Mastery & Qualities for Success 2013

As I was wading through my tweets, I was captured once again by one of my favorite tweeters Addicted to Success and an article  20-Powerful-Lessons-in-the-Art-of-Mastery-by-Robert-Greene .  In response I retweeted 'these lessons are not for the faint of heart'.  Greene pulls no punches and each of the 20 speaks powerfully to being humble, being a learner...

I was also drawn to the focus on the term 'mastery'.  People are often successful without mastering their crafts or skills - we see it all the time.  Mediocre people with mediocre abilities doing mediocre jobs are everywhere and making money...and are clearly seen as successful.  What then is the incentive for working to mastery?  What does that even mean?

mas·ter·y

noun

1. command or grasp, as of a subject: a mastery of Italian. 

2. superiority or victory: mastery over one's enemies. 

3. the act of mastering.

4. expert skill or knowledge.

5. the state of being master; power of command or control. 

(Dictionary.com)

Words like 'command, grasp, superiority, victory, expert, control' - those are powerful.  Those take us to a place beyond the usual - the ordinary.  When I think about the new year I think about both starting fresh and taking it to a level higher... I am inspired and am excited to strive beyond the ordinary - to excellence - to mastery.

If mastery then is our goal, where does the energy for mastery exist - where can we draw from to become masters - to differentiate ourselves from the ordinary - the average?  What will it take for us to be set apart?  To be excellent?

I will first look to my core...to who I am as a person.  As Greene walks us through his 20 Powerful Lessons, he challenges us with thoughtful insight and pointed tasks but waits until the end (19 & 20) to require us to look to our being. 

19 - Qualities that will help you succeed: Self-discipline, desire, persistence, focus, effort, patience, energy, obsessiveness, observance, confidence, trust in self, emotional commitment, humility, adaptability, boldness, openness.
20 - Qualities that hinder your success: Complacency, conservatism, dependency, impatience, grandiosity, inflexibility, distractibility, becoming egotistical, close-mindedness.

As I read lessons 19 & 20, I slipped quickly through the qualities that help you succeed - making note to be conscious of these and strive to be better and to do more...but I was stopped firmly in the moment as I read through those qualities that hinder success and saw a little of myself in each of those.  What a different place it is to think about our own qualities and characteristics that are barriers for our success.  What does that mean for me...for you?

For 2013 my wish for you...

That you will want to strive to mastery...to excellence.
That passion will spill into everything that you do.
That you will strive to be more than mediocre.
That things beyond money will create your vision for success.
That you will look to the qualities that hinder - that create barriers - for insight and truth.
That you find strength,peace and joy in both your professional and personal endeavors.

'Be the master of your will and a slave to your conscience...'     Paulo Coehlo

Communication Series: Mentoring as a Training Strategy

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn"      Benjamin Franklyn

In a recent comment on this blog, a colleague shared his thoughts on the complexity of mentoring.

" I find your description of Mentoring useful. I plan to use it in proposals and statement of works to help customers understand the deliverable. Often training is called for, but the audience is only one or two deep, so point training followed by mentoring is called for. Or sometimes mentoring is remdedial to plug gaps in productivity capability. Setting/defining "learning objectives" for mentoring is a challenge."

Utilizing mentoring as a purposeful training strategy can be both cost efficient and extremely effective.  Mentoring - by virtue of it's name - suggests an ongoing relationship with a learner.  No one would probably argue that the mentoring relationship is critical to it's effectiveness and the probablility that you will meet the desired outcome.  However, once we identify the content expert (mentor) and create an introduction/relationship with the learner (mentee) - we often put them together with only the hope that there will be knowledge transfer and understanding.  This situation promises to support one of the newest business mantras... Hope is not a strategy.

 

Creating a structure or framework for mentoring as a trainng strategy is critical.  As you are creating this learning opportunity I would urge you to consider the following:

 

1. Choosing the best Mentor:  Just because someone is an area expert or is an excellent salesperson/engineer/developer/chef doesn't mean he/she can be a mentor.  The qualities of a mentor are the same as most teachers: patient, understands the components of the whole, able to evaluate the learner etc.  Choosing the best mentor for the training is critical.
2. Clearly identifying the learning objectives:  As a result of the mentoring engagement, what will the mentee be able to know/do/apply?  The fewer opportunities to be engaged with each other - the less aggressive the objectives should be. 
3. Purposefully outlining and creating the Mentoring Engagement: As eluded to in the comment above, there may be need for 'spot training' followed by mentoring activites.  I would suggest the following outline as a minimum:

1. Do a Needs Assessment:  What does the learner already know?  What is his/her foundational understanding?  This can be done in a conversation, observing activities or in a more formal assessment format.
2. Identify specific 'Training' Opportunities:  What training is required...where is there a lack of knowledge/information?  Will the mentor train or will that be outsourced?  Will the mentor and mentee attend training together?
3. Clearly define the activities and expectations with the  Mentor: How will the mentor interact with the mentee?  Are there scheduled weekly appointments?  Will there be both in-person and virtual opportunities?  Can the mentee contact the mentor on demand or are there set criteria?  Will the mentee accompany the mentor on customer calls, implementation visits, other...and what will be the format of that interaction? 
4. Identify a clear timeline for the mentee to complete the Mentorship engagement:  A mentoring training engagement should have a beginning and an end.  How much time should it take for the mentee to achieve the learning objectives?
5. Create a performance type evaluation: We may learn and be able to talk to new knowlege, information or practices - but the test comes when the learner is required to 'apply' what was learned.  How will the learner's behavior or actions be different as a result of the training?  What will look different in his/her performance.

Taking even just a few minutes to consider these thoughts as you organize and schedule mentoring opportunities in your organization will increase the odds that your learner will walk away from this training opportunity with new skills and tools to apply in the future.

What I like most about using mentoring as a training strategy is the level of engagement of the learner.  In my research I found this quote:

"...  the most effective way to develop people is quite different from conventional skills training, which let's face it many employees regard quite negatively. They'll do it of course, but they won't enjoy it much because it's about work, not about themselves as people. The most effective way to develop people is instead to enable learning and personal development, with all that this implies." Business Balls

 
Effective learning opportunities that enable learning and allow for personal development often sit outside of the conventional skills trainig... I would highly recommend using 'purposeful & planned' mentoring as a training strategy in your business. 

Hot vs Not

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Fear & Success...

Top 10 Fears that Hold Us Back from Success

On the heels of my post yesterday about 'inaction'...I found it interesting that my entrepreneurial spouse came home from the gym (albeit his 'second home') and talked about a new word that he had coined.  As they were at the gym speculating the increase of attendance into the month of January (hmmm I was thinking about going myself...)... he mentioned that all of those that are creating their fitness New Years Resolutions would be called Resolutionists -

 One of my favorite websites being Addicted 2 Success - I happened to stumble upon the Top 10 Fears article referenced above.  This article takes our previous discussion to an even more thoughtful level - identifying and detailing the top fears as:

1. Failure
2. Death
3. Rejection
4. Ridicule
5. Loneliness
6. Misery
7. Disappointment
8. Pain
9. The 'Unknown'
10. Losing your Freedom

If you are a repeating 'resolutionist'...or are thinking about being a resolutionist for the very first time... this is worth the read.  If you have been a 'budding entrepreneur' ...but never able to make the move... perhaps you will gain some perspective on your 'inaction'...

Just do it...

Move Me Quotes

 “Inaction breeds doubt and fear.  Action breeds confidence and courage.  If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.  Go out and get busy.” ~ Dale Carnegie

If you are inspired by quotes, I encourage you to visit this site.  I find that inspirational quotes tap into certain places that I either bury or struggle to tap into myself.  Possibly there are realities about myself that are difficult to face or that I feel that I am a failure or inadequate...but there is something about reading 'snippits' from those that I respect - have heard of - or even find questionable that makes me thoughtful.

I am a conundrum when it comes to action.  I am a woman/business person/employee/wife/mom of action - and will coach/counsel others to be likewise....but still I am haunted by those places in my life where I find myself practicing the most mundane 'avoidance behaviors'.  Reading Dale Carnegie's words tapped into the reality of my inaction - it is fear.

I live my life by faith but I can acknowledge that I have fear.  How polar opposite fear and faith truly are and how we swing with the pendulum between the two.  In the business world I would liken faith to confidence.  When I am confident I am in action - moving forward - making decisions and interacting with colleagues and clients.  I am not deterred by objection and can easily share my reasoning and perspective.  I enjoy what I am engaged in even if it is difficult and challenging.  When I am confident - I am an early adopter, a leader, a force...

On those days where I find myself procrastinating and avoiding, I am keenly aware of my situation and often acknowledge it... but more often than not  find myself at the end of the day still not having moved through it.  I will not have written that blog post, will not have worked on that project, will not have organized my office, will not have reached out to that client... not because of a laziness but because of the fear.

Our 'fears' are personal and my fear may be different from yours.  What if no one reads my blog posts?  Who am I to be giving advice and why would anyone care what I write or think?  Why bother working on that project - no one will move it forward and I won't get credit.  If I peer deeply into my finances will I be afraid of what I see?  All of those questions can cause me to stall - to avoid - to move and not be active.

So Carnegie says to 'Go and get busy...'. Nike says to 'Just do it!'...sounds like you and I are not the only ones that struggle with our fears.  My advice to you is to find your inner inspiration and 'inner talk'
that will get you through ...some that work for me are - I am not the only one who has fears - everyone has their own stuff to deal with - most people in both my personal and business life are so busy with their own agenda and they aren't focused on my faults and inadequacies - I don't need to be perfect, no one else is - this too will pass - and a favorite that I stole from my then 'teenage daughter' 'I am a good person and I do good things...'

The moral of the story is that we all have times of inaction and there is no magic bullet that will help us move through it.  If we plan on 'doing it tomorrow' I can guarantee that tomorrow will never come.  Inaction just gives you time to think about it... action gives you focus...

Find your inspiration - your inner coach- acknowledge and get past your fear... and Go out and get busy.” - 

Selling has changed...

"People don't resist change. They resist being changed!"

— Peter Senge

I had an interesting discussion today with a colleague on the 'adjustment' in the economy and how selling has changed over the last several years.  We talked in the context of a specific organization however there are certain realities that can be generalized across most businesses selling b2b - the traditional vendor pushing the 'product sell' is no longer effective and customers are looking to 'trusted advisors and consultants' to make their business purchases.  

As I sat in a room of seasoned 'sales veterans' recently they all nod their heads with the obligatory 'yes - of course I understand how to sell consultatively' but the reality is that although the methodology has been out there now for several years - very few people actually use it...and use it well.  Selling methodologies/strategies are clearly in a renaissance - not unlike the industrial revolution where change was imminent and in motion - and those that weren't ready for the innovation would continue to do things the way they had always been done...all the while wondering why others were being more successful.

The transition from 'leading with product' to 'uncovering business pains' is not a small task.  Traditionally sales professionals have been tooled with powerpoints and product 'info sheets' that tout the features and functionalities of the product.  The sales call was more of a presentation delivery with an order form or contract at the end.  Even selling complex hardware and software across large enterprises had a linear sales process that both the vendor and the customer 'stepped through' succinctly.  Deals were made in a single meeting, with a single handshake - followed by a cocktail and fine dinner.

Today budgets are much tighter and the accountability at every level of the organization requires multiple signatures for even the most seemingly 'mundane' purchases.  Getting a meeting to present a new product or technology is almost impossible as internal meetings establish 'budgeted projects' and vendors are 'invited' to the table.  Traditional marketing campaigns where the 'newest and the greatest' are advertised and highlighted are being replaced with webinars on 'thought leadership' and industry understanding in the attempt to gain credibility for the organization in the market.

So..as an internal trainer/training lead tasked with moving an organization from 'leading with product' to 'solution & consultative selling'... how do you influence change...?

At a minimum...

Understand Solution Selling and create clear curriculum & best practices

Know your audience... identify those that might  be 'early adopters' and work closely with them       
Gain the support of your frontline managers

Learn change methodology -  'leading change' & 'managing change' and know the difference           

Be cognizant that during change there is anxiety and chaos...and support your learners          
Be able to communicate the purpose, benefits and personal 'wins' as a result of the change

Additional Resources:     

Communication Series: Is it really training...?

Leading a training organization in a global software company has been fascinating.  Hiring seasoned sales people, they have already been through training at numerous companies.  Their shared experiences range from training programs that mail technical product documents to their remote offices to on-site training in lavish hotels which include great food and integrate team building sessions.  Without exception they come to my training room in Naples and are skeptical that the week or two weeks we will share together will be any different.  Why is it then that at the end of our time together participants consistently remark that of all the trainings they have attended, this was the best?

It certainly isn't because they are having a ton of fun.  I am a serious and focused facilitator with a background in public school administration.  My principal hat is always on and I don't hesitate to jump in to manage time or to pull in a participant that seems less than engaged.  Naples is a beautiful city but the training is rigorous - 8 - 5 everyday with little exception and homework in the evening.  We do laugh and there is a great deal of camaraderie built over the weeks in Naples but I would insist that the success of our time together isn't based on the any of those experiences.

What is it then?  Why is it that they feel that the time away from their families is well spent and that they are prepared to take on the daunting task of selling in the competitive software market with our products?

Our program provides Training... real training with all of its complex components. That may sound arrogant but I will take that risk.  I am often amazed when people will create a recorded presentation or engage an audience in an hour semi-interactive webex session and boast that they have provided training.  They may have offered information, they may have engaged in a dialogue and they may have even transferred some knowledge. but I would question whether that it is training...

The next several posts will define and develop our collective understanding of not only real Training - but also other terms that we use with training such as coaching, mentoring, shadowing and even apprenticeships.  These are all knowledge transfer strategies but to be effective we need to not only understand what each of them are and how to execute their unique components...but also which strategy to use dependent on the audience and the situation.  You can effectively use each during the same session or course, but purposeful use of these strategies is powerful - and results in successful learning.

So how do we define each of these different knowledge transfer strategies and what are the components of each that make them independently or collectively successful?  I will begin that exploration with you with the following simple descriptors - and I look forward to any comments/questions/concerns that you might post as you ponder the differentiation of the terms:

• Training is required when there is new information for the audience.  Training has multiple components that minimally/simply  include content, activities that require the learner to interact with that content and  an assessment that demonstrates that the learner understands and can apply that content. 
• Coaching assumes that the person being coached doesn't require new information or content- and that he or she has the understanding but is not successful in applying it.  Coaching is a questioning technique that helps the person being coached discover within themselves what they need to know/have/do to be successful.  
• Mentoring is a training strategy that is executed one-on-one- or in a small group.  Minimally the mentor needs to be an expert in their craft- with an understanding of what makes them an expert.  The mentoring relationship requires learning objectives, authentic experiences for the learner to observe and interact with the mentor and performance assessments that demonstrate that the learner understand and can apply the content.
• Shadowing is effective when the learner has a fundamental understanding of the content but struggles to apply it in authentic interactions.  Shadowing requires less structure than mentoring and the responsibility for the learning is on the learner rather than the person being shadowed.
• Apprenticeship is an effective training strategy but rarely used due to its high cost.  Traditional apprentice relationships are intimate and facilitate a deep understanding of a specific craft - with the relationship ending only when the apprentice can independently apply the understanding.

These definitions are my interpretations of the different terms and are a result of both my research and experiences.  The next several posts will break down each term - incorporating definitions from additional experts as well as exploring scenarios and examples of each.

Although this blog is new and my audience is just growing, I hope to engage you in candid conversation about this content...Looking forward to your thoughts!