DeMolay Leadership!

Leadership



                                                      

DeMolay Leadership!

DeMolay 

Leadership Is Influence

Leadership

                                                                        

Leadership Is Influence

DeMolay Leadership

Share photo! "Like" DeMolay Leadership!

                              

The resilient leader

Today's Business Lessons 

The resilient leader

BUSINESS MATTERS(BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) 

By Francis J. Kong (The Philippine Star)  

Updated April 21, 2013

 

 

I’ve read him, I’ve heard him, and I’ve finally gotten to listen to him speak in person when I attended his seminar in San Francisco a few years ago. Not only is he a brilliant speaker, he’s quite funny too.

True to my being a Filipino, I had my picture taken with him. Two pictures actually, just to be sure. He is kind as he is generous – I asked permission if I can feature his works in my radio program and in my business column, and he said, “Oh, go ahead and use it…”

You’re probably wondering who this person is. He’s Jeffrey Gittomer, currently the world’s foremost sales guru.

In his book The Little Book of Leadership, Gittomer says that you and I are the essence of our reactions, responses, recovery and reputation. He also says, “Resilience doesn’t start with experience – it starts with attitude.”

At this point, let me pull a “Jeffrey Gittomer” and ask you to picture the following scenarios in your mind:

SCENARIO #1: Your employee says, “I can’t finish the project today. It will take me another week.”

SCENARIO #2: You have one solid prospective customer left this month, and if they don’t buy, you don’t make your quota. They call you and say, “We’ve decided to buy from your competition.”

SCENARIO #3: Your best employee gives two weeks’ notice that he’s going to work for the competition.

SCENARIO #4: Your computer crashes, and you’re not certain when you backed it up last. And if you are a trainer like me, the session is about to start in half an hour.

SCENARIO #5: You get an email from your boss telling you that they’ve revised the compensation plan, and unless you do 20% more, you’ll earn 20% less.

SCENARIO #6: You finally get an appointment with the biggest prospect you’ve ever had. They’ve agreed to see you for one hour. You arrive, and the decision maker doesn’t show up.

SCENARIO #7: You’re the CEO of your company, and the board has decided that you should be replaced.

SCENARIO #8: You trust your people, but then when they leave, you find out that they’ve been secretly forming a business that would compete with yours.

These are all real-life and real-world scenarios that happen on a regular basis. These are scenarios that challenge and test your mental strength as a leader. But handling such situations is hardly discussed in business schools or in your MBA classes.

You need resilience in tough situations like these. And Gittomer says that resilience is how you react, respond and recover from those situations. It starts with your own strength of attitude. If you’re easily dismayed, if your self-confidence level is low or your self-esteem is lacking, or if your self-image is in doubt, each of the scenarios above can easily be taken as a disaster.

I’ve learned that I may not be able to control circumstances and events, but it’s within my ability to control the way I will respond – not react – to those circumstances and events.

My resilience comes when I lift up the entire situation with thanksgiving in my heart to God and ask Him to give me the wisdom to handle it well. This relaxes me, keeps my temper and attitude in check, and helps me believe that every situation opens a new opportunity to explore new things. And I’ve proven that, as long as you stay in the right and do what’s right, things will become better. Henry Ward Beecher, clergyman, social reformer and speaker, said: “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself – and be lenient to everybody else.”

Today's Business Tips

 

6 Habits of Extraordinary Bosses

 

By Geoffrey James | Inc – Tue, Oct 16, 2012 4:20 PM EDT

For the past two decades, I've been interviewing and observing successful C-level executives to discover the secrets of their success.

In a previous post, I documented the core beliefs of extraordinary bosses. Now it's time for something more tactical--the simple ground rules for managing a team effectively:

1. They Avoid Creating Superstars

Average bosses sometimes allow one employee to become the "star" of the team while ignoring the hard work of everyone else. The "star" gets plenty of recognition and attention, while the rest of the team gets shunted aside. This alienates everybody except the star and sends people the message that their contribution is not valued.

Extraordinary bosses coordinate individual workers' goals so that they intersect with and support team goals. Such bosses compensate based on how the team (rather than just the individual) performs and encourage top performers to use their talents to create a broader level of success.

2. They Remove the Nonperformers

Average bosses sometimes hire somebody who can't do the job--but then keep that person on board, hoping that he or she will figure things out. This damages the the entire team, because it creates a lower level of performance and forces everyone else to do extra work to fill the gaps.

Extraordinary bosses monitor employee performance and provide constructive coaching when an employee falls short. However, once it's that clear a person can't perform, they either reassign that employee to a more appropriate job or do him or her a huge favor: suggest finding a job elsewhere.

3. They Coach But Don't Interfere

Average bosses can't "let go" of what they're good at. They're constantly intervening when things aren't done the way they'd prefer. This not only lowers motivation but also turns the manager into a "gatekeeper" for any activity--causing productive work to grind to a halt.

Extraordinary bosses know that their primary responsibility is to let people do their jobs and provide coaching when necessary or requested. Such bosses realize that it's impossible for workers to think strategically when their time and energy are getting consumed with details of tactical execution.

4. They Put Their Employees First 

 Average bosses put most of their attention on customers, investors, other managers, and their own career. In this priority scheme, employees rank dead last--if they're even on the list. Unfortunately, employees can sense when a boss doesn't care about them, and they respond by not caring about their jobs.

Extraordinary bosses know that the best way to please investors, peers, and customers is to put the employees first. They realize that it's employees who create, build, sell, and support the products that customers buy, thereby creating investor value and advancing a manager's career.

5. They Manage People, Not Numbers

Average bosses focus on numbers rather than people. They jiggle revenue and profit numbers, monkey with statistics and data, and spend more time worrying about their spreadsheets than making things happen.

Extraordinary bosses know that numbers represent only the history of what's happened--and understand that the best way to have great numbers is to make sure that that the job gets done. They realize that their responsibility is to manage people and their activities so the numbers take care of themselves.

6. They Ask Questions Rather Than Give Answers

Average bosses think their job is to know all the answers and to provide those answers to their employees as frequently as possible. However, each time a boss answers an employee's question, that boss robs the employee of an opportunity to think and grow.

Extraordinary bosses know that people don't learn when wisdom is handed to them on a platter, much less forced down their throats. They know that a manager's job is to ask the questions that will spark, in the employee's own mind, the thought processes and ideas that will make that employee successful.

Leadership

Go Hard on the Issue, Soft on the Person – 5 Leadership Ideas

by Jon Mertz on September 10, 2012 in Re: Lead

 

“I try to go hard on the issue and soft on the person.” – Dr. Henry Cloud

The above statement is potent. It really drives home the point on how to address workplace challenges while exhibiting character and integrity. Living and leading on this statement is like walking a tightrope. It is so easy to get off balance and go hard on the person and soft on the issue. Our leadership standing falls quickly when this happens.

Relationships are foundational in leadership, as John Maxwell rightly points out in the 5 Levels of Leadership. Even though some relationships can be troublesome to work through, we are drawn into the personality of a person, and fire our frustration at the person rather than the issue.

 

Personalities draw us in

It is a curious thing that we are drawn into focusing on the personality. Maybe it is due to an attraction to surface-level things rather than diving deep into the causes. Maybe it is because we get caught up in the pettiness rather than the realness of the solving problems. Whatever the reasons, we are drawn to the light of personalities rather than the dull burn of the issues.

At times, it can be about a person’s behavior, and this needs to be addressed in a respectful, accountable way. If a person is disrupting a team with their bad behaviors, it cannot be ignored either.

The statement remains a challenge: “I try to go hard on the issue and soft on the person.”

 

Keep focused on the issue while maintaining the relationship.

The question may be, simply, how do we remain focused on the issue and maintain the relationship? Here are five ideas to keep our focus:

Idea 1: Balance the emphasis on the issue with showing empathy to the person. 

Sometimes others will want to return to personalities, so keeping the discipline of focus is paramount. It takes repeating the issue, drilling into the cause, and doing this with empathy. Most people are stretched in today’s intense world of work. Empathy builds relationships while solving issues. It is about balancing the focus on the issue with expressing appreciation for another’s viewpoint and effort.

It is a tough balance. To keep the issue front-and-center, keep asking why something is happening. Drill into the cause, the process issues, and the technology requirements. By asking questions on the issue, focus will remain in the right areas and with the right compassionate attitude.

Idea 2: Focus on the right words – speaking and hearing.  

Listening is an essential skill.  

The greatest lesson learned is to listen what the other person is saying and, afterwards, say “What I hear you say is ___________________ (state what you heard).” By doing this, it proves to others that we are listening, and it keeps the focus on the real, appropriate issues. From here, adding our thoughts, ideas, and suggested actions, a productive give-and-take occurs. We may even find that others will adopt our approach.

Hearing and speaking is a give-and-take experience. If all someone is doing is speaking, issue resolution will break down quickly. Keep the tension positively focused on the issue, pulling and releasing until resolved.

Idea 3: Be fully present. 

Mindfulness is gaining popularity, even in business. It is about being fully present. An approach is to grab two to three key words another is saying and gain clarity. It is more than the words, too. Maintain positive eye contact. Keep our body open with no arm crossing and closing up. Communicate accessibility and a dash of vulnerability through our eyes and gestures.

It is important to be aware of how we are sitting, how we are reacting, and how we are projecting ourselves in the conversation. When we see others tighten up, it is essential to do a quick look at ourselves. They may be reflecting our tenseness, so adjust to set the right tone.

Idea 4: Keep repeating – solve the issue, solve the issue, solve the issue.  

The best way to keep focused is to keep repeating quietly in our mind – solve the issue, solve the issue, solve the issue. It may sound corny, but it works. It keeps our thoughts, words, and actions focused on the right things. It delivers the discipline of interaction… the discipline of going hard on the issue and soft on the person.

Idea 5: Let go. 

Forget what happened two years or 2 months ago. If things have changed, then don’t hold on to the past with others. It is time to give a second chance. Some hold on to the past too much, and it blinds them to changes made, new behaviors adopted.

Herein is one of the difficult challenges. When an individual is obstinate, self-centered, lazy, blames others, etc., then an issue cannot be solved with them. This is a second angle of letting go. If someone with bad behaviors cannot be coached and will not change, then they need to go.

Letting go is about release. It is about releasing the past. It is about releasing a person when the culture is being damaged and issues can no longer be resolved.  Both are always wrapped tightly with respect and empathy.

 

Life is too short for unproductive drama and spoiled relationships.

Being a leader means working through the challenging times. Leadership requires a clear focus on the issues. Leadership requires building, coaching, maintaining, and growing relationships in order to advance attitudes, mindsets, teamwork, progress, and an environment to excel.

Leadership is about enabling problem-solving and empowering others to focus on the right things and do the right things in the right way.

How do you keep from getting distracted from solving issues? How do you maintain solid relationships during challenging times?

How Do You Define Success?

Today's Insights

How Do You Define Success?

 Robin Sharma

Too many people are living their neighbors’ lives. So many amongst us are building our futures based on a definition of success sold to us by society+the media+our peers. That’s fine if you’re consciously choosing to live by those values. But what if – at truth – you have a different set of values. And the success you are currently chasing actually has little to do with what will make you happy when you review your life at the end?

My encouragement is to take 60 minutes over the next few days and rethink what you are investing your mental focus and physical energy on. Are you spending your time on work that matters and personal pursuits that are moving the needle forward? Or are you stuck in the thick of thin things? Being really busy being really busy?

A life is a tragic thing to waste. Yet too many of us – born into the potential to live soaring lives as well as contribute to raising the lives around them – waste our best hours on mindless distractions, needless interruptions and activities that are nothing more than an escape.

But I invite you to also focus on these dimensions of your life if you’re serious about REAL success:

• Personal development
• Family connections
• Being world-class at your work
• Having a network of friends who elevate you
• Creating a phenomenal lifestyle
• And using your life to make a difference.

That last metric is the key. What’s the point of having success but failing at Significance? 

Yes, chase your dreams and rise to lofty heights in the world. But please remember: greatness comes from living for a cause larger than you. And leaving our world better than you found it.