Here’s what’s been on our minds lately … This is where we post occasional thoughts, observations, photos and ideas that we find relevant and connected to our work.
Keeping Your Goals Alive
For most of my clients, the hardest part of goal setting and realization is continually bringing energy and focus to their goals throughout the course of the year. While many people begin each new year with reflections and purposeful intentions, at some point, additional motivation will be needed. By nature, a habit is a settled routine and it is hard work to depart from practices we have used for years. In working with leaders, I find that we all need something that serves as a reminder of who we are becoming, because it can generate the juice to help us fulfill our purpose.
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The World is Changing…..How about you?
In the work I do with leaders, teams and organizations, a constant challenge – regardless of the industry or issue – is around keeping pace with change on an individual and collective level. Bob Anderson, author of Mastering Leadership, speaks to this point when he discusses the correlation between business results and leadership effectiveness. Bob states, “The pace of development for leaders must exceed or match the pace of change in business conditions.” Do you agree? Think back through your career and note how your development was keeping pace. What do you notice? Were you actively changing to match business conditions?
Goals! Goals! Goals!
It’s a new year, it’s a new you. Many of us have some sort of process we go through at the start of the year. For some, it’s a fleeting thought of how they want to do better. For others, it’s writing out goals, or committing to new routines like working out.
Are You in Condition to Lead?
My daughter plays a sport in college, and summer conditioning is required for the team to be ready for the upcoming season. One of her teammates was visiting her this past August, and I went with them for a morning workout. I watched as they conducted timed sprints. There were 25 fairly long sprints, each having a timed goal. In between each sprint, there was an allotted time of “recovery.” This consisted of resting time to catch their breath, as well as to send blood and oxygen to their muscles. Then they would sprint again. This went on forever.
Harnessing Intentional Leadership
Intentional leadership is the key to effective teams and avoiding the riptide of reactivity. Yesterday, I met with a senior leader of a business line who, like many leaders, is highly skilled in executing and operational excellence. The challenge he faces, however, is how to stop reacting and spend more time on the big picture, in order to create the foundation for the organization’s future.
Creating: An Essential Act of Leadership
In the early hours of dawn, I wrap my hands around a warm cup of coffee and enjoy a few peaceful minutes to myself. It is in these quiet moments that I am able to pause, and envision what I want to create in this day – and in the days to come. At the start of each year, I carve out a few days to create my visions and set my intentions for the coming year – in my work and in my relationships. On a morning like this, I feel reconnected to this ritual.