Winter Readiness for Alaka‘i Managers

Preview: This is a post to include in the manager’s self-coaching toolkit.

“Begin with the end in mind”

…has long been a mantra for me (mahalo nui to Stephen R. Covey, for sharing it within his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). I believe in Hō‘imi, and looking ahead with positive expectancy (Palena ‘ole Positivity is Hō‘imi— look for it).

So when the final weeks of each year roll in, I habitually begin thinking about what ‘end’ to keep in mind next — what will I be working toward come January 1st and the start of a whole new year?

The follow-up question will then become, what must I do now to get ready? I believe in good foundations, and readiness is important, as is the credibility of leading by merit of your own good example.

I have my ends firmly in mind, and have shared them with you, so now, let’s talk about you.

The End (which is really a stellar beginning)

If you have your sights set on becoming an Alaka‘i Manager who IS Managing with Aloha, I have a practice to suggest to you:

Beginning January 2, 2014, gift The Daily 5 Minutes to everyone you work with. (I am hoping that January 1 will be a day off for you :)

You ‘gift D5M’ by doing it, and by giving it to others as the gift of conversational possibility, bright, shiny and new.

If you are already doing it, think about how you can do it better. Think about injecting your D5M practice with some sort of ‘phase 2’, ramping up your energies. Think about enlarging your conversational circle, and hence your circle of influence, D5M-ing with the new partnerships within your professional network.

How to Begin: Prepare well.

To start, review these 2 postings here in our MWA Central archives:

First, learn about the basic WHAT and WHY of the Daily 5 Minutes within this reprint of MWA’s chapter 11 on ‘Ike loa
Second, this posting will help you begin with the D5M end in mind: Revisiting the Daily 5 Minutes: Lessons Learned

Here is a quick look at the readiness covered in reading no.2 above:

Set the D5M Goal today, and begin to prepare for it.

ONE: Don’t try to change whole-company culture; improve your own corner of it and go for a ripple effect where good begets more good.

TWO: Increase your face time.

THREE: Work on your listening skills in each and every conversation you have.

Extra credit: How to Listen.

FOUR: Honestly assess the conversational climate of your workplace culture as it now stands.

FIVE: Earn a reputation as an investigative problem-solver.

Read more about each of these steps here: Revisiting the Daily 5 Minutes: Lessons Learned

You will find that the year blooms for you in a truly beautiful way.

~ Rosa

Related Reading: This was our holiday batching in 2012 ~ Just 5 Over the Holidays And to complete the story-telling for you, this was the follow-up we found we needed: This January, Slow Down.