TEC Insights - Elevation Co.

What do I stand for? by ST Hoogwout

February 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

What do you stand for in life? What are the non-negotiables in your life? Those things that you are committed to meeting at any point in time.

For you it might be providing your kids with the best possible education, spending your time with people who you truly love and care about, taking care of your body no matter what, etc.

Whatever it is for you, we all have these type of non-negotiables in our life – what we really stand for.

I stand for being Alive – Alive through everything that I do in my life.

Now I hear you think: “I am alive so what do you mean?”

Sure, for me aliveness has a more comprehensive meaning. As opposed to being numb and bored, Alive to me means the state of being energized, excited and inspired.

For example, think about the activities that excite you and energise you. Those are the activities that make you feel alive. Whether it is spending time with your loved ones, going on holiday, being in nature and so forth.

On the other hand, there are activities that drain us, that take away our energy – those are the things in life that causes us to feel numb and bored. Whether it is work that doesn’t align to our values, frustration and stress etc.

I found that by being deeply connected to my core values and integrating those values in everything I do – what I like to call “aligning the stars” into our lives – that is what makes me feel alive and what I stand for!

Now, on a daily basis, I am committed to feeling alive by doing activities that give me the greatest amount of energy and inspiration. In my health, I found that swimming and jumping on a trampoline to party music make me feel great. In my career/business I am meeting my values through the work I am doing at The Elevation Company by helping youth, adults and businesses connect with their inner source of aliveness. In my relationship, my partner and I have our daily rituals that help us feel excited and energized by the amazing time we are spending together.

The more I integrated my values into my life, the more I felt alive and I am excited about the continuation of that journey.

So, what about you? What do you stand for? What small changes can you make today to integrate what you stand for more and more into your life now?

Remember, the choice is yours.

What’s all the fuss about Business Culture? by Heather Yelland

February 2, 2018 by Leave a Comment

There’s been quite a bit of noise in the public arena lately about the importance of culture to the overall performance and bottom-line activity of a business. The Australian Institute of Company Directors last week ate up almost the entire back page of the Financial Review raising very valid issues about the role of Company Directors in both setting the example and governing the development of positive culture, including challenging anything less than acceptable within the practices of the business. They pointed the finger particularly at the Finance and Banking industry, which has felt the impact of the thick end of the public scrutiny stick in the last few months.

But, let those amongst us who are completely innocent of not intentionally investing in the development of a positive and engaging culture throw the first stone!

In our experience, cultural development is often something that sees more sunlight when things are going well and there’s plenty of energy and cash to invest in the intentional design of the preferred or desire business culture. However, while ANY time is a good time to focus on exactly what you want your business culture to look and feel like, a poor culture will often go hand in hand with poor business performance.

So, how do you decide when to invest and what shape and form cultural development might best take?

Here’s a quick ready reference of “red flags” that will let you know your culture needs oxygen…….and plenty of it;

Staff turnover is higher than industry average or higher than your businesses average for the previous three years
Sick day statistics are up by anything greater than a 3% variance on previous years
Your HR resources (or your management time) are generally going into the resolution of disagreements or grievances more than into leadership and positive business development
There is a lack of innovation and creativity within pockets of the business or the business as a whole
Various streams of work within the business are operating in silos and missing the “opportunity scoping” that comes from integrated and whole-of-business development
People are working longer hours and yet failing to meet timeframes or delivery on KPI’s
Change management processes often result in “fall out” in the form of poor communication or increased conflict within the newly formed teams
There is a tone of “us and them” within aspects of the business, such as management and staff, production and sales or Executive and Board
Systems and processes within the business have not been reviewed or updated in the last 5 years
Process errors and waste statistics are up by a variance of greater than 3%
Workplace injuries have risen despite education and a strong focus on OH&S

The list could go on for ages, and these flags are just the RED ones; there’s also a full range of amber and green flags too. A saying comes to mind here…….’if you miss the sign of being hit by the feather, you may get hit by the brick!’

Having said that, in our experience the greater issue here is the lack of positive staff engagement that builds innovation, risk taking, shared learning, invention, enthusiasm, strength of purpose, meaning, achievement, business and team flow and perhaps most importantly, individual and team satisfaction and fulfilment. These are the real costs of a poor or unintentionally developed business culture.

As people, all any of us really want is to love and be loved and be known, loved and GOT for who we truly are. This is no less true in the context of our work life than in our personal life. An intentionally designed business culture is fundamentally a question of knowing what feeds the hearts and minds of your people and what truly aligns with their highest values.

We count ourselves as very fortunate to frequently experience the great joy and success that business owners and staff alike can discover when there is a strong investment of time, energy and focus on an intentional architecture to underpin the development of positive and engaging business culture.

If your business culture is fashioned by intentional design, effective communication, recognition and celebration of individual uniqueness, emotional engagement and transparency, a shared sense of flow that breeds innovation and risk taking, personal and team accountability, all of which sits on a bed of strong and embodied values, you may just get to throw that first stone after all.

That’s if you can drag yourself away from celebrating with the amazing people who work with you, enjoying the rise and rise of your bottom line, or watching the growth of the impact you get to make in the world because you are living the difference you were born to make!

Why I joined The Elevation Company by Cathy Fyffe

January 31, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Seven years ago, I was in a dark place. I was a mum with two kids under 8 and the step mother of an 18-year-old boy. My relationship with my stepson had been rocky from the start (over 13 years) and created a lot of tension and conflict in our home, and between my husband and me. I felt like my voice was not heard in my own home and I had started to feel like maybe my husband and I wouldn’t make it.

I knew that I was desperately unhappy and that something needed to change. I knew Heather Yelland from attending university together many years ago. I heard she was running personal development events and so decided to attend the Recharge for Life event which was a 10-day event held in Thailand. Despite my husband’s extreme opposition to me going – I went, because for me at this time, it was try this or possibly end our marriage.

At this event, I truly started to understand what made me tick and what was missing from my life. Heather said one thing that almost made me stop breathing which was “All any of us really wants is to love and be loved, and to be known, loved and “got” for the truth of who we are.” I felt tears leak from my eyes at the poignancy of this statement. That was exactly what I wanted and felt I didn’t have.

I learnt that if I wanted my life to be different then I had to be and do things differently. I had to be the one to take responsibility for all that I had created in my life and make the necessary changes. I returned home full of optimism that things could be different. When I went to share what I had learnt with my husband he completely shut me down. He was still so angry that I had attended the event that he wasn’t open to hearing about anything I had learned. At the time, I felt crushed from this, but I realised I couldn’t expect him to change and so I began to change myself.

I applied the powerful tools and strategies that Heather taught. As I learnt more and more about myself and what was important to me, I recognised that I wanted to work in an area that would be more fulfilling. When I thought about what I really wanted to do, I realised that I wanted to make the same difference for people that Heather, and what she taught, had made for me. I wanted people to know and love the truth of who they were so that they could share more of that with the world.

I approached Heather to explore the possibility of working with her and as a result she created opportunities for me to join the team and fulfil my dream of helping others to know and love the truth of who they are. Now I get to do that with business who want to invest in the growth and development of their people and for individuals through our programs and events. I am so grateful to Heather and The Elevation Company, for the hearts it opens and the difference our team makes in the world.