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HAPPY 2022! | WHEN IS YOUR WHITE SPACE?

We all need time to think and have uninterrupted time to plan and be innovative in looking at a problem or challenge. For years I prided myself on the ‘busyness’ of my job. There was no white space in my schedule. I went from one meeting or project to another with no unscheduled time in between. Now I pride myself on the opposite, and I ensure there is white space in my schedule, unscheduled time to enable a strategic pause that increases my productivity and focus three-fold.  

I encourage you to look at your schedule for the month of January and into February and make some significant changes to how you are spending your time. If there is a meeting that you do not need to be at, decline. If you do not have an agenda associated with a meeting, reschedule until you do. Introduce white space in your calendar between meetings, block off focused time to work on projects, allow whitespace in your calendar. This pause in your time will allow you to follow up on items and circle back on any special action items that require your attention. 

For every ‘yes’ you make throughout the day on a work item, ensure you have a ‘no’ or delegation of action to another. These simple actions will assist you in beneficial workflow changes, improved communication, and reduced weekly stress. 

Enabling white space in your week provides you with time to think, plan, strategize, implement, execute and reflect – all items that we never otherwise permit time for in our schedules. When you look at your week differently, you will see that you will consciously move low-value tasks from your schedule and spend more time focusing on what is important that will give you increased bottom-line results.

When planning your week, focus on high-value tasks and assess what you can delete from your schedule. If you are a perfectionist, assess the time you require to complete a task and determine what is good enough. Turn your notifications off and allocate time to respond to email queries rather than perpetuate ‘reactive’ mode when notifications are received 24/7. 

Your New Year Professional Development Goal

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Ensure there is white space in your calendar!

If you want to learn more about, leadership coaching, and how your can prioritize your high-value tasks to maximize your success throughout 2022 for you, your team, and your business, reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

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Team Member Development

As we near year-end, after you have conducted your quarter 4 review and set your intentions for 2022, I encourage you to list each person in your team or small business and connect with each one of them. This discussion is not an annual review but a check-in on their professional development progress. If you had identified professional development training or areas of focused development previously, then check in on progress or completion and outcomes. If not, use this time to identify the individual’s technical or soft skills gap and define an improvement plan. Professional development does not have to involve time away from the job. It can be as simple as the following:

  • Hold a lunch and learn on defined topics requiring attention. The topic should address a bottleneck or choke point in a process or the operations, at the beginning of the session plot where individuals rank their knowledge and again at the end of the session.
  • Reference a relevant book, podcast, or online training session (e.g., LinkedIn Learning module) that will assist. Ask the individual when they can finish the item and set up a time to follow up in their schedule and discuss their takeaways and how they can be implemented in their position.
  • Have a standing agenda item on the individuals one-to-one to ensure the topic identified is actioned.
  • Discuss professional development themes that can be a focus for each quarter in 2022. 
  • Implement a daily huddle with the team for a maximum of 15 minutes to focus on priorities, discuss challenges and obstacles and determine an action plan to move forward.

If you can encourage and practice having a desire to learn and be better in one position, in addition to demonstrating action and relentless follow-through, team members will develop and be encouraged to always be on the lookout for how to do things better and improve.

If you want to learn more about, leadership, team member development, and executive coaching for you, your team, and your business, reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.

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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.

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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.

 

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Leadership Style | What makes a good leader?

Leadership Function and Style

Every leader’s #1 function is (or should be) to communicate, engage and motivate others towards a vision. Leadership style, on the other hand, is unique to an individual and can significantly vary. There are leadership style elements that effective leaders possess, including:

  • authenticity, 
  • decisiveness, 
  • focus, 
  • strong verbal and written communication skills, 
  • excellent hard and soft people skills, and 
  • the ability to always be looking forward with energy and positivity.

One of the biggest challenges that many face within an organization is the frustration around a leader’s inconsistencies. I mean what individuals are told versus how the leader acts. If a leader is inconsistent and does not ‘walk the talk,’ the business suffers, the people are not actively engaged nor working to their best, and lack of business growth and profit loss are a direct result.

Effective leaders:

    • Live by their values as simply as they breathe. 
    • Authentically lead, transparently communicate, execute on the action, and are consistently focused on moving the vision of the business forward.
    • Walk the talk and are exceptional role models.
    • Act decisively, however, are not inflexible. They are willing to pivot or adjust upon new information or circumstances. Shoulder poor decisions, and always share the credit when good decisions are made. 
    • Focus on one priority at a time with full attention. 
    • Manage their time, and recognize time is finite.  
    • Treat each day as a new day. Have a focus on continuous professional improvement, are curious, and love to learn.
    • Provide their personal touch with every interaction. They talk to people, ask for their feedback, and are visible (even if only on zoom due to the pandemic). 
    • Demonstrate self-discipline and the will to do what it takes, no matter how hard, until they achieve their desired outcome.

‘Life is too short to focus on things and people that you are not enjoying.’

~ Jenny Reilly

3 Leadership Questions to Answer:

  1. Do you have the right people in your team/business? If you have less than 90% of the right people on your team, that becomes your #1 priority. 
  2. Are your people on their A-game? If not, the decision is either to develop, replace, or move the person to an alternate position better suited to their strengths and capabilities. 
  3. What is the number one metric you look at weekly? This should be the #1 weekly agenda item to discuss first and focus on. It could be your cash flow, sales, service levels, product development…the objective is to have your #1 priority the first thing you always focus on and discuss.

Leadership tips:

  • Trust your team. A value cannot be ‘respect’ when you do not trust your colleagues.
  • Make decisions. Indecisiveness is paralyzing.
  • Know your top three priorities and consistently communicate on them.
  • Be precise, not irresolute. Imprecision is confusing.
  • Be consistent in what you say and how you say it.
  • Show humility, not indignancy. 

Proven Leadership Tactics:

  • When not attaining your expected results, make a conscious effort to change how you are doing things. Focus on improving, being more effective, and attaining increased results.
  • Be focused and systematic in your approach to learning efficiently. Improve your knowledge of services and products, the current market, technologies, processes and systems, organizational culture and internal politics that require attention.
  • Always match your strategy to the situation and do not take any shortcuts. What worked in the past does not mean it will be effective in the current situation. 
  • Identify strategic opportunities to add value and improve bottom-line results. 
  • Improve working relationships by setting and managing expectations.
  • Be the architect of alignment. Ensure structure fits strategy and that you are focusing on the right things.
  • Evaluate and mobilize team members. Build your team and be strategic in developing strengths and capabilities.
  • Identify individuals (inside and outside the business) who will support and mentor you, call you on areas of challenge and motivate you to take action on opportunities. 
  • Maintain your equilibrium and balance in both your professional and personal life. A more balanced approach enables you to focus better, not lose perspective and make better decisions.

You are only as strong as your weakest link. When you start feeling like you are in a rut or losing momentum or motivation, it is time to try one or more of the above actions to help you kickstart getting back onto the right track. 

Leadership To Do’s

  • Assess each business situation independently
  • Define and communicate your business intent
  • Establish your priorities
  • Act deliberately on strategic priorities
  • Secure early wins
  • Build your team
  • Develop alliances

If you are interested in learning about professional leadership 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.

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