Tag: success

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Leadership branding

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

How do you want people to remember you?

This question will be one of the many questions I asked in the leadership workshop. The moment someone mentioned your name, what will be the first few traits or identity that come into their minds? More positive or not so positive?

I believe that building your own leadership branding will take time and it’s a journey to be consistent and maintain a great brand. It also serves as a good reminder for us to ensure we are practicing what we are preaching. It all boils down to integrity.

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford

Yes, another profound statement by Sir Henry Ford, intention alone may not be enough, we need to put into action should we choose to build our leadership brand.

The key areas to a great leadership branding, based on numerous interactions with leaders from around the region are as listed below;

Self-Leadership, leading others, emotional quotient, communication with others (the manner), how we make people feel after they have interacted with us…

One of the videos I have watched (introduced by one of the MNC leaders) mentioned the following process…

Character —> process —> results

Based on the process, the gain results and to sustain is to focus on the process. Once we get the process right (mastery and habits), the results will come automatically. Thus, to build our leadership branding, we need to work on how we are being, doing and getting it…

Our reputation and how we carry ourself when dealing with people (best is to stay true to ourselves), to strife by living your own brand (be comfortable in your own skin) and build good mindshare of others on you, and that is how I believe we can practice our differentiation (any how, we are unique).

How can we then work on building our leadership branding? We can make use of Deming’s PDCA model…

Plan, do, check, act

Plan; to me it means plan your own strategy and goals on your leadership branding.

Do; action and execution of your strategy and goals…

Check; what is the outcome from your action? How do you feel and what is the learning?

Act; fine-tune on the outcome and learning. It’s all in the details… a little bit goes a long way… the back to planning – setting your sight on your own improved version. Bigger and better… continuous improvement; Kaizen!

Recently while working on this leadership branding topic for my blog… I came across an article from Harvard Business Review;

The title of the article is as follows;

Define Your Personal Leadership Brand in Five Steps by Norm Smallwood

After reading it, I have picked up some good points that I would like to share with you… also my answers as example ?

1. What results do you want to achieve in the next year?

In the next 12 months, what would you like to see and experience with…

clients and partners;

My answer: Value in new approach, new topics, improved delivery

Own organisation;

My answer: Additional clients, new products, certification, partners

Community;

My answer: Serving with more CSR, charity,

Inspiring and developing leaders to reach their highest potential for God.

2. What do you wish to be known for?

Willingness to share, genuine and reliable

Innovative, ethical, fast and accurate

3. Define your identity

Dynamic, Integrity, Ownership, Nurturing

4. Construct your leadership brand statement, then test it.

“I want to be known for being ______________ so that I can deliver __________.”

I want to be known for being generous, ethical, dynamic, accountable so that I can deliver value to people that I served for the best memories of my life.

• Is this the brand identity that best represents who I am and what I can do?

• Is this brand identity something that creates value in the eyes of my organization and key stakeholders?

• What risks am I taking by exhibiting this brand? Can I live this brand?

5. Make your brand identity real

Being true to myself. Living my own legacy. Designing my own life as my leadership branding.

And my final thoughts,

Consistency is key.

“Your habits, your future!”

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Essential Coaching Habits

“Coaching is leading with curiosity…”

Since I started with coaching certification training, executive coaching and group coaching journey… there are many questions on what a coach should do and what are the best practices for a coach to follow?

There are many school of thoughts when it comes to coaching and there are also many professional bodies around this subject on coaching.

I am not here to say that what I know is the best, whatever I am sharing is just my own thoughts and opinions. Please feel free to make any changes to your own styles and practices. My intention is to add value to what you have already known and practicing. Contact me and we can have further discussions and who knows, I can also learn from you as well. I have this believe that, as leaders, we are constantly learning new things in our journey in life or at work.

“It’s important to work hard, stay humble, and not let the criticism or the compliments go to your head.” – Jessica Sanchez

Anyone or any organizations that are practicing coaching, this article is dedicated to you… based on what I have learned from many gurus, practitioners and learners. Even a coach needs to be coached. As long as we are learning, we are growing, improving to be a better leader.

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I would like to make it simple for all of us to remember the key habits when it comes to coaching. Let’s focus on the three -(3) key habits, the Essential Coaching Habits…

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YES! Only three -(3) key habits and here they are;

Habit #1: INTENT

What is your intention and purpose to coach this client / coachee / person?
We can learn from Simon Sinek from one of his great books…

As a coach, we need to ensure that our intention is right. When our “WHY” is right, the “HOW” and the “WHAT” will be in place.
In my humble opinion, this Habit #1: INTENT is the starting point to any coaching success. As a coach, our main INTENT is to make our client / coachee successful. It is all about them and our role is to be focusing on their goal(s) and partnering (accountability) with them to their journey in accomplishing their goals to results realization. At the back of our head, with the INTENT, the questions that we ask will be somehow pointing to their goal(s) and that is what is we want. Then comes Habit #2.

Habit #2: CURIOSITY

“Be lazy, be curious, be often…”
– Michael Bungay Stanier

A lot of times, as leaders, we tend to tell (advise, guide, share experience) our people what to do and that is more of mentoring. Even during coaching, we have some hard time adjusting to this new habit of asking questions. We cannot stand silence and the quality of questions we asked were towards leading the client / coachee to the path that we want them to journey on.

Many of the participants who attended the coaching certification program have asked me, “What are the tip for asking great questions?”

That is why this Habit #2: CURIOSITY is the key… when we have the right INTENT and combined with CURIOSITY, the quality of questions asked will be great. As coaches, we want to help and support our client / coachee to be more successful in getting results and we are curious in terms of how they can achieve their goals and what they are going to do to accomplish them.

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YES! Leaders are learners… we want to learn about our clients / coachees. How to make them more successful. When they get the results, the will be MORE MOTIVATED! That leads us to Habit #3: OUTCOME

Habit #3: OUTCOME

Image result for success cycle tony robbins model

What we can learn from Anthony Robbins’ Success Cycle model… when the client / coachee achieve results, their belief / certainty (motivation) will increase. If you can see from the illustration above, what leads to results will be ACTION and as what Tony mentioned, “MASSIVE ACTION!!”

Then as a coach what is our role? Habit #3: OUTCOME is all about us coaches having the right INTENT with CURIOSITY, asking the right questions to assist our client / coachee to obtain the OUTCOME which will be ACTION STEPS. When both the coach and client / coachee are clear about the goal(s), the questions that we ask will point to HOW and WHAT the client / coachee will ACTION to get the results or moving them on the right path in achieving the results. Automatically when the client / coachee is moving towards their direction in achieving their goal(s) or best when they achieve results, they will be more fulfilled, motivated and happier.

“Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result. “
– Oscar Wilde

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There you go… the Essential Coaching Habits. I strongly believe that if we are able to practice these three -(3) Coaching Habits;

Habit #1: INTENT
Habit #2: CURIOSITY
Habit #3: OUTCOME

We will be able to help more people to be SUCCESSFUL. Like what I normally share with my client / coachee / participants…

“When you are successful, I will be successful too…”

“Please DO NOT FORGET ME when you are successful… hahaha”

Thank you.

“Your habits, your future!”

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12 Weekend Habits of Highly Successful People

Have you ever thought of what successful (depends on what success means to you, in this case, people who are busy and had made a name for themselves in the business world) or we can identify them as effective leaders (people who get results)  do during the weekends?

I have come across these twelve leaders and what they do during weekends;

1. Robert Iger (CEO of Disney) – get up early (and never experience “Monday Blues”…)

2. Benjamin Franklin (Founding Father of the United States) – have a plan (fail to plan and we plan to fail)

3. Timothy Ferriss (Author; one of his books, “The 4-Hour Work Week”) –  do not multitask (focus to get better results)

4. Anna Wintour, OBE (Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief) – stay active (and gain more energy to achieve more)

5. Steve Jobs (Apple) – prioritize what’s important (clarity on what gets you closer to your goal and breakthrough)

6. Warren Buffett (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) – make time for hobbies (life has more meaning in doing what you love)

7. Oprah Winfrey (Media Proprietor) – practice stillness (meditation for 20 minutes a day will improve your mind)

8. Randi Zuckerberg (Businesswoman) – forget FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and embrace JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) 

9. Bill Gates (Microsoft) – take time to reflect (this is how humans improve themselves and learn more)

10. Richard Branson (Business magnate) – give back (release oxytocin and feel happier)

11. Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter Inc.) – get ready for the rest of the week (plan ahead and expect the unexpected)

12. Jay-Z (Rapper) – keep up the momentum (once you get going, it’s going to be tough to stop… keep moving forward)

There you go… some great tips and sharing on what we can do with our weekends. Enjoy your weekend.

“Change Your HABITS, Change Your World…”