Category Archives: Mentorship

The Key To Stress-Free Goal Setting For 2023

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Coping with Stress, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Planning, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Teacher, Uncategorized

Well, that’s a wrap. You can say goodbye to 2022. It’s another year in the books. How did you make out? Did you accomplish everything you set out to do? What’s left on the to-do list that you didn’t accomplish and want to carry over to 2023? The key to stress-free goal setting is to plan them the way you plan your vacation. Like a great vacation, a great plan always starts with the end in mind. You need to decide what goal you want to accomplish – write down all the things that need to fall into place to reach your goal and then put together your itinerary so you end up where you want to go.

Worth Remembering … “Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso.

1. Specific: You’ve got to name it to claim it. You need to decide where you want to go. If it is Florida – where in Florida? What city, town, hotel or resort? Are you flying there, taking a bus or driving your vehicle? If you are driving, do you have a map? If you fail to plan your route of travel – then don’t be surprised where you end up. Be specific; don’t generalize.

2. Measurable: You need to decide how long it will take you to get there. Are you going to stop along the way – or drive straight through? If you are going to stop along the way – how many miles a day are you going to drive, and where will you stay for the night? You need to measure your progress to know you have the right plan to get you to your final destination at the allotted time.

3. Attainable: Have you put together a budget? Your goal isn’t attainable if you don’t have all the resources you’ll need to vacation in Florida. You might have to put that goal on your wish list and revisit it later. If you decide your goal isn’t feasible, don’t waste time planning it.

4. Realistic: You need to decide how long you will stay in Florida so you know when you need to leave to get back home. You have to be honest with yourself. Can you do everything you want to do in the time you have? Your goal needs a realistic timeline, so you aren’t setting yourself up to fail.

5. Time-Based: You need to decide when is the best time to take a vacation? Do you have a specific date in mind? Time-based goals give you a sense of urgency. They can motivate you to take action. They can keep you on track and help you manage your time. Don’t spend your free time working on something that won’t help you accomplish your goal. Every minute you spend putting your plan together will save you time implementing it.

Worth Remembering … “Personal excellence can be achieved by a visionary goal, through planning, dedicated execution, and total follow-through.” – Gerald Ford

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect plan. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain caused by adverse circumstances. Adverse circumstances are issues that are beyond your control. Be prepared to roll with the punches if you hit a roadblock or something unexpected happens. You may have to adjust your plan on the fly. The key to stress-free goal setting is to plan them like you are planning your vacation, but have a plan B just in case plan A doesn’t work out as you hoped.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit – https://briansmithpld.com. All four of Brian’s books are available on Amazon in print and e-reader formats. https;//amazon.com/author/brsmith

Different Strokes for Different Folks – The Sweet Science of Great Coaching

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Think of a coach you admire – what about their style that you like? What don’t you like? If you were to write down ten key traits that you believe a great coach should possess – what would you write down on your list? (Traits like patience, open-mindedness, flexible, empathetic, good communicator, excellent listener, a problem solver, knowledgeable, etc.) I don’t believe you are born a great coach. I think great coaches are made. You can be the kind of coach you want to be. You don’t have to be the most intelligent person in the room to be the most successful coach.

Worth Remembering – “The main ingredient for stardom is the rest of the team.” – John Wooden

I believe we are born with a particular style – a particular way of behaving – that heavily influences how we communicate and interact with others. Great coaches can assemble a group of people with different personalities, different skill sets, and varied backgrounds and mould them into a cohesive, collaborative team by identifying how they prefer to be coached and working with them in the way they like. If you can adapt your coaching style to be more in tune with how they want to be coached – chances are they will be more receptive because you are coaching them the way they like.

Worth Remembering – “The task is not to change human beings. The task is to multiply team performance by putting to use whatever strength there is in individuals.” – Peter Drucker.

Understanding yourself well and the behaviour of others will improve your relationships at work and home by increasing your willingness to change how you interact and respond to others who have a different type of behaviour than yours. Several assessment tools are available to help identify a person’s behavioural type. I use an assessment tool based on Dr. William Marston’s DISC Theory. Marston believed that are four distinct styles of behaviour: Dominate, Interactive, Steadiness and Conscientious, and each type communicates, interacts and prefers to be coached differently.

Worth Remembering – “To reach your goals and dreams, you must learn to assist others in reaching theirs.” – Joe Gibbs

If you are a coach that believes in science, then you should have four different approaches to coaching.

Dominate Personalities: Be direct. Make communication brief and to the point. Respect their need for autonomy. Be clear about rules and expectations. Resist the urge to micromanage.

Interactive Personalities: Be relaxed and friendly. Let them verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Provide written details. Keep the conversation light – use humour.

Steadiness Personalities: Provide a consistent and secure environment. Be logical and systematic in your approach. Be patient and let them adapt slowly to changes. Provide written instructions.

Conscientious Personalities: Give clear expectations and deadlines. Be precise and focused. Let them know your high standards are not negotiable, but how you accomplish them could be.

If want to be a great coach, then remember different strokes for different folks and the sweet science of great coaching.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a corporate trainer for yourself or your team? To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com

The Leadership Imperative- How To Attract and Retain Gen Zs

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personal Values, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

We are entering a new era of leadership. Generation Z – born between 1996 and 2012 – is the latest generation to enter the workforce. They are projected to make up 27% of the workforce by 2025. They are like no other generation that has come before them. They are the first generation to grow up in the digital age. The jury is still out, but there is one thing for sure, your business future depends on this generation. You must change how you manage and lead to attract and retain Gen Zs.

Here is what the research conducted by Deyan Georgiev, Beresford Research, Forbes and Extreme Research is telling us.

Connecting: Most Gen Zs see diversity as a significant factor in choosing a job. Employers should focus on inclusivity to tap into this future workforce. They want a job that will impact the world and work for an organization that believes in and shares their values. The virtual space has become convenient for hanging out with friends and family. To this generation – social media is a way of life. Gen Zs are interested in working in a place that allows fun, friendships and life-enriching activities. Is your organization a fun place to work? Having fun at work can lead to creativity, increased productivity, better decision making and collaborative teams. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must make them feel welcomed and treat them like family.

Communicating: Smartphones are a natural extension of Gen Zs. As many as 98% of all Generation Zs own a smartphone. Fifty-five percent are on their smartphones for up to ten hours a day. They consider social media a valuable workplace tool. Fifty-one percent still prefer face-to-face communication, which explains why Zoom, Tik Tok and Teams have become popular ways of interacting. They don’t read traditional newspapers; they like to get their information online. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you need to be tech-savvy and comfortable communicating in a virtual world.

Educating: Gen Z is the most educated generation. However, because they rely on technology, they lack the soft social skills of previous generations. The good news is they are eager to learn how to communicate and interact face-to-face, resolve conflict, problem solve and learn how to work in a team environment. You must create an environment that is conducive to learning. They are comfortable learning online or watching an instructional video. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must teach them the skills they lack.

Delegating: It is essential to provide opportunities to learn and grow. Still, Gen Zs lack the experience and self-confidence of previous generations, so you need to teach them how to perform a task. If the student didn’t learn, the teacher never taught. Give them autonomy and ongoing support once they’ve learned how to complete the job. You must learn to delegate and give up control. If you don’t delegate effectively, you rob Gen Zs of their growth opportunities. Upward mobility is important to them. To attract and retain Gen Zs, you must provide a path forward.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out what Brian can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com or email brian@briansmithpld.com.

A Fresh Take On The Old Way

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

MBWA – Manage by walking around; you can’t do that by sitting in your corner office. A study by HayGroup concluded that sixty-seven percent of the competencies needed to manage or lead others are emotionally based. If you can’t make an emotional connection with those you work with and interact with – you stand little chance of successfully managing or leading. You can’t make an emotional connection and establish those all-important relationships with others by sitting in your corner office. You need to spend most of your time – talking with and getting to know them for more than their work. And you can’t do that sitting in your corner office.

Worth Remembering … “We are being judged by a new yardstick; not just how smart we are or by our training and expertise, but also how well we handle ourselves and each other.” – Daniel Goleman

Emotional intelligence often referred to as soft skills, is now considered essential. If you don’t like being around people and helping them succeed, you will make a lousy manager or leader. If your goal is to become a more effective manager or leader, you can learn to be more open-minded, flexible, empathetic, and patient and motivate others to perform at their best. You can learn how to communicate and interact more effectively and build collaborative teams. Managing or leading others is a learned behaviour.

Worth Remembering … “One of the most important things about being a good manager or leader is to rule with a heart. You have to know the business, but you also have to know what is at the heart of the business – and that’s people.” – Oprah.

Productivity is still the name of the game. Minimize the input and maximize the output. That formula will never change. However, we must learn to manage or lead differently to achieve that. For the first time in our lifetime, we have the potential to work with four different generations in the same workplace at the same time. Each generation communicates, interacts with others and likes to be managed differently. Your success will be based on your ability to manage and lead each generation the way they want – a fresh take on the old way.

Copyright (c) 2022 – Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit – https://briansmithpld.com