Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category


Tips to Refocus Yourself and Your Team

September 20th, 2010 // No Comments

Here are some tips to refocus yourself and your team.

  1. Retreat.
    Take some time to gain perspective.  Allow the most powerful computer in the world time to work (your brain)! Constant motion and active does not equate to effectiveness.
  2. Ask yourself and your team more appreciative questions.
    The news is filled with negative news; rarely does it highlight positive things.  We are so conditioned to focus on the problems and how to fix them that we do not take the time to recognize how far we come or that we have plenty to be grateful for. Research shows that people and teams who cultivate positivity deal with adversity much better than those who don’t.   The questions we ask ourselves and others can shift our attitude and mood.  Ask yourself and your team “What is going well?”
  3. Do something about it.
    Take action to improve the situation, even if it is merely a shift in your attitude.
  4. Cultivate your resources.
    The three resources you must manage are time, money and energy.  Identify your strengths. Identify the strengths of your team too.
  5. Breathe

Water Your Goals

April 17th, 2010 // No Comments

“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.” ~John Wooden

In my research of successful individuals and teams, success never happened by accident or luck. Successful teams set SMART goals which are:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-sensitive

“A goal is a dream with a deadline” ~ Napoleon Hill

Goals help determine where to spend your time and energy. Whether you are setting personal or business goals, follow these simple tips.

10 Simple Ways to Maintain Your Goals

  1. Write down your goals.
  2. Keep it simple; too many goals mean you have none. Limit yourself or team to 3 big goals.
  3. Be sure your goals are tied to your values.
  4. Articulate the benefit of achieving your goals – why these goals?
  5. Create a detailed action plan.
  6. While doing your daily and weekly planning, review your key goals.
  7. Reward yourself for milestones reached.
  8. Read inspiring books, stories, poems and quotes to keep you motivated.
  9. Mentally rehearse accomplishing your goals – see yourself already there.
  10. Find support to keep you on track.

Did you know?

Only about 3% of the population has written goals. Are your goals in writing? What stops you?

Don’t Forget to Set Your Vision

March 27th, 2010 // 1 Comment

Water The Bamboo® is a metaphor for achievement.  When you water giant timber bamboo in the first year, you will not see results. When you water in the second year, you will not see results. When you water in the third year, no results. However, sometime during the fourth or fifth year it will rocket up an astonishing 90 feet in less than 60 days. Do you have that kind of patience to see your vision come true?

What is your bamboo?  It would be ridiculous to go to the airport and ask for a ticket to no place in particular.  Yet many individuals and teams go through life without clearly articulating where they would like to go.  Success eludes many because they never made a decision to state what success looks like in their mind’s eye.  All human activity begins as a vision in the mind.  Learning to enhance your visualization skills can help you and your team become a constructive force.  The mind is a powerful energy source that can trigger any vision.  A vision is a way of programming a desired outcome in your subconscious mind.  Your subconscious does not differentiate between real and unreal.

A clear vision can:

  1. Help create energy, enthusiasm, optimism and commitment
  2. Remove barriers such as doubt, fear and worry
  3. Stimulate passion for what is possible
  4. Give courage to keep struggling against all obstacles
  5. Keep your team focused

Key questions to develop vision:

  1. Where do we want to go?
  2. What does success look like?
  3. What defines our success?

For more information on setting a vision read chapter 2 of Water The Bamboo™: Unleashing The Potential Of Teams And Individuals.  Once you and your team are clear about your bamboo, create a plan and Water The Bamboo!