12/08/2022
The Wheel of life is one of the most popular coaching exercises. It's simple yet gives a lot of insight into different areas of your life.
You can do it as a one off, or a few times a year, or even just once a year (do your New Year's resolutions repeat from year to year?...)
After you've done it a few times, you will be able to notice how different life can look at different points in time. And most importantly - it will allow you to see what to focus on today to bring that positive change into your life.
What to do:
1 - draw a circle and divide it into 8 parts
2 - assign 8 most important areas of your life to different parts of the circle (family, work, friends, money, etc)
3 - rate each area on a scale from 1 to 10
4 - have a look at the parts that scored the lowest - what do you need to change/add/remove to increase that score?
5 - decide which one of those actions would bring the biggest positive impact into your life right now
6 - what is that first smallest step you can take today?
19/05/2022
Stress is such a huge topic these days. And there is definitely a reason for that. Here is a very short reminder on what you can do when feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
Go back to basics:
> Get enough sleep (this means going to bed earlier or waking up later, i.e. not scrolling instagram or watching netflix before you go to sleep);
> Eat nourishing food - help your body get through this difficult period;
> Move - oh so very important, especially for us office workers;
> Meditate/switch off/be in nature - whatever you want to call it, find some time to let your mind rest (again, mindlessly scrolling instagram still engages your brain and is not helpful)
Tackling all of the above at the time when you already feel there are not enough hours in a day can feel too much. Instead, pick one, make it a priority, and stick with it for a week or two. Remember - one step at a time will get you further than taking no steps at all.
16/04/2021
Every one of us view and judge everything that is happening around according to our own personalised *map*. This map is made up of all our lifetime experiences and is unique to us.
People around you will have their own maps and will judge situations using those maps.
Imagine a particular situation as a *territory*. It is what it is. It's not right or wrong. It just is. And you will use your map to navigate this territory. Your friends or colleagues will use their own maps to navigate the territory and hence may choose different routes.
You can make changes to your map. It takes work, but it is possible.
You can also remember that people around you use different maps. Be curious about them, you can learn a lot from other people's maps.
And whether it is you, or a person in front of you, remember,
*the map is not the territory*.
14/04/2021
Sometimes I just don't feel like being a leader.
There were days when all I wanted to do was sit in my bed and work from home. I didn't feel like dressing up and showing my face in the office.
Well... Welcome to the pandemic! As some people say, be careful what you wish for.
Today, there might be no physical office for most of us but we still need to show up (online).
When I remember such days, I can't help but think they are an opportunity for growth.
I'm not going to lie, at the beginning of my career I used to simply ignore what I feel and get to work. Not the best long-term strategy, I have to say...
But as the time went on, I learnt to look at such days from a few different points:
1 - firstly, ask myself, what is going on in that moment for me? Am I tired? Stressed? Nearing a burn out? Scared of something? Should I take a break instead of "pushing through"?
2 - secondly, can I take it as an opportunity to exercise some discipline? As humans, we grow and progress through a certain amount of discomfort. Those days when we feel a bit more lazy are the days that can make all the difference in the long term.
3 - thirdly, I remember that one of my values is to serve. I see my role as a leader is to serve my team. Reminding myself why I do what I do, and that my actions are in line with my values, always helps me make the best decision.
Sometimes it's a fine line between "pushing through" and "pushing over the edge". Are you just feeling a bit deflated and should take it slower, or are you exhausted and need a proper break?
Always give yourself space to pause and listen. Understand where you are at and what you need to do next. Don't rush it and trust yourself.
Do you ever feel like that? What are your strategies in such moments?
09/04/2021
Are you the person who doesn't like to chase other people?
You're working on an important project, you asked someone a question, they said they'll get back to you. A day goes by and nothing.
You're feeling restless.
But then you think, "I sent them a message, they responded, which means they know they need to answer me."
"They should answer without me needing to chase them."
"It's not my job."
One of my ex-colleagues once said this, and it stuck with me forever:
"If they haven't chased you - it means it's not that important"
It's the same principle, just from a different side.
Remember a time when you were swamped under a million different tasks? (maybe you don't need to remember and this is your current reality...) A colleague asked you to look into something for them, you acknowledged the message, noted it down, and got back to working on whatever it was you were doing before getting interrupted. A day goes by, your to-do list is now longer than it was same time yesterday, and your colleague's request is simply not a top priority for you at this moment.
Then they send you another message to remind you they're still waiting for your reply. You reshuffle your priorities list, send the answer over, and move on with your day.
If they wouldn't have chased you, you would have continued working on other things.
And that's ok. Each of us have a different set of priorities we are working on.
It is ok to chase your colleagues. It is ok to send a reminder. It is ok for your task not to be a priority for your colleague. And vice versa.
If it is important to you, it is your responsibility to make that known to others.
02/04/2021
Actions speak louder than words
31/03/2021
What kind of a leader are you?
We all have our own leadership style, and in my opinion, there is no one right way. For this post, I have split it up into two parts.
Directive:
- you tell your team what to do
- you tell your team how to do things
- you tell them when to do it
Supportive:
- you allow your team to find their own way
- you are available to the team when and if they need you
- you give your suggestions and ideas only if they ask for them
It may sound like the first type is "bad", and the second type is "good". Well, it's not that black and white.
Of course, adapting only a directive style may get you labelled as an authoritarian leader. And that's not great. A purely directive style is all about control and it does not allow the people around you to grow and learn. Also, it would involve a lot of micromanagement which simply isn't the most productive way to use your own time.
On the other hand, with no direction at all, the team may either feel lost not knowing what to do next, waste a lot of time trying to figure out how, and in the end may end up going a different direction than what you or the company intended.
A mix of the two styles sounds like the way to go. And which one to choose really depends on who you're managing, as well as when.
Which style do you tend to apply most often?
22/03/2021
How to delegate?
So, you've got a list of tasks, what's next? How do you actually do it?
Listen to the reasons you may have identified for not being able to do it. For example:
"They're not trained"
"It will take me too much time"
"I don't have enough people"
Some of these might actually be true. Some of the reasons might hide your fears of delegation.
Go through each one of them to identify what is missing:
"They're not trained" - what training needs to happen?
"It will take too much of my time" - how much time can you dedicate now (short-term) in exchange for having more time to focus on other priorities in the future (long-term)?
"I don't have enough people" - any current tasks that can be made more efficient? What are the hiring opportunities? What is the cost/benefit of adding more people to your team?
You might not have all the answers to these questions but your manager is there to help you fill the gaps.
So your next step is:
Identify what is missing and how you can fill those gaps.
Don't fret if you get stuck on this point - give me a shout and we can do this together! 💪
08/03/2021
Delegation is a painful topic for a lot of managers. Once you get clear on WHY you need to delegate your work, there are a few different ways to tackle it.
One of the tools is the Eisenhower's matrix, pictured above. Let me break it down for you.
Tasks can be organised into four boxes according to their URGENCY and IMPORTANCE.
To get this exercise started, list out all the things you do in a day or a week. Don't forget the ones that you need to do but don't find the time to!
Look at your list and think about which ones are urgent and which ones are not:
🔸 Urgent can be: answering an incoming call; putting together a report your manager asked to be done by 4pm; attending to an escalated issue by a client.
🔸 Not urgent: improving your Excel skills; checking out that TikTok video sent by a colleague; spending some time on prioritising your work.
Next, which points on your list are important and which ones are not?
🔸 This is an interesting one, because sometimes we get lost in what should be important and what shouldn't. Think along the lines of your goals - what do you want to achieve, and which actions will get you there?
🔸 Don't forget that a single task can be a priority, and hence important, to your colleague in another department, but it doesn't mean it is a priority for you. Likewise, a task might be a priority for your team, but it is not as important for your role.
And finally, put your tasks into one of the 4 boxes:
🔹 Important and Urgent → get those done
🔹 Not Important and Urgent → DELEGATE
🔹 Not Important and Not Urgent → take these off your list altogether
🔹 Important and Not Urgent → schedule them into your calendar
So, according to the above, the tasks that are not important (to you and your role) but still need to be done rather urgently, can be delegated to your team or appropriate departments.
04/03/2021
I was learning how to delegate all throughout my career. Every time I was given an additional responsibility, I either had to invent time and energy to cope with everything, or I was forced to pass on some of the tasks to my team.
This is definitely one of the ways to learn to delegate but it is by no means the only, or the best, way. It is important to understand why we need to delegate work. And there are two sides of this coin.
1. When you delegate responsibilities or tasks to your team, you show them you trust them and enable them to progress.
2. You free up your valuable time and energy to work on other projects, which would allow you, your team and/or your company to move forward, as opposed to simply coping with current the situation.
To summarise, if you don't delegate, you stay stuck. And your team stays stuck. Some say, if you are not progressing, you are regressing...
Trust yourself and trust your team - they may just surprise you!
02/04/2021
31/03/2021
22/03/2021
08/03/2021
04/03/2021