Tag Archive for: personal growth

Leadership Spotlight: The Key To Performance is Executing

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We’re excited to announce that after appearing on Episode #31 of the Elevate Business Podcast, Jeff McCann has been selected for the Intuity Performance Leadership Spotlight series.

Jeff McCann, is shaking up the insurance tech industry, leading his team as CEO at APOLLO Insurance. Combining his experience in developing digital marketing solutions, and ten plus years in the industry, Jeff is shaping the future of how people buy insurance. He is also a professional travel writer and you can find his publications at the Vancouver Sun and National Post.

Here are the top 3 insights Jeff shared with the community.

1. What was it that turned you from corporate to starting your own business?

I think that it’s a product of the Vancouver ecosystem. You know, we’re very fortunate to have the HootSuite’s of the world that are leading the way and to be surrounded by entrepreneurs and people who have started businesses. There was a very marquee kind of moment with a mentor/adviser of ours. He had built a company over 13 years and ended up having a great business and I’m like, well, wait a minute, all these people are starting businesses in other areas of tech. We can go do that too.

I think the word entrepreneur is kind of a weird word. I think people use it in different ways, it surrounds these titans that people look up to like Elon Musk, but also, there’s a lot of everyday people that are building great businesses. So I think it really breaks that barrier when you’re surrounded by people that have done it, and that can help and advise you.

2. What does the word performance mean to you and what role has it played in your journey?

Performance is definitely an interesting word. I played sports while growing up and ended up playing football at University. I think performance was always something that was really a focus of mine. I think that kind of grit and work ethic goes a long way. I was never really the most talented athlete, just on a raw basis, but I was always able to work hard through that and sort of drive that performance. So I think for me, the word resonates around hard work preparation and then putting in the extra grind

I think you can translate that when you start a company, in terms of the extra hours you have to put in, because sometimes you have to overcompensate for the things you don’t know by learning, by reading, by talking to advisers. I think where we translate that word performance for me is in the word execute. The execution is something that is taken for granted. People think you go start a business and it’s all going to happen, but you have to be able to knock things off the list.

Your performance is measured by how much you can execute? Can you do what you say you’re going to do one month to the next, quarter over quarter? This is what gives your investors confidence. It gives your team and your employees confidence. So for me, performance is all about execution.

3. Stepping into this new role, shifting from the corporate environment to starting your own business, what have been some key learnings you’ve had as CEO and leading a team?

Yeah, that’s a great question, I think being a first-time CEO there is a lot to learn. For me, the path has been to choose authenticity. I think remaining authentic resonates with the team. It resonates with investors – being able to communicate what you don’t know, as much as demonstrate your expertise. I think that really gives people confidence that you’re not going to embellish, you’re not going to overreach on things. I think if you check your ego at the door, then it’s a lot easier to be a great teammate.

Being a CEO can put you in a vulnerable position, it can be lonely. If you can drop your ego and bring your collaborators in with you, and demonstrate that vulnerability, and be authentic, I think that goes a long way. You have to stay authentic and be that same person regardless of your accumulated success.

I think that’s been the biggest thing for me, and it’s played out well in terms of my relationships with the team, with investors, and all the way through, the bigger it gets, the more unreal everything gets. You check your bank account one day and you have 14 million bucks in it. You’re like, all right, and stay the course of being yourself and being authentic.

If you’re interested in hearing more from our Spotlight Leaders check out Todd Usen’s Leadership Spotlight on Building Team Trust.

Leadership Spotlight: Difficult Conversations

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Hi, and a warm welcome to The Human Side of Business Podcast. I’m your host Ange MacCabe. I have the pleasure of introducing you to Diana Butler.

Diana is an HR professional working in the tech industry with a passion for people and an interest in how focusing on individual needs can drive performance in the workplace.

Leave Your Issues at The Door

Diana Butler: We hear a lot of people say, leave your home issues at home. We don’t have space for them at work. Right? And that’s not really fair. You can’t ask people to completely shut off areas in their life that they’re maybe struggling with or trying to understand better. I see it. As humans, things happening in our lives consume us. There’s a point where we need to just let people be who they are and have that conversation. What’s going on? Something seems off right now. Are you okay? And that is something that’s frowned upon. We’re getting better. Companies are doing better, and managers are doing better at taking a human-centric approach. And at the core of it, it frees people up to not have to hide the heavy. We talk at work as if we’re a family. Well, if somebody’s going through stuff and all you can think about are metrics, it’s like, okay, great, but there’s something off.

Why Self-awareness Is Important in the Workplace

Diana Butler: I’m at work, and something is incredibly triggering me today, and I don’t have the self-awareness around it; then I’m going to charge through my day and tear everything up in my path. Right? And so to me, that’s, oh, I see something. They’re triggering me. I need to be curious about it. What’s going on? You can drill down a little bit. For me, it’s, well, maybe I thought I was supporting correctly, and now I feel like I didn’t help. Right. And now I’m like I’m not good enough at this moment? And some people double down. Well, now I’m going to really prove it. And so, like, I’m just going to shrink. And that’s something I used to do. I used to shrink when I felt that little bit of, like, a pullback from maybe I didn’t do good enough. But if I haven’t worked on that in myself, that trigger can really cause issues in the relationships around me.

Framing Difficult Conversations as Opportunities

Ange MacCabe: Not that we want to approach every conversation with it being challenging or complex or difficult, but when they do arise, having the culture set in place, at the end of the day, we trust that we’re looking at this from a place of curiosity in the first instance and navigating it from a place of problem-solving. My business partner and I – whenever we’re strategizing, we make jokes, you know, Are you ready to rumble? Because we know what that signals to each other is that we may have disagreements, but at the end of the day, we’re two very different people that complement each other, which makes our business great. And so it’s ensuring that your team members know it’s okay to have differences of opinion. It’s how we go about it. And trusting that at the end of the conversation, we may not always have a resolution immediately, but minimally, we’re going to have some action steps or something else to percolate on so we can come back to the table for future conversations.

Having Difficult Conversations Can Lead To Team Connectivity

Diana Butler: People inherently want to do a really great job. And sometimes you hear the conversations of, oh, they’re lazy, or they don’t want to do this but are you motivating them correctly? Also, difficult conversations don’t always arise when something goes wrong. For some people, a hard conversation is getting to that next level of connection. And that’s where the magic is because you find out what makes people tick, and you find out, oh my gosh, you’re curious about this, and you’re motivated by this. I’ve been thinking about a project, and this is where we’re aligning. And so it’s giving people the freedom to express and be who they are without fear of, I’m not going to fit in here differently. And that creates the space for people to showcase the gifts and abilities we don’t see on a resume.

If you’re interested in learning more from our Spotlight Leaders check out Jeff McCann’s Leadership Spotlight on: The Key to Performance is Executing

How to Effectively Lead Your People While Scaling

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Hi, and a warm welcome to The Human Side of Business Podcast. I’m your host Ange MacCabe. I am pleased to introduce you to Ryan Benn, CEO and Group Publisher at

Alive Publishing Group Inc.

In this episode, Ryan dives into the strategies behind establishing effective workplace relationships and how that translates to scaling business.

Building Effective Teams

Ryan Benn: So then it’s a way that makes sense for me because I think many of us would default to going out and being like, I’m going to hire the best person for that job. And then you go separately, two months later, I’m going to hire the best person for that job. I’m going to hire the best IT manager. I’m going to hire the best HR manager. I’m going to hire the best accountant that you can find. Kind of logical. It’s kind of how the process is built. It’s expected, right? You end up with the best in everything, and you go, none of these people want to work together. None of them are collaborative. They all have different interests. And this whole thing is breaking down.

Culture Misalignment

Ange MacCabe: What drives me crazy is when people in positions of power talk about their employees, like their family, to create that psychological contract, but they don’t treat them like family. Right. What you’re subscribing to, or what I’m hearing from you, is that you have a community, and it feels family-orientated. Like there is authenticity in what you’re saying, Ryan, which is absolutely amazing, the other piece that comes up for me is often, team members come into the workplace that they’re not going to be like, I’m going to do a shit job for Ryan today. They’re going to be like, I want to do the best job ever, and I don’t know how to do it. So I’m going to stress myself out until I get there. As leaders, the onus is on us to be able to help mentor, not manage the work-life integration pieces. And so that when you really know your people and what motivates them. For some people, they really do need that black and white.

Work is work. Personal is personal, and I need that divide, or I can’t shut off, and it stresses me out. If that’s their persona, then it’s leaning into them to help mentor so that it fits from a culture or company perspective.

Not Subscribing to Old School Leadership Styles

Ryan Benn: When you’re aware of your blind spots and accept them or work to change them. It really helps because these are such buzzwords when I say things like transparency and authenticity. But I really believe in them from a leadership perspective. I think it’s the modern world; I don’t think leaders should be viewed as infallible and more knowledgeable than everybody else. I think it’s such an old-school approach to leadership.

Relentlessly Self Aware

Ange MacCabe: Stepping back a little bit. You had identified early on that you were able to really go inward and identify your strengths and areas of growth, and therefore, you were able to hire for your weaknesses, and you were vulnerable about the same. That takes a bit of self-reflection and cause and effect. Ryan in the sense of being able to do this in a two-pronged step. So, one, what’s going on with me internally? And then two, how do I communicate that and exhibit that to my team members so that there’s actual validity behind what I’m saying versus discredit? What was your approach to that? How did you go about it?

Ryan Benn: Yeah. Super interesting. It’s not easy, and for me, it probably came easier. I don’t know why, nature vs. nurture, I’m not sure. But for certain, I think the skill is, I would say, relentlessly self-aware.

I like to be able to think that I can walk out of here and say, listen, you might not like it, I might not like it, but I’m this, then I can at least say, well, I want to change that, or I don’t want to change that, but at least knowing that it’s actually there. I think blind spots in leadership are one of the hardest things, which is not being able to step back and say, how are others viewing me?

You Can’t Fake Experience

Ryan Benn: From a leadership perspective. One of the things I’ve realized is that in one of my coin lines, you can’t fake experience. So when I was first jumping into the role, I could have energy, I could have vitality, I could have leadership skills, but I’d never been through a recession, I’d never led change, I never acquired a company, I’d never done any of these things. So first acknowledging that was a big point of personal growth for me was accepting the fact that I didn’t bring that experience. How was I going to surround myself and gain that experience with having peers and leadership around me and, at the same time, just being comfortable with the fact that I could ask questions and say, I’ve never done this before?

For more leadership insights check out my blog: Fostering Community

Link to full podcast episode

Establishing Honest Communication Within your Organization

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Hi, and a warm welcome to The Human Side of Business Podcast. I’m your host Ange MacCabe. I’m pleased to introduce you to Steven Gaffney, President and CEO at Steven Gaffney Company.

For 20+ years, Steven has been helping top leaders, teams, and organizations create Consistent, High-Achieving Teams across all organizations. Steven is a consultant, public speaker and author with a passion for unlocking and teaching people how to communicate at high-achieving and consistent levels.

In this episode, Steven and I examine what it takes to establish honest communication within the workplace and why it’s essential for an organization’s ROI.

Emotionally Intelligent Communication

Steven Gaffney: When I talk about honest communication, I’m talking about a certain element of that, and that’s about what people don’t say to each other. In fact, if people forget everything out of what we’re going to talk about, the most important message right up front is the biggest problem in life is not what people say; it’s actually what they don’t say to each other. It’s, you know, withholding, although people don’t like that. Oh, I’m not lying. Well, if you let somebody not say something to you and you feel like they lied to you, that is a breakdown of trust, so the key is to get the unsaid items said.

Whole Person Performance

Ange MacCabe: I think that it’s safe to speak, and so I speak, and then it’s like I’m taken aback based on others’ reactions. And I’m kind of like, well, wait. I thought we were supposed to talk this way, and then I’m feeling kind of like I have this vulnerability hangover. And to your point, I’m on the blacklist, and I still believe that there’s a lot more work that needs to be done because what you’re speaking to, Steven, is having kind of that emotional Whole Person Performance approach is kind of what we dub here at Intuity Performance. Whole Person Performance, meaning that our hearts and feelings aren’t left at home; they come with us. We’re a whole package, and so separating our work self from our personal self is no longer a thing. But then, how do you help employers feel comfortable? Because from a societal perspective, it’s been so uncomfortable to talk about feelings in the workplace or to get deep in the workplace or even personal in the workplace.

Creating Emotional Safety

Steven Gaffney: In my experiences, and I’ve been at this for over 25 years is, people can think it’s safe, but they need to feel that it’s safe. It’s about creating that emotional safety, and that is the most important trait in a leader. Because if you create that emotional safety, people will share stuff, and you don’t have to make all the right decisions because if something goes the wrong direction, people will tell you if they fear the outcome of speaking up, they’ll shut down. So creating that emotional safety is the key.

Redefining Comfort

Ange MacCabe: How do you move people from a place of discomfort to comfort? Because that’s a learned behaviour, for sure.

Steven Gaffney: Well, first of all, is to reframe comfort. When we’re uncomfortable, that’s a sign of growth. It’s not a sign to stop. Now, there are certain exceptions to that, but overall, somebody will say, well, I’m just not comfortable with that, and I’m like, okay, so what’s your point? But actually, when we grow in life – I can think of many, many teachers and mentors of mine from whom I’ve learned so much and who pushed me to do something. Sometimes I was like, I don’t even agree. But I did it, and I’m so thankful.

If you’re interested in learning more from our Spotlight Leaders check out Gabriel Cowan’s Leadership Spotlight on: Creating a Healthy and Consistent Company Culture

Make sure to follow/subscribe so you don’t miss an episode! New episodes of The Human Side of Business Podcast air bi-weekly on Mondays at 1 pm ET.

The Super Power of DISC

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Chances are you’ve taken a personality profile test at some point in your professional journey.

These tests are often used in HR to fill leadership positions and help organizations build productive and successful teams. They also can provide great insight for personal growth, goal setting and achievements.

With a solid nod to the man who created Wonder Woman, Dr William Moulton Marston (BA Harvard University, LLB Harvard Law School, PhD Psychology, Harvard University) not only invented the first lie detector test and authored numerous self help books, but developed the DISC model for non-judgmental behavioural assessment that has become very popular and useful in the modern workplace.

I see DISC as a superpower that everyone can harness and deploy.

DISC is broken down into 4 primary behavioural tendencies and emotions: Dominant, Influencing, Steady, Conscientious.

We all have natural styles as well as adapted styles, and more than one. Awareness and understanding of our styles combined with the recognition of the styles of others, through the development of empathy, a key component in using DISC successfully leads to more effective communications, enhanced relationships, better problem solving, reduced conflicts, greater motivation, improved morale, stronger leadership, and higher job satisfaction.

Ready to dive in? Contact us today!

Navigating Our New Normal

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As we navigate COVID-19 and what our new ‘normal’ will be, there are a few things that come top of mind. Part one of this two blog post series is about our ‘new normal’. Our primary focus is: self-kindness and self-awareness are the roots of managing stressors with positivity.

How we act in response to where we are at with self-kindness and self-awareness can determine our results and outcomes with both professional and personal relationships.

We Are Out of Our Element: Self-Kindness is Key

For some of us, work has stopped completely, or maybe slowed to a ‘work what you can’ from home schedule, to working in a totally changed environment that can be downright scary to some.

Sidebar, thank you to all front line professionals: we see you, we love you, we are grateful for what you are doing for everyone.

In some situations, it is not top of mind that living in this industrial world has conditioned us to have, generally speaking ‘high’ expectations of outcomes and productivity regardless of our environment.

Self-kindness is key more so now than ever before. Self-kindness can take many forms but what I’m talking about is self-kindness first to ourselves. How can we give to our teams, our spouses or our children if we are spinning ourselves?

Now, we must let go of any predetermined notion of what we anticipated accomplishing in the next month, three months, six months and maybe even a year. I am not saying give up on our goals but immediate results and response is the adjustment needed. It’s tough and we are all living it, but just think about how much space and energy we free up for ourselves if we let go of previous expectations of outcomes and all that self-pressure.

These question may be of value in assessing whether realignment with self-kindness is needed:

  • How are my current self-expectations impacting me?
  • Do I have current beliefs of outcomes that are holding me back?
  • What am I doing, right now, to ensure I am kind to myself?

Figuring out how much is in our way or weighing us down is a powerful form of self-kindness and discovery. Minimally, ensuring that we are taken care of through self-care (exercise, sleep, nutritious food and anything else that is a positive change) can allow us to have space for those important things like pivoting, realigning and innovating.

Now is the Time to Elevate our Self-Awareness

Did you know that Emotional Quotient (EQ) is a leading indicator of whether you are a successful leader? Studies have shown that over 87% of leaders who engage with and look to positively impact their teams (servant leaders) have higher levels of EQ and most importantly self-awareness.

So what is self-awareness? In short, self-awareness is the ability to understand in the moment how situations trigger and impact you along with your external responses and how to align your actions with your values. Although many leaders (and individuals) believe they are self-aware only 10-15% studied have been deemed self-aware. Self-awareness is a small proponent but largely important in the grand scheme of emotional intelligence.

Unlike Intelligence Quotient (IQ), EQ can be strengthened, just like focusing on a core group of muscles for strength and endurance.

So how do you start? By doing an EQ assessment(s) for your baseline and looking for candid and honest feedback from individuals you trust. Then you can understand your blind spots and where you want to focus for growth. It is only upon repetition that we can shift our habits and actions.

These questions may be of value:

  • What would you want to discover more about your emotional quotient (EQ)?
  • If you were to discover your EQ how do you think it would impact your professional/personal life?
  • What areas of EQ do you want to learn more about to elevate your professional/personal growth?

A Habit for Mindless Distractions

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I’m in the middle of creating a PowerPoint for an upcoming presentation and my younger sister calls.

I pull myself away to answer the phone, but that only lasts momentarily, before I begin checking my emails. Splitting my attention, between our conversation and emails without even noticing.

I close my emails and pull myself back into the conversation. Although again only minutes later I find myself browsing the web!! Has this ever happened to you? Engaging in mindless distractions when you should be focused on one? Multitasking, while on the phone.

Scrolling through Instagram, during a webinar. Answering a text, while mid-conversation with someone. That last one really ticks me off. But it’s no better than checking my emails while on the phone with my sister. And it’s not that our conversation wasn’t interesting. But these days I’ve noticed myself dividing my focus between activities.

Why has it become so difficult to stay concentrated on one thing at a time?

Mindless Distractions

As great as it’s been growing up in the digital age, it does have its drawbacks. Technology has created expectations to respond at all times of the day and made it easy to let small things pass us by.

The era of sharing everything has connected the world like never before through Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. But living in a fast-paced online environment, we’re continually trying to catch up, because it keeps evolving.

The devices in our pockets have provided a network for relentless distraction and stimulation. Forming larger barriers to social interaction, than the connections they were created to make.

The exponential growth of technology has made us less social than more, no matter how many Facebook friends you might have.

These pressures have had adverse consequences on our health. With only so many big milestones to celebrate, what happens when you forget to relish the small wins?

Millennials, in particular, are suffering from depression and anxiety at a greater ratio than any other generation due to perfectionist pressures. Always striving to become better has made burnout and stress-related issues a norm.

When your automatic choices begin to be detrimental to your health and happiness, you can longer rely on them. Isolated and alone, it’s easier to resort to mindless distractions than look around and engage in a conversation with a stranger.

Developing a habit of spending unconscious time on mindless distractions has created a need for more conscious living.

Ah!! But what can we do?

In a connected society, we have to be intentional with the time we spend on distractions. Learning to become present with what we’re doing in the moment. Technology is not a bad thing when used properly. Avoiding splitting your attention by focusing on one thing.

For example,

Paying attention and contributing to the online meeting you’re in. Actively listening to the conversation you’re having – in person or on the phone. Working on one task at a time and completing it, before moving onto the next. Become self-aware when you engage in mindless distractions and look towards dedicating conscious time to what you’re doing.

Self-Awareness Strategies

Here are 4 techniques that you can implement to practice avoiding mindless distractions:

  1. Meditate: Learn to let your thoughts come and go rather than suffocate your mind. Begin with something as short as a couple minutes of deep breathing.
  2. Pomodoro Technique: Use this productivity hack to increase your focus on a task. Blocking outside distractions will raise your awareness and productivity drastically.
  3. Practice Gratitude: Place a journal or piece of paper next to your bed and write down 3 things you’re grateful for each day. Use it as a reminder to stop and enjoy the small joys in your day.
  4. High-Intensity Exercise: When your heart rate is beating at 80% capacity; it’s difficult to focus on anything but the exercise you are doing.

Habit Challenge

Do you find yourself engaging in mindless distractions out of habit, rather than a conscious choice?

If you always reach for your phone when you stand in line, what would happen if you stopped yourself and just stood in line?

Try and leave your phone in a drawer, when you’re working on a task. Close down your computer when talking on the phone. Eat lunch away from your desk and socialize with others in your household/office.

Or use one of the 4 strategies above to create more self-awareness.

Whatever you choose, the goal is to develop greater awareness around the habit for mindless distractions. Don’t look to change anything at first but rather discover how frequently it occurs and go from there.

Becoming The Master Of Your Inner Voice

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How often does that inner voice pop into your head?

You know the one. It’s always there to provide you with an excuse, self-doubt or anxiety. It shows up when you need it least. Well, I’d like you to meet Barry, my inner voice.

He comes alive when I’m in bed and the alarm goes off. Telling me, I NEED 5 more minutes – like its life and death. He is there when I push my comfort zone. Reminding me of the worst possible outcome, assuring me that it will occur. Nagging me to choose mindless distractions over what I need to do.

Barry can also be encouraging – but only when it comes to working on what’s easy over what’s hard.

That inner voice serves a great purpose, to protect and make us aware of immediate dangers. Although this worked well while living in the wild, the only hazard I’m facing now is when I forget to pick up oat milk for my wife’s morning coffee!

In the world we live in today, that inner voice may be holding you back from reaching your full potential.

Taking the first step

Taking the first step can be difficult, or it can be easy. It’s easy to procrastinate, but hard to get started.

It’s easy to press snooze, but hard to get up and go to the gym. The first step determines which direction you’ll go in – productive or distracted. Fulfilling your goals or procrastinating on them. But there is a way to take back control — a way to override the inner voice that is holding you back from achieving something great.

5 seconds to succeed

You see, Barry is quick to jump to a conclusion, but he’s slow to react. There is a small window of opportunity where I don’t have to negotiate with him. Author Mel Robbins calls this, The 5 Second Rule. In those first 5 seconds, Barry is still hibernating and doesn’t realize what we’re about to do.

Counting down 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 Springing out of bed at the sound of your alarm. Starting that report you know is due tomorrow. Making that sales call you’ve been dreading all week.

Taking action before the inner voice realizes what’s going on. Beating it to the punch before it can make a list of excuses, causing inaction.

Two minutes to greatness

Another technique written about by James Clear is called the two-minute rule. If you’re looking for a boost of motivation for taking on a looming task or project, this is the technique for you. The idea is to focus on the first 2 minutes of any project. Your only goal is to achieve those first two minutes. Anything that happens after is inconsequential. Get a coffee or tea and begin to write an outline.

Pack your gym bag and get in the car. Sit down and begin meditating. The sole purpose is to focus on completing the first two minutes of any task. Who can’t get motivated to complete two-minutes of an activity? I can even convince Barry quite easily to commit to this one.

Once the two-minutes are up, you can stop what you’re doing guilt-free. But by focusing on getting started, you’re more likely to continue. Use the two-minute rule as a source of motivation to overcome your inner voice and take on dreaded tasks or challenges you can’t seem to get started on.

Habit Challenge

It might sound odd, naming your inner voice. But when you own it, you become more aware of it. And through greater awareness, you can begin to slowly change its narrative. Who’s that inner voice that is holding you back? What if you didn’t have to listen to it anymore? What could you accomplish? We’ve seen that the first step is the most difficult, yet the most important. How you decide to act in the face of resistance will influence the steps that follow. Put into practice the

5-second rule and try it out for yourself.

Tomorrow morning as the sound of the alarm count down 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 and jump out of bed without a second thought. Or focus on the first two minutes of any task and hold yourself accountable to only completing those first 120 seconds. You might fail at first, but that’s ok. The key is to focus on progress over perfection and keep practicing until it becomes a habit.

Becoming the master of your inner voice.

How Daily Tracking Can Help You Reach Your Goals

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If you begin tracking your daily routines or habits, you’ll begin to find some flaws in your memory. You might not be eating as healthy, burning as many calories on your runs or being as productive with your time at work as you think you are.

Our brains aren’t developed to store information, but rather be inventive and creative. That’s why tracking is more reliable, but you may be surprised at what you will find.

Why Should You Think About Daily Tracking?

Effective tracking can provide a better success rate in creating new habits, increase your productivity and hold you accountable. Tracking your actions will provide clear performance results. It will keep you honest by increasing your self-awareness and provide motivation through a chain of successful days, weeks or even months.

In the past, meditation was always a difficult habit for me to develop. Every time I’d start I would do well at first, and then my practice would fall apart. I had my excuses; not enough time, I forgot, or I thought I was meditating more often than I was – until my Insight Timer app would display a “two-day streak.” I struggled to make meditation a daily practice.

I only became successful after I started tracking my results and tying meditation to an existing habit. After my morning shower, I’d take 10 minutes to meditate and then check it off my list. I tracked every day I meditated, and the odd days I missed. After I had completed a week in a row, I became more motivated to keep the practice going. Every day, I’d take my morning shower and then head to the same spot in my condo, sit down and meditate. Through tracking and attaching it to one of my daily habits, it was easier to make meditating a regular practice.

The Dark Side of Tracking

Tracking can have a positive effect in achieving your goals, although negative consequences can occur– when tracking becomes too much.

Recently, a friend showed me his habit tracker and all of the activities he regularly completes – getting up early, stretching, doing push-ups/plank every morning. He proudly revealed his meditation app indicating 107 days in a row! I was impressed.

He went on to tell me a story about how on Day 79, after meditating on the plane, his streak reset to zero due to a time zone change. Understandably, he became upset and ended up contacting the app to update his streak.

This is where I realized the negative side effects of tracking. When crossing off your task becomes more important than the benefits of the activity, you might want to stop and re-evaluate.

If you find yourself falling down this path, miss a day on purpose.

The point of creating a habit isn’t to create the winning streak of the century! It’s to benefit from creating a long-term habit by using tracking to assist you. Be aware if your competitive nature might be getting the best of you.

There are many more apps you can use, find one that works best for you. Or you can play it old school and keep track of your activities via pen & paper or on a calendar. However, an app provides better accessibility, and you can even set daily reminders!

Habit Challenge

If you have doubts about tracking, just try it – what do you have to lose?

Identify a few specific habits, that contribute to your performance at work and well-being. Spend a week tracking how many times you go to the gym, what you eat or how often you perform a bad or good habit. If you forget or miss a day, let it go, and pick it up the next day. Create consistency and avoid missing twice in a row.

If you take on too much it’ll be difficult to do it over the long term, so start slow.

Determine your WHY by asking yourself what is motivating you to improve this area of your life? Use this as a reminder during times of struggle or distress. Understanding why you are doing something will help you stay motivated to make the activity a habit.

Take action today and pick one specific habit or daily action that you already do or want to start and begin tracking it regularly. Post your commitment in the comments below and I’ll follow up to hold you accountable 🙂

Leading Staff Through Change

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The global pandemic has brought forward major change to the way we work but teams need to prepare themselves for additional iterations of what work looks like in this day and age since organizations are bound to evolve if they want to prosper. Leading staff through change and giving them the tools to perform to the best of their ability is therefore imperative.

Innovation as a Centrepiece

Change can be traumatic even when we know about it ahead of time. But having to deal with something new without any notice is stressful – for management and staff alike.

This being said, change is not always bad.

As a leader, you must learn to welcome change yourself, and to encourage a similar mindset within your team.

In fact, according to the McKinsey Global Survey, companies are more than five times more likely to have a successful transformation when leaders have role-modeled the behavior changes they are asking of their employees.

Lead the change, don’t let it lead you. In other words, place change and innovation at the centre of your organization. Encourage yourself and others to question the status quo, to be creative and to think outside of the box.

This is a great way to tackle the beast and to nurture positive conversations on the topic. When innovation is part of everything that we do, when we are constantly challenged to change our perspectives, we are better prepared to welcome change, even when it is unforeseen or negative.

Obviously, the time will come when change will happen whether you like it or not. But leading your organization as if change could happen any day will make it better prepared for the real challenges ahead.

The Role of Empowerment

Organizations that encourage staff empowerment perceive risk-taking and mistakes as opportunities for employees and employers alike to learn and to grow.

The trust you display by handing over the reins to your team allows for innovation to emerge and encourages workers to experiment and to share new ideas – making them feel more at ease with change and therefore more inspired and more satisfied in their job.

Leading staff through change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a long process that constantly needs to be tweaked, refined and reinforced.

Empowering your team slowly but surely is one thing you can do to set it up for success before change hits.

1. Encourage personal growth

Act as a mentor to your team or implement a mentorship program. Provide professional development opportunities inside and outside of the office. If you cannot pay for them, be at least flexible towards your staff’ work schedule so they can attend classes, and make your commitment to personal growth known within the organization.

Identifying potential within staff and offering them early leadership experiences is also the way to go.

Whether it’s from a hard skills or human skills perspective, providing skilling opportunities to your talents will not only improve their satisfaction and retention but also make them more rounded individuals capable of taking on new challenges to support the organization in the future.

2. Leverage your team’ strengths

Indeed, we all have something new to learn. But it’s also important to be cognisant of people’s personalities, strengths and weaknesses. In the wrong job, the most talented and dedicated individual can become miserable and underperforming. Place people where they have the most potential to thrive.

3. Encourage time off

Observe your team. Take note of their time off. Whenever you see someone in need of a vacation or even just someone who hasn’t taken some time off in a while, encourage them to do so. Disconnecting from work and resting can do miracles for performance.

4. Show appreciation

As obvious as it may sound, leaders don’t express their appreciation often enough . Even when something may seem trivial, take time to thank your staff and to express how grateful you are for them, even if it’s just by stopping by their desk or sending them a heartfelt email. We all need a tap in the back every now and then.

5. Learn to forgive

We’ve said a lot about the importance of creative thinking to develop an innovative and ‘ready-for-change’ workforce. But not all ideas are brilliant. When an individual fails, practise forgiveness. Employees cannot thrive when afraid of being reprimanded. Use failures as opportunities to learn and to grow.

Need help?

Intuity Performance can support you in leading staff through change. We offer educational, training and coaching solutions on individual and team performance and can also create effective systems that are personalized to your specific organizational needs, in collaboration with your HR team in place.

Intuity Performance applies a Whole Person Performance approach to cultivate an environment for growth within organizations. Contact us to find out more.