I had just transferred from the audit practice to the consulting practice of an international accounting firm.  Already a partner in the firm, this was a total change of career for me.  The first week of my new assignment I accompanied John, my new supervisor, to visit the CEO of a major academic medical center.  We were implementing a new strategy for their business, and the CEO had questions – “How much market share are we going to gain if this is implemented?  Will the market share gains pay for your fees?”  Logical questions we should be prepared to answer.  The problem for me was that I had no experience in answering this type of question, and it was one that we could not “know” the answer to – I was dealing with two unknowns:

1. How were we going to figure out the answer to a question that had no true right or wrong? And,
2. What answer were we going to give the CEO?

We had promised the CEO an answer the next day.  We met with our whole team. John handed each of us a small slip of paper and asked us to write down the market share percentage we thought the client would gain if we did our engagement well, fold the piece of paper, and put it on the table.  We would then compare answers and discuss the results.
I was terrified.  Here I was – a “consulting partner”.  I was supposed to have answers.  I had not answered a question on market share since my economics class in college.  How could I think about this and answer the question so that I would not look like an idiot?
I began to think.  I knew that gaining market share is hard.  There were several competitors in the market and that it would be a battle to get patients from them, so the number really could not be that big.  I took a deep breath, wrote an answer, and put it on the table.  Interestingly, all our answers were within a very small range of market share gains!  
That experience was years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.  Why?  What really happened that day?  

• I was put in an entirely new situation and had to draw on prior unrelated experiences to come up with an answer.  There was no “right or wrong” answer, but there were “better and worse” answers.  I knew we had to move forward with an answer for our client.
• I had to think differently about a problem and apply concepts – not regurgitate memorized answers to predictable questions. It was uncomfortable, but I learned I could do it.
• My supervisor (John) was trying to understand how we were thinking.  By seeing our individual answers, he was there to support our thinking and help if needed.
• John created a “safe space”.  While we had to answer a question in front of each other, we were not in front of a client.  We could talk about the issues, debate our answers, and get agreement within a group of supportive colleagues – as well as learn how others were thinking about the problem.

I learned a lot that day about dealing with ambiguity myself, and about how to help team members deal with it.  How does this apply to us in today’s rapidly changing business world?  
Most teams today deal with challenges and problems they haven’t seen before.  They are called on to help businesses move forward in new business models and environments while dealing with new challenges.  As you and your team face the ambiguity in these situations, remember to:

• Think broadly.  Use your skills, experience, and reasoning to address business challenges. 
• Collaborate with others.  Be prepared to share ideas, defend them, and adapt as necessary.
• Create safe spaces to have conversations and be challenged.  Realize this is a healthy way to work out new ideas.
• Be prepared to act.  You need to help your business/team move forward even though there still may be ambiguity in your path forward.

Dealing with ambiguity is uncomfortable at first but can be a lot of fun in the end!  So, the next time you get a tough question or have to deal with a difficult or ambiguous problem, approach it realizing it is ok not to have an immediate answer.  Enable your colleagues/team to think broadly in new ways, and creatively chart a course for action.  It will make a difference for both you and your company.

Susan Rucker
​Susan Rucker is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of progressively responsible positions managing high performance teams and growing businesses.  Her current focus is helping businesses and people navigate the rapidly changing business environment we all face today. ​

The time of good leaders is highly in demand.  These leaders could spend 24 hours a day at work if they had the time to give, but that is bad for your health, bad for your family, and ultimately bad for the business.  Good leaders need to learn how to draw boundaries and keep their time under control.

One of the best ways to do this is to pay close attention to the art of time management.  Most leaders know about blocking time for meetings and for working on projects, they know how to create and manage a to do list, and they know how to delegate.  Why, then, do so many of them feel tired and over-extended all the time when they know time management basics?

One of their biggest challenges is that even as senior leaders they don’t completely control the flow of their work.  New things constantly come across their desks:

• An important NEW project has to be completed, and the CEO asks them to get it done;
• A project that is behind or failing needs additional leadership, and they are asked to help “right the ship”;
• A key employee turns over, and they have to make a critical hire in the midst of dealing with an already crushing workload.

Leaders struggle to allocate time to these very important endeavors in part because they already have very full calendars.  They plan their days, weeks, and months, and lay out expectations for their teams and what should be accomplished.  What they have NOT done is provide for FLEXIBLE time.

​One technique to help do this is to create a mental construct of where you should be spending your time.  This means thinking about your time from the “top down” and not the “bottom up”.  A good start to being able to accomplish this is to determine what “buckets” you expect to spend your time in over the course of a year.  Examples of this might be as follows:

​When this idea is first introduced to leaders, many resist it. They are used to “packing their schedules” to get every little thing done. But once you begin to think about this technique, it makes a lot of sense.  It motivates you to plan carefully to delegate more, reduce the number of meetings you allow on your calendar, and hopefully be more receptive to the things YOUR supervisor needs from you!

So, start thinking about this and answer the following questions:

• What are the “buckets” where you need to spend your time?
• How should you think about allocating your time to them?
• How much time will new assignments, helping your supervisor, or operational challenges add to your list of things to address?

​Once you have answered these questions, figure out how much “flexible time” you need, and work on a plan to make it available.  Then get it on your calendar. Figure out what you can stop doing, delegate to others, or do differently. This will allow you to “create” time that you can allocate to projects and special needs.  It will allow you to accomplish more and better meet the expectations of your supervisor.  This is hard work, but it is something you will be glad you did!

Susan Rucker
​Susan Rucker is a seasoned executive with over thirty years of progressively responsible positions managing high performance teams and growing businesses.  Her current focus is helping businesses and people navigate the rapidly changing business environment we all face today. 

​Whether with an electronic click or turning a page, I always get a burst of energy as I move the calendar to a new year. Like many of us, I always seem to make the traditional personal New Year’s resolutions – get in better shape, tackle a home project, and spend more time with family and friends. According to a Global Consumer Survey conducted by Statista popular 2022 resolutions also included “spending less time on social media” and “reducing stress at work.”

January is also a good time to make New Year’s resolutions as a leader and to work with your employees to plan a productive and prosperous 2023. My top leadership New Year’s resolutions: Updating Organizational and Individual Goals, Recommitting to Employee Wellness, and Creating Personal Development Plans.

Update Goals
Your Organization’s 2023 Goals
Whether you lead a small or large group, it’s important for everyone to know what the focus and direction of the organization are for 2023. Do the goals need to be updated? How are your employees helping shape those goals? Does everyone know and understand the goals? Are individual employee goals tied back to the organization’s goals?

Individual Goals
You may be mid-way through a fiscal year, or your performance plans may be aligned to the calendar year. In either case, January is a good time to check in with employees on their current goals and projects. Go beyond a quick “how is everything” and have a deeper discussion about how their time is spent, what roadblocks they may be encountering, and what resources they need to be successful. This is also a good time to make adjustments if needed.

Recommit to Employee Well-Being
In this time of both the employee “great resignation” and the “great reshuffle,” it’s more important than ever to focus on your retention efforts, which should include employee well-being. When was the last time you did an employee satisfaction survey? Do you have a process for regular employee feedback? If employees do leave, do you have a thorough exit interview to detect any systemic problems?

Regular Check-Ins and Strong Communications
The new year is a good time to take a hard look at your meeting schedule. Do you have too many? Do you have enough? Regular meetings with your direct reports (both virtual and in-person) are critical to both smooth operations and employee satisfaction. In my role as a CEO, I had brief weekly check-ins with all of my direct reports and scheduled monthly longer in-person updates.

It’s also a good idea to take an inventory of your communications methods and channels. Employees who feel like they are “in the know” are more invested. Make certain you have regularly scheduled updates on big projects, new policies, and individual and organizational wins. These updates should be delivered using a variety of methods – in person, virtual, electronic, and even old-fashioned printed newsletters and notices, especially if you have employees working in the field who may not have access to a computer and email.

Benefits Update
If your company offers health insurance and other benefits, consider a January lunch and learn with HR to review the benefits offered, including those for dependents and mental health resources. Many deductibles reset in January, so it’s a good time for everyone to reassess their benefits.

Vacation Plans
Most of us take some time off during the holidays, so January feels like the wrong time to be thinking about our next vacation! But with the holiday decorations and gatherings over, January and February can be cold and dreary. Why not get folks looking ahead to vacation plans during spring break with their children, summer beach trips or fall getaways? It’s a way to get a sense of when people will be asking for time off and gives everyone something to look forward to.

Create Development Goals
I’m a firm believer that every employee (including the c-suite leaders) should have annual development goals. They don’t have to be elaborate; they can be as simple as a commitment to cross-training with another employee, attending a few training sessions or completing the renewal requirements for a professional credential.

The pandemic expanded the way we gather and learn. Virtual meetings and training have changed the way we do business and allow us to have greater accessibility to many types of professional development. However, this past year I’ve seen a renewed enthusiasm for in-person training and conferences. Strive to find a balance that works for employee schedules and your organization’s budget.

Whatever your professional and leadership New Year’s Resolutions are for 2023, be certain to write them down, share them, and hold yourself accountable with monthly check-ins. If you’d like to talk more about your 2023 goal setting, contact me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!

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