Just for you... the new year is here. Looking forward to spending more time learning to live with leaders who need a hand - this year we will focus on the small things leaders need some help with to get ahead.
Share your issues, challenges and stories here....and let's get everyone moving toward new leadership goals.
Jim Collins says you need to have 'BHAGS" - Big Hairy Audacious Goals. This is TRUE.
Let's look at the cat....how is he going to eat what I have to think is an ostrich. He has figured out that it starts with one bite at a time.
Hope that you have spent some time with your team or your leader understand what you all want out of 2012. What are the overall goals and how does this align with the company mission...not to mention values? Take this to another level - how does this apply to you personally? Where do you fit?
As a developing leader, it is critical to ensure that alignment is in place - otherwise, people will be working in silos or willy-nilly on anything that suits them....not necessarily in unison with the focus of the goals.
Do you have BHAGS? Why do you think you should?
I have them. I have BHAGS because they make me focus on every step that it can take to get me there....everyday.....no matter what. And you know, with hard work, BHAGS need to be reconstructed to become EBHAGS - even bigger hairy audacious goals. Get started. 2012 is just around the corner.
Thank you to my readers, followers and send - alongers. 2011 has passed quickly and there are so many things to reflect on and be grateful for...I am most grateful for the blessings that life has brought my way in the form of new relationships, lasting friendships and the love and trust of those that surround me and my business.
May all the blessings of Christmas (that is what I celebrate) be yours, now and in the New Year.
P.S. Please continue to provide me with your 'leadership not to do' stories so that I can post and provide learning opportunities.
It really is a blur isn't it. How the holiday season can come and go so quickly and of course with work piled on top of that, stress can reach it's max.
Imagine the leader who understands balance and that the rush you feel wrapping up year end and the month of December is coupled with the stress of family, gifts, money, parties and more. This would be the leader who has planned what December can look like for their team by brainstorming what roadblocks could pop up....and more importantly, by clearly identifying 2 things:
the expectations for the month - critical goals and deadlines - far enough in advance so that timelines can coincide and be met
what needs to happen in the first week of January - number of appointments or cold calls, number of meetings, goal numbers, milestones....so that the team can feel they have a timeframe that extends beyond the season.
Sitting here this week writing this blog, in my business I know people don't want to hear a pitch from me. I am happy to spread holiday cheer and thank people for thier business, their time and their trust. I have worked to fill January so that when the time comes, I am focused and back in the game....not still in the rush of trying to start.
This is a pretty obvious choice for the NOT TO DO Leader, don't you think?
Have you seen how Bill Murray not only ignores anything to do with leadership but also with human kindness and dignity. When the pages of the story are peeled away, the audience then finds that Bill has had not the best upbringing and forray into love, and finds his solace in being who he is....hiding from the person he could be if he could only just forgive and move on.
Sound like anyone you know? Not only is this a story of leadership in his company, but also personal leadership - taking time to acknowledge how you live your life in the face of others.
Watching this last week, I noticed a part I hadn't been ready to hear before - when Marley visits the first time, he talks about how he should have lived his life, how he should have seen the need to live for others.
Think about your leadership. Do you lead for others or for yourself? Do you have regrets about your leadership - personal or professional? If you do, it is not too late to change. It is never too late.
Take the next step and spend time with me investigating your leadership - and the potential for what it could be. Of course, 1 hour - on me...Merry Christmas.
'Tis the season.....and it you have never watched this movie, it is a must on your list. For the month of December, the blog posts here will focus on what you can learn from the holiday movies that abound.
Love Actually is a story of many stories - similar to the businesses we operate in. You will find bosses and leaders, followers and instigators and the usual cast of mixed influencing characters.
What is interesting to me about this movie (and we watch it at least a dozen times) is that there are so many leadership lessons coming from the oddest of individuals - leadership where you wouldn't expect it.
the Englishman who decides to change his fortune and move to the US
the gilted lover who pours himself into work and discovers a new entity
the tenously-grounded wife who is on the precipice of loss and finds a way to hold on
the family destroyed by tragedy but comes to learn more about each other
and there is more (and I won't tell you all the details in case you have yet to see this movie. The leadership lessons come in all shapes and sizes. What does this have to do with 'NOT TO DO' Leadership?
Answer: the NOT TO DO Leader does not take the time to look around and see the lessons, or learn from anyone else.
Look around your workplace and see the shapes and sizes. See how each leader and team member inter-connects and intersects with each other. Once you step back and look, you may see how the decisions and choices you make impact the rest of the flow in your workplace.
Learn to be open to the intersection and from where leadership lessons can evolve.
OK people, here is how it works. You do not need to reply all on every single email. Especially when an email is sent to a group and you have a comment for only one person - then simply reply to the sender or forward to that particular individual.
I have seen it happen where someone will call someone else on the carpet in front of the group by email - not fair, not nice, not even respectful. If you have something to say, perhaps pick up the phone (imagine that?!) or simply send an email to the party concerned - that way the information, scathing remarks, poor commentary and even profanity stays between the two concerned. You are doing yourself a disservice by providing your self-righteous and inconsistent comments to the whole group - whether this is upward, downward or peer-to-peer....think twice about hitting that reply all.
Even if you are simply acknowledging attendance or giving an LOL not everyone needs to have their email box clogged....just the sender.
How do you handle the "Reply All" dictator in your group?
