by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 13, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Leaders need to be decisive and stay tenaciously on track. Fundamentally this means maintaining a persistent focus on their goals as much as possible and doing all that they can to motivate others. The list below describes what many of the most decisive and persistent leaders do in practice to achieve this:
- Conveys a sense of urgency in achieving the desired results; shows others how to act quickly and responsively.
- Demonstrates clear purpose, enthusiasm and commitment to own goals. Directs his or her attention fully on the task; minimizes distractions; focuses on results, not just activities and long hours.
- Doesn’t give up easily, even when his/her work is not utilized, or fully adopted and continues to produce and thrive even when his/her ideas are met with resistance and/or disinterest.
- Encourages employees to set ambitious goals; rewards efforts and achievements; gives credit where credit is due; serves as an example to others in personal performance terms.
- Handles multiple projects effectively; isn’t upset by too many things up-in-the-air; shifts gears quickly and comfortably.
- Has a broad perspective on what is important; participates in setting own personal goals.
- Inspires others through own drive and determination to meet ambitious goals and objectives; Mobilizes people to accept tough challenges willingly.
- Is able to effectively manage time to set and achieve demanding deadlines; projects a sense of urgency and brings issues and projects to closure.
- Is not easily discouraged by lack of progress; tries another tactic cheerfully and willingly.
- Is persistent and dogged about meeting deadlines, even when faced with unexpected obstacles; follows through with work to completion; doesn’t let things drop.
- Maneuvers well around roadblocks in a complex, ever-changing environment. Pursues everything with energy, drive, and a need to finish; perseveres in the face of adversity.
- Pursues opportunities for self-improvement on a continuous basis.
- Requests assignments that will build his/her skills and knowledge base.
- Sets definite time-frames for task and project completion and holds him/herself and subordinates accountable for deadlines.
- Takes the initiative to push beyond what is expected; works hard to improve performance and test own limits.
- Understands how the organization functions and can get things done through formal channels as well as informal networks.
- Understands that people are driven by different factors (i.e., challenge, money, doing well, etc.); knows how to look for that motivation and then applies appropriate motivators differentially.
- Works effectively in ambiguous situations; steps forward to establish a structure; seeks out unstructured situations as opportunities to demonstrate leadership.
reblogged from readytomanage.com
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 11, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
One of the things that I love about entrepreneurship is that it is a continual adventure. You never know what is around the next corner. Even when you think that you have it figured out the game changes.
It is not that it is any different than the rest of life. It is just a focused experience.
One of the things that happens is that we forget to see it as an adventure and we expect it to work out or get figured out or some other final state of order and control. This will never be the case. But if we embrace the journey and try to have some fun along the way we will have some wonderful experiences.
Right, but how do you do that when it seems like it is more of an ordeal than an exciting journey?
Well, first start where it is easy. Are you enjoying yourself when things are good?
As cliché as it sounds, have you stopped and smelled the flowers? What do you really care about and why? What makes you laugh and cry and think it is all worth it?
Then when things are a little more intense and the pressure is on, you can try not to label it negatively try instead to see what is happening as a challenge or even a game. If you can play with the events that come your way bad, good or indifferent they will be much easier to navigate.
Take a moment and brainstorms some ways that you can learn to embrace the adventure that is your life.
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 8, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Most people agree that self-confidence is one of the most important factors in how well we do in life.
We are born with perfect self-confidence, but that is eroded by many factors as we grow up.
Instead of focusing on the things that drag down our confidence, it is important to remember the things that boost it. Whether we are going to a job interview, a first date, giving a speech, or just getting through the day, there are some basic ways that we can give ourselves that extra boost of confidence that will win the day:
1. Focus On Wins
Have reminders of your achievements in full view so you can see them every night before going to bed and every morning when you wake up. They can be trophies, awards achieved, or anything that you are proud of. If you have no visible record, write down at least five things you are proud having achieved and post them by the mirror in your bathroom and on the wall in your workplace.
2. Remember What You Are Proud Of
List all the things you are proud of. What can you put on your résumé? What did you do that took courage? Perhaps you moved away from your family, struck out on your own, or left an abusive relationship. Things that others would be afraid of doing, but you did them. How about the people you helped? Or maybe things you didn’t do, like say negative things about someone when everyone else was. Have you gone out of your way to help someone, when others might not have?
List these things and read them whenever you face a situation where you will need all your confidence.
3. Always Give Your Best
Give your best in all situations. The outcome may not be what you wanted, but you will come away feeling good about yourself–every time you do you will come away a stronger person. Stand up for what you believe in and what is right. Defend someone who is weaker, someone who is being bullied, or someone being treated unfairly. Resist the urge to go along just to get along. Be true to yourself and you will respect yourself and earn respect from those that matter.
4. Just Do It
We all are afraid of doing unfamiliar things for the first time, but those who succeed do things they have a fear of doing. Get into the habit of pushing your comfort zone and doing things you are a little bit frightened to do. Make a list of something every week and every month. They don’t have to be huge but require some courage for you to do.
Try taking a dancing class, going to a movie alone, or starting a conversation with a stranger. See how it makes you feel after. Keep track of these things on a calendar. Review them every so often, or before that big date, interview, or event that is going to demand all the confidence you can muster.
5. Keep Building Your Wins
Don’t get into comparing your win with that of others. Your achievement is as important as anyone else’s.
Only share what you are doing with those that totally support you. Confidence builds upon itself, and the more you think you can do, the more you will attempt and be successful at. Keep adding to your win list and watch yourself soar.
reblogged from fastcompany.com
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 5, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Do you have a continual stream of thoughts negative or otherwise running through your mind at all times? Most people do if they have not taking the time to do something about it.
It is a symptom of our times and our culture. We are taught and encouraged to make all our decisions from our head and because of this our mind does what it is best at – it comes up with a million different options that often keep us ping-ponging back and forth and getting no where. So, what can we do about it? Here are 3 steps you can take:
Observation: One of the problems can be that we are not even aware that we are thinking all the time! This is one of the functions of meditation. If you are not into meditation take 5 minutes to just focus on your thoughts.
Getting Active: Being physically active helps us get out of our heads and to start to feel what is going on below our neck.
Reframing: Once you are in touch with your thoughts, you will want to work with them. So, when you come across a persistent negative thought you can work to reframe it. Reframing is changing it from a negative to a positive thought and practicing thinking and believing that new positive thought.
These three tips will start you on the road to getting out of your head. However, there are emotional reasons why we stay in our head. So very often if you are living from your head you need to explore and resolve these emotional issues so that they do not push you into your head in order to avoid them. This is a good place for you to get some help. Guidance will help you move more quickly through the challenging stuff.
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Apr 27, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
If you are anything like me, you have stacks of self-help books on our shelves –some read, some not. Each book, conference, seminar is another person telling us what it is that we need to do to be happy. And, we read it and we think, this is it. I have it. I am going to finally be able to make those changes and be happier, thinner, more in charge.
And then what happens next is NOTHING. We go from inspiration to flat line and wonder what happened.
Well, I am going to let you in on a couple secrets. The first secret is that the answer that you are looking for doesn’t exist.
The second secret is that all the information in the world is not going to help if you don’t know how to apply it.
Bottom line is that self-help is a business and that business has been structured to make as much money as possible. So, they sell the dream. The dream is that there is an answer and if you know it then you will have the keys to the kingdom –so to speak.
It is not that they are lying to you. Many of these \”experts\” are brilliant and extraordinarily insightful and you will benefit from their work. The problem is not their work it is that you are led (and way too willing) to believe their work will provide you with –the ultimate answer.
So what will it give you? All that information will provide you with a bunch of potential insight. The problem with this is that if you do not know how to apply it, it won’t matter that you have it. Without understanding how the information fits your life and how you can personally apply it to get results you are SOL.
How you apply this type of knowledge is essential to it having any effect on your life at all and that is the piece of information that is not getting passed along. So, when trying to figure out which next step to take, look for someone who is not just talking about the answer but also how to implement it.
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