“Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

~ Vince Lombardi ~

Geoffrey’s been totally focused on doing the best job he can.  He’s been very intent on making sure his job gets done, and done right.  He felt sure this would help him advance his career more quickly.

But when his boss didn’t seem to value Geoffrey’s contributions, he got concerned. What did his boss really want?  Why wasn’t doing his job, good enough?

His goal was executive leadership. To do that, he realized he needed to make some changes.

He needed to make sure his work corresponded with the priorities of his boss and of the CEO.

Here are four things Geoffrey did to align his views with the current executive leadership.

1. Assess. Spend time thinking about what the CEO might be thinking about.  Put yourself into his place.  What do you think keeps him awake at night?  What worries him? What are the challenges he faces?  When you look through his eyes you get a sense of what his priorities are and where he’s focusing his attention.
2. Interact. Communicate with other peers and listen to their sense of what is important in the company.  Geoffrey needed to get beyond just his work.  He needed to reach out and connect with others.  As he asked their views on the top goals and values of the company he did two things.
   First, he learned what to focus on to make his work valuable to his boss and move his career forward.  Second he showed respect and interest in the opinions and leadership views of others. As he engaged them, they came to know and trust him as well.  He widened his sphere of influence.
3. Ask. Geoffrey was direct.  He asked his boss and the CEO what their values and priorities were.  He did this during meeting times in a public arena.  He also requested weekly or monthly one-on-one feedback times.  During those times, he discussed the company and CEO priorities and how he could best align his job with those priorities.
4. Communicate.  Based on the feedback Geoffrey got from peers and boss, he formulated a plan.  He wrote down the work he needed to do and how it supported the priorities of the boss. Then he shared it with his boss—and the CEO, as in the case of Geoffrey’s small company—for their feedback.

This increased his visibility with the boss and the CEO.  It showed Geoffrey was concerned about giving value to the company and making his work productive and effective.  It also allowed for corrections quickly and easily if Geoffrey’s assessment was off course.

When Geoffrey started implementing this plan of action, he saw immediate results.  He focused his efforts on the things that really mattered to the boss and CEO and received high praise.  His interactions with his peers harvested trust and acceptance.  Geoffrey is acting like an executive leader and is moving toward that leadership position.

For help on how you can step up to executive leadership in your work and capabilities contact Joel.

Talkback: What have you done to insure your work is aligned with the priorities of your boss or CEO?

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