Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “The Acceptance Dilemma” which was about how we receive thanks and compliments and it is not easy for everyone.

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

To many people, Valentine’s Day is perceived as a commercial ploy to get us to part us with our well-earned dosh and can put us under pressure with partners – especially if we don’t share the same opinion about what’s expected!

Whether or not you acknowledge Valentine’s Day, it can be an opportunity for connection and communication (and not all about romance).

When you think about it, so much depends on our expectations doesn’t it!

And this is where so many people come unstuck in their communication.

I mentioned last week that I had a realisation about a compliment being a gift when I was training to be a counsellor years ago … around the same time, I learned about expectations too.

When we meet a new person for the first time, they would know very little about us, let alone about our expectations because that’s so personal.

We know that first impressions are so important and we make up our mind about someone in the first few seconds of meeting them.

So, how much are these first impressions to do with how we expect others to greet us when we first meet them?

For instance; do we expect them to shake our hand? Would we judge them for not shaking our hand?

After the pandemic, we know that people have different views about shaking hands. How do we communicate that?

If we don’t want to shake hands, we have to communicate that in an amiable or even jokey way don’t we! Anyway, that’s just one example of how we communicate our expectations.

When we start a new job or role, we want to know from the outset what’s expected of us don’t we. How can we get started if we aren’t clear?

When another person speaks and behaves in a certain way, we may feel disappointed. But how would they know about our expectations if we haven’t told them?

I don’t know about you; I have had to check in with myself to see what my expectations are of others and keep an open mind. So often, expectations are at the root of misunderstandings.

So that’s food for thought for you today! Just gently notice what your expectations are of others as you go through your day and see how this improves your communication with them.

“When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.”

-Donald Miller-

[Author, public speaker, and business owner]

If you’d like to explore this further for your team or yourself, I would like to invite you to book a FREE consultation with me. You can choose your slot HERE 

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Korinne Le Page, Thrive Coaching & Training

P.S. Download this FREE Checklist: “10 Mistakes that Could be Stopping You from Becoming a Really Good Communicator”

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Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “The Balance of Thanks” which was about how we show our thanks and appreciation.

You can see all of my previous blogs HERE

Last week, I left you with this quote …

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
– Maya Angelou –

[World-renowned author best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style]

So, following on from last week, I have been giving a lot of thought around how we accept gratefully, i.e., appreciation from others, gifts and compliments etc!

For example; when someone thanks us verbally, in a genuine way, for something we have done for them, we can tell that they really do appreciate it. We will feel happy they are happy and will probably respond with a simple “You’re welcome” or similar.

That will feel right for many, but not for everyone (for instance; many more tend to be more reserved and / or less confident and may even feel embarrassed in situations like that – even if they are happy the other person is happy!)

Going back to my 20’s (a long time ago now and my memory still serves me well!) I used to feel embarrassed when someone gave me a compliment. It’s only when I trained to be a counsellor that I realised that a compliment is actually a gift. People take the time and trouble to pay us a compliment and they don’t have to!

In fact, as we get busier and busier in our daily lives, people often forget to give compliments and show appreciation, even if they intended to.

So, it can be quite rare to receive a compliment, or for someone to go out of their way to show their gratitude and appreciation. And that is a real gift and also needs to be accepted with gratitude.

If someone gives us a physical gift, it’s unlikely we would give it back or cast it aside in front of them, so why would we do that with a compliment?

“Accepting a compliment isn’t a violation of humility. It’s an expression of gratitude for an act of kindness.

Deflecting undermines the gesture—and discourages them from praising others. Even if you’re struggling to believe it, saying thanks shows that you value their words”.

-Adam Grant-

[Organizational psychologist and bestselling author who explores the science of motivation, generosity, original thinking, and rethinking. Adam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years]

• How do you show your gratitude to others?
• How do you receive thanks and appreciation?
• How do you receive gifts?
• How do you receive compliments?
• When was the last time you gave someone a compliment?

If you haven’t already, l would like to invite you to book a free consultation with me if you’d like to explore this further for your team or yourself. Choose your slot HERE 

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “The Anchor of Trust” which was about how the bonds we have with people in our lives are anchored around the level of Trust between us.

You can see all of my previous blogs below.

If you did the exercise last week about what anchors you to each of your relationships, whether with colleagues, professionally or personally, you will appreciate another really important area here is how we communicate appreciation and gratitude.

We are all different of course and where one person would have certain expectations around this, another would see things quite differently.

Saying “thank you” is simple enough – but how about saying it in a truly meaningful way? 

How do you show your gratitude to others?

• Through words such as “thank you”?
• Through actions and / or gestures?
• Through tokens of thanks, such as a card, chocolates or flowers?
• You don’t express as often as you would like to or think you should?

What means the most to you when someone thanks you?

For me, what means the most is when someone is genuine in their appreciation, like when they make eye contact, use gestures (such as placing a hand over their heart as they say thanks) and things like that.

Their non-verbal language means a lot to me, more than a gift.

It’s very interesting because how we like people to thank us may be different to what others expect, but unless we know them very well, how would we know?

It will also depend on what it is they did for us as well and the level of gratitude we feel. For instance, if they gave something up for us, we might want to replace it or make up for it in some way.

If in doubt about what to do, I believe the best place to start is by saying a genuine “thank you” (using their name and making eye contact) and why you appreciate what they did, said or whatever.

“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”
– Robert Holden –

[British psychologist, author, and broadcaster, who works in the field of positive psychology and well-being]

And not to forget the balance to giving thanks is how we receive them …

 “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
– Maya Angelou –

[World-renowned author best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style]

If you haven’t already, l invite you to book a free consultation with me if you’d like to explore this further. Choose your slot HERE 

I will leave you on that note and will post again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “Challenge & Excitement” all about being creative and realistic about our strategy and goals whilst being exciting and stretching us!

You can see all of my blogs below.

So, by now, I am sure you will have a plan that you feel inspired by and anchored to, because that’s what we need as professionals isn’t it? To be anchored to a strategy in a fluid way that allows movement to go with the flow, whilst keeping us steady on our course.

I like to use this metaphor of an anchor too when it comes to our working and personal relationships and how we interact with each other.

The ‘anchor’ is whatever the relationship is about and what holds us together. And of course, the degree of this will vary between more professional and personal relationships.

Have you thought about what anchors you in each of your relationships?

• Loved ones
• Social friends
• Colleagues
• Team
• Clients
• Service partners, etc.

How we interact with each of these people in our lives, will depend on what anchors us to each other and the level of trust between us.

It’s an interesting exercise to think about this level of trust you have with each person on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being high).

Then think about how you communicate differently depending on that level of trust?

I’d love to know what you think so please let me know!

l invite you to book a free consultation with me if you’d like to explore this further. Choose your slot HERE 

“When the Trust Account is high, communication is easy, instant and effective”
-Stephen Covey-

I will leave you on that note and will post again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,
Korinne

Last week’s Thought for the Week was; “About Business Trends” and how, by tapping into creativity, individuals and organisations will be the trend-setters and lead the way.

You can see all of my blogs below.

We can feel under pressure to start each year with some kind of major declaration and mission for the year to come can’t we!

A new year gives us a clean slate in many ways and a chance to refresh our thinking and revisit outdated habits, processes etc.

We know all about New Year’s resolutions! They can be very positive and at the same time can be unrealistic and set us up for a sense of failure if we don’t fulfil them.

So what’s the answer?

Personally, I like to take an objective ‘helicopter view’ of my life, my business, my strategy.

I then look at how that dovetails with what’s happening in the World and how effective I am in helping people to get results right now …

• What am I doing that’s really working and should leave as it is?
• What do I need to tweak or change and why?
• What smaller and realistic steps can I take to make changes?

Then I tap into my creativity to think outside the box and come up with fresh ideas around how I move forward.

When it comes to setting goals, we are all familiar with “SMART Goals” (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely).

Well I introduce my clients to another very simple model that also includes 2 very important elements that are not included in SMART. These are around our goals also being “Challenging” and “Exciting”!

If we don’t have these in the mix, we often don’t feel anchored to a goal and motivated enough to make it happen.

And when it comes to making changes, I have found that, rather than setting a “New Year’s Resolution”, making small and realistic changes and committing to these really does work.

I’d love to know what you think? Leave a post and let me know!

l invite you to book a consultation with me if you’d like to explore what you most want to achieve in 2023 and beyond. Choose your slot HERE 

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.”
-Albert Einstein-

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.”
-John Cleese-

I will leave you on that note and will post again soon with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes

 

 

 

 

I hope 2023 has started well for you! The last Thought for the Week I sent out was; “What Impact will you have in 2023?”

[You can see all of my blogs below].

“I happened to come along in the music business when there was no trend”

-Elvis Presley-

What trends have you noticed around business and how we work and communicate with those around us?

My clients range from Solopreneurs to leaders within larger organisations and they are telling me that things are changing hugely within their organisations, especially around recognising the relationships within an organisation and externally too and this takes time to build. A “one-size-fits-all” approach certainly does not apply!

The fast growth of the coaching business is credited to some of the best business trends emerging in recent years. And this is because it gives people space to think outside the box and come up with innovative and sustainable advantages.

Over time, with recent changes in our World, values and expectations have changed more than ever. You will know only too well how people are our greatest asset and, in turn, they are now expecting more from employers. No longer will they stick around if they don’t feel valued.

Teams are complex and diverse and it is so important to recognise the talent that diverse workforces can bring in. People need access to support and so leaders and entrepreneurs have had to grow and develop more than ever to acquire agile leadership skills to be the best they can be.

Many of my clients have recognised how invaluable Coaching is in developing a growth culture, and I’m talking about how they have learned to Coach effectively, as well as working with me as their Coach.

And the way Coaches are coaching has become more and more flexible; for instance, when my clients feel they are working on screens all day long, sometimes we go for a walk along the beach or in the park. This really helps them to expand their thinking and tap into their creativity.

I’m seeing clients looking more and more at how they can use coaching in areas where they have been unable to use it before. This is because they now recognise how powerful it is in helping people to find themselves and discover their power and confidence. And there are still many more areas where coaching is yet to have an impact.

Experimentation and collaboration over competition is happening more. This is because people are increasingly confident that what they bring to the table is adding real value.

When it comes to trends though, would you rather be the one to set trends or do you tend to follow them?

 

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion”.

-Jack Kerouac-

[A pioneer and icon of the beat generation]

 

So, what initiatives are you pursuing to blaze your own trail towards the future?

There are companies who buy coaching packages for their people, and some organisations are training and nurturing their own internal pools of coaches who can help and support people within the workplace.

Either way, people are being encouraged to tap into their creativity, come up with ideas and forge the way!

Nowadays, around 60% of my clients are funded by their Company and 40% are self-funding as they see the incredible value in their self-growth.

l invite you to book a consultation with me to explore what you most want to achieve in 2023 and beyond, and how you can forge your own roadmap with your own unique stamp on it.

Choose your slot HERE 

“When looking at trends I always ask myself basic and timeless questions about business, and the one I seem to always come back to is, ‘How is this different than anything else in the marketplace?”

-Daymond John-

[Hip-hop fashion designer and founder and CEO of clothing label FUBU]

I will leave you on that note and will post again soon with more thoughts and tips.
With best wishes,

I wish you a very Happy New Year and I hope 2023 brings you all of the positive impact, success, good health and magic you wish for … and deserve.

The last Thought for the Week I sent out was; “Do you believe in Magic?” and I hope that brought at least a little sparkle to you!

[You can also see my “Thought for the Week” blogs below.

If you or your children are into Harry Potter, you will be familiar with the term “Magical Impact” and, how much impact has J.K. Rowling had on us and our families!

Now let’s face the truth about a New Year …

We’re all starry eyed with all the hopes of what a new year might bring. I spoke last week about believing in magic and we must.

At the same time, in what will seem like a blink of an eye, another 12 months will have whizzed by! And nothing will change … unless we do.

• If you are a business owner, is it time to get serious about scaling your business?
• If you are a leader, how will you elevate your leadership with all that well-earned wisdom and experience?
• How can you up the bar on how you communicate with impact as a professional?

If what you have tried in the past hasn’t worked for you, it won’t work for you now.

What’s working now – for professional people like you, is support that is customised for YOU, your goals, and your business model …

So, l invite you to book a complimentary one-to-one coaching session with me to explore how you can have more positive impact in your life in 2023 – choose a slot HERE 

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique”.

-Martha Graham-

[Considered by People Magazine to be among the female “Icons of the Century.”]

I will be in touch again with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

I hope you had a magical Christmas, even in the smallest of ways, whatever you did and wherever you were.

The last Thought for the Week I sent out was; “The Power of Self-Compassion” and how looking after our own emotional, physical and mental well-being helps us withstand the challenges that life throws our way, and better support those around us.

You can read all of my previous blogs below. 

Something reignited in me just after Christmas when I was with a friend. I was telling her how I was due to travel to France on Friday and sailings were being cancelled due to bad weather. And how I had a connecting flight from Rennes within hours of arrival.

At times like this, we can get stuck in our own head can’t we! So absorbed in looking at alternative options, we forget that positive and even magical things can also happen and to allow for that possibility!

She reminded me of this and I sent out a positive thought and trusted that somehow all would work out.

Within just 3 hours, guess what happened … I heard from the ferry company that a window in the weather was expected on Thursday, so they had put on an additional ferry that day (and the timing is actually much better as I arrive a day earlier in good time for the connecting flight!). How’s that for a little bit of magic!

Remember when you were a child and looked at life in total wonder and awe? Life was magical and exciting, and the smallest things were utterly thrilling to you; the frost on the grass, an unusual coloured butterfly or something like that.

When you lost a tooth, you were full of excitement because it meant the Tooth Fairy would be coming that night!

I would count down the days to Christmas Eve as, not only is it my birthday, I also looked forward to Santa Claus visiting on that magical night. Even though I had no idea how he could get to visit every child in the World in one night. somehow he managed it and never let us down!

As children, our imagination knew no limits and we believed that life was magical! And then we grew into adults and responsibilities and challenges took their toll on us.

Many of us became disillusioned, and the magic we once believed in as children evaporated. Perhaps that’s why as adults we love to be around children, so that we can experience that feeling we once had, even if it’s just for a moment?

As the year draws to a close and a new one approaches, how can you recapture at least some of that magic in your life?

What needs to change for that to happen for you?

The answer has to be something within you that has to shift. Whatever it is, are you ready to experience the magic again?

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”
-Roald Dahl- (1916-1990)
[Writer]

As always, I will leave you with that thought!

If you would like to book a complimentary one-to-one coaching session with me to explore how you can create more magic in your life, you can book a slot HERE 

I will be in touch again with more thoughts and tips.

With best wishes,

Korinne 

I hope you got something out of last week’s Thought for the Week; “The Communication Source” and to be a really good communicator, we have to manage our emotions first before we can put our communication techniques into practice.

I also write a “Thought for the Week” blog each week. You can read my previous blogs below.

As you know by now, I work as a Coach and Workshop Leader helping professional people to become even better communicators, even if they believe they are already doing well. We only become more self-aware that something is amiss when something doesn’t go so well, right?

Of course, different people will interpret the same sentence in different ways, even on different days depending how they feel at that time. So, we have no control over how people react to what we say.

What we can do though is check in with ourselves every now and then and gently notice our own communication styles in different scenarios. Because, as I wrote last week, this becomes a subconscious process and we tend to get into habits in the way we speak, ask questions, answer questions, listen, don’t listen etc.

And I say gently notice because we are only human and won’t always get it 100% right and judging ourselves harshly is very unlikely to improve the way we communicate. The same when others judge us harshly; we can clam up, avoid speaking up, become defensive and even lose our confidence.

When was the last time you stopped picking apart a project you’ve completed, and simply congratulated yourself for a job well done? Or, better yet, accepted a mistake you made without spending hours berating yourself?

The idea of devoting time to self-compassion feels self-indulgent. But actually, the opposite is true. Learning to look after our own emotional, physical and mental well-being helps us withstand the challenges that life throws our way, and better support those around us.

Self-compassion isn’t about letting yourself off the hook for difficult emotions and mistakes, or giving into your every whim. It’s about acknowledging the tough parts of life, and giving yourself the love you need to keep learning and moving forward.

“Transform your world by transforming your internal state. Start by learning to let go of negative self-judgment, and replace it with positive and loving thoughts about yourself. Be kind to yourself, and watch your external world change”.

-Anita Moorjani-

[Anita Moorjani is an international speaker and author of the New York Times bestseller “Dying to Be Me“]

As always, I will leave you with that thought!

Here is a free checklist for you: 10 Mistakes that could be stopping you from being a really good communicator

I will be in touch again with more thoughts and tips on how you, and / or your team can be more effective communicators.

With best wishes,

I hope you enjoyed last week’s Thought for the Week; “Understanding Misunderstandings” about how to tap into our Emotional Intelligence when there is a misunderstanding so we can move forward in a positive way.

I also write a “Thought for the Week” blog each week – you can read my previous blogs below.

As you know, I work as a Coach and Workshop Leader helping professional people to communicate more effectively and overcome challenges so they can have more impact and success.

What has “Emotional Intelligence” got to do with communication you may ask! And that is a very good question …

You will have been on an at least one communication course at some point (and I lead these sessions too) and these are great … if they form part of a bigger plan.

“The emotional landscape of leadership is untapped and underdeveloped. Typically, leadership energy focuses on the efficiency of managerial operations. There is ample training on becoming productive but very little on integrating our emotional data toward competency within the landscape of commerce.”
-Dr. Rob Murray-

[CEO and co-founder of Transformed Leader, a leadership research, coaching, and consulting company that helps mission-driven organizations and leaders overcome their greatest challenges.]

When Clients ask me to run an in-house programme, I first ask questions to understand what strategy they have in place to support the ongoing development of participants. Because learning communication tools and new tips and techniques are just one part of achieving great communication!

I know this because I have been doing this for a very long time and have seen what a challenge it can be for people to communicate in the most effective way for themselves, especially if they are unaware of what’s getting in the way.

I say “for themselves” because Communication is not a ‘one size fits all!

And that’s where Emotional Intelligence (EQ) comes into it. And that is often the part that people believe they don’t need!

“Courageous engagement with the heart activates change. Feelings grant us the chance to connect meaningfully with our world.

What begins as emotional science leads us inexorably to integration, building emotional capacity and resiliency.”
-Dr. Rob Murray-

The human subconscious mind is more amazing then we could ever imagine and there will be things about your mind that you know, and things that you don’t know or understand.

You will know that science has established that the subconscious mind controls 95% of our life, including every physical movement, the decisions we make and actions we take, our emotions and behaviours.

So, our subconscious mind is always awake and never sleeps when we do because it controls all vital functions in our body, e.g., our heartbeat, blood circulation etc. While we are asleep, our conscious mind becomes dormant while our subconscious mind is active.

Science has also proven that we still hear and process everything in our mind while asleep.

You will have formed daily habits; your morning routine, how you travel around, what and when you eat, sleep, exercise etc. These have become second nature.

It’s the same with how we tend to communicate and our subconscious mind is operating in the background.

But the thing is, how do we know what we need to change when we are locked into these habits we have established?

That’s where EQ comes in. If we want to change the way we communicate, we have to be aware of our habit or tendency and consciously choose to do something differently.

For instance; if apprehension holds us back in the way we communicate, we can acknowledge that (we are human!) and then decide to try something different this time (using our EQ to overcome it and our conscious mind to change that habit).

Because, to be a really good communicator, we have to manage our emotions first before we can put our communication techniques into practice.

And that is where there has to be a stage that happens after we learn something new so we can dovetail it all together, whether that be Coaching or whatever support we have in place. That way, your new habits will become part of your subconscious mind operating in the background!

“To understand something, you must go to the source. In this case, the source is you. The source of the ability to unbury all of your past programming and realign with your true self. To awaken from a single mind, to the soul driving this whole thing on the inside.”
-Erin Dinsmore-

[Producer, Screenwriter, Content Creator, e.g., How to Be a Human Being]

As always, I will leave you with that thought!

If you would like to have a complimentary one-to-one coaching session with me to explore this further, you can book a slot HERE

I will be in touch again with more thoughts and tips on how you, and / or your team can be more effective communicators.

With best wishes,
Korinne 

P.S. Check out The Communication Code

#communication #coaching #people #business