All Around Consulting

We live in a disengaged world. People are not only disengaged at work, they are disengaged at home, in their relationships, in their communities, and within themselves.

The greatest gift you could give the world is striving to be the best version of yourself. Give yourself the gift of self-care, adequate sleep, eating healthy and exercising, continuing your education, spending time with friends and family, do all the little things that make you a little bit better each day.

When you go down this path, you will be a better partner, parent, volunteer, leader, and community member. You will inspire others to do the same. Bit by bit, you will change the world around you.

When we have a winning mindset, we understand that continuous improvement means we are always improving even if we did nothing wrong. This is the foundation for high performance.

In general, people will perform to the best of their ability based on the level of information, experience, and training they had at the time of the occurrence.

As a leader you can leverage this by setting clear expectations, providing development opportunities, and feedback and guidance during a project or task.

Take it one step further and ask your peers and managers for feedback on your performance. When you do this, you’ll inspire others to do the same.

High performance is about doing the little things well, every single day.

When you have a few minutes to yourself, how often do you reach for your phone to mindlessly browse social media?

Instead, use those 5-10 minutes to simply be alone with your thoughts.

When you do this, you'll allow your brain to decompress, process your day, and think new thoughts.

High performers do the little things well, and these little breaks will help you optimize your performance instead of simply wasting time. We don't need to escape our thoughts, we need to process them.

At some point, we've all worked for someone who was a poor leader. It's unpleasant, and we learn just as many lessons from bad bosses as we do the good ones.

You can avoid becoming the example of "what not to do" by taking responsibility for the outcomes, even if a problem wasn't necessarily your fault.

Let's use a common example and say your employee didn't complete a task up to your standards...

-Did you explain the task well enough to ensure there was no misinterpretation?

-Did you provide them with adequate resources and support to do the job effectively?

-Did you provide frequent feedback during the task to re-direct them when it started going off track?

There are some common excuses when these questions are asked:

-"I don't have enough time or energy to manage my people to that level."
-"I expect them to know what to do without requiring my involvement."

In a perfect world, your people can work effectively with minimal supervision, and there are plenty of teams that operate in this fashion. This is a perfectly fine expectation.

However, when mistakes are occurring and objectives aren't being accomplished, before pointing a finger at your people, take that look in the mirror and ask yourself "what else could I do to help them be successful?"

Upwards of 65% of your employees may be disengaged at work, meaning they show up and do the bare minimum required before clocking out at the end of the day. As a leader, you can choose to feed this abysmal statistic or do something different to change the outcome.

Everything starts with purpose. By giving your people a cause they can rally behind, you can help inspire them to perform at an optimal level.

How do you do this?

Simple. Identify what your organization's goals are. What is a goal or project you can initiate that would provide your people an opportunity to shine? We don't want to add more work for work's sake, but we want to pick something which will have meaning.

The easiest question you can ask your people is "what are your frustrations?" They will probably have plenty. Pick the one that has the biggest impact and aligns with your organization's goals, and workshop a solution with your team. Set goals, obtain commitments, and hold each other accountable.

When you do this, you'll see the energy of your team shift. They'll have a meaningful reason to be excited at work (or at least as excited as one can be at work), and you'll be able to start gaining momentum on the objectives that will drive your company forward.

Are you sick of clickbait headlines that promise a magic solution to a problem you are experiencing? Us too.

People often get distracted by the flashy "latest and greatest" tactics to get more done, and meetings are not exempt from this trend.

If your meetings suck, it likely boils down to one thing, and one thing only: a lack of discipline.

To run an effective meeting, it takes discipline to pick a meeting format and practice it until you are seeing results. It takes discipline to create an agenda, stick to it, and not get distracted. It takes discipline to hold each other accountable and establish commitments.

High Performers are never above the basics, and there's nothing more basic than discipline. You don't need a fancy meeting format to get stuff done, you just need the discipline to commit to the basics.

In a world that is heavily focused on Leadership, we must not forget the importance of Followership in a high-performance team.

Followership is about duty and commitment, where the needs of the organization and team come before individual needs because when the team succeeds, the individual succeeds. Therefore followers don't think in terms of "me" and "I", rather it's "we" and "us".

An effective follower will display courage in their interactions. They will not be afraid to shut down gossip, respectfully challenge a superior, or put their ego aside to support the team. Effective followers are fountains, not drains.

One last point. While the burden of responsibility ultimately falls on a leader, good followers take ownership of their circumstances and won't blame others when things don't go their way. This way, they retain their agency and power instead of giving it away.

Your life is never going to change if you keep doing the same thing.

High Performers possess a winning mindset, and this requires being comfortable with stepping outside your comfort zone, and there's no better way than choosing to do the things that scare you, every single day.

These actions don't have to be big. It can be as simple as taking a cold shower, volunteering for a new assignment, increasing your exercise, learning a new skill, taking a dance class, you name it.

By consciously choosing to do something that makes you uncomfortable, you are choosing to do the things that will change your trajectory toward your version of greatness.

Be uncomfortable, be adaptive, and be great!

Unlock your potential and achieve success by establishing a strong performance routine.

Your performance routine is unique to you, and is something that takes continuous development to figure out what will be the most sustainable and applicable. It will evolve over time, as your habits and preferences shift.

Although everyone has their own version of a performance routine, there are ways to optimize it to maximize your potential. Here are a few tips and considerations:

1) Find your purpose and set a goal. Your goal could be to run a race, get a promotion, upgrade your education, you name it. It's near impossible to push past your comfort zone without something to provide you with motivation. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, but pick something. This helps establish the mindset.

2) With your goal in mind, strategize how you will complete it. You need to break the big picture into small, actionable steps. Then, take action toward your goals.

3) Regulate, regulate, and regulate. It's easy to get burned out when work, life, and stress piles up. You can use breathing exercises, meditation, and positive coping mechanisms such as exercise, reading, socializing. Do whatever it is that allows you to relieve your stress. This is critical in preventing burnout.

4) Keep a daily log of your progress toward your goals. Books read, interesting articles, miles ran, courses taken, whatever works. This provides motivation and encouragement.

5) Keep tweaking, adapting, and modifying your performance routine as needed. You will find what works, what isn't working, and be able to strategize how to optimize your routine. This is important in developing the discipline and accountability necessary to keep you on track.

This is a huge topic that we could spend a lot more time on, which is one of the reasons we have a whole module in our High Performance Teams program dedicated to it. Hopefully this provides you a starting point on how to be more deliberate with your development.

Keep being awesome!

Reduce turnover and prevent burnout by understanding the difference between Peak and Optimized Performance.

Using a running analogy, there are times where you may need to sprint to accomplish your objectives; which is what we call peak performance.

Peak performance is useful in short bursts, but there are risks. If you sprint for too long, you increase the risk of injury, will quickly run out of energy, and need a longer recovery time.

Whether you have a big project that is near due, you are shorthanded due to Covid, or it's the fiscal year end, sometimes we require our people to sprint. There's nothing wrong with sprinting in short bursts, but it can increase the risk of burn-out.

You can prevent burn-out by following these two tips:

First, don't subject your people to peak performance for an extended period of time. (Hint: if peak levels are the "norm", then it's too much.)

Second, provide some downtime for recovery after these sprints. You could celebrate the accomplishment, hold a team lunch, and lighten the workload for a period of time. This will foster a sense of pride while also providing an opportunity for recovery.

If you do these things, you can help reduce the risk of employees leaving for greener pastures.

Developing a winning mindset involves shifting how you look at the world, and how you view yourself. It's just a different way of looking at things.

Do you see yourself as a failure? A product of your upbringing, incapable of change? Someone who has limits?

Or do you see yourself as someone with unlimited potential, who is capable of achieving excellence?

Someone who can conquer any challenges, whether it's trauma, injury or illness, career limitations, or relationship issues?

Someone who won't let anything get in the way of their personal quest for success?

You could shift to a winning mindset in the time it took to read this post, but we often fall back to our old ways once the motivation wears off.

You must be aware of who you are, by understanding where you've been. You then need to accept yourself, for all your failures and successes, at which point you can take responsibility for your future.

The final step is creating a performance routine, which will be the focus for our next post... Stay tuned!

In our last post, we spoke about how mindset forms the foundation for high performance. But what kind of mindset, and how can we develop it?

Those who've achieved excellence have harnessed the power of a winning mindset.

A winning mindset means you are never satisfied with the status quo.

It allows you to try that extra bit harder, even though you might be tired and unmotivated.

It keeps you going, when your critics and self doubt tell you to stop.

It wakes you up in the morning, ready to take on any challenge thrown your way.

It means you go to bed slightly better than you were when you woke up.

How can you develop this mindset? We will explain in our next post...

When you fix your mindset, everything else will fall into place.

You will start saying no to things that drag you down, and have the confidence to say yes to the things that will propel you forward.

You will spend less time with the people that take from you, and attract the people that give.

We are all capable of achieving personal greatness, and the moment we shift our mindset to believe in ourselves, that's when our world will begin to change.

A positive mindset is energetic and contagious. Be that beacon of light for yourself, and the people around you.

Although at All Around we believe in collaboration more than strict competition, the important thing to consider is how fast industries are evolving due to technological advances and talent shifts.

True high performers are on a journey of continuous improvement with the goal of achieving superior results. This means every day that passes, they are getting better.

The consequences of inaction are stagnation, and with stagnation your business is as good as broken down in the shoulder while your competition speeds past you.

High performance is a combination of the right mindset and deliberate action, and can be developed in yourself and others.

"What are they teaching kids these days?!?"

"That's not how I learned to multiply!!!"

Have you ever heard this and wondered why?

The answer is simple: people don't need to learn their lessons the same way you did. Over time, we become better at learning, and better at teaching. What worked somewhat okay in the past, can be done more effectively in a slightly different manner.

It's the same way with leadership. In the past, leaders used to be able to be authoritarian, having a "my way or the highway" mindset and attitude. For thousands of years, this has generally worked.

Fortunately, society has learned there is a better way of doing business, and a better way to lead.

However, for a variety of reasons, some leaders and businesses have been slow to adapt. As a result, employees are voting with their feet as they head out the door.

These days, if you want to retain your people and keep up with your competition, you must be willing to shift your mindset and welcome this "new" (although let's be honest, not really new at all) approach.

"Either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals." - Any Given Sunday

High performers recognize that success is a result of the contribution of many, not solely an individual's effort.

If you listen to a professional athlete during an interview, it's rare they will talk about themselves. You will hear "we", "our", and "us" more than you hear "I". This is common among all high performers.

How can you foster this attitude among your team?

Leading by example, providing team incentives instead of individual incentives, and acknowledging the entire team's involvement in success are a few easily implemented tactics.

The flip-side is avoiding things that single out individual efforts, when the result wouldn't have been possible without other people's contributions.

How many times have you seen a leader walk past a fault because it "wasn't a big deal" at the time?

When this happens, it gradually causes a decline in the standards.

Eventually, the leader will realise the problem, but it can be very difficult to get back on track because they were the one who allowed things to break down in the first place.

It's always easier to make minor adjustments than a complete course change, and that starts with what you choose to accept.

Wizard of Oz Actress Judy Garland said "always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else."

Diverse teams are proven to produce superior results, but only if the team members bring their authentic version of themselves to the front.

Your role as a leader, community member, and family member is to share your unique gifts with the world, and encourage others to do the same.

Authenticity breeds creativity, and makes for a more joyful experience for everyone involved.

Have you ever accomplished anything great in your life that didn't involve sacrifice and hard work?

What drove you forward, kept you focused and committed when the times were tough? It's purpose.

Purpose is what allows us to push past our boundaries and sacrifice to accomplish something greater.

It's no different in a team environment. If you want superior results from your team, they must have a shared sense of purpose.

Shared purpose is the driver for High Performance Teams, and without it, it's unlikely they will be willing to sacrifice and work extra hard when required to accomplish those results.

Simply repeating your company's mission and vision likely isn't going to mean much to your people. It's up to you as the leader to help your team identify a personal purpose to achieve the outcome, whatever that might look like. Ask your people what motivates them and work with that information to provide an incentive.

What happens if you are driving your vehicle and the check engine light comes on?

If you are like most people, you will probably try to trouble shoot, and eventually go to a mechanic to get your vehicle looked at.

If you ignore it, you might be trading a three hundred dollar repair today for a three thousand dollar repair in a month.

What does the check engine light look like for your business?

Is it a few key employees leaving for a different company?

Is it an increase in employees having to go on short-term disability for mental health reasons?

Is it a dysfunctional team as a result of a poor supervisor?

Oftentimes, business owners are "too busy" or "can't afford" to do the $300 repair and will delay and delay until they have to eat the $3000 repair.

Eventually this becomes the standard operating procedure, and your people and bottom line suffer as a result.

High Performance leaders think outside of the "professional development budget" and recognize the long term value of preventative maintenance.

The leaders in your organization must play an active role in engagement and retention. Provide them with the tools they require to be successful, whether it's additional training, resources, or support.

The common excuse is "we don't have time for professional development", or "it's not in the budget." The cost of operating in a reactive mode will always exceed the costs of properly engaging your people.

In busy organizations, we often fall into the habit of normalizing being understaffed and overworked, where people "make it work." This further compounds the issues. Breaking that toxic cycle will pay huge dividends for your people and your company.

There are few things more stressful to an employee than telling them you want to increase accountability. That's because historically, increasing accountability often meant blaming people for problems and adding more procedures to keep people in check.

We want to shift how people look at accountability by adopting a "No-Fault Responsibility" mindset. With this approach, we are less concerned about placing blame, and more interested in taking responsibility for finding a solution.

This approach preserves the dignity of your employees and allows them to have some control and ownership over the outcome.

Remember, most problems are not caused by malicious intent. Most people want to do a good job and be successful.

As business owners, we understand that there are times that we need to "make it work" for success, especially when there are tight deadlines or big projects.

The problem arises when we normalize the expectation that our people must always "make it work". When this is the environment your people are always operating in, it will lead to burnout, turnover, or a decline in performance. It's also a sign of serious issues that need addressing, whether it's staffing, workload, or resources.

Constantly expecting your people to operate at peak capacity will result in greater long term loss than the short term success you might be hoping to achieve.

If your people are raising this particular warning flag, take them seriously, because chances are the problem is bigger than they will let on. A good leader inspires people to "make it work" when needed, but regulates workload and performance for long term success.

Sometimes we all need a venting session.

Maybe you had a frustrating day, one of your supervisors is being extra hard on you, or one of your subordinates screwed up a project.

Venting can be a positive way to get things off our chest and receive some support.

However, there's a fine line between venting and complaining; with complaining being a toxic, destructive behaviour that cannot be tolerated.

Venting:

"I had such a frustrating day, my boss noticed a mistake I made and called me out on it. I feel like such an idiot."

Complaining:

"I made a little mistake and my boss completely blew it out of proportion, he's such an idiot. You should have heard what he said to me!"

Venting is about expressing how you feel, complaining is about belittling other people.

You can change the tone from complaining to venting by asking astute questions, such as:

"I would be frustrated too, maybe he was having a bad day?"

"I understand you're upset at him, what would you have done differently?"

Feeding complaining looks like this:

"Yeah, he's such a tool, last month he yelled at me for the same thing."

"I can't believe he said that, I don't know why they even promoted him."

Lead by example.

The path to success is rarely travelled alone. Think of all the people who've helped you along this journey, whether through coaching, mentoring, or even just providing advice. Chances are, getting to where you are today would have been much more difficult without them.

As John Kemeny stated: "it is the greatest achievement of a teacher to enable his students to surpass him." When we give back and help elevate those around us, it causes a ripple effect that elevates society as a whole.

For this year's International Women's Day we want to acknowledge and celebrate all the women leaders out there who are making a difference in the world with everyone they interact with!

Disengaged employees cost businesses tens of thousands of dollars a year. Sources such as Gallup provide significant research into this problem, which is widespread, as estimates suggest upwards of 65% of workers are disengaged at work.

In theory, the solution isn't difficult, however, many times people simply don't have the time, knowledge, or resources to effectively engage their employees.

With that being said, any effort into treating your people better is not only the right thing to do, but can actually save your business money in the long run with increased engagement and retention.

What's holding you back from optimized performance? Is it a lack of time, energy, support, knowledge, or discipline?

Or, is it too much process, paperwork, down time, or mundane tasks?

To get an immediate boost in your performance, first figure out what's holding you back, and discard those things.

It's much easier to simply stop doing something than it is to build something new, so start with dropping the negative influences.

How often do your teams engage in dysfunctional conflict? Dysfunctional conflict is characterized by conflict that negatively affects morale, cohesion, and productivity, to name a few.

How can we make the shift between dysfunctional and functional conflict?

Before engaging, ask "what is the purpose, or goal, behind this conflict?" What are we trying to accomplish?

Maybe we are debating the most effective way to deliver a service, or trying to identify our team's next priorities, or even something as simple as how we want to phrase our next social media post.

To keep your conflicts functional, there are a few points to follow:

1) Keep it non-personal.
2) Recognize that the purpose isn't necessarily to come to a consensus, but rather to explore different points of view to ensure a full picture is received before making a decision.
3) Keep the conversation on track, re-direct if it is getting personal or too emotional.
4) Lead by example and encourage participation.