, , , ,

Good thinking

If you watched the swimming events at the Olympics, you probably observed the incredible focus the medalists demonstrated. Sure, they're strong and fast. But when hundredths— maybe even thousandths—of a second are all that separate the winners from the losers, it's obvious that something besides strength and speed is at work.

A comment by Flip Darr, a former collegiate swimming coach who played a part in training eight Olympic medalists, sheds some light on what that critical ingredient might be. "I felt in my coaching career that if I would work on [the swimmers'] head[s], their bodies would come along," he said. "A lot of coaches work on their bodies and then at the last moment try to do their heads. The thing is, if they are working with their heads all the time, and working with their head over the body, mind over matter, they will have more confidence when they walk up to the block."

What a great illustration of the value of good thinking. Athletic ability is important, but preparing for the biggest race of one's life is as much mental as it is physical—if not more so. As Bill MacCartney, the former head football coach at the University of Colorado, once told me, "Mental is to physical what four is to one."
That's a powerful argument in the case for good thinking—on the football field, as well as in your office at work. The specific thoughts that increase your effectiveness as a leader might not be the same as those required for an Olympic medal, but the overall commitment to thinking is identical.

As we continue the discussion about thinking that we began in the last issue of Leadership Wired, here are five statements that further underscore the importance of solid contemplation. => http://bit.ly/vP7eZq

,

Words to Learn By

 by John C. Maxwell

In my years studying leadership and evaluating leaders, I have stumbled across a leadership shortcoming that continually amazes me. Leaders will manage a team, work with the same individuals every day, yet hardly know anything about their people! These leaders have never prioritized acquainting themselves with the dreams, thoughts, hopes, opinions, and values of those they lead.

The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.

I have found that leaders overestimate the amount of time and effort needed to get to know someone. In fact, in only one hour with you in private conversation, I could, probably by asking three questions, find the passion of your life:

What do you dream about?
 A person’s dreams are powerful revealers of passion. When a person starts to talk about their dreams, it’s as if something bubbles up from within. Their eyes brighten, their face glows, and you can feel the excitement in their words.

What do you cry about?  
 Passion can be uncovered by peering into the hurts deep inside a human soul. The experience of pain or loss can be a formidably motivating force. When listening to a story of grief, you hear a voice thick with emotion, you see watery eyes flooded with feeling, and in that moment you glimpse the intense connections between a person’s deepest pain and their greatest passion.

What makes you happy?
 I have fun hearing what makes people tick and seeing the smile that comes when they talk about where they find joy. Enjoyment is an incredible energizer to the human spirit. When a person operates in an area of pleasure, they are apt to be brimming with life and exuding passion.

If you can uncover a person’s dreams, hurts, and joys, you’ve discovered the central dimensions of their life.

The ability to connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching your full potential. In his popular training program, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, world-renowned leadership expert John C. Maxwell shares the keys to developing the crucial skill of connecting. It’s a skill you can apply in your personal, professional and family relationships—and you can start right now!Click here now for more details or to order!

,

From Pivotal Magazine – Why your Employees are Losing Motivation

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation—but sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration. Here are seven practices to fire up the troops. From Harvard Management Update

=> http://bit.ly/gfWyUr

8 traits of ineffective leaders

I’m often asked if there is a simple test that can be used to quickly determine an executive’s leadership ability? The short answer is yes…There are in fact a great number of tests that can quickly assess leadership ability. Something as simple as a 360 Review, or as complex as a deep psychological profile (both with weighted emphasis on leadership aptitude) can point out an individual’s leadership capabilities.

While much has been written about what leaders are, today’s post will highlight eight areas that will help you quickly pinpoint what leaders are not. The simple truth is that many people can feign adequate leadership ability in the short run, but the 8 traits outlined below will seperate the posers from the players 11 times out of 1o…

First of all, it is important to realize that just because someone is in a leadership position doesn’t necessarily mean they should be. Put another way, not all leaders are created equal. Frequent readers of this blog can find a veritable plethora of tips on becoming a better and more effective leader. However in the text that follows I’ll address how to spot ineffective leaders by assessing six critical areas of leadership DNA. While there are certainly more than eight areas that can be examined when discussing leadership ability and aptitude, there is no possible way for a person in a leadership role to experience sustainable success as a senior executive if they have issues in the following areas: => http://bit.ly/bOzYl7

, ,

Do You Recognize Resistance When You See It?

So, I'm trying to lose some weight. And I notice that the days that I declare to myself, "No sugar today," I end up eating sugar earlier than ever. I actually forget that I have even made myself this promise...usually until just a moment after the sugar is melting from my tongue.

Can you relate? Maybe not in this area, but we all have places where we do not keep promises to ourselves. Where do you do this?

Not following through on commitments is a form of resistance. You can probably see clearly how this resistance might sabotage my efforts toward my goal.
My resistance is brilliant. It continually takes new and different forms and is quite good at disguising itself and finding new ways to outsmart me. Your resistance is brilliant, too.

Resistance will keep us from achieving what we want and need. Worse than that, resistance has the power to sending us and our businesses careening in exactly the opposite direction.

Whether you are a leader in an organization or in your own life, anytime you find yourself in a change situation, you will find resistance. If you don't, you are not looking hard enough. It is the way of things. You will resist. Your staff will resist. Your boss will resist. Your clients will resist. Potential employers will resist. Your family will resist. The higher the stakes, the more resistance you will find.

If we are not aware that resistance is at work, resistance wins. But only 100% of the time.
Your only hope of overcoming resistance is to expect it. But even that isn't enough. You also have to value it and embrace it. You have to work with your resistance, not against it.

You have to get intimate with resistance. And that starts with recognizing it. Here's what you want to look for:

Obvious resistance is easy to spot:

Refusal
Arguing
Disruptive behavior The most powerful forms of resistance are usually much more subtle:
Not being available
Not getting started
Getting distracted and not completing
Offering misleading information
Bringing up other issues
Becoming very busy with something else
Getting sick
Anger
Irritation
Frustration
Confusion
Criticism
Silence
Feigning acceptance, without asking necessary questions or working out the details
Finding reasons to be removed from the task
Surfing the web
Compulsively checking your BlackBerry or iPhone
Oh yeah, and forgetting.

Which of these do you do? Which do you see the people you work with doing? Which do you see in your clients? Start noticing the signs of resistance in you and the people around you.

Remember resistance is very creative.

Next time, we'll talk about a few ways to work with your resistance.

Sharon Rich works with organizations and people approaching major change. Just look at the spectacular corporate failures of the past decade to see that talent and intelligence aren't enough to create success. Sharon helps leaders to get the specific tools, skills and perspectives they need to create successful change and make it stick. For more information and to get a complimentary copy of her article "6 WAYS LEADERS SABOTAGE CHANGE and 5 Principles Change Leaders Need Now," go to http://www.leadershipincorporated.com/Free_Stuff.html

Judgement and strength of a leader

The greatest psychological challenge in setting and acting on priorities has to do with resource allocation. Whether in a group meeting or through conventional budgeting and capital approval processes, you have to demonstrate judgment and courage in making resource allocation decisions that reflect your business priorities and in following through to ensure that the things that should be happening in fact are. You have to do the analytic work to separate out the facts and assess the opportunities and risks, but you also need to call upon your inner strength and judgment as John did as CEO of his company.

Read more  => http://bit.ly/bcf1wF

Leadership by empowerment?

Wayne Goldsmith asks "What's all this leadership by empowerment stuff all about?"

Here's his introduction ...

Leadership groups, leadership teams, player leadership teams, team councils………
What’s going on here? Players making decisions? Players leading? Players taking ownership of their training and playing programs?
What’s all this empowerment stuff about?
What does engagement mean? Is someone getting married?
And what the hell is a leadership group?
I thought coaches coached, managers managed, fans cheered, doctors doctored and players played.
All of sudden every AFL, rugby, football, cricket, netball and rugby league team has embraced a player empowerment leadership model. Five years ago, most of us couldn’t even spell it.

Love it!!

Nevertheless, what follows is an excellent article on leadership. Yes it's written from a football/sport perspective, but could apply equally well in any group or organisation. Well worth the read!

Does corporate leadership equate to political leadership?

Can a country be run in a similar way to running a business?  Does corporate leadership equate to political leadership?  It would be possible to find examples in support of both these questions and as much evidence to counter them but the contextual difference is important to note when considering leadership in general.

Read more ...

, ,

A Movie about Leadership

Leadership means many things to many people. But what are some of the shared qualities that all great leaders have?

Leadership – It's All About Style

Someone Once Asked Me...How would you define your management and leadership style? Silly, grasshopper!

In seriousness, I responded that I have a blended style most influenced by Stephen Covey (initially with the Franklin Planner Class taken many moons ago), and over the last few years David Allen with his Getting Things Done methodology. I am absolutely goal and results oriented, but I would classify that as my management style.

Leadership is completely different. Leadership is about people, and helping others to be more successful than if they had never met you. My leadership style is dynamic, and almost chameleon like, meaning, I attempt to change to be the most effective for the given situation. People, and thus situations, are unique, and require a custom leadership style. However, with that said, you must have consistency, and even though the style may be different, or the path to get where you are going may be different, the end result should be the same. To obtain consistency, you rely upon your principles, and values to guide the way - they are your rock, your foundation. Staying true to your values and principles is how you build credibility and it is how you 'lead by example', or never get in a situation where you 'ask someone to do what you would not do yourself'.

I also fully believe that people inherently want to the right thing, and most importantly, they want to do a good job and be successful. Of course, there are some that fall out of that, but fortunately, they are easy to pick out, and the solution is to send them on their merry way. However, there are good people, who are not successful. Why? They either do not have the tools to be successful, or they are in the wrong career/position. Through careful conversations, one must determine the root cause. Possibly the right answer is to help them see that they are in the wrong position, and help them get in the right position, which may be inside your company, or even outside. Even if the person does need to leave the company, eventually, they will be better off both from a career and personal perspective. If the person is in the right position, then the issue could be situational, communication, or tools. The key is to identify the barriers of success, and then put a plan in place to resolve. More often than not, the root cause is communication - did the person know the goal, what is preventing the goal from being achieved. Identifying the problems is the key to success.

TWS (TW Smith) is one of the key authors on the website, Random Central, a site dedicated to random thoughts and ideas to make life more enjoyable. Please visit our web site for tips and tricks on life's challenges.

http://www.randomcentral.com