The Winter Solstice

The winter solstice took place in the northern hemisphere on Tuesday, December 21. Although many people simply think of this as the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year, it is a day that is celebrated in different cultures.

Psychologically, some believe that this is a time to release anything that doesn’t align with our highest purpose. Although presented somewhat differently, last week’s column discussed using year-end as a time to identify what you want to keep, what you want to add and what you want to eliminate from your life. Sounds similar, doesn’t it?

Stop the Insanity!

Last time we talked about prioritizing activities that you want to complete by the end of the year. Another important exercise for year end is answering three questions to help you identify and reframe your activities in the new year.

While reflecting on these questions, keep in mind both professional and personal interests.

Juggling Priorities

Many people take a deep breath at the beginning of December. The realization that there’s only one month left in the year comes as a shock, no matter how many times you’ve gone through it!

The people who succeed are those who manage their priorities effectively. Not all priorities are equal! On the other end of the spectrum are people who are unrealistic about what can actually be completed in the remaining available time.

How Is Your Resilience?

“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
– Nelson Mandela

You know it when you see it: a resilient person is someone who recovers from adversity and keeps going, regardless of the circumstances. Sometimes I refer to this as “bounce-back-ability”.

Personal Accountability

This month we are highlighting several competencies that have become more important in our evolving workplace. Last week the focus was on the value of flexibility. Today we’ll look at personal accountability.

Do you answer for your personal actions? Unfortunately, this is becoming rarer in the workplace. People are quick to blame others and slow to take responsibility for what they did or didn’t do.

Your Leadership Journey

Leaders develop proficiency from a lifetime of experiences. Many of these experiences occur initially upon becoming subject matter experts, such as IT technician, tax attorney, or financial advisor, to name a few.

Your leadership expertise develops as an outgrowth of these experiences. Keep in mind, though, that most people are not trained in what it is to be a leader. Many stumble into leadership and do what they think they are supposed to do in this new role.

Self-Reflection for Greater Self-Awareness

Periodically I write about self-awareness and based on some recent experiences and conversations, it seemed like a good time to revisit the topic.

Self-awareness is the ability to identify your moods, what you’re feeling, and how they have an impact on those you interact with. Self-aware people are also more in touch with what motivates them and what they want.

Pace Yourself

Do you ever feel like a crazy lunatic as you try to accomplish way too many things at once? Of course, you have! Not only do you experience this, but everyone has a different “lunatic pace.” Your threshold may have more or less elasticity than someone you work with closely.

I’ve found that people pick up their pace when they are working with someone who zooms through the day, even though it may be hard to keep up. These are critical moments, because when you constantly try to pace yourself at what is an unnaturally rapid clip for you, you will inevitably miss things.

Focus and Simplicity

“Focus and simplicity…once you get there,
you can move mountains.”
– Steve Jobs

It almost seems counterproductive to think that simplifying can make a difference in achieving the results you desire. Instead, we tend to overly complicate things. If we add this embellishment or that (time intensive) detail, we think the outcome will be so much better.

Hit the Pause Button

Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. is just around the corner and I’d like to acknowledge the spirit of the holiday by paying tribute to the men and women who died while serving in the military.

Unlike last year when many of us were locked down due to the pandemic, this year most people have the ability to actually have an almost “normal” holiday. Gatherings of friends and family with accompanying barbeques are on many families’ agendas.

Leadership is a Mindset

Tag: Self-Awareness