The Manager - Edition 72 - How long do you wait? by Rob Lambert
The Manager - Edition 72
This week I've been mostly thinking about:
How long we wait, and is waiting really the answer?
Hi
I hope you've had a cracking week and are looking forward to the week ahead.
It's been super mega busy here with day to day consulting. So much so that I've done very little on my business this week. I'm taking a couple of days off soon to re-record the management videos. I've got the new brand applied to my decks and I'll now use these to guide the training. Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements.
I'm also having my website rebuilt. How exciting.
Anyhow, enough piffling on from me.
How long do you wait?
I've been working with lots of people over the last 20 years or so.
One of the most interesting behaviours I've seen from this experience is that people wait.
Some people wait too long before they take action. I know I did. In fact, I still do.
I fight this resistance every single day. I wait when I should move.
But I've learned how to take more action, to lead, to exercise my own agency. But it's still really hard.
And I meet people every day who are waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
"Take the lead. Move to action. Exert power over yourself. Follow process. Take control." - These are all mantras I live by, but it's easier said than done. In fact it's really hard to take action. But so many people are living way below their potential in work and life, because they are waiting.
How long will you wait before you ask for a pay rise?
How long will you watch dysfunctional behaviour until you challenge it?
How long will you work for a company, or manager, you dislike, before you do something about it?
How long will you wait until you launch that blog, or business, or write that book?
How long will you wait until you address a poor relationship at home or work?
How long will you tolerate negativity before you act?
How long will you blame others until you take control of your own mistakes?
How long will you settle for the norm before you rise up and challnge it?
We wait. When we should take action.
We sometimes take action when we should wait.
The line is not obvious. But we must tread it.
And the only way to get better at knowing when to wait and when to move, is to keep moving and learning what works and what does not. If you never ask, or take action, or move, you'll never know whether it would have worked.
And so, this week, I hope you go back to your life and jobs and contemplate whether you should be moving, or whether you should continue waiting?
I suspect there are some things in your life that you want to take action about.
Are you waiting? Will waiting work?
Only you will really know the answer....but don't wait too long. The opportunity might pass.
Rob
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Still. Struggling. Starting too many books. Someone help.
Cultivated Content Of The Week
This week's content I reckon you'll enjoy.
1 - There is power in teams.
The power of hidden teams - in other words, how some people are engaged and doing great work - sometimes in invisible teams. https://hbr.org/cover-story/2019/05/the-power-of-hidden-teams
2 - Hold the door.
Resonance and holding the door open for others. https://fs.blog/2019/05/resonance-open-doors/
3 - Freeze
Here's what happened when a company froze Senior Management salaries and helped those barely surviving on minimum wage. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/15/executive-pay-salaries-carecentrix-senior-team-employees
4 - What's next - the power of a calendar
I'm a fan of adding all the work I am doing to my work calendar. It takes aways a lot of the day to day drama. It shows me how much work I have and how little time - so I don't over commit. It's the most effective way I know to get stuff done. I'm not alone. https://jamesclear.com/schedule
5 - Confused by Huawei?
Here's a helpful article explaining why the US and Huawei are in conflict.
https://www.vox.com/technology/2018/12/11/18134440/huawei-executive-order-entity-list-china-trump
6 - La la la la
Apparently, singing at work is good for you. Good. I'm still not doing it. https://www.msn.com/en-ph/kids/other/the-surprising-benefits-of-singing-at-work/ar-AABCtD2
7 - The names Lambert. Rob Lambert.
Apparently starting a talk like a Bond movie is a way to grab attention. I agree. https://michael-roberto.blogspot.com/2019/05/how-to-start-presentation-or-speech.html
8 - Office Distractions
Office distractions ranked in order. https://qz.com/work/1615760/the-most-disruptive-office-distractions-ranked/