Step 3 Leaders Always Know Why?

Setting your destination is one of the easy steps. Knowing why you are committed to reaching that destination is more challenging.

You must remain true to your purpose, true to your values. A leader who combines their commitment with leadership traits, such as being steady, consistent and reliable is well on the way to meeting his or her goals. An efficient leader lives everyday by being true to themselves and the things that they believe in.

Steven Spielberg, a leader in the motion picture industry, was once asked how he knows what kind of movies his audience wants to see. He said: “I don’t. I just know what kind of movies I’d like to see, and those are the ones I make.” This is an example of a leader listening to his heart.”

The best reason for doing something may simply be because it’s something you love to do. 
 What could be more inspiring or justifying for a course of action than that?

Martin Luther King Jr. changed a nation because people knew the reason for his actions.

Do your clients know why you do what you do? If not, then you give them no choice but to believe you do it for a paycheck only.

The 4th step will be posted next week

Fred Sarkari

Popularity: 2% [?]

 

 BI # 29 Driving Innovation from Within: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI # 29 Driving Innovation from Within

Duration: 10 minutes 48 seconds

Show Notes:

Canadian Management Centre is proud to present the Driving Innovation from Within podcast from the American Management Association leadership podcasts. Introducing special guest Lisa Bodell. Lisa Bodell is the founder and CEO of futurethink and leads a unique team of savvy businesspeople, award-winning creative strategists and members of elite futurist organizations to bring the power of progress into the reality of business. Clients such as Citigroup, Mastercard and Westin Hotels look to futurethink to develop their innovation efforts.

During this podcast Lisa Bodell will review key points on being innovative and how to start to think outside the box. Ms. Bodell will give real life examples on how to start making changes in your life and thought patterns in order to view your organizational change in new and innovated light.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Step 2: Leaders Know Where They Want to End Up — Leaders Know Their Destination

Microsoft, the leading software company has a motto, “Where do you want to go today?” The second thing all leaders have in common is they know where they want to go, they know what they want to achieve, and more importantly they know who they want to become.

Are we not building partnerships with our employees and clients? If so, how much more effective would they be if we helped them through that process.

In this case, awareness allows you to set clear objectives. Just like we have to know where we’re starting from, we also need to have a clear vision of what we want to achieve. Help your employees and clients create clarity for their desired destination.

Dr. Edward Banford from Harvard stated – “people that rised in their fields were able to look long term.  When you walk do you look at your feet?”

Leaders have taken the time to create a certain level of awareness that the people who are following do not yet have for themselves. They require, expect, and sometimes even demand that they be told which way to turn.

They require it because they simply don’t know the way. That feeling of “not knowing”, which happens to all of us, is what makes us feel insecure. Uncertain. Unsteady.

Where do you want to go, meaning what do you want to achieve, create or experience – what is it you want to do that will give your life a sense of personal fulfillment, purpose or meaning, a direction that will allow you to make decisions and have certain kinds of experiences…..

Step 3 0f 5 will be posted next week

Fred Sarkari

Popularity: 16% [?]

 

 Frameworks for Successful Leadership: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI # 28 Frameworks for Successful Leadership

Duration: 11 minutes 57 seconds

Show Notes:

This week Canadian Management Centre is proud to host a special edition of leadership podcast from the American Management Association, Frameworks for Successful Leadership.  Boasting special guest Jack Stahl.  Jack Stahl before the age 50 became a top executive at two world-famous corporations - Cola Cola and Revlon.

During this podcast, Jack Stahl will discuss his grounded approach to successful leadership and outlines his seven leadership guidelines.  Every great leader should adopt these guidelines to ensure both personal and corporate success.

Mr. Stahl will also review the skills necessary to equate leadership to management and links his own personal experiences and real life examples on how to implement the seven guidelines to leadership success.

Popularity: 34% [?]

• Attitude
• Opportunity & Recognition
• Example
• Willingness

Attitude

Getting the right blend of personalities to function effectively as a team is key. When growing your team, you want to pay attention to the mix of people that you already have working for you, and add someone that will complement the team you’ve already developed. A person’s attitude should be given a high priority on your consideration list, as moods can be infectious and a poisonous temperament can breed discontent within your workforce. If you’re adding someone to your team from another department, have a conversation with that person’s superior and co-workers to determine if their personality will blend with the team you already have assembled.

Opportunity & Recognition

Once you’ve added a new person, an important factor in having a successful team is the team’s ability to get along and to trust and have confidence in each other. Arrange some team building activities that will give your employees an opportunity to have fun with each other. Furthermore, set achievable objectives for your workers, and give them a chance to extend themselves. Often, they will be grateful for the opportunity, and will exceed expectations. Be sure to recognize their hard work when they meet their goals. A simple, “Thank you,” or “Great job,” can go a long way.

Example

One of the greatest ways you can influence your team, to both old and new members, is to lead by example. If your employees see you as unmotivated, uncaring and lazy, then they will also start to take the same approach to their positions. Grow your team into a successful one by setting an example of what is expected of them. Give your employees credit where credit is due, which will help encourage them to work as a team and not just as individuals.

Willingness

Although it’s an unpleasant subject, to grow a productive team it’s crucial to be willing to let go of any member that is not pulling his or her own weight. Don’t create an atmosphere of fear, but if one person is being detrimental to the success of your team, it can sometimes be for the best to remove them before their liability becomes infectious.

Fostering a team atmosphere can be a tricky task, but if done right, can only help benefit your organization and your employees over the long term.

Popularity: 29% [?]

 

 BI #27 - Leadership Values: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #27 - Leadership Values

Duration: 10 minutes 07 seconds

Show Notes:

This week Canadian Management Centre is excited to host a special edition of leadership podcasts from the American Management Association, boasting special guest Bill George. Mr. George is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic and is now a Professor of Management Practice, at Harvard Business School, where he is teaching leadership and leadership development. Bill is also the author of new best-selling leadership book, “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership.”

During this podcast Bill George will review the meaning of “True North” and Authentic Leadership. Bill George will discuss the importance of being well grounded in your core values in order to be successful in any level of leadership.

Mr. George will also review leadership strategy execution, and the importance of having a long-term view of your industry while surrounding yourself with employees and people who not only are productive and smart but who also challenge you.

Popularity: 57% [?]

Here is the first step in creating success at anything in life.  In fact without this step most can never move forward yet feel like they are working around the clock and going in circles.

Leaders Know What They Stand For: Awareness Precedes Change

I remember being at a client’s office building where I was asked to go and see another employee one floor up from where we were.  Not being aware of the floor I was at, I had two choices when I entered the elevator, try every button and get off at every floor one at a time until I found the right one or simply step outside the elevator and become aware of the floor I was starting from.  Until I became aware of where I was, I was not able to get to where I wanted to be.

You see, awareness always precedes change but often in our professional and personal lives we press every button we can get our hands on.  If you want your business to escalate, become aware of your business, employees and clients’ present situation.  Then and only then can you have control of the desired outcome.

Lack of awareness leaves you no choice but to be reactive to every situation.

Harvard University did a study on great leaders across the world.  What they found was that their number one characteristic was self-awareness.  These leaders we look to for inspiration and direction are not only aware of their present situation in finite detail but they are also aware of who they are and what they stand for.
Our clients always test our values.  Unfortunately most do not know what they truly value and therefore will never know who they are and what they stand for in business, let alone in their lives.  In our highly competitive industry, we have to ask ourselves are our values consistent with our daily actions? Clients want to follow someone who knows what they value or live what they say they value.  Furthermore, anyone who is not passionate about what they do and where they are going will always travel alone.

Ask yourself, what do the people in your professional and personal life believe you are and what do you stand for?

One day Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian political and spiritual leader, decided to walk down the street and 10,000 plus people ended up following him.  They followed him because it was clear who he was and what he stood for.
Would you send someone referrals if you did not know who they were and what their business stood for?

Why should they send you referrals?

The second step will be posted next week.

Fred Sarkari

Popularity: 100% [?]

 

 BI # 26 The Keys to Coaching Leaders for Success : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI # 26 The Keys to Coaching Leaders for Success

Duration: 11 minutes 22 seconds

Show Notes:

John Eckmire this week reviews with Dr. Marshall Goldsmith the fact that great coaches make great companies and the keys that every manager needs about in order to develop the skills to coach their company’s future leaders. Along with these invaluable tips John and Marshall also review Dr. Goldsmith’s New York Times best seller book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”.

Popularity: 71% [?]

 

 BI #25- Professional coaching with 360° Feedback: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #25- Professional coaching with 360° Feedback

Duration: 11 minutes 6 seconds

Show Notes:

Coaching- is it positive or negative?

• Some people accept coaching while others will resist.
• When resistance is encountered it is normally as a result of how the coaching was presented to the receiver. Generally if coaching is seen as remedial it will be rejected.
• If presented as a tool in a positive light, coaching will not only be accepted but it is more likely to be successful.
• CEO’s of multinational corporations tend to see coaching as positive which is good because research shows that in order for people to improve their skills they must first be motivated to change.

How to Involve Potential Leaders in Coaching.

• Ensure that the coaching is presented in a positive affirming way to those involved.
• Research conducted by Goldsmith indicates that simply participating in workplace related training is not enough to reinforce the behaviours learned.
• In order for coaching to have any lasting visible effect you must practice, talk to people about what you learn and follow up with colleagues within 1 year to assure improvement was made. Improvement is more dramatic when reinforcement follows coaching.

Business Leaders are Delusional.

• Hard to hear I’m sure. However, research has shown that senior leaders in business tend to be delusional
• This tends to be true of successful people in general according to Marshall.
• When business leaders were asked to rate themselves in comparison to their professional peers 85% of respondents believed that they were in the top 20% of performers within their organization.
• In the same survey 70% believed they were in the top 10% of performers.
• Marshall notes that successful people also tend to have a very positive self image. A positive self image gives people confidence and while confidence is good- it makes hearing negative feedback about our actions and behaviour more difficult.
• Therefore, instead of telling managers what to do, telling managers what not to do has been more successful. This is the focus of Marshall’s book which discusses 20 behaviours that leaders need to stop.

360° Feedback on Management

• Once coaching has occurred, 360° feedback is the best way to assess the success of any individual at implementing and demonstratingwhat they have learned to others within their organization.
• Goldsmith is always sure to interview everyone around the client he has worked with. He has a policy that he will not get paid unless his client improves and his clients are judged by their peers.
• Confidential 360° feedback should be agreed upon by all people involved and occurs twice using Goldsmith’s method in order to chart progress.
• Goldsmith only selects clients who are willing. Research supports Goldsmith when he says that only those willing to improve will improve.
• The normal length of any coaching experience with Marshall is a period of one year to 18 months. Goldsmith notes that it takes at least 6 months time to alter behaviour and for change to take root. Allowing a substantial period of time also helps others realize the change.
• Behavioural coaching works at all levels weather you are a CEO or a front line manager.

Popularity: 67% [?]

I can’t recall when I first heard the saying ‘Leaders are born, not made’. At first I really didn’t give it much thought. However as we continue through this journey known as life, we start to ponder on some of these things well at least I do.

Does a doctor, after delivering a newborn child, say, “Wow! A new successful leader is born today?” Do we read in the newspaper that “three successful leaders were born today at the local hospital”? Are some people genetically disposed to success? I am happy to report that success in any business first consists of adopting key character traits. However, simply adopting these character traits in of itself does not make you a leader any more than loose ingredients are a cake. Secondly, in order for us to grow our businesses to the next level we need to employ a proven system of success.

Pilots conduct Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prior to every flight in order for them to have the best possible chance of a successful flight. Similarly, those that scuba dive, perform SOPs before and after every dive to insure the greatest chance of success.

Those ‘special’ people who seem to have that magic touch—the true leaders, the ones we admire and look to as a source of inspiration in any business or chosen adventure—also have an SOP in their lives.

The 5 Critical Elements will be posted one a day a week for the next 5 weeks.

Fred Sarkari

Popularity: 37% [?]