Just for Today - Manage the Discipline of Priorities!

Do you have a good handle on your strengths? Have you asked others about what you are really good at? Personally, I am not very good at asking others about me and I know that I am not alone in this. Some of you might be as reserved as I am and I want to share with you how I identified my strengths so I could stay in my strength zone.

You could identify your strength by "trial and error". You can keep trying new things and as you make a lot of mistakes, you can move on to the next thing. You will have to take risk of failing to find your successes.

In "Today Matters", my mentor says that one could get a feel for how well you do something by doing it repeatedly. But remember that: Experience isn't always the best teacher - evaluated experience is!

It is time to tell you how I identified my strengths. During my days as an IBMer, I remember taking the Myers-Briggs personality test but I do not recall using the report to understand my strengths or work on my weaknesses. It was clear to me that at that time I was not invested in myself and hence I did not pay much attention to next steps after getting the results.

What changed for me? In 2018 when I started on this personal growth journey, I decided to invest in my own DISC Personality Assessment and this time I was keen on understanding better what my leadership strengths were and also recognizing what my areas of improvement were. It was not a surprise to find out that my personality style turned out to be that of an "Advisor - SI".

What did I do with this information and how has it helped me manage the discipline of my priorities?

Knowledge of the DISC System empowered me to understand myself, family members, co-workers, and friends, in a profound way.

Understanding behavioral styles helped me to become a better communicator, minimize or prevent conflicts, appreciate the differences in others and positively influence those around me.

In my professional journey as a Woman Entrepreneur, I made my priority decision and started living daily according to my priorities. I got certified as a Speaker, Coach and Trainer with the Maxwell Leadership Team.

I joined a local Toastmasters Club to practice my speeches and help others in their journey as a Speaker. I participated actively in the Speech Contests and challenged myself to become a better version of myself. I was a winner at the Area Level Contest for Tall Tales Speech Contest in 2019.

In addition, I continued studying books written by my mentor to develop my communication skills and connect better with others. It was important for me to focus on increasing my ability to influence others positively and continue to share my learnings & experiences along the way. It is an honor to have 15K views so far - my talk that I gave in 2021 for project managers belonging to the PMI community at large is still being widely used. I know it will add value to you and your team, if you have not already watched it yourself.

One of the things that I noticed in the past 3 years after making my priority decision to focus on my speaking skills was that priorities shift very easily and I needed to continually evaluate and guard my priorities. What does this mean?

1. Evaluate Priorities Daily: My priorities changed because conditions change continually. Earlier my focus was on getting awards for Toastmasters International speech contests but as I grew as a Leader, I realized that it gave me greater joy to mentor other speakers who were keen on building their confidence as speaker.
2. Plan Your Time Carefully: I started planning my calendar 37 days at a time. It allowed me to plan a month in advance and an additional week of the next month. This is giving me a head start each month.
3. Follow Your Plan: If you prioritize your life and plan your day but don't follow through, your results will be the same as those of someone who didn't prioritize at all. I know this is common sense but worth reminding!
4. Delegate Whenever Possible: I try not to be a clinger (refuse to let go of anything that is important) or a dumper (quick to get rid of tasks). If someone can do a task I'm doing 80% as well as I do, then I hand it off whenever possible.
5. Invest In The Right People Daily: I spend a lot of time investing in individuals who are growth minded. I do try to have a positive relationship with everyone I meet but I invest my time & effort only in speakers who want to thrive.

John Maxwell taught me these lessons and I am applying the above 5 things that even you can follow to manage the disciplines of your priorities. I am focused on helping leaders COMMUNICATE and CONNECT more effectively!

Next time, I will share about how you can make Good Thinking a part of your life too. I changed my thinking to become a successful woman and you will find out about the 11 thinking skills that comes into play with good thinking.

Recently, I had the opportunity to be in a studio and be interviewed by the Executive Vice President of the Maxwell Leadership Team. Enjoy!