admin – Page 37 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Leadership Minute: Don’t Be Afraid

Posted October 16, 2014
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I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship. – Louisa May Alcott

One of the certainties of leadership is the existence of storms. Storms come to every leader. Some are self-inflicted while others come from outside forces. Nonetheless, storms come. But storms, like other life events, are times not just of testing but are times for learning. A storm is not a waste of time if you learn from it. What storm are you facing? What conflict are you going through? What employee is giving you fits? What problem is giving you stress? Just remember as you are going through the storm you are learning to sail. You are earning your leadership stripes. No storm is pleasant to go through and at times you may question your ability to lead. But don’t despair. There is a reason for the storm and a greater purpose for you to understand. Be assured of this – when you cast aside your fears and face the storms that come your way, you will be a stronger leader in the end. Don’t be afraid.

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Leadership Minute: Raise Your Expectations

Posted October 15, 2014
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Act like you expect to get into the end zone. – Christopher Morley

One of the greatest battles you will face in leadership is the one that is waged between your ears. Mental toughness and endurance is a necessity for any leader who desires to succeed. But until you raise your expectations of what success looks like you will be hard pressed to achieve it. Call it an act of faith- and perhaps it is, but you have to picture successes in your mind before they become a reality. If the mental pictures you have are negative and filled with frustrations and disappointments they will be hard to overcome. But what leader doesn’t battle negative thoughts from time to time? Do you now understand why mental toughness is so important? Don’t allow negative thoughts or attitudes to fill your mind or thought processes. Raise your expectations to new levels not based upon what you see at the moment but on the great things you envision for the future. Once you raise your expectations you can take steps to achieve those goals.

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Leadership Minute: Prune the Weeds

Posted October 14, 2014
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A good garden may have some weeds. – Thomas Fuller

One of your roles as a leader in your organization can be likened to that of a gardener. You tend the garden and invest in good seed and in good soil with the belief that you will have good returns. Like any garden, your organization may have a few bad weeds. You can have people in your organization, who by their actions and attitudes, that can cause damage to the rest of the garden. If you don’t prune them back or pluck them out, they can spread their negative influence and cause harm. It is incumbent upon you as the leader to recognize the potential destruction a weed may impose and deal with it. The earlier you deal with the weeds the better. You can’t allow one bad weed to ruin things for everyone else. As a good leader you need to watch out for weeds, tend to them, and promote an environment in which everyone can thrive.

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Leadership Minute: Speak Clearly

Posted October 13, 2014
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I meant what I said and I said what I meant. – Dr. Seuss

Nothing will frustrate the people in your organization any quicker than communication that’s unclear, vague, or otherwise unnecessary. Talking just to talk is not communication. It’s noise. And it’s irritating. The effectiveness of your leadership hinges on good communication skills. Knowing what to communicate, how to communicate it, and why it’s necessary are essential to your people. Answering a few simple question can help cut through the clutter of what’s necessary and what’s not. Try these on for size: What do your people need to know? Who needs to know it? For what purpose do they need to know? When do they need to know? And what is the most efficient and effective way to do communicate this information? Clear communication is essential to a smooth operation so don’t mess it up. Be clear. Be direct. Be succinct.

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Three Signs Your Leadership Style Resembles Bigfoot

Posted October 10, 2014
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To be or not to be, that is the question – William Shakespeare

For many he is an urban legend, for others he is a great hoax. Regardless of your beliefs, Bigfoot enthusiasts have been on the hunt for a long time. In the interest of full disclosure I will confess I’ve become addicted to the Animal Planet show Finding Bigfoot. I will also confess that while I find the show entertaining I remain a skeptic. However, I would welcome an invitation from Bobo and the gang to go ‘Squatchin’.

After watching many episodes of Finding Bigfoot it didn’t take long to connect the dots and draw parallels between the characteristics of Bigfoot out in the wild and some leaders in their offices. Just as some people swear that Bigfoot exists, many people in their organizations make the same claim about their leader – always lurking in the shadows somewhere ,but, can we really be sure?

In Inc. magazine earlier this year, Dino Signore (http://ow.ly/CtgU0 ) wrote about the importance and the challenges leaders face in building relationships and being connected to their people. Clearly, if you want to engage your employees it will take hard work effort on your part.

Signore cites Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace” survey in which seventy percent of American workers say they are disengaged. What does that mean for you as a leader? In short, it means that you are going to have to come out from the shadows and step up your leadership game. Do you have the leadership characteristics of Bigfoot? Let’s find out.

Your people make wild claims about your leadership, but they have little evidence

In order to be a leader that is connected, engaged, and involved in what’s going on you have to be seen. Your people will gain confidence in you as a leader when you lead from the front, not when you are lurking in the shadows. If your credentials as a leader are based upon rumors and sightings then you have lost their trust. If in the eyes of your people you are a fictional character then you are nothing more than a fictional leader.

Your people are perpetually one step behind you, where are you?

In Finding Bigfoot the dedicated team always seems to be one step behind their prey. Here’s the rub – people willingly follow a strong and confident leader. But when your people are reduced to chasing after you and are always one step behind you then frustration builds. When that happens morale begins sink and the Gallup poll on engagement becomes all too real. Your people want a leader who is with them-not evasive, and one they can trust with their own eyes. If you are disengaged as a leader your people will eventually dismiss you as a hoax.

Your people risk a lot to believe in you, have you let them down?

One of the regular features of Finding Bigfoot is a town hall meeting to hear the claims of people who say they’ve had a Bigfoot encounter. It’s up to the team to investigate and separate fact from fiction, or something like that. Be it the investigative team or the people making the claim, they put their reputations on the line by expressing a belief in what many claim to be a fraud. Likewise, your people risk a lot by believing in you as a leader. It’s one thing to believe in your people- that’s important, but you must respect them enough by giving them a reason to buy-in to your leadership and believe in you. Having the respect and trust of your people is a sacred honor, don’t let them down.

Dispelling the Bigfoot leadership myth

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” says John Maxwell. Going forward and solidifying your leadership credentials will happen when you take corporate culture seriously, build relationships with your people, and make trust the focal point of your leadership. Your leadership does not have to be subjected to the status of an urban myth or legend. It’s time to come out from the shadows and lead with purpose.

What do you say?

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Leadership Minute: Measuring Success

Posted October 8, 2014
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Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others. – Danny Thomas

How do you measure success? The answer will vary depending on who you ask. For some it’s the bottom line – the bank account. For others it’s defined by promotions or rank in the company hierarchy. And for some it might be the admiration and respect of your peers. On the merits, none of these things are wrong. But is it truly the measure of success that makes a difference in the long run? As a leader I believe that the true measure of your success will be defined by what you do for others and great causes that will outlast you. What that looks like for you in large part will be defined by the values you embrace and the issues close to your heart. In short; it’s not about you. Measure your success by what matters most- did it help someone else?

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Leadership Minute: Know Your Surroundings

Posted October 7, 2014
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I really do believe in the influence of your surroundings. – Matt Sharp

As a leader, your surroundings are an important factor in the formation and execution of your leadership style. The people you surround yourself with may not always be of your choosing. Just as some circumstances are out of your control, so too, are some of the people around you such as co-workers. Being aware of your surroundings is about your cognizance of toxic behaviors and attitudes that you need to be on your guard against. It’s an awareness of your surroundings and knowing who to keep out of your circle. But when you know your surroundings here is what else you know: You know who you can trust. You know who has your best interests at heart and who the pretenders are. You know the power of being with like-minded people and what you can accomplish together when ego and who gets the credit is not the driving factor. Knowing your surroundings is all about knowing who you want to surround yourself with. Are you familiar with your surroundings?

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Leadership Minute: Dreams or Fears?

Posted October 6, 2014
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Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. – Les Brown

Sometimes the line between living your dreams and living your fears can be thin. On one side of that thin line are the dreams and desires of your heart that resonate from deep within you. On the other side of that line are the fears that hold you back. Perhaps it’s a fear of repeating a past mistake. It could be a fear of the unknown or failure. But one thing is certain- your fear of failure will come true by default if you do not act. Your dreams can only come true when you make up your mind that your life is going to be defined by faith, not fear, and that your dreams are the more powerful than fear. What fear is keeping you from crossing the threshold from fear to living your dream? Don’t allow your fears to crush your dreams. Today can be a day of new beginnings when you cross the line and don’t look back. What is your dream?

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Three Purposes of Leadership Training

Posted October 3, 2014
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I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ – Muhammad Ali

In Readers Digest, Lori Andersen shared a story about an experience as a professional animal trainer. Andersen recounts, “I was disturbed when my own dog developed a bad habit. Every time I hung my wash out on the clothesline, she would yank it down. Drastic action was called for. I put a white kitchen towel on the line and waited. Each time she pulled it off, I scolded her. After two weeks the towel was untouched. Then I hung out a large wash and left to do some errands. When I came home, my clean clothes were scattered all over the yard. On the line was the white kitchen towel.”

That humorous story illustrates the importance of proper training. While we can all acknowledge the necessity of leadership training and the value it brings, properly identifying the right type of training is important.

Much time and resources is devoted to and invested in the topic of leadership development so you want to make sure you get it right. From Fortune 500 companies to the small mom and pop business, everyone wants and needs a competitive edge and leadership training is a practical way to foster that improvement. But what specifically should you be training for? Here are a few tips for your consideration before you plan your next leadership training activity.

Train to replenish

Workplace anxiety and stress can take a toll. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association (http://bit.ly/1jRDByb) in 2012, 65% of Americans cited work as a top source of stress while only 37% said their organizations provide sufficient resources to help them manage that stress.

Before you get too far down the road in planning some extravagant training session keep in mind the likelihood that your team members are stressed out and perhaps you should focus on their well-being first. Healthy team members (mentally, physically, emotionally) will perform at a higher quality and standard if they are not stressed out or burned out. Don’t add to the problem with the good training at the wrong time.

Train to remind

Sometimes the best thing you can do in a leadership training session is to simply remind your people of the basics. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. For example, soft skills are some of the most important skill sets your people will learn and apply. It’s in the daily practice of these skills that you get ahead.

Don’t know where to begin? Try these: good manners, communication, collaboration, attitude, feedback, and trust for starters. Blunders in leadership happen not because you fail at learning new skills but because of laziness in the old ones. Reminders of the basics are never a waste of time.

Train to reinvigorate

When team members are reinvigorated it can pay huge dividends for your organization. When your people have a fresh perspective of their value to the organization, a fresh take on your vision going forward and what their future will look like, you have most likely met some target goals of a training event.

Key here is take stock of your team members’ well-being, sharpen their existing skills, and take everyone to the next level in their leadership. The goal here is to have everyone moving in the right direction – onward and upward.

I am a strong advocate of leadership training and personal development but what’s more important is hitting the right targets. Be perceptive of where your people are collectively so you can fashion the best training possible to meet your goals. Having their best interest at heart is a step in the right direction, but moving your people toward that goal takes careful planning. Be sure to align your purposes with your training.

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Leadership Minute: A Winning Attitude

Posted October 2, 2014
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I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude. – Colin Powell

Your attitude is one of the most important attributes as a person and as a leader. All leaders go through times of testing. It can be a rough and tumble world out there. But whether you are in the midst of good times or setbacks, your attitude is very important. The only thing that can make the good times better is an attitude of gratitude. The only thing that can make a setback worse is a bad attitude. The common thread in any situation you face is whether the attitude you choose will help you or hurt you. When you display a winning attitude it will spread to others around you. The message it sends will inspire confidence and give hope that even though things may look bad at the moment, things are going to be fine. What message is your attitude sending to those around you? Choose today to embrace a winning attitude.

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