Kit Prendergast, PCC
Kit brings you a wealth of expertise and experience as well as a wonderful spirit, energy, and a gift for inspiring you to create the life you truly want for yourself.Kit's Tips & Books
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Category Archives: Kit’s Tips
Stepping Up to Be a Global Volunteer: Why & Who?
Painting the schoolyard wall with the children and staff, as part of Global Volunteers, 2015.
It’s a good question . . . Why volunteer time, energy and money to work in a totally different country with all its risks and unknown challenges? And who would even want to do that anyway?First, the question of “why” . . . although the answer is different for everyone, it almost always gets back to a strong sense of wanting to be part of something bigger than just ourselves – to find meaning and purpose in our own individual efforts. It’s that spark – that hope that each of us in some small way can contribute to making the world just a little better for others.
Second, is the “who” . . . who takes on these kinds of challenges? Our work in Peru was intense but relatively easy compared to the tough Peace Corp assignments, Doctors Without Borders or other similar humanitarian efforts around the world today.
Making handprints for the schoolyard wall, with Global Volunteers, 2015
Now what about you? At this time in your life, are you thinking (and maybe even excited) about stepping up to this kind of experience? It takes a lot of planning, preparation and can cost significant money as well as time away from work and family commitments. Are you ready for that kind of adventure and challenge?
If so, here are five excellent more personal questions to honestly ask yourself before raising your hand and submitting your application.
- What are my expectations of this experience and are they realistic?
- Am I physically and emotionally healthy enough for this experience and possible risks?
- Am I truly open and receptive to learning and appreciating a new culture/way of life?
- Am I really flexible regarding time schedules, new foods, different personalities (on the team), work responsibilities etc?
- Do I have a love of people and a sense of humor!
There are many other criteria to honestly see if global volunteerism is for you at this time in your life. Be honest with yourself – this may be a great time or perhaps not “yet”. Either way, it’s a delicious option!
Posted in Global Training & Coaching, Kit's Tips
Tagged communication, Global Volunteerism, learning, Visioning
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Am I Drifting in My Career? 3 Ways to Know
Time moves very quickly in our busy professional and personal lives. And it’s easy to allow things to just happen because they seemed like a good idea at the time. But before we slip into the second half of this year, let’s step back and do a “career health checkup”.
Remembering that we each have unique needs, here are my 3 favorite ways to help us honestly assess if we are simply in “career drift” or actively creating the career and life we want at this time.
First, let’s start with engagement and that intuitive voice in your head that often asks questions (and challenges) you as you drive home from a typical work day. Questions like: “Where has the day gone?” or “Did I really get anything worthwhile done?” With an answer like: “It was just a day like any other day” followed by a deep sigh. Your intuition is telling you something you already know but may be reluctant to admit. . . . You really are not fully (or even semi) psychologically engaged in your work at this time.
Second, where is the genuine joy in your work? It’s a simple question. . . . “Do you enjoy your work most days?” Or do you find yourself dreaming about how things could be different? There may have been a passion you deeply enjoyed in the past and now you don’t even allow yourself to dream about it because “it’s simply not possible anymore”. Where is the joy?
Third, are you enthusiastic about your work? Or do you find yourself a bit sensitive and even defensive when others ask you about your current work? That’s a red flag that you are in career drift. And if you hear yourself justifying your choices with lots of “shoulds”, “its better in the long run” or all the reasons why it’s not as “bad as it could be,” then you are drifting for sure.
I hope these simple questions get you thinking as these delicious days of summer approach. If you need anything, always feel free to contact me!
And in the spirit of not letting life drift by . . . my twin sister and I are headed to Lima, Peru, for three weeks (6/4 – 6/25) to work with Global Volunteers, an international organization serving developing communities. We will be working in a very poor village up in the hills of Lima. This is our second international assignment and although this one will be quite challenging physically, it will no doubt be emotionally very rewarding as well. I’ll have lots of stories to share with you in July!
Posted in Career Tips & Strategies, Kit's Tips
Tagged Career, motivation, strengths, success
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Your Words Will Inspire Others to Take Action
It’s relatively easy to simply get up and speak in front of a group. But to design a meaningful message and then deliver it in a powerful way so that it has the impact you want is far more difficult.
I’ve been a master trainer for years and have learned a lot through my share of mistakes. I’m very comfortable now with my skills in knowing what will work or not with different kinds of audiences, in different venues and with different desired outcomes.
So if your goal is to inspire others to take some kind of action, then think carefully about these three “best practices” as you start to prepare. These three elements will give you an excellent framework for your 18-minute “TED-like” Talk. You will be pleasantly surprised at the impact you can have!
- First, know what is important to your audience! What is meaningful to them?
- Second, speak from your heart – your passion is what will engage your listeners.
- Third, be clear about the action you want them to take and why.
Figuring Out the Health of Your Organization
How healthy is your organization? … That’s a good question. Your company may be business “smart” in how it handles its finances, marketing, technology etc. but is it equally focused on maximizing the strengths, expertise and emotional intelligence of its employees?
And how can you tell that? Intuitively, people know if their organization is genuinely healthy in ways that really matter most to them. It’s actually pretty simple. Here are my favorite 5 ways to assess your own company’s health (or team). Many additional ways are described by Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business; he gives us a wealth of insights into this fascinating idea of organization health.
5 Things Easy to Observe:
- Relatively low employee turnover. People want to work for you!
- Employees genuinely speak well of you and the company out of your hearing.
- There is a positive energy in the air – very little drama or unproductive complaining.
- People show up and are engaged beyond their basic job descriptions.
- Leaders are involved and available at every level.
What rating would you give your own company? Your own team? Challenge yourself to improve!
In All Honesty: Can Your Team Trust You?
The concept of “trust” within our workplace teams means much more than just expecting someone else on the team to get something done on time.
Healthy trust among colleagues takes time to achieve. It grows from the ups & downs of shared experiences, the willingness to connect in meaningful ways, honest on-going communication and positive, engaged collaboration that brings desired results. And the foundation is a sincere appreciation of each other, our unique differences and the acknowledgment that we each bring great value to the team effort.
So where do you stand with your team? Start with an honest self-assessment using these questions. Next, move on to soliciting input from your team. How would they answer these questions? Now you are ready to make some behavioral changes starting with simply letting others know you more.
- Do people know you well at work?
- Do your team members feel “safe” with you?
- Can they be themselves, showing their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths?
- Do they gravitate to you at work or networking events, sharing what’s important to them both professionally and personally?
- Bottom line . . . do they “know, like and respect” you?
Give yourself time to build this relationship. It’s very subtle but very powerful. The difference between a mediocre performing team and a high performing team is all about trust.