Martin Giles from the Economist interviews interviews Ed Catmull, President of Pixar
Leadership is a tricky subject, at best. Perhaps this is why finding a single source that covers every aspect of this topic seems nearly impossible. And, what’s more, much of the information available on leadership today taps into dated research, making modern day leadership mastery more elusive than ever.
Sure, there in a plethora of information out there – books, websites, etc., but finding a credible, go-to source that can be counted to bring about strong results, can be next to impossible.
That is, until now.
For if you are a manager, team leader or inspired professional, you finally have within your reach the tools needed to lead successfully. Thanks to the team at Mind Tools, everything needed to achieve leadership success – the latest research, the proven tools, techniques, resources and exercises, have been assembled in a single resource, appropriately entitled “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You”.
Thoroughly researched and written by a recognized team of experts, “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” teaches the simple, practical principles that anyone can apply to become an effective leader.
Furthermore, this leadership course and workbook dispels the myths surrounding leadership (for example, that good leaders are born, not trained) by explaining the clear, simple, up-to-date principles that are the foundation of solid, respectable leadership. And it teaches the 48 essential skills needed to become an effective leader.
Written by Mind Tools Founder James Manktelow, who also wrote “Make Time for Success!” and “Stress Tools,” along with world-renowned leadership expert Felix Brodbeck and knowledge-transfer specialist Namita Anand, “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” is the result of a year-long collaborative effort that tapped into some of the greatest minds in the world’s leadership arena.
Furthermore, the course is brought to you by the highly-specialized MindTools.com team, one of the world’s most-visited management training and career development sites, educating more than 4,000,000 guests each year.
In keeping with the other information and resources offered at MIndTools.com, “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” delivers completely authoritative, accurate, up-to-date information, presented with the simple, accessible, no-nonsense, tools-based approach expected from MindTools.com.
“We believe that this is the only place you’ll get this winning combination of world-class expertise, simplicity and accessibility,” explains Manktelow, who has consulted major corporations in 12 countries worldwide and has successfully lead teams at all corporate levels.
“How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You,” is comprised of eight different modules, including:
- The Meaning of Leadership;
- Get to Know Yourself;
- Get "The Right Stuff”;
- Creating Winning Ideas;
- The Power to Rouse;
- Getting Things Done;
- Develop Your Team; and
- Get the Extra Edge.
Each module is followed by a detailed guide that shows exactly how to implement the tools and techniques, supported by exercises that further ensure participants have a full understanding of what it takes to be an effective leader.
Similar in format to other popular Mind Tools e-books and courses, there are also additional sources, links and other information provided throughout “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You.”
So if you’re ready to bring out that leader in you, and ready to be the effective and respected leader you know you can be, it’s time to work with ‘How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You'. And, rest assured, upon completion of this insightful course, not only will you be ready to lead, others, noting your new skills and developments, will undoubtedly be ready to follow!
Click here to improve your leadership skills at MindTools.com.
The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go.
t is a well known fact that most people believe that leaders are born, not made. It is also an unfortunate belief that those who have leadership potential also believe this as truth.
However the other camp believes that leaders can be made. The former statement is only partly true. There are those with charisma and the needed confidence to be leaders to the point they stand out as role models in many facets of society. Depending on work positions and a number of other factors these individuals are missing out on a grand slice of life. With just a bit of leadership training they might easily fulfill their role as society leaders.
Leadership skills can be easily developed through enrolling in the right courses. Inherent leadership skills can be developed and used to further ones career and status in life.
Why is leadership so important today? Commitment is a condition where you not only take responsibility for your actions but also assume the care and conditioning, failures and success of others. But it does require some action which has to be driven by an internal motivation. Once the decision is made to become a leader, the training will reinforce that decision towards reaching its fullest potential.
Embracing personal training in the leadership and development arenas helps the prospective leader showcase those gifts lying dormant. Leadership training impacts every area of the leader's life, from communication skills, self confidence all the way through to overall leadership abilities in every situation of life. There are numerous leadership seminars and workshops that offer an array of training for whatever areas are needed to bring out those uncultivated leadership qualities. Self esteem rises, self confidence shines through and emotional intelligence increases to the point that one may believe they can accomplish most anything.
Leadership development training goes beyond just being able to lead a group of people or an organization. The focus and drive of the training tempers the leader to perform and support groups of diverse people and backgrounds. Leaders gain insights into themselves, how people work best under varying circumstances as well as how to keep the groups they lead focused and motivated. Motivation and optimism are traits that a leader must have in order to lead effectively.
Principles and valuables are another important characteristic of would be leaders. Understanding your motivations and inclinations are important as leaders because people watch what you do more than what you say. Boldness and strength are essential as well. Regardless of how strong you are at leading people, they will not follow unless they are certain you can be trusted.
Whatever dominates you as an individual will be amplified when leadership skills are honed to the best. Expressing ideas succinctly and with conviction are key ingredients a leader must have. The confidence and certainty often showcase themselves in these situations. Leadership development training can help define these characteristics. This training also helps potential leaders recognize the barriers and excel at overcoming them in themselves and others.
Leadership training is not just for the already talented. There are workshops that dig deeper to help those less talented when entering such a program and enables them to become a leader from wherever you enter as long as you have the desire, determination and drive to learn, change and adapt.
Obviously faith in self is a must. If you think you can become a leader, you are right. If you have doubts you are right. So choosing the right mindset is important before you begin. If you are not selected for a leadership position in your work or company, it will serve you in every other area of life.
Leadership responsibilities are very serious. It impacts not only your life but the lives of those you decide to lead, so choose wisely. A lot of other peoples well-being depend on it.
Attitude plus aptitude equals altitude. These life altering resources, articles and FREE downloads are available for a limited time to help you identify what's holding you back from achieving all that you have dreamed. Revise your life blueprint to dramatically increase your self worth, outlook on life and net worth. By using these proven methods you'll discover how you can become the person you've always dreamed of being. You owe it to yourself to visit my self improvement guide, which also discusses the positive thinking quote and other misconceptions.
In this book, You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School, the goal is to share many of the simple truths of leadership that the author learned in 30 years as an entrepreneur. And the one he shares here, he says is near the top of his list. The chapter is titled, Attitude Isn't Everything, but It's Pretty Darn Close. Enjoy!
Excerpt from:
You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School,
by Mac Anderson
When hiring someone, start with the premise that attitudes are contagious. Then ask yourself one question...is theirs worth catching?
I've been in business for over 30 years and I've come to realize the difference in success and failure is not how you look, not how you dress, not how much you're educated, but...HOW YOU THINK!
In my business life, I've watched many very intelligent people fail miserably because they have a negative attitude; and I've also observed just as many people with average intelligence soar to success because of positive attitudes.
Southwest Airlines' VP of People is often asked the question: How do you get your people to be so nice? Her answer is always the same...
WE HIRE NICE PEOPLE
It sounds almost too simple to feel important, but "hiring nice people" has been the cornerstone of their amazing success in a highly competitive industry. They understand their competitors may be able to match their price and copy their business model, however, they feel that the spirit and the attitude of their employees will be extremely difficult to replicate. Never forget...
Great customer service is only delivered by nice, passionate, caring employees. There is no other way it can happen.
You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School is loaded with stories that are shared in a brief, but engaging way. Because so many times it's not what you say, but how you say it, that turns the switch from "off" to "on."
To watch the 3 minute movie for You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School or to see inside the book, just click here.
If you've ever been left in the dust when a co-worker's leadership skills earned a nice, fat promotion, then an impressive new leadership course called "How to Lead" can turn the tables.
"How to Lead" is offered by Mind Tools and it is the best system for transforming yourself into an effective, well-balanced, respected and successful leader.
This course is unique because it lets you learn, at your own pace, what you need to do to become an exceptional leader in your industry. This includes an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.
The course includes a workbook, "How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You", along with five self-assessment worksheets and seven email-based e-classes. The workbook format is a 185-page downloadable Adobe PDF, which takes 5 minutes to download on a 56K modem.
The workbook is divided into the following eight modules:
* The Meaning of Leadership - teaches essential concepts that form the foundation of effective business leadership
* Get to Know Yourself - includes five insightful self-tests that assist you in knowing yourself so that you can become a balanced and successful leader;
* Get the Right Stuff - shows you how to counter weaknesses, build self-confidence, project a dynamic attitude and leverage your own leadership strengths
* Creating Winning Ideas - step-by-step instructions on how to road-map your clear and compelling vision of how the future should be, such that other people will enthusiastically adopt your vision
* The Power to Rouse - learn how inspire people with your vision, as well as how to motivate them to give their very best
* Getting Things Done - some excellent tips and tricks on how to implement your vision
* Develop Your Team - shows you how to develop your people into highly-motivated and exceptionally effective team players
* Get the Extra Edge - walks you though the transition from good leader to being a great one by demystifying risk taking, networking and cross-cultural leadership
Since the workbook includes a module on self-assessment to determine your strengths and weaknesses, the course also includes five self-assessment sheets in MS Excel format.
If you've ever taken a pen-and-paper test as part of a business course, you know how tedious it can be to score such a test. You're constantly flipping back and forth to check correct answers, marking things right or wrong, and then there's the math you must do.
Fortunately, the authors of this course foresaw this, and created the self-assessment score sheets in MS Excel format. They download from the workbook in MS Excel format. Each sheet takes just under a minute on a 56K modem.
MS Excel automatically scores them and gives you the results. Students without MS Excel can complete the assessments on paper.
The seven email classes are broken up into one course per week for seven weeks. The classes function as guides for the workbook, and they provide coaching and motivation. You will find them quite thought-provoking.
Busy professionals will find the email courses a valuable source of reinforcement and a handy took with which to transform new ideas into good habits that will make a real, sustained difference in life.
For the money, this course is an exceptional value. In-person leadership courses run into the thousands of dollars, whereas this one costs only $47.
The best part is that you can try this course out at no risk, since it is offered with a "no questions asked" three-month, 100% money-back guarantee.
In summary, this course offers a complete leadership course in a user-friendly format at an excellent price. If you want to lead, "How to Lead" is a must-have.
"How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You" is published by MindTools.com. Click [LINK]here[/LINK] to find out more.
They draw on important strengths that extroverts may not have.
"Most people don't know that I'm an introvert."
I hear this confession from surprisingly many successful executives. Quite a few, in fact, talk at length with me about their introversion, speaking candidly and often cathartically about their experiences. Most also admit that at some point in their leadership journey they've had to work to overcome being disregarded or misunderstood because of their quiet temperament.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our
faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the
presence of fate is strength undefeatable."
-- Helen Keller
…………………………………………………………………
How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You
The "How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You" leadership system teaches the 48 essential skills needed to be an effective, respected leader.
It starts by helping you to evaluate your own leadership style, and learn to use your strengths and manage weaknesses. It then teaches the key skill-sets needed to lead effectively: Creation of a robust vision of the future; Motivation; Execution and Team member development. This course will give you the skills to be an effective, successful leader, and promises to transform our life.
"How to Lead" is an incredibly high quality program, developed by true world experts.
Are leaders born, or can you make the decision to become one? Whether your view is from the bottom up, the middle or the top – It's clear that your decisions make the difference. Read on ...
From the ezine of Leadership Wired
People are your business's most important asset. "You can't find anybody in corporate America who doesn't agree with this, but their actions are inconsistent with that statement," Fairbank told his audience. An important part of a CEO's job—as well as that of any other leader—is recruiting and motivating employees.
Cast a compelling vision, but don't allow your desire to overshadow your humanity. People are more likely to work hard for and cooperate with leaders who are authentic. Fairbank says this involves "being vulnerable, being honest and showing your weaknesses as well as your bold dream."
Success isn't about an impressive title or large paycheck. Rather, "It's about having a dream, a quest," Fairbank said. "[My father] used to say that, 'It doesn't matter how big the quest is. What matters is how pure the quest is. You can own your own success by virtue of defining it as a quest.'"
People who work in a specific industry often don't see, or respond to, the changes taking place around them, according to Richard Fairbank, chairman, president and CEO of Capital One Financial. That's because the industry's conventional wisdom is so embedded in their brains that they don't notice how stale it has become. "There's an old Will Rogers saying that sums it up," said Fairbank, who gave a talk on leadership this fall at Wharton. "It ain't what he don't know that scares me. It's what he knows that just ain't so."
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