Self-Leadership Strategies

To take the Job Readiness Indicator, scroll to the end of the February newsletter.

February 2010 Newsletter

Greetings! I recently returned from an incredible, eye-opening extended trip to Europe, the Middle East and Africa and I've been percolating a lot of programming and ideas. To learn more about my take on recent social trends along with Values and Technology Coaching, Optimal Activism & Engaged Citizenship Coaching, and Integrated Travel Coaching click here or read on to the end of this newsletter. To read more about living your values and priorities more fully, follow the yellow brick road immediately below.

Saying No to Personal Mission Drift
Last year, I had a big birthday and it got me to thinking even more than usual about whether I was living my values and priorities on a daily basis. I saw that in some areas, I was right on target, and in others, I was suffering from personal mission drift. For example, while I talked a lot about my love of intensive international travel, I wasn't actually doing much of it. With that realization, a major harrumph was heard echoing loudly in my head. After a few follow-up oy veys, I made a decision not to allow myself to get away with further delaying a trip.

Easier said than done! Although I was already a pretty experienced traveler, this particular journey was a whole other animal because I wanted to do what I call integrated travel—traveling not just as vacation, but rather as part of a lifestyle of learning incorporated into key components of daily life where destinations become a kind of workplace and classroom. The logistics were daunting, the flying was daunting, the technology upgrade was daunting. We're talking, at least, daunting cubed, if not quadrupled. Not to mention the plain old laziness keeping me grounded. However, my drive to go for it was bigger than either my fear or my inertia so after gathering my courage, doing massive logistical work, and making a new bff, Skype, I took off. And I'm here to report that it was actually easier than I thought it would be; working, learning, and having major fun while traveling, check!

What Exactly Does it Take to Live Your Values and Priorities Most Fully?
While you might have a eureka one day and wake up with the tools and guts to more fully live on mission, more often, it takes a conscious decision, on-going work, and sometimes some real sacrifices. Indeed, all of these elements played a critical role in my own journey. But they can be difficult to follow through on, particularly in the midst of the many distractions we all face from the never-ending stream of rings and beeps to constant multi-tasking. Add to that, more static from right inside of our most complicated gadget—our head. The truth is that most of us have some thoughts and feelings that don't necessarily keep us on track. Ultimately, avoiding mission drift requires taking responsibility for yourself and making a commitment to live in a way that is reflective of who you are and what you value. It also requires that you catch yourself in the often sneaky and subtle "mission drift two step" so that you can boogie on back to focusing on what really matters to you.

I know first-hand that it can feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get to life's basics, let alone assess whether you're living your values and priorities, but doing so isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. Without keeping tabs on whether or not your life reflects what has most meaning to you, you could find yourself spending days, weeks or even years missing out on a lot both personally and professionally. In extreme cases, you could end up burned out or even ill from straying from your core. Plus, don't forget, the super highway between you and the world runs both ways, so you could be depriving the rest of us from experiencing your full impact. Hey, that's not fair!

Below are some quick exercises to help you get your life into more alignment with
your values and priorities:

Define your values. Before you can do anything, you need to know what matters to you. It's a cliché, but writing down your top 3-5 values is key. Ask yourself what are those principles that guide your decisions, form the bedrock of your worldview, and about which you are passionate? Next, assign each value a unique letter. For example, "C" for compassion to self and others. More on why I'm asking you to do this in a moment.

Define your priorities. You also need to know how you concretely want to live your values, that is, what are your priorities and goals and when do you want to reach them? It can be useful to have about 5-10 overarching priorities a year. Assign each priority a unique letter as well. For example, "T" for travel to Africa in May.

Analyze where you really spend your time. Knowing how you spend your time, not just how you wish you spent your time can be illuminating and motivate you to further align what you do with your values and priorities. So:

Take a piece of paper and divide it into 24 segments. Thinking about a typical day, very briefly summarize what you did in each hour, using a separate bullet to indicate each activity.
Assess whether each activity is connected to one of your values and priorities and if it is, label it with the appropriate letter.
Add up the total number of activities you have for the entire 24 hours (x) and the total number of those activities connected to your values and priorities (y). Divide y by x to get the percentage of time that you're spending doing things connected to your values and priorities. Often, the results can be surprising.

Regularly ask yourself some fundamental questions. Living your values and priorities isn't about scheduling every moment of the day or always being productive, but it is about not letting yourself spend large amounts of time doing, thinking and feeling things that aren't beneficial. Spending less than 75-85% of your time on activities linked to your values and priorities often indicates real mission drift. Whatever your score above, it could be useful to periodically ask yourself questions such as:

How is the way that I talk to myself about myself aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities?
How is the way that I use technology aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities? When am I in a technology trance and/or using it as an avoidance technique?
Is the way that I relate to others (or "x" person) aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities?
How is my career aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities?
How is the way that I spend money aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities?
How is the way that I sleep, eat, and exercise aligned or not aligned with my values and priorities?

Make a commitment to increasing your alignment with your values and priorities in one area a month. I'm a huge believer in bite-sizing change, so start small. For example, you might pick the technology arena for March and say no to email after 8pm, no matter what. Be realistic, but push yourself a bit. If you don't really, really, really (The 3 really's rule is often a very good litmus test) feel committed to making whatever shift you select, chose another area that holds more energy for you—it's important to set yourself up for success, building momentum for more challenging tweaks down the road. If you miss a goal one day, challenge yourself to get right back to it the next day. This isn't always easy, but it's necessary in order to truly live your values.

There is no way around the fact that staying on mission takes chutzpa and sometimes some serious work. But it's also one of the most liberating and fun things to do.

Here's to living more of our values and priorities each day!
Cathy Wasserman, LMSW

Job Readiness Indicators

Scroll down to find the indicator that best suits your needs:

Job Seeker Readiness Indicator
Job Keeper Readiness Indicator
Staff Retention Readiness Indicator

Job Seeker Readiness Indicator

Do you continuously transform any concerns you have about getting a job into job seeking action steps?
Have you gotten feedback that you successfully convey what you uniquely have to offer in your resume and have you had it proofread?
Have you gotten feedback that you effectively describe how you can specifically serve a particular organization in your cover letters and have they been proofread?
Have you also created a one-of-a-kind take away document, video or other product to leave with contacts and potential employers where you creatively provide additional information on such topics as your ideas and key observations about a particular field, trend, or program and how you can assist them?
Have you gotten feedback that you vividly, yet briefly communicate your value added when you interview?
Is your network aware of what you are looking for and how and where you specifically want to contribute and do you network with, at least, 2 people a week?
Are you actively building connections with organizations that reflect your passions, interests, and values through such activities as volunteering or serving on a board and are you applying for, at least, 3-4 jobs each month, including approaching organizations of high interest that may not have current job postings?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then keep on keepin’ on! You are doing what you can to find a job. If you answered no to any of the above questions, then you have some additional work to do in order to stand out in a market that is inundated with applicants.

Job Keeper Readiness Indicator

Do you continuously transform any concerns you have about keeping your job into on-the-job creativity and innovation?
Are you intentionally growing your skills and experience every day and substantially deepening, at least, 2 areas of expertise each year?
Do you regularly take initiative and present and follow-through on new, doable ideas that will maximize the impact of your organization?
Do you have the tools to increase your support and retention of staff, despite having fewer resources?
Do you have an updated, standout, and proofread resume ready in case you lose your job and on which you have gotten feedback that you successfully convey your unique value added?
Do you also have in the ready a cover letter template and one-of-a-kind take away document, video or other product to leave with contacts and potential employers where you creatively provide additional information on such topics as your ideas for serving a particular field, organization or program?
Are you networking on an on-going basis and building positive relationships with individuals and organizations that share your values, passions, and interests even when you are not in an active job search?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then you are taking excellent steps to ensure that you keep your job by continuing to grow and increasing your impacts, while being prepared for the possibility of losing your job. Kudos to you! If you answered no to any of the above questions, then you have some additional work to do to ensure that you will positively stand out among your colleagues and also are prepared in the case that you lose your job.

Staff Retention Readiness Indicator

Do you continuously give specific, authentic, and positive verbal feedback to your staff?
Do you have numerous low cost or free additional ways in which you positively reinforce your staff on a weekly basis?
Do you periodically provide a space for staff to talk about their concerns around the current challenging financial and organizational climate along with mechanisms to transform their emotions into productive next steps in their job?
Do you also give staff the space and support to create and actualize new, doable and resource conserving ideas?
Do you address staff challenges as they arise and provide specific feedback on your expectations and how staff can improve?
Do you have weekly or bi-monthly supervision meetings where you discuss not only staff’s projects and to do lists, but also their professional development goals?
Do you educate your staff on burnout, providing them with specific prevention tools and also model burnout prevention yourself, getting the support that you need to be sustainable in the long-term?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then you are doing what you need to in order to ensure staff retention and excellence. Congratulations! If you answered no to any of the above questions, then you have some additional work to do to make sure that your staff are working at their full capacity and likely to stick with your organization through thick and thin.

Seizing ‘09 Opportunities & Transforming Panic into Purpose

I want to wish you a very happy and transformational New Year!

I am excited to announce a bevy of additional personal and professional coaching services to help you seize the opportunities of what I’m calling the New Paradigm—the massive economic, political, technological, and social changes occurring right now. The New Paradigm is opening up a multitude of opportunities for each of us to more fully live our purpose and make a bigger impact.

Very best!
Cathy Wasserman, LMSW

What’s so new about the New Paradigm?

Well, for one thing, we have seen that just about anything is possible. Who would have thought that Wall Street would crash in quite the way that it has? That, so soon after the new millennium, we would elect a multi-racial President and have a woman come close to being President? Or have a President who has a website named change.gov and is asking citizens for their ideas?

Indeed, a major increase in the flow of ideas, not just information, is a key defining feature of the New Paradigm. We also now have an absolutely unprecedented level of immediate and widespread connection—of people to ideas, other people, institutions, etc. With this interconnectedness has come an increasingly (although still far from) level playing field, not only with the colossal economic shifts we are seeing, but also with more individuals, no matter their background, being recognized more. Here’s how Dan Pink described this shift in his important book, A Whole New Mind:

A seismic shift [is] now under way in much of the advanced world. We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age.

In effect, Pink is saying that we have moved into an era where creativity, ideas, relationships and connections of all kinds are our cultural, and even, economic gasoline. I would add that we have not only entered the Conceptual Age, but also the Authenticity Age, where a kind of veil has been lifted—both our challenges and our opportunities are out on the table in a way that they never quite have been before. Being able to see them clearly, even if we do not yet fully know how to transform them is a critical step, offering us all many possibilities for innovation and growth.

If things are so good, then why does so much feel so shaky?

Picture a kitchen where a very creative chef is cooking. Ingredients are spread out everywhere; pots and pans line the counter. The chef is trying to create a masterpiece, experimenting with hundreds of spices in her cabinets, but nothing creates the perfect taste. She decides to take a break, calls up a friend who tells her all about her trip to Morocco and the delicious food she ate there. After months of feeling stuck, she yells out, "That's it!" and rushes off to buy the Moroccan spice her friend mentioned, finally creating her masterpiece with a totally new combination of ingredients. Right now, we're in that kitchen, in the middle of the mess. Some things look quite challenging, but there really is enormous opportunity beneath all of the clutter IF we can move through the panic that change brings up and have the focus and openness to experiment with assembling the right ingredients, making new connections to live our purpose. Easier said than done, right?!

Transforming Panic into Purpose

Panic and fear, and their more subtle relatives, uncertainty and doubt are very important and useful emotions that are full of momentum. When managed effectively, they can act as catapults toward your goals and fertile ground for new ideas and directions. The trick is to acknowledge these emotions and invite them to serve your personal and professional growth rather than to resist or deny them. Once they are working for you, if you are also crystal clear about your greatest strengths and passions, you are ready to take tangible steps to create a life in which you truly live your purpose. I work with individuals to intentionally and powerfully put all of these pieces into place to bring to fruition what you are meant to do in all aspects of your life.

Welcome to the New Paradigm—let’s see what new ideas, possibilities, and paradigms, we can all cook up in our kitchens!