Helene Kristrom

I ask my audience a question and anticipate a YES!

But I get a NO! And blank faces!

My whole speech fell apart at that moment. What to do now?

It was not much to do but continue, quickly thinking of an alternative introduction and move on.

I decided to make fun of me and the situation and then smoothly introducing my topic and the tips of the day.

It was amazing to see how the reluctant audience started to engage, nod, laugh and warmed up to my subject.

In the end the feedback I received was “well done on your ability to improvise” and “engage with the audience”, which in the end was my intention for the speech.

Not so much the improvisation as the engagement….

As a coach I have learned to ask questions without anticipating the answer. I think this skill helped me in my presentation. I allowed myself to go with the flow and choose an alternative route.

What do you do when your message or question does not receive the answer you anticipated?

Have a great day and be kind to yourself!

 

Recently, I have been intrigued by motivation and how it drives us.

Do you sometimes say “I am not motivated to do this”? And do you sometimes say “I am really motivated to do that”? Do you ever question why you say these things?

Some people seem to always be highly motivated whereas others hardly ever show any.The root of motivation is motive which means a reason for action and if you think about it we act either towards something or away from something.

When we act towards something we engage with our ambitions and it makes us strive for independence and growth. Whereas, when we act away from something it is usually a reaction to fear or a negative feeling deep inside. We may not want to act but maybe we feel a certain obligation or maybe we feel forced.

Think about a time when someone asked you to do a task at work. Did you do it because it tapped into your ambition and would bring personal growth? Or, if you really think about it and admit it to yourself, did you do it out of some degree of fear or reluctance because if you didn’t you might make your boss disappointed or worse lose your job?

Our motivation is the Why we do something. Therefore, if we want more motivation towards something meaningful in our lives, we must make clearer choices and more deeply commit to them. To do this we must find ways to change our mindset and look for solutions that will bring us closer to our goals.

The good news is that we all have the power within us to choose how we want our motivation to show. We can either set intentions to be enthusiastic, focus and tune into our motivation or we can allow fear or reluctance take hold of our actions and let mediocrity enter our lives.

Whatever you decide remember that choice is the mother of motivation.

 

What kind of guidance do you want when you start a new job?

What kind of support are you looking for?

Maybe you can define clear expectations for the position already at the interview process.

Maybe you can determine the personality of your future boss so you can immediately adapt to his/her working style.

Or maybe, like most new hires you need time to adjust to your new role, to your new relationship with your boss, your peers and your subordinates.

The importance is that the more prepared you are for your new position the easier it is to have early wins, create outstanding working relationships and ensure balance from stress and frustration.

Here is a short list of some fundamental do’s and don’ts to think about if you are starting a new job.

Do this !

Clarify expectations early and often: Already at the interview process focus on the expectations and clarify them. Once in your position revisit regularly and make sure that the expectations have not shifted.

 Negotiate timelines for understanding and action planning: Buy yourself time to understand the new organization and to prepare an action plan. Avoid getting caught up in “fire-fighting” or be pressured to make calls before you are ready.

 Take 100 % responsibility for making the relationship work: You are the one that need to adapt to your manager’s style and make sure that you create a relationship that works.

Aim for early wins important to your boss: Whatever your own priorities, figure out what your boss cares most about. Focus on 3 things and discuss these every time you interact.

Things not to do !

Stay away or stay hidden:  Plan regular meetings and create a relationship by putting yourself on your boss’s agenda.

 Surprise your boss:  No one likes bad news, but if it comes as a surprise it’s even worse. Make sure to report emerging problems immediately. It’s best when it comes from you and not someone else.

 Approach your boss only with problems: Whenever an emerging problem, bring a potential solution to the table. It does not need to be perfect but a plan for how you can begin to address the issue.

  Run down your checklist: Your boss most likely wants to hear what you are working on and how he/she can help. Bring at most 3 things you need to share or on which you need action.

With these basic rules in mind, you can begin your new job with serenity and create trustworthy relationships.

Until next time,

Be Bold, Be Courageous and BE BRILLIANT!

 

 

Think back to a time when you started a new job. Most likely you were thrilled about getting to know new colleagues, maybe you got a promotion  or new responsibilities. Let me ask you a question. Did you prepare a “learning plan” for the first 30, 60 or 90 days? A plan that would allow you to be up and running quickly and have some early successes?

Most people that I’ve met and worked with over the years never prepare an efficient plan. They are so happy to have a new job that this little detail seem to be of no importance. It’s a bit like a new relationship, in the beginning both parties make efforts to be on their best behaviour, but in too many cases once the honeymoon is over, all bets are off.

The thing is, it takes continuous effort to keep a relationship going. It’s the same in a new job, you may not know all your new colleagues or the company. You were attractive enough to get the position and you bring value to them through your expertise but you both really need to get to know each other to benefit from your mutual forces.

If you go too fast down one path you may end up hitting a wall. On the other hand if you never take action you get into action paralysis and that is no good either. So what to do?

One strategy to be efficient in a new position is to create a learning plan so that you can accelerate your learning. By gathering as much information as possible, even before you start your new job, you will be up and running in no time.

There are two aspects on learning; Effective learning and Efficient learning.

Effective learning gives your the foundational insights you need as you build your plan for the first 1, 2 or 3 months. Effective learning is about figuring out in advance what the important questions are and how you can best answer them. It gives you a roadmap what to focus your efforts on.The faster you climb the learning curve, the earlier you can begin to make good business decisions.

A good place to start is to question the past, the present and the future. How did the company get to where they are today? If performance is good, why has that been the case. And in the case of the contrary, what are the reasons for this?

Other questions to ask are; what is the current strategy and vision, who is capable, who is trustworthy, who has influence…. where does the company see themselves in the future. What are the challenges they are facing and what are the plans for them.

Efficient learning means identifying the best available sources of insights and then figuring out how to extract maximum insight with the least possible outlay of time.

The resources available to you are financial and operating reports, strategic and functional plans, employee surveys, press accounts and industry reports. An equally important source of information is when you talk to different stakeholders within the organisations. Apart from your direct reports, management and general staff, sources like customers, suppliers, distributors and outside analysts hold important insights on your organisation.

Hopefully this has given you some food for thought and some ideas for how to create a learning plan. So next time you will be prepared for a new position.

Until next time, Be Bold, Be Courageous and BE BRILLIANT!

 

 

Today I want to address the challenges to adapt to a company culture when you enter a new organization or position. Sometimes it may feel that you are a square peg trying to fit in a round hole.

The quicker you can learn the new culture the easier your transition and integration within the organization will be.

The challenge to adapt yourself can sometimes feel daunting. Bear in mind that whatever new environment you enter, there is always a culture that You need to get familiar with. It may not only be a professional environment, think about a time when you changed a sports club, another voluntary organization or even moved to another neighborhood.

In order to understand culture, let’s define it as “a set of consistent patterns people follow for communicating, thinking and acting, all grounded in their shared assumptions and values”.

The culture in any organization can be pictured as a pyramid.

The top layer is easy to detect and you find things like logo, the dress code, in-house language for positions, departments, products etc.

The second layer gets a bit more complicated. It is less obvious and here you need a first experience to figure out the culture. This experience entails to how meetings are conducted, how to win recognition and how to get support for example.

The base of the pyramid is the toughest one and takes time. Here you need to understand the fundamental assumptions and values people in the organization have about how the world works.

To help you detect some areas in which culture may play a role, here is a list to consider:

• Influence: How do people get support for critical initiatives? Is it more important to have the support of a patron within the senior team, or affirmation from your peers and direct reports that your idea is a good one?
• Meetings: Are meetings filled with dialogue on hard issues, or are they simply forums for publicly ratifying agreements that have been reached in private?
• Execution: When it comes time to get things done, which matters more – a deep understanding of processes or knowing the right people?
• Conflict: Can people talk openly about difficult issues without fear of retribution? Or do they avoid conflict – or, even worse, push it to lower levels, where it can wreak havoc?
• Recognition: Does the company promote stars, rewarding those who visibly and vocally drive business initiatives? Or does it encourage team players, rewarding those who lead with authority but quietly and collaboratively?
• Ends versus means: Are there any restrictions on how you achieve results? Does the organization have a well-defined, well-communicated set of values that is reinforced through positive and negative incentives?

 

Adapting to a new organization is never easy. My advice is start polishing your edges by learning as much as you can from the people around you so you quickly will fit the “round” hole.

BeBold, Be Courageous and BE BRILLIANT!

Integrating into a new role can sometimes be difficult and is often the most challenging area in the professional life of a leader. The success or failure you create during the first few months is a strong prediction for your future overall success in the job.

 

Think about a time when you may have started a new position only to realize after a few months that maybe this was not the right career change for you.

What went wrong?

The answer is never totally black or white. There may be both internal and external reasons why something goes wrong but sometimes we have unconsciously fallen into one or more of common “Integration Traps”.

In career or job changes we may have tried new things, made mistakes, corrected some and ultimately got the wins we needed to reach success.

But what if what  worked for you in the past  doesn’t work in your next job?

Here is a list of common mistakes we make when starting a new job. I urge you to consider them, think about your own previous experiences and how you can avoid these traps in the future.

 

1. Stick with what you know

You believe you will be successful in the new role by doing the same things you did in your previous role, only more so. You fail to see that success in the new role requires you to stop doing some things and to embrace new competencies.

2. Fall prey to the “action imperative”

You feel as if you need to take action, you try too hard and too early to put your own stamp on the organization. You are too busy to learn, you make bad decisions and catalyze resistance to your initiatives.

3. 3. Set unrealistic expectations

You don’t negotiate your mandate or establish clear, achievable objectives. You may perform well but still fail to meet the expectations of your boss and other key stakeholders.

4. Attempt to do too much

You rush off in all directions, launching multiple initiatives in the hope that some will pay off. People become confused and no critical mass of resources gets focused on key initiatives.

5. Come with “the” answer

You come in with your mind made up or you reach conclusions too quickly about “the” problems and “the” solutions. You alienate people who could help you understand what is going on, and you squander opportunities to develop support for good solutions.

6. Engage in the wrong type of learning

You spend too much time focused on learning about the technical part of the business and not enough about the cultural and political dimensions of your new role. You don’t build the cultural insight, relationships, and information channels you need if you are to understand what is really going on.

7. Neglect horizontal relationships

You spend too much time focused on vertical relationships – up to the boss and down to direct reports – and not on peers and other stakeholders. You don’t fully understand what it will take to succeed, and you miss early opportunities to build supportive alliances.

 

Now that you have read the list of the most common integration traps do you recognize any of them? Have you fallen into any of them? Personally I have a tendency to “fall prey to the action imperative”. I’m working on taking things slower and be more open and reflective over new tasks while avoiding action paralysis.

Let me know which trap or traps you have a tendency to fall into and until next time …

Be Bold, Be Courageous and BE BRILLIANT!

 

Eggs have been touted as “nature’s perfect food,” “one of the healthiest foods on the planet,” “nature’s multivitamin,” and most simply, “incredible!” After all, eggs are a good source of high-quality protein, they’re rich in healthy fats, they provide an array of essential vitamins and minerals, and they contain important carotenoids and antioxidants.

When it comes to buying eggs, you typically have two options in terms of shell color, white and brown.
Generally speaking, brown-shelled eggs are viewed as:
• Being more nutritious
• Having more flavor
• Having higher omega-3 content

Not everyone agree to this statement and lots of research has been made on the subject.
One thing that I have retained and found interesting is that studies have found that white eggs have a higher percentage of yolk that brown egg. This makes them contain a higher fat level and also a higher level of vitamin A.
On the other hand brown eggs have higher content of egg white which gives them a higher level of protein and a higher level of vitamin E.
The differences are so small, however, that it really does not matter whether you prefer white or brown.

A little trivial information is that by looking at the color of the chicken’s ear lobes, you can tell what color the eggs will be. For instance, those with white ear lobes produce white eggs.

So, get out there and check out the earlobes of the chicken you meet and tell me if in your area there are more of white eggs or brown eggs.

Be Bold, Be Courageous and BE BRILLIANT!

How can you be more productive?

Research has shown that by having a morning routine you can increase your productivity by 30 %.

Meditation, Exercise, Healthy Breakfast, Reading, Learning, Intention setting are some of the things we should include to live a fully productive and balanced life.

Try it!

It works!

Are you a successful leader?

How do people become successful leaders?

What is their secret to success?

I have reflected over these questions for some time now and here are five traits that I have come up with that displays successful leaders.

1. Clarity: Successful leaders know what they want, who they are and how they want to interact with people. They are highly effective and efficient in their tasks because they are focused and they have the ability to avoid distractions.

2. Energy: Successful leaders know how to  use their physical and mental resources to the highest level. Successful leaders provide their bodies with nutrients that keep their energy up. Successful leaders know how important physical exercise is for the bodies and minds. Successful leaders also know how important it is to rest. They let their minds be free from outside distractions and they let their bodies recuperate from stress.

3. Courage: Successful leaders have the courage to speak up for themselves. They take bold actions and are willing to take risks. Because they have such clarity in who they are and what they want they stick to their purpose and do not let anyone side-track them.

4. Productivity: Successful leaders are champions with their time. They use their time highly efficiently and effective and their focus is to always be at their full potential.

5. Influence: Successful leaders have good people skills. They care about people, they are good listeners, they develop trust between themselves and others. Successful leaders are authentic, present and generate integrity in everything they do. Because they have clarity in who they are, they are always at their highest energy both physically and mentally, they have the courage to stand up for what they believe and they spend their time wisely they have developed an awareness and presence and are able to make people around them feel important.

Whether you are a CEO, Line Manager, Supervisor, Stay at home Mom or a Student, are you a Successful leader in your world? The world needs leaders, the world needs You!