(Article originally printed Jan. 28, 2014)
Often clients come to coaching with generalized goals such as learn new skills, to be more assertive and confident or improve their lives in some way — they may not be clear or certain but something has happened to bring them to a tipping point or there’s a recurring event or issue that keeps them stuck. Most people want to live a fulfilling life, experience joy at work, feel happy, productive and purposeful. Their conscious mind is telling them they need to make changes or accomplish something and yet something is keeping them from moving forward.
They intensely want to grow but their subconscious mind is sabotaging their conscious mind with an inner conflict. While the conscious mind wants to achieve a clearly defined goal, the subconscious is blocking that clarity (the subconscious is not happy, it has unresolved issues). In coaching the client discovers how their limiting beliefs have a negative impact on their actions and how ineffectual patterns of a lifetime interfere with their growth. Coaching supports a new frame of mind and creation of new life patterns – creating a bridge between the two minds and affecting a happy alignment. With this awareness you are ready to clearly define your game-changer goals and set on your path, taking on challenges, initiating actions and producing results.
- Gain clarity so you can assess whether your goals are structured for success
- Decide on essential skills needed to achieve a successful outcome
- Assess and then focus on your strengths and talents
- Identify the success gap from where you are now to where you want to be
- Identify tangible steps and create actions that lead to results
- Obtain the support and resources necessary to help you succeed
Maybe defining purpose is not as important as having purpose. It’s easier to figure out what it’s not. It’s not that emotional response to a heated situation or moment or even picking up a cause. It’s not an unresolved pattern that keeps repeating itself throughout a lifetime and makes one react in a circular fashion so that it appears to be a quest. What drives purpose is probably passion. Finding your passion will lead you into your purpose. The purpose of life is simply a life of purpose – said by Robert Byrne.
a source of misery. So what makes for a great corporate culture? Certainly, a culture that communicates the organization’s mission and purpose gives employees a sense of resolve. Purpose orients every decision made, whether on a grand scale or at every desk. Think Google, Zappos, Disney, Wegman’s. Vision, the very foundation of an organization is also shared with employees. Values are the guiding force and provide the guidelines of behavior. For a company like Google, values are “a better world, faster” and using innovation to tackle the world’s biggest challenges. This company is about creating lasting global impact and successfully e
ngages their employees to embrace this culture.
Principle, a perspective I use
eparation, prevention and empowerment), next in the jar, he places the rock symbolizing relationships and family, the third, employment issues and then major projects. Another rock included community, service and spirituality. One of the bigger rocks was called “sharpen the saw” which relates to being so busy cutting you forget to
sharpen the saw and waste lots of time and energy cutting with a dull saw – or as a relatable example, too busy driving to take the time to get gas. More rocks were labeled as big opportunity, or urgent and important, like getting back to your biggest client. Obviously, all these rocks did not fit into the jar. But, when we shift how we do things and use a different paradigm, we get extraordinarily different results. By putting all the big rocks (important things) in first, and all of the sand poured in last (the small things), all the spaces are filled make everything fit
Dare I say, I love the Olympics, opening ceremonies, et al. You may think that for an athlete, it’s all about Olympic gold but the bigger win is knowing you’ve overcome your emotional obstacles, your mind chatter, your physical limitations to rise to your level of greatness. You risked public humiliation, physical injury, your future, and your life to test yourself to your very edge and beyond. When you reach that best self, you are transformed and it serves to inspire and advance those around you. It’s about facing fear each moment and the willingness to be vulnerable: Am I good enough? What if I fail? While the Olympian’s experience tells of countless failures, his/her mindset is always on the next triple jump or mogul run or downhill race. The true champion is the one who falls and nevertheless, rises instantly to quest for the perfect score, defying the odds and the judges. He or she will win, who is willing to fall and fail.
If you’re in a leadership position, then you are an influencer in your organization – someone with the potential to initiate positive change, innovate and take advantage of new trends beneficial to your workplace. Are you personally taking advantage of the tools and skills necessary to proactively impact your industry? We are in an age of online connectivity impacting culture and economy in a way we haven’t yet quantified. What I do know is that personal branding is the new resume and that most people across all generations are creating an online presence to effectively tell their story. Personal Development is a billion dollar industry, part of the new economy of sharing advice to inspire and instruct others on how to improve their lives and achieve their goals.
We are not a third world economy living in survival mode, albeit reports to the contrary, and people are asking those top of the pyramid, self-actualization questions, like: Do I live a full life? Do I love and have love in my life? Do I make a difference? This attitude of wanting and having a purpose and meaning is pervasive in my “tribe” of middle managers to senior executives. It’s not enough to accomplish a task. People want to experience a sense of fulfillment.
I love Downton Abbey – unabashedly. It’s reflective of a time when people had decorum, and breeding which was inculcated through the generations. I miss the civility, the polished manners, the refined way of conversing, the almost instinctive training that elicits correct behavior. People knew how to behave. They knew what was proper, and what wasn’t. Yes, it was a time of class distinction and while the gentry and their staff had very different rules by which they behaved, they all had certainty and knew how the game was played. True, the politics, intrigue, and “dark-side” behavior was no different than today. However, people were polite to each other. There was a level of respect that was never crossed. I value politeness. Good manners are always in style.
l intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, social skills and empathy.
The three motivators are achievement, affiliation, and power. These are based on McClelland’s Needs Theory, one of the oldest models of motivation and still significant as a business tool today. Depending on someone’s dominant motivator, they will display different characteristics as follows:
Chart Your Change 