Tag Archives: business coach Margaret Smith
September 5, 2018 Your Leadership Might be Missing…A Color?
Every leader has their strengths. You might be an excellent idea-generator or public speaker. Maybe you’re great with details. Or, maybe your team considers you a trusted confidante. Whatever the case, it’s great to celebrate and emphasize your strengths…but it’s also a good idea to identify your areas of opportunity.
No leader is perfect. There is always room for growth. But how can you get started with self-improvement? Isn’t that a bit daunting?
It doesn’t have to be.
By assigning certain personality traits certain colors, it’s easy to identify the areas where you are lacking. That is precisely what the Insights® Discovery program does. According to the Insights® color model, each individual has the capability to embrace and utilize all four color energies, but we typically only emphasize one or two. In essence, the color system breaks down like this:
The basic traits of each Insights personality. Everyone has a little of each color in them!
(For more information on Insights® Discovery, please visit my website!)
So what happens when, as a leader, you don’t tap into each color energy?
You may find that you’re not as well-rounded as you could be. For instance, if you lead with a lot of yellow energy, you may jump into projects feet-first without thinking through all the details. While this is great for motivation and could have positive effects on your team initially, the long-term effects may be disastrous if certain key factors were not taken into consideration (Oh…we needed to get permission from corporate before contacting that client…).
On the flip side, if you lead with a lot of blue energy, you may nit-pick the details to death and have trouble starting a project (let alone drumming up enthusiasm for it).
To examine this idea further, take a look at the following chart. Which areas in YOUR leadership need a boost? How could “Fiery Red” be useful at times? How could green? Yellow? Blue?
Coming from someone who is strongly yellow (with dashes of the other colors), I know the importance of tapping into my “blue side.” How will you call upon your under-utilized colors today?
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: business coach Margaret Smith, improve leadership, Insights and Leadership, Insights Discovery, insights discovery leadership, leadership lacking, margaret smith leadership, Margaret Smith licensed Insights practitioner, well-rounded leader
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- Posted under Insights Discovery, Leadership
August 29, 2018 7 Innovative Ways to Get Things Done
David Allen has influenced people all over the world with his best-selling book, Getting Things Done. What can we learn from his methods? I’ve highlighted seven key lessons for increasing productivity, each and every day:
1. Focus on your workspace
Where you work is important. Set up your workspace so that it is your “cockpit of control.” That means everything is intentionally organized and you have efficient, instant access to information or tools you need.
2. Don’t multi-task
Focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention. Multi-tasking ultimately slows you down because your attention will be disjointed and you may not complete tasks to the best of your ability.
3. Cut down on distractions with a Thought Bucket
When you’re working on a specific task and something else comes to mind, jot it down in your “Thought Bucket.” That way, you won’t lose your thought and it’s less likely to control your mind. Every week, take a look at your notes in the Thought Bucket. Remove unimportant items, complete 2-minute tasks, and plot out appointments/deadlines in your calendar.
4. Break down goals
If you’re staring down a big-picture goal, it may seem intimidating (and you may turn and run the other way!). Instead, break down your goals into bite-sized pieces and tackle those pieces one at a time. The most urgent step on the project list goes to the Next Action list.
5. Pay attention to time-sensitive items
Allen suggests keeping track of time-sensitive tasks in something called the Tickler File. Use this file to set reminders for deadlines that are coming up within the next 31 days and also 12 months into the future.
6. Keep a Someday/Maybe list
Dare to dream. If you have ideas for projects you’d like to tackle or initiatives you’d like to start in the future, keep track of them on your Someday/Maybe list.
7. Regularly update your information
Allen suggests reviewing and updating all lists weekly. In his view, daily to-do lists are inefficient because of their warped view of time. Weekly lists help you think “bigger picture,” but do not overwhelm.
How about you? Are you a list-maker? How do you organize your day/week/quarter/year? Do you tend to multi-task or lend your focus to one task at a time? If you’re finding that your current system isn’t working, you may want to give David Allen’s a try!
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: business coach Margaret Smith, get stuff done, innovative productivity, Margaret Smith life coach, Margaret Smith Twin Cities, productivity at work, productivity tips
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Goals, Thrive at Work
August 1, 2018 Daniel Pink’s 1-Minute Exercise for Determining Your Company’s Purpose
If you had to describe the purpose of your business in one sentence, could you do it? That’s the challenge posed by Daniel Pink’s* brilliant one-minute exercise. He believes that a lot can be revealed by asking employees about the purpose of their organization.
To do this, pass out index cards and ask everyone to write about the organization’s purpose in one sentence. The results can be eye-opening.
I’ll let Pink explain more about the process.
*Pink is the author of #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. He publishes an informative business-related video every other week on The Pinkcast.
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: Better Business, business coach Margaret Smith, company purpose, daniel pink, daniel pink mission statement, determine company purpose, Margaret Smith Minneapolis career coach, mission statement activity, pinkcast mission statement activity
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- Posted under Better Business, Organization
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