Have you ever been dethroned at work? I have but have lived to tell the tale—this and more in this week's Opt-In.
We're not messing around on this week's Opt-In
Have you ever been dethroned at work? I have but have lived to tell the tale.
You don't need to be a CTO to follow Adelina Chalmers. She's posting some brilliant counsel on navigating your career. Here she wrote about being de-throned.
What are they saying when your boss or your board dethrones you? "What got you here isn't going to get us there." is what they're saying. "We like you, but we don't like you enough." is what is heard.
Going through this myself was one of my career's most painful professional moments. No amount of "and you are awesome" could soothe the hurt. The "and we want you to stay because you're such a valued and key contributor" felt like a lie and only worsened it.
I wavered between fight, flight, freeze, and fawn on a daily, if not hourly, basis. It was not good for anyone.
What did help was spending time with someone who believed in my potential. And not just any believer, but someone who had the potential to buy my future time. Someone who had bought my time in the past. They were my ideal customer. They believed in the value and potential of the product of the future me.
They were the balm to my sting.
And with the pain removed, I could take the time to consider my future paths and make a decision driven by value for everyone, not my emotions.
What if we all had read-me files for each other?
People spend hours creating the perfect #resume.
A tool that (at best) gets you in the consideration set.
When it's who you'll be as a collaborator, as a creator, and as a team member tomorrow that actually matters. So I figured I'd fix that. Inspired by the format of a read_me file, I give you a rubric to create a collaborate_with_me_file.
You can download a cheat sheet here: How to create a read_me file for you.pdf
How much easier and clearer would work be if every manager was required to create one of these for their team? Do you already do this at your company? What questions would you add to make collaboration easier?
Stop messaging "for" and start messaging "with."
Please stop messaging "for" and start messaging "with!"
I kind of lost my cool with a client this morning. If I'm honest, I lost my cool with two of them.
In both cases, they're waiting for permission from someone else. Someone else to invite them into the room where the important conversations are happening. FYI - these people are both brilliant. The "room" would be lucky to have them. Heck, if they knew they existed, the "room" would be tripping over themselves to invite them in.
I told them to re-read pages 6-8 of Tales of Potential - The Cinderella Story You Haven't Heard and reminded them to stop being a Get-Sh*t-Done-Girl because "Get sh*t done girls get given sh*t to do." And yes, this applies if you don't call yourself a girl. But "get sh*t done people" doesn't have quite the same snappy ring to it.
As people who are into amplifying each other, they reminded me that they weren't the only people who might need the "generous swift kick in the ass" I give those I'm ferociously ambitious for.
So here you go. You don't need to buy the book. You can get pages 6-8 right here. And if this intrigues you, then you can get a copy here. https://amzn.to/3WIW6xG
It's not entitlement; it's just an acknowledgment that our promises to young people about the opportunities ahead of them are empty promises.
No, they aren't a bunch of entitled, whining people. We promised them a career adventure. And now they're showing up, it looks like the corporate equivalent of the #FyreFest.
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Are you shocked by the "expectations of young people in the workplace"? You shouldn't be. We lied to them.
Do you remember when you first got out of school and realized it was a lie too? Same thing.
But instead of "buckling down" and taking jobs they don't want to take, in industries not known for creating opportunities.
They're creating their own opportunities.
Because it's never been easier.
There were 5.0 million new businesses created in 2022, according to today's estimates – a 42% increase from pre-pandemic levels. And the numbers are only going up.
While it might seem like the "buy" side of the time transaction is in the power of companies, the pendulum will swing the other way. You're not just competing against other employers for high-potential candidates anymore. You compete with the #greatoptout by making it easy for people to #optin
Did someone beat you to the punch regarding a good idea? It happens all the time; it doesn't make it hurt any less. Here's how to handle it.
I had a range of reactions to the announcement of Adam Grant's new book.
Part of me was thrilled. Finally, someone else is talking about the power of potential and how potential is the magic (and science, apparently) that creates the future.
Another part of me was devastated. Someone with more reach, connections, and influence has written a book about the topic I've spent the last decade exploring and sharing.
I went on a hike and asked myself, "Ok Joanna. What do you want to do now?"
I share this not for a pity party. I don't need "but Joanna, there's room for both of you" in the comments. I've already given myself the swift kick in the ass I needed to get out of that headspace. I share this with you because I see the pain, frustration, and disappointment I see all the time when it looks like someone else has "taken" your ideas. It might look like a boss sharing your ideas with others and not giving you credit as the originator. It might be a colleague telling the "people in the room you're not in," a version of a concept, and the "room" assuming he was the source.
It's super frustrating. So if this resonated with you, here are the questions I asked myself this morning on the trails behind my house, where I went from frustrated to inspired.
I'm excited to read the book and discover how much we're on the same page.
I know there's a ton going on, and I didn't want you to miss any of it. Tune back in next week as I'll have more to share on navigating this crazy working world while creating work that works for you.
I'm designing the modern workplace by transforming how we buy each other’s time. Want to transform yours?