You say you are transformational but are you really?

You say you are transformational but are you really?

You say you are transformational but are you really?

Many people say they are a transformational speaker, a transformation trainer, or a transformational coach but how do you know that you are? What are you basing your use of this powerful word on? Romans 12:2 King James Version (KJV) tells us, “2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

“To promise your audience that they will be transformed by the renewing of their mind by you is a huge promise.”

If I am speaking to you, and in your heart of hearts, you know this is exactly what you want to deliver to your clients and audiences, it can happen. Just because you say it’s so, however, doesn’t make it so and saying the word doesn’t make it true. It is not wishful thinking or a smart copy point in my work. It is something that can be learned.

I have more than 25+ years as an international transformational workshop designer, leadership developer, trainer of trainers, coach, and speaker. Answer Yes or No in this “The How Do I Know If I Am Really A Transformational Professional Quiz”:

  • I know how to learn where they are and where they want to be…the vision that describes their better future.
  • I can properly understand their underlying problems or causes of organizational or personal pain that need to be addressed.
  • I support their transformation with a proven road map and system.
  • I am experienced in creating safe mindset shifts.
  • I am able to enroll my clients in taking forwarding risky actions towards what matters to them.
  • I am able to intervene and coach them through their limiting beliefs.
  • I walk my talk and practice what I preach in my own life.
  • I have emotional intelligence
  • I am a lifelong learner.

This is my shortlist. If you would like to learn more, please contact me for a 30 Minute Strategy Session. I am dedicated to changing lives and businesses for the better. We need more transformational professionals.

Joel P. Martin, BFA, MA, Ph.D. Wharton Fellow. President, Triad West Inc. Founder, Positively Powerful Programs  jpmartin@triadwest.com. www.positivelypowerful.com.

How to be an Independent Thinker

How to be an Independent thinker

In American, we pride ourselves on the notion of our independence, while we actively seek out the safety of conformity. A contradiction.

Being independent in thought or any other human activity is hard hard work. You have to insist on challenging yourself to grow beyond the limits of who you were yesterday. There is so much we learn about ourselves and the rest of the world each day.

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. Margaret Mead

Starting at the beginning of this century, many of us have decided to define ourselves through mechanisms like politics, religions, and race, confining ourselves and our thinking to that of a group. But we are more complex than this.

“Birds of a Feather flock together” But we are not birds

Our growth as a society has everything to do with our exposing ourselves to new cultures and thinking.

The future just doesn’t happen. You and I event it.

The future just doesn’t happen. You and I event it.

The future just doesn’t happen. You and I event it.

This is not entirely true. In our waking dream state, we at times are able to catch a glimpse of where we are heading and it is at this point of our dream that we are able to participate in the creation of what is next. It is believed that we spend 25% of active day daydreaming. Daydreaming is not slacking off, it is a part of the envisioning process that we all go through. Sometimes we discover new opportunities that support our vision of the future.

The future (tomorrow) as it comes to be for us is not inevitable. We have the choice to participate in creating our future or not participating and living in someone else’s version of what’s next.

When I am working with large groups of people, one of the questions that I am asked is “how can I become a better leader”  and my answer almost always is to be a leader, have a vision that people want to support.

Do you have a question you need an answer to? Lets’ talk.

 

Get in Touch

Making personal goals is easy. It’s keeping them that’s hard!

It’s the new year and you’ve promised yourself to keep your goals this year. Now the year is going strong and the good goals you set are getting put on the shelf by something more important in the total scheme of things. Before you know it those great goals you set – those new year resolutions – you decided upon are not only not happening but you feel bad and “beat yourself up”

Big shift: Goals are not set in stone! Life changes. Give yourself a break. New opportunities arise. Love them and move on. The goals you made can change. 

However…if those goals are vital to your business, family, personal well being, and you are stuck on them stay the course. Hire a coach. Get an accountability partner. Find an app that you will use. And then use it. Above all else keep the positive self-talk going! Inspiration is the mother of invention.

How to create a new career with a retirement transition coach

How to create a new career with a retirement transition coach

How to create a new career with a retirement transition coach

There are all sorts of challenges when you’re faced with retirement. The non-financial ones can diminish the financial ones if you’re not prepared. This is where having a dedicated retirement transition coach can reduce the stress of change, give you great ideas, ask questions that open the door to the future or be your accountability partner.

Plan ahead for your new-found freedom

In retirement, there are no reviews, prescribed activities, lunches, work you feel is important to do. That might seem like a wonderful thing now. However plan ahead because otherwise you might find that you’ve wasted the first few years of retirement, fallen into a rut, missed connecting with others, or become a couch potato.

This is where a retirement transition coach is useful. With a retirement transition coach, you’ll be able to take “leaps forward” planning and getting into new work and non-work activities that are meaningful and productive. You’ll have a neutral coach who shares your goals with you and wants you to win in this important time of your life. Remember the work, persistence, and stamina it took to get the career going? Retirement takes work too. You deserve an empowering, experienced, resourceful, success-oriented coach in this transitionary process.

 

 

Achieve Your Goals — But First, Define Your Role

Achieve Your Goals — But First, Define Your Role

Last year, I became a philanthropist at age 28 through joining the African-American Women’s Giving & Empowerment Circle. My engagement in the circle came with three key benefits: I help drive capital to local female founders, I’m learning the dos and don’ts of philanthropy, and the circle members serve as an informal “board of advisors” of accomplished and connected mentors for me.

Through these connections, I recently attended the Positively Powerful Women’s Leadership Summit; an event put on by Dr. Joel Martin, founder of the Positively Powerful Woman Awards & Programs. One of the questions at the summit presented an opportunity for me to reflect on how I am activating my potential and realizing my goals.

What role(s) do you play in your professional and personal life?

Working through this question is a great exercise to build legs under existing goals. The eight roles below can hone your leadership skills, and keep you on track to achieving your goals.

Strategist [Architect]

Becoming a philanthropist was a decision that I made as the strategist and architect of my life. The giving circle offered an affordable way for me to accomplish my goal of becoming a philanthropist sooner than I anticipated.

Much like the strategic plan for a business, the strategic plan for your life is not something that should be worked out once and then left to collect dust. Accomplishing one goal opened up space for another goal, and I kept my strategist hat on to plan a contiguous goal that aligned with my ideal destination — which is currently centered around entrepreneurship and venture capital.

Explorer [Opportunity Finder]

I’m actively strategizing where I am and where I need to go, but I play the role of explorer to test that the vision I have is accurate. Staying alert to opportunities allows for a more dynamic and agile strategic plan. I take in new information, and adjust my destination as I learn.

This last year, I utilized profellow.com to find and apply for a public policy fellowship in D.C. I was selected to participate and the five weekend trips that I made to D.C. opened me up to a new network and new thinking. One of the connections I made through this trip led to an interview with Google’s autonomous vehicle spinoff, Waymo.

The experience of interviewing with a Google company pushed my thinking outside of the conventional boundaries that I had somewhat unconsciously put up around myself. I have now altered my strategic plan to reflect bigger thinking.

Builder

While at a conference in Utah, Todd Johnson from Gallup, presented on Gallup’s new book, Born to Build. Todd mentioned the books overall purpose to shift the current introductory norm from “what do you do?” to “what are you building?”

I took that note to heart, and started seeing myself as a builder. In addition to future goals of becoming an entrepreneur and actually building a business, I am building relationships every day. Playing the role of builder allows me to transition from a passive role to an active role in achieving my goals, with a focus on execution.

Katelyn Harris Lange

Katelyn Harris Lange

is a current workforce development practitioner supporting cross-sector synergy and innovation in the Greater Phoenix Area. She is a philanthropist involved in the African-American Women’s Giving and Empowerment CirclePhoenix Sister Cities Board Member, and the current Diversity and Inclusion Director with Net Impact Phoenix Professionals.

Translator

Life as a strategist, explorer, and builder produces a wealth of experiential learning. The onus is on me to make sure that my skills, experience, or background appears relevant to my career journey.

I take on the role of the translator to communicate my diverse experiences into a type of capital that I can leverage to get from Point A to Point B in my strategic plan.

Champion [myself]

I learned I need to do a better job of championing myself. The easiest way to do this is revamping an introduction or elevator pitch to highlight more of your accomplishments.

At the beginning of my professional life, I would plainly state my name and workplace when introducing myself to a group. How are people going to know about the many other activities I’m engaged in if I don’t tell them? Sharing more of my story (staccato sytle) in my intro will help others remember me and quickly identify mutual interests.

Celebrator [others]

The role of celebrator allows me to focus on others. Over the past six months, I have nominated three women that I admire, either for awards or “30 under 30” type lists. My first nomination actually made the list, and I think that gave me more gratification than her!

My journey is about success, but my success cannot come unattached to the success of others. What am I building and who am I building? I want to record more assists than points, and I will get to the top with no blocks and no steals.

In addition to nominating my sisters and brothers, I’m giving more positive feedback, more compliments, and more thank yous.

Asker

I’m working on becoming a better asker. I’ve built a great network, and I need to get more comfortable asking my network for help. Mentorship is continuously lauded as a great way to advance a career, but finding the right mentor and developing that relationship is easier said than done.

Moving forward, I will be more willing to ask for advice, connections, and funding.

Risk Taker

Another woman at my table, Linda G. Walton, founder of Achieving My Purpose, labeled herself as a risk taker, and it stuck with me. See, I meant what I said — no steals!

The final speaker of the night, Debbie Castaldo, VP of Corporate and Community Impact for the Arizona Diamondbacks, asked the group, “What would you do if you knew you would not fail?”

Small risk means small return. I want to achieve big things, and the sooner I get comfortable with risk, the easier it will be for me to quickly seize an opportunity after identifying it.

Now let’s put on our many hats and get to work with a new strategy, new confidence, and a renewed openness to infinite possibility.