10 Lessons To Learn in Your Career and Life

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As a leader, I've had the opportunity to work with and for a great variety of people. People from different backgrounds, with different ideas about leadership and different goals in work and life. Each of these relationships has allowed me a peek into someone else's life and leadership style. Throughout my career, I've learned lessons from all of these people. I've been lucky enough to be able to apply some of the best lessons to my career which has truly helped me move forward.  Here are 10 lessons I've learned in my career.

Give Credit

As a leader, it's easy to take credit for the work that's done by your team. What can sometimes seem harder but is better both for you and your team, is to give credit to others. If your team has great success don't rush to take the credit, but give them the credit. Everyone knows that you were the one in charge and leading the team. Let them have the glory of success. It helps them feel more confident and makes them more eager to work hard on the next project.

Take The Blame

I've seen leaders throw a team member under the boss when something has gone wrong. This never works out. The person doing it thinks they are deflecting the blame from themselves, but it looks bad to everyone observing the situation. As a leader, you should always take responsibility for the success and failures of your team. As they say, the buck stops here and you don't get to pass it to anybody else. If someone on your team failed to meet a target, you should take the blame and coach them in private. Diminishing their brand in front of others only serves to harm the relationship between you. Instead, own the shortfall and coach and develop them so they won't make the same mistake twice. This results in more loyal team members more willing to work hard. 

Respect Yourself

There's a phrase that goes "always pay yourself first".  Remember that you should always work smart and hard. You should try to perform your best in everything you do. However, that shouldn't extend to devoting your entire life to your work. Take time to recharge, spend time with friends and family, and do things that are important to you. You may do work that's important to you and others and that's great, but don't forget that it is work. You owe your employer what you've agreed to, not more. So if they expect you to perform a certain level and you always push to exceed that by a wide margin you greatly help the organization while harming yourself personally.  Pay yourself first. 

Never Stop Learning

Life is a series of situations, interactions, observations, relationships, etc. that are constantly teaching you new things. Beyond that, there are additional things that might interest you, improve your skillset, or make you more marketable as a potential employee. I set aside time every day to read and additional time every week for independent learning. I focus on things that interest me and that would apply to the work I do. I get to enjoy learning new things while simultaneously making myself more valuable. Set aside time every day to learn something new. 

Learn to Say No

People treat you how you teach them to treat you. If you teach people to speak to you with respect and to value your work and your time they will. Conversely, if you teach people that they can treat you poorly and take advantage of you by pushing work onto you they will do that too. I've seen this happen several times throughout my career. Someone, with good intentions, who wants to look good is willing to say yes to everything and everyone that comes their way. They end up working long hours every day, picking up shifts on the weekend. They do all that work and they never get ahead at work, because no one respects or values them. Don't fall into this trap. Learn to say no and stand up for yourself. 

Failure Doesn't Define You

Failure happens to all of us. We all, regularly have things that we mean to happen or strive for that we don't quite meet. Sometimes we miss a target by a small amount and sometimes we miss them by a wide margin. The difference between great leaders and leaders that are still growing is the ability to look at those events and realize that failure is now who they are, but a one-time event. They look at what happened, learn a lesson to apply in the future, and move on. They don't dwell on it, and they have enough confidence in themselves to know they won't repeat their mistakes. 

Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated

The people that you work with are a valuable resource. They are full of experiences, knowledge, and skills that can help themselves, you, and your organization achieve its goals. Don't forget that while they are valuable resources, they are also individuals. They have their hopes, dreams, and challenges. The person and the professional are the same. Leaders that recognize this and treat their people with caring and respect get better performance in the long term. People want to work for people that they think to care about them. Prove to your people that you do care about them, by taking a personal interest in both their work and lives. 

Don't Micromanage People

When you are competent and able to do your job successfully, nothing is worse than an overbearing boss that wants to insert themselves into every aspect of your work. Don't do this to the people you work with either. Instead, of micromanaging them empower them to their goals. Set clear achievable goals, ensure they have the training, knowledge, and resources to get them, and then get out of the way. People will find their solutions to complex problems and you might even be surprised by what they come up with. Don't stifle their creativity and spirit by getting in their way. Empower them to succeed. 

Do What You Say, You Will

There are times throughout our lives when we want to give up and push off the work. Times when we've bitten off more than we can chew or we're just exhausted. Fight that temptation to throw in the towel and persevere through and cross the finish line. When you give your work to someone that you will do something, you do it. Your word should be your bond. People should trust that they can count on you to deliver. This means that sometimes you need to be realistic about what you can do, timelines, and know when to say no. Regardless of how you get there, ensure that you always come through. 

Say What You Mean

Always be straight ward and honest. Life is short and there is no point in going through it and having regrets that you didn't speak up when you should have. If you see an opportunity say something. If someone asks you what you think about something tell them. I'm not saying to go and be intentionally rude or mean to people, but have the professional courage to help people be better through constructive feedback. Whether the feedback is to encourage further success or redirect from a failure, don't hesitate to speak up and be honest. 

What lessons have you learned in life? Tell me!  Post below or contact me!