Skills For Success

This month the cold virus hit with a vengeance, which has forced me to slow down and watch the Olympics. When you see those Canadian smiles on our winners there is a certain pride. Today we toast our latest medalists, x-country ski champs Sara Renner and teammate Beckie Scott. A silver medal for Canada and cheers for a great team effort that paid off.

This week I met with some directors from Sunrise Senior Living when the question came up, "What are your New Year’s Resolutions?" I honestly had not thought about making any, but have since changed my mind.

Yesterday I heard a dynamic, enthusiastic speaker, Dave Howlettt, at a meeting held by the Halton-Peel Communications Association.

Dave, VP of Corporate Development for Life Sciences at MAGNES Group in Oakville, has presented seminars on sales, listening and communication skills for 20 years now.

After engaging us for an hour or so with his stories and practical tips for speaking about our businesses, Dave, a Distinguished Toastmaster with Toastmasters International, shared one of his secrets to success. Write two thank you notes at the end of the week and mail them. The recipients may be people who helped you this week, or those from the past whom you simply want to acknowledge in a meaningful way. That’s it.

I have often sent thank you notes, but not on a regular basis. In 2006 I have resolved to try Dave’s idea out. After all, he must be doing something right since he is the top producer at MAGNES. This could work for anyone in any field.

Lately I have been presenting at a number of educational conferences and have been delighted to meet so many upbeat and enthusiastic people who run our schools. Yet when they tell me about "a day in the life of a principal or vice principal" it amazes me how they continue to be - for the most part - positive in their outlook. I'm not saying they are not stressed; in fact I was running a Work-Life Balance seminar at White Oaks Resort in Niagara, Ontario where we discussed stress.
I had an aha moment when I realized just how pleasant it is to work with those who are in charge of educating our children and grandchildren.
It turns out it wasn't just me who felt this way, one of the wait staff said that she was always afraid of principals and was surprised at how fun and upbeat they all were. For her it was an aha moment!

I just got off the phone from yet another not-for-profit employee who indicated that her staff is stressed - more than usual. Lately I have heard this from a number of sectors. This client represented the health care sector. When I was at a private school conference earlier this month, one of the teachers suggested that I must really be busy delivering my stress relief programs to teachers. And the list goes on.

Sometimes we take teachers, health care workers, and other not-for-profit employees for granted. A heartfelt "thank you" for what they do for us goes a long way to helping them have a better day.

If nothing else, immediate news coverage of global catastrophes has made all of us more aware of our neighbours -- from around the world. As the holidays roll around some of the people I talk to in my seminars on holiday stress have indicated that they are reassessing how they handle the whole issue of gift giving. There are so many needy people both at home and abroad that some folks have told me that they feel a little guilty spending money on gifts that their own friends and family do not really need. Yet they have a long-standing tradition of opening presents at various functions throughout the holiday season. It seems to be the stress of this new century. One of my favourite solutions to this specific holiday conundrum is to give a unique luggage tag along with a note that you have sent a donaton to Doctors Without Borders.

As I drove into a park the other day a group of four monks were climbing out of their van. One carried a book and looked like the leader. I was fascinated because I have never seen a monk in my town before, never mind four in a public park.

Fascinated, I followed them at a distance as they strolled towards the lake. I assumed they were planning lakeside meditation. However, they merely stood for a few minutes chatting and then turned around and began sauntering back towards their van. I continued to enjoy a few more minutes sitting on a rock by the calm, beautiful lake on this gorgeous autumn day.

When I eventually wandered back towards my car, I caught sight of the monks again. Imagine my surprise at seeing two of them sitting on the horses in the playground, rocking back and forth as they laughed out loud! My perception of these holy men was changed forever; I never thought of them as people who laugh and frolic in a park.

Watching them reminded me that we need to recognize that people’s perceptions of one another are not always right.