Sound Wisdom Blog

Eileen Rockwell 10/31/22 Eileen Rockwell 10/31/22

What to Think about BEFORE All-Employee Meetings by Alyson Van Hooser

Team building can be significantly impacted during all-employee meetings. Usually, leaders have great intentions and hopes when conducting these team meetings.

They want to make sure everyone feels celebrated, and they want to be transparent in sharing information.

However, sometimes the after-effects of the meeting are less than ideal for team building.

Team building can be significantly impacted during all-employee meetings. Usually, leaders have great intentions and hopes when conducting these team meetings.

They want to make sure everyone feels celebrated, and they want to be transparent in sharing information.

However, sometimes the after-effects of the meeting are less than ideal for team building.

To avoid unnecessary consequences and negative team building results, watch this episode of The Man & The Millennial Show for what to think about BEFORE your next all-employee meeting.

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that comes only from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her latest book, coauthored with Phillip Van Hooser, is Accelerate Your Success: 30-Day Journey to Elevate Your Performance & Fuel Your Professional Growth. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Eileen Rockwell 9/26/22 Eileen Rockwell 9/26/22

Stay Grounded in the Grind by Alyson Van Hooser

I don’t believe anybody’s true purpose in life is to serve themselves. Instead, I think our purpose is rooted in serving others. We begin a life well-lived, full of meaning, contentment, and no regrets when we use our gifts and calling to achieve success through serving others.

But if we’re not careful, we’ll get wrapped up in “achieving” our purpose—or “doing our job”—and completely lose sight of the object of our purpose—other people.

But if we’re not careful, we’ll get wrapped up in “achieving” our purpose—or “doing our job”—and completely lose sight of the object of our purpose—other people.

The Grind Plays Like This

It usually plays out like this…

We figure out our gifts and line them up with opportunities to serve. For example, I do that through speaking, training, and writing. You may do that through sharing products or services to help others achieve their goals, or teaching others about what you know, or using your gifts to help in someone else’s business, whatever your job or hustle may be…

Then, in order to make sure we do those things well, we make to-do lists of everything we must do. Productivity, right? We start tracking all our daily tasks, steps to accomplish the goal. We make sure we are getting our job done. And in the pursuit of productivity, we miss our purpose. Our priorities get out of balance.

How do you stay grounded to your purpose in the midst of the daily grind at work? Here are three ways.

As you plan your day or week, add these three action items to your to-do list so at week’s end, you’ve done more than work to take care of yourself…instead, your cup will be filled by pouring into others.

1. Celebrate Someone

Celebrating is all about reinforcing who and what is most important. For the person on the receiving end, it feels good to have someone reinforce that they are important. For you, it focuses your mind on selfless actions which creates a much more meaningful existence.

There’s always a reason to celebrate. Holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries, of course. But there are also national holidays like National Pizza Day—who wouldn’t love being surprised with free food?! You can celebrate summer break, a professional achievement, or simply just because.

2. Serve Someone

Everyone has hard things they’re dealing with in their life. Pick someone, a coworker, customer, friend, family member—someone you can serve. Then think of a way to serve them. Clean their house, play with their kids so they can go out, mow their yard, make them dinner, plan something fun for them to do, etc.   

Serving others is not about what’s convenient for you. Serving others is about giving them a leg up when they’re struggling. Whether you know them personally or not, who can you help this week?

Subscribe to The Sound Wisdom Blog for exclusive content and other articles from our authors.

3. Strengthen Someone

Empowering others is key to everyone living out their calling. How can you use your words, actions, time, and other resources to strengthen someone else this week? Maybe you make time to stop by someone’s desk to speak life and encouragement into them. It could mean you choose to say “yes” to the person who has asked you to mentor them—it’s your turn to strengthen them with your knowledge. It could be a handwritten note that simply says, “I believe in you.” How can you empower someone to live up to their full potential? Something as simple as that may help someone else turn a corner into a better, brighter future.

Grinding for the Greater Good

When we realize this life is not about me, but about us—helping another to crush their personal goals—we all arrive in a better place. Keep your intentions pure, focus on serving others, and then the grind will be better balanced because you’re serving the greater good.

Eileen Rockwell 8/29/22 Eileen Rockwell 8/29/22

Empathy Can Help You Wake Up Wealthier by Alyson Van Hooser

Headlines everywhere are claiming that empathy is an important LEADERSHIP skill. But that’s not quite right. It’s a necessary SUCCESS skill. If we choose to change our mindset regarding empathy, it might just be the catalyst for a more successful future for you!

Headlines everywhere are claiming that empathy is an important LEADERSHIP skill. But that’s not quite right. It’s a necessary SUCCESS skill. If we choose to change our mindset regarding empathy, it might just be the catalyst for a more successful future for you!

I am on a sold-out mission to show the world—to show you—the undeniable power of empathy and how it can transform your personal and professional success.

Don’t get me wrong—I don’t believe in get-rich-quick schemes. Instead, over my lifetime, I’ve discovered that empathy can help you lead better, sell more, connect deeper, and ultimately, quite literally, wake up wealthier every single day.

Whether we’re talking about navigating conflict, building a stronger team, selling more products and services, shifting a culture, improving communication, making better decisions, becoming more innovative, mending a broken relationship, earning trust and respect, etc., I’ve discovered that a simple choice to start with empathy can transform the outcome in the best way. In today’s blog, I’ll give you a brief example or two of just how a simple choice can help you wake up wealthier!

Three Types of Wealth

There are three ways I believe we can measure wealth.

RELATIONSHIPS

Your first thought might be money. And yes, that’s one way to measure wealth. However, it’s not the most meaningful way.

I believe the most meaningful way to measure wealth in this life is in the quality of the relationships we build with other people. If you talk to anyone who has lived a long, fulfilling life and asked them what the key to their happiness and contentment is—their overwhelming answer would be the deep connections they’ve built with the people they did life with at work or home, with their friends, family, and their community. If you want to have a rich life, you must invest in your relationships.

IMPACT

The second way to measure wealth in your life is in the impact you make either now or for the future. If you leave this world a better place for others, you might just find that is exactly what fills your soul and fulfills your purpose.

FINANCES

The third, most common way to measure wealth is from a financial perspective. Whether you’re trying to influence someone to buy more, to stay longer, or perform better…your ability to perform well can have a direct effect on just how financially wealthy you become.

Whether you measure your wealth in terms of the quality of your relationships, the level of impact you make, the number in your bank account, or a combination of all three, if you want to wake up wealthier every day, hands down, start with empathy.

How to Make Empathy Work for Everyone

When most people think of empathy, they think of kindness and compassion. Not me. And from this point forward, I hope you don’t either. 

The benefits of compassion and kindness can sometimes only be one-sided. However, choosing empathy from the beginning allows you to create better results for everyone involved.

The value of empathy is rooted in uncovering prioritized needs and being able to think like someone else. If you can learn to uncover the most important needs of someone else and think like them, then you give yourself the opportunity to create a unique roadmap to a more impactful result for both parties.

Empathy is a top success skill. It must be developed. When you can think like someone else and choose to meet their needs first, then you can lead better, sell more, and connect deeper. All of which lead to better outcomes for all involved.

Servant Heart vs. Empathetic Mind

I told you I’d give you an example of how empathy can help you become wealthier. Here’s one example from an “impact” perspective. Here you’ll see that empathy was not used first, and the maximum impact was not realized in the end.

Servant leadership became mainstream in the 1970s and is now widely accepted and practiced today. Leading with a servant’s heart is important; however, leading with an empathetic mind is critical for maximum impact. 

Leading with a “Servant’s Heart” is important; however, leading with an “Empathetic Mind” is critical. —Alyson Van Hooser

An F4 tornado ripped through my community at about 10:00 pm several months ago. Before the sun had risen, semi-trucks full of bottled water were headed our way. Standing on my back porch, I could see a local church parking lot filling with pallets of bottled water for the next several days. So many kind, generous people from literally across the world wanted to help, to make a positive difference. They knew people were struggling here in Kentucky and had lost everything. They know that water is essential. So, with a servant’s heart, people gave their own time and resources to help. All who witnessed the generosity or was a beneficiary of it are still so deeply grateful, including me. 

Several days passed after the tornado hit, and a disconnect became obvious to me. This was a familiar situation…one where we had incredibly compassionate, kind, servant leaders who were exhausting their resources to help and serve people by giving clean water. However, the donors weren’t making the positive impact they’d hoped for. Even months after the natural disaster, buildings were filled with donated goods and community leaders struggled to freely give it all away. Through social media and word of mouth, most of the appreciation and satisfaction that many expected to hear from the recipients of their generosity was instead drowned out by the droves of people that desperately needed different resources such as heaters, baby formula, bottles, shoes, furniture, and shelter. There were important needs that were unmet. Because of that, the impact that was intended was not realized.

Oftentimes leaders are doing good work, but they’re not meeting the real need of their people. When that happens, leaders are often confused when they don’t get the response they thought they would from their people. I would suggest that what we have here is a lack of empathy. If we start with empathy, we save time, money, and maximize our return.

If you want to connect deeper, lead better, sell more, make a bigger impact, make sure you’re actually serving the real need your people have. Don’t assume you know the need. You might have a bias you don’t even realize or be comparing their experience to your own—which may be totally different in reality. Get to know their story. Uncover their need. Serve their need first, then work better together going forward. You’ll see results so much faster if you start with empathy before you take action!

The Transformational Power of Empathy

If you want to improve your success from a relationship, impact, or financial perspective, focus on people’s needs. Maybe someone needs to feel as though they belong, as though you care, as though they’re respected, maybe they need a warm meal, a listening ear, etc. Start there, with empathy.

From a leadership perspective, one example may be that if an employee is struggling to get out of bed in the morning because they’re depressed, and yet you’re offering free pizza and hybrid work options to boost morale and performance, you might be wasting your resources. Start with empathy. Get to know your people on a very real level. Uncover their unmet need that will lead to a transformational outcome. Make a decision that meets their need first. When you do that, you’ll eliminate a barrier to an authentic connection, which will give you permission to move forward toward the win-win outcome you crave.

If you look at this from a sales perspective, one example may be that before you try to sell something, uncover the needs of your future customer. Maybe they need to know you’re honest, or that you’re not going to take advantage of them. It’s possible they need to talk to you at a certain time or to talk fast…or maybe slow down. Start with empathy. When you do that, you uncover exactly how you need to move forward so they will be more likely to buy from you.

The transformational power of empathy lies in your ability to correctly uncover the most important needs people have and allows you to think like someone else. Empathy is a skill. It must be developed. When you’ve highly developed your ability to effectively empathize—to accurately uncover needs and think like someone else—THAT is how and when you begin to create your unique, extremely specific roadmap to success…ensuring every single day that either from a relationship, impact, or financial perspective, you can wake up wealthier.

How are you making sure your skill of empathy is the best it can be?

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that comes only from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.

Eileen Rockwell 6/27/22 Eileen Rockwell 6/27/22

What Abandonment Taught Me about Adaptability & Success by Alyson Van Hooser

I learned…

not to give up but to push through.
life is not fair, but you have a chance to flip the script.
choosing positive actions, even when you don’t feel like it, leads to positive results.
the willingness and ability to adapt is the x-factor for success.

I babysat a little girl frequently when I was in middle school. Her parents went into work really early on Saturday mornings. I’d sleep over at their house on Friday night so I could spend Saturday morning playing with their little girl until her parents got off work at lunchtime.

One Friday night, when I was 13, my dad told me I was going to go babysit for them again. Little did I know that would be the last time I ever lived with my dad.

I didn’t hear from him for about six months. When I finally did get a call from him, it wasn’t because he wanted me back. It was because the government was forcing me to move in with someone else and he was calling to deliver the news.

As this new season of life began, I added to the pain of it all. I was a hurt teenager and I reacted by acting out as any hurt child might do. It took me a while to figure out that I was only hurting myself by making choices that could take me further away from where I really wanted to be.

Lesson Learned

It was then that I figured out I needed to acknowledge my feelings instead of acting on them—a lesson that has served me well in my personal and professional life ever since. If I was going to get where I wanted to be, I needed to act differently.

I decided to shift my focus—to adapt in a way that would keep me on the path that would move me forward, not backward. 

In this season, I learned many lessons to make me stronger, smarter, more resilient, and more grounded. And it only solidified my certainty that taking ownership of your actions and reactions is the only way to guarantee your future.

I learned…

not to give up but to push through.

life is not fair, but you have a chance to flip the script. 
choosing positive actions, even when you don’t feel like it, leads to positive results.
the willingness and ability to adapt is the x-factor for success.

Let’s dig deeper into adaptability.

Where Are You Right Now?

When it comes to adaptability, where do you find yourself? Do you live your life to people-please? Or are you dead set on #DoingYou and refuse to adapt at all?

I have to tell you, both ends are dangerous. You risk losing yourself or losing your opportunity. It’s the area in between you need to be aware of and work toward. 

If you believe you should not have to adapt, and everyone should accept you just as you are—you’re likely getting in the way of your own success. If you think acting “in the moment” means staying true to who you are—I say in love—you’re wrong. That mindset can suck all the momentum out of forward progress. If you find yourself there right now, reconsider your approach and consider owning your adaptability skill.

Hear me carefully: adapting does not mean you change who you are at your core. It means, as things happen, you adjust your attitudes and behaviors to make sure you still win. As you adapt, you should never compromise your integrity or your character. You should never act immorally. But if the adapted choice aligns with your core values and is something you can change, do it!

Adaptability Determines Your Results

Most situations in your life will involve other people. And your ability to adapt to different people impacts the results you get.

In order to adapt well, you need to be hyperaware of yourself and the people around you. This means analyzing exactly what you are thinking and feeling; what others are thinking and feeling; and how you can best interact with the person or situation in the moment.

Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not flirting with the idea of manipulating people. First, manipulation has a negative connotation as if someone is losing. I am talking about a win-win for everyone.

But I am talking about taking ownership of how other people treat you. If you want people to act in a way that is positive for you, then you have to adapt the way you interact with them so it is a positive experience for them as well.

It took a painful childhood experience for me to understand the impact adaptability has on achieving success. I don’t want pain to be the teacher for you.

So whether it’s at work, at home, or in your community—regardless of what is happening to you or around you—you control your future. Choosing to adapt is a choice for you, not against you.

You’re adapting your style, not your heart. Make sure you don’t get stuck in an arrogant, ignorant, and defeated place where you think staying true to you means never changing for anyone else. If you take that approach, you might just get stuck never knowing how good you could have had it if you just would have owned it.

Instead, choose to be constantly hyperaware of what is really happening in the minds and hearts of yourself and the people around you—then you will be able to adapt the right way every time. When you learn to adapt correctly, you win.

With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson Van Hooser has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her podcast, Stake: The Leadership Podcast, offers a fresh perspective on leadership and helps multiple generations successfully work together! Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. And get her latest book, Accelerate Your Success: 30-Day Journey to Elevate Your Performance & Fuel Your Professional Growth (coauthored with Phillip Van Hooser), wherever books are sold!

Eileen Rockwell 8/2/21 Eileen Rockwell 8/2/21

Stay Grounded in the Grind by Alyson Van Hooser

I don’t believe anybody’s true purpose in life is to serve themselves. Instead, I think our purpose is rooted in serving others. We begin a life well lived, full of meaning, contentment, and no regrets when we use our gifts and calling to achieve success through serving others.

But if we’re not careful, we’ll get wrapped up in “achieving” our purpose—or “doing our job”—and completely lose sight of the object of our purpose—other people.

But if we’re not careful, we’ll get wrapped up in “achieving” our purpose—or “doing our job”—and completely lose sight of the object of our purpose—other people.

The Grind Plays Like This

It usually plays out like this…

“In the pursuit of productivity, we miss our purpose.”

How do you stay grounded to your purpose in the midst of the daily grind at work? Here are three ways.

1. Celebrate Someone

There’s always a reason to celebrate—holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries, of course. But there are also national holidays like National Pizza Day—who wouldn’t love being surprised with free food?! You can celebrate summer break, a professional achievement, or simply just because.

2. Serve Someone

Everyone has hard things they’re dealing with in their life. Pick someone—a co-worker, customer, friend, family member—someone you can serve. Then think of a way to serve them. Clean their house, play with their kids so they can go out, mow their yard, make them dinner, plan something fun for them to do, etc.     

Serving others is not about what’s convenient for you. Serving others is about giving them a leg up when they’re struggling. Whether you know them personally or not, whom can you help this week?

3. Strengthen Someone

Grinding for the Greater Good

When we realize this life is not about “me” but about “us,” helping another to crush their personal goals, we all arrive in a better place. Keep your intentions pure, focus on serving others, and then the grind will be better balanced because you’re serving the greater good.

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! She is the author of Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.

Eileen Rockwell 3/8/21 Eileen Rockwell 3/8/21

“3 Stories Leaders Need to Know about Their Employees” by Alyson Van Hooser

How do leaders know how to lead whom? Storytelling and story seeking. When it comes to understanding how to lead people, stories tell you what statistics can’t. Stories capture attention, are memorable, and are personal. Stories break down barriers and build bonds.

Storytelling and story seeking shouldn’t be random. Instead, it must be intentional. Here are 3 stories every leader needs to know about employees.

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

Stories unlock answers to challenges leaders must overcome. To hire the right people, get them to stay, and continue to perform above expectations, start by learning these three stories leaders need to know about employees.

Strategies you’ve heard that promise to help you recruit, retain, and lead great employees—but allow no room for individual customization—likely won’t work for leading the current and future workforce. Why? Our economy and diversity. The workforce is more diverse than ever—education, experiences, expectations, and more. In our economy, people have access to hundreds of thousands of jobs just a click away on their phones. Empirical evidence suggests that leaders who take an individualistic approach to lead their team will ultimately be much more successful than those who don’t.

How do leaders know how to lead whom? Storytelling and story seeking. When it comes to understanding how to lead people, stories tell you what statistics can’t. Stories capture attention, are memorable, and are personal. Stories break down barriers and build bonds.

Storytelling and story seeking shouldn’t be random. Instead, it must be intentional. Here are 3 stories every leader needs to know about employees.

Defining Memories

Unless something extremely significant happens, most of how we show up in the workplace is shaped by what we experienced growing up. As a child and young adult, we learned how to build relationships, respond to rejection, achieve success, deal with conflict, work as a team, and more.

One story you might share and seek would be the story about how you/they learned their work ethic.

Think about this…

My husband learned from his dad that showing up and working hard—even when it’s not convenient—will end up earning you experience, success, and respect for decades to come. From a leadership perspective, if an employee grew up learning a strong work ethic and realizing the benefits, it’s a safe assumption that they’ll show up with a strong work ethic throughout their time in the workforce, too.
On the other hand, I grew up with parents who did not work. I saw, felt, and lived the negative effects of that. I never want that for myself or my family. As a leader, if you have an employee that was dealt a tough hand and they overcame it, it’s likely they’ll continue that same positive trajectory going forward.

It could be that you are interviewing a potential candidate. If you ask them where/how they learned their work ethic and they have no response, this could potentially be a red flag or sign of challenges to come from a dependability or performance perspective.

A leader who understands an employee’s past can predict and prepare for how the employee will act in the future.

Today’s Heartbeat

Many organizations do exit interviews. Fewer organizations have implemented “stay interviews.” It’s important for leaders to know what keeps an employee showing up and giving their best so you can make sure you don’t stop doing what they’re liking…whether it’s the way you give feedback, the flexibility their position offers, etc.

A story you might share and seek would be the story about what a perfect day in their work-life would look like.

One employee may be quick to tell you that they would come in, keep their head down, do their job, not hear from anyone, and get to leave on time. Another employee might tell you that they’d want to be involved in many different projects, interacting with lots of different people, and wrap the day up with a one-on-one meeting with you to discuss progress. Ultimately, you may hear little nuggets from the employee about when, how, or what they need from you.

A leader who understands why their employees stay is more likely to never have to watch them leave.

American Dreams

Do you know where you and your employees want to be in one, five, ten years? If you haven’t had a personal conversation about this in the past year or two, now would be a great time.

To get them to tell you a story, ask them to tell you a story about what success will look like to them after ten more years.

Someone may surprise you and tell you that they picture themselves being an entrepreneur. As a leader, you need to know if someone is not in it for the long haul. Another employee may tell you that they want to be a leader in a different department in the organization. There’s your sign as their leader that you should start giving them opportunities to grow, as well as making time to develop their replacement when they get promoted.

When a leader understands the destination, they can make plans to take roads to get their team there faster, better, stronger.

The One Time Leaders Should Talk Before They Listen

If you’ve ever been in our comprehensive leadership development program, you know how critical it is for leaders to listen first. However, this may be the one time that I suggest that leaders should actually talk first.

People are more willing to share personal, insightful stories with people they trust. Before you jump straight into asking employees about their stories, start by sharing yours. When you intentionally open up to people about your life, they’ll feel you trust them more. In turn, they’ll be more likely to feel they can trust you, too.

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is now available from Sound Wisdom. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.

Eileen Rockwell 7/13/20 Eileen Rockwell 7/13/20

Leaders Must S.E.E. Clearly by Alyson Van Hooser

With so much nationwide turmoil potentially affecting your team (personally and professionally), it’s likely that one or more of your people are experiencing heartache, despair, stress, etc. It’s incredibly important that you as a leader appropriately show love to your employees in the way of tender communication and finding ways to help that would lighten their load and heal their hearts. A great place to start is simply asking and listening to their stories. When you ask and listen, it shows them you care…and also helps you know exactly how to take action…just two of the many benefits of a leader who S.E.E.s clearly.

Photo by Christina Morillo for StockSnap — Photo by Christina Morillo for StockSnap

Everything rises and falls with leadership. Especially because of recent events, if you want yourself and your team to come out of this in a positive way, you have to S.E.E. clearly. If you’re wondering how to do that, I can help.

Below is an excerpt from one of the chapters in my new book, Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals, which will help you successfully navigate the multiple issues facing our country—your people—right now. I teach often on the characteristics of the five different generations in the workforce and multiple informative motivational theories, but if you’ve ever been in one of my keynote presentations or leadership training sessions, then you’ve heard me express the criticality of understanding the personal stories that have shaped your people into who they are today.  

As you dig into the psyche of people, you will find outliers who don’t conform to the generational and motivational information. The outliers do not make this information obsolete at all because most of the time, the basic principles apply. However, you have to be able to recognize the outliers. If you do not, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO TRULY CONNECT WITH THEM.

[An example of an outlier might be a Gen X employee who is not an independent worker, where research suggests that the majority of Gen X adults are very independent workers. More discussion on “outliers” is featured in the book.]

Outliers will not fit the statistical norm. Why? Because something in their life has happened that shaped them into who they have become, which is different than the majority. Sociologist Morris Massey coined the term Significant Emotional Events (S.E.E.). A Significant Emotional Event is one that causes a person to question and even change their values. To create a more influential connection with people, you need to know the stories of the Significant Emotional Events in their lives—good and bad. There is information held within those stories that you will never be able to gather from science or statistics….

To truly know the people around you and understand what motivates them and what makes them tick, you have to build relationships with them. When you build a relationship established on trust, then the people around you will open up to you and allow you into their lives by sharing very real—sometimes good, sometimes tough—stories of what they have been through that have formed the why behind what they do.

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.

Eileen Rockwell 6/15/20 Eileen Rockwell 6/15/20

3 Cs for Results-Driven Action by Alyson Van Hooser

Do you want to be more successful? Understanding the right action you need to take is critical for earning success. Without a high-level understanding of what you do and do not need to do, you’ll be left with long-term lackluster results. How frustrating that would be—for both you and your employer!

Photo by Kristin Hardwick for StockSnap — Photo by Kristin Hardwick for StockSnap

I recently wrote a book titled Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals (releasing June 16, 2020), and I open the entire book, laying the foundation, with the 3 Cs we’re going to very briefly discuss today.

The 3 Cs for Results-Driven Action will help you take control of your future success and eliminate wasted time and energy!

C—Correct

The first of the three Cs is: CORRECT. You must take correct action…anything else will lead you off-track from accomplishing your goals!

I suggest the first step in establishing what correct action looks like for you is to get your perspective in check. Understanding who you are, what you want to achieve, and how the world really works is key to correctly seeing what action you need to take.

How do you know if your perspective is currently correct or incorrect?

Answer this question for yourself: When is the last time I sat down and deeply analyzed who I am, my goals, and the world around me?

If your answer is never, you could be taking incorrect action.

If your answer is sometime before your mid-20s, you could be taking incorrect action. Why? The decision-making part of your brain isn’t fully developed until you’re in your mid-20s.
If your answer is 6 months ago, then you may very well be on the right track!

Hear me carefully: correct, results-driven action is critical to building the right foundation for you to grow from.

C—Calculated

Calculated action means that every action you take is on purpose, for a purpose. In other words, every word you say and move you make is to get you closer to—not further from—crushing your goals.

How do you learn what action to take and when? You must deeply understand the people around you.

Newsflash: There is no one in the world who is a self-made success! If you want to be successful, you’re going to have to be willing to learn about and work well with other people. You must deeply develop your knowledge of who the people are around you, what they like and dislike, what motivates them, etc.

Why do you need to do that?

People are forming opinions about you with every interaction they have with you. Their opinion of you matters because it determines how they treat you. They may be your door to opportunity! Make sure you’re interacting with them intentionally. And, here’s the thing: their opinion of you will have less to do with you and more to do with them…

How do you make them feel?
Do you cause them to have more/less faith in you?

Do your actions make them want to invest in or get rid of you?

That list could go on! People have different personalities, motivations, etc. You need to understand them so you can adapt your actions and create forward progress in your personal and professional life.

C—Consistent

I believe that your success hinges on your willingness to choose to be consistent. Consistent action may be the hardest part of all of this. Most people don’t consistently perform well, which is why most people are not where they want to be in life.

The key to being consistent is to stay focused on your goals. When you clearly know what it is you are trying to accomplish, you will not succumb to incorrect, uncalculated, inconsistent actions in the heat of a moment. Instead, you’ll choose the right actions, the right response, and the right decision.

My question to you is: Do you know exactly where you’re headed? Do you have a clear goal? If not, you’ll be taking a lot of action that may lead you nowhere.

I challenge you today to get serious about naming and understanding your own priorities so that when the rubber meets the road, you won’t lose your motivation and your consistency.

If you want to dig deeper into correct, consistent, calculated action that earns you the respect and trust of others, pre-order copies of Level Up for you and your team today!

Results-Driven Action for Success

The bottom line is, you can have that hunger, that burning desire, or that small voice impelling you to live your value. But that feeling alone will not get you any closer to crushing your goals. You have to take action…and by action I mean correct, calculated, and consistent action—right now. That is your only option for success. I believe we have the ability to EARN everything we want. I’m wishing you massive success!

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers on June 16, 2020. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog and has been edited for inclusion on the Sound Wisdom Blog.

Eileen Rockwell 5/18/20 Eileen Rockwell 5/18/20

Get Motivated to Lead While You #StayAtHome by Alyson Van Hooser

Where’s your head at right now with everything going on? Like so many people, have you defaulted to feeling overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated or demotivated?

I used the word defaulted because no one intentionally works to feel those negative feelings. They just happen; they’re most people’s default in difficult situations.

The fact of the matter is that you DON’T have to accept your default. Let me say it again for those of you who were just skimming up to this point—you don’t have to accept your default; you can flip the script!

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator from StockSnap — Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator from StockSnap

Where’s your head at right now with everything going on? Like so many people, have you defaulted to feeling overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated or demotivated?

I used the word defaulted because no one intentionally works to feel those negative feelings. They just happen; they’re most people’s default in difficult situations.

You don’t have to accept your default—you can flip the script!

Right now, this once-in-a-lifetime season of life is where most people will either crumble or remain static for the next several weeks or months. You aren’t called to be most people. Make no mistake, this is your opportunity to either hit home runs or let everything hit the fan. I want to help you get motivated to lead—both yourself and others—to come out from this situation better than you were before it even happened! Whether it’s business as somewhat usual for you, or if your world has been turned upside down, now is your time to shine!

Your Mindset, Your Choice

Because so many people are working from home and practicing social distancing, we are spending a lot more time looking at screens—computers, TVs, phones, etc. I saw a meme this week that made me smile. The meme said something to the extent of “Rapunzel was quarantined and she met her husband…so let’s think positive!” Although I’m not looking for a husband (I locked down one of those almost ten years ago, ha!), I am a big believer in the thought of purposefully focusing your mind on positivity. Being intentional in that way is incredibly powerful. When you own your power to choose a positive mindset, you create a breeding ground for growth and success!

Here’s what I know—most people are operating off their default mindset. When things get hard, most people default to overwhelm, stress, frustration, and mere survival. Maybe you’re there right now. If you are, I totally get it. This is a tough time for so many. But friend…I don’t want you to stay there!

Significance > Survival

Learning to control my mindset is the it-factor to crushing your goals. And what’s encouraging to me through all the struggles surrounding COVID-19 is that it’s been through the struggles in my life that I’ve grown immensely, gained the most value, and skyrocketed my momentum both personally and professionally.

Whether it was navigating poverty as a child or overcoming abandonment from my parents and then life-altering postpartum depression, etc., it is in the times where normalcy has been ripped out from under me that I had the life-changing choice to either spend my days struggling to survive or fighting to create significance.

Isn’t that what we are all experiencing right now with #COVID-19…a hard place where normalcy has been ripped out from under us?

So I ask you again—where’s your head at right now? Are you defaulting to struggling to survive or are you thriving by working from a place of creating significance?

Here’s the thing, when you operate in survival mode, it’s like you’re treading water. You can’t tread water forever! Eventually you tire out, give up, and go down.

When you shift your mindset from survival to operating from a place of creating significance during hard times, you increase the momentum in your life to emerge stronger, smarter, and better than you were before. You make the difficult times mean something positive!

Shifting your mindset is not a matter of how you feel, either. It’s a matter of how you take action. You may not feel like stepping up to the plate and making this a positive season in your life and for the people around you. Do it anyway!

Stand and Serve

In this season when so much feels uncertain, as if the ground is shaking, it’s time for you to choose to stand…stand and serve.

Most people are:

looking for ways to take care of themselves right now, not others
doing what they can to get by instead of doing what they can to create a better tomorrow
will come out of this season of life worse or no better off than they were before.

You don’t have to be most people! The steps you should take are steps that anyone could take, everyone should take, but very few will take. Whether you feel like it or not, if you choose to take action and step up during this time, it will all be worth it.

I’m a full-time author, speaker and trainer on leadership. I’m incredibly passionate about developing leaders because leaders have the potential to positively change the trajectory of people’s lives. Leadership is an incredible responsibility and honor! The world needs more great leaders and it simply starts with a person’s choice to say yes to leadership. I want to challenge you to stand up and say “yes” today.

Regardless of your position within an organization, you have influence with people around you. Up to this point, your influence may be good, bad, small, or large. If you choose to take action to SERVE the people around you, your influence will grow in a positive way and you’ll begin blazing a trail for yourself to becoming a great LEADER. It’s during the hard times like we’re experiencing right now that great leaders become easily recognizable. This is your opportunity to shine…to earn increased trust, respect, and loyalty from your people by serving them well. This is your time to crush your goals while helping others crush theirs.

Service Increases Motivation

I mentioned earlier that you may not feel like stepping up and leading right now. I believe to my core that those who want success, fight for it even when they don’t feel like it…even when it’s hard, even when they shouldn’t have to, even when someone else should step up. You need to act the way you want to feel right now. When you do that, eventually the results of your actions will fuel you into a more positively motivated state.

Think about this for a second…I want you to focus your mind on serving the people around you. Why? Because when you focus your mind on serving other people, suddenly there’s very little space in your mind or time in your day to be worrying about how you’re being negatively affected through hard times. Instead, serving others becomes the action that will steadily increase your motivation!

“Serving others becomes the action that will steadily increase your motivation!”

Because you have influence with the people around you—which means you are a leader– it’s your responsibility to lead yourself and your people well. The people you’re leading may be yourself, your co-workers, your employees, and even your boss. Regardless, it doesn’t matter who you’re leading, it matters what you do with this opportunity.

Ways You Can Serve Your People

Here are some practical actions you can start taking today to better lead yourself and your people. Anyone can take these actions, all leaders should take these actions, but only the best-of-the-best leaders will actually take these positive actions during this difficult time. I believe you are destined to be among the best-of-the-best, so let’s dig in!

Be the light for your people.
For many, this feels like a dark time. Be the light. Lead your people to the light. How do you do that?
First, you have to get your own mind right. You need to limit and purposefully choose what you hear, see, and say right now. Listen to music that has a positive message, only look at social media accounts that will bring positivity into your mind, find one news source you trust and only consume that one source once a day for a very limited time. Turn off and unfollow anything that doesn’t fit that description of what you should be hearing and seeing right now.
Once you’ve set those things in place for yourself, share the light with your people. Add appropriate joy and humor to your everyday interactions—e-mails, Zoom, face-to-face interactions if you’re still having those, etc.
Focus on becoming the light to your people. Give yourself and them a reason to smile and laugh. You’ll help yourself and others relieve stress…and while that is great for a person’s mental health, it is also great for a person’s professional performance (I won’t bore you with the science to back that up right now)!
Dream for your people.
Many of your people are operating in survival mode where they cannot dream for themselves, but as a leader you can and you should!
So where do you start?
Think about your team’s goals prior to COVID-19, think about your team’s strengths both before COVID-19 and the ones that emerged amid COVID-19, and then be innovative! What new, more efficient and productive processes can you implement after this is over? What new strategies can you set in motion to escalate performance? The list can go on and on.
This is where you as a leader have the opportunity to shine. Think about the things other people aren’t taking the time to think about right now! Be the person that takes yourself, your people, and your company to places no one had even imagined before!
Be steady for your people.
Your people cannot predict what the company, governor, or president is going to do or decide next. Proper communication is the antidote to the stress that uncertainty brings. As a leader, be the calm in this storm.
Schedule regular communication with your people. Communication time where you tell them what you know. Schedule enough time where you allow them to ask all of their questions and voice their concerns.
People are starving for great leadership right now. You can be the solution they need with steady communication.

This Is Your Time—Get Motivated!

As a leader, I’m believing that this is going to be the season of life where you step up in a big way and lead your people to feel and accomplish incredible things. All it takes is a choice from you…a choice to say “yes” to taking action to serve the people around you. When you do that, whether you’re in the office or working from home, you’ll reignite your motivation and take back control of your success! This is your time.

Alyson Van Hooser is a leadership keynote speaker and trainer on millennials, Gen Z, and women in business. With the grit that only comes from tough experiences, Alyson has learned a thing or two about personal and professional success. From her management experience with Walmart, as an elected city council member, bank manager—all before the age of 30—Alyson has wisdom well beyond her years! Preorder her book Level Up: Elevate Your Game & Crush Your Goals on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and other fine retailers. Connect with Alyson on LinkedIn and Instagram. This article originally appeared here on the Van Hooser Associates Leadership Blog.

Sound Wisdom Blog

Leading with a “Servant’s Heart” is important; however, leading with an “Empathetic Mind” is critical. —Alyson Van Hooser

Follow Us!