Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

January Grab Bag

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Here’s a grab bag of what’s crossed my desk, mind, & facebook feed this month:

If you are interested in self-development or in the business of developing others, Albert Bandura is someone to know. He was recently awarded the National Medal of Science for his work. Bandura pioneered the idea of self-efficacy, which refers to a person’s belief that they can succeed, accomplish what they set out to do, and reach their goals. People who possess the knowledge and skills to be successful may not believe they can actually do it. If this is the case, the lack of self-efficacy should be addressed first. Coaching can help people with this through an examination of limiting beliefs and thoughts, although the term self-efficacy isn’t thrown around too much in the coaching world. Some of Bandura’s other research on social learning theory is the basis of what I know and believe about behavior modeling which I wrote about last month.

At yesterday’s ATD Baton Rouge meeting, the speaker reminded us that talent retention continues to be critical for organizations. It is more challenging than ever in the always changing employment environment. The expectation of lifetime employment is rare. One of the newest twists is that doesn’t really bother most people in the workforce today because of easy access to job information and the ability to connect directly to employers with just a few keystrokes. Now more that ever, ‘we are the masters of our fate, we are the captains of our careers’. (trying here to reference Invictus if it’s not clear)

Just enjoyed a wonderful lunch with a group from my Women in Transition meetup. I started my meetup twenty-five months ago and have met some of the coolest people that I likely would never have known otherwise. Today’s lunch reminded me of the importance of connecting with others. I always recommend to career clients that they get out, network, and meet people outside their usual orbit because that’s a way to find great opportunities. I know someone who found a fantastic job because she chatted with a stranger at the dumpster of her apartment complex. Meetup.com is just one source for events. Others include the local library, churches, arts councils, volunteering, and newspaper planning calendars.

Finally, an important post from Patti Digh about her experience in an emergency room when having a heart attack. Know the signs of heart disease in women and don’t dismiss them in yourself or in others.

What has crossed your mind lately? Comment below.

About Watching Others and Others Watching Us

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CSC_001111Just because a bigshot or prominent organization does something, doesn’t make it right. Evaluate actions you hear and read about against your values. I say this because behavior modeling is one of the most fundamental ways that humans learn and it includes modeling both positive and negative behaviors. If you’ve ever let a bad word slip in front of a toddler, you know this to be true.

When you observe those in leadership positions and/or institutions doing despicable things, don’t be influenced to behave in similar ways. And leaders, do you want your people doing what you are doing? Because they are watching and they will. I’ve written about behavior modeling previously here and here.

One of the Secrets of Adulthood in Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project is that ‘people don’t notice your mistakes as much as you think’. On a recent Super Soul Sunday she discussed this with Oprah who said that Quincy Jones once told her (something like) “if you knew how little people are thinking about you, you wouldn’t be so bothered by stuff.” I find that oddly comforting. Gretchen Rubin was part of an earlier post here.

Came across this one about the changing environment of content marketing. Do you wonder if anyone is watching your online actions? Change is the only constant these days, especially in our million billion-stats world.

Who and what have you been watching lately? Would love to know your thoughts. Comment below.

Grateful for Potholes

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potholeA few weeks ago my friend Cheryl directed me the back way through New Orleans from Napoleon and St. Charles to City Park. The streets are undergoing infrastructure work in addition to the normal bumps and potholes that happen when you exist below sea level. Cheryl happily told me anything above 30 miles an hour just isn’t possible. It was wonderful to slow down and enjoy a beautiful drive with a friend.

Thank you potholes.

How often do we curse the potholes or anything that prevents us going top speed? Maybe hindrances are a message -> potholes = slow down. I had my first inkling of this during the weeks leading up to my husband’s total hip replacement. I was racing around town like a maniac taking care of any and everything prior to surgery. Over and over I found myself behind the slowest driver or suddenly being cut off by some car – constant delays to my progress.

It took me awhile to see that the universe was sending me the message to slow down. But I did; so I did.

Consider two thoughts from Omid Safi’s insightfully aware essay on being busy:

  • “When did we forget that we are human beings, not human doings?” &
  • “This disease of being “busy” (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and well-being. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.”

T-rue.

This holiday I am attempting to be mindful, to enjoy each day, and also to be consciously thankful for everything and everyone in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving! So thankful that you read this one.

How does busy-ness affect your life and work? Comment below.

The River, Change, Growth, and Work

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IMG_3279Welcome to the latest incarnation of my business website! Over the years my site has had a variety of looks but this is my favorite so far and I am excited and proud to share it with the world.

The header photo on the home page is the Mississippi River viewed from downtown Baton Rouge. The photo in this post is the river in New Orleans. Most of my life has been spent close to rivers. Our home in Baton Rouge is two miles from and our New Orleans condo is two-thousand feet from the mighty Mississippi. I love to be near a river, maybe because it’s such a metaphor for change, growth, and work.

Martha Beck explains it eloquently – “rivers exemplify the change that fills our lives. Every molecule of water moves continuously; its relationship to other molecules, to objects in the river, to the land it passes is always changing. You can stare at a spot on the river all day and never see anything stable. That’s why rivers are fresh and alive, rather than stagnant and stale. Though everything in the river passes away, the river itself remains constant, and it is constantly beautiful.”

Think about the work of managers and leaders – problems faced early in a career are usually very different from challenges down the road. Or the evolution of any career – during which the individual is both the same person they’ve always been but constantly changing.

Interesting river tidbit: when entering the Mississippi River system from the gulf, oceangoing ships are required to take a pilot on board. River pilots guide ships from the Gulf of Mexico into the mouth of the Mississippi and upriver to New Orleans and Baton Rouge. A few years back on a cruise, near the mouth of the river, we watched a pilot boat pull alongside our ship and the pilot jumped from the boat into an open door in the side the ship – a tricky maneuver indeed. It is an exclusive and fascinating profession and necessary because of the always changing features of the mighty Mississippi.

Is your career or work as a leader any less complex than the river? What I do is provide individuals and organizations with tools and support to diagnose, analyze, and deal with change through growth. Because in the world of work, change is the constant.