It’s Q4…Now is The Time to Get In Action for Success

Recently I talked with a woman upset that her annual event could not happen due to COVID. When I suggested hosting a virtual event, she strongly reacted with a BIG NO! Yet, after talking with several of her team members, she reconsidered. Now, with her renewed efforts, she and her team created a powerful and successful virtual event! And still, she is lamenting about her lack of success in doing it the old way.

The truth is, when we lament about the old ways, it’s an indicator that we’ve hit the wall of life. We’re confronted by the need to expand ourselves for new successes, and just don’t want to do it. So, instead of moving forward, we focus on past failures (e.g., financial, health, etc.) and feelings of potential failure (“I’m waiting until things get better before I do anything.”).

The time spent lamenting would be better spent moving forward, step by step. Don’t wait for inspiration or until you are hit over the head because you waited too long.

Remember, it’s Q4! The good news is you still have 100% of 2020 left. There IS enough time to turn around your business, career, and life for success. But it does require rethinking your view of success and your willingness to take the right actions for it to happen!

6 Tips for Success to Happen Now

True goals are not achieved in a day…yet, success happens with each and every step forward!

First, get up and get moving!  Daydreaming and Internet surfing can be beneficial. But…like most things in life…too much will sap your energy and your ability to make a positive difference! Instead, write down your ideas. While you’re up and moving, allow these ideas to percolate and pop! Don’t discount them and don’t latch onto them without conducting your due diligence. Then, talk them out with the right advisor who is good at discerning fact from fiction. Next, pick one area to focus on and move forward.

Be willing to fail as well as succeed. You have a choice of whether or not you embrace Q4. This mindset is key. Too often when you have failed or perceive there will be failure you stop. Instead, create a stretch goal for Q4. You have 3 months to get it done! Start the process now with focused action! To stay on track, create a support team!

Develop an inner sense of power. When you don’t feel powerful, you diminish your value and accomplishments, especially when life doesn’t look like you think it should. You stop doing the things that create success. A strong indicator that you’ve lost your inner compass is when you fall into a power trap. A power trap is when you feel the need to micromanage people or resources, use a parental tone, or blame others for the problems. STOP! Conduct a review of your current challenge by talking with the right people to make the necessary changes. Success can be that close to happening!

Seek advice and make requests. Right now, your ego may feel fragile due to so much change. You may fear others will see you as incompetent if you ask for guidance. Instead, write down 3 goals. Map them. Now, pick one goal. Talk with 3 people to fine-tune it and make it achievable right now (not to get buy-in for a future pie-in-the-sky idea). Don’t forget to work with your executive coach to expand your perspective. This will save you time and money!

Create a rallying cry. It’s easy to go off course and into the weeds in thoughts and actions! This can happen at any time and anywhere. Create a rallying cry that reminds you to keep moving forward.

For me, this was an important habit to create! When things didn’t look like I thought they should, I use my rallying cry, “It’s my year to thrive and grow.” Also, every time I hit new challenges (and there have been plenty of them) I remind myself, “It’s my year to thrive and grow.”

Celebrate all successes, no matter how small. Acknowledgment, appreciation, and admiration work wonders for keeping you and your team moving forward. For yourself and your team, don’t forget to express these phrases, “Good work!” “Job well done!” “Please” and “Thank you!”

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

CONGRATS! 28 years and still guiding leaders to create unprecedented results!

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for 28 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

How to Get Comfortable Seeking the Right Advice

It can be lonely as a leader. When there is a challenge or the need to ask for advice, you may be unclear about who to talk with and who can provide you the right advice.

Here’s a simplified example. I’m sure many of you have read through social media postings where people are asking for advice or referrals. You may have posted your own “asks.” The problem is you receive an abundance of advice and go into overwhelm. Then, become stuck and don’t know how to proceed.

Sound familiar? Of course, most of us have experienced this in all areas of our lives. It can be very uncomfortable.

8 Tips for Getting the Right Advice Now

  • Be Open. Stay away from “yes” people telling you what you want to hear! Remember, too many ideas will have you undecided on what to do next. Instead, limit your “ask” to three key people: mentors, coach, and/or trusted advisors. If they provide recommendations for experts, limit these to three people.
  • Get Specific. Be clear about the advice you need by being specific about the issue and what you need to happen. For example: If you need to resolve a team dispute, include the key factors that must be considered, like team member satisfaction, team communication, and customer deadlines. 
  • Use the Rule of Three. Whenever you are making a big purchase or getting help with a problem, seek out only three proposals or bids. Provide the vendor/consultant with the specific goal and intended outcomes. Then, review these opportunities using your checklist to make your decision.
  • Seek out trusted advisors and mentors. Keep your network up-to-date. As a leader, you never know who you will need to talk with until after the issue has occurred or is about to happen. Remember, when they recommend an expert ask “why” this person would be a great source of information.
  • Deep dive and ask the right expert for factual information. Too often, we listen to what we want to believe, instead of what is factual. For example, there are over 3,000 publishers of assessments tools on the market today for pre-employment use. However, very few assessments meet the DOL Standards for Testing and Assessment: An Employer’s Guide to Good Practices. Check out PXT Select for your hiring, coaching, training, and managing needs.
  • Hire the right coach. Yes, this can be difficult if you’re not clear what you want or need. Remember, successful leaders have executive coaches. Your coach should be the first person to talk with before seeking out other advice. It’s also the most comfortable place to start.
  • Ask the right people. If you have a legal question, ask the right attorney. If you have a people management issue, ask a people management consultant. Don’t ask lots of people who have no actual hands-on experience or success on resolving the issue. Ask the people who know.
  • Listen! This will be especially difficult when someone’s point of view doesn’t match your own or triggers an emotional response (e.g., cost, process, looking good, etc.). Put aside your filter and listen…you will learn and receive new advice that can make a big difference!

You’re not the first leader, nor the last one, to have the same or similar challenges. It’s really about learning who the right advisors are, receiving the right advice, rather than receiving an abundance of opinions. Be vulnerable and professional when sharing information about you and your company will become comfortable over time. Remember to honor confidentiality, while being respectful of their time.

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for 28 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

How You Can Help Your Team Be Their Best

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to guide your teams and team members to be their best. This includes taking responsibility for their failures as well as their successes.

6 Tips to Develop the Best

  1. Believe in Them. This is #1. If you don’t believe in people, you won’t be the best leader and will fail to develop the best team members. It’s important to believe in each and every person and help them develop their strengths. Use a qualified assessment to coach them and develop the right skills for their success. The right assessment will guide all of you on how to do it.
  2. Hire Right the First Time. The right people in the right jobs is the least costly and the most beneficial to the health of the team. Design and develop a strategic hiring/selection plan and follow it!. Pay attention to the results of the qualified assessments you use. Your team members will thank you!
  3. Create a 180-Day Success Plan. This should be part of thhttps://www.pxtselect.com/SeibCo on-boarding process. Also, conduct effective performance reviews quarterly withttps://www.pxtselect.com/SeibCoh no surprises. Focus on the skills and opportunities needed for each team member to be their best.
  4. Keep an Open-Door. It’s important to hear about issues as they are occurring instead of after the fact. This allow you to advise and guide your teams and team members to resolve conflicts, stay in action, and develop confidence.
  5. Provide an Executive Coach. This is for you and for your team members. Studies have shown that the right coach develops you and your team members to achieve unprecedented results.
  6. Encourage Training and Development. Budget for team training plus allow a specific dollar amount for each employee to use as appropriate. In addition to developing technical, financial, and project management skills, don’t forget to include integrity, accountability, responsibility, decision-making, and critical thinking ALL of these skills will develop a competent and confident team!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2020

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for more than 27 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

How to Become a Trusted Leader

Did you know: team members that work for trusted leaders are far more innovative and achieve top-notch results?

That’s the value of being a trust leader. But to earn this reputation, you must build your credibility over time.

Right now, this can be difficult due to changes and the unexpected economic twists we’re experiencing. Yet, not trusting yourself and others will create the need to control others, micromanage, demand too many meetings, and play office politics. None of these behaviors or attitudes will earn the trust you need from others to be a successful trusted leader.

5 Key Factors to Build Trust

Trust Your Team. First, you must trust your team members. It doesn’t mean you overlook half-truths, missed deadlines, or poor quality. It means, if someone says they cannot get a task done by a certain time, listen and ask, “What do you need from me?” Teams that feel trusted will go above and beyond to get the intended results.

Learn from Mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, including you! Yelling or expressing frustration at team members is not the way to build trust! Instead, together, conduct an objective review of “what worked/what didn’t work?” (See Chapter 20, “Get Your Brag On!“)Acknowledge things they did well. Then, specifically focus on two things to improve. When you develop an ear to listen, your natural curiosity and good questions will get you to the heart of the error or failure. Then, you can create new solutions.

Embrace Tough Conversations. Most leaders would much rather avoid them. But if you do and don’t get to the underlying issues making progress on projects difficult. The team either doesn’t believe in the outcome or fear failure. Some will complain they don’t have all the resources needed. Don’t buy into the excuses. Instead, encourage their resourcefulness, brainstorm new ideas, and champion their ability to work the conflict or issues.

Be Known for Straight Talk. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This makes THE difference between your team trusting you to look out for them or feeling manipulated to get the job done. When a project has not met the customer’s needs, tell the truth about why. Avoid spinning the facts to make yourself look good and your team feel OK. Remember, they want to learn and grow.

Brag about Your Team! Sharing successes about each and every team member makes a positive difference. This requires being aware of each team member’s contribution…no matter how small. Also, it’s imperative when speaking with others that you brag about their successes and mean it!

©Jeannette Seibly 2020

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for more than 27 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

Don’t forget to listen to On the Air with Jeannette Seibly: It’s Your Time for Success on Anchor.FM or YouTube.com.

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