Monthly Archives: December 2019

new year’s resolution

Turn your New Year’s Resolution into a Powerful Life Changing Goal

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Last weekend I went to a Christmas party with my partner for the personal training center where she exercises in a group. The man sitting across from me told me that prior to this small workout group he had joined a local gym that was offering a 50% year-end discount. He had good intentions but never stepped foot in the gym. Instead he opted for the small group sessions with a coach who personalized the workout to suit his abilities.


This reminded me of how each year many of us set a New Year’s resolution to change something in our lives. These good intentions are easily forgotten and put aside. Change is hard and uncomfortable and it’s easier to do nothing.


Power of Coaching

The story of the man with the gym experience made me think of how important holding ourselves accountable is and how a coach can help us achieve our goals.


My experience this past year confirmed the importance of having a coach. I had set a goal to publish an online training course, but I had been procrastinating most of the year. I had started but my progress was stagnated.


Then I asked my contact with the publisher to coach me and hold me accountable. She did a great job and so far, I have published three courses rather than just the one I had planned.


Mutual Coaching

I suggest finding a friend who wants to achieve a New Year resolution or goal for the coming year and make an agreement to coach each other. I have an article and video on mutual coaching that you can consult to learn a few coaching skills. It’s simple, but the hard part is sticking to it.


Goal Planning

I recommend planning a date to meet and write down your goals using my goal planning worksheet and tutorial. Coach each other on writing the goal and give mutual critique until you get it right.


Next, before you leave the meeting set a date for your next get together to review progress and adjust.


If you follow my tutorials on coaching and goal planning and use the goal planning worksheet you are sure to turn your New Year’s resolution into something tangible and life changing.


light in the darkness

Be a Light in the Darkness

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It’s that time of year when giving to others is encouraged and supported. What better gift can we give than expressing gratitude and appreciation for those who contribute their knowledge, skills and talents everyday to get things done?


When we give recognition and express appreciation for the contribution people make, we light up something inside of them. And the best thing is that we also light something within ourselves.


Giving back is highly promoted at this time of year but it does not have to end at New Years. It can go on everyday throughout the year.  All that is needed is to make it top of mind and put it into practice.


If we all did this, we would completely change the world we live in for the better. It’s not that difficult. One candle can light millions and completely dispel the darkness from this planet.


Happy holidays!

employee performance

Jump-start Employee Improvement with this Key Tactic for Year-End Employee Performance Reviews

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As we near the end of another year many companies are having their managers conduct annual employee performance reviews.


There is usually a discussion of what has been performed well and what needs improvement. This is great and by adding my improvement tip you can really see tangible improvements in employee performance.


Set One Improvement Goal

Rather than set many goals focus on one at a time. Discuss the improvements you want to see with the employee and choose one that will bring the most gain. Explain why this is so important and how it will benefit you the manager, the department and of course the employee.


Write it Down

Take note of the improvement but better still turn it into a goal using my goal planning worksheet. Even better have the employee fill out the goal planning form and walk through it together. This way you can discuss any obstacles and the coinciding solutions and actions that are needed.


Provide Support

Once you have specified the goal and put it into writing ask what support they need if any to achieve their goal. Usually this support is what you need to provide as the manager. Write it down on the goal planning worksheet and make sure to discuss at the follow-up session.


Schedule Follow-up

Often managers get through the performance review session and do not meet the employee for another year so there is no measurement and feedback on the desired improvement. Rather, schedule a meeting in your calendars for within 90 days.


Keep Performance Records

Log performance that is positive and negative using my performance record form. This way when you meet the employee you have precise notes on situations that require praise and coaching.


Reinforcement

No need to wait until the follow-up session to give feedback. When you see the employee making improvements let them know right away. This will reinforce what the effort they are making and show you are noticing it.


Follow these simple steps and you are sure to see great improvement in the performance of each employee that reports to you.


training session

Training Session Planning Worksheet

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For a successful training session, no matter what the subject, it’s important to plan the training activity well. In a recent article and video, I covered how to create a cross-training plan to ensure that productivity does not suffer when employees are absent or leave suddenly.


In this video I explain how to create a training plan using my training session planning worksheet that you can download here.


Combine this worksheet with my 7 Steps to Effective Employee Training article and worksheet and you are sure to greatly improve employee training. These tools are free to download so read those articles, watch the video and start training more effectively.


training session