YOUR TURN: What made your list of 2019 books?
​Comment below and tell me what books I should put on my 2020 reading list!

Curriculum mindset example # 1 
GOAL: Create more work-life balance.
PATH: I need to learn how to set boundaries 
Great, but how are you going to learn to set better boundaries?

You just can't wish that you're going to be better at setting boundaries. You can't just hope that one day you're just going to magically feel more confident and be able to set better boundaries. That is hope with no action. You need tools to help you.

TOOLS: In my mind, if you don't have a binder or book and a pen to write things down, you are not learning strategically. Your tools are:

• The book you are reading and when you are reading it
• The course you are taking
• The practice (i.e. meditation, journaling) that you are doing that is scheduled into your calendar. 
• It might also be the person you connect with, a coach, mentor or guide. 

Curriculum mindset example # 2
Maybe you want to be able to maintain your composure during tough conversations. But remember, you are not going to become a more emotionally intelligent person by wishing it would happen,

You're certainly not going to become more emotionally intelligent by waiting for your boss to stop being such a jerk. That's not going to change you.

You have to become response-able!
Take responsibility by developing your curriculum mindset:
What do I need to learn, and how will I learn it?

GOAL:: Stay composed during tough conversations. 
PATH: Learn more about emotional intelligence and how to control my thoughts and emotions
TOOLS: Watch Kathy's webinar: Saying composed during those tough conversations is to increase your emotional intelligence.

When you create your learning curriculum, things start to change for you.
Your curriculum mindset will get you out of survival mode and moving towards THRIVING!!! 

⭐️MY CHALLENGE TO YOU⭐️

• Develop a curriculum mindset, 
• Create your own personal and professional learning plan,
• Get clear on what your goals are, what your plan is to get there. And then I want you to know what tools you're using.

YOUR QUESTION:
Kathy, How do I find the time to be the best leader I can be? 

• You have all of these wonderful courses and worksheets, but I struggled to fit it all in.
• What would you suggest I do to find the time to grow myself as a leader?

MY ANSWER BELOW:

What this question says about you:
First, I applaud you for the question 
What that tells me is that you have a desire to be your best self and that you recognize that there's room to grow. That's true for all of us. None of us is perfect. None of us will ever stop growing. 

What that also tells me is that you have a growth mindset. You are willing to put time and effort into growing and developing yourself to be your best self.

• The opposite of that would be a fixed mindset, which says; I'm stuck just as I am.With a fixed mindset, you believe that you can't change, grow or develop. That often leaves you feeling like a victim and acting like a martyr...Not fun!

Instead, you are choosing to be Response-Able...choosing to make a difference in your life — Bravo for you ​

Personal and professional development is your path to success in leadership and life! 

MY ANSWER
Now, how to find the time to do some of the work to grow and develop yourself.

3 places to create time to do the work necessary for growing and developing yourself as a leader

1️⃣ Make use of existing downtime
The best example is all of the times in your life when you are waiting! For example:

• Waiting for your kids to finish their extracurricular activity or while they are at the dentist. 
• Waiting for a meeting to start
• While on transit or driving

2️⃣ Look at current time wasters / time fillers 
Consider changing what you do during some of these times:

• What you could better do with the time you currently spend watching T.V. or scrolling through your favourite social media app.
• How many times do you go back and check the same email without responding?What if you set aside specific times for checking email and specific times for doing your personal development work?
• How much time are you complaining that you don't have time, rehashing what's not working for you and your team or shuffling piles on your desk?

What could you do to be proactive about creating time for growth and development with these time-wasters?

3️⃣ Carve out time
Find 15 minutes 4 times a week here in these spots (That's a whole hour each week!!)

1. Get up 15 minutes earlier one day to journal
2. Make time on a lunch break for 15 minutes of reading
3. Schedule 15 minutes in the evening to watch a video
4. Plan 15 minutes on the weekend to organize your notes, schedule time in for the following week and respond to a question in the online program.

Tada....
YOU just CREATED a whole hour each week to work on developing yourself!
?WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! ?

Personal and professional development is your path to success in leadership and life! 

Do this right now.
✅Schedule at least two 15 minutes into your next week to begin the work you need to be your best self!
You'll be thankful you did!

So, you want out of survival mode. You want to enjoy your job more. You want to feel that you have time to get to the meaningful work, not just the crisis of the day. And of course, you also want to enjoy the rest of your life.

What are you doing to get there?
What are you actively doing to move from survival or a place of tolerating, to that point where most days you feel like you are thriving?

In this blog, you'll learn the 3 things you MUST schedule into your daily agenda if you want to get out of survival mode and move to a place of thriving in both leadership and life!

I will not tell you it's easy to schedule these things in. It's not. It requires courage to stand up for yourself, your beliefs and desires. Become your best self by scheduling in self-care, self-reflection and self-improvement. It will be awkward and uncomfortable at times, but that's ok. We are not in a popularity contest. We are here to make a difference in the lives of others, in our families and communities. To do that, we need to be at our best. Please don't apologize for that!

Are you the type that doesn't set goals? Think again!
We all need goals. It is when we have goals and targets that we perform at our best. You know this simply by thinking about how good you are at getting something done at the "11th hour."

• If the funding proposal is due at 3 pm today, you will be nailing your productivity habits.
• If the wedding is 3 weeks away, you will have amazing healthy eating habits.
• If you just had a significant health scare, there is a good chance you'll bump up your habit of gratitude journaling.

And...Do you have a plan to go with your goal?
Targets and goals are critical, but your goals are dead in the water if you don't have a strategic plan for how you will achieve them.
If you don't know that you will head to the gym at 5:30 on Mon - Wed - Fri.,
how do you know you will fit into that dress?

You need an implementation plan...
When the clock strikes 5 pm, I will pack up my stuff, leave the office and head to the gym.


You need a strategy to help you implement your plan
An implementation plan is how you will establish the habit of working out...which performed consistently over time, regardless of your workload or how motivated you feel...is what will allow you to achieve your goal. It's the small daily habits that help you to achieve your goals.

It is the plan and your strategy that will allow you to establish those habits!


Do your goals include becoming a stronger leader?
If your goal is to become a stronger, more confident and capable leader, how will you achieve that goal?

• What will you need to do regularly to make that happen?
• What skills will you need to learn?
• What habits will you need to install?
• What resources (people, books, training, etc.) will you need to help you?

That's your strategic plan. Do you have one?

The book that will help you and me kick butt on our goals this year!
If you have been following my logic here, you realize that one of the things you need to focus on is building good habits. Habits are the bricks that when compounded over time allow you to achieve your goal.

• Going to the gym once doesn't help you be fit.
• Hitting the gym 3-5 times each week over the span of 3 months will.
• Reading a few pages in a book won't make you a more confident leader.
• Establishing the habit of skill development via reading 20 minutes per day will grow your competence and confidence.

You want to feel capable, credible and in control Confident & Competent! Yet some days you find yourself feeling fearful, flawed and foolish! 

​It’s time to get you going down the right path!  This week’s training will plant you firmly in front of the path to confidence and competent leadership!

Watch this video on YouTube

LINKS FROM TODAY’S SESSION
Grab this week’s Guide sheets:

• THE5 MISTAKES LADIES MAKE WHEN TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE
• The SURVIVING TO THRIVING CONTINUUM
  
• Create your THRIVING TARGET

Join the CONFIDENT WOMEN LEADERS COMMUNITY here:

Find MY BOOK -  Mastering Confidence: Discover your leadership potential by awakening your inner guidance system

• On AMAZON
• On Audible → 
• Listen to it on ITunes

When you get hit with something, your confidence can quickly take a deep dive. We get thrown off by a comment, email or event. If we aren’t careful, that doubt can begin to snowball leaving us feeling incompetent, incapable and like an imposter.
In this week’s Facebook Live, I am going to share a tool that can help you when you get knocked off kilter. It will help you to regain your footing and your confidence.

Watch the video on YouTube here
Listen to just theaudio on Soundcloud here

LINKS from today's session

• Join the CONFIDENT WOMEN LEADERS COMMUNITY here 

• Get today’s GUIDE SHEETS -  The Inner Guidance Cycle

• Get all of the FREE Mastering Confidence goodies

• Find MY BOOK -  Mastering Confidence: Discover your leadership potential by awakening your inner guidance system
  • On AMAZON 
  • Get my book FREE on Audible

​You want to enjoy leadership more, find you are making a greater difference, feel happier and more satisfied in life and rid yourself of a bit of the daily turmoil you feel. Doesn’t that pretty much sum up what most leaders are looking for? Perhaps you also want a little more love, a smaller waistline, and an increase in your bank account. That’s not a bad list of desires.
 
Striving for more is a good thing. Yes, we need to be grateful for what we have, but a healthy determination to continue to grow, figure out the next challenge and navigate our way to a greater sense of peace in work and life is really the essence of aging. 

​New insights lead to growth
Learning from our mistakes, failures, and setbacks as well as our achievements, wins and successes happen best when we gain new information that challenges our current way of thinking and behaving. The different material assists us to find fresh ways, adjust our actions or shift our mindsets to get improved results. At other times, the insights we gain affirm we are on the right path. One way to get new ideas to challenge your assumptions, perspectives, and values is to read.

But who has time to read?

Let’s boil it down to some basic truths about leadership, learning, and life.

The Audible Secret
I discovered Audible a few years ago when I was in a program that made reading the forefront. There was no way I could find the time to fit the required reading in. I downloaded the books to Audible and listened my way through them.

What I realized was that I’ve always listened to book. From the Steven Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People cassette tapes to the David Allen time management revolution Getting Things Done CD’s boxed set. I’ve been a listener for years and years. I used to borrow audio CD’s from the library to take them on business trips so I could drive and learn. Now, I still borrow some audiobooks from the library, but most often, I use Audible. I think you should too!
 
Let me tell you why you need an Audible account and how easy it is to use.

The Audible Story 
Here is what you need to know about Audible:

• ​Audible is an Amazon company that provides the audio version of books.
  • I recorded myself reading my book Mastering Confidence and published it on Audible. If you want a sneak peek of the first bit of the audio version of my book listen here.
• ​Audible is a monthly subscription service ($14.99/month) that allows you to listen to audiobooks at a highly discounted cost. Consider what any book would cost you to buy in the hardcopy version, most likely more than $15.
• Each month you are given one credit, which you can use to buy any item in their catalogue regardless of their respective cost, rating, or length.
• The membership fee is $14.99 Canadian each month.
• You can end your Audible subscription at any time.
• Your first book is free.

Need some ideas of what books to download? Grab this guide that I made for you with my 20 favourite leadership books to listen to.

There you have it. Grab your Audible membership today. Begin listening to leadership books to grow and develop yourself, a financial book to help you increase your bank account, healthy living authors who will share their wisdom about weight loss and of course, one particular leadership coach who gives you a system to Master your Confidence. That way, you will move from surviving to thriving in both your leadership and your life!

​Leadership could be summed up by saying personal growth.
​OMG, think of all the things you’ve learned since you started supervising, managing or leading. I’m not talking about spreadsheets, reports, and contracts. You have learned soooo much about yourself, what makes people tick, unwritten rules of meetings and when to speak and when to hold your tongue. 

The learning twist in leadership positions
​When you advance into a leadership position, you suddenly must understand more than the mechanics of the job. You are no longer concerned with the intricacies of frontline work. You now have to discover how to get people to work together, how to motivate them and how to navigate the ongoing drama between co-workers. Now that everyone’s eyes are always on you, you need to figure out how to be calm and composed even when you feel like freaking out, falling apart or running away.
 
That learning for you is all personal growth.
 
A different kind of learning is required
As you work to develop your leadership skills and competencies, much of what you are doing requires you to look inside of you.

• You must challenge your assumptions and beliefs.
• You need to get clear on your values.
• You must learn to change how you talk to others, the words you use and the attitude you have.
• You need to figure out how to understand and manage your own emotions and be aware of the moods and feelings of your team members. 

Phew! That’s a lot!
 
How to fit the learning in
The question is how the heck do you do that in the midst of your busy schedule? Most leaders don’t have the time or the luxury to go back to school in the middle of their career.
 
The truth is, the most effective, influential and successful leaders have added learning in by becoming voracious readers.

Yes, they read books. Lots of books.

​On a regular basis, you will find leaders reading on an airplane, in their office, before they go to bed or first thing in the morning. They put reading into their schedule and make it a part of their life. 

More about Audible Memberships
You are probably wondering what Audible is. Audible is an Amazon company that provides the audio version of books. Audible is a monthly subscription service that allows you to listen to audiobooks at a highly discounted cost. You can download books right to your phone, tablet, or computer.
 
Each month you’re given one credit, which you can use to buy any item in their catalog regardless of their respective cost, rating, or length. The membership costs you $14.99 Canadian each month. You can end your subscription at any time, so really there is no risk! And, your first book is free!
 
Learn More About AUDIBLE Here
 
What should you read?
To help you out I wanted to give you a sneak peek into my library. If you want to know what I’ve been reading and rereading grab this guide and get my 20 favorite leadership books. In it, you will find the Audible links to each of the books starting with my very first suggestion Mastering Confidence. When you use this link to Audible, you will get it for free!
 
You can also purchase books on iTunes. Here’s the Mastering Confidence Link to the iTunes version.
 
Leaders are Readers
Remember, leaders are learners. Most leaders find the best way to learn is by reading books. Leaders are readers. Figure out how to add minimally 10 minutes of reading to your days and see your leadership success, impact and enjoyment skyrocket!

​Get your first Audible book free here!

​What do you remember about the last conference or training event you attended. The food? The conversation? The entertainment?
 
What about the content?
•    What did you learn?
•    How much of that material did you retain?
•    How are you applying it now?

Good Course - Zero Retention
I’ve been to countless sessions over the years that were wonderful. They were chocked full of great information and ideas. I left thinking; “Wow! I can’t wait to put this into practice.”
 
I got back to the office the next day and dealt with the piles of emails that amassed while I was away. Then I moved onto the mini-emergencies that erupted over the few days I was absent. Finally, I attended to the day-to-day challenges of leading a team.
 
The stack of notes I took from the training sat on the side of my desk.

• A few weeks later the stack got moved to the file cabinet
• A few months later, it was forgotten.

 
I didn’t retain a great deal of the information, and I certainly didn’t apply much of it either.
 
The same could be said for books I’ve read. Many books, have gone in one ear and out the other.
 
Good Course - Tons of Retention
Contrary to those training events or books, I've received immense value from other courses I’ve taken, seminars I’ve participated in and books I’ve read. The difference is, I learn and retain the most when I studied the material. Even more was remembered when I studied in a learning community.
 
We need to study the material
Studied. You know, read, review, and then practice. Fail. Go back and review the content again. Do it over. Talk about it with someone. Try once more. Get some feedback. Notice some improvement. Teach it to someone else. Study.
 
I studied Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen.  I took notes from the book. I applied the suggestions. I re-read certain sections. I became a student of GTD. More than that, I talked about GTD with others GTD geeks. I created a learning community of my peers studying the GTD method. It was that shared connection that allowed me to strengthen my understanding and application of this profound time management philosophy. 
 
It is even more effective to study in a learning community
A learning community according to Wikipedia is a group of people who share common academic goals and attitudes and who meet semi-regularly to collaborate on classwork. That makes sense of course of those in school. But, it also makes sense for you now. Maybe even more so!
 
Your personal learning plan should include others
I am a firm advocate for creating your learning plan for your career and especially your leadership journey. As you identify the type of leader you want to be and work to develop yourself, you will need to learn. I strongly suggest finding a community to aid in that learning.
 
A learning community doesn't need to be formal.

• Yours may look like meeting with a mentor regularly.
• You could create a learning community with a few ladies that get together on a conference call once in a while to talk about a particular piece of content you are all studying.
• I have some clients who set up book clubs with a few of their peers.
• Others clients have joined online courses and participate in the Facebook leaning community.

 
The bottom line, is that learning communities enhance your learning. Here are 3 benefits of joining a Learning Community