| |
A couple of us were playing poker after hours at the office one
day when one of our colleagues had a thought - what if personal effectiveness
is like a hand of poker? What would the high card signify?
That set us off and we all started to think about our personal Royal
Flushes (for a ranking of poker hands, see the end
of this article). After a good bit of discussion and using flip
charts (hey - we are consultants!), we carried out a multi-voting process
and ended up with the following list of personal effectiveness elements.
Since this is our list, you may not agree with it, but have a think
about what elements would make up your own Royal Flush.
|
|
 |
Core Competence -
Understand your work requirements
Do your job well
Be on top of your work schedule
|
|
|
| |
|
Leadership -
Leaders are not always born - they can be "made" too
A leader is only as good as the team being led - improve your team
Leadership is "situational"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Working with Others -
Learn to be part of a team
Know your "team role" and maximise your effectiveness
|
|
|
| |
|
The No. 2 -
Sometimes you are just not the best choice for the leader, then
be the best second-in-command
Become the conscience of the team
|
|
|
|
|
|
Get the BIG Picture -
Don’t stay focused only on your own work area – look
around for a broader perspective
Be aware of events and trends both inside and outside your organisation
|
|
|
| |
|
Self Management -
Be on top of things at work
Have a plan for yourself
Manage your time and efforts
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adaptability-
When the times change – change with the times
Better still – stay ahead and lead the change
|
|
|
| |
|
Communicating -
Getting your message across without loss of fidelity
Making sure you are receiving what is being transmitted
|
|
|
|
|
|
Networking -
No one person knows everything – but a network can know
a lot more
Build and Maintain your network
|
|
|
| |
|
Solving Problems -
A lot of "work" revolves around solving problems
Learn how to solve problems effectively
Have a problem solving methodology on hand
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ability to Disagree -
Show Empathy
View the situation from other perspectives
Accept that there are different ways to do things
|
|
|
| |
|
Influencing Others -
Be able to change people’s mind and behaviour
Learn the techniques of influencing people
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ability to Learn -
As long as you can learn "new tricks" – your
effectiveness will not diminish
Find out the way you learn most effectively
|
|
|
And we had some wildcards too, these are elements did not score high
enough to make our list.
- Know yourself /
Know what you want / Know your strengths and weaknesses
- Sincerity when dealing
with other people
- Ability to manage stress
- Sense of humour
Background
Poker Hand Ranking:
- Royal Flush - This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace,
king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit
- Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit in sequence
- Four of a kind
- Full House - three cards of one rank and two cards of another
rank
- Flush - Five cards of the same suit
- Straight - Five cards of mixed suits in sequence
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pairs
- Pair
- High Card
|
|
