Browse Leadership

It is more important than ever before that our businesses embrace technology if we want to grow during this down economic time. Many business owners and corporations look for that one key idea or system that's going to take their business to the next level. However, it's been my experience that it is never one system, idea, or technique that does the does the trick it's generally a combination of multiple ideas. In our business we use a combination of social networking, marketing and expert positioning to grow our business.

With your indulgence, here is an excerpt on trust from a book I wrote two years ago. “The root of all effective human relationships is trust. All relationships have trust in some form or another or else the bond will not last. Trust is so pivotal to all human interaction and is a business imperative. Those who scoff at building and maintaining trust in a business or other setting do so at their own peril. Productivity and creativity are higher when trust is valued. If trust is not important, productivity and creativity will become sluggish and eventually disappear.

I recently received an e-mail from a friend of mine regarding choices specifically a person's ability to choose their own attitude of mind and how one can look at any situation either positively or negatively and its direct effect on the outcome of that particular situation. Even though we may not believe it we all have the ability to choose and make decisions, even though we may not like the choices presented.

Experience may be the most critical element to triumph. Many believe that skill would supersede, a valid argument, though skill doesn't encompass the intangibles that experience does. Experience gives you awareness of those subtle nuances specific to an established process. It allows you to more easily navigate from where you are to where you want to be and grants you an intimate understanding of the if/then's among other mastery: A cognitive clarity that amplifies insightrn

Many definitions and theories speak to the importance of communication in business. When managing a business team there are multiple factors that determine its success. What is the overall company strategy? Are you able to foresee obstacles and successfully maneuver around them? Managing is an undeniable juggling act. How well you manage all the "cogs in the spoke" is most greatly determined by your level of communication skills. The ability to communicate is both an art and

Somewhere the other day I read that there are 7 secrets to success: Solo focus, undying conviction and imagination, crystal clear path, connection to the heart, extraordinary energy, skill set and stop at nothing. It seems to me that success cannot only come out of hard work but can also come through opportunity and determination. There are many success stories online, hundreds of people who have worked hard, have made smart decisions and have successfully managed to make the "million dollar mark".

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to leadership styles. Just like snowflakes, every human being is a little bit different. They respond differently to situations, even if on the surface the situation looks exactly the same. Good leadership skills are no different than anything else when it comes to each person having to develop their own style of leadership.

Every professional needs to have several great headshot photos in their personal branding toolkit. Your mug shot does matter, especially in this era of new media marketing. The business competition is fierce and you need photographs that visually articulate your personal brand. This is true whether you are looking to get promoted within your firm, are hoping to be invited as a keynote speaker at your industry’s next conference, or are a small business owner and entrepreneur.

It's interesting to me that whenever I give a presentation to men in a corporate setting or work one-on-one with a male client I get a lot of questions about what kind of suit to wear for their body type and what the correct "button-rule" is for suits and jackets. As a professional image consultant I always advise my male clients to be sure to dress to accentuate their attributes and downplay any challenging areas. A lot of men have the impression that dressing for your body type only applies to women - but that's not true.

Are you a finisher? Do you love the feel of completing a task and checking it off your list? Goal completion is a strong human motivator. Yet, writing significant goals that have a positive impact on the work environment can be tough. Here's a framework to consider the next time you begin to draft goals. Goals fall into two categories: "be" goals and "do" goals. "Be" goals are goals that define an expectation for how the employee is to act. Goals that describe how we want t

Jim Harbaugh has been successful at every level in football. In college at the University of Michigan, he was an All-American quarterback. As the leader of the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts’ offenses, he was known as a modestly talented but gritty, independent and inspirational quarterback. The son of a coach and the brother of Ravens head man John Harbaugh, Jim decided when he was still playing to become a coach himself. In the 90s, Harbaugh served an apprenticeship

Debating as a vocation, in my school was a big thing. Students who were good in this segment of the school curriculum were praised, rewarded and those were not too adept at it, were ignored. Unfortunately I belonged to the latter group and it would not be an understatement to say that I did feel ...Debating as a vocation, in my school was a big thing. Students who were good in this segment of the school curriculum were praised, rewarded and those were not too adept at it, were ignored.

How many times has this happened to you….you are sitting at your desk going about your work. You look up and you notice ‘Harry’ about to walk past you. You know what you are about to cop so you take a deep breath. He says something to you and you have to respond. All you can do is mumble something as you exhale and then your worst fears are realised. He sits down in the chair in front of your desks and starts talking to you. I don’t know about you but I can only hold my breat

What is change? Put simply, change is an effort to improve an organization in some way. This change could take the form of new processes and procedures, upgrades to a new system, changes to the organizational structure, or changes to roles and responsibilities. Leaders understand that the only constant in today’s environment is...change! Leaders do not have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for change to wreak havoc on their organizations - a leader has to lead change.

Leaders are responsible for making things happen, on-time and as scheduled. Superiors and subordinates don’t want excuses from their leaders, they want results. When a leader makes a commitment to complete a task or accomplish a mission, follow-through is the guarantee that he provides to all stakeholders that gives them the confidence to believe that the job will get done properly.

I found out from years of experience and from reading great books that the biggest problem or obstacle in human life is the lack of self-confidence. Fortunately, you can follow almost each of the eight following tips without spending a penny.

Steve Jobs helped to harness technologies that improve the quality of our lives and the lives of generations to come. He also provided a great role model for leadership success, and we can learn much from his remarkable mindset. Acquiring 21st Century Tools

What is leadership and motivation and how are they related to each other? Leadership refers to the ways of dealing with different people in different situations. There are three main types of leadership. Autocratic leadership; where the leader knows best and makes decisions on his own, democratic leadership; where leaders make decisions after consultation with staff, and laissez faire; where the broad objectives of the organization are told to the employees, and decision maki

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Leadership . Leadership Skills are the tools and traits acquired to facilitate guiding or a directing a group, most commonly toward a shared goal. Todd McDonald is the Official Guide to Leadership . Leadership: Theory and Practice , by Peter G. Northouse, is a valuable resource for people interested in Leadership Traits and it is available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble . n "This book offers a full coverage of

Do you have a super ordinate goal (SOG) for your organization; one that drives you above and beyond basic needs for your organization’s success? Is it at the core of your vision? Take the Disney Corporation as an example. One of their objectives is to maintain and build the integrity of the Disney name and franchise while preserving basic Disney values. But this is not the ultimate driving force behind Disney. Their super ordinate goal is “guest perception.” Everything they

Have you ever been in a situation where you saw a leader take a specific action, yet you had no idea "why" or "how" the leader decided to take that specific action? Well, I have too! That's why I decided to study various leaders that I have worked with over 22 years and before long, I started to get insights into why leaders do what they do. More importantly, I started to understand that what a leader does is much deeper than the specific action he takes.

Life is composed of many opportunities that we can take advantage of. Many doors may open while others may close. There are different paths in life that we can take. This is why I am completely convinced that there are no limits in life to what you can do. It does not matter where you live or what type of home you were raised in, all things are possible to them who believe in the impossible. The key to enjoying life is to live life without limits. How do you life a life without limits? Here are a couple keys to living life without limits: 1. You MUST trust God.

My grandfather taught me many things during his lifetime, and what I learned about being a leader came from observing him. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I realized my grandfather was a prominent person in our community and in neighboring states. Doctors, lawyers, and teachers were among the hundreds of people he mentored. Countless others sought him for advice. Yet, my grandfather only had an eighth grade formal education.

In this day and age, everyone sells. From the receptionist who answers the telephone to the accounting clerk who deals with a client’s billing inquiry, everyone sells. It is vitally important for each person to understand a few of the important relationship skills used by top professionals. “What is the most critical thing to remember about developing and maintaining high quality business relationships?” Many responses come to mind about the most critical element of developi

Your natural talents are gifts at birth. You had nothing to do with them. However, you have a great deal to do with nbecoming aware of them and developing them into strengths. It is up to you to discover your natural signature talents and transform them through focus, practice and learning into ...

Many believe that Flight simulators are effective tools in teaching would be pilots to ride an airplane yet they are mistaken. Pro flight simulator programs might look effective at first but it does not have the proper applications and training packages that a pilot would need. Before tackling on the how the program works, there are some things that you need to know about it first.

You’ve likely had numerous occasions in life where you had to make a major decision regarding careers, relationships, residences, investments, family, children, and other realms of life responsibilities that have significantly impacted your happiness, fulfillment, and contentment. What are the primary factors that formulate a correct decision? What influences have impacted your decision making process? Did you make a decision? Or were the fears of failure and/or rejection too strong to prevent you from being decisive?

Interrogate reality doesn’t only mean the other person’s reality. It means we begin with our own. Always. If we harbor thoughts like “John is unreasonable. How in the world can I tell him without him getting defensive?”, we’re looking in the wrong place. Courageous conversations are first of all conversations from the heart. Courageous derives from the French word “coeur” which means heart. Our hero’s heart, as in the archetype which contains both the masculine and the feminine form. And courageous conversations depend on our ability to tell the truth.r

In a recent leadership workshop a participant asked me: "How can I get staff to think about choices orrndecisions and not just react?" My first thought was of a classic Zig Ziglar story that talks about the big difference one word can make. Zig said (and I`m paraphrasing): Imagine going to the doctor for medication and returning for a follow-up visit. In one case the doctor says you are reacting to the medication, in the other case the doctor says you are responding to the tr

Are you a leader or a follower? When faced with a difficult problem, how do you react? How you face problems is one of the critical factors that helps determine how successful you will be in life. Its also one of the key qualities of a leader! Leaders solve problems- followers go to leaders to get their problems solved. The first thing to do when faced with a problem is assume there is an answer out there- it just needs to be found. Worrying about the problem gets you nowher

Although I am not a doctor or psychiatrist I can attest from personal experience as a father that the effects of schizophrenia within a home are devastating. You see my Son has been diagnosed with schizophrenia bipolar disorder! Now I wished I could tell you that it was as simple as visiting our local mental health facility on a routine office visit when he received this diagnosis, but I can't. The devastating effects of schizophrenia can’t be fully measured since we have a life time to go before we will know for sure what the full effects with be!

Two of the most popular topics of workshops and business books are creativity and leadership. Both are popular because at some deep intuitive level most everyone knows they are both are worthwhile skills to have and to develop. However, while both are important and valued, they aren`t always talked about in tandem. Does creativity require leadership? Not necessarily. Does leadership require creativity? Only if you want to be truly successful. Why is that? Why do the best lead

Whenever I’m working in a corporate environment and attending a networking event or meeting with my potential “leadership tribe,” it amazes me that the business tools of executive leaders look worn, outdated or overly casual. These are strategic business meetings where everyone present hopes to make vital connections, build rapport, and be perceived as a consummate professional. That means that the brand and image essentials need to communicate strong, silent, convincing messages.

Everybody is a manager of free resources Most people think that managers are only those top positions inside corporations or business owners. However, billions of people who have never run any companies are also managers. In fact, nearly 100% of the world populations manage at least eight resources every day. Managers are those who make choices.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, especially if you have young children who bubble with excitement as the calendar creeps closer to Christmas Eve. All of them are mesmerized by the approaching visit of Kristopher Kringle, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas – SANTA CLAUS. nnWhile the kids have visions of PSPs and Guitar Hero dancing in their heads (What happened to sugar plums, they are much cheaper?). Everyone in business works longer hours in order to make up for l

In 1989 Robert Fulghum wrote the runaway best seller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. This anecdotal book offers wonderful advice about interacting with each other and is a great reminder of those timeless lessons we learned in our early development. Fulghum was right, some of the best instruction I have ever received was in the most basic learning environments because ‘All I Really Need to Know about Leadership, I Learned in Boot Camp.nSummertime at Pa

Spring cleaning is a phrase that is usually relegated to the home, but it is just as relevant to the well-being, productivity and future of a small business or a large corporation. Spring cleaning is the practice of cleaning a home from top to bottom, especially after long hard winters in colder climates. This process not only removes stagnant energy from a closed-up house in the winter and eliminates any leftover germs, improving the health of the family, but also removes c

Workplace stress can cut productivity and costyour company thousands of dollars annually. Harvard Business Review writer A. Perkins, advisesthat 60-90 percent of medical problems areassociated with stress. Princeton, NJ insurancecompany Foster Higgins Co., reports that 45percent of corporate ...

As healthcare providers few people understand what we do and the people whose lives we touch including ourselves. If we are striving for excellence as providers our own personal issues become less important and something magical suddenly happens. We find out that we have the ability to change someone’s life and touch them if for only a brief period of time. This is what separates us from all humanity.

Confidence is a requirement for success and happiness. There are amazing differences in performance, achievement and self-satisfaction when you compare the performance of confident and scared individuals under the same conditions. Never feel that it is impossible to gain confidence if it is ...

"The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit." - Mark Twain nnMany motivational experts like to say that leaders are made, not born. I would argue the exact opposite. I believe we are all natural born leaders, but have been deprogrammed along the way. As children, we were natural leaders - curious and humble, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge, with an incredibl

A client recently told me she believes one of her key employees may be looking for a different job. My client was nervous and a bit "defeated." Her employee is smart, efficient, organized, and articulate. She gets along with everyone, works on any project you ask her to, and is willing to try ...

Dear High Achiever:nnFor many, the actor who epitomized the character “Superman” is Christopher Reeve, and as millions know, at the height of his career he suffered a tragic accident that left him totally paralyzed, unable to care for himself or, initially, even to breathe unassisted.nnWith the support of his wife, Dana, Chris persevered and battled back, becoming a vigorous advocate and the public face for research that develops treatments and cures for paralysis caused

The role of the authentic transformational leader has been closely associated with that of the moral leader. Krishnan demonstrated through his research a significant and positive relationship between all five transformational leadership characteristics—idealized influence attributed, idealized influence behavior, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration – and moral leadership.

Senior decision makers and HR executives constantly confide in me that high potential candidates for promotions and leadership positions just do not exude the kind of image that will let them keep moving onward and upward. But they don’t know how to explain this to these employees without the risk of embarrassing them or stepping over the line into extremely sensitive personal territory. They will often ask me to come on board as a consultant to address these delicate issues and have these rather awkward conversations.

There have been millions of words written about leadership. Here are 788 more to add to your collection. And, in this case, these are critical to your success in leading others. Why not rate your own performance against these ten characteristics. It’s a great way to start growing your leadership skills. Leaders Make Others Feel Important: The last thing a leader needs to be is self-centered. Leadership is about service to others, i.e. those we lead. If our actions as leaders work on development of employee strengths and contributions, we are taking the right path.

Studies and surveys conducted by professionals have revealed data on adolescents who have had sex and variables that delay the onset of coitus for both males and females. In 2005, 47% of high students had sexual intercourse and 14% of high school students had had four or more sex partners during their life (CDC, 2006). In a youth survey, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2005) had shown that youth between grades 9 and 12 have been sexually active. It revealed that the percentage had decreased from the year 1991 to 2005.

Complacency - and its ill effects - is all around us. Consider politics. Democrats held one Senate seat for 47 years, and assumed they`d win again in 2010 but didn`t. Consider sports. 2010 is the first year since 1993 - that`s 17 years - that both number one seeds, presumably the two best teams, are meeting in the Super Bowl. Consider business. The Dow Jones Industrial Average - a composite of 30 of the most important and strongest companies in America - has seven new members

By Ida Tyree Hyche © 22 March 2011 We are empowered by the strength and leadership of pace-setter women. Their triumphs fuel our destiny. Their breakthroughs form our history. Their formulation of our history propels us as wind beneath wings, daring us to allow its knowledge to strengthen us. Notable women whose strength and leadership combined purpose and passion to successfully move mountains are why we celebrate Women’s History Month.

Self-esteem is a very important motivator according to Abraham Maslow. He places a person’s self-esteem needs above physiological, security, and social needs. The dictionary defines self-esteem as confidence and satisfaction in oneself. It can be also thought of as self-respect, or confidence ...