People Skills – The Essence of Successful Leadership
In this videoBIO I talk about how I help companies make the best of their people. 85% of what keeps you successful has to do with what you do to cement and build relationships.
“People skills and leadership are about being the most authentic best you can be.”
Click here to view the video.
Valerie
Personal Branding TV
I am excited to share with you that my video has been selected by Reach Personal Branding TV to be in the top 10. This a list of the 10 most popular videos on the site for 2010. You can view the video here:
Happy New Year!
Valerie
NEVER LOOK IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR!
As I set my sights on a new year, so very grateful that this one is over, I’ve been thinking of 2011 goals. It takes time for me to gather my thoughts before I put them to paper, so I’ve learned to start in December before setting them firmly in January.
One thing I’ve learned in this process is to move ON, not try to recapture the past. While we certainly learn from the past, it’s not healthy to spend wasted energy there. Instead, focus on the NEW day and NEW year that awaits. Past disappointments, missed opportunities, or mistakes ARE past. Let them go andface toward the road ahead.
Here are tips my clients find helpful in setting their goals. Start with just one major goal that you want to accomplish and then use these tips for all your goals. (I find that three is the magic number. If you reach your top three goals,you’ve done well!)
1 – Use the SMART rule. Make sure that your goal is Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Timeframe-specific.
2- Stay positive. No one can sabotage you like YOU. You must truly WANT to reach that goal. If you do, then you’ll be energized and motivated to accomplish it.
3 – Soar with your strengths. I’ve never been one to focus on my weaknesses because, goodness, that would be too depressing. We should all recognize what great talents and experiences we have that can take us across the finish line.
4 – Set a stretch goal. If it’s too easy, it’s usually not a goal, rather a next step toward something already moving along. If the goal is a bit of a stretch, just think how thrilled you’ll be when you make the mark.
5 – Take one step at a time. The ol’ saying is true—“inch by inch it’s a cinch.”
6 – Celebrate along the way. Each little success should be recognized and celebrated. I clearly remember writing my latest book, Do It Right. It seemed impossible to meet the deadlines, and I was stressing with each one looming overhead. A colleague reminded me to take those short wins (finishing a chapter or even a page) and give myself a reward (eata chocolate chip cookie or relax that night in a warm, hot bath). Yes, that seems silly. But those little recognitions that I gave myself actually boosted my energy and motivated me to finish.
7 – Keep your goal visible. Post it in a place where you see it every day. That keeps it top of mind.
Anyone else have ideas that have worked for you? I’d love to get your emails. Send to: Valerie@valerieandcompany.com. Good luck!
Valerie
p.s. Read more articles like this here:
PERSONAL BRANDING AND MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Let’s look at how these connect.
In the 1960s, psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his hierarchy of needs—the things a human being needs most in a sequence that builds one on top of the other. By using this hierarchy, it helps us understand the actions and motivations of others as well as ourselves. There are five levels of human needs and each must be fulfilled before the next level can be realized. Here are the five levels (in inverse order) of Maslow’s pyramid—called the hierarchy of needs:
1. Physiological needs—oxygen, water, protein, salt, sugar, calcium, and other minerals and vitamins. They also include the need to maintain a pH balance (getting too acidic or base will kill you) and temperature (98.6 or near to it). Also, there are the needs to be active, to rest, to sleep, to avoid pain, to have sex, to have enough food, water, air, shelter, and clothing.
2. Safety and security needs—once the physiological needs are taken care of, an individual becomes increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability, and protection.
3. Love and belonging needs—the need for friends, a significant other, perhaps children, and affectionate relationships in general—even a sense of community. Looked at negatively, the individual reaching this level becomes increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties.
4. Esteem needs—need for the respect of others, status, fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation, dignity, and even dominance. As these needs are met, the individual develops self-respect, which includes feelings of confidence, competence, achievement, mastery, independence, and freedom.
5. Self-actualized needs—here’s the big deal. At one point, Maslow said as few as 2 percent of the population reach this level of being self-actualized—motivated to work at maximum potential, or as they say in the U.S. Army, to “be all you can be.” These people can differentiate what is fake and dishonest from what is real and genuine. They treat life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal troubles. They enjoy solitude, deeper personal relations, and autonomy. Finally, they have an acceptance of themselves and others and live life with a certain spontaneity and simplicity and with humility and respect.
It’s at this 5th level that your personal brand becomes true and genuine. It’s at this level that others perceive your personal brand as a strong differentiator because you are living your brand with clarity, consistency, and constancy—delivering your unique promise of value in everything you do. So decide now to understand what IS your PERSONAL BRAND. And email me for information on how I can be your resource as a master personal brand strategist.
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http://www.valerieandcompany.com/
Valerie
