By Michael Baker, WeAlign Certified Coach

Many companies today choose brand ambassadors rather than sales reps to promote their products. A brand ambassador is a person chosen by a company to represent their products in a positive manner, and by doing so will build brand awareness. For example, Mike Trout, a highly popular professional baseball player might be seen regularly with a Boombatz Backpack. You can bet that every 12 year old kid who loves baseball and is a Mike Trout fan wants, no needs, a Boombatz Back Pack like Mike Trout’s. (Boombatz is a fictitious company, so don’t bother looking it up. But you get the point.)

This is certainly a cost effective way to market your products, and it works. In fact, I took the accompanying selfie photo and posted it on Instagram (@heartwarrior_mhb). I received two offers to be a brand ambassador for contemporary men’s clothing. They probably should see the whole face!

Seriously though, your brand is personal, and I highly recommend creating your own brand- a Leadership Brand. Creating a Leadership Brand tells people who you are and why. It shares your talents and lets others know what they can expect from you. A Leadership Brand is your statement to the world. I have a client who uses his Leadership Brand statement as a bio introduction on his LinkedIn profile. This is just one of the many ways your Leadership Brand will help you grow and develop.

The steps to creating a Leadership Brand statement are simple. First, take the CliftonStrength® assessment at www.gallup.com/strengths/assessment. You need at minimum your Top 5 CliftonStrengths®results. However, the CliftonStrengths® 34 will give you your full profile of talents and strengths and provide you with a compass for where to put the effort in your life.

In either report your Top 5 talent themes are areas where you shine, where you have the greatest potential for growth and where you feel most comfortable when applying yourself to relationships, work or hobbies. They are your natural God-given talents.

Next, study each of the Top 5 talents in your report and come up with three words or phrases that describe you in that talent theme. Lastly, use those words or phrases to create a brief description of who you are. Remember, your talent themes are not labels. They are descriptors of something much deeper in you.

When working through this exercise be patient with yourself. It may take several sittings to get a Leadership Brand statement that is satisfactory to you. Share your work with people who are close to you and get honest feedback. It took me several months and several attempts to create mine Here is my Leadership Brand statement and my Top 5 talent themes I used to create my brand:

Understanding that every individual is unique, I seek excellence for myself and others. Asking ‘what if?’ to new knowledge I facilitate order from chaos to create opportunities and reach expected outcomes. – Michael Baker, aka Coach Bake

My Top 5 Talent Themes are:  Maximizer • Strategic • Learner • Arranger • Empathy

Enjoy creating your personal Leadership Brand statement. When it is complete, print it out and put it somewhere you will see it regularly.

Michael Baker, head coach at Michael Baker Coaching, holds a Masters in Education, is a Certified WeAlign Coach and a Certified Strengths Champion. His mission is to lead individuals and businesses to find Certainty in an Uncertain world. He can be reached at michael@coachbake.com.

By Cat Gray, WeAlign Associate Coach

I thought it was about time I showed up and shared my thoughts on some things I’ve been thinking about as I’ve been coaching people and watching the world respond to a pandemic…

These are undeniably difficult times. We are mourning and adapting because of things and people lost, and it’s going to be hard for a while. However, that’s not the whole story, and I’m here to say that it is possible for grief and joy to share the same room. We are hearing about the good, kind, loving things people are doing for each other too, and I want to challenge you to not only join in with that, but to take it one step further.

What if you were completely clear on what you are skilled in, capable of and passionate about? Are those things related to the role you had or the way you viewed yourself before the world turned upside down or have they also changed? Last week, did you give much thought to the things that had been important to you in January? Were you still focused on the environment, homelessness, refugees, equality, helping small businesses or with local community needs or whatever else was on your heart? Don’t let these things go! People are still living without water or food or shelter. People still need advocates. And what are we going to do for all the people for whom home isn’t a safe place? For the carers without respite? For the people who can’t understand what’s going on due to disability or ill health?

A big pause button was pushed on life as we knew it and we will have to navigate a few new ‘normals,’ still, but what if we lifted our heads up from the internal fear and anxiety and let ourselves dream a bit about the future again? Because you do still have a future. The world is changing but it’s not ending.

So what are you going to be filling your calendar with going forwards? What will you prioritize, speak out about, work towards? What if we end up with a society that fully cares for and embraces the poor and the marginalized? What if we had enough food and shelter for people worldwide? It sounds outrageous to say, but I’m excited to see what happens. I don’t want to belittle or be insensitive to anything that we are going through. I’m not expecting an easy ride or to come out of this unscathed, but I am expecting us to unite on the important things, to run after the type of community we always wished ours was, and to fuel a better, re – evaluated way of living that benefits everyone. We are in this together.

There’s going to be pain and anguish, but that’s only half the story.  Seek out the other bit. Don’t be blinkered to it because it’s easier to be consumed by the bad news. Acknowledge the bad stuff. Notice what you feel and what you need but then tell someone that and go on to notice or find something good. Change the narrative that everything good has been taken from you and start telling people what you are grateful for, what you are dreaming for and pass the message on that we are all capable of bringing something useful and encouraging to the table.

What is it that you are uniquely placed to do at this time? Pin point it, research it, make wise decisions about it (including following government guidelines and advice!) but then just get on and do it! Don’t be afraid to try and keep some things normal – that’s good! Don’t be afraid to spark action into some things that have been lying dormant in you for a while – maybe they have been waiting there for such a time as this! Don’t be afraid to dream of a big big future where progress has been made in many things. And don’t be afraid of grief and joy being roomies for a while. They can cope with that, and so can you.

By Jonathan Woolridge, WeAlign Certified Coach

Last month, I wrote about uncovering unrealistic expectations and how damaging they can be in your life. You can take a look at that post here:  Are Unrealistic Expectations Weighing You Down? June 1, 2020.

Now let’s say you’ve done the hard work of dismantling these negative thoughts patterns. What now? A good next step is to start articulating the things you’re the best at. I’m not talking about the things you WISH you were the best at or feel like you SHOULD be the best at. I mean the things in your life that you do instinctively well.

Getting clear about who you are and who you are not, is hard work. That’s why I recommend using the CliftonStrengths Assessment as a way to help my clients understand and communicate the unique strengths that they have. This also gives them a way to focus their hard work in a way the plays to their strengths and sets them up for success.

If you want to make a meaningful impact on the people around you, the place you work, the city you live in, or the entire world, then you owe it to yourself to discover your areas of strength and let go of trying to turn weakness into strength. Exponential growth is a byproduct of living and working in your sweet spot.

If you haven’t been coached through your CliftonStrengths Assessment, I want to share a simple tool that will help you recognize if you’re working in an area of strength. It’s called the 4 Es, and they are: Energizing, Enjoyable, Easy, Effective.

When you’re using your strengths (even if you can’t fully articulate them), you’ll feel energized. It’ll be enjoyable. Even if you’re working hard, there will still be a sense of ease in using your strengths. Finally, you’ll be effective in what you’re doing. This isn’t to say that once you know your strengths you won’t have any more learning to do or that life will always be easy.

The major takeaway here is that applying hard work to areas where all four Es are present will set you up for exponential growth.  You’d never be able to gain and maintain that growth if you focused on areas that are energy draining, unenjoyable, overly difficult, and that you lack effectiveness in.

Take a moment to think honestly about where you devote most of your time. Are the 4 Es present? If not, what needs to change? It could be that you’re in a role that doesn’t fit you. Or maybe the entire industry is a bad fit. It could be, that you’re in the right industry but the wrong department. Whatever your situation is, this simple tool could help you honestly assess your situation and determine if anything needs to change.

If you’re overwhelmed and not sure where to start, working with a professional coach could be the best investment you make in yourself. You never know what kind of contribution you could be making if you properly align yourself with your strengths.

What are you waiting for?

By Jonathan Woolridge, WeAlign Certified Coach

A few months ago, I was driving to work and I kept hearing a thud on my starts and stops. Now I’m no mechanic, but I knew that my car shouldn’t be making that sound.

I dropped my car off and walked to one of my favorite coffee shops nearby.  45 minutes later I got a text message from the shop saying they were finished inspecting my car. As I packed up my computer and walked back to the shop, I couldn’t help but wonder what was causing the noise and how expensive it was going to be to repair it.

When I asked the front desk what the problem was they told me, “it was a bowling ball…”. You heard me right, it was my new bowling ball rolling around in the back. I’m a bowler and had put it there the night before because it needed to have the holes drilled and I didn’t want to forget to drop it off.  I can’t remember a time when I was more embarrassed.

Luckily, the shop didn’t charge me anything and I was on my way, my ego deflating as I tried to laugh it off. While driving back to the office I couldn’t help but see this story as a metaphor for all the times I assumed something was wrong with me, when in reality, my own expectations were rolling around in my head and convincing me of a problem.

The first time I realized the powerful effect of expectations was when I was coached through my CliftonStrengths Assessment. As we dug into my top 5 talents, I was able to give voice to areas of strength that I hadn’t been able to describe before. I could finally articulate who I really was and what areas I needed to focus on if I wanted to experience exponential growth.

As my coach and I got to the end of my assessment, particularly my bottom 5 talents, I realized that I had wrongly believed that I could turn these weaknesses into strengths. This insight was hands-down the most liberating part of being coached through my assessment.

Even though I stubbornly tried to play to my strengths I was still expecting myself to be good at things that were weaknesses. And the most sinister thing about it was that I had no idea the crippling effect it was having on me.  Without the self-awareness I gained through coaching, I would still be carrying that weight around with me, thinking something was wrong, when in reality it was simply a bowling ball rolling around in the back of my car.

What expectations of yourself do you need to let go? You might find that exponential growth is waiting for you if you stop trying to be something you’re not.

By Jonathan Woolridge, WeAlign Certified Coach

The store was eerily quiet and yet I was far from alone. People were bustling past me to grab their groceries, but no one was talking. I was standing there with a bandana covering my face, hand sanitizer in my shirt pocket and scanning my personal space for intruders.

Someone bumped into me and what normally would have been a simple accident, felt like an unforgivable insult. It was like Dr. Jekyll had become Mr. Hyde and I didn’t like it. I was experiencing a stress response and wasn’t handling it well.

If you can relate to this in any way, keep reading.

The human brain is well equipped to handle stress and actively responds chemically in stressful situations in order to help you survive. These stress responses have ensured the survival of the human race since time immemorial.  The problem is that today, we aren’t typically faced with life or death situations and yet we still have stress responses regularly.

Everyone has disagreements and misunderstandings with other people.  So being able to stay relational and keep from getting stuck in negative emotions is critical if we’re going to have healthy relationships and less stress.

When we experience any kind of negative stress, we can easily slip into our fight, flight, freeze or appease response and this directly impacts our ability to make decisions and focus on the relationship with the person. Whether it’s a spouse, child, friend, coworker, or employee, we will experience better conflict resolution and deeper relationships when we aren’t being ruled by negative emotions.

Here are six statements that can help you recognize when your decision making and relationship building skills are being impacted by negative emotions. If any of these are true in a situation, then you’re most likely experiencing a stress response and not keeping the relationship bigger than the problem.

1. I just want to make a problem, person or feeling go away.
2. I don’t want to listen to what others feels or say.
3. My mind is “locked onto” something upsetting.
4. I don’t want to be connected to ____. Someone I usually like.
5. I just want to get away, fight, flight, freeze or appease.
6. I more aggressively interrogate, judge and fix others.
*Based on the work of Karl Lehman M.D. http://www.kclehman.com

If you’re experiencing these, then your ability to creatively problem solve while keeping the other person’s best interest at heart will be hindered. So, what can you do to change the situation? Here are couple of tips that will help you keep the relationship bigger than the problem:

1: Spend 3-5 minutes deep breathing
Doing deep breathing exercises for 3-5 minutes causes our brains to secrete serotonin which naturally helps our bodies to calm down. Our brain’s naturally do this, but we can help it along through deep breathing. That’s pretty amazing in my opinion!

Here’s an easy to remember deep breathing exercise: 4 second inhale, then hold for 4 seconds at the top of your inhale, then 4 second exhale, and hold for 4 seconds at the bottom of your exhale. Continue for 3-5 minutes or until you feel calm.

2: Focus on Appreciations
Start counting all the things for which you’re grateful. When we remember all the good things in our lives, it can have a serotonin-inducing effect as well. You could even keep a list of appreciations handy that you can focus on when you realize that you aren’t acting relationally.

I want to share a story about a recent time when I used these tips

It was bath time, which is typically happy, but this time it was irritating me. The silliness and giggling that usually brings me joy was causing me to want to yell at my kids to be quiet. After a few minutes of suppressing this urge I recognized that I was having a stress response. I asked myself why and remembered that I had read a frustrating work email right before helping my kids get in the bath.

I immediately called for my wife, Roxanne and let her know what was going on and that I needed a few minutes. She graciously took over and I went to my room (my closet to be exact), and did some deep breathing, while quoting scripture and focusing on an appreciation. I quickly started feeling a sense of calm returning and after five minutes I was able to reengage with my kids, their giggling and silliness bringing me joy once again.

So, next time you recognize the effects of stress, take a breather (literally) and focus on appreciations. I think you’ll be surprised at how effective they are in helping you keep the relationship bigger than the problem.

Give them a try and let me know how it works for you!

For more resources, Check out this article written by my colleague John Saunders: https://wealigncoaching.com/2020/01/27/two-questions-to-help-gauge-your-emotional-maturity/