When assigned a new task at work, have you ever felt intimidated or even maybe a little tinge of doubt about whether or not you can pull it off?

You know...your heart starts to beat a little bit faster and those little voices in your head start to chatter:  

Am I up to this task? What if I fail? Am I the most qualified? Am I confident enough in my work? Gulp....

Well, let's just say that I've heard about this thing happening to some people... wink...wink.

No, seriously. This has been me. This is STILL me sometimes.

What I know is that in professional settings, in order to move up the ladder or expand your projects, we often need to step outside of our comfort zone.

Our comfort zone is often established by our MBTI types. Usually, our "sweet spot" is going to be reflective of our unique personality type.

For example, the thought of cold calling for Introverts (I) can oftentimes make them want to hide under a blanket. 

(I shudder whenever I think about having to network or put myself out there...)

Adding a new project or task for a Sensor (S), while they are in the middle of a current one, can make them want to pull their hair out. 

However, if we have learned anything from the last two emails I sent is that matching the “rite” person with the “rite” task based on their types will boost productivity and employee happiness.

We also learned that we cannot judge or make generalizations about certain types based on the “weaknesses” we perceive them to have. 

So how can we avoid putting ourselves or our employees in a box based on their MBTI?

Professional Development!​

Not always the most exciting of activities, but a necessary one to maximize your employee’s or team’s potential in the workplace and grow.

As an introvert myself, it can be exhausting and a little bit intimidating reaching out to new people to work with.

Understanding that this is an intrinsic part of who I am and not a flaw or a defect, has helped me realize that in order for my business to be successful and my work to reach the most people I can, I need to get out of my comfort zone.

I have had to work on this and continue to work on this. 

And here's the cool part: since I know this about me, I've come up with some strategies to work with this so that I can accomplish the things that I want in my business and life.

Using tools such as scripts for phone calls and practicing my “professional” voice has allowed me to really build up my confidence for talking to potential clients or business associates. 

It's also made every phone call or Zoom conference easier each time.

MBTI is a great tool for professional development. 

For managers and employees alike, understanding the “strengths” and “weaknesses” of your type will allow you to maximize your goals as an individual or a team, no matter their types.

Personality types and professional development really go hand-in-hand. If you're skeptical about this, then you've probably not had the "rite" trainers helping you develop professionally.

I mean it. Some people are naturals when it comes to teaching and training.
And believe me, some are not. 

In my career, I've sat through plenty of thoroughly boring professional development activities to last a lifetime. It ALL has to do with type.

In order to understand what your employees might be struggling with at work or how they can better perform, you are going to need to understand who they are and how they tick.

This in turn will help you understand how and why they feel this way and what you can do about it. 

And the best thing about all of this is that these small adjustments usually don't require a whole lot more time, money or energy.

It simply comes down to allocating the "rite" people to the "rite" tasks and the "rite" environment for getting the work done.

Understanding your team’s behavior can better your relationship with your employees and boost their work effectiveness and efficiency.

And the way to do this starts with you. 

If you are ready to work with a trained, knowledgeable and passionate professional who can help you better understand personality type and how to professionally (and effectively) develop the needed skills to get the job done, then let’s talk! 

It's time to get out of your comfort zone!

Yours in Innovation,
​Kate

Taking the time as a manager to learn deeply about your employee’s personality types and what type of work style and environment benefits that individual will not only help them as employees, but also you as a manager and the business you work for.

And never has this been more true or applicable than now, when so much work is being done remotely and it has become necessary to manage from afar. 

As a manager, entrepreneur, or team leader it is your goal to maximize and accelerate your results. 

The overarching theme of personality types in the work place is about matching the "rite" people with the "rite" tasks and jobs. 

That is why my "Rite Type" Coaching is so effective, it all comes down to understanding what your MBTI actually means and how it can benefit your work and your life. 

Ready to get started????
Yours in Innovation,
​Kate

So you know your employees’ personality type… Great! Now what?

It can be easy to fall into generalizations that you believe to know to be true about certain types. Everyone does it.

When we use stereotypes or generalizations to understand the world around us, it reflects our limited ability to see beyond the scope of what's in front of us to truly "what is". 

And you know what else is true...?

Often time, many of these generalizations are untrue or even inaccurate if you have not consulted a professional about what exactly someone’s MBTI means.

These judgments or preconceived notions you have about personality types may actually cause negative effects to your team rather than the positive productivity that can came with understanding your employee's types.

You'll know this is happening if morale is low, people are unhappy and productivity is taking a hit.

I like to think about "type" like "handed-ness". 

Most of us are typically dominant in one hand over the other. That doesn't mean that we don't ever use the other hand. Quite the opposite.

This is also true with "type". 

For example, an Extrovert (E) is not necessarily high-energy all the time. Sometimes they need some peace and quiet. Just not usually as much as an Introvert does.

And you know what else is true? 

Feelers (F) are able to take criticism without taking it personal or becoming emotional. For a Feeler, it depends on your delivery. 

These and more are some of the frequent ways that MBTI type gets mis-used.

Have you ever considered how your Myers-Briggs Type might play a role in how you work? Maybe even how well you work with others?

Often, businesses have their employees take personality tests such as the MBTI, for a variety of reasons.

Wanna know why?

It helps employers learn about your work style and preferences, you know, how you were "made to tick". 

What's cool about this is that employers are to able match a potential job candidate, or an existing employee with a job or a task that best fits their working style, all thanks to MBTI.

So what does this have to do with wondering if some types are "better" employees? (Whatever "better" means, right...?)

Well, the truth is, is that all types can be effective team members, much of this depends on the tasks and environment that these types thrive in.

Remember a couple emails back when I mentioned matching the “rite” person with the “rite” task? Well, that applies to your type. 

There are sooooo many things you can learn about yourself or your employees (partners and kids too) just based on your MBTI type alone!!!!

Things like what your work style is, what type of work is going to "fire you up" as well as what work environment suits you best: these are all incredibly valuable pieces of support that will help you grow into being and incredible employee and team member!

For example, Introverts (I) prefer physical space which allows for privacy and concentration. 

Judging (J) types bring structure (checklist, model, etc.) to the task at hand.

Feeling (F) types have to have interactions that both encompass work and non-work matters. Relationships are important and motivating to them.

And Introverts (N) need to have flexibility and autonomy in the workplace in order to thrive. That's why remote work is making some people very happy these day!

Bottom line is that knowing your MBTI and how that affects how you work and your relationships can set yourself apart as an employee. 

The best employee of all, is an aware employee. 

You can really get ahead of the game by knowing and understanding how your type plays a role in not only your personality, but how you work.

A certain type is a no better employee than another type. It is all about knowing what work style suits you best and allows you to THRIVE!

As for entrepreneurs managing a team, or team leaders and managers, knowing your employees personality types and assigning the right task to the right person can overall boost employee morale and productivity in the workplace. 

If you’d like to chat more and learn how your personality type impacts the way you work and want to make yourself the most effective employee you can be? Let’s talk!

Yours in Innovation,
​Kate

Anyone remember that Peter, Paul & Mary song…? It’s one of my favs...

Why I’m talking about hammers, wrenches and tools so much lately is because they’re great metaphors for the kinds of things you need to think about when you’re working with people and teams.

Like I said before, not everyone can do every job, but there is a job for everyone to do. 

Successful businesses, entrepreneurs and leaders know this and work hard to match the “rite” person with the “rite” task.

What’s equally important though, when it comes to building a successful team, is that you build a balanced team, with a variety of different skill sets that will allow you to get the job done.

In my past, when selecting teams as a basketball coach for high school women athletes, I definitely looked for “athletes” to create my team.  

More importantly though, I looked for certain kinds of athletes that had different skill sets and attributes as well as were “teachable”.

If I wanted a winning team, it wouldn’t do me any good to have a team full of only tall, post players who could rebound and were a scoring threat in the paint, but not able to dribble and bring the ball down the floor. 

On the other hand, the years that I had teams full of “guards” and shorter players, we were more of a run and gun kind of team, but when it came to postseason, we often were outmatched by more balanced teams that had height on us.

Building a balanced team WAS THE SECRET to having a winning season.

This is also true in the workplace. Building a successful business requires you to build a team that is balanced with a variety of skills and perspectives.

You might need digital marketing help, but if you only build your team with one kind of perspective when it comes to social media and digital marketing, you’re going to miss out on a large part of the market, with your messaging.

Or for example, say you have a strong product that you’ve brought to the market, you can see the value, but you don’t know how to creatively represent its value to the public.

You’re going to underperform no matter how much you believe in what you’re delivering.

Taking personality type into how you build your team, allows you to include a variety of skills and perspectives. Which organically leads to a more balanced and successful team. 

Which in turns sets you up for the greatest success when it comes to reaching your ideal customer. 

Sometimes it’s not about going back out and hiring someone new- sometimes it is about revisiting the team you do have to learn about people’s strengths and matching these up with the tasks needed to get the job done.

Learning about your people as well as bringing in diverse approaches and perspectives is what is going to allow you to address any gaps that might exist so that you can maximize your teams and accelerate results.

And the really wonderful thing about all of this is that it doesn’t cost you any extra in time, money or energy. It’s just tweaking the processes you use now to create and build your teams.

Here’s the simple truth: it really does all start with people. Not everyone can do every job, but there is a job for everyone. 

In this new age of remote and online work, “business as usual” isn’t going to cut it anymore. 

It’s time to rethink the traditional approach to working with people and teams and get on board with what really works.

And that’s what I am here to help you do: find your own unique way to maximize your teams and accelerate your results. 

If you’d like to chat more about this and how I can get you there, let’s talk. 

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Stay safe and be well.

Yours in Innovation,
​Kate

Ever tried to switch out a kitchen faucet with a crescent wrench…? Uh, yea. I have. It’s not pretty.

I should explain...let me backup.

Sometimes, in my free time, I’ve been known to play around with plumbing. Actually, I like to think I’m pretty good at it.

I have swapped out kitchen sink faucets, repaired outdoor water shut off valves, and even have ran new water lines, while fixing leaky washing machine shut off valves.

One time, check this out: I actually helped a plumber sweat some pipes with a blow torch and everything. I’m pretty sure I could do this in a pinch if I had to… 

I don’t actually remember when I started doing this but I’m the kinda gal that does not let too much grass grow under my feet. 

If there’s a problem, I figure out how to fix it.

So when there’s a minor plumbing issue like a leaky faucet, I’m the go-to gal in the house. (Sometimes the neighborhood!)

Anyway- the one thing that I have learned with plumbing is that there are specific tools for specific jobs. 

If you need to switch out a kitchen faucet, you HAVE to have the tools to do the job; otherwise, it takes you 10x as long and a whole lot of banging and cussing- if you’re lucky to get the job done at all.

This is true in life and work as well. 

When the “rite type” of person is in the “rite type” of work, it really does become a thing of beauty to watch them hit their stride and get into a flow. They just get things done.

It all starts with people.

Matching people up with the “rite type” of work allows them to find the “flow” more often, which in turn leads to more creativity and greater productivity overall. 

Learning more about the people on your teams and what makes them tick, is the number-one way to create profound and significant gains overall.

Matching people with tasks will allow you to maximize your teams and accelerate results.

And the really wonderful thing about all of this is that it doesn’t cost you any extra in time, money or energy. It’s just tweaking the processes you use now to create and build your teams.

Here’s the simple truth: it really does all start with people. Not everyone can do every job, but there is a job for everyone. 

In this new age of remote and online work, “business as usual” isn’t going to cut it anymore. 

It’s time to rethink the traditional approach to working with people and teams and get on board with what really works.

And that’s what I am here to help you do: find your own unique way to maximize your teams and accelerate your results. 

If you’d like to chat more about this and how I can get you there, let’s talk. 

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Oh, and while you’re here, can you please pass me the basin wrench???

Learning more about who you are and what makes you tick, as well as the members of your team, leads to significant and important gains in your work team.

It’s true.

When you understand yourself and those around you one better, it naturally leads to more collaboration. 

By learning that not everyone sees the world in the way that you do, it increases your ability to feel empathy towards others. 

And what we know is that empathy leads to more collaboration.

When you consider how much the way work environments are changing in terms of remote work and virtual teams becoming the norm these days, never has considering how we work with our people and teams become more important to consider, than now.

Working remotely requires the ability to collaborate and work together in more productive and efficient manners, without the face-to-face feedback that in person collaboration provides.

And here’s the thing that I know to be unequivocally true about all people: 

In most cases, what might simply be an innocent exchange between two people is always filtered through one’s own personality type and framework in the world. 

So what might be a relatively objective behavior or comment often gets quickly interpreted and/or judged, based upon the receiving person’s own personality and projections.

And we all know how difficult it is to interpret meaning sometimes in an email or text message. 

Have you ever gotten upset about an email or text message that you received, thinking someone meant one thing only to find out later you had taken it totally out of context?

I mean, this is a pretty common human phenomenon and not something that predicts ruin or demise. 

What is problematic is when you move forward in your exchanges believing that your interpretation is true, without checking out the projection.

For example, you might have someone on your team who likes to double-check to make sure figures are correct. You just are not wired like that, so to you, they seem “nitpicky” or “controlling” and you dread working with them.

In fact, though, they might not be controlling at all, they might just be a particular personality type that likes to be thorough and pay close attention to details and facts. 

When you experience a particular characteristic (or lack of it) in another person, what’s often happening is that you are actually projecting something about yourself on to the other person. 

And this makes it incredibly difficult to see the objective situation for what it is: you and your teammate bringing your strengths to the table to get the job done.

And this interferes with the ability to collaboratively work together and support each other.

It pays to learn more about yourself and the people on your teams in order to create the most open and collaborative work environment for getting the job done, virtually or in person.

This invaluable information is the basis for self-awareness, discussion and feedback among colleagues, families and teams.

And there’s no better way to raise the bottom line and accelerate results. 

It all starts with people.

Knowing who you are, who’s around you and how to best find your flow creates the kind of environment in which people thrive.

And happy people make happy employees. And happy employees are productive, engaged and committed. 

Here’s the simple truth: it really does all start with people. Not everyone can do every job, but there is a job for everyone. 

In this new age of remote and online work, “business as usual” isn’t going to cut it anymore. 

And that’s what I am here to help you do: find your own unique way to maximize your teams and accelerate your results. 

If you’d like to chat more about this and how I can get you there, let’s talk. 

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Stay safe and be well.

Yours in Innovation,
​Kate

Sound familiar? 

I don’t know about you, but I have found it a LOT more difficult to keep up a work-out routine while everything has been closed up during COVID19…

How’s it been for you?

One of the many things that I have learned throughout my professional career as a mental health clinician, as well as when I used to be a physical education teacher, athletic coach, physical trainer and triathlete is that…

Some days you just need a break. It’s your body’s way of signaling you that it needs rest.

I often tell folks that when we “push” ourselves to do something, even something “healthy” like work-out, sometimes we are doing more harm than good.

It’s because the emotional stress that happens when you pressure yourself to work-out actually counteracts the physical benefits of the exercise. 

Kinda like eating a Big-Mac from McDonalds, but washing it down with a Diet Coke.

REALLY?????

If there’s one thing that I want you to know… not everyone is motivated to exercise in the same way, the same frequency or at the same intensity.

And to be honest with you, that’s a really good thing.

Physical activity is an expression of your personality type and some approaches are more suited to certain personality types than others.

And…

Some personality types are motivated to work out by different criteria other than pounds lost, heart rate variability, increased muscle tone or BMI.

When you can fit your exercise program to your own unique personality type, research shows that you tend to remain more motivated because the activities and approach is consistent with who you are and your “zone of optimal functioning”. 

So, next time you hear yourself saying that you just don’t feel like working out, you might take that downtime and go learn more about your own unique fitness personality.

There is a style and an approach for you that will keep you fit and motivated. I promise. 

If you’d like to chat more about this and how I can help, let’s talk. 

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Stay safe and be well.

In Healing,
​Kate

If you’re like many people these days, you might be feeling some pressure to MAXIMIZE your down time during the social distancing we all are practicing right now...

I like to refer to this feeling as “vacation pressure”. 

You know, the feeling that you get when you have a week out of the office and you’re sitting on the sandy beach staring at the ocean...ahhhhh….

Hearing the sounds of the waves coming to shore…..seagulls chirping…. ahhhh….

Drifting in and out of sleep…..zzzzzzz...

When all of a sudden, out of nowhere this voice inside starts screaming at you that you are “wasting your vacation time off” by just sitting there and relaxing.

Yea, you know what I’m talking about.

It’s like getting a cold bucket of water thrown on me to wake me up, get me going so that I can be “more productive”...

Absolutely shocks me out of relaxation every time this happens. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Not to mention that this pressure completely defeats the purpose of why I am on vacation in the first place: to get away from it all, relax and let go of having “to do” anything.

You know, time off is all about getting away from the notion that you have to be productive or have something to show for your time. 

I tend to think that you know a lot more about what is good for you then you like to give yourself credit for.

If you find that all you want to do right now during the social distancing time is rest, relax, binge watch television, surf the internet, read, sleep and catch up with friends, chances are that’s your best way to cope with what’s going on for you in your life.

It might be difficult for you to believe this is true, while everyone else around you is coming up with a side hustle right now during their time off.

But it’s true.

If you are feeling pressure to maximize your time off and be productive even though all you want to do is lay there and do nothing, then it might be time for you to take a look at this dilemma inside.

Cuz the truth is, there’s no way to get what you need from the “doing nothing” if you’re constantly being bombarded inside by pressure to “do more”.

We’ve all been there. 

Having that feeling like you’re “wasting your time” if all you do is sit around and have nothing to show for your time.

It’s a rotten place to be.

So, if you’d like some help with learning how to let go of your pressure inside to constantly be “doing more”, then let’s talk. 

I can help you. I know a thing or two about what’s going on inside and how to let it go in a way that feels completely satisfying and gratifying.

It’s not easy, but I can get you to a place where “doing nothing” feels incredibly powerful, important AND productive.

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Stay safe and be well.
In Healing,
​Kate

I’ll bet you all know someone who likes to drop names to impress people. 

Or perhaps do most of the talking in a social situation and the main topic of conversation is all about them. 

I sure do. I tend to feel my eyes glaze over as I scan the room to find the closest exit.

I’ve mentioned before: you don’t have to be self-centered to be good at self-promotion.

Self-promotion is at its best, articulating the overlap between what you have to offer and what your target audience needs.

It allows you to solve more problems by letting them know all about you.

Bragging, on the other hand, is talking at people and tends to be all about you.

In fact, the conversation often isn’t even connected to your conversation partners -- instead, it’s like they are not even there.

You’re just talking about how outstanding you are, all the incredible achievements that you’ve accomplished and all the fancy people that you know.

People tend to want to move away from you, claiming that it’s “time to refresh my drink”.

So, wanna know how to promote yourself without clearing a room and by connecting authentically with those around you?

Shhh….here’s the secret:

Start by identifying what is special about you. 

And then learn how to speak about yourself with more confidence while tailoring your message to both your strengths and whom you're addressing.

This is easier for some than others. And in most cases, will require some support and coaching to help you learn how to do this.

One of the things that introverts do have working for them is the ability to stay the course and approach learning how to do this with depth and intensity.

It’s up to you to find a way to let your passion and potential bubble out of you so that you can share them with the world.

It’s going to take practice, discipline, getting out of your comfort zone, along with some good ‘ole fashioned trial and error.

The thing is, it’s almost always worth it. 

If you’d like to chat more about how I can help you learn how to this, let’s talk. 

I am grateful that you are a part of my community and I am here to support you however I can. 

Stay safe and be well.

In Healing,
​Kate