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Posts Tagged ‘Focus’

Intentional Leadership — D5, W3, M12 — Belief

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

As we end this third week of our focus on belief, I find myself in a new and exciting place…one in which I am breaking through some formerly self-limiting beliefs about who I am, where I’m headed and what I’m capable of. Let’s say I’m conducting an experiment in stepping forward into my beliefs and testing the waters to see if my beliefs are valid. Only time will tell, but let’s say it’s been a good week, with a lot of exciting and intriguing things on the horizon.

I have given myself a bit of a break this week; although I’ve been doing some work, I’ve also allowed myself more “leisure” time. Truth be told, I’ve been  so much more focused that I’ve accomplished a number of things in my new office so much faster than I’ve experienced in previous environments, I’ve surprised myself. I don’t know about you, but I believe the physical and emotional environment is critical in terms of being conducive to productivity, and this new space is proving that out, especially in comparison to other environments I’ve been in.

So, as I approach this weekend, I have a mix of work and play on my mind. I will enjoy some creative and festive activities with family, and I will continue to polish my presentation for a speaking engagement I have on Monday. I need to spend a little more time and energy engaged with family members who are on the west coast. And I need to work on my schedule for the coming weeks.

What will you do with your weekend?

What is calling for your attention?

With whom do you need to spend some time?

What do you need to do to prepare for next week, the coming holidays and the new year?

However you choose to spend it, I hope you are intentional.

We will begin our fourth and final week of discussion on Belief on Monday. It’s hard to believe this will be our final week of this Intentional Leadership journey — at least in the structured way thru which we’ve been working these past 12 months. Rest assured, my focus on leadership and growth will not wane, but we will take a new approach in the coming months.

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W3, M11 — Initiative

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

Spend some time with your journal today. Here’s the exercise:

Identify a long-term project for which you are responsible. Reflect on what you’ve been learning over the past couple of weeks and use those lessons to build a plan for taking initiative with your project. Write it out…

If you already have a plan in place, how can you integrate some of the recent lessons to make adjustments to it?

As this month’s focus is initiative, I must encourage you to take action! What steps can you take in the next couple of days to get started or move to the next level?

What actions could you take now that will smooth the path and make the project easier over time?

How would getting some of the key tasks completed help you to see ahead more clearly?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W2, M11 — Initiative

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

What are you discovering this month, with our focus on Initiative? Are you often the initiator or do you wait for others to take the lead?

Will you take initiative on something this weekend that you’ve been putting off?

What do you have planned for your weekend?

I’m looking forward to some rest, some reading, planning for the Igniting Souls Conference next week in Dublin, Ohio, and family time.

As you prepare for your weekend, consider these questions:

Who really need your attention this weekend? You? Family? Friends? People you’ve not yet met?

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

What is on your calendar in the coming weeks, and on your mind, that you need to prepare for, set aside time for, think about?

Set yourself up for success and plan for those things…otherwise, all those distractions (aka real life!) will take you off on some detours.

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

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Intentional Leadership — D1, W2, M11 — Initiative

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on October 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

What does it take to get something started?

You’re probably aware of Newton’s Law of Motion:

A body at rest tends to stay at rest, unless an external force acts upon it…

It takes initiative. It takes gumption. It takes someone making the decision to act, and then demonstrating the discipline to do it.

If it was the space shuttle, it took 1.5 million pounds of fuel in the first 10 seconds to accelerate the space shuttle from zero to 18,000 miles per hour to reach orbit. My son tells me that on a diesel locomotive, it often takes two engines, and even when at rest, the engineers will leave one of them idling, because it takes a lot to get one started and running.

It’s a decision to act. It’s the discipline to do it. Leaders understand this. They recognize what it takes to get a project started well and they focus on doing so, as they understand this is what it takes to gain momentum and keep the project moving in the right direction.

It’s a little disconnected, but I enjoy doing needlework. While I would prefer to just jump right in and start stitching, I force myself to follow a routine of preparation, which serves me well in the long run, because otherwise my project supplies (and the end product) would be a mess. So, I make a copy of the pattern, so I can write on it to keep track of what I’ve done and what comes next. I sort all the embroidery floss (threads) so I can find the colors I need quickly. I stretch the fabric on a frame to keep it taut while I work it, and it allows me to focus in on the part I’m working on, rather than having a huge piece of linen to deal with.

As a leader, paying attention to getting off to a good start and building momentum then allows them to fine-tune the direction their teams need to take to maximize progress toward the goal.

As we begin week two of our focus on initiative, take some time to think about and answer these questions:

Think back to a project you’ve led that went well. What initiative did you take to get started?

How did you build momentum?

How did you sustain that momentum?

What was the outcome?

Contrast that to a project that didn’t begin well…What happened?

What can you learn from these experiences to carry forward?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W2, M10 — Strategy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2013| 5 Comments »

Another week gone by…the air is crisp in the mornings, soft in the evenings, and the leaves are turning amazingly beautiful colors. I love this time of year! I hope wherever you are on this Friday morning, you are surrounded by beauty as well.

It’s been a full week for me, with several coaching and mentoring sessions, working on developing some meeting/workshop agendas and materials, and planning for some lessons I will teach next week around self-awareness, intentionality, influence, connection, communication, personal styles, conflict resolution, and relationship building.

I will spend time over the weekend continuing to prepare for those upcoming lessons/workshops, as well as having fun with my family attending a local annual festival. In addition, I need to read John Maxwell’s newest book: Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn. John will officially launch this new book next Thursday, October 10, via two live webcasts (one at 4 PM EDT and one at 9 PM EDT), accompanied by special guests, Dave Ramsey and Nick Vujicic. You are welcome to attend; you don’t want to miss it! Here’s the link (webcast.johnmaxwell.com).

I will be following up on the webcast by offering a Mastermind Group (facilitated in-depth study) on the book, so if you’re interested in joining us, connect with me via comment, email, phone, or Facebook.

Further, my weekend will include some time and focus invested in the three areas of discipline I’ve committed to work on through the Maxwell Plan for Growth: exercise – yoga at least three times per week; writing – a minimum of 15 minutes a day, in addition to this blog; and getting more intentional about budgeting.

What are you doing with your weekend?

Whom do you need to connect with, nurture, spend time with?

What do you need to do to nurture yourself?

What can you do to prepare yourself for a great start to next week?

What can you do to set yourself up for success in the coming weeks and months?

Enjoy your weekend; I hope however you choose to spend it, you’re intentional about it.

“See” you Monday!

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M10 — Strategy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2013| 2 Comments »

Good morning and Happy Friday! It’s been a great week for me; I’ve been productive and focused and moving forward. This progress didn’t simply happen, and it certainly wasn’t immediate. It’s taken a lot of work over many days, weeks, months, and I am building momentum. It feels great! So nice to be centered in my purpose, operating in my passion zone, and focused on what matters most.

So, as I prepare for my weekend, I know exactly what I need to focus on: First, family time. I think we need a field trip to the farmer’s market or the WV Zoo (yes, I was surprised to discover this, but apparently there is a zoo in WV). Second, preparation for a couple of workshops I have booked  mid-October — one focused on communication fundamentals and one on Laws of Growth and Laws of Leadership. Third, catch up on bookkeeping. Fourth, some reading, writing, and studying. Oh, and yoga!

Next week, I will spend time planning for an upcoming team building and communication workshop, hold several coaching appointments, and prepare for a new Mastermind Group on John Maxwell’s newest book (to be launched October 10th with a live webcast — more on this in a separate post) Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn.

You know what’s coming next, right?

What’s your plan for the weekend?

Whom do you need to spend time with?

What do you need to do for yourself?

Do you need to focus on work, learning, projects, or rest?

What do you need to do to prepare yourself for success on Monday, in the coming weeks, and even months?

How much better do you feel when you are intentional about how you spend your weekend time and how you prepare for the coming days and weeks?

I would love to hear if you are following this practice and what affects it’s having on your life.

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W4, M9 — Attitude

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on September 20, 2013| 2 Comments »

It’s Friday, again, and these four weeks of focus on attitude are coming to an end.

As we begin this weekend, what’s on your list?

Who do you need to spend time with this weekend?

What do you need to do for yourself this weekend?

What do you need to do to prepare for Monday, the coming week, and the weeks beyond?

My weekend will be similar to many…some writing, family time, a little more rest, and preparation for some upcoming teaching and the next Empowerment Mentoring Lesson — Drama this week, and reflection time.

It’s been a full but quick week. Several coaching sessions, including working with my coach, a team-building/strategy session, and was blessed to teach a lesson on attitude, being present, having fun, and making someone’s day.

Whatever is on your agenda for the weekend, I encourage you to spend it intentionally!

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W3, M8 — Change

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Happy Friday! Wow! What a week, I just had. Spending time with the John Maxwell Team is all at once energizing, soul-filling, enlightening, thought-provoking, and the impetus to stretch myself, yet again, into changing the way I think and act and respond. It’s one of the few times I can say I am fully-engaged, totally “on” for 12-15 hours at a stretch, for several days in a row. When our time together comes to an end, I equate the disconnect as being similar to pulling the plug on a power cord…exhausted — but in a really satisfied way.

With that in mind, my plans for the weekend involve unpacking and lots of laundry! Reconnecting with my family, reconnecting with my normal daily schedule, prep for the next week. I will be beginning the Empowerment Mentoring series of lessons, again, (it’s a revolving series of lessons, so one does not need to start and stop on any particular lesson) on Tuesday with the Purpose, Vision, Goals lesson; will spend some time reviewing the material in preparation. Need to go through a week’s worth of mail; do some banking; and plan for next week.

Monday will be busy with a series of meetings, preparation for a full-day off-site team-building and vision workshop on Friday. Continuing some team-building and vision work with the maintenance team I’ve been working with. Have several coaching sessions scheduled, a couple of mentoring sessions, as well.

Plenty of reflection and writing to do to download everything I learned over the past week. And, of course, looking ahead to plan for September activities.

What’s on your agenda for the weekend?

What relationships need nurturing?

What time do you need to devote to yourself?

What activities would you like to fit in and how much rest do you need?

What do you need to do to prepare yourself for a great start to your week on Monday?

What do you need to be thinking about, and doing, to set yourself up for success in the coming weeks?

We will finish our month of focus on Change next week…can’t believe it’s going so quickly. So, I’ll “see” you on Monday.

In the meantime, make your time intentional!

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W2, M8 — Change

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

So, here we are, at Friday, again, and what an amazing week! Got a lot of things done; isn’t that often the case when we are pressed for time and have a lot to do? I don’t know about you, but if I have only one thing to do in a day, it takes me all day to do it; however, if I have 20 things to do in a day, you can count on me to complete most of them, or at least get them moving in the right direction if it’s not possible to complete them in a day.

But I digress, already! Today, I am in Orlando, Florida, with the John Maxwell Team for a week of training. Not just training, but reconnecting with folks I know, connecting with new members of the team (there are ~2,800 of us, and counting, from 90 countries around the globe!), refreshing some skills, learning from the Masters in the areas of coaching, speaking, leadership, communication philosophy, and Masterminding…exchanging ideas, swapping stories, getting re-energized. It will be another life-changing experience with this amazing group of people. At the end of it, I will be emotionally and spiritually recharged and excited about the future, and most likely, physically exhausted – but in a good way!

So, my weekend is full of connecting, communicating, learning, and putting the principles into practice. I will stay connected with family via email, phone, and text. I will sleep less than normal, but am committed to continuing my yoga practice.

The good news for me, in prepping for next week, is that my agenda has been defined, in many ways, by the JMT with the schedule for our learning while here in Orlando. I will, however, still lead my Empowerment Mentoring class next Tuesday, on Authentic Journaling. I can’t believe we’ve gone through the first 12 weeks of this program already (well, actually 13, as we skipped a week while I was in Guatemala). I will also meet with others engaged in Empowerment Mentoring, and with The Deeper Path Team.

I will spend time with John Maxwell, the Mentors (Paul Martinelli, Scott Fay, Roddy Galbraith, Ed DeCosta, Christian Simpson, and Melissa West), and will meet Nick Vujicic (motivational speaker and author of Life Without Limits), and reconnect with the fabulous Les Brown. What a week!

What are you up to this weekend? What have you planned that will allow you to rest, get required stuff done, nurture relationships, have fun, and set yourself up for success on Monday and in the coming weeks?

As we are focused on Change this month, what changes might you need to make in how you approach and move through your weekends that will better position you to attain what you want in your life?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M8 — Change

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Good morning, and Happy Friday! Thank you for being here, reading my thoughts…this is my 201st blog post!

Again, the week has gone quickly for me. I spent last weekend and the early part of the week in Colorado visiting my mom and sisters. Haven’t had the opportunity to do that in a long time, so it was good, but too short. Now, as this is Friday, and the next weekend is upon me, I am already planning my weekend activities, as well as those of next week.

Tomorrow, I will spend with my son and my mother-in-law who has recently come to live with us. We will travel a short distance (a little over an hour) to visit a Children’s Museum, do a little shopping, and have a lunch date. It will be good for all of us to get out, for my son to explore, imagine, and experiment with the many interactive displays and activities at The Clay Center, and for my MIL to see some more of the area.

I will also spend part of the weekend doing some writing in advance and preparing for the next lesson in my Empowerment Mentoring program, “World Famous”. I will be traveling next Thursday, for a week in Orlando with the John Maxwell Team (oh, how I love being with these amazing, energizing, up-lifting, encouraging, like-minded, growth-oriented people, literally from all over the world!). It will be a week of learning, reminiscing, growth, new experiences, deep reflection, and fellowship. It will be, easily, 12-14 hour days fully engaged; which is energizing and exhausting! Thankfully, my yoga program is portable and I can practice in my hotel room.

What’s on your list this weekend? Will you focus on you? Will you spend time with others? Exercise? Read? Write? Rest?

What do you need to do to set yourself up for success on Monday? And in the coming weeks?

However you spend it, I hope your weekend is satisfying and intentional.

“See” you Monday!

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