Without belief in yourself you can’t deliver a decent performance.

Most of the time without even realising it many people sabotage the very goal they are striving to reach for.

The negative thoughts that make up most of the 60k thoughts we have daily batter us in the mind that can make self improvement almost impossible due to negative self talk.

I contemplated this along an 8.5 mile run through Dublin as nature did its best to snow and the snow clouds chased me as temperatures dropped.

Being a runner has helped me be a successful leader in my career.

As a long distance and ultra marathoner when you run you enter the flow, a state of mind that allows you to run longer, feel less pain and enter a type of awareness that aligns the conscious and sub conscious mind.

The effort becomes less, your heart and mind have greater capacity to perform and you are in the “zone”.

Long distance runners bring this ability to the workplace and are usually successful in management positions.

This awareness keeps the Ego in balance, the leader understands its not all about them but the team where Peace, joy and comaradie within the workplace is crucial.

Believing in yourself and having a positive growth mindset is important for a positive lifestyle and successful career as you reach out for what you are really looking for out of life.

You can do it.

Great bosses encourage learning & growth but a bully for a boss that's a different story.

Great bosses encourage learning and growth and they can listen and respect their team members.

As a result they can adapt to situations because they listened to the feedback from their teams and amended their management style for the situation.

One of the lessons I learned in 2010 when I suffered mental exhaustion was that a burnt out manager does nothing for their direct reports and the chances are they are following down the same path.

If your boss is classified as a bully the chances are he or she is aggressive, driven and competitive and they micromanage and continually tell you they are in charge which usually adds to your stress in delivering on their continued urgent demands.

People will advise you if your boss is a bully you should keep them in the loop all the time, probably not hard as you’re micromanaged, but look out if you have to advise of a “surprise “, they don't like surprises. Some people will advise you to do the jobs your bully boss can not do as they like that.

If you work for a bully boss limit the time you are in their team, work on staying calm when you interact with them and suggest solutions to problems and stand up to them if they do not value you and your contribution.

You matter, understand your values and your purpose and do not let anyone bully you in the workplace.

Bullying at and time in any situation is wrong.

You can find a job where the manager is patient in stressful situations and treat all team members equally and value your contribution.

bjkennomotivation.com

Interviewing your prospective manager at your job interview.

So you got called for an interview, you spent hours over the cv to get it right and now you have the opportunity to get in there and sell yourself.

Right, well yea, you will have prepped your answeres for the usual competency based questions about your experience and you have brilliant examples to make you shine .

Hold on a second you have a fantastic opportunity to find out about your boss at this stage, but we don’t take the opportunity, the interview should not be all one way.

People leave jobs mainly because of their relationship with their boss, not because of pay or benefits or work involved.

You have an opportunity to take some time to identify if the boss interviewing you is someone you can respect and work well with, a person you can build a relationship with.

Asking a hiring manager a couple of questions such as,

“What type of management style do they have”? and “ How do they help staff achieve their professional goals through coaching “?

If you want to grow and succeed in the job then coaching is important.

How those questions are answered will give a great insight into the managers personality and management style.

As a result you get a great insight into the organisation culture and you can decide if that boss and company are a fit for your values.

Don’t miss that fantastic opportunity to interview your prospective manager.

What to do with Toxic people during covid 19-theres no vaccine for that!

What do you do about Toxic people in your life during covid 19.

At a time when people are feeling the anxiety and stress during covid 19, you find you still have toxic people in your life adding fuel to the fire, making you feel demeaned, attacked and misunderstood - what can you do?.

You know about the person in the group who sat at the work coffee table, who bitched about the boss, bitched about some colleagues and always had a negative story about what was happening in the company or what a boss was going to do.

You wondered how they apparently knew so much and seemed to be so connected. You came away from the conversation worried and exhausted.

You know about the relative who rings you spends an hour on the phone bending your ear about their problems, you give some practical advice which is consistently ignored but the calls keep coming and each time after each call you are exhausted.

Then there is social media where you spend hours scrolling through social media getting irate reading posts from virtual friends who you have never met, views and values you do not agree with and you jump on a post with a negative comment, when you should have taken a moment and realised there was no need for you to comment, but now you are sucked into these toxic views of toxic people and endless spiral of toxicity that just breeds insecurity, negative feelings and bad behaviour.

Do what can you do? …

-Reduce the time you spend listening to the work colleague and change coffee group over a period and set boundaries.

-Call out the colleague for their negative behaviour and advise you don't want to hear it which may help them with their self awareness.

Set boundaries for your relative tell them you have 15 mins for the call as you have something to do..

-if they are negative about a family member tell them you do not want to know about it and stop the conversation, and ask to talk about something else.

-stay calm a level headed on the call therefor you can keep control of the situation.

On social media when you read something that winds you up, step away until you calm down.

-Remember don’t judge someone if you are not will to be judged. You comments on social media will be there forever

-Even during Covid 19 and stressful times there is no excuse for toxic or cruel behaviour.

In general if you have seriously toxic people in your life you need to start to simply reduce the time you spend with them. If you are worried about offending them cut back your contact over a period of time so it’s gradual.

Talk to the person about what you are witnessing. Be assertive about how you feel.

Discuss what you see the problem is.

Realise that some toxic people simply are unwilling to change especially those who lack self awareness or social skills.

Stand up for yourself when the situation warrants it.

Remember your health and wellbeing is paramount, remove people who drain your energy and happiness from your life.

bjkennomotivation.com

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C level executives need a moment.

C level executives like CEO, COO, CFI running large companies today need a moment.

Why?

I thought about this during a 10.6 mile run through Dublin today.

Because the company strategic plan for the 2020-2025 with the arrival of covid19 have been severely affected if not destroyed.

The focus has turned from being Agile to changing in a way that can be referred as building a plane as you fly in mid-air.

Reinventing the company almost overnight can be seen as frantic and uncertain on social media.

Communication and building trust between employees and customers and suppliers is key and C level executives should be given time to work with employees to enable both to go to great lengths to save jobs and not just think about profits

Employees worry about their jobs and the future of the company, but in most cases it can be forgotten so do the executives.

At this time training on Resilience for all should be provided with knowing that the company will come back from the crisis, not to where it was in the recent past but with new structures and ways to do business in the near future.

Survival will happen if there is Trust and everyone works together and the communication is open within the company.

The leadership attitude and communication style prior to Covid 19 should not be the same during the crisis.

Leaders are working hard on reinvention and new ways of working but they need a moment to communicate a new long term plan and include appropriate training for all staff.

bjkennomotivation.com

Life is a journey and full of lessons, don’t expect perfection.

Life is a journey and full of lessons but many of us expect perfection.

10.5 mile run through windy chilly Dublin today giving thumbs up to other runners also out.

Life is full of valuable lessons, from successes, failures and grief. We can learn a lot at these times but that’s easier said than done because we are living our lives at 100 miles an hour and most of the time all we pay attention to is our failures.

2021 has not started the way we thought and has made some of the challanges we face suddenly seem bigger as we thought 2021 would be better quicker!.

The negative thoughts playing in our minds in these difficult times makes one believe things will not change.

Often when we are about to reach our goals we give up. We give up because we can’t see the full picture, the end result, it’s blurred, but you have to step back believe deep down within you that “you can do it “,…

You must believe in yourself.

Nobody is 100% ready for every opportunity but if you want it you will accept the stretch that will take you beyond your comfort zone and what is important is that you learn from every step of the journey.

A growth mindset will help you find your purpose and grow your potential and make you unstoppable as you slow down and learn the lessons in life.

You need to be fanatical, really!!!

You need to be fanatical! Really!!

11 mile run today as the temps stabled, ice melted and there's a lot of people out today exercising.

I'm not fanatical about running but I enjoy it and I know why I do it.

I recently spoke to a young chap who was excited about an upcoming interview, but he worried he was going to struggle answering a question he was told in advance he would be asked.

Tell me about a time you delivered a CX experience that could be described as fanatical?.

Yep fanatical.... I've worked in companies that spoke about being obsessed with the customer but fanatical...

Fanatical behaviour is defined as "a belief or behaviour involving uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm".

A fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas and opinions. Not exactly great for teamwork.

The philosopher George Santayana said "fanaticism is redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim" .

In 2019 I wrote about a chap who was told he could be a manager the following year if he put in more hours like the rest of the team. They knew he had new baby   but he was told its the work or your family you decide.

Some companies need a rethink in 2021 if this is they way they are still communicating.

#people  #culture

Running into 2021, staying positive

8.4 mile run through Dublin as temp drops and damp pavements get slippy.

Another lockdown, firms closed, more people out of work, schools closed, additional stress and worry, home schooling again.

People are hurting more at the moment let's try to reach out and be kind.

I had a conversation recently with someone about Bonnie Ware the Australian nurse who worked with palative care patients.

She said people grow a lot when faced with their own mortality.

In these strange times it's worth reviewing what her patients told her.

1. I wish I'd have had the courage to live a life true to myself not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I had not worked so hard.

3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish I'd let myself be happier.

Life is a choice, it's your life, choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly, choose happiness.

Try to take some time in the present amongst the chaos to slow down and make the most of the time at hand and be positive and build a new life jigsaw if you have to.

Stay safe.

bjkennomotivation.com

Running out on 2020 with a half marathon

Wednesday December 30th I ran my last half marathon of 2020 in 2:13 , fuelled by rice krispies and a cup of tea not ideal prep but  I guess I just wanted to give it to 2020, to prove that  we all have the strength within,  it took me to 1522 miles ran for the year.

Running and the endorphins gained have been great for me personally during this year as  exercise overall is excellent for your mental health, it gives you time to reflect and your sub conscious sets out to resolve issues you may have.

Thanks to all my ex colleagues and all my  LinkedIn connections for supporting and sponsoring my run earlier in the year for the hospice together we raised almost 1500 euro you are legends.

bjkennomotivation will be here for you in 2021 for personal coaching and motivational speaking for your corporate wellness program to remind you that whatever your dream is in your business career or in your  personal life you can do it, and don't let anyone tell you any different.

Check out these inspirational people for 2021.

Breda McCague Simon Haigh
Joe Dalton Marianne Rutz Jennifer Maher Amanda Delaney Business Mentor Aoife O'Brien Aaron Watson Pauline Harley

#leadership #motivation #coaching
#mentalhealth #running

How long are you willing to wait for success?

So really, how long are you willing to wait for success.

Is it success in life, relationships, or business, you are looking for, or is it in all parts of your life?

What does success look like to you? Have you even thought about it?

Lots of people think when i’m successful i’ll do…. x,y,z, but they don't know what success looks like so they are continually pining for a future that will never occur.

Some people believe success can be defined as,

- Just waking up in the morning,

- Lots of money in the bank,

- Lots of Cars and Houses.

Many say you need patience to be successful, but poses a new question how patient do you need to be?

What price are you willing to pay for your success? Time away from kids, partner, family and friends.

Having a plan derived from taking time out to complete an exercise on the future you, where you create a vision and milestones that mean something to you, that take into account time you wish to spend with family.

The plan will include your goals in life, your values, and identifies what makes you happy.

This type of plan allows you to have the career and family lifey you will want.

The chances are, when you take the time out to look at the big picture, you will find there will be gaps between you now and the future you.

Being in the present will determine the future you can achieve, taking small steps now to invest in your future will help you close those gaps and take the first steps to success.

Any type of success requires hard work and patience, in the book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell he proposed it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be successful in something, so at 40 hrs a week 50 weeks a year it would take 5 years to be proficient.

Confucious said “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step”.

So what price will you be willing to pay for success? and how long are you willing to wait? .

So what are you willing to invest in your future to identify what does success really look like for you.

I believe everyone has the ability within to be successful.

If you would like to work on a plan contact Brian through bjkennomotivation.com.