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Top Six Qualities Of Being A Leader

4 August 2016 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

It takes Courage to become old. This is what a friend of mine stated as she was recollecting what her mother had mentioned to her when she was alive. We were both having a conversation on our parents, their health and on life in general. As I was going home, the words that “It takes courage to become old” kept ringing in my ears.

I was thinking about my parents and what they have been through recently and my mom’s fight with Parkinsons’. Despite my Dad’s recent illness, his will power to look at life on a bright side and my mom’s innate ability to deal relentlessly with the challenges thrown by Parkinson’s are inspiring. Despite her down moments, I admire her resilience.

Throughout our life, there are many of us who wonder if we are leaders, are we inspiring others, are we motivating others. Yet, we forget that who we are, what we do, how we behave and how we deal with the downs of life, if done right, can be a leading example to many.

What is key to Who You Are ?

1.Your Attitude

You need to believe in yourself and you are stronger than you think. This is a matter of your attitude. Life’s events can be daunting and many moments may be such that you want to give up. I have learnt from my parents that you cannot allow yourself to be defined by what gets given to you- let life’s moments not define you, you can define life’s moments by the attitude you take. Many of life’s moments are not chosen by you, but the attitude you take to those is entirely your choice.

You may want to cringe, get angry, frustrated and by doing all that, you unfortunately make yourself worse. Deal with the emotion you are undergoing, share it, journal it and do something constructive that will enable you to move forward.

As a leader, you realize that sulking on disasters and disappointments in life is not going to help you. You need to believe in yourself, lead from within and only then can you possibly inspire others.

2.Your Values

Very often whilst coaching my clients, when I ask them to state their core values and if their actions and behaviors would exhibit those values, many of them get insights.

It is important to know who we are, what are our core values, how do our actions and behaviors define our values?

Every time I look at my parents or speak with them, I realize that they are resilient and manage themselves well emotionally. They don’t give up. They are willing to see the light at the end of a dark road. And for my sister and I, that is inspiring and encouraging.

Be someone whose behavior and actions reflect your core values and let your actions #inspire and others.

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3.You are a Risk Taker

It is easy to give up when you choose to see your obstacles as hurdles that cannot be surpassed. Yet, you have a choice to see it as challenges or opportunities and way to move forward. It encourages you to think differently, move out of your comfort zone and challenge the way you are.

For my mom, dealing with Parkinson’s is new to her. There is no prior experience and she has to face those challenging moments with a lot of grit. She does get discouraged and yet she gets out of it by the way she reacts to it and the mindset that she adopts.

As a leader, you can inspire others by the perspective you take to the troubles or challenges that come your way and overall your attitude to come through those stronger and better.

4.You Prioritize

My parents are old and the assumed tendency is that they will be slacking off and not be bothered about time. They have not done in the past and do not do so even now. They are disciplined about their time and others time. My parents still wake up early and manage their affairs well, despite many a challenge.

As a #leader, how do you prioritize your #time and what value do you give to others time.

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  Are you consistent with walking your talk? How committed are you to your word? You will motivate others when you lead by example and when you value your time and those of others.

5.Your growth and development

My dad keeps himself abreast of news and developments around the world. He reads and watches news channels on TV.

Personal growth and development is fundamental to the way you come across to others. It affects your Executive Presence. When you focus on your personal growth and development, you are willing to expand your horizons and be on a continuous cycle of development and a willing learner. Humility is essential to be on the path of growth and development.

6.You are not alone

I did not realize for many years that my parents need appreciation. They don’t say it and when they do get appreciated, they feel nice. Reminders about the positive things they have done and how it matters to you is a nudge to them that they are not alone.

Praise and appreciation is required by each of us, no matter our age or gender. Even leaders who lead by example need to be appreciated and reminded that they are not alone.

You can be a leader by taking those little actions that matter. You can act and behave in a way that tells yourself or others that you are not a sum of your beliefs, fears and doubts.

For one-on-one coating, group coaching, facilitating of workshops , training needs, please consult me.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life Tagged With: Appreciation, attitude, Communication, Leadership, leadfromwithin, resilient

5 Sure Fire Ways of Overcoming Fear and Overwhelm

12 July 2016 By Lalita Raman 2 Comments

Three weeks back, I was facilitating a presentation skills training and during the break I checked my phone and saw a message from my sister- pumping heart problem, call and please come urgently. I was in shock when I read the message and in that shock did not unlock my phone and check further details of the message.

My mom had been discharged just the day before, on Sunday, after spending 3-4 days in ICU. I was wondering how from Parkinson’s she was suddenly having heart problems. Little did I realize that it was my dad who was serious, till I called my sister and thereafter quickly read my messages. I was in a state of confusion and the break was only for 10 minutes. I was caught between thoughts of my dad and praying he gets ok and giving my fullest to the participants. There was a fear that was constantly pulling me away from keeping myself focused. Yet, I put my fear and panic aside and delivered the training.

My sister described to me on the phone later, when I arrived home, the events of that morning. She was caught between panic and having to act swiftly to rush my dad to the hospital. She acted in a timely manner, arranged for the ambulance and she and her husband managed to get my dad to the ICU in the nick of time.

Fear is part of our life’s journey. There is a fear that is created by our imagination and letting our mind wander wild and there is a panic that takes over us, when events rock our world.

Yes, in that moment of fear, our emotional part of the brain takes over and we go into a freeze, fight, flight or appease mode. The executive center of the brain or the logical part of the brain shuts down when we are in a state of fear.

Are there ways to manage this state of fear and have our rational part of the brain take over?

I’m reminded of Katherine Paterson’s quote on fear “To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.”

Ways to manage and overcome fear

1.Breathe

Deep breathing is something we hear often and yet forget about doing so. When we are in a state of panic, our breathing becomes shallow thereby sending a signal to the brain of anxiety.

When you are in fear, consciously take the following steps

-Tell yourself to stop whatever you are doing. This gives you a moment away from the emotion you are going through.
-Consciously breathe in and out and count the no of breaths in and out. Breathing in and out consciously is difficult when you are in an emotional state – be it fear, anger or feeling of overwhelm. Thus consciously forcing yourself to do this is important.
-Once you focus on your breathing… It becomes easier to increase the count you breathe in and breathe out. Counting your breath in and out allows you to focus and bring your rational brain into play again.

In a matter of less than 2 minutes, I was able to focus on the training by reminding myself to breathe in and out.

2.Focus on the task at hand and desired outcome

Ask yourself how important is the task at hand and will that be affected if you allow yourself to remain in the state of panic? Sometimes rating your fear on a scale of 1-10 v/s the importance of the task in hand on a scale of 1-10 helps to put things in perspective.

If there is a repetitive pattern of fear before a particular activity or task or even an unexpected event, reflecting on what you can do different, so that you don’t get into a fear mode is another way to gradually overcome fear.

Both my sister and I got ourselves to focus on our tasks at hand and didn’t allow our imagination to go wild.

3.Imagination

We imagine and imagination within limits is good. Imagination going wild can cause anxiety and fear. Think about the number of times you were worried about something and finally actual results or reality was far different from your wild imagination.

The thinking process that we go through, usually without realizing it, to get from a fact to a decision or action are based on our prior experiences and beliefs. Our prior experiences or beliefs can thus lead us to making our own interpretation of what the events mean and we draw conclusions based on these interpreted facts and our assumptions.

Fear and anxiety often arises from our uncontrolled imagination. When you get into this mode, either

-Ask yourself, “what is the worst that can possibly happen?”
-Prepare to accept the worst.
-Try to improve on the worst
and
Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worry and anxiety in terms of your health. Decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth and refuse to give it more.

There are things beyond one’s control and for such things it is best to Cooperate with the inevitable.

The past can be used as a guide for future, as an inspiration but never as a source of worry and anxiety.

Use your imagination to see yourself in a positive, present (in terms of where you want to be) and powerful state with regard to upcoming events and that will help you prepare and be in a calm state of mind.

On the day when my dad was hospitalized all I could do was to pray and hope for the best. By worrying and thinking about my dad at that point in time, I realized I would lose my focus on the task at hand. I also told myself, that the earliest I could leave was that evening because there were no flights earlier.

4.Cultivate a peaceful mental attitude

Our mind can be a monster and we should encourage ourselves to consciously fill our mind with thoughts of peace, courage, health, and hope. Keeping yourself constructively busy mentally and physically will help the mind and our brain to focus on achieving something and not wander away.

5.Gratitude

Reminding yourself of things you are capable of and what you have done builds the positivity and in that positive state of mind, creativity is encouraged and fear is reduced.

Having a mindset of gratitude to things you have, things that you are capable of and challenges that you have overcome helps to ease doubt and fear.

Fear is a state of mind and with some or all of the above points, we can learn to control our monkey mind.

Fears and self-doubts will come up when you take on a new role, take on greater responsibility, manage a larger team or new team or speak up. Find out what you limiting beliefs are by going through the above steps or hiring a professional coach.

Do not let your #fear or limiting beliefs stop you from what you want to do or be. #self-confidence

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To overcome fears and doubts and enhance your self-confidence, consult me for either one-on-one coaching, group coaching, facilitation, training or as a key note speaker.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Communication, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life, self-awareness Tagged With: coaching, Communication, fear, lead by example, Leadership, leadfromwithin

Leadership Influence or Impediment

9 February 2016 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

Two weeks back, one of my dad’s close friends passed away. He was suffering from dementia for 4-5 years. Over these 5 years, his wife took care of him. His wife is a person who showed endurance, empathy and above all resilience and there never was a moment, when, if you meet her, she showed her frustration or her emotional state to others.

I remember, as a teenager, when we used to go to her house, her house was spick and span and she used to balance her work and home life well. She maintained her house well, she brought up her daughter with elegance, etiquette and taught her to be courageous and respectful in her behavior. In the last five years, she showed tremendous endurance in the way she looked after her husband. His condition over the years worsened in that he completely stopped recognizing people and had many other health challenges. Through all this she never gave up and showed optimism and hope.

She has inspired me in who she is and some leadership insights that I have seen in her, over the years, I have shared below:-

Leaders are one who:

→1. Look for opportunities where others find nothing.
→2.Are solution focused, where others see a problem.
→3.Are willing to learn and be on a continuous development and growth path.
→4.Are not limited or put down by fear and doubts.
→5.Encourage others by asking powerful and relevant questions.
→6.Are realistically optimistic and are not involved in a negative vicious cycle.
→7.Think forward and find a way to maximize their potential.
→8.Make the best use of what they have, and their talent.
→9.Accept their circumstances and don’t engage in the blame game.
→10.Plan and are prepared to accept what life offers them and keep themselves engaged and busy.
→11.Reframe their communication by genuinely thinking from the other person’s perspective.
→12.Respect and are courteous even in adverse situations.
→13.Have the EI and they continue to do what is required of a situation. They do not stop and do not give up despite life throwing challenges at them.
→14.They give others a fine reputation to live up to.
→15.Realize that life is a bumpy ride and what is within their control is the attitude they take to each situation.
→16.Are proactive and are not reactive.
→17.Are good communicators and they continue to work at it.
→18.Step out of their comfort zone and travel the path less traveled.
→19.Know their core values and their actions and behaviors reflect their core values.
→20.Are self-aware and they know who they are. They do not derive pleasure or their own self-worth from whom they know or by putting others down.
→21.Inspire others to embrace change by adapting to change themselves and giving others reasons to do so.
→22.Are humble, generous and kind.
→23.Accept their mistakes first and call out to others mistakes indirectly.
→24.Are resilient and persistent.
→25.Are committed and walk their talk.

Life chose to give her a roller coaster ride and though it was her life partner whom she was looking after, she stood by him without complaining and without regret. Her relentless optimism and resilience has been inspiring and encouraging to follow. May his soul rest in peace and may the leader in her continue to inspire more lives whom she touches.

#Leaders encourage, motivate, walk their talk, are humble and willing to learn. #leadership #EI

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As a leader, you have the potential to inspire those around you to support and execute not only your vision but also create a legacy by enabling and helping them to live their potential.

Transitions in life creates challenges and many times takes you way out of your comfort zone. To get insights out of the transitions that you face, please connect with me.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Energise Your Leadership, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life, Mindfulness, Resilience, Talent And Human Resources Tagged With: Communication, EI, lead change, Leadership, leadfromwithin

Five Keys To Leadership Excellence

27 January 2016 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

The weather this past weekend was cold in some parts of the world and bitterly freezing in other parts. Most people when asked, how are you, were replying “it is cold”. The cold season shall pass and then we will slowly come to the peak of summer with temperatures in some parts of the world going up to 50°C or more. Extreme cold or heat is not something most of us are comfortable with.

Moderate weather, like fall or spring, is what most of us can bear and are comfortable with.

→How are you adopting moderation in your life?

#Moderation, not mediocrity, is something that will help you move forward. #transitions #leadership.

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#Moderation in moving towards excellence is key to #influencing others #positively.#transitions

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→Are you being mediocre or moderate in who you are?

→What kind of environment are you creating around you?

→Are you expecting people to work in a manner that burns them out?

Moderation is key to leadership excellence – How does moderation help you to succeed?

1.Communicate

We live in a world of Communication and Volatile behavior of being too excited, too angry, too sad will show up in the way you communicate. If your thoughts are not emotionally balanced, then your words will be affected. Our words do not just give information, they influence how people connect with us and see us.

#Moderation in your thoughts helps the way you communicate and reframe your #communication.

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2.Connect

We are social animals and connection with others is how we thrive. We need to learn from our mistakes. As a leader what are your behaviors and actions? Does it connect or isolate? Extreme enthusiasm, passion or apathy does not create trust or a foundation for long-term relationships. Seek to connect with genuine interest in the other person.

3.Appreciate

Silent gratitude is no good. Learn to appreciate and recognize your team’s effort and what they have done well. Don’t indulge in flattery but give honest and sincere appreciation.

4.Compassion

Connect and care with your compassion and not by being a task master. Your compassion will enable you to listen, observe and learn about your team.

5.Emotional Intelligence

What emotions come up for you in different situations?  How do you manage them, in being a role model? Be aware of your emotions and recognize them and do not be a victim of your primitive brain causing an amygdala hijack. Stop second guessing every decision you make and agonizing over whether you made the right one or not. Whilst reflection is necessary, having doubts over every decision affects your EI and leadership. Trust your intuition, reflect on what went well and what can be done to improver. Overall trust yourself and have the EI to be moderate in your behaviors and actions to self and others.

#Leadership is not about mediocrity and accepting status quo, but the ability to #inspire others.

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Moderation in all walks of life gives clarity and balance, why would you deny yourself that ?

Transitions in life puts us through challenges and moderation is key to go through such transitions to grow and develop. Please consult me if you are looking for one-on-one coaching, training, group coaching or to speak on motivational topics.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Brand You, Character, Coaching, Communication, Customer Service and Sales, Emotions, Integrity, Lead By Example, Leadership & Personal Development, Resilience, Sales Leadership, self-awareness, Talent And Human Resources Tagged With: EI, emotions, EQ, lead by example, Leadership, leadfromwithin, life, moderation, Motivation, Transitions

You Will Regret, Not Reading This Right Now

8 December 2015 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

I was at yoga and as I was holding my push up, the instructor asked “have you injured your left shoulder”? Her question took me by surprise. I responded to her in the negative and then I told her that I had a surgery on my right shoulder rotator cuff, three years back. She said that I am slumping on my left shoulder and the injury and the resultant surgery could be the cause.

Push-ups is something I enjoy at yoga and at the gym and it is only on rare occasions that I would do push-ups with my knees down. I was unaware of this slump on my left shoulder whilst I was doing my push-ups. Now that I was aware of this, I was extra conscious of the same and in fact struggled with my push-ups.

And as I was wondering how I could correct it, I remembered the cycle of competence. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself unconsciously competent in doing push-ups but sudden awareness about this slump on my left shoulder made me feel I had regressed to unconscious incompetence.

→As a leader, how many times are you unconsciously incompetent or consciously incompetent and you allow that to stop you from moving forward?

What can you do as a leader to increase your awareness of your team and your own self-awareness through the cycle of competence?

1.Think about your strengths

In moving from stage 1 of unconsciously incompetent to stage 4 of unconsciously competent or stage 5 of reflective competence, rely on your strengths. When you focus on your strengths and your teams’ strengths, it will change your perspective and give you the confidence to move from stage to stage and be on the right path.

2. Think about your challenges

#Life stops when you stop learning and you take an #attitude of “always in the know” #transitions

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 Growth and development happens when you are ready to let go of your inhibitions.

When you recognize what you do well and be reflective, you are able to create opportunities for yourself and your team. When we are in a negative thinking mode, no insights or breakthroughs are possible and in fact it inhibits our brain from clear thinking.

As a leader, you need to realize that the better you become at something, the more you need to consciously think about how you can get better at that task. Those are the new benchmarks by which you judge the success or failure of who you are or what you do.

In learning a new skill or re-learning a skill, there may be moments when you feel you have regressed to previous stages especially if you fail to practice the new way of doing things or exercise the new skill.

In inspiring others to reach their potential, you need to assess where your team is currently, where is their desired outcome and find out what is creating the gap. Telling your team to fix the problem is not going to close the gap between where they are and the final outcome.

#Coaching is necessary to get members of your team to reach the desired state. #leadership

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What is necessary for coaching ?

1.Create a safe place

Do not Judge. Judgment creates defensiveness and stops people from expressing and communicating with an open mind. If you want people to feel respected, listen to them, respect their views, create a safe place and help them grow.

2.Focus on way forward

Don’t focus on what went wrong because that will be self-defeating and demotivating. #coaching

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Keeping focus on how to get to the desired outcomes will help you move forward and help your team overcome the challenges.

3.Be curious

We engage in the world we create. Ask questions instead of telling or giving orders because asking relevant questions keeps people engaged and helps them to think. Asking for your team’s suggestion helps them to be focused and be involved.

4.Get Commitment

Be# goal oriented and get your team to commit to a plan of action. #leadership

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 A plan of action which you help them to design engages them to give their commitment.

Overall, be it in your progression or your team’s progression, create awareness accompanied by a sense of awakening through coaching and coaching yourself by hiring a coach or self-coaching.

⇒Every leader and trainer and coach should be aware that if the awareness of skill and deficiency is low or non-existent – i.e. the learner is at the unconscious incompetence stage – the person will simply not see the need for learning. Thus it is essential to establish awareness of a weakness or training need (conscious incompetence) prior to attempting to impart or arrange training or skills necessary to move people from stage 2 to 3. People only respond to training and coaching when they are aware of their own need for it, and the personal benefit they will derive from achieving it.⇐

For professional executive coaching either one-on-one or group coaching or training or facilitation please contact me.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Customer Service and Sales, Employee Engagement, Energize Your Leadership, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life, Meditation, Relationships, Resilience, Sales Leadership, self-awareness, Talent And Human Resources Tagged With: awareness, coaching, Communication, Curiosity, cycle of competence, Leader, Leadership, leadfromwithin, Questions, Self-Awareness, Strengths, Yoga

Five Successful Behaviors That Leaders Practice To Live Within Their Comfort Zone

4 November 2015 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

“I don’t like to be constantly told that I need to step out of my comfort zone. I’m happy where I am.” I was at Starbucks yesterday, waiting for a friend of mine to join me, when this remark caught my attention. The lady who made this remark was looking quite frustrated and was possibly having one of those down and out moments.

Do we constantly need to live out of our comfort zone?

Do we need to constantly push somebody out of their comfort zone?

In 1995, when I came to Hong Kong, I had till then never lived alone nor in a new country/city on my own. I took on a new role within the same organization, that I was working for in India. Here I was, in a new country, new culture, new work environment, new language, new role and yet….I learnt my way through, from my mistakes, believing in myself and not giving into my fears and I continue to live and enjoy this city, 20 years later.

If somebody had mentioned to me that I have to step out of my comfort zone, I probably would not have realized, what that meant, then. All I knew, at that moment in time, was that I have to make a meaningful impact, prove my worth, achieve the department goals and in all this, get a sense of fulfillment and grow in my career path and life.

Yet, when I reflect, I did step out of my comfort zone in several ways throughout my journey of 20 years and continue to do so. If I had not done so, I would not have made the journey to where I am today.

Can we live outside of our comfort zone all the time ? No, in fact, not necessary.

We need time to process our experiences and thus need to come back within our comfort zone. If we are constantly seeking new experiences all the time, we may run the risk of missing out the subtlety and experiences of life. In this day of the technological innovations, breakthroughs, and being connected all the time with our smart phones,  change is continuos and the last thing we want, is for the new and interesting to become boring within a short span of time and a sense of apathy to develop.

So, why is there so much importance being given to stepping out of our comfort zone?

We are creatures of our habits and over time, we all gather a set of constricting habits around us—those that we become less conscious of and lull into an auto pilot mode. Some of these habits restrict us from attaining our full potential because we allow ourselves to be dominated by our fears. When you allow some of these not so useful habits to rule you, you will be stuck in a rut.

So how do we motivate ourselves to step out of our comfort zone and yet not make it stressful and nerve wrecking.

1.Have a growth mindset

When you have a growth mindset, you become more aware of opportunities for your self-improvement. Living on an auto pilot mode and continuing the same habits which causes frustration adds to your stress and overwhelm. Challenging yourself to move forward adds that spice and flavor to your life and enables you to achieve progress in your life.

My transitions within the world of investment banking world, where I spent 20 years and switching from a corporate career to running my own business, four years back, has been possible on account of my growth mindset. Research in Neuroscience tells us that our connection to meaningful impact and contribution activates our neural reward networks.

#Learning, #discovering, re-learning helps the neurons in our brains to make new connections.

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2.Change your thoughts

Your thoughts control who you are. If you believe you can’t, you won’t. Living within your comfort zone today, was someday, probably, out of your comfort zone. Living within your comfort zone is good as long as it doesn’t make you stagnant.

How can you expect to progress and move forward in your life if you are not willing to do something with which you are uncomfortable? Anything new is likely to create some uncertainty or discomfort. The first day in your job probably felt uncomfortable and 3-6 months later, you got into the groove.

Give power to your negative thoughts and it starts to control your feelings, words and language and you are not able to break away from the vicious cycle of negativity. Empower your thoughts and the actions that follows as a result.

3.Face Your Fear

Unknown and uncertain things is many times perceived by our brain as a threat. If we allow that fear to dominate us, we become victims of it. A little anxiety may be just what you need to focus your efforts and perform at your peak, psychologists say. Ask yourself how did you overcome some of the fears you had before? What did you learn from that experience? Let logic more than emotion prevail in guiding you to overcome your fears.

“There’s a place for information,” Dr. Taylor (Kathleen Taylor, a professor at St. Mary’s College of California, who has studied ways to teach adults effectively) says. “We need to know stuff. But we need to move beyond that and challenge our perception of the world. If you always hang around with those you agree with and read things that agree with what you already know, you’re not going to wrestle with your established brain connections.”
Such stretching is exactly what scientists say best keeps a brain in tune: get out of the comfort zone to push and nourish your brain. Do anything from learning a foreign language to taking a different route to work.

#Self-confidence comes from believing in yourself and playing to your strengths

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4.Let go

Believe in yourself, the depth of your talent, the power of your ability and the reach of your potential. If you keep doubting yourself, then you will not be able to move forward. Reflect on things you do well, things which challenge you and where you need to improve, and how you can use your strengths to overcome your challenges. Seek the help of a mentor or coach who can be a sounding board and help you get the necessary insights. Let go of being in control of everything in your life. That adds to the overwhelm and stress.

When you change your mind about #stress, it changes your body response too. #transitions

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Viewing the stress response as helpful, the heart still pounds but the way your body responds is similar to when you are in joy and courage. If you think of something as a challenge, which you will enjoy, then you are able to live up to that challenge.

5.Diversity

Whilst learning, growth and development happens outside your comfort zone, seek diversity on things you already do well and within your comfort zone. This will give you the optimal balance of being challenged and in a healthy way. Try out different ways of doing something, you have been doing as a routine. For e.g. If you write every Monday, to publish your blog post and you feel bogged down by sticking to that routine, try changing it to another day. Not every aspect of your life at every stage needs to be viewed as stepping out of your comfort zone.

If using the word “Outside your Comfort Zone”, bothers you and causes agony in you, reframe your communication.

Ask, what do you need to start doing to get to your vision or goal? What do you need to stop doing to achieve your dreams? What do you need to give up to reach your potential ? Enjoy the journey and if you feel you are running on a hamster wheel, Stop, reflect and check if you have pushed yourself way too hard to cause overwhelm and fatigue.

The idea is to move forward and provide yourself motivation to take steps to achieve what you seek and that means to get uncomfortable with the comfortable and comfortable with the uncomfortable. Your growth as a human being and a leader depends on it.

Transitions creates overwhelm and challenges in our life. Some of the changes that we get dealt with are outside our control and some are within our control. How we transition to these changes in our life is entirely up to each of us. Grow and develop or choose to stay stagnant. Consult me for either one-on-one coaching, group training, facilitation, or workshops.

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Filed Under: Character, Coaching, Communication, Customer Service and Sales, Emotions, Energize Your Leadership, Generalizations, Leadership & Personal Development Tagged With: challenge, Comfort zone, fear, habits, lead change, Leadership, leadfromwithin, Motivation, stress

Five Key Questions To Create An Emotionally Engaging Experience For Your Customer

20 October 2015 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

https://flic.kr/p/73ZMzw

Human beings are emotional beings. No matter what role you are in, the art of persuasion appeals to three main areas –

Ethos:

Your #credibility comes from not only what you say but how you say. #ethos #CSR

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Your tone, body language, facial expressions and words matter.

Logos: the logic that you use to support a claim (induction and deduction); any form of evidence that helps you appeal to the rational sense of your audience.

Pathos: the emotional or motivational appeal and herein too, the way you communicate is important.

Three weeks back, a dress that I liked, was on sale in one of the reputed stores and I decided to place the order on-line. When I logged in, I got a message that the size I was looking for was out of stock. I decided to avail of the wait list option that was offered to me. Within 4-5 days, I got an email notification that the wait list item was available and I need to place an order soon. It so happened that the item was still available and I placed the order. I got a confirmation that the order was received and I would get a notification as soon as the order was shipped. Two days later, I receive an email that the order was cancelled and no reason was given. All the email stated was, order cancelled and If you want reply or call. My experience calling their customer service, in the past, has not been pleasant and so I decided to email them requesting them to give me a reason as to why the order was cancelled. The email response was strange, in that they responded saying, sorry place the order again, we could not read your credit card no. To me the content of this response and the tone used was one of “no care”. I had not entered the credit card no with my hand to be told that they could not read it. If it was their system issue that somehow they had lost the credit card no, it was not my fault. Despite all this, this renowned store and one of the biggest and oldest stores in the US, that has an on-line facility, did not apologize and worse, dictated to me that I place the order again.

A relationship with a customer is built, when you can map the journey of your customer through notably, the rational side of the experience and also make it emotionally engaging in a way that it addresses their need and drives value for them. Value is driven from the time the customer or potential customer starts their journey either with exploring your website, entering your shop, speaking to your customer service, sales or marketing, or any other form of contact, that they have with your company. And it does not necessarily end with the goods or services delivered to them.

Why do representatives of organizations, big or small, forget that shopping for anything or dealing with banks or credit cards or any other type of service needs to be “An Experience”? You and your organization need to build an emotionally engaging experience that drives customer loyalty and customer retention.

Seek to ask and understand what the #customer is expecting and feeling coming into the experience.

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This is imperative, for you to understand how you can manage the emotions of your customers in order to create an enjoyable experience for them. The journey is not solely about the touch points of interaction but the entire experience.

When you book a table at a restaurant, the experience includes the way they handle your booking, the way you are greeted at the restaurant, how efficiently and courteously they take you to your table, how soon do they make you feel comfortable by way of their ambience, the way the waiter/waitress speak with you, how soon do they get the menu, how well they explain the dishes, where required, how they take care of the little things that matter, the quality of the dishes, the hygiene level, the waiting time for your order and the checkout process. If you have had a good experience the first time, you will go there repeatedly, as long as the experience continues consistently. It is the same, no matter, whether it is calling your bank, dealing with your broker, buying a house, dealing with your private banker, shopping on-line or on-line subscription to a journal or blog.

Dealing with an organization should not increase stress and anxiety and when it does, the emotional experience leaves a bad taste and the organization loses its value in the customer’s eye.

How do you create an Emotionally Engaging Experience for your customer?

 

1. Are you listening to your customers ?

Listening to your customers, from an emotional and rational perspective for business as usual, for your innovate ideas, for the complaints and the not too pleasant experience that your customer faces, is at the heart of creating a customer-centric culture.

You build client-centricity when you put yourself in their shoes to know what they experience.

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2.Are you looking at the customer’s journey from an emotional perspective?

We enjoy movies with a good story and direction and more importantly those with good actors and actress. The story is taken to a deeper level when the actor or actress plays the role in a way that you get so involved in the character of that story.

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman are just a few famous names and are now possibly the most famous advocates of getting into character by living and breathing every nuance of the world they inhabit.

Hoffman, a method actor by trade, got so prepared for the character he played in Marathon Man, that he lost 15 pounds after running up to four miles a day to get in shape for the demanding role. Legendary Producer Robert Evans claimed that Hoffman would never come into a scene faking the heavy breathing required, and that he would simply run half a mile right before director John Schlesinger yelled ‘action’ to make the scene more believable.

No better way to get and create the emotional experience that a customer gets while dealing with your organization than putting yourself in the shoes of your customer. Visualize how your customer would want the experience to be and map out the behaviors necessary to enable this.

3.How Are You Honoring Your Client’s Perspective?

Your opinions and views don’t matter when you deal with a client. Rational and logic may be useful  and understanding a client from an emotional perspective will go a long way to keep a client fulfilled. Even if you don’t always agree with your client, it’s important to respect their perspective and needs. By understanding your client and their perspective, you establish the trust and make it a memorable experience for the client.

4.Are you hiring the right people?

Who are your hiring to create a valuable and customer-centric culture in your organization? What are their values ? Does it match with the overall vision and purpose of the organization? Your employees are the source to create a rich experience for the clients who deal with your organization.

People who #care for their organization and are treated well by their bosses are #engaged.

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They will focus on doing the right things including creating an experience of dealing with your organization enriching.

5.Do you ask relevant questions ?

Having an empathetic ear to issues that your client faces is one of the best ways to create a long-term relationship with the client. Watch your tone of voice or tone of the email, body language and the words you choose during your interaction. By asking questions such as how may I help you? What is one thing you would like me to do to rectify the situation?, you show empathy and humanity.

Be open, yet circumspect, because this enables you to be in the moment, to ask relevant questions, establish trust and allows the other person to open up. Being over smart never helps because that is going to aggravate your customer and worsen the relationship.

To create a memorable journey for a customer, observe and listen for cues on what do your customers expect from dealing with your organization’s product and services, what would you expect if you were a customer of your products and services, how others want to interact. Adapt your communication style and this applies to every part of the organization, irrespective of customer facing or not, to what your customer may want.

One of my yoga instructors recently remarked that Yoga is not something to get over and done with. It is an experience, an experience of growing strong, breathing and being present in the moment and this has to come from within. Coming from within is something each of are responsible for and the journey is made more pleasant by the instructor’s way of instructing, the rhythm and flow of the class and poses which enables you to breathe, even in your most challenging moment. In the same way, when you are delivering a product or service, no matter the industry, make it a memorable experience and journey for your customer because we are emotional beings and you will drive value for your clients.

From My Professional Experience to Your Success, please contact me for one-on-one coaching, training, group coaching, facilitation, speaking and workshops. 

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Filed Under: Brand You, Character, Coaching, Communication, Customer Service and Sales, Emotions, Employee Engagement, Energize Your Leadership, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Sales Leadership, self-awareness Tagged With: client-centricity, Communication, customer, customer loyalty, EI, emotional engagement, EQ, lead by example, leadfromwithin

Leadership : The Power of Influence Or “Cry Wolf”?

13 October 2015 By Lalita Raman 2 Comments

As a child, I remember hearing this story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, where, the tale concerns a shepherd boy, Peter, who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. When one actually does appear and Peter again calls for help, the villagers believe that it is another false alarm and the sheep are eaten by the wolf. At last, Peter learnt his lesson, that if you always tell lies, people will eventually stop believing you; and then when you’re telling the truth for a change, when you really need them to believe you, they won’t.

?? How often is this story, true in our daily lives?
?? How many times have you met people who say

→they will deliver you something within a specified time frame and you don’t hear back from them within the specified time
→ their customer service will help you and when you need help and engage with them, you waste your time and the issue still doesn’t get resolved
→ they are right and they denounce you when you disagree,  even when you disagree with evidence.
→are listening but are engaged on their mobile, their own thoughts and activities
→they are the best and are so consumed with what they get and are frozen with their point of view.

Credibility cannot be built and enhanced when

1. You are narcissistic

When you are self-centered, your actions show that you are looking out for yourself. Your choices and decisions are made to make you look best. Your actions are manipulative and you are concerned about what is best for you and no one else.
If you are a self-centered and narcissistic person, you will not motivate or inspire others. People will stop believing in you.

2. You are egoistic

If you only see what your eyes want to see, and don’t want to believe in others and what they are capable of, you will be seen as an egoist. When what you say and how you say and act is based on your own interests and advancement of the same, people will stop giving you respect,

3. You are inconsistent

When you actions are not in line with what you say, you are considered inconsistent and somebody who cannot be relied on. Your actions speak who you are and not only talk your talk but walk your talk to enhance your credibility.

4. You are insecure

Your actions do not motivate others and you don’t believe in others. You do not appreciate or recognize others for what they do well. You don’t make your team feel valued or wanted. You are driven by a sense of insecurity about your position and fail to inspire your team. Your insecurity results in you not looking after your team interests and caring for their growth and development.

5. You don’t communicate

You are open about the way you criticize, condemn and complain, yet, you don’t take time to value your team’s valid contributions. You instill fear in others in the what you communicate and how you communicate. You give feedback when it suits you instead of giving regular constructive feedback. You install a change and do not communicate or assist people through the transition.

Communication is effective when you listen to understand, empathize and empower your team to deliver what they need to deliver and do best. Credibility is built and enhanced by the way you communicate and treat your team.

Credibility is not built-in a day and yet it takes a fraction of a second to damage it. You will be followed as a leader when you inspire others by your actions. Earn your credibility by being true to your word.

#Influential #leaders build #credibility and they welcome diverse points of view. #transitions #leadership

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They cultivate an environment to promote diversity. They not only believe in their own power but also in the power of others.

#Influential #leaders believe in the potential of others and are not self-centered. #transitions #leadership

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Transitions sometimes affect your power of influence and in order to continue to be credible, seek the assistance of a coach. Connect with me for one-on-one coaching, group coaching or training. 

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life, self-awareness Tagged With: disagreement, lead by example, Leadership, leadfromwithin, narcisstic, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Transitions

Is The Power Of Empathy Lacking In Leaders?

30 September 2015 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

Empathy, the ability to resonate with your requisite emotional response, to what others are experiencing in that moment.

“You are a Coach. One of the key essentials to being a good coach is to listen and not fix things”. This was one of the first things, I heard, in one of my coach certification trainings.

Empathy, is a necessity, not just as a coach, but as a human being in every walk of life including at work. Yet, it is lacking in many leaders, who need it the most.

Empathy is important in a cross cultural context, in evaluating somebody, in working with somebody, to understand what your customer needs and in the highly connected world that we live in where people are quite vocal in their opinions. You need empathy in understanding the dynamic needs of your audience, no matter, you are in sales, in back office, in front office, leadership and development facilitator or purchasing and requisition.

Two weeks back, a friend of mine was quite upset and frustrated. She narrated to me her experience, the previous day at work. One of her senior colleagues, did not give her an opportunity to do what she does best. He interrupted her, whilst she was doing her work and basically rode the show. Empathy was lacking from this senior colleague of hers who decided that he will have his way and not allow her to do what she is good at. His behavior of over dominance also caused her to doubt her confidence and her ability. This colleague had failed to see the world through her eyes and understand her perspective.

#Empathy is #listening and understanding others and goes beyond that. #leadership #peopleskills #transitions

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 To be a good listener, it takes more than just hearing with your ears, as to what the person is saying—it requires focus, an innate desire, mindfulness and conscientiousness.

Empathy is:

→1. Allowing someone to do what they are good at and not standing in their way.
→2. If someone is not able to get to their goal, find out what stopped them from getting there and have the understanding to facilitate a solution that works best with that person and in that situation.
→3. If someone has made a mistake, calling attention to their mistakes indirectly. One way to do this is by asking questions.
→4. When you listen, you give your undivided attention of your mind, body and soul to the person who is talking. Listening requires concentration and this is evident not only from your ears but from your body language, your tone, your eyes and words. Know when to speak up and when to shut up.
→5.Understanding the cultural nuances with your observation powers, your ears and your heart.
→6. In the art of Persuasion, understand what is the benefit to that person and how does it matter to them ?
→7. To pick the cues in every relationship and in every conversation. How can you be empathetic if you have not been able to sense what the situation requires?
→8. When somebody is agitated, let them vent in a manner that is most suitable to that person and as the situation demands.
→9. Your behavior, your tone, your body language, and the words you choose can be the most effective form of empathy and make the fault seem easy to correct.
→10. Praise the slight improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise- Dale Carnegie
→11. Asking questions instead of giving direct orders.
→12. Allowing someone to save face.
→13. Disagreeing agreeably with others. Giving respect to the other person’s opinion and never saying that they are wrong.
→14. Honoring your word and staying true to your commitment.
→15. Acknowledging the goodness in others and not allowing your judgment to mar that.

What would you like to add to the above list of Empathy ?

Empathy is the EI, the intellectual and emotional curiosity to see other people’s reality, and having the mindset to adapt to what the situation demands.

#Empathy is the #pathos in every #human connection. #leadership #transitions #peopleskills

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You have a leadership mindset when you are empathetic which means you need to be focussed, mindful and adaptive to the current moment.

Empathy is imperative in transitions – to self and others, to see through the transitions that life journeys us through.  Connect with me if you need coaching either on a one-on-one or as a group, to manage transitions, at work or in life, through coaching. 

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life, Mindfulness, Relationships, self-awareness Tagged With: adaptive, coaching, Dale Carenegie. praise. mindfulness, Empathy, Leadership, leadfromwithin, Listening, mindfulness

How To Be Assertive in 15 Easy Steps

21 September 2015 By Lalita Raman Leave a Comment

Assertiveness means being aggressive, and so I chose not to be assertive, was the comment made by one of my colleagues whilst we were chatting about the ability to say “No”.

-Does assertiveness equal aggression ?
-If a woman is assertive, is the common misperception, especially in the Asian society, that she is aggressive.
– if your boss, knowing that you have an important commitment at 6 pm today, which you have informed him of, walks over to your desk at 5:30 pm and tells you that you need to submit some deliverables by 7 pm this evening, for a client meeting at 10 am tomorrow, would that be considered aggressive ?
– if you decide to remind him of your commitment at 6 pm and state that you will attend to it the next morning and submit it before the client meeting, would that be assertive or aggressive?

Assertiveness is often perceived as aggression. On the spectrum of communication, passive lies at one end and aggression at the other end. Assertiveness lies right at the mid-range. Assertiveness is where not only your needs matter but also those of others and the way you communicate, takes care of both.

Assertive communication is about working with people and not against them. Albert Mehrabian has conducted several studies on communication and his premise was that when we are not aligned in our vocal, visual and verbal, minimal or no importance is given to our words (verbal). When our body language, facial expressions, tone in which we communicate and the words we communicate with, are incongruent, what is given importance in our communication is

55% to body language and facial expressions – Visual
38% to vocal – tone of our voice
7% to words – words used to deliver our message.

Assertive communication can be aggressive if our tone, body language, and facial expressions used to convey our message indicates rudeness and arrogance even if the words used may be gentle.

If your boss decides to dump something on your desk at the 11th hour, very well knowing that you had a commitment, that is considered aggression. If you decide to say that you will attend to it tomorrow and make sure it gets done before the client meeting, then it is not considered as aggression as long as your visual, vocal and verbal are aligned and does not indicate rudeness.

Aggressive behavior is where you are arrogant and demand for things whereas Assertiveness is about being frank and forthright about your needs and rights without ignoring those of others.

Being assertive may be challenging and it is a skill that can be learned. The primer for developing your assertiveness is a good understanding of who you are and a belief in the value you bring. When you have that and are able to convey that in the way you communicate, you display your self-confidence.

How to be Assertive and What are some of the techniques ?

→1. To be professional and respectful

→2. Use appropriate language and humor

→3. Consider the audience, relationship, and environment

→4. Turn the negative into positive

→5. Aware of diversity issues

→6. Listen without prejudice or bias

→7. Be non-judgmental

→8. Do not get defensive

→9. Be warm and approachable

→10. To Communicate assertively means to communicate with diplomacy, and tact and confidence. It means being aware and sensitive and keeping negative emotions at bay.

→11. To be assertive does not mean compromising nor being aggressive. You can get to “win-win” more easily and see the value in what your counterparty or audience is saying and in his/her position. You see their point of view.

→12. You Walk your talk and you stay committed to your word.

→13. You treat everyone else as they would want to be treated and in doing so, you are self-confident and believe in yourself.

→14. You are empathetic and do not shy away from direct communication.

→15. You prepare well on the way you need to communicate. You maintain your EQ even in the most difficult of circumstances.

#Assertiveness helps to build and develop on your #self-confidence and improve your #peopleskills.

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Being assertive shows that you respect yourself because you are willing to stand up for your interests and express your thoughts and feelings without hurting others.

Assertiveness is not the solutions to all your problems and you need to be assertive as is appropriate to the given situation. Context is key to being an assertive communicator.

With the various transitions in life, you need to be assertive and find your core.  For enhancing your communications skills either on a one-on-one basis or by way of grouse workshops, please connect with me.

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Filed Under: Attitude, Character, Coaching, Communication, Emotions, Habits, Integrity, Lead By Example, Lead From Within, Leadership & Personal Development, Life Tagged With: assertive, Communication, diplomatic, empathetic, EQ, leadbyexample, Leadership, leadfromwithin, peopleskills, respectful, tactful

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