Bottom line. This is what I believe:

Positive self-talk expands your power; negative self-talk restricts it.

Your sense of personal power dramatically shapes your professional, personal, and social impact. I was recently invited to a networking event. This is a great example of the power of self talk. I walked into a large hotel conference room full of unfamiliar faces. Immediately, the fearful, negative self-talk made an appearance, and if I had let it take hold, I could have talked myself right out of a positive experience and the potential that the room held for me.

I don’t know a soul here. I shouldn’t have come. I hate these types of events. I feel soooo uncomfortable. Everyone else seems to be involved in conversations and must know each other.  I don’t know where to go or who to talk to. I must look like a goof standing here. I can’t stand it anymore… Maybe I should just leave. Actually, that sounds like a great idea. I’ll give it one more minute, then I’m leaving!

Been there before? I am sure we all have.  How many times have you let that kind of talk get in the way of your best behaviour, your goals and fundamentally your dreams and desires?

Positive self-talk awakens the courage that lies deep within. It will boost your self-confidence and a sense of personal power and direct your thoughts to expect positive outcomes.

Come on girl. You can do this. This will be a good experience for you! It’s up to you.You have to take the initiative. You’re always shy at first but it always works out. Let’s see… there’s someone standing alone over there. She looks nice! I bet she’d appreciate someone to talk to. Go introduce yourself.

When you instruct your mind to carry out messages related to successful performance, it works to override previously stored beliefs, stories, assumptions and experiences. It really does work, but you do have to work very hard to re-program those deeply entrenched beliefs and thought patterns. Oftentimes these pathways/patterns are extremely well worn and deeply ingrained so be patient. It takes a while to allow a new pathway to be created. Think of it like forging a new path through a densely populated treed forest.

Don’t be hard on yourself. You will fall back into your old patterns for a while. It’s not as easy as swallowing a magic pill! Sometimes the journey is rugged terrain but the other side is so worth the effort!

So… as my six year old son says… ”use positive self-talk”, it makes you happy. Pay close attention to your inner conversations. If you hear negative, disapproving, confidence-crushing thought patterns, they’re not serving your best interests. By switching to a positive sound track in your head, you’re changing, you’re motivating yourself, changing perception, eliminating negative outcomes and laying the groundwork for promising possibilities.

2012 is the year of mindfulness!

It is the year of transformation and individual growth. As we work on the launch of our first book “Me: Mindful Principles of Inspiring Individual Performance”, we are excited to invite you to a session to experience the learning together. The session will cover the first three principles in our book:

1. Be Present
2. Gratitude
3. Reframe and Focus

These principles are foundational to a high performance leader so do not miss
this learning opportunity at one of the most beautiful locations in the area!

Facilitators

Meghan Kirwin, Principal at The Kirwin Group
Jackie Lauer, Principal at Axletree Consulting
Elizabeth Misener, Coach at The Kirwin Group

When

February 16, 2012
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Where

Langdon Hall, Cambridge
Continental breakfast will be served

$150.00 + HST per person

Space is limited, so we encourage you to register early for our training session.

This is the time of year when many companies are hosting casual holiday luncheons or splurging and enjoying dressing up, having a meal catered in a fancy local hall and choosing to partake in a few adult beverages.  As we come to the end of another year of business we start to think about unwinding and enjoying a break with our staff, customers, friends and family. I invite you to remember that people are still watching. This is a time to unwind, even unwrap but definitely not to unravel.

In the case of my colleague, there was definitely too much drinking involved and the choices he made because he was impaired, immediately damaged the trust with his staff, his reputation with his customers and ultimately his career with that company.

Caron Treatment Centers, a non-profit provider of drug and alcohol addiction treatment in the US, released a survey in October stating that 52% of office holiday party attendees have witnessed some sort of inappropriate behaviour due to too much alcohol consumption. 30% of the survey respondents said they’ve witnessed someone flirt with a co-worker or supervisor at a holiday office party. Of the 1,034 survey respondents, 26% said a colleague or supervisor had shared personal or inappropriate details about themselves at a work-related social outing.

Today, smartphone cameras can easily capture inappropriate behaviour in real time and post it online. With social media so widespread now, many who attend office holiday parties are putting the technology to good use. More than half of the respondents to the Caron survey said they’ve seen professional repercussions for co-workers when such information became public through social networks.

It’s OK to party and drink responsibly as a leader. Remember to maintain good judgement, and show your team why they look up to you.

What you do speaks so loud, I cannot hear what you say.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unwind over the holidays and find some balance, unwrap your presents and enjoy your family but don’t unravel your leadership.

The Office/Operations Manager position was created to assist with the operational oversight of the administrative departments of the not for profit business and the implementation of the board’s vision and strategic plan for the organization.

To apply send resume and cover letter to jackie@axletree.com and include “Office Manager” in the subject line.

Summary Statement

The Office/Operations Manager, as part of the Management Team, is responsible for supervising and coordinating the administrative staff, overseeing the financial operations, and monitoring compliance with organizational policies.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

The Office/Operations Manager acts within organizational policy to perform a wide range of duties including:

Human Resources

• Working with the General Manager, recruit staff to administrative staff positions as necessary
• Supervise and coordinate the work of the administrative staff
• Perform annual performance reviews for all direct reports
• Work with the General Manager to make salary change and merit bonus recommendations for all direct reports
• Facilitate administrative staff training and development
• Coordinate administrative projects:
  • Assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of projects to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness
  • Assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of projects to improve client services and client retention
• Manage payroll and related employee benefits

Financial Oversight

• Manage accounts receivable
  • Review bank deposits
  • Coordinate member deferrals
  • Oversee the preparation of client statements and invoices
  • Coordinate collections for client arrears and other aged receivables
• Manage accounts payable, including client and staff reimbursements
  • Review and sign-off on bills for administrative expenses and services
  • Review cheques for accuracy
  • Act as a signing officer for the Co-op
• Prepare and review monthly financials
  • Review monthly adjusting entries for accuracy
  • Review monthly reconciliations, including deposits, receivables, and payables, for accuracy
  • Review monthly bank reconciliation
  • Report variances to the General Manager
• Monitor cash flow
  • Complete and submit to the General Manager monthly cash flow analysis reports
• Coordinate the development of the annual administrative budget and monitor performance
• Assist with the preparations for the annual audit process
• Maintain office petty cash and its records
• Document, develop, and implement appropriate internal controls for accounting and financial activities

Operational Oversight and Compliance

• Meet regularly with the General Manager and Facilities Manager to ensure operations  are effective and efficient
• Regularly review operational policies to ensure compliance by admin staff and clients
• Identify areas where operational policy changes are necessary
• Assist in the development of new operational policies as necessary

IT & Other Equipment Management

• Manage/Update client website data weekly
• Manage computer security for office computers
• Provide support and troubleshooting for office IT questions
• Assist with troubleshooting for other office equipment as needed
• Identify and support opportunities to further automate member and staff processes

Qualifications

Education

• College diploma or university degree in business, human resource management or similar program

Knowledge

• Human resource management
• Accounting
• Administration and management
• Co-ops and the co-operative movement an asset

Experience

• 2 to 3 years in a related field with demonstrated experience in managing a team and finances

Working Conditions

The Office/Operations Manager works a standard 37.5 hour workweek but will be required to work the occasional evening and weekend to monitor and complete program activities.

The Office/Operations Manager works in an office environment, sitting for long periods of time.

The Office/Operations Manager is required to carry a cell phone (provided by the employer) to assist in the response to after hour emergencies.

I have been blessed with many cheerleaders in my work and life along my marathons. You have them too. You know the ones!  They are those who support your dreams, offer up encouragement when you fall or slow down. They trust you and your dreams. They believe in your goal, in you and when they offer up their encouragement and support, it is without any attachment to themselves. They do not tolerate ‘less than’ from you because they know you when you’re at your best!

Ever meet someone along your marathon in life, who believe they are your cheerleader but in retrospect you realize they are not? While they have good intentions they end up discouraging you. These are the fearleaders. They will end up reinforcing a fear you have or inspiring deep insecurity while you run your marathon to achieve a set goal.  Perhaps there isn’t enough time?  Not enough money? Not enough security? Maybe you’re not ready or there are others better than you? These fearleaders could be your boss, your spouse, siblings, friends, children or even you.

The cheerleaders can offer up perspective, support and motivation by tapping into YOUR strengths, YOUR intentions, YOUR goals, YOUR dreams, YOUR values. They believe you are strong enough, good enough, and liked enough.

If I fear anything, it’s that we permit fearleaders to be our cheerleaders.  While their intentions are usually good, they often don’t know their motivation is really about them and their own fears for you and for themselves.

What are you going to do to handle any potential fearleaders in your life that don’t see the reality of how they are trying to motivate, coach, or supervise you in your marathon of life?    Who are the cheerleaders in your life? Recognize them and line them up for your next marathon. You deserve it.

So imagine the following:

A small but rapidly growing Canadian IT company has just gone public on the stock exchange, injecting millions of dollars into the business. The staff are excited, extremely loyal to the current founder, as they have been a big part of its success and rapid growth. The investors have decided to move the founder aside and hire an American President.  The senior leadership is sitting around a big boardroom table , nervously awaiting the late arrival of their new President. The room is full of laughter, nervousness and excitement. The new President comes in, sits down and talks about his credentials, his successes and why he was a perfect hire. Not once does he mention the success this group of leaders has had, nor acknowledges the founder and his impact. There is a silence in the room as the discomfort and fear increases. You can feel the culture changing in these few moments alone as the team begins to formulate their stories and assumptions about him.  Suddenly the new President leans back in his chair and topples over, onto his back, with his legs in the air. He looks like an overturned turtle, legs flapping about and unable to flip back up. Absolute silence in the room. The leadership team wants to laugh but they avoid eye contact with each other so as not to engage and begin the laughter, knowing it was likely inappropriate.  The Founder and outgoing President was sitting beside the toppled over new President. The Founder, a Newfoundlander and not one to hold back his thoughts, leans over the toppled over new President, and in a thick Newfie accent he says “Now what the F*** are you doing down there?”. That was it. Laughter erupts and the team is relieved of their tension.

This true story (or the leadership team’s version of what happened in that boardroom that day) got told over and over and over again. Stories create culture. They propagate assumptions and beliefs throughout an organization (or even a family). Did that event that day in the boardroom create the culture? No, it’s the response to the story that shows everyone how “we behave around here.”  The incoming new President had only one response to that story and it was defensive.

This is an important point for leaders. Leaders must be poised to lead a response to stories told. To disrupt a response if necessary. For leaders this is about self awareness and being aware of the stories being told (which means being able to identify stories) and observing how people respond–and being ready and WILLING to intervene.

What was the impact of this story with no planned response? A  number of talented and critical staff resigned and eventually the new President also resigned, having not understood the culture or learned how to change it and/or support.

Studies have shown that greater social interaction increases commitment to a community and the ability to mobilize collective actions, among other benefits, thus the idea of team building and company social events or just the water cooler. If social interaction is minimal, a group or organization experiences increased social unrest, reduced participation in cooperative activities, and potentially more distrust among staff members and its leaders.

“Social networks are my resource of support, knowledge, learning and developing, and knowing that I have this resource gives me confidence, assurance and assertion of success.” – Tina Jessamiene Goh. Facebook User.

These days, much of our social emotional needs, knowledge, entertainment, community, security, and even a sense of self worth are delivered to us in bite-sized packets through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter as and when we want it. Social emotional connection is now faster and easier than ever.

We no longer need our companies and their leaders to provide us with these emotional and social connections necessary for a balanced psychology. Leaders no longer provide that needed security and sense of belonging and significance. We don’t need to share our lives with our companies. We have it at the touch of a mouse. So when we go to work, our expectations are MUCH higher.

“In Facebook I can be positive and people do not judge me, I can be happy and people accept it and praise me on how I help them have a better day. At work this is not the case.” – Candy Sevlanka. Facebook User.

The levels of these emotional needs have increased substantially, what we would have settled for 5 years ago just won’t do today. The benchmark is set at a higher level and if leaders don’t meet it, employees can just turn to Facebook and Twitter and blame their boss (as long as the boss is not on a friends list).  So, as a leader, what are YOU doing about leveraging social media at work, for you, for your team, for your stakeholders and for your customers?

The focus of our Sunday afternoon to go ice skating. I took him for lessons last year, twice, to a place called SportZone, where he learned the basic of skating. I am always stressing the importance of separating fact vs. interpretation. Let’s look at my facts:

Fact 1: Every time I took him skating he would whine and say “I don’t want to go”.

Interpretation: He hates skating

Fact 2: He fell a lot more than the other kids

Interpretation: He’s not a natural skater

Fact 3: His dad can’t skate

Interpretation: Perhaps bad skating is biological or he doesn’t want to because his Daddy cannot.

The other piece of important data here is that he wanted to go on skating on this Sunday with his friend Cooper. We went to see Cooper play hockey on Saturday and Jack was so excited about the prospect of playing with Cooper.

Fact 4: He kept mentioning “I want to be on Cooper’s team and get a white shirt”

Interpretation: He only wants to skate to get a shirt that matches his friend

Cooper was unable to join us on Sunday so I asked Jack if he wanted to go alone, assuming he would not want to.  I was wrong.  Yup, assumption made, and I was wrong. (Seems I was wrong a lot this past Sunday!)  Jack was excited to go alone and we made sure his skates fit properly in advance and then headed off to the rink at RIM park.  He was animated during the car ride and even chatted up a storm with his excitement as we walked into the arena. He held my hand, walked with a spring in his step and played out the skating experience in his head prior to arriving.  He does this a lot, in my view, to manage his own expectations and assumptions.

We arrived at the information desk to pay and the cashier informed me that I was not able to join my son on the ice as I had not brought my skates. I had assumed it was easier to hold him, while wearing boots.  I thanked her for her time and let Jack know that we were unable to skate that day. He looked heartbroken and asked immediately “but why? Others are skating, I seem them!”. I told him I was unable to go and he simply said, “But I can”.  Wow! My story on him is that he was shy and cautious and would never go on the ice without me. Previous data and events had demonstrated that.  I was shocked but his response to skating alone.  I was also embarrassed by my assumption and disappointed in myself for not permitting my son to make his own decision in this regard. I was limiting him, and even myself, with my belief system.  I almost walked us out of the arena and missed a beautiful day. This is a day I shall never forget. I have a new story on my son. He is courageous and brave and knows what he wants.

The arena had run out of those skating bars that you rent for kids to help them stand up and skate. Jack was relieved as he didn’t want one. We walked out onto the ice, after lacing up his skates and I took a few deep breaths as he got on the ice.  He stepped cautiously and even chose to hold my hand. I was nervous because the rink was crowded. He let go of my hand but chose to skate in a small circle close to the edge, where he could see me, as the rush of skaters flowed by.  He was quiet and seemed focused and contemplative.  At one point, he looked up and asked me if he could hold on to one of the pylons on the ice. I said no, feeling somewhat shy as I believed the pylons were markers for the skaters and observers.

After increasing his skating circumference, he eventually just took a pylon on his own accord and suddenly was skating faster with more confidence.  He looked at me nervously, likely afraid I was mad that he didn’t listen to me.  In fact, I was proud as I had realized he was the one being courageous and not me.  It was I that was shy. It was I that was embarrassed. It was I that was holding him back.  I was finally getting the message.  He was coaching me, and not me coaching him.  I let go, of all my beliefs and assumption about him, about skating, about the arena,  and did my best to live in that moment. You should have seen him! Two hours on the ice, by the end of the day, he was skating on his own, holding on to the pylons for pure pleasure and speed, gleefully lost in the crowd of fellow skaters and waving furiously at me from across the crowded rink. I wonder if he knew I was crying?

• They should be told that they are high potential
• They should not be told
• If you tell them, it will motivate them
• If you tell them, they’ll become more of a retention risk
• If you tell them, they will get arrogant or complacent
• They should get more developmental opportunities than others
• They should get less development that others as they tend not to need it
• They want more responsibility
• They are great developers of others
• They are too self centered to worry about developing others
• We should profile them so that the solid B players know what to strive for
• We should not profile them as it will de-motivate all the other employees.

I was designated “top talent” when I was with a previous employer. One of the things that dumbfounded me was that no one once asked me how that designation impacted me. How ironic that no one asked my opinion but they wanted to ensure I was retained. Recently I learned that the The Center for Creative Leadership asked the “Hipos” what it meant.  What a concept! Ask them!  During an eight month period from October 2007 through May 2008, information was collected from 199 participants attending CCL’s open-enrollment leadership development programs.

Because we work with leaders and leadership teams and often on talent management programs concerned with retaining their top talent, as well as my own direct experience as “one of them”, I found the CCL findings to be very interesting.  Here’s a summary from CCL just for you (you can read the full report [PDF]):

1. Survey Respondents say formal identification as a high potential is important.
   Most survey respondents (77 percent) place a high degree of importance on being formally identified as a high potential in their organizations. The study showed several clear differences between high potentials who have been formally named and those who are perceived to be high potentials. Most notably, only 14 percent of the formally identified high potentials are seeking other employment. That number more than doubles (33 percent) for employees who are informally identified as high potentials.
2. High potentials expect more development, support, and investment – and they get it.
   High potentials receive more development opportunities – such as special assignments and training as well as mentoring and coaching from senior leaders – than other employees. This is as it should be, according to the respondents: 84 percent of high potentials agree that organizations should invest more in them and other valuable talent. The extra investment is one reason why being formally recognized as a high potential is considered important.
3. High potentials feel good about their status – but it has its downside.
   The survey’s HIPO respondents generally expressed positive feelings about being identified as a high potential by their organization. At the same time, the designation isn’t exclusively a win for those in the leadership pipeline. For some, there is a feeling of increased pressure or anxiety around high expectations or performance; others experience frustration around the organization’s unclear intentions.
4. High potentials are more committed and engaged when they have a clear career path.
   The most frequently mentioned way to increase the commitment and engagement among all high potentials is to help them identify a career path. High potentials want to have a picture of where they are going and to understand next steps in terms of development, experience, and movement. Additionally high potentials receive greater responsibility, they are also looking for greater authority to make decisions that have a significant impact on the organization.
5. High potentials help develop others.
   While high potentials are the recipients of increased opportunities and investment, they are also talent developers in the organization. Many (84 percent) are actively identifying and developing potential in others. They have insight and experience that is needed for developing the next layer of high potentials, as well as the larger talent pool.

Thoughts?

Do the research findings challenge any of your assumptions about the management and retention of your high potential talent? Do you agree or disagree on my recommendations? What is your organization doing with your “hipos”?