I’m a big fan of quotes and one from Fred Rogers, otherwise known as Mr. Rogers, comes to mind when I think of employee engagement:

“Whether we’re a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we’re acceptable, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.”

Let’s take a few minutes and really let these words sink in.

It really doesn’t matter who we are, what we’ve accomplished, or what we have yet to do.

What matters is that we want to add value. And to take it a step further, we want to know that we have added value.

Now, adding value can look different for each one of us. It could be as simple as lending a helping hand or listening to a friend who needs a sounding board. It could be working with an important client and winning new business for your company or properly diagnosing an illness to enable someone to start feeling better.

So...

If your mindset is aligned with making your team a priority and taking care of your people, then your actions will follow suit.

Your team will feel the difference and start engaging in a more meaningful way with you, each other, and those outside of your organization.

This mindset shift will set a new level of excellence for you.

When your actions and language are congruent with this new mindset, your team will rise to the level you set and they will start doing more because they will feel appreciated.

What's one small change you can start today AND that you'd be willing to do everyday going forward to be more congruent with your actions and language that shows your peeps that you genuinely care about them? 

So today is a little reminder that when you stop listening to the outside noise and start listening to yourself, you will start showing up as the leader YOU are meant to be. It doesn't mean frustrating things won't happen - it just means that those things won't keep you down. You'll trust that untapped potential you know that's inside you and be wiling to leverage it more and more. You'll be willing to also do that with each of your team members and let them shine in their own way.

So let's talk about something that seems almost contradicting to anyone pursuing their goals, leading their organization or running their business - the fear of success.

Yep.

That’s a thing.

The fear of success.

And if you’re like me, you’ve had to face this fear before, and sometimes it comes back up when you least likely expect it.

If you aren’t sure what this looks like, consider the following:

• Are you playing small?
• Are you not really putting yourself out there?
• Are you lacking confidence when sharing your ideas?
• Are you scared or reluctant to take on that high visibility, challenging project that you know is a great fit for you and will shine a lot of light on you and your work?

If you answered “Yes” to any one of these, the fear of success is a likely culprit.

So, how do you turn it around? How do you deal with the fear of success?

It’s super simple – recognize that it’s there and keep going anyway.

It...

As a leader, you set the bar of excellence for your business and organization.

If you have a mindset that is about continually learning, improving and growing, then you are more than likely looking at your habits and making decisions of what to continue or change. If you are a bit fearful of change, which we all can be at times, there might be some habits that are allowing fear to have more of a voice than it should. When that happens, try shifting your perspective on change – it’s neither good or bad, it just IS.