Posts by: Denis McLaughlin

Denis McLaughlin is the author of the best-selling book The Leadership GPS, which reached Number 1 in Amazon’s Job Markets and Advice, and Top 25 in Team Management and Leadership. Featured in John Maxwell’s “What I am reading, Spring 2013 edition,” The Leadership GPS was highlighted by Kirkus Reviews as “An engaging, unusual business book full of practical advice,” and “Its leadership lessons are on point and lavishly illustrated with stories of great leaders past and present, from Michelangelo to Steve Jobs.” Of the author, Kirkus Reviews says that “McLaughlin’s storytelling format brings each stage of leadership to life.” Denis has held executive leadership positions at several leading banks over the last twenty-five years. Along with his executive responsibilities, he also speaks, teaches, and mentors on leadership both in the workplace and externally. Denis was trained and mentored by some of the most well-known leadership experts today including John Maxwell – International leadership authority, Paul Martinelli – President of The John Maxwell Team, and Bob Burg – Best-selling author and expert on influence and success.

Leaders bring tomorrow’s solutions

future possibilitiesIf you want to be successful don’t try to solve tomorrow’s challenges with today’s solutions. That is why leaders bring tomorrow’s solutions into view to solve tomorrow’s challenges.

How do leaders bring tomorrow’s solutions? What are tomorrow’s challenges that need solutions?

These are the questions that leaders must answer as they look around the corner for emerging risks and opportunities.

 

In an ever-changing world, here are the four things leaders must do to bring tomorrow’s solutions:

Predict – the future scenarios. You can’t predict the one thing that will happen, but you can be prepared when something happens.

The past is a guide but doesn’t always predict the future. Based on what you already know you can visualize what else could happen. Find the common themes in all that possible future scenarios you see.

“Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking at the back window.”­ – Peter Drucker

Present – the team with the future goals and the plans to reach them.  Don’t just wait for the future to come true, plan for it and execute. Share the themes of the future you visualized with your team and create plans to succeed through them all.

Success does not come from being sure of what will happen. Success comes from being sure of what you will do if something happens. Remember, the future is not something we enter,the future is something we create. We can control how we respond to risks and opportunities.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it”– Abraham Lincoln

Prepare – the team to be ready to succeed. With your vision of the future clear and a plan to achieve success in mind, now it’s time to get ready to respond when the future comes. What skills, people, and information will be needed in when the future comes?

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Prevent – the team from getting off course.  A greater purpose instills a sense of mission in us all. Leaders need to repeat the goals so you don’t retreat from the goals. Leaders are the chief cheerleaders.

“Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong by always remembering why you’re doing it in the first place.” – Ralph Marston

Leaders as Greeters

greetingI remember when Walmart had official greeters in their stores. It was their job to say hello, give you a shopping cart, and if you had young children with you they would give them a smiley face sticker.

I always thought that was a unique way to welcome you to a store. Walmart just isn’t the same without the official greeters.

There are still businesses that have greeters, although they are called something else, and their job description includes more than just saying hello. Think of hotel porters, employees who stand at the front entrance of the mall stores, and with the advent of online shopping the website has become the ultimate greeter.

Why are greeters so important to business? Because the customer experience begins and ends at the front door. Leaders should see themselves as greeters for the very same reason. Part of their responsibility is to provide the same three customer (employee) experiences: Connection, Direction, and Reflection.

Connection

Greeters are the first to welcome you to the hotel, store, or website. They make you feel part of a larger group, you know you are not alone in your quest. Leader Greeters do the same thing. Employees need to feel that they are part of the team. Everything from the basic introductions to ongoing communication fosters a connection.

Think of your role as the Leader Greeter like CEO Jeff Bezos sees Amazon, “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

Direction

Greeters help customers find what they want on the inside: the hotel room, the store aisle, or which button to press on the website. Leader Greeters do the same thing. Employees need direction to the right opportunities, training, and coaching. Businesses that want a good customer experience don’t let customers wander around until they are frustrated. Employees want to know they are headed in the right direction as well.

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” – Lao Tzu

Reflection

When customers leave the hotel, store, or website, businesses want them to remember a good experience and have the desire to return. Hotel porters are the best at giving restaurant recommendations. Store employees showing appreciation by saying thank you goes a long way. Websites that keep you informed about your order keep you coming back for more. Leader Greeters do the same thing. When it’s time for employees to go home for the day, or take a vacation, they need to feel like they accomplished enough on the job and were successful. Help your employee’s work-life balance by prioritizing and delegating the right work load.

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” – Wayne Dyer

Leaders Shine the Light

shining a lightIn entertainment, light focused into spotlights bring attention to the people who possess such great talent and skill that audiences will flock to see and hear them perform. In medical procedures, light focused into x-rays can illuminate areas in need of repair. Each of these examples brings about the opportunity for positive results.

Leaders in all walks of life also have the ability, and the responsibility, to use light in the exact same ways in order to bring about positive results. The actions that leaders should take are rather straight forward, as we will discuss below, however only the most confident leaders can help their team shine brighter than themselves.

Spotlight Leadership Opportunities

These are the basic light shining opportunities that every leader knows they should do, many leaders do well, and most underestimate the impact. Think of everything from one-on-one meetings, team meetings, and town hall meetings. Think of phone calls, emails, and announcements. Any time a leader can shine the light on their team’s success they should do it, and here’s why:

Shining a light recognizes accomplishments. Everyone needs to hear they did a good job. It’s an easy way to keep up morale.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

Shining a light rewards achievement. Everyone already knows who does the work, but does the leader know and publically acknowledge those that made success possible?

“Share success with the people who make it happen. It makes everybody think like an owner…” – Emily Ericsen, VP of HR, Starbucks Coffee Company

Shining a light raises awareness. Everyone wants to be successful in what they do. When you shine a light on successful results, people will imitate the actions that brought success.

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” Thomas J. Peters

X-ray Leadership Opportunities

These are the harder light shining opportunities that every leader knows they should do, some leaders do well, and most underestimate the impact. Think of everything from one-on-one meetings, mentoring sessions, and performance reviews. Think of project updates, status reports, and meeting debriefs. Any time a leader can shine the light on their team’s opportunity for improvement they should do it, and here’s why:

Shining a light reveals faults. If something is not working than a leader owes it to their team to point out the facts and let the team figure out how to get it back on track.

“Have an attitude of fact finding, not fault finding.”

Shining a light removes fear. Nothing causes fear more than the unknown. Providing the opportunity for a regular review of progress helps your team act and ensure success instead of reacting to failure.

“FEAR has two meanings: Forget Everything And Run, or Face Everything And Rise.”

Shining a light restores focus. Success relies on having a goal, developing a plan to reach the goal, and executing the plan. The best leaders know that plans are always adjusted but only with a keen focus on the goal.

“Your focus determines your success.”

You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand.

don't run away from problems, solve themWhen something is not turning out like you want it to what should you do? Change what you are doing. Sounds simple enough. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep doing what you have been doing and ignore the issues than to figure out what the real problem is and solve it, but as William Rotsler said, “You won’t find a solution by saying there is no problem.”

I have also seen that you have to understand the problem before you accept a solution, or you risk accepting a solution that’s too easy to solve the actual problem. Equally bad as running away from a problem is to think you have it all figured out only to find out that the solution didn’t solve the real problem but only a symptom of the problem.

Thankfully, there are people who have figured this problem solving process out already and we can learn from them. I have taken the Six Sigma process first started by Motorola in the 1980’s and sprinkled it with ideas espoused by past leaders to form the four step process that I use:

Step One – Identify the real problem by asking the right questions. Your goal in step one is to gain alignment on the real problem by asking defining questions. What are we working on? Why are we working on this particular problem? How is the work currently being done? What are the benefits of making the improvement?

“To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?” – Jim Rohn

Step Two – Find the real cause of the problem through analysis. Your goal in step two is to obtain and sift through as much data and facts about the problem as you can within a limited time frame to bring the root cause to the surface.

“If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes defining it and 5 minutes solving it.” – Albert Einstein

Step Three – Find the real solution to the problem – not just the easy one. Your goal in step three is to brainstorm on as many possible solutions you can until you find the one that is the most promising and practical.

“If you find a good solution and become attached to it, the solution may become your next problem.” – Dr. Robert Anthony

Step Four – Make sure the solution really sticks. Your goal in step four is to make sure the solution lasts. Even though you are solving problems, this is still change and it takes more work to stick with change than it does to implement change. You will have to gain alignment for the solution by selling the benefits, handing off leadership to the team that will be using the solution every day, allowing issues to be raised and ensuring they are quickly addressed.

“Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” – Dr. James Belasco

When is the right time for Leadership?

past to futureFuture, Present, Past. When it comes to leadership they’re all important. Let me tell you why I say focus first the future, then the present, then the past.

When you are leading a team the first question they will have is, “If we follow you where will be going?” Your team views the future possibilities with you as their leader.

The second question they have is, “Now that we are following you do we like where we are going?” Your team views the impact of you as their leader in the present.

Their last question is “Now that we have followed you, do we like where we have ended up?” Your team views the past and what they learned that helped them become what they are today.

Future

Think of being a new leader on an existing team or leading a new team as a job interview. Your new team already has expectations of what they want in a leader. Each team member will have their own particular requirements specific to their circumstances, but in the end they all want to be successful.   How are you going to do that?

The first thing you do when you start leading a team is to share stories about your past experience and success in accomplishing similar goals in similar situations. This is so the team can be comforted that you fit their requirements of a leader – you have the experience to lead them to future success.

 The past is where you learned the lesson, the future is where you apply the lesson

 

Present

Now that your new team trusts that you can lead them to future success, they need to see it in action in the present. There are two ways that you will serve your team:

You first help your team succeed by demonstrating how to accomplish each goal; you are their model for success. Then you serve them by providing your guidance, teaching, and resources so they can accomplish the goals on their own.

The future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.

Past  

This last view of a leader comes when your team members are all successful on their own. They can look back with gratitude at all you have poured into them. But the view of the past is only for a moment as they now prepare for their own team’s views of them – future, present and past.

“Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present towards the future.” – Denis Waitly

The Three Cs of Leadership Success

Leadership successHow can you achieve leadership success? Bill Walsh, former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers said, “The score will take care of itself.” His teams were known for focusing on the basics and not the score. This advice coming from one of the winningest NFL head coaches in history.

You too can achieve Leadership Success by following these three C’s:

 

CLARITY Why are you in that position, at that company, at this time? What is your purpose? What are you going to accomplish? How are you going to get there?

Have it-You have to know what you are supposed to do. Without clarity of purpose you cannot lead.

“More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity”- Francois Gautier

Write it-A dream remains a dream until it is written down into a goal. You aren’t really committed until you put pen to paper.

“Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Written goals provide clarity. By documenting your dreams, you must think about the process of achieving them.” – Gary Ryan Blair

Speak it-A leader has to lead other people to achieve their goals. Unless you can communicate your purpose you will lack followers.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”- Jim Rohn

COURAGE We all have fears that can keep us from moving forward. What is your fear? What has been holding you back? Move forward.

Admit it-Fear is a normal emotion. You can’t deal with it unless you admit it’s there.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear” – Mark Twain

Face it-The more you think about fear the stronger it gets. Stop thinking and start doing.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

Conquer it-All your fears won’t disappear, but you can succeed anyway.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

CONSISTENCY Find something that works and do it right – over and over.

Try It-Success comes from consistently trying. Don’t just take my word for it, test it out yourself.

“For the novice runner, I’d say to give yourself at least 2 months of consistently running several times a week at a conversational pace before deciding if you want to stick with it. Consistence is the most important aspect of training…” – Frank Shorter

Do it-Once you see the positive results, keep doing what got you there.

“Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius. “An Wang, the founder of Wang Laboratories

 Achieve it-Like Bill Walsh said, “Let the score take care of itself.”

“In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.” – Tom Seaver

It takes two to persevere

Charlie Davies PerseveranceCharlie Davies scored both goals in the New England Revolution’s 2-2 draw vs. New York to win the 2014 Eastern Conference MLS Championship on aggregate, 4-3 this Saturday.

Davies started the Conference semifinal series off for New England by scoring 2 goals against Columbus in his MLS playoff debut. He became the first player in New England’s history to score twice in a postseason game. With two more on Saturday, Davies moved into third place all-time on the New England’s playoff scoring list.

This weekend’s performance by Charlie Davies was remarkable for any professional soccer player. But as Davies said about his performance, “For me, personally, it’s unimaginable really,”

In 2009, Charlie Davies would have thought he was destined for this type of performance. That is until October 2009, when after helping the US National soccer team qualify for the World Cup, he was involved in a car accident that left him with severe injuries. According to reports at the time, Davies sustained injuries to his, “fibula, tibia and femur of his right leg (stabilizing the limb required insertion of two titanium rods); tore a ligament in his left knee; fractured his left elbow, eye socket and nose; suffered serious head trauma; and lacerated his bladder.”

Thoughts after the accident were more about if he would walk again. No one was thinking that he would play soccer again. No one that is except Charlie Davies himself.

Charlie Davies chose to persevere. He would do whatever it would take to play soccer at the professional level again. It was later as he was able to regain his strength and begin the long process of re-training, that he said:

“I appreciate how hard this game is now. You can rebuild your body, but you must also rediscover your form, rhythm, confidence and consistency.”

Persevering through a major setback like this isn’t easy. Davies discovered that he could train to rebuild his abilities, but what would take more time is rebuilding his confidence and consistent performance. To do this he needed to continue training until it all came back. He also discovered that he needed people other than himself to help – he needed a coach and a team of players who wanted to see him succeed.

Let’s see how Confidence, Consistent Performance, and Continued Training along with people who want to see you succeed can help you persevere though your setbacks:

What you have to do to persevere

First you have to decide that you want to comeback. Decide what your vision of success is. Decide that you have the passion to succeed. Decide that you have the drive to see it through. Then go.

Rebuild your Confidence – Coming back from a setback works best if you celebrate the small steps that show a glimmer of your former self. Your confidence will return one small success at a time.

“I can feel my old self come out more and more in trainings.” – Charlie Davies

Achieve Consistent Performance – Remember what it was like when you first started the climb to your former glory. You began to string together a few success, than more and more until it became normal for you to succeed every time. Consistent performance comes in steps. First you have to think and succeed, than you succeed without thinking.

“The old me was there, just not often.” – Charlie Davies

Continue Training until it all comes back – Once you decide to comeback from a setback, realize that you will have more setbacks on your road to the comeback. The advice on this one is pretty simple: Just Keep Going.

“Through it all I just continued to fight and stay with it and things have turned out for the best.” – Charlie Davies

What others have to do to help you persevere

Coming back from a setback is no more something you can do on your own than when you achieved success the first time. We all achieve success with other people, and through other people. This is no different.

Rebuild your Confidence – You need others around you to remind you of what you were and what you can become when you persevere.

“They’ve really seen the potential that I have and they want me to succeed and that goes a long way. That’s why I’m playing the way I am now.” – Charlie Davies

Achieve Consistent Performance – You need others around you to provide a consistent, stable environment for you to try and fail so you can try and succeed.

“We gave him a stable environment, but he was fighting for his position every day, from when his injury happened to the entire 2014.” – Jay Heaps, Head Coach New England Revolution

Continue Training until it all comes back – You need others around you to push you to Just Keep Going.

“I think what’s really important, the guys in this locker room have pushed me since I’ve been here.” – Charlie Davies

Preview of future coming attractions

future coming attractionsMy family enjoys the whole experience of seeing movies at the local theatre. We like to arrive early to take in the atmosphere of the posters for all the movies that are playing, get our popcorn and other snacks, and find our way to one of the seemingly endless doors that lead to the big screens. Once seated we wait in anticipation for the show to start.

For us, half of the show is the preview of future coming attractions, the other half is the feature presentation. We like to see the previews for two reasons that apply to successful leadership. First, it allows us to make our personal future plans when we know where the industry is going. Second, it give us a glimpse into what to expect in the present (the feature film) because the future previews are geared towards what is thought to be the expectations of the audience.

Here are four reasons that successful leaders provide a preview of future attractions:

Leaders know the future is inevitable, Successful leaders understand that the future is coming whether we want it to or not. C.S. Lewis said, “The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever they do, whoever they are.”

Tomorrow comes for the entire world. In fact for some it has already come. Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schultz once joked, “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.   It is already tomorrow in Australia.”

Planning for the future doesn’t guarantee success, but it does give you a definite plan of action to follow which brings a much higher chance for success than not.

Leaders envision the future. Now, in the present, is the time to dream of your future. Create a vision of what your perfect world would be then make plans to reach it. Eleanor Roosevelt told us, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Some of the people thought to be the wisest were also the biggest dreamers. Albert Einstein, the physics genius once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” And Winston Churchill, the former prime minister of England during WWII said, “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.”

Leaders plan for the future. The only part of time that is already written is history. You are living today and tomorrow has yet to come. You have choices to make that will determine your future success.

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” – William Jennings Bryan.

Remember, the future will come whether you plan or not. You will play a part in the future that is created, so why not play a part in creating it?

“Control your own destiny or someone else will.” – Jack Welch

Leaders lead to the future. So the future is coming, you created a dream of what it can look like and you have plans to reach it. The final step is to take people to your dream. The best leaders don’t shout “GO”, they shout “FOLLOW.” Robert F. Kennedy taught us, “It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to task.”

So if you want to lead your team to a successful future, do it now. As Pope John Paul II said, “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”

Negotiation – basic assumptions that work.

Mutual benefit or win-win concept of handshaking drawn with chalk on a blackboardYou’re involved in negotiation more than you think. I am not talking about large scale, multi-million dollar contracts, or even buying a house or car; I am talking about everyday life. We negotiate at various levels all the time: setting electronic game limits with your children, where to eat dinner, meetings at work. These are all times where we negotiate.

 

Here are a few basic assumptions that I use with every negotiation, big or small:

– Everyone wants to be successful.

– Winning doesn’t have to mean someone has to lose.

– Most people agree on a positive end state but may disagree on how to get there.

With those assumptions in mind, these four steps will lead you through a successful negotiation:

Before negotiation, do your research. Stick to the facts and only the facts. There is no room for emotion in fact gathering. Now I am not saying this is easy, but it is needed. Howard Baker, former U.S. Senator and Presidential Chief of Staff, was known as the “Great Conciliator” for his success in brokering comprise and passing legislation. He said, “The most difficult thing in any negotiation…is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts.”

What is the desired end state? Keep your focus forward. Remember your goal is to accomplish something good here.

What has happened? What has gone well, what didn’t go as planned? Be ready to discuss these facts later.

What didn’t happen? What items didn’t get done at all? Be ready to admit if you or your team missed something.

What needs to happen? What has to be accomplished to reach the desired end state? This is not a list of who has to do it, just a list of what.

Begin negotiation by confirming alignment on the desired end state. It is much easier to picture what things look like when they are done and working then it is to picture how to get there.

Everything begins with a purpose. What are we trying to accomplish (not how, that comes next)? It is rare that two parties can’t agree on a mutually beneficial end state – even if it is just words at the moment.

“Begin with the end in mind.” ­– Stephen Covey

Continue negotiation by moving through the roadblocks to success by asking questions that draw out the issues. Listening is one of the most powerful tools in a negotiation.

Listen to the other party state their case and do not take anything they say personally – you should already know these issues anyway from your research. Brian Koslow, President of Strategic Coaching, Inc. and Best Selling Author advises that personalities can cloud your vision:

“During a negotiation, it would be wise not to take anything personally. If you leave personalities out of it you will be able to see opportunities more objectively.”

When you have elicited all the issues from the other party it is once again your time to talk. At this point you should share the facts you learned that describe what has been working that is leading you both closer to the end state. Only after you do this should you restate what isn’t working in a factual basis with no judgment or blame. But ready to accept responsibility if you or your team dropped the ball.

Complete negotiations by restating the desired end state and the original plan to achieve it. Restate what has been done that worked, then discuss what has not worked. Lastly suggest and ask for alternatives to get to the agreed upon desired end state.

Think of this part of negotiation as asking for the sale, and the desired end state as your product. Remember, selling is a process of matching the needs of your customer with the benefits of your product. If you believe in your product and think of the other party in a negotiation as your customer, than you must ask for the sale. As Zig Ziglar said, “We miss 100 percent of the sales we don’t ask for.”

 

Leadership = Purpose, Plan, People, and Priorities

Leadership is purpose, plan, people, and prioritiesWhether you are leading a team of thousands, hundreds, tens, or just yourself, these four P’s of leadership are essential for success. Without them you and your team are like a boat without a rudder, drifting on the sea in an unknown direction. Leadership is about choosing the destination and navigating the ship on the right course.

Dennis Conner is a four time winner of the America’s Cup sailing competition. He is known as “Mister America’s Cup,” for his leadership in the sport, raising it from amateur to professional status. He instituted year round practice and physical conditioning to raise his team to the top.

 

Conner covered all of the four P’s of leadership in his run of four wins, and is quoted as saying, “My goal in sailing isn’t to be brilliant or flashy in individual races, just to be consistent over the long run.”

Consistent success requires leadership in all areas.

Purpose

How do you know if you have successfully achieved your purpose? You first need to know the purpose of your team. Before you begin to lead a team you need to clearly understand where you and the team will be when success comes. Only then can you articulate the greater good to your team members so they understand where they will be when the team is successful.

“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose” – Napoleon Hill.

 Purpose is the cornerstone of leadership. It is that which supports all activity. It is like the North Star for the sailor. It can be counted on to lead you in the right direction.

Plan

Once you are clear on your purpose, you must plan a course to reach that purpose. Great leadership requires that the leader navigate the team to success.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – Pablo Picasso

Sailors understand that the wind and waves can shift in a moment. Successful sailors know how to adjust their sails and sometimes their direction to make use of any wind conditions to achieve their purpose.

When obstacles arise, the course may need to be changed so that the purpose is successfully achieved. Continually adjusting the plan to stay on course is true leadership

Purpose, and a plan to reach your purpose, are essential to successful leadership. These two alone, though, are quickly found to have their limits. Long term success only comes when the last two of the four P’s of leadership are added.  

People

You brought your team where they are today, but you can’t bring them any further on your own. No matter how clear your purpose is, no matter the strength of your plan, if you want to extend the positive results beyond what you are accomplishing now, you will need to make room for others to share in the success of your leadership journey. You must surround yourself with the right people.

Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.

-Those whom you follow must be capable and willing to invest their time helping you grow.

-Your peers must be true partners who, like you, look for opportunities to complete as opposed to compete.

-Those whom you lead must have a teachable heart and a drive to learn.

In all cases there should be an open exchange of what each person does best. What can you fulfill in each other?

Priorities

I summarize the first three P’s of leadership like this: Achieve your purpose by executing your plan through your people.

So why is there a fourth P of leadership having to do with priorities? Because our dreams, plans, and goals should be bigger than any solution we can imagine.

In order to get started finding that solution, boil down the activities to the smallest step you can imagine. What do I know my team and I can do tomorrow?

That is what priorities are for – To get everyone moving in the same direction.

First, eliminate what’s not important.

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.” – Lin Yu Tang

Then, focus on what is important.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen R. Covey

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