Connecting

If you Google vision, you will find many resources on how to craft the perfect vision statement. Creating a vision for any organization takes time, effort, and leadership support; but they are essential to the future of any organization.  Here are a few things I think are important to creating a vision. Your people will never buy-in to your vision until they have bought into you.  Don't be naive. Just because you are in charge doesn't mean you have automatic buy- in. Your leadership must be earned. I have learned there are two aspects people must buy-in: YOUR CHARACTER and YOUR COMPETENCE. In other words: can I trust you? And how will you help me get better? The vision must be [...]

A few years ago, Gallup conducted an international study where workers were polled, and 58% of them said they trust a stranger more than their boss. Wow, that hurts. What leader does not want to be trusted in the workplace? After all, if we have no trust, there is no relationship. Trust is the currency paid. This is what I have learned to be true: Trust rules your personal credibility Trust rules your ability to get things done Trust rules your team's cohesiveness Trust rules your organization's innovation and performance Trust rules your brand image Trust rules just about everything you do When the dust all clears, getting people to work together begins with building mutual trust. Before asking for trust from others, [...]

Emotional intelligence author Daniel Goleman  suggests, "As a leader moves up in an organization, up to 90% of their success lies in emotional intelligence." He further points out, "The three primary derailers are: difficulty handling change, not being able to work well in a team, and poor interpersonal relations." Guess that pretty well says it all. Over the years I have learned (and I am still learning) that the leader's most valuable currency is not money, nor is it IQ, multiple degrees, the number of techno gizmos attached to your person, industry experience, good looks, charisma, ability to create strategies and a business plan (how be they important) read a profit and loss statement, and well, you get the point. I [...]

Being humble is not thinking less of yourself - it is thinking of yourself less. Forbes writer George Bradt has noted, "One of the most fundamental lessons of leadership is that if you're a leader, it's not about you. It is about the people following you. The best leaders devote almost all of their energy to inspiring and developing others." What I have learned over the years is that my job as a leader is likened to a shepherd. It is about leading them - it's about them. I don't have to shine. It's about the mission, and the team. As a leader, we need to be more like a conductor than a soloist. Here are some tips to help: Create a system where everything [...]

If you spend all of your time trying to turn strugglers into survivors you'll have little time for the rewarding work of helping your good people become great. As leaders we are often faced with the critical question of. "Who should we invest most of our time with?" Most of us are familiar with the Pareto Principle of 80/20. In the example of business, 20% of the people in the organization are responsible for 80% of the results/success - you may refer to those folks as your Top Guns. Identify your top 20% and commit to investing a disproportionate amount of your time, energy, resources and rewards into their strengths. Jim Collins in his book, Built To Last suggested a [...]