5 values that guide my work
I just recorded an amazing conversation for the BLBS podcast with Richard Shell from the Wharton School of Business. He has a new book called The Conscience Code which is written to help you lead with your values and advance your career.
This conversation inspired me to consider the values that guide my work. I identified five that are important to me . . .
Turning Pro
“Turning pro is a mindset. If we are struggling with fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, etc., the problem is, we’re thinking like amateurs. Amateurs don’t show up. Amateurs crap out. Amateurs let adversity defeat them. The pro thinks differently. He shows up, he does his work, he keeps on truckin’, no matter what.”
-Steven Pressfield
I struggle with the imposter syndrome for two reasons.
One — I fall into the comparison trap if I’m not careful. This always messes with my mind.
Two — Everyone has a voice inside their head that is constantly criticizing, nitpicking, and being an overall jerk. I am not an exception to this rule.
Steven Pressfield calls the imposter syndrome “The Resistance.” I think that term is perfect because if I listen too much to this voice I stop dead in my tracks.
I don’t get any work done.
I play small and limit my impact.
And this is the antithesis of who I want to be and how I want to show up.
According to Pressfield, the antidote is to “Turn Pro.”
Right now the imposter might be screaming in your head.
But if you choose to show up and do the work …
That negative voice gets quieter and quieter …
Until it doesn’t exist at all.
I commit to Turning Pro every day.
The Ripple Effect
“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.”
-Tony Robbins
The Ripple Effect can be thought of as the lead domino …
It’s the one action I take in a day that causes a chain reaction throughout the universe.
In The One Thing, Gary Keller suggests a great question to ask every day:
What is the one thing I can do today that makes everything else on my list easier or unnecessary?
If you want to get more of “the right stuff” done each day and elevate your impact, this is the question to ask.
I commit to causing a ripple effect every day.
Connection
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”
-Steven Covey
Amy Edmondson identified psychological safety as the number one factor that helped teams be effective.
If people feel safe, then they connect and experience belonging.
Once you get to that special place, you can do anything.
So at the end of the day, if you want to create a world-class culture you should slow things down and really invest in creating a psychologically safe environment.
Intentionality
“My legacy is that I stayed on course… from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me.”
-Tina Turner
What is the legacy you want to leave behind?
I consider that question so much so that at times it actually keeps me up at night. I want my life to have meaning …
And it does.
The reason it has meaning is that I’m seriously clear on the work I need to be doing and who I am when I show up.
There’s plenty of room for flexibility, improvisation, and going-with-the-flow, but the majority of my days and work are planned with intention.
Legacy is like vision and Seneca said it best:
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
That’s why I put such emphasis on living with intention.
I know which port I’m sailing to.
Taking Action
“We all have that one friend who says, ‘I had the idea for eBay. If only I had acted on it, I’d be a billionaire!’ That logic is pathetic and delusional. Having the idea for eBay has nothing to do with actually creating eBay. What you do is what matters, now what you think of say or plan.”
-Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
If you want to be in the top 1% of leaders, the quickest way to get there is to be a leader of action.
So many people talk a great game …
I could have created Netlfix …
I could do a better job with that keynote …
But the truth is: you didn’t.
Taking action time and time again is what leads to growth.
Taking action is your unfair advantage.
Let the others talk while you act.
And enjoy the fruit of your labor …
So these are my values that guide my work. Feel free to steal, edit, adapt for your own use.
I’m super interested in a value that matters to YOU, so I’d love to read how you’d answer this question: what is a value that guides your work and give a 1–2 sentence explanation WHY.
Keep Making a Ruckus,
D
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