Kit Prendergast, PCC
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Tag Archives: Leadership
Be “Interested” & “Interesting”
Bruce McGregor, age 93, is true Irishman and a delight! Bruce is one of those people that is both “interested and interesting”. Bruce, and his twin brother Bob, have been close friends with my Dad (also 93) for years and years. Bob is now deceased but Bruce continues to live here in Reno and to work part-time as a calendar salesman for a local company.
So what makes Bruce special? One always feels that you have Bruce’s undivided attention – that he is genuinely interested in you. Even as kids, my twin sister and I always enjoyed Bruce. He always was there with a laugh, interested questions and a secret stash of trinkets in the trunk of his car to pass out. We felt special because he made us feel special.
So years later, and even though he wears hearing aids now, Bruce can definitely keep up with any conversation over a glass of wine. For example, Bruce joined me last week at a wonderful Northern Nevada Red Cross Wine Tasting fund raiser www.nevada.red.cross.org. As I watched him meet and greet the significantly younger crowd I was impressed with how Bruce can engage others through his genuine interest in them. He truly is “interested” in what others have to say.
Be Interesting as Well!
But the other side is just as important. Bruce is “interesting” as well. He and his twin brother traveled extensively throughout the world. There is not a country, city, town, train, cruise etc. that Bruce can’t remember and tell you which road to take; a great restaurant to eat at and the best hotel to book. Before any trip I make sure to consult with Bruce. And being Irish, Bruce always knows the best deals as well!
What a treat to know Bruce and what great lessons he can teach all of us. This is what I continue to learn from Bruce . . . to always strive to not only be genuinely “interested” in others but also to be “interesting” as well. I need to take every opportunity to go and do – to learn and to grow. And I encourage you to do the same. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that others will gravitate to you and you both will enjoy the richness of each other’s experiences and lives. That’s great for your personal life and your professional career as well.
The Introvert Advantage
The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World, by Marti Olsen-Laney, Psy.D. 2002.
This is a great book! Olsen-Laney is an introvert herself and she writes this book to help other introverts understand and appreciate themselves – the gifts and talents they bring everyday to their work places, their families and their communities.
I especially liked her chapter on introverts at work which is filled with concrete, practical tips on how to excel at work without changing who you are – a proud Introvert! And the flip side of each tip are excellent suggestions for the managers and leaders in an organization who want to know their introverts a bit better.
Appreciating the Introvert’s Gifts
I’m an extrovert. Always have been and always will be. But I couldn’t do all that I do in my business, my family and my community work without the partnership of many introverts.
This is what I love about introverts . . . they listen, they speak and then they listen some more. They contribute well thought-out ideas and they see what I don’t see. They concentrate on one thing at a time so they don’t seem as fragmented or constantly distracted as many of us do. They are often solid team members bringing another dimension and value to our busy work lives.
But it’s not easy – either being an introvert in today’s workplace or managing an introverted staff member. This month’s book, The Introvert Advantage is filled with wonderful tips on how to navigate today’s workplace as an introvert, but here are 3 of my favorite tips for the introvert’s manager to remember as well.
- Introverts do best with a quiet place to work without interruptions.
- Introverts may not speak up in meetings but be sure to ask them for their opinions.
- Introverts will need time to think before responding to your request/questions.
Coaching Takes Off Internationally!
What a whirlwind! I just returned from the wonderful annual international coaching conference (ICF) held this year in Las Vegas, NV. This is my sixth conference – Quebec, Saint Louis, Oakland, San Jose & Montreal – and each have been a great experience well worth the money and time.
Here in Nevada, we had approximately 1,000 coaches from 42 countries attending bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to this four day conference. My head was spinning from first attending our own state-wide NV coaching conference to hearing from the incredibly inspirational key-note speakers (Michael Gelb & Steve Farber) to soaking in the rich content offered by renowned coaching professionals in the many breakout sessions. The evening wine & hors d’oeuvres events in the exhibit hall finished off each day beautifully.
Coaching is Growing World-Wide
But the very best for me is always meeting coaches from all over the United States and the world. During the opening session, it is truly a thrill to see the world map up on the big screens and then as each country is called the country’s coaches stand to thunderous applause. This year there were more coaches from Africa, the Middle East and the Eastern European bloc than I remember in past years. The UK, Canada, China, Australia and South America have hundreds of coaches attending as well.
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the industry recognized professional association for coaching. Currently, there are 8,000 credential ICF coaches and 125 chapters in 109 countries. It is relatively young for a professional association – just 16 years old – but then again our profession is young as well with its formal beginnings in the early 1990’s. At the conference, I saw a significant trend toward corporate internal coaching, business development and leadership coach specialties.
Individual Conversations with Coaches
And what a delight to have great conversations with Anne-Marie Sevenster, South Africa; Vedat Erol, Turkey; Alexander Vreede, Netherlands; Gilles Gambade,Greece and Angela Kontgen & Victoria Stikeman from Toronto, Canada. I also had a chance to work in small groups with coaches from Mexico, Brazil, Sweden and Romania – even got an invitation to meet with the coaches in Greece! There is such a positive energy, an incredibility strong entrepreneur spirit and a willingness to think BIG – all in the service of others world-wide.
Ideas, resources and business cards were flying back and forth. Some of my training materials are going to South Africa and others are going north to Canada. What fun to share our expertise, our experiences and our support for each other and for the emerging profession of professional coaching. These individual conversations are truly what I treasure after each conference. I feel connected and honored to have several more friends and colleagues around the world . . . and I think I just might followup on that invitation to visit the coaches from Greece!
Community Tragedies & Resiliency
Northern Nevada has been struck with two terrible community tragedies in just the last 10 days. First, we had a random shooting in a local IHop coffee shop killing four people including three National Guard members in uniform. Many others were injured – all who just stopped by for a quick breakfast on a Tuesday morning after the Labor Day holiday. Now tonight we are hearing of multiple deaths out at the Reno Air Races from an aircraft which careened out-of-control into the public viewing stands.
The impact of these events is huge. Not only for the friends and families of the people killed and injured but for the community as a whole. Nevada has had a very difficult time with our high unemployment, high foreclosure rate and an endless stream of bad news for an economic recovery. But that’s when we rediscover resiliency . . .
Resiliency is Hope
One of my favorite workshops topics is about resiliency – what it is and how to keep it. Resiliency is all about hope. Resilient people intuitively believe in these three things.
First, that the situation is temporary – resilient people see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Second, they have some control over their own response to the situation. Resilient people tell themselves, and others, that we will make it through this difficult time.
Third, that they are not personally responsible for the situation occurring. They didn’t cause it. They are not to blame for it. It’s bigger than them.
How We Learn Resilience
I often ask people in my workshops this question “How did you learn to be resilient?” Often, they say they learned by just watching someone else. It was usually someone older in their family or in their community as they were growing up. Children watch and learn from those older than them – an important reminder as we are raising and mentoring younger people.
The same is true in our professional lives. And as I watch the community leaders on TV tonight, I’m looking for them to demonstrate the qualities of resiliency – that yes, this too will past and that we will handle it well. That is leadership at its best.