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7 Essential Mindset Shifts of New Leadership

  By Christina Lattimer • April 22, 2014 - 4:44 pm

mindsetLeadership of the future will be all about mindset

New Leaders will be at the forefront of creating paradigm shifts for themselves, their teams and followers.  Not only will they  lead by example, but they will show others through focused thinking and vision a brave new world.

There are certain ingredients which leaders and people in the development field must be aware of moving forward.  The ingredients included vision, beliefs, thinking skills and emotional intelligence. Using those ingredients effectively requires a Mindset different than that which has gone before.  is now proving what most people believed was impossible is actually true, based on scientific evidence. Very briefly and simply, this means:

 

 

  • The universe is made up of pure energy
  • We are all interconnected and part of that energy
  • Energy is invisible, but what we what we pay attention, believe and think becomes our reality
  • Every observer will create a different reality depending on their Mindset

There is really only one shift to be made which is the realisation of the infinite possibilities which exist.  But it as rare as St. Paul’s “Road to Damascus” moment for the majority of us to make such a huge shift all at once.  It takes time for most of us to let go of old and outworn beliefs and thoughts and replace them with new life affirming mind-sets.

For leaders of the future, the following seven shifts may be good places to start in the workplace. Shifting our attention from:

Sickness to Well-being

Concentrate and invest in physical, emotional and mental wellness.  We will measure wellness and our activities will be centred around being well.  We will celebrate wellness, and set targets around well-being. Focusing attention and energy upon absence and sickness simply creates more of the same.

Scarcity to Abundance  

Instead of cutting costs or settling for second best or laying off employees for example; we will develop possibilities of generating ways to grow and increase wealth.  Be generous and don’t allow fear or guilt about finances be the decision-maker.   Realise wealth isn’t all about money.  It is about an abundant mindset.

Limited to Unlimited 

There are no right or wrong decisions or beliefs. There is just difference. Moving from limited beliefs and thinking can at first prove overwhelming when we realise there are infinite possibilities or paths to traverse. We are only limited in our achievements by our limited thinking and beliefs.  we must listen to our intuition and dare to believe what we truly desire can be achieved.

Powerlessness to Power

We will empower ourselves, believing in our ability to create, and change our current reality. Accept our current reality without resisting or wishing away what is.   Have faith and patience with the right Mindset we can make positive changes.

Competition to Excellence

Let go of the need to compare and compete with others, whether personally or in business. Concentrate instead on only doing the best we can understand there is a niche for everyone and a contribution for everyone to make. We will focus on doing our best, not coming first.

Profit to Contribution

It matters not about the size of the contribution as long as it is authentic and borne of a desire to make a difference. ~We will shift from how much profit to how much of a contribution we make. It is the energy of contribution honestly made meeting a real need which is paramount. When we concentrate on contribution and make it a brilliant one, the energy will bring abundance.

Management to Relationship

Relationships are going to be the main focus for the future. Relationships built on mutual understanding, equal responsibilities, agreed roles, with built in accountability for fair reward. It is a mutual and agreed relationship of give and take, which returns energies of contribution with those of reward.

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Five Ways To Get Rid Of Stress and Honour Yourself

  By Christina Lattimer • April 21, 2014 - 9:58 pm

stress To alleviate stress, you have to strike an equal balance between work, rest and play.

I write a lot about inspiration and what leaders should be doing well.   I am always keen to describe how we should have vision and be using reaching strategies and behaviours to make things happen.  Big action is often my cry.  I’m a big advocate of  emotional intelligence, intellectual dexterity; resilience, unity consciousness and how we relate to each other for example.

I read and share a plethora of intellectual, insightful and inspirational articles and blogs about what makes a great leader, manager, boss, HR Director or whoever may be paving the way for others. is a passion.

There are many people out there who tell us how to live our lives and what to strive for, how to do things well, improve, be better, be best, and yes I do that too.

For the majority of the time, I love it.  I love finding new ways to motivate interest, excel and go the extra mile.

But there are times, when thinking about how efficient we should be, or how much we should challenge and push ourselves that sometimes; just sometimes  it’s great to be just ok, in the here and now, right now, without any wish to be, do or think anything else.

The world is mostly in a queue, a whirlwind, aspiring to something, wanting to improve, getting better results, being more honest, moving forward, changing at the speed of light, a hive of activity which can be true in our personal lives as well as at work.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons for absence and one of the biggest costs of presenteeism at work.  There are a number of causes of stress, and most of them caused as we live out the challenges of moving quickly, changing lives, work, roles, partners, houses, jobs, and the way we do things and there are many more.

And we don’t really have much choice.  Unless everyone stood still at once, we need to keep up with it all, or risk being left behind, and that is our fear and why we tolerate stress often.

Sometimes though we need to stop and do something different.  Oh the sweet relief of taking time out.   Taking time out is important for anyone, whether you are a leader, a team member, stay at home or business owner.  The world would be a better place, if everyone gave themselves a real break. So if you are endlessly busy and the adrenaline is wearing thin.  Or you are too busy, too worried, stressed or in the throes of any kind of change: The following are some of my suggestions about how you can give yourself a respite from the madness of your daily life:

  1. Accept everything completely as it is and make a decision just for even half day or so, not to wish for anything different.  Just accept and surrender to where you are right now. Stop wanting people, situations or ourselves to be different.  You don’t have to be happy about “what is” just make a decision not to be unhappy about it.  That’s called being at Peace. And it’s refreshing.
  2. Be with yourself:  Watch yourself, feel your feelings, if you feel happy indulge yourself and let yourself really feel the happiness.  If you feel sad, then give yourself permission to.  Know it isn’t going to destroy you.  Feel negative emotions instead of repressing them, just don’t act on them.  Your emotions are simply a guidance system. If they are happy you are on the right track, if sad they are telling you that there is something you believe which is not true about yourself.  Feeling and releasing negative emotions can feel brilliant, as long as you don’t wallow in them and don’t identify them as being who you really are.
  3. Breathe; get away from the hustle and bustle if you can.  Breathe in some healthy fresh air and enjoy the feeling of taking the air into your lungs and right into your body.  When you are breathing you are relaxing your body, and giving it a rest.  Conscious breathing is like having an inward shower, all your cells and your being benefits.
  4. Meditate:  For years I struggled with being able to meditate. I read all of the guidance and yes of course when I tried to stop thinking, the thoughts crowded in.    Once I realised the true purpose of meditating is to focus on the gap between the thoughts I cracked it.  The beauty of concentrating on the gap is twofold.  Firstly you are in touch with your higher self who is all powerful and wise; and secondly, by being in the gap between your thoughts you are actually giving yourself a well-earned break.   Thoughts are energy and too much thinking depletes us, yes even if most of our thoughts are happy ones.
  5. Appreciate: Gratitude is a brilliant state to be in.  Appreciation is even better because you tend to be grateful for something you have or have earned, or have been given.  You can appreciate situations, people and stories which have nothing to do with you and as a result you are simply being appreciative of the world around you.  Appreciation is akin to real love because real love is unconditional, all-encompassing and not limited to the personal self.  Therefore feeling appreciation is restful, energising and soothing.

So go on, give yourself some much needed time off and practice some of the relaxing ways of “being” described.  If you have your own ways of de-stressing or relaxing please do let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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A Creative Look At Routine – 5 Steps To Transform Your Routine Processes or Tasks

  By Christina Lattimer • January 9, 2014 - 1:15 pm
Are you creative in your routine?

A human myth is that there are creative people and people who simply aren’t.  The truth is that we are all creating.   Some of us simply create more routine in our lives than others.  Some create a more adventurous lifestyle, hone artistic qualities or even can create much drama in their lives.   One of the determinants of how you will use your creative skills will be based on your personality preferences.

MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), is based on the psychology of Carl Jung, where he identified eight distinct personality functions which can strongly influence the way we create our world, our creative approach will differ depending on our type preference.

Until I understood my personality type preferences I used to judge myself for “not having more attention to detail” and for preferring to spend time on my own than with friends (not always, but often!), or for having millions of ideas and not being able to finish  implementing many of them.  Realising that I had unconscious preferences to be a certain way, but I could choose to do things differently, even if that felt uncomfortable; was extremely liberating.

The relevance of all that is that while some people love routine and feel lost without it, for me I get bored very easily with routine tasks, I love starting new projects, a varied workload and trying new things.   At this time in my life I have learned enough about myself and created sufficient discipline to get the routine stuff out of the way, but I simply don’t enjoy it, procrastinate too often and look forward to the utopian day when I can afford to pay others to carry out the routine tasks to free me up to vision, imagine and create new adventures.

Setting up my new business has been a steep learning curve.  I have been self-employed in the past but simply worked as an associate and worked with many different companies.  This time, I’m actually setting up a business, which means it has to have outcomes, structure, financial plans and on and on.  Up until a few months ago I actually sang my way into the office every day.  Using my imagination to decide what I wanted to create, with real meaning and purpose has been exciting, new and adventurous.

A few months ago the social media side of the business took a remarkable positive turn which meant lots of services being delivered to new clients.  Enviable isn’t it?  Well yes it certainly is and we are counting our blessings every day.  The problem of course for me is it meant routine work increased because we simply had to deliver.  Not my strong preference!

 

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Tiny Buddha – The Lori Deschene Interview

  By Christina Lattimer • October 24, 2013 - 10:00 am
Even before I realised how much I would get involved and connect with others across social media and the internet; one of the first personal resources I found which resonated with me was Lori Deschene’s Tiny Buddha twitter feed.
As a life-long learner and self-awareness student, I have read my way through literally thousands of books which speak to my heart and soul, and I have to say Lori’s work stood out in it’s simplicity but also because of the truthfulness and vulnerability contained in her articles.
So when I published the , one of the first internet resources I wanted to show my gratitude to, was, the Tiny Buddha, and I contacted Lori to get permission to use her branding in the e-zine. Not only did I get a swift and positive response from Lori, I was absolutely delighted to persuade her to let me interview her for a future issue of the E-zine.
I am delighted that this interview with Lori also coincides with the publication of her second great book . I pre-ordered the book and was struck by the powerfulness of the chapters within. A must read! (More later)
Lori’s inspirational first book “” is also available from Amazon.

 So here is what Lori had to say about her work on the Tiny Buddha and also her inspirational new book.

Why do you think the Tiny Buddha has such a huge and loyal fan base?

I believe it has a lot to do with the heart behind the site. People share themselves honestly and vulnerably in their writing, and this invites a type of authentic connection that’s sometimes hard to find.   I also think it has to do with the way the site has grown—organically. Even as it attracts more readers and writers and we launch new products and features, it’s never about maximizing page views or meeting traffic or sales goals.   The purpose is always the focus, and everything else is secondary.

To read the full interview simply click on the image below:

 

By Christina Lattimer

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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10 Ways to Get Focused When You Simply Have Too Much To Do

  By Christina Lattimer • September 19, 2013 - 1:59 pm

 

10 Tips on How to get Focused When Multi- tasking

I don’t know about you but I do struggle at times to feel in control when my “to-do-list” is over the page. Unfortunately while mindlessly reacting, I’ve developed an almost comic strip routine, a little like starting a new healthy eating regime, it only lasts a few days and then old habits usually take over. The routine goes like this: I draw up a new to-do-list; I prioritise it, and start working through it. What usually happens is an emergency occurs, or something unexpected becomes the priority of the day, and my carefully planned prioritisation goes out of the window. I spend a day or two trying to get through some bulk volume work, spend unplanned evenings catching up and then the whole cycle starts again.

My 16 year old son has just started into 6th form, for a lad who simply hates homework, at least 16 hours of it each week is a big stretch; it’s a whole new paradigm shift for him, one which already into the 2nd week has become a source of stress. Of course he has to build habits which are going to help him to avoid being stressed. As I was giving him some advice about how to focus, I realised it was about time to take my own advice. So here I am writing this blog (on time) because yesterday, I began the process of practicing what I preached. I have heard many times that you learn best what you teach, so I thought in that spirit, I would share my advice with you! If you are ultra-organised and can add to the list, please do share!  Any advice will help me I’m sure.

Ten ways to get focused :

1. Turn off the technology

With an array of teenage social media such as Snap chat, Instagram, Face book and IM, my son’s phone pretty much pings constantly. For me, my guilty time waster is to open emails when they ping into my inbox on my desk or laptop. This idea is as old as the first installed workplace computer, we all know we have to do it, but it takes some discipline and determination to ignore our ever increasing online communications.

2. Do one thing at a time

I know, I know it’s not rocket science, but I do flit about from project to project at times. My son started some Psychology homework, got stuck and instead of getting over the “difficult hurdle” he put it down and started something else. Doing one thing at a time means doing it from start to finish, without being distracted with something else. To actually do this takes determination and concentration, but it is well worth it as even difficult tasks get ticked off.

3. Diarise non urgent tasks a month ahead

If you have a million things to do and half of them are routine and definitely not going to be urgent in the next week or so, then diarise them a month in the future. I know it doesn’t get them off your list, but it gets them off your list for now. For me, it is like a breath of fresh air to know I don’t have to give those routine items a priority, and if I do happen to get up to date, I can always reach forward and get those things done and feel even more virtuous!

4. Chunk down daunting tasks

My son had his first 1000 word essay to do; he was daunted to say the least (while I tactfully kept quiet about the 10k and 20k feats which might come if he goes onto higher education). If you are daunted by the size of the task, then chunk it down into manageable tasks. Put each smaller task into a series of priorities and complete each one in order. It is easier to concentrate on a task if you know it’s only going to take an hour or so, than when you know it’s going to take a couple of days.

5. Have a purpose

When I have a mundane, but a priority task to do, I need a good purpose. So for example, when I got my tax return done earlier this month, I had to remind myself that if I got it done, not only would it not be hovering over me, like the ghost of Christmas Past, but I would be able to completely get focused on tasks I really love and enjoy. My son had to remind himself that he wanted to spend some of his weekend playing football and going out with friends, and not have to do homework instead. Having big picture purposes can help too, although tend not to be so effective, as small ones. At the moment, my son has a vision for his future, so he needs to remind himself that by focusing now, it will help him achieve his goals.

6. Don’t do it

Ok, this tip isn’t about focus, but getting rid of unnecessary or habitual tasks helps to get you focused on the important and necessary tasks. If you can’t find a good reason to do it, other than, you always do, or its part of your routine, or you’re scared to let it go, then stop.

7. Be in the right environment

We are lucky because we have a spare bedroom which my son is now using as his study. It means he can shut the door and escape from the hub-bub of the rest of the house. If you are in a busy office and can’t concentrate for interruptions and activity around you, then go somewhere else. I managed a busy office with over 80 employees on site, and as my door was wide open, I had a constant queue of people coming to see me. During one particular crisis we encountered, I was struggling to pull together an urgent report, when one of my dear team members, marched over, popped her head round the door and said, “excuse me, but this is for your own good”, and she shut the door and taped a “Do not disturb” sign on my door. Yes I should have done it myself of course, but being in reactive mode can sometimes be a lifelong habit.

8. Take a break

If you get to a point where you are finding it hard going, take a break. Taking a break does not mean checking your phone or emails, it is about going to get a coffee, getting some fresh air or even practicing a five minute mediation. It is about quieting your mind, not populating it with fresh information

9. Establish a routine.

If you are a morning person then getting through your priority tasks should be done as soon as you get to your desk, or as soon as you can. You know what times of the day you are most productive, don’t waste those times on routine non urgent tasks, reserve them for the things you really need to do to make a difference. Once you’ve established your time zone, then stick to it and make it a habit as prevalent as brushing your teeth.

10. Borrow tips

My tenth tip is borrowed from a great mentor of mine, the eminently successful Peter Thomson, who is the UK’s most prolific Information Product Creator. So sorry, I don’t want to steal Peter’s thunder, so you will have to wait for this one, as I have interviewed Peter for the next issue of our monthly E-Zine “The Extra MILE” where he tells readers all about his work and in amongst his great advice he also shares his brilliantly simple tip to help people get things done, which is brilliantly effective! Do visit our website, and sign up for the E-zine to be sent directly to your inbox so you don’t miss out on Peter’s sage advice.

Get our great new flipbook “30 Days To A More Motivated Team” when you sign up to receive regular updates from the e.MILE Community. Come find more about Leadership Development and our Great e.MILE Community (Motivate, Inspire, Lead and Engage). We love connecting with like-minded people, and we want to help you either get your message out, or you can search the directory for the expertise you need.

Focused

 

 

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Take Another Look : How Your Perception Is Changing Your World

  By Christina Lattimer • May 9, 2013 - 10:26 am

 

78491057 I’ve wanted to write an article on perception for a long time, and for a while, until today, the words haven’t come.

Today I had a big personal breakthrough when I was able to see something I had long viewed in a certain way, differently. I feel differently and I know that my experience, has, and will change. The reason we need to understand the way our perception shapes our world is because if we want to experience something different, the change must come from within.

Some time ago a friend of mine, in mid-life, lost her job. She didn’t even see it coming. One day she walked into her workplace and was told, along with the rest of the workforce, that she no longer had a job. After a few weeks she decided to set up a business on her own. After only 18 months she gave up and went to work for a local business in a role which didn’t really reflect her expertise or indeed her valuable experience. A year into the job she came to me for some help.

Describing how she felt, she said she had “lost her mojo”. After some unravelling we got back to the day she lost her job. On the day of the “bombshell”, she took herself off for a walk, numb and stunned, her thoughts went along the lines of “Why me?” “What has gone wrong?” “How am I going to manage?”

Knowing how her family relied on her salary she felt like a failure and even up to the day we discussed the situation, she wondered why this catastrophic change in her life had happened.

She had attempted to pick herself up, starting the new business and then latterly with the new job, but she had lost something valuable inside and her and faith had been severely shattered.

During the conversation, I suggested that some people after the initial shock may have thought “Yippee” I can now explore something else, I can use my unique talents I have to do something great with my life”. She looked at me as if I had gone mad, and I could see she thought I was probably out of touch with reality.

But that is the real problem. We think the reality we see and how we interpret it, must be right. But in any given situation, we can look again and interpret it in a different way.

I realised many years ago that the world I was seeing was a reflection of my perceptions. When I was a young single mother I felt unsupported and alone. I had lots of friends and family, but I always perceived them to have busy lives and asking them for help was a big deal for me, so I rarely did it.

Unwittingly, I was fulfilling my perception of: “I am pretty much on my own, and if I need anything, I had better do it myself, because others are too busy to help”. After many months of feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and alone; a back problem forced me to ask for help.

At first it was difficult and uncomfortable; I felt I was imposing my own problems on others. But after a while, something magic happened. I began to see that people around me, cared about me, and wanted to help.

When I asked people for support they overdid the support they gave me. I saw that when people were helping me, they felt connected and were happier helping me than watching me struggle alone.

I finally realised with a great big light bulb moment, that my outworn perception had unwittingly kept others at a distance and not only was my perception wrong, but my need to be right kept my perception in place even when I desperately needed to see things in another way.

When my friend and I started talking about the choices we have and how we can see things in a different way, she realised losing the job was not a personal indictment on her. She eventually also saw she had been holding on to a faulty perception of the job loss and this faulty perception was affecting her life every day.

She decided to look at the situation differently and came to the conclusion it had nothing to do with her, it was simply a change in her life, albeit an unexpected one. I recently received an email from her. She told me that she was becoming quite an expert at switching her perceptions and most importantly, she had her mojo back!

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Leaders: Should Employee Happiness be on Your Agenda?

  By Christina Lattimer • February 28, 2013 - 9:19 pm

International Day of Happiness

In April last year, the United Nations held its first conference on happiness and wellbeing in New York City.   The conference introduced the concept of “Gross National Happiness” which I have to say made me very …Happy!

One of the announcements made was there will be an International Day of Happiness on 20th March each year.

I am a big believer in happiness, and the benefits happiness can bring.  I have had many discussions with peers and colleagues and I rather believe I may be in a minority.  Not that many people disagree that happiness is a good state in which to be; mostly they just think it’s unrealistic.  Certainly in the workplace many people think it’s not even a consideration.

Happiness is An Inside Job

Now I know that employers and leaders cannot be responsible for employees’ happiness.  Happiness is an inside job.  If any of you have been in a relationship with the intention of “making someone happy” and that person is not intrinsically happy, you know how impossible it is.

The truth is, people choose to be happy or not.  Self-aware people understand that external “things” may help you get in touch with happy feelings, but rarely do they last.  In fact really happy people understand that due to the temporary nature of anything in the world, happiness is an internal state largely consisting of acceptance, interpretation and choice.

As a Leader, all you can do is increase the odds of people being happy

As you can’t control how people choose to feel, act and think; all you can do is create the right environment which increases the odds for people to happy.   You might be asking why on earth you should even consider taking such steps when you are financially strapped, your employees are revolting and daily your problems seem to be increasing.  Haven’t you enough on your plate? And why help people to be happy when there is no guarantee of success?

With the right direction, the benefits of people being happy at work are: They

  • get more work done
  • will be more committed to the task and the company
  • will be physically, mentally and emotionally more healthy
  • will infect your customers with their happiness
  • have more productive relationships with other employees
  • have fewer conflicts
  • be more resilient

Develop a Happiness Quadrant

If any of you are battling with poor employee feedback, performance issues, high absence rates, conflicts and complaints, then you might want to take some positive measures to change things.

Alright I know if you go along to the board meeting and suggest a “happiness quadrant” your fellow board members might be checking your temperature and looking for signs of addiction, but the following suggestions can be combined with your organisational development or strategic activities.

Create respect and admiration at the organisation identity level

  • Commit and demonstrate company values
  • Develop and maintain a meaningful purpose
  • Identify and communicate a worthy contribution

Celebrate and engage employees and teams

  • Monitor and put in place measures to help people meet 4 basic needs, of feeling valued, safe, in control and being a contributor
  • Help people be responsible and gain autonomy to deliver their contribution
  • Celebrate success, internally and externally
  • Tell great and meaningful organisational  and individual stories which engage emotions

 Develop a Community Culture

  • Have a defined social structure – even if it’s just the annual Christmas party
  • Accept that people aren’t perfect, create environments where people can let off steam, solve problems, or deal with frustrations and fears – safely
  • Develop sensible work/life balance
  • Develop an ethos of internal as well as external customer service.
  • Encourage and allow people to care about each other

 Create a Learning Ethos

  • Help employees gain mastery and transferable skills
  • Introduce learning which helps people to understand themselves and engenders personal growth
  • Turn mistakes into learning opportunities
  • Help people to learn and take responsibility for their own wellbeing, whether physical, emotional or mental

I know some people will think putting happiness on the agenda is not a strategic move.  My challenge for those people would be my favourite mantra “Would you rather be right or happy?”  So go on I urge you to choose “happy” and celebrate the World Happiness Day on 20th March, with some strategic thinking about creating a happy environment at work.

In the spirit of the World Happiness Day, I hope this article made you smile as well as giving some ideas about creating a happier culture at work.

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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12 Reasons To Say “Thank You” – And Why The World Needs It.

  By Christina Lattimer • November 21, 2012 - 12:49 pm
Why Thank You is so much more important than you might think
 
Do you remember when you were a child.  Your parents’ or carers’s frequently gave words of advice and wisdom.  Many I must admit I shrugged off as being “just what parents say”.  But now I’m older, I realise of course there was many nuggets of hidden wisdom included in the advice I received.  Below is just one example.

The beauty of social media is the ability to connect with many great people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to, and my connections include many great USA citizens who are celebrating Thanksgiving Day this Thursday.

In the UK the nearest we ever got to a Thanksgiving was when we used to celebrate our Harvest Festival.  When I was a child the Harvest Festival was a big deal at school.  The Harvest Festival was a form of thanksgiving where we celebrated the food we received and gave to those less fortunate of us.  (My mother regularly cleared out her “tins cupboard”, to pack me off to school, with my donation for the school hampers, they usually gave to the elderly and sick).  Now I may simply mix in the wrong circles, but it’s literally years since I heard about the Harvest Festival.

When we were kids, my family were big on manners, and we were automatically taught to say “Thank you”   It was the done thing, and if we violated this exercise in politeness, we were taken to task with a big frown.

Of course as a child,  I didn’t realise the significance of those words and why they are so important.  It took me years to stop being polite with my “Thank you’s” and to mean them with sincerity. Much of my growing awareness stemmed from my life simply not working.  I was tenacious enough to want to discover why.   One of the reasons it wasn’t working had a lot to do with my polite “Thank you”  and here’s why.

  1. We are all transmitters radiating who we really are in our being, whether aware of it or not
  2. The essence of what we believe, think and feel is being communicated to everyone we meet without saying a word.  It’s called energy, and what we send out, we receive right back
  3. When we say one thing, but are thinking another, on a level, it is picked up by others and we become in-congruent
  4. Saying “Thank you” without meaning it means we become in-congruent
  5. Feeling grateful when we say “Thank you” means we are in alignment with our truth
  6. Feeling gratitude and appreciation are akin to feeling universal and unconditional love
  7. Getting in touch with our feelings of gratitude must be practised like a muscle
  8. The more we practice, the more we feel grateful for, and that means we focus more on things we are grateful for
  9. What we focus on grows
  10. What we pay attention to grows
  11. When we practice, focus on and pay attention to our gratitude we get more things and people to be grateful for
  12. When our world is full of things to be grateful for, it means we have a world filled with love

In my country the UK, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.  I think as a result we fail to celebrate and exercise our muscle of love and it’s collectively sorely missing.  My parents were right.  Saying “Thank You”  is essential, the piece they didn’t quite understand to teach us was that we needed to say it with meaning.   Do you say “Thank you” politely or “Thank you” with gratitude?

 

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When Trouble Hits – 8 Ways to Develop Resilience, Options and “Falling up”

  By Christina Lattimer • October 25, 2012 - 7:56 pm
Resilience Resilience is shown in the most unusual of circumstances

When I was small, my parents had a part of our garden tarmacked over.  I can still remember my mother’s delight when the spring crocuses pushed through the tarmac to flower year after year.  Whenever I think of our own resilience and ability to shine through adversity, I think of the hardiness of those delicate little flowers.

Like me, you know that in order to be successful in life and business you have to develop resilience.  You are probably quite adept at being resilient in most parts of your life.  A friend of mine has this saying whenever things get tough.  “It’s character building.”  A bit of a clique, but unless you give up, that’s precisely what challenges do; build character.  I used to think she was being harsh until I grew up enough to realise that it’s more loving and kind not to reinforce a victim mentality.  The problem with believing you are a victim is that it strips you of all power, and any hope of reclaiming yourself.

In his book the “   Shawn Achor describes a number of principles of positive psychology.  One of which is about “Falling up”.  Wherein he describes the psychological process of “Posttraumatic Growth” defined as “positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances”[i]

Achor describes three paths we can take following crisis or adversity.  The first is to end where you start; no change results.  The second path leads to further negative consequences; you end up worse off.  The third path is the one that we should focus on, and that is using the crisis or negative event to grow and emerge “stronger, and more capable than before the fall”[ii]. I don’t know about you, but I know which path I prefer.

If you are faced with a challenging situation at work or even at home, there are a number of ways of refocusing your attention and efforts to help you and your team (or family) get through.

  1. No matter how bad things are; always try to identify a positive outcome or a way to find an opportunity, even if it’s just to acknowledge that the challenge can be seen as an opportunity to grow.
  2. Find ways to keep motivated, even if it means getting motivation from different parts of your life.  For example, if you are facing adversity at work; renew your determination to make your family life better.
  3. Deal with the “What if’s” – Don’t discount fears; deal with them head on.  Set up an environment for you and your team which allows you to do this.   Develop options in case the worst happens.  Then keep focused on the positive possibilities rather than the worst case scenarios. 
  4. Deal with the uncertainty by imagining a future where you are in the right place, where you would feel as if you gained something positive from the experience.
  5. Focus on what is in your control.  You might not be in a position to decide what the outcome will be, or have any control over the situation.  At the very least you can choose your reaction.  If any of you doubt the power of choice here, you must read “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor whose message of hope and resilience in horrifying adversity is truly amazing.
  6. Recapture positives from the past.  (This is not a time to count how many times you or others have been in similarly bad situations).  Write down your successes and what you are proud of.  Think, talk and write about things which make you (and your team) feel good about what they had achieved.
  7. Turn round the negative chatter in your head.  Simply refuse to listen to it.  This is the time to be your own best friend.  If you are facing problems at work, turn the rumour mill around and make sure speculation is not reported as fact.  Make sure you and your team are only dealing with the facts and not the stories made up about the facts.
  8. Don’t draw conclusions about yourself from the situation.  Just because you’ve hit a bad situation doesn’t mean you are a bad person.  This is life and many people hit bad times.  Things happen which we have no control over and even if you’ve made a mistake, then forgive yourself.  If you begin to think like this, then, hook up with your real best friend and get reassurance from them.

A few years ago I read that one of the reasons life is so painful is because we have forgotten to live and learn in love and trust rather than how the majority of us learn in fear and pain.   Now whenever a situation comes over the horizon which has the potential for pain, I simply ask to learn in love and trust.  And you know I think it works, and certainly that is what I wish for everyone.

[i] Tedeshi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (2004). Post-traumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence. Philadelphia, PA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
[ii] Achor S (2011) The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles that fuel Success and Performance at Work.  New York: Random House Inc.

 

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Five Ways To Step Out Of The World And Honour Yourself

  By Christina Lattimer • September 21, 2012 - 12:27 pm
You have to strike an equal balance between Work, Rest and Play

I write a lot about inspiration and all that goes along with that.  I am great at describing great vision and different strategies and behaviours needed to make things happen.  Big action is often my cry.  And don’t get me started about emotional intelligence, intellectual dexterity; resilience, unity consciousness and how we relate to each other for example.

I read and share a plethora of intellectual, insightful and inspirational articles and blogs about what makes a great leader, manager, boss, HR Director or whoever may be paving the way for others.

There are many people out there who tell us how to live our lives and what to strive for, how to do things well, improve, be better, be best, and yes I do that too.

For the majority of the time, I love it.  I love finding new ways to motivate interest, excel and go the extra mile.

But there are times, just sometimes when it’s great to be just ok, in the here and now, right now, without any wish to be, do or think anything else.

The world is mostly in a queue, a whirlwind, aspiring to something, wanting to improve, getting better results, being more honest, moving forward, changing at the speed of light, a hive of activity which can be true in our personal lives as well as at work.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons for absence and one of the biggest costs of presenteeism at work.  There are a number of causes of stress, and most of them caused as we live out the challenges of moving quickly, changing lives, work, roles, partners, houses, jobs, and the way we do things and there are many more.

And we don’t really have much choice.  Unless everyone stood still at once, we need to keep up with it all, or risk being left behind, and that is our fear.

Sometimes though we need to stop and do something different.  Oh the sweet relief of taking time out.   Taking time out is important for anyone, whether you are a leader, a team member, stay at home or business owner.  The world would be a better place, if everyone gave themselves a real break. So if you are endlessly busy and the adrenaline is wearing thin.  Or you are too busy, too worried, stressed or in the throes of any kind of change: The following are some of my suggestions about how you can give yourself a respite from the madness of your daily life:

  1. Accept everything completely as it is and make a decision just for even half day or so, not to wish for anything different.  Just accept and surrender to where you are right now. Stop wanting people, situations or ourselves to be different.  You don’t have to be happy about “what is” just make a decision not to be unhappy about it.  That’s called being at Peace. And it’s refreshing.
  2. Be with yourself:  Watch yourself, feel your feelings, if you feel happy indulge yourself and let yourself really feel the happiness.  If you feel sad, then give yourself permission to.  Know it isn’t going to destroy you.  Feel negative emotions instead of repressing them, just don’t act on them.  Your emotions are simply a guidance system. If they are happy you are on the right track, if sad they are telling you that there is something you believe which is not true about yourself.  Feeling and releasing negative emotions can feel brilliant, as long as you don’t wallow in them and don’t identify them as being who you really are.
  3. Breathe; get away from the hustle and bustle if you can.  Breathe in some healthy fresh air and enjoy the feeling of taking the air into your lungs and right into your body.  When you are breathing you are relaxing your body, and giving it a rest.  Conscious breathing is like having an inward shower, all your cells and your being benefits.
  4. Meditate:  For years I struggled with being able to meditate. I read all of the guidance and yes of course when I tried to stop thinking, the thoughts crowded in.    Once I realised the true purpose of meditating is to focus on the gap between the thoughts I cracked it.  The beauty of concentrating on the gap is twofold.  Firstly you are in touch with your higher self who is all powerful and wise; and secondly, by being in the gap between your thoughts you are actually giving yourself a well-earned break.   Thoughts are energy and too much thinking depletes us, yes even if most of our thoughts are happy ones.
  5. Appreciate: Gratitude is a brilliant state to be in.  Appreciation is even better because you tend to be grateful for something you have or have earned, or have been given.  You can appreciate situations, people and stories which have nothing to do with you and as a result you are simply being appreciative of the world around you.  Appreciation is akin to real love because real love is unconditional, all-encompassing and not limited to the personal self.  Therefore feeling appreciation is restful, energising and soothing.

So go on, give yourself some much needed time off and practice some of the relaxing ways of “being” described.  If you have your own ways of de-stressing or relaxing please do let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

People stressed in your workplace? Not sure what to do? Grab your free copy of Christina’s book “Getting To Grips with Workplace Stress”   You can get your copy here.

If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.