What's New with Professional Leadership Results, Inc. and Influencing Options?
2009 is already exciting, isn't it? If you're not feeling the least bit excited or perhaps you're even fretting about what's going on in the world and within our communities and organizations, check out this month's article: Go for the Green: Four Reminders for Leading in Uncertain Times.
News: Influencing Options Trainers from all over the U.S. met at Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth, Washington, for their annual Trainers Summit for professional development, networking and planning. Topics included upcoming Level 2 and Level 3 assessment for clients to get hard data on how the Influencing Options skills are really impacting organizational change. Great news for clients who are conscientious about ROI (return on investment) for development programs in their organizations. Additionally, trainers enjoyed investigating the following: "If Influencing Options skills are the answer, then what's the question?"
New Influencing Options Trainers join the IO team! I realized that I had not officially introduced new members to our team in the last year (though I talk about them ALL the time!) Check out www.influencingoptions.com to find out more about them and their special areas of expertise. Congratulations to 2008 Trainers: Maria Agnew (Washington), Cathy Connolly (Washington), Dean Hallatt (Washington), Tim Hoyle (California), Rhonda Jones (Tennessee), Pat Lynch (California), Jeremy Reynolds (Oregon), Eva Todd (Tennessee), and Skip Weisman (New York). And 2009 Trainers: Karen Fuqua (Mississippi), Debi Harris (Washington), Jody Jacobsen (Washington), Roberta Matuson (Massachusetts), Kim Wilkerson (Iowa), David Zarza (Washington).
New Influencing Options Courses: Have you already benefitted from Influencing Skills, Confrontation without Conflict and Managing for High Performance? Check out these new one-day workshops: Customer Service: The Basics and Beyond; Powerful Leadership: Your New Role as a Supervisor or Leader; Team Development; Time Management and Personal Effectiveness; Myers-Briggs: An Introduction to Personality Preferences. E-mail us at info@libbywagner.com to find out more.
Libby's Leadership Teleseminars: You and The Horse You Rode Up On. Next teleseminar is scheduled for April 28, 12 noon Pacific. Topic: The One Thing You Should Do: Hot Topics for Performance Management. Free to live participants. MP3 download available after the date. Sign up here to register. Space is limited.
Can You Believe It? Libby's teaching an open-enrollment Influencing Skills class! All are welcome — take advantage of this opportunity April 15 and 16 in downtown Seattle, just a few blocks away from the famous Pike Place Market. Send us a note at phillip@libbywagner.com to find out more and reserve your spot!
Go for the Green: Four Reminders for Leading in Uncertain Times
In Seattle, sometimes February acts like Spring, and this year especially, after the record-breaking snow storms, I noticed the crocuses and primroses with their colorful faces, a brilliant, quick flash at the garden's edge. There are tight buds, too, if you look closely at the grayed branches drab against the grayer sky.
And, as always, the presence of evergreen. It's always green here in the corner of the Northwest. Always green. I remember living in Port Angeles, about two hours west of Seattle and two hours east of the Hoh Rainforest, and thinking "who lives in a place where moss grows on the sidewalks?" Always green.
Perhaps it is more difficult to remain an optimist in less moderate climes? Supposedly, we have more instances of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), winter blues and lost sunglasses, but I always say we Seattleites are the ultimate optimists: we know the sun will return. We know the Cascade mountains, and especially Mt. Rainier, are out there, just beyond the fuzzy skyline in winter (and other months, too), and we have faith.
So, too, the role of leaders right now as we face uncertainty and some gray skies — we must know that whatever ails our organizations, communities or countries will get better; it will be changed for sure, and different, but we will not stay where we are now.
Heraclitus (475 B.C.) noted, you cannot step into the same river twice — the water's movement makes sure of it — and thus we can approach the grassy bank with both anticipation and uncertainty-neither of which, frankly, will kill us.
What to do as a leader when faced with gray skies?
- Maintain Perspective. There are a lot of doomsdayers and naysayers out there. Sometimes they mask themselves in the dark cloaks of cynicism and "I'm just being real" behaviors. Don't buy into it. Choose carefully those you spend time with, listen to and take to heart. Try to remember that underneath the dark cloak is fear of disappointment — cynicism is sure paralysis for organizations and people. If this applies to you, consider carefully: perhaps for now you might give up your addiction to information? I know this sounds counter to what I usually preach — learn, grow, develop, improve — but incessant media madness (including print, television and Internet) will dampen your spirits at best and make you paranoid at worst. Focus on what's inside your circle of influence and remember that you always have the ability to choose how to respond to what happens to you and around you.
- Be Inspiring. If you're leading others, they're always watching you anyway, but they're really watching you now. Talk about scrutiny. Talk about pressure! The interesting thing about inspiring others is that often it happens because we are inspiring ourselves. What creates positive, life-affirming joy for you? Or if that's just too much for a gray, rainy perspective, what gives you and those around you some sense of relief? Spend time on those topics, activities and projects that mean something to you and to your organization or team.
- Believe in Your Own Resilience. You will prevail. What's the alternative? If you always have the ability to choose, you can choose something different. Think about times in the past when you made it through a tough or difficult situation? What did you do well? What did you learn? You don't have to know how this will all play out, you just need to stay in the game, and though many have shared with me recently that they just want to "keep their heads down" or be "happy I just have a job," resist that urge and be willing to be strong and stand out in the crowd. It's the best time to do it — it will differentiate you within your organization or among your competitors.
- Celebrate Successes, Regardless How Small. One of my clients is going through a second lay-off in twelve months. It's painful. It's heart-wrenching and stressful, but this time, they're better at it. This time, they know what to expect and how to make decisions and treat people well. Along the way, they've improved productivity, communication, and inched along the red/black lines of profitability. Recently, a colleague of mine shared her knowledge of Appreciative Inquiry and the gentle, yet powerful shift this process can create in an organization and among individuals. Ask on a regular basis: What's the good news? What can we celebrate? How are we succeeding?
If we're honest, we know that all times are "uncertain" times — it's those gray skies obscuring the mountains or that different river time and again. Our ability to be flexible, resilient and full-of-faith allows us to lead with inspiration and clarity, and perhaps just as importantly, to notice the brilliant, quick flashes of color. We still buy a lot of sunglasses out here in Seattle, you know?