Your greatest success might be disguised. That was the case for William Wrigley, Jr. You recognize the name from Wrigley chewing gum. What you might not have known is that Wrigley started out as a soap company,  using chewing gum as a promotional giveaway inside the box of soap.
 
Perhaps your greatest success is lurking right under your nose. And success does not necessarily mean growing your wealth – it could be a simple discovery about how to fulfill your potential.
 
At the age of 29, William Wrigley, Jr. moved to Chicago to sell soap for his father’s company. To sell more soap he began putting a pack of chewing gum in the boxes of soap. The promotion worked and soap sales increased. Two years later in 1893 he launched his first chewing gum brand – Juicy Fruit. After years of persistence and hard work, the company became the largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum.
 
Could your greatest success be right under your nose?
 
I’ve noticed that many people lack self awareness of their special talents and gifts. Those talents lay dormant, just waiting for the right situation or set of circumstances to trigger them. These dormant opportunities explain the gap between where you are now and your full potential. Wrigley acted on his hunch and exploited his opportunity.
 
The trigger that helps you unlock your potential might be an observation made by a friend, colleague or even a complete stranger. In many cases, the clues might be right around you. The clues may be just a whisper or they could be screaming at you to take notice.
 
You can help others discover their talents by making observations and then encouraging and supporting them as they begin to develop those talents.
 
Action Tips

1. Reflect on the clues you might be receiving from the people you interact with, the projects you undertake and the challenges you overcome.
2. Ask for feedback from people who know you best.
3. Experiment, take some measured risks.
4. Go out of your way to tell a friend, colleague or acquaintance about a strength you notice in them.

Like William Wrigley, Jr. I hope you can discover that next great idea that moves you toward fulfilling your potential.

It was an exciting week last week – our book Employees Not Doing What You Expect rose to number two on the Globe and Mail Business Bestseller List. Irwin Schinkel and I are putting the finishing touches on our next book Fusion or Fizzle: How Leaders Leverage Training to Ignite Results.
—
Now that we seem to be on the tail end of recession and the beginning of recovery, it is time to confront a reality – nearly one third of employees are thinking about changing jobs if the right opportunity presents itself. Look at the person on your left and then the one on your right – one of you is secretly or not so secretly looking at changing jobs. More on that below. 
—
Dr. Peter DeShane and I are scheduling another workshop: The Psychology of Persuasion and Influence on June 9th in London, Ontario.
 
Now is the time of year when companies plan leadership retreats - see how we can make these meetings more positive and productive.
   
A Reason to Stay
 
Nearly one out of three employees really would like to be working someplace else. During a recession, employees are thankful to have a job and generally put aside thoughts of moving to a different position or starting their own business. This false sense of loyalty can lull managers into thinking that employees are satisfied and motivated when they really are not.
 
As the economy improves, these unhappy employees go looking for other opportunities they think will bring them greater fulfillment and satisfaction.
 
Low turnover can mask a hidden problem. In workplaces with good compensation, generous benefits and a solid pension plan (think public sector or large employers), ambitious employees may lose their motivation and yet not leave. These trapped employees allow their personal productivity to decline and simply “put in time” until their retirement date comes.
 
Whether employees feel trapped or are looking at other possibilities, the challenge to managers is clear – continue to create a work environment that is motivating.
 
Four areas to pay attention to:

1. Challenge – Even high-potential employees will leave an organization if they are bored so managers need to provide a steady diet of new challenges, projects and assignments to create growth.
2. Recognition and acknowledgement – Let employees know that their contribution makes a difference. Say thank-you and let employees know that you see the impact they are having on the team, the customers and the organization as a whole.
3. Inclusion – While you might have favorites, it is crucial to reinforce teamwork through fair and consistent treatment.
4. Likeability and respect for the boss – A major reason employees look for opportunities is because they really don’t like the person they report to. This isn’t simply a popularity contest – they want a manager who is consistent, positive, knowledgeable, supportive and ambitious.

Reflection Questions

• How many of the four motivational elements above exist in your organization?
• Are you the kind of boss employees enjoy working for or do you need to make changes?
• What needs to change in order to have an engaging and motivating workplace?

Action Items

• Assess your personal satisfaction level, identify what is missing and what it will take to fill the void.
• Evaluate your workplace on the four motivational elements and commit yourself to making it better.
• Make adjustments and see the impact on both productivity and job satisfaction.

What do people really think of you? Do you even care? Do you care too much?
 
Many of the managers and executives I coach and train start off by being surprised and maybe even slightly insulted to think that they need to improve their leadership skills. After all, they wouldn’t have been promoted if they weren’t competent… or would they?
 
It kind of reminds me of the 1992 movie A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson, playing the role of Colonel Jessep, defiantly states, “You can’t handle the truth!”
 
The term 360 degree feedback has become much maligned because most of the people who are subjected to this feedback are not open to receiving it in the first place. 360 feedback refers to getting feedback from your boss, your peers and your direct reports, a full circle of feedback.

Self-Deception
 
Let’s examine two patterns of thinking that get in the way of an executive or manager accepting and acting upon feedback from peers and direct reports:

1. The individual giving me feedback isn’t credible or qualified to evaluate me. (What do they know!) 
2. I’ve achieved success by being the way I am so why would I want to change?

Let’s tackle each of these.
 
First, any person who interacts with you is qualified and capable of giving you feedback about your people skills. The feedback might be related to how clearly you communicate, how responsive you are, whether you are approachable or not and if they feel encouraged and supported by you. If they work with you more closely they can also speak to your technical skills related to completing assignments both accurately and in a timely fashion.
 
And that brings us to the second point. High achievers can hit a plateau where the same skills and approaches they used to achieve their current level of success often work against them in getting to a higher level of responsibility.
 
The most common term for this is “The Peter Principle” where individuals are destined to be promoted to their level of incompetence. Once you reach that level, you are no longer promotable and in fact, your days may be numbered.
 
While the incompetence could be technical, most likely it has to do with your people skills. At higher levels in an organization your success has less to do with your own output and more to do with mobilizing a team to achieve the required results.

Unaware of Strengths
 
In addition to being unaware of our weaknesses, we can also be unaware of our strengths. Without an appreciation of what we do well, we might inadvertantly stop and lose the benefit of that strength. Feedback can reinforce what we are doing well.
 
Confronting Reality
 
When you get to a place where you recognize that no matter how successful you have been, there is always room for improvement, you can begin to make adjustments. In every single coaching situation I have encountered there are only 3 or 4 leadership behaviors that the individual needs to change in order to unlock greater success. The challenge is to discover what those behaviours are and get help to correct them.
 
Reflection Questions
 
Do you actively solicit feedback from the people around you as to how effectice a leader you are? If not can you become vulnerable enough to ask for that feedback and use it to grow as an individual?

Action Items

• Ask for specific feedback from the people you work with and those who work for you if you are in a leadership position.
• While you can use more sophisticated instruments to measure leadership style and management capability, you can start with these four simple questions:
• What do you think I do really well and would like me to continue doing?
• What do I not do as much as I should and you would like to see me do more of?
• What do I do that you think it best that I stop doing?
• What do I not do now that you think I should start doing?
• When you get the feedback, even if you find it difficult to swallow, be thankful because you are on your way to greater success.

High achievers are prone to enter a time in their career where they plateau or stall. Perhaps promotions are not coming as fast and furious as they once did or in some cases, they have achieved every goal they have set and have run out of challenges. Achievers will ask themselves, “Is this all there is?” After striving for success, when success levels out, the feeling of advancement is replaced by a feeling of stagnation. This condition could be called Achievers Depression or Career Stall.

The symptoms of this condition can include:

• Bitterness or negativity that replaces a generally positive view of work.
• Overly critical of peers, employees and even the boss – disappointment in self can lead to disappointment in others.
• Moodiness – Either disengagement and withdrawal or aggression or a combination of both.
• Feeling of being trapped – promotions often take longer and external opportunities may be harder to come by.

This perceived lack of control can cause a corresponding reaction of defensiveness, either aggressive or passive.

Prescription for Performance

1. Re-establish Goals – An achiever needs goals to achieve and so I recommend setting new goals that will motivate the drive to succeed.
2. Focus on building up others – After achieving personal success, I recommend that the individual help others succeed. Growing others is different kind of achievement and is personally rewarding.
3. Decide What You Truly Want -If your true desires cannot be satisfied from your current situation then determine what would make you happy and make the change.
4. Appreciate the Opportunity – A career stall presents an opportunity to reflect and regroup. Instead of seeking a quick and easy answer, spend time contemplating the next step. Making a rash decision can lead to further diappointment.

If you are feeling stalled, consider a coaching session or two in order to set a new course for yourself.

In a previous post we examined a manager who was too easy on his team. In many cases an assignment will come in to work with a manager who has the opposite challenge – he or she is too tough on employees.

Often these hard-nosed managers tend to work long hours, do the work his team was supposed to do, be overly critical of others and not keep everyone informed.

As part of the coaching process, here are the typical elements of the prescription for performance for a tough manager:

1. Clarify in his/her own mind what the long term vision is for the team/organization. A tough manager believes that either she has already made it clear what the goals are or that people should know the goals because they are obvious. Unfortunately employees do not know the priorities because in their mind, the priorities are constantly shifting at the apparent whim of the manager.
2. Use a daily and/or weekly team meeting so that all members of the team can be aware of the priorities without the manager having to act as a clearing house for information. Many tough managers are like the hub in the center of a bicycle wheel. Everyone has to come to him or her with problems or to get a decision. Of course the manager doesn’t understand why employees don’t just do the right thing on their own and the vicious cycle continues.
3. Stop providing answers to every question and solving every problem. If we assume that most of the team members are qualified and experienced the manager should let the individuals on the team retain ownership of the issues and not take over the situation.
4. Stop doing the work of the team. In order to build greater accountability, the tough manager needs to let her team enjoy the consequences, good or bad, related to their area of responsibility.

The team will also have to adjust to the change in leadership style. While the change will be positive, there may be some frustration during the transition from manager-centred to team-centred leadership. Click here to review our coaching process.

How can you increase your probability of promotion so that when the next opportunity arises, you are seen as the ideal candidate to earn the promotion?

Visibility and Intention: An individual working for one of my clients was passed up for a challenging new assignment. Her boss didn’t know she was interested in the new job. Instead of toiling away in obscurity, ask for greater challenges and let your manager know that you are interested in taking on more responsibility.

Accountability: Put yourself in a position where you have no choice but to be accountable for the success or failure of a project. Sticking your neck out might appear risky and yet you will get noticed by taking the lead. Even if something goes sideways on the project, avoid blaming others and instead present an action plan to get back on track.

Growth: Stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. Take a new course, ask for an assignment outside your regular job duties. Avoid making others responsible for your stagnation. Take ownership over your career.

Results: Show results for your activities. Demonstrate the impact on the bottom line, sales growth, profit, waste reduction, cash flow improvement. Quantify the results you generate for your organization and you become more valuable.

Network: Your next promotion might not be within your department, location, company or even industry. Make connections both on-line and in person with a variety of people in areas that might interest you. Listen for opportunities and be willing to speak up if something looks good to you.

Build Up Others: In order to justify and ultimately succeed in a leadership role, you must give credit to others and make them look good. By offering deserved praise you are demonstrating leadership. As you rise in an organization, it is less about YOU and more about getting things done through others.