Can Leaders be Developed?

Like anything else, leadership ability is distributed throughout a population. Some people are "natural" leaders, others prefer to operate capably within a well-defined context, and many people are somewhere in between.

Natural leaders have important core abilities, but they often need careful training in the more practical aspects of converting a creative vision into a concrete program of action. Very often, they need to understand the length of the change life-cycle so they don't underestimate the importance of persistence.

Most people, however, can develop their leadership skills by working at it. The process starts with the recognition that leadership requires "ambidextrous" activities. The first hurdle is recognizing that excellence at the day-to-day is critical, but it is not enough. The second is the need to look inside yourself and decide whether you are willing to be uncomfortable for a prolonged period while you conceptualize and lead the change. The ultimate reward is the deep satisfaction that comes from seeing something new that wouldn't have been there if you had not created it.

Once you decide to become a leader, you can develop the characteristics you'll need by being thoughtful about the accomplishments that you want on your resume, and deciding to devote the time and attention needed to achieve them. Like anything else, practice makes perfect.

To be a great leader, you need a certain level of intellect, but not necessarily great genius. You need a certain level of social skills, but not necessarily those of a great salesperson. However, you do need a compulsion to operate at two levels: to be a great doer, and a great reflector.

Most importantly, to be a great leader, you need to find what you really like. That's where the passion, commitment, and integrity come from. In my experience, the most important underlying factor in leadership is whether a person has searched out and found a great match between what's in his or her heart, which is what he or she really enjoys, and the work situation.

Think about the definition of leaders, "people who leave their footprints in their areas of passion." It's easy to focus on the first part, how to leave footprints. But the real power comes from the second, working in your area of passion.

How can you recognize leadership potential in a young person? The most important clue is whether the person has identified and sought out a work situation in which he or she feels real passion. If a person doesn't have the drive or ability to get his or her own situation right, how will he or she be able to do this for a company? If you're doing what you really like, you almost can't help but feel passion toward making it better.

Source Jonathan Byrnes

How to Measure Your Effectiveness As a Leader

The demands for leaders are growing each day and many find themselves being consumed in their organization and not finding the time to be effective leaders. Working "on the business to achieve results through others" requires leaders who are focused on what they need to achieve and are actively thinking about how to adopt the correct leadership behaviors to achieve results. This requires a clear understanding of what leaders do. Many, when asked, find it difficult to clearly explain what they do to be a leader, and therefore have difficulty in owning their leadership development. One leadership model that delegates have found provides an excellent practical model is the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) by Kouze & Posner. The model has 5 key leadership behaviors

Challenging the process
Inspiring a shared vision
Enabling others to perform
Modelling the way
Encouraging the heart

The 360 online feedback process by boss, colleagues, direct reports  and self clearly provides feedback on your effectiveness in these 5 key leadership behaviors.  Individuals are able to priorities areas for improvement, implement change and measure their improvement by repeating the 360 process within a year. LPI really makes you see your leadership as it is, not how you perceive it to be and enables you to take action and rise to the challenge of improving your leadership of each individual and the team. Experience has shown this is a feedback process that is extremely challenging,– are you ready for the challenge? This process is a key part of helping individuals understand themselves to improve their effectiveness as a professional manager Linking personality, leadership and culture into a seamless journey of development for managers in any organization has a profound impact on organizational performance. Individual managers  personal perceptions are frequently different from  perceptions of others.  To be an effective leader you have to manage all 3 aspects...Do you manage all three? If you want to be an effective leader these issues must be addressed. By choosing a practical and effective form of Leadership Development Training you will notice a huge improvement on your ability to Lead.

5 Things You Should Say Today

This is a great and motivational article.

I left the company years ago for another but I still run into former colleagues. Usually the ensuing conversation involves something along the lines of, “Hey, did you hear about the (latest management decision I think is really stupid) at the plant?”

This question was different.

“You worked there for almost 20 years,” my ex-coworker said. “Is there anything you wish you could go back and do over?"

I thought about it later. I don't really regret strategic errors or poor tactical decisions or career missteps (I made plenty of those.) I certainly regretted those things then, but now, not really.

Instead I most regret the things I didn't say: To employees who reported to me, to some of my peers, and to at least one person I worked for. Those are moments I'd like to have back.

It's too late for me, but it’s not too late for you. Here are five things you should say—today—to people you work with:

“That was great how you...” No one receives enough praise. No one. Pick someone who did something well and tell them.

Feel free to go back in time. Saying, “I was just thinking about how you handled that project last year...” can make just as positive an impact today as it would have then. (Maybe a little more impact, because you still remember what happened a year later.) Surprise praise is a gift that costs the giver nothing but is priceless to the recipient.

“Can you help me...?” One of my biggest regrets is not asking a fellow supervisor for help. I was given the lead on a project he really wanted. To his credit, he swallowed his pride—he was senior to me in tenure and perceived status—and told me he would be happy to help in any way he could.

Even though I could tell he really wanted to participate, I never let him. I decided to show I could handle the project alone. I let my ego be more important than his feelings.

Asking someone for help implicitly recognizes their skills and value. Saying, “Can you help me?” is the same as saying, “You're great at that.”

And there’s a bonus: You get help.

“I'm sorry I didn't...” We’ve all screwed up. There are things we need to apologize for: Words. Actions. Omissions. Failing to step up, or step in, or simply be supportive.

Say you're sorry. And don't follow up your apology with a disclaimer like, “But I was really upset...” or, “I thought you were...” or any statement that in any way places even the tiniest amount of blame back on the other person.

Say you're sorry, say why you're sorry, and take all the blame. No less. No more.

“Can I help you...?” Then flip it around. In some organizations, asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness. Many people naturally hesitate to ask. But everyone needs help.

Don't just say, “Is there anything I can help you with?” Most people will automatically say, “No, I'm all right.” Be specific. Say, “I've got a few minutes... can I help you finish that?”

Offer in a way that feels collaborative, not patronizing or gratuitous.

And then actually help.

“I'm sorry I let you down.” I was assigned a project in a different department. It was a project I definitely didn't want. So, to my discredit, I let it slide. I let other people take up my slack and focused on projects I was more interested in.

To his credit, my manager had stuck his neck out to get me the project so I could get broader exposure but I, well, didn't care. Eventually my manager said, “Everyone knows you're really busy, so they have decided to handle it themselves.”

I felt bad but I never said, “I know you were trying to help me. I'm sorry I let you down. I promise it will never happen again.” That one statement would have chased a very large elephant from the room.

The biggest elephants are emotional elephants. It's up to you to chase them away.

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business.

Source inc

Make Your Goals a Reality

How can you make your goals a reality?

How do you get from fantasizing about realizing your goals to actually achieving them? Many people dream about starting their own business, going back to school, losing weight, or any number of goals, but smell defeat even before trying. So what's the difference between those who do and those who don't? How can you get from here to there? The truth is that goal setting is extraordinarily easy. Note the millions of people who pledge any number of goals at the beginning of the New Year. Even though most us think of different goals we would like to achieve in our lifetime, few of us actually accomplish them.

How can you make your goals a reality?

The truth is that goal realization is a process. The steady work of achieving your goals is what really matters in the end. The actual process of achieving your goals is what allows you to grow as a person, and to achieve success in your own right. So how do you approach the process of goal realization in a way that cultivates freedom, joy, and ultimately, success? Here is a checklist of different things you should keep in mind when in pursuit of your goals.

First, all successful goal-seekers know that in order to achieve your goals you must be successful. People who speak or think abstractly about something they would "someday" like to accomplish tend to abandon their goals or let them languish in the margins of their life. Be specific. What is it exactly that you would like to accomplish? Do you want to write a novel? Go back to school? Start a theater troupe? Be as specific as possible. Articulate your dream. Get out a pad and pen and write down what you want. Be realistic with yourself. What will you probably need in order to accomplish your goal? What are the inherent sacrifices or compromises that you foresee? What kind of resources will you need to succeed? Describe your goal clearly. The simple act of writing it down will make it seem more real, and make the path toward your goal will appear more palpable.

Now that you've been specific about your goals, and honest about how realistic they are, it's time to think about making your goals measurable. Many people make New Year's resolutions "to be more healthy." This is awfully vague! How do you know when you are "more healthy"? Everyone has a different definition for this. Make your goal specific and measurable.

Next, you must set a reasonable timeline for achieving your goals. Don't let your goals fall to the wayside, or languish in the realm of "someday" thinking. Break down your goals into manageable sections. The smaller these sections, the easier and smoother the journey will seem. Set deadlines for yourself, and make them short. If you're working on your goal of writing the great American novel, don't give yourself a deadline of two years. Instead, give yourself a deadline of finishing a chapter a month, two pages a day, or ten pages a week. Whatever works for your specific situation. The important thing is to be specific, to set short and firm deadlines for yourself that are easy to keep track of.

An important part of goal realization that many people overlook is the way they communicate their goals. People speak of "trying to lose weight," of "trying to start a business," or "trying to learn how to play the piano." "Trying" often doubles as a security clause. It serves to protect us from failure by providing us with security hatch. Speak confidently about your goal. Don't speak of "trying." Instead, say you "will lose weight," or you "will play the piano." Don't give yourself an easy way out of achieving your goal.

The final and most important part of your goal realization process is to harness a deep and abiding passion for your goal. You cannot simply motivate yourself out of fear or guilt. You must truly care about achieving your goal. If you don't possess a passion for your goal, if you can 'take it or leave it,' chances are that you will not be successful.

Source

How To Achieve Greatness In Your Life

Everyone has a different vision of success in life. Your greatness can be defined as anything you wish; you simply need to do some self-reflection to decide what is most important to you.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself:

• How important is financial wealth to me?


• Is having a happy or large family the most important thing in my life?


• Are there certain skills or gifts that I would like to master?


• When I die, what will be the most important goal I achieved?

How To Achieve Your Goals

It doesn't really matter what you've set as your true calling, maybe it's becoming a millionaire, living on the beach, or having a large family. The most important thing is that you have found your definition of greatness that personally applies to you.

Your next step is to form an action plan on how to achieve this goal. It may take a lifetime, but the only way you're going to get there is with a plan!

Think Less Do More

It's easy to get lost in your thoughts and plans, but you won't achieve greatness by daydreaming alone. You need to take some powerful action to get there! Greatness won't just fall into your lap - you need to work hard in order to get there.

Small Steps

Your definition of greatness is probably a lofty, multi-year goal, which can be a very intimidating and daunting task. But it doesn't have to be so bad when you plan things out day by day in small, manageable steps.

It's vital to take life day by day and, at the same time, keep the bigger picture in mind. When you set and achieve your small daily goals, you'll build momentum without getting too overwhelmed.

Surrounded Yourself With Good People

It's always great to be in the company of good, positive people. When you have someone you can look up to and model, you're bringing yourself one step closer to greatness.

It's also a good idea to be surrounded by people who can inspire, motivate, and encourage you. My biggest advice to you is to keep the negative, complaining type out of your life. Those people won't bring you anywhere good!

Setbacks

It's common to run into setbacks on your way to greatness. Things are not always going to turn out like you expect, but that is part of the journey to your success! When you hit a snag in the road, you need to pick yourself up, change course, and forge on.

Of course, you'll want to maintain a high level of enthusiasm toward your goal. If a setback has got you down in the dumps, take a short break, then trudge along again! Don't allow anything to get in the way of your goals.

You Are Already There

Every once in a while it's important to take a step back and reflect at your life. Are you enjoying your life and your journey? If so, then you're actually already living your dream.

Remember: All you'll ever have is the present moment. If you like where you are and where you're going, greatness is already yours!

Source Solve Your Problems

 

The Basics of Leadership

There is much debate, theory and confusing jargon surrounding the issue of leadership. What is it? Who does it? How to do it well? If you are only a newly promoted team leader then there is only a few things you need to know to start leading and take control.

When you first get promoted and are put in charge of the performance of a team you become a leader. But nothing inside you has changed to make you a different person ready for this role. In fact, it will probably take you over a year to get used to your new role and start to really get the best out of your team.

You’re a leader because your team put you there and treat you like one, if you lose their support you have no other power left.

It may seem weird but when you become a leader your power actually reduces. As a team member you have the power to put in more effort and do a better job to increase your performance. When you are a leader you’re responsible for the performance of a group and the group ultimately decides your performance. They choose whether to act or not and how much effort they will put in.

When you become a leader your power may go down but you have gained influence with your team. Your team looks to you and what you say and do  and adjust their behavior based on that.

The result is that you use your behavior  to influence the behavior of the people in your team to achieve your goal.

Achieving your goal is not your only role as a leader. Caring for your team and looking out for them is also a big part of leadership, you rely on them so you should also look out for them.

It can be possible to achieve short term results without caring for your teams well being. But in the long term your success will be worse as team moral and other issues cause your people to work at a minimum standard.

Overall you can measure your leadership based on those two criteria. Did we reach our goal? Is my team better off because of it?

Source Leadership Quotes

Building a Successful Business Team

Building a successful business team is probably one of the most difficult parts of creating a successful business. Whether you’re one of a team of three business partners or the leader of a team of ten people in a larger department of a large business, building a successful business team is important.

Since you’re working with people here, building a business team can be a bit unpredictable. There’s no such thing as a perfect business team, but a good team will be a blend of people with different work traits and personality characteristics that tent to balance one another out so that your team can work effectively.



While it will take some time to make your team truly successful, these five secrets can help you speed the process along. Here’s what you need to know about creating a successful business team:

1. Set Expectations

One of the main problems with business teams and gauging their level of success is that no one defines what “success” means. This secret is twofold: you need your team to understand the overall objectives of your business, and you need the team to understand what is expected of them as far as performance and outcomes go.

This may be something you aren’t quite sure of yourself yet, particularly if you’re just starting out a business with a small team of people. However, it’s worth spending some time thinking about. What are the actual goals of your business? Of course, you want to make money, as all businesses do, but think beyond that. How are you going to make money? What actions and attitudes are going to make that process better and easier? Creating a clear, concise, and meaningful statement of purpose can help you move this thought process along, though this can, in itself, be a difficult thing to do!

Just as you need to figure out the goals of your business, you need to figure out the goals of your business team. If the team is the entire business, then this will be pretty easy. If the team is part of a larger organization, it may be more difficult. However, you’ll have no way to tell if your team is successful unless they’re working toward specific, meaningful expectations.

2. Evaluate Frequently

Another secret to building a successful business team is to frequently evaluate that team. Once the team has goals in place, figure out how close the team is coming to meeting those goals on a regular basis. If the goals aren’t being met, what can be done to change this?

Obviously, there are different ways to evaluate the success of a team. You do want to look at actual output and performance, but this isn’t all you want to look at. You’ll also need to examine the interpersonal relationships within the team. If there is a block or problem within one interpersonal relationship, this could lead to frustration or burn-out in specific team members, which is a sure way to get the entire team crumbling down.

Do evaluations using the observations of the team leaders as well as objective, anonymous evaluations by team members. Using evaluations on a regular basis can help you figure out how you can make even a good team even better.

3. Work on Communication

One of the biggest problems you hear about from business teams is lack of communication. Many of these problems occur because someone is making assumptions about communication rather than actually talking to team members. The problem may be within the team, but it could also be between the team and its leader or between the team and the larger business.

Set protocols for communication, and make sure important pieces of information are communicated in several ways. The key here is balance. Sending fifteen emails about the same thing is a sure way to waste time and get your team members very frustrated. On the other hand, failing to ensure that each team member receives and understands a message is another way to create frustration. Talking to team members about their preferred methods of communication is a good way to start creating communication protocols that can help your team talk with one another more effectively.

4. Understand Roles and Responsibilities

As was noted earlier, one of the keys to building a successful business team is having a balance of people on the team. Individual genius is great, but only when it actually helps the team. You want to put together a team of people that are good at different things and that think in different ways. If the entire team thinks alike, you’ll either have a dearth of great new ideas or a lot of head-butting from people who are too much alike.

One way to avoid problems like this is to delineate individual roles and responsibilities within the team. This works best if you allow it to happen organically within the team. If you’ve done a good job of selecting team members, it’s more likely to happen on its own, as people inevitably fall into certain slots within the team’s overall work load. However, at times, you may have to step in with a bit of direction, particularly if a certain job isn’t getting fulfilled or if two people are stepping all over one another trying to do the exact same thing.

5. Fun Outside Work

While many employees complain about team building seminars and workshops, there are ways to make them fun and beneficial. While your team members don’t necessarily need to be best friends, it is helpful if they can see one another as more than fellow employees. Understanding that other team members are multifaceted and lead complex lives can lead to better communication, more cooperation, and more job satisfaction.

Even things like retreats and office parties can be helpful here, as long as they are looked forward to instead of dreaded! Team building activities can also help build communication skills, reveal the roles each team member is likely to take, and even uncover latent frustrations that need to be worked through for the team to continue to be successful. Often, hiring a professional to come in and help your team with this is the best way to get things going, and regularly allowing your team to have fun together is one way to make sure that more work gets done.

Source Entrepreneur Secret

Great Leaders

Great Leaders use memorable leadership quotes as tools to support their mission, vision, strategy and expectations for quality performance. Here are a few of my favorite quotes!

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit."
- Conrad Hilton, Hilton Hotels

"The right man is the one who seizes the moment."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 "Be enthusiastic as a leader. You can’t light a fire with a wet match."
- Unknown

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

 "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be."
- Rosalynn Carter

 "There comes a moment when you have to stop revving up the car and shove it into gear."
- David Mahoney

 "I would rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not."
- Lucille Ball

 "Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
- John F. Kennedy

 "Big thinking precedes great achievement."
- Wilfred Peterson

 "Never try to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."
- Paul Dickson

 "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out."
- Ronald Reagan

 "Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."
- Stephen R. Covey

 "A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
- John Le Care’

"I have yet to find a man, however exalted his station, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."
- Charles Schwab

 "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them."
- General Colin Powell

 "You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere."
- Lee Iacocca

 "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."
- Sam Walton

 "The price of greatness is responsibility."
- Winston Churchill

 "The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails."
- John Maxwell

 "Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes."
- Peter Drucker

 "There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability."
- Robert Half

 "How far would Moses have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt?"
- Harry S. Truman

 "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall in the ditch."
- Jesus Christ

 "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common; it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."
- John Kenneth Galbraith

 "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
- Henry Kissinger

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand."
- General Colin Powell

 "All leadership is influence."
- John C. Maxwell

 "Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it."
- Dwight Eisenhower

 "Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable."
- Ordway Tead

"Any business or industry that pays equal rewards to its goof-offs and eager beavers sooner or later will find itself with more goof-offs than eager beavers."
- Mick Delaney…

"There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality."
- Anthony Robbins

 "Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have."
- Zig Ziglar

 "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."
- Henry Ford

 "If there is a trait which does characterize leaders it is opportunism. Successful people are very often those who steadfastly refuse to be daunted by disadvantage and have the ability to turn disadvantage to good effect. They are people who seize opportunity and take risks. Leadership then seems to be a matter of personality and character."
- John Viney

 "Eagles don’t flock."
- Ross Perot

 "Things may come to those who wait, but only what’s left behind by those that hustle."
- Abraham Lincoln

 "Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it."
- Unknown

 "Anything worth doing, is worth doing now!"
- Ralph Stayer

 "Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who believed that something inside of them was superior to circumstance."
- Bruce Barton

 "There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living."
- Nelson Mandela

 "It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."
- Anthony Robbins

 "The life which is unexamined is not worth living."
- Plato

 "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage."
- Anais Nin

 "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
- Robert Francis Kennedy

"It’s never crowded along the extra mile."
- Wayne Dyer

 "There is plenty of room at the top – but no place to sit down."
- Unknown

 "Clear your mind of can’t."
- Samuel Johnson

 "The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

 "Beginning is half done."
- Unknown

"Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective."
- Donald Rumsfeld…

Build a Team

 Team building quotes are essential for leaders seeking valuable ways to create and maintain a healthy team and work environment. Here are a few team building quotes sure to motivate and inspire!

”We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
- Benjamin Franklin

 ”The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.”
- Lewis B. Ergen

”Let’s make a dent in the universe.”
- Steve Jobs

”I am easily satisfied with the very best.”
- Winston Churchill

”The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare.”
- Thane Yost

 ”It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
- John Wooden

”The most important thing about education is appetite.”
- Winston Churchill

”Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
- Mark Twain

”If things seem under control, you are just not going fast enough.”
- Mario Andretti

”Big thinking precedes great achievement.”
- Wilferd Peterson

”The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.”
- John Scully

”A championship team is a team of champions.”
- Unknown

 ”Teamwork: Simply stated, it is less me and more we.”
- Unknown

”Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”
- Unknown

 ”Teams share the burden and divide the grief.”
- Doug Smith

 ”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Unknown

 ”If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
- Thomas Edison

 ”If a man be gloomy let him keep to himself. No one has the right to go groaking about society, or what is worse, looking as if he stifled grief.”
- Benjamin Disraeli

 ”Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.”
- Henry Ford

 ”Up is never where you are now.”
- Belasco & Stayer

 ”A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skill of the others.”
- Norman Shidle

”We are most effect as a team when we complement each other without embarrassment and disagree without fear.”
- Unknown

 ”Wearing the same shirts doesn’t make a team.”
- Buchholz and Roth

 ”A team is more than a collection of people. It is a process of give and take.”
- Barbara Glacel & Emile Robert Jr.

 ”Change your thoughts and you change the world.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

 ”There ain’t no rules here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”
- Thomas Edison

 ”The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”
- Dr. Linus Pauling

 ”Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking we can get on with creating the future.”
- James Bertrand

”Regardless of the changes in technology, the market for well-crafted messages will always have an audience.”
- Steve Burnett

”The basic building block of good team-building is for a leader to promote the feeling that every human being is unique and adds value.”
- Unknown

 ”Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
- Michael Jordan

 ”None of us is as smart as all of us.”
- Ken Blanchard

 ”When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.”
- Joe Paterno

 ”Rather than asking how to do something, ask how to do something for a million dollars.”
- Unknown

 ”Teamwork doesn’t tolerate the inconvenience of distance.”
- Unknown

 ”No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it.”
- H.E. Luccock

”T.E.A.M = Together everyone achieves more.”
- Unknown

 ”There is no I in Teamwork.”
- Unknown

”Wild ducks make a lot of noise, but they also have the sense to benefit from occasionally flying in formation.”
- Unknown

 ”It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”
- Unknown

 ”No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.”
- Althea Gibson

 ”Teamwork divides the task and doubles the success.”
- Unknown

 ”Overcoming barriers to performance is how groups become teams.”
- Unknown

 ”Teamplayer: One who unites others toward a shared destiny through sharing information and ideas, empowering others and developing trust.”
- Dennis Kinlaw

”It is necessary to try to surpass one’s self always: this occupation ought to last as long as life.”
- Queen Christina of Sweden

 ”We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”
- Aristotle

 ”There are no short cuts to any place worth going.”
- Beverly Sills

 ”If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.”
- William Feather

”Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.”
- Henry Ford

Leadership Training: A Top Priority

Leadership training should be a top priority for companies and corporations, even in tough economic times according to an article published in Business Week recently.  When leadership training is neglected as organizations tighten their belts, it will affect the bottom line.

In the U.S., a study conducted by Expertus in 2008 indicated that 48% of those companies surveyed were cutting their leadership training budgets because of economic conditions.  As the economy continued on a downward spiral, cuts in leadership training continued.  According to Business Week, leadership training is essential in any economic climate in order to experience continued growth in the business arena.

The article goes on to compare a lack of leadership training to weeds choking out a garden; as the recession continued to get worse, managers focused more on maintaining status quo than motivating employees toward continued growth.  The lack of leadership training meant that employees began to lack motivation and focus, resulting in "choked" or stifled growth in many companies and organizations.  It is necessary for effective leadership training to be in place consistently, even in tough economic times.

During the last several years of economic crisis, employees have felt insecure about their jobs, which lead to a decreased in morale; a lack of leadership training left employees without the essential guidance they need from managers.  To sum it all up, the scarcity of available jobs coupled with job security issues and a decrease in leadership training meant that productivity in employees decreased tremendously.  By implementing effective leadership training now, the garden can begin to thrive and grow again - meaning more efficient and motivated personnel, and ultimately continued business growth.

Business Week goes on to say that leadership training, contrary to popular belief, does not produce only long-term results.  In fact, the article claims that results can actually be seen the same afternoon.  Simple strategies such as a one-day workshop can often stimulate the team, motivating staff and improving skills for effective team leadership.  In only hours, the level of motivation and productivity can be increased substantially - with the help of a good leader.

Several topics that should be covered in leadership training include setting objectives, team building and helping these teams grown to maximum potential, personal goal setting and how personal goals and business goals can be aligned.  Leadership training is essential in helping employees gain drive and ambition; they must feel necessary and capable, otherwise they will feel as if they are just going to a "job" every day, which isn't productive for the growth of the employee or the company.

Savvy business owners realize that leadership training is an investment in their employees and ultimately in the success of their company.  The company as a whole is invigorated even in a faltering economy by the investment in leadership training.  According to the article, a good leadership training program should include:

- Connecting with staff
- Making managers better coaches and mentors
- Listening and giving feedback
- Having a clear vision
- Understanding how separate components make up the complete machine

Leadership training will help companies "weed out" the negative aspects that are dragging the company down, and feed prospective new leaders for renewed growth and vigor, resulting in larger profits.

Strive for Success

Setting Goals and objections for achieving any level of success are universal in nature.

Work smarter, not harder. It's not how much you do, but what you do and how well you do it. There are better ways to run your business than by brute force. Create a work environment where people are recognized not only for their results, but also for their character and integrity.

Strive for accuracy first, then build momentum. Since you do not have a second chance to make a good impression, it is important that you always do things right the first time. It is much better to introduce an excellent product a little later than originally planned than it is to release something pre-maturely that you know has problems. Your work is your signature, make sure it’s worth something very valuable!


Find a niche. Some goals and objectives sound simple enough, but this one can be tough to achieve. Start by becoming an expert in your field. Stick to what you do best. It may not be necessary to invent something brand new yourself. Take something that is already in the marketplace and improve it enough so that you can call it your own. Provide the simple twist to the product that will outsell all others.


Build your reputation on integrity, quality and value. Don't do anything that might compromise your integrity. Once your reputation is tarnished, it is difficult to redeem yourself in the eyes of your customers as well as your employees. Maintaining your good name must remain at the top of your goals and objectives.


Always better your best. Constantly strive to improve your products and services. If you have a good idea, rest assured others will work to make a product that’s even better. In order to not be outdone by others, you must continue to seek to improve your own product or service.


Be creative. Adapt and apply innovative techniques from outside your specific field. Step out of your comfort zone. Your goals and objectives for business should be no more intense that your goals and objectives for your personal life. Continuous learning is key to your sense of self-fulfillment and personal growth.


Listen and respond to your customer's needs. Success comes when you give your customers what they want. Communicate with your customers and ask them what you can do to improve your product or service. Users of your product know exactly what you need to do to make it even better. They’ve already wished it could do more. Ask them to tell you about their wish-list/upgrade ideas. Sell solutions, not products.


Plan for Success. Know where you are going and how you are going to get there. Too many businesses exist day-to-day without any long-range plans, goals and objectives. Decide where you want your company to be in one, three and five years and draw up a specific plan of action to get you there.


Take advantage of change. Changes in your market are inevitable - use them to your advantage. Be a leader, not a follower. It is far better to error on the side of daring than to error on the side of inaction or complacency.


Think before you act and spend time wisely. There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Don’t spend your time on small items that are time-suckers. Focus on the BIG issues and do those first.


Always promise a lot... and then deliver even more. Provide your customers with more than they expect. Go the extra mile to give exceptional quality, exceptional service and exceptional value. Your customers will notice and reward you with their continued business and pro-active referrals.

Incorporate these into your daily routine and watch your results multiply!

Source Leadership Tools

Tips on Goal Setting

• Small decisions can have a great impact on you working towards your goal. Remember that your goals are your road maps to success in life. Without them, you can lose your way. Although you can always retrace your steps, you might not have the time, opportunity, energy or resources you once had when you could have made your goals happen one by one.

• Listen to people who you respect and ask for their advice. Remember, you don't have to like the person to respect them.

• Being active in life is most effective. Try visualizing the outcome at a time in the future. It will become apparent that to set definite time in the future is obtainable. That would be the "when". The "how" comes with gathering information about resources and education. We often have to correct our course but at the same time keep a focus on our vision or dream. To begin a journey starts with a step but I might add, which direction and what footwear. You see, if you must have your eyes set on your vision or the outcome. Upon starting the journey you will encounter objections and self doubt. That is why everyone must develop the habit of the daily motivational in as many forms as being effective to stay focused.

• Setting HUGE impossible goals, can and will ruin your want or need for goals, that maybe important during your life. So please start small and work your way up!!!

• Similarly, setting goals that are easily achievable and do not make stretch, are also detrimental and may adversely effect your career growth!!!

My Life in 10 Years

The next time somebody tells you that setting goals is really a lot of hype, tell him/her this: if life is a journey, how will you get there if you don’t have an itinerary? Goals tell you where you are going, how you are going to get there and what you will do when you get there.

You have to decide what you want first of all. The problem with so many people is that they do not know what they really want. In other words they are not at all clear about what they want in life. Setting your goals, needs you to make a decision about that which you want, and determine when you want to have achieved that thing. In other words you must put a deadline to what you currently want. Get clear about what you want. Have a good plan of attack. Ask yourself:

• What do I know about this?


• What information do I have?


• What information do I need? Where can I get it?


• What skills do I need to master?


• What other resources should I use?


• Is this the best way to do it, or is there some other way?

Start small, but keep walking. Goals don’t necessarily have to be big ones. When you set your goal too high, you might find it too overwhelming and time consuming and just give up, or make another one, just as big. It’s akin to quitting cold turkey – there are setbacks.

Set goals in small increments, complete with time, dates, amount, some details. If you tell yourself, “I’m going to be an opera singer” and then sit around and wait for it to suddenly happen, you could be waiting all your life. Start with singing lessons for a month, and then a year and expose yourself to opera music. You can then progress to more singing lessons year after year. By breaking down your goals in smaller, workable units, you are more likely to make them come true. Remember, even the great ones had to start somewhere.

Be positive when stating your goals. Instead of saying, “I am not going to miss my exercise routine today,” say “I’m really busy, so I’ll probably just make time for 20 minutes on the treadmill.” Stating your goal positively will help you view it as a good thing to do, and not as a byproduct of what you had to avoid.

1. Spread out your goals. So maybe we do have certain general goals that apply to all areas of our lives like, “I want to be successful” or “I want to be rich” but those would seem as far away as the Niagara Falls viewed from Hawaii. Instead, try making tiny goals for different aspects of your life, one or two for each, even more if you like. These areas are: family and home, career, social, physical, mental and spiritual. If you say, “I want to be a successful dad,” then try to make goals towards the development of your family life while still keeping an eye out for ways to improve your career and other areas of your life.

Don’t underestimate yourself. It’s tempting to sometimes just slack off, or let yourself off too easy. If you want to write the definitive American novel, then don’t try to churn out just a page or two a day when you know you are more than capable of writing five pages, even ten. The fear of failure is sometimes to blame for setting our goals too low. How often have we said, “I don’t really want to volunteer for that project ‘cause I might screw it up. And then my colleagues will make fun of me.”

1. Remember that some fears are unfounded. How do you know you’ll actually ruin it? And how do you know for sure your coworkers will laugh at your effort? If you try to reason with your fears, more often than not, you’ll realize that there really is no reason for you to be reluctant and that in fact, you can do it.

1. Write it down. Putting your goal down on paper is more than just memorizing it. You are actually confirming your willingness to make it come true. A written list of goals is an effective reminder of what you need to do and once you’re done, a good review of your accomplishment. A simple list on a piece of notebook paper is fine, or using a computer program to really jazz it up works just as well. You may want to hang it up somewhere, as a constant reminder to work toward your goals: inside your closet, the back of your medicine cabinet door, or on your bulletin board near your desk.

Affirm it. Affirmation is really more than writing down, “I am going to buy my $750,000 home by Christmas” twenty times. It’s actually being conscious not only of your thought processes, but also of your acts during the day.

If you’re trying to save money and then you pass by a shop window where a great pair of shoes seems to have your name on it, think, “If I buy those shoes, would I be making my goal of saving easier? Will I be able to meet my deadline if I splurge just this once? A few months from now if I don’t meet my deadline because I didn't save enough, would I feel good about it?”

Stop procrastinating. So you’ve heard this before. Big deal. Well, it is. Time wastage is one of the greatest crimes in history. If Henry Ford put off studying and tinkering with machines for another time, someone else would have improved on automobiles and he wouldn't have gone down in history as a pioneer. If you’re used to procrastination, being bullheaded about a goal can seem scary at first. Try to set a schedule and then reward yourself each time you meet it.

Start inculcating the habit of liking something. The most difficult thing is to LIKE something useful. For example we may like that particular model, star, lazing around with friends, to impress the opposite sex etc...but do they give us any long term returns? They just look jazzy for a small period of time and again life is as usual, that which has no achievement. .Our mind generally rejects any conscious attempt to focus on any worthwhile goal. Some really lucky souls subconsciously liked these worthwhile goals and made it big. Many of us focus subconsciously on these petty things such as entertainment, celebrities etc...and when time comes for focusing on big ones we back out because we have an already loaded negative image of that goal. It is simply a misinterpreted relativity. No reason to feel worthless before a big goal just because we have been LIKING petty goals. You need to think big, when you are setting goals, think great thoughts. You must also crystallize your thinking, make it clear to you first, then write it down.

Source wikiHow

SMART Goal Setting: A Surefire Way To Achieve Your Goals

I encourage you to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and jot down the goals you want to reach. Look at each goal and evaluate it. Make any changes necessary to ensure it meets the criteria for a SMART goals:

• S = Specific


• M = Measurable


• A = Attainable


• R = Realistic


• T = Timely

Specific

Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do.

Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model.

• WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.


• WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?


• HOW are you going to do it? (By…)

Ensure the goals you set is very specific, clear and easy. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2cm off your waistline or to walk 5 miles at an aerobically challenging pace.

Measurable

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, the is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal.

Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! “I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday” shows the specific target to be measure. “I want to be a good reader” is not as measurable.

Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goals.

Attainable

When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. Your begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

Goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won’t commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it’s too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact and will stop you from even giving it your best.

A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you aim to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn’t achievable. But setting a goal to loose 1lb and when you’ve achieved that, aiming to lose a further 1lb, will keep it achievable for you.

The feeling of success which this brings helps you to remain motivated.

Realistic

This is not a synonym for “easy.” Realistic, in this case, means “do-able.” It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available; that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn’t break them.

Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment. A goal of never again eating sweets, cakes, crisps and chocolate may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys these foods.

For instance, it may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you.

Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren’t very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!

Timely

Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.

If you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.

Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.

Everyone will benefit from goals and objectives if they are SMART. SMART, is the instrument to apply in setting your goals and objectives.

Source Goal Setting Guide