           |
 |
"Like me, I am sure you know that most resolutions don't get resolved. Making resolutions leaves people feeling guilty, nonproductive and not-so-very-good about themselves." Karen Glatzer, founder and president, GH Consulting |
   |
Leadership Coach's Corner BEYOND RESOLUTIONS Posted on January 18, 2008
From start to finish, here's to a happy new year. And yet, please let's move beyond the idea of resolutions, OK?
Like me, I am sure you know that most resolutions don't get resolved. Making resolutions leaves people feeling guilty, nonproductive and not-so-very-good about themselves.
Rather what I propose is a "strength focus." What would happen if we embraced the fact that we are good enough? That our gifts and talents are sufficient? That our best efforts at work and at home positively impact lives – our own and others?
What would happen if we would all be happy with who we are as opposed to concentrating on what we have to fix about ourselves?
Now please do not misunderstand me. We all have things we need to work on – issues that, if addressed, could help us have more peaceful and content lives. Maybe even truly joyful lives. And we all have character defects that get in our way and trip us up. And to be perfectly honest, working to resolve these deeply imbedded derailers is a good and healthy endeavor and one I completely support for me and others.
But New Year's resolutions are usually defined in such a way that we feel set up to fail.
So this is what I urge you to do as your New Year's resolution: Focus on your strengths.
By focusing on our strengths, we feel better about ourselves, and those around us at work and at home benefit from our unique contributions. And we will have more energy to dig down deep and work on the derailers that do nip at our heels.
Karen Glatzer is the founder and president of GH Consulting, a consultancy specializing in leadership development and executive coaching. Contact her at 770.454.8229 or kglatzer@ghconsultinggroup.net. To comment on this blog, e-mail blog@pinkmagazine.comand enter "Karen Glatzer" in the subject line. COMMENTS As I was on my way to greatness, I was ambushed. My career was on a very well defined path, and then along came a management opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Literally, I couldn't pass it up because it was dumped on my lap. So I got off my well marked, well defined path to greatness, and wondered off into the unknown. I've been in the very technical profession of Land Surveying for 18 years. A profession which one can only achieve greatness through years of experience and the respect of ones peers. Said profession is also a male dominated field. I am the only woman in the department. When our department manager abruptly retired due to medical reasons, we interviewed several candidates for the position. That in itself was interesting because I was in the unique position of interviewing and hiring my own boss. Everyone wanted a job; no one wanted the responsibility of managing and mentoring young survey professionals. I was acting as department manager and after a few weeks with no luck finding a replacement, I was officially promoted, ready or not. Management alone is an emotional roller coaster of pride and disappointment. Managing men, well, there are no words. I've only been in the position for 8 months. I would love to hear from anyone who has been in my situation or can offer some words of wisdom and encouragement in my time of need. What kind of leadership style would work best for this situation? Signed, "Sink or Swim"
. . . . . . . . . . CLOSE TO GREATNESS With all the focus on leadership these days, I want to state for the record that I do not believe in any one leadership model. I am not a fan of "one-size-fits-all" approaches. What I do, however, believe in for myself and clients and others is authenticity – and courage. Embracing our greatness. Making sure that we work and live in a way that plays to our unique strengths and gifts. A number of months ago a holistic massage therapist read my chakras after a massage. After the treatment she told me she really picked up one clear message – that I would get very close to my greatness and then I would back away. My first response was, "How did she know? Who told her?" No one knew about that but me, and it had been quietly bothering me for a while. I knew in every bone of my body she was right, and it disturbed me greatly. From the outside it probably looked to many people that I had embraced my greatness, but I knew I was holding myself back. Even as a successful woman business owner who guided executives and companies toward being more effective leaders and businesses, I knew that this massage therapist who hardly even knew me had picked up on a deeply buried secret. Her comment haunted me for days. And slowly but deliberately I began to push myself way beyond what was comfortable – to do what was going to work for me as opposed to being only concerned with other people's needs. To focus on a bigger platform for myself and my work. How many of us "successful" women still have a hard time going all the way to the top of the mountain? How many of us still don't believe that we are the heroine of our own journey? How many of us try to squeeze into someone else's model of success even while we know deep inside that we are not quite completely honest with ourselves and could be so much more – personally, professionally, spiritually and emotionally? Leadership. It has to start with taking risks – risks to embrace our greatness. Risks that others may not understand. Risks that will most likely upset the status quo as we try on new behaviors. Risks that help us to break out of stifling situations. Greatness does not come without making courageous decisions. What courageous decision have you made today? Which ones are you getting ready to make? Karen Glatzer is the founder and president of GH Consulting, a consultancy specializing in leadership development and executive coaching. Contact her at 770.454.8229 or kglatzer@ghconsultinggroup.net. To comment on this blog, e-mail blog@pinkmagazine.comand enter "Karen Glatzer" in the subject line. |
|
