If you’re Going in the wrong direction, turn around. ~Seth Godin
Tis sad. So many recognize that they are on the wrong path, yet continue because they’re afraid or feel they can change things with ‘one last try’. Then the cycle repeats itself over, and over, and over again.
Stop. It’s such wasted effort, time, and resources. Turn around. Get back on track.
Go ahead, do it.
Cheers!
Being a leader is 24-7 job, and educational opportunities to improve yourself are everywhere. Learn from your friends and family and sometimes complete strangers, and you’ll find opportunities at every turn
– Byron Scott and Charles Norris
Where are you now and where do you want to be? In the book Slam Dunk Success, Magic Johnson articulated in the Forward that most people think you win then you become a leader. But it’s the other way around. You’re a leader first, then you win.
Leaders are everywhere and so are leadership opportunities. Punctured or not, Magic urged that you may be an entry-level employee or a middle manager, but not to worry. Every department is looking for a leader. To have the courage to stand up and take the lead, you will become successful.
Leaders are constantly changing the world around them. They may be involved in business or in the community. Opportunities abound.
Manage yourself. Think of where you are now and where you want to be. Then take the steps ….one at a time. Try. Learn. Fail. Get back up and do it again. You will succeed with hard work and persistence. As always, don’t give up.
Cheers!
If you have always done it that way, you’re probably wrong.
Christian heads many organizations and several Professional Associations. He was always respected. Whatever he says, goes. He retired recently, and decided to use his knowledge to start a renowned Group to make a difference to others in the community. He was successful. Within a year the group grew to several hundreds, with many eager to join his endeavor.
However, Christian has one problem. The group has grown and comprised millennials and others who expect a participatory leadership style. They shared ideas which little by little were shut down, avoided, or disregarded. The members now wonder whether it makes sense for them to be involved in the organization.
A Creature of habit, Christian exhibits the traditional authoritarian leadership style. Permit us to say that we are not sure if that is going to hold in today’s society.
Christina Folz in her article titled Lead From Where You Are, shared 6 tips to help you succeed as a leader:
Of the points raised my top three include, accepting failure because it means you have tried. You don’t wait around on your Sleeve until things are safe before stepping out.
Building relationships is also crucial to success. My own research on Success Strategies confirmed this when I interviewed leaders of several organizations to find out the traits that made them successful.
The third point concerned finding and working with people who challenge you. Doing this encourages creativity, and a creative team propels an organization or team’s success.
There you have it, my top favs selected. From the list, do you have a favorite, or two? Do share.
Cheers!
Being a leader is 24-7 job, and educational opportunities to improve yourself are everywhere. Learn from your friends and family and sometimes complete strangers, and you’ll find opportunities at every turn
– Byron Scott and Charles Norris
Leader. Where are you now and where do you want to be? In the book Slam Dunk Success, Magic Johnson articulated in the Forward that most people think you win then you become a leader. But it’s the other way around. You’re a leader first, then you win.
Leaders are everywhere, and so are leadership opportunities. Punctured or not, Magic urged that you may be an entry-level employee or a middle manager, but not to worry. Every department is looking for a leader. To have the courage to stand up and take the lead, you will become successful.
Leadership is innate. Leaders are constantly changing the world around them. They may be involved in business or in the community. Opportunities abound.
Leadership is foresight. Manage yourself. Think of where you are now and where you want to be. Then take the steps ….one at a time. Try. Learn. Fail. Get back up and do it again. You will succeed with hard work and persistence. As always, don’t give up.
Cheers!
We don’t know what lies ahead and that causes fear, apprehension and dissent
Change. It hurts.
Change hurts and that’s the reason so many hate it. Some change is good. Some bad. The news report of the Boston Marathon bombing was just terribly awful news. It caused pain, anarchy, sadness and fear. It changed lives in many, many ways. The scars are borne by those who were present, and those miles away at a distance.
Arising from that terrible tragedy where people died, hundreds were injured and some maimed, there were good news. Some of which included the resilience of many survivors, inspirational stories, and more. However, two stories stand out. One pertains to the return of dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis who recently returned to the stage on prosthetic leg. The other illuminates Roseann Sdoia now engaged to wed the fireman who saved her. Certainly stories of love’s triumph over tragedy or dare I say in spite of.
So how do we get the courage to face the ugly face of change when it hits like a ton of bricks right in the face? How do we get the strength to go on…to fight…to survive? Here are some barriers that impede our desire to change.
1.Fear of the Unknown. We don’t know what lies ahead and that causes fear, apprehension and dissent that sometimes retards our ability to move ahead or even causes us to get stuck.
2.Power Struggle. Power especially in organizations or personal relationships creates struggles that ignites disharmony because of threats and resistance. Some people can be physically intimidating, highly vocal or difficult to deal with. This can be because of their position as in management, stature as in a bully, or financial acumen as in being the main bread-winner in a family.
You may also like Change. Commit or Comply
3.Communication. Lack of communication or trust. Communicating disrespectfully creates barriers.
4.Trust. Why Change? What is the rationale? Why is it necessary? Do you stay in the situation? Will fighting and resisting help? In most instances not at all.
It’s a Process
Recognize that change is a process. It takes time. But with effort, determination and the desire to overcome, you can do it. So be bold. Remain steadfast. Thrive and you will survive the wind of change in time.
If you build it, will they come?
Leadership as the ability to cause other persons to act in desired ways for the benefit of the organization or group
As the citizens of the United States prepare for the passing of the baton to another President, it might be worth it to pause and reflect on leadership and power. Many are having Second Thoughts about what to do to influence the passing of the baton to another incumbent.
For that matter, our reflections turn to consider what is leadership? What is power? How can leaders positively influence the action of others? Is there a right way? Is there a wrong way? Does it differ at the worldwide level from that of the organizational and individual levels? These questions have tugged at my mind as I contemplated the sources of power and sought to identify individuals in organizations who exemplify these attributes.
Selacuse in his book “Leading Leaders” discussed the category of powerful people whom he defined as the ‘elites’. Despite the natural negative connotation derived from this term, these are individuals who have “more” – more education, more talent, more money and more clout than ordinary people. Their knowledge, skills, money or power give elites (customarily leaders) special privileges.
Persuasion before action
Moreso Selacuse defined leadership as the ability to cause other persons to act in desired ways for the benefit of the organization or group. He conveyed an interesting spin on contrasting leadership at the presidential level. A comparative analysis was done on the leadership style of President George H.W. Bush with the leadership of his son President George W. Bush. Father Bush strongly believed that if other nations were to join the coalition to drive Iraq from Kuwait, the United States had to take an active, energetic leadership role in convincing them to join the coalition. He believed that leadership required diplomacy across a broad front and exhibited this through direct contact with other world leaders. Moreover, he did this through diplomatic missions; through action at the United Nations and other international organizations; through foreign embassies in the United States; and through American ambassadors abroad – to build and maintain a coalition of nations united in their efforts to achieve the goal to drive Iraq from Kuwait. George H.W. Bush’s leadership was based on persuasion before action.
If you build it will they come?
In contrast to his leadership style, his son George W. Bush acted under the belief that other countries had no choice but to follow the United States. George W. Bush and his administration believed that leadership by the United States seemed to flow automatically from its status as the world’s only superpower. At the time, the administration made it publicly clear that if other countries did not follow the U.S. into the war against Iraq, they would go to war alone. That certainly deviated from the importance of creating a coalition. They believed that unilateral action by the U.S. would naturally lead to multilateral action by other countries. The “if you build it they will come” doctrine expressed the belief that the United States was a unique country not just in terms of its power but also its moral authority for using that power.
To summarize this comparative analysis, Bush – the father, had broad experience in international diplomacy and long-standing relationships with world leaders at that time. He intimately knew and was on a first-name basis with national leaders and used this to his advantage to influence worldwide leaders. On the other hand, his son had no previous diplomatic experience and did not know the foreign leaders. Therefore, he often delegated important tasks to other members of his administration. Naturally then, he did not have the influence that his father did. In my opinion, this was indeed an interesting view on the issue of leadership and power at the global nation-wide level.
Definitely something to consider as we step into the future of our country, organizations or at the individual level of leadership, power and success.
Choose wisely.
You Micro Manager! Yes you. Repeat after me…I will not micromanage. I will not micromanage. I will not micromanage. These are the best words of caution for new managers.
Micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes or controls the work of subordinates or employees. Micromanagement generally has a negative connotation. Wiki
I was asked the question why some managers feel it necessary to micro manage. Reflecting on that I decided to share through this post.
Managers who micromanage makes coming to work a nightmare. Micro Management is the practice of managing with excessive control or attention to detail. It tells employees that there is a lack of trust. Essentially that the manager has little confidence in his/her team and their capabilities. Often it drives the team away and what is worse, it is the organization’s most talented people who frequently walk away. The company is then left with those workers who will simply show up for a ‘paycheck’. No commitment, no care.
If you are a micro manager, Harvard Business shared signs that can be seen:
As a manager, this is certainly grounds for disaster. You will either drive your team crazy or stress yourself out with the inevitable burn out.
As a new manager if you find yourself micro managing here are a few points to keep in mind:
-Look at your to-do list to see which task can be passed on or delegated to those reporting to you.
-Engage your team. Let them know what level of detail you expect from them and where they need to connect with you.
-Think Big. Focus on the big issues that you need to concentrate on and place your energy and attention on those.
If you are being micro-managed, Research Psychologist Dr. Peggy Drexler suggests a few pointers you can use to remain sane:
Practicing these points will help you succeed. The converse is also true. Continuing to micro manage is Ancient…a thing of the past where autocratic leadership was game. Doing this now is sure grounds for disaster.
So it’s your choice. Choose wisely and experience success.
One of my favorite anecdotes is about the movie Ice Age when the chickens fought hard to save their watermelons because the ice age was coming, and would stay for a billion, billion years! So they had to prepare. During the interface, they said to the mammoth “if you don’t prepare, then doom on you, doom on you”. To which he replied, “so you have 3 melons?”
I don’t know if I stated that scene correctly… but here’s the bigger point. We must have a goal. Then when we identify the goal we must prepare. How do we do that? We plan. Plan the steps from beginning to end. Don’t leave it Unfinished.
Here’s how:
Fake it til you make it.
Act the part.
Practice makes perfect
Just do it.
Success for sure.
Is pretending wrong? Is it wrong to Pretend that all is well in the midst of a loss? In the midst of fear? In the midst of turmoil, and pain? Is it wrong to pretend that we too can succeed at all we put our minds to? To achieve a great feat that in our real minds we would be afraid to do? Is it wrong?
Maybe not. If pretense is what we have to do to come outside of ourselves to achieve our dreams, goals, and aspirations, I’d say go for it! Because…one day it will be for real!
Hold strong…be all you can be…and succeed!
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