"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...

"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...

Depends on the mistake!

Is it a relationship mistake, such as not keeping a promise you made to an employee? Check, done that!

Is it a production mistake, such as failing to meet a deadline? Check, done that!

Is it an empowerment mistake, as in you came into the conversation a little too bossy, rather than helpful? Check, done that!

So, what do you do when you make one of these mistakes? There are 5 steps of moving forward:

• Acknowledge your mistake: don’t ignore it, acknowledging is half the battle!
• Take steps to fix it right away if you’ve hurt someone in a physical or emotional way
• Apologize for your mistake: be real and honest with yourself and others
• What’s the REAL problem? The mistake isn’t the real problem! Your thinking that leads TO the mistake is the problem! (do you need to change a system or process, do you need some self-care or personal development time, do you need to change your thinking, or build a skill set?)
• Forgive yourself! You are...

"Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen." Epictitus

How can one person put up with an extreme amount of pressure from their circumstances and conditions and perform rather well at work and another person breaks down under the smallest amount of pressure?

Obviously, it’s not the circumstances they are in that make the difference. What is it?!?

Their attitude and opinion about what’s happening!

Do you ever take time to listen to your people about their thoughts, feelings, values, opinions, or beliefs surrounding the work you do? Do you know what they’re thinking and feeling in relation to the pandemic and all it’s tangential struggles? If you didn’t answer a wholehearted YES to those two questions, it might be time to backtrack a bit.

Successful leaders take time to listen, understand, and empathize IN ORDER TO move the person and the work forward. If you don’t listen, understand and...