You have to use your MIND (stay open to learning)

At a recent event in Cincinnati (shout out, DisruptHR!), a group of us went out to dinner and, as often happens at these types of gatherings, the conversation ranged all over the place – from discussing the state of local businesses to arguing whether or not I was morally obligated to share any of my dinner. (The answer was no.)

In general, I didn’t really have a stake in any of the conversations going on (other than the dinner sharing), but suddenly I found myself stepping on a rather large soap box and had to be coaxed down…and it was all about whether or not kids should learn cursive in schools.

Surely you’ve read about it – cursive has been removed from the Common Core because of computers and all that cool tech stuff. What a waste of time! After all, these kids are in third grade…there is so much more that they should be learning. Like how to eat paste. Why would we possibly want kid to learn something new?

And there’s the crux of my soapbox. Never mind that there is research that indicates cursive supports brain development. What bothers me is that there are people out there who are PROUD that they have encouraged 2nd and 3rd graders to reject learning something.

Okay, fine…hardly any of us writes anymore, let alone write in cursive. My cursive has been a hybrid of print and cursive for years. But think about the process of learning cursive – it requires discipline, perseverance, patience, even a little artistic flair. Are any of those things that we wouldn’t want kids to learn?

So…what does this have to do with leadership? I think too many people in the business world are guilty of the equivalent of refusing to learn cursive because they think they don’t need it. Development? Bah! I know everything you could possibly teach me! I don’t need that – it’s a waste of time!

Learning is a lifelong practice…with emphasis on the word practice. Your brain is begging you to keep creating new neural pathways to keep it young. By being open to learning, you keep your brain primed to take in and process new information. You shut that down, what good are you to your business?

Here are a few thoughts on how to keep yourself open to learning:

Avoid the urge to dismiss: Sometimes new things sound stupid. And useless. And a waste of time. Find out if that’s true before you dismiss it entirely.
Embrace the challenge: Sometimes new things sound hard, so we want to avoid them by saying they’re stupid. See the benefit in learning something new.
Find the nugget: Sometimes new things are kind of useless. I bet you can find something in there you can use. Maybe it’s a way to reframe your attitude. Maybe it’s the process you underwent to learn it. Maybe it’s simply the fact that you kept your mind open.

Always, always, ALWAYS be open to learning new things. It’s how you stay relevant…and it’s how the world becomes a better place.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
– Mahatma Gandhi

“Other duties as assigned” (why it’s a good way to work)

I had a streak of bad luck at one point in my career. Three of the companies I worked for either went out of business or closed the office of where I was working. I was the William H Macy of business. I could have been hired as a cooler for competitors.

After the third company went down and the job went away, I wanted to take a little bit of a mental break and just do some temp work until I figured out what was next. So I was assigned to a small company to do data entry. About a week into that, I started asking questions. Why were the forms all hand-written? What about a web form? Wait, you don’t have a web site? Well, why not? And who the heck is managing the network? And shouldn’t you have a single point of contact for general questions?

All of that question-asking led to a full-time position building the company’s web presence and setting some communication infrastructure that’s still in place today.

I share this story not because I want to brag about my mad skillz and the fact that I landed on my feet. I share it to illustrate that I landed on my feet as a result of asking questions that were outside of my assigned responsibilities.

All too often, I hear employees use the phrase, “It’s not in my job description.” Or I encounter managers who want a copy of the job description to prove to an employee that there is a task or behavior that they should be doing. And it sticks in my craw a bit because I find it SO limiting…and it’s so indicative of where a company’s culture currently is. Employees who think they aren’t responsible for the success of the company will limit themselves to the specifics of their job. Managers who can’t explain how an employee’s actions contribute to the overall success of an organization rely on job descriptions to “prove it”. It handicaps both parties…and hinders the business.

There’s a reason that other duties as assigned is included in job descriptions – because there are times when the unexpected happens and the business needs its employees to step up and do some things that are outside of their normal day-to-day. No business can promise exactly what your daily routine will look like (maybe some manufacturing jobs can get close, but there are still variables). The company needs some flexibility to succeed in an ever-changing business environment.

Other duties as assigned should be the way you approach your job every single day. Yes, there are actual job responsibilities you need to complete (duh). But this phrase is a license for innovation! You are responsible for adding value – if you can add value outside of your ‘job box’, you will be successful. For those of you who complain you’re getting burned out or want more development, here’s the phrase for inspiration. Look around you and find a problem to solve. If you’re always complaining that one department doesn’t seem to talk to another, call a meeting with the offending parties and see what you can do to help. Maybe it’s not “technically” your job…but if you see a way to add value by doing it, by all means – do it!

Now, there is some risk inherent in performing other duties all willy-nilly, so here are a couple of suggestions on how you might do it successfully:

Tie your other duties to a business need: It’s harder to fault an employee when you’re helping the business achieve its goals.
Target pain points: The others will thank you.
Don’t make it all about you: Sometimes the problem/pain point you’re solving benefits you…but what would benefit others?
Let people know what you’re doing: No one likes an end-around. Keep your manager up to speed on what you’re doing and why.

So when you’re tempted to grumble or make fun of other duties as assigned, change your mindset. You may just land on your feet.

Got an example of a time when an “other duties as assigned” mindset helped you? Share in the comments!

If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.
― Jeff Bezos

I’m a peacock!!! (what to do when your boss won’t let you flap your wings and fly)

Development. Growth. Character building. Resume expansion. Skillz.

As employees, we are looking for more than a paycheck when we come to work. We hope the job is some sort of means to an end, whether it’s fulfilling our lifelong dream of being a CEO, or simply a chance to “pay our dues” or “learn something new” on the way to that mythical “perfect” job out there.

So when our manager keeps us from growing on the job, it gets us miffed. Some might even say snippy. Or, in extreme cases, terribly vexed.

There’s data that support the general annoyance felt by employees whose growth has been stymied. Engagement studies continue to indicate that career development is a key engagement factor for most employees. In fact, less than half of all employees believe they have career opportunities with their current employer. Interestingly enough, another key engagement factor is trust in leadership…so if you have a manager who lied about the development opportunities your position offers, you’re probably not terribly engaged at the moment. And now we’re backed to being terribly vexed.

The good news is that you don’t need 100% buy-in from your manager in order to grow. I happen to subscribe to the belief that employees should own their own development, and as such, it is up to us to find ways to demand a chance to flap our wings and fly. (It’s a reference to The Other Guys. You’re welcome.)

See? He's not flying. And he's sad. — See? He’s not flying. And he’s sad.

Without further ado, here are some suggestions on how you can “encourage” an uncooperative boss into helping you grow and develop:

Be specific about your requests: This is slightly more than just “ask for it” (which is still good advice, but may not work with this type of boss). You need to know what it is you want to accomplish with your development. If you say to me, “I want to develop. Develop me.”, I wouldn’t want to help you either. It’s too vague! Get some specificity. If you are looking for more budgeting experience, ask your boss if you can sit in on a financial review meeting. If you want eventually to be a manager, volunteer to lead a few projects. Just mapping out some specific development goals for yourself will help move you in the right direction.
Help your coworkers on projects outside of your skill set: This is an awesome way to grow…and to get brownie points for “teamwork”. Yes, you’ll have to figure out the best way to prioritize your time so you still get your work done if your boss isn’t fully on board, but you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn from your teammates. Each of us brings unique skills and experience to the table, and there is no cost to learning from each other.
Seek out a mentor in another department: Let’s face it – sometimes you take a job that isn’t the greatest because of the opportunity to work for a certain company. But now you’re stuck in that department because your boss doesn’t care about your career development. Unless you are physically chained to the desk, you can move about the office, building relationships in different departments and asking for advice and guidance from others. (If you ARE physically chained to a desk, you may want to call HR.) Seek out the people who already are what you want to be when you grow up and learn from them.
Volunteer with a local industry-specialized membership chapter: An excellent way to build your network within your industry is to belong to and volunteer with a local chapter of that industry’s organization (e.g., SHRM). This will allow you to stay current in the latest and greatest within your chosen profession, you’ll meet lots of amazing people, make some great friends, and build your brand. And you get to brag about the fact you volunteered.
Read: And that means more than just browsing the headlines on Yahoo! or glancing at your Twitter feed. Pick a topic you’re interested in, that’s relevant to your development goals, and hunt down some great books…and commit to reading them! (Here’s a list to get you started.) I LOVE to read, so this one seems like a no brainer to me…but I know some folks would rather gouge their eyes out then sit still and read a book. I get that. So try an audio book (you can get them from libraries, iTunes, whatever). If they make a movie from it, watch that (worked for Freakonomics). Subscribe to some industry magazines. Just find a way to stay up to date in a meaningful way that makes you think.

This is just a short list of things you can do to keep you growing and learning even if your boss seems determined to keep you stagnant. Hopefully you see that it doesn’t take much to overcome the perceived obstacle of an uncooperative manager – each of us makes a choice about our own engagement. Don’t settle for whining about your lack of growth – flap your own damn wings and fly!

Have a suggestion on how to harness your inner peacock? Share in the comments!

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