Success Principles – Page 15 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Leadership Minute: Opportunity Awaits

Posted July 25, 2014
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At times leadership boils down to this simple challenge: Will we rise to the opportunity placed before us? – Hans Finzel

Leadership is about seeing and seizing opportunities. The catch is being able to recognize it when you see it. Your opportunities won’t always look like what you might expect. It could come disguised to as opportunities to serve. It could look a lot like more work; and usually will be. Your opportunity could be found in mentoring a young person or coaching Little League. Don’t make the mistake in believing that the opportunity that awaits you is about you. Seize opportunities to empower others, meet needs, and let the expressions of your leadership be those that will outlast you. There will never shortages of opportunities to make a difference with your leadership. When you take the focus off yourself and place it on others you will see more opportunities than you will know what to do with. Will you rise to your opportunity?

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Leadership Minute: Learning Curves

Posted July 24, 2014
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The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler

The impact and longevity of your leadership will in large part hinge on this principle. Leaders by nature are learners. But can you go the extra mile with your learning? Can you unlearn and relearn? As we grow and mature as leaders we accumulate a lot of information and knowledge by which our leadership style is shaped. It’s not so much your learning capacity that is at issue here as it is your relevance going forward. Being able to unlearn and relearn is smart leadership and demonstrates your capacity to grow and stay current. Never are we talking about compromising your values or principles that keep you connected and grounded. But as you strive to be the best leader possible you show that sometimes it’s not what you know that matters but what you can unlearn and relearn that makes the difference.

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Leadership Minute: Defining What’s Possible

Posted July 23, 2014
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The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. – Tommy Lasorda

The secret formula for the success that one achieves over the impossible is found in determination. Great skills and talents are wonderful assets but are of little value to the person who has no motivation or determination. A keen mind combined with a unique business savvy is enough to make anyone envious but is of no value if you quit at the first sign of difficulty. Possessing a charismatic personality that people want to follow puts you at a considerable advantage but not if you don’t possess a long-term commitment to succeed. Determined leaders are a special breed of leaders who are not fazed by external circumstances but rather have their eyes on the goal and a steady hand at the wheel. These are the leaders who are used to hearing “impossible” but forge ahead anyway. The secret ingredient of this leader and their success is not really a mystery. It can be summed up in that one powerful word: determination.

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Leadership Minute: Be Grateful

Posted July 22, 2014
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Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining- it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems. – Zig Ziglar

What are you grateful for? It’s really all about your perspective. You can spend your time and energy finding things to complain about. You can be one of “those” people who aren’t happy unless you’re unhappy and in the process make everyone around you miserable. But life is too short for that. We all have our share of troubles, but more importantly we all have many things to be thankful for. The thoughts that dominate your mind tend to set the tone for your outlook and life and the happiness you experience. If you are living the life of a complainer then your focus is wrong. The expressions of a grateful heart are realized when you choose to see the good, find ways to serve others, and life your life with a greater purpose. You are blessed more than you realize. Be grateful.

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Leadership Minute: What Motivates You?

Posted July 21, 2014
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I’ve never believed that titles motivate. Seeing possibilities motivates. Results motivate. Making a difference motivates. – Howard Behar

It is important to know and understand what motivates you as a leader. Forget about titles for a moment and try to identify what is it that keeps you up at night and gets you up early in the morning? When you know what that is you have found the source of your motivation. When you can see past the insufficiency of a title and see the possibilities before you then you will be motivated. When you see positive results that are the by-product of your hard work then you are motivated. When you see the lives you impact and the difference you make then your motivation has a purpose. What should motivate you as a leader is not another title or position, but a life that is lived for something that will outlast it. What is the source of your motivation?

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Leadership Minute: Not My Circus

Posted July 18, 2014
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Not my circus, not my monkeys. – Polish Proverb

Ever feel like your office is like a 3-ring circus? If you’ve been around a while you have. It’s important to know what is, and is not, your circus. To be sure, office politics and gossip is universal. There will always be those who tend to thrive on drama – real or otherwise. Just because it exists does not mean you have to join in. It’s not just a matter of staying above the fray with regard to such nonsense, but as the leader, setting the right example. It’s been said that what you tolerate you promote. While your organization may not be drama-free, your success as an organization hinges on the standards you set. Knowing what is of concern to you and knowing what to avoid is smart leadership. Don’t allow petty things in your office to derail the priorities of your office. While the circus may not be of your making, you can be the ring leader and fold the tent.

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Leadership Minute: Great Opportunities

Posted July 17, 2014
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Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks. The little things in life determine the big things. – Rick Warren

Do you want to make a difference as a leader? Good. The path to greatness as a leader is sometimes found in the mundane. That’s right; no headline, no photo-op, no ‘Atta boy’, or pats on the back. Great opportunities and consequently great impacts are simply the by-products of ordinary people doing ordinary things in an extra-ordinary way. Expressions of servant leadership are found when you concede being in the spotlight by putting someone else in it. Expressions of servant leadership are important to you when you don’t care about being important. The more you serve others the more you discover this fundamental truth: it’s not about you. When you are big enough to be little, humble enough to serve and proud to do it, you can find your purpose and meaning in the small things. Great opportunities are before you if you are willing to be little.

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Leadership Minute: Are You Building Trust?

Posted July 16, 2014
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To be successful as a leader your employees must know that they can trust you. Without trust, you do not have the ability to influence others. –Elizabeth Stincelli

The issue is old as time but has never been more relevant. Your success as a leader is grounded and rooted in trust. Let’s be clear; leadership is not a popularity contest. Leaders have to make hard, and often time, unpopular decisions. But as unpopular as some decisions may be for the leader the decision by employees to stick with his or her leader should not be. While any given decision may not have gone as they had hoped, they will stick with a leader they can trust. At the end of the day that is the most important thing. Building trust speaks of your integrity but it also speaks of your longevity. If you can’t be trusted you won’t be around for long. Build your leadership on trust and everything else will fall into place.

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Leadership Minute: Positive Habits

Posted July 15, 2014
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Without question, positive thinking will do more for you, will make you feel better, do better, let you have more fun, and be liked by more people that negative thinking ever will. – John Patrick Hickey

Positive thinking is the result of positive habits. It’s about programming your mind in such a way as to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. The habits you form are the result of choices you make. Why is it important? As a leader you have influence that shapes opinions, beliefs, and outcomes. How you use your influence is important. Your dominant thoughts tend to be your most vocal ones. What is the message you are communicating with your words? What outcomes can you expect as a result? Not every situation will be desirable but the leader with the right reaction, words, and influence can turn it around. If the direction of your organization was determined by your ability to think and articulate positive words and actions would it be acceptable to you? If you want a positive life develop positive habits.

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Leadership Minute: Be Merciful

Posted July 14, 2014
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Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. – Matthew 5:7 (Jesus)

For all of the attributes ascribed to leaders how high on the list would you place being merciful? After all, leaders are tough, decisive, driven, and are no-nonsense type of people. But drill down to the finer qualities of what makes a leader inspiring and worth following is a sense of mercy that embodies their leadership style. They don’t overlook the obvious and are not afraid to act when times are tough. Leaders lead with a clear set of goals and outcome expectations. But they also understand that life happens and a merciful leader will make allowances. Don’t be so rigid with rules, regulations, policies, and procedures that you fail to see the human equation. Mercy is not weakness. The merciful leader is strong enough to care, gracious enough to show it, and confident enough to live it.

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