A dear friend shared this wonderful quote from Martha Graham with me at my recent birthday celebration.
May it inspire you to celebrate your magnificence, too!
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and be aware directly to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Greening Your LIfe
Greening Your Life™
Workshops in Personal Ecology and Workplace Sustainability
* What's your Eco Footprint?
* What are your unexamined assumptions, choices?
* Do your "consumption" habits reflect your values?
* What ARE your guiding principles?
The Live Earth Event broadcast worldwide on July 7, 2007 provided a tremendous education in personal ecology on a global level.
Moving towards personal ecology/sustainable living starts with one individual- YOU! Sustainability starts with your desire to change, and then taking action. Sustainability is living in such a way that future generations have access to shared resources to meet their needs.
It takes vision commitment and courage to take a stand and build life-affirming models in our businesses, media, schools, and first and foremost, in our own hearts.
Greening Your Life™ is a powerful and engaging workshop designed for those seeking support in developing personal ecology and workplace sustainability practices. Based upon research and actions plans that I included in the 2006 Sustainable World Sourcebook, along with other resources, we will:
* Examine The 4 R's: RESPECT, RETHINK, REDUCE and REUSE.
* Look at your Eco Footprint and reflect upon unexamined choices.
* Develop a Personal Green Action Plan.
* Learn how to plan a "zero-waste" event.
* Discuss Green Team Development and Education in the Workplace.
Take a stand in your personal life and workplace towards green living, global cooling, and justice. E-mail coachshera@gmail.com to receive more information on Greening Your Life™ workshops for Personal Ecology and Workplace Sustainability.
Workshops in Personal Ecology and Workplace Sustainability
* What's your Eco Footprint?
* What are your unexamined assumptions, choices?
* Do your "consumption" habits reflect your values?
* What ARE your guiding principles?
The Live Earth Event broadcast worldwide on July 7, 2007 provided a tremendous education in personal ecology on a global level.
Moving towards personal ecology/sustainable living starts with one individual- YOU! Sustainability starts with your desire to change, and then taking action. Sustainability is living in such a way that future generations have access to shared resources to meet their needs.
It takes vision commitment and courage to take a stand and build life-affirming models in our businesses, media, schools, and first and foremost, in our own hearts.
Greening Your Life™ is a powerful and engaging workshop designed for those seeking support in developing personal ecology and workplace sustainability practices. Based upon research and actions plans that I included in the 2006 Sustainable World Sourcebook, along with other resources, we will:
* Examine The 4 R's: RESPECT, RETHINK, REDUCE and REUSE.
* Look at your Eco Footprint and reflect upon unexamined choices.
* Develop a Personal Green Action Plan.
* Learn how to plan a "zero-waste" event.
* Discuss Green Team Development and Education in the Workplace.
Take a stand in your personal life and workplace towards green living, global cooling, and justice. E-mail coachshera@gmail.com to receive more information on Greening Your Life™ workshops for Personal Ecology and Workplace Sustainability.
VISION, VALUES, PASSION, PURPOSE
VISION, VALUES, PASSION, PURPOSE
These four words have become the pillars in strategic planning meetings, business development, project management, financial planning, and personal action plans. It's the core inquiry in most small business seminars. It's a life coach's mantra.
Malcolm Cohan coined this vision wave: Think It So. He has been the inspiration for hundreds of vision boards, vision videos, and vision stories now seen on You Tube.
Earlier this summer, I added this concept in my workshops for new and small business owners, and professionals in career transition. Parents and teens love it too!
These INTRODUCTORY EVES to Vision Coaching™ utilize a synthesis of powerful techniques designed to access clarity and the truth within you and a vision of what you want to create in your life.
The outcome is a beautiful vision canvas- a map to keep you on track, on purpose, and a daily visual reminder that intention and attention are powerful elements of manifestation.
So what's your vision? What lights you up? What makes you come alive? What do you truly love?
How are you expressing your passions in life?
Come join us! It's fun, engaging, exciting. Next evenings: Thursday, Oct. 18; Thursday, Nov. 8
These four words have become the pillars in strategic planning meetings, business development, project management, financial planning, and personal action plans. It's the core inquiry in most small business seminars. It's a life coach's mantra.
Malcolm Cohan coined this vision wave: Think It So. He has been the inspiration for hundreds of vision boards, vision videos, and vision stories now seen on You Tube.
Earlier this summer, I added this concept in my workshops for new and small business owners, and professionals in career transition. Parents and teens love it too!
These INTRODUCTORY EVES to Vision Coaching™ utilize a synthesis of powerful techniques designed to access clarity and the truth within you and a vision of what you want to create in your life.
The outcome is a beautiful vision canvas- a map to keep you on track, on purpose, and a daily visual reminder that intention and attention are powerful elements of manifestation.
So what's your vision? What lights you up? What makes you come alive? What do you truly love?
How are you expressing your passions in life?
Come join us! It's fun, engaging, exciting. Next evenings: Thursday, Oct. 18; Thursday, Nov. 8
Recognizing Stellar Volunteers
High Performance Volunteer Management-Recognizing Stellar Volunteers
More and more, we find organizations and small businesses depending upon volunteers, committees, and even interns to carry out their vision by providing leadership and support in marketing, organizational development and change initiatives.
How do we recruit and retain stellar volunteers? What motivates volunteers? In one word, it's: RECOGNITION.
THE VOLUNTEER CREED
If you want my loyalty, interests, and best efforts, remember that . . .
1. I need a sense of belonging.
2. I need to have a sense of sharing in planning our objectives.
3. I need to feel that goals and objectives are clear and obtainable.
4. I need to feel that what I am doing has real purpose and contributes to human welfare.
5. I need autonomy and collaboration in setting standards for performance.
6. I need to know what is expected of me (not a laundry list of "duties".)
7. I need to have challenging responsibilities within my range of interests and abilities.
8. I need feedback about my progress.
9. I need to be kept informed.
10. I need to have good rapport with and confidence in the leadership of the organization.
11. I need timely recognition.
Adapted from The Effective Management of Volunteer Programs, By Marlene Wilson
There are many ways to fulfill the needs of volunteer staff. High retention of volunteers starts with:
* a well-planned volunteer recruitment strategy in alignment with long-term organizational goals.
* very clear descriptions of the volunteer roles with expected outcomes.
* performance development plan and feedback system that promotes professional development.
How we as leaders provide recognition to professionals who volunteer is one of the topics I will be addressing this week in a one-day workshop with over 35 Chamber Chapter Leaders from the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
"I can live on one good compliment for 2 months"
Mark Twain
More and more, we find organizations and small businesses depending upon volunteers, committees, and even interns to carry out their vision by providing leadership and support in marketing, organizational development and change initiatives.
How do we recruit and retain stellar volunteers? What motivates volunteers? In one word, it's: RECOGNITION.
THE VOLUNTEER CREED
If you want my loyalty, interests, and best efforts, remember that . . .
1. I need a sense of belonging.
2. I need to have a sense of sharing in planning our objectives.
3. I need to feel that goals and objectives are clear and obtainable.
4. I need to feel that what I am doing has real purpose and contributes to human welfare.
5. I need autonomy and collaboration in setting standards for performance.
6. I need to know what is expected of me (not a laundry list of "duties".)
7. I need to have challenging responsibilities within my range of interests and abilities.
8. I need feedback about my progress.
9. I need to be kept informed.
10. I need to have good rapport with and confidence in the leadership of the organization.
11. I need timely recognition.
Adapted from The Effective Management of Volunteer Programs, By Marlene Wilson
There are many ways to fulfill the needs of volunteer staff. High retention of volunteers starts with:
* a well-planned volunteer recruitment strategy in alignment with long-term organizational goals.
* very clear descriptions of the volunteer roles with expected outcomes.
* performance development plan and feedback system that promotes professional development.
How we as leaders provide recognition to professionals who volunteer is one of the topics I will be addressing this week in a one-day workshop with over 35 Chamber Chapter Leaders from the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
"I can live on one good compliment for 2 months"
Mark Twain
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
What's Your Passion?
What’s Your Passion?
Discovering What Makes You Come Alive!
Let’s face it. There is no Secret. The word is out. If you can think it, believe it, and FEEL it, you can achieve it. Intention is the conscious choice to create- passion is the fuel. Your results will always match your true intentions. When we feel a passion for some thing or activity, it is because we are remembering what it was that we came to do in this world. When we are aligned with our heart’s deepest desires, we are co-creating with source energy. And from this marvelous state of desire and creation, arises your vision, a landscape to create BIG dreams, plot and cultivate your goals, and celebrate the outcomes! It all sounds so simple, and it is . . .sort of.
Internationally acclaimed author Marianne Williamson says. “You are a child of the universe. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world . . . As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
So why do some of us play so small? Are we afraid to let our own light shine? How do we get in touch with what we are really passionate about and live our life on purpose?
I have spent a good part of my adult life asking myself these very same questions and have created the RAW formula. RAW (Relax, Ask, Write) works every time I start to lose sight of my path (my purpose) and feel the fire extinguishing. I do this process personally once or twice a year (normally in January and June), and I apply variations and expansions of this in my workshops. The results have been magnificent.
DISCOVERING PASSION- The RAW™ Formula
RELAX
Create some time for you to be undisturbed (an hour if possible). Go into a meditative, inner, relaxed state. Use soothing music if that helps you get there. I prefer to focus on my breath and body sensations.
ASK yourself:
• What drives me? What do I really love to do?
• What’s really important to me? What do I stand for?
• What am I good at? Hint: Activities that are naturally easy for you; you know you are good at it, and others do as well!
• What puts a big smile on my face, or a skip in my step?
• What types of people do I love to be around?
• What are my unique skills and talents? (Talents and passions often go hand in hand)
Answers to these questions all provide clues to your purpose.
WRITE
What answers revealed themselves with your inquiry? If you want to live a passionate, purposeful life, start by writing your passions down.
Go with your first impulse. Keep writing. Don’t second-guess.
As you are writing these passions, notice:
What you are feeling inside?
Are you expanding or contracting?
Is your breath deep, even, and relaxed or short, constricted, and shallow?
Are you excited, afraid, or both?
It is very helpful to start each passion statement with a verb (teaching workshops, dancing tango, writing bestsellers; traveling to Mediterranean countries; riding my bicycle on a beautiful summer eve) for example. These action words help ignite passion in the subconscious. When you write your passions in a way that excites you, you feel excited.
If you are feeling stuck as you go through this process, one of the best ways to excavate the fire within is to do some “time travel” to your childhood.
Write down significant events in your life in three-year interval periods (ages 4-7, 8-11, 12-15,16-19.) What were you doing? How did you spend your time? What activities were you involved in that you loved the most? Do you notice any patterns?
Once you make your list, remove yourself from it for a few hours or until the next day. Go back over what you have written and circle the words/activities that appear more than once. The first time I did this exercise, I was amazed at how many times travel appeared as significant learning-turning points in my life. International travel is one of my top passions. The others are performing, teaching, speaking, and writing.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT
Okay, so let’s say you have uncovered or rediscovered your passions. Now what? One fun and powerful first step is to create a Vision Canvas- a vibrant expression of your passions as if you are living them NOW. When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life. Get as specific as possible with the images on your Vision Canvas. Add affirmations to the images (in the present tense) that support you living your passions. And then, focus, focus, focus on what you want!
STAY COMMITTED
Take time daily to review your passions and Vision Canvas. There may be times you find yourself not wanting to read your passions or focus on your goals and vision. Is there an underlying fear or belief that you can’t achieve what you have written? Examine this. Are your focusing on something you don‘t want? If that’s the case, flip the switch now. Remember the “Law of Attraction” is about energy and vibration. Where we put our attention, creates our experience. Focusing on what you don’t want will deaden your passions (and bring more of what you don’t want). A skilled coach can guide you more with this process.
Take action everyday. The only time to take action is NOW. What actions are you taking in support of your passions, everyday? Whenever you are faced with a decision, choose in favor of your passions.
PRACTICE APPRECIATION
Studies have shown that brain and hormonal activity shifts significantly simply by giving attention to what you are grateful for. Additionally, there are some very interesting studies from the University of Utah linking gratitude to better immune system functioning. I find making a quick list (or verbal scan) of all that I am grateful for, either first thing in the morning or before sleeping, keeps me living with optimism, intention, and momentum.
GIVE YOUR VISIONS a LIFT
According to T. Harv Eker, best-selling NY Times author, how you do anything is how you do everything (from making your bed to running your company). How are you expressing your passions in life? Half-heartedly or with the precision of an elite athlete. Passions are irresistible. When you are truly passionate about something, there is absolutely nothing that can keep you from it. Give your visions a lift. Take one more step today!
Discovering What Makes You Come Alive!
Let’s face it. There is no Secret. The word is out. If you can think it, believe it, and FEEL it, you can achieve it. Intention is the conscious choice to create- passion is the fuel. Your results will always match your true intentions. When we feel a passion for some thing or activity, it is because we are remembering what it was that we came to do in this world. When we are aligned with our heart’s deepest desires, we are co-creating with source energy. And from this marvelous state of desire and creation, arises your vision, a landscape to create BIG dreams, plot and cultivate your goals, and celebrate the outcomes! It all sounds so simple, and it is . . .sort of.
Internationally acclaimed author Marianne Williamson says. “You are a child of the universe. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world . . . As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
So why do some of us play so small? Are we afraid to let our own light shine? How do we get in touch with what we are really passionate about and live our life on purpose?
I have spent a good part of my adult life asking myself these very same questions and have created the RAW formula. RAW (Relax, Ask, Write) works every time I start to lose sight of my path (my purpose) and feel the fire extinguishing. I do this process personally once or twice a year (normally in January and June), and I apply variations and expansions of this in my workshops. The results have been magnificent.
DISCOVERING PASSION- The RAW™ Formula
RELAX
Create some time for you to be undisturbed (an hour if possible). Go into a meditative, inner, relaxed state. Use soothing music if that helps you get there. I prefer to focus on my breath and body sensations.
ASK yourself:
• What drives me? What do I really love to do?
• What’s really important to me? What do I stand for?
• What am I good at? Hint: Activities that are naturally easy for you; you know you are good at it, and others do as well!
• What puts a big smile on my face, or a skip in my step?
• What types of people do I love to be around?
• What are my unique skills and talents? (Talents and passions often go hand in hand)
Answers to these questions all provide clues to your purpose.
WRITE
What answers revealed themselves with your inquiry? If you want to live a passionate, purposeful life, start by writing your passions down.
Go with your first impulse. Keep writing. Don’t second-guess.
As you are writing these passions, notice:
What you are feeling inside?
Are you expanding or contracting?
Is your breath deep, even, and relaxed or short, constricted, and shallow?
Are you excited, afraid, or both?
It is very helpful to start each passion statement with a verb (teaching workshops, dancing tango, writing bestsellers; traveling to Mediterranean countries; riding my bicycle on a beautiful summer eve) for example. These action words help ignite passion in the subconscious. When you write your passions in a way that excites you, you feel excited.
If you are feeling stuck as you go through this process, one of the best ways to excavate the fire within is to do some “time travel” to your childhood.
Write down significant events in your life in three-year interval periods (ages 4-7, 8-11, 12-15,16-19.) What were you doing? How did you spend your time? What activities were you involved in that you loved the most? Do you notice any patterns?
Once you make your list, remove yourself from it for a few hours or until the next day. Go back over what you have written and circle the words/activities that appear more than once. The first time I did this exercise, I was amazed at how many times travel appeared as significant learning-turning points in my life. International travel is one of my top passions. The others are performing, teaching, speaking, and writing.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT
Okay, so let’s say you have uncovered or rediscovered your passions. Now what? One fun and powerful first step is to create a Vision Canvas- a vibrant expression of your passions as if you are living them NOW. When you are clear, what you want will show up in your life. Get as specific as possible with the images on your Vision Canvas. Add affirmations to the images (in the present tense) that support you living your passions. And then, focus, focus, focus on what you want!
STAY COMMITTED
Take time daily to review your passions and Vision Canvas. There may be times you find yourself not wanting to read your passions or focus on your goals and vision. Is there an underlying fear or belief that you can’t achieve what you have written? Examine this. Are your focusing on something you don‘t want? If that’s the case, flip the switch now. Remember the “Law of Attraction” is about energy and vibration. Where we put our attention, creates our experience. Focusing on what you don’t want will deaden your passions (and bring more of what you don’t want). A skilled coach can guide you more with this process.
Take action everyday. The only time to take action is NOW. What actions are you taking in support of your passions, everyday? Whenever you are faced with a decision, choose in favor of your passions.
PRACTICE APPRECIATION
Studies have shown that brain and hormonal activity shifts significantly simply by giving attention to what you are grateful for. Additionally, there are some very interesting studies from the University of Utah linking gratitude to better immune system functioning. I find making a quick list (or verbal scan) of all that I am grateful for, either first thing in the morning or before sleeping, keeps me living with optimism, intention, and momentum.
GIVE YOUR VISIONS a LIFT
According to T. Harv Eker, best-selling NY Times author, how you do anything is how you do everything (from making your bed to running your company). How are you expressing your passions in life? Half-heartedly or with the precision of an elite athlete. Passions are irresistible. When you are truly passionate about something, there is absolutely nothing that can keep you from it. Give your visions a lift. Take one more step today!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Collaboration in the Workplace
Collaboration in the Workplace
"None of us is as good as all of us."
Sheryl R. Sever (Shera)
Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture that values collaboration. In a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. As One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard discovered, people recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that "none of us is as good as all of us." High Five, The Magic of Working Together.
In America, many of our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes still emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workplaces that exemplify and reward teamwork are not yet the norm.
Organizations, however, are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. As part of the social transformation that we see taking place globally, collaboration, co-creation and cooperation seem to be values that are being more readily embraced and promoted in organizational development.
Having consulted many senior managers, educational, and organizational leaders over the past 13 years, I've included here my Ten Tips for Building Terrific Teams as your quick guide to cultivating successful teams, encouraging creativity and innovation, and attaining optimal results within your business or organization.
TEN TIPS for BUILDING TERRIFIC TEAMS
1. Communicate Clear Expectations. It is crucial that team members know why they are working together, and how their role, functions, and outcomes contribute to the bigger picture and overall success of the organization, its clients and coworkers. As a leader, how clearly you communicate the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization will be the power driving the team forward.
2. Have an agenda with objectives at team meetings. Allow time for progress updates, discussion, brainstorming, and action plans. It can be particularly beneficial if the meeting facilitator is trained in Cross-Cultural Awareness, or Marshall Rosenberg's NVC practices. Using these techniques will help keep a diverse team cohesive and focused, encourage everyone's participation, and can easily diffuse and transform stagnation. Change, creativity and solutions are not birthed in a static environment. Are necessary concerns and misunderstandings raised and properly addressed on your team?
3. Include your consultants and independent contractors in your brainstorming meetings. One of the biggest mistakes some organizations make is to not include consultants and independent contractors in staff meetings, project updates, long-term goals and vision. You will get a lot more mileage from your consultants when they are included in discussions and sessions affecting your organization's direction and growth. Consultants are typically natural networkers and wealth of resources. They can easily be a powerful contributing factor to your organization's long-term success and expansion.
4. Cultivate an atmosphere where team members can appreciate the diversity of talent on the team, not just in skill set and areas of expertise, but from a whole person perspective. If the team is working on a long-term project consider investing in the Myers Briggs assessment, DISC or an Enneagram training for the workplace.
5. Have a rewards or recognition program in place. Giving public recognition on the company intranet, newsletter, or in a staff meeting, or rewarding high-performers with gift certificates to a spa or event, are just a few low-cost, no-cost ways to acknowledge team members for a job well done.
6. Build fun and shared occasions into the organization's agenda. Hold potluck lunches; take the team to a performance or cultural event. Host dinners at a local restaurant, (include your associates' families) or plan an outdoor event such as hiking, bicycling, or even river rafting.
7. Encourage collaborative leadership models within your workplace. Move away from traditional, hierarchical leadership models that are deadening to the human spirit and that can create separation, distrust, and a competitive environment. Focus on cooperative models for team performance. Rotating facilitators at your weekly or monthly meetings is one way to begin this shift. Appointing co-managers to lead a project is another effective strategy.
8. Create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback. In his recent visit to San Francisco, the Dalai Lama continually emphasized the importance of dialog, along with education and training. How well trained are you and your people in examining assumptions, active listening, asking for clarification, and other non-defensive communication models that make it safe for you and your associates to express needs, be heard, and enthusiastically create innovative solutions with and for each other?
9. Provide resources. One of the surest ways to create chaos and diminish motivation, performance, and morale is to expect people to perform without the tools and resources they need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. Be sure everyone has the basic information and tools they need to perform, including healthy, ergonomic workstations.
10. Form a Green Team at work. Help your people raise their awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. By allowing others to take leadership and responsibility, passion takes hold. A green team can be very motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
Got a great organizational team story? I'd love to hear it, along with any other feedback you'd like to share.
"None of us is as good as all of us."
Sheryl R. Sever (Shera)
Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture that values collaboration. In a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. As One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard discovered, people recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that "none of us is as good as all of us." High Five, The Magic of Working Together.
In America, many of our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes still emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workplaces that exemplify and reward teamwork are not yet the norm.
Organizations, however, are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. As part of the social transformation that we see taking place globally, collaboration, co-creation and cooperation seem to be values that are being more readily embraced and promoted in organizational development.
Having consulted many senior managers, educational, and organizational leaders over the past 13 years, I've included here my Ten Tips for Building Terrific Teams as your quick guide to cultivating successful teams, encouraging creativity and innovation, and attaining optimal results within your business or organization.
TEN TIPS for BUILDING TERRIFIC TEAMS
1. Communicate Clear Expectations. It is crucial that team members know why they are working together, and how their role, functions, and outcomes contribute to the bigger picture and overall success of the organization, its clients and coworkers. As a leader, how clearly you communicate the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization will be the power driving the team forward.
2. Have an agenda with objectives at team meetings. Allow time for progress updates, discussion, brainstorming, and action plans. It can be particularly beneficial if the meeting facilitator is trained in Cross-Cultural Awareness, or Marshall Rosenberg's NVC practices. Using these techniques will help keep a diverse team cohesive and focused, encourage everyone's participation, and can easily diffuse and transform stagnation. Change, creativity and solutions are not birthed in a static environment. Are necessary concerns and misunderstandings raised and properly addressed on your team?
3. Include your consultants and independent contractors in your brainstorming meetings. One of the biggest mistakes some organizations make is to not include consultants and independent contractors in staff meetings, project updates, long-term goals and vision. You will get a lot more mileage from your consultants when they are included in discussions and sessions affecting your organization's direction and growth. Consultants are typically natural networkers and wealth of resources. They can easily be a powerful contributing factor to your organization's long-term success and expansion.
4. Cultivate an atmosphere where team members can appreciate the diversity of talent on the team, not just in skill set and areas of expertise, but from a whole person perspective. If the team is working on a long-term project consider investing in the Myers Briggs assessment, DISC or an Enneagram training for the workplace.
5. Have a rewards or recognition program in place. Giving public recognition on the company intranet, newsletter, or in a staff meeting, or rewarding high-performers with gift certificates to a spa or event, are just a few low-cost, no-cost ways to acknowledge team members for a job well done.
6. Build fun and shared occasions into the organization's agenda. Hold potluck lunches; take the team to a performance or cultural event. Host dinners at a local restaurant, (include your associates' families) or plan an outdoor event such as hiking, bicycling, or even river rafting.
7. Encourage collaborative leadership models within your workplace. Move away from traditional, hierarchical leadership models that are deadening to the human spirit and that can create separation, distrust, and a competitive environment. Focus on cooperative models for team performance. Rotating facilitators at your weekly or monthly meetings is one way to begin this shift. Appointing co-managers to lead a project is another effective strategy.
8. Create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback. In his recent visit to San Francisco, the Dalai Lama continually emphasized the importance of dialog, along with education and training. How well trained are you and your people in examining assumptions, active listening, asking for clarification, and other non-defensive communication models that make it safe for you and your associates to express needs, be heard, and enthusiastically create innovative solutions with and for each other?
9. Provide resources. One of the surest ways to create chaos and diminish motivation, performance, and morale is to expect people to perform without the tools and resources they need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. Be sure everyone has the basic information and tools they need to perform, including healthy, ergonomic workstations.
10. Form a Green Team at work. Help your people raise their awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. By allowing others to take leadership and responsibility, passion takes hold. A green team can be very motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.
Got a great organizational team story? I'd love to hear it, along with any other feedback you'd like to share.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Creating Lasting Change
Here is a wonderful exercise adapted from Tony Robbins' Awakening the Giant Within, introducing three guiding principles to lasting change:
RAISE YOUR STANDARDS
Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. Write down all the things you will no longer accept or tolerate in your life, and all the things that you aspire to becoming. This is an exercise in deep personal honesty (telling yourself the truth 100% of time). Frequently ask yourself: What am I pretending not to know?
CHANGE YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS
Our beliefs are like unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do. They shape every action, every thought, and every feeling that we experience. As a result, changing our belief systems is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives. We must develop a sense of certainty that we can and will meet the new standards before we actually do.
CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY
In order to keep your commitment, you need the best strategies for achieving results. If you have set a higher standard, and you can get yourself to believe, then you certainly can figure out the strategies. One of the best strategies in almost any case is to find a role-model, someone who's already getting the results you want, and then tap into their knowledge.
Read about successful people. The most successful people have had mentors in every stage of their life. Who you associate with does help determine your happiness and success.
Many small business and career development organizations offer free mentoring services with a rich pool of volunteer, seasoned superstars, ready to share with you their experience, knowledge, and expertise.
RAISE YOUR STANDARDS
Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards. Write down all the things you will no longer accept or tolerate in your life, and all the things that you aspire to becoming. This is an exercise in deep personal honesty (telling yourself the truth 100% of time). Frequently ask yourself: What am I pretending not to know?
CHANGE YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS
Our beliefs are like unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do. They shape every action, every thought, and every feeling that we experience. As a result, changing our belief systems is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives. We must develop a sense of certainty that we can and will meet the new standards before we actually do.
CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY
In order to keep your commitment, you need the best strategies for achieving results. If you have set a higher standard, and you can get yourself to believe, then you certainly can figure out the strategies. One of the best strategies in almost any case is to find a role-model, someone who's already getting the results you want, and then tap into their knowledge.
Read about successful people. The most successful people have had mentors in every stage of their life. Who you associate with does help determine your happiness and success.
Many small business and career development organizations offer free mentoring services with a rich pool of volunteer, seasoned superstars, ready to share with you their experience, knowledge, and expertise.
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