Fundamentals of an Effective Leadership Training Program

One of the core factors behind an organizational success and growth is the effective leadership. Unfortunately, many organizations consciously or unconsciously do not provide proper leadership program to bring out leadership qualities in potential employees. Leadership development program is much more than simply discussing the philosophy of leadership, giving classroom lectures, providing guidebook or CD's to learn theory on leadership qualities.

Effectual leadership training entails more than just classroom lectures. They include a variety of training programs aimed at inculcating or motivating leadership qualities in people. Some of the most effective programs are aimed at developing the following skills:

Quick decision-making process: New leaders in any organization must be trained exclusively to take proper and quick decisions. A leader stands liable for the major decisions of the company. Therefore, the training should focus on developing this attribute in employees. One hasty decision and the company may face huge losses. The leaders should be given proper training in data analysis, understanding employees and their difficulties. This is the first step towards budding proper leadership development skills.
Developing communication skills: Imparting proper communication skills via the use of all the communication channels effectively should be the basic idea behind every leadership training program. Organizational communications are more than just e-mailing. Leaders must be trained to use all communication areas which include one-on-one interaction, giving speeches, addressing employees or other members confidently, and dealing (communicating) with clients efficiently.Maintaining staff relations: Leaders must be trained on how to handle their staff and motivate them to get the work done on time. A good leader should always maintain proper balance between being friendly and at the same time being professional. Some leaders become overfriendly with the employees which often end up degrading the work quality. Therefore, maintaining professionalism is a must.
Understanding the organization: To be a successful leader, a person must know about the company in detail, including its mission, vision and past history, and then work accordingly to fulfill company's objective. This process can work constructively in organization's progress. A leader must work in the interest of the organization.
Understanding Job Responsibilities: Prospective leaders must be briefed and trained properly about their job responsibilities. Leaders must be given details about their job profile and what they are expected to do being in that profile. Leaders should not be assigned job blindly; they must be trained in depth about the post and designation they are going to handle.

A leadership development program will be successful only when the above mentioned points are met properly. Leadership challenges can be properly tackled if the leaders are keen to learn newer concepts. Organizations must design the best leadership program and develop excellent leadership qualities in the positive interest of the company. Leadership development skills is pivotal for the progress and smooth functioning of the organization.

Padmaja Singh is a management graduate & writes on team building events & leadership training programs.

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Develop Leadership Skills - Are You A Leader of The Future?

With anything in life if you develop leadership skills this will have a profound effect on your business and your personal life. Leaders are born and made and all leaders are different plus you will not become a leader overnight.

One of the things that a leader must do is have the ability to make decision and sometimes those decisions could well be unpopular but they have to be made. One of the skills is learning how to motivate people who may not like the decision being made.

This is a valuable skill and it will add confidence to a leader's ability which in turn will make them more effective as a leader. Leaders must be allowed to learn from their mistakes and encouraged to make decision where if there is an error it is looked on as a learning curve rather than the end of the world.

To develop leadership skills you must become a student as your education will play a vital role in how you perform as a leader. As with anything you must study different leadership styles and educate yourself to improve your leadership skills.

Understanding how to effectively communicate with different personality types will great increase your success as a leader. All people are different with different wants needs and desires so understanding how to talk with them will also help you in motivating them.

One of the biggest issues facing leaders is the fact they don't take into account different people's personality and each person needs to be communicated with in a different manner. This is what makes people want to follow certain people, they feel that the leader has connected with them on a personal level.

Also don't think that just one personality type makes the best leaders, far from it all personality types makes great leaders because they all bring something different to the table. Different personality types will all have their strengths and weakness.

An example of this would be a controller personality where they will be very direct when talking to you and can come across as aggressive even if they are not, they will also have a lot of confidence and be extremely sure about themselves.

Another will be a thinker type personality where they will spend time analysing a problem before making a decision but they will tend to be very approachable put you at ease. Both have strengths and weaknesses but both can make fantastic leaders.

To develop leadership skills takes time and education and if you are willing to put in the effort then you can be a great leader.

Some of the leadership I have found online to help with my education if from My Lead System Pro where you will learn from the industry leaders the exact formula they use to grow their business everyday.

When you develop leadership skills you will naturally attract people into your business. And by following the training above you will have the right tools and training to pass onto other.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Tristram Lodge

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Leadership Coaching: Work Life Balance For Overworked Mompreneurs

Does your day to day grind seem overwhelming that you're gasping for air? As a woman entrepreneur, do you oftentimes grapple for time and breathing space to manage your work and spend time with your family? You look around and you see some of your women friends and colleagues, and you wonder. "Why do they seem to have all the time and support they need? They seem to have it easier." No, it's not always like that at all. It just appears that way to you because you are overworked.

Yes, it's hectic when you're a mompreneur. After all, you're doing a very demanding job of running your business and raising a family. It's like there's never enough time and the pressure gets out of hand. Your stress level feels like it's rising like mercury in a heat wave. Too much stress is unhealthy, by all means, and it will take its toll on your health and your behavior. You could find yourself experiencing changes in your behavior, values, standards and preferences. It's basically that you're out of synch and misaligned with yourself. Because of this, your family and working habits become erratic. You won't be able to function at your best. You have to slow down and relax. Being overworked can literally drive you out of your wits. How can you tell if you're overworked? Here are some signs:

Signs That You're An Overworked MomPreneur

Cooking simple dinner such as veggie patties and rice is too much work for you.You can't sit down with your kids at the dining table to eat. You remain standing up, inhaling the food or end up not eating at all.All your duty calls to family, friends and clients are done in the car.It feels like you're being stalked with information emails by your kids' school.You avoid calling your friends so you won't be able do something or go somewhere together.You can't listen to what your kids are really telling you. You simply nod and smile without understanding what they're talking about.Even in the restroom, you answer emails or make calls.You usually cancel appointments you make to your hairdresser, manicurist or dentist.Your oldest kid is still wearing Velcro runners because you're too busy to teach him how to tie his laces.Your husband or kids text you when they want to talk to you, even when they're just in the next room.

These are some of the symptoms of OMS or Overworked Mompreneur Syndrome. If you feel you're suffering from OMS, you need to do something fast. Work with a work/life balance expert or an executive leadership coach so you can handle your business and family/personal life gracefully.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

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Leadership Principle: Learning The Law of Process

To lead your team, a successful network marketer will inspire and clearly define what it takes for success. While some people seem to be born with strong leadership abilities, it is a skill that anyone can learn. Everyone has the potential to lead and influence, but it requires perseverance. Leadership is a collection of skills that are learned and improved upon... leaders are learners. John C. Maxwell calls this the Law of Process.

He explains that leadership skills take time to master based upon your experience, people skills, emotional strength, discipline, vision, momentum, and timing. The learning process is ongoing, it cannot be learned overnight.

The goal of each day must be to get a little better, to build on the previous day's progress. - John C. Maxwell

The Law of Process Requires Daily Discipline

You need to have self-discipline to master these skills. Don't think that leadership is only for a few people who have a natural ability. You need to change your mindset and take action. Many opportunities will pass you by if you don't learn to lead. Work on your leadership skills daily and you will greatly improve your influence on others around you. You have to be intentional in your steps toward personal growth.

Once you grasp the concept of daily discipline for personal growth, you will begin to see exciting things start to happen. Strive for excellence in all you do, and be hungry to learn and grow. Working on your leadership skills daily will eventually develop a competence that will make you highly effective to lead your network marketing team.

If the Law of Process is applied day after day, you will alter your mindset in a very positive way. After time your leadership seems to be almost automatic. Your instincts are spot on. However, you have to pay the price and work on leadership skills daily.

If you want to see where someone develops into a champion, look at his daily routine. - John C. Maxwell.

Anyone can be a leader, but do not expect leadership to be learned overnight - you cannot ignore the Law of Process. Realize it will take time as you change your mindset and work on personal development. Be sure to schedule time daily to work on this. This new mindset will eventually be automatic for you. Take positive action daily and you will find that what you can accomplish is remarkable!

Samantha O'Connor is an Internet Marketing Entrepreneur teaching others how to correctly market their business online. For More Excellent Marketing Strategies visit: Samantha-OConnor.com

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What Are The Inner Values Of An Inspirational Leader?

Inspirational Executive Leadership

Executive leadership involves big responsibilities, that's why it has to be highly efficient in terms of management. Leadership needs to have effective and competent management abilities. But as much as management and technical skills are important, executive leadership also needs substance, and it therefore has to be inspirational. In the corporate world, suit talk and sleek appearances are attractive, but it is necessary for executive leaders to possess personality traits that can bring success.

How is executive leadership in the company you work for? When gauging the executive leadership of an organization, one crucial aspect you need to consider is if you work for an organization with willing followers. That is, people actually want to follow the leaders instead of being compelled. Look for inspirational leadership. A leader that people want to follow has true influence, and that is the mark of an inspirational leader. Inspirational leadership can easily lead people to success.

Elements Of Successful Leadership

There are 5 important elements of successful leadership:

VisionAuthorityEnergyInfluenceStrategic direction

Among these 5 elements, influence is essential. A leader must know how to persuade and convince his people to move to action. Inspiration and motivation are the two powerful driving forces that a leader needs to instill in his people. Bringing out this energy in followers creates an effective and efficient workforce that can readily achieve success. Here lies the true power of a leader- the power to move people to action.

Inspirational executive leadership creates enthusiastic followers that take initiative and are willing to commit to the goals of the organization.

The current workplace is comprised of Generation X and Millenial workers. There may be generational gaps, but executive leadership ought to endeavor to create a motivated and engaged workforce from these employees. Leaders can always find knowledge from numerous online resources and leadership books. Then again, excellent leadership does not solely rely on theoretical knowledge. What really matters is being truly equipped and proficient in responding to random situations and personalities that exist in the corporate jungle.

Inner Values Of An Inspirational Leader

You will find many resources that indicate the dominant traits of leadership. However, it is crucial to also focus on the inner values of inspirational leadership:

Transparency and authenticity. This means that a leader is being true to himself, not afraid to show his vulnerability.Intuitiveness. An inspirational leader relies on his intuition, complementing this soft data in his decision- making.Empathy. An effective leader cares for the welfare of his people.Uniqueness. A successful leader capitalizes on his unique qualities which makes him gain enthusiastic followers.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

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Men in Ministry - Supporting Your Pastor

In a conversation the other day with my Pastor, he described, without names, the content of some of the 100 plus emails he received about his Sunday Sermon. What always surprises me, when we have this conversation or when he mentions it from the pulpit, is the gall of some people in how they address the man that God has put in authority over us. Or, how a member will come up to you or me between services and begins to criticize the service, which just took place. Or, the people who want to gossip about something going on in the church, or the pastor's family, or a staff member, or a ministry leader. I think I have covered most of the likely critical conversations, which you may have been or will be exposed too. Oh, there is one more, when a person comes up to you and says; " I want to tell you what so and so did, just so we can both pray for that person."

As long as the church is made up of people it will continue to go on. You have a role in it. As men in ministry, we need to cut it off at the pass, stamp it out and not even let the person get the words out of his or her mouth. It is all a form of gossip! Paul the Apostle and writer of most of the New Testament equated gossip to murder. Gossip cannot be taken lightly, it will destroy the person and the local church.

Support your Pastor through positive reinforcement for him, directly and with all of the people you talk too. He has been put in the position by God to lead the local church at this time. It is not a mistake. Actions speak louder than words; you and all the men in ministry, should be taking action that clearly demonstrates your absolute support of the Pastor.

I was told a true story about a Pastor who was caught in adultery. The person, who caught him, is a man of God and at the time was a subordinate to the Pastor having the affair. Making it worse the affair was with a church member. To the person telling the story, this was devastating as he looked up to the Pastor and held him in high esteem.

The person who made the discovery went to his mentor and asked what he should do. His mentor was and is an absolute man of God. His mentor told him, in no uncertain terms, that the Pastor, who was having the affair, was placed in authority over him. No matter what he was doing, he needed to follow and obey him as long as what he was directing him to do was not contrary to the Bible.

This is a true, although an extreme example. The Pastor, who had the affair, repented and was restored to his position.

The point is, even in the most extreme cases, we need to support the Pastor with our actions and our words. If someone tries to come against this, the best thing to do is grab that person by the hand, we will call him Jim, and walk him over to the Pastor and say: "excuse me Pastor, but Jim has something he wants to tell you."

That story will move through the congregation, you can count on it.

Frank Slovenec is the founder and leader of GTMMI; Glad Tidings Men's Ministry International http://www.gtmmi.com/

In Glad Tidings Mens Ministry International, we are active men in ministry making a difference, one man at a time.

Our vision is to love God, Love our families, love each other and love the community of San Francisco, CA. It is our mission to demonstrate this love in all aspects of our lives.

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Take the Guesswork Out of Improving Performance at Work

Taking the guesswork out of improving performance at work can be easier than any leader thinks. There are many different organizations out there in the world with several different structures when it comes to roles and positions. From my experience, it doesn't matter what company a leader works for, every role/position is crucial to the overall success of the organization itself. Some people would say that the leader is the most important person which I agree with to a certain extent but without people working under him/her, there is no organization. Each leader's primary function is to develop the vision, share the vision, and then teach coach and counsel their people towards that vision. Each company needs as many strong leaders as they can find or develop but they cannot do all of the work themselves.

There are just far too many tasks that need to be completed on a daily basis. So, why do I bring this up? It is because a leader needs to understand that their people as a whole bring just as much of value to the table as they do. Both parties need each other in order to be successful. This is why it is so important that one of the first things they do within the organization is Level the Playing Field. They can do this by letting it be known that no one is better than the next person, that everyone's role or position is just as important as the next, and that everyone has the same opportunities. Improving performance at work is a simple as implementing this strategy along with its simple tips. Now let's jump right into this by going into a lot more detail on each point.

The first thing a leader needs to establish in both his or her mind as well as the minds of the other people within their area of the organization that they are responsible for, is that no one is better than the next person. People were not born better then the next person so why should things change now or ever. When people realize this, it keeps both morale and confidence high because it gives them a feeling of significance within the organization. Significance is one of the six basic human needs that have to be fulfilled just about everyday.

Once established, work performance as well as productivity reaches its highest point which leads to morale reaching its highest point. Leaders have a responsibility to do everything in their power to protect the self image of their people. When a leader does not do this, they're leaving a window open for people to mistreat other people either on purpose or by accident. There is no "I" in team and it takes team work to make the dream work. The leader has to get people to understand that they are all on the same team and the only way they are going to succeed at a high level is by total collaboration. I want to hear your feedback so visit my blog to leave comments on this piece of information.

Second, the leader needs to help his people understand that everyone's role or position within the organization is just as important as the next. This is critical when it comes to improving performance at work. There is no possible way that things can run smoothly and as efficient as possible if any one of the roles is missing. This has a lot to do with what was just mentioned with a slight difference. Before I was talking about having mutual respect with one another, here I want to talk strictly about goals and positions. Traditionally, people would say that that each of these roles or positions has different levels of importance. I can clearly understand why people would say something like that but I believe that they are not seeing the big picture. Yes, leaders are extremely important. Yes, leaders on the ones with the vision. Yes, leaders can make or break a company and I can go on and on but is only true to a certain extent.

For example, let's say we have a leader who is running a supermarket. This leader can be a store manager, assistant store manager, customer service manager, etc. Now let's say that it's a Saturday and the person that collects the carts outside called out and for whatever reason could not come to work that day. It's so busy that customers are starting to complain that there are no carts inside of the building for them to shop with because they're all outside in the parking lot. No one else will come in to work to fill the shift and nobody else in the store has time to help out because they're so busy doing what they have to do. Right now the cart retrieval position looks like the most important position in the store for that day because it's the biggest problem at that time.

The truth is that the cart retrieval position is one of the most important jobs in the store but people only realize it when the position is not filled. Every job is important and an organization cannot reach success with holes in their structure over a long period of time. When a leader understands this and utilizes this knowing, improving performance at work becomes easy. All roles and positions are just as important as the next and need to be treated that way all of the time no matter what is going on.

Lastly, a leader needs to work towards making sure that each and every one of his people within his organization understands that everyone has the same opportunities to succeed. During many of my years in management, I have seen so many people stuck in the same spot for years. Some of them even complain about where they are and believe that they can't do anything about. I have seen and personally know people that are still doing the same job today that they were doing when I first started with the company that I used to work for. Some are happy where they and others are not. When I talk to these people I hear statements like "I keep getting passed over", "I'm entitled to a promotion", "I'm the next in line", "It's not fair", and so on. All of this focusing on the negative does them no good and just keeps attracting crap into their life. People need to realize that they can be, do, or have anything that they want within reason within the organization.

Every time I do a presentation to a group of people I always have them say out loud in the very beginning "if it is to happen for me it is up to only me". From my experience, people just don't realize how much power they truly had in their hands right now. It doesn't have to be complicated. They just have to decide what they want, get focused on it, and take massive action. It's really that simple. If people don't know this they will become negative and not only take them down the wrong road but will take the other people down with them too. Improving performance at work becomes very difficult when there's a bunch of people like this in one environment. Negativity in the workplace destroys productivity, performance, and morale. As a leader you either want your people to be happy with where they are or if they want more point them in the direction to get there. Mentor them, coach them, guide them, and help them get to the position that they really want.

In conclusion, improving performance at work can occur very easily when the leaders levels the playing field. The leader plays a huge role in the success of the organization that they're running but he/she cannot do it alone. They need people to help them with all of the tasks that take place on a daily basis. In order for the leader to maximize the productivity of the people, he/she must help them understand that no one is better than anyone, that everyone's role or position is important, and that everyone has the exact same opportunities to succeed within the organization. This will help people understand that they are important no matter what their role is in the company. They are needed and appreciated which leads to the foundation of a very strong team. Now, shoot over to my blog and share your comments and questions with me right now! If you enjoyed this information you will more great tips like these there as well.

Rob Moore helps people in leadership positions get their people to perform better no matter what they do. Give him the people who are challenged with a lack of motivation, low productivity, under performance, poor attitudes, and he will turn them into top performers.

Show Up, Step Out, & Shine!

http://www.leadershipperformancetips.com/

Original article

Here's a Quick and Easy Way to Improve Performance at Work

In order to improve performance at work, a leader has to improve the overall level of communication within their organization to keep the people informed of what is going on. A level where the people working under he/she understands what the vision of the leader and/or organization is as well as why certain things are done on daily basis. Also, making sure that people clearly know where they stand in performance on a daily basis and then providing a safe environment that keeps things moving in a positive direction while limiting the negatives.

In short, I call it Creating a Culture of Transparency. When you can create this type of culture, you create a win/win situation for everybody. Some of the benefits are that people will know and understand both the long term and short term goals of the organization, why they're aiming for these goals, and where they fit into the big picture. Now let's go into more detail on how a leader can implement these strategies into their work day.

The first thing a leader needs to do in this area to improve performance at work is to Share the Vision. This can be their vision or the organization's vision but I highly recommend that they lead with theirs so they can provide the greatest impact on their people. Whether they're working for an organization or not, their people will be following them more than they are following the organization so this is critical. The people need to know the big goal that everyone will be working towards. Sharing the vision with them does many things such as providing motivation, making them feel like they're apart of something bigger than just a job, and so much more. When I look back at all of the jobs I had before I got into the corporate atmosphere, I never knew what the vision of each company was.

To me they were just jobs and I was only there for a paycheck but once I got into the corporate arena it was a totally different story. I became so emotional entrenched into the vision for that company that it was extremely difficult for me to leave them and move on to serving a higher purpose in my own personal company. I loved working for that company because of who they were and what they were about. I loved being a part of what they do and this is what a leader has to create with their people to build a strong connection. When implemented properly, this strategy alone will dramatically reduce turnover and improve performance at work which means less training expenses, less hiring, better performance, and increased productivity. I'm pretty sure I left some things out but I think you got the gist of it. Feel free to submit any questions and/or comments through the contact page on my blog.

The second thing that a leader should do consistently, continuously, and as much as possible is to Tell People "WHY". This is a great way for them to build trust with their people but is not the main reason why they should consider doing this. They should do it because people will be more willing to do something if they understand why they're doing it rather than doing something without knowing the purpose. They obviously don't have time to give an explanation for every task at every given time that has to get completed but the more the merrier. Every single one makes a difference! Think about it, let's say that someone was told to take a break at four o'clock rather than five o'clock and they really wanted to take it at five.

They might get upset at the fact that they can't take a break when they wanted to that day. Now we can possibly have an unhappy employee here. Let's apply what was just taught by adding the reason for the break time change. This person needs to go on break at four o'clock because it's a lot slower at that time than it will be at five. It will most likely be extremely busy then. The supervisor might say something like this, "We need all hands on deck and if we take the chance of giving you a break at that time you could possibly not get one and we don't even want that to be a possibility because you deserve your breaks." As you can see this makes a huge difference in the way a person views the supervisor's instructions. If you're enjoying the tips and strategies that have been shared so far make sure you visit my blog today and leave comments!

Thirdly, one of the most overlooked tips that will drastically improve performance at work is to continuously Let People Know Where They Stand so they know the direction they need to go in next. The one or two evaluations people get at their job is not the time to sit down and start addressing issues. It's a time to sit down and reward people financially for their performance over the past year. They should have a pretty good idea of what their evaluation will look like going in and not be surprised by anything on there. If they are, shame on the upper management team. The reason why I say this is because they should be constantly giving both positive and negative feedback to their people on a daily basis.

Leaders have a responsibility to develop future leaders and improve people's performance at work. People should know their strengths, weaknesses, and have some things that they're working on to take their performance to the next level. I've been in management for over 17 years and during the last half of it, I was responsible for managing other managers. Whenever one of them had a performance issue within their department, I would always ask two questions. The first one is "Did you have a discussion with the associate about the problem?" and most of the time it is a "no". Second one gets asked to the associate who supposedly has the performance issue which is "Did so and so ever talk to you about blah blah blah?" and the answer is always "no".

This is ludicrous because nothing can get solved until both parties realize that there's a problem! This reminds me of an associate that was applying for a promotion in the store that I was managing at the time. I asked him what his supervisors would say he needs to work on to get to the next level and he didn't know. I even called them all to find out the good and the bad and got nothing concrete or specific. All I got was he does a great job from one person and I wouldn't take him for that position from another person. How can this associate grow or even fix his issues if he doesn't even know what they are. Unbelievable! In my personal opinion, this is why we have so many performance challenges in the work place but the buck stops here! Nobody wakes up in the morning and says to themselves that they can't wait to get to work so they can do a bad job.

Lastly, let it be known that you will Provide a Safe Environment where people can safely speak up to express their opinions, questions, concerns, solutions, ideas, issues, etc without being penalized, reprimanded or made fun of. From my experience, most people don't like to speak up because they don't think that what they have to say has any value or won't be listened to so why bother. Leaders can only fix the problems that they know about so if they don't at least start to create this kind of environment, no one will open up. I believe that everyone has something to say that's valuable. There is no such thing as a stupid question except for the one that wasn't asked. This strategy takes more time to develop than the other three but is just as powerful.

A safe environment is a positive environment and everybody loves a positive environment. Eventually, more and more people will begin to open up on all types of levels and synergy will be created. I was infamous for always saying that "I'm always busy but I always have time". I made it really clear that any associate can come to me at any given time to talk to me about anything that they wanted to. Then I would listen and do everything in my power to either solve the problem or come to some kind of understanding. There was always something good that came out of every one of those meetings every time. Some people would call this the act of having an "open door" policy which is more crucial than most leaders think.

In conclusion, creating a Culture of Transparency can be very powerful because it creates an environment where people will always be honest and upfront with others in the workplace. There will be more people in the environment choosing to never tell a lie or try to jerk someone else's chain. The more a leader can be honest to the point of telling their people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear no matter how much it hurts, the stronger their relationships will become.

By doing this, credibility and trust will be built with their people and they will eventually begin to do the same. People will always work harder and better for someone that they trust and respect than they would for someone that they don't. Think about it, would you really go the extra mile for a supervisor that you didn't like? Building trust is how the best leaders improve performance at work in a very simple fashion. For more great tips like this make sure you visit my blog right now!

Rob Moore helps people in leadership positions get their people to perform better no matter what they do. Give him the people who are challenged with a lack of motivation, low productivity, under performance, poor attitudes, and he will turn them into top performers.

Show Up, Step Out, & Shine!

http://www.leadershipperformancetips.com/

Original article

3 Clear Steps to Radically Change Your Life for the Better Today

Collaborative leadership, networking, team building and communication skills are all considered valuable and vital to business success in the evolving workplace. Typically, when a person decides that he or she wants to learn skill sets related to these areas, they proceed to learn techniques. While technique does matter, there's much more to learning and applying skill sets than meets the eye - the physical eye, that is. Most people are still not aware of the power of the brain and its "mind's eye" to make or break their ability to influence others, break procrastination, or create a viable strategic plan.

If it were as simple as taking a class or playing team-building games, organizations would be places that engage the minds and hearts of employees and effectively cultivate personal and professional development. People would be clamoring to get to work on Monday mornings, and absenteeism and lack of team trust would be uncommon challenges. Entrepreneurs would not be working themselves to the bone and worrying about payroll if purely motivational seminars really worked.

In reality, these issues are growing concerns for small business as well as for mega corporations. What is the problem here? Not to over-simplify it, but a central issue is the ignorance that we human beings have with regard to our own brain management. We simply do not understand how we are wiring our mind in a way that keeps us living far beneath our true potential. The brain itself is not the problem; it is truly magnificent and amazing in its capacity and functionality.

The next great shift is already beginning, and it is understanding how your amazing brain can help you to take your business and life to the next level, or keep you stuck for the rest of your natural life.

As you make your plans either in business or personal life, here are three simple tips that you can begin to use while you are busy taking all those informational classes and learning new techniques. Maybe you will then be able to apply what you learn and 'just do it':

1. Shift Your Focus of Attention. Your brain interprets what you focus on as what it is supposed to get for you, or "what you see (focus on with feeling) is what you get." The problem is that most people focus on what they DON'T want. Most people focus on what is lacking, what's wrong, or think that they can't. All of these behaviors are self-limiting and defeating. If you focus on what's wrong with your team instead of seeing the strengths in others and understanding how to confidently engage their hearts, team dysfunction is likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Wouldn't it behoove you to learn why you focus your attention this way and be able to change it - fast? The more you worry about not being able to connect with others, the less likely you can relax and engage their attention. Besides this, focusing on fear literally creates stress in your mind and body, which is not good! Instead, retrain your brain to focus on what you do want, even if you first have to first create it in your imagination. See it in your mind's eye first and you will begin to have insights into how to create it in the physical realm.

2. Clarify Your Vision. I see this all too often where a client or someone I know is busy doing all sorts of work without the clarity of why they are doing it. In fact, you need to make time to reflect to get a clear vision before you even begin to create a strategic plan. Otherwise, you can waste valuable time and money and even end up taking a path that was not what you really wanted in the end. To do this step you will have to slow down, stop the frantic activity, and make time for a visioning process that engages the brain physiologically. Create a compelling, emotional, clear vision in your mind's eye; feel into it. You will more than make up the lost time with the new clarity and ease with which you perform when your heart is engaged.

3. Speak Gratitude, Not Complaints. Hear me! Complaining is a major time waster and energy drainer. If you can change a situation, just go do it. Talking about it is not the solution. People have no idea how harmful this bad habit is to their health and ability to succeed in life. Science is now breaking into areas that demonstrate how like attracts like as the nuances of energy are understood. Our expectations and how we feel directly impact our perception. Negativity begets more negativity, and then people wonder why they can't seem to get ahead. On the other hand, gratitude is one of the most powerful feelings known to man. An attitude of gratitude can be attributed to the healing of fatal diseases, attracting loving relationships, and all manner of good fortune. It is vital in order to flourish in business and life. And, it just feels good.

These three things, if started today (now, don't procrastinate), can literally and radically change your life for the better - and rapidly, at that. You do want to remember to do it compassionately though. This is a journey. Literally, where you are placing your attention is creating your reality. This is basic brain science, actually; there's nothing 'woo-woo' about it. You may as well focus on what you want/desire instead of what scares you. Focus on what gives you meaning instead of what keeps you insecure and stuck.

You may as well deal with your limiting beliefs about who you think you can be, what you can do, or what you can have. If you have the courage to learn how to retrain your brain, you are more likely to actually inspire others to grow, feel great about yourself, and be willing to drop the fear of admitting that you can make mistakes. Making mistakes is just a "miss take," as in 'do it again a different way', like a movie director does on a movie set. If you only did these three things, which you can do without even understanding how your brain creates your reality, you would radically change your life for the better.

Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle - with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.

For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.valenciaray.com/

Original article

Effective Leaders Adapt

Leaders face a continuous dilemma between learning from the past and thus not reinventing the wheel, and adapting to be able to evolve in order to avoid stagnation and disappointments. This is often a challenging progression, because one of the biggest fears many face is change, and few find change (especially as it impacts their own actions) easy. Mark Twain wrote, "A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away." However, I feel it is necessary for us to put that into perspective by balancing those thoughts with these written by Lowell, "The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion."

1. Nearly every human being changes his mind on certain issues at some point. Leadership is never about stubbornly adhering to a particular idea, even when the prevailing evidence indicates change is necessary. However, that is far different than when our politicians simply change for political expediency. Great leaders change their perspectives and approaches when they discover a better way, but never change solely for purposes of popularity and/ or political gain. One of the most difficult things for many to do is to admit that a change is needed, or that perhaps they made an error or misjudgment. Great leaders always adapt in order to improve and do something in a better manner. Fearful and weak leaders, on the other hand, either change with the wind direction because of their own insecurity, etc., or seem incapable of change because they are afraid to admit that change is needed. Great leaders are flexible, thoughtful, introspective and forward thinking in nature.

2. Leaders and their organizations must understand that evolutionary change is generally needed to avoid stagnation. Organizations must adapt and evolve to better serve the needs, mission and vision of the organization. This requires true leaders to become strategic planners, not only looking at the past and/ or present, but also weighing its impact on the near future, intermediate term and long term health of their organization. Times change and so do needs, and those in leadership that do not recognize this, and react proactively, are never effective leaders. While leaders must recognize their personal weaknesses and try to either improve in those areas, or at least use the knowledge of these weaknesses to do things better and/ or differently, as well as expand their personal comfort zones, each person is an individual, and great leaders use different approaches that fit best for them. A wise leader doesn't try to diametrically change who he is, but rather gradually adapts himself to address his weaknesses. There is no one size fits all form of leadership!

However, if someone in leadership refuses to adapt and modify in any way, even when change is called for, and adheres to his opinion without considering alternatives, he inevitably weakens himself as a potential effective leader!

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Richard's owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. His company Website is http://www.plan2lead.net/, and he can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody. For great information on many topics, visit PLAN2LEAD's Facebook page and LIKE ( http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead )

Original article

What's Your Comfort Rating?

Late last year I was driving around town with a good friend of mine. He was going to sign some papers for a property he had purchased for his ever-expanding business. It's been a good couple of years for him!

We were met by the agent who ushered us into a boardroom, where the papers were signed and the deal was done. It took all of 5 minutes. When we were out of the building my friend remarked that the office had a cold feeling to it. He also added that the agent couldn't wait to get us out of there.

I was intrigued. We hadn't been rude. We looked professional. We exchanged all the pleasantries that one might expect in these situations. I just had to ask. "I don't get it... What do you mean?"

He replied with, "did you notice the chairs?"

To be honest I did notice them... but I didn't take much notice of them.

That's when I really got intrigued...

He said "they're only 10 minute chairs".

See, my friend has been fitting out residential and commercial properties for many years and he knew that chairs are designed according to how long you can feel comfortable sitting in them.

The chairs in the agent's office were cold, hard plastic. They were designed to only have someone sitting in them for 10 minutes before they get uncomfortable and start to think about getting up and getting out. The same chairs are used in McDonald's, Hungry Jacks and most other fast food outlets. It's not good for business if "fast food" becomes slow to eat.

Of course, other chairs are rated at 20 minutes... even 60 minutes. Businesses with those kinds of chairs are inviting you to stay. They are happy for you to hang around. They probably even want you to come back!

And this got me thinking...

What's your comfort rating?

Are you a "10 minute" leader? Happy to chat with your team for 10 minutes but then make them just uncomfortable enough that they know it's time to move on. Do you have a cold, hard vibe that is getting picked up by the people around you?

Maybe you're a "60 min" leader? People are happy in your presence and don't feel rushed to move on. You make them feel at ease and comfortable to do what needs to be done?

Maybe you're a couch? People are so comfortable they could hang around you all day and never feel out of place?

Whatever your comfort rating, it's important to recognize the effect you're having on the people around you. This is key to being an emotionally intelligent leader. One who can use the gentle hand of influence to get things done... (NOT the forceful hand of manipulation)

So, how comfortable are you?

Here's to higher success...

Dean Evans is a Leadership Performance Strategist based in Adelaide, Australia. With more than 10 years of leadership roles in the field of Allied Health he has a wealth of experience in understanding what it takes to operate at peak levels in pressure environments.

As the Director of Altitude Performance Solutions his mission is simple... "Create Tomorrow's Leaders Today". He is also a qualified Performance Coach and an Accredited Consultant in Extended DISC Performance Profiling.

To get your FREE 7-part Audio Series "The 7 Secrets of Star Performers" go to http://www.altitudepeakperformance.com.au/ and DOWNLOAD NOW!

Original article

How to Shape a Simple Leadership Strategy - And Make It Effective

The topic of leadership is one of those complex, abstract concepts that easily fills 300-400 pages in a business leader's book. However, the simplification of complex or abstract concepts into a widely understood message is what these business leaders- who are communicators at their core- strive for.

As a former junior military officer interested in the topic of leadership and thrust into a role that demanded quickly navigating its dynamics, I realized that I needed a set of leadership principles to apply in my professional life. Thus, this author's five principles of leadership follow:

1. Have a decisive plan- What good is a leader that specifies no clear direction? The solution- plan, plan, plan, then make a decision. A non-decision often is as detrimental as a bad decision. Who cares if you have to implement a mid-course adjustment if things aren't going as planned? Staying the course despite indications your plan is not working is for fools; swallowing your pride, adjusting the plan, and then forging ahead is for leaders. And what if you don't have a plan? Improvise while you work towards a plan. Never let your colleagues know that you didn't have one in place. Otherwise, your credibility is about as solid as that want to-be that refuses to adjust.

2. Set priorities- Priorities are pivotal. They let your people know how they contribute to the team and plan, which constantly reinforces the plan. Like the plan itself, priorities can change, but be clear why they're doing so.

3. Listen to your people- Shut your mouth, perk up your ears, and gather as much input as possible. Being the boss with the corner office doesn't mean that the best ideas originate from that corner office. Actually, the best ideas eventually end up in the corner office, but they get there by hopping a ride on your people as they stop in to share them.

4. Respect your people- It's terrible that this one has to be a part of the 5 principles, but it must be said.

5. Take care of your people- Learn more about your people in general. Be genuinely interested in their personal lives, for it may affect their professional one. Learn what motivates your people. Is a pat on the back enough or do they need frequent public recognition? Investing in the care of your people will pay off ten-fold and you will be truly viewed as a leader.

This article's title has a phrase after the hyphen and it would be remiss to conclude without first addressing the effectiveness of this leadership strategy. It certainly has been successful for me. Two team of the quarter awards, one team of the year award, best team performance in over 4 years all demonstrate the value in following these principles.

Original article

Causes of Not Having Vision

If being visionary is so important, then why don't many leaders have vision? What are the reasons for not being visionary? If we know the reasons we can come up with solutions and become more visionary. The following nine reasons show why many people are not true visionaries:

1. Focus on short-term goals

When you focus on short-term goals, you forget about the big picture and your vision. Short-term goals are important, but long-term success depends on how focused you are on your vision. If you focus on short-term goals, you limit yourself. Short-term goals should be stepping-stones to achieving the ultimate goal. If you don't know the ultimate goal, your short-term goals will not take you anywhere. Without vision, you are not going to experience a quantum leap.

2. Inability to see the big picture

Many leaders are not able to see the big picture. When you are so caught up with details and attached to the outcome of short-term goals, you have zoomed in with a magnifying glass to see what is going on. If you don't know how to zoom out, you will not be able to see the big picture.

Your world becomes very small, and you cannot interrelate various events. Gradually you become reactive rather than proactive, and that is when the chances of falling down increase.  

3. Lack of passion and interest in the task in hand

You cannot be visionary in what you do if you are not energized about what you do. So lack of passion for what you do causes lack of vision. It is a sign that you are not living your purpose. When you live your purpose by doing what you love, you naturally become visionary by leading with purpose.

4. Fear of being rejected

Many people are not visionary because they are afraid of being rejected by others for the vision they set. They do not talk about their vision because they think people would not understand and would dismiss it.

Fear of rejection is the major cause of not communicating the vision or even worse, not having a vision. Fear of rejection is also the reason for not initiating changes to fulfil the vision.

5. Fear of change and taking responsibility

Do you have a great vision but are afraid of applying changes to get closer to fulfilling your vision? Do you blame yourself or others for the failures in your organization? If your answer is yes, then you cannot call yourself a true visionary. You need to do some inner work and overcome your fear of change by taking full responsibility.

Taking responsibility is one of the key characteristics of authentic leaders. Many so-called leaders are afraid of change. Although they might have a vision, they do not apply the necessary changes because they don't want to take full responsibility for what happens.

6. Lack of knowledge about the importance of vision in leadership

Many leaders do not know how to develop a clear and empowering vision. They don't know how to visualize their dreams to make them come true. They don't know how to communicate their visions. They don't know how to zoom out and look at the big picture to take the necessary action. Likewise, they don't know which tools they need to measure their progress toward fulfilling their vision. Are you one of them?

If you think you are, don't worry. The good news is that everyone has the potential to become the best visionary they can be.

7. Lack of confidence in painting a dream for the self and the team

Being confident is a major factor in authentic leadership. Lack of confidence makes us refuse many opportunities that knock on our door. Many times we are given the chance to lead, but we don't take it because we think we are not ready yet or it is too big for us. We are not confident in our ability to dream a big dream for the team (including ourselves) and then paint that dream on the canvas of our mind. We think that no one would care about painting a dream for the team.

The more we leave behind current leadership opportunities and the practice of being visionary, the less confident we become in taking future opportunities.

8. Lack of trust

Trust is necessary in visionary leadership. We might have a great vision and communicate it well. However, if we don't trust in people who are necessary to make our vision a reality, then we live in a fantasy. We must trust in our vision, in the big picture, in ourselves, and in others to help make the dream come true. Lack of any of these factors results in ineffectiveness of vision.

9. Random leadership

Many people take leadership roles randomly. They have no clear reason why they accept leadership roles and have no strong desire to take such roles. If you ask them why they took it, they would say because no one else did! They have no interest in developing vision and communicating that vision to bring it to reality. This is what I call random leadership.

Random leadership happens when we accept a leadership role as a volunteer, and since it is volunteer based, we do not take it seriously. When we don't take a leadership opportunity seriously, we do not care about vision and fulfilling the vision. Chances are that we would not meet our goals for that role and would not be impressed by the people or the results.

Some random leaders fall in love with leadership, take on more roles, and make an effort to become better every time they take on a new challenge.The other random leaders get off the leadership boat and have no idea why they got on in the first place. They may or may not take another leadership role randomly. Once they take it on again, the cycle repeats itself.

Author's Bio
Kamran Akbarzadeh, PhD, is a motivational and inspiring author, speaker, seminar leader, and coach. In 2009, with a vision to inspire others to live on purpose and lead on purpose, Kamran founded Dream Achievers Academy. As the CEO of the Academy, Kamran believes that the world is in desperate need of authentic leaders who lead with their hearts and who empower people to soar to greatness no matter where they are and what they do. It was this conviction that inspired Kamran to author his Amazon best-selling book, Leadership Soup. With a background in research, engineering, and leadership, Kamran helps business owners, executives, managers, entrepreneurs, and employees achieve productivity, profit, and prosperity by linking purpose, passion, and people through authentic leadership! Kamran has appeared as a guest on many radio shows to talk about his message of authentic leadership.

To receive a special gift package from Kamran, click here http://www.DreamAchieversAcademy.com/gift

Original article

What Makes An Exceptional Team Leader?

Lately, I've been assessing the usefulness of team captains. Logistically, it's nice to have them so that there's someone to lead off-season workouts and things like that...but I'm not sure if they need to have a "captain" title in order to rally the troops to go to the weight room.

What happens when the leadership is in the lower classes? What if we've got a sophomore who's an amazing leader...but she's on a team with four seniors? That could be a team dynamic nightmare.

I believe in leadership training and its benefits to our athletes while they're on the team and afterward...I just don't know if they need that title to receive those benefits. At the end, I'll ask for your help with a couple of questions, so be prepared!

3 qualities our captains should have in order to lead effectively

Clear strategic focus. I know that seems obvious, but I've coached teams where the captains didn't know what was important to them. If it's more important to the captains that the team jumps when they say to jump than it is for the team to accomplish its goals, then the focus is off.

Open to new ideas. By the time players get to the collegiate level, they've been on many teams, been coached by many coaches, and have been led by lots of captains. This means that, even though a player may not be a team leader, they may have great ideas about how captains should behave. Great captains will listen to their teammates and maybe even take them up on a suggestion they make.

Forge strong bonds. The best captains I've had mobilize the team and are laser focused on their goals. They squash petty issues and internal fighting before I even know it's happening. They create time for the team to bond and hang out outside of practice time so they really get to know one another. Great captains make the team into a family.

Questions for you, dear reader

Do you pick your captains or does the team pick? How much input to you have in the process? What about not having team captains at all? Have you done it and did it work? What do you look for in team leaders? Do you think the "captain" title is necessary? Hit me up on Twitter with your answers.

The thing is, great team captains are amazing...they can transform a team from okay and full of cliques, to united and focused. On the flip side of the coin, bad captains can wreck team chemistry and any chance your team has at success. Let me know what you think.

Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com/, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.

Her book, Coach Dawn's Guide To Motivating Female Athletes, is available for purchase on her website.

Follow Coach Dawn on Twitter: @CoachDawnWrites

Original article

Doing The Right Thing In Management And Leadership

Everyone Has The Potential For Greatness

Leadership is seen to be a great role bound to do great deeds. When people think of leadership, they often think of the President or the founders of nations, magnificent CEO's of pioneering companies and well- loved philanthropists like Mother Teresa. Others deem leadership as a burden, a stern calling that drains a person's happiness. Then again, on a better light, leadership is also perceived as a blessing that conjures happiness for having achieved something worthy. Is leadership predestined? Is it a birthright of the chosen ones? The question remains.

The word "leader" is typically associated with prominent people. However, it is not always the case. Leadership is not confined to positions of power, although these are among the various leadership roles. Yes, there are people born to be leaders, but there are many others who have honed and utilized their leadership abilities along the way later in their lives. Everyone of us is potentially a leader. Just beneath a layer of our beings or hidden below 10 more is the seed, the spark or the potential for greatness of a leader.

What Makes A Leader?

As a school president, you become a leader. Yet anywhere else at school, in the classroom or among your friends, you can also practice leadership. In the workplace, occupying a management or executive rank makes you a leader. But you can also shine with leadership within your team or in your next neighboring cubicles of co-workers. When you fight for a cause or offer help in big and small ways, you become a leader, particularly when your deeds have a lasting effect on other people.

As a leader, you can lead people to good or bad. As a true leader, nonetheless, you need to have elegant courage. Elegant courage is clarity of your core values and having the resolve to adhere to your values both in good and bad times. You ought to know the difference between right and wrong and you decide to do the right thing.

Management And Leadership

Leadership is a noble calling. A true leader goes beyond his ego or personal interests. A leader has followers, and this followership is valued.

In the corporate setting, managers are seen as leaders. It used to be that managers yell and give orders and they are esteemed because of their authority and position. The focus on leadership has now shifted wherein management and leadership are aligned. Managers and leaders both do things right and do the right thing.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

Original article

Not Enough Time? Change Your Focus

Productivity needs to be defined as accomplishing goals and dreams, not simply being 'so busy'. In fact, if you keep talking about how busy and time-poor you are, you will likely waste time and energy. Why? Because talking about it is revealing that you are focused on lack of time instead of focusing on where you want to go.

Be mindful of your words, as you words reveal your thoughts. Your words speak to the quality of energy of your being. If you talk about lack of something repetitively, you are likely to manifest it into your life. This is how the brain and mind work. The primary mechanism of the creative process that ends up being your life's experience is focus of intention and attention.

These two things are slightly different. Intention is a feeling and creates the mental image, and attention is about keeping your physical eyes and your mind's eye on the target. Here's the catch, though: if you have wired a belief into the subconscious part of your mind that you don't have enough time, this powerful intention will be the dominant experience.

Most people don't even bother to set a conscious intention daily anyway. If you did, you may have a chance, but if not, you can pretty much count on 'not enough time' being your experience. You see, it's not that you are a victim. It's not that you have fewer hours in a day than other people, who seem to accomplish major life-changing goals in their lives. What it really is, is that you do not understand how weak your power of focus has become because of some of the following beliefs that you have formed over time.

Here are three simple examples:

Multi-tasking saves time and is effective (weakens attention - wastes energy, also)

Life is hard and success takes hard work (creates struggle)

Reflection and quiet time is a waste of time (actually, it revitalizes and restores the mind)

Here are some solutions to the above:

Multi-tasking takes your focus from being like a laser to being a 40 watt-bulb. It's literally not good for your brain. Take five-minute breaks each hour to breathe deeply and stretch. Check your email only at designated times, like 10 minutes before the hour and for ONLY 10 minutes. Set your intention before each task, and don't do another until finished.

Recognize that the brain is an organ that produces self-fulfilling prophecy. So if you keep thinking and speaking that life and success are hard, your brain will cause you to take actions to make this your experience - it's as simple as that. You will focus on things that are ineffective. You will miss opportunities that are right in your face. You will take three times longer to get your tasks done. You will not attract the best support systems and people into your life. In fact, you are likely to create chaos and frequent challenges. Stop this, and learn how to change your thinking and feeling patterns. Life will become magically easier. Don't underestimate the power of your feelings, mind, and brain to create your reality.

Reflection time is vital to slow down your busy brain. If you don't stop, re-fuel, and literally slow down your brain waves, you will likely damage some brain cells (this is literal). Chronic stress and overwhelm have even been associated with memory loss and Alzheimer's. It can cause everything from headaches to cancer. Time poverty is perceptual in nature. Also, if you keep talking about 'not enough time', you are likely to take on situations that are not even aligned with your values. Speaking of values, when you become a 'doing machine', typically you don't slow down enough to even realize what your true personal values really are. Why? You are too busy! Too busy staying on the hamster wheel of other people's agendas. Too busy worrying about the fear-based negative news that you have no control over.

If you change your focus, turn off the negative media, and get clear about where you really want to go in your life, you will have the insights of just the right inspired actions to take to stop doing things that are meaningless. I could go on here, but I hope you get the point. Reflection is critical and powerful to regaining control of your time, energy, and getting clear on what you should be doing to accomplish and truly be productive.

Learn how to retrain your brain! It may take some courage to stop the runaway "time train." Start by focusing on one step at a time. Start by setting an intention to finish one task at a time. Begin to talk about being in the process of creating more time. Want to be bold? Affirm that "my mind is finding more time now" throughout your day. Start feeling that you have enough time. Start by focusing on gratitude for what you have instead of what you don't have. Change your focus, and you will change your mind.

Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle - with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.

For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.valenciaray.com/

Original article

Essential Leadership Quality: Integrity

Whether someone you look up to simply did their job, fulfilled their promises day-in and day-out to their employer and family, or they were a civic leader who made a promise to the masses and actually did what they said they were going to do, you have no-doubt been witness to what it means to have integrity.

The straight-talk definition of Integrity is:

"Doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it."

In other words, keeping your promises, and as a leader, being in integrity with your word is absolutely crucial to your ability to successfully lead and mentor your team.

No matter who you are or where you are from: world leader, boss, employee, child, Mom, or Dad, integrity matters; what you say matters, and who you are being when you are doing what you are doing matters!

After all, given the fact that we lead and teach those around us by example, what are we teaching when we aren't our word? What are we teaching if we occur as if integrity doesn't matter?

What We See in the Mirror

Quite frequently, the person we are out of integrity with most is ourselves, and when we are out of integrity - even in a way that others can't see - we know it; we beat ourselves up, it grinds us down, we get to a place where we are afraid of being found out, and we play smaller!

Integrity really gets to the heart of the very personal unspoken stuff that we think about when we look at ourselves in the mirror. So, what would it be like to be in integrity everywhere? To actually do what you say you are going to do every single time?

The truth is that as humans, some days we are going to be in integrity with our agreements and some days we're not. When your integrity is out-of-place, you will beat yourself up longer, harder, and meaner than anyone else possibly could, but don't waste time making yourself wrong. The world will do that for you for free! Instead, when you find that you are out of integrity in a part of your life, put it back. Say you are sorry! Forgive yourself! Clean it up! Get back into integrity!

No matter how great you are, there is going to come a time when you have to clean up your integrity. Part of living a life of integrity is developing the ability to be humble and take responsibility for your mistakes. We all make them. And know this: Being out of integrity doesn't mean you are a bad person. If you are out in the world shaking things up, you are going to be out of integrity at some point. Everyone makes mistakes, and if you are out in the world, being visible enough for people to notice, you are a leader and your integrity matters!

A well-known executive business coach, Clay Nelson is no ordinary, fly-by night, new-to-the-game coach! Clay Nelson has been coaching executives for over 30 years. Coaching from the core fact that growing people is the key to growing any business, Clay has helped countless business executives and their teams come together to not just improve their businesses, but to improve their lives. Clay's personal life experience, years of coaching, and his natural abilities to motivate, teach, and develop leaders is what makes him stand apart as a leader in the field... committed to making a difference wherever a difference needs to be made.

Clay Nelson is also a well-regarded motivational and educational speaker, providing outstanding programs customized to the audiences he is speaking with. Able to speak on any number of topics within his noted specialties, Clay Nelson is known for moving audiences from the status quo to action as they create the businesses and lives they say they want to have.

For more information go to: http://www.claynelsonlifebalance.com/

Original article

True Leaders Make Others Feel Important

Great leadership is never about satisfying the ego or personal agenda of a leader, or a small group of members. It is certainly never about being aloof, or setting ones self on some sort of pedestal, expecting others to treat you regally. In my over three decades of working closely with well over a thousand leaders, I have observed that every potential leader I have ever observed only achieves greatness when he adopts an attitude of service to others, where he endeavors to consistently make others feel both important and relevant. Great leader realize that they can never be completely effective unless they are able to effectively communicate, and that effective communication requires truly caring for others, and taking their feelings into consideration. John Dewey wrote, "The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to feel important."

1. How can leaders make others feel important? One of the easiest ways to express gratitude verbally, by going out of one's way to thank someone for even minor assistance. Leaders must thank members for their support, while maintaining their integrity so that others realize that the thanks are indeed genuine, rather than simply some empty words and platitudes.

2. Great leaders never blame others for anything. Firstly, they realize it is not only unproductive, but often counter- productive. Has the leader properly trained someone before delegating duties and responsibilities? Has the leader properly and effectively communicating what he wants achieved so that the individual understands what's necessary, the time and effort commitment required? Does the leader monitor the situation on an ongoing basis? Instead of blaming or negative criticism, does the leader give constructive critiques that both help the progress and quality of the performance, but also makes the individual feel good about himself?

Many in leadership fail to recognize that one "atta-boy" and a pat on the back often accomplishes far more in a positive manner than blame, harsh criticism, etc. One moment of ungratefulness by a leader often demotivates volunteers, and creates a situation where becomes difficult to enlist volunteers. Every human being wants to feel wanted and appreciated! People want to feel important, and thus when a leader publicly thanks someone, it feeds that impulse and need. Effective leaders, by definition, are excellent and proficient motivators, and understand that praise and thanks create positive reactions and motivates others to follow the leader's vision and adopt it as their own. Unless someone is able to get constituents to become believers and followers, who is he leading? One cannot be a leader if no one wants to follow him. Leaders must accept and understand this truism, so that they can put themselves in the proper mindset to be willing to realize that the leader is not the important one, but the organization and its members are!

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Richard's owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. His company Website is http://www.plan2lead.net/, and he can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody. For great information on many topics, visit PLAN2LEAD's Facebook page and LIKE ( http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead )

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Personal Branding - Danger, Danger - Flying Below the Radar Can Hurt You

You work hard and accomplish a lot for your organization. Everybody already knows your value to the company, right? So why aren't you getting those promotions and plum projects?

I've worked with many corporate women in the last 20 years. More often than not, their greatest stumbling block to getting rewarded and recognized has been their invisibility to decision makers. Once they started showing up on the decision maker's radar screen, these women began to make steady advances in their careers.

If you aren't on their radar screen, decision makers will look elsewhere to people they remember when considering promotions and who to assign to plum projects.

When you work hard, get results, and nobody knows about it, you're flying below the radar of the decision makers. Remember the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the grease?" It's just as true for a corporate employee. When you don't "squeak," you can't be heard. Basically, you're unseen, unknown, under promoted.

There are two main reasons women resist taking action to get on the radar of decision makers. Fear of being noticed and not knowing how to show up on the right radar.

Fear of being noticed - Does being visible sound exciting or does it make you slightly nauseated?

One of my very successful friends hit the nail on the head when she told me that being visible used to scare her to death. She was afraid that if she became visible, she would be open to criticism and that can be very scary. If this is an issue for you, consider how much the rewards of being on your boss's radar outnumber the scary risks - some of which are phantoms invented by your own imagination.

Don't take criticism personally. The majority of criticism handed out in the corporate world isn't intended to crush you. It might be no more than a different point of view. Take the high road. Ask yourself if there is value in the criticism. If yes, then decide what you can learn from it. If not, release the criticism like a little annoying bug.

Don't let fear disable you. You don't have to do it alone. Enlist the help of people you trust and respect - your boss, your peers, a mentor, a professional coach.

Not knowing how to show up on the right radar-Try these three surefire steps to increase your presence on the radar of decision makers:

Identify the key decision makers inside and outside your department and learn what they value.Make sure decision makers know you exist by getting involved in initiatives they think are important.Understand how people within your company perceive you. Know who they think you are. This is your current personal brand.

Remember, if you want the rewards and recognition you deserve, your name must be the first one that pops up when a plum project begins to form or a promotion becomes available. You increase your chances of this happening when decision makers see you as a solid blip on their radar screen.

Stop languishing in obscurity. Enjoy your journey to greater career success by taking action today.

Linda Fossum coaches corporate women on how to move from being overworked and underappreciated to recognized and rewarded. Get started today. Request the free "Danger, Danger - Flying Below the Radar Can Hurt You" worksheet at http://rechargeyourcareer.com/ to learn more about these three surefire steps. Sign up for one of our free Lunch and Learn webinars at http://rechargeyourcareer.com/workshops to find out more about increasing your visibility to the right people within your organization.

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Are You an Accidental Leader? Sometimes They Are the Best Kind

Perhaps you've seen the movie which is set off into a future dystopia where a former mailman ends up the leader of a rebel force which overthrows the two-bit ruthless dictator of the local authority. In many regards you could call him the accidental leader, someone who rises up from the people, and is loved and respected by those who choose to follow. Some might say this is a natural leader coming into fruition due to the scenario and present events he happens to find himself thrust into. Now then, I would like to talk to you for a moment about how accidental leadership happens.

Now then, perhaps you are reading this article because you are an accidental Leader, or you are the sidekick, wing man, and/or assistant of someone who has just become one of those types of leaders. That is to say; he has been chosen by his peers, and has also accepted the responsibility. Perhaps, because there is a job to be done - he feels confident in doing it, and has the wisdom and belief of those around him to make it happen. Not everyone has the strength of character inside to do such a thing, and even those that do may not come forward due to the inherent social risks.

Nevertheless, sometimes there comes a point when it is no longer acceptable to sit on the sidelines, perhaps the individual has strong moral character, and can no longer allow whatever is taking place to go on, from their point of view of course. Therefore, they take action, and the rest is history as those who later try to piece together what happened and how this accidental leader rose to power. Often the accidental leader didn't rise as much as they were thrust into that leadership role.

Have you ever noticed that folks in this position often fit into that leadership role as if it was a glove being put on? Not like the O.J. Simpson glove, rather one that fits quite well? In the famous philosophical work "The Prince" Machiavellian describes such transformation, and explains that folks who are born into power, or work within the system to later seize power must often lead by fear, whereas a prince who comes from the people can lead with love, respect, and admiration of the followers without the use of fear.

If you are an Accidental Leader you need to understand these principles if you are to fit into this new role of yours. Often, those that enter the leadership arena and find themselves in this situation by happenstance eventually turn out to be the very best leaders of all. There's something to be said from understanding the people, and being one with them that makes all the difference.

In fact, you might even note that many of our leaders today worked very hard to position themselves as just the "common Joe on the street" and yet, still possess the leadership talent, abilities, and moral strength of character to lead. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative eBook on Change Management Leadership. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Leadership Coaching: The Power To Dream Big

Leadership Has A Vision

Dream big. What your mind can conceive, you can turn into reality. Great achievements come from fervid and zealous dreams. At times you might think your dreams are outrageous, and some people might scoff, but know that only you are the limit to what you can achieve. It starts with a dream. Leadership is a position of power and influence, but not in the sense to subjugate or coerce others. Power in leadership comes from within. It comes from courage and it moves people to act from their hearts and motivation. Influence in leadership is exerted by making people want to follow, not compelling them to follow.

As a leader and as a force that influences people, you have the privilege to dream big. You can thus achieve big as a result. And in your success, you include your followers. You dream in behalf of your team as a leader. Yes, leadership is expected to be stern and resolute, and being wishy washy may seem inappropriate. But leadership is about dreaming, otherwise known in technical terms as "having a vision". Leadership needs to have a vision, something to aim for, something to work for and something to achieve. Having a cause to fight for. Without a purpose, without a reason for being, leadership is futile.

How To Inspire Elegant Courage

Leadership inspires and instills courage in its people. A leader, to be effective, must have elegant courage. What is elegant courage? It is clarity of one's core values and being resolute to adhere to these core values both in good and bad times. How do you inspire leadership courage?

Claim the power to dream big. You may have fears and inhibitions, reluctant about envisioning a magnificent achievement. Nonetheless, don't let the word "impossible" block your vision. If you settle for mediocre dreams, then all you get are mediocre achievements. Dream freely and don't let your fears limit you. Let positivity prevail and think "if the problem does not exist, what more can I achieve"?
Include your people in your dreams. A leader does not do it alone. His force boosts the force of his people, and his people boost his power. Be a leader worthy of the respect and support of your followers. Take your people with you in your dream and realize that they will walk with you all the way. Conceive a supportive force in your mind and it will manifest in your leadership.
Be the catalyst of growth and achievement. It all begins with you as a leader because you have been bestowed with the power to make a difference. Being the best you can be in your leadership needs you to have elegant courage. Nurture elegant courage in you and you can create astounding achievements.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

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Wise Leaders Anticipate

Far too many individuals in leadership positions operate as crisis managers, when they should instead be proactive planners. Effective leadership invariably comes about when those in charge dedicate themselves to truly learning from their training, in order to gain the knowledge necessary to enjoy the wisdom required to have the skills and confidence needed to be able and willing to make timely decisions. True leaders cannot afford to try to escape from their responsibilities, and must recognize that with every action, as well as with every procrastination, comes inevitable ramifications. Norman Cousins wrote, "Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences."

1. Leadership means being prepared for eventualities. In my over thirty years of consulting to, and working closely with, well over a thousand leaders, I have observed that there is far more danger from leaders failing to act, than taking actions, even if the actions were somewhat misguided or ill- directed. Leaders that do not prepare for contingencies often end up leading via crisis management, and invariably that results in the crisis managing the leader, rather than the leader managing the crisis. Proper planning results in fewer emergencies, and thus permits a leader to spend his time leading, instead of merely managing. Effective leadership is predominantly about anticipating and being prepared for the what if's, and maintaining control and direction. All great leaders spend most of their time and efforts leading others towards an essential vision, which culminates in the attainment of the goals needed to achieve the organization's vital mission.

2. What exactly should leaders anticipate? Anticipation is not merely a slogan, but a course of action that great leaders utilize. It requires extensive and thorough planning, creating and using action plans, and preparing for contingencies via the use of back- up plans. Efficiency is about being ready and prepared, and when an unwanted or undesired circumstance or set of circumstances occurs (which invariably happens at some time in a leader's life), being prepared to take needed actions immediately, rather than permitting the circumstances dictate the leader's course of actions. This action should occur in a seamless manner, and should not be all consuming. When leaders are properly prepared, they can continue to focus on the big picture and their overall plans and objectives, while still addressing the situation or circumstance.

You are not a leader if you plan to plan properly, be prepared, have the can- do attitude when facing adversities, and turn those adversities into opportunities. Great leadership is always about being prepared, ready, and able to lead in a positive, forward looking manner.

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Richard's owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. His company Website is http://www.plan2lead.net/, and he can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody. For great information on many topics, visit PLAN2LEAD's Facebook page and LIKE ( http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead )

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What Qualities Do Entrepreneurs Need?

Surviving the First Year of Business

The more I read, the more I realise that starting and surviving your first year of business is first of all down to mindset. If you don't keep a powerful focus, and a bulldog determination on your end goal - there won't be a second year.

In "Midas Touch - why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich - and other's Don't" by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump, they talk about what traits sets great entrepreneurs apart. Strength of character is important. Without emotional intelligence, it will be bye-byes to a business and hello job.

Specialist or Generalist?

Most intelligent types currently start off getting all this education and then specialising into a field to apply your talents (law, accountancy, commerce, reporter, medical, science, etc). You are then a highly-trained specialist and can command more dollars per hour than others.

None of this helps YOU become an entrepreneur. In fact, you'll be limited to the peak hourly rate (after expenses) with the possibility of shares in the business as the only path to wealth. And many doctors, lawyers, and project managers find that the work just builds on and on relentlessly - the more you learn, the more in demand you are.

Rob and Don say, "Midas Touch entrepreneurs are generalists who hire specialists to get the work done". They themselves work on creating a Mission (your spiritual purpose), building a Team, and providing Leadership. The kind of leadership they are talking about is one where the leader takes responsibility for any failures of the team or the business (Midas Touch, 2011, p.76).

When you start a small business or micro business, you rely on your talents to make your business a success. But you cannot also be good at sales, marketing, bookkeeping, brand design, legal, and finance - and it's madness trying to be. The point is, many young businesses fail because the owner doesn't realize that a TEAM is necessary to build a successful business.

More franchisees than solo businesses succeed, because proven systems and marketing are provided for them. The owner still needs people skills, delivery of great service, and an eye on profits.

Pulling Together for a Cause

I strongly believe Entrepreneurs do not have to be doing it for just the money. What bonds people together is working for a higher cause. The draft mission for my planned business is "empowering couples to better manage their money and build wealth".

On the non-profit side (where some profits will be funnelled to), free courses will be provided to young people and those on low incomes, so they can break free of poor money conditioning and go on to increase their confidence, their money control and their wealth. Training in counselling will help on the mindset side. The cause is greater than me, it reaches out to all local people suffering from poor money skills.

In 1989, Jennifer left New Zealand just a teenager with a rudimentary education and a dream of getting a 'good job'. She has worked in secretarial, marketing, DTP, editing, copywriting, written personal finance/growth books, and runs her own business Power of Words. She thinks its better than packing kiwifruit.

Jennifer Lancaster runs Power of Words (copywriting, publishing). She has written a book "Sack Your Financial Planner: Wealth Creation for all Australians". If you'd like to be an alliance partner, email: jennifer@pow.net.au or see http://www.pow.net.au/.

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Empathy Is Important In Inspirational Leadership

It Matters That You Care

It matters to people that you care, and this is the first step to being successful in inspirational leadership. Just as James F. Hind, a leadership expert said "People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know". If you want to inspire people and be effective as a leader, care about people and show them that you do.

Effected leadership requires certain qualities. Whether you are a CEO, or are working for an organization, you have to know how to inspire and motivate your people. If you want to exert true leadership influence, move your people from the hearts and motivation. A leader that inspires is a leader that people want to follow. Having a willing followership is a mark of genuine leadership. A leader is at his best if he can inspire his followers.

Inspiration Starts From You

What makes inspirational leadership effective? You can't give what you haven't got and you can't teach what you do not know. To be inspirational, you thus first should be inspired. Inspiration must be within you before you can cultivate it in others. What is the best source of inspiration?

The strongest relationships you nurture are one of the best sources of inspiration. Surrounded by love and security and instilled with healthy self esteem, you can appreciate the positives in life more than the negatives. Or even amid the negative, you can choose to be positive. This is your own source of inspiration. With the joy and optimism in you, you can also extend the same to others. Positivity is contagious. A positive and uplifting person can clear the surrounding haze and the muddle with their optimistic and encouraging attitude.

Empathy and Inspiration

When empathy is mutual in your relationships, then you become aware of its meaning. You have lived and learned it, and you can apply it in your leadership. What is empathy? Empathy is the ability to recognize yourself in the other person. It's the proverbial "putting yourself in one's shoes". In empathy you appreciate two people- yourself and the other person. You have to go beyond your ego and selfishness when you practice empathy. You have to be strong to possess this quality.

As an empathic and inspirational leader, people will see you as a resource and this places you in a position of trust. Empathy and inspiration in leadership need you to have both a strong appreciation for yourself and a strong appreciation for others.

As a leader, you are a beacon and people will look to you for guidance and illumination. Instill and nurture the light in you so that you can truly respond to the responsibilities of your calling.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

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