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.
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.
