Creating Sustainable Performance

The attached article “Creating Sustainable Results” by Harvard Business Review highlights the most important piece of every business out there!  It’s a must read for all leaders who really want to create an environment of top performers, financial success, and leaving a foot print of ethical standards for others to follow.  Its key to note that when I talk about “happy employees,”  I mean the ones that truly feel fulfilled, heard in their workplace, and the ones that produce great results.  I’m not talking about “happy employees” that are left alone, are not held to any metrics and really don’t want to do any work.

It’s really quite simple, happy employees=thriving business metrics that can last a life time if you can keep your employees engaged.  It’s certain that you’ll get stronger results from happy employees because they have more energy to give to the business.  Have you ever noticed how much energy and time unhappy employees waste; they are constantly thinking and communicating how unhappy they are, while happy employees are busy getting things done and constantly growing.  Take sometime to critically analyze your workplace; is this a place that you would thrive in?  How would you want to be treated if you were the employee?

Hope you enjoy the article…happy reading!

Creating Sustainable Performance

Embrace Failure

Do you embrace failure?  How long does it take you to recover mentally when you have failed?  Does it consume you for days, maybe even weeks or months; or can you bounce back fairly quickly?  It’s interesting to see that highly successful people bounce back quickly after experiencing a professional failure.

Mistakes are unavoidable and generally I find that when I try to avoid them, I make even more mistakes!  I’ve always lived my life enjoying the journey and experiences that come with it.  Everyone goes through “bitter sweet” moments but unfortunately a lot of people only get to experience the “bitter” and miss the sweetness.  We’ve all gone through situations that leave a bad taste in our mouth, this could be tough feedback, getting fired, getting dumped, making a bad choice…sometimes it’s so bad it stings.  The most exciting times after experiencing this bitter treat, is the aftermath of reflection; this is the time where you assume responsibility for your part in the matter or reflected on what you could have done differently to avoid the situation at all.  Now comes the Sweetness…this learning that you get is better then anything else; it comes from personal experience and it gives you so much information about yourself (if you chose to take it).  I love these moments and encourage anyone I mentor to embrace the tough times for they give you the best learnings!

Just remember, life has a way of testing you again and again if you haven’t learned your lesson yet.  The test can show up in so many new forms and when you finally get it, you will recognize that your pattern has been broken.  Self-reflection is the key to success…when you avoid this process, you avoid taking any type of responsibility and lose the sweetness that comes with the learning.

I love this quote: “Every problem you have in your life right now is your responsibility, regardless of who initially caused it.”

~Marc and Angel

Here’s a great article by Entrepreneur magazine on “Embracing Failure on the Path to Success”

Embracing Failure on the Path to Success

Do you suffer from Procrastination?

By nature, I am a procrastinator.  I love to do things when I’m “in the mood” or when I “feel like it” and one of my signature descriptors has been, “I do some of my best work when I’m under-pressure”.  In order to succeed in juggling many projects, priorities, schooling and most importantly motherhood; I have to turn on my ultra-organized switch and maintain a tight routine so that I accomplish the goals I’ve set.  Although this has not been the natural me, I quickly learned that I need the skill in order to succeed!  Interestingly enough, I am also much more productive when I have a set fitness schedule for the week; I notice a big change when my routine gets off-set, I suddenly start to see my productivity levels decrease (and so does my energy).  Being a leader requires us to know what makes us tick so that we are one step ahead of the game.  It is important to understand where our weaknesses lie so that we can make better decisions in the moment.  Check out the article link below by Fast Company to get a few more tips to end procrastination!

Get back to work by meeting procrastination head on!

Some steps to take if you are a procrastinator:

  1. Every time you feel like putting something off, write it down.  There might be a distinct pattern that you will see after doing this exercise for a month.  Perhaps you hate doing paperwork, or answering messages?  Maybe it’s a certain time of day where you procrastinate more then others?  All great questions to ask yourself.
  2. Once you detect a pattern, you can decide to delegate that specific task or perhaps schedule time each day to focus just on that one task?
  3. Schedule everything!  If you tend to procrastinate and area always “flying by the seat of your pants”; then write everything down and ensure that you stick to your schedule.  Your daytime will be your new best friend; but again you need to train yourself to use it each day sot hat you start to create a new habit for yourself.
  4. Start your day off my writing or modifying your ongoing to-do list.  I like to highlight things when I;m done so that at the end of my day, I can see everything that I have accomplished and I know what to move over to the next day.  Starting you day this way will also help you prioritize your to-do list.
  5. Set yourself some goals each day!  It feels so good to reach goals and to push yourself to amazing lengths.
  6. Share your learning’s!  Those who are around you can help support your journey and help hold you accountable.

Charlotte

You deserve what you settle for…

I was looking back at my personal blog and found this posting that I had made last year.  This statement is one that struck me to the core  and correlates to business and life in so many ways.  It is so important to raise a high bar when we are developing our businesses, holding our teams accountable and hiring our people; settling for less often creates many more bottlenecks, leaves people with a bad taste in their mouth and compromises our branding.  The most amazing connection is the one between work and life…when you settle at work, are you also settling in our personal life?  What is the benefit in doing so? What is the cost in doing so?  Such a great exercise to reflect on.  Below is the original post:

You deserve what you settle for… 

Ever read something and it completely knocks you on your ass and suddenly things just become clear? One day I stumbled upon “You deserve what you settle for” and clarity literally smacked me right in the face! A statement that really just sums up most of my past learning’s; think of all the times you failed to act quickly or delay decisions that you know needed to be made. Then you end up in a situation where you are not happy or feel disappointed and all the while you could have changed things much sooner (when your internal gauge started to tell you something was wrong or the situation/person didn’t match your values). Is it a bold statement to think that we deserve what we get if we’re not willing to change things on our own? I felt so much freedom with this realization…if I settled for less then mediocre…well then I got what I deserved!

Isn’t it so amazing that life is all based on our ability to make choices and take responsibility for the results that we get? Sometimes the lessons sting, but then again the learning’s are a sweet reward if you choose to find it.
Charlotte

5 things remarkable bosses never do!

5 things Remarkable Bosses Never Do!

As a leader, there certain things that you should stay away from doing.  In the past they might have been part of a leaders’ protocol, but as businesses change it is important to adapt and re-align to new priorities!  Check out this great article posted by INC Magazine.

The Golden Rule applies to business more then we know!

Now please don’t confuse the definition of this post with “he who has the gold makes all the rules”; I know I am mixing a principle often connected to religion with business, but my intention is to highlight why the true definition of the rule should be a day to day practice for us all!  Through my learnings over the years, I have seen all too many times the impact that  leaders in power positions have on their business just by how they treat their staff.  I was always lucky for the most part to position myself with company’s/leaders that valued its staff but I really saw a major difference in other companies around me.

I remember as a child being told how important the golden rule was, especially when I was being taught a lesson in how to treat my friends.  I carried these lessons as I grew older and really applied them to my core values as I became a leader.  I understood that the more I gave to others, the more I grew and strengthened as a leader.  The primary secret to having a successful business comes from the focus and attention we put on our staff and to the community that supports us; you will always get back what you give and the people who us support you will do the same as well!

Another part to this is often we aspire to be amazing leaders; we have dreams of being great to those around us but work and life ends up throwing us so many curveballs that we end up reacting and having very little time to be the greatness we so wanted to be!  Setting some time aside to think about our leaders’ legacy is a vital part of setting goals and re-gaining perspective as to what our true priorities are.

If you find yourself falling into the re-active category, here are a few steps you can take to control and re-position yourself as a leader:

  1. Set some time aside and create a list summarizing the traits you want to be known for as a leader.
  2. Sets some goals based on the list you created above.  For example, if you want to spend more time with your employees each week…book the time, enrol your staff in your new vision and ensure that you stick to it! Follow through is directly connected to your integrity!
  3. Share your learnings with those around you (your staff and those who support your business).  Share with them your goals and ask them for feedback; they will want to support your journey as it will directly impact how you lead them and the time you make for them.
  4. Take some time to develop yourself, even if it means that you listen to audio books in the car if you don’t have the time to read.  Surrounding ourselves with new knowledge will inevitably start to influence the decisions we make in the moment.  Some great reads are “First Break all the Rules,” “The 5 levels of Leadership,” “Strengths Finder,”  “Strengths Based Leadership,” and “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.
  5. Re-training yourself and your habits is much like a new workout regimen; you must be diligent and put thought into every movement you are doing to ensure you are training your muscles correctly.  Frequency is the key to success!
  6. Hold yourself accountable by asking for continuous feedback from those around you; create an open environment where your staff feel comfortable to approach you to talk about where they stand.
  7. Touch base with that list you first created (quarterly is sufficiant).  There will be times where you fall back into old patterns, don’t get too hard on yourself; just go back at #1 and start the list again.

We are all human and we all make mistakes, but its how we correct these mistakes and impact those around us that really counts towards our leaders’ legacy.  And just remember…treat those around you the way you yourself would what to be treated!

Charlotte

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