Shades of Success, Inc.

The ABC's of Empowerment

When asked to give a talk about empowerment at a recent event, my immediate reaction was,  "how much time do I have?" 

Empowerment is a loaded word.  Wikipedia has a few interesting definitions.  In a nutshell, empowerment means to give power to someone. This meaning implies that someone lacks power in whatever form it may be:  economic, social, political, etc. Empowerment in this example is an external change is someone's life.

I consider personal empowerment the key to reaching all other forms.  Personal empowerment manifests in increased self-confidence, ability to learn from mistakes, ability to manage one's life and make changes as needed. These are all internal changes within the person, which are hard to notice.

Can we really empower ourselves? How?  Why is it hard to do? 

Yes, we can give power to ourselves! We just need to become aware that we are the CEO's of our lives.  We can activate our self-empowering thinking by learning to appreciate our skills, abilities and strengths. By the way, do we know what those are?

Think of empowerment as a transformative experience. Like the caterpillar becoming a butterfly.  It takes some time but the result is life changing.

60th Anniversary - Declaration of Human Rights

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.  I just read the whole document and although every article of the declaration sounds logical and practical, as they say, it's easier said than done.   On the other hand, it is somewhat perplexing that we needed to have a written document to remind us of the basic and elementary rights of everyone who inhabits the planet.  Maybe because we take them granted.

The United Nations website has lots of interesting historical information and suggestions about how to participate in celebrations to commemorate the event.

A suggestion of my own:  Take ten minutes to read the Declaration, reflect on it and figure out ways to incorporate its principles into your daily life.  We don't need to leave our families and live in the middle of nowhere to fight for and uphold human rights.  Start right in your community. 

Do and Don'ts of Asking/Sharing Contacts

With holiday parties and networking events in high gear, the most popular question is:  "Could you introduce me to...?" Or, "do you know someone who a) will hire me; b) needs my services; or c) will help me with my current dilemma?"

Although there is nothing wrong with those questions at first glance, why do we hesitate when we hear them? 

Trust - How much do we trust the person asking to be introduced?  Will he make a positive impression on my contact?  How will he use the information he requests?

Expectation - What will your role be once you make the connection? By providing the name of a contact, you could become part of the email trail or get a play-by-play account of what is not working.  The best hands-off approach (with an expectation quotient of 0) is to connect people in person.  After making some general remarks about each other, let the two new acquaintances carry on and excuse yourself gracefully.

If you are doing the asking,

• Be clear on expressing your goal - Saying that you need a job or that you are looking for clients is not enough.  Be specific about the type of work and function or the type of prospect so you can be better matched with contacts.
• Be conservative in using the information obtained - Do not share with others phone numbers, email or physical addresses given to you as a referral.  Ask first then do.  In this age of identity theft and spam, people are turned off by the generous souls who share their friends and acquaintances personal information.  There is even a new term, "fram" (friends spam).  Do not risk your reputation by helping someone else build their mailing list.

Networking during the Holidays

Networking during the holiday season can become a missed opportunity to make a positive impression or a platform from which to advance your professional and business goals.

Most of us miss many an opportunity to expand our network and rub elbows with the top dogs when we focus on eating, drinking and hanging with coworkers that we talk with daily.  Why not change the routine and broaden our horizons a bit? 

If you are willing to seize the networking opportunity offered by holiday parties, consider:

• Attending an office/business party you have skipped in the past - This is another way to step outside of your box.  Find a buddy who is willing to share in the adventure of a new scene.
• Attending a party to learn about a networking organization - Professional, trade and industry groups are always on the lookout for new members. 
• Attending a holiday gathering  to accompany a colleague, friend or significant other -You will be in a supporting role and less guarded.  Your expectations--and stress level--will be low.

What networking tips have worked for you during the holidays?

 

The Habit of Giving Thanks

As Thanksgiving Day approaches in the United States, our thinking starts shifting from work to family and--perhaps--to holiday shopping.  Before we get caught in the whirlwind of parties and celebrations, let's take advantage of the upcoming holiday to consider making a habit out of giving thanks...every day.

Here are some tips to get started:

• Stop Complaining - Take notice of the small, pleasant things that occur in your life.  Whether it is someone holding the door open for you or a colleague giving you a compliment, start appreciating the positive, daily events that we tend to take for granted.  Complaining is wasted energy.  If you must vent, limit your complaining to several minutes and move on.
• Appreciate Yourself - Be grateful for who you are. Your talents, traits and contributions enrich your family life and professional environment.  Knowing your value not only boosts your confidence but also allows you to project a strong personal and professional brand.
• Appreciate Others - Get out of the habit of saying an automatic "thank you" with no eye contact. Instead try to be specific in your appreciation. Say something like, "Thank you.  I really appreciate your assitance on X." And look them in the eye.  Engagement is key for a "thank you" to be meaningful and effective. 

Celebrate Your Victories and Milestones

It has been almost two weeks since the Red Sox won the World Series for a second time in four years. Players and fans burst into celebratory demonstrations led by the Papelbon's Dance.

How do you celebrate your personal and professional accomplishments? Do you acknolwedge milestones?  Or are you too busy to stop for a moment to pat yourself on the back?   

Here are some tips on start celebrating your professional and personal achievements:

• Get into the habit of doing a quick, informal assessment of your accomplishments on a weekly basis.  Include every one even those that may appear small. 
• Keep tally of milestones that will enhance your resume (e.g. percentage increase in number of accounts, revenue, clients).
• Acknowledge those who contributed to your success.  There is no better compliment that public recognition.
• Create a celebratory ritual, dance, or song that you can recreate and associate with victory and success every time you reach a new goal. Or come up with your own version of the Papelbon's dance and make it fun! 

 

A Brand You World 2007

• Are you interested in developing or improving your personal or professional brand?
• Would you like to hear free advice and tips from experts in the field of branding?
• Are you comfortable with the teleclass learning format?

If you answered yes to all of the above, then you are a prime candidate to join the upcoming event on November 8, A Brand You World 2007 Global Telesummit.  Did I mention that registration will give you access to 24 free teleseminars? Long distance phone charges may apply.  However, if you want to give something in return, event organizers suggest you make a donation to the microfinance organization, Kiva.

If you are sold on the idea, go register by clicking here.  If you are on the fence, check out the speaker lineup and see it for yourself.  Hope to "meet" you there! 

To LinkedIn or Not LinkedIn?

Have you caught on to the LinkedIn frenzy?

For me it started during the Fourth of July holiday.  While doing my mid-year contact list review, I realized that I had signed up for LinkedIn a while ago. Since I did not use it often, I only had 12 contacts.  So I decided to conduct an experiment. I invited people on my email list to join my LinkedIn network.  Well, it has been three months and I am happy to report the following results:

• 70 contacts (LinkedIn calls them Connections)
• 5,600 Friends of Friends (the number of connections of all my 70 connections combined)
• 564,100 Friends of my friends' contacts

In its most basic form, LinkedIn helps manage your network of contacts online while allowing you to expand it easily.  Their tools search through your professional history and prompts you to link to others based on shared information such as company name, high school or college affiliation.

I would encourage anyone to try it out and gradually gain familiarity with the system.  For helpful tips on how to best take advantage of LinkedIn, here is a blog post from venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki.

Why and How to Join Professional Organizations

Why should you consider joining a professional organization, trade association or chamber of  commerce?

• To broaden your network, make friends
• To find job leads
• To learn about trends in your industry
• To meet the power brokers in your area of interest
• To promote your products and services

How should you go about it? Here are three ways to approach it:  1) Just do it, 2) One target in mind; and 3) Best of both.

The just-do-it approach happens when you feel compelled to join because a friend, coworker or significant other is a member.  This spur-of-the-moment decision may lead to many pleasant social connections that may or may not help your professional life in the long run. 

The one-target-in-mind tactic is not any better.  Some will only join a group if they are certain they will get a specific benefit (e.g. sales lead, hiring manager).  They fail to see the value in building relationships with other members and only focus on their one target.  There could be many missed opportunities as some of the less-known members could have a strong connection to the target.

My recommended approach:  Best of Both.  Figure out what is your interest in joining and identify several organizations that could potentially meet your expectations.  Do not join right away.  Attend one or two sessions to get a feel for the people, the networking dynamics and chemistry in the room.  Some organizations welcome the help of volunteers to run their events. This is a good way to learn about the people who run the organization.

Happy networking!

Relational Leadership 102

Everyone aspires to be a leader in some way or form.  That is because the word "leadership" evokes a positive meaning.  Popular belief says that a leader is someone who has power, is in charge and gets things done.

A relational leader accomplishes all of the above by establishing a partnership with employees, clients and other constituents. There are five elements that are the foundation of relational leadership:

• Mutuality - Parties relate to each other as equal regardless of title, rank or expertise.  Exercising mutuality in the real world could be challenging as there is a tendency to rely on and engage with the person with the most perceived power excluding the rest of the team.
• Optimal Conditions to Accomplish Tasks - Accomplishing tasks effectively and efficiently goes beyond creating processes and systems.  These must include all parties buy in and match expertise with needed outcomes.
• Fluid Expertise - Since all parties are regarded as equals, their input and contribution to the project are also valued as equally important as others.  The challenge lies in staying away from a know-it-all or know-nothing situation.
• Authoritative - Similar to fluid expetise, there needs to be a balance between become an authorititarian and deferring the authority role to others.
• Healthy Conflict - A well-rounded discussion ultimately will benefit the outcome.  When parties have opposing views, neither avoidance or coercion is recommended.

Where do you fit within these five elements? Which do you consider most challenging? Why?