,

The Power of Asking a Great Question

If you are helping a client, colleague or team member with a problem, asking the right and relevant question will help guide the conversation. Don’t assume what has occurred. Ask specific questions to obtain the background information that will set the scene to enable you to be of assistance. Often you will find, when asking a series of questions to attain information, the individual that you are assisting will often resolve the issue themselves as they verbalize the background and the steps they have taken so far to resolve the issue.

It is not often the knowledge that is missing to prevent an individual from taking action; it is the motivation to follow through and execute on what is required to resolve the situation—working out how to encourage motivation to act and getting buy-in to execute increases the attainment of results. Possessing the self-confidence to take the next best step in a situation also often requires the ability to help an individual feel empowered to do so. 

When a situation or challenge is shared, that is problematic, asking questions and eliciting ideas from the individual on how they feel the situation could be addressed. It can be as simple as ‘Do you have any ideas on how this issue could be resolved?’ or ‘Is there anything that you could do to help with xx?’ this will develop their capacity to see themselves solving the problem and building their resilience and responsibility muscles that in turn will increase their self-confidence

  1. Ask specific questions about the situation to obtain background information and question on what action they have taken to date to resolve the issue/challenge.
  2. Test the motivation of the individual to execute the action steps to resolve the issue/challenge. 
  3. Ask individuals for their input, suggestions or ideas on how to solve a problem.

Executive coaching can bring you, your team, and your business support and elevated success,  please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
,

Quarter 4 Goals | Your Playbook for Success

For many, at the beginning of the year, you may define business, professional and personal goals and have the best intentions; however, life happened, and you may not be on track to accomplish all you had originally set out to do at the beginning of the year. It is now time to refocus and end the year well.

What will you professionally focus on in Q4?

I discuss Q4 business priorities with many of my Executive Coaching clients. For those of you that do not have a clear plan for Q4, and to assist you in thinking about how you can approach this activity, I have outlined some areas below that I am working on with clients that may help you formulate your areas of focus for Q4. 

What are your key business areas of focus in Q4?  

When conducting a deep dive on my business quarterly, I focus on the following areas:

  1. Client Base + Customer Acquisition
  2. Financial + Revenue Generation
  3. Operational + Execution
  4. IT + Digital
  5. Human Resources + Attracting & Retaining
  6. Sales + Marketing
  7. Administrative + Process
  8. Process Mapping + Improvements

What are your professional and personal goals for Q4?

I set my annual professional and personal goals; however, I also conduct quarterly reviews, and where goals need to change, I pivot and update this list as the year progresses. If you have not done this in 2021 yet, it is time to look back at your original goals. Cross off what you have achieved to date, review what is still outstanding and analyze if those goals still stand as important or need to be completed in Q4. 

As we are in the year’s home stretch with only three months remaining in the calendar year, it is a great time to redefine focus areas for the remainder of the year. Are the goals you initially indicated that you would be working on this quarter still relevant? Due to your current circumstances, do they need to be updated, abandoned, or a new pivot introduced?

The following are eight areas that I think about during my quarterly review. You may include more or less and should base the categories on your situation. When I focus on areas of priority moving forward, I initially rank myself on each item below. We are only as strong as our weakest link, so that is why it is important to look at your whole life canvas and evaluate where you rate yourself, pivot and correct direction if necessary and be confident in the direction you decide to take. 

  1. Career – where do I want to be in my position by December 31st, 2021
  2. Financial – quarterly financial goals
  3. Intellectual – technical or interpersonal professional development focus for the quarter
  4. Parental – areas of focus with each child
  5. Physical – body health and exercise goals
  6. Psychological – attitudinal and emotional focus
  7. Relationship – areas to focus on with significant other
  8. Social – extended family, social and collegial relationship focus

Recognize what is and what is out of your focus of control.  ~ Jenny Reilly

Momentum - jenny Reilly Consulting

Keep the momentum going:

  • Once you start on your goal, connect with your motivators (your ‘why’ for working on the goal) and set a habit frequency to work on your goal daily.
  • When possible, it is best to work on a goal on a specific day/s weekly, to enable consistency in pushing the goal forward.
  • A final note on motivation, when you are working towards something, start with the easiest task first just to get started.
  • Attaining a quick win will help your momentum. 

Focus on what will provide you with the biggest impact professionally and personally in Q4. Once you have reclarified your goals for Q4, break them down into manageable steps, map out your milestone dates, and notate them in your calendar. We need to understand that obstacles may arise in the quarter to slow down progress on our goals; however, if you proactively plan what and how you will complete each step, you will have a greater likelihood of not being derailed and attaining your goals on, or before schedule. 

Take decisive action on your goals. I think of quarters as sprint runs. I have the energy and focus to work on complex projects over three months. A quarter is long enough to make a real impact and short enough not to get bored with the actions required for completion. 

Objectives are not just achieved magically, and work has to be intentional, focused, and planned to make things happen. 

Define your Q4 focus

  1. CLARIFY: When you detail your focus for Q4, it will help you clarify what action you need to take and provide you with the right mindset to move forward.
  2. DESCRIBE each area of focus into a specific goal statement when you detail what needs to be done, how you will do it, and when it provides you with a framework to work within.
  3. ACTION: Taking the first step on a goal is always a motivator to help you take the next. For each action item required, ensure you assign due dates for the activity, so you can map out what can be done by December 31st, 2021.
  4. PRIORITIZE: Having defined goals for the quarter will enable you to prioritize your work to ensure you stay on track and will assist you from falling into a procrastination rabbit hole.
  5. VISION: You can’t go anywhere unless you know where you are going – having your goals to focus on, daily reviewing your list and scheduling the next best step for each will help you formulate a path moving forward.

Your Q4 goals should be thoughtfully formulated. They should motivate action, have clearly defined tactics and an implementation timeline. 

  1. What do you believe you can accomplish in Q4? 
  2. What are your top five priorities over the next 90 days?
  3. What metrics will you track?
  4. How do you see the next three months rolling out in your schedule?
  5. What is your intention, what steps are required, and when will you do it?

Q4 with your team

With each of your teammates at your next team meeting:

  • Evaluate what worked well (in Q3 or over the last three quarters), what did not, and learnings/take-aways from both
  • Determine what action will be continued
  • Provide kudos to those who accomplished goals in the last quarter

If you encountered any wins, setbacks or failures, acknowledge them, learn from them, analyze what went wrong, what went right, and how you could have done things differently to improve the outcome. Reflection on January – September will enable you to facilitate greater progress in Q4. 

 

Achieve your Quarter 4 goals by answering some of these questions and focusing on your key professional and personal areas. If you need support with your strategy and priorities to hit your end of year targets, my executive coaching and business consulting support can help you, your team, and your business excel, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

 

/by
,

Leadership Situation Analysis | Change is Constant

Situation Analysis

Competent leaders understand that they need to stay on top of dealing with change. A situation analysis enables leaders to clarify how they lead, identify issues, challenges, and opportunities, and validate the resources required to match the situation. An adaption to leadership style may be required and is dependent on the situation.

Whether in start-up mode, encountering a business crisis and making a pivot in product or service delivery, going through a period of accelerated growth, realigning business priorities to match the market, or focused on sustaining success and longevity in the business, there is a framework that you can use to ensure success. 

Situation Analysis - Jenny Reilly Consulting - Executive Coaching and Business Consulting

 

Start-up or Expansion

In start-up mode, rapid execution is required in addition to a close focus on budget and finances, people, and technology. A great deal must be worked on with minimum resources and tight timeline constraints. Attracting, recruiting, and onboarding a high-performing team while at the same time building the right strategy is essential. During this phase, successful leaders are organized, make well-informed decisions, and are energized by the business possibilities.

When experiencing periods of accelerated growth, a leader must focus on implementing systems and processes to support scalability. With rapid growth comes the addition of more employees. The challenge is to attract, onboard and integrate them while ensuring transparent communication on the vision, individual expectations, KPI’s and essential engagement to do better and be better in the business. 

Crisis Management

In times of operational crisis, a pivot may be required in product or service delivery to save the business. Leaders need to be transparent every step of the way. When we know what may be coming our way, it is easier to prepare and lean into a situation to enable the strength to change it.

Long Term Success

When focusing on maintaining the longevity of success, the continual focus needs to be maintained on the team and innovatively looking at new ways to improve the business and take it to the next level of success. 

No matter where your business is on the scale, from start-up to maintaining longevity in the market, there are strategies and a framework that you can put in place to ensure success.

 

If you want to learn more about how implementing these frameworks and executive coaching can bring you, your team, and your business success, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
, ,

Resilience, Grit and Optimism! | Learn from the Experts

 

Life throws you curve balls continuously. I believe that three key attributes will serve you well, resilience, grit, and optimism.

How you respond to a situation through action, language, and body language is critical. Your determination to move forward out of a situation requires grit, and to positively envisage a path ahead involves optimism. Your level of self-confidence, mood, emotions, and attitude will help you guide your journey, so you want them to be positive.

  • Look for the good in a situation — the glass half full is always better than the alternative.
  • Look for the lesson in a negative or challenging situation, name it, learn from it and move on.
  • Look for the solutions to a problem. Be curious, process issues into smaller compartments, and work through each part until you resolve the issue.
  • Relentlessly focus on your goals, and they will come to fruition.

LEARN FROM PEOPLE WHO YOU DEEM SUCCESSFUL… ASK THE EXPERTS!

 

This week ask two people who you identify as successful (professionally, personally, financially) and ask them,

 

‘Can you share three strategies you use around productivity, balancing life’s demands, or finances that you feel I could use in my life?‘.

 

By asking two people per week for the next month (yes, you can do this in person, over the phone, via email or text), you will have 24 options to experiment with to help you improve your performance.

I encourage you to listen, be curious, and then personally try the strategies that resonate with you.

Why reinvent the wheel? If something is proven to have worked for someone around productivity, life hacks, or finances, try it and find out for yourself if it can help you in your situation.

 

‘For 20 minutes in the morning, as a part of my daily routine, I read for professional development. Learning new skills, and developing capabilities and competencies enables me to get better at my consultancy’s critical tasks. Continuous professional development is the key to success.’

~ Jenny Reilly ~

I asked two successful business owners to share three strategies that they have used to help balance life’s demands.

Heather Piowar

Co-Founder — Our Research: Tools to make scholarly research more open, connected, and reusable

Sarah Hay

Founder — Sarah Hay Design: Interior Design and Home Staging Specialist

  • Productivity — On my to do list put my most difficult tasks #1. Getting it done first makes the rest of the day easier.
  • End of work day routine — Organize and prep for next day.
  • Balancing life’s demands — Take time each day to exercise, meditate and laugh. It’s a good day if I get all three in!

 

‘Throughout my many years of experience I have encountered leaders who have lost the drive that propels them forward personally and professionally.

Without it both companies and individuals become stagnant. My objective is to help individuals and companies develop strategies to sustain focus and high-performance over the long term and continue to grow.’

~ Jenny Reilly ~

 

If you are interested in learning about professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by
,

Take A Break | Forest Bathing Vs. Beach Bathing

As an Australian living in Canada, at this time of year, when I am seeing my family and friends post pictures of being at the beach, I am very envious. Going to the beach was one of my favourite pastimes that I had to swap for going into the forest.

Forest Bathing Vs. Beach Bathing

Having a 90-pound bernadoodle that requires a great deal of exercise, my go-to, favourite thing to do is to go for long walks in the forest or along the waterfront.

As I put on multiple layers to go outside in Vancouver, Canada, these breaks in my routine help refresh and rejuvenate me.

Now you may have heard of the term ‘Forest Bathing,’ and if not, excuse me while I briefly explain.

This term was initially coined in Japan and called Shinrin-Yoku, a.k.a forest bathing. In stressful positions, we can forget how many hours daily we spend behind our screen, lose track of time and work through even when our energy, focus and productivity are waning.

A short walk outside, around the block, or if you are fortunate enough to live near a forest, a walk in the woods can be a great way to help you reenergize and motivate yourself.

When walking in the forest, especially when I am with my daughter and bernedoodle, we practice being mindful, meditative walking, or simply being aware of what we SEE, HEAR, SMELL or TOUCH. Turn off your cell phone, walk slowly, often stop and look around and engage your senses.

If you are not already, schedule time in your day to get outside and take a break.

The return on investment for your focus and productivity will be threefold.

 

Do you feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to take a break. Are you overwhelmed by all your priorities? Get in touch today to see how we can help.

If you are interested in learning about how professional development or executive coaching can help support your leadership or your leadership team, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session.

Get your leadership strategies and tactics in my monthly newsletter, sign up here to subscribe.

/by