Monthly Archives: March 2009

March 2009: The Next Level

The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success, by Scott Eblin, 2006.This is a wonderful, highly readable book that I picked up at the ICF International Coaching Conference in St. Louis recently. Author Scott Eblin starts with the astonishing statistic that 40 percent of new executives fail within 18 months of their promotion.

As a former Fortune 500 Human Resources executive, Eblin is now an executive coach bringing the best of coaching to his work with high-level managers. Eblin starts by encouraging us all to know when we are at our best and then to – with clear intent – choose to perform at our best.

He identifies 9 key sets of behaviors and beliefs that executives must pick up and let go of to succeed at the next level. I found it very interesting that this process of strategic choice applies equally to navigating our businesses through today’s waters of turbulent change.

I’ve already started making my check list of what I’m letting go and picking up to succeed in 2009 and beyond. What about you?

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March Tip: Toss Out What You Don’t Need

Yes. If you don’t need it, toss it out. And pick up what you do need. In this month’s wonderful book, The Next Level, Scott Eblin describes this process as making strategic choices. These choices start with:

Developing a clear understanding of when you are at your very best and then making the choice to perform at your best.

Once you have that clear understanding, you need to get up above the situation. Imagine you’re in a helicopter up above that turbulent river – so you can see what’s ahead of you and what’s coming at you. Get the fullest perspective you can.

Based on that information and knowing your own strengths, you can then make strategic choices. What do you need to keep in that boat and what do you need to toss out to successfully navigate through upcoming bends in the river? Move quickly but thoughtfully. Here are the steps:

Get up above for a wider, 360-degree perspective.

  1. Assess what’s needed in this new situation.
  2. Know what you want to achieve in this next level.
  3. Intentionally choose to pick up new behaviors and beliefs that you need.
  4. Have the courage let go of behaviors and beliefs that no longer serve you.
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