Tag: Change

Goals 2014: What Is The Secret To Achieving Your #LifeGoals ?

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Setting And Reviewing Goals Does Not Take Long

Taking Action To Set And Review Your Goal Does Not Take Long

Back in January I created a post featuring these questions about your workplace happiness.  In particular I asked you to focus on these points:

  • How important is your work compared to your family or social life?
  • How happy does it make you feel?
  • Do you have a clear goal about what you want to happen within your life this year?
  • What will you feel like when you accomplish your goal?

The Secret Is Regularly Taking Action

The secret to achieving your goals is to regularly take action to move in the direction you have identified.  As long as you act in a way that is consistent with your values, you will authentically progress toward what you want.

Simply thinking about what you want won’t achieve much.  It is action which gets you flowing smoothly towards that outcome.  If you have 20 minutes here is an interesting TED talk by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the concept of Flow

How Much Time Will You Make For Your Goals This Summer?

As summer is here you can take action to make some time away from work to create, or review, your life goals and to plan when you will take further action to move forward.  How much time will be enough for you?

What Other Actions Can You Take To Achieve Your Goals?

Feel free to have a conversation about this topic with your colleagues.  I’d be interested to know what priority you give to goal setting.  You can find me on Twitter @RogerD_said

There are more ideas relating to actions you can take to address your work, and life, goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit more insights into these areas when you View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: How Does Your #MentalBaggage Make You Feel?

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What Are You Carrying That You Do Not Need

What Baggage Are You Carrying?

Pretty soon you and your loved ones will be heading away from work for a few weeks rest and relaxation.  This is your time to take a breath; pack your bags and then get away from the stresses of the 9 to 5.

Here’s a question to work on as you go through your pre-departure check-list.  Aside from the sunscreen, sandals and spending money, what will your mental baggage weigh?

What Does Your Mental Baggage Do To You?

Although you are preparing to get away from it all, do the negatives which you will carry with you actually feel like a burden, which will affect your leadership and management goals when you get home?  Those burdens or limiting beliefs might include:

  • Your inability to fix your problematic relationship with a key colleague
  • Your belief that your career and your values are out of step
  • Your self-criticism which means you aren’t good enough to try something new

Might you have more success and be unburdened if your skills, values and actions were in alignment?

When Will You Take Action On Your Goal?

If you chose to start tackling your goal, with coaching support, you could be experiencing a more authentic and satisfying life in weeks.  That’s true whether ‘home’ for you is the UK, the US, the EU or further afield.

Why not get in touch, via the Contact option above, and start a new journey towards a more authentic life.  All you have to lose is your baggage.

Want To Share Your Thoughts On Personal Development?

Start a discussion about the themes in the post by all means.  I’d love to hear what you and your colleagues think on Twitter @RogerD_said

There are more comment-worthy ideas, relating to your work and life goals, in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: What Is The Two Word Secret To More #JobSatisfaction ?

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What Is The Value Of Positive Feedback?

What Is The Value Of Positive Feedback?

Thank you to everyone who is following me on social media; discussing the ideas I’m putting out there for discussion; or simply reading these words.

I was thinking about the value of those two words a few days ago.  I received some great customer care and told the assistant how much I appreciated the time she had taken to resolve my query and hand me the paper work for my records.

What Is The Value Of Saying Thank You?

How often do you offer authentic, positive, feedback when you experience great customer care?  Organisational leaders are recognising that employee recognition matters.  In areas like customer care ‘good news’ stories are morale boosting opportunities to highlight business values in action

How Will You Make It Clear You Are Good At What You Do?

Some people are comfortable quietly getting on with their work.  They are never going to blow their own trumpet.  Would you be content to have that low a profile?

If your answer is ‘No’, would you consider setting yourself a goal concerning your customer service?

  • Could you ask your customers to send a quick email to your manager, if you provide outstanding service?
  • Perhaps they could comment favourably on your company website?
  • Is there another way that would allow your manager to see how much of an asset you are to the team?

When Will You Make Time To Take Action?

Feel free to have a conversation about this topic with your colleagues.  When will you make the first step to action this goal?   I’d be interested to know what your plans are.  You can find me on Twitter @RogerD_said

There are more ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: How Can You Boost Your #Skills By #Volunteering ?

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Are You Developing Your Skills By Volunteering?

Are You Developing Your Skills By Volunteering?

I have blogged previously about the benefits of volunteering – within an organisation or in the community – as a way to boost your skills. Well I had the chance last week to add to Joel Kremer’s Linkedin discussion about the value of volunteering, and I thought it would be useful to you if I gave you the highlights of that post here.  These ideas should be valid in the UK, the US, the EU or elsewhere around the world.

What Leadership Or Management Skills Do You Want To Develop?

According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills there are plenty of managers who could improve their proficiency in several key areas, one of which matches your five point list: UKCES highlights that 32% of managers and professionals could be more proficient in Problem Solving (PS). What are the comparable figures where you are?

Taking action to volunteer could address a PS personal development goal.  It could definitely benefit someone in a key organisational role, at the same time as benefitting the project’s customers.

How Can You Ensure Your Services Are Not Being Unfairly Exploited?

There’s a health warning though. Given the climate of limited resources and ‘more for less’ volunteers should not be used as cheap substitutes for paid staff. An organisation’s volunteering strategy should provide an authentic example of doing good for all concerned. It should provide positive benefits to customers whilst developing the volunteers’ skills and confidence (whatever their job title). If a volunteer feels their actions are being exploited they have to speak up.

What Support Could You Expect To Receive As A Volunteer?

In the example I gave above, good benefits could be achieved by the PS volunteer, as long as it was absolutely clear where the boundaries of that person’s volunteer responsibility lay. The volunteer’s learning would have to be fully supported by their project leader and her colleagues. Once their PS skills and confidence were good, or outstanding, they could continue to develop in different areas. Still offering really good service to the project’s customers as their learning continues.

How Are You Going To Learn By Volunteering?

Please use the Contact form above, if you would like to discuss coaching support to make the most of your volunteering plans.

Feel free to look at the further ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here, on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: What Is Your Gut Feeling About The #Management & #Leadership You Receive?

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How Do You Feel About The Way You Are Managed?

How Do You Feel About The Way You Are Managed?

Here’s a question for you to ponder over the next couple of days.  How much protection does your manager offer you?  Do you feel Outstandingly nurtured?  Would you term their efforts Average? Does they need to improve?

(If you are a leader or manager how many marks out of 10 would your colleagues give you for the authenticity of your professional relationship with them)?

It Is A Good Time To Talk About Management

I think this is a good time to talk about management.  Many people are looking forward to their summer break, away from the sinking feeling they experience at work.  Some people will have reached the point where they are weighing up their options.  Others will have made up their minds and will be preparing for a job hunt when they get back to work.  If that is the case it may be because they are deeply unhappy with their management situation.

How Will You Respond To Your Concerns About The Management You Receive?

When you look at the set of goals you drew up for yourself in January did improving your job satisfaction feature on the list?  If so you will be conscious that effective management is a big factor in job satisfaction and engagement.

Now that you are taking stock at the mid-point in the year how are things looking jobwise?  What action will you take in response to your gut feeling?  Whose support will you draw on as you work out your options?

Implications Of Ineffective Management and Leadership

If inspiring leadership boosts followership then ineffective leaders and managers contribute to disengaged workers.

The quote from Kurt Barling comes from a larger article larger article relating to the concerns some black and minority ethnic staff at the BBC have in the management they receive.  The article is worth a look if you are interested in productive workplaces; engaging staff; improving team performance; equality and diversity; and leadership or management.

What Action Will You Take Now?

There is a universal point however: if one of your workplace goals is to feel positive and engaged you will feel better taking action, with support, to improve your situation rather than enduring the discomfort.  Please do get in touch (use the Contact page above) if you would like to discuss the difference coaching can make to your working life.

Do You Want Support To Develop Other Areas In Your Life?

There are more ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: What Is Your Work Place #SuccessGoal ?

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Setting A Goal Does Not Take Long

Setting A Goal Does Not Take Long

What are you like when you are not pursuing success at work?  Is the authentic ‘you’ happiest making weekend plans and organising your family life; or does the idea of taking some ‘me’ time away from 9 to 5 problems appeal?

How Does Effective Team Work Produce Results?

I learned yesterday* that for Netball players, team working is a key part of their time together.  Players develop their individual skills and learn how to complement other’s skills successfully, when they work together.  Everyone gets to play a part in the team achieving its goals (it sounds like a low ego sport).  That principle feeds back into their successful professional lives too, by all accounts.

What Is The Key To Improving Workplace Success?

Effective team work lies at the heart of workplace success.  The UK Government is making policy decisions to draw on positive behaviours and improve the range of enterprises which are successful.

In their 2013 report ‘Management Matters’, The UK Commission for Employment and Skills found that 166,000 managers are deemed to be not fully proficient in their job… The skills most lacking are:

  • strategic management
  • planning and organisation
  • team working
  • problem solving
  • oral communication

You can visit UKCES website here and learn more about that issue and new proposals to address those development areas.

How Will You Set A Goal To Tackle Your Needs?

Whether you are in the UK, the US, the EU or further afield did you recognise a development area in your own leadership or management practice in the bullet point list?  If so you can relax.  These are common issues that crop up in coaching conversations.  A discussion with a coach will be a worthwhile first step, if you are ready to improve your performance.  If so, I’m happy to discuss your development needs with you and support your actions as you move forward.

Who Will You Share Your Progress With?

Feel free to have a conversation about this topic with your colleagues.  I’d be interested to know what you think.  You can contact me regarding your own needs via the Contact form and more generally on Twitter @RogerD_said

There are more ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Thank You

*I am grateful to Kat – whom I met at an Enterprise Nation event – for the inspiration to discuss teamworking beyond the workplace.  Kat is an avid Netballer and in charge of Toursprite  – a startup offering fancy dress services to groups.  Enterprise Nation helps people turn their passions into great businesses.

Goals 2014: What #Changes Will You Deal With Tomorrow?

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What Does Change Mean To You?

What Does Change Mean To You?

What is your work goal tomorrow?  Is it to stay the same and hope that doing so produces adequate results (assuming your performance exceeds or meets organisational expectations)?  Or are you authentically open to change (especially if you know you must improve to meet those expectations)?

Whether you are a leader, follower, manager, or employee what would it feel like to move towards something different and better in the week ahead?

What Lessons Can You Take From The UK Civil Service?

Large organisations, like the UK Civil Service are undertaking change processes, so that its 420,000 plus employees can produce more results with less resources (click on the link to find out more about their leaderships vision; communication; change delivery; and staff engagement).  If yours is a smaller organisation, what lessons could you take from the civil service example?

How Immune To Change Are You?

Individuals, just like organisations have different responses to change.  Even the mention of change can cause some people to become resistant.  Their immunity to change (ITC) depends on the big assumptions they hold.  Will colleagues still like me if I change?  What will I feel like if I become a more authentic version of myself?

I’m really excited to have learned a lot about the world of change by completing recently a MOOC (massive open online course) on ITC, courtesy of Harvard University.  You can listen here to a 15 minute podcast with Robert Kegan who led the course with Lisa Lahey and sample some of the course materials if you register to do so.

Will You Rise To The Change Challenge?

When you set goals for yourself at the start of the year you will have known circumstances might crop up that pushed you off course.  As you undertake your mid -year review, what areas do you need to adjust to stay on track?

Perhaps your circumstances have changed so much since January that major adjustments are necessary: in January no one would have foreseen that retail challenges would affect managers at Morrisons for instance; or that in the banking sector, Barclay’s job losses would be followed by those at Natwest

So, whether you are in the UK, US, EU or the world beyond what will you do tomorrow to meet the small or large challenges flagged up by the word ‘change’?

What Else Will You Do To Embrace Change?

Feel free to have a conversation about this topic with your colleagues.  I’m always interested to know what you think.  You can find me on Twitter @RogerD_said

There are more ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: Are You Making The Progress You Want To On Your #GoalsInLife?

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How Are You Feeling About Your 2014 Goals?

How Are You Feeling About Your 2014 Goals?

Your anticipation has been building for months.  Your heart beat a little faster as each week zipped by.  Now, finally, it is time for you to focus on goals (your own personal goals that is).

How Practical Did Your Goals Seem In January?

Obviously your team will measure how successful it is being during the FIFA World Cup.  Isn’t this a good time to measure your own success?

Perhaps back in early January everything looked straight forward.  You had 12 months in which to make progress on your goals relating to your: authentic leadership skills; management style; career path; work-life balance; health priorities.  Everything seemed possible.  Maybe you agreed specific goals with yourself, to make 2014 the year you:

  • pursued your next career milestone to get you into a more fulfilling job this autumn
  • created the ideal balance between your work and life, in line with your core values
  • actively competed at a sport to raise your confidence and energy levels

Well, here you are at the half way line.  Are you ready to kick off a discussion about your progress?

What Is The One Key Question You Can Ask Yourself About Your Progress?

There is probably only one key question to ask yourself, about the actions you have taken to further your aspirations to change.  Take a moment and answer honestly:

  • How happy are you with the outcomes of your actions and your rate of progress toward your goals?

What Is Your Next Action?

Hopefully you can say you are happy with your progress across the range of goals you selected six months ago.  In that case keep doing what you are doing, since it is obviously working for you.

What if you need coaching support to refocus your strategy for taking action to tackle your goals?  Then use the Contact form above, or connect with me on Twitter @RogerD_said

If you need to try a fresh approach I look forward to hearing from you.  Don’t forget, you should feel free to look at the other ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here, on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile too.

Goals 2014: What Does Equality And Diversity Mean To You?

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What Is Your First Thought When Equality And Diversity Is Discussed?

What Is Your First Thought When Equality And Diversity Is Discussed?

Does one of your goals involve adding your voice to discussions on life in the modern workplace?  If so, do you want to contribute to the important conversation on improving equality and diversity outcomes?

I’ve good news, if your answer is ‘Yes’, as I have designed a whole-day leadership workshop on that topic and I could use your help in refining delegate materials.  I want to ensure delegates have some topical quotes to look at relevant to the experiences of teams, clients and organisations in a variety of sectors in the UK, US, EU and territories beyond.

Your Chance To Offer Some Feedback

Do take a moment to look at the bullet point questions below and offer some feedback by replying to this post, or comment through the Contact form (or via Twitter @RogerD_said ) before 19:00 BST on Monday 16 June.

If I use one of your quotes in the workshop materials you and your organisation will be credited (please say if you prefer to be anonymous).  Many thanks in advance for your help.

  • What does authentic leadership in equality and diversity look like?
  • What are the benefits of getting equality and diversity strategies right?
  • What are the challenges on the horizon for equality and diversity stakeholders?

Want To Take The Conversation Further?

If these questions have whetted your appetite and you want to take the workshop conversation further please feel free to get in touch (there’s a further chance to continue this conversation in September, so feel free to contribute your Comments below this post or across social media).

Additionally, there are more ideas relating to your work and life goals in the Archive section here and on Facebook and Google+ too.  Or if you are a LinkedIn user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile

Goals 2014: What Leadership Lessons Will You Take From #TBS2014 ?

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The Business Show 2014 Guide - watch out for the #TBS2014 trending on Twitter

The Business Show 2014 Guide – watch out for the #TBS2014 trending on Twitter

Hopefully what I wrote about the Business Show 2013 – on 30 November and 3 December last year – inspired you to go online, to see what you could learn from the coverage of that event.

I’m refining my strategy for The Business Show 2014 , which starts tomorrow.  Why not take a few minutes to look at the site and see what’s on offer (The Twitter hashtag #TBS2014 will be in heavy use over the next few days. too).

This time around I have highlighted the Business Show presenters I want to listen to, as they deliver a service to others by sharing their stories.  I’m sure they will generate plenty of questions from their audience, and there are a few questions I would like to ask them too.

As the roster of Keynote speakers includes Brad Burton, Karen Darby, Kate Hardcastle and Will King I will have plenty of chances to:

  • Capture leadership insight from people whose authenticity inspires followers to change their lives
  • Connect with attendees whose goals include improving their leadership practice
  • Share my key learning with you by blogging and by posting more widely across social media

Watch this blog space to see what you can take away from the Business Show 2014 and keep an eye on Facebook and Google+ as well.  Or if you are a Linkedin user you can visit View Roger Dennison’s profile