Why do the goals that you’ve set out for your team to accomplish matter?

At first, the answer to this question might seem obvious – the goals you’ve established are meant to ensure your organization’s continued profitability, to increase or sustain your market share, create a new demand for your products or services, and so forth.

And yet, if we examine this answer closer, it becomes clear that the measures above are merely the outcomes of your organization’s shared efforts and not the real driving force which motivates your employees to contribute their full talents and abilities. For that, employees require something deeper and more meaningful – a noble cause which they are internally driven to rally around and bring to fruition.

Our noble cause is that shared purpose that allows us to move past focusing only on the ‘how’ and seeking to answer the ‘why’, fostering a deeper sense of meaning in what we do and an understanding of how our efforts can impact others beyond our office walls.

It’s the reason why some companies have managed to thrive and expand their market base despite the uncertainties present in today’s global economy, because they’re not simply Click here to continue reading »”Have You Tied Your Organization’s Goals To Your Noble Cause?”

Today’s piece is a guest post by Susan Mazza.  Susan is a motivational speaker, leadership coach, trainer and business consultant. With her unique understanding of people as well as human systems – and an unquenchable thirst to unlock potential of individuals and organizations – she has worked successfully with thousands of people and with many types and sizes of organizations around the world. She lives in Vero Beach, Florida with her husband, daughter and 2 dogs. You can learn more about Susan by visiting her blog, Random Acts of Leadership.

My husband and I were talking the other day about our choice to move to Florida 6 years ago. Things certainly have not gone according to plan. We have faced challenges we never imagined. And for a few moments we found ourselves talking about how things might have been had we just stayed where we were. Well that pretty much sucked the air out of the room! Of course that conversation came from that nagging little voice in our minds that tends to focus on what we did not accomplish that we had planned for and anticipated as well as laments our mistakes.

Fortunately that conversation lasted for only about 5 minutes. We noticed what we were doing and reminded each other that we have no idea what life would look like right now had we stayed or what it would have been like along the way. In an instant our conversation shifted, and so did our mood. We started talking about all the wonderful unexpected things we have accomplished, how much more time we have both had with our daughter, how much we have learned and grown, how much we love where we live and how well our life works here.

Have there been disappointments and unfulfilled expectations? Absolutely. Yet if we could turn back the clock would we want to choose to do it differently? Or would we choose to move back now? The answer to both is a resounding NO! Click here to continue reading »”Are You Daring to Go For Your Dream?”

When we look at the various examples of effective and successful leaders, one of the traits we see that they share in common is exhibiting a strong sense of confidence. Now by confidence, I’m not referring to pushy, aggressive, or self-serving behaviour. Rather, I’m pointing to those leaders who create this air of calm reassurance about them, who are clearly happy with their lives and are comfortable with who they are; those who we often refer to as being “natural born leaders”.

Ironically, confidence is not something you’re born with, it’s something you develop from inside. And confidence is certainly not linked exclusively to positions of authority, but is something that everyone can nurture and develop in themselves. But how exactly do we foster this feeling of confidence, especially in those moments where we feel it starting to wane? To answer this, let’s look at the common traits found among those who exude a sense of confidence:

1. Believe in yourself
One thing that’s obvious when you see or hear a confident person is that they have a keen awareness of what they are capable of. When they walk onto a stage to give a speech, stand at the top of a ski hill at the beginning of a race, or when they face their team to offer some guidance on what to do next, there’s no mistaking that Click here to continue reading »”5 Steps To Help Build and Strengthen Your Confidence”

Photo courtesy of jm3

A few days ago, I had an interesting talk with my friend Mark who is currently wondering if the changing atmosphere in his workplace is a sign that it’s time for him to leave the company. As we delved into some of the reasons why he was still interested in staying with the organization, it reminded me of a similar situation I dealt with a few months ago and in particular, how our attachment to our past contributions or efforts can impact our desire or willingness to seek new opportunities.

For myself, the issue arose when I began to take stock of my participation in one of the many project teams I was involved with. Following certain decisions that changed the direction the team was headed toward, I realized that not only would there be less for me to contribute to the project, but the personal goals that were the reason why I joined the team four years ago were no longer attainable. On paper, it looked to be an open-and-shut case as to what I should do next. And yet, as my friend Mark is experiencing right now, life is rarely that simple.

In my case, while I knew there was not much of a benefit for both the team and myself in maintaining the relationship, I also knew that I had invested four years of my time, effort and resources into the project. As such, if I were to walk away, I would basically be giving all of that up without having attained the goals I had set out to reach as a member of that team. While dealing with any kind of change in our lives can be a challenge, it’s even more daunting when Click here to continue reading »”The Challenge We Face In Moving On”