Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Planning’

Intentional Leadership – D5, W4, M1 – Weekend Prep – Vision

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

This is becoming our Friday routine. Did you anticipate it?

As we come to the end of this first month on our Intentional Leadership journey, will you spend some time in reflection of the work you’ve done over the past week and consider how it’s going?

Are you ahead of me this week and already have your weekend thought out?

How much rest do you need this weekend?

How much – and what kind of – activity do you need?

Who can you spend time with that will encourage, nurture, stimulate, support you?

Who needs some of your time and attention?

What do you need to do for yourself this weekend — to relax, refresh, reflect, reinvigorate?

What do you need to do to prepare yourself for a great start to next week, preparing for Monday?

As is my norm, I don’t have the time scheduled, but have a few things I know I need to attend to:

I need to get more sleep this weekend than I have been.

I will spend time reading, playing, and doing homework with my son.

I will read at least an hour of something fun and an hour of something on growth.

I will spend at least two hours working through curriculum in the John Maxwell Online University and at least two hours on business accounting.

I will call my parents. I will respond to some personal emails. I will handwrite a couple of letters — one to a mentor and one to an old roommate (I confess to not completing this task last weekend).

And I will prepare for Monday…as we all know, Monday is going to arrive; it always does. I know I feel better when I’ve given some thought to how I want it to be.

Again, what thought are you giving to things you have planned or need to prepare for or complete in the coming months?

On Monday, we will begin month two of our Intentional Leadership Journey, and our focus will shift from Vision to Relationships.

Remember, success comes from taking steps and doing work each and every day, consistently over time. You’ll see the benefits of your efforts if you are persistent and consistent.

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

Read Full Post »

Intentional Leadership — D2, W4, M1 — Vision

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

Today, we’re going to take some time to evaluate our effectiveness related to defining and communicating our vision.

Take a few minutes to reflect on these components and and rate your effectiveness:

Remember, 1 = weak and 10 = strong.

How well are you able to cast and define a vision for your team/organization?

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

How well can you explain your vision — simply and concisely — to your team/organization?

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

How effective are you at communicating the vision over time?

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

How well do you link goals, milestones, and strategy to your vision?

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

How do you rate your employees’ level of commitment to your vision?

WEAK  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  STRONG

How honest were you with yourself in assessing your effectiveness above? Following this assessment, what areas of vision definition, communication, and reinforcement do you need to spend more time and energy on?

What resources do you need to grow in your weaker areas (books, mentors, experts, outside perspectives, focused practice)?

What are you risking if you do not improve? How could that affect your team and organization?

We are coming close to the end of month one, focused on vision. If you have work to do in this area, time is of the essence!

“See” you tomorrow!

Read Full Post »

Intentional Leadership — Weekend Prep — D5, W3, M1 — Vision

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

This is becoming our Friday routine. Did you anticipate it?

Are you ahead of this post and already have your weekend thought out?

As we come to the end of this third week on our Intentional Leadership journey, will you spend some time in reflection of the work you’ve done over the past week and how it’s going?

What about giving some thought to how you will spend the weekend?

Who do you need to spend time with?

Who needs to spend time with you?

What do you need to do for yourself this weekend — to relax, refresh, reflect, reinvigorate?

What do you need to do to prepare yourself for a great start to next week, preparing for Monday?

We have a play date to make Valentine cards for my son’s Kindergarten class.

I will read at least an hour of something fun and an hour of something on growth.

I will call my parents. I will respond to some personal emails. I will handwrite a couple of letters — one to a mentor and one to an old roommate.

I will spend at least two hours working through curriculum in the John Maxwell Online University and at least two hours on business accounting.

And I will spend some time preparing for Monday.

As we all know, Monday is going to arrive; it always does. Won’t it feel much better to be ready for it?

Again, what thought are you giving to things you have planned or need to prepare for or complete in the coming months?

On Monday, we will begin week four of our Intentional Leadership Journey.

Remember, success comes from taking steps and doing work each and every day, consistently over time. You’ll see the benefits of your efforts if you are persistent and consistent.

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

Read Full Post »

Trumpeting the Vision — D4, W3, M1 — Intentional Leadership — Vision

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As we near the end of the week, let’s work on the communication plan you began to think about yesterday.

If you haven’t gotten that far, why not start with a plan for the next month?

Again, you’ll need to define the key messages — what do your people really need to hear, know and understand?

When do they need to know? Creating key messages tied to your key milestones will help you lay out your timeline.

What vehicles can you use to spread the word? Remember, anything printed or visual needs to be a secondary or even tertiary form of communication — reinforcing messages you’ve already shared in person. After all, if something is really important, shouldn’t your team/organization hear about it first from you? Then you can use memo’s, newsletters, posters, and other visual communication tools to reinforce what you have shared in person.

Define how you will reinforce the actions and behaviors you need your people to take and demonstrate.

Give some thought to the celebrations you will have (they don’t need to be super-spectacular spectacles!) as your team/organization reaches those critical, initial milestones.

Be sure to put all of these things on your calendar. As you know, if you haven’t made it a priority and blocked out the time to take care of it, all that other daily stuff will become your priority. It will be easy to get to the end of the month and realize you haven’t accomplished all you wanted to — so take the time to schedule your actions now.

Create your vision.

Articulate it simply.

Share your passion for it.

Demonstrate your own commitment to reaching it.

Reinforce the behaviors you see in others striving for it, as well.

Drive to completion.

Celebrate along the way.

Read Full Post »

Trumpeting the Vision — D3, W3, M1 — Intentional Leadership — Vision

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2013| Leave a Comment »

So, what did you learn yesterday about the communication methods you are using to share your vision?

Spend some time today to reflect on what you’ve learned, what it means, and what you now need to do to communicate your vision more consistently and effectively, so it sticks, with your team/organization.

Is it time to refine your vision statement more clearly and simply?

Have you clearly articulated the “Why” behind your vision? What’s the compelling reason for you to strive for it? What will happen to your team/organization if you don’t reach it?

If you haven’t heard this already, it might be helpful to know that the most popular radio station in the world is WII FM (or What’s In It For Me?). You need to be able to help your people make the personal connection between themselves as individuals–then the team, then the organization–to your vision. If you can do this effectively, you will be way ahead of the game. And the way to do this is to really get to know your people, what inspires them? What motivates them? What do they want to do, be, or have more of?

Do you need to put different benchmarks in place to measure your progress along the path to your vision? If so, what are they? And what are the key milestones you will need to reach along the way?

Once the measurements have been clearly defined, how will you celebrate when you reach them? And how will you reward your team members for their efforts?

Next, it’s time to thoughtfully map out your communication plan: Audience, Key Messages, Vehicles (primary and secondary), Timing, Owner, Outcome, Status, and Review. Successful leader-communicators consistently spend 80% of their time (with respect to communication) planning the communication and only 20% actually communicating. While it may seem counter-intuitive because it’s so easy to open our mouths and speak, truly effective communication does not just happen!

Your plan is nearly finished! Now, outline the key action steps needed to implement the plan, including who owns each action, what the expected deadlines are, and what the outcomes should be.

Now that you have an initial draft of your plan put together, who can you ask to review it? Find a trusted advisor or mentor and ask for their candid feedback before you take the plan to your team/organization.

It may sound like a lot of time-consuming effort, but I promise you the time you spend thoughtfully considering and planning your work will pay off in the end, with a more thorough, thoughtful, carefully crafted approach and it will show in the results.

Read Full Post »

Intentional Leadership — W2, Day 5 (M1) Vision

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

And it’s Friday, again. Did you take the challenge last week of planning for your weekend?

How did it work out?

What are your plans for this weekend?

As we come to the end of this second week on our Intentional Leadership journey, it’s time, again, to think about how we will spend the weekend. If you are like many, you will heave a sigh of relief of having made it through another whirlwind, hectic week.

I’m here to encourage you — again — to think about your weekends differently and consider the value to be enjoyed by thoughtfully planning how you will spend the time. As you do that, consider how you want to feel on Monday and take the steps necessary over the weekend to set yourself up for success with that.

As I said last week, it’s not my natural tendency to plan for the weekend unless traveling, but I’m trying it out. So, here’s what’s on my list:

I will take my son to arts & crafts, then on to the crafts store to buy supplies so he can make homemade Valentine’s for his Kindergarten class (I’m no Martha Stewart — there’s an easy to follow pattern in the latest issue of Parents magazine). If the snow that’s predicted actually comes, I’m sure we will spend considerable time playing in it!

I will make cranberry pot roast for dinner — mmmm yummy! Again, good food, nice dinner time, and cooking is very relaxing for me!

I will read at least an hour of something fun and an hour of something on growth.

I will call my parents. I will respond to some personal emails.

I will spend at least two hours working through curriculum in the John Maxwell Online University and at least two hours on business accounting.

And I will spend some time preparing for Monday.

As we all know, Monday is going to arrive; it always does. Won’t it feel much better to be ready for it?

Then take some time to think about the big things you have planned in the coming weeks and review your planner to ensure you have the time set aside to prepare for and meet whatever those commitments are.

Thank you for accompanying me on this journey — we have now finished month one – week two, of our Intentional Leadership Journey. Remember, success comes from taking steps and doing work each and every day, consistently over time. You’ll see the benefits of your efforts if you are persistent and consistent.

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

Read Full Post »

Intentional Leadership – Day 5 (M1, W1) Vision

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ah, another Friday! Are you prepared for the weekend?

As we come to the end of this first week on our Intentional Leadership journey, it’s time to think about how we will spend the weekend. If you are like many, you will heave a sigh of relief of having made it through another whirlwind, hectic week.

Would it surprise you to know that some people actually thoughtfully plan for the weekends – before the weekend arrives? It’s true!

I must confess, I’m not one of them – at least not 99% of the time. If we plan to go somewhere for the weekend, I am more mindful about the need to plan the time; it’s kind of a requirement when traveling with small children. But, if we are staying home for the weekend, I don’t plan, much to the frustration of my husband.

Oh, I do have a list in my mind of the various things I need to accomplish, errands that need to be run, and chores to complete, but I definitely don’t have a schedule mapped out. And, no surprise to anyone, I’m sure, many Sunday evenings arrive when I still have a bunch of things I did not get done. You know what they say about having good intentions…The good news (for me, at least!) is I’m aware of this pattern of behavior, which gives me the opportunity to rethink it and experiment with new processes that may provide a smoother rhythm to my and my family’s life.

What do you say we try another tactic on this journey we are on?

What if we thought about the weekend differently going forward?

What if we were intentional about defining our needs for the weekend and making time to meet them?

For example, if you work a traditional Monday-Friday schedule, the weekend is typically a time for rest, for fun, for spending with family. How much more satisfied would you feel on Sunday evenings if you actually approached the weekend with these needs in mind, with a plan?

Let’s start this week and see how it goes, ok?

I will meet family time by taking my son to an arts & crafts class, working on his homework, watching at least one episode of Blues Clues, and reading, at a minimum.

I will cook a turkey dinner for my husband, for the two of us to enjoy after he returns from hiking with a friend. This will serve double duty…with the cold, gray weather we’ve been having, I’m craving comfort food and cooking is very relaxing for me!

I will read at least an hour of something fun and an hour of something on growth.

I will call my parents. I will respond to some personal emails.

And I will spend some time preparing for Monday.

This is important! You know Monday is going to arrive; it always does. Take some time to think about how you want to feel on Monday, and what you need to do to feel prepared to start your new week off on a positive foot. Then take the steps over the weekend to set yourself up for success.

Finally, have you given much thought to the big things you have planned in the coming weeks? Are they in your planner? It’s been proven by so many people before us: Successful people are intentional, planning their time focused on their priorities. It’s a simple enough process, but requires focus and commitment. Are you ready for that? If not, get your calendar out and write it down.

Congratulations on making it through month one – week one, of the Intentional Leadership Journey. Next week we’ll focus on Seeing the Bigger Picture.

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

Read Full Post »

What’s your growth plan for 2013?

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2013| 2 Comments »

If you are reading this, you are probably already aware that growth doesn’t just happen – it’s intentional.

Knowing that, what’s your growth plan for this year? What do you want to learn? What do you want to know more about? What new skill would you like to develop? What new experience do you want to have?

These are all important questions to ask yourself. More important are the answers. Even more important is how will you address them? What is your plan for achieving those things you long for?

What is your plan for achieving those things you long for?

Remember, hope is not a strategy!

Making a resolution is not a strategy!

If you are serious about achieving your goals – and have experienced any kind of success in your life previously – you know that you must have a plan, and you must take specific action steps, and you must reflect on your process, and then make adjustments along your journey.

I have a plan; here it is:

  • I will spend no less than 2 hours weekly working my way through the amazing curriculum offered by the John Maxwell Team University (leadership philosophy, coaching, marketing and sales, business building, and so much more).
  • I will participate in a minimum of 4 hours of the mentorship calls each week (this is a resource I am still amazed to have access to through JMT). 
  • I will facilitate a minimum of 6 Mastermind Groups covering a variety of topics of growth, leadership and personal development, and how to reach higher levels of performance in whatever you choose to do.
  • I will spend a full week learning with the John Maxwell Team in February. Nothing like full immersion learning with ~500 others who share my passion!
  • I will intentionally teach someone something new at least 5 days a week; after all, teaching is the best way to really internalize something you are learning.
  • I will research and complete at least one other seminar, program or workshop – topic yet to be determined.
  • I will work with a professional performance coach, whose sole focus is supporting my success in whatever I strive to achieve.
  • I will learn from my coaching clients and Mastermind participants.
  • I will read at least 30 minutes every day.

Here’s my reading list (as I know it right this moment – I tend to fit a lot of other material in as I discover it!):

  • Think and Grow Rich
  • Put Your Dream to the Test
  • Off Balance
  • Failing Forward
  • 5 Levels of Leadership
  • Smart Trust
  • Crucial Conversations
  • Outliers
  • One Small Barking Dog
  • The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
  • Go for Gold
  • Leadership Gold
  • Credibility
  • Platform
  • Standout
  • The Advantage
  • Thinkertoys

I will re-read:

  • Today Matters
  • The Rhythm of Life
  • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (at least twice!)
  • The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth (at least twice!)
  • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
  • The Three Signs of a Miserable Job

And as I read, I will make notes, I will file deep thoughts, I will deliberately note the things I will Apply, Change, and Teach (ACT tool). Based on experience, I know these books will lead me to other books and materials, so I will follow the bread crumbs as they appear.

Of course, I know where I desire to grow, but I also know that along the way opportunities and needs to grow in unanticipated areas and ways will emerge in my life. And while I know I will find myself in some uncomfortable places, I will do my best to welcome the discomfort because I know it means I’m on the right path – to growth, to a better version of myself, to greater fulfillment.

So what’s your plan? How will you achieve it? How will you hold yourself accountable to your commitments? How will you respond when you encounter the enormous boulder in your path – will you allow it to derail you, or will you take a deep breath, consider the situation, reaffirm your desire, and access the creative genius in you that will show you the way through?

How will you respond when you encounter the enormous boulder in your path – will you allow it to derail you, or will you take a deep breath, consider the situation, reaffirm your desire, and access the creative genius in you that will show you the way through?

Here’s a hint: If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen! If you are truly committed, focused, and driven, you will block out the time, plan your work and work your plan.

I welcome your calls if you need a coach to help you on your journey, and I look forward to hearing your stories…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Another simple, yet powerful question

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , on January 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

So often, as we consider various actions and options, we ask “Can I?”

I don’t know about you, but I find that to be a very limiting question. It assumes there is a yes or a no answer. Are you able or are you not? Do you have permission, resources, etc…?

It’s very black and white. I have come to realize that I prefer to live more in the gray areas. You know, those places where the answer to most questions is “It depends,” because there are so many variables to consider.

What if we changed the question to “How can I?”

How can I?

Asking “how can I?” assumes that whatever you want to do is, in fact, possible. It may take some focused brainpower, some innovation, some reflection, some consideration of ideas you may not have wanted to pursue…it may take you to some uncomfortable places and cause you to need to learn something new…but, it assumes whatever you want to do is possible.

In the early 1990’s, I was single, lived alone in a small, one-bedroom apartment, and worked in a credit union. I had been looking at and wanting some furniture — a sofa and oversized chair and ottoman — for several years, but never felt I could afford. One day, I was in the furniture store’s clearance center and saw one of the chairs there. I sent me into a brief panic, thinking that line was being closed out and would no longer be available when I eventually felt I could afford to buy it.

For several years, I had been looking at purchasing this furniture in the “can I?” mode.

I was suddenly very motivated to do some real research. I discovered it wasn’t being closed out; I could still order it. I discovered when the next significant sale would be. I worked out a plan to have the pieces I wanted delivered to a location near where I lived (the store I was shopping in was nearly 4 hours from my home), and found someone with a truck and trailer who could pick it up. I spent a lot of time considering my finances and what I was willing to do differently with respect to spending and saving and planning.

I had shifted gears into “how can I?” mode. And this made all the difference.

I’m not saying it happened overnight, was easy, and required no sacrifice on my part, but it happened. Several months after seeing the chair in the clearance center, I was lounging comfortably on my new sofa, next to my beautiful oversized chair, which just barely fit into my tiny apartment. I loved that furniture til the day I donated it to a local mission a number of years later (big changes in my life, resulted in new furniture needs!).

I realize this is a pretty simplistic — and insignificant — example of how using this question can change your perspective, your ingenuity, your creativity, and your outcomes, but it represents the concept well enough, I think.

Let me know how asking “HOW can I?” is changing your life.

Read Full Post »

Defining success…and what it’s worth

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , , , , on September 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I have a lot of conversations with friends, clients, colleagues, and sometimes even strangers, about what success means to them. These are educated, motivated, hard-working, individuals who would appear — from the outside and based on what society seems to define as success — to be successful. They hold good jobs in interesting fields, earn good salaries, live in nice places, are able to vacation, wear nice clothes, etc…

Frequently, however, I find that when I ask them what success means to them, they don’t have an answer. For some, it is money, nice house, nice car, latest fashion, ability to mingle with all the “right” people, attend the “right” events…for others, it’s just the opposite. They want to be successful, but struggle with the idea that it means all of the material things, with which they are uncomfortable.

This topic got me thinking about a wedding I was in nearly 20 years ago. I lived nearly 1200 miles from the bride (a dear friend from 4th grade!) and groom, so I knew only one other person in the bridal party (also a friend since 4th grade). Not too long after the wedding, my friend shared a story about one of the groomsmen and his wife. He worked in sales and I believe she was a homemaker. They had a couple of kids, big, nice house (no small feat in Southern California, even 20 years ago), new cars…all the great things money could buy, right? They were getting divorced. The wife was complaining that the husband was never home, didn’t help with the kids, didn’t pay enough attention to her, didn’t do things around the house, etc. You’ve heard this story, right? Turns out, it was true…but why? Well, his response was, “I have to work these kinds of hours to earn the money to pay for all this stuff!” So, while he earned a nice living and could afford to keep them in style, he couldn’t be home to share and enjoy any of it. In the end, it cost his marriage and his family. Was it worth it? Only they can answer that question, but from my perspective, probably not!

Further along this train of thought, I think about how there are so many in our society caught up in this kind of a mess…working hard to earn money for nice houses, cars, things, and when we earn more money, we aren’t satisfied with what we already have, so we upgrade…and then we have to keep working harder and longer hours to make more money to support all the stuff that we no longer have the time or energy to enjoy!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be on that train! I’m rethinking and redefining what success means to me. Success is a relative thing, though. What works for one person or family may not work for the next person.

Now, I’m not saying making a good living is a bad thing. I want to earn a decent living, to provide for my family, live comfortably, know that I can cover a major car repair or other unexpected event, take a vacation once in a while, and also splurge on frivolous things once in a while. I also want enough money to be able to give it away to people and causes that touch my heart and make me want to be a better person. I want time to be creative outside of work, to spend with my family, to read good books, take long walks, have deep conversations with friends old and new. Yes, I want things money can buy, and so much more that money has no bearing on.

The good news is: You get to decide. You get to define what success means to you and what you’re willing to pay for it. You are the person who needs to be comfortable and satisfied with the decisions you make and the actions you take each day.

In the book The Rhythm of Life, author Matthew Kelly encourages the reader to define what he or she wants from life. In fact, he says being able to answer that question is far more important than anything else he will write in the rest of the book, so put the book down and come back to it after you’ve figured it out…This is on page 12 of the book! I’ve shared this with quite a few people since I read it a few months ago, and I still don’t know if any of them have made it past page 12.

What does success mean to you?

What is it worth to you? What are you willing to give in exchange?

I encourage you to take the time to really think this through. Allow yourself the freedom to define it on your own terms; liberate yourself from the expectations and pressure of the outside world. Be true to yourself and those you love.

As many of us have probably experienced, if we don’t define it, someone will do it for us…and we will wake up one day, look around, and think: “How on earth did I get here? What is all this stuff? I didn’t want this…”

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »