Have You Unleashed Your Creative Genius?

In a year where the grim reaper appears to be working a little too hard for my liking, we yet again experience a huge loss from the world of entertainment in the form of Prince’s passing last Thursday.

Isn’t it a wonderful testament that out of all the many Princes still alive in the world today, that you know exactly who I am referring to?

This may seem somewhat weird to many people reading this post as to why I have decided to write about a deceased artists and musician but please do read on to find out.

Prince Rogers Nelson is the full name that very few would be able to relate to being the same person and as we all know; he went on to have many names but what Prince managed to achieve throughout his lustrous career was to not lose focus on what he was aiming to achieve.

Despite being faced with numerous challenges and hurdles, he never lost belief in himself. Even when he was going through stormy waters with his record label Warner Bros, a rebellious side to his character kicked in and spurred him forward at a far greater momentum. The array of name changes was all part of his strategy that was not overly obvious to the wider audience at the time.

Some would describe him as being prolific and at times quite erratic but the evidence of his success is there for all to see. Seven time Grammy Award winner selling over 100 million records, makes him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

No matter what name he was going under at the time, it is safe to say that he touched each and every one of us with his musical talent and flamboyancy at some stage of our lives.

A big part of my work today is helping individuals just like you look inward to identify the genius that lies within and by building on self-belief and taking measurable actions, unleash the inner beast and find fulfilment in areas that you had either forgotten about or never thought were possible.

One of my clients is currently a successful Petroleum Engineer but through our work we are gaining pace at transforming a hobby as a landscape photographer in to something else. Within a few short months we have seen his photographs being recognized by a multinational corporate photography brand and his work being used across multiple regions.

He like Prince, has a unique talent now backed with self-belief, and is now starting to share that with the world.

If you need help in identifying your creative genius that is just waiting to break through, get in touch and let’s see where we can take you.

R.I.P Prince – thank you for your wonderful contributions

Which Shoulder Calls Your Leadership Shots?

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear about some of the antics that happen in the workplace.

When it comes to managing your people it takes a certain “Je ne sais quoi ” that many simply do not and will probably never possess and in terms of Leadership? forget it!

Just yesterday a classic case was brought to my attention where Julie, a dedicated employee of the company for just under 4 years, was standing next to her boss in the client free reception area when her phone rang. Julie reached in to her pocket to busy the call and continued with what she was doing. Did Julie’s boss have an issue with this? apparently not as she didn’t respond nor comment.

4 minutes later however the game changed and Julie realised that her boss did in fact have an issue with the phone ringing as Julie (and all staff) received an email stating (without too much of a preamble either) that “Mobile Phones Are NOT To Be Used During Working Hours”

I would urge you to reserve judgement on this act of passive aggression just for a moment and let’s take a look at one of the stories doing the rounds in the news today where a survey of 2,000 workers by jobs site Monster.co.uk has shown that more than one in four workers has taken time off this year because of their boss.

One in eight say they’ve been bullied by senior members of staff, while a similar number have admitted to being scared of them. Complaints against bosses included never giving praise and paying unfair wages. Two out of five respondents said they have quit their job because of their boss.

Ok, now it’s time to revisit Julie’s situation. where do you think she will fall within the results of this survey? More importantly where will Julie’s boss fall on a scale of 1 – 10 of leadership? Will she be wearing horns or sporting a halo? I think we both know the answer here.

You may have or had a boss that displayed similar actions or you may indeed be in a managerial / leadership position and are finding it difficult to deal with such situations when they are presented to you and it doesn’t matter where you start just as long as you do start to understand WHY and more importantly HOW you can identify your areas of strength and areas in need of continual improvement.

Just imagine being Julie’s boss and when her phone rang, you had the courage, confidence and were able to address it face to face simply by saying something like “Thanks for busying your call whilst in reception Julie. As you know, we do have a policy on personal mobile phone use especially when in client areas. Can we bear this in mind for the future as there could have been clients in reception and it would have looked unprofessional”

A bold and assertive resolution delivered in light conversation, job done! Would Julie have taken offence at that style of management? Of course not and she will be respecting her boss as an effective leader

Take your strengths profile here: http://www.youniqueconsulting.com/leadership-development/