Tag Archives: learning

“Resiliency” at Friday’s Beer Club

It’s Friday night at our regular beer club gathering and we’re having a lively conversation about a recent workshop I had given on “employee fatigue”.  Several people were weighing in on the complexities of today’s work world and the resulting stress of trying to keep up in order to keep one’s job.  Lots of ideas were being tossed out along with the rounds of beer.

I introduced the idea of teaching ourselves resiliency.  One of our colleagues, who had had a tough day at work, questioned what resiliency really was – did it even exist?  I assured him that yes, it does and what a gift it is for those that have it.

What is “Resiliency” Anyway?

Emotional resiliency is simply the ability to successfully respond and adapt to difficult life situations.  Resiliency is a subtle, quiet quality that one might not notice or appreciate unless they are looking for it.  Resilient people often don’t even know they possess that quality – it’s just the way they’ve learned to see and cope with life.  Resiliency is actually a learned skill that improves with age, practice and experience.

Learning How to be Resilient

The best way to learn how to develop your own resiliency is to watch others.  In my workshops, I ask people how  they learned to be resilient.  Almost always they say it came from watching someone close to themselves – maybe a parent, grandparent or someone in a mentor role. .They may have also learned by going through multiple tough times themselves.  Additionally, they do these five things:

  • Acknowledge the Reality & Move On
  • Expect Change & Be Ready to Adapt
  • Stay Connected with Others Everyday
  • Learn From Past Experiences
  • Find a Bigger Meaning & Purpose in Life

It sounds like alot.  How does one do this?  it takes self-awareness and the willingness to practice seeing and living life from a different perspective.  And a key component is emotional optimism.  A resilient person is an optimist person.  See my next blog for my favorite tips on how to self-coach yourself to be more optimistic and therefore, more resilient over the long run.

 

 

 

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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!

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Just Keep Pedaling: Rain, Hail & Cold

Just keep pedaling . . . wise words I repeated to myself as the rain, hail and cold beat down on my husband, Wally, and me as we rode our racing tandem bicycle in a 60 mile race in Northern California this past weekend.  With 250 other bicycles (including many other racing tandems) we were riding in the beautiful ranching community of Indian Valley close to Lake Almanor. 

“Who’s idea was this anyway?!”  Well, I guess in all honesty it was mine.  It sounded good on paper and we had planned for months to do this . . . but who would have known that we’d have rain, sleet & snow on Memorial Day weekend.  But there we were with nothing to do but keep on pedaling.  

What Makes for Success

So as the miles swept by under my pedals (we average about 16 miles an hour) I got to thinking about what makes for success on a challenge such as this.  I came up with five ideas:

  • Set the vision of finishing (with glass of wine & hot bath)
  • Concentrate on the rhythm (I close my eyes but Wally keeps his eyes open)
  • Be in the moment (listen to the sounds around me & relax in the movement of the tandem)
  • Stay in sync with the cues Wally is giving me for the steep uphills & fast downhills
  • Trust in the bike, the front rider (has to be a strong rider) and my own ability

And we were done . . . 5 hours later with frozen feet and “screaming” quads we pedaled into Greenville High School to check in and say thank you to the volunteers who fed and encouraged us all along the way.  And it was more fun to send the IPhone pictures to those college kids who think Mom & Dad are too old to barely move.  A great adventure and some wonderful reminders that it really is well worth it to just “keep pedaling”.

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Learning Gives You a Lift!

I look forward to every Wednesday afternoon.  This is a time for me – for me to focus on my own professional learning through advanced training with Susan Whitcomb’s Career Coach Academy.  Several years ago I completed my original certification (CCMC) with the Academy and now I’m back for the “refresh & renew” four month course.  And I’m enjoying it so much more now!

Adding Value to My Clients

Each week I learn something new that I can bring immediately to my coaching clients.  I’m refreshing my treasure chest of career coaching tools, strategies and techniques which greatly adds to the value I bring my clients. And since I’ve had my coaching business for almost ten years now, I have a wealth of experience that I can draw on as well.  I’m staying on the cutting edge so my clients can stay on the cutting edge. 

Gives Me a Lift

On-going learning has always been a key part of growing my coaching business.  Although continuing education credits (CEUs) are required for my various certifications that’s not why I make learning a priority.  I’ve always attended professional conferences, courses & workshops and networking events because I get a wonderful psychological boost from the energy of ideas in the room.  But it is a significant financial investment . . .  is it worth it?  Yes!  Learning is like the icing on the cake.  Don’t miss the opportunity to be enriched and to enrich others by making these investments.

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Professional Associations: Triple Benefits for You

Recently,  I had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker for the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) annual membership dinner.  It was held at IGT here in Reno and was beautifully organized by Kristy Holbrook and her committee.  As I got to know both the members and guests before the dinner I was reminded how much fun these meetings really are.  People from all over come together to relax, laugh and enjoy getting to know each other.  And a lot of business is getting done at the same time.  Here’s how . . .

Benefits to Your Career

There are three primary benefits to joining and actively participating in these groups.  First, are the friendships you will develop over the years.  Second, as you get to know others and they learn about you opportunities to share referrals will naturally develop.   And third, you will learn about what is going on in your field – what’s emerging, who’s who and how you can fit in.  Yes, there is usually a yearly fee and yes, it takes time each month to attend but the benefits to your personal development are well worth it.  Over the years, I have been active in many organizations including the America Society of Training & Development (ASTD); Nevada Professional Coach Association (NPCA); Western Industrial Nevada (WIN) and the Northern Nevada Chamber of Commerce.

Taking a Leadership Role

So look for the associations that you can stretch and grow in.  And then challenge yourself by stepping into a leadership role.  Every association needs to rotate board positions and the work load.  Do your part by volunteering to serve on the board in an area that you can share your experience and expertise actively.  You will be advancing your profession and helping others be successful as well.  And it’s fun as well!

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