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Intentional Leadership — D4, W2, M4 — Focus

It’s time to get your journal out. Take some time today to reflect on what you’ve learned this week, and especially about the benefits of focusing on and improving a specific skill. Consider, also, the affect on your relationship with the person (people?) you reached out to for help.

How could your efforts in sharpening your skills, and building stronger connections, impact your production and effectiveness at work? What’s the impact on the larger organization — beyond just your role and your team?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W2, M4 — Focus

Now that you’ve defined the skills necessary for success in your current role, and are actively working to sharpen at least one of them, let’s think about who can help you.

Who do you know who can help you deliberately develop the skills required in your role?

While you surely have an extensive network and a long list of contacts, create a list of specific people who are key players with respect to your position. Designate each one based on expertise and associate their names with the skills from the list you created yesterday. Think of them as your “inner circle” with respect to sharpening your skills in this job.

On a piece of paper, make two columns. In the left column, list your top ten skills, one per line. In the right column, list the people you identified above who can help you with each specific skill on your list.

Contact at least one person on your list today to help you with something specific.

You know, people are flattered when we recognize their skills and abilities; they want to know that others recognize their talents and competence. You can win in two ways with this exercise: First, you sharpen your skills, and second, you will likely develop a stronger connection with the people you reach out to.

What are you waiting for? Get started…

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Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M4 — Focus

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Another week has flown by and we are at the end of our first week of Month Four — Focus.

This topic is a good one for me right now. I am working through the Deeper Path process, as I’ve mentioned, and it’s all about gaining clarity, developing a crystal clear plan for where I’m headed with my life’s work, which requires a lot of reflection and focus.

What about you? What are you thoughts on this month’s topic, so far?

What do you need to focus on?

Now for our Friday ritual, let’s focus on the weekend and the weeks ahead…

What really needs your attention this weekend? Is it projects, people, rest, , fun, relaxation…?

We’ve had a lot going on in our family this past week, so rest and reconnection are definitely in order. My son wants to spend his tooth fairy money on a wind-up turtle for the tubby, so we will go to Toys R Us.

Continuing preparation for the Women in Leadership Luncheon; it takes a lot more preparation than one might imagine to deliver an awesome keynote speech, and that’s my intention. I don’t want anyone attending the luncheon to walk away disappointed. I also just committed to sponsoring the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast being hosted at University of Charleston on May 10. So, I have some work to do polishing up my marketing materials for Empowerment Mentoring and a couple of Mastermind Groups (15 Invaluable Laws of Growth and Everyone Communicates Few Connect). I am still working my way through content in the John Maxwell Online University; this material is so good on so many levels, I will go through it over and over and over and over, and get something new out of it every time! Finally, I applied to be part of the team John Maxwell is taking to Guatemala in June to teach Transformational Leadership. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I’m so excited! Can’t wait to hear if I will be included in the team. If the answer is “yes,” I have a lot of work in preparation for that, as well.

What’s in store for you this weekend, next week, and in the coming weeks? Are you taking the steps to set yourself up for success and fulfillment?

Have a great weekend, and I’ll “see” you Monday!

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