Early in my career, I had no clue that at least one of my colleagues perceived me very differently than the warm, caring and friendly colleague I considered myself to be. Out of the blue, and not part of a performance review, a colleague shared that I gave the impression of being an “ice maiden.” Shocked by his feedback, and still trying to reconcile the vast difference between his perception and the one in my …
The drop or churning in your stomach, the sweaty palms, the flushing of the face. Full-on signs that something or someone has just sent you on a path of worry, frustration, fear, or panic. While not always appreciated, our bodies send us instantaneous signals of our state of being. The trouble with these reactions is that they served us well when we needed to outrun the saber tooth tiger, but most of us are not …
The Latin base of communication is communicare, which means to share. To share something, you must hold or know it, and recognize that sharing will benefit you and the other party. It then needs to be presented in a way that others will want to partake or engage. If the other party is not interested or does not know why they should be, the message will fall on deaf ears. This gives us three distinct …
People especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. This short definition of the Learner® talent theme from the Clifton Strengths® Assessment summarizes how those with Learner in their dominant strengths address the acquisition of knowledge. Second in frequency in the Top 5 strengths of the population, Learner is surpassed only by Achiever. …
Driver’s education provides hand-on experience maneuvering a vehicle on roads and through traffic. Warnings about blind spots are given in training, yet the reality of their existence is hard to fathom. “How could you not see another large vehicle to your side?” Yep, we all know that feeling of “oh my gosh…a near miss!” That is the blind spot. Newer model cars include a blind spot detection system that activates to warn the driver …
Imagine awakening each morning with a deep knowing – confidence in your ability to manage your own life – that you possess an inner compass that affirms the decisions you make throughout the day are the right ones. That would be a reassuring feeling, wouldn’t it? Why Does Self-Assurance Rank Last on the List? Self-Assurance® is the talent theme described above and identified by the Clifton Strengths Assessment®. The assessment identifies 34 distinct talent …
What do you see in the photo above? A team that appears to be interested and engaged in what is being discussed. But a picture can be misleading…very misleading. What if the leader is simply telling the other members of the team what will occur? That changes the entire dynamic of what we think we see. And that is just what many have experienced when working as part of a team. Perhaps you can relate. …
Can you think of a leader who wouldn’t want to be known as an achiever? Most of us – leaders or not – would appreciate that moniker following behind our name. And for the 6 million plus people of the 20 million who have taken the Clifton Strengths® assessment, they can rightly claim the talent of Achiever®. But wait…isn’t “leader” synonymous with “achiever”? Specifically, Achiever® is defined by Gallup as: People especially talented in the …
Did Two Sides of the Same Coin get you thinking? Was it an “ah-ha” or an “uh-oh” moment when you recognized that your ability to earn income is likely your greatest asset? If you want a different experience, change your mindset. Perhaps it was “Duh, I knew that. Why doesn’t my boss? Good luck prying an additional dime for my paycheck or professional advancement.” You’ve come to a fork in the road. You can commiserate …
A client’s greatest asset is the ability to generate income. That’s an early lesson I learned as a financial advisor. For most, this income generating ability comes from employment. For the few with investment assets great enough, it is still the ability to provide income – from their assets or otherwise – without depletion of assets before the end of the life cycle (cycles for a couple). What strengthens income generating ability Most of us …
Genuine. Authentic. Natural. You’re used to seeing these words on the labels of leather shoes or handbags. Yet, these adjectives are also used to describe great leaders. When you are with them, work with them or are simply influenced by them, their style of leadership is often described by how it feels: Genuine. Authentic. Natural. Some Leaders are Naturally Authentic. While any leader has the potential to engender these feelings in others, those with the …
Strategic™ as a talent theme occurs frequently in the population, showing in the top 5 for 4 million of the 18 plus million people who have taken the Clifton Strengths® Assessment. That is a really great thing. Why? As we learn from the full definition, the ability to sort through the clutter and find the best route is not a skill that can be taught. Strategic leaders shine at establishing a path forward. Just ask …
Like the childhood game of musical chairs, getting a seat at the table can seem like a rare mix of chance and luck. Colleagues and friends pull out a chair for one another socially. In the real world of business, however, this rarely applies. Getting a seat at the table can be complicated Instead, you often find there is not an available seat – or it is obvious (not to mention awkward!) that you are …
Need a solution to a problem? Find someone on your team with the talent theme of Restorative™. The short definition of this theme is: People especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.* Not only are they adept at solving problems – they can get energy from it! The talent theme of Restorative ranks #9 of the 34 themes, …
Provocative, yes? Pull your mind back from the gutter. This is not that type of message! In fact, it is about what we don’t do when others aren’t watching. When we’re not accountable to someone, we can easily slack off. My fitness tracker recently stopped charting my exercise and steps taken. While it did not stop me from doing my early morning workouts, the lack of tracking stopped my extra steps during the day. You …
“Coaching conversations” are all the rage for leaders, especially when providing feedback on performance. Case in point: in 2013 Deloitte replaced “performance review” with coaching conversations that focus on an employee’s learning and performance. Major organizations are implementing “coaching conversations” Many other major organizations have followed suit, including Microsoft, Google, Accenture and Adobe. These are large organizations with “large” resources making it easy for them to implement, right? Not so fast. This is something you …
Do you know your leadership style? Do you understand why others follow you? Are you looking to become a leader? We are all leaders in some form or another You’ve heard the platitude that we are all leaders in some form or another. If we accept the generality of that statement, then we accept that leadership is a talent that we all possess. Yet is it really that generic? If we all have …
Is that all it takes to find employees…really? A recent article in the Houston Business Journal caught my eye: How this Houston tube distributor draws in young employees. An “old” industry – oil and gas – is attracting younger workers. The average age of the company’s employees is 31. This is unusual for an industry that often conjures up images of stodgy, old-fashioned ways of working. Is this how you find employees? The industry also …
So, you have gone and done it. You’ve committed to taking a risk in your career. Woo-hoo! Kudos to you. Now I have an important few words of advice for you… GO ALL IN! When it comes to taking a career risk, do these statements sound familiar? When taking a risk in your career, even a calculated and planned one like yours, so many people start with: I am going to try… I am doing …
We often desire to get to a state of harmony or balance, where we feel we know what needs to and will happen; that it is knowable, planned and foreseeable. While this may be a possibility for relatively immediate outcomes, most of the time our lives do not look like this. The world around us continues to spin and change – and emphasizes the importance of taking risks in our career. What career risk should …