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Ordinary People Taking Action
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Perception Shifts6/12/2018 Today’s post centers around a needs assessment I’m creating for a group at Amazon. That’s about as much as I can say publicly about the project at this time, so while I won’t be blogging about the project itself, I do want to zero in on an “aha moment” I experienced while working on it.
The first step in the process was to produce a draft and send it to my client for review. Although I have created and run several needs assessments throughout my career, it’s not something I’ve done for the specific function of the group I am supporting now. We knew going into the project that I would provide L&D expertise and my client would provide functional and technical knowledge. We were prepared for a joint effort.
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You might recall, earlier this week I put a note on social media, Facebook and LinkedIn, asking for advice for graduating high school students. For those who left advice, they were entered into a drawing to win a FREE student coaching engagement from me.
The student coaching engagement consists of three sessions. The first session focuses on reviewing a personality assessment that will explore personal preferences, strengths, ideal environment, communication strategies and blind spots. The second session goes through a process of identifying potential majors and career matches. The third session brings everything together with a final summary that includes tips for writing college admission essays, cover letters, resume and preparing for internships and first jobs. The entire engagement is customized to meet the specific needs of the student. Before I announce the winner, I want to share the advice received.
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Communication Intention6/7/2018 As I go about my days, I’m met with frequent reminders of the difficulties we face when it comes to communication. As people, we all tend to believe that effective communication comes naturally to us. So, when there are misunderstandings, we are often quick to assume it’s the other person who doesn’t understand – that the miscommunication isn’t because of anything we’ve done.
When I am coaching professionals and students, we talk a lot about intention vs perception. Statistics report that 92% of humans wake up each morning with positive intention, meaning it is not our goal to create conflict. In fact, it’s the opposite. We have a goal (even if it’s unconscious) to build strong, harmonious relationships.
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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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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. |