Leigh Felton

Let’s be honest. Depending on who you are, no matter how “assertive” you may be, it can come across as aggressive, over-confident, or arrogant. Because of our unconscious biases, some people who are aggressive, arrogant or over confident, come across as “assertive.” Yes executive coaching can help significantly if you want to better express yourself to bring all levels of team members into the fold, but more coaching is needed to combat the stereotypes and perspectives of one persons “tone” as compared to another.

It depends on your relationship with the stakeholder. Are you a hired consultant? Is this your manager or key influencer for your job? Is this an interdependent team in your organization? Depending on the relationship you have with the stakeholder, will greatly determine how you approach the issue of continually changing requests. First and foremost, in a professional environment, you stay calm. That is a given. You will be frustrated. That is also a given. It's okay to show frustration if there have been clear agreements and direction in place, and they seem to change constantly after the fact. But, showing frustration, and not remaining calm, are two completely different things.

I almost laugh every time I read one of these AI generated articles that provide advice on how you can do better and stay relevant in this evolving job market. First and foremost, "assessing skills" is NOT the first place to begin. It seems every article I read starts this same way, that you need to better understand your own view of where you are good and where you should get better. This is not the place to start. I do believe people have a natural understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. To compare what you know, against what you know you don't know, leaves a HUGE gap of evaluating the things that are truly leaving you behind. The things you don't even know to know! Did I lose you? The start is staying informed. Read. Simple.

I truly think there are amazing facilitators out there. It’s not about skill or ability. It’s about getting the gigs. Being known. Connecting with teams and groups that may not even know they need your expertise. And then being able to use those references to continue to get more contracts. Facilitation is an art. It’s a skill that a select few people have mastered. There are no two ways to do it the same. So, not every facilitator is the right fit for every opportunity. And that’s okay. However, it is a saturated industry whether people are doing it well or not. Get noticed. Make connections. Make it known why your expertise is needed even for teams who are high functioning.

For any significant project, like Marketing Operations, you want to first make sure you have a detailed workback plan. If you have ever managed a complex, multi-faceted project, you understand the significance of knowing your core milestones, understanding where you have flexibility, and having strong contingency plans in place when obstacles get in the way or unexpected setbacks occur. Clear goals is essential for starting any project. Why are you doing this in the first place, and is this the best use of resources? Once you've answered those questions, developing a step by step guide, breaks the project into manageable pieces so one setback doesn't collapse the entire project.

Always have open dialogue. Always. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to approach a client. Each step of the way there should be updates, so you can share when things are good as well as when things aren’t so good. If you wait to communicate and have open dialogue, then you will be seen by the client as potentially always coming with bad news. They may get to the point of not trusting you and demanding the updates themselves to make sure all is on track. You should make regular communications on both good and bad, each step of the way.