I once worked for a president who was not a fan of the phrase, “stand ready” – as in, “I stand ready to help you in any way I can.”
He would say, “I don’t want someone who ‘stands ready.’ There is no motion there. They are waiting for direction or for something else to happen. I want people who are active and make things happen.”
As a consultant I see this regularly.
Major gift officers ‘standing ready’ to go on more donor visits once they receive the reworked case statement from communications.
Alumni relations leaders ‘standing ready’ to plan Homecoming once the Alumni Board confirms what they would like to do for the weekend.
Annual giving directors ‘standing ready’ to go to print with their direct mail piece once the DOD approves the message.
Vice Presidents ‘standing ready’ to prepare their Board presentation once they hear from the advancement committee about the content they want to see.
In most instances, the reason people ‘stand ready,’ is because they don’t see themselves as having the ability, access, responsibility, or even the willingness to do much else. But, this is not accurate.
Influence is not the same as authority. And leadership isn’t synonymous with title. If we want to grow as professionals, understanding how to influence and lead others – regardless of their title or authority – is an essential skill set.
We can call this set of skills, ‘shaping up.’ We all can ‘shape up’ in some way or in some situations.
‘Shaping up,’ means that we educate those who have positional authority. ‘Shaping up,’ means we share our insights so that they get to the best decision. ‘Shaping up,’ means we convene, we propose, and we guide toward better outcomes. ‘Shaping up,’ means we help them help us by understanding their views and perspectives.
‘Shaping up,” simply means that we do have the ability and responsibility, we can create the access, and we should be willing to shape the understandings, focus areas, and even the decisions of those with whom we work.
Sure, we can ‘stand ready,’ and wait. And, when we do, we most likely will also complain when our excellence and expertise isn’t recognized. Or, we might whine with frustration when we are passed over for a position upgrade.
Or, we can ‘shape up,’ and creatively influence and guide others – regardless of our position or theirs.
