Leadership Trait to Ponder: Fun

August 7, 2014 by

Leadership-Trait-Fun-Todd-Nielsen-ManagementToday the leadership trait to ponder is Fun. As leaders we can’t be slave drivers of ourselves and those we lead. While I am all about execution, it is important to also have some fun at work, as well as away from work, to recharge and be able to better focus. The dictionary defines Fun as: enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure; amusing, entertaining, or enjoyable. Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate Fun. As you read these quotes, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Quotes on Fun

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” ~Charles R. Swindoll

Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs.” ~Kin Hubbard

It’s fun to have a partner who understands your life and lets you be you.” ~Kim Kardashian

Follow your dreams. Just make sure to have fun too.” ~Chris Brown

Work is much more fun than fun.” ~Noel Coward

When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really PLAYED.” ~Dr. Seuss

Life is more fun if you play games.” ~Roald Dahl

>You don’t have to make something that people call art. Living is an artistic activity, there is an art to getting through the day.” ~Viggo Mortensen

The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.” ~Benedict Cumbergatch

Sometimes, the simple things are more fun and meaningful than all the banquets in the world …” ~Liz Reinhardt

In terms of days and moments lived, you’ll never again be as young as you are right now, so spend this day, the youth of your future, in a way that deflects regret. Invest in yourself. Have some fun. Do something important. Love somebody extra. In one sense, you’re just a kid, but a kid with enough years on her to know that every day is priceless..” ~Victoria Moran

When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.” ~Shannon L. Alder

 

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What do you think about when you ponder Fun at work? Please share your thoughts int he comments section.

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UQ Power – Have You Got It?

August 4, 2014 by

Heidi-UQ-PowerSix months ago a wonderful and original book hit the world by my good friend Heidi Alexandra Pollard called, Power Up Your UQ: Boost Income, Influence, & Impact. I truly regret not sharing this book sooner, but life has been full of twists and turns that have made it difficult to get my review out. Heidi asked me to review the book last year and write the forward. I was honored when she asked me, but even more so after I finished the book. This book is like no other self improvement or leadership book you have ever seen, I guarantee it. Below is the forward I wrote, after reading it recently, I am  sure I could not write anything better to get you to want to read it.

Forward to Power Up Your UQ: Boost Income, Influence, & Impact

“Every successful person has habits, knowledge, and skills that elevate them to rise above others and achieve phenomenal feats. They don’t just desire success, they hunger for it. It’s an unquenchable hunger, and unfortunately there’s not a simple recipe for success. Success is about so many things, such as: changing your mindset, becoming productive, always learning and improving one’s skills. It’s about being creative, asking questions, being a good listener, standing-out from the crowd, and so much more.

In my search on what makes organizations truly successful, I have found that the best organizations are ones that know how to get things done, they execute, and they have a culture of execution that creates and amazing power to excel far above their competition.

Before you can arrive to culture of execution, there are a lot of things that must be present in an organization. A successful business is one that stands-out in the marketplace, its unique; it’s filled with individuals, from the top to the bottom, that possess passion and strong leadership skills. At the heart is a culture that is positive and uplifting which brings out the best in people and motivates them to help the business grow and be mo
re successful. There is a lot more, but the end result is – they get things done.

In my search for the secret to success in life and business, I have read hundreds, if not thousands of books on leadership, management, self-improvement, productivity, personal branding, and every other topic under the sun to improve my skills and ability to stand-out in work and life, and to become more successful. Every once in a while I come across a truly original book that changes lives, enriches souls, and helps to fill in the recipe of how to create success. Power UP Your UQ: Boost Your Income, Influence, & Impact, is just that and much more. In a unique, fun, and creative style, Heidi makes you laugh, all the while teaching you valuable lessons to change your life and business.

This book wraps a hundred years of business and self-improvement literature into a concise, unique, and fun volume that touches on just the right elements to take an individual or business to the next level of success.

Will it be easy? —- Of course not!

Will it be fun?  —- You bet!

Will it be worth it? —- Absolutely!

So enjoy the story, laugh at the illustrations, be inspired at the nuggets of wisdom – then get to work and build your UQ Power.”

If you have read the book or have some thoughts please leave a comment. If you want to buy the book, which you really should, you can get it from Heidi’s website. I’ll be mailing a few copies to some people that leave well-thought out comments.

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Leadership Trait to Ponder: Punctuality

July 31, 2014 by

Punctuality-Leadership-Time-Management-Todd-NielsenToday the leadership trait to ponder is Punctuality. Punctuality is important to me since a leader’s time is almost always scarce. I have sat in many conference rooms with a number of other executives waiting for the leader or some other key member to arrive in order to begin a meeting.  I estimated in one meeting that the cost of waiting amounted to be in the thousands of dollars.

I have taught my 6 year old son the phrase, “Early is on time and on time is late.” It’s a motto that we could all benefit from. The dictionary defines Punctuality as: the condition of keeping to arranged times for appointments, meetings, etc. The condition of arriving or taking place at an arranged time; promptness.

Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate the importance of Punctuality. As you read these quotes, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Quotes on Punctuality

I think the only way to properly face doom is to be on time.” ~Jennifer Dubois

Punctuality is the soul of business.” ~Thomas Chandler Haliburton

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” ~Lord Chesterfield

Punctuality is the politeness of kings.” ~Louis XVIII

Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.” ~Niccolo Machiavelli

Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” ~William Shakespeare

Promptitude is not only a duty, but is also a part of good manners; it is favorable to fortune, reputation, influence, and usefulness; a little attention and energy will form the habit, so as to make it easy and delightful.” ~Charles Simmons

People count the faults of those who keep them waiting.” ~Proverb

What do you think about when you ponder Punctuality? Do you have any other favorite quotes on the topic? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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64 Things Every Leader Should Promise NOT To Do

July 29, 2014 by

Leadership-Behaviors-Todd-NielsenLast week I shared an article called 64 Things Every Leader Should Promise.  That came from a project I was working on earlier this year in which I wanted to document all the promises that I believe a leader should make to the people he or she leads. Once I finished that list I realized it was not good enough. So I started another list that explained 64 things that I refused to do as a leader. While many of the items are similar to the promise list, many of these were just pet peeves that annoyed me. We all know the importance of “to do” lists and “will not do” lists, this is kind of like that.

So here is my “NOT GONNA DO IT” list, I hope you enjoy the list and it gives you a lot to think about:

  1. I will not belittle or speak condescending to staff.
  2. I will not curtail communication, thus leaving staff unclear about direction.
  3. I will not disempower my staff so they cannot succeed on their own.
  4. I will not overly analyze every decision and thus halt the execution process.
  5. I will not restrain from admitting when I have made a mistake.
  6. I will not forget to recognize staff for the achievements they have made.
  7. I will not ignore my staff and retreat into an office.
  8. I will not refuse to provide executive-level sponsorship for management initiatives.
  9. I will not forget to give managers the proper authority to perform their jobs.
  10. I will not sit idly by if staff does not have the resources or tools to complete their objectives.
  11. I will not yell at anyone.
  12. I will not be inconsiderate.
  13. I will not forget common occasions that are important to people.
  14. I will not use threats with staff to get them to perform their job.
  15. I will not make my staff feel guilty, if they do not do something extra (stay late, work the weekend, etc…).
  16. I will not use fear tactics to “motivate” staff.
  17. I will not play favorites with staff.
  18. I will not do things that are self-serving.
  19. I will not find myself lacking the competence that is critical to the organizations success.
  20. I will not lie to my staff.
  21. I will not make an “example” of staff members in front of others.
  22. I will not disregard the health and welfare of staff over the success of the company.
  23. I will not keep necessary training from staff that will prevent them from having greater success.
  24. I will not create an atmosphere where the staff does not have opportunities to progress and grow.
  25. I will not be callous and moody.
  26. I will not be unforgiving of staff mistakes, even after improvement and correction.
  27. I will not avoid face to face communication, by always using email and other impersonal communication methods.
  28. I will not practice analysis paralysis that inhibits progress from taking place.
  29. I will not ignore needed changes.
  30. I will not refuse to solicit feedback from staff.
  31. I will not fail to plan for the success of the organization.
  32. I will not fail to set a clear vision for the people and departments I have stewardships over.
  33. I will not be a poor example of execution and accountability, yet expect those behaviors from others.
  34. I will not interject myself into staff’s duties by doing things under their responsibility, without consulting with them.
  35. I will not fail to provide organized structure within the departments and staff I lead.
  36. I will have the confidence to take educated risks that could help the company reach its goals.
  37. I will not be a poor example of time management.
  38. I will not display deceitfulness or passive aggressive behavior.
  39. I will not try to please everyone, all the time. It’s just impossible.
  40. I will not fail to follow-up with staff.
  41. I will not lack the courage to lead.
  42. I will never encourage, practice, or listen to gossip.
  43. I will never exercise unethical business practices.
  44. I will not micromanage my staff.
  45. I will not fail to set aside time to properly plan for success.
  46. I will not fail to set aside time to reflect on problems, solutions, and progress being made.
  47. I will not act in a way that makes others feel like I am unable to take criticism.
  48. I will not fail to act and improve on received criticism or feedback.
  49. I will not fail to teach my staff about leadership, teamwork, time management, positive conflict, and other things to make them good leaders.
  50. I will not be egotistical or prideful.
  51. I will not ignore signs (signs of organizational problems, moral problems, etc…).
  52. I will not be disrespectful to staff.
  53. I will not fail to lead from the heart and take emotions into account.
  54. I will not diminish my ability to improve by not consistently learning and receiving coaching from others.
  55. I will not conduct ineffective meetings.
  56. I will not hoard my connections from staff that could help them have greater success with the proper introductions.
  57. I will not promote an environment that accepts the status-quo.
  58. I will not fail to promote an atmosphere of learning.
  59. I will not fail to create an environment of fun.
  60. I will not fail to support my staff and set them up for success.
  61. I will not manage by command and control.
  62. I will not emphasize anecdotal information over true data.
  63. I will not expect staff to just, “Figure it out.”
  64. I will not fail to manage and serve the most important aspect of an organization, the people!

Well there it is. What do you think? Is there anything that you would add? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Leadership Trait to Ponder: Focus

July 24, 2014 by

Leadership-Trait-Focus-Todd-NielsenToday the leadership trait to ponder is Focus.  The dictionary defines Focus as: the center of interest or activity; the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition; to pay particular attention to. I believe the ability to focus is an important trait of a leader. Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate Focus. As you read these quotes, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Quotes on Focus

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” ~Aristotle Onassis

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ~Mark Twain

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” ~Alexander Graham Bell

The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.” ~Brian Tracy

My focus is to forget the pain of life. Forget the pain, mock the pain, reduce it. And laugh.” ~Jim Carrey

I don’t focus on the critics. Everyone who is making any difference in any field has critics. As long as I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, then I don’t worry about it.” ~Joel Osteen

Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.” ~Matt Cameron

Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful. Your life is always moving toward something.” ~Ralph Marston

When you focus on life, on enjoying and connecting with other people, that’s when work comes.” ~Alia Shawkat

The sun’s energy warms the world. But when you focus it through a magnifying glass it can start a fire. Focus is so powerful!” ~Alan Pariser

What do you think about when you ponder the leadership trait of Focus? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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64 Promises That Every Leader Should Make

July 22, 2014 by

Leadership-Promises-Todd-NielsenI have come to believe that as leaders we need to make promises to ourselves and to those we lead. Earlier this year as I was working on a project, I thought to myself, “What are the promises I make as a leader?” I have always had ideals and ways of doing things, but I had never written them out as promises and made them official. I thought about this for quite some time and after a while I came up with this list of 64 promises that leaders should make.

I believe it is fairly encompassing; although probably not a complete list, nor is it in order of importance, per se. You might ask where “64” came from, that’s just where I ended.  This list may not be perfectly suited to you, if not start your own list, and see where you end up.

I hope you enjoy this and it gives you a lot to think about. Here it goes:

  1. I promise to serve others.
  2. I promise to manage issues head-on.
  3. I promise to be a great teacher.
  4. I promise to hold effective meetings.
  5. I promise to find and create efficiencies.
  6. I promise to have and help others have an innovation mindset.
  7. I promise to be crystal clear about expectations.
  8. I promise to provide consistent coaching and feedback.
  9. I promise to never stop asking questions.
  10. I promise to build teamwork and leadership acumen among everyone under my stewardship.
  11. I promise to never stop learning.
  12. I promise to commit myself to excellence.
  13. I promise to be ethical and honest.
  14. I promise to inspire others.
  15. I promise to listen.
  16. I promise to acknowledge and celebrate successes.
  17. I promise to create some fun.
  18. I promise to be transparent and self-aware.
  19. I promise to own-up to my responsibilities and failures.
  20. I promise that I will make mistakes; but I will own up to them, and learn from them.
  21. I promise to lead by example.
  22. I promise to learn what really motivates the individuals under my stewardship.
  23. I promise to make culture, a priority.
  24. I promise to not offload responsibility
  25. I promise to delegate effectively.
  26. I promise to build trust.
  27. I promise to be authentic and vulnerable.
  28. I promise to plan for success.
  29. I promise to manage my time effectively and teach that skill to others.
  30. I promise to tell good stories to illustrate and inspire.
  31. I promise to really care for the people under my stewardship.
  32. I promise to defend the company’s values.
  33. I promise to always speak well of company leadership.
  34. I promise to anticipate problems and find solutions.
  35. I promise to find efficiency through better processes development.
  36. I promise to be organized.
  37. I promise to be detail oriented.
  38. I promise to communicate the company vision, goals, and key messages.
  39. I promise to be realistic about deliverables.
  40. I promise to support and push those under my stewardship to achieve more.
  41. I promise to manage the consequences of poor performance.
  42. I promise to be humble.
  43. I promise to not only lead, but also to follow.
  44. I promise to give credit to those that have done good things.
  45. I promise to simplify the complicated.
  46. I promise to be personable and approachable.
  47. I promise to say no when appropriate in order to not create burdens.
  48. I promise to say yes most of the time and then empower and lead my teams to create success.
  49. I promise to grow others.
  50. I promise to build cohesiveness among cross-functional teams.
  51. I promise to communicate, communicate, and communicate some more.
  52. I promise to be a change agent to displace inefficiencies.
  53. I promise to encourage creativity.
  54. I promise to be passionate about what we are doing.
  55. I promise to have a positive attitude.
  56. I promise to take everything in stride.
  57. I promise to try new things.
  58. I promise to reward results.
  59. I promise to create “structures” that create confidence.
  60. I promise to create career paths and opportunities for those under my stewardship.
  61. I promise to “take one for the team” if that is what it takes.
  62. I promise to get my hands dirty.
  63. I promise to be goal oriented.
  64. I promise to keep my promises.

Well there it is. What do you think? Is there anything that you would add? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Leadership Trait to Ponder: Adaptability

July 17, 2014 by

adaptability-leadership-traitToday the leadership trait to ponder is Adaptability.  The dictionary defines Adaptability as: the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstances; the ability to change your ideas or behavior so that they are suitable for different conditions, a new environment, or in order to deal with a new situation successfully. Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate Adaptability. As you read these quotes on Adaptability, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Quotes on Adaptability

All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.” ~Yann Martel

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” ~Charles Darwin

Set patterns, incapable of adaptability, of pliability, only offer a better cage. Truth is outside of all patterns.” ~Bruce Lee

If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” ~Jeff Bezos

All failure is failure to adapt, all success is successful adaptation.” ~Max McKeown

Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.” ~Max McKeown

Tactics, fitness, stroke ability, adaptability, experience, and sportsmanship are all necessary for winning.” ~Fred Perry

The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” ~Kakuzo Okakaura

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

What do you think about when you ponder Adaptability? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Leaders – Stop Pegging People into Your Hole

May 19, 2014 by

Leaders-Differences-International-Leadership-Todd-NielsenI’ve had the privilege of working with people from all over the world. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, India, Singapore, Philippines, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, England, Kenya, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, and the list goes on and on. I don’t mention this to brag, instead I desire to state an observation about people in the world, people in your country, people in your city, and even people your office or home – THEY….ARE…..ALL…..DIFFERENT. If this is so obvious, why is it that leaders keep trying to peg people into their “Hole?”

The world is full of introverts, extroverts, and centroverts, bubbly people and serious people, thoughtful people and outgoing people. Actually that previous sentence is all wrong, sorry for leading you astray; the truth is that the world is full of… people. There is no type of person or personality that is necessarily better than another. People all have qualities that make them valuable and worthwhile, you are the same. I’m sure that most people the world over would agree more or less with that statement. Yet if that that is so true, why is it I keep seeing leaders try to form a culture that is modeled after their own personality?

The Mini-Me CulturePeople-Mini-Mes

I have seen this play out dozens of times. The outgoing extrovert CEO trying to convert everyone into mini-mes. If the world were
full of pixie-dust unicorns, and Austin Powers, we might be able to do just that, fortunately we live in a much more realistic and diverse culture.

Instead the world is full of people – all different types, different flavors, different personalities, different communication methods, different cultures, different customs and a thousand other differences. A real leader will have the intuition to recognize the value that people bring and not judge them because they are different then themselves.

In working with people from all over the world, whether from a different culture, or the same; I have found the following practices to be beneficial in communicating and relating to those you work with:

  1. Mimic – Attempt to mimic their communication styles when possible while still integrating your own in the mix. For examples in Canada and England the word “Process” is pronounced proh-ses and in the United States we say pros-es. The difference is “O” vs “AAH” in the pronunciation.
  2. Observe – Take time to observe how the other person communicates. Examine their written and verbal communications. Check out social media to see how they communicate on those channels, as the way they communicate there, often is how they feel most comfortable communicating.
  3. Research – No need to do a big report, but take a few minutes and Google the communication styles of the country, culture, or type of person you are working with to be able to understand certain idiosyncrasies. There are many differences even within a country and taking the time to understand might mean the difference between being understood or being offended.
  4. Patient – Some cultures, even some sub-cultures in the United States and other countries, move a bit slower than many executives would like. A good working relationship will require mutual trust and respect.
  5. Recognize – To have a successful working relationship, whether it is a small project or a long one, it’s important for both parties to recognize the value that the other(s) brings to the project. Recognizing the value will help one to overlook the communication differences that might be bothering to one of the parties.

Accept Differences, Value Others

As we roll into the 3rd Annual International Leadership Blogathon and more importantly, as we roll on with our working lives, I hope you can find and see that everyone has value, and that everyone should not be forced into an ideological “hole” that a leader believes is their culture of nirvana with multitude of mini-mes doing their bidding. Everyone has value, you have value and as leaders is it our job to discover other’s values.

I’d love to hear your comments below and please stay-tuned to a lot of great articles in this year’s 3rd Annual Leadership Blogathon, starting today!

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The 3rd International Leadership Blogathon

April 17, 2014 by

3rd-International-Leadership-Blogathon-Todd-NielsenWell it is that awesome and wonderful time again. Time for the International Leadership Blogathon. Actually it is past time, but who is keeping track. Once again we are going to have another thrill ride through the world of leadership in the 3rd Annual International Leadership Blogathon. Last year I held the event and it was even more amazing than the first one, so much so that it crashed my website from all the traffic. This year I am better prepared.

The nuggets of wisdom during these blogathons, come from all over the world. They are inspirational and enormously valuable for any leader. The perspectives alone are invaluable to help all of us become better leaders.  Once again we will have leadership experts from every corner of the globe take part.

I believe this year is going to be better than last year’s event. Why? Well, it has to! They are always better. 🙂 This year it will be a little bit more low-key and laser focused. Last year there were a lot of articles and I about pulled my hair out. This year I am going to limit it to 20 really good articles that will be published Monday Through Friday for 4 weeks. It will start the first or second week in May.

What Is The International Leadership Blogathon?

Ok, so imagine leadership writers and experts from all over the world gathered together to share their leadership wisdom with the world. The experience and lessons of working with different cultures and organizations helps to fuel an avalanche of knowledge that is not easy to come by.

What I do is get a bunch of leaders and experts from every possible country I can. Then they each write an article between 400 to 800 words that explores some aspect of leadership. Last year we had many different topics and my heart lit up every time I read a new article. I mean, how often do you get to hear the inner thoughts on leadership from someone in Kenya, India, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the U.K., Japan and a bunch of other remote locations? It’s awesome! Subscribe now, and get ready for the flood of leadership wisdom to enter your inbox.

In addition to the writings we will hold some Tweet Chat’s and maybe even a Google Hangout to chat about the articles and all things leadership.

Awesome, the 3rd International Leadership Blogathon begins soon! ” Tweet This

Who Can Write For The International Leadership Blogathon & Why Should You?

Well, let me address the why first. Usually the best reason to write a guest post is to receive valuable backlinks to your own site from a reputable domain, to help grow your own platform, and get your knowledge in front of a bunch of people that might not know who you are. I get a lot of traffic, and I have a huge social network in which I will be broadcasting all of the articles – every single day. I’ll will also invite you to a private Facebook group for all the bloggers to collaborate.

So who should write? Well anyone throughout the world that has leadership knowledge, that they want to share with the world. But there are some qualifications:

  1. You must be able to write in English
  2. You need to be able to write 400 to 800 words in good grammar and punctuation. We will help out as much as we can, but last year I spent way too much time re-writing articles that had great messages but were written poorly. So reach out to others that know English before submitting your article.
  3. You have to have a Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn account and actively participate on social networks. You do not need to have a big following.
  4. You must be willing to commit to sharing all the articles on social networks and not just your article.
  5. You must be able to enter and edit an article in WordPress.
  6. The post needs to be all original work from the author, and CANNOT be shared on another site. (Google does not like that)
  7. Your topic needs to be related to leadership or a leadership subtopic. Ask below in the comments section, or send me a message if you are unsure about your topic. It could also be about the intricacies of leadership in your country of residence.
  8. Your article needs to be in the system within a week of your acceptance into the blogathon.  We need to time to get everything setup and organized.
  9. You need to love leadership and want to engage with other writers by commenting on all the articles and helping to drive more discussion.
  10. You must be willing to write a short summary post, pointing to the article on your own blog, if you have one.
  11. The article must have valuable content, and not be an advertisement for your services.

I am expecting a lot of interest this year, the same as last year. So if you are interested in writing, please fill out the form below and submit it ASAP. I look forward to a successful blogathon, I know my readers will love this content and it will be a hugely successful event.

Woohoo, I just signed-up to write for the 3rd International Leadership Blogathon” Tweet This

This is going to be an exciting event with wisdom oozing from all over the globe. Stay tuned for more information. Please share your thoughts below along with what kind of articles are you hoping to see?

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Leadership Trait to Ponder: Appreciation

February 9, 2014 by

appreciation-leadership-management-Todd-NielsenToday the leadership trait to ponder is Appreciation.  I see so many leaders that fail miserably in appreciating all that their staff has done. They congratulate a few that rode on the backs of many others, or they criticize on one hand, and show appreciation on the other. I see many leaders that kick-themselves and their staff for not achieving an objective, yet fail to appreciate all the was actually accomplished.

The dictionary defines Appreciation as: the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something; a full understanding of a situation; a feeling of being grateful for something; an ability to understand the worth, quality, or importance of something; an ability to appreciate something.

Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate Appreciation. As you read these quotes, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Quotes on Appreciation

Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” ~Oprah Winfrey

The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” ~Paulo Coelho

Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” ~Steve Maraboli

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love—then make that day count!” ~Steve Maraboli

Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” ~Voltaire

Be happy with who you are and what you do, and you can do anything you want.” ~Steve Maraboli

If a man cannot understand the beauty of life, it is probably because life never understood the beauty in him.” ~Criss Jami

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ~Anne Bradstreet

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you think about when you ponder Appreciation? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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