for any career. A successful career demands you change, adapt, grow and increase your value.

If your coworkers looked at you today, what would they see? Are you a proactive person; are you able to look ahead and execute valuable change?

The primary way to enhance your standing and image in the workplace is by differentiating oneself. As you target, select and develop more skills you increase your value to any company and stand out from the crowd. Importantly, all of the skills listed above can be learned.

So, if you want to be seen as that proactive person who can initiate positive change and manage liabilities, then look to your skill-set. After all, proactively improving personal skills is on the roadmap of every successful career, anyway!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

If you’re looking for that next (or even, first) management position, you’ll need to quickly assess how well you match up to the requirements. Most job markets are already tough and everyone has limited time, but if you want that move you’ll need to get the basics in line.

Whether you’re considering an internal or external move you’ll need:

• A useful Network (for introductions, references, insights or leads)
• An appropriate Social Media presence (interviewers and recruiters will be checking)
• An honest, well-structured Resume (easily modified to best showcase those skills most important for different roles)

When you’ve identified a target position make sure you completely understand the Qualifications required and the Skills sought and desirable to the hiring company and manager. This takes some research. Use direct, network, trusted colleagues or mentor contacts to be certain, upfront, which Qualifications and Skills are fixed and the extent to which any might be softer requirements. It’s better than know at the beginning if you’re not well aligned!

Qualifications (or, what I like to call Specific Job-related Skills and Training) are often formal requirements. Well-defined qualifications might be a degree in a specific subject, perhaps even (say) a PhD in a specific subject area is required for a CTO position? Sometimes however, qualifications are more loosely defined: (say) a University degree is mandatory, but perhaps the discipline is flexible for a Marketing position?

If there’s any doubt, check which qualifications you must possess. Also, watch out for unwritten expectations, where (say) participation in some professional organization or activity is appropriate. There may even be chances to positively present more than is expected.

The next body of Skills that might be requested for any management position is what might be termed learned behaviors (I will present a specific listing, shortly). Again, research (through your contacts, colleagues or network) the job and compare what is sought for the position and what additionally might be an advantage and appropriate for you to present.

Your first contact when approaching for a position must, check the boxes. Be sure this approach (be it verbal, or an e-mail/cover letter and resume) clearly flags how you match the Qualifications and have the Skills required. Your goal is to pass the smell test and avoid erroneously being discounted from consideration. After all, in any competitive situation much of being chosen is about avoiding de-selection.

When you research any position it important to understand how to maximize the personal value you bring to the table. Once your basic suitability is proven you should appropriately reassert the essential skills you possess (and are required), yet subtly showcase those additional skills you possess and ensure they enhance your candidacy. A realistic listing of the most important generic Management Skills you might present includes:

• Problem Solving
• Decision Analysis
• Interpersonal Relationships/Management Styles
• Delegating
• Motivating
• Planning
• Organizing
• Controlling (in an appropriate manner!)
• Reengineering
• Team Playing
• Leading
• Mentoring
• Time Management
• Public Speaking/Presenting

(Note: you can link here to my book for a comprehensive, yet abbreviated Skills description and a planning guide which helps you to assess your current competence with each of these skills. As a stop-gap, you might Google the Skill terms of interest and just use your best judgment in selecting from those definitions presented).

Don’t be alarmed. Clearly not everyone possesses these skills, nor has them mastered! In fact, very rarely are many of the skills listed collectively required to secure any particular position. However, each skill is important and might have real value to the hiring manager for the position you seek. So, your goal is to understand the position, recognize which skills may be advantageous in that role and (only) if you can beneficially demonstrate good competence with (or perhaps just real interest in?) the relevant skill, show it off.

Whatever you do, present your skills well and accurately. Give specific before-and-after examples of where they’ve been used effectively, whenever it’s appropriate in your discussions. Just avoid being too focused on pushing your cause so hard that your presentation appears as bragging or self-obsession!

Whenever you’re in an interview be sure you’re answering what’s enquired and showcasing what you offer. Most importantly, look for those signs of when you can switch from selling your cause, to buying what’s being offered. Then you can confidently continue to assert your body language, and move forward with your own detailed polite questioning, accordingly.

Do you have a career move already planned in your future? Should you? If you’re basing your career plans and finances on that next promotion, then maybe it’s time to consider a move? Happy hunting!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

I ran into a longtime colleague over the weekend that happens to be in Sales. He is pushing a leading-edge replacement product and was inevitably bemoaning the difficulty in getting customers to purchase. Interestingly, this is pretty much the same problem we all ultimately own; we are all selling something (skills, products, talent, ideas, etc.) and need someone to buy.

It’s the age-old theme of, how do we get people to take action and buy what we are selling? The following reflection is a little different from my regular content, so please bear with this intriguing discussion.

There are many books written about establishing sales of new products . Ultimately, the challenge is getting folks to act and invariably, they do so only when they feel the pain and thus are forced to take action or face worse consequences.

It seems there’s a common and reoccurring theme, here. I have previously repeatedly written that people don’t act because they:

• Don’t want to
• Don’t know how to
• Have become lazy; sometimes called the “fat Rep” syndrome

Although there’s few strongly relevant statistics, much evidence says that when the logjam is broken and people buy, it’s because they feel the pain. Then, normally because the old method, approach or product they’re using has become a recipe for likely failure, so they are ultimately forced to change and act. Suddenly we see the laziness will now evaporate and “don’t want to” (as mentioned above) changes to must do. As a result, people then willingly accept the associated switching costs they must pay to get the new product/approach and make changes. Only then, do they seize the obvious value, presented.

So it is with self-development, in general. Even though folks need to make changes they fail to do so until they must. Clearly in this day and age anyone expecting to enhance their career needs to invest in proactively developing themselves. Yet how many people do we actually observe energetically working on real self-development skills that can directly help their cause? I am in the business of management career self-development and must confess that most folks I meet aren’t making much-needed personal upgrades.

Many materials exist to help with personal skill development, but a huge amount of traffic and interest in the development space centers upon softer subjects: more discretionary, personal or philosophical points than material focused on the development of what we might refer to as hard skills. There’s obviously often much value in studying this (less tangible) material as it does seem to reasonably satisfy general human appetite, curiosity and importantly, improves our self-awareness. However, such investment is normally not as clearly and immediately valuable as time spent on hard skills that upgrade your Time Management, Planning, or Organizing abilities, as an example.

It is well published that when people focus on difficult skills and commit to disciplined practice they will achieve a high level of personal excellence, regardless of the professional discipline involved. Again, this plays to the theme, ”no pain, no gain.” Also, such focus to achieve excellence (practicing harder tasks and relentlessly) is more demanding and proves to be the path less followed, even by performers acknowledged as competent in their fields.

Upon reflection we notice that the theme of pain seems to stand out as an important factor in human improvement, as it is a:

• Baseline for development (no gain without pain)
• Fundamental in achieving excellence (practicing the difficult things relentlessly can make individuals truly exceptional)
• Key motivator in accepting and making changes

I would not recommend anyone blindly focuses upon pain as a path to personal success! However, acknowledging the role it plays in our psyche and commitment to self-development is worthy of consideration. After all, being more aware of our underlying motivators can only help.

Let me ask, are you setting clear goals for yourself? Do you have a clear vision of what and who you want to become? If so, perhaps you need to reconsider action on those tougher (for you personally) areas of self-development that you just might have been unknowingly delaying, to avoid the pain!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh

Ever come through a workplace crisis and feel worried something is still wrong? Worse still, ever come out of a crisis and go straight into another? All this is really draining and not good for either your organization, or personal reputation. As we’ll see, the following (self-development) principals apply equally to your private life.

So how do you get into these situations and how do you prevent them from reoccurring? Some situations just come in from outside our sphere of influence and not all of these can be readily avoided; some maybe, all, perhaps not. However, all that really is controlled within our organization can normally be monitored, so then managed, and as a result, kept from crisis.

Most organizations process or build things. So, we are naturally concerned about:

• Numbers processed
• Quality level
• Throughput of processing

Generally, if you’re processing orders, building widgets, designing products, getting sales orders, developing datasheets, servicing customer complaints, etc. these measures apply. And, if we’re performing work that falls in these above categories, we care that it’s done well. In addition, we want the vast majority of all our work to be routine processing, without crises!

There are two ways you can measure how you (or, your group) are doing:

• Proactively
• Reactively

A proactive measure is to help you head off or warn of pending problems. Better to take action to avoid a disaster than deal with it when it’s got a full head of steam. Example: if orders stop coming in for product you might want to discuss this with the sales/promotion team as soon as you see the drop off, perhaps you even need to begin managing for a major downturn in your operation?

On the reactive front you may (say) measure the change in some manufacturing spec, over time. This would prove useful if product failures start occurring that track this parameter. Note: in some cases a proactive measure in one situation is a reactive measure for another.

Most managers should be familiar with the principal of Measurement Systems. There are many types of measures; they apply equally to the manufacturing floor, design area, general office and indeed all areas of any business. The issue is that all businesses should monitor and measure key areas of execution in each group so they can:

• Head off problems, proactively
• Quickly find root causes of problem(s)
• Secure effective interfaces between groups
• Improve: Numbers, Quality and Throughput
• Validate current status
• Confirm future outlook

Occasionally, people get hung up with metrics. ”You can’t measure that,” is a common reflection. Actually, you can measure anything. The simple trick is to recognize there are really two types of measurements:

• Direct
• Indirect

Direct metrics speak for themselves. Example: you want to know how many widgets you build, just count them. Indirect is just that. Example: you want to know if people “enjoy” using your product, then (say) survey them regularly and offer a scoring scale on which they rate their “enjoyment.” This simple principle can invariably be applied in one form or another.

The bottom line is this; if you care about something, you should measure it.

When you move into a new role it will be necessary to review existing measurements, or perhaps even create an entire new set up. The same is true if your group expands into new responsibilities.

Measurement systems and metrics are living things. As the organization evolves, so should they. When measurements have little value, they can be discarded; just check very thoroughly for associated risks with their omission, first! Similarly, new metrics should be brought on to capture new variations in activity or better probe for insightful details that have real value. Just don’t invest more in managing the metric than it’s practically worth to the organization!

These same philosophies apply across our lives. Things we care about outside of the workplace can be measured, too. If you have personal goals, then why not have a few personalized metrics that check progress towards these ends? These metrics could be something to look at daily, monthly, quarterly, annually or even every five years or so.

Personal metrics are in everyone’s life, anyway. Examples might be you tracking a bank balance monthly and quarterly, or reviewing and rebalancing that 401(k) quarterly and annually. Checking your salary each year and your total savings EOY are all measures, just as is monitoring your monthly expenses. Perhaps you’d be better expanding these measures to even more useful metrics, directly tied to your goals? Again, if you care about something you should measure it, right?

I’ve always found that people, who focus on goals, build themselves rich and complete images of their future and consequently more commonly tend to evolve into that vision. Having goals is part of personal development and career progress. Measuring actual progress just helps keep you on track.

So, do you effectively monitor and measure your group and workplace performance? Need to review and upgrade what’s being done? Be sure to take action both at work with your own career and at home with your lifestyle aspirations. At the very least, you should just head off a few crises!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh