Marshall Goldsmith Library
Marshall Goldsmith on Facebook Marshall Goldsmith on iTunes Marshall Goldsmith on LinkedIn Marshall Goldsmith on Twitter Marshall Goldsmith on YouTube 
Contact Marshall Goldsmith About Marshall Goldsmith Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Award Marshall Goldsmith's Books Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching Free Resources Library Resources in Languages Other Than English Marshall Goldsmith Affiliations
Marshall Goldsmith

Contact Marshall Goldsmith

Marshall Goldsmith Library navigation
About Marshall
About Marshall Goldsmith
Contact Marshall Contact Marshall Goldsmith
Free Resources
Free Resources at Marshall Goldsmith Library
Marshall's Books
Marshall Goldsmith Books
Monthly Features
Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching SCC
Coach Training
Monthly Features at Marshall Goldsmith Library
Upcoming Schedule
Marshall Goldsmith Upcoming Schedule
What's New
Whats New at Marshall Goldsmith Library
Newsletter
Marshall Goldsmith Newsletter
Blog:
 INC.com
 Personal Blog
Marshall Goldsmith Blog
Media Info
Marshall Goldsmith Media
MOJO News
Marshall Goldsmith Media


Talent Management
Talent Management, Marshall Goldsmith logo

The Overcommitment Trap

Talent Management, Marshall Goldsmith print print version

by Marshall Goldsmith

Many things can kill a career. Missing a big opportunity, getting passed over for a promotion, getting demoted or fired or losing a lot of money. You know the list.

It’s our worst nightmare come true; the screaming headlines and public humiliations that suck all the spirit and forward thrust from our professional lives, surrounding us with a negative don’t-come-near-me aura, as if we were walking hazmat zones.

But these humbling episodes are results, not causes. When people go from mojo — that spirit that begins on the inside and radiates to the outside — to nojo, it’s usually because of a series of simple, hard-to-spot mistakes that lead up to the humiliating result, like over committing.

There’s a saying, “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” It makes sense; a busy person is well-organized and not inclined to waste time or get distracted. But there’s a ?ne line between taking on a lot of work and too much.

It’s easy to see how people in corporate situations fall into this over commitment trap. If you’re good at what you do, everybody wants to rub up against you. They want you in their meetings, seek out your opinion or want you to run a project.

People with high mojo tend to be assaulted with opportunities. It’s how junior employees advance more rapidly than their peers; their enthusiasm and ambition tempt bosses to pile on the work until the employees cry uncle, which they don’t until it’s too late.

It’s even easier to see how self-employed people over commit. When you don’t have the cushion of a steady paycheck, every opportunity looks like your last payday. So, you say yes to everything.

I’m guilty of this. When I speak to groups, I show up, share what I know, and like any wage earner, get paid for my time. When someone invites me to talk to their organization, it’s a straightforward pay-for-work opportunity. If I show up, I get paid. If I say, “No, thanks,” I’m tossing money down the drain.

But then someone calls to hire me. I say I can’t do it. They persist. They flatter me, too, essentially saying, “We want you,” and they’ll take me on my terms. You have to be hard-hearted to say no to folks like that. Plus, the date will be several months away. Who knows what things will look like then? So, I switch from “Can’t make it” to “I’m there for you.” And I find myself unpacking in another hotel, preparing to get up on a nice Saturday morning to talk to a roomful of clients when I might be better served writing my next book.

I’m not whining — I know I’m describing a headache most people in my line of work would jump at. I’m also not saying the people who hire me under these circumstances get any less of my enthusiasm.

But the fact that I question my decision to accept the booking represents a threat to my mojo. It injects the potential for regret into the experience, and a tiny drop of that could bleed into my performance.

Still, you rarely hear people say, “I’m taking on too much work,” although most of us are working longer and harder than ever in today’s 24/7 economy. Perhaps they’re afraid of looking weak, as if they can’t handle any challenge that comes their way. Perhaps they can’t resist the call of being asked to help out; it’s a validation of their skill and another way of being told, “We love you.” Perhaps they really do believe they have superhuman qualities and that nothing is too much. Perhaps they realize “I took on too much” is not much of an excuse if and when they drop the ball.

Any of these reasons explains why over committing is one of the sweet but risky blowbacks from having mojo — and why it’s a stealth mojo killer.

Before replying with an enthusiastic yes to that next request, think of the impact on your mojo.

Are you doing what is right for the long-term or just saying what makes others happy in the short-term? Is what you are about to commit to going to increase the happiness and meaning you experience in life?

In November 2015 Dr. Marshall Goldsmith was recognized as the #1 Leadership Thinker in the World and the top 5 Management Thinker at the Thinkers50 Award Ceremony in London. He was also selected as the #1 Executive Coach in the World by GlobalGurus.org, and one of the 10 Most Influential Management Thinkers in the World by Thinkers50 in both 2011 and 2013. In 2011 he was chosen as the World's Most Influential Leadership Thinker. Marshall was the highest rated executive coach on the Thinkers50 List in both 2011 and 2013. What Got You Here Won't Get You There was listed as a top ten business bestseller for 2013 by INC Magazine / 800 CEO Read (for the seventh consecutive year). Marshall's exciting new research on engagement is published in his newest book Triggers (Crown, 2015).

Please order Triggers at Amazon or Barnes & Noble!

 

Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

 

 

 


What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith


What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

CLICK TO ORDER

Amazon
BN.com

 

Soundview Executive Summaries

Soundview Executive Book Summaries' subscribers select What Got You Here Won't Get You There as the Harold Longman Award best business book of the year for 2007.

 

 

   

 

Marshall Goldsmith Library website created and managed by
Marilyn McLeod of Coach Marilyn.com.

www.Coach Marilyn at CoachMarilyn.com