Are you a player or spectator in your life?
Life happens playing the game in the arena!
The Player role is about using your talents, your character traits, your mindset and your skillset to deliver on your potential and vision. Your future self will thank you if you give it a ‘must’ rather than ‘nice’ to do. And if you don’t – you end up living through other people’s stories rather than your own where your list of regrets builds.
We all learn a lesson at Kindergarten that if you can’t play well with others in the sandbox life gets tough. Player embraces this lesson. Player is about working and playing with others well. You are never too old to play! And it is worth getting good at it!
Life happens playing the game in the arena!
BEING A PLAYER
1 21st Century Player Outlook is about how you approach the arena. The mindset that gets you into and keeps you in the game – and the beliefs you bring with you to help you win on your own terms.
2 Player Fundamentals is about knowing the game, your contribution and how to play it well. It is about focusing in on what matters most now, being bold, taking risks, being YOU, being seen, mastering your craft, delivering as part of a team, keeping score, learning and constantly adapting. Yep – a big list because the arena is where you are living life full on.
3 Persuasive Communication is about the vital modern communication skillset. Getting the fundamentals on messages, listening and body language right. Then shifting the lens to purpose, the impact of information overload and the power of persuasion with stories. Then building your personal PRO toolkit on writing, presenting, reporting, getting meetings right and embracing technology. This is the primary in demand 21st century future skill that you need to keep mastering.
4 Leader & Enabler is about serving, leading and enabling others. It is about being a Boss and much more than that. Whatever your role, having the ability to comfortably step in to lead when collaborating with others – will always set you apart. It means visioning, inspiring, engaging, building and enabling the individuals around you and the tribes you work with.
You need to make sure you are learning from the best and keep developing your leadership styles for different situations. It encompasses your primary business and people roles as a Leader. It also looks at what it means to be a great role model and living by the standards you set for yourself. We learn in OWNER the importance of leading ourselves. Learning to lead ourselves and others should also help you learn to serve, follow and collaborate well too.
5 Collaborator & Connector is about getting what it means to be a team player – in how you work with and get the best from others and yourself. Great things happen when people work well together. You need to build the best diverse teams and find great tools that enable you to create this.
It is about understanding, empathising and communicating within teams by working to your strengths, finding solutions, taking responsibility for mistakes and celebrating successes. It also means you enjoy building bridges for communities of interest and take time to connect people. You recognise the value of WE before ME – always looking for opportunities to serve.
6 Coach & Mentor Coaching is about being a catalyst for change and helping others find the best version of themselves. With mentoring you are advising more and sharing your knowledge, skills and experience. Listening is key for both. Coaching is focused on supporting the development of others and it is also THE primary Manager skill in a modern business. You can learn from the sports greats, enhance your people skills and build your own coaching toolkit.
It is about taming your advice monster, developing brilliant questioning skills, learning to give timely and valuable feedback; and how to keep people accountable. Once you have crafted these coaching skills, experienced mentoring and are seen as a role model – offer to mentor others who are at different stages of their careers. It is rewarding to help others and you learn loads too!
7 Key Person with Impact is about building on your personal brand and taking it to the next level. By enhancing your reputation, using social media, public speaking, and building a body of work to get you noticed as a key player. It is often referred to as ‘Key Person of Influence’, but we are more interested with your impact. If you are going to do this, you might as well go BIG! It is about making a difference, your contribution in your world and the legacy you want to leave.
8 21C Player Projects are the seven personal projects we build with you to hone these skills. If you want to change your habits and embed new skills the best way to learn is to pick a development need and create a live learning lab project.
A few ideas include: A new role or job; a new coaching or mentoring relationship; volunteering to lead a new project; building the collateral to have more impact; connecting your network; rewriting your story; giving a TED talk; a sales pitch; a new business venture; a charity project or launching a podcast. Anything that gets you taking action in the arena.
Player is so important. You are in the Arena. In action mode. Focused on what matters most now and your role in the team. Bringing the best of you and your talents into the present moment. Focused on the process of playing well. That is the only thing you can control. This is where you create goals or value or impact. It is about how you play the game, as a PRO and the mindset you bring to keep you in the arena away from distractions or events that take you out of the game.