Shifting the Leader’s Mindset from Me to We

Too many new leaders also “have it all wrong,” at least in terms of how they view their new roles. They think of leadership as the next step in their ascent, one that represents an increase in responsibility and authority but not one that necessarily demands change in their core thinking and approaches. In truth, to assume a leadership post is to enter into a whole new professional arena.

Before assuming this new position, accomplishment was all about you and your performance. You worked hard to achieve success and hoped that you would get noticed and promoted. Time and effort were invested in self-promotion, with the understanding that your success would translate into the next step that you desired. Once you become a leader, however, achievement is measured by your ability to grow others, to make the people who work for you more capable and more confident. The game is no longer about you winning. It’s your team that must win for your term as leader to be deemed a success.

Tips for new sales leaders to hit the ground running

New sales leaders face a unique challenge. They rise from the ranks of top salespeople — the ones making the sales — to then be the one who must coach others to close more sales. They also pivot from being part of a group — often having five to 50 peers — to a more rarified air with fewer peers and no same-level colleagues to lean on.

Often, this shift occurs with little-to-no formal training, with the only insight on proper protocol being that which the previous leader did or failed to do. From metrics to staffing to accountability, the upwards move to sales leader is unlike anything these sales professionals have ever done.

How to disaster-proof your business and your life, part 3

How to disaster-proof your resilience, with Brian Wallace, founder, NowSourcing

Wallace is a straight-shooter, so I knew that there would be instant value in our conversation. While he acknowledges the catastrophic economic impact of COVID-19, he maintains that we were already due for a market correction and reality check. The US economy had experienced 129 consecutive months of growth, and we had foolishly come to take growth for granted.

Now that we have entered this correction, Wallace says, to survive and thrive moving forward, people must ask themselves, “How good are you at delivering what you said you would do?” More and more, people will want to see concrete value for their dollars. Those that can deliver it will rise to the top.

Preserving you: Preventing teacher burnout

Think of the first time you encountered teacher burnout. Where you were. What was going on at the time. The feelings. The experiences. The surroundings.

I'll tell you what it was for me. I was a new teacher in an Orthodox Jewish independent high school. I was fresh. I was idealistic. And I was going to change the world.

Each morning, my colleagues and I would convene in the teacher's lounge. On occasion, we would play a game.

Typically speaking, one doesn’t think of teacher lounges and games; there were no chess or Scrabble boards to be found. The game that we played had no name. I have named it in arrears the “make the calendar disappear” game.

You’re Better Than You Think: Tips to Overcome Imposter Syndrome at Work

Debbie has been lucky. Or so she thinks. How else can she explain her many successes and promotions at work? It certainly doesn’t have anything to her hard work and skill development, or the relationships that she’s carefully built over the years, does it?

Of course, it does. But you’d be shocked to learn how many Debbies are out there, ascribing their successes to good fortune and their failures to their self-perception of inadequacy. Each raise, promotion or accolade is accompanied by the dread that, one day, their cover will be blown, and everyone will find out that they’ve just been getting lucky time and again.

What Debbie and many others suffer from is an unhealthy dose of impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome occurs when you believe your inner critic when it tells you that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications.

Becoming the New Sales Boss

New sales leaders face a unique challenge. They rise from the ranks of top salespeople — the ones making the sales — to then be the one who must coach others to close more sales. They also pivot from being part of a group — often having five to 50 peers — to a more rarified air with fewer peers and no same-level colleagues to lean on.

Often, this shift occurs with little-to-no formal training, with the only insight on proper protocol being that which the previous leader did or failed to do. From metrics to staffing to accountability, the upwards move to sales leader is unlike anything these sales professionals have ever done.

Learn to Let it Go

I know that it’s not easy. I have struggled with these feelings plenty myself and sometimes still do. But I also know that it can and should be done, for you more than for them. Below are some strategies that can help.

Accept what is, then let go – The past is called that for a reason. We can’t change it, no matter how much we want to. So there’s no point in reliving it. The sooner that we recognize that the faster we will come to a better place.
Recognize the Divine Element – Just because we don’t like what happened does not mean that it was not meant to be. We may not ever find out why losing that potential spouse, that job, that money or something else was in our best interest. But our belief in personal divine providence tells us that the outcome was nonetheless preordained.
Own your portion – While you may not have deserved the hurt you experienced, there may have been a part of the hurt that you are also partially responsible for. Ask yourself what you could have done differently and commit to that behavior moving forward.

Turn Your Excuses Into Challenges

Today is a fast day on the Jewish calendar.

While in a sense that’s probably a good thing (I’m probably not the only one who overate on Rosh Hashana,) it presents a challenge for those who seek to get things done after two days out of the office.

On days like this, it’s easy to make excuses.

“I can’t get much done,” we say, “when I can’t eat.”

Of course, we don’t need fast days to find excuses for a lack of productivity or performance.

“I won’t get much done if I spend all day in traffic.”

“The weather is really crumby and is affecting my mood.”

“Jane is out again. There’s no way that I can make up the slack.”

“Without their advertising budget, we simply can’t match their market reach.”

5 Strategies for a Winning Mindset

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at a real estate training event. My talk was entitled, “Maintaining a Winning Mindset Through the Endless Grind and Hustle.” The topic was motivated by a simple reality that extends well beyond real estate.

As professionals and as people, we have better days and more challenging ones. Sometimes, we get so frustrated and experience such hardship that we just want to give up.

In my talk, I focused on 5 things that, if practiced, can help us push through to success even on the hardest of days.

They are:

Stay Positive – It can be so easy to get down on ourselves and our situations when things get tough. But we also have the power to control our thoughts and think positively. Work to ensure that you feed your mind with positive thoughts by reading inspirational quotes, listening to positive messaging, and surrounding yourself with positive people.

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How to disaster-proof your resilience, with Brian Wallace, founder, NowSourcing