Habit 6- Synergize

I'm back on track with sharing with you the 7 habits. After a couple of great book signing events for my book The LOTUS Within, I hope you have had a chance to get yourself and your bestie copies! It always helps to have an accountability partner.

Today we will now get going with our next habit: Habit 6 - Synergize. Grab your journal and your The LOTUS Within book.

Habit 6: Synergize

One of the most powerful habits for achieving success in both personal and professional life is Habit 6: Synergize. This habit focuses on the power of teamwork and collaboration to achieve greater results than what we could accomplish alone. Synergizing involves bringing together the strengths, ideas, and perspectives of different people to create innovative solutions to problems. For women, especially those juggling multiple responsibilities, learning to synergize can lead to more effective problem-solving, improved relationships, and better overall outcomes in strategic planning, time management, and prioritization.

In the context of strategic future planning, women can use this habit to collaborate with others, whether it’s family members, colleagues, mentors, or friends, to find the best solutions to challenges. By considering the diverse strengths and insights of those around you, you can identify creative ways to reach your goals more efficiently. This habit also connects with Habit 4: Think Win-Win, as it encourages finding mutually beneficial solutions that create value for everyone involved.

Collaborating to Create Better Solutions

Synergizing is all about combining the strengths and abilities of each person in a group to achieve an outcome that none of you could have achieved on your own. For example, when planning your career and personal life, it’s not just about setting your own goals and moving forward in isolation. It’s about working with the people who are impacted by your decisions, such as your spouse, family, or coworkers, to find solutions that benefit everyone.

For instance, if you are planning a career transition or considering a big life change, it’s essential to involve your loved ones in the process. You can discuss your plans with them, understand their thoughts and feelings, and then come together to devise a solution that respects everyone’s needs. This can help you avoid feeling isolated in your decision-making process, and it also strengthens the relationships by making them feel valued and included.

Incorporating Family into Decision-Making

For me, one of my big rocks is spending time with family and sharing my long-term plans with them. Each week, my family and I hold a meeting to talk about what’s happening in our lives and to discuss any decisions that might affect our future. This meeting is a chance for us to exchange ideas, talk about each other’s goals, and synergize our efforts. It’s a way for all of us to be on the same page and work together to manage the short-term “little rocks” while focusing on our long-term goals.

In these meetings, we not only review the week’s schedule but also align our actions to make sure that we are all supporting each other. For example, if I need to travel for work, my family helps me with logistical plans like childcare or meal prep. Similarly, when my spouse has an important deadline at work, I adjust my schedule to support them in any way I can. By synergizing, we ensure that all our individual goals are supported and that we can achieve more together than we could separately.

Leveraging Diverse Perspectives for Better Outcomes

Another important aspect of synergizing is being open to diverse perspectives. When you work together with others, you are likely to encounter different viewpoints, experiences, and ways of thinking. Instead of seeing this as a challenge, embrace it as an opportunity to gain new insights that can enhance your planning and problem-solving. By being open-minded and valuing the input of others, you can identify creative solutions that you might not have come up with on your own.

For example, if you are trying to balance career advancement with personal life goals, you might seek input from a mentor who has successfully navigated this balance. Or, if you are working on improving your time management skills, collaborating with colleagues or friends who excel in this area can help you identify new strategies to improve your efficiency. When you work together, you can create a synergy that allows you to find the best possible solutions.

Creating Win-Win Solutions Through Synergy

Synergizing also ties into Habit 4: Think Win-Win. When you approach your planning and decision-making from a collaborative perspective, you are more likely to come up with solutions that benefit everyone involved. By fostering an environment where all parties feel heard and valued, you create an atmosphere of trust and respect, which leads to better outcomes for all.

For example, in your career planning, synergizing might involve collaborating with your colleagues to create shared goals or working together on a project that helps you all grow. In your personal life, it might mean discussing future plans with your family and ensuring that everyone’s needs are considered so that the solution you create benefits everyone in the long run.

Example: Synergizing with Family for Better Time Management

Imagine a woman who is balancing her career, personal development, and family commitments. She has big goals in her career, such as earning a promotion, and also wants to spend more time with her children. Rather than trying to manage these priorities separately, she synergizes with her family to come up with a plan that works for everyone.

She holds a weekly family meeting where everyone can share their schedules and talk about their upcoming goals. By hearing from her spouse about his work commitments and from her children about their extracurricular activities, she can better plan her own time. She might decide to take on fewer responsibilities at work during a busy time for her spouse, or she might coordinate her work travel schedule around her children’s school events. By listening to her family’s needs and contributing her own ideas, they create a plan that allows her to achieve her career goals while spending quality time with her loved ones.

Conclusion: The Power of Synergy in Life Planning

Habit 6: Synergize teaches us the power of collaboration and teamwork. By working together with others, whether in our professional lives or within our families, we can create solutions that are more effective and impactful. Synergizing involves not just incorporating our own ideas, but also listening to and valuing the perspectives of those around us. This collaborative approach leads to better communication, stronger relationships, and more successful outcomes.

By applying the principles of synergy to your time management and planning, you can ensure that your decisions are well-rounded, considerate of others, and aligned with both your personal and professional goals. Ultimately, synergizing creates a sense of community and support, helping you achieve your big rocks while also managing your little rocks.