4 Steps to build resiliency

How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions? If you are trying to make a significant change in 2023, at some point you are going to run into some adversity that will cause you to question your commitment to change. Self-doubt and depleted motivation are natural, it happens to even the most confident and resolute people. When you face adversity, it is important to tap into your personal resilience to help you push through and continue to move towards your goal. In this article, I will share with you the four actions I encourage clients to take when they are looking to make significant changes in their career.

Define who you are

The first action I encourage clients to take is to define who they are today. Knowing who you are is an important aspect of emotional intelligence, and supports you being resilient. Being resilient means being willing to continue to move forward, even when you start to feel internal and external pressure to stop. For you to do this it is critical to be grounded in the knowledge of your strengths and your passions. Your strengths are the things that come natural to you, and that support your self- esteem. Your passions are the things that you can do for a long amount of time without needing motivation from outside sources. By being aware of your strengths and your passion you will have anchors of support that you can leverage when change efforts begin to get difficult.

Define who you want to be

The second action I encourage clients to take is to define who they want to be. I encourage clients to take the time to write down descriptive words for their ideal self. This ideal self is rooted in their values, and acts as a north star to guide their actions. By clarifying who you want to be, and how that ideal self is rooted in your values, it is easier to find the motivation to continue to push forward despite the obstacles that will arise as you pursue your goals.

Define what you want to do

The third actions I encourage clients to take is to define what they want to do. Being clear on what you want to do, is equally important as defining who you want to be. The Co-Active Model that I use for coaching emphasized the importance of finding the balance between doing and being. As you pursue your goals, it is critical that you define the actions that you are going to take. These actions should be as precise as possible so that you can hold yourself accountable. Developing precise action means being specific on the who, what, where, when and how associated which what you are planning to accomplish.

Define how you will hold yourself accountable

The final action that I encourage clients to take is to define how they will hold themselves accountable. Some clients are great at personal accountability. To hold themselves accountable, they simple declare to themselves that they will do a task. For others they find it helpful to use things to do list, or calendars to help keep task top of mind. There are also clients that find it helpful to leverage others to help them with holding themselves accountable. For many people, it is easier to honor commitments made to others than themselves. No one knows you better than you know yourself, so it is important to identify what you need to hold yourself accountable, and to build that accountability into your growth plan.

Staying committed to your New Years’ resolutions takes resiliency. There are going to be times when you lack the motivation to push forward towards your goal. During those times, it is important to remember who you are, who you want to be, why it is worth you pushing through the adversity. The better you can root your New Year’s resolutions into your values, the easier it will be to stay committed. Many of the changes that have brought you the most benefit to your life, require the most effort. Think back to the proudest accomplishment of your career. How did you feel in that moment? What did you have to overcome to achieve that milestone. When times get difficult, remember the strength you demonstrated in pursuing that accomplishment. Remember the values that you had to tap into to help you push through those hard times. Leverage the knowledge that you have accomplished difficult things in the past, and that you are capable of accomplishing increasingly difficult things in the future. Resiliency comes from within. It is a muscle that is built through experience and the more that you work to know who you are, and pursue who you want to be, the easier it will become to push through adversity.

Quote of the week

“Try not to feel trapped. Speak up. And if it’s a challenge in the present time, consider joining a community to help” LinkedIn post from Jessica Bensch

Video worth watching

Tip of the week

Follow us on Instagram for daily tips https://www.instagram.com/your_executivecoach/

Do you want help making changes in your career or business? We are currently accepting new clients. Follow this link to check out our website and learn more about the service we offer. https://www.yourpathexecutivesolutions.com/

4 Ways to Keep Your Employees Engaged?

A recent gallop study shows that only 32% of U.S. employees are engaged with their employers. It is important to pause for a moment and consider what this truly means for organizations. When employees are not engaged, employees are not delivering their best work. Imagine how bad a baseball team would be if 6 out of 9 players on the field were not engaged. The team would have so many weaknesses that it would be hard for them to compete. In an environment where the norm is for employees not to be engaged, organizations that can drive high levels of employee engagement position themselves to have a competitive advantage. Solving your employee engagement issues requires understanding why employees are not engaged. Gaining this information is best done by having one on one conversations, but some of the most common reasons are

• poor clarity of expectations

• lack of connection between the company's mission and daily activities

• limited opportunities for learning and growth

• poor job fit

• employees not feeling cared for at work

All is not lost. In the next 30 days, you can implement steps to improve employee engagement within your organization. Those steps will require you to dedicate one-on-one time with employees, but that time can reengage employees currently going through the motions at work and only delivering a portion of what they are capable of.

Provide Opportunities for Professional Development:

One of the common complaints voiced by employees is that they are interested in advancing their careers, but they are unsure how. Managers of employees should talk with employees about career goals and help map out action plans to help employees develop the skills and competency necessary to advance their careers. Employees often struggle to identify which external training, education, books, podcasts, networking, and volunteer activity they should participate in to grow professionally. Holding meetings regularly where positive and developmental feedback is given is a great way to help employees develop professionally. Managers should assist employees in setting SMART goals around the skills they need to improve to excel in their current role and prepare themselves for advancement opportunities. This, along with connecting employees with mentors, is an effective way to help employees advance their careers.

Encourage Open Communication:

Employees who joined your organization because they believed you would be a good person to work for. Over time, how you interact with them will influence if they maintain that belief. When you invest time in developing a relationship with your employees, you increase the chances of them providing you with honest feedback. With this feedback, you can take actions to address their concerns. Sometimes resolutions can be found by giving a different perspective to the employees. Other times, employees will provide you with information that will result in you making changes. Occasionally a resolution will not be found, but you will have the benefit of awareness, and employees will know that their concerns were heard. As the boss, it is up to you to decide what you do with feedback, but it is critical that your employees feel comfortable communicating with you. Often employees leave jobs over problems that could be solved with open communication. As the leader, it is your responsibility to create open lines of communication.

Provide Incentives and Recognition:

Providing incentives is an excellent way to help to clarify expectations for employees. When you take the time to develop incentives that reward employee behavior, you can motivate employees to execute organizational values and strategy at a higher level. When incentives are linked to specific performance metrics, employees can work towards achieving those metrics. When incentives are around specific behaviors, employees can learn the desired values and actions and strive to bring them to life. Small steps like changes in titles, bonuses, and wage promotions can significantly boost employee self-worth, self-esteem, and happiness within an organization. As a manager, you should seek opportunities to recognize and reward employees for their good work. Your actions will create a culture of positivity that will aid in employee engagement.

Make Fairness a Priority:

As you make decisions in your company around compensation, benefits, employee development, assignments, and promotion, ensure that you do so fairly. Often time managers make decisions quickly without taking the time to consider how their actions will be perceived or the unintended consequence they could generate. Unfair treatment can create friction within an organization that demotivates employees. Particular attention should be spent considering how policies and procedures potentially disadvantage minorities and individuals of low status. Structural discrimination exists, and decisions influenced by unconscious biases frequently demotivate and alienate employees from under-represented groups.

Summary

As a manager, you can create a supportive environment that encourages employee engagement. How you engage with employees directly impacts their motivation and commitment. Improving employee engagement takes time and intentionality. It requires you to be purposeful about organizational culture, to listen, to use good judgment, and adjust how things are done to meet the changing needs of your employees. The pandemic shifted employee expectations, and there is no going backward. This, along with the natural transition of baby boomers retiring and generation z employees entering the workforce, is causing a shift in what employees want. They expect companies to be better stewards of their time and careers. The bottom line is that employees want to work for managers that care about them and their future. This can be done if you are willing to listen to your employees and provide them with the level of support they desire.

• 
  

---

Dorian Cunion is an Executive Business Coach with your Path Coaching and Consulting. He specializes in coaching services for managers, executives, and small business owners.

For tips on leadership and professional development, follow me:

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

If you are interested in working with me as a coach, contact me at

• Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

• Phone: 804-220-5771

---