Leadership carries a plethora of responsibilities, not the least of which is cultivating a powerful, effective and evolving team. As leaders we wear many hats and when the going gets tough, it’s easy to grab the hat that says: “Get it done! That’s why I hired you!!” When what is more often needed is the hat of a coach.

This one powerful secret to leadership lies in the ability to cultivate emerging leaders, others who can step up and be as effective as you, or in some cases, better than you in the areas you are weakest. But how? Most leaders are never taught how to engage their team in a way that cultivates the relationship and empowers the leader within them. Instead, far too many pull rank, make demands and set expectations without providing the tools necessary to deliver the results. The secret? Meet people where they are, rather than where you wish they were.

It’s no mystery that people move at different rates and are impeded by different obstacles so the next time you need to engage with a team member in a way that could cultivate their leadership skills, as them this question: What is the most important thing we should be talking about right now?

This will allow you to engage with them from their perspective rather than what you think is their perspective. It can get to the heart of their obstacles quickly and open the kind of dialogue that builds trust and moves business forward. Leadership is a behavior not a position; sometimes it requires patience, sometimes it requires decisive action, and sometimes it requires a powerful coaching question.

Want to be a better leadership coach and learn more about how to cultivate emerging leaders? Click Here

Are you responsible for developing emerging leaders?

Are you cultivating hidden talents?

Do you have the opportunity to empower individuals personally or professionally to achieve higher levels of success and happiness?

Those are just a few of the objectives of the Fierce Conversations Coaching module. In this half day workshop you will learn, practice and experience the elements of a powerful, deep-dive conversation used by Fierce coaches globally.  This process is designed to increase clarity, improve accountability and provide the impetus for positive action or change. Additionally it works equally as well with clients to get to the heart of their needs and overcome the obstacles standing in their way to action.

SpringboardNW and Steven Fulmer, Inc are proud to present this powerful half day workshop that will have a direct impact on your leadership skills.

Date: September 14, 2010
Time: 8am - 12 noon
Location: McMenamins Kennedy School,
5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. Portland, OR 97211 (map)
Registration Deadline: September 8
To Register: CLICK HERE

For any questions, please feel free to contact me at 503.806.0527

A Taste of Fierce Conversations®

Have you ever avoided a conversation because it was too risky, too scary, too emotional or you just plain didn’t know how to begin it?  I know I have! Most of us just aren’t taught how to have the “real” conversations in our lives, you know, the ones that truly advance our careers, relationships and lives; and the models we have via family, television and the movies sure don’t give us the skills we seek.  As a result, too many of us have careers go down hill, or relationships dissolve, or friendships fade into the past because we don’t know how to talk about something that is truly meaningful and important.  What if that could change?

The Sufi poet Rumi once said: “Out there beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing there is a field.  I’ll meet you there!”  What would it take to get past the judgment we have of each other, of the ideas of right and wrong, and actually meet people in a place where we can connect as humans - not ideas, labels or our past? What would it be like to seek connection and understanding; to build relationship over “rightness?” 

There is a secret to achieving this and it starts and ends with the focus on the relationship. Ask yourself this simple question: Is what I am about to do or say going to enrich the relationship at the center of the issue? If there answer is no, are you willing to try something different? If the answer to that second question is yes, then I would like to invite you to a special luncheon. 

I am proud to announce that I have become a certified facilitator within the Springboard NW team for a program called Fierce Conversations ®.  Springboard NW is the authorized provider for Fierce Inc. in Oregon and we are proud to be rolling the program out here in Portland.  If you manage a team, are responsible for the leadership skills or business development of an organization, serve as a CEO, or face a relationship you would like to improve, these could be two of the most important hours you have spent in a long time.

A Taste of Fierce Conversations®

“What gets talked about in a company and how it gets talked about determines what will happen. Or won’t happen.”

Thursday, August 26, 2010 from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (PT)

McMenamins Kennedy School
5736 N.E. 33rd Ave.
Portland , OR 97211

Click Here for details and registration

For questions, please call: 503.806.0527 or email me at Steven@StevenFulmer.com

Confucius said “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” That’s generally because people spend so much time looking at what needs to be fixed instead of what is already great. Baseball analyst Bill James said it great: “If you can’t learn to do something well, then enjoy doing it badly!” Everything is beautiful, or so the song goes, the question is, what are you looking for - the reasons why something in your life, work or relationship won’t work or the reasons why it will?

Apply this to life. I was shown an article about the seven deadly sins of the workplace recently and asked to comment. My immediate response was that it’s all backwards and focuses on what’s wrong, what won’t work. This topic became a segment I did on AM Northwest, a local ABC affiliate morning show. You can view it here. So what do you get when you turn the seven deadly sins into seven empowering virtues? You get this:

• Pride becomes the virtue of Humility. Instead of being prideful and boastful about only your own accomplishments, trust that your greatness will shine through and make the effort to recognize those with whose help you were able to achieve such greatness. None of us are on the path alone and when people are acknowledged and honored, they are generally grateful want to help you more in return.
• Envy becomes the virtue of Kindness. Instead of envying what others have, revel in their successes. By being excited and positive about their successes, you plant the seed in your subconscious that says “this feels good” even it is someone else’s. As a result, you attract more of that goodness into your life. The feeling of envy only attracts more negative feelings of envy. Kindness, however, attracts kindness.
• Anger becomes the virtue of Calmness. Anger is emotion run amuck. When you feel anger welling up, ask yourself what is good about what is happening right now. Or, in the words of Bill James, if you can’t do it well, i.e. control the situation, how could you enjoy it in its current incantation? Anger is like holding the sponge of your circumstances so tight it can’t absorb anything new. Release the grip and you release the tension, as a result, you become calmer and the sponge can absorb all kinds of new possibilities.
• Greed becomes the virtue of Generosity. And generosity can stem from one powerful question: How can I be of service? Or to paraphrase President Kennedy, ask not what your boss, co-workers or others can do for you, but what can you do for them?
• Sloth becomes the virtue of Active. What can you do right now to move your goal forward? It doesn’t have to be huge. In fact, sometimes it can be quite small; a kind word, a simple gesture, or the choice not to be angry. Too often we miss the monumental little things because we think only the big ones make a difference.
• Glutton becomes the virtue of Moderation. If there is anything health science has taught us, it’s everything in moderation. So I challenge you to have an average day. If every day were phenomenal, spectacular and over the edge, it too would become ordinary by lack of anything greater to compare it to. Remember, Michael Jordon is only tall because people like me are shorter. If everyone were eight feet tall, he’s not that impressive. Moderation is the virtue of reveling in what is, a little bit of great, a little bit of not so great and a little bit of everything in between. And when you take it all together, you get an average, and that is a great place to be – there in the middle of it all.
• Lust becomes the virtue of Presence. Some things take time to build. Get out of the future and give them time to manifest. Get out of the past, it only holds you back. Instead get into the here and now so that you can make the most of the present, that simple and most valuable gift of the now. If it helps, find a touch stone to bring you back to the now, just in case you lose your way once in a while.

With all that is going in the world and our lives, it’s easy to see the sins of the world and all the things that aren’t going well, but if that is your measurement for what is possible in the here and now and into the future, then you will never find what you are looking for. The secret isn’t in fixing your weaknesses, that’s like looking for a sunrise in the west. It’s simply not there. The secret lies in building up your strengths; capitalizing on your virtues.