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Category Archive: Church Scattered

The Power Of Gratitude

Posted by on November 20, 2018

This is one of my favorite times of the year when we stop the crazy cycle just long enough to focus on all the things we are thankful for in life. I have found the ability to do this at the beginning of every day is the secret to maintaining my passion and drive in all that I do. Enjoy this post by Tami Forman and Happy Thanksgiving:

“November is the month when we focus on gratitude. For many of us that usually means family and friends. But, as I wrote last year, you can also be grateful for your work.

This month I’d like to talk about the power of gratitude at work. Expressing gratitude to your supervisors, colleagues, and clients can be a powerful tool for advancing your career. And it works at work for the same reason it works at home — it makes you behave in ways those around you will respond positively to.”

Categories: Church Scattered Core Values Margin | Comments Off on The Power Of Gratitude

The Top 5 Qualities Employees Want In A Leader

Posted by on November 5, 2018

Some things about leadership are dramatically changing and some never will. The external forces of disruption are forcing more strategic thinking than ever before just to survive. However, the basic character and competency qualities leaders must have actually become even more important. This Forbes post hits them all:

“The portrait of a great leader looks a little different to each of us. When we get down to it, though, many of the characteristics we expect of our leaders are fairly universal and timeless. When it comes to the employee-manager relationship, it turns out most of the workforce stands in agreement on some of the best qualities they want to see in the people they report to. Here are just a few of them.”

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How To Stay Positive In Dark Times

Posted by on October 1, 2018

I am no stranger to social disruption because I grew up during the 1960’s, one of the most painful decades in the life of our country. However, I will have to admit that the sheer volume and bitter rancor that we saw last week was in many ways even more stressful. When I get to this point of feeling overwhelmed with negative inputs, I have to go back to the basics and thats exactly what this Forbes post does:

“We are living in tumultuous and divided times. It can be difficult to stay positive in spite of all of the depressing news around the world, the overt ignorance and prejudice that have been resurrected by the populism that has resurged in the west. It can feel like the world is regressing in real time after years of progress. The future looks pretty bleak, and that we are sacrificing longer term interests and goals for short term political benefits of the party in power, consequently creating a worse quality of life for future generations.

Categories: Margin | Comments Off on How To Stay Positive In Dark Times

Five Great Leadership Practices

Posted by on September 19, 2018

Leadership is a life long journey where we reinforce the basic principles we already know and constantly add new ones that will help us be more effective. This Forbes post hits on all of the critical practices that should be in the tool box of every great leader:

“Who is a leader? Although the concept of leadership keeps evolving over the years, one thing stays true: We’re all leaders. You don’t need 10, 20 or 100 people on your team to be a leader. You’re always leading at least one very important person: you. And if you’re ready to hit your biggest goals and put your life and business on the fast track to success, you need to be more than just a good leader. You must learn to be a great leader.”

Categories: Career Development Leadership Development | Comments Off on Five Great Leadership Practices

7 Reasons To Own Less

Posted by on September 5, 2018

I encounter a lot of stress not only in my own life but especially with the executives I coach through my company. One of the self inflicted wounds in this overload world we live in is caused by the demands our stuff places on us just to maintain what we already have. I did not have the wisdom or courage to do anything about this on my own but with down sizing our home, I am now a true believer. This Forbes post is worth the read:

“Ten years ago, I decided to embrace minimalist living. I was spending too much of my life caring for possessions and I was wasting too much money managing and accumulating things I didn’t need. Those possessions were not bringing me joy or lasting happiness. They were keeping me from the very things that did.”

Categories: Life Plan Margin Work Life Integration | Comments Off on 7 Reasons To Own Less

How To Deal With Disappointment

Posted by on August 29, 2018

Great leaders are always taking risks and experiencing failure. The reason they have this ability is because they have learned how to process their failure quickly by learning form their mistakes and then trying again. You cannot lead others if you do not possess the courage to move on from disappointment. This HBR post was very helpful:

“Someone once said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” The quote recognizes that when we experience disappointment, our hopes and expectations are out of line with reality. We all feel this way from time to time. Some of these disappointments will not make much of a difference, but there are also disappointments that can change the course of our lives.”

Categories: Leadership Development Personal Leadership | Comments Off on How To Deal With Disappointment

The Most Successful People Do These Four Things

Posted by on August 27, 2018

I passionately believe that every person is a leader and the most important client you have is yourself. Until you accept this responsibility to lead yourself and own your personal character development, you will never reach your potential. It is also no longer effective to lead only from positional authority at work and this Forbes post tells you why:

“I would argue that at one time leadership, in the traditional sense, was linear, one-dimensional and strictly focused on a managerial approach. In business, the term “leader” was used to reference someone in a position of authority, without consideration of the many attributes that we now find important in our great leaders.”

Categories: Career Development Leadership Development | Comments Off on The Most Successful People Do These Four Things

Management Today

Posted by on August 22, 2018

There is a lot of confusion and even tension between the disciplines of management and leadership. Both are extremely important but distinctly different. Management is where execution lives and therefore must be incredibly effective for any strategy to be successful. This Forbes post is an informative read:

The idea of management comes from the military because that was the first time in human history a diverse group of people who did not know each other were organized to work together towards a common goal. That structure gave us a few principles:

Hierarchy
Command and control
Incentives for achieving the goals
Division of responsibility based on function
Centralized decision making

Categories: Career Development Leadership Development Teamwork | Comments Off on Management Today

How To Help Your Spouse Cope With Work Stress

Posted by on August 20, 2018

The hardest part of the day for most of us is when we get home and finally look forward to not having to be the person who is on in the room. The challenge: that is the exact same expectation everyone else has who walked through the same door. This HBR post was very helpful for me:

“Home is a sanctuary from work stress, right? Not always. Even if you are able to leave your projects and worries at the office, your spouse may have difficulty doing so — and that stress can rub off on you. How can you help your partner cope? What’s the best thing to say when your partner starts complaining — and what should you not say? Is there a way to help them see things differently? And how can you set boundaries so that home can be a haven again?”

Categories: Church Scattered Marriage Work Life Integration | Comments Off on How To Help Your Spouse Cope With Work Stress

The Importance Of The Employee Feedback Loop

Posted by on August 17, 2018

In my executive coaching we deal with a lot of best practices: human capital, process improvement, productivity, teamwork, alignment and strategic priorities. Regardless of how well you do in all of these areas, if your organizational culture does not value ongoing feedback, you don’t stand a change in long term success. This Forbes Communication Council post is a must read:

“In the employee recognition business we are always stressing the importance of clear and honest communication between employees and managers. We do this for a couple of reasons. For one, the employee-manager relationship is consistently ranked as a top driver of employee satisfaction. In fact, a Gallup study found that managers alone account for 70% of variance in employee engagement.”

Categories: Career Development Organizational Culture | Comments Off on The Importance Of The Employee Feedback Loop