Are you resisting the hero’s journey?

Our life is one huge journey, made up of a series of smaller journeys.  The choice for all of us is whether we see ourselves as the hero or the observer.  The role we choose to take determines our success in life, and by success I mean our ability to handle life and come out on top.

The hero’s journey is a map that can guide us as we negotiate our way through life and all it’s challenges and opportunities for growth.  It is the universal story of human development and if it didn’t work so well, we wouldn’t have a film industry, tv or best selling books.  What’s more for many of us that’s the only medium through which we learn about the hero’s journey, as a passive construct, rather than understanding it in a practical and personal context.

I’ve been working with and teaching the hero’s journey for many years now and I’ve been persuaded (ok it didn’t take much), by Chris Cooper of Be More Achieve More to share more of what I know with his clients on a teleseminar on the 27th July.  So you’re also invited too.  

During the call I’ll be answering questions like:-

- What is the Heroes Journey?

- How can it help us in a personal and a business context?

- What are the signs we’re resisting taking the journey and what are the implications?

 - What resources do we have access to that can help us through our journey?

 Plus there will be time for you to ask me your questions.

I’m currently teaching several coaches to use this in their work, here’s what one of them recently sent to me after her last coaching session “Just wanted to say a huge thank you , you are simply amazing and I can’t thank you enough for the insight you have given me.” 

 I do know what a difference understanding the hero’s journey has on life and so I hope you’ll join Chris and I on the 27th July at 8pm.  To register fill in the form below

Building Trust in the Workplace – Authentic Leadership Master Class

Trust is a critical component to the success and performance of leaders and of a business.

There is a very simple equation:-

High Trust = High Speed + Low Cost

Low Trust = Slow Speed + High Costs

Look at the performance of your business, team, a specific relationship. Do things happen quickly or is everyone second guessing, double checking, re-doing and in the worst case preparing to cover and protect themselves should something go wrong?

Trust is a multiplier effect.  High trust people get the significant projects; you wouldn’t leave your child with someone you didn’t trust and a business makes no different decisions.

• High trust people get promoted and receive more of the company’s resources.
• Collaboration, engagement, innovation, job fulfilment all increase when there is trust.
• The ability to attract and retain talent increases where there is trust.
• Revenue, customer loyalty and referrals also increase if there is trust.

In fact research shows that high trust organisations out perform low trust ones by 278%

On April 15th at 4pm I’ll be interviewing Sue Swanborough, HR Director at General Mills UK, a company that yearly features in the Fortune Top 100 companies to work for.  Sue is an expert in trust and its impact and application throughout the business, from board level to shop floor.  The results of this have been evident in the business results achieved.

In the past Sue, a science graduate has worked in a number of fmcg businesses including Boots, Mars and most recently General Mills. She has moved cross functionally through R&D, supply chain, logistics and manufacturing before joining HR. She has held a number of generalist and specialist roles covering the full spectrum of HR. Her passion and expertise lies in cultural and leadership development through building trust to deliver excellent business results.

On this 75 minute tele conference call we’ll be discussing:-

• The impact trust has on the performance of a business
• What leaders need to pay attention to
• The top 3 mistakes leaders make and how this endangers the levels of trust they have
• Key strategies to build trust – whatever the size of your business
• Plus we’ll open the lines so you can ask your questions direct, as well as giving you the opportunity to send in your questions beforehand.

To secure your place and get a hard copy of the call, including transcript, follow this link – building trust

Authentic Leadership Development – Using archetypes to improve your emotional intelligence

Ruler seeks Magician to help restore the kingdom

Jester seeks Creator to get right outside the box

Damsel in distress seeks knight, must have own horse.

The examples at the beginning may seem like strange lonely heart ads, but they’re universal patterns that we function around.

Take great movies like ET, Harry Potter, Pretty Woman, Cinderella, and those up for Oscars this year like Avatar.  Each is so powerful and successful because the characters embody a clear archetype and the story line is one we’re familiar with.  King Arthur needs his Merlin for Camelot to be healthy

An Archetype then is a root word that encodes a complete pattern.  If I said his leadership style is little Hitler you know exactly what I mean.

A picture may paint a thousand words, but archetypes convey everything in the word.  Archetypes carry the seed and energy in a universal language.  What’s so powerful is that you respond at a deep unconscious level and either the archetype draws you in or you pull away quickly.

Within business we’re also running our personal archetypal patterns.

The thing about archetypes is that over time we develop our favourites, and we have those that we out and out reject.  Yet all have their place and purpose.  I remember when I first worked with my archetypes.  My destroyer had in the past done just that, destroyed, so when I really needed to let go of things that no longer served a purpose I didn’t, I hung on, and hung on, and then experienced situations where ‘the baby went out with the bath water’.  My experiences with that archetype hadn’t been pleasant, so when it was required, it ran me rather than me using it.  Not good, and even less so as a leader.  We can do all the Emotional Intelligence stuff in the world, but trust me when I say that Archetypes run much deeper, so if you haven’t got a handle on them then you can only go so far.  Now of course things are different, I can sense when the destroyer is required, so I pay attention, what do I need to let go of  – it could be something physical, like a good office tidy up, it could be mental, like a belief, it could be emotional, maybe I’m not being true to how I feel and I’ve been ignoring myself.  When I know what it is I can work with it, and the destroyer is an Allie.  I also appear way more Emotionally Intelligent – and I am, because I’m paying attention to signals from the core of who am I.

Archetypes then are free powerful resources with a specific purpose, if you’re not aware of them, then they run you, when you are aware of them then you can use them.

As a leader your success – and ability to run a productive business with a  highly engaged workforce – is determined by your level of self awareness.  If you’re ready to take huge leaps forward then join me in April where I’ll be helping 12 leaders understand their archetypal patterns, access these phenomenally powerful resources and use them productively.  You can find more information here on our Archetypal leadership development course or contact us to secure your place.

Leadership Development 2010 – You, Your Values & The Company’s Culture

The culture of your organisation is fundamental to business growth, especially if you’re wondering how to get the best from your people and increase your organisations’ performance.

As leader’s we need to be aware both of our presence and the wake we leave behind, these are powerful forces that impact our ability to encourage our staff to live the company’s values.

We might ask our employees for Creativity, Commitment or Integrity, but they have to choose to give them.  They’re not skills but intrinsic traits which we can only encourage to be expressed.

Join us on this 1 day workshop to discover your personal fit with your organisation’s current and desired culture and learn about the common barriers to business growth and cultural transformation.

What will I learn?

You will complete your own Individual Values Assessment before the day and we’ll take you through what the results mean.   Looking at what it means to you, your leadership, the current and desired culture of the organisation.  You’ll have a cleared idea of what’s important to you and what’s required of your leadership in 2010.

You’ll also learn the common barriers to business growth, the cost and symptoms of these and the 4 steps you can take to avoid them.

Plus we’ll share with you some aspects of best practice in the role values play in business performance and releasing human potential.  There will also be the opportunity to learn from your peers as you share your experiences and insights.  The event has been designed to be interactive, informative and experiential.

Who is this designed for?

This day is aimed at CEO’s, MD’s, FD’s and HRD’s who want to improve the performance of their organisation and create a profitable and healthy culture.

Date, Location, Investment

4^th February 2010

Manchester, venue to be confirmed

8:30 Registration and coffee

9:00 – 16:00 Event

Your investment for this event including all materials, lunch and refreshments is £247+ VAT.  Places must be booked before 31^st December to allow sufficient time for you to complete your Individual Values Assessment and for the results to be processed.

To book or find out more contact us now.

Leadership Challenges – How Values Impact The Bottom Line

Event for NW Business Leaders

Leadership Challenges As We Emerge From The Recession – How your values impact the bottom line

If you’re a CEO, MD, HRD or FD based in the North West of England and you’re seeking any of the following in your organisation :-

-          A breakthrough in the performance of your organisation

-          Want to understand the magnitude of corporate culture

-          Look to tap in to the energy and commitment from your people

-          Wonder if there is another way of leading – for yourself and the business

Then you might want to attend this event being held in the center of Manchester on the 17th November.

Never before has it been so important for the Board of Directors to identify, manage and embed the desired culture and values in their working environments and never before has there been so much emphasis in place to encourage organisations to do so.

This year Maurice Summerson has been leading a team, with Phil Clothier CEO of the global Barrett Values Centre, working with NW regional business, NWDA, IoD, NWEO and other regional stakeholders. Key intentions of the programme are to create a values based, whole systems change framework to support the NW economy and wellbeing of citizens through both public and private sectors. This project team has brought significant regional, national and global capability, experience and advocacy, already resulting in the embedding of relevant values in the emerging Regional Strategy 2010 from NWDA.

You are invited to join us on this complimentary half day event to learn about:-

-          The new principles of business that are generating sustainability, resilience and shareholder value.

-          What some of your key values are and how they impact your leadership.

-          The results of the North West Values Survey.  Conducted this year it reveals the challenges and potential opportunities for both Companies and the region as a society to grow stronger.

-          Plus you’ll hear from two Directors in the North West who have seen their business grow in size and profitability through the conscious application of values and an understanding of their culture.

Here is full information – Values 17th Nov 2009 – and we hope you can join us.  To secure your place call 0845 123 1280 or email angela@bluepeapod.com.  If you can’t make the event but would like to receive our white paper also call us.

Due to space limitations please RSVP by the 30^th October.

Self Image = Results

Your self image is determining your results.  Now maybe you’ve never seen your identity as directly linked to the results you’ve achieved or will go on to achieve.  In essence we can’t outperform our sense of self.  Well you can but only for a short while and then, like an elastic band, it snaps back to where it knows.

You’ve no doubt heard people say “act as if”, or ” you have to be it before you can receive it”.  We see this commonly in the workplace when people are doing a role before they get the promotion.

Self esteem, self confidence, results, success, resilience, adaptability are all tied up to self image / identity.

Any time you say “i am…” you’re making a statement about your identity.

Now most of us talk a lot but don’t really pay 100% attention to what we’re saying.   Your identity is unconsciously running you.

This autumn you can change all that.  You could decide you’re going to understand the power of self image and identity, and work on making sure yours is working for you, not against you.  Join me on my 8 week study group, we’re doing this by phone so it’s really easy to join in.  You can get the full details here.

The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey – well we’re all on one, although we usually call it life.  Yet within our life we have multiple chapters or mini hero’s journey’s.  And for that matter so does an organisation.

Who am I and why am I here, are two questions we are in a permanent dance with.

Who are we and why are we here, are the two questions any team or organisation is in a permanent dance with.

Our sense of ‘Identity’ is fundamental to achieving what we want.  Without knowing what fulfils us or gives us a sense of meaning we are empty / frustrated, living a life of stress that was never meant to be.

To quote Joseph Campbell “when you follow your bliss doors will open that could only open for you.”

In other words when you are being true to yourself and doing what you’re really meant to do, then true wealth and success will be yours.

On the 4^th June I’ll share with you the hero’s journey and the 12 keys to success.  Best of all, it’s all on a complimentary one-time teleseminar that’s my gift to you, and one that’s also a content-rich preview to my upcoming Archetypal Leadership Event.

Each and every one of us is on our own unique hero’s journey
And most of us are doing it totally blind.

I can honestly say that once I learnt about the Hero’s Journey and Archetypes my current circumstances suddenly made a whole lot of sense.  Rather like a game of Ker Plunk, a lot of marbles dropped at once.

This is material I share with my private coaching clients, and amongst other things it helps them with their decision making.

In this 75 minute teleseminar you will learn:-

-         What the hero’s journey is.

-         What are the 4 phases, and which one are you in right now.

-         What are the 12 keys.

-         How the hero’s journey inter-twines with successful goal achievement.

-         How understanding the hero’s journey brings a sense of stability even in times of chaos or uncertainty.

If you’ve been looking to create more success in your life this call is for you.

To register for the Hero’s Journey tele-seminar click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Getting a job that matters to you

Wow, I’m still on a high after Friday.  The event “Getting a Job with Meaning” was a huge success, with everyone discovering useful insights and feeling more confident than ever about themselves.  Which in the current climate is a great asset.  I got to share my views on job fulfillment and walk my talk, because I was experiencing it as I was teaching it.  Plus filming and recording went really well and the product should be ready to go by mid October.

Thank you to everyone involved, especially the attendees – you were amazing.

From Apprentice to Entrepeneur

On the 14th May I’m giving a talk for the Chartered Management Institute, where I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Entrepreneurship.  It’s at the Ramada hotel in Chester and begins at 18:30.   Here’s the abstract and contact information.

‘Who you are and what you stand for are just as important as what you sell’

Want to be more creative, more productive, increase your motivation and build strong relationships?

During times of uncertainty or rapid change, to have a strong sense of self provides core stability, which guides us in making the right decisions.

Business Owner, International coach and mentor Ruth Sanderson will be presenting ‘From Apprentice to Entrepreneur’ on 14th May 2008 at the Ramada Hotel in Chester (6.30 p.m. start).

Entrepreneurs have a mindset that’s totally different to an employed or self-employed person, however many people don’t make the leap because they are seeking new results but with the old mindset. 

Forward thinking Leaders of Business are now taking a closer look at their leadership style and corporate culture, knowing it’s these that hold the key to success and longevity.

Ruth’s talk will explore these principles and you will leave with some thought provoking ideas on the impact your mental approach to business, combined with your leadership will have on future business success.

Ruth has a global client base, specialises in the ‘hot topic’ areas of cultural transformation, leadership development and personal communication, and is one of the few certified practitioners of Archetypal Applications. 

This will be a fabulous evening, and we are expecting heavy demand for tickets, to book your place email salmoore3@tiscali.co.uk or call David Jamieson on 01244 368 748 with any queries.

Hope to see you there….