Hi There!
Most people do not need a coach.
Coaching can be powerful. However, it requires a significant commitment of time, energy, attention, and money. It shouldn’t be the first thing you try.
Coaching requires time, energy, attention, and money.
Engage a coach only after you’ve tried several things and are still not getting the breakthrough you desire.
Now on to 5 Ideas To Unleash Your Leadership and Career This Week
How To Make Your Message Understood
"Effective communicators take responsibility for their message being understood. They help their audience understand their message better by communicating the idea in more than one way."
Any idea can be communicated at 3 levels - Concept, Content, and Context.
In this short post, I show you how to make your message understood by doing what effective communicators do. They don't stop at communicating their idea directly (Concept). They know when and how to zoom in and share details (Content), and when to zoom out and help the audience see the big-picture (Context).
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10 Ways To Make Your Network More Collaborative
"Networks are essential for collaboration, innovation, and career development. But too many executives have networks that, while they may be large, don’t have enough diversity to be effective."
Your network must help you keep pace with and anticipate changes, and help you evolve as the world evolves around you. This is only possible when your network is strategic, and when you are actively engaged.
In this short article, Herminia Ibarra shares 10 ways to make your network more collaborative including spending time with a start-up, spending a day with a millenial, and starting a blog.
RELATED: Getting Things Done Despite Spending Long Hours in Meetings
How To Stand Out While Fitting In
"Most of us want to have it both ways: We strive to belong and to be valued as individuals, thus achieving what psychologist Marilynn Brewer calls optimal distinctiveness — that careful balance between fitting in and standing out. To find this balance, we need to consider not only ourselves but those around us when seeking the perfect fit.”
Impactful leadership and successful careers require us to balance two seemingly opposite demands - to show that we belong by fitting in, and demonstrate our value by showing how we are unique.
In this article, Kathleen M. O’Connor and Randall S. Peterson share tips on how to stand out while fitting in. The specific actions they suggest include: identify what you will and will not disclose about yourself; experiment with how you show up at work; and pursue projects that simultaneously highlight how you fit-in and stand-out
RELATED: Leadership Burnout: How to Overcome It
How To Be Liked Without Appearing Needy
" Should you worry about being liked? Worry if your team dislikes you. People we don’t like seem wrong, stupid, or both – even if they’re smart. Choosing to be disliked is absurd..."
To be effective and to create significant impact, it is important that leaders be liked by their people. However, when a leader's need to be liked drives how they behave, they appear desperate and needy.
In this blog post, Dan Rockwell shows you how to be liked without appearing needy. His suggestions include finding common ground, giving genuine compliments, and co-operating with others
RELATED: What can I expect from executive coaching?
How To Convey A Positive Message Through Your Behaviour
"Some folks have a very narrow view of how they influence others. It’s not just what you say, but what you do; when you speak up or when you turn a blind eye; when you’re friendly or when you give folks the cold shoulder; when you hold steadfast to your values or when you give in to temptation. You send messages continuously — even if you don’t intend to."
How we behave affects others - how they see us, and how they respond to us. Much of this happens unconsciously. It can be powerful to use this power intentionally to influence others.
In this blog post, Frank Sonnenberg shows you how to convey a positive message through your behaviour. His suggestions include remaining even-keeled, being predictable, and being positive.
There is a rhythm to everything that is sustainable.
Peaks of high activity should be followed by a lull that restores and regenerates
Unfortunately, in the zeal to be productive, people tend to ignore this natural rhythm.
When it comes to exhaustion and burnout, people suggest “a break” - an extended period of rest and relaxation. Taking days away from work can help, but isn’t enough. Learn to use weekends more effectively to rejuvenate.
It is also important to integrate rest and recuperation into your workday by adding regular breaks to your routine.
Find your rhythm. It’s different for different people. Some people follow a 50/10 minutes activity/break cadence, while others like working longer spells. The nature of work may also dictate the pattern. Work with and around constraints.
What you do to restore your energy effectively varies from person to person. Experiment and figure out what works for you.
Exhaustion and burnout are byproducts of how work is normally structured. However, these are not inevitable. Experiment and find your own rhythm of work and rest that prevents exhaustion, reduces the possibility of burnout , and makes you more creative and productive.
Until next time!
Narayan
PS : When you are ready, here are some ways in which I can help you work on your skills so that you can create greater impact for your organisation, for your team, and on your own career.
1. Join the Unleash Your Leadership Community to be part of a community of like-minded professionals to learn new skills, get support from peers on your challenges, and learn by helping others address their challenges.
2. Sign up to Unleash Your Leadership Masterclasses be notified of workshops I conduct regularly. Topics include Career Success Strategies, Personal Branding, Strategic Communication, Delivering Through Others, and many more...
3. Work with me privately. If you’d like to explore how we can work together 1-on-1 to Unleash Your Leadership or Career for faster growth and greater fulfilment at work — Click Here
