Horizon Point Consulting

Search results for: “productivity”

Give Back Story—Just Give it a Whirl!

Sometimes we discover our talents and our passions when we least expect them, and that is often when we are using them to meet a need. It often takes someone else to recognize the talent and passion within us. Ginny Pylant, discovered her talents for the visual arts, when she needed a large piece of art for the living room of her home and a friend saw what she had done.
“Having just moved in and done a lot of updating to a new home our budget was not conducive to the hefty price tag that went along with the piece of art I wanted for the room,” says Ginny.

“After some deliberating I decided to give it a whirl and paint my own. It turned out ok so I hung it in the room. A few weeks later a good friend of mine, who also works at an art gallery, came over and asked if she could take it and try to sell it. I figured it couldn’t hurt anything so I gave it to her…..guess what…..it sold.”

Little did she know, she wasn’t only meeting a need to fill the space on her wall, she was also seizing an opportunity to meet a deeper need within herself.

“Of course, simultaneously the Lord was working on me as well. I was so blind to it at first but in retrospect it was probably the fastest prayer He had ever answered. Being a stay-at-home mom was something I had always dreamed of but didn’t come without a price. I no longer had an income or a sense of productivity. Don’t get me wrong, my babies are my absolute greatest accomplishment in life but there are days when my resume would read; wiped hineys, folded clothes and kept children from starving. God knew I needed more and all this time I had no idea it was within me, I just needed the outlet,” says Ginny.

Art became Ginny’s productive outlet. Today, Ginny is commissioned to create pieces for individuals. But Ginny’s mindset of productivity goes beyond just getting things done. “Productivity means making someone else happy. That is my favorite part of being an artist, seeing the finished product in someone’s home and knowing they look at it and it brings back memories or just makes them happy.”

Her “Horizon Point” painting, a rendering of a photograph of the sun coming up over the Tennessee River at our family’s cabin, captures this sentiment. Ginny was able to capture for us the purpose behind the name of our company, which is the peace that comes from knowing you are in the right place on your horizon.

With this, it is obvious that Ginny’s art is also filled with passion. She says, “Passion can be in something as mundane as everyday chores or painting a cotton field for the daughter of a cotton farmer whose father just passed away. It sounds crazy but if I am excited and passionate about the piece I am working on I always love the end result more than I do the ones that I do begrudgingly because of time constraint.”

Ginny has also found reward being able to donate her art. “It is a way that I can give to different organizations in our community. Turns out art can support schools, hospitals, non-profits etc. and by giving to our community I have found support and business,” she says. Her art is typically one of the first pieces to go in any auction for the community.

What talents and passions have you yet to recognize in yourself? What talents and passions do you see in others that they have yet to see in themselves? Challenge yourself and others to “just give it a whirl.” When you do, it will more often than not lead to a sense of productivity, passion and a chance to give back.

You can find Ginny and her art at:

ginnypylantart.com

ginnypylantart@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/ginnypylantart/info?tab=page_info

instagram: ginny_pylant_art

April 28, 2015
Leadership lessons from a 4 year old

A friend shared with me the struggles she is having with her pre-schooler’s behavior. Been there, done that. The good thing is, there always seems to be a leadership lesson in the raising of children. In fact, I’ve even written about the leadership lessons learned from our then two year old’s biting bent.
My friend said she is dealing with some pretty intense temper tantrums, talking back, lashing out, and yes, she even is throwing things.

After asking my friend about why the issues seem to be arising, and they seem to be happening at school more and more often, I came to the conclusion that the child may just be plain bored. She’s bright, very bright in fact, and I think ahead of her peers in her class. She’s getting into mischief because mischief isn’t boring. It gives her something to do, and in fact, sometimes mischief can be more of a stimulation and challenge than many other things, even if results in negative attention. She is still getting some attention at least.

As I was thinking through how we should and could mold our behavior to help our misbehaving kids, I read an excerpt from The Leadership Challenge that sparked my attention:

“Consider what people report when we ask them to think about the worst leader they have ever worked for and then to write down a number representing the percentage of their talents that this leader utilized. Our research results (displayed in Figure 12.1 ) show that people report that their worst leaders generally use only about a third of their available energy and talents. Those few who reported a higher percentage than the average, when referring to their worst leader, clearly noted and voiced their resentment about how they had to do so much more than was really necessary because of their boss’s ineptitude.

This percentage is in sharp contrast to what people report when they think about their most admired leader. For these folks, the bottom of the range is typically higher than the top of the range for the former group. Many people indicate over 100 percent, and the average is around 95 percent. Bottom line: the best leaders elicit nearly three times the amount of energy, drive, commitment, and productivity from their constituents compared to their counterparts at the other end of the spectrum.”

When we engage others- kids and adults- in something that excites them and occupies their time in a way that is meaningful and productive, we get better results. Challenge is a good thing.

Parenting is hard, and leadership is too. I in no way want to imply that the best way to lead adults is to treat them like children, but I am saying the best way to lead all people is through some basic principles of humans, regardless of the age.

Want to keep bad behavior from entering your workplace? You can start with making sure that challenge is present which will produce an environment where boredom has no place to enter. Engage people in challenging work and a lot will take care of itself.

If you liked this post, you may also like:

Are you employees on the border of boredom and anxiety?

Bored as a gourd, not an ideal employment state

April 9, 2015
Give Back Feature- Ben Eubanks

Making HR Better- One Pro at a Time is Ben Eubank’s mission. Ben, who started his career in Human Resources in 2008, has a passion for his field that gets him up at 5 AM on the weekends to blog and develop other content to help HR professionals become better at what they do. He does this in addition to holding down a full-time HR role himself and raising three young children with his wife (and he runs quite a bit too!).

The results of Ben’s efforts have led to national speaking opportunities, recognition for his efforts in global publications and an audience of over 15,000 monthly readers. “I firmly believe that without this deep passion to help my audience succeed,” Ben says, “I would have given up long ago!”

As an HR professional, Ben is a believer in assessing candidate’s passion for the field. “Passion is one of the most telling things in an interview,” he says. “If it is lacking, I discard the candidate immediately. I can teach you HR law, how to recruit, or what to do if an employee is misbehaving. I can’t teach you how to be excited about your job. People who are passionate are typically doing things outside work to keep them plugged into the community, from volunteering to side jobs and other activities.”

Ben exemplifies this. He is engaged in the HR professional community and is a connector with people in person and through his blog. I’ve never once asked Ben to do something or to explore an idea with me when he hasn’t been more than willing and excited to do so. His passion for the field is contagious and therefore his advice and guidance is desirable and readily used.

Ben sees how passion drives productivity (and profits) in business. “Aligning personal passions with organizational mission is a critical need in the business world today, and it’s a key differentiator for those that due it well.”

As an leader in HR strategic thinking, Ben does this by using corporate culture built on shared values to help drive behaviors in people. “I create behavioral targets I expect to see with regard to culture/values. For example, instead of saying ‘We have integrity,’ I’ll tell them (a candidate) an example of a time when someone exhibited integrity, even when it was painful. That helps to make values real to our employees and not just a sheet of paper with words on it.”

Why does been give back tirelessly? Because he is so appreciative of those who have given back to him. “When I was studying to pass the HR certification exam back in 2008, I was completely in over my head. I reached out to a few random strangers for advice. The help they offered was invaluable, and I passed the exam a few short months later. I promised myself that no matter how busy I got or what I ended up doing, I would always and forever help those that were preparing for the exams. That led me to create several courses for the PHR and SPHR that have both been very helpful and popular in the HR community.

Whether you are an HR professional or not, we all should be in the business of helping develop people and the organizations in which we work. Ben’s blog and his resources can help us all do just that. Check him out at:

-Website link http://upstarthr.com

-Twitter http://twitter.com/beneubanks

-LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/beneubanks

-Others YouTube http://youtube.com/upstarthr

March 26, 2015
Realistic Job Previews
3 Reasons to Make Realistic Job Previews a Part of Your Hiring Process

What’s the best way to determine if a person is right for the job? What’s the best way for a job candidate to know they are accepting the right job? Traditional methods for employers tell us to screen resumes, interview candidates and make a decision. In the case of hiring recent college grads, traditional wisdom tells us to look at their G.P.A. and their major to predict success. That’s the way most companies do it; it must work.

For job seekers, traditional wisdom tells us to take any job (a still recovering economy tells us this), and if you have multiple offers, pick the one that pays the most.   And make sure you strive for a 4.0 if you are in college and want job prospects.

But data tells us that the traditional methods aren’t producing results for the employer or the employee. Recent employee engagement statistics indicate only 13% of the worldwide workforce is engaged at work and data shows G.P.A. and major don’t predict job performance. Just ask Google.

Is there better way to hire where both employer and potential employee benefit?

Yes. Do a Realistic Job Preview

Why Do A Realistic Job Preview or Request One as Candidate

Although realistic job previews may not be, well realistic, for all industries and jobs, they are extremely helpful to both employer and potential employee because:

They tell you if the candidate can do the job/if you’ll like the job.   Quite simply, it demonstrates whether or not the candidate can perform the tasks for the job and if you are the job seeker, it helps determine if you would actually like doing the tasks of the job.

They tell you if the candidate has the “soft” skills to succeed/ if your potential boss is someone you would want to work for. Things like time management, communication, problem solving, etc. are hard to measure in an interview even though behavioral based interviewing is the best way to do so. Giving assignments, setting deadlines and leaving people to do the work gives a true picture of these soft skills. Realistic job previews also help you as the candidate understand how your potential boss communicates and if you would like to work with their style of leadership and personality.

They tell you if there is “fit”.   We all have different values and priorities.   Employees are more engaged on the job and therefore more successful when the values and priorities of the organization align with personal values. These aren’t right or wrong values, they are just preferences and personalities that people (and organizations) have. The better we are at matching individual values to organizational values, the better match we create which leads to higher job satisfaction, engagement, productivity and profitability.
March 12, 2015
New Years Resolutions 101: Don’t put the cart before the horse
It’s a new year. Have you set your resolutions or goals? Most of us do, but then give up on them by the end of January.
One key reason I see people fail at goal setting in the leadership and career coaching we do (and for myself as well) is because we put the cart before the horse. We set a goal and don’t have any method put in place for measuring progress towards it or achievement of it.

Maybe a couple of examples will help:

1. I’m so guilty of this, so I’ll use myself as an example first.   In 2013, I set a goal for my family to sit down at the dinner table and eat together on average four times a week. And as you can read about in this post, in 2013 this goal was a total flop.   One of the main reasons it was a failure was because I put the cart before the horse. I didn’t put in place a way to track it and therefore my progress towards it, which lead to no motivation and no results achieved.

I reset this goal in 2014, with a plan to track progress towards staying on track for this effort because I felt like making dinner together as a family a priority and a habit is important to my family’s health in so many ways. Thank goodness for my mother-in-law and one of her Christmas presents to me at the end of 2013. It was a simple weekly calendar booklet that had a magnet on the back.    I set out to plan our weekly meals on this, design a grocery list around it and then simply check off the days we had achieved a meal at the table. It was stuck to the refrigerator as a visual reminder all year.

As you can see here, the “5” at the top is the number of days we ate together. Not all weeks were this good, but overall, the goal was met. More importantly, I’ve established a habit that will hopefully keep this priority going without setting a goal for it (and hopefully my mother-in-law knows how much I love this simple tool and has another one waiting for me this Christmas).

2. One of the clients I love working with went about establishing an accountability culture in 2013, and created a performance dashboard to track their progress.

You can read more about their story as a company here. As I now work with this team coaching their managers, I love setting goals with them because they have already established ways to measure performance.   It is not uncommon, when setting goals with companies and individuals for one of the goals, or sub-goals of a large goal, to first put in place a way to measure and track performance towards the desired outcome. With this company, the horse is already there and it helps pull the cart.

If you are looking to set your New Year’s Resolutions or make sure they are achieved, don’t put the cart before the horse:
1. Put in place a mechanism for tracking goal progress and attainment.
2. Make the tracking mechanism visual and put it where you see it ALL the time.
3. Monitor and record performance toward the goal with your mechanism at least weekly.
4. Recalibrate if your mechanism is creating more work, thus decreasing motivation. Don’t get rid of the goal, just find a more efficient way to track it that leads to synergies in other areas.
If you need help doing this, our goal setting worksheet, which includes a section for “measurement” of each goal may help you.

How are you measuring your goal(s) for 2015?
January 1, 2015

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