Timeless Contents of a Leader’s Toolkit

June 10, 2014 by

leadership-management-toolkitLeadership is the ability to make things happen. Given the increasing complexity of the world in which we live in, and the enormous demands placed on leaders, I believe these seven tools will help you maximize your leaderability.

 Vision

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29: 18

Vision as a picture of the future a leader has in mind which inspires him and he shares it with others for them to feature in bringing it to pass. Being a leader requires you to have a clear vision of the future and being able to communicate it passionately and clearly to others.

Leadership success begins with vision. Walt Disney envisioned a place people can come and have fun, Todd Nielsen thought of a place where people can come together to learn and share their leadership views, and Martin Luther King, jr., dreamed of a world where everyone is equal.

You must endeavor to create a compelling vision, clarify it and market it properly for people to buy-in. The success of your leadership is tied to the actualization of your vision.

Passion

Passion is essential for effective leadership. I have observed great leaders in corporate, religious, academic, political and social organizations, one thing they have in common is that they are very passionate with what they believe in.

Ralph Waldo Emerson rightly said, “Passion is one of the most powerful engines of success. Nothing great was ever achieved without passion.” Leadership is a marathon and passion is the energy you need to finish fine.

Your passion is your passport to progress; make it right.

Confidence

Firm belief in yourself is a key to being a successful leader anytime. It helps you go the way and show the way. Douglas McArthur painted a good picture of it when he said, “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.”

Confidence is a fundamental basis of leadership. It helps you to stand your ground during challenging times. Self-confidence is not magic; it can be developed.

Communication

To share your vision, inspire others, and sell your products and services, you need good communication skills. To excel in leadership, you must master the art of effective communication. Great leaders are great communicators.

Don’t just communicate; connect!

Communication styles differ from leader to leader. Your body language and words should be topnotch. As a leader, your communication must be clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous because your ability to communicate and connect effectively raises the bar on your leadership.

Compassion

Compassion is one of the silent but principal qualities of a leader. One grave mistakes people make in life is asking for hands while they have not touched a heart. A leader should be compassionate.

Compassion is the people-centric mindset of a leader that inspires him to aspire and perspire to help others become better. This is not weakness but, strength.

A compassionate leader loves his people and this motivates them to give their best to make his leadership a success. To be a great leader you must shift from “I” to “We” mentality because this helps you show kindness, care, fairness, genuineness and gain trust, respect, loyalty and followership.

Focus

In a world that is constantly accelerating, many people find it difficult to stay focused, we spend energy worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. Leaders are humans and at times they encounter overwhelming situations which can make them go off-course but, focus helps them comeback on track and win in the race. Focus helps you stay true to your leadership goals and discriminate yourself from things that will militate against your success.

FOCUS = Follow On Course Until Successful

Honesty

The quality or fact of being honest gives life to your leadership. Honesty is a veritable tool in building trust between leaders and
followers.  Honesty is one of the great characteristics of effective leaders. This is one quality that is lacking in Nigeria politics and
leadership.

Without honesty one cannot lead with integrity. One place some leaders miss opportunity to display honesty is in handling mistakes. Being honest doesn’t mean you are weak but, it shows you are morally strong. Honesty is a virtue and a mark of
higher-life. It’s a key to becoming a leader of repute.

Leadership is not title but, result. The tools in this toolkit are the arsenal you need to move yourself from a common to an uncommon leader.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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The Loneliness of Independent Command

June 4, 2014 by

leadership-lonely-leaderI sat in my office with my head in my hands. I was crying. I think that I had been crying for a few days but I cannot honestly remember. I hadn’t been into my office for two weeks but I had to come in because my signature was needed for the day’s events to go ahead.

Tomorrow was the Station Families Day and the Squadron that I commanded was scheduled to perform a flypast, today we had to practice the display* and ensure that the Station Commander was happy for the flypast to go ahead as planned. I had therefore made my way in to work.

As a pilot, I had been trained not to take my problems into the air and I had always been very good at it. I think that most Pilots’ inadvertently practice mindfulness as it generally requires you to be very present, in the moment and making small corrections to keep on track. Today I was struggling.

I had recently discovered that my wife, the mother of our two beautiful boys, was leaving. I had suspected that something was amiss for a long time but didn’t know what to do about it. I never suspected her of having found somebody else, as I could not bring myself to believe that she was looking. I was very, very wrong.

I had informed my Command Chain, both on the base and at the Central Headquarters and had spent the last two weeks wondering how I allowed this to happen. I hadn’t found any answers.

My misplaced sense of duty had led to me driving in to work and preparing for the formation flight. It was all fairly routine and I was ready to deliver the briefing when my Deputy came into my office and unloaded his anger at my absence for the last two weeks. I almost held my nerve but could hear my voice cracking in my responses to him. I think that he knew what was going on at home but wasn’t sure, I hadn’t said anything to him.

He left my office, I cried. Then I went to the locker room, had a shower, regained my composure and then briefed the formation. The practice went well and I was able to concentrate my attention, it was actually a relief to be back in the air again.

The next day, we flew the formation again but this time it didn’t go quite as well. One of the aircraft was damaged on landing and, ultimately, I was at fault.

So What?

I have written this account to demonstrate a point. I was not at war; I was the Commanding Officer of a small training unit. The pressure that I was under does not compare to the pressure faced by commanders/leaders in the combat arena but it was my first “Independent Command”, I was responsible for my actions and made my own decisions. I also had nobody to talk to.

When you become “The Boss” relationships change. It is almost inevitable. However, I ask you to think about your relationships and your circle of friends. It is difficult to be friends with the people that you write reports on and there will always be a little tension. You are human and probably enjoy being part of a team, a tribe, but Command takes you out of your previous circle. The other thing about being human is that you occasionally need somebody to talk to.

Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness

What are your options? It is important to remember that you are never really alone, there will be others in similar situations and you should make it a priority to seek them out and develop a connection with them. I made the situation worse by isolating myself and not seeking advice.

As you progress through life, opportunities for Leadership present themselves and the importance of understanding the specific needs of your Team Members is an integral part of almost all leadership training. However, it is easy to forget about your own emotional needs when blinded, even temporarily, by an event, situation or your own perceived status.

On any list of “Leadership Attributes”, the words Honesty and Integrity are ever present. This starts with you. Be honest with yourself first and do not be afraid to ask for advice. It is not a sign of weakness! You are in a Leadership position because you are trusted, you have already proven this to your superiors and they will probably be able to assist you. Don’t be afraid to Ask!

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share them in the comments section.

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Lead Like a Skinny Cow

May 27, 2014 by

Skinny-cow-leadershipRecently my organization underwent a grueling boot camp style, dramatic and innovative healthcare system process redesign. It was a rip the band-aid off fast approach, and two weeks of asking people to quickly change many of the ingrained daily processes they had known for many years. Set-up for organizational failure?

Nope. I was impressed by the speed at which we were able to accomplish much, while never losing a soul. One of the reasons it worked out so well was due to our Sherpa’s. In the Tibetan region of the Himalayas, Sherpa’s are guides that are highly regarded as elite mountaineers and experts in their local terrain. Our assigned “Sherpa’s” commanded leadership to get out of the way, sought positive opportunities for change at the front lines, and guided staff in doing what they needed to do. As leaders our sole role was to get behind them, coach them, and support them. It worked well.

Skinny Cow Leadership

At the end of two weeks I joyfully arrived at the office with celebratory boxes of Skinny Cow Ice Cream sandwiches at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. I had purchased all the flavors I could find, Mint and Chip, Cookies and Crème, Vanilla, and Chocolate. It seemed like such a small thing to do, cost all of $15, yet the experience made me appreciate something far greater. As I journeyed to each work station and watched the faces light up, offering the yummy ice cream sandwiches, I was reminded of how important it is as leaders we first serve others. As I traveled to a next department, I heard a female voice yelling from down the hall, “Susan, wait, I was told I should find you.” Honestly I felt a bit like the Pied Piper. It made me wonder, what if we could lead in a manner that compelled people to follow us with the same enthusiasm, even in the absence of ice cream. Servant leaders do, through three simple behaviors that contribute the cultivation of a culture that responds in just that way.

Servant Leadership

First and foremost, if we as leaders expect to have followers, we must first serve others. The greatest contribution a servant leader can offer their team will not be in what we do, but in what we offer to do for others. The way you can do this and achieve great results begins with asking others “What is the one thing I could take off your plate today that would make your day better?” If you’ve never done this they will look at you in disbelief. “Yes, really. What can I take off of your plate?” Each time I have asked that question I have been handed a task, and most often it is something so very basic. It can be as simple as communicating a message to another department that they do not feel comfortable in delivering themselves, or the addition of a shred basket at their work station; little things go a long way.

Effective Leadership

Secondly, effective servant leaders close the gap.  Once you’ve accepted the task of taking something off someone’s plate, remember to circle back around and close the gap; were you effective in your actions. Check back in with followers and ask how it’s going. Did your actions actually serve to make their day better? If you were effective in your efforts it will reinforce to your followers that you are there to support them, you are on their side. In practicing the “close the gap” you will strengthen your ability to effectively listen to, and serve others. You won’t know if you were effective if you don’t ask. Effective servant leaders are good listeners and ask good questions.

Ask to Serve

Lastly, effective servant leaders recognize that most of us are not very good at asking for and accepting assistance. We humans, for whatever reason tend to feel less worthy of accepting help.  I was recently reminded of this during a trip to the grocery store. At the checkout, instead of the obligatory “Do you need any help to your car?” (to which I always decline since I truly do not NEED any help), the freckly faced bag girl grabbed my three bags and with a big smile said “Which way to your car?” A sudden feeling of being served and cared for hit me. As we walked to the car I had the pleasurable experience of connecting with her on a very basic level, a human experience I would not have otherwise had. The benefits of doing this for our followers, of giving one the feeling of being served and cared for is something we could all use  little more of.

The top three servant leader messages:

  • Your greatest work will not be in what you told others to do, it will be recognized by your service to others.
  • To do great work you must know what it is that others value, start by asking questions. Stop telling and start asking, then stop asking and start doing.
  • There are no leaders without followers  If we expect to effectively lead we must sometimes get out of the way of our people and get behind them. Effective servant leaders don’t stand in front of our people, we get behind them.

How do you go about serving those you lead. Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Leaders, Are You Creating Gangs in Your Org?

May 20, 2014 by

Leadership-Gangs-GraffitiIt was just after eight in the morning. I had been on an overnight flight across three time zones. My mind was fuzzy with fatigue and eyes drowsily droopy. But shut they would not.

I grabbed my bags and headed for the train station. A few minutes after rolling out of the station, my sight was assaulted by vivid color. For the next mile, the earth-retaining walls and the back walls of buildings next to the railway tracks were covered with graffiti. And I wondered, if graffiti was this elaborate here, why was there none in the airport arrival lounge?

At every train stop, the same scenario repeated itself about a mile into the station and another out of it. An hour later, we rolled into my destined station. It was the same as all the others. As soon as I stepped out onto the street, I quickly surveyed all the surrounding building for any signs of graffiti. None, zilch, nada… I wondered, “Why?”

There was clearly a lot of artistic acumen in the canvas of graffiti that was laid out on those walls. I could see the intricate thought. However, I also had a deep sense of the violent despair in the soul of the graffitist, emptiness.

The words and images were a depiction of a lost hope. It was like those behind the graffiti had ganged up to send a silent challenge and a plea to be pointed in the right direction. What if their talent was harnessed to improve the aesthetics of public places?

Back home, two separate incidents helped me understand why ganging up emerges when true leadership fails. When a leadership vacuum occurs, gangs slowly start to form and thrive.

Stop, Police!

I had a conversation with a senior police officer as he sat in the passenger seat of my car. Where I come from, it isn’t uncommon for a police officer to flag you down for a lift. They sometimes don’t have sufficient resources at their disposal. It was then that I spotted the driver of a commuter bus commit a traffic offence.

When I asked the police officer why this was so rampant, his response left me gutted. “You see,” he sighed in resignation, “If I arrest this guy, I’ll waste a good part of my day. The paperwork is time-consuming. When he goes to court, he’ll only have to pay a small fine and is back on the road a few hours later. So why bother? No one has been injured anyway.”

This special breed of gangs have emerged because of a lack of leadership in the judicial system and weak enforcement of laws. The traffic-law-breaking gangs have grown to endemic levels; just because a leader abdicated their role to put in place the right policies and protocols.

Checked Out

The second was a series of events at one of my former workplaces. Discord was evident everywhere. The quality of work had deteriorated. By the time I left, about half the work force was coming to the office an average of thirty minutes past the official reporting time. Some would saunter in as much as an hour late and act like nothing unusual had occurred.

About half the workforce was showing up but was checked out. They had formed an alliance; a gang of employees who did the bare minimum work that reflected the quality of the leadership.

Something unfortunate began to happen. A few hard-working valuable employees were unsettled by this mediocre gangs that had formed. They were frustrated as delivery of their results depended in part to their colleagues who had already “checked out.”

Finally, some of these valuable people started to check out too. They did not join the gangs of mediocrity; they left the organization for good!

Three ‘must-dos’ for Leaders

First, people have a deep desire to be led in an authentic way. You can’t expect goodness from people if you don’t extend it to them first. “If we have a good heart and concern for others, our actions will be positive.” ~Dalai Lama

Secondly, start small before things snowball on you. Assess your habits as a leader. If you show up late for work late, your followers will follow suit. It doesn’t matter whether you are a morning person or not. “Leadership is an action, not a position.” ~Donald McGannon

Third, listen to the pulse of workers who churn out quality work effortlessly. Protect and influence them to create gangs of excellence that grow the organization’s vision. “Leading an organization is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.” ~from the Tao the Ching

Which gangs would you rather lead? I’d love to read your comments!

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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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Bravado Or Bravery?

March 18, 2013 by

Bravado-Or-Bravery-Janine-GarnerMany of us only show a certain percentage of ourselves in social situations – the extent to which we are comfortable revealing our true personalities. I don’t think anyone would begrudge us this; after all, there is only so much one can share of oneself to those we don’t know very well.

But when it comes to the workplace, and giving of oneself in terms of performance – many are showing only the tip of the iceberg, and are not willing to expose the other seven-eighths of their ability and professionalism that lie beneath a slick, smooth surface.

Let bravery be thy choice, but not bravado – Menando

If someone asked you, how would you answer this question:

Are you brave in the way you do your job – or just full of bravado?

Both seem like similar concepts. They are almost identical words after all – so how could they be so different in practice?

Bravado. Being full of bluster and pretense, and false promises. The business culture of ‘I will give enough to look as though I am performing above expectations whilst secretly cruising my way to tomorrow, or next week – or my next role’.

If you have the ability to be one of the best, don’t waste it. ~ Janine Garner Tweet this!

Bravado is being content to sit on one’s hands while nodding furiously and giving every indication of leading change. It is ‘fake it while you make it’; not engaging wholly nor giving completely – despite having the ability to do so.

Bravery on the other hand is stepping not necessarily always outside the square, but along the edges of the business square. Questioning your own position and take on leadership. Constantly learning and posing new sets of challenges for oneself in terms of professional standards and goals.

Bravery is striving to be a change maker and improve the way things are done within the company, the sector, within the industry.

Bravery is reaching out to fellow leaders and those who are willing to shape policy and procedure, and give one hundred percent to drive business forward in an ethical and productive way.

Now, more than ever, the time has come within corporate to show your true colours as a leader. We are coming back to the real, to the authentic, and to the transparent. The ability to lead by example is absolutely critical to success in a market that is cynical and sick of inflated salaries – and inflated egos. So those who through fear or simple laziness are not willing to give one hundred percent of their business selves need to re-think their position.

Drop the much ‘ado’ about nothing.

And become one of the brave.

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The 2nd International Leadership Blogathon Preview

February 27, 2013 by

2nd-Annual-International-Leadership-Blogathon-Todd-NielsenOn March 1st, a large conglomerate of leadership experts, coaches, speakers, authors, and leaders will come together for the 2nd Annual International Leadership Blogathon on http://www.ToddNielsen.com. For 31 days we will read amazing stories, unparalleled experiences, and leadership wisdom oozing from every crevice of the Internet. There are a total of 41 writers for the blogathon, gathered from many countries.

Last year’s blogathon brought an amazing source of wisdom, much of which would be hard to come by collectively on any single blog or book. This year’s articles raise the bar so much higher.

Below are the 41 writers for the blogathon. I’d invite you to read more about them and make sure to sign-up for updates to receive the articles in your inbox every day. Plus there will be some prizes and contests, here and there, throughout the month to win books and some other leadership products.

DATE

AUTHOR

COUNTRY
March 1st Lolly Daskal USA
March 2nd Kate Nasser USA
March 2nd Susan Bagyura USA
March 3rd Dan Forbes USA
March 3rd Chris Lema USA
March 4th Brendan Howe Canada
March 5th Dave Bradley UK
March 6th Martina McGowan USA
March 7th Joan De Winne Belgium
March 8th Kai Roer Norway
March 9th Ali Paskun USA
March 9th Susan Thorn USA
March 10th Susan Mazza USA
March 10th Andy Phillips Colombia
March 11th Heidi Alexandra Pollard Australia
March 12th Lora Crestan Canada
March 13th Ogwo David Emenike Nigeria
March 14th Susan Bowen UK
March 15th John Thurlbeck UK
March 16th T. Hampton Hopkins USA
March 16th Barry Smith USA
March 17th Colleen Jolly USA/UK
March 17th Ray Attiyah USA
March 18th Janine Garner Australia
March 19th Alli Polin Australia
March 20th Frode Heimen Norway
March 21st Kimunya Mugo Kenya
March 22nd Karin Hurt UK
March 23rd Tanvi Bhatt India
March 23rd Henna Inam USA
March 24th Sean Glaze USA
March 24th Jonathan Creaghan Canada
March 25th Peter Sterlacci Japan
March 26th William Powell Finland
March 27th David Hain UK
March 28th Sandro De Silva Netherlands
March 29th Paul Jolicoeur Canada
March 30th Richard Andrews UK
March 30th Tom Shulte USA
March 31st Todd Nielsen USA

 

I can’t wait to take part with all of these great minds, as well as the thousands of readers to create a fantastic leadership event that helps enhance the world of leadership acumen, the world over.

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