Introduction — Why Follow these posts in the Absolutely You series?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

27 March 2020

This series of posts provides an opportunity to reflect on yourself or use as an aid in your coaching conversations.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.1 How well do you know yourself?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

23 August 2018

Knowing yourself is a key part of what this blog is all about. In this first section is an opportunity to reflect on how well you know yourself.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.2 Being vs Doing?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

09 December 2018

Are you a function of what you have done or who you are?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.3 Left Brain vs Right Brain?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

14 January 2019

Are you Creative, Intuitive, Artistic? Or are you more inclined to be logical and factbased?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.4 Cosmopolitan or Parochial?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

03 February 2019

Are you anchored in the status quo or do you find it easy to engage with the changing world?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.5 In which Age do you live?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

28 February 2019

Dan Pink, in his book A Whole New Mind speaks of a Conceptual Age as the present time, mapping it against the flow from the Agrarian Age , to the Industrial Age, through Knowledge to our time now. Where are your thinking and behaviours anchored?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.6 Managing or Leading?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

28 February 2019

Much is spoken about Leadership. What resonates most with me is that it attaches to each of us individually, not to the positions we hold. Do you allow yourself to lead?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.7 Plan or Planning?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

02 March 2019

The alternatives discussed here rise from a quote attributed to Dwight Eisenhower, who said he found plans useless, but planning indispensable. Somewhere beneath these succinctly put alternatives lies the issue of how far do we go before getting on with whatever it is we are planning for.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.8 Pragmatic or Idealistic?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

02 March 2019

Do you follow your heart or your mind? If you imagine a continuum running between your head and your heart, where on that line do most of your decisions and choices arise?

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.9 Ennobling or Self Serving?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

02 March 2019

By now I hope you have developed a feel for how this model works. One of my editors pointed out that in this and a number of other topics, my biases are showing. I have left things that way both to be true to who I am and to stimulate your reaction to the issue you are considering. Going back to the beginning, I see us as about who we are not what we have done. Part of my goal is to pull you towards that place.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

1.10 Section 1: Conclusion

Posted by Mike Kaaks

04 March 2019

Well, that's Section One done! Has anything changed for you? Hopefully your inner vice is now equipped with new insights about your being.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.0 Section 2: Introduction

Posted by Mike Kaaks

13 March 2019

In this section of the blog we move on from the questions about Being and Doing to consider how you prefer to go about what it is that you do.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.1 Your Motivations

Posted by Mike Kaaks

13 March 2019

This topic draws on the work of Dan Pink and the way he distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. This is about you, and the way you lead your people.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.2 Permission or Forgiveness

Posted by Mike Kaaks

13 March 2019

this is a time-worn phrase whose continued existence reinforces it's value. Sometimes you have to take the reins.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.4 Shrink to Greatness

Posted by Mike Kaaks

25 March 2019

Considering growth from both the personal and business perspectives.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.5 Substantial or Expedient?

Posted by Mike Kaaks

25 March 2019

Looking at the issues around the rate of growth.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.6 Strength Deployment Inquiry

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

The next three topics are taken from the psychometric tool, Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI). In amongst the many ways in which the tool can be used it has a component that focuses on strengths and weaknesses.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.7 The Nurturing Person

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

A quick reminder as you consider this issue. SDI defines weaknesses as overdone strengths. As a result correcting a weakness is not learning a whole new behaviour, it's just about dialing back a bit on that behaviour and creating a a strength.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.8 The Analytical Person

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

A quick reminder as you consider this issue. SDI defines weaknesses as overdone strengths.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.9 The Assertive Directing Person

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

Remember, SDI defines weaknesses as overdone strengths. As a result correcting a weakness is not learning a whole new behaviour, it's just about dialing back a bit on that behaviour and creating a a strength.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.10 The Flexible, Cohering Person

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

Don’t forget, SDI defines weaknesses as overdone strengths. As a result correcting a weakness is not learning a whole new behaviour, it's just about dialing back a bit on that behaviour and creating a a strength.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

2.11 Adaptable or spineless

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 September 2019

The final view of self we’ll consider from SDI is the group they label as the hub – those flexible people who are motivated by qualities emerging from each of the other three.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.0 Section 3: Introduction

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

In this section you might find some issues for which you don’t have an intuitive response.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.1 Hope and Optimism

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Are you a hopeful person? I’ve used the metaphor about optimism to consider this question.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.2 Enough

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Enough – this is a question about how much of anything do we each want, do we each need.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.3 Creativity

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

I opened up this topic when we considered Left Brain and Right Brain. Depending on the definition of creativity with which you’re most comfortable will directly affect where you mark yourself on this continuum.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.4 Possibility

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Little doubt what my answer to this question is if you know my optimism rating (Section 3 Topic 1).

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.5 Connectedness

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

In talking about Possibility I described an engagement with the world that took it’s foundation from the world of quantum physics.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.6 Engagement

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Considering the question of Open Mind, Open Heart, Open Will

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.7 Your Deepest Fear

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

I must declare up front my belief in the value of this insight – that it is our light not our darkness that we fear most.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.8 Mindfulness

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Mindfulness has won its place here not because in part because it is about our being, not our doing, and in part because of the message embedded in Tim Parks’ book “Teach us to Sit Still”.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.9 Busy-ness

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

Here is a topic that buck’s the trend in this book. We are starting with the negative to anchor the discussion, and from there search for the positive.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

3.10 Synchronicity

Posted by Mike Kaaks

08 October 2019

This choice asks that we accept thaqt much of what goes on aroind us and through US is hard to explain, and for many difficult to accept.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.0 Section 4: Introduction

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

In this section of the book we’re upping the ante, reflecting on the self we are getting to know less ambiguously.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.1 Maslow

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

I first heard about Maslow’s theory in the early 70s. It was part of a lecture in part of a course – it didn’t seem to mean much and I treated it as just another thing to remember when exam time came around.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.2 Presencing

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

I’ve mentioned Scharmer and Jaworski more than once in reacjing this point. I’ve also talked in quite negative terms about the weight of the status quo.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.3 Purpose

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

A couple of things in that list about moving from self to Self speak directly to the question of our Purpose: “listening to what life is calling you to do” and “follow your heart” .

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.4 A Higher Being

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

For many this will be a sensitive question. Some might even turn the page quickly.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.5 Dealing with Ambiguity

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

The Viktor Frankl quote was made after a period of his life that might have robbed him of his sense of self and the power that it holds.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

4.6 The Never Ending Now

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

This is a natural end point. It’s the place where we make all of our choices. NOW.

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »

Knowing yourself (reprise)

Posted by Mike Kaaks

10 October 2019

Absolutely You |Read Full Post »