My Travels in Coaching

My travels in coaching have taken me on somewhat of a fishing expedition this year.  I have spent some time reflecting on my journey and have had some eye-opening thoughts.  I'm going to let you in on what I learned this past year:

1. keep focused on the main thing - it's easy to get distracted and go off a tangent because there are so many things to do as an entrepreneur
2. work your numbers monthly - I need to stay on top of my bookkeeping - not my favourite thing, but I do need to do it more regularly (watch for this as a goal in 2011)
3. there are many people out there excited about their business - I learned a great deal from them by asking questions and listening
4. be selective - by attempting to be involved in everything, I would have no time to work with clients properly or on my business at all, let alone find time for family and balance
5. people are ready to share - experiences, challenges, ideas, referrals - I just need to ask and do the same in return

Now, if every time I went fishing, I caught fish like these, I would never have to buy fish again.  Taking time to reflect and look at your business from a different vantage point can help you see new things, or old things in new ways.

Grow Rich! With Peace of Mind

So I have started reading a second Napoleon Hill book:
Grow Rich! With Peace of Mind.


Couple Things...I always thought it was piece of mind, not peace of mind.  Now it makes sense to me.  I guess I focused on the saying  'give you a piece of my mind'.

Already this book is amazing!  Thanks to Joe DiGiorgio from HoldPlease( a cool company that promotes your messages, services and products through your voicemail and phone answering system).  He gave each of us in our 'wicked' group a copy for Christmas.

I am going to share with you what I learn, as I am learning it.  Later ...when I am done, I will post it as a slideshare presentation on my LinkedIn Profile.

Here is the first one:

"Every adversity has within it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit."

Think about that....look for the positive in anything that you attempt.  Although you may not get there or find that you were not as successful as you had hoped, what did you learn that you could apply to the future? Where did that situation take you instead of the destination that you envisioned? What does that mean to you now?

I'll keep reading and keep you posted!

Cheer

Christmas Cheer & Good Wishes to You!

from Leadership Solstice

The New Year

The New Year is right around the corner.
Are you ready to get it started on the right foot?

You have already taken some time to review 2010...what was good, what worked, the challenges you overcame, the obstacles that got thrown in your way, the new things you tried, the new people you met, the old friends you got to catch up with...and so much more!  It's definitely a time to celebrate.

Sometimes I will sit back and try to review everything all at once...it can be hard to do - I can easily skip or gloss over things that were really impactful at the time, but because they are now a part of me, I don't give them the importance or reflection time they deserve...kind of like the fireworks in the image above - exciting when it happens and then they are gone only to be a memory I recall in the future.

The whole key is to keep the important events, people and goals front and centre.  By using the 100 DAY START UP, you can do this.  Click here for more details.

Surround Yourself

Picture yourself in the middle of this circle.  You are the leader of this new team.

You have empty chairs around you.
You get the opportunity to select your own team.
Who are you going to choose?

As a leader, who you surround yourself with makes a huge impact on product or service your clients will receive.  As a leader, you need to surround yourself with experts in each area of your responsibility.  Why?  Good Leaders know that they are not the expert at everything, and they need great people around them to lead...to help them accomplish the agenda set out before them...to create the best product or service for their clients...to know that they can count on the team to execute.

Now take a few minutes and do the exercise. Who would you want on your team?  Why do you want that particular individual there?  What will they bring to the table, that you need at the table?

Are You the One?

Would you like to listen to world class speaker discuss leadership and making changes in the world?

Every year the coaches over at Solution Linx Online Coaching host a leadership simulcast.  They are offering you the opportunity to participate, in person or by teleconference, in facilitated leadership discussions featuring audio/DVD from:

• Chip Heath
• Mark Sanborn
• Jim Collins
• Tony Dungy
• Steve Uzzell
• Connie Podesta

Click here for more information.  This is a great way to experience Leadercast in small chunks...the main Leadercast event will take place in May 2011.

The Z's of Leadership

And our last installment on the alphabet of leadership.  I hope that you use these words as references for reports, presentations or conversations.  Don't forget to comment and add yours!

Zest-for life, for leadership


Zigzag-agile, can move around the issues

Zealous-a fighter

Zip-vigorous, energetic

Zenith-like a light, a beacon

Zero in on-focused

The Y's of Leadership

Yearn - wants more for themselves and others

Yesterday - looks back and applies learning forward


You- a huge priority for every leader

Yet-not settling down

Yes-said to encourage and develop

Yours-ready to go to battle for you

The X's of Leadership

Hard to find X words so I made up my own

Xtreme - maxed, focused

Xtra-goes further for everything

The W's of Leadership

Wonder-has a sense of exploration


Will-tries, helps

Work-ready, willing and able

Why-asks all the time, wants to discover underlying issues or opportunities

Which-gives options, never settles

Walk-the talk