Celebrate Your Year:
23 Questions to Inventory Your Successes
As you set goals for the coming year, it’s a good idea to take stock of the progress you’ve made toward your 2010 goals. For many people, this review is unpleasant and even can lead to a downward spiral.
If you didn’t achieve all of the goals you set at the beginning of the year, you may feel like you have failed. Our self-esteem can take a hit, we can become disheartened and discouraged, and our motivation drops. Some people actually become depressed.
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to reframe how you look at success. Zeroing in on accomplishments that didn’t happen puts your focus on what you lack, rather than on what you have (the things you did experience and accomplish). This subtle mental trap leads to a host of negative consequences, which usually lead to attracting more lack.
The answer is not giving up the review of your year. Periodic review is essential to the process of growth and goal achievement. The key is to acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate what you did accomplish, and then to refocus on the goals that you still want to achieve.
The “Win List”
One of the techniques I teach my Platinum Inner Circle Group is to create a detailed “Win List” at the end of the year. Its purpose is to help you acknowledge all of your wins, especially those that didn’t start as a written goal or intention.
This powerful technique takes about 30 minutes to complete. Start by listing all of the goals you set and achieved this year. Then list any other wins you think of – both large and small.
Here are some questions to help identify your successes.
What wins or progress did you achieve in business?
Did you discontinue an old product or develop a new product or product line?
Did you identify a new market to focus on?
Did you create any new marketing pieces or campaigns?
Did you delegate any tasks to become more productive? This could include adding new staff and/or assistants, such as a housekeeper, executive assistant, gardener, errand runner, babysitter, or child care person. It also might include putting new systems into place to increase your efficiency.
Did you buy, use or learn to use any new technology? This includes mental, emotional or spiritual technology, as well as mechanical, electronic and digital technology?
Did you spend more time in nature?
Did you develop any new supportive habits (such as meditation, exercise, sleep, or gratitude)? Did you overcome any non-supportive habits (for example, addiction to alcohol, caffeine, sugar, video games, porn, gambling, or shopping)?
How did you grow in leadership?
Did you deliver any presentations or speeches or develop new programs?
Did you develop any new abilities, skills or competencies?
What success did you achieve in the areas of financial income, investments or debt reduction?
Did you create any new relationships or deepen existing relationships? Consider both business and personal relationships.
Did you make any progress in self-development?
Did you attend any positive events (e.g., seminars, lectures, concerts, theater, or sports)?
Did you experience any positive events with your family?
Where there any positive events in relation to your house or apartment?
Did you take any trips or vacations?
Were there any positive additions to your life?
Were there any positive events in your community?
How about any positive events in your spiritual life (e.g., church services, meditation, retreats, rituals)?
Did you experience any positive events in regards to letting go (e.g., bad habits, negative people, or clutter)?
Did you have any wins in health and fitness (e.g., weight, exercise, cholesterol, sports, or endurance)?
Reduce Mental Friction
Mental “friction” caused by negative thoughts and feelings will slow down your progress as you work to achieve your goals. By using this technique to focus your attention on what you did achieve, you’ll shift into a state of gratitude and joy, accelerating your momentum into the new year.
For 4 more simple steps you can take to wrap up 2010 and prepare for 2011 , visit my blog.
* * *
© 2010 The Canfield Training Group
All Rights Reserved
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Companies Leading Change: Xerox – First ever woman-to-woman transfer of CEO in Fortune 500
Companies Leading Change: Xerox – First ever woman-to-woman transfer of CEO in Fortune 500
Anne started her career at Chase Manhattan bank where she soon felt that the banking environment was not conducive to developing her talents successfully. Her move to Xerox proved to be the right move. Thirty-three years later, she is in her very last weeks of CEO, the position she was appointed to in 2001.
Know your customer
Anne’s first job at Xerox was in sales. She is convinced that a sales job is an excellent place to begin in an organisation.
“It gives you the best customer perspective; where else do you learn so much about a company and how it is being perceived by clients as in the sales area?” she says.
“In addition, sales are quantitative; if you reach your targets, it is clear who the best performer is. Therefore it is a great place for women to start a career; the system of measuring achievements quantitatively levels the playing field and gives you a fairer chance to succeed.”
In her career Anne was also responsible for the global HR function, which encompassed over 160 countries in which Xerox was doing business. Although she never intended to become CEO, she was called to this duty when the company was in a life-threatening crisis at the end of the 90’s.
“I had zero intent to be CEO but I was drafted in a war,” says Anne.
Turning to the impact of the current crisis on Xerox, she reinforces these points:
“The current crisis leads us to refocus on our customers, to cut costs where it is possible and to increase our sales efforts substantially. All sales managers are out there in the market, doubling our efforts to service our clients and help them cut costs too. I still remember the clients that helped us during the crisis in the 90’s and the same will happen in the current crisis”.
Eva Sebok, Mirella Visser, Anne Mulcahy, Pauline van der Meer Mohr and Jeanine van der Vlist.
Find people who want you to succeed
Taking the leadership role in 2001, Anne became responsible for transforming the company; it meant redefining the way Xerox did business and how it was organised. Gradually the company has changed into a networked organisation where innovation has become the key driver. Today, two-thirds of Xerox’s revenues come from the products and services that were introduced to the market place in the last two years; the innovation-time-to-market is the crucial success factor in Xerox’s impressive recovery from the 90’s. Contemplating on her role in the transformation, Anne says, “We survived because people believed we could. Although the focus for the outside world was very much on the financial turnaround, within the company we focused on motivating and energising our people.”
It has taught her that the success of a company depends on its people. “It is about the calibre and quality of your people, their engagement and the alignment with the company’s objectives,” she says.
Inspired by Jim Collins’ book ’Good to Great‘, Anne believes that leadership is, in essence, “creating followership. You need to be able to build great teams. I have always strived to work with people who wanted me to win,” She says.
Attitude to win
Anne recollects her first experiences as sales manager, leading a team of nine tenured men. She had been turned down for managerial roles at least eight times before she was finally appointed. It proved to be a crucial experience.
“I was able to convince seven out of nine team members of my capabilities to achieve success with our team. It made me realise that it is all about your attitude; your attitude to win and your attitude to empathise with your team members,” says Anne.
What about women’s leadership skills?
“Women have natural skills to be successful in the business world, but I don’t believe in skills that are typically feminine or only found in women. Believe me; I am very results-oriented! As a leader you need to be transparent, real and authentic; if you are not yourself, you will not succeed.”
Anne is genuinely proud of the fact that her successor in the leadership role is a woman again—Ursula Burns. Despite some suggestions in the outside world that ‘the women must have plotted’, Anne makes it clear that the CEO succession planning process in Xerox identified a number of potential successors ten years ago; Ursula simply proved to be the best candidate for the job.
What can companies do to promote more women to top positions?
“I am convinced that we not only need women, but diversity in all its forms,” says Anne who expresses reservations with the debate about the alleged improvement of companies’ results when more women are in the top management team (as mentioned in the Catalyst reports). “Women should have an equal opportunity to fail or succeed. I also would not want to see research reports indicating that women more often fail than men. The debate should be about diversity and innovation,” she says.
Faced with the question of whether a target system (a certain number of women appointed to higher positions) will work if it is linked to the reward and remuneration systems of managers, Anne is very clear: “I am not in favour of paying my managers to appoint women; you should not pay people for something they should do normally. She identifies three key factors in companies that are successful in promoting women to higher managerial positions: “First of all, the leader gets it; he or she needs to understand the need – after all the majority of customers in most companies nowadays are women. Secondly, there needs to be consistency and continuity in the direction and policies. Last, you need to create a system of setting expectations and monitoring the results.”
The eternal role model
The round table session was already proof that Anne actively seeks out meetings with senior women leaders in the countries she visits. No surprise for the woman who set up the Xerox professional women’s network at the start of her career. “The objectives of the network were to investigate why women did not progress in the same way men did and how a level playing field could be created in our company,” says Anne. To date, the network plays an important role in the company and the playing field for leadership positions is not equal yet. Anne observes, “Men come to the market more comfortable than women. Self-confidence is still an area of improvement for women.”
One of the very few female CEO’s of public companies, Anne could easily fill her days with speeches, interviews and appearances. She confesses that at the time of the crisis in the 90’s the attention for her as a woman was so overwhelming that she cancelled all of these activities. “It was not good for the company that the attention was always on me instead of the turnaround we were trying to achieve,” she says. However, she received a phone call from another female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who convinced her that it was her role and duty to continue to speak up and remain accessible as a role model for the next generation women leaders. And this she has been ever since.
VIP Advisory Board member Pauline van der Meer Mohr comment about Anne’s leadership style: ‘ it is inspiring to see how Anne effortlessly demonstrates many qualities traditionally attributed to the finest leaders: a razorsharp mind, humility, strategic insight, inspiring vision and most of all, authenticity. A true icon.’
http://www.europeanpwn.net/index.php?article_id=746
Anne started her career at Chase Manhattan bank where she soon felt that the banking environment was not conducive to developing her talents successfully. Her move to Xerox proved to be the right move. Thirty-three years later, she is in her very last weeks of CEO, the position she was appointed to in 2001.
Know your customer
Anne’s first job at Xerox was in sales. She is convinced that a sales job is an excellent place to begin in an organisation.
“It gives you the best customer perspective; where else do you learn so much about a company and how it is being perceived by clients as in the sales area?” she says.
“In addition, sales are quantitative; if you reach your targets, it is clear who the best performer is. Therefore it is a great place for women to start a career; the system of measuring achievements quantitatively levels the playing field and gives you a fairer chance to succeed.”
In her career Anne was also responsible for the global HR function, which encompassed over 160 countries in which Xerox was doing business. Although she never intended to become CEO, she was called to this duty when the company was in a life-threatening crisis at the end of the 90’s.
“I had zero intent to be CEO but I was drafted in a war,” says Anne.
Turning to the impact of the current crisis on Xerox, she reinforces these points:
“The current crisis leads us to refocus on our customers, to cut costs where it is possible and to increase our sales efforts substantially. All sales managers are out there in the market, doubling our efforts to service our clients and help them cut costs too. I still remember the clients that helped us during the crisis in the 90’s and the same will happen in the current crisis”.
Eva Sebok, Mirella Visser, Anne Mulcahy, Pauline van der Meer Mohr and Jeanine van der Vlist.
Find people who want you to succeed
Taking the leadership role in 2001, Anne became responsible for transforming the company; it meant redefining the way Xerox did business and how it was organised. Gradually the company has changed into a networked organisation where innovation has become the key driver. Today, two-thirds of Xerox’s revenues come from the products and services that were introduced to the market place in the last two years; the innovation-time-to-market is the crucial success factor in Xerox’s impressive recovery from the 90’s. Contemplating on her role in the transformation, Anne says, “We survived because people believed we could. Although the focus for the outside world was very much on the financial turnaround, within the company we focused on motivating and energising our people.”
It has taught her that the success of a company depends on its people. “It is about the calibre and quality of your people, their engagement and the alignment with the company’s objectives,” she says.
Inspired by Jim Collins’ book ’Good to Great‘, Anne believes that leadership is, in essence, “creating followership. You need to be able to build great teams. I have always strived to work with people who wanted me to win,” She says.
Attitude to win
Anne recollects her first experiences as sales manager, leading a team of nine tenured men. She had been turned down for managerial roles at least eight times before she was finally appointed. It proved to be a crucial experience.
“I was able to convince seven out of nine team members of my capabilities to achieve success with our team. It made me realise that it is all about your attitude; your attitude to win and your attitude to empathise with your team members,” says Anne.
What about women’s leadership skills?
“Women have natural skills to be successful in the business world, but I don’t believe in skills that are typically feminine or only found in women. Believe me; I am very results-oriented! As a leader you need to be transparent, real and authentic; if you are not yourself, you will not succeed.”
Anne is genuinely proud of the fact that her successor in the leadership role is a woman again—Ursula Burns. Despite some suggestions in the outside world that ‘the women must have plotted’, Anne makes it clear that the CEO succession planning process in Xerox identified a number of potential successors ten years ago; Ursula simply proved to be the best candidate for the job.
What can companies do to promote more women to top positions?
“I am convinced that we not only need women, but diversity in all its forms,” says Anne who expresses reservations with the debate about the alleged improvement of companies’ results when more women are in the top management team (as mentioned in the Catalyst reports). “Women should have an equal opportunity to fail or succeed. I also would not want to see research reports indicating that women more often fail than men. The debate should be about diversity and innovation,” she says.
Faced with the question of whether a target system (a certain number of women appointed to higher positions) will work if it is linked to the reward and remuneration systems of managers, Anne is very clear: “I am not in favour of paying my managers to appoint women; you should not pay people for something they should do normally. She identifies three key factors in companies that are successful in promoting women to higher managerial positions: “First of all, the leader gets it; he or she needs to understand the need – after all the majority of customers in most companies nowadays are women. Secondly, there needs to be consistency and continuity in the direction and policies. Last, you need to create a system of setting expectations and monitoring the results.”
The eternal role model
The round table session was already proof that Anne actively seeks out meetings with senior women leaders in the countries she visits. No surprise for the woman who set up the Xerox professional women’s network at the start of her career. “The objectives of the network were to investigate why women did not progress in the same way men did and how a level playing field could be created in our company,” says Anne. To date, the network plays an important role in the company and the playing field for leadership positions is not equal yet. Anne observes, “Men come to the market more comfortable than women. Self-confidence is still an area of improvement for women.”
One of the very few female CEO’s of public companies, Anne could easily fill her days with speeches, interviews and appearances. She confesses that at the time of the crisis in the 90’s the attention for her as a woman was so overwhelming that she cancelled all of these activities. “It was not good for the company that the attention was always on me instead of the turnaround we were trying to achieve,” she says. However, she received a phone call from another female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who convinced her that it was her role and duty to continue to speak up and remain accessible as a role model for the next generation women leaders. And this she has been ever since.
VIP Advisory Board member Pauline van der Meer Mohr comment about Anne’s leadership style: ‘ it is inspiring to see how Anne effortlessly demonstrates many qualities traditionally attributed to the finest leaders: a razorsharp mind, humility, strategic insight, inspiring vision and most of all, authenticity. A true icon.’
http://www.europeanpwn.net/index.php?article_id=746
Santa revealed: 10 secrets from the ultimate servant leader
Santa revealed: 10 secrets from the ultimate servant leader
December 22, 2010
By Tom Terez
It’s bigger than Walmart, more magical than Disney, and faster than FedEx.
Its leader has the intelligence of an Einstein, the creative powers of an Edison, and the caring spirit of a Mother Teresa.
His look is unconventional: lots of red, white fur trim, big white beard, red stocking hat, massive belt, all-weather boots, clay pipe. His well-fed rotundity is matched by a gymnast’s agility and marathon-runner’s endurance.
Santa Claus has turned his North Pole operation into the biggest and best organization the world has never seen. But how?
Here’s the answer in the form of 10 big strategies. Put them to work in your own life and you’ll see some real magic.
1. Defy gravity by having a meaningful mission
Is Santa a toy manufacturer? Is he a distributor? Is he a delivery specialist? He’s all of those and more, but his work is fueled by a higher purpose. Santa is in the inspiration business. He inspires us to appreciate our friends and family, to be generous, and to recognize that goodness is alive and well in our world.
2. Be a believer
Aren’t we straining reality to think that reindeer can fly? Perhaps. But you don’t bring a Santa-sized mission to life by being a skeptic.
3. Have a sense of humor
How does Santa Claus stay calm in the face of so many responsibilities? Humor. The man is jolly personified. When the going gets tough, he always finds good cause to ho ho ho.
4. Be willing to get dirty to get the job done
Does Santa go up and down chimneys because he’s fond of soot? Hardly. He does it because it’s the quickest and quietest way to get inside without a house key.
5. Encourage the copycats
With thousands of people pretending to be Santa each year, doesn’t the real Santa want to lawyer up and sue their beards off? Just the opposite. He encourages the well-intended wannabes, seeing them as a way to be in countless places at the same time.
6. Make the most of the most extreme differences
Does Santa Claus look for certain “types” to work at the North Pole? He focuses on strengths. When thick fog and heavy snow threatened delivery one year, Santa turned to a young novice who had become something of a laughingstock. The newly empowered Rudolph used his blazing beacon to lead the other reindeer to a safe and on-time delivery.
7. Be thoughtful about who and how you serve
Isn’t the “naughty and nice” list a bit harsh? Sure it is. But Santa knows that his mission would be compromised if he gave gifts to just anyone.
8. Get creative in living your mission
Does Santa fly past the children who fall short in a given year? No. He leaves each of them a nice bag of coal. It’s mostly designed to nudge kids in the right direction — but it can also be used to heat the home, boil water, and cook food.
9. Be yourself no matter what
Doesn’t Santa feel a bit silly prancing around in his fur-trimmed outfit and soup-catching beard? Not at all. He enjoys being himself. And as the greatest organizational success story of all time, he knows that his standout qualities keep the Santa brand eternally strong.
10. Savor your accomplishments
Does Santa get compensated? Yes, in three ways. Part of his pay is served up when he returns from his annual deliveries. That’s when he sits with colleagues to enjoy a huge stack of fresh-baked cookies. Santa’s second form of pay comes not from the kitchen but from the heart and mind. As he rests in his elf-made recliner, he contemplates his mission: Did he walk the talk of generosity? Check. Did he stir our imagination? Check. Did he renew humanity’s faith that goodness still exists? Check. Did his work inspire others to follow suit? Check. Then he settles back in his recliner, closes his eyes, and welcomes his third form of compensation: a long and well-earned rest.
http://buildabetterworkplace.com/2010/12/22/santalessons/
December 22, 2010
By Tom Terez
It’s bigger than Walmart, more magical than Disney, and faster than FedEx.
Its leader has the intelligence of an Einstein, the creative powers of an Edison, and the caring spirit of a Mother Teresa.
His look is unconventional: lots of red, white fur trim, big white beard, red stocking hat, massive belt, all-weather boots, clay pipe. His well-fed rotundity is matched by a gymnast’s agility and marathon-runner’s endurance.
Santa Claus has turned his North Pole operation into the biggest and best organization the world has never seen. But how?
Here’s the answer in the form of 10 big strategies. Put them to work in your own life and you’ll see some real magic.
1. Defy gravity by having a meaningful mission
Is Santa a toy manufacturer? Is he a distributor? Is he a delivery specialist? He’s all of those and more, but his work is fueled by a higher purpose. Santa is in the inspiration business. He inspires us to appreciate our friends and family, to be generous, and to recognize that goodness is alive and well in our world.
2. Be a believer
Aren’t we straining reality to think that reindeer can fly? Perhaps. But you don’t bring a Santa-sized mission to life by being a skeptic.
3. Have a sense of humor
How does Santa Claus stay calm in the face of so many responsibilities? Humor. The man is jolly personified. When the going gets tough, he always finds good cause to ho ho ho.
4. Be willing to get dirty to get the job done
Does Santa go up and down chimneys because he’s fond of soot? Hardly. He does it because it’s the quickest and quietest way to get inside without a house key.
5. Encourage the copycats
With thousands of people pretending to be Santa each year, doesn’t the real Santa want to lawyer up and sue their beards off? Just the opposite. He encourages the well-intended wannabes, seeing them as a way to be in countless places at the same time.
6. Make the most of the most extreme differences
Does Santa Claus look for certain “types” to work at the North Pole? He focuses on strengths. When thick fog and heavy snow threatened delivery one year, Santa turned to a young novice who had become something of a laughingstock. The newly empowered Rudolph used his blazing beacon to lead the other reindeer to a safe and on-time delivery.
7. Be thoughtful about who and how you serve
Isn’t the “naughty and nice” list a bit harsh? Sure it is. But Santa knows that his mission would be compromised if he gave gifts to just anyone.
8. Get creative in living your mission
Does Santa fly past the children who fall short in a given year? No. He leaves each of them a nice bag of coal. It’s mostly designed to nudge kids in the right direction — but it can also be used to heat the home, boil water, and cook food.
9. Be yourself no matter what
Doesn’t Santa feel a bit silly prancing around in his fur-trimmed outfit and soup-catching beard? Not at all. He enjoys being himself. And as the greatest organizational success story of all time, he knows that his standout qualities keep the Santa brand eternally strong.
10. Savor your accomplishments
Does Santa get compensated? Yes, in three ways. Part of his pay is served up when he returns from his annual deliveries. That’s when he sits with colleagues to enjoy a huge stack of fresh-baked cookies. Santa’s second form of pay comes not from the kitchen but from the heart and mind. As he rests in his elf-made recliner, he contemplates his mission: Did he walk the talk of generosity? Check. Did he stir our imagination? Check. Did he renew humanity’s faith that goodness still exists? Check. Did his work inspire others to follow suit? Check. Then he settles back in his recliner, closes his eyes, and welcomes his third form of compensation: a long and well-earned rest.
http://buildabetterworkplace.com/2010/12/22/santalessons/
Three Ways to Express Appreciation for Greater Impact
Three Ways to Express Appreciation for Greater Impact
by Jack Canfield
The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is the time when most people tend to demonstrate their love and appreciation. But wouldn’t it be nice to experience that level of joy, love and appreciation every day of the year?
The process begins with us.
Someone once gave me a card that said, “The love I give to you is second-hand because I experienced it first.” In other words, for us to love someone else, we first have to feel the love within us.
To develop the ability to maintain a state of love and gratitude on a more regular basis, we need to make it a habit. We do dozens of things every day on automatic pilot, such as eating our meals, taking showers, or doing the dishes. We don’t have to spend time visualizing these activities or putting them on our to-do lists. We simply do them out of habit. Expressing appreciation on a daily basis will help you turn gratitude into a daily habit with multiple benefits.
3 Kinds of Appreciation
For your appreciation to hit the mark, keep in mind that there are three different kinds of appreciation – auditory, visual and kinesthetic. These are the three ways that our brains take in information, and everyone has a dominant type they prefer. Tailor the type of appreciation you give to suit the person you want to honor.
Auditory people like to hear appreciation. Expressing thanks verbally is the best way to let them know how much we appreciate them. Auditory people are very sensitive to the tones of our voices, so speaking in a caring and compassionate voice is highly effective.
Visual people like to receive things they can see. Letters, cards, flowers, plaques, certificates, pictures and any other gifts are perfect for these individuals.
Kinesthetic people need to feel appreciation. My wife is a kinesthetic person. She loves to do things that make her feel good, such as hiking, getting massages or picking out clothes that feel good to the touch. The best way for me to express appreciation to my wife is with a hug, a kiss or simply spending time with her.
Blend for Impact
When in doubt, use all three types of communication. Tell them, show them and give them a pat on the back. For example, put your arm around your kids when you tell them how much you appreciate them and then follow up later with a card.
Using multiple forms of communication also can strengthen your message. Although I am very visual, I’m also a big fan of physical touch. If you give me a hug, a handshake or a high five, the physical touch multiples the appreciation I feel by a factor of 10!
Keep Score
New habits take 30 to 60 days to lock in. An Appreciation Scorecard is an easy way to build the habit of expressing your gratitude.
When I was working to consciously lock in this new habit, I carried a 3” x 5” card in my pocket all day. Every time I acknowledged and appreciated someone, I would place a check mark on the card.
I set a goal of appreciating 10 people every day. I would not go to bed without achieving my daily quota. I would appreciate my wife and children, write letters to my mother or stepfather, or e-mail my staff. I did this every day for 6 months, until I no longer needed the card as a reminder.
As we build the habit of appreciation, it helps to expand the circle of people whom we appreciate. Our society flourishes because of connections. We literally couldn’t survive without other people. Nobody pumps their own petroleum, turns it into gas, and trucks it into their own town. Other people do it. The food we eat probably has 30 to 40 people involved in it before it gets to our tables. Although they may be strangers, the people who serve us by doing their part in making our society function deserve our thanks, too.
Build Your Appreciation Muscle
To build the habit of appreciation, I encourage you to keep a daily scorecard as I did. Express your appreciation to at least 10 people a day, both individuals you know intimately, as well as virtual strangers who touch your life. Experiment with the different forms of appreciation, and observe how much more deeply your appreciation is received when you find the right way to deliver it for each individual.
* * *
© 2010 The Canfield Training Group
All Rights Reserved.
by Jack Canfield
The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is the time when most people tend to demonstrate their love and appreciation. But wouldn’t it be nice to experience that level of joy, love and appreciation every day of the year?
The process begins with us.
Someone once gave me a card that said, “The love I give to you is second-hand because I experienced it first.” In other words, for us to love someone else, we first have to feel the love within us.
To develop the ability to maintain a state of love and gratitude on a more regular basis, we need to make it a habit. We do dozens of things every day on automatic pilot, such as eating our meals, taking showers, or doing the dishes. We don’t have to spend time visualizing these activities or putting them on our to-do lists. We simply do them out of habit. Expressing appreciation on a daily basis will help you turn gratitude into a daily habit with multiple benefits.
3 Kinds of Appreciation
For your appreciation to hit the mark, keep in mind that there are three different kinds of appreciation – auditory, visual and kinesthetic. These are the three ways that our brains take in information, and everyone has a dominant type they prefer. Tailor the type of appreciation you give to suit the person you want to honor.
Auditory people like to hear appreciation. Expressing thanks verbally is the best way to let them know how much we appreciate them. Auditory people are very sensitive to the tones of our voices, so speaking in a caring and compassionate voice is highly effective.
Visual people like to receive things they can see. Letters, cards, flowers, plaques, certificates, pictures and any other gifts are perfect for these individuals.
Kinesthetic people need to feel appreciation. My wife is a kinesthetic person. She loves to do things that make her feel good, such as hiking, getting massages or picking out clothes that feel good to the touch. The best way for me to express appreciation to my wife is with a hug, a kiss or simply spending time with her.
Blend for Impact
When in doubt, use all three types of communication. Tell them, show them and give them a pat on the back. For example, put your arm around your kids when you tell them how much you appreciate them and then follow up later with a card.
Using multiple forms of communication also can strengthen your message. Although I am very visual, I’m also a big fan of physical touch. If you give me a hug, a handshake or a high five, the physical touch multiples the appreciation I feel by a factor of 10!
Keep Score
New habits take 30 to 60 days to lock in. An Appreciation Scorecard is an easy way to build the habit of expressing your gratitude.
When I was working to consciously lock in this new habit, I carried a 3” x 5” card in my pocket all day. Every time I acknowledged and appreciated someone, I would place a check mark on the card.
I set a goal of appreciating 10 people every day. I would not go to bed without achieving my daily quota. I would appreciate my wife and children, write letters to my mother or stepfather, or e-mail my staff. I did this every day for 6 months, until I no longer needed the card as a reminder.
As we build the habit of appreciation, it helps to expand the circle of people whom we appreciate. Our society flourishes because of connections. We literally couldn’t survive without other people. Nobody pumps their own petroleum, turns it into gas, and trucks it into their own town. Other people do it. The food we eat probably has 30 to 40 people involved in it before it gets to our tables. Although they may be strangers, the people who serve us by doing their part in making our society function deserve our thanks, too.
Build Your Appreciation Muscle
To build the habit of appreciation, I encourage you to keep a daily scorecard as I did. Express your appreciation to at least 10 people a day, both individuals you know intimately, as well as virtual strangers who touch your life. Experiment with the different forms of appreciation, and observe how much more deeply your appreciation is received when you find the right way to deliver it for each individual.
* * *
© 2010 The Canfield Training Group
All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
M Stands for Moving On - 10 Signs It's Time for a New Leader
M Stands for Moving On - 10 Signs It's Time for a New Leader
By Bea Fields
When I see a company or team in distress, my question is always "Why is it so hard to tackle the obvious?"... or as the old cliche goes... "Why is no one talking about the big elephant in the room... the elephant that is so big that we can't even see the elephant anymore... we are standing in the room and see that the room has become fuzzy... crowded... dingy, but the elephant has gotten so big that it's shape has disappeared into a big blob of grey?"
My answer is this... the company has become comfortable with mediocrity... things have always done a certain way, so there goes the mindset... into the ditch:
1. Eh... performance is okay... it could be better, but it's fine.
2. No need to change... it's too hard, too time consuming and way too costly... let's just focus on the status quo.
3. We do things around here "this way" and this has worked for decades... our approach is doing a "fine job".
4. I don't like these people on this team or who work for this company anyway... let's just stay in mediocrity, and maybe they'll just "go away".
When I hear this, I usually start digging a bit deeper... to find that
the same people are in the same positions they were 10 years ago
the same practices are being implemented that were applied 30 years ago (which are usually practices that came out of the 1950's and 1960's)
the same things are being measured which are now obsolete... why are you measuring things that no longer matter?
the leaders at the top are clueless about what the competition is really doing in the year 2010... things they could be doing to become a world class organization
If you are a leader, and you are reading this article, it is going to take balls to make a change... a change in yourself or a radical move to step up to the plate and admit that "I cannot change, and it is time to move on." There is a 99% chance that you, yourself, will not feel like you need the change... if you are a person who lives in mediocrity, you are probably very comfortable getting up every day and rolling out of bed on the very same way on the same side, drinking coffee out of your same mug, showering with a bar of old soap, putting on the same old clothes, eating the same food for breakfast, backing out your driveway the same way and driving the same old route to work. The only way you are going to truly know if it is time to move on is to look at your team and people to see if these 10 signs are evident. And... this might take bringing in someone from the outside to look at your team to see if they will HONESTLY answer these questions. Most stuck people don't think they're stuck... they think the rest of the world is crazy:
THE TEN SIGNS IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MOVE ON AS A LEADER
1. Your team is bored. They look bored, have scowls on their faces and they drag in the door as if they have a ball and chain wrapped around their ankle.
2. Your team is not only growing and progressing... they are actually getting worse at their jobs. Their talents are actually turning into their biggest weaknesses.
3. Your team has lost their passion. They just don't have the fire in their eyes... they look flat.
4. Sick leave, tardiness and skipping out on projects early are on the rise. When people love their leader and your company is thriving, they not only show up but they show up on time and they stay late because they love what they are doing.
5. No one is recruiting you OR your team members. Remember the time when you were actively desired by others? Those days are over. Remember the time when you were worried that your rock stars would be recruited away? No need to worry about that one. No one is looking at them, because you have taken them from rock star to rock-star wannabees.
6. Clients, investors and competitors are gossiping about your lack of leadership. You may not know it, but your employees do. It's a very small world. With the internet, people are probably blogging about you too.
7. Your superstars are no longer talking about their big plans for a great future career. They're becoming stuck in a rut just like you are... you are the leader, and they are following your model of mediocre leadership.
8. Your superstars are NO LONGER complaining... for a while, they had great ideas on how the company could improve and they may have been complaining a pinch, but they now know that their voice is falling on deaf ears, so why bother. The saddest part of this is that they know you don't give a damn.
9. Your team begins to make uncharacteristically careless errors... you don't care, so why should they? But of course, you are probably blaming them and taking NO personal responsibility.
10. The element of fun is gone... zapped, and of course, people who once came around for the fun and to celebrate success (like big investors) are moving on. They have no interest in hanging around a leader or a company that is losing, and they are moving on to the winners' circles.
Okay... I've given the bad news, so the solution... get someone into your company, perform a very rigorous 360 degree review process and give your leader 6 months to change or it's time to bring in new blood.
Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc. ( http://BeaFields.com ). She is an Executive Coach and the Chief Principal of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. Along with Corey Blake and Eva Silva, she is the author of Edge: A Leadership Story ( http://edge-book.com ). Fields' company serves over 1000 international clients and has developed over 25 business and leadership development training programs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bea_Fields
http://ezinearticles.com/?M-Stands-for-Moving-On---10-Signs-Its-Time-for-a-New-Leader&id=5008322
By Bea Fields
When I see a company or team in distress, my question is always "Why is it so hard to tackle the obvious?"... or as the old cliche goes... "Why is no one talking about the big elephant in the room... the elephant that is so big that we can't even see the elephant anymore... we are standing in the room and see that the room has become fuzzy... crowded... dingy, but the elephant has gotten so big that it's shape has disappeared into a big blob of grey?"
My answer is this... the company has become comfortable with mediocrity... things have always done a certain way, so there goes the mindset... into the ditch:
1. Eh... performance is okay... it could be better, but it's fine.
2. No need to change... it's too hard, too time consuming and way too costly... let's just focus on the status quo.
3. We do things around here "this way" and this has worked for decades... our approach is doing a "fine job".
4. I don't like these people on this team or who work for this company anyway... let's just stay in mediocrity, and maybe they'll just "go away".
When I hear this, I usually start digging a bit deeper... to find that
the same people are in the same positions they were 10 years ago
the same practices are being implemented that were applied 30 years ago (which are usually practices that came out of the 1950's and 1960's)
the same things are being measured which are now obsolete... why are you measuring things that no longer matter?
the leaders at the top are clueless about what the competition is really doing in the year 2010... things they could be doing to become a world class organization
If you are a leader, and you are reading this article, it is going to take balls to make a change... a change in yourself or a radical move to step up to the plate and admit that "I cannot change, and it is time to move on." There is a 99% chance that you, yourself, will not feel like you need the change... if you are a person who lives in mediocrity, you are probably very comfortable getting up every day and rolling out of bed on the very same way on the same side, drinking coffee out of your same mug, showering with a bar of old soap, putting on the same old clothes, eating the same food for breakfast, backing out your driveway the same way and driving the same old route to work. The only way you are going to truly know if it is time to move on is to look at your team and people to see if these 10 signs are evident. And... this might take bringing in someone from the outside to look at your team to see if they will HONESTLY answer these questions. Most stuck people don't think they're stuck... they think the rest of the world is crazy:
THE TEN SIGNS IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MOVE ON AS A LEADER
1. Your team is bored. They look bored, have scowls on their faces and they drag in the door as if they have a ball and chain wrapped around their ankle.
2. Your team is not only growing and progressing... they are actually getting worse at their jobs. Their talents are actually turning into their biggest weaknesses.
3. Your team has lost their passion. They just don't have the fire in their eyes... they look flat.
4. Sick leave, tardiness and skipping out on projects early are on the rise. When people love their leader and your company is thriving, they not only show up but they show up on time and they stay late because they love what they are doing.
5. No one is recruiting you OR your team members. Remember the time when you were actively desired by others? Those days are over. Remember the time when you were worried that your rock stars would be recruited away? No need to worry about that one. No one is looking at them, because you have taken them from rock star to rock-star wannabees.
6. Clients, investors and competitors are gossiping about your lack of leadership. You may not know it, but your employees do. It's a very small world. With the internet, people are probably blogging about you too.
7. Your superstars are no longer talking about their big plans for a great future career. They're becoming stuck in a rut just like you are... you are the leader, and they are following your model of mediocre leadership.
8. Your superstars are NO LONGER complaining... for a while, they had great ideas on how the company could improve and they may have been complaining a pinch, but they now know that their voice is falling on deaf ears, so why bother. The saddest part of this is that they know you don't give a damn.
9. Your team begins to make uncharacteristically careless errors... you don't care, so why should they? But of course, you are probably blaming them and taking NO personal responsibility.
10. The element of fun is gone... zapped, and of course, people who once came around for the fun and to celebrate success (like big investors) are moving on. They have no interest in hanging around a leader or a company that is losing, and they are moving on to the winners' circles.
Okay... I've given the bad news, so the solution... get someone into your company, perform a very rigorous 360 degree review process and give your leader 6 months to change or it's time to bring in new blood.
Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc. ( http://BeaFields.com ). She is an Executive Coach and the Chief Principal of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. Along with Corey Blake and Eva Silva, she is the author of Edge: A Leadership Story ( http://edge-book.com ). Fields' company serves over 1000 international clients and has developed over 25 business and leadership development training programs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bea_Fields
http://ezinearticles.com/?M-Stands-for-Moving-On---10-Signs-Its-Time-for-a-New-Leader&id=5008322
Designing a Superstar Team
Designing a Superstar Team
Posted: 6/29/2010 - 0 comment(s) [ Comment ] - 0 trackback(s) [ Trackback ]
We've all been part of teams in one form or another. You've probably had "team" experiences since you were very young, whether on a sports-field, the debate team , with a Girl or Boy Scout troupe, or with some volunteer organization. You most likely enjoyed study or project groups in college. In your professional life, you quickly learned that despite your best solo efforts to change the world-or at least your industry-doing the best job and building a successful business meant surrounding yourself with the best individuals.
You might consider it a given that as a business owner or entrepreneur you want to surround yourself with the ideal team. On the other hand, you may be a solo entrepreneur who considers your helpers-accountant, webmaster, etc.-to be merely a part of the peripheral landscape. Either way, intentionally communicating your purpose, aligning your team around it, and communicating your expectations and your passion, can help you attract the people who want to go there with you. Before you can puma ferrari shoes do that, though, you have be able to define what makes not just a team…but a Super Star cheap puma shoes Team.
First of all, a group is not necessarily a team, especially in today's virtual world, where people with varied skills are dispersed and may be asked to collaborate from around the globe. Second, teams rarely come together simply for the sake of being a team; they come together united for a common purpose…one built on shared objectives. Super Star teams are comprised of incredibly bright and talented people who already have individual track records of success. They come together with their collective talents to achieve new, fresh and exciting things…to achieve Super Star objectives. The team creates a competitive advantage and works together to achieve superior levels of performance.
Before you conclude that this team building process sounds like a walk in the park with everyone stepping in sync, think again. By its very nature, the dynamics of working with a group of brilliant, talented, focused people will stretch every member and require them to tread on uncharted territory. But what an exciting trek! In such an environment, the work remains challenging and new.
How do you build a Super Star Team? Ask yourself these questions:
1. Who is on your team?
It is important to realize and appreciate that beyond the people you hire and the partners with whom you interact-people who are actively engaged in maintaining and growing your business on a daily basis-your team is really anyone who is supportive of your accomplishments. Don't overlook the sphere of influence that your family and friends are part of. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to monitor who provides positive support and who extends negative expectations. Surround yourself with people who know you are shooting for the moon puma shoes and who wholeheartedly support and reflect your core values.
2. Where are you going and does your team know the itinerary?
You probably realize the importance of keeping your employees and your executive team up to speed on your vision. But what about your family, friends, or the other people whose influence you feel most in your daily life? Have you clearly articulated to them where you are going and how you plan to get there? If you don't share your business plan and your passion with the people who are closest to you, how will they know how to best support you? Don't assume that comments you make in passing will drive home the gravity of your message. Be specific. Sharing your vision can create a dynamic whereby your core values become more clearly defined in the give and take of conversation. Make specific time with people to discuss where you are going and how they can help you get there. Express your passion respectfully and individually with the people who matter most to you, and it will spread like wildfire.
3. What qualities are most important in your team members?
Integrity? Passion? Tenacity? Knowing the qualities you value most is only the half of the equation. It's also up to you to create the environments that allow and, in fact, challenge your team to grow and nurture those qualities. Creating such a platform will also encourage people to admit when they fall short, take constructive criticism, and make adjustments in their performance because they are working within a supportive network of well defined boundaries.
4. Are you tolerating people puma sneakers who don't embody your key values or qualities? If so, why?
Are you afraid of conflict? Do you like to play the martyr? Do you want everyone to like you? Are you afraid of being "wrong"? While any one or all of these may be true at different times, the key to addressing this question goes back to defining and adhering to your must-haves, your core values. When you begin each day with a commitment to them, you won't have time or energy to waste on anyone or anything that does not remain in alignment with what matters most to you and your business.
Essentially, to build a Super Star Team, you must first be a Super Star yourself. There are several keys to being the kind of leader that attracts the best of the best.
1. Think big! Visionary thinkers create visionary businesses.
2. Think fast! Stay on your toes and expect the same from others. A Harvard degree doesn't necessarily equate to best and brightest. Whether a potential team member is book smart or street smart, be sure the person is a quick study with the intellectual and emotional capacity to navigate your growing business.
3. Think now! Change is good. Be cutting edge and ride the tides and you'll attract people who feel empowered by that kind of exciting energy.
4. Think fun! When you are having fun and doing what you love, quality people with similar values will find puma future cat you and your business attractive. Once you have a Super Star Team in place, fun is one of the things that will keep them there.
A Super Star Team evolves out of the synergistic energy that you put in motion. It begins and grows from being absolutely intentional about your values and your vision. When you have those two things defined, you'll find yourself working with people who constantly inspire and challenge you…and not by accident. You will have created a purposeful dynamic in which you and the people who matter most in your life will accomplish great things and touch many lives.
Copyright (c) 2007 Bea Fields and Corey Blake
http://moov.com.kh/blog.php?user=brigittestelzers&blogentry_id=108499
Posted: 6/29/2010 - 0 comment(s) [ Comment ] - 0 trackback(s) [ Trackback ]
We've all been part of teams in one form or another. You've probably had "team" experiences since you were very young, whether on a sports-field, the debate team , with a Girl or Boy Scout troupe, or with some volunteer organization. You most likely enjoyed study or project groups in college. In your professional life, you quickly learned that despite your best solo efforts to change the world-or at least your industry-doing the best job and building a successful business meant surrounding yourself with the best individuals.
You might consider it a given that as a business owner or entrepreneur you want to surround yourself with the ideal team. On the other hand, you may be a solo entrepreneur who considers your helpers-accountant, webmaster, etc.-to be merely a part of the peripheral landscape. Either way, intentionally communicating your purpose, aligning your team around it, and communicating your expectations and your passion, can help you attract the people who want to go there with you. Before you can puma ferrari shoes do that, though, you have be able to define what makes not just a team…but a Super Star cheap puma shoes Team.
First of all, a group is not necessarily a team, especially in today's virtual world, where people with varied skills are dispersed and may be asked to collaborate from around the globe. Second, teams rarely come together simply for the sake of being a team; they come together united for a common purpose…one built on shared objectives. Super Star teams are comprised of incredibly bright and talented people who already have individual track records of success. They come together with their collective talents to achieve new, fresh and exciting things…to achieve Super Star objectives. The team creates a competitive advantage and works together to achieve superior levels of performance.
Before you conclude that this team building process sounds like a walk in the park with everyone stepping in sync, think again. By its very nature, the dynamics of working with a group of brilliant, talented, focused people will stretch every member and require them to tread on uncharted territory. But what an exciting trek! In such an environment, the work remains challenging and new.
How do you build a Super Star Team? Ask yourself these questions:
1. Who is on your team?
It is important to realize and appreciate that beyond the people you hire and the partners with whom you interact-people who are actively engaged in maintaining and growing your business on a daily basis-your team is really anyone who is supportive of your accomplishments. Don't overlook the sphere of influence that your family and friends are part of. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to monitor who provides positive support and who extends negative expectations. Surround yourself with people who know you are shooting for the moon puma shoes and who wholeheartedly support and reflect your core values.
2. Where are you going and does your team know the itinerary?
You probably realize the importance of keeping your employees and your executive team up to speed on your vision. But what about your family, friends, or the other people whose influence you feel most in your daily life? Have you clearly articulated to them where you are going and how you plan to get there? If you don't share your business plan and your passion with the people who are closest to you, how will they know how to best support you? Don't assume that comments you make in passing will drive home the gravity of your message. Be specific. Sharing your vision can create a dynamic whereby your core values become more clearly defined in the give and take of conversation. Make specific time with people to discuss where you are going and how they can help you get there. Express your passion respectfully and individually with the people who matter most to you, and it will spread like wildfire.
3. What qualities are most important in your team members?
Integrity? Passion? Tenacity? Knowing the qualities you value most is only the half of the equation. It's also up to you to create the environments that allow and, in fact, challenge your team to grow and nurture those qualities. Creating such a platform will also encourage people to admit when they fall short, take constructive criticism, and make adjustments in their performance because they are working within a supportive network of well defined boundaries.
4. Are you tolerating people puma sneakers who don't embody your key values or qualities? If so, why?
Are you afraid of conflict? Do you like to play the martyr? Do you want everyone to like you? Are you afraid of being "wrong"? While any one or all of these may be true at different times, the key to addressing this question goes back to defining and adhering to your must-haves, your core values. When you begin each day with a commitment to them, you won't have time or energy to waste on anyone or anything that does not remain in alignment with what matters most to you and your business.
Essentially, to build a Super Star Team, you must first be a Super Star yourself. There are several keys to being the kind of leader that attracts the best of the best.
1. Think big! Visionary thinkers create visionary businesses.
2. Think fast! Stay on your toes and expect the same from others. A Harvard degree doesn't necessarily equate to best and brightest. Whether a potential team member is book smart or street smart, be sure the person is a quick study with the intellectual and emotional capacity to navigate your growing business.
3. Think now! Change is good. Be cutting edge and ride the tides and you'll attract people who feel empowered by that kind of exciting energy.
4. Think fun! When you are having fun and doing what you love, quality people with similar values will find puma future cat you and your business attractive. Once you have a Super Star Team in place, fun is one of the things that will keep them there.
A Super Star Team evolves out of the synergistic energy that you put in motion. It begins and grows from being absolutely intentional about your values and your vision. When you have those two things defined, you'll find yourself working with people who constantly inspire and challenge you…and not by accident. You will have created a purposeful dynamic in which you and the people who matter most in your life will accomplish great things and touch many lives.
Copyright (c) 2007 Bea Fields and Corey Blake
http://moov.com.kh/blog.php?user=brigittestelzers&blogentry_id=108499
The T.E.A.M. Coaching Program
The T.E.A.M. Coaching Program
Jolting coaching effectiveness into a new era, the T.E.A.M.
Trust,
Empowerment,
Accountability and
Measurement
Coaching Program delivers superior performance coaching to leaders and their teams.
Innovative and inspiring - expert partners bring an unparalleled breadth of experience and resources to the table. Rolling up their sleeves they prepare to guide and support you in a complete business transformation, with immediate and uninterrupted results!
T.E.A.M. Coaching benefits include:
Increase productivity
Improved morale
Deliver superior products and services
Align individual performance with team goals
Maximize and leverage your strengths as a team
Enhance communication so that you get the results you want as a team
Increased accountability- team members will learn how to be responsible for their actions and behaviors
I enthusiastically recommend Bea Fields, President of Five Star Leader and Bea Fields Companies for anyone who is interested in corporate level coaching and training for teams .
Bea has led training and live coaching for Capel, Incorporated over three years. Her speaking style is professional and down-to-earth. I have been impressed at how well Bea adapts to the group she is leading, changing to suit the group's personality, whether it is a top management group or mid-level managers. As Bea covers a lot of interesting material, she keeps the pace moving and keeps everyone focused.
One of our management teams has enjoyed having Bea at their annual meeting. Capel's Service to Customer's Improvement Team (SCIT) has learned much from three years of working with Bea. As Chairman, I feel the seminars build on each other and have helped each of the members be better department managers and future leaders. Bea is able to encourage group communication to help us identify and solve internal issues. Her approach is both educational and fun."
~ Mary Clara Capel
Director of Administration
Capel, Inc
http://www.fivestarleader.com/tc-team-coaching-program.html
Jolting coaching effectiveness into a new era, the T.E.A.M.
Trust,
Empowerment,
Accountability and
Measurement
Coaching Program delivers superior performance coaching to leaders and their teams.
Innovative and inspiring - expert partners bring an unparalleled breadth of experience and resources to the table. Rolling up their sleeves they prepare to guide and support you in a complete business transformation, with immediate and uninterrupted results!
T.E.A.M. Coaching benefits include:
Increase productivity
Improved morale
Deliver superior products and services
Align individual performance with team goals
Maximize and leverage your strengths as a team
Enhance communication so that you get the results you want as a team
Increased accountability- team members will learn how to be responsible for their actions and behaviors
I enthusiastically recommend Bea Fields, President of Five Star Leader and Bea Fields Companies for anyone who is interested in corporate level coaching and training for teams .
Bea has led training and live coaching for Capel, Incorporated over three years. Her speaking style is professional and down-to-earth. I have been impressed at how well Bea adapts to the group she is leading, changing to suit the group's personality, whether it is a top management group or mid-level managers. As Bea covers a lot of interesting material, she keeps the pace moving and keeps everyone focused.
One of our management teams has enjoyed having Bea at their annual meeting. Capel's Service to Customer's Improvement Team (SCIT) has learned much from three years of working with Bea. As Chairman, I feel the seminars build on each other and have helped each of the members be better department managers and future leaders. Bea is able to encourage group communication to help us identify and solve internal issues. Her approach is both educational and fun."
~ Mary Clara Capel
Director of Administration
Capel, Inc
http://www.fivestarleader.com/tc-team-coaching-program.html
7 Proverbial Success Factors of a Good Leader
7 Proverbial Success Factors of a Good Leader
May 14, 2010 by Joel Goode
As a mentor, coach or simply a respected, experienced leader and person of influence, it is likely you are often asked to provide advice for someone seeking to become a leader or just beginning their first leadership role. While leadership is nearly impossible to define or describe in a manner that everyone can universally agree upon (no single universally accepted definition exists), it is possible to outline some key characteristics which a good leader is highly likely to need to accomplish goals and unify people in the accomplishment of determined objectives.
When considering an example of a leader in history to reference as the foundation for a few tips to help a new leader get off to a good start, I considered who in history assumed a significant leadership position with an attitude of service (not self accomplishment) and sought the knowledge and wisdom to be a good leader for their people as a primary driver. One figure from the Bible immediately came to mind: King Solomon, the son of King David (the famous giant killer and strong leader in his own right). For more specific details of his life, a biographical summary of Solomon can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/king-solomon .
While King Solomon’s reign was far from perfect, he certainly set an example for future leaders to emulate in terms of his attitude and desired purpose upon becoming a leader (King of Israel) when he prayed for God to provide the wisdom for him to lead his people described in 1 Kings 3: 6-13,Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.
Solomon’s wisdom is described as being greater than that of all the wise men of his time (I Kings 5:9-11) and among his contributions to history and person of many talents, Solomon reflected on the wisdom and experience of his life and authored several books in the Bible including Proverbs. A simple, straightforward collection of insightful wisdom and guidance that can be applied as meaningfully today as when Solomon put the ink on the papyrus in writing Proverbs around 900 B.C. In reviewing and studying Proverbs with a “leadership lens”, I identified 7 Success Factors espoused by Solomon as a basis for good leadership.
The 7 Proverbial Success Factors of Good Leadership- A Study of Proverbs
Commitment
“Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave”-Proverbs 12:24 (NLT)
Value Honesty and Candor; Realism is at the heart of true accomplishment
“It is wrong to punish the godly for being good or to flog leaders for being honest”-Proverbs 17:26 (NLT)
Respond, Don’t React. Listen, consider the full context of a situation then respond
“ Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish”-Proverbs 18:13 (NLT)
Be a perpetual learner and remain open to new ideas
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge”- Proverbs 18:15 (NLT)
Seek multiple and varied perspectives when making an important decision
“The first to speak in court sounds right-until cross examination begins”-Proverbs 18:17 (NLT)
Strength to withstand challenge and crisis
“If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small”-Proverbs 24:10 (NLT)
Accept praise with humility but don’t be swayed by flattery
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised”-Proverbs 27:21 (NLT)
Author- Joel Goode
About the author: Joel Goode is an experienced sales and marketing leader with a passion for personal and professional development and helping others achieve their goals and dreams through coaching. He lives in the beautiful Texas Hill Country just outside San Antonio with his wife Stephanie and son Jake; www.bestlifeandcareer.com
http://www.christianbusinessdaily.com/1061/7-proverbial-success-factors-of-a-good-leader.htm
May 14, 2010 by Joel Goode
As a mentor, coach or simply a respected, experienced leader and person of influence, it is likely you are often asked to provide advice for someone seeking to become a leader or just beginning their first leadership role. While leadership is nearly impossible to define or describe in a manner that everyone can universally agree upon (no single universally accepted definition exists), it is possible to outline some key characteristics which a good leader is highly likely to need to accomplish goals and unify people in the accomplishment of determined objectives.
When considering an example of a leader in history to reference as the foundation for a few tips to help a new leader get off to a good start, I considered who in history assumed a significant leadership position with an attitude of service (not self accomplishment) and sought the knowledge and wisdom to be a good leader for their people as a primary driver. One figure from the Bible immediately came to mind: King Solomon, the son of King David (the famous giant killer and strong leader in his own right). For more specific details of his life, a biographical summary of Solomon can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/king-solomon .
While King Solomon’s reign was far from perfect, he certainly set an example for future leaders to emulate in terms of his attitude and desired purpose upon becoming a leader (King of Israel) when he prayed for God to provide the wisdom for him to lead his people described in 1 Kings 3: 6-13,Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.
Solomon’s wisdom is described as being greater than that of all the wise men of his time (I Kings 5:9-11) and among his contributions to history and person of many talents, Solomon reflected on the wisdom and experience of his life and authored several books in the Bible including Proverbs. A simple, straightforward collection of insightful wisdom and guidance that can be applied as meaningfully today as when Solomon put the ink on the papyrus in writing Proverbs around 900 B.C. In reviewing and studying Proverbs with a “leadership lens”, I identified 7 Success Factors espoused by Solomon as a basis for good leadership.
The 7 Proverbial Success Factors of Good Leadership- A Study of Proverbs
Commitment
“Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave”-Proverbs 12:24 (NLT)
Value Honesty and Candor; Realism is at the heart of true accomplishment
“It is wrong to punish the godly for being good or to flog leaders for being honest”-Proverbs 17:26 (NLT)
Respond, Don’t React. Listen, consider the full context of a situation then respond
“ Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish”-Proverbs 18:13 (NLT)
Be a perpetual learner and remain open to new ideas
“Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge”- Proverbs 18:15 (NLT)
Seek multiple and varied perspectives when making an important decision
“The first to speak in court sounds right-until cross examination begins”-Proverbs 18:17 (NLT)
Strength to withstand challenge and crisis
“If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small”-Proverbs 24:10 (NLT)
Accept praise with humility but don’t be swayed by flattery
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised”-Proverbs 27:21 (NLT)
Author- Joel Goode
About the author: Joel Goode is an experienced sales and marketing leader with a passion for personal and professional development and helping others achieve their goals and dreams through coaching. He lives in the beautiful Texas Hill Country just outside San Antonio with his wife Stephanie and son Jake; www.bestlifeandcareer.com
http://www.christianbusinessdaily.com/1061/7-proverbial-success-factors-of-a-good-leader.htm
Friday, December 24, 2010
Achieve a Winning Attitude in 6 Easy Steps
Achieve a Winning Attitude in 6 Easy Steps
By Geoffrey James | June 22, 2010
A positive attitude - optimism, expectancy and enthusiasm - is the key difference between a top sales performer and an average one. The reason is simple: if you don’t have the energy to get out there and sell… you won’t.
Even so, many sales professionals find it difficult to approach selling with a positive attitude each and every day. This post explains exactly how to tune your attitude so that it creates more success — every time you go out there and sell.
CLICK for the first step »
Step #1: Realize that YOU are in Control
Attitude is not the result of what happens in the world, but how one decides to interpret what happens in the world.
Take the weather, for example. In the United States, many people feel depressed when it’s raining and uplifted when it’s sunny. In the Middle East, many people feel the exact opposite - a cooling rain is an excuse to have a picnic under a tree.
Similarly, many adults grumble when it snows, while most children are delighted. This illustrates that one’s attitude to the weather is essentially arbitrary. It’s not the weather that creates the attitude, but the interpretation what the weather means.
Arguing that “children like snow because they don’t have to go to school” is missing the point. A snowbound child could just as easily mope around inside and complain about not being able to play croquet because it’s snowing.
Similarly, a sales rep making a sales call while it’s snowing can grouse about the extra drive time or can look forward to the appreciation that a customer might feel because the sales rep is committed enough to fight the weather to make the meeting.
In short, attitude is the “mental filter” through which one sees the world. Some see the world through a filter of optimism; no matter what happens they always make lemonade from the lemons.
Every truly great sales professional thinks this way. Others see the world through a filter of pessimism; no matter what happens, they always find the cloud in the silver lining. People who think this way are usually terrible at sales.
Most sales reps, however, don’t belong to either extreme. Instead, most sales reps (and indeed most people) have a variable filter which creates resourceful attitudes and non-resourceful ones, based upon arbitrary interpretations of events.
Their challenge for such people is to trade their variable and out-of-control mental filter for a consciously optimistic mental filter, in order to consistently create the attitude that results in top sales performance.
The subsequent steps in this post help you do exactly that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #2: Re-frame Failures and Setbacks
Sales reps who have trouble with maintaining a positive attitude are almost always letting arbitrary exterior events automatically trigger bad feelings.
For example, a sales rep might become annoyed and defensive prior to a customer call simply by running into a series of red lights during the drive. To that sales rep, the red lights “mean” that it’s an “unlucky” day. As a result, the sales rep walks into the customer meeting feeling depressed and defensive.
To change get a different result, you must modify your interpretation of exterior events that formerly triggered your bad attitude. Once those events have a different meaning, they won’t be able to trigger a bad attitude.
For example, the sales rep above might see a series of red lights as an indication of how smart it was to leave early for the call. Or if the sales rep is late because of the delays, the red lights can be an opportunity to collect thoughts and decide upon a damage control strategy.
Many sales professionals view so-called failures - lost sales, missed calls, bad prospects - as triggers for bad attitude. However, it’s also possible to view “failures” as learning experiences that point out the adjustments you must make in order to be more successful.
Rather than become irritated at a “failure,” it makes more sense to consider that, if you never failed, it would mean that you were taking no risks. In any case, even the best sales rep doesn’t close every sale.
If you make it your business to learn from every setback and stay focused on your end result “failure” simply becomes a way-station on the road to success.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #3: Get Daily Positive Input
It’s easier to achieve and maintain a positive attitude if you have a “library” of positive thoughts in your head, so that you can draw upon them if the day doesn’t go exactly as you’d prefer.
Starting each day reading, or listening to, something positive helps ensure that you have such a “library” to draw upon. Consider reading an inspirational book right after you wake up. You might also want to spend your commute listening to motivational tapes rather than the news, for instance.
Along these lines, don’t forget that music is a time-honored way to manage your moods and attitudes. Consider investing in mp3 files or CDs of music that you find motivating and energizing. Use it to “pump yourself up” right before your big meetings or to cool you down when things get challenging.
Use your imagination to find new ways to pump positive thoughts and feeling into your head. Set a target of at least 15 minutes a day. If you commit more time to this, you’ll get more benefits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #4: Avoid Negative Media
Our mass media culture bombards us with highly emotional messages intended to lead us to buy a particular product. In particular, over-exposure to the news media can be a real killer of a positive attitude.
Thirty years ago, news programs primarily provided people with information intended to help them understand the issues of the day. Today, however, most news broadcasts consist of “infotainment” specifically-crafted to support commercial messages.
Much of today’s news programming consist of “if it bleeds it leads” stories followed by commercials offering some form of security or comfort. The idea is to amp up your fear/anger/frustration and then provide you an action, like buying “comfort food,” which promises to relieve the pressure.
This constant flow of negative imagery and commentary can not only destroy a positive attitude, it can actively create a negative attitude about life and the world.
Therefore, if you want to maintain a positive mood, you should consider reducing, or even eliminating, your exposure to broadcast news programming.
Instead, read the business section, or better yet, spend more time with some motivational tapes. Or with some music that raises your spirits. Or with great literature. Stick to media that help your attitude to constantly improve.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #5: Avoid Negative People
Spending time with people who have a negative view of life makes it very difficult for you to maintain a positive attitude.
You probably have one or more friends, relatives, or acquaintances who make you feel tired and drained. They always seem to have something sour to say; criticisms come to their lips far more quickly than compliments.
If you tell them of a success that you’ve had, their congratulations ring hollow. You sense that they’d just as soon that you had failed. What a drag (literally)!
Such people are toxic to your attitude (and hence to your success in sales) because, if they’re not actively tearing down your enthusiasm, they’re trying to get you think about the world the same depressing way that they do.
If you want to maintain a positive attitude, sharply limit your daily exposure to such people. Don’t show up at the daily “watercooler complain-fest.” Don’t go to lunch with the “grouse and grumble” crowd.
If you can’t avoid negative types entirely, don’t get drawn into lengthy gripe sessions. Limit your conversation to the business issues you need to address and then change the subject to a more positive topic as soon as possible.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #6: Adopt a Positive Vocabulary
The words that come out of your mouth aren’t just a reflection of what’s in your brain — they’re programming your brain how to think. Therefore, if you want to have a positive attitude, your vocabulary must be consistently positive.
Here are five quick techniques to use your vocabulary to improve and strengthen a positive attitude:
Stop using negative phrases such as “I can’t,” “It’s impossible,” or “This won’t work.” These statements program you for negative results.
Whenever anyone asks “How are you?”, respond enthusiastically with “Terrific!” or “Fabulous!” or “I’ve never felt better!” And mean it.
Stop complaining about things over which you have no control, such as the economy, your company, the customers, etc.
Stop griping about your personal problems and illnesses. What good does it do other than to depress you and everyone else?
Expunge negative words in your speech. Substitute neutral words for emotionally loaded ones. For example, rather than saying “I’m enraged!” say “I’m a bit annoyed…” or (better yet) “I’ve got a real challenge…”
These seem like little things, but the truth is that your mind takes cues from what you say. If you respond to “how are you” with “hangin’ in there”, that’s the reality that you’re creating.
There is nothing in your career, indeed in your life, that will make a bigger difference than taking control of your attitude. If you maintain a positive attitude, success will literally fall into your lap. If not today, then tomorrow.
As Jeff Keller says: “Attitude is everything.” And he’s right.
NOTE: This post is based upon a conversation with the dynamic Jeff Keller, author of the huge bestseller Attitude is Everything.
Illustrations by Sergey Konyakin
=================================================================================
IMPORTANT: If you think this post is useful, click on the Digg, Facebook, or Twitter logos above and share it with your friends!!! That’s a VERY positive thing to do!!
SUMMARY
Step #1: Realize that YOU are in Control
Step #2: Re-frame Failures and Setbacks
Step #3: Get Daily Positive Input
Step #4: Avoid Negative Media
Step #5: Avoid Negative People
Step #6: Adopt a Positive Vocabulary
NEXT STEPS
Here are some posts that can help you keep motivated and maintain a positive attitude:
Personal Rejection is an Illusion
How to Overcome Fear of Rejection
Ten Ways to Get Insanely Motivated
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4284422861594508863
By Geoffrey James | June 22, 2010
A positive attitude - optimism, expectancy and enthusiasm - is the key difference between a top sales performer and an average one. The reason is simple: if you don’t have the energy to get out there and sell… you won’t.
Even so, many sales professionals find it difficult to approach selling with a positive attitude each and every day. This post explains exactly how to tune your attitude so that it creates more success — every time you go out there and sell.
CLICK for the first step »
Step #1: Realize that YOU are in Control
Attitude is not the result of what happens in the world, but how one decides to interpret what happens in the world.
Take the weather, for example. In the United States, many people feel depressed when it’s raining and uplifted when it’s sunny. In the Middle East, many people feel the exact opposite - a cooling rain is an excuse to have a picnic under a tree.
Similarly, many adults grumble when it snows, while most children are delighted. This illustrates that one’s attitude to the weather is essentially arbitrary. It’s not the weather that creates the attitude, but the interpretation what the weather means.
Arguing that “children like snow because they don’t have to go to school” is missing the point. A snowbound child could just as easily mope around inside and complain about not being able to play croquet because it’s snowing.
Similarly, a sales rep making a sales call while it’s snowing can grouse about the extra drive time or can look forward to the appreciation that a customer might feel because the sales rep is committed enough to fight the weather to make the meeting.
In short, attitude is the “mental filter” through which one sees the world. Some see the world through a filter of optimism; no matter what happens they always make lemonade from the lemons.
Every truly great sales professional thinks this way. Others see the world through a filter of pessimism; no matter what happens, they always find the cloud in the silver lining. People who think this way are usually terrible at sales.
Most sales reps, however, don’t belong to either extreme. Instead, most sales reps (and indeed most people) have a variable filter which creates resourceful attitudes and non-resourceful ones, based upon arbitrary interpretations of events.
Their challenge for such people is to trade their variable and out-of-control mental filter for a consciously optimistic mental filter, in order to consistently create the attitude that results in top sales performance.
The subsequent steps in this post help you do exactly that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #2: Re-frame Failures and Setbacks
Sales reps who have trouble with maintaining a positive attitude are almost always letting arbitrary exterior events automatically trigger bad feelings.
For example, a sales rep might become annoyed and defensive prior to a customer call simply by running into a series of red lights during the drive. To that sales rep, the red lights “mean” that it’s an “unlucky” day. As a result, the sales rep walks into the customer meeting feeling depressed and defensive.
To change get a different result, you must modify your interpretation of exterior events that formerly triggered your bad attitude. Once those events have a different meaning, they won’t be able to trigger a bad attitude.
For example, the sales rep above might see a series of red lights as an indication of how smart it was to leave early for the call. Or if the sales rep is late because of the delays, the red lights can be an opportunity to collect thoughts and decide upon a damage control strategy.
Many sales professionals view so-called failures - lost sales, missed calls, bad prospects - as triggers for bad attitude. However, it’s also possible to view “failures” as learning experiences that point out the adjustments you must make in order to be more successful.
Rather than become irritated at a “failure,” it makes more sense to consider that, if you never failed, it would mean that you were taking no risks. In any case, even the best sales rep doesn’t close every sale.
If you make it your business to learn from every setback and stay focused on your end result “failure” simply becomes a way-station on the road to success.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #3: Get Daily Positive Input
It’s easier to achieve and maintain a positive attitude if you have a “library” of positive thoughts in your head, so that you can draw upon them if the day doesn’t go exactly as you’d prefer.
Starting each day reading, or listening to, something positive helps ensure that you have such a “library” to draw upon. Consider reading an inspirational book right after you wake up. You might also want to spend your commute listening to motivational tapes rather than the news, for instance.
Along these lines, don’t forget that music is a time-honored way to manage your moods and attitudes. Consider investing in mp3 files or CDs of music that you find motivating and energizing. Use it to “pump yourself up” right before your big meetings or to cool you down when things get challenging.
Use your imagination to find new ways to pump positive thoughts and feeling into your head. Set a target of at least 15 minutes a day. If you commit more time to this, you’ll get more benefits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #4: Avoid Negative Media
Our mass media culture bombards us with highly emotional messages intended to lead us to buy a particular product. In particular, over-exposure to the news media can be a real killer of a positive attitude.
Thirty years ago, news programs primarily provided people with information intended to help them understand the issues of the day. Today, however, most news broadcasts consist of “infotainment” specifically-crafted to support commercial messages.
Much of today’s news programming consist of “if it bleeds it leads” stories followed by commercials offering some form of security or comfort. The idea is to amp up your fear/anger/frustration and then provide you an action, like buying “comfort food,” which promises to relieve the pressure.
This constant flow of negative imagery and commentary can not only destroy a positive attitude, it can actively create a negative attitude about life and the world.
Therefore, if you want to maintain a positive mood, you should consider reducing, or even eliminating, your exposure to broadcast news programming.
Instead, read the business section, or better yet, spend more time with some motivational tapes. Or with some music that raises your spirits. Or with great literature. Stick to media that help your attitude to constantly improve.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #5: Avoid Negative People
Spending time with people who have a negative view of life makes it very difficult for you to maintain a positive attitude.
You probably have one or more friends, relatives, or acquaintances who make you feel tired and drained. They always seem to have something sour to say; criticisms come to their lips far more quickly than compliments.
If you tell them of a success that you’ve had, their congratulations ring hollow. You sense that they’d just as soon that you had failed. What a drag (literally)!
Such people are toxic to your attitude (and hence to your success in sales) because, if they’re not actively tearing down your enthusiasm, they’re trying to get you think about the world the same depressing way that they do.
If you want to maintain a positive attitude, sharply limit your daily exposure to such people. Don’t show up at the daily “watercooler complain-fest.” Don’t go to lunch with the “grouse and grumble” crowd.
If you can’t avoid negative types entirely, don’t get drawn into lengthy gripe sessions. Limit your conversation to the business issues you need to address and then change the subject to a more positive topic as soon as possible.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step #6: Adopt a Positive Vocabulary
The words that come out of your mouth aren’t just a reflection of what’s in your brain — they’re programming your brain how to think. Therefore, if you want to have a positive attitude, your vocabulary must be consistently positive.
Here are five quick techniques to use your vocabulary to improve and strengthen a positive attitude:
Stop using negative phrases such as “I can’t,” “It’s impossible,” or “This won’t work.” These statements program you for negative results.
Whenever anyone asks “How are you?”, respond enthusiastically with “Terrific!” or “Fabulous!” or “I’ve never felt better!” And mean it.
Stop complaining about things over which you have no control, such as the economy, your company, the customers, etc.
Stop griping about your personal problems and illnesses. What good does it do other than to depress you and everyone else?
Expunge negative words in your speech. Substitute neutral words for emotionally loaded ones. For example, rather than saying “I’m enraged!” say “I’m a bit annoyed…” or (better yet) “I’ve got a real challenge…”
These seem like little things, but the truth is that your mind takes cues from what you say. If you respond to “how are you” with “hangin’ in there”, that’s the reality that you’re creating.
There is nothing in your career, indeed in your life, that will make a bigger difference than taking control of your attitude. If you maintain a positive attitude, success will literally fall into your lap. If not today, then tomorrow.
As Jeff Keller says: “Attitude is everything.” And he’s right.
NOTE: This post is based upon a conversation with the dynamic Jeff Keller, author of the huge bestseller Attitude is Everything.
Illustrations by Sergey Konyakin
=================================================================================
IMPORTANT: If you think this post is useful, click on the Digg, Facebook, or Twitter logos above and share it with your friends!!! That’s a VERY positive thing to do!!
SUMMARY
Step #1: Realize that YOU are in Control
Step #2: Re-frame Failures and Setbacks
Step #3: Get Daily Positive Input
Step #4: Avoid Negative Media
Step #5: Avoid Negative People
Step #6: Adopt a Positive Vocabulary
NEXT STEPS
Here are some posts that can help you keep motivated and maintain a positive attitude:
Personal Rejection is an Illusion
How to Overcome Fear of Rejection
Ten Ways to Get Insanely Motivated
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4284422861594508863
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Game Plans for Winning at Life
Game Plans for Winning at Life
By Rudy Ruettiger
Insight #1
Be the person you want to be. “Make the decision to take action and move closer to your Dream. Create daily success habits and surround yourself with information that will empower and inspire you.”
Insight #2
Use anger in a positive way to get results. “Anger is a normal reaction. It’s what you do with anger that makes a difference in your life … direct your anger towards a goal … use anger in a positive way to get results … from anger comes determination … comes triumph.”
Insight #3
It starts with a Dream. “Visualize your Dream and make a commitment. Having a Dream is what makes life exciting. Never underestimate the power of a Dream. It will change your life. A Dream gives you the ability to determine your future.”
Insight #4
Eliminate the confusion. “Find mentors who encourage you. The right information will eliminate confusion. Visualize exactly what you want to be … and focus on that … believe in yourself and don’t let anything stop you. Reinforce your Dream every day with positive information from tapes, books, and mentors. Each day you will get closer to your Dream. Eliminate the confusion and fears, and make it happen.”
Insight #5
The greater the struggle, the greater the victory. “Most people allow struggles and fear of failure to stop them. The key is to learn from your struggles and move on. Failures will make you stronger and give you the information you need to reach your Dream. Struggle will prepare you for success. Without struggle there is no success.”
Insight #6
Follow your passion instead of the dollar. “There’s nothing wrong with making money … but, it’s important to focus on your passion instead of the dollar. For me, decisions based on my passion brought me closer to my Dream, while decisions based only on money took me further away. If you focus on what really fulfills you, you will have success. The dollar alone does not bring happiness.”
Insight #7
Excuses will kill your Dream. “What we’re really talking about here is commitment. Until you make a commitment to your Dream, it’s not really a Dream … it’s just another fantasy full of excuses. Fantasies don’t come true because they’re not real, we’re not committed to them. When we make commitments, we eliminate excuses and they become Dreams … and Dreams are definitely real.”
Insight #8
Prepare for your Dream. “Preparation is what comes from struggle. Knowledge comes from preparation. These are the elements that pave the road to your Dream. If we do not prepare we will not succeed. Set your goals and pursue your Dreams with all your heart. If you miss a goal, don’t quit, reset it! You just need to learn more … step by step you will win!”
Insight #9
Focus on your Dream and Never Quit. It is always too soon to quit. If you quit, you can’t succeed. By achieving your Dream you will be an inspiration to others. You will set the example and make an enormous impact on the world. Make it happen!”
Insight #10
Always have a Dream. “Dreams give us energy to go to new levels. Dreams change lives … the power of life is in your Dreams!”
Rudy Ruettiger, from the TRISTAR hit movie RUDY, is an author and inspirational speaker. He will be featured in the December 15, 2010, webcast. Find out more (it’s FREE!). Learn more about Rudy by visiting his website.
http://www.ziglar.com/newsletter/?p=902
By Rudy Ruettiger
Insight #1
Be the person you want to be. “Make the decision to take action and move closer to your Dream. Create daily success habits and surround yourself with information that will empower and inspire you.”
Insight #2
Use anger in a positive way to get results. “Anger is a normal reaction. It’s what you do with anger that makes a difference in your life … direct your anger towards a goal … use anger in a positive way to get results … from anger comes determination … comes triumph.”
Insight #3
It starts with a Dream. “Visualize your Dream and make a commitment. Having a Dream is what makes life exciting. Never underestimate the power of a Dream. It will change your life. A Dream gives you the ability to determine your future.”
Insight #4
Eliminate the confusion. “Find mentors who encourage you. The right information will eliminate confusion. Visualize exactly what you want to be … and focus on that … believe in yourself and don’t let anything stop you. Reinforce your Dream every day with positive information from tapes, books, and mentors. Each day you will get closer to your Dream. Eliminate the confusion and fears, and make it happen.”
Insight #5
The greater the struggle, the greater the victory. “Most people allow struggles and fear of failure to stop them. The key is to learn from your struggles and move on. Failures will make you stronger and give you the information you need to reach your Dream. Struggle will prepare you for success. Without struggle there is no success.”
Insight #6
Follow your passion instead of the dollar. “There’s nothing wrong with making money … but, it’s important to focus on your passion instead of the dollar. For me, decisions based on my passion brought me closer to my Dream, while decisions based only on money took me further away. If you focus on what really fulfills you, you will have success. The dollar alone does not bring happiness.”
Insight #7
Excuses will kill your Dream. “What we’re really talking about here is commitment. Until you make a commitment to your Dream, it’s not really a Dream … it’s just another fantasy full of excuses. Fantasies don’t come true because they’re not real, we’re not committed to them. When we make commitments, we eliminate excuses and they become Dreams … and Dreams are definitely real.”
Insight #8
Prepare for your Dream. “Preparation is what comes from struggle. Knowledge comes from preparation. These are the elements that pave the road to your Dream. If we do not prepare we will not succeed. Set your goals and pursue your Dreams with all your heart. If you miss a goal, don’t quit, reset it! You just need to learn more … step by step you will win!”
Insight #9
Focus on your Dream and Never Quit. It is always too soon to quit. If you quit, you can’t succeed. By achieving your Dream you will be an inspiration to others. You will set the example and make an enormous impact on the world. Make it happen!”
Insight #10
Always have a Dream. “Dreams give us energy to go to new levels. Dreams change lives … the power of life is in your Dreams!”
Rudy Ruettiger, from the TRISTAR hit movie RUDY, is an author and inspirational speaker. He will be featured in the December 15, 2010, webcast. Find out more (it’s FREE!). Learn more about Rudy by visiting his website.
http://www.ziglar.com/newsletter/?p=902
All successful CEOs handle 3 roles well:
All successful CEOs handle 3 roles well:
Develop Strategy and Vision
Build the Executive Team
Achieve Excellent Results
We help CEOs become successful in these challenging roles.
Develop Strategy and Vision
Build the Executive Team
Achieve Excellent Results
We help CEOs become successful in these challenging roles.
Leadership Characteristics
Leadership Characteristics
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
posted by sam 1:22 PM
Jeff Blackman, TEC/Vistage Resource Speaker and business growth specialist, listed in his July 2010 Newsletter, 12 characteristics that are shared by great leaders. I wanted to share them with you.
Great leaders:
1. create a culture of trust and integrity
2. are flexible and willing to change, improve, enhance and upgrade
3. make tough decisions…knowing some folks “ain’t gonna like it”
4. value their people and their knowledge, creativity and enthusiasm
5. challenge the status quo
6. are highly disciplined, especially about time or self-management
7. delegate to others who can “do it” faster, better or smarter (and then get out of their way)
8. make today meaningful, yet always have a vision for tomorrow
9. seek honest and hard-hitting outside counsel, (they know what they don’t know…and want to hear what they haven’t heard)
10. are focused on the acquisition, satisfaction and retention of quality clients, customers and employees
11. listen, listen, listen
12. ask intelligent questions…to generate significant results
To visit Jeff’s web site go to www.jeffblackman.com.
http://doczim.com/ceoconsulting/?cat=3
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
posted by sam 1:22 PM
Jeff Blackman, TEC/Vistage Resource Speaker and business growth specialist, listed in his July 2010 Newsletter, 12 characteristics that are shared by great leaders. I wanted to share them with you.
Great leaders:
1. create a culture of trust and integrity
2. are flexible and willing to change, improve, enhance and upgrade
3. make tough decisions…knowing some folks “ain’t gonna like it”
4. value their people and their knowledge, creativity and enthusiasm
5. challenge the status quo
6. are highly disciplined, especially about time or self-management
7. delegate to others who can “do it” faster, better or smarter (and then get out of their way)
8. make today meaningful, yet always have a vision for tomorrow
9. seek honest and hard-hitting outside counsel, (they know what they don’t know…and want to hear what they haven’t heard)
10. are focused on the acquisition, satisfaction and retention of quality clients, customers and employees
11. listen, listen, listen
12. ask intelligent questions…to generate significant results
To visit Jeff’s web site go to www.jeffblackman.com.
http://doczim.com/ceoconsulting/?cat=3
Mindful Leadership
Mindful Leadership
Thursday, September 16, 2010
posted by jim 8:44 AM
One of my colleagues discovered an article in the Harvard Business Review that provides a thoughtful fusion of Eastern and Western thinking to improve leadership. Here is the Executive Summary:
“Harvard Business School professor William George is fusing Western understanding about leadership with Eastern wisdom about the mind to develop leaders who are self-aware and self-compassionate. An interview about his recent Mindful Leadership conference taught with a Buddhist meditation master.
Key concepts include:
People who are mindful—fully present and aware—can become more effective leaders.
Leaders with low emotional intelligence often lack self-awareness and self-compassion, which can lead to a lack of self-regulation.
Authenticity is developed by becoming more self-aware and having compassion for oneself.
Group support provides nonjudgmental feedback in order to recognize blind spots, accept shortcomings, and gain confidence.”
In times when we are all looking for answers to address challenges most of us have not seen in our lifetimes, this thoughtful fusion of Eastern wisdom and Western thoughts on leadership is great reading. Here is a link to the complete article for your review: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6482.html?wknews=090710
Thursday, September 16, 2010
posted by jim 8:44 AM
One of my colleagues discovered an article in the Harvard Business Review that provides a thoughtful fusion of Eastern and Western thinking to improve leadership. Here is the Executive Summary:
“Harvard Business School professor William George is fusing Western understanding about leadership with Eastern wisdom about the mind to develop leaders who are self-aware and self-compassionate. An interview about his recent Mindful Leadership conference taught with a Buddhist meditation master.
Key concepts include:
People who are mindful—fully present and aware—can become more effective leaders.
Leaders with low emotional intelligence often lack self-awareness and self-compassion, which can lead to a lack of self-regulation.
Authenticity is developed by becoming more self-aware and having compassion for oneself.
Group support provides nonjudgmental feedback in order to recognize blind spots, accept shortcomings, and gain confidence.”
In times when we are all looking for answers to address challenges most of us have not seen in our lifetimes, this thoughtful fusion of Eastern wisdom and Western thoughts on leadership is great reading. Here is a link to the complete article for your review: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6482.html?wknews=090710
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Character of Leadership
The Character of Leadership
Leadership may be one of the most widely considered subjects of the past 100 years. And yet, not much consideration has been given to the core of leadership-character. It is as though we have kept this important subject a secret. The essence of all leadership is individual character and although people have a basic understanding they often don't know the components of character or how it can be improved and released.
The most important factors in both personal and organizational leadership can't simply acknowledge the outward behaviors of leadership but the inward condition of the leader. It is important for you to focus on the essential quality of a leader and to find something that can propel your organizational leadership into the direction you can sign your name to.
This session introduces the central aspect of leadership-the leader's character. Because the quality of leadership is derived from character, we explore the components of individual character. Once the participants understand the nature of character, they learn how to build those components into character that insures great leadership.
Faith - The unique ability in humans to unwaveringly believe in something they cannot rationally prove
Wisdom - The application of knowledge to life
Courage - Encountering difficulties with boldness
Hope - Vision plus optimism plus perseverance
Temperance - Moderation and self-control
Justice - Doing what is right
Love - a genuine concern for people
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Ten Rules for Succeeding as a Leader in an Age of Turbulent Change
Ten Rules for Succeeding as a Leader in an Age of Turbulent Change
Posted by Jim Taggart on August 15, 2010 at 8:59pm
View Jim Taggart's blog
.
From Jim's blog Changing Winds
I’ve looked at a variety of topics related to leadership and management over the past many months. It’s been a while, however, since I talked about ways to cope with the juggernaut of change that has been flailing away at society and the economy. So today, let’s step back and look at 10 rules for successful personal leadership in the age of turbulence. I hope they’ll assist you in your personal learning and leadership journey.
Rule #1: Commit to Your Job.
There’s a saying that people don’t quit their jobs but rather their bosses. Fair enough. However, there comes a time when commitment to our work and employers must be reconciled with the propensity to leave jobs when we become frustrated and fed up. I learned some years ago that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. What may appear to be Eden often turns out to be a worse situation – from the frying pan into the fire, as the expression goes.
This prompts a sidebar comment: if you’re in a position of hiring staff, whether as a manager or business owner, the worst thing you can do is make empty promises to attract new employees. My maxim with customer service is always under-promise but over-deliver. I would argue that this is what those who engage in hiring should practice; over-deliver by providing excellent leadership and an engaging workplace.
To commit to your job means aligning yourself with your organization’s mission (why it exists as an entity), understanding who are the customers or clients, and determine where you add value. If you find that you’re not adding value, then some personal reflection is needed.
I recall something that management guru Tom Peters said many years ago. He stated that you should only take on work that adds to your resume. Now this may startle some people, with the response: “Yeah right, I’ll tell my boss that I’m not going to do a certain task because it’s useless.” What Peters is actually suggesting is that we need to continually seek to learn and improve ourselves; his statement, in typical Peters’ fashion, was aimed to be provocative.
Committing to our jobs does have the element of an opposing tension to look after our own self interest. However, being only half present at work because we’re day-dreaming or commiserating in our self-perceived sorrow helps no one, certainly not our personal growth and career development.
Rule #2: Adapt Quickly to Change
When a big change hits your organization, emulate Superman by quickly shedding your old corporate duds for the new approach. If you can’t find a phone booth, any office will do. But the key point here is to understand that your organization is about to go through some whitewater change (e.g., merger, acquisition, downsizing, or new technology introduction) and management won’t have all the answers. However, by adapting quickly to the change, you’ll significantly reduce your stress while simultaneously showing management that you can be counted upon when the going gets tough and ambiguity is the daily challenge.
Rule #3: Learn to Focus and Go for Quality, Not Quantity
Okay, I admit to being a multitasker. It’s now out in the open. How about yourself? When in the elevator at work or waiting in the coffee line, are you texting and checking emails on your wireless, while attempting to acknowledge coworkers and friends at the same time?
What about while driving? Are you checking for emails or text messages while at the traffic light?
I’ve seen people reading books while driving on the highway, or juggling a cell phone, coffee and a cigarette. My favorite story is from the Ontario Provincial Police who pulled over a motorist who was doing the ultimate in multitasking. His crime? He had a Coleman propane stove on the passenger seat and was cooking bacon and eggs. Now that’s commitment to multitasking.
All joking aside, multitasking performed while driving or walking across an intersection can have disastrous consequences. In the context of organizational work, multitasking has the negative effect of valuing the superficial and mediocrity. In what has been labeled the knowledge age, in which employees are supposedly knowledge workers, my view is that multitasking is dumbing down organizations, in particular those individuals in managerial leadership positions who parade around with Blackberries stuck to the sides of their heads.
A key competitive asset resident in Canada and the United States is their well-educated populations. If our economies are to evolve to respond to the sweeping effects of globalization, it’s vital that people are engaged to use their brains in meaningful ways in order to stimulate creativity and innovation. Go for quality, not quantity. Strive for the deeper solutions (see Rule #8).
When it comes to leading people, being present is a vital element of effective leadership. If you’re trying to multitask while speaking to one of your staff who’s dropped by your office, you send out the message loud and clear that the individual is not important. Focus on what your colleague is saying; at that moment he or she is the center of your attention.
Rule #4: Be a Promise Keeper
One of my admitted pet peeves is people who make promises only to break them. None of us are perfect, especially yours truly; however, I’ve always made an effort to fulfill promises or commitments to others. No, my batting average is not 1000, but it’s pretty high.
With that said up front, keeping promises to others–whether at home, to friends or workers, or in our community–is an essential part of who we are as leaders.
Over my 32-year working career I’ve seen too many promises broken, and I’m not even referring to those that people broke to me. It never ceased to amaze me how, for example, a manager could make a string of promises to staff, only to not fulfill them. On too many occasions I moved in to manage a unit whose manager had left, for whatever reason, leaving the carnage of poor morale among staff because of broken promises. It’s not a pleasant situation to be in as a manager.
When you keep your promises and commitments to your co-workers, staff and bosses, including those with whom you interact in your community, you’re viewed as someone with integrity and whose word is gold. And when the occasional situation arises where you’re unable to keep a promise, then it’s essential to take the time to explain what happened to the person or people who were affected. Refrain from making up excuses; just be up front and people will be much more likely to be understanding. They may even respect you more when they see you admitting a mistake and acknowledging that you’re human.
Rule #5: Embrace Uncertainty and Ambiguity–Ride the Wave
Trying to resist the onslaught of whitewater change is futile. The metaphor of learning to ride the wave is very apt here, one that creates a positive and energetic outlook. Throughout history since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s, people have fretted about the introduction of new technologies and how work is performed. They adapted quickly, however, moving forward to create new inventions or adaptations of existing technologies.
At the organizational level the effects of globalization–characterized by most work being capable of being done anywhere around the world, thanks largely to communications technology–are having profound effects on workers. Depending on what you read and from what vantage point, the offshoring of work is viewed as ranging from being a pernicious practice imposed on North American workers to improving the distribution of wealth globally.
What’s important to keep at the forefront is not who’s right on the job distribution issue, but rather to identify what YOU control and do NOT control. You control your morale, willingness to learn and adapt, and desire to seek out new opportunities.
By assuming the identify of a change master, you’ll greatly reduce the stress that’s generated when your organization goes through the gyrations of major changes. And you’ll signal to senior management that you’re equipped and ready to contribute to helping the organization meet its new challenges.
Rule #6: Be a sponge for learning–and then SYNTHESIZE
The amount of information is growing exponentially every day. It’s no doubt overwhelming with the massive onslaught of information we must try to absorb. As much as it’s important to keep learning (as the mantra goes) and to expose ourselves to new ideas and perspectives, my view is that the critical skill to acquire is how to synthesize this data overload. This is my personal daily challenge, being a voracious reader and keen observer of geo-political events.
The opposing tension to developing your synthesis skills is the superficiality created from multi-tasking (see Rule #3). Again, this is part of my personal daily challenge. Go for the deep perspective–find your a-ha! moment, when you discover that gem of wisdom or burning idea that catapults you to another level. Ensure that you take time to reflect and explore possibilities.
I have Max, my four-old Labrador Retriever to thank. Every morning we go for a 40 minute walk, which includes enjoying some wooded areas. These morning walks help slow down my thinking, which tends to race, and enable me to look at solutions to problems I may be facing or what I should write about in my next blog post.
Rule #7: Own your attitude and behavior
When I was doing my Masters in leadership residency back in 1998, we spent a lot of time in action learning teams. This was one of the more profound learning experiences of my long working career. As with any team there are sometimes dysfunctional people. What became apparent as my cohort of 55 mid-career learners went through the first of two residencies was that several of the 10 teams encountered serious problems.
My team was no exception. Fortunately, as we realized that one of the male learners on our team was imposing his baggage upon us, a female team member who was well acquainted with this type of behavior stepped up to the plate and called him on it. Her many years of working as a social worker in maximum security prisons had sensitized her to manipulative behavior. We got through our action learning project in better shape than other teams, due largely to her intervention. But I never forgot her words: “You have to own your own shit.” Crude, but true.
How often have you seen bosses or co-workers trying to dump their problems on others? What was the effect? Did anyone call the individual on it? What was the response from management?
When behavior like this occurs it can have a corrosive effect on the team and even more broadly on the organization. Don’t turn a blind eye when you see it happening. Speak up and empower yourself to help correct the behavior. Lead by example.
Rule #8: Be a problem solver. Not finger pointer
It’s really easy to identify problems and complain about them. Some people excel at this. The bigger challenge is exploring solutions to problems, and especially doing so in a collaborative manner. When you approach your work from this perspective you automatically start adding value to your organization. Avoid the finger pointers; instead seek out people who want to be part of finding effective solutions for organizational issues and problems. You’ll be seen as the person who makes things happen, who fixes problems and, especially, adds value to your organization.
Rule #9: Practice what you preach
Treat people as how you like to be treated, whether it’s responding to a request for information from another unit in the organization or serving a customer, client and supplier. When others see that you act consistently in accordance with what emanates from your mouth, they’ll take you more seriously and respect you for your judgement and views. Aligning what you espouse and what you actually practice is a cornerstone to leadership integrity, one essential to creating a loyal followership.
Rule#10: Become a barrier buster
Avoid becoming entrapped in silo thinking, in which people hoard information, reject ideas from other parts of the organization (as well as from outside) and attempt to protect their turf. Rise above this and get known for being a barrier buster who openly shares information, connects people and communicates effectively across organizational boundaries. You’ll get noticed by management as someone who understands the bigger picture and is contributing to the organization’s mission and vision.
Wrapup
Of course this is not a definitive list of ways to cope effectively with change. These 10 rules are merely my interpretation of how people can approach change, based on my experiences. Each of us has acquired our own knowledge of ways to adapt. Therefore, please take a moment to add your own rule for being a successful leader.
To change and to improve are two different things. (German proverb)
Download my free leadership e-book:Becoming a Holistic Leader: Strategies for Successful Leadership Using a Principle-Based Approach
Posted by Jim Taggart on August 15, 2010 at 8:59pm
View Jim Taggart's blog
.
From Jim's blog Changing Winds
I’ve looked at a variety of topics related to leadership and management over the past many months. It’s been a while, however, since I talked about ways to cope with the juggernaut of change that has been flailing away at society and the economy. So today, let’s step back and look at 10 rules for successful personal leadership in the age of turbulence. I hope they’ll assist you in your personal learning and leadership journey.
Rule #1: Commit to Your Job.
There’s a saying that people don’t quit their jobs but rather their bosses. Fair enough. However, there comes a time when commitment to our work and employers must be reconciled with the propensity to leave jobs when we become frustrated and fed up. I learned some years ago that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. What may appear to be Eden often turns out to be a worse situation – from the frying pan into the fire, as the expression goes.
This prompts a sidebar comment: if you’re in a position of hiring staff, whether as a manager or business owner, the worst thing you can do is make empty promises to attract new employees. My maxim with customer service is always under-promise but over-deliver. I would argue that this is what those who engage in hiring should practice; over-deliver by providing excellent leadership and an engaging workplace.
To commit to your job means aligning yourself with your organization’s mission (why it exists as an entity), understanding who are the customers or clients, and determine where you add value. If you find that you’re not adding value, then some personal reflection is needed.
I recall something that management guru Tom Peters said many years ago. He stated that you should only take on work that adds to your resume. Now this may startle some people, with the response: “Yeah right, I’ll tell my boss that I’m not going to do a certain task because it’s useless.” What Peters is actually suggesting is that we need to continually seek to learn and improve ourselves; his statement, in typical Peters’ fashion, was aimed to be provocative.
Committing to our jobs does have the element of an opposing tension to look after our own self interest. However, being only half present at work because we’re day-dreaming or commiserating in our self-perceived sorrow helps no one, certainly not our personal growth and career development.
Rule #2: Adapt Quickly to Change
When a big change hits your organization, emulate Superman by quickly shedding your old corporate duds for the new approach. If you can’t find a phone booth, any office will do. But the key point here is to understand that your organization is about to go through some whitewater change (e.g., merger, acquisition, downsizing, or new technology introduction) and management won’t have all the answers. However, by adapting quickly to the change, you’ll significantly reduce your stress while simultaneously showing management that you can be counted upon when the going gets tough and ambiguity is the daily challenge.
Rule #3: Learn to Focus and Go for Quality, Not Quantity
Okay, I admit to being a multitasker. It’s now out in the open. How about yourself? When in the elevator at work or waiting in the coffee line, are you texting and checking emails on your wireless, while attempting to acknowledge coworkers and friends at the same time?
What about while driving? Are you checking for emails or text messages while at the traffic light?
I’ve seen people reading books while driving on the highway, or juggling a cell phone, coffee and a cigarette. My favorite story is from the Ontario Provincial Police who pulled over a motorist who was doing the ultimate in multitasking. His crime? He had a Coleman propane stove on the passenger seat and was cooking bacon and eggs. Now that’s commitment to multitasking.
All joking aside, multitasking performed while driving or walking across an intersection can have disastrous consequences. In the context of organizational work, multitasking has the negative effect of valuing the superficial and mediocrity. In what has been labeled the knowledge age, in which employees are supposedly knowledge workers, my view is that multitasking is dumbing down organizations, in particular those individuals in managerial leadership positions who parade around with Blackberries stuck to the sides of their heads.
A key competitive asset resident in Canada and the United States is their well-educated populations. If our economies are to evolve to respond to the sweeping effects of globalization, it’s vital that people are engaged to use their brains in meaningful ways in order to stimulate creativity and innovation. Go for quality, not quantity. Strive for the deeper solutions (see Rule #8).
When it comes to leading people, being present is a vital element of effective leadership. If you’re trying to multitask while speaking to one of your staff who’s dropped by your office, you send out the message loud and clear that the individual is not important. Focus on what your colleague is saying; at that moment he or she is the center of your attention.
Rule #4: Be a Promise Keeper
One of my admitted pet peeves is people who make promises only to break them. None of us are perfect, especially yours truly; however, I’ve always made an effort to fulfill promises or commitments to others. No, my batting average is not 1000, but it’s pretty high.
With that said up front, keeping promises to others–whether at home, to friends or workers, or in our community–is an essential part of who we are as leaders.
Over my 32-year working career I’ve seen too many promises broken, and I’m not even referring to those that people broke to me. It never ceased to amaze me how, for example, a manager could make a string of promises to staff, only to not fulfill them. On too many occasions I moved in to manage a unit whose manager had left, for whatever reason, leaving the carnage of poor morale among staff because of broken promises. It’s not a pleasant situation to be in as a manager.
When you keep your promises and commitments to your co-workers, staff and bosses, including those with whom you interact in your community, you’re viewed as someone with integrity and whose word is gold. And when the occasional situation arises where you’re unable to keep a promise, then it’s essential to take the time to explain what happened to the person or people who were affected. Refrain from making up excuses; just be up front and people will be much more likely to be understanding. They may even respect you more when they see you admitting a mistake and acknowledging that you’re human.
Rule #5: Embrace Uncertainty and Ambiguity–Ride the Wave
Trying to resist the onslaught of whitewater change is futile. The metaphor of learning to ride the wave is very apt here, one that creates a positive and energetic outlook. Throughout history since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s, people have fretted about the introduction of new technologies and how work is performed. They adapted quickly, however, moving forward to create new inventions or adaptations of existing technologies.
At the organizational level the effects of globalization–characterized by most work being capable of being done anywhere around the world, thanks largely to communications technology–are having profound effects on workers. Depending on what you read and from what vantage point, the offshoring of work is viewed as ranging from being a pernicious practice imposed on North American workers to improving the distribution of wealth globally.
What’s important to keep at the forefront is not who’s right on the job distribution issue, but rather to identify what YOU control and do NOT control. You control your morale, willingness to learn and adapt, and desire to seek out new opportunities.
By assuming the identify of a change master, you’ll greatly reduce the stress that’s generated when your organization goes through the gyrations of major changes. And you’ll signal to senior management that you’re equipped and ready to contribute to helping the organization meet its new challenges.
Rule #6: Be a sponge for learning–and then SYNTHESIZE
The amount of information is growing exponentially every day. It’s no doubt overwhelming with the massive onslaught of information we must try to absorb. As much as it’s important to keep learning (as the mantra goes) and to expose ourselves to new ideas and perspectives, my view is that the critical skill to acquire is how to synthesize this data overload. This is my personal daily challenge, being a voracious reader and keen observer of geo-political events.
The opposing tension to developing your synthesis skills is the superficiality created from multi-tasking (see Rule #3). Again, this is part of my personal daily challenge. Go for the deep perspective–find your a-ha! moment, when you discover that gem of wisdom or burning idea that catapults you to another level. Ensure that you take time to reflect and explore possibilities.
I have Max, my four-old Labrador Retriever to thank. Every morning we go for a 40 minute walk, which includes enjoying some wooded areas. These morning walks help slow down my thinking, which tends to race, and enable me to look at solutions to problems I may be facing or what I should write about in my next blog post.
Rule #7: Own your attitude and behavior
When I was doing my Masters in leadership residency back in 1998, we spent a lot of time in action learning teams. This was one of the more profound learning experiences of my long working career. As with any team there are sometimes dysfunctional people. What became apparent as my cohort of 55 mid-career learners went through the first of two residencies was that several of the 10 teams encountered serious problems.
My team was no exception. Fortunately, as we realized that one of the male learners on our team was imposing his baggage upon us, a female team member who was well acquainted with this type of behavior stepped up to the plate and called him on it. Her many years of working as a social worker in maximum security prisons had sensitized her to manipulative behavior. We got through our action learning project in better shape than other teams, due largely to her intervention. But I never forgot her words: “You have to own your own shit.” Crude, but true.
How often have you seen bosses or co-workers trying to dump their problems on others? What was the effect? Did anyone call the individual on it? What was the response from management?
When behavior like this occurs it can have a corrosive effect on the team and even more broadly on the organization. Don’t turn a blind eye when you see it happening. Speak up and empower yourself to help correct the behavior. Lead by example.
Rule #8: Be a problem solver. Not finger pointer
It’s really easy to identify problems and complain about them. Some people excel at this. The bigger challenge is exploring solutions to problems, and especially doing so in a collaborative manner. When you approach your work from this perspective you automatically start adding value to your organization. Avoid the finger pointers; instead seek out people who want to be part of finding effective solutions for organizational issues and problems. You’ll be seen as the person who makes things happen, who fixes problems and, especially, adds value to your organization.
Rule #9: Practice what you preach
Treat people as how you like to be treated, whether it’s responding to a request for information from another unit in the organization or serving a customer, client and supplier. When others see that you act consistently in accordance with what emanates from your mouth, they’ll take you more seriously and respect you for your judgement and views. Aligning what you espouse and what you actually practice is a cornerstone to leadership integrity, one essential to creating a loyal followership.
Rule#10: Become a barrier buster
Avoid becoming entrapped in silo thinking, in which people hoard information, reject ideas from other parts of the organization (as well as from outside) and attempt to protect their turf. Rise above this and get known for being a barrier buster who openly shares information, connects people and communicates effectively across organizational boundaries. You’ll get noticed by management as someone who understands the bigger picture and is contributing to the organization’s mission and vision.
Wrapup
Of course this is not a definitive list of ways to cope effectively with change. These 10 rules are merely my interpretation of how people can approach change, based on my experiences. Each of us has acquired our own knowledge of ways to adapt. Therefore, please take a moment to add your own rule for being a successful leader.
To change and to improve are two different things. (German proverb)
Download my free leadership e-book:Becoming a Holistic Leader: Strategies for Successful Leadership Using a Principle-Based Approach
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