Did that get your attention? Well, it should have! What you know and have learned intellectually is totally and absolutely useless until you actually apply it. That’s what I’m talking about.
How often do you attend professional development events, take lots of notes, get back to your office and……..then…..nothing?! That’s when your notes become shelf help. Tragic!
“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.” – Napoleon Hill
I attended a Global Leadership Summit last week and learned a lot from the world-class speakers who were presenting. And yes, I took lots of notes. But here’s where I differ from many people – I actually turn those notes into Action Steps!
MY SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ACTUALLY TRANSFERRING AT LEAST 3 GOALS INTO ACTION STEPS AND TRANSFERRING THEM INTO MY CALENDAR! ‘She who implements, WINS.” – that’s my motto. If you are a leader in business – as a volunteer – in your family – then this information is of value to you, too. I always plan in terms of Personal development, Professional Development and Organizational Development. As a business coach, at a minimum, I have 3 action steps that will move my business forward and benefit my clients and my team.
HERE ARE MY MAJOR TAKE-AWAYS:
- PERSONAL GOAL: SET HEALTH AND WELLNESS GOALS AND MAKE THEM PUBLIC.
Bill Hybels, Founder and Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church spoke about the key commitments to cultural transformation. In his presentation, he spoke about the need, as leaders, to have a GRAND vision. As the keeper of the grand vision, he asked the question: “What will keep you in the game”? He’s talking about the long haul. He asked ‘what are your endurance strategies?” – Without them, you will not succeed. Without them, you cannot possibly succeed.
Action Step: I have committed to health and wellness strategies to keep me in the game. One way I succeed with this has been to commit to my exercise plan in public. I have posted on FB, along with some of my ‘friends’, that I am participating in both the Plank and Squat challenges. Now, you know yourself, that there are times when you make a promise to yourself – and you don’t keep it. Me, too. But when I commit to other people – I keep my word. So, this is one way that I actually follow through. I implement what Bill taught – I ensure that, on a daily basis, I boost my endurance so that I am in the game for the long haul! What about you?
- PROFESSIONAL GOAL: HAVING CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE
Joseph Grenny, Co-Founder, VitalSmarts: Social Scientist for Business Performance, spoke about having crucial conversations with our people. Now, this can mean our personal circle, our team members, our clients, our colleagues – every person with whom we interact. For me, my take-away is to have the crucial conversations with my team members and with my clients. He spoke of the myth: ‘You often have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend (or client or colleague).”
A metric he recommended is to measure the number of ‘undiscussables’. Phew. This can be a tough one – but, as a leader, I can see how it would be critical not only to the success of my business, but for my personal life, too. What is a crucial conversation? It’s one whereby opinions vary, stakes are high and emotions run strong. Well, that’s enough to make any normal person want to just run and hide, right? However, think about this for a minute. Having crucial conversations can strengthen relationships for the long term. Isn’t that what we all want? Don’t we just want to know the truth? The thing is there is a skill to it. Joseph spoke about this throughout his presentation. He gave some great tips on how to handle these conversations.
Action Step: Well, tough as it may be, I’m up for the challenge. Life is short. I want to get better at conversations with the people around me and truly ‘walk my talk’. I want to develop the capacity to skillfully address emotionally and politically risky issues. Period. I am creating my own metrics for this – and will monitor my results along the way. What gets measured, gets done. How about you? Are you willing to have crucial conversations with the people around you?
- ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: HONORING THE INTROVERT!
Susan Cain, Best-selling Author; Viral TED Speaker on The Power of Introverts. I learned a lot from her presentation. And I listened – I really listened. Because I am an extrovert and was curious to know what she was talking about – her new book, ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking!” is much-needed these days. We live in a very noisy world! She shared some great insights: If you’re a manager, remember that one third of your workforce is probably introverted, whether they appear that way or not. Group brain-storming doesn’t actually work – studies have shown that performance gets worse as the group size increases.
Action Step: With my big, annual 3-day event coming up in Toronto, I have been known (in previous years) to have people brainstorm at their tables. After listening to what Susan had to say, and recognizing that this is always THE best way to get ideas brewing, I have decided to change some of my teaching tactics at the next event in Toronto in October. I will honor the introvert. I will use different tactics and I will pay close attention to ways that I can support them and create the best possible learning environment for them, too. This is new for me. We will measure this also.
“IT’S NOT A MATTER OF INTELLECTUALLY KNOWING ANYTHING – IT’S A MATTER OF PERSONALLY APPLYING THE INFORMATION!’ – Lou Tice
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED LATELY AND HOW WILL YOU APPLY IT?
Please share your thoughts!
