Your Leadership Coach

The phrase for the week is "We Are What We Practice.” What patterns emerge in your behavior time and time again that you wish were different?   What if  you are chronically late, for example?    How do you change this behavior if you practicing being late everyday?--late to work, late to meetings, late to bed...   It creates stress, embarrassment and shapes your personal brand reputation.  Consider this process for changing this. You must first realize the consequences of any poor behavior.   If y ou’re in denial and haven’t acknowledged there is a real problem, ask those around you for feedback on the one thing you might change to enhance your personal brand.   Until you can acknowledge your role in the behavior and want to change, it will continue. Once you acknowledge there is a problem and you want to change it, you must interrupt the pattern in a dramatic way.   Let’s use the example of being chronically late.   To int...

The phrase for the week is "Contingency Planning” When I was growing up in Chicago, I loved to play chess.   What I loved most about the game was trying to predict what moves my opponent might make and what I would do in response.   I’m too impatient for chess now, but I have used those skills throughout my career and am confident it has been the foundation for much of my planning success stories.   I call it contingency planning but the formal term is scenario planning. It is so much a part of how I approach my personal and professional life, I rarely realize I’ve engaged this tool.   In order for this level of planning to work, you must be committed to the amount of time it takes to sift through all the possible outcomes or scenarios.   Often, a person will only plan for the outcome they want and when things go awry, they are back to square one--researching, planning, etc.   Often there is a mourning period before they are able to regroup to beg...

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 ...