The Year 2011: Commitments vs. Confusion

“In beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in expert’s mind there are few.”- Suzuki Roshi

By now, most of you are coming out of the Christmas Cheer Coma and are back at work scratching your head and saying to yourselves, “Whew!” Now what?” Your doors are open, your butt’s in the chair, but you’re not too sure where you want to go yet.

And of course, with the New Year comes our infamous New Year’s Resolutions. You know the ones like, “I’m going to get healthy. I’m going to make a million dollars,” and so on. Unfortunately, the problem with most resolutions is that they don’t last as long as the hangovers. Why is that? I have learned that most resolutions are about what you think you should or should not do as opposed to what you choose to do, whereas making a commitment to change is a whole different ball game. Commitment is making a conscious choice to do something with your whole being. That type of commitment comes from your core, not your ‘Guilt Gremlin.’ If you do take this route, ultimately you don’t end up shooting yourself in the foot as often.

There is a quote by Suzuki Roshi that says, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”

If you are going to be about making changes this year, then tack this quote to your forehead. The idea of beginner’s mind is to empty your mind of old ideas and old beliefs that can keep you stuck so that you can be open and ready for new possibilities that will take where you want to go.

You can’t determine where you’re going in your business or your life unless you determine where you have been. And you can’t get there asking the same questions you asked last year. You need a fresh perspective. You have to do a little excavating. New Year + New Goals + New Questions + New Actions = Results and Success.

Here are 4 questions to ponder to get you started and pointed in the right direction for the new year. This is not a test but you may want to take out a note pad and pen and jot down your answers.

1. What were my accomplishments last year? Write them all down so you don’t forget them.
2. What worked and what didn’t work in last year’s plan? Be honest with yourself.
3. What are you going to have to do differently (action steps) in 2011 to take you to your next level of success?
4. What kind of support are you going to need to reach your goals?

Keep in mind, the only thing that changed on January 1st was the date. Now you have to decide if it will be a year full of opportunities and possibilities, or just more of the same old same old for the next 364 days. If you like what you are doing and don’t want to change, keep doing what you are doing. However, if you don’t like the way your business/career or life has been going, now is the time to make some changes to get it right.

The key is to get clear about what you want to change and your goals for getting there. And most importantly, enlist the support you need to get there. It really does help to have an outside perspective. Accountability is a key ingredient to attaining your goals and making sure you reach your next level of success.

And if you’re wanting to make 2011 your best year ever, give me a call or drop me an email and I will help you get there with less stress and more success.

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© 2011 Cookie Tuminello – Success Source, LLC

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Want To Go From A Good To Great Leader in 2010??

“A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” – Author Unknown

Being a terrific leader takes commitment, confidence, and clarity. It doesn’t matter if you’re a supervisor, CEO or entrepreneur – the steps you need to know in order to motivate the people who work with you are the same. The old school method of employing ‘scare’ tactics, i.e. “If you don’t do what I TELL you do, then there’s the door!” doesn’t cut it anymore in today’s business world. Besides, if you still subscribe to the “It’s my way or the highway” way of thinking, you’re going to alienate everyone who works in your company or organization and nothing will be accomplished except for making enemies out of your staff.

Here are 4 steps that will take you from good to great leader.

1. Set a clear direction for your team. Clarity begets desired results. If you aren’t clear about where you’re going, do you think your team will be? As a leader, your role is to be the visionary who paints the picture for them to follow. If you aren’t clear about the necessary steps your staff need to take to accomplish a goal, then a lot of time is going to be wasted running around in circles. Create a clear action plan – one that shows exactly how and what you want to get done. If needed, draw a roadmap diagram on paper outlining the full process, starting with the objective and detailing what each person is responsible to complete. The better your directions are, the easier it will be to get the goal finished.

2. Make sure your actions match your intentions and visions. You, as the leader, need to know what you envision being the final outcome of the project/task you’re asking your employees to work on. Do you want to ‘wow’ a client with an exceptional product presentation? Can you see the final project completed? What does it look like to you? Are YOU excited about this task? Your own level of commitment and enthusiasm needs to come across loud and clear to your team. If you’re ho hum about the outcome, then guess what – that’s the attitude that will be adopted by members of your team. Some of us are ‘big picture’ thinkers. We forget about all the details on how to get to that big picture, but as the leader you can’t allow yourself to let those minute details slide. If you do, then the final outcome will definitely not be to your liking.

3. Create a cohesive team. You must have confidence in your team and their abilities. Knowing who fits in where in your team is crucial to creating success. You need to assign the ‘right’ people to the ‘right’ tasks. If Suzie doesn’t like concept writing, but loves to work on graphics, then make sure you assign her that portion of the job. Knowing the strengths of each member of the team is crucial in achieving a super end result. No one likes to work on something they detest doing. By forcing them to take on duties they absolutely hate creates resentment, and resentment either slows down the entire project or provides a poor performance.

4. Work smarter, not harder. I know you’ve heard this phrase a million times, but it bears repeating. By learning to delegate the workload to the right person will lift some of the weight of turning in a top-notch end result off your own shoulders. Your role is to be the visionary – not the micro-manager! You role model what it means to be a leader and a follower, and in turn you inspire and create great leaders for the future. And isn’t that the purpose of being a leader?

If you want to go from good to great leader in your business and need some direction and support, email me for a Get Acquainted Session today at info@cookietuminello.com.