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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Tag Archives: change
The Secret to Knowing Your Own Talents
It’s actually easier than we think. A natural talent is the way we think, act or behave that comes easily to us with genuine enjoyment.
It’s almost like “second nature”.
Ask yourself these five powerful “what” questions and then confirm your answers by simply watching yourself when you are the happiest and “at your best”. The answers are right there in front of you.
- What do I gravitate toward?
- What appeals to me spontaneously?
- What comes easily to me?
- What attracts others to me? What do they say about my talents?
- What do I genuinely enjoy doing? Who do I enjoy being?
And our natural talents often have a central theme to them – like a red thread running through them. The next step of clarifying this theme(s) will be the single most important work you can do for yourself as you are growing and developing your professional career.
Posted in Kit's Tips
Tagged Career, change, strengths, Talent Development, Visioning
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Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies
Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies by Joshua Waldman, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011.
There are lots of books out there on social media but this is the first I’ve seen that specifically addresses social media and the job search. It’s well written (like many of the Dummies books) and tackles one social media resource per chapter. It even covers personal branding and the nuances of weaving your brand into your internet presence. And of course, my favorite chapter is on LinkedIn.
Waldman keeps it simple, strategic and smart. Perfect for professionals like me!
Posted in Kit's Resources & Book Reviews
Tagged Career, change, Networking, social media, strengths
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Choose Not to Be Afraid
At 4:45am each morning I take the dogs outside for their first potty beak and to pick up our local paper off the front driveway. As our golden retriever and westie (Snowball & Dooley) are rolling in the snow making snow angels, I am glancing at the paper’s headlines under the garage lights.
Almost without fail, the front page stories shout at me about something that is going to immediately endanger myself or my family. It can be anything from global terrorism; the national economy, our local unemployment statistics; home foreclosure rates or a whole array of looming health disasters that will kill me off before the day is done. I’m surprised I can stagger back into the house for my first cup of coffee.
Fear, worry and anxiety are epidemic in our world today. The media, our politicians and even our family & friends are telling us constantly to “be afraid” of everything and anything. Yes, there are some very real things in 2013 that we need to be concerned about but do we really have to be worried 24/7? No, we don’t!
It’s our choice – what are we going to be concerned about (in a healthy way) and what are we going to let go. It takes practice but over time each of us develops an inner “check list” of what is worth getting our “knickers in a twist” (as the Brits say) and what needs to go on the back burner. That’s when our inner voice – the language – we use in speaking to ourselves becomes critical.
My challenge to you, is to pay attention to what media generated “fear” can hook you and then be touch with yourself in choosing your response. It’s your choice. Do I retreat to my comfort zone? Second guess myself constantly? Become critical of others? Cynical of the world around me? Think about it . . . and I hope you choose to put fear in its proper place. You are in control . . . not it.
When Blogging Grinds to a Halt!
Despite my best intentions, my weekly blog ground to a halt over the last two months. And it wasn’t even for something terribly exciting. It was rather due to the sudden onset of severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both of my hands. It started late July and really set me back in many ways. I’ve always been blessed with excellent health so I was a bit grumpy to be dealing with this unexpected health challenge.
But after two surgeries (Oct & Nov) I am back to writing, working out in the gym and generally getting into mischief – the spice of life! I was able to continue getting out my monthly e-newsletter Kit’s Monday Tip but it is only now (early January) that the hands are ready for my weekly blog to all of you.
And I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling guilty about slowing down or even stopping blogging on a regular basis. Have you ever felt that way? Life does get in the way for us. We may get pulled away by a family member’s pressing needs or by our own. The lesson I’ve learned is that it’s okay – I’ll get back to it as soon as I can. We’re just doing the best we can. So be kind to yourself if you’ve had to take a break – you will be back as I am now. More to come next week . . . Warmly, Kit
Posted in And a Bit More, Inspirational Leadership, Navigating Change, Your Time & Energy
Tagged change, energy, inspiration, optimism, resiliency
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To Delegate or Not? A Struggle for Leaders
To delegate or not? Delegation is one of biggest challenges for a leader in today’s work world. With work loads increasing, more complex problems to solve and fewer staff to cover the bases it’s no surprise that anyone in a leadership role (managers, supervisors, team leads etc.) struggle with the who, what, when, why and how of delegating wisely.
Why is it so hard?
As a executive coach, this is what I hear from both experienced leaders and emerging leaders in both corporate, government and non-profit business environments.
- It takes too much time for me to explain it.
- I’m not sure it will be done right.
- I could do it faster, easier, cheaper etc.
- If someone else does it – maybe I’m not needed as much.
- I don’t want to bother people – they’re already working hard enough.
- I don’t want to be self-important. (Jimmy Carter carrying his own suitcase)
Getting In Our Own Way
So the bottom line is that we often get in our own way. Are we a perfectionist? No one else can do it as well as me. Or do we delegate too much to one person that we trust but then others don’t get a chance. Are we concerned that if the other person does a great job that maybe – just maybe – we will be working our way out of a job. Or maybe it’s simply the rush we get from being that “go-to” person all the time even if it means working 24/7.
Those are important questions to ask ourselves. Are we actually the biggest obstacle to ourselves because we can’t get out of our own way?
What does a good role model look like?
Interesting, leaders often mention that they haven’t had a good role model in delegating over the years either from parents, colleagues or bosses. So in a great round robin discussion these 7 qualities were identified by experienced leaders as critical for a “ideal delegator”.
- They create a “culture of delegation”.
- They create a “culture of mutual trust”.
- They plan ahead so they aren’t “dumping” tasks on others.
- They delegate “results” not just “activities”.
- They delegate both important and maintenance tasks as well.
- They have confidence in their staff and want to utilize their staff’s strengths.
- They are truly committed to growing & developing their staff.
So how do you measure up? Are you willing to get out of the way and let others grow, develop and succeed? If so, you will be delightfully surprised how it will help you be more productive, manage your time and energy better and ultimately provide greater benefits to your own company. And the icing on the cake is less stressLet me know how you are doing!