Tag: Attitude

Leadership Minute: Know Your Surroundings

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I really do believe in the influence of your surroundings. –  Matt Sharp

As a leader, your surroundings are an important factor in the formation and execution of your leadership style. The people you surround yourself with may not always be of your choosing. Just as some circumstances are out of your control, so too, are some of the people around you such as co-workers. Being aware of your surroundings is about your cognizance of toxic behaviors and attitudes that you need to be on your guard against. It’s an awareness of your surroundings and knowing who to keep out of your circle. But when you know your surroundings here is what else you know: You know who you can trust. You know who has your best interests at heart and who the pretenders are. You know the power of being with like-minded people and what you can accomplish together when ego and who gets the credit is not the driving factor. Knowing your surroundings is all about knowing who you want to surround yourself with. Are you familiar with your surroundings?

Leadership Minute: Dreams or Fears?

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Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. – Les Brown

Sometimes the line between living your dreams and living your fears can be thin. On one side of that thin line are the dreams and desires of your heart that resonate from deep within you. On the other side of that line are the fears that hold you back. Perhaps it’s a fear of repeating a past mistake. It could be a fear of the unknown or failure. But one thing is certain- your fear of failure will come true by default if you do not act. Your dreams can only come true when you make up your mind that your life is going to be defined by faith, not fear, and that your dreams are the more powerful than fear. What fear is keeping you from crossing the threshold from fear to living your dream? Don’t allow your fears to crush your dreams. Today can be a day of new beginnings when you cross the line and don’t look back. What is your dream?

Leadership Minute: A Winning Attitude

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I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude. – Colin Powell

Your attitude is one of the most important attributes as a person and as a leader. All leaders go through times of testing. It can be a rough and tumble world out there. But whether you are in the midst of good times or setbacks, your attitude is very important. The only thing that can make the good times better is an attitude of gratitude. The only thing that can make a setback worse is a bad attitude. The common thread in any situation you face is whether the attitude you choose will help you or hurt you. When you display a winning attitude it will spread to others around you. The message it sends will inspire confidence and give hope that even though things may look bad at the moment, things are going to be fine. What message is your attitude sending to those around you? Choose today to embrace a winning attitude.

Leadership Minute: Mind Your Manners

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Good manners are a combination of intelligence, education, taste and style mixed together so that you don’t need any of those things. – P.J. O’Rourke

Good manners are essential to your effectiveness as a leader. Good manners are of importance to you not just because it reflects upon your leadership style, but because it speaks volumes about the respect you have for others. We tend to look at having manners as a self-respect issue but it’s more than that- it’s an issue of respect for those we encounter. Of the many soft skills in leadership that are of importance I believe good manners ranks high in priority. When you blend good taste and style with intelligence and education you possess a good formula for good manners. But the formula, as good as it may be, is not enough. You must put good manners into practice. You must model the type behavior you expect. The more you put it into practice the sooner it becomes a habit. Simply put; a good leader practices good manners.

Leadership Minute: Set Your Course

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Among the safe courses, the safest of all is to doubt. – Spanish Proverb

Let’s be honest; all successful leaders starting out have their doubts. Whether those doubts about the future and their goals are self-inflicted or placed upon them by someone else, every leader has doubts. You know the doubts I speak of: Am I qualified? What happens if I fail? What will people say or think if I fall short? Well, hang around long enough in leadership and you will no doubt hear those sentiments. The question is not whether you will have doubts but what you will do with them. The key is not to be defined by your doubts or doubters but to set your course and not look back, neither to the left nor to the right, but straight ahead to the goals before you. You must listen to the only voice that matters that comes from deep within you saying this is the way. Set your course, cast aside your doubts, and chase your dreams. You can do this!

Leadership Minute: Scripting Your ‘Good Ole Day’s’

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The illusion that times that were are better than those that are, has probably prevailed all ages. – Horace Greeley

This is perhaps a widely accepted generational belief that the good ole days of yester-year were somehow better than the present. It’s not hard to look around without having a certain measure of longing for what we perceive was a better time and place. Just bring back the good ole days we cry. But the good ole days of the next generation is what we create today. As a leader this is your day, this is your time, this is your moment to create the days you long and wish for. Time doesn’t stand still for any of us. The good that you hope the next generation will look back on and remember as the ‘good ole days’ is created by what you do today. It’s found in your daily random acts of kindness, the service that you render to others, and it’s a script that only you can write. You are the author of the next generation’s good ole days. How is your script coming along?

Three Things Talent Can’t Do For You

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I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. – Albert Einstein

Gary Inrig tells an interesting story about Bertoldo de Giovanni. Giovanni is a name even the most enthusiastic lover of art is unlikely to recognize. He was the pupil of Donatello, the greatest sculptor of his time, and he was the teacher of Michelangelo, the greatest sculptor of all time. Michelangelo was only 14 years old when he came to Bertoldo, but it was already obvious that he was enormously gifted. Bertoldo was wise enough to realize that gifted people are often tempted to coast rather than to grow, and therefore he kept trying to pressure his young prodigy to work seriously at his art.

One day he came into the studio to find Michelangelo toying with a piece of sculpture far beneath his abilities. Bertoldo grabbed a hammer, stomped across the room, and smashed the work into tiny pieces, shouting this unforgettable message, “Michelangelo, talent is cheap; dedication is costly!”

When it comes to the recruitment of the best and brightest in most organizations the safe bet is to always go with the most talented. For example, you don’t see the top law firms competing for the bottom ten graduating students from law school; instead they go after those graduating at the top of their class.

It goes without saying that talent is important. You want and need talented people on your team. But is talent alone enough? I’d like to highlight three things that talent can’t do for you and in doing so hopefully help you to see the broader picture of what matters most.

Talent can’t be a substitute for your character

Whenever you place a higher premium on talent than on character you have made a mistake. A talented individual on your team can be a valuable asset. But if they are strong on talent and weak on character in the end you will both lose. This is a trap many leaders find themselves in. What do you do when the “star” of your office (top sales producer, etc.) is also the office jerk, a bully, cuts corners, or exhibits otherwise questionable behavior?

At the end of the day, you can always find talented people to help you. You can also find people of character. It’s not an either-or proposition. You can have both but you have to esteem one over the other. Which do you think is more important?

Talent can’t be a replacement for your motivation

Talent and potential is one thing while possessing the motivation and desire to achieve is another. A person with lesser talent but with a higher motivation factor can achieve more than an unmotivated person with more talent. Talent is not what gets you up and out the door in the morning. Talent does not give you an advantage; motivation does.

A classic example is Steven Spielberg. Spielberg dropped out of high school and applied to and was rejected by three different film schools because of his “C” average grade. His report card didn’t measure his motivation and passion. But because his motivation joined forces with his talents we’ve all enjoyed some really great movies. The key here is not to become complacent or coast just because you are talented. No one will remember you because you had talents, but they will remember what you did with it.

Talent can’t be a predictor of your success

What talents do you possess? What is your driving passion? What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail? These are pointed but necessary questions you need to answer if you want to be successful. You see, it’s not your talents that define you or guarantee your success – it’s your choices.

In your possession are talents that you have been blessed with. And every day your choices take you one step closer to perfecting those talents and achieving those dreams or your choices hold you back.

Here are some key choices you will have to make: Your attitude; it will make you or break you. Your friends; the true ones will always believe in you and stick with you. Your faith; it will give you strength for your journey and peace in your storms. Your fears; you will be defined by how you overcame them or how they overcame you. Your talents; will you use them or will you lose them. Talent does not guarantee success it is simply part of the formula.

Embracing your talents is a necessary first step going forward. The formula looks like this: T (Talent) + C (Character) + M (Motivation) + C (Choices) = S (Success). What are you doing with your talents?

© 2014 Doug Dickerson

Leadership Minute: Build Bridges

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I have no shortage of strong opinions, but I have tried all my life to be a bridge builder. – Bill Hybels

Bridge building is such an important leadership skill to develop. When leaders can build bridges and connect people with no regard for race, religion, political views, or personality types, it can be a most rewarding endeavor. Unfortunately, preconceived notions about people can prevent authentic relationships from developing and thus bridge building becomes nothing more than a good idea. Most leaders I know, including myself, have strong opinions. But when those strong opinions get in the way of relationships then we become isolated and only gather in flocks with like-minded people. While that is all good and well your circle of friends is smaller, your world view is narrower, and your sphere of influence is marginalized. You don’t have to compromise your opinions in order to befriend a person who thinks otherwise. Be approachable, be respectful, but most of all be authentic. Your opinions and values are what you will carry with you for a lifetime, and regardless of who comes and goes in your life, those beliefs will always guide you. Are you a builder?

The 4 Stages of the Company Critic

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Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems. – Zig Ziglar

A guide at Blarney Castle in Ireland was explaining to some visitors that his job was not always as pleasant as it seemed. He told them about a group of disgruntled tourists he had taken to the castle earlier in the week.

“These people were complaining about everything,” he said. “They didn’t like the weather, the food, their hotel accommodations, the prices, everything. Then to top it off, when we arrived at the castle, we found that the area around the Blarney Stone was roped off. Workmen were making some kind of repairs.” “This is the last straw!” exclaimed one lady who seemed to be the chief faultfinder in the group. “I’ve come all this way, and now I can’t even kiss the Blarney Stone.”

“Well, you know,” the guide said, “according to legend, if you kiss someone who has kissed the stone, it’s the same as kissing the stone itself.” “And I suppose you’ve kissed the stone,” said the exasperated lady. “Better than that.” replied the guide. “I’ve sat on it.”

Moaners, groaners, and complainers – you know exactly who I am speaking of and no doubt already have them identified. These are the ones in your organization who just can’t help themselves – they tend to complain about everything.

Recent surveys (http://bit.ly/1o4sJ0u) indicate that negativity is on the rise in the workplace. According to Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management 18 percent of U.S. employees are actively disengaged and will complain about their companies. Knowing the stages of company critics is a must for leaders who desire to improve employee relations and maintain a healthy culture. Helpful to you as a leader is to know where your people fit into each category. Here are the four stages for your consideration.

The resistant critic

The resistant critic is the one who for no other reason than just to be antagonistic is against most every new idea and tends to be the resident complainer –in- chief. The resistant critic is locked into a predisposed mindset that makes it difficult to welcome new ideas, sees progressive ideas and people as threats, and will be the last to sign off (if at all) on strategies moving forward.

It will take an extended amount of time to convert the resistant critic and the way forward will not be easy- if achievable at all. The potential value of this person must be weighed against future benefits. If the resistant complainer is too much of a drag on morale and progress then it might be best to cut your losses and move on. In short – proceed with caution.

The reluctant skeptic

Unlike the resistant critic the reluctant skeptic is cautiously engaged. Healthy organizations need these people. By and large they tend to come on board with the mission of the organization but are not certified “yes men” and are not afraid to state the obvious. Reluctant skeptics may have their opinionated ways but for the sake of your future it can be a good thing to hear their voices and pick their brains.

Reluctant skeptics are a careful breed and tend to buy-in to the vision but only after careful deliberation. Arm them with the facts and give them time to process it and they can be your voice of reason. They may be the last to come on board but once they do they can be your strongest allies.

The reasonable participant

The reasonable participants are your tried- and- true loyal troopers. Almost always you can depend on them to be in your corner. While not as vocal in their criticisms as their above mentioned counterparts their voices tends to offer support first while working out the flaws later. The reasonable participant is the backbone of your organization and seldom seeks to rock the boat.

The reasonable participants are your influencers. They are the ones who can come alongside the skeptics and critics and elevate the dialogue and keep morale strong. Important for you as a leader is to never take these team members or their loyalty for granted.

The responsible performer

Ultimately, this is the outcome you are striving for in your organization- people who are engaged, producing, and performing at their best. Chances are you know where most of them fit. Moving people in your organization to this stage will take time, effort, and the best uses of your leadership skills. When each team member is now a responsible performer then your organizational culture is performing as it should.

Knowing the direction that your company critics are moving is important. As a leader it’s upon you to show the way.

What do you say?

© 2014 Doug Dickerson

Leadership Minute: Lead With Purpose

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The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants. – Rick Warren

One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to run your own race. Doing so requires knowing your purpose and examining your motives. Many would like to have the title of “leader” but for what purpose? Is it for the sake of what that title can afford you? Is it for personal gain? How about your motives? Be sure of this truth in leadership – your motives will be revealed. But the servant leader is just as easily identifiable but for a very different reason. A leader with a servants heart places others first, looks for ways to lift others up, and is not too proud to serve. Servant leaders have a different mindset and create a different organizational culture. When serving others becomes your mission it’s a game changer. When “what can I do for you?’ replaces “what can you do for me?” it changes everything. The road of servant leadership is less crowded and for good reason. Give it a try!