Brian Groves's Blog, page 68

Keeping watch

 

 

Keeping watch proactively could imply a form of action uniting an attentive ‘being’ with a static ‘doing’.

Being vigilant, keeping watch on how we invest our now is a key aspect of developing ourselves. That said, for many people the way their days are filled is left at best to the whims of others and at worst to the agenda of those attempting to manipulate them.

Underlining the value of each day, within the framework of our main objective, provides us with a structure as we go about keeping watch on our efforts towards our goals. On occasions we will need to be flexible, but perhaps not to the point of answering ‘Yes’ to every call on our time.

It is feasible some folk become offended by our supposed lack of availability. Unless our work is to be at their full disposition, however, there is no realistic reason why we should be made to feel guilty.

Paraphrasing from a book title by Primo Levi, “If not us, who?” Nobody else is likely to undertake the effort needed to achieve our goals and, even if we are carefully keeping watch, there are only twenty-four hours in the day.

Appreciating the activity requires our full presence coupled with a stillness of the moment, to close, let me just be bold and ask to what degree are you keeping watch on your efforts today?

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

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About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work (2016)

The stage of work (2016)

Performance skills at work (2015)

Personal performance potential at work (2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (2013)

Reflections on performance at work (2012)

Elements of theatre at work (2010)

Training through drama for work (2009)

How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work

 

 

You are perfect as you are. However, over the course of a typical workday it is easy to forget this under the stress of meeting the needs of clients, colleagues and other stakeholders. Rather than attempting to fix you, How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work was written with the aim of sharing everyday coaching tips to help you as you go about giving your best, regardless of what the task involves or where it occurs.

Divided into bite-sized chunks, How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work brings together ideas associated with the stage for the sake of ensuring your potential is the star of the show on a daily basis. As with any assignment, the delivery of your potential represents more than what is experienced by the audience or beneficiary of your work.

What is visible once the proverbial curtain has been raised is the fruit of much effort, consisting of initial assessments, detailed preparation and precise practice, geared to offering your best possible performance. And then being able to repeat this as necessary.

From the preparatory phase of any project, to the feedback and learning opportunities deriving from post-performance reflection, the giving of your best is achieved not by luck, but through a systematic use of tried, tested and learnable skills.

Beginning with an exploration of the roles you are expected to undertake as part of your job description, to an examination of what is needed to ensure your presence ‘on stage’ represents the true you, these and other aspects of your daily performance are covered in the opening chapters.

Input concerning preparation for the delivering of your potential is then dealt with, leading to the moment of execution. To complete How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work, key points regarding the learning available post-performance in the form of feedback – uplifting when full of praise and useful if critical – are set out in the concluding chapter.

Throughout How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work questions are asked. Accordingly, it is advisable to read this self-help book with a notebook and pen or pencil to hand to capture reflections, thoughts and answers.

Similar to any form of professional and personal development material, the value of How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work is found in its adaptation and application to your specific needs on your stage of work.

How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work is available now at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained Co-Active Coach and Freelance Trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

How to deliver your potential successfully on the stage of work (2016)

The stage of work (2016)

Performance skills at work (2015)

Personal performance potential at work (2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (2013)

Reflections on performance at work (2012)

Elements of theatre at work (2010)

Training through drama for work (2009)

 

Reflecting the moment

Each and every thought is, in its way, reflecting the moment. Ideas cross our mind and evolve as we give them energy to develop. Though such things might indeed be reflecting the moment, there is no need for us to feel obliged to embrace them all.

Let me repeat myself. Being mindful of these things, as they go about reflecting the moment, does not mean we have to grasp onto them as if they were an integral part of who or what we are.

With conscious effort we get to choose our thinking and move forward accordingly. In addition to thoughts, another item reflecting the moment is our outlook on life. When fearful and uncertain, our vision of the present may appear filled with doom and gloom.

Reflecting the moment of this mindset could signify we give an unusual amount of attention to what is missing or not to our immediate liking. A pessimistic painting is created in this manner, capturing what is attempting to dominate this instance.

A sunny disposition, on the contrary, leads us to engaging with something more pleasant reflecting the moment. That either is actually acted upon depends, as ever, on us. So, what is reflecting the moment for you right now?

To share your input on the subject of ‘reflecting the moment‘, please leave a comment below.

Kindest regards.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

Good for us

Some things are promoted as being good for us as a result of their natural qualities. Other items are merely marketed as being good for us to ensure a healthy profit margin for their manufacturers.

Somewhere in the middle of this rather simplistic picture we have a whole host of products, services and the like offering benefits potentially good for us.

Holidays spring to mind. When undertaken for a precise purpose – to have a rest, as an opportunity to explore a place of interest or as entertainment, for example – they may indeed be said to be good for us.

When, however, we put ourselves in danger, debt or inconvenience for the sake of having ‘some time away’, it is possibly not right to label them as being good for us.

As ever, our personal perception of the matter in question, plus our understanding of the context in which our decision is made, will play a major part in determining if or not something is good for us.

Mary Poppins suggested “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”.

On occasions the bitterness of the moment could, in a sense, be said to be good for us, if not now then perhaps at least later.

We might not like an experience at the time of its occurrence, but lessons learnt today invariably remain with us and so yes, can be considered as being good for us.

Thanks for connecting here. To join the ‘Good for us‘ conversation, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

Built to last

 

It is regularly said ‘by those in the know’ that things today are no longer built to last. Certainly each of us is capable of finding examples, from either our own memory or from that of acquaintances, in which something was definitely not built to last.

Although occasionally objects let us down, experience acquired over the course of a development programme invariably remains with us. Built to last might perhaps be too exaggerated an expression to apply here, yet no doubt lessons learnt well stay with us.

Other items, if not actually built to last, seem to evolve over time with us. We can refer to spiritual beliefs, political thinking and feelings towards environmental issues. An expansion, or contraction, of our interest in these areas of life oftentimes leads to a change in the attention we give to them.

Taking a long-term perspective, to what extent are we sure inventions and iconic landmarks of today will withstand the proverbial ravages of time? Have they been built to last alongside the wheel and the pyramids? Possibly yes, and then again maybe no. Without the benefit of time travel to the future, it is difficult to evaluate right now whether anything has been built to last.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

A simple thing

We all most likely have our own definition of a simple thing. For some it might involve a basic or straightforward item. Others may find a more complex object, in our opinion, a simple thing.

However we choose to define a simple thing, it will possibly embrace not only an ease of use, but also an element of elegance embodied in its form. A simple thing has these and perhaps many more qualities making up its existence.

With easy operability in place, the expansion into everyday life of a simple thing is almost assured. And the contrary holds true. The television, for instance, would have been slower to reach many households if it had had the same tedious start-up process as earlier versions of computers.

Even so, the beautiful or elegant design of a simple thing – a leaf, a petal and a blade of grass all come to mind – is not always related to the position the object holds in our life. In many cases it is fair to suggest a simple thing is taken for granted.

Thanks for reading this post today. To share your thoughts on the issue of ‘a simple thing‘, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

Waiting patiently, again

 

Continuing with the theme of waiting patiently (click here to read part one), again with emphasis placed on the benefits we may obtain from waiting patiently, looking at the question from the viewpoint of learning, three points spring to mind.

Firstly, waiting patiently for comprehension to settle inside us is a key aspect of internalizing a lesson. Giving ourselves time to truly absorb something allows us to have more confidence in our ability when called upon to apply it.

Secondly, waiting patiently for results to flourish can mean we reduce the risk of upsetting the natural process of development. Certain things require a specific amount of time to elapse prior to their appearance as desired outcomes. Rushing when we should be actually waiting patiently does little to help our growth, but much to harm it.

Thirdly and finally, waiting patiently puts the new information we have taken on board into perspective. We might wish to know everything immediately, yet life flows at its own pace. When we are ready and our capacity to handle new situations has matured, we will be challenged to act. Reacting early indicates we have not passed sufficient time waiting patiently.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

Clouding the moment

 

It is perhaps not difficult to imagine a scenario in which we are operating to our potential, being our best, despite this or that clouding the moment.

External matters beyond our control will always be present in one form or another. However, our ability to embrace fully the opportunities before us is, fortunately, not connected to situations clouding the moment.

Our positive approach, regardless of these things clouding the moment, stems from our inner strength and commitment towards our heartfelt goals. Being disinterested is, of course, an option, yet one likely holding little value to us.

Things are more complicated when the items clouding the moment derive from our confusion and lack of confidence in our objective. Giving ourselves a ‘good talking to’ may help. Alternatively, we have the possibility of exploring the underlying source of these sensations clouding the moment.

Reflection offers us the opportunity to embrace, as opposed to push away, an issue causing the dark clouds. We might discover a previously overlooked point requiring our input before whatever is clouding the moment moves away.

Considering this exercise of clarification as a strategic phase of our development gives us the chance to appreciate, as it were, whatever is indeed clouding the moment.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

In the corner

Being physically or figuratively in the corner is possibly something we can all relate to. We might feel we have been manoeuvred or manipulated into being in the corner. Circumstances seem to have led to us being here as opposed to being centre stage.

In the corner the overriding sensations may be dissatisfaction and frustration. We feel we deserve more, yet somehow we find ourselves on the peripheral of the moment.

Instead of accepting our situation in the corner, on occasions challenging whoever or whatever has outwitted us to the point of us ending up in the corner is an option. Ideally, however, the stay in the corner will not be too long.

Nevertheless, in the corner we get to observe life from a perspective perhaps new to us. Taking learning from our experience on the sidelines is a way to maximize our time there. And, of course, it is feasible we look back on the episode with a smile on our face once no longer in the corner.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)

Bits and bobs

 

It is easy to get distracted by any multitude of bits and bobs making up the scenery and surroundings of our life. Whether they represent actual objects or virtual items such as social media communications, their presence can capture our attention, if we let them.

Freeing ourselves from accumulated bits and bobs is an option mainly under our control. Becoming stressed by the issue – be it a desire for more space or chunks of time – might not be a productive thing. Appreciating when to intervene and when to step back, on the contrary, could be.

The bits and bobs of the moment are perhaps, from a more poetic perspective, the threads woven into a lively tapestry depicting now. In some instances we get to select the kind and colour of the bits and bobs.

Then again there are occasions in which the bits and bobs appear apparently haphazardly. In these cases the picture may not necessarily be to our liking. However, embracing and thus working with what is before us is a strategy for living in today’s world. It is also a core skill required in many workplaces and one best acquired sooner rather than later.

Irrespective of how we view the bits and bobs making up life, thanks for reading this today.

Kindest regards.

Brian.

Skype: bgdtskype

Twitter: @bgdtcoaching

E-mail: brian@bgdtcoaching.com

Google+: google.com/+BrianGroves

Website: http://www.bgdtcoaching.com

Blog: https://bgdtcoaching.wordpress.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bgdtcoaching/videos

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bgdtcoaching/the-bgdtcoaching-space

About Brian

Brian Groves DipM MCIM Chartered Marketer, CTI-trained co-active coach and freelance trainer, supplies professional and personal development through coaching, coaching workshops, marketing development training and English language training.

As an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, Brian teaches a postgraduate course based on dramatic texts and elements of coaching to examine various work-related performance matters.

Publications

The stage of work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2016)

Performance skills at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2015)

Personal performance potential at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2014)

Coaching, performing and thinking at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2013)

Reflections on performance at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2012)

Elements of theatre at work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2010)

Training through drama for work (Milan: EDUCatt, 2009)