Leadership: Is It For You?
Leadership is something that is fundamentally part of a society. It is necessary in any good society that someone stands up and takes charge. Leadership is essential, we know that, but does that mean everyone out there is a leader? The fact of the matter is that some individuals are not made to be leaders. They are followers. And just as important in society as leaders are followers. So, where do you lie? Are you going to play leadership roles within your life? For many people, the instincts to take those leadership roles just comes to them. It is just something that happens. They step up to the plate when needed. They respond first in class. They take charge of the baseball game on the playground. They step up to the plate on the job. While you can not be first in every case, individuals that have leadership skills will often be seen and heard throughout their lives. But, not all leaders are born with this talent. Many of them must learn it. People with an ambition to be a leader can do so by taking classes and studying the necessary skills that it takes to be a leader. While all of this may sound simple, it can be quite a task to learn. It is hard to teach a person to react in a situation that is not planned well. Because leaders are determined by their actions, we often see that leadership roles are filled with individuals who put themselves out there to be chosen, so to speak. But, this is not always the case. In many cases of emergency, leaders are those that take charge long before anyone else reacts. In that, these individuals will have a cool head about themselves and be able to see the necessary work ahead while others are worrying, panicking or simply in shock. These are probably the true leaders in our society.
Relax Your Way To Public Speaking
Believe it or not, fear of death is actually second to the one greatest fear that the majority of humanity seems tensely afraid of: fear of speaking in public. If fear is all that you are thinking, then forget about that presentation that could earn your company and you the necessary sales. Presentation and public speaking is one of the most efficient as well as effective manner in making your products and services known. Why deny your product or service the chance to be heard? If you are still afraid, try your very best to focus on the various positive after effects of making that presentation. Create in your mind the numerous clients, customers and contact persons you might not get to see or be involved with if you let that unnecessary and irrelevant anxiety take hold of you. Your presentation may only take thirty minutes but the long term effects of your pitch or presentation might go a long way. If the fear is still gripping you, try to do the following exercises to help your body relax and warm up to whatever it is you plan to do in your presentation. Turn that negative energy into a positive one and see who benefits best from it. Warm up your body Are you wearing high heeled shoes now? If you are, please take them off now. Then go and stand up. Try to stand on only one leg. Then shake the leg that is off the floor. Switch legs and do the same thing again. What you are doing is taking the negative energy of anxiety towards the floor and out of your body. Though this may appear and sound so out of this world, it actually works. For your information, actors use this as a warm-up exercise prior to attacking any scene. Hold out your hands, shake them, fast. Put your hands over your head and bring them to your sides. Repeat the same process. Doing this continually will take the tension off your hands and arms so any movements you make with them during your presentation gets to appear natural. Ease the tension present in the muscles of your face. In order to do this what you could do is chew in a manner that is exaggerated. These exercises are done for the purpose of warming any part of your body that is edgy, uptight or taut from being too nervous thinking about how you will do in your presentation. Do not think too much though as it only adds unnecessary stress. Relax and your audience will relax along with you.
Rehearsing: A Way To Eliminate Public Speaking Anxiety
It is almost impossible for one to go through his or her adult life without having been asked to speak in public at least once. You might have proposed a toast to a wedding, or reported in front of a class. At work, you could have done an oral presentation for a promotion. Or you could have faced a group of interviewers before you actually got hired for the job that you now have. All of these and more would require a person to get up and speak out in front of a number of people. This can either be a good or a bad experience for the speaker. In the United States, studies show that public speaking is one of the most common fear that Americans have. How do we eliminate this widespread public speaking anxiety? The key is to face your fear, master your material, and rehearse. Here are some helpful tips on how you can use rehearsing to eliminate the fear of speaking in public: Have a “dress rehearsal” before the big day If you are making a formal presentation in a particular place, go to the venue a day ahead or several hours before the presentation to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. If there is a rostrum, stand in front of it and test the height. Make the necessary adjustments so that the audience will have a clear view of you as a speaker. Know your material. Prepare an outline of your speech and look for bits of information which could be a major point of interest. Read about every aspect of the topic so that it will not be difficult for you to answer unexpected questions should they come up through the course of your discussion. This is also a good time to check out the equipment that you need to proceed with your presentation. Create charts and photos for a slide presentation to make your presentation more informative and interesting. Time is also important so you can have a run-through of the entire speech and record your voice while doing so. This would give you an idea of how long it will run. The recording will also reveal the focal points where you can vary your tone of voice for a more lively speech. It is also a great idea to tape yourself or have somebody do it for you while you are rehearsing your actual speech. Review the video and look for ways to improve your overall presentation. Practice makes perfect, so it is very important to rehearse before giving out that all-important oral presentation and help you reduce your public speaking anxiety.
Preparing Yourself When You Speak In Public
Public speaking does not have to be difficult. Here are some tips to help you prepare for public speaking. You don’t need to be perfect in succeeding in speaking in public. You do not need to be too witty and brilliant to be successful when you speak in public. Public speaking is not all about that. It may look like it is, but in actuality, it is not. You can be the average guy you are. What is important in speaking in public is that you give your listeners something that is worth their time. If people leave after your speech with something that is of value, they would think of you as a successful speaker. They would consider your speech as something that was worth their time. Deliver your main points You may want to put in as many facts and information as you can. But only emphasize three or four main points. You could even talk about one main point if you want. You should remember that what your listeners want from you is that you give them two or three key main points that they can understand and would make a lot of difference to them. If you are able to structure the talks that you have, lots of complexity will be removed. Inject some humor but still practice humility While there are many other public speaking styles, humility and humor are some of the devices that you could use to make your speech livelier and entertaining to your listeners. Just make sure that you are comfortable being humorous and that the humor is appropriate for the occasion. If you do not feel comfortable giving jokes, then you might as well not use jokes which might fall flat on your nose. Or if you are speaking before a crowd of Americans of Asian descent, do not tell jokes about Chinese food or Oriental customs. Humility in public speaking means standing before the others and sharing with them your own mistakes, your human frailties, and weaknesses. If you show to other people that you are not afraid or ashamed admitting such things, you create a relaxed and intimate environment that will permit them to open up to you too. Being humble in public also makes you more believable, more credible, and more respected, with your listeners relating to you easier. You are no longer the remote expert who is ahead of them, but is one of them.
Premature Articulation
Ask anyone about what makes a good leader and they are sure to put the ability to communicate high on the list of necessary skills. Yet all to often communication is simply seen as the ability to speak. Listening – actively is an incredibly powerful tool at times rather neglected. I started working with Tony who said, “I feel really frustrated. I often suggest ideas at meetings but others get the credit! I am really keen to get promotion and want to impress” Tony was keen to do well. He wanted his superiors to recognize his potential and felt it was important to come up with the goods. At meetings Tony always tried to get in first. He was quick to speak, often cutting across others and interrupting. By doing so there were a number of consequences quite different to his original intention. Tony’s Bosses lost their train of thought; they found the interruptions irritating. Tony concentrated far more on what he was going to say rather than internalizing what was being said by others. His contributions were not focused on the matter at hand, or were shallow because he had not taken the time to analyze what had been said. Thoughts were articulated before they were completely formulated. Others picked up on the idea, thought them through logically and re-articulated them as their own, gaining lots of brownie points with the bosses. The problem was premature articulation, a very common problem. The solution is easy to identify but requires practice on a regular basis if the new behavior is to become second nature. Together we considered how to manage the problem. I asked Tony to make a conscious decision to act differently at the next meeting. To remain quiet, listening carefully and to contribute only when their opinion was asked for. Planned strategies for listening, ordering thoughts and recording ideas were put in place. It was agreed that ideas were to be offered after enough thought had taken place to ensure they were logical ordered and listened to. The result was amazing, Tony felt more in control and was ready with positive, well thought out contributions which were accredited to him. Tony found the situation in meetings was less stressful and frantic as the pressure to perform was lessened. Listening attentively, taking time to get his thoughts together before offering a contribution has taken a bit of effort but well worth while. Feedback from Tony’s boss has been extremely positive.
MASTERMIND TEAM: DO YOU HAVE ONE?
The key to life is to be around the people who will empower you to reach the next level in life! In order to exceed your present reach, you need to be around people who will help you stretch a little farther. The secret to a productive mastermind team is for you to surround yourself with people who you can always learn from. A sign of a very intelligent person is to be smart enough to realize that you need to learn from others who can contribute to your WHY in life. As you know, my ultimate outcome is to develop the #1 personal self-development company in the world. Each and every day I strive to immerse myself in material and people who will enable me to achieve our corporate mission. As you look at your own mission in life, you need to ask yourself a very honest/straightforward question ….“Is my personal development engine in Forward, Neutral or Reverse?” The answer is very simple. All that you need to do is to write down the top 10 people you regularly associate with. As you review the list, realize that you will become an exact duplicate of those 10 people — financially, spiritually, physically and psychologically. Once again, be honest with yourself. If you are not 110% happy about what you see yourself becoming due to your present relationships, you need to take ACTION immediately! Make a decision to develop a mastermind TEAM! Unfortunately, 95% of people will never take the action needed in order to become part of a mastermind team. They will continue to live their lives and wonder WHAT HAPPENED to their LIVES and all of their DREAMS. You need to stop whining and begin working on yourself to become part of a Mastermind Team! I am proud to say that each and every day I associate with people who are either at my level of enthusiasm, excitement and intelligence or even more so than I am, which is the key to a personally productive mastermind team. You need to be a part of a group of people who make you want to exceed your present reach. Be honest with yourself and know that you need to change your associations in order to achieve your God-given dreams! You will be amazed by the results. Your life will SOAR like an EAGLE to the ends of the earth if you change your associations!
Leadership Learning: The Real Costs Of Not Doing Leadership Training
A report from the Said Business School at Oxford University in the UK found that British businesses and public sector organizations are wasting almost $140 million on executive education programs that are poorly conceived and delivered. The study went on to say that 35 per cent of HR directors and 21 per cent of other executives believed that their current training and development programs were meeting corporate strategic objectives. The bulk of the money was being spent on individually developed courses for senior executives. If those businesses want to quit wasting all that money on bad management training, I know where they can get their moneys worth. And it doesn’t have anything to do with having more academics design special courses, events, and outings for senior staff. Here’s a novel idea folks. Why not spend your money on leadership training and development down in the trenches, where it will really do some good? Most companies don’t do nearly enough of that. In 2003, just 7 percent of training budgets in the US were spent on first line leaders and most of that was for learning administrivia and for prophylactic HR. The fact is that front line leaders don’t get much training at all and precious little of it is actually about leadership skills. Maybe that’s because companies think they’re saving money by not investing in front line leader training. True, there’s no budget line item absorbing funds that might be spent on the executive dining room, or art for the CEO’s office. But there are what economists call “opportunity costs,” the costs of not training front line leaders. There’s the opportunity cost of lost productivity. Good frontline leadership builds both morale and profitability. There’s the opportunity cost of lost leadership. Great companies develop most of their own leaders. If you have to go outside for leadership you incur recruitment costs and transition costs. Finally, there’s the cost of lawsuits. Good frontline leadership creates organizations where lawsuits are less likely. And, if the company is sued over a supervision issue, defense will be easier if the leaders have been doing their jobs. How about your company? Do you develop your own leaders? Do you help them develop the skills they need to improve morale and productivity and avoid lawsuits? Think about that the next time you consider the training budget.
Leadership Is Action… Not Position
People respond to good leadership! Period! It is in all aspects of our lives, not just business. A mother is a leader in her home; a son may be leader of a team sport or a daughter the leader of the debate team. A group relies on the person in charge to actually lead them to success. A true leader is highly ethical, honest and respected. In our society we have leaders and followers. Are we born to one or the other? No! Can you hone your leadership skills? Absolutely! The leaders that I admire seem to have all of these in place: a) They think BIG! They don’t put a ceiling in place. Instead, no limit is set as to how big or how much better something can be. b) The goals are firmly set in place and the eye does not come off of it. c) They make known to all involved the final product that they are all going for, example, if you sell widgets, it takes x number of widgets to be affluent, or you want to win that football game and ultimately the title. Know what you’re going for. d) They can get compliance to orders. e) When goals are met they set new goals or raise the bar. People will follow your lead willingly if you are honest, ethical, if you are consistent and treat them with respect. Rewarding someone when a job is well done is always appreciated. A good leader will also off load someone who consistently hinders the group who is just not a team player. You can improve your own self- respect and become an inspiration to others. How great is that!
Leadership: Is Mentoring For You?
If you are considering mentoring a younger person, here are some things to think about. Make sure that mentoring is for you. Most effective mentors truly, deeply enjoy helping younger people grow and develop. Make sure you’re likely to enjoy the process before you take it on. Make sure you have the time and flexibility. If your schedule is already overloaded or you’re under stress at home, you might want to consider holding off on a mentoring commitment until things are a little less hectic. Make sure you know what you bring to the table. None of us is good at everything, but every one of us is really good at something. If you know what you’re good at and what other things you may bring to the table, you’re more likely to be successful. In his excellent book, Winning, Jack Welch says that “There is no one right mentor. There are many right mentors.” From your perspective, that means you don’t have to do everything. You aren’t the only place that your protégé should get help. Make sure you know what kind of people you like to work with and which ones are hard for you. Mentoring should be a pleasant relationship for both of you. Make sure you know what you expect from your protégé. It’s a good idea to tell him or her what you expect them to do. Clear expectations are vital to a mentoring relationship. Make sure you know that a good mentoring relationship should be a good experience for both of you. You should both enjoy it. You should both grow and develop. And you should both make a friend for life. Mentoring can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your career or it can be a frustrating and time-consuming trial. Make sure you know what you’re getting into.
