| Frenetically busy, many executives find themselves | | | | you shouldn't develop and expand your skill set. But |
| feeling empty, depleted, and totally unfulfilled. Despite | | | | minimizing or under using the skills you do have hardly |
| big salaries and prestigious titles, they wonder how | | | | serves others. Use them everywhere you can-all |
| they can enrich their daily experience of managing | | | | day-with folks who can benefit. |
| from the top. Are YOU one of these who are | | | | 6. Deal with conflict as it unfolds. |
| disillusioned by the rat race, heavy burdens, and | | | | Ignoring conflict-both real and perceived-guarantees |
| other people's off the charts expectations? If so, | | | | trouble for both you and the company. Most people |
| take a look at the following ten tips for increasing | | | | don't like dealing with conflict, but as an executive |
| your job satisfaction: | | | | you absolutely have to do it. Conflict is like cancer: it |
| 1. Identify your personal values and those of your | | | | only grows bigger and uglier if intervention doesn't |
| organization. Discover how well or how poorly they | | | | take place. If you lack the ability to handle conflict |
| actually align. | | | | directly and swiftly, tap into resources that can |
| Amazingly, some executives are unclear about what | | | | enhance your skills in this area. Do not delay. Conflict |
| they truly value in life. Until you get clear about this, | | | | brews every day with somebody somewhere. |
| you can count on wading through meaningless days. | | | | Convincing yourself that you can wait until you feel |
| If you are already in touch with your values, | | | | more ready is an illusion. The truth is that you will |
| congratulations. Now you are in a place where you | | | | never be ready. You cannot wait another day to |
| can live them. However, you may not be working for | | | | alter your situation. Executives owe it to their |
| a company that honors your personal values. Do you | | | | employees, Boards, and stakeholders to develop |
| know what your organization values? How do those | | | | strategies for facing conflict and then coping with it |
| values mesh with your own? If there is a significant | | | | effectively. If you shy away from all or most conflict, |
| gap between your values and those of your | | | | perhaps you are not executive material. When you |
| workplace, watch out. You are on a slippery slope. | | | | deal with conflicts as they arise, life seems cleaner. |
| Either you are compromising your personal values for | | | | 7. Learn a new skill or acquire new knowledge. |
| the sake of the company, or you're trying to live | | | | One of the most rewarding ways to boost job |
| your values in an environment that rejects them. | | | | satisfaction is to proactively seek ways to "grow" |
| Whichever is the case, you probably feel unhappy. | | | | yourself. What skill or knowledge would make your |
| When a notable dichotomy exists between the two | | | | job easier? Serve people better? What have you |
| sets of values, it's best that you leave and find | | | | been putting off for a long time? What addition could |
| employment with an organization that mirrors what | | | | hasten that promotion you've wanted? What skill |
| you hold most important. Ignoring this reality has | | | | may catch somebody's attention and make you |
| both short term and long term consequences. | | | | stand out? What could help you feel better about |
| 2. Clarify your personal and professional priorities. | | | | YOU? Growing yourself has the same effect upon |
| You have to know what you value before you can | | | | your life as spices and herbs have upon food. Taking |
| establish priorities. Values drive priorities. For example, | | | | conscious steps to increase your professional |
| if developing people in the workplace is one of your | | | | attractiveness enhances your stature in your own |
| professional values, you are going to make employee | | | | eyes too. That is no small thing. When you feel good |
| growth opportunities a priority on the job. The two | | | | about YOU, you tend to exude greater confidence. |
| go hand in hand. If you value managing with integrity, | | | | As a result, others have more confidence in you. It's |
| then you communicate with others in a way that | | | | a big, beautiful snowball rolling downhill scenario. |
| shows them you say what you mean and mean | | | | 8. Treat others as they want to be treated. |
| what you say. If parenting is a priority for you, then | | | | This is known as the platinum rule. Have you ever |
| you most likely choose attending your son's baseball | | | | heard of it? It actually goes beyond the Golden Rule |
| game on Tuesday over staying late at the office | | | | because it focuses more on the other person. Keep |
| that day. Valuing your marriage may manifest by | | | | in mind that the way YOU want to be treated may |
| honoring your wedding anniversary in a way that | | | | not necessarily be how your employees or CEO want |
| pleases your spouse. You cannot say you value your | | | | to be treated. Take time to find out how they want |
| marriage but then ignore your anniversary. To do so | | | | you to treat them. Get to know them. Show that |
| would be a huge disconnect between what you SAY | | | | you care about them as human beings, not just as |
| you value and how you decide to behave. When | | | | production agents. Never delude yourself by thinking |
| your priorities mesh with your values, you | | | | that people don't notice how you interact with them. |
| automatically increase your level of happiness. | | | | They do in fact notice, and often in detail. They tend |
| 3. Examine your use of time and make necessary | | | | to have elephant memories too. You cannot mistreat |
| changes. | | | | someone even once and get away with it. You may |
| Your values and priorities shape your calendar. Think | | | | believe you got away with it, but that is only a |
| about it. There is really no mystery about why your | | | | fantasy in your mind. How you treat others in the |
| schedule looks like it does. Your schedule reflects | | | | workplace carries more weight than a paycheck. |
| what you are choosing to value most and what you | | | | Once last note: how you treat others is a direct |
| have concluded are your priorities. If you don't like | | | | reflection on YOU-even if you think they deserve |
| how your calendar looks, then you are allowing other | | | | your cold shoulder, your wrath, or your inappropriate |
| things to usurp the places of what you honestly | | | | words. |
| believe is most important. Here's what usually | | | | 9. Add value to individuals' lives and the organization |
| happens: people say that x,y, and z are the most | | | | at large every single day. |
| important things to them, but their schedules fail to | | | | As an executive and as a leader, your main job is to |
| indicate that. Most of us are running around from | | | | build people. When you invest in your people, they |
| meeting to meeting, task to task, without giving a | | | | and you accomplish great things for the company. |
| thought to how those items actually fit into our value | | | | The organization cannot reach or exceed its potential |
| system and stated priorities. That is why so many | | | | if your people are stagnant, uninspired, and bored. |
| folks are miserable too much of the time. Is this why | | | | Give your employees the opportunity to grow. |
| YOU are miserable? Are you filling your days with a | | | | Nurture them. Talk with them. Ask them for their |
| hundred obligations, few of which align with your | | | | ideas. Use their ideas when you can and let |
| values and priorities? | | | | everybody know about it. When you are building |
| 4. Focus on energy enhancing projects and tasks. | | | | people, those folks feel it. And they respond to it. |
| As you assess how you spend your days, can you | | | | They get excited. They start believing they can do |
| say that most of what you do actually energizes | | | | fantastic things. When that happens, they allow |
| you? Or is it true that most of what you do drains | | | | themselves to stretch. When that happens, YOU |
| you? To stop playing the drain game, you have to | | | | succeed along with them. Your best asset in the |
| know what does energize you. What gets you | | | | workplace is your people. Never forget that. Pumping |
| excited? Motivated? Inspired? Juiced up? What would | | | | more and more value into them is ultimately what |
| get you to jump out of bed when the alarm clock | | | | makes an organization shine. Along the way you get |
| rings each morning? It may not be what you're doing | | | | to smile. |
| now. It may very well be something else. The point | | | | 10. Visualize your future both within the company and |
| of this paragraph is not necessarily to nudge you | | | | outside of it. |
| toward quitting your current job. It could be, but | | | | Most executives are so busy running from meeting |
| more likely it's to push you toward gaining clarity of | | | | to meeting, obligation to obligation, that they rarely if |
| focus within the work you are doing now. Get | | | | ever sit down in a quiet place to assess where they |
| focused, and then arrange your days doing things | | | | are and where they are going. They're just grateful |
| that support that focus. Eliminate dull tasks and | | | | to survive another day. Unfortunately, the days lack |
| meetings that really serve no purpose for you or the | | | | purpose and direction when you don't consider where |
| organization. Try fresh approaches. Employ different | | | | you want to end up. Do you want to stay with this |
| strategies. Energy flows from engaging in things and | | | | particular company? If so, how long and for what |
| methods that result in something worthwhile. | | | | reason? If not, why not? If not, where might you |
| 5. Know your strengths and then use them. | | | | seek employment? Or maybe you're ready to retire. |
| Too often people get hung up on what they don't | | | | What can retirement be for you? An opportunity to |
| do well. They spend enormous amounts of time | | | | do things you always dreamed of doing? A chance to |
| agonizing over the skills they lack or have not | | | | relax for the first time in thirty-five years? A time |
| mastered. Instead, zero in on all of your strengths, | | | | when you can rediscover your relationship with your |
| and you will feel great. Everybody has multiple skills | | | | spouse? Schedule some dreaming time each week to |
| that can truly make a difference in the lives of | | | | clarify what you truly want out of your work |
| individuals and the lives of companies at large. If you | | | | experience as well as your personal life. Set aside |
| are an excellent listener, employees may forgive the | | | | fifteen minutes and let your mind wander. You have |
| fact that you can't design a computer program. If | | | | to give yourself permission to do this. This may |
| you successfully inspire others with whom you | | | | challenge you in the beginning simply because you are |
| interact, people are likely to overlook the fact that | | | | not used to it. Keep doing it, and you'll find that you |
| you forget little details occasionally. These few | | | | actually look forward to those brief "do nothing" |
| examples make the point. This does not mean that | | | | periods that invite you to connect with the real you. |