Leverage NLP - Sell Without Wearing it on Your sleeve!

According to Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), our mind cannot differentiate between what is imaginary and what is reality. If u keep telling your mind about something it tends to become your reality.

So, the most important rule that a salesman has to follow is that he should think that he has got the best product or service because if he will be clear in his mind, only then he will be able to convince others. So before convincing others he will have to convince himself. 

Clients hold a significant place in the selling process. So before interacting with the client the salesperson has to create certain objectives in his mind which are —

Creating Positive mind pictures - These are the pictures that bring in positivity. For example - visualise yourself succeeding.

Assume the sale - This means assuming that you have got the best product and you have the best deal .

Create an Anchor - Which means increasing the intensity of the emotions, realising that now you are not someone watching the screen but now your are an actor yourself .

Pacing and Leading - Pacing essentially means synchronising yourself with other person and Leading means you can lead them to the desired action.

Clients are the most important aspects of a sale .. They are the people to whom the salesman has to sell his product or service. Therefore, to make a powerful impact you can use A V K words

1. Auditory - Hear    
2. Visual - See.    
3. Kinesthetic - Feel

Distinct clients have different sense and one of them would be stronger than the others.

If the client says, “I would like to see what u have got” so the person will fall under the visual category.

If the client says, "please tell me what you have got” the person will be auditory

And if the Client says, “I feel like what you are saying is right” then he will be kinesthetic.

After determining the type of client you can easily build the rapport with the client and try to convince him or her. The most Important aspect of selling is that you try to notice and mirror your personality to that of the client because when the person notices the similar personality, he tends to trust more on the person.

Now there are certain techniques related to the closing of the sales which are as follows : -

Pre-supposition - Already presuming that the deal is done you start filling up the form and ask the client to sign in order to seal the deal. I am sure it will be a little embarrassing in the beginning but it is quite a powerful technique.

The ben Franklin close - Under this technique you tell the person about the pros and cons to help him Make a better decision. For example selling a gym membership and the membership is for INR5000 but the person wants to spend only INR4000 so u can put a sheet in front of him ; make 2 columns saying pros and cons of this membership and in the cons part your write INR1000 whereas in pros you can write all the benefits of the membership which will then force the customer to think that what all he can miss just because of INR1000

While selling you should never use negative words..I can give you a personal example of going to a handbag store to buy handbag for my daughter where the salesperson asked me, "If I wanted dull handbags" which actually did not make me feel good, in my view, he should have rather asked "if I wanted less brighter shades of the handbag".

In a nutshell, selling is basically convincing yourself to convince others, reframing the context and linking to customer needs. Levering NLP techniques, Persuasion & Influence plays a critical role.

Help Others to help yourself! Oleg & Brigette Have Set an Awesome Example to Emulate!

Of late, I have seen a lot of posts by LinkedIn influencers talking about helping people in job search by extending their reach into their network. Oleg Vishnepolsky & Brigette Hyacinth have taken the lead on this and are showing the way to fellow linkedIn connections. I was quite impressed to see the quote shared by Adam Danyal in one of his posts.

"individually, we are a drop. Together, we are an ocean" Ryunosuke Satoro

Business landscape is shifting and so the future of branding and also the way jobs are searched. The power of networking is par excellence and its leverage by both Oleg & Brigette is highly commendable. 

They both have built network of over a million followers and helping job seekers, extending helping hand to people who need help and providing thought leadership in a compassionate and empathetic way. 

This brings to mind, a story that I read quite sometime back published by Abhishek Kapahi

"A man was driving his car, when he saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road. He saw that she needed help. So he stopped his Pontiac near her Mercedes and got out. 

He smiled, while he was approaching her, still she was worried, as nobody had stopped for hours. Moreover, he did not look safe, as his appearance was so poor and shabby. He could see, how frightened she was, so he tried to calm her:

"I‘m here to help you, don‘t worry. My name is Bryan Anderson". 

The tire was flat, so he had to crawl under the car. While changing the tire, he got dirty and his hands were hurt. When the job was done, she asked how much she owed him for his help. Bryan smiled. He said:

"If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone, who needs help, give that person the needed assistance. And think of me".

A the same evening, the lady stopped by a small cafe. That place looked dingy. Then she saw a waitress, nearly eight months pregnant, wiping her wet hair with a towel. The waitress had a sweet friendly smile, although she had spent the whole day, on her feet.

The lady wondered, how someone, who has so little, can be so kind and giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. The lady had finished her meal and paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress went to get change and when she came back, the lady was gone. She left a note on the napkin:

"You don‘t owe me anything. Somebody once helped me, just like now I‘m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you". The waitress found four more one hundred bills under the napkin.

That night the waitress came home earlier. She was thinking about the lady and the money she left. She was wondering, how the lady could know, how much she and her husband needed it? Especially now, when the baby will soon arrive. She knew, that her husband worried about that, so she was glad to tell him good news. Then she kissed him and whispered 

"Now everything will be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson".

Too Much Thinking Mitigate Risk Taking Ability & Stifle Growth...

"Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple. He came back and changed the world". Mitt Romney

Saima has few offers in hand, however, despite a better opportunity which offered a significant challenge and growth both in terms of position and compensation, she was filled with glistening eyes as she did not want to leave an existing organization as affinity with colleagues was pretty strong.

Manager spoke to her and told that she should take some-time out and think through the offer versus the relationships. She said, with determination, Sir, I believe

"zyada sochne se faisle kamzor pad zaate hai" (Too much thinking make decisions weak).

Lot of us keep thinking a lot and do not make a decisive move and that hampers our growth.I remember a story which goes as follows :

A bird was not flying in the kingdom of a renowned king. The king called his minister and ask them to make an arrangement to help fly the bird, however, when all the ministers fail to make the bird fly, the king called up a villager and asked him, whether he can help. the villager said, it should not take more than 15 minutes to make the bird fly.

The villager was successful in making the bird fly. The king called him to check what he did to the bird to make him fly. The villager said, My Lord, it was not very difficult. I just cut the branch on which the bird was sitting".

This story emphasize the fact at times we become far too conscious of our surrounding and incessantly worry about what if.....and that feeling of what if mitigate our risk taking capability and hence stifle our growth. We at times tend to spend lot of time churning out excuses instead of putting our past behind and getting on with our future endeavour.

Stop letting the grass grow under your feet to get the competitive edge...

Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new- Brian Tracy

During the job interview, Ryan was asked as to why he want to leave a well reputed company. Ryan responded by saying, "I am very comfortable". The interviewer was puzzled and asked, "Isn't it what people look forward to while working?. Ryan said, "No. If one has to be successful, it is imperative that one faces a bit of stress that helps them to remain on their toes and that is what make them differentiate from the crowd and he further added. Being comfortable makes me very uncomfortable".

It’s quite common for most of us to be in the comfort zone of whatever we are doing and would like to continue doing this forever. This is fact that stares at us regularly and at times, we let our-self stagnate and do make efforts to push ours-self out of comfort zones in all areas of life.  In today’s competitive arena we have to have a clear cut edge over others in terms of experiential learning. Following points comes to my mind that could possibly help you stop letting the grass grow under your feet.

Ensure that you have a definitive long term plan : We need to have a definite plan and agenda in terms of our career progression. We should always review and optimize the plan of action on periodic basis. We need to ask ourselves “Are we getting the kick and satisfaction in whatever we are doing?” Is it challenging enough and what is the learning curve in it? What are the value additions we are doing and have done for ourselves? Whatever we are doing, is it taking us closer to our planned objective?

Invest into your personal growth- If you need help moving out of your comfort zone, it is imperative that one constantly invest in self development to further sharpen the strengths and bridge the gap when it comes to development needs. It is always good to have a mentor or coach a professional friend who takes genuine and sincere interest in your development and help you identify your blind spots.

Leverage your Gut feel and constantly Challenge yourself- The moment you are getting contended with your accomplishments and recognition- it’s a dangerous situation. You need to challenge yourself stating -what’s next for me? What should I do more? One needs to move on and ask for more. When you are at the helm of affairs and on top of your job, that’s the ideal time to ask for more and show the thirst for learning and willingness to accept new challenges to create a differentiation and outsmart competition.  One should always take a chance to harness the new skills and attributes – where the developmental need is. Nothing comes so easy in life- you have to slog to the fullest and burn midnight oil to achieve your milestones and career landmarks. You will have to do the things differently in case you want to be successful in your professional life. 

Move through apprehension with action- Use your fears to confront yourself to new heights. The best cure to fear is taking action. Take an audacious approach to anything you dread. 

A manager needs to facilitate and guide- While the onus is on individuals to come out of the “Comfort Zone”, at the same time, Managers also need to identify and facilitate, spot and inculcate the “next steps and way forward” for the individual. Managers will have to be selfless here, as they play a critical role in making their team successful. This will give them unbounded joy and will make them proud when their team members achieve their respective career aspirations. It is important for Mangers to take a genuine and sincere  interest in people development.  It does not come easy- it’s about making an investment and dividend would be the aura and success of the individual being guided upon. 

Positive self belief is a key – Everyone struggles with limiting thought patterns from time to time, but because thoughts drive feelings and behavior, it is important to learn to harness those negative thoughts and replace them with more reality-based, positive thoughts. It is absolutely true that when we choose to pay attention to the positive aspects of life, the thought pattern orients our mind-body system toward success-inviting behaviors.

Theo Pistorius has put it very succinctly, "If you don’t step out of your comfort zone and face your fears, the number of situations that make you uncomfortable will keep growing".

The art of knowing when not to say anything is much under-rated virtue in our politics and organization

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln

In martial arts, they teach that when someone takes a crack at u, instead of blocking u should step away. Why, even to block you require energy - why not use it more productively? Similarly, in order to fight petty people, you have to come down to their level. This is what they want, because now you are one of them. So avoid falling in the trap.

Practicing aggressive listening help in comprehending layers of communication that we may not have otherwise understood because when we communicate, most of the people focus on what they want to say rather than 100% focus on listening to others point of view, reflecting on that and then responding. 

Silence is not about giving way to dominance, quiet compliance, dismissal or neglect and if some people choose not to speak at some times this does not mean they are not in control, however it may be a choice that reflects empathy, regulation of emotions, to bring about harmony and prioritizing the bond you share. It is about knowing when your comment or opinion will fail to add value or make matters even worse. 

This at times can be misunderstood, however, silence does not mean that one is afraid, however, at times, you shy away from argument as you are in a better position to understand that your point of view, will not be understood. Not going very far, we have all heard people saying that when one person is in state of not listening it better not to talk, no matter how much you give logic, enforce your point, he won’t just understand because he would have blocked his mind. Either you choose to speak at a later stage or let take time its toll and wait. Or maybe it is not important that you make a point at all. 

We have a tendency to influence everything around us and commensurate it as per our understanding of situation. The question is can we influence everything, or is our understanding of situation totally correct, or is it important to influence everything. The answer may be no, so why not let it be. I have mentioned about circle of influence in one of my article that we should focus on what is in our circle of influence where we can actually make an impact and we should focus on it rather than focusing on what is outside for which we cannot do much about. Slowly and steadily our circle of influence will increase and we will be in better control.

Even when we look at some of our political leaders who were perceived as taciturn i.e. P. V. Narasimha Rao, Former Prime Minister of India was known to weigh his words and would choose not speak at few occasions. However, we all know that he was effective in many things he did including but not limited to India liberalization story that got initiated under his stewardship.  Some of our outspoken political leaders lend themselves into trouble by opening their mouth, when it was more appropriate to keep it shut thereby creating huge consternation among larger Indian public and  ripples in political fermament. Everyday 24/7 TV anchors are capitalizing on such loose and petty remarks and debating ad nauseam.

Hence it is important to know when to speak and even important to know when not to speak. Even when tips are given for  effective communication, silence is considered as a very strong tool. It is not just difficult however very difficult to understand when to use this tool and the people who understand this are considered to be very high on EQ and that is what make a difference to take them from ordinary to extraordinary league.

Wanna be successful - Lap up opportunities for cross functional exposure...

Organizations achieve greatness when people are allowed to do unexpected things – to show initiatives and creativity. To step outside the scripted path, that is when delightful, interesting and amazing results occur. By giving control and decreasing predictability you increase the probability of attaining extra ordinary results.

It is witnessed that many people become apprehensive when they are offered a role which provides them an opportunity to build cross functional or sub functional exposure. People prefer to stay with the role and expetise they have developed over the period. The apprehension may be that they will have to start all over again and it will slow down their growth curve in the long run. The changing business landscape necessitate that while we have a mastery over a skill, we must get cross functional exposure.

Let us take an example of Pager. When they arrived on the scene, we thought it was a great revolution the way we communicate. However, no sooner the mobile phone took the center-stage, death of PAGING business was immediate. The time is over, when we had specialized gadgets, phones just for making calls, still photo cameras to take still photos, video cameras to take videos, pagers just to message texts etc. Now what has happened…. You have got one gadget, SMART PHONES – which is one in all and not just that, has many more applications over and above and it is the most successful gadget around.

We all know that getting exposure to new skills / expertise is the need of the hour. Sooner we align our mindset and start taking steps in developing mutli-functional exposure is better before our existing expertize become obsolete and we are thrown out of the jobs. Before email came in, secretary job was much in demand and dictation and typing was large part of day to day job, however, now job has become limited with added dimensions.

Of course, there is a possibility that if you focus on multi-functional / sub-functional expertise for some years you witness stagnation in terms of vertical growth, however that is the time when your roots are getting the depth and breadth so badly needed to build a long lasting impact-ful career.

I am myself an operations turned HR professional and stayed at a staff level for close to 7 years learning various aspects of sales, commercial, transition, supply chain, quality, business analytic etc, before moving into HR and then build skills around the HR value chain. During my operations days I got exposure to multiple functions which created a platform for me for vertical growth and also keeps me in a good stead and ahead in my chosen area of excellence - Human Resources. If you build depth and breadth, vertical growth automatically follows.

Lately we are witnessing scenarios where organizations are on hunt for people who are having multi-functional exposure. We earlier used to have specialized technical people who would just cater to technical requirements of the project and there would be separate project managers handling project dynamics and people and yet another group who will be doing just sales. Now when cost optimization, productivity and digitization are not longer buzzword and have become hygiene - people are being trained in a manner that they have technical expertise, are handling projects at over all level and even pitch in to fetch revenue.

Another benefit of cross-functional development pertains to management and leadership. Leaders are responsible for managing people within various business roles and if they have an overall perspective of business and various functions, not only it helps in making their job easier and effective, however, they also tend to command respect of their peers and staff. Also people like to surround themselves with people they relate to: they seek out people who are similar rather than people who are different and if you have multi-functional knowledge then you will instantly connect with larger group of people.

We have always been hearing a proverb “Jack of all, Master of None” and we are made to believe that this is not a good situation to be in. However, even if you are Master or have a specialization in one Function, it always adds value when you gain knowledge of other functions as well. It gives you an edge over the people who lack multi-functional exposure as organizations get more flexibility with you.

Hence we need to ponder and assess that with fast changing world what is it that will not just keep us going however help us thrive.

Interesting HR Videos...

FOCUS on competing with Thy self - Rest will fall in place...

"It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny." Anthony Robbins 

I have come across end number of folks who work overtime to impress their relevant stakeholdres and leave no stone unturned to make their God (Boss) happy. In my early days in GE, once I was very unahppy with my Boss and I shared the same with one of my peer and said to him, buddy, "I disagree with him and he is not ready to listen to my point of view. Either he should convince me or get convinced". 

He then turned to his desk, took out his diary and showed me a page where at the bottom a quote was written. He made me read the quote which said - "GOD IS GREAT, BOSS IS GREATER" .  I agreed with him at that point in time, however, there was an angst which continued and evolved into an implicit and tacit determination resulting in a decision to FOCUS on Thy self - making my own self proud of doing what I am doing, setting my own performance benchmark and exceeding them, make sure that I am happy with my work...rest will fall in place. However, for majority  of people their single  minded focus remains to look good in their Boss eyes, and all their energies are directed towards and for them. May be for the right reason.

I came across a situation which echo the same sentiments and thought to share with you folks. The situation is as follows : -

Ria was working in in a reputed organization as front line HR Manager and one fine day she went to her Manager and said, “Boss, I think I am underutilized, can you help me enhance my role”.  The boss was bit surprised to hear this and agreed to meet with her once he returns back from his travel. 

Meanwhile, she also confided to  Ryan (her coach) that despite her spending most of time in chit chatting with opreating managers, leaders and staff and sharing an excellent repo with most of the them, stake holders continue to escalate issues against her which make her boss feel unhappy. Also she felt that her peer group kept barging into her work space for no rhyme or reason. Hence was bewildered as to why there were escalations and how to make stake holders including her Boss happy while taking peers along.

Ryan, told her to share with him her objectives.  Having gone through Ria's objectives, he told her "Looking at this document, it seems your plate is more than full. Let’s pick up few of your key deliverable and review the status.


Ryan asked her, "was she meeting all the people who were anticipated to attrite? were people issues visible to Process Management so that they could be resolved? was she meeting her targets w.r.t. employee one on ones, were programmes launched in the unit running well?" and she did not have answers to any of this. Ria being front end HR resource, should have been thorough and should have this on her finger tips.  It later transpired that Ria was primarily working on ad hoc tasks and issues and was not focusing on the objectives that were integral to her role.  

It is imperative that at staff level, we focus on building our base and ensure that we are detail oriented. When it comes to HR engagement function most of us think that chit chatting with Business and building personal rapport is enough. It is indeed a matter of despondency that some of us prefer working at superficial level and do not understand the essence and importance of various programmes and practices which are formulated to address the requirement of Business and people who are supporting the business.

It is also imperative to understand the power of focusing our energy on right things and not getting unnecessarily worred about others trying to damage your reputation or doing you some harm.  People choose to handle such situations in different ways. Some people love to blame others. however, it is nothing but waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with others,  it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration.   

Some of them would use their defense mechanism to safeguard themselves.  However, most effective option would be to focus on yourself - how could I do it better, what improvement can I bring in self, could I have had handles the situation differently etc..  It is a known fact that positivity in thyself inculcates positivity in others.  

We should be willing to demonstrate a culture of caring, sharing and going that extra mile to help others irrespective of their reaction or response. If you do something good and appreciate the deed of people who hold grudge against you, no matter, how deep is the grudge, over a period of time, the edifiice of grudge will start crumbling to an extent, if people have back-stabbed us in the past, they will certainly feel ashamed and fall in line, however we should not deflect from our key focus area.

One thing I have learned that we can only change ourselves and for this to happen, it is inevitable that we start looking at ourselves and problems within, rather than outside. Like Saint Kabir says

"Bura jo dekhan mai chala, bura na milya koi, 

Zo dil khoza aapna, mujhse bura na koi"

We need to understand that most of the times we are not underutilized however, we are the ones who are underutilizing ourselves.  We keep working to make others happy however the mantra to self satisfaction and success is that we work for ourselves.  I remember a dialog from a famous movie I am forgetting the name :  “Zamana hum se hai, hum zamaane se nahi”   

If this attitude becomes part of our life we will never falter. However, this needs excessive and obsessive focus on thyself.

Running for "TITLES" should we?

I read it somewhere that we all dream to be at top however only some of us aim for it, whereas the main difference between dreaming and aiming is “Dreams require effortless sleep and Aim requires sleepless efforts”.

Fancy Titles always magnetize most of us. We as nascent professionals believe right after a few pats on the back that we are doing a great job and look for the next level very early in our professional career. What bothers me is the "Entitlement Attitude" which generally become an impediment in developing creativity and thought leadership. We must not compromise on building a strong foundation and ensure that our foundation is very strong and deep rooted. Once your foundation is strong and deep rooted with depth and breadth, your career success is guaranteed. You know to get an oil, you need to dig deep with depth and breadth, success in career is not very different.

We all are aware that to reach on Top, it requires minimum 10-15 years of your experience, then the questions arises as to why we worry so much about designations.  In India, this may be due to social recognition and peer pressure.

To take care of these requirements, HR Leaders are constrained to do further layering of 3 primary layers of the Organizational Pyramid which consist of Staff level constituting ~ 90-95% of total employees, Middle Management constituting another 4-7%  and only 2-3% of them make it to the top level. 

Broadly we can bracket the professional milestones / stages in three categories - There are overall ~ 25-30 attributes which an employee requires while progressing from Staff level to Top Management Level.  

Staff Level : At staff level the skills required primarily are MS Office, Interpersonal Skills, Technical skills, Team player, Integrity, Trust and Transparency, Prioritization, Data Management, Analytical Skills, Customer Management, Result Orientation etc.

Middle Management : At Middle Management,  Key skills required are Problem solving capabilities, Decision Making Skills, Conflict Resolution, Communication and influencing Skills, Team Handling, Resourcefulness, Ability to deal with Ambiguity,  Presentation skills, Coaching and Mentoring etc.

Top Management : At Top Management,  key skills required are Business Acumen, Commercial Savviness, Performance Management, Ability to Manage Chaos with positivity, Change Management, Risk Management, Managing Group Dynamics, Thought Leadership , Strategic Leadership, Executive Presence, Nose for Talent etc.

On an average, it takes 5-6 years to move from one stage to another. It’s desirable to have all requisite competencies in place and half glass full for next, before aspiring for the next management level.

It’s always easy to aspire/desire for the next level. How many of us do the introspection and think through whether we are ready for this or not. Most of the time our aspiration are the result of other people growth. It is important that we start competing with self rather than others, that certainly will help us create our own niche. It is not you, however, your peers and bosses who should talk great about your performance and perseverance. It is always better to deserve the position and not get it than to get it and not deserve for it.

Keep a hawk eye on your peer group as they are the one who will contribute quite a lot in making you successful. Always keep an unwavering focus on your work and know your peer group well. Healthy competition within the group is always good. It keeps you agile and on toes all the time. You can always learn from peers and improvise your working style if need be.

In our industry specially IT / ITES, we promote people for their operating skills and then give the career of let us say, 7-8 people in their hand, however, do not train them enough on people management skills and they keep doing what made them successful thus far i.e. Individual excellence and hence, the destiny of associates working under them is compromised. People also have an excessive focus on promotion / designation, hence, on their part they also do not make efforts to attain people management skills.

TRUST your Leadership. We stop trusting our Managers / Leaders when things are not going our way. Believe me guy's, time does come when you come across "Not so good Managers", however, basis my experiential learning's I must say they TEACHES you "WHAT NOT TO DO". In essence, Good Managers teaches you "What to Do" and Not So Good Managers teaches you "What Not to do". We must respect all the learning's and people responsible for providing them. I know 2/3 of us always feel that we are better than our managers, however, when reality bites, it hurts and we realize that we still need to get few notches to get there. It is imperative that you demonstrate patience and you will certainly obtain what you are aiming at.

We should get our learning's out of Tree which has deep embedded roots. Sincerity in professional approach, keeping commitments and relentless focus should be the hygiene. Trust me friends, there is no short cut to reaching at acme of success. You need to spend qualitative time at every stage of the professional career.

In my view, we should at all times look over and beyond titles and focus on competency building. Every job requires a certain set of skills, and it's much better to focus on skill development than be so bigoted as to focus just on job titles. Once you have requisite skills, you will get what you want to get. It’s an old saying “honest efforts never goes in vain".

Is performance just enough to build a successful career?

"If you don't get noticed, you don't have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks." Leo Burnett
You all would have heard about “Lux”, the Soap. It has had multiple brand ambassador including Hema Malini, Sridevi Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra etc. In India Shahrukh Khan was the first male in a Lux advertisement.  If you think through, does anything significantly change, apart from few asthetics like wrapper/colour/fragrance or the contemporary popular cine star. You will be surprised that nothing much changes with the changes of stars to an extent that we can call it a turnaround. So what has Lux done differently that it is still a popular soap in the market? It has over the period, while maintaining its quality and upgrading, positioned itself again and again in the market and has never gone out of sight to have a permanent mark in the minds of people.

At times you would have wondered why you are not being noticed or appreciated while you are focusing on your deliverable, slogging yourselves, putting those extra hours. You need to reflect, how many times you have projected yourself, tried managing perception about you, or have been vocal about value add you have done. If you are thinking this is not your job, your Manager should be taking care of it, you need be cognizant that people around you would be more interested in themselves and it is you who has the onus of appropriately showcasing your performance without wearing it on your sleeves. Consistent performance with right projection will lead to a perception and requisite perception shall help you get the exposure which will help you create your brand and hence equity (value of your words).

Success is a function of : P (Performance) X P (Projection) X P Perception = Exposure = Image (Brand) = Equity. Let us understand this in detail.

Performance : There is no substitute for Performance. You have to consistently deliver over and beyond, do everything with a sense of urgency and drive to win, challenge status quo, make excellence a habit. LUCK (Labor Under Correct Knowledge) is the key. I was told by one of my senior in GE early in my life that never let your performance dip, treat this as a hygiene and remember my words, your worst of bosses will not be able to impact your career much, the worst that they can do to you is to give you a moderate rating and I have found this so true.

Projection : Somebody asked me in a larger gathering, "I have done what I should have, now projecting my work is not my job. This is the job of my Senior". I asked, "your manager is interested more in whose career? his or yours? Pat came the reply, "of course, his own at first". Hence, it is imperative that we learn the art of managing the operations information flow (projection). 

Perception : When we will manage the operations information flow (Projection) in correct manner, this will help create the desired perception about ourselves. It is also vital that you keep yourselves visible within the group you want to influence. You should invite yourself to parties - make you known, develop mentors, supporters, role models

Exposure : Correct perception about ourselves / our work will enable us to get the right opportunities. I have seen multiple times, particularly in ITES context that would look forward to figure out excellent people managers for assignments where stack are very high. Now what matters most here beyond available facts and numbers is whether you are known to larger audience over and beyond your teams and also how you are perceived by the associates, your managers and your peers.

Brand (Image) : Brand is built over a period of time which requires consistent performance and ability to market yourselves which leads to a perception about you thereby creating an image. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual. You need to nurture your network, emulating right leaders is a key to success.  "

Equity : Equity as I understand is nothing but value of your words. When some people say something, people stand up and take note. You would come across many leaders in corporate world / within your own organization whom people listen with rapt attention and try to emulate.

We all want to reach to the level where our role models are, however most of us would not know the road map. In my endeavor to help budding professionals, I will keep sharing my experiential learning in in further posts to come.

Expansion of "Circle of Influence" is a key to success...

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. Confucius

Most of us spend time in talking about things that are way beyond our control. People love to talk about corruption, pathetic drainage system, traffic jams, performance of Government, Don’t we? For example, corruption agitation has caught the attention of whole of India. While this is good, however, when it comes to doing something about it in a meaningful way, we shy away.  Office environment is no different.

I did learn early in my life that if you want to make a difference, you need to stop focusing on circle of concern and instead work on enlarging your circle of influence.  

We all love to chatter about the concerns during breaks, X working in the organization, Y not working, which generates negative energy. Instead, if we want to be successful, it is imperative that we bring what is beyond our control to the attention of people whose control it falls in and then get out of it. There is no point brooding over all these.

When people are more focused on circle of concern they crib and live in a world of dilemma and assumption.  They keep blaming external factors for things not working well and if only it was within their control to change them.  This can lead to inefficiency, lethargy, frustration and passing the buck situations.

However, people who are more proactive and focused concentrate on circle of influence and  take charge for whatever is in their control.  They are solution oriented rather than problem seekers. They would focus on “how” more than “why” to take charge of a situation. If anything is not working well which they cannot do much about, they will try figuring out people who can help. They are energetic, optimistic, efficient and committed and look forward with positivity.   Instead of reacting to or worrying about situations which they have little or no control, they focus their time and energy on things they can control. 

It is imperative to know that we always have a choice whether to use our energy or lose it.  The size of our circle of influence vs circle of concern depends on what choices we make; happiness or sadness, decisiveness or ambivalence, success or failure.

Below are some tips to increase your circle of influence which will further decrease your circle of concern..

• Whenever you come across a situation which is not favorable, ask yourself, what can you do to change this situation for the better?  Figure out some good ideas and act on them. If you really can’t think of anything, realize that you’re wasting valuable time and energy worrying about the issue. Let it go, and redirect your resources to an area where you can actually make a difference.  In difficult situation, we can ask  God to give us the courage to change the things that we can and ability to accept that we can't, along with wisdom to know the difference.

• Increase your value through learning and knowledge. Knowledge can only expand the areas which you want to enhance. If you are experiencing financial problems, gain knowledge on financial prosperity, if you want to improve your job situation, get a good mentor/coach.

• Do not get too bothered by negative news flashing through various news channels or news papers.  Being informed is good, however worrying too much where you cannot help will put you in negative state of mind.

• Always remember that threats are the best opportunities.  Many times problems are blessing in disguise with hidden opportunities so face them with positivity.

• It is natural that people want to spend time with those who are positive, upbeat and enthusiastic, and volunteer themselves wherever they can help, hence these are the people who expand their influence.

So the decision is yours, you can either be part of problem or be part of solution.

What can you do to get the best out of your Boss?

A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. - Russell H. Ewing

Invariably, when people think of managing someone at work they think of it as a one way street. They think of their bosses managing them. Yet, in my experience, I've found that bosses can also be helped to help you. They need to be helped by their people because they often over or under manage them. For example, they over-manage by micromanaging and continually checking on a project's status. They under-manage by not giving their people enough direction, detail or feedback.

These kinds of problems occur for a number of reasons. At the start of middle management, Team Leaders are often promoted for their operating excellence and are made incharge of career of at least 6-7 people, however, are not trained enough on people skills.They keep doing what made them successful so far - individual excellence and mess up with the career of their sub-ordinates.  Many times, they also don't have any good role models for what a manager should do. And they rarely get feedback as to how they're doing.

So, if you have a boss who over or under manages you, what can you do to get the best out of your Boss? Whenever you see a gap in the wavelength between you and your boss you need to identify what are the attributes which make you different from him. A successful boss-subordinate relationship is when you start complementing the differences and take charge wherever required to make your boss look good.

Understanding Bosses Type & Leveraging their sytles : -  

AMBITIOUS – They are interested in looking good and getting ahead. Show them how supporting you are and how your projects will be viewed favorably by Top Management and thus  support his ambitions.

LONER - They like to work alone. Loner bosses do not like to supervise others. Praise their pet projects and offer to help them with some of the administrative work. Keep them informed on what is going on with the team.

POWER HUNGRY - They like to control and show they are in control. Keep them informed. Give them a chance to “influence” your decisions but do not give in and become timid.

WIMP BOSSES - They are indecisive and will not make waves even for progress. You have to push them to make decisions. They love to hide behind bureaucracy. You can help by agreeing to take some of the heat or giving assurance that nothing bad will happen.

BUREAUCRATIC BOSSES - They like rules and policies and the status quo. You must show that you are following the rules, organizing things in a logical way, putting things in writing and giving them time to think it over.

FIRE FIGHTER BOSSES - They like to fix problems. They thrive on finding disasters and solving them. You must show a sense of urgency, give them frequent updates and find the next disaster to keep them busy.

UNETHICAL BOSSES - They have no shame. They can be of any of the stated categories and make a deadly combination. You must document everything. Make sure you meet your objectives and stay true to your values. You can call them out but make sure you have a back-up plan.

Of course, in helping your boss you should know his personal inclination, as well as your personal bias. If you are process oriented, you will tend to present issues in a systematic and orderly fashion, with pros and cons, chronology of tasks, etc. If your boss is the action type, he could be bored. In that case an executive summary, emphasizing the key actions and results would be a handy starting point. You need to be cognizant of the working style of your boss so that you can match up to his expectations.

Bosses who like to 'control things' normally introduce processes, develop more the 'now' attitude. Bosses who are more concerned with people, develop more impact on people. Bosses who are more concerned with getting things done, start with key actions and bosses who are more concerned with ideas, frame proposals in concepts.

Here are some practical things you can do to help your boss help you:

• Remember your purpose - Don't let your boss sidetrack you from your goals and purpose. Focus on what needs to get accomplished and use the rest of these tips to get your boss' support.

• Understand your boss' problems - Ask your boss what kind of pressures he is under. Now you may not think it's your place to do that, but it can make a great difference in your understanding why your boss is not managing you properly.

• Compliment what is working - Give your boss positive feedback on what is working in your relationship. For example, say "Thanks for your valuable feedback," when he gives you a useful response.
• Be a role model - If you want your boss to do certain things, do them yourself. For example, if he or she doesn't listen well, practice active listening in your interactions. He or she will probably match your positive behavior.

• Let him be wrong - Try to correct him few times and if it doesn't work, let it go. You won't always be able to save him.

Certain things which you need to do no matter what kind of boss you have is, don’t compromise on performance, keep your boss abreast of what you are doing in the way he wants himself to be updated, abide by your commitments, under commit and over deliver,  be cognizant of your threshold.

To reinforce trust make sure that your boss is not surprised by others rather you should be the first one to tell him if something doesn’t work well. Never criticize your boss in front of others rather discuss with him directly so that you can also help him grow. Remember that your success lies in your bosses’ success so contribute to make him successful.