A Few Notes From Cheryl

Teleclasses:  We were excited to launch our new teleclass series to help make your work life easier. 25 participants joined the first teleclass in the series last week and were excited to learn new tips on managing overwhelm for themselves and their teams. I hope you can join us for the next teleclass, on Wednesday July 15: “From Burnout to Boisterous – CPR to bring your overworked team back to life again!” For details and registration, click HERE!

Upcoming Workshops: Many of you have recently asked about upcoming in-person workshops. We’ve provided the details below and on our Speaking page, especially for those of you who will be in Sacramento, CA and/or Newport Beach, CA in the next few months. Hope to see you there!

Feature Article:  Who is Your Mentor? This issue and article is dedicated to my grandmother, Edna Mann, who passed away earlier this month on June 7. She was a mentor in many different ways to me, as I learned a great deal from her over the years, and her teachings will live on through all of us whose lives she touched. Hope you enjoy this article!

Enjoy,

Cheryl

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Feature Article:   Who is Your Mentor? 

Several of you, our InSights readers, have shared with me that you wish you had a mentor at work to help guide and advise you in your career. So, in honor of my grandmother, it seems fitting to discuss this topic now.

If you already have a mentor, congratulations! This might be an opportune time to ask yourself how your existing relationship could be enhanced with your mentor, so that both of you are getting what you need from the relationship. Perhaps you could have that conversation with your mentor, as a check in to evaluate how well the relationship is going as well as the areas that could be improved. Additionally, since you have experience working with a mentor, you might also consider mentoring someone else, since you already know the benefits of a mentor-mentee relationship.

If you don’t have a mentor and want to further explore the benefits and/or possibilities, here are a few questions to ask:

1. What do you want in a mentor-mentee relationship – why have an “official” mentor?

Be specific – the more you can clarify what you want from your mentor and the relationship the two of you will share, the easier it will be to find the right mentor. Are you looking for someone to help teach you new skills, or perhaps be a guide for your career path? Do you want someone to share ideas with regularly, or will this be a relationship that is tapped into on an “as needed” basis? What do you want the relationship to look like – for example, how often do you want to meet with your mentor? How formal or informal do you want the relationship to be? How long will this relationship last (e.g. for a defined period of time, or ongoing until either party feels the need to change it)?

2. What characteristics does your mentor need to have?

Do you want someone with good coaching skills who can help guide you to that next level in your career? Do you want a mentor who has strong leadership skills so that you can learn how to further develop your own leadership skills? Would it be helpful for your mentor to be an accomplished leader who could be a role model for you as you lead your team to the next level? What industry do you want your mentor to be in? How important is it that your mentor understands from personal experience what it is like to be in your current job role? Again, the more specific you can be about the necessary characteristics, the easier it will be for you to find the right fit.

3. How will your mentor benefit from the relationship you want to create?

As you consider asking different people to be a potential mentor for you, it is important to consider the ways in which your mentor might benefit from investing their time and energy into this relationship. For example, you might agree to do some sort of a “trade” of each other’s time, or perhaps just having the satisfaction of helping you will be all of the benefit that your mentor needs. You might also consider exploring this aspect with a prospective mentor when you talk with them about potentially being your mentor – ask the question “how can we create this relationship in a way that will benefit both of us?” and see what emerges.

4. Who will you ask to be your mentor?

After you’ve explored the above questions, as well as any other aspects of this topic that are important to you, it will be time to start creating a list of the people you want to ask to be your mentor. Identify the person(s) who you believe will be the best fit for your needs, and starting talking with them about the possibilities!

Next Steps

I invite you to start using the ideas above to see what a difference having a mentory in your life can make.  As always, remember to have fun with this process!  And, remember that you, too, can be a mentor for someone else – it’s a great way to “give back” or “pay forward” to someone else the benefits that you receive from working with a mentor yourself.  Enjoy!

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Upcoming Workshops

Building and Leading Effective Teams for More Effective Health Care Financial Management

Monday, June 23, 2008
8:00 to 11:30 am AND 1:00 - 4:30 pm (two different times - same half-day, pre-conference workshop)
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas

Complete details at  Speaking 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.

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Beyond the Managed Care Contract:  Working as a Team to Maximize Productivity and Hit the Bottom Line

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
10:00 to 11:30 am (Conference breakout session)
Healthcare Financial Management Association - 2008 Annual National Institute
Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas
Complete details at  Speaking 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.

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Who Moved My Stress? 9 Steps to Help Your Project Team Transform Stress & Pressure Into Peace and Productivity!

Thursday, July 10, 2008
5:30 to 8:15 pm (one-hour presentation - dinner program)
Project Management Institute - Sacramento Valley Chapter (open to PMI members AND non-PMI members)
Marriott Sacramento Rancho Cordova: - 11211 Point East Drive - Rancho Cordova, CA 95742

By attending this interactive presentation, you'll learn the 9 steps, practical tools and tips to help your project team:

• Realize the connection between relaxation, camaraderie and high performing teams
• Learn to utilize the “every reaction is a choice” tool to decrease stress when under pressure
• Create a vision of less stressed, more relaxed team interactions that yield better team results
• Turn your team’s vision into reality by creating a “peaceful productivity plan” with accountability
• Learn to say “no” to requests that fall outside of your team’s “peaceful productivity plan”
• Recognize that you and your team members are your greatest resources
• Invest in their own self care:  work-life balance, nutrition, rest, exercise and FUN!
• Schedule time every day to integrate relaxation and peacefulness into your team’s work
• Hold each other accountable to maintaining a highly-productive, more fun and less stressed team environment

Complete details at  Speaking Schedule

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From Burnout to Boisterous – CPR to bring your overworked team back to life again!

F-r-e-e monthly teleclass - join us by phone from your home or office!

Wednesday July 15, 2008:  12:00 to 12:45 pacific (3:00 to 3:45 eastern) time

For details and registration, see Speaking Schedule

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Who Moved My Stress? 9 Steps to Help Your Project Team Transform Stress & Pressure Into Peace and Productivity!

Saturday, July 26, 2008
8:00 to 12:00 pm (half-day workshop)

Project Management Institute - Sacramento Valley Chapter (open to PMI members AND non-PMI members)
Sutter Square Galleria: 2901 K Street - Sacramento, CA  95816

By attending this interactive, half-day workshop, you'll learn the 9 steps, practical tools and tips to help your project team de-stress and become more productive:

• Realize the connection between relaxation, camaraderie and high performing teams
• Learn to utilize the “every reaction is a choice” tool to decrease stress when under pressure
• Create a vision of less stressed, more relaxed team interactions that yield better team results
• Turn your team’s vision into reality by creating a “peaceful productivity plan” with accountability
• Learn to say “no” to requests that fall outside of your team’s “peaceful productivity plan”
• Recognize that you and your team members are your greatest resources
• Invest in their own self care:  work-life balance, nutrition, rest, exercise and FUN!
• Schedule time every day to integrate relaxation and peacefulness into your team’s work
• Hold each other accountable to maintaining a highly-productive, more fun and less stressed team environment

Complete details at  Speaking Schedule

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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!

Complete details at  Speaking Schedule

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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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