9 Skills that Pay Dividends Forever

Robyn Marcotte  The further along we are in our career, the easier it is to fall back on the mistaken assumption that we’ve made it and have all the skills you need to succeed. We should never stop learning – The act of learning is every bit as important as what you learn.

Mahatma Gandhi says it well…“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Our time is finite, so focusing on these nine skills will yield the greatest benefit as will always continue to pay dividends.

  1. Emotional intelligence (EQ). EQ is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. EQ is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships – it is what sets star performers apart.
  2. Time management. Learning to manage your time effectively frees you up to perform at your absolute highest level, and it does so every single day of your life.
  3. Listening. True listening is about understanding, not rebuttal or input. Learning how to suspend judgment and focus on understanding the other person’s input is vital to our success!
  4. Making decisions. Learning to make sound decisions and move forward. We will not always have all the facts, but to know when you have enough to base a decision and not be crippled by fear of making a decision or a wrong decision.
  5. Asking for help. The ability to recognize when you need help, summon up the courage to ask for it, and follow through on that help is an extremely valuable skill.
  6. Getting high-quality sleep. When you don’t get high-quality deep sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells, wreaking havoc and ultimately impairing your ability to think—something no amount of caffeine can fix. This slows your ability to process information and solve problems, kills your creativity, and increases your emotional reactivity.
  7. Knowing when to stop talking. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right.
  8. Taking initiative. You have to take risks and push yourself out of your comfort zone, until taking initiative is second nature.
  9. Staying positive. The real obstacle to positivity is that our brains are hard-wired to look for and focus on threats. We have to train our brain to make it a habit.

In Summary, this is by no means an exhaustive list – what else do you believe should be included? Please email me at aha@ahaleadership.com. I would love to hear from you – Robyn

 

Reference exerpt – Dr. Travis Bradberry/Forbes Mar 7, 2016

Become a Better Leader with these 100 Podcasts!

Robyn Marcotte Podcasting is a great way to learn and be inspired through the stories that are shared. Storytelling is a powerful tool and a central component of leadership. Want to understand why Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama became national leaders? A big part of it lay in their ability to tell effective leadership stories.

If you have an interest in entrepreneurship, tech, leadership, business, creativity, or just learning and expanding your mind, here are 100 podcasts that can help you bring your best to all you do.

Pick out a few to start with, then get ready to listen and learn while you’re in the car, on the treadmill, or during your morning commute.

# 27 is my personal favorite!

To view the list, please click here….and get ready to be inspired! – Robyn

Rev Up Productivity and Your Communication Superpower!

Are you working effectively as a leader with your team? With your peers? With your leader? These key relationships don’t just happen…effective relationships are built over time. Let us help you improve your impact with others.

How…

Using a customized Everything DiSC® assessment, a research-validated learning model, participants learn to understand and appreciate the ‘styles’ of people they work with. The result…is more effective and productive working relationships, communication and business results.

You can use Everything DiSC® to:

  • Build Strong Teams – Understanding each team members’ communication preference and work better as a team.
  • Communicate More Effectively – The tool provides customized strategies for approaching others you want to develop or deepen a relationship, when problems need to be solved or when things get tense.
  • On-board New Team Members –Understand the communication style of your new leader and to learn about how to work effectively with your new teammates.
  • Improve Communication Between Two Very Different People – The Everything DiSC® comparison report provides a direct comparison between two team members that may not see eye to eye.
  • Motivate, Delegate to and Develop Team Members – Leaders learn specific strategies for working with each person on their team.
  • And so much more….

WHY is it so effective?  Click here  to watch a video (4 minutes).

Everything-DiSC-Workplace-Map

It’s Impactful…What Our Clients Say

  • “Gives great insight as to what makes others tick and to help understand how to work better with
  • “I will be more observant of others attributes – I will learn to communicate better with others.”
  • “Good things come from knowing more about people surrounding you.”
  • “I will adapt my interactions based on the other person’s style. Focus on increasing workplace effectiveness.”
  • “Very helpful to understand how people think in order for us to efficiently achieve our common goal.”
  • “Wow! This was really eye-opening!”

 To learn more about customizing a development program for you…

Contact Robyn Marcotte at 248.882.2354 or Robyn@ahaleadership.com.

As a Leader, 5 Vital Questions to Ask Yourself

Ask and answer these questions regularly to get laser focus clarity around your team’s productivity and you can improve goal-setting, and more effectively lead and inspire performance among your team.

Question #1: Do I have the right talent?

Great leaders are purposefully and strategically surrounding themselves with talented people. These employees are working alongside their leaders and behind the scenes, driving productivity, profitability, and overall success. Studies have shown that 80% of turnover is directly tied to bad hiring decisions—and turnover is expensive!

Question #2: Ask ‘What’s the goal?’ often

Starting with you and then moving out to the frontlines of your team, determine whether everyone’s has a good grasp of their major goals. Pull employees aside and ask “What are your goals?” or “How are you performing against your goals?” If individuals struggle with articulating their goals, describing activities they are doing instead, you’ve got your answer – not clear!

Goal clarity is vital – cultures that embrace a “What’s the goal?” mindset are more productive – ask often… It’s powerful!  

Question #3: Do we have goal alignment with other departments?

High performing companies are strategically aligned through goal alignment across departments. EX: goal is to reduce overtime so you cut customer service hours, yet the customer service department gets flooded with more calls during its fewer open hours, hurting the customers’ experience and productivity. This is goal misalignment.

Question #4: Are we holding people accountable?

Real accountability requires sheer discipline if it is going to work. Regularly scheduled accountability meetings where performance is discussed, reported (and measured progress) is an excellent to keep everyone focused on the goals. These meetings also provide insight into what is and is not working and who needs coaching.

Question #5: How are we performing against the competition?

Knowing your competition gives you an opportunity to create a competitive advantage. Ask your team to explore how they’d feel if they could do something new or different relative to the competition. Then inspire their productivity, giving your employees the freedom and support necessary for developing cutting-edge solutions that align to the company’s goals

As we head into a new year and for many companies as you create new goals, this is an opportunity to embrace these concepts and put into action regularly.

 

Source: “The Disciplined Leader: Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters” by John Manning

8 Reasons to Make Time for Professional Development

Personal Learning Strategies

If you’re a leader, you know how important it is to ensure your team is given plenty of training and development opportunities. However, it’s just as important to focus on your own learning and development.  Why?
When you make learning a priority, you increase your value – You’re more marketable as a professional, and you’re in a better position to get that promotion or challenging project.  Continuous learning also helps you develop expert power where others are far more willing to respect your opinion and follow your lead.
To do this, it’s essential to set aside enough time…..but how can you make time?

1. Set Learning Goals
Identify your learning objectives, and visualize how these will help you achieve the other professional goals you’ve set. What do you want to get from your learning? And why are you making time to learn?  Break the goals down into chunks that you can add to your daily/weekly to do list.

2. Identify Obstacles
Come up with strategies to overcome obstacles that most likely will come up. Example – you’ve committed to spending half an hour reading a book when you get home. What do you need to plan for to ensure this time is not pushed off?

3. Think Small
Many assume that we’ll need large chunks of time to devote to learning. However, short blocks of time can be just as effective, if you focus.  Look at your To-Do List, and see what you can achieve in the time available.

4. Learn at Your Best
Many people schedule their learning for a time when they’ve completed everything else. However tempting this may be, think about how you feel when you’ve accomplished everything on your to-do list. You’re usually exhausted, right? Everyone has different peaks and valleys in their energy levels. Find yours.

5. Make Learning a Habit
You’ll only be able to sustain your learning if you make it a habit.  Developing any habit takes work, at least 21-days of repetition and self-discipline.  To build a habit, look at your schedule and see how you can work time for learning in every day.

6. Choose the Right Learning Style
Do know how you learn best? Some people learn and retain information best when they can read and take notes. Others are active learners; they need to learn by doing something themselves. Find yours and resources to embrace your style.

7. Collaborate
It’s often easiest to learn in collaboration with others; when you join a community that makes learning a priority, these people can also hold you accountable for your learning goals.  Perhaps colleagues with the same goal of learning?

8. Delegate Tasks
Your day is likely full of tasks that you’re responsible for. So, how are you going to fit learning in?  Is there anything you can delegate with your professional or personal responsibilities?  Even a half hour cleared in your schedule can then be used to work on your learning goals.

Key Points
Lifelong learning is essential if you want to stay “in demand” in a changing business world.  Will you devote the time in the coming year?

Source:  MindTools

The Power of Gratitude

Robyn Marcotte Gratitude does more than make us feel good, it does us good. What’s more, it’s good for other people too. So, thanking the people we’re grateful for increases happiness all round.

Research has shown that thanking others and explaining why we’re grateful, is one of the most powerful ways of spreading happiness. In fact, the study showed that if you write one letter of gratitude to just one key person in you life, experience a months worth of happiness.

In spirit of “Merry” Christmas and “Happy” New Year, I want to thank all of you…thank you for your business, sharing yourselves, and being open to new ideas and ways of leading others. We learn as much from you with your passionate stories, challenges and opportunities as you learn from us!

Okay, now it’s your turn – who are you going to thank? Go ahead, see how this is the gift that gives back. You will make their day…and yours.

Robyn Marcotte, Aha! Leadership