Managing Up #2 Speed Reading

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Managing Up #2:  Speed reading others, how to build rapport quickly with your new supervisor and team.

Ever have a conversation with someone who just did not get you?  You may have been speaking clearly and loud enough, but your idea just did not land?  Today’s skill in Managing Up is all about Speed Reading others to identify the communication style that will best get through to them.

You may not realize it, but we all have preferences on how we like to communicate to others and how we like to be communicated with.  If you have been in the workplace for a while you may have taken a personality assessment that shows you your preferences.  These preferences make up part of the lens through which we see the world.  Each lens is unique to the individual based on their life experience and no one personality style is better than the other.

There are many tools available to help you assess your personality preferences, one that is easy to understand (and free) is the Lumina Splash App.  Check out the free App to learn more about your preferred style.  Lumina looks at 4 Colours, 8 Aspects and 24 Qualities across 3 Personas (Underlying, Everyday and Overextended) to help you understand your preferred style.

When we understand how we like to approach the world we can start to recognize how important it is to understand the preferences of others when communicating with them.  We can learn to speak their language, to build rapport faster, get our ideas across, collaborate and influence others.

Example:  If you use Lumina’s 4 Colour model and like to lead with blue, Lumina would describe this as someone who is detailed oriented, evidence based, observing and measured, but if you were speaking to your boss who is yellow (a Big Picture Thinker who is conceptual, imaginative and sociable) you need to shift your communication style in order to “speak their language”.  If you speak as you personally like to be communicated with, your ideas will fall on deaf ears as you are not speaking your boss’ “language”.  To be successful here the blue person needs to stretch, perhaps out of their comfort zone, to speak to what the yellow person needs.  Hint, they do not want spreadsheets and detailed graphs upfront, they most likely want to know more about strategy, direction, the big picture and where the idea could take the project.  They may also want to be involved in brain storming or idea generation before you come to them with a fully developed plan.

Without taking a personality assessment though, how can you tell the best way to approach your new boss?  This is where Speed Reading comes in.  By looking for a few characteristics (body language, tone of voice, content of conversation, and what their workspace looks like) you can quickly assess the best way to approach them.

Tune in to the next Managing Up post on what to look for when Speed Reading others.

Managing Up: A Learner's Mindset

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Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Today I kick off our Managing Up series by discussing mindset.  Mindset is all about your frame of mind when approaching a situation.  This is particularly important when interacting with a new boss or colleagues.  You want to start the relationship off on a positive note and demonstrate how you will fit in with the team and add value to your new organization. 

Consider for a moment how you want others to view you and how you will make a positive and lasting first impression.  Attitude or mindset will have a big impact here.  When we are open to the ideas of others, we have a greater capacity to develop relationships, influence others, learn and grow.  This is a Learner’s Mindset.  When we approach a situation with a closed mindset, we are closed off from growth and developing relationships with others because we are locked in our own mind about “how things aught to be”.  This is known as a Judging Mindset.

A Learner’s Mindset is listening to understand.  Seems simple, but all too often we approach a situation with preconceived ideas or our own history in front of us which sets us on auto drive following a script of how we think things should go.  We use a judging mindset, we forget to stop and  listen, I mean really listen to what others are saying before we react.  If we fall into a judging mindset trap, we stop listening which hinders our ability to develop relationships and build rapport with a new boss and colleagues.

A Learner’s Mindset is all about approaching a situation as though it has possibility and potential.  What does that look like?  It means approaching a conversation with a new co-worker, a discovery interview with a new colleague, or a meeting with your boss, from the mindset of this is a learning moment and I will learn something from this interaction.  To do this, put away your experience or judgement and approach it with curiosity which is meant to help you understand the situation and the people better.  Seek first to understand all that you can about the situation before moving forward with presenting your ideas or opinion.

Judging Mindset: Win-lose, Judgemental, Cynical, Know-it-all, Mistakes are bad Learner Mindset: Unlimited possibilities, Curious, Open-minded, Accepting, Mistakes are opportunities

Consider how these two very opposite mindsets impact us at work.  If we approach using the judging mindset, we may be pushing people away from us because we are not open to their ideas - we feel our idea is the only one that matters or that we are right.  However, the new employee with a Learner’s Mindset will rapidly learn more about the organization if they approach every interaction with curiosity and seeking to learn more.  By being open-minded to listening to what others are saying, you will develop relationships faster and build vital relationship capital.

A Learner’s Mindset leads to collaboration, building trust, open two-way dialogue and relationships that will enhance your career.  It is not just about being curious though, it is about leaning in, showing genuine interest, and making authentic comments to build on ideas with your own.  To be clear, a Learner’s Mindset does not mean putting your ideas on hold but rather means seeking to understand someone else before putting forth your own ideas.  It also does not mean agreeing with everything but rather seeking to genuinely understand before building on someone’s ideas or putting forward new ideas.  By taking a Learner’s Mindset approach you will be seen as an engaged new employee who values collaboration and is a team player!

Tips:

1. If you like to jump in and give advice/share your opinion right away in a conversation, make yourself ask three questions/acknowledgements before you put your ideas forward. Sometimes a new employee feels they need to prove themselves right away but by slowing down and focusing on learning and understanding you are setting the foundation for who you are (a team player, highly collaborative, curious and engaged).

2. Questions to consider asking:

   • Tell me more about that…

   • What was that like for the team?

   • How did you go about doing that?

   • Sounds like there were some bumps along the way, how can I avoid those?

   • How did that align with the organization’s objectives?

   • What did you do to collaborate with others across the organization?

3. Engage active listening skills: lean forward into the conversation, reflect back what you are hearing, use verbal and non-verbal cues to demonstrate you are listening (nod, smile, etc.)

4. Remember, body language speaks louder than words, ensure your body language says “I’m open and curious” and not “I’m impatient and want you to finish talking so I can share my idea”

Drop me a line and share what you have learned about mindset in Managing Up!

Coming soon:  Speed reading others, how to build rapport quickly with your new supervisor and team.

Managing Up Series

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This month Forward Focus Coaching is embarking on a journey into the arena of Managing Up.  This is a very timely topic given the number of individuals re-entering the workforce after many businesses closed due to COVID-19.

Understanding how to manage up is not just for individuals starting new jobs though, it is a valuable life skill for students transitioning into the workforce for the first time or an employee looking to build greater rapport with their supervisor, create more visibility for themselves in an organization or get promoted to a new position.

Navigating the challenging waters of office politics and developing relationships can be even more challenging when you are not working face to face with a team everyday.  The virtual office makes building rapport and communicating all the more challenging than when we are in an office and bump into our boss or team members in the coffee room or ride an elevator with colleagues everyday.

Follow along this month as I discuss the skills necessary to successfully manage up.  I will cover communicating effectively, growth mindset, speed reading others, understanding your boss’ expectations, leading from where you are, accepting feedback, and a whole host of other topics that relate to managing up.

Drop me a line and share what you would like to hear about this month as I explore Managing up!

Watch this week for the first step:  A learner’s mindset.  Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Building a Culture of Intrapreneurship

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What if individuals and teams were empowered to bring an entrepreneurial spirit to the work they do for you?  Imagine a culture that supported new ideas, creative ways of thinking, taking a product or service from good to great!  What could this mean for the big picture and employee engagement?

This concept isn’t anything new, Gifford Pinchot III, coined the term intrapreneur in 1978 and defined it as "dreamers who do." 

"Intrapreneurs are employees who do for corporate innovation what

an entrepreneur does for his or her start-up."

Early on the term intrapreneur referred to employees who were given liberties (i.e. budget and freedom from established corporate policies and processes) to innovate and build prototypes they wouldn’t have had the ability to develop otherwise. To me, this sounds like certain individuals were given license to create, design and think outside of the proverbial box.  Their job was to be internal entrepreneurs!

Today, intrapreneurship is still about freedom to innovate but it is also the ability to bring forward ideas and for all employees to be responsible for driving the business forward by how they approach work and what they do.

In order to drive a culture of intrapreneurship in your organization, what would you need to do to create the environment where this could flourish?

A few things come to my mind.

1. Create an environment of psychological safety where employees are supported to take risks without the fear of reprimand for failure (fail forward if you will).

2. Build your organization on the foundation of trust where employees know they are safe and valued.   

3. Make space for it.  What barriers (policies, processes, culture norms) do you need to shift to make it possible?

4. Embed the necessary behaviours in your competency framework. Determine and define the competencies necessary for intrapreneurship and add them to your core competencies.

5. Grow and hone the necessary skills through training and development programs accessible to employees at all levels in your organization.

6. Hire for it.  Add the competency to your hiring process so you can recruit the right talent.

What comes to mind for you?  I’d love to hear how you build a culture of intrapreneurship in your organization.

2020 is on the Horizon

As we say goodbye to 2019 what is on the horizon for you in 2020?

This time of year is traditionally filled with New Years resolutions, goals or promises we make ourselves about how we want to be or what we wish to accomplish in the year ahead. Often these are forgotten by the end of January, usually because we haven't planned well enough or aligned these goals with bigger goals that reach our core values.

Have you considered the coming year and where you want to be this time next year? What monthly or daily goals are you working towards? Write them down! Small changes each day lead to big changes over time.

Now that you have considered this horizon, look beyond it to your next horizon. This could be 5 years down the road or just 2-3 years. What is important is that the goals of this year, month, week, or day align you to where you want to be in 2, 3 or 5 years. Write this goal down. Close your eyes and sink into what you want for yourself (personal life, career, school, business, etc.).

Now look further out - what does your horizon look like in 10-20 years? What business, career, personal or health success do you want to have accomplished? Take a moment to imagine what you want your life to look and feel like when you are 10-20 years older than you are today. Write this down. Now work backwards, what do you need to accomplish or do along the way to make these goals a reality? Align your horizons so you can build your future today!

Happy New Year and all the best in 2020!

#forwardfocuscoaching #2020 #goals #dreambig #executivecoach #limitsbedamned

Creating a Vision

It is Future Focus Friday here at Forward Focus Coaching. Nothing energizes us more than helping our friends realize and create their vision of where they want to be in the future. I call this my North Star.

What do you do to create your vision of your future? To me this is essential whenever I am setting New Year's goals. I need to align myself now with where I want to be in the future.

One trick I find helpful is imagining what your retirement party will look and feel like, or your 90th Birthday!

• What will you be celebrating on these occassions?

• What will you be most proud of? What do you want others to be saying about you? How did you make others feel?

• What will your fondest memories have been? Will these memories be about what you accomplished at work or career-wise? Will these be financial successes? Will these be parenting successes? How do you want your children to remember their childhood? What will their lasting memories be?
  

  By reflecting on what the future you wants to be proud of you are creating the template for today's goals. Each day between today and the future is a day to take small steps towards these goals.
  
  I'd love to hear how you set your vision and determine your North Star - please share below.
  
  Cheers to an amazing 2019.
  
  Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach who specializes in working with invidividuals, teams and leaders to acheive their goals.

  #forwardfocuscoaching #futurefocusfriday#limitsbedamned #youvegotthis#newyearnewme #2019 #goals #vision#ivegotgoals #entrepreneur#entrepreneurlife #northstar#truenorth

Procrastination

Alrighty, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Who has already started procrastinating on their New Years goals?!

We procrastinate for many different reasons, sometimes we are scared, other times we are not well enough prepared to work on our goals, perhaps you don't have the resources in place to action the plans, or maybe you are tired and not feeling motivated to start.

Whatever the reason it is important to have a plan of action when the procrastination bug takes over and derails your plans and ambitions. How can you avoid this nasty, derailing bug you ask. Well with a plan of course!

We need a plan to get ourselves out of procrastinating before we ever begin to procrastinate!

To create the plan you will need to identify a few things:
1. Identify what the heck it looks like. What does procrastination look and feel like to me?
2. Understand what could stand in your way to success. What barriers can I anticipate coming up against and what will I do to get around each of them?
3. Know what derails you. When might I start to procrastinate. What situations/environments/people may bring it on?
4. What can I do to move through procrastinating to achieve my goals?
5. Are my goals broken down into the right sized chunks for me to accomplish them?
6. Do I have the necessary resources and supports in place to achieve my goals?
7. Is my vision clear enough that I can envision what it will be like once I achieve my goals? You need clarity here so you know where you are going on this journey!

Now that you have planned what to do in the event you feel like procrastinating, you can quickly move through any derailments and get right back on track!

Share what you do to avoid procrastinating so we can all move forward together!

If you are looking for an accountability partner contact us to learn more about how we can help.

Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach supporting personal and team development.  She dwells in possibility.

Focus. FOCUS. F-O-C-U-S!

Focus. FOCUS. F-O-C-U-S! How do you maintain focus on your goals?

You have worked hard determining goals for the new year but how do you keep up the focus, persistence and determination to turn these goals into reality? The year ahead is a marathon, not a sprint.

Some people create vision boards as a visual reminder of what they want to achieve, others maintain carefully prepared spreadsheets with dates, sub goals and action plans, and some people look for inspiration externally whether in quotes, the wisdom of others, nature, or the success of others.

Wherever this inspiration comes from it is helpful to keep it front and centre so your goals are at the forefront of your mind and thoughts. What gets tended to grows!!

What are your sources of inspiration? Please comment below on how you are staying on track this year! Drop me a line if you’d like some support staying focused on your goals, we offer accountability partnering as well as coaching.

All the best in 2019! You've got this!

Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach supporting personal and team development.  She dwells in possibility.

GOALS!

2019 is officially here! Who has started working towards their goals?

One of my goals this year is to spend more time focusing my energy on building resilience. Two sub goals in this are to share and accept gratitude more often and develop more self-compassion for myself.

To turn this goal into a hat-trick I am reverse engineering my goals. I started with reflecting on how I want to feel on December 31, 2019 and I worked backwards month by month strategizing on what I need to do each month to get myself there. Sounds simple, doesn’t it. When we are clear on our vision of what we want the future to look like it is much easier to put a plan into place to achieve it.

Take a moment and reflect on what you want the future to look like. How will you act and feel and what will you be doing? What won’t you be doing? Who will you be surrounded by and how will they make you feel? Now look at your goals for the year - do these align with the future you you just described? If not now is the perfect time to course correct and set new goals.

I wish you great success and happiness this year as you turn your goals into hat-tricks! Drop me a line if you’d like some help.

Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach supporting personal and team development.  She dwells in possibility.

#forwardfocuscoaching #goals #2019#youvegotthis

2019 here we come!

As you pack your bags for this new adventure have you thought about what you will bring with you? 

• What top 3 strengths of yours will help you meet your 2019 goals? How will you continue to hone and grow these?

• What areas will you need support in and how do you plan to get the support?

• What excess weight will you leave behind? Whether it is people, relationships or activities (put down your phone!) that are distracting you from your goals - make a plan NOW and don't bring them into 2019.
  

  Wishing you all joy, happiness and success in 2019!

  Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach supporting personal and team development.  She dwells in possibility.
  
  #forwardfocuscoaching #futurefocusfriday#limitsbedamned #youvegotthis #2019

Resilience - Living Authentically

Suddenly it feels as though the holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving feasts have been digested and now we prepare for the marathon of holiday parties, shopping, volunteering, and giving that makes up the season. What a magical time of the year!

With this merriment though comes a lot of stress and pressure, and an overwhelmed sensation of how am I going to get this all accomplished!  Whether these are pressures we place on ourselves or are lovingly inflicted by others, these feelings take a toll on us both mentally and physically.

To help get through this joyous time of the year – and enjoy this magical season - I am focusing on the 7 factors of resilience from the Resilience @Work Sustain 7 model. Resilience is not a fixed personality trait but rather a state, something that we can all develop, maintain and sustain.

S1 Living Authentically is the first factor in personal resilience. How often do you think about and hold onto your personal values, deploying your strengths, and having a good level of emotional awareness and regulation during the holiday season?  All too often this goes out the window as we say to ourselves “I’ll have plenty of time to recuperate in January” or “I can pay for this later” or “this is what is expected of me” or “I have to bake 12 dozen cookies for the cookie exchange or else” you get my point!

Right now, reflect on your personal values, which will you hold onto and stay true to course during this time of the year?  What strengths can you rely on to keep you centered and living authentically?  For me, I am a strong planner, so I will set out a plan (including personal budget and boundaries) for the season in order to prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed.  I will also stay true to my values and core beliefs by reminding myself that love is not expressed by the size of the gift but rather that it comes from the heart.  I will be true to who I am and my family values and not be swayed by the media or others.  Further I am adding some quiet time to my calendar, so I have time to meditate and be present in the moment.

How will you build, maintain and sustain your resilience this holiday season?  I’d love to hear your ideas.

Stay tuned for S2 Finding Meaning and Purpose.

The R@W Sustain 7 is a simple yet powerful model that creates a common language within workplaces around resilience. Our experience is that it resonates across a wide range of industries and occupations.  Contact us at forwardfocuscoaching@shaw.ca to learn how you can use it with your team.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Wait a moment, it isn’t January!  Why am I celebrating the new year?  Well, for me as a parent September feels like the start of a new year as we prepare for the new school year ahead.  I find myself planning as though it is a new year and setting out strategies and goals that I want to achieve.  For instance, last September I set out to be less rushed in the mornings by better prepping lunches ahead of time.  This is one goal I stuck to last year and prepped grab and go containers of fruits, veggies, hummus, yogurt, crackers, cheese, granola bars, etc. on Sunday night so through the week our child could grab items out of the fridge and load his own lunch kit.  This year he will help prep the containers!

My goal this September is to be more present and not get swept away in the rush of the school year routine.  As the days grow shorter and colder, I plan to be present in the moment and stick to my goals for the year ahead.  I am going to use Friday’s as my visioning days as I always have a ton of positive energy on Friday.  I will use Sunday’s as my planning days to ensure I am moving forward and not being derailed by weekly events.  By staying laser focused on my goals they will remain present in my mind and not forgotten or put on the back burner.

What goals do you set for yourself at the start of a new school year?  As a parent or student, how will you use last year’s learnings to move yourself closer to your goals? 

As a parent I ask myself regularly what will our son’s memory of school and childhood be like?  And what do I need to do to create the space for him to have a childhood full of adventure, creativity and opportunity to be the person he wants to be? 

Thinking forward to the future in order to be more present today is one way to get clear on what you need to do to achieve your vision and goals.  Think about your child’s high school graduation or your retirement.  Sit in that moment and reflect on what your ideal life would have been like.  Now come back to the present and think about what you need to do NOW to make those dreams come true!

Drop me a line or head on over to www.forwardfocuscoaching.ca to learn more about how I can support you to get clear on your vision and design the life of your dreams.  It all starts with a little focus and one small step forward.

Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach supporting personal and team development.  She dwells in possibility.

No Brakes

No Brakes! 

Imagine if you lived your life moving full throttle ahead and not putting on the brakes every time you have a worry or doubt. 

Imagine how quickly you could achieve your goals if you just got out of your own way.

This week is Crankworx World Enduro mountain bike festival at Whistler Mountain in British Columbia.  This event showcases talent from all over the world.  One professional mountain biker, @Yoannbarelli posted a video of his run down the last stage of the competition.  It is quite spectacular to watch and listen to him as he charges down gnarly rock faces, flies around berms and gets big air by engaging mind over matter.  He yells out "no brakes" to keep himself focused on his ultimate goal, a fast race time and podium position.

This video made me think about life and how we reach for the brakes at every bump and turn when we start to feel a bit outside our comfort zone. We doubt our capabilities and stop trusting our instincts.  Consider what it would be like to apply Yoann's philosophy and yell "no brakes" so you can race towards your goals unimpeded. 

The big question here is what is it going to take to shift to this new philosophy?  What doubt or past experiences will you put behind you to do so?  For me it helps to keep my eyes on my goal - or eye on the prize so to speak.  The second we take our eyes off our goals and dreams we settle into a routine that prevents us from moving forward.

Tomorrow morning wake up and yell "no brakes" and live the day without getting in the way of your own dreams!  You've got this!

Drop me a line or check out www.forwardfocuscoaching.ca for more information on how I dwell in possibility and can help you do the same.

Karen Ward is a Certified Executive Coach specializing in personal and team development.
 

Lumina Spark Team Workshop

What a day.  We ran three small Lumina Spark workshops inside a larger team worshop.  To facilitate the organization's goals of smaller group conversations and larger cross-team communication we broke this workshop into smaller more intimate conversations and then brought the group together throughout the day to facilitate larger, big picture communication for the team.

What if the sky isn't the limit? Where would your dreams take you?

What if the sky isn't the limit?

How big would you dream and how high would you set your goals if there wasn't a limit?

To some this may seem like a trivial question, but take a moment and reflect on where you have set the bar to success in your life.  Is it too low?  what opportunities and future could you have if you aimed higher?

Don't let the niggling thoughts of barriers and failure sneak in and steal your aspirations.  Pause.  Take a moment and bathe in the positive thoughts of your dreams coming true.  Now move to action.  What one thing can you do right now to make this come true?  What three things do you need to do this week to start the ball rolling?

Now move forward!

Your future starts now. Today. This moment.

Your future starts now. Have you ever wondered what your future will be like?

It will be just like yesterday if you keep doing what you are currently doing. What got you to where you are right now isn't going to get you to where you want to be. Whether in life or work, you will need to make incremental changes and adjustments to make small and big steps forward.

What one change can you make today that will lead to the future you are dreaming about?

Any change you make today is a step forward. It is never too late to start.

The future is right there and it is yours to design.