By: Luis Silva
Vice President General Manager- South Texas Market
AT&T
The elders in society are viewed as possessors of knowledge. These are people that have gained respect through their experience. When I picked this topic to share a few of the things I have learned through 30 years of work, it reminded me of those that came before me and shared their knowledge.
This phrase applies to everything in life. Experience gives you knowledge and it allows you to gain confidence in some cases and in other cases it provides a red alert. The fact that you know the possible outcome in many of these makes you value the situation. Decisions are easier and implementing the different actions or changes give you relative confidence on the outcome. All, when it comes to leadership there are several things I wish I would have known. The following tips and concepts are the most important things I wish I would have known. In no particular order.
Let’s start with performing on the job. Most of the people want to gain more money while they grow professionally. In order to get there, you must be good at what you do. It is great to show potential but that needs to be backed up by current performance. In order to achieve the
next step, start by delivering where you are. We tend to forget that those looking at us for a role must use the information at hand, and that is where you stand now. They will use your background, education and communication skills to evaluate your capabilities, but what you are doing today, opens the door. Believe me when I say, “No one wants a mediocre performer for the next level”.
This one might sound basic. Every time I was promoted, I thought there was a requirement for me to know what the whole job was all about. What I know now is that there is no expectation for the person to know what to do. There is a normal learning curve and leaders understand that. All you must do is raise your hand and say: “I don’t know”. Believe it or not, your leader will take the time to explain. All you needed to do, was ask. Amazing concept. I would have saved so much energy and stress by just knowing that. The typical nerves of not knowing, the chase for answers all over the place, all that gone by just raising your hand.
Meetings are great places for networking, and they give us the opportunity to learn about the business. When you go to a meeting make sure that bring 100% of yourself. Take notes, pay attention to what people are saying. The most important thing, write down every question that people ask. Questions give insight on what others are thinking. They tell you what concerns they might have. They show you how much people are understanding the subject. This is one of the most fascinating things, questions provide you with details of how the presentation is going, the subject at hand and what they are doing to fix it. At the end of the day, if you are focusing on what is happening in the meeting, you are not worried about sounding smart or thinking about what to say. Taking your mind off the meeting to self-fulfill with a comment is not worth. Add without missing what is being said.
Adding value is extremely important. Take every task as an opportunity to add value. There are numerous mundane activities in every person’s role that can be looked at and improved. Look for those opportunities to improve the day to day. Share what you are doing with your leader and bring them into the fold. We tend to think that innovation only applies to technology and artificial intelligence. Innovation exists in everything that we do and becoming familiar with those tasks and making them better helps show your commitment.
We assume that we owe those ahead of us when we get promoted. The truth is that we owe those behind us. For a company to continue to grow, employees need to build up those behind them so that there is continuity, and the enterprise will keep going for years to come. As a leader never expect anything back when you help someone, the expectation needs to be on what the person that you will help will groom those behind them. This is so simple but so important. The culture of a company depends on this.
Run with problems and walk with great news. Never fear sharing bad news as fast as you can. Sometimes your leader’s reaction will not be the best, but the reality is that they will appreciate the fact that you let them know. If you delay informing people of bad news, it will blow up in your face. It is hard but it is the right thing to do. Never hide the issues or try to solve these on your own. The problem will get bigger by the minute.
Be nice to everyone. You never know who you will report to in the future. Every person in the company matters and you should always be the same with every person that works with you and those that do not. Life changes quick and you will be surprised on who will be running the show. Being nice to everyone doesn’t cost you a cent, it is the right thing to do, and believe me when I say, “your days will be so much easier”.
Never ask some one how they are doing if you are not willing to sit through the story. Do not make that phrase a cliché, it is extremely important. People will share their story when you ask, take your time to listen, be engaged. Do not look at your phone. All you need to do is listen and be engaged. They are not looking for an answer, they want to know that you care. That is key. Asking someone how they are doing and leaving them hanging with the story is rude and it will blow up on your face.
As a leader you need to understand that you are present in your employee’s dinner table every night. You chose on what side of that table you are. It does not mean that you just have to be nice and cool, it means that you have to care. People recognize even in hard tough feedback sessions what your intentions are. Those intentions show that you care, even on those tough conversations. You will be in the right side of the table if you do that. The other key point is that you get to do this every single day, so there is always an opportunity to correct any missed step.
Have fun and enjoy the journey. Regardless of the role, we spend way too much time at work. Make sure you always take time to enjoy the moments. I have learned through my years working that we have been more productive when we are engaged and enjoying the tasks at hand. We learn more and we build a better team by having fun.
Finally, when building a Great place to work, don’t forget the “to work” piece. It is important to build a solid environment with a good culture, but the company needs to be profitable. The to work piece is crucial for any corporation. Good solid results need to be in the forefront, always know the goals, deliver on them and build your culture around that.
If I would have known these things thirty years ago, my work life would have been easier. The reality is that I have enjoyed the journey and loved learning and experiencing these. So maybe, just maybe, learning these on the go as I shaped my career are things that to me were good not to know.
