Entries by gmader

Are you taking enough time off?

/in

I took a vacation last week. It was March break in Toronto. Our youngest daughter travelled to our family overseas for the break so my wife and I took advantage of our ‘empty nesters’ status and took off to a resort on one of the Caribbean islands. I love what I do and I am a passionate type-A, hyperactive workaholic. So, for me to have a successful vacation I need to go to a place where I can leave all devices, my wallet and my watch behind and just focus on resting, slowing down, rejuvenating and having fun. Nothing fits the bill better for me than an all-inclusive resort on a sandy beach in a […]

Are you willing to be empowered?

/in

There is a great quote by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most.” Are you willing to be empowered? This may seem like an odd question to ask. Who wouldn’t want to be Great? Perhaps it’s not as straightforward as it seems. It is my life’s purpose and focus to ignite, energize and empower people. In fact, it’s my job, and most of it takes place in the workplace. In my work I get so many opportunities to empower people; remind them of who they are and how great and […]

How to regain your motivation

/in

I was coaching someone the other day who is generally a highly committed and passionate person. He is also someone who has historically dedicated himself to big commitments and self-improvement. I was coaching him because somewhere along the way he got stuck and deteriorated into a state of resignation and suffering. When I asked him to share what had happened he said, “I have lost my motivation.” Over the years, I have supported so many committed people who have experienced this same sensation of feeling stuck. I have also struggled through it myself. So, I want to dedicate this blog to the question: “how do you find your motivation when you have lost it?” Part […]

4 Steps to ensure mergers and/or acquisitions fulfill their purpose

/in

I often work with organizations and teams that are going through, or have gone through, internal or external merger or acquisition. Unfortunately, it is a known fact that most mergers or acquisitions fail to fulfill their desired or anticipated potential. I read a statistic, which stated that the archives of the Wall Street Journal show that upwards of 80 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail to fulfill the strategic goals that justified the merger and/or acquisition within the expected timeframe. In many cases, the resulting organizations are less effective and less successful than the original two by themselves. My personal experience and observation have led me to believe that this failure is due to the […]

Bring your full self-expression to work

/in

In one of my earlier blogs I shared about the story of a client friend who described his work as his “8 hour inconvenience.” Almost every week as I work with teams of all levels around the globe, I encounter a similar team dynamic: people being hesitant to express themselves boldly and passionately, especially when dealing with the sensitive issues, challenges and topics that frustrate them and stifle their productivity and effectiveness. In fact, in most teams, bold and courageous communication is often replaced by resignation, fear and a victim mentality.  It’s not that people are cowards. It’s that in organizational settings, even courageous people tend to play a more safe and politically correct game. […]

Stop the Passive Aggressive Behavior

/in

In most organizations, passive aggressive behavior is rampant. The dictionary defines passive aggressive as: a type of behavior or personality characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation, as in procrastinating, pouting, or misplacing important materials. In reality, passive aggressive behavior is actually much worse than this definition suggests. Typical passive aggressive behavior happens in environments where people don’t feel they can fully express their feelings and thoughts–especially the negative ones. So, instead of communicating openly, authentically, courageously and effectively, people tend to pretend that everything is going well, even when they really feel the opposite – irritated, upset and/or angry about what is going on. They say […]

You can promise the uncertain

/in

You can promise the uncertain Can you promise an outcome that you don’t know how to fulfill or that you don’t own and control all the aspects that are needed in order to fulfill it? My answer is yes! In fact, I think in many cases, these type of promises are the ones most worth making because they often reflect our aspirational dreams and game changers. When Kennedy promised that the USA would put a man on the moon and get him back safely by the end of the century, NASA didn’t exist. In fact, all of the key technologies and materials needed to achieve Kennedy’s lofty vision didn’t exist. But, by making the promise, […]

What is your identity wrapped up in?

/in

I was speaking to a client who recently retired as a senior executive in a well-known global telecommunication company. We have become friends over the years of working together and he was sharing with me his initial experience of retired life, and what he had learned so far about how to have a successful retirement. One of the things he pointed to was that in order to have a successful retirement, we need to be able to disassociate ourselves from our past professional title, status and position. While this is certainly true for executives, I believe it is relevant for everyone. After our conversation, I was thinking to myself that doing this might be easier […]

Ownership: The Key to Transforming Your Team or Organization

/in

Transforming the culture of an organization or team is not easy. It is a long-term process. It doesn’t happen overnight. And, typically, it is not a smooth ride. There are ups and downs, moments of excitement, feelings of progress and success, as well as moments of frustration that things are not moving fast enough or not at all. There are three typical phases in any transformational process: (1) creation and launch, (2) concentrated effort and execution, and (3) momentum and breakthrough. The first phase of creation and launch is the easiest phase of the process and typically very energizing. In this phase, people envision and commit to a compelling future state for their organization and/or […]

You can have it all if you are willing to do what it takes

/in ,

Someone wise once told me that there are two things that make people upset: one is that they don’t get what they want, and the other is when they do get what they want. The first reason always made complete sense to me. I could understand from my own life experience how failing to achieve a goal or expectation could lead to upset. In fact, I have experienced a few of these in my lifetime. But, the second scenario of being upset due to getting what we want initially seemed a bit more counterintuitive. It’s not that I didn’t or don’t understand the logic. I do. In fact, the more I have had the fortune […]

If you want to have power, take ownership

/in

I truly believe that there are no coincidences in life. Things always happen for a reason. Many times, it is easy for us to see that cause-and-effect reason. For example: we raised our voice at someone, they were offended and it caused a rift in our partnership and trust. Now they don’t want to work with us. Other times we can’t immediately see the bigger reason or lesson taking place. We scratch our head and wonder “why did this happen to me?” or “why did I not get the result I wanted when I wanted it so badly and/or I worked so hard to get it?” But, after some time lapse—which often gives new perspective—we […]

Make a fresh start in 2015

/in ,

I love new beginnings. Starting a new year, chapter or phase brings with it new possibilities and hope. Whether we want to improve our financial situation, increase our health or fitness, or simply find true love or the dream job, at the start of a new cycle we often feel that we are given another chance to realize our goals—including those we tried but didn’t achieve before. I find this space of opportunity extremely empowering and exciting. However, in order to truly experience a fresh start we have to understand and accept the fact that new possibilities and hope exist in our own heart and mind, not in the circumstances and world out there. In […]