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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M4 — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Another week has flown by and we are at the end of our first week of Month Four — Focus.

This topic is a good one for me right now. I am working through the Deeper Path process, as I’ve mentioned, and it’s all about gaining clarity, developing a crystal clear plan for where I’m headed with my life’s work, which requires a lot of reflection and focus.

What about you? What are you thoughts on this month’s topic, so far?

What do you need to focus on?

Now for our Friday ritual, let’s focus on the weekend and the weeks ahead…

What really needs your attention this weekend? Is it projects, people, rest, , fun, relaxation…?

We’ve had a lot going on in our family this past week, so rest and reconnection are definitely in order. My son wants to spend his tooth fairy money on a wind-up turtle for the tubby, so we will go to Toys R Us.

Continuing preparation for the Women in Leadership Luncheon; it takes a lot more preparation than one might imagine to deliver an awesome keynote speech, and that’s my intention. I don’t want anyone attending the luncheon to walk away disappointed. I also just committed to sponsoring the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast being hosted at University of Charleston on May 10. So, I have some work to do polishing up my marketing materials for Empowerment Mentoring and a couple of Mastermind Groups (15 Invaluable Laws of Growth and Everyone Communicates Few Connect). I am still working my way through content in the John Maxwell Online University; this material is so good on so many levels, I will go through it over and over and over and over, and get something new out of it every time! Finally, I applied to be part of the team John Maxwell is taking to Guatemala in June to teach Transformational Leadership. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so excited! Can’t wait to hear if I will be included in the team. If the answer is “yes,” I have a lot of work in preparation for that, as well.

What’s in store for you this weekend, next week, and in the coming weeks? Are you taking the steps to set yourself up for success and fulfillment?

Have a great weekend, and I’ll “see” you Monday!

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W1, M4 — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , on April 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Today, I encourage you to spend some time journaling about the goal you accomplished this week using your objective statement and task list.

Did you do it?

Were you successful?

Were you more aware of the big picture surrounding the task and how it involved others?

As a result, were you able to come up with a task list more quickly from the objective statement?

Were your activities more focused this week than in previous weeks?

What have you learned, so far, about focus, that you can carry forward and increase your effectiveness going forward?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W1, M4 — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , on April 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

What important projects are you working on, either at work or at home? Pick one and take some time to consider what challenges you might encounter while working your way through the project.

Now, think of other people who have worked on similar projects. Pick someone you know well enough to connect with who will spend a little time with you. Then use the opportunity to discuss your project, the challenges you think you might encounter, and how you might navigate your way through those hazards. Get their input.

What insights do they have to offer?

How will you use it?

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M4 — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I’m working my way through a process called The Deeper Path, led by Kary Oberbrunner, a fellow John Maxwell Team member can coach who is guiding me through this amazing process he developed with his Builder, Chet Scott. Traveling The Deeper Path is all about gaining clarity and focus.

While I have what I believe to be a lot more clarity about where I’m headed and what I’m building in my life than many others, I know I don’t have it to the degree I need it to be truly fulfilled, successful, and reach my potential. The truth is, there is so much stuff going on around all of us all day long, so much noise, so many messages to sift through, so many people clamoring for our time and attention, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. It’s easy to get lost in all the stuff. It’s easy to be busy, and yet not feel productive.

I know I’ve been there, on more days than I like to admit to. Yet, I’m aware of this, and awareness is the key. Once you have come to this realization, you have the opportunity — and the choice — to do something about it, to do something differently.

You see, busy doesn’t necessarily equate to productive. To be productive, I need to spend my time on the “right” activities. To know what the “right” activities are, I need clarity and focus!

How do we get there? Begin with the end in mind: What objective are we trying to achieve? When you can write an objective statement simply and clearly, you understand what you need to do to achieve it, when you need to do it, how you will do it, what resources (people and other) you need, and what the result will be when you are done.

Let’s put it into practice. We will create a task list that will allow you to stay focused on your project, effectively thinking through from the big picture to the details.

Across the top of a piece of paper, write your task or goal statement. Then, below it write this — and do the ranking:

Priority (1 = Low and 5= High)   1     2     3     4     5

Impact (1 = Low and 5= High)   1     2     3     4     5

Define the following:

What tools will you use to accomplish this task? List all resources — tangible or intangible, including specific people (time, money, supplies, staff, other materials, etc…)

Who will benefit or otherwise be affected by the completion of this task?

What will be the result?

When you’ve completed this exercise, use the information to draft your objective statement. Here’s an example: “By the end of this week, I will have created a comprehensive client contact file, including communication preferences, connection time-lines, product and services preferences, and known networks/affiliations, which I will use to track my business and networking activities.”

Now, take a clean sheet of paper, write your new objective statement at the top, then create your thorough task list which will allow you to meet your goal. Make notes as you work through it this week on what worked, what didn’t what you added that you didn’t need, what you needed but didn’t think to list…We’ll do some reflection on this later.

Get to work!

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Intentional Leadership — D1-W1-M4 — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on April 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This week we will spend some time studying the big picture — getting the lay of the land and understanding what it means for us in our teams and organizations. If you are a detail-oriented person, this could be a stretch for you, but I encourage you to work on this, because it’s critical to your success.

In order to be strategic in whatever you are doing, you need to be able to see the big picture. Once you have some understanding of the what’s happening in your industry, with your competition, and within your organization, then you can channel your energy and activity toward achieving some clear objectives designed to help you achieve your big goals. Only then can you shift your attention to the details.

Working as a professional communicator for the past 20 years, this is how I approach my work, whether the work at hand is in support of a corporate long-term strategic objective, or a one-time communication effort. I always ask my “client” what they are trying to accomplish? What end are they trying to reach? What do they want the audience the know, understand, and do as a result of the communication?

Once they are able to answer those questions, I am able to design a communication plan that will help them reach their goals. This includes segmenting the audience (I strongly recommend a precision targeted approach, rather than the shotgun — spraying your message over everyone hoping it will hit some of the right people — approach), gaining some understanding of what they know and what they need to know, defining key messages, identifying the best communication vehicles to use, outlining a timeline, and specifying who will deliver the message. Only then do we actually begin to craft the communication.

For those who are focused on the details or are impatient about just sending the message, it can be a painful process. But, I can attest that after 20 years of approaching my work this way, the results are worth it (proven by  both the clients who have taken my advice and achieved the results they sought, as well as by the clients who thought I was simply wasting their time and forged ahead with poorly developed communication and were significantly disappointed by their results).

I believe it was David Grossman who said (in his book You Can’t Not Communicate) that effective leader-communicators spend 80% of their time, with respect to a communication effort, actually planning for the communication and only 20% of it on delivery.

So, what’s your big picture?

What goals have you set in support of achieving that big vision for your work?

What about the goals you’ve set for the rest of your life?

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Intentional Leadership — Month Four — Focus

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Focus: A state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding. A point at which rays (as of light, heat, or sound) converge or from which they diverge or appear to diverge;specifically: the point where the geometrical lines or their prolongations conforming to the rays diverging from or converging toward another point intersect and give rise to an image after reflection by a mirror or refraction by a lens or optical system.

Thank you, Merriam-Webster online!

Without focus, our efforts are haphazard, expending energy without clear direction. With focus, we can channel our energies and efforts toward clear objectives. We can set and stick to priorities. We filter the information we are drowning in — more than 3000 messages per day according to some sources — able to determine what is truly relevant to you and your mission and ignore the rest. Focus allows us to make decisions in line with our values, beliefs, priorities, and goals. We are able to clearly articulate our vision and guide others. We operate effectively, efficiently, productively; working smarter not harder.

Think of the difference between the light channeled by an incandescent bulb and that of the light channeled through a laser. The first gives you diffused, gentle illumination; the latter gives you a single, super-concentrated beam, intense enough to cut through steel. The difference between the two is simple: Focus.

What you accomplish will be determined by your ability to focus your thoughts, your energy, your efforts. When you have focus, making decisions and taking action is easy. Without it, you will drift through your life, randomly moving with the flow of whatever current you are caught up in. The choice is yours.

Before we begin this fourth month of our Intentional Leadership journey, take some time to consider these questions:

What goals are you currently focused on?

Who best understands your career focus?

How do you maintain your focus in light of the myriad daily distractions you encounter?

When has your clarity of focus inspired someone else to take action?

I’m excited to move into this next stage of our journey. Are you ready? “See” you tomorrow!

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Intentional Leadership — M3 Excellence Wrap-up

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , on April 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Instilling excellence into your organization is a cultural thing. It must be woven into the very fabric of your business, and evident in the way you do everything, every day. The key is, as the leader, you must be the role model and demonstrate, consistently, whatever it is you want your team/organization to do. As my mentor, John C. Maxwell says so eloquently, “People do what people see.”

People do what people see.   ~John C. Maxwell

So, how do you do that? You must establish high standards and inspire others to adopt them, as well. You must be fully immersed in, and committed to, raising the bar on all aspects of your performance, continually striving to get better. You must be willing to banish a “check the box” attitude because you know that “good enough” is not good enough! You must understand you aren’t done, until YOU are done; you don’t base your success or completion on other people’s standards, you keep going until you know you have achieved excellence.

Of course, these things are not possible without high levels of integrity. Will Durant said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Every day, you have the opportunity to influence at least four people (and I do mean “at least,” because I believe the true number is significantly higher), which means you have the opportunity to be an excellence role model and encourage others to focus on and demonstrate excellence in what they do, as well.

Having focused on excellence over the past four weeks, what have you learned about yourself? Your organization? How do you rate yourself on this aspect of your leadership performance?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W4, M3 — Excellence

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Good morning and Happy Friday! Time, again, for our Friday ritual: Planning for the weekend and thinking about the month ahead.

I can say, with full confidence, this week I was not just busy but truly productive in many respects. That’s not to say I completed everything I set out to this week, but certainly made a dent in my list and found myself in a place of deep introspection around my the work I’m doing with the Deeper Path Coaching Cohort.

And, after the emphasis on excellence these past four weeks, I am certainly much more aware of and intentional about how I plan for and execute my work and interactions with others. How about you? Where are you on this part of our journey?

Let’s look and think ahead into our weekend.

What really needs your attention this weekend? Is it projects, people, rest, relaxation…?

Rest is, again, on my list.

Some house projects and cleaning are calling for my attention.

Developing a team-building activity for an upcoming meeting; need to gather some supplies for that. Finishing up some projects. Have some writing to do. People to connect with. Letters to write.

The next month will be busy and filled with new opportunities. Exciting things coming my way!

What’s in store for you this weekend, next week, and in the coming weeks? Are you taking the steps to set yourself up for success and fulfillment? Are you feeling more confident about the level of excellence you/your team/your organization provide to your clients?

Have an intentional weekend!

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W4, M3 — Excellence

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on April 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

Thursday, again, already?! Wow!

Time for some reflection…

We’ve been focusing on excellence all month, and perhaps you’ve already come to this place, but I’m curious. What is your motivation for pursuing excellence?

How will a life of excellence impact others?

What motivation will sustain you to pursue excellence day-in and day-out?

I’ve given this some thought, as while I realize this will sound trite, for me, if a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. If I’m going to exchange my time and life energy — both of which I can never get back — I want whatever I spent it on to have meaning and value, and not just for me, but for the others around me, as well.

As I have said on several occasions, I am here to change the world through encounters with people each and every day. I can’t do that without doing what I’m doing at a high level of performance. Well, I suppose I could, but my quest is to change the world in a positive way, and that takes focus, attention, intention, energy, and effort.

I remember being told, by at least three different people, at three different jobs (yes, this is absolutely true!), that I could “relax now…and not work so hard.” I asked each of those people to describe to me what that would look like or be like, because I wasn’t sure what they were attempting to guide me to do. You see, I was working at what I consider “normal Laura level,” not in comparison to anyone else. I wasn’t sure what “relaxing” would mean. None of them were able to describe it for me. I still don’t know.

I want to make a difference. I want to set a positive example. I strive to leave things better than when I found them. And, when I leave a place, I want the people I encountered to say I did my share; I did quality work; and the place was better for my having been there.

What about you? What are your thoughts on this topic?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W4, M3 — Excellence

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , on April 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

Each of us — as individuals, teams, and organizations — has been given something for which we are responsible. Historically, stewardship was responsibility bestowed upon someone to take care of another’s property or wealth — perhaps the King, a Lord, or a landowner. Essentially, the steward would manage those assets with the intent of leaving it in as good of condition as we found it, if not better. Today, we often think of this with respect to the environment, resources, wealth…Sometimes, however, we are more focused on acquiring and consuming than we are on caring for the things we already have.

The irony, however, is that we often gain more when we take care of what we have.I think back to 2008. I was moving my family from one area of Washington State to another, as I had taken a new job. We didn’t find a house we wanted to buy, so we decided to rent for a while. A co-worker told me about some new houses that had been built, but not sold (it was a tough real estate market), and suggested the builder might be willing to rent. I called and inquired; he said he would consider it, and we agreed to meet at the home to walk through it and discuss the idea.

It wasn’t long after we walked into the house that he said he would rent to me. He explained that he had taken a good look at my car before coming into the house and because it was clean and well cared for, he believed I would take care of his home; had my car been a mess, we may have been looking for a decent place to live for a while longer! Apparently, I was considered a good steward!

Your team/organization has also been given resources to manage. The question is, how have they performed?

Today, task them with a self-assessment to determine if they –as individuals — and you as a team/organization are providing excellence in the small things. Then, challenge yourself and them to go the second mile, and provide an even higher level of excellence.

Lead by example, and provide your self-assessment. As you do this, here are some things to consider:

What assets are you managing?

How are you managing them?

Are you squandering them, or are you in a good position for when the owner returns and wants an account of what you have done with what you’ve been given?

What changes can you make, to move your performance up a level?

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