• Home
  • About
  • Interview Tips
  • Resume Template
  • Coaching
  • Contact

Brendan Reid

  • Home
  • About
  • Interview Tips
  • Resume Template
  • Coaching
  • Contact
  • Menu
capitalize on.jpeg

3 Big Moments Most Managers FAIL to Capitalize on

July 29, 2018

Put up your hand if you care about your career …

Ok, me too.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to do well. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be recognized and rewarded and promoted at work. The reason you invest time reading stuff like this is because you are driven to get better, to become great.

But here’s the thing. Just about every manager I’ve ever met would say they care about their careers too. They would also say they want to do well. Yet, I see so many of them willfully pass up obvious opportunities to do just that.

Not a week goes by where I don’t observe managers around me squander moments to differentiate themselves and advance. My guess is they are just not thinking deeply enough about how career advancement works. They get so fixated on the pursuit of short term results they fail to see the bigger picture.

This week I’m going to examine three moments most managers fail to capitalize on. They don’t take them seriously enough. They discount their importance. They pass up beautiful opportunities to advance their careers and the careers of members of their teams. If there’s any chance you might be one of these managers, you should probably continue reading.

Let me set a tiny bit more context before we jump into examples. Whether we want to admit it or not, career progression is a competitive game. Everything is relative. Everything is comparative. If you’re a manager – you get compared with other managers. If you’re a Director – you get compared with other Directors. The same holds true until you’re CEO and then you get compared with CEOs from other companies. This is a reality of corporate life. Your value is always measured in relative terms.

She’s one of our brightest executives

He’s been placed on a management fast track

She’s high potential employee

He’s a key manager we need to retain

The entire dialogue about careers in the workplace is comparative. And that makes sense. The higher you go in an organization, the fewer spots there are. Organizational structures, for the most part, are smaller at the top than they are at the bottom. This means we are all competing for advancement opportunities, whether we like it or not.

This doesn’t mean you need to turn into a blood thirsty shark at work tomorrow.  I’m not advocating for that. But it does help to take an accurate view of the playing field you’re on. It does help to appreciate the real dynamics at play so you can play your optimal game and maximize your chances of success.

I’m often surprised by the poor career choices I see managers make. Where they invest their time. Where they choose to focus. What upsets them. What opportunities they ignore completely. The good news is, with so many managers making suboptimal career decisions, you can find an edge. You can take advantage of the opportunities they pass up.

Here are three moments I see managers consistency fail to capitalize on. They don’t give them enough attention or energy. They mail it in when they should be leaning in. My advice, when you’re next faced with one of these, is to double your efforts, make it a priority, differentiate yourself from your peers. Your career will thank you.

1.  Your Presentation at Annual Kickoff

Most of us have some forum at the beginning of the year to present something. For some of us, it’s in front of the entire company. For others, it’s in front of a smaller team. Whatever your moment is, my advice is to quadruple your efforts to make it great.

Your annual meeting is one of the few times people will see presentations from a bunch of managers in a row. Whether we are conscious to it or not, we are rating, ranking and positioning managers in this moment.

Whose presentation was amazing?

Who was funny?

Who looked unprepared?

Who energized the audience?

Who has mad presentation skills?

Who seemed authentic?

Who was full of crap?

These are the questions racing through the minds of audience members during annual kickoff. Your boss, the CEO, other executives, your peers, your team members. It’s a huge moment.

It’s a huge moment, but also one that way too many managers squander. It never ceases to amaze me how weak most of the presentations are at annual kickoff. People just don’t try that hard. They aren’t polished or prepared. The tragedy is, many managers work tirelessly to build great plans and execute them all year, only to mail it in when presenting at the annual kickoff.

I never do this. For me, the presentation about what I’m going to do, or about what I have done, is equally as important as doing it in the first place. You’d be shocked at how much effort I will put into my presentation at a kickoff. It’s THE moment to distinguish yourself from everyone else. Even if your actual contributions were only on par with your peers, this is a moment where you can separate yourself from the pack. This is a moment where you can energize the company (or department) about your initiatives such that it will provide a tailwind for your efforts for the rest of the year.

My advice to managers is to triple or quadruple the amount of effort you expend preparing for your presentation at annual kickoff. Make it amazing. Focus on making a presentation that will set you apart from everyone else. Don’t just be good. Be amazing.

Now, you may say – I’m not a great public speaker, so what about me? – that’s fine. Be the person who has clearly put in the most effort. Have amazing materials, polished slides, great data, concise points. You don’t need to the best speaker to advance your career in a material way at your annual kickoff.

2.  Any time Your Team Members Present

One thing that might surprise you, is how much time I spend helping my team members prepare for their own presentations. Reviews with executives, team meetings, anything with an audience of significance. My job as a leader is to help my people maximize their potential and realize success. So that’s what I do. I never let a manager on my team present in front of a large group or senior leaders without helping them prepare. At first, this might sound to you like a control mechanism. Like I’m a micromanager. Like this is all about me. It’s not. The deal I make with managers on my team is that I will do everything in my power to make them successful, to make them look great. And that means getting personally invested in their big moments as well as mine.

I’m often shocked when I see people deliver poorly prepared or unpolished presentations in large groups while their manager looks on in horror. I would never allow this to happen. When my team members present, I want them to be the best. I want them to be confident and proud. I want them to know, no matter how the presentation goes, that we’ve worked on it together and I’ve got their backs. Even if it doesn’t go well - if they struggle in the moment, that we’ve done everything we could to make it great.

It should go without saying, your team members are a reflection on your management competency. Which is why I’m often shocked at how many managers leave their team members to fend for themselves when preparing for a big presentation. It’s possible they think it too controlling or micromanaging to review their team members’ presentations. I obviously disagree with that perspective. In my experience, the kindest thing you can do for your team members is to help them be great.

My advice to managers is to get more involved in helping your team members prepare for big presentations and meetings. Get in there. If they know you’re doing it because you genuinely want them to look good, they’ll appreciate it. And once they knock a few out of the park and separate themselves from their peers, they’ll embrace the process.

3. Your Quarterly Business Review (QBR)

This is another moment most managers don’t expend enough effort on. They take quarterly business reviews for granted. They view them as necessary evils – an event that gets in the way of what’s really important. This is a misguided perspective. How you present your progress and results is as important as the results themselves. I realize that sounds like quite a statement. Can that really be true? Is this one presentation every three months really as important as all the work expended the other 99 percent of the quarter? Yes.

Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. The QBR (or whatever the equivalent is at your company) is the one moment she gets to compare all the managers on her team. To see them perform on an equal playing field. In a matter of hours or days, she gets to see your management prowess on display, one after another. If you think she’s not evaluating, making judgement, mentally positioning you, you’re naïve. 

Of course, you need good results. If you’ve bombed the quarter, no QBR presentation in the world is going to save you. But if you’ve done reasonably well, this moment can differentiate you from everyone else. If your results are slightly below average, a great QBR presentation can make people believe in your potential. If your results are great, it can catapult you into consideration for promotion or expansion. The QBR presentation is your showcase opportunity, and you need to NAIL it.

Let me give you a window into how your competition might be thinking (by sharing my own mindset). When I am preparing for a QBR (or when I help my team members prepare) I am 100% committed to building what I believe will be the number one presentation my boss sees that week. I commit to spending more time preparing. I commit to polishing and practicing. No matter what happens, no matter what results I’m sharing, I make certain my presentation will be the best. Unlike the results, which have already happened, the quality of my QBR presentation is something that is fully under my control. And so, I nail it. I help managers on my team nail theirs. If you’re not doing the same, your competition is lapping you.

My advice to managers is to invest more energy in your QBRs. Commit to be the best. Presentation quality, slide design, data accuracy. Be compelling. Even if you think every other manager is just going to follow some standard template, go three steps further. Take unnatural efforts to be great in this moment.

I’m often confused by the moments managers choose to focus on (and ignore). In my experience, we spend too much time fixating on creating and executing our plans, and not nearly enough time preparing to tell people about them. I’d love to hear your experiences and perspective on the issue in the comments section.

In career advice Tags performance, leadership, careers, get a promotion, get a raise
← Why I worked 20 hours straight and threw it all away4 times when the best move is to DO NOTHING →
youtube banner.png
30 60 90 day plan template.png

Get the Weekly Reid

Thank you!
resume template in word
Blog RSS
stealing the corner office

Buy my book >

  • career advice
    • Nov 25, 2018 Do you need to be LIKED to be a leader?
    • Sep 23, 2018 Getting a new boss? 4 tips to make a great impression
    • Sep 9, 2018 3 Tips to Reduce Pre-vacation Anxiety
    • Aug 6, 2018 Why I worked 20 hours straight and threw it all away
    • Jul 29, 2018 3 Big Moments Most Managers FAIL to Capitalize on
    • Jul 22, 2018 4 times when the best move is to DO NOTHING
    • Jul 15, 2018 The ONE question you should ask yourself every day
    • Jun 10, 2018 Impostor Syndrome - 3 Strategies to Overcome It
    • Jun 3, 2018 3 Management Lessons I Learned From My Mother
    • Mar 18, 2018 2 Success Traps to Avoid At All Costs
    • Mar 6, 2018 My Favorite Strategic Planning Template
    • Jan 28, 2018 4 Keys to Move from Director to VP Level
    • Jan 14, 2018 Setting Career Goals for 2018
    • Oct 10, 2017 Confronting Your Boss - When and How to Do It
    • Sep 17, 2017 2 Ways to Make Your 30 60 90 Day Plan Even Better
    • Sep 9, 2017 The Right and Wrong Way to Make an Impact at Work
    • Aug 27, 2017 The Right Way to Say "No" At Work
    • Aug 20, 2017 4 Ways Managers Can Reduce Pressure
    • Aug 15, 2017 4 Things Great Managers NEVER Do
    • Jul 30, 2017 Are You TOO Important to Your Team
    • Jul 24, 2017 Is there such thing as "management material" and are you made of it?
    • Jul 18, 2017 How to Work for a Micromanager ... and Come Out on Top
    • Jul 10, 2017 4 Tips to Jump from Manager to Director
    • Jun 18, 2017 How to Lead When You Have No Power
    • May 23, 2017 How to Negotiate Your Salary
    • May 18, 2017 How to Build Your Personal Brand
    • May 11, 2017 The Secret Mindset Trick I use Every Day at Work
    • Apr 29, 2017 Why Multi-tasking is a Trap and How to Break Out of It
    • Feb 14, 2017 3 Tips to Build a 30 60 90 Day Plan for Sales
    • Feb 5, 2017 4 Steps to Bounce Back from Any Career Setback
  • career management
    • Jan 26, 2017 The Best 30-60-90 Day Plan and How to Use It
    • Jan 20, 2017 The #1 Workplace Mistake I Saw in 2016
    • Jan 2, 2017 Want a Promotion in 2017? 5 Things You Must Do in January
    • Oct 30, 2016 Is it time to quit your job? The 4 most important considerations
    • Jun 20, 2016 Why Incompetent People Get Ahead (... and what they can teach YOU!)
    • May 9, 2016 3 Steps to Start Strong in a New Job, Project (and just about anything else)
    • Mar 23, 2016 3 Tactics for Managing Through a Layoff
    • Mar 14, 2016 3 Tips for Managers who Work from Home
    • Mar 11, 2016 3 Tips for Giving Negative Feedback to Employees
    • Feb 29, 2016 The Personal Learning Plan - What it is and Why you Need One
    • Feb 27, 2016 How to Work Well with Incompetent Co-workers
    • Feb 21, 2016 The 4 Lessons About Managing People I Learned a Little too Late
    • Feb 14, 2016 The Personal Performance Review Template (And Why You Need One)
    • Feb 11, 2016 4 Golden Tactics to Raise Your Salary
    • Feb 8, 2016 7 Little Known Uses for the 30 60 90 Day Plan
    • Feb 2, 2016 My Best Tips for Talking to Senior Executives
    • Jan 28, 2016 4 Tips for Managing People with More Experience Than You
    • Jan 24, 2016 6 Tips to Manage A Negative Performance Review
    • Jan 18, 2016 Your annual performance review – 4 tips to make it great
    • Mar 1, 2015 The 4 Best Business Books I've Read this Year
    • Feb 18, 2015 4 Tips to get a Promotion this Year
    • Jun 12, 2014 6 Career Changes I'd Make if I had a Time Machine
    • Jun 10, 2014 New Boss? Company Acquired? 3 Tips to Take Advantage of Change
    • Jun 5, 2014 The 6 Managers You DON'T want to be
    • May 27, 2014 Why Being Reliable is Not a Winning Career Strategy
    • May 23, 2014 Memorial Day Management Musings – 3 Questions to Ponder Over the Weekend
    • May 19, 2014 The Biggest Reason Smart Managers Fail
    • May 15, 2014 The 3 Fatal Flaws of Job Hopping as a Career Strategy
  • employee engagement
    • Jan 31, 2016 One of my favorite videos on engagement and motivation
  • interview tips
    • Nov 18, 2018 3 Critical Weaknesses that Often Disguise as Strengths
    • Mar 26, 2017 5 Job Interview Fails You Can't Recover From
    • Mar 9, 2017 How to answer the "What is your greatest weakness?" interview question
    • Feb 14, 2017 3 Tips to Build a 30 60 90 Day Plan for Sales
  • job interviews
    • Oct 22, 2017 3 Signs Your Candidate is Too Good to be True
    • Sep 12, 2016 4 Interview Questions to See the Truth in Every Candidate
  • job search
    • Apr 20, 2017 The ONLY 3 Things I Look for on a Resume
    • Apr 6, 2017 Get Hired - 3 Tips to Pass Every Phone Interview
    • Mar 24, 2017 4 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer
    • Mar 9, 2017 How to answer the "What is your greatest weakness?" interview question
    • Mar 1, 2017 How to Negotiate Hard Without Being a Jerk
    • Feb 26, 2017 Resume Templates - The Best Resume Format and How to Build it in Word
    • Feb 17, 2017 How to Jump out of the Job Applicant Pool - 5 Secrets from a Hiring Manager
    • Mar 31, 2016 Why Your Job Search Strategy Must Change (And how to do it)
    • Mar 13, 2016 Video - How to Use a 30 60 90 Day Plan to Get Hired
    • Feb 16, 2016 My 5 Best Interview Tips to Rise Above Other Applicants
    • Jan 13, 2016 Are Cover Letters Still Important?
    • Jan 10, 2016 How Unrealistic Job Requirements Hurt Everyone
    • Dec 29, 2015 How to Get Your Resume Seen by More Hiring Managers
    • Oct 24, 2015 Top Job Search Tips: The Multi-Channel Application
    • Jul 13, 2014 5 Secrets from a Hiring Manager - Tactics to Get Noticed and Get the Job
  • marketing
    • Mar 5, 2015 Three Ways to Create Content that Nurtures Customer Relationships
  • recruiting
    • Jun 4, 2017 Why I Don't Use Aptitude Tests in the Hiring Process
    • Jan 4, 2016 The Unicorn Recruiting Trap – Why I’ve Stopped Hunting
  • resumes
    • Apr 20, 2017 The ONLY 3 Things I Look for on a Resume
    • Feb 26, 2017 Resume Templates - The Best Resume Format and How to Build it in Word
  • team management
    • Jan 13, 2019 Is your team strategic? Advice for managers who want to say "yes"
    • Dec 9, 2018 3 things every manager MUST do in December
    • Oct 21, 2018 3 tips to delegate more effectively
    • Sep 30, 2018 4 Tips To Maintain Your Hiring Standard ... Even When You're Desperate
    • Aug 19, 2018 Sink or Swim or Something in Between?
    • Aug 12, 2018 4 Tips to Encourage Team Members to Tell You the Truth
    • Jul 8, 2018 How you manage "ok" performers could be your competitive edge
    • Jun 30, 2018 Want to lose your top performers? Do these 4 things
    • Jun 17, 2018 3 Strategies to Reduce Surprise Turnover on Your Team
    • May 19, 2018 How to be a Great Manager Even When You're at Your Worst
    • May 5, 2018 Is a little bit of micromanagement ok?
    • Apr 29, 2018 Are You Critical Enough of Your Team?
    • Apr 15, 2018 How to Lose a Team in 10 Days
    • Apr 8, 2018 5 Attributes Every Great Leader Needs
    • Jan 21, 2018 The Who, What, Where and When of 1 on 1 Meetings
    • Jan 2, 2018 Breaking down Silos ... For real this time
    • Dec 3, 2017 Manager, Partner, or Friend?
    • Nov 26, 2017 3 Reasons Leaders Should Speak Less in Meetings
    • Nov 19, 2017 Hard Conversations - Why You Need to Have More of Them
    • Nov 5, 2017 Is Micromanagement Contagious?
    • Oct 15, 2017 My New Favorite Interview Question
    • Sep 24, 2017 The 1 Question You Need to Ask Yourself Before Firing Someone
    • Sep 17, 2017 How the Best Managers Lead in Turbulent Times
    • Sep 4, 2017 "15% Better" or "Best in the World"?
    • Jun 25, 2017 14 Do's and Don'ts for Team Offsite Meetings
    • Jun 11, 2017 Quick Reid: On Firing an Employee
    • Mar 12, 2017 Group Interviews - How to Avoid Consensus Hiring
    • Feb 20, 2017 Who is really accountable for employee engagement?
    • Jan 29, 2017 New Job? New Team? 5 Things I do in Month 1
    • Aug 14, 2016 Is it hard to promote people at your company? 5 tips to make it easier
    • Jun 27, 2016 5 Tips to Become a Better Interviewer
    • Jun 7, 2016 First Time Manager? 5 Things You Must Do in Week 1
    • Apr 24, 2016 3 Tactics for Managing an Insubordinate Employee
    • Apr 7, 2016 3 Signs that Tell me its Time to Let an Employee Go