Leadership Trait to Ponder: Gratitude

November 28, 2013 by

Leadership-Trait-Gratitude-Todd-NielsenOn this day of Thanksgiving in 2013, I’d like to introduce a new series called, Leadership Traits to Ponder. In this series there will be one post a week with thoughts, quotes, or stories that illustrate the given trait. The purpose of this series is to fuel the fire of thought in how the given trait could be more influential in your climb to greater leadership success. Each article will be short and easy to digest.

Let’s get started!

The first leadership trait to ponder, on this day, has to be Gratitude.  The dictionary defines Gratitude as: the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful. Below are some of my favorite quotes to help inspire and illustrate the quality of Gratitude. As you read these quotes on Gratitude, think about how you can exemplify this leadership trait in yourself.

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” ~Brian Tracy

 

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~Melody Beattie

 

A smart manager will establish a culture of gratitude. Expand the appreciative attitude to suppliers, vendors, delivery people, and of course, customers.” ~Harvey Mackay

 

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” ~Albert Schweitzer

 

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”” ~Melodie Beattie

 

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Money matters, but less than we think and not in the way we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude.” ~Eric Weiner

 

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” ~Gladys Bertha Stern

 

Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” ~Ernest Hemingway

 

You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

I could not close without thanking you; my loyal readers who have followed me and supported me. I’m thankful for the many friends this venture has resulted in, and promise to deliver more value so you can be a greater leader.

What do you think about when you ponder Gratitude? Please share your thoughts below!

Also what day of the week would it be best to deliver this weekly series on a leadership trait to ponder? What day would really give the opportunity to really ponder the trait being discussed?

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Truth: The Lynchpin of Good Leadership

August 1, 2013 by

Truth-Lynchpin-Good-Leadership-Todd-NielsenOnce upon a time, there was a great sports hero. He was considered the best in his field.  He won several world titles, defeated a bout with cancer, and then won some more world titles. He was famous, people respected him and he earned a lot of money. To give back to the community, he started a charitable foundation and he was admired by all.

Then he lied… The end.

There are many qualities of leadership, but the adverse of many of those qualities can instantly derail all the good that a leader has accomplished. Lying is one of those things that can consume light. It can instantly destroy respect and trust.

Lying consumes light, destroys respect, and causes leaders to fail” ~ Todd Nielsen (Click to Tweet)

Leaders must tell the truth. There is absolutely no getting around this simple rule. The truth, when communicated regularly and in a timely fashion, is an essential play in a leader’s playbook, and results in an increase in morale and credibility.

I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche (Click to Tweet)

Increase in Morale

The truth improves morale, because it serves to detour rumors; keeping everyone aware of issues and what is happening around them. Without knowing the truth, and without being kept up to date on the truth, rumors can quickly circulate.

Increase in Credibility

The truth will always increase your credibility, and more rapidly, a lie will ruin your credibility… instantly.  Leaders can tell the truth a thousand times, but one lie will ruin all of the trust they have built up. With great credibility and morale, a leader can move towards personal and organizational success.

So make it a personal motto to be a leader of integrity by telling the truth. Being honest with yourself and others will help to increase your respect, effectiveness, and ability to lead others, and your organization, to success.

Filed Under: Leadership Truth & Honesty Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Culture trumps Strategy in Business Success

March 11, 2013 by

Strategy-in-Business-Success-Heidi-Alexandra-PollardEvery business has a culture – some are inspiring and healthy, others are crippling and toxic. The level of an organization efficiency and wellness is a direct reflection of its culture.

Traditional corporate cultures are no longer adequate to succeed in the new world of business. Cultures that originated in the era of the industrial revolution are now obsolete precisely because they discourage learning, change and innovation.

A huge demand exists for a new type of culture in our organizations today in order to become productive, profitable and sustainable well into the future.

Why culture is critical

Workplace wellness isn’t just a factor of the employees fitness or BMI ratings, it is particularly characterized by how motivated, inspired and engaged the workforce are to do great work. Key indicators of healthy workplaces are the presence of creativity and innovation and an energy of possibility – which all result in a positive, sustainable culture.

Unhealthy cultures tend to devalue creativity, stifle innovation and leave their workers feeling miserable and frustrated, stuck in the rut of the daily grind and stressed by the demands of productivity they no longer have the energy to face. Managers tend to create these cultures by discouraging new ideas, frowning on change and stymieing enthusiasm. The result, major disengagement that sucks the life out of the organization and its people.

The best culture is a UQ culture       

While understanding and managing culture is fundamental to success, for many organizations, the idea of going down the road of a ‘cultural change’ initiative is too daunting. It needn’t be. It is possible to convert low-engagement teams and cultures into engaged, high-performance UQ Cultures with some intent and a slight shift focus.

In UQ (Uniqueness Quotient) Cultures there is a subtle shift to WHO people are rather than WHAT they do. That is, WHO they are is more important than WHAT they do. A strong UQ culture shapes how employees perform and gives them a strong sense of purpose.

What is a UQ culture?  It’s one that is powered by an inner force, it’s who they are and why they do what they do, it’s one that has a unique, competitive edge. In today’s crowded marketplace organizations need to be able to stand out as Unique and different from their competition with a unique brand. A strong UQ culture is the key to setting a business apart from its competition and ultimately attracting and retaining high quality employees to grow with the organization.

With companies large and small competing for the same global talent pool, a UQ Culture will set them apart and deliver tangible, measurable benefits to any business.

Micro-managers Kill Culture

Micro-managers or Container Managers are those managers who find it hard to let go of the reins, to trust the team and get out of the way. In some ways, this is counter-intuitive and atypical of traditional role models and therefore understandable, however in high performing UQ Cultures there is always more macro managing than there is micro-management.

Container Managers are typically good at doing what has to be done. They are good at dealing with facts and not letting their emotions or other people’s emotions get in the way of making a decision. They are great at developing procedures, implementing plans, and no-one can do the job as good as they can. However, their tendency to hold onto decision-making and undertake jobs that could be delegated is not conducive to the creation of a UQ culture full of motivated, inspired, and engaged staff.

Container managers are typically responsible for the bottleneck in organizations, where innovation is stymied and ideas are shelved. They may be producing revenue and results however they rarely create a leadership pipeline, are reliant on the command and control approach and can ill-afford time off as their teams become co-dependent. This approach may have worked in 1965 but it will not allow a company to survive in 2020.

The New Leadership Alternative

One way for organizations to begin to shape and construct a more positive and productive UQ culture is to start with its managers and leaders – importantly with those in linchpin positions – in middle management.

In their book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown discuss how great leaders extract at least two times more capability from their people than poor leaders.

A UQ culture is one that does just that by turning managers into Expander Leaders who live by the motto that you have to give power to empower.

Expander Leaders value inclusiveness and participation, they hand over the decision-making process, and let their employees govern themselves. Expander Leaders deal with the facts, but also consider how it impacts people. They listen to their employees, realize their strengths, tap into their potential, and include them in the growth of business.

Expander leaders create healthy relationships, a caring environment and an openness to trying new things which brings out best in their team. By appreciating others, engaging in purposeful conversations and helping their people to find work they love to do, they create driven, loyal employees who are engaged and energized, and want to make a valuable contribution to the organization and go the extra mile.

Essentially, it takes an attitude of figuring out how best to serve the teams, rather than asking the teams to best serve you. ~Heidi Alexandra Pollard Tweet this!

Expander leaders create UQ Cultures by:

  • Telling their people WHAT needs to be done and WHY but letting them figure out HOW
  • Not shooting them down for any crazy ideas, instead COACHING them to find ways to improve or refine their ideas
  • Treating their people as human BEINGS not DOINGS and getting to know their Uniqueness and what makes them tick
  • Not only TELLING them what to do all the time, instead ASKING them how they envision the future and how they would create a more successful, sustainable company.
  • Encouraging rebellion, creativity and risk-taking
  • Recognizing and rewarding achievement, progress and innovative behaviors

Do you consider yourself an Expander Leader? In what way have you contributed to your team? Share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Risky Business – Making Phenomenal Decisions (While Not Forgetting the Risk)

March 8, 2013 by

Risky-Business-Leadership-Kai-RoerAs a leader, I am expected to make decisions all day – every day. Some decisions are huge, possibly critical to my business or people, while others are minor. Making sure that these decisions are as good as they can be at the time of decision is vital.

There is risk in every decision. Risk of failure, and risk of success. I try to reduce the risk of failure, and increase the risk of success in all the decisions I make. How do I do that, you may ask, allow me share my secret…

The Risk Process

Managing risk is not exactly a new science. Humans have managed risk since the dawn of time, trying to survive in a harsh environment. There should be no surprise then that risk management process’ exist. Depending on your sector, terminology may differ, but the steps of the risk process remain the same.

Good news:  you don’t need to be an expert in risk to successfully manage risk.

The risk process can be summarized in these steps:

1. Risk Assessment

  • You identify the risks involved.

2. Risk Evaluation

  • Evaluate each risk and it’s severity,
  • Classify them by severity and likelihood,
  • Analyze the possible outcome(s) of the risk.

3. Risk Management

  • Decide how to handle each risk. There are two main things you can do:
    • Accept the risk: You accept that this risk may happen, and choose not to do anything about it
    • Mitigate the risk: You decide that the risk is not acceptable, and choose to change its impact.

4. Evaluate and Review

You monitor your process, and make changes as you progress. You may receive new information later that changes the way you perceive some risks. The more you know, the more accurate your map.

There is risk in every decision. Risk of failure, and risk of success.” ~Kai Roer Tweet this!

How Much Risk Analysis Do I need To Do? 

The answer is entirely up to you, your organization and the situation. Sometimes your decision require a rigid process where you must document and analyze many different aspects. Other decisions can be made without writing anything. The secret lies in a list of questions.

The questions follow the process outlined above, and are designed to help you make better decisions.

Questions 

  1. Identifying risk:
    What can go wrong?
    What is the desired outcome?
  2. Evaluating risk:
    What can happen if things go wrong?
    What happens if we do not get the desired outcome?
  3. Mitigating risk:
    What can I do to change the outcome?
    Do I want to change it?
  4. Evaluation:
    What did I just learn?
    How can I reapply that in this decision?
  5. Do I make this decision, yes or no.

The last question is critical. The whole reason behind using a risk process is to help you make better decisions so you can run your company better.

Choosing Right

As you have observed by now, each of these questions can be expanded as needed. This means that if there is an easy decision to be made, you can just run through the questions in your head. If there is a tough decision to be made you can use the exact same process and questions to document the risks involved.

One last note – there are always risks involved which we are not able to identify. I call these Blind Spots. Watch for them!

How do you manage risk in your decision making? Are you concerned with the unwanted outcomes your decisions may create?

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Leadership & Management: What Behaviors Are Your Staff Copying from Your Example?

February 14, 2013 by

Leadership-Management-Behaviors-ExampleWhen the television show “Undercover Boss” made its premier a few years ago, much of America tuned in to watch the antics. What the show’s producers were probably looking for was a way to entertain the masses while they watched poor “unknowing” bosses do things like clean toilets and flip burgers. Of course in the end, there’s always that pivotal moment when the boss realizes the hard work his staff is doing behind the scenes. He learns to be more appreciative of them and looks at them a little differently than ever before.

What this show failed to capture though, is the importance of great leadership within an organization. Dwight Eisenhower gave a great definition to the word leadership when he said, “Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” There is not better way to get people to do what you want, then to inspire them and be an example of the behaviors and actions you desire.

Like a young boy imitating his father, employees will also follow your example.  They want to follow your example, and they need you if they’re going to properly understand how the organization functions. Leaders have far more power within their organizations than most realize. If your staff see you cleaning toilets, they will see the importance of cleaning toilets. They might not enjoy it anymore than you do, but they’ll see the importance of it. If they see your actions align with your your words and instructions, they will understand the importance of that instruction. If they see your constant focus on improvement, they will understand the importance of it

Unfortunately the same is true on the flip-side of leadership.  Bad habits that are exemplified by leaders, will often be duplicated by staff. Do you ignore customers but expect your staff to treat them wonderfully? Do you talk about cutting expenses, but then fly first class everywhere?

Bad habits that are exemplified by leaders, will often be duplicated by staff.” Tweet This!

Sometimes it takes an outsider’s insight into your leadership style to find ways that you can improve.  A mentor or coach, can offer guidance with an outside perspective. Without a mentor, no business owner can be as successful as they want to be. I have seen leaders do horrible things, that they had no clue they did. An outside perspective can help you see what you don’t.

When is the last time you did the work of someone a couple levels under you? You should try it. You’ll get valuable insight into what your employees go through each day. Even more though, you’ll show them that you want to understand, and that what they do is important.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Leadership Example Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The 2nd Annual International Leadership Blogathon

January 27, 2013 by

International-Leadership-Blogathon-Todd-NielsenHold onto your seats, because this March is going to be a thrill ride through the world of leadership in the 2nd Annual International Leadership Blogathon. Last year I held this event and it was phenomenal. The nuggets of wisdom from all over the world were inspirational and enormously valuable for any leader. We had leadership experts from every corner of the globe take part; and the buzz on social networks still continues to this day for many of the articles.

This year is going to be better than last year’s event. My platform is triple the size of last year, so news of the blogathon and the articles will get out everywhere to help drive discussions. We are going to give away prizes this year, mostly leadership books, to help drive engagement and attract more readers, and my website is way cooler 🙂 than last year.

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.

So what I do is get around 30 experts from every possible country I can, and they each write an article between 400 to 1,200 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.

Awesome, the 2nd International Leadership Blogathon begins in March! ” 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. My site has an excellent Alexa rating, 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 setup a private Facebook group for all the bloggers to collaborate, and I have a special surprise to rock your social world and help make sure all the articles are shared among all the blogger’s networks.

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 1,200 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 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. My assistant will setup all the approved bloggers up on this site to submit their article.
  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 before March 1st, 2013.  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 articles and helping to drive more discussion.

I am expecting a lot of interest this 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.

[Form id=”10″]

Woohoo, I just signed-up to write for the 2nd 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. Also what kind of articles are you hoping to see?

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The Urgency For Good Leadership

April 13, 2012 by

Leadership“There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most.” This message from Thomas S. Monson is eloquently said, yet it is advice that has been received over and over from leadership figures for years. The concept has been a said a million different ways, and yet it has taken me years to fully comprehend the deep significance in my leadership and personal success.

There are a lot of businesses still struggling in this economy. There are still a lot of good people without jobs and a lot of good people struggling personally and financially. There are people working long hours for little pay and struggling to make ends meet.

With that said, there is something that really breaks my heart and cuts me to the core. It boggles my mind and I struggle to comprehend the reasoning. I can only come to a conclusion that people are emotionally broke. The problem I am referring to is the unwillingness to become greater today, for a better tomorrow. I talk with a lot of business owners and employees of businesses that know things are not peachy. Yet what are they doing to improve their ability. Do they read books, to overcome their weaknesses and find answers to their problems? Do they read blogs of experts that teach tidbits of clues on a million topics of self-improvement? Do they make goals and plans and actually stick to those plans?

It breaks my heart that I can see the capacity of individuals, that they cannot see in themselves. So instead of a book, instead of a blog, instead of goals, instead of asking for help, instead of preparing for the future…….they “do their job,” go home, and “veg.”

The world needs good leadership, our nation needs leaders, our businesses need leaders. Leaders and managers that have a hunger and thirst for knowledge, improvement, and execution. These are the people that will get ahead, these are the people that will understand, these are the people that will have a brighter future – because, “There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today”

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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to create urgency and preparation for a better tomorrow?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, and occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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Followership: the Corollary to Leadership

March 20, 2012 by

Leadership & FollowershipIn a team environment high performing followers are every bit as important as good leadership, yet we pay the most attention to leadership. Recently I did an Amazon search for ‘leadership’ and got 73,828 hits, yet a search for ‘followership’ received only 187 hits, most of which were not relevant to the subject.  Conclusion: leadership is the hot topic; followership …not so much.

There is a built in assumption in our society that everybody should strive to be a leader.  That’s where the fame and fortune are—with the leaders.  You can get a PhD in organizational leadership, but you can’t even get a bachelor’s in followership.

Who is voted the MVP football player?  99% of the time it is the quarterback—the titled leader of the team.  Has a center ever been the MVP?  They are always there, even when the QB is injured.  They mix it up on every play.  If he doesn’t get it right the play fails and the game can be lost.  The center’s job is to make sure it is his quarterback that is presented the Lombardi trophy and say he is going to Disneyland.

There is one major exception to the lack of followership training: the military. The military is the best at training and educating followers.  Why?  Lives depend on the quick thinking and reaction of followers.  The best followers get to be leaders.  Their success as leaders is based on their followership.

My point is that we tend to emphasize leadership training in our organizations to the point where we have lost sight of how to get even better leaders and get a higher return on the investment in organizational training and education.  Simply stated, we need a focus on followership education.

Why should an organization focus on followership as least as much as leadership?

For starters, there are more followers than leaders and they are the ones that are doing the real work.  Logic tells us that we want the best followers possible and training and education are the means to develop them.

Great leaders will not guarantee an optimal organization, but great followers will come close.  The best organizational leaders will come from the ranks of the followers.  Therefore, focus on creating great followers and great leaders will emerge.

How do you nurture great followers?  We need to go beyond the standard answer of training in the actual job and move to a view of followership education just as we have done in leadership education.  Can we identify the traits of great followers?  Can they be learned and taught?  Yes to both, but first we need to look at organizational culture.

Followership is all about the culture

Every organization has a culture–a personality–and multiple sub-cultures which can promote or hinder the organization’s mission.  Leaders and followers want their organization’s culture to be positive and productive.  The formal culture can be designed and integrated in a way that the informal sub-cultures are also affected.

All organizations have lots of words on the wall: mission, vision, values, etc. statements that are impacted by the culture.  The culture gives life to the words in the best case and can kill their attainment in the worst case.

The best leaders craft the details of the organization’s culture in a variety of ways from funny to quirky to serious.  Some of those details can change over time, so the wise leader should put a rock-solid cultural foundation under the details.

The foundational, life-giving element is the “Followership Culture.”  Seven simple principles constitute the Followership Culture that guides everyday activities by everyone in the organization. They are easily taught, learned and integrated into any organization.

The followership principles

The 7 principles that make up the Followership Culture are:

Instant Response: Begin action immediately when assigned a task; complete it as fast as possible with quality; ask the leader to adjust priorities if necessary.

Initiative: Be a self-starter, just do it; look for problems to solve; look for new ways to accomplish the mission.

Imagination: An innate capability in all humans, share ideas daily to multiply their potential power; focus on the small stuff first as it leads to larger possibilities.

Integrity: Honesty; declare mistakes immediately; tell the truth without compromise, leaders cannot lead without it; prove to be trustworthy and you will be entrusted with more.

Inquire: Ask the “who, what, why, where, when and how” questions about everything to learn; leaders look for learners; teach others.

Inform: Keep the leader updated; no secrets allowed; share your tasks and ask for input.

Involve: Life and work is a team effort, join; participate in the whole organization; act beyond the job description.

More words on the wall?

Uh, oh!  Did we just add more words on the wall?  Unapologetically, yes!  On the wall, in the employee manual, anywhere it makes sense to put them.

But they have to be more than another set of words, they must result in action.  People are accountable for their actions, so they are recorded and graded in personnel evaluation reports.  The Followership Culture is also about accountability and the accountability tool is to put them in a section of the evaluation report.  This way the rock-solid foundation is reinforced with re-bar (steel rods).  It’s all about the culture, but it is a culture for which everyone is accountable.

Do leaders lead differently in a Followership Culture?

No.  Excellent leadership is still required just like it is in any successful organization.

Yes.  Their senses must be more attuned to certain leadership skills and traits in order to reinforce the Followership Culture.  For example, great leaders know that they must go to the locations where the followers are doing their work.  Whether it is a visit, a walk through, a lunch or just chatting on the floor, leaders know that direct contact with the followers is essential.

However, great leaders in the Followership Culture take a turn at doing the dirty work.  They start with what organizational people would say is the toughest, dirtiest job and they do it for a day.  Then they move on to other jobs and do them for a lengthy period.  They go beyond intellectually understanding what their followers do to feeling what they do.  It’s like a combination of the TV programs Undercover Boss (only this is overt) and Dirty Jobs.  The leaders are the follower for that period, not the boss paying a visit over coffee.

Followership leaders educate their followers in a mindset that permeates the entire organization from top to bottom so that everyone knows what is expected when they go to work every day.  If you educate followers to be great followers, your organization will perform at a higher level and great leaders will emerge.

Implementing the Followership Culture

Leaders need to gain control of the culture to propel the organization forward.  If not, culture will happen on its own and it won’t be all positive. These principles are described more in depth in “Follow to Lead, the 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower.”  The book contains a humorous, unforgettable fable to be used in a followership education experience for everyone in an organization. It also includes nine additional lessons for leaders so that they will be better leaders in the Followership Culture. You can see more about it at www.follow-to-lead.com.

Please share your perspective of Followership below.

Connect to Don Mercer: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

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Words To Lead By – An Inspirational Message of Leadership

February 22, 2012 by

I am not even sure where I found this video, as it was sitting in draft mode for months. But as I watched it – the message pierced my mind and uplifted my heart as I considered certain situations and leadership challenges that I was struggling with. Please take a few moments, sit back, relax, and just take in this short message of leadership that we should all remember. Please comment below on what words of leadership were of most value to you, and what additional words of leadership advice you might have.

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So …now that you’ve watched this video, how are you going to use this information to improve your leadership? What words of leadership were of most value to you, and what additional words of leadership advice do you have to improve your success?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, and occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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Achieving Accountability With Talk of Infidelity

February 8, 2012 by

AccountabilityAccountability – I consider myself an expert on accountability and execution (I did write a book on it…), but recently I received a lesson in accountability that I will never forget. Each week after I do my weekly planning, I determine my 3 most valuable goals for the week and I then send these goals to my “personal performance partner,” in some circles this would be called an “accountability partner.” Mine is both a friend and a colleague. Each week he performs the same routine and sends his goals to me. We do this to keep each other accountable. So a couple days after sending my goals for that particular week, he sent me an email and asked me how I was coming on my number one goal for the week. That week was a very busy week, and I responded with this message:

“I have not done it . I got busy with a bunch of other things. I need to do it …so much to do. I am going to try and do it tonight.”

Two hours later I received a lesson in accountability that I plan on using over and over. This is what my accountability partner said:

“I don’t like the word ‘TRY.’ What would your wife say if you would have said ‘I will TRY to be faithful to you?’ Either make it your number one goal or don’t, but don’t try to fool yourself, as your smarter than that! Commit my friend!”

I almost fell out of my chair. I was stunned and laughing at the same time. I had never seen this tactic used in accountability. So do you think I completed my goal that week…..um, hell yeah!

Accountability & “Try”

I learned a valuable lesson from this experience, and it was not so much about accountability, it was actually about the word “try” and my ability to get goals done. There are so many distractions in life that take us away from achieving what is important. No one knows this better than a leader. We could have a number one goal for ourselves, a number one for our organization, a number one for each department or region, etc… Juggling these can be difficult

The particular goal for that week was not a very pleasant goal, but was necessary for the future security of my family. It took a lot of time, in a week that I did not have much time. I was up until the wee hours of the morning one day completing this goal, and while I was tired the next morning, I felt a lot better than if I would have excused my goal away and rationalized the non-completion of it. I learned two lessons from this experience: First that when something is really important to me and the “why” is big enough, that I will move mountains to complete my goal; and secondly that no matter the circumstances, I usually do have the will power and energy to make sure I complete my goal. It might not be easy, but focus can bring about amazing successes.

I have worked on accountability with many business owners that very easily rationalize the non-completion of their goals. With some, no matter how much I try to bring accountability into the goal completion, they will just make excuses for all that they did not get done. Usually though we have the power to overcome the word “try.” Sure there are valid reasons sometimes, for not completing goals, but many use these for what they really are, lame excuses.

I believe we have the power to define our future, and overcoming our mental blocks and excuses is necesary to bring about a future that looks the same way we imagine it to be.

Accountability Takeaway’s

1.   Find yourself an accountability partner that cares as much about your success as you do. Help to keep each other accountable for each other’s goal completion.

2.    Reading. My favorite book on accountability, and one of my favorite books period, is The Oz Principle, by Roger Connors, Tom Smith, Craig Hickman. I highly recommend reading this book, it will change your outlook on the meaning of accountability. This book is so important to me that my child will read it when he is old enough to understand it. So this is not a frivolous recommendation.

3.    When you find yourself making excuses for not getting goals done, think twice on if you really have the power and energy to complete it. Don’t give in to excuses. Focus, make a plan, and make it happen.

4.    When you find yourself failing on goals, review the reasons or the “why” to determine if it is strong enough to motivate you to action.

5.   If all else fails, compare your own “try” to something really bad and is against your values, like …infidelity.

On last thought. My accountability partner really knows me. He knew that I was making excuses and letting other things get in the way. It was not that I was not accomplishing things. I was accomplishing a lot of things, but I was ignoring my number one. Make sure you have a good enough relationship to get this serious in your accountability efforts, otherwise your good accountability intentions could backfire.

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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to bring greater accountability to your goals?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, and occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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