You can’t always get what you want, but you might get the one thing you deeply desire—if you know how to visualize it. Mark Murphy, founder and CEO of Leadership IQ and author of Hard Goals, tells us that visualizations are an important motivator when you’re working toward a goal.
You’re giving a presentation to a group of fellow admins, and it’s going as smooth as butter. Now, fast forward to the next week. Once again, you’ve been asked to share your knowledge with a group. Only this time, you’re nervous. You’re convinced that you don’t have the ability to do it. Why?
Question: “I have a co-worker who is frequently tardy. ‘Paula’ lives about an hour away and has several children, so she is often delayed in the morning. The problem is that when Paula calls in to say she’ll be late, she asks me to give the message to our boss. He then gives me the third degree about why she won’t be there on time. I’m just a colleague, so I don’t grill Paula about her reasons. It’s not my responsibility to find out if she’s sick or sleeping late or stuck in traffic. In fact, I don’t think it’s any of my business. My boss hates conflict, so he won’t talk to Paula directly about her tardiness. But whenever I deliver one of her messages, he gives me hell. What can I do about this?” —Not My Problem
Feel like a Jack or Jill of all trades? Pretty soon, the rest of the office may be feeling the same way, if they don’t already. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, we’ve entered the era of the “superjob” …
Which are you more likely to write: “Do not waste energy” or “Conserve energy”? If your writing contains a lot of “no’s” and “not’s,” it’s a signal of negative writing. Using positive language is a better way to promote your ideas.
If you’re not on a first-name basis with the movers and shakers who can make a difference in your career, make a point to introduce yourself. The right people first need to know who you are.
Signal that you plan to keep it brief. Set up the appointment for a time such as 9:20 a.m. or 1:45 p.m. The irregular time communicates that you don’t plan to take longer than 10 or 15 minutes.
Terry asked for help telling her directors that they could no longer get the same level of support from a single admin that they’d been leaning too heavily on and would need to be more self-sufficient. One reader, Lynn says, “It helps if you brainstorm other resources with the directors instead of flat-out refusing.” Forum reader Chandra advises Terry to first get her own manager’s buy-in and then “reset their expectations” while assuring them that “the Support Services team” is there to help. She suggests Terry follow these 6 steps: 1) Document the new policy; 2) Communicate new policy in a manager’s meeting; 3) Send email stating new policy; 4) Ask staff to reinforce it by directing managers’ requests back to her; 5) Set a time-frame for all requests; and 6) Push back when tasks can be accomplished by their own departments.