Tag Archives: strengths

Are You Fully Charged?

Are You Fully Charged? The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life, by Tom Rath, Silicon Guild Press, 2015.

I always enjoy seeing a new Tom Rath book on the shelves. Rath (author of StrengthFinder 2.0) has a wonderful perspective on today’s challenges in our fast-paced work world. In his newest book, Rath emphasizes “daily well-being” – what makes the critical difference in feeling fully engaged each day? Rath identifies three key conditions that make all the difference in our personal and professional lives: finding meaning, positive interactions and maintaining our health & energy.

The chapter on finding meaning and purpose in our work particularly resonated for me in light of my work in Lima, Peru in June. Pick up this highly readable book up and enjoy becoming more “fully charged” starting today!

Posted in Kit's Resources & Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

You Are Strong! What Your Hands, Head and Heart Already Know

soy fuerte workshop-1 How do you help someone else recognize their own strengths? Their own potential? To believe in themselves and their future when the odds are against them?

This was the challenge when our team of Global Volunteers was asked to design and deliver a motivational workshop for the teenage boys aging out of their orphanage in Lima, Peru. They had lived there for years and now they would be on their own in just a few short months.

Would they recognize their unique strengths and be able to use those assets to achieve the future they wanted for themselves? How could we help set them up for success, and do it in a second language, with limited training supplies and in just 45 minutes?

It was actually the boys talking about their passion for soccer that sparked the idea of using a simple picture of a hand, a head and a heart to capture their individual strengths. Our goal was to have each young man recognize and appreciate his own foundation of unique strength.

soy fuerte workshop-2Here’s how we did it in five simple steps – so simple but so powerful – and you can do the same with any young person in any life circumstance.

  1. Start with a large piece of white paper for each teen and several colored pencils. In the left bottom corner, ask them to outline their hand with outstretched fingers. On each finger, ask them to write a skill or strength that they have with their hands. (For example: soccer, art/drawing, cooking, electrical repair, wood working, etc.)
  2. Next, ask them to draw a picture of their face or head in the upper middle page. Ask them to write down their “head” strengths, usually from their schooling (math, writing, music, etc.)
  3. Finally, ask them to draw a picture of their heart in the lower right corner of the page. Here they write their “heart” strengths like courage, persistence, faith, etc.
  4. Connect the three pictures (hand, head & heart) with a triangle and ask them to write “Soy Fuerte” or “I Am Strong” in the center.
  5. From here, you can flip the paper over and help them identify their future or dream jobs and finally, what resources they will need to use to achieve those goals.

Did it work? Yes! Very Well.

It was amazing to see how quickly the teenage boys grasped these concepts of interpersonal strengths and were able to apply them directly to their future. We were amazed and so inspired by their courage and spirit. Thank you boys for allowing us to be part of your journey!

Posted in Global Training & Coaching, Inspirational Leadership, Kit's Tips | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , | Leave a comment

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:

  1. Relatively low employee turnover. People want to work for you!
  2. Employees genuinely speak well of you and the company out of your hearing.
  3. There is a positive energy in the air – very little drama or unproductive complaining.
  4. People show up and are engaged beyond their basic job descriptions.
  5. Leaders are involved and available at every level.

What rating would you give your own company? Your own team? Challenge yourself to improve!

Posted in Kit's Tips | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What is “Essential” to You? Focus on the Power of Five

In deciding what is essential, I always start with identifying the outcome I want in a certain area. And then I think about the strategy I need to achieve this outcome and what disciplined approach will be most effective in implementing the strategy.

Here’s what it looks like – it’s actually my annual business plan.

  1. I draw out my favorite Olympic Circles picture – five interconnecting circles.
  2. In each circle, I write an area of my business that I have chosen to be essential in the coming year. My five areas for 2015 are:

Individual Career Transition Coaching; Corporate Partnerships (Training & Coaching); Mentoring/Prof. Development; Marketing; Business of the Business.

These five areas are where I want to devote my time and energy this year.

When I do that in a disciplined way, I am extremely effective in achieving my goals and my business grows and flourishes!

Posted in Kit's Tips | Tagged , , | Leave a comment