Your Leadership Coach

The phrase for the week is "Budget Your Time.” Much like you might establish a budget for your household, few people establish a budget for their time. In my coaching practice, I often hear, “I just don’t have enough time for this or that,” or, “I’m too overwhelmed to add one more thing,” or “I need more hours in each day.”   When I ask what is consuming most of their time, they are at a lost to be specific. This week, develop your own timesheet and record how you spend your time.   Keep a detailed accounting of your activities at work and home.   It is tedious work when you write everything down, but the payoff is tremendous.   The results may surprise you.   Once you’ve determined what is creating havoc on your good intentions, create an ideal allocation of your time and begin a plan to realize your ideal.   I record how I spend my time to inform and plan for the life I want.

The phrase for the week is "Get Enough Sleep” We all have read, heard or felt the benefits of getting a good night’s rest: ·          Better Health ·          Better Sex Life ·          Better Memory ·          Less Pain ·          Better Weight Control ·          Better Mood ·          Clearer Thinking I’ve been functioning on 4 to 5 hours sleep for years, and I can point to a host of friends and colleagues who have done the same.   As I get older, I can see and feel this bad habit must change.   The first thing I did was get into regular sleeping habits. I really try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Even if I don’t go to sleep or wake early, I don’...

The phrase for the week is "Eliminate a Bad Habit” Before you slam yourself for having a bad habit you want to eliminate, consider first making a list of all your good habits.   Be ready to be amazed!   In an issue of O Magazine, Zoe Donaldson dispels some myths about habits and offered these facts: ·          Willpower is all in your mind.   You can control your self-controls to establish new routines.   ·          A University of Southern California study found that on average, it takes 66 days to establish new routines. The range was 18 to 254 days, so hang in there. ·          It’s never too late to adopt a healthier lifestyle.   No matter the age, there were significant benefits to report. Ok, now that all the excuses are out of the way, pick a habit that is limiting your forward progress. Habits like biting your nails ...

The phrase for the week is "Play to Your Strengths” Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of feedback, but no one ever focuses on the good feedback, just the negative.   The term” plan for improvement” annoys me too.   We are hard-wired to focus on the negative.   Our brains respond so differently to compliments and praise.   It energizes us in a way improvement plans don’t. What inevitably happens is that the employee abandons their strengths to focus only on their weaknesses.   If the news is a surprise, they wonder, does everyone know I have this weakness and aren’t telling me?   Are they having secret meetings where this is discussed?   It’s like getting to the end of the day and finding out that you had spinach stuck in your front tooth all day. I’m not suggesting that you ignore negative feedback.   Not at all.   We can all grow and become better humans when we are made aware of our behaviors or work product that a...

The phrase for the week is "Prepare for the Inevitable” This week’s affirmation is for the optimist!  This blog is for the o ne who always expects the best in themselves and in the world. This is a chance to press the pause button and reflect on what’s to come and what, if anything we can do to prepare when it isn't a question of if, but when. The idea here is to make this personal. Develop a list this week of things in your life that are inevitable and that require you to have an action plan. Set deadline dates to outline your plan of action.   Here’s my partial list: ·          Retirement ·          Marriage of a child ·          Restricted mobility, due to bad knees ·          Death of a parent ·          Closing consulting practice I embrace the unknown...

The word for the week is "Declutter.” An organized mind, office and house helps one reach personal and professional goals as planned.    Set three priorities this week and don’t allow someone else’s crisis to derail you from you plan to declutter . It takes about 4 to 8 hours to declutter an office.   According to professional organizer Barbara Reich, it takes 20 to 30 hours to organize a house.   So plan accordingly.   Resources you will need for the job:   File folders Label maker Trash bags File boxes Storage boxes or bins Packing tape, dispenser is helpful A cheerleader A positive attitude loaded with  perseverance I declutter for clarity and to reach my goals.

The word for the week is "Trust.” Trust is critical to your success. Having both people and communication skills can impact how quickly you are able to establish trust.   Ineffective communications can result in misunderstandings that can lead to missed opportunities, actions that don’t match with expectations and other issues.   Those with great people and communication skills help build their credibility as a leader, friend, spouse and parent.  When you are communicating effectively for outcomes, you get what you want. Know your own triggers that impact your communications effectiveness and address them. Work on your listening skills . Additional tips to build trust: ·          Practice What You Preach to Others ·          Honor Your Promises ·          Keep Confidences ·          Be Honest ...

The phrase for the week is "Financially Speaking” When I’m coaching a senior manager or executive who wants a seat at important C-Suite meetings, I ask one question--How’s your business and financial acumen?   If it’s a face-to-face meeting, I usually get a cold stare.   If I'm coaching by phone, the silence can be deafening. Here’s the deal, reading a profit and loss or any other financial statement is important.   What’s more important, however, is understanding what it means in relation to the company as a whole.   It is no secret, employees with business and financial acumen are better at thinking strategically, see the bigger picture relative to the company’s success and clearly understand how their function impacts that success.   Also important is understanding how the company makes money. This knowledge will accelerate your opportunities to be included in important discussions.   I choose to purse an MBA to shore up this area of weakne...

The phrase for the week is "Strive for Excellence” What exactly does that mean and how will I know I’ve achieved it?   Good question!   You can go back as far as you’d like…think about a time when you either led or were part of something that swirls joyously in your head for months or years--having children or getting married doesn’t count. You know you gave y our best when years later, you are still beaming with pride at just the thought of it!   Could you imagine having that feeling each day?   How about once a week?   Once a week is absolutely doable.   When you achieve a high level of excellence on a daily basis, and it becomes habit, then you’re going to find success greeting you at every turn.   Know where your sweet spot is and be purposeful, deliberate.   Strive for Excellence. I strive for excellence in all I do each and every day.