Starters and Finishers

In my work as a corporate trainer, speaker and facilitator, I get the chance to learn a lot about working styles, communication patterns and the principles of success. One interesting dynamic I notice in many teams is that there are “starters”, and that there are “finishers”. The challenge is that often the starters don’t seek help of the finishers.

From a Working Style (Hal Stack) perspective the starters are often the Expressive Working Style people... the visionaries, creators, the idea’s people. They are superb at generating ideas, creative solutions and collaborations however; they sometimes lose their focus and ambition towards the completion of the project. This is where the finishers come in very handy. This working style, often the driver, can help the expressive move the idea from concept, to plan, to implementation to completion. I would describe myself as a starter, I am an Expressive and Driver working style, however, my business and the exciting journeys we are on right now have required me to refine and even develop a stronger finisher (driver) approach to my work. Being able to “dance” within the working styles, and ask for help will really advance the work of the starters.

Recently I spoke at the AWE Conference on the topic of Your Leadership GPS. The audience had the opportunity to complete the working style inventory. In addition to being a fun exercise, the learning is quite powerful. Hal Stacks describes four Working Styles: Expressive, Driver, Amiable and Analytical. On a team, all four styles are very important to the team’s success. The key to supersized success is being able to dance within the styles, and carefully choose the working style that will be most appropriate in specific situations. For example, as an Expressive Driver, I often solicit the help of my Analytical Working Style colleagues as they will carefully review my ideas, ask a number of questions (which will be very helpful to me in planning and implementation), and be strategic in their assistance.

To find out more about AWE and the Leadership GPS presentation, visit: www.awebusiness.com and

http://www.awebusiness.com/pages/News/Newsletter.aspx?id=922


In my upcoming blog, I will speak to the other two Working Styles from Hal Stack’s Working Style inventory.

Your Leadership GPS- leading with success

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking amongst a great line up of speakers, including: Michele Bailey, Blazing THE Agency, Jessica Jackley co-founder of Kiva.org, Denise Leclair, Bedouin Beats Ltd, Tara Kelly, SPLICE Software, and Cidnee Stephen, Strategies for Success. Each of the speakers brought rich content and value to the event, and the incredible business women that attended!

Your Leadership GPS was the topic I was speaking on, a topic that I am most passionate about, and one that is essential for business owners. "Leadership is a decision, not a position" is a statement by an author I respect, David Irvine. He has a valuable perspective on leadership, building trust, and developing authentic leadership skills. I also spoke about some of the qualities of great leaders, such as leadership maturity, humility, the ability to forgive and to ask for help. Reminding the audience that "it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be possible" is a message I love to share, especially since I am a recovering perfectionist. As a leader, your results will give you a pretty good idea of your mindset and your leadership blueprint.

Some tips to enhancing your leadership GPS:

- create a mindset of success
- develop affirmations that are congruent with the type of leader you wish to be
- know your working style and how to work with other's whose style is different from yours
- have the courageous dialogues (the conversations that matter most and are mostly avoided)
- develop your ASK skills
- learn to forgive (self and others)
- systematize what you do


We talked about the importance of mindset, and setting your intention for the day, which is what I call "Framing Your Day". The video I enjoy sharing is titled Jessica's Affirmations, you can watch it here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

Framing your Day is making an intentional decision of how you intend to
show up in the world, what leadership you will demonstrate and how
you intend your day will go.

Read the article that Alberta Women Entrepreneurs wrote about me here:

http://www.awebusinessaspx/?id=922


To find out more about Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, their services and the incredible conference speakers, visit: http://www.awebusiness.com/


To find out more about the books that I referenced in the presentation, visit: