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Mentor? Who Needs A Mentor?

Jeff — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:08:53 +0000

Who needs a mentor. . .everyone who is truly serious about achieving more of their true potential, personally and financially. In fact, Richard Brooke says:
“If you’re someone who wants to break out and do something extraordinary that you would not do on your own initiative, you better have a coach-and you better have a great one.”
If you doubt Mr. Brooke’s quote may I suggest you investigate all top success icons in any field and you will find they all have Mentors and Coaches. It is reported that Michael Jordon at the peak of his career had 11 coaches.
You may be asking: what’s the difference between a Mentor and a Coach? Webster’s dictionary defines a . . .
Mentor as: “An experienced and trusted friend and prudent advisor.”
Coach as: “a private tutor; one who instructs or trains a performer or a team of performers.”
We have defined two types of Mentors – Life and Area Specific Mentors. A Life Mentor is one whose success system or methodology is universal and the foundation for success in every area of a person’s life.
Finding a Life Mentor whose success system is universal to everyone, no matter his or her education, talents or social status, is extremely difficult. This is why Napoleon Hill, author of Think & Grow Rich, is so unique and the ideal Life Mentor because his success system is the foundation for every outstanding achievement and fortune ever made.
An Area Specific Mentor is a mentor, often referred to as a “coach,” whose knowledge and expertise is in one or a few areas of life. For example, a head coach of a National Football League (NFL) team possesses knowledge, skills and a system encompassing all aspects of the game. However, he utilizes coaches skilled in the different areas of the game such as offense, defense and special teams.
Below are six areas in life where we can use Area Specific Mentors/Coaches:

Physical/Health

Family

Mental/Educational

Career/Financial

Social/Civic

Spiritual/Ethical
Seriously you say, do we and specifically myself really need a mentor? Let’s look at the facts:
No one person will live long enough to make all of the mistakes
In simple terms, mentors speed the learning process and are the reason for advancements in technology and the standards of living we enjoy today.
The last half-century has seen very little change statistically.
Using the oft-quoted post-war study published by the Social Security Administration and Denvey’s Economic Tables, less than 5% of the population at that time retired wealthy or financially independent. Sadly, a study done in March 2000 by the American Economic Review reported that the gap between “the haves” and “have nots” is widening.
Grade-Point-Score averages, according to studies, have barely been maintained over the last 50 years. Moreover, in professional sports, with all the advancements in mind and physical development, one would think that the number of super stars being produced would have increased dramatically; however, as a percentage, it remains virtually unchanged.
With the explosion of entrepreneurial opportunities in franchising and network marketing beginning in the 1980s, plus the same explosion from the mid-1990s on in Internet businesses, why doless than 5% of the participants in these ventures enjoy success and make any money! WHY?
Research and my own experience, which includes teaching an entrepreneurial course at a major community college for several years and working with several thousand participants in my Success and Wealth System course, leads me to one indisputable conclusion – Most people are without mentors, especially “Life Mentors.”
You may say: It only happens in movies or for those talented few you say! How about the heroics and courage against unbelievable odds in athletics, the military and in everyday life. These qualities of character and achievement were learned from a true Life Mentor such as parents, teachers and those who have paid the price to be called a Mentor.
Yes, we all need good Life Mentors and Coaches at every stage of our lives. But be careful to choose those who walk the talk and demonstrate and exemplify the life qualities and achievements in their own life.
(c) Copyright Futures Management Services Inc.
About The Author
Charles Lalonde is the author of Revealing The Secret Formula In Think and Grow Rich and has developed two workshops, Performance Accelerator Sales System and Success and Wealth System eCourse, which are designed to help individuals realize their dreams and potential. Charles also is a performance enhancement specialist, trainer and speaker, and certified Accelerated Learning and Educational Kinesiology teacher.
He has just released his newest FREE eBook “The Two Greatest Life Mentors Of All Time.” An information packed eBook teaches What, Why and How to choose using his exclusive “Mentor Profile Worksheet.” Want a Billionaire and Multi- Millionaire for personal Mentors? You Can! Find out how – get your FREE copy at: http://www.thoughtstoriches.com/mentor
Visit www.thoughtstoriches.com or email at clalonde@thoughtstoriches.com

5 Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategies for Leaders!

Jeff — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:38:34 +0000

Here’s a really simple way to think about the ins andouts, the doing and practice or attitudes and behaviors ofbeing a leader.
Many times I get asked certain questions that tell me thatthere seems to be some confusion concerning thesecritical areas of the leadership mission:
1) When and who can, should or will leaders need to lead?
2) What do leaders actually do?
3) How and in what ways do leaders appear to lead?
This article will show you how to analyze, define andperform the most important task of a leader’s job – thatis, to enrich human capital.
You will appreciate this one essential truth: leaders needto invest in and leverage the various factors, variablesand elements of the “human capital equation”.
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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy – Number 1:Learn the Nature of Your Capital Assets!
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You will want to use your understanding of the four genericasset categories that form “human capital”.
In a word, your success as a leader depends on your answerto this simple question: what are human capital assets?
Our capital assets are defined as the ways we bring valueto our world, to our environment and to our evolution.
Because people purposely add value to the circumstances oftheir lives, I call each of those value-appreciating areas,a “capital asset”.
These assets or value-enhancing capabilities are:
Production – the ability to create, evaluate, perform,deliver, process, supply, execute, apply, produce and manyother “functional” activities.
Knowledge – may be thought of as having an ability to think,analyze, conceive, extrapolate, interpret or translate andother mental, reasoning, cogitating or intellectual actions.
Social – the forming of relationships, communities, teams,partnerships or alliances, the developing and sustaining ofnetworks, interactions, exchanges or transactions with andbetween other people.
Utilization – concepts involving capabilities towards,growing, improving, enhancing, evolving, developing,learning, educating and progressing beyond one’s innate ornatural ability – an ability to act towards and achieve thefulfillment of one’s potential
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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy – Number 2:Focus the Considerable Impacts of Our Capital Assets!
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If you can maintain the idea of focusing attention on,sharpening the impact and magnifying the effects of each ofthose 4 capital asset areas.
You can be certain that when you do all of these actions,you will find a venerable treasure trove of positiveoutcomes.
So what should you concentrate your efforts on developing?Here are some possible beneficial pay-offs:
Value – you will increase the impact of this desirablebenefit simply by constantly questioning the meaning ofyour group’s work engagements – are we doing this task toadd value or because we have to or are supposed to do it?
Quality – improving the quality of the processes that yourgroup uses to accomplish its work must be a continualprocess unto itself – how much and in what ways do weleverage the 4 capital asset areas to enhance ourefficiency, our resourcefulness and effectiveness?
Motives – what inspires you is many times just as importantas what your motivation inspires you to achieve – does yourgroup invest any of their time and energies into exploringthe values, beliefs, meanings, purposes and objectivespropelling their daily efforts?
Capacity – building upon the competencies, performances,know-how and knowledge, facts and figures and growthopportunities are critical in these days of disruptive,brutally dynamic, break-neck pace of change – how do youdevelop the capacity or potential for each of the 4 capitalasset areas?
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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy – Number 3:Fully Engage the Power of Your Capital Attributes!
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You are already very familiar with each of your capitalattributes – they are, your physical, intellectual,spiritual and developmental natures.
Successful leaders endeavor to fully involve thoseattributes of our human natures – they understand thatpeople are at their best when they totally engage:
- Their 5 physical senses,
- Their creative and cognitive minds,
- Their soul [their will, psychological and emotionalnatures] and spirit
- Their ability to learn new things and then innovate andapply their new knowledge to problems, challenges andsituations.
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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy – Number 4:Grandly Evolve, Expand and Energize Your Resources!
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The most important thing in every organized effort is thehuman resource. There are just three rules concerning thehuman resource – it should not be under-utilized, it shouldnever be under-estimated and it must not beunder-developed.
It’s really a sickness that most leaders inflict on theirgroups. 95% of all organizations violate all three of thoserules everyday – want proof?
Just look for any of the following symptoms of the diseasein your organization, base of operations or yourself:
- Unimaginative, uninspired work products or practices
- Frustrated, fearful, worried employees
- Sabotage, theft [minor items like pens, paper, etc.]
- Lapses in ethical behaviors, morality and truthfulness
- Absence of leaders who are or feel empowered to act
Excellent leaders seek ways to maximize, expand-upon andbroaden the scope of involvement of their people’s bodies,minds, spirits and souls – nurture your people and they’llnourish your prosperity.
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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy – Number 5:Inspire, Influence, Involve, Incite, Instigate, Incentivize,Include, Incorporate, Increase, Incubate, Inculcate,Indemnify, Induce Them to Enrich Their Capital Assets!
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Leaders are “In-” it all for the long haul – leaders always”In-”vest their energies “In-”to the growth and enrichmentof their people.
You should attempt to follow Strategy Number-5 with all thezeal, enthusiasm and love that you can muster – when you do,you will discover that literal chest of treasures thatusually lies hidden deep “In-”side your people.
You’ll discover that there are numerous opportunities “In-”the resources, attributes, potential impacts and assets ofhuman beings for you to “In-”geniously, “In-”variably”In-”veigle and demonstrate your care and concern for yourpeople’s welfare and advancement.
It’s “In-” your best interests to work exclusively and fully”In-”volve yourself “In-” the critical activities ofcoaching, mentoring, counseling, guiding, challenging,educating, “In-”spiring and empowering your people “In-” allthat they do.
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Whether you called a leader or think of yourself as just afollower you too can enrich the human capital assets of thepeople under your care.
If you work with knowledge, perform some service orsupervise people or a process, you can use the lessonslearned in this article to add value, leverage humanresources, inspire others and develop potential.
Now that you know the strategies of human capitalappreciation, you should experiment first with your own workactivities, then try it these principles on your friends,families and associates at work – make your world a better,more enjoyable place, enrich your space today.
Author, consultant and successful leader, Jim Rohn, tells usthat, “A good objective of leadership is to help those whoare doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doingwell to do even better.”
You can turn these 5 enrichment strategies into a wonderful,productive, positive and tangibly glorious reality in yourown life.
You don’t need a business card to say you are a leader, yourboss doesn’t have to appoint you to a position of leadershipand you don’t need a badge to act like a leader.
As the famous advertisement urges us all to, “Just Do It!”
Mustard Seed Investments Inc.Copyright

Recommended Books on Leadership and Team Building

Jeff — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:25:27 +0000

The single most important thing a leader can do is lead by example, and if you want your team to be dynamic and learn more, you’ve got to continually innovate and find new ways to encourage, reward, and motivate YOURSELF! That’s right, I said you’ve got to motivate YOU! If you lead by example, and you’re motivated, soon your team will be too!
That being said, here are my recommendations for a few good leadership and team building books. Enjoy!
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow them and People Will Follow You Failing ForwardJohn C. Maxwell (http://www.injoy.com)
I recommend Maxwell’s books for a variety of reasons. One is because he is a pastor, so he recommends a very ethical type of leadership, grounded by a belief in God. Secondly, he breaks things down in an easy to understand, easy to apply method that anyone can follow and relate to. I’m reading a few of his other books, and he has fast become my favorite author.
Love is the Killer App Tim Sanders (http://www.timsanders.com)
Tim, an executive at Yahoo!, talks about getting the people you work with and for to love you, by sharing your knowledge and your network, in ways that add value for all people. I like to think of myself as a “lovecat” and if you read this book, maybe you’ll see why, and/or become a lovecat yourself.
It’s Your Ship Mike Abrashoff (http://www.grassrootsleadership.com)
A great leadership book that encourages you to empower your team! Simple, obvious messages that are the best!
NOTE: Mike just released a new book called Get Your Ship Together that I have not yet read. If anyone has and has any thoughts about it, please send it my way. Thank you!
Leadership is an Art Max Depree
Max is a master of pointing out how artful it is to be a good leader. Max also talks about how ethics are an important component of business, and that it’s about more than the bottom line. Great, easy to read, book that you can quickly apply to your leadership situation.
Good to Great Jim Collins (http://www.jimcollins.com)
This book is the prequel to Built to Last (another great book), and tells about how the best companies got to where they were, in some very quantifiable ways. I’m amazed any manager doesn’t read this to learn how to be the best. And Jim’s website has some great clips about the different things that you need in order to be GREAT! I would encourage everyone to read this book, think about it, and then get the book on CD and listen to Jim read the book, and think more about it. Wow!
First, Break all the RulesMarcus Buckingham and Curt CoffmanThis is how the world’s best managers SHOULD manage…by treating each player as an individual, by being unafraid to do something different, by BREAKING THE RULES! I took a class where we discussed this book, and believe me, this book will open your eyes to how you really can manage a team of unique people individually, if you’re willing to make the effort.
Ken Blanchard – especially Gung Ho!, Raving Fans, and the One Minute Manager series
More easy reading, with important lessons for all of us that are easy to take away, all jam packed into an easy to read format. I especially enjoy Gung Ho!, and am going to be implementing “The Way of the Beaver,” “The Spirit of the Squirrel,” and “The Gift of the Goose” on my team soon.
Until next time…Make it a GREAT day!
Phil Gerbyshak
http://www.miginstitute.com

Common Mistakes Extraordinary Leaders Dont Make

Jeff — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:12:10 +0000

When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to followyour leadership, they do it primarily because of one of two things: YourCharacter or your Skills. They want to know if you are the kind of personthey want to follow and if you have the skills to take them further. Yes,there are other variables but these are the bulk of the matter. This week wefocus on the kind of skills that cause people to follow your leadership,specifically things that an Extraordinary Leader doesn’t do!
1. Not Riding Momentum – To increase your leadership effectiveness, you wantto learn to ride the momentum of the situation (the positive momentum ofcourse!). When we begin to experience bad momentum we naturally try to stopit and that is good, but many people also have the tendency to try to stopthe positive momentum as well. This comes from our basic desire to havethings “under control.” Unfortunately, often when we try to control thesituation, we actually stop the good that is happening. So let go of thereigns and ride the momentum!
2. Flaunting the Privilege of Leadership – Leadership has its privileges,that is for sure. And rightly so! The entrepreneur who started the companyought to be paid well and reap the rewards for the risks that he or shetook. Unfortunately, human nature is still such that people can resent thesuccess and privileges of others, even if they worked hard for them.Therefore, an extraordinary leader will not be guilty of flaunting theprivileges they have because this is likely to cause a backlash and canactually harm their ability to lead. Whenever possible share the privilegesand rewards of leadership and your followers will love you all the more!
3. Picking People Who Won’t Threaten Them – An Extraordinary Leader willalways try to pick people who are better than them! Again, human nature issuch that we think, “Wait, if I hire her, she’ll have me out of a job in notime.” Then we pick someone of lesser quality, while our competitor hiresthe good one and surges ahead. No, pick the best! If they are better thanyou, you will grow together as a team and you will still be the leader andpeople will respect you for your ability to pick – and lead – a winningteam!
4. Not Having a Second in Command Who Complements Them – An ordinary leaderpicks someone who is like them so they can feel comfortable. AnExtraordinary Leader picks someone who can do all the things that he or shecan’t; someone who can see things in ways that he or she can’t. AnExtraordinary Leader needs a right hand person who can compliment theirskills and style. This way the old adage is proved true – two heads arebetter than one!
5. Not Giving Power Away – An ordinary leader wants to do as much as theycan so they can be seen as a good, hard worker. They think that they lead byexample in this. An Extraordinary Leader knows that they need to empowerothers to do the work and make the decisions if the organization is to growand they are together going to make a difference. We must let others takeleadership themselves, even if it means they fail at first. This way wemultiply the organizational leadership and we go even further!
6. Unable or Unwilling to Make Hard Decisions – Leadership is a lot ofdecision making. Non-leaders don’t like to make decisions because theyoperate from a subjective viewpoint. They aren’t thinking about the overallhealth of the organization, they are thinking about who will get mad or whomight lose their jobs. While we want to be sensitive to these things, theExtraordinary Leader understands that sometimes hard decisions have to bemade for the sake of the organization – and they make them. Then they carrythem out. John Maxwell says that decisions are like crying babies: bothshould be carried out quickly!
7. Trying to Have No Casualties – This may be the greatest leadership lessonI have ever learned. The Extraordinary Leader knows that anytime theorganization will make ground, there will be casualties. In the movieGladiator, the lieutenant comes to tell Maximus that the troops are notfully ready for battle. Maximus sees that the other side is about to moveand if they don’t move first, they will lose the war. The Lieutenant beginsto say, “The casualties will be too great,” but Maximus finishes thelieutenant’s sentence so that instead he said, “The casualties will be’acceptable.’” I realize now that when my organization moved aheadtremendously a few years ago, the people who got in a huff about it were thecasualties and that any time a group moves ahead, that will happen. Weshouldn’t look for or enjoy casualties, but understand they will assuredlycome, and accept them. So move ahead!
About The Author:
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.
To see Chris “live” at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

The Sink Or Swim Approach To Leadership

Jeff — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:41:48 +0000

Looking around in most corporate environments today you’ll find mission, vision and values statements proudly displayed on the walls, in print materials and even engraved in granite. Often, they’ve invested a great deal of time; effort and expense in crafting just the right message to best describe the foundational principles of the company. I can’t help but stop, take notice; and then wonder how this foundational wisdom is incorporated into the day-to-day operations. What’s in it for the operational leaders to carry out the mission in ways that align with the vision and values? How are they taught to walk the talk?
Many operational leaders today were developed and promoted from inside the ranks of the organization. In fact, most internally developed leaders were promoted without consideration of the potential to lead and inspire others. They’re “crowned” with a title and thrown into the corporate waters to sink or swim. Those that swim have enough stamina to figure out what it takes to stay above water. Those that sink are simply in over their heads and can’t find a way to surface for air.
I can’t help but wonder how the “sink or swim” approach fits into those mission, vision and values statements. The new leaders who are trying to learn on their own without a coach or a trainer take longer, make more avoidable mistakes and often lose their motivation and enthusiasm. Multiply that by the number of their direct reports and the equation becomes an issue that’s costing the organization dearly.
If your organization is one that values development and promotion from within the ranks, make a commitment today to establish a new process, and most of all provide the support and training to ensure success. The future leadership within your company depends on it.
About The Author
Lora J Adrianse is the owner of Essential Connections. She is a Coach, Consultant and Facilitator who specializes in the development managers and business owners. She recently left a long-term corporate career to focus on her passion for helping others bring out the best in themselves through the use of Emotional Intelligence. She can be reached through her website www.connectionscoach.com; coach@connectionscoach.com

Effective Leaders are (#1) Conceptual

Jeff — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:59:21 +0000

SEE INTO THE FUTURE CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALITY: Planning day-to-day is obviously important, but a good leader must be able to see the long-range picture, to know the history of the organization and have a sense of the direction in which it is traveling. Effective leaders always have the long-range picture in mind as they plan laterally.
RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF STAFF TRAINING: Like a convoy, you are only as fast as your slowest ship. Unless your slowest team members are brought up to speed, you run the risk of losing them, along with the momentum of your group. Therefore, sharing the whole picture with team members and providing them with whatever training, supervision, and support they require pays off in the long run. High initial input pays high returns with human investment. A successful manager makes sure that the team members have the tools they need to handle a job most efficiently and with a minimum of stress.
BE A HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PERSON: Show a commitment to your team member’s personal and professional development. It pays to care and to be supportive of the human needs of a team. Work is not accomplished through task orientation alone. A good leader fosters esprit de corps, which keep employees motivated. Team members are happy when they feel that their leader appreciates them as individuals, and when team members are happy, work goes smoothly. As an additional benefit, loyal team members become very protective of a leader or an organization over a hump.
Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium
CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

In Leadership, Good Enough Is Pretty Bad

Jeff — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:38:09 +0000

The first time I meet a leader to decide if we should work together, I invariably ask one question. The answer to that question gives me an idea of whether we’ll have a productive relationship. The answer also tells me how the career of that leader might turn out.
I ask, “Are you satisfied with the results you’re getting now?”
It’s a simple enough question, yet it points to a world of difference between leaders. Because if the answer is “yes” then our meeting will be brief. We’ll quickly go our separate ways. My leadership methods can’t help a satisfied leader, a leader who lives by “good enough.” Those methods can only help if that leader has a powerful dissatisfaction with the results h/she is getting now.
To understand this, let’s go back to basics: Leaders do nothing more important than get results. If you can’t get results, you won’t be leading for long. Somebody who can get results is always waiting in line to take your place. If “good enough” is okay with you, you are the next best thing to somebody who can’t or won’t get needed results. So, “good enough” is your enemy, “powerful dissatisfaction” your benefactor.
I’m not saying that you should go around in a funk powerfully dissatisfied with everything and everyone. You’d be a royal pain. What I am saying is results should be seen not as an end in and of themselves but part of a natural process to get more. Powerful dissatisfaction does not have to be a downer. It can be a joy. The joy of having the opportunity and privilege of thinking anew and acting anew. To be powerfully dissatisfied, one must be relaxed, open, caring, and humble. Banishing “good enough”, embracing “powerful dissatisfaction” becomes a profoundly enriching way not only of being a leader but of living one’s life.
So, take a joyful, powerful dissatisfaction into your leadership activities and see the difference it makes in your interactions with others and in results.
2005

Leadership Styles and What We Need For the Future:

Jeff — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:59:08 +0000

By definition a leaders leads a team to take action in favor of the vision.
The most well know methods for assessing leadership styles, such as DISC, have outlived their usefulness!

Are You Playing or Practicing Leadership?

Jeff — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:28:23 +0000

Anne was a new supervisor, and like many new supervisors she took the new role as a manager and leader seriously. She took advantage of training that was offered to her. She learned how to do performance reviews effectively, listened to other leaders to learn from them. She read several books recommended to her by others.
More importantly she tried hard to apply what she was learning. Anne was practicing leadership.
When we are diligent in practicing anything we are consciously practicing our skills. We are trying things again and again to get better. We are focused on fundamentals. Something happens to many of us though when we begin to get comfortable with our new skills ? whether they are leadership skills or sewing skills or tennis skills. We stop practicing and start playing.
What is the difference?
When we can consistently get the tennis serve in, we tend to want to play matches more than to continue to practice that serve. Once we have the sewing basics down (or so it seems) we want to make something. In both cases our focus moves to something other than getting better ? because that is what "practice" is for.
Are you playing or practicing leadership?
This question applies to brand new supervisors and experienced leaders. If you want to improve your skills as a leader you have to practice, not just play. Here are five things you can do to continue to practice your leadership skills.
Be a continuous learner. We practice to get better. Anne as an eager (and maybe scared) new leader was like a sponge. She soaked up everything she could learn about leadership. Practice requires new information and knowledge, be it in the form of advice from a person, a book, or observation. Remain open to new ideas and then consciously integrate them into your leadership activities.
Get feedback. If you are practicing a sport, you expect a coach to give you feedback on your progress. Your practicing of leadership should be no different. Many organizations have a 360 process that allows leaders to get feedback from those they lead. This feedback can be valuable, but you can get feedback without this formal process. Ask people how you are doing. Ask them specific questions about specific situations. At first they may not provide you much information, but if you consistently ask and obviously value the input (by doing something with it over time); you will get more insights from people. Get feedback from other leaders as well. Build a network of people you can get ideas and feedback from.
Reflect. You can read, ask and do all sorts of things to collect ideas and approaches. All of it is valuable. But none of that can be applied effectively without you taking time to reflect on it and determine what will work for you and why. The best practice includes a chance to personally reflect on your work. As a speaker and trainer, I take time after every workshop, seminar or speech to reflect on what I did, why I did it, what I would do again, what I should adjust, etc. The same process is necessary for us as leaders. Be mindful of your results. Review them in your mind. Make decisions for "next time." Without a commitment to reflection you will always compromise the benefits you can gain from practice.
Try new things. The learning, feedback and reflection will be of no tangible use unless you do something with it. A practice mindset allows you to try a different approach. If you are playing tennis you might be afraid to try the new technique for fear it might backfire. But the new technique becomes less risky when you have practiced it over and over. Find your lower risk opportunities to try new things. And try things that aren’t risky often. By being willing to try the new approach you will make real progress. After all, if you never try anything new, how will you get better at anything, including leadership?
Use your skills in other situations. Practice in most contexts is a lower risk situation. One of the best ways to practice leadership is to find other areas of life in which to lead. Volunteer to lead a project in your community. Organize a neighborhood event. Lead a group at your church. Apply all of the things you are trying to learn at work in these situations. Use these as opportunities not only to do something valuable, but as your own personal leadership learning laboratory.
Taking these steps will help you to remain a leadership learner. They will keep you fresh and on your game. They will keep you practicing, and not just playing leadership.
Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Kevin publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques and inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp to learn more and subscribe.

Charismatic Leadership

Jeff — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:22:46 +0000

What motivates people to work and to achieve? What circumstances create an environment in which some people achieve and others do not? Does motivation come from within or does it come from others – from leaders or managers? Can you motivate the un-motivated? Does it have to involve money? Why is it that some work teams achieve and others do not? Is it that the better work unit has better people? If this is so, then does that mean that the better work unit would succeed whether they were led or not? Is leadership the same as management or is leadership a part of management? Are managers and leaders the same?
When I was researching the subject of success in the middle eighties I proposed the question ‘What makes this sales team perform better than that one’? I was met with ‘The difference is the manager’. It should not have been a surprise. Yet for my own part, having been part of various working groups throughout a successful commercial career, I felt uncomfortable that my exertions might likewise be explained away to some researcher as being the result of some managerial intervention rather than my own skill. It begs the question – ‘Does a team, whether successful or not, have a separate distinct motivational entity, or does a team owe its success to a manager?’ Indeed, if a team of workers relies upon its success to the sum total of the individual driving forces within it, does it need managing at all? Clearly, the responses I got to the question ‘What makes this team more successful than that team’ left me in little doubt that senior managers believe success to be determined by successful managers – but then they would say that wouldn’t they?
I have conducted research with a number of top performers operating in teams. These top performers exist in all teams and whilst representing only 10-15% of the working population, they are in many cases responsible for 60% to 80% of results. It appeared to me that the PARETO principle of the 80/20 split was not just merely a theoretical statistic but a valid reality. I found that in teams where around only 10-15% of that team was successful, and the rest were not, most of that 10-15% were unequivocal in their condemnation of the team leader. Top performers it would appear have little time for average performing managers, or indeed for average performing colleagues. What I also found was that these top performers represented to their lesser performing colleagues a focus, which I found, replicated in Charismatic Leaders, in that they displayed in the eyes of their peers a set of values and behaviours missing from their team leaders. Seemingly, people want leadership, and when it is missing, they bestow the qualities associated with good leaders on anyone close enough to wear the mantle.
In sport it is held that managers are responsible for the team’s performance, and whether the other team has better players or not, there is an implicit expectation that a good manager will produce a good team. Despite the introduction of Premier Leagues in all types of sport, which bring with it vast sums of sponsorship and corresponding transfer fees and marketing opportunities, good managers are still believed to deliver ‘David’ style punches to ‘Goliath’ challenges. In many ways, it can appear a reasonable assumption that where certain professions rely upon physical exertion and face to face confrontation with others, elements such as belief, confidence, commitment, positive attitude, and the inspiration of a leader, can and do play an important part in the eventual results of the team. It is not unusual for business teams to also adopt these trait descriptors as being a requisite for achievement of business goals. Yet whether these traits are relevant or not, or how to measure them, or even to instil them, is open to considerable debate.
What is it that managers do that affect performance? When I explored the reasons that people gave for successful managers and what was the special quality that they possessed, the word ‘Charisma’ emerged time and time again. Successful managers, those who extract successful performance from others, it is said, have Charisma. Closer questioning of what Charisma is leads you nowhere. The sorts of responses I got were – ‘Some people have just got it’; ‘It’s feeling you get about someone else’; ‘I haven’t got a clue but I know it when I see it’. Clearly there are those people whose behaviour is an inspiration to others.
There is a significant weight of evidence that point to the existence of Charismatic Leadership and its effect on followers. Margaret Thatcher had charisma, but John Major and latterly Ian Duncan Smith lacked it. It might be argued that Neil Kinnock had charisma – but failed, and perversely that Blair with less charisma succeeded. But then the opposition was different. On the other hand, insofar as Thatcher is concerned, it could be said that she did not have any charisma until appointed leader of the Conservative Party, after which, the fact that she was the first female Prime Minister, invested her with charisma. It’s also important to remember that having charisma does not necessarily guarantee positive achievement. The sword of charisma can be wielded on behalf good and evil. It has a double edge. It is the dark side of charismatic influence that has probably been publicised most. Jack Kennedy was said to be charismatic, as was Churchill, but then so was Mussolini, and no doubt latterly Saddam Hussein. Charismatic qualities can be used for good and evil.
In 1932 Max Weber said that ‘Charisma can only be ‘awakened’ and ‘tested’; it cannot be ‘learned’ or ‘taught’. However, more than 40 years later Robert House said ‘It is entirely possible that charismatic leaders present themselves as highly confident and as having a strong conviction in the moral righteousness of their beliefs but do not indeed believe in either themselves or their beliefs. Some leaders may have charismatic effects because of their ability to act as though they have such confidence and convictions’.
This means that charismatic behaviours can be taught, which was proven by research undertaken in 1989. By 1992 I was able to identify those behaviours and have been able to develop them into training events for all those who dreamed of being charismatic, and for those who have it but cannot quantify it.
Frank Salisbury has spoken extensively on the subject of Charismatic Leadership over the last few years. Together with Vere Wynn-Jones (an expert in the field of PR and media) Frank runs courses and personal coaching in charismatic leadership. Frank is Managing Director of Business & Training Solutions Ltd based in Dun Laoghaire, and in the UK. He can be contacted via http://www.btsolutions.ie and at frank@btsolutions.ie; telephone 0044 (0) 1295 250247