For a change to have value, it needs to be lasting and consistent.

Many people avoid change for fear that it will only be temporary.

Three fundamental principles for change:

1- Raise your standards

Make a list of everything you no longer accept in your life, everything you no longer want to put up with.

Make a list of your aspirations

Be demanding of yourself, to change you need to have the COURAGE to demand more.

2- Change your limiting beliefs

There’s no point in deciding to change if you doubt your ability to do so.

You have to believe in yourself, or you’ll be your own saboteur.

Develop the conviction that you can and will achieve the new standards before you try.

It is the consistency of your convictions that will give you access to inner resources and the ability to face the challenges that arise.

Strengthening convictions, a sense of certainty, is the force behind every great success throughout history. E.g. Gandhy, Bill Gates,…

3- Change your strategy

You need the best strategies to achieve results.

Find a role model, someone who is already achieving the results you want, and exploit their knowledge. Find out how she does it, what her basic convictions are, how she thinks…and improve the details to become even better.

“In life many people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know”

Find a Coach, what does a Coach do?

Set up strategies to change your performance immediately and drastically.

Sometimes the Coach doesn’t tell you anything new, but reminds you of something you already know and encourages you to do it now.

A Coach will enable you to master the 5 areas of your life that have the greatest impact.

Five areas of life that need to be mastered in order to achieve your goals

1 Emotional Control

Everything we do is to change the way we feel (e.g. nobody wants to lose weight simply to have fewer fat cells in their body, but rather to feel good, attractive, energized, etc.).

To take control of your emotions, you need to identify the emotions that strengthen you and the feelings that weaken you, and use both to your advantage, as tools to help you develop your full potential.

2- Physical control

You need to take control of your physical health, not just so that you look good, but so that you feel good and know that you are in control of your life in a body that radiates vitality and allows you to reach your desired state.

3- Controlling Relationships

Create quality relationships, first with yourself, then with others.

Have deep relationships, so that you can experience the feeling of having contributed, of knowing that you make a difference in other people’s lives.

4- Financial Control

Have the conviction that you deserve to enjoy financial well-being, backed up by a viable plan to turn everything you’ve imagined into reality.

Think of money not as an end in itself, but as a resource to contribute to the life you want.

5- Time control

Take the time factor and manipulate it, distort it so that it becomes your ally and not your enemy.

Evaluate how short-term decisions can lead to long-term failure.

Make a real decision to replace instant gratification with a truly significant transformation in your life. Give yourself the time you need to realize your ideas, creations and full potential.

Be persistent day after day, week after week, year after year to take your life to the next level.

So? What’s the first step you’ll take now to start the change you need to make in 2018?

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The first question I usually ask in situations like this is whether the GOAL is CLEAR. A good tip if you have difficulty setting a goal is to start by thinking about a problem that is impacting on the quality of your life.

It could be in your personal or professional life, or in your company’s results.

What’s the problem that, if you didn’t have it today, would make your life so much easier?

The first step is this: RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM

For example: Lack of money to invest in your company – This is a problem that many entrepreneurs have.

How do you set a GOAL based on this problem?

A clear goal could be: I want to increase my sales by 15% in the next 3 months.

Do you realize that a GOAL is something very clear, something that can be defined with time, a deadline, and that can be measured?

Once you have a goal, it’s no longer an impossible dream that your company will have money left over, or that you’ll achieve that result you want so much for your personal life. Because we’re no longer talking about DREAMS. We’re talking about GOALS!

For example, a person who dreams of being thin acts very differently from someone who has the goal of losing 10 kg in 10 months. A goal set in this way can be divided into subgoals and measured on a weekly basis.

This weekly check on your progress, indicating 250 grams less in your weight each week, is essential to know that you are on the right track towards your goal.

Similarly, when we talk about professional goals, where we live in an environment of rapid evolution and change, it is very important to have indicators that make it possible to change course if the chosen path is not bringing the expected results.

So the second step is to KNOW WHAT THE MARKS WILL BE that indicate you’re on the right track.

If we’re talking about a 1-year goal, what needs to happen in 9 months for you to be sure of achieving it? And in 6 months? And in 90 days’ time, what evidence will show you that you are capable of getting where you want to be? And what can you celebrate in 30 days’ time that will show you that it really is possible to get there? Celebrate each of these victories that show you that your goal is feasible. And if at some point along the way you don’t have anything to celebrate, evaluate the process so that you can take action in good time.

If the goal involves a team that you lead, you need to be the person who asks the tough questions in order to get the answers you need to adjust course.

After defining the goal and the indicators that will give you the evidence that your objective will be achieved, it’s time to take the third step: IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY that will lead you to the desired result.

And when it comes to drawing up a strategy, it is essential that you are clear about all the variables involved.

And the most important variable of all is to know WHO besides you will be involved in carrying out the tasks necessary for this goal to actually be achieved.

Make a list of all the people directly or indirectly involved in the process and try to recognize the talents they possess so that their skills are amplified in such a way that they feel internally motivated to help you achieve your goal.

You need to develop your ability to lead, taking into account the opinions of everyone involved, with the aim of winning the commitment of your team. Know that debating processes encourages commitment and responsibility for results.

A leader must act like a soccer coach, i.e. he needs to be on the pitch, observing everything and knowing his team in order to put each player in the right position and intervene in time to ensure victory. A soccer manager doesn’t sit in the office analyzing contracts. He’s out on the pitch playing his role, contributing his experience and knowledge, giving feedback in good time so that he can even win a comeback. Which is a delicious victory! Or is it?

And in order to be a good leader, it is essential to invest in self-knowledge, so that you are clear about the moments when you can be your own obstacle towards your goal. Assuming an attitude of internal leadership is what will enable you to lead other people.

A good way not to sabotage yourself when you’re mapping out the strategy that will take you to your desired goal is to know WHY you’re striving for it. What is the purpose behind your goal?

There’s a very simple way to achieve a goal: do it like a child, go back to the “Why phase?” It always works, you know?

Let’s think about that goal we talked about at the beginning of this article:

I want to increase my company’s sales by 15% in the next 3 months.

Why do you need to increase your sales by 15% in 3 months? – To have money to invest in my company!

Why does your company need money? -I need to buy a new machine that will increase production capacity.

Why do you need to increase production? -To serve more customers who come to me today and I’m unable to serve them in the time they need.

Why do you need to serve these customers? -To increase my profit margin.

Why do you need to increase your profit? -To be able to renovate that abandoned room within the company that will be a space for integration and relaxation for the team.

Is it good motivation or not? Think of the team socializing in a fun and welcoming space within your company, a space that makes it possible to strengthen bonds of friendship, that allows for a nap after lunch, a place where your team can feel good about working in a company that thinks about the well-being of the people who contribute to its success.

A purpose like this, which brings a benefit to the company as a whole, provides the necessary motivation for everyone involved in the process to commit to something more meaningful. And if you look at the literature on motivation, you’ll see that we live in a time when human beings aren’t motivated by financial returns alone. Increasingly, we need something greater than ourselves, a purpose that gives greater meaning to everything we do. This is one of the most important factors if you want to promote team engagement.

Knowing who is involved and the purpose behind your goal, we need to design the formula to get where we want to go: HOW will this goal be achieved? It’s time to think about all the details, and it’s essential that when leading a team, you’re really involved, questioning, pointing out situations that need to be developed. And don’t forget to recognize the people who perform in the most assertive way, value the people who contribute in the most impactful way to achieving the expected results.

But it’s very important at this point not to over-reward short-term results that lead team members to take disproportionate risks that could jeopardize the end goal. Remember that the goal is to win the game, not to cause an injury to your top scorer in the first 15 minutes. A true leader is not concerned with controlling his team, but with connecting with each member because he trusts the people who are with him.

In short, if you really want to achieve your goal, you have to:

1- That your goal solves a problem that is impacting on the quality of your life or the life of your company.

2- That the goal is clear, specific and has a deadline.

3- Establish the indicators that will show you that you are on the right track, indicators that, if not achieved, will enable you to adjust course.

4- Monitor and evaluate the short-term results, the subgoals, which will enable the final Success.

5- Being clear about the purpose behind the goal will give extra energy to those involved in the process.

6- Know who will be involved directly or indirectly, have the right people in the right places and lead them wisely so that they really commit to the established Goal. Once you have the right people, trust them to add value during the process.

7- Have a plan, a strategy to get there and be with them as they take each step, monitoring, directing and giving autonomy so that your team is so engaged that they enjoy each stage of the journey and really feel capable of overcoming the challenge set in the form of a Goal.

I hope I’ve helped you and your team! And I give you a challenge: how about setting a personal goal today that will make 2018 your year of turning dreams into reality?

I had just finished reading the book Picos e Vales (Peaks and Valleys), I went out to take my son to a friend’s house and took the opportunity to go for a walk along the waterfront and think about the reading, continuing this conversation with Spencer Johnson (the book’s author) inside me.

The book talks exactly about the importance of maintaining a learning attitude when we go through the most difficult moments in our lives, which he calls Valleys, so that we can overcome them and emerge stronger from each challenge that life presents us with. In this way, we will be able to enjoy the Peak moments more wisely, which are our moments of victory, of achieving our personal and professional goals.

And Spencer Johnson also talks about the importance of being aware of reality, because in the course of our lives there will be various Peaks and Valleys, which are just moments that we experience. It’s essential not to confuse ourselves by thinking that the Valley or the Peak is me. It’s my attitude towards life that determines who I become during my journey.

Returning to my walk, on my way home, I stopped at a red light and noticed that right there on Florianópolis’ Beira-mar Avenue, where the thermometer was reading 11 degrees tonight, there was a tall man, dressed in a black jacket, sneakers, wearing a cap, a man who looked to be over 40.

This man stood in front of a garbage can and took out bags of garbage from inside the garbage can, and when he found cans of soft drinks or other beverages, he put them on the floor, closed the bag, returned it to the garbage can, and after this ritual, with a firm and I would even say elegant movement, he crushed the cans that were next to his feet and put them in a black bag which, after closing, he carried behind his shoulder, and continued walking, with his posture erect, head held high, probably to the next garbage can.

This scene happened very quickly, and when I looked ahead, the signal was still closed, there in front of me was a young man in shorts, staring at me while holding a piece of cardboard written in large letters HUNGER.

I was thinking at that moment, I looked into the boy’s eyes, and he looked away, walked out of my sight, and for some reason decided not to come to me. The signal then opened.

It was impossible for me, who works with Leaders and Team Engagement, not to reflect on how much that man who pulled cans out of the garbage was a true leader of his life, because no matter what valley he was living in today, he decided to remain in control of his life, and to take control with dignity, just as Viktor Frankl says in his book In Search of Meaning: “You can deprive a person of everything except the ultimate freedom to assume an alternative attitude to the given conditions”.

On the other hand, that boy, so young, in the cold, wearing shorts, carrying the word HUNGER, needing someone to look after his situation. And not at him, as I did. He was also taking a stand against the conditions he was given.

A man, assuming his responsibility and doing what he can to maintain his autonomy and dignity. And a young man, saying that he is hungry and needs help.

Like them, at various times in our lives we can take the lead and do what is in our control to get out of the situation we find ourselves in, or we can submit, giving up what is in our control and waiting for someone else to do for us what we are not doing.

It’s the difference between the posture of a man and that of a boy. And this doesn’t depend on age or situation, it’s related to an internal attitude of leadership within us.

Of course, there are various social issues involved in what I’ve experienced today, and it’s never our place to judge what makes a person central or on the margins of their life.

But it’s always up to us to reflect on what I’m doing for myself and for the system I’m part of, within the conditions I have to make a difference in order to have a positive impact on the future I want.

What can I do as an individual and what can we do as a society? How can we position ourselves so that we can learn from this Valley we’re in today, something that will help us get out of this situation that is so painful for so many people?

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It is clear that we are living through a time of great social change.

More and more people and companies are trying to understand their purpose in life. And we’ve noticed, in various social environments, that there’s no greater motivation than that which is born driven by a purpose.

No wonder we’ve heard so much lately about Systemic Management, Conscious Capitalism, Organizational Culture, Team Engagement, and so on.

Entrepreneurs and leaders in general are paying more and more attention to intangible issues within an organization, and increasingly feel the need to build a corporate culture based on values.

And one of the characteristics of these values-driven organizations is that they realize that social changes demand decentralized management, because they understand that the greatest asset an organization can have is trust and healthy relationships in all spheres.

For although we have received a legacy of values and beliefs about the need for strict control and keeping a tight rein, this type of leadership does not produce excellent results these days.

And one of the main demands of this Decentralizing Management is the need to know how to Delegate.

A leader who has mastered the art of delegating is one who knows how to convey to his or her subordinate the meaning of the task they are being given, the value that carrying out this activity has for the organization’s results and goals.

Delegating is not “delegating”. It’s not passing the buck.

Delegating is a process that requires follow-up so that the impact is positive. And this process requires the leader to have reached a level of maturity that allows them to act with determination, courage, detachment and perseverance, because only in this way will they be able to develop the person taking on a new responsibility, to be able to look at the impact of that activity on the whole system in which they are inserted.

That’s why it’s so important for those who take on a new responsibility to be engaged, to align that activity with the company’s mission and purpose in the society in which it operates.

We can’t ignore the fact that when a company is created, or when we start our professional journey, our need and our goal is financial return. However, as we develop professionally and our company becomes more established in the market, if we continue to focus too much on financial profitability, we run the risk of compromising our relationships in various areas.

Recent research by Teresa Amabile, who has been studying Creativity and Innovation at Harvard Business School’s Department of Management and Entrepreneurship for over 35 years, concluded that when people perceive that they are contributing to important things and that their work has value and adds to the team’s objective, as well as generating engagement, this perception generates an internal stimulus to creativity. And we know that there is no innovation without creativity.

Although we have a negative legacy from the industrial period that sought to separate the professional self from the personal self, today we know that we need to integrate who we are into all the social roles we play.

For past generations, living on autopilot might have been enough, but today it isn’t. Humanity is evolving and this dysfunction that we have inherited can only be cured if we align our personal values with the values of the organization in which we work.

As Richard Barret, one of the leading experts on values-led leadership, rightly says, the most successful organizations and people will be those that recognize that they need to “be the best for the world, not the best in the world”.

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Do you remember the energy you felt when you first learned to ride a bike, roller or skateboard, when you took your first safe swims in a swimming pool? When you were finally driving and had the courage to put your foot on the gas and take on the highway? Who doesn’t remember that feeling of taking a risk and approaching the person you were so attracted to and telling them what you were feeling, so that you could have the chance to start a worthwhile relationship right then and there?

Just like the excitement of starting our own business, with all the challenges that lie ahead and that seduce us more than scare us, or the joy of being selected to work for the company we’ve been dreaming of… All of these experiences involve emotions that are related to moments of innovation in our lives. Moments when we challenge ourselves to go further.

Many people have the idea that innovation is only related to technology, just as many still believe that being creative is the privilege of artists. In fact, all of us human beings are essentially creative and innovative. Or have you never had a problem and had to go outside the obvious to solve it?

Last week I had two experiences that motivated me to write this article.

One of them was reading the book Think Simple by Gustavo Caetano. If you’re interested in innovation, this is a really inspiring read. The other experience was taking part in AeX – Agile Experience 2018, the biggest Trade Marketing event in Latin America, which took place here in Florianópolis last week, promoted by Involves and which I had the honor of being invited to attend.

These two experiences helped me to get out of my routine, to look at the scenario we are experiencing from the outside and to become aware of this moment of exponential evolution in which we are inserted here and now in so many simultaneous areas.

And I loved hearing that the companies that will survive this scenario of so many changes will be those that are able to innovate without giving up the human bond.

We will be living in a world in which, regardless of whether a business is virtual or physical, businesspeople and entrepreneurs need to be aware that we won’t create lasting relationships with our customers at Points of Sale; anyone who wants their business to thrive needs to think about Points of Experience.

Yesterday, having lunch with my son and some of his friends, a young woman of about 20 who builds websites said that, when she is hired, she always asks the person who hires her what kind of experience they want their user to have when they visit their site? What kind of smells do they want to remember when they see the images? What emotions do they want to convey with the colors they choose? In other words, the virtual world tries to meet this need for connection through images. What about a physical business? How can an entrepreneur win over and keep customers by innovating in presentation, smell, lighting and the way he greets his customers?

We often get confused thinking that innovation depends on technology, but it’s actually people who bring about change. It’s people who will continue to consume your products and services and it’s people who will continue to make the difference to a company’s success or failure.

If technology is increasingly capable of storing data and information on a proportional scale, we will increasingly need people capable of analyzing this data with critical thinking and creativity to solve the problems that this information points out to us. We will not be replaced by machines, what the future expects of us is that we will increasingly be able to use our human differential, which is our cognitive abilities, our creativity and our emotional intelligence, to create ever richer experiences in our personal and professional relationships.

And in this respect, what have you done as a leader to stimulate the development of your team?

Having an engaged and creative team depends a lot on the opportunities the company offers for this team to grow and develop. Be aware of the talents you have so that they are not wasted. Paying attention to the individual needs of each member so that each person feels that the company really cares about them. Giving your team members the opportunity to contribute so that they feel that their opinions really count. All of this is part of some of the essential elements for generating engagement, and they don’t actually cost the company anything.

When it comes to People Management, we need to understand people, understand the day-to-day life of each professional, their difficulties and align their expectations with those of the company in order to promote engagement.

Many innovative leaders and entrepreneurs are already aware of their customers’ need for an experience when they visit their company. To generate engagement, we need the people who work with us to also have positive experiences in the corporate environment.

And this isn’t just about putting in a pool or a snooker table, it’s about making sure that this pool or snooker table is actually used to create bonds between people who spend a large part of their lives working together, often hanging out more with their work colleagues than with their own families.

And as leaders we need to be aware of an alarming fact from the World Health Organization: Brazil is the record holder in cases of anxiety disorders, with 11 and a half million people suffering from anxiety or depression.

Now, given this information, stop and think:

As a leader, are you creating a work environment that contributes to increasing this reality of stress, anxiety and demotivation, in which so many people suffer because they can’t find meaning in their busy lives?

Or are you a leader who is attentive to the human being behind the goal? So that they can perform and achieve results because they feel an important part of the whole process and are genuinely motivated to engage and contribute to the company’s success, because the company is also committed to them as a person?

How can you take advantage of a time of so much innovation to keep your team engaged?

Remember those groundbreaking experiences in our lives that I described at the beginning of this article? Do you remember what you first wanted when you discovered or achieved something new in your life? You probably wanted to share the experience with others! That’s our first impulse when we innovate. As psychologist Martin Seligman says in his book Blossom, research shows that the happiest moments in our lives are those when we have the opportunity to share, when we can share our experience with other people.

So the formula forInnovation and Engagement is really simple! Bring people together to help you solve a problem, show them that you care about them, give them the opportunity to participate in the solution by doing what they do best, listen to the ideas that each of them will bring you, and keep them united in a purpose that goes beyond themselves. Do this, and you’ll be amazed at the engagement and innovative ideas that will come!

Of course, there are methodologies for engagement, and specialized professionals who can contribute and accelerate the integration of your team. The important thing here is that if you lead a team, you know that people are increasingly motivated when they have the opportunity to connect their work with what they believe in. Or are you going to say that you don’t work better when you believe in what you’re doing?

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Two people who have very different behavioral profiles and who are often involved in friction.

The director’s anguish was that in the midst of so many accusations, he feared disappointment at the thought of one of the two lying. Not knowing what to do because he recognized how important they were to the company, he decided to call me.

Think about it, if you’re the director and you’re in a situation like this, what’s the first thing you should do?

The first step in a situation where we are in pain and can’t manage our emotions is to distance ourselves, look at the situation from the outside, and list the facts without the emotion.

When a leader is affected by a conflict in his team and becomes emotionally involved, he needs to distance himself and understand what is taking his self-control away at that particular moment. Only then will he be better able to understand the needs of those involved and help them too.

In this case, as he had already gone through a process of self-knowledge, it was easy to identify what he needed to see in himself, so that he could reassume his inner leadership and then be an effective leader in that situation. A call of just over 5 minutes and he was in control to resolve the conflict.

Those who have this deep self-knowledge are able to succeed in everything from a job interview to a negotiation involving large companies and fortunes.

Self-knowledge is what makes it possible to know what kind of situation will get you down and make you react in a way that is detrimental to your goal. Usually our most intemperate reactions are those that hit us directly in an unmet need for value.

A leader is first and foremost someone who knows himself deeply enough to know how to control his inner game in the most adverse situations and not become his own adversary in a conflict situation. This awareness of who you are, what your values are and what is important to you, puts you in a position to take the lead and enables you to control your actions and reactions and not jeopardize the goal you want to achieve.

This is what Daniel Golleman calls self-management. The way we manage our emotions and our own mood.

To lead a negotiation, a leader needs to have a clear focus on where they want to go and steer the conversation towards this goal by arousing positive emotions in the people they are negotiating with.

It’s important to be aware that our brains are primed to automatically see the negative side of everything we experience; it’s a way we’ve found since cave times to protect ourselves and ensure our survival.

The fact is that we have evolved as humanity and we need to learn to focus on the opportunities that a conflict presents, not just the threats.

Focusing on opportunities is what differentiates a person who exercises internal leadership.

Let’s say you’re looking for a job, for example. Focusing on the fear of not being able to support your family prevents you from seeing countless job opportunities, because the threat here is not being able to meet your basic need for survival. In this situation of unemployment, the biggest fear is not being able to survive, which is very legitimate.

And my invitation to job seekers is to change the focus of their gaze.

What if, in this situation, you did the exercise of visualizing yourself in a job that tied you down all day for a salary that only meets your needs for housing and food.

What opportunities would you be missing out on to become more fulfilled while staying in a job that only serves to meet your basic needs?

The challenge is to change the focus, to broaden the field of vision. So you can start looking for jobs that give you the fulfillment of working in something that really makes sense to you.

And when you find that job opportunity, sit down to negotiate the vacancy with the interviewer, connecting with them, understanding what they really need and how you can help them achieve their goals, demonstrating that you share the same values as the company and this is an opportunity for both of you to achieve your goals.

We know that more and more companies are looking for people who share their values and, if necessary, many companies invest in the technical development of a new employee, because they know that they will have a truly engaged employee there because their main motivation is not the salary at the end of the month, but being able to contribute to the company’s growth by doing what they do best.

When we connect and create an emotional bond, understanding the other person’s needs, we can even change their way of thinking.

Because deep down in a conflict, what everyone wants is to be heard. That’s why an outsider with no emotional involvement is important to mediate the conversation.

And this applies to both professional and personal negotiations.

We negotiate every day without even realizing it. Becoming aware that we can lead in the most diverse negotiations that life throws at us makes us leaders who are prepared to overcome the internal and external conflicts we face on a daily basis.

#internalleadership #conflictmanagement #eaglesinspirationknowledge

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Decisions that we make at a certain time can start to no longer make sense and we decide to change.

This happens with our careers, with our motivation to change or not change our cars every year, with our choice of certain foods, with our interest in starting a postgraduate course and even in leaving or entering a romantic relationship.

This article will expose what motivates our decision-making according to Richard Barret, one of the most influential thinkers on the international scene on topics related to Leadership, Organizational Culture, Ethics and Human Values in business and society.

Barret says that there are six modes of decision making and that the way we decide is related to our level of psychological development and the level of consciousness at which we are operating. Enjoy reading this and see if you can identify in your decision-making history on what basis you were operating at different stages of your life:

And which of these modes do you find yourself operating in most often at the moment?

1) Decision-making based on instinct. This mode is related to the survival instinct. Even babies act in this way when they cry out of hunger. When we become adults, we also make decisions like this in dangerous situations. At this level of consciousness, decisions are made automatically: first we act and then we think.

These are decisions made on the basis of past experiences. People who make these decisions act like hostages, because instead of controlling their emotions, they are controlled by them, and when they act, they don’t think about their words or the consequences of their behavior.

2) Decision-making based on unconscious beliefs. These are decisions we make based on memories of previous experiences. They are related to decisions we make irrationally involving our need to belong and stand out.

Here, too, we act before we think, but immediately after the action we usually feel a strong emotion. Decisions made in this way are usually related to frustrations we’ve experienced at other times. In order not to make a decision based on unconscious beliefs, it’s important to give vent to your emotions, to get in touch with them in order to free yourself and not allow negative experiences from the past to interfere with future decisions. This is what Daniel Goleman, the psychologist who developed the theory of Emotional Intelligence, calls emotion management, to prevent amygdala hijacking.

3) Decision-making based on conscious beliefs: These are decisions we make when we experience moments of transformation in our lives. In this case, there is a pause between the event that activates the conscious belief and the response. This pause serves to reflect, discuss, listen to advice and understand the need you have before responding. In other words, first we think and then we act.

Decisions are made based on what you believe you know. You control your actions and your thoughts. Even though decisions here continue to be made on the basis of past experiences, the aim is to achieve better results. The past doesn’t serve to generate useless emotions, the past here serves as a learning experience for making more assertive decisions.

4) Decision-making based on values: Only those who have become physically and emotionally independent are able to make decisions based on values. At this stage, the decision-maker already understands the meaning of each belief and learned experience, understanding the influence that upbringing and culture have on our decisions at different times in life.

A values-based decision connects with a deep sense of doing the right thing. A values-based decision makes it possible to create a future in line with who you are in a whole and authentic way. You are already able to think about the need to meet your values and decide accordingly. The basis of this decision-making lies in the future you want to live and which reflects a present need to get there.

Here you are in control of your actions and behavior.

5)Decision-making based on intuition: This way of deciding is related to the need to make a difference in the world, to personal development. You have matured and your decisions contribute to your evolution.

In this phase, judgments cease. Plans, beliefs and thoughts are also put aside. The mind is freer and there is a deep sense of wisdom with an acceptance of reality as it is without interference from the past or the future.

You simply trust ideas that suddenly appear, offering solutions or clues to solve a problem that was on your mind. It’s that Eureka moment – have you ever experienced it?

6) Decision-making based on inspiration. These are decisions related to the desire to serve. You definitely stop giving priority to fears and the satisfaction of basic needs.

Decisions in this phase arise from thoughts that we are not clear where they come from, but which are persistent and connected to actions that we need to implement in our lives. When we fail to implement them, there are emotional consequences opposite to the state of flow we enter when we decide to act in fulfillment of a purpose greater than ourselves. This purpose is what inspires certain decisions without dilemmas.

Tell me, did this article help you understand how you are currently deciding? Or have you been able to understand the way someone close to you decides, a leader or a member of your team perhaps?

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A person with the Harmony talent, for example, will spontaneously look for points of agreement.

Those with Strategic talent will think about all the consequences that the way in which the conflict is conducted could trigger and seek the best solution.

A person with the Restoration talent will be motivated by the possibility of having a problem to solve.

If you have the Context talent among your dominants, you will naturally remind the parties involved of important moments in your story that can contribute to solving that problem.

The way we naturally deal with the challenges life throws at us is closely linked to our talents.

What are yours?

What is your unique way of contributing to the world?

A leader is first and foremost someone who knows himself deeply enough to know how to control his inner game in the most adverse situations and not become his own adversary in a conflict situation.

A leader is someone who develops their talents so that they become levers for the Life they want to have, and not obstacles that interfere with results.

For example, the Responsibility talent, when not well developed, finds it difficult to say no, and Harmony can run away from conflicts that are often necessary. The Activation talent may not have the necessary patience, and those who have Empathy among their dominant talents may suffer too much from the other person’s pain, and so on… That’s why, as well as knowing our natural talents, it’s so important to develop them so that they can really become Strengths that set us apart through the consistency of the results we achieve.

This awareness of who you are, of what your talents are, puts you in a position to take the lead in your life. This deep self-knowledge is what makes a person capable of achieving excellent results in various areas of their life.

Allow yourself to tap into that inner strength that sets you apart from 33 million other people, to achieve your goals for 2020!!! And achieve your goals in a lighter, more fluid way, by discovering how to use it to your advantage and to the advantage of the people you relate to.

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1) Companies that have opted for extreme innovation. They have changed their focus, their products, their communication, their positioning, because they are aware of new market demands and their customers’ pains.

2) Companies that managed to add even more value to what they were already doing very well. And in the midst of the pandemic, they have had the best results in recent years, even contributing to the survival and growth of other companies that have been influenced by their assertive positioning.

We know that regardless of the scale of a crisis, only those who are prepared can survive and grow in a scenario as adverse as the one COVID-19 has caused globally.

For entrepreneurs and executives who had already faced other serious crises and had developed a good degree of resilience, it was easier. Just as it was for those who, during the period when everything was going well, acquired the necessary knowledge to adapt to the changes that the market and life demanded of them.

Crises come and go, that’s nothing new. Entrepreneurs and leaders with some experience have lived through other crises and know that this won’t be the last. There are some predictions that the worst is yet to come. And if that happens, how are we preparing?

I recently read an article by Gallup, which presented a survey revealing that 62% of employers in the United States are not confident about the financial future of their companies.

Among the companies that I have accompanied and continue to accompany, some of the strategies that we developed together were essential for good performance:

1) Improving communication with the team – In several cases, we achieved above-average engagement. And one of the factors behind this result was the awareness that everyone was at risk, and needed to row together at the same pace to face these rough waters.

2) To see how they could offer even better products, services and experiences to their customers, while paying attention to new needs.

3) Negotiate with suppliers with a focus on sustainability for everyone involved. I’ve seen beautiful examples involving careful and constructive negotiations for both sides. Like when a supplier was in a desperate situation, believing that his business would not survive, and by keeping the focus on the quality of delivery after a few months was hiring more people to meet the work demands at the height of the Pandemic.

4) Take a clear look at the financial situation in order to make wise use of the resources offered by the government.

My practical experience has been validated by the Gallup study, which found that there are 4 areas that leaders should focus on to fill the confidence gap with regard to the future and develop resilience so that their organizations and teams are prepared to face the next challenges:

1) Reimagine the customer experience

2) Refresh the leadership

3) Reshaping Culture

4) Reviving the workforce

An intense focus on the customer experience is fundamental. To this end, it is more essential than ever to be attentive to changes in behavior and new consumer needs.

Only companies that can anticipate new demands and adapt quickly will be able to stimulate the cash flow needed for periods of adversity.

In a high-risk scenario like the one we are experiencing, only those who know their customers deeply will be able to boost loyalty and long-term profits.

And the challenge here is that managers and leaders need to do this without compromising brand consistency.

Some time ago, even before the pandemic, an article was published in the Harvard Business Review that talked about the need for leaders to think about the capabilities and shortcomings of their companies as carefully as they think about the skills of their team members.

The more clarity there is about a company’s core capacity, the easier it is to understand what kind of change the organization will be able to withstand in the face of new challenges.

When thinking about disruptive innovations in a crisis scenario, 3 factors need to be analyzed:

1) Resources

Can you maintain current operations while investing in innovation?

Or do we need to reallocate resources?

Do we need to create new channels to serve our customers?

How are ergonomics and time management in times of remote working?

How long do we keep the operation going if the worst comes to the worst?

What indicators will give us clarity that we need to have the stomach to make crucial decisions?

2) Processes:

Do current decision-making processes allow autonomy for disruptive decisions? These less visible decision-making processes are essential for the agility that a crisis demands. That’s why it’s so important to have crisis management committees, with strategic meetings to assess what’s happening externally in good time so that internal decisions have the speed that the moment demands.

How can we accelerate the speed of innovation to meet market needs?

How does communication take place between those involved to transform resources into valuable deliverables?

It’s natural for a team that has been performing very well in a process up until now to see a drop in performance at a time of innovation. How do we avoid inefficiency in times of disruption?

3) Values

What values do we need to include or change at the moment of transformation?

Can we accept a lower profit margin to launch a new product?

Are we agile, adaptable and ready to offer the experience our customers want?

Moments like these are excellent opportunities to reformulate and strengthen a culture of engagement in meaningful work of great social value.

My experience with clients who realized the importance of their segments for society, at the most serious moment of the pandemic, raised the team’s self-esteem, sense of ownership and self-responsibility for getting the job done.

I venture to guess that after COVID 19 the engagement indicator, which checks the connection with the company’s mission and purpose, increased among the people who kept their jobs. Excellent managers know that this alignment with Organizational Culture is essential for companies that want their teams to be prepared to overcome periods of crisis.

4) Leadership:

Who will be the people running the innovation projects?

Do we have the staff to understand and meet the new demands?

Are leaders managing their own emotions to inspire the team to make the necessary changes?

Too much is usually expected of leaders and too little care is taken of them. Is there room for their fears and anxieties to be heard?

How are the vulnerabilities of leaders and subordinates received and dealt with?

Is there investment in the self-development of people in such important roles so that they can continue to feel challenged, in flow? Or are they on the verge of burnout?

Leaders who inspire, motivate and keep the team engaged also need to be cared for, listened to and developed in their needs. Only with them will we be ready to face new challenges. And in a crisis scenario, we need to look at who is leading the teams, so that companies are not surprised by burnouts in strategic areas. Offering leaders the opportunity to go through a coaching process, where they can present their difficulties and find ways forward in a safe environment, and receive feedback from someone neutral, makes all the difference.

More than ever, we need to take care of the people who occupy strategic positions! And if you, who are reading this article, are the person who occupies this position, remember to also look after yourself so that you can continue to contribute and make a difference through your positive impact on the direction of the organization and the relationship with your team for a long time to come, whatever the scenario.

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My constant quest to learn and get to know people in depth is probably a determining factor in the discomfort I feel with this cultural habit of criticizing instead of keeping an open mind to question, recycle and rethink behavior patterns in times of quick labels and hasty conclusions, especially when talking about Generation Z.

Often described as “problematic” and only interested in accelerating their growth, my experience with these young people has been enriching and inspiring, revealing a generation that has a desire to learn from those they admire and make a difference with their work.

And the fact is that if we want to cultivate a culture of collaboration and innovation, we need to once and for all put aside our prejudices and outdated patterns of behavior in order to really see and listen to those who are with us with genuine respect and empathy.

Engagement and Entrepreneurship

During events I attend, I am often approached by young people who present their ideas to me with sparkling eyes and contagious enthusiasm. Young people who show impressive seriousness, mixing creativity with a quest for grounding in planning and execution. These young people don’t just want to “get there”, they want to build the path, step by step.

And it’s lovely to see their willingness to learn and connect with experienced people who are willing to contribute. I’ll give you some recent examples, among many others that I follow closely and from afar too.

At the Peopletech Summit, before I went on stage to take part in a panel on Engagement, Erick Kopak Bonfim and Isabel Lyssa, two young people who had invested time and money in traveling to take part in the face-to-face event (even though they knew they could take part online and for free), approached me during the break to ask me about the difficulties companies have with Generation Z because they were developing an AI tool to contribute to leaders and HR.

We had a quick but thought-provoking conversation, which helped to validate once again my stance against generational labels. After that day, they worked hard not to let the contact go cold, they connected with me, they are following my movements, and they didn’t give up until we managed to set up a meeting, which happened yesterday. It was lovely to see their desire to listen to those with experience.

My motivation is so great in contributing to those who are starting out on their career path, that after an invitation in March to talk about Female Entrepreneurship with UFSC students, I decided to return to the University to contribute to the young managers of EJEM – Empresa Júnior de Engenharia de Materiais (Junior Materials Engineering Company).

I also believe that there is no more fertile space for sowing and cultivating values that can contribute to a future of collaboration between generations than within universities.

Many ideas are sown in this environment, and I recognize the importance of being attentive and present, so that we can live a culture in which the diversity of intelligences, experiences and knowledge is recognized as truly the most relevant.

The Collective Responsibility of Supporting Young Entrepreneurs

As adults, we know that at the beginning of our professional career, many beliefs are established, influenced by the people we live with, the places we study and work.

That’s why I’ve started a movement to seek support from executives and entrepreneurs in my network so that they can join forces with me to support these young people.

The first to accept my invitation was Geraldo Gontijo, and this experience is offering us a series of positive surprises. We’re proud to see students from a federal university acting in a very different way to what is being reported in the media today. Everything we’ve seen in our meetings has given us the certainty that we’re on fertile ground to grow excellent fruit.

It is inspiring to see the commitment of Thiago Aguiar Maccaferri, Vitor Baumgärtner Eduarda Cristina Kerber and Vinicius Wenzel Rockstroh and the way they show maturity and dedication in running EJEM. Their commitment to facing challenges with courage and intelligence in order to adapt the company to the new demands of the market and the needs of the students, while doing their internships and taking care of their academic responsibilities, is admirable.

These meetings of ours, in addition to giving me a lot of professional and personal fulfillment, have strengthened my hypothesis that, as was the case with me, the biggest problem is not young people under 27, but “certain old men in their 40s”, who label an entire generation, while boasting about their achievements “in their day”.

What we gain when leaders focus on data that speaks to the positive characteristics of a younger generation.

There are many positive differentiators of this generation that are often overlooked by leaders, one of which is their willingness to learn from experienced adults while finding their own way. I see young people taking inspiration from mentors and using that inspiration as a basis for charting a professional life that doesn’t sacrifice the quality of their personal lives. They find time for sports, friends, dating and family, demonstrating that balance is not just an aspiration, but a practice.

And when younger people find opportunities to contribute and show their value, the results they achieve are surprising, thanks to the courageous way they seek creative solutions for the companies where they work. Professionals like Thiago Henrique Mattos, who in addition to his constant search for knowledge, dedicates himself to putting what he studies into practice, designing projects and proposing solutions that generate savings and prosperity for businesses, has become recognized and valued by other professionals in his field for the deliveries he makes.

Another example is Maria Lídia, who started as a young apprentice at Terral Agricultura e Pecuária S.A.and receiving growth opportunities and support from the leadership, she knows how to direct her talents and honor the development that the company provides her by contributing good ideas to improve the activities she carries out.

More than an element of engagement, clarity and direction, it has become an essential skill for leaders.

It is a fact that people and professionals who feel psychological security and know what is expected of them are able to collaborate and contribute more, regardless of their age. It’s no wonder that according to Gallup, the first essential element for achieving engagement is “clarity about what is expected of me”.

And I’ve noticed that clarity has become more and more a basic human need than an element of engagement. In times of a flood of information, data and knowledge, which is stressful because of the speed with which it arrives, I see it as almost a survival instinct to ask for clarity and direction.

That’s why my advice to leaders who want to stand out by achieving positive results with young people is as follows: Invest in developing the ability to clearly communicate what you and the company expect from the people you lead. Make it clear that you know where they are going and what they need to do to get there. Develop your communication to convey the confidence of someone who knows what they are doing. Develop yourself as a leader capable of serving and guiding younger people.

My message to Youth Leaders

If you want to promote the consistent engagement of younger people, involve them in projects that make sense to them. Whether in junior companies, voluntary actions, projects that generate value for the business, or social causes, they show a deep sense of purpose and a genuine desire to make a difference.

Like any successful professional, regardless of the year you were born, what promotes a prominent position in the market is having the courage to undertake not only in business, but also in your career and studies, and that success is closely linked to contributing to something greater.

Awakening pride in belonging in young people is another valuable tip for leaders. Recent data confirms what I have experienced. If you look closely, you’ll see that, contrary to the cliché of disengagement, these young people are looking for organizations that cultivate a culture of collaboration, opportunities for constant learning and belonging. These elements coincide perfectly with the engagement factors highlighted by Gallup that have crossed generations: clarity of expectations, recognition, development opportunities and connection with the company’s mission.

What I see, then, is not a generational problem, but a cultural evolution. Companies that want to engage Generation Z need to understand their motivations and offer an environment that promotes growth, learning and balance. When this happens, these young people respond with dedication, innovation and extraordinary results.

Generation Z is not “disengaged” or “disinterested”. Rather, they are a reflection of a changing world, where work is an extension of life purpose. By offering them space to learn, create and find balance, we allow their energy and talent to flourish. And in doing so, we not only transform their trajectories, but also the future of organizations and society as a whole.

May we, together, abandon labels and embrace the potential of this incredible generation.

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