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Posts Tagged ‘Personal Growth’

Intentional Leadership — D4, W3, M8 — Change

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on August 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

More journal time, today! Spend some time thinking, and writing, about the pitfalls of resisting change or the effects of being so confident in your strengths that you fail to adapt to change (remember Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There!).

I believe it was Peter Drucker who suggested that the only way to manage change successfully was to create it. Essentially, we are more likely to have better outcomes when we are the ones instigating and driving the change.

Based on your experience, do you agree or disagree with this thought?

Why?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W3, M8 — Change

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on August 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever worked in a company that was failing in some way – production, safety, financially? If so, and if the company made it through that crisis, you were likely helped through the transformation by a change agent.

A change agent is someone who sees how things should be – especially in terms of human performance potential and organizational systems – and acts on behalf of the group/company to enact the changes that will make things better.

Sounds simple, right? Simple, yes. Easy, no!

Over the past 5 years, I’ve worked with two companies that were going through significant turn-around processes and both were helped along the way by change agents, although the styles and areas of focus of these individuals were amazingly different, both were effective – at least in the short-term – of turning the business around.

On a more personal level, I have been blessed to have connected with a number of change agents throughout the course of my life; mentors and teachers and coaches, who have offered me the benefit of their experience, wisdom, and insights, which have allowed me to develop a new perspective on my world, potential, and future.

Of course, those were the positive or enjoyable change agent experiences; I’ve had my share of the not-so-delightful ones, as well. But the point is, I’ve learned, stretched, changed, and grown because of them.

What has your experience with change agents been? Today, I encourage you to spend some time in reflection on a specific change agent from your past. What characteristics or qualities did they possess that made them a good change agent? What behaviors did they demonstrate?

Write down your observations in your journal and give some considerations to how you meet the criteria you’ve just outlined.

What are your strengths in this area?

What areas could you be working on to improve your effectiveness as a change agent?

After you’ve thought this through, and written down your thoughts, choose three characteristics and/or behaviors that you could model when you face change today. Write them down on something you can carry with you, and refer to them throughout the day.

At the end of the day, spend a few minutes in reflection with your journal, noting what happened, how you acted, reacted, or responded, and what the outcomes were.

How can you grow from this experience tomorrow?

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W3, M8 — Change

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on August 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Have you heard the saying that sometimes our strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses? It’s true. You see, sometimes we rely so heavily on our strengths that we use them in a super-concentrated fashion, which isn’t necessarily effective. Or, we might rely on them so much that we forget we need to work on them to keep them sharp, and our performance falters.

Over the past several years, I’ve worked in several manufacturing environments in which I’ve been exposed to the Kaizen process. Kaizen is often included in lean manufacturing processes as a way to simply and fine-tune how people do their work. It has been very successful in Japanese companies. Essentially, Kaizen focuses on making continuous, incremental improvements or changes. It’s effective because of its focus on small changes. As you are no doubt aware, when faced with a big change, we are often daunted, overwhelmed, fearful. Small changes don’t seem to evoke the same levels of stress and fear.

So, consider how this approach might be applied to you. What if you took a Kaizen approach to growing and improving in your areas of strength, learning or strengthening new skills, and more clearly defining your strategy and action plans?

Do you think you could implement this kind of approach to your personal growth?

What benefits might you enjoy?

Would you be less likely to be caught unaware when the winds of change blow in your direction?

Let’s put it into action and find out. Today, pick a strength, skill, or strategy to which you could make small, incremental changes to each day over the next week. Track your activities and your progress each day.

Consider this, if you can make a 1% improvement each week, you would have improved your performance by 52% over the course of the year! That’s huge! Take it one step farther…what if you could improve by 1% each day…that would be a 365% improvement over the course of the year! Again, monumental change, but made in small, doable steps.

I can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with and what your results are!

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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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Intentional Leadership — D3, W4, M7 –Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2013| 2 Comments »

You know what’s coming next, don’t you? Now that you have three people identified who share your values and may be capable of carrying on your legacy, it’s time to take action.

Today, meet with one of the people you’d like to invest in and begin to develop an action plan for intentionally developing him/her…think about relationship building, what training and mentoring they might need, what kinds of experiences do they need to have, and how you can instill your vision in them. What steps do you need to take to help them understand your vision and help prepare them to carry on your legacy?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W3, M5 — Passion

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I am loving this month’s topic — Passion! I would say, of the topics we have covered so far, this is the one I feel most aligned with, as I have been giving myself permission to recognize, express, revel, and demonstrate my passion much more openly over the past 18 months. In fact, with the self-assessment we did earlier this week, I can honestly say I’m between 8-10 on most of the measures. It feels good.

What about you? We’re just about to start week four of our fifth month of this intentional leadership journey (how is that really possible?!!)…which topic has resonated with you the most, so far? Which one do you need to spend more time and energy on? Personally, I need to spend more time on focus. I know what I need to be doing, but I don’t always stick with my schedule and stay as focused as I would like; so I continue to work on that.

Now it’s time for our Friday ritual! It’s a holiday weekend, at least for those of us in the US. One might imagine it would change the way you’ve looked at this weekend, since many take the opportunity of a day off to extend their weekend and go on trips. We are staying home this Memorial Day weekend; last year, we spent it exploring Baltimore’s inner harbor — that was a really fun trip!

For the weekend, I will attend a birthday party with my son. I see this as a good opportunity to get to know some of the other parents better. I will get more sleep (have been running short for a couple of weeks now), maybe even make the time to watch a movie (that would be decadent!).

You see, as I am so focused these days on moving more deeply into my passion area, I typically spend most of my free time pursuing it in some fashion — reading, working on growth plans, going through John Maxwell curriculum, developing new materials for workshops, teaching opportunities, and mentoring…I don’t spend much time on what is typical “fun”…but what I do spend my time on is truly fun for me.

In fact, I will be working on lesson 2 of the Empowerment Mentoring program, all about being in one’s comfort zone…sounds cozy, but if you are interested in growth, it’s not a good place to hang out!

What about you? What’s on the agenda for your weekend and the coming week?

Who will you share your time and attention with? How will you spend your energy?

And are you thinking about the coming weeks? I’m headed to Guatemala in a few weeks, to teach Transformational Leadership with John Maxwell and our amazing team…so I have some homework to do — learning about the culture and the people, etc…

As always, no shortage of opportunities or demands on your time and attention, I’m sure. I hope this journey is helping you to invest your time and attention more intentionally. After all, this is the only life we get!

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

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Empowerment Mentoring — Follow up

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

If you weren’t able to join us on the Empowerment Mentoring Orientation call last night (14 May 2103), but are interested in listening to the recording, send me an email or leave a comment and I’ll send you the link.

If you’re interested in transforming your life, you want to be in this process with us!

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Join me for a Free Call on Empowerment Mentoring Program

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As you know, I’ve been preparing to roll out a new mentoring program, and the time has finally come! It is called Empowerment Mentoring, and it is designed to empower you to really focus on where you’re headed and what you need to do to design the life you want to lead and move — with greater self-awareness and intentionality — proactively into your future.

As you know, I’m really passionate about the work I do; there’s nothing more energizing and exciting to me than working with and seeing people like you experience the life-changing “aha!” moments, gain new insights, reach new levels of understanding, and see your life — and its many possibilities — in new ways.

Empowerment Mentoring is a powerful program, and your life will not be the same once you get started.

Join me tomorrow night (Tuesday 14 May) at 7 PM EDT for this free orientation call. I will give you a preview of the material through a 15-minute teaching on the Purpose, Vision, Goals lesson. I will provide an overview of how the program will work, and answer any questions you might have.

I will also, this one time only, extend the discount I offered last week. If you participate in this orientation call and enroll in the program by midnight (EDT) 15 May, you may register for $597 for the full six-month program. I offer a 30-day money back guarantee, so what do you have to lose?

Here is the dial-in information:
559-726-1200
Code 569934

This is through Freeconferencing.com; if you dial from a landline, you may be subject to long-distance charges; if you dial from a cell, you may be subject to minutes charges (obviously, this depends on what kind of phone plans you have). This call will be recorded. If you aren’t able to attend the orientation call, but want to listen, send me a note and I’ll send you a link.

You may call through Skype, following these instructions:

  • Log-in to Skype
  • Select menu option “Contacts/Add Contact”
  • Add the SKYPE name: freeconferencing.5597261200 as the contact name
  • Select “CALL” button to begin dialing. To show the dial pad on Skype, click on “call” in the top menu bar and “show dial pad” or select the dial pad located in the bottom menu bar below dialing screen
  • You will need to enter the access code

NOTE: There is a risk in using Skype in that calls are sometimes dropped (less likely if you pay for Skype premium).

Please share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested!

I look forward to “seeing” you on the call tomorrow night at 7.

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M5 — Passion

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on May 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Another week has gone whizzing past, for me, at least! How was yours?

Productive and fulfilling, I hope.

Today is going to be an amazing, busy, brain-stretching, new connections kind of day. Today is Chick-Fil-A Leadercast day! I am sponsoring the event at the University of Charleston and I’m so excited — this is my PASSION! Leadership, personal growth, communication, connection with friends old and new and clients old and “to-be”! Today is going to have it all!

And, I’m officially rolling out the Empowerment Mentoring Program today. It’s a great program; if you haven’t checked into it, yet, you should. It might have something for you. Click here for more info, or click onto the Mentoring page of this site.

Having shared all of that, where are you at on this first Friday of our fifth month of the Intentional Leadership journey? What are you learning about yourself and your passion?

And what do you have on tap for the weekend? Have you given it any thought…planned ahead?

It’s somewhat warm, humid, and rainy as I write this, and I am so looking forward to this weekend.

I’m really thinking about rest and family time this weekend. I’ve had a lot going on over the past six weeks, and with these last couple of big events having come and gone, I can slow down briefly.

What about you? What’s on your list this weekend?

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 thoughts do you have about the level of focus you are applying to your life?

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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