Act like you own the place

Hi! Welcome back.  I’ve been busy meeting with Chambers of Commerce and potential business clients through Business Network International club meetings around the Louisville, Kentucky area in an effort to launch my new consulting practice Yurway Coaching Consultants.  Last time I mentioned that I would be working the polls in Indiana’s spring primary on May 8^th I did and here are a few observations.

It was a long day starting with waking up at 4 a.m. to be at the voting place by 5 a.m. to setup for the primary.  I was blessed with a veteran group of poll workers: Ann, Mary, Flo and Dale.  Our station was one of four different precincts in Floyds Knobs, Indiana and I often throughout the day helped voters find their correct voter precinct by consulting an area map.  While the mood of most voters was very positive the Republican ballots were used more often than the Democratic ballots by about a two to one margin.  Voter turnout was light only 17% of the registered voters in the precinct I was working turned out.  It’s a shame that after ten years of wars overseas wars that are still going on with American servicemen and women being wounded or killed that more Americans don’t feel the need to exercise their most basic right in this country and that’s to vote.  I hope if you were one of those many people who didn’t show up at your voting place this spring that you make the effort to cast your ballot in the November elections.  With the state of our nation and the world today I can’t imagine what would be more important than to take at most a half an hour and vote for whom and what you feel is important this November.

Now back to the subject of this blog business and those issues that affect small business owners and employees.  Today’s blog topic is from Chapter 8 of Nuts! The book I’ve been reviewing on how Southwest Airlines has been successful in the ultra-competitive airline industry.  The title of the chapter is “Act like an Owner”.  But before I mention the success tips mentioned in chapter 8 of Nuts!  I’d like to quote some data from another blog that I read and happen to look at just before writing this post.

In a recent survey conducted by Fierce, Inc., only 1/3 of the 800 respondents felt that their company was willing to change practices based on employee input and feedback. Other study highlights included:

44% of employees felt that workplace practices are ineffective and often hinder employee productivity or morale.

47% reported that current practices impede desired results.

50% said the lack of companywide transparency and the lack of employee involvement are the primary areas of concern.

70% said they are willing to speak up, they doubted it would make a difference.

Like the voter turnout on this year’s Spring Indiana Primary the above statistics are quite sorrowful.  As many of you know this business climate is an especially difficult one, why is it then that so many workers feel so disconnected or disfranchised from the companies that employ them?  Certainly, business owners could use or at least consider ideas from the people that know their business processes as well or sometimes better that they do, the employees that earn a living through working at the firm.

In Nuts! Chapter 8 they state that “ownership is a powerful catalyst for organizational change”.  I’ll go even further and say that I believe you can’t obtain organizational change without ownership from both the management and staff of any organization.  The authors go on the state that “Ownership isn’t just about having a piece of paper that says I own stock.  Ownership is the result of believing that you can make a difference, then acting on that belief in everything you do.”    Based on the results of the survey above it would appear that many employees aren’t buying into the ideas espoused by their management or management itself isn’t allowing employees to actively participant in the functions of the business.   Can we really afford this business mindset in this economy?  With budgets tight and the future uncertain is it wise to go it alone and not at least seek the counsel of others within an organization?

I think not, but I must confess I have always been in the camp of participatory management which the belief that anybody including the lowest worker has knowledge that could be of benefit to me a decision maker.  Yes! Management is almost always responsible for the direction and results of a decision or policy but their ideas and opinions aren’t the only ones out there that have merit and should be considered.

Here are the tidbits of success from Chapter 8 of Nuts:

·         Think like an owner—about your job and life.  Owners focus on results regardless of who’s watching.

·         Don’t act like a victim.  Believe you can make a difference in everything you do.

·         Put your trust in others.  It tells them they are trustworthy and they will act accordingly.

·         Show your people what you think they’re worth.

·         Negotiate with an abundance mentality.

·         Make your organizational and personal mission, vision, and values clear—then hold the reins loosely.

·         Practice the Golden rule.  Do what you expect and want others to do.

That’s it for today.  Next time I’ll finish my review of Nuts! by looking at of all things advertising.  Until then thanks for reading, please post a comment if you so desire and all my best!  Jer

Go Nuts! Advice from Southwest Airlines

Hi! Welcome back!  Today I’d like to begin discussing advice on success from the book Nuts! By Kevin and Jackie Freiberg; in it they look at the crazy methods used by Southwest Airlines to achieve personal and business success.  I’m actually going to start my review by looking at the last chapter entitled Go Nuts!; which offers some great advice for anybody but especially for today’s business entrepreneur.  I’ll quote right from the book “The malady of our time is that so many people have lost their sense of meaning, purpose and dignity.  Alienated and empty, these people go home exhausted and dehumanized”.  I think this statement captures what many Americans are feeling today as they struggle to remake their lives after the economic crisis of 2008.

Much like the Great Depression of the 1930’s today’s depression is filled with haves and have not’s.  If you are like me you are wondering when your number will be called and someone will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your skill set.  However, if you’ve had the good fortune to still be employed other than higher gas and food prices you world probably hasn’t changed all that much.

Find a purpose you’re crazy about.  That’s the first tip offered in the last chapter of Nuts!  Most of us yearn to do something meaningful with our lives here on earth and contribution in some way to a cause that has meaning to us.  I recently saw a Movie entitled “Keeper of the Keys” in which somebody said that we all have different talents and that it was “impossible to dream about doing something we don’t have an ability to do”.  I’ve always fancied myself as a coach and now I’m attempting to become a business coach, I think it’s the right thing to do now at this stage in my life.  I think I will succeed if my faith in God and myself is strong enough.

Make your life and work an adventure.  “Become more curious, interested and inquisitive, wake up and start seeking new challenges; refuse to settle for mediocrity in yourself or in others.”  You know how it is when you purchase a new car and suddenly everywhere you look people are driving the same car you just bought?  Well that’s what it is like for me starting my consulting practice suddenly I’m noticing how many people in our country make their living by doing their own thing either with their hands, head or heart.  It’s encouraging really to know that although it’s a bit scary to put yourself on there alone and attempt to earn your money based solely on what you know and can do that millions of others are doing it successfully as well and showing you that you can do it to if you believe in yourself.

Believe in people and they will believe in themselves.  Success and confidence goes hand in hand you really can’t have one without the other.  In order to be successful in any aspect of life you have to have the self-confidence and courage to go for what you want to do.  The authors state “take a moment to see people not as they are, but as they can be.”  When you do two things are possible one people will perform according to the vision you have of them and secondly your faith in people and their potential maybe restored.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.  I think that is excellent advice for the new entrepreneur.  As a business owners it’s all up to you to make it happen but people are people and we are going to make mistakes, say stupid things, act clumsy at time but instead of worrying about that shrug it off and laugh about it—it’s good for soul and mental health.

Dare to dream.  The author’s state “Dreams stimulate our senses and awaken our entrepreneurial spirit.  They fuel our imagination, release our creative energy, and draw forth a deep sense of commitment to action.  It’s difficult to take action toward something you can’t envision.  It’s almost impossible to envision something you don’t dream about.  People who lose their dreams have nothing to hope for and, without hope; they have nothing to live for.  Dreams help us experience the richness of life.” 

I love that paragraph I think every person who attempts to start a business is a dreamer and we need more of them in our country today.  When you reflect on it many of man’s significant accomplishments started out as ideas and were completed by people who had the courage to dream.  So dream it’s good for you and the country just not while you are driving please.

Dare to be different.  Southwest Airlines makes room for the novel, unexpected and unpredictable.  When people came with fresh ideas that made sense they went for it!  Why not try it!  If it fails, learn from it, laugh and move on.  If it works celebrate with the people that made it happen.

Finally Pursue love before techniques.  The author’s make a profound statement “The tragedy of our time is that we’ve got it backwards.  We’ve learned to love techniques and use people.”  If you’ve been in the business world as long as I have you recall all though cost cutting measures, reengineering, right sizing efforts that really didn’t in many cases improve product quality or customer service they just kicked a lot of good people to the curb.

I hope you found some nuggets of sound advice in today’s blog.  I’ll be reviewing the remainder of the book for other tips from Southwest Airlines play book next time.  Author’s note--my  blog posts have been inconsistent of late that’s because I’m making the switch from looking for a job to looking for projects and I’ve been on the road making contacts to find my first client and then the next one and the next.  I hope to blog about work assignments in the future but right now I’m “kissing babies and shaking hands”.  I hope to have my first presentation before the Seymour, Indiana Chamber of Commerce in a few weeks, if so I’ll write about it here. 

Thanks for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer.

Confidence and Commitment

Hi! Welcome back.  I’d like to close my discussion of The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi by looking at commitment.  As some of you know who have been reading this blog I am in the process of launching a consulting practice that offers problem solving and training advice to small and medium size companies.  As I walk farther off that pier of employment conformity (Paid employment) into the waters of employment unconformity (self-employment), two things keep entering my mind and consciousness, confidence and commitment.

I have been talking with many individuals lately who have taken the path less traveled and earn a living selling their skills and expertise on the open market.  One friend of mine Hal, made a comment that has stuck with me he said “that you need to get to the point where you have the confidence to step out and work on your own; once you have that confidence you can make it.”

In reading this book Lombardi talks about confidence and success, the two are intertwined you can’t have confidence without success and success breeds confidence. 

“You defeat defeatism with confidence.  The man who is trained to his peak capacity will gain confidence.  Confidence is contagious, and so is a lack of confidence.”

                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi Jr. the author of the book writes “confidence is catching, and so is a lack of confidence.  If a leader exudes confidence, his troops will follow his lead.”  How does one gain the confidence to start a new project or activity?  Well one must be committed to the process and have faith that their efforts will be fruitful.

Lombardi writes that “total commitment implies doing whatever it takes to reach your goal.  The essence of commitment is the act of making a decision.”  Vince Jr. further states that “In the Lombardi code, mental toughness is the ability to hold onto one’s goals in the face of the pressure and stress.”

“Mental toughness is the willingness to keep commitments you make to yourself.  It’s singleness of purpose.  It’s the ability to stay motivated, no matter what obstacles arise in your path.”

What obstacles have arisen in your path as you started your business or developed your career?  Where did you find the confidence to keep showing up each day and learn those hard lessons that everyone must learn in order to find some success and purpose in life?  How have you helped an employee or friend reach for their goals?

I’d love to hear your comments, please leave me one if you are so inclined.  Thanks for reading my blog I’ll close with one of my favorite Vince Lombardi quote until next time all my best!  Jer

“I would say that the quality of each man’s life is the full measure of that man’s personal commitment to excellence and to victory—whether it be football, business, politics or government, or what have you.”

                                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

Lombardi on Character

Hi! Welcome back.  Today I’d like to continue with some excerpts from the Lombardi Rules a great short book written by the late coach’s son Vince Lombardi Jr.  Vince Jr. writes “Character is the first requirement of Vince Lombardi’s leadership code.  Combined with good habits and competence, character creates the building blocks for leadership.”

Character Lombardi writes “ is derived from older words that mean engraved and inscribed.”  “Character is founded on unchanging principles.  It is your underlying core…it is solid and resolute.”  He goes on to say that “character is a series of decisions and choices that you make as you grow and mature.  Character is not something that is handed to you; it must be forged through years of hard work and discipline.”  And I’ll add defeats as you learn to bounce back from those setbacks great and small that everyone in life experiences.  Character is unique to each individual. 

Lombardi also writes that “as a leader, you can’t build a team, department, or company that’s a whole lot different from yourself.”  As I reflect on that statement and think back over my work life and those individuals that I worked for I must admit I believe that’s true!  Perhaps one of the reasons that many older workers are having such a hard time finding employment these days is that the leaders that many companies have today don’t reflect the values that older workers were brought up with or learned to incorporate over the length of their careers?

“The Successful man is himself.  To be successful, you’ve got to be honest with yourself.”

                                                                                                                                Vince Lombardi

“Bad habits are eliminated not by others, but by ourselves.”

                                                                                Vince Lombardi

As a business owner how do you react to this post?  Do you believe as Lombardi and I do that “as a leader, you can’t build a team, department, or company that’s a whole lot different from yourself?”  How do you inject your character into the fabric of your business?  I’d love to read your comments, if you have one please free feel to post one here and thanks for reading my blog until next time all my best!  Jer.

The Lombardi Rules

Hi! I’m back.  I’ve been busy preparing and going on interviews and finishing the contents of my “Training for Organizational Effectiveness” program on structured on-the-job training.  I can’t think of a better subject for me then Vincent Thomas Lombardi the late coach of the Green Bay Packers who won 5 titles in 9 years while the Head Coach and General Manager of the Packers from 1959-1968.

While buying some training material a few weeks ago at a local book store I happened upon a book written by his son Vince Lombardi Jr. entitled “The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi The World’s Greatest Coach”.   Well as some of you know I’m a die-hard Packers fan and a disciple of the late coach, needing a little “pep” talk of my own I decided to purchase the book.  In the next few posts let me share with you what I read and learned about leadership and life from Coach Lombardi as told by his son Vince Jr.

“In the Lombardi model, leadership starts with a simple premise: only by knowing yourself can you become an effective leader.”  Crucial attributes to leadership according to Vince Lombardi are character and integrity.  “Lombardi’s leadership model is about being a person of character, finishing what you start, never compromising your goals, and giving everything you’ve got to achieve your goals.”

“Leadership rests not only on outstanding ability but on commitment, loyalty, pride and followers ready to accept guidance.”          Vince Lombardi

The first steps towards Lombardi’s road to leadership begin with self-knowledge.  Some questions penned in the book include is there an overriding purpose to your life?  What are you committed to?  What purpose makes sense of everything you do?  I thought the best question was Am I going to allow my life to be controlled by the crush of daily activities, or will I live my life in accordance with my purpose?

Vince Jr. writes “Don’t run for the sake of running: make sure you’re headed somewhere.  If you’re going all out without a clear destination in mind, slow down and ask some more questions.”

“I’m no better nor less than the next man.  But the thing about me is that I always knew what my acts would mean.  I was lucky…I found a singleness of purpose early on.”               Vince Lombardi

Do you have a singleness of purpose in your life?  Are you running for the sake of running?  Or as another great coach the late John Wooden, said “Do not mistake activity for achievement.”

If you lack singleness of purpose and who doesn’t from time to time I think you might find the next series of posts on the Lombardi Rules quite useful.  Thanks for reading and until next time all my best! Jer  

How to Develop a Leadership Program--John C. Maxwell

Hi! Welcome back.  As I wrote last time I’ve been writing about leadership for over a month now looking into what others consider the major aspects and traits of a good leader are.  Today I’d like to continue writing from John C. Maxwell’s book The 5 Levels of Leadership.  Maxwell not only wrote about the qualities of leadership but also outlined his program on how to develop leaders.  Since one of my reasons for doing this blog is to impart knowledge about how to improve people and the organizations that they work in I feel this post should be very beneficial to many of you.  Below is what Mr. Maxwell does to create a culture that supports leadership, some of the questions he asks when others ask him about developing a leadership program and his explanation in his own words about developing leaders within an organization.  I hope you find this information useful to you in establishing your leadership programs.

Maxwell writes to develop leaders you must create a culture that promotes leadership.  Below are some questions you can ask yourself if you want to create leaders in your business:

1.       What percentage of the payroll goes into leadership development?

2.       What kinds of formal training do we do?

3.       To what extent do we reward leadership?

4.       Do we have a cadre of good mentors?

Maxwell further states that if you want to develop a culture that creates level 5 leaders, then do the following:

1.       Champion Leadership, define and model good leadership within your organization.

2.       Teach Leadership, train leaders on a regular, frequent and consistent basis.

3.       Practice Leadership, help emerging leaders to plan and execute, fail and succeed.

4.       Coach Leadership, review emerging leaders’ performance and correct their errors.

5.       Reward Leadership, reward good leadership with pay, resources and recognition.

Maxwell provides guidelines for Leadership Development:

1.       The process must occur daily.  The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.  No one ever got good at anything they seldom practiced.

2.       The process must be measurable.  Although growth begins inwardly, it must be proven outwardly.  Therefore, the goals of growth must be something that can be seen and verified by you and the person you mentor.  If they don’t know where they’re going, how will they know if they get there?

3.       The process must include things they value.  If you include things the protégé desires they will be more motivated to achieve them.

4.       The process must align with your strengths.  You can only coach people in areas that you know and do well—in areas that are your strengths.  As you prepare to develop people, teach from those strengths and encourage those you mentor to seek out others who can help them in areas where you can’t.

Mr. Maxwell explains in his own words how to develop leaders within an organization.  ” I began to look for opportunities to put leaders in situations where they could learn experience-based lessons.  For example, whenever there was a problem in the organization, I didn’t solve it myself.  Instead, I sent one of the leaders I was developing to try to figure it out.  Afterwards, we’d discuss how he or she solved the problem and what he or she learned.  To help their communication, when leaders were ready, I’d give them an opportunity to speak: to various groups, to the leaders, or the entire organization.  Afterwards, we’d talk about what went wrong and what went right, and what they could do the next time to improve.  If I wanted to help them develop their influence and improve their teamwork, I’d ask them to recruit a team of volunteers for an event or a program and work with that team to follow through.  You get the idea.  When you lead an organization, you can’t be focused on just fulfilling the vision or getting work done.  Every challenge, problem, opportunity, or initiative is a chance for you to pair potential leaders to leadership development experience that will change who they are.”

That’s pretty good practical advice don’t you think?  Many of us don’t have the status to develop and instill leadership within us or others or so we believe.  However Maxwell states a key point when he mentioned that “You can only coach people in areas that you know and do well—in areas that are your strengths.”  What areas are you strong at?  How could you impart that knowledge or skill to others around you?  Looking to improve your leadership skills?  Review the past posts on the subject at this blog and sent me a comment if you care to, until next time all my best!  Jer.

The 5 Levels of Leadership-- John C. Maxwell

Hi! Welcome Back.  I’ve been writing about Leadership in this blog for about a month now.  At first it was in preparation for a project in Leadership I have with a local church, but after spending the last month studying what leadership is from various perspectives I’m coming to realize that leadership and its study are really as Author Jim Kouzes says “In the end, leadership development is self-development.  The mastery of the art of leadership is really about the mastery of the self.”

Maxwell believes that leadership is all about influence.  He states that “If people can increase their influence with others, they can lead more effectively.  If you boil leadership down to its essence, it is influence.  Leaders help people work together to accomplish goals that benefit everyone involved.  How does one person get others to do something willingly, excellently, and consistently?, by influencing them.”

Today I’d like to present Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership and in later posts look at how he develops leaders by looking at his leadership development program.  As you read Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership think back on what you have done and ask yourself where you stand on Maxwell’s 5 levels?  What can you do to improve your leadership standing?

The 5 Levels of Leadership

Level 1 Position, People follow you because they have to.  You have leadership “rights” based on the position you hold.

Level 2 Permission, People follow you because they want to.  You’ve developed relationships with your followers, they begin to trust you.

Level 3 Production, People follow because of what you have done for the organization.  You have achieved some results and are gaining influence and credibility because of what you have done.

Level 4 People Development, People follow because of what you have done for them.  You are reproducing yourself by developing others on your team.  You are beginning to develop leaders within your team or following.

Level 5 Pinnacle, People follow because of who you are and what you represent.  People respect you for who you are and what you have accomplished.  At this level leaders mentor people to become better leaders.  As an example John Wooden, former College Basketball Coach at UCLA.

Did you find yourself at one of Maxwell’s 5 levels of leadership?  Did you find where your boss stands on Maxwell’s 5 levels?  How does your bosses leadership skills effect what you do or can do for others within your organization?  What steps can you do to further your self-development if you have a level 1 positional leader? 

Thanks for reading my blog.  Please stop and give me your feedback by posting a comment below.  I’ll be on assignment during the middle of next week so my next blog post will probably appear next Thursday or Friday, until then all my best!  Jer.

Deepak Chopra’s thoughts on responsibility and leadership

Hi! Welcome Back.  Today we come to the end of Deepak Chopra’s acronym for leader with the letter r.  I wanted to break Chopra’s acronym down because I felt that he had some very profound ideas to express in each letter of his acronym.  Today’s meaning attached to the letter r mentions the leader’s soul and although I haven’t heard that mentioned a lot went studying the topic of leadership in the past I have come to believe that it is a very important trait in anybody we think of as being a leader.  The soul is to my understanding the essence of a person so it stands to reason that for somebody to become a leader they must on some level share a bit of their soul with their followers.

If you’ve come to my blog site recently and haven’t seen the other thoughts Chopra attaches to the word leader here they are:

L = Look and listen.  Do this with your senses, as an unbiased observer who has not judged anything in advance.  Do it with your heart, obeying your truest feelings.  Finally, do it with your soul, responding to the vision and deep purpose it provides.

E = Emotional bonding.  Leading from the soul means going beyond the melodrama of living in crisis mode.  It requires recognizing and clearing away toxic emotions so you can clearly understand your own specific needs, and those of others.

A = Awareness.  This means being aware of the questions that underlie every challenge: Who am I?  What do I want?  What does the situation demand?  A leader must continually ask these questions of herself, and inspire her team to ask them for themselves.

D = Doing.  A leader must be action-oriented.  In whatever he does, he must serve as a role model, holding himself responsible for the promises he has made.  This requires persistence and tenacity, but also the ability to view any situation with flexibility and humor.

E = Empowerment.  The soul’s power comes from self-awareness that is responsive to feedback but independent of the good or bad opinion of others.  Empowerment isn’t selfish.  It raises the status of leader and team together.

Now let’s conclude Deepak Chopra’s discussion of leadership with his thoughts on R = Responsibility. 

Leading from the soul means taking responsibility for more than the group’s needs.  It means having concern for everyone’s personal growth.  This responsibility begins with your own evolution.  In eight areas of your life you have the power to be guided by your soul: thoughts, emotions, perception, personal relationships, social role, environment, speech and the body.  In all of these areas your behavior affects the people you lead.  If you evolve, so will they.

That’s it for today.  I hope if you’re following me on this blog that you’ll write me a short comment about what you think of it and offer any suggestions for future topics as they relate to organizational and staff development.  Until next time thanks for reading and all my best!  Jer.

Empowerment: Another Leadership Trait from Deepak Chopra

Hi! Welcome back.  I’ve been writing these past few weeks about leadership and I’ve been reviewing what various people believe constitutes want leadership is.  You can see what I’ve written in the past by checking out my blog archive to the right.  Most recently I’ve been writing about Deepak Chopra’s acronym on the word leader.  Today’s letter is E and these excerpts come from Chopra’s excellent book the Soul of Leadership.

E = Empowerment. 

Empowerment is the fruit of successful action.  Doing and having power go together, since without the power to sustain your vision through difficulties and resistance, your vision will wither away.  This isn’t ego empowerment, which is driven by the demands of “I, me, and mine”; you are empowering others at the same time as you empower yourself.

The belief that power isn’t compatible with spirituality is misguided.  At the source, there is a field of infinite possibilities.  Packaged with every possibility is the path to achievement.  Your soul unfolds both at the same time.  Your power is validated by what you can manifest as reality.

When thousands of people were asked what they most wanted from a leader, four desires topped the list: trust, compassion, stability and hope.  The tools for building trust are honesty, candor and competence.  Compassion makes people feel cared for.  When you know what it feels like to walk in someone else’s shoes there is no choice but respect.  The tools for building compassion are empathy, respect and gratitude.  The tools for building stability are reliability, support, and peace.  Hope is intangible because it rests upon belief.  As a leader you must keep the horizon full of promise.  When we lose hope, we become directionless.  Therefore a leader must provide clear direction, a definite step-by-step plan.  Eventually people will find their own direction, but until then you as leader must provide it.  Providing guidance means holding out the values that need to be restored, such as self-confidence, competence and worthiness.  Through your showing that you see these values in others, they will begin to see them in themselves.  When you show others a concrete way to move forward, you give them a reason to have faith.  The tools for building hope are direction, guidance and faith.

Boy! I don’t know about you but that last paragraph has many pearls of truth and wisdom in it.  Empowerment is a word we hear a lot about these days but it seems that few leaders that I have been associated with in my career could or would use it in their practice of leadership, why?  Were they so insecure about their positions and skills that they didn’t wish to share the problem solving or decision making process with others, for fear of losing their status or authority?  Were they so wrapped up in who ultimately would get the credit for the work that they didn’t want to share the responsibility? 

In my experience I think that is what happens to many people in leadership positions, they have the title of leader but don’t know how to develop themselves as a leader and are afraid if they relinquish control of a process or project that they are giving away their status as leader.  What do you think?  Do you agree with my comments?  Have you had leaders that have empowered you?  If you are a leader do you use empowerment to strengthen and lead your charges?  I hope you’ll comment and thanks for reading my blog.  Until next time all my best!  Jer.

Doing: A Leadership Trait from Deepak Chopra

Hi! Welcome back.  We’re making our way through Deepak Chopra’s acronym for a leader we’ve look at the letters L, E, and A so far and today we’ll talk about what the letter D stands for which Chopra describes as Doing.  Below are Deepak Chopra’s thoughts on doing as a function of leadership.  These excerpts are taken from his book the Soul of Leadership.

D = Doing. 

Doing is a skill.  It is based on five steps that make the difference between success and failure.  Whenever you are in a position to lead:

1.       Be action-oriented.  The atmosphere around you must be dynamic.  Everyone in the group should feel energized by the call to action.

2.       Act as a role model.  Be willing to do the same things you ask others to do.  That way you will recruit others to act.  A leader doesn’t have to perform the jobs he assigns; if you can, however, that’s a great advantage.  A leader serves as a role model in giving of himself completely.

3.       Commit yourself to good, honest feedback.  Show that you want to hear the truth, and when you give feedback to others, be candid but positive.  Emphasize their contributions first and foremost.

4.       Be persistent.  There will always be setbacks and obstacles.  The course of any significant project never ran smoothly.  When others are secretly worrying about failure, your unflagging persistence is a strong asset.

5.       Take time to celebrate.  Every time there’s a significant achievement, create an atmosphere of celebration around it.  Work and nothing but work will eventually deplete people’s enthusiasm.  By celebrating milestones along the way to final success, you give everyone a taste of that success in advance.

Doing, do you recall what the Chinese philosopher Confucius said about starting a journey?  As I recall he said that “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.  In my own life when I was a younger man I aspire to get a college education, but my parents had never gone to college and although I lived in a “college town” I had no idea what it would take to get my degree.  I had enrolled in college immediately right out of high school but after doing well the first semester I began to lose interest and yearn for the open road. 

I travel out West for a couple of years first with a good friend Mike Buza to California and then the next year by myself to Arizona.  After returning from Arizona I attended and graduated from Western Wisconsin Technical Institute, now called Western Wisconsin Technical College in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  I then transferred to a private college outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin but dropped out again and went back home to work as an accounting clerk.  After working several years I was denied promotion and I knew that the only way I was going to reach my dreams was to return and complete my bachelors degree. 

I remember a Vice President of the saving and loan I was working for told me the last day I was employed that I should in his words “eat the elephant one bite at a time”, it other words do something every day to reach my goals.

Can you remember a goal that you strived for and accomplished but thought at the time that it was a mountain too high to climb?  How did you get to the summit of your goal?  What did you do each and every day to make that dream a reality?  Why not drop my a comment and share it with me?  I look forward to our time together until next time all my best!  Jer.

Awareness, Leadership Traits from Deepak Chopra

Hi! Welcome back.  I’m continuing my review of Deepak Chopra’s acronym for a leader, so far we’ve look at the letter L and E today it’s the letter A which stands for Awareness.  Below is Deepak Chopra’s thoughts on awareness and what it means in regards to leadership.  These excerpts are taken from his book the Soul of Leadership.

A = Awareness. 

Awareness is the birthplace of possibility.  Everything you want to do, everything you want to be, starts here.  To be a successful visionary, you must be as aware as possible.  At every moment, many paths lead forward.  Awareness tells you which is the right one to take.

As a leader, your own awareness affects everyone around you.  Those whom you lead and serve depend on your grasp of the situation.  You must reach inside for the right response.  You alone can raise the group’s awareness from lower needs to higher needs.  To do that, you first must fulfill each need in yourself.

Awareness is a synonym for consciousness.  There is no limit to what you can change, because consciousness brings light to every aspect of life.  But if your c is constricted, everything else will be too.  On the other hand, if you are in a state of expanded awareness, everything else will expand.  The most ancient wisdom traditions say, “know that one thing by which all else is known.”  That one thing is consciousness itself.  Nothing has a greater power of transformation.

Awareness is innate—you don’t have to seek it outside yourself.  But expanded awareness must be cultivated.  Below is Deepak Chopra’s Awareness Program:

·         Stop struggling

·         Keep listening to your inner voice

·         Mediate in order to reach the core of your awareness

·         Test your boundaries

·         Remain centered

·         Look beyond your personal beliefs

·         Gather information from every source

·         Learn to have clear intentions

·         Value inner peace

At first glance this one trait seems obvious right?  How can one be a leader without being aware of what’s going on around them or what’s possible?  Sadly, many times people in leadership positions “can’t see the forest from the trees”.  Can you think back on a time when you missed the obvious signs or clues to a situation?  We all can that’s why we are human.  All of us struggle with some situation or predicament at some point in our lives; at present my predicament is trying to get a marketing brochure together for my new business.  Think about what problems you maybe going through at the moment could Chopra’s awareness program work for you?  Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think about this blogspot, until next time all my best!  Jer 

Emotional Bonding Leadership from Deepak Chopra

Hi! Welcome Back.  I’m continuing my review of Deepak Chopra’s acronym for a leader, last time we looked at the letter L which Mr. Chopra says stands for Look and listen today it’s the letter E which stands for emotional bonding.  Below is Chopra’s take on emotional bonding between a leader and their followers, excerpts taken from his book the Soul of Leadership.

E = Emotional bonding. 

Leaders bring out the best in others, but successful visionaries go even further: they form lasting emotional bonds.  They are the kind of leaders we hold in our hearts.  When people are emotionally bonded to you, they want to have contact with you.  They want to be of service and share in your vision.  Deep motivation then develops.  True, lasting loyalties are formed.

To create such bonds, you must be willing to build real relationships.  Share yourself.  Take a personal interest in others, and notice their strengths.  At the most basic level, you must display healthy emotional energy yourself.  Avoid the three toxic A’s: authoritarianism, anger and aloofness.

In every situation, make it a habit to ask yourself the key questions of emotional intelligence:

·         How do I feel?

·         How do they feel?

·         What are the hidden stumbling blocks between us?

A leader who can answer these questions will be in a position to create lasting emotional bonds.

Reinforcing the strengths of others:  Again and again it has been shown that the best leaders focus on the strengths of their followers.  They build a team by assessing who does what well.  They encourage each person to develop his or her best qualities.  But that’s just the beginning.  People want to be praised for their strengths, specifically and personally.

One of the takeaways that I get from this post one is that leaders become emotionally connected in some way with their followers.  I don’t know about you but think back over your career (if you are a fossil like I) and ask yourself who were the best leaders I knew or worked with?  Hopefully you’ve had a few, in my experience I had two but unfortunately I only worked with them for a short time less than five years in a thirty year career.  However for whatever reason I think back on these two men Jim Bidlingmaier at Madison Gas & Electric Company and Bob Nash at College Cooperative Southeast with fondness even though I haven’t seen these fellas in years, why?

I believe that both men encouraged me and allowed me to grow during my time with them.  I can still see the poster behind Bidlingmaier’s desk which read “All the Aardvarks are going west. I’m traveling East”, as a young Supervisor at the time the poster puzzled me but as I think about it now it meant that you should be your own person and come to your own opinions and decisions, don’t follow the crowd but follow your own intuition and “blaze your own trail”.  That was quite a statement for a management person to promote in the Gas & Utility business back in the mid 1980’s.

Bob Nash allowed me to see into his decision making process.  Bob was assigned to head up a new project which brought higher education to rural parts of Southeastern Indiana and he was “making the rules up as he went along” because there was no rules and he had to carve out how this organization should and would operate going forward.  He allowed me and I believe some of my colleagues at the time to enter into his thinking process and give input into how things should work going forward.  Needless to say after over thirty years of work experience I rarely saw that kind of support or candor in any other supervisor I had after them.

How about you?  What about Chopra’s thoughts on emotional bonding and staff development, do you agree with him?  Do you have examples of individuals that you’ve worked with or known from your past that you developed an emotional bond with?  What did these people do to solicit your support?  Please feel free to comment, thanks for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer.

Look and Listen: Leadership from Deepak Chopra

Hi! Welcome back.

I’ve been studying the topic of leadership lately and have been reviewing what some people think about the subject.  Last time I gave you Deepak Chopra’s acronym for leadership.  In reviewing the details of what each letter in leadership means from Chopra’s perspective I thought I would take each letter and his accompanying thoughts one at a time so that both you and I can read and contemplate there meaning to us. 

Today let’s look at the first letter in leader L, and read what Deepak Chopra wrote in his book The Soul of Leadership.  L = Look and listen. 

Great leaders have a vision, and the ability to manifest it.  Defining your own visions begins with looking and listening.  You look and listen to the situation around you, but you also look and listen inside.  This involves four steps:

·         Impartial observation—look and listen with your senses.

·         Analysis—Look and listen with your mind.

·         Feeling—look and listen with your heart.

·         Incubation—Look and listen with your soul.

If you want to be a successful visionary, here is where the journey begins, with two critical questions:

1.       What is my vision?

2.       How can I make it happen

As a leader, your vision exists to be shared with enthusiasm and inspiration.  The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek root en-thos or “in God”, reminding you that you must look in your soul.  Inspiration comes from the same Latin root as “to breathe and spirit”.  When you inspire others, you bring everyone into the spirit of your vision—you motivate them to breathe together in the same atmosphere.

Listening is vitally important when it comes to understanding the situation you are in, and what need is crying out to be fulfilled.  In almost every estimate of what makes a leader, the same quality is mentioned: she’s a good listener.  What makes for a good listener?

1.       Not interrupting.

2.       Showing that you empathize: not criticizing, arguing, or patronizing.

3.       Establishing a physical sense of closeness without invading personal space.

4.       Observing body language and letting yours show you are not distracted but attentive.

5.       Offering your own self-disclosures, but not too many or too soon.

6.       Understanding the context of the other person’s life.

7.       Listening from all four levels: body, mind, heart and soul.

I think this is a good place to begin don’t you when asking yourself what is leadership and what constitutes good leadership?  How can anyone be a leader without having some idea about what is going on?  And how can someone know what is going on without looking and listening to their environment?  I don’t wish to make this blogspot a political forum but perhaps we can look at those individuals who either hold the office of the President of the United States or wish to occupy it.  From a leadership perspective as Chopra has defined it here  do you think any of these individuals has a grasp of what’s going on in the country?  Do you think any of them are attuned to what the nation is feeling and experiencing since the real estate collapse of 2008?  Have any of the candidates or for that matter the President himself articulated their vision for the country and a set forth a plan to make it happen?

In my opinion, I don’t think so and that makes me leery about the future of the country at least in the short term.  I don’t see any of these qualities in either the President or his challengers am I wrong?  Can you list some examples where you think any of the people running for the Presidency of the United States are looking and listening to our nation’s problems and setting out a plan to combat them?  I’d love to see your comments on the presidential candidates leadership skills as they relate to the first letter of Chopra’s acronym of leadership—L, Look and Listen.  Thanks again for reading and until next time all my best!  Jer.