Leaders Shouldn't Take The Position If They Cannot or Will Not Do The Work

One would think that after more than three decades of involvement with organizations, predominantly not-for-profit ones, as a volunteer, staff member, staff executive, consultant, negotiator and adviser, that I would no longer be bothered when I observe volunteer leaders whose performance is far less than optimum or stellar. However, even after all this time, and exposure to so many individuals, and so many organizations, I still find it both disturbing and disconcerting when someone takes a leadership position, but then is not willing to devote the time, effort, or attention that is needed to perform the duties of that position properly and capably.

Remember that very few of these individuals are forced to take these leadership roles. I have spent far too much time trying to analyze why, if someone wants to hold a leadership position, they are unwilling to do the necessary tasks of that office. Perhaps it is ego related. Some individuals seem to really want the title and "perks" related to the office, and want the acclaim. However, over the years, I have become somewhat convinced that these people are the minority. Others are elected to a particular office, yet seem totally unprepared for the needed duties, skills, etc., related to that office. Many of these individuals seem almost clueless as to what to do, and how to perform their job.

However, it is certainly not completely these individual's fault. Many if not most organizations, particularly the small to intermediate sized ones, have no formal method of informing people before they take a particular position, what is required of them. Most of these organizations fail to establish an organized and efficient leadership qualification and identification plan. To make matters worse, nearly all of these organizations do not have a professionally designed, ongoing, effective and thorough leadership training program. Leadership training should always be an ongoing process, with training at all progressive levels of the hierarchy clearly "feeding" into the educational process. Organizations must realize that there are nearly no born leaders, and thus there should be no higher priority than to identify, qualify and properly train its leaders.

One of the biggest complaints always seems to be the lack of formal training for fiscal officers. Each organization handles it finances in an individual way, and while their are certain common denominators, a fiscal officer should learn how to do it that organization's way.

Another major fault almost invariably lies in handling paid staff, and relationships between paid staff and volunteer leaders. Since this relationship differs from organization to organization, and many individual and specific factors, including costs, needs, etc., impact this, it makes little sense to assume that someone will automatically understand that.

Until organizations recognize that training is not an optional item, but must be a priority item, they will never be able to best complete their mission, nor satisfy its members or donors. Part of this training must be getting individuals to understand that holding a position of leadership requires work and action, not just fun and talk, individuals will continue to under-perform after they are elected.

Leaders Must Know When It's Time To Cut Its Losses

Although everyone always hopes and believes that their plan or program will succeed, at some point, there comes a time when it's time to cut one's losses, and admit that it might be preferable to go in a
different direction. Unfortunately, many leaders either give up on a program or plan too soon, or stick with it too long. Both scenarios generally prove unwise and unproductive, often becoming extremely expensive errors.

One of the glaring examples I have observed of sticking with something too long is often certain leader's desire to "stick with" their paid staff, Executive Director, or Management Company, too long. I have heard leaders say that they don't want to be blamed for making a bad decision in hiring the individual or group in the first place. When I hear this type of statement, I realize that I am dealing with a volunteer leader who has never been adequately trained in leadership, and the realities of leadership and management. I ask these individuals how long should one stick with someone or a group that "just doesn't get it," and doesn't get it done. I wonder how many more mistakes, or failures by either inaction or error or omission need to occur before action will finally be taken. If these individuals were trained properly, they would know that there should always be a "trial" or "probation" period with any new hire. Every task assigned, and every expectation stated, should be written and fully communicated.

Whenever a task is unsatisfactorily performed, it is the responsibility of leadership to inform staff of its displeasure, and "demand" a timetable for accomplishing the task in a satisfactory matter. If the staff member or management company are contracted, leadership must be fully informed and familiar with all the responsibilities, as well as the possible areas of recourse, to resolve the situation. This is not to say that leaders should be "gunning" for staff, or searching for errors. Rather, it means that if, repeatedly, over a reasonable period (reasonable meaning long enough period to fairly judge), the staff member does not seem to perform as needed, some action must be taken. Repeatedly, I have observed leaders complain about staff performance, and then assign additional tasks to the staff, when the leader needs something done properly. Einstein has been credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, an anticipating different results. Einstein may have been observing many volunteer leaders when motivated to make that statement.

Volunteer leaders must evaluate programs on an ongoing basis. All estimates must be predicated on conservative estimates for revenue, and worst case scenarios for expenses. Is this program viable? Is this program valuable? Is this program meaningful? Is this program, as presently designed, effective? Is there an alternative way of achieving the desired results, more effectively?

Many organizations appear to view the budget process as an "exercise," and not something hard and fast. They simply carry-over programs and line items from one year to another, often simply adjusting by a certain percentage. However, those organizations, and the leadership of those organizations are making a huge error in judgment. Most organizations, especially small to medium sized ones, should use "zero- based budgeting" and view each line item as something that must be evaluated related to specific criteria that meets the evolving needs and makeup of an organization. I find it unbelievable that when I have asked leaders why something is done in a specific matter, I have often been told because that's the way the organization has been doing it for many years, and we think it works. Leaders who do not evaluate and re-evaluate, and compare alternatives should not be leaders. Once again, this often occurs because so many organizations do not properly train their leaders!

Real Leaders Fight For Their Beliefs

The adage that "It's lonely at the top," is particularly applicable when it comes to the responsibilities and necessities of effective leadership. Being a leader means having the inner strength to fight for one's beliefs, regardless of popularity. Effective leadership often means doing what one believes is both right thing and the necessary thing, regardless of whether others are willing to voice their support. Unfortunately, over the last three decades, I have observed that the vast majority of volunteer leaders often get involved in leadership positions with an unclear concept of what it means to be a leader. While volunteer leaders must learn to effectively utilize the services of the paid staff, leaders who believe that being a volunteer leader is not time and resource consuming, are often ill- prepared and ill-equipped for their positions.

Every organization strives for an effective, strong, creative and capable paid staff. However, that is often not the case, as staffs often have turnover, or the previous volunteer leadership used the staff in a different manner than the new leader plans to. Since so many organizations overlook and neglect effective and meaningful training, for both volunteer leaders, as well as for staffs, there is often a dramatic learning curve required, and often the necessities are never learned in a timely manner. This often causes frustration, misunderstanding, and blame.

Leaders must understand that being a leader is not and should not be a popularity contest. Volunteer leadership should not and cannot be largely ceremonial, without any real substance. True leadership is necessary to guide an organization to its full potential, and identify strengths and weakness, and necessary evolutions. Since often the selection process for volunteer leaders is far from ideal, it results in the ascension of individuals to leadership positions who are sadly ill-prepared to assume such positions. Many organizations utilize the concept of "line officers," with the concept being that serving in leadership roles for a period of time makes one better prepared to assume the mantles of top leadership once the time comes. Just as in most other things, these individuals fail to realize that experience and expertise are far different entities, and unless the "line officers" are adequately trained, when they ascend they are often ill-prepared.

Just as in any political situation, many volunteer leaders continue to act like they are "campaigning" for an office, rather than properly governing from that office. While campaigning often depends to a large degree on popularity, effective leadership and governing requires a volunteer leader to realize when proper governance and leadership is far more important than mere popularity.

I have observed that most organizations find it challenging to find individuals willing to be volunteer leaders. While there are many factors for that, the most effective and well run organizations realize that ongoing and continuous leadership and pre-leadership training is essential if one wants to develop true leaders.

There Is No "I" In Nature

We live in an ecosystem that's made-up of subset and superset ecosystems. They are inter-reliant and by their nature are very fragile. This fragility ensures the ongoing evolution of the same ecosystem that relies on this mechanism as its method of survival and development.

Humankind is an ecosystem within this ecosystem. Unbalance in an ecosystem creates shifts that alter our ecosystem for the better; survival. Sometimes this happens at the cost of some specious as we have seen with the dinosaurs. If humankind really desires longevity in this ecosystem, we need to respect this balance or suffer the worst possible outcome for our kind.

All ecosystems are constantly in a state of change and rebalancing as they become more and more resilient. Humans are one phase of this ongoing ecosystem change. So by design, we are transient and as we transition to our next stage (should there be one), we need to work collectively towards this aim. There are many nascent initiatives, towards this goal, some spiritual, some industrial and others conceptual. I believe that the real answer lies in the "WE". The energy that lives these ecosystems is one energy and it is the same energy that is us. It is one and the same energy that lives and breaths us as does trees, and every other living organism. As one, we are able to continue the evolution of our species. As "I", we are one-by-one, driven by the greed and ego of "I" destroying the "We", our same humanity as we destroy our planet.

The "I" results from our upbringing, in a society that has been galvanized by the success of the individual. But this is a misguided notion as real success stories are underpinned by the work of a collective rather than one individual. The greed of our Ego is driving us to compete at any cost, in the process losing ourselves, our families, our sense of compassion and more importantly humankind, as we race blinded by the objective of being the ultimate winner who, in our culture is defined as the one with most money.

There is no "I" in nature but the collective "We" that includes the cosmos, our solar system, our beautiful planet, the trees, the oceans, you and I. Our fear and shame drives our Ego to achieve at all cost, in the process losing everything. And yet, the alternative brings so much more adundance, peace and happiness, bundles of compassion and a humanity that lives as one with nature and itself.

Compromise - A Lose/Lose Strategy

A compromise is when 2 or more individuals almost agree, are almost happy and almost accept a less than ideal outcome for a situation. So at best, these individuals have accepted not to be totally happy, at peace, content, etc...

We have been trained to believe this is OK, and it has to be, for a society that is co-dependent. Co-dependency is not the same as respect and support. In fact it is the opposite. A compromise is about me not being true to my beliefs, visions, opinions and values, for the misguided purpose of making you happy; and this is also true for the other, who I reached a comprise with. It is synonymous to saying that my views are not totally valid unless you agree with them and vice-versa. Absolutely unacceptable!

This is both untrue and unhealthy and points to inappropriate engagement models.

My truth remains true to me independent of what you might think and at the very least, you should respect that I have every right to hold my views as it is for you. The true strength of a healthy relationship is where I honour your truths, views and ideals and you, mine. This is true relating independent of whether it is a parent/child relationship, husband/wife and any other healthy relationship.

We are all after truth and in care-taking, we abandon truth and choose what amounts to deceit.

An old adage goes, "I rather be hurt by the truth than a lie", and yet the latter seems more acceptable which is what compromise is all about. Our truths than become trapped behind the "but I do not want to update her" behavior, that then turns to resentment and eventually probably rage and who knows what else.

So let's ne er choose a compromise, rather respect for each others opinions which is fertile ground for truth, intimacy and growth.

Carry Your Own Weather

Imagine packing for a trip to a destination that is known for its warm, humid weather, only to get there and have the temperature drop to an unseasonably 20 degrees below its historical lows. That's the visual I got this morning from the local news channel, as a man from a movie film crew, that was shooting the next installment of the Twilight saga downtown, was dressed in shorts while temperatures were hovering around 31 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now either this guy is from Alaska, or he just didn't check the forecast before he packed his suitcase. Either way, I'll bet he was hating life as they set up for the shoot, wishing he could somehow adjust a supernatural thermostat to a toasty 75 degrees.

Witnessing this poor guy's plight this morning reminded me of a valuable lesson I learned as a student leader that has served me well throughout my professional experience. That lesson was simply this: As a leader, you must carry your own weather.

Think back to a time when you walked into a meeting, engaged in a conversation, or otherwise set out to share your latest idea for improving your organization, when you were met with a less than receptive "vibe" from the other party.

You were sure they would see the value and merit of your well-conceived plan, but apparently they decided to drink a pint of pickle juice before showing up to this meeting of the minds.

Instead of embracing the amazing vision you've just set forth (and who in their right mind wouldn't? Your idea was brilliant!) they launch into some lame rendition of "101 Reasons Why this Won't Work and Why You're Not Competent Enough to Pull it Off Even if it Would."

So after you pack up your stuff and slide under the door in defeat, how do you bounce back, recover from the flesh wounds, and heal from the heavy dose of self-doubt?

Before you head back into another potential blood bath of bad attitude, prepare you message with the following ideas in mind:

• First, remember that most new ideas, concepts, visions, and revolutionary/evolutionary advancements are initially met with resistance. Yours, though completely logical and air tight in your own mind, will most likely be no different. The fact is, it's not really about your idea. It's about human nature. Most people resist change, some violently, at least on some level.

• Secondly, pre-determine that no matter the lack of visual, verbal, or vocal acceptance you initially receive when you communicate your thoughts, you will not be shaken. To do this effectively, make sure you spend several minutes before your interaction reinforcing and reminding yourself of the value your ideas have to your organization. Having someone to confide in, and sound off to, before and after your meeting could be a great source of "climate control."

• Finally, to stack the acceptance forecast in your favor, make sure you know exactly how you're going to sell your vision to the people who you are attempting to influence. And by sell, I simply mean helping them to see how they are directly going to benefit from your proposed recommendation. When you help them to immediately see what's in it for them, they're more likely to be receptive to the potential of change. Some of them may even become your biggest supporters.

As leaders of our organizations, we hardly ever have the luxury of walking into an ideal situation and have our vision received unanimously. Therefore it is wise to anticipate resistance, and then take the steps necessary to weather any "disturbance" that comes our way. When you carry your own weather, you'll be able to remain comfortable no matter what "conditions" arise.

Why Leadership Matters

Without leadership, nothing gets done. What happens if nobody steps up? Nothing. Somebody has to cross the bridge first, to be the one who sticks their neck out, to establish a direction and inspire people to action.

Anyone can lead from any level-opportunities to be a leader are everywhere, every day. What does that mean? It means step up, take charge. If you see that something clearly needs to be done, why are you waiting for somebody else to do it? Say, for example, I'm working in my cube and I realize that a system isn't working right and I have an idea for making it better. But, I'm not the boss, so I don't speak up or stick my neck out. That's crazy!

You might say, "Well, what if the boss feels threatened?" But a great leader welcomes ideas. A great leader WANTS someone to come to him or her with a solution instead of a problem. To become a leader you must actively seek out new challenges. Take every opportunity for increased responsibility and perform every task, large or small, to the best of your ability. Your reward will come in the form of opportunities to take on bigger, more important projects. Especially if, in the absence of direction, you take the initiative to proceed with the action you believe will get the best results.

Leaders do not have the luxury of giving in to panic or despair. It takes courage, honesty, and most importantly-discipline, as in the ability to control your impulses and stay calm and cool under pressure. Remember that old saying about keeping your head while everyone around you is losing theirs? That's leadership. Instead of hitting the panic button and yelling, "We're all gonna die!" a leader steps back, takes stock of the situation, and says, "OK. How can we fix this?"

Emergencies happen. Have you ever been in an office environment when the Internet went down? People freak out. You'd think it was the end of the world. But seriously, does a temporary technical difficulty mean your entire business just fell apart?

A leader takes a different approach. A leader says, "Let's look at our options here. Who can we call and what's the fastest way to fix it?" and, "What can each of us do to keep operating in the meantime?"

A leader thinks things through. When someone on your team comes to you so frustrated that they want to take action right now and do potentially all the wrong things, you're the voice of reason who listens to them with respect and is willing to say, "Let's think about this. What should we do that would be best for the company? For the big picture?"

That approach pays off in multiple ways-you prevent an outcome that could damage the business. You win the trust and buy-in of an employee instead of turning them into an adversary. And you set an example of what leadership is supposed to look like.

Lighting The Path

It is natural instinct to follow, to seek a leader. We are born into this world with no instruction manual, with no direction, or rules expect what society has perpetuated since the dawn of civilization. The road is dark, what lies on the path ahead is unclear. Therefore, we seek those who have walked it before us, who have left a map for others to follow. In this way, the path is not so dark, someone has been there and left a light for others to be guided by.

So influenced are the followers that they begin to imitate their leader, taking on his qualities, seeing the world through his eyes. After all, the leader is a great leader, he must know what you do not. Try as you might, there is still only one leader, and there can be only one.

There can be only one Warren Buffet.
There can be only one Dwayne Carter.
There can be only one Gautama Buddha.
There can be only one Barack Obama.
There can be only one You.

Every person is unique, I know it sounds cliche, but it is the truth. No other person in the world has the exact same qualities, personality, or story as you. Every person brings their own uniqueness to the table.

For those that have the courage to wake up, to open their eyes, they are the person who has the power to control the world. But it is not easy to wake from a deep slumber, even if you think you are awake, you are still asleep. Once you awaken, then you have all power and authority in heaven and earth. Once you awaken, open your eyes, then you can guide those who are asleep, who have their eyes closed. They will follow, because here is a person who sees clearly, they must know.

How would you describe the light to someone who is blind? Is it even possible?

Creating Real World Results: Attention to Our Intentions

As we come to the end of the year, many people take a moment to reflect on what has been accomplished, or not, during the past twelve months. Did we meet our goals? Did we stick to our plans? What threw us "off course" and what unanticipated opportunities presented themselves to us? With each of these questions is the seed of the true issue, are we growing into the person we truly want to be?

While goals are important milestones that help us measure progress, living the Leadership Choice is a life-long journey of expanding our ability to create happiness and fulfillment through the contribution of our authentic talents to changes we would like to see in the world. Building an expansive life filled with ever-widening impact means understanding that success is measured not only by the benchmarks we hit, but also by the way in which we are reaching them. In other words, by maintaining attention on our intentions we assure we are headed in the right direction, even if the timing is not exactly the way we "planned" it.

One begins moving through the Cycle of Leadership by cultivating a keen awareness of our authentic self and understanding our unique talents and skills. While the essence of those attributes does not change throughout our life, the way in which we wish to express them and the emphasis on a particular skill evolves over time. As that evolution occurs one needs to assess if their life is still in alignment with their current expression of their talents and if their leadership skills and team are optimal for the new circumstances. After determining where shifts need to be made, establishing goals for each element of the Cycle of Leadership is important to move from day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month.

When it comes time to reflect on the past year and look to the next, it is a wonderful opportunity to get beneath the "doing" and focus on the "being." Leaders who experience the greatest success clearly identify with the intentions of their life; that is, is there a balance between the quality of their experience along with the progress toward their goals. Are you happy doing what you are doing? Are you pursuing your passion? Do you feel your work is contributing to the betterment of the world? If you answered "yes," to these questions you are likely on the right track.

The next question has to do with real world results that are essential for success and they don't always happen at a pace we would like to see. Another term for this phenomenon is timing. Perhaps we are doing the right thing and it isn't quite time to have it move they way we want. Patience becomes a great asset in these circumstances and provides an opening to look at what may need to shift to create forward movement. Often this qualitative reflection affords the opening for the necessary insight to surface and moves us beyond the inertia and desire to throw in the towel. So often, I sadly witness people who make a commitment to pursuing the Leadership Choice only to quit moments before the change is about to begin... simply because they couldn't see the quantifiable results while the qualitative experience was taking root.

If you allow yourself the full range of reflection you will Achieve Real World Results and experience:

• Increased satisfaction and peace of mind with your activities

• Deeper understanding of where your efforts have the greatest impact

• Faster response times to changing circumstances

• Fulfilling communication with your team and those beyond it

• Lasting change as a cornerstone of your work

By paying attention to our intentions we know how to better evaluate our goals. By simply looking at the quantitative we miss important qualitative points. Moving toward integrating both will help us better value what change we are creating while moving forward and feeling good about ourselves and our work.

Change doesn't happen overnight... it is the result of a process of focused intentions and attention to what we want to create. Leaders are constantly creating change, although it is not always visible. As with most transformation, the results become real at the culmination of our creation, leading us to believe our whole world has simply changed "overnight," while we know it is the result of our focused attention to our intention over time that has created our Real World Results.

The Effects of Chess on Leadership

Napoleon and Chess

"A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was with one of the greatest military leaders of his time. For him, failing to prepare was preparing to fail. Without a plan there was certainly no victory. Napoleon knew that. Without a great strategy you were doomed to lose in battle. And back then that meant your life.

And Napoleon had all the attributes a great leader must have to be successful, and he worked on them by playing an ancient game; a game that has never lost its popularity. Napoleon sharpened his strategic senses by playing Chess. And as you might have assumed, he was a master at it.

So I asked myself:

What are the specific positive side effects by playing this game?

And how can we profit from it?

Reason # 1 - Creativity

Playing chess regularly will benefit your creativity. While the various opening scenarios of the game might appear similar, I have never played a game that was totally the same. The possibilities are simply too great. In this way you really encounter new situations with every game you play. It is literally a guarantee. And there are no limits to your creativity. Every game asks for new ways to beat your opponent, you need to vary your tactics and you need to outsmart your opponent. For Napoleon these patterns were important for his military strategies: Every battlefield had different conditions and different settings; and not to mention the many different moves of your opponents. Chess seemed to be the perfect practice for this kind of thinking.

Reason # 2 - Concentration

In Chess situations can get really complicated and difficult. You have to take several options into account before you make your move. And really have to think things through. This demands a lot of concentration and focus. This is the tough part of chess. Having the will to concentrate and focus. And you literally lose the feel for time and in return you sharpen your senses. I´d call that a win-win situation.

Imagine how Napoleon would sit over a plan for hours and hours. I don´t know how many hours of the day he used for sleeping but I bet he was simply to focused and concentrated on the task at hand that he might have forgotten to go to bed.

Reason # 3 - Logical Thinking

Another great attribute that chess is adding to your life is the improvement of your logical thinking processes. In chess the playing figures are inter dependent, this means that you have to use the figures in harmony with each other. And you do this by logical thinking. You also have to take your future moves into account and most importantly how your opponent might react on this move. You need to think in logical patterns.

Reason # 4 - Problem Solving

One of the greatest feelings a chess player can get is the feeling of a successful solution of a problem. Sometimes you can literally feel the pressure when a player is in the aggression mode and is attacking your armies. You need to bring all of the mentioned aspects together to master this difficult situation. By playing chess you not only get used to problems you also get used to start thinking about reasonable solutions. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don´t, but the important thing is that you start the process of trying to solve them.

Reason # 5 - Importance of Sacrificing

Back in the days of Napoleon sacrificing was certainly not the best option - resulting in the death of a lot of soldiers. But in chess it sometimes becomes inevitable. You sacrifice in chess in order to get an edge either in your position or in material. Great players are masters of this principle of sacrificing. They draw the attention of their opponent to the sacrifice while planning a completely, more complex way to beat them. I highly recommend to study the following game that was played in 1871 between Glinksber and Miguel Najdorf. It is called the "Polish Immortal". In this game he sacrifices like crazy only to beat him with a tiny bishop move at the end. This is art.

Reason # 6 - Decision Making

In life and as well in chess you are presented many options. And you are the one figure out which move is the best in the situation. And it is so nice to see how a chess game develops. With only one move of your opponent many new options are created. And with every new move you have to think them through and make the best possible choice. What a great practice for real life.

Napoleon recognized all these benefits and sharpened his mind by playing a lot of chess. This was a part of his preparation. This was his way of making sure never to end up being surprised by failing to prepare.

Today, most of us are not facing a military battlefield but there are a lot of personal ones in our lives:
Our careers, our relationships and even our faith.

5 Reasons Why Accountants Don't Realize Their Professional Potential

Accountants, and indeed professional people, are amongst the best qualified individuals around. Not only are they smart, they have many of the qualities and characteristics to really thrive as leaders. As someone who spent 25 years in accounting and consulting, I know that sadly many fail to realize their professional potential. Why is this?

Reason 1: They don't believe in themselves

Despite having achieved great success in their professional exams and being good at what they do, many accountants still lack belief in themselves. This lack of belief often leads to them selling themselves short.

Reason 2: They don't recognize the breadth they have to offer

People often talk about how fantastic MBAs are. While the MBA is a great qualification, so is a professional accountancy qualification. These days it's much more than just number crunching. Qualified accountants are really uniquely placed to be expert advisers in my view and not just in terms of money.

Reason 3: They don't develop a business mindset

In a nutshell, business is about creating, selling and delivering a product or service to a group of people who want to buy it. Therefore the best accountants and those who reach the more senior levels focus on understanding what it takes to create success in the business.

Reason 4: They don't speak up

I don't know about you but I have yet to come across marketing or sales people who don't speak up. Sadly, many accountants are reluctant to speak up and put their ideas forward. Don't underestimate the value of asking what on the face of it might seem like the dumb question.

Reason 5: They don't invest in their development

Your professional qualification is a bit like the foundations in a house. It's a key underpinning to your success. However, you cannot rest on your laurels. Business moves at a rapid pace and you need to keep your skills up to date. Don't short change yourself in terms of your development.

The Bottom Line: As a qualified accountant, you have the potential to achieve great success. The question is, are you ready to seize that opportunity?

How To Design A Great Leadership Development Program: Traits to Look For in Potential Leaders

You have your eye on a couple of people who you think have potential to be your next leaders. Now you need to carefully evaluate them against a few very important measures.

- Does the prospect seem to subscribe to the company's values? If the person's values don't coincide with the organization's, they probably aren't right for any leadership position. They may have potential but probably not in your organization.

- How does this person get along with his or her coworkers? No, being a leader doesn't mean being popular, but someone who doesn't have a relatively good rapport with their peers will probably have a hard time working with anyone.

- Is the person you're considering reliable and trustworthy. You're going to be placing more and more authority and responsibility in their hands. A lack of integrity or reliability will come back to you and can damage your effectiveness and reputation. Also, integrity is very difficult to fix and a problem in that area will probably always be a problem.

Once you think you have your potential leader pegged, you need to do a little testing to see if you have it right. Here are some tests you can do to help determine if a potential leader is really the right choice.

First, get to know as much as possible about the individual. What's their work record? Have there been problems with rules or policies in the past? Are they reliable? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Second, carefully observe them on the job. Be inconspicuous about this as your presence can change behavior. Watch to see how they interact with others. Are they courteous with fellow workers and with their own boss? Human relationship skills are important and in general, people who can't get along with most of the people around them usually don't make very good leaders. Watch for the person who appears to carry a grudge. There may be a good reason and it might be something that can be resolved; but, it might also be a sign of someone who is never happy with anything.

Third, use a small task (a genuine requirement, not something made up) to give the potential leader a chance to show leadership. Don't expect an amazing transformation to happen at this point; just watch to see how they handle the situation. What you're really looking for at this point is how they attempt to accomplish the task.

One final thought on selecting new leaders. You will probably come across people who think they're the next great leader and want you to know it; but who you just don't feel have the kind of potential you're looking for. Don't string them on! I've seen leaders who will let a subordinate think they are in line for the next promotion and use that expectation to entice them to do all manner of difficult or unpleasant tasks. That's not fair and will just cause discontent in the end. Be honest and if they don't measure up to what you're looking for, tell them.

Traits of The Modern Leader And How You Can Acquire Them

Some people prefer to remain on the peripherals and a few others want to become leaders and wield powers. Of course, if you become a leader, you will have to face a lot of problems but despite this fact, you may like to become a leader. You need not unleash your imagination and imagine vicariously how you will fit into the roles of the great leaders who adorned the history of mankind. Even if you have a vast knowledge in your chosen field and perform great things in that field, you are a leader. But, even then, the general traits of a leader will not change and surprisingly, most of these traits can be acquired.

- Communication is the most important thing in leadership. Just by having a vision, you can not accomplish great things. You should pass on this vision to your followers. There should not be any ambiguity in the messages you pass on to your followers because they may not execute your orders rightly if your messages are not clear. Therefore, communicating clearly and also as frequently as possible is the main trait of a leader.

- You must always be ahead of your followers. You and you alone must set the goal of the group first and then guide your followers and it should not be the other way. While you keep focusing and working on achieving the final goal, your followers must be asked to attend to the nitty-gritty of your plan. By having a clear vision and transferring this vision to the minds of your followers, you can awaken the enthusiasm in them.

- Once you have the plans ready for achieving your goal, you must communicate your plans to your followers. Every person in your team will have their own individual skills. There should be secondary plans to make use of their skills. Once they use their skills and finish the tasks assigned to them, you should merge all the results and amazingly, at this stage, you may have come close to your goal. Therefore, you should split your goal into separate tasks and assign them to your followers according to their skills. So, identifying the skills of your followers is very important.

- A leader should be a great teacher. There are two ways of teaching your followers. One way is to set an example yourself by adopting the right behavior and taking the right action. This is a subtle way of teaching them. Another method is to impart knowledge in them literally. In fact, when you teach your followers, you are improving yourself so as to climb to the next level of leadership.

- Inspiring your followers to deliver the best always is a great leadership quality. If your followers know clearly what benefits they will derive by achieving the goal that has been set, they will remain an inspired lot and you can expect astounding performance from them. In other words, their excitement level and morale should always be high.

- Delegating your work is a very important step in leadership. You can not do everything yourself. You should get things done by your followers. Once you are clear about their skill levels, you must delegate the tasks to them according to their skills. But, once the tasks are delegated, you should not keep interfering in their work. They must have complete freedom to improvise and innovate. This will groom them to become great leaders in future.

Are You a Manager or Leader?

Leadership versus Management- To be an effective Leader you must be able to "Influence" others. Being an effective Leader is not the same as being an effective Manager Leaders influence; Managers keep the "status quo" operating at an optimal level of performance. Leaders have to be able to influence others to move in another direction.

People choose to follow leaders because they have vision. A leaders vision inspires and motivates others to take action. A Manager typically does not focus his or her efforts inspiring or influencing others on a daily basis. How does one inspire others to follow? One inspires others to follow through their character, their knowledge, their actions and having a successful track record of significant achievements.

Take a few moments to write down on a sheet of paper, your most significant accomplishments that others received measurable benfit that improved their performance or helped them achieve a known goal. Then, list all the leaders you have developed by name? Follow this list by listing all the actions you initiated that significantly changed the results or path of a business, a charitable organization, an employee(s) or a friend(s). Follow this up by writing down how often you are approached for advice that is specific to the needs of an individual or someone in your business that has no reporting relationship to you? If your list are quite long, you are more than likely viewed as a leader. If not, no worries, you just need more experience and or/you need to change your focus from you to them. One note, being a manager does not mean you should not work on being a more effective leader. Do people follow you because they have to or do they follow you by choice? The best leaders have followers who choose to follow because their leadership has impacted them on a personal level. People will judge you by your actions and the impact your actions have on them personally. The words you choose have less meaning when compared to your actions. Work to develop meaningful relationships that have measurable value for the other person. Develop a deep and clear understanding as to the needs and desires of your people.

A test to help you determine if you are a Leader or a Manager. Join a charitable organization where no one knows you on a personal level and work to achieve a leadership position. To achieve this objective, you must remember why people would want to follow you. They have no predisposed reason to follow you such as status or rank. They will choose to follow you based on what I detailed above. Work on improving the organization by communicating and implementing your vision. Rally support around your vision by communicating not only how your vision will improve the organization, but how it will impact the team, the community and specific individuals. Meet with key stakeholders to answer questions and communicate your vision. Take the time to understand the needs and desires of the community, the team and all of the volunteers.

If you are able to effectively accomplish this objective, you will know you have what it takes to become a great leader.

Quick Facts on Leadership Philosophy

Leadership style in every organization is very important. How you lead an organization will hugely determine how well your organization will perform. It may help increase or decrease your staff's motivation. There are three major leadership philosophy and they include:

Authoritative or autocratic

This involves leaders who will demand that their minors perform a certain tasks in a manner which he/ she will describe without asking their opinions. Most leaders use this style when they are very sure of what they need done and only apply it on well motivated employees. Some employers will use this style in a bad way using bad language, threats and abusing their power. This style should only be used positively without bossing people around and should only be done from time to time it shouldn't be an everyday affair.

Participative or democratic.

This style includes using at least one employee in decision making to come up with the relevant orders. Some leaders will think of this as being weak but one can use the power of having the final say in making the decision. This style helps to increase respect, and motivation among staff. This helps an employer too make very powerful decisions as you cannot know everything after all that is why you employ other individuals who are qualified to assist you. This also helps to build the team spirit in the organization.

Delegative or free reign

The French also use the term laissez faire which means working without interference of other persons. This involves a leader giving employees the power to make their own decisions while still remaining responsible for their actions. This style should only be used when you are sure that your employees can be able to handle the task involved. U should not use this as a way to ignore your responsibilities as your staff will disrespect you and your integrity will be questionable. Do not use this way to escape challenging decisions that will leave you blaming your employees should anything go wrong.

A good leader will use all this styles equally for good performance; bad leaders will use only one style hence causing a lot of trouble with its staff. A leader should consider other factors when deciding what style to use these factors include:

· Time available to perform a particular task

· Are the employees well informed about the particular task or do you have the information alone?

· Training that your employees have is their training better than yours on that particular task.

· Internal conflicts and stress levels

· Type of task if it is structured or not and is it simple or complicated.

Always remember that a good leader always wants the best for his employees and they should always use consideration and follow the right structure for effective leadership philosophy acts. Good leaders will reward good work performed by their employees. This is a very important style as it gives employees motivation to work without any reservation and to feel that there is actual growth in the organization.

How To Design A Great Leadership Development Program: The Essential Elements

You've decided to create a formal leadership development program and have identified potential future leaders. What elements should the program contain?

A good leadership development program should be designed to develop leaders incrementally. So, start with the basics and work up to more advanced levels. For first-level managers the program should include the following.

1. Getting to know the individual. Leaders who don't really know themselves tend to be less effective than those who do. This isn't meant to be a "getting in touch with your feelings" type of session, but a hard, honest look at each person's strengths and weaknesses.

2. Basic leadership theory. There are many areas to study here, but above all else, I recommend studying motivation theory (Herzberg), needs, (Maslow), and the various theories of leadership styles, especially Situational Leadership (Hersey and Blanchard).

3. Communication. Effective communication is essential. Place emphasis on the differences in communicating as a leader and the importance of listening.

4. Decision making and problem solving. These are two areas that don't get nearly the attention they should in leadership development.

5. Managing change. It usually falls to the lower levels of management to actually implement change.

6. Delegation. Though this is a more advanced topic, the basics of delegation should be understood by all levels of leadership.

In addition, beginning leaders should be introduced to human relations topics such as diversity and dealing with difficult people as well as interacting with unions if necessary. This is just a list of basics and can be expanded.

During this stage of development, much of the information needs to be provided in a seminar or workshop setting; but, don't consider a few hours in a classroom sufficient. Leadership is a hands-on activity. Each of these subjects should include some practical application. For instance, when studying leadership theory, have the new leader evaluate their workers and provide an analysis of where they are on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, or Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership model.

The next level of leadership development should address mid-level leaders. These are leaders who have other leaders who report to them. Their development program should include a more in-depth discussion of the topics above but with emphasis on working with other leaders. Development at this level should involve more projects that reinforce the lessons learned. For instance, a mid-level leader might be assigned a project that addresses a complex issue requiring a multi-faceted solution. This should be something that is a little beyond their normal day-to-day responsibilities. A caution though. Don't make something up. There are probably plenty of real issues that need to be addressed and make-work projects don't show that senior leadership is really devoted to the leader's development. Another important assignment at this level is to select a new leader and act as their coach.

The third level of development is for leaders who are approaching senior or executive levels of leadership. Interestingly, this level requires more training in management functions. While human relations are still important, such things as budgeting, marketing, logistics, and international relationships must be understood. However, and this is important, if leaders at this level have never received the basic leadership training discussed above, then I strongly urge you to include at least some of it in their training. Senior leaders who don't understand basic leadership can do disastrous things!

At this point in designing a leadership development program, it's good to remember the return on investment. It may seem like too much work or expense, but a good program will definitely pay off.

How To Design A Great Leadership Development Program: Follow-Up, Follow-Up

One common critique of leadership training programs is that the leader attends some training, but then isn't able to utilize what they've learned at work because there is no support mechanism within the organization. A comprehensive leadership training program will include a support structure for developing leaders. This support takes several forms.

Every leader should have someone they can turn to for advice and counsel. Normally, this is their immediate supervisor. No matter how much training a leader receives, they will encounter problems that weren't covered and will benefit from this coaching. While the coach must always be supportive, this isn't a relationship to stroke egos. In fact, the coach must be willing to point out where their charge went wrong or what might have worked better. A leader must develop a "thick skin" and be able to take constructive criticism.

Some organizations assign potential leaders to a coach or mentor several levels above them. This is fine and can be beneficial if the new leader will move between parts of the organization. But beware of the "golden boy" perception that the junior person in the relationship is protected and can do no wrong. Even if a more senior coach is assigned, the immediate supervisor should still be the primary source of help for a new leader.

Here are some things a coach should consider when working with a more junior leader.

Encourage your trainee to take risks. This is very hard to do because their risk is most likely your risk as well, and their failure becomes entirely your responsibility. A good leader has to be able to assess risks and decide which are worth taking and which are not. Again, that means close supervision, but a willingness to let them try. A good way to approach this is to sit down and discuss the idea you feel might be risky. Have the trainee explain all the pros and cons and why they think one outweighs the other. You will probably need to fill in some blanks learned from your own experience. On the other hand, there might be something you think would benefit the organization, but that your trainee has rejected as too risky. Young leaders will often err on the side of caution, which is not all bad, but they need to learn when a risk might be worth taking.

It may seem that leadership training and development just results in all bad news but don't let them be discouraged. Celebrate their success. That doesn't mean constant cheering for every little thing. Instead, when they have done something well, tell them. If you gave them a project to complete and they did a good job, make sure they get the credit. It's very easy to only criticize, but positive reinforcement is a much better motivator and teacher.

There is a natural tendency to want to hang on to your protege. Don't be afraid to loan or even reassign them to other parts of the organization. They will be better overall leaders for the organization if they have a broader range of experience. Also, younger people in the workplace tend to want these broader experiences more than previous generations.

Be willing to give your trainee a peek under the tent. That means let them see the inner workings of the organization. Doing so will really help them understand why you want things a certain way as well as help them see the interrelationships and cause and effect of decisions and actions taken by leaders in the organization. It always baffles me when leaders won't let their trainees see the whole picture. If you don't trust them, don't train them to be a leader!

Leadership development is a long-term process. Make sure someone is always there to coach new leaders along the way.

Find Your Why, Then Build Your Business

What makes a great leader? Whether in business or in public life if a person is followed it is because they are identified with why they do what they do not what they do. Take Martin Luther King Jr, his followers travelled miles to listen to him, not because of what he was trying to do, but WHY. This is where people go wrong in running a business, they may begin with the right reasons but can they maintain them. So the answer is, find your why then build your business.

So firstly if you have decided to go into a business whether it is online or a bricks and mortar venture, have you really thought out what the purpose of this enterprise is. Are you purely trying to make money for yourself or your family or are you trying to help and inspire people with a specific need. If it is just money then think again, if you have a purpose and a goal the money will follow. Without the purpose you may find that as you earn the money the goal will become fuzzy and your interest will wane in the business.

This can so often be the case with online business, you join a company or even start your own, you are full of good intentions at the beginning, but after the first efforts you slow down, begin doubting yourself and wonder why you ever started. You may not be able to entice clients or build a downline due to the fact that you are not inspiring them, just trying to manipulate them. This is because you have not identified your WHY properly. If you had, you would have a reason to continue, you would know deep inside you that this is where you are going.

So where do you start to learn what your why is? A good book to read is "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek. This book identifies what has inspired great companies and great leaders to succeed. I personally have read this book and it has not only helped me to identify my 'why' but also to see what motivates others that I am connected to.

Once you have found your why or are at least willing to try to learn how to, then you should team up with other like minded people who not only know why they are doing what they are doing, but how. This will enable you to further your knowledge and become inspired by them, which in turn will motivate you to help others do the same.

When you have found your innermost why, then you have a reason to get out of bed in the morning, work on your business whatever problems arise and mostly get joy out of inspiring people to join what you do because they know why you do it. So do not forget, before you go any further, find your 'why', then build your business.

How to Create an Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow - Melody Beattie

Gratitude Mindfulness

Appreciating others and saying thank you is good for your health and peace of mind.A large body of research on positive psychology and happiness suggests that developing an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.

Recent research indicates that people who frequently feel grateful have increased energy, more optimism, increased social connections and more happiness than those that do not. Grateful people are less likely to be anxious, depressed, self-absorbed and greedy or suffer from substance abuse. They are economically better off, sleep better, exercise more regularly, and are more resilient.

The research is part of the "positive psychology" movement which focuses on strengths.Cultivating gratitude is a form of cognitive -behavioral therapy focusing on changing peoples' thought patterns which can positively affect their moods.

As simple as it sounds, gratitude is actually a complex emotion that requires self-reflection, humility and empathy for others. Being grateful requires a shift in mind-set from negativity and blaming others focusing on problems, annoyances or perceived injustices to appreciating and giving credit to others.

Gratitude is essentially being aware of and thankful for the good things in our lives. We consider the things for which we are grateful; we count our "blessings."

Psychological research indicates that the experience of gratitude makes us happy, and that the regular experience of gratitude can actually enable us to elevate our typical level of happiness in a sustained way. It takes regular practice to become a healthy habit.

Imagine intentionally focusing on the things in your life for which you are grateful. These might include significant relationships, your own achievements, or the contributions others have made in helping you accomplish your goals, small kindnesses from loved ones or even just the experience of sitting quietly for a while without the intrusion of your phone or Blackberry.

Gratitude increases well-being because it promotes the savoring of positive experiences. When we contemplate our "blessings" we squeeze the most out of these experiences. We stop taking things for granted and notice small things with a sense of wonder and appreciation. Gratitude allows us to get the most from the good things in our lives.

Count Your Blessings

Gratitude is quite simply an attitude or conscious choice.The one thing we can always choose each day, in any situation, is our attitude. We always have the ability to choose an attitude of gratitude.

If you intentionally try to focus on your "blessings" you'll likely notice that it is impossible to simultaneously feel negative emotions. I experienced this during the San Francisco Loma Prieta earthquake when I lost many of my possessions. The acts of kindness of so many people shifted my thinking to appreciation of what truly mattered, and not things that could be replaced. My entire experience of the event was instantly transformed when I focused on those things for which I was eternally thankful.

Gratitude Research

Research demonstrates that people who experience relatively more positive emotions (joy, love, confidence) than negative (anger, fear, anxiety) are more successful and accomplished in various areas of their lives.

They:

• Enjoy more satisfying and longer marriages
• Develop more close friendships
• Build more cooperative, charitable and helpful relationships
• Earn higher income
• Achieve more productivity at work
• Get better work performance evaluations
• Receive better manager ratings
• Engage in richer social interactions
• Express more self-confidence
• Create more resilience
• Demonstrate more creativity
• Experience more energy and "flow"
• Exude better physical health
• Live longer lives

Psychological research indicates that these characteristics are not simply associated with happiness. Experiencing more positive emotion actually leads to this success.

Gratitude Exercises

Many of the people I've coached have experimented with gratitude exercises and found them to have a significant positive impact on their professional and personal lives. Successful people are self-aware and take action.

You might consider using the present moment as an opportunity for such an experiment.Here are seven methods that research indicates can have sustained positive effects:

1. Keep a gratitude journal. Note one to three good things that happened during the day and be specific. Post your intention on Facebook or Twitter.There's even an iPod app for gratitude journaling!

2. Find a "gratitude accountability buddy". Swap gratitude lists with a friend or co-worker; acknowledging where gratitude is due will keep it from sounding like bragging.

3. Watch your language. Using disparaging self-talk reinforces negative thinking. Don't gossip.

4. Practice mindfulness. Several times a day, pause and focus on the sounds, smells, touches around you.

5. Take the time to savor all experiences. Smell the coffee and roses.

6. Count your blessings not sheep when going to sleep. Review events and people to be grateful for and let go of the rest.

7. Go on a gratitude visit. Write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who has made a positive difference in your life, but whom you never properly thanked.

Creating an attitude of gratitude at home and work can make everyone happier. Even small boosts in positive emotions can make life more fulfilling and satisfying and the world a more peaceful place.

Thank You for Your Readership!

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development for senior leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders develop a more sustainable business? Expressing gratitude and appreciation helps enlightened leaders tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to fully engage employees.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is "Do I regularly express gratitude and say thank you?" Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching for collaborative leaders who create sustainable businesses.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create a happy and prosperous business where everyone is fully engaged. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

General Model of Administration

The administrative process is influenced by characteristics of the organization itself and the people within it, both of which in turn are shaped by the broader environment from which they are drawn. There are major organization variables: the basic goals and tasks of the organization (product line, markets to be served, etc.); the technology for creating and delivering the organization's product or services (work layout, production processes, etc.); and the structure of departments and roles required to coordinate and control the technology.

Over time, these organization variables tend to take on an identity of their own, apart from the administrators who created and developed them. That is, the organizational characteristics of a hospital are likely to remain much the same even though the top administrator is replaced, and a geographically decentralized retail firm is unlikely to change quickly into a functionally organized manufacturing company, even though its entire top-management group is reconstituted. Moreover, most of us would be willing to make some predictions about the administrative problems and processes of an organization knowing nothing more than its basic goals, technology, and structure. At the very least, we would be willing to bet that the manner in which the administrative role was performed would be quite different in a research and development laboratory, a bank, and an automobile assembly plant.

The relationship between organization variables and the administrative process is interactive. It would appear that if administrators can create the organization's goals, technology, and structure, then certainly they should be able to modify each of these variables in response to perceived changes in the organization's environment. However, in most mature organizations, such internal changes are likely to be marginal, except in the face of major environment shifts such as a dramatic change in consumer buying habits, resource availability, or population trends. In fact, as we shall discuss in more detail later, even when confronted with major environmental changes, administrators may perceive some organization variables to be relatively intractable.

Human Variables - The administrative process is also influenced and constrained by a set of people variables: the abilities, attitudes, and personalities of organization members. These characteristics are affected by the environment from which organization members are drawn, and, in the short run, they too are difficult to change. Over time-and within limits-members skills can be upgraded; attitudes can be influenced; and age, sex, and racial proportions can be modified. However, at any given time, administrators must deal with what basically exists within the human subsystem while attempting changes at the margin. Here again, knowing nothing more than the characteristics of organization members, we might be tempted to make guesses about the conduct of administration. We would, for example, expect a hospital.administrator to deal with his medical staff differently than with his office personnel.

Leadership Courage - Field of Vision

Most of our leadership tips and insights come from our experiences running a biz, and seeing life's lessons play out in everyday life. On a recent Saturday, Tanner, running back for a D1 high school football ran for 205 yards in a rain soaked playoff game. Tom and Peg, his mom and dad were...well let's just say beyond joy and pride...and buoyed by thunderous crowd cheers.

There was something magical how he racked up the 205 yards.

...Tanner's a great kid, but with all the football gear, he looked like any one of the other kids. After the 3rd or 4thrunning attempt, I felt something very special about Tanners performance.

...I don't know that he was any bigger, stronger or faster, but nearly every time he clutched the ball, with alert eyes forward, he sliced through the line of defenders, almost magically planting his next step in the right spot... just out of the defenders reach.

His field of vision...sorting and finding the open spot, moving as if guided by hi tech computers...left defenders quaking in his wake. He was focused, humble, yet fiercely determined with the end zone always in his sights.

Our field of vision...or ability to "sort out the noise"...is part intelligence and part gut.

Try out these field of vision questions...

1. Can you sense the heartbeat of all the noise going on in your economy? Are you usually spot on? Are you "taking in" and adjusting your next steps, just in time, to keep moving?
2. Do you know how your customers "feel" about working with you?
3. Try this...write down 5 names of your top clients...and intuitively, draw how they feel. Use the little circular faces {smiley, angry, frustrated} for each of those top 5. If you're especially courageous...do the same for 5 key prospects you crave.
4. Can you sense the top 5 gaps...missing pieces...which are stopping your biz from getting to the "end zone."?

If any of these aren't clear, maybe it's time to ramp up your "field of vision." In biz, that's sorting out the noise, staying focused on the most important, and adjusting your steps to keep moving forward.

2 Ways to Build Team Rapport

Develop creative ideas for building bonds among your team members

In nearly every area of life, the most successful teams are the ones whose members communicate frequently and effectively, enjoy working together, and maintain focus on top priorities and goals. Rapport is the cohesive glue that pulls this all together.

At its most basic level, rapport means relationships defined by mutual trust, harmony, and affinity. Strong rapport is particularly crucial when your organization is preparing for a change initiative.

As a leader, there is much you can do to build rapport; your team cannot thrive on data and rational thought alone. Genuine relationships undergird every organizational process. Start with the assumption that each person on your team wants to be included in decisions that will affect them. It's a basic human desire - and a basic tenet of respectful, adult interactions. We don't like things imposed on us, and we don't like unexpected surprises. Your team members don't like it either.

When an organization undergoes a major change, people's energy is naturally dissipated. People often will fight change simply because they don't want to expend the necessary effort to deal with it. I recently was given a new refrigerator, but I didn't want to do the work of moving it into the kitchen - I just wanted it to magically appear. People are naturally resistant to change, even when the change is ostensibly welcomed and good. It's amazing all the ways we find to resist it. The best resource for understanding this is Immunity to Change, written by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey.

So, how do we involve and engage people who are affected by change? How can we build rapport? The key is to actively look for ways to create involvement. Here are two suggestions on building rapport among your team members.

1) Build team rapport through storytelling
I have witnessed the power of team members listening to stories about challenges their leaders have experienced in their own lives. Stories help leaders build rapport by revealing their own vulnerable, all-too-human dimension. "This was the challenge, this is why I was so afraid, this is what happened, and this is the lesson I learned."

When leaders share their stories, it helps others open up to their own. In my years working with teams all over the world, the most poignant moments have been in the midst of people sharing their stories: listening to how people of all walks have overcome daunting circumstances, dealt with the tender uncertainty of parenthood, recalled humorous memories of screw-ups. Laughter and tears - everyone equally human and vulnerable and connected.

When you share and hear stories, you establish a point of harmony, natural affinity and empathy. Your colleagues can relate to what you experienced, they can learn from your lesson, and they can see you as someone who's real. You have trusted them with your story; now they can trust you more, as well.

An easy place to start is to use stories to let them know why you're committed to the work of the team and to the good you think you are all capable of. Tell them what they can count on from you and what you need from them. Let them know what you're committed to doing. And if it's sincere, let them know you're committed to each of them in the process. If this comes from the heart, they will hear more than just your words.

2) Build team rapport through shared experiences
In my work as a facilitator, I make it a point to have groups engage in problem-solving activities and shared experiences. It becomes a gateway to knowing and understanding each other better. And with that, working better together naturally follows.

As a leader, you can create opportunities for frequent, close interaction. With deliberate attention, you can expand the scenarios where people innovate, explore issues, make decisions, and build solutions together. By tending the process of how your team is working together (as well as monitoring the content of what they're trying to accomplish), you begin seeing what is working and what is getting in the way.

Much of my work involves helping leaders become better process observers of their own team. This is harder than it sounds. It's easy for attention to be swept along by the content of the situation. This is one of the values of working with a skilled facilitator - someone who can tend the team process, coach you to observe more effectively, and guide you and your team through the many layers inherent to organizational change.

Nonetheless, with a bit of effort, you can create frequent opportunities for informal storytelling and shared experiences with your team. You'll open the door to a new level of rapport, build trust, and in turn, enhance your team's performance.

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Your Path to Successful Leadership

It has been established that every human being has potential for leadership. But in spite of this latent ability, it is only few people that discover and utilise their leadership talent. It takes time to become a leader. John Maxwell, a renowned leadership expert educates that while a few people are born leaders, the ability to lead is actually a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learnt and sharpened. Contrary to Maxwell's submission on born leaders, Myles Munroe, a popular motivational speaker says leaders are not born, but are created by life. Hans Finzel, author of "The Top 10 Mistakes Leaders Make" reinforces Munroe's assertion by submitting that top-flight leaders are not born, but they learn by example.

Scarcity of leaders

The world witnesses leadership crises today because there are many followers, supervisors and managers but only few leaders. Leadership is very abstract just like beauty because it is difficult to define, yet you know it when you see it. Leaders are ordinary people who embrace extraordinary circumstances that bring forth their latent potential. The proof of effective leadership finds practical expression in the followers, because the key to success in any human endeavour lies in the ability to lead others successfully. Everything rises and falls on leadership. Despite the large resources we have in Nigeria, for instance, we have not been able to achieve the desired development because of lack of good leadership.

Effectiveness and influence

It is said that the effectiveness of one's work will never rise above one's ability to lead others successfully, and one thing that is especially central to leadership success is influence. "Leaders have only their influence to aid them...Followers in voluntary organisations cannot be forced to get on board. If the leader has no influence with them, then they won't follow," asserts Maxwell. According to Munroe, great leaders never desire to lead but to serve. He corroborates Maxwell's assertion by saying leadership is the ability to lead others by influence.

Unique purpose and misconception

When it comes to the issue of leadership, the purpose of leadership is not to gather as many followers as possible but to reproduce other leaders. However, many in leadership positions today believe that their leadership should be measured by the number of people that depend on them. The greatest display of leadership is service. In every follower, there is a leader and it only requires self-discovery or willingness to learn.

Good human relations and appreciation

Good human relations and appreciation are other factors central to successful leadership. There is no disputing the fact that the basis of life is people and how they relate with each other. Our success, fulfilment and happiness depend upon our ability to relate effectively. The best way to become a person that others are attracted to is to develop qualities that we are attracted to in others. Whatever your position in a relationship, if you are aware of a problem, it is your responsibility to make a concerted effort to proffer a solution. According to William James, a psychologist, as regards the issue of appreciation, which is another aspect of human relations, the deepest principle in human nature is the desire to be appreciated.

After analysing many surveys, J.C. Staehle, a great human resource management expert discovered that the principal causes of unrest among workers are failure to give credit for suggestions; failure to correct grievances; failure to encourage and criticising employees in front of other people. Others are failure to ask employees for their opinions; failure to inform employees of their progress and favouritism. All these points border on lack of appreciation or recognition.

Integrity and temperament

For you to be an effective or successful leader, you need to maintain a high level of integrity. Recent unfolding events in the corporate world have confirmed that personal moral standards are eroded because of pursuit of personal pleasure and shortcuts to success. Maxwell says integrity is not what we do so much as the person we are, and the person we are in turn determines what we do. Our system of values is so much a part of us that we cannot separate it from ourselves. It becomes the compass that guides us. It establishes priorities in our lives and judges what we will accept or reject.

You can become a person that people trust by building integrity into your relationships. You need to demonstrate whatever you want to instil in others. According to Munroe, a good leader must have integrity, and must be morally, ethically and intellectually sound. A leader must not be irrationally temperamental. Leaders must not have a negative, violent spirit. They must not be easily manipulated by the behaviour or offences of others.

Charisma

For you to realise and maximise your leadership potential or ability, you need to understand what others like about you and why. We all have the potential to develop this quality that makes the difference between personality and personality plus. The greatest leaders have the special quality that attracts people to them. The quality that draws others to you is regarded as charisma. "Charisma", by way of creative structural decomposition and conceptual amplification, is said to be "C" for "Concern"; "H" for "Help"; "A" for Action; "R" for "Results"; "I" for "Influence"; "S" for "Sensitivity"; "M" for "Motivation"; and "A" for "Affirmation".

Leadership mistakes

Leadership is very taxing and has multiplicity of facets such as respect, experience, emotional strength, vision, timing, people skills, etc. The ten most common leadership mistakes are identified as top-down attitude; dirty delegation; putting paperwork before peoplework; communication chaos; absence of affirmation and missing the culture clues. The remaining are giving no room for mavericks; dictatorship in decision-making; failure to focus on the future and success without successors.

Final note

The end product of leadership is reproduction also referred to multiplication. Sequentially, the stages of leadership influence are modelling, motivation, mentoring and multiplication. By modelling, we mean followers or subordinates will do things the way do you not according to what you say. So if you are a corporate leader, and you fail to walk the talk by treading the path of morality for instance, people will not take your talk seriously but will rather do what you do.

From modelling, we get to the level of motivation. This is about a leader inspiring the followers or subordinates. From motivation, the leader can become more involved in the followers by mentoring them. Reproduction or multiplication already mentioned refers to a level in which the leader has taught followers or subordinates all they need to know and they can be on their own. Endeavour to put all these tips into practice and you will definitely become a successful leader.

It's Good To Strive For Perfection, But Avoid Being Fixated

One often hears the advice that we should strive for perfection, in order to maximize our potential. However, there is a fine line between striving for perfection, and being fixated on that achievement. Either

fortunately or unfortunately, the reality is that no one is truly perfect. Some are certainly much closer than others, but perfection is beyond human reach.

Nevertheless, there is some real benefit derived from striving for perfection. In today's world, in far too many instances, mediocrity has not only become the norm, but what many people strive for. Comments like, "I just want to pass," or "As long as it's okay," or "I'll do my best," are often symptoms of today's society, where many people even condemn individuals who strive for perfection.

When we examine our world, I believe we would all agree that there are many things that could be done better. We often complain about bad service, shoddy workmanship, inferior quality, yet, it seems that most of us simply accept these things as "facts of life," and "beyond our control." Much of the obstacles standing in the way of improving are attitudes like these. We can, and we must, do better, if we are to evolve and improve as a civilization.

When one strives for perfection, he is truly striving to be all that he can be. It is more than merely saying that "I'll try," which is usually paramount to an admission of defeat and a pre- excuse

exercise. True striving for perfection demands a higher level of functionality. It demands planning, thinking, creative ideas, situational analysis, and challenging what may have become the status quo. One who strives for perfection is not willing to merely settle for the easiest or quickest solution or course of action, but prefers to decide based on a comprehensive analysis of circumstances, a determination of the facts (in as unbiased a manner as possible), putting one's plan "down on paper," examining the pros and cons, and understanding ramifications of actions or inactions, A perfectionist sees things as they should be, instead of as they currently are, or as others might believe should be. Striving for perfection is often a lonely quest.

There is a very fine line between the attempt to achieve perfection, and fixating on a situation. The fixator is often myopic when it comes to an analysis of the "big picture," fixating on one or a few details, and lacking the ability or self-confidence to make a decision. Perfection is not a stalling technique, and requires an action to be taken. Often, fixation causes a lack of positive action, perhaps due to fear, lack of confidence, or inability to adapt and visualize things as they should be. Individuals who fixate often stress "old occurrences, old ideas, or old events." They often get "hung up" on certain things, and cannot go beyond that detail. One who fixates can in no way strive for perfection.

Is perfection something desirable? Yes, in the situation, that the individual attempting to be perfect has the "skill set," the personality, and strong self- confidence required for this quest. This, however, is the rare individual. Others without that skill set can help things get better than they are by avoiding fixating, "opening their minds," and permitting themselves to be exposed to alternatives. Undoubtedly, our world would be better if more competent individuals, more often, strove for perfection.

When Leaders Should And Should Not Be Tactful

How often do true leaders hear the complaints, "Don't ruffle any feathers," or "Don't make waves," or "Don't hurt their feelings," or "You need to be more considerate or tactful"? Isn't it interesting to note who usually asks these types of questions or comments? One will rarely hear an effective leader questions a peer's tact. These statements are usually made by individuals, who while they may be well- meaning, are rarely able to proactively lead.

One of the requirements of being a true leader is being proactive - that is, seeing a situation as it exists that needs improvement, and tackling it before it becomes a major crisis. While there certainly is a time, place and need for tact, I have observed countless hours of wasted time in the name of tact. Tact is over-rated in management and leadership, because all too often "leaders" congratulate individuals on a "job well done," who did not do a good job in the first place, and these same "leaders" privately criticized at the time. There is a time for tact, but there is an even more important time to express disappointment. If the disappointment is never expressed, how would anyone know that what was done was not what was expected.

I have heard countless organizational "leaders" complain about lack of tact regarding paid staff performance. These "leaders" must remember that paid staff is precisely that - they are paid to do a job, and to do it properly. Patience and tact are necessary when a task is originally assigned, but when staff has repeatedly disappointed, a real leader must express disappointed in a clear manner. That is not a lack of tact nor a lack of request - it is a normal way to handle poor job performance.

However, leaders should and must be clear as to their expectations of both staff, and volunteers. This clarity must include goals, actions needed, and a deadline for each step. A mere suggested time line is often insufficient and ineffective. This should be stated first orally, with a chance for questions to be asked and answered fully. Then, the leaders expectations should be forwarded in writing (an e-mail is acceptable for this person).

Tact should not mean quietly accepting poor quality work and performance. It is fine to be tactful, but leaders who are more concerned with tact than with performance, are generally not leaders at all. I have consulted with hundreds of leaders, and much prefer dealing with a less tactful but clearer thinker, who is action and results oriented, and demands of others what he demands of himself, than what most "leaders" present themselves as. Unfortunately, it is much more common to come across the ineffective, but tactful leader. In reality, and in terms of getting things done, tact is over- rated!

What Does Saying, "I'll Try" Usually Really Mean?

Have you ever noticed that many people tend to say, "I'll try," when asked if they can do something? What does that really mean? In most cases, when a person responds by indicating that he'll try, it is simply a polite way of making an excuse in advance. When someone says, "I'll try," instead of saying "I will," it usually indicates something about that individual.

It may indicate a lack of confidence - that the individual is unsure if he can accomplish the deed. However, if that is the case, and the individual is unsure that he has the ability, either he should ask or request assistance or guidance, or simply say that he is not certain that he can accomplish what is being requested. The reason that saying "I'll try" causes additional challenges to the process is that an untrained listener believes that the person responding 'I'll try" will actually do just that - - try. More often than not, the person saying that he will try doesn't make much of an attempt at all, because he, either consciously or sub-consciously believes saying that he'll try somehow gets him off the hook, kin terms of getting the task done. The reality is that most try-ers are not do-ers.

"I'll try" is another one of those subconsciously negative statements many individuals use. Saying, "I'll try" often means "leave me alone," but the person is trying to be polite! "I'll try" also indicates a degree of dismissiveness and lack of urgency placed on the performance of the deed. If an individual says that he'll try, he is really saying that if he can get to, and if he does it, then it will get done. "I'll try" is a mere cliche, and the sign of a weak leader, if used by someone in a leadership position in an organization.

An effective leader thinks in terms of doing and achieving, rather than trying. It is very similar to the mindset of someone calling something a problem versus the more positive, results-oriented, "can-do" mentality of someone who sees something merely as a challenge.

Much of the difference between an effective and ineffective leader is that of perception. A strong leader sees challenges that can be overcome by effort, and doing, while a weaker "leader" sees problems in clear pixel everything, and while he'll try, he probably won't achieve. Which type of individual would you prefer in a leadership position.

Next time you undertake a task, don't think in terms of trying. Rather, think in terms of doing, and accomplishing the objective. Put yourself in the mindset and frame of mine to get something done, and you are likely to get it done. Think in terms of trying and more often than not, you will not!

Effective Leaders Admit Their Limitations

One of the most essential things an organization's leader must be willing and able to do is to identify, know, come to grips with, admit, accept, and overcome his limitations. There are very few leaders that are experts in every area that may come before them, but the difference between effective leadership and the "wannabees" is often that the individual who knows his strengths and weaknesses, and knows where to turn and/ or who to turn to for advice and assistance in weaker areas.

Far too many individuals who merely ascend to leadership positions are so ego-driven that they are unwilling to admit that they do not have sufficient expertise in a particular area, and then, by the time they do, they often "make a mess" of something that would have been taken care of properly had they admitted their weakness. Unfortunately, in my three plus decades of being involved with organizations and not-for-profits, as a staff member, volunteer, and as a consultant, I have observed that there are far more ineffective leaders than there are effective ones. Those that are willing to suppress their ego, and ask for advice when needed, generally fare better. However, another obstacle often faced, is that these individuals even lack the ability to properly identify where to turn, and often turn to the wrong sources for advice.

Merely because someone has been involved with an organization for a long time does not make him an expert. It may give him experience, but whether or not he learned from that experience, and now understands the necessary lessons, often differentiates getting valuable advice versus just someone's subjective opinion.

One of the topics that I always cover when I give Leadership Training programs is the difference between experience and expertise. While anyone who has done something, whether well and successfully or not, has gained experience. On the other hand, only the individual who does it well, and has done it consistently, and understands both the art and science of getting things done, is an actual expert in an area. Obviously, there are always far more experienced people than there are those that are experts.

Organizations face obstacles like this because they spend insufficient time on the very important issues, including effective and professional leadership training, and best practices and techniques for identifying and qualifying potential future leaders. I have seen organizations squander funds hiring a consultant or a speaker, and then not following through, or hiring an inappropriate one for their needs. All human beings are limited in some areas. It is the exceptional one that admits it, and works an effective plan to take action to address it adequately.

3 Characteristics Of An Effective Leader That Are Vital For Success

What are the characteristics of an effective leader? Before we address that question, it is important to note that not all leaders are created equal. Some over promise but under deliver, while others prove just how deserving they are of their position.

Do you have the characteristics of an effective leader? Well, let's see. Are you...

A Calculating Observer

An efficient leader knows how to make the most of a situation simply by observing the people around him. Through the cues he receives from others and from his environment, he is able to make sound decisions on what to do, where to go and how to respond.

As a leader, your observation skills are of the utmost importance. Likewise, you must also be careful not to give yourself away with careless facial expressions. A poker face keeps people guessing and also keeps you three to four steps ahead of everybody else.

A Good Communicator

One of the vital characteristics of an effective leader is having the ability to express himself clearly and concisely. Ask anybody who's ever had to lead a team or follow orders - this is a must!

After all, how can you get your team to do what must be done when you can't even tell them what it is in the first place?

Think of the generals who had command over entire fleets and armies in history. The most revered leaders were always those who were able to communicate what they wanted to happen to their men. With good communication, half the battle's won.

A Precise Taskmaster

You know the saying, "if you want something done right, do it yourself?" Well, that's not very practical at all.

If you're a leader of a large group, you can't possibly take on all the responsibilities yourself. As such, you need to learn how to delegate. This is one of the most important characteristics of an effective leader.

Take Steve Jobs for example. He's not the salesman who convinced you to buy an iPod instead of a Zune during the rush sale at the mall. He's not the person who shot the ads or the one who checked whether your particular iPod passed the quality test while it was being manufactured.

But he was able to appoint individuals who were able to take care of specific tasks - this alone makes him an excellent leader.

So, do you have the characteristics of an effective leader? Perhaps it's time you take a good look at yourself.

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