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Simplifying the Complexities of Your Leadership Journey
Episodes
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Episode 16: Leaders Must Utilize the Scoreboard
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: The 17 Indispensable Laws of Teamwork, John Maxwell
Three Ways to Utilize the Scoreboard:
1. The Scoreboard helps Leaders Tell the Story
Nothing gives a snapshot of where you stand in the game quite like the scoreboard.
Warren Buffett is notorious for being able to look at the balance sheet or general ledger of the company and know exactly where it stands. That’s because those documents tell a story.
If you don’t help tell the story and get people to start thinking critically, they are going to end up checking out.
If you want your team to grow, you have to give them that constant snapshot. They need to be able to figuratively, look at that scoreboard at any time and see what the company is doing.
“We are not where we want to be; we are not where we ought to be; but thank goodness we are not where we used to be.” Coach Lou Holtz, Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success
2. The Scoreboard Helps Leaders Make Decisions
1988 World Series - Cheat Sheet: He had to take that snapshot, and make decisions. He put in the work, and now it was just time to execute.
All of this information matters. But it doesn’t matter unless you actually make decisions.
For the leader, the only constant is change.
Leaders should be taking every piece of information that they learn about the situation and apply it to the people who are on their team.
3. The Scoreboard Helps Leaders Win
“Just win, baby!” - Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Raiders When you are put in charge of the team, they are looking to you to make the decisions, and help them win.
QUESTION 1: What is the WIN for your team?
You need to learn how to adjust.
“Adjust fire.” This means that in any given situation the game can change at any moment. And at that moment you have to be able to forget about what you were going to do, and adjust fire to fit the new target.
QUESTION 2: Are you doing this in your company? Are you doing this in your personal life?
The scoreboard: It is the ultimate beacon, helping us move towards the win.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: They Call Me Coach, John Wooden
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
MO’s Final Thoughts:
Remember, the ultimate responsibility belongs to you as the leader. Your staff expects you to continually give them a clear understanding of where the team is, and where the team is going. Only then can you actually take them there.
Amazon Book Links:
17 Indispensable Laws of Teamwork, John Maxwell
Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success, Coach Lou Holtz
They Call Me Coach, John Wooden
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Monday Mar 22, 2021
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Episode 15: Effective Leaders Live for the Challenge
1. Effective Leaders Look for Problems
“Leadership is self-made. People who have deliberately decided to become problem solvers lead better.” Martin Luther King Jr.
Nobody is going to do it for you. Most people are trying to stay as far away from problems as possible. For others, those who are not leaders, problems just get in the way. But for the leader, every problem is an opportunity.
QUESTION 1: Do you view your problems as a challenge? As a way to get things done?
“It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way.” George Polya
You cannot be a “my way or the highway” leader. You will slip into management mode.
When you are looking for problems, you always need to keep your ego in check. Sometimes, as a leader, you are going to be the problem.
- Am I the kind of person who gets things done?
- How is my attitude around the people who look to me as a leader?
- Do I make excuses?
Just because there is a problem, doesn’t always mean you are going to have the solution right away.
Keep your thinking in the right direction. There are a lot of problems out there waiting for you and you need to address those problems.
Leaders need to take the initiative to ask the hard questions. Look for areas in your company that others refuse to explore.
Do what others don’t. Do what others won’t.
2. Effective Leaders Major on the Majors
It’s easy to get bogged down in the little stuff. Leaders are always evaluating and reevaluating. In fact, Andy Stanley says, “If it is worth doing, it is worth evaluating.”
QUESTION 2: Are you evaluating to find out what the major issues are? Can you distinguish them from the minor issues?
“Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things.”Jim Rohn
Take a few moments to evaluate what the major things that you should be focusing on at your company.
If you wake up every morning and know what the major vision or goal is in front of you, you are going to be at a huge advantage. The best leaders in the world have a laserlike focus on the priorities that they need to fulfill to get the job done.
ACTION POINT: Major on the majors. You can’t do this unless you write it down.
3. Effective Leaders Employ Problem Solvers
The only people that I need on my team are those who solve problems.
“Do you need more clarity on that point?” By asking this question I give the problem solvers on my team the ability to ask questions and let me know whether or not I am making sense.
When you ask this question, you have to be very deliberate and sincere about that question.
How can I tell if somebody is a true problem solver?
Sometimes you are going to think that you have the right people on the team when you actually do not.
Look for the following people:
- You don’t want people who have the attitude of, “If it ain’t broke then don’t try to fix it.”
- The kind of people that you want are people who look at a situation and think, “everything is great, the system is working flawlessly. Now, how can we break it and make it better?”
Look for the problems, then find out what the biggest problems are and put your biggest problem solvers on the forefront. This is the formula for lasting success.
MO’s Final Thoughts:
It’s not good enough to just be in a leadership position. The way that we raise our leadership ability is that we tackle problems. When the going gets tough, that’s when the leader gets going. That’s when you are going to put yourself in the position to either bring the team up or push the team down. Look for the big problems and then get people to come alongside you.
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Monday Mar 15, 2021
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Episode 14: Effective Leaders Rise to the Challenge
Effective leaders rise to the challenge. They love the challenge. They take on the challenge.
1. Effective Leaders Anticipate Problems
Anybody can see a problem once it is there. Leaders anticipate problems before they come.
If you do not like problems, then you are in the wrong business. Leadership is about problems. It’s about tackling the hard things. That's what leaders do... we solve problems.
By anticipating these problems, you will put your people in the best position to make correct directional decisions.
“If you are asking the wrong questions you will be solving the wrong problems”. Patrick Lencioni
Failing Forward, John Maxwell. It’s not, you win some and you lose some. John Maxwell says, “You win some and you learn some.”
QUESTION 1: Are you asking questions as a leader?
“To paraphrase Peter Drucker, effective people are not problem-minded; they’re opportunity-minded.” ~Steven Covey
QUESTION 2: Are you giving your leaders and opportunity? Are you putting them in the right position to win?
Attitude is Everything, Jeff Keller
When we have the right attitude, we may not be completely ready, but we will be resilient.
2. Effective Leaders Accept Reality
Andy Stanley - Picking up the rock and looking at all of the squiggly things. Then, having the sense not to put that rock back down and forget all about it.
The first thing is to realize that it's okay to feel like everything is gross and nasty and unfixable. But if you are a leader, at some point, and relatively quick, you need to change that thought process and start helping your team provide solutions for what is in front of you and what is in front of them.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy
Procrastination - Let's face it, when it comes to stuff that we don't want to deal with, we are really good at procrastinating. So, you just need to get started.
QUESTION 3: What are the gross, nasty and tough things you have to deal with that you have been procrastinating on.
“There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” - Desmond Tutu
The problem with most people is they try to tackle the entire problem all at once. We need to break it down into small pieces and tackle the problem one part at a time.
“If the team is not working on the real problems, they often make up work to justify their existence.” - Cheryl Bachelder
3. Effective Leaders Apply the Big Picture
This is where leaders really have a chance to separate themselves from the pack. Meaning, you need to learn what it means to view your team in your situation from a higher altitude.
Thirty Thousand Foot View: Leaders have a keen ability to see both what is going on, on the ground, and from a higher level. They have thought things out, and have a better sense of what is to come, based on what they have already seen. This is where experience and intuition come into play.
“When we are not engaged in thinking about some definite problem we usually spend about 95% of our time thinking about ourselves.” - Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
It's impossible to think about yourself, and your people at the same time.
QUESTION 4: What is best for your team?
MO’S FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you are not waking up every day and understanding that leading your people is a privilege and that you should be thinking about how to serve them, then I would really encourage you to ask yourself, “What can I do for my leaders today?”
They are looking to you. They are looking towards effective leadership.
You need to be putting more and more time in every day to understand what it means for you to be an effective leader.
Amazon Book Links:
Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
Failing Forward, John Maxwell
Attitude is Everything, Jeff Keller
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Monday Mar 08, 2021
Monday Mar 08, 2021
Episode 13: Vision is Everything for a Leader
The vision of Walt Disney
- Vision: “No chipped paint”
- His disappointment was the inspiration to build Disneyland
Dream or Dread:
QUESTION 1: Do you have a dream or a dread?
Vision is evident for a leader.
- It is indispensable
- Why: because vision leads the leader
- It paints target
- It fuels the fire
- It also is the match that lights the fire for those who follow the leader
- Show me a leader without vision and I will show you someone who is dead in the water.
Three Things Vision Does to Promote Good Leadership:
1. VISION RESIDES IN THE HEART
Vision is personal. Nobody can give it to you.
- You cannot beg, borrow, or steal vision. If it doesn’t get you to the core very being, it’s not going to matter.
- Steve Jobs
- Elon Musk
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” JFK
QUESTION 2: Do you lack vision?
It’s ok if you lack vision...
- We all have natural gifts and desires. Ask yourself, “What do I love to do?”
- What is it that you would do for free if you could?
It is never too late to follow the heart!
QUESTION 3: What is your calling? What burns inside of you? Do you have a calling?
If you lack vision, find somebody who has one, and partner up with that leader.
2. VISION REGARDS HISTORY
Vision grows from the leader’s past.
- Every leader that you talk to grew his or her vision for their company from their past experiences, their wins, their losses, and their mistakes. Something that they saw was missing, or something that they saw needed to change.
Salman Khan Story: “We have a mission for free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.”
QUESTION 4: What’s your story?
- Draw upon your past, and experiences, and make it available for others
3. VISION REACHES OTHERS
The best visions always reach beyond the individual.
Leadership is always about relationships and adding value to people.
QUESTION 5: Are you adding value to people today?
Including others in your vision requires you to think bigger.
Relationships are the capital of leadership.
- It is important to build relationships and care about your people. However, once you get people on your side, you have to give them a reason to follow you.
- “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. But once they know you care, you darn well better know something.” John Maxwell
A compelling vision acts like a magnet.
- If you want to know when your vision is gaining traction, look to see the following happening:
- You are attracting others to be a part of your team.
- You are challenging others positively.
- You are uniting people, both around the cause, and to one another.
“The first thing you do is teach the person to feel that the vision is very important and nearly impossible. That draws out the drive in winners.” Edwin Land (the founder of Polaroid)
QUESTION 6: Are you driving people to a higher goal? Are you encouraging them to win, individually, and as a team member or for the cause?
MO’S FINAL THOUGHTS:
- First, find out what you need to pursue.
- Second, write down your vision. This will allow you to articulate it both to yourself and others what your vision is.
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Episode 12: Leaders Take Absolute Responsibility
“Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility . . . In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility”. —Michael Korda
“A leader can give up anything— except final responsibility”. —John C. Maxwell
Leaders face whatever life throws at them and give it their best, knowing that they will get an opportunity to lead the team only if they’ve proven that they can carry the ball.
Three characteristics of leaders who embrace responsibility:
- Leaders get it done.
You can make excuses or make it happen, you cannot do both.
REFLECTION QUESTION 1: What is one area of your life where you could put forth a little bit more effort?
Nobody cares about your career as much as you do.
- Leaders go above and beyond.
Don't we all feel good when we know that somebody has put in a little bit extra effort for us?
Leaders never use the phrase “that's not my job.”
When your people have that kind of attitude, it's not their fault, but really yours. Because, as John Maxwell says, “Everything Rises and falls on leadership.”
President Harry S Truman once famously said, “ the buck stops here.”
REFLECTION QUESTION 2: How can you go above and beyond with your team?
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Leading Up, by Michael Useem
It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your company, middle management, upper management,, lowever management, no management, it’s your job to lead up and you can have that kind of influence.
- Leaders shoot for excellence.
People who want the best for their people, have to demand Excellence from themselves.
You want to achieve your best so the people on your team can achieve their best.
“Stress comes from doing less than you can.”- Jim Rohn
Leaders are the men and women in the room who set “high quality” as the goal. When you do that, the responsibility will naturally follow that. It is the leader who decides to live by that standard of Excellence who will raise the bar for everybody in the room.
Dream and Vision behind Rising Tide: A rising tide lifts all boats.
The natural outcome from you holding yourself to a higher standard will be attracting like-minded people.
Mo’s Final thoughts:
When leaders accept responsibility for their actions, completely... they put their team in the best position to win. When you take away the angst of needing to perform from your team, you’re gonna free them up to do what they do best.
By accepting total responsibility, you model the way for your people. When you take total responsibility, your team will start to do the same. That means it will become a part of your culture. You will change culture that way.
Amazon Book Link: Leading Up, by Michael Useem
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Monday Feb 22, 2021
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Episode 11: The Foundation of Team Building
Intro: Armageddon
- Point of the story: It wasn’t in that moment around the conference table that Harry built a team. He had already invested in the relationships with each member of his team over the years.
Leaders do two things: Build People and Build Teams
Building teams:
- If you are responsible for others, then you better believe that you are charged with building your team.
- If you have even one person who looks to you for leadership, you have a team on your hands. Time to take responsibility!
The foundation of building teams is Trust. Without it, you are dead in the water!
REFLECTION QUESTION 1: Are you the kind of leader who builds Trust for your team?
LEADERS FIRST GIVE TRUST, THEN THEY GET TRUST
If you walk on to a team and expect people to trust you, to say the least, you are probably going to be met with some kind of resistance.
How do leaders focus on first giving Trust?
- Read Maxwell's Law of Empowerment.
- Secure leaders spend their time “identifying leaders; building them up; giving them resources, authority, and responsibility; and then turning them loose to achieve”. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell.
- Leaders Give Authority To Their Team Members
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” Theodore Roosevelt
REFLECTION QUESTION 2: Leaders, is this how you run your ship? Do you have sense enough to pick good men and women to get the job done? Do you actually restrain yourself from imposing your wonderful ideas of how to get stuff done, and let them actually do their job?
Get people on your team that know what they're doing, hand over REAL authority, and actually get out of their way. Your team will be unstoppable.
REFLECTION QUESTION 3: “What would it look like for you to give away real Authority to your team?”
- Leaders Give Away Responsibility
When I say unleash your team and get out of their way, I'm not saying that you shirk your responsibilities. Instead, increase your accountability to your team by allowing them to have the responsibilities they should have.
Enlarging others makes you larger.
When we allow people to be responsible for their actions and projects, we give them the ability to both take the credit, and own up to the mistakes.
REFLECTION QUESTION 4: Do you give away responsibility to those in your care, without shirking the accountability piece?
MO’s Final Thoughts: Remember that the leadership journey isn't easy, but it really is simple. We make it more difficult that it needs to be. The most important thing that you can do for our team is begin with a culture of trust. And, my hope would be that you take a counterintuitive approach to leadership. Don’t demand trust from your people. It’s never too late to build trust. It’s never too late to build that foundation. Trust your team. Give away authority. Give away responsibility.
Amazon Book Link: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell
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Monday Feb 15, 2021
Monday Feb 15, 2021
Episode 10: Being a Relational Leader
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” —Theodore Roosevelt
If you want to be successful, you MUST begin with your ability to create and maintain good relationships with others.
Leaders do two things
- They build people (leadership potential)
- They build teams (expand influence)
Three actions a Relational Leader should focus on:
- Leaders understand people.
Leaders spend a great deal of time understanding people to their very core. It is important to know how the people who follow you feel, and think.
All people have one thing in common: They like to feel special.
“Always make the other person feel important.” -Dale Carnagie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
- Don’t flatter your people. Give them a sincere compliment.
- Give them a better hope for tomorrow.
- Help them navigate life. Not just in the workplace, but in everything that they do. Even when they are not with you.
- Always put the needs of your followers before your own.
- Always encourage your people.
- Help your people win.
“He who serves the most, reaps the most.” ~Jim Rohn
While serving the team collectively, never forget to treat people as individuals.
All people are different. We all have particular strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. We need to recognize each person for his or her unique qualities.
Question: Are you adapting your leadership style to each individual person?
Take the strengthsfinder assessment. The first step in helping people on an individual level is to know your own strengths. The next part is to meet them and lead them from their perspective and not yours.
This is why leaders exist. They do what others can't, or will not, do.
If you want to be a leader you need to understand your people.
- Leaders love people.
If you do not love people then you are not going to be an effective leader.
“Being a leader is more than just wanting to lead. Leaders have empathy for others and a keen ability to find the best in people, not the worst, by truly caring for others.” Henry Gruland (CEO, Definitive Computer Services)
REFLECTION QUESTION: What are you doing to get to know your people?
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~John Quincy Adams
Find ways to appreciate your people.
Leaders love people because they’ve done the work internally to recognize that everyone has value, everyone has something to contribute, and everyone deserves to be invested in. The byproduct of loving them well, is that they will be inspired and more effective. But only sincere love does that.
Book Recommendation: Love Does, Bob Goff
- Leaders help people.
- If you don't have the ability to help people, then you don't have the ability to be a good leader.
- People are following you because you have something that they need.
- Your people expect your very best every day.
“The fields of industry are strewn with the bones of those organizations whose leadership became infested with dry rot, who believed in taking instead of giving.” -Le Roy Kurtz
- On any given day, you can be sure that your people are tuned in to one radio station WIIFM - “What's In It For Me.”
- People respect and follow leaders who keep their interests in mind.
- The problem with a lot of people, who think they are leaders, is that they are thinking about what they can get out of their people, instead of what they can put into their people.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- How are your people skills?
- Do you do well with strangers?
- Can you interact with other people easily?
- How are your current relationships?
- Are your current relational skills strong or weak?
- Do you know your own strengths and weaknesses?
MO’s Final Thoughts:
Take the focus off yourself. Make a list of things that you can do for others today. You are never really going to feel like you’re helping others, until you actually put those things into practice.
Lastly, repair broken relationships. Is there somebody that you wronged, or a relationship that got messed up in the process of work or life? Reach out to that person, take responsibility for your part. You will be better for it.
Amazon Book Links:
Built to Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnagie
Love Does, Bob Goff
Special thanks to:
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Monday Feb 08, 2021
Monday Feb 08, 2021
Episode 9 - Part 2: “Three L’s of Leadership”
Part 1 Recap: These three L’s represent three very important actions that leaders must take and last week we covered the first two:
Listen:
- Anyone can bloviate, and most people do
- All leaders are good listeners
- "Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking." — Bernard Baruch
Learn:
There are two questions I always ask someone who wants me to coach them and embark on the leadership journey with them, and those questions are:
- “What are the three books you are reading right now?”
- “Who is teaching you?”
Today’s Episode:
LEVERAGE
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Archimedes, Greek philosopher.
Remember, leaders cannot do anything by themselves. The essence of leadership to the very core is needing other people to come alongside you and to help them so that you can get to a common vision. You can’t lead if there is nobody following you. So, think about that, and then apply the quote, and you have a recipe for great leadership.
Leveraging is about “maximizing your advantage.”
REFLECTION QUESTION 1: Are you maximizing your advantage?
- Your job is to maximize what is in front of you.
- Leaders always do the best with what they have.
- Leaders do one of two things: They can make excuses or make things happen. But, they can’t be both.”
REFLECTION QUESTION 2: Are you the type of person who makes excuses, or the type of person that makes things happen? Because one is a leader, and one is not.
There are three specific things that leaders can and should leverage, if they really want to make things happen.
1. Leaders leverage TIME
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” — Warren Buffett
REFLECTION QUESTION 3: What do you need to say ‘no’ to more?
When you think about time as a leader I want you to think of the word DISCIPLINE.
Book Tip: Getting Things Done, by David Allen.
2. Leaders leverage RESOURCES
Resources - the tangible parts of your world. What is it that you have at your disposal that otherwise might just be sitting there unless you leveraged it properly?
REFLECTION QUESTION 4: Are you using those resources correctly?
If you don’t learn to leverage those resources, your company will not grow.
Put your people in a position with the maximum amount of resources, without wasting those resources of course, so they can get the job done.
Peter Drucker once said, “Unless such commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plan.”
Book Tip: Dare to Serve, Cheryl Bachelder - When she put the right resources in front of the right people, things started to happen. It was not easy. It was tough. It put a strain on every other part of the business, but leaders make the tough decisions.
3. Leaders leverage TALENT
"I hire people brighter than me and I get out of their way." Lee Iacocca
Henry Ford got people around him who were smarter than he was. “I’m not successful because I’m the smartest guy in the room, I just make sure to get people around me who know what to do”. And THAT’S the essence of leadership.
Cornelius Fichtner famously said, “The ‘P’ in PM is as much about People Management as it is about Project Management.”
As leaders, we all know that people are our biggest asset. John Maxwell said in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, that if you get the people for long, nothing else matters.
Nothing is more important in your business than people. In fact, it doesn’t matter what company you work for, or alone, people ARE your business.
MO’s Final Thoughts:
If you don’t have a coach in leadership, you’ve got to get one! The way to get these three L’s ingrained in who you are is to walk alongside other leaders. Don’t go at it alone. Leadership can get lonely. That’s why you need other people alongside you. If you take these three L’s and start applying them, you will start getting some great results.
Amazon Book Links:
Getting Things Done, by David Allen.
Dare to Serve, Cheryl Bachelder
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell
Special thanks to:
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Monday Feb 01, 2021
Monday Feb 01, 2021
Episode 8: Three L’s of Leadership.
Listen
- “You have two ears and one mouth. Use them accordingly.”
- Listening is the most important skill.
- Anyone can bloviate, and most people do.
- Formulating your answer in response is important, but it’s not the most important thing.
- Active listening - Engaged in the conversation.
- There is a misconception that leaders have to have all the answers. It is ok to not have the answers.
"Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking." — Bernard Baruch
REFLECTION QUESTION: When it comes to the people in your life, are you doing more of the talking or more of the listening?
If you want people to listen to you, you must first listen to them.
Learn
Two questions you ask someone who wants to embark on the leadership journey:
- “What are the three books you are reading right now?”
- It is said that Winston Churchill read a bood a day even during war time.
- Even if you are not reading at all right now, you can start!
- Some books you might consider right now:
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnagie
Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek
Developing the Leader within You, by John Maxwell
- “Who is teaching you?”
- You want to learn the right things and make sure you are on the right track.
- Ask people who know your industry well and make sure they have the fruit on the tree. If you want to become like somebody, spend time with those people.
- Hangout with mentors and coaches.
- Be selective. You are the five people you hangout with.
- Aspire to hang out with the people you want to be like.
- Be the dumbest person in the room.
REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you becoming better?
Leverage (To be continued…)
Three things that all leaders need to learn to leverage that are key to their influence of people and their success as a leader.
MO’s Final Thoughts:
Leadership never stops. You are always in the process of leadership. This week, as you go out and spend time with people, I want you to think about, “Am I listening in this situation?” Once you start to listen you are automatically going to learn. If you can get those two things under your belt (listen and learn), for the next seven days, you will put yourself in a great position to have more influence on people.
Special thanks to:
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Work it out by LiQWYD https://soundcloud.com/liqwyd Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/l_work-it-out Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/erSmdVocHO0
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Monday Jan 25, 2021
Monday Jan 25, 2021
Episode 7: “Take Control of Your Boundaries”
What are boundaries?
- Tangibles
- Physical Examples
- Moat with alligators
- Property signs
- Physical Examples
- Intangibles
- This is where leadership lies.
Why is it important for leaders to have boundaries?
Boundaries define us.
- What is me, and what is not me?
- What are the things that you are all about?
- Your followers need to know what you stand for.
- You need to know your responsibilities.
- What are the things that you are all about?
When you take responsibility for your life, your life opens up to new options and choices.
What is at stake if no boundaries exist?
- Confusion
- When boundaries do not exist, we become confused as to what we are responsible for.
- Leadership
- Not knowing boundaries as a leader is even worse, because your people depend on your decisions for their well-being.
- As leaders we carry the burdens of others. And that in itself is a very huge responsibility.
- Leaders must learn how to carry their own burdens first, so that they can deal with the burdens of others.
- If we decide to deal with our burdens, then we can open ourselves up to others to help them with theirs.
Boundaries help us know how to carry them (burdens) in a way that is helpful to others, but not debilitating to us.
What are some boundaries every leader should have in place?
- Time
- Time is our most precious commodity.
- You can lose money and get back. You can lose possessions and get them back. You can’t lose time and get it back.
- The only thing that matters is the people in your life.
- Consequences:
- All leaders think in terms of return on investment. But I’m not talking about money, again I’m talking about people and influence.
- Think of consequences in terms of a fence on your property. These imaginary fences help us to understand one another in terms of the seriousness of trespassing on certain parts of life.
- These fences teach us to live according to specific values and live our own lives based on our belief systems and what we are willing to fight for and guard and protect.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What are you willing to fight for, guard, and protect?
- How do you bring people along on that journey with you?
- What are you as a leader going to help others understand in terms of boundaries to help the organization you are in and take those relationships to the next level?
How do you know which boundaries are useful or necessary?
Define boundaries that are going to:
- Make your life easier to understand
- Help you make better decisions.
That’s what people who follow you are expecting you to do. They expect you to make correct directional decisions and make their lives better.
QUESTION: Can someone determine appropriate boundaries alone?
ANSWER: No, you can’t.
As leaders, we have to remember that we don’t do anything alone. That’s what leadership is. It’s doing life with other people.
REFLECTION QUESTION: Who in your life is helping you find the leadership boundaries?
When you don’t have boundaries you continually push people away.
If you don’t say “no” to the good, how will you know when the great comes along?
“Busy” is not a badge of honor. The last thing that your people want to hear when they come to you, as their leader, is that you are too busy to help them fix their own problems.
Leaders fix problems, but more importantly, “leaders are dealers in hope”. - Benjamin Disraeli
REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you a dealer in hope?
MO’s Final Thoughts:
Do your best to create boundaries so that your people know what you stand for and how they can reach out to you as a leader to make their lives better.
Book Recommendation: Boundaries, Cloud & Townsend
Get Coaching: www.risingtideleadership.com
Special thanks to:
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Work it out by LiQWYD https://soundcloud.com/liqwyd, Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0, Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/l_work-it-out, Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/erSmdVocHO0
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