A to Z: Your Navigator to Success

By Joanna Thompson

Leaders who understand and are true to themselves are best equipped to lead others, and they attract followers. Deep personal reflection isn’t self-indulgent but a route to success and fulfilment, which is why much of the content in this practical dip-in guide is about personal development.

If you're looking for a clear

• Language: English
• Publisher: yourSecondWind Pty Ltd
• Release date: Mar 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640075290

Joanna Thompson

Joanna Thompson is an executive and business coach who draws on her experience and success in navigating the business world. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Banking & International Finance from City University, London, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Joanna lived in London before relocating to Sydney.

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A to Z: Your Navigator to Success

Joanna Thompson

First published 2017 by yourSecondWind

E: [e-mail]

© Joanna Thompson

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: (pbk)

Creator: Thompson, Joanna, author.

Title: A to Z: Your navigator to success / Joanna Thompson.

Print ISBN: 9781640079427

Ebook ISBN: 9781640075290

Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects: Leadership. Career development. Success in business. Positive psychology.

All rights reserved. Except under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the email address above.

The poem Kindness (from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye © 1995) has been reproduced with the permission of Far Corner Books.

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matters that it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

Dedication

To a bigger, bolder, brighter future

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Authenticity

Brand

Challenge

Decide

Enjoy

Framing

Grit = passion + perseverance

Help!/Help?

Initiate

Judgement

Kick off your shoes and bring your all

Listen with the ear of your heart

Mentorship

Networking

Outward focus

Positivity with perspective

Quit — yes, quit!

Resilience

Strengths

Time management

Under-promise

Vulnerability

Wealth

X marks the treasure

Yes! And …

Zzzz

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Resources

Foreword

I met Joanna 28 years ago when we both cut our teeth learning the basics of research, trading and sales on the fixed income desk of a Scandinavian investment bank. It was clear to us at the start of our financial services careers that evidence-based research, a deep understanding of markets, and a professional approach to building relationships with clients — starting with a high degree of self-awareness — were all going to be critical components of our hoped-for business success.

Joanna has successfully built a number of international sales and talent management businesses and her book A to Z: Your Navigator to Success is a highly readable and practical resource. It is invaluable whether you are embarking on your career or are in the midst of it. Indeed, one of its central insights is that adaptability and the active pursuit of lifelong learning are the hallmark of those who fulfil their potential in their jobs or more generally in their attempt to grow into their best selves.

This book is extremely well written, and whether you read it literally from A to Z or dip in randomly, you come away with a rich haul of points to ponder and suggested action steps. Joanna, our kind but firm coach, reminds us that all change requires action and recommends that we choose the smallest steps that will make the biggest difference. We are encouraged to dig deep and reflect on the things that we have learned about ourselves thus far and to understand and build on our strengths.

One of my favourite aphorisms as a CEO in coaching my mentees is: ‘Hope is not a strategy’. Take an intelligent shortcut and benefit from Joanna’s ‘things I wish I had known sooner’ list, by dipping into this excellent guide today.

Michael Morley, Chief Executive Coutts & Co (2009 – 2016)

Introduction

‘Cranberries’, I whispered with a sense of pride and elation. The process for promotion to managing director at investment banks is highly competitive and involves many hoops. There is the whittling down of the list at divisional, regional and finally global levels. The candidates are presented, the selection panel votes and the fate of the candidates is sealed. My suspense had ended when I was told of my success a few days before the formal announcement. I had known that I would want to convey this confidential news to my family immediately. Since I worked on an open-plan trading floor, I had playfully said that I would telephone using the code word ‘cranberries’ — a seasonal product.

That year I was spending Christmas with my twin sister and her family in Sydney. I arrived from London in high spirits, joyful at the prospect of spending time together. The day of the formal promotion announcement dawned. I received many congratulatory messages, and the external recognition I had worked hard for. The day, however, was destined to be bittersweet. I received the much more meaningful news that our beloved mother had been recalled after a routine blood test and had terminal cancer.

Thoughts of mortality have the habit of sharpening our focus of what’s truly important, and can spur us on to live our lives to the fullest. A new chapter was opening for me — I was being called to help other ambitious people dare to achieve their full potential.

The ground had been laid when, a few years earlier, I heard about a new master’s degree in applied positive psychology, under the tutelage of the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman. I have an evidence-based approach and was extremely keen to deepen my knowledge of this study of ‘what works’.

Armed with my master’s degree I was in the unique position of having frontline financial markets and client experience, plus formal education in the ingredients for success. On the strength of this I was appointed as the European leader of the newly formed ‘Senior Talent Development Agency’. This was focused on high-potential managing directors, destined for C-Suite roles. The purpose and meaning I derive from seeing people and businesses thrive subsequently led to my current executive and business coaching practice.

Our life experiences are our best teacher. I spent the first five to ten years of my career working out, by trial and error, the essentials of navigating an unfamiliar and ever-changing world. I was then able to build on this and, of course, am still learning today.

My career started in ‘the City’ in London — my dream destination. This was the early 1980s and I was clearly an outsider. Not only was it very much a male bastion, but the old school-tie network was powerful too. I am female and was educated at a state rather than a fee-paying school. Many of the people I met assumed the mantle of power and influence with seemingly consummate ease.

While ‘who you know’ has always mattered, I thought intelligence, hard work and my interest in the subject would win the day. Evidently the ‘rules of engagement’ weren’t precisely as I had imagined them to be. Earlier in my career, I was frustrated by this and concerned that my ambitions might be thwarted. I wanted my work to speak for itself. As I matured and came to play on a bigger stage, I realised that functional excellence is insufficient. The ability to build diverse networks and positive perceptions is crucial to getting exposure and to developing power and influence.

I had the notion that to be successful, authenticity, which I prize highly, had to be compromised. How wrong I was. It was a welcome surprise when I came to understand that I didn’t need to fit a mould, and consequently my enjoyment and success increased. An element of this was an openness to seeking advice rather than feeling that showing a chink in my armour would be damaging.

This guide is a distillation of ‘things I wish I had known earlier’. I have perseverance, but I am impatient too, and it gives me great pleasure to provide some ‘shortcuts to the top’ and a broader context for a life of significance. I am motivated by the desire to share my experience that to win in even the most competitive situations, your soul need not be for sale. It was also an immense relief to realise that I could relax back into being me.

Much of the content of this guide is about personal development. Deep personal reflection isn’t self-indulgent but a route to success and fulfilment. Leaders who understand and are true to themselves are best equipped to lead others, and they attract followers.

Your Navigator to Success is arranged alphabetically (as a homage to the iconic ‘A to Z’ street map of London, my home of 25 years). It is designed to be a ‘dip-in’ book. Pick a letter of the alphabet at random and see where the journey takes you. Read, reflect and, above all, act. In a time-constrained world, rely on your selective attention to uncover what resonates most at this particular point. Choose to take the smallest steps that will make the biggest difference and, wherever possible, create new habits that will serve you well. These will pay dividends as they become automatic. Be gentle on yourself and patient too, as research from London’s University College shows the average time to create a new habit is 66 days.

My wish is that you grow into your ‘flourishing self’ with an intentionality that acknowledges you have but one precious life. Let’s toast to your bigger, bolder, brighter future.

Joanna Thompson (www.your2ndwind.com)

March, 2017

Sydney

A

Authenticity

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

– Oscar Wilde

The ancient Greek maxim ‘Know thyself’ is integral to being authentic. Authenticity is rooted in an understanding of what you truly value (your ‘kernel of truth’) and in the frictionless alignment of your values and your actions. It doesn’t mean accepting all your foibles or always being at ease. Instead it brings with it the idea of growing into yourself. This lifelong learning requires moving beyond your comfort zone. It doesn’t mean you have to hide your roots — remember where you have come from, but don’t let it stop you going where you want to go.

Once you’ve reconnected with yourself, you will be in a position to reboot and redirect your life towards roles and actions that give you purpose and meaning. Being a square peg in a round hole will be a thing of the past.

Seven steps to reconnect with the real you

1. Assess what you value by reflecting on what evokes a strong negative reaction

Your ‘negative triggers’ occur when your values are disregarded. Examples are a lack of respect, hypocrisy, exclusion, bad manners, disloyalty, self-centredness, injustice. For my own part, I realise that good manners are very important to me as from early childhood I was inculcated with the notion that they convey both respect and consideration. As I have travelled more widely I have come to realise that some forms of politeness (such as please and thank you) are universal and non-negotiable while others aren’t. I have learned to temper my response to noisy eating habits, for example, in the realisation that these are culturally acceptable to vast swathes of the world’s population. That doesn’t mean to say that you will find me slurping!

2. Consider the extent to which you feel compromised

Identify the situations and environments where you feel that your values are challenged. One of my clients who is a 50-year-old CEO of a large company has been consulting with me about leading millennials. The days of deference to title are long gone. He has been grappling with the fact that millennials not only expect respect to be earned at all levels but also for their voices to be heard at all stages in