Good day, team,

The title of this coach’s challenge could be “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Recently, in an attempt to upgrade my television service, I had the worst customer service experience I’ve ever encountered. Here are just a few of the low points:

The customer service department was located in the Philippines, although it’s an American company with corporate offices in Colorado. The customer service representatives go by the book, no matter what: Any question or situation that is not part of standard operating procedure is beyond their ability to understand, respond to or try to fix in any way.

I ended up calling the customer service department 17 times over a period of three weeks, and each time I had to explain my problems to a new representative. Even after having talked with a supervisor or manager, I had to start all over again each time I called.

The customer service representatives and supervisors I spoke with gave me inaccurate information and, in some cases, lied to me about service dates, the whereabouts of technicians, and adjustments that would be made to my account for the mistakes they had already made.

No one at the company who works in customer service ever called me back or initiated a phone call to try to straighten out the mess the company had caused.

The technicians they used were local subcontractors who, I later discovered, have as much difficulty getting straight answers or instructions from the customer service department as I did.

I’ve been a customer for three and a half years. During that time, I’ve paid this company approximately $3,000 for television service. Not one person within the customer service organization at this company cared about these facts. As far as they were concerned, I was just like anyone else calling in.

Over time, I discovered unprecedented four-letter words in my vocabulary.

After getting so frustrated that my blood pressure started rising, I finally tried to cancel the service, which I hadn’t yet received, only to find out that I couldn’t do that without paying a fine for early cancellation! It was in one of these final conversations that a supervisor finally said to me in earnest, “I’m sorry miss, if I allow you to cancel your service without charging you a fee, I’ll be terminated.” I thanked him for his honesty and felt that there was at least one person at the company who was sincere. But, the result was that he didn’t help me.

In the end, I googled the corporation’s name, looked up the annual report, got the name of the most senior executive I could find, called the corporate offices, and left a message asking for help. The executive called me back the following day and apologized profusely; within four working days, all of my problems were solved with a credit on my bill.

I’ve since tried to get to the heart of what was so difficult about this experience for me. The bottom line was that, out of all the customer service people I spoke with, only one person treated me like a human being. All the others showed no empathy and, even worse, no earnestness to actually try to help me. My situation was only resolved because I contacted someone at an executive level who doesn’t even work in customer service figuring that they probably don’t think that losing customers is good for their business.

The definition of earnest is acting “with sincerity and a strong intention.” In home buying, putting down earnest money shows the other party that you’re committed to the purchase, that you’re sincerely interested and engaged. These are exactly the qualities that were lacking in the service representatives hired to help me and other customers.

Some people might argue that the problem arose because this company outsourced its customer service department and, in some cases, that might be true. Expecting people from foreign countries to speak the same emotional language we do is naive. Part of the education that comes from traveling is our experiences of new food, rituals and customs, and seeing that these cultural differences grow out of different values and emotional constructs. What’s acceptable behavior in one country is definitely unacceptable in others. Unless people are trained to understand some of these differences, effective communication is almost impossible.

My point is that when you’re in the service business, what truly sets you apart from the millions of other service providers is your ability to serve your customers earnestly, so they know you intend to help them in any way you can. Your ability to empathize with their situation when they have difficulties is also key to good service. If you treat them as though you don’t care, you will not retain them. Lots of companies can attract buyers initially, but can’t keep them. In the end, it’s repeat customers who make a difference in the bottom line.

This week, think about the people you serve, whether external customers or the people in your organization. Are you earnest in your desire to help them? If not, what do you need to do to change your attitude toward your customers or your team members? Do your policies support your people being empowered enough to actually help the customer? Are you following the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of the law in the way you treat others? Do you have ways of finding out what your customers or team members are actually thinking about their experiences with your company, and are you earnestly trying to do anything to improve these relationships?

Try finding ways to maximize people’s experiences of your service and set things in motion to make it better. If you work in earnest to serve your people better, they will serve their customers better, and you’ll all have a better experience.

For most of us, our only link to a company is through it’s customer service representatives: Whomever we talk to represents the entire corporation. My view of the service provider I mentioned above is that, with the exception of the senior executive I cried out to and the supervisor who responded honestly to me, everyone is incompetent and unengaged and couldn’t care less whether I have a problem with their service or not. They’re just doing their job… or are they?

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

Good day, team,

This week’s challenge comes from an e-mail that a client* sent to me last week. Please have a look:

Friday, Aug. 25, began a week-long celebration of people being kind to others. Born in 1988, Be Kind to Humankind Week is now 18 years old. The week is made up of seven special emphasis days, beginning Aug. 25 and ending Aug. 31.

Speak Kind Words Saturday is my favorite weekly affirmation, because we all seem to completely forget that what we say has terrific influence (for good or bad) on everyone around us.

The spoken word is extremely powerful. It can make us, break us, hurt others, or heal others. Think before you speak. Literally bite your tongue if necessary. Once blurted out, your words cannot be taken back. They sting, and they can destroy a person’s self-esteem and self-worth. Unkind words can create hate and malice.

Consider these suggestions to make your Speak Kind Words Week better:

# A kind word is never wasted.

# Bite your tongue before you allow an unkind comment to flow out.

# Try not to curse and use foul language, especially around children or in public places.

# If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.

# Do not gossip.

# Words are more powerful than most of us realize. Be aware not only of what you say, but how you say it. You cannot take back the unkind things you say. Words cut like a knife, so think twice before you say something you will regret later.

To learn more about Be Kind to Humankind Week and founder Lorraine Jara, visit www.bekindweek.org.

This week is your opportunity to find ways to be kind to others. Whether it’s by speaking kind words, or going out of your way to do something special for someone else, try focusing this week on being kind. There are good suggestions on the above-mentioned web site for what you can do each day of the week.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

* Many thanks to John Keith, president of Kavi Corp., for sending me this information.
*

Good morning, team,

This week’s challenge comes from a quote in one of my favorite books about management and leadership, “The One Thing You Need to Know,” by Marcus Buckingham:

“Mediocre managers play checkers with their people (vs. chess). In checkers the pieces all move in the same way, whereas in chess all the pieces move differently. Thus, if you want to excel at the game of chess, you have to learn how each piece moves, and then incorporate these unique moves into your overall plan of attack. Mediocre managers assume (or hope) that their employees will be motivated by the same things, driven by the same goals, desire the same kind of relationships, and learn in roughly the same way.

“They probably wouldn’t say it as as boldly as I have just done, but their approach to managing gives it away. When they set expectations for their people, they define in great detail the exact behaviors they expect to see. When they coach their people, they identify which of these behaviors each employee is struggling with, and then tell the employee to work on these behaviors and practice them until they become habit. When they praise people, they are most impressed by employees who have worked diligently to replace their natural style with these present behaviors. In short, they believe that the job of the manager is to mold, or transform, each employee into the perfect version of the role. Great managers don’t. They do the opposite. The one thing all great managers know about great managing is this:

“Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.

“They know that even if employees are selected against the same set of talents or competencies, such is the complexity of human nature that the differences among these employees will far outweigh the similarities. The more one listens to the testimony of great managers, the clearer it becomes: Great managing is not about transformation-if you dedicate yourself to transforming each employee into some predetermined perfect version of the role, you will wind up frustrating yourself and annoying the employee. Great managing is about release. It is about constantly tweaking the world so that the unique contribution, the unique needs, the unique style of each employee can be given free rein.”

Your challenge is to identify what is unique about each of your team members and to support that in your management style. Try supporting all your employees’ unique strengths and allowing them to do what they do best. Get out of the way of your people’s progress. Let them take ownership where they want to. Try not to force your team into looking and acting the way you want them to. Assist them in identifying their strengths and allow them to work in the areas they enjoy the most.

Have a great week!
Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

c Copyright 2005-2006 Scout Search, Inc.; all rights reserved.

Recently, a number of my clients have been asking me if I could send some of the challenge’s I’ve written in the past out to them again. This caused me to review many of the challenges I’ve written over the past two years. Here’s one I wrote 10/31/04 that I thought you might enjoy re-reading:

Good morning Team,

This week coach’s challenge is to be mindful of your reputation. A
person’s character is the reliability of himself. His reputation is the
opinion others have formed of him. Certainly, reputation is built on
deeds. Henry Ford said, ‘you can’t build a reputation on what you are
going to do.’

In working together, we cannot ignore what other’s think of us. Although
we make attempts to not take the opinions of other’s personally, we also
see that much of the way the world works is based on people’s
reputations. We find that our reputation builds in a positive way when
we learn to be more versatile in the way we deal with others. People all
like to be met on their own ground, so to speak, and when we make the
effort to be aware of their concerns and try to speak their language,
they appreciate the consideration. How often have you heard someone say
in reference to another team member, “she’s always easy to work with, or
he’s so reliable, that I love working with him.” These are comments
that begin to build a good reputation at work.

Socrates wrote, “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be
what you desire to appear.” We can see from his quote that having a
vision of how we wish to show up in our work environment is best served
by attempting to be that vision. If you want other’s to see you as being
efficient, than try being more efficient. It sounds simple, but we
rarely give our reputation much thought until we realize that our
reputation has been damaged in some way. I find that reputation is like
china, easily broken but not easy to repair.

Try thinking about your reputation this week and consider if your
actions are a good reflection of your vision of yourself and also of
your words. Take an action that you think will enhance your
reputation.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

(c) copyright 2005-2006 Scout Search, Inc., all rights reserved.

Good day, team,

This week’s challenge comes from something my grandmother–Nana–used to say in response to a variety of circumstances. It’s a wonderful piece of wisdom and a reminder as well.

Each summer my family and I would travel to Maine to see my grandparents. It was a long drive, so the first morning after arriving, we would sleep in. Nana was always awake before everyone else, and the first thing she did was make coffee in the old percolator she kept on the stove. After awhile, members of the family would make their way down to the kitchen, and she’d greet us by saying, “Time to wake up and smell the coffee.” She’d hand us a cup, and the day would begin.

My relatives always sat around the dining room table after dinner and drank coffee. I never understood how they could sleep at night with that perked coffee running through their veins. They’d sit around the table and chat about this and that and sooner or later someone would tell a story about someone in the town who’d done something stupid. These were stories about local folks who, in their daily experience, had been forgetful in some way or another. For example, the tale could be about Charley down at the filling station who’d left someone’s gas cap off again, or how Ellie at the library had forgotten to close the windows last night and a whole bunch of new paperbacks had blown off the shelf. There would always be a pause at the end of the story (I think to give everyone a chance to ponder the significance of the story), and in that pregnant pause Nana would say, “Well, they should wake up and smell the coffee!” Everyone would nod in agreement and take another sip.

I remember when my cousin George flunked algebra in high school. Nana wrote to him and among other things said, “George, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Otherwise, you won’t make it to college.” We were all grateful that we weren’t George that year and the thought of being reminded by Nana to “wake up” kept many of us with C and above averages. Even when my father left my mother after 18 years of marriage, Nana’s first bit of advice to Mom was “Well, honey, time to wake up and smell the coffee. He’s just gone, and there’s nothing else to be done. We all have to go on.”

Nana died many years ago, and I’m happy to say she had a long and satisfying life. She was the kind of grandmother who never intended on being wise or making statements that the family would continue to quote for years after she was gone. She just lived her life as best she could and tried to pay attention to whatever came her way. She seemed to understand that worrying about something if it wasn’t in front of you was a distraction. There was enough to deal with in each moment, and any speculation about what could go wrong or what might happen in the future just prevented her from dealing with whatever the moment delivered.

While Nana was alive, it never occurred to me how her use of this phrase would affect me. And yet, this simple homespun phrase has become a cornerstone of my life. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t hear her reminding me. She reminds me to wake up so I don’t miss something or become forgetful. And she also reminds me to wake up so I accept life, just as it is. The fact that she added in the part about “smell the coffee” was her way of sharing something she enjoyed every day of her life.

Your challenge this week is to “wake up and smell the coffee”-or the tea, or the chai, or whatever brew is part of your morning ritual. We can use this ritual to remember to wake up and experience whatever is happening in the moment. It can also remind us to accept life-just as it is.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Good day, team,

The coach’s challenge this week is about dealing with bullies in the workplace. First, let’s define what constitutes bullying behavior at work. Here’s the definition of workplace bullying from Wikipedia:

Workplace bullying, just like childhood bullying, is the tendency of individuals or groups to use aggressive or unreasonable behavior to achieve their ends. When perpetrated by a group, it is often called mobbing. Unlike the more physical form of schoolyard bullying, workplace bullies often operate within the established rules and policies of their organization and their society. For instance, a workplace bully might use the office’s “rumor mill” to circulate a lie about a co-worker. An employee who dislikes a co-worker for personal reasons may incessantly criticize everything that co-worker does. Such actions are not necessarily illegal and may not even be against the firm’s regulations. However, the damage they cause, both to the targeted employee and to workplace morale, is obvious.

According to the Workplace Bullying and Trauma Institute, workplace bullying is “the repeated mistreatment of one employee targeted by one or more employees with a malicious mix of humiliation, intimidation and sabotage of performance.”

Statistics show that bullying is three times as prevalent as illegal discrimination and at least 1,600 times as prevalent as workplace violence. Statistics also show that while only one employee in every 10,000 becomes a victim of workplace violence, one in six experiences bullying at work. Bullying is also far more common than sexual harrassment and verbal abuse.

Workplace Bullies

Following is a list of common tactics of workplace bullies [the use of male pronouns here stands for both men and women]:

*Constant criticism* is the bully’s attempt to undermine the
Target’s self-confidence. By exaggerating the Target’s mistakes,
the bully intends to a) make the Target look incompetent in the
eyes of co-workers, b) make his own work look better by
comparison, or c) divert attention from his own mistakes. Often,
the bully will expand his criticism to the Target’s private and
social life. Since criticism can become habitual, the Target will
be criticized by the bully no matter how well the Target performs.

*Isolation* is a tactic intended to separate the Target from the
workplace’s social circles and information networks. Cut off from
all social and business interaction, the Target is more vulnerable
to the bully’s threats and verbal assaults. The bully takes a
“divide and conquer” approach.

*Monopolizing* allows the bully to work his way into a
position in which he is the only source of certain supplies or
information. The Target is thus given a choice between submitting
to the bully or doing without necessary facts and supplies. The
Target gets what he needs only if the bully gets what he wants.

*Gossip* is perhaps the most common tactic of workplace bullying.
Simply put, the bully starts a rumor about the Target. As the
rumor moves through the workplace, the Target finds himself the
object of suspicion. Since the bully often controls the Target’s
contact with co-workers, the Target has no way of knowing what’s
being said about him behind his back. Co-workers who have little
contact with or were hired after the Target may judge him by the
bully’s gossip rather than by his performance. By spreading rumors
about the Target, the bully is turning his co-workers against the
Target. This is a form of mobbing.

*False documentation,* also called the ghost gripe, is an
effective tool for the bully. The bully claims that complaints
have been filed about the Target’s behavior or performance. The
bully will either fabricate an incident or misdocument a real
event to place the blame on the Target. He will refuse to identify
the complaintants, citing the company’s confidentiality policy and
saying that he wants to prevent retaliation. In reality, he is
preventing the Target from investigating the complaint and
disproving the allegations. The bully uses the company’s policies
to achieve control over his co-workers. Countless Targets have
been disciplined and even fired over ghost gripes. False
documentation is most common in companies that do not have at-will
hiring and firing policies, since the manager must give a valid
reason for firing employees he personally dislikes.

*Stealing the credit* is a very common bullying tactic. The bully
places himself in a position in which he can claim credit for the
Target’s efforts and ideas. The Target is unable to document his
efforts, so the bully gets the rewards while the Target is stuck
with all of the work.

*Verbal abuse* is often used by the bully to attack the Target
personally. Verbal abuse includes-but is by no means limited to
-profanity, shouting and racial or ethnic slurs. It may consist
of giving the Target a disrespectful nickname or subjecting him to
a constant stream of insults.

*Passive aggression * is a common tactic of lazy bullies. By
leaving certain jobs undone or incomplete, they force the Target
to do their work for them. Also, if they discover behaviors which
irritate the Target, they will be certain to repeat those
behaviors until the Target loses his temper, thus giving the
Target an undeserved reputation for violent behavior.
Procrastination is a common form of passive aggression.

*Sexual harrassment* is another common tactic.

*Violence* is the bully’s last resort. Unlike schoolyard bullying,
surprisingly little workplace bullying involves physical violence.
Since violence is illegal, such behavior will usually cost the
bully his job and perhaps his freedom. While violence makes
headlines, most other acts of workplace bullying aren’t considered
newsworthy. Thus the public is frightened by stories of violence
in the workplace while the causes of the violence are ignored.

Note that bullies seldom rely on just one tactic. Most have learned to combine several different tactics in an organized assault on the Target. For instance, many bullies will effectively combine isolation and gossip.

Common Mistakes by Management

*Appeasement* is perhaps the most common mistake managers can make
when dealing with bullies. This approach assumes that the bully’s
aggressive behavior will cease when he is given what he desires.
History has proven this approach to be counterproductive. A person
who uses aggression to satisfy his desires has no logical reason
to stop being aggressive. He may calm down for a while when given
what he wants, but he will be resume and possibly escalate his
aggressive behavior when he wants something else.

*Blaming both parties* is also a common mistake. When this
happens, the manager punishes the bully for aggression, but also
punishes the Target for failing to get along with the bully. The
manager ignores the possibility that the bully is purely to blame.

*Blaming the Target* is an even more serious mistake. Instead of
acting against the bully, the manager may simply order the Target
to stop complaining. If the Target continues to complain about the
bully’s behavior, the manager will discipline the Target and may
even come to the bully’s defense. Thus the Target is made to
suffer twice, once at the hands of the bully and once at the hands
of management.

*Ignoring the issue* deludes management into believing that problems will
vanish if the bully’s behavior is ignored. Thus the bully goes
unpunished. A bully who goes unpunished has no logical reason to
relent. His aggressive behavior will continue, and may even
escalate to physical violence. This approach involves wishful
thinking on the part of the manager.

*Emphasizing teamwork and ignoring individual effort* plays into
the bully’s hands. Often, the Target is a creative, productive
individual whose ideas work. In today’s workplace, the
emphasis is on team effort. Management tends to dislike
subordinates who think for themselves, regardless of how good
their ideas are. This makes it easy for the bully to accuse the
Target of “not being a team player.”

Your challenge this week is to ask yourself if you’ve identified any type of bullying behavior within your environment and if you’re willing to deal with it. More important, ask yourself if you manage others by bullying them, or if you’re making some of the common mistakes management makes in dealing with workplace bullies.

Each of us has a responsibility to create an atmosphere in the workplace that is free of hostility. We do this by adhering to the human resource policies that are already in place in our companies or, if they don’t exist, by creating good, sound policies that are very clear about which behaviors are acceptable in our work environment and which are not. As managers we need to work together to ensure that the workplace is safe, not just physically, but also emotionally.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

Good day, team,

In a recent off-site meeting, I was working with a team that made a commitment to each other. The commitment comes from an old Italian proverb that we translated to say:

Honor when present.
Praise when absent.
Assist when necessary.

Last week I talked with one of the managers on the team about the challenge of following through consistently on this commitment with peers and team members. We agreed that we were able to honor others when we were together, and that assisting others when necessary was also not so hard, but praising others when they weren’t around us was very difficult. Especially the people we don’t particularly like and have the hardest time with!

We also observed that we have a much harder time not gossiping about others when we’re talking with friends. The maxim “Familiarity breeds contempt” confirms that it’s much harder to be impeccable with our word when we’re talking with our closest friends and familiar business associates rather then people we don’t know as well. Our familiarity gives us free license to voice our opinions and judgements, or so we think. I know that it always makes me feel uncomfortable when someone I’m friendly with starts to complain about someone else. I want to ask them not to do it, but I’m afraid they’ll judge me for judging them!

If we can keep in mind that none of us likes to be gossiped about, we might have more courage when it comes to saying, “I understand that you’re having trouble with that person, but I don’t think running them down is going to help.” Or maybe the solution is even simpler. We could just say, “I’m trying not to gossip” and leave it at that.

Taking the high road in our interactions with others is one of the cornerstones of professional behavior. I’ve often noticed that senior people in an organization seem to be the least petty and talkative about others. This discretion is a key to their success. They hear a lot of things about many people in a week’s time and yet they often don’t repeat what they hear. They allow much of the “noise” to just go by them and try to stay focused on what’s really important: peoples’ strengths and the team’s results.

Your challenge this week is to try (yet again!) not to speak negatively about others. Take it one step further and try to praise others when they’re not around you. You may find this difficult to do, but you’ll find that the more positively you speak about others, the better you’ll feel about yourself and the people you work with. Try also to be more aware of the desire to gossip with friends rather than strangers. We can all help ourselves be better friends if we have the courage to remind each other to see peoples’ strengths rather than concentrating on their weaknesses.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
503/296-9249

Good day, team,

The coach’s challenge this week could be called “checking in mid-year.” I often find that checking in with myself around June 15 is a good idea. It gives me a chance to assess my progress toward my personal and professional goals. Did I continue with the exercise and diet program I pledged myself to last January? Have I been able to meet the goals I set for my business in the first quarter of the year? What’s been happening that I didn’t expect, and how have I been dealing with that?

It’s easy to start something. But it’s not so easy to hold to our commitments by consistently working day by day toward meeting them. We are often distracted by curve balls that distract us from our initial objectives. So much of our success, both professionally and personally, rests on our ability to remain flexible. Sometimes we have to turn on a dime in what seems to be the right direction in the moment. But these improvisational maneuvers can throw us off our original course.

It’s difficult to hold steady in the face of change. Usually, once I set a goal I also have an idea of how that goal will be realized. I am often surprised to find that the way I thought it would happen is not how it happens at all. I get to my destination, but the road I have taken to get there doesn’t look the way I imagined it would. I have to be open-minded about what I encounter along the way. It’s good to acknowledge that things don’t always go as we’ve planned and that not knowing how events will unfold is part of the adventure. As the Irish would say, “Ahhhh-it’s a mystery.”

Your challenge this week is to take stock of your year at this half-way point. Did you set a goal last January that has gone by the wayside? What goals have you met, and are you setting new ones for the rest of this year? What have you learned that has significantly changed the way you see things? Are you growing personally and professionally?

Be honest with yourself. If you set a goal that hasn’t been realized, and you still have it in your sights, recommit to it. What do you need to do to get yourself back on track? Give yourself a pat on the back for what you have achieved, and ask yourself what you need to do to re-energize for the rest of the year. Lastly, have you taken a vacation yet? There’s no better time to re-evaluate where you are and where you’re going than when you’re recreating (re-creating). And finally…it’s summertime! A perfect time to stop and smell the roses.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

Good day, team,

The coach’s challenge this week is about leadership. It’s been the topic of many of my conversations lately with clients. Here are some great words of wisdom on the subject.

“Leadership”

“Is it a title or an attitude?
Is it about power or responsibility?
Is it about those you dominate or those you motivate?
Does it mean accepting applause or giving thanks?
Does it require a hard head or soft hands?
Are you encouraged to assert your status or define your service?
Is it casting a long shadow or producing a steady light?”

“Indomitable Spirit,” Chuck Ferguson*

“Trilogy for a New Leadership:

_ Alignment – Today’s leader needs to align the resources of the organization, particularly the human ones, creating a sense of shared objectives worthy of peoples’ support, and even dedication. Alignment has everything to do with spirit and a sense of being part of a team. Great organizations inevitably develop around a shared vision.

_ Creation – Today’s leader must create an organizational culture where ideas come through unhampered by people who are fearful. Such leaders are committed to problem-finding, not just problem-solving. They embrace error, even failure, because they know it will teach them more than success. Effective leaders create adaptive, creative, learning organizations.

_ Empowerment – In an effectively led organization, everyone feels he or she contributes to its success. Empowered individuals believe that their actions have significance and meaning. Empowered people live in a culture of respect where they actually can do things without getting permission from some organizational parent figure. Empowered organizations are characterized by trust and system-wide communication.”

“Leading Change: The Leader as the Chief Transformation Officer,” from “Leadership in a New Era,” Warren Bennis

“Show us clearly whom we should seek to serve, show us where our core strengths lie, show us which score we should focus on and which actions must be taken today, and we will reward you by working our hearts out to make our better future come true.”

“The One Thing You Need to Know,” Marcus Buckingham

Your challenge this week is to discover what kind of leader you are. We all serve others at work, in our families, in our friendships, in our communities. Do you find yourself taking the lead and, if so, how do you do that? How do others describe your leadership skills? If you don’t know, ask. You might be surprised to hear the answers. Try utilizing one of the suggestions mentioned above and see if it makes you a more successful leader.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249

* Many thanks to Les Stephens from OCP for sharing the piece “Leadership” by Chuck Ferguson.

Good day, team,

I read some quotes this week from people who have reached the age of 100. One is actually 102. I was amazed at how much their straightforward wisdom helped me through my week. I thought you would enjoy reading the quotes-they are very simple and true.

– You can’t control other people. You can only control your reaction.
– Don’t hold on to anger-you’ll just make yourself miserable.
– When playing Scrabble, don’t use up your S’s right away.

– When looking for a mate, avoid a fast talker. Go for someone who’s steady.
– Volunteering gets you away from your own worries.
– More is not necessarily better. Going for first or biggest often leads to unhappiness.

– A person never gets too old to love.
– If you expect perfection from everyone, you’ll be all alone.
– You’re better off alone than with bad company.

– Anything you love is important.
– Children love praise. They’ll do something again and again just to get you to praise them.
– You’ll always need your friends.

– Never feel sorry for yourself.
– Parents should respect their children, just as children should respect their parents.
– If you worry about being old, you will be old.

– Don’t forget to do one thing that makes you happy each day.
– If you’re lucky, you’ll laugh more at the age of 100 than you did at 50.
– The older I get, the less I know. What a relief! It was such a burden to be a know-it-all.

– Get enough sleep, take a short walk each day, see what’s in front of you.

Have a great week!

Kathleen

Kathleen Doyle-White
Pathfinders Coaching
(503) 296-9249