Home  |  Contact
Facebook Page Follow Me On Twitter Join My Network on LinkedIn See My Videos on YouTube

Blog

Powerful or Powerless – It’s Your CHOICE!

May 10th, 2012

Jean Gatz Standout Strategiesby Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

Experienced any changes in your workplace lately?  (In the last year … or the last hour?) No matter where you work or what you do, it’s obvious that “business as usual” is no longer enough. If you want to be taken seriously, be seen as a strategic partner, earn the respect of your co-workers and management, and STAND OUT from the Crowd, you must be able to handle change.

Easier said than done? Not really.  You see, CHANGE is not the problem. It’s been around forever. The real problem occurs when we’re unwilling to accept change and integrate it into our lives because we feel afraid, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, inadequate or indifferent.

Does this sound familiar? ”Why can’t things stay the same? I don’t mean to be negative or resist new ideas. But just the thought of having to adjust to more change upsets and worries me.”

That’s a natural reaction when you’re staring CHANGE in the face. Today’s organizations need people who willingly choose to keep their skills current, stay open to new ideas, and lead the way for others. But most people don’t want to admit that their ability to integrate new ideas, technology and business strategies might require talents they don’t have, resources they haven’t tapped into, or skills they haven’t yet mastered. The honest truth is this: Resisting change will not keep it from taking hold. It simply makes the process longer and more painful.

When it comes to your success, there are two ways to look at change… and at your life in general. You can choose to feel powerless… or powerful. You can choose to whine and complain or take positive action steps. Your choices are important to your future because no one can motivate, teach, coach or train you to maintain an attitude that will positively impact your co-workers, customers and the bottom line. Your attitude is totally “an inside job.”

To STAND OUT from the Crowd in a positive way, you must do more than “endure” change.  You can choose your approach, outlook and attitude. And that applies to change in your personal life as well. Maybe you’re thinking, “But my attitude is my business. As long as I’m doing my job, what does it matter what I’m thinking inside?”

It matters much more than you realize – because your attitude is obvious to every person who interacts with you. It’s a visible indicator of your thoughts, ideas, perceptions and opinions about CHANGE…and about everything else happening in your workplace or your personal life.

Your attitude is reflected in your conversations, tone of voice, facial expressions and actions. It affects how others perceive you, evaluate you, cooperate with you, work with you, relate to you and communicate with you.  Think about it this way. Your attitude influences your Thoughts > your Behaviors > your Performance… and ultimately the RESULTS you deliver. In other words, your attitude about Change …. can change EVERYTHING. Make sure you choose well.

Topics: Blog, change, Leveraging Your Strengths, Making Right choices, stand out from the crowd | No Comments »


How to Keep Your Balance in an Unbalanced World

April 3rd, 2012

By Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

Remember learning tJean Gatz Standout Strategieso ride your bike without the training wheels? You were so proud of yourself and didn’t realize you were losing your balance… until it was too late. Hopefully, all you did was scrape a knee or an elbow. Not exactly how you planned it, right? Getting your life in balance is sort of like that. You first have to recognize and admit that things aren’t going exactly as you planned.

Life can get out of balance when you’re so busy concentrating your energy and attention in one area that you don’t see how unbalanced other areas have become. When you’re thrown into a tailspin because of an unexpected crisis, ask yourself what you can do to regain your balance in mind, body and spirit. Turn to someone you trust for help.

Even when we’re not in the middle of a crisis, our lives are in a constant state of imbalance. When small problems are ignored they can become big problems. So you must pay close attention to what’s happening in ALL areas of your life. Sounds like a big job… but just like learning to ride without your training wheels, you can do it. Start by looking at your job – and your life – and identify small problems that have gradually gotten worse. Sometimes it’s much easier to look the other way instead of being brave enough to honestly acknowledge the problem and then work on a solution. You can’t begin to address a problem you won’t admit exists.

If you’re known as everyone else’s caretaker, others may become overly dependent. So you try to do it all. You try to be it all. Taking care of everyone else leaves very little time to take care of YOU. If you’re at this point now, what conversations need to take place? Who needs to be involved in those conversations? Nobody is a mind reader, so you have to speak up and tell people what you need or want.

Your job is definitely important, but don’t ever make the mistake of letting your job define you. In today’s turbulent times you have to be MORE than your job to survive whatever happens – in the economy, in the world, or in your organization. Balance is more important than ever because you have to face your challenges with more creativity and energy than ever. Here are six steps you can take to help get your life back in balance.

Topics: Blog, Business as usual is over, communication, Leveraging Your Strengths, life balance, Making Right choices | No Comments »


Turn Your Liabilities Into Abilities

February 22nd, 2012

Jean Gatz Standout StrategiesBy Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

Now we come to the hardest part of implementing my Success Equation in your work and life. It’s time to commit to a plan for self-improvement to overcome any limitations standing in the way of achieving the results you want. Without a doubt, it takes a lot more confidence to identify and “claim” your limitations than it does to focus only on your strengths.

Can you relate to this statement?  “I feel ‘good’ when I’m using my strengths and ‘bad’ when I think about my limitations.” Here’s my advice. Stop feeling “bad” because you aren’t perfect. Who is? So you have a few flaws, some skills that aren’t up to par, and a couple of personality traits that drive people crazy. Who doesn’t? The good news is that your limitations do not have to define you. They are simply your personal set of unique challenges, and you can choose to do something about them.

As you can see by now, all three parts of the Success Equation don’t require the same amount of effort. Utilizing your strengths is fairly easy. Learning new skills is challenging, but you’ve done it before so you know you can do it again. Overcoming limitations, however, is hard work! It starts with taking an honest look at what’s really going on inside you, and admitting exactly what’s keeping you from your goal to STAND OUT in a positive way.

Part three is also the most revealing and satisfying part of the Success Equation. So don’t give in to the temptation to avoid, ignore, or make excuses for NOT learning everything you can to be a better person, friend, spouse, partner, parent, colleague, co-worker, leader or follower.

If you think that focusing only on your strengths is enough, ask yourself:

  1. Can you rely on your strengths alone to get you where you want to go?
  2. Will others always be willing to overlook your flaws and focus only on your strengths?

In a perfect world, the answer to both questions would be “yes.” But we don’t live and work in a perfect world. In the real world your strengths won’t get you through every situation. And instead of ignoring all your flaws, the people who count on you will expect you to be willing to improve in certain areas. So you must decide how to turn your limitations – your liabilities – into abilities.

First, decide which limitations are truly obstacles to your success. Then work on what’s really important and don’t feel guilty about the rest. Work on being better, not perfect. All of us can get better. None of us will ever be perfect! Got questions or comments? I’d love to hear from you! jean@jeangatz.com.

© 2012 Jean Gatz CSP   www.jeangatz.com

Topics: 10 ways to stand out from the crowd, Blog, change, Leveraging Your Strengths, skill building, stand out from the crowd | No Comments »


Need a Boost?

February 8th, 2012

Jean Gatz Standout StrategiesAdd the Right SKILLS to Your Strengths

By Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

If you identified your strengths after reading last week’s blog, you noticed that you’ve needed more than just your strengths to be successful in work and life. And you’re right! Very few strengths can stand on their own without some great skills to back them up. Strengths are important, but combining them with the right skills will take you to a whole new level. And that brings us to Part Two of the Success Equation: Develop strong skills that support and complement your strengths.

What’s the difference between strengths and skills? Your strengths come easily, but that’s not necessarily true for skills. Every skill you have today was learned and practiced over time. Your skills represent the time and effort you’ve put in to accept new ideas, behaviors and information – and then add them to your skill set.

Some skills were easy to learn because they reinforced your existing strengths. You caught on without much effort. Other skills were fairly difficult to master. They required serious effort. You had to stretch far to learn (or try to learn) those skills. And there are still more skills you’ll need to add if you want to STAND OUT from the crowd in a positive way.

People often ask me: “OK, Jean, what skills should I go after first? There aren’t enough hours in the day to learn everything there is to know about my job, my relationships, my health and my life.”

I couldn’t agree more! You may choose to learn new skills that will make you a better leader, colleague, co-worker, partner, spouse, parent or friend. Even if you choose only ONE of those categories, it will take time. Strong skills are important, but not EVERY skill is important for you to learn right now. So where do you start? You must be very selective. You start by asking yourself this very important question: WHAT RESULTS DO I WANT?

In next week’s blog we’ll look at how to determine what skills you need to add – and when – and how. So stay tuned! And I’d love to know how you’re coming along with identifying your strengths so far. Were there any encouraging surprises when you asked others for their feedback? Email jean@jeangatz.com and let me know!

© 2012 Jean Gatz CSP www.jeangatz.com

Topics: 10 ways to stand out from the crowd, Blog, Business as usual is over, Leveraging Your Strengths, stand out from the crowd | No Comments »


Your Equation for Success!

February 1st, 2012

Jean Gatz Standout Strategiesby Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

Are you good at Math? It’s definitely not one of my strong suits. In fact, I’m convinced that my Algebra teacher gave me a passing grade – out of pity and fear. I didn’t “get” equations, and if I failed (as I should have) I might end up in his class for another semester. But there’s one equation that I DO understand very well – because I created it. I call it the 3-part Success Equation:  Strengths + Skills + Self Improvement = Success!  And part  one is your STAND OUT tip for this month:  Leverage your Strengths.

No matter who you are or what you do, utilizing your strengths to your best advantage is one of the smartest decisions you’ll ever make. In fact, you and your organization should capitalize on your strengths at every opportunity. It’s not only a cost-effective strategy, but it helps create a team of people who truly enjoy their jobs and excel at whatever they do.

Your strengths come naturally, give you immense satisfaction and create confidence in your abilities. No wonder it feels great to focus on them! It’s almost impossible NOT to feel successful, happy and “inspired” when you’re putting them to good use. So the first question to ask is: WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

When I ask audiences in my keynotes and workshops to make a list of their strengths, many of them struggle with this task. It’s much easier for them to list all the things they can’t do, wish they could do, don’t do, are afraid to do, or have done wrong.

While no one likes a show-off, acknowledging your strengths has nothing to do with bragging and boasting. It involves taking a realistic look at your gifts and talents to make sure you’re using them to accomplish your personal and professional goals.  So…what are YOUR strengths? In what areas do you excel? Make a list. Write them down. Then ask others for their feedback. You’ll be surprised at the strengths others may see in you that you may not see in yourself.

Or maybe you take your strengths for granted because they come easily, so you assume that everyone can do what you do. But that’s not always the case. Although I can speak in front of thousands and write books with ease, I could never excel at some of the jobs my friends have because we don’t share the same strengths. In fact, I would be a total failure!

Everyone has different strengths that contribute to who they are. If you can’t identify them and integrate them into your personal and professional life, you’ll never get to where you want to be. And no one else will take notice of them either.

As a leader it’s important to know that people’s strengths come to the surface in safe, healthy and trusting environments. So if you want to develop and sustain a successful team in which people perform to the best of their abilities, then you must help create an environment in which they have the incentive to bring their very best to the table.  That’s how you and your organization will STAND OUT from the Crowd.

I’ll continue writing about the 3-Part Success Equation in my weekly blog this month. If you want to learn how to develop the skills you’re lacking, or how to turn your liabilities into abilities, sign up for my blog here so you don’t miss anything!

And if you’re planning an event, let’s work together to make sure it STANDS OUT like nothing you’ve ever done before! Email me today at jean@jeangatz.com or simply pick up the phone and give me a call now at 225.907.4138.

©2012   Jean Gatz, CSP   All Rights Reserved

 

Topics: 10 ways to stand out from the crowd, Blog, Business as usual is over, Leveraging Your Strengths, stand out from the crowd | No Comments »


SIGN UP FOR JEAN'S NEWSLETTER
YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS