A leader knows behind any growing business, is an even bigger, growing leader. Leadership development, the time and expense of it, are the truest measurements of a leader fully committed to growth and a business that can afford it. To arrive at a place that can afford you the luxury of spending time developing yourself, means you have curated an equally developed business. A business that can support the expense of its most crucial system, Leadership.
Read MoreBefore the COVID crisis, life had become easy and accessible. We could go where we want, whenever we want and super-fast. With entertainment at our fingertips, stimulation was our drug. Worldwide food options and access to goods within hours of placing orders was not luxury, but a staple. People will go and pick up your takeout food from just about anywhere you want and deliver it to you. Your takeout food. Let that sink in for a moment. And even if we wanted to go pick up our own, take out food, we can hire a personal driver, in whatever luxurious mood we are in(I won’t deny I go super deluxe every once in a while), to drive us there and back. Many got into a state of complacent, consistent obligation to staying busy all the time.
Read MoreIn the past, some may have called me a gypsy, a roamer, a rambling rose. Yet, with where all the roads may lead me, I don’t think the grass is any greener or the wine any sweeter, than my home away from home.
Read MoreIt was the middle of the day. I had one of those rare, meeting free days, where essentially I could do what I want, when I wanted. I had a list of to-do’s; related to this day and beyond that I had to choose from. I couldn’t find the clarity to do anything. Mind you it wasn’t avoidance or motivation; which I know plagues many other people out their. It truly was having a deep sense of organization, that made those precious hours the most impactful they could be. Luckily, I knew what to do.
Read MoreI had looked forward to attending this workshop all year. It usually sells out. I know. I have been on the waiting list far too long. My invitation was finally here, crisp and ready to be replied to. As I scrolled over all the usual mumbo jumbo, an acronym scrolled across the bottom that stopped me, BYOD. With the continual degradation of traditional acronyms, this could mean anything. When in doubt, Google it. In 30 seconds I had my answer.
Read MoreAs I listen to my client, I am struck by his intelligence. It is honest, self generated, Ivy League school supported, experience worthy intelligence. It is a type of intelligence I will never hold; much of it relates to his industry and service offerings that are highly niched, degree driven and detailed orientated.
Disclaimer: I have my own intelligence; also degree, experience and organized driven.
Read MoreWhat do I do? Do I succumb to the shiny object in front of me? A day of being unplugged? To forgo the accountability and tasks, meetings and outreach that was all scheduled, so strategically might I add, on this day? It would be disastrous to my business goals. I would be behind, by January 5th.
Read MoreWhen I started as a business coach, my life did not look like it does today. I lived in the city, in a house that was in the middle of a subdivision. I worked for someone else and had never considered myself an entrepreneur. My default vision at the time was that I would continue to build a career for myself inside a good company—one that cared and took care of its employees—until I retired in my dream house, watching grandbabies run about.
Read MoreLiving with paranoia is crippling. Just ask my client Bob. When Bob came to me he was so paralyzed by his paranoia, that making day to day decisions created so much anxiety and fear that the business was stalling out. Marketing initiatives were not being made, hiring new employees was lagging to the point that client orders were being delayed and even deciding when to schedule a management meeting took so much time, they never happened. Employees were tip toeing around him, to try and push work forward, in fear that if Bob had to intervene, everything would come to a halt.
Read MoreMy hope is my kids know that I am their mother and the rules, love and our family culture is one that they want. However it makes you wonder about the way we are with our employees as well. Could showing up different every time your employees go looking for you, just like the little bird experienced when trying to find his mother, create distrust? Could your employees disloyalty and sluggish behavior be your fault?
Leading employees is a role, that when absent, will show up in low productivity, loyalty and growth. What do those signs really look like?
Read MoreI just crossed a big one off the 2017 goal list and I will not deny, it feels good. It took months of hard work, planning, organizing and perseverance, but in the end it was worth it. While it had nothing to do with Synergy Business Coaching, in some ways it had everything to do with it. Training and running for the Mendocino Trail 50K(That is 31 miles for you Americans) taught me that life is work and work is life.
Read MoreEverything was good until, someone asked something so random, I wasn’t even sure they had been sitting through the session the entire time. They pressed me for an answer and I wanted to help. But I wasn’t sure how. I began to sweat and my responses began to ramble a mile a minute. Oh crap. My worst nightmare was becoming a reality at 11:30 in the morning. One of my flaws was being exposed and I couldn’t do anything about it.
Read MoreNowadays, with how hard it is to get one, I am in appreciation for any check that comes my way. Being a small business owner, I understand the stress and anxiety that can come with finding business and keeping cash flow coming in and not just out.
Read MoreCompetitions date back to the beginning of time. Whether it was for glory, land, a wife or politics we have used competition as a way to judge the best against the rest. Lets be honest, we as humans want to know the best and for those that are inspired by it, what to strive for.
Read MoreFinding confidence in leadership is tricky. You wouldn’t be in the position you are without it, so you have some, but usually not enough. Otherwise you would have that feeling…you know what it feels like. Knowing that you are responding, answering, deciding, doing and being exactly what you should. We have all felt it, even if it was generated by someone else. Yet, creating it for your self, by your self, using tools that you have control over, is the ultimate freedom. I say it is a freedom we all craved when we set out on this crazy journey of owning and building a business or even a life.
Read MoreWhen my clients talk about overwhelm, it often sounds like they relate to it as if whelm were the sleeper wave. Arriving and engulfing them unexpectedly, it overpowers them by sheer strength. Unable to do anything about it, they are, to varying degrees, incapacitated….victims to their experience of the Overwhelm.
Read MoreWhat do you get out of being overwhelmed? When clients come to a call and use the “O” word, I know the conversation is about to get rich. While there are a number of questions I ask, the one with the most kick is, “What do you get out of being overwhelmed?” In other words, “Do you benefit in any way from being overwhelmed?”
Read MoreIt is important to realize that each of those characters or aspects, has a particular point of view. In other words, a way of looking at and seeing things, as well as a basic approach to thinking about and dealing with issues. It’s not that any of them are necessarily right or wrong, however what occurs as extremely relevant from one point of view is not the same for the others. Their perceptions are different. And perception shapes reality.
Read MoreMost people don’t know what they don’t know. To build and grow a profitable and sustainable company, you need to understand the fundamentals of business development, as well as who you need to be and when you need to be it.
Read MoreAs a leader you control the heartbeat, health and vitality of your business; yet why don’t you do anything when you see and feel it not running in optimal health? I know, I know…time, money and energy all contribute to the overwhelm you feel when you do recognize a change needs to happen. Just like your body, your business won’t last forever. And just like your body, we forget how important it is to us before it is too late. Are you bored?
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