How Do You Create Synergy?

Synergy can come from any type of circumstance.

Building synergy in and around your business is a leader's mission.

Here are a few ways to do this:

• collaborate within teams in the organization (this will also help to eliminate silos)
• join associations that include your competitors - keeps you focused and also helps you stay on trend
• meet with key thought leaders outside of your business for lunch - pick their brains, and encourage your team to do the same
• join a Mastermind Team - get input from others in different industries who can share experiences and help you and your business grow
• get a group coach - teambuilding opportunities with a coach can help new perspectives develop along with eliminate old boundaries

Not difficult to do...just takes action.  Can you do this?  Can you plan even 1?  Let me know how it's going!

Pay Your Way with Change

We just completed hosting our 3rd Chick-fil-A Leadercast.  One thing that happens with each event is change. 

• change in our lives
• change in how we lead
• change in how we present the event next year
• change in how we deliver our messages

Let's face it, every opportunity that we have to grow is really a call for change.  I once had a very smart VP ask me how (he was sending me to a learning experience abroad) I was going to pay for my trip.  He wanted to know what I would do with what I learned.  This was a very valuable question - and since then, every event I have attended or hosted, I ask myself that question before attending and upon my return.
How will I pay for my trip?

How do you pay for your trips?  How can you prepare in advance to make that payment?

Leadership Windsor Essex

I have been so fortunate to be selected for the 2011-2012 class for Leadership Windsor/Essex.  The class of 25 amazingly unique individuals is a wonderful mix of private, not-for-profit and public sector leaders that want to learn about our community and how to use their leadership skills to make a difference, continuing to propel our region forward.

This is the 10th year of this great organization that is a part of the Canadian Community Leadership Network.  There are already over 200 alumni.  We just got started on this 10 month journey (so you will hear about it monthly because I cannot help but share!)  and already I have learned so much - about myself, about the community in which I live and work, and about the fellow leaders in my class.

We started off with a retreat - full of activity and discussion.  Lots of trust exercises, questions and relationship building activities.  It impressed me how easy it was to get to know people who have such a common focus.  While each of us may have a different aspect of community service we would like to tackle, we are each focused on the future for our area.

I have said it before - it is about the 'click'.  'Clicks' were happening all over...it was almost electric, the amount of energy that was generated through discussions and brainstorming.  Part of the focus of this class and journey is the ability to take action in the community.  We were presented with 6 good options for Community Action Projects (CAP) - and with a team, you are able to select a project that gets approved by the Executive Director - Becky Parent (awesome leader - by example!)  Once approved, you are off to work on this project along with attending learning days that highlight the opportunities and challenges that we face together and can hopefully create positive change....whether now or after our class.

What an adventure.  As an entrepreneur (and team of 1, sometimes 1 and 1/2), it can be difficult to make time to develop myself.  Leadership Windsor Essex is a commitment to myself and my own development - taking time out to learn and grow in my community with super people.  It is also my time to be part of a larger team - something that I recognizably missed and my eyes were opened to that as the retreat weekend went along.

So looking forward to telling you more about my experiences.  I would love to hear about your community leadership experiences.  Post them here!

Catalyst Session Notes

Today I held my first Catalyst Session at the Downtown Business Accelerator in Windsor Ontario.  A great space with a wonderful group of participants who worked through the following thoughts:

• What I know about my business
• What keeps me up at night
• What I need to learn
• My immediate business challenge

One participant stepped up and offered his challenges for all to work on in a mastermind session.
Here are the notes  - applicable to many inside and outside the room.

The challenge focused on the forced change that life has thrown his way, so the options exist to pursue the corporate world or take on the challenge of becoming an entrepreneur.

Team Feedback:

• Understand your reality by the numbers - how long will your present income last?
• Set a 'parachute' timeline so that you are able to survive, pay the bills and explore the option.
• Be realistic about wanting the 'pain' of entrepreneurship or choosing to always be a great #2
• Do you have passion for what you have set out to do?
• Spend time developing your personal vision - 5yrs, 10yrs +
• Do a SWOT analysis on yourself.  Do an external scan on that SWOT - ask for open feedback.
• Develop a clear client profile
• Develop a clear message about who you are and what you do
• Be open-minded to the opportunities that are out there that may not be in your current field but can still use the skill set you have already developed
• Understand your optimum level of momentum?  What is the amount of chaos you want/need in your life and can you get that from work as well as other sources - working out, hobbies, groups etc?
• Develop an elevator pitch and a short referral phrase so that others can help refer business for you.
• Be open to flexible opportunities, perhaps even suggest them as you go through this process.
• Make a decision - commit.

All great feedback!  Thanks for participating and helping someone ignite their future.  If you would like to learn more about becoming a Catalyst, drop me a line at Lora@solsticegroupcoaching.com.

Grow Rich #11

Change is constant.  See nature for reference.
Hill had a sense of humour and his wordplay was great.  This last and final quote really made everything come to a single space in my mind.  The opportunities the world gives me are because I attract them through the love and respect I have for myself and those around me.  What I do with those opportunities is up to me and my open mind, giving me greater challenges and ways to use my strengths, be disciplined and face the changes that come my way.

Enjoy the book - you will look at everything differently when you are done.

 
     

Grow Rich #7

Attitude is everything - I am sure that you have heard that so many times.  I goes with hiring the right attitude because you can teach that person whatever is necessary to do the job.  The attitude we take towards ourselves and the world around us, makes all the difference to our success and accomplishment.  Naoleon Hill says it well when he says:

"Have respect for the world that gives you opportunities. Let your attitude reflect that respect."

Take care of the world and those within it, it ill continue to give you opportunities, what you do with those opportunities is completely up to you.

Create Opportunities

How do you get others involved? Create opportunity. Opportunity for engagement will drive the success of your business, build for the future, develop a succession plan, instill confidence and you will have fun! Imagine fun at work!


When problem-solving or making decisions, including others is a way to expose up-and-comers to situations that could help them grow. The ability to understand the alternatives and options at hand when making decisions that affect the business can help the budding leader to relate situations and consequences at the same time.

Brainstorming with your group is another way to create an opportunity for team members to learn about each other, form new connections and build more solid relationships. Watching how the group interacts is an opportunity for you, as the leader to observe behaviour - who is participating or not, taking over or letting things slide by, who is engaged or not, who is the nay-sayer or advocate for solutions.

As an observer you can also determine if the brainstorming is active or passive. Active brainstorming is when the entire group or majority is participating, ideas are flowing, you are observing innovation in action, ideas are built upon rather than dismissed. Passive brainstorming takes place when there are few engaged participants in a larger group and they are carrying the direction of the session by looking for agreement rather than new ideas or challenges.

After brainstorming there is usually a plan to develop and carry out. Brainstorming is used to solve problems, start new projects. Asking group members or team members to develop the plan they would like to implement becomes an opportunity for growth and empowerment. It will be easier to get buy in if the plan comes from colleagues as opposed to from the top down. Implementation and roll out will take place as the newly empowered leaders will follow up to ensure execution is up to or exceeding company expectations.

Will you gain opportunities by giving them to others? Absolutely. You will be seen as the people developer, the opportunity creator. You will develop your own assessment skills to ensure that you are creating the right opportunities for the right people.

Creating opportunities comes with a certain level of responsibility. You need to ensure that you are matching the opportunity to the correct individual. Helping them understand that the opportunity is now in their hands and the outcome is their own. Following up to ensure that they have exhausted the gift to it's fullest potential.