The Right Path for the Right Reason

Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you were born - and the day you find out why. As we rapidly head toward the end of the year take a moment and ask yourself:

1. Am I on the right career path for my life?
2. Am I on the right path for the right reason?
3. Does what I do each day reflect my values?

If the answer is yes then it's likely you have a good level of job satisfaction. If the answer is no, you might want to do a little journaling.

4 Tips to Active Listening

Did you know that an average person only listens at an effective rate of less than 25%? Yet listening is ranked as the most important factor in work, family and social success. This week consider the following to hone this vital skill:

1. Make a commitment to stay in the present and listen to the person speaking
2. Maintain good body posture and eye contact
3. Refrain ...from multi-tasking while listening
4. Stay curious and suspend judgment until you understand the true intention of the speaker

Keep in mind that what you are hearing is not always what the speaker is trying to say. Stay engaged, ask questions and actively listen until the speaker confirms that you really understand the intended message.

3 Steps to Holding an Effective Meeting

How many meetings do you have this week? And how many will you be facilitating? As leaders it's our responsibility to respect people's time and facilitate our meetings to make them effective. That starts with knowing the 3 steps to holding good meetings:

1. Be Prepared: What is the point of the meeting? Who should attend and what should they bring? What's the agenda and the desired outcome?

2. Stay in Charge: Start the meeting on time. Quickly review what needs to be covered. Stay on topic. And don't let your meeting get hi-jacked by somebody else's agenda.

3. Create an Actionable Close: Wrap up with a recap and make sure action steps are written down and time frames for completion are agreed upon.

Do everybody in the meeting a favor and make good use of the time. It's one of the best ways to gain influence and credibility as a leader.