3 Career Lessons from Will Smith's Oscar Slap

In a night that should have gone down as one of recognition of decades of hard-work and acting excellence, Will Smith's emotional reaction in the presence of his professional peers (and the world) over shadowed his outstanding work. I am not an entertainment commentator, so I am not here to re-hash the details of the event or even to say my personal opinion on what happened, but as a leadership consultant and executive coach we will look at 3 important career lessons to take away from this incident. While everyone else is talking about this from an entertainment standpoint, I am publishing this blog, to get you to start thinking strategically about leveling up in your career in 2022, because if you haven't realized it yet, the first quarter is already over!! If you want to still make 2022 your best professional year yet, we have to get on it now!!

Lesson One: Working On Your Craft (Expertise & Excellence) Is Not Enough ... Work On Yourself Too

I have been a long time fan of Will Smith's professional work. His work ethic is undeniable, he has been quoted as saying that no one will outwork him, to the point that if it came down to it, he would literally die on a treadmill than be outworked by anyone. In the age of persistence, GRIT, and determination this is seen as admirable. This mindset has no doubt, played a big role in getting him career success thus far. He works HARD, is very talented at what he does, and seems to always DELIVER results. If you are familiar with my trademarked DIVA method to advance successfully at work, you know DELIVERING RESULTS is the first step of this formula. Being good at your job, even outstanding and working hard is however JUST the first step and it is not enough! In the DIVA method I clearly outline what else you need to work on to have a successful career in the long term. 

Once you have gotten your expertise down, you have GOT to realize that your mindset, emotional intelligence and who you are BEING is just as important as the work you are doing. If your character isn't developed to maintain your professional level of advancement you will quickly hit a personal glass ceiling due to this blindspot. Understanding your triggers, fears, sabotage tendencies, and other strengths and weaknesses will allow you to embark on a process of self-improvement. I have been in countless meetings as a HR leader where behind closed doors we discussed how smart an individual was, but their character was too much of a risk that we decided not to promote that person and instead promote someone else that maybe less talented but the organization saw as less of a liability/risk. This character flaw could have been lack of integrity, not being open to feedback or having low emotional intelligence to name a few. This is why leadership coaching and programs such as OWN YOUR POWER (which is about to launch the Spring 2022 cohort) are important because your training, knowledge and expertise can only take you so far, but the mindset and soft skills is what will sustain your success if you even make it to the top!

Lesson Two: Mentors, Sponsors and Coaches can save you!

One of the most poignant moments of this embarrassing event was hearing that Denzel Washington pulled Will Smith aside to have "the talk". In my DIVA method about career advancement, the A stands for Advisory board. This is your personal board of directors that will help develop you, advocate for you, and help you stay on track professionally so that you can keep advancing. If you have the right mentors in your life, they will teach you and prevent you from making mistakes or help you recover faster when you do. I am sure whatever Denzel told Will, it helped an already bad situation not to get worse. It is great to have this kind of support when you are in your worst moments professionally. These people will help you be resilient and bounce back because whether it is a mistake you made on a spreadsheet or an emotional outburst, at some point in our career no matter how good we are, you will need someone to have your back. It is especially especially helpful if those who are helping are in positions of influence. 

I have one question for you, ... Who do you have in your corner?!

If you haven't established your personal board of directors that will open doors for you that you cannot open for yourself and have your back in the most difficult times professionally, schedule sometime with me HERE for a strategy session on how you can go about doing just that.

Lesson Three: One mistake can completely destroy your brand

Will Smith has spent decades crafting a BRAND for himself as a clean cut man of class and excellence. His behavior last night at the Oscars (at least for now) has cast a shadow over that brand. Here is the thing, many people have lost sponsors and mentors because their brand turned sour. No one wants to be associated with a failing or risky brand. The second step in the DIVA method is I, which stands for Image, another word for brand. 

Your Brand is important. Let me ask you this, do you know what people are saying about you when you are not in the room? Not the feedback that they put in your performance appraisal, I mean, the one that is not on the paper. What you don't know regarding this brand could literally be killing your career without your realizing it. If you want to find out what your brand is, and learn how to get the feedback to find out, as well as how to be more intentional about building a successful brand, schedule sometime with me HERE to discuss.

The point of today's email is to get you thinking strategically about your career and what it is going to take to level up professionally in 2022. April starts this week so it's time to take action on developing that career strategy now!

Own Your Power Spring Cohort is HERE!

I am excited to announce that Own Your Power Spring Cohort is here. Stay tuned for more, but early birds from my email list will be getting a couple of bonuses if you act now including a salary negotiations guide and One on One coaching session(s). Schedule time to discuss here.