Whether you have been working with your team remotely for 6 months or 6 years, time management when working online can be such a difficult thing to master. 

For me, time management doesn’t just mean prioritizing all my tasks, it also means getting what I need to get done while also setting boundaries. 

I’m sure you’ve seen the news articles that say, “On average working from home means 3 more hours on the job” (Source: Bloomberg) While I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that, it can definitely feel like you are perceived to be available for many more hours. 

Alright let’s back up a little bit. First let’s discuss managing your tasks when you work online. 

If you’re a business owner, you probably have a mile long to-do list. So how do you get through it all? 

I recommend project management tools, such as Slack, Trello, or Asana. Each tool has its own pros and cons, but they all allow you to put your tasks into categories and make lists of what needs to get done. These tools can also help you delegate tasks to your team.

I’m a firm believer that the best way to manage your time is to have an organized plan of what you want to get done each day, and who you want to get it done. 

As a leader, it can be tough to manage doing your own work and approving/reviewing your team members' work, but it will be easier for everyone if expectations are set from the start. The more specific the instructions you give, the less time you need to provide your team member to answer follow up questions or clarifications. 

Obviously, it’s a little unrealistic to expect your team members to understand all of their tasks with zero questions, ever. But if you go out of your way when you are delegating tasks to them to make sure they are clear on what they need to do, it will save you time in the future.

Another important aspect of time management is setting boundaries. When you’re working from home, people tend to naturally think of you as more available and accessible, especially considering all of the forms of communication that exist today. 

In the online business community, there is often a “hustle, hustle, hustle” mentality. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious and driven, but it can be harmful to equate success with working all day every day. 

When you are a business owner, you often set your own hours. You can work 30 hours a week, or you can work 70. If you manage your business online, while you may feel obligated to be as available as possible, it’s very important to set boundaries for your availability online. 

This will save your sanity. I promise.

It may not feel like a big deal to answer a quick text or email after hours, but feeling that constant obligation to work can take a big toll over time. Work with your team early on to establish boundaries, and make sure everyone identifies any time they will be on “do not disturb” to avoid any miscommunication in the future.

Working remotely can be amazing, and by honing in on those time management skills and establishing online availability boundaries, you will set you and your team up for success.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

In times like these, it’s completely normal and expected for team members to fear uncertainty, which may affect their motivation and personal development at work. 

Now, more than ever, motivation and engagement in your team is absolutely crucial. Each MBTI type responds differently to various forms of motivation from their team leader. For example, an Intuitive-Feeler may feel the most motivated when they receive genuine feedback and appreciation. 
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Oftentimes, for these types, having authentic meaning behind tasks is very important.

On the other hand, you could have a team member that is a Intuitive-Thinker that finds that constant stream of communication (although it is positive and encouraging) a little bit distracting from their work, and they are motivated best by the outcome. These types need to see how their actions directly affect an organization, and their ability to see that change is what drives them.

Again, the great thing about MBTI type is that there is NO right or wrong answer. No single personality type is better or worse than another, each individual just has their own preferences, which affects how they function in the world. But as leaders, we can use knowledge of MBTI to pinpoint how we can help each individual on our team.

Motivating your team members also helps progress their personal development, both in and outside of work. No matter what someone’s personality type is, if they are feeling burnt out and unappreciated at work, it’s just a matter of time before they find an opportunity that fits their needs better. 

Once you have figured out your “sweet spot” and know how to motivate your team, your team and organization will only grow and prosper. It’s amazing how having the right people on your team and knowing how to collaborate can really set a business up to be massively successful.

Here's To Your Success,
Kate

By now, we’ve all (hopefully!) made a fairly successful transition to remote work. Now it’s time to fine tune all the small details.

One of the most important aspects of being a successful leader, remotely or not, is communication. Ironically, as an INFJ myself, I tend to lean towards more communication rather than less. However, more is not always better!

Effective communication is the ability to convey your message in a direct, concise way. This is especially important in an online world, where communication exists in various mediums. With all the various modes of communication, things like texts, emails, Slack messages, DMs, etc. can easily get lost in the shuffle if we’re not organized and concise. 

Sometimes, we tend to think over-communication = effective communication.

But that is not the case! For example, as a leader or business owner, it’s much more effective to give your team instructions for their next project, in one place, say over a company meeting, rather than giving those instructions in multiple parts, over various channels of communication. 

It may sound simple, but as leaders and business owners, sometimes we forget that not everyone else’s brain works like ours. No matter what your MBTI type is, if you own a business, there’s a good chance that you are both extremely busy and handling many projects simultaneously. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to remember that not all employees respond well to less formal leadership. This is where MBTI type comes in handy!

Now, if you’ve got a team member that thrives off of a “go with the flow” work environment such as an intuitive perceiving person, by all means, cater to that! The great thing about MBTI is that there is no right or wrong way of doing things, it only helps us cater to each individual to amplify their success.

But on the other hand, let’s say you’ve got a team member that is detail oriented, and loves to plan their projects and tasks out weeks in advance, quite likely someone with a sensing-judging preference. You won’t be able to truly maximize your success in your business if you don’t take a different approach to leading that team member, such as creating a workflow or other organized system.

And it probably won’t be very fun for either of you if one person is always bringing up new projects and never finishing them, and the other is focused on finishing one before starting another.

The bottom line is - effective communication is an extremely important part of great leadership. Truly effective communication means understanding who you are communicating to, and how to get your message to them in a meaningful way. Because communication is the core of doing business, once you have an understanding of the different communication styles within your organization, everything else will fall into place.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

As a business owner or entrepreneur, in some way, you want to leave a legacy. You want to change the world in some way and help people. 

The bottom line of all businesses is absolutely to make money. And yet my guess is that many of you are like me in that you hope to do some great work in the world. 

But how does one leave a legacy? 

That sounds like a tall order for a small business owner or entrepreneur when your focus right now might just be getting started on the right foot, or even just getting by during a pandemic. 

But even in these trying times, the secret to leaving a legacy starts with leadership.

In the midst of a crisis, definite traits set leaders apart from the rest of the pack.

The difference between a great leader and average leader is who the person is, what are this person’s values? What are their *soft* skills?

These questions are sometimes overlooked when talking about business leadership.

With this new normal of virtual life, work, collaboration, teams, business, etc., traditional leadership might just be thrown out the window. 

One thing is more true now more than ever before. Those leaders who are great leaders and set themselves apart are those people who can effectively influence and effectively empower others during times of crisis. 

Leadership in our new normal means proactively responding daily to the new challenges people on your team or employees are facing. It’s not waiting for issues to pop up. It is proactively understanding how our world is changing and all the various ways it impacts your people, families, and communities.

Being a great leader means doing whatever it takes to protect your employees and protecting their businesses, all while being empathic in that process. So empathy is absolutely essential these days in being able to help and meet other people’s needs. 

In order to be able to see your team and your people as unique and understand their unique experiences, you first have to understand that all within yourself.
There is absolutely no way you can be genuine and authentic, connecting with your team or employees if you don’t know how to do that for yourself. 

Being able to be there for others,  supporting others, and leading others requires introspection. It requires commitment to growing. It requires a commitment to your own mental health and your emotional world. 

What sets great leaders apart is their inclusion of empathy and compassion in all their efforts. 

This is 100% what my high performance-based program is all about. Helping you develop the type of person you are, because it all starts with you.

Great leaders are willing to invest in themselves. 

If you want to leave a business legacy out of this crisis, it stems from leadership, which all starts with you.

Let’s talk today about how you can show empathy and compassion as an entrepreneur or small business owner in times of crisis. 

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

Delegation is a difficult subject for business owners and can often be much harder than it sounds. 

What makes delegating so hard for leaders?

Sometimes, it might have to do with your particular personality type. Certain types are intrinsically better at delegating than others.

This does not mean certain types can’t delegate. Certain traits are just going to be more naturally apt to it.

Thinkers biggest criteria for success is if the work got done. It does not matter how many bodies they leave along the way. 

On the other hand, Feelers are very aware of other people’s feelings, but try to get everybody’s needs met while getting work done. 

Feelers might get more hung up on delegating because they are trying to balance the needs of their teams along with the tasks that need to be done. Thinkers are more focused on the bottom line. 

When we look at it from a type perspective, some types are more naturally inclined to delegate.

If you have taken anything away from learning about personality types, it should be that you cannot pigeonhole each type. Feelers can delegate and Thinkers have the ability to take others into account while working. 

We all want to be the best managers we can be, and with that comes the ability to delegate to your team or employees. 

If you find delegation difficult, let’s schedule a time to talk about how you can grow this part of you while deepening your understanding of yourself and how you tick.

It might not be as hard as you think.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

As business owners or entrepreneurs, our work can feel like an extension of ourselves.

We work hard everyday to help make our vision and business come to life in exactly the way we want it to.

As your business grows and expands, hiring employees and team members is essential.

But what if it is hard for you to trust others to get your vision across?

Trust issues stem from conflict in your personal life. Struggling to trust comes from issues you are hung up on subconsciously. 

If you thrive off of control in the outside world, it is usually because you are trying to protect an emotional feeling that could overwhelm you. 

The greater the control someone needs in the outside world, the greater the chaos is inside. 

If you are someone who finds trusting others to get the job done hard, it is far more about the chaos you feel inside which stems from your emotions or past experiences. 

Let’s schedule a time to talk about how you can begin the process of trusting others with your business.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

As you know with MBTI, we often look at life with our own sort of “filter.” We see things a certain way due to our unique personality type.

It can be hard to adjust our thinking and vision to realize that others may not see life in the same way we do.

But do we stereotype people based on their MBTIs?!

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

Oftentimes, many of these generalizations are untrue or even inaccurate if you have not consulted a trained professional to learn more about what each particular MBTI type 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 come with understanding your employee's types.

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".

Without verification, training and education around type and its practical uses, people can easily get pigeonholed and underpromoted because of common "stereotypes" or generalizations that are often hastily assumed about types.

Every single personality type is different, especially for different people.
It is important that we understand who a person is and how this person works effectively, that is if we want to have successful teams and productive workplace environments.

That is why working with a trained professional will not only help you verify results, but also help you apply the knowledge in profound and effective ways.

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.

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????

Here's To Your Success,
Kate

This is one of my most favorite topics to talk about. 

I think that it happens a lot more than people realize. Typically what I like to say is that when we get stuck, there's always an important reason for that. 

Usually when I need more information about something, or if I find a new topic I am interested in, when in doubt, I Google it. 

Having this immediate access to vast amounts of data and information all by the simple press of a button is a huge, huge advantage that business leaders and entrepreneurs did not have before us at the same time.

However, having too much information can be incredibly overwhelming and even really counterproductive when it comes to making decisions as a business owner and entrepreneur.

One of the most powerful responsibilities of a business owner is to make decisions and we're making them all day long, right? Big ones, small ones, it’s our job.

Getting lost in analysis paralysis is a common way that business owners get bogged down when it comes to decision making and in all the things that it takes to move that business forward. 

And a big part of this is because of all the information immediately available at our fingertips. 

It's really easy to get lost and ultimately buried underneath piles of information that in the beginning you thought were helpful and likely was, but only ends up clouding your ability to make those decisions.

It ultimately decreases the ability to really focus on anything else and get anything else done. Especially if we’re holding ourselves to an incredibly high standard.

High achievers tend to do that. 

We fall victim to this idea that we're supposed to make the right decision and know how to pull it off perfectly and get the biggest return on our investment and not make mistakes. 

This is usually where analysis paralysis starts to happen for people. It's about pressure. 

It's about something that's happening inside of a person who is trying to make a decision based on the facts, based on the resources that they have and yet getting stuck between an alternative choice that might be equally effective.

Analysis paralysis is really about a conflict inside. It’s a conflict of what you think you want and what somebody else is telling you works.

You know, when someone gets stuck in analysis paralysis, it's because of something much deeper than the outside world. 

What I find interesting is that many, many coaching programs and gurus, tout a more behavioral approach, emphasizing the necessity of implementing a different strategy or behavior program, or having an accountability buddy that can keep you on track. 

Although there's absolutely nothing wrong with any of these strategies, the problem is that if we don’t deal with the deeper underlying issues related to the inability to make a choice and move forward, then these short-term strategic changes are eventually going to fall apart.

I tend to drift towards that deeper, sustainable change that ensures we're going to get the most bang for our buck, the most bang for our investment when it comes to growth and evolution. You know, working with someone trained to help you uncover the deeper issue that’s keeping you stuck in your decision making. 

The greatest thing you can do is get out of your own head and go work through this with someone who's trained to help you resolve this deeper internal conflict. It’s deeper than words and habits folks. It really is. 

Let’s schedule a time to talk today about your analysis paralysis, and the internal conflicts inhibiting you and your business from growing.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

Stress. 

It’s something we all feel - maybe even a little more than usual with the current pandemic. 

And it’s basically a given that life as a business owner or entrepreneur can lead to a lot of stress. You are fully responsible and so invested in the success of your business, and the weight of it all can weigh heavy on your shoulders at times.

Well, didn’t we all become business owners or entrepreneurs to enjoy the freedom that comes along with running the show? We have the ability to set our schedules, to call the shots, and we get to work more independently in a way that fits the way we work best.

So why are we so stressed?!

The source of stress may not be super easy to pin-point. It’s often the result of a whole slew of things. 

But I’ll tell you this…

The key to figuring this out is self-reflection.​

Would it benefit you to set better boundaries with yourself and stick to certain “work hours”?  Would outsourcing some of your workload ease your struggle? Do you just need a moment to reflect on how far you and your business have come?

Stress is inevitable. But a healthy amount of stress is actually good and keeps us productive. 

On the flipside, too much of it is never good for anyone. 

So take some time for yourself today. 

Dive deeper into why you are feeling stressed. Write a list of what is making your head spin and try to look at those difficulties through a different perspective. 

This inner work and self-reflection is truly the first step in taking action towards a more satisfying (and less stressful!) life. 

Psstt… If you haven’t heard yet, we have launched a podcast! Each week, we explore topics that teach you how to create a workplace environment full of highly engaged, loyal and collaborative people. Head over and listen to the Rite Type Coaching Podcast and learn more.

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate

The core of what all successful business owners and people know is that growth always happens at the end of our comfort zone. 

Growth opportunities often show up in ways that it can feel like you have to go out on a limb a little bit or take a leap of faith. You know, an AFGO?

(AFGO = Another flippin’ growth opportunity?)

Well folks, like it or not, trust me, that's where growth happens.

It's not that it can't happen when you're doing the same things over and over and over again. 

But when you continue to move forward in life or base decisions and choices in your life upon your old criteria like, "Do I have enough?", or "How is this going to come back to haunt me?", or "Is this to help me or hurt me?"…In most of these cases, you’re going to stay stuck.

I'm not saying that using logic, reason or rationale is bad or wrong. 

I’m simply saying that there needs to be a balance between your left and right brain where (1) you do look at the facts and your bank account, while at the same time (2) you look at the time you have and at the opportunity presenting itself and ask if it is the right time for you.

The secret is learning how to trust what that little voice inside tells you, whether it’s logical or not. And this is not a brain thing. 

What I'm speaking about is that other part of you, your intuition, your gut. It’s from this place that you’re often going to hear the message first that very, very often you need something different. 

I believe that on the other side of fear is your life. And in the space between you being able to take that next step and stepping into that reality, that folks, is what growth is all about.

Growth is always going to feel counterintuitive. It’s going to challenge the old ways, which is why it’s going to feel totally counterintuitive.

Working through the blocks inside that get in the way of you having enough and feeling abundant and successful and prosperous in your life- that’s what all successful people challenge themselves to do.  

What I can tell you is this, if you're not willing to do your part by taking that chance, that feels right to you, you will continue to stay stuck. 

Even though your brain might be saying something different, then it's going to be hard for the universe to provide abundance for us because we're still living from a place of scarcity, a place of lack. 

This is a place where I see people get blocked all the time when it comes to taking the next opportunity to step into the next piece of their lives. Fear is the #1 way these blocks happen.

Learning how to lean into your fear and unpack it to find out if the fear is real and rational based on present day experiences, or if it's old fear that keeps you playing small in your life- this is the key to getting beyond survival and into the nitty gritty of living. 

If you don't ever get to the bottom of that, then the one guarantee I can give you is that you will continue to live from a place of scarcity and lack. You’ll stay stuck. There's just no getting around it. 

I believe that if you're trying to determine which path is going to bring you the most growth, go with the one that feels most counterintuitive to you. Which direction feels the most impossible or the most unlikely for you to do, then do that. 

Here’s the secret though: you’re not going to be able to accomplish this on your own. I’ve rarely seen growth like this happen without support from a trusted guide.

Let’s schedule a time to talk today, to learn how to trust your gut and lean into your fears, whether it be taking the leap and going from employee to owner, transitioning your business to online, or taking a leap of faith in your relationships.  

I’m looking forward to chatting with you soon!

Here's To Your Success,
​Kate