Ever Better Today

These coaching questions were inspired by the entrepreneurial community in Fargo, ND, and TEDx Fargo that I discussed in episodes 94 through 97. #TEDxFargo

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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What is a Community?

• A community does not have to be limited by geography.

• A community can be virtual.

• A community should not be stagnant. Community members should come together on a regular basis and be open to new discussions.

• A community welcomes new people who add energy, engage in different ways, and generate new ideas.

• Members who left the community can be regarded as alumni or alumna.

• Members who left are welcomed back to re-engage should they decide to rejoin the group.

• Communities should have fun together and enjoy each other's company.

• Community members keep learning and taking risks together.

What communities do you belong to? Consider these communities:

• Your family
• Your neighborhood
• Professional associations
• Online groups like LinkedIn groups or Facebook groups
• Employees at the company you work for or own
• Individuals at your co-working space
• Alumni of schools and training programs you've attended

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

At TEDx Fargo, Randy Hedberg, Associate Head Coach and Quarterbacks Coach for the North Dakota State University (NDSU) football team, described the principles and cultural touchpoints that guide his team's culture.

Between 2011 and 2022, the NDSU Bisons won nine national titles. So their culture is one to be studied!

One of Hedberg's lessons that stood out for me was:

The daily environment of Bison football is shaped by the worst behavior the leaders are willing to tolerate.

Coaches and all Bison teammates pay attention to behaviors that might drag the team down and behaviors that might elevate the team.

This is a philosophy that everyone should apply in business and in every other aspect of life.

Don't tolerate a horrible culture.

Instead, be a catalyst for change!

#TEDxFargo

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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How to apply the "worst behavior tolerated" philosophy to your life.

Business If you're a business owner or senior leader, you are responsible for modeling your culture. Don't tolerate or personally demonstrate inappropriate behavior.

Leadership happens at all levels. If you're not a senior leader, you have the ability to speak up and report inappropriate behavior. For example, if you see that someone is being bullied in your workplace and you remain silent, you contribute to the tolerance of that behavior.

Family If you're a part of a family with unhealthy dynamics, consider how you can make a difference for this generation and the next.

If you're not sure how to make a difference, talk to someone else who might be able to help. What situations are you tolerating?

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

On May 25, 2020, Christopher Martin, then 18 years old, was working at a store in Minneapolis.

A customer came in to buy cigarettes and Chris believed that he paid with a counterfeit $20 bill. Chris reported this to another employee who went out to talk to the customer.

The police were called.

Within a half hour, that customer, George Floyd, was dead and the officer who knealt on Floyd's neck, was found guilty of murder.

Following this tragedy, Chris experienced profound guilt and wondered if he had done the right thing.

Chris described his experiences and his motivation to rise for George Floyd in his TEDx Fargo talk in July 2022. #TEDxFargo

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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From his TEDx Fargo talk, here are some of Christopher Martin's lessons for rising after a difficult experience…

• Recognize that you should not take on burdens not meant for you. It can be tough to discern which are your burdens. Chris ultimately realized that George Floyd's murder was not his fault.
• Acknowledge that you cannot control circumstances. You can only do the best you know how to do in the moment.
• Tell someone if you are not feeling well mentally. Get help. Your mindset matters. Saying "I'm fine" doesn't help you to rise.
• Call 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline in the U.S.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

At TEDx Fargo, I was inspired to think outside the fence by Jay Doan from Black Leg Ranch. #TEDxFargo

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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In his TEDx Fargo talk, Jay Doan discussed how his family's business continues to evolve.

They introduced new business ventures within the ranch including:

• A microbrewery
• Selling and shipping grass-fed beef and bison
• Hunting trips
• Events like weddings and retreats

Jay discussed keeping the next generation engaged by thinking differently.

• Recognize that evolving is important for any business and beneficial to employees and owners.
• Acknowledge that you are ready to evolve the business by discussing ideas and preparing for change to happen over time.
• Research new ways of doing things. This may take you back to traditional ways!
• Get other people involved and excited about your ideas.
• Hire new staff and interns to bring renewed energy to new ventures.

How can you think outside the fence?

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

I was introduced to the Fargo, ND community in 2016 when a friend recommended that I invite Greg Tehven to be on the Ever Better Podcast. You can listen to that podcast here.

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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In addition to TEDx, Emerging Prairie creates other opportunities in Fargo, ND for developing skills and creating ventures. These include:

1. Founders Only Retreat. Founders come together to share ideas and challenges and plan for the future in a relaxed environment.
2. Emerging Digital Academy. Participants learn full stack software development skills, allowing them to get jobs immediately and help fuel the local economy.
3. Startup brew. A weekly get-together where founder and community organizers share what's happening with their ventures and activities.
4. Grand Farm is modeling the farm of tomorrow.

Here are some of the ways Emerging Prairie created a memorable and impactful TEDx event.

1. Two days before TEDx, attendees were invited to participate in "curated dinners" where they had dinner with people they had never met before. This was beneficial to the participants as well as local restaurants.
2. When talks were not in progress, TEDx attendees enjoyed lawn games, live music, lunch, coffee, kite-flying, and other activities. The setup was a catalyst for meeting new people and hanging out with friends.
3. After TEDx, participants enjoyed an after-party and an after-after-party!
4. Encouraging participants to post on social media using #TEDxFargo

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

How will you know when…. … you're happy? … you've achieved your fitness goals? … you're earning enough money? … your personal relationships fulfilling?

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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What will be different when you've achieved your goal? Create a measurable or observable outcome. Here are some examples of specific goals. Yours may be different!

How will I know when…. I'm happy? I will journal about how I feel each evening and morning. My sense of optimism will rise. I've achieved my fitness goals? I'll be able to run two miles in 16 minutes. I'm earning enough money? I will be living according to my budget while saving $1,000 per month for my child's education and in my 401k.

Here is my fitness goal…for real!

I will create six-pack abs by my next birthday in October!

I'll be doing lots of solidcore classes between now and then!

The work is the joy. The outcome is the reward.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

Conflict in the workplace is a part of life, but how it's handled can mean the difference between success and failure.

Productivity and conflict are not opposites. In fact, productively addressing conflict is what keeps a company functioning and thriving.

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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Conflicts are inevitable. How do you stop destructive conflict from eroding your business?

Here's how to create a healthy working environment for everyone involved:

1. Maintain and protect a regularly scheduled meeting just with your co-founder(s). Meet in person when you can, by video meeting as a second option, and by telephone if needed. Move beyond tactics and to-do's to discuss how you're each feeling, what's next for the business, what's happening that's great and risks to be aware of. This should not be a superficial meeting!

1. Resolve One Open Thing (ROOT ™) with your co-founder or team member. Consider those topics and friction points that come up again and again. Get to the root of what's happening. This can take a lot of discussion and introspection. What seems to be the cause is often just a symptom of something else. Resolving one open thing can make all the difference in keeping a team focused, positive and productive. Resolving recurring conflicts opens up time to create new services, and products and grow your team.

1. Take a DiSC Productive Conflict Assessment to find out how you and your co-founders deal with conflict. Review results as a team with your coach. This is something I do with clients on a regular basis and it gives each person valuable perspective.

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We all experience conflict—but that doesn't mean it has to be destructive. Be aware of making your conflicts constructive and helpful, not hurtful and damaging.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

As we face the challenges of the future, our leaders must be ready and willing to have tough conversations.

Excusing rude or inappropriate behavior doesn't help anyone in the long run.

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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Here are reasons why leaders make excuses for their staff. Consider if you have a tendency to do any of these yourself.

1. The employee is someone they have a personal history with. It can be challenging to create new dynamics when two people have an established relationship and ways of communicating.

1. They are conflict avoidant. Confronting issues is an important part of a leader's job, but also a necessary step in learning and development Reframe challenging conversations as "leadership conversations.".

1. They worry that someone will quit if they point out their inappropriate behaviors. This may be true and this may create an opportunity to level up the team with a higher-performing team member

To succeed in business, it's critical to ensure that your people are doing the best they can do. they may need resources and support that you can provide. If you avoid discussing their challenges, they may never reach their potential.

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What are the most difficult conversations you've had as a leader and what have you learned about yourself in the process?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on leadership conversations!

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

The most successful business owners are always planning for the next stage of their business.

If you're a business owner or a leader, consider what your organization could look like in the next 5, 10, or even 20 years. To visualize this, I recommend creating your future organizational chart.

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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Organize, plan, and build your future.

Here's how to create your future org chart.

1. Take out a blank piece of paper. When you think big, the sky's the limit. So go ahead and write a description of what your organization might look like in the future.

1. Place yourself at the top of the org chart.

1. Create boxes for the leaders who will report to you and imagine who might report to each of them. Fill in job titles or short descriptions and don't be concerned with the names of people at this stage. In fact, locking into your mind specific people to fill each of these slots can be limiting.

1. Use this future org chart to keep yourself on track as you plan and execute your vision.

Let's talk about your business vision. I look forward to seeing how you use this tool!

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here

Meetings are a great way to communicate with large groups, but sometimes they exclude something important to share.

Here's a solution borrowed from a teacher

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I'm Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let's jump in!

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I value diversity and inclusion and strive to include as many voices as possible in meetings that I facilitate. I learned about equity sticks while working with the SEED School of Maryland's leadership team.

Equity sticks are a tool frequently used by teachers. Sidenote…Teachers are the greatest facilitators in the world! I'll be looking for more tips from them!

Here are some of the disadvantages of having a different skin color in society I observed throughout the years:

• As the meeting starts, each person writes their name on 3-5 craft sticks/popsicle sticks. you can also use index cards, pieces of paper, or another tool.
• The sticks are collected and the facilitator holds them in a cup.
• As opportunities to participate arise, the facilitator picks a stick from the cup and calls on that person. that stick is then placed in a separate cup.

When we encourage each other to share their thoughts and stories, every voice has a chance to be heard and our perspectives are enriched.

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To learn more about working with Ever Better, send me an email here or book a complimentary call with me here