All in Teams

If You Do Know, Then Say So

If You Do Know, Then Say So

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

I’ve talked about situations where leaders and managers struggle to say “I don’t know” because of their fear of seeming incompetent or not being “in the know”. It’s an approach that rarely works and, more often than not, breeds frustration and angst, because it goes against the reality that real leaders are human, open and willing to be vulnerable.

On the flip side, we also see situations where perfectly competent individuals - individuals who know their stuff and know the situation at hand - are unwilling to say what they think. They remain quiet even when they know better, even when their expertise, experience and gut are telling them otherwise.

Why does this happen?

Get Used To Criticism

Get Used To Criticism

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Strategy, Teams

If you’re going to do anything different, you’re going to get criticized.

There’s no shortage of folks willing to offer you advice if you’re thinking about a new venture, a new project or a new position. They’ll range from friends, family as well as business colleagues - well intentioned or otherwise. Some of it you might actively ask for, but a lot of it will be offered to you, at no extra cost.

Take Your Power Back

Take Your Power Back

Omer Abdullah
Leadership, Life, Communications, Careers, Personal Codes, Entrepreneurship, Teams, Aspirations

We all like the idea of getting along.

In business relationships specifically, harmony is an essential ingredient in successful, long term relationships. If we have harmony, we have alignment, we have consensus (at least in terms of direction), we have the grounds for collective momentum.

The trick is in making sure that the basis for that harmony is real. Harmony isn’t about happiness, hugs and kisses. It’s often hard to get to, many times requiring debate, disagreement and (periodic) discontent. Achieving real harmony is almost always hard work.

Do The (Next) Right Thing

Do The (Next) Right Thing

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Investment Banking, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Teams

“There's a concept in Hinduism called "dharma," which means "duty." Your dharma is to always do *the next right thing*, without attachment to the consequences (karma). When you follow your dharma, good karma naturally flows from it. When you don't, it doesn't.“

I’m not a religious person, nor would I call myself overly spiritual, but I do believe in the old saying, “what comes around, goes around”. Which is probably why the above tweet from Asha Rangappa resonated so strongly with me the other day.

Don't Send Me An Email (Sort Of)

Don't Send Me An Email (Sort Of)

Omer Abdullah
Personal Codes, Life, Teams, Leadership, Communications

I’m old enough to remember a time when we didn’t have email at work.

If I wanted to communicate something, I’d pick up the phone and call that person, or I’d write them a letter, or I’d set up a meeting (by phone) and head over to their office to chat.

Since then, the advent of email has led to more streamlined and more versatile communications. You can not only share a thought or an idea, but you can have entire streams of back and forth, all fully documented for future reference. For example…

When We Rush To Judgement

When We Rush To Judgement

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Entrepreneurship, Careers, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

The more time you spend on social media, the more you see examples of it.

Someone posts a video excerpt of an altercation, or footage of someone acting a way we don’t agree with, or an article about someone making statements that don’t resonate with what we believe in.

And our tendency, our natural instinct, is to react. To make our judgement. And then to share that judgement with someone else, and someone else, and someone else. Because the emotion of the moment is hard to get past, hard to get over.

If You Have To Brag About How Busy You Are...

If You Have To Brag About How Busy You Are...

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Entrepreneurship, Investment Banking, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Private Equity, Teams

I’m so busy. I’ve got a ton going on. I don’t have the time. We hear (and say) these phrases regularly, and to little surprise, given all that we might have on our plate at any given time.

In most ways, of course, it’s good to be busy. To experience the buzz you get when things at work are humming along, when you’re in full flow and driving towards whatever goals you’re working towards.

The flip side, though, is when we feel as if we have to be this way all the time - and worse, to show it, and constantly say it.

I’m Not Him

I’m Not Him

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Life, Personal Codes, Sales, Teams, Marketing

A small portion of the folks who follow me on Twitter think I’m Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. I know this because every so often they’ll Direct Message me with news about developments in Kashmir (usually holding me accountable for it), or they’ll post an article about some Kashmir related issue and tag me along with the Prime Minister of India and other senior South Asian politicians.

It doesn’t happen a lot but it’s happened enough that I posted a PSA in Twitter that I wasn’t him and if you were following me for my views on Kashmir, you’d be sorely disappointed.

You're Not Perfect. That's OK.

You're Not Perfect. That's OK.

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

“We love seeing raw truth and openness in other people, but we’re afraid to let them see it in us.” (Brene Brown)

There’s an illusion in the business world that we cannot expose our flaws to anyone around us - not our colleagues, our clients and certainly not our bosses. The fear is, of course, that we will be judged, perceived as someone who is fundamentally flawed and, accordingly, cast off to career obscurity.

It’s an illusion that becomes all the more exacerbated at the management level. I can’t afford to show any weakness. I have to always impress that I know everything. I can never say ‘I don’t know’.

When You Need A Burning Platform

When You Need A Burning Platform

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Marketing, Sales, Strategy, Teams

Change doesn’t tend to come easily to most of us.

For the most part, we don’t typically choose to change. More often, change - or at the very least, the need for it - is thrust upon us due to some exterior event, shift or development. When profits are severely impacted, when a competitor introduces a revolutionary new product or when an external environmental shift occurs, shifting the steady state we’ve become so comfortable with.

The Lemon Loaf Incident

The Lemon Loaf Incident

Omer Abdullah
Personal Codes, Teams, Life, Communications

Alright, let me start by saying that I’m wary of saying that how someone partakes of a lemon loaf directly reflects what kind of a person they are.

I do, however, think that how one partakes of a lemon loaf - and specifically an iced lemon loaf - suggests something about them (in conjunction with other data points as well, of course).

Don't Believe The Hype

Don't Believe The Hype

Omer Abdullah
Teams, Leadership, Life, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Communications, Personal Codes

To be human is to be complex. It means we aren’t one thing. We’re multi-faceted.

For example, that sports star that won that coveted trophy actually isn’t perfect. She’s made (and will continue to make) plenty of mistakes along the way.

And that team that finished in second place, the one whose faults are being picked apart by all critics? Well, they still played better than all the other teams in the league - except for one.

Just Focus On What's Next

Just Focus On What's Next

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Marketing, Personal Codes, Strategy, Teams

Sometimes, the goals we set for ourselves are overwhelming. The bigger the goal or the more challenging the objective, the harder it can be to fathom how we will get there.

We get caught up in the sheer scale of our idea, or we start setting all sorts of impossible timelines and expectations that we think we need to achieve on our path there.

"It’s Like A Pizza..."

"It’s Like A Pizza..."

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Strategy, Teams

Many years ago, I worked with a senior consulting partner who liked to talk in puzzles. Instead of giving us specific marching orders, he’d talk around the issues and then ask us to put together a deck for his review.

For example, as we’d talk through a proposal we were working on, he’d talk about the client situation, the range of issues they were facing as well…

The Thing About Politics...

The Thing About Politics...

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Sales, Investment Banking, Life, Entrepreneurship, Teams, Personal Codes, Careers, Leadership, Management Consulting, Strategy

…Is that there really isn’t any such thing.

In popularity contests of any significance (where a sizable population is asked for its endorsement of an individual or a subject or an action), the landslide win is not a common occurrence. More prevalent (in my admittedly unscientific assessment) is the close race, where the margin of victory is in single digit percentage points.

No One Likes Surprises

No One Likes Surprises

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Marketing, Sales, Strategy, Teams

When it comes to the work we do, no one likes surprises.

It doesn’t matter which part of the organization you sit in - client management, operations, marketing or elsewhere - one of the fundamental tenets of corporate performance is predictability. We want to know what’s happening, why and, if necessary, what we need to do about it.

To Inspire or To Intimidate?

To Inspire or To Intimidate?

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Marketing, Personal Codes, Private Equity, Sales, Strategy, Teams

Think of the most exciting job you’ve done, the best initiative you’ve been part of, the most rewarding experience you’ve had. What was the underlying basis of that experience, the focus of the leadership in that situation? Were you excited? Were you focused on moving towards something? Were you inspired?

"Turn Them Off and See Who Complains..."

"Turn Them Off and See Who Complains..."

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investment Banking, Leadership, Life, Management Consulting, Personal Codes, Sales, Strategy, Teams

How many newsletters do you get in your inbox every day? How many emails do you get with an update on some issue or department or project? How many notifications do you get on your phone with the latest piece of “must-have” information?

Now, how many of them do you actually read?

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