Is Your Best Yet To Come in 2012!?

Have you spent any time thinking about the future, in say 2012? Your future?

Sometimes the demands placed upon us daily take up so much of our time; it's hard to find even a moment to consider the future.

But whether you are ready, or not... 2012 is coming... and fast.

And you are the one who is charged with determining exactly what that future will look like for you.

You live in a fast-paced culture in which everything is in motion. And there are no signs of turning back. Standing still doesn't work, either. At least, not for very long.

So how do we make sure that our rapidly-accelerating lives don't pass us by like a furious flash of un-fulfilling nothingness?

I'd like to suggest some tips that can help, but before you read on, I want you to recognize and remember this...

Your current results or circumstances (that you faced in 2011) are in no way a reflection of what is possible for you in the future.

Your potential is unlimited. And the thoughts, ideas, and plans that you focus upon from this day forward will ultimately shape and direct your future.

Here are some ideas to consider...

1) Stop- First, you need to pause... kind of like how you'd approach a "STOP" sign at an intersection. A brief stop, long enough to look in each direction before proceeding. While paused, take a moment to consider WHAT is MOST IMPORTANT to you at this point in your life. Is it your family? Your career? Your relationships? What brings you joy? What are you so passionate about?

2) Consider some Editing- Then, take a moment to consider, what are some things that DO NOT bring you joy? How could you begin to "edit" them out of your day? Maybe there are some activities or behaviors that are not supporting the vision you have of your highest self? Maybe there are some relationships that you need to extricate yourself from?

3) Commit to Carving- Now think about HOW would you spend more time, TODAY and TOMORROW, doing more of what it is that you want to do? Don't worry about next week or next month. Just consider today, YES! Starting today. No need for any New Year resolutions. Figure out how to carve out a small segment in the next 24 hours. Maybe you could wake up 30 minutes earlier in the morning? Or perhaps go to bed 30 minutes later tonight?

Small, incremental commitments of time, directed toward doing what makes you happy, will have a beneficial effect in all areas of your life. Spending time in this frame of mind will become a habit that will replace older, out-dated, less productive habits.

But you have to get started. You need to actively and intentionally plan the way you want your future to look, in 2012. If you passively stand by, you can be sure that your tomorrow, next week, next month, and 2012 will just become a more distressed and less fulfilling version of the past.

You have the opportunity to shape your future. I don't know exactly what you are facing or what you are going through, but I do know that if you will work at it, and take an active role in determining how it will unfold, certainly, your best is yet to come!

Be creative, as 2012 unwinds in just a few more days!

Happy New Year, 2012.

How to Succeed Courageously

Hundreds and maybe thousands of books and articles have been written on what it takes to succeed in life. I’d think that it is not as complicated as most people make it. As the year is coming to an end in a few more days, here is my list on how to succeed in life. Take what is best for you and leave the rest.

1. We are in this together! I can’t think of a single “success story” that has a cast of only one. There are always multiple players involved. Each of us brings talents, skills, abilities and contributions to the outcome. Focus on what you do best—know your strengths—and surround yourself with those that are strong where you are not. It takes guts to own your challenges and is a sure sign of a winner to seek out those that bring other talents to the team… be courageous.

2. Actions First… Feelings Follow! If you feel that you are not where you want to be today, take action. Tomorrow will be no different from today if you do the same things you have always done. That old classic definition of insanity comes to mind here: doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results. Change happens TO you, transformation happens WITHIN. You may not feel like trying something different, do it anyway… your feelings will follow.

3. You are what you think! Remember those signs in your elementary school hallways: “You are what you eat”? I say, “You are what you THINK”. It’s true that thoughts become things and that whatever you think about most is what is most present in your life. Henry Ford was right when he said, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.” Think you can, ALWAYS!

4. It’s all on you! Your life really is yours! You get to make all the choices, you get to choose the cast of characters and you get to write your ‘book’. Just like all stories, though… there will be an end. What’s important in life is not just the journey, but the quality of the journey. That’s why it’s important to make every day the best it can be, because this moment is all any of us can really count on.

5. Be true to you! Take time for yourself every day—even if only a few minutes (10-30) to honor you and show yourself the “love”. For you, maybe its meditation, maybe its physical activity like working out, maybe it’s reading a book or taking a bubble bath. Whatever the choice for you, do it! You must recharge your battery, or you’ll have nothing left to give. You can’t run on caffeine, little to no sleep and sheer determination for long.

6. Back up and Re-group! If you hit a wall, find another way to make it work. There is always more than one way to achieve something. Quitting never wins… perseverance will. Whatever the *it* is for you, stick with it. You may get an outcome other than what you expected, however don’t look at that as failure. You have most definitely learned something and that is a tremendous gift. Remove the word “failure” from your vocabulary… it’s not failure… only feedback. Learn from it! Then try, try again; another way!

7. You’ll pick up what you are putting down! You always get back what you put out there. If you want help, serve others. If you want open and honest relationships, guess what! You have to be a model of openness and honesty. If you want acceptance, then you must accept others. The real power in this ‘law’ is just like Zig Ziglar said, “You can only get what you want if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Choose to live life to the fullest every moment. Choose to surround yourself with those that compliment you and give you positive energy. Choose to keep at it no matter the challenges. Choose to treat yourself with kindness and love. Choose to take action even when you initially don’t feel like it. Choose your thoughts wisely, as thoughts become things. Choose to put out there what you want back and choose to live, laugh and love in every moment.

What say you, fellow leaders, what are your keys to courageous success?

How to Change Things When Change is Hard

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, in our own lives?

The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational (conscious) mind and the emotional (subconscious) mind - that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. The tension can doom a change effort - but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.

Here is a compelling metaphor to explain the tension between our rational mind and our emotional mind. Visualize a person riding atop a large elephant. They say that our rational side is the Rider and our emotional side is the Elephant. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reigns and seems to be the leader. But the rider's control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant. Anytime the six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose. He's completely overmatched.

If you want to change things, you have got to appeal to both the Rider and the Elephant. The Rider provides the planning and direction and the Elephant provides the energy. So if you reach the Riders of your team but not the Elephants, team members will have understanding without motivation. If you reach the Elephants but not their Riders, they'll have passion without direction. In both cases, the flaws can be paralyzing. A reluctant Elephant and a wheel-spinning Rider can both ensure that nothing changes. But when Elephants and Riders move together, change can come easily.

Here is a basic three-part framework that can guide you in any situation where you need to change behavior. In any change situation you need to:

1. 1.    Direct the Rider. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. So provide crystal-clear direction.
2. 2.    Motivate the Elephant. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. The Rider can't get his way by force for very long. So it's critical that you engage people's emotional side - get their Elephants on the path and cooperative.
3. 3.    Shape the Path. What looks like a people problem is often a situational problem. We call the situation (including the surrounding environment) the "Path." When you shape the Path, you make change more likely, no matter what is happening with the Rider and the Elephant.

I don't promise that making change is easy, but at least it can be made easier. My goal is to teach you a framework, based on decades of scientific research, that is simple enough to remember and flexible enough to use in many different situations - family, work, community and otherwise. To change behavior, you have got to direct the Rider, motivate the Elephant and shape the Path. If you can do all three at once, dramatic change can happen even if you don't have lots of power or resources behind you.

Successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

FIVE Signs That Say you are NOT Business Savvy

Do you own or lead a business? If so, you will need to do a lot of background work before you can be successful in your professional venture. The very first diagnostic activity is whether you have good leadership skills. Here are five signs that say you should NOT be a business owner – do you recognize any of these as describing you?

1.    Non-existent communication skills – when you run a business you need to know how to communicate effectively. This is the first and the last of not just good but great leadership skills. You need to be a people’s person. If you are a grouch by nature, an introvert, it is very doubtful that you would be able to develop a successful network or a worthy customer base.

2.    You cannot decide – a good businessperson can and is often required to take split-second decisions; hard decisions. Are you good with taking decisions? This is a very important trait among leadership skills without which your business will definitely flounder and fail. If you are an indecisive person, forget about being a business owner.

3.    You are an ‘I, me, myself’ type of person – leadership skills are a must if you want to run a business successfully; and not into the ground. For this you need to have a basic humility about yourself so your employees would feel motivated to work; which in turn, would attract more business. If you are an egotistic maniac, you will not last too long in this field.

4.    You cannot face unpleasantness – possessing good leadership skills does not mean that the path to success is all milk and roses. As the head of your business, your employees and customers would often create unpleasant situations that require confrontations and arguments. Are you afraid of unpleasantness or confrontations? If yes, business is not your cup of tea.

5.    You are not ready to work hard – leadership skills do not come by wishing for it; neither does success. It takes hard work, great efforts and a lot of time. Do not, for one single moment, think that because you are the owner and head of your business you can cut yourself slack. On the contrary, as the head and leader you would often be required to put in double the efforts of others. You need to be disciplined about your business, which in turn will motivate your employees to give their best. If the leader is lazy, the employees will follow suit. The result would be a disaster for your business.

No one is born with any of these leadership skills. The good news is that anyone can acquire these skills. It is never too late to seek help and set yourself up for success.

Thanks-[for]-Giving

How a simple shift in gratitude can make a world of difference?

Here in America, we celebrated our Thanksgiving Holiday last week. The holiday symbolizes the end of the harvest season and is a day of celebration and thanks for the abundance and good fortune we have in our lives, no matter how meager or scarce.

This Thanksgiving, I invite you to take a look at how a simple shift to being grateful for what you have been able to give may be more powerful, creative, and worthy of celebration than merely being grateful for what you have received. In fact, you might even start a revolution that truly brings greater abundance and good fortune to both your life and the world.

I don’t believe that we are automatically entitled to abundance, nor that abundance is something that we can simply wish or believe into existence. It’s been my experience that the world works on a give and then receive basis and that true abundance is something we create and we create abundance by generating value.

Generating value is not rearranging, accumulating, reallocating, or exchanging one value for another. It’s not about taking value away from anyone. To generate value means to create or add new value; value and goodness that did not previously exist. For instance, when you smile at someone or hold a door for them you create new value. When you help someone to learn, to grow, or to unleash their potential you create new value. When you ease suffering or bring a measure of joy without taking anything away from anyone else, including yourself, you generate new value.

Creating value is like creating a new source of renewable energy; once created it can perpetuate and build upon itself. This is the basic principle behind the “pay it forward” and “random acts of kindness” concepts.

This Thanksgiving, and from this day forth, try first being grateful for the opportunities you had to generate value; to make a difference and to give of yourself. Then, and only then, celebrate gratitude for the value and goodness that has come back to you as result of your generosity. If you don’t have anything to be grateful for, go create it!

Just keep asking yourself The Central Question – “What choice can I make and action can I take, in this moment, to create the greatest net value?”

What you may notice is that the more value you generate in the world, the more abundance you experience for yourself.

Imagine if you shared this notion with just one other person and they began to think of gratitude this way. Who knows what might happen. If people practiced this form of gratitude and began to see the powerful connection between the value we create and the value we are blessed to receive as a result, people would be creating value like crazy. I mean, think about it: if you shared it with just two or three people a day, I say just two or three people, and then they shared it with two or three people and everybody started creating greater value. Well, that would make YOU the instigator of immeasurable new value.

Can you imagine if a hundred, or a thousand, or a million, or one hundred million people all around the world were giving thanks for the value they’ve been able to create that day! And friends, that’s what it is. It’s the start of the Gen-V 2020 Revolution. It could create a global paradigm shift from a self-centric mindset to a value-centric mindset and put an end to conflict, suffering and scarcity! And all you need to do to join is to start thinking more value-centrically: asking yourself “The Central Question” and giving thanks FOR giving and only then for the blessings of true abundance that come as a result.

Wimpy Leaders

You cannot be wimpy out there on the dream-seeking trail. Dare to break through barriers, to find your own path. ~ Les Brown.

I have written about bully leaders previously, but I have not addressed until now, the other end of the spectrum – wimpy bosses. While not as obnoxious as a bully boss, the wimpy leader can be exasperating in different ways.

There are numerous characteristics that define a boss as being on the wimpy side, here are six habits that stand out to me:

1. Procrastination, slow decisions, analysis paralysis

I am reminded of the cartoon character “Wimpy” in the Popeye Cartoon, (I know I am dating myself – and as Groucho used to say, “If you are dating yourself, you aren’t likely to have many children”). Wimpy was famous for the line, “I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” That characteristic of postponing things is one of the hallmarks of a wimpy boss. Regardless of the issue, there are some bosses who do not want to face making a decision, so they ask for more analysis or more time. Eventually people get the message that there isn’t going to be a firm answer.

2. Not standing up for people in discussions with higher management 

Another trait of a wimpy boss is that the person will not stand up for people who work for him or her. If upper layers of management perceive an individual incorrectly, the wimpy boss is going to be a “yes man” and not challenge the misconception.

3. Waffling depending on which way the wind is blowing - "flip-flopping" 

Wimpy bosses do not hold firm to decisions made on principle. They bend with the breeze coming from on high and waffle when asked to take a stand on issues involving integrity. They are like chameleons and change colors to blend in with the background.

4. No backbone, does not confront people who abuse 

When a person is abusing other employees, the wimpy boss does not step in with strong action to stop the problem. Instead, problems are allowed to fester and well up because the boss has no strength or backbone.

5. Using Authority instead of Power 

To make up for the perception of being weaker, these bosses who have not earned sufficient power make the mistake of trying to influence others by overexerting their authority. But excessive use of authority can cause employees to rebel in much the same way that children rebel against restrictive parents.

6. Encouraging ‘up-delegated’ tasks 

Too nice is being a doormat and letting people walk all over you. To placate whiny employees and squeaky wheels - primarily because you were too weak to fight for and provide the resources in the first place - you do their work for them or place more of a burden on others. Eventually, everybody is doing nothing but complaining.

What can you do if you have a wimpy boss? That is a really good question, because you are not likely to change this person. The weak habits are a form of self preservation, laziness, or just plain being gutless. No amount of coaching is likely to reverse a lifetime of bad habits in this area. It can be very frustrating because it seems there is little you can do short of leaving the organization.

Here are some ideas that can help if applied with care.

1.    Document your requests and needs well. Don't let things slip. 

If you are reporting to a wimpy boss, the best you can do is document your requests carefully and make sure you copy others, such as senior management or HR in on your requests.

2.    Put a "date by" on all requests and check if late. 

Make sure the need for decisions have a date fixed to them and that a large number of people are aware of the delivery date. If needed, send reminders a reasonable time before the due date.

3. Follow up on all discussions and promises.

Hold the boss to promises made. 

4. Reinforce when the boss does show some backbone. 

If you see some signs of strength emerging, reinforce the boss enthusiastically for taking action. It will serve to encourage stronger action in the future.

5. Gently suggest some leadership training if appropriate. 

Lastly, training can help a wimpy boss learn how to handle difficult situations and also make more firm decisions. You may not be in a position to nudge the boss directly to get some training, but there could be indirect ways to let it be known that some additional seasoning would be beneficial. Each organization will have a different political hierarchy that includes not only the wimpy boss but also that person’s peers, manager, HR, and the Development Group. As an underling to a wimpy boss, you need to be careful how and when you point out opportunities for improvement.

Time to look in the mirror to ask yourself: “Where am I being a Wimpy Leader? Where do I need to be The Decider?”

I would love to hear your stories of Wimpy Leaders – please share in the comments below.

Snow Ball Effect

In many ways, the first small steps you take to change your behavior are the most important. Once you initiate change, it seems to feed on itself, as two psychological triggers are at work:

a.    More exposure effect: The more you are exposed to something, the more you like it. Initially unwelcome change efforts will gradually be perceived more favorably as people get used to them.

b.    Cognitive dissonance: Once people take small steps, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to dislike how they act. We don’t like to act in one way and think in another. And once we begin to behave differently, our self-perception changes and our identity evolves, which reinforces our new approach.

This is what is called ‘the snowball effect’. Changes just seem to take off. They are the result of “small wins” but, not always. Rather, they are automatic forces that kick in as time passes.

It’s therefore essential to start as soon as possible and take advantage of the momentum.

While inertia and the status quo may exert an irresistible pull, at this point you need to muster the courage and just do it. Just get it started.

Ah, yes, but that’s the problem, isn’t it? The status quo feels comfortable and steady because much of our thinking is on autopilot. Routines feel good to us because it frees up our brain for other things, especially creative thinking.

What really helps me to get started when I want to change a behavior is to become aware of how much I am on autopilot. Having routines can be a time-saver since we don’t have to make choices, we just do it. But it’s also what creates rut and stagnation.

It actually irks me to be a slave to my habits (just the ones I don’t like). I tell myself, “Who’s in charge here, the autopilot or me?” If I am more powerful than that, I will actually feel energized by breaking the routine to do something new.

Your first attempt doesn’t have to be perfect or complete. At some point, inertia will shift from resisting change to supporting it, and small changes will snowball into big changes.

But it’s that first effort to say, “No, I am not going to eat that over sized portion on my plate,” that builds the momentum. At the next meal, you become aware of how restaurants over serve their portions (here in the USA), and you start cutting down meal sizes.

·        It’s that first time you respond with a smile to someone who pushes your buttons.

·        It’s when you stop yourself from explaining everything and ask a question instead.

·        It’s when you stop telling yourself you are tired and start asking how you can re-energize your tasks.

When I stop looking for how I can cut corners and make my work flow a routine, and start looking for creative ways to make a difference in the world, then I become more of a change agent.

It starts with the first snowball, and I am the one who has to set it in motion. Then it becomes fun to watch it grow and gather momentum.

What has been your experience when you want to change something?

Decisions and Motivation

Everyone makes decisions differently and is motivated or driven by different things. Being aware of and understanding these differences are really important when managing employees or creating relationships.

Over fifty years of scientific research has revealed that there are three distinct styles of decision-making. Each of us can make decisions in all three ways, but we tend to develop a preference for one more than the other two. This preference becomes a subconscious force, affecting the decisions we make on a daily basis and shaping how we perceive the world around us and ourselves. The three decisional styles are personal, practical, and analytical.

To some extent everyone is capable of making all three kinds of decisions, but we ultimately have a preference. Here is a simple example of the three in contrast with each other. A person with each style is sitting around a table working on a project together. While the Personal style is focused on the needs of the team members involved and how to best use their talents, the Practical style doesn’t really care as much about the team or if it is done right, he just wants to get it done. Finally the Analytical sees no reason to worry about the people involved or even getting it done if it isn’t going to be done correctly.

We all have different balances of these three styles. That is what makes our decisions and actions different from others. These ways of making decisions and how we use them are at the core of whom we are.

In addition to there being three distinct styles of decision making, people are also motivated to make decisions based on different drivers. Based on the research of Dr. Eduard Spranger and later by Dr. Gordon Allport, there are seven key motivational drivers and they include the following:

§ The motivation to achieve balance, harmony, and find form or beauty

§ The motivation for security from economic gain and to achieve practical returns

§ The motivation to be seen as unique, independent, and stand apart from the crowd

§ The motivation to have influence and control over one’s environment or success

§ The motivation to benefit others in a humanitarian sense

§ The motivation to establish order, routine, and structure

§ The motivation to gain knowledge or discover truth

Imagine how beneficial it would be to know how your team members make decisions and why they are motivated to do what they do. Imagine being able to share that knowledge with the actual team members. Communication, teamwork, and your ability to manage would instantly improve. Results and outcomes would measurably improve. Uncovering how people make decisions and what drives them to do what they do can be uncovered through a simple assessment process. However, the assessment process is only the beginning. A commitment by management to create an action plan on how to effectively use the knowledge to improve team building is a critical second step. Information for information’s sake is—you got it—just information. An action plan to manage with the new information will provide long-term and sustainable results for your team.

Motivation and Process Improvement

“Managers do not motivate employees by giving them higher wages, more benefits, or new status symbols. Rather, employees are motivated by their own inherent need to succeed at a challenging task. The manager’s job then, is not to motivate people to get them to achieve; instead, the manager should provide opportunities for people to achieve, so they will become motivated.” – Frederick Herzberg.


So what does this theory have to do with process improvement? When done properly, motivation is a core component to process improvement, total quality, 6 Sigma, lean, or whatever other description one uses to express this philosophy that according to W. Edwards Deming causes 85% to 90% of an organization’s problems. It has been proven time and time again that “bad processes will always squash good people.”


Typically project members do not go to work with the preconceived attitude of, “I can’t wait to get to work to see what I can screw up today.” Most employees are committed to doing a good job and providing desired results. Very often, however, when management does not see the desired or forecasted outcomes, they begin the search for the bad apples. “Who caused this to happen, rather than what caused this to happen?”


It is our experience that the “what caused this to happen” i.e. a bad process, is more often the actual cause of bad outcomes rather than “who caused it to happen?”. “What caused this to happen” is typically a defective or ineffective process. In the classic sense a process is the series of interrelated steps to complete a task, and this applies to both business (programs/projects) processes and manufacturing processes. Management designs the majority of business and manufacturing processes and employees are instructed and trained to follow them – good or bad. If the process is good then the outcomes are good. However, if there is waste and variation built into the process, outcomes will be neither consistent nor predictable. This lack of predictability causes frustration at all levels within an organization but the frustrations are often magnified at the employee level, because they live within the processes daily. As such, employees know there is a better way to do things, but management doesn’t allow or encourage them to find it. Even if permission and encouragement is given, it is important that it is done correctly. Without the proper understanding and knowledge of process improvement tools to guide the discussions, greater frustration is created during the analysis, the decision process and the improvement phases.


A more effective approach is to provide everyone with the training necessary to best understand and utilize proven process improvement tools and to create a structure to allow project team members to find and eliminate variation and/or waste in an existing process. Giving employees this opportunity is one way to operationalizing Frederick Herzberg’s above definition of motivation. Highly motivated employees who have been given the opportunity to be involved in process improvement will generate accelerated results for the organization allowing them to run circles around their competition. Additionally, the results of process improvement, when identified and implemented by the employees, who are actually doing the work, achieve quick, bottom-line economic gains, greater employee loyalty with higher morale, and more satisfied customers who will be loyal to your products or services.

Ten Motivating Factors That Work Wonders With Employee Performance

This article is a continuation of the last week’s posting on accountability.

A study at MIT showed that monetary incentives are great for routine, mechanical work. But how does it play when talking about cognitive, advanced tasks? Not well at all. Watch this super cool animation and get a better understanding on how the labor force will react in 5 to 10 years.

A very common myth of the past was that the best way to motivate an employee is through monetary rewards. The truth is that money can be a good motivator if it is applied in context with other factors. Money alone never works. Sooner or later they will be back for more and if you don’t have it or want to give it to them someone else always has deeper pockets than you. Motivating employee performance involves a number of factors.

The main by-product of motivation is to create enough goodwill so the employee performs to their optimum ability; thereby optimizing the overall productivity of an organization. Here are some factors, in no particular order, that have proven to work wonders:

1. Personal appreciation – a warm personal ‘thank you for a job well done’ can go a very long way in motivating an employee to put in his best. For best results, ensure that you do this with utmost sincerity and at exactly the right time.

2. Acknowledge efforts in public – a good way to motivate all employees is to acknowledge in public the achievement of every employee who does a good job. This instills pride in the employee who is praised in public and makes others wish to be in his shoes.

3. Provide Conducive work environment – promote an open and friendly work culture. Crush gossip, bullying, politicking, ‘groupism’ and all such factors that interfere with the work atmosphere. Your employees should look forward to come to work, not hate it.

4. Performance appraisal – people need to know what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Set up performance appraisals at regular intervals and let employees know where they can improve and what they are doing well.

5. Appropriate reward – a good worker should always be rewarded so she feels valued and important. Whether this is with a personal ‘thank you’ card, or a special incentive, or a raise – rewards should not only be given, but also these need to be tailored it gives the employee the most joy.

6. Encourage dialogue – set up an open-door policy where anyone who wants to say something can walk up to you and say it. Make people comfortable talking to you, bringing their suggestions, feedback, demands and worries to you directly. And listen.

7. Down delegate authority – employees work best when they feel trusted with authority and added responsibilities. Down delegate authority and abstain from micro-managing so the employee is empowered in their role.

8. Participatory decision-making – leaving certain policy matters aside, the best is to have your employees participate in all decision-making processes. In this way, they would feel ownership in the company and would work better.

9. Celebrate together – celebrate together every milestone of the company or team. Let them build that feeling of “all are for one and one is for all”. Everyone wants to be part of something, use that to help motivate your team.

10. Encourage family-time – putting in long hours in the work place does not mean enhanced productivity. Encourage people to go home in time; to enjoy quality time with their families; to attain a balance between home and work.

Holding People Accountable

Does this little story sound familiar?

“This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

But, how to avoid this? How to create a culture of accountability and hold people accountable?

Actually, it’s SIMPLE:

S = Set Expectations
I = Invite Commitment
M = Measure Progress
P = Provide Feedback
L = Link to Consequences
E = Evaluate Effectiveness

Let’s explore a little further on what these actually mean?

S = Set Expectations

• The success of any organization comes down to one thing: how well it organizes its members to focus on and work toward the same purpose
• The employees need to know what is expected of them before they can be hold accountable for anything
• The more clearly the expectations and goals are set up front, the less time will be wasted later clarifying – or worse, arguing about – what was really expected

I = Invite Commitment

• Just because your employees know what to do doesn’t mean they will do it. After goals and expectations are set, employees need to commit to achieving them
• Employees are more likely to do this when they understand two things: how the goals will benefit them personally, and how the goals will help move the organization forward
• Once this connection is made they are more likely to buy into the goals, and actually welcome you holding them accountable for the results

M = Measure Progress

• Information is needed to hold your employees accountable. Measure their ongoing performance and gauge whether or not they meet the goals and expectations to which they had previously committed
• Goals are only measurable when they are quantified. Measure the results and compare them to the employees’ goals to discover the gaps that require further attention

P = Provide Feedback

• Feedback won’t solve problems by itself, but it will open the door for problem-solving discussions and follow-up actions
• The employees need feedback to do a good job and improve in areas where performance is falling short of expectations. Most of the time, giving objective, behavioral feedback is all it takes. Setting expectations followed by quality feedback is the backbone of holding someone accountable for results

L = Link to Consequences

• Sometimes employees need a little external motivation to live up to their commitments. When they struggle to reach their goals, they can be helped by administering appropriate consequences

E = Evaluate Effectiveness

• Review how the process has been handled
• Put a systematic and consistent method in place and you’ll find that when people are held accountable for the work that must get done, it gets done

For goals to be meaningful and effective in motivating employees, they must be tied to larger organizational ambitions.

Employees who don’t understand the roles they play in company success are more likely to become disengaged. No matter what level the employee is at, he should be able to articulate exactly how his efforts feed into the broader company strategy.

High performance and success are not dependent on one simple factor or as a result of one or two things. The entire context you operate in greatly impacts your results.

How do you hold your team accountable?

Source: Dilbert

Think and 'Do' Courage

I take a great deal of pride in the work I do for my clients as well as those contacts who aren’t. I have the strong belief that my role is to do what is right for the people and the business. Because of this I may tell people things they don’t want to hear. Some cases I have lost projects because of it. Yet in most situations that is what gets me hired. I tell leaders what they need to know. If I am not the right resource I refer them to the proper professionals that can help them out. While I am conscious of the client’s situation, I recommend the action they need to take and leave it up to the referral to see if they can help. After all, if someone has a cancer in their business, I do not want to be the one who didn’t warn them.

So, why am I saying this? Recently, I was disturbed with a conversation that took place with a service provider who was talking to me about referrals. To be clear, this was not a situation where i was asking him for referrals, but more of a discussion about the practice. He said he was often aware of needs that his clients had, but was reluctant to refer to outside professionals because of what they might think. He knows his clients have issues that could prove costly, yet he fails to act out of fear that they will balk at the idea or that they are unwilling to pay for outside help. The difference here is there is no perceived malpractice.

I do not say these things because I desire more regulations or outside intervention. I merely wish to bring up a point. As a professional, you owe it to your clients and colleagues to help them be successful. If relationships are built on a foundation of trust, I believe your clients and others in your professional circle will value what you have to say. If you are concerned about it you may need to do a gut check on how solid your relationship is. My clients are successful because they are told things they don’t want to hear, but NEED to hear. Because of this, many of these people are experiencing substantial growth when other businesses are struggling to make ends meet. They set goals and act deliberately while their competition worries and unfocused action. Many of my clients are building and expanding while others are shrinking. Ninety percent of my clients are through referrals. In other words, they came to me because someone had the courage to say there is help available.

Whether you are a banker, accountant, marketer or even a coach, your actions towards your clients speaks volumes about your values. That is why as professionals we build relationships of trust with other service providers. We may not be doctors, but we do need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. It is how we will grow and innovate. So go out and build those relationships, check backgrounds, research and build your circle of professionals. When you help a business grow, not only do you help that business, you help create jobs, and strengthen our economy. Not to mention you have strengthened a relationship that will pay you back many fold over time. Be courageous, build trust, and create growth.

Courage is about believing in something beyond your own needs and doing something about it. Very rarely is courage spoken about in organizations beyond some poorly defined misguided heroic notion that has more to do with aggressive competition and very little to do with nurturing people and creating a sustainable business model.

"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ Marianne Williamson

Turning up the courage can help you to:

Move into your future with inspired vision and upgraded mental models, knowing that there is nothing you cannot aim for and nothing that you need to regret. Manage your lows and create more highs; turn every failure into success and build on it further.

Discover your own unique way to make a difference and to make a living. Map out an inspiring future and create a dynamic 'plan for the road' designed on who you truly are, where your purpose lies, and on a realistic appraisal of the market.

Despite the prevalent fear in our changing society, be the person who transforms fear into courage by seeing the bigger context and the facts behind the emerging bigger picture. Turning up the courage provides orientation and advice on the order behind all the chaos.

Create powerful relationships that add extra value for you and others. Identify your allies and let go of extra ballast. Open your eyes to your own role in attracting the relationships that are in your life now. Negotiate assertively and authentically. Lose your fear of engaging with others in conflict. Resolve conflicts in an empowered way.

Five Key Qualities of Great Leadership

Good Leadership Is Both What You Do and What You Don’t Do

As you work with others in your leadership role, you will find that they face decisions, challenges and problems as often as you do. A good leader resists solving other people’s problems, but rather works alongside them to help them recognize opportunities and resolve difficulties for themselves.

It is critical for a leader to create an open environment that supports experimentation and discovery—key ingredients for both mistakes and successes. An open environment also includes time set aside for reflection, analysis and discussion about what is going well and what needs to be improved.

Key Quality I: Interpersonal Skills

This skill set reflects your ability to interact with others in a positive manner. Good interpersonal skills are vital to leadership development success. A leader who is empathetic, compassionate, fair, and encouraging will generate the personal trust and respect needed for leadership effectiveness.

Key Quality II: Self-Management Skills

Self-Management is the ability to prioritize and complete tasks in order to deliver desired out comes within allotted time frames. It is also the ability to control one’s emotions in challenging “pressure” situations. It requires self-awareness, valuing feedback, making decisions, and being willing to change. A leader who cannot effectively manage him/herself will have great difficulty in managing others. Leaders who have mastered self-management are more effective role models for everyone around them.

Key Quality III: Personal Accountability

This is a measure of your capacity to be answerable for your personal actions. Personal account-ability is leadership by example. A leader who has mastered personal accountability will inspire his/her protégé and team to exhibit the same behaviors and encourage leadership development within the team.

Key Quality IV: Influencing Others

The most critical key to leadership success is your ability to personally affect others’ actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking. Today’s leaders are in a position of influence, rather than power. To achieve results, you must be able to influence others to bring out the best in themselves as well as to do what you want them to do.

Key Quality V: Goal Achievement

An effective leader is one with the overall ability to set, pursue, and attain achievable goals regardless of obstacles or circumstances. This applies to the leader’s personal goals, as well as the protégé’s individual goals and team goals. Individual and team goals must be complementary to achieve the highest level of success.

Everyone has these skills to some degree. Some of these skill sets will develop a good administrator, but a good administrator is not automatically a good leader. It is the complete mastery of all the skill sets that creates the true leader.

Why Are These Skills So Important?

Your leadership effectiveness is measured through the results achieved by your team. Your role is to inspire and motivate them in ways that values their contributions while guiding them in a cohesive direction takes strong leadership skills. Effective leadership at any level demands that you be able to gain the trust of others, both one-on-one and in groups. They depend on you, their leader, to have a vision, see possibilities and work with them to create and achieve mutual goals. This is the cornerstone of the “art” of leadership!

Poor Leadership Skills Can Create Many Difficulties

A leader who has not developed good leadership skills can’t solve problems effectively. He/she may not have the empathy, self-confidence or motivation skills necessary to establish and meet goals or communicate them effectively.

 A true leader:

• Communicates a vision and a belief in its value

• Inspires others to peak performance

• Sets appropriate examples for others to follow

• Instills a sense of order, direction, and focus

• Responds to adversity without faltering

• Clearly communicates the “what”, “why”, and “when” behind every “how”

Leadership Skills Can Be Developed … They Must Not Be Left To Chance

An aspiring leader must create a personal development plan and pursue it at all times.

 As a leader you must learn to:

• Lead based on the foundation of your values, beliefs, and experience

• Share information with others; don’t hide news, feedback, critiques, or praise

• Support people when they make mistakes and help them learn from the situation

• Choose your battles wisely

• Be decisive

• Not make decisions for others

• Listen to others problems and help them define solutions

• Be persistent

• Encourage others to take initiative; reward them for independent decisions

• Not procrastinate

• Build teams and empower them to address problems

• Recognize the value of others contributions

The Best Leader Is The Most Effective Manager

A good leader inspires his/her team to constant improvement. A good leader recognizes that his/her own ongoing power and influence come from empowering others around them. A good leader nurtures leadership qualities within the team to complement his/her own development.