Balance Points from the Team

Ready? Set. Reflect!

02.06.18

As we acknowledged in the first blog, moving into a new role and/or new organization is a very exciting time. You’ve advanced in a significant way but that typically creates a lot of nervous energy as you think about how to be successful in the learning phase of this new position. Operating from a place where you are feeling pressure to perform can be distracting, and distractions lead to lower productivity. One thing I’ve found very helpful is getting leaders to slow down a bit. This is easier said than done, but to be successful in the learning phase it’s important to deliberately take a deep breath and take a step back.

 

I liken the step-back phase to hitting the pause button. Are you ready? Let all of the internal “noise” that surrounds you fall away so you can focus on answering a few key questions for yourself:

What are my top four strengths?

What has been my biggest challenge in the past?

What do I value most?

What are my new role requirements?

 

In my practice at Balance Point Group, these are just a few of the questions I ask as part of the assimilation coaching process. I intentionally chose these four for you because they help you closely examine your strengths, values and vulnerabilities. Going back to these basics is essential because, you are in a learning phase. You’ve been successful in this position before, but now you’re doing it in a new place or in the same place at a new level so you need to regroup and relearn. The good news is that this is an opportunity to reset and leave some old habits behind. Here is what that looked like for one of my clients.

Juan was starting a new position and went through the reflection phase.  He determined the biggest thing missing in his life was work/family balance. A father of three, he had developed a habit of working on weekends. It was one of the reasons he got divorced and he wanted to be a better father on the weekends. We talked about how Juan’s promotion was his reset button. He had the opportunity to establish clear boundaries but it would only happen if he was intentional. Juan stopped scheduling weekend meetings, committed to only checking email early in the morning on weekends and identified two people to be his accountability partners. Six weeks into his new position, Juan has noticed a positive change and so have his kids.

In my next blog post, we’ll be visionaries and imagine what your success might look like three months down the road. For now, I encourage you to welcome this time of learning and think about how you might use your pause button.

 

Click here to learn more about Gary Halverson.

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