Effectiveness Tips
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” –George Eliot
Dos and Don'ts . . . For Your Consideration
DO NOT solve problems for others. Help them to solve for themselves. Help them to grow in purpose, mastery and autonomy.
DO unto others as THEY would have you do unto them . . . NOT as YOU would have them do unto you . . . . They are not you!
As you plan your career and build your networks and relationships, DO consider if the view has a high possibility of justifying the climb.
DO act child-like but not childish
(child-like = inquisitive, open, fearless, imaginative)
(childish = self-centered, lacking impulse control, etc.)
DO listen to learn . . . DO NOT listen to speak or to demonstrate how smart you are.
DO consider the alignment between your career decisions and the life you want to live. The greater the alignment the happier you will be.
DO stop talking to your exterior and begin to communicate with your interior.
When you hit a bump in the road, DON’T be mad, shocked or sad. DO embrace the bump, move forward with confidence and learn from it. Bumps are great teachers!
DO NOT judge or compare people who live to work with those who work to live. One is not better. We need both in the world. Mother Theresa lived to work and housekeepers may work to live, to support themselves and others and gain access to a better life; both types of work are equally noble.
Inflexible things are prone to break. DO NOT bind yourself to a life filled with inflexible routines, thoughts and ways.
DO take a step closer before arriving at a conclusion. Without context and close examination, a grasshopper might appear to be a leaf.
If your networks and relationships are lacking, DO check your empathy cupboard.
Unable to find your risk-taking muscle? DO check your internal confidence and find a key.
The most important relationship you will ever have (with a living being) is the one you have with yourself. DO build a loving, courageous and honest relationship with yourself.
DO become a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) for someone and make sure that you have one as well!
DO make sure you have a CAM (Chief Accountability Master) in your life (to stretch you – to hold your feet to the fire and help you to become the unstoppable you!)
DO silence the destructive gremlins in your head and send affirming and positive messages to yourself as a force of habit.
DO blend your leadership style with thinking and feeling (not either or).
DO know your strengths and understand that using them where opportunity lies in – combination with your talents, values, skills and passion is what makes you distinctive and highly valued.
DO know your weaknesses and own them. DO NOT become defensive about weaknesses. All humans have flat spots. If you recognize them, you can work around them. If you don’t, they can take you down.
DO know when to ask for help. Successful people who grind it out alone are rarely distinguished from successful people who asked for help! No one gets to the top alone!
DO not confuse being critical with being courageously authentic. The former is about negativity, the latter is about saying the unpopular thing in a constructive way to support progress.