Category Archives: Responsibility

Open an Account at the Knowledge Bank, Part 2

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Image by Anna Langova

How often have you attended a presentation at a conference or professional association event, taken a mountain of notes, come home and filed them away for “further reading.” And…you guessed it…”further” never happens.

Once you have disciplined yourself to learn (last week’s blog post), you are ready to assimilate, that is, absorb the information. As you absorb it, don’t just read the words; let them seep into your memory so that as you study it, you begin to understand it and how it works. Ultimately, you will be able to easily recall the new information from memory when you pick it apart and add meaning to it. Without meaning, all you have are just words on a page.

How can you assimilate when you are already in “information overload”? Who has the time to assimilate anyway? Here are three tools to help you:

Mind Mapping. One of my favorite tools for capturing information, taking notes and outlining a presentation is mind mapping, created by Tony Buzan. Mind mapping is a colorful way to capture information in a nonlinear, creative way rather than traditional linear note taking. It’s great if you are a visual learner. Even if you are left brained and more analytical, you can still benefit from mind mapping. Engineers in my training programs who claimed they could never use it discovered that they enjoyed it more than they initially thought.

Speed Reading. It took a school teacher, Evelyn Wood, in the late 1950s to discover speed reading. She noticed that by using the sweeping motion of her hand across a page, it acted as a visual guide as she read. She went on to establish the most recognizable speed reading course in the world. To get your eyes ready to speed read, check out this helpful eye exercise for speed reading created by Nevit Dilmen.

Memory Improvement. Mnemonic devices and images are just two examples of tools that help you remember information. As a child, you learned the alphabet using a song. To remember the length of months, it was a poem that anchored that information in my memory bank…

“Thirty days hath September…

April, June and November.

All the rest have thirty-one,

Except in Leap Year, that’s the time,

When February’s days are twenty-nine.”

A favorite site is Mind Tools. The best part: Be sure to sign up for their free weekly e-newsletter; you may get a free goodie.

As you can see, it takes a lot to not only keep up with information that’s coming at you; it requires discipline and assimilation to absorb it and remember it.

What can you do to better assimilate important information that you need to retain?

Do You Trick or Treat?

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TrickOrTreatThat favorite annual holiday – Halloween – is upon us. It got me thinking about how in our everyday lives we are capable of either tricking or treating others. Which do you do?

Trick

Do you trick people into thinking you are someone who you are not? Do you deliberately put on airs and misrepresent yourself to others? It’s time to take a long, hard look at yourself, and understand why you do this. Reveal your true authentic self for others to see.

Do you trick yourself into believing that you are not worthy? When you suffer from The Imposter Syndrome, you trick yourself into thinking that you are not as good as you really are and you are afraid that others will find out you’re not as good as they think you are. It’s time for a reality check and focus on feeling good about yourself and feeling worthy.

Do you trick others by compromising quality or taking short cuts? When you give 100% of yourself and do quality work, you demonstrate your integrity and gain credibility in the process.

Do you serve up tricks by being light hearted and funny? See? Not all tricks are bad. There are good tricks as well. When you can laugh at yourself and help others to laugh too, people will appreciate your sense of humor.

Treat

Do you treat all people equally, with dignity and respect? This simple act makes a big difference in how others see you. The dignity and respect you show to them will come back to you ten-fold.

Do you treat other people like they are more important than you? When you let others shine and support them in their dreams and aspirations, you are putting their needs before yours. It positions you as someone who cares.

How often do you treat others? I mean really treat them? Whether it’s giving a server a slightly bigger tip, giving a gift to someone just because you felt like it, or picking up the tab every once in a while for no reason, you are letting your benevolence shine.

As you participate in the festivities of Halloween this year, think about the “tricks” or “treats” that you are doling out. How can you treat others like they have value?

The Value of Volunteering

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helping-hand-435x290Many companies today have created a culture of caring through community volunteerism. Whether raising funds for important research to cure a disease, teaching children how to read or building a home for a family in need, your involvement enhances the company’s visibility as a community leader. Your volunteer efforts  benefit you in two ways: You gain valuable experience in leadership, communication and stewardship and your hard work positions you well within the company as a team player and engaged employee.

In my case, everything I learned about leadership I learned through volunteer activities. I learned how to:

  • Understand group dynamics by working on committees
  • Supervise others
  • Delegate work
  • Work well with people from diverse backgrounds
  • Advance in the organization and accept responsibilities along the way
  • Negotiate
  • Think critically and creativity
  • Reach the top of the organization (as board president)
  • Inspire and motivate others
  • Share a vision with others
  • Develop a strategic plan for the future
  • Take responsibility for my work
  • Read and understand financial information
  • Plan and execute large projects

I learned all of these skills as a volunteer. Now, you may ask, “Didn’t you learn anything on the job?” Yes, of course, I did. Yet when it came to leadership skills, I learned them more rapidly through my volunteer commitments. An organization that relies on its volunteers isn’t going to fire its volunteers, so there is nothing stopping you from being your best and brightest. As a volunteer, the sky is the limit!

My experience of managing events as a volunteer committee chairperson came in handy when I had to manage large-scale events in my career. As a volunteer, you can learn and make mistakes. When it comes time for you to use those skills in your job, you will sail through any assignment. Because I experienced being a leader first as a volunteer, it was more valuable to me than reading leadership books. When working with volunteers, understand that they are already self-motivated when they volunteer (they know they are not getting paid for their time or ideas). To keep them motivated, make sure that their talents and skills are being used, not under-used, and recognized. Place them in positions where they can thrive.

What do you want to learn? What cause can you get involved in? The choice is yours. You can use your talents and skills to be in service to a community that needs you.

What volunteer opportunities in the community are being offered by your company that would give you greater responsibility and teach you new skills?

What other volunteer assignments could you introduce your company to, which would elevate your company’s visibility in the community?

A Life Well Lived…and Celebrated

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MatkaValleyLegacyLast week, my 93-year-old mother was included among 24 outstanding seniors and 5 senior advocates honored for exemplary community contributions and lifetime achievements in my hometown area. As each honoree’s name was called, a brief biographical description captured the essence of that person’s interests and passions in both life and career. Every individual being honored was a dedicated volunteer and activist. As I listened with great intensity, I was reminded that we can either choose to remain passive or become actively engaged in the direction and purpose of our life.
The comment made by a retired veteran and amputee who happened to be one of the top five award recipients stuck with me. In a strong New York borough accent, he said, “You just gotta do whatcha gotta do.” This is what his comment means to me:

Do what you want to do. There is a big difference between wanting something and needing something. When you do what you want to do, you are unstoppable. Nothing and no one can stand in the way of your success and achievements.

Believe that you can do it. It didn’t matter whether someone volunteered with children, landscaped a local park or helped to feed the hungry, they all believed that they could contribute their talents and skills to the cause.

Put your best effort into everything you do. None of the honorees struck me as the highly competitive type, who just wanted to rack up points for popularity. Giving their best was ingrained in their DNA. They gave only their best to everything they did, whether at home, at work, or in their community.

Serve others and serve yourself well. There is no greater joy in life than contributing to another person’s well-being and success. Teaching English to a new immigrant or serving meals at the local shelter, no matter what you do, when you do it for others, it makes you feel good about yourself and what you are able to give.

Inspire others. Your actions will do more to inspire others than you could ever imagine. When I left the luncheon, my heart was full, and I was inspired to do more and give more of myself to others.

Fast forward a few decades. Imagine that you are a senior in your 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90s, being honored for your lifetime achievements. What will they say about you? Return to today: What can you give of your talents and skills to others between now and then?

Starbucks’ Sweet Smell of Success

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cap-and-gownWith the announcement this week that Starbucks is partnering with Arizona State University (ASU) Online to offer Starbucks workers college tuition reimbursement, it positions both Starbucks and its workers in a favorable light. The coffee giant’s College Achievement Plan provides a win/win for both employer and workers.

How it positions Starbucks: This new plan complements the Starbucks mission: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” It positions Starbucks as an industry leader, encouraging its workers who work 20 hours or more a week (either part time or full time) to complete their college education through convenient, online courses. It also demonstrates that Starbucks is paying it forward, investing in the future of its workers. And of course it solidifies the iconic Starbucks brand by building a stronger workforce since workers will remain at Starbucks over the long haul.

How it positions Starbucks partners (they are not called employees): It encourages partners to enroll in college and apply what they learn directly to their work. The more partners learn outside the realm of their daily jobs, the more well-rounded they become. As they continue through college, they may work their way up in the organization. When they apply the “pay it forward” philosophy to their own lives, they become more philanthropic and involved in their communities.

Some are criticizing this plan, claiming it creates another corporate monopoly. Within the College Achievement Plan, when partners complete their freshman and sophomore online courses through ASU, they will be given a discount. Completion of their junior and senior year coursework is fully paid by Starbucks. How refreshing for a corporate employer to offer tuition assistance to its workers. Wouldn’t it be nice if more employers invested in their employees’ futures?

What investments are you making in others and in yourself? How are you paying forward?

How Resourceful Are You?

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arrowsupdownMy parents, who lived through the Great Depression, instilled the value of resourcefulness within me at a very young age. To this day, it is one of my top values. From the time I was a child, I found a way to recycle/repurpose long before it became fashionable. Yet the term takes on a slightly different meaning in the professional world. How can you be resourceful in your work environment?

Resourcefulness in the workplace is vitally important to an organization’s success. The Center for Creative Leadership identified resourcefulness as one of the top five skills a leader must possess in its 2009 study, The Leadership Gap. Within the study, resourcefulness was identified as “working effectively with top management.”

What value has resourcefulness brought to companies and organizations in the past five years? The most recent recession forced many to tighten their belts and be more resourceful, yet, what does that mean? In my opinion, being resourceful at work also includes:

  • Involving key contributors in strategic decisions
  • Honoring organizational priorities
  • Creatively pursuing options and possibilities
  • Including some new voices in the conversation, especially those who are rarely asked or who may get lost within the organization’s hierarchy
  • Knowing where to go for answers
  • Asking tough questions
  • Considering new solutions to age-old problems
  • Engaging workers in the mindset of “sustainability”

Being known at work as someone who is resourceful can position you as a leader who cares about the company, its mission and its people. How can you become more resourceful at work?

 

 

I Think Therefore I Am…Responsible

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Young Man with His Hand on His Forehead“What were they thinking?” we often ask ourselves as we read top news stories about public officials, celebrities, sports figures or highly visible leaders who thought no one would discover their bad behavior. At some point, they had a choice to make, and they made the wrong choice. If only they had done one thing differently: Think.

Think before you speak. Think before you act. Think before you behave badly. Think before you make advances. Think before you leave that voicemail. Think before you forward that email. Think before you take that photo. Think before you post that photo on social media. Thought guides our decision-making process. Our moral compass, our core values, assist us in making those decisions.

Clearly, these people knew what they were doing at the time. They just didn’t think they would get caught. Ego got in the way and they thought they could brush it aside. A cover-up or denial does greater damage and often ends careers and tarnishes reputations forever.

With respect to French philosopher René Descartes, let’s create an addendum to his well-known phrase. By adding the word “responsible,” we are all fully accountable for our actions. I think therefore I am responsible. What a concept.

Be On Purpose – Part 3

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Now that I have presented you with the mantra, Everything I do positions me, and a follow-up mantra, Everything I do positions my company, let’s look at the flip side: Everything I don’t do positions me. Reflect on this for a moment. It’s not only what you do…it is also what you don’t do or neglect to do that can work against you and position you in a negative way with other people. For many, it’s a habit, to say something and not follow through. What will people think of you if you repeatedly make the same statement every time you see them and never follow through? “Let’s do lunch” seems to be the most common of phrases. If you see me five times within one year, and say that to me every time you see me, what will I begin to think about you? “She says it but she won’t act on it.” That speaks to your character. Whatever you say, deliver on the promise. It will position you more powerfully as someone who follows through and honors commitments.  And isn’t that the sign of a true professional?

Be On Purpose, Part 2

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Now that you have embraced your new mantra, “Everything I do positions me,” let’s build on that to include “Everything I do positions my company.” You not only represent yourself…you also represent your company, whether you are on the job or off.

When you meet a prospective client for the first time, your behavior is scrutinized. If you promise to submit a proposal by Friday, and you don’t deliver on that promise, the person may think that this is how your company does business. The result: Potential lost business income. Even in your personal life, you still carry your company with you. If you yell at a waiter in a restaurant and a client hears the entire conversation, the person may question both your character and the character of your company. When you work for a highly visible or prestigious company or organization, your positioning is amplified even more, meaning, people expect even greater things from you.

Before you make that promise or (dare I say) begin to behave badly, take a moment to reflect on your new mantra, “Everything I do positions my company.” Remember, you are a brand ambassador, so make your company proud.

In 2013, Be On Purpose

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In celebration of Be On Purpose Month, take a moment, right now, to reflect on what it truly means to be “on purpose.” To me, it means to be mindful, fully aware and intentional. The key to being on purpose is knowing exactly what you are putting out there. When you add a positive spin to it, your entire world opens up. When you intentionally send goodness out, you attract more goodness back to you. You have, no doubt, heard the phrase, “What goes around comes around.”

Let me share with you one of my most powerful guiding phrases: “Everything I do positions me.” Commit this phrase to memory. Close your eyes and visualize the words in front of you. Repeat the phrase a few times. Everything you do – your behavior, the way you dress, the people you associate with, the way you treat people, your attitude, your knowledge and experience – positions you in the minds of the people you come in contact with. How can you position yourself with greater impact? Focus on being more mindful, fully aware and intentional about what you are putting out there.