Tagmanager

New Leader Top Five

2 Min read

 I recently hired a new leader for a regional area of our large sales type organization.  During our initial meeting he and I discussed my expectations, talked about the vision for the organization, my leadership philosphy, and near term goals for his area.  I also provided him with a concise list of the top five things he could do to get off to a good start with his subordinate leaders:

  1. Be clear on what you expect and recognize those who meet or miss it
  2. Be available when and where it matters most
  3. Be an advocate for your subordinates without being an enabler of bad behavior/excuses.  Be prepared to say “no” when “no” is warranted.
  4. Be informed.  Track details two levels down
  5. Be a leader.  Don’t expect subordinates to adjust to the leadership style you’re comfortable with, adapt your leadership techniques to gain the most influence.

Of course leadership is more complex than just five things,  but when taking over a new position it’s easy to get disctacted with all of the information and decisions required.  These five things provide the new leader with a framework to build on future success as operations start to syncronize and get into a rythmn enabling them to build on what they initially established.

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Daniel Pink on Motivation

1 Min read

In this 2009 TED Conference presentation Daniel Pink examines motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most leaders don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think.

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Motivation 3.0 for the Christian Leader

4 Min read

I grew up in a time when church frequently included special gospel meetings that featured a guest preacher imploring nightly over the course of a week to get right and reap the rewards of heaven or certainly go to hell. We were encouraged to invite our friends and neighbors where every night the message and volume would escalate until a satisfactory number had responded to avoid the punishment of hell. Unfortunately, the fear motivated responses rarely resulted in life-long change, many left the church quickly never to return.

As I read Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us it struck me that we have built a church, family, and work culture based on an inferior motivational model. In a sense, our churches are stuck in a 20th century when such practices were the norm, but fall short with today’s generation. Because we were raised in this environment most of today’s leaders are just modeling what we know.

Pink presents a compelling case for a deeper method of personal, peer, and subordinate motivation. He contends that human motivation has evolved from a basic needs model, to a “carrot and stick” model, and as he proposes, a more stable intrinsic motivation model. In modern vernacular he labels these models in the style of a progressive human operating system upgrade: Motivation 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

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Leadership Definition

1 Min read

Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration, motivated by a passion, generated by a vision, produced by a conviction, and ignited by a purpose.

As defined at a Diversity Champions Workshop by Guardian Quest

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Julius Erving Quotes

1 Min read

“Being a professional is doing the things you love on the days you don’t feel like doing them.”

“If you don’t do what’s best for your body, you’re the one who comes up on the short end.”

“The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.”

“To be great we need to win games we aren’t supposed to win.”

“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.”

“Goals determine what you’re going to be.”

“I had to spend countless hours, above and beyond the basic time, to try and perfect the fundamentals.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Erving

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List of Ten Things We Want Most in Life

1 Min read
  1. Opportunity to succeed (43%)
  2. The good life (37%)
  3. The pursuit of happiness (34%)
  4. The American dream (22%)
  5. A fair shake (17%)
  6. To be left alone (13%)
  7. A fresh start (9%)
  8. Everything I can get (9%)
  9. A fighting chance (8%)
  10. A new beginning (8%)

The American dream has been dropping on the list because young people don’t think they will ever achieve it.  Wanting the good life has moved up in its place.

Source:  Dr Frank Luntz, Luntz-Malansky Strategic Research 2009

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List of Ten Trust Behaviors

1 Min read
  1. Communicate. Clearly let others know what you and they can expect
  2. Listen. Listen more than you talk
  3. Follow-through.  Keep your promises and expectations
  4. Own-up.  When you or a subordinate fall short take personal accountability
  5. Trust.  You have to trust others for them to trust you
  6. Respect.  Respect others regardless of their position
  7. WYSIWYG.  Be a what you see is what you get person
  8. Loyalty.  Be loyal to others and they will trust you
  9. Empathize.  Good or bad put yourself in their shoes
  10. Recognize.  Remember the small thing
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Prepare for the Warrior

1 Min read

There comes a point in everyone’s life when they determine the veracity of their character.  Some may think they know, but not until pressed by hardship, fear or heartache will they really know.  All other times are spent in preparation.  When the moment of trial comes will you be irrelevant, expendable, a fighter, or a warrior?

“Out of every 100 men, ten shouldn’t even be there, Eighty are just targets, Nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” – Hericletus, circa 500 BC

Prepare to be a fighter and the leader will become a warrior when most needed.  Anything less is a wasted opportunity to matter.

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PGC Leadership Influence

1 Min read

Go APE for your teamates [bosses, peers, subordinates]:

A – Acknowledgement.  Make a big deal out of everything your teammates do good.  They love acknowledgement.  Show excitement, say their name, acknowledge even when you are the one who rightfully should be acknowledged.

P – Praise.  You want to attack your teammates.  Don’t just say nice things, attack, make a big deal about it.  When you praise your teammates and tell them you love them they will do anything for you.

E – Encouragement.  You have to be the first person to recognize someone who is struggling.  You must tell them after a bad play [deal, work failure, etc] that they are a great player and you are going to give it to them on the next play to score.

The APE ratio is 6:1.  Give someone six APEs and then give one suggestion and they will take it better.

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Manager and Leader

1 Min read

The manager administers, the leader innovates

The manager maintains, the leader develops

The manager relies on systems, the leader relies on people

The manager counts on controls, the leader counts on trust

The manager does things right, the leader does the right thing

– Fortune Magazine

There is some debate about the attributes of leaders and those of managers.  Some interchange the titles making any leader also a manger and manager leader. Everyone has an opinion based on their job description, corporate culture, personal preference, and so on.

My belief is that  anyone in a position to influence people is both leader and manager.  Lower level positions will manage more than they lead, perhaps 60% management/40% leadership.  The higher you climb in your organization the more leadership competencies used; a CEO might be 20%  manager/80% leader.

The leader who can balance the appropriate level of management skills while leading subordinates through vision, innovation, and trust is the catalyst for organizational excellence, regardless of their position on the corporate ladder.

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