Personal Growth and Development – Page 12 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Leadership Minute: Your Hopes and Dreams

Posted August 15, 2014
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Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do. – Pope John XXIII

One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to never give up on your hopes and dreams. They are the lifeblood of your heart and the passion that drives you. We’ve all faced setbacks and disappointments that have tried to discourage us and cause us to give up. It’s part of our learning and growth. But the challenge today is not to dwell on things of the past; especially the defeats and failures; they are but stepping stones on your success journey. Be encouraged today to embrace your hopes and dreams. Dare to believe that your best days are ahead of you and that all things are possible. Don’t allow fear, frustrations, or unfulfilled potential to hold you back. This is your day to embrace your possibilities and look to the future with hope and confidence.

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Leadership Minute: Back to the Basics

Posted July 11, 2014
by admin

Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is carried out. – Ronald Reagan

In leadership this is about as straightforward as it can get. It’s simple, clear, and yet uniquely profound. Leaders who fail at this do so because they have dropped the ball on one of these levels. It’s been said that leadership is hard. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Success as a leader contains a mixture of these three components. When for whatever reason one of these elements is lacking you must move quickly to identify it, solve it, and move on. It’s when we neglect the basics of leadership that things go awry. Do yourself and those around you a big favor – get back to the basics. Don’t complicate the simple. Return to the practices that got you where you are today. Be great at the basics.

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Leadership Minute: Breaking Down Big Thinking

Posted July 10, 2014
by admin

I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big. – Donald Trump

Your achievement is proportional to your thinking. Until you embrace big thinking you will not see big results. Of course, big thinking doesn’t guarantee big results but it is the starting place. Big thinking, like big dreams, requires more. You can’t just think it or dream it. You have to devise a plan and go to work. But big thinking is foundational to your success. Big thinking or ideas is nothing more than a series of accumulated incremental steps in the process toward that end. Begin by asking the basic questions: What can I do today? Who can help me? What resources do I have? What resources do I need? What changes do I need to make? How soon?, etc. Start asking and start answering. Create your plan and work your plan. Think big, grow big, and work to be big. There is no other way. But it all starts with big thinking.

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Leadership Minute: Self-Revelation

Posted July 9, 2014
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The circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in life do not make me the way I am, but reveal the way I am. – Sam Peeples, Jr.

It’s been said that we will be known by the company we keep. As leaders we come across all types of people all the time. On any given day you can be thrown into events, circumstances, and situations that require your attention. But those events and circumstances don’t define you- they reveal you. How you deal with these things reveals the depth of your maturity and validates your leadership. Self-awareness as a leader occurs when you understand that your preparation as a leader is an inside job. Commit yourself to personal growth by the books you read, the mentors you have, and your unyielding dedication to excellence. As you apply what you learn then it won’t matter the circumstances you face because you will be ready.

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Leadership Minute: What Do You Expect?

Posted June 19, 2014
by admin

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you will never change the outcome. – Michael Jordan

People will place certain expectation on you as a leader. It comes with the territory and is not uncommon. But what expectations you choose to accept is one of the most important choices you will make. While well-meaning people may place expectations on you their expectations may not always rise to your standards. Negative expectations only make matters worse. Where you are today and where you plan to be in the future is a combination of hard work, goals, vision, perseverance, and adherence to a high level of expectations. Tune out the negative, don’t settle for good enough, and be careful who you listen to. The expectations you set for yourself, not the ones set for you by others, will be your greatest asset.

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