Introduction
Who knows when it began, but dirty water was bubbling up from the drain in the boiler room. Sometime around 11 p.m., Gaby and Nick returned home after a grueling day of work. They cautiously descended the stairs to the subbasement. Water was spreading everywhere. Gaby remembered, “I smelled it first. Then I saw the boxes storing important family papers sitting in water. I didn’t think. I took off my shoes and waded in. But the boxes were too heavy to move.”
She yelled at Nick to help. He refused, stiffly advising Gaby not to touch a thing (too late on that score) and to call the building manager. An exchange of criticisms began, rapidly followed by a few expletive-laden insults. In tears, Gaby dialed her mother. Nick retreated to safety upstairs to call his. Neither mother had much to add.
Panicked, Gaby called the building manager next. He did nothing to relieve her anxiety, replying that no, he wasn’t coming over to help and yes, it was most assuredly sewage water. In a tone that communicated I’m doing you a favor, he scheduled a plumber for the next day. Now Gaby had to rearrange her day to work from home, if her boss would even allow it. She had a sleepless night.
The next morning, she opened her door to Harris, an elderly plumber. A man of few words, he said, “I’ve done jobs like this for 30 years. This place will be as good as new.” Harris then moved the boxes with ease, whistling while he worked. And it was as good as new, for the time being.
The parallel to challenges at work is striking. The expression “volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous” (VUCA) describes extreme military situations, but it has since been adopted as the new normal by the business world. Your job could disappear without warning. Your boss could disappear without warning. People you work with live on the other side of the world—and they want to talk at 9 a.m. their time. Expectations are higher; your peers are working harder. And your work challenges are bigger and more intense than ever.
Challenges heighten anxiety and stress. Check. They deplete your energy. Double check. If not addressed, they cause harm in the long term. Triple check. Sound familiar?
Your work is filled with hard challenges that you don’t feel ready to handle. They may require difficult conversations, new skills, and tools you don’t yet have. Worse, their best friend is fear. Together, challenge and fear can sap your will and render you helpless.
But there’s another side to this story.
What if you grew more capable through challenges, working more productively and enjoyably? What if they helped you become more capable? You’d run toward challenges; you’d welcome them. With the right mindset, approaches, and tools, you’d find challenges intriguing and exciting. They’d engage you fully and stimulate your creative thinking.
Reframe. Challenges are not flashing danger signs, but spectacular opportunities to grow faster and smarter.
The challenges in this book come from research I’ve undertaken since 2015. I wanted to tailor my leadership work to midcareer professionals as a follow-up to the Centered Leadership Project, which I founded as a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. Consequently, for this book I interviewed over 200 high performing, high potential rising leaders at Fortune 1000 companies, in addition to startup founders, nonprofit leaders, government executives, artists, actors, academics, journalists, teachers, and other independent thinkers outside of big business. The participants worked at 120 different companies, across industries and functions—and not the usual suspects! Their backgrounds are as varied as their professional lives. Almost 40 percent are people of color. Those born outside the United States or with immigrant parents represent over 40 countries. These remarkable participants shared their personal and professional challenges openly and generously with me. Collectively, they contributed raw experiences from their work and life.
You don’t have to love everyone in this book or want to be like them. Chances are, you’re going to dislike a few! I didn’t include their stories to win your sympathy or compassion but to share important insights that may help somebody—possibly you. By the way, because many of the people in this book have asked for anonymity, I’ve changed names and circumstances to honor the request. That said, every story is real. Unvarnished.
The collective voice in this book speaks a profound truth: you don’t grow despite challenges but because of them. The stories underscore five themes:
• Preparation is half the game. Challenges are made more manageable when you’ve built the skills and know-how to address them. You don’t always have the luxury, but getting ready for challenges will be a critical factor in your success.
• Asking questions will help you. Thinking is critical, but it’s not what you think. The participants underscore the importance of reflection, soul-searching, and dreaming. Asking questions—big ones and granular ones—is a practice you would do well to hard-wire into your daily life.
• Talking is a good thing. Talking to your boss, mentors and sponsors, colleagues, coworkers, friends, and contacts is productive when it helps you address the questions. Interaction generates new energy, which may be exactly what you need.
• Intentionality is the Do Not Pass Go Until You Do This step. Lurking beneath your behaviors are mindsets and beliefs that may limit you. With self-awareness, you can choose to stay as you are—or change. As much as you might wish it, change doesn’t happen on its own. Consciously shift your mindset and your experience will improve, even if the outcome isn’t everything you wanted.
• Taking small steps frees you to act. Small steps help you test your way through trial and error, reinforcing your new mindsets and behaviors. Small steps mitigate risk. Take enough of them and they add up.
You’ll read about 12 work challenges in 12 chapters. Here’s how each unfolds: I introduce the challenge briefly; then share a few more true stories (each followed by my answer to the question “so what?”); and wrap up with recommended tools, practices, and actions. You participate too. You have your own perspective, and you decide what to implement. As one participant said, “I’ve had enough of school. I don’t want to be led by the nose. Let me reach my own conclusions.” Right on.
Use the book as you like. You’ll experience all of these tough challenges at some point in your career, assuredly more than once. Read from the beginning or start with the most pressing challenge that you face right now.
Think of me as your mentor in a box, or “mentor in a book” more appropriately. I offer more than 30 years of experience helping companies address their strategic, operational, and organizational challenges. I know how to structure problems, analyze the data, reach conclusions, and develop recommendations. I know how to interview and listen intently. That’s what underlies the stories, their “so what’s,” and my counsel. I respect that you may develop your own game plan. Nothing would please me more. This book is for all curious minds open to taking on the toughest work challenges. I hope that’s you. I hope you experience work, grow quickly, and above all aspire to greatness. You’re reading this book for a reason.
If you’re early on in your career, work will be more adventure and less drag when you’re open to learning, delighted by challenge, and intentional. Put the tools, practices, approaches, and recommended actions to the test. Learn from the stories of people who faced challenges you haven’t yet experienced. But please don’t compare. You’ve got just as much on the ball as the professionals in this book.
If you’re midway through your career or further along, there’s no time like the present to apply the five themes: preparing, asking, talking, setting your intention, and acting in small steps. Your experiences, skills, and know-how will be godsends, but try to see with fresh eyes too. Remember that if you ask the same questions and do the same things, you’ll get the same outcomes. That’s not what you want.
Our world suffers a severe leadership deficit on every level. This gap isn’t going to close without your help. Choose where to make your mark. Get going.
And I promise, that’s the end of the purple prose for me. From here on in, it’ll be straight talk, tough love, and “just the facts!”