What you will get today (10 min read)

1. Updates from our community

2. The content of the month

3. The framework of the month

4. The illustration of the month

5. Zoom on The Slim Method

1. Updates from our community

Welcome back to the Slim Method Newsletter! I hope you had the chance to disconnect during the summer break and had as much fun as I did :)

I always find this time of the year refreshing and creative.

Refreshing because most of us (rightfully) take advantage to book some well deserved holidays. And it is great to be in environment far away from work. It usually helps to put things into perspecitve: at the end of the day, we give so much importance to our job that we could forget some simple joys of life: having an ice cream with your kids, talking about sports with friends and family or simply reading a book at the beach.

And creative: being in the present moment declutters the mind. When we are in the present moment, we do not ruminate about the past or worry about the future. Which gives more headspace to our mind. And this is when ideas come out. As if it was coming from nowhere.

As always, some gratitude for the existing readers and the new joiners: the community continues to grow and currently sits at 112 readers, +4% growth compared to June (no newsletter in July #summerbreak).

Thank you for subscribing and for being the pioneers of this community!

2. The content of the month

I am sharing with you one of my go-to books. I heavily refer to this book when I coach managers & leaders: The first 90 days by Michael D. Watkins.

Initially, The first 90 days is meant to help you build your 30-60-90 days plan when you take a new management role, whether you have been promoted internally or starting in a new company.

It goes further than that. I still leverage it myself regularly to help clients clarify an issue or deal with a complex challenge their are facing.

Why am I sharing it on this specific edition? Because on top of helping you navigate in your management/leadership role, it also helps you shape, build & strengthen your personal brand internally.

So if you're interested in using proven strategies, get up to speed faster AND smarter, give it a go ;)

PS: I have a summary of the book, reply to this email if you're interested in getting a copy.

3. The Framework of the month

The Power Map Framework

Let me share a critical learning that helped me drastically in my day to day work: the biggest challenges we are facing are not technical. Don't get me wrong. It is essential to build the right skills to perform your job. This is what is expected of you.

On top of that, there is another element that makes your job more challenging. It is how you deal with human relationship and everything that evolves around it:

• Power chasing

• Changes within the company: processes, re-org etc.

• People's motivations

• People's moods

In other words, dynamics between individuals could turn a situation from being very easy to extremely difficult.

This is how a Power Map can help you: identify dynamics around you to help you adjust your approach and take the right actions.

First step, list all individuals you are working with on a day to day basis: direct reports, peers, business partners, managers & leaders.

For this exercise, if you want to practice it now, a simple spreadsheet will be enough. On 1 column, list all the names. On the 2nd column, list all positions.

On the 3rd column, you will qualify their Power Level in 3 categories:

1. Low

2. Medium

3. High

After the Power Level, on a 4th column, comes the Engagement Level:

1. Promoter

2. Neutral

3. Detractor

    

Feel free to add colors to make it more visually appealing.

And finally, add a last column to enter some comments.

By doing so, you are mapping the Power & the Engagement of each colleague working with you which will help you address any challenge accordingly.

Now that you have built your power map, it is your responsibility to take action:

• Transform a detractor to a neutral

• Help a Neutral become a promoter

• Make sure your promoters are still promoting your work, ideas & projects.

One last word: A Power Map is not static. Based on events, dynamics may change.

If you need some help building your power map, reply to this email :)

Below is an example of a Power Map

4. The Illustration of the month

5. Zoom on The Slim Method

Today we are going to zoom in on Section 2: Master your Outer-Self.

Topic #2 in this section: CREATE AND STRENGTHEN YOUR PERSONAL BRAND (see picture below).

Few months ago, I was mentoring a Sales Leader who came to me with the following challenge: "I am struggling to work with my internal business partners. They do not understand my requests. I am stuck and I need your help". Below few tips that helped him massively.

How to create and manage your corporate brand?

• Step 1: The more it is representative of who you are, the easier it will be.

  • I have seen so many professionals building a brand completely misaligned with who they really are. They decided to wear a fake mask and thought this mask will help them get promoted or be successful. Believe me, it is hard enough to navigate in the corporate world. Don't make it harder by building something fake. It is a matter of time before you get caught in your own web.

  • So be yourself! Which means get to know who you are first. To deep dive into this topic, please refer to the 3 newsletters (NL) I wrote previously on "Master your inner-self": Strengths (NL #1), Dark Side (NL #2), Values (NL #3).
     

• Step 2: Observe the Dynamics around you.

  • Avoid the trap of diving into execution mode: take the time to observe how people are working, talking, collaborating and behaving around you. Quick story to share with you: Walt Bellinger, CEO of Charles Schwab, takes job candidates for a breakfast and asks restaurants to mess up with their order. Why? To see how the candidate reacts.

  • By doing so, you will gather lot of insights:

    • Who has influence and work behind the scenes.

    • Who speaks during meetings and who stays quiet.

    • What vocabulary each colleague uses.

    • Who comes early, who leaves later.

    • People's hobbies & interests.

    • Existing relationships between colleagues before you joined.

    • The list goes on.
       

• Step 3: Focus on Delivering

  • Now that the scene is set, deliver. There is nothing else more important than your contribution. So focus on it, secure quick wins, unlock situations and show that you are a true asset to the company. Do your best to become indispensable.

  •  Having a strong personal brand is not only about your deliverables. It is also how you deliver. So promote your contributions finding the right angle: do it to the right people, at the right time, the right way. Otherwise, you will fall in one of 2 extremes: not being seen or showing off.

• Step 4: Be Strategic

  • Doing your job is what brings you to the table of credibility and legitimacy. Now it's time to become influential. How to do that? By getting closer to people who have the most power. How? Identify their pain/challenges, pick one and handle it in a brilliant way.

  • Here is an example: since you now master your core job, you can take more responsibilities and handle a strategic project. Make sure you report directly to the "big boss" and share with him/her regular updates. If you nail it, your contribution will be remembered and have set a solid personal brand.
     

•  Final step: Be Consistent

  • You arrived at the top, well done! Do not assume the job is over. The toughest part is ahead of you: staying at the top. It is challenging since your environment is changing and you are more visible. So any mistake will be more visible. Double check your work, the way you talk and your body language. Make sure not to become arrogant or cold. Everybody knows you are competent. Now it's the time (more than ever) to collaborate, help people around you. Keep this little tip in mind: do your best to make people want to work with you. It has to be enjoyable.

  • This is what makes the difference between a career driven individual and an inspiring leader: people want to work with inspiring leaders. Not with career driven individuals.

Do you want to deep dive into this topic?

Do you want to leverage The Slim Method?

Drop me an email at theslimethod@gmail.com or book a call here.

That's it for this month!

I hope you enjoyed the content. Feel free to share it around you and spread the word :)

If you have a question or feedback to share : theslimethod@gmail.com