success

THE MAKING OF A GREAT TEAM

Posted on by shalomesq

Thank God it’s Friday!!! It’s the penultimate Friday in the month of June & very soon we will be embracing Q3 of 2019!! Wow the year is running away so far. I hope you are doing great & making some progress no matter how small.

I’ve been watching a lot of football ( soccer) lately with the UEFA Nations League won by Portugal, the FIFA U20 World Cup that just finished in Poland ( And Ukraine came tops as champions) as well as the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup competition in France with Nigeria & Cameroon qualifying out of the group stages into the round of 16 & looking forward to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations competition starting today in Egypt. My mind has centered around various teams for a couple of weeks, hence the inspiration for this post.

Let me highlight a couple of points my Mentor ( John C. Maxwell ) always makes when he’s talking about this topic:

One is too small a number to achieve greatness

I’ve checked all through life & this truth holds true. You cant achieve greatness as an individual, you need people around you, working with you to get to that realm of greatness. This is the way God has made things to function in this world – everything that works in life is connected.

No matter the type of sports that is played on earth, there is always a team, from golf to javelin to ice hockey to Formula 1, nobody does it alone. There are coaches, psychologists, nutritionists, physiotherapists, trainers, admin,protocol & security personnel who all work to ensure the common goal is achieved for the athlete & the same applies to relationships, marriages, corporate organizations, businesses & life in general.

The earlier you realize that you need people around you to achieve your goals & objectives in life, the better for you. I love another thing that John says when comparing Success & Significance. He says Success is arriving at your planned destination alone, Significance is arriving there with a bunch of people that you’ve connected to & inspired to join in your quest.

Personally, I’ve received individual awards & accolades over the years in my career, but the one I enjoy the most is a team award & today I love to work with teams to achieve greatness & significance. Dont be alone, Ecc 4:10 (MSG) says “It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work” share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough!

Some people pride themselves in saying they are self-made, but when you have a deeper look at it, it’s not true. Someone somewhere helped, gave a leg-up or a boost along the way, so always strive to recognize those people & things that helped you along the way, it might not be positive, it might be a hard or difficult situation, but at the end Rom 8:28 (AMPC) “All things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good“.

Teamwork makes the dream work

” Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team” —- John C. Maxwell

It’s really great to have a team, but what is more important is to have a working team. In most cases you will see just a group of individual stars & not a team. There is this all time debate about who is the greatest football player of our time – Messi or Ronaldo? I drift towards Ronaldo because he has achieve a lot with different teams over the years not just at the club level but even in the national team, Messi has only been at FC Barcelona & really struggling at the national level.

The goal is more important than the role. Members must be willing to subordinate their roles and personal agendas to support the team vision. By seeing the big picture, effectively communicating the vision to the team, providing the needed resources, and hiring the right players, leaders can create a more unified & working team

As I was ruminating on these things, I stumbled on a post by another mentor of mine – SKIP PRICHARD on How to create a powerhouse team & he broke it down into 4 points with the mnemonic code T.E.A.M.

Powerhouse is defined as “a team having great energy, strength, and potential for success.” To build a powerhouse, there are four pillars:

  • Transform
  • Empower
  • Achieve
  • Motivate

There are a lot of points to unpack on this topic, but allow me drop the anchor here & pick it up next week as inspired, however the series on Cultivating A Growth Mindset will still continue in parallel & I have some exciting news to share in the coming days.

Are you going through life alone?

Do you have a team?

Are you a team player?

This is my snippet…….. I AM SHALOMESQ

CULTIVATING A GROWTH MINDSET – IV

Posted on by shalomesq

Happy Sunday family!!! This is the last day in the month of March 2019.

Usually I don’t post on Sundays, but my routine was altered a bit since I worked the most part of last week out of station but I will surely get back to the regular schedule ( i.e. post once a week mostly Fridays) in April.

Today, after the church service take some time to review your Q1 targets for 2019 & assess where you are on the way to where you are going.

Make adjustments based on my suggestions from recent posts on the topic of goal setting for 2019 as listed below:

Setting goals that’ll stick in 2019 – Part 1

Setting goals that’ll stick in 2019 – Part2

Setting goals that’ll stick in 2019 – FINAL

For the entire month of March, we’ve been looking at the series topic “Cultivating a growth mindset” which was a LinkedIn course I took about 5 months ago as part of an e-learning trial team for my company’s HR department. This class was taught by Gemma Leigh Roberts, Chartered Psychologist, Executive Coach, and author.

This is the 4th post in the series & there is really no time to summarize the previous posts, so please feel free to pause here & check them out as listed below before moving on.

PART I

PART II

PART III

GROWTH MINDSET

So, we’ve taken a look at the fixed mindset & mixed mindset, our focus today will be on the last type of mindset & the actual reason for this series, the GROWTH MINDSET.

A growth mindset, doesn’t believe there is a limit, it believes that skills & abilities can be changed & developed over time. The latest research from the fields of performance psychology indicates that people that consistently perform at their peak have one thing in common, it’s not a certain ability, it’s not a specific skill, it’s not even knowledge, it’s a mindset, and to be precise, a growth mindset.

Whether you want to push the boundaries of your current ability to achieve more, inspire and lead others to create success, or learn to thrive in challenging situations, a growth mindset is your fuel.

A growth mindset really is about lifelong learning and a belief in your ability to grow and develop. This will dramatically improve your performance, productivity, goal achievement, and happiness. It’s all about changing your thought process to view challenges and disappointments as opportunities to learn and develop.

Your mindset has the power to change your game at work and in your personal life. The key is learning how to make the shift towards a growth mindset and if you’re already there, learning how to maintain this way of looking at the world even when facing challenges.

I work with people everyday & I’m very observant. It’s amazing the type of mindsets I encounter in a 24hour period in which people just settle for their comfort zone & are not willing to try something new & they will fight you when you attempt to show them what the issue is & how they can get out of it.

Personally, I’ve been working on my mindset for years, I don’t take NO for an answer, I believe in the fact that I can find a solution to any problem, situation & challenges. One of my 2016 post explains this better, please click on link below.

SOLUTION PROVIDERS!!!

I also believe in the management consulting theory of small, continuous improvement developed by the Japanese (The TOYOTA Company) after World War II called “KAI ZEN“. The post link below sheds more light on this.

KAI ZEN

I have an abundant & not a scarcity mindset, so I share my thoughts & ideas with people on a regular basis not afraid that they will steal or use it as I believe I’m connected to GOD – THE SOURCE of all things– and I can not lack.

There is still a lot to unpack in this series but I’ll drop the anchor here for now.

Like the series graphic shows, an individual with a growth mindset does 7 things:

  1. Sees failure as an opportunity to grow
  2. Can learn to do anything, develop new skills & talents
  3. Sees challenges as a means of growth
  4. Knows efforts & attitude determines ability
  5. Sees feedback as constructive
  6. Is inspired & not intimidated by the success of other
  7. Likes to try new things

I have a GROWTH MINDSET!! What type of mindset do you have?

This is my snippet …….. I AM SHALOMESQ

CULTIVATING A GROWTH MINDSET – II

Posted on by shalomesq
growth mindset

Hello Family!! it’s Friday 15th March 2019!! Wow the year is really running fast & we are mid-march already, before you know it, Q1 2019 will be over.

How far are you with your set goals & targets for 2019? Are you still on-track or off the rails? The next 16 days might be a good time to reassess & realign yourself.

Cultivating a growth mindset – I

In my previous post above, I tried to set a bit of a foundation regarding the topic “Cultivating a growth mindset” which was a LinkedIn course I took about 4 months ago as part of an e-learning trial team for my company’s HR department. This class was taught by Gemma Leigh Roberts, Chartered Psychologist, Executive Coach, and author.

We looked at the mind as the battlefield & that if you win in your mind, you will ultimately win in life, it’s just a matter of time.We started talking about the mindset, which is the established set of attitudes held by someone & how this is a reflection of a person’s world view or philosophy of life.

A person can be accurately analyzed based on their mindsets to a lot of things in life & there are both positive and negative mindsets. The good news is that we have the power & ability to shift from one to the other with the key being our ability to learn.

MINDSET IS A CHOICE

Today, let’s take it up a notch!!! We were created by God as tripartite, Man (the human being) is a spirit, armed with a soul & lives in a protective casing called the body that enables us to function here on earth. We have a choice as regards the type of mindset we deploy & engage with in our lives.

Now there is a counter argument to this as most people will say you don’t have a choice considering that you don’t choose your parents, family, society, nation, the type of environment you were born into or grow in & that has a huge impact on your mindset. Yes I do agree but despite that fact, your life is still your life & no one is responsible for it other than YOU!

It’s great to blame others while you are younger & have people making decisions for you, but as you get older, you need to take the driver’s seat of your life & start to make choice decisions. Don’t let your background put your back on the ground, you have the choice to re-invent yourself & evolve to a better YOU despite the challenges of life.

I didn’t have the best of template to follow growing up, but at some point as I grew older, I took it upon myself to shred the old templates, created new & better ones of my own which I intend to pass on to my kids with the mandate to make it better than mine.

TYPES OF MINDSETS

There are 3 broad types of mindsets namely:

  1. Fixed Mindset
  2. Mixed Mindset
  3. Growth Mindset

FIXED MINDSET

As the name implies, those with this type of mindset truly believe that their skills and abilities won’t change, that they’ve reached a certain level and that’s where they can expect to remain.

They see failure as fatal, as the end of the road, they have the notion that everything in life has limits & once you reach that limit, that’s it.

Feedback is not constructive for these type of people, they are unwilling to try new things ( ideas, skills, etc), are threatened by the successes of other around them & they don’t do well under the pressure and challenges of life.

Did I just describe you, someone you know or an organization you know or work with at the moment?

Don’t worry, remember that one of the keys to shifting from one mindset to the other is the ability to learn.

Learning is a a very important ingredient in cultivating the right mindset, so it’s good to know where you are at the moment so that you can map out where you want to be & how to get there.

Do you agree you have a choice in life & about your mindset?

Do you have a fixed mindset?

Are you willing to learn & evolve out of that fixed mindset?

Altering your mindset takes practice, commitment, and focus. When it comes to how you think and process information, there’s no quick fix. But you can make small steps towards how you want to change that over time can make a big impact.

This is my snippet…….. I AM SHALOMESQ

SETTING GOALS THAT’LL STICK IN 2019 – Part1

Posted on by shalomesq

goals that stick

As we wrap up the month of January, I will like to share with you some recent information I got from a webinar I attended late last year on how to set goals that’ll stick in 2019.

This webinar was arranged by one of my coaches – Michael Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt)

I have been setting personal annual goals for close to 2 decades now & sometimes I hit the bull-eyes & sometimes I miss, but what I have seen constantly despite the success or failure is GROWTH.

You can review a couple of my previous posts on personal development & goal settings from the links below

According to Michael, there are 5 proven strategies to overcome goal failure.

I’ll take a stab at a few now, conclude in another post & hopefully it will be of help to someone out there.

Strategy #1

Get SPECIFIC about what you want. I’m sure we’ve heard about S.M.A.R.T goal setting technique & even the evolved S.M.A.R.T.R ( including R for Reward) or S.M.A.R.T.E.R ( adding E for Evaluate & R for Re-Adjust), no matter what technique(s) you adopt, it all starts with S for Specific. The more specific your goal is the higher the chances of achieving them. Setting a goal to save money or lose weight this year is good but it will become more achievable if  you are more specific of how much you want to really save  or how much weight you intend to lose this year.

A key factor that helps in being specific is to have a end in mind. Have a mental picture of what you will do with the saved money or how perfect you will look in that dress when you wear it. In the case of weight loss, I know some folks who actually ordered their dress in the anticipated size, kept it in their closet & looked at it everyday as a form of motivation. This picture & a vision of the end zone keeps you motivated.

Ask yourself these questions:
‣ At the end of this year, what will I want to have achieved?
‣ What will I regret not doing?
‣ What will matter most to me?

Another major action that’ll help you stick your goals this year as you go specific is to consider multiple domains, I personally call it the Wheel of Life. As human beings, our existence in life is tied to a number of domains & over the years I’ve identified about 6-7, but with the webinar Michael expanded my views using a different concept call The Circle:

The Circle of BEING
‣ Spiritual
‣ Physical
‣ Intellectual
‣ Emotional
The Circle of RELATING
‣ Marital
‣ Parental
‣ Social
The Circle of DOING
‣ Financial
‣ Vocational
‣ Avocational

I do realise that not everyone operates in all of the domains but no matter what, you do exist & relate with these 3 circles (or 10 domains) one way or the other.

Based on your preference, it’s important to prioritise & get clarity of your expectation within these domains so as to avoid blurry vision.

Action Point #1

Write 7-10 specific goals you want to achieve in 2019 with reference to the 10 domains. Just have like 1 goal per domain ( if possible)

Specificity matters because it makes your aspirations achievable.

“Dreams may be imaginable but goals are actionable.” –Michael Hyatt

Strategy #2

Concentrate your efforts on just a few goals. I’ve fallen into this trap a couple of times over the years in which I end up with like 25-30 goals & it’s not surprising that my success rate in those years were dreadful ( below 20%). However, my high success rates years in recent times ( about 60%) are tied to few goals upon review.

When you have so many goals, you weaken your aspirations & fracture your focus. To achieve big goals in life, successful people ( Winners) will tell you that your focus needs to be sharp & highly concentrated – The lazer type of focus.

“Man who chases two rabbits catches neither.” —Ancient Proverb

Action Point #2

Get 2-3 critical goals that you’ll be lazer-focused on every quarter ( 90 days)

30 days have passed…… Do you have set goals for 2019?

Are they specific enough to motivate you? Do they cover your multiple domains?

What are your targets for Q1 2019?……… Do you have lazer-focus?

This is my snippet…. I AM SHALOMESQ!!!

My 2018 Review

Posted on by shalomesq

2018_Gold_and_Red_PNG_Clipart_Image

Wow!! I am short of words after considering all that I’ve gone through & achieved in 2018.

It was indeed an awesome year & I want to say a big THANK YOU to my partners & supporters who helped in one way or another to ensure that the ideas & dreams that was conceived became a reality & a huge success.

Time will fail me to begin to mention each & everyone of you individually but be rest assured that I am super grateful.

Let’s do this again next year! I can’t wait…. or maybe I can…….

For many years, I have always set goals for myself, family & all that concerns me & I spend the first couple of weeks of a new year on a retreat, then regularly gauge my progress till a mid-year review in July & wrap up the year around November where I assess the scores for the year & start to prepare for the next one.

My scores have progressively moved from 10% up to about 70% & I am working hard to get better scores this year.

Traditionally we all start the year with excitement & set new year resolutions et al & even as early as 42 days into the new year, some might have fallen off the wagon already but dont let that quench the fire within you, there are still 323 fantastic days left to make 2018 a great year.

NEW YEAR! NEW STRATEGY!

If you are going to have a NEW YEAR, you are going to need a NEW STRATEGY!

You cant keep doing things the same old way & expect a different result. If you want to experience new things, then you will have to do things you’ve never done before. I will encourage you to spend time alone & just think about what you wanted to achieve in 2017 that you could not & find new ways of achieving them this year. It might require you to stretch beyond your comfort zone, but please be ready to explore, it could just be that you are not achieving them simply because you are not making moves.

Here are a few pointers:

REVIEW!

In the “7 habits of highly effective people” by Stephen Covey, the 2nd habit is “BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND”. It means to know where you’re going so as to understand where you are now, and take your next step in the right direction. I did that with the first 90 words of this post, I have a vision of what 2018 will be & I’ve had to cast that vision ahead of time.

Your vision or dream is the picture of the future you want accomplished & it needs to be clear so you know where you are going, understand where you are now & have the courage to take the next step to move you in the right direction to accomplish that vision or goal. Habakkuk 2:2

It will really help if you have a board or a journal in which you write your vision or goals & have time to regularly check them.

There is something really amazing about putting pen to paper & jotting things down, it literally moves the resources of the world to ensure it happens.

We know about setting S.M.A.R.T goals, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timely, but modern teachings about goal settings are now S.M.A.R.T.R with the inclusion of another R for either Reward or Review.

ACTION!

A vision without action is daydream!!

Writing your vision & dream is great, but it will amount to nothing if you dont take action.

You need to take steps in the direction of fulfilling your dreams, a journey of a thousand miles, begins with just one step.

Just like a ship looks great tied up at the shore, but it will never accomplish it’s purpose until it sails on the sea, so it is that a dream will look great on your board or in your journal, but will never become a reality until you work on it.

Make moves, take actions & see how the universe will start to align, you might feel that you are waiting on God, but God is actually waiting on you, dont let life happen to you, you happen to life.

Be bold & take courage! Joshua 1: 5-8

Courage is not an absence of fear, but the choice & willingness to do something despite the fear.

Regularly talking & thinking about your vision & dream are also major parts of taking action. Joshua 1:8 says this book of the law ( your vision & dreams) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall mediate on it day & night.

From Hebrews 11:3, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the visible was created from the invisible. You can also create your own world, your vision & dream by speaking as  2 Corinthians 4:13 says “we have the same spirit of faith, we believe & therefore we speak”.

TEAM!

Team-work makes the dream work!!

As you take steps towards achieving your vision or dream, you will realise that you cant achieve it alone. If your vision or dream will take only you to accomplish, then it’s either too small or not from God. A vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team, check out history & you will find out that any successful vision or goal or dream of high significance & impact had a team behind it. Even at the beginning in Genesis 1:26, God said “Let us make man…”

Start to look for partners & supporters ( those who have strength in the arrears of your weakness) to help you achieve significant results.

Habit 6 of the “7 habits of highly effective people” is SYNERGY. Synergy is the highest activity of life. Through it, we create new, untapped alternatives – things that didn’t yet exist. We unleash people’s greatest powers. We make a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

STAY SHARP!

The 7th habit is “SHARPEN THE SAW”

In our current age, information is power! What you know or dont know can make or mar your vision, dream & goal, so stay sharp! Develop the ability of a learner, ask questions constantly, dont be tired of acquiring knowledge. Your mind is a weapon, keep it loaded at all times.

To sharpen the saw means renewing ourselves, in all four aspects of our natures:
• Physical – exercise, nutrition, stress management;
• Mental – reading, visualizing, planning, writing;
• Social/Emotional – service, empathy, synergy, security;
• Spiritual – spiritual reading, study, and meditation;

To accomplish these, you need to be very intentional & proactive, you have to set the right priorities to manage yourself well within time.

I’m committed to doing all of these in 2018 & I encourage & challenge you to do the same & let’s compare notes in November to see how the year turned out.

My intention is to unpack various sections of this strategy as I make significant progress.

What will your 2018 review look like?

This is my snippet, I AM SHALOMESQ !!!