Engendering Trust As A New Leader



You’ve made it. You have been awarded a promotion or landed your dream job in a new company. Now you are in a position to lead and do remarkable things. The pride and excitement of beginning a new chapter in our careers can be invigorating and bring out our best work. It can also be challenging and overwhelming at times.

Traditional business maxim suggests that new CEOs need 90 days in their position to start implementing widespread initiatives and programs, setting them on a path to make their mark on a company. However, recent research and case studies suggest that it can take two to three years to develop trust and get a team or company rolling smoothly under new leadership.
Newly appointed leaders can set themselves up for success if they give themselves the time to settle into the role, understand the work environment, study the needs of a company, draft initiatives and roll them out when the time is right. Speeding everything up to meet a 90-day personal deadline based on a decades-old maxim could be disastrous not only for a leader but also for a team or company.

One of the reasons leaders should wait a bit is that they will need the support of their teams to successfully implement change. Without a unified vision, with all key players working toward the same goals, new leaders may find it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to get projects or initiatives off the ground. They will most likely sputter and fail.

So how can you successfully acquire that support? Gain their trust. In addition to learning the role and the company, I tell my clients to also focus on forging relationships and cultivating trust with those who will play a critical role in their success—investors, colleagues, fellow leaders and company employees.

Working toward garnering faith from your colleagues and teams goes hand in hand with the process of adapting to a new leadership role. Whether you are new to the company entirely or have been promoted from within, it takes time to create healthy working relationships and allow others to see your confidence and wisdom. Think about all the stakeholders you would like on your side when instituting and launching your ideas and programs.

Investors need to trust that your plans will keep the company profitable. Your colleagues and fellow leaders will be asked to help you implement new initiatives, so they must be fully on board. Only by helping them see and trust in your vision will they be willing to collaborate. In turn, if your direct reports see a unified leadership team backing you, they will be more likely to feel confident and even enthusiastic about the work they will be asked to do.

To engender trust, repetition can be a powerful tool. What may seem like common knowledge to you may not be for everyone else. If we want to communicate our vision, our plans or who we are, we need to present the key facts repeatedly to really drive home the message. Consistency and repetition are the names of the game. Even if we feel like we sound like a broken record—repeatedly homing in on our main messaging is crucial to communicating who we are, what we stand for and that we are worthy of their trust.

Speaking of broken records, I always say—and will say again and again and again—form a group of confidantes and supporters to support you as a leader. These people can be trusted colleagues, family, a leadership coach or mentors who are willing to tell you their true thoughts and help you consider all angles of a decision you are about to make. This core group can keep you grounded and allow you to maintain patience through the years it takes to settle into your new leadership role. Their guidance can help you remain patient to make and implement savvy business decisions when the time is right—which can in turn help secure the trust you seek in company stakeholders.

Engendering trust and establishing a leadership presence takes time and patience. Take the time you need, free of self-imposed deadlines, to understand the company and make well-informed decisions. Stay consistent with your messaging to coworkers and employees, without fear of sounding like a broken record. People respond best to those who seem dependable and steady because they can be sure of what you will say and do. That consistency can help instill confidence in you. And lastly, do not forget to rally your support team to bolster you and provide wisdom through this exciting new chapter.

The Pareto Principle At Work



One of the hallmarks of a successful leader is the ability for big-picture thinking and analysis. In my sessions with executive clients, we are constantly analyzing time management, communication skills and areas of growth. The Pareto Principle is a concept we often find useful.

A Quick History Lesson

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto analyzed property in Italy and discovered that 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the population. An interesting tidbit about wealth distribution, and about four decades later, a renowned management consultant by the name of Joseph M. Juran came across the literature penned by Pareto.

Juran took the 80/20 results and formulated the Pareto Principle, the idea that 80% of results come from 20% of the initiatives. The numbers are not exact in every case, but the idea is a solid one. Sometimes we find that a sizable portion of an outcome stems from a small portion of effort.

The Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle can come in handy when analyzing our work and effort. For example, the marketing team of a local company I know recently conducted an analysis of their communication strategy (name withheld for privacy). They sent out monthly physical ads as well as digital communications via email and social media. They found that a large majority of their customers purchased products or visited the store as a response to their email campaigns. The director of marketing was then able to realign her team’s efforts and responsibilities according to those findings.

That is not to say that the physical ads or social media accounts were thrown out the window. Not at all, as they still brought in revenue. However, the director had a firmer understanding of where to assign budget and time resources. The company could spend less time and money on physical ads and social media to focus more on its email strategy and how to increase its database of customer emails.

Time Management

The Pareto Principle is a lens through which we can view time management and act accordingly. A human resources (HR) team of a different company—again, name excluded for privacy purposes—conducted an analysis of their hiring strategy for new recruits.

A senior HR representative was the sole person responsible for conducting the case-based interviews, and his workload was massive. For every 10 interviews with a potential recruit, only one candidate was hired. It was a huge expenditure of time and effort, but still, the work had to get done.

After running the numbers, he realized that about 75% of their new hires came from approximately 25% of the universities where the company recruited. After coming to this realization, the team made some changes to the hiring process. First, they decided to train other representatives to share in the workload of this single representative. And though they maintained recruiting efforts in all the university connections available, they reinforced their efforts in the specific universities that had provided the best candidates in the past. By focusing on the 25% of universities that produced 75% of the candidates, they had to go through fewer interviews before finding the right candidate.

What analysis are you running right now? Perhaps the Pareto Principle is a useful lens for you, too.

Introverts Navigating Office Politics



Back in 2020, Nielsen ratings demonstrated that The Office was by far the most streamed TV show on major platforms. Like most of America, I delighted and cringed through episodes of this comedy phenomenon and indulge in reruns from now and then.

This show became an obsession in our culture, and I believe the show’s popularity stems from how deeply the social dynamics and situations of Dunder Mifflin employees resonate with us. Each episode reflects a kernel of truth, often exaggerated for comedic purposes, but sometimes, the conversations are completely plausible. We laughed, cried and winced with the characters because we recognized ourselves and our co-workers in them. We experience parallel situations in our own work lives.

The show is ripe for analysis, but I am particularly interested today in how the introverts of the show navigated uncomfortable situations and office politics. We too must navigate similar circumstances, which can make life awkward or uncomfortable.

The good news is that office politics can be mitigated by establishing connections within the company. Cultivating quality relationships rooted in trust and respect can eliminate a lot of misunderstandings, conflict and nonsense that lead to unnecessary office drama.

Extroverted employees have an advantage when it comes to forging those relationships because they receive energy from interacting with other people. Introverts, on the other hand, recharge through silence and alone time. There are plenty of charismatic introverts, but constant meetings, coffee dates or water cooler conversations can drain their energy—reducing their ability to produce quality work and create professional relationships.

No need to worry, though. If you identify as an introvert, try these tips to establish those workplace relationships without ending the day drained and burned out.

1. Define your strengths.

Start with recognizing your strengths and value to the team. You may be quieter than your extroverted teammates, but you contribute just as much! One of the first self-described introverts I met in my life was a fellow student in college. During a small group seminar, he spoke three times the entire semester, but when he spoke, everyone else fell silent because his insight was so incredibly thought-provoking. The professor praised his papers, and he ended up valedictorian of our class.

In society, sometimes we default to admiring those who speak the loudest because we think that if they speak with a lot of confidence, then they must be right. That is not the case. As Stephen Hawking once said, “Quiet people have the loudest minds.” A hushed and still exterior is sometimes the façade for deep wisdom.

Ask yourself, what are my strengths? Are you good at listening and connecting the dots for others? Are you good at outside-the-box creative thinking and problem-solving? Take a deep look at your value and be proud of what you contribute.

2. Choose your allies.

Next, evaluate your colleagues and leaders and decide who might be potential allies to befriend. You do not have to be “besties” with everyone at the office but rather develop one or two strategic relationships, choosing co-workers who may be extroverted and more plugged in with the rest of the office. They may go out to weekly happy hours with other co-workers and can vouch for your value and good intentions, hopefully squashing any potential gossip or drama without you even having to be there.

Once you have chosen the people that you most would like to develop a relationship with, ask for a one-on-one coffee or lunch, avoiding large group interactions and keeping initial conversations short. Perhaps you only have 30 minutes for a coffee or 45 minutes for lunch. Those bite-size interactions should not be too draining, and you have a hard “out” when it is time to go back to work. Scout out a local coffee shop or deli ideal for quiet conversation. The company cafeteria may be too loud and public, and you may run the risk of bumping into too many other colleagues.

Another piece of advice that I give to introverted clients is to be choosy with the social events that you attend. It is better to be fully present for a few annual events than half-heartedly participate in all of them. Ask yourself questions such as: Will I have an ally or friend at this event? Will the people that I want to influence or know be in attendance? Will this event deepen my current relationships or help me influence my opinions on work projects? Know your purpose before attending an event, and that intention may help give you the energy you need to fully participate.

3. Decide how long to stay.

Lastly, decide how long you will stay before you go. Not knowing how long you will be trapped in a social interaction can deplete your energy, so knowing that you have an “out” at a certain time is helpful.

Hopefully implementing these strategies into cultivating workplace relationships diminishes the amount of office politics that you must navigate. Fundamentally, knowing your value and respecting your needs as an introvert is crucial. And if anything, you will have a newfound appreciation for the introverts at Dunder Mifflin.

A 3-Step Process to Prioritize Wisely



Burnout has been a major topic of discussion in the business world recently. It’s become a major problem for companies because good people are leaving teams in search of a more sustainable working environment. While there are plenty of factors that need to be addressed to fix widespread burnout, learning to prioritize wisely can be one way to reduce it.

Step 1: Choose Your Goals

First and foremost, create clear goals. I like writing them down and posting them next to my desk as a daily reminder of where I should focus my energy.

Include timelines—goals need to have an end point. If you have a task related to a goal whose end point is two weeks from now, that is clearly more pressing than a task for a goal that is due a year from now. Deadlines can be a great motivator, and many people work better within the structure of a timeline because it helps them understand what they should prioritize within that time limit.

When focusing on your goals, consider the 5/25 rule, often associated with billionaire businessman Warren Buffett (though he may not have actually originated it). Write down 25 goals, then consider that large list and circle only five. Those will be the goals on which you focus all your energy. Say no to everything else. This process is simple but powerful.

When going through the 5/25 exercise, you will probably be able to write down 25 goals, no problem. The hard part is eliminating 20 of them. However, that challenging work, narrowing down your focus to five specific goals, can help you with prioritizing because it allows you to say no to tasks that do not correlate with your primary aims. If you have 100 tasks on your to-do list and only 30 correlate to your five goals, then you have automatically erased 70 from your list.

Step 2: Learn To Say ‘No’

The 5/25 process leads you to the second part of prioritizing wisely: getting comfortable with the word “no.” You can make it sound nice (“No, thank you”) or offer a solution to accompany it (“Our team does not handle xyz. Why not try Accounting?”)

Regardless of how you communicate a “no,” it will help reduce your to-do list and set boundaries. Over time, other teams and departments will start to recognize which goal-oriented tasks you will take on and which ones they should assign to others.

Step 3: Delegate

Speaking of delegation, we have arrived at the third step in prioritizing wisely. As you know, there are differing difficulty levels in the tasks on your plate. Some of those can be handed off to teammates.

First, label and define the task to the person who will take it on. Make sure this person can handle the task before relinquishing control of it, and allow them to ask any questions. Provide instructions and a timeline, and explain why this task is important and what will happen if it’s not completed. Then allow that person to handle it, making a note to check in occasionally and provide them a chance to give a status update.

Through delegating tasks to your teammates, you are working toward a shared goal and freeing up valuable time for you to spend on other responsibilities.

Final Thoughts

By defining your goals and timelines, saying no and delegating tasks, you have freed up a bunch of space on your “to-do” list that will help you see your own tasks clearly and better prioritize your work. Hopefully, these small steps will help you reduce your workload and lead you one step closer to avoiding burnout.

Is Your Comfort Zone A Bit Too Comfy? Finding Growth In Discomfort



Younger professionals coming up through the ranks of the workplace must often learn the ropes of the industry, the company and their own individual tasks. Every role they take on is new and presents them with challenges and opportunities for growth. The learning curve is steep and exciting.

As more established professionals, we have already put in the time to find our strengths and lean into them. Often when we find our main skill set, that discovery is what helps us rise to leadership positions.

However, while utilizing our strengths is one of the keys to solid leadership, we must also be very intentional about continuing our growth. Leaders with only one set of skills are only useful for a certain period of time, but then the company or economy shifts and that skill may no longer be what is needed.

An article from McKinsey discusses the year 2000 as a major example of how leaders needed to shift their skill sets and focus. “When the dot-com stock bubble burst, the leaders of those online companies, who had been nurturing fast growth for years, suddenly found themselves managing for profitability. Instead of spending whatever it might take to grow, they had to pivot and find ways to save money by laying people off, canceling projects, and eliminating waste. Those are two entirely different sets of muscles, and a leader has to be versatile enough to make the switch.”

Imagine yourself in a circle—your very own comfort zone. There you are warm, safe and cozy. However, if that circle is small, you cannot move around a whole lot. You may be stuck standing in one spot for quite a while, but if you take a small step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, that circle expands and adjusts to fit your growth, and your safe and cozy spot gets a bit bigger. However, if you take too big a step outside of that circle, the circle cannot adjust in time, and you lose your footing and fall to disastrous results.

Many of the CEOs in the 2000 stock bubble burst could not recover. Their comfort zone was too small, and learning so many new skills all at once was too much for them. For that reason, I encourage leaders to grow their strengths and experience levels outside of a crisis. That way, when challenging times arrive, they are in a better position to adjust and navigate the situation.

Taking those small steps outside of the safe circle looks slightly different for every leader. Perhaps it is taking a course on a subject matter they are not familiar with or touring company facilities and venues. It may be offering to give a presentation or lead an internal town hall. It could also be asking a colleague to take you on a “day in the life” of a different position or department. Maybe it is taking on a business coach. There are many ways to grow in knowledge, and hands-on experiences and tasks outside your main skill set can be invaluable in the future.

That said, leaders do not have to do everything themselves. On the contrary, a team of talented and seasoned collaborators is an asset to any leader. Surround yourself with these people and learn from them.

Let’s say you do not have any experience with public speaking or presentations. Seek out someone you admire with that skill and ask them to show you the ropes. Volunteer to do a presentation with them or ask them to do it yourself but with their coaching. It can sometimes be hard to ask for help because it is a way of admitting a weakness, but often, others will be flattered that you asked for their assistance and are more than willing to guide you. By surrounding yourself with people possessing differing skill sets, you can not only grow yourself but also build an expert team available to help you in a crisis.

Have you ever heard the yogi mantra, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable”? While leaders should lean into their strengths, there is also much to be said about working toward building muscles in weaker areas. Sometimes a feeling of discomfort is a sign of growth. Are you feeling too comfy right now? What can you do today to go outside of your comfort zone and get growing?