What If You Could Be Even Better ?

What If Your Attitude Is Holding You Back?

What’s your reaction to this statement: “You have the capacity to be even better”?

• Some will say, “Well of course a coach will say that.”

• Others will feel that it’s just too much of continuous improvement. They are successful and exactly where they want to be.

• Then there will be those that ask, “What will make that possible?”

As a coach I see the potential in people; yet that potential is only realized when people see it themselves and have the attitude to realize it.

What’s top of mind?

If business and the business world were working well, we wouldn’t have to think about constant change and improvement. Yet we do. It’s something that’s on my mind and in my work every day. I have a growing business as professionals and companies seek varied methods to realize change and improve results.

The need to innovate is getting lots of attention.

What about the persistent gaps for women in leadership? Diversity? Lack of financial performance? ….

All of these trends suggest that there’s more for leaders and professionals to do. All of these opportunities for change require people to make it happen. The business case for change resides not only in our culture and businesses but also in ourselves.

Raising the bar

When did you last try something new? Really new? Maybe you tried a skill, such as a language or an instrument. There’s a confidence that comes with experience. There’s a comfort that comes with confidence. Our best self is realized when we put ourselves in a state of change to accomplish things that people saw us capable of doing or even what no one saw us capable of doing.

You see me post articles and speak on mindset. I want more people to think about what they can do with effort, taking on challenges, accepting feedback and, potentially, failure. Experience and success have a finite leverage point. Pushing past this cap involves mindset.

How do we raise the bar and raise our capabilities with it?

I believe that the more experienced we get, the less feedback we get, and we develop fixed mindset about certain things.

My departure from the corporate world has gave me more clarity on my professional self and my career. While I thought I was a strong performer who did all the right things, I now see how my own mindset got in my way. I didn’t always show up for my team as my best. I was afraid of failure and made decisions that ensured that I protected my job. I could be complacent when change was hard or when things felt complex and like too much effort.

Opening up

With new perspective I now see my opportunity is to enable companies and leaders to see things in a different light. To see themselves in a different light. To see a future with change, discomfort and potentially some failure. What don’t you see about yourself or what don’t you know about yourself? What do others know about you but you don’t?

What if you’ve got a blind spot? Those around us are holding out on us, as the reality is, most of us do have blind spots. The Johari Window Model reflects the potential to expand your open area.

Leading by example

Launching my business was a big change, yet I have continued to lean on old habits for comfort and confidence. I have been working with a coach to improve my presentation skills. The work with her has exceeded my expectation and stretched my comfort zones.

She has exceptional capability to give very direct feedback and make you feel good about what she’s told you (I’d be very pleased to introduce you to Elissa Bernstein). She’s shown me a whole new “open area” for my communication and physical presentation like no one has ever done. My eyes are wide open and I know what to keep working on.

Am I a top student? Not at all! We are working on changing years of habits and styles that are engrained in my DNA. When it comes to presentation day, my stress amps up and I fall back into my old habits. With each presentation my old habits are reduced and replaced with the new ones I’ve been practicing. The move to virtual delivery has added another layer of skill development.

What do you have in mind?

As a client or an attendee in one of my workshops, know that I am working through my own change and challenging myself on a number of fronts. I am practicing what I coach. I share from a place of experience.

The driver behind teams, processes, and products is people. Same thinking and decision making doesn’t create change. Change is hard, change is risky, and change can be lonely. We have so many reasons to make change within ourselves.

Potential is realized when people see it themselves and have the attitude to realize it.

One final question for you...

---

Lisa W. Haydon is a high business acumen leader, credentialed sales professional, and executive coach. Lisa has led teams and clients in industries such as banking, commercial lending, capital markets, technology, consulting, and professional services. Her hands-on experience in executing change and growth mandates enhances client results. She is known for delivering transformational results with diagnostic tools, consulting and coaching.

Lisa is the founder of Pivotal Coaching, which specializes in sales effectiveness and leadership development services for companies optimistic and ambitious about growth. More information is available on the Pivotal Coaching website. For more on its proprietary diagnostic tool, visit our services page.