How do we find our purpose? Do you like what you’re doing right now? Is this your passion?

If not, why are you doing it?

As a mentor, I speak about how finding our purpose is a process - not an easy one, but a difficult yet fulfilling one that creates change and leads us towards our best selves.

Finding our purpose is a journey. To find our purpose and passion in life, we must become aware of who we are.

Finding our passion helps us reach our potential.

And it starts with knowing yourself.

When we start to get to know ourselves, we learn more about our strengths and blind spots, as well as our interests and opportunities.

We must be able to gauge not only where we have been, but where we are going. Otherwise, we endure the potential of losing ourselves.

“You have to know who you are to grow to your potential. But you have to grow in order to know who you are.” - John Maxwell

To grow, John Maxwell suggests we focus on what is REAL: relationships, equipping,...

The Secret to Engagement

Some of the best lessons in life come from the youngest among us. As adults, all we need to do is watch and learn. In fact, we'd do well to copy some of the attitudes and behaviours of children. Last year, we were in Newfoundland visiting family and we took our three-year-old granddaughter out for pizza at a popular restaurant. Waiting for food to arrive can be difficult for children. In most restaurants, there are a few children getting antsy and starting to fuss. That's human nature when a person is bored. Children feel boredom sooner than most.

But this pizza joint was different. Although the place was filled with children, none of them were fussing. Every child in the place was busy and happy. Here's the reason why--they were being creative. A waitress came to our table and took our order. Then she asked our granddaughter if she'd like to make a pizza of her own. Wow, you should have seen our granddaughter's face. She said yes with enthusiasm and they...

Do you know that understanding different personality types can help you grow as a leader?

Anyone who is in a leadership position knows that leadership requires patience and understanding. This is true whether the person has been a leader for years, or is only beginning to acquire leadership skills. It is also true whether the person is an employee or a business owner.

What is it about leadership that demands so much patience and understanding? The answer is simple: people.

During my training sessions, I emphasize that a great leader takes time to understand every member of their team by spending time with them and learning about their personality type. This requires a lot of patience, time, commitment, and understanding.

"When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity."

• Dale Carnegie, author of "How to Win Friends and Influence...

Do you have good communication skills?

When I speak with young leaders, I ask them a simple question that tells me a lot about their ability to communicate:

What are the two most essential values you've learned from your grandparents? 

Most people respond quickly, and most people give more than two values. And when I listen to their answers, a common theme tends to emerge.

The values that most young people learn from their grandparents, and cherish the most, are based on two things: forming strong connections and showing leadership.

During one of my training sessions, a young person told me that his grandparents attended 43 of the 45 hockey games he played while growing up. By being in the audience, his grandparents connected with him in a way that goes beyond support.

They participated in his life.

And isn’t that what connecting is all about? People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Never underestimate the power of connecting. It will...

To say we are living in uncertain times is an understatement. As our businesses, economy and personal lives are impacted by COVID-19, the rules of engagement are changing on a daily basis. But one thing that stands solid is the need for and importance of true leaders.  

In times of struggle, leaders are key to helping people navigate uncharted waters. They can see the trip ahead and predict hazards that might arise. They are also empathic and acknowledge to the emotional turmoil people are experiencing. That is what inspires people to follow their vision.

John C. Maxwell recognizes the importance of navigation in leadership. The Law of Navigation is one of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” discussed in his book.

Navigation skills

Where do leaders gain these crucial navigation skills? They gain them the same way any sea captain does – by leading the ship over calm and stormy seas. While the experiences they gain are vital, that’s not where they gain...

Active listening. Do you practice it regularly? Do you understand why it is so important, and how it helps you understand people?

Well, being able to understand people is the greatest asset anyone can have.

In their book, Becoming a Person of Influence, John Maxwell and Jim Dornan remind us that being able to understand others can have a positive impact on more than just your success in business.

In fact, active listening can impact every area of your life.

So how can we become better at understanding the people in our life?

It starts with communication.

Often when we think about communication, we focus on talking. Yet, that’s not exactly right. The most powerful aspect of communication is not talking.

It's listening.

More than anything, most of us yearn to be really heard. (You can learn more about why we all yearn to be heard here)

When we feel that the person we're with is really listening, we feel respected. If you listen with care and ask questions to make sure you...

“True leadership lies in guiding others to success.” - Bill Owens

What are your thoughts on truth and trust in leadership?

In their book titled The Real-Life MBA, Suzy and Jack Welch boil leadership down to its two essential components—truth and trust.

Based on years of leadership experience, they worked out an organizing principle we can all benefit from using.

It’s called “truth and trust leadership”.

What is truth and trust leadership?

“Truth-and-trust leadership … is an overarching approach – an organizing principle – that drives everything leaders do every day, whether they are in staff meetings, performance evaluations, strategy sessions or budget reviews, or everything else in between."

In order to be a leader, you have to seek truth.

You also have to trust others, and have others seek that trust in you.

Seeking truth in leadership means being open and honest. True leaders never settle for suppositions or...

Do you know what it takes to prioritize?

Prioritizing things in life isn't the easiest thing to do. It takes careful thinking.

And it takes time.

When our schedules become loaded with deadlines and responsibilities, it’s completely natural to just want to keep chugging along.

But without taking time to take a step back and really make sure that we are focusing on the right things, we may not be serving our organization—or ourselves.

What brings the most value to your organization? Is it your effort, your leadership, your communication skills?

If you have trouble understanding what brings value to your organization, you may want to consider some tips for prioritizing that can help you better serve your organization.

Sometimes, we can become so focused on catching up with our workload, that we begin to forget the starting point for every single day.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” - Stephen Covey

...

Empowering leaders hire the best people and trust them to do their job. If the team can function well without them, they take satisfaction in knowing they’ve led well.

 To learn more, visit our blog

 
The best is yet to come. It starts with you.

Your friends,
The UpCloseTeam

Do you know how to stay focused, even when you’re faced with distractions?

Look it up in a dictionary, and you will read that a “distraction” is anything that divides your attention or prevents you from concentrating.

When is the last time you were unable to concentrate on what was happening at work or at home?

It happens all the time, and it can prevent us from staying focused, accomplishing our goals, and being great leaders.

Our lives are filled with things competing for our attention. The phone rings. New messages appear in your email. You go to the internet for a specific piece of information and end up reading something completely different.

A co-worker walks into your office for a quick chat. A friend invites you to go for coffee.

We all deal with dozens of distractions every day of our lives. Some of them are welcome, like having lunch with a friend. But if we allow ourselves to give way to every distraction that crosses our path, we lose focus on our goals...