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You are here: Home / Archives for growth

Achieve More as a Leader

May 29, 2013 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

Are you getting the results you had hoped to achieve? Are you hitting your goals? More importantly, is your team hitting its goals? Either you are moving forward along the right path or you have lost direction along the way. Even if you are hitting your goals, there is always another mountain to climb, right? I mean, you’re a successful leader, and you are looking to make other leaders successful, too, right? If you’re looking for more achievement on a consistent basis, I believe you can achieve just that with a few simple changes.

1. Set goals
Your mind is good at finding solutions. You can help yourself a lot by doing a good job of planning and prioritizing your objectives. The simplest way to do this is to write down your goals and include deadlines for each of them. Read them once a day, and discuss them with your team at least once a week.

2. Be organized
Yes, I’m going to talk about making lists and time-blocking. You need something to guide your day, right? I have found that I do much better by making and reviewing my lists at night. Before I go to bed each night, along with packing my clothes for the gym, and making sure my briefcase is packed, I make a list with all the things I want to accomplish the next day. I also keep a pad and pen on my nightstand, in case I get an idea during the night.

3. Maintain the Right Attitude
People who are happy and successful usually have a positive attitude. That’s what allows them to move forward with confidence. This is a state of mind, not an act. Minor issues or challenges don’t bother them because they have a belief system that things will work out well in the end. They also keep the big picture in mind, so minor challenges are just that…minor.

4. Peer-Up
It is no secret that you will often achieve about as much as the people with whom you spend the most time. If you want to be successful, spend time as frequently as you can with people who are more successful than you. Successful people look at many things differently than those who are less successful. Integrating some of these ideas into your own thinking will likely bring you more successes of your own. Secondly, you’ll be exposed to new opportunities. High-achieving people frequently have all kinds of projects going on. You never know when they might need a helping hand. You may also get to connect with their peer group, who are likely to be very successful as well.

5. Help Others
Offering your services and being helpful to others will attract like-minded people into your life. It shows that you are someone who cares and wants to be significant in the lives of others. Doors and opportunities will open for you, but your best reward is in knowing that you are capable of making a difference in the life of someone else.

6. Make time for fun
You should never find yourself so busy or so focused on your journey to success that you sacrifice those you love to it or for it! Make and schedule time to do the things you love to do, with those you love to be with.

These 6 simple ideas can bring you much success, if you choose to use them. You know, being successful is really no more challenging than being unsuccessful. Both require specific actions and attitudes applied consistently over a period of time.

Enjoy the ride!

 

Equip Your Leadership with Effective Organization Skills

April 24, 2013 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

As a leader, it’s important to have a well-organized approach to your work and your personal life. Taking time to organize at work and at home will help ensure you have the energy and focus you need to lead effectively. Here are some action-items YOU can take to ensure you are effectively managing all the demands on your time.

• Your time: Let’s start with your calendar. Take some time to review everything that currently requires your time. Cancel all unnecessary appointments and prioritize the rest. Delegate the clutter (tasks you don’t need to complete personally). I recommend you use a time blocking system, whereby you block out time for certain activities and make no exceptions during those times. I work with clients through this process often and the results are great. A good rule to follow: If the tasks don’t point towards your personal or business vision, why complete them?

• Your physical space: To maximize daily productivity, it’s important that your workspace be organized. This includes your paper files, mail inbox, bookshelves, storage, and anything else in your physical workspace. Place the items you need to complete daily activities within reaching distance of your desk. Take some time to purge paper files you don’t need to keep for legal or documentation reasons. Sort through mail, magazines, and other documents. You might even benefit from re-arranging your office so things flow better. This is something I personally struggle with and recently worked to get under control.

• Your Computer: After your physical space is arranged, it’s time to clean up your electronic life. This means your e-mail, your computer desktop, electronic documents, and even your contact list. How you choose to store your electronic files is up to you, but it’s important that your electronic space is organized in a way that’s easy to use.

• Your Mobile Devices: Whether you’re a Blackberry fanatic or an iPhone lover, chances are, you have some type of portable communication device strapped to you at all times. So, take some time to organize all the files, contacts, and applications on your mobile device. Don’t bog down your portable device with a bunch of photos and large files you rarely use. Also, take the time to update your phone message, and clean out your voice mailbox.

• Your habits: We are all one big habit! Take an organizational approach to your habits, both good and bad ones. Whether or not you realize it, all your habits have a big impact on your work and your personal life. When coaching clients, one-on-one, we work on these a lot. Making you more effective is always the goal. If there are bad habits you’d like to break, examine them one at a time, and create a plan for how you’re going to tackle each one. If there are good habits you want to cement, take the same approach. Then, equip yourself with the tools and accountability partner (like a coach). Adopt the habits you need to have a more fulfilled, balanced life. Everything else, get rid of.

• Your personal life: Yes, we look at this, too! Set aside some time to examine your personal time. How effective are you? Find someone objective (like a coach) to help you with this. Make sure your schedule also allows ample time for family, friends, community involvement, and hobbies.

• Your priorities: Once you have taken the time to organize all the above areas, consider how your priorities align with how you spend your time, at work and at home. Ask yourself the difficult questions. Realize that your life is made up of a limited amount of time. Each activity you invest time into requires a certain opportunity cost. What are the low priority items costing you?

In today’s world, the lines between work and home are getting increasingly blurry. I’m happy to tell you that YOU can regain control of your time by taking these steps. Going through this process will not only give you peace of mind in uncertain times, it also will equip you with the clarity and focus your work and your team deserve. Take a good, hard look at your priorities, and reorganize your time as needed to create and experience the best possible life. What are you waiting for? Get started today and have a great week!

 

Get in the “Effectiveness” Groove

February 25, 2013 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

effectivness

As a leader, it’s important to have a well-organized and disciplined approach to your work and your personal life. Taking time to organize and prioritize at work and at home will help ensure you have the energy and focus you need to lead effectively. Here are some action-items I use with my clients to assist them in improving their overall effectiveness:

• Your time: Let’s start with your calendar. Whether it’s electronic or paper, take some time to review everything that currently requires your time. I recommend you use a time blocking system, whereby you block out time for certain required activities and make no exceptions during those times. Delegate the clutter (tasks you don’t need to complete personally). I work with clients through this process often and the results are great. A good rule to follow: If the tasks don’t point towards you personal or business vision, delegate or dump them!

• Your physical space: To maximize daily productivity, it’s important that your workspace be organized. This includes your paper files, mail inbox, bookshelves, storage, and anything else in your physical workspace. Place the items you need to complete daily activities within reaching distance of your desk. Take some time to purge paper files you don’t need to keep for legal or documentation reasons. Sort through mail, magazines, and other documents. You might even benefit from re-arranging your office so things flow better. This is something I personally struggle with and recently worked to get under control. Get rid of the clutter!

 

• Your Computer: After your physical space is arranged, it’s time to clean up your electronic life. This means your e-mail, your computer desktop, electronic documents, and even your contact list. How you choose to store your electronic files is up to you, but it’s important that your electronic space is organized in a way that’s easy to use.

 

• Your Mobile Devices: Whether you’re a Blackberry fanatic, Droid addict, or an iPhone lover, chances are, you have some type of portable communication device strapped to you at all times. So, take some time to organize all the files, contacts, and applications on your mobile device. Don’t bog down your portable device with a bunch of photos and large files you rarely use. Also, take the time to update your phone message, and clean out your voice mailbox. Don’t let these devices get you off your time-blocking schedule.

 

• Your habits: We are all one big habit! Take an organizational approach to your habits, both good and bad ones. Whether or not you realize it, all your habits have a big impact on your work and your personal life. When coaching clients, one-on-one, we work on these a lot. Making you more effective is always the goal. If there are bad habits you’d like to break, examine them one at a time, and create a plan for how you’re going to tackle each one. If there are good habits you want to cement, take the same approach. Then, equip yourself with the tools and accountability partner (like a coach). Adopt the habits you need to have a more fulfilled, balanced life. Everything else, get rid of.

 

• Your personal life: Yes, we look at these too! Set aside some time to examine your personal time. How effective are you? Find someone objective (like a coach) to help you with this. Make sure your schedule also allows ample time for family, friends, community involvement, and hobbies.

 

• Your priorities: Once you have taken the time to organize all the above areas, consider how your priorities align with how you spend your time, at work and at home. Ask yourself the difficult questions. Realize that your life is made up of a limited amount of time. Each activity you invest time into requires a certain opportunity cost. What are the low priority items costing you?

 

In today’s world, the lines between work and home are getting increasingly blurry. I’m happy to tell you that YOU can regain control of your time by taking these steps that have proven to increase overall effectiveness. Going through this process will not only give you peace of mind in uncertain times, it also will equip you with the clarity and focus your work and your team deserve. Take a good, hard look at your priorities, and reorganize your time as needed to create and experience the best possible life. Call me if I can help. Have a great week!

 

Dave Ferguson
Dave@AskCoachDave.com

http://askcoachdave.com

 

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