The following is a follow-up on this article: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/02/jeff-bezos-says-this-is-how-you-earn-trust-and-build-reputation-it-really-is-that-simple.html
I like Bezos' 4 points and practice them. I disagree that it's "simple" to do them, but, like all things, the more you practice them, the "easier" it gets. In this case, however, if it actually starts getting easy, you're not pushing yourself enough.
From my experience, I would add the following advice on top of the 4 points Bezos recommends:
1. "Do hard things"
Hard "things" take longer to complete. Doing hard things means: carving out more of your personal time to do work (make sure the sacrifice is worthwhile). You have to do more research, more communication, be more organized, spend more time re-validating your efforts, goals, and time spent vs value gained, and put more polish than what's expected. If you have the resources/support, lean on them and delegate - but wisely: you need to take extreme accountability. You need to take on 100% of the risk and failures. Shield your support. If there are parts of your support that fail you, learn how to improve on that and/or cut that support out for the next project.
2. "If you say you’re going to do something, do it"
Don't end up in the trap of saying you'll do X, Y, Z, G, J, H and trying to do it all when you really on have capacity to do X, and Y. Don't just start doing everything you say. Choose wisely! Park your decision, take it away, sleep on it, plan, research, and come back with a real answer you can commit to. Don't take too long doing this! You want to come back as quick as you can armed with your real answer.
3. "Take controversial stances"
This one is probably the toughest. A controversial stance is, by nature, uncomfortable for all parties. It's only through challenging the status-quo that personal and business growth is gained. You'll need to earn some trust and gain a reputation before you can pose a controversial stance to stakeholders or a team. You can also take an opposing stance if you're using empathy towards a viewpoint you feel is being ignored, or should be considered when decisions are being made.
Practice this one sparingly. Abuse of it can quickly earn you a reputation that you're just difficult to work with. Yes, I've learned this one the hard way!
Other important notes on this:
your workplace should either embrace constructive criticism, collaboration, or maybe you need to plant the seed to start facilitating this kind of practice before you can even start raising controversial changes.
you really have to understand and believe in your opposing stance, otherwise you'll be found out and loose all your trust.
be prepared to lament and compromise in order to make progress.
4. "Have clarity"
"Clarity" is a very broad thing and ties into all previous 3 points. You have to have lived a little (e.g. fail) to understand that how you perceive and understand things is unique to you and your truth is not everyone else's. Keep an open mind and imagine that you're wrong about most of your opinions. You'll need to employ empathy and self-awareness when communicating. Smiles and heads nodding is nice and feels very comfortable in a meeting. If you're in a leadership position, your perception of clarity is skewed from the get-go because... and sear this into your mind as a general rule for everything in life: most people will not ask questions to gain clarity. Remember taking an opposing view or controversial stance? It's uncomfortable? Well, imagine making your boss uncomfortable. It's what you avoid! You want your boss and teammates happy and comfortable. That's the natural instinct.
Have you ever had a parent/family/friend tell you: "Don't ask questions, just put your head down and swallow your pride.". Or catch yourself saying "It is what it is"? You'll have to decide what camp you're in here: Are you happy and satisfied with this position at work? I'm surprised if you got this far in reading if you are! If you're in the camp that I'm in where you can't sit still when you see the same mistakes being done over-and-over again, or can't help but question "Why?" when you come across something that you don't understand, then you'll definitely need to work on communicating clearly and effectively.
And... Be prepared to get an answer you don't like if you're asking the question.
Cheers!
