The common element everywhere in life and in business seems
to be Persistence.
My clients are using their new management skills to create
different results. My new MasterMind buddy Maritza Parra is
getting her book published. And I've been holding the focus
on getting three separate web sites designed and launched
for different purposes.
Each of those endeavors requires deliberate attention in
order to achieve the tasks of the goals we've set. And that
attention leads to taking specific actions that achieve the
overall Vision itself.
With the topic of persistence showing up in conversations
daily I thought you'd appreciate my Top 5 Tips for Using
High Payoff Persistence.
Each of them has been instrumental in creating results to
cheer about.
Tip 1 - Notice 'The Way' You're Persistent
Persistence shows up in many ways in our lives. That
relative who insists on making a request over and over
until you say 'Yes' is living in one state of persistence
we might call nagging.
While that trait can be annoying in interpersonal
relations, that's exactly the trait you want in a staff
member responsible for collections or new product design.
It's important that you know if your style is to be
persistent towards an agree-upon goal, or as an obstacle to
an effort others are trying to accomplish.
Once you recognize your style you'll be better able to
describe the actions that are needed to accomplish your
goals.
Tip 2 - Uncover Your Beliefs About Persistence
Your beliefs color the actions you choose. One of my
clients shared his view that he'd be annoying and rude if
he asked others to update him about the Human Resources
progress on his six open positions twice in the same month.
As a result of that belief, he never asked and it was often
two to three months before he'd see a single resume. When
we shifted his belief to one that declared the issue was
'just a normal business topic to discuss' he got the
departments attention and was interviewing appropriate
candidates the following week.
His persistence was the grease that got other wheels
turning.
Tip 3 - Identify Whether Persistence is Serving You or
Getting In Your Way
Many years ago I offered to bring science fiction books to
the daughter of a friend overseas. She'd been learning
English and found the books fun reading and helpful in
building out her vocabulary. At my request she sent a list
of over 30 books she'd love to have.
Well I spent three weeks covering all of southern
California's used book stored looking for every last one of
them. I wanted to help and felt I'd said 'Yes' to getting
her the entire list rather than 'Maybe.'
I lost sight of the fact that any six books would have been
appreciated. And also I'm clear that my clients approve of
my persistence when they bring me in to disentangle complex
business issues and find their solutions.
While it's nice to be known by my clients and colleagues as
'dependable' and 'thorough' it's also useful to know when
enough is enough.
Tip 4 - Practice Persistence Everywhere It Is Needed
The papers piling up on your office desk might get labeled
'messy and disorganized' even if you know what's where.
Your team member who never delivers work on time might be
labeled 'overworked'.
In either instance, it usually requires very little time to
manage your paper or to manage yourself or your staff on an
ongoing basis.
Practice persistence by calendaring a daily block of 15
minutes to organize and deal with your papers and another
block of 15 minutes to set goals and get the status of
projects with your staff.
Tip 5 - Distinguish Whether It's Persistence Or
Procrastination
One of the lessons I teach my clients is that
procrastination, putting off an action that your mind says
you should be doing, is actually usually a signal that some
issue needs solving. Very often my clients are facing a
staff member's lack of performance on the job.
Ironically, all of these might be labeled procrastination -
yet they're clearly a form of persistence - persisting in
not dealing with uncomfortable situations.
Rather than criticize procrastination, probe your reason
for putting things off. It might just be that information
is missing that's required before you're ready to take
action. Once you know that, you can get the information and
step forward to solve the situation.
Use these five tips and you'll be able to give yourself
high marks for mastering persistence!
----------------------------------------------------
Management expert, consultant, and coach Linda Feinholz is
"Your High payoff Catalyst." Linda publishes the free
weekly newsletter The Spark! to subscribers world-wide and
delivers targeted solutions, practical skills and simple
ways to build your business. If you're ready to focus on
your High Payoff activities, accelerate your results and
have more fun at it, get your FREE tips like these visit
her site at http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com
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