Monday, February 14, 2011
Coaching Tip
Love is a feeling, a wonderful feeling that starts as a thought. Being grateful fills your mind with positive thoughts of appreciation and acceptance which translate into loving feelings. When you choose gratitude as your consistent perspective in life, you are also choosing to love, and to reap the many benefits of love on a lasting basis.
Business Times Column #3
Are You Holding On Too Tightly?
The art of delegation often escapes business owners and managers. This, in turn, leads to the unpleasant feelings of “stress” and “overwhelm”, which takes most-if not all-of the fun out of business. The lack of effective delegation also inhibits the growth and development of team members and therefore, of the business itself. A critical step in the creation of greater happiness and success in business, and life, is learning to delegate effectively, so that everyone involved is empowered to be more, and do more.
As a business owner, you have a choice. Have you merely created a job for yourself or are you leading the company you own? There is a distinct difference between these two choices. In the first situation you are doing daily tasks that could easily be handled by your fellow management and team members, tasks that are occupying your precious time to be the innovator, visionary and leader of your business. If this is your reality, what is this costing you, your team, your clients or customers, and your company?
The cost is significant. You have less time to be the effective leader of your company, and less time for your life; after all, personal freedom is likely one of the reasons you started a business in the first place. Your team does not have a powerful example to follow, someone that will lead with clarity in the direction of greater happiness and success. Your clients or customers are not receiving the very best that you and your team have to offer, because your company is not running as efficiently and effectively as it can. The bottom line is that your company will not live up to its potential, due to the fact that you, the leader, have not yet empowered yourself and your team to be more, and do more.
All of this can be overcome through the process of delegation. Delegation is the art of realizing that you can’t do it all, that you don’t have to do it all, and that your way of doing something is not always the most effective path to take. Once you realize and accept the fact that you can’t do it all, that you don’t have to, and that there are members of your team who are willing and capable of effectively doing more, you can begin to let go of tasks. The biggest objection I hear from my business clients is, “They won’t do it the way I do.” This is correct, given that they are not you, but this need not be an obstacle. In fact, once I help clients get over this mental block, they come to see the tremendous power that comes with delegation.
As a business owner or a manager, start by stepping back from your daily tasks, and then looking at your situation openly and honestly. Next, spend some time writing out all the tasks you handle. As you accomplish this, you will gain perspective of your self-created reality. Then, go through the list and prioritize your tasks from most to least critical. Now, take time to consider your team members, their abilities, enthusiasm, and their commitment to personal growth and development. With all of this information clearly laid out in front of you, start with the least critical task currently on your list, and decide which team member to give it to.
As you begin delegating, start slowly; delegate those tasks that are easiest to let go of and give them to those you believe are the most capable and willing to handle them. Then, monitor their progress. As needed, coach those you have delegated to for the best results, but remember that their way may be superior to the way you were doing it. Allow for their brilliance to shine! If you find that the task you delegated is not a good fit for the person you chose, re-delegate the work to another team member.
Over time, as you become an effective delegator, the positive results will be obvious. You will free yourself to lead, your team will grow more confident and capable, your clients or customers will embrace the excellence of your company, and your company will grow and thrive.
The art of delegation often escapes business owners and managers. This, in turn, leads to the unpleasant feelings of “stress” and “overwhelm”, which takes most-if not all-of the fun out of business. The lack of effective delegation also inhibits the growth and development of team members and therefore, of the business itself. A critical step in the creation of greater happiness and success in business, and life, is learning to delegate effectively, so that everyone involved is empowered to be more, and do more.
As a business owner, you have a choice. Have you merely created a job for yourself or are you leading the company you own? There is a distinct difference between these two choices. In the first situation you are doing daily tasks that could easily be handled by your fellow management and team members, tasks that are occupying your precious time to be the innovator, visionary and leader of your business. If this is your reality, what is this costing you, your team, your clients or customers, and your company?
The cost is significant. You have less time to be the effective leader of your company, and less time for your life; after all, personal freedom is likely one of the reasons you started a business in the first place. Your team does not have a powerful example to follow, someone that will lead with clarity in the direction of greater happiness and success. Your clients or customers are not receiving the very best that you and your team have to offer, because your company is not running as efficiently and effectively as it can. The bottom line is that your company will not live up to its potential, due to the fact that you, the leader, have not yet empowered yourself and your team to be more, and do more.
All of this can be overcome through the process of delegation. Delegation is the art of realizing that you can’t do it all, that you don’t have to do it all, and that your way of doing something is not always the most effective path to take. Once you realize and accept the fact that you can’t do it all, that you don’t have to, and that there are members of your team who are willing and capable of effectively doing more, you can begin to let go of tasks. The biggest objection I hear from my business clients is, “They won’t do it the way I do.” This is correct, given that they are not you, but this need not be an obstacle. In fact, once I help clients get over this mental block, they come to see the tremendous power that comes with delegation.
As a business owner or a manager, start by stepping back from your daily tasks, and then looking at your situation openly and honestly. Next, spend some time writing out all the tasks you handle. As you accomplish this, you will gain perspective of your self-created reality. Then, go through the list and prioritize your tasks from most to least critical. Now, take time to consider your team members, their abilities, enthusiasm, and their commitment to personal growth and development. With all of this information clearly laid out in front of you, start with the least critical task currently on your list, and decide which team member to give it to.
As you begin delegating, start slowly; delegate those tasks that are easiest to let go of and give them to those you believe are the most capable and willing to handle them. Then, monitor their progress. As needed, coach those you have delegated to for the best results, but remember that their way may be superior to the way you were doing it. Allow for their brilliance to shine! If you find that the task you delegated is not a good fit for the person you chose, re-delegate the work to another team member.
Over time, as you become an effective delegator, the positive results will be obvious. You will free yourself to lead, your team will grow more confident and capable, your clients or customers will embrace the excellence of your company, and your company will grow and thrive.
Daily Post
Love is necessary to the healthy development of a child. Love is also necessary to the well-being of adults. Happiness and love go hand in hand. Express the love that you feel for others, love yourself and love life.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Coaching Tip
By choosing to become more conscious, you will gain more understanding of yourself, others and life. Greater understanding of these things will lead to increased opportunities for happiness and success. Become observant, learn, grow and thrive.
Daily Post
We are introduced to ourselves, and come to realize our strength and potential through both adversity, and victory. Meet adversity openly, and let the best in you rise to the occasion so that you may create victories thereby, coming to see yourself in a far greater light.
Article: Are You Resisting Change In Your Business?
Change is occurring on a regular basis, whether we want it to or not.
The economy changes, business environments change, the weather changes, team dynamics change, relationships change, and so on. Life is about change, and if we resist change then we are limiting the greatness of life, in all that it has to offer us.
Why then, do we tend to resist change?
One reason we avoid change is because, in order to meet it in a positive and effective manner, we must change too. Also, we become comfortable in our current position, even if it is not working for us in the creation of our happiness and success. Another reason we resist change is that we have the tendency to focus on how hard change will be and the possible negative outcomes; these are typically assumptions based on our fear of the unknown.
Basically, we avoid change, because we focus on what we perceive as the downside of change.
Human beings are amazing in what they can accomplish once they open their minds to possibility, and then decide to take action. Change is much easier when we choose to see it in a positive light. As we embrace change, we alter our perception of it, from a “bad” thing, to a “good” thing.
If your business has stalled or is failing, if your relationships are not fulfilling, or if your health is declining, to name only a few, you can use your awareness of these facts to face the reality that while you might be “comfortable” in your current situation, your resistance to change is diminishing your happiness and success, a little more each day.
Self-honesty is a vital ingredient in choosing to make a change. As you become conscious of the negative feelings – the pain, and the undesirable results of your choice not to change - that discomfort helps propel you forward. We all reach a point where we “can’t take it anymore,” and getting real with yourself will help you reach this threshold sooner, saving precious time in creating a reality you do find pleasing.
In our tendency to focus on the “difficulties” of change, rather than on the benefits of it, we stop ourselves from taking action. This must be overcome if your intention is to experience increased happiness and success.
In my coaching work, I show people how their current thought and behavior patterns are working against what they want, how they are actually working against themselves. Then, we explore new thoughts and behaviors that will allow them to change their reality in very positive ways. The focus here is on the actual reasons for making a change and the multitude of benefits for doing so.
One example of this is the clearing of clutter from your desk and office, and getting organized. If, when you walk into your office, you feel heavy and have an aversion to doing so because of the mess and disorganization, then a change is in order.
Typically, the reason your office space is in this state of chaos, is because you have a habit of putting things off, a habit that is working against your happiness and success. Most likely, you have not gotten real with yourself about how terrible it feels and how it is diminishing your efficiency. Instead, you are focusing on how much work it will take, and wondering if you can you even do it, or if will it really make that much of a difference. I encourage you to take the exact opposite approach.
As you turn your attention away from - what appears to be at first - the overwhelming effort involved in creating positive change, and instead focus on all the benefits of it, you will take on the change with an energy that makes the effort seem a lot less daunting than originally perceived. In other words, you eliminate a major barrier to change by focusing on how it will improve your situation.
Change is inevitable. Imagine how powerful and freeing it will be when you are no longer paralyzed by change! If you are not pleased with the way things are going, then choose to make a change in you first – in how you perceive change. By doing so, you position yourself to take the actions that will improve your current situation so that you will experience higher levels of happiness and success.
The economy changes, business environments change, the weather changes, team dynamics change, relationships change, and so on. Life is about change, and if we resist change then we are limiting the greatness of life, in all that it has to offer us.
Why then, do we tend to resist change?
One reason we avoid change is because, in order to meet it in a positive and effective manner, we must change too. Also, we become comfortable in our current position, even if it is not working for us in the creation of our happiness and success. Another reason we resist change is that we have the tendency to focus on how hard change will be and the possible negative outcomes; these are typically assumptions based on our fear of the unknown.
Basically, we avoid change, because we focus on what we perceive as the downside of change.
Human beings are amazing in what they can accomplish once they open their minds to possibility, and then decide to take action. Change is much easier when we choose to see it in a positive light. As we embrace change, we alter our perception of it, from a “bad” thing, to a “good” thing.
If your business has stalled or is failing, if your relationships are not fulfilling, or if your health is declining, to name only a few, you can use your awareness of these facts to face the reality that while you might be “comfortable” in your current situation, your resistance to change is diminishing your happiness and success, a little more each day.
Self-honesty is a vital ingredient in choosing to make a change. As you become conscious of the negative feelings – the pain, and the undesirable results of your choice not to change - that discomfort helps propel you forward. We all reach a point where we “can’t take it anymore,” and getting real with yourself will help you reach this threshold sooner, saving precious time in creating a reality you do find pleasing.
In our tendency to focus on the “difficulties” of change, rather than on the benefits of it, we stop ourselves from taking action. This must be overcome if your intention is to experience increased happiness and success.
In my coaching work, I show people how their current thought and behavior patterns are working against what they want, how they are actually working against themselves. Then, we explore new thoughts and behaviors that will allow them to change their reality in very positive ways. The focus here is on the actual reasons for making a change and the multitude of benefits for doing so.
One example of this is the clearing of clutter from your desk and office, and getting organized. If, when you walk into your office, you feel heavy and have an aversion to doing so because of the mess and disorganization, then a change is in order.
Typically, the reason your office space is in this state of chaos, is because you have a habit of putting things off, a habit that is working against your happiness and success. Most likely, you have not gotten real with yourself about how terrible it feels and how it is diminishing your efficiency. Instead, you are focusing on how much work it will take, and wondering if you can you even do it, or if will it really make that much of a difference. I encourage you to take the exact opposite approach.
As you turn your attention away from - what appears to be at first - the overwhelming effort involved in creating positive change, and instead focus on all the benefits of it, you will take on the change with an energy that makes the effort seem a lot less daunting than originally perceived. In other words, you eliminate a major barrier to change by focusing on how it will improve your situation.
Change is inevitable. Imagine how powerful and freeing it will be when you are no longer paralyzed by change! If you are not pleased with the way things are going, then choose to make a change in you first – in how you perceive change. By doing so, you position yourself to take the actions that will improve your current situation so that you will experience higher levels of happiness and success.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Coaching Tip
Free yourself from any regrets, disappointments and grievances from the past so that you may once again raise your wings and fly. Your life is happening right now. Soar to new heights in your life.
Daily Post
Come to see yourself in a positive light. As you do so, you get more excited about your life. With greater excitement, comes increased energy that allows you to live your life more fully. You are far greater than you have ever imagined yourself to be.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Coaching Tip
To build the great relationships, care deeply, listen fully, and communicate in a constructive manner with the intention of coming together to create solutions, goodwill and mutual benefit. Life is relationships. Build the most profound ones you can.
Daily Post
Life is an exercise in maintaining a positive perspective. We never improve our situation by becoming negative in the face of our circumstances. It is only through overcoming the minds tendency to see problems that we come to solutions, which empowers us within our given reality.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Coaching Tip
You can restart your day anytime you want to. Every moment is a new one, and just because your day starts rough, does not mean that it necessarily has to continue or end that way. Begin again with a positive outlook whenever you need to, so that you will have the kind of day you feel great about.
Daily Post
There is a gift in everything. As I shovel snow, I am grateful for my eyes that see the snow covered world, my hands that hold the snow shovel, my legs that move me back and forth across the driveway, and my lungs and heart that allow me to live. I am grateful for the very life that I am living and so much more. Gratitude reveals to us how amazing life really is, and it allows us to live a life filled to the brim with joy.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Coaching Tip
You always have the power of choice. When we forget this, we feel trapped and at the mercy of others and circumstances; by what we believe is being "done" to us. By choosing your thoughts carefully, you exercise your power of choice to create this moment, this day and ultimately, the life you really want to experience. Remember, your thoughts become your reality.
Daily Post
Having a positive attitude is equivalent to living in a world where the sun always shines, where happiness rains and where there is consistent purpose to life. May the warmth of your positive attitude shine on you, and those in your life.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Coaching Tip
Go forward into your life, even in the face of the unknown. Live a courageous life, so that you may experience your greatest life.
Daily Post
There may be another Friday, another February, and more years to come. However, there is only one Friday, February 4th 2011. Do all you can to make this a great day!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Coaching Tip
Human beings are amazing in what they can accomplish once they open their minds to possibility, and then decide to take action. Change is much easier when we choose to see it in a positive light. As we embrace change, we alter our perception of it, from a “bad” thing, to a “good” thing.
Daily Post
Typically, there are aspects of our lives that we are happy about, as well as, parts of our lives that we are unhappy about. Focus on those aspects of your life that feel good, so that you will have the optimism, and energy to change the parts of your life you find displeasing.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Coaching Tip
When you truly care about yourself and others, you think, act and speak in ways that are constructive to life. Who you are fundamentally, is altered for the better, and the impact that your life has in the world becomes wholly positive. Care deeply.
Daily Post
Give what you can today, whether that is a smile, a kind word, an attentive ear, a pleasant greeting, money or a helping hand. Your generosity will elevate the self-worth and good feelings in you, and those you share with.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Daily Post
Whether you are having a great day or struggling, stop for a moment to consider that the only reason you are having the day that you are, is because you are alive to experience it. It could be the other way around, and for many, it will be today. Rejoicing for the glorious fact that you are alive refreshes your outlook, and improves your day.
Coaching Tip
Let your spirits rise through the practice of gratitude. If you notice yourself becoming troubled and unhappy to any degree, simply stop what you are doing and recount to yourself, everything you can think of to be grateful for. Your outlook will become positive, and happiness will grow within you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)