3 min read
Let me state the conclusion first: To grow professionally you need to know magic. One magic trick in particular you need to master: “body switch”.
Now, let me build the argument.
Lets say you are an engineer building mobile application or a website for customer. You know you will do a decent job but not as good as your engineering head or lead architect. If they build the same application or website, the quality of product will be much higher and they will even take less time. They will kick ass.
Or, you can be a project manager. You conduct meetings, set expectations across board, do client calls, follow up etc. You are a decent enough manager but, of course, not good as your head of services. If they will conduct meetings, the energy in the room or call will be all different. He will convince the customer on toughest demands easily. They will inspire everything they touch: projects, customers, people, cats – everyone. They are pure magic.
Lets admit it. You can never be as good as the lead architect or the head of services. The difference in experience and skill set is so big, its not even worth trying. Though there is one way i.e. magic. Only magic can make you as amazing as them. I suggest learning the “body switch” trick in particular. You can have the soul of your lead architect or services head come in your body and produce the amazing results you always wanted from your hands. Its not risky, permanent or hard, but needs a practice. Here the steps you need to repeat to pull this “body switch” trick:
1- Find the role model/mentor/a-very-smart-person in your field whom you want to switch bodies with
2- Observe him closely, how he operates, what are his values, what are his techniques etc
3- Next time when you are developing a mobile application, imagine what would your lead architect (role model) do. Will he do prior research, will he stick to best practices, will he say no to quality compromise, will he consult other architects, will he put an extra bit of hard work? Mimic him
4- Similarly if you are manager stepping in a status meeting. Imagine what will the head of services (mentor) do. Will she step into the meeting (or call) with clear objectives and a game plan, will she start the meeting with high energy , will she be decisive in what she speaks, will she charm everyone by connecting with them at a personal level, will she wrap up with clear action items? Mimic her
You get my point. I am not talking about real magic (though wouldn’t that be cool). All of us have plenty of smart and inspiring people around us at work, family, YouTube, books etc. Why not mimic them – repeatedly – and put yourself in their shows. Next time when you have an antagonized customer, picture what would your mentor do. How would he fix a team conflict. How would he build synergy. You can do that too.
Try this trick and you will see much better results – almost like magic!
Reproduced with permission from here.
