Blog
How Good is Your Culture? (WT563)
You’ve heard me mention the REACH profile before. It’s a psychometric tool we use to understand people’s personalities as well as their REACH – their agility to adapt to the other profiles or as a leader, their ability to use all of the 16 leadership competencies. This week I did some peer reviews for one of my clients and we used the REACH Ecosystem Culture Survey. The results we received were outstanding. Both sets of results showed the current engagement scores for both leaders were in the top 10% of all culture surveys globally. So what do the Culture Survey or engagement scores show us?...
Phenomenal Coaching (WT562)
One of my clients was sharing a coaching experience they had recently. It unnerved me a little because if she was talking about them, it’s most likely only a matter of time before she starts talking about me. On a tangent here, I remember confronting a coaching client about the same thing. He was complaining about all of his suppliers. After he stopped ranting, I looked him in the eye and said “I’m just wondering when it will be my turn.” “Your turn for what?” he asked. “My turn for you to p..s all over me”, I answered and continued, “You’ve just sat there for 20 minutes and told me all the...
Ho’Oponopono (WT561)
This week I thought I would share another story to demonstrate where I use Ho’oponopono [ho.ʔo.po.no.po.no]. I have mentioned it before in Weekly Thoughts and it is so powerful, it deserves repeating. We also have it proudly displayed on the top of our motorhome, clearing the way as we go. Firstly, what is Ho’Oponopono? The word “ho’o” means “cause” in Hawaiian, while “ponopono” means “perfection”. The term “ho’oponopono” can be translated as “correct a mistake” or “make it right”. Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian spiritual practice that helps us to forgive past wrongs, conflicts,...
What is the Right Age for a Leader? (WT560)
Do you know the answer to this question: “What is the right age for a leader?” If your answer is, “There is no right age”, you are correct. How do I know that? Because I have worked with and been led by leaders of all ages. Just because you might be older, doesn’t automatically make you a leader and vice versa, just because you might be younger, doesn’t mean you can’t lead. Let’s think about this for a moment. Let’s take sporting teams for example, the Captains of which, are the leaders. There is a huge age range here from very young children to very old men and women. Why then, does there...
Get Out Of Bed (WT559)
It’s Autumn and the days are getting shorter. It won’t be long and we’ll be looking to snuggle up under the doona on a cold winter’s night. But that’s not what I’m talking about when I say “Get Out of Bed”. I’m referring to what we know as “Living Above and Below the Line”. Imagine a line drawn on a page. Above the line are written three words; one on top of the other (vertically): Ownership Responsibility Accountability Below the line are another three words, the first initials of which spell BED: Blame Excuses Denial If you live above the line, you take ownership for what happens in your...
I Can Hear You (WT558)
When you’re having a conversation with people, do you listen to what they are saying or are you waiting to speak? In our Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience we dedicate an entire day to developing our listening skills. It’s amazing to me how most people’s listening skills are so poor. The first micro-skill we teach for listening is to be quiet; to not interrupt and to show attending behaviours of nodding your head etc. to show that you are actually hearing and listening to what the other is saying. This skill is so important because it enables you to really understand what the...
Sit Under the Umbrella (WT557)
It was an overcast day and rain was imminent. I was meeting a coaching client for coffee at 11:00am at one of the local trendy cafes. I signed in and waited to speak to one of the three attendants, two of whom were engrossed in their own conversation and a third who had been cleaning tables. “Do you have a booking?” she asked. “No, I’m meeting a friend and we’d like coffees please.” “I’ll just find out where I can seat you.” The other attendant gestured to a table just near where I was standing. “You can sit here til 11:45am, then you’ll have to leave because we have a lunch booking.” That...
Should I Say Something? (WT556)
DISCRETION Should I Say Something? WT556 Sean had a dilemma. His teammates had confided in him. They shared information with him that affected the business. He didn’t know what to do. “Shirl, I am in a real pickle here. I want to maintain confidentiality, but I feel really strongly about what they told me. I don’t know what to do. What would you do?” Now anyone who has worked with me knows that it’s not for me to answer that question. We know that the person with the problem is the best person to solve the problem. The best way to help is to listen (actively) and to ask the questions that...
What Are You Going To Do About It? (WT555)
This was the question the guy at the counter asked Ross when Ross pointed out the damage to the bumper bar on our motorhome. “What am I going to do about it? Ross repeated the question. “I’m not going to do anything. You’re going to get it fixed. It was you (as in their company) who damaged it”, Ross continued. We had taken the motorhome to get its yearly service on the truck and engine. It was also due for registration, so we needed a roadworthy certificate. We had only recently had the bumper bar replaced after waiting almost 12 months. “How about you get it fixed and we’ll waive the...
When You Can’t Decide (WT554)
I don’t have any trouble making a decision, unless I can’t make a decision. That sounds odd, don’t you think. Here’s what I mean. Ross and I had wanted to get e-bikes for about a year now. About a month ago we decided to purchase them. (As a side note, you haven’t made a decision until you take action.) Ross did the initial research to get a ballpark figure for what the bikes might cost. There was a huge variation in price. We narrowed it down to a couple of brands. Ross researched the distributors and stockists (many of whom had none in stock). Finally he found a business that specialised...