Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Taylor Simmons

  • Cicadas, Vision Boards & The Northern Lights

    Cicadas, Vision Boards & The Northern Lights

    On Saturdays, my husband and I often go hiking. On those walks, we talk about the future, both the distant and not so distant. We are quickly approaching being empty nesters which brings on a whole new meaning to what’s next? We talk about our almost grown kids, aging parents, careers, and what 10-years down the road looks like. It seems the years go much quicker with every passing trip around the sun. This past Saturday, as the cicadas sang all around us, I thought about where I was 17 years ago (the last time they visited, when I was a mom of toddlers) and where we’ll be the next time they arrive. One recent work meeting helped me visualize what might be up next!

    The HPC team enjoyed a fun afternoon of creating vision boards during our most recent quarterly planning meeting. We were led by Lana, creator of Money & Merlot. She walked us through creating a vision board & encouraged us to dream big while also making sure our dreams were attainable. We thought through what we’d like to accomplish this year, the next few years & 10 years and beyond. We included fun pictures of successful work, time with family and friends, future homes, pets, travel, and more.

    In all honesty, I do not see myself as super creative, but the process was simple & it was so fun to dream about the future! When you are in the thick of life (raising kids and paying bills), you sometimes forget about why you do all you do & the fact that you are slowly creating the life you’ve always dreamed of. My daughter is home from college for the summer, and we all spent some time searching for the Northern Lights this past weekend. I love having all my ducks home, even if I only have a few more years of having the whole family under my roof.  With all the hustle and bustle of life, I was reminded this Mother’s Day weekend that taking time to create a vision while enjoying the present is so important.

    What are your plans for the future? Check out How to Use a Vision Board to Achieve Your Goals from verywellmind.com to learn more about vision boarding and stay tuned for the HPC team’s vision board reveal, coming June 2024!

  • Open the Door to Communication, Encouragement & Relationships

    Open the Door to Communication, Encouragement & Relationships

    We have an active group text at HPC. It is rare for a day to go by that I’m not receiving (or sending) a text from (or to) our team. The content varies – a funny meme, a word of encouragement, a link to an innovative podcast or book, or a picture of a new pet. The subject of the messages change daily, but the intent does not. The constant stream of communication conveys how we encourage one another, share ideas and help us become a stronger team.

    As with most success stories, our team dynamic starts from the top. Our President/CEO is a servant leader who actively listens, communicates and builds relationships. I’ve often said “she makes me want to be a better person.” She truly has a heart for others and opens her home, her door, her table to everyone. The best example I can think of when reflecting on opening the door to communication, encouragement & relationships is our monthly one-on-one meetings. Those conversations are full of encouragement and enlightenment, and they always leave me feeling ready to conquer the next month along with all the projects & challenges that go along with it.

    How do you improve your communication skills? Check out Lorrie’s tips here:

    Make it Effective … Improve Communication Within Your Organization

    To learn more about building relationships, read insights from Jillian’s blog:

    What’s Relationshipping, & How Do I Do It?

    How do you open the door to communication, encouragement and build relationships? Check out What We Do at HPC, and let us know how we can help!

  • Let’s Move Away from Cowardly Leadership in 2024

    Let’s Move Away from Cowardly Leadership in 2024

    I can’t think of one person I know that loves conflict. Let’s be honest, it’s uncomfortable. However, conflict is a crucial part of leadership. And there are ways to address conflict that provides growth to everyone involved in the situation.

    Last year, I had more conversations than I can count about cowardly leadership. These were not necessarily with HPC clients, but with people in general – family members, friends, colleagues, etc.

    As I write this post, I want to reflect on leaders I’ve encountered in my career, ones who avoided conflict at all costs. I’ll also offer tips for moving away from cowardly leadership.

    First, check out this article from RonEdmondson about 7 Characteristics of Cowardly Leadership.

    A family member who confides in me about his work environment has a manager who has great potential as a leader. However, he avoids addressing issues/conflicts. For example, one employee is suspected of making choices on the job that results in an unsafe work environment for everyone involved. It has been going on for years. I consulted Lorrie, our legal guru on staff, about the situation. She gave me the best tips to share with my relative. Number one was documentation and two was addressing the issue at hand, i.e., not avoiding conflict. These actions allow the leader to address the situation and make choices that show all employees they care about their well-being above the organization or avoiding conflict.

    The second leader I want to share about is someone I encountered in my work career. As a manager, “Hannah” seemed to have a personal conflict with a direct report. She just did not see eye to eye with the employee. She pushed for an assessment and feedback session in an effort that seemed to blindside the employee. As a result, nothing was resolved. My recommendation was to provide feedback, develop an employee action plan and work through the issues to help the employee thrive (and grow as a leader simultaneously).

    Leadership is hard, but it can be so rewarding as well. Here are some leadership blog posts from The Point Blog that offer great tips to growing your leadership skills:

    Caring About Someone You Can’t See-Empathy in Leadership

    Servant Leadership

    4 Leadership Habits to Schedule

    10 Books Leaders Need to be Reading

    4 Reasons Why Bad Experiences are the Best Lessons in Leadership

    Did you know we offer coaching for executives and managers? Reach out to us today if we can help!

  • Boundaries & Rules around Working Successfully from Home

    Boundaries & Rules around Working Successfully from Home

    It’s Sunday afternoon as I sit at my computer and plan for the week ahead. I’ve been working from home for almost a decade now. My boundaries and rules have certainly changed over the past several years. As with most things, experience is the only way to do something well. This week, I’m sharing my top tips for setting boundaries around successfully working from home.

    When I came on board with HPC, it was way before Covid, and remote work was not super common, so I discovered what worked and didn’t work through trial and error. During those early days, my children were in grade school & it was ideal for me to work when the house was quiet, so I did that. But I also constantly checked email and it wasn’t uncommon for me to work well into the night, even on the weekend. This was a huge shift for me, coming from a typical 8 to 5 role. No one was asking or expecting me to be available 24-7. My natural helper, people pleasing personality dictated my schedule those days.

    With several remote working years under my belt now, I feel so much more comfortable with the flexible schedule I can create every week. Here are three ways I set boundaries and rules to successfully work from home:

    1. I create a list, several (actually). At the end of each week, I create a daily list for the next week. Prioritizing 3 things that I need to accomplish each day works best. The daily list includes work responsibilities, but I also include personal responsibilities. For example, some form of exercise (ideally taking a walk outdoors) is on there most days, weather permitting. 
    2. I plan deep work early in the day and early in my week. I do my best to protect my Fridays. I make sure the most important tasks and meetings happen early in the week and day if possible. I recommend checking out the book,  When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, which helped me discover the time of day that I’m most productive.
    3. Time blocking is so very helpful. Within my list(s), I often estimate how long I plan to work on each project or task. I often add these “time blocks” to my calendar to remind myself as well as to share with my coworkers what I have planned or the day and week. You can read more about time blocking in this article from Lifehack.org – How to Start Time Blocking to Get More Done.

    Are you and or your team working remotely? What are your tips? 

    Here are a few more articles from The Point Blog you might want to check out:

    SPECIAL FEATURE! How to Put the “Home” in Office

    Creating a Work Space that Brings People Together

    Book Review of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

  • Baby Boomers are Retiring – How do we fill their shoes?

    Baby Boomers are Retiring – How do we fill their shoes?

    This month, we’ve been talking about What’s Impacting the Labor Force Participation Rate.  Last week, Lorrie shared how the Benefits Cliff impacted the participation in When Working Costs Too Much. Another significant factor in this equation is Baby Boomers exiting the workforce. Let’s dive a little deeper.

    Baby Boomers account for 1 in 4 American workers. As they are exiting in droves, their absence will lead to an even wider workforce gap as companies will need to fill positions made available after the Boomers retire. Check out this article from The Washington Post to learn more: The boomers are retiring. See why that’s bad news for workers.

    Who will fill the gap? Here are 3 possible solutions:

    1. Mentorship –  Baby Boomers have a wealth of knowledge to pass along. One promising option to help with the transition is the creation of a baby boomer knowledge transfer and replacement program that focuses on senior employees transferring their knowledge before they retire.
    2. Remote workers – If given the opportunity, Baby Boomers as well as other generations who are willing to work remotely, possibly part-time, may also be a solution in some industries.
    3. Immigrant workers – Foreign workers are already filling the gap in STEM fields. According to 2018 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. workforce increased to 28.2 million foreign-born workers. There are several other fields where immigrant workers can help fill the gap.

    Stay tuned for more solutions to the Labor Participation Rate issue!