For many working people, this is the time of year they get their annual review. If you receive an annual review, it is a great time to look at your career development. If your company provides input into your developmental needs start with them. Ask your supervisor to provide you a list of areas they want you to improve in. When your supervisor starts covering these areas, ask him/her to provide you with as much input as they can. Tell them you have a strong desire to improve and move up in your career. Ask them if they can recommend someone who could act as a mentor for you. Mentors should be someone who can help hold you accountable to make the improvements you need to make.
Change takes time and effort! Put together an action plan and review it with your supervisor. This will help show the supervisor that you are serious about taking the actions needed to improve yourself. These actions should be done, regardless of whether you will receive a promotion or not. In today's world, just keeping your job could depend on your willingness to improve and add value to your organization and company.
Your next step should include a trip to the book store or library. Review books that cover the areas you need to develop. Read books and take action steps to implement the suggested changes. Google search the topics you need to develop and look for on-line training and suggestions. Find a career coach who can also help you in these areas.
If you are fortunate enough to secure a mentor or a career coach, meet with them monthly. Discuss your developmental needs and how they would suggest you address them. If you do not have a mentor or career coach, put a 2 hour meeting on your calendar each month. During that time, pull out your review and any recommendations your supervisor made and evaluate your own progress. Set up quarterly meetings with your supervisor to review your progress and to get additional recommendations. Taking your supervisor on as a "informal mentor" will help them to see that your efforts to improve are serious. Most people like to help others and their efforts should not only be followed but you should thank them for them.
Too many people I have worked with never look at their review and recommendations until a few weeks before their next review. They spend most of the time prior to their next review "kicking themselves" for not working on the items their supervisor identified. They even express shock when you discover that their supervisor gives them a poor review. Not working to improve may result your losing your job.
Take responsibility for your development, whether it is at work or your personal life. Change will not "magically" happen. It requires hard work and someone to hold us accountable for making the change.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Everyday Life is About Choices
One of my recent postings talked about how our thoughts impact our lives. Another things that has a big impact on who we are and how we react to things is our attitude. Some people claim that what happens to them impacts how they respond to things. I hear, "They made me angry" or "It wasn't my fault. They made me do it". I agree that events can influence our reactions, but they do not control our responses. Someone once said that events no more control our actions any more than a mirror controls our appearance.
Consider this - "Attitude is everything with aging...A study of nearly one thousand older adults followed for nine years concluded that people with high levels of optimism has a 23% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 55% lower risk of death from all causes compared to their pessimistic peers" - Dr. Andrew Weils. I have heard of many studies that show that optimistic people at all ages have less medical problems. Having a positive attitude is good for your health. Put another way, a bad attitude can kill you.
It is important that people understand just how beneficial a good positive attitude is. Not only will it help your health improve it is critically important in relationships and at work. Who would you like to be married to or work with? Someone who has a bad attitude all the time or someone who has a good attitude?
The great thing about our attitude is that we have a choice. Consider these words by Charles Swindoll -
Consider this - "Attitude is everything with aging...A study of nearly one thousand older adults followed for nine years concluded that people with high levels of optimism has a 23% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 55% lower risk of death from all causes compared to their pessimistic peers" - Dr. Andrew Weils. I have heard of many studies that show that optimistic people at all ages have less medical problems. Having a positive attitude is good for your health. Put another way, a bad attitude can kill you.
It is important that people understand just how beneficial a good positive attitude is. Not only will it help your health improve it is critically important in relationships and at work. Who would you like to be married to or work with? Someone who has a bad attitude all the time or someone who has a good attitude?
The great thing about our attitude is that we have a choice. Consider these words by Charles Swindoll -
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."
So how will you choose to live?
Friday, March 25, 2011
"Do, or do not. There is no try", Joda
I am amazed at how many people seem to have just given up. Our entire country has seemed to have lost the will to persevere and accomplish great things. People no longer seem to believe that great things are possible. People are living life as a spectator sport. They simply put in their time, counting their days. People have taken on the attitude that when the going gets tough, quit. Are you one of those people?
John F. Kennedy once quoted George Bernard Shaw saying, "Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not."
As a coach I encourage people to pursue their dreams and reach their goals. I try to encourage people to be all that they can be. I help people develop a confidence "Can Do" attitude allowing them to achieve much more than they ever thought possible. Pursuing our goals is not easy and will require perseverance and very hard work. Reaching our goals is a journey that will take time. We will have set backs, but we can reach those things others only dream about. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -- Confucius
One of my favorite quotes is from Theodor Roosevelt in his 1910, "Man in the arena speech". In it he said:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Become one of those few and special people willing to reach for their "impossible dream". Take that first step. Stop living your life from the sidelines and get into the arena. Find and pursue your passion. Be one of those people who, when they look back on their lives can say they lived life to it's fullest. Someone who didn't give up who strives again and again. Your life, your family, your employer, and your world will be better for it..
John F. Kennedy once quoted George Bernard Shaw saying, "Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not."
As a coach I encourage people to pursue their dreams and reach their goals. I try to encourage people to be all that they can be. I help people develop a confidence "Can Do" attitude allowing them to achieve much more than they ever thought possible. Pursuing our goals is not easy and will require perseverance and very hard work. Reaching our goals is a journey that will take time. We will have set backs, but we can reach those things others only dream about. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -- Confucius
One of my favorite quotes is from Theodor Roosevelt in his 1910, "Man in the arena speech". In it he said:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Become one of those few and special people willing to reach for their "impossible dream". Take that first step. Stop living your life from the sidelines and get into the arena. Find and pursue your passion. Be one of those people who, when they look back on their lives can say they lived life to it's fullest. Someone who didn't give up who strives again and again. Your life, your family, your employer, and your world will be better for it..
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
"Stinkin' Thinkin'"
There are many bad things happening in the world. We all know people who have financial difficulties, we worry about the rising costs of things we buy, and many of us worry about our employment situation. The world seems to have become a very scary place. But there are many good things happening. An old song tells us to "Count our blessings". Most of us are very blessed. We have the highest standard of living in the world. A website called the Global Rich List (www.globalrichlist.com) allows you to key in your income and it will tell you how your income measures against the income of the rest of the world. It says that if you make $30,000 per year you are among the top 7.16% of the richest people in the world. It is important to put things in proper perspective. You may not "feel" rich and you may not be able to buy everything you want, but you have it much better than 93% of the worlds population. Count your blessing!
Do you like being around or working with people who are negative or positive? Which type of person are you? Are you putting things into proper perspective or are you looking at everything in a negative way? Your attitude, positive or negative, shows though. It shows though at work, with your kids, in your marriage, and in all your relationships.
What type of person are you? Do people enjoy your company or do they avoid you? Do you see the glass as half full, half empty, or are you someone who believes that no mater how full the glass is, it is never full enough. You attitude matters. It drives your thought process. A Proverb states, "For as he thinks in his heart, so he is". The way you think will drive everything you do in life.
IF things are not going well at work or in your relationships, you may need to change your attitude. This will require changing how you think. Norman Vincent Peale wort a book, "The Power of Positive Thinking". The book talks bout how taking control of your thoughts and turning them positive will help you improve your life.
As I work with individuals and couples, I work with them to break their cycle of negative thinking. I refer to this negative thinking pattern as "Stinkin Thinkin". "Stinkin Thinkin" is looking for all the negative reasons something has gone wrong. Often a person places blame on others or even oneself. It can go like this, "What I said was so stupid", "I am a failure", "They did that to hurt me and they did it on purpose", "They want to make me mad", "My spouse is always critical of me", or "I can never do any better". As the Proverb says, if you think these things, you will become these things. It is a self fulfilling prophesy. But it doesn't have to be this way! With help you can change! Each of us make hundreds of choices, everyday, we can choose to be more positive.
Maybe you need help changing your attitude. Coaching is about helping people change. It is about helping people improve areas in their lives that can make them better. Are you ready for a change? Can We help you? If your answer is yes, please contact us.
Do you like being around or working with people who are negative or positive? Which type of person are you? Are you putting things into proper perspective or are you looking at everything in a negative way? Your attitude, positive or negative, shows though. It shows though at work, with your kids, in your marriage, and in all your relationships.
What type of person are you? Do people enjoy your company or do they avoid you? Do you see the glass as half full, half empty, or are you someone who believes that no mater how full the glass is, it is never full enough. You attitude matters. It drives your thought process. A Proverb states, "For as he thinks in his heart, so he is". The way you think will drive everything you do in life.
IF things are not going well at work or in your relationships, you may need to change your attitude. This will require changing how you think. Norman Vincent Peale wort a book, "The Power of Positive Thinking". The book talks bout how taking control of your thoughts and turning them positive will help you improve your life.
As I work with individuals and couples, I work with them to break their cycle of negative thinking. I refer to this negative thinking pattern as "Stinkin Thinkin". "Stinkin Thinkin" is looking for all the negative reasons something has gone wrong. Often a person places blame on others or even oneself. It can go like this, "What I said was so stupid", "I am a failure", "They did that to hurt me and they did it on purpose", "They want to make me mad", "My spouse is always critical of me", or "I can never do any better". As the Proverb says, if you think these things, you will become these things. It is a self fulfilling prophesy. But it doesn't have to be this way! With help you can change! Each of us make hundreds of choices, everyday, we can choose to be more positive.
Maybe you need help changing your attitude. Coaching is about helping people change. It is about helping people improve areas in their lives that can make them better. Are you ready for a change? Can We help you? If your answer is yes, please contact us.
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