Leadership

You Think You Are in Control?

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“Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.” You may have heard this famous statement by Chuck Swindoll. The more life I get under my belt, the more I believe this is true. Crap happens every day, but how it impacts us is directly related to our perspective and our attitude.

What are you doing to make the most of bad circumstances? I had a tough week the other week. As I was driving to a meeting, my car broke down on the side of the road. It was the most inopportune time! I tried to start it and quickly realized I wasn’t going anywhere in my car. After letting the other person know I would no longer be making our meeting, and after arranging the tow truck, I had an hour to kill. I could have spent it sulking about how I couldn’t afford a broken car, how I was missing a critical meeting, or how life sucks, but instead my first thought was, “Well, now I have time to practice my presentation!” For the next hour, on the side of the road, that’s what I did. There isn’t anything you can do about the past. Once something happens to you, all you can do is choose how you are going to respond to it. Always try to make the most of what happens to you and you will find, in the end, it was probably a valuable experience. Continue reading →

If You Escalate, You Fail

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“If you have to escalate, you’ve already failed.” Those were the words a vice president of a Fortune 500 company told me during our interview. We were discussing the power of influence, especially when working with international teams. He was advising me that if you have to go over someone’s head to get what you need, then your leadership isn’t effective. Perhaps there are times when you have to resort to escalation, but 90% of the time it’s not necessary.

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Is Achieving Your Goals like a Game of Tug-of-War?

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As a business owner or a department head, do you have a strategy for your team? How successful are you at achieving your strategy year over year? What if I said you would be more successful if you did less?

One of the greatest pitfalls I see companies fall into when executing their strategic plan is trying to do too much at once. After going through a strategic brainstorming session, there are so many great ideas on the table. A five-year vision is developed, then the two-year strategic objectives, and finally the tactical initiatives they wish to accomplish that year. Once nicely laid out on a board or in a three-ring binder with page protectors and full-color pages, leaders begin assigning team members to champion each of the tactical initiatives. After receiving their assignments, everyone goes their own separate ways until next year. Continue reading →

Where’s the Hot Water?

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I was rinsing out the coffee pot and getting frustrated that the water wouldn’t seem to get hot. Irritated, I started lamenting to myself that we needed a new water heater – and why did we buy a house that needed so much fixing up? Long after the water should have been hot, I checked the faucet. You’ll never get hot water out of the cold water faucet. Oops. Continue reading →

What Type of Goal-Setter Are You?

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How often do you stop and reflect on where you’ve been and where you are going? There are those who are religious only on Easter and Christmas; I feel the same can be said about people who only set goals as the New Year approaches. To change your life, you have to start with the little activities. The once-a-year, big activities don’t influence our lives as much as our daily choices. If you want to see change in your life, here are a few habits I suggest: Continue reading →

Which Is Better: A Manager or a Leader?

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It’s time to do away with the archaic manager vs. leader dichotomy! The comparison was developed in a time where we didn’t really understand what leadership was. A time when bosses were autocratic, and people worked more to provide for their family and less for personal fulfillment. Now we get it. We understand the concepts of management and leadership. Staying in this mindset is limiting. It causes people to say things like, “I’m a manager. I don’t need to be a leader,” or, “Since I’m a leader, I shouldn’t be doing these management pieces.” It’s time to move our thoughts away from a discrete manager/leader model to a management spectrum and leadership spectrum.

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Still Pulling All-Nighters?

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At some point you just have to let it go. You set the gears in motion and then let the outcome happen. I see a lot of people trying to control the minutia all the way until the end. They are pulling all-nighters right before a deadline, calling everyone in a panic to follow up on tasks. While tying up loose ends and validating the upcoming tasks is a value-added activity, there comes a point where it starts detracting from overall performance. Continue reading →

Finish Strong

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Death by a thousand cuts. Ever had a project like that? One problem after another. The next fire drill starting before the last one finished. I’m sure everyone has been in this position, whether at work, volunteering, or with a project at home. How do you avoid giving up? Don’t throw in the towel; here are some tips to finish strong: Continue reading →

Maybe It’s Time to Panic!

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As deadlines near, there is something in the air – panic! While this isn’t always the case, it frequently is. A big project or deal has hit do-or-die time, and suddenly leaders within the organization worry about whether the company will meet with success. What can often be seen in that moment is more involvement from upper-level leaders and a lot more oversight, with a little bit of micromanaging thrown in for good measure.

Critical projects and deals warrant involvement from key leadership. If a lot is at stake, it’s understandable why upper management should be asking the right questions; these people often can bring the right perspective to avoid unnecessary hiccups. But, if you are a leader in this position, pause and ask yourself these questions before jumping in: Continue reading →

Are You Playing out of Bounds?

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What do you value? What are you not willing to compromise? When companies write mission and vision statements, often they begin with value statements. Frequently their value statements talk about a commitment to the environment, being involved in the community, upholding quality and innovation, etc. What are your values?

When we set goals, it’s important to take time and explore what we stand for. What do we really value in life? Family? Time not working? Travel? It’s a very individual choice, and one person’s choice isn’t necessarily better than another person’s. As you decide what your driving values are, don’t be fake. Be honest with yourself. If you don’t care about volunteering in the community, don’t say that it’s a value! If you want to have enough financial security that you can take a sabbatical from work every two years, that’s fine, too! The important thing is this: be honest with yourself about your values, and use that as a basis for making your decisions. Continue reading →