Author: The Carolyle Destiny Group

Greetings, I am pleased to introduce you to my blog site, which aims to provide a comprehensive research perspective focused on essential workplace topics such as personal development, team building, management and leadership, diversity, and much more. These topics are vital in driving organizational success in the public and private sectors. Organizational Behavior (OB) is the field of study that examines human behavior in corporate settings, exploring the interface between human behavior and the organization. My blog draws insights from this discipline to help today's organizations navigate the increasingly complex nature of the modern workplace. With over 40 years of experience serving as a Gulf War Veteran and Senior Army Warrant Officer in logistics and a retired Department of the Army civilian, human have witnessed firsthand how human behavior is ever-changing, sometimes by the minute. Furthermore, embracing diversity can profoundly impact an organization, leading to greater creativity, efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity. Ultimately, these factors contribute to the happiness of stakeholders - the American people. In the 21st century, organizations must find ways to harness the creativity of their diverse workforces to remain competitive. This involves generating ideas, enhancing social skills, and appreciating other cultures and traditions. Organizations that invest in their employees and practice diversity will benefit from the most significant workforce in the world: the American Worker. Join me as we explore the fascinating world of OB together and discover valuable insights that can help you advance your career and achieve long-term success in the workplace.

Add Value to Others

What’s your attitude towards others? “You can’t make the other fella feel important in your presence if you secretly feel that he is a nobody.” This is a quote from Les Giblin. What a revelation! I always said people do and respond to what they see others do in response. People know when you are sincere and when you are hypocritical. Worst of all, you know your true feelings, which are evident in your actions and deeds. If you want the best from others, give them your best. Make them feel valuable. Biblically, it is the golden rule; doing unto others as you want them to do to you. The law of reciprocity applies here.

Maya Angelou famously said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” People don’t care about your prestige, knowledge base, or high position. They want to know that you demonstrate and care about them. And show them that you stand by them. This is the yardstick upon which a person’s sense of responsibility is measured.

If you genuinely don’t want to help others but want them to help you reach an advantage, then you have problems and conflicts. When this happens, we must rely on manipulation to get people to move toward our benefit. Stop the manipulation; motivate instead! Like in any relationship, you must put something in it to get something out. 

To influence people is to show them how important they are and the value they bring to the relationship, the organization, or the community. Respond kindly to people and be humane in your interactions with others. Instead of manipulating people into obedience for your advantage, admit their importance through appreciative acts.

Don’t criticize or condemn; instead, compliment.

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Become genuinely interested in others.

Make others feel important and do it sincerely.

Give others a reason to be proud of their good deeds.

Do not, by your attitude, make people feel less important.

In the words of Sydney J Harris, “People want to be appreciated, not impressed. They want to be regarded as human beings, not as sounding boards for other people’s Egos. They want to be treated as an End in themselves, not as a means towards the gratifications of another’s vanity.” What’s your attitude towards others? I hope in 2023 you will add value to them rather than devalue them.

Dr. D

Happy Holidays !!!

Clarity of Purpose

Each one of us is born with a unique life purpose. Whether you know it or not, you were not born to work, pay taxes, and die.  You were created for more. We are here to serve each other.  In the words of Muhammad Ali, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”I believe we are made up of different body parts, but each part is not only needed but also vital for the whole body to function. “To live a life that has clarity of purpose is living life upgraded, fulfilled and enjoyable in everything you do.” (Jack Canfield).

Living a purposeful life dictates your daily routines, consequent upon which time becomes very important.

  • Everything you do is done with a clear purpose in mind.
  • Every moment and every action taken is with intention, according to your purpose and plan.

For example, family is one important area to me; I wanted to connect with my family on my wife’s side as well as mine.

That meant to me reaching out to older relatives either by phone or email and volunteering to be on the committee for family reunions.  I outlined my desired goals using the Destiny Action plan and the steps I would need to take to achieve these goals. Then I set a date to achieve this goal. The goal was to know — five new relatives a year. This is my third year doing this goal and the experience has been phenomenal. I fell in love with all of my family members. What an experience! To make this possible, I use the templates and instructions outlined in the Destiny Action Plan course, which is on sale for the month of December and January located within the courses section tab on this blog site. The Destiny Action Plan course is 4 modules that will guide you step by step on how to outline your specific desired goals and lay them out using the attached templates along with an instructional video.  Start your New Year out well-planned and structured.

To live a life with clarity on purpose, you live a different habitual daily existence on his service. Everything you do and all of your activities are tailored to fulfilling that purpose – some would say you live a very self-disciplined life.

Quote: Napoleon hill, “there is one quality that one must possess to win and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what you want, and burning desire to possess it.” Clarity of purpose is vital for achieving success and for making dreams come true. If you have a clear direction, nothing is vague.

Dr. D

The Carolyle Destiny Group

Monthly Newsletter (The Carolyle Destiny Group)

Dear Friend,

Think back to the last issue you encountered (this can be a work or personal issue), and consider what steps you took to approach the problem and find a solution. During that process, what kind of hurdles did you face? What steps did you take to overcome those challenges? 

Thinking through how you’ve problem-solved in the past can help you gain an understanding of how successful you are as a problem-solver overall. 

Why does this matter?

In the workplace, problem-solving skills refer to the ability to handle difficult or unexpected situations and complex business challenges. Therefore, problem-solving skills are traits that enable you to assess situations and calmly identify solutions. Such skills are also highly useful in other areas of life like relationship-building and day-to-day decision-making.

Let’s take a look at a few essential skills problem-solvers possess. 

Research
As a problem solver, the ability to identify the cause of an issue is essential. This is accomplished by gathering information by brainstorming with other team members, consulting more experienced colleagues, or acquiring knowledge through research.

Analysis
Analytical skills will help you understand problems and effectively develop solutions. 

Communication
The way you listen to others and your ability to share aspects of a problem will help reduce any confusion and make implementing a solution easier.

Creative problem-solving goes beyond conventional approaches to finding solutions. This approach identifies unique solutions to issues through a process of problem identification and resolution planning.

You can improve your creative problem-solving skills by practicing the following techniques:
Use a strategic framework
Practice empathy
Get a hobby
Relax your assumptions
Practice persistence
Question standard practices
Consider your past experiences
Become an expert in your field
Practice creative problem-solving
Ask for help

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New Class:

Do you want to stop living with shattered dreams or take that fragmented life to the next level? Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you do with your life? Then I designed this four-module comprehensive course to help you lay out your ideal Personal/Professional Development Action Plan. It’s designed for people ready to take their lives to the next level, to align themselves with the direction they want to go finally. 

You deserve more out of life than just going through the motions every day. You deserve a fulfilling career where you can impact other people’s lives. 

The Destiny Action Plan will take you from effectiveness to greatness in 4 easy lessons. Course Site: https://dcdardentalks.com/course/destiny-action-plan-course/

This is perfect for you!

  • Do you feel stuck and don’t know how to move past major life obstacles?
  • Have you come to a place in your life/career where your lack of motivation is sabotaging your personal goals to follow through?

Thank you

Dr. D

The Carolyle Destiny Group (Tomorrow’s Destiny Becomes Today’s Direction)

https://linktr.ee/TheCarolyleDestinyGroup

Why we do what we do? (Values)

Why you do what you do? 

What gives you meaning and purpose in life (home, work and personal/professional)?   According to researchers our values gives us meaning and purpose when it comes to our relationships, service to others and everyday decisions. 

Values are magical, they are our internal compass that steer us towards what’s favorable to us in our everyday existence.  When there’s big decisions that are made in our lives our core value guides us toward the answer.   In comparison with goals or plans which are set to focus on the outcomes or results in our lives.   Our values dictate how we carry out those big decisions we make daily in our lives.  They are as Jan Stassen said, “situation independent decision helpers.” 

Every decision you make in your life, no matter the context, you depend on your values to make the final decision. Your values resonate deeply. You are drawn toward them effortlessly. So, they aren’t just what you think is good. They are what you celebrate and measure success by. They are what you want to be remembered for. They are what you will sacrifice and go the extra mile for.

If you google “personal values” we find over 1 billion of us searched out this term.  There are core values such as Respect, Honesty, Trust, Caring and Fairness are some of my core values.   Values are individual and personal preferences of what we feel takes precedence over everything in our lives.    The bottom line: values are mostly held beliefs that is entrenched in our lives in our psyche, they are the barometer in which we judge things on a good and bad scale.  

  We begin to form them early in our childhood and it changes throughout our lifetime, they motivate us to act and behave in certain ways.  If you don’t like what you see in the mirror check out what you value most in life that’s why you do what you do.

How to align yourself with your values

In order to live a purposeful life, we need to make a conscious effort a conscious choice to align ourselves daily with our goals that coincides with our core value system.  Quote: “How we spend our day is how we spend our lives” -Annie Dillard

How do you spend your day? Take a look at your calendar, or the things you did within the last 24 hours.  This is a snapshot of what’s important in your life. Did those activities reflect you (your core values).  For example, is health and wellness apart of your daily or weekly routine?  Family time?  Time for personal development? How about, focusing on your spiritual or meditative fitness.   To quote Aristotle, “we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit”.  If your routines are not reflecting what your values represent, then you need to change to align yourself with your values system.  

Values gives us meaning it gives us our purpose in which we formulate the goals throughout our lives and the destiny we want to realize. The Choices that we make weather be our relationship we form, how we relate to our society or the type of organization we choice to become apart of all reflect our values.

So, the better you know your core values, the better you make decisions in your life, and the better you align yourselves with career paths, having better relationships, and doing meaningful extracurricular activities.

Please share with same else

Dr D

The Carolyle Destiny Group

Remember, you determine your destiny…

http://thecarolyledestinygroup.one

Micromanaging: Who’s at fault?

Have you ever had a manager who literally looked over your shoulder while you were typing a memo or telling you how to do work at which you already are proficient, or second guesses every decision you make? Many experts have described this action as micromanaging, which can lead to several negative occurrences in your office or organization. It can lead to a lack of creativity, codependence on the manager, and a lack of development and learning opportunities for the employee. Micromanaging impedes the progress of workflow, so everything becomes a bottleneck. The ultimate result is the downgrade of morale among employees and team members.

This management style was around well before the word “micromanager” became part of our lexicon. In 1946, Peter Drucker referred to as the “ultimate of management gurus,” called for a “democracy of management” whereby organizations should decentralize and delegate greater decision-making authority to employees.

Employees that are micromanaged begin to develop distrust between the employee and their managers. The employee is inhibited from taking the initiative in making decisions for fear the work will be second-guessed. But what if the manager has cause to meddle or look over an employee’s shoulder? Who should be at fault for this behavior?

Now, I am not naïve to know that there are valid reasons why managers micromanage employees. For example, poor work ethics, training purposes, or new policies and regulations are implemented. Perhaps the manager is not efficient themselves. If the manager is insecure, self-doubting, and getting constant pressure from above, such behavior is normal, even if not warranted.

Before we place all the blame on the manager, employees need to look critically at themselves to see if there is a reason for the manager’s actions. Employees must put forth their best effort in every part of the job so the manager will notice it. Perhaps the manager then will have no reason to second-guess the work.

If this is not the case, the manager will not effectively lead those subordinates to you. Therefore, trust must be re-established to be an effective Manager, Team Lead, or Supervisor.  

The effective manager knows how to strike a balance between hands-on supervision and instruction without excessively monitoring employees’ every moment. No matter who is at fault, the manager must take the lead in resolving the issues. Manager must use their leadership skill and core competencies to bring resolution to a distrusted environment.  

So, how to stop the micromanagement of leadership style? An article in The HR Specialist in 2011 gave four solutions to help micromanagers stop the behavior and find balance. They are still relevant today:

1.      Clearly communicate the goal and objectives of the project, plus deadlines. Managers who don’t communicate exactly the requirements to an employee will have to micromanage because the employee doesn’t clearly understand expectations.

2.     The manager should determine where micromanaging is needed, what particular project requires a close eye on, and when it is appropriate to micromanage. For example, will the manager focus on all of the projects or a specific few? Will the manager focus on all employees or certain ones, and just when should micromanaging be done?

3.      Understand the art of delegating at a steady rate. Know when to back off on micromanaging top performers and those who show the ability to be productive without ongoing supervision. Start by delegating tasks that are less risky and require few to no decisions by the employee. Then gradually increase task and decision making as the employee improves and you feel they are more capable.

4.      The manager should ask employees for suggestions for every new task or project.

If you are the guilty micromanager described in this blog, you need to take a critical look at yourself and understand that you are keeping your employees from being creative and innovative, reducing productivity and profits for the organization.

Good managers should focus on the big and strategic picture instead of the small details of the operation. Good managers should empower, encourage, develop, and inspire their employees and not become overbearing and controlling.

Thanks for reading my thoughts.

Dr. D

(The Carolyle Destiny Group)