What three aspirational words describe the leader you want to become?

I’m asking you this because, as one of my mentors always says, ‘what you focus on gets done’.

Here are my words - they’re things I need to improve to make me more effective:

Focused
Organised
Strategic

I’ve written these on a post-it note and stuck it to my screen.

It says:

I am focused
I am organised
I am strategic

And because these words are visible to me all day long it focuses my mind.

At the end of each day, I can ask myself :

How did I live my three words?
Was I successful?
How can I improve tomorrow?

I’d love to know what three words you would choose.

Enjoy your summer.

Before Christmas, I put together some tips and ideas from my Effortless Leader Facebook Community on leading our teams through lockdown. You can read the published article here:

Be Safe and Care

We're continuing the conversation over in the Effortless Leader Community and sharing new ideas all the time, so do join us if you're not there already.

Yesterday started well when I woke up to this personal message: 

Two important points:

One - Appreciation is gold and we don’t do enough of it.

It certainly made my heart sing.

Two - I’m doing what I was put on this earth to do – helping leaders believe in themselves so they can follow their heart, stop procrastinating – and do what they were put on this earth to do too.

We can all make a positive difference in this world.

I hope you are living your best life and making the difference you truly want to make.

The world needs all of us to step up right now.

As you know I run paid coaching and leadership programmes. You may not know that I also provide a huge amount of free resources to my community of leaders and managers.

You’ll find most of these resources in my members’ only Facebook Group The Effortless Leader Revolution.

Resources on time management, beating overwhelm and everything that helps you with all of that. (My Beat Overwhelm in 20 minutes a day checklist has been particularly popular!)

Resources on managing your boundaries, on motivation and impostor syndrome

Resources on confidence and leading in times of uncertainty.

I’m adding new materials every week.

I’ve got over 1500 inspiring people in the community and growing.

If you’re a leader or manager and you’d like to join us you’d be most welcome.

Here’s that link again.

I allow no spamming or self promotion in the group. I set it up as a confidential place for managers and leaders to ask questions, share ideas and support...

Do you keep telling yourself ‘the time’s not right?’

‘I’m too busy’
‘Things are too uncertain’
‘I’ll get round to it when……’

If you didn’t sign up for my Lead with Confidence in Challenging Times programme back in May there might be a good reason.

I get it.

It’s not for everyone

I’m not for everyone.

That’s as it should be.

The first group have nearly completed the programme now and every single one of the group has made big steps.

Like Shona Drummond who says:

‘As a result of working with Lynn on this programme, I have been given a 3 month project to lead on which is at a more senior level to mine AND I’m applying for more senior roles. Something I’d been holding back on. This has boosted my confidence and belief in myself no end’.

Or Susie Burdekin who says:

'I’ve been able to put myself 'out there’ more and raise my profile in my industry....

In my experience there are two main reasons why people don’t reach their full potential in life (whatever that means for them).

It’s rarely down to a lack of intelligence, experience or knowledge.

It is partly down to a lack of self-confidence and self-belief. (That won’t surprise you).

But it’s also a lack of ability to take specific action to start to build that confidence. (Because one of those limiting beliefs we often hold is ‘I’ll wait until I’m more confident and then I’ll do x, y or z’).

We see our lack of confidence as such a big ‘thing’ but actually it isn’t. (Only in our heads).

You can work on those beliefs and you can take small actions at the same time. The key word here is small.

You don’t have to leap out of your comfort zone all the time. You can tiptoe.

And consistency pays off.

Your confidence – with a good dose of humility - empowers others. The ripple effect that it can create is...

I hope you and your family are safe and well and that you have time to relax over the Easter weekend – although I don’t know about you but it’s all feeling a bit Groundhog day!

My mission has always been to help you to be more successful without working harder and that’s even more important right now.

With that in mind I recorded 5 short (less than 10 minutes) live videos for my Effortless Leader Revolution Facebook group this week.

• Start with the end in mind (Monday)
• Simple but powerful questions to help your team re-focus (Tuesday)
• Compassion is key (it’s not enough to feel it – you have to ARTICULATE it) (Wednesday)
• What are you doing that’s stupid? (Thursday)
• Review and Q and A (Friday)

If you want to take a look then do join us in the Effortless Leader Revolution.

I will continue to serve you with valuable and practical resources over the coming weeks and months.

Happy Easter to you.

As our inboxes are chocca full of stuff all about coronavirus right now I wanted to take a different approach.

In my Effortless Leader Revolution Facebook community I did three short videos this week with some practical guidance for leaders.

• Video 1 – What you should prioritise when there’s so much noise out there (7 minutes) - watch here
• Video 2 – Working virtually – what you need to know – tech, trust and team (13 minutes) - watch here
• Video 3 –Answers to three common questions – delegation, motivation and when to ‘check in’ with a virtual team (12 minutes) - watch here

Please feel free to pass them on.

And there are many more resources in the Facebook Group if you want to join us.

Stay safe and well. 

If confidence is the thing that holds you back and you want to change this in 2020 I’m your gal.

I’ve had to work on this stuff so much myself over the years and I’ve supported dozens of leaders like you to build their confidence so that they’re happier, more focused and ultimately better leaders.

If I can do it and they can do it then you can do it too. (No magic wands, elves or unicorns required).

I wish you a very happy Christmas and a confident 2020.

P.S. My Lead with Confidence programme launches early in the New Year. The price?  About the same as a quality one day training course but with focused content, ongoing support and accountability.  +++ PLUS no need to venture out into the freezing cold, sit in an airless corporate box or drink stewed tea. Intrigued?  Email me at [email protected] and I’ll let you know when we’re launching.

It’s probably way too early to be thinking of New Year resolutions when there are presents to buy, turkeys to cook and trees to decorate.

But just imagine for a minute that one year has passed – it’s December 2020. 

If you had a time machine what would you love to be saying this time next year?

Maybe it’s:

• I’m in a new job that I love
• I got that promotion
• My team is motivated, happy and getting results
• I’m making decisions and getting the right things done
• I’m speaking up and getting noticed for the right reasons
• I’ve stepped up and I’m loving it!

Or something else (I’d love to know…..!)

Who can make this happen? 

You can.

As the saying goes, focus on what YOU can influence and change. 

It’s easy (but lazy) to blame others or make excuses when we’re struggling, unhappy or unsure. But pointing the finger never gets you anywhere - apart from deeper into misery, despair and victimhood. 

Start...