All Post – Page 6 – Perspectives to Change Your Mind

How To Network Like A Pro

People frequently ask me what’s the best way to search for a job or identify career opportunities they’re qualified for? My answer is to utilize every means available.

Hire a resume posting service to post your resume
Personally post your resume on job boards and the net
Make your search a part of every conversation
Find businesses in your search area and Cold Call them
Join Networking Organizations
Network one-on-one

I often find that people utilize only one or two methods. This indicates

trust in the effectiveness of methods used
limited knowledge of available methods
comfort level with a longer search time
discomfort utilizing some methods

My question is if you were hurting, and faced with losing your happiness, mental stability, health or residence, how would your strategy change? Remember, activity translates into results.

As we have become more reliant on digital communication one of the most successful ‘active’ search methods is being underutilized, and it is personal one-on-one networking. This approach enlists personal, professional, academic or familial contacts to help you achieve your goals.

How Playing The Blame Game Hinders Success

I delivered a speech a while ago titled Ain’t My Fault. I felt compelled to do it after reading countless articles on the disturbing trend of people blaming others for their mistakes.

What’s worse is that this victimhood trend extends to people blaming everyone and everything for the state of their life. It’s easy to take credit for success; mistakes not so much.

Conventional explanations for this trend are

The middle class is struggling to make ends meet and wants a quick payout.
Being civil to each other is on the decrease. We are becoming more self-absorbed and find it easier to take advantage of each other.
It’s easy to get away with things – things we know are wrong.

Regardless the actual origin(s), the effects are varied, profound and disheartening. I long for a time when every person looks in the mirror and says to themselves

How and When To Mediate A Disagreement

In the post “How To Stop Passive-Aggressive Behavior In The Workplace” I shared how important it is and how to create a culture where teammates first attempt to resolve differences with each other before requesting leadership assistance.

The most productive teams involve the supervisor only as a last resort after teammates were unable to resolve their differences themselves.

If you inherited a team with a different culture, read the post above, change what is expected of teammates to resolve differences, and then prepare yourself to mediate, should it come to that.

Interviewing For Your First Leadership Position, Episode 1

If you are interviewing for your first leadership position, this is an exciting time.

I want to give you an advantage over your competition and ensure you avoid the most common mistake eight out of 10 people in your position make.

Most people prepare by designing statements and answers based on their resume, including the duties and responsibilities of positions they have held.

The problem with that approach is that a leadership position is not on their resume, and leadership is precisely the focus of this interview.

When Good Enough Is NOT Good Enough!

Most of you know I’m a health conscious person who values physical and mental fitness. I was discussing training schedules with a physical trainer friend of mine, and she asked how I had modified my training regimen after suffering a heart attack and devastating shoulder injury nine years ago.

As I shared the details of my surgeries and subsequent lifestyle changes our discussion turned to when “good enough is not good enough” – situations for which perfection is the objective.

The greatest payoff of striving for perfection is that even if you don’t achieve it, you accomplish more than when you set the goal lower.

Say Hello To Reaching Your 2018 Goals!

Happy New Year! It’s time for resolutions, new goals, and a fresh start. Let’s make 2018 the best year ever! Have you set your goals yet?

Successful people who regularly reach their goals understand goal achievement. To achieve your goals

believe in yourself – Expect Success!
choose meaningful goals that excite you
set specific goals – SMART goals
surround yourself with encouraging people who regularly reach their goals
have a plan with a deadline
be focused and selective with your time
take action – avoid inactivity and procrastination
prepare to manage setbacks
leave no room for excuses
be committed – Success Is Not Convenient!

I want to talk about the last one, being committed, because the messaging today suggests this item isn’t necessary. Today’s trend in advertising suggests that reaching your goals is easy to do, and that hard work is a thing of the past for foolish people. You can

Helping Top Performers Improve – Part Two: Customizing The Feedback

In Part One of Helping Top Performers Improve I shared how to move past your hesitation and fear to deliver this feedback. If you struggle with this and haven’t read Part One, please read it and watch the accompanying video before reading this post, as Part Two begins where Part One ends.

Leaders are taught to treat everyone fairly, but that does not mean you treat everyone the same. Not treating people the same is especially true when it comes to feedback, as customization is the key.

The profile of Top Performers provides an instructive guide to effectively customizing feedback to them.

Are You Prepared For Success?

With 20 of my closest friends, I recently celebrated the ‘well-lived life’ of a high school classmate who passed away.

We discussed everything from daily routines, life accomplishments, and family highlights, to broken relationships, failed careers, and life-changing accidents.

The theme that repeatedly surfaced was the importance of being prepared to take what life gives you and make the best of it. Life will undoubtedly throw you curve balls; how you adjust is what counts.

When I say ‘curve balls,’ most people envision dealing with failures and setbacks. In this instance, however, I’m talking about the curve balls that come with success.

Helping Top Performers Improve – Part One: Overcoming Reluctance

Are you reluctant, hesitant or fearful of giving constructive feedback to top performers?

If a leader’s job is to:

create a success-oriented work environment that employees can thrive in
help employees improve, regardless their level of performance

That includes all employees, even your top performers, right?

Many leaders understand and accept that position, but struggle to do it, especially when it requires delivering constructive feedback to their best folks.

The reasons for their reluctance vary.

From Deliverer concerns like:

not wanting to appear unappreciative of a top performer’s stellar performance
being uncomfortable giving them constructive feedback – “they know more than me”
having the luxury of not giving any feedback and still meeting team goals

To Receiver concerns like:

my top performers don’t appear to want feedback and might not receive it well
fear that after delivering the feedback, their performance will decrease

While no universal approach exists that is effective, every time, for everyone, there are general guidelines to follow. Applying these rules to the concerns above will help decrease your reluctance.

What Are YOU Thankful For?

Thanksgiving is a day for family get-togethers, pumpkin and sweet potato pie, turkey and ham with all the fixin’s, and thoughts and prayers of thanks for our bounty.

As our business turns to an online presence, Heather and I want to thank you for your continued support. We consider it an honor that you take the time to:

read our newsletters
watch our videos on YouTube
send us your comments and thoughts
sign up for classes

When I began teaching 39 years ago, I was a very different person. I knew much less, though I wouldn’t have admitted it then. Throughout the years, the greatest gifts I’ve received are the lessons I learned from my students.

Part Two – Want More From Life? ASK For It!

After reading the Want more from life? ASK for it! post, Monique wrote me and asked, “Craig, you said to control the factors that influence results, like body language, facial expressions, etc. Will you be more specific?”

An important influence on getting what you ask for is your expectation of the recipient’s response. Dr. Milton Erikson’s Law of Expectations states “85% of what you expect to happen…will” because in certain ways you cause them to happen.

Let’s visualize how expectations affect how we ask. Think about a time when you asked a friend to go somewhere with you. Close your eyes and picture yourself asking, expecting a yes AND no response.

Take Some Time To Waste Some Time

Do you spend more time doing things you have to do and less time doing what you want to do? It’s time to reprioritize your life, to take some time to waste some time. What do I mean?

Schedule four hours to sit under a tree or in some quiet, peaceful place, and do nothing. If you just said, “I don’t have four hours to sit under a tree” you really need to do this exercise!

Don’t take your phone, tablet, computer or book. Quiet the noise, focus on nothing, do nothing, just listen. And if you just said, “I can’t sit still that long,” keep reading because I address that in a minute! When you listen to your life, it will tell you the changes to make to be happier.

How To Stop Passive-Aggressive Behavior In The Workplace

Passive-aggressive behavior is one of the most destructive forces you will encounter in the workplace. It can destroy the teamwork you worked so hard to create. As the manager, you should address this quickly by setting new expectations for the team.

Rather than mandating the new expectations, get their buy-in to resolving differences among themselves in the following manner: In a team meeting say, “I’d like your input on how you prefer to resolve differences with each other. If a teammate has an issue with you or something you are doing, would you prefer:

Want more from life? ASK for it!

You create the life you have by the choices you make – what you choose to do and choose not to do. It’s true that life sends some stuff your way that you don’t choose, but you control what you get.

One choice I encourage you to make is to ask for what you want.

I remember being in a relationship with a woman who brought home pair after pair of new shoes, and bragged that they were all leather and she didn’t pay a dime for them. When I asked her how she got them, she replied, “I asked for them.”

It’s Time To Celebrate And Only You Know Why

You’ve had your head down for a long, long time now. Isn’t it time to pick up your head, remove your nose from the grindstone and relax a bit while you take a 50,000-foot view of your successes?

You bet it is! You have reason to celebrate, but you haven’t… yet, and you need to. If not now, when?

What are you celebrating? That’s for you to determine, but there is something.

If you don’t yet know what it is, keep reading, and by the end of this letter, you will know. The more difficult it is to identify a reason to celebrate, the more you need to stop and celebrate.

How Competition And Teamwork Are Compatible

Consider these two statements.

We are a team, but you know what they say about team; there’s no I in team!
If we are a team, and Sam Slacker is not doing his job, why do I have to do my job?

What do they have in common? Statement one partially created statement two in the workplace. From time to time business grabs hold of an idea they believe has great value and only later discovers that the idea was flawed and created things never intended. “We are a team” did that.

Unintended effect: Use the word we in place of I and you.
Revision: Use the words I, you and we appropriately to reinforce team and personal responsibility—i.e., “We are a team. I am here to help you. What are you going to do to assist your teammates and perform up to your potential?”

Why You Should Talk To People You Disagree With

I have always believed that talking to people I disagree with has tremendous value, as does reading and watching content that promotes a viewpoint contrary to mine. I must admit, it’s not always easy, but I’m definitely wiser in the end.

I’m pretty sure that perspective is not shared by all – especially lately. The divide between people with opposing views appears to be getting larger, to the point where I’m questioning whether the statement ‘agree to disagree and respectfully coexist’ still applies.

When It Is Smart To Not Finish What You Started

Finish what you started. From a young age you’ve heard that from parents, teachers, and coaches. It suggests you stick with it; you can do it, and think through your decisions because you can’t always change them. Good lessons to learn.

Some people learned them well – maybe too well – because they feel they always have to finish what they started, no matter the circumstances. Is it good to always finish what you started? I believe the answer is no. I believe there are times when it’s smart to go against your training and not finish what you started.

The Powerful Payoff Of Patience And Persistence

Are you giving up on yourself and others too quickly – keeping yourself from accomplishing all you are capable of? If so, I’d like to help you change that self-defeating behavior.

We all know that if you’re responsible for getting a young adult or teenager to clean their room, study, stop a destructive behavior, or set the table, you need to ask or tell them repeatedly.

When it comes to adults, however, we expect that one time of asking or telling them (or ourselves) is sufficient. Man, that would be nice, but I don’t believe it works that way.

Tips To Lead Your Team Through Change

Leading teams through change was a daily activity for managers in the heyday of corporate downsizing and restructuring. Leaders became change hardy – accustomed to dealing with change. Those same skills are needed today, as change is back with a vengeance. Let’s review important change principles and terminology.

Change is something that happens in an instant, with a decision
Processing the change is called a transition and takes time
There are two transitions – personal and organizational
The two transitions occur simultaneously but are not always equally successful

While being the guiding light to support your team through their personal transitions, you also need to manage the team transition and your transition. It’s a tough position to be in, but that’s why you are in the leadership role.