Martina McGowan MD – Page 20 – life lived by the Book

Wisdom for Leadership

Great leadership is not the visit of an unexpected fate

but rather a flame which is kept burning

in spite of the winds of risk and opposition.

Mary Anne Radmacher

How are your leadership skills? Does it ever feel like there is a giant gap between you and your team? Here are some quick pointers on how to get back on the same proverbial page, and on the same team pursuing the same vision.

1. Learn to say, “I don’t know.”

If you do not actually know the answer to a question, don’t try to bluff your way through. If you are at fault, take the hit. If you were wrong, apologize. If you don’t have the answer at your fingertips then, assure them that you will get back to them with the answer within a specific time-frame.

2. Can the gossip.

Never gossip! If someone wants to gossip with you, politely say that you are not interested. There is an old corporate adage that says that when someone gossips, two careers are hurt, the person talked about, and the person talking.

3. Roll up your sleeves

No task is really beneath you. Do not buy into the mindset that as the leader, you are above anything. Be the primo example and pitch in, especially if the job is one that nobody wants to do.

4. Give credit. At the very least, share it.

Share the credit whenever possible. A manager who spreads credit around looks much stronger than those who take all the credit themselves.

5. Get some help

Do not be afraid to ask for help. If you think you may be in over your head, then you are probably correct! Ask for some help and you will almost always find that most people enjoy lending a hand. Besides saving yourself some embarrassment, you will cultivate an ally.

6. Don’t discuss salaries

The discussion about how much you’re making is a no-win proposition. Either you will become upset because someone is doing better than you, or someone else will be upset with you for making more.

7. Don’t burn bridges

When you do not like someone, you don’t necessarily have to show it all the time. Especially in your workplace. This is even more true if you “outrank” them. Never burn all of your bridges or offend others needlessly as you move ahead.

8. Let go

What you feel shouldn’t happen, often does. You didn’t get the assignment you wanted, you were passed over for the promotion that you feel you deserved. Buck up. Be gracious and diplomatic, and move on. Nursing a grudge will not move your career ahead.

9. Be gracious in winning

When you are correct, do not gloat! The only time you should ever use the phrase, “I told you so” is if someone says something like, “You were right. I really could succeed at that ______.”

10. Ask the right questions, and listen carefully to the answers

If you are really interested in learning what is going on with the “troops,” ask questions as you travel through your day. Questions like:

What is working well in the way we/ you are doing things?
What parts seem redundant or need to be tweaked?
What pissed the customers off today?
Which jobs involved too many people?
Which functions involved too many actions?
What “silliness” do we need to eliminate?

Armed with questions such as these, you should get a pretty accurate reading of the health of your business or organization, and of your teammates. It will also help everyone gain insight into what is working for your customers. What better way to know how your business is functioning, and where it needs tweaking?

Wisdom is not hidden The wisdom of good leadership is readily available. It is all around you every day, all day long. But, you need to consciously make the time to open your eyes and ears and absorb it.

Thoughts?

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Bored? Discover Purpose in Your Life

The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to

loving others,

devote yourself to

your community around you,

and devote yourself to

creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.

Mitch Albom

Do you ever feel like your life has no purpose? Ever feel like you are just walking from one day into the next, without really loving or hating it? Or feeling it? If you find yourself in this situation, boredom is your enemy. Everyone experiences boredom at some point in their lives, and it can stop them from meeting their full potential. If you want to get out of this dangerous rut and onto the fast track to fulfillment, then you are going to have to give up boredom. It is time to say to yourself that you will never be bored again!

Boredom is harmful to your physical and mental health. It makes you feel unfulfilled, unhappy, and tired. Inactivity breeds more inactivity, and it leaves you feeling empty and miserable. You have to make a conscious choice to intentionally break this dreadful cycle. If you are feeling bored and want to get out of your slump, do something. Anything! It really doesn’t matter where you start. Just get moving. If you find that you are not thrilled with your first choice of activities, then move on to something else.

Boredom and finding purpose

So how does this sense of boredom relate to helping you find your purpose? It’s really pretty straight-forward. If you are letting yourself become bored, then you are throwing up roadblocks along your own path to success.

Purpose is important because it can make you feel happier, and it gives you a reason to get out of bed every day. It will keep you moving forward, active, and healthy of mind and body.

The ideal, of course, is to be able to turn your life’s passion into a full time career. But, your special purpose in life does not necessarily have to be attached to your career. It could be a hobby or a charitable cause. It is something that you love doing and brings meaning to your life.

How?

How do you go about finding your special purpose? The answer to this is straight-forward as well, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is easy. You have to open yourself to brand new experiences and get out “there” and do things. Making the effort to explore the world around you is a great way to discover your purpose and your passions.

Whether you’re reading new books, exploring different parts of your city, or chatting up people you’ve never met before, you will discover new things about yourself, learn more about your surroundings, and experience new adventures. New experiences have a great deal to offer. They get you out of the same old mindset and into some new ways of thinking and looking at things. This will likely stir some old passions and pique your interest in the world I which you have been otherwise sleepwalking. New encounters encourage you to try new things, develop new skill sets, and find new things that you excel at.

You can find your purpose in some of the strangest places, so don’t rule out any activity. After all, if you try something and don’t like it, you don’t have to go back to it.

It is having passions, and the perseverance to pursue them, that makes you a star. If you have been feeling a little bit empty lately, it is past time to fill your life up again with some passion!

Doc

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Why bother with self-improvement?

masterpiece

Make your lives a masterpiece, you only get one canvas.

E. A. Bucchiameri

A lot of people continue to search for the secrets to ways to improve their way of life and to deepen their perspective and outlook. And, there are many who simply don’t see the value or purpose of going on this journey. Additionally, even though we write a lot about this topic, the truth of the matter is that most of the answers probably already lie within you. Making these “improvements” means deepening your understanding and expanding your perspective about your life. It helps you develop vision, energies and enables us to determine what direction we are taking in our life. People who have achieved personal mastery testified that they would feel a positive change in their life.

There are many different tangible benefits that an individual may gain from this journey:

• Clarify your decision making

Once you can get a clear vision on your purpose and your mission in life, decision making becomes much easier, and at the same clearer. Once you know where you want to go, each action that you decide to perform is either moving you toward your goal, or away from it.

• Stronger leadership

Knowing who you are, where you are going, and how you plan to get there helps you develop into a stronger, surer and more creative leader. Because you care about yourself and your goals, you will work to improve your communication skills and confidence as a such leader. Effective leaders also need to be able to manage their emotions and not let them get in the way of making sound judgments.

• Increase your emotional intelligence (EI)

Being the master of your emotions can be difficult at times, especially during period of stress, difficulty and challenges. Mentoring, coaching and counseling can help you improve how you develop and learn to master your emotions.

• Improved your work life balance

Learning who you are and sorting out what is truly important to you can have significant effects on how you handle your life, and the choices you make for yourself and those you care for and about. As we talked about last week, there will be spill-over or run-off from your self-improvement efforts into your career and interpersonal relationships.

• Decrease your stress levels

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and being thoroughly grounded in the reality of life should help lower stress levels. And, handling your emotional side better helps you learn to accept change and become more flexible about things. Understanding clearly which things in your life are negotiable, and which are not should aid you in dealing with stress and being able to reduce it.

One of the great things about self-improvement principles is that they can be applied to personal life, your career, your leadership style and goals, and to your organization. Personal mastery can even help you with career, whether you would like to change your path or would like to improve your performance in the current career you are in.

Self-improvement, contrary to what the title literally says, is not just for your own personal growth. Improving yourself could mean a lot. You are a part of a whole. Your improvement can influence others and eventually change the world into something better.

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Orange-Mango Smoothie

orange mango smoothie

1 cup pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

1/2 frozen banana (chunks)

1 cup pineapple sherbet

1 1/2 cups frozen mango slices Pour all liquid ingredients into the

blender. Add all frozen ingredients. Blend at MIX setting for 30

seconds then blend at SMOOTH setting until smooth. While the

machine is running, move the stir stick around counter-clockwise to

aid mixing. Serve immediately. Each recipe serves 3-5.

Photo Credit: RickChung.com via Compfight cc

Musings + Affirmations: I give thanks daily for my focus in life.

The human mind is not rich enough to drive many horses abreast

and wants one general scheme,

under which it strives to bring everything.

George Santayana

Affirmation: I give thanks daily for my focus in life.

I am confident in my ability to achieve my goals. I live each day with presence and conviction and, therefore, make good on my dreams. For this, I am immensely grateful.

I know that I can achieve what I want! All I need to do is focus.

Focus is the biggest “secret” to my success. I pay close attention to what I want and then devote my energies to accomplishing my dreams.

There are of course, times when achieving my goals requires a greater effort than usual. When this happens, I am particularly thankful for my focus. Sustained effort requires motivation and motivation requires remembering why I am willing to put in the hard work. But when I focus on my goals, motivation comes to me easily.

If I feel distracted or scattered, I take a few moments to close my eyes and breathe deeply. I notice the sensations of my feet on the floor and my hands resting on my lap. This simple exercise helps me renew my focus by bringing me into the present moment. And when I am fully present, I feel gratitude for where I am at this moment, and how far I have come.

Today, I will make time to contemplate my many accomplishments. I am thankful for my focus in life, which enables me to have what I desire out of life.

I seek out opportunities to cultivate this gratitude by paying attention to my deepest desires and pursuing them steadfastly and devotedly.

Homework/ Journal Prompts/ Self-Reflective Questions:

1. What are some of the things I have accomplished in the last year?

2. To what do I attribute these successes?

3. Are there aspects of my life that could benefit from applying greater focus?

Thoughts?

Have an awesome week!!

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Facing a roadblock?

621-Ash-1024x768

Tackling the difficult task of making your living will

Will

While I thought that I was learning how to live,

I have been learning how to die.

Leonardo da Vinci

I know, I know… no one wants to talk about this stuff. But we are responsible adults, so we must. A few weeks ago, we talked about the difference between a living will and a living trust. I want to continue that conversation with you today and talk about something that is hard for us to face up to… our frailty. Preparing living wills is not an idea that is readily welcomed by most people. In fact, most people even dread the idea of talking about this task.

But, there is something that may help alleviate some of the unpleasantness in the whole situation. You can usually get all the forms that you need in the form of a living will kit, which can provide some guidance and assistance in the drafting of a living will minus the distasteful feeling of admitting the possibility that you may become ill to the point of incapacity.

A living will, which is also called an “advance directive”, is actually a legal document that declares a person’s preferences regarding long-term medical care at a time when he or she is no longer capable of making autonomous decisions. Living wills come in two varieties: general and statutory. The general living will asserts a personal wish without being consistent with any accepted standard. In contrast, the statutory will is a lawful form that coincides with the requirements of a particular state law concerning living wills.

Because there are legal implications of making a living will, it is highly recommended that you draw up one while you are still well, healthy and in full control of your mental faculties. There are a lot websites that offer information about this matter. From some, you can even download free templates for living wills so you can perform a run through. I would still recommend that you seek professional advice when you actually draft the final one.

The Basics

Since a living will is also considered a personal document, the contents of it will vary from one case to another. However, there are essential prerequisites for it to be considered legal. Of course, you should double-check these items with you state laws or personal attorney.

Legal competence of the maker (owner) of the living will should be established.
The document should be signed by the maker (owner) and by two witnesses to authenticate it. In a case where the maker is incapable of signing, he or she may ask a representative to do so instead. The witnesses should also be of legal age, usually 18 years old or over. Also, the signing representative should not be one of the two witnesses.
The date should be indicated and notarization, if the state requires it.
The directives contained in the living will should be consistent with the laws of your particular state.

As much as possible, you should discuss your living will and desires with your family or closest friends. You may even want to assign someone specific to act or make decisions on your behalf in case you become incapacitated.

Additionally, copies of the living will should be given to the maker’s family members, the attending physician, the local and most commonly used hospital/nursing home, and other persons involved in your medical care. A duplicate may also be submitted to a living will registry that will take care of the necessary distribution for a fee.

Living wills may also be changed or modified. If you decide to make changes, you should notify and furnish copies to all the recipients of your previous living will. And all copies of the former document should be consequently destroyed.

The preparation of living wills is an emotional matter. Even the calmest and most reasonable person may find it difficult to fully concentrate on this task. That is why it is important to get all the possible assistance, both professionally and emotionally, that you need when drafting a legal document such as this important one.

Thoughts?

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Journal Your Progress

Exploring for the best you…

Becoming the best version of yourself is one of your most important projects in life. In this way you can perform your best in every situation, and give your best to people and projects. This is true no matter your personal definition of success. And, journaling is a fantastic tool to track your progress. How you go about journaling is a highly personal affair. Some people like to use their computer or smart-phone, while others do well with pen and paper. Some people are detail-oriented, while others like to paint broader strokes of their day. But keep in mind that the whole purpose of journaling is so that you can look back and see your progress and milestones, or unfortunately sometimes, lack thereof. Set your journal up in a way that works for you, and in a way that you will actually use!

How?

1. Track your day with details

Many people don’t enjoy journaling their thoughts and feelings. If this is you, consider journaling the details of your goals instead. For example, you can track the some of the following information:

What did you eat?
How long did you work out?
On a scale of 1-10, how did you feel during your workout?

You can use a spreadsheet to track the information, a calendar, smart-phone, or even email the information to yourself. Each daily entry will be a reply to your original email until you have 30 messages at the end of the month.

2. Dear diary…

While many people do not like to journal thoughts and feelings, there are many people who do enjoy expressing themselves with words. Journaling how you feel each day, what struggles you are having, and how you overcame them, or succumbed to them can be incredibly cathartic, satisfying and educational. Journaling your successes is also very empowering.

When you go back through your journals and read your about your triumphs, no matter how small they may have seemed at the time, you will feel and remember your strength and this can be sufficient motivation to help you press on. It can also serve as motivation to set higher goals for yourself and to achieve them.

3. Daily goal

Setting small goals will help you attain larger ones. Having a daily goal, and writing it down, is an excellent way to measure your success. It can also help you stay positive when you look back over your daily to do list and realize that once again you have been successful in accomplishing your goals. A daily goal added to your to do list can keep you focused and on track moving toward your end goal. For example, if your end goal is to reach a target weight, your daily goal might be something like eating three well balanced meals and taking your dog for a walk after dinner. It is much easier to reach your goals when you have them written down and you can check them off as you go along.

4. Online tools

If a journal, spreadsheet or to-do list don’t fit your personality or lifestyle, try using an online tool. There are several great programs you can use that will help you document and track your success. And there are more coming online almost daily; and lots of them are free!

You, my dearheart, are your most important project.

Document your progress to help keep yourself focused, motivated and moving in your desired direction!

Doc

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Personal development tools you can use to build better teams

teamwork

Fit no stereotypes.

Don’t chase the latest management fads.

The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.

Colin Powell

Self-improvement

Self improvement is not something you can accomplish overnight. It means more than just pushing yourself a little bit beyond what you can do with your innate skills and talents. Self-improvement is ultimately about how you see, understand and direct your life. It is about you in a sense, but it is also about much more. It is also about improving yourself so that you can help improve your organization and your team.

Tools for team work

For any team or organization to succeed, each person member of the team has to understand the organization’s purpose and make it part of their own personal purpose. When each member of the team finally embraces the organization’s purpose as their own, personal and organizational growth both increase. Imagine the power of an organization whose members believe and are committed to a single mission or idea? This is the deepest commitment any organization can ever have.

On you personal “journey” toward mastering yourself, you are in search for your life direction and purpose. You are aware of your personal weaknesses and strength, you hold yourself responsible for your actions, and you accept who you are. As a responsible and growing adult, you are capable of accepting the harsh realities that life occasionally throw at you, and you can learn to adapt to the changes happening in your surrounding. Because you know yourself well, you are able to see yourself as part of the whole.

Part of the whole

When you join forces with other people who are like-minded, who are also grounded in reality, you and your team can objectively identify the areas where improvements are needed within your organization. You all then become a part of the system and see yourselves as part of the holistic development of that organization.

And, not only do you exert influence in the lives of other by what you do, your commitment also serves as an example of effectively managing yourself and others. Simple act like mentoring, coaching and counseling can be a great help for promoting everyone’s personal growth. You have the tools to help other members of your team step out of the box or their comfort zones. Sometimes organizations are not uncomfortable with this idea, especially if the comfortable activities have produced some measure of success. But stepping out of their comfort zone helps to strip people of their self-imposed limitations.

Growth and development are the concepts encouraged in everyone. When team members are working to be their best, their personal vision clears and things start to happen.

Learning and using better personal development skills and tools will help improve your organizational performance. As a leader, you must learn to capitalize on your most important asset, your people. You have the tools and the skills to help other people see how their actions can positively contribute to everyone’s performance and success, and how they are an important part of the whole.

Thoughts?

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Personal development tools you can use for your professional development

career development

If you wish to achieve worthwhile things

in your personal and career life,

you must become a worthwhile person

in your own self-development.

Brian Tracy

Working on self-improvement and personal development can help you deal with stress and improve you level of confidence. But, it is also possible to apply some of the same techniques toward working on your career as well. There are numerous studies showing that working to “improve” yourself can have a significant impact on your everyday life as well as with helping you learn to work more efficiently and effectively. This happens when you begin to integrate your personal development and growth to your professional growth and development.

There are several different elements to this:

• Be proactive

It is important that you learn to go after what you really want. You need to clearly identify your goals and take the necessary action to move toward them. With this element, you learn to move beyond the “usual” barriers and limitations on a daily basis. You do not have to feel like you need to try to overcome everything at once, you just need to keep doing consistent and focused action everyday.

• Connect

To begin to effectively connect with other people or network, you need to be able to connect with yourself first. You get the power and the intelligence of connecting with others from first learning to understand yourself. How you understand and interact with the inner you will spill over into how you interact with others.

• Be informed

Being informed is not limited to having top-notch up-to-the minute information about your current job. When beginning to consider other career options or job ideas, you need to know your what your options really are. And, making the best and most correct decision, is based on gathering enough information.

• Focus

When you are setting your goals, you need to make concrete decisions about how you plan to attain them. The method for achieving your goal obviously depends on your decisions, and that depends on your information. And all of this is why you need to keep your focus on making the decisions and directing your career.

• Got potential?

It is important that know your potential along with your strengths and weaknesses. You are the only person responsible for your actions, so you need to be able to figure what works for you in terms of achieving your dream.

All of these elements can help change you change your behavior and improve your attitude, if that’s what you want to do. Just as in the rest of your life, it is important to take charge with your career. Throughout your life, schooling and career, these five elements will keep showing up. Ultimately, everyone wants to do something they love. But for some people, knowing what that is isn’t easy. Often, people confuse what is logical and radical with something they think they want. According to Peter Senge, “adults have little sense of real vision.” What he is saying is that people may be able to set goals and objectives in their lives, but these things are not necessarily their true vision in life.

Changing or shifting your career around is by no means easy. You must learn to master yourself and your important basic skills before you start thinking about changing careers in order to maximize the use of your potential.

Thoughts?

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