Finding your true values and life vision is a personal and introspective journey that requires self-reflection, self-awareness, and a willingness to explore your passions, beliefs, and goals.

As an executive, discovering your values and life vision becomes crucial as you navigate your career and make decisions impacting your personal and professional life. However, implementing these ideas might be easier said than done. Here are some practical tips to help you:

Set aside time for reflection: Take a break from your busy schedule and dedicate even just a few minutes each day to reflect on your current situation. Write down your thoughts and assess what is working well and what may require adjustments.

Identify your top 5 values: Ask yourself which values are most important to you and how you express them in your work and personal life. Note down your answers and if you notice a lack of expression, brainstorm ways to give more voice to your values.

Seek feedback from colleagues: Approach five colleagues and ask them to identify your top three strengths. Compare their answers with your own assessment. Consider whether your strengths are visible to others and take note of how you feel when utilizing them.

Focus on your strengths: Generate a list of five tasks or activities that allow you to leverage your strengths more. Implement these ideas in your job and observe the impact on your energy levels. Remember to record your observations.

Envision your future: Create a vivid image or a concise sentence that represents your two-year life vision. Write it down or draw it and share it with someone you trust. Allow this vision to excite and inspire you.

I hope these suggestions are useful to you. In July-December 2023, I will be hosting a group coaching program for executives titled "Create Your Future." If you desire more information, please click here.

Lastly, remember that the process of asking yourself key questions about your values and life vision is more important than the answers themselves. It is an ongoing journey that provides energy and excitement in your daily routine.

- Katiuscia Baggio.

La gestione del tempo in un team richiede una buona organizzazione individuale, una comunicazione efficace e l'utilizzo di strumenti adeguati per tenere sotto controllo progetti, attività e scadenze.

Al di là della classica definizione delle attività rispetto ai criteri di urgenza e importanza, come insegna la matrice di Eisenhower, (se non la conosci ancora, esplorala!) assicurati di seguire questi 6 step, essenziali per gestire al meglio il tempo in un team:

1. Utilizza strumenti di gestione del tempo, come ad esempio i calendari condivisi, che possono aiutare a organizzare le attività del team e a tenere sotto controllo le scadenze.

2. Stabilisci con il tuo team obiettivi e scadenze chiare, in modo da avere un quadro condiviso delle attività e delle relative tempistiche.

3. Assegna compiti e responsabilità, in base alle competenze e ai punti di forza di ognuno, per garantire un lavoro efficiente.

4. Monitora con sistematicità lo stato di avanzamento dei lavori, per individuare eventuali ritardi, potenzialità, problemi e poter intervenire tempestivamente.

5. Facilita la comunicazione tra i membri del team, per favorire la condivisione di informazioni e creare collaborazione, spirito di squadra e  soluzioni più rapide.

6. Pianifica momenti di check- in efficaci, per discutere lo stato di avanzamento dei lavori e per definire le prossime attività. È importante pianificare gli incontri in modo efficace, stabilendo l'ordine del giorno e il tempo massimo da dedicare ad ogni punto, in modo da evitare di disperdere il tempo.

Se vuoi approfondire i punti sopra citati, espandere la tua abilità di gestione del tempo, sia a livello individuale che di team, iscriviti al mio programma online "Gestione del Tempo Efficace in un Team di Lavoro".

At the beginning of a new year typically I don’t want to look back and review the past 12 months. I’m eager to focus on what’s coming next. On the other hand, thanks to coaching and the associated mindset, I found this step to be precious and essential, in order to gain more awareness about achievements and areas of improvement. It is also a great exercise to practice gratitude for all the life experiences and learning lessons.

Taking the time to review the past year will also help you to gain clarity about your future goals and vision.

This exercise will give you a roadmap on where to invest your focus in the next 12 months. From a brain standpoint, this will increase your determination in pursuing what is important for you, in this phase of your life. Neuroscience and brain-based coaching show us that when we spend time clarifying what we want, we wake up in the morning with a stronger sense of commitment and purpose. By reducing ambiguity and uncertainty, we boost our energy level. That’s the power of self-coaching.

Please keep in mind there is no need to spend hours in doing so. About 15-20 minutes of focus time is enough.

If you are a manager and you lead a team, it is an opportunity to reflect on your leadership style and learn from your experience.

Give yourself this gift. Find a quiet place where you can answer the following questions, without any external distractions. Make sure your phone is off, you are alone and you write your answers in your favorite notebook.

You might find some questions a bit repetitive. Trust the process and enjoy the journey!

 Here are the questions:

1. What went well in 2022 in my personal life?

2. How about my professional life?

3. What really made me happy?

4. What surprised me?

5. What am I proud of?

6. What could have been better?

7. Based on my last year's life experiences, what could I learn about myself?

8. What will I do differently this year?

9. What will I continue doing?

10. What will I stop doing?

11. What will I start doing?

12. What are the two major goals I want to achieve by the end of this year?

13. For each goal, what actions will I put in place and by when?

14. How am I feeling right now, after spending this time with myself?

 Would you like to know more about how ambiguity and uncertainty can kill our willingness to take action? Take a look at my book, “Improvise and Succeed”, where I combine the power of coaching with improvisation skills.

In an ever-changing world, the ability to adapt and embrace change is highly demanding. Whether it's about working in an organization or building an organization, the ability to improvise on diverse occasions allows everyone the ideal foundation to overcome their difficulties. Moreover, developing these skills will assure their path towards improving their capabilities to grow as business professionals in the long run.

1. To Convert Weaknesses into Strengths

The journey that holds the path of victory consists of challenges that may require an expert skillset. Therefore, your prior experience in the industry plays a pivotal role in perceiving the changes that come your way. Identifying your previous mistakes in the past and rectifying those mistakes through an innovative approach will help you to avoid such recurring mistakes. And it is when you need improvising skills at their best.

2. A Path to Creativity

Once you master how improvisation works, you can surprise everyone with creativity. It allows you to find new ways to simplify things that have a complicated process in the middle. Furthermore, improvisation can enhance your ability to take necessary risks at crucial times, giving you the self-confidence to accept the failures and learn quickly.

3. To Learn the Art of Collaboration

A lot of business professionals tend to struggle with their abilities to cope with teamwork. Through thorough analysis of the objectives of each group and using improvising techniques to achieve those goals provide the flexibility to understand each other's roles in a highly dynamic environment.

4. To Be an Active Listener

Business professionals always seek new initiatives to improve their daily tasks and business activities to another level. However, as we all know, listening to everyone's ideas allows the authorities to picture a more comprehensive view of the situation before they conclude. So developing your improvisation skills makes you more open to suggestions, which will eventually help you choose the best alternative among the other options.

5. To be More Flexible for Changes

Once you have developed your improvisational skills, you will get the privilege to become more hyper agile for changing environments. In addition to that, you will benefit through a competitive advantage that will highlight your potential as a more specialized professional in a given industry. Therefore, it ultimately helps you to handle pressure with more calmness. Thus, ensuring your road to success.

Are you interested in improving your unique improvising skills? Check out my book!

Time is limited, right?
Are you often frustrated because you have a million of things to do and 24 hours are not enough? Do you feel you are not accomplishing that much at the end of the day? Do you find yourself postponing important things and engaging in secondary tasks? Well, if your answer is "Yes", welcome on board!

Time management is often pain management (I got it from Nir Eyal). Because we don't like uncertainty, boredom and fear of failure, we often focus on "easy things", and we procrastinate key tasks. Even worse, we don't see a clear connection between what we truly value in life and how we invest our time and energy. The result of this is lack of motivation and lethargy.

To help yourself, follow these steps:
1. Plan not only your day, but your entire week.
- What do I want to achieve by the end of this week?
- What are the key 3 things I need to focus on every day, in order to achieve my weekly goal?
- To what do I need to say no?

2. Get clear about your values
- What are my 5 most important values in life?
- Among them, what are the top 3?
- How am I honoring these values in my everyday life?
- What activities/actions will I do to express my values in my life?

3. Align your life values with your job values
- What are the values of my company/team?
- How could I express my values in my job?
- What activities will I then start to do?

Take these first steps, and explore how your routine and your level of daily satisfaction is going to change. Please keep me posted, if you don't mind.

If you are interested in going deeper, I developed a self-paced online coaching program, with my individual support aside. For more info click here.

I hope this will help you,
Thank you, never give up, and be well!

Katiuscia.

Coaching Skills Make a Difference. No doubts, right?

Coaching Skills for managers and entrepreneurs is a popular topic on leadership development programs. In reality, it doesn't matter what is your job or your area of expertise. Your ability to be successful in your career and in your life is related to your ability to motivate, inspire and develop other people, including yourself.

These are 5 ways you can start to develop your coaching skills, without being a professional coach.

1. Listen, listen, and listen!
Practice putting your ideas and thoughts aside and fully concentrate on what the other person is saying, even if you don't like what you are hearing.

2. Summarize
Practice summarizing what the other person just said. Say "If I understood correctly, you said that..." and then give space to your partner to validate your summary.

3. Clarify
Practice clarifying what other people are saying. This will help them to gain clarity and focus on what they really want. Say "It sounds like you would like to...., am I wrong?" and wait for your partner response.

4. Ask open ended questions
Practice asking open ended questions instead of closed ones. This will push the other person to think more deeply and out of the box. Example: Instead of asking  "Do you agree with what I just said?" ask "What are your thoughts about what I just shared?"

5. Help the other person to focus on goals, not on problems
Practice helping people to switch their focus from what is not working to what they want to achieve. Say:" I understand this situation is very challenging for you. What could be an ideal solution?"  

I trust the above 5 steps will open up for you new ways to communicate with people.

If you want to learn more about this topic, check out this online certificate program for managers and entrepreneurs, “Act Like a Coach: Inspire and Develop Your People”. It's entirely self-paced, and it is based on my book “Improvise and Succeed”.

With passion,
Katiuscia.

When you hear the word "coaching" what is popping up to your mind?
You might had the experience to have a coach, you may not. The word "coaching" is often used in lot of different ways, often it is abused. Better clarifying.
I'm an ICF coach, and I strongly support and share with the world the ICF definition of coaching.

What is ICF? "The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is the leading global organization for coaches and coaching. ICF is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of trained coaching professionals." From ICF website.

ICF definition of coaching:
ICF defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership".
Based on the ICF criteria and rules, coaching IS NOT teaching, mentoring, consulting, telling people what to do...
Even if your intention is not to become a coach, Coaching Skills are key to inspire, motivate and grow people in your team. They will determine your success.

These are 9 coaching skills you can use in your job and in your life, even if you are not a coach.

1. Active Listening. This is the number one thing to do to increase your charisma and your ability to connect with others.

2. Be succinct and specific in your talking. Say in the first sentence of your speech the WHAT, then you can spend time in details.

3. Summarize from time to time what the other person said. You will help gaining awareness and focus.

4. Clarify what the other person said. You will help gaining clarity and direction.

5. Ask powerful questions. Instead of providing always answers and solutions, ask your people open ended questions, to push them to think on a deeper level.

6. Reflect systematically on the experience and learn from it. Plan time with your people to explore what went well, what could have been better, and what needs to be done. Run short and focused meetings.

7. Give (and ask) effective feedback. Make sure you based your comments on a specific fact that happened, say what was the impact, and then offer your request/suggestion to the other person. Be constructive.

8. Show appreciation. Notice what other people are doing well and say it. This is a great way to make others feeling appreciated and motivate them to give their best.

9. Know your people. Ask them questions to know what they like about their job, what they would prefer doing differently, what past experiences they had.

From May 19th my new online program on coaching skills for managers and entrepreneurs will be available on my school. It's totally self-paced, with my individual support aside. Here is the link for more information. Your ability to listen and to communicate will not be the same anymore.

Thank you for reading this, and be well.
Katiuscia Baggio.

The title might create some objections, I know.

You might be thinking “Why should I create an online course? What is “improv”?

I’m pretty sure that, especially after this past year, you heard a lot about online courses. Almost all the in person training and coaching went online, due to the external restrictions. You also probably know that even long before the Covid-19 era, the e-learning field was booming. I’m talking specifically about on demand and self-paced training, not live courses. Those courses you can start and finish when you want, because they are always available to you.

I started to buy online educational programs many years ago and I loved the possibility to follow the lessons based on my schedule. An amazing online course I took was B-School, created by the well known Marie Forleo. I decided to enroll in her Program in 2019, when I quit my full time job to start my new venture as an online course creator. This training gave me the framework to start to move my first steps and to understand more the skills required to build and online business. What I particularly liked about B-School was that every unit was released on a specific date, and in between there were suggested exercises and practice.

That’s exactly the format I’m using now on my latest online course, where I teach others how to build and publish their first digital training. After publishing my courses on Lifelearning, Skillshare, Avocado and Udemy, where I currently have more than 26.000 students from all around the world, I also built my own online academy, “Improvise and Succeed”, based on the coaching and training methodology I share on my book.

Starting an online educational business was one of the best decisions of my life so far, and here are the reasons behind.

1. On demand and self paced training give you the opportunity to build more freedom in your life. If you are an expert in some fields, you can teach your topic once and then you can sell the same course over and over again, without having to trade your time. You can be on vacation and, at the same time, people around the world can follow your lessons.

2. You can share your know-how and your passion with a larger number of people. Thanks to the Web, access to your training becomes exponential. You create a positive impact and make a difference in people life worldwide.

3. You build legacy. Publishing an online course, like writing a book, gives you the opportunity to spread out your message, independently from your physical presence. Your course will be always available to others, no matter what happens in your life.

4. You build self-confidence and authority in your field. Once you have a framework in place, it is quite easy to create and publish an online course, even if you are not a techie person. What you need is a smart phone, a small microphone, one or two lights, and a topic to teach. After you create your first course, your self-esteem will ramp up. People will get more familiar with your brand and they will start to see you as the “go to expert”.

5. You create a flexible side business, without necessarily quit your job. The investment required to start is extremely low. Also, you can run your side business independently from external conditions. As long as there is Internet connection, your course is available on the market.

These are the five major reasons I see behind building an online course, based on my personal experience. You might have other motivations, different from mine.

Now, let’s go to the improv side. How improv can help in all of this?

Improvisation (called also “improv”) skills help you to take actions even if you don’t feel totally prepared and/or you are unsure about your abilities. In reality, improv is much more than that. It teaches you also how to deeply listening and connecting with others, and building positive relationships. This is the topic of my book, “Improvise and Succeed”. The question is how can this help you in creating an online course?

Lot of people get stuck in the online course creation process because they don’t feel prepared. It’s never for them the right moment to sit down and create the layout of their course, or stand in front of a videocamera and start to record their first video. Or, they start but then they don’t go ahead. There is always something missing, that could be clarity, self-esteem, willingness to show their face to the worlds, etc. etc.

Improv skills help people to start the creation process despite their resistance, and keep going even when their mind is telling them they should stop. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progression. Your first online course will probably be not perfect, and very likely you will be the only one to notice that. Once you create your first digital product, you build the know-how and the self-confidence that will allow you to create your second, third, fourth course, and so on…

You can always go back and edit or improve your first course. The platforms that are available today - no matter if they are marketplaces like Udemy or software hosting companies like Teachable - give you lot of flexibility in that regard.

On my online course creation training, specific for beginners, I suggest my students to build a course that lasts max 1 hour. After your course is created, you can always extended on a second step, if you wish.

If you are interested in the topic, watch my free masterclass on how to create and publish your first online course. Here is the link. Enjoy it!

Photo by Tanjir Ahmed Chowdhury

Did you ever find yourself in a situation where you wanted to start something new in your life, like a new project, a new hobby, a new job… but you were postponing again and again, with more and more frustration building up inside you? I bet it sounds quite familiar.

The creation process often doesn’t start because of your fears, worries and, sometimes, maybe also laziness. To be honest, I do believe that behind laziness there is in reality some sort of resistance to go to “the next level” in your life, but this will require another window of exploration.

When we think about “Improvisation” we often associate it with something negative, like being unprepared, superficial, etc. In reality, behind improvisation (called also “Improv”, the one used by actors on stage with no script) there is a specific process to follow, that helps also in everyday life to manage uncertainty, ambiguity and resistance to change.

Improvisation skills can help a lot in creating something new in your life. How? Let’s explore it together.

1. When you improvise, it doesn’t mean you don’t have clear in mind your goal or you are not prepared. Often you are prepared, but for your brain your preparation is never enough. You feel insecure anyway. Improvisation teaches you to go ahead step by step, no matter if you are hesitant. The show must go on.

2. Even if you don’t have yet a clear idea in mind of what you will do or create, begin, don’t wait. Like improvisers on stage, often you get insights along the way, and the more you take actions the more you understand where you want to go, where you don’t want to go, and what you want to achieve.

3. In improv, It’s about progression, not perfection. Mistakes are part of the process. Most of the times, when you say or do something wrong, it is not the end of the world. Actually, mistakes are often learning opportunities. That’s where innovation takes place.

4. Improvisation shows how to have fun along the way. If you don’t have fun, chances are you are engaging in activities where you are not playing any of your strengths. It might be worthy to go ahead anyway because of the end result, it might be not. Creating something new requires anyway efforts and focus. The fun component part is a precious ally for you to get going.

5. Even if you feel you are alone in your creation process, in reality it’s often a co-creation journey, or you should make it like that. Let’s suppose you are creating a new product, service, even an object for your house…The more you involve your stakeholders, the more what you build is going to be a success. Improvisation teaches you to involve your people and make them feeling part of your journey.

If you are interested in knowing more about how improvisation and coaching skills can help you, check out my book, “Improvise and Succeed”, available also in Italian.

If you want to hear how improvisation and coaching helped me to start building online courses, watch this free masterclass I created. It’s also a great opportunity to learn the basic steps to put in place to create and publish your first on demand digital training.

Photo by https://unsplash.com/@kellysikkema

Improvvisare per Vincere. Ma quando mai? Come si può vincere improvvisando? Andiamo a casaccio? Giochiamo alla roulette russa? E poi…vincere che cosa…Probabilmente è questo che stai pensando, vero?

 In tempi incerti e di cambiamento continuo come quelli che stiamo vivendo vorremmo tutti avere delle sicurezze. Vorremmo avere la conferma che la nostra vita tornerà quella di prima o magari anche meglio. Vorremmo avere un piano da seguire che ci porti ad una soluzione. Vorremmo essere preparati. Mai come ora saper accettare e gestire l’incertezza è diventata un’abilità fondamentale.

 Ho finito di scrivere il mio libro, “Improvvisare per Vincere”, a dicembre 2018, quando ancora, in tempi non sospetti, sapere convivere con l’incertezza e renderla un’alleata era già un’importante competenza richiesta dal mondo del lavoro, e anche dalla vita in generale. Figuriamoci oggi, tempi di Covid-19.

 Anni fa feci dei corsi di improvvisazione alla Second City School di Chicago e mi resi subito conto di quante comunanze ci fossero con quello che insegnavo da anni nel mio lavoro di formatore e di coach nell’ambito dello sviluppo della leadership e della crescita personale. Decisi così di scrivere un libro, creando una metodologia di training che unisse l’improvvisazione teatrale, il mio lavoro e anche la mia storia. Sì, una parte della mia storia. Non proprio tutta. Mi sono focalizzata sulle difficoltà e sulle sfide che ho dovuto affrontare, legate ad un problema di linguaggio, la balbuzie, causata sembra da un trauma infantile.

 La balbuzie e le conseguenze ad essa legate, come ad esempio le prese in giro dei miei coetanei, il sentirmi sempre inadeguata, mai all’altezza, sono diventati i miei cavalli di battaglia; sì, mi hanno dato la forza per combattere e superare, o perlomeno gestire, la zavorra che mi impediva, anche da adulta e con balbuzie quasi scomparsa, di essere la persona che volevo essere. I principi di base dell’improvvisazione mi hanno aiutato, ancora prima che io sapessi che si trattasse di improvvisazione.

Sono appassionata di traguardi e di obiettivi da raggiungere, che chiaramente variano da persona a persona. I miei non sono i tuoi, giusto? Ecco che allora entra in campo la parola “vincere”. Che cosa significa? Per me “vincere” ha significato accettare le mie paure e i miei limiti e andare oltre. Non farmi bloccare. Fare un lavoro che mi ha sempre fatto paura, e che mi avrebbe esposto al giudizio degli altri, parlare in pubblico. Mai avrei pensato che ci sarei arrivata, dato il mio problema.

 In realtà “vincere” ha un significato per me più allargato. Pochi giorni fa un sacerdote, dopo aver letto il mio libro, mi ha espresso i suoi commenti e ha detto una frase che sintetizza al meglio il senso che ho voluto dare. “Essere vincitori nella propria vita, CON gli altri, perché la vita è vita se è buona relazione”. Grazie Don Franco De Marchi.

 E allora come puoi “vincere” nella tua vita, facendo sì che questo viaggio verso la manifestazione del tuo potenziale sia un percorso condiviso con le persone che ti stanno vicine?

Che relazione c’è tra tutto questo e l’improvvisazione? Gli 8 punti che vedi elencati qui sotto rappresentano i principi di base che usano gli attori in scena quando devono improvvisare, senza uno script. Usali nella tua vita di ogni giorno e aspettati belle sorprese!

1.     Abbi fiducia, anche se non vedi i risultati che vorresti vedere nell’immediato.

2.     Impara a gestire la tua attenzione e a focalizzarti a pieno in quello che stai facendo nel momento.

3.     Ascolta chi ti sta parlando senza riserve.

4.     Usa il “Sì, e…” invece del “Sì, ma…”

5.     Dai la tua attenzione a ciò che sta attorno a te (oggetti e persone).

6.     Dimostra la tua sicurezza in te stesso, dando voce a ciò che sai e alle tue idee.

7.     Concediti di sbagliare.

8.     Concediti il permesso di divertirti e di vivere la tua vita con il brio di un bambino, laddove possibile.

 Il libro è disponibile su Amazon in italiano e in inglese.

Clicca su questo link per guardare il book trailer

 Katiuscia Baggio

Photo by Genny Zarpellon and Paolo Zampieri