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How to Manage #MeToo Fears with Courage as a Boss

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#MeToo.Managing.4“60% of male managers are uncomfortable interacting with female co-workers.” (Sheryl Sandberg, Interview on CBS This Morning, 5/17/2019)

Today, many male bosses are fearful of accusations of sexism or harassment due to #MeToo. It is why male bosses refuse or avoid 1:1 meetings, travel, and work dinners/lunches with women.

This trend is hurting women and others in the workplace.  “Business is a team sport and we must engage all genders in our quest to create a better future.” (Rachel Mushahwar, VP & GM at Intel)

In addition, many women are not mentored and overlooked for promotions. They are rated on “how people feel about working with them,” while their male colleagues are evaluated on “the quality and results of their work.”

Reality: a true high-performing team is representative of everyone.

The truth is, all bosses need to remember ignoring fears won’t make them go away. It requires courage and a new level of awareness for bosses to learn from and move past #MeToo fears. This is how you prevent accusations of sexism, harassment, and other discrimination.

7 Tips for Building Awareness

Job Fit Assessments. These tools help bosses (men and women) manage by reducing subjectivity. They improve the boss’s ability to hire, coach, manage and train with more objectivity. When you use factual data, everyone wins.

Persuasive Listening. When bosses and employees disagree, most do not know how to talk it out before it becomes a conflict. Do not allow conflicts or rifts in relationships to continue. As a boss, it’s your responsibility to learn how to elicit the best in others when talking and working with anyone.

Keep It Business Focused. When meeting with employees, bosses or co-workers, keep it focused on business. Stay away from sharing gossip, jokes, or personal issues. These can come back to bite you.  When hosting events follow these three fundamental rules: 1) hold them in public venues, 2) limit your intake of alcohol, and 3) never gossip about work or people.

Share Selectively. Women are more likely to share personal and family challenges with others than men. Be responsible for what you share and who you share it with. Sadly, studies have shown women can be less supportive of other women’s challenges, particularly when there is a promotion at stake.

Hire an Executive Coach. Take workshops that help you understand human nature and hire an executive coach. This combination will improve your confidence, competence, and courage. Remember, good management and supervisory skills are developed over time.

Mistakes Happen. You will make mistakes along the way. Apologize and don’t do it or say it again!

Commitment to Success. Successful bosses know the commitment to each and every person’s success creates high performing results-producing teams.

My interactions with men and women bosses have shown that both are fearful of #MeToo.  Courageous bosses have the courage to overcome these fears. When bosses overcome these #MeToo fears they creates a workplace free from sexism, harassment and other types of discrimination.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Are you a boss that needs the courage to handle confusing situations with your employees? Jeannette Seibly has been an award-winning champion for bosses for the past 26 years. Contact Jeannette today for straight talk with dynamic results.

Did you know only 10% of teams are top performing results-producers?
Do you want to know why? This download is FREE when you join SeibCo’s weekly eNews.

 

Why You Are Not Being Promoted to the Executive Level

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Executive Level.2Lately, I’ve been talking with a number of people who are frustrated due to not being promoted. These conversations are the genesis for this article.

Did you know that almost 40 percent of new executives fail within 6 to 18 months?

What can you do to avoid becoming part of this statistic?

I’ve talked with many up-and-coming executives that believe “I’ve got this handled.” Although they were able to talk their way through the interview process, they did not convey the management, decision-making, and communication skills required to succeed as an executive. Some simply were not ready and did not know why.

Remember, you won’t have time to acquire these required skills after you are promoted since decisions at the executive level impact the entire company in real time.

What are the top 3 skills to learn before becoming an executive?

 1. Do you have the emotional intelligence required?

  • -Are you aware of your impact on others?
  • -Do you manage appropriately?
  • -Are you aware and able to work through biases you have towards others?
  • -Are you able to compromise with others without sacrificing integrity?
  • -Do you effectively manage the impact you have on others in the workplace and with clients?

A mid-level manager, a GenXer, felt in his heart and mind that he was ready. He thought he had done the work, but, found out after he received his promotion that his new boss expected him to directly resolve sensitive client and employee controversies. Before his promotion, his former boss had resolved sticky situations. As a result, he lacked the experience, skills, and relationships to get issues resolved. Three months later, he was fired after a major client threatened to leave.

2. “Can you talk the talk?”

  • -Do you think, speak, and make decisions in a consistent and objective business manner?
  • -Words have power.
  • -Decisions made as an executive matter a lot!

An ‘older-millennial’ believed he was ready for a promotion to the executive level. But, others believed he lacked the ability to make good decisions and communicate at the executive level. For example, instead of using numbers and facts to back up his assertions, he used words like, “I feel” and “others wouldn’t be happy if we did that.” He soon left to become an executive for a competitor. Six months later he was fired for poor job fit. He still lacked the ability to communicate and make decisions at the executive level.

As an executive, you are an advocate for the entire company. It’s a huge job, and, at times, requires you to make unpopular decisions. Your ability to build relationships and communicate effectively is built over time, not in the moment. Additionally, strong financial skills are required and can be learned by starting with the basics.

3. “Are you coachable?”

  • -Do you have a coach? Most successful executives have coaches.

A mid-level director wanted to become an executive. But, she believed the executive team was “too male-oriented” for her to be accepted as an executive. Instead of hiring a coach and spearheading a campaign for her promotion, she kept waiting for the right time. That time never came and she left after a company merger.

What prevented her from becoming an executive? She lacked the willingness to take a risk and become her own advocate.

Moral of the story…hire the right coach for you, even if you have to pay for it yourself! It will be money well spent.

With the right coach, you will:

  • -Become a risk-taker and go for it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experience.
  • -Blast through “current challenges” that are in the way of building your “brags” and improving your experience, skills, and relationships.
  • -Boldly navigate through uncharted, and often, murky waters.
  • -Find out whether or not you’ve been sidelined and why. Then, with your coach, turnaround these situations.

Believe it or not, these stories are common and can happen to you! As an experienced coach, my advice to you as an aspiring executive is to prepare before the executive level promotion becomes available.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an experienced award-winning executive coach. She has been a champion for people achieving results for the past 26 years. Her clients have created more fun, 6-figure incomes, and success when working through confusing situations. Develop your executive persona and avoid being sidelined.  Contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

How to Improve Confusing Situations by Talking Them Out

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Confusing situationsWe’ve all experienced confusing situations in our jobs and relationships that we wished would simply go away. These situations can be messy, political, and fear-filled, and outcomes unpredictable. We justify our fears by thinking “I don’t have the time or ability to improve the situation.”

Confusing situations throw you off-balance. To improve them, you must get outside your comfort zone. Remember, your inner mental chatter rarely improves or resolves anything. It’s the outside “chatter” or “talking it out” directly with the person or team, that makes the difference. This creates the potential for win-win-win outcomes.

The Top 5 Approaches that Don’t Work!

  • -Manipulating the Situation. Being a “know-it-all” and dominating the conversation won’t improve the situation.
  • -Blaming Others. Not taking responsibility for the situation won’t improve the outcome.
  • -Denial. Pretending a confusing situation doesn’t exist won’t have it magically disappear.
  • -Lying. Are you willing to put at risk your job, promotions, and pay increases? The truth always surfaces one way or the other.
  • -Fear. When fear is your overriding emotion, your commitment to resolving confusing situations disappears.

It’s time to commit, stand up, and talk it out.

  • –If you have a problem working with your boss, sending out your resume won’t improve the relationship. Talk it out with your boss or HR.
  • –When you are upset with an employee’s behavior, ignoring or sidelining them won’t improve them! Instead, talk it out, rewrite their job description, and/or hire them a coach.
  • –When a client has lied to you, refusing to return their calls or ignoring them won’t resolve the issue. Instead, talk it out face-to-face after receiving coaching on how to do it effectively. (Don’t rely on previous experiences or current feelings to improve the situation!)
  • –If you have a negative attitude towards your neighbor, building a fence won’t heal the issue. Talking it out over a BBQ can.
  • –Implementing a new business model to fix the old model won’t improve a confusing situation. Instead, hire the right industry mentor and experienced executive coach to talk it out and resolve the underlying issue.

A Checklist for Win-Win-Win Outcomes

Talking it out and expanding what’s possible in the job or relationship is key to improving confusing situations. It takes time and requires sharing your POVs while listening to others’ POVs!  

  1. Ask a “what if…” question as an inquiry. (Hint: This means there is no right answer.)

For example:

  • -“What if each employee was responsible for being engaged in their job, what would that look like?”
  • -“What if you changed your job description, how would that improve your results with clients?”
  1. Engage your boss or everyone on the team through brainstorming. Yes, you want to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions.
  2. Listen for the golden nuggets in each person’s POV on how to improve the situation.
  3. Stay away from biases or quick fixes.
  4. When the proverbial elephant shows up in the room, be vulnerable by sharing it openly and honestly instead of ignoring it.
  5. Align everyone on a solution before addressing the details.
  6. Fear will naturally arise when people operate outside their comfort zones. Talk it out. For example, “Where could we find new resources?” (This moves you past the excuses of why it won’t work.)
  7. Remind the team daily of the goal and intended outcomes. When new situations arise, and, they will, it’s time to talk further!
  8. Track success. Celebrate and brag about it.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly has been a champion for people achieving results for the past 26 years. As an award-winning coach, she has helped 100s of bosses create more fun, 6-figure incomes, and success when working through confusing situations. Improve the outcomes of your confusing situations by contacting Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Successful bosses have coaches! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn how to solve your 3-P concerns (people, project, and performance). When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

 

Surprisingly, Listening to Feedback Can Make You Promotable

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feedback.promotable.3A 43-year-old boss was critical and subjective when giving feedback to his employees. They reacted by ignoring him, arguing with him, or simply continue to do it their own way. When his director demanded he learn how to give feedback to motivate his team, he gave in and hired a coach. He quickly learned he didn’t like receiving feedback either! The first lesson for bosses, it’s important to learn to receive feedback as well as give it!

Giving and receiving feedback can be difficult today. The #1 challenge according to research, “we aren’t the reliable raters of other people’s performance that we think we are; …” (HBR, 2019)

As bosses, higher level management encourages us to be critical of others. They believe this motivates everyone to excel. The truth is, most employees don’t listen to feedback, even when it is constructively offered. This hurts everyone’s ability to learn and be promotable.

Consider, you can learn something from anyone. This is feedback and makes you promotable. It requires you to choose to listen and hear what others are saying, particularly when you don’t want to do so. Otherwise, you risk having your career sidelined.

Why We Don’t Want Feedback

When you are emotionally attached to doing it your way, you don’t care what others think and blow off their feedback. You will argue your results are good enough and disregard the outcome or impact on others. This attitude towards feedback will derail your career.

How to Learn from Feedback

Listen Up! Do you want to be promotable? It’s crucial to fine-tune your willingness to hear feedback. When you listen through the filter of being criticized, you will feel criticized. If you listen to someone’s feedback as a gift, you will find it valuable. It’s always your choice!

Role-play from POV. Instead of ignoring feedback, role-play the feedback from the other person’s POV. This is a great way to better understand why they are saying what they are saying.

Listen for Objective Insights. Promotable bosses embrace feedback, even when shared subjectively. Deep dive by asking questions to uncover objective concerns. Remember, there is no absolute correct way to do anything. For example, there are over 100 ways to wash dishes!

Hire a Coach. Learning from feedback gets you promoted faster. Hire a well-seasoned executive coach. This expert will guide you through the unwritten company rules and help you build a strong confident work style.

Build Team Comradery. When you disregard your team members’ feedback, they no longer trust you. Develop an openness and valuing feedback when designing a project or implementing a plan. It will improve your results and limit unwelcomed surprises. Listen and ask good questions to build alignment and don’t ignore nay-sayers. (Hint: Nay-sayers often provide the best feedback.)

Make Feedback Constructive. Use a job fit assessment to objectively clarify why you do what you do. Remember, every strength has an inherent weakness that impacts your outcome. You need feedback to recognize this.  For example, if you are a great listener, you will miss out on being introduced to decision-makers at networking meetings. Why? You allow highly sociable influencers (aka someone who talks nonstop) to get in your way of asking for introductions.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is a well-seasoned award-winning executive coach. She has been a champion for people achieving results for the past 26 years. As a result, her clients have created more fun, 6-figure incomes, and success when working through confusing situations. Develop your ability to give laser-like feedback.  Contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Successful bosses have coaches! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn how to solve your 3-P concerns (people, project, and performance). When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

Alert! Overconfidence is the Downfall for Managers Today

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Entefy is building the first universal communicator, an AI-powered communication platform that seamlessly connects people, services, and smart things.

Overconfidence has become a management trend today, according to many studies.

A new manager believed he was ready to lead a $25M dollar project, even though he had never run a $1M project before. He sold himself by making bold promises and embellishing his skills. 60 days later he was fired and wanted to know why. He hired a coach and learned he had management potential, but, he lacked the managerial experience required to manage a diverse team. Later, he found why. His team hadn’t trusted him and disregarded everything he said. They believed he was, “too full of himself.” In other words, he was overconfident in his skills and abilities.

The overconfidence dynamic happens when managers overestimate their abilities to perform and deliver.  When they fail, they are sidelined or fired without understanding the specific reasons why. To develop awareness, they need to set aside their I-got-this-handled attitudes. Then, listen, be coachable, and develop true inner confidence. (Hint: inner confidence is not based on ego or feelings; it’s based on a proven track record)

Are You Overconfident?

Awareness and mindfulness are important. At times, everyone has been or will be overconfident in their life and career. Learn to recognize and adjust the words or actions that signal you’re being overconfident. If you don’t, it may be your downfall.

Be honest about your skills. Take the time to conduct an accurate assessment of yourself. This includes talking with co-workers, bosses, customers, and vendors (a 360-degree review).  Also, use a scientifically validated job fit assessment. This type of assessment goes beyond how you want to be seen. It provides objective insights into your strengths, skills, and abilities needed to excel as a leader or boss.

Stop comparing yourself with others. Too often, when you see someone make a mistake, you may become arrogant and believe you would never make a similar mistake. This is one important example of being overconfident and lacking empathy.

Test your assumptions before declaring your decision. Too often we make important judgments and decisions based on fragments of information. We fail to deep dive objectively into the pros and cons. Contact your network!  90% of the world’s information is in people’s heads, not the internet.  Questions to get answered: Why did it work for that company? What are the differences between the companies? What is the “insider” information? This kind of analysis can help you make confident decisions.

Listen to others’ feedback and concerns. While it may seem easier to only focus on the positives, a healthy skepticism has saved many people’s careers and financial outcomes. All feedback is valuable.

Recognize when it’s the right time. While many ideas may be viable with modifications, it may not be the right time or place to put them into action. Beware if you’ve mulled an idea around in your head too long, it may no longer make a positive difference.

How to Work with Overconfident Managers

Stay aware and mindful in conversations. Listen up when your manager’s decision impacts you, your project, team, budget, etc.  Ask good open-ended questions to learn how the decision was made.

Stand up and speak up. While it’s important to be assertive in these situations, diplomacy is critical. Remember, you may be right…but, overconfident bosses may ignore you in the future if their ego feels threatened.

If their idea or assertion does not impact you, avoid confrontation. Choose which issues to pursue. Otherwise, when a major issue needs to be resolved, overconfident managers will not be open to listening to you.

While we’ve all experienced overconfidence at one time or another, learn from the above strategies to avoid downfalls and create healthy inner confidence.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly has been a champion for people achieving results for the past 26 years. As an award-winning coach, she has helped 100s of bosses create more fun, 6-figure incomes, and success when working through confusing situations. Develop a healthy inner-confidence by contacting Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Successful bosses have coaches! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn how to solve your 3-P concerns (people, project, and performance). When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

Prevent Your Employees from Making Costly Mistakes

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Mistakes.2As a boss, how do you take an active role in preventing your employees from making costly mistakes?

  • -Address and simplify written employee policies and company procedures.
  • -Develop mentoring programs to help everyone navigate unwritten rules.
  • -Review practices employees have inadvertently created.
  • -Have an open door and open mind to hear what employees are telling you.

As you implement the above actions, be aware:

  • -In the U.S., average reading accuracy and comprehension is 8th-grade level or below. (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
  • -Many workers lack experience on how to prevent mistakes from occurring.
  • -Many fail to understand that shortcutting has an impact on others.
  • -Many employees lack the confidence to stand up and speak up.
  • -Employees are afraid of the repercussions from unwritten rules. This often includes “don’t tell or else.”

The good news is, mistakes can be prevented with awareness, training, and focused action.

Pay Now or Pay Later

Take Responsibility. When your employees suspect a problem, don’t downplay their concerns. If you do, you are less likely to hear about future issues. Never assume theft, harassment, or safety violations can’t happen on your watch.

Hire and Promote for Job Fit. When people fit their jobs and have strong work ethics, they are interested in doing their jobs well. Studies show job fit reduces costly mistakes in communication, ability to work with others, and work habits. Job fit also improves effectiveness in handling challenges. Use a scientifically validated assessment tool to determine job fit. Don’t forget to use an honesty and integrity assessment to uncover information about the theft and/or other previous employment issues not found in public background checks.

Review Confidentiality Requirements. People love to gossip. But, you never know who is listening at the next table. When insider information is shared, it hurts sales opportunities, funding, and the ability to launch new products. Remind everyone of their confidentiality agreements and advise them to keep sensitive information private.

Talk It Out. Talk It Out! Preventing mistakes can be a challenge since many people don’t believe there is a problem until after a mistake has occurred. Ethical issues are more challenging since spinning the facts has become an acceptable excuse. Remember, the truth will come out! When mistakes occur, your job is to listen with the intention of uncovering the facts. Investigate immediately before addressing with the person or persons directly involved. Be resilient in ensuring the right things are being done the best way for everyone.

Review Systems. When was the last time you and your employees reviewed policies, procedures, systems, and protocols? (In my experience, these are done maybe once and never reviewed again.) What needs to be updated? Periodically, facilitate a review with your employees. Provide training for how to handle concerns and make changes for the benefit of everyone.

These practices are how you can take a proactive role in preventing mistakes from occurring, now and in the future.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

For the past 26 years, Jeannette Seibly has been a champion for people achieving results. She has helped 100s of bosses create more fun, 6-figure incomes, and success when working through confusing situations. To ensure you are preventing mistakes from occurring, contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Successful bosses have coaches! Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn how to solve your 3-P concerns (people, project, and performance). When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

Does Gratitude Make You a Better Boss?

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Thank you.BossAbsolutely! Expressing gratitude shows that you care about your employees, job, clients, and boss. It’s a smart way to motivate others and keep morale up, particularly when faced with challenges.

When bosses and leaders are grateful for their employees, these employees will be 50% more productive. (Wharton School of Business study)

Expressing your gratitude can be done both verbally and in writing. Remember, your words and actions make a big difference in keeping talent and building a positive workplace culture.

Ways to Express Gratitude

Brag! Bragging about your employees sets an example for them to brag about each other. Include the small wins as well as the bigger ones!

Be Sincere. When expressing gratitude, it must be sincere. That will develop trust and increase job satisfaction. Set aside your ego. Learn to acknowledge others for each and every effort, even if it’s part of their everyday job.

Be Specific. Vague feedback or compliments are meaningless. Talk straight about the specific behavior or action an employee or boss has taken when expressing gratitude. This provides clarity about behaviors, attitudes, and actions they should repeat.  For example, say to an employee, “Thank you for taking the extra time to work with the client. They expressed to me their appreciation for your patience.”

Set an Example. Be humble and acknowledge specific roles people played in helping you and your team achieve the goals. For example, “Thank you for your great ideas during our brainstorming session. Because of your willingness to think outside the box, we nailed the issue and successfully completed our last project on time and within budget.”

Be Positive. Being grateful is not a one-time expression. It’s being thankful, even in the face of challenges. For example, when an employee hands in an assignment late, express appreciation to start a conversation in a positive tone. Then, you can delve into the challenges that need to be addressed to have assignments done on-time in the future.

Say Please & Thank You! These two powerful phrases still express a lot of gratitude when said with sincerity. Use frequently for best results!

So here we go … Thank you for reading this post! You are appreciated. (It felt good, didn’t it?!)

Remember, developing gratitude is learned by practicing it over and over (on a daily basis) until it becomes a natural part of who you are as a boss!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning speaker, coach, and business owner. During the past 26 years, she has guided bosses to create more fun, money, and success when working through confusing situations. Stuck in a project or other situation?  Contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Are you a millennial boss that wants to make a positive difference? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn about people, projects, and productivity solutions. When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

How to Handle Rejection as the Boss

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women-business-rejectionEvery boss has experienced rejection from their employees. Today, younger employees are more vocal and dismissive about what they will and won’t do. Older employees will question and rebuff the decisions made by their younger bosses.

More so than ever, learning how to handle rejection is critical for a boss’s success.

If the fear of rejection is getting in your way, you’re not alone. It takes courage, communication, and the right coach to work through your fear and experience of rejection.

Your future success requires you to do so quickly or you will derail your career.

Overcoming the Fear of Rejection

Don’t Take “No” Personally. If team members are not accepting or not getting assignments done, it’s not personal. Use a qualified job fit tool to determine why. The assessment will clarify the person’s strengths and interests. Now, you can assign projects based on their strengths.  For example, if you need numbers crunched, ask the team member with the financial skills and interest to get the job done.

Get Over the Need to be Well-Liked. Most bosses want to be well-liked. But, remember being well-liked does not make you a better boss. Instead of wanting to be well-liked, focus on gaining respect. Give all team members the chance to shine and stop giving the best assignments to the team members you like.

Make Your Requests Positive. When you fear the word, “no,” your words and gestures will convey your fears. Move past this fear by having every request include how it will benefit the person, your boss, and/or team.  For example, “Joe, our team needs this projection for our next meeting. It will get us all on the same page. Can you help us?”

Seek Out “No’s.”  To get comfortable hearing this two-letter word, seek it out. Make requests of people daily who will normally say, “no.” For example, “Can you loan me a million dollars?” “Do you want to buy this product now?” Remember, “no” is not a personal rejection.

Develop Resilience. Embracing your fear of rejection will help you develop resilience. Hire the right coach to talk you through how to make requests, shake off past experiences, work with difficult employees, and embrace rejection. It will make you a better boss.

To be a great boss, learn how to handle rejection as a normal part of being a boss. Your career will thank you.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

For the past 26 years, Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert. She has helped 100s of millennial bosses create more fun, money, and success when working through confusing situations. To develop your resilience, contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

Are you a millennial boss that wants to make a positive difference? Sign up for our weekly newsletter to learn about people, project, and productivity solutions. When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

How to Simplify the Work Process and Enjoy More Personal Time

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KeyFinding time to pursue interests outside of work is important. Keeping your team on track and productive is also important. When you simplify and structure your work process, you and your team will have more time to pursue personal interests. (Also, it makes for happier employees!)

Five Keys to Simplify and Structure

Clarify Goal, Purpose, and Actions. Clarity about the goal and purpose of a project, task, or interaction will speed up achieving the results. Also, don’t forget to include any limitations mandated by the customer or boss. Work with your team to brainstorm a strategy and create a focused-action plan and checklist. Then, manage the team to ensure focused-action is being taken. Quickly address overlooked items and obstacles. Do not procrastinate on this.

Write It Down. Written goals and focused-action plans move ideas out of people’s heads and onto paper. These critical processes will get everyone on the same page and make it easier to see what is missing. It also limits distractions or side activities that detract from achieving the goal. Use a written timeline as a checklist to determine the progress you and your team are making. Writing it down gives you more personal time.

Communication. Communicate with the team on a frequent basis. Use team meetings, 1:1 meetings, emails, and electronic messaging to keep everyone up-to-date. Don’t forget to include brags about each and every team member’s achievements.

Delegate. Know the strengths of each team member, including yours. For example, if someone is great at cost analysis, use him or her to create the ROI. Provide cross-training whenever possible. It builds a resilient team when mistakes or the unexpected happens.

Integrity. The most important key is to do what you say you will do by when you say you will do it. (This sentence is worth reading again!) When something happens that is not in your plan, immediately get in communication to resolve it. Remember, your team is following your lead!

These five keys will not only allow for a high level of productivity, they will also provide you and your team time to pursue personal interests.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

For the past 26 years, Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert. She has helped 1,000s of people create more fun, money, and inspiring results. To learn more about building a productive and resilient team while gaining more personal time, contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

To receive our keys to your success, sign up to receive our weekly newsletter. When you register, you will receive FREE “How to Select the Best Coach for You!”

How to Win and Blast Past Procrastination

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procrastination“Procrastinating today will limit tomorrow’s opportunities.” Jeannette Seibly

Everyone has ideas, thoughts, and plans they would love to achieve. They dream and visualize the results and outcomes. Yet, they don’t take action. Instead, they use excuses and blame procrastination, creating a no-win game!

Why do we procrastinate? The reality is, it doesn’t matter because we all have 100’s of reasons why.

Procrastination is a common phenomenon that you create!

The good news is, you create procrastination, so you can win by blasting past it.

Start by asking yourself these two questions:

  • What would happen if I took action today?
  • How will this support me in one month, one quarter, or one year?

Take Action Today!

Write it down. Knowing what you really really really want is important. Writing it down makes it real!

Recently I worked with a woman who had retired to pursue her dream of becoming a best-selling author. We completed her past accomplishments and created her goal. But, during the process, she shared her true dream of travel. Her fear was she couldn’t afford it. She had stopped believing in her ability to have her dream come true. The first step, she wrote down her true goal and blasted past procrastination.

Be Clear. Once, you’re clear about your true dream, it’s time to write. At the top of a clean sheet of paper, write down the real goal. At the bottom of that page, write down where you are now. Your fears and excuses will come up, procrastination will take over. It may feel like looking up the side of a steep daunting mountainside. To blast past procrastination, successful climbers know to focus on one step at a time.

Breathe and Move Forward! Once you take your first step, you are on your way. Your fear of failure, success or anything else will naturally fall by the wayside as you take one step at a time. Remember, avoid engaging in the “someday, maybe” syndrome that will sabotage you. And, remember, keep breathing as you move forward today in pursuit of your goal.

Honor Your Commitment. Focused action steps speak louder than whatever you tell yourself and others. It’s a step by step process, not a sprint to the goal line. (Think, climbing a mountainside.) Create a focused action plan. Write the milestones on the sheet of paper with your goal to track your progress. Whenever, you feel procrastination beckoning (and, it will), review your progress. Create brags and post them on your mirror. These reminders will fuel more progress and keep you committed.

Talk It Out. When procrastination hits and you get distracted by the shiny object syndrome or run into avoidable problems, talk it out. Hire a coach to guide you through the process. Hire an accountant to create a realistic return on investment (real numbers, not fantasy ones will keep you in action). Find mentors that can provide contacts and insights about your idea or project (use a Non-Disclosure Agreement). Remember, talking it out will provide the critical thinking required to achieve your goal!

Celebrate. Celebrate each and every step and accomplishment. Update your “brags.” As you move forward, notice how other areas of your life expand. Celebrate them too!

Remember, procrastinating today will limit tomorrow’s opportunities.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019

For the past 26 years, Jeannette Seibly has been recognized as a catalyst and leadership expert. She has helped 1,000s of people create more fun, money, and inspiring results. To learn more about kicking procrastinations butt, contact Jeannette for straight talk with dynamic results.

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