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By Mary Kelly
Staying calm and focused during times of stress, challenge, and change People who have not spent much time on boats or ships are often surprised to learn that the boat’s anchor does not hold it in place. The anchor is not tied to the bottom of the ocean. The anchor is dropped and positioned, and the weight of the chain is what keeps the boat from drifting away. Boat anchors are checked and repositioned when the tides, winds, and drifting causes the boat to move. Sometimes the anchor gets snagged on coral or debris, and when trying to pull up the anchor, it can get stuck. The boat must be repositioned to release the anchor from the unseen hazard. What is normally a tool of stability, and a valuable part of the ship becomes challenging, so the anchor gets repositioned. Sometimes we need to evaluate our sense of stability and reposition where we are, like a boat repositioning its anchor. Practicing repositioning allows us to decrease stress, increase focus, and ignore irritations. Here are some ways to stay grounded and focused, regardless of the situation. 1. Breathe! During times of stress or irritation, it is natural to take breathes that are shallow. To anchor in the moment, pay attention to your breathing. Make a conscious effort to breathe in slowly and deeply, following the path of your breath with your mind. Feel the air move through your body. Then breathe out slowly and gently, again paying attention to the movement of your body as air passes through it. Concentrate on feeling a subtle energy shift of calm. 2. Check in with your five senses If you are finding it a little tricky to access your inner peace or you are distracted, try the five senses check-in. Make a conscious decision to disconnect from distractions and focus your awareness, one sense at a time, on what you can see, feel, hear, smell and taste in that moment. This grounds you in the present moment by becoming more aware of what is impacting your space. This can be especially helpful when you feel stressed or harried. 3. Mind like water Take every opportunity that comes your way to practice being calm, especially during a crisis, when others are feeling frantic. Being calm puts us in the space where we control our mental and physical reactions during challenges moments. Some people find it helpful to picture the surface of a calm body of water and think, “mind like water.” Great times to practice this are where you might feel frustrated and impatient, like waiting in line or while you are stuck in traffic. Put a half-smile on your face and remind yourself that you are calm. 4. Use repositioning techniques to create thinking space No matter how busy you are, you can use repositioning techniques to build more space into your day. Before you send an email, take time to breathe, notice your breath, then decide if you want to send the email. Choose to ignore or switch off your devices. Schedule 5-minute breaks to reposition between activities or projects. Practice being present around other people. Give other people your full attention and respect, and you will have a more meaningful and productive conversation. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Mary Kelly
Succession planning is an important process for any business. It helps you to prepare for the future and ensures that your business continues to operate smoothly. However, many businesses do not have a plan in place. This can lead to problems later down the road. Here are five tips to help you prepare for your succession plan. Tip 1: Define Your Goals, Objectives, Timelines When it comes to succession planning, one of the most important things you can do is to define your goals and objectives. This will help ensure that the new leadership team is aligned with your company’s overall mission and vision. This will also help you to identify who should take on which responsibilities in the event of an unexpected change or sudden emergency. Establish clear and concise goals and objectives for your organization during the transitional period. It is important to set timelines for when each goal should be accomplished, so that everyone knows what is expected of them. Tip 2: Assess Your Current Business Leadership Situation One of the most important steps in preparing for your succession plan is assessing your current business leadership situation. This helps you identify areas you may need to improve, as well as identify potential successors. Additionally, it can help you determine how soon you might need to make a transition. Tip 3: Research Potential Successors for Top Leadership Positions When it comes to succession planning, it is important to have a plan in place. But what if you are not sure who the right candidates are for top leadership positions? Start by researching potential successors for top leadership positions. Get input from your team. Ask your employees who they think could be a viable candidate for the next position and why. This will help you get a sense of who is qualified and who would be a good fit for the role. Look at industry trends. What other companies are doing? What successful leaders have been replaced in recent years? This information can give you an idea of who might be a good replacement for you, or provide pointers on how to improve Tip 4: Steps to Start Now There is no one-size-fits-all answer to creating a business leadership transition plan, as the specific details of your situation will vary. Draft an outline of who will take over each position in the organization. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and understands their role in the future of the company. Establish timelines for each position, and make sure that all stakeholders are aware of when they need to be ready to step into their new role. This will help avoid any surprises during the transition process. Create reasonable timeline for completing each step, based on current realities and anticipated timelines for key personnel transitions. This will help ensure that your transition goes as smoothly as possible while still meeting important objectives. Develop a communication plan to keep everyone informed of progress throughout the transition process. This will help build trust both within the organization and with major stakeholders. Tip 5: Start Implementing the Succession Plan Sooner Rather Than Later When it comes to succession planning, the sooner you start, the better. The sooner you have a plan in place, the easier it will be to execute and ensure a smooth transition for your business. 1. Define who will be responsible for each stage of your succession plan. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows their role in the process. 2. Create an action plan for each stage of your succession plan. This will outline what needs to be done and when it needs to be done to smoothly transition your business into the next phase. 3. Assess your current situation and make necessary changes based on what you know now. Executing a succession plan is important for any business. It can help ensure that the business stays afloat and continues to operate smoothly while the current owner or management team transitions out of their role. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Incorporate these habits into your regular routines to stay focused on what is most important. 1. Plan a trip. It turns out that even thinking about a vacation is healthy. When people plan a trip, they envision the activities, the places they visit, and even the views. That planning helps our brains relax as though we were there. Planning is like a mini vacation for the mind. As leaders, encourage people to schedule vacation time, plan the vacation, and take the vacation. 2. Care for health. Encourage your teams to stay fit with good nutrition, lots of water, exercise, and restful sleep. It sounds basic, but many of us sacrifice our health when we get busy with work. Make sure it is easy for your teams to be healthy at work. Some workplaces have free filtered or bottled water available, and others bring in health lunches for special occasions. 3. Show pride in the workplace. I recently watched a CEO stop to pick up trash on his way to the office in the morning. It was a windy day, and a plastic bag and papers had blown across the grass. He walked over and took it to the trash. “Everything counts” he smiled. He is right. He sent the example that everyone is responsible for the appearance of where we work, and everyone’s actions matter. He instilled pride in the organization by being willing to do what was needed at that moment. 4. Clear the clutter. I struggle with managing clutter, because I work in piles of projects, and my piles expand to fill the space I have. Every week, I schedule cleaning the workspace. I take everything off the desk and then file it, toss it, or organize it. It is easier to be productive and switch gears when my workspace is neat, clean, and organized. 5. Monitor team self-talk. Speak kindly to yourself and request that your team members do the same. Use encouraging words. One of my managers used this phrase to overcome negative language in the workplace toward ourselves. She said, “if you would not say the words you are thinking to your best friend, you should not be using those words toward yourself.” 6. Clarify your vision. Spend team-time brainstorming about what you want to accomplish and how you want to put that into action. Get the team together to figure out what everyone is thinking and capture innovative ideas. Ask your team what you want your legacy to be and craft the vision based on where you want to go. 7. Engage in meaningful activities. Devote your time and energy to projects that matter as a team. Use your specialized skills to help your community. 8. Stay positive. Peter B Stark, author of the amazing leadership book, The Competent Leader says, “As leaders we don’t have the luxury of negative thinking.” As leaders, it is our responsibility to search for the positive aspects and possibilities of every situation. We must look for the opportunities the challenges bring and find ways to make a tough situation better. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
We are often surrounded by negativity and stress. People often ask, “How can I stay positive during a crisis, challenge, or change? How can I keep my own motivation level high when events seem difficult? What can I do when everyone around me seems to want to be angry?” If we allow ourselves to start to think that everything is negative, it can lead us in to a cycle which makes us feel hopeless and unproductive. Feeling badly about our situations can make us feel unmotivated to change what is making us feel down in the first place. If you are feeling stuck, unmotivated, or in need of a positive change, try to: 1. Stay away from social media. There always seems to be something dramatic on social media, and it is easy to get caught up in events that have nothing to do with us. Does an event at the Oscars negatively impact you? Make the commitment to turn it off for a day. 2. Learn and master a new skill. When you learn a new skill and become good at it, your confidence increases and continues to grow. This is especially true if the skill benefits something you already do, or is creative. Being creative stimulates our brains, and the more we use our brains, the bigger the benefits. If you combine creativity with trying something new, even more benefits are achieved. 3. Update your resume on LinkedIn. Start by making a list of all of your accomplishments. It can be easy to forget all of the things you’ve achieved so far, and a professional forum is the place to update. Be proud of your accomplishments. 4. Define your own core values for your life. What are your core, unwavering values? Does your current lifestyle reflect these values? If it doesn’t, take an action to make necessary changes. Know who you are, what you stand for, and then live those values. My friend Amber has what she calls her non-negotiables. These are things on her list that she pledged to do for herself, no matter what, because they support her core values. One of hers is to be outside for 5 minutes every day. 5. Actively commit to thinking positively. Instead of thinking negatively when faced with something irritating, think about it as a challenge that you can overcome with dignity and grace. Think positively, consider what you can learn from the experience, and try to find a way to help others. 6. Stretch your comfort zone. Try new things. Go to new places. Meet new people. Getting out of your comfort zone means getting out of your own brain space. This is why travel and new experiences are so healthy – it pushes our brains and our bodies beyond our comfort zone. Maybe you cannot travel the way you want to right now. Try a stay-cation. And actually plan it like it was a vacation destination, and then DO what you planned. 7. Help someone. There are always people worse off than we are. Sometimes we need to take some kind of action to get us going in the in the right direction, and helping others is a great start. Stop thinking about what is negative and focus on how we can make someone else’s life better. 8. Let negatives from the past go. Past issues or drama can prevent you from moving on and growing, both personally and professionally. You may want to speak to a trained counselor to talk through issues you may have. Sometimes, just ritualistically deciding to move forward can help with forward motion. 9. Don’t worry about what others think. The one person whose opinion of you matters is you. Do what you believe is best, feel confident that you did your best, and be satisfied with your results. 10. Read for work. Many people read about people who have overcome issues or dire situations, and gone on to lead successful lives. Consider adding business or leadership books to your motivational mix, such as The Competent Leader by Peter Stark, Exactly What to Say by Phil Jones, or Thrive by Meridith Elliott-Powell. Having the right knowledge, leadership, and words to move forward can inspire you to do even more. 11. Surround yourself with positive people. There are plenty of people in your life who always seem to leave you feeling badly about your circumstances. It may be best to let them go. Instead, try to surround yourself with positive people who will lift you up and make you feel good about yourself. 12. Focus on what you can change. Some things in life are out of our control. Focus your energy on the things you can control, and you’ll happily find that you can change your life for the better. When the virus crisis first started, a friend of mine asked how he could coach his workforce into staying positive during what he knew was going to be a difficult time, so I drew my plan on a cocktail napkin. “Encourage them your team to focus on what they can control, instead of what they cannot.” 13. Action trumps fear and negativity. Movement is better than stagnation. When you feel negativity start to creep up on you, stop the negative downward spiral with movement. Go do a load of laundry. Walk the dog. Take out the trash. Do some pushups. Drink some water. Call your Mom. Do something to get your body and your mind away from the negativity. Once you start to incorporate some of these tips into your daily life, your positivity will start to grow. It may not happen overnight, but in time, you’ll see improvement with a happier you. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
It is the holiday season, and it seems everyone around you is decorating, shopping, traveling for fun, and relaxing. It is tempting to take your foot off the gas pedal and turn everything off. After all, it is the holidays, and we all need a break. However, what we do in December is often what sets us up for success in the first quarter of the new year, and perhaps the entire year. How do you stay motivated on work when you want to enjoy the holidays as well? Now is a great time to reassess what is really important, and to categorize what needs to happen in the right way. Once projects are properly categorized, it is easier to get them accomplished. 1. Redefine your core values. Core values encapsulate what is most important to us. Values such as “provide for my family,” “feel a sense of accomplishment,” and “contribute to my community” help us find direction when we want to take the day off to bake cookies or go fishing. Values, both our own and our organizations’, help us stay motivated towards goals that are part of the bigger picture. 2. Redirect efforts to focus on your wants. The Great Resignation is often linked to employees wanting something different from what their employers are offering, and not feeling as though they can do what they want in their current capacity. This may be true. What are your career aspirations? What do you want for your business? What do you want to accomplish in the part of the business you control? 3. Remember that the grass isn’t always greener. Employees who are leaving their jobs are saying they are underpaid, underappreciated, and overworked. Is this you? Is this the people around you? Is this the people who work for you? Or is it just the prevailing sentiment that is making you feel like you want to make a change? When your friends are leaving their jobs, it is tempting to join the crowd of the newly unemployed, and the holidays seem like a great time to enjoy the break that quitting your job might bring. But the grass is not always greener. If the problem is that you don’t like your house, your city, or career, a change might be in order. But a new job, location, or career may not be better than what you have now. 4. Reevaluate our compensation packages and compare apples to apples. I just worked with an organization where some of the employees told me privately that they believed they were underpaid. Why did they feel this way? Because they thought they were comparing their work and salaries with comparable work. They thought they were comparing apples to apples. Except they were not. I tracked down the competitor, and found out that the salaries were 6% lower at my client’s organization, but that the benefits and bonus structures actually meant that my client’s employees were making 19% more. The problem is that the employees didn’t understand that, because they were only comparing salaries, not the overall benefits, vacation, working hours, and end-of-the year bonuses. My recommendation was that the leadership and HR team do a better job conveying what they were actually spending on their employees, and to reiterate the benefits and bonus structure as they were handing out bonuses and performance evaluations at the end of the year, so that employees didn’t think about updating their resumes while opening Christmas presents. 5. Renew the sense of excitement. Take a look at what is changing heading into the new year. Sometimes we feel lethargic about work when work is monotonous. Get the team together and brainstorm about the changes you are likely to face in the new year. Yes, I know we have been barraged with changes over the past few years, but change is exciting when it is challenging and positive. Make a list of what is likely to change in the new year, and then strategize about what needs to happen to respond and lead those changes. 6. Reengage with the right people. The people around us play a big role in our success. When it comes to our professional lives, we can be influenced by our peers. If our friends are talking about how happy they are at work, we tend to feel the same way. If our friends are pessimistic, we are influenced. To stay positive and focused, seek out like-minded visionaries and entrepreneurs, both at networking events and in casual contexts. Get inspiration and motivation from those in similar situations, who are motivated and inspired to make a difference moving into the future. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
I don’t really like the word done because it reminds me of something being baked in the oven. It is not my verb of choice, but it is a wildly powerful word. It’s simple. Let people know when you did something. Let people know when something is done. Finished. Accomplished. Closed out. Crossed off. Done. Close the loop. Close the loop with managers, coworkers, and suppliers. Yes, they trust that you will do it, because you said you would do it. They believe you. Yes, you have done it before and they know you are capable of doing it. They have confidence in you. Yes, you are an expert in your field. They respect you. Take the final step and let people know when you have accomplished what you said you would accomplish. Why? So they can take it off their plate. Managers and leaders are juggling hundreds of issues and tasks. When you close the loop and simply tell your supervisor, your coworker, or your customer that you have done what you said you would do, it brings them a sense of relief. It allows them to close the icon. It takes that task off their plate. It reduces the stress. Yet some people push back on this idea of letting people know when they get things done for these reasons, and here are our responses: “I said I would do it.” Response: So tell them you did it to continue to build trust. “It is something I do routinely every week.” Response: Good! So letting others know it is done should be easy. “They shouldn’t have to worry about the details of my job.” We agree! Make it easy for them to NOT worry about you and your job and take it off their to-do list by letting them know the task has been accomplished. Try letting 3 people know you have accomplished what they trust you to do. A simple one word response will suffice. “DONE!” It works. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Can leaders help their people find their purpose, live up to their fullest potential, and achieve their dreams? How can we help our people find happiness when everyone’s definition of happiness is different? Is it a leader’s job to help their people find happiness? We know people with a strong sense of purpose at work feel valued by their leadership. We know that people who are valued and respected garner higher rates of appreciation from their leaders. We know that people who feel appreciated at work are more engaged. We know that intrinsically motivated and engaged workers are more productive. It starts at the top. Leaders can help their team members live a more fulfilled life AND increase productivity when they focus on these 5 points. #1: Happiness Happiness is not really a destination as much as it is a state of mind. There are people who wake up happy and people who wake up miserable. There are people who may have all of the material components of a happy life – the nice house, car and family, but they could be miserable. There are people who are happy every day even though they are struggling to make ends meet. Happiness is not about money or possessions. Happiness is all about a decision. We get to decide if we want to be happy or not, regardless of our situation. Some situations are more difficult than others, but every day we get to make the decision about whether or not we want to be happy. The search for genuine happiness is one that happens in our brain. Decide to be happy regardless of the circumstances, and that encourages a more fulfilled and serene life. #2: Integrity “How do I handle ethical issues?” is a frequently asked question. It is both simple and complex. “Good ethics are good business.” It is easier to remember to do the right thing if you do the right thing every time. Practice ethical decision-making with small issues before you leap into critical issues so you default to the right decisions. Make solid ethical practices part of your business practice. From business transactions to personal relationships, good ethics are easier to remember and they bring peace of mind. Leaders who lead ethical teams sleep better at night, and so do their team members. Having a strong sense of integrity means making the world a better place with your presence and your business. #3: Fulfillment What makes your people feel a sense of accomplishment? What makes you realize that you are working to fulfill your life’s purpose? Personal fulfillment is more than the daily run on the hamster wheel. Leaders need to remind their people of how important they are in the workplace, so they can see the impact they are making. Whether it’s learning to find meaning at work, exploring a career path that challenges them, or engaging with satisfying community activities, fulfillment in life is a constant (and often, elusive) goal. Leaders can help bridge the gap by helping their people develop personally and professionally, in ways that reflect who they are, their strengths, goals, and act accordingly. A recent study said that 71% of millennial workers in the US said they would leave their jobs if they were not being personally and professionally developed. #4: Connections For the past 10 years, I have been recommending that organizations create a new job – the HCO – the Human Contact Officer. This person’s job is to help people get closer to one another – to help people create lasting and trusting connections in the workplace. Human beings are social creatures, so forging good relationships is key to thriving and feeling fulfilled. Family, professional, and personal relationships are all crucial components to providing a sense of connectedness with the rest of humanity—so making good friendships and fostering existing links with family are important. Humans need to be more human, and recent events have driven some people further apart. While you may not have an HCO yet (I will keep trying!), leaders need to encourage connections both inside and external to the organizations. Most business is based on trust and relationships, and encouraging both is part of a leader’s role. #5: Importance We all want to feel important. We all want to feel as though we matter. Fostering a sense of self-worth for every person in the organization promotes respect. When people are respected, they are more likely to feel appreciated and be truly engaged in the work they do. They take ownership of their role and how it impacts the organization. The role of leadership has become more personal. Leaders have to lead their people holistically, and that means helping them find value, happiness, and fulfillment. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
It is normal for many people to doubt themselves. If you have feelings of self-doubt, you’re in good company. Doubting yourself creates a host of unfavorable scenarios and prevents you from reaching your full potential. It holds you back. Many opportunities may pass you by because you feel as though you don’t deserve them, you are not qualified enough, or that you’re lacking in some way. Self-doubt is especially prevalent in the presence of peers. It’s easy for others on your level academically or professionally to challenge your self-belief – just by being there! You might feel like they’re ahead of you, even though you’re on the same level. It’s important to realize that you’re just as deserving as anybody else. Stop comparing yourself to others. Keep these concepts in mind to help you feel confident when trying to persuade others:
As my friend Jess Pettitt says, “you are good enough now”. Seize your well-earned confidence and move forward to your next challenge. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Sally is a 38-year-old manager of a retail store in a busy strip mall in Portland, Oregon. Last week, in a panic, she called her regional manager, Darla. “Danny gave me his two weeks’ notice today. Charlene quit last week. I do not have people to run the store. What do I do?” Sally’s boss weighed Sally’s options:
Sally was at her wit’s end, and she was frustrated with Darla for not understanding that the problem was bigger than just her and her store. Sally was thinking: “Darla doesn’t understand that I bend over backwards for my people. They like me and they have worked for me this long because they feel a sense of loyalty. I cannot blame Danny and Charlene for leaving right now. It just does not seem worth it to work.” “They hate wearing masks all day. They hate that part of their job is now cleaning and sanitizing the store. They hate that shoplifting is increasing and that the police cannot respond right away. They know that their taxes are going up, so their take-home pay is going to decrease. The workload of the job has increased, and the pay increased, but not as much as the hassle of coming to work. Darla does not understand that Danny and Charlene were my best workers. They were reliable. They each have over 4 decades of work experience. Customers love them. I depended on them.” “But I can’t blame them. If I were in their position, I would quit, too.” Danny and Charlene are part of The Great Resignation. Baby boomers, who are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day have been crunching the numbers on their Roth IRAs, their Traditional IRAs, their 401(k)s, their SEPs, their savings, their investments, and their social security. They are doing the math on their budgets. And the Baby Boomers are resigning in droves. For Sally, it is a problem to replace her best front-line employees. For large corporations, the resignation of 21 million experienced workers in the past 8 months is a crisis. This attrition the next business crisis – the loss of the knowledge, education, work ethic, and talents of their most experienced people. As Baby Boomers walk out the door, some Generation Xers are feeling relieved. “Finally! Maybe I can get promoted now!” Other Generation Xers are considering their own resignation. “I don’t want to work for a new boss. Bill was great. I do not want Bill’s job. Whoever they bring in is going to be worse. Maybe I will follow Bill’s example and retire as well." Human Resource managers are panicking. “We are advertising everywhere, and we still cannot recruit the right people.” “We are offering great pay and benefits and we still cannot hire the right people.” “We are incentivizing our current employees with free lunches and other perks, and we still cannot keep the right people.” This, and thousands of other scenarios, is The Great Resignation. Senior executives are worried: “How are we going to fill the gaps? Where are the job-hunters? How do we get future leaders ready for increased responsibilities?” Some senior leaders were not thinking about leaving or moving to another job until they were hit with a wave of empty positions: “I don’t want to have to do Cindy and Mark’s job along with mine. Maybe it is time for me to retire, too." Employment cycles move like waves in the ocean. External forces impact us close to home. Everything Sally is experiencing is happening on a larger scale throughout corporate America. The businesses that are least prepared and most negatively impacted by this wave are those without a viable succession plan. A solid succession plan:
The consequences of The Great Resignation are just now being realized as organizations are opening back up to find that some of their best talent is staying home for good. How is The Great Resignation affecting your organization? Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Mary Kelly
Distractions are everywhere, and leaders know they need good habits that ground them in what is most important. Being productive seems to be more difficult when people are thinking about taking vacations and traveling. Incorporate these habits into your regular routines to stay focused on what is most important.
Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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