20 Lessons From 20 Years in the Corporate World
How to get ahead and build engaged teams.
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Rather frighteningly I reached 20 years in the world of work a few weeks ago.
Since then I’ve been reflecting on how far I’ve come and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
In the past ten years in particular I have probably got the most satisfaction from building teams and watching them thrive. For someone who used to be shy I’ve found a niche in building engaged teams.
Over the past few weeks I’ve jotted down some of the big lessons I’ve learned. I’ve now distilled that into my top 20 and presented them in a cut down form below.
I’d love to know your thoughts so please jump into the comments and let me know which ones resonate or maybe there are ones you disagree with.
Thank you and enjoy.
Building Relationships
1. Cultivate a Contact List with Varied Skills
Surround yourself with people who bring different talents. Their expertise will complement your own.
2. Get on the Radar of Senior Leadership
You don’t need to schmooze, but ensure decision-makers know your name and the value you bring.
3. Be Visible
Remote work has its perks, but regular in-office time keeps you top of mind.
4. Listen First, Then Respond
Effective communication starts with listening. Take the time to truly understand what others are saying before crafting your response.
Personal Effectiveness
5. Prioritize Learning Over Money
Focus on gaining new skills and experiences, especially early in your career. Rewards will follow so take your time to build the foundations.
6. Pick Your Battles Wisely
Save your energy for the issues that truly matter. Let minor frustrations slide.
7. Speak Early and Often in Meetings
Establish your presence early. Set a goal to contribute at least once in every meeting.
8. Keep Your Achievements Visible
Colleagues and bosses are busy with their own work. Regularly remind them of your contributions.
9. Master the Art of PowerPoint
Clear, compelling presentations are often key to communicating your ideas effectively.
10. Maintain Work-Life Boundaries
When working from home, clearly separate your professional and personal life to avoid burnout.
11. Skip “AOB” on Agendas
If something is worth discussing, it deserves its own agenda item. AOB wastes time with unrelated topics.
Leadership
12. Be a Problem-Solver, Not Just Clever
Companies value people who find solutions over those who merely point out problems.
13. Stay Calm During Budget Cuts
When cuts come, focus on business needs. Build a plan, and the resource situation will resolve itself.
14. Ensure Clear Decision-Making
Input from the team is valuable, but decisions need a final arbiter. Aim for high input, low democracy.
15. Stand Up for Your Team Publicly
Defend your team in public, but address any internal performance issues privately.
Building a Team
16. Recruit for Attitude and Ability
Skills can be taught, but attitude is key. Look for both, but prioritize mindset.
17. Invest in Your Team
Provide them with the best tools, training, and equipment.
18. Don’t Avoid Difficult Conversations
Address performance issues or conflicts head-on. Avoiding these conversations only builds resentment.
19. Resolve Team Disagreements Quickly
Unresolved conflict drains team morale. Ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction.
20. Maintain Professional Distance
Be supportive but avoid becoming too close with your team. This helps maintain objectivity.
Over to you…
Which one resonates with you the most?
What have I missed - what would you add from your experience?
Which one would you like me to do a deeper dive into?
What to read next
Your feedback really helps…thank you
Thanks for reading - see you in the comments.
Martin
Great article Martin. I'm reading and nodding, and reading some more and nodding more vigorously.
I've just passed my 25 years and you've got me wondering what my top 25 at 25 might be!!!
Excellent post!
A few suggestions or modifications:
#1: Also, do not fear surrounding yourself with more intelligent people than you.
#7: If you are the ranking person in the room, speak last unless the team is going in the wrong direction. As a leader, you want the rest of the team to bring their ideas or options to the table because now that the boss has spoken first or early with an idea/option, everyone else has shut down.
#9: Sometimes, writing a Word document and letting people read it during or before the meeting is an excellent approach to convey your message. I am not against PowerPoint, but I think we use it excessively as it is easier to create, and Word documents require more effort, but you put your thoughts better and think better with a Word document (for some, it could be writing in a notebook).
What has worked for me(not a complete list), but it is a sample size of 1, so take it with a big grain of salt:
1. Unless you are building a nuclear bomb or trying to go to Mars, you only need a few good (very high IQ) people in each area to get anything significant done. In most cases, people with very high IQ have a big ego, which hurts more than help.
2. If you make a mistake, accept it and correct it rather than keep arguing about it.
3. Praise openly and punish privately.
4. As a leader, if things go well, give all the credit to the team, but if it goes wrong, it is your fault. This creates loyalty and encourages team members to take risks as they know you will protect them. The buck stops at you.
5. Spend at least 30 minutes every day reading outside of your field. I found that so many ideas and solutions came from outside my field.
6. Always observe how other people do things. If you find someone doing something better than you, steal it.
7. You cannot experience everything, so learn from other people’s mistakes and successes.
8. Remember, luck plays a significant role in life. Raw talent generally takes you only so far.
9. The only shortcut in life (except luck) is working for an expert.
10. If you are the most intelligent person in the room, it is usually time to leave.
11. The half of the battle is showing up. Know that most people give up too fast on ideas or problems.
12. What you will focus on will grow (you will improve), and what you will not focus on will shrink.
13. You always have a choice; it may not be your best choice.
14. No risk, no gain. Calculated risks are essential for success.
15. No one knows everything about a topic, including you.
16. Always leave the door ajar for other possibilities.
17. Never take a job because it pays better unless you need money desperately or believe “the person with the most toys in the end wins.” In most cases, liking your job is more important than money, as if you like your job, you will do well and learn, which will most often translate into more success/money or a better job elsewhere.
18. Judging others by what we see is easy, but that may not be the complete story.
19. As a leader, your job is to build psychological safety so people can speak when they have ideas or if they see something wrong.
20. Cut your losses as quickly as you can. Dragging a situation never helps. For example, once you know you have hired the wrong person, let the person go, even if it looks like your mistake, especially someone managing a team. Nothing takes a team's morale down more than a bad manager. People do not leave an organization; they leave their managers.
21. Be a giver or a matcher in almost all transactions with other people. Takers go far only in specific organizations or industries. Know what kind of organization you work in and leave it if it does not match your personality. Never change your personality to match the organization unless it is the right thing to do.
22. Sometimes, you will feel that no good deed goes unpunished or will provide a return, which is normal.
23. The quote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it,” is accurate in most cases.
23. Work on complex tasks/projects. You learn more by doing difficult things, and there is less competition
24. Unless you are dealing with a new technology or situation, old books offer much more wisdom as they have survived the test of time.
25. “Never let a crisis go to waste.”
26. The famous quote to remember “ You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” - Donald Rumsfeld
27. Generally, people who go further than others, excluding for pure luck, follow the motto “I shall either find a way or make one."