Good morning!                             January   2008   

We're a week into 2008 so relax, I won't mention the R-word.
 
Last month, I encouraged you to review your accomplishments. Building on that, do you now need to make any changes? (Come on, you knew it was coming.)
 
Everybody's got something, so here's a little known fact that will give you a leg up. According to research published by the Human Performance Institute, "95% of our lives are run by habit and routine, leaving only 5% to willpower and self-discipline."
 
Willpower can be a lever. It can get you through a tough spot. But the thing most people overlook is it that it is through the most ordinary of habits that you build your most extraordinary self.
 
Here's what made that real for me.  About a year ago, my doctor told me that I had borderline high cholesterol. I might have been able to brushoff "borderline", but a quick witted nurse pointed out that if I didn't make some changes asap, a borderline problem in my early 40's would be brutal in my 50's. That got my attention.
 
So, I read everything I could on managing my cholesterol. I added a few supplements, cut out a few foods, started walking daily, increased my activity level and bang - I dropped my cholesterol by 30% in 6 months. If I make it sound easy, it was.

I'm no cholesterol-dropping super hero; I just made new habits. Habits aren't hard.
 
The first couple of  times I dragged myself out of bed for a  walk, I used will power. By the end of the week it was a ritual. After about a month it was a habit. Now, a year later, my morning walk is as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth. Everyday I do things to manage my cholesterol. I don't think about it like that - I don't have to. They're habits.
 
Whatever personal or professional hurdle you plan to jump this year, use willpower to get out of the gates, but don't rely on it to see you to the end of the race. Use ritual, routine and ordinary, every day habits to make a change that will sustain itself in your extraordinary, everyday life.
 
All my best to you and yours for 2008,

Chris
P.S. Any questions about moving from willpower to habit? Email me or call 604.209.4988

What have you been tolerating that you won’t put up with this year?

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Manage Your People

Manage Your Energy

Let Me Ask You This

If You Feel It Say It

Tools For the Tool Kit

Words of Wisdom

Contact Chris

MANAGE YOUR PEOPLE: Be Their Coach

As a manager, you set the bar for your team. But how often, and how well, are you coaching them to get over that bar?

Some managers set the bar, tell their staff it's there, and then react when people hit or miss.

Great managers set the bar and start coaching their team to succeed; giving them every advantage and opportunity for personal and professional development.

"Coaching" has become something of a buzzword. Everyone knows about it. Few actually know how to do it. Even fewer are able to do it well. The way I look at it, coaching is one of the most high leverage tools in a manager's toolkit because it is one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to develop your staff.

But frankly, coaching doesn't come naturally to managers. Employees naturally come for answers and managers naturally give them answers. But coaching isn't telling.

Coaching is about spotting the potential in people, and creating opportunities for them to see and achieve their potential for themselves. More often than not, it is looking, listening and asking.

4 Things Managers Need to Know About Coaching Their Team

Coaching is an act of empowering another person to find and own his or her answers, understanding, actions and success.

Feedback isn't coaching Feedback is important, and there are times when you need to tell people what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. But if the feedback is negative, the listener can shut down. Even if you are able to tell them exactly what they can do to improve, they might not be able to hear you over the feedback in their head. And if that is the only opportunity you give your people to learn, you aren't giving them much opportunity at all.

2 minutes can be more effective than 2 hours Instead of just scheduling epic meetings once or twice year, try looking for 2 minute coaching opportunities each day, or week. When people come with questions, reports, and updates, get in the habit of debriefing and ask them for a little more than the so-called facts.

Examples of coaching questions in a debrief: How do you think that went? How did it impacted others? How could you have said or done that differently? How might that have changed their response?

You'll see immediate results When people have an opportunity to think about and respond to questions like these, change can happen right before your eyes. You might be silently leading a revolution, but your people will buy in because it's their thought process, their words, their ideas. They didn't get told to change. They didn't get told they did something poorly. They learned something for themselves, from themselves.

Coaching isn't about playing dumb. Sometimes your employees just need an answer. And sometimes, you have expertise that they don't. So learn when to ask and when to tell.

FYI: My clients not only break through their own barriers, they learn how to coach their staff to break through theirs. In my one-on-one coaching with managers, we work on seeing and seizing opportunities to coach.

Next month: What to do when you know someone is never going to meet the bar.

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Who Is This Guy?

Chris Obst is a:

• Management Coach
• Principal of Core Dynamics Group
• Human Performance Institute Canada Associate
• Expert skier on beginners runs

Still asking
"Who is this guy?"

Call me
604.209.4988

If You Feel It Say It 

"Chris has substantially improved my management and leadership abilities on a very practical and tangible level.

He helped me overcome certain limitations, fears and beliefs pertaining to managing people.

Overall, I am a significantly more effective manager since working with Chris."
 
Samantha Legge
Vice-President Marketing
GM TV Week Magazine
GM Granville Magazine
Canada Wide Media Ltd.

  Have you got a success story to share?
Send it to me
 

MANAGE YOUR ENERGY: Exercise for Energy 

OK, I have to ask, did you make a New Year’s resolutions about fitness?
 
Because if you made the same tired resolution you made last year and the year before, drop it. If you made resolutions reliant on willpower, throw them out. And if you made fitness-related resolutions about looking different, I can guarantee you don’t have enough time in the day for a mirror to move you to action, so move on.

Never mind how much you weigh, or if your stomach has a six-pack, a two pack or a keg. And forget about how you’ll look in a bathing suit in six short months.

If you want to look at something, look at the ceiling your fitness puts on your potential.

In order to meet the ever-increasing demands of leadership, you need to maximize your energy. So why not exercise for energy?

Improving your fitness has a profound effect on your physical, mental and emotional energy levels. You can improve your outlook, decrease anxiety, improve concentration and creativity and improve your physical health by improving your fitness level.

The Perks of Exercising for Energy

Instant Gratification You don’t need to wait 3 months, or 3 weeks to see results. You can feel endorphins as you exercise and you can feel the increased energy level throughout your day.

When you focus on a weight, size or shape, every effort you make is for the future. When you exercise for energy you can’t miss seeing and feeling immediate benefits.

Too Quick to Quit Long term goals work for some people, but others fill the time with negative self-talk, “This is taking too long. I’ll never make it. Who am I kidding?  I may as well give up now.” Any of that sound familiar?

When you exercise for energy, there’s no time to quit before you succeed. You get energy right away and you hold onto it for longer and longer the more fit you become.

Great Side Effects Shifting your focus from inches to energy doesn’t stop you from losing inches. In fact it helps because you are more likely to stay on track.

The Human Performance Institute recommends regular cardiovascular, resistance and flexibility training to maximize your energy.

Talk to your health care provider to see what is right for you. And there’s no shortage of qualified fitness trainers who can teach you exercise basics, design a program, or help you stay accountable to your fitness goals.

If you need a nudge, I do energy management training with managers, so feel free to drop me a line.

Next Month: If just starting is a hurdle you have to overcome, stay tuned. (Of course if you wanted to try starting to exercise for energy before then, that would be good too. No pressure.)

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 Tools for the Tool Kit