Media training coach Warren Weeks had the tweet of the week: In a crisis, calm is contagious.
But that idea isn’t limited to a crisis. You can also apply it to your inbox.
The old way of bossing up was to be task-driven, frantically trying to reach inbox zero. Instead, you can play a new game where you take a calm, intentional approach to how you execute.
And here’s why you want to make that change: Long after people forget the big deal signed or the new tool that launched—they’ll remember how you showed up. Your day-to-day actions become your reputation.
When my colleague Sumitra mentioned being underwater, I thought she might describe open workstreams or how many emails were in her inbox. But the punch line was how chasing productivity put her in the feels. Catching up after vacation gave Sumitra a case of the icks, where she felt anxious and short-tempered.
She reflected, “Bouncing from one thing to the other didn’t make me feel productive—it made me feel worse. Then my sister suggested blocking focus time for the first morning back. What a difference!” Sumitra sighed.
“It made me realize it’s ok to say I need a minute to get reoriented. Focus time has given me a way to change from stressed and scattered back to my best self.”
In the October series, Three Ways to Use Soft Skills for Elegant Execution, we’ve discussed how you can use soft skills to dust off your To Do list and keep your sanity. Along the way in your career, has someone tried to sell you the narrow mindset that the path to maximum productivity is paved with steamrolling yourself and maybe anyone else in sight?
Let cancel that approach immediately!
Instead, remember Warren Weeks’ tweet: Calm is contagious. So, change your orientation and decide that calm is your go-to execution strategy.
Shifting your mindset doesn’t need to be aspirational—you can build it on a foundation of soft skill How tactics like discernment and healthy self-esteem. For instance, take 5 minutes to reflect on the traits that come out when you feel like you’re in the flow. Then pile on by writing down positive feedback you’ve received about other competencies. Then combine those elements for a personalized short list of what elegant execution feels like to you.
For instance, how many of these qualities make your soft skills bingo card?
Swap the old school game of hot potato for the cool, calm, and collected version of you.
Soft skills aren’t tricky or complicated—they’re as easy as 1, 2, 3! Here’s a recap of the three ways we’ve learned in this series:
You’re building street cred every time you polish your How. As NPR reported: “Productivity is not fundamentally about inputs. It’s really, in the end about output: How much you produce and at what quality.” So, instead of pushing toward the end of the year trying to accomplish anything and everything thrown your way, take charge like the creative, wise CEO of your life—a Soul Boss—and end the year with elegant execution.
If you’re new to soft skills or want a refresher, boss up with my free 15-minute course, “Soft Skills Basics in a Flash.” You’ll learn what soft skills are, why people who understand soft skills stand out in a crowd, and practical, actionable ways to use soft skills every day. With the bonus 1-pager, “7 Ways to Pitch Your Soft Skills Superpower” in your back pocket, you’ll leave calm, self-assured, and ready to speak soft skills with anyone who asks.