COACHING AND EMPOWERING OTHERS

Posted on by

When it comes down to it, coaching and empowering others is sometimes the only real advantage one organization has over another in our competitive society.  Here are some key questions to ask yourself to see if your attitude, and that of your origination, is in alignment with a culture of empowering others.  

  1. Do we believe in people and feel that they are our organization’s most appreciable asset?
  2. Do we regularly encourage training specific to each individual’s need as a learner?
  3. Do we believe that empowering others can accomplish more than individual achievement?
  4. Do we actively search for potential leaders to empower?
  5. Would we be willing to raise others to a level higher than our own level of leadership? 
  6. Do we allow others freedom of personality and process, or do I have to be in control?

If you answered no to more than a couple of these questions, your organization may need to revisit their commitment to empowering others.  What can your organization do to achieve this?  Also, what can you do this week as a leader to model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart when working with your team?   

THE POWER OF ATTITUDE, GOALS AND ACTIONS

Posted on by

Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us, unplayed.

                                                                    -Oliver Wendell Holmes

The following story is a powerful example of the power of attitude, goals and actions.  When we can harness these three attributes, we can change our lives.  

A man meets three workers at a building site.  He asks the first one: “What are you doing?”  “I’m laying bricks.” He asks the next one: “what are you doing?”  “I’m building a wall.” The man walks up to the third worker and asks him the same question.  He looks up with a smile and says: “I’m building a church.”

This entry emphasizes the fact that to be a man or woman of action you need to keep three things in mind:

  1. To have the right attitude towards your work, you must see “the church.”
  2. You need to decide which walls you are going to build, or establish goals.
  3. You have to lay the bricks that are needed to build the wall. Without action nothing happens!

How can you harness the power of attitudes, goals and actions in your personal and work life?

INGREDIENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MENTORING PARTNERSHIP

Posted on by

If you want to succeed as a mentor, first seek to understand yourself and others.    ~John Maxwell

A successful mentoring partnership starts with a commitment to relationships, mutual trust, ability to listen (and some more), and awareness of differences.  Mentoring goes both ways: Let your direct reports mentor you!  You can gain significant insights by learning from them.

Tell stories about the lessons learned along the way – both the successes as well as the failures. Enable your individual contributors to make decisions and help them view their failures as learning opportunities.  When one of these learning opportunities come up, one of my mentors used to say with a smile, “the company just paid for your education.”  And yes, I heard it as well. I distinctly remember saying to myself, “that was a very positive way of saying I dropped the ball.”

Do more than teach. Listen and demonstrate curiosity about goals, hopes, and dreams.  Share what’s happening in the organization so your learning partner can seize opportunities.

What comes easily to you that you can offer others this week?

FAIRNESS

Posted on by

By Rick Majercik

As long as we see what has come to pass as being unfair, we’ll be a prisoner of what might have been. When you feel yourself taking the role of the victim, I suggest saying the following to yourself, “things are exactly as the should be in this moment.”

When we contemplate this, we see a shift from being the victim by acknowledging the situation and owning it as it is.

image

THE MYSTIC RIVER

Posted on by

mail[1]

He who is contented is rich. ~Lao Tzu

By Rick Majercik

As I finish my shrimp risotto, I look out at the Mystic River.  The drawbridge opens as a small fishing boat waits patiently – floating in the misty rain.  I look across the table at my special lady taking in the scene.  Water beads on the window as we settle up on the check.   We exit and walk over to the bridge as it majestically moves skyward.

The bridge has been very well restored and I stand there in awe of the engineering of such a New England treasure.   There is no clanking of metal or banging as the bridge is slowly lowered.  It is now smoothly in place.  We are only six feet away and I am so content in this moment.

I hear the rain pinging off of our umbrella as we stand nearer each other.  The caution barrier raises, cars roll and we walk on.

FOUR SUCCESS CONCEPTS TO TEACH OUR TEENS

Posted on by

By Rick Majercik

Recently, I was asked what four concepts are most important to teach our kids. I narrowed it down to a handful and would like to see if you agree.

The first concept can be expressed in this formula: E + R = O. Your response to an event equals the outcome. If you change your response to an event, you can influence the outcome. This concept has been helpful to me over the years as I grew up in a divorced family scenario where I was mainly raised by a single mother until I was 16. I have also moved over 20 times in my lifetime. Remembering this concept is an excellent way to have some measure of control in times of change.

The second concept is to keep your mind and body fit for the long haul. When living a healthy lifestyle, I encourage people to use a three legged stool analogy to keep them on course. If one leg is missing, the stool will fall over. The legs of the stool are as follows: eating clean, changing your body from the inside out by weight training and doing HIIT cardio workouts. Relative to the mind, kids should read from good books and share their knowledge with others. When we share with others, our command of the subject matter grows and so does our intellectual capacity, which increases our human potential. Sharing also invokes the Universal Law of Reciprocation. What two things can you do between now and the end of the week to support and encourage others?

The third is setting goals with a view towards the future. Most people will pay the price if they can see a better life, better family or a better “me” in the future. Thus, it is important to help kids see a better future and understand how to accomplish it. This coaching/mentoring is incumbent on parents, family members, coaches and teachers. Our school system in America generally lacks male role models for boys. There was an excellent documentary done by PBS on this topic called “Raising Cain: Boys in Focus” and I highly recommend it if you have a boy. This lack of mentoring is where male coaches and family members can really impact young men and help them with coping skills. I was blessed to have some of the best coaches around while growing up. It was my saving grace. When working on their goals they should make incremental improvements over time, which will lead to major success. I encourage our kids to show up, be consistent, have a good attitude, be committed, show faith/desire, be willing to pay the price and have integrity to do the right thing –even when nobody is looking!

The forth concept is financial planning. I call it the 80/20 plan. After receiving your pay check or paying yourself, set aside 10% for savings and 10% for investing. Debt reduction should also be a primary focus as well. Over time this will guarantee financial independence for a teenager. They should also consider giving to their favorite charities as they get older.

If a young person focuses on doing these simple things over a long period of time, I believe they will be assured many successes in their future.