Business Leadership Skills: Everyone is Important By Brian Tracy

Everyone has critical skills and knowledge that are important to many other people in the company.

Use Better Titles for Each Person...
Some years ago, when I started in business, the job of the receptionist was to answer the telephone and direct the callers to the appropriate people.

Today, however, her job is far more complicated and, therefore, more important. Since she is the first contact that most customers have with our business, her personality and temperament are extremely important.

Think About Your Customers...
The prospective client who telephones begins forming an impression of us the instant that the telephone is answered. Then, because our companies are doing so many things, she must tactfully ascertain exactly how the caller may be best served and who is the best person in the company to direct the telephone call to.

One Person Can Make the Difference...
In many cases, there are requests for further information, and follow-up telephone calls go through our front-office manager. Her ability to handle these calls effectively, to direct calls to the right people, to take accurate messages, and to act as the core person in a network of communications makes her job so important that it is essential that she sit in on all staff meetings and be aware of everything that is going on.

Keep Yourself Informed...
Your job in your company also requires that you know a lot about what is going on everywhere else, as well as being thoroughly conversant with what you do. And the fastest and most accurate way of keeping current with what is going on is to develop and maintain a network of contacts, an informal team of people within your workplace who keep you informed and who you keep informed in turn.

Encourage Participation and Involvement...
The old methods of command and control now exist only at the old-line companies, many of which are fighting for their very survival. Today, men and women want a high degree of participation and involvement in their work.

They want an opportunity to discuss and thoroughly understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. People are no longer satisfied to be cogs in a big machine. They want to have an integral role in achieving goals that they participated in setting in the first place.

Build a Top Team...
Being a team player is no longer something that is optional. Today, it is mandatory. If you want to achieve anything of consequence, you will need the help and cooperation of lots of people.

Your main objective is to structure everything you do in such a way that, because you are constantly cooperating and working well with others, they are continually open to helping you achieve your goals.

Action Exercises:

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, recognize that every person in the company is essential to the smooth functioning of the organization. Take time regularly to discuss their jobs with them and understand what they do.

Second, identify the things that you do that can really affect the work of others. Then, look for ways to do your job so that you help others in every way possible.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

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Leadership Quiz -- Courage and Change By Sheila Murray Bethel, Ph.D.

Your leadership talents are being constantly tested and challenged. Whether you are leading at work, in the community or at home, the courage to explore your attitudes and aptitudes will be one of your most influential qualities. Courage and change go hand in hand when it comes to increasing your effectiveness as a leader.

As you review these ten statements ask yourself, "Where do I need to change, grow and stretch to reach my full capacity?"

1.The courage to seek the truth. I am willing to seek out unpleasant truths, even when they may conflict with things I have a great investment in, or when the truth may threaten my physical, intellectual, or emotional security. I recognize that my personal freedom depends on my ability to seek and find truth.

2.The courage to lead an ethical life. In a cynical, sometimes dissolute world, I realize that it takes courage to be ethical. I resist the temptation to be less than ethical, even when "everyone is doing it." I regard honest people as heroes, not fools.

3.The courage to be involved. Apathy and indifference can be more devastating than any natural or man-made disasters. Despite occasional compassion fatigue, I remain committed to making a difference and getting others involved. I refuse to look the other way.

4. The courage to reject cynicism. Cynicism is a comforting and protective refuge, but one I resist vigilantly. I know that trust and optimism, essential to a productive life, are impossible if I give in to the cowardice of cynicism.

5. The courage to assume responsibility. I alone am responsible for my actions, whether they lead to success or failure. I refuse to waste time on making excuses, harboring unrealistic hopes, or placing blame. I am willing to share responsibility and accountability with others, and back them up 100 percent if things go wrong.

6.The courage to lead at home. I know that my home and family are my most powerful legacy for the future. I mentor my children, giving them equal love and discipline. I'm there 100 percent for my partner. I honor my parents and older relatives, even if advanced age, ill health, or different values make communication seem difficult and unrewarding. I live each day with my family and won't think, ATomorrow I'll have more time.

7.The courage to persist. I have the courage to delay gratification, to endure the long haul, and to make sacrifices when necessary. I frequently visualize the next few years and anticipate the results of my actions. I summon the inner resources to stay on track by keeping my eye on this big picture.

8. The courage to serve. In an ego-driven, success-driven society, I have the courage to put myself second. I realize that the loftiest leader is the one who serves others best. My job, no matter what the description or title, is to provide satisfaction, solve problems, fill needs, and find answers in a way that enhances and empowers those around me.

9. The courage to lead. Few people are willing to stand for something, or even to clarify what they would stand for if they could. Others criticize without offering solutions, but I concentrate on what I stand for, on solutions and goals, and on how I can motivate others to action. I'm not content to wait for someone else to take charge and point a direction.

10. The courage to follow. Unlike leaders of image, a leader of substance knows when and how to follow willingly. I have learned the benefits of being a good follower, of welcoming the ideas and contributions of others without feeling that my position or integrity has been challenged. By sharing power, I increase my own personal and professional power, and make myself aware of the challenges that others face every day.

Having the courage of your convictions will help you boldly meet today's challenges. Believing in your physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual standards and values enables you to apply your resources and creative energy when faced with problems.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You must do the thing you cannot do," General George C. Patton said that courage is "fear holding on another minute." Examining your courage and making changes as you grow in your leadership capacity is the example that enables others to have the courage to follow.

© Copyright Bethel Institute
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Sheila Murray Bethel, Ph.D. is author of the bestselling book, Making A Difference, 12 Qualities That Make You A Leader, host of the Public Television series Making a Difference, and recipient of the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame award. She can be reached at 800-548-8001, e-mail: Sheila@BethelInstitute.com, or visit at her web site: www.BethelInstitute.com.

Transformational Leadership - By Brian Tracy

Advancing Your Career...
As your career advances, you move along the scale from employee, to supervisor to manager and finally, to leader. Managers, and some leaders, engage in what is called transactional leadership, the deployment and management of people and resources to get results.

Arouse Emotion In Others...
However, at the highest end of the leadership scale, we come to what is called "transformational leadership."

Transformational leadership is defined as leadership that arouses emotion, that taps into the emotional and spiritual resources of an organization. Transformational leadership empowers people to greatly exceed their previous levels of accomplishment.

Make People Feel Terrific...
Empowerment is the key. Transformational leaders are those who can elicit extraordinary performance from ordinary men and women.

The superior leader is like a catalyst in a chemical process that causes the other ingredients to work together in a superior fashion.

A Key Function of Leadership...
Empowerment as a key function of leadership becomes even more important as the work force becomes dominated by members of the Generation X.

These highly individualistic men and women are increasingly seeking higher meaning and purpose in their careers. They are not impressed by authority or hierarchy. If they don't get the satisfaction they are seeking from their work, they will go somewhere else. And the better they are at what they do, the more readily they will leave one job for another.

Provide the Emotional Glue...
Transactional leadership is essential to getting the job done but transformational leadership is what provides the emotional glue that causes organizations and the people in them to excel.

Action Exercises:
Here are two things you can do immediately to become a transformational leader and empower your people.

* First, get excited about your work. The more excited and committed you are to your work, the more excited and committed will be the people around you. The leader always sets the tone for the department or organization.

* Second, continually encourage and praise the people who work for you. The better you make people feel about themselves and their work, the more empowered they will feel and the more committed they will be to your company.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

Getting Greater Creativity by Getting Past the Fear of Failure By Kevin Eikenberry

Most all of us would like everyone on our teams to be more creative (including ourselves). We celebrate the creative genius, dream of the breakthrough product or service idea, and marvel at those who can make these things happen.

As a leader you know that higher levels of creativity can make your teams more successful, productive and feel more satisfied in their work. The upsides to high levels of creativity are many. The downsides are few, but the biggest one is people’s fear of making a mistake, being wrong or failing.

As a leader you can increase people’s creative output by reducing this downside risk. When you can reduce people’s fear of failure you unleash their ability and willingness to try something new, to think differently, and to solve problems more creatively.

Here are seven specific suggestions that will help you reduce the real, and perceived, risks of failure and therefore skyrocket the creativity of those around you.

Seven Suggestions:

* Celebrate ideas (even though you know they won’t all work). The first step to greater creativity and innovation is more ideas. If you want great ideas you must have a larger pool to draw from.

In order to get those ideas you must celebrate, value and appreciate them. People feel ownership to their ideas, so you must treat them with the same deep respect that they have for them. So, the first step toward reducing the fear of failure is getting the ideas to start with!

* Let people try it in a small way first. The idea doesn’t have to be implemented across the globe. Let people try their ideas in a small test; with one division, one department or in one office. Let them try it themselves first. Give people the confidence to try in small ways. This lowers the risk of failure and allows them to hone the idea for greater future success. Many people do this for the second reason, but the first reason – to make people comfortable in trying it – is just as important.

* Give people a test budget. Why not give a person or a team an amount of money, resources and/or time to try out their ideas? Give them free reign to innovate and try things that are in alignment with your team and organizational goals. Their ideas, their budget, their results – be they success or failure. When we feel more complete ownership, we are less likely to be stymied by the fear of failure.

* Let go of your perceived notions. You can be a big barrier to your group’s creativity. Let’s face it: others are trying to come up with good ideas, but they are likely filtering them (consciously or not) based on their perception of whether you will like, agree with or support those ideas. You are a block to the process! If you are willing to let people test things out, you need to get your opinions out of the way. Can you have an opinion? Sure. Can you even share it? Of course!

What you don’t want to do is allow your opinion to be the block to the idea. Give people the go-ahead to test and then share your concerns so that those ideas might help improve their test. Share your thoughts first and you run the risk of them abandoning the fragile idea too soon.

* Model by failing yourself. Am I suggesting you fail? Yes. More than that I am suggesting you let people know when you fail. If you show your willingness to fail and your openness to mistakes you will gradually make other more willing to try as well. You are a leader and you are being watched. Model the behaviors you want to see in others – take a risk!

* Celebrate the failures as well as the successes! Consider an award for failures or mistakes. Many organizations have recognition for great ideas that are implemented successfully. Why not have a travelling trophy that celebrates a mistake done in pursuit of team or organizational goals? Even the best baseball players only get a hit one out of every three tries – likewise the more tries your team takes – the more hits they will get. Celebrate tries – even if they lead to failures.

* Redefine failure. Failure need not be final, though that is how many view it. Model using your failures as fertilizer for future success! Teach others how to learn from their mistakes by asking reflective questions (ask yourself the same questions too). When we use well-meaning failures as learning opportunities, we take much of the emotional sting out of them.

Pick one of these suggestions and implement it today. You may see immediate results, but if you don’t realize that people have built up their fear over a long period of time – and not just at work. Stick with these suggestions; practicing them regularly. You will chip away at the fear and uncertainty, and unleash the new ideas, approaches, and solutions that you have always dreamed of.

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry and The Kevin Eikenberry Group.
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Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential click here or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

From The Cockpit: Lessons in Leading Through Crisis By Eileen McDargh

The pace of change impacting practice managers has never been greater. From consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions to re-engineering profit centers, managers are faced with what often appears to be "crisis" situations. And with crisis comes the fact that staff (and physicians) often experience anxiety, the off-shoot of fear.

The following vignette offers practical lessons for handling the fear and resultant anxiety which come with unexpected and unwanted change. While this true-life situation occurred in the clouds, the concepts are very much grounded in reality. Its lessons can be carried into the office, hospital, or lab.

Sunny skies, light winds, and gentle surf started yet another lovely Spring day in Southern California. Full of optimism, I boarded a flight bound for New Orleans by way of Denver and a major speaking engagement.

I never made it.

Snow intervened in Denver, delaying our 747 while nozzles spewed chemicals onto the wings. The co-pilot explained the procedure and how she'd walk back into the cabin to visually inspect the coating. Once airborne, she told us we'd hear the landing gear go down a second time as they checked the mechanics. Finally off to New Orleans on Flight #1180.

Not.

A freak series of severe thunderstorms blew in from Texas, causing considerable jolting and bucking. The captain, a voice calm and deliberate, explained each deviation as he attempted to discover a better routing. We couldn't even get close. "I'm an old captain, not a bold captain", he explained when he announced we'd be diverting to Birmingham, Alabama.

The passengers applauded his honesty with our safety while we all silently and not-so-silently moaned our fate. Cockpit voices told us we'd be informed as soon as the captain landed, walked through the jet, and called base operations. Birmingham was not this carrier's hub.

One hundred-fifty people, many with small children, listened patiently when he returned and explained the exiting procedure from the aircraft, where we'd lodge, and when we'd meet and "have another go at it" in the morning. Not one whimper or angry outburst arose. And true to his word, we all assembled after little sleep, no food, and for many, no change of clothes. We had now bonded in the experience and called out to one another, laughing and sometimes gasping as the still rocky air finally parted enough to bring us into New Orleans.

I lost income on that flight but I gained a strong metaphor for leadership principles in times of crisis and change. What the captain and crew engendered that is missing in so many of our downsized, fear-racked businesses was TRUST.

Let's use this word as an acronym for understanding exactly what happened on this trip and what all leaders must do in today's whitewater world.

T: Tell the truth and reveal feelings. Information abounded on Flight #1180. People deserve and need plenty of information about what's happening, why it's happening, and what are the next steps— even if those next steps are to stop, take stock, and develop the next plan of attack. And the information has to be immediate.

Waiting while the rumor mill churns out various versions of "the truth" creates anxiety, second- guessing, and sometimes panic. None of these are conducive for productivity. Notice that the captain also admitted that he was "old not bold". Leaders are not invincible. Employees can identify with this statement and also become reassured that the leader is not going to do anything foolhardy to jeopardize the organization and its people.

R: Respond consistently. Once the captain and crew established a reporting method, they continued with the updates. Voices never changed. A pattern of zigzagging to avoid storms was followed. Is it not true that business often needs to consistently be inconsistent in seeking improvements, finding new markets, responding to the marketplace?

U: Understand your role. Be competent. Be visible. With voice as well as physical presence, the captain and crew were "out and about". In times of change and crisis, seeing and hearing the leader is important. By walking through the cabin and putting a hand on different people's shoulders, he reassured passengers.

The captain also invited people to stay with him and talk about the flight if anyone was concerned. In times of change and crisis, it is vital that leaders be seen and available for questions and feedback. Too often, the leader meets only with senior people or disappears behind closed doors.

S: See people as trustworthy. The captain stated what he would do and that he expected us to follow his instructions. He basically said, "I trust you to do what is right for yourselves and each other." If a leader wants to be trusted, that presumption must also be present.

T: Take action. Tickle funny bones. On Flight #1180, passengers were kept appraised of each action step and the results of that step, both positive and negative. Whether in the board room, the marketing department, or the cockpit, an action followed by course correction is a wise mode for handling any change or crisis. Lastly, the captain and the crew managed to find humor in the situation. Laughter, as Victor Borge used to say, is the shortest distance between people. Laughing over what cannot be controlled creates that element of bonding which is fundamental in maintaining trust.

A self-litmus trust test would benefit us all. What would people say about our behaviors during change or crisis? Would there be mutiny and fleeing the ship? Or would people stick with us to the next destination in the organization's journey? Let's trust they would.

© 2000 Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved.
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Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE is head of McDargh Communications, a training and consulting practice founded in 1980. She's also an award-winning author, radio commentator, and on the Board of the National Speakers Association. Eileen can be reached at www.EileenMcDargh.com.

We Got Problems -- By Ron White

One of my friends is in the Navy. He recently shared a story with me that I thought had implications for the business world. He relayed the story of a uniform inspection.

A few days before an upcoming inspection, he found a cover (or hat) that is normally white but this one was light blue. It was obviously a gag and being sold in the store on base. He bought it and then placed it in his locker.

On the day of the inspection, he was getting ready with a friend and he opened up his locker and acted surprised. He said, 'Oh NO!' His friend could sense the distress in his voice and urgently asked, 'What's wrong?'

Without saying a word, my friend pulled the light blue hat out of his locker and held it up. The sailor he was playing the joke on instantly stated, 'We got problems.' My friend did his best to contain his laughter and let the prank go on as long as he could.

What is the lesson here? What did the sailor say when he thought his fellow sailor was about to fail the inspection? He said 'WE got problems. 'Not, 'You got problems.' You see, this sailor saw a problem in his unit as his problem.

John Maxwell tells us that if we have been with a company for longer than one year every problem in our department is our problem. Don't sit around and wait for problems to be solved because it isn't currently your problem.

I assure you of this, if you allow problems to go unchecked because you believe it is not under your job description, eventually the problem will grow and it will become your problem. At this point, solving the problem is going to be a greater challenge.

Remember... It is about team work. If your co-worker has a problem then...We got problems.
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Ron White is the author of Memory in a Month - Train Your Mind to Work Like a Human Computer in Only 30 Days! To join Ron White's free newsletter click here.
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