All I want for the Holidays is my…

Year end is always a busy crazy time.

On one hand there are long lists of typical business year end activities that are critical and time sensitive. On the other hand there are all of the personal and family holiday to-do’s that we trying carve out time to enjoy in between all of the aforementioned ‘hustle and bustle.’

When we are busy and have an impossibly full plate that includes deadlines and a seemingly never ending list of ‘to-do’s’ we sometimes think we can ‘cheat’ our mental, emotional and physical systems and keep pushing ourselves. However it is wise to keep in mind that:

Downtime is not a luxury—it is a vital requirement of mental, emotional, and physical health.

We all have our own version of what re-energizing downtime looks like.

Your personal “Re-Energize” report at www.imapMyTeam.com®, helps you do just that!

When you are getting ready to plan your holiday downtime read this report and incorporate some of the suggestions and tips into your plans. The benefit to you will be enormous in the form of reduced stress, a feeling of renewal and batteries that are recharged.

Make the most of your time away whether you have two days or two weeks to celebrate the holidays.

Happy Holidays to all.

Performance Encouragement

Over the last two weeks our Tuesday Tips have been focused on finishing the year strong.  And as we head into the holiday season it’s important to remember this time of year affords us all the opportunity to finish well by encouraging and building up others. After all the spirit of the holidays is to be filled with good cheer.

Business end of year to-do lists, often include conducting or participating in performance management discussions.  These discussions can play an important organizational role in understanding what went well, what didn’t go so well, and sets the direction for future success. The conversations tend to combine what can be a rigorous look back with setting expectations for the future. In many organizations even when things are going great, these discussions are not something leaders or employees look forward to. The truth is the performance management reviews are the perfect opportunity for the participants to offer encouragement to each other.

Consider the importance of encouragement described by Leadership expert and author John C Maxwell:

“If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it – young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – is changed by it”

It’s important to point out that it doesn’t matter if you are a leader or team member, the way we talk and interact with each other matters and finding opportunities to do so in encouraging ways will likely have a positive impact.

Individual and/or team success requires a certain level of motivation and an appropriate type of encouragement.  The more people receive the kind of support they need along the way, the easier it is for them to stay focused on the task or journey and see it through to completion.

The various reports available to you in imapMyTeam® are your key to understanding just the right way to encourage others when they need it most.  Refer to the attached grid to see the best way to encourage your employees or teammates. Identify what quadrant their circle symbol falls in and then frame your encouragement accordingly.

Make it your goal this holiday season, whether at work or with family and good friends to have a positive impact by encouraging others.

You Finish Strong

Last week’s Tuesday Tip helped get you focused on leading or participating in the best meetings possible to end the year strong. Today’s tip will continue on that theme but from a personal level.  This is a very practical exercise that will help you make sure you end the year with everything wrapped up and ready for the New Year.

Go to imapMyTeam.com, log in and then please run your Getting Things Done Snapshot. It is a 2 page “at-a-glance” report that can be found using the drop down menu under your personal reports section in the center of your home page.

The first snapshot page concisely describes three strength characteristics that define how you typically move something from decision to completion.

•                  Your  process of making a decision
•                      The speed at which you implement those decisions once made, and
•                      How you work all of the various To-Do’s you have on your plate.

You will see a diamond symbol on a gray bar (that symbol can be located anywhere on that continuum).

The further left or right the symbol is printed on that continuum, the more your strength will mirror the description that is written to the corresponding left or right hand side. If your symbol is located towards the middle of that continuum then your strengths are more of a balance of the left and right hand side.

The second snapshot page succinctly describes three conditions that you expect and are personally important for you to use your strengths from page 1.

•          How much time you prefer to think about a decision
•          How you keep yourself physically ‘recharged’, and
•          How to stay on top of your To-Do list.

The symbols and bars on the second page work as the first page in terms of intensity or balance.

It is a quick but powerful exercise, to compare this report with colleagues that you are working with. Page 2 is the fuel that gets you to the finish line. It is important information for me to understand about you and vice versa.

It is not uncommon for people to have opposite intensity on the two pages. For instance, being decisive in most circumstances; but needing time to think and perhaps slowing down decisions in other cases. When those opposite intensities are present in any of the three areas it is even more important to talk that out with your manager, peer or direct report because this is where they may not realize how personally important that need is to you.

As you work hard to bring 2015 to a successful close, you can depend on imapMyTeam to give you the insight you need stay on track so You Finish Strong!

Finish Strong!

WOW. Did it kick in Sunday night as you brushed your teeth before bed? Perhaps Monday morning in the shower, getting ready for work? Possibly it was delayed ever so slightly to this morning as the calendar actually turned December 1^st. WOW.

Wasn’t I just on summer vacation? It was just Labor Day weekend wasn’t it? I’ve got a ton of things to accomplish before the end of the year. Time is flying by to get everything done in time.

Yes there is less than one month of 2015 and I’m willing to bet you are going to be in a lot of meetings between now and year end to prioritize what needs to get done by year end.

Make these end of the year meetings your best ones yet.

To ensure that you make the most of the last few days, manage those meetings so they are the most productive of the entire year. To help you finish strong, Log into imapMyTeam® before your next meeting and run the Manage Meetings report. A quick review will help make sure you understand what you can do to make sure your final meetings help you close out with no loose ends. This report is designed to make sure you are not overusing your strength to the point of being counter-productive.
 
Time is short; get the best out of each person on the team and successfully get to the December 31^st finish line with imapMyTeam® helping you along the way. Finish Strong!