It’s All Good… So much to look forward to!! #Dreambigandoften!
Mar14
Tag Archives: Management
Mar14
Live Ferociously!
Happy Friday! Live it Ferociously! Fe·ro·cious [fuh-roh-shuhs]
Adjective
1. fierce, as a person, action, or aspect.
2. extreme or intense: a ferocious thirst.
Mar3
Leadership, Solitude and Thinking
When I came across this article it actually seemed like an oxymoronic title. But as I read it in detail, I was sold. As a writer, I am compelled to spend countless hours alone either thinking of ideas or actually converting those thoughts into readable form. Now, it turns out that the same approach is probably the best way for me to address my management style. My dad and mentor used to tell me not to discuss my problems with anyone who was not in a position to help me solve them. And he was right. He wanted me to think for myself and know who I am in any given situation. Turns out that’s an imperative trait for any leader.
Repost: BEN J. CHRISTENSEN favorite quotes from Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz | The American Scholar
“solitude is one of the most important necessities of true leadership”
“what I saw around me were great kids who had been trained to be world-class hoop jumpers. Any goal you set them, they could achieve. Any test you gave them, they could pass with flying colors. They were, as one of them put it herself, ‘excellent sheep.’”
“excellence isn’t usually what gets you up the greasy pole. What gets you up is a talent for maneuvering. … Not taking stupid risks like trying to change how things are done or question why they’re done. Just keeping the routine going.”
“We have a crisis of leadership in this country, in every institution.”
“We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of exper tise. What we don’t have are leaders.
What we don’t have, in other words, are thinkers. People who can think for themselves. People who can formulate a new direction: for the country, for a corporation or a college, for the Army—a new way of doing things, a new way of looking at things. People, in other words, with vision.”
“there are a lot of highly educated people who don’t know how to think at all.”
“what makes him [General David Petraeus] a thinker—and a leader—is precisely that he is able to think things through for himself. And because he can, he has the confidence, the courage, to argue for his ideas even when they aren’t popular.”
“true leadership means being able to think for yourself and act on your convictions”
“people do not multitask effectively. And here’s the really surprising finding: the more people multitask, the worse they are, not just at other mental abilities, but at multitasking itself.”
“Multitasking, in short, is not only not thinking, it impairs your ability to think.”
“You do your best thinking by slowing down and concentrating.”
“Leadership means finding a new direction, not simply putting yourself at the front of the herd that’s heading toward the cliff.”
“Once the situation is upon you, it’s too late. You have to be prepared in advance. You need to know, already, who you are and what you believe: not what the Army believes, not what your peers believe (that may be exactly the problem), but what you believe. How can you know that unless you’ve taken counsel with yourself in solitude?”
Feb20
Why Leadership Is About Dignity
As most of my followers know, I am always looking for guidelines and information about leadership that make sense to me. I came across the following submission and had to share it. If you are a leader in your family, community or at work, I think you will gain some insight from this take on leadership and dignity. I know I did.
Repost: Denise Restauri, Contributor
Forbes.com
“A bold new way of tackling poverty that’s about dignity, not dependence and choice, not charity.” When I first read that on Acumen.org, I thought beyond poverty. I asked myself, “If dignity is about being worthy of honor and respect, what role does dignity play in leadership?”
To find the answer, I went to three Acumen Global Fellows from the class of 2013 – three women in their 20’s who are the next generation of social impact leaders, a new kind of leader who sees the world as it is and knows she can be a part of the solution that creates lasting impact on the ground. A one-year fellowship, 10-12 individuals from all over the world spend two months in New York undergoing intensive leadership training, followed by nine months working with one of Acumen’s portfolio companies in India, Pakistan, East Africa or West Africa. It’s not about sitting around and talking about the problems, it’s about taking action. It’s about leading.
These three Fellows will share their stories with us over the next few weeks. They are from three different countries: United States, Japan and China. They had three distinct experiences. And they all had major learnings about leadership and dignity:
1) Recognize human dignity. Each one of these women started with a goal to recognize and support human dignity. None of them wanted to help people that they felt sorry for, but rather, be part of a solution that recognizes the dignity in all people. That’s empowerment.
2) Do what’s right, not what’s easy. All of them learned by doing, combining their hard skills with new lessons about how to build trust and support teams to have an impact on the ground. It wasn’t easy and sometimes they couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they kept moving forward with great integrity and intent.
3) Share the shining star. Each of them saw as their greatest lesson the need to collaborate with the people closest to the ground doing the unglamorous work of execution, day after day. It was not about being a shining star, proving what they could achieve, demonstrating their abilities. It always boiled down to their ability to listen to and learn from the teams they worked with and help them be shining stars.
4) Leadership is a muscle. Leadership is a muscle that needs to be trained and exercised in real life. The lessons they learned, how they overcame challenges, admitted to and fixed their mistakes – those learnings far outweighed the leadership lessons they learned from books.
Feb10
8 Things Unhappy People Refuse to Admit
“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
―Abraham Lincoln
Everyone experiences an unhappy mood on occasion, but there is a big difference between experiencing a temporary bout of unhappiness and living a habitually unhappy life. That’s what chronically unhappy people do. And although many of these people are afraid to admit it, a vast majority of their unhappiness stems from their own beliefs and behaviors.
Over the years, Angel and I have helped thousands of unhappy people rediscover their smiles, and, in the process, we’ve learned a lot about the negative beliefs and behaviors that typically hold them back. Even if you are generally a happy person, take a look at the list below. Many of the unhappy people we’ve worked with initially refused to admit that they carried these beliefs and behaviors, even when the evidence stacked against them was undeniable. See if any of these points are keeping you from experiencing greater amounts of joy.
1. They struggle with self-respect.
Decide this minute to never again beg anyone for the love, respect, and attention that you should be showing yourself. Be your own best friend. Trust your inner spirit and follow your instincts. Accept who you are completely, the good and the bad, and make changes in your life as YOU see fit – not because you think anyone else wants you to be different, but because you know it’s the right thing to do, for YOU.
Be the person you will be happy to live with for the duration of your life. Don’t rely on your significant other, or anyone else, for your happiness and self-worth. Know that our first and last love is always self-love, and that if you can’t love and respect yourself, no one else will be able to either.
2. They are self-conscious about what others think of them.
The minute you stop overwhelming your mind with caring about what everyone else thinks, and start doing what you feel in your heart is right, is the minute you will finally feel freedom and peace of mind. In fact, you can end half your troubles immediately by no longer permitting people to tell you what you want.
You have to put your life in your own hands. Others may be able hold your happiness hostage temporarily, but only you can do it permanently. (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Self-Love” and “Happiness” chapters of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
3. They are holding on to old grudges.
You will never find peace until you learn to finally let go of the hatred and hurt that lives in your heart. Life is far too short to be spent in nursing bitterness and registering wrongs. Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, on the other hand, is for those who are confident enough to stand on their own two legs and move on.
In order to move on, you must know why you felt the way you did, and why you no longer need to feel that way. It’s about accepting the past, letting it be, and pushing your spirit forward with good intentions. Nothing empowers your ability to heal and grow as much as your love and forgiveness.
4. The routines they follow imprison them.
Remember that the way you’ve always done it isn’t the only way. It’s unlikely that one of the things you’ll regret when you’re 70 is not having consumed enough beer in your 20s, or not having bought enough $6 lattes from Starbucks, or not having frequented the same night club for years. But the regret of missing out on opportunities is a real, toxic feeling.
The bottom line is that you’ve figured out drinking and going out. You’ve had enough lattes. It’s time to figure something else out. Every corner you turn or street you walk down has a new experience waiting for you. You just have to see the opportunity and be adventurous enough to run with it. (Read Eat, Pray, Love.)
5. There’s a lot they can’t control (even though they try).
Life is often unpredictable. Some of the great moments in your life won’t necessarily be the things you do; they’ll be things that happen to you. That doesn’t mean you can’t take action to affect the outcome of your life. You have to take action, and you will. But don’t forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change in an instant – for better or worse.
To an extent, the universe has a plan that’s always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings and it starts to rain – it’s a scary thought, but it’s part of life’s cycle. All these little parts of the machine, constantly working – sometimes forcing you to struggle, and sometimes making sure you end up exactly in the right place at the right time.
6. They let their fears numb them from life’s goodness.
“Numbing” is any activity that you use to desensitize your feelings so that you don’t experience vulnerability or hurt. But by numbing yourself to vulnerability, you also numb yourself to love, belonging, empathy, creativity, adventure and all of life’s goodness.
Remember, every worthwhile venture in life – intimate love, friendship, a new business, etc. – is scary. These things are inherently risky. They are unsafe. These things aren’t for the faint of heart. They take courage. And most importantly, they can’t coexist with fear. When you open up to life’s greatest opportunities and joys it means you’re also giving life the opportunity to break your heart, but trusting that it won’t… that the risk is well worth the reward.
7. They are addicted to avoiding themselves in the present moment.
This is something we all struggle with sometimes. It’s also the root cause of nearly all of our unhappiness.
One of the hardest challenges we face in life is to simply live in our own skin – to just be right here, right now, regardless of where we are. Too often we needlessly distract ourselves with anything and everything: food, booze, shopping, television, tabloid news, online social networks, video games, cell phones, iPods, etc. – basically anything to keep us from being fully present in the current moment.
We use compulsive work, compulsive exercise, compulsive love affairs, and the like, to escape from ourselves and the realities of living. In fact, many of us will go to great lengths to avoid the feeling of being alone in an undistracted environment. So we succumb to hanging-out with just about anybody to avoid the feeling of solitude. For being alone means dealing with our true feelings: fear, anxiety, happiness, anger, joy, resentment, disappointment, anticipation, sadness, excitement, despair, and so on and so forth.
And it doesn’t really matter if our feelings are positive or negative – they are overwhelming and exhausting, and so we prefer to numb ourselves to them. The bottom line is that we are all addicted to avoiding ourselves. Acknowledging this addiction is the first step to healing it. So begin today by just noticing with curiosity, and without judgment, all of the ways in which you avoid being in your own skin, right here, right now, in this present moment we call life. (Read The Power of Now.)
8. The grass isn’t greener anywhere else.
If you feel anxious because you constantly feel like you’re missing out on something happening somewhere else, you’re not alone. We all feel this way sometimes – like the grass is greener somewhere else at this very moment. But let me assure you, you could run around trying to do everything, and travel around the world, and always stay connected, and work and party all night long without sleep, but you could never do it all. You will always be missing something, and thus it will always seem like something wonderful might be happening elsewhere.
So let it go, and realize you have everything right now. The best in life isn’t somewhere else; it’s right where you are, at this moment. Celebrate the perhaps not so insignificant fact that you are alive right now. This moment, and who you are, is absolutely perfect. Take a deep breath, smile, and notice the green grass under your own two feet.
Afterthoughts
Let me tell you a secret I’ve learned about happiness. Nobody is happy all of the time. It’s perfectly normal to experience considerable fluctuations in your level of happiness from day to day, month to month, and even year to year. In fact, according to a recent scientific study, overall levels of happiness decline from one’s teens until one’s 40s and then pick up again until they peak in one’s early 70s. So the chances are that your happiest days are yet to come. Hopefully that gives you something to smile about today.
by MARC CHERNOFF
Feb4
Five Exceptional Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela
Reposted from:
By Hamse Warfa |Nov 21, 2013
The fact that the world is in a mad quest for real leadership is not in doubt, more so at a time as this when few leaders really stand for what they say. Could it be that global leadership has been learning too much from hip hop lyricists who will use the same lines to charm fans in Las Vegas, Manhattan and Minneapolis, but hardly ever mean what they say?
Looking at the landscape of leadership icons in our times, it is not hard to see that majority of them belong to the generation in their sunset years. A really towering figure, though now ailing in hospital is former South African president, Nelson Mandela. This is the hero who will be remembered forever for delivering black people in his country from the demeaning snares of apartheid into real political independence.
The story of Nelson Mandela has been told over a million times, though it almost always emerges with a new kind of freshness each time it is told. Even through his days of hospitalization due to lung problems, many people across the world still see him as a larger-than-life figure in many respects.
From my study of leadership, I have identified the following five exceptional lessons in leadership from this global icon. I share them with you in the hope that the lessons will make us better in our quest to improve the quality of life for the people around us.
1. Character is superior to strategy
“Strategy” is one of the most frequently used words in business and leadership classes the world over. We learn of strategic vision, strategic thinking, strategic advantage, strategic presence, and virtually anything that can be prefixed or suffixed to the name strategy. But what the schools hardly ever mention is the value of strong, reliable and trustworthy character to steer forth the “strategic” agenda. For this reason, we find that even when a strategy has been well executed and the strategic ends achieved, you will be surprised at the amount of stench coming from the means through which the strategy was achieved.
Think, for instance, about the number of American couples who strategize on how to own a home, work hard towards it, only for the couples to divorce upon realizing just how unfaithful one or both parties have been in the quest for finances to reach their strategic end. Strategy achieved, yes, but to what end? Think also about some of the videos and images that come back home of the kind of inhumane acts of torture that some of our soldiers have been accused of meting on innocent civilians when in foreign missions?
Truth is, Mandela was not an angel, and there are many times when he was out rightly indecisive or made wrong strategic decisions, but his strong character came through for him. For instance, he is criticized for not having taken decisive action to curb corruption in his own Africa National Congress (ANC) government, which led to much public frustrations. It is also argued that he made dangerous strategic decisions regarding the national economy, which almost led to nationalization of private businesses. It is said that the economic struggles that resulted under his rule nearly made black South Africans almost worse off economically than they were under apartheid. But in all this, Mandela never lost his popularity and legitimacy to lead, mainly on account of his strong character. The people he led always believed that he would eventually do something to right the wrongs he had made.
2. Leaders have their fears too, but put up a front
We have been treated to Hollywood thrillers of characters like Mark Bauer, Sylvester Stallone, and Chuck Norris, who always come to the rescue of their people. These super heroes do not fear a thing in the world, aren’t hurt by bullets or bombs, and no wall – even those made of steel – can stand in their way to achieving their goals. Yes, these kind of super heroes exist – but only in movies. But real leaders are human and subject to laws of gravity. Many are the times they are called upon to show courage in situations that they themselves know absolutely nothing about what will transpire the next second, but they step in nonetheless.
The leader of a Special Forces unit knows too well the risk of leading from the front when entering enemy territory. He has a wife and kids to look after and this is one place where he can lose his life in a split second. But someone must lead the team. Some circumstances can tear a leader’s nerves into tatters, but there must be a leader even in such times. This is the secret that Nelson Mandela disclosed to Richard Stengel, the editor he worked with in writing his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom.” “You must put up a front,” is what Mandela told Stengel. In one of Mandela’s memorable quotes he says: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
3. Shaking of fists can harm a struggle
Ideally, it is hands that people shake when they meet – a gesture of welcome appreciation of each other’s presence. A hand shake with an enemy or rival can do much to calm nerves especially in a hair-splitting contest, and it’s a great show of maturity. However, there usually is a tendency for many leaders to retreat to one’s corner to issue threats, press statements and to charge the masses into action even after such gestures of goodwill. I would call such hypocrisy.
As a friend once told me, it is the height of hypocrisy to talk about someone in his absence what you would otherwise not say in his presence. So, as a leader, you can’t afford equivocations – saying two different things in the same breath. “Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organization and the struggle we serve.” This is what he said during a Presidential address to the ANC Transvaal Congress, also known as the “No Easy Walk to Freedom” speech on September 21, 1953.
4. A great leader knows when to stop
Celebrating the glory of one’s achievements is great. But for how long can you bask in the glory before the sun sets on you? Life is made in such a way that there is a time fit for each purpose. If, for instance, you’re going through tough periods in your life, that could be equated to Mandela’s pain of 27 years of incarceration. He went into prison a young man full of energy. But as he says in his own words, “I came out mature”. But how often does modern-day leadership cherish self-sacrifice for a good course? In the absence of long suffering and endurance you can’t find maturity of character. Otherwise, the most common question I hear in leadership circles today is: “What’s in it for me?”
Pursuit for the greater good for all is what constitutes true heroism. But above all, accepting that there are more heroes in the making and giving them the chance to shine is a humbling lesson I have learnt from Nelson Mandela. With the good will he had to lead, Mandela would have easily presented himself as president for life like many global leaders have previously done. But he chose to not seek re-election into office after his single presidential term was over. In short, he recognized that there are others too gifted in leadership. He passed the mantle to them at a time he felt was most appropriate, and his leadership legacy lives on to date.
5. Let others feel capable too
A glance at the resumes of some of the modern-day leaders can leave you intimidated. They write in candid details the kind of achievements they have made at the work place, in business and in other spheres of life. You will be surprised at the extent to which they can drive change and deliver results. In most instances, they play down the role that others played in bringing about the achievements so that only the individual’s contribution shines.
Truth is, without a team even the greatest hero walking on earth today can hardly achieve anything significantly beyond you and me. This is because we are all limited on what we can do without brains and two hands within the 24 hours that make a day. It is team effort that makes great leaders who they are. However, by diminishing the role played by others in bringing about our success, we undermine the very foundation of our greatness.
Nelson Mandela would from time to time present the analogy of leading from behind and coming to the front when leadership must really be felt. Otherwise, for most of other times, remember that your team knows what needs to be done and will be grateful to do it to their best, provided you make them feel capable and appreciated.
Jan31
“Control is for Beginners”
…Great quote by Deborah Mills-Scofield – Harvard Business Review.
I want to take the thought even further to say controlling managers suck and I’m glad I’m not one. Have you ever noticed how much energy you expend trying to control anything, whether it’s navigating a car on an icy road; crafting with an overzealous glue gun; or even engaging in small talk? The latter usually results in the pain of knowing you overshared with some random person with whom you were just trying to be sociable.
Now imagine controlling managers are spending that same energy ten times over to create a false sense of security for themselves. What could be uglier than that– besides maybe scoring a great sample sale on your favorite designer shoes and discovering one shoe is too tight, or really cheap chocolate that looks delicious until you taste it, or God forbid, dating a stalker who happens to be so adorable that you try to overlook that flaw? There is no beauty in control and there is certainly no art in it.
“When we don’t give people the space to take calculated risks, learn, apply, and iterate, we are really risking our future. While there is a risk to improvising and spontaneity, control brings its own insidious dangers. In our push for perfection, we over-engineer. We add so many bells and whistles that it takes a genius to use the product. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Just because we can practice to perfection doesn’t mean that’s best.” -BRENDA MICHELSON
Jan24
Authenticity: Your Greatest Leadership Asset
I am determined to make myself a better leader, and I just may be able to take some of you with me on this journey. I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t always end up in a leadership role in almost every area of my life. I once had a corporate trainer tell me that if you label someone a leader and continue to treat them as such, they will begin to exhibit the traits whether they particularly want the job or not. Obviously, negative labels work the same way. I personally blame my first grade teacher, Mrs. Haynes, for planting this leadership bug in me. The label: Tall kid leads the line. I ran into her at Wal-Mart in Huntsville, Texas a couple of months ago when I was visiting the family and got the chance to tell her how she was still impacting my life today, LOL! She seemed to love that.
How many times have you been at the dinner table with family or friends and the next question is: “What does everybody want to do next?” Some folks just sit there and wait on the answer, and I feel as though they are asking me to decide. So the label of leader sticks with me, and I’ve decided to embrace that role more effectively and authentically. I truly appreciated the following post by Susan Tardanico, and wanted to share it with you.
Susan Tardanico, Contributor
Forbes.com 9/08/2011
Phonies. Have you ever worked for one? They say one thing and do another. They
tell people what they want to hear. Their views morph with popular opinion.
They’re the ones you can’t pin down, and they avoid taking a stand on just
about anything. When we work for someone we deem inauthentic, we do not
willingly support them because we don’t trust them. On the flip side, research
reveals that when we believe a leader is the real deal –- a person of
integrity and character – we are much more likely to go the extra mile and
stand by them in the best and worst of times. With trust in leaders at
all-time lows, it’s time to consider that personal authenticity may be our
greatest leadership asset.
I used to believe that phonies made a conscious decision to hide their true
selves from the rest of the world in a duplicitous identity shell-game. But
after working with leaders for many years, I’ve concluded that only a small
percentage is actually that Machiavellian and that the majority is simply
lost. They don’t know who they are, and nowhere does this become more obvious
than when they’re in a visible leadership role.
Perhaps in all the gymnastics of leadership – the politics, the management
fads and techniques, the expected behaviors imposed on us by our bosses,
organizations and subordinates – we’ve lost ourselves as people. Or maybe
we never really found ourselves to begin with. Leadership guru Warren Bennis
said that letting the self emerge is the essential task of leaders. Indeed,
leadership is, first and foremost, all about you. People often have a
misguided notion that leadership is about everyone else. But if a leader
hasn’t journeyed inside first to get clear on his or her values, strengths,
passion and vision, their lack of authentic grounding will cause them to
behave in inconsistent ways, eroding trust and undermining their leadership
effectiveness.
Curiously, most MBA and leadership development programs barely focus on
the topic of authenticity. There are many assessment tools that help leaders
become more aware of their management style and how they’re perceived, but
most stop short of helping them dig down deep and answer some fundamental
questions about who they are and how it manifests in their leadership. Maybe
there’s an assumption that these questions already have been asked and
answered; that we’ve all heeded the words of the great Socrates who implored
us to “know thyself.” But experience tells us otherwise. Take an informal
polling of your friends and colleagues. Chances are they, like most people,
are unable to answer four basic yet all-important questions: What’s most
important to you? (Core values) What are you good at? (Strengths) What excites
and inspires you? (Passion) What do you want? (Vision).
If you don’t know how to answer some or all of these questions, you’re not
alone. Answering them fully and honestly is not an easy task because it
requires intense introspection. But the payoff can be transformational, giving
you the kind of clarity that enables you to lead your life, lead others and
manage your career with intention, making choices that are more aligned with
who you are, and in the process, gaining the commitment and loyalty of those
around you.
Values
Our values are what we believe and stand for; our convictions about the things we deem to be most important in life. Values are the stuff of our character; the core of what drives and fulfills us. To get clearer on your values, try using the “Values Explorer” tool from the Center for Creative Leadership. To successfully identify your core values, you must suspend your inner judge and set aside what you believe society, your family or anyone else expects of you. If you make choices based on what you should care about – or shouldn’t care about – then you are moving further away from the core of who you are – not closer to it. When identifying your values system, there are no right or wrong choices – just authentic and inauthentic ones. Then, think about how you’re living and leading within the context of your top five values. Ask yourself, “are my values evident in how I behave, the choices I’ve made and the way I communicate? Am I truly using my own voice?”
Strengths
As leaders, job No. 1 is to surround ourselves with the right people; to build
a team with complementary strengths and diverse perspectives. How can we
effectively accomplish this if we don’t understand our own strengths and, in
turn, are able to recognize the strengths in others? Strengths are our innate
talents, the things we’re naturally good at. Business culture has long been
focused on trying to address the weaknesses in people versus unlocking the
potential of their strengths. As women, we tend to focus more intensely on our
weaknesses than men do. This translates into missed opportunity for us as
leaders and organizations.
Passion
Simply put, passion is what jazzes and excites us; what consumes us with
palpable emotion. When we’re engaged in something we’re passionate about,
we tap into a seemingly unending wellspring of energy and resilience.
If you are unclear on what you’re truly passionate about, the best thing you
can do is pay attention. Only you know how you feel as you move through the
circumstances and activities of your life. Where do you find your greatest
joy? In what circumstance do you feel you’re in the zone, in harmony with all
that’s around you, excelling without even trying, filled with unending energy?
Many people feel that when it comes to our work life, having passion is nice
but not necessary. I cannot think of worse drudgery than getting up every day
and doing something you’re not passionate about. Passion is what carries you
through the tough times, helps you inspire others and excel at what you do.
Vision
Our vision is our desired destination; the end-game we’re striving to achieve.
It’s what we want. Writing a personal vision statement is a very powerful,
often life-changing exercise because it focuses, informs and illuminates your
way forward. You describe in vivid terms the ideal picture of all aspects of
your life – career, family, community, health, spirituality — unbounded by
current constraints and circumstance. A good vision answers the questions,
“what do I want to be, do, have, and contribute in life?”
Developing a vision requires you to think big and long-term. Try not to get
caught up in issues of process (how you will get there) – that’s the job of
strategies and tactics. Also, understand that you won’t travel a completely
linear path from current state to the achievement of your vision. Finally,
remember that your vision will evolve over time. The key is to get started!
Leadership may ultimately be about leading and inspiring others, but it begins
inside, with each of us as individuals. Our ability to achieve greatness as
leaders hinges on our ability to know ourselves, know what matters, and act in
accordance with who we are. When we go through the process of exploring
each of these “prongs of authenticity,” we gain inspiring and invigorating
clarity that helps us be exceptional leaders — of our lives and of other
people.
Jan17
Owning Leadership
As I’m sure that many of you can relate, I’ve had some awful managers over my career. It wasn’t until I became a manager that the definition of good vs bad leader became an acutely sensitive topic for me. The last thing I ever wanted to do was to suck at being a leader. And, it was at the point of questioning the difference that I realized I was still being influenced by my bad experiences with those hideously awful managers. I was experiencing a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that made me run like hell from the next leadership role.
Even with the glaring “DO NOT DRAFT ME AS A LEADER” badge that I wear over my business suits, I continually find myself a habitual leader. Then, in my quest for clarity and self-realization, I found this quote and finally, finally, I get it. I understand why I actually am perfect for the role.
“Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration— of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” -Lance Secreten
Jan14
Situational Leadership
If you are a leader are a manager, you’ve been there. The pressure is on and someone has to ensure productivity. You need to exhibit calm under pressure. Leaders should adopt some proven skills to succeed in the midst of a storm.
Reposted: Personal Advice from Ken Blanchard
Have a positive attitude. Don’t be negative. Your actions can create a positive morale amongst the team. This will be contagious and you will get more out of your team. Try to make your staff believe things are better than they seem, even when the pressure is on. The worst thing you can do is to badmouth any person or department within the company. You can kind of joke about company related issues, but in a lighthearted way. Sometimes a good laugh or feeling of solidarity can work to your benefit, just don’t be malicious or slanderous. It could also come back to haunt you. You would be surprised at the loss of respect you would receive if you acted unprofessionally in this manner. Remember this old adage, “It takes years to build respect, and only seconds to lose it…”
Be passionate about the objectives and organization. When you become passionate about a task, project, or departmental goal, your team will also become passionate. Channel your passion to be the best into your employees. Passion is the key ingredient between being good and being great. You want your department to be exceptional, not just good enough. Be passionate about becoming a world-class organization and your team is sure to follow.
Be enthusiastic and optimistic. Striving for a better future with an energetic drive is contagious. Your team will pick up on the same vibe. They want a better future just as much as you do. Your job is to make them want to be the best and take pride in their work. The more enthusiastic and optimistic you are, the more they can identify with working in a success driven manner.
Egos & Buffaloes 