Challenge #1 – Make a Change

I will…exercise sufficient courage to change something– my mind, my life, my behavior, my lifestyle – thus accessing and developing my ability to influence change in society.

Make a commitment to participate in a “personal change challenge” that can positively impact your life and perhaps the lives of those around you. Change has a ripple effect that could lead to changing your organization, your community or society, if others choose to make the same change commitment.

The change chosen should reflect your values, so ask yourself: what do I stand for? What is important to me? What do I care about?

Challenging ourselves to make change that matters to us, and to understand why, exercises our awareness abilities, that then influences our ability to make meaningful, deliberate decisions.

 Steps to choose and embody a “Personal Change Challenge”

1. Take a moment to consider an area of growth for yourself. What could be different for you? It begins by understanding what you care about within yourself, what changes best support these priorities, and what effect these changes could have on your life.

(NOTE: Changes may include anything from small habits, to healthy living or lifestyle choices, to environmental or social shifts. For example, eating whole foods or taking daily exercise could lead to keeping health care costs under control within a family, a community or for a nation – if a movement became successful)  

2. Make a commitment in writing to begin the “change challenge” and share your commitment with others. Ground your commitment by being clear why this is important to you. How does this change reflect who you are?  Sharing this commitment makes you accountable to yourself and others.

3. Make a plan to act, using the planning approach that works best for you (remembering all the while what you care about within this change). 

4. Act, take note, and evaluate. Check back in to see how your actions reflect your intention and make adjustments to ensure you keep aligned.

5. Acknowledge what happens. By acknowledging your success, your failures, your learning, you will develop greater awareness, more fully appreciate your efforts, and be stronger for the next challenge.

AND…

Any change that we take on in our lives has a direct effect on those around us. As we change, we may be asking (even if unspoken) those around us to change.

You may feel push back from those around you. It’s not that they don’t believe in you, it’s that change can be frightening. And when we are led by fear, our ego becomes a strong force to keep things the way they are. Be sure you understand what is important to you about the change and stay grounded in that.

Introduction…

What allows us to have the courage to take a step?  How do we feel fearful and at the same time feel very grounded that what we are pulled to do is the right thing?  There is a famous quote; “feel the fear and do it anyway”.  Do we ever truly know what’s right?  Are we trusting from an internal or external source?  Perhaps it’s a higher power we trust, or a trusted confidant that encourages us.  Join us and become your own trusted confidant, walking forward, knowing and feeling grounded.

Courage, a Fundamental in Values-Based Leadership

The concept of courage within leadership is best understood by reviewing the chart at the right.

Courage Chart Explanation

 Fear and courage are expressed here in opposing positions on a single continuum of values-based leadership development, yet they may have a direct influence upon one another. When professionals suffer fear, they may undergo physical and/or emotional reactions cited within the lower level of the chart.

Movement takes place upward from fear along the courage continuum, as we become aware of our unconscious state of a fear.

As we choose to examine our fears and then act, we continue to shift  upward.  Conscious conduct allows us to use fear as a driver toward courage.

INVITATION…

Please participate in our values based decision making “Challenge Series” to trigger and strengthen courage…

Challenge #1

Challenge: exercising sufficient courage to change – my mind, my life, my behavior, my lifestyle toward influencing change in society.

See our next blog post for your first challenge.

Sounds pretty simple, but looking at marital teams, business teams, sports teams and even family teams, putting it into action is harder than it appears. Aside from individuals not always being capable of working to their maximum efficiency, team participants may each have differing routes by which they believe the common goal must/should be reached.

Clarity of Purpose

Key to successful teams is ensuring each team player truly understands the goal, objective, outcomes desired, in terms they understand. This includes individual members of the group appreciating the differing approaches by which each team player believes the goal will be attained.

Varied Strengths and Approaches

Seldom do two people come to any experience with the same perceptions about a goal or outcome. One person may believe the relationship between the team members is key to the team’s success. Another may contribute problem solving skills to the initiative. A third may feel intuitive about how to accomplish the goal and be quite insistent their approach or perspective is the correct one. Still another team member may be the “bean counter” measuring the time, cost, facility space, etc. that must be accounted for in order to attain outcomes.

Effective Leadership

A team leader, not attached to a single means of reaching a goal and aware of the strengths brought to the team by the differing approaches of each team player, has a head start in truly creating a team that will strive for the leader’s desired outcomes.

A leader focused on relationships, or power plays or nifty planning may not value the detail attention of the bean counter. But, the player with attention to the details will keep the team lined up and focused on perhaps the most efficient ways and means of reaching the goal on time and within budget. Therefore all great teams require respectful, aware and recognizing team leaders who realize the value of team player differing strengths.

If you believe your leadership skills may lack necessary awareness and team building strength and you find yourself frustrated by the varying approaches to goals of your staff members, you may need some “effective” leadership training.

Jenna

Everyone is hard wired to view the world through their particular lens and everyone lens in a little bit different. Without understanding how we ourselves work and how others work it is very difficult to move our way through obstacles that may present themselves.  Do you find yourself over reacting to someone’s response in a meeting?  Do the same life challenges continue to show up dressing in different clothing?  Is there someone whom you interact with on a regular basis that you just don’t click with?   It all comes down to your hard wiring.  It has been said that all business problems are people problems.  Communication is at the forefront of all motion.

We react to everything in one of two ways; one is in response to our environment based on personality, experience and habit.  The other is based on our hard wired core values.

There is one quick means to determine if we are acting upon our own values or those of others around us, and that is to review our choices and actions of each day to determine if we are motivated from within or if we look to others for direction. No matter the role we fill in business or our career, values based function benefits us personally by reinforcing our sense of confidence and also generates greater trust from others in dealing with us. They can sense when we are ‘ourselves” as we work with them.

It takes courage and awareness to act upon one’s values.

For example… If we function from a position of honesty, it means we must back up that trait with communication skills that are not abrasive, but are necessary to successful outcomes. When an employee or a peer isn’t performing to an expected standard, if we speak from an honest value base to tell them what we see as their shortfall in performance, but do it with tact and allow them their dignity, we demonstrate leadership.  It takes courage and conviction to live by one’s values; they amplify our capacities and strengthen others by our influence.

If we take our direction from others, they may not possess the same values we do. If honor or integrity or honesty is not within their value system, following them, rather than listening to our own values may cost us more than we imagine. Aside from losing confidence in our capacity to make decisions, take action, or to encourage those seeking value-based lifestyle courses, we may lose business and leadership influence.

Just as a compass can take one off course if in the vicinity of a magnet, our lives can be quietly and subtly moved off course by leaving the influence of our trusted and proven virtues and values. Take the opportunity to check out your utilization of values in daily decision making. Then when you see you are on course, congratulate yourself and give recognition to the values that are key to your identity.

Jenna

The first possibility is that the vision cannot be accomplished by the team members, in the time frame provided or within the constraints of funding, skill sets, etc. But, more often, according to Stephen R. Covey, teams don’t meet goals because members don’t have a clear appreciation of either the goals or the priorities. In addition each member of a team may not have adequate commitment to reaching the goal, or they may not appreciate their responsibility in performance or don’t truly feel accountable for key performance increments. If team members lack a true understanding of the team’s function or the infrastructure within which they must operate to reach a goal, it may limit their performance or outcomes. In addition, lack of cohesiveness amid the team members can be very detrimental to their capacity to function on track.

We relate to each of these realities, but we forget the fact that each of us comes to any task with core capacities that allow us to approach a team with differing skill sets. If we are the only member of a team with a given core value (e.g. keeping track of each dollar and every minute of time) and more of the other team members are visionary, you may be perceived as not being a team player. Nothing is farther from the truth. Actually, your team role is to help the other team members come to appreciate your unique contribution to the team’s success.

Team leaders are famous for vision, but not all leaders are:

• equally qualified as communicators;
• gifted with attention to detail disciplines;
• mindful of reporting schedules and feedback opportunities;
• thorough about task management breakdowns and making specific assignments;
• discerning about team member values, attributes and skills;

Team members may not be:

• confident enough to ask questions;
• invested sufficiently in their team membership to become accountable;
• qualified with innate or taught skills/capacities and may not be confident enough to state that fact.
• Given the opportunity to become fully invested in the team objectives and goals and therefore may not be consistent with their performance.

If all the team players realize they must function as “one” to be successful, they’d look at the leader’s vision with greater appreciation of each team player’s role and capacity. Core values that motivate full and enthusiastic participation in team work must be encouraged. Working with a team is a learned skill and taking the time to acquire such skills benefits all concerned.

Jenna

Silence can be mistaken for loneliness and too often it is discarded and exchanged for sports, television, music, computer games or other activities used as fill. If your silence is not golden, it may be time to look for support in learning to manage and understand it.

Before we can attain a quieter lifestyle, we may need to see silence in a more meaningful way. We may need to understand what is provoking “fill” behaviour when we bypass silence rather than embrace it.

Silence can be partnered with pondering, meditating and listening, real growth catalysts. Silence is related to love and tied to true respect and care for others and ourselves if we can learn to silence our minds and listen when others speak.

The silent act of listening is a skill we may believe we possess until we merely have disciplined ourselves to be quiet while others speak. An indicator of this false silence is seen if we jump into a conversation and spill out or thoughts like essential bits to the whole. “To listen” is an action verb. It includes hearing what another has said, attending to and valuing their words.

Exciting communication takes place when the response to another’s words is our silence.. Silence can demonstrate reverence for someone else’s wisdom and insight. Pondering, in partnership with silent listening, can open a door to knowledge or wisdom. Meditating upon a conversation can actually change our lives. Implementing more silence in our lives can be like enjoying a fine wine. Each silent experience may allow us to savour the words of another, or come to treasure a life lesson.

Silence also feeds us when we simply seek it out in natures world around us. Leaving the company of others and seeking solitude can bring refreshment, perspective, and clarity. We can learn more about ourselves and examine what should be given priority in our lives. Without the traffic of unnecessary sound, it is easier to see, to understand, to learn life’s lessons and to then find the confidence to act.

Make time for silence in your life. Give silence a place in each day. Celebrate the fact that silence is a piece of your ultimate being. Its subtle, intricate role in your life will bring moments of celebration and joy.

Jenna

Bright and cheery would be an accurate description of the new facility wing. Administrative supported would be the attitude that brought it into reality. One would think all would have been well, but not so…

Rumours of cutbacks in the overall hospital budget brought insecurity to the new wing’s staff and management; everyone believed the rumours and assumed the new wing would be the first to lose its financial backing. Before a month went by managers had challenges staffing the unit as everyone picked up shifts anywhere they could on other units. After
four months the new rehab unit was closed, and all parties imagined it was destiny. What administrators didn’t realize was that their unit managers were not prepared to challenge the rumours. If anything, managers had bought into the rumours, basing their beliefs on past experience. No matter how much encouragement, reassurance and financial revelation took place; the rehab managers could not overcome the tide of staff expectation.

Many businesses and corporations have the same challenges keeping staff and management on task. Leaders believe they’ve provided all needed information to sustain doubts and insecurities, but have they?

When staff doesn’t seem to be on task or they appear to be distracted, an assessment of the situation is necessary. Surveys, interviews, and visioning meetings can support this approach.

If one or two team members seem to be more anxious than their peers, candid discussions, team meetings and activity performance reviews can be helpful. Problem solving is the next step, after the problem is on the table. Allow the entire team to contribute to solving the problem. It brings them into the leadership vision range. When problem solving actions are created, begin motivating staff toward the agreed upon outcomes and then as things move forward, take intermittent performance reviewing opportunities to encourage communication and ongoing awareness that things are moving forward.

Looking for the core values of staff leaders and managers during this process is essential. Then you find the person who can reassure and encourage, have them exercise that skill. When you see who can measure growth outcomes readily, assign them that task. Look for the stronger team members and have them support those with fears, anxieties or mixed feelings about possible outcomes. Be certain you have at least one visionary player on the team. They help others fully grasp the possibilities and can influence others.

To learn more about identifying such skills in your staff or in yourself, contact J. Forster & Associates. We’ve got the tools to help.

Jenna

A dictionary states the world of difference between pride and confidence. So why do we often state we “take pride in” or we’re so “proud of” our accomplishments? Pride may be voiced for something we’ve done, have, or a position or status we’ve attained that sets us apart from others. When we really understand what the word pride means, and what it represents we might want to invest more fully in developing greater personal confidence instead of celebrating our pride. The former comes from a “wholesome self-respect” according to Norman Vincent Peale. The latter stem from inflation.

Confident professional and personal moments are from a faith in oneself that is not connected to arrogance. It reflects self-control, good will, coolness under stress, freedom from uncertainty. It totally lacks unpleasant or negative connotations. Confidence may have been sought after daily, ascending from a childhood lacking recognition or acceptance. It may have arrived as a surprise from years of tireless toil studying, working and learning from every source possible. Confidence grows when shared in the form of knowledge and wisdom, without demeaning the recipient. It leans on the awareness that the owner is not the sole force producing an outcome. Confidence is not birthed in a single event. It is bred in concert with experience, partnerships, determination, goals and aspirations. It has a quieter presence.

Peale, in his essay “Believe in Yourself” states, “without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. But with sound self confidence you can succeed. A sense of inferiority and inadequacy interferes with the
attainment of your hopes, but self-confidence leads to self-realization …” It would be great if one look in the morning mirror told us if confidence or pride were staring back at us. It would be better if we could trust others to tell us if only our pride
were on show.

But, as long as our goal is to build confidence so that our professional experiences will be advantageous to all parties, we may not have our fifteen minutes in front of a news camera, but we will be remembered long after we’ve retired and will be spoken well of among peers and associates even after having left our desk, the office or our current position.

Jenna

Winning is seldom measured in meters or minutes, more often it is recorded in hundredths of a centimeter or second. A gold metal may not be awarded to the “favorite,” because a competitor has good and bad days, but a skilled coach can help an athlete turn mind into focused matter – and the results can have record-breaking results. Many professionals and corporations see the same benefit and hire coaching support.

It may seem elitist or trendy with stars and entertainers like Oprah hiring coaches to help them meet and maintain personal goals. You may not turn to a coach for dieting or for an exercise regime, but if you find your career and your life are firmly stuck and you lack the insight for moving forward a career or professional coach is a great resource.

Many of us may think we know ourselves very well. Perhaps on some level we do. But we may not know what’s holding us back or what’s keeping us from leaving comfortable employment for something that will allow us to be truly happy or more financially rewarded. It’s common knowledge that the seeds to our success are within each of us, so why don’t people negotiate or change their circumstances for the better, more often? Why do some of us need to lose a job to become provoked to change a career? Why do others “miss” the success bar no matter how many career changes they make?

A trip to a therapist may be beneficial if history is keeping us from progression, but for those who are willing to let the past go and still they cannot find the momentum they need to press forward, a good coach can help with that process. Coaching is not therapy. It’s just what the word says. The participant answers some questions posed by a coach about the goals, objectives or ambitions that are yet to be met, and then through selfexamination, honest reflection and action plans, the participant determines how to get over hurdles, turn mountains into molehills and to strengthen resolve that will bring them success.

The process has homework. It requires consistency, may have brief setbacks, but if the coach and the participant communicate clearly, and the participant is determined to act, and not ruminate, life shifts from one performance level to another toward hopes and dreams. Fears are over come, obstacles cease being insurmountable and success is witnessed because it’s planned for and measured. Coaching isn’t trendy – even premiers, prime ministers and presidents have teams of consultants. Coaching isn’t too expensive if measured against a professional stall that keeps us from going back to school, selling a business we hate, hiring more capable staff, or leaving employment and venturing out into entrepreneurship. Coaching is a sensible alternative to frustrating sales team meetings that don’t get results or strategic planning that’s never implemented.

Check it out, find out if your competitors are using coaching, do some reading about successful business practices and ask around to see what coaches are quietly making a difference in your industry or region. You success may only be a coach call away.

Jenna