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4 Things Successful People Know About Self

Jun 10, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Happiness, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

Self-awareness is a critical element for success. Organizational psychologist and author, Tasha Eurich, conducted a series of surveys which found that 95% of people think they are self-aware but only 10-15% of people truly are. Successful leaders make developing self-awareness a high priority because they know that there is a direct correlation between personal growth and success in life and in business.

Phil Bonstetter and Bill Bonstetter of TTI Success Insights hosted a webinar a few years ago that highlighted the 4 things successful people know about themselves. I want to share these with you today because I believe that developing an understanding of these four things will have tremendous value in your life as they have had in mine.

  1. Successful people know how they do what they do.

Successful people are aware of their own behaviors. They understand how they make decisions and how they best receive information and are also aware of their communication style. This awareness gives people the ability to adapt to their situation which improves their relationships with others and how they interact with the environment.

  1. Successful people know WHY they do what they do. They know what motivates them and have a strong sense of purpose for their lives. A person who understands their driving forces is better able to stay focused on their goals and what really matters most in life and in business.
  2. Successful people know what they can do. Successful people know what talents, skills and abilities they possess. They are also willing to step out of their comfort zone and take advantage of opportunities to develop new skills. Successful people learn from their experiences.
  3. Successful people know where they find happiness This gives them the ability to create their own environment and not let other people shape it. They establish careers and businesses in areas that match their passions which leads to a fuller, more satisfying life.

It is often argued that the meaning of success is subjective but having knowledge of these four factors will help anyone to achieve their own definition of success.

I will be speaking for the Presence Summit, a virtual event, at 9:15 AM on July 15th. The topic of discussion is – What Type of Communicator Are You? The Presence Summit is a full day of stimulating presentations and workshops to help you AMPLIFY and SHARE your value using video communications. Click Here to find out more.

Communicating Effectively with Your Remote Teams

May 28, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership, Leadership Development, Productivity

The way we live and do business has changed dramatically as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. To prevent the spread of the virus, we have been practicing social-isolation. As business leaders we have been forced to lay-off some of our people or decrease their hours and I encourage all of us to stay in contact with those employees and provide assistance whenever we can. Those who are able to still work from home are challenged to navigate through the inundation of e-mails and video-calls. Parents working from home are struggling to find some sense of balance as they juggle their roles as homeschool teacher, parent, and employee. We are all trying to figure this out and social isolation is not making it any easier because human welfare relies on interdependence. We need to find a way to truly stay connected to each other despite the upheaval. The way we do this is by communicating with people in the language they understand.

For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on communicating with your teams working from home. Working from home is a huge transition for teams used to office life, and your communication might be suffering. More than ever before, it is critical that you are aware of your own communication style and the communication style of your team members. The Working From Home Report is a new assessment tool developed by TTI SI that will give you and your team the gift of self-understanding. Inside the report, you’ll find: personalized work from home tips and direction on how to communicate with your team when everyone is working from home. I’m offering this assessment tool to you and your team for FREE!

Productivity increases by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. Give your team the boost they need right now with the Working From Home Report by improving communication between everyone. Click HERE to complete the assessment now and then share the link with your team!

How Will You Emerge From This Crisis

May 6, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership, Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Success

If you are waiting to get back to “business as usual” you will be grossly disappointed. The world has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. Those who are waiting to go back to “business as usual” will be left behind.

So what do we do to thrive in the “new normal”?

As business leaders, our number one priority is to stay focused on strategy and provide direction for our teams.

You might be wondering what an effective strategic plan even looks like right now. Dennis Carey, Ram Charan and Tierney Remick wrote an article  in The Executive outlining 5 critical “pivots” CEOs must make right now to stay in business and ensure a successful future.

Make employees a top priority.
Keep the organization lean and nimble.
Redefine what a “responsible” balance sheet looks like.
Adapt to consumers’ changing needs.
Step up to social responsibility.
If you want your business to thrive you have to be intentional in your actions and not just reactive. Intentionality requires planning. Ask yourself these questions: Is your current plan still applicable?

Are your goals aligned with the aforementioned criteria? Are you taking action to achieve those goals? Are you communicating openly with your team and are you listening to their feedback?

How you and your business emerge from this crisis depends entirely on what you are doing right now. Are you thinking strategically and acting intentionally? Creating a One Page Strategic Plan is a good first step to ensure that you are.

Click here  for more information and to download the One Page Plan Strategic Checklist and get a jumpstart today!

Make It a Grateful Day

May 3, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Happiness, Leadership, Leadership Development

Paul J. Meyer of Leadership Management International defines attitude as “a mental disposition toward events, people, or situations that controls behavior.”

This definition clarifies why it is so important to be mindful and aware of our own thoughts and attitudes. Our thoughts CONTROL what we do, whether consciously or subconsciously.

It is equally important for those who want to live successful lives to change negative thought patterns and attitudes through continuous repetition of new, positive thought patterns.

Attitude is essentially the perspective we take when looking at the world around us. Over the past few weeks, I discussed several different ways that we, as leaders, can look at adversity in a positive light.

Today, I want to discuss one fundamental and powerful perspective that is perhaps most often overlooked – Gratitude! Adopting an attitude of gratitude is a simple step we can take during these times to change our focus from problem to solution. When we start thinking about why we are grateful, our reasons to be grateful become more and more abundant. But how does this work?

Practicing gratitude changes the structure and function of our brains. The more we express gratitude, the more grateful we become overall. Although there is not enough space here to dive deeply into the neuroscience that supports this, you can find it here.

Research also shows that expressing gratitude positively correlates with being happier, healthier, and more professionally engaged. Madhuleena Chowdhury of Positive Psychology explains that regular practice of gratitude releases negative emotions, lessens pain, helps us sleep better, improves our ability to manage stress and reduces anxiety and depression.

As leaders it is our responsibility to model positive attitudes and behavior. If we adopt an attitude of gratitude, our behaviors will show this. We will communicate gratitude to our families, employees, customers and communities not only through our words but through how we live and do business. What a wonderful world it could be if we all behaved gratefully.

Do you want to get started on the journey toward an attitude of gratitude? Click here to download the Attitude of Gratitude worksheet today. Another way to express gratitude is to Celebrate Your Success. Click here to Download.

Adversity is Transformational

Apr 21, 2020 | Business Growth, Business Owners, CEOs, Leadership Development, Motivation, Success

The old saying, “This will either make you or break you” carries a lot of truth. Every contact we have with adversity gives us the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and to forge a great character. It is our choice to accept the challenge and proceed forward or succumb to the pressure and surrender to defeat.

It is in moments of adversity that we see what people are truly made of. Adversity brings out our internal resources. The Roman poet Horace said “Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” When everything is going well, we coast. There is little stress, and we are operating on autopilot.

But when adversity comes, we begin to draw upon every resource that we have in order to conquer the circumstances at hand. Adversity, then, keeps us sharp and strong. Body builders work their external muscles to build them up. Leaders must do the same thing with their internal muscles.

Adversity strengthens character How will courage, discipline and perseverance ever flourish if we are never tested?

If we look at adversity as an opportunity for growth, we will come out the other side better than when we started. We can use our influence, as leaders and coaches, to hep others improve themselves as well.

Take some time to reflect on these things: What part of your character is being tested and built up? What resources have you employed during this time that you have not used before? What can you learn from these interesting times about yourself and others?

Remember, Setbacks are setups for future success and breakdowns are setups for future breakthroughs.

If you haven’t had the chance to read Dan Sullivan’s “The Scary Times Success Manual” yet, here it is again: Click here (https://achievable.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Scary-Times-Success-Manual-Dan-Sullivan-The-Strategic-Coach.pdf) to download.

This is Your Time to Shine

Apr 14, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

Many of us have endured the OPEC oil crisis, hyperinflation, stagnation, Black Monday, the Asian financial crisis, the Dot.com crash, 9/11, the Gulf War, the Great Financial Crisis, and many other blows over the years and we survived and some even thrived through the mess of it all

The reality is we already have the necessary skills for dealing with scary times like this because for most of us we have already been through challenging times just starting and growing our own businesses.

We have faced all kinds of challenges on a daily basis and have grown from them. Entrepreneurs and business owners face uncertainty every day just by virtue of being who we are and how we’ve chosen to live our lives.

We are continually creating a bigger future for ourselves which gives a higher level of clarity, focus and results giving us greater confidence and capability to do it again and again.

Our future is something we always create from our imagination and now is the time to crank up our creative imagination and that of our teams to move forward. This is the time to bring your new ideas forward, to launch new goals, to be proactive, creative and resourceful.

Victor Frankl wrote, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” This is the perfect time to pull out our plan of action for the future and review and update our personal goals and business goals.

It is time to review our Strategic One Page Business plans and the ideal time to grow our mastery of key leadership skills that will help us and our teams moving forward. Now is the time to build relationships and create greater value for our employees, clients, and prospects.

Leaders, this is YOUR time to shine!

If you missed it last week, we want to share The Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan’s “The Scary Times Success Manual” with our readers again this week. Click here (https://achievable.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Scary-Times-Success-Manual-Dan-Sullivan-The-Strategic-Coach.pdf) to download.