Tips Gleaned from How “The Best Leaders Lead” and How You Can Lead Yourself in Your Career Transition

By Sandy Prock M.Ed., JCTC, Co-Owner of www.ExpertResume.com

In Brian Tracy’s book “How the Best Leaders Lead”, Brian mentions an ancient philosophy that is the underpinning of many religious, philosophical and psychological beliefs. “You become what you think about most of the time.” He applies this to the best leadership. He also lists some traits of the best leaders.

Let’s examine more closely and see how you can apply a few of Brian’s ideas and use them in your career development and career transition. Whether you lost your job or if you are looking for a new job because you are dissatisfied with your current position, you can apply these ideas. You most likely already possess these traits; however, job dissatisfaction or job loss can temporarily cloud anyone’s vision. You may just need a jumpstart to get going again. One of my motivated abilities is to learn new information. I especially enjoy pulling from all kinds of sources to help you in your career transition.

Brian states that the best leaders have integrity. They tell the truth. He states that the best leaders deal honestly with situations. They are straightforward. They face each situation as it is. This is important as you face your career transition. When you experience a job loss or you are in the middle of feeling job dissatisfaction it can be difficult to sort through what can sometimes feel confusing or depressing.

If you are feeling confused or depressed, one-way out of your confusion and depression is to ask yourself some objective questions. What was or was not your responsibility? Be honest and face any mistakes you made. This includes choosing a job or environment that did not or does not fit with your personality, temperament and style of leadership.

There are many factors why something does not work. There are times when you may not be responsible for the failure. It is can be a lot easier to see this when you are objectively assessing a situation that you are not directly involved in. It can be more challenging when you must assess a situation that you are directly involved in. Telling the truth is imperative. Sometimes this takes time. Sometimes this also requires some distance from fresh pain. Painful situations can sometimes distort the truth. Gentleness is one key to your recovery. However, with time, truth is accessible. The truth will set you free.

• This leads to another factor Brian states - the best leaders are humble. Humility is your ability to see and own both your strengths and your weaknesses. It is the ability to say, “Yes, I did that – or I did that well" – as well as "I made a mistake and I learned this or that.” Both of those statements made with humility will sound matter of fact and devoid of blame or excessive boasting. It is what it is. That kind of humility is freeing. It frees you to assess what worked and what did not work. With this kind of assessment, you are free to create new goals feeling congruent and confident. Humility creates congruence and confidence. You don’t waste energy unnecessarily defending yourself, or pumping up a sagging self-esteem. Honesty creates good and positive self-esteem. This comes across to employers and sets you apart from your competition. Confidence is attractive and it creates the “X” factor, your personal charisma. You know you have it when you feel comfortable in your own skin and you can just as easily admit your mistakes and what you learned as well as talk about your accomplishments. There is power in embracing and accepting all of you and all of your life. What creates your best life? Wholeness, not perfection creates your most fulfilling life. Wholeness generates true happiness. Wholeness means accepting, embracing, and learning about and from all of your experiences and learning about and from all that you are, including your strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, failures and all the lessons you learned and continue to learn.

The bonus of an honest evaluation of what did and did not work in your last position will give you insights into what will give you greater fulfillment in your future position. Consider looking at your dissatisfaction or job loss as an opportunity to re-think and re-evaluate what is best for you. Ask yourself questions like:

• What made you angry? This is a clue to one of your values. It can be a clue to one of your deep needs. It can be a clue to something that was not right for you. It can be a clue to a boundary or value violated. It can be a clue to something you need to re-think or re-adjust. Maybe you expected too much or maybe you did not expect enough. You are in a better position to negotiate your inner, valuable and meaningful intangibles that build natural fulfillment in your work if you know your heartfelt desires, needs and expectations. Evaluate how realistic and appropriate they are for you at this time and make any fine-tune adjustments if you need to. Learning is a move in the right direction.

• What did you enjoy? This is a fun one, because this is a clear indication of one of your natural strengths. Build on your strengths and you will create a happier, more fulfilling life. Know in depth what your strengths are. Make sure you find a place that welcomes your strengths and where you can use them liberally, contributing to your new employer and generating greater well-being for yourself.

• What environment is best suited for you? If you know what type of environment supports your leadership style, personality, temperament, and values, you are on your way to finding a place that will also nourish your talents and well-being.

• What is your temperament? This interesting question will help you make good choices. Consider finding a company compatible with your temperament. You most likely already know that it is an advantage in your relationships if you understand, respect and interact effectively with other temperaments too. It is ultimately up to you to work with people of all temperaments. Knowing your self is the beginning of knowing others. A great book to discover and learn more about yours and others temperament is by Donna Dunning “What’s Your Type of Career? – Unlock the Secrets of Your Personality to Find Your Perfect Career Path”. This is my current favorite book about temperament and job finding. It is also a great resource for understanding others.

These are a few ideas to jumpstart your personal brainstorming and evaluating yourself and your career. Consider looking at what did and did not work for you. Maybe you will re-design your future job. Maybe you will land a position even more suited to your strengths and motivated abilities. I hope that someday you look back at this experience in your career development, and see that this was an opportunity for further and ongoing self-discovery. I hope that someday your experience of job loss or job dissatisfaction turns out to be your ally that moved you into new discoveries and new positions that turn out just as good or even better for you – positions that feel better and are a better fit for you.

Knowledge is power. Self-knowledge is power. More power to you!

Consider thinking about some of Brian Tracy’s discovery of the best leaders. This is a great time to engage some of the traits that the best leaders embody – integrity, honesty and humility to name three. It can be a challenge when you are dissatisfied with your current position. However, the wave of the future is leaning toward self-directed career development. Get ahead of the curve, view your job search as your job, and lead yourself into your new great position. More power to you!

Don’t forget how important your resume, cover letter and other job documents are in your job search. They are not just a piece of paper or random words. Your resume, cover letter and other job search documents represent you. They better be the best they can be. Beware of templates. Beware of well-meaning friends, or family members that think they can help you write your job search documents. Wisdom – know when to seek help. Consider hiring a professional resume writer to help you represent and showcase your best.

Bob and I wish you the best in your career search. If you have any questions about your resume, cover letter or other job search documents, please feel free to call Bob.

Sandy Prock M.Ed. (Masters in Education – Vocational Guidance and Counseling), JCTC (Job and Career Transition Coach), Co-Owner of www.ExpertResume.com