 |
|
The source of the best business, financial and legal news |
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
| |
 |
Business Informations |
|
|
|
Professional Organizations: Join or Fold?
All of us join professional organizations for a reason--a friend belongs, we need to for credibility, etc. Many times we let years slide by and we don't stop and review those reasons. Unless something sets off a boundary--lack of funds, the organization runs itself into a ditch, or a leadership problem. When doesn't it fit any longer? Is there a pattern to you dropping a membership? I know, as an accountant for 15 years, I joined organization after organization. Without knowing it, and after delegating it to my assistant, I realized that I belonged to 32 organizations. Yes, at one time. Yes, I know this is probably exceptional. Yes, I can blame it on my assistant or being too busy. But I'm not. It wasn't until I began to take a complete review of those memberships that I realize many no longer fit. During the review process, I learned to ask different questions. Let me share with you a 6-step process that I've used for the last 8 years that I know will help you: 1) choose more wisely in the future; (2) set your intention and expectations first; and (3) know what you want to give back. This 10-minute exercise will save you time and money as well as make money and create time with smarter choices in the future. 1. Make a list of current memberships of all your professional organizations. Yes, go ahead abbreviations. 2. Ask what was your intention for joining this organization at that time? 3. Does that intention still fit? If yes, rating from 1-10, what would your rating be when you joined and what would be the rating now? 1=because I was new to the profession. 10=I'm getting more out of my membership than I ever intended. If that intention doesn't fit, would you like to change it or fold (dissolve your membership). If the 1-10 rating does fit for you, create one that does. 4. What is my expectations for my membership? What do I expect to get out of belonging in 2004? If your beginning rating was low and it's still low, do you have any expectations for that changing in the future and what do you need to do in order to get to that level? Are my expectations realistic? When do I want to have the first three steps of those expectations, if any, completed. The most valuable question part of #4--What set of circumstances or date will the membership end? Remember, everything is temporary. 5. Prioritize each membership. Which one do you value most? Least? What do you value most? What does that one have that the others don't? Is it something that you have the power to change? What needs to change to make them all valuable to their fullest? Is it even possible? Realistic? 6. Sixth, how can your membership in each organization help you with your goals in the future? Match your goals with the organization's value. What value does it add to your life, family, or business? Honesty now. Okay, it may take some of you with a longer list more than the 10-minutes I promised. You have to agree though, just reading these steps will get you to think a little differently before joining or renewing your memberships--in any organization. From a coaching standpoint, and a FYI, having expectations is a good thing! This is a great exercise to complete at least once a year. If you take a few extra minutes right now, now that you are focused on this topic, and write the expiration date next to the organization. And add those dates into your task alert system to review these questions again before you renew. You can also create a file folder called, "Professional Membership Evaluations & Renewals." Inside the front cover, you can write in BIG bold letters, "What's in it for me to belong?" Catherine Franz is a Marketing & Writing Coach, niches, product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction writing and training. Additional Articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com
MORE RESOURCES:
leadership - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Seven Mistakes to Avoid when Organising Your Student Leadership Program How do you measure the success of a training or teaching program? There are many measures you can use including; focusing on learning outcomes, behavioural change, student engagement and even efficiency of delivery.An effective leadership program can achieve all of the above and more. None of Us Arrived with an Owners Manual: A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 2) Why didn't I get an Owner's ManualAfter a little while with life happening and no sign of the Manual we began to realize we would need to make the best of it. We began to look around to see who had one and studied what they knew, surely some of it must be generic! We began to study our parents, our siblings - if they looked competent enough, and our other care givers. The Essence of Leadership What is more important, leadership or teamwork? Leadership or consensus management? Today we hear frequently about teams, team-building, and teamwork on the one hand and management by consensus on the other. Although both teamwork and consensus building are critical skills in a leader, neither are substitutes for capable leadership itself. Ten Steps To Effective Leadership Many people end up in a supervisory position or SOHO ownership almost by default. In today's workplace, if someone stays on their job long enough, they will probably be promoted as others, more senior to them or higher up the chain of responsibility, leave for other opportunities. The Three Essential Attributes of a Leader: The Demonstrated Abilities Leaders need to:1. Have a vision to which they are committedLeaders arrive with a vision: a deeply thought out view of what to do to make a difference in the complex, competitive world of today. Cub Scout Leader Outdoor Experience Recently I attended Cub Scout Leader Outdoor Experience training. This was a 24 hour course starting Friday evening. Who Needs Heroes? When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. The Three Faces of Leadership This article was published in the Nov. 2003 edition of Hamilton, Ontario's BIZ Magazine under the title "Leadership's Triple Crown" LMWhat does it take to be the head of a small business, a department manager, or even a corporate CEO? The effective director isn't one persona but three: a Visionary, a Manager, and a Mentor/Coach. Wanted: A Dictionary-Perfect Leader Answers are often before our very eyes or in front of our noses - particularly if we read the American Heritage Dictionary!Explore with me how some of the multitude of definitions for the word "leader" actually serve as a performance standard for leadership.Leaving behind the standard definition of "one who leads or guides", consider the second definition: "one who has power or influence". Elements of Timeless Leadership Great leadership is timeless, always in vogue. The world has been hungry for great leaders from time immemorial. In Leadership, Identifying Dreams That Lead To Great Results History teaches that when people needed to do great things, a leader first had to gather them together and speak from the heart. This heartfelt speech was often connected to defining and reinforcing a dream shared by both the leader and the people. 8 Questions to Ask if You Want to be a Better Leader Those that have successfully made the transition from manager to leader have found the importance of continuously asking questions. Constantly receiving feedback from front line workers enables aleader to understand what is going right and where improvement is needed. A Good Leader Knows The Teams Colours Leadership can be a very challenging task. As leaders we don't always get to choose who is on our team. The Leader Within Each and every one of you has hidden deep inside a different person a person that is robust insightful originative, a person that you have forgotten that it ever existed. No matter what you believe that person lies within you, waiting for its awakening call. Is Your Life Ready For Groundhog Day? In the hit comedic movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character, Phil Conners, is caught up in a time warp, doomed to live the same day over and over until he gets it right. Hilarious as the ensuing mayhem may be on the big screen, it is a poignant and not too thinly veiled metaphor for how most of us live our own lives - mindlessly occupied with our own issues and concerns, stumbling through life (often over the toes of others) with little if any conscious direction or critical thought. Make the Most of Your Mentoring Relationships Mentoring is one of the best ways to learn, to get feedback, and to take your career to the next level. Here are ten tips for making the most of your mentoring relationships. 3 Es For Leaders - Engage, Empower, Encourage! "Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of virtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave.. The Three Essential Attributes of a Leader: (Part 2) Bringing Others to the Vision We need to engage our listeners and transform them into excited, willing and committed supporters of the vision - for the duration of delivery!Logic, our intellect, doesn't know how to do this. It knows how to present the facts. C4 Leadership: Taking Your Leadership (and your Life) from Good...To Explosive! Chances are if you're interested in this post, you're looking for a few tips to take your leadership and/or your life, up a notch or two. Read on for a few things that have really helped me make my leadership more explosive after first defining what C4 is. 7 AAA Ways To Succeed! [Abounding Abundant Ample Ways To Boost Your Growth!] This may come as a surprise but there are reliable,effective and powerful ways to improve your ability to learnnew things. If you will allow me to use leadership skills training asour example, you will see how poor learning forces us tosuffer through any one or more of the following problems: - leadership training programs usually cost serious money -in fact, some programs are outrageously expensive - leadership training programs last for a very short time -quite a few of them run for only one or two days - many leadership training programs fail to give studentsways to confidently resolve problem situations or meet andovercome their daily challenges - less than 1% of all leadership training programs combinecoaching and mentoring follow-ups with classroom lessons - most leadership training programs like to do 'raw datadumps'- the vast majority of them do NOT give you chances to'blend' your learning experiences with supervised support orpractical feedback In this article you will discover how to find, use and takeadvantage of every kind of performance improvement learningopportunity you encounter.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
||||
|
Comment by Frank O'Donnell
