I can't sleep…
Self: Tough week?
DK: Let’s talk about the weekend.
Self: No highlights? No inspirations?
DK: Two word summary: Falling behind. And, exhausted.
Self: That’s three.
DK: Listen Pal. Don’t get cute.
Self: OK. OK. OK. We’ll keep it upbeat. I’ll cut you some slack. Gimmee one BURSTING ray of sunlight.
DK: Direct reports. 2-down managers. Sales side leadership. SMEs. Gritty. Scrappy. Poised. Professional. Proud. Taking body shots. Best in business. One word for this pack: L-E-A-D-E-R-S.
Source: NY Times – An Interview with John Donovan, Chief Technology Officer of AT&T
Great interview. John Donovan certainly exemplifies the 7 mindsets of the most trusted professionals in this interview (See prior post: “Are You A Professional?”). The article also did grab my attention early when he mentioned he was a former hockey player. 🙂 A few of my favorite excerpts below.
Q. What were some early leadership lessons for you?
A. “…if there’s a situation where someone else needs to lead, and it’s working, that is A-O.K. I don’t feel a burning need to be in charge, and I don’t feel that it’s a bad thing to follow when the right things are getting done. So in some respects, I don’t have the innate drive that certain people have about control and ownership and leadership.”
“…The first thing I noticed very quickly early on was that hard work is central to what you do, and that’s not any magic or science. I said, “Well, if I start today, and I outwork everybody, then the only question is the starting point.” So I figured that if I work really hard I can be in the top 5 percent in any field. It just gave me some comfort to say, O.K., I’m going to do fine financially, so I shouldn’t make decisions based on money. My objective should be to gain the broadest set of experiences I can, and just try to drill deep everywhere I can. And so I played the game for breadth. Early in my career, I bought businesses, fixed them and sold them. Some went well; some didn’t. I did some home development. I was in sales. I went back to business school. A lot of people work hard to get ahead, and I recognized early on that it’s a differentiator. I just figured that there was a certain amount of this that’s just raw tonnage.” Continue reading “Strive For Results, Not The Accolades…”
Are you a Professional?
How would you define a Professional?
Bill Wiersma conducted research asking a number of executives in various industries (including members of the Dave Matthews Band) whether they considered themselves professionals and what was their definition of a professional. Yet many who who surveyed did feel that those occupations that required a special degree or qualification, such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant were professionals. His startling findings were that most people he surveyed did not view themselves as professionals, let alone understand the mind-set required to be one. It matters because the higher the degree of professionalism in a firm, the higher likelihood of achieving goals and driving better results. And that viewing oneself as a professional is a precursor to being one as the aspirational identity is affirming, and it elevates her view of herself and therefore influences her actions.
His research went on to find that 7 mind-sets were prevalent among the most trusted professionals:
Continue reading “Book Review: The Power of Professionalism. Are you a Professional?”