Don't let fear hold you back

As I consider why I have not achieved some of the things I wanted to over the past year I realize that in most cases if not all, I have been dogged by fear. I either did not begin or gave up because of fear of failure, fear of what others would think or say, even fear of success and having to maintain a particular standard. Fear, fear, fear.

The interesting fact is though that in most cases my fear was the only real challenge and turned out to be quite unfounded. Fear is natural and in some cases necessary for self preservation. To fear therefore is human. How one handles fear is what is important. If not faced, fear could actually create problems and hold you back. Unbridled fear stifles creativity, makes you panic which often prevents critical thinking. Unbridled fear simply paralyses.

When I have confronted my fears and chosen to act despite them I have proven over and over that:

1. The "problem" really was not as huge as I had thought
2. I was quite capable of handling whatever I was dreading
3. It is quite o.k. to be afraid, greater men have been afraid. But it does not end there. I must act despite the fear. It requires courage to rise above fear and to act
4. Once I decide to act, I find the means to overcome and to succeed
5. A little encouragement from people whom you trust and who believe in you really helps
   

For example In my work at Growth Facilitators I was introduced to group facilitation as a profession in which one develops and utilizes facilitation skills, tools and techniques to effectively enable group work and decision making. Although I was trained by capable professional facilitators and understudied them, when the time came for me to certify as a professional facilitator I actually put it off for a full year because I was afraid. I did not think I was ready or that I could do it. I was just petrified.

I was all set to defer it for another year but my co-workers would have none of it. They reminded me of my accomplishments and capabilities and encouraged me to step up to the challenge. Sooooo last year I took the plunge. Was I afraid? YES! But I did it and I am now an internationally certified Facilitator.

Naturally, I still am challenged daily with being fearful, but as I journey through life and continue to learn to overcome fear, I encourage you to join me as I encourage myself and you to:

• Stop looking for the problems........ seek out the opportunities and see the glass as half full and not half empty
• Believe in yourself - you either have the capability or can get it
• Don't be too hard on yourself. Accept your fear. If you succumb to it, forgive yourself. Be hopeful and remember that "God's mercies never come to an end but are new every morning". Move right on to your next challenge.
• Surround yourself with people whom you trust and who believe in you
• Do what you have to do - ACT!!!

God's richest blessings

The best year ever

The best year ever

We recently conducted a poll on this blog, the results of which are below:

What's your outlook for your business for 2009?

Best year ever - 53%
Similar to 2008 - 15%
Somewhat worse than 2008 - 23%
Catastrophic - 7%

As the eternal optimists, we at Growth Facilitators are happy to see that over 50% of those who responded agreed with the GF team that 2009 will be the best year ever for their organization. I wondered about this level of optimism - is it blind faith and hope, denial of reality, ostrich head in the sand type of thinking that simply deludes us into believing this? Or is there something more at work here that is giving us this hopeful energy?

I received an insight last night in an e-mail from a treasured client (and all our clients are treasured and loved by Growth Facilitators). In her e-mail my client was updating me on the steps they have taken over the past two months to deal with the economic crisis. They have reorganized, released some people, cut unnecessary expenses. In short, they have taken the steps to streamline their business that they know they should have taken, but were able to delay and procrastinate about, the "good times" being a great mask for taking action. When business is thriving and revenues are growing, it's so easy to say "tomorrow". What the current crisis is forcing us to say is "NOW"!

What I observe from my client’s e-mail is that taking the action was a lot easier than they thought it would be, and has proceeded relatively smoothly, with results far sooner than they expected. Also with some unexpected results - my client noted that "The conversation at meetings has really become more productive" and "Interestingly we've never had such a smooth running Christmas before". No wonder she started her e-mail with "It will be a wonderful New Year".

And that’s the real truth of the matter - whatever we declare 2009 to be, it will be. If we declare that 2009 will be the best year ever for our organizations, we will take decisions and actions that are in line with this. If we believe that 2009 will be catastrophic for our organizationa, we will take decisions are actions that are in line with this.

In Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2, Shakespeare wrote:

Hamlet: What have you, my good friends, deserv'd at the hands of Fortune, that she sends you to prison hither?

Guildenstern: Prison, my lord?

Hamlet: Denmark's a prison.

Rosencrantz: Then is the world one.

Hamlet: A goodly one, in which there are many confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one o' th' worst.

Rosencrantz: We think not so, my lord.

Hamlet: Why then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.

We can decide right now what 2009 will be - and what it will be has nothing to do with the external environment, and everything to with the "thinking that makes it so".

Losing your cool

I lost my cool today. I was two minutes away from a knock down, fist down, smack down, drag out, stone-throwing, hair pulling brawl in the parking lot where my office is located. After giving a woman a great serving of a piece of my mind, I stormed back to my office. Upon seeing me seething, hyperventilating, ready to turn green, rip my clothes off and transform into the incredible hulk, my colleagues approached me with concern, fright and trepidation, wondering what had gone wrong since they last saw me two minutes ago.Between gasps for air, I relayed my story twice (not once – twice), re-iterating that “that woman has a nerve!” Then something happened that stopped me in my tracks. Marguerite burst out laughing! Her infectious laughter eventually got everyone (including me) laughing. Then it occurred to me – I choose how to react to ANY and EVERY situation that I am faced with. Today I chose an unconscious response – to let that woman have it! Quite frankly it would have been easier for me to laugh at the situation as it unfolded at the time. The effort that it took for me to get so worked up was overwhelming. I actually felt tired after I calmed down.While I work on living consciously and in the moment, I acknowledge that I selected the wrong response today. I will not beat or chastise myself for my actions today. I just acknowledge that it happened and move on, for as I spend time chastising myself, I will miss a whole other experience that is likely to bring me joy and laughter in the present.

That Little Voice

I have been chasing the cold/flu away at home for the past 2 days.....my main weapon is nasal saline drops. Just last night, I looked at the bottle, which is the same as my cosmetic olive oil bottle almost beside it, except labelled, and That Little Voice told me to move one or the other to prevent accidental use. Well, this morning, I barely caught this accident before it was to happen - olive oil instead of saline drops!

And it caused me to think - how many times personally and professionally do we ignore That Little Voice and perhaps have accidents or miss opportunities?

This is a new year - it is time to listen to our inner selves in everything we do....heed That Little Voice and stay tuned in!

Personal goals - at work

The Growth Facilitators team had a wonderful session yesterday expertly designed and facilitated by Camille. The objective of our 3 hour workshop was to develop our personal objectives for the year. Camille took us through a process of identifying what we wanted to achieve in five areas:
1. Health and fitness
2. Money
3. Professional
4. Relationships
5. Me!

We each experienced various levels of difficulty doing the exercises, but the challenges and the sharing brought forth many insights. We all left the workshop "fired up" (to quote Robert).

Now, you may ask, what do our personal objectives have to do with Growth Facilitators' performance? Answer? EVERYTHING! For when we are achieving, fulfilled and satisfied in our "personal" lives, we are much, much more productive and effective when carrying out Growth Facilitators' work.

For example, facilitation is a physically taxing activity. Doing a one-day workshop means that we are literally on our feet for the entire day. We rarely sit, and are constantly walking around, taking care of the needs of the entire group. We would have been up very early in the morning, for we have to be at the venue at least one hour prior to the start of the workshop. And at the end, when our clients have left, we have at least another hour of packing up and documenting notes. A one-day workshop represents ten to twelve committed hours of physical work on the day - not to mention of course all the preparation that went into the workshop in the days prior. So, it is very important that the Growth Facilitators team be healthy and fit. It is hard to keep our workshop participants' energy up if ours is flagging because we are sick, unfit or burned out.
The other question you may pose to us is why do this exercise together, for aren't our personal objectives our business and no-one else's? There was a wonderful energy of love and support in the workshop. We were not pressured to share our objectives, but some of us did. We also felt empowered to ask for the help and support of the team. For example, most of us set objectives around eating more healthily or losing weight. Critical to our achieving this is the support of Elaine, who stocks our kitchen. "No cookies please Elaine", we asked as she headed out to the supermarket.

So powerful was this workshop for us individually and as a team, that we have decided to offer it to our clients. We feel sure that your team members will benefit from the focus, support and the energy of the team, and that these benefits will undoubtedly result in much improved organizational performance.

Realigning Government to achieve the 2030 Vision

There have been numerous voices calling for Prime Minister Bruce Golding to reshuffle his Cabinet in the New Year. Most, if not all, of these calls have been in the context of real or perceived poor performance by several Ministers. There is an old adage which says that organizations should not be designed to fit persons; rather that persons must fit within organizations. I would like to take a different approach therefore and recommend how the Prime Minister needs to realign the Government Ministries to better support the achievement of the 2030 Vision of Jamaica being the best place to live, work, raise a family and do business.

Why does Government Exist?
There have been many theories put forward over the years on the purpose and role of Government. There has also been much confusion within our own administrations on the role and purpose of Government. At the 2003 Government/Private Sector Summit at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, then PM Patterson had no definitive answer to PSOJ President Peter Moses when the latter asked the former to clarify the role of Government. At the recent Productivity Conference, current PM Golding said that if 1,000 public sector employees were asked about the roles and purposes of their respective organizations, chances are that very few identical responses would be forthcoming. The best definition that I have seen is that crafted by Thomas Jefferson et al and included in the United States constitution. It reads in part “…all men were created equally and were endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights – the right to life; the right to liberty and the right to the pursuit of happiness. It is in order to secure these rights that governments were created among men.” If we indeed accept this fundamental definition, then Government is really the premier human rights organization in Jamaica.

Translating Government Purpose to Broad Functions
We can then break down the securing of rights into various broad functions as follows:

1. Right to Life may be protected by effectively ensuring safety and security of every individual through the provision of external defence of the country and locally the protection of life and property

2. Right to Liberty may be protected by ensuring that Justice is administered effectively, efficiently and without any bias; and that human development opportunities are available and accessible to each and everyone

3. Right to the pursuit of happiness may be protected by the provision of An Enabling Economic Environment; Supportive Physical Infrastructure and Effective Sectoral Facilitation and Support.


Recomended Ministry Structure to undertake Broad Government Functions
In order to better align it to support the achievement of the 2030 Vision; Government must stick to its policymaking and regulating functions while providing facilitating and supporting services to organizations and individuals. Also, to set the tone for focus and efficiency in the entire public sector, I recommend the following Ministries:

1. Office of the Prime Minister – to include Planning, Development, Information & the Public Service

Safety and Security
2. National Security and Defence

Administration of Justice
3. Justice

Human Development
4. Health
5. Education, Youth, Culture
6. Labour and Social Security

Physical Infrastructure
7. Transportation and Works
8. Energy and Telecommunications
9. Water, Housing and Environment

Enabling Economic Environment
10. Finance
11. Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Investment

Sectoral Facilitation and Support
12. Tourism, Entertainment and Sports
13. Agriculture
14. Industry, Mining and Commerce


Assigning Ministerial Portfolios
The Prime Minister has, in addition to himself as per conventional wisdom, 31 other members of Parliament and 13 Senators from which to choose his Cabinet. The usual approach when a particular Minister is not performing is to transfer said person to a different portfolio; however its highly unlikely that such an underperforming Minister will fare better elsewhere. My personal belief is that underperforming Ministers need to return to the bank benches in the relevant house.

While I wanted to refrain from recommending Ministers for various posts, the fact is that our number one problem in Jamaica is crime; and while its long term solution is multi-faceted; short term solutions must emanate from the Ministry of National Security. We have tried Derrick Smith, Trevor McMillan and, for a short acting period, Dwight Nelson. None of the three have distinguished themselves with the Colonel being the most disappointing. Some commentators are calling for the Prime Minister to handle the portfolio while others are suggesting that Mayor McKenzie be placed in the Senate and given the job. I personally believe that the Prime Minister needs to think and act outside the box as tough times need tough decisions, and offer the Ministry to former Minister Peter Phillips. The Prime Minister must follow the lead of President-Elect Obama’s who has asked President Bush’s Defense Secretary Gates to continue. This would be a huge test of tolerance on both sides of the political divide. They are both asking the citizens to join hands, let them take the lead.

Copyright @ 2009 by Robert C. Wynter

2009 – A new year to renew and refresh self

As the clocked ticked over from 2008 to 2009 last night, I saw the joy on person’s faces around me and on the television. I saw the fireworks from the waterfront afar and from various places around Kingston. I asked myself what is the celebration all about? Are we happy to see the end of 2008 or are we happy to see the beginning of 2009? In speaking to several persons, the majority response is that we should celebrate the completion of another year and hope for things to get better in the New Year. I turned and asked someone: “When was the last time we gave thanks for a great year. He replied: “not that I can remember - we are always dying for the year to finish and hoping for improvements in the New Year.


I guess this is where I have a problem. We drift through life, doing the same thing year in, year out and expect that miraculously a new calendar year is going to be different. Many some persons who make resolutions abandon the promises they make to themselves, because they concentrate on doing something in the New Year. What is required is for us to renew and refresh ourselves. What junk (physical, mental and emotional) in our lives do we need to shed? What is preventing us from really making things happen for us in the New Year? Let us therefore not depend on the change in the calendar but rather depend on the change in ourselves. Let us start with one aspect. Let us find someway to say something appreciative to at least one person each and everyday. Remember also that in all things and at all times let us give thanks to our Creator who gave us life!