Leadership - McClure Coaching

Chris McClure In Blog, Business Coaching, Leadership, Personal Growth

To Succeed Later, You Must Prepare NOW

We’re easily enamored in our culture with those who rise to the top of their fields and win championships.

But we rarely consider what it took to achieve those great feats.

The reality is that “overnight success” often takes years (sometimes decades) of struggle to get there.

No one likes to hear that when they’re chasing a dream.

Whether we like it or not, we must go through the “valley of becoming” where we’re prepared to accomplish our dreams and goals.

The early mornings and late nights of struggle and isolation prepare us to achieve great results.

The question is this – Are you willing to put in the time and effort long before the results are achieved?

Most people aren’t and as a result settle for mediocre, ordinary living.

Whatever your hopes, dreams, and goals are, commit today to put in the work to become the person able to accomplish them.

Commit to persevering when things aren’t going your way.

View your obstacles as growth opportunities and setbacks as set-ups for success.

When you face your fears and put in the hard work that no one sees right now, you’ll be able to accomplish BIG things later.

But you can’t skip this step in the process.

Today’s reality is a result of your past efforts. Tomorrow’s reality will be determined by what you do today.

In light of this, do you expect great things tomorrow, or do you need to reset your thinking and start putting in the time, energy, and effort to accomplish your goals?

Until next time, make today GREAT!

Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you:

The Magnetic Leader book– Grab your copy of my playbook to consistently attract and retain high-quality team members, customers, and clients.
Magnetic Leadership video course – Learn the 18 Essential Actions to attract and retain high-quality team members. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a 50% newsletter subscriber discount!)
Magnetic Leadership Community – Join the community of growth-minded individuals focused on leveling up their leadership capabilities. (This is a monthly membership program that includes group coaching, expert interviews, the Magnetic Leadership video course, and bonus training)
Magnetic Leadership Community for Teams – Enroll your team for an 18-month leadership development program that provides a common leadership language and helps foster a thriving, attractive culture.

Chris McClure In Blog, Leadership, Life Coaching

The Difficult Lesson of Being Patient

I’ve been sick for the last week and it’s reminded me that I’m not a very good patient! 🙂

It started with a little scratchiness in my chest, then it turned into full-blown congestion and achiness.

I know I’m just one person among many who have dealt with this (or worse) this winter, but it’s been a good reminder that when something happens to you, it’s easy to think you’re the only one dealing with it.

I’ve had to be patient with the healing process.

I’ve had to let go of my best-laid plans and simply rest.

And it’s been HARD!

Do you ever feel that way?

Do you ever have plans that you’re ready to tackle and then they’re disrupted and it feels very frustrating?

I’m sure you’ve been there. We all have.

In these moments, it’s a good reminder that life doesn’t always go as planned and disruptions happen.

It’s how we handle those disruptions that reveal our character.

Patience truly is a virtue and it’s easily tested.

We’re all in the process of becoming better versions of who God created us to be but we must be patient. Lasting change doesn’t happen overnight.

Most of us want instant results, but things rarely work out that way.

Instead, the slow process develops our character and prepares us for long-term success more than we expect.

If you’re feeling rushed and anxious, take a step back and a deep breath.

Focus on regaining perspective and realize that things will work out as you patiently keep moving forward one step at a time.

Until next time, make today GREAT!

Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:

The Way to Greatness book – Discover the five continual choices that lead to The GREAT Life and how to implement them immediately.
The GREAT Life Bootcamp video course – In this self-paced course, I’ll guide you to learn how to experience the life you were created to live by improving your faith, relationships, mindset, stewardship, and time management. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a subscriber-only 50% discount!)

Chris McClure In Blog, Business Coaching, Leadership

To Go Fast, First Slow Down

Leaders are action-takers. They have to be because, without action, nothing would get done.

However, it’s easy to get so busy taking action that you can overlook the importance of slowing down to make sure what you’re doing is worthwhile.

Even a few minutes of strategic thinking can speed up your progress by ensuring that you’re not just doing busy work but rather impactful work that will truly lead to growth and progress.

But that strategic thinking doesn’t happen amidst a fury of activity.

Leaders who develop a rhythm of rest, reflection, and strategic thinking go much further than those who don’t.

It’s natural to wake up in the morning and jump on the high-speed treadmill of your job, but it’s not the wisest thing to do.

Reviewing your days, weeks, and months to evaluate what needs to change can make all the difference in the world.

When was the last time you blocked time to truly think about your activities and schedule?

When did you last slow down enough to evaluate how things are truly going?

If this is part of your regular practice, well done!

If you’re like most leaders I know, this is an area to grow in.

If you want to go further faster, schedule times for strategic planning and evaluation.

Once you know what’s going well and what needs to change you’ll be able to make better decisions and accomplish your big goals and dreams more quickly.

Choose to consistently slow down so you can ultimately speed up to get the right things done.

Until next time, make today GREAT!

Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you:

The Magnetic Leader book– Grab your copy of my playbook to consistently attract and retain high-quality team members, customers, and clients.
Magnetic Leadership video course – Learn the 18 Essential Actions to attract and retain high-quality team members. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a 50% newsletter subscriber discount!)
Magnetic Leadership Community – Join the community of growth-minded individuals focused on leveling up their leadership capabilities. (This is a monthly membership program that includes group coaching, expert interviews, the Magnetic Leadership video course, and bonus training)
Magnetic Leadership Community for Teams – Enroll your team for an 18-month leadership development program that provides a common leadership language and helps foster a thriving, attractive culture.

Chris McClure In Blog, Business Coaching, Leadership, Life Coaching

When You’re Struggling, Try a New Approach

It’s commonly said that the definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results.

If you’re like me, by this definition you’ve been insane quite a few times in life!

It’s easy to feel stuck and frustrated when you’re trying to achieve new goals and dreams.

The plans we thought would work often don’t.

The problem comes when we choose to work harder on something rather than stepping back and reworking our plan.

Sometimes we need to find new sources of ideas and inspiration. This could be books, mentors, coaches, or simply taking a walk to get some fresh air and a change of perspective.

The bottom line is that you don’t have to stay stuck.

You don’t have to live in a state of frustration.

Simply take a step back, get a fresh perspective, ask for help from a trusted advisor, and then try again.

If that approach doesn’t work, repeat the process until it does.

Remember, Thomas Edison didn’t beat himself for failing thousands of times in his attempt to create the light bulb. Instead, he saw each “failure” as one more way of not accomplishing his goal.

I think we’d all be wise to approach life, leadership, and business this way as well.

Until next time, make today GREAT!

Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:

The Way to Greatness book – Discover the five continual choices that lead to The GREAT Life and how to implement them immediately.
The GREAT Life Bootcamp video course – In this self-paced course, I’ll guide you to learn how to experience the life you were created to live by improving your faith, relationships, mindset, stewardship, and time management. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a subscriber-only 50% discount!)

Chris McClure In Blog, Business Growth, Leadership

The Never-Ending Pursuit of Greatness

I recently re-read this quote from Jim Collins, which originally appeared in “Good to Great” (an all-time great business book):

“Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have already begun.”

This reminded me of a story I once read about Michael Jordan and his constant pursuit of greatness. According to the story, after winning one of his NBA championships, he looked at his trainer and said “See you tomorrow morning.”

The man who won 6 professional championships refused to settle. Maybe that’s why he led his team to two 3-peats!

We may not have the intensity and drive of Michael Jordan, but I think it’s an important reminder that if we want to maintain greatness, we can’t accomplish a goal and then assume more greatness is automatically coming our way.

Once you become great at something, competitors begin chasing you to knock you off your pedestal.

This is why it’s so challenging for championship teams to repeat. They celebrate and settle which removes the “chip on their shoulder” or “edge” that led them to become champions in the first place.

Being great in any area of life isn’t a one-and-done activity.

I love the picture of reaching the peak of a mountain and then seeing other mountains across the range to climb. These are new opportunities to achieve greater levels of success.

Check out this quote from quarterback Jalen Hurts who recently led the Philadelphia Eagles to win a Super Bowl championship:

“When you hoist those trophies, it’s more so about the journey and less about the results. Obviously, we’re going to be judged for results, but that’s for everyone else to talk about. But the journey is what builds us, it makes us who we are.”

Whatever you want to be great at, realize that achieving it will simply give you a new starting point to go after more.

For some, that sounds exhausting, discouraging, or intimidating.

For others, it’s the fuel that keeps them moving forward in life.

As leaders, simply know that greatness isn’t a one-time experience if you want to stay on top of your game.

Keep leveling up. Keep growing. Keep pursuing new goals and dreams.

There will come a day when we’ll all look back on our careers and lives.

Too many people look back with regret wondering what might’ve been.

But if you keep pursuing greatness, I’m confident you’ll be able to look back with gratitude…even for the things you failed to achieve simply because you kept pursuing them and didn’t give up.

Until next time, make today GREAT!

Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways I can help you:

The Magnetic Leader book– Grab your copy of my playbook to consistently attract and retain high-quality team members, customers, and clients.
Magnetic Leadership video course – Learn the 18 Essential Actions to attract and retain high-quality team members. (Enter coupon code “MM50” at checkout to receive a 50% newsletter subscriber discount!)
Magnetic Leadership Community – Join the community of growth-minded individuals focused on leveling up their leadership capabilities. (This is a monthly membership program that includes group coaching, expert interviews, the Magnetic Leadership video course, and bonus training)
Magnetic Leadership Community for Teams – Enroll your team for an 18-month leadership development program that provides a common leadership language and helps foster a thriving, attractive culture.

Chris McClure In Blog, Leadership

5 Steps to Improve Your Focus

Most people understand the importance of focus to get things done most effectively, but leaders are often pulled in so many directions that it’s quite the challenge to actually experience focus.

To be productive and not just busy, we must learn to focus consistently.

Here are 5 steps to improve your focus in your daily work:

1 – Clarify What Matters Most

Do you know what you truly need to accomplish to accomplish your dreams or goals?

Do you even have clear goals?

The first step is making sure you know what your “big rocks” are so you know what to focus on.

Next, you need to determine the order of importance of each “rock”. Write it down.

2 – Prioritize Key Activities to Achieve Success

After you have settled on your highest priority goal, it’s time to break it down into smaller action steps to accomplish it.

What specific steps must you take to achieve that goal? Begin with the end in mind.

Here’s a simple formula to assist your strategic planning process:

To accomplish X, I/we need to do Y.

Create an organized checklist of these activities.

3 – Utilize Your Calendar Strategically

Once you have your checklist, schedule each activity in specific time slots.

Keeping things on a “to-do” list is one of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to productivity.

Success coach and author Darren Hardy taught a key lesson years ago that hit me hard when I heard it. He said, “If it’s important enough to be on your to-do list, it should be important enough to be on your calendar.”

This one statement changed how I operate. If I want to get things done, my tasks must be added to specific time slots on my calendar. When they are, I can accomplish so much more in a short amount of time.

4 – Review Your Results Consistently

It’s not enough to just act. Your actions must be evaluated to make sure they are moving you in the right direction.

It’s wise to evaluate at the end of each day, week, month, quarter, and year to evaluate what led to progress and what was simply busy work that needs to be eliminated.

5 – Invite Accountability

Once you’ve decided to implement the four actions above, ask at least one colleague, friend, mentor, or coach to help you stay the course. It’s one thing to get started. It’s quite another to keep moving forward consistently.

With the assistance of an accountability partner, you’ll be able to develop better habits that will lead to better results.

Focus is a superpower in today’s “attention economy.” The more focus you can maintain, the farther ahead you can go in faster timeframes. This is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

If you need help navigating this process, contact me and I’ll be more than happy to serve as your strategic thinking partner and accountability coach.

Chris McClure In Leadership, Podcast

Episode 069: Upgrade Your Identity to Upgrade Your Impact

In this episode, leadership coach and author Chris McClure discusses key elements that must be upgraded to increase your impact and accomplish the visions, dreams, and goals you have.

Order your copy of Chris’s book, “The Magnetic Leader,” at www.magneticleaderbook.com

Join the growing community of like-minded leaders in the Magnetic Leadership Community membership program at www.magneticleadershipcommunity.com

Chris McClure In Leadership, Podcast

Episode 068: Diversify Your Learning to Gain New Insights

In this episode, leadership coach and author Chris McClure discusses the importance of mixing up the sources of your education so you can gain fresh perspectives to grow as a leader and advance your business.

Grab a copy of Chris’s book, “The Magnetic Leader,” at www.magneticleaderbook.com

Visit www.magneticleadershipcommunity.com for details and to join the Magnetic Leadership Community which is a low-cost/high-impact membership program designed to help you grow with and connect to like-minded leaders in a safe space!

Chris McClure In Leadership, Podcast

Episode 067: The Power of Stopping Not Just Adding More

In this episode, leadership coach and author Chris McClure shares his insights about the importance of stopping certain behaviors rather than adding new ones to your overflowing pile.

Visit www.magneticleadershipbook.com to learn about and order Chris’s book, “The Magnetic Leader.”

Visit www.magneticleadershipcommunity.com to learn about and join a growing community of like-minded supportive peers who are on their own journeys to become leaders people love to follow.

Chris McClure In Leadership, Podcast

Episode 066: The Undeniable Key to Earning Credibility

In this episode, leadership coach and author Chris McClure discusses a key insight about becoming more credible so you can gain more influence which was brought forth by Marshall Goldsmith in his book, “The Earned Life.”

Grab a copy of Chris’s book, “The Magnetic Leader,” at www.magneticleaderbook.com

Learn about and join the supportive community of like-minded, growing leaders at www.magneticleadershipcommunity.com