When is enough enough?
Let me paint the picture so that you get a feel for what one of my clients shared with me the other day. You see he was suffering a challenge that many small businesses face very early on in their growth. It is a catch 22 situation and depending on what he did next would either make or break his business. It is a situation that we have faced in our business and I would imagine you have faced this as well.
What I am alluding to is……. (more…)
People always come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
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Sometimes they die. Sometimes they just walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
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When people come into your life for a SEASON,
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
the season eventually ends.
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LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being part of my life.
Not sure what part of the world you are in when reading this article but for those of you in Melbourne it is getting cold, the start of winter is upon us. I get pretty complacent at the beginning of each season, I’m sceptical of the weather forecast. Well I payed dearly yesterday, let me explain….. (more…)
Creativity and the Workplace
The first thing that comes into most managers minds when they hear the words “creativity” and “workplace” combined is either a) someone is cooking the books (as in creative accountancy) or people are just goofing off.
The reality is something far different
It has been shown that workplaces where creativity is not just tolerated, but encouraged, have not just a more profitable bottom line, but their staff are happier, lower staff turnover, increased business flexibility, reduced leave of absence – in essence those things that a truly motivated and forward thinking business wants and needs to thrive. These are places where discussion is encouraged, boundaries are challenged and everyone is constantly striving to improve those things that impact not just their sphere of influence but the company as a whole. It is a place where these practices are not just given lip service, but they are truly a part of the company’s overall business plan, its ethics and its moral code.
So how do we encourage creativity in the workplace?
A good place to start is to consciously open the lines of communication in all directions, between individual staff, between managers and their staff, and most importantly between the various departments. More money is lost from “misunderstandings” between departments than most companies would like to admit. This communication does not have to be formal. It could be something as simple as encouraging conversation over a coffee, at the water cooler, around someone’s desk or in some other less structured atmosphere. Remember creativity cannot be forced, it has to bubble up out of the unconscious for most people, and often a chin wag over the new widget we are making can turn out to be a major coat saver in the long run.
We are not advocating a completely laissez-faire workplace, but that keeping people in their place, tied to a desk or kept in a box generally does not encourage the flights of fancy from which great ideas come.
During my 20 years of employment in a range of companies, I have seen evidence of these cost savings many times in workplace situations, let me explain……..
As I sit here in my office at 5.30am I know that winter is on its way, why? because I have had to find a cardigan and dust off the control to turn on the heater and I don’t think I will be eating my breakfast outside this morning BURR!! They are advertising a quick getaway to grab one last burst of sun in the Whitsundays, very tempting!
I happened to catch an interesting conversation on Sunrise about the best places to work which got me thinking about all the places I have previously worked and it’s funny, when you think of your workplace in that context, what thoughts do you conjure? It took me back in time and I was flooded with some wonderful memories, mainly people that I haven’t thought about in ages. On a personal note I have loved every place that I have ever worked (what I can remember), although there were times or things I did that I didn’t particularly like, but overall I have no complaints.
I firmly believe that you choose and create your own working environment. Most businesses today are doing what they can to provide their employees with an environment that is safe, bright, happy, friendly and fun. You only have to look at Google to see how this can work. If you want to view a working environment that provides everything an employee could ever imagine check this out and see how the other half works.
But seriously, what is it that makes YOU want to go to work? Find out more…….
How do you know if you have balance in your life?
Merimbula, NSW, Australia
I have just gotten back from a wonderful holiday in Merimbula NSW, what a beautiful part of Australia.
I am not sure about you but when I go on holiday it takes a few days to ‘get in the holiday mode’, if you know what I mean. It can take Rodney about a week to fully unwind, that’s pretty bad ah!! (Maybe he should get coached on it!!).
I think we are all guilty of overdoing certain aspects of our life, I know that as a coach I will ask my clients to take a reality check test to ascertain what areas of their life needs more attention. I appreciate that change is easier said than done sometimes. It then comes down to a choice of how you choose to live your life and what you will put up with as a result of your choices.
The expression work life balance was first used in the 1980’s to help explain the unhealthy life choices that many people were making, they were choosing to neglect other important areas in their lives such as family, friends and hobbies in favour of work related chores and goals.
Many people these days experience burnouts due to overwork and increased stress, this condition is seen in nearly all occupations from blue collar to upper management. Over the past decade a rise in workplace violence and increased absenteeism and compensation claims are all evidence of an unhealthy work life balance.
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Miscommunication is Hazardous to your Health
What is miscommunication? How do you know that your message is being miscommunicated?
How can you communicate more effectively?
Miscommunication is the inability to communicate effectively. You will notice that your message is being miscommunicated because you will not be receiving the results/information that you have asked for.
When this occurs you may be faced with feelings of frustration, anger or become short tempered at the person you are communicating with.
You may feel that they aren’t listening to you, or they just ‘don’t get’ what you are asking them or feel that they don’t value what you are talking about. Left untreated, miscommunication can cause serious health problems that aggravate your stress levels.
Almost all of your big problems in life will be accompanied by breakdown in communication, almost all problems and financial losses in companies are a result of poor communication or miscommunication. Miscommunication is a major hurdle that many of you will deal with on a daily basis, unless you learn to communicate more effectively.
Internal Representational System
We are all unique in the way we communicate. Even knowing this, some people still have trouble understanding why their message is misunderstood. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, everyone communicates. It is how you communicate that determines the quality of your business, career and life.
I am going to show you a very valuable technique that, when practiced and implemented into your life, will increase your communication skills considerably. (more…)
Mixed Messages Create Frustration
How often have you asked someone to do something only to find that you have mixed messages and the task is not carried out as you wanted? What happens then? In a lot of instances people get really annoyed and as time progresses anger grows to the stage of frustration and sometimes a verbal response causes more problems.
If you are not getting the outcome you have asked for, you may need to look at how you are communicating your message. You should look at:
· The tone of your voice
· The words you use
· The clarity of your message
· Do you use open or closed questions?
· Do you generate a flow of conversation?
If you are not using some or all of those techniques then you may find that you have not giving enough information for the respondent to carry out the task.
Poor Communication is not a Disability
Many of my clients say they are no good at communicating. I challenge them to step out of their comfort zone and try different approaches to improve their communication skills.
After establishing why they consider they are not effective communicators, we set about planning our strategy for creating change.
In many instances I find that they have a limiting belief in themselves that holds them back. If I was to determine the most common limiting belief associated with poor communication skills, it would be “I’m not good enough”, or “I am afraid of rejection”. Feeling rejected is extremely common and when experienced on a regular basis can cause self-doubt and a lack of self-esteem, which is very destructive.
