Forfatter: MentorGuru

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Sodexo’s 2013 Workplace Trends Report

Every year Sodexo have this report and this year’s report takes a comprehensive look at what is driving efficiency, development and satisfaction in the workplace, and offers a unique perspective on what is essential to organizations to help them be productive and grow.

They asked top practitioners in human capital solutions, information technology, facilities management, real estate and hospitality what issues are being considered at the C-Suite level that are key drivers of success and essential to individual and organizational performance. The result: an overarching theme that “people centric” approaches are yielding positive outcomes and driving value beyond traditional brick and mortar strategies.

Technological advances, coupled with globalization, continue to play a significant role in today’s ever-evolving workplace, shifting the landscape toward a true virtual work environment. Collaboration is king and information is available on-demand, allowing almost everyone access and connectivity whether at work, home, or play.

 

They have also learned that the expectations of the most recent generations entering the workforce are more and more pronounced in this year’s trends. How this generation expects to be recruited, recognized and retained is reflected in many of the trends: social media has become the primary method of sourcing talent, establishing buying and endorsing ownership is a key component of recognition, and alignment of values, mentoring programs, as well as a culture of inclusion, have all become driving forces in employee satisfaction. All have a significant impact on the holistic well-being of today’s workforce.

And finally Sodexo says that with continuing pressure on companies to be lean and efficient, these trends are not only a direct reflection of today’s new economic reality, but they reflect a global influence that tells us that the only thing constant is change. The workplace as we know it never ceases to evolve, and will continue to do so through 2013 and beyond.

I will take the mentoring trends and present it and discuss it in the next three articles, stay tuned.

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Groups in Linkedin

Linked in isn´t just a electronic CV, but a place to meet people with the same interests, discussions and also learning something. In the beginning I got to Linkedin because of the CV function, but after some time I learned to appreciate different groups and also used them to discuss or maybe to get a comment.

 

Here are some of the groups I am a member of:

Coordinators of mentoring programs

International Mentoring Association

Mentors for Entrepreneurs

European Mentoring and Coaching Council – EMCC

Mentoring – A subgroup of Mentoring at Works

I hope you already find them but if not, go in and look at them right now and become a member.

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Wants to help grow successful small businesses in America?

For all my American readers out there, want to do some volunteering as a mentor? SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. They have been doing this for nearly fifty years.

They provide:

  • MENTORS who share their expertise across 62 industries
  • Confidential businessCOUNSELING in person or via email
  • Free business TOOLS, templates and tips online
  • Inexpensive or free businessWORKSHOPS (locally) and webinars (online 24/7)
Because of their work they are supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and thanks to their network of 12,000+ volunteers, they are able to deliver services at no charge or at very low cost.
This is a fantastic organization with over 12 000 volunteers helping entrepreneurs in over 340 chapter across America.
Here is one of the success stories.

Off Broadway Dance Company

Owners Pat Balderas and Geri Messer created Off Broadway by purchasing the Manhattan Dance Company in 2011, and they have been growing steadily ever since. They maintain their studio in the Common Space in order to keep costs down and fees low. Many of their students are working women, who attend class on evenings and Saturdays.

Owner/Founder
Geri Messer & Pat Balderas
My Location
Common Space 1700 N Reynolds Rd Rm 207

Toledo OH 43615

United States
How SCORE Helped

The adults taking tap dance lessons at this studio located in the Common Space are often also the stars in performances given throughout the community.  Their big event is the Annual Showcase staged each year at the Maumee High School Performing Art Center.  

These folks are serious about tap dancing; most of them attend two or three lessons each week, and progress from “beginner” to “advanced” under the guidance of the area’s finest teachers.   This makes Off Broadway unique in the Toledo area.

Pat and Geri had the help of SCORE mentors Dennis Snell and Alan Messer, who have guided them in their growth and in planning for the future.  Space will soon become an issue; there were two classes each week when they started (with 30 students), and the walls are now bulging with eight classes (and 55 students).

Adults range in age from 22 to 72, and most look forward to participating in the Company’s performances. They have an extensive community outreach program, going to nursing homes and the like.  But they also are becoming well known as performers at various functions in the area.  And that Annual Showcase attracted 700 paid attendees last year!

Pat and Geri emphasize that we are “all adults taught by adults; this is not an exercise class; we don’t dumb it down; this is really a professional operation.” But they are quick to say that not everyone wants to be a performer, and others who are interested in learning the skills of tap dancing are certainly welcome!

Go to their excellent web site: www.offbroadwaydancecompany.com for more information. 

 

If you want to know more, read more success stories or maybe become a mentor, click here
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9 beliefs you need to succed in everything

What you believe either weakens you or makes you stronger.

Mark hack tells us that the foundation of success is not a set of achievements or a combination of external factors; it is a mindset. Success is an attitude that comes from a framework of powerful beliefs and empowering thoughts. Because what you think and believe about your life largely determines how you feel (your attitude), what actions you take (your behavior), and what you achieve (the end result.)

He is also fortunate enough to know a number of remarkably successful people. Regardless of their profession or life passions, he noticed they all share nine common beliefs.

And they act on these beliefs every day:

1. “The problems I face are opportunities.”
The problems and challenges you face are not there to stop you. Their purpose is to bring your commitment to the surface where it can come wholly and forcefully to life.

The challenges that are the most difficult are often the ones that create the greatest positive difference. Situations with the most formidable problems are where you unearth your greatest opportunities.

The only question is: Are you willing to do what it takes? Read Think and Grow Rich.

2. “What’s important is creating value.”
Do something you are proud of. Instead of struggling to get one up on everyone else, raise your awareness to the point where the competition becomes insignificant. Get in the habit of creating real value, and you won’t feel the need to take anything away from others.

To be truly effective be sincere and helpful. Find satisfaction and fulfillment in making a difference and pulling all of life forward with you.

3. “I can’t anticipate everything, and that’s okay.”
There’s a difference between being prepared and being scared.

There’s much you can gain by planning and preparing, by anticipating what is most likely to happen and being ready for it. Yet there is no reason to be paralyzed by over-thinking and endless worry, because you have what it takes to handle even the most unexpected setbacks.

And no matter how well you plan, not everything can be anticipated anyway, and that’s actually a good thing. Sometimes when a roadblock forces you in a different direction, you cross paths with the opportunity of a lifetime.

When you are ready to read more, click here

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Best Books on Coaching and Mentoring

When you are interesting in a topic you want to read the book that explain the topic best or maybe the books that tells us about the future of that particular topic. But how can you find the best books? Because searching on Internet or Amazon and that will give you a whole lot of results.

If you use Google this would be your result:

Coaching – 246 000 000 pages about that topic

Mentoring – 39 400 000 pages about that topic

or

Coaching and Mentoring – 4 050 000 pages about that topic

 

If you use Amazon just on books, this would be your result:

Coaching – 17 050 books about that topic

Mentoring – 3 924 books about that topic

or

Coaching and Mentoring – 4 275 books about that topic

 

So, are you just going to start reading (and buying) or maybe find a list for the best books about the specific topic.

I looked for lists, so that is what I will recommend  you. The blog “ready to Manage” have put together the list “Top 20 Best Books on Coaching and Mentoring”. Remember such lists are subjective.

Top 3 of Top 20:

1. Challenging Coaching: Going Beyond Traditional Coaching to Face the FACTS, by John Blakey and Ian Day, 2012

 Challenging Coaching is a provocative book which encourages coaches to move beyond the limitations of traditional coaching. The authors detail their unique FACTS coaching model, which provides a practical and pragmatic approach focusing on Feedback, Accountability, Courageous goals, Tension, and Systems thinking. Using this model enables the reader to enter the zone of uncomfortable debate that sustainably transforms individual and bottom-line performance. The authors explore FACTS coaching in theory and in practice using case studies, example dialogues, and practical exercises so that the reader will be able to successfully challenge others using respectful yet direct techniques.

 

 

2. The Five Minute Coach: Coaching Others to High Performance in As Little As Five Minutes, by Lynne Cooper and Mariette Castellino, 2012

The Five-Minute Coach offers a simple, step by step guide to how to coach quickly and effortlessly and get better results at work.
Designed for leaders, managers and supervisors, in any setting, this approach to coaching has been developed by the authors and used in organizations across the board large and small, private and public, with adults and teens, and across a variety of voluntary and community groups. Professional coaches have also adopted this system in their work. The book leads the reader through a simple process which changes thinking about how to work with others. Leaders no longer need to have all the answers. They benefit from true delegation. They uncover the talent and resources of others. They free up time for themselves-time to think strategically and to be more proactive, creative and innovative.

 

3. Transformational Executive Coaching, by Ted M. Middelberg, 2012

 In Transformational Executive Coaching, Dr. Ted Middelberg outlines an approach to coaching leaders at the executive level. His system is built on a structured and goal-focused process that gives coaches the ability to effect and sustain the change that leaders want from a coaching engagement. Based on building relationships and using high-quality colleague feedback, the transformational method is tailored to coaches who work at the executive level, or aspire to work at the executive level.

 

 

 

 

For rest of the list click her

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How do I plan for 2013

Going from 2012 to 2013 got me to think about Confucius when he talked to his student about planning.

The student: Where do you think I should go?

Confucius:It depends on where you wanna go

The student: It doesn´t matter that much

Confucius: Then it doesn´t matter where you go

It´s a good story about planning and I am sitting and planning my 2013, wanna know where I want to go. First of all I think it is important to know where you come from and what you have in your baggage. Therefor i use «The wheel of life».

This one I found here

 

This is my platform, this is where I come from. I find myself between 1 and 10, and even if it´s only 3, that is my baggage. I have to start from there…

I then start by brainstorming the 8 dimensions of my life that is important for me. When you do the same you can put in and take out which dimensions that are important for you.

My dimensions are: Business/Career – Finances – Health – Family and friends – Romance/My marriage – Personal growth – Fun and recreation – Physical Environment.

I will then have identified all the dimensions and I will find areas that need attention, meaning below 7. I will then find actions needed to work on regaining balance and there is where most of my goals for 2013 are.

F.ex. if I don´t spend enough time with my friends one of my goals for this year would be to find more time to meet my friends. And on Business/Career I put in my two big projects for 2013. Then I take f.ex. one of the projects and set up goals on short and long terms.

 

This is one way to do it, earlier I wrote about a Life Plan, thats also a very good way to do it. I guess the most important here is that you actually do it, planning there is…

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How do You find a mentor

 

I read a lot on the internett and have a lot of RSS about mentoring, a lot of things is a repeat from others, but some of it is new thoughts.

In december 2013 I received an email from Michael Hyatt and he is an interesting original thinker about leadership, and he was explaining about finding a mentor. Not only in writing but also in a podcast.

I am a huge fan of other peoples opinion and therefor I want to post it here, not the whole article, but highlights.

He starts the post like this: To be brutally honest, your chances of finding a mentor are slim and none.

I don´t agree of that, but he raise an interesting point in the next. When he says that the problem is the narrow definition of mentorship.

He the comes with four levels of mentoring:

  1. Virtual Mentoring: Read blogs and books, listen to podcasts, and take online courses.
  2. Group Mentoring: Go to live conferences, join membership sites, or participate in group coaching.
  3. Peer Mentoring: Find like-minded peers and be intentional about forming friendships with them. You can also join a mastermind groups.
  4. Personal Mentoring: Invest in a coach or find a volunteer mentor.

Further I love his last sentences in the blogpost:

Even if you eventually find a mentor (according to the traditional definition), you’re cheating yourself by not doing what you can now to learn and grow.

Instead of focusing on what you don’t have—a one-on-one, traditional mentoring relationship—focus on what you do have: more opportunities than ever before in history to learn and grow. If you simply expand your definition, you will find mentoring opportunities everywhere.

I could´t said it in a better way. Go and read the blogpost here

 

Michael Hyatt is the author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World (Thomas Nelson). It is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. Recently, Forbes magazine named me one of the Top 50 Social Media Influencers of 2013.

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9 Beliefs You Need to Succeed at Anything

I have a new fantastic tool, named Zite, and its a RSS tool. It is a great tool for me to keep track on what’s on the Internet in my field. So her is one of the articles about personal development and that the mindset is maybe the most important for success.

The foundation of success is not a set of achievements or a combination of external factors; it is a mindset. Success is an attitude that comes from a framework of powerful beliefs and empowering thoughts. Because what you think and believe about your life largely determines how you feel (your attitude), what actions you take (your behavior), and what you achieve (the end result.)

I’m fortunate enough to know a number of remarkably successful people. Regardless of their profession or life passions, I’ve noticed they all share nine common beliefs.

And they act on these beliefs every day:

Reminder: We just released our new ebook 1,000+ Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently. It makes a perfect starter kit for the new year. Click here to find out more.

1. “The problems I face are opportunities.”
The problems and challenges you face are not there to stop you. Their purpose is to bring your commitment to the surface where it can come wholly and forcefully to life.

The challenges that are the most difficult are often the ones that create the greatest positive difference. Situations with the most formidable problems are where you unearth your greatest opportunities.

The only question is: Are you willing to do what it takes? Read Think and Grow Rich.

2. “What’s important is creating value.”
Do something you are proud of. Instead of struggling to get one up on everyone else, raise your awareness to the point where the competition becomes insignificant. Get in the habit of creating real value, and you won’t feel the need to take anything away from others.

To be truly effective be sincere and helpful. Find satisfaction and fulfillment in making a difference and pulling all of life forward with you.

3. “I can’t anticipate everything, and that’s okay.”
There’s a difference between being prepared and being scared.

There’s much you can gain by planning and preparing, by anticipating what is most likely to happen and being ready for it. Yet there is no reason to be paralyzed by over-thinking and endless worry, because you have what it takes to handle even the most unexpected setbacks.

And no matter how well you plan, not everything can be anticipated anyway, and that’s actually a good thing. Sometimes when a roadblock forces you in a different direction, you cross paths with the opportunity of a lifetime.

4. “My fears are often an indication that something is worth doing.”
Do not to be afraid of your fears. Your fears are not here to scare you; they’re here to let you know that something you’re thinking about and considering is worth doing.

If you always feel afraid, it means that there are lots of things worth doing – lots of worthy options called opportunities. It’s time to pick one and take a chance.

5. “Passions and goals must be self-set.”
Just because someone tells you that you can’t do something doesn’t mean you have to let their opinion become your reality. If you spend too much time reacting and responding to everyone else, you will lose YOUR direction in life. These other people’s opinions, problems and wants will end up setting the course for your life.

So take a stand right now and say this to yourself out loud: “It is OK for me to think about and identify what I want for myself.” If you live by this statement, remarkable things will take place in your life.

6. “My time is sacred.”
Maybe you can afford to procrastinate. Maybe for you there’s a tomorrow. Maybe for you there’s a thousand tomorrows, or ten thousand, or more. Maybe you have so much time ahead of you that you can afford to spend it frivolously and foolishly without losing sleep. There’s a whole lifetime worth of minutes you can waste. Maybe…

But maybe not. For some of us – perhaps for you or someone you love – there’s only today. And the truth is, you never really know. Read Eat That Frog!

7. “Positive results are the outcome of positive daily actions.”
Your real religion is how you spend the majority of your time – what you do and think about on and daily basis long after the sermon has ended. Do something that makes you proud. Start walking the talk. Make your strategic plan: DOING THINGS THAT MATTER!

You don’t need a new year to make a change; all you need is today. Make this the moment you start changing your life.

8. “Perfection is a fantasy.”
Understanding the difference between healthy striving and striving for perfection is critical to laying down unnecessary weight and picking up your life. Perfectionism hampers happiness and success. It’s the path to depression, anxiety, addiction and life paralysis.

And this is true for your relationships as well…

Judge less, love more. Flaws are features. You don’t know a single perfect person, they don’t exist. Who you do know are a bunch of flawed people who are still worth appreciating and loving. If you try to avoid people for their little idiosyncrasies and shortcomings, this world will be a lonely place for you. Read Personal Development for Smart People.

9. “I am 100% responsible for my life.”
It’s easy to blame someone else for your troubles, but it doesn’t resolve anything. Sure, at first it might seem reasonable to expect your problems to be solved by those who helped create them, but stop and think about it. Do you want to give the people who created past problems for you any additional control over your future?