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10 Ways to Beef up your Leadership Skills
Have you ever heard someone say, “Actually, I have to admit that I think I am really bad at managing other people. My staff all hate me and I’m incapable of doing my job”. The answer is no, of course. No one says this either because they don’t...
Life-long Learning
"Life-long learning" is a popular trend that continues to offer vast opportunities to all those who recognize its value. It also applies to more than a single segment of your business. For instance, consider its application in a key area such as...
Network Marketing Book Lovers Guide: 10 Hot Reads in 2005
Below you'll find some of the hottest direct selling, network marketing, MLM, and marketing books in 2005 - including Laura Klepacki's Avon: Building the World's Premier Company for Women; Mark Hughes' guide on how businesses capitalize on...
The Four Laws Of Leadership (Part Two)
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to...
Top 3 Myths of Leadership Debunked
What happens people define “leadership” as something attached to a title, or a salary, or a corner office? Both managers and employees suffer the consequences! Explore what happens when leaders and staff buy in to the top 3 limiting “myths of...
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The Chicken or the Egg?
Even before I checked my calendar on Monday morning, I knew the appointment would be there. Passed over for promotion again, Ralph wanted specifics on why I hadn't chosen him for the position. This was not a new conversation. I thought of Ralph as my chicken and egg dilemma. Ralph was the chicken. He believed he would make a great Team Leader, and when I promoted him, he would step up and show me how well he could lead. My position was that of egg. Prove to me you have leadership skills by demonstrating leadership in the job you have now, and I'll consider giving you the next position.
Here's the question: is it better to do the work, knowing you will ultimately be rewarded for having done it, or should you wait until the reward is there before you do the work? Like the proverbial question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, people differ widely on the answer and run their careers accordingly.
Here's the way I see it - one has more to lose by taking the position of the chicken and waiting for someone else to anoint them, than by being the egg and anointing oneself. If I had waited to be a leader until someone offered me a leadership position, I might still be wishing and hoping for someone to notice me. When I wanted to be a manager, I did the work of
a manager by taking on more and more responsibilities. And, I got promoted. When I wanted to be a director, I did the work of a director, without questioning compensation or title. After proving myself, I got the job, the title and the compensation. Same with being a vice-president. Doing the job first, gave me the job.
It's the same now that I'm out of the corporate arena. Take my dream of being a writer. Changing careers after twenty-something years in management, I could have waited to write a column until I secured a writing contract for one. But, why would someone pay me to write without reading my words and knowing I can. Chicken and egg again.
What works for me has been consistent. When I do the work first, the rewards follow. I think of it like exercising. Doing it gives me better results than thinking about it. No one likes to be called a chicken, so ... be the egg.
(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Sign up to receive Nan’s free eColumn,, Winning at Working, at http://www.winningatworking.com.
Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. Currently working on her first book, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and instructor.
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