Stress,
anxiety and worry can consume you and the quality of our life if you don't take
back the power you have given them. No doubt, there are things in life to pay
attention to, be aware of and to be concerned about, but there is no real need
to make situations bigger and scarier than they truly are. As you find yourself
stressing, worrying and obsessing about a situation stop yourself from going
any further by taking a few slow, deep breaths and then write out your
concerns. Once you get them down on paper where you can see them, they begin to
become manageable. Next, ask yourself what aspects you are in control of and
take action on those things. Exercising control where you can and letting the
rest go will empower you through your stress, anxiety and worry.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Business Times Column #77
Are Personality Conflicts Sabotaging Your Business?
Article date: May 27 2014
Marcus Straub
Personality conflicts hurt business operations by contributing to a decline in efficiency, productivity, team member satisfaction, retention, business growth and bottom-line profits. The degree to which team members don’t collaborate is, perhaps, one of the greatest obstacles to business success.
The smooth, effective flow of information is critical when working to meet the needs of clients, foreseeing challenges and overcoming obstacles. It’s also essential to the efficient production and delivery of quality goods and services in a timely manner. When communication is limited or even impossible due to personality conflicts, the business weakens from within and its effects are far-reaching.
It’s critically important for business owners and managers to be aware of negative behaviors that are a result of personality conflicts and to nip them in the bud to keep communication and collaboration at consistently high levels.
Do you recognize any or all of these damaging behaviors in your business?
Avoidance: Some people turn to avoidance to cope with a personality conflict. While this might be a quieter and more discreet way of dealing with the situation, it’s not effective in fostering the high levels of communication and collaboration necessary in fully functional businesses.
Resistance: When in resistance, individuals openly or overtly resist the suggestions, desires, directions and demands of the person with whom they’re in conflict. They might even demonstrate intentional spiteful actions intended to get back at or push the other person’s buttons. This type of behavior is not part of a successful team.
Verbal sabotage: Gossip and snide or edgy comments are common between individuals who don’t like each other. This type of negativity never leads to positive outcomes and can permanently damage the work environment. It has no place in a powerful business model.
Arguing: This behavior is the antithesis of effective communication and doesn’t contribute to positive environments where team members perform at peak levels. Arguments and aggressive disagreements disrupt operations, send negativity rippling throughout the business and damage company culture.
If you recognize some or all of these behaviors in yourself or your team members, it’s important to realize the tremendous drag they’re having on the resources, operations and profitability of your company. When top talent and customers are lost as a result of these conflicts, it’s already gone way too far. Given the overwhelming downside personality struggles bring to a business, it’s imperative you discover, address and overcome them as quickly as possible.
Many of these personality conflicts arise out of unconscious habits that exist within each team member. Sometimes, these habits can easily be corrected by simply drawing attention to the damaging negative behaviors in which team members engage and making it clear they’re not acceptable in the workplace.
Effective coaching is successful in helping people become fully aware of the situation at hand and their role in it. By working with a qualified professional, people learn to take personal responsibility for their attitudes and corresponding behaviors and can then correct them to create a more positive and collaborative work environment.
Team trainings designed to help people understand themselves and others — their similarities and differences — and also teach participants how to communicate with various behavioral types are invaluable to business success. With greater understanding of each other and enhanced communication skills, personality conflicts are significantly reduced.
Another option for lowering the occurrence of personality conflicts is to proactively hire for both attitude and skills. Through the use of highly accurate assessments that measure both the attitude and skills of the team member you bring into your business, personality conflicts can be diminished from the outset.
Occasionally, some team members will insist on keeping conflict alive and refuse to put down their differences. In these instances, the wisest choice is to let them go. Any time you reduce negativity in the workplace, you improve the satisfaction level of the team and, in turn, improve customer service and profitability.
Each of us is different, and we won’t always agree. However, when strategic investments are made in helping team members understand themselves and each other better, acceptance of differences become easier and collaboration becomes the norm. Much like the different components of a clock working in unison to keep the correct time, it takes a well-designed team to deliver the best possible experience to your customer base.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Coaching Tip #1029 "What Matters Most"
It's
easy to get caught up in the many little things that stand between us and the
success, contentment, love and happiness we seek, especially when we lose sight
of what is really important. Keep in mind how truly fortunate you are to be
alive - for the opportunity to meet ALL the moments of your life. Stay mindful
of how you want to feel and the quality of experience you want to have as you
travel your unique path. When you encounter obstacles, look for what's
important and focus your attention and efforts there. As you release the unimportant
from your thoughts you make room in your life for what matters most.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Coaching Tip # 1028 "Enjoy Your Day!"
You
have a full day ahead of you with task related priorities, deadlines and other
important to-dos. There's work or business activities, the kids needs and more
on your plate. Many of these things must be done today, while others will have
to wait. As you move through your busy day, keep in mind the feelings you want
to have as you accomplish your goals and cross things off your list. Try not to
lose the quality of your day to the tasks in front of you. Yes, get things
done, but enjoy doing them as much as you can. Stay grateful for the
opportunity to meet the needs of your life, and look for ways to infuse your
tasks with as much fun, laughter and happiness as you can. Enjoy your day!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Coaching Tip #1027 "It's The Little Things"
There is no doubt that the big moments in life are wonderful and amazing. These are times and experiences that we often "live for", and they provide us with great memories to last a lifetime. But what fills the space between these big events in life? It's the multitude of everyday little things which offer us the most consistent feelings of happiness and contentment. When added up over time, the little things in life have the greatest impact on our quality of life and they are also the easiest to take for granted. Just for today, use all of your senses to look for, experience and appreciate the endless little things that make your life great.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Coaching Tip #1026 "Keep It Simple"
Life
can be a complicated affair at times. If you allow yourself to fall into the
depths of an overwhelming complex reality you will likely become distracted and
miss out on the simple joys that add greatly to the quality of life. One way to
ground your thoughts and emotions in an increasingly complicated personal
reality is to slow yourself down. Doing so positions you to take in the beauty
of nature, read a good book, relax into a sunrise or a sunset, play with your
kids, engage loved ones or any other activity you enjoy and reset. Following
this path will help you to take the reins of your experience and find your way
through the complexity to a simply wonderful life.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Business Times Column #76
Why Be a Boss When You Can Be a Leader?
Article date: May 6 2014
Marcus Straub
Most likely you’ve worked for a variety of business owners and managers in your life. Certainly, some clearly stand out in your mind as people you enjoyed working for, while others seemed to suck all the pleasure out of the experience. It’s also likely there’s no doubt about the type of person you would rather work for — and why.
There’s a vast difference between being a boss and being a leader. By definition, a boss is someone who’s a master over others, who’s often controlling, domineering and authoritative, using fear to get ever more out of the individuals he or she manages. Conversely, a leader influences, collaborates, guides and supports to foster movement in a desired direction. The largest difference between these two management styles is that a boss disempowers people, while a leader works to empower team members and inspire them to greatness.
Bosses rely on authority and fear to make individuals do more and more for as little as possible. Bosses believe that when their people are intimidated and afraid, their control is guaranteed. Leaders create goodwill and enthusiasm, fostering an environment where their teammates want to give as much as possible by their own choice. Leaders understand they don’t have control over others and endeavor instead to help their people gain more self-control and make better decisions.
Bosses are self-centered and power hungry. They believe they’re special, stand above everyone else and, because there’s no team concept, play the blame game. Leaders, on the other hand, are service-focused and see themselves as part of the team. With this mindset, there’s no need for blame, only a collaborative effort in the direction of a shared solution.
Bosses believe they know it all and are the only ones with the correct answers. They don’t allow for the knowledge of their people, which leaves “employees” uninspired and disheartened. Leaders rely on the intelligence of their team members, understanding that no one person knows it all. They seek out and welcome the ideas of their followers, knowing this will only contribute to the team’s overall success.
Bosses like to tell others how to do things rather than get involved and demonstrate the process. They’re more interested in accomplishing a task versus teaching others how and why something should be done. Leaders recognize that when a person receives quality instruction in a hands-on manner, understanding and efficiency are created. Leaders also know that sharing of their time and knowledge helps their people to become more confident and competent.
Bosses love to take all the credit for things that go well and none of the accountability for things that don’t. They believe that to maintain their authority and control, they can never be at fault. Leaders give credit where it’s due and readily accept accountability as part of the team. They work with their people for solutions and inspire others through their positive example of personal accountability and teamwork.
Bosses drive their people and willingly use them up along the way. They see people as an expendable resource to be depleted in their pursuit of success, riches and power. Leaders coach their people in the pursuit of achieving lofty goals and assist them in becoming more than they once were. Leaders view their team members as a valuable resource to be cultivated, enhanced and developed.
Bosses disempower and demoralize individuals, making them and their company less of what they can be. Leaders willingly assist in the empowerment of their team members, and therefore the entire company, leading everyone to increased happiness and success. Rather than simply bossing people around, leaders assist others in becoming their best.
Through their lack of appreciation and dictatorial management style, bosses lay the foundation for distrust, resentment, disloyalty, disrespect, high turnover and absenteeism as well as lowered productivity and efficiency and the underperformance of the business. Through their commitment to communication and hands-on management style, leaders foster the opposite as the people they lead are treated like valuable human beings capable of accomplishing great things.
Are you a boss or a leader? If you recognize within yourself the need for leadership development, take the courageous step of working with a qualified professional to help you achieve your goals.
The admired leaders among us believe in and value human beings and work diligently to collaborate with and develop the potential in their people for the betterment of all. Bosses do not.
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Coaching Tip #1025 "Circumstances"
Each
day, life brings us things, people and experiences that we aren’t expecting and
didn’t plan for. These unknowns either compliment, conflict with or enhance
what we envision for ourselves. We don't have absolute control over what comes
our way, but we can make conscious choices about how to handle the unforeseen
circumstances in life. Meet whatever comes your way with gratitude by choosing
to appreciate the opportunity to have the experience. Enjoy and savor the
circumstances that compliment or enhance your day, and turn those troubling
ones into treasure by mining them for the gifts of experience and knowledge
they contain. Make the most of everything life gives you.
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