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Fostering a Real Culture By Expressing Real Expectations

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“People look to time in expectation that it will eventually make them happy, but you cannot find true happiness by looking toward the future.” – Eckhart Tolle

Success rarely just falls into our laps. Expecting things to happen without planning or working for them is about as asinine as expecting to win the lottery.

As we’ve discussed, success comes from setting goals, making plans, and executing. Those plans usually come from some sort of expectations. Until our reality meets our expectations, we’re not going to be too happy with where we are in life.

So, to escape disappointment all together, many people suggest that you shouldn’t have expectations. While there is some truth to that (you shouldn’t expect to be an NFL player, for example) you should have expectations in life. They just need to be realistic. If you don’t have expectations in life, you won’t really get anywhere in life. An example might be graduating from high school or college. If you don’t expect to graduate, you’re not going to put the work towards it. Likewise, if we want our followers to act a certain way, we need to have expectations for them.

So how do you make expectations that are sound, but not so high that you’re always disappointed?

Types of Expectations

The first thing that we need to familiarize ourselves with are three types of expectations that we can have in our work and lives.

  • Expectations with ourselves.
  • Expectations of others.
  • Expectations of our own success.

Expectations of ourselves. When we’re talking about expectations of ourselves, we’re talking about what we believe about ourselves to be the standard. What are things you know about yourself? Do you know your values? Do you know your strengths? How about your weaknesses? When it comes to being clutch, what do you know for certain that you can do? Once we can answer these questions, those are our expectations for ourselves.

Expectations of others. When we think about other people, we have to ask ourselves if we think they’re capable of doing great things. Do you give them the benefit of the doubt? Or do you believe that they’re incompetent? Personally, I believe that all people have a particular skill set. While it might not be the same as mine, I know that the strengths that others possess can compliment mine. This is why I love finding out what people’s strengths are. It allows me to connect them with appropriate opportunities that I would have no chance of being able to take advantage of myself.

Even with all the negativity in the world, it’s important that we stay positive about others. However, it’s also important to realize that you might find yourself surrounded with those who have low expectations for themselves and others. If you’re finding that your expectations of others are low due to these other people, then it’s time to surround yourself with those that have higher expectations. The more positive people you have in your life, the more opportunities that will come to you.

Expectations of our own success. This one is the one that many people struggle with a lot – including myself at times. However, even if you’re going through a lot of crap at a certain time, it’s important that we know that being persistent with our action will yield positive results. Many times results we won’t expect. Some call this Faith, others call it simply statistics. If you flip the coin enough times, you’ll eventually land a head.

Communicating Expectations Effectively

Once we’re aware of the expectations that we want for ourselves and those that we want to influence, we must express those expectations. Otherwise we might confuse the people we lead with double standards. If you have a goal to be a leader or an influential creator then it’s highly important that we can properly communicate our expectations and create the culture we want for our followers.

Here are six rules of thumb to follow as you set these expectations.

Make yourself the realistic example. The first and foremost thing to being a leader, is be the type of person you want to attract. When you’re able to lead by example, you’re not expecting your followers to do more than you. You’re setting the standard. This shows that you’re committed to the vision and that it’s ok to follow you as you won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

Also, make sure that you’re realistic in telling them what exactly to do. Again, don’t expect them to do more than you. If you were following someone that said “if you do what I do, then you’re going to be as successful as I am”. One, you’re more likely going to follow them and two you’re going to try and do as much as you can that they do, right? Same holds true for others.

Set them early on. The sooner you can set your standards, the sooner your followers or fans can start to expect what they’re going to get from you. You wouldn’t knowingly drive a car with no breaks. You might be considered nuts if you did. Same thing here. Set your standards early so people know what they’re getting on the ride.

Be clear with what you expect.  Define your vision early. If you want people to take action, let them know. If you want a certain type of follower, make it known what they should be doing as a follower of yours.

Be optimistic. As I stated before, it’s important to be optimistic about those that you influence. Give people the benefit of the doubt that they’re capable. How would you feel if someone was trying to lead you to the “promised land” but said you couldn’t do it because of various reasons? Would you still follow them? Perhaps, but you might feel you’re being let off the hook to living to their standard. Maybe this might challenge you to do something about it. Maybe it might have the opposite effect. If you want to be certain, be optimistic.

Under promise and over deliver. The more you say your services are going to do for someone, the more you have to deliver. Do yourself a favor and make sure you do something that you know you can provide and have room to spare when it comes to your services.

Be sensible about your commitments, and diligently follow through on them. You don’t get credit for intentions, only for accomplishment. Set your followers up for success by setting aggressive but attainable goals for them.

Exceed them consistently. Again, expectations are your standards. When you exceed your expectations, it means you’re shooting for excellence. People expect you to be fair, but be generous as well. People expect you to respect them, but show you care for them, too. People expect you to be judicious when you exercise authority, but be willing to serve also. Over time, as you exceed expectations, talented people will flock to your tribe. Everyone wants to work with a leader who has their best interests in mind and leads with excellence on a consistent basis.

Homework:

As you’re starting your next project, think about what kind of standards and expectations you have for your followers. Let them know what actions they can take to help your efforts and be a part of the larger vision.

If you’ve already developed a culture, what are some things that are characteristic of that culture?

Tips For Finding, Hiring, and Working with a Career Coach

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It’s November and many people’s minds are on winter coming up. I know as I’m looking out the window, it’s already that wintery gray with occasional yellow leaf still hanging on a tree. While gazing out there, I find myself asking, “Didn’t we just have winter? What happened to summer?!?”

For many people, the changing of the seasons suggests that change is needed in their lives. They could be thinking a number of things. In fact, you might place me with the bunch that says “I’m not taking another one of these! It’s time to move south!” However, some people actually make the jump.

Another jump that might be made during the change of the seasons, and more specifically in the fall, are career changes. For whatever reason, people regularly change careers in the fall. (Personally, I don’t know why that is. Any thoughts? Is it related to the fiscal year ending?)

Like many transitions in life, there are professionals that are available for hire that can help you with your change of career. These people are called Career Coaches.

Signs You Need a Career Coach

You know, I believe that if you want to be someone you’re not, then you’re going to need help to get there. There are different types of people who can help you get to the next level. Those that are direct and those that are indirect. Examples of people who are more direct in helping others are teachers, managers, and leaders. Examples of indirect helpers would be counselors, mentors, and finally coaches. Coaches being the most extreme of being indirect. To me, a coach is someone who can take another person where they can’t take themselves. I say this because I think people can teach themselves how to do stuff. However, I don’t think they get out of their own head and look at a certain situation from another perspective too well.

I mean, wouldn’t it be nice if we could fix mental blocks we might have and be better at something? To give ourselves that extra push to get out of a particular comfort zone? The truth is that while we like to believe that we’re great at making ourselves better, more often than not, that isn’t always the case. If we knew what was keeping us from going to the next level, then doesn’t it make sense that we would have made that adjustment already and gotten there?

That said, here are a few signs you should be able to recognize as a signal that it’s time to get a career coach.

  • You feel like you’re spinning your wheels in your current career or position.
  • You feel like you’re not given a chance to prove the person you believe yourself to be.
  • You feel like you have problems with meeting new people in professional settings.
  • You’ve been out of work for a long time and feel that you might run out of runway to get another job, or start a new career.
  • You feel like your job and your co-workers jobs are possibly about to be cut.

While this list isn’t extensive, I believe it kinda gives a valid barometer of the things you should be asking yourself “Do I feel…”. If the answer is yes, then it’s time to start looking.

Choosing A Coach

Just like there are many kinds of doctors, there are many kinds of coaches. And believe me, they come with all kinds of shapes and sizes. While many of us can help with general stuff (resume and coverletter writing, interviews, networking, etc.) many us specialize. For me, I like working with millennials who want more in life and are thinking about eventually doing their own thing. Other coaches might focus with people with ADHD or people interested in a STEM field. Yet others might focus with women or those who are thinking about being semi-retired after they leave their current position.

So think about what kind of person you are first. Then think if the coaches you’re looking at fit that description.

Next, think about what you want to get done. What do you want them to help you with? As I said, I like working with people my own age who are wanting to be an expert in the work they have a passion for. And while I can help you do general job hunting stuff, it’s not my bread and butter. In fact, when people want to acquire a job in a field I have no clue in, I generally pass them on to other coaches.

So get a list of 5 coaches that might be able to help you with what you want to get done.

Once you have that last part figured out, you need to interview them. Many of us offer discovery sessions if we expect to be working with people for 6 or more sessions – so that would be your opportunity. (If they’re only going to work with you for 3 to 6 sessions, you might need to find another way.)

Questions that you might ask during this interview include:

  • What should I expect from working with you?
  • Can you share success stories? (Focus on whether they’re describing you in these stories.)
  • What’s your fee structure like? (Find out if they charge by session, by hour, by month, or a combination of the three.)
  • How would you describe your coaching style? (Again are they more direct like a teacher or are they going to help lead you to your own answers? Which one do you have time for?)

Working with a Coach

Once you have selected your coach and it’s time to start working with them, there’s a few things that you ought to do to make your time count with them.

Prepare for every session. You’re paying for this session. So think about how you’re going to get the best of it.What kind of learner are you? Do you like to write notes? Do you need to record the sessions? Maybe you should get any resumes or past documents you’ve prepared in getting a job. Come prepared with a list of questions, ideas, and/or notes you’ve been thinking about.

Keep communication lines open. If you have any personal challenges with something, let your coach know. Are you having financial issues? Perhaps you’re going through some relationship problems. Or maybe you’re struggling with something the coach said. These are things that they need to know to help you craft the best plan possible. So let your coach know about them in a tactful way.

Assessments aren’t everything. If you know me, you should know I’m a huge fan of personality assessments. The main reason is because I think they helped me realize what I should have gone to school for. However, I need to make sure I emphasize “helped”. Everyone is different. And just because you have the same personality type, or the same believes, or the same values as someone else, doesn’t mean you have to be a carbon clone of that person. You’re going to have different experiences, skills, and thoughts than that other person. Let all of those combine to figure out what you’re true calling is.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. When building a skyscraper, construction companies will spend just about as much time building the foundation as they do building the actual building itself. Why is that? Because it needs to support all that weight.

This is true of coaching (and many other processes in life that are worth pursuing), too. Sometimes we’re building something so big we won’t realize it. We’ll hit a plateau and be frustrated one day, and the next we’ll feel that we’re making great strides in our life. The thing is that there’s so many variables in making a career transition that it’s really hard to tell exactly how long it will take for any particular individual – let alone everyone. So results will vary.

Expected Results vs Actual Results

Again, results will vary. Everyone is different. Realize that just like a player on the field will accumulate 120 yards one day and another receiver in that same system will go only 15, there are many different variables as to why that happened. Perhaps the player didn’t have as many opportunities to catch the ball. Or perhaps he dropped one or two of the passes that were sent his way. At the end of the game, they’re on the same winning team and they still won.

Likewise, your coach is putting you through the same system they’ve put others through before as well. However, you’re going to be starting from a different starting point and have different motivators. While your coach is giving you the strategies and guidance to make great plays, in the end is up to you to be that MVP. You’re the one that has to complete what is asked of you.

Homework:

Like all my other posts, here’s something for you to do right now with what you’ve just finished reading.

I want you to think of 3 things that you’re happy about from your current position. Then what are 3 things that frustrate you about your career.

Now, from those 3 things that frustrate you, what is one thing you’d love help with? List that one thing below. We’d love to see what kinds of things you guys are struggling with. Hopefully we’ll be able to help! (If you want our help in particular, you can find out more about our services here.)

AoL 001: Intro to the Team and Defining Millennials

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In this first session of the Angles of Lattitude Podcast, we talk about the makeup of the podcast team and just go through a basic exploration of what it means to be a Millennial in 2015.

When we were putting this session together, we asked ourselves this question: What sort of ideas can we bring to our audience that will inspire them to break through any negative thoughts. What examples can we bring that will help them take actions on their dreams and ideas.

There’s plenty of material here in regards to how we look at the world and how we’re specifically planning on making an impact.

We look forward to having you with us each session.

Ready? Let’s get things started!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • A little bit about your hosts and why they started the AoL podcast.
  • What it means to be an older millennial (like JC and Brian) vs a younger millennial (like Jon).
  • Why we group them the way we do.
  • What their differences are in approaching entrepreneurship.
  • and much more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Trivia:
The spelling of Angles of Lattitude Podcast is definitely on purpose. On one hand, Latitude is a measurement of how far North or South you are, but it also means “scope for freedom of action or thought”. On the other hand, the term attitude is defined as “a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior”.

So, if you throw that all together, you get something like: We want to help our audience discover other people and ideas which might make them a better person due to their improved outlook.

Final Product: We help you find awesome people and ideas to help you improve on yourself with.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining me again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us as we embark on this journey.

Cheers!

The E4 Project – Not Just for Glenn Beck Fans

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I don’t really listen to political talk too much any more. That’s kind of sad considering at one time I was a political junky. I might just still be, but I tend to stay away from it. On occasion I will listen to your typical political talking head just to get an idea of what’s going on out in the world. For the longest time I used to listen and watch Glenn Beck all the time. From time to time, I’d also check out what Rachel Maddow had to say.  Totally too opposing points of view. But to be honest, I started thinking that both of them eventually had the same thing to say over and over. Plus, I started instilling a rule into my life: if it’s something I can’t do anything about, then I’m not going to worry about it. Thus, I simply stick to my standards (as mentioned in the last post) and live life.

But as I said, I do tend to turn in from time to time and heard Beck talking about this new project of his not too long ago: The E4 Project. The E4 Project is called as such because it focuses on 4 words each starting with an E – Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship. All of which I think are important to know and think about.

In a squidoo post I found on the web, Brooke Allen discusses what each word means as a Beck fan. But I’ll go over them fairly quickly and mention their importance in self improvement.

Enlightenment – Faith. To me, Faith can be understood in two ways. It can be understood in the spiritual sense. That if things are meant to be, then they will happen. Or if you’re more of a numbers person, then Faith would be a single term for the phrase “chances are…”. If you have faith, it will happen! Understanding the fact that if certain things are done with a certain result in mind, then chances are that result will happen.

In the world of improving ones life, it should be known that a fundamental change of a person’s life isn’t going to happen over night. Faith is illustrated over an expanded period of time that a goal will be achieved if you continually work towards that goal. Faith is simply knowing that the crock pot is going to cook the food; that the seed is growing to grow into a plant and letting time and a process do its thing.

Education – We’re all familiar with this term. Personally, I love learning. I always have. I’m just naturally curious about the world and whenever I have a question, I find the answer. Just like in everything else, you can never know too much about yourself, others, and self improvement in general. You can spend your entire life learning how to better yourself and those around you but you’ll never know it all.

Empowerment – Once you have a basic understanding of how people and life works, you need to put it into practice. Start making your life better. (For example, make your own list of standards and start living by them!) Start making the lives of others better by adding value to them. Go out of your way if you need to at times!

Entrepreneurship – If you’re unemployed, underemployed, or not making enough money – then perhaps another job isn’t the answer! Even in this economy, there are so many opportunities out there that aren’t being taken advantage of that is no excuse not to be able to develop “side” income. However many people don’t even think outside the box. It’s a major case of “Who Moved My Cheese?”. To put it simply, the old system is broken and not producing money where we’re used to finding it.

With that said, it doesn’t always take money to make money. I almost find it amusing when people limit themselves based on the lack of money is the reason they don’t do something. “Uh, duh! That’s the reason you’re in this spot in the first place! You haven’t figured out a way to make additional income. This is your chance!” If people just simply start adding some habits in their life that can make them money outside of a job, then they won’t be upset because their job doesn’t pay them. Especially with the advent of e-commerce, the sky is the limit. If you can find a need, fill it, make a profit, and do so with a passion, then you might just have your real career at your fingertips.