Leaders Work On Their Plan

One might think that because I have been advising others in the area of leadership and planning for over thirty years, and my company has both of those areas as the major portions of its mission, that I would emphasize the need to plan as more important than anything else a leader might do. However, as much as I cherish and believe in planning, all the planning in the world will accomplish little unless a leader dedicates himself to working on that plan, because no plan has ever been implemented on its own. Jim Rohn wrote, "If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you." Please realize that Mr. Rohn purposely said that it would go to work on you, and not that it would go to work for you.

1. Creating a plan is certainly an essential part of effective leadership, however it is neither the first step or the only one. The first thing a leader needs is a reason to be a leader, or in other words a driving vision that motivates him to commit to the necessities and obligations of a leader. This vision must be in line with the organization's mission, and must recognize realities, historical information, the organization's heritage and where it would like to go, where it is in relation to where it would like to be, short- term, intermediate- term and long- term, etc.

The leader's vision must motivate others to follow and adopt the vision as important enough to be their own, and then the leader must grasp the momentum and create goals to achieve along the way. Once that is done, then a real leader creates an action plan, with definitive time lines and reporting intervals, as well as assigning and overseeing vital areas of responsibility to others. Leaders must delegate carefully, and only delegate to those he is convinced will adequately commit and get done the specific tasks and/ or necessities. True leaders, therefore, must also be oversight specialists.

2. This plan will go nowhere without action being taken. Far too often, individuals in leadership positions rhetorically are great leaders, but fail to translate their words to actions, or as I like to say, their talk to their walk. Therefore, effective leaders must lead and not follow others, daring to have the courage to set the agenda as they believe is needed, and directing others to being more creative, more committed, and more willing to take the necessary actions required for the organization's well being.

Do you want to be a leader, or are you simply a wannabe? Will you commit to the vision, goals and planning required, and then step forth and lead by example, setting the agenda and taking the courageous actions you feel necessary to achieve your vision, for the good of the organization? A true leader's objective must always be to make his organization better, more relevant, and to provide added value to others. Leadership is a form of selflessness!

Richard Brody, with over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. He has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. He's a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.
Richard has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has a Consulting Website, and his company PLAN2LEAD, LLC's site ( http://www.plan2lead.net/ ), and can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead

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Leaders Must Pick Their Battles

Effective leaders soon realize that there will be many issues, matters, policies, and even individuals that they do not agree with, and that it is both impossible and unwise to take on too many issues simultaneously. Wise leadership dictates prioritization as an early step in the leadership agenda, and by doing so, thus can wisely pick and choose which items are most essential/ important, and therefore which ones to exert the most effort for. Therefore, it is generally a wise course of action for a leader to pick and choose his battles, and therefore garner the most support for those items he considers most pressing and important. William James wrote, "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."

1. In order to achieve what a leader considers most pressing, he often must overlook certain acts, errors/ omissions, less pressing issues/ policies, etc. By doing that, he places his highest concentration on the matters that he considers most urgent, or most important. In my over three decades of training leaders in all aspects of leadership and management, I always have stressed that a new leader must hit the ground running from day one. This requires someone who ascends to a leadership position to be as prepared as possible before becoming the leader, and creating an agenda, with viable goals. This permits him to enunciate and communicate his agenda from day one, and to coerce and convince as many followers as possible, so that they will buy into his philosophy, and adopt it as their own point of view.

2. True leaders cannot afford to appear as if they are running all over the place, because most observers are either motivated or demotivated by what they see being done and achieved. Far too many in leadership simply talk the talk, expressing platitudes, and often using rhetoric instead of reasoning. Great leaders can and should be working on multiple needs, policies, programs and ideas simultaneously, but must set priorities so as to place the others focus on the most pressing or important item or items.

3. Leaders must beware of what they fit for, or against. If someone in leadership puts too much focus on a secondary issue (which may have opposition), it often weakens his ability to motivate people around what his top priority. Beware that this does not mean that a leader should sell out his beliefs, but rather prioritize his public approach and appearance. Many battles end up, often unfortunately, in the political arena, and thus, great leaders learn to balance their public rhetoric and opposition, in order to conserve as much political ammunition as possible for what he considers most important.

Without this common sense approach, some of the most motivated leaders fail in their quest for greatness, because they often alienate people they might need for essential items, by their rhetoric and fighting on lesser issues. Leadership is not only about knowledge, expertise and action, but also about people skills and attitude, while setting and using the priority approach.

Richard Brody,with over 30 years consultative sales,marketing,training,managerial, and operations experience,has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. He has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. He's a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.

Richard has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ), and his company PLAN2LEAD, LLC's site ( http://www.plan2lead.net/ ), and can be followed on Twitter

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Two Leaders Are Suddenly Arrested and Imprisoned and Their Only 'Crime' Was Seeking to Do Good!

Leadership can be lonely and leadership can be exceedingly costly and we learn that lesson here. Having just returned from a sixth visit to equatorial Africa in seven years - to Kenya - I saw something of the suffering which Pastors and Leaders have to experience and endure, as they work among the poor in the slums of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, and these were all men who had the anointing power of Almighty God upon their lives and ministries.

Surely, if I have a real true genuine 'Pentecostal' experience, all my troubles and problems will disappear. Not so!

Very soon after some three thousand new believers in Jesus Christ were baptised, and given some basic teaching, Peter and John made their way up to the Temple to pray. These two men were among the leadership in that young Church of Jesus Christ and what they met has been what thousands have met down through the centuries.

At the gate called Beautiful, a severely crippled man, in his 40's, sat begging, and he looked to Peter and John for a few pennies.

Peter and John had no money, but what they did have they gave him. Peter spoke to him and took him by the hand, helping him to his feet, and he was healed instantly.

Now, healing does not always happen instantly!

People at the Temple recognised that this man, who had been so lame, was now exceedingly mobile. Peter had some explaining to do.

He told how the Jesus, who had been crucified, was raised from the dead, and through faith in this risen living Jesus the crippled beggar had become strong.

Peter also called to the people to repent by turning to God, and have their sins wiped out and forgiven, and be refreshed.

This did not go down at all well with the religious authorities, and almost as instantly as the man was healed, they were arrested and put into prison.

Sin causes havoc when sinners act sinfully.

One of the consequences of a Pentecostal experience can be praising God in languages one has never learned, but on this occasion, as on many other occasions, the evidence is trouble.

When Jesus was born, within a few months, there was severe suffering in Bethlehem and its surrounds.

Not long into Jesus' ministry, His popularity waned, as storm clouds gathered.

It has ever been so, and will continue to be so, until Jesus Christ comes again to resolve every issue.

Leadership is more than experiencing loneliness and isolation from being 'out front'.

Leadership involves paying a price and that price at time is high, but men of integrity will be willing to pay that price, knowing that in Christ Jesus there is a reward and recompense which is far beyond what anyone could imagine.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org/ entitled "Word from Scotland" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

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