By PRK December 24, 2014
I am PKannan and I accidentally gave Dr. Lynn K Jones a 1 star review. It was meant to be a 5 star review. This is a mistake! ...read more
By PRK December 24, 2014
I am PKannan and I accidentally gave Dr. Lynn K Jones a 1 star review. It was meant to be a 5 star review. This is a mistake! ...read more
By PKannan December 20, 2014
I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Santa Barbara Coach this year and was really happy with her guidance. Lynn helped me clarify career goals, improve my relationships and improve my mental health with her Optimism, her Positivity, and her ability to see Possibility all while using my Strengths. I definitely became more productive and happy. Dr. Lynn K. Jones is an exceptional person and I encourage your to use her services if you can! ...read more
"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after."~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh My clients are smart and they know that good communication is at the heart of most success. I went in search of someone who could shed some light on this deceptively simple and critically important skill and foundSharon Sayler, MBA andExecutive Effectiveness Coach and Behavioral Communications Specialist,who knows how to “how to use words to change minds and behaviors to change outcomes.” And that is, as she says, “beyond lip service.” Sayler is a behavioral communications expert, certified executive coach and founder of Competitive Edge Communications. She clearly understands that communication is the key to quality relationships and how when applied to business relationships effective communication results in mutual understanding, trust and a common goal to get things done. Who doesn’t want that? Read on and find out why she has recently been voted one of the 50 Authors You Should Be Reading in 2011. Describe your current business and what you are most proud of regarding your current business. Competitive Edge Communications (CEC) is an internationally known consultancy developed to provide relevant and up-to-date communication skills and techniques for leaders and emerging leaders. CEC’s core message is delivered through one-to-one coaching, workshops, trainings, keynotes, video, audio and written materials. Competitive Edge Communications’ purpose is to enable individuals and businesses to effectively lead and inspire others, build trust by positive and strategic communication and understanding common points of differences and conflict. My juiciest moments are when I hear someone tell me the positive changes that have resulted by coaching with me or using my work to benefit theirs and others lives. I am most proud at this moment of my latest bookWhat Your Body Says and How to Master the Message. I am a self-published non-fiction author of two books and John Wiley and Sons Publishing picked up the rights to my third and latest book. What Your Body Sayshas been published in 5 languages since its release just last year and is being used as suggested reading in universities around the world. Why did you choose your current career and how did you get started? Sometimes opportunities present themselves and a leap of faith is required. Approximately 15 years ago, I had the opportunity to mentor with one of the foremost authorities on nonverbal communication. At the time I was running a marketing and design business, yet felt compelled to take the opportunity. I haven’t looked back. I firmly believe I’m doing what I was meant to do. What is your favorite “Mojo Mantra”? Enjoy the adventure ~ life is in the doing. You are a very self-driven individual who values productivity; what practices helped you increase your productivity the most? Ø Develop systems to keep repetitive business tasks on track and effective. Systems make it easier to delegate as your business grows and helps keep you focused and balanced on what you do best. Ø Plan each year by choosing no more than 4 specific items you want done that year and add to a planning calendar. Choose the date you want “it” by, then work backwards to add all the steps/actions needed to finish by that desired date. Work in 90-day segments. Be realistic and specific. Ø Choose your team wisely. Choose them for their values and work ethic; you can always train skills. Do you have a personal role model that you feel has “got his/her mojo”? If so, what do you admire about this person? I don’t believe in role models. Nobody is perfect, too often people believe in another person “hook, line and sinker” only to be discouraged when the “real” picture of the whole person emerges. We are all flawed in some way. We can appreciate the value of behavior(s), choice(s), and value(s) another has made, and choose to implement those that will make us more effective, bring more joy etc. To pattern your life based on another’s life is limiting your choices, experiences and you miss the adventure of your life unfolding. I admire those that choose to improve, are life-learners and work of self-awareness. Being a successful professional embodies being an excellent marketer (so that people know your name and service!), how do you reach out to your wide range of customers to build a trusting relationship? Marketing for a small business or service professional is all about one’s interpersonal skills more than what some might call traditional marketing techniques. Referrals and word of mouth are an integral part of my marketing. Public speaking including keynotes, trainings, radio and television interviews to associations and groups that have as members those that would be interested in my coaching services allow me to reach a broader audience. Internet marketing includes guest articles and blog writing, social media and my own Internet radio show Beyond Lip Service are the ways I have chosen to market. Knowing who you are marketing to is more important to know, once you are clear on who your audience is, the appropriate marketing techniques as easy to put in place. Communication is such a critical issue for so many people struggling to get their mojo. What are your 3 top strategies for excellent communication? Ø Know your objective/intention before you begin to speak. Ø Keep whatever you say short. If you can’t say it in 100 words you are not being specific enough. Short sounds confident. Ø Understand how others perceive you and work to have you body language congruent with your verbal message. What are two books that you recommend to help our readers “get their mojo”? Of course I would hope others would read and find usefulWhat Your Body Says (and how to master the message. I love reading so narrowing it to two books will be difficult. First, anything by Dr. John Gottman. I always learn something from Dr. Gottman. One of my favorites of his isThe Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family and Friendships. It is filled with specific and helpful advice. I love his concept of emotional bids and how so many of them are nonverbal. Dr. Gottman helps us realize where we may be sabotaging our relationships, desire for connection and how we can cut-off what we desire most, heartfelt communication. The book is full of examples, vignettes and stories from his many years in his “Love-Lab.” Second bookFrom Coach to Awakenerby Robert Dilts. This book isn’t for everyone. This is a technical book. If you are a coach or trainer though, this book is full of tools and techniques to help people explore his or her beliefs, skills, characteristics and leadership style. Mr. Dilts is best known in the world of NLP, however this book is not to be considered an overview or introduction to NLP. Looking for some resources on Communication? Check outSharon Sayler’s website Dr. Lynn K. Jonesis a Board Certified Coach and an Advanced Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US. Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concernedorganizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry. She coaches individuals on achieving their reflected best selves. AMSW@USCfaculty member,Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment and Leadership to social work students at the University of Southern California. ...read more
By Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Personal and Executive Coach April 16, 2012
“Passion is the first and most essential ingredient for planning and beginning a business or for starting and completing any worthwhile project.” ~ Martha Stewart Are you looking to reinvent yourself? Maybe you are reeling from the economic downturn or just feel ready to move on to something different, more interesting or exciting. Where do you begin? First, consider: Do you want to work at a job, at a career, or at a passion? If you want to work at a job, your primary concern will be your compensation. If it is at a career, it will be your opportunities for promotions and professional development. And if it is at a passion your concern will be the work itself and the desire for money, prestige or control will be secondary. Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” WhenMae Laborde reinvented herselfto start her Hollywood career at age 93, she was an example of someone who wanted to work at a passion. She was good at it and she loved it. Use Passion to Fuel Your Next Act 1. Pick Yourself Up and Dust Off Some of the most successful people have achieved remarkable achievements after some spectacular failures. You canread about them here, but the point is, you too can reinvent yourself and be successful! Accept that this is a scary process; embrace the challenge of moving into an exciting new direction. Po Bronson in his quest to find out how people reinvented themselves found that they usually did it in hard times; in good times they only talked about it. “Hard times forced them to overcome the doubts that normally gave them pause. It surprised me how often we hold ourselves back until we have no choice.”[i] 2. Be Positive It may be hard to positive at a time like this, but it is an absolute must. Research by Barbara Frederickson, author ofPositivity, has shown that people need a positivity ration of 3:1 to flourish. A side benefit of having positivity at an optimal ratio is that positivity “broadens and builds.” This means that you will see more opportunities and that they will build on one other in unexpected ways. If that sounds on target, but not doable, read my blog about how you canup your positivity ratio. 3. Find Your Strengths It makes sense that as you move forward in a new direction that you want to do it from a position of strength. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have a good idea of what our strengths are. They are a taken-for-granted commodity. A good way to develop awareness of your strengths is to think about the things that energize and excite you. You are probably using your strengths at those times. I also offer a free Strengthsfinder coaching session that you can schedulehere. 4. Commit to Your Values When you are passionate about something it is because you care deeply about. You want to think about what you value and you want to commit your life direction to something that is grounded in those values. To help figure that out,review this list of valuesand ask yourself: What do you value most about yourself as a human being? What do you value most about your work? What would you value about an organization that you were affiliated with? 5. Put Your Toe in the Water Reinventing yourself is a process. Start with baby steps. When you take a small step towards a new direction you won’t find yourself paralyzed by the fear of making a big change. Big changes usually are the cumulative result of taking many small steps. Most important: enjoy the journey, learn as you go, and in the words of Ellen Langer, “BeGLADO.” Want some help in using passion to fuel your next act? Pleasecontact me for afreeconsultation to see if some coaching can help you. Appreciatively, Lynn P.S. Have you checked outThe Happiness Shelfin the Leader’s Library onwww.lynnkjones.com? My picks and the reasons why I picked them are all there with links to Amazon. And, if you buy one of these books through the Leader’s Library, I am donating the affiliate money I earn toBetter World Books. Dr. Lynn K. Jonesis a Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US. Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concernedorganizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry. She coaches individuals on achieving their reflected best selves. AnMSW@USCfaculty member,Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment and Leadership to social work students at the University of Southern California.[i]Po Bronson,What Should I Do With My Life: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question ...read more
By Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Personal and Executive Coach February 17, 2012
“People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.“ ~Warren G. Bennis Really? Any age? Yes. Any age. Are you younger than 93? Then you are not too old to reinvent yourself. Mae Laborde did. She started an acting career at 93 and didn’t stop until she passed away recently at the age of 102. Earlier in her life she worked as a department store clerk and as a bookkeeper for the “The Lawrence Welk Show.” As a reinvented Hollywood starlet, she landed commercials, movie parts and at the age of 99 became a semi-regular on the Talkshow with Spike Ferenstein. Not sure that you can get with all the new fangled technology and social marketing as you reinvent yourself? Maybe you want to get a lesson from Mae’s clip “PSA for Installing a DTV Converter Box,” which has been ranked one of the most-watched viral downloads. Not bad! http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/1/digital-conversion-update-psa-648722 So what did Mae do to reinvent herself? She attributes her success to staying active and keeping a positive outlook. “I like to keep in touch with things,” she said 11 years ago. “I just keep busy, and I have fun doing it. You have to have a sense of humor and keep happy thoughts. I keep thinking of the nice things that are going to happen.” In other blogs we have written about howthe fear of failure doesn’t have to be permanentand how Ellen Langer has researched how aremindsets can be limiting or liberating. Mindsets are lens through which we see our lives. People like Mae Laborde cultivate a mindset that is equivalent to looking through a lens that sees possibility. Want to know how you cancultivate a possibility mindset, to put on those metaphorical “can do” eyeglasses that Mae put on? Please contact me for a free consultation to see if some coaching can help you. Appreciatively, Lynn Dr. Lynn K. Jonesis a Certified Personal and Executive Coach based in Santa Barbara, California and a sought after coach and consultant for organizations and individuals across the US. Her doctoral work completed at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University concernedorganizational culture; she coaches, consults and trains organizations on what they need to do to create organizational cultures that are aligned with their vision and values using a process of Appreciative Inquiry. She coaches individuals on achieving their reflected best selves. AnMSW@USCfaculty member,Dr. Lynn K. Jones, MSW, DSW, CSWM, teaches Human Behavior and Social Environment and Leadership to social work students at the University of Southern California. ...read more
By Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Personal and Executive Coach February 17, 2012
Mental health care referral can be a scary process for many people. Going to a doctor or medical setting to get assessed for mental health services may be more scary than the mental illness. Although a doctor or qualified mental health provider will still have to approve the services, it is quite easy... ...read more
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs in people who have suffered a significant trauma such as a victim of a violent crime, or a soldier who has been deployed to a combat zone. Often times, suffers of PTSD find themselves reliving the trauma which makes it difficult and stressful for them to mov... ...read more