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Making the Switch from Perfection to Excellence

By 
March 15, 2022
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/making-the-switch-from-perfection-to-excellence/

Over the next couple of months, we will be looking at different roadblocks to leadership. This month we invite you to look with us at the drive to be perfect and how it can limit us from leading. 

Why it Matters?

In the article The Problem with Perfection by Mel Schwartz he states, “The pursuit of perfection limits our ability to be present and literally robs us of the vitality of life.” Meaning, when we are not present as leaders, we stop listening as leaders, we start to get transaction focused and stop being people focused which can limit our team’s growth.

Leadership Insights

When a leader is in a Mindset of Perfection, they see mistakes as final and as a judgement on performance, viewing a lack of perfection as failure. “Who’s at fault” is a common phrase used and an example of this way of thinking.

When a leader is in a Mindset of Excellence, mistakes are viewed as learnings and an important pillar to improvement and achieving sustainable excellent results.

Leadership Strategy

To start shifting your mindset from perfection to excellence, start thinking differently about mistakes and/or breakdowns, and ask a different set of questions like…

1. What was missing?
2. What did we learn from this? 

Our Relationship to Breakdowns Affects How We Lead

By 
February 19, 2022
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/our-relationship-to-breakdowns-affects-how-we-lead/

We learn from a young age that breakdowns shouldn’t happen and are bad events in our lives to be avoided. At AJ, we tell a different story; breakdowns are the key to improvement. No matter your experience level, you’re bound to have breakdowns, especially if you are taking on something big at work or in life.

Why it Matters?

Breakdowns are a tool for improvement. How much game film do the great teams watch after their performance? Yes, they celebrate what they did well, but they also look to see what they can improve on. Even after the best of wins, the greats are looking for breakdowns to upgrade for the next game and show up better.

Leadership Insights

As a leader, can you let go of seeing a breakdown as something is wrong that needs to be fixed, determining whose fault it was? Will you try on seeing a breakdown as an invitation to discover what is missing for us to create the outcome we desire for the next time.

Leadership Strategy

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” — John Powell

Over the next few weeks, get into a conversation about breakdowns and the opportunity to learn to see what’s missing to apply for next time by:

  1. Planning time to identify and discuss breakdowns after scheduled events (look at game film).
  2. Identify what was missing to put in place to ensure success next time.

The link below offers some more practices that can support in reversing burnout in yourself and others.

Awesome Reference

5 Failure: The Secret to our Success is one of our favourite videos on learning from breakdowns.

Have an awesome month, leader! 

Getting Back in the Game

By 
January 18, 2022
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/getting-back-in-the-game/

As we approach the second anniversary of COVID-19, more and more professionals are “hitting the wall” and burnout is at an all time high across all market segments.

Toss on top winter, cold weather, and January’s shorter days with less sun and you have the instant cherry on top of a doom and gloom recipe for burnout.

Why it Matters?

It is no secret that burnout has a direct impact on your ability to produce results. Not to mention, it impacts how effectively you lead others, who are likely burnt out as well and will need extra motivation from you to perform.

Leadership Insights

Burnout is different from stress. Stress can be managed by tactics like taking time off, going on vacation or rest. Burnout is a type of exhaustion that can be very difficult to turn around or recover from and does not go away on its own.

Leadership Strategy

Burnout can be transformed through the following set of practices:

  1. Prioritize self-care – make time for self-care and add to your calendar so its reliably in existence.
  2. Set firm boundaries and agreements – it’s ok to take a knee and shut it down.
  3. Get support – find an accountability partner that can pull you to the surface (presence), so you can pause, breathe, reset and start winning the race again.
  4. Change your mindset – reframe something that shows up as a negative/bad/wrong. Ask yourself, what is the learning in this?

The link below offers some more practices that can support in reversing burnout in yourself and others.

Awesome Read

5 Things to Do When You’re on the Edge of Burnout

Have an awesome month, leader! 

2022 Leadership Book List

By 
December 7, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/2022-leadership-book-list/

The Awesome Journey Team would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and thank you for having us as part of your transformation and growth in 2021.

As we move forward into the new year, we invite you to take the time needed to rest your mind, expand your resilience, allowing openness to change and new possibilities to emerge.

Check out our 2022 Book List for the leaders in your life. Click HERE to download.

 

Responsiveness: The difference between Succeeding and Failing

By 
November 15, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/responsiveness-the-difference-between-succeeding-and-failing/

With the amazing advancements of technology, we receive more messages than ever before that allow us to get connected, get updated and receive requests almost immediately, from both clients and team members. How do we respond effectively?

Why it matters
Running a great business is about so much more than offering a great product or service. Your responsiveness to prospects, clients/customers and others can be a huge difference-maker in whether you succeed or don’t succeed as a team or even a business.

Leadership Insights
Responsiveness is absolutely critical for creating better relationships, trust, and rapport with clients and the people on your team. Responsiveness doesn’t necessarily mean immediately; it means having a system or structure in place so you can respond to inquiries within a reasonable time frame.

Leadership Strategy
3 practices to improve responsiveness:

  1. As a team, create an agreement to what your standards need to be around responding to clients, team members and other stakeholders.
  2. As leaders, scan through your e-mails received in the last 24 hours before you shut down for the day to make sure you didn’t miss something. At Awesome Journey, we call this Completing Your Day.
  3. Determine priority. We get more messages than ever before, but don’t let the overwhelming number of non-essential messages get in the way of healthy and necessary responsiveness.

Awesome Read:
The Importance of Responsiveness

Have an Awesome Month Leaders!

Importance of Completing Your Day

By 
October 19, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/importance-of-completing-your-day/

Why it matters

It’s no secret that being a powerful leader involves effective communication. Without proper organization, you won’t be fully present to listen fully to support your team.

 

Leadership Insights

Overwhelm is one of the biggest factors in why we don’t communicate, and more specifically are not able to listen fully, which stops us from being the leader that others expect. Completing your day is not only about finishing your day. It is also about designing your time for successful tomorrows, to be fully present for others.

 

Leadership Strategy

Completing your day includes 2 big questions you need to be able to answer yes to at the end of your day:

  1. Are all my commitments and promises for today complete or scheduled?
  2. Does your calendar for tomorrow reflect the future (a.k.a our priorities) that you are co-creating with others?

 

Leadership Challenge!

For the next month, schedule the last 30 minutes of your day to “complete your day” and practice answering the questions above at the end of your day with the goal of answering YES to both.

 

Awesome Read: Leaders: Stop saying you’re “so busy” all the time

Have an Awesome Month Leaders!

That Thing Called Work-Life Balance

By 
September 15, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/that-thing-called-work-life-balance/

Work-life balance is the idea that a fulfilling life outside of work helps improve work performance while reducing stress. The time a person spends working should be balanced by time spent with friends and family, keeping fit, traveling, and doing other fulfilling hobbies.

Why It Matters

With so many of us torn between juggling heavy workloads, managing relationships and family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside interests, it’s no surprise that more than one in four workers describe themselves as “super stressed”; that’s not balanced—or healthy.

Leadership Insights

What we see with many of our clients is 2 main reasons for not having a ‘Healthy” balance.

  1. Something is in their way of saying “no or stop” at work.
  2. They make a choice to focus on others or other things rather than themselves

Leadership Strategy

This month, take a look at your calendar or scheduling tool. Does it reflect an “In-balance” in your world, filled with meetings and work commitments and little to no time set aside for “you” activities.

Start adding “you” activities to your life and thus into your calendars and to do lists.

Make you a priority.

Awesome Read: Work Life Balance: For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy work/life balance seems like an impossible goal

Have an Awesome month Leaders!

Getting Back to Working in an Office

By 
August 16, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/getting-back-to-working-in-an-office/

As business and countries start to re-open, companies are faced with the task of figuring out how to successfully transition staff back to the office. It is going to be important for companies to address this and develop a “return to work” plan.

Why it matters?

While some staff may be excited about returning to an office, there are some who would prefer to stay working remotely due to safety, risk of infection or to avoid the office environment all together.

Leadership Insights

Your company will need to be patient and have an adjustment period, most are calling it “flex time” for now.

As leaders you will need to have a conversation with your people to understand where their mindsets are and which side of the fence they are on (i.e.: “lets get back to it” or “lets just stay home”). Remember to address concerns that staff will have about embracing change; the change of coming back to the office will require well designed intentional conversations to disappear their concerns, issues, and fears.

If staff feel forced back, it may harm your Company’s culture and employee morale.

Leadership Strategy

If getting back in the office is your company’s goal, try making it attractive to come back to the office. Things like a workout area, free breakfast, lunch parties and upgraded computer equipment, are all awesome ideas that one of our Montreal based business partners is doing to attract employees back into their downtown office space.

Awesome Read

How to Attract Employees Back to the Office

Have an Awesome Month Leaders!

Why Giving Feedback is an Essential Leadership Skill

By 
July 20, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/why-giving-feedback-is-an-essential-leadership-skill/

One key characteristic of a good leader is that they are able to reach organizational goals by motivating others. Giving constructive feedback helps individuals grow by learning how they can improve and by reinforcing the activities they are doing well.

Why it matters?

  • Feedback supports employees to see their blind spots that impact their performance
  • Feedback helps employees achieve their goals
  • Feedback builds trust between the leader and employee
  • Feedback influences employee engagement
  • Feedback reinforces individual accountability

Leadership Insights

If I asked your leaders what they are working on, their gifts and/or areas of opportunity, could they answer? Would it match what you would say? The answer should be the same and if its not, you have some work to do (feedback).

Challenge: Have ongoing conversations with your leaders to provide feedback like someone did for you in your leadership journey. It may be a difficult conversation, but the benefits are endless to them as a learner, you as leader and your company in achieving awesome results.

Awesome Read:

How Successful Leaders Give Honest Feedback That Inspires People and Does Not Hurt Their Ego

Have an awesome month leaders!

Upgrading Communication to Stay Connected

By 
June 15, 2021
https://www.awesomejourney.ca/upgrading-communication-to-stay-connected/

Great leaders are masters at communication because they understand the importance it has on a healthy team culture. When we are limited by our current environment and can’t control where we interact (like working at the office), it’s important for leaders to upgrade how they communicate to fill this gap.

Why it matters?

As our worlds start to “kick back-up”, a new normal is established, and companies are moving from a survive mindset to a thrive mindset, overwhelm for our people continues and it needs to be a part of leader’s responsibility to address.

Leadership Insights

Effective communication is about more than just exchanging information, it’s about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. As well as being able to clearly convey a message, you need to also listen in a way that gains the full meaning of what’s being said, and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

Challenge: Over the next couple of weeks, take some time to understand others (emotions and intentions) in your meetings before “taking control” or “getting right at it”.

 Awesome Read

8 Phrases That Help Us Communicate More Effectively

Have an awesome month leaders!

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