February Profiles in Passion: A Natural Fit

Her life purpose is to inspire others to reach towards their purpose in life. As someone who initially chose a career that didn’t mesh with her life desires and goals, Kim Hartmayer can relate to the frustrations of people living their life without fulfillment. Her enthusiasm and unique perception are what drove her to living her passion, but unfortunately at the time of her first career choice, there wasn’t a job description for what she had to offer.

“I knew I would be a speaker and an agent of change for others from the time I was a small child. I’d always seen myself that way,” Kim recalls. “I was miserable in my sales job; I knew there was something more for me.” Raised in a family who encouraged personal empowerment, Kim was told from the beginning to do what you want to do and how you want to do it. “There was no enabling in my growing up.”

When Kim started her career as a sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry, her family and friends told her that she had a natural charisma about her that made her perfect for sales. “It takes just one person seeing you as exceptional to push you on the road towards the perfect career,” she explained. Unfortunately, the appeal her friends and family saw in her was not for the sales force, but for something more on a personal level.

Kim was first introduced to the world of professional coaching when her husband was assigned an executive coach. “He would come home with enlightened perspectives, things I’d been telling him for years,” remembers Kim. “When he started to see me in the same light, I knew it was time to move forward and pursue my calling. I took off after that.”

The trick for an ultimate life change for Kim was to have a plan and chart a course to stay clear about her goals when life got in the way. “When the kids got sick (and) flights were canceled, it was my course, methodical and organized, with all kinds of ups and downs along the way that makes this such a wild and wonderful ride.” Kim hired her own personal coach and reached out to everyone in her network for connections in the coaching industry then Kim took a leap of faith.

“I knew my first step was education and certification,” she said. “I’m a firm believer that when you’re dealing with people’s lives, you need to be adequately trained.” After completing a year of training and certification, Kim went on her way to Spain to launch a 10 month leadership training program where she is to be the only U.S. coaching representative.

Though training is an important part of her journey, without her support team, Kim would be unable to follow through. “My mother is my biggest fan, and I have a supportive husband; having a good network around me is important,” says Kim. “What I’ve learned, though, is that when the chips are down, I’m still the one driving the boat.”

Kim explains that even with her hugely supportive team, she needs the help of a coach because “sometimes [coaches] are the only people who get it.  It’s nothing about the support team. They have their own stuff to deal with,” she explained. “They don’t have the time or energy to be totally devoted to me like my coach.”

“With coaching, sometimes the only person that ever sees a client is their coach,” she clarified. Everyone needs at least one person to see them for how magnificent they truly are. If someone sees you based on what you love, are inspired by, and what your dreams are and he or she holds onto that for you, it is a powerful thing.”

Coaching is not just touching the individual. It is changing the world. “As people globally begin living a passion driven life, I see a greater peace and harmony around the world and in our lives. A passion-driven life is a peaceful life. It’s the antidote to some of the struggles we’re seeing. I’ve seen radical transformation in people due to coaching.”

Kim practices coactive coaching where she helps her clients clarify their biggest dream, passion and heartfelt existence. She then grasps that concept and holds on to it, holding them accountable. “It’s just a dream if we don’t take action,” said Kim. “The fear of failing always gets in the way, but the cold hard truth is that no one is paying that close attention as you think they are. If you fall, fail, embarrass yourself, it’s not that big of a deal.” She tells her clients that they have a true chance to be happy by following their heart’s desire. She then holds them accountable for answering the challenges along the way.

Kim explains that coaching is an individual and personal connection. If you’re seeking a coach, she encourages setting up sample sessions first, visiting with a few coaches and waiting to commit to one coach until you’ve found the right one. A great coach will help you reach your passion. “A real sign of living your passion is that there’s a natural fit without struggle. It’s not that you won’t have to work for what you want, but rather tap your internal capabilities.”

For more information about Kim and her services, visit http://kimhartmayer.com/

Conflict and Communication Rarely Coexist

One of my favorite sayings is that conflict and communication rarely coexist. Humans generally want the same thing. Conflict arises between people because one person believes that what they want, and another person wants, is somehow mutually exclusive. If you get more pie, I get less. But what if you could both make the pie bigger? Then you could both have more. If you have an on-going relationship with someone, what you want and they want is probably, instead, mutually inclusive.

In my own practice, I find that most organizations' #1 problem is communication. People don’t disagree with each other. They simply fail to talk through issues and eventually start to emotionally withdraw. Left unaddressed, people retreat to their own silo’s and it becomes us against them. Now the tragedy of this whole deal is that they really wanted the same thing all along, they just failed to practice healthy communication.

Think about what a difference it would make in your relationships if you started from the premise that you and the other person really did want the best for each other. Thinking that way would encourage you to indeed create a shared pool of meaning. You could then work together to create a better future together or go your own way. Either way you both win.

Be Reasonable: 3 tips to Ensure You are Being Reasonable

Are people generally fair and reasonable?  

If you go with your gut on this one, you will more than likely say yes. I would whole heartily agree with you. People naturally have a sense of fairness. If we agree on this point then why do so many of us respond to our employees as though they will not be reasonable?  I want to acknowledge right up front that there are indeed exceptions to this rule, but if one out of ten people are not reasonable why do we treat all ten as though they were not? It kind of sounds like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  In my experience one of the surest ways to get in a fight is to start throwing punches. Think about it a minute. If you approach people in a way that says I don't trust you, that you don’t think they will be fair and reasonable with you, they naturally respond in like kind-they won't trust you either. And who could blame them. You started it! Now on the other hand, if your starting position was that they were bright, intelligent, fair, and reasonable people, how do you think most of them would respond?  Absolutely, in like kind.  And maybe even the unreasonable people would respond favorably. Again in my experience, most people who are difficult to get along with are that way because they are hurting inside themselves. If anything's going to reach them, it will probably be a little unmerited respect. To reframe this another way, people who don't respect themselves have real difficulty respecting others. At the end of the day isn't that what most of us really want is to be respected by both ourselves and others.

Okay back to reasonableness.  At this point you would like to totally buy-in to the discussion about reasonableness but you're still not sure you can trust people at that level. Let me give you some practical tips on how to make the reasonable nature of people work for you instead of against you.

Tip #1. Ask the person you're dealing with what they think would be reasonable?  

Many of the business owners and leaders I work with think this is a high risk question. It's not. People consistently ask more of themselves and are willing to do more than you would ever dare to ask of them yourself if they are the one’s doing the asking.  It's back to that self-respect thing. If it is a controversial pushing and shoving match, each party is going to try to take all they can get.  In that approach you both end up with a whole lot less than you could have had if you openly worked together.

Tip #2. Bring others into the conversation. 

Something as simple as let's get Bob's, or the rest of the team’s, opinion usually ups the ante on your willingness to be flexible and helps minimize personal factors that may play into the conversation.  It's one thing if a single individual in your organization feels like you're not being reasonable, it's a much bigger deal if everyone feels like you're being unreasonable. This is one of those things that is much better out in the open that it is hidden in the back room. As a leader you need to know if your people think you are fair and reasonable. You might be asking yourself can I really trust the crowd about what is fair and reasonable. We do it every day in our legal system. Twelve people literally decide issues of life and death in the form of a jury.  In my experience, if your people, by and large, think you are unreasonable and you probably are.

Tip #3. Don’t be quick to act.  

Quality relationships take time and effort. If someone feels like you're genuinely being unreasonable with them or vise-a-versa, I would encourage you to give the situation some time and space. It's easy to make a rash decision in the heat of the moment. When it comes to relationships things are rarely ever black and white. Take the pressure off all the parties and sleep on it for a night or two. I can't tell you how many times that space and room has allowed me and others to work things out for each other's benefit.  And don’t be surprised if you are implementing these tips and you are truly being reasonable, your employee or subordinate returns to you and says that they do indeed think you are being fair and reasonable. 

I have to wonder if the most important issue around reasonableness for an organizational leader is whether or not we are willing to be reasonable with our people.  The world we see is simply a reflection or mirror of the world that exists inside of us. What does it say about us if we don't think our employees are reasonable?  At the end of the day, the only leader who needs to be afraid of shared reasonableness is the leader who is not themselves willing to be reasonable.

Other Speaking & Training Options

Right on Target—Making Your Dreams a Reality

How effective goal setting can get you where you want to go!

In this session you will learn:

• Why it is important to set goals
• The 2 reason people don't set goals
• Why it is important to keep first things first
• To understand why hard work alone is not the answer
• How meaningful goals naturally motivate us
• That the mind automatically searches for answers when a question is asked
• Why it is important to track our progress
• About the Dynamic Productivity Model
• How to set SMART goals
• Live a balanced life

Networking—Your Connection to Success 

In this session you will learn:

• Why working together produces better results with less effort
• The four keys to being referable
• How to provide real value
• To establish and build trust with clients
• The importance of a relational support system
• What customers really want and will pay you well to provide
• How to build high trust relationships
• About the Relational Progression Model
• How to make more money with less effort
• Why traditional cold calling does not work

Perpetual Motivation

How To Be Successful Without Ever Having To Work Another Day In Your Life!

In this session you will learn how to:

• Create an empowering work environment
• Break out of old, limiting ways of thinking
• How to truly be successful
• Release the untapped potential in yourself and others
• Use your own natural talents, abilities, and interests to differentiate your self from your competitors
• Become more confident
• Delegate more effectively
• Understand how to set more effective goals
• Block out distractions
• Live the life of your dreams

The Art of Customer Service

Giving People What They Really Want

In this session you will learn how to:

·         Turn your customers into your biggest fans

·         Effectively handle customer complaints

·         Support your staff

·         Create memorable customer experiences

·         Build life time customers

·         Give the customer more than their monies worth

·         Create a place where people want to work

·         Quickly defuse emotionally charged situations

·         Create customer loyalty

Conversations That Make a Difference

Creating a better life through better communication

In this session you will learn how to:

·         Stop avoiding difficult conversations

·         Learn how to build better relationships through effective communication

·         Create a better world for yourself and others

·         Break out of old, limiting ways of thinking

·         Establish and build trust

·         Hear and be heard

·         Build and maintain safety for yourself and others

·         Value others and respect yourself

·         Unleash the creative power of language

The Coaching Paradigm—Coaching Basics

Learn how to dramatically improve human performance and maximize results through effective coaching principles and techniques.

Learning Objectives:

   

·         Understand the fundamentals of coaching.

·         Learn how to ask powerful questions.

·         Create effective accountability.

·         Unleash and empower people in your organization.

Creating Personal Intelligence Series Overview

Cre·at·ing                To cause to exist; bring into being.

Per·son·al              Concerning a particular person and his or her private business, interests, or activities.

In·tel·li·gence     a. The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. b. The faculty of thought and reason.                                                                                     c. Superior powers of mind.

The CPI Core Curriculum

Strategic Intelligence  The first session lays a foundation by helping you clarify what is really important to you.  To truly be successful you must work from the inside out.  This session will he clarify your mission and help you get on the road to becoming a success in every area of your life.

In this session you will learn:

·         Why values are important

·         To clarify what is most important to you

·         The difference between internal and external motivation

·         How to tap into unstoppable motivation and energy

·         Why diversity is so important

·         How to make a significant contribution to your organization

·         The foundations of a happy, whole, and healthy life

·         The art of staying focused and on track

·         How to maximize your own potential

·         How to be personally more effective

·         To use Emotional Intelligence to connect with other people

Unique Intelligence  Building on the foundation laid in the first session, this session helps you discover how you are uniquely gifted and wired.  We focus on strategies to help you spend the bulk your time functioning in the zone or your own unique sweet spot.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Be highly effective

·         Stay energized

·         Harness your natural talents and abilities

·         How to make a significant contribution to your organization

·         Create world class teamwork

·         Differentiate yourself and your organization

·         Provide maximum value

Systematic Intelligence  Successful people focus on managing energy, not time.  Recent studies show that 95% of what we do is subconsciously encoded in a complex system of rituals or habits.  Learn how to reprogram your auto-pilot system to achieve maximum results.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Create energy

·         Be healthier

·         Expand your mind

·         Grow your Emotional Intelligence

·         Make a greater contribution

·         Establish positive rituals that reinforce a healthy life

·         Free up your mind so that you can be creative

·         Eliminate destructive behavior

·         Move from time management to energy management

Organizational Intelligence 

No matter what you have determined as your professional goals, all high achievers share one commonality—they are organized in a way which keeps them on task and focused.  This workshop focuses on getting your external world organized in a systematic way so that you can stay focused on what is most important to you and ultimately get where you want to go.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Use tools and techniques to organize your life

·         Free up the "RAM" in your mental processor so that you can work faster

·         Make the best use of your own Emotional Intelligence

·         Get more done in less time

·         Prioritize tasks and manage time

·         Work more efficiently

·         Clean up messes in your life

People Intelligence  It has been said that no man is an island.  Being able to effectively deal with other people is one of the true cornerstones of success.  Learn how you can empower others, achieve more, and find real happiness.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Look beyond mechanical models to explain human behavior

·         Understand that all decisions are emotionally based

·         Build higher quality relationships

·         Establish trust

·         Create a relational support network

·         Value others and respect yourself

·         Understand core fears and the role they play in undermining your success

·         Appreciate the value of community

·         Take personal responsibility and utilize the "Proactive Model"

·         See how fear keeps us from hearing what others are saying

·         The difference between satisfiers and dissatisfiers

·         Be happier and healthier

Communication Intelligence  It is estimated that 90% of the differences between people are really communication issues.  This session focuses on how to effectively express yourself and understand others.

In this session you will learn:

·         Communication is a two way process

·         The actual words we use are not as important as non-verbal clues

·         How you can adopt a no-loser policy

·         The role self-worth plays in our ability to hear

·         To take personal responsibility.

·         How to create a safe environment.

·         About keeping your batteries charged.

·         How to listen with the heart.

·         About the "Us" concept

·         To understand the importance of perspective

·         How to actively listen

·         To use relational communication to improve your quality of life

·         How to ask meaningful questions that enhance communication

Marketing Intelligence  Even if you have a better the mouse trap, the world won't beat a path to your door step if they don’t' know about it.  Effective marketing is about matching your goods and services with needs of your customers.  Learn how to effectively market yourself, your products, your services, and your company.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Create a Unique Selling Proposition

·         Define market value

·         Be referable

·         Get paid what you are worth

·         Differentiate you and your products

·         Pinpoint your customers unmet needs and wants

·         Effectively communicate your value

·         Understand why people will or will not buy your goods & services

·         Make your products and service solutions to your customer's problems

·         Utilize the three things that gets people attention to write advertising copy

·         See why for most businesses mass media advertising is a waste of money

·         Define your target market

·         Be creative and innovative

·         Understand why people buy

Creative Intelligence  Creativity and innovation are the keys to exponential gains in the new global economy.  Creativity is an innate trait of all humans.  Learn how you can maximize your creativity and at the same time experience personal and professional renewal.  

In this session you will learn to:

·         Understand the Dynamic Innovation Model

·         Harness your own natural creativity

·         Develop new ways of looking at old problems

·         Effectively use brainstorming

·         Use the "reframing" technique to see situations in a new way

·         Become an "Innovation Champion"

·         Develop social networks

·         Get great ideas from other industries

·         Stay ahead of the technology curve

·         Use your whole mind

·         Understand why traditional jobs like accounting and engineering are disappearing

·         How to not get outsourced

The Success Coach Network Keynote Speaking & Training

 Creativity and innovation are the keys to exponential gains in the new global economy.  Creativity is an innate trait of all humans.  Learn how you can maximize your creativity and at the same time experience personal and professional renewal.  

In this session you will learn to:

·         Understand the Dynamic Innovation Model

·         Harness your own natural creativity

·         Develop new ways of looking at old problems

·         Effectively use brainstorming

·         Use the "reframing" technique to see situations in a new way

·         Become an "Innovation Champion"

·         Develop social networks

·         Get great ideas from other industries

·         Stay ahead of the technology curve

·         Use your whole mind

·         Understand why traditional jobs like accounting and engineering are disappearing

·         How to not get outsourced

Perpetual Motivation

How To Be Successful Without Ever Having To Work Another Day In Your Life!

In this session you will learn how to:

• Create an empowering work environment
• Break out of old, limiting ways of thinking
• How to truly be successful
• Release the untapped potential in yourself and others
• Use your own natural talents, abilities, and interests to differentiate your self from your competitors
• Become more confident
• Delegate more effectively
• Understand how to set more effective goals
• Block out distractions
• Live the life of your dreams

The Coaching Paradigm

A New Model for Human Productivity

Learn how to dramatically improve human performance and maximize results through effective coaching principles and techniques.

Learning Objectives:

·         Understand the fundamentals of coaching

·         Get complete buy-in from your staff

·         Learn how to ask powerful questions

·         Create effective accountability

·         Stimulate creativity and innovation

·         Unleash and empower people in your organization

  
Organizational Intelligence

Life Management for the 21^st Century

Are you feeling pulled in a 100 different directions?  How do you get it all done without going crazy in the process? Constant overload is the new normal. In this session you will learn how to take control of your work and life and live life on your own terms.

In this session you will learn to:

·      Work smarter not just harder

·      Maximize your potential

·      Get paid for what you do best

·      Reclaim your life

·      Experience breakthrough thinking & innovations

·      Create energy

·      Be healthier

 This is Not Your Father’s Workforce

Bridging the Generational Gap between Baby Boomers and a the Evolving Workforce

In this session you will learn to:

·         Understand the events that shaped each generations thinking

·         Understand the value that each generation brings to the table

·         Create a powerful, motivated, intergenerational work force

·         Have a line of high quality employees wanting to be on your team

·         Establish an on-going competitive advantage

·         Lower turn-over

·         Give people what they ultimately want

·         Increase bottom line profits

Natural Leadership-Living Life on Purpose

Few would argue with the notion that leadership is a crucial component in organizational success. Yet we spend so little time developing this valuable resource.  In this session you will learn how to tap into the natural leadership abilities that are already resident in your people and is eagerly waiting to be tapped.  Doing so will be a gift to both your organization and your people.

In this session you will learn to:

·         How to tap into a unlimited supply of leadership talent

·         Understand why people follow a leader

·         Explore a new paradigm for success & leadership

·         Help you pinpoint how you lead best

·         Discuss how you can bring your “A” game everyday

·         Change your organization and the world

People-Centric Management

How To Motivate Your Staff and Tap Into Their Full Potential

Believe it or not, right now, you already have most of the pieces you need to take your company to the next level and beyond. If you are like most executives, you are sitting on untapped talents, skills, and leadership abilities waiting to come to life. Imagine an organization full of people using their strengths to develop new opportunities, drive continuous improvement, and produce great results. Tapping into your peoples natural talents skills and abilities is the best way to motivate your people and create an ongoing competitive advantage for your organization.

In this session you will learn to:

·         Creates employee ownership and engagement

·         Unleashes the skills, leadership and passion bottled up in your people

·         Sparks and increase in productivity and profitability

·         Establishes a process for continuous improvement

·         Helps your organization dynamically adapt to change

You Are a One-of-a-kind Unique Gift

In all the effort to find and give a unique gift to the people we love during the holiday season, we often over look the most unique and valuable gift we have to share with others-ourself.  There is no one else in the world who can do what you do in the way you uniquely do it.  You have unique DNA and experiences that will never be duplicated.  Only you can be you!

At the core of most self-improvement efforts is the idea that there is intrinsically something wrong with you.  You need to somehow change who you are.  I think this notion is fundamentally wrong.  You don’t need to change who you are.  Actually your best plan of action is to totally be yourself.  The problem for most of us is that we don’t have any idea who we really are.  Instead of self-improvement, I encourage people to become more self-aware of who they uniquely are and then exercise extreme self-care for that person. 

                                Self-awareness

                +             Self-care

                =             Self-assurance, Confidence, and Significant Contribution

Who you are is like a seed.  Plant that seed in a great environment and diligently care for that seed and it will produce an abundance of fruit.  Plant that same seed in the wrong environment and it will struggle.  Take two seeds, a kernel of corn and a cactus seed.  They require entirely different environments to prosper.  Plant the cactus seed in dark, fertile, moist loam and it will rot.  Plant the kernel of corn in the desert sand.  It will sprout at the first rain and then die from lack of moisture and nutrients.  Reverse the environments and both seeds prosper. 

If you want to prosper don’t try to change the seed.  Change the environment that nurtures the seed.  Over the long haul most of us can control our environment.  Self-care is about creating the best environment for you to be you and maximizing your potential.    A whole healthy you is amazing! This holiday season give the people you love and care about the best gift of all-you.