Liz Guthridge, Connect’s leadership coach and neuroplastician, helps you think more clearly, act more intentionally and live more fully.
Today’s workplace: Flatter workplace structures. Faster pace. Increased transparency. More volatility and uncertainty. And everyone is responding differently.
For example, several leaders I’m working with are asking for space in our coaching calls to discuss the tensions they’re feeling with some of their direct reports. Much of these leaders’ angst is with employees in their 30s and early 40s. These individuals have experienced extensive workplace changes in their decade or two of work, and their bosses are concerned about their trajectory.
The bosses explain that these team members are asking for promotions but aren’t showing that they are capable of assuming new responsibilities. For now, the individuals seem content to stick with their same mindset and behaviors. They’ve missed the message that “what got them here won’t get them there,” the classic phrase coined by author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith (and the title of his 2007 book).
Over time, the bosses’ concerns are growing: If performance problems exist today, tomorrow will need a reset on promotion expectations and the future may require revised succession plans.
Three Career-Limiting Performance Problems
The three most common career-limiting performance problems they describe are:
1. Showing A Fixed Mindset
Certain individuals prefer looking smart and fine-tuning their current strengths rather than taking on new challenges. When questioned, these individuals feel threatened and double down on proving themselves. They can seem resistant to feedback and oblivious to opportunities, not to mention their leaders’ requests for greater adaptability, continuous learning and experimenting with AI.
These signs all point to operating with a predominantly fixed mindset. They would benefit from showing cognitive flexibility, not rigidity.
2. Hoarding Information
Some individuals enjoy serving as the premier “go-to” knowledge expert. They seem to be protecting information for power and influence rather than playing well with others. Leaders are looking for different actions, namely curating information, sharing insights and collaborating well with others. Today, knowledge has become more like milk—it spoils when it ages.
3. Playing It Safe
Others wait to receive orders before acting. Whether they lack initiative, courage or trust in themselves, they’re a time and energy suck for the leaders and colleagues who have to guide them. In environments that prize speed, hustle, continuous improvement and especially innovation, order-takers who avoid taking risks limit their opportunities.
And there’s more! Leaders tell me they’re also observing low emotional intelligence. This shows up as low empathy, lack of self-regulation and unsophisticated communication skills. Regarding the latter, many leaders say they believe many early to mid-career employees are overly dependent on digital communication, such as texts and emails. These employees miss out on making connections and don’t build strong relationships in the workplace.
Identifying Career-Limiting Behaviors
Before taking action, let’s talk about the two categories of these career-limiting behaviors:
Mindset Traps: Fixed mindset, risk aversion, resistance to challenges, low emotional intelligence
Behavioral Blind Spots: Hoarding information, poor communication, limited networking skills and relationships, low business acumen
If you notice any direct reports falling into one or both of these traps, step back first and examine their behavior patterns. Are they repeating the same mistakes? Are they stymied working with certain people, departments or timeframes? Is something else amiss?
To identify patterns and their frequency, ask yourself these questions:
Mindset Trap Questions
• How does the individual react to feedback? A gift? Criticism? Something else? What do they do with feedback they’ve received?
• How willing is the individual to take on new assignments and learn new skills? How much direction and oversight do they need?
• To what extent does the individual prefer staying in their comfort zone instead of experimenting?
• To what extent does the individual replicate what has worked in the past versus making adjustments to fit new, changing circumstances?
• How often do they talk about the past versus displaying interest in anticipating the future?
Behavioral Blind Spot Questions
• How willing is the individual to share their knowledge and resources?
• To what extent does the individual work by themselves or in silos? Are they building bridges across functions?
• To what degree are they focused on outcomes, impact and influence rather than effort?
• How often does the individual want to talk in real time versus communicating via email or text?
• How curious are they?
If you detect any patterns, focus on helping the individual make adjustments in the flow of work. If no patterns are obvious, talk with the individual about working on areas that both interest them as well as help you and the organization gain traction. Formal developmental opportunities help, too.
How To Rewire Mindset And Adjust Behavior
To help a direct report get unstuck and on track, consider:
Mindset Accelerators
• Encourage the individual to seek feedback, both informal and formal, especially with a 360. This feedback sends two important messages: First, colleagues have definite points of view about working with the individual they’re rating, and second, these points may vary and even contradict one another. This emphasizes the importance of personalizing how you work with others, including being more flexible.
• Provide stretch assignments.
• Support smart risk-taking, such as designing pilots, testing new ideas and doing after-project reviews.
• Advise them to find ways to build their curiosity muscles, increase their self-awareness and improve their emotional intelligence. And ideally, suggest helpful resources, especially if they seem unsure about what to do.
Behavioral Power Moves
• Support them to create a learning journey of new work experiences, formal development and mentoring.
• Provide them with opportunities to work with colleagues in different teams and functions to help them build stronger bridges and relationships.
• Ask colleagues to meet informally with your direct report to talk about practical ways to be more strategic and build their network.
By making the effort to analyze their patterns around mindset traps and behavioral blind spots, you’re doing yourself and your direct reports a big favor. You’re also crafting ways to help them be and do better.
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