Liz: I have a very similar story, although slightly different perspective. And ironically, mine was a year into a role as well. She says it took her three days to say yes and changed the trajectory of her career in a good way. But she adds that being willing to be flexible opens up so many other opportunities. Liz: The distinction between contributors and impact players is important.
Liz Wiseman: Impact Players
Liz Wiseman is a researcher and executive advisor. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter*, The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools*, and Wall Street Journal bestseller Rookie Smarts*. She is the CEO of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Her clients include: Apple, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Twitter, and many others. Liz has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and named one of the top 10 leadership thinkers in the world. She is a former Oracle executive, who worked over the course of 17 years as the Vice President of Oracle University and as the global leader for Human Resource Development.
Liz is the author of Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact*. In this conversation, Liz and I discuss the mindset that’s most useful in making real traction in an organization. Plus, we explore practical steps that you can take to think bigger and get noticed for your work.
Key Points
The #1 thing managers appreciate: when employees do things that need doing without being asked.
Upward empathy is the ability to consider what the bosses situation feels like — and what they need from you.
Pursuing your passion sounds nice in a commencement speech, but can get in the way of what the organization actually needs.
A job description might be a starting point, but it’s almost never the ending point.
Beware of becoming the foosball player that does hard work in one spot, but misses the bigger picture. Become a nimble midfielder who plays where they are most needed.
Resources Mentioned
Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact* by Liz Wiseman
The Wiseman Group
Interview Notes
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Related Episodes
The Benefit of Being a Rookie, with Liz Wiseman (episode 340)
Influence Through Overlapping Networks, with Sandie Morgan (episode 422)
How to Motivate Leaders, with John Maxwell (episode 452)
Keep Your Ideas From Being Stolen (Dave’s Journal)
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