Brian Kropp
In the last 5 years, what
new belief, behavior or habit has improved your life?
Behavior: Listening to people when
they are sharing an idea rather than thinking about my own point of view while they are
talking. I think that when people are first put into leadership roles
they feel like they have to have an answer for anything they are asked.
And eventually, they do. But as a leader if you engage in more active
listening early in a conversation you can provide a better answer later.
Have you seen an
improvement?
You would have to ask them.
(Laughs) I think so. It is slower, but better. I get a better
understanding, better insights into what people are thinking about.
What purchase of $100 or
less has most positively impacted your life in the last 6 months or in recent
memory?
Tickets to see David Sedaris with
my wife. “Me
Talk Pretty One Day” is one of my favorite books by him.
In the last 5 years, what
have you become better at saying 'no' to?
I am getting better at giving other the people
the opportunity to say ‘yes’. As a leader you are responsible
for the outcomes, for sure, but you can also create space and opportunity for
other people by giving them the opportunity to own decisions. Your job as
a leader is to support them and help them, and work with them to understand the
implications of their decisions. This approach is also pretty liberating
because you realize that you don’t have to be only one to manage an issue.
When you feel overwhelmed or
unfocused, what do you do?
When my plate is too full, I use a
very simple construct, I ask two questions that help me determine what issues I need to be
directly involved in. One, what are the things that will matter if I get
involved? (Will my involvement change anything?)
Two, do I trust other people to
make a good decision. To be clear, the decision they might make could be
different from what I would do. But do I trust them to make good
decisions overall. If I do, then I can let go of some of the day-to-day
things on my plate. I still need to pay attention to what is happening,
but I don’t need to own it.
Unfocused. I actually think that
it’s ok to be unfocused for part of the day. There is
a lot of research that shows that creativity and new ideas
surface when you let your mind wander. The mind needs some
distraction. Just looking out of the window, playing video games, going
for a walk, whatever it is. But you have to give the mind a break.
What are the bad
recommendations you hear in your profession or expertise?
“Just pursue your passion and your
career will work out” I don’t think is helpful advice. It is just
not purposeful. It creates the perception that if just
work on things you enjoy you will fall into the perfect career.
People that provide that advice and say that is how their career worked out
were either lucky or are not being honest about how purposeful they were.
Instead, what you need to do is think about what you will enjoy, what will
bring you growth and happiness, and then make purposeful decisions about who to
get there. It is OK if the destination or if what you want to do
changes. You just need to have something that you are building towards,
and then make purposeful decisions on what you need to do to get there rather
than waiting for something to happen to you.
The other career mistake that I
see people make all of the time is that they are unhappy were they are.
And they make career decisions to run away from the unhappiness that they
have. When people run away, more often than not they end up in another
role that they don’t like. Instead you should be making career decisions
about where you are running to. People that make decisions that focus on
what is the next big thing they want to accomplish put themselves in better
situations.
There has to be intent, purpose,
and a plan. What do you want to accomplish in three years that will work
for you? Then be flexible about the options.
What is one of the best or
worthwhile investments you have ever made?
Emotional time with my
family. My daughter and I have a special handshake that we do every
morning. It’s pretty elaborate and takes about 5 minutes. Simple
things like this make a difference.
People get too disproportionately
invested in their work, then they look up and their children are grown and they
haven’t enjoyed their family and friends.
Originally posted 10/31/2018
Originally posted 10/31/2018
