Practicing the Groundhog Day Principles for Positive Change

Posted on February 7, 2011 by pdncoach

Each of us has our own version of Groundhog Day, repeating the same behaviors over and over and getting the same, less than satisfying results.  But do you recognize your own unique, less than desirable version of yourself that keeps repeating itself?

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=msturgell&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000Z8GZYW&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrUnfortunately, we don’t get the opportunity to examine and correct our behaviors until we get them right – all in one day.  We do have the opportunity to become the best version of ourselves over time, as did Phil Connors, the Bill Murray character in this beloved American movie.  We can achieve the same results – if we learn the same lessons with focused intention and practice of the same principles over many days.

The Groundhog Day Principles

  1. I must be cognizant of my behaviors and the effect I have on others.
  2. I must acknowledge the results I really want, rather than just rationalize the results I am currently producing.
  3. I must awaken each day with the desire to “get it right.”
  4. I must have compassion for others needs.
  5. I must understand my basic, shared purpose in life is to somehow add value to the lives of others, even in my day-to-day, mundane actions.
  6. I must identify the attitudes that underlie my behavior and practice new attitudes repeatedly. My right attitudes will drive new positive behaviors that take me closer to my goals and to a better version of myself.
  7. I must develop new relationship skills, ones that edify others rather than glorify myself.
  8. I must watch and listen carefully to recognize the opportunity for good that my relationships and daily circumstances present for me.
  9. I must invest myself in getting to know people, really know and understand them as unique individuals.
  10. I must rush to take action that will benefit my neighbors.

These are truly transformative principals that produce an “early spring” for leaders, regardless of tenure, status or experience.  Collectively, the principles may be overwhelming. They may be difficult to attend to consistently and out of habit right away. So I’ll give you a place to begin.

Practice Principle #5 daily and the rest will follow. Seek the countless, moment-to-moment daily opportunities to serve and add value to the lives around you and your life will change. You will produce new, better results. You will discover your unique sense of deep Purpose. You will feel great because you simply “opened the door” for someone else. Your relationships will improve, as will the esteem others have for you.  You will discover what you really want, and find yourself producing those ends more often.

Soon you will wake up to a new day at The Intersection of Purpose and Now.

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Posted in Groundhog Day, leadership, movies, principals, Purpose, self leadership | Leave a comment

5 Things Leaders Do to Help New Team Members Fit In

Posted on February 3, 2011 by pdncoach
There is much more to effective team building than planning fun activities so that team members are somewhat comfortable with one another. 

Team Building is an Organization Development technique for improving a work group’s performance and attitudes by clarifying group goals and clarifying members’ expectations of each other.

Leaders are responsible for team development and for acclimating new members into an existing team.  To keep momentum, acclimate both the new team member to the team AND acclimate the existing team to the new team member.


Here is a brief summary of five things leaders can do to acclimate new team members, followed by a brief but on-target video for leaders on “How to Help a New Team Member Fit In” from the folks at BNET.  Use these in combination as a primer for adding a new member to your team.

  1. A perfect time to review or revise the team’s mission, purpose or team charter – with everyone on the team.
  2. Review and gain agreement on roles and responsibilities, clearly articulating expectations including a mutual understanding of one another’s roles. This includes clarity on the expectations you, as a leader, have of your team, the expectations team members have of you, and the expectations team members have of one another.
  3. Facilitate team agreement on rules and values. This includes any written policies and procedures, of course, but equally important are the “unwritten” rules – the values and behaviors that this team wants to guide its daily decisions and actions together.  
  4. This is the time to discuss relationship dynamics. For example, how will the team handle conflict – because any dynamic team doing important work will have some conflict. Handled right, conflict leads to innovation.
  5. Another relationship dynamic is decision-making authority.  Get clear on the decision-making process of the team, including who has final decision-making authority.



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Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

Posted on February 2, 2011 by pdncoach

Leaders dream, and they often dream big. What are your dreams?  What do you honestly dream of having, doing, becoming?  These are important questions and, ironically, they are as critical to the person seeking more focus as they are to the person seeking to explore new horizons.

But notice there are really three basic questions here.

  1. What do you dream of having?
  2. What do you dream of doing?
  3. What do you dream of becoming?

Stop at or give slight attention to question #1, and you may become a person who accumulates great wealth, recognition and a lot of great stuff, but who leaves an empty legacy.

Stop at or give slight attention to question #2, and you may accomplish much that means very little to anyone.  After all, leadership begins with authentic self-expression that adds value through relationships.

Careful consideration and frequent journaling of your answers to question #3 is critical for the effective leader.  The following story by an anonymous author (but heavily promoted by the folks behind Spiritual Short Stories) reminds us that “by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.” Regardless of the cup that contains your dreams, your “becoming goals” are like the finest, rich, and full-bodied coffee, regardless of the cup from which you drink it.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit one of their old university professors. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal – some plain looking, others expensive and exquisite. He told them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, ‘If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourself, it is the source of your problems and stress.’

He continued, ‘Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is more expensive than the coffee itself and in other cases, hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you subconsciously went for the best cups … and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.’

He finished by saying, ‘Consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything … they just make the best of everything.’

Live Simply. Speak Kindly. Care Deeply. Love Generously.

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Posted in coffee, dreams, leadership, legacy, Life is like a cup of coffee | Leave a comment