Debra Kasowski

3 Reasons You Should Hire a Coach to Help You Manage Your Next Project

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Whether you are a project manager or a member of a team, coaching can help you navigate the challenges you face. There are many roles and responsibilities and expected results. It takes each member of the team to take full responsibility for their actions to move towards making the vision of the project a reality. Project managers are challenged with leading teams through projects with tight deadlines and increasing demands with decreasing resources. Strong leadership skills are needed to ensure that priorities are tended to before a whirlwind of urgent requests interferes with execution.

A coach is someone who acts as your thinking partner or sounding board who helps you uncover solutions by asking thought-provoking questions to overcome the challenges you face when working on a project. The fundamental premise underlying coaching is that you already have the answers within. A coach helps you generate solutions and identify resources. Coaches can accelerate your effectiveness and improve your collaboration efforts to get the outcomes you want. The agenda of the conversation is yours.

Strengthen Your Capacity as a Leader. In order to lead others, you need to be able to lead yourself. As you improve leading yourself, you can better lead others by creating a compelling vision in which your team would like to be a part of. A coach can help you identify your strengths and leverage the strengths and skills of your team members. The coach helps you challenge your assumptions to gain new perspectives. A leader needs to have the ability to motivate the members of the team and empower the team members by asking questions to engage the team in coming up with solutions that mitigate risks. Not only are you mitigating risk, you are encouraging ownership of results. It demonstrates that you trust your team members in providing solutions. This confidence in your people leads to increased productivity and morale.

Mitigate Risks. A coach can ask insightful questions as you progress through the milestones of a project. The most important time to ask is – before the project even starts. It is imperative to collaborate with your team members as they may hold the key to the solutions you need. As the leader, you do not need to know all the answers. You need to know what resources are available and how to mobilize them if required.

What could possibly go wrong in this project?

How can we mitigate or decrease the risk?

What are some potential scenarios that could come up?

What can we do to manage the risks and move forward?

 

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”
― Paulo Coelho

 

Ask the Right Questions to Clearly Define the Right Goals or Objectives. One of the greatest challenges you face managing a project is that your goals are not clearly defined so there is no target to aim at. A coach can ask you questions that will assist you and your team in define the right goals to get the results that you want. By asking the right questions, you can establish specific goals, break them down into manageable pieces, and create measurable outcomes. With clearly defined goals, you will be able to articulate and prioritize your needs, expectations, and resources.

Coaching can play a significant role in getting the results you desire in a more efficient and effective way. A coach can you help brainstorm new ideas and maintain focus and direction with the right goals in place by leveraging your strengths and making an impact.

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. Debra is the host of The Millionaire Woman Show podcast helping people live rich from the inside out through leadership, business, and human potential. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

5 Steps to Finding Your Sweet Spot and Turning Goals into Reality

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Some people search their whole lives in search of their sweet spot. The sweet spot is the intersection between doing what you love and having the ability to make money at it. Many entrepreneurs and artists pursue this quest. Your sweet spot can also be defined as “being in the zone” while you are working on a goal. An example of this is the team that is working synergistically toward a common goal to reach their desired outcome. Everything seems to be falling into place and everyone is getting along.

Success doesn’t happen by accident! You do need to put in the work to make things happen. It doesn’t happen without a vision. There are certain steps that you need to take to hit your sweet spot.

Get Clear on What You Want. What result or outcome do you want to achieve?

Set a Goal. When you set a goal, you are setting a target to aim at. As you set your goals, ensure it stirs up some emotions of excitement and enthusiasm inside of you. Emotional connection is important in goal setting. What will it feel like when you achieve your goal? The emotional connection helps you face challenges and obstacles in pursuit of the goal.

A friend of mine set up a Facebook group and challenged us to set a swim goal. I had set my goal to be 4000 metres in 10 weeks. I would average 400 m per week. I watched others post their weekly accomplishments and asked myself – “Am I holding anything back?” My next swim I swam 1000 metres and the swim after that I did the same. I ended up reaching my goal in 4 weeks. I raised the goal to 10000 in 10 weeks as I had 6 weeks left. I met 10000 metres in 10 weeks. It felt amazing! I amazed myself!

Ink your Goal. Setting a goal requires you to set a SMART goal. When you INK your goals, you THINK about them.

Your goal must have the following criteria:

Your goal needs to be SPECIFIC. What do you want to accomplish?

Your goal needs to be MEASURABLE. How will you measure your goal? (numbers, rating scales, dollars) If you do not have a measure, how will you know you have met your goal?

Your goal needs to be ACHIEVABLE. Can you achieve this goal? What resources are available? What do you need to help you get there? Your goals should stretch you to help you grow. It cannot be too easy that you can achieve without effort. It cannot be too hard that you give up before you even try. What goal can you make that will stretch you and require some effort?

Your goal needs to be REALISTIC. Is this goal something you can achieve with all the resources and know how in the timeframe you set?

Your goal needs to be TIMELY. What timeframe do you want to achieve your goal? Your time frame should not be too early that it is not realistic and not too far into the distant future that you may forget about it or procrastinate on getting started. The best time to begin is – NOW!

Make a Plan. Break down your goal into smaller manageable pieces. What needs to be done to get reach the end goal? Use reverse engineering to plan backwards and create milestones or accomplishment markers of what needs to be done. These markers are there for you to see the progress and help you gain momentum to work toward the next marker.

Keep your Goals in Front of You. Review your goals 3-4 times per day. Keep them where you can see them in your forefront. Post sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, on your steering wheel, or on your computer monitor. Seeing and feeling the goal being achieved helps you feel that it will become a reality – it’s possible.

Possibility pushes self-doubt aside. Focus magnifies and shines a spotlight on the direction you are heading. Intentional actions stake your path to success. When you discover your sweet spot and get into the zone, you will not feel like you are working because you are enjoying what you are doing so much. The focus and drive will lead you to turn your goal into reality. It all starts with ink on your pen. Now make it happen.

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Why Aren’t There More Goal Diggers in the World?

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“You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” ― Zig Ziglar

Everyone has a goal or dream. The goal is something that you want to accomplish or do, become, or have. The goal is an intention. Intentions are wonderful but without a plan of action they’re meaningless. We often hear people talk about some of their goals and dreams or organizational strategies however not everyone takes the time to plan and prepare to execute and make things happen.

Excuses, objections, and reasons for not pursuing goals are numerous.

Time Some people will tell you that they don’t have enough time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day it is how we allocate that time. I remember when I decided to go after my graduate certificate in executive coaching that I questioned the amount of time I had available. I knew I needed to block off every Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. that time was dedicated to online classroom and working with my team. I realized that what I had to drop off my children to their activities an hour before it the start time that I had time to sit and do my readings or go to the gym instead of visiting and sometimes getting drawn into gossip. It ended up that it was better that I walked away from those conversations and focused on what I was doing. At the end of the program, I realized that I had this extra time on my hands which I thought I didn’t have before. When you block or allot time to something and maintain that commitment you can get things done and your results will be because of the compound effect of your efforts.

Money   When discussing goals you will often hear people talk about how they don’t have enough money to invest in themselves. What I have observed is they have money for the daily cup of coffee or tea, lunches, the latest outfits, or vacation. Pay attention to what you spend on groceries and the gas your spending when you’re running errands. There may be ways where you can organize your lists and your errands so that there are ways to save you money. When you have a goal in mind sometimes you need to sacrifice what you want but you’re not willing to do so. Part of this resistance is that it requires you to change the way you do things. Many of the things that you currently do are due to habit. When you start becoming aware of where your money is coming and going, you start to recognize ways in which you can improve your situation and start putting money aside to goals.

Smarts and Resources There’ll also be those people who tell you that they don’t believe they’re smart enough or don’t have the resources available to go after their goal. It may be that someone has told him that the goal that they have is not reasonable. I believe if you know you need to do something with your whole heart that you will find a way to achieve it. The most successful people in the world don’t know everything but they know where to find the answers that is what makes them truly successful. They’re not afraid to ask for what they need or for help when necessary. That is where true smarts come from.

Where I see a lack is that people are not clear on what it is they want to do. They lack intention. Without intention, you can’t make a plan and prepare to take action. People are overwhelmed by the variety of choices that they don’t always stop and take inventory or truly assess where they are at in their lives. This is often referred to as the midlife crisis and it can occur at any time. For some people, they suddenly evaluate their life and realize that they’re not doing the things that they thought that they would be doing. They ask themselves, “Is this what I want?”

I want to encourage you to be a gold digger. Someone goes after what they say they want. When is the right time you ask? The right time is now. Don’t wait for someone to fulfill one of your dreams or goals. What you want is in your hands.

Goal diggers set goals. They think about what outcome or desired result that they want to achieve. They use this as a target. This part it helps improve their focus and provide direction. When they focus on this target they are better able to make decisions and take actions to move toward what they wish to achieve. When people set goals they actually deepen their commitment to what they say they want to do. I actually writing down your goals and breaking it down into smaller pieces and tracking the progress of your goal you will start seeing evidence of getting closer to your target and this will create a momentum and motivate you to work toward what you said you wanted to achieve. Goal diggers will sometimes declare their goal on social media or they’ll hire a coach or find an accountability partner. When you have someone to be accountable to, you are more likely to push yourself and achieve more. By tracking and checking your progress and paying attention to numbers you become more informed and make better decisions.

The reason why there are not more goal diggers in the world is because many are afraid to fail and some may not want to put in the effort. It is not just the destination is the journey that you take to get there that will be the most meaningful and fulfilling. Imagine how satisfying it will be when you reach your goals. If you’re not going to do it now, when will you do it? There is never a right time other than the present moment. Seize your goal digging opportunity.

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Debra is the host of The Millionaire Woman Show podcast focusing on leadership, business, and human potential. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

 

EPISODE 26: Start with Your End Game

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Episode 26 – Start with Your End Game

Life’s adventures are very much like a game. Whether you’re listening to this podcast for action steps for your life business or running an organization, it is all about the strategies you put in place. In many sports you hear about playbooks, where there are pages of strategies or blueprints that can be implemented to reach their end goal of the win. The same can be applied to whatever role you’re playing.

7habitsIn Stephen R. Covey book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, Habit #2: “To Begin With The End In Mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” In order to head to the destination, you must have an idea of where you’re going otherwise everything else is haphazardly done. You may be wondering around bumping into walls and obstacles because you are unsure of where you’re heading.

Ask Yourself the Following Questions:

What is it you want to achieve? What is your end game?

What is the vision that you have for yourself?

When you start with your end in mind, you are tapping into your imagination.

You can see it, feel it, and almost taste it.

Everything is first created in your mind.

GRAB YOUR DOWNLOAD

Jason W Gordon from MOBLpixl (www.moblpixl.com) put together my promo video on my website at www.debrakasowski.com. He videotaped a wide variety of video segments andI shared some concepts of what I thought would be possible but nowhere in my imagination did I see that incredible work that he had put together. It was better than I expected. He is very passionate about spreading powerful messages and he loves what he does. He already had the concept in his mind of how he was going to put together the video based solely on our conversation.

Another story…

My family and I spearhead the Spirit of Christmas Shoebox Campaign and Pancake Breakfast with a large number of volunteer elves feeding many children and providing many gifts. When we first got started, it was a bucket list idea. It was something that I wanted to do, little did I realize that it was in a turn into so much more. The first year we supplied 120 shoeboxes to one school. We enjoyed it so much that I called the school back the following year but this time they had a special request. Deb, can you feed us? I had never done anything of that magnitude before. All I could visualize in front of me was a child looking up at me with a plate that said feed me on it. So I said I’m not sure how I’m going to do this but, “Yes!” I will figure it out will make it happen. I got off the phone and I e-mailed all of our family and friends to see if there was a way to make this happen. I knew there had to be a way. The end that I had in mind was that every single child was having a gift and every single child has food on a plate in front of them. I’m happy to say that we ended up serving two schools one of turkey dinner for lunch and another a pancake breakfast. To top it all off every child received a gift. Since that time there’s been no turning back. We’ve had beautiful community support and generous volunteers. And many children with full tummies and gifts in their hands.

You can accomplish so much when you actually just learn to say yes to something that challenges you knowing that you will figure out a way. I find that too many people get stuck on ‘the how” – it will come. It all starts with the decision to make it possible. You need the give yourself permission to dream of possibilities. Once you are clear the how can be determined, you will be driven or motivated by your “why”. When you know “why” you do something, you can accomplish so much. This is where your actions and intention align with your vision.

You cannot enroll others into your dream, if you do not know where you’re heading. You need to create a vision for yourself. For people who get stuck on the how, I think it’s very valuable to use a method called “backward planning” or “reverse engineering” you might hear it called. When you start with the end in mind, you can plan backward. What are the steps that you need to take in order to get to where you’re ready to know you need to go? I find it very beneficial to use questions to help you understand what you need to do- “the how”. For example, “What must I do to become a great speaker? Write down all the things you believe you need to do then break it down into smaller pieces and ask more follow-up questions. You’ll need a speaker sheet, a signature talk, and collections of stories to be shared to start out. What message do you want your audience to walk away with her share with others? What solution do you provide? What is required to make this happen?

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwYou must see it in your mind before you could take steps to start making it happen. When you see it in your mind you can then start setting goals and timelines in which you can focus all of your actions. Whatever you want to achieve, remember it’s your game. There is more than one strategy to get to where you want to go. Tap into your strengths and look for the opportunities. Yes there may be obstacles almost guaranteed! When you have a vision and a blueprint or plan laid out you will find a way to either move through obstacles around them to get to your destination. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey in the process because it’s all about who you become along the way.

I would love to hear about how you begin with the end in mind.  E-mail me at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. Thank you for listening to The Millionaire Woman Show where we talk about leadership, business, and human potential to help you live rich from the inside out. Subscribe to The Millionaire Woman Show. Give us a 5-star rating! Sign up for our Newsletter www.debrakasowski.com

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Time: 9:17 min

Keywords:  begin with the end in mind, habit 2, start with the end game, strategy, blueprint, strategic planning, backward planning, reverse engineering, goal setting, goals, have a vision, imagination, visualization, achievement, sense of direction

EPISODE 24 – Know Your Worth

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Episode 24 – Know Your Worth

“I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that?” Soledad O’Brien

48130021 - annoyed upset angry woman plugging her ears with fingers doesn't want to listen
48130021 – annoyed upset angry woman plugging her ears with fingers doesn’t want to listen

There are way too many people walking around in the world who do not know their worth. They have been hanging on to the message that says “I am not enough.” They may have heard it from their parents, peers, bosses, teachers, or colleagues that they weren’t measuring up but they didn’t have what it took to reach the next level. They may have even been told that their dreams were too big and that they shouldn’t stretch that far. When you listen to those messages or replay them in their mind over and over, you start to believe it the message. You become the story that you tell yourself. You integrate it into who you are. You become afraid to stretch out of your comfort zone and really step into the person that you’re meant to be.

I believe that one time or another we have all had instances where we felt that someone has put us in our place. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much experience you have in a certain area, knowledge or expertise, there may be someone who doesn’t see what you bring to the table. I’ve had an experience like this personally. When I learned that the person did not see my value, I looked inside myself to see how I may be reflecting that and in a conversation with this person I shared my value because I believe in my capabilities and I also know that I can step into any situation learn and grow as long as I’ve learned to work with my people. Processes can be learned and taught in relationships with people have to be built and nurtured over time. We teach people how to treat us and this is why it was so important for me to express myself when I saw someone didn’t see the worth I saw it myself. Don’t let others define your worth. Ask for feedback on how you need to show up and put the effort in. At the end of the day, I am glad that circumstance didn’t turn out the way I originally hoped because other opportunities were standing bright in my future. Sometimes you have to say no to good in order to experience great.

Recognize Your Strengths

You need to take the time to recognize what your strengths are to help understand your worth. It is about knowing your value and what you bring forth to the world and your leadership style. Do not dwell on your weaknesses, focus on your strengths.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re leading your household, community group, an organization, or running a business. If you don’t understand what you bring that increases the value you will not make an impact. What do you do that adds to your competitive advantage? What you offer that others do not? What makes you stand out from the crowd?

If you’re struggling to come up with your strengths, you may want to ask others around you to discover which are known for- your signature. What is it when a project or situation comes up the first person they think of is you?

Create Goals That Challenge You

When you create goals that challenge and stretch you, you realize that you are more than good enough. You are capable of so much more than you often give yourself credit for. When you are fearful or intimidated from trying new things or taking on challenges you are less likely to take any action. Yes, there will be a learning curve. Yes, it will be a challenge. These challenges are meant to help you learn and grow and become stronger and more resilient. The best way to face the challenge is to increase your efforts. The more inspired your action the greater results you will achieve. Those who are most resilient are people who see their current situation or setback as temporary and not a permanent state. They know that if they take action that their circumstance can change. If they do nothing, nothing changes.

Value Your Work

TMW_PDFclickhere.fwLou Tice stated,” No matter what you say you want to achieve or become – you aren’t going to do it unless you first believe you deserve it and can cause it to happen.” You need to believe that you deliver value and you deserve a positive outcome whether the monetary or in the form of relationship building. It doesn’t matter if you are putting together a proposal, asking for a raise, or deciding to charge what you’re worth for your product or service, you need to believe you are worth it and know your value. Arm yourself with facts. Keep track of your achievements and contributions and their impact no matter how big or small. Not only are these good for negotiating, they are also important for you to review when you may have a bad day. They act as reminders to let you know how far you’ve come.

You are not the same person from one year ago, three years ago, or five years ago. You have evolved into the person you are now and with that come knowledge, talents, skills, and abilities along with much experience. There is no one like you. Don’t sell yourself short. Demonstrate how you have exceeded expectations and why you are deserving of what you wish to achieve. When you believe it and speak with conviction, others will believe it too. Step into your power.

I would love to hear about how knowing your worth – knowing your value has changed the way you show up in life. E-mail me at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. Thank you for listening to The Millionaire Woman Show where we talk about leadership, business, and human potential to help you live rich from the inside out. Subscribe to The Millionaire Woman Show. Give us a 5-star rating! Sign up for our Newsletter www.debrakasowski.com

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Time: 10:49 min

 

Keywords: Self-esteem, self-worth, self-efficacy, believe in yourself, asking for a raise, making a proposal, set goals, goal setting, challenge yourself, resilience, resiliency, leadership, leader, define your worth, not good enough, achieve, achievement