If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future, look into your present actions. ~ Buddhist Saying We love this quote! It’s a powerful reminder that if you want to create a future that’s different from your present, you have to start by changing what you’re doing presently—in your day-to-day life. Many of our executive coaching clients seek us out because their present situations are no longer tenable.…
Most of us can recall an event in our life that shaped us—something that if asked about you could say, “Before the event I was that way, and after the event I’m this way.” Most of these before and after scenarios weren’t necessarily by choice. It usually takes something pretty big for people to be moved from one state of being to another. In fact, most people have a before/after that is related to something where they had little…
The last couple of weeks we’ve been focused on some simple steps you can take to create a 2017 that can move you from Overwhelmed to Outstanding. If you haven’t read those posts, we’d really encourage you to do so by clicking here. Shifting from running as fast as you can to taking thoughtful, intentional steps to create a life that matters to you is important because YOU MATTER. This week we’re going to talk about how to get traction…
The ability to take meaningful action is required if anything (and we do mean anything) is going to change in your life. Whether you are in the throes of life changes, holiday demands, or leading into your career future, as executive coaches for a combined 40+ years, we’ve seen the difference that meaningful action can make in the lives of individuals, and in the trajectory of organizations. Most of us know how to see what’s wrong. Our brains scan for…
One of the key aspects of being a good leader is determining the road forward and figuring out how to stay on that road despite the sometimes unfavorable conditions. We often meet individuals who turn off the road to success for what appears to be an immediate gain without considering how this short-term diversion will impact their long-term goal. Each of these distractions puts them on the road to nowhere. We’ve been working with a lot of organizations of late…
Linda was recently describing the experience of doing her PhD dissertation research. She said that although she was interested in the question she was studying, she felt fearful and incompetent about taking on such a large project knowing that it would require her to do a fair amount of work that simply didn’t interest her. So, instead of tackling her dissertation she cleaned the back of the refrigerator—literally! As she scrubbed, she realized that in the face of…
One of the things clients often complain about is that after an engaged and seemingly positive discussion, nothing will happen. Sometimes they are describing a great meeting at work and sometimes they are describing a conversation with a spouse or kid. In all cases, they are baffled that they can participate in this great discussion that seems to have identified some clear next steps, and then leave it only to have nothing happen. Here are 5 things you can do…
You were asked to lead the change. Everyone you spoke with wanted to move forward. You kicked into gear to get it done. And, now everyone is furious with you… What happened? People are messy. The thing you must remember is that when people are asking you to make things better, they rarely consider that they may need to change their own behaviors and patterns in order for that to happen. They can imagine that you will address their…
Last week we wrote Take Small Steps and talked about how small steps taken consistently over time can lead you to your goals faster than big steps taken from time to time. There are benefits to moving slow, as slow change is less likely to evoke resistance from inside of you and from those in your world. Slower, more consistent change over time can decrease others’ fear that you are changing, things are out of control, they are going to…
If you’ve been reading the Monday Morning Business Coach for a while you probably know that we are big fans of small steps. When you take small steps, you’re less likely to evoke internal, psychological resistance to change and start to get traction. And when you take those small steps consistently over time you can end up in an entirely new place! “Small steps taken consistently over time will lead you to your goals faster than big steps taken from…