INSIGHTS (on leadership/self-leadership)
Think of your organization (or your life, for that matter) as a field of shimmering wheat. Imagine you’re in a helicopter looking down on it, and from a distance, you see a swath, a path, cut through a portion of the field, ugly, dark, oft-traveled. That well-worn track represents something quietly insidious, a shortcut to status quo.
I’m referring to worn out narratives, old tapes. Stories that we cling to, that no longer serve us (other than giving us an easy out).
We’ve tried before, it won’t work. We don’t have enough resources. We’ll never get approval.
I’m not skilled enough. I don’t have what it takes. I always fail when I try things like this.
Old narratives morph into attitudes, which lead to beliefs, which become convictions, which create behaviors, which form habits. And few things are more difficult than breaking a habit.
But if you want to do so, if you want to flip the script on an unhelpful narrative that you suspect someone (or you?) keeps following, flip a COIN:
Challenge assumptions.
Open minds to introspection.
Introduce new information/perspective.
Navigate through underlying emotion. (i.e. the real reason they’re clinging to the old story)
Who in your life could use help with a COIN flip? Who is stuck, that needs unsticking? Work with them using the COIN acronym – it can change their path.
IMPERFECTIONS (a mistake many make)
When you identify a goal you want to achieve, do you rely on your own conviction, in a silo, to compel you through to goal-achievement?
If so, you’re making the mistake of skipping the 25/65/95 Rule of Goal Achievement (as derived from this study). Here’s how it works – and it’s astonishing.
Probability of achieving a goal if:
– you consciously decide you’re going to achieve it: 25%
– you commit to someone that matters to you that you’ll achieve it: 65%
– you hold “Accountability Appointments” with that someone you committed to: 95%
That’s right. The likelihood of achieving your goal NEARLY QUADRUPLES when you enroll an accountability partner, and hold periodic sessions to discuss progress against that goal with that partner (i.e. “Accountability Appointments”).
Think of a goal that matters to you. Who can you commit to on it, and connect with on it, regularly?
IMPLEMENTATION (one research-backed strategy, tip, or tool)
You know what the world could really use from you right now?
For you to be an epicenter of encouragement.
The idea is simple. Plenty of people, everywhere, are having a hard time of it, for all kinds of reasons (insert your best guess here, and you’ll be right).
But what if you emanate encouragement, spread support, radiate the rah-rah? I’m not talking about being superficial, or a Pollyanna. Just the opposite. I’m asking you to look for every opportunity to give informed encouragement. It’s a special brand of encouragement where you provide positive feedback, optimism, and affirmation, along with well-informed, thoughtful, specific reasons for your positivity. The specificity gives your encouragement credibility, which makes it meaningful.
It’s far more effective than general cheerleading. There’s nothing wrong with you giving a “You can do it!”, but it’s so much more powerful when that other person understands specifically WHY you believe they can do it.
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