Foundations for a Better Future
Posted on July 28, 2013 by Thomas Garrod, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
A general guide to a better future. And an introduction to the KeelWorks Foundation.
I’ve spent many years consulting for business, I’ve also spent years counseling people. One piece of learning stands out more than all the rest: dependency is the most debilitating disability.
Over the past five years I’ve worked to develop a program address change. That program will be free, and it won’t involve counseling – as you know it. I’m not certain that one-on-one counseling helps, and when I do it, it is short sessions. But I’m not writing to tell about me or the KeelWorks Foundation (entirely). I want you to know the foundations of change and personal success.
Change starts with self-definition. Who are you? You can begin to answer this by identifying your heroes and what about them makes them your heroes. List what you believe and even more important, what you value; this is who you are.
Sometimes what we think we believe and value are not what we really believe and value. How can you tell? Watch your behavior. If it isn’t consistent with what you claim to value, then you are fooling yourself. You can change what you believe or value. These are part gut, but they are definitely a matter of choice. You have to change one or the other, behavior or beliefs/values; get them on the same page. That is an important, but challenging start.
The the other key to life success is competence. And the core competencies, as I see them are two meta skills: team-building and self-management. Team building involves: trust building, communication, assertiveness, and conflict resolution. Self management includes: problem-solving, personal project management, personal learning strategy (everyone needs this), critical thinking, and goals management.
Together, these form emotional intelligence (EI). EI is the selector for success and happiness; if you have EI, you’ll have success and happiness.
Gain these competencies and the world will be your oyster. You’ll need to add career and academic competencies, but with the components of EI, the rest will come more easily.
The KeelWorks foundation isn’t just about teaching, it is also about long-term peer group support and independence/interdependence. We hope to launch a first program as soon as we have a willing beta group. If you want to speed it along volunteer (it is an all volunteer foundation).
I hope this information helps. It is what I tell my clients.
