10 Dec
[email protected] Leadership

Leadership Self-Assessment

You need to assess yourself on a yearly basis and see how far you have gone
and what you still need to work on.
–Sunday Adelaja

For those familiar with our book “12 Steps For Courageous Leadership” you’re aware of our belief that courage is the most important attribute required in order for leaders to be effective and successful.

Below are the 12 “Courageability” factors we’d like you to self-evaluate. Score yourself from 1 – 10
(1 = poor and 10 = superb).

Score

_____ Lives and works with passion

_____ Documents and shares your goals

_____ Commits to addressing and tracking your goals

_____ Understands and leverages your strengths and the strengths of others

_____ Communicates with confidence and clarity

_____ Manages conflict and understands how it can be inspirational

_____ Develops others

_____ Effectively delegates

_____ Continually commits to enriching your skill-set

_____ Remains controlled at all times

_____ Consistently rewards and recognizes others

_____ Learns and grows from failures

How were your scores?  Were any below 7?  What about less than 5?

Are you a courageous leader?

Take time to regularly assess how you spend your time. Be ready to make changes that suit the goals pursued at a particular time.
― Israelmore Ayivor, Shaping the dream

 

03 Dec
[email protected] Change

Down To The Last Month!

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past.
Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.
—Brooks Atkinson

What a year. December is upon us and as we wrap up 2020, it’s not quite yet time to “let it go” as the above quote suggests. There’s one month left with time allowing us the possibility to achieve more goals, to ensure all accomplishments have been celebrated, and that 2021 planning has been initiated.

With reduced resources due to holiday and vacation time, what are your priorities?

Ask yourself:
1.What’s the number one goal/task I’d like to see completed before year end?

2.Have all major 2020 accomplishments been recognized and rewarded?

3.How are staffing/resource levels? Does anything need to be done prior to 1/1/2021?

4.Are there any major goal/vision/mission changes for 2021?

5.Do budgets include “people skill” development? Should they?

6.What was the #1 obstacle encountered in 2020 and can anything be done to remove barriers?

7.Do any new skills or behaviors need to be strengthened?

8.What about roles and responsibilities – could changes be beneficial?

9.Are relationships in place to discuss and address shared 2021 goals?

Ask your colleagues and direct reports to answer these same questions – ideally you’ll be on the same page to graciously “let go” of 2020 and be ready for 2021.

Life gives us a flair of awareness in the breeze of our daily journey and offers a free reign to explore what we are, to experience what we are not and to find out what we may become . . 
― Erik Pevernagie

26 Nov
[email protected] Success

Reasons To Be Thankful

Thankfulness breeds success.
– John Hersey

During stressful times, we sometimes need to be reminded of things to be thankful for.

2020 has not been an easy year, and for some it’s been downright awful, so we’d like to share 7
things Success Magazine suggests we focus on:

  1. Appreciate the things you have
  2. Keep a gratitude journal
  3. Focus on being grateful
  4. Show you care
  5. Get in the feeling good habit
  6. Have an attitude of gratitude
  7. Fake thankfulness – if times are tough, think positive thoughts. Take a few minutes to reflect on the positives in your life, both professionally and personally, and may you always have reasons to be thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

19 Nov
[email protected] Change

Fun With Yogi-isms

When fun gets deep enough, it can heal the world.
– the Oaqui

2020 has been a unique year and one that we think many are anxious to put behind us. So many have suffered with stress due to the threat of or actual health issues, lay-offs, business failures, and political turmoil.

Because of this we’ve decided to lighten it up and want to share “Yogi-isms” in hopes of bringing smiles.

For those that don’t know, Yogi Berra was an 18-time Baseball All-Star and appeared in 14 World Series as a member of the Yankees. In addition to his baseball excellence, he was known for his memorable sayings because most didn’t make sense. We’re referring to these as Yogi-isms and hope some actually make you chuckle!

  1. When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
  2. You can observe a lot by just watching.
  3. It ain’t over till it’s over.
  4. It’s like déjà vu all over again.
  5. No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.
  6. Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.
  7. A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
  8. Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.
  9. We made too many wrong mistakes.
  10. Congratulations. I knew the record would stand until it was broken.
  11. You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.
  12. You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.
  13. I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.
  14. Never answer an anonymous letter.
  15. Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.
  16. The future ain’t what it used to be.
  17. It gets late early out here.
  18. Pair up in threes.
  19. Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.
  20. You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.

Yogi also shared “I never said most of the things I said”, and we’ll conclude by saying “Life is no fun without fun”.

Wishing you an abundance of fun!

There are going to be good times and bad times, but lighten up.
– Chris Pine

12 Nov
[email protected] Change

Growth, Change and Stress

To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.
–Winston Churchill

We agree that growth, development, and improvement require change, along with most likely a bit of stress. Until we’re willing to accept that, we may be limiting our opportunities. Note: We don’t support Churchill’s concept of being perfect!

You’ve heard before that what got you to where you are today will more than likely NOT take you to your desired next level of achievement and that’s primarily because things change.

Times, strategies, technology, budgets, skill-sets, customers, partnerships, and shareholders change and as change occurs, it’s up to us to meet associated challenges and swiftly “evolve” and grow. We also need to recognize that discomfort may occur and we should reflect on the “why” and consider options for managing our feelings.

As leaders we need to take time and pay attention to what’s happening to us, and we also need to pay attention to those we work with. So many are currently working remotely but we still need to understand the pulse of our team/organization. Consider: How’s productivity? Enthusiasm levels on calls? Team Collaboration? Attitudes? Communication?

Physical and emotional health suffer when change is not managed and stress becomes unhealthy instead of energizing and motivating.

In late 2019 (pre covid-19), Daily Life reported:

  • 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress.
  • US businesses lose up to $300 billion yearly as a result of workplace stress.
  • Stress causes around one million workers to miss work every day.
  • Only 43% of US employees think their employers care about their work-life balance.
  • Depression leads to $51 billion in costs due to absenteeism and $26 billion in treatment costs.
  • Work-related stress causes 120,000 deaths and results in $190 billion in healthcare costs yearly.

This year the CDC suggests watching for:

  • Feeling irritation, anger, or in denial
  • Feeling uncertain, nervous, or anxious
  • Lacking motivation
  • Feeling tired, overwhelmed, or burned out
  • Feeling sad or depressed
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Having trouble concentratingWe need to take care of our own needs and be cognizant of and address the needs of those around us. This will position the workplace to better manage work stress without becoming overwhelmed.  Like the cocoon to the butterfly, we need to grow and change!

Progress is impossible without change and those that can not change their minds can not change anything.
–George Bernard Shaw

05 Nov
[email protected] Leadership

What Makes A Good Boss?

A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.
—Russell H. Ewing

Last week we discussed employee satisfaction levels, servant leadership, and “worst leadership behaviors to avoid”.  Today we’ll provide a list of desired leadership skills and abilities that our clients have shared with us over the years:

  • Great leaders are great listeners. They listen so closely that others feel that they’ve been heard.
  • Great leaders genuinely care about their staff’s careers not just performing a task. They show this by having one-on-ones that focus on their staff or even their peers and by providing mentoring and coaching.
  • Great leaders understand different types of people and how to treat each one as unique and special. They understand and respect if some individuals need space to think and plan.
  • Great leaders stretch their people to excellence.
  • Great leaders are in the boat with you and have compassion for the things you’re experiencing. You can feel their involvement and they make themselves visible during difficult times.
  • Great leaders truly feel PEOPLE really come first because of their actions, not just by what they say but rather by what they do.
  • Great leaders paint and clarify the vision.
  • Great leaders are inspirational and motivate others.
  • Great leaders reward, recognize, train, and create promotional opportunities.
  • Great leaders manage conflict and differences to help individuals and organizations grow.
  • Great leaders are consistent.
  • Great leaders lead by example and focus on the big picture.

We’ll also add one component that we view as essential: TRUST. As Patrick Lencioni says, trust is the foundation for success.

This list could certainly be added to, but are there any that you disagree with? Let us know!

 

29 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Employee Satisfaction

Improving job satisfaction could be the single most important thing a boss can do.
–Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger

If you are a leader, McKinsey Quarterly authors Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger claim there is only one question that you need to ask and resolve:

How do I make my team members’ lives easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally?

This isn’t easy to answer, and not only do leaders need to take into account their team members satisfaction levels, but they must also satisfy the needs of stakeholders/shareholders and internal/external customers.

Enter Servant Leadership, which per Wikipedia is defined as:
A Servant Leader shares power, puts the needs of the employees first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. Servant leadership inverts the norm, which puts the customer service associates as a main priority. Instead of the people working to serve the leader, the leader exists to serve the people.

Based on research, this mindset enhances relationships, team performance, and satisfaction levels. And it’s even suggested that managers are happier when they feel they are supporting others in their daily activities.

Conflict arises when workers are viewed as high performers for obtaining goals and possessing technical skills and as a result get promoted into leadership roles without taking into account “people” skills.

It’s probably no surprise that there is a direct link between employee satisfaction levels and the “boss relationship”, and surveys report that 75% of those surveyed said that their immediate boss was the most stressful aspect of their job.

As leaders we need to be very aware of our leadership style and our impacts on others. Dr. Travis Bradberry shares the “Worst Behaviors” to avoid:

  • Making a lot of stupid rules 
  • Letting accomplishments go unrecognized
  • Hiring and promoting the wrong people
  • Treating everyone equally
  • Tolerating poor performance
  • Going back on their commitments
  • Being apathetic

Next week we’ll talk about desired leadership skills and abilities; in the meantime, are there any behaviors you need to avoid to improve employee satisfaction levels?

There is one essential area where companies can create enormous social value: job satisfaction. –Tera Allas and Bill Schaninger

22 Oct
Journaling
[email protected] Leadership

Is Journaling An Art?

A personal journal is an ideal environment in which to become. It is a perfect place for you to think, feel, discover, expand, remember, and dream.
–Brad Wilcox

If you’ve been through the Leadership Journey program you know that we encourage journaling. Is it an art? No. It’s simply a place to record your thoughts, your goals, and even your disappointments.

Studies report that journaling can actually improve your health by reducing stress and negative energy. Interesting!

Getting started can be as simple as writing one sentence. Some ideas are:

  • Capture the behaviors that made your day successful.
  • What made you feel good?
  • What did you accomplish?
  • Where did you add value?
  • Were there any innovative solutions?
  • Did you inspire anyone?
  • Did you learn anything new?

You can also write about things that didn’t go as well as you would have liked. Capture:

  • What was the situation?
  • Why do you think it went “south”?
  • What have you learned from it?
  • What could you change?

You can also write about personal and professional goals.

  • What’s your dream job?
  • Is there a place you’d like to travel to? Write about it!

You can even just doodle or draw pictures. The idea is that you record and explore your emotions. It’s a place where you can get creative, dream, plot and plan, and release negative thoughts or ill feelings.

Give it a try!

Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.
— Robin Sharma

 

15 Oct
Thinking
[email protected] Leadership

What Do You Think?

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
― Aristotle

What Do You Think about the concept of being a continual learner? That the more you know, the more there is left to learn? You’ve obtained degrees, certifications, licenses, etc, so does that mean you’re done learning? Hopefully not!

Often we need to keep our technical and professional skills up to date, but what about our “people” skills and even understanding our current passion and desires?

Do you devote time for increasing your awareness levels? Is self-development something you enjoy doing? What about being committed to better understanding and communicating with others and helping others do the same?

PeopleTek has created a LEADERSHIP COMPASS which is a combination of leadership skills, traits, behaviors, and talents, along with concepts from the Johari Window to help individuals better understand themselves and relationships with others.

Below is a subset of the components we recommend you assess, explore and develop. For scoring, use a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being best.

  1.  Awareness:   Do you know which of your behaviors and skills are considered strengths versus growth areas? Do you know which behaviors and skills are considered strengths in your colleagues? What about their development areas?
  2.  Magic Dust: Do you have a clear understanding of the value you provide and your natural strengths and abilities?
  3. Vision/Mission/Goals: Are they written, communicated, tracked monthly, and do all of your behaviors support them?
  4. Communication: Are your messages accurately interpreted? Do you know how to use varied approaches and styles to improve results and enhance relationships?
  5. Clarity: Do you (or your team) clearly understand their roles, responsibilities, and desired organizational results?
  6. Accountability: Do you live up to your commitments? What about encouraging others to do the same?
  7. Conflict: Can you manage differences in a healthy, respectful manner?
  8. Influence: Do you have an effective presence that favorably impacts interactions and inspires others?
  9. Relationships: Are you proficient at building & maintaining lasting relationships?
  10. Feedback: Are you open and receptive to giving and receiving feedback?
  11. Inspiration: Do you empower and stretch others making them feel valued?
  12. Change: Do you embrace change and effectively communicate the “how and why”?

What do you think about the need to continually learn, grow and transform? It’s always a great time to invest in yourself and others!

And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?
― Rumi

08 Oct
Keep On Truckin'
[email protected] Change, Success

Keep On Truckin’

Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly
you are doing the impossible.
—St. Francis of Assisi

Keep on Truckin’ is an oldie but goodie slogan from the 60s (some reports even say from the 30s!) that to many simply meant “hang in there”.  Seems like this a good time to remind ourselves, and others, to do just that!

Even those with the most positive mindset are feeling worn-out. When will we have normalcy, and what will define the new normal? No one knows the answer, but we can define how we address the unknowns, and hopefully along the way also help others.

Components required for success have not changed. Goals still need to be achieved with our vision and mission continually supported. Innovative thinking and enhancing existing processes are never ending, and we need to be aware of how we feel, and even more importantly be acutely aware if our attitude is dimming. So, what can we do?

Success contributor Lydia Sweatt provides 17 quotes to help us with a refresh.

  1. Your limitation—it’s only your imagination.
  2. Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.
  3. Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.
  4. Great things never come from comfort zones.
  5. Dream it. Wish it. Do it.
  6. Success doesn’t just find you. You have to go out and get it.
  7. The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.
  8. Dream bigger. Do bigger.
  9. Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.
  10. Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.
  11. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
  12. Little things make big days.
  13. It’s going to be hard, but hard does not mean impossible.
  14. Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.
  15. Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.
  16. The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles.
  17. Dream it. Believe it. Build it.

Do you have any favorites? Did any make you smile or maybe even cringe? One of our favorites is Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.

Hang in there!

The comeback is always stronger than the setback.
Dr. Jill Murray

 

 

01 Oct
Stayingi Connected
[email protected] Interpersonal Skills

Relationships and Staying Connected

Everything we do right now — from sending emails to making calls to sending texts — is more important than ever. How we make people feel now is going to linger longer than these turbulent times.—Barbara Palmer

No doubt about it, work relationships are essential. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or work for a large corporation, are self-employed, or work in the service industry. All require that we stay connected and show genuine interest in those we interact with.

Networking and building relationships have changed in our current world. We still need to consider and connect with customers/clients, suppliers/buyers, shareholders/stakeholders,  and maybe public figures, vendors, and government agencies. Regardless of your line of work, you can’t let relationships go cold.

It’s not a good time to invite others to lunch or jointly attend a conference, but you can use email, social media, or zoom/webex, etc to have casual check-ins. Simply asking how they are doing and sharing wishes that their co-workers and family members are well opens doors and creates a connection. You can also ask about their line of work; many are suffering and a friendly ear that simply listens is valuable. Listen more than you talk!

For those that you have less frequent contact with, keep track of when you’ve last reached out to them. Jot down notes about your last connection and personalize the follow up for future touch points. (There are many tools available to use and even excel can be helpful to track names, dates and topics).

And, you can’t forget about those you work with on a daily basis: direct reports, colleagues, co-workers, bosses, outsource partners, etc.  What are you doing to stay connected and show you care about them? Most all are getting weary with “isolation”, and in the past vacation time was used to refresh and have a change of scenery. This is no longer the case; a friend pointed out that very few are taking time off as how that time is spent is limited. Most want fun, travel, or rest and relaxation in a desirable setting and those options are mostly on hold.

If you’re a leader, make your connection more than just about work assignments and quality reviews. There are many jokes, comics, and images that can be shared to make each day brighter and create a chuckle. Who wouldn’t appreciate something to smile about?

Relationships are the basis for all of life’s rewards and struggles.
–Lee Colan

24 Sep
Master Your Mindset
[email protected] Success

Master Your Mindset

What’s the biggest difference between those who succeed and those who don’t? Mindset.
–Karima Mariama-Arthur

To say that 2020 has been an interesting year is an under-statement. We‘ve all experienced change, and for some, challenges. How successful have you been at maintaining a positive mindset? Have you been able to achieve what you desire? Has your ability to stay on track and assess your progress been successful, or have you encountered (or created) barriers? As the quote at the top of the page says,  our mind-set creates the biggest difference.

6 Essential Mindset Principles that will help (excerpts from Julian Hayes)

1. Keep your word to yourself.
This builds self-respect and a positive identity. Successful people understand that every time you break the promises you make to yourself, you feed your identity as an impostor and weaken your self-confidence as a person of action.

2. Use envy to your advantage.
Successful people understand that beneath the layers of envy lies a core need they desire. Ask yourself why you feel envy. Once you know the root cause, you can address ways to gain the things you want, like time and freedom, right now while building your dream.

3. Have no self-pity.
One of the big differentiators between those who stay the course along the journey of personal growth compared to those who get off track lies within the ability to rebound quickly from setbacks. Successful people understand that wallowing and making excuses for themselves only zaps their personal power. When you blame external circumstances, you’re effectively giving your personal power away.

4. Understand that ‘failure’ is feedback.
Failure is about perspective; there is no such thing unless you deem it that. Successful people understand that failure is an illusion created inside their minds, and they perform mental alchemy to construct an empowering reality instead.

5. Operate with an investor’s mentality.
Like investments, your personal journey will experience its peaks and valleys. Successful people understand that emotions and outcomes rise and fall along the way. The key is to stay the course and view the journey as a marathon, not a sprint. Operate with an investor’s mentality and delay gratification today for something great tomorrow.

6. Fixate on the vision but be flexible on the details.
Think of your goals as the destination and the various actions, habits, and strategies as your vehicles. Numerous potential vehicles can help you arrive at your desired destination; the key lies in finding the right ones uniquely suited to you. Successful people are stubborn with what they want, but they understand that arriving at the end destination will involve detours and unexpected side roads to explore.

Have you successfully mastered your mind-set? Do you need to look at things from a different perspective? Be aware that “gremlins” sometime get in the way; when you’re prepared for possible barriers or obstacles, you’re better positioned to overcome them.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
– Napoleon Hill

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