Head into 2023 with a Positive Outlook
We are closing in on the beginning of a new year. Business is percolating, people are meeting face-to-face again, and the way we do business is more complex. And people are more energized than I have seen in the past. This is an exciting time to be working. As the GenZ future leaders enter the…
Face Challenges with a Positive Mindset
Being a senior-level executive usually means you have badges for bravery and courage to show for your valiant efforts. For sure, you have had several all-hands-on-deck events that required an extraordinary push by you and your team. And generally, these events were caused by someone else. Perhaps they needed to manage their priorities better, or…
It Is Okay to Make Mistakes Along the Way
The good news about a long career is that you learn a lot. The flipside of that is that you make a ton of mistakes. I’ve had my share of mistakes. Here are my top 5 leadership mistakes: I put my trust in the wrong person, and I’ve been snakebit more than once. I gave…
Why We Should All Have a Coach
What was once old is new again. A recent Inc. article issued a high alert and sounded the alarm for business leaders waiting for a crisis to help them develop their employees. In the past, one way to motivate people or create leadership development was through adversity. It was called character building. Modern business management…
What are you REALLY Saying?
The words we use each day can cut off communication quickly, leaving us dumbfounded as to what happened! The best way to lose someone in a conversation is to use the universal word BUT! As a business leader, manager, or rookie did you take a communications course in college? Even if you did, if you…
The Great Stay?
There are 2 sides to the leadership coin. Both sides involve people. The difference is which side of the coin you are on. The individual deemed “the leader” has one responsibility: creating environments that influence others to achieve group goals. That is the classic definition of leadership according to Dale Carnegie. It’s concise and thoughtful.…
Stop Self Sabotaging
Creating change is a personal choice. For example, it is already September and soon 3rd quarter plans will be in the record books. In the last 2 weeks, did you prioritize reviewing your 90-day plan and modifying actions to finish the 3rd quarter strong? Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals…
Will Your Plan Succeed?
Inc. recently published an article about Google for Startups and its attention on founders. They list 7 essential founder traits which, after reading the research, I believe apply to leaders and managers in any role. For example, “Our data suggests the most effective founders are not nearly as confident as the least effective founders are,”…
The Coaching Industry is Booming!
Most of us are familiar with the term “coach,” from playing sports with a head coach at the helm or a favorite teacher that influenced and guided us forward. Both examples represent a combination of many types of coaches (leadership, executive, life, personal development, career, wellness, skills, sports, performance, self-esteem, etc.). People hire coaches to…
Achieve Greater Results by Focusing on Mental Fitness
The featured story July 18, 2022, from Inc. had this headline: “Adam Grant Talks Mental Health with Prince Harry: ‘Your Body Cannot Function Without Your Mind.’” We know this is true, and we expect that if we do not take care of our body, it will not function at peak performance. So, then the question…
Developing Leadership Skills
Navigating the complex world of being a leader is the subject of a recent Fast Company article “8 skills every leader should master in 2022” by Brandon Pena. The last 2 years have been weird and anxiety-producing for most people in business. Now, looking back, what is surprising is how resistant business leaders were in…
How much time do you spend thinking?
Forward motion in business depends on our ability to think with clear-headed, laser focus. Thinking is the process of asking and answering questions in your head. Dr. Daryl Cross suggests that 95% of our thinking is routine or the same and that 5% of your thinking is new. Therefore, we need to find new ways…
Charting Your Path to Reach Your True Potential
Reaching your true potential means being the best at what you do for yourself first. When I think about why I went to college, pursued the degrees I did and worked for the companies I have, there was one main reason. I enjoyed the ride because I loved what I studied in college and wanted…
What Is Your Personal Brand?
A new trend showed up last month in the tech companies’ space for those valued above $1 billion from their venture capital investors. The trend is the Great Reset – reductions in their workforce. The cause of these layoffs according to Tech Crunch is overspending. The result is whiplash – laying off the people they…
Lessons Learned from Basketball
I grew up playing basketball. My love for the game far exceeds my height. But, a girl can dream, right? What I loved about basketball was being part of a team and our head coach, Corky Kell. Corky Kell could have written the best selling “how to be a coach” book ever written. He followed…
What is Your Mental Attitude Towards Work?
This simple question can uncover a lot of things. I often ask this of my clients because it is at the root of performance – good or bad. For 90-day plan followers, how are you doing on your 90-day plan that started on April 1? Are you making progress or stalling? What is in the…
Is Your Business Ready for a Reset this Year?
2020 and 2021 were definitely challenging and stressful for myriad reasons. How are you feeling about 2022 so far? Are you determined to make this the year to reset and re-chart a way forward? Most businesses described themselves at the end of 2021 as “tired but optimistic for a strong 2022.” High customer demand and…
Finding Motivation when Faced with Procrastination
Google defines motivation as “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” There is a link between motivation and procrastination; when procrastination lingers it becomes a habit! Why do we lose our motivation? Values mismatch between what we care about and what we are doing Evaluate what you care…
Overcoming Procrastination
Procrastination is to put off intentionally and habitually. Do you often find that time escapes you, especially for the important tasks? Piers Steel is a professor in the Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources area and is the Brookfield Research Chair at the Haskayne School of Business. He says that procrastination is not about putting things…
Solving the Talent Crisis
Understanding what motivates people quit their jobs for other ones has plagued business leaders throughout my career. I question how much things have changed during this time in terms of what people want from working. I recognize I may be a bit naïve, having been brought up to return good service for good pay. I believe…