Listening

All leaders desire to have high performance winning teams. As you well know, it all starts with selecting the right people and putting them in the right seats. The next step is to be certain they are properly equipped to get the desired results. My friend and mentor John Maxwell states,"We must CARE for them in order to equip our people." Communication Affirmation Recognition Example Additionally, I have found we must provide certain resources in order to equip them best. Ask yourself the following questions: Is my environment conducive for growth? Do I have a training environment? Do I have an accountability process? Once you have identified their strengths, fight to keep them in their strength zone. Manage their weaknesses, [...]

Learning is a lifelong pursuit. To effectively lead (and influence) others we must be continually learning and remain teachable. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." It's true; we have so much to learn no matter how advanced we may be. The question for the leader is, "How teachable am I?" We need to continually have "instinctive curiosity." Every situation, circumstance, engagement has teaching moments -- but we be present to notice the opportunity. For established leaders, we must often overcome one major obstacle -- that obstacle is called pride. We must guard against all inflated and eliminate the "I'm superior" mindset. Staying humble and looking for learning opportunities in every situation [...]

Teamwork is critical. The old acronym Together Everyone Achieves More is so accurate. When everyone on the TEAM is collaborating, that is when the magic happens. One of the responsibilities of our leadership is to attract, equip and bring each member together. Using the respective knowledge and skills of each member for the betterment of the cause; that’s leadership. I have found some key principles of collaboration: Mutual Respect: as leaders we must have the respect of those on the team, especially when it comes to collaboration. Team members need to have the confidence if they share information, opinions, etc., that they count, they will be heard. Mutual respect, by definition is based on the belief that everyone has a [...]

Leadership is a contact sport. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. " Daniel Goleman identified empathy as another attribute of emotional intelligence. As you well know, empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing within their frame of reference. In other words, it's the capacity to place oneself in another person's position. Empathy is not possible if we're unwilling to focus, listen and connect on an emotional level. We develop more empathetic responses the more we get out and make contact. Let's face it, LEADERSHIP IS A CONTACT SPORT. There simply is no substitute for interacting deeply with the people you lead. I [...]