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June 11th, 2009
By Luke Iorio, President, iPEC
The moment for leadership comes at the time of interaction – each and every time you interact with any other person(s), circumstances, and even yourself. In a split second, the opportunity to have a tremendously positive impact and influence is available to you.
How many interactions do you have in a day? How many conversations with others do you have? How many conversations do you have with yourself for that matter?
There are literally thousands of these moments every single day. When was the last time you took notice of these moments and made the most of them?
Prior to the point of interaction, we have all of the other situations in our life and work running through our minds. We have plenty of distractions to keep us busy. And, we have all of our prior experiences that are working to pre-determine how we’ll act “in the moment” of leadership and interaction. How satisfied are you with how these moments are going for you right now?
Whether you’re satisfied or not, you can always become more intentional and create a more powerful impact and positive influence in these moments for leadership.
If you have just 2 – 3 quick seconds to make an impact on someone today, what impact will you make? Who will you impact? Your child? Your spouse? Your co-worker? Your boss? Your employees? Your client?
Just a few weekends ago, in one of our coach training classes, several students were recounting how quickly some of their clients shifted when thinking about the above questions. Their coaching clients recognized how many chances they really have on a daily basis to make a difference in their own life and in the lives of others. The right coaching question can open up a window to possibility – possibilities that have likely been tapping at the window for a long time, and we’ve just been too distracted to notice.
Coaching yourself through these questions won’t take long. Will you make the time? What kind of difference could these answers make for you?
It’s time to take notice: The moment for leadership is now. What impact will you make today?
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April 20th, 2009
by Liz Fisch, VP of Academic Affairs
Spring is here – and it’s time for baseball. Though I have to admit that my favorite baseball games are those that my son plays in, I’m surrounded by die-hard Yankee fans at home and at work (and Bruce, who loves the Mets), and so, I follow Major League Baseball a bit and enjoy watching some games.
This year, I’ve been fascinated by Nick Swisher’s story. In a nutshell, for those of you who don’t know it, he was a 2002 first-round draft pick who came to the majors to play with the Oakland A’s in 2004 and then was traded to the White Sox. He had a pretty dismal year in 2008, and then came to the Yankees this year – and he is doing incredibly well.
So what happened in between last season and this one? Nick went home to his father’s house in West Virginia and got back to basics. He trained in a local gym, lifting weights and doing drills. He hit in a makeshift batting cage, and worked on regaining his swing.
Why? He made a choice. Look at some of the things he has to say:
“I got knocked down last year. You’ve got one of two choices: Get back up or you can stay down. I chose to get back up. I’ve been blessed to be put in such a wonderful situation to be over here, just to learn from these guys and to get that passion and flavor back into the game. I’m just really, really excited to be part of it.”
“That was really all the battle for me. Just believing in what I was doing.”
“I have my passion back. Somewhere along the line, I lost it.”
Making a choice to get back in the game (literally in this case) and believing in yourself and what you’re doing…what great lessons for the game of life from the game of baseball!
What game do you want to get back into? Is it time to put a spark back into your career/business? Your relationships? Your own enjoyment? What is it? It’s easy to lose that spark right now with stressful situations and seemingly difficult circumstances all around… but maybe this is the PERFECT opportunity to shed what’s not working for you and reinvest your time, energy, and effort into the areas of your life and work that have always meant so much to you.
I’m inspired by Nick – how about you?
To read more about Nick’s story, click here.
Tags: baseball, inspiration, motivation, Nick Swisher, personal achievement, self-improvement, Yankees
Posted in Coaching and Coach Training, Current Affairs, Uncategorized
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April 11th, 2009
by Michelle Kunz, Admissions/Career Coach and DC School Director
On a recent E-Factor call, iPEC founder Bruce D Schneider touched on a very timely topic for those of us who feel impacted by recent changes in the economy. He talked about how we define security.
Many of us have been taught to look outside of ourselves for security: find a great job, get into a great relationship, save a certain amount for retirement, get a great education, build this or that which will guarantee an outcome now or later. We feel secure when we have those “details” in place. As a result, when certain events change the details, our security can be shaken or even crumble.
Like any value, security is something we can choose to define for ourselves. We can choose to redefine what security means so that we become the source of our own security – instead of basing it on external details over which we have no control. When we are the CAUSE of our security, only we control whether we feel secure. When something else is at the CAUSE of our security, our security is reduced to an EFFECT of that cause.
As iPEC coaches, we have the unique opportunity to redefine security not only for ourselves, but also to support our clients in redefining what that means to them, whether that client is an organization or an individual. Once we help them reframe security such that they see themselves as the CAUSE rather than the EFFECT, they feel empowered, energized, and engaged. This is the shift our world is looking for right now.
Where are you putting your security in the hands of others? How can you reclaim that security and redefine it such that you are the cause? How will you feel when you have accomplished that?
To listen to the E-Factor show referenced in this post, “Overcoming the Fear of Recession,” click here.
Tags: cause and effect, coach, coach training, economy, life coach, motivation, new perspective, recession, security, values
Posted in Coaching and Coach Training, Current Affairs, Energy Leadership, Uncategorized
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February 12th, 2009
Today's guest blogger is Michelle Kunz, Director of iPEC's Washington, DC school.
February — the month of Groundhogs, Love and Presidents. What do these three have in common? At first glance, nothing at all. But if we look with curiosity — with the eyes of a coach, we begin to see a different pattern emerge.
We enjoy Groundhog Day as a fun, kid-centered tradition that will tell us how much longer winter will last. The expectation is that the groundhog will see his shadow or not, and this predicts our seasonal future. In our hearts we know there is little connection between a groundhog and the seasons, but we like the idea that we could really know how long until the sunny sun of spring can be counted on to stick around.
Valentine's Day — many people have a love/hate relationship with this day. If you're in a relationship, you may have expectations around what your partner should or should not do to observe the day which honors love. If you aren't in a relationship, you may have some feelings about that when people around you are receiving flowers and chocolates. Our society has laid plenty of expectations on us around what success in love should or should not be, and we often eat those messages up without giving very much consideration to how well they serve us as individuals.
President's Day traditionally honors our most famous and, some might say, heroic presidents from the past. Whether their stories are based on truth or have become the stuff of conventional legend is not as important to us on this day as that we have founding fathers that stand on very high pedestals and can provide role models for us. We often use these examples as guidelines for what we expect from our current leaders, regardless of the shift in cultural contexts which may have occurred since the founding of the nation. How can a modern president possibly stand up to the expectation to be a Washington or a Lincoln when these men have become more icons than actual men? And why would we measure anyone against the expectation to be anyone else?
Do you see the theme yet? Expectations. I learned earlier this year while on personal retreat a key difference between expectations and intentions, and it has to do with how much attachment we have around the end result. When we look at our goals with the eyes of a coach, we learn the difference between setting intentions and being passionately engaged in the activities which will get us there, and having expectations — insisting that the end result be this or that. We learn to be flexible within the context of our growth and development, and new possibilities enter our frame of reference as we move through our journey. I encourage you to explore this in your own life and see what you uncover.
Warm regards for a month free of expectations and full of intentions,
Michelle
Tags: coach, expectations, Groundhog Day, intentions, possibilities, President's Day, Valentine's Day
Posted in Uncategorized
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December 11th, 2008
Right now, because of the state of the economy, long work hours, stress levels, and an array of other issues confronting American families and professionals, most people are looking for something. Perhaps they seek purpose, clarity, joy, or perhaps it’s simply a renewed sense of peace, faith, and confidence.
I’ve created an audio recording called The Winning Attitude which offers simple yet powerful ideas for igniting a spark in your life and work in 2009 that will help keep you motivated, confident, energized, and balanced. In it, I talk about 3 key areas to focus on to help produce your own Winning Attitude for 2009.
This Power Talk is yours, FREE. No charge at all. At this time of the year and with all that we face, I felt strongly that this message should be shared. Enjoy…
Please click here to download your copy of The Winning Attitude now.
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