Be a Leader – The Power of Example

This is the first application for Creating Champions, part of a series of blog articles with the overall theme of “When your staff succeeds, so do you.”

I’ve searched the learned halls of the internet and the depths of my brain for a good, short definition of leadership. I came to one conclusion. It’s impossible to define leadership in any short, concise way. It’s too complex. The closest I have come is:

Managers shuffle paper, Leaders inspire people.

The term “Leader” applies to anyone who manages people, directly or indirectly. A Leader knows that by creating champions of people, he/she will also succeed. They don’t have to be good at everything, but good leaders know that by setting an example, by exhibiting excellent people skills, chances are their organization will run more smoothly. Leaders inspire their employees to become champions at their jobs.

A Leader is 13 people in one. No wonder it’s a tough job! Let me briefly explain the first 6 of the 13 roles.

1) An Administrator
A Leader has to be good at shuffling paper, each page no more than twice. Not once. Not three times. Twice. Once to read and once to follow-up, if required. You spend as little time as possible shuffling paper because you are needed to help make decisions in meetings. The same applies to each email, handle each email a maximum of two times.

2) A Marketer
A Leader needs to know the business – He or she has to understand the market place, the competition, the customers and the product. Knowing how to make the customer buy is all-important. Be creative. Be service-oriented. Remember to differentiate.

3) A Manager
A Leader is a manager of people and time — a mover and a shaker! Invest in a good time-management system that should contain the following:
– Daily record of appointments and projects.
– Month at a glance.
– Year at a glance.
– A page for recurring tasks and events.
– A section to list what needs to be done.
– A follow-up process.
– A database where the coordinates of prospects are easily accessible.
– A section for expenses.
With advanced software, our role as a ‘Manager’ is much easier.

4) A Salesperson
A Leader needs to be a sales person. For example, the 10 applications to Creating Champions must be sold to the managers of your organization. After all, they are the ones who will sell it to their people and make it work.

5) A Motivator
A Leader is a motivator. Attitudes from above affect the entire organization. It gets a little tough when you hit the l000th employee but I’ve seen people do it! John Myser, former President of 3M Canada Inc., had an enormous capacity for remembering names. During his reign, 3M Canada had over 2,000 employees. Yet, you could hear him calling people by name as he walked the halls of the corporate head office. Treat your people well, care for them and they will reward you with success.

6) A Builder
A Leader is a builder. With the strength of a motivated staff, you will build the organization that you want. Expose your employees to a myriad of different ideas and philosophies by taking their minds outside of the workplace and they will repay you by being more creative on the inside.
For example, Mr. Myser implemented “lunch meets” to which employees would bring their lunch and listen to a topic for an hour. At some of those lunch meets, he would talk about performance and how no one should be afraid to fail.

“Failure is Success if we learn from it.” – Malcolm S. Forbes
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He brought in a brain surgeon one day to speak about his job. That was incredibly fascinating! On another occasion he invited us to have lunch while listening to a classical orchestra.

Next article, we’ll explore the remaining 6 roles of a Leader and an important chart on The Many Facets of a Leader including interpersonal skills and major assets.

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Creating Champions
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates at:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

Creating Champions

Over the next several blog articles we’ll be featuring the details of these ten absolutely critical applications a Leader must do to support the growth of their direct reports and all those in the organization.

All the best product and services in the world are not going to get you anywhere without a motivated team of champions driving your goals to growth and profitability. Creating these champions requires focused attention.  It requires extraordinary people skills. It may mean changing your corporate culture, your organization structure and the way you do business with your customer.

Incentive programs can assist an organization in temporarily boosting morale. Use incentive programs to reward solid solutions, instead of quick fixes. To have an enduring effect, treat your employees well on a daily basis by running your organization with feeling, with heart.

“Expect the best from your people. Communicate your expectations. Consciously work at identifying and acknowledging good behaviour. Lead your people to be successful and they, in turn, will make you successful. Recognize their achievements and praise them for their efforts.”

‘Creating Champions’, is a book that is inspiring excellence in the workplace. The concepts in Creating Champions, when implemented, help organizations overcome communication roadblocks. By encouraging employees and management to communicate openly, challenges can be overcome and opportunities seized.

We welcome you to stand by and read the next several blog articles featuring each of the Ten Applications to Creating Champions.

 When your staff succeeds, so do you.
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Betska, The Guru Coach™
Creating Champions
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates at:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

I was coaching a little boy today … he is 47 years old.

‘Peter’ is a brilliant man having achieved a very senior level in his organization and pretty much destined for the very top job.  So why did I refer to him as a ‘little boy’?

While Peter has an IQ score which is off the charts, when we started coaching his EQ was on the extreme side of low … probably from old school parents telling him that the expression of emotions and having compassion, for example, is ‘girly’ or is ‘fluffy stuff’.  In his awakening during the coaching process, Peter realized that he needs to be a balanced leader with both transactional skills (high IQ) for the purposes of both analysis and focused action, and transformational skills (high EQ) for the purposes of inspiring his people to reach their full potential and truly excel at their jobs.

As his Executive Coach, the only way to permanently raise his EQ score was to take him into his subconscious mind to find out what negative beliefs he had about himself.  We also found the root cause events that cemented these negative beliefs into his subconscious.  For example, his Mother wanted to say Grace before each dinner meal but his Dad scoffed at it … saying that he was an atheist or agnostic and didn’t believe in a Higher Power. [Dad is thinking to himself, “I am bad. Why would anyone want to bless me?”] His Dad’s behaviour shut down Peter’s spiritual side.

So guess what?  Peter took on the patterns of his Dad in terms of not believing in a Higher Power which made him turn to his logical left brain for solutions (IQ) versus his right brain which is our connection to our genius or Higher Power.  With the support of our Power Coaching^® with Mind-Kinetics^® sessions Peter is a changed man.  He is no longer a little boy.

Instead of playing in the mud of his left brain he now plays creatively and with great passion in the bottomless quarry of the sand box of his right brain and believes in himself and in his people.  It is extraordinary to watch.

Here are some of the belief systems that Peter anchored in his subconscious mind to dig himself out of the mud:

If any of these feel as if you could benefit from them, replace Peter’s name with yours.  Then, you may wish to anchor them all at once in your subconscious mind by doing www.TheBrainWalk.com. Select “A Journey for Peace of Mind”.

Read your new beliefs every day for a few days. Watch as miracles start to happen around you.  No wonder Bruce Lipton says the subconscious is one million times more powerful than the conscious mind.

Betska, The Guru Coach™
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Coaching and Leadership International Inc. 

But first!  Let’s take a look at what some brilliant folks have said about laughter, positivity and happiness.

• This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor …Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably.  The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi

• Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda

• Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

• Only by our positive thinking, by our bringing the positive qualities of others to the fore, will this world be able to make progress. ~ Sri Chinmoy

Habits to Cultivate Lightness

• When life throws you a rotten curve, smile; and then hunch your shoulders up to your head, extend both arms in front of you with your palms up and say, “Oh well!” There are few problems that have truly monumental consequences.

• Take a closer look at an unfortunate situation and remember that you attracted this situation for a very good reason.  Ask yourself, “What am I learning here?”

• Remember to just do your best everyday and be content about it.

• Choose friends who are positive yet realistic about life. Friends who are positive about life, who laugh with you and at themselves, have self-confidence. They bring joy and energy into your life. Welcome more of them in!
  

• Start your day with a laugh! Humour is the medicine of life. It keeps us physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. There is nothing more refreshing and tension-breaking than a good, hearty laugh. Request Lorraine’s Smiles & Chuckles at lorrainejeffrey@xplornet.ca .  They will come into your email inbox and put a smile on your face.
  

Some of these Funnies have Been Around

Some of these silly little funnies have been around for awhile, but they are great to laugh at again and alleviate the stress of today’s frantic moments! I believe the origin of many of these is from “30 Ways to Handle Stress”. Others, I just made up!

1. Use your MasterCard to pay off your Visa. [Well, don’t really do it but the thought is a lot of fun!]
2. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on. [Doesn’t the thought of this bring out the kid in you!]
3. Put your little kid’s socks over your ears and when they laugh ask, “What’s so funny!” They will laugh again!
4. Forget your diet and send yourself a Candygram.
5. Tell your next Client, “I’m going to climb Mt. Everest.  Want to join me?”  When they say, “Yes”, send them a picture of your horse named Everest.  [Got it??!]
6. Plant garlic upside down and see how long it takes to break through the soil!
7. Dance naked in front of your pets. [It might scare them but what the heck, eh?]
8. Put your toddler’s clothes on backwards and send him off to pre-school as if nothing was wrong.
9. Retaliate against the government by filling out your tax form in Roman Numerals.
10. Tattoo “Out-to-Lunch” on your forehead.
11. Tape pictures of your boss on watermelons and launch them from high places. (Think of the stress release here!)
12. Leaf through National Geographic and draw underwear on all the natives.
13. Go shopping; buy everything; put the new clothes on, parade in front of the mirror to see how truly gorgeous/handsome you are; return them the next day.
14. Drive to work in reverse. [It seems they already do this in some countries.  Tee hee.]
15. Relax by mentally reflecting on your favorite episode of “The Big Bang Theory” during that all important finance meeting.
16. Turn a document upside down.  Type in secret messages, click these messages to turn the colour font from back to white and ask your work colleagues to find the secret messages!
17. Bill your doctor for the time spent in their waiting room.
18. Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they’re in jail.
19. Make up a language and ask people for directions. (Can you picture Robin Williams doing this?)
20. Tell your partner to come and find you in five minutes.  Sit in a large laundry basket and when they find you, declare, “Well, Honey, I’m a basket case today!”  ha ha

Laughter is an instant vacation.
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~Milton Berle~

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

Communication is the single most important factor for continued personal success. If we love someone, but don’t tell them or show them, does it mean anything to them? If children are emotionally shut down in their early lives, they’ll be far less likely to trust you with what’s going on in their lives as teenagers.

By becoming better communicators, we wash the dust of earth from our eyes. We see life in a fresh and insightful way. People are like diamonds. If we communicate well, we polish the diamond and relationships begin to sparkle. Open and continuous communication adds spring to each step, and allows us to bounce out of bed every morning with a smile on our face. It allows us to love ourselves, have confidence in ourselves, and to care about others.

Have you noticed that men and women can communicate differently? Younger men will hug each other and use the ‘love’ word often whereas older men may not bond on an emotional level until later in life. Sometimes the older men are happy just being in the same room together doing “guy stuff” like watching a hockey game. A majority of women, on the other hand, are more apt to communicate by sharing feelings. Women in the minority are born left brain dominant which means that they, too, will have difficulty sharing their feelings with hugs and loving words. Generally speaking, men prefer talking head-to-head, whereas women prefer talking heart-to-heart. For relationships to sparkle, both men and women need to learn the skills of head-to-head and heart to heart communication.

Notice that how you feel might be different from what you think. Suppressing feeling can lead to anguish and heartbreak. The key is to communicate thoughts and learn how to express feelings without hurting the other person.

Young children are role models for adults when it comes to communication. They have no inhibitions and express their feelings quite readily. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are always transmitting messages through our words and actions, or lack of them. In order to successfully build our relationships in our marriages, families, and between friends and colleagues, we must learn to correctly and effectively communicate.

Take time to talk:

• Make time each day to talk eye-to-eye with your loved ones with no interferences. Ask each other how the day went. Details are head-to-head communication; asking about feelings brings out heart-to-heart communication. Celebrate even the smallest successes. Help each other overcome roadblocks not by giving unsolicited advice but by asking questions to help the other person develop their own solutions.

• Teach each other how to communicate from the heart. Here is a hugely successful technique which everyone in the family should learn and practice until responsible heart to heart communication becomes as natural as brushing teeth!  When someone you love speaks to you in a hurtful or disrespectful manner, you are to tap your heart twice.  This signals to the Speaker that they are to restate their point in a positive (not judgmental/hurtful/disrespectful) manner.

• A predictably powerful way to express your love for someone is to ask them, “How can I love you more?” It doesn’t matter if they respond or not. The mere fact that you have asked the question indicates to them that you do care about them. In the workplace, you could ask your employees, “How can I better support you?”

• Schedule weekly “talk-walks” in the country or in a peaceful park. This allows your souls to be bonded and grounded to the earth at the same time.

• Couples with children will benefit from time spent away from the children. Family relationships are stronger if the parents are happy as a couple. Schedule mini-honeymoons. Make dates. Breaks from children are equally important for single parents.

• If you live alone, schedule in time to talk to those you care about.

Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.

“Our world has changed so dramatically. It’s tough to cope with so many changes. Our bodies can wear out from running all the time. Our immune system suffers, and then our health. There are numerous ways to re-kindle our physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological energies. Seven of them are listed here:”

It is also the most compassionate diet (animals are our friends, not our food, and they deserve to live too). The second issue is that our food is no longer as nutritious as it should be. Thank God for organic and non-GMO foods.  The third issue is that obesity levels are skyrocketing around the globe with addictions to sweets and junk food. In our home, when we started to pay attention to the ingredients on packaged foods, we were shocked!  Judging by the dramatic climb in the number of vegetarian/vegans around the world, intelligent folks are changing to a simple, plant-based (organic if you can) and fresh food diet.

#3 Find the Right Health Care Practitioner.

In my pursuit of pro-active assistance, I stumbled across an article in the New England Journal of Medicine which stated that more people seek medical assistance from non-traditional sources than from M.D.’s. By “non-traditional” they referred to naturopaths, herbalists, shiatsu experts, and so on. In summary, there is a need for both traditional and non-traditional medical assistance today. Take control of your life. If you aren’t feeling well, find out why and try to fix it. For the future, I vote for an integrated system combining both western and eastern medicine.

#4 Find a Dream Space.

In a hustle and bustle world, our bodies need lots of time to cool down. Sit or lie down and think about your life; your plans. Keep a journal. Write things down every day. This process heals wounds, releases anger, and helps keep us focused on our personal goals. Where can you find your dream space? Is there a special place in your home where you can be alone? Use your dream space every day.

Those who meditate swear by it. I am one of those who meditates religiously every day and I swear by it! It is my fuel. It gives me the wisdom I need to run my life. It rejuvenates. You may also use relaxation recordings to tune out the world. For example, I highly recommend Steven Halpern’s music and guided visualizations. Yoga does a great job as well.

#7 Take Energy Breaks!

Yes! Energy breaks should be taken before work, in mid-morning, at lunch, in mid-afternoon, on the way home or between different projects, before difficult meetings, at home during the evening, and on weekends. As you inject these fun energy breaks into your days, you’ll notice a difference in your days; you’ll notice a difference in your energy level, productivity, and general demeanor.

Take time to breathe joy into your life!  You deserve it…
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Betska, The Guru Coach™
Flying by the Seat of Your… Plans
Sign up for CLI QuickTips™ and Blog Updates on:
Coaching and Leadership International Inc.