Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Leadership (Revisiting the 5 steps)

Remember Practice Makes Habit!

The qualities that make for good leadership are based on our own personal values and principles. An important part of establishing great leadership habits, begins with our own personal self care. In order to respond productively to the needs of the company we must take responsibility for ourselves and our feelings. Detect, label,let go and respond. Are we reacting out of fear? are we serving an underlying emotion that we have yet to detect?

Actions for personal and professional leadership: Revisited:

Know yourself:

Know what your values, are identify what is important to you. Take the time to know where your strengths and weaknesses are. Remember "Truth" is key. Many successful people live with false self talk, that helps to disguise the areas that need to be worked on. It is natural and healthy to be optimistic, but it is equally important to recognize the areas that truly need improvement.

Find your vision and passion:
See clearly what you want out of life for yourself, your family, your career, society in general. Think about the possibilities, and potential, not just what exists today. Remember do what you do with energy, enthusiasm, joy and energy. If you don't have this or can't find this, it may be time to start asking why?

Take Risks:
Do daring things, take steps in unknown areas. Risk looking foolish and not being perfect all the time. Risk being vulnerable, forthright, emotional, human. Trust you gut, intuition. Make decisions and take action!

Communicate Effectively:

Express your ideas and feelings; be willing to be seen and heard. Stand alone when you speak, learn presentation skills and develop confidence. Learn writing skills. Practice every chance you get. Communicate so your audience will understand and relate to what you say.

Check your progress and results:
Look at what is working and what is not. How do you feel about your life? This is a good sign whether it is working or not. Look at your attitudes and behaviour, ask, " what is my progress, what is holding me back. Make sure you have a goal or vision to focus your energy!

"Peter Urs Bender, (Leadership from within)"


Remember~ Practice makes habit, and good habits create results!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Crazy Lady Found Blogging!

Attention, is psychological gold. It is the lifeline of marketing, the desire of all teachers, and the heart of tabloid magazines.

What we pay attention to and how we pay attention to it, can mean the difference between chaos and disconnection, or fulfillment and strong relationships.

Goals are accomplished by focusing on what we want, taking the steps, then achieving the desired result. A simple concept, with a complex history. Why do most people fail to accomplish their goals? Would it be to bold to suggest that our focus as a society is being pulled in so many directions that we have lost touch with what focus and attention is all about.

Strong relationships are accomplished by giving our undivided attention to someone. Don't we all feel "better connected" with individuals who listen? Don't children respond best when you get on their level and give them your undivided attention.

Two ways to improve attention & focus:

1.) Goals: If you have a goal, whatever it may be, take a certain time each day to pay attention to that goal and that goal ONLY~ nothing else. No blackberry, Television, Cell Phone, T.V., Internet etc.(And watch out for your thoughts, these days we are conditioned to have our minds racing due to the overload of information and stimuli).

2.) Strong Relationships: Set some time to do something with a person you care about. Make sure it is all about them, and give them your undivided attention. The same rules apply; No Blackberry, Television, Cell Phone, T.V. etc. Really turn off and tune in~!

Note: If you have children, this technique can be powerful. Depending on their age, allocate some time daily, weekly, that is all about them. Ask them what they want to do for that 30 minutes or 1 hour, and only pay attention to them, nothing else! Not even in your thoughts.

I'd love to hear some thoughts on achieving goals and or strong relationships; I love comments and shared experiences.

e-mail jennifer@level88.ca

Monday, September 15, 2008

To respond or to react? it's our choice.

At any given point in our lives, we are always in one form of action: either a
RESPONSE
or REACTION

When people are first introduced to the idea of responding rather then reacting, it is pretty amazing see the reaction. Usually it is one of disbelief, maybe a bit of denial, or even curiousity. However, recently people are being introduced to the idea that there are choices we can make to improve our quality of life beyond our brand of toothpaste, or choice of luxury vehicle.

One of the champion tools we have is the choice whether to react or respond. When we are in a state of reaction, we are allowing our emotions to dictate our actions. Reacting can often perpetuate a problem, or enlarge a complaint, and can even tear down, rather then build up relationships. In reaction we often see a lot of blaming the "other person" rather then being accountable. Reacting is an outcome of the past, and is coming from some kind of emotional need. It is important to note that that a reaction can be internal or external, our thoughts count too.

Let's look at an example of work place reacting.

Anna has been working long hours on a project she is very passionate about. She has put in a lot of time and effort, and has even missed family commitments to complete her work. Finally the project is coming to an end, she just needs a bit of feedback from her supervisor before she can feel good about finalizing it and passing it over. She knows how busy her supervisor is, and reluctantly gathers the courage to ask for a bit of feedback prior to completion. Overworked and stressed out, Anna is feeling very nervous. However, her supervisor is also very busy, and pushes the feedback date forward for another two weeks.

1.)The supervisor sends her a quick e-mail saying. Good Afternoon, Anna. I am very busy these next two weeks and won't have a chance to look at this project until then.

+ What kind of reaction might anna have to this scenario?
+ What kinds of emotinal needs might she bring into this equation?
+ What common commitments or standards could she have been jeapordizing?

Anna might decide that her supervisor doesn't have time for her, therefore doesn't value her work. Most likely she is not going to "react" externally to her boss out of fear. However, it is easy to see how some internal reactions may begin to simmer.

What could Anna do in this situation to respond rather then react?

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The key to Responding is to identify your feelings. Detect, Label, Let go and then Respond. It is especially important in the world today to identify that when our goals, values, and missions align we can respond better and more easily. We can take responsibiliyt for ourselves and make the choice that respect comes from the response we can give. Our emotional maturity needs to be encouraged by practicing extreme real self care in our physcial, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual quandrants. This is the short-cut to creating an environment where one can respond rather then react.

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Questions? Discussion?
jennifer@level88.ca

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