A Few Notes From Cheryl

Podcast Interview: As you may know from our recent announcement, both Parts 1 and 2 of the “Building, Leading & Maintaining Success Through Teamwork!” podcast interview are now available to help you and your teams – check out our Media Room! Podcasts are sound files that you can listen to directly through your computer, download to an iPod, or download to your computer and burn onto a CD. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these new f-r-e-e resources where Dina Henry-Scott, PMP, interviews me and we talk about tips to help you and your team.

New Resources:  We have added two new resources to our Free Resources web page, including a bonus article “Top 10 Tips for Working With Virtual Teams.” If you work on or with a virtual team, be sure to check these out – these are my top recommended tips, based on the work we do with virtual teams, and I recently shared these tips at a workshop I led.

Feature Article:  I hope you enjoy this month’s feature article on the "Top 10 Tips for Balance, Stress Management and Time Management," which is based on several workshops I’ve led lately. Feel free to share with your team members, colleagues, friends and family.

Warmest regards,

Cheryl

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Feature Article: Top 10 Tips for Balance, Stress Management and Time Management

At the request of several corporate teams and professional associations,

I have delivered several workshops recently on work-life balance, time management and stress management. This is becoming a much-needed topic for corporate teams and individuals, as the pace of our lives continues to accelerate. During the workshops, several “themes” have emerged – my intention is that one or more of them may help you. Please let me know your feedback – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

1. VISION: Create a clear vision of what you DO want and focus on that

Allow yourself a few minutes of quiet time to create your vision, with all of the aspects of the balanced life you most desire. Focus on the things that you DO want as part of the vision, rather than all of the things you don’t want. And, if you are part of a team, also create a vision with your team regarding what your team sees as possible for the next year – what that looks like, feels like, etc. and focus on that positive vision.

2. PLAN: Create a plan/roadmap to achieve your desired goals, execute your vision and clarify highest priorities

Once you have your vision, it’s easy to create a plan! This is where you bring together all of your intentions, desires, vision, etc. into the planning process. Clarify your priorities, and from there you can write down specific goals/intentions for yourself and/or your team.

3. STICK TO PLAN: Focus on your highest priorities or “vital few” aspects of your plan

Now that your plan is created, it’s important to stick to it! As one of our team development clients say in their team agreements, it is important to “focus on the vital few” priorities so that you and your team accomplish what is most important. This way, you can see when you and/or your team are getting sidetracked or distracted with other urgent but lesser important projects, so that you can get back on track.

4. SET BOUNDARIES: Learn to say “no” if it’s not in your plan

As we talk about in the work-life balance workshop, it is MUCH easier to say “no” when you have a plan. When you have a plan, you can clearly evaluate new opportunities against the plan by asking “how does this fit into my plan?” and if the answer is “it does not fit” then it is easier to say no.

How do we say no gracefully, and without guilt?! Here’s one method that feels good and is also effective: express genuine appreciation before saying no. For example, if you are asked to volunteer for an event but you have already reached the maximum volunteering in your plan, you could say “Thank you so much for thinking of me – giving back to the community is very important to me. It is actually for that reason that I need to decline this wonderful invitation, as my calendar is already filled with my maximum allotment of volunteer hours.”

5. MAKE IT MANAGEABLE: Break down big projects into smaller, “bite size” pieces

Our project management team clients are experts with this technique! The more you can take a big project or goal and break it down into smaller pieces with shorter deadlines, the easier it is to accomplish. It’s like training to run a marathon – would you go from running infrequently to running 26 miles overnight? Of course not. You would train over the period of several months, setting specific milestones along the way.

6. ASK QUESTIONS: Before saying “yes,” ask for clarification on priorities, importance and sense of urgency for each new item to land on your “plate”- how does it fit into your “plan”?

This is important, especially for teams. If your team is asked to take on a new project but there are many competing priorities, NOW is the time to ask clarifying questions and renegotiate deadlines or resources.

7. MANAGE EXPECTATIONS: Clearly communicate with others; re-negotiate

Whether you are looking at a new project for your team, or how to ensure that you leave work by 5 pm to go to a yoga class, look at who needs to be involved. Then, in order to make sure that expectations can be met, it is critical that everyone involved communicate clearly about what is expected, how long it will take, what it will look like along the way, what it will look like when finished, etc.

8. GET SUPPORT: Delegate; ask for help; create a support team

Sometimes, it can be hard to ask for help. So, make it fun! Challenge yourself to find 3 things a day that you can ask for help with that you historically haven’t – ask your kids to help fold the clean laundry, ask a colleague to help with a project that you don’t have time for, or ask your significant other to take care of household/family responsibilities one night a week while you go to a meditation class. Ask for the support you need to focus on the highest priorities in your plan!

9. KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE:

Remember the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (and it’s all small stuff) by Richard Carlson? The title alone is a great reminder to keep things in perspective! Also, Wayne Dyer said in The Power of Intention: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Sometimes, we can’t change what is happening but we CAN change our perspective and we can all help our team members remember to keep things in perspective, too!

10. PRACTICE SELF CARE: YOU are your greatest resource

Stephen Covey once said that you are your greatest asset, so the more you can preserve YOU, the more balanced you will be. We all know intellectually what it takes to stay balanced – good nutrition, sleep, exercise.…and, yet, we are also human beings who sometimes don’t take the best care of ourselves. I say this from personal experience, after having spent the past 2 weeks sick, off and on! For those of us learning the self care lesson in this lifetime, let’s help each other remember how important it is to take care of ourselves.

Next Steps

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and that one or more might be useful for you. If so, I invite you to pick one and see how you can integrate it into your daily life to create more of the balance you want! And, talk with your team about how they can use these tips for better time and stress management. Have fun!

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Upcoming Workshops

Building and Leading Effective Teams for More Effective Health Care Financial Management
Date: Monday, June 23, 2008
Time: 8:00 to 11:30 am AND 1:00 - 4:30 pm (two different times - same workshop)
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
Details at Workshop Schedule

Beyond the Managed Care Contract: Working as a Team to Maximize Productivity and Hit the Bottom Line
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Time: 10:00 to 11:30 am
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
Details at Workshop Schedule

Also, remember to check out our Media Room to access both Parts 1 and 2 of the new,  

f-r-e-e podcast where Dina Henry-Scott, PMP, interviews me about helpful tips on the topic of “Building, Leading & Maintaining Success Through Teamwork!”

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Team Building Events and Off-Site Meetings:

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Some teams know that something isn't working, but they don't know exactly what that is or how to improve it. Some organizations hold team building seminars and employee retreats because they know it's time to enhance their teams' productivity and relationships. Do either of those statements describe you/your team? If so, and if you haven't already contacted us to discuss your needs, feel free to give us a call to see if we can help you.

We offer a variety of programs to enhance the performance of your teams as well as improve the ways in which your teams interact, so we invite you to visit our Training and Seminar page.   This is a great way to show appreciation for your team and enhance their productivity, thereby improving the bottom line for your organization!

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About Goals InSight, Inc.

Goals InSight, Inc. helps organizations achieve their desired results in the following ways - click on any of the links for details:

• Team / Department Coaching to help your team achieve its goals with focus and accountability
  
  
• Team Development Seminars / Diagnostic Assessment to measure the productivity and positivity of your team and help your team improve these factors to yield their desired results
  
  
• Strategic Program / Meeting Facilitation to increase the effectiveness and value of your meetings
  
  
• Seminars / Workshops to help your group learn new tools, practice new skills and start taking action
  
  
• Audio CD / Workbooks to create what you most desire using self study, step-by-step guides

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