This week I want to talk about two really important parts of
who I am and the ah-ha moment that followed…(oh no, not a deep philosophical
rant) :-) Hardly, but its important to get inside the
guy’s head who writes his annoyingly addictive weekly blog don’t you
think?
I guess I’ve always been a passionate guy…. My passion is centered on doing the best I
can no matter what the situation, whether it is my personal life with Zach and
Sami, perhaps playing sport and particularly at work. Some might say that I’m just “wired” that
way. Sometimes its confused with being
overly competitive and “pushy”, but I like to think of myself as just someone
who cares a whole lot!
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| EQ - Emotional Intelligence |
No matter how advantageous you think this might be, the pitfalls
are many! This week was a prime example
– working with a new team at work, and my focus and drive seemed to either
intimidate or piss off the people around me.
Not everybody is going to see things from your point of view, but
seriously it can be a minefield working in a corporate environment. So what do you do? You can take the easy way out by succumbing
to the mind numbing everyday drone which you may have become or you can stand
strong and push on and be your genuine self.
Any thoughts on which way I went?
Clearly you have to pick you battles and sometimes “play the
game” but to survive and thrive your EQ (emotional intelligence) needs to be
well established and switched on at all times.
The other biggie for me is my personal values. Its strange but I think about my personal
values probably a lot more than most people, and in the course of any given day
they will somehow pop into my psyche either through some experience or
moment. More often than not it is
because they are being directly challenged in a way that is making me feel off
balance or uncomfortable.
Some might call me over sensitive (which I am by the way and
proud of it), but feeling aligned to my values is extremely important to me,
watch out when they don’t align is all I’m saying.
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| Take a look...do you like what you see? |
I’m not sure when the last time you reflected on these two
things or perhaps the things that “center” you like these two do for me but I
got to tell you I find it immensely rewarding on so many levels that I both
reflect on them and follow their lead.
I guess I’m not your everyday corporate guy, this sort of thinking has
gotten me into my fair share of scrapes over the years but the “acid test” for
me is when you look in the mirror each day who do you want to see – the
passionate guy with strong values starring back at you or the other guy who
doesn’t look beyond the surface?
Following my passions and aligning my values seem to be my
“north star” by which I navigate this crazy life of mine….
Now for the “ah ha” moment….drum roll please!
Recently I’ve been asked on a number of occasions whether I’m
a motivational speaker. When the first
person asked I quickly brushed it aside and blushed profusely, but as I
reflected and was again asked it hit me that perhaps I am in a way. Not so much in the Anthony Robbins type mold
but more in the day to day getting you jazzed up and fueling you for the
journey ahead type of guy – perhaps more of a coach…
It brought back long forgotten memories of my days as a
teacher when I coached our High school football team (Australian Rules) at the
state football championships. That first
year we actually won the Division II state football championship – the first
time for our school and my first real coaching experience. I can only take a small amount of credit for
that as the young players I had were talented beyond their years but it gave me
a taste and inkling of what I could do to motivate those individual players and
get them playing as a single unit.
My secret sauce if you will was - getting them to truly
believe in their talents and abilities and that if they really trusted those
things that all the rest would fall into place – but they had to believe in
themselves and those around them more than anything else for every moment of
every game over the Championship series.
It worked amazingly well and coming from out of nowhere our
school beat all the football giants to take the coveted Division II
championship in fine style! In those
days I was ecstatic but didn’t think too much of it.
After moving to Canada I help found the Canadian Australian
Football Association (now the AFL Canada) and coached a couple of teams over the ensuing years. I was also fortunate enough to be the
playing coach for team Canada in a number of international matches including
the Canada vs. Great Britain international which we played in London in front
of 3000+ people and won. Not bad for an
underdog country with no real track record of international success!
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| TW in his playing days...circa 1996 |
As I think back to those halcyon days what did I do
differently that brought the team together to “gel” so perfectly in that moment
to win the big game? I just did what
came naturally to me – I worked with each player to understand what motivated
them on a personal level first, before bringing together and harnessing their
collective emotions and abilities to perform.
After retiring from competitive football I honestly thought my coaching
days were well and truly behind me, but each time I get asked that question it
drives it home to me that I’m always going to be a coach of sorts whether I like
it or not – my destiny if you will. :-))
So what are you thinking about right now? Are you thinking – “this is the last time
I’m reading this guys crap?” or perhaps “wow, I’ve never really thought about
it like that before and I’m feeling like I could take on the world right about
now?”
If nothing else perhaps you’ll take a moment to reflect on
what makes you so good on your best day.
Is it passion…perhaps your values…perhaps your ability to help others, whatever
it is find it cos’ once you do and understand how to use it (for good hopefully
and not evil :-)) things just fall into place.
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