Now Where Was I Again…..?

Hello again! Remember me? I know, it’s been a while since I’ve last posted. I confess, I’ve been MIA (missing in action). I haven’t been much in the blog writing mode these days because I’ve been in the major “DOING” mode. Busy, busy…..espousing/talking/working….TGIM work-life in a variety of workshops/retreats/webinars.  It’s all been great fun — with a lot of work — but lots at once, so a little less time to blog (sorry folks!).

In any case, I thought I’d share a quick snapshot of where I’ve been recently wrt to workshops, presentations, etc. :

Ministry of the Environment: I delivered a 1/2 day workshop: “Strategies for a TGIM Work-life” — Tips and strategies for engagement. See here for testimonials.

Centennial College: Lead a two and a half day retreat for the college’s most senior leaders: “Reflective Leadership Forum” — exploring strategies to build reflective practice in one’s daily work and life. See here to read what they had to say.

Project World / Business Analyst Conference: Lead a two day workshop for project managers and business analysts: Coaching Skills for Leaders.  See here to read what they had to say.

Upper Canada Law Society: Participated in a panel discussion on Work-life balance at their 3rd annual Solo and Small Firm Conference. Great feedback - soon to upload.

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA): Presented a Webinar :“Assertiveness at Work” (which I’ve written about in previous posts - and am in process of planning a follow-up teleclass - details to be announced but likely in the fall).  If you’d like to listen to the archive - click here. And to read some of the great feedack - see here.

Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC): Presented a Webinar: “Asking the Right Questions for Career Success”. Testimonial.

AND ALONG THE WAY…and in between I had all my other work — I’m not complaining, actually I’m quite grateful for all my clients and the terrific work opportunities I’ve had. But (yeah, there’s a ‘but’)….it has been BUSY so I’ve been time-challenged these days,

Now that summer’s here….I hope to slow down just a bit for a little while. Time to reflect on all that ‘doing’ and the learning along the way. I’ll be back….will write about the experiences, learnings, insights, etc.

But for now….I’m honouring my TGIM work-life needs and catching my breath.

To a TGIM Work-life!

Eileen

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Assertiveness Teleclass Series - need your input!

Because I buried the ‘lead’ in yesterday’s post:)….here I am again, ‘asserting myself’…this time more clearly

I am developing a teleclass series (Assertiveness at Work) to build on the Webinar I’m presenting tomorrow and need your input. If you think you might be interested, please take a moment to complete a very short questionnaire. This will help me suss out i) if there’s enough interest out there to offer such a program and ii) to meet the needs of those most interested.

It’s fast (the questionnaire), it’s quick and it’s HERE….THE LINK TO A QUICK SURVEY.

Thanks and to a TGIM work-life!

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New! Teleclass Series: “Assertiveness at Work”

More than 700 people have registered for my upcoming CICA-hosted Webinar “Assertiveness at Work” scheduled for this Wednesday, May 21st. That’s a lot of interest! I suggested that topic (and have written articles on this blog before) because the theme of assertiveness skills seems to resonate with a lot of folks that I meet, work with and coach.

Leaders of all levels find themselves stretched as the stakes of work and life keep getting higher. All competent and talented — they recognize that assertiveness is not an all or none proposition. Fuency in assertiveness skills is personal and for many of us, can be further developed over time. Part of the emotional intellegence skillset, assertiveness plays a role in the degree that we are fulfilled, how effectively we perform — and generally how much we get of what we want and need in work and life.

Does this resonate with you? If so, please take notice….Drumroll please…..(darn I’m buring the lead in this post

INTRODUCING: the  Big Cheese Coaching Lab© – with the first offering focusing on a Teleclass series on: “Assertiveness at Work”.

In the incubator as we speak, I am developing a group coaching teleclass series (likely six sessions…once per week) and I need your input! In the spirit of the Big Cheese Coaching Lab© — I want to hear from you so I can ensure I develop a program that is most meaningful and relevant to those most interested.

IF INTERESTED - PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE MOMENTS TO COMPLETE A SHORT SURVEY HERE. 

Please assert yourself and make your voice heard!

And check back soon for more details!

Till then, here’s to a TGIM worklife!

Eileen

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Is TGIM turning over a new leaf….er… page on the calendar?

This just in: Mondays are out and Tuesdays are in!

Well, in Britain that is…

The Globe and Mail ran a brief on Friday revealing some new stats: According to a recent survey conducted by a company called Peninsula in Britain, nearly half (48%) of British workers now consider Tuesday to be the most productive day of the week, beating out Monday for the first time. 

Apparantly this is a reversal from five years ago, when 36% chose Monday and only 24% said Tuesday was the hardest day of the week.

Why the switch? According to Deb Gibbons, head of employee relations for Peninsula, Mondays tend to be the day for more socializing, catching up, greater levels of sickness and absenteeism, etc…..so “the real work gets done on Tuesday”.

Absenteeism, sickness…..on Mondays?????  Well, that’s not good! Sounds like a call for some TGIM boosting wouldn’t you say???

So maybe we’re not so passe after all. Maybe I’ll keep the name of this blog afterall. TGIT (thank goodness it’s Tuesday) just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

In any case, wishing you a TGIM day on this lovely holiday weekend Monday  (in Canada anyways).

Eileen

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Webinar: Assertiveness at Work

I’ll be presenting a Webinar called “Assertiveness at Work” on May 21st for the CICA (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants). If you are interested in this topic, email me - I might be able to arrange some access for a few more people.

Here’s the Webinar promo description:

Do you occasionally (or often) feel held back in your career because you haven’t appropriately asserted yourself? Do you find it challenging to promote yourself, your views and your opinions?

Do you feel uncomfortable and/or hesitate to speak up — especially on issues that might involve some conflict? Do you find yourself frequently saying yes — when you’d rather say no?

….. Whether you have an outgoing or shy disposition, there are assertiveness skills you can develop to help you more effectively and authentically express yourself in a variety of work and life situations……

If interested in developing assertiveness - either for yourself and/or others in your work-life, contact me to learn more/explore coaching and/or workshop possibiliites. Assertiveness is part of the emotional intelligence spectrum and is increasingly becoming an area of focus for me in my practice. 

Hey did you notice how I just asserted myself in that previous paragraph…..well, gotta practice what I preach!

To being authentic, self-expressed and getting more of what you want! Sounds like a TGIM work-life!

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The Best Laid Plans Wins The Leacock Award!

Congratulations to Terry Fallis who won the Stephen Leacock Award for his debut book: The Best Laid Plans! If you recall, I wrote a post when Terry was nominated a few weeks ago. 

See the news release here announcing the winner.

See Terry’s blog to learn more about “The Best Laid Plans”

See what this has to do with TGIM worklife in earlier post

And get a copy and read it! It’s great fun.

Way to go Ter!!!

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Coaching Skills for Leaders (workshop)

I’m getting ready to deliver a two-day workshop at ProjectWorld’s conference this Wed and Thurs. Held in Toronto, it’s called, “Coaching Skills for Leaders” - This conference is targeted specifically to project managers and business analysts — but the content of my workshop is relevant for all leaders. 

Why coaching skills for leaders? Well as articulated in the promo piece (which I wrote:)…..”Technical skills alone just don’t cut these days. Nor is managing projects enough to succeed. Leaders must inspire their people; develop, support and engage them to actualize their potential to meet employee, team and organizational goals. Thus coaching skills are fast becoming a highly valued area of competency for leaders in today’s fast-paced, competitive and continuously evolving world of work.” 

Read here for the full description of the workshop.

Know anyone who’d be interested (think there are a few spots still left)? Or perhaps to bring this kind of learning into your organization? If so, get in touch!

To a TGIM work week!

Eileen

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When Praise Falls Short

Who doesn’t like a pat on the back or some acknowledgement for a job well done?  I certainly do. But gratuitous praise just doesn’t cut it. In fact, unwarranted praise can sometimes backfire.

The Globe and Mail Life section ran an interesting article earlier this week on this topic. According to a study by Niro Sivanathan, praising people inappropriately can result in something called “Escalation of commitment’. That’s when someone increases their commitment to an idea or decision — even if it’s a bad idea or poor decision. Sivanathan says people who have low self esteem might to stick to their decisions even if they are the wrong ones to avoid owning up to perceived failure or being wrong. Praising someone to make them feel better in light of an error or bad decision might deepen their commitment to ‘look good’ and stay the course.  Conversely those with higher self esteem are much more apt to admit when they are wrong.

So what are the implications for leaders who must give feedback to their people - both for positive performance as well as for performance gaps?

Acknowledgement is increasingly becoming an important engagement driver for retaining talent and promoting high performance. Acknowledgement helps develop confidence, improve self esteem and self trust which is important to grow into one’s potential. People want to feel good about who they are and what they are doing. But as this study reinforces, gratituitous or inauthentic praise is not the way to go.

Here are some tips to consider when giving acknowledgement:

1) Be authentic. Never fake an acknowledgement. It will ring untrue and won’t serve the purpose and it could also reinforce unacceptable behaviour.

2) Be specific about the behaviour that is to be acknowledged — i.e. ”You did great work on that proposal - You came up with some very innovative solutions”.

3) Include an acknowledgement of who they were being in their actions to further build their self trust. E.g. “You were courageous to take such a bold stand in that meeting.”  Notice how much deeper that is than simply acknowledging their actions (i.e. “you spoke up in the meeting”). They can leverage that feedback and sense of being courageous to other situations.

4) For tough feedback (i.e. poor performance), focus your comments specifically on their actions and behaviours vs. their character. E.g. “Your behaviour of missing deadlines is unacceptable,” is better than  “your inability to meet deadlines…”. Notice the distinction. Do not generalize bad behaviour to a permanent character trait (the word “inability” is a character assault and is closing the door to possibility for change).

5) Balance the tough feedback with appropriate positive feedback. It can be demoralizing when feedback is all negative - so balancing it is key.  Try to find something positive to acknowledge the person for — but make sure it’s authentic and it doesn’t overpower the message you need to deliver. Sometimes in efforts to include a positive acknowledgement the other critical message gets lost.

6) If you can’t find anything within the behaviour or performance to acknowledge look to who the they were being in the process to cull something positive. E.g.  “While we need to ramp up the quality of this particular assignment - I do want you to know that I recognize how hard you worked on this and the commitment you demonstrated. …etc.”  (if that is indeed the case)

So there you have it — a few thoughts to share. As always, I welcome feedback of all kinds (especially acknowledgements (kidding) on how to create a TGIM worklife!

Eileen

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The Best Laid Plans - How Passion Can Fuel Success

It’s easier to work hard at something when there is an underlying purpose or passion behind the effort. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it (”easier to work hard“) but that’s how it goes.

Well, nobody knows this better than Terry Fallis. Terry became a first time novelist this past year — and his book, The Best Laid Plans, has just been named one of five shortlisted contenders for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

Wow! How’s that for playing it big on your first try!? This is a huge accomplishment for Terry. Not only is this his first novel — but he did it while working full time. By day, Terry is president at Thornley Fallis - a very busy and successful PR and communications company in Toronto and Ottawa.  By night, he’s doing hockey duty, family time and what not (husband, two kids, volunteer life, etc.).

How the heck did he have time to write a top-notch book worthy of such a high profile award?

Well, guess it was important enough because Terry made the time.

At his book launch he explained how he wrote The Best Laid Plans before and after ‘after hours’ . Huh?

Terry would wake up at the crack of dawn and get a few hours of writing in before work. Then at night, after work; after the hockey games; after the family stuff……Terry would settle into some writing time at 10/11pm…..I’m tired just thinking about it!

What drives someone to do that and to pull off such amazing work at that?

Passion. And a dream.

Terry said he always had a dream to write a book. And guess what?! He had no expectations about the outcome…he just simply wanted to write it. And he wrote and wrote…..from his heart and his passions. He drew the inspiration for the book plot and characters from his personal story and life experiences.  

A Few Lessons Here:

LESSON #1: Great things can happen when one comes from the place of heart and passion.

LESSON #2: Funny how one can “find” the time when they are clear and focused on a dream.

LESSON #3: It’s easier to work hard when you are doing something you love.

LESSON #4:  Your life outside of your work is just as important to provide that ‘mojo’ factor in your life (TGIM….is for work AND life).

LESSON #5: The joy of fulfilling a life-long dream is in itself a reward. But you never know what else may come of it (like a nomination to a prestigious award!!!!)

LESSON #6: You don’t necessarily have to quit your job to do something you’ve always wanted to do. When you are committed - you might just find a way. 

LESSON #7: Our life stories and personal experiences are often the best place to start for inspiration (and I’m not just talking about writing books!).

LESSON #8: I suspect there are more lessons here…..so am leaving this one open for comment….

By way of disclosure, I know Terry professionally and have read his fantastic book (I loved it!!!). I met Terry years ago when working at Hill and Knowlton and more recently have the pleasure of being in touch as I am blessed to be working with many of the great folks at Thornley Fallis in my current work-life.

SO CONGRATS TERRY!

And to everyone - here’s to living your dream and to a TGIM work-life (before, during and after ‘hours’

Eileen

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Making Social Committees Work

Social committees can serve many purposes. Certainly they can add some ‘joie de vivre’ at work (a sense of fun). And they can also help build a more engaged internal ‘community’; encourage teams and departments to work together; give people opportunities to stretch their skills outside of their particular job role — and more.

HR Reporter interviewed me for an article on the topic. If you are interested, have a read.  And as always, would love to hear your thoughts.

To a TGIM work-life!

Eileen

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