Asking the right questions is an essential skill of a great boss. Yet many fail to inquire enough. Here are three types of questions you should be asking to be an effective manager and to help develop a high-performing team:
Questions about yourself. Good managers ask themselves and others about what they could do better. Ask in a way that invites constructive, candid responses.
Questions about plans and projects. These should both advance the work and develop the people. Tough and direct questions are ok, as long as they are in the interest of progress.
Questions about the organization. Look for ways that the organization can function more effectively by questioning practices, processes, and structures. Ask: Why do we do things this way? Is there a better approach?
Today's Management Tip was adapted from "The Art of Asking Questions" by Ron Ashkenas. Harvard Business Review 11/4
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Be Strong Leader! Follow these 10 Guidelines:
Tough projects, aggressive goals, limited resources and huge roadblocks are always getting in the way of your success. Plus you have to deal with managing the attitudes, actions, and behaviors of a team? Geez!
Over the years, I have developed the following guidelines that I have found to be successful while managing and coaching teams. If you are not already using these, go ahead and TRY them. I promise you will create a winning team!
1. Define roles and responsibilities. Not only do people want a clear understanding of where they fit in, but they also want others to know what they do and vice versa. Provide clarity when lines of responsibility become blurred.
2. Recognize strengths and capitalize on them. Allow and encourage rising stars to go above and beyond. Motivate employees by leveraging their strengths. Acknowledge accomplishments!
3. Provide focus, alignment and get buy-in. Employees who take part in creating a plan, own it. Ensure that goals are realistic and focus the team on the actions that will make the biggest difference to results. Above all else, make sure team is aligned under common goals.
4. Hold people accountable. People want to know that the leader will make tough decisions when others don’t play by the rules or uphold their commitments. Determine and enforce what is acceptable and what is not. Be fair and consistent.
5. Walk the talk. Provide clarity and understanding of your mission. Live it and get others excited and proud to be a part of it. Enthusiasm is contagious.
6. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Be open and honest in all communications. Prompt discussions and share information from the top down and the bottom up. And don’t forget to LISTEN!
7. Give opportunities to influence, impact and make a difference. In today's fast-paced world, to be effective, you need to know how to adapt to and drive change. Allow others to develop ideas to improve, evolve and innovate.
8. Set a good example. Strong leaders are good mentors and coaches to their teams. Employees want to learn and grow. Pass on your knowledge, learnings and always remember the golden rule “do to others what you would like to be done to you".
9. Be authentic no matter what your strengths or personality traits. Employees know when you are NOT being REAL. It’s okay to human, but also remember that a strong leader will always keep the best interest of the organization top of mind.
10. Trust and encourage your team. Empower your employees and give them the autonomy they need to achieve results.
Any other tips, suggestions, ideas you want to share with others? Let's help each other experience the rewards of being a strong and successful leader!
For additional help in developing a strong team and driving results, email donna.king@bestyearyet.com to learn about the Best Year Yet Programs.
Over the years, I have developed the following guidelines that I have found to be successful while managing and coaching teams. If you are not already using these, go ahead and TRY them. I promise you will create a winning team!
1. Define roles and responsibilities. Not only do people want a clear understanding of where they fit in, but they also want others to know what they do and vice versa. Provide clarity when lines of responsibility become blurred.
2. Recognize strengths and capitalize on them. Allow and encourage rising stars to go above and beyond. Motivate employees by leveraging their strengths. Acknowledge accomplishments!
3. Provide focus, alignment and get buy-in. Employees who take part in creating a plan, own it. Ensure that goals are realistic and focus the team on the actions that will make the biggest difference to results. Above all else, make sure team is aligned under common goals.
4. Hold people accountable. People want to know that the leader will make tough decisions when others don’t play by the rules or uphold their commitments. Determine and enforce what is acceptable and what is not. Be fair and consistent.
5. Walk the talk. Provide clarity and understanding of your mission. Live it and get others excited and proud to be a part of it. Enthusiasm is contagious.
6. Communicate, communicate, and communicate. Be open and honest in all communications. Prompt discussions and share information from the top down and the bottom up. And don’t forget to LISTEN!
7. Give opportunities to influence, impact and make a difference. In today's fast-paced world, to be effective, you need to know how to adapt to and drive change. Allow others to develop ideas to improve, evolve and innovate.
8. Set a good example. Strong leaders are good mentors and coaches to their teams. Employees want to learn and grow. Pass on your knowledge, learnings and always remember the golden rule “do to others what you would like to be done to you".
9. Be authentic no matter what your strengths or personality traits. Employees know when you are NOT being REAL. It’s okay to human, but also remember that a strong leader will always keep the best interest of the organization top of mind.
10. Trust and encourage your team. Empower your employees and give them the autonomy they need to achieve results.
Any other tips, suggestions, ideas you want to share with others? Let's help each other experience the rewards of being a strong and successful leader!
For additional help in developing a strong team and driving results, email donna.king@bestyearyet.com to learn about the Best Year Yet Programs.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
THe Source Principle: YOU are the Source of Your Business
What is a 'business' or organization? Is it the buildings? The furniture? The product or service, logo or market share, brand? Not really. The source, the power of any organization, is its people.
The true challenge of organizational transformation is building an organization in which people are empowered to think and act in a way that is consistent with their Vision and Values. The reason an organization often fails to deliver on its promise is that its people become frustrated, angry, hurt and disempowered.
Imagine a a model with 3 rings: The middle ring of the model is the source of our limiting paradigms - the place within us where we store memories of our failures and feelings of self-doubt and fear. The outer ring, also known as our ego, is the demonstration of the behaviors that stem from these limiting paradigms. Empowering paradigms come from our center or source and give us the courage to be all we can be.
It is easier for you to embrace your new paradigm when you remind yourself that it provides you with a true perspective of WHO YOU ARE. A source.
The true challenge of organizational transformation is building an organization in which people are empowered to think and act in a way that is consistent with their Vision and Values. The reason an organization often fails to deliver on its promise is that its people become frustrated, angry, hurt and disempowered.
Imagine a a model with 3 rings: The middle ring of the model is the source of our limiting paradigms - the place within us where we store memories of our failures and feelings of self-doubt and fear. The outer ring, also known as our ego, is the demonstration of the behaviors that stem from these limiting paradigms. Empowering paradigms come from our center or source and give us the courage to be all we can be.
It is easier for you to embrace your new paradigm when you remind yourself that it provides you with a true perspective of WHO YOU ARE. A source.
Engage your Peple
Engaged employees are essential to a manager's success. Without subordinates who care about, participate in, and take ownership over the work, even the best boss will flounder. Here are three ways to win your employees' engagement:
1. Be modest. Share both your mistakes and your successes. Subordinates will see that you're both human and don't have anything to prove.
2. Show that you're listening. People tune in to body language. Manage where you look and what you do with your hands so that employees know you're paying attention.
3. Don't have all the answers. Managers should catalyze problem solving. Be willing to admit that you don't know what the answer is and invite your team to toss around ideas.
HBR Management Tip of the day - adapted from "How to Cultivate Engaged Employees" by Charalambos A. Viachoutsicos
1. Be modest. Share both your mistakes and your successes. Subordinates will see that you're both human and don't have anything to prove.
2. Show that you're listening. People tune in to body language. Manage where you look and what you do with your hands so that employees know you're paying attention.
3. Don't have all the answers. Managers should catalyze problem solving. Be willing to admit that you don't know what the answer is and invite your team to toss around ideas.
HBR Management Tip of the day - adapted from "How to Cultivate Engaged Employees" by Charalambos A. Viachoutsicos
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Joe Torre’s rules for leading a team
Great tips on effective communication from leader, Joe Torre! Consider applying to your business team.
Baseball manager Joe Torre has led far more diverse and ego-driven teams than
most of us ever will. Yet, Torre’s teams have won repeatedly, thanks to these four
“rules of straight communication” he has developed over the years:
1. Remember that every player has a special need for one of these things:
motivation, reassurance or technical help. Determine what that need is and
meet it.
2. Deliver tightly focused, positive messages, such as a quick word of praise
for a good play. Simple words of appreciation are more powerful
motivators than many leaders expect.
3. Work hard to establish rapport with team members from backgrounds that
are different from your own. It does take extra work, but the results can be
extraordinary.
4. Let team members know that you accept the full range of their emotions,
including fear and uncertainty. Unless people admit their fear, they will
never be able to confront obstacles and grow.
—Adapted from Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners, Joe Torre and Henry
Dreher, Hyperion. From 2008 National Institute of Business "leadership Tips"
Baseball manager Joe Torre has led far more diverse and ego-driven teams than
most of us ever will. Yet, Torre’s teams have won repeatedly, thanks to these four
“rules of straight communication” he has developed over the years:
1. Remember that every player has a special need for one of these things:
motivation, reassurance or technical help. Determine what that need is and
meet it.
2. Deliver tightly focused, positive messages, such as a quick word of praise
for a good play. Simple words of appreciation are more powerful
motivators than many leaders expect.
3. Work hard to establish rapport with team members from backgrounds that
are different from your own. It does take extra work, but the results can be
extraordinary.
4. Let team members know that you accept the full range of their emotions,
including fear and uncertainty. Unless people admit their fear, they will
never be able to confront obstacles and grow.
—Adapted from Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners, Joe Torre and Henry
Dreher, Hyperion. From 2008 National Institute of Business "leadership Tips"
Monday, September 19, 2011
Get Your Complex Team to Collaborate
3 ways to build collaboration within complex teams:
1. Train employees in the right skills. Most people don't collaborate by nature. They need the right skills: appreciating others, engaging in purposeful conversations, and productively solving conflicts.
2. Help employees get to know each other. People who know each other socially are more likely to collaborate. Invest time in networking and social events to build a sense of community.
3. Model collaborative behavior. Employees emulate what they see at the top. Leaders should visibly work together and even fill in for each other on occasion.
Edited from Harvard Business Review on "Building Better Teams"
For more information on build high performing teams and getting the BEST results from your team, contact Donna King at Results Coaching 913-745-5499. Visit www.resultscoaching.us
1. Train employees in the right skills. Most people don't collaborate by nature. They need the right skills: appreciating others, engaging in purposeful conversations, and productively solving conflicts.
2. Help employees get to know each other. People who know each other socially are more likely to collaborate. Invest time in networking and social events to build a sense of community.
3. Model collaborative behavior. Employees emulate what they see at the top. Leaders should visibly work together and even fill in for each other on occasion.
Edited from Harvard Business Review on "Building Better Teams"
For more information on build high performing teams and getting the BEST results from your team, contact Donna King at Results Coaching 913-745-5499. Visit www.resultscoaching.us
Friday, September 9, 2011
You Can't Dictate Culture — but You Can Influence It
Most senior managers struggle with culture because it's so difficult to define. Even less tangible than a "soft" concept, culture is more like a cloud: You know it's there, but it's nearly impossible to grasp. as "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group." But how do you come to an agreement on those "shared" attitudes, values, goals, and practices? And even if you do, how do you get hundreds (or thousands) of people to think and act in the way you agreed upon?
The answer is that you don't. Even after thousands of years of civilization, leaders still have trouble getting everyone to follow any basic precepts of behavior (think the Ten Commandments). In other words, culture is not a "goal" to be mandated, but the outcome of a collective set of behaviors.
Leaders however can influence those behaviors in several ways — and by so doing shape the culture of their firms. Whether you are a CEO or a department manager, here are three steps that you can take:
Convey your vision of a winning culture. If you want to be more than just the caretaker of an existing culture, then you need to define your aspirations. What will be different, and how will it make a difference for the success of your organization? More specifically what are the most critical behaviors that will characterize the culture you want to create? For example, Jack Welch used the mantra of "speed, simplicity, and self-confidence" as the beacon for his transformation of GE's culture in the 1990's — in stark contrast to the company's analytical, bureaucratic, and hierarchical culture at the time. This aspirational vision sparked dialogue at every level of the company about what people needed to do to make GE successful — and to be personally successful at GE.
Demonstrate how new cultural behaviors can advance the business. Nothing reinforces new behaviors more than success. So once you define these behaviors, work with your team to apply them to a specific project that might need to be accelerated or improved. To do this, challenge your team to achieve a specific stretch goal in a short period of time, while explicitly trying to bring the new culture to life. For example, several years ago a financial institution set out to create a more collaborative, proactive, and externally focused culture. To demonstrate what this meant, one of the trading groups worked with a relationship team to find ways of improving cash flow for a specific client — while keeping the new cultural imperatives in mind. Their success encouraged other groups to try similar experiments, such that the new culture gradually became more of a reality across the company.
Put teeth into the new culture by integrating it into HR processes. People tend to do what's measured and rewarded. So a third step for building a new culture is to use the desired behaviors as criteria for hiring, promoting, rewarding, and developing people. The real turning point for GE's transformation came when Jack Welch publicly announced to his senior managers that he had fired two business leaders for not demonstrating the new behaviors of the company — despite having achieved exceptional financial results. This made it very clear that the culture was not just a soft concept — instead, it had tangible outcomes and consequences.
Shaping a corporate culture is one of the most difficult challenges for a leader. But if you want to get started, following these guidelines will probably be more effective than telling the HR director to go out and "get us one of those."
Excerpt from Ron Ashkenas' article in HBR, June 21, 2011
Visit CreativeCounts or Results Coaching for more information
The answer is that you don't. Even after thousands of years of civilization, leaders still have trouble getting everyone to follow any basic precepts of behavior (think the Ten Commandments). In other words, culture is not a "goal" to be mandated, but the outcome of a collective set of behaviors.
Leaders however can influence those behaviors in several ways — and by so doing shape the culture of their firms. Whether you are a CEO or a department manager, here are three steps that you can take:
Convey your vision of a winning culture. If you want to be more than just the caretaker of an existing culture, then you need to define your aspirations. What will be different, and how will it make a difference for the success of your organization? More specifically what are the most critical behaviors that will characterize the culture you want to create? For example, Jack Welch used the mantra of "speed, simplicity, and self-confidence" as the beacon for his transformation of GE's culture in the 1990's — in stark contrast to the company's analytical, bureaucratic, and hierarchical culture at the time. This aspirational vision sparked dialogue at every level of the company about what people needed to do to make GE successful — and to be personally successful at GE.
Demonstrate how new cultural behaviors can advance the business. Nothing reinforces new behaviors more than success. So once you define these behaviors, work with your team to apply them to a specific project that might need to be accelerated or improved. To do this, challenge your team to achieve a specific stretch goal in a short period of time, while explicitly trying to bring the new culture to life. For example, several years ago a financial institution set out to create a more collaborative, proactive, and externally focused culture. To demonstrate what this meant, one of the trading groups worked with a relationship team to find ways of improving cash flow for a specific client — while keeping the new cultural imperatives in mind. Their success encouraged other groups to try similar experiments, such that the new culture gradually became more of a reality across the company.
Put teeth into the new culture by integrating it into HR processes. People tend to do what's measured and rewarded. So a third step for building a new culture is to use the desired behaviors as criteria for hiring, promoting, rewarding, and developing people. The real turning point for GE's transformation came when Jack Welch publicly announced to his senior managers that he had fired two business leaders for not demonstrating the new behaviors of the company — despite having achieved exceptional financial results. This made it very clear that the culture was not just a soft concept — instead, it had tangible outcomes and consequences.
Shaping a corporate culture is one of the most difficult challenges for a leader. But if you want to get started, following these guidelines will probably be more effective than telling the HR director to go out and "get us one of those."
Excerpt from Ron Ashkenas' article in HBR, June 21, 2011
Visit CreativeCounts or Results Coaching for more information
Monday, July 11, 2011
"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality...."
"Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism."~ Anonymous
GREAT quote and reminder as we start planning for ourBEST YEAR YET!
Fellow Best Year Yet Coach, Betty Mahalik, shared this quote in her Monday Morning Coach Blog. Visit link to read her "Turning Ah-Hahs into Action" http://www.dynamic-coaching.com/blog/BOSVIEW/Turning-Your-Ah-Hahs-into-Action/
GREAT quote and reminder as we start planning for ourBEST YEAR YET!
Fellow Best Year Yet Coach, Betty Mahalik, shared this quote in her Monday Morning Coach Blog. Visit link to read her "Turning Ah-Hahs into Action" http://www.dynamic-coaching.com/blog/BOSVIEW/Turning-Your-Ah-Hahs-into-Action/
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The One Word Icebreaker
Need a quick, no preparation ice breaker that works like a charm to break the ice in a meeting or training session? Highly adaptable, this ice breaker leads the participants right into the content of your meeting or training class. Here is my one word ice breaker and my suggestions about how to endlessly adapt this ice breaker to your participants' needs.
One Word Ice Breaker Steps
1. Divide the meeting participants into groups of four or five people by having them number off. (You do this so that your participants get to know fellow attendees. People generally begin a meeting by sitting with the people they already know best, when your goal is normally team building across a group.
2. Tell the newly formed groups that their assignment is to think for a minute and then to share with their group the one word that describes X. In my first venture with this ice breaker, I was leading a session about organizational culture. So, my request of the group was that they think about their current culture and come up with one word to describe it.
This ice breaker helps the group explore their thoughts on a common issue. This ice breaker is a perfect segue into the topic of the meeting or training class. The group was fascinated with the variety of the words chosen. Consequently, the ice breaker did provide a snapshot into the current thinking of the group about their culture. (The group's one-word culture descriptions ranged broadly: funky, family, fun, bipolar, fractured, cohesive, inspiring, and motivational are samples of their chosen words.
3. This ice breaker sparked spontaneous conversation in every group as the participants questioned each other about the meaning of their one word. They asked for examples and found that the combination of the participants' chosen words did describe their current organizational culture.
4. Upon completion of the initial spontaneous discussion, ask the participants to share their one word with the larger group. Ask for a volunteer to start and then, ask each participant to share their one word that described their culture. (Even your most quiet participants were comfortable sharing their word.)
5. Next, after the participants have listened to the variety of words from the larger group, ask them to explore several questions in their small group. In this instance, asking each participant to select one word to describe their organizational culture, I then asked these follow-up questions.
--Is this culture consistent across buildings and departments?
--Is this the culture that you want to have in your organization? Does this culture support the accomplishment of the environment you desire for employees and the accomplishment of your company goals?
Your opportunity for follow-up questions is endless. These debriefing questions can support the content of your training class or meeting.
6. Debrief the ice breaker by asking for a volunteer from each group to share a point or two that highlighted their discussion. (I noticed that many session attendees took notes.
7. Because participants are almost always your best source for laughter and fun, each of these steps generated remarks, insights, ah-has, and examples.
8. Upon completion, move into the rest of the material you have prepared for the session.
This one word icebreaker takes 10 – 15 minutes with the initial enthusiastic, unstructured discussion that the ice breaker generates. Total time will depend on the number of additional questions that you ask the group to discuss as part of the debrief of the one word ice breaker.
Thanks to Susan M Heathfield for sharing this on "Your Guide to Human Resources"
One Word Ice Breaker Steps
1. Divide the meeting participants into groups of four or five people by having them number off. (You do this so that your participants get to know fellow attendees. People generally begin a meeting by sitting with the people they already know best, when your goal is normally team building across a group.
2. Tell the newly formed groups that their assignment is to think for a minute and then to share with their group the one word that describes X. In my first venture with this ice breaker, I was leading a session about organizational culture. So, my request of the group was that they think about their current culture and come up with one word to describe it.
This ice breaker helps the group explore their thoughts on a common issue. This ice breaker is a perfect segue into the topic of the meeting or training class. The group was fascinated with the variety of the words chosen. Consequently, the ice breaker did provide a snapshot into the current thinking of the group about their culture. (The group's one-word culture descriptions ranged broadly: funky, family, fun, bipolar, fractured, cohesive, inspiring, and motivational are samples of their chosen words.
3. This ice breaker sparked spontaneous conversation in every group as the participants questioned each other about the meaning of their one word. They asked for examples and found that the combination of the participants' chosen words did describe their current organizational culture.
4. Upon completion of the initial spontaneous discussion, ask the participants to share their one word with the larger group. Ask for a volunteer to start and then, ask each participant to share their one word that described their culture. (Even your most quiet participants were comfortable sharing their word.)
5. Next, after the participants have listened to the variety of words from the larger group, ask them to explore several questions in their small group. In this instance, asking each participant to select one word to describe their organizational culture, I then asked these follow-up questions.
--Is this culture consistent across buildings and departments?
--Is this the culture that you want to have in your organization? Does this culture support the accomplishment of the environment you desire for employees and the accomplishment of your company goals?
Your opportunity for follow-up questions is endless. These debriefing questions can support the content of your training class or meeting.
6. Debrief the ice breaker by asking for a volunteer from each group to share a point or two that highlighted their discussion. (I noticed that many session attendees took notes.
7. Because participants are almost always your best source for laughter and fun, each of these steps generated remarks, insights, ah-has, and examples.
8. Upon completion, move into the rest of the material you have prepared for the session.
This one word icebreaker takes 10 – 15 minutes with the initial enthusiastic, unstructured discussion that the ice breaker generates. Total time will depend on the number of additional questions that you ask the group to discuss as part of the debrief of the one word ice breaker.
Thanks to Susan M Heathfield for sharing this on "Your Guide to Human Resources"
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Mastering the Fine Art of Goal Setting
Mastering the Fine Art of Goal Setting
If you’re reading this article, chances are you are a goal setter. And, depending how long you’ve been setting goals, you may be a novice at it or a Pro.
Learning to set meaningful, measurable goals is a process. If you use the Best Year Yet system, you know what I’m talking about. Best Year Yet helps you create a one-page plan with no more than 10 annual goals and provides software that enables you to enter and score weekly and/or monthly goals to help you advance your annual goals.
To advance your status as a goal setter, I’m going to share three pieces of advice:
Make sure you break down your annual goals into monthly goals
Set SMART goals
Learn the difference between a results goals and a process goal
Set Monthly Goals
For many people, creating the annual plan is a huge accomplishment: “I’m taking charge, I have a plan. This feels great!” But don’t stop there.
I recommend that you set new goals at least once a month. Take a look at your annual goals one by one and ask yourself, what can I do in the next 30 days to advance this goal? Set one or two monthly goals for each annual goal, but don’t over promise. If you don’t feel you can get it all done in 30 days, pare down your list and don’t worry if you don’t have a monthly goal for one or two annual goals. Set yourself up for success, not failure.
Schedule a date with yourself – actually put it in your calendar – to revisit and score your monthly goals and set new goals for the next 30-days. Little by little, you’ll make steady progress on achieving your annual goals.
This process of setting and scoring monthly goals will help you perfect your skills at setting goals that are meaningful and achievable.
Make Your Goals SMART
SMART is an acronym that can help you remember the criteria for creating meaningful goals.
Be Specific – make sure your goals are worded so that there is no question what you intend to accomplish. I often find clients who word goals like this: Meet with Mike about the house. What about the house? What do you want to accomplish by meeting with Mike? A more specific goal would be: Meet with Mike and agree to list the house with him.
Set Measurable goals - How many? How much? Who? To make the above goal more measurable, add a date by which you will agree to list the house, for example: Meet with Mike and agree to list the house with him by September 10, 2011.
Make sure goals are Attainable - We suggest you set your goals to stretch you a bit but not so much that you set yourself up for failure. Shoot for a goal that has at least an 80% chance of success. Again using the house example, if you are planning to make renovations to the house before selling it, will you have enough time to get it done by September? If you have the summer open to prepare the house, three months is plenty of time.
Are your Goals Relevant? - Relevant goals are important to you, your family, and/or the people you serve. They should be relevant to your future viability as well as your vision and values. If one of your values is family and you need a bigger house to grow your family, then listing your current home is certainly a relevant goal.
Add a Time element to your goals - if you are setting annual goals, then they should be timed to be completed within the year. Not every goal will take a full 12 months. For instance, if your annual goals include selling your current home and moving into a new home, then you should include the time frame in which you plan to do this: Move into the house of our dreams by May 2012.
Know the Difference Between A Results Goal and a Process Goal
When you set your annual goals, think about what you want to achieve 12 months down the road, and when setting monthly goals, focus on the results you want at the end of 30 days. Too often our natural inclination is to start making a list of what needs to be done in order to achieve a goal. I like to use the following example to illustrate the difference: pretend you are a quarterback on the 10 yard line and you have 90 yards stretching out in front of you…what is the result goal?
Frequently, people will say something like: a first down, a great pass, an awesome offensive tackle. Wrong! These are all process goals. The result you want is 7 points on the score board, a Touchdown!! Think about this as you set your annual and monthly goals and make sure you’re setting results goals, not listing the process or interim steps you will need to take in order to reach a goal.
So, there you are. To master the fine art of goals setting, break your annual goals down into monthly goals and measure your progress once a month; make sure your goals are SMART; and set your goals with the end result in mind. And finally, if you’re not yet using Best Year Yet to set and score your goals – and make this you Best Year Yet. click here to get started
Written by Kris Gleason,Certified Program Leader of the Best Year Yet System. Visit www.Results Coaching.us
If you’re reading this article, chances are you are a goal setter. And, depending how long you’ve been setting goals, you may be a novice at it or a Pro.
Learning to set meaningful, measurable goals is a process. If you use the Best Year Yet system, you know what I’m talking about. Best Year Yet helps you create a one-page plan with no more than 10 annual goals and provides software that enables you to enter and score weekly and/or monthly goals to help you advance your annual goals.
To advance your status as a goal setter, I’m going to share three pieces of advice:
Make sure you break down your annual goals into monthly goals
Set SMART goals
Learn the difference between a results goals and a process goal
Set Monthly Goals
For many people, creating the annual plan is a huge accomplishment: “I’m taking charge, I have a plan. This feels great!” But don’t stop there.
I recommend that you set new goals at least once a month. Take a look at your annual goals one by one and ask yourself, what can I do in the next 30 days to advance this goal? Set one or two monthly goals for each annual goal, but don’t over promise. If you don’t feel you can get it all done in 30 days, pare down your list and don’t worry if you don’t have a monthly goal for one or two annual goals. Set yourself up for success, not failure.
Schedule a date with yourself – actually put it in your calendar – to revisit and score your monthly goals and set new goals for the next 30-days. Little by little, you’ll make steady progress on achieving your annual goals.
This process of setting and scoring monthly goals will help you perfect your skills at setting goals that are meaningful and achievable.
Make Your Goals SMART
SMART is an acronym that can help you remember the criteria for creating meaningful goals.
Be Specific – make sure your goals are worded so that there is no question what you intend to accomplish. I often find clients who word goals like this: Meet with Mike about the house. What about the house? What do you want to accomplish by meeting with Mike? A more specific goal would be: Meet with Mike and agree to list the house with him.
Set Measurable goals - How many? How much? Who? To make the above goal more measurable, add a date by which you will agree to list the house, for example: Meet with Mike and agree to list the house with him by September 10, 2011.
Make sure goals are Attainable - We suggest you set your goals to stretch you a bit but not so much that you set yourself up for failure. Shoot for a goal that has at least an 80% chance of success. Again using the house example, if you are planning to make renovations to the house before selling it, will you have enough time to get it done by September? If you have the summer open to prepare the house, three months is plenty of time.
Are your Goals Relevant? - Relevant goals are important to you, your family, and/or the people you serve. They should be relevant to your future viability as well as your vision and values. If one of your values is family and you need a bigger house to grow your family, then listing your current home is certainly a relevant goal.
Add a Time element to your goals - if you are setting annual goals, then they should be timed to be completed within the year. Not every goal will take a full 12 months. For instance, if your annual goals include selling your current home and moving into a new home, then you should include the time frame in which you plan to do this: Move into the house of our dreams by May 2012.
Know the Difference Between A Results Goal and a Process Goal
When you set your annual goals, think about what you want to achieve 12 months down the road, and when setting monthly goals, focus on the results you want at the end of 30 days. Too often our natural inclination is to start making a list of what needs to be done in order to achieve a goal. I like to use the following example to illustrate the difference: pretend you are a quarterback on the 10 yard line and you have 90 yards stretching out in front of you…what is the result goal?
Frequently, people will say something like: a first down, a great pass, an awesome offensive tackle. Wrong! These are all process goals. The result you want is 7 points on the score board, a Touchdown!! Think about this as you set your annual and monthly goals and make sure you’re setting results goals, not listing the process or interim steps you will need to take in order to reach a goal.
So, there you are. To master the fine art of goals setting, break your annual goals down into monthly goals and measure your progress once a month; make sure your goals are SMART; and set your goals with the end result in mind. And finally, if you’re not yet using Best Year Yet to set and score your goals – and make this you Best Year Yet. click here to get started
Written by Kris Gleason,Certified Program Leader of the Best Year Yet System. Visit www.Results Coaching.us
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
STUDY: Companies That Have A Good Corporate Culture Return 1,025% Above Those That Don't
I just read this article by Paul Spiegelman, Inc. | May 19, 2011 and wanted to share:
Culture: It's a word that often makes CFOs cringe because of the perception that it's expensive. From my experience, it's far more costly to do business without it.
From the very start, my brothers and I built our company from a foundation of respecting and treating our employees well. It was the only way that we knew how to operate. Only later did we realize that it was not only the right thing to do, but also the right way to do business.
Our corporate culture has resulted in extremely low turnover and engaged employees who deliver exceptional customer service, which results in loyal customers who allow us to continue to grow our business. We re-invest those profits in our people. At Beryl, we call it The Circle of Growth. In fact, the term was coined by our CFO, who was initially skeptical, but became a convert when he realized that culture paid dividends.
Perhaps you think you are ready to transform your workplace culture, but are concerned about being able to justify costs with hard numbers. Consider this: Beryl is four to six times more profitable than our typical competitor and we attribute that to our ability to engage employees. Certainly, we are not the only company that has benefited from investing in their employees. The 2007 book Firms of Endearment found that companies focused on culture returned 1,025 percent to their investors over a 10-year period, compared to only 122 percent for the S&P 500 and 316 percent for the companies profiled in the bestselling book Good to Great.
As the U.S. lurches out of the recession, this ROI isn't as readily visible. It is challenging to be culture-focused in a sluggish economy, but arguably this is the most important time to embrace corporate culture. Cutting out culture and people as "soft" benefits eliminates your strategy to rebound. With customers under similar financial duress, it's the wrong time to allow a customer relationship to become tenuous. Passionate people, focused on customers instead of layoffs, are essential to a company's survival and success.
The Container Store provides a great illustration of how culture can actually help you succeed in tough economic times. Instead of laying off employees, The Container Store asked them to help find a solution. Employees decided that they would all take a lower salary to preserve jobs. This put the decision in employees' hands, building loyalty through an ugly situation. They weathered the recession together.
The Container Store made a big ask. Luckily, most CEOs can begin improving company culture with a smaller ask. Once you decide to turn the culture tide, and it's a sincere desire, the next step is to ask your employees how to improve life at your organization. You can do this by:
Identifying guiding values, sourced from employees and reiterated as a constant in a sea of change.
Constructing a clear mission and vision that everyone can own. Paint the big picture and discuss how workers can contribute to success.
Working together to develop processes and systems that support transparency and encourage sharing opinions and ideas, such as an open-door policy with no fear of retribution.
Identifying a leader. At Beryl, we have an executive whose title is Queen of Fun and Laughter. She is responsible for helping us to stay true to our unique culture and keep co-workers lives in balance. We also have a group of employees who volunteer as part of the Better Beryl Bureau, a committee that comprises of a cross-section of Beryl co-workers who plan events as well as provide input on policies, change management, rumors, concerns and more.
Once these systems are in place, you are ready for the fun. However, it's not just one big thing, but rather a series of many little things that matter. Between 30 and 45 seconds of your time can impact someone's life in a very significant way. Whether it's a handwritten note to congratulate an employee who just purchased his or her first home, a family field day, or a pizza party to celebrate a company milestone, it's the steady drumbeat that shows you're committed. If you're genuine, this is the beginning of a collaborative journey with employees that doesn't end.
Read more: http://www.inc.com/articles/201105/paul-spiegelman-does-corporate-culture-pay.html#ixzz1NO2jx7Rc
Culture: It's a word that often makes CFOs cringe because of the perception that it's expensive. From my experience, it's far more costly to do business without it.
From the very start, my brothers and I built our company from a foundation of respecting and treating our employees well. It was the only way that we knew how to operate. Only later did we realize that it was not only the right thing to do, but also the right way to do business.
Our corporate culture has resulted in extremely low turnover and engaged employees who deliver exceptional customer service, which results in loyal customers who allow us to continue to grow our business. We re-invest those profits in our people. At Beryl, we call it The Circle of Growth. In fact, the term was coined by our CFO, who was initially skeptical, but became a convert when he realized that culture paid dividends.
Perhaps you think you are ready to transform your workplace culture, but are concerned about being able to justify costs with hard numbers. Consider this: Beryl is four to six times more profitable than our typical competitor and we attribute that to our ability to engage employees. Certainly, we are not the only company that has benefited from investing in their employees. The 2007 book Firms of Endearment found that companies focused on culture returned 1,025 percent to their investors over a 10-year period, compared to only 122 percent for the S&P 500 and 316 percent for the companies profiled in the bestselling book Good to Great.
As the U.S. lurches out of the recession, this ROI isn't as readily visible. It is challenging to be culture-focused in a sluggish economy, but arguably this is the most important time to embrace corporate culture. Cutting out culture and people as "soft" benefits eliminates your strategy to rebound. With customers under similar financial duress, it's the wrong time to allow a customer relationship to become tenuous. Passionate people, focused on customers instead of layoffs, are essential to a company's survival and success.
The Container Store provides a great illustration of how culture can actually help you succeed in tough economic times. Instead of laying off employees, The Container Store asked them to help find a solution. Employees decided that they would all take a lower salary to preserve jobs. This put the decision in employees' hands, building loyalty through an ugly situation. They weathered the recession together.
The Container Store made a big ask. Luckily, most CEOs can begin improving company culture with a smaller ask. Once you decide to turn the culture tide, and it's a sincere desire, the next step is to ask your employees how to improve life at your organization. You can do this by:
Identifying guiding values, sourced from employees and reiterated as a constant in a sea of change.
Constructing a clear mission and vision that everyone can own. Paint the big picture and discuss how workers can contribute to success.
Working together to develop processes and systems that support transparency and encourage sharing opinions and ideas, such as an open-door policy with no fear of retribution.
Identifying a leader. At Beryl, we have an executive whose title is Queen of Fun and Laughter. She is responsible for helping us to stay true to our unique culture and keep co-workers lives in balance. We also have a group of employees who volunteer as part of the Better Beryl Bureau, a committee that comprises of a cross-section of Beryl co-workers who plan events as well as provide input on policies, change management, rumors, concerns and more.
Once these systems are in place, you are ready for the fun. However, it's not just one big thing, but rather a series of many little things that matter. Between 30 and 45 seconds of your time can impact someone's life in a very significant way. Whether it's a handwritten note to congratulate an employee who just purchased his or her first home, a family field day, or a pizza party to celebrate a company milestone, it's the steady drumbeat that shows you're committed. If you're genuine, this is the beginning of a collaborative journey with employees that doesn't end.
Read more: http://www.inc.com/articles/201105/paul-spiegelman-does-corporate-culture-pay.html#ixzz1NO2jx7Rc
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Adopting Guidelines for Team Member Relationships
I recently read this article by Susan M. Heathfield and wanted to share her insights:
The members of every team and work group develop particular ways of interacting with each other over time. Effective interpersonal communication among members and successful communication with managers and employees external to the team are critical components of team functioning.
How a team makes decisions, assigns work, and holds members accountable determines team success. With the potential power of the impact of these interactions on team success, why leave team member interaction to chance? Form team relationship guidelines or team norms early to ensure team success.
What Are Team Norms or Relationship Guidelines?
Team norms are a set of rules or guidelines that a team establishes to shape the interaction of team members with each other and with employees who are external to the team. Team norms can be developed during an early team meeting. More norms can be added as the team sees the need for additional guidelines.
Once developed, team norms are used to guide team member behavior. Team norms are used to assess how well team members are interacting. Team norms enable team members to call each other out on any behavior that is dysfunctional or that is negatively impacting the success of the team.
In one of my favorite quotes, Ken Blanchard, of One Minute Manager1 fame, said that a river without banks is a pond. Likewise, a team without relationship norms leaves itself open to potential interpersonal problems.
Most team members won't intentionally harm the project or the team's success. But, the lack of an agreed upon framework for interaction creates the potential for misunderstanding and negative conflict.
Team Norm Essentials
Predictably, teams have trouble with particular components of interpersonal communication and interaction. You will want to develop norms in these areas for team success. These are the steps to follow when you create your team norms2. Additionally, here are sample team norms in several areas of the more important aspects of interpersonal and team interaction.
1. Team members as coworkers: all team members are equal; every team member's opinion will be thoughtfully considered; each team member will keep all commitments by the agreed upon due date; each team member agrees to constantly assess whether team members are honoring their commitment to the team norms.
2. Team member communication: team members will speak respectfully to each other; will not talk down to each other; will positively recognize and thank each other for team contributions.
3. Team member interaction in meetings: team members will listen without interrupting; hold no side or competing conversations3; follow the rules for effective meetings4; attend the meeting on time; always work from an agenda; minutes will be recorded at each meeting; end meetings on time.
4. Team organization and function: leadership will rotate monthly; the team management sponsor will attend the meeting, at least, monthly.
5. Team communication with other employees including managers: team members will make certain they have agreement on what and when to communicate; complaints about team members will be addressed first in the team.
6. Team problem solving, conflict resolution, and decision making: team members will make decisions by consensus, but majority will rule if timely consensus is not reached; conflicts will be resolved directly with the persons in conflict.
Team norms can encompass as many topics as the team deems necessary for successful functioning. Start with a few team norms and add more norms as needed. Make sure the team norms are written and posted where team members are reminded of their commitment.
With effective team norms in place, your team will be able to focus on its business purpose. The team was undoubtedly founded to help the company continuously improve and achieve its strategic goals. Don't let ineffective relationships and interactions sabotage the team's work.
To view this page in its original form, please visit: http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/qt/norms.htm
The members of every team and work group develop particular ways of interacting with each other over time. Effective interpersonal communication among members and successful communication with managers and employees external to the team are critical components of team functioning.
How a team makes decisions, assigns work, and holds members accountable determines team success. With the potential power of the impact of these interactions on team success, why leave team member interaction to chance? Form team relationship guidelines or team norms early to ensure team success.
What Are Team Norms or Relationship Guidelines?
Team norms are a set of rules or guidelines that a team establishes to shape the interaction of team members with each other and with employees who are external to the team. Team norms can be developed during an early team meeting. More norms can be added as the team sees the need for additional guidelines.
Once developed, team norms are used to guide team member behavior. Team norms are used to assess how well team members are interacting. Team norms enable team members to call each other out on any behavior that is dysfunctional or that is negatively impacting the success of the team.
In one of my favorite quotes, Ken Blanchard, of One Minute Manager1 fame, said that a river without banks is a pond. Likewise, a team without relationship norms leaves itself open to potential interpersonal problems.
Most team members won't intentionally harm the project or the team's success. But, the lack of an agreed upon framework for interaction creates the potential for misunderstanding and negative conflict.
Team Norm Essentials
Predictably, teams have trouble with particular components of interpersonal communication and interaction. You will want to develop norms in these areas for team success. These are the steps to follow when you create your team norms2. Additionally, here are sample team norms in several areas of the more important aspects of interpersonal and team interaction.
1. Team members as coworkers: all team members are equal; every team member's opinion will be thoughtfully considered; each team member will keep all commitments by the agreed upon due date; each team member agrees to constantly assess whether team members are honoring their commitment to the team norms.
2. Team member communication: team members will speak respectfully to each other; will not talk down to each other; will positively recognize and thank each other for team contributions.
3. Team member interaction in meetings: team members will listen without interrupting; hold no side or competing conversations3; follow the rules for effective meetings4; attend the meeting on time; always work from an agenda; minutes will be recorded at each meeting; end meetings on time.
4. Team organization and function: leadership will rotate monthly; the team management sponsor will attend the meeting, at least, monthly.
5. Team communication with other employees including managers: team members will make certain they have agreement on what and when to communicate; complaints about team members will be addressed first in the team.
6. Team problem solving, conflict resolution, and decision making: team members will make decisions by consensus, but majority will rule if timely consensus is not reached; conflicts will be resolved directly with the persons in conflict.
Team norms can encompass as many topics as the team deems necessary for successful functioning. Start with a few team norms and add more norms as needed. Make sure the team norms are written and posted where team members are reminded of their commitment.
With effective team norms in place, your team will be able to focus on its business purpose. The team was undoubtedly founded to help the company continuously improve and achieve its strategic goals. Don't let ineffective relationships and interactions sabotage the team's work.
To view this page in its original form, please visit: http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/qt/norms.htm
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Increase your Chances for Success!
Natural talent gets far too much credit. Achieving your goals is less about who you are, and more about what you do. Give yourself better odds of succeeding:
1. Be specific and focus on your plan.
Be precise about what you are trying to achieve and when you will do it. It's not enough to say you'll clean out your inbox three days a week, or I'll make those calls within the next few weeks or I'll write that proposal by the end of the month. Schedule it in your calendar and plan specific days, times and deadlines so you hold yourself accountable. Then focus on your PLAN. Make it happen! That "can-do" attitude will drive your success.
2. Need help? Share your goals with a partner, spouse, friend or your "Best Year Yet" coach. They will be sure to keep you honest and accountable to do what you said you would do.
3. Looking for an easy way to build a plan?
The Best Year Yet online program guides you through the process by asking 10 simple questions. The first is "What have I accomplished?" Thinking back over the past year, you enter everything that occurs to you in response to this question. It's so powerful and enlightening to recognize all that you have actually achieved. After answering all the questions, you will have completed a one-page plan that consists of Your guidelines, Your Vision, Your Major Focus and Your Top 10 Goals for the Year.
4. Want to track progress to your goals to ensure success?
Best Year Yet Online (BYYO) feeds directly into the PRO (Producing Results Online) tracking tool. You can breakdown your goals into monthly and even weekly goals, score them and create goals for the next month!
You can purchase all this for only $99.99. Click here to purchase and get started now! If you are interested personal or professional coaching services for you or your organization please call Donna King at 913-745-5499.
Visit CreativeCounts or Results Coaching for more information
1. Be specific and focus on your plan.
Be precise about what you are trying to achieve and when you will do it. It's not enough to say you'll clean out your inbox three days a week, or I'll make those calls within the next few weeks or I'll write that proposal by the end of the month. Schedule it in your calendar and plan specific days, times and deadlines so you hold yourself accountable. Then focus on your PLAN. Make it happen! That "can-do" attitude will drive your success.
2. Need help? Share your goals with a partner, spouse, friend or your "Best Year Yet" coach. They will be sure to keep you honest and accountable to do what you said you would do.
3. Looking for an easy way to build a plan?
The Best Year Yet online program guides you through the process by asking 10 simple questions. The first is "What have I accomplished?" Thinking back over the past year, you enter everything that occurs to you in response to this question. It's so powerful and enlightening to recognize all that you have actually achieved. After answering all the questions, you will have completed a one-page plan that consists of Your guidelines, Your Vision, Your Major Focus and Your Top 10 Goals for the Year.
4. Want to track progress to your goals to ensure success?
Best Year Yet Online (BYYO) feeds directly into the PRO (Producing Results Online) tracking tool. You can breakdown your goals into monthly and even weekly goals, score them and create goals for the next month!
You can purchase all this for only $99.99. Click here to purchase and get started now! If you are interested personal or professional coaching services for you or your organization please call Donna King at 913-745-5499.
Visit CreativeCounts or Results Coaching for more information
Monday, April 4, 2011
Set Goals That Employees Will Reach
Helping employees set and attain goals is a critical part of every boss' job. Failure to meet goals can cause problems for the individual, you as the manager, and for the organization. But goals that are too easy don't serve anyone. Here are three ways to make sure the goals you set with your people are both attainable and ambitious.
1. Connect to the big picture. Everyone wants to see how their work contributes to larger corporate objectives. Make this explicit in every goal.
2. Incorporate personal interests. If possible, sculpt the employee's responsibilities so that he can do things that he enjoys, making it more likely he'll succeed. If he has an interest in teaching, give him a role in training others.
3. Set stretch targets. Employees tend to rise to the standard set for them. The more you expect, the more they will achieve.
Adapted from HBR's "Making Sure Your Employees Succeed" by Amy Gallo
1. Connect to the big picture. Everyone wants to see how their work contributes to larger corporate objectives. Make this explicit in every goal.
2. Incorporate personal interests. If possible, sculpt the employee's responsibilities so that he can do things that he enjoys, making it more likely he'll succeed. If he has an interest in teaching, give him a role in training others.
3. Set stretch targets. Employees tend to rise to the standard set for them. The more you expect, the more they will achieve.
Adapted from HBR's "Making Sure Your Employees Succeed" by Amy Gallo
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Say Thank You!
There is far too little praise and appreciation in most work environments. Even those who are good about giving positive feedback can tend to reserve it for "above and beyond" moments. Yet, the routine work that people are expected to do every day often goes unnoticed and underappreciated. Genuine gratitude goes a long way in engaging people and binding them together. Once a week, say thank you to an employee. Don't only focus on the extra mile they may have gone, but on the ordinary things they do to make your team, unit, or company hum. Be specific: explain the behavior or task that you are grateful for and the positive impact it has on you and the company. Try it! Every day for the next week, will you express appreciation to an employee or colleague for something they routinely do that makes your business run well? It can be via e-mail, over the phone, or even better, in person. Be specific. "There is no more powerful way to acknowledge others, than to be thankful for them just as they are," says Peter Bregman. Tom Peters wrote in a recent tweet, "It takes more time, but one at a time, 15-second praising is 10x more valuable than a group 'way to go, gang'."
Adapted from Blog Post in HBR “Thank You for Doing your Job” by Whitney Johnson
Adapted from Blog Post in HBR “Thank You for Doing your Job” by Whitney Johnson
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Stop stressing! Create a PLAN for 2011.
Can you believe it's mid January? If you’re like me, you are already stressing out just thinking about all the things you want to accomplish this year. Before you have a melt down and do nothing, sit down, take a deep breath, create a plan of action, set priorities, make things happen! Make this year, YOUR BEST YEAR YET!
Use this quick, three-step process to identify what’s holding you back and develop three personal guidelines to improve your success:
1. First, make a list of all your accomplishments from the last 12 months. Large or small, what do you feel good about? When we feel unappreciated and unrecognized, we lose our self-confidence, and worse – our ability to make our dreams come true. So, do it. Pull out a piece of paper and list all your accomplishments.
2. Now, list all of your disappointments. Any times when you let others down? Projects left unfinished. Potential clients lost? Really successful people are willing to acknowledge their disappointments and learn from them, rather than ignoring them or sweeping them under the rug. On that same sheet of paper, make a list of all your disappointments from the past year.
3. Now, list as many lessons as you can identify. Use your list of accomplishments and disappointments as reference.
Look over your list of accomplishments, and ask: “How did I achieve that”? What was my secret? For example: I consistently made my prospecting calls and acquired several great new clients. List as many lessons as you can from your accomplishments.
Next review your disappointments and ask, “What could I have done to avoid this failure? “What is the lesson here? For example: I failed to call a prospect back when I said I would and lost the opportunity to work with a huge client. List as many potential lessons as you can from your disappointments.
From your list of lessons, choose the three that are the most meaningful to you and rephrase as them as guidelines - short, positive pieces of advice to yourself. For example: Make prospecting my highest priority; or follow through.
Now, post your guidelines where you can see them often. Following your guidelines on a regular basis will lead to positive changes in your behavior and more desirable results.
To help you create your plan for your success, use the Best Year Yet year-long planning and implementation program. It’s just $99.95/year. To register and start building your 2011 plan immediately, click here.
Create your Plan – Using our online program, you will be guided through the development of a concise one-page plan that will serve as your blueprint for success over the next 12 months. Each plan includes the following:
3 Guidelines – based on lessons learned from the past year and designed to help you produce more good results and fewer of the bad
A New Paradigm – a way to turn limited thinking around and create a new positive mindset
Major Focus – a constant reminder of where you need to achieve breakthrough results
10 Results-centered goals – a detailed roadmap for a successful year
Work your plan and track results – Using PRO (Producing Results Online), our exclusive online software, you can enter weekly and/or monthly goals and track your performance throughout the year by scoring the plan results, and setting new goals for the next 7-30 days.
Become masters at producing results – Using the Best Year Yet Producing Results Audio series, you will get better and better at producing results as you listen to and learn from 12 lessons designed to help you master the art of producing results. These audio lessons are built right into the PRO software.
To register and start building your 2011 plan immediately, click here.
Need a Results Coach to help you create your plan and keep you accountable to your goals?
Results Coaching works with Individuals, Teams and Organizations to help them become focused, aligned, and producing results, year after year! We help close the gap between planning and performance!
Contact Donna King 913-745-5499 Cell:908-963-8158 Donna.king@bestyearyet.com
Make 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET
http://www.resultscoaching.us
Use this quick, three-step process to identify what’s holding you back and develop three personal guidelines to improve your success:
1. First, make a list of all your accomplishments from the last 12 months. Large or small, what do you feel good about? When we feel unappreciated and unrecognized, we lose our self-confidence, and worse – our ability to make our dreams come true. So, do it. Pull out a piece of paper and list all your accomplishments.
2. Now, list all of your disappointments. Any times when you let others down? Projects left unfinished. Potential clients lost? Really successful people are willing to acknowledge their disappointments and learn from them, rather than ignoring them or sweeping them under the rug. On that same sheet of paper, make a list of all your disappointments from the past year.
3. Now, list as many lessons as you can identify. Use your list of accomplishments and disappointments as reference.
Look over your list of accomplishments, and ask: “How did I achieve that”? What was my secret? For example: I consistently made my prospecting calls and acquired several great new clients. List as many lessons as you can from your accomplishments.
Next review your disappointments and ask, “What could I have done to avoid this failure? “What is the lesson here? For example: I failed to call a prospect back when I said I would and lost the opportunity to work with a huge client. List as many potential lessons as you can from your disappointments.
From your list of lessons, choose the three that are the most meaningful to you and rephrase as them as guidelines - short, positive pieces of advice to yourself. For example: Make prospecting my highest priority; or follow through.
Now, post your guidelines where you can see them often. Following your guidelines on a regular basis will lead to positive changes in your behavior and more desirable results.
To help you create your plan for your success, use the Best Year Yet year-long planning and implementation program. It’s just $99.95/year. To register and start building your 2011 plan immediately, click here.
Create your Plan – Using our online program, you will be guided through the development of a concise one-page plan that will serve as your blueprint for success over the next 12 months. Each plan includes the following:
3 Guidelines – based on lessons learned from the past year and designed to help you produce more good results and fewer of the bad
A New Paradigm – a way to turn limited thinking around and create a new positive mindset
Major Focus – a constant reminder of where you need to achieve breakthrough results
10 Results-centered goals – a detailed roadmap for a successful year
Work your plan and track results – Using PRO (Producing Results Online), our exclusive online software, you can enter weekly and/or monthly goals and track your performance throughout the year by scoring the plan results, and setting new goals for the next 7-30 days.
Become masters at producing results – Using the Best Year Yet Producing Results Audio series, you will get better and better at producing results as you listen to and learn from 12 lessons designed to help you master the art of producing results. These audio lessons are built right into the PRO software.
To register and start building your 2011 plan immediately, click here.
Need a Results Coach to help you create your plan and keep you accountable to your goals?
Results Coaching works with Individuals, Teams and Organizations to help them become focused, aligned, and producing results, year after year! We help close the gap between planning and performance!
Contact Donna King 913-745-5499 Cell:908-963-8158 Donna.king@bestyearyet.com
Make 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET
http://www.resultscoaching.us
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