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How do you focus to get results?

76-1113tm-vector2-653Great leaders know where to focus to get results. They don’t spend time reading meaningless emails and doing busy work like checking social media. Instead they have a priority list and are goal oriented.

F – Forward thinking
O – Optimistic attitude
C – Centered thoughts
U – Unleash potential
S – Set priorities

So how focused are you each and every day? Every time you get a bit off track, do some self talk and get back to your FOCUS. It will pay off in spades.

Working with a leadership coach can bring great focus to your work and help you to be more successful. Give it a try.

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Male Champions

Male Champions in the Workplace

My recent work has confirmed that women still struggle to get recognized and find the kind of support that they need in some workplaces. Our focus groups and surveys confirmed that while women have progressed, some women continue to struggle to get the recognition that they deserve.

So what can Male Champions do to support hard-working women?

  • Send out an email to all parents including moms and dads, or ask in a meeting how their kids did in their first day of school. Show your interest in family matters.
  • Notice who is being asked for their opinions in a meeting. If you feel women are being overlooked, ask them yourself what they think and bring them into the discussion. Be a role model for others.
  • Do not tolerate sexist statements or attitudes. If you hear derogatory comments from your male colleagues speak up and correct them. Be bold!
  • Ensure women who desire a new challenge get the training they need. This may include roles which have traditionally been held by males. Perhaps a stretch assignment could help them learn and develop or test the waters in a new field. Think outside the box.
  • If your employees need to address family matters, trust that they will be responsible and will make up the time and give back more than they took in the few hours they needed for that doctor’s appointment. Promote work- life balance.

These easy actions will make your workplace a healthier and happier place for everyone, including yourself!

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Thoughts during interview?

What are my thoughts while in an interview?

Finally, you landed the interview! You come into the room and find an interview panel of four people. You have prepared for this interview. You sit down and feel your heart racing and you notice that your palms are sweating. This is a normal reaction to the competition and judgment process we all feel in an interview.

So now it begins. The lead interviewer asks you to review your resume and relevant experience. You ace that part.

Now they move into long behaviour based questions. This is much more difficult for you.

The question is:
“When was a time you dealt with conflict in the workplace?”
Describe the situation, what skills you used to deal with the conflict and the resolution. Were you satisfied with how you responded under stress?

Your immediate thought is:
“That is a trick question. Maybe they think I am a troublemaker? It has so many parts. What if I miss one?”

So you do know from my coaching that you can choose your thought.

Ok, new thought:
“Well that is an good question – We all need to deal with the different opinions in the workplace which sometimes lead to conflict. They must encourage different ideas to be expressed here. Okay – It’s a long question.
I will ask them to repeat it and make a few notes to ensure I answer all of the parts.”

It is so important to give yourself positive affirmation in this tense situation of an interview. We all default to negative energy under stress but choosing positive thoughts allows you to remain as grounded and clear headed as possible.

This simple interview technique is part of my 4 hour interview-coaching package.
I’d love to help you be your best in the next interview.

Call me now -519-971-4787

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Anabolic Thinking

A good friend makes dinner plans with you. You are looking forward to it with much excitement as an opportunity to feel more connected and caught up. You are a bit early (unusual but true) and waiting for her, sipping your glass of wine and catching up on your mobile device. A text comes in from her. “Can’t make it tonight”

What are your immediate thoughts? Take a moment to write them down.

Did you default to catabolic energy filled with judgment and blame?

These thoughts sound like this:

“I knew this would happen! She is so disorganized. I guess I am just not as important to her as she is to me. What would have been so hard for her to tell me why she can’t make it? I am never having dinner with her again!”

Perhaps you are one of a few people who had more positive thoughts or anabolic energy.

These thoughts sounds like this:

“I hope all is well with her. I’ll check in with her tomorrow. I bet something urgent came up and she just can’t talk about it right now. She is such a precious person; I wonder how I can support her? I think I will enjoy a meal and then go get a bit of pampering at the blow dry bar at the mall. Feeling like I could use that.”

Bruce Schneider, who founded IPEC my coaching school, coined a phrase “How you do anything, is how you do everything.”

How can you make a small shift towards anabolic thinking? I know you can do it!

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So what’s this skill called “Political Acuity”?

You have heard that someone has amazing political acuity and are left wondering…. what does this really mean?  This skill is one that takes years to hone and usually gets more developed after we make a series of mistakes in our career. What? So making mistakes do have some real value; you wonder. Making mistakes by forgetting to consider the context or not anticipating the questions that will be asked helps us to grow our political acuity.

The trailblazer in you wants to push ahead with a great new idea.  You are so excited and try to sell this new concept to others around you. They resist or even shut it down.  So why is this?

In your trailblazing way have you may have moved too fast and forgotten to garner support along the way for your idea.

Have you found information about where this idea has worked and did you take the time to convey this information?

It’s always wise to consult the organizational historian about whether this or an idea, which is like your idea has been tried before and find out how it worked. This historian is often not in an official position of power and may be a colleague and not your boss. Often the knowledge they have is a huge benefit to you.

Consider how many new ideas are on the organizations plate at the same time. Try not to tip the scales. Timing is everything. Is this the right time or will there be some event in the future, which will support your idea?

Have you clearly and I mean clearly in plain language described your new idea and why its so important?

If you are overwhelmed now … don’t be.

Just pause to consider these factors and then decide if you need to slow down and do some more homework. This will help you to have a better chance selling this idea to the boss or the politicians and the public.

I call this connecting the dots. Be aware of the important consideration and connections between these factors that will help you gather steam to launch your idea?

Remember you will miss the boat on some of these considerations and you will fail to make important connections between them. Your idea may not fly this time…that’s ok. With failure comes learning which will lead to a sharper sense of political acuity. Next time you will have more success in getting the buy in you need to move the yardstick forward!

There are also so many considerations outside the organization. Oh that’s for my next blog. This political acuity thing is complex but that’s the fun of it.