90 DAY ACTION PLANS: Personal Excellence as Your Anchor in the Storm

Moving to the HCMD and getting to be inaugural team of an incredible state-of-the-art medical campus may be one of the biggest and most exciting events of our career.

It’s amazing to be involved in such a major innovation and part of the leadership team that is helping to make a 1-in-100-year leap toward our next stage of growth and evolution as an organization.

But, with all of the excitement and possibility the transition brings, it can also bring more chaos, confusion, and turbulence to our lives, too. 

Navigating substantial change in our lives – even for the most inspiring and exciting reasons – can feel incredibly unsettling. Everything we knew before can change in an instant, the solid ground we stood on can start to rumble and shake, and we can feel more out of control than ever. 

There are many times in our lives when moving toward a wonderful, exciting opportunity uprooted our rhythms and made us feel like we were swept up in the storm. Think of the major chaos and change we experienced when we brought home our first baby, how long it took us to find everything and finally unpack our boxes when moving into our dream home, or the wave of overwhelm we may have felt when we took on a new promotion or new job and hadn’t yet mastered our new role. 

Add to that the extra layer that everyone on our Trinity Health team is facing this transition at the same time, and we’ve got thousands of employees experiencing that turbulence all at once.

As we ramp up the intensity on this 90 day sprint to the summit, we’ll surely have even more opportunities where we keep hitting a wall and feel like we just can’t grab ahold of solid ground. Schedules and deadlines will continue to shift, priorities will change, our leaders will become more inundated and inaccessible, our teams may begin to feel overloaded, tensions may flare, and patience may run short. 

All of these things are expected, but they can leave us feeling stuck and paralyzed, thinking we can’t move forward if everything around us isn’t working as we think it should and people we’d usually count on for support simply aren’t available. It can feel like the more we try to make progress, the more we keep getting pushback. 

As frustrating as it can be to have so much out of our control, there is still so much we can do. Even as the chaos and turbulence intensifies around us, we can find an anchor within the storm. 

This week, let’s take 15-30 minutes to regroup, reassess the path ahead, and recommit to what we can control. 

Though we can’t change anyone else, can’t make them more available, can’t change schedules to be more open, can’t make our priorities their #1, and often can’t shift timelines to match our pace, we can commit to Personal Excellence and doing everything to the best of our ability on our side of the equation.

Think of the biggest roadblock you’re facing right now. It may be something that’s a direct effect of the move to the HCMD, could be something that’s caused by a busy season in your department, a financial constraint, staffing shortage, or a policy change. It may be abundantly clear what you can’t control in this situation and who or what is causing chaos for you, but let’s dig deeper and set our own anchor in this storm: 

-What can I control in this situation?
-Have I done everything in my power to bring this project to completion? 
-What tasks and work can I do so I’m not the limiting factor?

This season of change and transition is our opportunity to really commit to personal excellence and make sure we’re bringing our very best to the table every day. Even though we can’t control so many factors around us, we can weather the storm with the certainty that we’ve given our all, led with integrity, done our best, and been as proactive as we can be to prevent any delays, issues, or chaos from our side.

Let this be the season where we push ourselves to strengthen our skills as practitioners and doers as well as the season where we strengthen our skills as leaders and guides: 

–Where can I grow personally and professionally in this season? What skills and tasks do I have the opportunity to master? Are there opportunities for me to grow and step up into a bigger role because others on my team are unavailable or too busy during this transition?

–How can I hold myself accountable and keep a steady pace? Can I map out key deadlines and ensure my work is complete even if others are pushing their timelines and experiencing delays? Instead of stalling until the last minute, can I get my work complete in advance so it’s ready the moment the next team member can jump in?

–How can I be a better leader and give more guidance and support to my team? If it seems another leader is unavailable or too busy, what can I do to fill that gap in leadership and bring what’s missing to my team?

This season of turbulence and transition could be our opportunity to become stronger than we’ve ever been. Just as a budding tree gains strength when it’s shaken in the storm, the flurry around us can be our catalyst for strengthening our own skills, leadership, integrity, and commitment. 

When we pursue personal excellence and doing everything we can to the best of our ability as our #1 goal, we can rest in the peace knowing we’ve given our all, no matter the circumstance or the outcome. That reassurance will help us maintain our personal resilience and feeling of well-being, help us be more effective in our roles, and allow us to leave work every day more confident, relaxed, and calm.

We won’t be caught up in the chaos and feeling out of control, but rather certain that we’ve done everything we can, we’ve stretched and grown and strengthened our skills, we’ve made our teams better, and no matter what comes next, we can be proud of the work we’ve done and the contribution we’ve made.

The Ten A’s of Personal Excellence

Personal excellence is a continuous quest toward self-improvement, developing our potential, giving our all, and living in full integrity. It requires a growth mindset, willingness to learn from our experiences and mistakes, and a resilience to keep working to improve every day, even when we haven’t yet become who we wish we could be.

Pursuing personal excellence can be our anchor in the storm, our calm within the chaos, because it allows us to affect what’s within our control. Though we can’t change many of the circumstances that surround us, if we continually work to hone our skills, sharpen our saw, and develop ourselves as leaders, we can be certain we’ve done everything we can to positively impact the people around us and we can be proud we’ve done our very best work, no matter the outcome.

To help us along the way, here are 10 A’s we can develop to achieve personal excellence: 

1) Awareness: in order to grow and develop, we must first become aware to who we really are now, where we may have room to grow, and what blind spots we may have that are blocking us from change.

2) Attitude: we must adopt a positive, hopeful, and optimistic attitude when pursuing personal excellence, being confident that we have the capacity to change and grow, no matter how far we are from our goals.

3) Action: there can be no excellence without action. Even with exceptional talent, no one starts out as the absolute best in their field. We must take positive steps toward building our skills and achieving our goals and commit to regular, consistent action over time.

4) Ability: we may start our quest with certain abilities, but we are not limited to what we can do at the starting point. We can develop our abilities through training, practice, and seizing opportunities to step into a bigger role and stretch ourselves to try new things. The key is to always maintain an open mind and willingness to learn and grow.

5) Aim: we must set clear goals and measure our progress along the way to personal excellence. Casting an inspiring vision for what we want to accomplish and who we want to become compels us forward and gives us energy for the quest.

6) Adaptability: as we pursue excellence, we must maintain our resilience and adaptability. We’ll need to be able to flex and adapt to our circumstances, may need to adjust our goals, and accept new processes and procedures, but staying open and anticipating and responding to changes along the way will help us grow stronger and stay in our pursuit longer than if we were stuck in our ways and unable to be flexible when things change.

7) Affability: staying pleasant and having a friendly disposition is a measure of personal excellence because it helps us build teamwork and connection with others who can help us accomplish more than we ever could alone. Doggedly pursuing our goals without collaborating with others can only take us so far. We need strong relationships and partnerships to support us along the way, encourage us when we’re losing hope, and make our journey more enjoyable and meaningful. We’re also more effective in delivering patient care and serving our customers when we maintain a light and joyful spirit.

8) Accountability: measuring and tracking our progress and holding ourselves accountable is essential to achieving personal excellence. Without these metrics to give us feedback we don’t know where we stand or what still needs to be done to reach our goals. Even if there are no systems in place to hold us accountable, we can take ownership of our growth and build in our own accountability, deadlines, and performance goals to ensure we’re steadily growing and working to achieve our very best.

9) Achievement: Our best intentions aren’t enough on the road to personal excellence, we must actually do what we say we’re going to do and accomplish our goals along the way. Not only will this achievement boost our own sense of pride and satisfaction, it will increase our value to our teams, customers, and organizations and help us leave a mark on our communities.

10) Appreciation: Finally, we must develop our ability to appreciate all of the gifts and good things we experience along the way. Along our quest to personal excellence we’ll meet amazing people, accomplish amazing things, achieve amazing results, and taking all of that in and really acknowledging how incredible it is will deepen our peace, enjoyment, and fulfillment. We also need to be sure we’re expressing our appreciation as we go and giving thanks to all of those who’ve supported us and helped us grow.

Spend some of your 10% Secret time this week and give yourself an assessment on these 10 A’s. If today is your starting point on your intentional commitment toward personal excellence, what grade would you give yourselves in each of these areas? What tangible habits and practices can you take on to improve your score? Keep working to build these habits and check-in along the way to see if you’re growing and getting closer to your goals.
 

10 A’s via Dr. Victor SL TAN via mystarjob.com

SHARE YOUR WINS! 🎉 🎉 

Are you feeling more in control using personal excellence as an anchor in your life? Have you been able to use this season to grow your skills as a leader?

Let us know where you’re making progress and what tools and conversation starters have been most helpful. As you work to build your personal excellence, be sure to let us know where you still need more insights and tools to improve your leadership. We’re here to help with anything you’re facing and always ready to cheer you on!