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IMPRESS OR IMPROVE?

Shandel Sutherland • Apr 18, 2024

DRESS TO IMPRESS

How many times have you heard, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Or now that you’re a grown-up, “Make sure you dress to impress!” While these simple little sayings are common in our everyday vernacular, they likely hold little merit in a person’s top-of-mind decision-making process. 

If most of us are being honest, it is not hard to revert back to making assumptions about someone or something based on how they look or act. However, instead of looking at someone, determining how you want to interact with them, and then acting accordingly. What if you were more focused on being helpful?


CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

What if, as a society or work culture, we were more focused on improving each other!? To be clear, I am NOT highlighting that one should go around as if they were the doctor with a prescription pad prescribing how everyone should think or act. But I am very much suggesting that people move away from attempting to impress and instead repurpose their energy into improving them.

Let’s refresh ourselves on what exactly “improvement” is…

im·prove·ment| imˈpro͞ovmənt | noun
• an example or instance of improving or being improved.
• the action of improving or being improved.
• a thing that makes something better or is better than something else.

In short, focusing on improving others, whether personally or professionally, comes down to leaving something or someone better than when you first got to the scene. And to use a personal example, sometimes my best form of “continuous improvement” whether with my business partner, my spouse, my kids, friends, neighbors, etc. is me simply LISTENING. A novel idea isn’t it!?

Many times listening is the most helpful way that I can improve people. Counterintuitive, I know, but the more you think about it, the more that notion rings true.

Think about improving our respective workplaces (especially since many of us are in our homes), communities, and relationships and how life would be more enjoyable and fun if we begin focusing more on this adaptation to continuous improvement.  Let’s stop trying to impress one another and instead improve one another.


IN SUM

Now is where I will practice what I preach.  If you do not have a proven method for getting things done, below is a game changer of a tool, if you use it that is! This tool will help you improve your daily satisfaction and productivity.

This tool is called the “Fourteen-Forty Framework.” You might be thinking, “Fourteen-Forty Framework!? That seems odd and a random title for a tool." Yes, except, how much time do you have on any given day? You have exactly 1,440 minutes.

This framework is a lot like bowling with bumpers.  It ensures that you keep the big picture in mind while you work through your daily roles and responsibilities.

HERE’S A SNAPSHOT OF THE EXERCISE


Please feel free to share with friends and family while you create new muscle memory focused on improving others lives, which will surely make you impressive.


Pulling for you!


Alan Andersen

TAKE THE TIME TO INVEST IN YOURSELF BY INVESTING IN OTHERS

By Shandel Sutherland • 21 Apr, 2024
3-MINUTE READ As a leader, what are you missing that would help you achieve “the next level'? Chances are it is a person. Even more likely it is a person who is in the next room or down the hall from you at this very moment! Yet, we sit stressed and maxed out as they sit underutilized and bored. They desire meaning, mentoring and challenge, while we desire initiative and productivity. Still, both parties sit in their comfortable and familiar rut. This is a very poor utilization of assets and leaves huge profits on the table. THE ART OF INVESTING Think of your time as you would your money. A wise person thinks in a long-term manner about their money and how to spend and/or invest it for the greatest ROI (return on investment.) Consider the focus, time, and energy you devote to making, saving, and investing money for a specifically defined purpose. Now, that is exactly how you need to approach the time you invest in the people in your sphere of influence; and it is an art. A skill that must be learned and then uniquely applied according to each individual who can share in accomplishing the goal. STEPS ON INVESTING IN OTHERS 1. You must have clarity about what you are trying to accomplish. What outcomes you want to focus on and why does it matter? Is the vision compelling enough to get others involved and want to share in the ownership? 2. Focus on the few things only you and you alone can do. What are the unique strengths that you bring to the vision that no one else possesses on the team? What are the other things or tasks you are currently doing (and yes, we know you can do them well) but others could do just as good if not better? Make a list and identify the ones that steal the most time. 3. Find people that have the strengths and abilities to do the tasks you have identified. Before you approach them, work through all the fears you have about delegating, letting go, and giving up control. You may need your coach for this portion. 4. Connect with the person you would like to delegate your tasks to and make sure you have plenty of time to talk it out and get buy-in. Share your vision and your goal of investing in the person's professional and personal growth by passing on these specific tasks. Press for push back, find all the holes together, make sure you have healthy conflict to vet out all their fears and share your concerns as well. 5. Train the person on how you currently do the task. A: Show/tell them how to do it. B: Do it with them. C: Observe them as they do it for you. D: Coach them as they do it without you. E: Trust them as they do it alone. F: Check in often and create space for continuous improvement. You have just invested in one of your people and they are feeling empowered and trusted. Equally as important, you have just opened up a huge amount of time to operate in your strength and talent which you alone do best. It is now time to do it again and again until you are only operating in your strengths! What do you think about investing in yourself by investing in others? Your Coach,  Shandel Sutherland

HOW'S YOUR TEAMWORK?

By Shandel Sutherland • 21 Apr, 2024
3-MINUTE READ Teamwork is a method that aligns employee mindsets in a cooperative and usually selfless manner towards a specific business purpose. Today there is no business or organization that doesn’t talk about the need for and value of teamwork in the workplace. Some things cannot be accomplished by people working individually. Larger, more ambitious goals usually require that people work together with others. Because of this, teamwork is a desired goal of many businesses and organizations today. People who have well developed teamwork skills easily form relationships with mutual respect among diverse types of people. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of others and place a high priority on the success of their department and/or organization. People with strong skills in teamwork support team decisions and share responsibility with team members for successes and failures. How do you develop your own skills in Teamwork? • Show respect for all other people and display sincere interest in them as individuals. • Work on improving or enhancing your communication skills. • Give positive feedback as often as possible. • If you have a difficult relationship with someone, work to improve it through self-awareness and respect for differences. • Be enthusiastic about your ideas but don’t be overbearing or domineering when you express them. Try not to interrupt other people and listen to their ideas carefully before you disagree. • Discuss your ideas with your teammates until you agree. • Be willing to step back from a disagreement and cooperate. • Teach yourself not to be defensive. Think of negative feedback as opportunities for improvement, not personal affronts. • Be tolerant of others. Recognize that others’ viewpoints are as important to them as yours are to you! Self-observation Ask someone you trust to help you identify times when you come across as overbearing, domineering or intolerant of others. Keep a log of your behavior over the next month or so. Then, try to answer the following questions as you look at your notes: • Are there patterns to your actions? What are they? • Do you interrupt often in meetings or conversations? Do you interrupt certain people more often than others? • Are you particularly sensitive or domineering on certain topics or with certain people? • How does your behavior make those people feel and/or react? If you discover you would like to build your teamwork skills or the skills of your team, we would be glad to be part of the process. Your Coach,  Shandel
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