A Few Notes From Cheryl

Podcast Interviews:  Just a reminder to those of you who haven’t yet heard it – the complete “Building, Leading & Maintaining Success Through Teamwork!” podcast interview is available to help you and your teams in our Media Room! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this new f-r-e-e resource. In my interview with Dina Henry-Scott, PMP, you will receive numerous tips to help your team work together more effectively.

Feature Article:  Last month, we talked about the "Top 10 Tips for Balance, Stress Management and Time Management." This month, we’re going to get even more specific in the feature article which was written based on questions that have been coming up recently from several of the teams we’ve worked with. I hope you enjoy it – please let me know what you think! As always, feel free to share this article with your team members, colleagues, friends and family.

Warmest regards,

Cheryl

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Feature Article:   Who Moved My Stress?

3 Steps to Transforming Pressure Into Peacefulness

Many of the teams we’ve been working with recently have been struggling to find specific, effective ways to manage their stress in this fast-paced world. With greater pressure to become more productive on a daily basis, these teams are striving for more balance and less stress in their work.

I’ve recently been reminded through some of my own life experiences that a key facet to reducing stress is quite simple, but easily overlooked in the moment of stress. The key? Being fully present, in THIS moment, rather than worried about the future. Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Being fully present means you are able to fully experience the moment:
  What does this mean? For THIS moment, you are shutting out and not letting those other distracting thoughts and stressors affect you. For example, while you’re watching your child’s soccer game, it only creates more stress to worry about when you will find the time to go grocery shopping…instead, enjoy the game! Cheer for your child! BE there not just physically, but also with full mind and spirit to enjoy the moment.

When I am fully present – focusing ONLY on what is happening in this exact moment – it is entirely impossible to be worried or feel pressured about the future! Why? Because I can’t be focused 100% on my breathing that is happening right now, for example, and also be planning my “to do” list for tomorrow. Try it yourself!

• It’s all about choice: In EVERY moment, we have choices about how we will respond to a certain situation. We may not be able to “control” the situation itself, but we do have a choice about how we respond. So, given that, we can choose to be stressed, or we can choose to be calm, or something else. Yes, it actually is that simple…the challenge, however, is learning how to tune our awareness to the point that we can catch ourselves getting stressed so that we can make a different choice.

Here is a 3-step process that I use myself and that I’ve shared with several teams and individual team members that I’ve been working with lately. Try it out and see how it goes for you!

STEP #1: Notice and let go of your stress

As soon as you notice you are feeling stressed or pressured (two common indicators are when your shoulders start creeping up toward your ears, or when you have a pit in your stomach!), tell yourself that you notice you are stressed and it’s time to let go of everything that is contributing to your angst.

In whatever way works for you, let it all go – some of our clients write down everything they are stressed about, and then shred the pieces of paper. Other people say out loud something like “I notice I’m stressed and I don’t want to be, so I’m going to intentionally let go of all of these things spinning around in my head – my fear of _____, my stress about _____, etc.” When you’re done with this, notice how good it feels to have released the noise in your head and the stress in your body!

STEP #2: Be present with “what is” in this moment

Now that you’ve let go of your stressors, you can be present with what is happening in this moment by focusing on one thing only at a time so that you can fully experience that moment! For example, many of our clients take a “breathing break” by taking 5 minutes to experience what it’s like to just BREATHE! For some people, this is called meditating.

Here’s one way to do it (if this doesn’t work for you, try something else until you find the right fit!): Stop doing everything else, and just notice your breathing. Notice what it feels like to breathe in. Now notice what it feels like to breathe out. Keep inhaling and exhaling at your normal rate, while just noticing and getting curious what it’s like to be breathing. Keep it simple! See if you can notice that 1 second right in between when you breathe in, and when you breathe out.

When you first start doing this, it is very normal for many different thoughts to enter into your mind. Things like “this is really boring” or “is the 5 minutes up yet?” are completely normal! This is part of re-training your brain to be present with what is happening in THIS moment, rather than worrying or stressing about a future event or something that has already happened. This will take practice – and, in my experience, the more you do it, the easier it will be to continue doing it. And, the more peaceful you will feel during the process.

STEP #3: Choose how you want to be

Now that your body as well as your mind have learned how to slow down and feel that relaxation, it’s time to create what you want moving forward. Choose what you want for the rest of the day – our clients often say something like “my intention is to be relaxed during the rest of the day today, so each time I start to feel stressed, I will bring my focus back to my breathing and tell myself that I am choosing peacefulness over stress.”

You can also use these 3 questions / statements:

1. What am I choosing in THIS moment?
Is it stress, fear or angst? Or, am I choosing calm, peacefulness or joy?

2. Am I…

Being present with “what is” right now, in this moment? Or am I thinking/stressing about the future or the past?

3. I always have CHOICES…

and in this moment, I am now choosing _________________.

This may take some practice, because you are re-training your mind and body to do something very different. Be patient with yourself - the benefits are well worth it!

Next Steps

I invite you to practice these exercises and see what a difference it makes for you! Then, see how you start to interact differently with your team at work as well as at home – notice all of the ways in which you are turning pressure into peacefulness! Imagine how much more productive your team would be if everyone were fully present with each other and more calm in completing projects and tasks – I encourage you to discuss these tips with them so that you can all support each other in being more relaxed and effective at work. And, if you or your team get stuck, we are here to help. Enjoy!

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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

Complete details at  Workshop Schedule

After this session, you will be able to:

• Measure your team’s current level of effectiveness: productivity and relationships.
• Communicate more effectively with all team members.
• Recognize and leverage the strengths of your team.
• Identify strategies to improve leadership skills to most effectively lead your team.
• Create an easy-to-implement action plan to enhance your team’s ability to achieve bottom-line results.

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

After this session, you will be able to:

• Identify the appropriate team members from your organization who contribute to the managed care bottom line.
• Understand effective techniques for improving communication between managed care team members.
• Implement approaches to gain team member buy-in and engagement.
• Define effective strategies for implementing measures of accountability.
• Begin creating an easy-to-implement action plan to improve your managed care team’s desired results.

Create Your Desired Work-Life Balance

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
12:00 to 1:00 pm
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 California Fall Conference
Hyatt Regency, Newport Beach, CA

Become a better leader at work and in your personal life by designing a strategy for each area in your life that you want to bring into balance, including balancing the demands of your work!

More details and registration information coming soon at HFMA-California Conference 2008

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Team Building Events and Off-Site Meetings:

Could your team use some help to be more cohesive?
Is it time to enhance your team's relationships and productivity?

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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