Dropping the ball

Sometimes, I drop the ball and under-deliver. It’s one of the most awkward and embarrassing aspects of my work – as a consultant, as a boss, as a parent, as a spouse.

When it happens, my impulse is to procrastinate. There’s usually a conversation that needs to happen that feels like it is going to be difficult, and so I put it off. Which only compounds the situation.

In August and September, life on the home front accelerated ten-fold as Nikole and I tried to wrangle the challenges of her last month of pregnancy, Jack’s arrival home and all of the associated juggling that a first-grader and a newborn require.

Sleep evaporated, as did the number of hours available for work. Several Floricane projects went from boil to simmer to cold.

Getting each of those projects back on the rails required action – reaching out to a client, apologizing, explaining the circumstances, and asking what I could do to set things right.

Not surprisingly – as has almost always been the case in the past – every conversation ended on a positive note. And each of the derailed projects is moving forward.

There’s a simple lesson here, isn’t there?

Best Feedback Ever

We launched a new workshop series last month. Our $10 Toolkit workshops are designed to be a low cost, high value experience for anyone interested in learning a new skill quickly. For the low investment of one hour and ten dollars, participants are introduced to a simple management tool or concept. Our goal is to help people be more effective in their work.

Our first $10 Toolkit was focused on Situational Leadership – matching your management approach to the developmental level of your employee around each task. We had a half dozen participants.

Last week, I happened to run into one of those participants, a small business owner, on the street.

“Everything about the way I work with my employees has changed as a result of that workshop,” he said.

We didn’t have time to talk at length – he was busy running his business. But we didn’t need to. In one sentence, he told me everything I needed to know.

(Our next $10 Toolkit is focused on a tool designed to help you understand how we move through change – as individuals, and as teams and organizations. It’s not too late to join us.) 

Leadership is Hard

Leadership is hard.

This is the central theme that emerged from our first Leadership Circle session last Friday morning. The phrase coined by one of the members resonated with the group. It is hard. That's why there are thousands of leadership books written every year! There is not any one magic way to be a good leader, as evidenced by the broad range of topics our first group generated. Their interests ranged from "use of self as a means of inspiration" to "the balance of confidence and humility" to modeling work-life balance. This is only a snippet of what we discussed -- we are headed for great dialogue this year!

During the group check-out, we found out this group does not want to wait. They were looking for ways to "get started now". Guess that's not surprising from a group of stellar leaders!

Luckily, we get to start with our second group this Friday when another group of leaders from diverse backgrounds and workplaces will begin their journey with each other. I have no doubt that the dialogue will be just as rich.  

The Leadership Circle is a unique offering from Floricane. It is a facilitated monthly dialogue that will occur on the same day and time each month with a small group of leaders -- no more than 8 per group -- who have committed to come together for nine months. It is designed to attract a diverse blend of leaders from corporate, non-profit and governmental entities. It is a confidential space in which to explore the issues, opportunities and ideas that are central to effectively leading an organization or department/division. 

We're expecting to start a few new waves of the Leadership Circle next year. Drop me a line if you want to learn more about it!

October is here (and so is our newsletter)!

Our monthly newsletter is back, with some updates, some storytelling, and plenty of opportunities for personal and professional development.

Click here to read it, and click here to put yourself on the mailing list for future newsletters. Happy Fall!

7 Reasons to Sign Up for Sales Effectiveness

Perhaps you’re wondering if you should attend our upcoming Sales Effectiveness workshop series. Or maybe you want to attend, but don’t know how to convince your boss to pay for it. Well, let us help by laying out the top 7 reasons you should register today.

1. You get an Insights® Discovery personality profile.

Insights® Discovery is an incredibly useful tool for increasing self-awareness and awareness of others – both of which are key to effective selling. Profiles are about 30 pages in length and include 3 chapters: Foundation, Management, and Effective Selling.

2. You’ll learn to quickly assess your clients’ needs.

We’ll show you how to rapidly determine what drives your clients and what barriers may be standing in their way. Moreover, you’ll learn what you can do to meet your client where they are, not where you want them to be.

3. Time to put learning into action.

Since our workshop is a four-part series, you will have the opportunity to put your learning into action in between sessions.

4. A room full of awesome people (like you).

You will have the opportunity to learn, share and interact with other awesome professionals from across Richmond.

5. We’ll make it personal.

We’ll help you identify and refine your personal selling approach. Your clients are all different and unique, so why not approach them in your own unique way?

6. It’s a Floricane workshop!

If you’ve ever been to one of our workshops, then you know what we’re talking about. In addition to giving you meaningful and useful content, our workshops are relaxed and fun.  
7. Donuts.

Need I say more?

Click here for registration info!

How to Make More Time for Creativity

Photo from blog.brika.com. Click through for the original blog post!

I'm a big fan of this blog post about how to make time for creative projects. Even if you're not an artist or designer, these are still useful tips for how to make time for your "passion projects."

Here's a tip that I found helpful: "Walk away from a project, come back, and make revisions." 

Looking at a project with new eyes is a great idea, and it's definitely something I need to do more at the office, not just with my creative projects. Getting up from my desk, grabbing a cup of coffee, and taking a mental break is usually really fruitful for me and the work I'm tackling at the moment. And yet, I usually forget to simply take some time to free my mind and walk around for a few minutes.

Goal for the Fall: take more strategic breaks at work, and leave some room for creativity to manifest!

Lucky for us, we have Monument City Coffee & Records super close to our office,  just across Grace Street.