Category: General Leadership

The Role of a Leader: Performance & Engagement
Communicating with Impact
Cultural Interpersonal Effectiveness

Trust: The Underrated Enabler

My mother was a tough lady and in order to be trusted and supported, I needed to earn it. Every time I look for a new position I do research about how trust is managed within that specific team and if I will be in a key position to influence trust.

my-brothers

I was traveling from Cape Town to Panama to attend my mother’s funeral and my brothers agreed that I would speak at the ceremony. I was sitting on the plane trying to think what to write since she has been a huge influencer in my personal and professional life. It was an impossible task to fit it all in one speech. Then I decided to just focus in one word that will define her greatest legacy in my life. After hours of thinking that the perfect word was ‘trust’. She trusted me to do well, always. It didn’t matter how much I failed in something, she will always be there to cheer for me.

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Dare to dream…

Most people don’t fail because they want or laziness, they fail because they don’t know how to win. In many stages of our lives, we need someone who can help us to articulate our dreams, set priorities and devise a plan for the attainment of such dreams. I consider myself very fortunate to have encountered great people who not only believed but coached, guided and helped me pursuing my dreams.

In my last post I wrote that ‘Belief’ is about believing in oneself and that he/she can become a better version of itself. For the coach, believing that can and will make a difference in the lives of others through coaching. Believing in the potential of others to grow and succeed with his/her help. Today’s post is the second of four related to coaching elements (“Belief-Dream-Plan-Execute”).

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Belief

Belief is about believing in oneself and that he/she can become a better version of itself. For the coach, believing that can and will make a difference in the lives of others through coaching. Believing in the potential of others to grow and succeed with his/her help.

In my post “Acreditar–Sonhar–Planejar–Executar”, I wrote about my presentation to sophomores of two renowned universities in Brazil and briefly covered the four elements of coaching “Belief-Dream-Plan-Execute”. To give a better perspective of each element, I decided to post four articles covering each of them and today it is about
“BELIEF”.

When I published the article in Portuguese back in August, a friend of mine wrote to me asking “Domingos, shouldn’t “dream” come prior to ‘belief’?” and my answer in form of question was “can someone dream about achieving something without believing he/she can accomplish that?” well, some people may possibly can but I personally trust that everything starts with BELIEF… Could Neil Armstrong have kicked up the dust on the moon if he didn’t believe he could get there? Before dreaming about that accomplishment and to plan the steps he first believed. (For those of us who believe that he was there J)

I recently started the mentoring session with one of the talents as Continue reading “Belief”

Good Morning Jessica … Enjoy Life!

“Breath, breath …. enjoy life” Say good morning to Jessica Applewhaite-Walters, life coach from Panama.

I had the pleasure of working with Jessica in Panama when she was in the corporate world. Now she is working on her own account as a life coach for women. Take a look at her new website Jessica Coach.

As soon as you click the link you will smile. Guaranteed. Her smile, the uplifting music and her cheerful persona are infectious. Good luck Jessica. I expect you to change the lives of women around the world.

As Jessica says on her video welcome: “Breath, breath …. enjoy life!“

Who is Really Listening?

If asking purposeful questions is the front end of coaching then active listening is the tail end where the real work gets done. But who is really listening?

A lot has been written about listening skills. I list some good further reading from eminent sources below. There is also ‘Levels of Listening’ in the Coaches Toolkit on this website. I recently decided to do my own research into the subject. OK, my research methods were a bit wonky and my sample sizes tiny …. however I thought I would share my findings and see what you think. Five things to avoid and five ideas to inspire.

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Feedback: The Storm Within Us

Receiving feedback is a great opportunity to understand the origins of the emotional storms it causes within us.

In my recent professional years, I have concentrated on receiving feedback to continue improving. My personal theory is centered on the fact that when a specific situation of my life put me in an uncomfortable place, at the end, the whole situation resulted in personal improvement.  There was during an improvised coaching session with a friend when I started referring to these uncomfortable situations as “personal storms”.  And it is during this so-called storms that I experienced all kinds of emotions inside of me.  This is a unique opportunity that life give us to embrace these emotions and start asking us the “why’s” and understand more about us and the origin of the storm.

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The Coach (Leader) Deserves No Medal!

The Coach (Leader) deserves no medal! How much are you (as a leader, coach, peer, individual-contributor, etc.) doing for your team to earn a GOLD MEDAL?

The Olympics in Rio closing ceremony took place last week and it is now history! I know you must have read hundreds of articles, stories and analogies linked to leadership but Olympics being a great example of the outcomes of good coaching and dedication to practice, I would like to bring another one and relate it to the ‘coach’ itself.

Did you know that the coaches deserve no medals? They don’t! (I concede didn’t know that!)

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A Shark or a Fish

“Either you work hard for it, or you don’t work hard for it. Well, me and my brother, we work hard for our stuff. It don’t come easy. In life, you have to work. Either you want to be the shark of the ocean or the fish of the ocean…strength, no weakness!”

Do you want to be a Shark or a Fish? Check out the motivational wisdom of this nine year old on YouTube “Don’t Put Yourself Down, Motivate Yourself, Keep Yourself Up”. See his 45 second motivational YouTube Video that went viral on Facebook.

Dreams I Dream for my Daughter. A Successful Business Woman.

In this article I share my personal perspective of women as professionals and what I dream for my daughter’s future in business. I want her to be respected by others for what she is, for what she knows and for her to become a successful business woman. That is the dream I dream for her!

The future of children is every parent’s lifetime project. In this article I share a short story about my Mom, the dreams I have for my daughter and how this is linked to my leadership style and women in the workforce.

Continue reading “Dreams I Dream for my Daughter. A Successful Business Woman.”

Understand to be Understood

Need some ideas on how to be better understood as a leader? The key is to first work hard on understanding your audience; then tailor the presentation of your ideas to what you discover. Here’s how.

What is Impactful Communication?

Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father was quoted as saying: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

Impactful communication is about listening and expressing yourself in a way that creates insight and understanding, builds trust and inspires people to take action.

When you listen to and understand your audience you can adjust your tone, language and emphasis to capture their attention. You can then teach, involve and inspire. You can influence. You can coach. Continue reading “Understand to be Understood”