Blog

Who Do You Work For?

Kris Herman

The ones who matter.

In pro sports, players often talk about thankfulness for the team owners who gave them a chance, and the fans who show up for them. They work “for” them.

The owners are up the ladder. They have control and steer the ship on the highest level. They set compensation and get to decide direction.

The fans are more fickle and demand the best each day (especially when they are in the stands), they lift players up and criticize freely.

In what ways are your players owners and fans in your world?

Not Balance

Kris Herman

Having fun at work is great.

Most of us spend a lot of time “on the job” and it’s unfortunate when it’s all drudgery.

But, I don’t think we need to infuse some “fun” into the mix just because.

In what ways do you or could make your work more playful? And not just for yourself, but for your people and players, too.

The fun that’s ping pong and cookie decorating is less impactful that the fun that comes from achieving goals or seeing improvement.

Make “game goals” out of your hour-to-hour work.

Get things done and see how you feel.

We Know You Have All of The Answers!

Kris Herman

Yes, you know better.

Your experience has allowed you to learn so much and you can really help by telling your people what they don’t know.

Spending lots of time telling people what to do next and how to do it is your speciality and man, does it work! Your people are off and running.

Running away! Being talked at is not a successful way to improve skills. Maybe you even talk about growth mindset and how experience is the best way to learn…and yet you don’t allow your people to make mistakes and learn by experience.

Yes, you, Coach.

Talk less, ask more and let’s see what they come up with.

Go With Your Strengths*

Kris Herman

Should you work on your weaknesses or bolster your strengths?

Do you know what pieces of your game are in those categories? Are they the same as they were at some point in the past? Does it matter?

How about considering the things that are central to who you are, making decisions about what direction to go in and then doing what you said you would?

Too often we spend time and energy thinking about what we’ll think about and little time doing things and learning from the outcomes.

Go.

Teaching Does Not Lead to Learning

Kris Herman

Nothing is automatic.

Learning doesn’t happen for students because a teacher works hard or does their best.

Learning doesn’t need permission either. It’s going to happen if the conditions are right.

The teacher (formal or otherwise) can do the condition-creating and push the odds higher, and a motivated student surely helps.

The fun part is that we often learn something completely unexpected.

Keep looking for the learning.

Experience

Kris Herman

Most often we think of experiences as nouns.

They are things that happen to or around us, or even events or activities that we take part in or get to be a part of.

That was a great experience!

Let’s try to celebrate and embrace the verb experience, to really feel the things, to be active in the doing.

By being present in the experiencing might we shape it, feel it more deeply and allow it to shape us? Maybe we’ll learn more about how to help others experience these things, or make the next time even more impactful.

…seems better than just talking about it later.

Be Your Best > Do Your Best

Kris Herman

Let’s do our best. Great advice and we should strive to perform at all times.

Big picture, however, I say let’s working on who we are, and how we impact others with the totality of who we are and how we impact them.

Step one is to gain awareness of who you are and what makes you tick. Your bottom line internal self is always there, work to know and understand it and then you can make improvements if you’d like, or simply accept and be great.

Experiential Learning

Kris Herman

The best kind of learning is that which we can be or do rather than hear or think about.

Teaching is about offering opportunities to try (and fail?), to experiment and to experience.

Of course “students” can do these things without the teacher, too. Providing the conditions for these experiences is a great boost to the learning possibilities, but it’s not necessary.

Pupils will learn about what they care about.

Direct, question, massage the experience and be a great teacher because your people are great learners.

What’s the How on Who?

Kris Herman

It’s about the people. The ones you’ve learned from, those who have learned from you and the ones you haven’t met.

Do you know who you want in your life in the future? Who is the most impactful person you have yet to meet?

What’s with the crazy questions, I hear you ask!?

The Laws of Attraction say that you can bring what you want into your world with strong use of intention. Who do you want to be in your world?

Even if you don’t believe in what some have said is psuedo-science…what if it’s true that your thoughts can impact your future?

I’m in for believing.

78 Meacham St Williamstown, MA 01267 413-663-0464 gt3coaching@gmail.com