March 31, 2012

The Silver Bullet for Extreme Success

There is a lie that many people secretly adhere to but will not admit out loud. This lie is that if you are good enough, talented enough or just stumble upon a right strategy, great success and the life you dream of will materialize. The reality is that talent and luck is not enough. It has to be coupled with hard work and commitment. Jon Bon Jovi was asked about his band’s longevity and the luck involved. His response was, “the harder we work, the luckier we get.”

The silver bullet for success begins with rejecting the belief that it should be effortless. It is about setting meaningful and reasonable goals relative to our strengths and competitive positioning AND finding discipline and intentionality to make aspirations a reality.

This week’s action: Review the personal growth plan you created at the beginning of the month. Ask yourself what disciplined actions you can take to realize your intentions.

Betsy
Accelera Consulting Group
407-376-8622
betsy@ACCELERACONSULTINGGROUP.COM
www.acceleraconsultinggroup.com

Clients call Betsy Jordyn “the ultimate think partner for growth oriented senior leaders.” A consultant, mentor and executive coach, Betsy helps great people and organizations be even better by igniting their potential and talent.

March 24, 2012

Empathy: A daily act of bravery

There is a common misperception that strength in leadership can best be measured by decisiveness and directness. The reality is that the hallmark of the best leaders who change the world, and who have followers who do so out of desire vs. formal lines of command, have an ability to extend empathy to others.

Empathy (not sympathy) is the ability to enter into someone else’s challenges and communicate understanding and appreciation for that person’s experience. Offering empathy is an act of ordinary courage because it is not easy to put oneself in someone else’s shoes. The byproduct of empathy is trust, which is the currency that drives employee engagement and customer loyalty.

You want employees who can deliver exceptional service recovery? You want your leaders to engage employees? If yes, then start being intentional about increasing your organizational competence in extending empathy.

This week’s action: Assess if you are brave enough to extend empathy and if you create the conditions for those around you to be brave enough to do the same.

Betsy
Accelera Consulting Group
407-376-8622
betsy@ACCELERACONSULTINGGROUP.COM
www.acceleraconsultinggroup.com

Clients call Betsy Jordyn “the ultimate think partner for growth oriented senior leaders.” A consultant, mentor and executive coach, Betsy helps great people and organizations be even better by igniting their potential and talent.

March 17, 2012

Getting Naked at Work

Back in 2010, Patrick Lencioni released a book entitled, “Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty” in which he encourages the value of authenticity. According to Lencioni, to be vulnerable we need to overcome our fears of losing business, being embarrassed or feeling inferior. I would add a fourth to his list, which is the fear of being known.

Being vulnerable is more than being honest and real. It is about taking a risk to embrace our global humanity that recognizes we are imperfect creatures and inviting others to do the same. If we want to create high performance environments where failure is simply a part of the process, we have to begin by living in reality that perfection is an illusion…whereas progress is not.

This week’s action: Embrace your imperfections and weaknesses. Transform any black and white thinking that you and others are either all good or all bad. Find the middle ground of seeking progress while knowing that perfection can never be truly achieved.

Betsy
Accelera Consulting Group
407-376-8622
betsy@ACCELERACONSULTINGGROUP.COM
www.acceleraconsultinggroup.com

Clients call Betsy Jordyn “the ultimate think partner for growth oriented senior leaders.” A consultant, mentor and executive coach, Betsy helps great people and organizations be even better by igniting their potential and talent.