Month: August 2019

(4-minute read time)

We have a problem, so we seek a solution – a book, a class, a podcast, a webinar, a conference, a seminar, a coach.   We think “Aha!! Finally, a solution! I need that, it will fix this”. We work magic to be able to attend the event or read the book.  This act often requires magic because we’re already so busy that finding time to address the dilemma a dilemma in itself.  

A 2015 Gallup poll indicated 61% of working Americans say they don’t have enough time.  I would’ve imagined that number to be higher and maybe now in 2019 it is. Nonetheless, there’s often an urgent need for the solution because we simply do not have time for problems!  

So we find the thing we think will fix our issue and we consume it.  And then ya know what usually happens next? A whole lot of forgetting.  

50% of knowledge evaporates within the first hour of acquiring it.  Half. Gone in 60 minutes! 70% fades away within 24 hours and 90% within a week.  

Ya know that sense of confidence, motivation or inspiration you get from some learning experiences?  Like a moving Ted Talk or an inspirational book sometimes that just makes you feels good? That good feeling came from your THOUGHTS about applying what you learned.  

Unfortunately, actually applying new knowledge doesn’t always feel great.  It’s new, different. It often requires our focused effort and concentration. It takes time and energy that at least 61% of us say we don’t have.  So, our brains tell us to just keep doing things the way we already know how to, it’s too much effort the other way.  

Let’s say we decide to accept the fact that it will require effort.  We ‘re aware it’s going to feel clunky at first and we are willing to experience this.  Depending on who you ask, mastering a new skill takes anywhere from 20 – 10,000 hours. Well now, that’s quite a range, isn’t it?  Let’s go with the low end, 20 hours. The problem is not the effort it takes to apply the new skill.  The problem is once we learn something, that same magic that was required to find the time and energy to consume the knowledge is required of us again.  Now we have to pull another rabbit out of a hat to find at least 20 hours of application (nevermind thousands of hours). Most of us just don’t do it. And as a result, we learn but the knowledge often just disappears.        

“I want to spend lots of time learning and never do anything with what I learned” – said no one ever.  But we do it all the time.  

Here are two key questions to ask yourself beforehand to help ensure the investments you make in your personal and professional development stick.  And, they ARE investments – of time, energy, money.

Why am I consuming this?  

A lot of times we avoid the real work necessary to solve our problem because we think we don’t know enough (which is often not true).  Consuming information feels like action but it isn’t – it’s passive. It’s just preparation for the action that actually produces the desired result.  You can read more about massive and passive action here.  Getting clear on your reasons for consuming knowledge and liking those reasons will go a long way in helping you apply what you’ve learned.  

What will I commit to doing with this investment? 

Knowledge isn’t power.  It’s the application of knowledge that is powerful.  Before learning whatever it is you’re learning about, consider what you will do with it.  We often have fantasies of what we will do with it but get really honest with yourself here.  Commit to learning with application in mind.   Then commit to application.

Some of you are over-consuming personal and professional development stuff.  I get it. I’m with ya, I love this stuff too. In fact, one of my favorite things about my work is that it almost requires me to stay attuned to these things. At the same time, unapplied knowledge doesn’t just cost time, energy, and money – it suffocates progress.  Don’t let that thing you meant to be a solution to your problem become a barrier to the solution.   

Managing our time, energy, and sometimes money, so we can develop personally and professionally can be an undertaking in itself!  I can definitely help, just click here to schedule a free, 30-minute discovery session.   

(3-minute read time)

I was a Supervisor in Quality Assurance.  One of the lower-performing team members I had been monitoring had a really big win and I wanted to acknowledge him.  The next day I left early for work, stopped at a store and purchased a dozen balloons, maybe more… I went to the office and did up his desk to the 9’s!  I was so excited, his reaction was sure to be the highlight of my day.    

Turned out his reaction WAS rather memorable.   Just not in the way I expected. Have you ever heard of globophobia?  This was well before Oprah revealed herself as having it in 2013 and I sure hadn’t ever heard of it.  Turns out it is the fear of balloons. Turns out it’s a real thing. And, it turned out that my guy, the recipient of my recognition efforts, had it.   

Let’s face it.  Sometimes our recognition efforts fall flat.  That’s one of the many reasons why we don’t do it as much as we want to or think we should.  Other reasons might sound like: 

• “It takes time, time I don’t have”   
• “It’s just a feel-good tactic, it doesn’t make that much of a difference” 
• “They’re adults do I really need to give out “atta-boys” and “atta-girls”?
• “I don’t know what to do.  They don’t want company tchotchkes or the same old gift cards… I want it to be meaningful”
• “It’s too complicated, I have to follow the company process/system”

If you have found yourself thinking any of these thoughts, or some variation of them, no worries – you aren’t alone!  The Center for Creative Leadership reported this year that “Inspiring Others” is among the top concerns of leaders across the globe.  Many of us are challenged with doing recognition effectively. Heck, inspiring OURSELVES is hard enough some days – right?  

At the same time, we can’t deny the proven links between employee recognition and important factors like the employee experience, employee engagement, retention, and recruitment.  Well, we can deny the links, but not without consequence. Really, it’s just easier to acknowledge the links and find ways to leverage what we know works. And here’s what definitely works – employees who feel valued.    

Employees who feel valued are valuable employees.   

Here’s the caveat.  We do not have the power to make anyone feel anything. At no time are we ever able to control someone else’s emotions. Never. Not at home, not at work, not at our kids’ schools. Nowhere, no one, never.

If you could make your employees feel a certain wouldn’t you would have done it by now? You probably would’ve chosen to make them not only feel valued but also motivated, creative, innovative, inspired, energized, confident, etc. But our employees don’t always feel this way and you can’t force them.

We can, however, create an environment that is optimally primed for team members to experience the desired feelings.  One key way to accomplish this is through meaningful employee recognition. The good news is the recipe for meaningful employee recognition has only one ingredient:  The belief that it matters. That it’s an important and impactful part of your job as a leader.

Start with a minimum baseline.  What is the minimum amount of times you will commit to performing some form of employee recognition per week?  Start there. Pick a number. Commit. Follow through. Watch the positive impacts. Then watch how your belief in the value of employee engagement naturally grows.   

Would you like to experience even more of the positive results from focusing on employee recognition?  Want more highly engaged team members, who produce high-quality work and are loyal to the organization?  I can definitely help, just click here to schedule a free, 30-minute discovery session.   

(3-minute read time)

Barf Club.  It’s the loving, although rather gross name, my colleagues and I have for our goals.  We know it’s a right-sized goal when we feel excited and slightly terrified at the same time.  Excited that it’s possible, terrified at the idea that ‘lil ol’ me could pull it off! 

I’ve been there before.  The day I mailed the college application.  The day I accepted the job. The day I received the keys to my first office with a real door.  The day I walked out of the bank after opening a business account. All felt both exciting and terrifying.    

These were defining moments.  These were moments where the story was yet to be written.  These were moments where the decisions I made influenced the trajectory of the story.  

It’s easy to see defining moments when they are big, bold, obvious.  Life-changing events cause us to pause, take notice and anticipate how the change will impact our future.  But often, we miss smaller, yet extremely impactful, defining moments. We don’t often wake up in the morning and consider that whatever we will do right now, in this day – matters, really, truly matters.    

Here’s the thing.  Those big, bold, obvious, exciting, yet somehow slightly nauseating opportunities only come from the smaller defining moments.  Let’s look at a promotion opportunity at work as an example.    

The moment you think of the promotion as even being possible for you?  Defining Moment.  

The moment you take action to prepare/develop yourself for the promotion? Defining Moment.  

The moment you make the decision to apply? Defining Moment.

The moment you follow through?  Defining Moment.

Unfortunately, our choices in the defining moments of life can also work against us and move us away from our desired results.  This is failing ahead of time. This is playing it safe, living by default and recycling the same life.  

Ultimately it’s self-rejection and it’s made up of Defining Moments that look like this: 

• Changing your mind 
• Staying confused
• Not doing what you planned
• Not following through on commitments
• Not taking action
• Giving up
• Lowering your standards
• Making excuses
• Justifying inaction

We don’t consciously acknowledge these as Defining Moments or as self-rejection.  We make them sound much more justified and dignified. But, not seeing these moments for what they are, is only cheating ourselves more!   We cheat ourselves out of the defining moment AND out of the awareness that we are rejecting ourselves, rejecting the dream that who we want to become is actually possible.      

You’re here for a purpose.  A purpose that can only uniquely be filled by you.  Look for the moments where you can make choices FOR that purpose, not against it.  There’s more of those moments happening than you may think. If you look, I bet you could find some today.  Need a hand? I can definitely help, just click here to schedule a free, 30-minute discovery session.   

(2-minute read time) 

She had just been promoted.  She was excited and nervous, more of the latter.  I knew she was nervous without her saying so. Her string of “What if…” questions made it pretty obvious.  

What if…..

They don’t like me?

I don’t do a good job?

It’s harder than I imagine?

My team doesn’t perform well?

I can’t keep up with work and being a Mom?

None of her “What if…” questions accounted for a positive outcome.  They all focused on the undesirable.

All of her questions could be wrapped up into one overarching, looming, scary “What if” question:    

“What if I fail?”

Her brain, just like yours and mine, has a primitive and primary desire to ensure safety and security.  It’s a survival instinct. One that can keep us from really showing up in our lives if we let it.

So one by one, we addressed the frightening “What if’s”.  Together, we went to the scary place in the future where failure was a possibility.  And one by one, we discovered there was a recovery option for each possible failure.       

Once we had done that, we were able to look at the opposite outcome – success. An outcome that was not only possible for her, but it was also actually much more likely.  By the time we were finished, she was imagining success not failure. She left fueled with confidence. Not confidence in the sense that everything would go perfectly, but confidence that even if the “What If’s” actually happened – it was all going to be ok.  We had tipped the scales, excitement overtook nervousness.        

How about you?  Where do you find yourself “What if’ing” your future?  Are your questions focused on the undesirable? Is the undesirable actually likely?  

Take some time to let yourself go to the scary “What if…” place.  Put yourself hypothetically in that situation and uncover what you would do if that was real.  I suspect you will find that there is a recovery option.  

Often, it’s much easier to go to the land of “What if” with a tour guide.  I can definitely help, just click here to schedule a free, 30-minute discovery session.