"Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be." Dr. E. Fosdik

The same holds true for teams!

I’ve had the honor and privilege of working with dozens of teams over the years, in strategic planning, meeting design, as thinking partners, and for goal setting. The one thing I find most helpful, not just in the meetings, but towards overall effectiveness, is to get the team to visualize their goals together.

We use a five-step approach:

• Write out the problem- all the details and emotions that go along with it
• Write out past successes- what helped you: tools, resources, thinking patterns
• How can you apply what you found in step 2 to the current problem?
• Spend time picturing what life looks like when you complete your goal
• Make your plan for NEXT steps and measurements of success

While this might be different than some of the other change processes that most of my clients have done in the past, it works! It works every...

I heard this statement from a coaching client the other day. I completely understand where he is coming from, however, I have to disagree a bit.

Let’s say your job as the leader or boss is to make sure everyone shows up to work on time, do their tasks, and generally get along with their team members, maybe attend the staff meetings and every once in a while you want them to give you a good idea about the work. Sound fair?

As Maxwell Maltz says, "All your actions, feelings, behaviors, and abilities align with your self-image."

All those things on the above list you want your people to do must align with their self-image. Maybe you have an employee that sees themselves as a failure and that influences their work. Maybe another person shies away from crowds and never comes to those meetings.

Our tendency as bosses is to take corrective action and say something like, “Just do your job!” And in a perfect world, that would work!

However… in reality, their...

Creatives live longer. Michaelangelo was still working at 80, Gothe wrote FAUST at 80, Edison invented things into his 90’s, and Picasso was painting well after the age of 85.

Then why, when I talk to leaders, they are ‘done’ and stressed and overwhelmed at younger and younger ages? Why do some leaders believe the ‘job’ has to be stressful?

Sure, systems, processes, and building a team really helps but the belief is the real problem.

Are you excited about your work and your team? Do you believe your job has to be difficult? What would it be like if it didn’t have to be hard?

Creative people believe in play, having fun, and exploring. They tend to live longer and enjoy life better because of their belief that life doesn’t have to be difficult.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just live longer, I want every day to be better than the last.

Take an honest assessment of your beliefs. Where do you stand? Are you an old...

I’ve coached hundreds of leaders over the last five years and one thing they all have in common is that their problem is usually related to fear. One of these:

• Criticism- the fear of what ‘they’ will say
• Failure- what if I do it ‘wrong’?
• Success- what if I do it ‘right’- how will my life change?
• Loss- of freedom, control, my job, etc.

Every time, we delve deeper, we find there is a story attached to that fear. Either something they’ve experienced in the past or something they’ve made up in their mind. The story runs the show.

Not logic.

Not reason.

Not systems or processes.

Their STORY!

So, what’s the fix? We try to get their conscious brain (the awake, aware, alert part) to focus on a new positive image of what they want to happen while allowing their subconscious brain (the auto-pilot) to get you to your goal. Change the story, change the result!

Try it! If you’d like help, just let me know!

[email protected]

"If every time a child comes up with an opinion he is squelched and put in his place, he learns that it is 'right' for him to be a nobody, and 'wrong' to be a somebody." Maltz

Many parents, teachers, and coaches understand this idea and try to encourage children whenever they can. Great leaders also use this principle with adults.

What if you replaced the word ‘child’ in this quote with the spouse? Co-worker? Team member? Employee?

This week I talked to several coaching clients and they all referenced really bad meetings. One of them told a story about the leader who discounted everyone’s idea at the table because it wasn’t his. Have you ever experienced that? Or perhaps you’re having a conversation with someone on social media or a friend over coffee. It doesn’t feel good to have your idea invalidated, does it?

How you handle someone else’s opinion or idea goes a long way toward successful leadership and it is imperative to get the results...

"Give up grudges as you would a gangrenous arm!" Maltz

Leaders need to learn how to deal with emotional injuries, not just have a ‘thick skin’. Ignoring injuries causes great damage. Just as an internal bodily infection can kill you if left untreated, internal emotional damage can kill your ability to lead and impact others.

These ideas have helped me the most:

• People are doing the best they can with what they know and have
• They cannot export what they don’t know (choice is a function of awareness)
• They are unaware of the effects their words and deeds have on others, especially me

John Maxwell, my friend, mentor, and business partner often teaches that the whole world, with one tiny exception, is made up of other people, so don’t put so much emphasis on that one tiny exception- you! Your people don’t necessarily know how to serve others. Be their model.

Grudges injure you and your ability to influence (i.e. lead).

If I had more time, I’ve shared...

If you’re like most people, you tend to have a hate/hate relationship with your mistakes, flaws, and screw-ups. You might even blame, shame, or judge yourself by them. The problem is that we get stuck when we do this. And our people do, too!

When we show our flaws and admit our mistakes, it takes the sting out of that self-judgment.

It also gives permission to your team that mistakes are okay and even welcome. Do we give others permission, by our example, to show their flaws, or do we model hiding them?

What would your workplace look like if your people could admit when they failed and find the help they need to move forward?

What would happen to your metrics if people didn’t hide their mistakes?

How could your team grow together if they knew it was safe to say, “I’m sorry”?

If you, like me, can imagine many of your workplace dramas disappearing and a kind of utopia setting in, you might be right! Your people take their cues from you. Be the change you...

"When the will and the imagination are in conflict, the imagination invariably wins every day," Emile Coue

There are lots of ‘coaches’ our there today that yell and tell. They tote the use of will power and force through ‘hard work’ and ‘discipline’ and ‘sacrifice’. They yell, “Follow my system no matter how hard it is!”

But the research and science don’t prove that to be true. When you experience resistance, you get more of the thing you’re resisting. Worry is a great example.

If you try not to worry, you just worry about worrying!

What if you could change the ‘HAVE TO’ that your ‘coach’ yells at you about into a “WANT TO’ that you never have to force again? Acceptance, excitement, imagination, and motivation all yield more power to get you your results than working 100 hours a week and following someone else’s ‘system’.

Stop using will power and start using...

"Your present inadequate feeling and doing is automatic and spontaneous, because of the memories, real and imagined, you have built into your automatic mechanism. You will find it will work just as automatically upon positive thoughts and experiences as upon negative ones." Dr. Maxwell Maltz

I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders in my career and one thing many of them have in common is a feeling of insecurity, especially when they receive a new role. This insecurity leads them to 3 big issues:

• Feeling overwhelmed when solving problems,
• Indecisive when working on future vision/goals/dreams, and
• Procrastination when getting the work done.

As we work together, we find the beliefs, values, and feelings that drive their behavior. Every single time it’s some belief that was built in them from early life OR some type of imagination (i.e. worrying) that they’ve spent a significant amount of time on.

The good news is that you can spend the same amount of time thinking...

“If you can remember, worry, or tie your shoe, you can succeed.” Maxwell Maltz

The way we view ourselves guides our thinking, behavior, and success. If we see ourselves as confident and capable, we will be. If we see ourselves as less than or disempowered, we will be.

Maxwell Maltz, in his book Psycho-cybernetics, describes the success mechanism we all have access to our brain and mind. When we download programs for success into our subconscious brain, much like you would software into a computer, you head toward success. How does one do this?

• Learning, practicing, and experiencing new ways of thinking,
• Using your imagination for positive growth, and
• Acting in order to move forward, despite your circumstances.

If you can spend time thinking about all the things that can go wrong, you can spend time thinking about all the things that would go right!

If you’re not getting the results you want in any area of your life, it might be time to ask yourself this question:...