I went rock climbing for the first time in 5 years and was reminded why I love it so much–the same traits that help you reach the top of the wall are the same ones that will help you reach “the top” at work.
First, you need a plan. For the easier routes, you can get by with just stepping up to the wall and climbing. For the harder routes, those that are the most challenging and most rewarding, you need at least some semblance of a plan–where will you start, where do you need to end up. No plan mean no success.
Second, you’ll need some help. You could boulder on your own for as long as you want, but you’ll never be able to climb to the higher heights without assistance–a belayer there to catch you when you fall and a second set of eyes to tell you about the peg you’re missing for your right foot.
Third, you will fall. In order to progress, you’ll have to stretch and take risks. Some of those risks will pay off, others will cause you to fall and actually lose ground. But you’ll have someone there to catch you and you’ll learn. You may fail multiple times but each fall is a learning experience that will ultimately help you succeed.
So if you want to climb the corporate ladder, learn from those who climb mountains.
I recently came across an old picture of me in my North Sycamore baseball uniform and it reminded me of the years I spent playing baseball. I wasn’t bad, but also not that good. It’s hard to do well in baseball when you’re scared of the ball whenever you go to bat.
As I think about it more, the term “home” (as in homeplate) is quite a fitting analogy for life and how we can become at “home” with ourselves.
When you stand at home to bat (or “live” in this metaphor), you’ll have people who are there to help you (base coaches), people who may distract you (the catcher), authority figures (umpires) and casual observers (fans). But most importantly, you’ll also have someone hurling opportunities at you. Fast, frightening opportunities. And while those opportunities may be scary, and there is a chance some will hurt, they’re also something for you to take advantage of.
Not every opportunity is right for you (it may be out of the strikezone). You don’t have to hit a homerun with every single one–a single or double is great. And even if you don’t get a hit at every at-bat, you know that more opportunities will come–either in the same at-bat or on another day.
And if you fail? Don’t worry, it’s par for the course. Heck, if you’re able to take advantage of even one out of four of your at-bats in life you can be in the Major Leagues.
Now here’s the scariest part. In order to really succeed, every now and then, you have to leave home. You have to go on a journey around the diamond. But the good news is that you’ll back, and when you return safe at home, you’ll be better than when you left.
I’ve been studying musical improv recently and one of the best tips I’ve learned so far is the power of the chorus–the part of the song that is deadly simple and repeated over and over (and over and over) again. Why is the repetition of the chorus so powerful? Because the people listening can learn it and then participate–they know what to expect and they can join in.
However, if you have a song that is only verses–all the lines are different with nothing you go back to or repeat–then it’s much harder to learn the song and sing along. It takes a much longer time, requires more repetition and often isn’t as satisfying (until you learn all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody, and then it’s great (but only for the people singing it, not for the other people at the karaoke bar)).
What’s my point? Organizations should be like songs with great choruses. Their structure should be simplified, there should be consistency and you don’t want to change it before people have gotten a chance to learn it and then start participating in it. Of course change will happen, the organization will evolve and you’ll move from Please Please Me Beatles to Abbey Road Beatles over time, but only after you’ve allowed your employees to grow within the organization.
So be smart about your organizational changes, plan them out and then when they’re finally implemented, let your organization sing the chorus for awhile.
I recently found an unexpected mentor, and she is awesome.
- She gives me positive reinforcement when I’ve done something right.
- She lets me know about things that are coming up so I can be ready for them.
- She doesn’t tell me where I should go, but once I’ve decided, she helps me get there.
- If I mess up, she doesn’t dwell on it or ridicule me for it, instead she helps me get back on track.
- She helps guide me, but doesn’t do anything for me, making me responsible for my own success.
- When I finally get to where I want to be, she congratulates me and says “you have arrived.”
“She” is my GPS.
