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Posts Tagged ‘Potential’

Intentional Leadership — D5, W4, M8 — and Wrap-up on Change

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

Dear Faithful readers: Please forgive me for missing my usual blog post on Friday, which would have been D5 of W4, of this 8th month of our Intentional Leadership journey, focused on change. Something that one couldn’t have anticipated happened early Friday morning that demanded my attention and kept me otherwise fully engaged all day. I apologize for missing a step in our process.

However, I’m confident that by now, at the end of our 8th month on this journey, that you are in the swing of our Friday routine and would likely be on track with taking  a proactive approach to planning your weekend, without my weekly reminder.

My Friday was supposed to be spent immersed in a full-day off-site team-building and vision-defining meeting. Again, something unexpected happened to derail that plan. Saturday required some follow-up to the Friday events, and some quality time, alone, with my husband. It was delightful!

Today, I spent some time with my son and mother-in-law at the WV State Honey Festival! Now, I am catching up with you and preparing for the week ahead. I will be traveling, again (have had a lot of opportunities to travel these past six weeks) this week, to The Greenbrier Resort for the WV State Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit. This is a great event each year, as it allows me to catch up with friends and associates from around the state whom I don’t have the opportunity to see very often, and to meet new people I’m not yet aware of. It will be a time of reminiscing, learning, and divine appointments. Have to say, I had some amazing meetings, conversations, and connections with a few folks last year; I trust this year will be just as rewarding.

I also need to prepare for this week’s Empowerment Mentoring lesson on Comfort Zone — and how being in our comfort zone isn’t always a good thing.

I hope you don’t mind my taking this space to do my usual month-end wrap-up on Change.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the only constant in today’s world is change; it is an unavoidable reality of life. As a leader, we must take responsibility for anticipating change, understanding its implications, and guiding our people through it. This requires a blend of qualities and skills…bravery, flexibility, determination, casting a clear vision, providing frequent communication, and consistent behavior.

As you know — and maybe you feel this way, as well — many people abhor change, would rather go through all kinds of other unpleasantries, or even give up on their potential to avoid it. You will be tested in this arena, needing to put forth all of your abilities and talents to overcome the resistance of the status quo. This can be a grueling, thankless journey, but if you are driven to be a leader, it’s the path you have chosen.

Change and growth go hand-in-hand. If you aren’t growing, you aren’t going anywhere. If you stay the same, you will become stagnant, and we all know, nothing grows in stagnant pools.

I encourage you to embrace change. Plunge forward with courage. Help others see the possibilities in the future, through the path of change. Remember, if you are going through change and you have some level of confusion, it’s a good thing! Yes, a good thing. If you are going through change and you aren’t confused, it means you already know what you need to or have given up trying to understand it. If you are confused, it means you are going through a growth process.

Embrace change! If you don’t, won’t, or can’t…give up on leadership — you can’t lead if you can’t navigate change.

Now, having said that, I trust that since you’ve made it through this 8th month of our journey so far, you won’t give in to complacency. So, I’ll “see” you on Monday, as we move into our 9th month, focused on Attitude.

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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 — 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 — D2, W4, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on July 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

John Maxwell reinforces the need to ensure you have a values match when you join an organization. This is worth serious consideration, because is you don’t heed his advice and join an organization with which you don’t share values, you will soon find yourself in an uncomfortable position, having to decide whether to stay true to who you are and what you value or take actions that are contrary to your convictions in order to be considered a “team player” and move forward with a direction you don’t necessarily believe in our support.

This is also true when you are choosing people to carry on your legacy. When you have a values match, it’s easier to commit and what you’ve built has a much better chance of lasting.

So what do you value?

Take some time to write down your tip five values. Keep in mind, these are the things you would not trade or compromise for anything…including the last seat on the last lifeboat off the Titanic!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now, who do you know who shares your values and in whom you can invest to carry on your legacy? Keep in mind, they don’t have to do it all exactly as you would, and ideally will think different thoughts than you (this is why diversity in healthy teams is so critical…otherwise, you end up with tunnel vision and miss all kinds of opportunities and don’t see obstacles before you hit them!). List at least three people you need to start investing in on a regular basis to give your legacy a longer life.

1.

2.

3.

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Intentional Leadership — D1, W4, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , on July 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As this is our fourth, and last week focused on Legacy, it’s time to get serious about what we can be doing to ensure we are developing a sustainable legacy.

Yes, I’m talking about not just developing a positive, long-lasting legacy in terms of what people remember and say about you when you are gone. I’m talking about developing successors who will carry on the work and culture you put in place while you were the leader.

John Maxwell talks about this in the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, when he talks about leaders developing leaders rather than developing followers. It’s about helping others grow, along with your business.

You can see this in real life when you study businesses or other organizations after a particularly effective leader moves on. One example you might read up on is Southwest Airlines. Beyond building a successful airline, Herb Kelleher left a legacy of developing leaders within his organization. He had a unique style and developed a unique culture within the organization, and he didn’t want it to just be a cult. He wanted it to survive him and continue to thrive.

To make that happen, he brought in strong, talented people and helped develop their skills and leadership abilities. You see, it wasn’t all about Herb; he wasn’t doing what he did just so he could stand in the spotlight alone; he enjoyed training others so they could shine, too. It was intentional on his part.

The technical training is important, but it’s not what will allow people to step confidently into their potential. It takes much, much more than that.

To build the foundation for a lasting legacy, one must embed mission and culture in the lives of their successors.

Your action for today: What can you do to convey the mission and culture of your organization to its future leaders?

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Intentional Leadership — M6 Wrap-Up — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on June 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As a leader you are always on stage; someone is always watching you. And when you experience adversity, as you no doubt will, your people will be watching to see how you handle it. Will you react — instantly and from a place of emotion — or will you respond — from a place of thoughtfulness and intentionality?

Will you persevere or will you give up?

While we would all probably prefer to not go through the hard times, they are opportunities for growth and demonstration of what you’re really made of. They are opportunities to grow your influence. When you show you have what it takes to overcome obstacles, work through challenges, and succeed in your mission, you are   proving your worthiness to lead.

How you respond in these times will define your leadership more effectively than nearly anything else you do.

The key is, you get to decide.

Who will you be?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W4, M6 — Perseverance

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

It’s been an interesting week for me. I’m still working to change a “bad” habit I developed in Guatemala, which is staying up way later than I should. I know how much sleep I need, and I haven’t been doing the things that allow me to get enough. So, I’ve been fantasizing about sleeping in and taking naps all week!

I’ve also had the opportunity to connect with some new, interesting people…to reconnect with others I’ve known but haven’t seen or talked to in a while. And I’m working on some really important things that I’ve needed to get done, to drive myself forward. That feels good. I am in need of — and ready to — create some new habits that will help me come closer to the better version of me that I long for.

So, this weekend, I have some homework to do, but am going to limit it in favor of spending some much-needed “girl time” with a close friend, whom I don’t see often enough. It will be about leisure, deep connection, profound conversation, good food, and sleep!

And I will take time to plan out my next week, to set myself up for success.

What are you up to this weekend? What have you done to set yourself up for an enjoyable, intentional weekend?

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

Who do you need to connect with this weekend?

Who can help you be more intentional about how you spend your time? Find that person and ask him or her to spend a little time with you to help you become the very best version of you that you can become!

Have an intentional, enjoyable weekend!

“See” you soon!

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What window are you bumping up against?

Posted in Food for Thought, tagged , , , , , , on June 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Perception = Reality.

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This beautiful bird spent the better part of four weeks fluttering up and down this window. You see, it thought it was flying into a tree. And it was persistent! It literally fluttered up and down this window most of the day; occasionally flying off into the trees you can see beyond it. The window has reflective film on it, to keep the heat of the sun out of the office. If you look at the window from the outside, you see the trees and bushes (which you can see as you look beyond the bird in this photo) reflected in the glass — pretty clearly, too. No wonder the bird thought it was flying into a tree…and behaved in a frustrated manner that it couldn’t get into the tree. It’s perception was that the window was a tree, and so it continued to try to find a way into the tree, because that was its reality.

Clearly…it wasn’t a tree and the bird was unsuccessful!

This is one of the key concepts I teach when I’m teaching communication skills. It fits in nicely with my two key lessons — self-awareness and intentionality are key to your success.

Understanding the power of perception is important because someone is always watching you, especially when you are a leader. And they make up stories about what’s going on based on snippets of information — often incomplete — combined with their beliefs, values, past experiences, and rumors. What they come up with may be accurate, close to accurate, or a million miles away from the truth, but because they don’t have access to the whole story, the one they create makes sense to them, and they move forward based on it.

My question to you is, how is someone’s else’s perception of you affecting your performance and chances of success? How is it impacting  your relationships?

What about your own perception about yourself? About your abilities, skills, and talents?

Whether you believe you can or your can’t, you’re right. ~Henry Ford

This quote says it all. What you believe to be true about yourself will determine your future. Knowing that, it’s important to examine how you perceive yourself and understand why it is so. Then, what can you do to make it different, if you need to make some changes to move forward into your potential?

And, what perceptions do you have about others that may be affecting your path forward?

Please, don’t waste your time and energy fluttering up against a window that is NOT a tree, and expect it to magically become what you want it to be! Make the effort to have clear vision and understanding about who you are and what’s going on in your life…and then move forward with confidence!

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