3 simple ways to triumph over challenges at work!
How well did you deal with the last challenge you faced in your work life?
Throughout the course of our careers, we all come face to face with certain challenges that, upon first encountering them, seem insurmountable. For salespeople, this could be hitting your sales quota in a new role; driving sufficient traffic to the company website for marketers; or finding a great hire for a key role when you're a talent manager.
No matter if you've faced a similar challenge in the past, it's always difficult to imagine how to overcome the latest challenge. I've faced some extremely difficult challenges in my work, and just like everyone, each time, I struggled to figure out a solution from the outset, which can be not only frustrating but demoralising. However there were lessons to be learnt in the struggle and eventual triumph over these challenges and they boiled down to 3 main actions.
First, Stop! Relax... and gather your thoughts
Often-times, when we face a tough problem we can't solve, it's easy to allow frustration to cloud our thoughts. This is usually in the form of negative thoughts, self-doubts and anxiety. These emotions can trigger a fight or flight response where most people either start throwing sh*t at the wall hoping something sticks or completely retreat and give up. The best thing you can do if you ever find yourself scrambling for help is to stop, relax and give yourself time to gather your thoughts. This centres your mind space and allows the time to think through the issue at hand thoroughly, only then can you start to feel more fully in control of tackling the challenge.
1. Face up to the challenge head-on & look at the problem objectively
Once you feel in control, you can start to break down the challenge by facing it head on and seeing it for what it really is. Sometimes our perception of an issue is far removed from what the actual issue is, and by choosing to analyse the issue directly, you give yourself a much better chance at successfully finding a solution. For example, a marketer who has an objective of generating a high number of qualified leads for the sales team, may end up generating lots of junk leads because they're focused on just generating as many leads as possible; by facing up to the challenge and looking at the problem objectively, they will find that as their success is judged on the number of qualified leads they generate, they are better off focusing on smaller segments of prospects who share similarities with their existing customer base. This then gives them the framework of a strategy that they can use to methodically tackle this challenge.
2. Learning how others have overcome the same challenge
Just as I wrote in yesterday's letter, learning from those who have already been where you want to go is a great cheat code. There are likely countless people who have experienced similar challenges to the ones you need a solution for (it's certainly what I've found on my journey), and the wisest thing I've been able to do is learn from the lessons of these people. The tech industry harbours countless examples of companies overcoming every conceivable challenge to dominate entire markets, and the people who solved these issues are likely still on LinkedIn now. Do some research, reach out to them and start a conversation.
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3. Building a strategy for success, not a plan of action
You may have heard the phrase 'a plan is not a strategy'.
Although it's usually used in relation to overall business strategies, it can very easily be translated at the worker level.
Plans are usually based on proven formulas. This forces you to approach challenges from a cost standpoint, which doesn't always provide the most imaginative solution to a challenge you may be facing e.g. I'll spend 3 hours making calls so I can hit my quota or I'll approach 100 candidates a day so I can interview 10 people etc. You have a plan of action, but this often resorts in a brute force approach, meaning you can miss easier options for overcoming your challenge
Strategies tend to be outcome based, and although this means you'll have to say "here's what I believe will happen if I..." you stand a better chance at coming up with an enduring solution to your challenge. You need to lay out the logic of your strategy, so you can easily identify the parts of the strategy that aren't working and tweak them accordingly. At the very least, you need to detail:
By having these details nailed down in your strategy, you'll be able to understand why you'll be successful in overcoming any challenge you face. I loved this breakdown by Roger Martin on the subject.