Well, i guess it will be appropriate to say to all my readers or fans as this case goes, HAPPY NEW YEAR. You might be thinking HAPPY NU YEAR in the month of March? Yea, Yea. Please give me a break or cut me some slack, will ya...lol. It's just that this 2010, began with so many bad things that it is difficult for people, at least me, to keep track or at least think straight. Tragedy upon tragedy, individually or group-wise. Just when you are stepping out of one or getting a relieve from one, you get struck by another tragedy. Interesting this year has been for every human being.

The economic melt down, train crash, plane hijacking, earthquakes, unexpected deaths of loved ones, flood, terrorism and the lists goes on and on. God help us. But really what is going on? Everywhere one looks there is a sad song. Yet in the mist of all there are many having a great time. Making greatness and riches in these trying times. My mother says it has always been so and it will always be so. Is that true? Is that the essence of our world? Is there still hope for those who hold on to hope? The pain of some is the gain of some? Is that the reality of life? Am i seeing the world the way it is or the way it we want it to be?

When i was younger, the world to me was the most beautiful thing that i could not wait to explore. And i know, for every child in us, it felt this way. But now, it is what i refer to as a "mixed feeling".

We called for change - change in our way of life but is this change the beginning of our doom? For so many, life has lost its taste. It's more like a crew at sea left with just a few jar of dry, hard and tasteless biscuit and the storm just started.

But in the mist of this, Life is still very beautiful, if you know what it takes to look inwards.

Stay tune

Gentle hawk

DECEMBERS

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 wonderful months and we are on the last lap, the 12th month...so exciting and exhilarating, don't you think?

Happy new month to y'all!!! This month is the last month of the year. The month of greens and reds which to me means, a new dawn or beginning and love. A month to sit and reminisce about the days gone by, to assess and redress, to be thankful for life's lessons and prepare a new script that will guide one into freshness.

December, a month of bliss and tranquility yet alot see it as a month of greed and bleed. A month that ends all months...a month that ushers in newness, gives a reason.

I simply love this month because with it, it carries the essence of life. It is one month i look to because it gives to me alot of strength to start again or something like that. It feels me with love and hope. I taste it and feel it deep down in my heart so as much that i can feel it's warmth and peace. It defines life and the joy that life itself brings with its purity it gives.

However, we forget what this month brings instead we focus on what we can take from it. Those trival things that bore us down.

It is New, it is birth, it is freshness, it is a beginning, it is GREEN and it is care, it is passion, it is sensual, it is romantic, it is RED. Let it free you, let it envelop you into experiencing it's newness and freshness. Be free, like the wind, be light.

Enjoy December, a new era of greatness, the month of GREEN and RED. the month of liveliness and Passion.

Welcome to Love, Welcome to my month, Welcome to the beautiful month of DECEMBER.

Be True and Be Real

Your Gentlehawk
Peace!

HOW TO INCREASE EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE

Coming to together is a beginning, keeping together is a progress, Working together is success
- Henry Ford.

In the jet age, I’m pretty sure you have heard and read enough on this topic and you are bored stiff. I can bet you are saying right now that “what else is new that I haven’t heard or read”, and you are about to drop or flip over the page to see more interesting issues.

Unfortunately, this is not like any other article you have read infact this is more of a way of life. So before you do flip over, please do me a favour by hearing me out, will you, because here right, now is a place for you to start?

Why are we interested in increasing performance anyway? This is a suppose to be a blog so why i'm writing about this. Yea, this is a blog......if you read my first blog i said my blog is about everything and anything as long as it helps pass a good message. There’s got to be a reason, right? It all balls down to the motive behind why one wants to increase the performance. Besides, we all need to know and understand one or two things about increasing performance because we all need it in every aspects of our lives. Understanding how we can be productive in life is important to every one who yearns for growth in life.

So, i will sharing few ideas and tips on this topic because it's one wide and controversial topic.

Knowing who we are and our composition as humans we need to understand that increasing productivity our motives are not selfish. Researchers in human behaviour have identified some important characteristics in humans and they include the following:

UNIQUENESS:

Every being is different even twins that came out of the same womb are not only genetically different but emotional, physically, in every ramification you can think of, different. That’s why you can have two people doing the same different but a different way. That’s how it is and that’s how it will ever be. Traits could be same but behaviour won’t.

COMPLEX:

Humans are the most complicated out of all things God created. He (Humans) can never be understood in the total sense of it.

UNPREDICTABLE:

Because humans are complicated they become unpredictable. That’s the reason the person you know today might not be the same person tomorrow. I know for one that I’m not the same person I was 10years back, for good or bad, that’s another story completely so don't break your head.....lol.

NATURALLY LAZY:

This one I wouldn’t have to say much except “Hands up, if guilty as charged”. We are, in often times, just want things to happen without lifting a finger.

SELFISH:

I guess we all believe in “me, myself and I” syndrome. 'I love you guys but I need to love myself first, so I can love you better'.

CHANGE:

This is anti-human so we fight anything in that light. Why should I leave my comfort-zone for an unknown, are you out of your senses? 'Why change it besides it is better this way'.

Realizing what humans are, should help place one in a better perspective of what one wants to achieve. When we think that, to increase employees’ performance all depends on the employees, then we have totally missed it because their performance depends largely on the boss or the employer. Sounds different? It is the employer that influences at least 70% of any employees’ performance. Why? That’s so because you can not use rules to make people do what you want without first making them understand that performance – be it good or bad – is a way of life.

For an employer to influence the performance of employees he needs to possess some essential qualities.
Understanding the right type of leader you are, is most important because with this you can influence your employees a lot better. To understand your leadership style, you could start by asking yourself and answering these questions truthfully.

1. Does my leadership style support or against employees’ performance?
2. Am I communicating effectively to enhance their performance?
3. Do I motivate or de-motivate my employees?
4. Do I know and understand my employee temperament?

To truly influence the performance of an employee, an employer must exhibit visionary leadership characters.

So you ask, “Who is a visionary leader?”

A visionary leader is someone who engages his followers and takes them beyond mere reward and punishment. In order words, a visionary leader is a “TEAM PLAYER”. He knows the importance of TEAMWORK. He knows and understands that he needs his employees and that without them he can not get the work done.

A visionary leader is someone with vision and can make his employees understand and not just understanding his/her vision but makes them to see it very clearly with him/her. He motivates them to look beyond the mundane activities of the job and encourages them to think independently and creatively which in turns gives them a sense of belonging and trust in the organization.

But most importantly, he recognizes the fact that his employees are human beings and acts as a mentor to them.

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.

The fact is that must leader fail to define the team they want to build because they fail to understand how to create the experience of teamwork. They keep talking about building the team and working as a team but forget the essential things. Belonging to a team is a result of feeling part of something larger than you. It has a lot to do with understanding the mission and objective of the organization and aligning your personal fulfillment goals with the organization’s goals.

Once you have identified that you are a visionary leader then you will require the following for influencing your employees’ performance.

1. Ensuring that each employee understands the organization mission and objective and why their role is very important to the achievement of the company’s mission and objective.

2. Ensuring that they perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their career.

3. Recruiting the right people and equipping them with the right tools to do the right things. This gives the right attitude which supports them to accomplish the set mission.

4. Ensuring that they understand the need for coordination and the need for effective cross-function and multi-department relationship. That No Successful and Good Man is an Island.

5. Giving them the freedom and empowerment to express themselves and ensuring that working together is the key.

6. Establishing a good channel for communication for receiving honest performance feedback and to channel conflicts if need arises.

7. Encouraging creative thinking and individuality and rewarding the same if positive.

8. Providing and encouraging trainings, education, access to books and field trips to stimulate the right thinking that will influence their performance.

9. Ensuring that they understand and feel responsible and accountable for achievements and are rewarded and recognized when successful.

10. Mostly importantly, the organization should recognize that the more it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in pay back from the work of its employees in terms of better performance.

With all this in place, pull my ears if this doesn’t increase and boost the performance and the attitude of your employees. But before you pull my ears off, let me say this works with a little patience from both sides of the coin.

So, I leave you with this last word by H.E LUCCOCK who says that; “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it”.

So, Peace n out
Gentlehawk

A Gal's Dairy 04

Can you keep a secret? I bet you this one is the best secret of the year, so can you, keep a secret? It will be our secret....and ours only. Come closer and listen. But first, let me explain something to you.

Life has got a way of dishing things at you whether you want them or not. It has a mind of its own but most of us think, rather than not, we can help it in its decision making.

For example, I had always wanted to be a medical doctor....science had always had a way of awaking my curiosity. But my personality craves for beauty, creativity and peace. However, i ended up doing something else. Being a medical doctor was my own decision and i walked in the light of that but it was contrary to what Life had and still has in store for me.

Life is beautiful.....but as the saying goes, it only in the eyes of it beholder.

Similarly, i nurture and lived in a love (infact two) that wasn't meant for me and as Life will always do, it has its own plans. Funnily, its plan always work out beautifully and perfectly.

Lately, i have been opportuned to see Life in a clearer light. Life is what you make of it. The plan is all set just your reaction to it is what triggers it in motion.

We walk in paths that look real to us and the thing is that they are mostly illusions. Now i see clearly that we don't choose what Life gives us, however, we choose the way we react to it.

Yes, you could say i'm in cloud nine ;) and i don't want to come back. And believe me, it's the best place to be. All these years i've be blinded by things i thought were right for me. Yes, Life really knows how to play jokes. Funnily, i'm enjoying this one. If only and only if, we could stop for half a second and put aside our delusions and be a bit logical. We will see that Life is really, really beautiful.

I see my relationship(s) with clearer eyes. It has no expectations and no limitations. It's a soul free experience. My course has changed and i'm allowing the wind of Life sail me to the promise land....ah! it's MY promise land. Not what YOU think or know to be my promise land. So zip it, your opinion not required, thank you!!

It's a path of Life i've chosen.....good or bad, it's my choice and my Way. I will march with it....love and cherish it because it is the essence of Life. Never again will i let people, society and culture determine who and what i am or not. I am REAL and TRUE.....to me. I AM ME!!

Life gift to me is MY DESTINY! I will hold on to it, cherish and nourish it.

I'M Gentlehawk!
Lock down!!!

I CARE

We are all familiar with these two words....and probably use or hear them every day. And as most everyday words that we use, we have somehow taken these words for granted.

Would one say it is because most times, it is used without an indepth understanding of its meaning?

"I care"....."I care about you", "I care about the earth", "I care about him/her", "I care about the homeless children", "It's because we care", "We care about this, we care about that".

But do we really care or, is it that we only care about ourselves? Is it about the person or people we care about or does it really balls down to our need to save ourselves unwanted pain or discomfort. We are so involve with ourselves so much to the extend that those we claim to care about are mostly hurt by us.

Lately, i found out that to care about someone or anyone, one needs to understand the true meaning of selflessness which by the way, can't be found in the built dictionary of alot of us.

The definition of SELFLESSNESS (n) according to Oxford Advanced learner's Dictionary defines it as "an ability to think more about the needs, happiness etc, of other people than about your own". Hard right? Yep!! However fear not, I hear this act can be learnt or imbibe. And no, can't help you on that one....you will have the expert on the act.

The act of selflessness is in the giving all and not expecting or wanting nothing; selflessness is a gift that is very rare especially in these callous and uncertain days. People with this attribute have nothing yet own all things.That's because they have all they need and want. They radiate with joy and gladness.

So, when we say we care, is it for selflessness or selfishness reasons? If notice, the "SELF" is quite apparent in both but it the degree at which it is apparent that matters.....MORE or LESS.

Therefore, before you tell someone you care.....ask yourself is it for more or less?

Be true n be Real!!

It's Gentlehawk

A gal's dairy 03

A friend of mine told me one day that Life is a bed full of roses, however, these roses have thorns. Interesting, isn't it? But, the best part is that if we want to enjoy these roses or the bed (well, depending on the case) we have to learn to get rid of these so-called thorns without destroying the roses. So, i guess what she was trying to say is that to enjoy Life ,we need to go through some pain. It gives us a better understanding of ourselves and the lives we live.Moreover, if these pains or experiences do not arise, how do we learn to see our lives in a different angle and thank the creator for it.

However, history has proven that humans have the tendency to go through the same painful process again before the lesson is learnt.

Why do we have to learn the hard way before we learn the lessons and ways of life? Now, you may think, "Oh! there she goes again". But really,it's a thought i can't seem to shake off. We go through painful stuff in life over and over again yet we do not learn from it. Why is that? Is it that we don't take time to look closer at prior experience(s) or we simply underestimated its reoccurance? Why do we have to go over the pains over and over again before we learn? Is it is insane or there is gain? Life as it is, is pretty smart than alot of us give it credit. Some of us just see life as a process and that we just have to go through it without understanding that we are the actors of it. Well as they say, life gets to dictate the tune but we forget that we can also dictate pace.

Taking a critical look at Life, we would see that there is nothing or any situation under the sun that have not happen before. If we look closely, we would see that life is pretty the same. Yet, we go ahead and make the same mistakes anyway. Maybe that's what make us human and defines our history. Is it how we are programmed or we simply just allow it? Maybe that's what differentiates us from other species. Maybe it is because of these reoccurances we are able to remain successful against all odds. We have evolved through it all and the stories have remained the same, just the names of the mistakes and pains change.

We are who we are because we believe we are who we are, contrary to what has been said. No one can define us but us, however, we can allow people, situation, environment define us....if and only if, we allow it. So, it still balls down to the fact that we are in charge. So, why go through the pain, again and again? I think the answer is in us been true and real, and accepting the pain and the fall. Re-access ourselves and understanding that one does not need to go through pain again to learn the lesson.

Maybe, i'm wrong or maybe i'm right, you be the judge....whatever you decide, I am just been ME....True and Real.So be too, by letting me know your take.

Be REAL, Be TRUE

It's Moi, Gentlehawk

Peace

CROSS ROADS

So guys,

What do they say about crossroads?
Some say that it is a point where people met and anything may/can happen.
That it is a time bomb waiting, watching and waiting for the right time to explode.
Cross roads are things from the past, where the present meets the future.
It is pain, it is stain yet so, clean, clear and rare.

Many of us have been there and most of us haven't dare.
We all wish for a point on the crossroad.
so we walk, work and play smart to see those who rule
If we would reach the very point that will either make us or break us.
Cross roads come in the T's or the X's.

Whichever way we call it, it is a meeting point for you and me.
"It's nice meeting you." - "So where are you off to?"
"How can i get there?" - "Oh, it's not too far!"
"Don't bother to go there!" - "And what'll i do next?"
A great and disjoined meeting point it is and can be.

I would hate to be cut in that webbly point but it is a great feeling 'cos it will get you there
if you find the right way
But not to worry, even if you miss it this time, retrace it and you will be surprised
that the cross roads are always there and the same.
Atleast now you know where not take... and what not to do.

We all have cross roads, we all stop or pause there - to catch a breathe or retrace a step
Cross roads are important especially if you are willing to find the WAY
whatever way you wish to go.....be sure to know....That, to be REAL and TRUE...will save you alot too.

So, it's Gentlehawk
Hold it up and be REAL