Category: Motivation

5 Fundamental Lessons to Change Your Thinking About Risk

The more you risk failure, and actually fail, the greater your chances of success. It is rare that anything of value is created or accomplished during the first attempt. Failure, reflection, evaluation, adjustment, and persistence creates your path for success.

Most of us limit the risks we take. We work to avoid failure. We view failure as a negative, and become stuck in our comfort zone. We want more, but are unwilling to risk more.

Here are four lessons that may help you view risk from a different perspective.

1. Who cares if you look bad? Sometimes it is better to care less about looking good. Don’t let the fear of looking bad keep you from taking a risk. Would you rather look good, or find success? Step back and ask yourself this simple question, “Who cares if I look bad?” You normally don’t look good doing something the first time. So just do it.

2. Why are you waiting? Are you waiting for the perfect circumstances before taking action? If you find yourself continually evaluating your options, and gathering more data, stop analyzing. Stop thinking about why you need to wait, and think about why you need to act. You will never have all the data. The faster you move forward, the faster you reach success.

3. Do you have a budget? Create your own budget for risk and failure. Set a goal for your failures. The budget can be based on money, time, or effort. It could include all three. Plan on spending it every month. Make it a habit. This practice provides visibility to how much risk you are actually taking.

4. Where is your inspiration? Is your inspiration based on the value you place on your goal? This may seem obvious. But when your actions are driven by the wrong motives, this question may remind you to get back on track. Are you inspired and motivated by the right reasons? When your values and actions are aligned, you will find risks easier to accept. You are able to move forward faster.

You may read these questions, and think this does not apply to me. I take risks. I am action oriented. It may be true. However, my experience has shown, no matter what level of risk you are used to, everyone has the opportunity to grow in this area. We tend to overestimate the risks we actually take.

This week’s challenge is to evaluate where you are taking risk, and where you are risk adverse. Challenge yourself to find the opportunities that are waiting for you. You may discover something great that you have been avoiding.

Heartfelt Recognition Makes a Difference

In one of my leadership positions, I implemented a recognition award for my team. Every quarter I accepted nominations for the winner, who would be selected for their efforts over the previous quarter.

There was nothing special about this process. You have probably seen similar programs at some point in your career. There was nothing special about the award itself either. In fact, there was no monetary consideration, and the award was a traveling trophy. If you were recognized, you were able to keep the trophy on your desk for the quarter, but then it was passed to the next recipient.

What made the award special was public recognition, and the letter which accompanied the trophy. The letter detailed the specifics of why the person was being recognized. It was written in a story format, and the story came from the heart of the people impacted. The stories had impact.

When I reflect on the success of that process, I can see the importance far beyond the award itself. Here are three main benefits we enjoyed.

1. Displayed Sincerity and Authenticity. The awards allowed the leadership team to model sincerity and authenticity to the organization. We researched and validated the activity being recognized to verify accurate representation.

2. Increased Awareness of Great Effort. Since we were not recognizing people just for doing a great job, but for specific actions, the team became more aware of opportunities for recognition. The staff began to learn how recognition within their own team can impact all parts of the organization.

3. Celebrated Shared Values. This might have been the greatest benefit. The entire organization began to develop an understanding of what we valued as a team. It created the culture we desired. It energized the entire workforce.

As I think of the impact of this one simple program, I can’t help but think that everyone must already be doing this. But I have heard from many of you, that it is not true. Many organizations, spend their time on problem solving, and fire-fighting, with little to no effort placed on recognition.

With such a large payoff, how can we ignore recognizing our people? What do you want to change in your organization?

Help Someone Step Beyond Their Comfort Zone

As a coach, it is very rewarding to see someone expand their belief in themselves.  Then to use their new confidence to go outside their comfort zone, and find a new level of success.

So many people are stuck in their comfort zone. They don’t see a reason to cross the boundary. But the motivation to change can only come from within. It can be very frustrating when we see a friend, a co-worker, or a family member not living up to their potential.

If you are inclined to help a person get beyond their comfort zone, here are three basic steps to consider.

1) Help them define, and bring clarity to their dreams for the future. You may have to draw out a new future for them by asking questions, discovering their strengths, and their passions. Let it be their dream you coax out of them, not the goals you want them to achieve.

2) See them as they could be, not as they are. See them as if they had already accomplished their dream. Treat them as they will be.

3) Help them find wins that move them forward. Leaving the comfort zone can be very difficult. Help them find the first small steps that will lead to success.

If you would like to experience the power of having a coach dedicated to your success, schedule your complimentary coaching session today. Send an email to Mark at mbrown@newroadleadership.com and we can schedule a time.

 

Get in the Spirit

No one can deny the power of a positive attitude. Countless stories exist in medicine, sports, and the workplace on the impact a positive attitude creates. You can search the National Institute of Health website, and find details of over 40 studies that included the impact of optimism on healing.

When we speak of spirit, it has a different meaning. We typically use phrases like “the spirit of the season”, “team spirit”, or we want an event to have a certain spirit. Spirit typically does not relate to just one person. It relates to the atmosphere surrounding a group or an event.

But attitude and spirit are related. A team with good spirit is a collection of people working together with good attitudes. A collection of attitudes can be the core of the spirit.

If you want to improve your team’s spirit, or you want to create a spirited environment, you need to start with attitude. So today, there are 3 questions you should ask yourself:

1. Have I checked my attitude recently?
2. Am I positively influencing those around me with my positive attitude?
3. Am I building a powerful positive team spirit?