Intentional Leadership Audit

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For a variety of reasons (and no judgments about them), getting the website for Parente HRG has taken much longer than I anticipated.

It became clear about a month ago that my hopes to have the site completed by an outside vendor had pretty much ground to a halt. Again, no judgments here. That's not what this post is about.

So, where am I taking you on this journey? It's about how I reclaimed skills I had let slip away over the past 5+ years.

Over time, we add and remove certain tools from our skills toolbelts as a matter of practicality. There is just so much time in the day, just so much opportunity to continue our expertise in certain areas. In my case, I've continued to grow my knowledge and add certifications, the most recent being Intentional Leadership Coaching and certification to administer and interpret the EQ-i 2.0. What did I remove from my toolbelt? I stopped staying current on what some call "that computer stuff."

Armed with a couple of new books from my local Barnes and Noble (picture me singing, "Where have all the bookstores gone?"), I jumped back into the web design pool yesterday. My skills? They're more in line with how retired Yankees must feel taking the field for the Old Timers' Day game each summer. Still, it feels great to be a techie once more ... the keyboard jockey rides again. 🙂

The website is nothing fancy, but it does what it needs to. Finally, at long last, parentehrgroup.com is up and running!

screenshot_website_banner 2014-0602

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Jane A. G. Kise's 12th Leadership Lens, Balancing Limits with Opportunities, takes on so much meaning when I think back to my marching days.  One thing in particular, though, sticks in my head and won't leave.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we had a great sense of loyalty to one another, and to the vision of being champions.  Particularly in the Saints Color Guard, the more adept we became at handling our equipment, the more we experimented on our own.

During breaks in rehearsal, or even before or after, it was common for members of different sections to "play around" with their flags, rifles, or sabres to come up with "work" - the movement and handling of equipment to match the music and a particular part of marching drill.  Discovering different movements or equipment positions was fun and exciting for us.  Execution of those movements required quite a bit of practice to perfect the work to a level high enough to include in competition.

At first, the limits on what would eventually make it into the competitive drill were set by our instructors.  Having a better sense of what it would take to achieve championship status was the wisdom they brought to the process.  By our final winter season, though, we, the marching members, had achieved a strong enough sense of balance between the opportunities for creative movements, and the limits imposed by the judging system, for us to choreograph much of the equipment work.

Did we succeed?  You bet!

A moment in the drill when simplicity spoke more strongly than equipment work.

Saints Color Guard, in our earlier days.
Interested in how my consulting services can help you
improve focus on leadership skills?  Contact me at parentehrg AT gmail.com. 

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With the Sochi Winter Olympics coming to a close, I’m noticing that a particular piece of information shared about many of the athletes is stuck in my head:  “S/he is now coached by …”.  

Why would an elite athlete change things up in the face of prior success?  For the same reason we change – to achieve a different and / or better result.  

In my case, I needed to make some adjustments to how and where I spend my time.  I needed to re-capture making myself a priority, to find a better balance for better outcomes.  

To that end, I made the crazy decision to travel to Minnesota in December (who does that?) to spend time with Jane Kise and Ann Holm as they shared their wisdom with those of us participating in the inaugural Intentional Leadership Coaching Certification session.  That small (and significant) change in how I spent my time led to two others, one of which was an entirely unexpected outcome.  

First, I finally made it a priority to complete my certification to administer and interpret the EQ-i® (Emotional Intelligence) instrument.  It’s been on my personal development list for some time, and my use of the Intentional Leadership Audit™ helped me to achieve that goal.  

The other?  Spending time in the sub-zero, snow-packed Minneapolis-St Paul area forced me to buy new snow boots upon arrival in Minnesota.  With the bizarre winter we’ve had here in New Jersey, I’ve been more than prepared.  

Go figure!

Outside our conference room at the Minikahda Club.
Post-conference gathering before heading homeward.

I was able to capture this image in my back yard while traipsing about in my Minnesota snow boots.

Interested in how my coaching and consulting services can help you
focus on change?  Contact me at parentehrg AT gmail.com.
EQ-i / EQ-i 2.0 are registered trademarks of Multi-Health Systems, Inc., Toronto, Ontario CN.
Intentional Leadership Audit is a trademark of Differentiated Coaching Associates, LLC.,
Minneapolis, Minnesota US.