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Without A Plan You're Growing Nowhere

Posted by on March 14, 2014

This subject is a real passion of mine. It never ceases to amaze me that we have very detailed plans at work and then have no real plan at all for the people that matter the most. This must start with leading ourselves and then others. John Maxwell is a great leader and this post will clearly help you:

“Personal growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not an automatic process. If you want to guarantee growth, then you need a plan—something strategic, specific, and scheduled. A plan for growth requires you to…

Take the necessary time to make this happen. Michael Hyatt has some excellent resources on his website. Read More…

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Learning How To Follow Up

Posted by on March 12, 2014

I am great at starting things and not so good at finishing them. When working in a team environment I can easily delegate but rarely build in feedback loops to ensure the project will be successful. Brad Lomenick gives us some very practical tools to resolve this problem:

“As all of us know, when dealing with other people, other organizations, and other teams, many times the project or initiative bogs down because “you haven’t heard back from him” or “she never emailed me to confirm” or “I’m still waiting on them to send over a fax” or “I called and left a message, but don’t want to bother them again.”

This is a very big deal for every leader. Read More …

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Sometimes We Complicate Leadership Too Much

Posted by on March 10, 2014

There is so much to read about leadership today it is so easy to get confused or even try the daily new idea. This leads to frustration because we are spending energy on things that don’t really help us personally lead in our context. Sometimes we really do need to focus on what is simple and what is next and Ron Edmondson is right on target:

“I talk to leaders every week who are stressed out by the things they know they should be doing but aren’t getting done. They’ve read a blog — maybe even this one — they read a book, they attended a seminar or conference and they feel defeated.

Sometimes I think we complicate leadership too much.”

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3 Time Management Mistakes

Posted by on March 7, 2014

We have never lived in a time when we all have less margin to do all the important things in our life. We only have so many hours in every day and the key to being successful is not to waste the precious little time we have. I am always helped when I read good posts on time management and Casey Graham has some helpful tips:

“I recently asked some entrepreneurs what their greatest stressor was. I thought the answer was going to be money, but it wasn’t even close. The number one answer from the crowd was time.”

If this is the sentiment of some of the most successful leaders surely we can take one principle from this post and apply it today. Read More…

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The Leaders Need For Humility

Posted by on February 26, 2014

The days of strong driven positional leadership are just about over. Yes, there are still times leaders need to be directive but Jim Collins proved that one of the major character qualities of all great leaders is humility. John Maxwell has a great post that will be helpful for your reading:

“When people talk about leadership, they don’t use the word “humility” very often. More likely, they describe a leader as strong or focused or ambitious. They would probably say the leader is confident or assertive. “Humble” may not ever come up, and if it does, it might not be used as a compliment.”

Humble people by nature assume responsibility for failure and give credit to others for success. Read More …

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The Beginner's Guide To Task Management

Posted by on February 24, 2014

We have come a long way baby from a yellow note pad to the cloud. I think at some point in time I have tried and used most time management systems. I am in the process of another major transition and this post is the direction I have chosen. Michael is always incredible in practical systems and you will profit from reading this post:

I have been making to-do lists since college. In terms of physical systems, I started with the Seven Star Diary, graduated to a Day-Timer, and then landed on the Franklin Planner. At the time, it was state of the art. After reading David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, I decided to go digital.

Relational Or Organizational Leadership

Posted by on February 21, 2014

The current theory of situational leadership is widely accepted as the best model for any leader who is leading other people within an organization. However, every leader has a default style that they shift to when the need for situational leadership is not present. Knowing your style will both help you and your team to work more effectively. Carey Nieuwhof has a great post:

“Your problem (and mine) happens when an relational leader tries to fill the role of an organizational leader. And to a similar extent, when an organizational leader tries to fill a relational role.

The culture we live in raises the tension because:

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8 Characteristics Of Great Teammates

Posted by on February 19, 2014

We have all worked at some point in time with both good and bad teams. Maybe we were the reason they were bad but certainly not in every case. The things that make for successful teams are well documented within leadership culture. Brad Lomenick offers some great insight:

“Reality is, we are all part of some kind of team, wherever we are in life. Family, church, volunteer, sports, business, community, social. As Leaders, it’s equally important for us to know how to follow and be a great team member as it is how to LEAD and be a team leader.

Don’t just read this but apply it to every team you are involved in. Read More …

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Connecting The Clock And The Compass In Life

Posted by on February 17, 2014

The battle between the urgent and the important has never been more difficult to manage. We are either prioritizing our schedule or scheduling our priorities and we better know the difference. John Maxwell in this excellent post tries to marry the two concepts into a workable plan:

“Time waits for no man.” You’ve probably heard that saying. And it’s true; time marches on, and it’s up to us to keep up with it. We need to be conscious of the clock, or we’ll never make any progress toward our goals. But I believe there’s more to success than reaching goals. True success comes from significance: doing things that matter…things that last after we’re gone.

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The 5 Biggest Hiring Mistakes

Posted by on February 14, 2014

The only thing worse than not having a position filled is to have it filled with the wrong person. Sometimes people change over time and once great performers no longer are today. However, the majority of mistakes are made on the front end hiring process and Michael Hyatt has some great suggestions:

“I have made my share of hiring mistakes, too. I know how painful they can be. They were always very expensive and emotionally draining. Instead of focusing on the work at hand, they distracted me and kept my business from moving forward.

Having learned the hard way, I have gotten better at hiring over time. Whenever I get ready to hire someone new, I now have a defined process. It is designed to avoid these five mistakes:

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