Leadership Fitness in 5 Minutes with Gary Slyman

"Bob was a great program manager and he is not thriving in his new director role."     What is up?   I think he has not ended in his mind his previous role as program manager.   Could this be you?   Is there something you haven't ended that is holding you back?   Let's look at three areas:  Pruning - what needs to go? Choosing - how do you choose what to prune? Executing - be deliberate and clear...

I need help getting my goals on track this year. Can you help me?   I have a methodology that I want to share with you.   Vision Assessment Creating a Path   Think of your goal.   Think about your vision and assess where you.   Then look at creating a path.   There are three parts to the path: state your why, decide on a small incremental step to help you make progress, what obstacles are in the w...

What is the true meaning of Memorial Day. Only 63% of a recent group of American adults surveyed thought Memorial day's prime purpose was for recognition and remembrance. There was a difference among those in the baby boomer generation and later, let's connect with these three questions. What's its origin story? What is its true purpose? How can you connect?  Answer these questions for yourself. H...

How well are you being led? How well are you leading? Let's walk through a quick audit to assess these influences. Thoughts Speech Action I want you to first think about your leaders, then it will be easier to asses your own leadership. How are the above being influenced by your leader and those you lead. Your thoughts, speech and actions are changing. Is this positive or negative? How did you do?

Do you want to retain those you lead more than your competitors? Have a conversation about the follow two areas:   Current job performance Career progression   Have these conversations with those that are you leading you and those that you are leading.   A few numbers:    28% who left voluntarily over the last quarter did not have a conversation with their leadership about their future with that o...

If you are not serving those you lead, you are not leading.  How do you do this? Putting conditions in place so individuals and teams can succeed. Here is a simple model to mentally evaluate whether you are giving individuals and teams they need to succeed? March 2025 - Gallup Poll- revealed workers want work/life balance, security and stability and do something they do best 1. What do those you l...

Want to create professional opportunities for yourself? Network Look at these three elements: Wake up your dormant network - Who is someone you haven't connected with in several years? Can you reconnect? Real connections not transactions - Make it a real connection, I want to learn as much as I can about this person, their job and their organization. Be curious - This is about education and learni...

How emotionally intelligent are you?   Can you put a number on it?   I can.   Let's look at the MSCEIT 2 test, it is an objective test measuring skills and abilities in emotional intelligence Perceiving Emotions:   in yourself, others and the environment Connecting Emotions:   ability for me to connect empathetically with others Understanding Emotions:   measuring your skills and abilities to unde...

First quarter is in the books. Let's check in and see how things are going.  We are going to look at three areas. Lessons learned What worked? What needs to change? I will walk you through an example of a client I currently have…now take some time answer the same questions and see where they lead you.   Need help? Contact me today.

Are you in the throws of making a big decision?   Do you just want clarity?   Get to your NO's. What are your non-negotiable no's?   No's will set some boundaries and give you clarity.   Former head FBI Christopher Wray talks about not getting to a "yes", but getting to a "no" in a negotiation.   Let's walk through an example and then decide how this can apply to you and your team.   Your no's wil...

When are you at your best? Let's explore how to schedule your toughest challenges.   There is a structure that is effective to make an impact: block of time, interval, & recovery   1. What is the block of time you are the best? Morning, After Lunch, Evening, Night   2. What's the interval you are most effective? 30 min? 60 min? 90 min? In a meeting when do you start looking at your phone or watch?...

Trust has a large impact on our leadership behavior. We are going to use YOU as a case study. Pick out someone you trust the most and the least in your professional setting. If you walk into a meeting and see that person you trust the least, what emotions come up? If you walked into a similar meeting with the person you trust the most? How are your emotions different? Where do you feel these emoti...

Are you in traumatic transition? How can you reduce some of that trauma? 1. vision 2. limitations 3. managing the neutral zone Unplanned, abrupt and large magnitude can lead to a traumatic transition. How does this transition impact your overall vision? Think about short term, mid-term and long term. Put some limitations on making decisions. Look at these three areas: Alignment, capabilities & eff...

Navigating the Neutral Zone of Transition How well are you leading yourself and your team through your current transition?   Every transition has three parts: endings, natural zone (no mans land) and beginnings The transition for us as leaders is helping people get through the neutral zone. You have to let go and then grasp the new. The neutral zone is the place people are uncomfortable.   Let's w...

If you are leading individuals or a team through a transition, you need to master these three phases. 1. Endings 2. No Man's Land 3. Beginnings When you transition some things end. Be deliberate about what is ending. Individuals can go through grief. Name what has changed. When you're in transition, you might have ended one thing, but haven't started what's new. How as a leader can you help an ind...

Do you stay or do you go? That is an emotional question many folks in the government are dealing with right now.  I want to give you three considerations in this emotional time to help you build clarity around that decision. 1. Alignment 2. Obligations 3. Effectiveness Assess how aligned you will be with the organization. Will you be able to meet the obligations of your position and how it changes...

Do you work in the government space as a government employee or government contractor?   You are in a transition.   Government is going through disruption. You're experiencing confusion, stress and uncertainty.   I can help you through that transition. I help individuals build clarity to help them transition to what is next.   Let's walk through some questions: What do you need? What do you want?...

Do you want to love what you do?   Focus on your strengths.   What would be the impact if you could work on your strengths as apposed to filling in the gaps of your weaknesses.   Often as leaders we focus on weaknesses.   I want you to use your strengths.   The, RBS - Reflective Best Self, is a tool that can be used to help you use your strengths. Here are the five steps it will walk you through....

It's the end of January 2025. 1/12th of the year is gone, are you on track with the goals you set for yourself?  Let's check in with the following three questions. 1. What have you learned so far? 2. What's working? 3. What do you need to change? I'll walk you through my word/goals and would challenge you to do the same.

Think of that one leader that you did not trust. What were the specific reasons why? I would argue that they fall in one of the following areas.    Care - does that individual have as much interest about you as themselves? Sincerity - did they say what they mean and mean what they say? Reliability - a little different than sincerity Competency - they don' have the level of training or skills neede...

Does your career ladder lean against the right building?   How do you find out? Consider aligning the following three areas Purpose Potential Motivations Let's walk through a case study to see how to apply the above suggestion. Now think about yourself as you are looking at your career? Where are tensions? Maybe these three areas are not in alignment. Ask yourself what is my purpose?   Define it....

Welcome to 2025! We are at that point to set goals, resolutions or choose a word. This year my word is fitness. I will use this word to set goals for myself personally and professionally. Let's walk through an example. What is at your top professional goal? I will use A, B, C to assess the goal I want to achieve. A - Affect - emotions? B - Behavior- what will I do? C- Cognitive- what do I want to...

THANK YOU!!   Who do you need to thank you this year? 3 Categories:   Family, Clients & Others First thank you to my wife, Michelle, and my children; Scoop & Lindsey Thank you to my clients. You have made me grow and helped me become a better coach.  Other Supporters… FreedomMakers D3 Web Design Gardiner & Appel  Insurance Broker Mastermind Group   Think about those folks you don't see, I don't al...

The United States has transitioned from the great resignation to the great detachment. Data is coming from Gallup; gives us a big picture of employment and engagement. This is a time in the US, the rate of individuals looking for new opportunities is the greatest it has been since 2015. This results in lower engagement and dissatisfaction. Only 18% say they are pleased with their employer. This is...

Happy Thanksgiving!   What do you know about this great holiday?   Let's talk about it…how did this holiday come to be?