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Posts Tagged ‘Relationships’

Intentional Leadership — D2, W2, M9 — Attitude

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

Let’s spend some time on a personal inventory today. Get out your journal and list three people in your personal and professional lives that have impacted you; include both positive and negative influences.

Make two columns on a page, one headed Personal Life, one headed Professional Life.

List three people in each column and place a – (minus) or a + (plus) next to each name, based on their influence on your life. Then answer the following questions:

What common threads do you see among those who were positive influences?

What common threads do you see among those who were negative influences?

When you evaluate your current circumstances, in both your personal and professional lives, is your attitude the same, or different, in each aspect? Describe your current attitude in both areas of your life.

As we’ve discussed, there are times when the only thing we can control is our attitude. When you look at the areas above that you marked as negative, wht choices can you make to be more positive in those circumstances?

One of the more positive influences in my life was Mac Bledsoe (if you’re a football fan, you might know him as Drew Bledsoe’s dad). Mac was a teacher when I was in high school, as well as the football coach. He taught a few classes, but the one that made the most impact on me was a class he called “I Can” and it was based on the philosophies and teachings of Zig Ziglar. It’s been 30 years since I was in school, but I can still remember Mac and the many lessons he taught me, as if they were just last year. Thank you, Mac!

I look forward to hearing what you’ve come up with through this exercise.

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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 — D3, W2, M8 — Change

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

Today, I encourage you to focus on change externally.

Who do you know who is facing a significant change in his/her personal or professional life?

What could you do to help this person? Sometimes, it’s as simple as spending time with them and listening; others, help requires taking action of some sort.

As you spend time with this person, and listen to his or her story, could you help them to see the situation from a different angle? As a coach, this is one of the things I do with my participants — help them to see another perspective that might allow them some new insight or ideas they may not have otherwise considered.

You might be able to help them come up with a couple of different solutions, and evaluate them…decide if they need to do something new, stop doing something they currently do that no longer serves them, or maybe even both (Yes! use the tool you learned yesterday — Know, Evaluate, Act/Change).

Who do you know who is facing change?

How much do you know about their situation?

What options are you aware of that they might want to consider when developing a solution or action plan?

Does the situation call for them to start something new, stop something in progress, or some combination of the two?

What is the best thing you could do for this person at this point in their 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 — D5, W4, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , on July 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Here we are at Friday, again! It was another fast, but busy and productive, week for me!

I am ready for the weekend, and mine will be all about relationships. My husband and son have been in Washington State since mid-June, helping a family member. After a week-long drive across country, they arrived home last night. So, I will spend the day with them, and get ready to fly to Colorado on Saturday to spend some time with my mom and two of my sisters. It will be great to catch up with all of them; it’s been a while.

I will also spend some time writing and preparing for my Empowerment Mentoring lesson on Tuesday evening. The next lesson is Harmony, and it’s a really good one! Ok, so they are all really powerful lessons, and each week as I teach the next lesson, I’m amazed all over again at how relevant the content is to my life and to those of the EM Program participants.

As usual, I have some writing to do, and some other people to connect with.

What are you doing with your weekend?

As we are just ending four weeks of focus on Legacy, what are you doing now to design yours?

Whatever it is, I hope you are intentional about it and setting yourself up for success in the coming days and weeks.

“See” you soon!

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W2, M7 — Legacy

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

Spend some time today thinking about someone who has given back to you or your organization. There are lessons to be learned here, if you are open to them.

Who was the person and how were/are you connected to them?

What did he/she do for you or your organization?

What lesson did you learn from their action?

How did you show your appreciation for their contributions?

If you haven’t done anything, yet, how can you show appreciation?

What impact will your showing appreciation to the person have on you today?

What example will you be setting for others?

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M7 — Legacy

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

Good morning, and Happy 5th of July! Hope you all enjoyed a marvelous day yesterday, with family, friends, and celebration of all that’s great!

My day, yesterday, was a bit off-track. I had intended to get a lot of work done on my computer, but the internet wasn’t really working. All the signals said it was fine, but it wouldn’t fully load any pages until much later in the evening. Consequently, I got a lot of cleaning done and cut the grass (more like mowing hay!) in my back yard, finishing about 5 minutes before the rain began to come down! Guess it was meant to be how I should spend the day. Got some of the computer work done before bed last night (that’s right — I did not watch any fireworks, although I heard plenty in my neighborhood).

And here we are, at Friday, again!

I have a couple of coaching sessions today, and will have dinner with someone new looking for information about coaching and mentoring. And, I will indulge my love of handmade arts and crafts by attending what I understand to be a large Arts & Crafts fair (large — at least by West Virginia standards; the ones I used to attend in Washington would easily have 400 artisans in attendance, displaying their wares) this afternoon. Hopefully, the rain will hold off until I’m done!

As I typically do on weekends, I will study, write, and prepare the content for the next lesson in my Empowerment Mentoring program: “Attitude.” This is powerful content and I’m having fun with it. I have some errands to run, and some people I need to take the time to reconnect with. I will be meeting with a group of John Maxwell Team Coaches Monday evening, and am planning a trip to visit family later in the month. So, lots to do. And, still trying to catch up on my sleep.

What about you…what are you up to this weekend and in the weeks ahead?

As you know, I encourage those I work with to be intentional — thoughtful about how they spend their time and energy. I hope you are taking this to heart; it makes a tremendous difference in what you are able to accomplish and how you feel about yourself in the process.

I look forward to hearing the stories of what you are up to!

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

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M7 — Legacy

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

When you think of the word “legacy,” what person or organization comes to mind? Are you thinking of someone or organization because they left a positive legacy, or a negative one?

Why do you think their legacy made such an impression on you?

Think of it in terms of the ripple effect; envision the concentric circles formed in a pool when you drop a stone into it. The center-most circle is the first impression the person/organization made on you. The next ring is when they did or didn’t earn your trust. The third ring is what they did to maintain (or break) your trust and respect. The fourth ring is their current impact — what they are doing now, in real time. The outer-most ring is their future impact, and this one reaches the farthest.

What was your first impression?

What initially earned your trust and respect?

How does the person continue to earn/maintain your trust and respect?

What is the current impact of this person or organization?

How will tomorrow be different because of this person’s/organization’s impact?

Yesterday, I introduced you to one of my former leaders, Tom Stokes, CEO of Tree Top, Inc. My first impression of him was that he was a regular guy. When I interviewed with him, he was clearly comfortable in his role and in his skin. He was open, welcoming, treated me with respect and as if I had expertise the organization needed. While my position would be a couple of layers beneath his in the org chart, he treated me as if we were equals — equally valuable and with much to offer.

He was open, honest, transparent about the challenges facing the organization, and about its strengths. He had a vision and a plan for what he needed to do, and was building his inner circle to ensure he had competent, confident people around him to carry out the work. He was supportive and straight with me, even when circumstances called for difficult conversations. He conferred with his inner circle, gave serious consideration to the various inputs he received, and did not shy away from making the hard decisions.

While I’ve been away from the organization for five years, I understand he has not changed in these respects. I maintain my connections and friendships with former co-workers, and they respect him, as well. He’s done enormous good within the communities where the company operates, both in terms of financial support and through staff expertise and collaboration.

Personally, aside from everything I’ve said about him so far, he has proven to me that functional, healthy organizations do exist. And having worked for a number of them, I’ve personally experienced the opposite in terms of dysfunction and poor leadership.

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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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Intentional Leadership — D5, W3, M6 — Perseverance

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on June 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Wow! It’s hard to believe it’s Friday, again, so fast! I don’t know about you, but the last two weeks feel like they’ve just flown past.

As you know, last week, I was in Guatemala with the John Maxwell Team, teaching a new transformational leadership process, and it was a lot of fun! It was also an all-consuming week. You know what it feels like to be fully engaged — emotionally, spiritually, and mentally — right? Well, when I’m with this group of people, that’s how I feel, and it’s energizing and stimulating…and when I come back home, the environment is completely different. It’s like disconnecting from a power source — an extremely powerful energy source. And, so, all week, I have been really tired! Good tired…I spent a week doing something significant tired!

So, I am looking forward to getting a little extra sleep this weekend. But it won’t be a totally leisurely weekend — I have lots to do! I’m working with a new coach, and we had our initial call today. I committed to drafting the base of a strategic actions plan for the next five weeks to really accelerate my studies, content preparation, and client interaction. I have a lot to do, and I’m very much excited about being to dedicate almost the entire weekend to this important work.

I’ll go for at least one long walk, weed my flower beds, and maybe even take a nap!

Looking ahead, I’m planning a couple of trips, so need to spend some time on the details.

Finally, I have some letter to write. I love getting handwritten correspondence, so I try to send some to others on a regular basis.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Who will benefit from some time with you?

What do you have going on in the coming weeks?

What could you be doing now to prepare for those things, that will save you some time and anxiety later?

Whatever you do with your weekend, I hope you make it an intentional one!

“See” you Monday!

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