Leadership Development. Professional Development – Page 7

Are You a Leader on a Mission?

Posted June 1, 2017
by dougdickerson

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. – Maya Angelou

On the morning of September 22, 1989, I got in my car and took about a 20-mile drive to the townhouse where my family and I lived in Charleston, South Carolina. It was the morning after Hugo, a Category 5 hurricane, passed through the night before.We had moved inland the day before so as to hopefully avoid the brunt of the storm. I went to see what, if anything, was left.

To this day, I will never forget what I saw as I approached the front door to our home. It was the rear bumper of a car. It was on our front steps leaning against the door. It had a bumper sticker on it that read, “I’m on a mission from God”.

I’m not sure what the mission or the message was, but I was grateful that we suffered only minor damage and had fared much better than most.

While most people’s experiences in leadership may not resemble a hurricane like Hugo, the bumper sticker does provoke an interesting thought. What is your mission or purpose as a leader? What type of impact are you making?

Your life in leadership is not meant to be lived in a vacuum where you are only in it for yourself. Take a few moments and ponder these questions about your leadership. Discover for yourself what your mission is as a leader.

What am I doing as a leader that adds value?

As a leader, you are either adding or subtracting value to those around you. Are your contributions, however great or small, making a difference in the lives of those whom you work with and for your organization? Think about it and take stock of what you are doing. Are you only in it for what you can receive or for notoriety?

If you are going to be a leader on a mission and make a positive difference in your organization then you must be a leader who is intentional about adding value. If not, you are only subtracting.

What am I doing as a leader that will outlast me?

One of the greatest things you can do as a leader is to devote yourself to causes greater than yourself. It’s when you get your eyes off of yourself and onto causes that can change your world that you begin to feel the impact of your leadership. You can best fulfill your mission as a leader when you make your mission less about you and more about others.

If you are going to be a leader on a mission it’s important that you identify what those causes are and how you can do your part to leave the world a little better than you found it.

What am I doing as a leader that fulfills me?

Your fulfillment as a leader is not found in selfish acts or by embracing a ‘what’s in it for me’, attitude. Your mission in leadership is not a call to self-importance but a call to a life of selfless serving. The reason most people in leadership are unfulfilled is that their focus is inward rather than outward. What direction is your focus?

“The two most important days in your life,” Mark Twain said, “is the day you are born and the day you find out why’. And this is the secret to understanding your mission as a leader.

When you discover your ‘why’ and understand your mission, then your life as a leader will be the most rewarding experience of your life.

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The Power of Selective Discipline

Posted May 12, 2017
by dougdickerson

What’s done can’t be undone. – William Shakespeare

In his book, The One Thing, Gary Keller writes about a disciplined life in one of the chapters. In it, he expounds on the concept of selected discipline. In doing so, he points to Olympic champion Michael Phelps.

From age 14 through the Beijing Olympics, Phelps trained seven days a week, 365 days a year. By doing so he gained a 52-training day advantage over his competitors. He spent 6 hours a day in the water training-mastering the discipline of one habit that ultimately earned him Olympic gold.

The story of Phelps is quite inspiring.That he would channel so much time and energy into his life’s passion for swimming at such a young age is impressive. It also caused me think about how we as leaders develop our own patterns of discipline and personal growth. Here’s a thought that Keller expressed that is worth mentioning:

The payoff from developing the right habit is pretty obvious. It gives you the success you’re searching for. What sometimes gets overlooked, however, is an amazing windfall: It also simplifies your life. Your life gets clearer and less complicated because you know what you have to do well and what you don’t. The fact of the matter is that aiming discipline at the right habit gives you license to be less disciplined in other areas. When you do the right thing, it can liberate you from having to monitor everything.

In my early years of leadership, I was thoroughly indoctrinated with the concept and ideas of living a well- disciplined life. It’s a virtuous goal of every leader, right? But the notion of selective discipline was refreshing music to my ears and to my sometimes less than disciplined ways.

To obtain this noble virtue as a leader, like you perhaps, I wore myself out trying to measure up to what at times was just an improbable reality. It was frustrating. The fallout? Becoming the jack of all trades, the master of none. Keller adds, “You can become successful with less discipline than you think, for one simple reason: success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right.” How refreshing!

Selective discipline brings a measure of healthy simplicity to your life. Here are a few suggestions on how to make that happen.

Embrace your ‘one thing’

Selective discipline in your life begins when you identify what your ‘one thing’ is and direct your energies towards it. It’s as simple and complicated as that. But you will burn yourself out and have less energy for what truly matters so long as you don’t know what it is.

Embrace your selective discipline

Discovering your one thing is liberating. Knowing your purpose gives life meaning. But now comes the channeling of that discipline to take you to new levels of growth and potential. Sadly, you can know your one thing and still not live up to your potential if you don’t form the proper growth habits.

Embrace the sacrifice

The formula will look like this: SD(Selective discipline) +S(Sacrifice) = Success. Unless you are willing to sacrifice the good for the great you will always flounder. It’s time to focus, embrace your one thing, and channel your energies to become the person God created you to be.

The sacrifice won’t always be easy. Muhammad Ali put it this way, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion”. And this is the reward of embracing the sacrifice- knowing that your success would not have come about any other way.

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Are We Keeping Pace As Leaders?

Posted April 21, 2017
by dougdickerson

The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang. – Mary Kay Ash

After watching this video entitled Did You Know, I will confess that I have more questions than I have answers. Perhaps you have seen the video before. It’s been updated and is well worth the look. Here are a few highlights taken from it:

China will soon become the Number One English speaking country in the world.
The 25% of India’s population with the highest I.Q.’s is greater than the population of the United States. Translation: India has more honor kids than America has kids.
The Top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
There are 845 million monthly active users on Facebook. If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest (behind China and India).
Twitter is seeing about 50 million tweets per day, That breaks down to about 600 per second.
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the total population of the planet.
It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
The amount of technical information is doubling every two years. For students starting a 4-year degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

The pace at which our world is changing is breathtaking. We truly live in remarkable times. And this leads to many questions so please indulge me. My focus here is not so much about leadership “tips” or quick anecdotes, but rather reflective questions meant to awaken the leader in all of us. My questions are rhetorical but also intentional. You may have the same ones. Hopefully, you will have additional ones. I would sure like to hear them. Here are a few of mine:

Are we as leaders cognizant of how rapidly our world is changing around us and are we ahead of the curve or behind it?
What are the best leadership practices or beliefs that transcend time or culture?
In what ways have technologies helped us as leaders? In what ways has it hurt?
How do the changes that are taking place in our world change the way in which we as leaders relate to people today and going forward?
What will be our most essential leadership skills ten years from now? Will they be the same as today?
Are we raising up leaders today to meet the challenges of leadership tomorrow?
Do I have a mindset that is slanted toward embracing the changes that are happening or is it a fixed mindset that has me stuck?
Do I need to change my current leadership style to prepare me for the future?

John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life.” He was right. Change is happening at a faster pace than perhaps any of us ever expected. Are we keeping pace?

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The Things That Matter Most

Posted April 13, 2017
by dougdickerson

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. – Roy E. Disney

In his new book No Limits, John Maxwell makes a profound statement worth consideration. He writes, “Today I am far less interested in certainty about many things and much more interested in clarity about the few things that matter.”

The statement comes on the heels of writing about how he relies less on his beliefs, which over the years have become fewer and fewer, and more on values which do not change. He adds, “Every time you learn something new, your beliefs adjust. In my lifetime I’ve let go of dozens and dozens of beliefs that I once possessed just because I learned more or experienced more.”

It caused me to reflect on my own personal and leadership journeys. I can also look back now and see where certain beliefs have changed over time. Clarity of values has brought perspective which in turn has brought much more meaning to life.

Where are you on your journey? Your belief systems are vitally important and I do not wish to diminish them. But perhaps a shift, no matter how small, toward having more clarity over your values is in order. Beliefs will change over time and through life experiences, but your values are your foundation. Here’s why they are important.

Values clarify your why

Your life’s purpose, both personally and professionally, is rooted in your values. Life has meaning and fulfillment when you know why you were placed on this earth. When you have more clarity about why you are here then everything else you do toward that end makes more sense. No longer is it a chore, it’s a calling.

Values clarify your passion

Passion alone is not enough. I can get passionate about losing weight for a week or two, but if I don’t have the discipline to follow through it won’t be enough. Passion is the fuel for your purpose. When you understand why you are here and the purpose behind it, then your passion will be contagious.

Values clarify your character

Maxwell devotes a section to the role that values play in determining your character. He writes, “Our values determine our character, and our character determines the direction we will go in life.” Clarity of values is critical to understanding the kind person you will be because your character flows from it. Whatever station you are at in life – husband, wife, father, mother, executive, leader, etc., what will set you apart is that you are a person of character. In short – clarify your values, clarify your character.

Values clarify your focus

Maxwell said he was far less interested in certainty about many things and much more concerned about clarity in the few things that matter. What great perspective!

What about you? How different would your life be right now if you began making the shift away from wanting certainty about many things to clarity about the few things that matter most? In this stage of your life right now, what are the few things that matter most?

We want certainty because we have a sense of security attached to it, but life takes on a whole new meaning when we can look at it with clarity. That’s when you understand what matters most.

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Are You Playing To Your Strengths?

Posted March 30, 2017
by dougdickerson

Focusing on our own strengths is what, in fact, makes us strong. – Simon Sinek

A recent story in the Gallup Business Journal revealed that only twenty percent of U.S. Workers think that their jobs use their strengths. It said, “Identifying strengths and fulfilling natural potential has never been more important for students and employees. In the United States alone, just 13% of workers say they find their work meaningful, and a mere 20% think they’re in jobs that use their talents”.

The fact that so many companies are failing to tap into the strengths of their employees is troubling. How can these companies expect to compete when the best that their employees have to offer is going unutilized? Is it any wonder then that only 13% of workers say that their work is not meaningful?

Bridging the gap between unsatisfied employees and those who actually do play to their strengths is a leadership challenge that must be tackled. Here are a few things that we, as leaders, need to do:

Know strengths before you hire

Knowing a potential employee’s strengths before hiring is just common sense. Why would you even consider someone for a position if that person does not possess the skill sets needed or without knowing whether or not that person would be playing to their strengths? Why set someone up to be unfulfilled, miserable, and ultimately fail? When hiring, don’t drop the ball; find out what strengths the candidate possesses and place them accordingly.

Reevaluate strengths on a regular basis

Our hope is that our employees are continually growing and improving. It is important that you reevaluate employees’ strengths on a regular basis. Are they ready for more responsibility? Would they benefit from gaining experience in a new area? Is the position where they serve still a good fit? Make sure your knowledge on where employees’ strength lie is always up-to-date. Make ongoing training a part of their empowering process.

Don’t allow the position to define the person, let the person define the position

A cookie-cutter approach to filling positions within your organization typically centers around the “duties” of the job. While that is important to understand, the position must not define the person. In the final analysis, you are hiring a person, not a position. A person will only be fulfilled when he or she plays to their strengths. This is what matters most. Hire qualified employees, put them in positions where they can best utilize their strengths, and then get out of the way and allow them to make the position their own.

People will thrive when they play to their strengths

People find their work meaningful when they are playing to their strengths. When they feel they are contributing in meaningful ways they will produce at higher levels and everyone wins.The right people in wrong positions will only lead to low morale and poor performance. Make sure you know where your employees’ strengths lie and then give them the opportunity to utilize those strengths in defining their position and contribution to the organization.

The fact that only 20% of employees are in jobs where they believe that their talents are being used is a sign of deficient leadership. This trend can be reversed but it has to start with a fresh approach to your leadership and recognition and respect for what employee strengths can contribute to the organization.

Employee engagement can be a challenge on good days. Don’t complicate things from an organizational standpoint by not allowing people to play to their strengths. Unleash their potential to be their best.

Learn more about Liz by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at [email protected].

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Death By A Thousand Titles

Posted March 23, 2017
by dougdickerson

Success is not a function of the size of your title but the richness of your contribution. – Robin S. Sharma

I’m sure if you’ve been in leadership circles long enough you’ve heard the adage, “People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers”. And it happens for good reason. A person with a title gets a position and then suddenly they think they know it all. Instead of growing into their leadership potential they fall back on their title to push their agenda and ideas.

A must-read for all leaders is John Maxwell’s book The Five Levels of Leadership. It should be required reading for all organizations and their leaders.

In the book, Maxwell walks the reader through the five levels beginning with level one, the lowest level – position. While it is a starting place for leaders it’s not where you want to stay. One of the main problems, as Maxwell points out, with positional leaders is that they want to “focus on control instead contribution.” And this is why people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.

Positional thinking for any organization is like death by a thousand cuts (titles). It’s not necessarily one thing that is the deal breaker for people, but the culmination of bad leadership behaviors over time that seals the deal. It’s management by decree in place of leadership by example. It’s painful to watch, and horrible to experience. But what do those mindsets and thinking sound like? I will highlight a few that Maxwell describes.

Top down – “I’m over you”

The person with a title can either be humble or arrogant. They can take advantage of the opportunity they now have to learn, mature, grow, and develop into a good leader. Or they can be arrogant and think they are important because they have a title. When a leader relies on a position rather than influence to get things done it’s death by a thousand titles.

Power – “I determine your future”

Positional leaders on power trips will kill your organization. This mindset is counterproductive to any that wants to move forward. Sadly, the good people working for this type of positional leader will soon move on. Leaders who like to wield this kind of power soon find that there’s no one left to control. It’s death by a thousand titles.

Selfishness – “You’re here to help me”

For the positional leader, it’s all about them. You will fall into their good graces of leadership so long as you understand that is your role. Not the other way around.The antithesis of this, of course, is servant leadership. As you mature as a leader you learn that it is not about you and that the best way to lead is by serving others. A selfish leader is only thinking about his or her self-preservation. Everything else and everyone else is subservient to that end. Organizationally, it’s death by a thousand titles.

Rules – “The manual says”

Positional leaders are big fans of the rule book and the manual. This, of course, kills morale, stifles creativity, and otherwise makes life unbearable for those actually trying to make a difference. Howard Behar described it best when he said that what organizations need is not a rulebook but a playbook. Unfortunately, the positional leader doesn’t yet have the skill and foresight to lead any other way than by the book, not realizing that much of leadership is by the heart. Organizationally, it’s death by a thousand titles.

Having a title doesn’t make you a leader. It simply means as Maxwell points out, that you have leadership potential. Your growth as a leader will be accelerated as you stop relying on your title and use your people skills. This begins by practicing servant leadership. As a leader you must come to know, it’s not about you.

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Growing Big, Staying Small

Posted March 9, 2017
by dougdickerson

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. – Henry Ford

In his book, It’s Not About the Coffee, Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks International, recounts a fascinating story about attaining the kind of culture every company wants. Behar says one concept that he learned and developed from Howard Schultz was, “The fundamental task is to achieve smallness while growing big”.

It almost sounds like a contradiction upon first glance. How does one actually go about achieving smallness? What does it look and how can it improve the culture of any company? How could it improve yours?

Behar relates one custom that became part of Starbucks culture. The writing of cards. Each month he would write birthday and anniversary cards to everyone in the organization. It started with about sixty cards a month. Behar says that by the time he retired he was sending out more than five hundred a month.

In a time when company culture and employee engagement are the buzzwords and people are trying to figure out what it means, is it possible that we are simply over thinking it?

Maybe it has nothing to do with how big we are thinking and the grand schemes and plans of making improvements. Is it possible that employee engagement and company culture is not working as it should because we are not thinking small enough?

At the end of the day here is what we must remember: it’s all about people. Call it company culture, employee engagement, call it whatever you wish- but it all boils down to people and how you make them feel. Do they feel appreciated? Do they feel valued? How are you showing it?

An article in Talent Culture revealed that employees who “feel valued by their employer are significantly more likely to be motivated to do their very best (93 percent vs. 33 percent).” In addition, it said that “those who do not feel valued are significantly more likely to seek new employment within 12 months (50 percent vs. 21 percent)”. Look within your organization. How many people are motivated to perform at their very best? How many people do you suppose are looking for new jobs?

Growing big and thinking small is not a mutually exclusive goal. But it will require intentional thinking and action on your part as a leader. Here are a few ways you will have to do it.

Think small relationally

It makes no difference if your vision or goals are big or small, it only comes into existence through the dedication and hard work of your people. Every leader should take the advice of John Maxwell who said, “Always touch a person’s heart before you ask for a hand.” You must connect relationally before you can ask people to help you reach your goals.They must first buy-in to you before you can expect them to buy-in to your vision.

Think small serving

It was a brilliant quote I still remember from the late Sam Walton who said, “The bigger we get the smaller we have to think, customers still walk in one at a time”. Whether it’s your employees whom you are serving or the customer base your organization caters to, the way you treat each individual makes a world of difference. Too often we worry about pleasing the masses and forget we still serve our employees and customers one at a time. If you do right by one, you will do right with many.

Think small growing

Intentional smallness is what Behar modeled by writing hundreds of cards a month. It happens with random acts of kindness in recognizing your people. It’s being intentional about building relationships. It’s about ensuring that your people feel valued, respected, empowered, and trusted. It’s about writing that card.

Growth begins to happens when you take care of building a powerful culture of smallness that gives you the momentum to become a big organization that held true to its most sacred values along the way.

Are you thinking small enough?

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It’s Your Time to Soar

Posted February 23, 2017
by dougdickerson

Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time. – Ross Perot

“While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of its nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens.

One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in a barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

“Still it has the heart of an eagle,” replied the naturalist, “and can surely be taught to fly.” He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their feed, he jumped down to be with them again.

The naturalists took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” but the eagle was afraid of his unknown world and jumped down once more for the chicken feed.

Finally, the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, “You are an eagle, you belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens. ” (Source)

In leadership, as in life, you will have competing voices that will cause you to walk with the chickens or soar with the eagles. Here are a few truths worth remembering.

Not everyone who picks you up will lift you up

The man who found the young eagle might have meant well in bringing the young eagle to his barn. But over time, his good deed turned the majestic bird, full of so much potential, into a common barnyard chicken.

If you want to soar as a leader you must break free from the good intentions of people who do not bring out the best in you.

Your worth is not defined by those holding you back

As the young eagle grew its identity was shaped by the company that it kept. Instead of realizing its full potential to soar the heavens, it was grounded with the chickens. The eagle was being labeled as something it wasn’t. His future was being cast. And the man could not be more wrong.

If you want to soar as a leader you must never let the people who are holding you back to define your worth. When you have the heart of an eagle, don’t allow the mindset of a chicken hold you back.

You can only soar like an eagle when you start acting like one

Over time, the young eagle was persuaded by the naturalist that he was more than a chicken as led to believe. It was when the eagle embraced everything that was great about him that he took his rightful place soaring to the heavens.

If you want to soar as a leader you will have to shake off the labels of your critics and stop hanging out with the chickens. Surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you.

Those who believe in you the most will insist that you fly

The naturalist saw the eagle for the grand and majestic bird that it was. He knew that as long as it was confined to the barnyard it would never live up to its potential. He saw the eagles’ potential and he didn’t give up until it flew.

If you want to soar as a leader you will need people in your life who believe in you, people who will call out the best in you, and people who will never rest until you fly.

This is your time to soar!

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Four Leadership Questions You Need to Answer

Posted February 2, 2017
by dougdickerson

What people think of as the moment of discovery is really the discovery of the question. – Jonas Salk

A friend once asked Isidor I. Rabi, a Nobel prize winner in science, how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn’t so much interested in what he had learned that day, but always inquired, “Did you ask a good question today?” “Asking good questions,” Rabi said, “made me become a scientist.”

One of the lost arts in leadership is asking good questions. It’s a lost art mostly because we are so busy trying to be the answer man/woman that we miss the magical moments of discovery that are right in front of us.

While it’s fine to give answers and provide guidance to those whom you lead, it’s incumbent upon us to never lose our sense of wonderment and curiosity as leaders. A good leader will always listen to his or her people, but a smart leader will ask the right questions.

Part of your growth and development is found in the questions you ask about your own leadership. It’s in your moments of reflection that you can see how far you’ve come, where we are today, and where we are headed tomorrow. Here are four questions for your consideration.

Do I know my ‘why’?

This is perhaps the single greatest question that pertains to your life and your leadership. In his book Intentional Living, John Maxwell writes, “The sooner you know your why, the sooner you can shift your focus from yourself to others.” It’s a wonderful day when you discover your why and come to the realization that it’s not about you.

Am I intentional about my growth?

It’s way too easy to get caught up in the moments of the day tending to so many responsibilities of being the leader that you fail to develop as a leader. Developing as a leader is only achieved by being intentional about your growth. What books are you reading? What about a mentor or coach? If you are not growing as a leader you are in decline as a leader.

Am I leading by example?

One of the pitfalls of leadership is trying to lead by decree rather than by example. Your value as a leader is demonstrated not so much by what you say but by what you do. Those you lead are looking to you not for lofty words but for a solid example. Be sure what you are modeling is worth imitating.

Is my attitude/heart in the right place?

In Proverbs 4:23 the writer said, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” It’s important not to let the stress and responsibilities of leadership take a negative toll on you mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. A negative mindset or attitude can ruin your effectiveness as a leader. Not only that, but it can cause unwanted issues in your organization. Make this a priority-guard your heart.

In order to grow as a leader you must answer these questions and more. What questions are you asking?

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The ‘Yes Men’ Disconnect and How it Hurts Your Leadership

Posted January 26, 2017
by dougdickerson

Very few big executives want to be surrounded by ‘yes’ men – Burton Bigelow

I heard a somewhat humorous account some years back about the Biblical story of David and Goliath. When the Israelites came up against Goliath all the soldiers thought was, “He’s so big we can never kill him.” When David looked at him he thought, “He’s so big I can’t miss.” It all came down to perspective. And in the end we know, David killed the giant.

One of the blind spots for leaders who have been around a long time in their organization is that they tend to be the ones with the greatest disconnect to what is really happening. And many a good and aspiring leader had rather tell the boss what he or she wants to hear rather than what they need to hear. Sound familiar?

But most credible leaders will tell you that they want the perspective of people they trust. And being a ‘yes man’ is more self-serving than it is helpful. What leaders need to hear is the truth.

But let’s be honest- many find it difficult to speak the truth for fear of negative repercussions, etc. And out of that fear, the truth is sacrificed for the expediency of the moment. As an aspiring leader yourself, what are you to do? Here are a few tips to navigate those treacherous waters.

Build relationships

That you want to speak truth to the leader in your life is noble. But you have to earn that right. And you earn that right not by being “right” all the time but by building a relationship where you earn that person’s trust. Until you recognize this you will always be afraid to speak up.

Be a team player

If you are going to build off that trust you must be a team player. By that I mean you must check your ego at the door and your motives must be genuine. It’s as you build up your leader that you build up your organization. If you have hidden motives eventually it will come to light. You’ll never build trust if your intentions are deceiving.

Stop being the gatekeeper

Leaders need perspective and people around them that will speak the truth. But that can’t happen so long as gatekeepers build walls that prevent all voices and ideas from being heard. If you truly care about your organization then you will welcome input and ideas from a wide range of people who can provide the perspective that is needed. Disarm the body guards and let your leader hear what needs to be said.

Be courageous and humble

Speaking the truth will not always be easy. It will require courage on your part and a dose of humility to say it. To that end, more times than not it is not what you say but how you say it that makes the difference. Most leaders want the truth, but not delivered with an arrogant attitude.

In the end, two things really matter: leaders need to be told the truth and have people surrounding them not afraid to speak it. You are doing a disservice to yourself, the leader you work with, and to your organization as a whole if you don’t. It’s a mark of your maturity as a leader when you learn to do it right and when you do everyone wins.

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Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Tag: Leadership Development. Professional Development

Are You a Leader on a Mission?

The Power of Selective Discipline

Are We Keeping Pace As Leaders?

The Things That Matter Most

Are You Playing To Your Strengths?

Death By A Thousand Titles

Growing Big, Staying Small

It’s Your Time to Soar

Four Leadership Questions You Need to Answer

The ‘Yes Men’ Disconnect and How it Hurts Your Leadership