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Ordinary People Taking Action
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Tiny Beautiful Pieces5/31/2018 Transitions.
Transitions come in the form of tiny beautiful things. Yet, it’s these tiny, beautiful things we often miss. It’s an interesting time for me, the end of a school year. This year comes with change all around me. My own son is ending his middle school days and will be starting high school next year. He’s experiencing a lot of “lasts”, like his last middle school soccer game today. Similarly, my friends who are parents of high school seniors are experiencing a shift in their families, with their children graduating and transitioning to life post high school. Many are heading to colleges – some local, some afar.
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Perspective Shifts5/24/2018 Writing is a tricky thing. I am beginning to believe that all writers go through several phases of thinking, and therefore believing, they are not good enough. It’s a feeling I often get when I read over an article of mine. Then this morning, a colleague reached out for advice on how to get started writing more – and added that he thought my articles were really good. Perspective shift.
In writing these articles, I consistently balance my commitment to maintaining the privacy of others and sheltering a bit of myself – my family, my life. There is some measure of vulnerability in sharing personal stories. That said, today I am choosing to write about experiences with my family over the last week, as I think many will be able to relate.
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Coaches5/18/2018 Over the past week, I coached four extremely smart and successful executives. When I share with people that I coach high-level executives, I’m often met with surprise, as if people don’t quite see the value in what I do for a living. To explain, I often use the analogy of a professional athlete. Professional athletes never engage in a game without their coach, nor would anyone expect them to. Executives, like professional athletes, have reached the pinnacle of their career. They, too, are at the top of their game. So, why do we continue to be surprised that executives might benefit from coaching as well?
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The Differences of a Day5/17/2018 The other day, I had a really good day. My friend had a really bad one.
On any given day, some people you interact with are having a great day and some are having a horrible one – with most falling somewhere in between the two extremes. My point? Everyone we encounter is having some sort of day. Take my friend and me. We each experienced our days completely differently, despite doing very similar things. We both went to work. We both drove our children to practice. We both did the “mom” duties, the “friend” duties, the “daily” duties.
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Insights from High School Students5/14/2018 The most insightful moments I have in my days are spending time coaching high school students. They are incredibly brilliant people, and I am beginning to believe that I learn just as much – if not more – from them as they learn from me.
I was recently with a high school student who holds himself to an incredibly high standard. Higher than most adults I coach in a professional setting. His parents send conflicting messages. They tell him he’s too hard on himself, but it’s clear that their expectations of him are as high as his own. This student keeps a list in his head of all his mistakes and all his failures, in order to do better next time. He doesn’t keep a list of his successes, and when he’s told “good job”, he’s skeptical.
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Resiliency in disguise5/10/2018 A straight line brings predictability. I love predictability – devising a plan and then watching it materialize. Yet, my friends will often say that they think I am spontaneous and have a “go-with-the-flow” approach to life. Some might call that more of a curved line. What I’ve come to learn is that this perceived spontaneity is, in fact, something else – resiliency in disguise.
I’ll give you an example. In January, I gave notice to my employer. As is the case for most people giving notice, I had a strategy and plan in place. My strategy was, in short, to launch my own consulting practice. My plan was, in short, to land two big projects relatively quickly after coming off payroll from my employer. I needed the plan – the belief in the plan – to rationalize that jump.
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The Soccer Game5/7/2018 Teamwork is about taking fault as a team.
Exciting news today. My son’s soccer team played in the championship game for the President’s State Cup. This isn’t the first time they’ve gotten this far. They won this tournament last year as well, going on to represent Washington State in the Regional President’s Cup tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a very big deal last year; it was an even bigger deal this year. The possibility of becoming second-year champions was within reach. These boys poured their hearts out this weekend. They held nothing back on Saturday as they advanced and again yesterday in the final game. They all knew their role – they passed, they ran, they supported each other. They played as a team.
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Case Study: Playing the Long Game5/4/2018 Friday Guest Post By: Tom Perry | Founder of Engaged Pursuit
When you know what you want, sometimes getting there takes time. Staying positive, not giving up, and looking for feedback along the way is key to winning this Engaged Pursuit long game. As highlighted in previous Case Studies, the path to professional engagement takes time. Even with the hot job market (especially in tech), the majority of clients are spending 4-6 months finding something great (not the 2-3 months I originally assumed). What I tell current and potential clients who are wanting change – “Employers are looking for greatness and are picky in their approach– it’s now more important than ever to set-yourself-apart with a crisp, clear, and confident Professional Story.” While most clients take 4-6 months to find a more engaging role, this is the story of Kelly who took over 12 months to land a new gig. She knew what we wanted and stopped at nothing to achieve her goal. Kelly was playing the long game.
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The Power of Your Story.5/2/2018 I had another interesting conversation this week, this time with a (newish) friend. Hearing about my work history, she commented that I seem to always leave my “dream job”. Listening to how she perceived my career path, I can understand why my friend might make that interpretation. In reality, she was far off the mark.
There is a quote from Steve Jobs: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” This quote rings true for me. |