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Taking Charge As the economic recovery begins to take shape, however tentatively, all that pent-up
job-hunting energy is letting loose, and trend watchers are expecting a tidal wave of job seekers to hit the pavement this fall, including many from the executive suite. If you’re one of those executives who has a few feelers out there, you now have a good shot at moving on and maybe even move up sometime later this year. But while your focus now is on finding and winning the right job, it’s not too soon to be thinking about how you’ll tackle the challenges of taking charge.
A new job isn’t the only situation in which you should think about how you want to take charge, though. Any high-stakes project or assignment – including the ones you devise for yourself – should start with a plan for how you will scope out the size and nature of the challenge, how you will design your actions, how you will assess the people with whom you will be working, and how you will identify potential stumbling blocks to your
success. Taking charge of a new venture when you can’t afford to fail means not only taking charge of the reins of power, but also taking charge of yourself in some new and possibly unfamiliar ways. When the stakes are high, it’s critical that you have the best possible information about what’s ahead. This is no time to assume that because you got the job or the assignment, you must be plenty smart; the really smart people know they have to focus on what they don’t know. Plan to spend a good chunk of your time and energy up front
in scouting the new territory you now inhabit. How big is the job or the problem, and where are its edges? What are the goals and expectations set for you and your team? What are the critical factors to success, both internal and external to the organization? What is the political, social, historical, and cultural context for your work? Approach these questions with an open mind and a willingness to question what you already know.
There’s an old saying that goes “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Once you know where you need to go, and you have a sense of the terrain, it’s time to map out your path. A make-or-break situation demands thought before action; if you want to get the right results, you need to act with purpose and intention in all aspects of your work. A scattershot approach risks dissipating your energy and
wasting time, and reacting to the situation rather than initiating action forfeits control over your direction. Plan your actions accordingly, and design a regular feedback loop into your plan. It’s also smart to spend time up front with the people on whom your success will depend: your team members, your bosses, partners, stakeholders, collaborators, and support providers. Approach them with questions, and listen deeply to their
answers. Ask their advice and be prepared to take it. Engage them in meaningful conversation and discover what matters to them. Figure out who you can rely on and who you may have to work around. As you go about taking charge, be especially mindful of possible bumps in the road, or worse, potential roadblocks to your ultimate success. Many of these are easily foreseen if you put your attention on them, others will be less obvious, but even many of
those are knowable in advance. Do some scenario thinking to help surface these problems and help you prepare for the ones you won’t see coming, and position yourself for flexibility in the face of uncertainty. Remember that you could end up being your own biggest roadblock if you neglect managing yourself along the way. How skillful are you at taking charge of yourself? If you’ve got a make-or-break
situation coming up, or you just want to get better at self-management to prepare for future challenges, let’s talk about how coaching can work for you. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com. 
How can you find the people you really should be talking to, when you’re new to an organization or a project? Think of your task as a kind of “living chain letter”: -
Ask those immediately above and below you for the names of at least two other individuals you should talk to. Who do they see as the key players?
- When you talk to each of them, ask them also for the names of two others who might have some special knowledge or insight for you.
- Keep up the process until you start hearing the same names over and over again.
- As you encounter new people in the start-up and ongoing phases of the project, remember to ask each of them
who else they know who might have a relevant perspective to share with you.
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78% of senior executives and managers say they have 90 minutes or less of personal time on a typical workday, according to a recent survey by NFI Research. The majority (62 %) of executives and managers has 60 minutes or less of personal time daily and
6% of respondents say they have virtually no personal time. Of the workday time that is considered "personal," the majority (71%) spends it on eating meals. Less than a third spend it exercising and one-fifth spend it reading or thinking. According to an American Management Association survey, 28% of respondents plan to take more vacation days this summer than they did in 2003, while 17% plan to take
fewer days off. Vacations will be longer, fewer people will be in contact with the office while on vacation, and fewer vacationers will be in contact with clients. Results from a recent poll conducted by The Association of Executive Search Consultants revealed that 54% executives responding expect to work for seven or more employers during their career, compared to 9% who felt that way ten years ago. 
Information Environmentalism A movement that seeks to reduce information overload and its effects on peoples' lives. Adherents are said to be throwing away their TV sets, cell phones, pagers, and PDA’s, in an effort to escape the overwhelming torrent of information and constant demands for attention that characterizes today’s virtual landscape. 
 A Bias for Action, by Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal. What I like
about it: Based on their research across various industries, the authors posit that managers frequently confuse activity with accomplishments, and they demonstrate that 90% of managers waste their time by procrastinatingand distracting themselves with busyness. They use engaging case studies to illustrate the problem, and lay out strategies for individuals and organizations to develop a capacity for more purposeful action.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates
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“You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.”
— Sam Levenson
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Bloomfield Associates, LLC is proud to be a sponsor for the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Project, an exciting public-private partnership for our maritime heritage on the Chesapeake Bay. To raise money and awareness for the Lighthouse project, its partners are throwing a Beach Party Thursday, July 15, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Phillip Merrill Environmental Center just outside Annapolis on the Bay. It promises to be an evening of fun, great food and drink, in a spectacular setting with a great view of the Lighthouse itself. Only an hour’s drive from Washington! Coaches – Beth Bloomfield will be offering her acclaimed six-session teleclinic, “Building Your Leadership Coaching Practice,” once again this fall, starting in mid-September. This time we plan to offer recordings of the calls, and even more information-packed resource materials. More information is forthcoming shortly via email announcement, but if you already know you are interested, please contact us and get on the list now for an early bird rate (no obligation!) | | |
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