G.R.I.T. - Give, Recognize, Implement, Time®

Continuing our conversation about team success, today we’re going to dive into what else we need for our teams to be truly successful. Beyond clarity, as we discussed last week, our teams also need us to help them – to serve them.

When our team is successful, we are successful. To that end, removing hurdles, being there for them, and managing at the appropriate level are just a few of the keys I’ll share today that truly lead to team success. Join me as I break this down further.

What’s important for me to convey to my team?

In one word – clarity! Our team needs clarity in what they are asked to do, what they are being held to, what’s expected of them, where the team is going, what their priorities are, and so and so on. There is a lot that we need to convey to our team for them to be successful, all of which comes down to how clearly we convey it.

Join me as I dive into this more deeply and talk about the ways in which we can ensure our message is clearly received by our team.

Why are peoples so resistant? So negative? Not even willing to listen to what I have to say???

It is absolutely frustrating when we are trying to connect with people, get them bought into the future, and they are staunchly resistant to even listening to what we have to say. When this happens, we are often left wondering why and what are we supposed to do? The good news…we got you!

This episode dives into the ways that give us the best chance to overcome the resistance we face from others. From listening techniques, to the way we phrase things, and even how we create context and ground rules, this episode is one you don’t want to miss!

Leaders often ask the question of how do I get people engaged and bought in to my vision for the future? We know where we want to go and want others to go with us; however, we struggle to find the right way to get others as excited as we are. This question, “How do I convey a compelling vision for the future,” is one many have asked, and one we will be answering today.

First and foremost, what’s in it for them? The universal rule of sales and business of know your customers and offer a solution that solves their need applies here as well. When we know what’s in it for others, what they value, how that is met, the positive impact upon them, etc., it makes it a lot easier to speak to it. This simple yet fundamental piece is the corner stone of crafting a compelling vision for the future.

Join me as I dive into other key elements to not only craft a compelling vision, but also be able to convey it while getting others onboard.

What goes into a good strategy and how do I create one for my team? To answer these questions, we need context – a starting point. In other words, what’s our frame of reference and guidance to stay within. When we understand this, it is a lot easier to start creating a strategy.

In this episode, we’re going to dive into the above and the key factors that allow us to create a clear and concise strategy for our teams. Not to give too much away…we’re going to get into the nitty gritty of defining our starting and ending points, our time frame, milestones, and how they all go into creating an easy strategy.

If you feel overwhelmed and/or don’t know where to start to create a team strategy, this episode is for you!

A quintessential part of creating a strategy for our teams is knowing what to align that strategy to! This guidance can greatly help us stay the course, craft clear milestones, and gives us an easy starting point amidst not knowing even where to begin when it comes to strategy.

In this episode, we’re going to dive into clear and concise ways to create a strategy starting point by defining 3 critical statements: purpose, mission, and vision statements. Join us as we outline what these statements are, how to craft them, and provide clear example to help guide your creation of them.

If you’ve ever been tasked within defining what your team is supposed to be doing, standing up a new team, or even having a boss that give little to no direction, this episode is for you!

Creating a strategy for our team goes beyond knowing where we are and where we want to go. It dives deeply into the individuality of those on our team, what aligns the team, and what eases the team’s path.

If you’ve ever felt stuck and unsure of even where to start to create a strategy for your team, this episode is for you!

We’ll dive into several specific pillars to create a team strategy, including: understanding our end post; understand where we are now; knowing what alignments to make to our organization and the individuals on our team; and what new process, policies, procedures, and people are needed for a successful team strategy.

Join me and unlock the keys to create your team’s strategy today!

“You need to be more strategic.”

Have you ever been told this? If so, did it come with anything else or just the statement? Typically, when we are told we need to be more strategic, no additional guidance is provided, leaving us to wonder how are we supposed to do that?

“What does being more strategic mean?”

This question is one I get asked all the time as a coach, and one that does have an answer! There is a way forward and an easy way to not only breakdown what it means to be strategic, but to also actually be strategic.

This episode breaks down being strategic into key elements and provides clear examples of how to apply each of these elements. Not only will you walk away with a full understanding of what it means to be strategic, you will also have a clear-cut way of being strategic you can act upon right now.

If you’ve ever been told to be more strategic and are expected to execute upon it, this episode is for you!

Right now, burnout is extremely widespread because of not just the past 2 years and everything that has come with it, but also because of what came before and who organizations have been. We are seeing a real tangible result of this burnout – the great resignation.

It is absolutely imperative that we understand not only what burnout is, what causes it, but also how to lessen it! When we know these things, we can actually put a strategy in place to reduce burnout across the board, increase satisfaction in life and work for our employees, and also, as a bonus, save organizations money. Something that is top mind right now for all organization amidst the recession.

If you are looking to lessen your own burnout, or even reduce it in others, this episode is for you! Join me as I breakdown burnout and present easy tangible steps to follow to lessen it.

“I want to be more fulfilled!”

“I need greater fulfillment!”

“I’m not fulfilled at all! This has to change!”

Have you ever said any of the above or something similar to it? If so, you are definitively not alone! Seeking greater fulfillment is very widespread, especially with what we’ve faced over the past few years! Sadly, so is struggling to figure out how to be more fulfilled.

If you ever desired or are currently craving greater fulfillment in life and struggled to even get started in doing so, this episode is for you! And, if you’re a boss looking to create greater fulfillment for your direct reports, I’ve got you covered too!

Join me as I break down fulfillment into smaller more manageable chunks to not only be able to start understanding what creates fulfillment for us, but also being able to act upon it. Moreover, I break down the easy way we can apply this in a work setting to create greater fulfillment for others.

I’m truly excited for where this episode will take you!

Too often do we play a guessing game around what our employees want. We brainstorm, talk to our colleagues, and spend hours trying to figure out this question and end up missing the mark, implementing strategies that don’t work. The reason behind this is that we forgo business 101.

Business 101 begins with knowing who our customers truly are. Not just their demographics, but also, what they want, what they need, how they think, how they feel, what they are truly looking for, what they say to themselves, and so on.  Business 101 is about intimately knowing who we want to serve.

Our employees are no different!

When we flip the way we think about our employees and treat them like customers, we create a clearcut path to not only engaging them, but also motivating them! This way of thinking is crucial for overcoming the pitfalls of guessing.

Join me as I break down a tried-and-true approach to engaging and motivating our employees as an organization.

How do I get my direct reports to be more engaged?

A question a lot of leaders have asked over the past 2 years. And, in the event of employees who used to perform but have seemingly “fallen off the wagon,” we have asked how do we re-engage them?

Regardless of which question we are asking (and even if we are asking both of them), the answer lies within truly knowing our direct reports. If we actually know who they are, what they want, and what they value, we can engage/re-engage them! This is at the heart of it!

Beyond this is also truly understanding and addressing what is causing individuals to be disengaged. Far too often we ignore things, let them slide, or brush them under the rug. When we do this, we often perpetuate what is causing individuals to be disengaged. However, when we actually call it out and address it, we flip the script and can bring individuals back from the brink.

Join me as I break this down more in depth and layout how to engage/re-engage our direct reports.

At the heart of every team is people. When we recognize and embrace this, it becomes much easier to get teams (people) to work together. The question is, how?

Goals, missions, and purposes are all known things that can bring people together. But, how do we do that? What is it about these that unite and drive teams to success? The trick to this is alignment. Aligning these with who the individuals are. Now, that’s on a personal, individual level. When it comes to teams, this can certainly ignite individuals towards a commonality; however, it’s not the only key to bringing teams together.

When we embrace that teams are made up of people, not only can we orient them towards a meaningful goal and purposes and align with who they are (as discussed above), we can also begin to understand how they interact with each other. This is the true key to success. When the relationships between team members are good, the team is good. When the relationships are not, the team is not.

Join me as I dive into this more in depth and break open how we get teams to work together.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Have you ever heard this phrase? There’s a lot of truth to this, especially in organizations. At the heart of it is collaboration. This we know. What we often question, however, is how do we do this? How do we make the dream work through collaboration? How do we get people to be more collaborative?

The good news is, we have the answer for you!

Collaboration starts with “we.” Not just in name, but in actuality, in action, and in intention. What are we focused on? Are we dominated by an “I” mentality or, are we truly open to what we want to achieve – a “we” mentality? Our intention, our mentality, truly matters as it dictates how we come across to others, the language we use with them, and the way we are perceived. Beyond this, the value in being collaborative and the benefits it holds for us greatly influence whether we are or are not going to truly be collaborative.

Join me as I break this down in detail and share what we can do to help others be more collaborative.

“Man! People are lazy!”

Have you ever heard this or even it said it yourself?

Whether it’s at work, in sport, or even in life, we naturally create perceptions of others based on our interactions with them. One such perception can be that people are lazy.

Over the past few years while the majority of us have been working remotely, it is easy to think people are lazy because we don’t actually see what others are doing – out of sight, out mind. Our minds can feed our perception that someone is lazy when we don’t see or hear anything from them. An absolutely critical factor when we start to address the question of how do we deal with others who are lazy.

First and foremost, what gives us the impression that they are lazy? Are they truly lazy? Do we perhaps hold different standards then they do? Would we do something in a different order than they would? Do they approach their tasks differently than we do? There are a lot of questions that come into play regarding laziness and, they all start with us.

The perception that someone is lazy actually comes from us. What we perceive, what we expect, and who we are. While we often put laziness on others, we play a huge role in truly understanding if someone is really lazy or if there is something else at play.

Join me as I breakdown an easy-to-follow methodology for dealing with others we perceive to be lazy (and be able to determine if they are truly lazy).

Not only is it seemingly tricky to motivate others, it is also seemingly tricky (or impossible) to get others be motivated as we are. Have you ever felt this way? Wondered why others aren’t motivated or up to the standards you hold? Shaken your head because no matter what you’ve tried you can’t get others to step up their game? If you have, today is the day we answer how to overcome these hurdles.

As we explored last week, motivation is a tricky elusive concept; however, there is a clearcut way of breaking it down to understand it, leverage it, and use it to motivate others. This is the foundation of how to get others to be motivated as we are. Once we have this understanding, it is easier to understand that all of us are uniquely motivated.

What motivates me? Is it the same as it was last year? Last month? Yesterday? Our motivation shifts over time which is also important to understand, especially when we are trying to get others to up their game and meet the expectations we hold for them. A sentiment which is critical to our overall question today – our expectations shape how we perceive the actions of others and play a critical role in whether or not we believe someone is up to par. Or, in this case, as motivated as we are. So how do we truly get others as motivated as we are? Join me as I break down the answer.

One of the most common questions I get asked by leaders is “How do I motivate my direct reports?” Have you ever asked or though this question? If so, you are definitively not alone!!

Motivation is often elusive, hard to describe, and hard to understand. However, there is a clear easy way to understand not only what motivate us as human beings, but also, how to understand the motivation of others and be able to successfully motivate them.

It all starts with what we do as leaders to create a culture conducive to motivating individuals. When this is done successfully, we can then leverage what uniquely motivates each individual to get them to be at their best. How you may ask? That is indeed the question!

Join me as I break down how to create a culture of motivation, lay out what motivates us as human beings, and how we (as leaders) can best extrinsically motivate our direct reports. If you’ve ever felt baffled by motivation or have struggled to motivate others, this is a must listen episode!

How can we help our employees grow?

Do we provide training courses, bring a speaker in, have a workshop, engage in coaching, or leave employees to their own devices? Many companies, managers, and HR leaders have asked this very question. Have you?

How does your organization help their employees grow? Do they guess at what employees want or truly understand their employees’ needs and fulfill them? Hint: the latter is much more successful!

To truly help our employees grow, we must first know what that growth looks like for them and how they want that fulfilled. And, this doesn’t just mean training and coaching, it also means career development and advancement. Are career paths and what’s needed to progress clear for our employees? Often it isn’t…

Join me as I deep dive on the above and the keys to successfully helping our employees grow.

Attrition rates amidst the great resignation have sky rocketed from the typical 18% to 30% and even 40%. What a jump! Can we afford to lose this many employees? Not just from a work standpoint and the cascading waterfall it creates by further burdening our all-ready overworked employees with even more for them to do, but also from a financial aspect. It’s estimated that losing an employee costs approximately 33% of that employee’s annual salary.

Understanding the above unfortunately isn’t enough to stop losing our employees. We must truly understand what is causing them to leave. For example: people quit people. People also quit organizational cultures. And, people quit because they aren’t afforded growth and development opportunities. This is what we are going to dive into today.

So, how do we prevent our employees from leaving because of a lack of growth and development opportunities? Hint: the answer starts with them! Join me as I break this down.

“How do I advance my career?”

“How do I have better work/life balance?”

“How do I overcome me weaknesses?”

All of these questions revolve around our personal development – a broad looming topic that means something a bit different to each of us. So, what does personal development mean then? Great question!

Personal development simply refers to anything we want to grow in, be better at, and improve about ourselves. Typically (even in organizations), we characterize our personal development from a negative “What’s wrong with me” perspective. When we do this, we, more often than not, are harder on ourselves than needed and, we make it hard to achieve the growth we want!

We can, however, flip the above script and not only set ourselves up for success in achieving what we want, but also clearly outline what we want to achieve and carve out an easier path to achieving it! Join me as I break down what personal development truly is and how we can easily accomplish it.

“I have to be perfect! There’s no other choice!”

“I can’t screw up! People will think less of me!”

“If I’m not perfect, I’ve failed!”

Perfection is highly sought after, held as the ultimate standard, and comes with a steep price! What happens though when we aren’t perfect? We call ourselves names, we beat ourselves up, and we are harder on ourselves than ever before! The need to be perfect comes at a cost!

“But Steven, that’s how I’ve been successful – holding myself to excellence and being perfect!”

I hear you, and I don’t disagree! However, there is a way to do this AND alleviate all of the stress, negativity, and issues that arise when we fall short of perfection. This is the key difference between pursuing perfection and the need to be perfect; the pursuit of perfection comes with excellence AND the acceptance of our fallibility as human beings. When we make this shift, we not only can continue to execute at a high level, we also get better because we learn how to leverage our “failures” as growth opportunities to miss the mark less.

Join me as I break down how to embrace the pursuit of perfection and overcome the detrimental impact of the need to be perfect.

Difficult people are irritating!

Difficult people are frustrating!

Difficult people are tiring!!!

How the heck do I deal with them???

Those we characterize as difficult can absolutely drain us…if we let them! While difficult people impact us, we CAN choose how to let that impact affect us! That is and will always be in our control. So, what does this mean in terms of how to deal with difficult people? Good question! It means, it starts with us!

We always can choose how we feel, think, and act. While something, or in this case someone, may bring out non-serving reactions within us, we don’t have to let that consume us! This is just one of the pieces to the puzzle to dealing with difficult people – negating the detrimental impact they have on us! Learn how we can do this AND other key components to dealing with difficult people in this episode!

How do I find a job I’m passionate about? A question that many of us have asked in our lifetime, more likely than not on many occasions. Numbers, such as 70%, have been thrown around as the percentage of Americans who do not like their job. Are you within this percentage? If you are, you are definitely NOT alone!!!

Finding what we are passionate about is a hard thing to do for many of us; however, there is a WAY to find the answer you are seeking. We CAN know what we are passionate about AND find a job that fulfills that passion within us! It IS possible!!

Knowing it is possible is foundational because it frees us from the “I don’t know trap” we often fall victim to –

“I don’t know! I can’t figure this out!”

“I don’t even know how to get started.”

“This is too much to think about! I don’t know how I’ll ever figure it out!”

And so on and so on. The “I don’t know” trap can paralyze us and prevent us from taking action because we’ve already convinced ourselves it’s not possible.

Join me as I share that it is not only possible, but also there are clearcut ways to determine what we are truly passionate about!

Wanting to advance our careers but seeing no positions available at the next level in our organizations can be extremely frustrating! Rightfully so! We want our careers to progress AND know there is the ability to do so. Having the ability to advance upwards is absolutely critical to this!

So, how do we handle when we don’t see options at the next level? It’s a very common question, and one that actually has many answers to it! Join me as I explore how we can advance our careers even when we don’t see that next level being readily available in our organization.

In addition to asking where we want our careers to go, we also commonly ask how do we successfully advance our careers? Many of us have asked this question and, many of us have answered it as well - successfully advancing our careers to where want them to go.

One of the easiest clearcut ways to know how to advance our careers comes from Harvey Coleman, author of Empowering Yourself: The Organizational Game Revealed.  He outlines the P.I.E. model which dives into how our performance, image, and exposure come into play regarding career advancement.

Spoiler alert! The largest factor we commonly believe plays a role in our advancement isn’t the most important by far. Join me as I dive into this model and share easy actionable steps to start advancing your career today!

Knowing what we want to do is one of the hardest questions to answer.

“What do I want to do for a living?”

“What am I passionate about?”

“Where do I want my career to go?”

These are all common questions we ask when trying to figure out what to do, especially when we feel compelled to continually advance our careers year after year. And, we often get stuck in perpetuity trying to answer these questions.

Get stuck no more! In this episode, we’re going to share some tried and true guidance to start answering the question of where we want our careers to go.

“I’m working all the time and have no balance!”

Sound familiar? If it does, you’re are not alone! Even before the pandemic we were overworked and our lives were “out of whack.” A feeling that has gotten worse and become even more prevalent over the past 2 years.

So, how do we change this?  How do we create better work/life balance? The answer starts with an objective look inwards to see what it is we truly want, what leads to our feeling of imbalance, how many hats do we wear, and more. In this episode we’ll dive into each of these areas, providing a clear-cut way of finding the balance you want in your life right now!

Have you ever been misunderstood?

“That’s not what I said!”

“How is that what you heard?”

Misunderstandings happen all the time when we communicate with others. So, how do we ensure we are clearly understood? Today, we are going to answer this question with easy tried and true techniques that will clearly convey what we want, and ensure others understand it too!

Can I share a secret with you?

We all get nervous speaking in front of a group of people. And, you know what? That’s okay! It’s part of who we are AND there are ways to present the way we want to even while being nervous.

In this episode, I am going to share some tried and true tips that will help us present better by being more focused, confident, and resonant with whom we are presenting to. If you are giving a keynote, delivering a talk at work, or simply wanting to tell better stories, this episode is for you!

Effective communication is the lifeblood of many things in life, including our success at work; however, we often find our organization is riddled with silos and people keeping things “close to their chest.” Sound familiar? It’s an all-too-common tune...

So, how do we break down these silos and create more effective communication? Great questions! And, very common ones that do have answers!

Join me as I share tips and tricks for breaking down silos and creating more effective ways of communicating.

Saying “No” is one of the hardest things for us to do, particularly at work. It’s often due to the feeling that we can’t say “No;” we don’t want to come across as uncooperative, unwilling, and insubordinate. This leads to being frustrated, a lack of work-life balance, and resentment. However, there is a way out from underneath all of this and, to say “No.”

A fundamental question to help us be able to say “No” is asking ourselves what is prompting the feeling that we need say “No?” Once we’ve done this, it becomes much easier to actually say “No” in a way that comes across much better then just planting our foot firmly in the ground and not budging – a way that often fuels conflict instead of alleviating it.

Join me as I talk through how we can say “No” and, do it in a way that will not create bad blood between us and those we say “No” to.

Do you dread delivering performance reviews to your direct reports? If you do, you’re not alone at all! This is one of the most common types of conversations that causes anxiety, especially when it’s not favorable news for our direct reports. That’s not a comfortable situation for us as leader or for us as direct reports.

You know what? It’s okay that this makes us uncomfortable! There is power in embracing the discomfort that comes with conversations like this. Once we do, it makes it easier to alleviate the discomfort to the extent possible and have the conversation.

Join me as I talk through how to have collaborative, engaging, and productive performance reviews, even in adversarial situations!

“I really don’t want to have the same conversation over and over again.”

“Giving feedback makes me uncomfortable.”

“This conversation is not going to go well!”

Do any of these sound familiar? A lot of “touchy” subjects can make conversations difficult and, so can our perceptions around the conversation. We can psyche ourselves out of a conversation going well before it even starts. Nonetheless, there is a way to have difficult conversations which builds stronger connection between all parties and achieve what they want.

Join me as I share tried and true tricks to have more collaborative, engaging, and successful difficult conversations. Fair warning, the answers may surprise you!

Emotional intelligence isn’t just a buzz word or highly sought-after skill. It’s a necessary part of mastering ourselves and our relationships, especially for those of us who are leaders or are inspiring to be leaders.

So, the question is how, do we become more intelligently and, how do I help others do the same? At the heart of this is us; ourselves. The theory of emotional intelligence starts with a focus on our own internal emotional awareness and regulation for a reason. It’s through this mastery within ourselves that we can then extend it to others.

There’s a saying:

“We can only take our clients as far as we’ve taken ourselves.”

Helping others become emotionally intelligent is no different. Mastering ourselves first makes it easier to help others do the same. So, in relation to the question of helping organizational leaders become more emotionally intelligent, it starts with us.

There are, of course, other considerations that come into play when extending this to others. Join me as I rundown the above and additional considerations which will lead to more emotionally intelligent leaders in your organization.

People quit people!

Sound familiar? Poor management is one of the number one reasons employees leave their jobs, and has been for years. So, why does this issue still persist? Simply put, it’s because we, as organizations, put more stock into managers than we do employees and have a hard time taking a good hard look at our managers.

Being able to objectively understand where the problem lies – employee or manager – is a critical necessity for today, especially amidst the great resignation. Join me as I take a look at the keys to dealing with poor managers that will greatly and positively impact your organization’s culture.

Last episode we talked about what leadership development should like, focusing on key areas to include in a leadership development program. With that, however, still leaves the question of how do we actually deploy a successful leadership development program.

Whether we are tasked with combatting the great resignation, creating one culture from many due to mergers and acquisitions, or continuing to evolve our pre-existing leadership development program, understanding what we need to develop our leaders lies at the heart of our success.

In this episode, we will explore these 3 keys to successfully developing leaders:

1. Clearly understanding where to target our leadership development efforts;

2. Implementing true solutions versus “band-aids;” and

3. Deploying a blended approach of education and coaching.

Join me as dive into these keys for success and unlock the true path to ensure your leaders have what they need to grow and develop.

We, as leaders, are not immune to wanting to grow and advance our careers. We want to succeed, positively impact our organization, and reach the next level in our careers. Leading in accordance with what our organization expects plays a crucial role in doing so.

To understand this more, we must first understand our organization’s culture. Is it familial, is it dictatorial, or is it cut-throat? Whichever way it leans, it plays a role in the way we lead as it can dictate how we interact with our leaders, our peers, and our direct reports through inherent cultural “norms.”

Just as important as the above is who we naturally are! If our organization’s culture aligns with who we are, it makes it much easier to take our organization into the future as we’ll do it authentically. On the other hand, if our organization’s culture does not align with who we are, it can cause an uphill bad as what is expected of us grates against who we are.

In addition to the above, there are other crucial factors in ensuring we are leading in way that will take our organizations into the future! Join me as I walk through them, creating a roadmap to the future.

Dealing with poor performers is one of the most uncomfortable things leaders have to do. From having performance conversations, putting in place and following performance improvement plans, to firings, dealing with poor performers is not a great experience, nor one we tend to look forward to.

We may never be comfortable dealing with poor performers, and that’s OKAY! The trick is to become as comfortable as we can be and embrace that we may never be 100% comfortable with this. Moreover, there are things we can easily do to increase our comfortability but, the answer may surprise you.

Hint: there isn’t just one person who creates poor performance…

Join me as I unlock the keys to becoming as comfortable as we can be in dealing with poor performers and overcoming the issues which tend to create poor performance in the first place.

When it comes to being friends with those we lead, there is little room between: 1) a hard “No! I can’t be friends with them.” and 2) the tricky “I’m too friendly with them and it makes giving them feedback too hard.”

The latter of the two options above tends to cause leaders to believe that it’s best not to be friends with those we lead, propagating the belief that we can’t be friends with those we lead anyways. However, it is possible to be friends with those we lead!

Join me as I break down this common misperception and lay out the framework we all can follow to be friends with those we lead AND successfully lead them!

Growth and advancement are two of the most common desires for us regarding our careers. It’s important for us to know we CAN continue to grow and develop, as well as, reach new heights in our careers. As leaders, this often comes down to the question of: “What am I missing leadership-wise to advance my career?” This episode answers this question for you!

Each and every one of us is unique. For example, how we lead, the strengths we have, and what we enjoy doing are based upon who we are. The answer to the question of “What am I missing?” is no different. It’s also based upon who we uniquely are, and that’s okay! There is a framework that accounts for our uniqueness and does answer this question for us.

Within this framework are the considerations of what is expected of us (e.g., the competencies we are beholden to within our organization), are we receiving the kind of feedback we need from others, understanding the strategic and developmental shifts that happen as we continue to climb upwards, and common areas of leadership development.

Join me as I dive into each of these for you, outlining how to develop and grow as a leader to advance your career.

Influencing leadership, also known as, managing upwards, is a big buzz phrase amongst organizations today that often comes with a veil of mystery behind it.

“How do I manage upwards and influence my leadership?”

“My leadership won’t listen to me!”

“I don’t have the authority to dictate what my boss does.”

Any of these ring a bell? If so, rest assured that you are NOT alone at all! The question of how do I manage upwards is quite common amongst leaders today, however, there is a way forward and it starts with the simple question of “What’s in it for them?”

When we know who our leaders are, what’s important to them, and what is within our control, we can more easily present business cases to our leaders that do influence them. Join me as I help remove the mysterious veil around influencing our leadership by diving into these questions and get to the heart of what does influence our leadership.

“What kind of leader do I want to be?”

Do you know the answer to this question…really know the answer to this question? This simple question has a complex answer that lies below the surface rather than upon it. Meaning, we may think we know who we are as a leader, however, when we are asked to describe it, it can often be a challenge to find the right words to do so.

In this episode, we’ll help you break down the answer to this question and get far below the surface to the true heart of who you want to be as a leader and, we’ll even help you clearly define it!

If you’re new to leadership and looking for your identity as a leader or even a seasoned leader who hasn’t visited this question in a while, this episode is for you! We will not only create a clear definition of leadership for you, we’ll also break it down into clear tangible elements that you can act upon to be the leader you want to be.

There are a lot of different styles of leadership floating around out there.  How do we decide which one(s) are right for us?  This is a daunting question to tackle; however, there is a way to answer it!  Today, we are going to do just that.

This episode is a practical exercise that will help you understand which leadership style(s) is right for you based upon what you already inherently know.  We're simply helping to bring it to the surface.  Grab a pen and paper and getting ready to gain the clarity you're looking for as we ask you a handful of simple, yet revealing, questions that WILL let you know which leadership style(s) is right for you!

What leadership is the best?  If you've ever asked this question, you're not alone, at all!

Leadership has been studied extensively, ripped apart and put back together again over and over, and still causes confusion.  The reason is, it's a concept.  Just like love, leadership is something we all inherently know but find hard to put into words.

To truly understand which leadership style is the best (if there is one that's the best above all else), we must first understand what leadership is at its core.  This episode peels back the veil and dives into a number of different leadership theories to help understand what leadership truly is and which style(s) are the best for the here and now.

Explore leadership at a deep level with me and put the concept into words that convey its true meaning.

Today, we hear the words leadership and management all the time. We also hear how important they are but, how often do we hear a clear definition of each of them and how they are different? Unfortunately, not often.

We are going to fix that right now by clearly defining both terms and sharing how they are distinctly different!

To start, let’s journey back int time to an “old school” fill in the blanks with the right words question. If you had two choices: 1) people and 2) task, where would each word go in the two blanks below?

Leadership is ____ oriented.

Management is____ oriented.

Did you fill in the blanks? Did you get them right and are you curious to dig into this further? Join me as I expand upon the above and help overcome the common misunderstandings these two terms often bring with them.

Are you under a tremendous amount of pressure?

Is there no end in sight to what you have to do?

Is the stress of it all getting to you?

If you answered "yes" to any of these question, you are not alone!  These are all common sentiments shared by many working adults today.  But, that doesn't mean they have to be true!

We are all capable of alleviating the pressure we feel from everything we are responsible for.  The trick to it is, exploring and unlocking the pressure we create and put upon ourselves.

Today, we live in a society of instant gratification - on demand, smart phones, two-day delivery - our world grooms us for wanting everything now which leads to us feeling an immense amount of pressure to achieve everything right NOW.

Join me as I unlock the secrets to alleviating the pressure we put on ourselves and lessen the stress in our lives.

Have you ever felt like you had exactly the time you needed? Or, do you typically feel like you have too much or too little time? If the latter sounds more like you, don’t worry, you’re not alone!

Time is constant. It steadily flows forward second by second, never skipping a beat. However, how we perceive time is a different matter.

We can be in-tune with time, "slow down" time, or seemingly not notice time as it flies by us without a thought. This is where it gets interesting. Not only can our perception of time change, how we feel about time can change too. When we “slow down” time, we can see things more clearly, predict what’s going to happen next, and easily achieve what we want. Or, we can feel like the day is dragging on and it will never end! As our perception of time changes, so does how we feel about it.

On the other hand, when time passes us by, we can be lost in a good book, engaged in a good conversation, or simply caught up in the utter joy we’re getting from what we are doing. Or, we can feel like there’s not enough time, things are happening way too fast, and we’re never going to get what we need to get done on time. We can feel anxious, nervous, and frantic! Again, out perception of time dictates how we feel.

Even when we don’t feel like we have a choice in this matter, we do! We CAN choose to embrace we have the time we need and take back control of our perception of time, as well as how it makes us feel!

Join me as I dive into how to embrace we do in fact have just the time we need, and alleviate that hectic negative energy we get when we feel like there is too little time in the day.

Are we capable of change?

Our answer to this fundamental question greatly influences our mindset and lives. If we don’t believe we are capable of change, we box ourselves into a fixed mindset that can be difficult to break out of. However, if we do believe we are capable of change, we open up a world of possibilities. Yet, we are still faced with another question that can greatly impact actually making change in our lives. That question is:

"How long do you think it takes for us to change?"

The answer…it takes time! We don’t change overnight but, we DO change.

Want to unlock the secret to successfully changing time and time again? Join me as dive deeply into one of the most critical components of how we change, accepting the time it takes to bring about the change we seek.

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Do you feel buried under the amount of work on your plate?  Everything you have to do for life in addition to work?  That there isn't enough time in the day???

If you do, you're not alone!  Feeling overwhelmed is quite common but, do not fear!  There is a way to overcome this feeling, and each and every one of us is capable of doing so!

A small shift in perspective can help reduce the sense of being overwhelmed and lead to less stress, greater efficiency, and being happier.  Join me as I break down a few keys that WILL help you overcome the sensation of being overwhelmed.

How do you define your goals? Are they typically: “I want to lose weight,” “I want to advance my career,” or perhaps “I want to be in a meaningful relationship?”

Or, do you define your goals like this: “I want to lose 10 lbs in 3 months to look good in my tux at my brother’s wedding,” “I want to become a Vice President within my company in the next 5 years by growing my current business unit from $50 million of revenue a year to $150 million of revenue a year,” or “I want to find someone who shares my values, sees the world as I do, and is in the same stage of life as I am to date.”

How we define our goals is a critical part of us actually achieving our goals. The more distinct and specific our goals are, the easier they are to achieve through key definable actions. When our goals are left broad, they are more characteristic of what we desire – another critical component of our success.

When we truly know what we desire in life, we can more easily craft specific goals around them that lead to tangible actions for us to take.

Do you know what you want in life? Join me and start uncovering the answer.

“What’s my purpose?”

“What was I put on this earth to do?”

“Why am I here?”

These are all incredibly powerful questions, and common questions! If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! It is basic human nature to seeking meaning in our lives, to try and determine what we are meant to do, and to struggle with finding these answers.

Our purpose, or as we at Strive For More like to call it “Our Calling,” is an incredibly powerful driving force that guides everything we do – what decisions we make, what jobs we take, how we interact with others, etc. When we know our purpose, we can align our entire life around it, leaving us feeling fulfilled and at peace.

If you’re struggling to find your purpose right now, this episode is for you!

Are you inspired in your life right now?

Our answer to this question can be quite revealing. If we are not inspired today, we may feel off or down, causing us to put less effort into work or into a relationship than we normally would. However, when we are inspired, we feel like the world is at our finger tips and anything is possible!

Inspiration is a force that not only drives us, it lifts us up! It takes us to new heights and beyond where we are today. It is a critical component of not only our personal success, but also our professional success.

Join me as I dive deeply into what inspiration is and where we find our inspiration.

“What motivates me?”

A seemingly simple question to answer; however, when we really think about it, it is a very difficult question to answer. Do you know what motivates you and can you list them right now?

This question is even harder to answer when we ask it about others – “What motivates him/her/them?”

But, do not fear! There are clear ways of defining what motivation is, what motivates us, and how we can understand the motivation of others. Moreover, we CAN lay the ground work for motivating ourselves and others! It is possible!

Join me as I dive deeply into what motivation is, as well as how we can truly understand what motivates us and others. Strive For More’s presentation of motivation is a unique one-size fits all framework of motivation (synthesized from leading motivation theories) which can be uniquely applied to any individual.

This is a must listen episode for anyone who is seeking to understand their own motivation or seeking to understand how to motivate others!

Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life but found that month after month it didn’t happen? If you have, you are NOT alone!

We often feel like we are ready to make changes in our lives before we are TRULY ready to make those changes. Feeling we want to make a change in our lives is by no means a bad thing! It is a necessary first step to making that change – it creates the desire for change. However, if we only feel we want to make a change but do not take any actions towards that change, we are simply wishing for it to happen.

The key difference between the changes we DO make and the changes we DON’T make in our lives is action. When we are truly ready to make a change, we take purposeful actions towards creating it.

Join me as I dive deeply into how to truly be ready to make the changes in life you desire.

The fear of commitment is often expressed as the inability to be fully dedicated to a relationship; however, commitment applies to everything we do in life.

Do you often start things that you don't finish? Or, perhaps you have a lot of great ideas that never seem to get started? If you do, that's commitment coming into play.

When we are truly committed to what we do in life, we see things to completion. In other words, we make it happen. Our commitment dictates our success by driving us to see things through and overcome any obstacles that come up along the way.

Commitment is a critical factor in bringing about the goals and success we seek. Are you committed to bringing about what you want in life?

Do you run away from adversity or do you run towards it?  Do you shy away from challenge or do you welcome it with open arms?

These questions can help us understand how we view the challenges in our lives.  In other words, do we view them as hurdles and obstacles that stress us out or, do we view them as opportunities to grow?

When we let challenges stress us out, they drain us.  Focusing on negativity (the non-serving) wears on us and brings us down, leaving us feeling tapped out at the end of the day.  However, when we view challenges as opportunities, we are actually lifted up - we have a new target to hit, a goal to achieve, an opportunity to get better, and a chance to learn something new.  This naturally lifts us up and leaves us feeling excited, engaged, and accomplished.  It's a complete 180 from how we feel when we let challenges bring us down.

How do you feel about the challenges in your life?

Have you ever felt like you're spiraling out of control and there is nothing you can do about it?

If you have, you're definitively not alone!

It's common for us to feel like everything is happening to us rather than feeling like we ARE in control of what happens.  However, there ARE things we can control!  We ARE capable of flipping the script and embracing what IS in our control to achieve what we want.

Making this switch to focusing on what IS in our control is magical!  It allows us to truly see what is possible AND how WE can make it happen!  Plus, there's a bonus!  Focusing on what we want, what we desire, and what we are capable of controlling naturally harnesses our parasympathetic nervous system which uplifts us.

Even when things feel like they are happening to you and there is nothing you can do about it, there is something you can do!  You can control you - who you are, how you let others affect you, and what you do!  This power is and always will be within you!  Leverage what IS in your control today to achieve the success you seek right now!

Confidence is tricky!  We may have it in one area of our lives but not another.  Or, we may feel like everyone has it and we don't.  If you do, you're definitively not alone!

Building confidence is the number one area we address through our coaching at Strive For More.

In this episode, we dive deeply into what confidence truly is and what the best way to build it is - that ACTUALLY WORKS!

This is a must listen episode for anyone who has ever questioned themselves or has that sneaky little voice that says "I hope they don't find out I have no idea what I am doing!"

We are all capable of being confident and harnessing that confidence to achieve our goals and what we want in life!

Do you find yourself focused more on what's wrong then what's right?  If you do, you're NOT alone!  It is very natural for us to focus on what we don't want, what we don't like, and what doesn't make us happy.

We are raised in a world that teaches us to focus on problems rather than solutions and speak a language that has approximately 3 times as many negative words than positive words; however, there is a way to overcome our problem focus and create a true path to success for us.  It's...

Focusing on solutions - what we want, what we desire.

When we do, we naturally uplift ourselves and carve out a path that is much more powerful and leads to our success.

Join me as dive into how to make this switch and give away keys tricks of the trade that DO work and lead to achieving what you want!

Recognizing we always have a choice starts with understanding our innate outlook on life.  Do we believe we are who we are and what we are capable of is finite and not changeable?  Or, do we believe that we are very capable and can continue to break through barriers to grow and change who we are?

The answer illuminates what kind of fundamental mindset we have when it comes to achieving what we want and the challenges we face.

HINT: one mindset serves us while the other doesn't.  Do you know which one serves us?

In "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," Carol S. Dweck describes what it means to have a fixed mindset (the first question above) and a growth mindset (the second question above).

Join me as I share what Dweck discovered and how it applies to us to carve our path forward to truly achieve what we want.

As human beings, we naturally have things that come easy to us AND things that are difficult for us.  That's okay!  It's part of who we are and we ARE capable of overcoming the struggles we face in life.

Similarly to having hope, believing we are capable of overcoming our struggles is a foundational belief that truly leads us to the success we seek.  It opens the door and allows us to more easily address the hurdles and challenges that come up because we're already setup for success by believing it is possible to do so!

Our self-talk dictates our beliefs which dictates our power and success.  Are you talking yourself into your power or out of it?

What is hope?

We often talk about it but, we often confuse it and group it in with things like optimism and wishing.  Hope, is actually different than these concepts and incredibly powerful when we truly have it.

Are you hopeful or just wishful?

Join me as I easily breakdown the components of hope, the power of it, and an easy way to recognize if we truly have it.

Have you ever looked at someone and thought:

"They've got it all together, why can't I be like that?" Or, 

"Why can't I be as confident as them?" Or, 

"They don't have a care in the world, I wish I was like that!"

If you have, you're NOT alone!  It is a natural thing for us to compare ourselves to others, and that's okay!  However, comparing ourselves to others can create a downward spiral of non-serving thoughts that become beliefs deeply seated within us, preventing us from achieving what we want - this is the detriment of social comparison.  Nonetheless, there is a way to overcome this detriment, flip the script, and give ourselves permission to be human in way that allows for our social comparison to inspire and drive us.

Have you ever said to yourself:

"I can't believe I did that!"

"Why can't I change?" Or

"You're so stupid!  Get it right!"

If you have, you are NOT alone!  This self-defeating critical self-talk is what happens when we are hard on ourselves and don't forgive ourselves.  We're all human and we all make mistakes.  It's okay!  Missing the mark, saying the wrong thing, falling short are necessary experiences in life to help us learn, grow, and ultimately achieve the success we seek.

When we forgive ourselves, we lessen the stress, tension, and pressure that comes with being hard on ourselves and increase the peace, acceptance, and openness necessary for our success.  It's okay to forgive ourselves!

The path to self-forgiveness starts with the awareness around what we're hard on ourselves about so we may know what to forgive ourselves for.

Have you ever felt that other people just can't understand what you're going through and you are utterly alone?

If you have, you are NOT alone!

This is actually very common for us as human beings!  We tend to feel and think that there is no one who can understand or help us with our struggles but, there ARE!  We all share in the human condition and have faced struggles in our lives that CAN truly help and guide others that are facing their own struggles right now!

It is OKAY! to think and feel that we are alone because it is a natural part of us; however, we truly are NOT alone!  When we embrace this fact, it opens up a world of possibility that illuminates the path in front of us to overcome the challenges we are facing.  There are those who can understand and help us overcome!  It all starts with embracing we are NOT alone!

As human beings, we naturally have a dual nature, and that's okay!  It's okay to be human and have both serving and non-serving parts of us!  It is who we are!

When we accept ALL parts of us, not just the serving, we overcome the downward spiral that comes with "shutting off" or denying parts of who we are that ultimately don't disappear, rather, they fester inside of us until they blow up (and often at others causing more issues in our lives that we have to deal with).  When we accept ALL parts of us, we enlighten ourselves by alleviating the stress, tension, and pressure that comes with thinking we shouldn't be a certain way and uplifts us to more easily embrace what serves us (and what we want) in the moments when our non-serving side arises.

It's okay to be you, ALL of you!  Accept who you are and let it take you to where you want to go!

For the introvert who has been tapped out, feeling de-energized, and overwhelmed during our current times, this episode is just for you!

Join Sara Lewis and I as we talk through tips and tricks to recharge, set boundaries, and take control to maximize your energy right now!  We're also going to bust a few myths about introverts along the way too!  We are capable as introverts of breaking through stereotypical misconceptions about us to achieve what we want!  It all starts in our minds and with small manageable consistent steps, that you CAN take.

Light begets light and dark begets dark. Which side do you choose?

Spoiler alert, the choice is yours and will always be yours!

This episode is truly chock full of easily actionable tidbits for taking control of your mind and body to embrace the light! You are in control and what you want IS within your reach!

Let the light illuminate your path forward and know you ARE capable of walking it!

Join Kelli Watson, best-selling author, coach, and presenter as she helps you unveil and master your path to success!

This is a must-listen episode for those seeking sage wisdom that actually works to bring about what they want in life!

For leaders who are overwhelmed, overworked, and out of balance, this episode is for you! Join Leadership and Health Coach Jody Kennett and I as we explore the deepest depths of our minds and bodies to overcome challenges, like lack of sleep, to harness our peak performance.  If you're days look like:

Then this is a must listen!  Join us as we CAN help you right NOW to overcome this vicious cycle!

Join Jenn Waller, Founder of the Me Project, and I as we dive deeply into overcoming our expectations, lack of clarity, and perceptions that hold us back, as well as finding what motivates us, embracing where we are now, and cultivating our self-worth.  Come away with real actionable steps you can take right now to help harness your G.R.I.T. and empower yourself to achieve your goals.  This episode truly holds several keys to embracing who we are and what serves us the best to walk the path WE ARE CAPABLE of walking to our success.

Join me as I talk with Carrie McCoy, an incredible woman who runs 3 companies, is a former (and soon to be again) pro triathlete, and an inspiration to us all!  In this episode, we dive deeply into the mentalities that empower us and harness our fearless belief to achieve the goals we have.  If you want to be inspired, walk away with easy tangible steps you can implement in your life right now, and have a few laughs along the way, this episode is for you!

Often, we want everything to happen right now; we want to skip ahead to the end result.  However, it is very hard to eat an elephant in one bite.  It is much easier to take small bites to create the end result that we want.  Dive into what keys help us take small manageable steps that ultimately lead to the success we seek because we give ourselves what we need to create true change and habits.

We always have a choice! Whether we see it or not, there is always a choice for us to make!  A choice which is up to us!  In moments when we don't see another option or feel like everything is happening to us, there is a lightness to the darkness.  There is a way forward!  We CAN choose to embrace what will help us!  No one can take that away from us.  This episode dives into what recognizing we always have a choice truly looks like and provides an easy step we can do right now to see the choices in front of us.

It's OKAY to be who you are - all of who you are!  We all share in the human experience and are not alone!  Each and every one of us experiences ups and downs in life, and that's OKAY!  There is hope, there is a way forward!  We can overcome the challenges we face and achieve the success we seek.  This episode dives into what giving ourselves permission to be human truly looks like and provides an easy step we can do right now to do just that - give ourselves permission to be human.

Welcome to Strive For More's G.R.I.T. - Give, Recognize, Implement, Time podcast!  Let's talk G.R.I.T. - Give, Recognize, Implement, Time!  What is it?  How does it help us?  What can it do?  Simply put, it empowers us and helps overcome negativity!  Take a listen to learn more about it and what's in store in the episodes to come.