My Scaling Up Lessons Learned

 

My very first job was baking bagels at age 15 back in Connecticut. When my family moved to Arizona a year later, I bagged groceries and stocked shelves until I graduated high school, then sold clothes while in college. After getting my degree I joined Arthur Andersen & Co. as management information consultant where I worked in Phoenix, Chicago, and Seattle. After 11 years I went to Microsoft where I worked for nine years before leaving to homeschool our son. My professional life now is as an author, publisher, consultant, and disability inclusion advocate. It’s a journey that I never anticipated and am thankful for the great life learnings it afforded me.

Through the years I’ve experienced countless bumps and bruises, made lots of mistakes, and had a few successes along the way. One of my biggest growth areas, though, was in my scaling up as a leader. So much of what I learned came through making my own mistakes versus learning from others. To help you avoid touching the stove (trust me, it’s hot), I compiled a list of some of my most valuable (and painful) learnings. Hope they’re helpful.

Lean in during a crisis

• Say “I’m focused,” not “I’m nervous.” Others want to know you’re in control.

• Be calm when everyone else is freaking out.
• Sometimes your best alternative is your least-worst alternative.
• Don’t be evasive or “go dark.” Others will make up their own answer if you don’t give it to them straight.
• Immediately get alignment on the goal and what needs to happen next, even if you don’t know all the steps to get to the goal.
• Act deliberately to match the urgency of the situation.

Execute with purpose

• Be manic about bringing clarity to chaos.
• Think good-enough to solve the problem; don’t polish the apple.
• Respond when asked for help, but ensure others are helping themselves too.
• Be clear on what, who and when and hold others accountable for getting things done.
• Be decisive but be willing to admit when you’re wrong.
• Make and follow through on tough decisions empathically and intentionally.
• Don’t let the urgent crowd out the important.
• Schedule everything in your calendar, including down time.

Cultivate others

• Be accessible, not open door; you need to get things done too.
• Respect others’ time like you want yours respected.
• Genuinely seek and candidly share wisdom.
• Don’t delegate tasks to complete, empower problems to solve.
• Do what you say you’ll do, and expect others to do the same.
• Create an environment where others feel comfortable asking for help. 

Be a great communicator

• Have high value per word (Two ears, one mouth).
• Ask clarifying questions to ensure understanding.
• Ask knockout questions to challenge thinking.
• Watch others for verbal and nonverbal cues and adjust your actions accordingly.

Behave like you belong in the position

• Walk and talk with purpose, not like you’re out of control.
• Be politically aware, not politically driven.
• Never do anything that causes someone to question your integrity or principles.
• Know what life contentment (personal, professional, financial, etc.) looks like and work to achieve it.
• Don’t make your position look so taxing that no one else would want it; no sending 2 a.m. emails.

I’d love to know what you think of my learnings or if you’ve got questions. Ping me here!