Step 5.  Leaders Continuously Refine What They Know— Repetition

In order to take your business to the next level, it is not enough to just know what to do, but to consistently do what you know.  The ability to repeat a calculated action plan will refine what you do, creating a more efficient process along the way.

This means not only focusing on the things you do best, but doing them often enough to get where you want to be!
Og Mandino, author of “The World’s Greatest Salesman” wrote: “My dreams are useless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.  All are of no value unless they are followed by steady action.”

The more often we do something, the more refined our process becomes, and the higher heights we attain. Anthony Robins said it best. “Repetition is the mother of all skills.”

In a world in which business is more competitive then ever, it is important for us not to settle for mediocrity but to emulate the successful.  Do not believe for a second that you can be a part-time leader.  True leadership is a habit. It is up to you to make it a good or bad habit.

The concept of Standard Operating Procedures provides a foundation for good habits.  Would you trust a pilot that did not have a set of Standard Operating Procedures to insure the greatest chance of success in your flight?  If not, why should your clients trust you if you do not have SOPs in your personal and business life to ensure the greatest chance of success in their relationship with you?

5 Steps to Successful Leadership

1. Leaders know what they stand for - Be aware of your present situation
2. Leaders know where they want to end up - Know your desired destination
3. Leaders always know the reason why? - Know why you are doing what you are doing
4. Leaders know what it takes - Leaders Implement their action plan
5. Leaders continuously refine what they know— Take your system to the point of efficinecy through repetition

Fred Sarkari

 

 BI # 31 Defeating Workplace Disengagement: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI # 31 Defeating Workplace Disengagement

Duration: 11 minutes 07 seconds

Show Notes:

This week Canadian Management Centre is pleased to present a podcast from the American Management Association vault. The podcast entitled “Defeating Workplace Disengagement” features special guest Rodd Wagner co-author of 12: The Elements of Great Managing the sequel to 1999 bestseller First, Break All the Rules.

Wagner is a principal of The Gallup Organization and has always held an interest in what makes an organization’s top performs tick. Using performance and engagement data from numerous Fortune 500 companies Wagner is able to identify the 12 common elements driving great performance, while learning how the nature of these overachievers affects business strategy.

Step 4 Leaders Know What It Takes. Leaders Implement an Action Plan

All of the preceding steps become null and void, unless you are willing to take action—action to start the journey, to occasionally re-assess that journey and to implement all the little steps that are needed to move you in the right direction.

Knowing what it takes to get something done doesn’t really mean having all the answers yourself. Albert Einstein summed this one up best when he said “I don’t need to have all the answers myself, I just need to know where I can find the answers when I have to.” It also means having the confidence to trust your team.

Most people set their goals first—creating their direction in life without understanding why they are doing it. Sure they know what they want to accomplish or attain in life, but do they know why. That is why they are never happy, always searching for more, never fulfilled. Once a person can answer the question why, their entire direction and goals can be defined. Your goals will be the stages you need to pass through when your life is directed by a purpose.

Here is where you set detailed tactical action plans that are linked to why you want to accomplish your set goals.

The last step in this process will be posted next week

Fred Sarkari

As the long, lazy days of summer approach it can be hard to keep your employees focused on their daily jobs. Instead of fighting the temptation of the warm weather, many employers embrace the possibilities it offers and use flex hours to keep their employees happy and on task.

Some employers though, are hesitant to offer flex hours as they feel that:

A. Productivity will decrease
B. It’s cost prohibitive
C. It’s not possible to close shop for a day as customers questions still need to be answered.

But, it’s possible to address all of these concerns and make your workplace a more productive environment while keeping your employees happy. If we look at the reasons employers are reluctant to offer summer hours, we can find solutions that will satisfy everyone’s concerns.

A. Productivity will decrease

A survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation found that 66% of employees whose work offered summer flex hours felt that they were more productive during the week. In addition, offering flex hours doesn’t mean that you just have to give your employees extra time off, instead, you can work out a system where they can earn extra days off. This arrangement will entice your employees to work harder when they are at work in order to ensure they get to take part of the summer hours/flex time program.

B. It’s cost prohibitive

Allowing employees to have extra time off during the summer months can be quite a financial concern for employers. Although they want to make their employees happy (which can help with employee retention), it can be hard to manage costs. To combat this, employers can manage the expense by allowing employees to work extra hours during the week to make up for any time off. For example, a system can be arranged that if employees work an extra hour every day from Monday to Thursday they can take every Friday afternoon off. This means that the organization won’t be out any money for labour costs while still pleasing their employees.

C. It’s not possible to close shop for a day as customers questions still need to be answered.

Figuring out a solution for this issue can be a bit trickier for employers. For some workplaces, it’s just not feasible to close the doors every Friday afternoon, even if employees have earned the extra time off. Instead of canceling the possibility of summer hours, have your employees work on a rotating schedule so that there is always a skeleton staff available to answer customer’s concerns. If you continue with the scenario as discussed above, you can still have your employees work an extra hour from Monday to Thursday but instead of giving them every Friday afternoon off, give them the whole day off every other Friday. That way there is always someone available in the office and employees can retain their summer hours.

Keeping your workforce happy is imperative if you want to run a successful business. A great way to keep your employees satisfied is to offer them a Summer Hours/ Flex Time program, and if done effectively, will help with productivity and won’t cost you any extra money. The only result: a loyal, contented workforce.

 

 BI # 30 The Challenge to Innovate: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI # 30 The Challenge to Innovate

Duration: 10 minutes 53 seconds

Show Notes:

Canadian Management Centre is proud to present a conversation that took place on an episode from the Edgewise podcast series. This episode features special guest Cindy Rabe. Cindy Rabe held the position of Innovation Strategist for Intel Corporation until early 2006 when she founded Zero-G, a company that contributes and stimulates breakthrough insights that lead to innovations and improvements in all areas of business.

During this podcast Cindy Rabe will talk about how to defeat the kind of thinking that can overcome teams and kill true innovation. Cindy offers insights on how to find and work with the right people and shows, through fascinating real-world examples, the huge difference they can make.

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

 

 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.

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

 

 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.