Do you know the steps to your goal and achieve success?
The debate as to what is and where learning takes place continues however in my experience people dont have the time, and on occasion, the inclination to know.
What people are keen to have are skills and tips that they can try, then test and adjust to suit them and fit in to their daily work flow.
Try these and you will keep you on the continuous improvement route to success:
- Reflect on success regularly and at the end of a task or project
Allocate time in your diary that gives you and your team the opportunity to share the successes. The best way to embed this behaviour is to do this regularly through the task / project journey.
When is the best time to do this?
- Listen and watch and identify the best practice and application of tools and techniques that your successful colleagues use and develop.
Plan a meet up every month with a successful colleague or professional. Create a maximum of 5 questions that you ask to each new meet up. The last three being:
What will I take away and use?
When and where will I start using them?
Who will I be accountable to ensure I have a go?
- Complete a SWOT (Strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis of you, your team and or organisation / community
Give yourself an understanding of your starting point at that point in time and keep reviewing. The good old SWOT analysis tool is as good as any a starting point.
What has changed since you last did it for your self and team?
What have you learnt that you were not conscious of?
- Reflect on winning a business proposal
There is a tendency to give more effort to learn from mistakes rather than success. Successes gives us more energy and its good to know what made it such a winning formula. Grab a ‘coffee’ with your team / colleague and bring out the themes of success.
What are your themes of success in the last 6 months?
How are you optimising these?
- Read and not just your area of expertise
Many a successful entrepreneur swears by the benefits of learning by reading. It helps to broaden the mind and keep a perspective especially when there is too much pressure.
What is your reading list?
When do you allocate time to read? Are you making it a choice to give your self the time (even if its just 15 mins a day)?
As Benjamin Hardy says in his blog:
“When you give yourself time to really think about what you want to see happen, you start to get lots of insights into how to make it happen.”
Take the visualisation as a learning and development opportunity to build you to greatness. Things change so allow yourself to evolve with time ask yourself now:
What are your visualising?
What do you see, hear and feel?
- Pick up a pen every month and pull together the times you have pushed yourself out of your comfort zone and the new success you have had as a result.
So many of us our wrapped up in a world we know and kind of move around in.
How about if we push ourselves further into different spaces?
What did it feel like?
As a leader when you support others to do this what gains have been made for them and you?
Some things give us energy and others it takes energy to do it. Those we are energised by are usually are strengths and with the added bonus of the drive to get there its amazing what you can achieve. Grab a quiet moment where you like to think and make a list of what you love doing. Revisit the list on a monthly basis while in the shower, on a walk, waiting for a plane or train and ask yourself ..
how is what you are doing supporting you work with your passion?
- Listen to your gut
You can learn a lot from your gut and intuition. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink talks about moments when people have used their intuition to best effect. Its like our unconscious mind coming to the surface and you not having all the dots to connect why your think that decision is good but knowing its required.
Reflecting on recent weeks when have you used your intuition to best effect?
As a leader what have you learnt from these choices and how will you utilise your intuition to best effect in the future?
What I have noticed (and you like most of us feel) people are so wrapped up in their own routine and habits that they dont know when to jump off their conveyor belt and evolve.
So here are a few tips to nudge you to getting started:
Here are some getting started tips that will elevate you to the next level
- Commit time in your diary now to the events (or be accountable as to when you will start — telling someone is a great start but not for everyone)
- Keep a look out for activities that suit you and your daily, weekly and monthly work cycle
- Dont try and do everything at once or it will feel overwhelming and you wont even start
- Remember your strengths and work out how these can keep you on the learning and continuous improvement approach
- Add your learning activities to your development plan
- Create a list of people you admire for their success
- Develop a reading list which you can complete over time
Its over to you now — although if you’d like to have a chat and get you on track dont hesitate to get in touch.
I love rolling my sleeves up and getting under the skin of a significant challenge working with high energy, new and established teams (mostly entrepreneurs, tech and small businesses) to be productive, high performing and prosperous (healthy and happy).
Lizzie Rhodes James is a Performance Coach and Facilitator who specialises in helping teams and individuals exceed their potential at work and in life. Having successfully transitioned from a successful Army career into the Corporate world, Lizzie brings an exceptional and distinctive blend of discipline, focus and agility into her practice. Lizzie is also passionate about health and wellness, and adds a depth of thinking to align body and mind, enhancing overall performance and encouraging clients to transcend their limits.
