So far we’ve defined our Responsibilities, recognized our Authority, and identified our Resources on our journey along the Path To Power™.  We have come three-quarters of the way in our journey.

With these clearly defined, it is time to move on to the fourth & final key concept, Accountability.

We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
– Ronald Reagan

Being accountable allows us to succeed by keeping us on track to accomplish whatever task is at hand.

Many people are not adept at holding themselves accountable.  They need outside help.  Ask yourself if you have the capability to hold yourself accountable in all situations.  If not, on whom or on what can you depend to hold you accountable?

Being held accountable will keep you traveling along the Path to Success.  It will allow you to successfully accomplish everything you have set out to accomplish.  Many top executives realize that they don’t always have the capability to hold themselves accountable in all responsibilities.  They have learned to ask for help in remaining accountable.  Many of these top execs have taken to forming “accountability clubs” and hiring the services of coaches.

As we have done in previous posts, let’s explore your role as a parent.  Review the notes you’ve made during previous examinations of this role.  Review your responsibilities, their associated task sets, your authority, and your resources.

Now ask yourself who or what holds you accountable in each of these.  Do you have the ability to hold yourself accountable in all parental situations?  If so, great!  If not, on whom or on what can you rely for help in holding yourself accountable?  If you think about it, you realize that your children, quite naturally, hold you accountable for taking care of their needs and wants.

For example, you are the parent of a beautiful three-month-old daughter.  She is your first child.  At this stage of your life, there is so much to learn about being a parent.  She is so dependent upon you for love and affection.  She depends upon you for food, clothing, shelter, etc.  How can one so young hold a parent accountable to supply her needs and desires?  While she may not tell you in so many words that you did not feed her yet and she is hungry, she has a not so subtle way of letting you know that she wants to be fed.  Pay attention to her subtle and not so subtle ways of communicating, and you will be held accountable by this beautiful baby.  Pay attention and you will be a successful parent.

So here is your assignment:

Consider at least three (3) of your parental responsibilities and their associated task sets.  Explore these questions for each:

• Can you hold yourself accountable in all situations for accomplishing the tasks involved?
• On whom can you depend to hold you accountable for accomplishing these tasks? 
• On what can you depend to help hold you accountable for accomplishing these tasks? 

Knowing your accountabilities will help keep you on task.

If we revisit your role as a mid – level manager, we can do the same type of exploration of accountabilities with each job responsibility you have.  For instance, one of your many responsibilities on the job is to train the workforce.  To whom are you accountable for providing training?  Are you accountable to your boss?  Are you accountable to the department heads?  Are you accountable to the employees?  Of course!

So here is your second assignment:

Consider all responsibilities associated with your role within your company.  List all tasks associated with these responsibilities.

• List your accountability holders for each task set – on whom or on what can you depend to help hold you accountable?

• Do you need to explore hiring the services of an accountability coach?

The more you become aware of the needed accountabilities to complete your tasks, the more easily you will achieve your success.

So far we’ve defined our Responsibility, realized our Authority, listed our Resources, and defined our Accountability on our journey along the Path To Power™.  Putting these all together, we now have a clear path to success.

If you would like the assistance of an accountability coach to help you leverage your time and hold you accountable to achieve your success, please contact me.  I am certain that together, we can realize your goals.

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

Yesterday, we continued our discussion of four key concepts of true Leadership:  Responsibility, Authority, Resources, & Accountability.

So far we’ve identified our Responsibilities and recognized our Authority on our journey along the Path To Power™.  We have come halfway in our journey.

With these clearly defined, it is time to move on to the third key concept, Resources.

When we think about the resources necessary to be successful in any given task, we must consider the following resources:

• Knowledge
• Skill
• Experience
• Time
• Money 

“Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.”

 – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

We should also consider, as H. Jackson Brown, Jr. has indicated, these all-important resources:

• Love
• Prayer
• Forgiveness

Perhaps, some of these resources may not be applicable to every role you play.  Perhaps you will need more of one, and less of another in some roles.

Let’s explore your role as a parent.  Go back to your responsibilities, as you defined them.  Take into consideration the task sets necessary to fulfill these responsibilities.  Consider your authority for each of these.  Now ask yourself what resources are necessary to complete each task to fulfill each responsibility.  Do you have enough of these resources?  If yes, great!  If no, do you know how and where to acquire the resource?  Can you do so in a timely fashion?

For instance, your daughter is going into her senior year of high school.  She has been discussing colleges with you, and you have begun to visit different colleges and universities.  She makes it very clear during discussing her preferences that she would love to attend a particular institution of higher learning, if she is extended an offer.  In considering this preference, what resources are involved?  Does the resource of experience enter into this situation?  Do you have experience in preparing for admission to college, in general, and this specific school, in particular?  If so, you have the experience to guide your daughter to gaining admission to the school of her dreams.  If not, where can you acquire this experience?  Friends?  Colleagues?  College Counselors?  How does the resource time enter into this situation?  Can you clear your schedule to make the necessary visits to this college with your daughter?  You may need to make several, in order for your daughter to truly make an informed decision.  If you do have this resource of time, it will make the process so much easier.  If you can’t clear your schedule at certain times in order to accompany your daughter to this school, do you have back-up?  Is there someone (another parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or friend) who will lend some time to the cause?

Remember, if we do not have enough of a certain resource, as long as we know how, where, and from whom to acquire it, we can fulfill our responsibilities.

We’ve looked at the resources of experience and time, in relation to this example.  But, what about the resource of money?  Your daughter really prefers this particular institution of higher learning to all others she has visited.  Of course, you must consider the expenses involved in the college experience.  How will the expenses of education be paid?  Have you saved enough money for your daughter’s education?  If yes, wonderful!  If no, how will the expenses be paid?  Student Loans?  Grants?  Scholarships?  If you do not have enough of the resource of money, you need to know where to acquire it.  You need to depend upon another resource – knowledge – to help you acquire the funds needed.  Look at your daughter’s academic record.  Have her grades been high enough to warrant applying for scholarships?  If so, this may be a great way for her to acquire the money needed for her education.  Some organizations sponsor scholarships for expenses other than tuition (room & board, textbooks, computers, etc).  If an applicant’s academic record is strong, many colleges will actively pursue the student.  They will offer admission with combinations of scholarships and grants that will pay a major portion of the student’s tuition.  So, it may be well worth the time and effort to explore these options.

In this situation, you also want to consider your resources of love and prayer.  These can keep you on track to achieve your goal of helping your daughter to gain admission to the school of her dreams.  Once she has been accepted and throughout her journey through academia, your love and prayers will be vital resources for ensuring her success. 

So here is your assignment:

Consider at least three (3) of your parental responsibilities and their associated task sets.  Explore these questions for each:

• What resources are necessary to the fulfillment of these responsibilities?
• Do you have enough of each resource?
• How and where can you acquire more of the resources needed?

If we revisit your role as a mid – level manager, we can do the same type of exploration of resources with each job responsibility you have.  For instance, one of your many responsibilities on the job is to train the workforce.  What resources are necessary to the fulfillment of these responsibilities?  Do you have the knowledge of the specific topics necessary to provide the needed training?  Do you have the skill to actually do the training?  With all other demands on your schedule, do you have the time to lead the training sessions?  Is there enough money in your budget to purchase the training programs or contract the training consultants?

Consider whether or not you have enough of each resource.  Consider also, how and where you can acquire more of the resources, if needed.

Begin listing all tasks in question, and consider for each the questions we discussed above.

• What resources are necessary to the fulfillment of these responsibilities?
• Do you have enough of each resource?
• How and where can you acquire more of the resources needed?

The more you become aware of the needed resources to complete your tasks, the more easily you will achieve your success.

So far we’ve defined our Responsibility, realized our Authority, and listed our Resources on our journey along the Path To Power™.

In our tomorrow’s post, we’ll take a look at the next of our four key leadership concepts, Accountability.

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

In yesterday’s post, we discussed four key concepts of true Leadership:  Responsibility, Authority, Resources, & Accountability.

Today’s post deals with the second of these, Authority.

To be a successful leader, you need to know your Authority.  Knowing who or what authorizes you to do something, and why you are authorized to do it, will allow you to successfully complete a given task.

For example, in reviewing your role as a parent, who or what authorizes you to fulfill the responsibilities of parenthood?  Who or what authorizes you to feed and clothe your children and put a roof over their heads?  To this, most parents would reply:

“They’re my children.  Of course I’m going to provide for them!”

But have you really considered your authority here?  Ask yourself how you know what to do to care for your children.  Perhaps, you have learned from your parents how to care for a family.  In this case, your parents have authorized you to provide for your children.  As a good parent, you listen to your children in order to know what they need.  In this case, your children have authorized you to do what is needed.  Have you, at some point, taken courses in child development or child psychology?  If so, these courses contribute to your authority as a parent.

Take a moment to list  on your paper who or what authorizes you to fulfill your role as a parent.  Be very thorough here.  Doing so will increase your confidence that you can successfully raise your children into confident, happy, healthy individuals.

If we revisit your role as a mid – level manager (we touched on this in yesterday’s post), asking yourself who or what has authorized you gives you the authority to perform the responsibilities associated with your position.  Who or what gives you the authority to train and supervise members of your staff?  Obviously, upper management has authorized you to do this, but why?  Perhaps, your special expertise in the topics to be trained has given you the authorization to fulfill this responsibility.  Maybe you have worked for the company for a length of time that has enabled you to assume this authority, as well as authority for scheduling of the workforce and team development.

Go back to the roles you’ve previously explored.  For each role, consider who or what authorizes you to accomplish the tasks associated with each responsibility of that role.  Consider why you have been authorized.  In doing so, you will come to understand why you are able to complete each task successfully.  This will increase your success exponentially.

So far we’ve defined our Responsibility and realized our Authority on our journey along the Path To Power™.

In our next post, we’ll take a look at the next of our four key leadership concepts, Resources.

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

I’m getting ready to publish my book 4 Keys To success.  In it, I discuss four key concepts of true Leadership:  Responsibility, Authority, Resources, & Accountability.

Today’s post deals with the first of these:  Responsibility. 

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us.

 – H.H. The Dalai Lama

To be a successful, you need to define your responsibilities.  No matter what phase of your life you are exploring, it is important to define responsibilities clearly, in order to successfully accomplish these responsibilities.

For instance, as a parent, one might have responsibilities such as providing food and clothing for a family of children.  Responsibilities here might also include taking one’s children to various sporting events, sitting in the stands and cheering for the children as they play their sports, taking the children to music lessons, theatre rehearsals, etc.  Responsibilities also include providing loving guidance through life.

Getting clear on all of the responsibilities of parenthood can make for a better, more aware parent.

In your role as a mid-level manager, for example,  you might define the following responsibilities:  the training and supervision of staff, various reports to upper – management, the scheduling of the workforce, appointing teams of staff to handle various projects, etc.

Of course, each responsibility carries with it its own set of tasks.  Knowing your responsibilities will allow you to keep track of the tasks involved with each.

So here is your assignment:

You are going to define your responsibilities for each of your personal life & professional life roles.  Do the following:

1. At the top of a sheet of paper, write the role you are exploring, and then title the page MY RESPONSIBILITIES.
2. List all of the responsibilities that you have within that role.  Take your time with this.  Be very thorough.
3. Look at each responsibility, & prioritize your list.
4. Next, list the task sets to accomplish each responsibility.

This thorough analysis of your responsibilities within your personal life & professional life will allow you to accomplish things much more easily, because you will have a clearer picture of what you must do.  This will keep you moving along your path to success in all facets of your life.

Until then, should you wish a guide along your path, please don’t hesitate to ask.  If you are exploring the idea of employing a Coach to guide you, please contact me for a free one-hour phone meeting to determine if we can work together.  I’ll ask you some questions & listen to what you have to say, and we can determine whether or not we would be a good fit.  I will tell you that I will be very honest in telling you what I believe you need to be told, not necessarily what you “want” to be told.  I will bring you value by holding you accountable to achieve your goals.  Together, success, however you define it, will be achieved.

Email me with your phone number and three possible dates & times for your initial phone appointment.  I’ll email you a confirmation.  Your initial 30 minute appointment is free of charge.  During this call we will explore your needs, what is involved in the coaching process, and we will determine if we can develop a great coaching relationship to help you achieve your goals.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

1. The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. The attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

But what is success, really? Success is something that needs to be defined on a personal level. How one person defines success does not always match another person’s definition of success. Remember, success is a personal perception.
So take a good look at your own life. Define success for yourself. Take a few moments alone with pen and paper.  Look at your present situation.  Are you where you want to be?  Are you doing what you want?  Are you happy in what you are doing?  Why or Why not?  Considering these questions, define your Present Situation. 

If everything is as you want it, you have just defined success!

If there are elements of your life that are not what you desire them to be, define how you want them to be – i.e. what are your goals?  Don’t be afraid to dream big.  In defining your goals, be as clear as you can.  Once you have those goals clearly in mind, you will have defined success for yourself.

What is your biggest dream?  If you could have, be, and do anything, what would that be?  Write it on your paper.  

Next, complete one of these sentences:

I feel successful because. . .  

I will feel successful when. . .

Know that success is your perception.  This perception can change as you learn and grow.  Allow yourself freedom of growth,  freedom to explore Your Path to Success!

Please comment with your persceptions of success.  How did you complete the success sentences above?

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

Comments are always welcome. So tell me what you think of what I post. Tell me how I can be of service to you along your path to success.

“Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.”
– Woody Allen

How are you showing up to attain your success?  Please post your answers.

To Your Success!

KimAlyse

KimAlyse Popkave, M.Ed., CMI, CPPC

President

K.A. Popkave Coaching & Consulting

570-617-6608

kimalyse@popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com

www.popkave-coaching-and-consulting.com