Blog-Generated | Coaching Churches

How To Escape The Procrastination Doom Loop

Posted by on December 5, 2016

I have come to believe that time management is a flawed concept. The real issue is the ability to set daily priorities and the willingness to change the plan based on better opportunities. However, I still find myself at times stalled and not really knowing why I am not making progress. This Forbes post was helpful:

“When you imagine a highly productive person, you likely think of someone who focuses effortlessly on the job and never succumbs to procrastination. You know, the type who can sit on the ground in a subway station with their laptop and still manage to get more done in an hour than you would in a day at the library.”

Categories: Productivity | Comments Off on How To Escape The Procrastination Doom Loop

Why Gratitude Is So Important In The Workplace

Posted by on November 30, 2016

Most of the behavioral issues I deal with in the workplace are because the person I am coaching has lost their perspective. They focus in on a series of small hurts and dwell on them to the point they become bitter and negative. In every situation without exception, the key core issue is they are no longer grateful for all the good in their lives. This Fast Company post deals with why this is so important:

“Gratitude is absolutely vital in the workplace, says UC Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons, author of The Little Book of Gratitude: Creating a Life of Happiness and Wellbing by Giving Thanks, and a leading researcher on the subject. “Most of our waking hours are spent on the job, and gratitude, in all its forms, is a basic human requirement,” he says. “So when you put these factors together, it is essential to both give and receive thanks at work.”

Categories: Core Values Organizational Culture Servant Leader | Comments Off on Why Gratitude Is So Important In The Workplace

The 4 Types Of Ineffective Apologies

Posted by on November 28, 2016

I have become an expert over the years at giving a conditional apology. The first part of the statement of regret is usually close but then comes the rational reason why I did the wrong things. My motives have also been an ongoing issue, to relive the awkward situation far more than genuine remorse for my offensive behavior. This HBR post is an excellent read:

“It’s hard to admit our transgressions — to look someone in the eye and offer a sincere apology. But apologies are essential for repairing relationships in the workplace. They show that you value the relationship and that other person’s point of view.”

Categories: Leadership Development Pastoral Leadership | Comments Off on The 4 Types Of Ineffective Apologies

Your People Are Your Competitive Advantage

Posted by on November 16, 2016

A few years ago Mark DeMoss wrote a great book called The Little Red Book of Wisdom. He shares the personal and professional core values that helped him develop one the most successful Public Relations firms in the country.

Just as Jim Collins did in Good to Great and Jack Welch in Winning he drives home the most important asset for any organization are the people who work there. He states in one chapter, “the implication is that in business, how you treat your people trumps what you do with your clients, schedules, output, and spreadsheets.”

He believes there are four major motivators in attracting and retaining the best of the best.

The first is mission—People need to totally buy in to the big thing your company is all about.
The second is a good leader—Not the smartest or the brightest but someone who knows where they want the organization to go and has the character to lead.
The third motivator is corporate culture—This aspect is especially important to the next generation workforce because they must have an environment that is participatory and not highly directive.
The forth factor is compensation and benefits—This goes way beyond the basics to giving special recognition to best people who over time earn up to six weeks of paid leave and a $10,000 bonus.

For years everyone thought the most important decisions a leader had to make was What their organization needed to do in the area of products and marketing. Now the focus has shifted to Who are the people on your team. Get the right people and they will help you define the What, How, When and Where.

Categories: Leadership Development | Comments Off on Your People Are Your Competitive Advantage

The Leadership Law Of The Inner Circle

Posted by on November 14, 2016

This by far is one of the most important principles identified by John Maxwell in the realm of leadership. The simple definition of the law is that a leader’s potential is determined by those closest to them.

As any organization continues to grow the leader cannot continue to spend equal time with every person on staff because of time constraints alone. This means that eventually the majority of a leader’s time will be need to be spent with the top 20% of their leadership team.

It is a proven leadership principle that they in turn will produce at least 80% of the desired results because of the scope of their impact throughout the entire organization. The leader is incredibly dependent upon this inner circle because they are responsible for providing the best information possible upward for decision making and they are also responsible for the downward execution of all planning.

Leaders of large organizations should still spend some time managing by walking around and maintain some personal contact with all levels of staff. However, the purpose of this interaction is for personal encouragement and visibility and not for problem solving and day to day decision making. The leader can be involved to some degree with everyone but they must invest themselves only in the inner circle because they are the key to continued growth and outstanding performance.

Categories: Leadership Development Pastoral Leadership | Comments Off on The Leadership Law Of The Inner Circle

Leaders Who Get Change Right Know How To Listen

Posted by on November 11, 2016

We have all heard it said that for change to work the pain of the present has to be greater than the fear of the future. With that said, the ability to accurately asses the cause of the problem and apply the right solution are critical path issues to any success. This HBR post values the ability to listen and learn:

“Organizational change comes at a cost. It requires people to sacrifice something they value, whether it’s time, money, responsibilities, control, status, comfort, or relationships. The more your change effort disrupts those things, the more people will resist or even rage against it.

That helps explain why failure is so common, but there’s more to it. In a PWC survey of more than 2,000 global executives, managers, and employees, only 54% of respondents said their change initiatives succeeded — and the most frequently cited problem (by 65% of those surveyed) was change fatigue.”

Categories: Leading Change | Comments Off on Leaders Who Get Change Right Know How To Listen

7 Steps To Help You Improve Your Life

Posted by on November 9, 2016

That time is coming when we evaluate where we are in life and start to make promises that we may never keep. This whole discipline of personal leadership should be a twelve month a year process and not a once a year time of reflection. So let’s apply this post by Frances Bridges and create something lasting:

“The end of the year is near, and come the end of December/beginning of January there will be a deluge of articles and blog posts about the best New Year’s resolutions and the best strategies to achieve them. The beginning of the year is a convenient starting point chronologically, but the best time to set new goals and create a plan to accomplish them is now.”

Categories: Personal Leadership | Comments Off on 7 Steps To Help You Improve Your Life

Leadership Is About Promising To Listen Well

Posted by on November 7, 2016

We all struggle with the commitments we make either to ourselves about eating a healthier diet or to someone else about something we said we would do and simply forgot. When we want to take our commitment to the next level we start making promises.

A promise is defined as a declaration that something will or will not be done and there is assurance given and an expectation created. Promises should be reserved for the top priorities and the people we care about the most.

One promise we should all be willing to make to the people that matter is that I will carefully listen to what you have to say. As Stephen Covey said in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People we should first seek to understand the other person before we ask to be understood.

Our motives are no longer to show how smart we are, win the argument or avoid pain. We sincerely want to understand what the other person is thinking and feeling to the point we acknowledge their value as a person.

Listening involves time and a willingness to be patient until we have embraced all that the other person wanted to share. Think of at least one person in your life today that you really care about and make a promise that I will lay down my agenda for the benefit of someone else.

Categories: Leadership Development Organizational Culture | Comments Off on Leadership Is About Promising To Listen Well

Ten Unmistakable Signs Of A Toxic Culture

Posted by on November 4, 2016

This issue is a really big deal and it’s not only negatively impacting productivity, it’s causing a lot of people to hate coming to work. They hate it not because of the excessive work load but because of the constant negative drama that consumes everyone daily. This Forbes post nails the problem:

“Maybe it’s a pay practice that doesn’t make sense, or a burning issue that everybody knows and worries about but that has never been spoken about other than furtively, in hallway conversations. The first time you raise a sticky issue at work, it will feel scary — but it will feel more comfortable to speak your truth every time you do it.”

Categories: Leadership Development Organizational Culture Pastoral Leadership | Comments Off on Ten Unmistakable Signs Of A Toxic Culture

9 Signs You Have No Work Life Balance

Posted by on November 2, 2016

As I spend a significant amount of time coaching executives, this subject is on the list for areas needing improvement for every person I help. The sheer volume of professional responsibilities force us to either establish personal priorities or feel like failures at home. This post by Rachel Ritlop is spot on:

“Working a 9-5 is a major adjustment in your early twenties, and as you grow into your late twenties it can be difficult to know if what you’re experiencing is just the “daily grind” or a total lack of work-life balance that’s adding to your overall stress levels.

Here are nine signs you have lost control of your work-life balance and some tips to rectify it :

Categories: Personal Leadership Work Life Integration | Comments Off on 9 Signs You Have No Work Life Balance