26 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Master Motivator

Leadership is lonely. No matter how big your team, sometimes it’s just you–which means you sometimes need to look inside yourself for motivation and inspiration.-Jeff Haden

Having the ability to share your passion, aspire for more, instill the desire to achieve organizational and personal goals, to act conscientiously and ethically, and enjoy what you’re doing are all components of being a “master motivator”.

Mark Hansen and Joe Batten, authors of The Master Motivator – Secrets Of Inspiring Leadership’, provide tips for self-motivation as well as tips for motivating staff and colleagues.

It starts with us as individuals and as leaders. How can we motivate others if we are not authentic and believe in what we’re trying to accomplish?

Motives That Lead and Values That Feed

  • Motivators enjoy life
  • Motivators reach out – they do not retreat inward
  • Motivators cultivate a “lust for learning”
  • Motivators expect the best – always
  • Motivators are goal oriented
  • Motivators help others feel significant
  • Motivators lead by example
  • Motivators provide purpose and direction
  • Motivators are go-givers, not go-getters
  • Motivators respect themselves and others
  • Motivators ask, listen and hear
  • Motivators pursue total fitness
  • Motivators radiate warmth and caring

Rate yourself from 1 – 5 for each component. (5 being best). What are your strengths? Which can you further develop?  You can even take it to the next level and ask your staff or colleagues to rate you.

QWIKTIP – read about ACTIONS and BELIEFS

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.  John C. Maxwell

12 Oct
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Leading From Afar

Leadership has challenges, and it becomes even more challenging when leading from afar.

Leadership has taken on new challenges with the need to lead not only those that are in the same location, but to also be effective across time zones, understand cultural differences, and keep telecommuters engaged and productive. 

Per GlobalWorkplaceAnalystics/2017:

  • Regular telecommuting grew 115% in the past decade
  • 70% of employers offer flexible workplace options
  • 50% of the US workforce holds a job with at least partial telework

What does this mean to you as a leader?     

As a leader, regardless of where your staff is located, make certain that common goals are clearly understood, encourage your team to value one another’s strengths, and provide one another other with healthy, timely feedback.

Leading remotely also means you need to be an even more skilled communicator.

  • Don’t communicate just the bare minimum.
  • Share what is expected of each individual and each location.
  • Ensure all interactions end with closure.
  • Check in regularly with each employee.
  • Revisit the team goals and objectives; use “here’s where we are” statements, ask questions, and invite everyone to share their opinion and thoughts about the progress that is being made.
  • Ask your direct reports what they’d like to hear about and ask for their feedback as to whether you are keeping them adequately informed.
  • Support and “sell” your team! Keep your boss and other leaders informed of your teams’ accomplishments and successes!
  • Look for opportunities for the team to meet face-to-face

It takes effort for remote team members to feel as much a part of your team as those that work onsite but the tips above will help.  Do you have other tips that you can share?

QWIKTIPS –  read about GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARD 

We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they at their desk or in their kitchen. Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will — Richard Branson

05 Oct
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Moral Leadership

How We Do Anything Means Everything –Dov Seidman

As leaders, we need to understand the culture of our business, be aware of the pulse of our team, co-workers, and business partners, consistently communicate goals and strategies, and make decisions based on our knowledge of the above.

Dov Seidman, founder/CEO of LRN, an ethics and compliance management firm, believes companies will thrive when ethical business cultures exist. (He’s also an author, attorney, and columnist).

It’s been reported that over two-thirds of U.S. citizens believe that none, very few, or only some corporations operate in a fair and honest manner. Pretty disheartening isn’t it?

So what does it take to create and support moral leadership?  Seidman suggests to first start by cultivating trust, values, and passion.  (TRUST, once again surfaces as a key critical component). He also provides 4 guiding principles:

Moral Leaders Are Driven By Purpose

They focus on progress, not just on results and the bottom line. Journeys force us to learn, adapt, experiment, and embrace and learn from mistakes. 

Moral Leaders Inspire and Elevate Others

They ask people to be loyal not to them, but rather to the overall purpose and mission of the organization.

Moral Leaders Are Animated by Both Courage and Patience

It takes courage to speak out for a principle or larger truth, especially when that leader is in an uncomfortable or vulnerable territory. Think of patience as a way of extending trust to others by allowing them the time to be more thorough, rigorous and creative. 

Moral Leaders Keep Building Muscle

Authentic leaders don’t stop learning and growing just because they’ve accumulated formal authority. They continue to build moral muscle by wrestling with questions of right and wrong, fairness and justice, what serves others and what doesn’t. 

Additionally, Seidman states that moral leaders “pause and continually ask if what they’re doing—or what their company or organization is doing—is compatible with their purpose and mission”.

How would you answer that question?

QWIKTIPS –  read more about ACTIONS AND BELIEFS

Seidman says: When you demonstrate moral authority, people follow you not because they have to, but because they want to.