Leadership and Coaching: A Responsibility, Not a Job

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In the ever-evolving landscape of team dynamics, particularly in sales and customer-facing roles, leadership and coaching are often perceived as separate tasks. However, the most impactful leaders and coaches recognize that their roles transcend mere job functions; they are committed to nurturing and developing their people as a fundamental responsibility. This mindset is crucial for fostering a thriving, engaged team. Here’s why adopting this perspective is essential:

Viewing Leadership and Coaching as Responsibilities

  1. Caring for People: True leaders and coaches center their roles around the well-being and growth of their team members. They go beyond setting goals and providing direction; they genuinely care about each individual’s personal and professional development. This involves actively listening, offering support, and creating an environment where people feel valued. When a culture recognizes and celebrates its people, it activates their potential and drives peak performance.
  2. Driving Skills Development: Effective leaders and coaches understand that their primary role is to drive continuous learning and skill enhancement. Leaders set the vision and strategic direction, but coaches work closely with team members to build their skills and confidence. This collaborative approach ensures that team members excel in their roles, contributing to both personal and organizational success. Imagine having a boss who consistently supports both aspects—how transformative would that be?
  3. Empowering Growth: Leaders and coaches are dedicated to empowering their team members. Leaders provide the vision and resources, while coaches mentor and guide individuals, encouraging them to take ownership of their growth. This dual approach fosters a supportive environment where individuals are motivated to reach their full potential. In the most successful organizations, this integration often results in what many would consider “the best boss ever.”

Creating Leadership and Coaching Synergy

  1. Aligning Vision and Personal Goals: Leaders establish the overarching vision and strategic objectives, while coaches help team members align their personal goals with these objectives. This alignment fosters a sense of purpose and motivates individuals to contribute effectively towards the broader mission.
  2. Enhanced Feedback Loop: Leaders focus on strategic and organizational feedback, whereas coaches provide personalized guidance and constructive criticism. Together, they create a robust feedback system that supports ongoing improvement and development at both the organizational and individual levels.
  3. Developing Future Leaders: Leaders are responsible for identifying and nurturing future leaders within the team. Coaches play a crucial role by mentoring emerging talent and equipping them with the skills and confidence necessary for leadership roles. This forward-thinking approach ensures a seamless transition and continuity in leadership.
  4. Resolving Conflicts and Building Cohesion: Coaches excel at managing interpersonal issues and fostering team cohesion, which contributes to a harmonious work environment. Leaders rely on coaches to maintain a supportive atmosphere, allowing them to concentrate on strategic decision-making.
  5. Motivating at All Levels: Leaders inspire through vision and strategic goals, while coaches help individuals motivate themselves by enhancing their self-esteem and skills. This dual focus on organizational ambition and personal growth results in a highly engaged and motivated team.

Leaders who view their roles as both leaders and coaches and embrace these roles as responsibilities rather than mere job functions, drive superior results. By fostering a people-centric culture, organizations create an environment where team members are empowered, engaged, and committed. This approach not only improves customer interactions and performance but also establishes a cycle of continuous growth and success.

For leaders aiming to enhance team performance through coaching, using AI-based tools like Marlee is a no-brainer. Marlee, from Australian company Fingerprint for Success, leverages advanced AI to deliver personalized coaching experiences, making it simpler and more efficient to guide employees through their growth journeys. For Generation Z employees, who thrive on immediate feedback and interactive learning, Marlee offers tailored insights and development plans that resonate with their tech-savvy nature. By using AI to analyze performance metrics and deliver customized coaching content, Marlee helps unlock the full potential of Gen Z employees, turning them into high performers and driving overall organizational success.

Go lead and coach—it’s your responsibility.

People Activation at Work: The Ripple Effect of Great Leadership

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In the realm of leadership, profound lessons often emerge from the simplest acts. Imagine a soccer player, drenched and weary, noticing the child right in front of him during opening ceremonies who is exposed to the relentless rain. Without hesitation, this player steps forward and offers his own jacket to the child. This small yet powerful gesture doesn’t go unnoticed. Inspired by this act of kindness, the other players quickly follow suit. This is the ripple effect of great leadership.

But why does this example resonate so deeply? Why is everyone so moved by the simplest acts of kindness? And furthermore, how the heck does coaching amplify such moments to create lasting change?

 

The Power of a Single Act

Leadership is often misunderstood as a command-and-control display of authority or the execution of complicated ideas and strategies. However, true leadership is more frequently found in small, intentional acts of compassion and empathy. The soccer player’s decision to protect the child exemplifies this beautifully. This single act not only provided immediate relief for the boy but also sparked a chain reaction among teammates. This ripple effect reminds us that small acts of compassion can flood the world with hope and inspire others to act similarly.

The Role of Coaching in Leadership Development

Coaching plays a pivotal role in harnessing and amplifying these moments of compassion. Here’s how coaching can transform individual acts into a broader culture of leadership:

  1. Awareness and Mindfulness
    • Coaching helps individuals become more aware of their surroundings and the impact of their actions. By cultivating mindfulness, coaches encourage leaders to be more intentional and notice opportunities for kindness and intervention, much like the soccer player did.
  2. Encouraging Authenticity
    • Authenticity is at the heart of impactful leadership. Coaches work with individuals to embrace their true selves, allowing them to act from their place of genuine concern and empathy.
  3. Building Confidence
    • Often, it takes courage to step out and act differently from the norm. Coaching builds confidence in leaders, empowering them to take those first steps, just as the soccer player did, knowing they can make a difference.
  4. Creating a Culture
    • Coaches help leaders understand the importance of creating a supportive and compassionate culture within their teams. When one person leads by example, as seen on the soccer field, it sets a precedent for others to follow, fostering a culture where empathy and support are the norm.
  5. Sustaining the Ripple Effect
    • Leadership coaches work on sustaining these positive behaviors. They help leaders implement systems and practices that ensure these acts of compassion are not one-time events but part of an ongoing culture!

The Broader Implications for Leadership and Life

The soccer player’s act of shielding the child from rain serves as a metaphor for leadership across all domains. Whether in the workplace, in communities, or in personal relationships, the ripple effect of great leadership lies in those small, selfless moments. Coaching ensures these moments are not fleeting but become ingrained in the leader’s approach to life.

Remember the old adage that a good leader is the same in public as in private. Well in leadership and life, never underestimate the power of one selfless moment. These moments, amplified through effective coaching, have the potential to create waves of positive change, transforming not just individuals but entire organizations and communities.

What do you or your business do to embrace the power of coaching to cultivate leaders who inspire, act with compassion, and create lasting ripples of hope and humanity?

Next Generation Coaching (AI Based) for the Worker of the Future

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Shifting from Boss to Coach/Mentor is critical for employee experience and the Worker of the Future. As leaders and managers, we must understand this evolution and get it right. People need to feel seen, heard, and celebrated. They don’t want to be just another butt in a seat at an office. The worker of the future wants their work to mean something, to be personal to them, and to get real, individualized support on their career growth.

With many workplaces engaging in hybrid, remote or even contingent work, it’s harder than ever to not only engage your entire workforce, but ensure they’re getting the coaching, mentoring, and development support they need to be their best selves and crush performance.

Enter AI coaching.

AI coaching is in its incipiency, and here to enhance rather than take away from human coaches. People like myself who have spent years training and developing a coaching style that creates real results want to be able to provide more at all levels and AI provides access for all. AI coaching is a critically important to supplement all workplaces and contingent workers.

How AI Coaching Will Shape the Worker of the Future

One of the most important attributes of AI coaching systems and services like Fingerprint for Success, evoach, the Rocky.AI chatbot, and others is that they can be delivered on demand. In our hyper-connected world where we’re using to having data and information available at our fingertips, AI coaching is an on-demand service that your employees can access anywhere and anytime. Just as remote and hybrid work have shifted to allow people more autonomy to get their work done during their personal peak productivity (whether that’s 4am or 11pm), AI coaching allows people to get real-time feedback on their problems and challenges so they can continue to learn, grow, and push through their own limitations.

AI coaching also harnesses the power of big data, culling from millions of data points about people, their characteristics, their behaviors, and our history as a species to make personalized suggestions for growth. In a way, AI coaching is like having access to a brain that knows everything about everyone, allowing your workers to benefit from top-tier insights. It’s similar to how human coaches work, drawing on their personal experiences, their training, and their past successes coaching others with similar struggles to prescribe a course of action for you. The difference lies in the amount of data AI has access to and how it synthesizes that data into a personalized plan. And, of course, the humanness of the interaction.

AI Coaching – Unlocking the Workplace of the Future

The future of work is not one to many – it’s one to one. AI coaching helps workplaces overcome the financial and logistical hurdles to ensure everyone has access to mentoring, coaching, and support to be their best and do their best. It democratizes coaching for all.

Imagine your organization employs 76,000 people – that’s roughly how many people work at Meta right now. Now, imagine you are all in and committed to shifting your workplace culture to one of coaching and mentoring. You decide that in addition to empowering your leadership to coach and mentor their teams, you want to hire human coaches to grow all your people so they can continue to succeed in the new world of work. You calculate that one coach can work with fifty of your employees. If you want every single one of your employees to have access to a coach, you would need 1,520 coaches.

Enter AI. With the help of AI coaching services and chatbots, you calculate that one coach can now double the number of employees they can work with, one hundred each. Now you need half as many coaches as you did before, saving you tons of money and labor hours. You also find that your employees do even better because they can access the on-demand AI coaching whenever they need it to coach themselves and then supplement their learning with personalized sessions with their human coach.

That is why I find AI coaching so interesting and exciting. It makes building a true workplace culture that is founded on coaching and mentoring possible.

Limitations and Challenges of AI Coaching

People need people. They always have and they always will. While AI coaching offers incredible advantages and possibilities for the worker of the future, it cannot replace the benefits of working one-to-one with an experienced human coach who really gets who YOU are.

AI coaching systems and chatbots are really smart, but they excel at synthesizing and regurgitating information. Yes, they have access to millions of data points, but they lack the creativity and innovation of the human mind. That is why AI coaching should go hand-in-hand with human coaching.

Relationships matter. Working with a coach is not a transactional experience. It’s one that grows and develops over time as both people get to really know each other and form a deep connection. This is what makes the coach/mentor and mentee relationship so powerful. You’re accessing wisdom, advice, and support for your career and self, but you’re also forging a bond founded on respect and partnership.

What do you think of the AI coaching revolution? Are you excited? Inspired? Frightened? Leave me a comment below or send me a message and let’s chat. If you’re looking for a coach to help you up the game, click here to learn more about my coaching services.

Coaching as a Vehicle for Workplace Transformation

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If 2020 was a massive shakeup, then 2021 is the year of shift and impact. To maximize your results and position your company to compete in the new workplace of the future, take the time now to create a coaching culture of connection within your organization. Coaching is the new connection currency. Our launchbox Coaching Systems will spur your launch plan for success and real-deal impact. Here are just a few of the transformations coaching can create in your organization:

Transformation #1: Develop the Real Leaders Within 

Our launchbox Coaching System will meet your employees and teams where they are and then develop the leadership behaviors they need to succeed in “YOUR” workplace of the future. We start by helping each of them establish the baseline with themselves and in your organization right where they’re at. Otherwise it does not matter. Then, we invite them to take the journey to shift their mindset. Mindset shift starts from within and we guide that through our proprietary Strengths & Story framework which helps them get to know themselves, what they’re about, and articulate their strengths, skills, values, and passions. When they really understand who they are, they’ll have confidence in their ability to articulate their value and lead with all of their talents from a place of strength.  

Transformation #2: Better Communication

We believe story is connection currency because our brains are wired to digest, receive, and engage with stories. And, understanding your own personal story allows you to form connections with others. It is the root foundation because when you can communicate through story you can connect and that bridges all these gaps that exist between ourselves and others. Understanding and articulating that story is the precursor to great communication. However, navigating the workplace of the future requires adding in highly effective tips and strategies for better communication. We teach audience-focused communication and skills like trust and empathy. Then you have a recipe for real-deal team and client success. We’ve seen even the most disconnected teams learn to effectively bridge the gap through their investment in our launchbox Coaching System. 

Transformation #3: Increased Client Focus and Profits

When your team communicates well, effectively bridges the gap (between generations, genders, cultures, clients’ pain, solutions, etc.), and shows up as their best selves every single day, everyone benefits. It doesn’t matter if you’re a B2B or a B2C company – when your house is in order, when you can tell a story that connects and communicate clearly, you can shift your focus from worrying about alignment and internal challenges toward truly carrying out your mission and vision for your organization externally. It’s not surprising that if you can use communication and stories to bridge the gap internally, well then external results will follow. This leads to increased client success, bigger profits for your company, and ultimately, greater impact on the world.  

Transformation #4: Enhanced Culture of Engagement and Wellbeing

If the last year has taught us anything, your workplace culture really, really matters. People need to feel safe, supported, and heard in the workplace. They need to feel like they belong and have a belief that you and they are growing together. All of us together. And how do you do this? Well we all come to the table with a different set of experiences owing to our age, gender, culture, education, etc. In the workplace of the future, diversity of experience is something that should be valued and celebrated. Knowing how to use simple communication tools to bridge that gap through alignment, trust, empathy and communication systems allows you to unite the best parts of your team’s varied backgrounds, reduces friction between individuals, and connects them to meaning and purpose within your organization. 

Transformation #5: Team and Organization Connection 

The worker of the future doesn’t want just any job. They want to feel that what they do matters and see the meaningful nature and tangible effects of the work they’re doing. In sum, they want to connect their own meaning and purpose to organizational impact. Coaching systems can provide a unique and personalized framework that meets them where they are, helps them discover themselves, and then gives them the tools to show up as the leader they want to be so they can create impact. It also helps them learn to coach themselves so they can sustain that system and keep creating massive impact every single day.

Interested in what our Coaching System can do for your organization this year? Reach out to us to schedule a free consultation and hear more about our client successes.  

5 Performance Review Tips for Managers

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Now that we’re back to work for 2021, it’s performance review season! Whether formal or informal performance reviews or day-to-day coaching, it’s important you really understand how to discuss performance in a manner that serves the employee. Specifically, performance discussions must connect with and make a difference for your employee. Your people want to do a good job for you, and they want these 3 simple things:

  1. To feel safe on the employment journey
  2. To feel like they belong to a team
  3. To have the ability to learn and grow.

So, show them how! Use these 5 tips to make sure you’re having great performance reviews and discussions which encourage your employees’ growth and fulfillment in the workplace.

Make It Relevant

Performance reviews must be relevant and directly correlated to the employee’s experience and their growth journey. You should be discussing things you’ve covered with your employee all year long and, although you can and should talk about new places for improvement, make sure that’s not all you’re talking about. Remember it’s about their growth and their journey.  Help them gauge whether they’ve been aware and conscious of the feedback as the first step.  Have they corrected or improved their behavior and results since you last discussed? Remember: your people want to learn and grow so make sure they understand that you have their back and show them the way!

Make Them Feel Safe

Few people, unfortunately, enjoy and look forward to having performance reviews or discussions. That’s why it’s important your employee feels safe from the very beginning. The safer they feel the more they will receive the information and start to understand that these discussions are gifts along the journey.  As I mentioned above, your people do want to learn and grow. So, remind them that’s all a performance review/discussion is – an opportunity to discuss areas of improvement so they can be their best. Even if you’re giving a positive performance review for someone who’s exceeding expectations, there’s always opportunity to learn, grow, have an aha moment and do better. Make sure your employee understands the performance review is about them and not about you – you’re sitting down to mentor, coach and show them the ways where they can level up, create impact, and make a bigger difference.

Remind Them That You’ve Got Their Back

In order to make your employees feel safe during their performance review, show them you’ve got their back. Be vulnerable. Share your experiences and for God’s sake, demonstrate gratitude for their service. Everyone needs that type of empathy. In this new world of work, people want to work for bosses and managers who are authentic, transparent, and who demonstrate over and over again that they want to see their team succeed. That is what we call other focused leaders. A little reassurance goes a long way, especially for your Millennial and Gen Z employees. Focus on creating trust within the conversation. For a roadmap on what NOT to do, click here to check out a list of common behaviors that actually create feelings of mistrust.

Ask Deep Questions to Spur Thought & Accountability

Nobody likes to be talked at or even worse, talked down to. To ensure you’re being heard and understood, make sure to ask “great” questions. And not just any questions. Good, deep questions that are open-ended, nonjudgmental, supportive, and ask them to grow and become accountable, are what constitutes a “great” question. Understanding the art of the question is one of the most important tools a next gen leader can have in their toolbox. Practice it now during this round of performance reviews and daily thereafter. There is no more important skill a real leader can learn.

Use Our GPS Communication System

Systems really work. They are the best tools one could ever use. GPS is our favorite communication tool here at launchbox because it friggin’ works. GPS stands for Gratitude, Permission, and Shared Experience. Using GPS allows you to deepen your relationships with anyone through effective communication. With our teams working remotely during COVID-19, it’s more important than ever that we get this right. Click here to check out more about our GPS communication strategy and download your free worksheet to put it into practice today.

Liked this post? Want more actionable ideas, tips, and tools? Reach out to us and ask about our virtual keynotes, remote workshops, and personalized one-on-one coaching. We can help every member of your team start creating success now. Get in touch!

The 6 Simple Ways to Pump Up Your Career or Business for Success in 2021

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2021 is here. The time of year where we pledge to take the lessons from the past twelve months to make ourselves better has officially arrived. Even though, between us, making ourselves better is every friggin’ day for types like us.

2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic shit show has changed absolutely everything about our lives forever. From the way we work, to the way we celebrate our holidays, and, most of all our lens for purpose-based behavior. So, looking for ways to reinvent your relevance, to pump up your career or business, and to create the impact and success you were meant to have in 2020?  Let’s go….

Focus on developing your skills with these 6 Simple Ways to Crush It in 2021. Know them, understand them, internalize them, and reach out to us for help implementing. We’ve got your back!

1. Create Good Habits

Good habits for you are foundational. You can’t make a difference or impact anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first.

Good habits can slide, however, so it’s time to bring them back in the New Year! If your habits were a little lacking in 2020, now is the time to really commit and change your life.

Good habits look different for every person. Do what works for you.

At a minimum, they should include some daily commitment in each of these key areas: health, fitness, relationships, reflection, and growth. Want examples? Here are some keystone habits you might consider adding to your daily routine this year:

–Exercise for 30-60 minutes every day.  Or just move for a set period daily!!!!

– Eat With Awareness: Be cognizant of what you eat and how it makes you feel.

–Meditate Daily.

–Focus on Gratitude.

–Connect With Others Who Lift You Up Daily: face-to-face or on the phone/Zoom with one person every day.

–Learn and Grow: Spend fifteen minutes each day reading or listening to a podcast for self-development.

The list goes on from there. Need more ideas? Reach out to us anytime and we can suggest some micro changes you can make to your daily habits.

2. Know and Understand the Power of Relationships

Good and healthy relationships matter! They are the single most important life/work skill. So, work on them. Follow your ABC’s: Always Be Connecting. The most successful people in the world know, understand, and practice this. However, we generally suck at cultivating new relationships and strengthening our existing ones. COVID-19 and social distancing definitely has not made this any easier.

Great communication is one of the critical components of relationship-building. You can probably think of a few examples from your own life where poor or miscommunication contributed to hurt feelings, anger, and even relationship damage. This is why it’s so important we learn to communicate at a high level. We published a recent blog all about communication – click here to check it out and learn some new tools for success.

If we want to succeed in 2021, we have to put aside our excuses and commit to learning this critical skill. Don’t forget – one of the most important relationships is the one you have with yourself. This year, go deep with others AND yourself to create impact.

3. Understand and Leverage Your Strengths

If you’ve been through our Strengths & Story workshop or coached with us, you know we start by helping you identify your strengths. One of our favorite tools is StrengthsFinder, though that isn’t the only way to get a handle on what you bring to the table. Your friends, family, peers, and bosses can all help you identify the areas where you naturally shine.

Come up with a list of your 3-5 top strengths and then audit your life by asking a series of questions:

– How are you already using your strengths to your advantage?

– What areas of your job or career are a mismatch for your strengths?

– How can you do more of what you’re good at in the future?

To be successful in 2021, lean in to your strengths, what makes you uniquely great, and be able to articulate them. Knowing, understanding and explaining how to really leverage your strengths will help you help others. In turn, this will help get you exactly where you want to go, whether it’s a promotion, new job, or new business.

4.Know Your Values, Passions, and Skills

In our book, Chasing Relevance, we presented a simple equation:

Strengths + (Skills + Passions + Values) = Your Value to Others

Once you’ve identified your strengths, it’s time to focus in on identifying your values, passions, and skills. These four things together constitute the value you can bring to others. When you know and can communicate that value, you can create more impact, more success, and play a bigger game.

Start right here and now by learning the difference between values, passions, and skills and brainstorming a short list for each.

-A Skill is something we have that others would value or that gives value to others. A Skill is something learned, developed, or honed, rather than a natural predisposition.

-Passions are those things that make your heart sing, that light you the hell up. These are usually easier to identify and often found by considering the answer to this question: what would you do if money didn’t matter?

-Values are your real deal principles or standards of behavior. These are NOT the things you value like family, friends, and security. Your Values are your personal code or way of being.

5. Develop a Personal Brand

You might not think of it this way, but you have a personal brand and story. Just like a corporate brand, your personal brand says something about you. When people work with you, speak with you, interact with you, they have certain expectations of what that experience will be like. Just like how we look at the Apple logo and think quality, sophistication, and leading-edge technology, people look at us and form opinions of our brand.

The good news is, just like a corporate brand, you have control over your personal brand and story. You get to choose who you want to be and how you want to be perceived by the world. You just need to then deliver on that promise every single time.

After the rough year we had in 2020, you might be ready to reinvent and refresh your personal brand and image for 2021. We can help! Reach out to us to learn more about our on-demand coaching product, Hooga. It includes a great module all about finding and living your personal brand.

6. Learn How to Tell a Connective Story

In this hard and scary year that disconnected us from our teams, peers, clients, friends, and family, we learned the value of connection. Being able to form connection with others quickly, no matter the medium, is one of the most critical skills for our success in 2021.

At launchbox, we teach our clients how to tell their or their company’s connective story. A connective story is one that communicates your own value to others in a way that demonstrates the impact you can make for them. Think of it as an answer to the age-old interview question, “Why should I hire you?” While we might not be job hunting and going on interviews, every single conversation we have with others is built around versions of that same question. “Why should I listen to you?” “Why should I trust you?” “Why should I continue working with you?” Connective stories answer these unspoken questions. They also allow space for the other person to feel heard. Being able to listen and absorb feedback is as important, if not more important, than what you actually say.

After reading through this list, you might find that you’re doing okay in a few areas while lagging behind in others. Or maybe you’re struggling in all six areas.  That’s fine. Just start!!!!  Start from where you are and make a commitment right now to doing something about it. If you want tomorrow to be different than today, then you need to be different.

We want to help get you there. It is what we do. From personalized coaching, team training, leadership development, to on-demand training with Hooga, we can help you make this your best year yet.

Go ahead, test us. We’ve got your back with these 6 Simple Rules to Coach Yourself to Success.

Go BIG or Stay Home: What’s Your Game Changer?

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Let’s face it, there’s always something we could be doing better in our business. These changes may be different for everyone, but they can always be broken into two categories: minor adjustments or game changers. A minor adjustment may improve the way your business runs, but a game changer redefines it. It allows you to function on an entirely different level than you were before.

A game changer can be an action, a decision, a new system or process, or simply a new idea.

Have you found yours yet? If not, here’s how you can discover your company’s game changer.

Ask the Right Questions

In order to find your big idea, you have to know what you’re seeking. Define the industry you want to conquer in clear terms.

  • Who is the audience, and how do you want to impact them?
  • What are other industry leaders doing?

Next, take a hard look at your company.

  • What do you want to change about it?
  • Do you want more growth, a better image, more client loyalty?
  • What are your goals and how can you reach them?

During this step, you should also decide what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve these goals. If your company has always been a “mom and pop” establishment, you might have to lose that title to become a truly innovative organization. You may have to abandon other ideas to change course entirely, and you may have to let go of employees who are resistant to change. If you decide what you’re willing to lose ahead of time, it will be easier to make the decision later.

Get Creative

Use inspiration from others when you need it, but don’t let it be your driving force. The best innovators are self-made, not copycats. Sometimes, however, we have to accept that perhaps we aren’t capable of ingenuity on our own. If this is the case, surround yourself with talent. Whether you’re hiring the brightest minds in your industry or cultivating talent among your existing team, you should strive for a culture of creativity to fuel your game changing potential.

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Success won’t come immediately. There will be false starts and disappointments, but with persistence you’ll find your “ah-ha” moment. The key is to take each discouragement as a learning experience, and build on your failures to achieve your ultimate goal. It takes humility to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, but with persistence, you can use both to reach your objective.

By asking the right questions, you can help create a blueprint of what your game changer might be. Once you tap into your creativity and perseverance, your path to this defining moment in your company’s story will become clear.

Are you ready to find your game changer?

Are You My Mentor?

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The mentor/mentee relationship is an established part of our culture, from childhood Bigs & Littles programs to university fraternities and sororities. But in the workplace, where it’s arguably the most useful, this relationship can often be difficult to initiate and maintain.

Of course, the first step in establishing a productive business mentorship is locating your mentor. Here are a few tips that will help you find a mentor that’s a good fit for your personality and professional goals.

Let It Happen Naturally

We aren’t saying that you shouldn’t be proactive; we are saying that you should actively put yourself in situations that will allow you to find a mentor. Whether that means attending company functions or industry events and workshops, you have to be in the right environment to facilitate professional mentorships.

That being said, don’t try to force anything. When you meet the right mentor, allow the relationship to develop organically. If your personalities and interests match, you will naturally form a symbiotic partnership that is beneficial to you both.

Keep an Open Mind

If you’ve got a mental image of who your mentor might be, get rid of it. More often than not, you’ll be surprised when the right person comes around. They may be a different age, gender, or personality type, or even in a different industry than you initially planned. Having expectations may cause you to overlook the perfect mentor when that person finally arrives.

The relationship itself also may not go exactly as you planned. If it’s more or less hands-on than you anticipated, or geared towards a different aspect of your professional career, embrace those differences. They may lead you to new, unexpected places that can round out your experience and skillset.

Set Goals

While staying open and flexible, you should know what you want to get out of a mentor/mentee relationship. Whether that’s improving your skills, expanding your network, or simply establishing a support system, clarify these goals ahead of time. This will help your mentor understand how best to guide you, and give you a sense of direction as you gain experience.

Your mentor may also have something they would like to achieve as a result of your relationship. Be sensitive to their needs as well, and keep in mind that their goals may actually help you too. By working together, you can both benefit.

The process of looking for the right person can seem daunting, but if you approach it as an organic, open arrangement, finding your mentor may be easier than you think.

Where did you find your mentor? Share your tips and advice with those of us who are still looking.

What Michael Jordan Can Teach You About Failure

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As painful and discouraging as failure can be, it is an important part of the growth and learning process. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball legends, offers some of his wisdom about falling short, and how to use it to move forward.

Learn from your own failures as well as those of others.

Everybody fails. Rather than cower from this fact and avoid even trying, face it and learn from it. See your failures – and other peoples’ – as opportunities for growth.

If somebody failed trying to accomplish what you are doing, find out why. There’s no need to make the same mistakes if you can learn by asking questions.

Mindset will make you win or lose before you even start.

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Get closer to success by reaching higher. Having high standards for yourself, keeping a positive mindset, and working hard to achieve your goals are all essential to accomplishing anything.

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

Be the type of person who makes things happen. Always work hard for what you want and keep your goal in mind. If you think derogatorily, with entitlement, or negatively, you’ll accomplish nothing and will only discourage others, including your own team, in their quest for success.

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.”

It’s important to remember the goal of winning or achieving something. Focusing on the potential loss only pulls your attention away from the positivity required to move forward.

Selfishness in success equals loneliness in failure.

“If you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Even if your slam dunk is the winning shot, the whole team wins, not just you. If you gloat, become arrogant, and don’t give credit to the people who taught you and achieved alongside you, they will not be supportive of you during your losses.

Failure is fuel for hard work.

“Failure makes me work even harder.”

Think of yourself as your greatest competition. Each day, you want to be better than the person you were yesterday. Sink more baskets, make more sales, and just improve. When you experience a failure, you’ve given yourself an opportunity to rise above it. If you only ever succeed, you have nothing to improve upon.

Fear of failure is only a distraction from success.

“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it’s an illusion to me.”

Trying and failing is better than not trying at all. Fear of failure makes many people afraid to even try, but the potential success they throw away is worth so much more than the failure could ever take away.
Learn from your failures and be better each day. Gain and grow from each failure, and watch yourself reach new heights. Be like Mike.

John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success

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Coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins spent his career fostering greatness. Throughout his time as a coach he has developed his ‘pyramid of success’. The pyramid puts emphasis on important traits such as Industriousness and Enthusiasm, which all build to the goal of Competitive Greatness. The idea behind the pyramid is that a truly great athlete, or person, must first foster these building blocks of determination in order to fully achieve success. Pyramid blocks include self-control, attentiveness, cooperation, and confidence, among others.

At launchbox we believe that the most important skill is relationship building, and that the relationship you have to work on first is with yourself. This pyramid is a great way to make sure you are being truly authentic in order to achieve greatness.

Check out the pyramid to see more details!

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