career advice, career management, Careers, leadership, Networking, Personal Branding, Sales and Marketing, self employed, small business

9 Steps to Building Your Network: Learn From Strong Leaders

Mary Rosenbaum | November 29th, 2011

One of the benefits I derive from working with clients on their 360 assessments is the ability to see how certain skills and talents appear consistently in the assessments of many successful professionals and leaders.

One of the key brand attributes that usually ranks near the top is their ability to build vast networks and communities across their companies, their industries, as well as outside their immediate sphere of influence.

What is it about them or what do they do that makes them such great networkers and community builders?

Based on my analysis, I see it as a combination of specific actions geared to building a network, modifying some behavioral traits so you are someone who is sought out by others, and leading with those values that makes others want to be in your network or community.

Actions:

1. Provide great follow up. Timely follow-up is the first step for turning a casual encounter into a strong tie.

2. Develop good listening skills. Communication must be a two-way street. Some people have said the ratio should be 80% listening and 20% talking. Real relationships are built on learning how others think and what they need.

3. Be helpful. In order to build relationships, giving is even more important than getting. Provide assistance, make connections, and reach out on behalf of others. Make sure that your helpfulness is not geared to getting something in return.

4. Stay committed. You must be committed to building and growing your network- it takes a lot of energy to seek out those who you can help and who can ultimately develop into your brand ambassadors.

5. Be dedicated. Building a strong network across the various areas of your life takes time and patience – and lots of it. Make sure you dedicate the time necessary each week to building your community.

Behavioral Magnets:

6. Be positive. A positive attitude is a magnet. People like to be around you when you give off positive energy. The glass half-full always trumps half-empty.

7. Spread your enthusiasm. A can-do approach makes you someone who others seek out. It is like putting out a welcome mat. Genuine enthusiasm is contagious and helps motivate others to action.

Lead With Your Values:

8. Be trustworthy. Trust is the basic building block for growing any relationship. It is also the basis for doing or being in business with anyone.

9. Be sincere. Inauthenticity is easily seen and felt. Give, help, listen, and befriend, because it benefits them, not you.

So whether you are a salesperson, an entrepreneur, a lawyer, a manager, a small business owner, or new to your leadership role, following these steps can help you grow your network, build out your community, and achieve the success you want.

I know there must be others to add to this list. Please share them with us.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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Grow Your Network – Leverage Your Brand

Mary Rosenbaum | November 2nd, 2011

Part of leveraging your personal brand is communicating it to and connecting with people who are in your target audience. After all, you want those people who are in a position to be your brand ambassadors to know about you.

The key is to expand your target audience beyond its current parameters – but in a meaningful way. This is not a numbers game. I am not encouraging you to increase your followers on Twitter, friends on Facebook or contacts on LinkedIn. Instead I am advocating a deepening of those relationships if they merit it and expanding your circle to include others that fit your parameters.

What do I mean by that?  Take a look at your existing network. A good way to do that is to look at your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter contacts and how they aggregate. Are they relationships that can expand your reach into communities that include your target audience? If so, do they have a good understanding of the value your bring to your organization or your clients? Can they be your brand ambassadors? A broadening and deepening of your relationships will ensure that the answer to those questions is yes.

Clients always ask, “how can I expand my network?” If you work inside an organization, don’t make the mistake of just focusing on your managers and co-workers. It’s just as important to communicate and ultimately develop relationships with those outside your organization. When you think about it the people you know and communicate with regularly (those you work with and for) already have a pretty good idea of who you are and the value you provide. It’s those people outside your organization and outside your close friends network that are the ones who can provide you with:

–     new information

–     new ideas

–     new contacts

–     exposure to different opportunities

Here are some ideas for expanding your network.

–     Join an organization – professional or not for profit. Participate in a meaningful way so you can form relationships and allow your personal brand to shine through.

–       Increase your communication with people you see only once or twice a year. If possible, off-line always trumps on-line.

–       Introduce your friends and professional contacts to each other. Be generous with your contacts and they will be eager to reciprocate.

–       Contribute to the success of others. The goodwill that generates from this practice is priceless.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Being a strong leader means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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No Man or Woman is an Island: Who is on Your Cheering Squad?

Mary Rosenbaum | July 20th, 2011

Who is on your cheering squad? Who is in your box? I loved watching all of Novak Djokovic’s family, friends, team members, and compatriots leap to their feet, tears in their eyes as Djokovic won the last point of the men’s singles tennis championship at Wimbledon earlier this month. The tension of the two week tournament coupled with a year of hard work and much transformation was clearly visible on all their faces throughout the event. But success proved to be the great antidote to all the stress. Success for them and for him.

Djokovic did not nor could not win all by himself.

His team – his family, friends, coaches, physician, nutritionist, physiotherapist, trainer, and his many vocal Serbian fans – provided Djokovic with the mental, emotional, and physical support, encouragement, and expertise that helped propel him to achieving his #1 ranking in men’s tennis.

Who do you turn to for expert advice, support and encouragement? A friend, colleague, relative, spouse, partner? A common problem many professionals face, whether they are entrepreneurs or careerists, is trying to do it all themselves. Life is tough enough without having to be an expert in everything you do. A “board of advisors” who you can run ideas past, who have an expertise that can prove valuable to you, who provide you with a realistic appraisal of your actions, and who support your goals and dreams is a necessary ingredient to getting to where you want to go.

At the same time, there is nothing worse than having a great “board of advisors” and ignoring what they have to say. This has been a difficult year for Djokovic and he relied heavily on the many members of his team, implementing changes in his diet, his coaches, his behavior with the media and with his opponents, his focus and his body language both on and off the court. Trusting his team and the advice they provided enabled him to win.

Achieving success in your career or business requires the same level of commitment from your team or board of advisors as it does for professional athletes. So how can you select the members of your team? What should you be looking for? Here are some ideas to incorporate when forming and working with your board of advisors.

1. Find experts who can fill the gaps. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner perhaps your need is for someone with financial strength or marketing prowess. A coach might be in order for you if you are aspiring to take on a leadership role. Surround yourself with those whose expertise dovetails well with yours so you can focus on what you do best and rely on them for the advice and knowledge that make them experts in what they do.

2. Commit to being open minded. Learn to accept criticism without becoming defensive.

3. Don’t fall in love with your ideas or your team members if something is not working. Djokovic hired a second coach, Todd Martin, but quickly learned that this decision was not a good one for his team. Admit mistakes and move on.

4. Trust your board of advisors. You don’t have to love all your team members. Mutual respect is earned based on the value they provide. And respect results in trust.

5. Look for team members who have a variety of experience. Answers come from many places, so the greater the depth and breadth of experiences they can call on, the better your results.

6. Make sure everyone has the same goal in mind. Clearly define what your goals are and what time frame you have in mind. If you all know where you are going you have a better chance of getting there on time.

7. Ask for help. This is the hardest advice to follow. Yet, if you do ask more often than not you will be rewarded with more than you expect.

8. Give back. Especially to those who “volunteer” to be on your board. There is tremendous power in teams that help one another reach their goals.

No wo(man) is an island. Going it alone takes longer and generally falls short of what you can accomplish. What are some of the attributes you look for in your team or board of advisors?

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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No Guts, No Glory!

Mary Rosenbaum | June 22nd, 2011

If you asked people around you – personal and professional friends and colleagues – would they say that risk taking was one of your attributes? Would you call yourself a risk taker? When you stand up for something you believe in, go against conventional wisdom or against “the way it’s always been done” you take a risk but you also open yourself up to a greater reward.

The status quo may be safe but safe does not always spell success and happiness. Andre Malraux wrote:

“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not that one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.”

We fear taking risks because failing isn’t any fun. But only if we believe that failure should be avoided at all costs. Thomas Edison had a different view of what failure meant to him. This was his response to the question of how he was able to deal with so many failures: “I have not failed. I have only found 1,000 different ways that don’t work.” Each failure provided him with valuable information that enabled him to ultimately succeed.

So what’s so great about risk taking? In today’s fast moving world, innovation is critical in order to keep pace with changing tastes, views, needs, and economic conditions. Innovation and change can not occur unless you are willing to take a risk – think Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg or perhaps someone you know in your own organization or industry.

Whether it’s something on as large a scale as creating a new technology, developing a new organizational structure, or opening new markets, or something more personal like putting yourself out there for a project outside your comfort zone, applying for that position that might be a stretch, or taking courses to improve your arsenal of tools and skills, as long as it’s something you believe in, take a risk and just do it!

So shake things up and make it happen! Remember, no guts, no glory!

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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Commit To It: Take Control of Your Career

Mary Rosenbaum | June 2nd, 2011

How committed are you to managing your career? Too often we get stuck in the routine of doing our job. With a 24/7 mentality in most work places it seems daunting enough to just get the work done well without having to think about the future.

The past recession (many believe we are in recovery mode) taught us not to be complacent about our careers, jobs, and businesses. But with layoffs in what seems like the distant past many of us have gone back to the same old habits we had before 2008.

Well, let this be a wake up call. What the recession has created is a work environment that is highly competitive, extremely fluid, change focused, results oriented, and interested in value added. You can take control of your career but if you don’t others will do it for you.

There are many ways to manage your career and here are a few “must do” steps to take.

1. Commit to managing your career, not to just doing your job. Get into the mindset that you have control and once you do that, you are ready to take on the tasks of taking control.

2. Set goals with specific time frames for achieving them. You want to be able to have short and long term goals that provide you with direction. For some, those goals might be a promotion to a more senior level, for others, greater leadership responsibility or a new role within your organization. Setting achievable goals within a realistic time frame  and keeping o it provides you with direction and structure. This lets you know where you want to go and how fast you need to move to get there on time.

3. Find a role model. If someone has the position or responsibilities you want it would be valuable to compare your offerings, abilities, experience, and talents with theirs. An honest and thorough analysis of the hard and soft skills they have and the behaviors they exhibit will enable you to see how you measure up, where your added value lies, and what areas need further growth and improvement.

4. Manage your personal and leadership brand. Understand how others see you. Knowing how others view you is a great starting point for enhancing and managing your personal and leadership brand. What areas need further amplification so others see you the way you want to be seen to ensure that more opportunities for the career growth you want will come your way. A 360 assessment is a great way to help you complete this step.

5. Grow your tribe. Build your tribe of supporters and collaborate with them in their growth and development. Your tribe is your greatest asset. They can be relied upon as advisors as well as providers of information and contacts. At the same time, the reciprocity of benefits you derive and provide to the others in your tribe will create an atmosphere of trust and respect – perfect for achieving growth and success.

6. Find a mentor and ask for help. Find someone whose experience and wisdom in navigating his/her way to success can help you on the road to achieving your goals. Issues such as navigating the organization, dealing with generational differences and work/life issues, and structuring your career path can be daunting and any help along the way is always welcome.

7. Increase your visibility. Make sure the decision makers inside your organization are exposed to you, to the work you do and to your accomplishments. Take on or volunteer for projects or write articles for your company newsletter that spotlight your skills and abilities and have greater visibility across different areas within your company. It is a great way to “show rather than tell” that you are ready to take on greater responsibilities.

8. Communicate your goals. Let those in power know what your goals are so that when an opportunity arises you can be considered in the mix. Silence is not golden.

The smart move is to take control of your career. The Nike commercial says it so well – “Just do it!” I would change it a little bit to – Just commit to doing it!

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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The Human Connection: A Win/Win for You and Your Company

Mary Rosenbaum | April 26th, 2011

If you have ever led or been on a team or worked on a project with others then you know how it feels when a group of people work together successfully, mutually supporting each other so that the work gets done. The feeling you get in these situations is a sense of flow, knowing “someone has your back” and that you are all working toward a common goal.

In order for this to happen, there has to be a connection that links you with your co-workers or employees. It could be common values (family, honesty, integrity) or common interests and passions. It could be a shared view of the world. Whatever it is, the relationship between you is deeper and with it comes trust and a sense of reciprocal responsibility for one another.

I co-led a leadership branding workshop for senior professionals a few weeks ago and was asked a question by one of the participants. He asked, “Why is it so important for me to bring my personal life into the office? After all, I do a great job, I have moved up in my company, all without letting most people know what goes on with me outside the office.”

The reality is he did not have to bring his personal life, his passions, interests, or experiences into the office in order to be successful. As a senior member of a management team, bifurcating his life has not negatively affected his career path. Or has it? Has there been any give up by not being open about ALL of who he is? Would other opportunities have presented themselves had he shared his many interests, passions, and vision with others? Would he have benefited from greater collaboration or a more interesting workplace where he didn’t have to sensor himself and where others openly shared with him?

Of course, we’ll never know the answers to these questions. But what I have experienced is that when you bring ALL of who you are into your workplace it is as if you put sticky tape all over your body, inviting others to connect with you on any one of those areas, and inspiring them to do the same in return. And what you get out of it is an opportunity to build closer relationships with those you work with and for, and to make your day better, more interesting, more varied, and more fun.

As a leader is there value to having your team or group be more open about their passions and interests at work? In an article by Polly LaBarre for the Management Innovation eXchange, she interviewed Ivy Ross, a design executive who has worked with major brand companies like Calvin Klein, Swatch, Coach and Mattel.

Faced with consolidating and absorbing large numbers of design professionals onto her team, Ms. Ross wanted to have everyone connect and bond with one another as quickly as possible because she firmly believes that creativity and innovation begin with real connection. She held a meeting and had each person bring in their favorite object. A video was made as each person talked about that object, themselves, and what designing clothing meant to them. The videos were condensed and distributed, providing everyone with a Facebook alternative to getting to know their co-workers on a more personal and individual level. Close connections were made based on the information disclosed, the type of information that you might never learn about by working with someone or that might take years to uncover. This sharing created an environment of trust and cooperation resulting in productive and creative teamwork.

So being ALL you of who you are wherever you are is a win/win for you and your company. To summarize, the benefits of bringing the human side of you, your passions, interests, and vision of the world to work include:

  1. Showing others the many dimensions of who you are.
  2. Allowing others to connect with you on the many different points (sticky tape) you have exposed.
  3. Exemplifying trust and a willingness to open up to others by sharing.
  4. Creating deeper bonds and encouraging collaboration.
  5. Opening the door so others can share as well.
  6. Highlighting your core values, an important connection point on every level.

What makes relationships powerful is the human connection. Without it you end up with a work environment that resembles bleached out cotton – it may do the job it was designed for but can be colorless and lacking an interesting texture.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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Spread Your Thought Leadership, Spread Your Brand

Mary Rosenbaum | April 12th, 2011

How can you use thought leadership as a way of growing your business, improving your career positioning, or getting a job? Expressing your thought leadership is an excellent way to “show” rather than “tell” those who matter to you what you can do for them and how you do it. It enables you to differentiate yourself and stand out from the competition. It lets you “show your stuff” and solidify your personal brand in the minds of others.

There are many obvious ways of doing this such as writing articles for trade journals, speaking at events, creating your own events, participating in group on-line discussions, participating in professional associations, collaborating, etc. But before you even think about which road you want to take you should do some research and take the following questions and comments into consideration.

1. Who is in your target audience? Who are the people you want to get in front of? Are they decision makers or the ones who influence the decision makers? Which segment of the population are you addressing? The most productive use of your time would be to focus on a concentrated area or demographic and penetrate it more effectively through increased exposure.

2. What are their needs and pain points? How can you help them? Clearly identifying your target audience enables you to pinpoint and address their specific needs. Do the necessary research to find out what keeps them up at night. Provide value and stand out or you will end up being nothing more than white noise – easy to ignore. Stay current and timely, adding a twist or different point of view on information that may already be out there.

3. What do you like doing and what are you good at – speeches, written product, interviews? Focus on what you like doing and you’ll have a better chance of being consistent and constant in your delivery.

4. Where should your thought leadership be showcased? Whether it’s a blog, guest posts, newspapers, seminars, or special events your company develops, blanketing areas where your target audience lives is the best way to attain the visibility and credibility you want. Once you have captured your target audience’s attention and earned their following, your reputation, your brand, will expand beyond this group.

5. Patience and determination go a long way in building your thought leadership. It takes time for people to trust you, your information, and what you have to offer. Constant relevant exposure over a long period of time will help you build a consistent and growing following.

The rest is up to you. Do you have other ways of developing your thought leadership? Let us know what worked for you.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @careersguru

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Let’s Make A Deal: Keys to Negotiating Well

Mary Rosenbaum | March 24th, 2011

Are you a born negotiator? Not many of us are. Even if you are good at it, how successful are you when you are negotiating for yourself in situations that are critical to you, your business, and your career as opposed to for your company or your clients?

I know as soon as the negotiation affects me personally, arriving at a compromise is not as easy as when I am arranging a new car lease or buying something from a street vendor. In each of those two situations, I can walk away. I will probably never see or deal with that person again. Neither my emotions nor my ego are invested in the results.

What about negotiations that deal with compensation, employment or client contracts, staffing an important project, or being part of a team? These are personal. The results can reflect on our ability to perform well. The results represent how we define ourselves and the value our employers or clients assign to us. How good are you in these and other situations that are more personal?

The definition of negotiation is a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. The best possible result would be an agreement that benefits both parties involved. But have you ever been involved in a negotiation where you felt that your “give up” was greater than the other side? If this sounds familiar, ask yourself:

1. Did I ask for enough? Whether it’s asking for increased compensation, a higher fee, improved benefits, more time, additional help, new title or promotion, sometimes a small voice in your head warns you of overreaching, asking for more than you can get or deserve. If this is the case, you have already lost the negotiation before you sit down at the table. Managing your expectations realistically are necessary, but just make sure that you are not limiting yourself because of fear.

2. Did I have enough information? Did I do enough research on my topic? If it’s compensation or fee structure, did I do my homework on comparables? Did I understand the firm psychology and culture? Information provides you with the bargaining strength you need to ask for what you deserve. It also serves as validation for your ask.

3. Did I know what I really wanted the outcome to be? What did I specifically ask for? You need to define what you are willing to give up. What is absolutely non-negotiable? When you walk into that room know how much you can give up without feeling that you are being taken advantage of.

4. Did I communicate my arguments effectively, did I make a clear case? Did I communicate how the other side can benefit if I prevail? Always try to see it from the other side so you can understand their position and make sure your pitch is designed so that their needs are taken into consideration.

5. Did I handle the objections well? Preparation is key to anticipating what the objections might be so you can come up with the right answers that strengthen your case.

Are there other ways you prepare for these types of negotiations? We would love to hear them.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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Your Value Added: It’s A Moving Target

Mary Rosenbaum | March 3rd, 2011

I think we can all agree that your passion about what you do is what gets people into the room. Passion is infectious and makes people want to connect with you – they listen and gravitate to you. But once you have them in the same room, how do you keep them there?

It is all about the value you deliver. And in today’s world, value is a moving target. Things change so quickly. The way you provided your services or did your job a year ago may still work but because of increased competition and greater demand for better/faster/less expensive results it has become necessary to constantly improve upon what you deliver.

In order to differentiate yourself and maintain your usual high level of performance it is important to view your expertise as a work in progress, a target that keeps moving away just as you seem to reach it.

I know the work I delivered 5 years ago, or even a year ago, is vastly different than what I provide for clients today. And hopefully what I deliver today will morph into something even better a year from now. I take classes, read books, articles, blogs, am part of discussions. I do all this so I can learn about and practice new tools, experiment with cutting edge techniques that enhance what I provide clients in a way that takes them to a new level. And as a result, they are constantly challenging me to come up with even better ways of working with them.

I look at coaching as a puzzle. Every time I complete the puzzle, I find different pieces that make the puzzle bigger, better, and more interesting. And you can too.

These are some of the demands I make on myself so that I can keep changing and growing, staying ahead of the curve so my performance stands out from the crowd.

1. Alway curious. Find the student in you and keep him alive. It is easy to be complacent when you reach a certain point in your career. If you are considered an expert or a leader, it is even more important to keep looking for ways to stay on a learning curve as you teach or lead others.

2. Open minded. Valuable insights sometimes come from the most unlikely sources. I know I have made connections to the work I do from the most unexpected places including a stand up routine by Colin Quinn on the evolution of mankind, a session with a “genius” at the Apple help store, and even an interaction with the check-out people at my local Fairway supermarket. Listening fully and being in the moment wherever you are provides you with great opportunities for being open minded.

3. Flexible. There is often more than one way to complete a project or do the work you do – in a world where there are many more experts across so many industries and specialties there is greater demand for customization, not standardization. Flexibility enables you to work with and for different cultures and in different environments, each with their own set of unique requirements.

4. Collaborative and generous. The whole is equal to greater than the sum of its parts. The end product is often better when you can work with others whose expertise dovetails with yours. Sharing the credit for a job done exceptionally well is far better than taking the full credit for work that is mediocre in some areas while outstanding in others. Your unique value really comes through when you spotlight it without burying it in work that does not reflect well.

5. Comfortable with change. As your skill set grows your focus on what you do and how you do it changes. And change can be uncomfortable. Incorporating a new way of thinking or behaving can often feel like being in a rudderless boat adrift in the middle of the sea. Allowing yourself the opportunity to experiment and even fail at times is important in order for real growth to occur.

Are there other ways you keep your eye on the moving target? Let me know and I can add it to my list.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to gain greater clarity and more effectively communicate their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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Move Out of Your Comfort Zone BUT Stay True to Your Brand

Mary Rosenbaum | February 17th, 2011

Get out of your comfort zone. This is sound advice but not always easy to execute. Doing the same old same old is not a great recipe for creativity, innovation, and professional growth. What keeps us from moving forward? For some, it might be fear of the unknown or fear of failure. For others, it might be discomfort with change or an unwillingness to appear less perfect or expert in what we do.

An article I read this weekend in the NYTimes by Alina Tugend titled Tiptoeing Out of One’s Comfort Zone quoted Dan Pink as saying “We need a place of productive discomfort. If you’re too comfortable, you’re not productive. And if you’re too uncomfortable, you’re not productive. Like Goldilocks, we can’t be too hot or too cold.”

The reality is that trying new things, stepping into new roles, taking on new challenges can be uncomfortable. One way to ease the discomfort of staying on the edge and not drifting into complacency is to ensure that at least some things remain the same. Remaining authentic to who you are – your passions, values, vision and purpose – keeps you grounded in a reality that makes moving out of your everyday comfort zone easier.

If you are true to your values, they will help you make those choices that enable you to perform at your peak. Being clear on your contribution and your unique promise of value gives you a solid foundation from which to make your leap into the greater unknown.

So what happens if you ignore this advice, this inner voice, this feeling that it doesn’t “feel” right and decide to take on that particular project, job, or new client? Think back to a time in your career when you did just that. You accepted an assignment or position or you took on a client that you knew did not fit your parameters and who you thought might be a problem. What happened? Were you successful? Were you happy? Were you proud of the work you did?

Researchers say that under these types of circumstances your stress level goes up and your performance deteriorates. The premise for gaining clarity of your personal brand and staying on brand is to ensure that you perform at your peak, do what you love, and love what you do. Knowing what works for you and what makes you shine will act as your barometer, measuring and evaluating each new opportunity.

Ellen DeGeneres is known for trying new things, making significant changes in her life, and staying true to who she is. She has been successful at overcoming major obstacles by remaining on brand, clear about her values, passion, purpose, and vision for the world. Last year DeGeneres took on a role as one of the judges on American Idol. In announcing her resignation from the show it was clear that this position was not in line with her values. She told People Magazine, “I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge and sometimes hurt their feelings.” Staying on brand for her was more important (and felt better) than getting the increased visibility of being on a popular TV show.

So make your personal brand your litmus test when moving our of your comfort zone. Stay on brand and you will make the right decisions every time.

Utilizing her experience of over 25 years Mary Rosenbaum empowers careerists and entrepreneurs to clarify, communicate, and leverage their unique promise of value. Strong leadership means leading with your strengths. Get her free report Top Strategies for Getting Visible and Getting Ahead.

Follow me on Twitter @Careersguru

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