0

Your Leadership Matters

Browsing Tags

Leadership

Showing: 1 - 10 of 15 Articles
BLOG LEADERSHIP

How to reflect after the Global Leadership Summit

It’s time to get to work – reflections after attending the 2018 Global Leadership Summit.

This whole week I’m going to do something different. Each day I’m going to write about a specific topic from one of the speakers at this year’s Global Leadership Summit that was held last week. I spent the weekend reflecting over this year’s event and the best way for me to go deeper with it is to share it and talk about it and add some value back to you in case you weren’t in attendance. But what was taught at this event is something I’m passionate about. Leadership and influence.   Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And everyone has it; the question is how are you using it?

So starting off – I’m going to share a process I learned from one of my mentors with the John Maxwell Team. It’s a process I’ve used to help me reflect after attending conferences or workshops where I’ve left really inspired. I call it my mind dump. I’m going to tell you though – only do this when you are really inspired and can be uninterrupted. Because you don’t want to be bothered when you are getting focused.

One of the questions I used to always ask myself when attending conferences or workshops like this was what to do with the pages and pages of notes I took. What do I do next, once I get back to reality? Are you ready? I’ll show you how.

I call it the 3 R’s – Reflect, Recoup and Refocus

Let’s get started.

  1. Take time to Reflect – and put a game plan together. What’s that look like? After attending a workshop, get a way and give yourself some quiet time to really think about what you were thinking about. Go through your notes and think about what was being shared and what you wrote down. As you begin to reflect, start by asking yourself these three questions.

1. What did you learn?

Go through your notes. Everything you wrote down are triggering thoughts. Explore them. What did you learn as a result of being at the Global Leadership Summit? Take 10 minutes, an hour, an entire day and go through all of your notes. Find the theme. What were the lessons from each page? As you go through these notes, it will become clearer.

2.Who did you meet?

You meet a lot of people. What are you doing to build on those relationships? You have to be intentional about building those relationships up. Go through your list of business and divide them into 3 categories.

  1.  People who you would generally love to connect with. This was a person who you would like to get to know them more. Be intentional about developing these. Add some value to them.
  2. People you told you were going to do something. These are those you have to take some sort of action with. Did you tell you would follow up? Did you tell them you’d send them some resources?
  3. These are the cards you don’t recognize nor really remember who they were – throw these cards away. Toss em out. Be intentional about the connections you made and go from there. If you didn’t make a lasting connection – it’s not worth your time.

3. What can you do today?

How can you be intentional? Send me an email, post a comment or share what you can do today to start taking action and implement some of the things you learned or have learned.

The Second R – Recoup – Recoup your investment. Tickets, travel, food and lodging – these events are not cheap to attend. So get something back from the investment you just made in yourself and your team. What will you do with this information you just learned?

The Third R – Refocus – it’s time for that clarity and consistency to begin to take action daily. Consistency with accountability. What can do you today? Consistency over time will build up to the dream or goal you want to accomplish for yourself, your team, or your organization.

So what’s the one thing you can today? Send an email, post a comment or share what you can do today to start taking action and implement some of the things you learned or have learned. If you didn’t attend the global leadership workshop this year and would like to learn more about some of the proven leadership principles and practices or topics discussed, send me an email to set up a lunch and learn at your company or with your team and I’d be happy to work with you.

To lead is to serve.

Updated on BLOG LEADERSHIP

Can serving others transform the way you lead?

I’d like to ask you a question – Can serving others transform the way you lead?

Last Friday, I attended a Leadership retreat at my church. The topic was viewing your work as an opportunity to worship in a way that serves others.  As you can imagine – there were several stories heard that day from some very successful CEOs and business leaders who had created a culture of service within their corporate cultures and were transforming the way they connect and lead their teams.

Here is a brief synopsis of those who spoke and the key points they shared.

Phil Vischer – VeggieTales

Phil Vischer – Veggie Tales

  • Your dream has to be a dream bigger than you but it cannot become your idol and lose sight of God and his glory.
  • As a Christian leader, your dream is about God and you, your faith, your Godliness, your relationships and your integrity.
  • What’s more important – your dream or your God? When God gives you a dream and it comes alive, it’s your job to keep God your primary focus.
  • Pay attention to God’s whispers. Learn to wait on him when necessary. Make it a daily habit of connecting with him with no agenda.
  • Don’t worry about the outcomes – that’s God’s job. You worry about obedience.
  • Be aware of your dreams and don’t confused them with misplaced longings. God is enough.

Tom Nelson – Made to Flourish

  • When you’re focused – live it out – SHARE it.
  • The more you talk about your vision, the more focused you’ll be at working it every day.
  • What’s the story you want to tell? What’s it mean to bear much fruit? To bear fruit, you must abide in Christ.
  • To be faithful, you must be fruitful. To be fruitful, you must be faithful.
  • Fruitfulness is more than relational – it’s a vast majority of your time.  How are you spending the vast majority of your time?
  • If Jesus was to give you an annual review, what would he say? Where are you doing well and where are some opportunities for growth?

Bryant Ambelang – President, CEO – NatureSweet

The Golden Rule – Do unto others what you want them to do unto you. To do more, you need to LEAD.

5 Elements of unleashing the power of your people

  1. Teach your story
  2. Define your story and what you really really want.
  3. Be intentional – you’ll never fail for a lack of resources, you’ll fail for a lack of intentions.
  4. Outcome is overrated. Build something new – be used in your workplace and in your family.
  5. Be joyful – have joy in your life. What you’re digging is an amazing treasure with each shovel.

Kelly Shackelford – First Liberty Institute

The enemy will always challenge you if you’re going to have an impact.

You’re protected to share your faith.

 

 

Norm Miller – Interstate Batteries

  • Find creative ways to connect with your team and share your love.
  • Be a good steward of the incredible blessings God has given you.
  • Be the leader who leads by taking action.
  • Go beyond your team’s expectations – be compassionate.
  • Pause every day and thank God for what he has done in your life.
  • Model Christ – allow your faith to define you.

Bill Hybels – Willow Creek Community Church

  • God treasures people the most.
  • As a leader, you have been entrusted to his people.
  • Share how you met Jesus.
  • Respect people even those with opposite beliefs but also ask for respect in return.

 

 

Patrick Lencioni – The Table Group

  • To lead, you have to go first.
  • Help your team identify their areas of improvement.
  • Constantly remind your people of areas they have to improve in.
  • Learn to coach –it’s your job.
  • Be Courageous

There is a common denominator amongst all of these leaders – Do you see it? They serve their people. I noticed each and every one of them talk about their teams and referred to them as team-mates or team members. They weren’t just employees – they each played a valuable role in the overall success of the company. They were valued and they knew it by the way the leader and company served them. You want to transform you culture and make it a better place to be?  Find a way to add value back to your team and learn to serve them by putting them first.

I’ll never forget a story I read about a Prince who wanted to desperately connect with his people but because of cultural norms, he was prevented from interacting with them. So he snuck out and disguised himself as a peasant and went on a journey with a group of men from his community.  On the journey, he connected with these men and they didn’t know who he was until the very end.  But in doing so, he learned how to best serve them because he was willing to remove himself out of his class and become the leader his people needed him to be.

Which of these speakers and lessons speaks to you the most? What will you do with it?

What are your thoughts on servant leadership? And how can I best serve you or your organization?  If you’d like to learn more, connect with me and I’d love to help.

To lead is to serve.

BLOG

How Coaching can raise your awareness.

Responding to awareness is usually dependent on your maturity as a leader. From a biblical perspective, I believe God always wants to connect with us and wants to lead us to be a better example of him, so we can be a better example to others. But ultimately, I believe he wants us to living out our purpose.

Having purpose and knowing it can be a powerful thing, but it’s something I’ve learned that some people don’t think a lot about. Some people don’t even know how to respond to the question when asked what their purpose is.

Why is awareness so important?

Awareness is important because it brings clarity. Clarity is an important ingredient for growth. Gaining awareness is one of the things I love about coaching leaders. Leaders are called to inspire and influence others because leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. However, if you lack clarity about your purpose or if you’re stretched too thin as leader or even as a company because you’re saying “yes” too much, it can create an unclear path and ultimately result in being pulled in multiple directions that doesn’t lead to living out your purpose. It may be fun, it may even be in your sweet spot, but it may also be leading your further away from your vision.

Being coached gives permission for you to be asked the right questions in the right way that can lead to incredible breakthroughs. Coaching is not mentoring. In order to grow deeper, whether it’s in your faith, in your leadership abilities or in your life, awareness has to take place. Gaining awareness isn’t always pleasant. Sometimes it takes something painful for you to have that moment or that thought. It’s not until you take the time to reflect on those moments where you can be asked those important questions. If you’re honest with yourself, you can move in the direction that’s ultimately closer to living out your purpose.

In a world that’s filled with chaos, it’s easy to allow yourself to become consumed with the things of this world that honestly don’t matter or add any value towards your growth. It’s easy to become unfocused and unclear and lose sight of your vision and become stuck and being stuck stinks!

Last year, I found myself there, saying yes to too many things and putting myself in a position where I became stretched so too thin, I was preventing myself from being fully engaged or able to really give my best to every project, opportunity or commitment.

After reflecting and writing down all of the projects and commitments I was working on, I had to asked myself – are these really apart of my purpose? Are they really helping me come closer to my purpose and vision that I want to have. Are they bringing me closer to where I want to be in life? And after sitting down with my coach, it became clear that I wasn’t clear and my focus was off.

So what do you do? Have you ever found yourself in this position? What did you do?

Sometimes it can be a lot easier to lead others before you lead yourself. But it’s such a crucial step to lead yourself first especially when others are watching your example. Earlier this year, I wrote about leading yourself and shared 4 tips to leading yourself better. But in it, I wrote about how to get out of your own way and become a better leader.

Wanting to go deeper and become more effective requires you to get out of your own way and get intentional about getting clear. Write down your for the next 90 days. Then write down all of your competing projects and commitments and ask yourself – what’s important? The key is to identify where you are and where you want to be. Then make the path to where you want to be.

If you would like to learn more about coaching and how it can help you become clearer and gain more awareness in your personal or professional life, contact me today. I’m currently accepting new clients and will coach you how to become clear and start gaining more traction in your life. For the month of February, I’m offering a complementary coaching session for the month of February.

If you like what you’re reading and would like to receive weekly emails to your inbox, be sure to sign up here.

BLOG

Defining Moments – responding when your awareness is heightened

Responding to awareness is usually dependent on your maturity as a leader. From a biblical perspective, I believe God always wants to connect with us so he can lead us to be a better example of him, so we can be a better example to others. But ultimately, I believe he wants us to living out our purpose.

Having purpose and knowing it can be a powerful thing, but it’s something I’ve learned that some people don’t think a lot about. Some people don’t even know how to respond to the question when asked what their purpose is.

But, why is awareness so important and what’s it got to do with our purpose?

Awareness brings clarity.  I recently read the Deeper Path by Kary Oberbrunner  and it his book, he wrote about clarity and shared it is an important ingredient for growth, in fact it is essential. Clarity knows where you are going, what you value and represent. It is the most accurate vision of yourself and your business. Having clarity represents your inner values as a business owner and leader. Getting there isn’t always fun or easy but it’s worth it.

Gaining awareness is one of the things I enjoy most coaching leaders on.  Leaders are called to inspire and influence others because leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. John C. Maxwell writes about this in his book the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.  However, if you lack clarity about your purpose or if you’re stretched too thin as leader or even as a company because you’re saying “yes” too much, it can create an unclear path and ultimately result in your being pulled in multiple directions that really don’t lead to living out your purpose. It may be fun, it may even be in your sweet spot, but it may also be leading you further away from your vision.

Being coached gives permission for you to be asked the right questions in the right way that can lead to incredible breakthroughs. Coaching is not mentoring. In order to grow deeper, whether its in your faith, in your leadership abilities or in your life, awareness has to take place. Gaining awareness isn’t always pleasant. Sometimes it takes something painful for you to have that moment or gain that “aha”. It’s not until you take the time to reflect on those moments where you can be asked those important questions. If you’re honest with yourself, you can move in the direction that’s ultimately closer to living out your purpose.

In a world that’s filled with chaos, it’s easy to allow yourself to become so consumed with the things of this world that honestly don’t matter. It’s easy to become unfocused and unclear and lose sight of your vision.

I found myself here recently, saying yes to too many things and putting myself in a position where I became stretched so thin, it was preventing me from being fully engaged or able to really give my best to every project or commitment.

After reflecting and writing down all of the projects and commitments I was working on, I had to asked myself – are these really apart of my purpose? Are they really helping me come closer to my purpose and vision or bringing me further from it? And after sitting down with my coach, it became clear that I wasn’t clear, my focus was off.

So what do you do? Have you ever found yourself in this position? What did you do?

It can be a lot easier to lead others before you lead yourself. But leading yourself is crucial if you want to lead others. I learned a long time ago that others are watching you. Earlier this year, I wrote about leading yourself and shared 4 tips to leading yourself better. But in it, I wrote about how to get out of your own way. This is why awareness is so important and why reflecting can be so powerful in your personal growth.

If you want to go deeper and become more effectively, you have to get out of your own way and get intentional about getting clear and staying focused. Write down your goals for this year and you might as well prepare for next year. Then write down all of your competing projects and commitments and ask yourself – what’s important? What has my attention? The key is to identify where you are and where you want to be. Then make the path to where you want to be.

This Friday, December 8th at 11am EST, I’m going to be going live with one of my long time mentors and fellow coaches, Sandra Goode Harrington. In it, we’re going to be sharing the process of getting clear about your goals and how we prepare each year about our goals for the following year and what we’re going to be intentional about. We’ll be taking questions so come prepared. If you’d like to join in on this free lesson, it’s free and I’ll be we’ll be hosting the live call free on Zoom. This is a free leadership series with no gimmicks or something to sell. It’s a way to share with you how to get and stay focused.

You can join from any PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/845746512

See you on the call.

Updated on BLOG

3 Ways to instill trust – Leadership Insights from Gen. Martin Dempsey, U.S. Army (Retired)

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend the Warrior Expo here in Virginia Beach and went to listen to their keynote speaker, US Army Retired General Martin Dempsey. He shared some of his personal leadership lessons and insights from his 41 years of service to our nation, leading everything from a Cavalry Troop to an Armored Division, to serving as the Commander of US Central Command as well as Chief of staff of the Army and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

I really enjoyed General Dempsey’s topic of discussion because he spoke about my favorite topic… leadership. I’ve noticed in the last couple of public addresses from senior military and government officials they’ve been sharing more and more of their insights on leadership and what being a leader means. It’s encouraging to see and hear these insights continue to be shared with current and aspiring leaders.

What I especially liked about General Dempsey’s address was that he spoke about what makes leaders successful and that is their followers. But more importantly, why do people follow you? What makes a follower choose to follow you? What do you think the answer is?  A follower not only respects their chosen leader and not because they have to but because they trust you. If you’ve ever heard me speak, you know I often share one of my favorite laws of leadership and that is the law of influence from John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership which states, “Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less” by John C. Maxwell. But before a follower even chooses to accept your influence, trust must be established. Trust is so important because it’s really the foundation of leadership. I once heard John C. Maxwell say,

“Trust is like change in a leader’s pocket. Each time you make good decisions, you earn more change. Each time you make poor decisions you pay out some of your change to people.”

Next, General Dempsey shared something I’ve seen in many organizations I’ve worked with and that is that your people want to feel they are a valued member of your team or organization. A leader does this. Dempsey stated, give your followers a sense of belonging. Let them know they are valued. It’s what all organizations are built for. He encouraged the leaders in the room that day and said, “If you do it well, do it better. If you don’t do it, do it well.”

General Dempsey instills trust by doing these 3 things.

1.Listen

Dempsey stated he always wanted his subordinates to know that he valued them. He said the best way he could do that was to be very intentional about showing them that he was listening to them.

2. Amplify

Amplify your message – always remember to instill a high level of trust. People do what people see and leadership is influence. As leaders, it is your responsibility to deliver and amplify your message, what you value and your expectations. Dempsey stated to make your message the most resounding, but don’t pit those you lead against each other.

3. Include

Include your people – with instant access to technology and communication, it doesn’t replace a personal connection. A leader can make a big mistake by relying on digital communications. Dempsey emphasized that digital access can be strictly exclusive and not inclusive when communicating with your people.

During his Q & A, someone had asked about one of his greatest leadership lessons that he carried with him throughout his career. Without a blink, General Dempsey shared a story about the Nun who changed the way he led people. On one of his many deployments as Centcom Commander, he met a Nun who approached him one day and asked if she could come on base and have a service to serve and pray over his soldiers. He agreed to it and met her at the gate when she arrived. On this particular day, a bunch of rowdy soldiers were playing basketball and were hanging out by the court as they were walking by. She asked if she could start with that group. General Dempsey said he remembered hesitating and that he wanted to bring her to his “best” group of officers. She insisted and went over to the group of soldiers and introduced herself. As she spoke and prepared to pray for them, he watched as every one of his soldiers bowed their heads and joined in with her prayer.  When she was done for the day, she returned to his office and he offered to have a driver return her to the convent. She agreed but insisted that he drive her back.  He agreed and they left and he drove her back. When she got out of the car, he asked her why did she start with that group of soldiers, to which she answered, aren’t those soldiers your people? Aren’t they you’re responsibility? He couldn’t argue with her. She reminded him not to forget about all of his people, even the bad ones or ones you have forgotten about. This encouraged him to start engaging with those soldiers he had forgotten about and even brought his basketball shoes into and jumped in on a few games.  The story continues, General Dempsey said, 10 years went by and he was at an event when a Sergeant Major came up to him and said “Hello Sir, do you remember me”?  Wouldn’t you know it; it was one of those rowdy soldiers from the basketball court and who the General had decided to start engaging with. The point is it doesn’t take much. Sometimes a game of basketball can be the simplest way to engage and connect with your followers. You never know what that one simple act can turn into.

General Dempsey ended with his legacy statement and that he wants it to be a legacy of a warrior’s heart, an immigrant’s spirit and a servant’s soul.

I don’t know about you, but that was inspiring and encouraging to hear. As an executive coach and leadership expert, I am often asked, what’s the best way to engage and connect with my staff especially in this fast paced world that’s filled with deadlines? That’s an easy answer, you make time, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for you. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about your people…your team. Just like General Dempsey’s example, sometimes you have to find the connection with your team which may mean you have to bring in your basketball shoes in and get in on the next game.  You have to be intentional about it if you want to make change. If you value it as a leader, you’ll make the time and I guarantee you’ll reap the rewards of making this effort and contributing to your team’s personal and professional growth. Try it! I dare you!

 If you’re looking for better ways to engage and connect with your staff or team, or even if your organization is trying to improve its culture, contact me.

Updated on BLOG

Leading Self – 4 tips to leading yourself better

I’ve been doing a lot of studying lately both with my clients as well as with my own personal reflections and I’ve noticed two common themes that keeps arising:

  1. The toughest person to lead is always yourself, and

  2. The last person we think about leading is yourself.

If we’re honest with ourselves, I think we all would agree that sometimes we can be our own worst enemies and can often block ourselves from the success we want to achieve. We just lack the awareness of how, where, and why.

If I was to ask you, John, how often would you say you take the time to really examine yourself? What would you say? One of my mentors, John C. Maxwell in his book, Leadership Gold says, “If you don’t look at yourself realistically, you will never understand where your personal difficulties lie. And if you can’t see them, you won’t be able to lead yourself effectively”. And if you can’t lead yourself effectively, how can you really expect to lead others effectively?

Last year, I made one of the greatest and most challenging investments in myself. I hired a coach. You’re probably thinking, but John, you’re a coach, why do you need a coach? Another one of my mentors once told me, the greatest coaches and leaders have a coach. I needed one because I realized I was getting in my own way and I wanted to know where, why and how I was limiting myself from the success I wanted to achieve.  You see, what I wanted to accomplish, I knew I wouldn’t be able to accomplish it on my own or with my current beliefs. I hired a coach because I couldn’t see myself effectively and my level of awareness needed to increase.  When it comes to personal growth, I believe growth increases when we’re being intentional about it and we’re willing to put some skin in the game.  I was giving him permission to help me explore myself. It takes an incredible amount of trust and guts to do this. It’s not for everyone. But it’s been about six months since working with him and my thinking has certainly shifted. I’ve started to understand myself more and know where my personal difficulties lie and why I wasn’t seeing the growth I wanted to achieve.

To get out of your own way and become a better leader, there are four things you should learn to help you lead yourself and others more effectively.

  1. Learn Followership – Only a leader who has followed well knows how to lead others well. The best leaders are followers first. And the best followers make the best leaders. By learning followership, it increases your empathy and helps you to better connect with your followers. Maxwell says, “Connecting with your people becomes possible because you’ve walked in their shoes before. Good leadership requires an understanding of the world that your followers live in”.

  2. Develop Self-Discipline – Only you can control you and only you are you responsible for your own actions and decisions. Making consistent good decisions and taking the right actions when needed and refraining from the wrong ones require a strong moral character and self-discipline. Doing otherwise, we lose control of ourselves – what we do, what we say and we miss the opportunities when they are given.

  3. Practice Patience – Too many leaders lack the time it takes to produce something great. Everyone wants instant gratification…to be an overnight success.  There are few things in life that come quickly.  Becoming a leader doesn’t happen overnight. Microwavable leaders never last; it’s those leaders who are willing to let themselves cook slowly who are successful. The point is it takes time and patience. Leadership is a process that develops daily, not in a day.  The point of leading isn’t to finish first; it’s to take people across the line with you. For this reason, leaders must slow their pace, learn to connect with their people and connect them to their vision. You can’t do that if you’re constantly always ahead of them, out of sight and not connecting with them.  

  4. Seek Accountability – Do you trust yourself?  Do you really trust yourself? Most leaders who know themselves don’t. They can’t.  Good leaders know that power can be seductive, and they understand their fallibility. To be a leader and deny this is to put yourself in real danger.  Accountability isn’t just for your personal life. Not having accountability in your professional life can be a very dangerous and stupid thing. They actually often overlap; a lack of accountability in your personal life will certainly lead to problems in your professional life. Consider the number of CEOs or senior military officials who have been stripped of their command because of an extramarital affair or skimming money from an unknown account.  Having accountability starts with your own willingness to seek and accept advice from others.

A quick story about accountability – when I became a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, I went through a process called Chief’s Call to Indoctrination. During this process, I met with a lot of other Chiefs and sought out their words of wisdom.  One of my mentors during this process who worked directly for the Commanding Officer gave me the best advice I’ve taken with me as a leader and it really speaks to the purpose of accountability.  There was a decision that was being considered that was going to negatively impact a lot of people and the Captain was going to make it. Because the Captain gave permission to the Master Chief to hold him accountable, that gave him the opportunity to call him out and hold him accountable when making decisions. Because this decision would have had a lot of adverse effects and was a really bad decision, the Master Chief was pretty blunt when speaking to him. Afterwards, I asked him, you can speak to him like that, and he said, that’s my job. Holding people to accountable isn’t supposed to be pretty or formal; it’s supposed to be real and raw. Let’s be honest.  Just like I’ve given my coach permission to ask me bold questions that not many people would ever dare; giving permission to others to hold you accountable to being an effective leader requires trust and a level of bluntness. Leadership is a trust, not a right.

When you don’t take the time to inspect yourself as a leader, you open the door to becoming stuck and an ineffective leader.  Maxwell writes, “The smallest crowd you will ever lead is you – but it’s the most important one. If you do that well, then you will earn the right to lead even bigger crowds”.

Questions to consider

How clearly do you see yourself?  Are you aware of yourself and where you’re getting in your way? How big is the gap between your current reality and where you want to be at in your life, career, or business? Who have you given permission to hold you accountable? Where do you need to grow? Specifically?

If you would like to explore these questions further, contact me today. I have a few one on one coaching slots open right now.

If you would like to receive my weekly leadership insights in your inbox, be sure to sign up here.

Updated on BLOG

The 3 keys to being a more effective leader.

When you think of a great leader, what is it about them that makes them so great? How did their leadership shape your own thoughts and beliefs? How did they lead you and your team to be so effective? I’ve learned it’s often a result of such effective leaders who can forever alter the course of your life and the way you live it.

Last week was Super Bowl 51 and I was watching the way Tom Brady led this team back to a successful 34-28 victory. Under the leadership of Coach Bill Belichick, Brady and the entire New England Patriots have now claimed their fifth Super Bowl victory. But what makes the Patriots so successful and how did they create this winning team?

I believe it started with great leadership who strategically invested in the individual strengths of each player on the team. In a Gallup research study, findings showed three common results why they follow the most influential leader.

1. The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.

Strengths Based Leadership by Rath (2016) states, when leaders focus on and invest in their employee’s strengths, the odds of each person being engaged goes up eightfold.

Why would you invest in the weaknesses of your team? I know this sounds counter intuitive, but imagine the New England Patriots offense switching sides with their defense? Or putting their running backs on the offensive line and their lineman as running backs or wide-receivers? They probably wouldn’t be that effective, would they? Or engaged with even participating because what you’re having them do isn’t their natural strengths, what they are naturally good at.

I played football in High School and always wanted to be the running back, the guy who ran the ball, making cuts and scoring the endzone. However, my moves weren’t that sharp or fast. I then started to understand what I was naturally good at as well understanding how it takes an entire team to make our running back be able to do that.

2. The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team.

Effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and build on each other’s strengths. As leaders, it’s your responsibility to know yourself and your people and what’s expected of your team . This starts with awareness. While the best leaders are not well-rounded, the best teams are. My mentor John C. Maxwell says teamwork makes the dream work. However, it requires you to be intentional about surrounding yourself with the right people who can make your team an effective one. Tom Brady surrounded himself with a team of players who could maximize his team and his efforts.

This also requires knowing what is needed for your team to be effective, i.e. what strengths you need. Successful leaders are strategic when putting together their teams because they know the skills needed for the team to be effective. You can’t have a bunch of quarterbacks and expect to win. The same is true in your business or organization. There are many roles and responsibilities within every organization. Be strategic in how you are building your team.

3. The most effective leaders understand their follower’s needs.

I believe this is to be a critical part of team building that often gets overlooked. Do you care about the emotional development of your people? Do you know what they need to grow and be effective? People follow leaders for very specific reasons. Think about it – when you think of a leader you would follow, what is it about their leadership? What do they provide for you? In Gallup’s study, Rath (2015) states, followers were able to answer this question with remarkable clarity.

Leaders who are successful in this know how to invest in their teams because they are aware of what they need in order to grow and be successful. They know their people and how they operate best. This really speaks to being a servant leader and putting others first before yourself.

So what are your strengths? And what are the strengths of your team? Do you know them? Would you like to? The best advice I received when I was first got into a leadership position was “you take care of your people and they’ll take care of you”. Getting to know your people can be an easy task, it requires being intentional and authentic about getting to know them and then learn how to add value to them and their strengths as you lead them. Do this and you’ll learn how to lead like the New England Patriots.

If you would like to learn more about adding value to your team or organization and would like to learn how you an work with me. Contact me today by messaging me directly. Also be sure to subscribe to my weekly leadership series by subscribing here.

Updated on BLOG

What is Professional Coaching?

In order to effectively apply coaching to transformation, it would be helpful to understand what coaching is and how valuable a coach can be for your growth and success.

What is Coaching?

When I think of coaching, I think of it as a conversation that helps people think things through, it helps you think bigger because of the powerful questions the Coach is asking in order to get you to begin thinking bigger. Coaching engages people to raise their awareness of the limiting beliefs which may be holding them captive or influencing them in some way. A coach can help people explore areas they may have never gone to before as well as help them develop a plan of action to get to where they would like to go.  

A coach can be a catalyst and an important element in the process of accelerating change. Coaching is very different from consulting or counseling because the focus isn’t about the coach’s experience like that of a consultant or focused on past hurts like that of a counselor.

A Coach is: 

  • A partner for a period of time to come alongside you to help you get to where you would like to go in your life, career or business
  • Is focused on your growth and success
  • Listens and believes in you, your value, and your potential in life
  • Helps you discover your potential and helps you move forward with it
  • Helps you see your vision in life and then helps you develop a plan to move toward them.

A Coach Is Not:

A person who focuses on addressing past issues or that gives you advice. Not like a: teacher, trainer, facilitator, counselor, therapist, consultant, advisor, mentor, or a good friend. Below is a table of descriptions I’ve used to show the differences between coaching and other forms of practice.

Would you or your organization like to experience the value of a coach or does your company need leadership training? If you know someone who does or who would benefit from coaching or leadership training, would you introduce me to them? Have them contact me.

I hope you found this helpful. If you would like to experience the value of coaching, contact me for a FREE coaching session. I would love to help you grow and experience how coaching can help you make your 2017 the best year yet.

Updated on BLOG

Succession Planning – 4 disciplines to develop your legacy

succession“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” – John C. Maxwell

You might be thinking, what does this have anything to do with Succession Planning? Everything!

When I worked within the government sector, we created a succession planning program within our agency after many months of trying to figure out how to do it. Just bringing up the topic made people uncomfortable because of how challenging it can be within the government. Although challenging, I think they were missing the point.

As a leader, I believe you should always be preparing for your replacement. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen right away, but it does mean you’re creating the type of leader your organization will need when the time does come to replace you. You do this by adding value and opportunities for their future growth and success by showing them the way.

In the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell, the Law of Legacy says, “A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. In other words, your legacy is really only achieved if it continues after you’re gone.

As a leader, you know the way and have gone the way yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in the position you’re in. But showing the way to others, this is what your legacy will say about you after you left.

To live out this law, there are four disciplines to develop your leadership legacy.

Know the legacy you want to leave.
It’s your legacy, you get to decide what it is. When you move on, are you leaving your organization in a better state than when you started? What do you want to be remembered by? What will others say about you after you left?

Live the legacy you want to leave.
Living the legacy you want to leave is about consistently being intentional. You can’t just have good intentions about it; you have to be intentional on a daily basis. I learned a long time ago, people do what people see. Combined with influence, you can do much more than teach what you know; you can reproduce the kind of leader you are. If you’re going to grow others, you have to be intentional.

Choose who will carry on your legacy. mentoring2
Who are you adding value to? Are you mentoring others and create opportunities for them to learn, make mistakes and grow. Are you teaching others the difference between good intentions and being intentional? When given the opportunity to lead, I believe you should always be looking for those to mentor.

Make sure you pass the baton.succession-planning
This can be the hardest part for leaders to give up but when it’s time, it’s time. If you’ve done your job as a leader, you should feel confident knowing you created the leaders who will continue to be the kind of leader your organization needs to thrive and continue to succeed.

In my Coast Guard career, I’ve have some leaders who’ve added tremendous amounts of value to my success and growth as a leader and some leaders who simply liked the title of leader. Still I wouldn’t be who I am today because of them or what they taught me. But there was one leader in particular that started preparing the future leaders of the Coast Guard long before he had ever planned on retiring. If you were to ever say his name amongst those he lead, I can guarantee they would all agree that lived the law of legacy. He probably started adding value to others by his example early in his career because someone left their legacy on him. When I was a young petty officer, he pulled me into his office once and showed me how the Commanding Officer made his decisions and what he looked for. He was consistently intentional about making opportunities for those under his influence to learn, grow and develop. Most of the time, he did this without any title, position or even wanting any recognition. He did this because he knew that leadership wasn’t a title or position, it was influence. This leader demonstrated these four disciplines so much so that when he retired from the service, he had created a following of his mentees throughout the service who were all now in leadership positions carrying on the legacy he started.

Succession planning isn’t something you start at the end of your career, it’s something you start the beginning of it.