Your Daily Quote - Planning

“Planning ahead is a measure of class. The rich and even the middle class plan for generations, but the poor can plan ahead only a few weeks or days.” 

Gloria Steinam

Top 10 Qualities That Make a Great Leader - part 1 of 2

By Tanya Prive

Having a great idea, and assembling a team to bring that concept to life is the first step in creating a successful business venture. While finding a new and unique idea is rare enough; the ability to successfully execute this idea is what separates the dreamers from the entrepreneurs. However you see yourself, whatever your age may be, as soon as you make that exciting first hire, you have taken the first steps in becoming a powerful leader. When money is tight, stress levels are high, and the visions of instant success don’t happen like you thought, it’s easy to let those emotions get to you, and thereby your team. Take a breath, calm yourself down, and remind yourself of the leader you are and would like to become. Here are some key qualities that every good leader should possess, and learn to emphasize.

Honesty

Whatever ethical plane you hold yourself to, when you are responsible for a team of people, it’s important to raise the bar even higher. Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behavior a key value, your team will follow suit.

Ability to Delegate

Finessing your brand vision is essential to creating an organized and efficient business, but if you don’t learn to trust your team with that vision, you might never progress to the next stage. It’s important to remember that trusting your team with your idea is a sign of strength, not weakness. Delegating tasks to the appropriate departments is one of the most important skills you can develop as your business grows. The emails and tasks will begin to pile up, and the more you stretch yourself thin, the lower the quality of your work will become, and the less you will produce.

The key to delegation is identifying the strengths of your team, and capitalizing on them. Find out what each team member enjoys doing most. Chances are if they find that task more enjoyable, they will likely put more thought and effort behind it. This will not only prove to your team that you trust and believe in them, but will also free up your time to focus on the higher level tasks, that should not be delegated. It’s a fine balance, but one that will have a huge impact on the productivity of your business.

Communication

Knowing what you want accomplished may seem clear in your head, but if you try to explain it to someone else and are met with a blank expression, you know there is a problem. If this has been your experience, then you may want to focus on honing your communication skills. Being able to clearly and succinctly describe what you want done is extremely important. If you can’t relate your vision to your team, you won’t all be working towards the same goal.

Training new members and creating a productive work environment all depend on healthy lines of communication. Whether that stems from an open door policy to your office, or making it a point to talk to your staff on a daily basis, making yourself available to discuss interoffice issues is vital. Your team will learn to trust and depend on you, and will be less hesitant to work harder.

Sense of Humor

If your website crashes, you lose that major client, or your funding dries up, guiding your team through the process without panicking is as challenging as it is important. Morale is linked to productivity, and it’s your job as the team leader to instill a positive energy. That’s where your sense of humor will finally pay off. Encourage your team to laugh at the mistakes instead of crying. If you are constantly learning to find the humor in the struggles, your work environment will become a happy and healthy space, where your employees look forward to working in, rather than dreading it. Make it a point to crack jokes with your team and encourage personal discussions of weekend plans and trips. It’s these short breaks from the task at hand that help keep productivity levels high and morale even higher.

Confidence

There may be days where the future of your brand is worrisome and things aren’t going according to plan. This is true with any business, large or small, and the most important thing is not to panic. Part of your job as a leader is to put out fires and maintain the team morale. Keep up your confidence level, and assure everyone that setbacks are natural and the important thing is to focus on the larger goal. As the leader, by staying calm and confident, you will help keep the team feeling the same. Remember, your team will take cues from you, so if you exude a level of calm damage control, your team will pick up on that feeling. The key objective is to keep everyone working and moving ahead.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaprive/2012/12/19/top-10-qualities-that-make-a-great-leader/

Your Daily Quote - Leadership Focus

“Leaders spend 5% of their time on the problem & 95% of their time on the solution. Get over it and crush it!” – Tony Robbins

Your Daily Quote - Trust and Leadership

"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I.' And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I.' They don't think 'I.' They think 'we'; they think 'team.' They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit.... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done." 
Peter Drucker, author of Managing for the Future

10 Principles of Effective and Authentic Leadership - part 2 of 2

by Anush Kostanyan

5. Actions Speak Louder Than Words
It's not a secret that much talking and less acting has nothing to do with effectiveness. What people see affects them many times greater than what they hear. So, choose actions. Don't waste your and other people's time on endless conversations about your plans. Just realize that plans and be sure that everyone will see it.

6. Flexibility May Refer to Behavior, Not Values
Depending on circumstances you may choose a different style of leadership or communication. Flexibility is a truly effective trait, if it doesn't affect your values. Each and every decision of yours, no matter the situation, must be based on your value system. As long as your actions are value-driven, you will have the trust and respect of people around you.

7. Leadership is All About People
Could you be a leader in an empty room by having profound goals and skills? Of course, not. Leading means communicating, influencing and engaging. Communication skills are the foundation of effective leadership. Constantly improve your relationships with people, and the amazing results won't make you wait.

8. It Is Fine To Admit Mistakes
If everything has always been done perfectly, we would have somehow lost the ability to analyze and improve. Mistakes are proof that you are doing something. You won't become a worse leader if you admit your mistakes. By doing that, you will show that you are wise enough to learn from your each and every experience.

9. Unity Is Strength
Team is somehow the most important resource for each leader. Embrace your team and devote your energy to care about its unity each and every day. As long as your team is splendid, nothing can stay on your way to success. Make sure that all people in your team consider themselves as members of a strong, unified family.

10. There Is Always Room for Growth
Remember, satisfaction should be a short-term feeling. Life would become useless without ongoing improvement. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't appreciate what you have. This means that you should be thankful for everything you have achieved, but still try to do a little more for this world.

Source
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anush-kostanyan/10-principles-of-effective-and-authentic-leadership_b_5686841.html

10 Principles of Effective and Authentic Leadership - part 1 of 2

by Anush Kostanyan

There is a great amount of definitions and theories about effective leadership. Each leader chooses their unique formula of success, but still there are keys to authentic leadership that can't be ignored. Below are 10 important principles each leader should know.

1. Leadership Is Behavior, Not Position
Leaders are the ones who take responsibility for making decisions and bringing change. Leaders are the ones who empower people to discover and use their greatest potential. The executive position on someone's visit card won't do all of these. People are the ones to choose their leader. And how will they do that? They will judge by behavior, attitude and actions. If you want to be a leader, then act like a leader and shape a better reality.

2. The Best Way of Influence Is Setting an Example
Each leader wants to get the best out of their team. Excellence orientation is great, as there is always need for development. But here is the simple truth. Instead of telling your team members what to do, show it to them by your own example. They are following you each and every moment. Practice what you preach, and the results will astonish you. Especially during hard times, when chances to give up are very big, you should be the one who faces obstacles with confidence and determination towards success. Be sure, that they will do the same and stand by your side.

3. Leading Means Making an Impact

Think about the greatest leaders in history. What was the one thing they had in common? Yes, they all made an impact. Leadership is not just setting goals and effectively achieving them with your team. Leadership is not just brilliant public speaking and great communication skills. If you want to be an authentic leader, you should have your unique contribution to the welfare of the society. You should make a positive change.

4. Leadership is Chasing Vision, Not Money
Without a vision, your activities are meaningless. Each person can be very busy implementing various tasks, but the key is devoting your efforts and time to the realization of your vision. Vision is what inspires people to take action and go forward. Discover your unique vision and coordinate all your activities towards it. Inspire each and every member of your team with that vision.

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anush-kostanyan/10-principles-of-effective-and-authentic-leadership_b_5686841.html

Your Daily Quote - Responsibility

"It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

— J. W. Goethe

Your Daily Quote - Growth

“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and
he will become as he can and should be.” 
― Stephen R. Covey

6 LEADERSHIP STYLES, AND WHEN YOU SHOULD USE THEM - Part 1 of 2

BY ROBYN BENINCASA

Taking a team from ordinary to extraordinary means understanding and embracing the difference between management and leadership. According to writer and consultant Peter Drucker, "Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." 

Manager and leader are two completely different roles, although we often use the terms interchangeably. Managers are facilitators of their team members’ success. They ensure that their people have everything they need to be productive and successful; that they’re well trained, happy and have minimal roadblocks in their path; that they’re being groomed for the next level; that they are recognized for great performance and coached through their challenges.

Conversely, a leader can be anyone on the team who has a particular talent, who is creatively thinking out of the box and has a great idea, who has experience in a certain aspect of the business or project that can prove useful to the manager and the team. A leader leads based on strengths, not titles.

The best managers consistently allow different leaders to emerge and inspire their teammates (and themselves!) to the next level.

ROBYN BENINCASA leads by example

When you’re dealing with ongoing challenges and changes, and you’re in uncharted territory with no means of knowing what comes next, no one can be expected to have all the answers or rule the team with an iron fist based solely on the title on their business card. It just doesn’t work for day-to-day operations. Sometimes a project is a long series of obstacles and opportunities coming at you at high speed, and you need every ounce of your collective hearts and minds and skill sets to get through it.

This is why the military style of top-down leadership is never effective in the fast-paced world of adventure racing or, for that matter, our daily lives (which is really one big, long adventure, hopefully!). I truly believe in Tom Peters’s observation that the best leaders don’t create followers; they create more leaders. When we share leadership, we’re all a heck of a lot smarter, more nimble and more capable in the long run, especially when that long run is fraught with unknown and unforeseen challenges.

Change leadership styles

Not only do the greatest teammates allow different leaders to consistently emerge based on their strengths, but also they realize that leadership can and should be situational, depending on the needs of the team. Sometimes a teammate needs a warm hug. Sometimes the team needs a visionary, a new style of coaching, someone to lead the way or even, on occasion, a kick in the bike shorts. For that reason, great leaders choose their leadership style like a golfer chooses his or her club, with a calculated analysis of the matter at hand, the end goal and the best tool for the job.

My favorite study on the subject of kinetic leadership is Daniel Goleman’s Leadership That Gets Results, a landmark 2000 Harvard Business Review study. Goleman and his team completed a three-year study with over 3,000 middle-level managers. Their goal was to uncover specific leadership behaviors and determine their effect on the corporate climate and each leadership style’s effect on bottom-line profitability.

The research discovered that a manager’s leadership style was responsible for 30% of the company’s bottom-line profitability! That’s far too much to ignore. Imagine how much money and effort a company spends on new processes, efficiencies, and cost-cutting methods in an effort to add even one percent to bottom-line profitability, and compare that to simply inspiring managers to be more kinetic with their leadership styles. It’s a no-brainer.

(to be continued)

Source:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1838481/6-leadership-styles-and-when-you-should-use-them

Chris Howard Interview - Leadership, Part 3

A true leader lives the values of his organisation.

Your Daily Quote - Leader

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. 
—Jack Welch

Rohn: 7 Personality Traits of a Great Leader

The qualities of skillful leadership

Jim Rohn

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. Jim Rohn calls leadership the great challenge of life. What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here’s how: 

1. Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute. 

2. Learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion. 

3. Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your group. You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble. 

4. You’ve got to learn to be humble but not timid. You can’t get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of the stars. So humility is a virtue, but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem. 

5. Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact, I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It’s when you don’t know that you don’t know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take. 

6. Develop humor without folly. That’s important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it’s OK to be witty, but not silly. It’s OK to be fun, but not foolish. 

7. Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I’d like to think it’s unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It’s fascinating. And I’ve found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.

See more at: http://www.success.com/article/7-personality-traits-of-a-great-leader#sthash.0UqasKjY.dpuf

Тhe 10 Commandments of Leadership

Becoming a great leader comes down to remembering and following these 10 simple rules

by GEOFFREY JAMES

A group of archaeologists digging through ancient corporate archives recently
uncovered two mysterious tablets (aka "wall plaques") engraved with the
following laws:

I. Thou shalt remain optimistic.

Since thy employees look to thee for leadership, thou must not let thy
worries and concerns cast a black cloud over everyone else, for that
way lies certain failure.

II. Thou shalt set a clear direction.

If thou wouldst be a leader, thou must create a vision in the minds
of your followers whence and whither thou art leading them. Fail
at this, and thy organization will wander into the wilderness.

III. Thou shalt create a workable plan.

While no plan should be engraved in stone and plans should be amended
when conditions change, if thou hast failed to plan, then verily thou hast
also planned to fail.

IV. Thou shalt secure sufficient resources.

While it is written truly that faith can move mountains, that faith must be
accompanied by bulldozers, dump trucks, and paid employees who know
how to use them.

V. Thou shalt listen more than talk.

Leadership doth not consist of giving lectures and then issuing orders.
Leadership consists of understand what others desire and harnessing that
desire to serve the common good.

VI. Thou shalt not hold meetings without agendas.

Before each meeting send out a decree defining what will be discussed and
for how long. Then adhere to thy own decree as if the productivity of the
entire team depended on it. For verily it doth.

VII. Thou shalt not criticize in public.

Though thy staff and colleagues consist of fools and rogues, public shaming
creates resentment. Should a follower deserve a reprimand, provide it in the
privacy of thy office.

VIII. Thou shalt not ask an employee to do something that thou wouldst not
 do thyself.

Truly great leaders, should they perceive a scrap of litter on the floor of a
hallway, will bend down, pick it up and throw it into the trash.

IX. Thou shalt not make of thyself a bottleneck.

If thou insist upon making every final decision, the progress of thy organization
will grind to a halt. If thou canst not delegate, thou hast no business pretending
to be a leader.

X. Thou shalt give thy team the credit.

True leaders accept the blame when things go awry and take no credit when things
go right. Thy rightful reward will the love and commitment of those who continue
to work for thee.

Source:

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-10-commandments-of-leadership.html

Your Daily Quote - Leader

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. 

—Jack Welch

THE SEVEN POWERS

Dr John Demartini discusses the seven areas that people and nations need to fulfill in order to succeed and avoid being over-powered by others.

There are seven areas of life that we are here to fulfill:
•    Our spiritual mission;
•    Our mental genius/creativity;
•    Our vocational success, achievement, service;
•    Our financial freedom/independence;
•    Our family love and intimacy and continuance of procreation;
•    Our social influence and leadership; and
•    Our physical health, stamina, strength and well-being.

Any of these seven areas that we as individuals don’t empower will become overpowered by others. So any area of life that we don’t empower, somebody else will overpower. We are not victims of their over-empowerment, we are simply not empowered and it is their over-powerment that in turn initiates and catalyzes our drive for inner-empowerment.

I have yet to meet anyone who did not want to expand their powers in each of these areas. No one gets up and honestly says that they want to shrink in power.

As Nietzsche proclaimed, we all have the will to power. Just as we as individuals have these yearnings for these powers, so do collective societies and nations. But now their descriptions also have to expand. Our individual spiritual mission now becomes the dominant, spiritual/religious ideologies of a nation. Our mental genius becomes our educational system. Our goals for achievement and success become our GDP, our corporate entrepreneurial and national business development. Our economics become the wealth of our nation, income per capita, again the stability of our national economics and the assets. Our family stability is our marriage and divorce ratios and our fertility / mortality rates. Our social influence is our influence on other nations around the world and our leaderships and our physical health and wellbeing becomes our healthcare systems, policing systems and military strength. 

Now if a nation does not empower any of theseseven areas, that area can be overcome and overpowered by other nations or groups. This applies to nations just as it applies to individuals. The will to power and empowerment, although assumed to be about race, creed, colour, age or sex isn’t in fact limited by these factors. There is always somebody from each race, creed, colour, age or sex that empowers their lives and is not overpowered. 

It’s all about empowering. 

Empower your life

The first step in empowering each of these areas is education. Success leaves clues and those individuals as well as those nations that have risen in power need to follow these clues. Awakening to and owning these traits and, developing and furthering these traits, and awakening these traits in each of the seven areas of life can both empower individuals and nations. 

If we blame outer circumstances for why we are not empowered, we will hinder our empowerment, but if we start acting and doing the things that are proven to empower, we rise in power. Instead of having individuals or nations sitting in the shadows of other individuals or other nations, it’s wise for individuals and nations to recognise that nothing is missing in them,particularly in their areas of competitive advantage and that they are just not acknowledging, awakening or honouring the powers they have. Once they awaken these powers and recognise them, through awareness and education, each competitive advantage that each individual or nation has, can shine.

If we as individuals and nations concentrate on what we do have, and recognise our power and use it wisely, we will not become overpowered. 

Empowerment is not provided from the outside; empowerment comes from within. The moment the individual or nation realises that nothing is missing inside them and they value themselves, so does the world. Empowerment is not what corrupts, it’s the fear of being overpowered that corrupts. 

The anticipation of loss of power corrupts, not the gain of power.

Source: https://drdemartini.com/writings_and_insights/the_seven_powers#content_top

Your Daily Quote - Leadership

Leadership can't be fabricated. If it is fabricated and rehearsed, you can't fool the guys in the locker room. So when you talk about leadership, it comes with performance. Leadership comes with consistency.

Junior Seau

Your Daily Quote - Vision

“To the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favorable wind.”

— Seneca